Then and Now: May

I haven't done a Then and Now post since last November! I have to admit, things have been a little different for me around these parts. I got a new job in August, and it has been a difficult learning curve. For the first couple of weeks, we did a basic training, and then we were put right in the hot seat and were dealing with clients and coworkers and other entities. Days were passing by and then weeks were falling away and then months were gone before I knew it. I was constantly on the move at work, and was always thinking, so when I got home, my brain was like mush.

Then I trained for a couple of big races and my legs were like mush. So basically I have been mush. I wouldn't say that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it has meant that I don't feel so in control of my life as I did at one point. Things like blogging, reading, cooking or thinking about what to eat (hello salad, potato & oatmeal) have gone to the back burner. Hence the lack of Then and Now posts (or my commenting in a timely manner to most people's posts).

But I like looking back and kind of seeing what I have done, because I feel that this makes me feel stronger, and makes me realize that I have done more than I thought I have, instead of focusing on what I did not do. So, here we have the Who, What and Where of May (better late than never).

Who:

Girls Day.

What:

Books: 

Due to the fact that I took a vacation, I read 6 books this month. This is one of my biggest reading months in a long time! I have to say as well, that they were all good! My favorites on the list were probably the first three.

Wild -- Cheryl Strayed: This book reminded me a bit of home, since I grew up near the PCT, and I loved the stories of the trail. However, I was not super fond of the main character and her issues and journey to self enlightenment.

The Thirteenth Tale -- Diane Setterfield: A woman biographer meets up with a famous author to finally get her true life story from her before she dies. The story ends up having many twists and turns and an intersting relationship develops between the two main characters.

A Thousand Splendid Suns -- Khalid Hosseini: A gut wrenching tale of the strife in Afghanistan and the trials and tribulations the characters go through to make it to the light at the end of the tunnel, this story kept me riveted for hours. I couldn't put it down.

Stuff White People Like -- Christian Lander
The Boleyn Inheritance -- Phillipa Gregory
I am a Stranger Here Myself -- Bill Bryson

Miles: 

In May I ran 160.1 miles, biked 16 miles, hiked/walked 35 miles and swam one mile. I am not quite ready for a tri, but it's kind of fun to add in a few extra activities besides running once in a while.

Races:

I ran 2 races: The Cinderella Trail Half and the Ohlone 50k .

Where:

Roatan

Fort Point

Berkeley

In May, who did you hang out with? What did you do? Where did you go?

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Then and Now: November

Okay everyone, let's say it all together now: I can't believe that November is already over! I know; you have heard it before. But yes, it's December (already). November is over. What happened? Luckily I take photos, because lately I can't remember! Due to my blogger issue with photos, I am doing this collage style this time (thanks everyone for the comments -- I am uploading to flickr and then pasting the code into the blog). So here you have it, the Who, the What and the Where of 2011 vs 2012. 

2011: 

Who: Baby A (aren't crying photos the funniest? Look at that face!). 

What: Chicken Feet and Bran Flax Muffins

Where: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, San Francisco, Sierra Nevadas

2012: 

Who: Ladies who lunch brunch

What: Crabs, Oatmeal pumpkin cookies

Where:  Santa Rosa, Oakland, San Francisco

The Extras: 

Books: 

2011: 10 / 2012: 4

Last year in November I read 10 books. Clearly I had a little more free time than this year! This year I only read 4. Last year, many of those books were really great. The greats included The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Book Thief and The Help. This year the best of the four was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which was an interesting book about a girl gone missing and her husband's adventure once she is gone. 

Miles: 

2011: 126 / 2012: 131

It's weird; I thought I ran less miles this year than last, but I beat my last year mileage by 5 miles. Who knew? 

Races:

2011: 2 / 2012: 1

Last year I ran 2 races, a half marathon and a 5k turkey trot. This year, in lieu of the turkey trot, I ran on my own, but I still completed one obstacle race instead.

Do you like crab? What's your favorite holiday treat? Did you run a turkey trot this year?

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Then and Now: October

Another month over, another month closer to a new year. October was a fun filled month and I love sitting down and looking for photos to put on my monthly round up. However, as I was sorting photos to do this post, I got a little sad. Last year in October, I went to California, Missouri, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York. This year, I went to....California, and I didn't even move around very much. Comparing the two years makes me realize where I am doing things differently. Sometimes this is a good thing and other times it makes me realize that there are areas where I need to get back on track.

Without further ado, here are the Who, the What and the Where of October 2011 vs October 2012.

THE WHO:

In 2011, I got around. 

I hung out with the Parentals, the East Coast family, running friends, 

work friends and high school friends.

 In 2012, it was local family all the way. 

I even accidentally ran into some of them at a Giants game! 

I also spent time with my favorite girls and some new friends too!

(The bagpipe player is my cousin. He can wail on that thing!)

THE WHAT:

Running Miles:
2011: 147 / 2012: 149

In 2011, I was ramping up for my first marathon, so I was putting in a lot of training miles for that. In 2012, I was busy doing more races with only a few miles thrown in on the weeks between. Raced miles counted as about 40% of all miles run this month.

Races:
2011: 2 / 2012: 4

In 2011, I did the cupcake classic (virtual race) and The Green Stride Half in MA. This year, October was the month of races and I had a race every weekend of three different lengths! They took me to Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale and San Francisco! See my races page for more info.

Reading:
In 2011, I read a whopping 7 books, my favorite probably being The Hunger Games or Room. In 2012, I read three books and all of them were about running. None of them knocked my socks off. Check out my bookshelf for more info.

THE WHERE:

2011: 

Home, Newport RI, NYC, Missouri, Cambridge MA

2012: 

Oakland, San Francisco, Marin Headlands, Sonoma County

The Verdict? Like I said, last year I went all over the place, but this year I only went to the four places where I had races (see above). I am realizing I need to make some travel plans! However, this year, as far as the Who portion, I am really loving getting more time to spend with some of my favorite people, which I was not able to do as often when I was traveling for work. It's really nice to be able to do things with people on shorter notice (and more often) rather than having to make a big thing out of the times when I was home. I have been having lunches or brunches with friends and I am remembering how important those little half an hour visits here and there really are!

How has your year been different than last year? How has it been the same?

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Then and Now: September

Every time I do these posts, I think that it doesn't seem that long since I did the last one, even though a month has gone by. I have had many people tell me that as you get older the time goes by more and more quickly. Well stop it. Stop it now.

As you know, I like to recap my last month with a comparison to what I was doing last year at this time. It started when I could say, "Last year at this time I was traveling in ____". Now I can't say that, but it's still fun to look back and see what things have changed and which ones stay the same. Without further ado, here are the Who, the What and the Where for September 2011 vs 2012.

WHO:

2011: 

Dad, Lisa, Raquelita 

(not pictured: Red, Gma S, The B family)

2012: 

Kalish, J&E, K&A and the goats

(not pictured: the broski, his lady friend, Gma B)

WHAT:

Read:
2011: 4 / 2012: 3


My favorite September book in 2011 was probably The Guernsey Literary Potato Pie Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. In 2012, I really enjoyed Emergency Sex by Ken Cain, Andrew Thompson and Heidi Postlewait, which is about being in some seriously dangerous countries while working for the UN during the 90s.

Run:
2011:  95.2 / 2012:  187.4

In 2011, I was training for a half marathon in September. This year, I am training for a marathon. However, it is still a surprisingly high amount to me, even though I did run two 20+ runs this month.

Raced:
2011: 2 / 2012: 3

In 2011, I ran my first half marathon since 2009 (see photo above with Dad). After that, I went to MN and raced a great 10 miler with Lisa and Raquelita (see photo above)! In 2012, I ran Mommy Run Fast's  Labor Day Virtual 10 mile and Labor Day Virtual 5 mile  as well as joining up with a friend, and thousands of Giant's fans for the Giant Race! 

WHERE:

2011: 

The M States: 

Missouri, Massachusetts, Minnesota

2012: 

The Bay Area: 

Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley

As you can see, last year I traveled more than this year. Nearly every weekend in September I went somewhere. I went to MA the first weekend, Dad came for the race the next, then it was MN, then Kansas City the last weekend! This year I have stayed closer to home!

I also met a lot of new friends both years. Last year it was Lisa and Raquelita; this year it's some new running buddies, new people at work and new local folk.  September in both years have been busy with running! This year I feel as if I have more time to foster old friendships as well as making new. Last year with the traveling and working away from home, I felt as if I were doing the opposite and losing touch with old friends, even as I was making new ones. So this year has been a welcome change in that aspect!

What things have changed in your life since last year? What has stayed the same? How many "M" states have you been to?

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Then and Now: August

August is a month of family and friends and times spent outdoors! I have had most weekends filled, and it's been exhausting, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have been lucky to see several family members not once, but twice in one month, when we often don't see each other more than the once a year at Christmas. I also cooked a lot, ran a lot and read a little. So, lets see how it adds up against last year, shall we?

The Who: 

My favorite comparison is this little lady.  

Her birthday is in August, and I've been lucky to spend both of them with her!

Last year I spent time with co-workers in MO, I went to baseball games in St. Louis with Dad and I hung out with family and friends at home. 

This year, it was more family, including a wedding where the boys got kilted up. 

Then there was lots of hiking with H and good times in Santa Rosa with family after the marathon.

 

The What:

Foods and Recipes: 

Last year I made my favorite easy blackberry cobbler from fresh picked berries. This year it was zucchini chocolate chip muffins from my garden haul. I ate three the first day. I just noticed I post a lot of desserts and not so much "food". I swear I am actually NOT a sweet junkie!

Running miles: 

2011: 94 / 2012: 132

Last year I was training for the City of Roses Half and the Women Run the Cities 10 miler, where I met up with Lisa in MN for the weekend, so I logged a good amount of miles. This year I logged slightly more, mostly because of the two long races I did, not because my regular runs were that frequent.  

Races: 

2011: 0 / 2012: 4

Over half my miles were run in races. There was the Run With Jess Virtual Olympics, Suz's Wounded Warrior Virtual Half, The Skyline 50k and the Santa Rosa Marathon, for a total of 80 miles of racing!

Books: 

2011: 6 / 2012: 4

This month has not been a huge reading month for me. As the photos and numbers above show, I have been doing other things. That's okay because soon the fog will set in and I will have plenty of time to read! Last year's favorite read was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Did you know I had seen dozens of versions of movies (my favorite of course: The Muppets) but had never read the book!? This year's August favorite was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chomsky. It was a quick, easy read about a high school boy and his trials and tribulations and was narrated in letter form, which I find very easy to follow.

The Where: 

I have been loving where I am living lately. In 2011, I was in Missouri and it was great, but it was hot. All those miles I put in were in 90 degree heat with icky humidity. This year, I have been very lucky to be near the sea, where the breezes are cool and the water is blue and it's rarely gotten over 75 degrees. I love it. The best place to spend an August is in the Bay Area! 

San Francisco, Santa Cruz, St. Louis, Dog Rock (CA)

I am sad to see the summer go, but I gladly welcome September, and am looking forward to Autumn! Hello apples and boots and books! I can't wait!

Where was your favorite place that you went this month?  Do you find that you are more or less active in the summer?

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Then and Now: July

Another month gone! Yes, I know it's cliche to say it, but where did the time go? I think the combination of traveling and/or having people visit pretty much every weekend this month made for a pretty quick month! Not only that, but I have been working on organizing and packing to get ready to move back north! Time flies when you are entertaining, traveling and packing! Here is another month of Then and Now, in terms of the Who, the What and the Where!

Who:

In July of 2011, I spent a lot of time with coworkers and a little time with Mr. L and Mark Twain. In 2012, my time has been spent mostly with Mr. L, but also entertaining guests, including my Dad, The K&A family and friends from Wisconsin! Not only that, but we made a quick trip back east and got to see more friends and family while there!  It's been a friend and family filled month! 

What:

Miles:
2011: 62.7 / 2012: 204

It's kind of fun to pull up the stats on RunningAhead! Last July I ran less than a third of the amount of miles as this year. My average pace was 9:54/mi, whereas this year it's 9:08/mi. I ran for approximately 10 hours last year; this year I ran for about 30. I have to admit; I am kind of ready for September when the mileage will be a little lower and I can focus on "only" running one half marathon a month.

Races:
2011: 0 / 2012: 2

I ran two races this year: Living the Fit Life's Birthday Virtual 10k and the Bad Bass Half Marathon, which was number 7 of the 12 in 2012 Running Challenge! Recap coming soon!

Books:
2011: 6 / 2012: 6

Of the 6 books I read in 2012, my favorite was probably Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. This was a tale of a twin child born in Ethiopia to two interesting characters of parents, who survives the strife with Eritrea to grow up as a doctor. He eventually goes to America to find his way in the world and the story ends with a strange twist.  In 2011, my favorite July read was Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. I really enjoy the Anne of Green Gables series! Check out my bookshelf page for more info! 

Cooking/Eating: 

Last year I ate so many fresh fruits and veggies. This year has been much of the same, including some new recipes using cabbage!  When my Dad came to visit, he brought a special treat: hand picked blackberries AND a flat of peaches. I have been definitely getting my "apple" a day!!

Where:

Last year I was working in Missouri, in the heartland of America. This year, I have been on the beach. It's been quite a difference! 

How was your July? Have you read the Anne of Green Gables series? What's your favorite fruit?

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