Hocus Pocus

If you haven't seen the movie Hocus Pocus, can we even still be friends? I feel as though that's something someone who shops regularly at Target would say. Then again, that store is really speaking to me right now.

When I looked at the date today, I realized two things: I haven't written in over a month and I haven't run in over a month either. If you've been here since the last entry, I communicated that I'd be taking a mild writing hiatus because, well, I wasn't running, and I was about to do some traveling. Let's recap that, shall we?




The week after I got the news that I'd be benched from running, I was clearly devastated. I have never had a 'DNS' in my books. But you know what? Life goes on. I could have been stupid, ignored the pain, and kept going like most runners I see but I wasn't about to make things worse. I could have also still raced but that would have also been stupid. So, let's like, make a smart decision for once! For the love of taking care of your body! I made a promise to myself that I'd start my new life in Arizona with a clean slate, do all of the things I should be doing that I didn't before (warm-ups, stretching, foam roll, don't be an idiot) and I was keeping up with that promise. I even fell in love with yoga. My half marathon is officially deferred and now I sit with a credit that's good for two years whenever I decide what race looks good to me. Oregon is looking pretty legit (Mt. Hood) but, again, let's not jump the gun. We still have one race in the books that's officially 16 weeks away. Shameless plug:

https://www.thephoenixmarathon.com

So, what's happened between then and now? The family came to visit. We hung out around town for a few days and then set our GPS to Las Vegas for the weekend. We took in the sights, we ate good food, and we drank many beverages.

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  Bone Haus Brewing

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  Cuttings by Prisoner

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  Cabo Wabo

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  The Mirage Casino & Hotel

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  You know what this is

One of those things is not like the other. After Vegas, we flew to Michigan and stayed for a few weeks. If you aren't aware, Michigan is my home state. I spent the last 30 years of my life there (that makes me sound old, I'm only 31) and while I miss family and friends, I can't say I miss living there. From wheels down, the traffic was atrocious. My good friend, Tania, bless her heart for being so patient and driving to get us but also taking us to pick up Jet's for dinner because what else would you get when you haven't been home in 6 months? Also cats. Lots of cat time because I like to treat it as free therapy.

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Again, one of those is not like the other, but Dori is my granddog so she counts too.




Michigan was Michigan. Normal, crap weather 80% of the time. The humidity was high and the days were gloomy. My body felt as if it hadn't gotten sleep in a month and craved some natural Vitamin D. Let's be honest, I was eager to get home so I could start physical therapy and get things moving.

Going to a new physical therapist made me nervous. Not because I haven't done it before but because I was so used to going to the same person. It's hard to create a new, trusting relationship with someone you've never met before who you hope will carry you across the finish line pain-free. Thankfully, I absolutely love my new therapist. He is not only professional and knowledgeable but holds a good conversation and makes sure I'm having fun but also analyzes my form the entire time. We're now two weeks in and my knee is feeling good. Even after days of being on my feet all day, I wake up expecting it to hurt and it doesn't like it used to. While I'm not assuming I'm in the clear, all signs are pointing in the right direction. I've learned things I haven't before. Aside from the existing overpronation I deal with, I apparently also have fairly flat feet. Who knew? Time for a new analysis for shoes! And, let me tell you, I'm treating my home exercises as if it were a new religious practice to ward off evil spirits.




For now, we wait. We practice patience. We read. In fact, I just finished this book:

Super great read! I'd put it up there with Kastor's 'Let Your Mind Run'. It kept me entertained in a busy Detroit Airport while watching people go nuts over Chick-Fil-A (is this really still that popular?) or seeing Gate A76 find out their flight got changed to Gate A6, which happened to be on the entire opposite side of the terminal. That'd be a good speed workout.




Things are back to normal. Early morning alarms and eating normal food. Now it's just a matter of getting cleared to run again. For now, we wait.

The Mitten and Back

Honestly, I have no clever title for this entry. It also won't be filled with much running but I can ensure you, however, that it will have fun visuals as we make up for lost time.

Hello, hey, buenos días (if it's morning where you are)! It's been a minute. If you remember from the last post, I mentioned I was going to be traveling and thought I'd have time to pop on here but alas, life gets in the way. We traveled to Michigan (our home state) for about a week for family reasons. We've been gone for about four months now so you'd think not much has changed. I can't even count how many times I told my husband, "I'm so glad we moved". Everything is so dead and cold. Everyone drives like an asshole. The roads are (still) terrible. The entire place just sucks. And maybe you're reading this thinking I'm being a little harsh but honestly, seasonal depression is a thing and you will get it living there. My whole body felt like it shut down for the majority of the time we were there and it's crazy how it was brought back to life with the first touch of sunshine when we made it back home. Side note: I do miss my friends and family so don't think it's all negative! Saying goodbye never gets easier. If I could pick all of them up and move them here then Arizona would get that much better. Oh, and my cats. I spent some much needed time with both of them. I mean, come on, look at cute they are:

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  Broccoli

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  (Ronnie James) Dio

Anywho, shall we talk running? I ran three times. One of them was the morning before leaving for the airport to fly to Detroit. Pretty lackluster, eh? It felt good to take some days off but I also hate not being physically active. Let's take a look at the numbers:

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  3/20

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  3/26

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  3/27

One advantage I found about being in Michigan besides the obvious family visit? Running was so easy. With no consistent elevation change and being more than 1,000ft down from where we are now, it was a breeze. I haven't hit a 9:12/mi pace since moving here. I set out for an easy run early on the 20th. The moon was so full and bright and the clouds created what looked like a painting in the sky.

My other two runs were at the park where I basically started my journey of becoming a runner. Spencer Lake in Rochester Hills is a one-mile loop. I remember the days when Nike+ had just been released and we had to wear sensor pods in our shoes. I could barely make it less than halfway around without having to stop and walk all while having my heart rate through the roof. That lake was my go-to for cardio when I mostly ran just to lose weight and keep up my fitness on days I wasn't lifting. It's crazy to see how far I've come through the years. Back then I would have never thought I'd run a marathon one day or even a half marathon let alone run for fun and not just for health.

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The day we flew back was rather long as we had a layover at LAX. Let me tell you, out of all of the airports I've been to, this one is the worst. I thought I hated Atlanta but dear Lord, LAX has taken the cake for being terrible. It's like a cave in there mixed with the most disorganized gates I've ever seen. We made light of it and I was able to get my Starbucks mug to add to the rest. I collect the "been there" mugs they produce. We also discovered that Shake Shack has a portobello mushroom burger (no meat!) and it's damn delicious. I like to think it's even better than their meat burgers and even those were good. If you are meatless like me, it's worth a try. Now if only In 'n Out would follow suit. A word of caution, though. Don't bite into it right away or you will burn your face off with the cheese.

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After adjusting back to the normal at home, it was time to celebrate my birthday. Honestly, it didn't feel like it was already here because of the weather. Every year in Michigan, it was either snowing or raining and grey as can be. It was 85° and the sun was out in full force. The Friday before, we went to dinner with our friends to Obon, a Ramen and Sushi restaurant in Scottsdale. I had watched a documentary on the plane called 'Ramen Heads' and naturally, I wanted to eat some right away. We both got the veggie red miso bowls and tried jackfruit for the first time. Hello, tastebuds! That stuff is amazing. They had a delicious black tea old fashioned and we even saw a waitress catch her hair on fire from a candle on a table she was cleaning up. Hats off to her for not even dropping a full tray and batting it out with her hand. Bravo! On my actual birthday, we headed to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park that morning with a friend of ours. I think it's the first state park I've ever been to. While we couldn't make it down to the bridge due to trail closures and high water, it was still a really beautiful place. The greenery and waterfalls provided the smell of nature and you could feel the mist from the water as we walked down a lookout point.

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Okay, you've finally reached the end of my recap of random stuff. You know what that means? Time for a new recipe share! What's one staple comfort food that everyone absolutely loves? Mac and cheese. I used to eat boxes of Kraft while in high school. Let's be honest, that stuff is full of really bad ingredients. That's why it tastes so good! My weekly Forks Over Knives email came into my inbox and this glorious recipe graced my screen.

The picture doesn't do any justice because I'm not a professional food blogger or photographer. The lighting in my kitchen was not on my side. I promise you, it's good. Simple ingredients, easy prep, and enough portions for the whole family or for a few days if it's only two of you like in our house. I'm all for meals that make multiple portions. I would throw in some extra rosemary than what the recipe calls for but I'm thinking this is going to taste even better left over as everything has been able to set together for 24 hours. I paired it with a Beyond Meat burger, of course. A good burger and some mac is always a solid meal. I'll throw the recipe here.

Now that we're back on scheduled runs and workouts, next week we'll cover more about how the pavement and trails treated me. Thanks for stopping by!