I need calories.

I had a freak-out moment earlier this week. I looked at the calendar on Monday and realized I only had 6 weeks till the Rockledge Rumble. Only 6 weeks till I'm supposed to run 30K (about 19mi) and I'm not trained for it!

So I was motivated to run this week and maybe increased my mileage too much. I did three 4-mile runs, which is respectable. Then yesterday I ran @ GV Lake from MADD to Fargate - roughly 8.5mi. Apparently I didn't fuel enough. I did fine on the run - no problems; I even ran & chatted with fellow NTTR member Fred Thompson for a while. But by the time I got home and showered, I could not stop shaking. I ate really well the rest of the day - high protein, good fats, some carbs - but was still shaky by the time I went to sleep. I was also an emotional wreck. Not good.

Moral of the story - I need calories. Specifically, I need calories at the right time. That is, I need to eat before the run, periodically during the run (i.e. more GUs and Perpetuem), and for recovery after the run.

Oh well, next time...

This is my favorite.

Being Italian

Coffee shops are my weakness.

I don't drink coffee, but I absolutely love going to hang out with people. It's what I like to call "being Italian." When my family went to Italy in 2003, we were so impressed at how the Italians would simply sit outside in the piazzas and people watch for hours. They would talk and laugh, drink coffee, eat a delicious dinner with family and friends, go get ice cream and take a quiet walk - it was amazing to watch. Their pace of life is so much different.

It's like that with coffee shops - everything seems to slow down and become less hectic when you sit and talk over a nice chai tea latte or cup of hot chocolate.

I had one of those evenings at my favorite restaurant (Fadi's) this weekend. My 'sister' Bashorat came into town and took me to the ballet to see Cinderella! We had a few hours between church and the ballet, so we were able to catch up over some wonderful Mediterranean cuisine. The ballet was amazing, by the way! I never knew the story of Cinderella had fairies or dragonflies. lol - and the evil stepsisters were played by men! They made it more like slapstick comedy.

What a good night. : )