1/2 marathon monday: holy 9 miles, batman.

day-by-day:

Monday: 4mi run. I ran a faster pace, and although I had to pause my run once around the 2.7 mark, I still felt pretty good about it.

Tuesday: 15-minute NTC Get Focused Sculpted Arms and 15-minute Shaped Back workout. my arms definitely got a good workout with these two. I've had a crick in my neck since Little Rock, and these strained it a bit, but otherwise they were alright.

Wednesday: 1.75mi up-tempo run. slept an extra 15 minutes in the morning since it was a short run, and I felt so good. ran my first mile with a slower pace and then ran the last .75 fast. it felt good to get in a longer sprint, and I was in a really good mood at the end of it.

Thursday & Friday: were supposed to be a 45-minute NTC workout and a 15-minute NTC workout respectively, but because of the stiffness in my neck, I called it a day and skipped the workouts so as to not strain it further. the crick is slowly getting better, and I didn't want to risk making it worse all over again.

Saturday: 9mi run. and what a great run it was. the weather was awesome and cool, and I took it as a sign to get out and tackle the longest run in the history of my life. I was nervous leading up to it since I had missed my two previous long runs, but the cool weather really put me in a good frame of mind for the run. I kept up a pace that I was happy with, my Gu Chomps kept up my energy, and I felt really good with myself for getting through it. Did I have more miles in me? Sure. Did I have 4 more miles in me? Probably not. But I've still got 5 weeks to get there, and after Saturday's run, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances for San Francisco.

you know those "hills" I keep talking about?

I am well aware that the inclines in my parents' neighbourhood are nothing compared to the hills I will encounter in San Francisco, but they're better than nothing. I've been exploring a little more around the neighbourhood and discovering a few new inclines, and I realized on my latest long run that I have a tendency to drag my feet when I'm going uphill, which is something I need to work on in the future. note to self: those high knee runs are actually useful.

this weekend calls for 11 miles. wish me luck.
woo pig.
xx

the joy project: week thirty-four.

Sunday: slept in. saw the Mama Eastham off on her journey. back to Memphis.

Monday & Tuesday: hung out with the mother. watched a lot of Law & Order: SVU.

Wednesday: slept and slept and slept after my early morning run.

Thursday: lunch with the mother at Gus's Fried Chicken. made my tummy so very happy. picked up some Rhodes swag for a wee little one who will be making her appearance next month.

Friday: didn't do a whole lot, but got to spend the whole day with my mother, which was pretty nice.

Saturday: house to myself. 9mi run. Razorback victory. long afternoon nap on the couch. Rhodes night at the Levitt Shell. ran into my favourite Dr Wigginton. good Saturday.

it was kind of a slow week around the Rangaswami household, but it was nice to get to spend so much time with my mother while she was home.
woo pig.
xx

memphis eats: gus's fried chicken.

Today, my mother and I had lunch at Gus's Fried Chicken. And when I say Gus's, I mean the Gus's. The only one. The one on Front Street. For me, it's still the only one that exists. I'm a Memphis purist that way.

But anyway. Our lunch at Gus's.

Gus's is a Memphis institution. Like all self-respecting Memphis restaurants, it's a bit shady-looking and a bit run-down. And also like all self-respecting Memphis restaurants, it doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is.

So what is it, exactly? Well, it's the best fried chicken in the city. It's some pretty darn good baked beans. It's some awesome seasoned fries. And it's hands-down one of my favourite places in Memphis.

My general go-to at Gus's is the 2 piece dark meat plate, which comes with a thigh and a leg, baked beans, slaw, and 2 pieces of white bread. Depending on who I'm with, I'll trade out the slaw and substitute it for something else [usually mashed potatoes], but since my mother likes slaw, I just shared it with her. She had a breast piece and a side of baked beans, and we shared a medium basket of the seasoned fries. My favourite part of fried chicken is obviously the skin, and theirs is fantastic.

Throughout our lunch, I just kept saying over and over to my mother, "My stomach is so happy right now". I don't get down to my downtown and Midtown restaurants as often as I'd like, since we live so far east, so it's always a bit of a treat to get back to one of my classics.

The deets:
Location: on Front Street just south of Beale in downtown Memphis.
Parking: street parking wherever you can find it. be sure to pay attention to the No Parking signs.
Serves: lunch and dinner.
Portion sizes: pretty big. there was a day not so long ago when I could finish 2 pieces of chicken, 2 sides, and the 2 slices of bread without blinking. my appetite these days is a little less than what it once was, so even that is a bit much for me.
Prices: very reasonable. I want to say the 2 piece dark meat plate was around $8. our total bill - including 2 drinks and 2 breast pieces that we packed for my father - was $22, which is pretty good considering that fed 3 adults.
Methods of payment: accepts cash and credit.

And did I mention the cups are souvenirs that you get to take home? A pretty good deal, if you ask me.
woo pig.
xx

1/2 marathon monday: getting back into the groove.

this week was back to the grind, and it felt really good.

day-to-day:

Monday: 3.5mi run. I slept in because of our long journey Sunday night, but when I woke up I knew I still wanted to get my run in, so I set out around 9am. usually my runs start around 6, and I could definitely feel the difference in the heat. I had to pause my run a few times and walk a bit, but I finished it. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back into my rhythm.

Tuesday: 45-minute NTC Get Toned Intermediate Stinger workout. that's right, we've entered the Intermediate workouts. this one had some new exercises that I hadn't done before, so those took some getting used to, but overall it was a good workout. I still don't really like those "push away balance" things, but luckily they don't show up too often. I also broke out my new medicine ball [6 lbs! watch out, world] and am glad I decided to go ahead and get the heavier one. who knows, maybe one day I'll be ready for one of those 8lb-ers...

Wednesday: 5mi run. got back to my early morning runs, and it paid off. my pace was definitely a lot slower than I would have liked, but the bottom line is that I finished the run, so I'll take my small victories. and the awesome early morning weather definitely helped. it was downright chilly when I left my house at 5.50am, and I was so very thankful.

Thursday: originally supposed to be a 30-minute stretching session, but because I attended Britney's work event, I counted our 2-mile walk to and from the Big Dam Bridge as my workout.

Friday & Saturday: didn't get my runs in. the Eastham house is out on Highway 10, and there are no good sidewalks or running paths out there. I saw a few people just running on the road, but I wasn't quite ready for that. so once again, I missed my long run. this Saturday's 9-miler is going to be a big wake-up call.

in other news...

I got a new pair of running shoes! bit the bullet, went to the mall, and got some new kicks. took them for a run yesterday, and they felt pretty good.

like I said, I've missed my last two long runs. I'm in town this weekend, I have no distractions, and I'm determined to fight through the 9 miles that are looming in the distance. I'm thinking I might hit up Shelby Farms for my run, but we'll also see what kind of mood I'm in come Saturday morning.

woo pig.
xx

the joy project: week thirty-three.

Back to the "real" world.

Sunday: after a delay in Charlotte, finally made it back to Memphis just after midnight on Monday.

Monday: slept in after Sunday's long journey.

Tuesday: slowly settling into being the only child at home again. ran some errands. enjoyed having the house to myself in the evening while the parents went to a movie.

Wednesday: spent the day cleaning my room, finishing up Chuck [not entirely happy with how it ended, if I'm being honest], and watching the tennis.

Thursday: got a new pair of running shoes. lunch at Genghis Grill. off to Little Rock for the weekend! arrived in time for Britney's work event for National Hunger Month.

Friday: met with Stephanie about some job stuff. Slim Chickens for lunch. hung out with the Brothers Eastham.

Saturday: baby shower for Lindso and the Muffin. tailgate. took Bee to her first Arkansas football game [thank you for the tickets, Mr and Mrs Aburrow!]. Slim Chickens for dinner complete with peach fried pie and a free drink. Razorbacks victory. AHA reunion party. it was a good Saturday.

love any week that involves tennis, football, Slim Chickens, and family reunions.
woo pig.
xx

1/2 marathon monday: the lost week.

day-to-day:

hahahahahahahahahaha. that's funny.

so. when we got to Aruba on Sunday, I had every intention of getting up and running on Monday morning. I figured I'd explore my brother's neighbourhood a bit and get in some exercise.

and then I slept. and I slept. and I slept some more. I guess between the 7 weeks of training and the early morning flights on Sunday, I was done. so I took Monday off. and then I took Tuesday off. and then I decided that I was on holiday, and it was ok to take some time off and give my body a rest. I got in a swim on Thursday, and I "ran" and swam on Saturday morning, so I'm calling that a win.

so no, I did not complete my 8-mile run on Saturday. and I didn't do any of the workouts. and you know what? it's going to be ok. I'll get back on my training plan this week, I'll get back on my eating plan [kind of. I'm going to Little Rock on Thursday], and I'll be fine.

never underestimate the power of the Aruban sun:

from our hotel, there were "running paths" that went in either direction. if you turned left, the trail went for about 1.5 miles, making for a 3mi round trip. if you turned right, it was about 2.5 miles, for a 5mi round trip. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to run on Saturday, so I decided to go for the longer path and then turn back when I felt I needed to.

the "path" I mention was a combination of footpaths, gravel, loose sand trails, and some patches where you just had to run on the side of the road. all of that, however, was way more manageable than dealing with the heat. admittedly, I went for my run a bit later than I would have liked - around 8.15am or so - so the sun had been up for a few hours. what I did not anticipate, though, was the lack of shade on the path. I was running alongside the sea, so there was a breeze, but I was also running in direct sunlight. on top of that, I think I was so excited to be running [never thought that would happen], I went a little too fast out of the gait and wore myself out. between the too-fast pace, the sun, and the lack of other strenuous exercise for a week, it was tough. I did a combo running and walking for about 4 miles, but by the end I could only run for about 1.5 songs before needing to walk again. at about the 3 mile marker, I passed a refreshment stand on one of the beaches, and they had a water fountain, which definitely saved me. I learned my lesson about tempting the sun in Aruba, and the next time I go to visit the brother, I'm either running at 6.30am or 6.30pm. that in-between time is for swimming or reading or napping.

looking ahead:

this week is going to be a little tough as well, with my trip to LR, but I think all the days I'm gone are running days, so I'll just have to run in the neighbourhood there. it'll be nice to have a change of scenery; I'm getting super bored of my parents' neighbourhood.

I'm going to need a new pair of running shoes before my race, so I'm looking to get them in the next week or so to break them in properly. I discovered on the nike website that I can custom-design my own shoes, and they'll deliver them to me in 3-4 weeks. I'm going to check a few places tomorrow and Wednesday, and then decide on whether to pick up a pair in-store or order the sweet magenta / teal / green ones I designed today.

after a bit of pushing from my father, I finally booked my tickets to San Francisco. thank you, Delta SkyMiles, for sponsoring my ticket :)

I need to also order some Clif Shot Bloks to see how I like them, as they will be at the aid stations on race day. lots to do this week.

and that's that. hopefully next week's update will contain a lot more actual training.
woo pig.
xx

the joy project: week thirty-two. or, as i like to call it, the aruba edition.

Sunday: early morning to catch our flight to Charlotte and then on to Aruba. yummy dinner at a tapas bar called Salt + Pepper.

Monday: slept and slept and slept. went to bed around 9pm Sunday night, woke up briefly at 9.30am Monday, back in bed by 10am, and eventually emerged at 2pm. and it was some of the best sleep I've had in ages. dinner at one of the 2 Indian restaurants on Aruba.

Tuesday: in the process of turning my old Nokia over to the brother, I got to read through some old messages that are still saved on there. oh, the Bangalore memories from 2008-2011... awesome shrimp for dinner at Fishes & More.

Wednesday: yummy poffertjes [Dutch mini-pancakes] covered in powdered sugar, chocolate, and cinnamon for breakfast. found a "beach" to wade in for a bit while father and brother finished their breakfast. visited a casino for the first time since turning 21 and won $1.60 on the slots. I'm rich. saw Elysium in the cinema. rounded out the day with Haagen Dazs for dinner.

Thursday: went swimming in my private little swimming hole. so very nice to be in the sea again.

Friday: checked into the Westin for the weekend. spicy jerk chicken wrap for lunch. went for a walk along the beach. won $7 at the slot machines. attempted roulette [that $5 minimum is a bit steep for me...]. shrimp caesar salad for dinner and Baskin-Robbins for dessert.

Saturday: went for a run and then a nice leisurely swim in the sea. stuffed our faces at the Tandoor lunch buffet. opening Saturday of college football!

we had ourselves a nice little week, and I will do a proper travel guide [Veena-style] on Aruba either this week or next.
woo pig.
xx