What I Did Instead of My Long Run

Several months ago, Mark and I decided to go to Costa Rica over my university's spring break. The first few days we stayed in a fishing village called Brasilito and were just a few minutes away from two different beaches. The last day we went to Monteverde to a much higher altitude and into the Cloud Forest.

The timing of the trip turned out to be less than ideal because of all my impending March and April deadlines, but it was also more than ideal as it allowed me to recharge my batteries. I definitely felt refreshed after some time away because I was on the verge of burn out. Although I did have to bring some work with me, I did most of it on the long plane rides or on the terrace of my hotel with a cup of coffee or a fruit smoothie during the hottest parts of the day.

While I didn't get in my long run for the week, I did get in two shorter runs -- one of 30 minutes, which I dedicated to my friend Sherrie, and one of 40 minutes, which I dedicated to the lovely Irene. Thanks so much to both of you for sponsoring me! Running in the heat and humidity and on sand was definitely a challenge, but it was worth it to see the gorgeous views and hear the waves crashing nearby.

I don't regret my decision to surrender getting in my long run because that choice enabled me to catch up on my rest and to balance a couple of lazy beach days with a couple of days of excursions that involved a lot of hiking. Because of that, I got some good activity and time on my feet even if I didn't log a long run. On the lazy beach days I got in a lot of leisure reading, finishing The Nightingale, Pretty Girls, and Station Eleven.

We hiked out to the volcano El Rincon de la Vieja and to a waterfall nearby it one of the days. I celebrated my birthday by facing both my fear of heights and my fear of dark, enclosed spaces by going cave hiking at Barra Honda. On the way to the cave, we heard howler monkeys going nuts, and our way back to the transport we spotted them in the trees. The vertical descent into the cave was intense. We had to climb down a 60-foot ladder, and some of the footholds were precarious as the rungs leaned right up against the cave surface. Our group got to explore two of the cave system's chambers, which involved a lot of scrambling over rocks and some slightly scary climbing.

In case I hadn't challenged myself enough, we also went zip lining in the Cloud Forest near Monteverde. It was an incredible experience, and most of the time things happened so quickly that I didn't have time to freak out about the heights involved. The only times I felt at all nervous was on the first swing out on something called the Tarzan and on the 800-meter line when I looked down over a gulley and felt a brief second of dizziness before I reminded myself that I needed to remake myself into a ball so that I didn't get stuck out there, which would have been really scary.

We also did an interesting guided night tour in part of the forest that abutted a family farm. We saw a sloth, frogs, scorpions, a tarantula, kinkajous, a viper, and a variety of birds and insects.

My only complaint is that the week went by too quickly. I would definitely go back to Costa Rica as there was so much that we didn't get to see. Have you ever been to Costa Rica? Where was the last place you vacationed?

Favorite Photos: July to December

About a week ago I posted my favorite photos from the first part of the year. As I mentioned then, I did a pretty good job of taking photos consistently during the summer, but struggled once the school year started. In October and November I really fell off the wagon -- in part due to an obsession with Instagram. I was posting photos there almost daily, but failed to pick up my DSLR much for a few weeks. Even so, I managed to take some photos that make me smile. Here are my favorites from July to December.

July: I took a lot of photos that I really liked in July. That month I went to Madison for a wedding; I spent two weeks in New York City working on a project; finally, Mark and I drove six days from the Midwest to Alaska. I'm cheating a little bit and sharing two photos. The first is one that I took on a Monday afternoon spent wandering around Central Park. I love the subjects of this photo: the bike with its basket, the pond, the greenery. I also love the quality of light.

The second photo is from our drive to Alaska. I snapped this photo quickly from the passenger side of the car, feeling lucky that we'd had plenty of time to brake. The bear was just sauntering across the highway. It was only one of the many amazing things that we saw on the trek.

August: In August I returned to New York for another two weeks. My favorite photo from the month is one that I took while exploring the High Line with a friend.

September: In September I didn't take that many photos that I liked. It was a hard month with a lot going on. I was starting a new job that didn't get off to the best of beginnings, we had roof damage and tree carnage from a windstorm, and I frequently felt lonely and isolated. Toward the end of the month things started to look up, and I ran a 10K the last weekend in September. This photo is one that I snapped on my phone coming back from the race. The first snow of the season (that fell earlier that morning) was melting off the roads but had transformed the mountains. I love the way the clouds were breaking up, and the mountains are beautiful.

October: This was the month that I got into Instagram and really fell of the 365 wagon. My pool of non-instagramed photos is pretty limited, but this one of the swanky hotel bar in Cincinnati, where I attended a conference, is my favorite. This one was taken with my phone.

November: After a dreary early autumn, this month was full of days that were (incredibly) cold but frequently clear and bright. And we had some amazing sunrises and sunsets over the mountains. This photo is one of the most lovely that I was able to capture.

December: Although the month is still underway and I have plans of taking even more awesome photos of my niece and at the bowl game I'll be attending, I thought I would share one of my favorites taken so far. This was taken earlier in the month on a short walk around my neighborhood. There's a small pond near my home that often offers some idyllic subjects. I took this photo of the ice covered branches of a some bushes on the macro setting.

I hope you all had a happy solstice, that your airing of grievances is full of humor and your feats of strength go unmatched, and that those of you who celebrate the holiday have a very merry Christmas! Happy holidays, dear readers!

On the Table: Chocolate Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past weekend, Mark and I went to a cookie exchange party hosted by some friends of ours here in town. While our hosts did not require us to bring cookies -- though we were threatened with serious evil eye if not actual bodily harm if we did not take cookies home with us from the party -- I wanted to make some holiday favorites that I discovered pretty recently thanks to my friend Heather. With the exception of the type of chips and the sugar specifications, this recipe, which makes about 3 dozen cookies, is courtesy of her.

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups (12-oz. package) mint chips or mint chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. In the meantime, combine butter (at room temperature), brown sugar, water, and vanilla in large bowl and beat on medium speed until they are well blended. Add the eggs and beat well. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture, beating on low speed until just blended. Stir or gently blend in the mint chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until the cookies appear set. The cookies should still appear soft and moist. Remove from oven and cool on the pan for another 2-3 minutes; remove from cookies from sheet and let them finish cooling on a wire rack. Wear cookie pants, increase mileage, give utensils covered in dough to less metabolically challenged love one, share at a cookie exchange party or all of the above to prevent massively expanding waistline.
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As you can see, there was no shortage of cookies at the party. (There were actually even more cookies that didn't make it to the table.) It was a great time, and we left with almost as many cookies as we brought with us. The dangerous thing is that my mother has requested that I make the chocolate mint chocolate chip cookies when I visit her over the break.... It's a good thing that I'm gearing up to start marathon training in just under a month....

What are your favorite Christmas cookies to make? Have you ever been to or hosted a cookie exchange party?

Over the Long Weekend: Feasting and Streaking

Over the past few days I have indulged. I've slept in. I've lounged in pjs. I've consumed extra cups of coffee in the morning and beers with friends in the afternoons and evenings. M. and I have had two Thanksgiving dinners. The first was a delicious meal hosted by some friends. There were about twenty people there, including our two closest friends in Anchorage. My friend and I were both attired in outfits that involved oxblood, as you can sort of see from the photo below. It was a fun evening spent chatting and eating. There was an array of dishes: ham, turkey, mushroom and rice dressing, cranberry ambrosia, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, and roasted root vegetables. My contribution was a sweet potato casserole. The selection of desserts was also impressive with pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheese cake, almond cake, a caramel tart, sweet potato ice cream with candied pecans, and chocolates. I tried a little of everything, including the dreaded brussel sprouts. I found out that roasting them is definitely the way to go. While I don't see them becoming a staple in our household, as M. doesn't like them, I enjoyed them and was able to cross an item off my 32 in 32 list.

Thanksgiving Dinner Take 1

I also wanted to make my own dinner since I knew that some of the dishes that I associate with Thanksgiving would not be on the table at dinner on Thursday evening. We had initially thought about doing our second meal on Friday, but we decided to meet up with some friends at Midnight Sun Brewery for a late lunch and a couple of beers and then to acquire our Christmas tree instead. So on Saturday I cooked a smaller scale meal at home including my favorite cornbread dressing as well as green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and some more sweet potato casserole.

Thanksgiving Dinner Take 2

Tree 2012

Although I've been indulging more than usual, I've also been continuing to hit my yoga mat and logging the miles. I have practiced yoga for 25 consecutive days now, and I have noticed that I'm making some gains in upper body strength. I'm still not as strong as I would like to be, but I can hold plank for a bit longer now and downward facing dog is becoming less intense for me -- though it is still not the resting pose that it is for more advanced practitioners. I've also noticed some minor gains in flexibility and that I'm becoming a little less Monty Burns-ish in my posture. A friend back in the Midwest convinced me to attempt the 2012 Holiday Running Streak that Runner's World is challenging readers to do from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. Initially I wasn't sure about starting a running streak while in the middle of attempting to maintain a daily yoga practice for a whole month, but at four days into running at least a mile a day I'm feeling relatively optimistic.

Are you participating in the holiday running streak? What is your favorite dish at Thanksgiving?

Valentine

To celebrate Valentine's Day -- or alternatively El Día del Amor y la Amistad -- I'm drinking coffee out of a pink elephant mug with hearts on it, letting Bailey have an extra Milkbone, wearing red and pink, lecturing to one of my classes about Bad Romance in the Middle Ages (it's like a Lady Gaga video that's set in the twelfth century featuring feudalism, secret marriage, scholasticism, and castration), and eating sugary confections. Candy Hearts shall be broken and consumed today.

Shirt - ???, Skirt - J. Crew (thrifted), Blazer - H&M, Tights - We Love Colors, Scarf - from another shirt,  Boots - Ugg 

I hope your day is full of love and friendship - or at least coffee and chocolate. Thanks for reading, friends. I really do ♥ you.