(Mostly) Dry Run

Saturday morning, I got up to run the River Bank Run 25k course as a dry run. The actual race is May 8th. Saturday morning was any runner's chance to see how the last four month's of training would pan out. In my case, things went very well!

A and I talked about doing everything as we'd actually do it the night and day of the race, but real life had to be taken care of and we couldn't. I ate my carbs on Friday night (Pad Thai from XO). R and I went to a NOW event at GVSU, that luckily didn't last too long, so I was able to get into bed at a decent hour.

A picked me up at 7:30 a.m. in a light trickle of rain. I was not happy about the weather at all, but would rather run the course wet once on the "dry run" than on race day. It rained for just a bit more at the beginning of the run, and again the last mile or two. Thankfully, it was dry and cool for the majority of the 15.6 miles!

Notable moments along the course included feeling like I was running along a giant treadmill with miles of the same scenery along the river. That stretch has very little in the way of changing landscape, it's just trees and river and the occasional "No Motorized Vehicles" sign and more trees and more river. Hitting the end of that portion of the course is a relief!

Near the the YMCA, about a mile from the finish, we saw and heard an approaching train. I've never run to beat a train, but we did! There was no way I was going to stand and wait for several minutes for a train to pass so we could finish the last mile of our run! Had I stopped, I feared I wouldn't want to start running again.

I finished the course just under 5 minutes better than last year's time, which I was super psyched about. My knees got tight where they usually do, but I've devised a plan for carrying Tiger Balm during the race so I can re-apply it at about mile 6, which is usually when things start feeling tight. With my Tiger Balm plan I should be good on race day.

Totally looking forward to the race. It's such a fun feeling to gather with so many other runners, hear the starting gun and take off. Crossing the finish line is a whole other feeling, it's pretty amazing!

Fresh Ginger Snaps

I've been making these ginger snap cookies with fresh ginger for as long as I can remember. I'm not even sure where the recipe came from originally, but for sure my mom was making them before me. Using fresh grated ginger, instead of dried/ground, and then molasses makes people rave about these cookies. In fact, I made them for a gathering of friends last month and saw some those same friends last night and someone asked about them. I thought for sure I had already blogged this recipe and although I found a couple mentions, I couldn't find the actual recipe. Since I want to share the cookie love, I'm sharing the recipe now so you can try them in your own kitchen and share them with your friends and family.

Some friends have called them "ginger softs" since they tend to turn out with a crispy/sugary outside and a soft middle. That's the best way a cookie can turn out, if you ask me.

Fresh Ginger Snaps

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable shortening or butter (I use butter most often.)
4 Tbsp  Molasses
1 egg
1Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 Cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Mix together sugar and butter using a stand or hand mixer, mix until creamy.
3. Add Molasses, egg and fresh grated ginger, mix until combined.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients and slowly add them to the mixer, mixing until fully combined and you have something that resembles cookie dough. 
5. Using about a Tablespoon of dough for each cookie, roll the dough into a ball and then coat each ball of dough in sugar and set on your baking sheet. (I usually put about a little less than a half cup of sugar in a small bowl and then drop the dough ball in the sugar bowl and roll it around to get the sugar coating.) Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes about two and half dozen.

Goodness on Relationships

If you don't know about Elephant Journal, you should go check it out - great content on "'the mindful life': Organics, Ecofashion, Buddhism, Conscious Consumerism, Education, Arts, Wellness, Adventure." - you know, all the important things in life. Elephant Journal's founder Waylon Lewis does an online show called Walk the Talk. The title suggests it might be all about Tinder, but it's really not, he just starts off there and then gets into some goodness about what good, healthy relationships are all about.

The bottom line in relationships - what I've believed for a long time - it really boils down to two people who are best friends who also happen to be mad attracted to each other who help each other see and become who are really meant to be. Equal Partner. Mirror. Best Friend. Lover. All of that.

We're the Ladies

This is one of my all time favorite clips from "Girls." I can totally relate to each character like I could be some sort of an amalgam of all three of them. I know for sure I've said something very similar to Hannah's opening line.

Hannah: "I've never experienced anything like it...I have absolutely no sense of how he really feels about me because when we are together, he's so there and he's so present. And then he disappears for two weeks and doesn't answer any text messages and I feel as though I invented him."

Then the Shoshanna part of me or a friend with a Shosh-like personality will say, you know guys will go out of their way for a woman they're into. If he's not making you a priority or treating you like an option, then he's just not that into you.

Then the Jessa in me says: well, maybe I want to keep him as an option too - why can't I do that? Why does it have to be all traditional and be super serious, and relationship-y? Why can't we just enjoy the moments we are together and then enjoy other moments with other people when we're not.

Well, that Jessa part has never fully settled into my soul because truth be told, it's not really who I am. I'm a relationship lady. I usually fall pretty hard for people and then it's all that person like they're the sun, moon and stars, which makes it pretty difficult to even see (be aware of) other possibilities. Could I do it differently? I'm not sure, but if I had the opportunity to be not so super serious and just date a few people (while being super up front with everyone that that's the program, obvi), it might be an interesting personal experiment.

Maybe it's the area in which I live, but people go from a few dates to being exclusive so soon. Is it like that everywhere? Where and how do people meet all these people they're dating? In real life? Online? In bars? Right?

So ladies, if you are married already, did you date around keeping it casual with guys at any point before getting serious with your now-husbands? Or were you a relationship lady from the get go? Too personal for blog comments? Feel free to drop me a line or comment anonymously!

If you're single, are you a relationship lady or are you dating around? How does it even work? Ha!

So yeah, we're all the ladies.

Take Care

Having a Drake moment today.

Presented Without Comment

“you are a horse running alone
and he tries to tame you
compares you to an impossible highway
to a burning house
says you are blinding him
that he could never leave you
forget you
want anything but you
you dizzy him, you are unbearable
every woman before or after you
is doused in your name
you fill his mouth
his teeth ache with memory of taste
his body just a long shadow seeking yours
but you are always too intense
frightening in the way you want him
unashamed and sacrificial
he tells you that no man can live up to the one who
lives in your head
and you tried to change didn't you?
closed your mouth more
tried to be softer
prettier
less volatile, less awake
but even when sleeping you could feel
him travelling away from you in his dreams
so what did you want to do love
split his head open?
you can't make homes out of human beings
someone should have already told you that
and if he wants to leave
then let him leave
you are terrifying
and strange and beautiful
something not everyone knows how to love.” 

― Warsan Shire

XO

Things to love about this song/video:

1) The video is shot on location at Coney Island.
2) The line, "In the darkest night hour. I search through the crowd. Your face is all that I see. I give you everything. Baby love me lights out." When you're in love, you can be in a crowd of people and only see your man, like a spotlight is on him, blurring out the rest of the world. It's one of the best feelings in the world.
3) We don't have forever. Baby, daylight's wasting, you better kiss me before time is run out." We don't have forever - that pretty much sums it up. Taking advantage of every moment to express our love to those we love is so important. It doesn't even have to be the expression of romantic love,  just letting the people in your life (family and friends) know how much they mean to you is so important.

I dare you to only listen to it once. I think it might be impossible to do that, I've been listening to it on repeat since downloading it a bit ago. Goodness!