the view from back here

yesterday, i ran a race. it was my fifth race of 2011!! i have even registered for one more this year, which will make a total of 24 miles raced this year. now, i realize that some of you run all 24+ of your miles in one race. however, i find that if you spread those miles out over several races, you don't have to spend as much time in the ice bath afterwards. and? you end up with more race tee shirts!!

i took on a 10K trail run. now, i've run a 5K trail race and i've run a 10K road race, but i'd never combined the two before. it was definitely a challenge, given that this trail had a decent elevation, and eleventy billion roots and vines to avoid. i trained for it as best i could, averaging about 16 miles per week and setting my sights on a conservative, yet still challenging, pace.

now this would be a good time to remind you that i am not a fast runner. i really am okay with this - i recognize that my body is built for endurance and stamina, not speed. my running goals have never been to win the race. my running goals have always been to run each race just a little bit faster than the one before. the only other competitor in that particular race is me. and truly, i believe that no matter where you are in the standings, NOTHING beats the feeling of just crossing the finish line.

i'm always at the back of the pack, and that's really okay with me. but yesterday i got to experience something new. yesterday? i finished dead last.

last place!! the very last person to finish the race!!

can you imagine?

i knew from the start that i would probably finish in the back. this was a small race, and as i glanced around the other runners assembling at the start, it became pretty obvious that this pack was made up of Serious Runners. i'll admit, there was a moment when i considered just getting in my car and taking off. heck, i'd already picked up my tee shirt from the registration area. who would be the wiser?

but i really wanted to run this race. it didn't take too much of a self pep talk to get myself to the starting line. when you're not worried about "winning," it's a lot easier to just run. and so, i did.

and i finished dead last. but? i finished!! and i ran that race at the exact pace i wanted to run. and i felt strong and athletic. and i learned a few things along the way:

1) when you are in last place, you don't have to worry about running through any spider webs, because every other runner has already done that for you.

2) when you are in last place, you don't have to worry that your running attire isn't as fashionable and trendy as the other runners, because after you leave the starting corral, you will never see them again.

3) when you are in last place, you don't have to worry about someone saying "passing on the left" from behind you on the narrow trail.

4) when you are in last place, and you hear something crashing through the woods behind you, you don't have to question whether it's another runner or the Blair Witch. (obviously it's the Blair Witch, since all of the other runner's are already ahead of you!)

5) when you are in last place, you can really enjoy the scenery.

6) when you are in last place, the race volunteers really REALLY cheer you on!!

7) when you are in last place, everyone will know who you are!

i finished the race thirteen minutes behind the person who finished in front of me. by the time i reached the water and orange slices at the finish, most of the 5K runners had gone home. the other 10K runners were entertained with a raffle, but i'm sure many of them were ready for me to finish so the official results would be posted.

while they were handing out awards, i stretched and hydrated and gave myself a little pat on the back for finishing strong. so, imagine my surprise when i heard my name called across the PA system.



turns out, i won first place in my age group!! now, i was the ONLY person in my age group. but you know what, it still felt REALLY great!!

dead last. you should try it some time!!

pants on the ground

i'm trying to lose weight again.

(i started in december, you know, to avoid the whole inevitable New Year's resolution pressure.) so, it's going well. i feel like i have a good plan: i'm eliminating mid-meal snacking, eating smaller portions, walking the dog to get my cardio in, drinking water.

oh, and then there's the hypnosis.

people have asked me if getting hypnotized has helped me lose weight. the thing is, i have no idea! i have lost weight. i'm not tempted to snack (as much). but, somewhat disappointing, i don't find myself wanting to eat a salad every time i really want cheese and crackers. or chocolate. i can't all of a sudden run a sub 5 minute (or sub 10 minute) (okay... or EVEN a sub 12 minute) mile.

from what i understand about hypnotism, i won't really be aware of changes in my behavior around food, because it's all happening in the sub-conscious. it's all been pretty interesting, and, i'm feeling pretty upbeat about it.

i have mentioned before that i try not to be a slave to the scale. i love to have more energy. i love to see thin-ness in my face. i love to feel loose-ness in my clothes. i love when my pants fall down when i'm walking the dog...

i mean, come on! is there ANY better indicator of weight loss? i think not!

so my sub-conscious and i are pretty excited about reaching some weight-loss goals this quarter. i kind of have a "number" in mind. but i'm more focused on the "attitude" i have in mind. oh, and i'd like to be able to wear a cute pair of jeans when i go to Dallas in March.

just as long as i'm not the one at conference with my pants on the ground...

hello, blog

Advent and the Christmas Season are filled with precious moments as a family, quietly waiting for the birth of Christ, reveling in family memories, attending lavish parties in our very best costumes and baking trays upon trays of gorgeously decorated sugar cookies.

uh, yeah.

this is MY reality:
i got home from the wonder of Disney and half expected my home to have been decorated by those tireless imagineers. how wonderful it would have been to bask in the glow of my Christmas vision without having to sort through boxes and wrappings and THE GARAGE...

company parties were both the first weekend of the month, and we always consider ourselves lucky to "get that over with." following the Hampton party on Sunday night, I accompanied a handful of employees to the local Irish Pub. at 12:30 a.m., I realized that I was the only one left standing (not literally, but)! needless to say, Monday morning required some extra hydrating...

i declared a crack down on bringing any Christmas boxes into the house until I had a chance to declutter and clean. seriously, does anybody else bring in 4X the amount of stuff they already have just to make the place more festive?!? decluttering and cleaning projects move ahead s-l-o-w-l-y. boys sneak boxes into the house. now we're decorating the clutter (i absolutely rolled down the top of my desk last night. i'm considering nailing it shut until after the first of the new year.)

put up the tree(s), but felt too tired to fluff. let the boys start decorating without fluffing. stared warily at tree(s) for two nights, trying to get up the energy to fluff. Saturday morning loomed cold and bright, and I finally started fluffing. did not stop until 5 trees and 6 garlands were fluffed. and my hands were thoroughly chapped...

finally created a mantlepiece garland. i will show you a photo of it, if i remember to take one...

skipped the Christmas-by-the-Sea parade because it was raining. i love Cub Scouts cheerfully throwing candy off of a float as much as the next mom, but really...

skipped the festive outdoor showing of The Polar Express because it was 35 degrees out, and people, we here in Coastal North Carolina don't actually own enough clothing to keep us warm in 35 degrees...

"forgot" to print Advent activities for the Advent jar ("forget" being code for "i haven't bought printer ink in about 7 months.") have not lit the candles on the Advent wreath yet, and yesterday was the third Sunday of Advent. have not lit the candles in the menorah yet (we celebrate all kinds of light in my house) but have played several "spirited" games of dreidle...

Christmas cards?!?!?!?!

i think i'm hosting a cookie swap on Sunday...

reality check

i've been eating well this week. i don't often blog about food here (kind of ironic, considering the title of my blog and all.) i read beautiful foodie posts, and get tons of inspiration thanks to their mouth-watering photography. often, when i'm preparing a meal, i think i should take some pictures. but there are just not enough hours in the day for me to stylize my measured dry ingredients and freshly squeezed lemons. and usually by the time i think to photo the finished product, we're halfway through our meals and having a lively discussion about who is going to clean up the kitchen.

also, despite my love of words, and sentences of words, and paragraphs of words, a reviewer i am not. a few notes and my very scientific 5-star rating system scribbled into the margins of some old cookbooks tell me all i need to remember about a particular dish. (given that most of the recipes i use now come from the www, i rely heavily on "bookmarking." that and my uncanny ability to remember which bloggers make great chicken enchiladas, pumpkin cookies, rye limpa bread, or even a favorite sandwich.)

so, despite the fact that there are no photos, and i am not going to wax poetic about the amount of squash i've eaten in the past week, here is a sampling of what was served up at the erickson's house this week:

Turky Chili and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie (Rachel Ray) *****

Shoo Vampire Soup (Martha Stewart)(no link to be found - i used my trusty 2000 Halloween Issue) ****

Stuffed Squash (Alton Brown) ****

Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce (Matty Erickson) *****

Mummy Sandwich (the lovely Joys of Home blog) ****

Chicken Mug Pie (Rachel Ray) *****

as i read back over this list,i am reminded of some lovely meals this week. and it occurred to me that (sometimes) weeks full of meals like this one are the exception, not the norm. my reality is that there is often a pizza night in the mix. (sometimes two!) my reality is that four out of five nights i am stopping at the grocery on the way home from work. and not for just one key ingredient. often i haven't decided on the evenings meal until five minutes before i walk out of my office. my reality is that my husband studied the culinary arts, and apparantly did not take one single class on washing dishes.

maybe i hesitate to share my cooking adventures, because of the lack of gorgeous photos, or a succint and savory review of the meal. maybe i think that my meals don't stack up to some of those that you have shared. (am i the only one that ever thinks that?)

unfortunately, i have stumbled with hesitations like this most of my life. a bit of the "grass is always greener" syndrome. i've wasted some precious time trying to keep up with the jones family (and the murphy family, and the smith family...)

but this week, we ate well. and added several recipes to our family favorites. we only ate pizza once, and that was after a late, chilly soccer game. but just in case you spend half a second worrying about keeping up with the erickson family, let me just put some perspective on it.



my reality: i can't make a decent looking mummy sandwich. don't get me wrong. i can see vast improvement over last year's attempt. at least this year's attempt "resembles" something "wrapped."



and truthfully? we would not have revisited the mummy sandwich this year had jack not declared it a "family tradition." (tradition? after a sad attempt one year? oh-kaaaaay...) but how could i deny my son his hallowe'en memories?