Weekend Bits

Another summer weekend has come and gone. They go by way too quickly. I had a pretty quiet weekend, but here are a few quick stories:

Saturday, my girl A and I ran the Fallasburg Park Half Marathon for the second year in a row. It's a super small race and we love it. I almost hate to write about how cool it is for fear that more people will enter next year (not like I've got a huge readership!), I'd hate for it to lose its quaint nature. This year definitely had more runners than last year and we were partially responsible. A few of the guys we've been doing long runs with here and there decided to run it.

They say not to expect to set a personal record on the course and after running it once you know why. This year the race was probably 70% trail and 30% road, compared to about 40% trail last year. It was unbelievably hard, but so much fun. Did you ever play in the woods when you were little? Trail running feels like being a kid again. There were a ton of hills, even in the woods. We were all over the place from an elevation stand point. Up and down and then back up again. There were a few points in the trail that had "Geronimo" signs warning you to slow down because the drop was so steep.

I ran with my little Amphipod water carrier and was really happy about that in the end as the aid stations were sparse. I'd just fill up and go. I was also so glad that I carried Gu with me. I used all three. My final was near the 12 mile mark, when it basically felt like I had no more gas left to propel me forward and my legs felt super heavy. Gu did help, but I still walked the final steep hill just before the finish. Everybody that was coming in near me did! It felt great to finish! I was covered with dirt and sweaty salt. I so earned my shower and the celebratory pancakes that followed.

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I went to see "Eat. Pray. Love." this afternoon. Just so y'all know, I read the book sometime last year and loved it. As someone who can feel a bit adrift at times, it spoke to me. Now that we have that out of the way, as with most book to movie adaptations, the book was way better, but I enjoyed getting out of the house and out of my own head for a bit to see the movie version. Julia Roberts was a bit distracting at times, but overall, I enjoyed the movie. It made me want to re-read the book. And to travel. What a surprise!

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Unless it's pancakes, chocolate or iced coffee I'm so not into food right now. Does this ever happen to you? I'm eating, so it's not an appetite thing. It's more of a "I don't want to cook anything, or be creative about food at all, nor do I want to be eating out every meal" thing. I've been snacking though on graham crackers smeared with peanut butter and then covered in melted chocolate. I pop the whole thing in the freezer until the chocolate and peanut butter hardens a bit. A delish and simple treat when you're craving a sweet.

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If you live in Grand Rapids, you know we just got new recycling bins. If you don't, they're on wheels and have a lid, much like a conventional trash container you'd put on the curb. The new recycling containers are so much bigger than what we've been using, that I was reluctant to even use this new one, thinking I'd have to remodel the house to actually fit it into the garage. I kind of threw a minor fit when it became apparent that, indeed, none of the other neighbors were going to take the container left on the curb in front of the house and I had to claim it. I cleaned out the garage a bit today and figured out a way it can fit, making it accessible without having to go outside. It may sound a bit ridiculous, but this was a big deal! Single-stream recycling should be easier, not more difficult! It all worked out. Everything is going to be just fine. Seriously, I just devoted a paragraph to a recycling container? Wow!