Best of the Week #82

Happy Birthday SpeedyKate! 

Today my favorite roommate turns awesome years old, and I may or may not have skipped my run this morning to do this:

And it’s not even finished yet – there’s a whole other layer and I’ll give you a hint: It starts with chocolate and rhymes with shmanache. I’ll post the recipe next week!

In other news, today is not Friday, but I’m posting a Best of the Week like it is because I’m going to Boston tomorrow to visit Jess! YAYAYAYAY!

Despite it being Thursday, I have A LOT of links this week. Enjoy! (Oh and I do have a post scheduled for tomorrow – look at me! thinking ahead! – and it’s kind of delicious, so check back.)

I went down quite the internet rabbit hole yesterday and am just SO IMPRESSED: "The Symbolic Heft of Sarah Robles."

• Twenty-three-year-old Sarah Robles, a weightlifter, out-lifted all Americans of both sexes at last year’s world championships.  ”On her best day,” writes Buzzfeed, “she can lift more than 568 pounds — that’s roughly five IKEA couches, 65 gallons of milk, or one large adult male lion.” Sarah Robles outranks any American weightlifter (man or woman).

Washington, D.C. Time Lapse (Empty America)


FunFact: The amount of money Americans spent on Halloween costumes for their pets this year is equal to the national budget for the Central African Republic (~$370 million). (source for Halloween costumes) (source for CAR budget)

Hilarious/horrifying: “Because it is unwise to risk the good we already have for the evil which may occur.”!?!? Also "petticoat rule" might be the best band name ever. Someone should use it!

For runners: "The Big 7 Body Breakdowns, How to avoid (and recover from) the most common running injuries." Oh hello #3, you sound familiar:

• 3. Hamstring Issues: The muscles that run down the back of our thighs bend our knees, extend our legs, drive us up hills, and power finish-line kicks. So when our hamstrings are too tight or weak to perform well, we notice it. Seven percent of poll respondents say their hamstrings have bugged them this past year.
• WHO'S AT RISK? Hamstring issues usually arise because these muscles are weak—often from being too long or too short. Counterintuitive as it might seem, very flexible people are prone to hamstring problems because their overly stretched-out muscles are more vulnerable to damage. On the flip side, people who can barely touch their toes or who sit for long periods of time are also at risk. Tight, short muscles are under greater tension. Another factor is muscle imbalance: Many runners' quadriceps overpower their hamstrings, which sets them up for injury.
• CAN YOU RUN THROUGH IT? If the pain comes on suddenly and strong and the area bruises, you may have a true pull and you'll need extended rest—months—before you can run again. If it's a less severe, chronic overuse injury, you can usually run, but it'll take some time before you're back in the green zone. "Hamstring issues stink," Price says. "It takes a long time to heal them." Running a slow, easy pace is usually less bothersome than attempting intervals or hill repeats. Bicycling, pool running, and swimming are good alternative activities.
• REHAB IT Strengthen your hamstrings with one-legged hamstring curls (raise the bar with both legs, then slowly lower it one leg at a time) and one-legged deadlifts. Use a foam roller to alleviate tightness before and after a run, Merrill says. In chronic cases, active release technique (ART) and deep-tissue massage may be necessary.
• PREVENT A RELAPSE Stay strong with bridges: Lie on your back with your feet on a chair or exercise ball. Raise your hips, then lift one leg into the air. Slowly lower your hips back down to the floor, using the supporting leg. Return that leg to the ball. Repeat with the other leg. Also, compression tights (see "Home Remedies," below) during or after running can aid blood flow.
• ELITE TREATMENT When U.S. champion miler David Torrence felt his hamstring tighten up, he took the next day off and went to his chiropractor. "My pelvis was misaligned, causing my hamstring to do extra work," he says. "I took it easy for a few days, iced the hamstring four times throughout the day, and was improved within a week."

Smart:

This is pretty cool: “Empire of the In-Between.” It’s a video and NYT Magazine article – they do these things so well! (You have to go there to watch the video.)

• As anyone who rides Amtrak between New York and Washington knows, the trip can be a dissonant experience. Inside the train, it’s all tidy and digital, everybody absorbed in laptops and iPhones, while outside the windows an entirely different world glides by. Traveling south is like moving through a curated exhibit of urban and industrial decay. 

Crazy Uncle Joe (i.e. VP Joe Biden) is going to be on Parks and Rec!!! This is pretty much the confluence of two of my favorite things. (source)

• With the race won, a guest appearance by Mr. Biden on the NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation,” filmed way back in July, can finally be revealed. Everything about the scene, which the executive producer of the show, Michael Schur, labeled a “scenelet,” had been under strict secrecy. The show was warned that if any word leaked out before the election, some provision might have to be made to give the Republican vice-presidential nominee, Representative Paul Ryan, a similar cameo.
• The re-elected vice president will make a guest appearance on the episode scheduled for Nov. 15 on NBC. He is playing, yes, Joseph R. Biden Jr., the one who has frequently been mentioned in a running joke on the show as an object of fascination — and a little love-struck passion — by its lead character, Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler.

This series on International Law is very educational and interesting (that is, in case you care to learn about international law): “2: Sources of International Law.”

• However, as law increasingly tries to accommodate and reflect contemporary socio-political realities, vibrant debates have emerged that seek to transcend this rigid divide. Three lines of questioning underlie this transition:
• - Does international law regulate only the behaviour of states, or does it reach beyond the state to embrace interests within the state such as individuals, corporations, non-governmental organisations, or indeed intergovernmental organisations as well?
• - Similarly, who are the beneficiaries of international law? Do such beneficiaries have a right to assert their beneficial interests directly and independently of the state?
• - Finally, who gets to make international law? Is such law-making solely the function of the institutions of the state, or do other interested persons such as individuals, civil and corporate non-governmental organisations have a role to play in the process?

This picture is scary – it’s a lighthouse on Lake Michigan during Hurricane Sandy. (source)

Amazing -- watch both videos of a dog learning how to slackline. As a person with slackline experience, I can tell you that 1) it is HARD, and 2) falling off hurts sooooo much.


Wonky and interesting (to me): “Is Wartime Rape Declining On a Global Scale? We Don’t Know — And It Doesn’t Matter.”

• Having detailed the problems that we see with the GDC (Global Decline Claim)  we turn toward what we view as the real problem with the GDC debate, at least in policy terms. A contested global trend in wartime rape is simply irrelevant to policy in any given conflict zone, and to the local patterns that inform, or should inform, evidence-based policy responses to conflict-related sexual violence.
• Focusing on global patterns aggregated from conflict-level data is not particularly useful, either for academic analysis or for evidence-based policy-making. Rather than debating the GDC, both academics and policymakers should instead focus on variation between armed groups (both state and non-state). What we need to know is why some armed groups engage in high levels of wartime rape and why others do not — often within the same conflict. Understanding this puzzle will provide important support to those advocating prevention of, and accountability for, war crimes of sexual violence.

Umm yes please: "The New Nutella: 5 Speculoos Desserts." Speculoos = cookie butter!

FunFact from Sister2’s Thailand blog:

• Buddha images are often coated in gold because even when the Buddha is in darkness, with even a glimpse of light it shines through. 

The eternal question:

Ok so I think everything on this blog (Political Violence) is fascinating…which definitely says something about me. “Can Climate Anomalies Explain Conflict Patterns?”

• Last summer, Nature magazine made waves after publishing an article claiming that the warming effects of El Niño can explain over one-fifth of all civil wars. Yet the push to link climate change to conflict gained steam a decade back when UN researchers suggested that environmental degradation was partly responsible for civil violence in Darfur. Other studies around this time found similar results. UC Berkeley’s Edward Miguel predicted that given current temperature trends, incidences of armed conflict may increase by more than one-half by 2030, or an additional 393,000 battle deaths. Last January, the Journal of Peace Research devoted an entire issue to climate change and conflict.
• But during most cases of climate anomalies, even in adversely affected regions, conflict is not the norm. Many regions that suffer unpredictable patterns because of, say, an El Niño rarely see violence. Scholars who privilege grievances as a result of environmental degradation tend to over-predict violence and fall prey to environmental determinism, without fully accounting for why internal violence more often than not does not erupt. They fail to explain how states and societies over the centuries have learned to adapt to severe climate patterns.

And what’s a Best of the Week without an infographic? “Drinking Water and Wastewater by the Numbers.”

Happy Thursday, happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

Asiago Sweet Potatoes

The holiday season is underway and I am happy to introduce my newest favorite side dish: Asiago Sweet Potatoes. Oh hello crispy cheesy slightly sweet but mostly savory oniony potatoey deliciousness!

In my family, we alternate hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas between my parents/sisters and my aunt/ uncle/cousins. This year Thanksgiving is at my house and I will be home! The brainstorming emails have already begun – Sister1: We should make this recipe? Mama: Or maybe this? Me:  OR ALL OF THEM! (Apply that train of logic to all aspects of the meal).

One thing my family does not do is sweet potatoes. I never even tried them until college. (West Campus dining hall sweet potato fries – woot!)

Perhaps it’s because I’m late to the potato-party, or maybe because they are objectively weird (a side dish or a dessert? I can’t tell!), but I don’t think I’ll ever be on board for the traditional marshmallow-y sweet potato casserole.

Layer 1.

But I do like them! And last weekend I was invited to my first holiday meal of the season: a combination birthday party and pre-Thanksgiving dinner (entitled “Birthsgiving”…don’t overthink it). I had a CSA bag full of sweet potatoes and a craving for something cheesy, thus TA-DA! Baked, tin-foiled, and transported –  this sweet potatoey situation I concocted is absolutely delicious!!!

I used my mandolin to evenly slice a mix of sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and onions. Do as I say and not as I do: WATCH YOUR FINGERS!

Final layer.

Since this was supposed to be a veggie side dish, I went pretty light on the cheese. You could definitely add more, and/or some mozzarella too for extra cheesiness. The herbs are up to you – I went with thyme, but sage would go well with traditional stuffing/Thanksgiving flavors. Or you could make it a bit spicy and do paprika and chili powder.

Asiago Sweet Potatoes

Printable recipe. 

Ingredients: 

• 9-inch square baking dish coated in about 1 tablespoon olive oil, or sprayed
• 2 medium/large sweet potatoes, cut into ¼-inch slices
• 1 medium/large Yukon gold potato, cut into ¼-inch slices
• ½ large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 oz Asiago cheese, grated or thinly sliced
• ¼ cup white wine or chicken broth (or veggie broth)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Build three layers in this order: potatoes (mixing sweet and regular), onion, grated cheese, herbs, salt and pepper.
3. Evenly pour wine or broth over the top and cover with foil.
4. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and finish baking another 5-10 minutes or until top begins to brown and when you insert a knife in the middle the potatoes feel soft.
5. Serve hot or at room temperature.

YUM. 

Printable recipe. 

Did you vote yet?

This morning I channeled my inner Leslie Knope,* braved a 90-minute line in the freezing cold, AND VOTED!!!

I may or may not have lost some toes to frostbite in the process, but oh hai democracy! 



Checking the boxes is fun! Kinda like a re-visit to standardized testing...oh wait that's not fun. How about: fun like participating in the democratic process?

Go wait in line! Fill in the little bubbles! Vote for the people and the things! Bring hot coffee with you!

If you're in DC and don't know who to vote for, this guide is really helpful in comparing candidates (especially on the local stuff).

*For those of you who don’t watch Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope looooooves local government.

Weekend Report: Winning, PR-ing, and Tweed Riding

You all know I love a Sunday Funday, and yesterday was quite a day!

It started with Backyard Burn 10 Mile Trail Race #3 at Wakefield Park, VA. 6x6 came along to cheer and take pictures and make me laugh along the course with her enthusiasm (GO! GO! Good job! You look SO GOOD!!!!).

This was my best trail race to date -- I won and PR'ed, plus, I was really happy with how I ran. That whole start-slow-finish-fast thing is legit...thanks George!

Though in reality, I think I just ran really evenly -- my pace definitely felt harder in the second half, but it was pretty comparable to the first. I finished in 1:10:41, and since the race was actually 10.05 miles, I'm calling that close enough to 7-minute pace even (full results here). As you know, I've been working on my hill-skills, but this course was mercifully flat. Plus the course was two 5-mile-loops, which made the race feel a lot shorter. I ran the last 5 miles all by myself, which was a bit of a bummer but to be expected. Luckily nothing particularly notable happened along the way, except that I managed to drink water without getting all of it up my nose (#win).

And for once I stayed focused the whole race! I didn't daydream or imagine myself elsewhere (oddly enough, during races I often picture myself at other races: ski races, indoor track races, outdoor track races, even other cross country races. This is weird?). I was also happy to not get sucked into that whole miles 6ish to 8ish deep dark pit of wtf-am-I-doing-here? misery.

I went for the three-peat (6x6's words, not mine) and it was pretty freaking awesome. Seriously, winning things does not get old. It's a 5-race series, but unfortunately I'm only making it to 4 because I accidentally booked my Thanksgiving flight home for the day of race #4. Sigh, oh well.

After the race we rushed home to get tweeded up for the DC Tweed Ride. Yes, that is exactly as awesome as it sounds.

Hundreds (?) of DC's young and ridiculous (and old and ridiculous for that matter) took to the streets dressed in their tweedy best for a 10-mile leisurely ride. Tweed and the like is not my usual style, but I like to think I pulled together something respectable!

This is a real legit thing organized by Dandies & Quaintrelles, a DC-based social group that organizes and hosts vintage-inspired, stylish events in partnership with and in support of noble causes. The masses started gathering at noon at Franklin Square, and we took off a bit after 1 pm. The people-watching was excellent -- there were pennyfarthing bikes, leather flying caps, many many iterations of tweed vests and jackets and hats, etc. Accessories to remember for next year: hat, pipe, red lipstick, mustache (probably not those last two together).

We rode from Northwest through Northeast, stopping traffic and getting honked/cheered/yelled at by tweed-blocked drivers, and ended up at the Arboretum. The ride continued on, but my friends and I were hungry and tired (refer back to that whole 10-mile race thing), so we headed to Shaw's Tavern for a late lunch. AND LOOKED AWESOME DOING IT.

(Ok so I know I'm late to the Instagramming party and you can mock me accordingly, but I just got my first smartphone and I'm playing with it. Plus, clearly the Tweed Ride is the ideal context for Instagram.)

Best of the Week #81

Welp, it’s November! SpeedyKate, her friend, and I celebrated the last day of October by eating pizza and handing out candy to many many many trick-or-treaters. Turns out our neighborhood is the Halloween hotspot! I think the winning costume was a very little girl dressed as Batman. Or my nephew, who was a giraffe and slept through the whole thing.

Other than that I have no particularly notable events from this very short week, except that YES this is me doing a post-run pre-work trampoline workout in my living room.

My most popular post this week was Lunchtime Running. The weather is now officially cool enough for this to be a mid-work possibility again! Yay!

Ok here we go – Best of the Week – it was a short week, so this is short.


SpeedyKate and I are totally guilty of this:

Are you having a rough week? Listen to this it will make you happy.

An interesting angle on the whole Lance Armstrong kerfuffle: “‘Tattooed Guy’ Was Pivotal in Armstrong Case.”

• The long road to Lance Armstrong’s downfall began here, across the world from the French Alps where he climbed to the pinnacle of cycling, at a strip-mall tattoo parlor in the foothills east of Los Angeles.
• Covered in ink from his legs to his neck, Kayle Leogrande, the owner of this shop, competed full time as a professional cyclist for only a couple of years. He met Armstrong only once, he said, at a 2005 race in Ojai, Calif.
• Four years ago, the United States Anti-Doping Agency suspended Leogrande for using a blood-boosting hormone known as EPO. His case grew into the lengthy investigation that culminated in Armstrong’s lifetime ban from the sport. 
• “When I see what’s going on with Lance now, I have to laugh to myself a little bit,” Leogrande said as he sat in his shop this week, still dumbfounded that he played a pivotal role in the fall of one of the most accomplished cyclists in history. 

More bad news about elephants: “India: Nearly 300 elephant deaths in Orissa.”

But then (finally) some good elephant news! “Will elephant contraception work in South Africa?”

• Unlike in many African countries, where poaching has recently been having a devastating effect on elephant numbers, in South Africa the population is estimated at about 20,000.
• For the last five years, wildlife experts in the Tembe Elephant Park, which borders Mozambique, have been firing the contraceptives into the female elephants from the air.

My high school science teacher just sent me this video, “Epic Rap Battles of History: Einstein vs Stephen Hawking.”


A different than usual point about corruption from Chris Blattman: "The Blind Spots in the UN Development Agenda."

• It helps to remember: every economic marvel of its day–from the US to China to (dare I say) England — were paragons of corruption. Few can match Tammany Hall or the Chinese Communist Party in their ingenious machinations. It’s not clear this is a hindrance to development. Taking the long view, corruption may even be part of the glue that keeps societies from falling apart in the midst of transformative economic change–like it or not, elites need something to compensate them for losing their influence, or the’re unlikely to let go without a fight.
• My feeling: Anti-corruption is a 20th century Anglo-American fetish, important, but nowhere near as important as political stability or basic property rights.
• The exception might be kleptocratic rulers like Mobutu. They are major impediments to, well, everything important to their citizens. But I’d argue theft of that magnitude is merely a symptom of the much more important institutional issues–the absence of any check or balance on Presidential power foremost among them. Fix the underlying institutional problems of over-centralized political power before picking at corruption around the edges.

This looks amazing. “Cinnamon nut crunch shortbread.”

• Top a basic shortbread dough with cinnamon-sugar nuts. Almonds, walnuts, and pecans all work. Then sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of each piece for an extra-special touch.

This is super-silly but I like it: “Share the Sweat (Hug A Runner Day).”

• Last year we declared November 20, 2011 the first annual “Globally Organized Hug A Runner Day!” or G.O. H.A.R.D. Thousands of people attended the event on facebook, random hugs were given, and gallons of sweat were shared!
• This year let’s make it an even bigger celebration as we wrap our arms around cross country runners, track runners, road racers, walkers, joggers, and sloggers.  Nothing shows our unity better than a great big sweaty hug!

And I will leave you with this. Surprisingly hilarious. Right? 

Ok enough is enough. Have a great weekend!

Literary Bite: Half of a Yellow Sun

I started reading Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on a sunny DC afternoon at Eastern Market. A man passing by stopped to say, “That’s such a great book, you’ll love it!”

Well he was right, and I did!

The story is set in Nigeria in the decade after its independence from Britain. The country descends into civil war, and the southeastern region attempts to succeed and become the Republic of Biafra. Muslim north versus Christian south, looting, roadside bombs, starvation warfare, refugee crises, interfering foreign powers – this was an entire conflict I knew nothing about but is “at once historical and eerily current” (NYT).

• “Red was the blood of the siblings massacred in the North, black was for mourning them, green was for the prosperity Biafra would have, and, finally, the half of a yellow sun stood for the glorious future.”

I told my Mama about the story when I was home, and she said it sounded a bit too dry and educational, but it’s not at all! The wartime setting serves as a backdrop for a story about families (especially sisters), relationships (marriage, dating, and intercultural), race (oh hai European expats), and how different people react to the stresses and challenges of war.

The central characters are Olanna and Kainene, twin sisters from the Lagos nouveau riche, who were once close but became estranged over time due to the relationships they pursue and their goals in life. Olanna is in love with and lives with a radical Nigerian intellectual, while Kainene falls for a Englishman, Richard. The novel almost seemed too modern in this regard – it is set in the 1960s (the Biafran War was from 1967-1970), and call me pessimistic, but the prevalence of interracial relationships and strong independent women seems a little bit out of place? But who knows, maybe Nigeria was different…it’s just that the attitudes seemed so modern that I had a hard time remembering we were in the ‘60s.

I liked the any-place anytime aspect of the story though, since every conflict and relationship and situation Adichie explores is essentially timeless.  (As I person who works on conflicts, African ones specifically, the ways this civil war are fought really struck a chord. In a sad but accurate way.)

Adichie is herself Nigerian, though she wasn’t yet born in the ‘60s. This is her second novel (Purple Hibiscus is her first novel and I want to read it!) Oh and of course it’s being made into a movie, to be released in 2013.

I loved this book, and my Mama did read it and loved it too. Definitely worth picking up!

Weekend Report: Camping and Hurricane Sandy

First things first: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I started mine with a handful of candy corn and I hope you did the same. 

The weekend feels like a loooong time ago because, well, it was. But thanks to Sandy (oh Sandy), today is a work Wednesday that feels like a Monday, so I have a semi-delayed Weekend(/Hurricane) Report to post!

Way back on Friday night, after working late (what the WHAT? I know, that never happens to me!), my co-worker/officemate/climbing friend, her husband, and I drove out to Shenandoah. We had originally planned to go backpacking in West Virginia last weekend, but after hearing predictions of storm and rain and wind and snow (all of which came true), we canceled (major bummer). We settled for one night of car camping over no camping, which wasn’t quite the same as backpacking through the wilderness, but still fun!

We sat around a campfire (go Mike and his ax!), slept in a tent, and went for a glorious tail-end-of-fall-foliage hike the next day.

It was a 7-ish mile loop called “Little Devil’s Staircase.” We ended up walking down the stairs, which is apparently (as observed from everyone else coming up the stairs), the backwards way to go. Oh well. It looked like fall and felt like Thanksgiving – I love it!

We saw some local flora (mushrooms and trees for the most part) but no major fauna (except for the deer we almost hit driving out).

By 7 pm Saturday we were back in DC and ready for the storm. Sunday, however, was quite pleasant. I went for a long run and watched the tail end of the Marine Corps Marathon. I’m not going to lie guys…I’m having thoughts of doing a marathon myself…please feel free to talk me out of this insanity…

Route details on MayMyRun.

Sunday night the oh so glorious Office of Personnel Management (OPM) made the call – no work on Monday! And then again on Monday – no work on Tuesday!  Luckily I live in a place where the power stays on, so my major hurricane accomplishments included 4 movies (Winter’s Bone, Kissing Jessica Stein, Vanity Fair, and Love Actually), a run and a hill workout, reading on my front stoop mid-hurricane, a multi-CVS expedition to secure us some candy corn, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin pancakes, and once the Metro re-started, a trip to the rock gym. 

I hope everyone weathered the storm ok and is staying safe and dry!

Pumpkin Oatmeal

I'm a little bit sad because this hurricane we appear to be having means that I did not go backpacking in West Virginia this weekend as planned. However, I did get today off of work, so I suppose it's not a total loss! (Disclaimer: As off now this storm is pretty minimal. I hope everyone has a happy hurricane, and if something terrible does happen I am sincerely sorry for the flippant tone of this post. Peace, love, and rainstorms.)

So here I am at home on a Monday, nothing major to accomplish, and nowhere to go (the Metro is closed). It's just like snopocolypse/snomageddon/snoverkill of 2010!

What happens when you're stuck at home? TV! Reading! FOOD!!! It recently came to my attention that SpeedyKate has never experienced Pumpkin Oatmeal. Which means there are probably a lot of people out there who have not experienced the hot and flavorful pumpkin-y goodness that is this breakfast (/lunch/anytime) meal. 

It's like a hot satisfying bowl of pumpkin pie. Oh wait, that sounds weird...but trust me it's good! And adding pumpkin is SO HEALHY! It's a vegetable, with a billion times your recommended vitamin A (that's an exaggeration, but close enough), vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants. Basically, this is SUPER OATMEAL! 

SpeedyKate just made what can best be described as a vat of pumpkin oatmeal. We ate some, and the rest is now tupper-wared and frozen, ready as an easy to-go breakfast for those days that a morning run goes too long/picking out clothing takes too much time/oversleeping that necessitate bringing breakfast to work.

 

We have decided that oatmeal is like eggs but more extreme -- as in, everyone is very particular about how they like it. Thick or soupy or chewy or mushy? For this reason, I am not going to tell you how to cook your oats (I like mine on the mushy well-cooked side, a bit soupy but definitely not watery). But I will tell you what to put in them!

The first time I made pumpkin oatmeal I didn't like it at all -- turns out I didn't add enough sugar, so it just tasted squash-y. If something seems not so delish, I recommend adding more sweetness. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Serves: 2 (multiply times however many servings you want)

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Trader Joe's Multigrain Hot Cereal (a mix of rye, barley, oats, and wheat), or old-fashioned oats
• 2 cups water (approximately)
• 4 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 2-3 teaspoons sugar (brown or white)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• dash of cloves
• dash of allspice
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare your oatmeal as you normally would, either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
2. When your oatmeal is almost done, add in pumpkin, spices, and salt. 
3. Add in sugar and taste -- you may need to add more sugar, depending on your preference.
4. Add in raisins and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee!

 See? SO EASY!

Best of the Week #80

This week, in the interest of getting better at running uphill (I really am that bad at it), I embarked on a modestly ambitious plan of doing squats and lunges every day. Don’t be too impressed – these are literally me in my living room, watching Parks and Rec after a run, doing 2 sets of 30 squats and 30 lunges, no weights…but better than nothing, right?

Also in the interest of getting better at running uphill, I actually ran uphill last night…SEVEN TIMES!  Oh that’s right. Hill repeats. At 7 pm, I met up with some of my Ragnar teammates and did seven horseshoe-style hills around the Capitol (meaning: up the Senate side to the middle of the courtyard in front of the Rotunda, recovery jog down the House side; then up the House side to the middle in front of the Rotunda, recovery jog down the Senate side; etc, x7 -- for those of you not in DC, Capitol Hill is in fact a hill). It was fun!

What else of note? Well my nephew and I are rooting for the Giants. He is doing it in much better style than I can ever aspire to…(Cutest thing EVER, right?)

I’ve been having a bit of a sad week (here’s part of why -- for the love of all things not crying at work, do NOT watch the slideshow). So this Best of the Week is specially designed to make you and me smile!

Let's start with some happy animal news, "Outrageous Animals Break Records."

And, "Brookfield Zoo Animals Enjoy Tasty Halloween Treats."

I felt like this SO MUCH on Tuesday: "It Only Tuesday." I love the “quotes."

• "The current Tuesday is keeping apace with past Tuesdays with no more than one ten-thousandth of a second's variation at the most," NIST spokeswoman Dr. Geraldine Schach said. "However, I sympathize with the common consensus that this week has already been a colossal pain in the neck."

Why “English is like a child.”

• Everything we’ve done to and for English is for its own good, we tell it (angrily, as it slouches in its chair and writes “irregardless” all over itself in ballpoint pen). This is to help you grow into a language people will respect! Are you listening to me? Why aren’t you listening to me??

"Weird and Cool: Geometric Food Art"

I haven't watched this yet, but it's on my list of things to do: "Sara Baxter Rips Mt. Sac Course Record! G Team Sweeps 2012 Mt. Sac Cross Country Invitational.

Want to learn more about the Lord's Resistance Army? I build a whole new website section this week. So pretty! So informative! (Obviously I'm biased.)

“40 Ways To Stay Fat Forever”

• 1. Learn how to cook — pancakes.
• 2. Avoid jogging when it’s hot. Or cold. Or early. Or late.
• 9. Brunch.
• 12. Buy reduced-fat ice cream — eat eleven times as much.

Check out my friend’s article in the New York Times: "Gleaning Clues on Sunny Days From the Clouds," and the awesome slideshow that goes with it!

This is actually very interesting and constructive: “The Structural Barriers to D.C.'s Hipness: An Anti-Rant.” As a DC resident, I don’t actually care if DC is “hip” because, well, I’m not hip (still not entirely sure what that means), and I like it here anyways.

• The city is not hip and it never will be…. But rather than beat a dead trucker cap, we're going to take this opportunity to ask new questions: just why won't D.C. ever be "hip"?
• It is too expensive. 
• It's too small and can't get bigger. 
• No one lives here long enough. 
• Many residents are professional squares.
• The metro: Too clean, too little.
• No promise of glamorous success. 

Good news! “The secret to happiness? 7 portions of vegetables a day.”

• In cross-sectional data, happiness and mental health rise in an approximately dose-response way with the number of daily portions of fruit and vegetables. The pattern is remarkably robust to adjustment for a large number of other demographic, social and economic variables. Well-being peaks at approximately 7 portions per day.

I love Tina Fey:

• Actress Tiny Fey was seething on Wednesday as she try to express her outrage at recent comments by several Republican politicians about rape. 
• “I watch these guys and I’m like, what is happening? Am I secretary on Mad Men?” Fey said on Wednesday. “What is happening?”

An excellent list from SUAR: “20 Things No One Tells You About Running.”

• 7. You will go through phases where you feel totally inadequate as a runner.
• 8.  You will go through phases where you feel totally like a rock star as a runner.
• 15. You will get addicted. Yes, there are worse things to be obsessed about than running (like meth and prostitutes), but you might be surprised by how hooked you get into the whole running thing once you start.
• 17.  You will never be the fastest runner you know. You will always never be the slowest runner you know.

"Backup Spatula Always Ready To Go In Case The Unthinkable Happens." The title and picture is literally the extent of this "story" and for some reason it strikes me as HILARIOUS.

As a person about to go backpacking this weekend, I’m a little bit concerned about this: "How to Feel About a Snor'eastercane."

• Batten down the hatches, have you heard? There's a weather situation a'brewing, one with the best of all possible weather situation names. (Disclaimer: Should Snor'eastercane Sandy actually hurt people, which we really hope she doesn't, we will disavow any and everything in this post. Her name is Sandy! She's a snor'eastercane. What could she have to hate about?) But what's a snor'eastercane, you ask? 

But I'm even more (unreasonably, yes I know) concerned about this part: “There will also be a full moon, meaning TIDES and WEREWOLVES. Keep an eye out.”

Have a great weekend! And Happy Hurricane to all of you on the East Coast!

Literary Bite: Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

I really enjoyed this book! I borrowed Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo from my mom last time I was home, and judging books by their covers –  this cover is GREAT.

The story is totally predictable – a well-intentioned but stubborn man experiences enlightenment on a road trip with a spiritual guru – but no less enjoyable for its predictability.

The writing is readable and funny and could be cheesy but really isn't! The main character, Otto Ringling (seriously? That is the character name of choice?), is tricked into going on this road trip by his kooky sister. Volya Rinpoche, the guru, is delightfully impermeable and just genuinely happy. And reading about someone so happy made me happy.

Otto shows Volya things about America, like mini-golf, bowling, swimming, and baseball, while Volya teaches Otto about meditation and yoga. The chapter about yoga is hilarious. And on the more serious front, the chapter of Volya's speech at Notre Dame and the last chapter are my favorites.

Also, Otto works in food book publishing and part of their road trip from New York to North Dakota is to stop at interesting and good restaurants. (We all know I like some good food writing...)

Personally I’m all set on the spiritual front, but this book offers some very good (very universal, non-denominational, or even particularly religious) ideas on life. The narrative ventured into the realm of preachy at times, it could be just a bit too political for my fiction taste, but never really crossed the annoyance-line.

This was a quick read for me – just a couple days – and I would definitely recommend it!

Cooling Down after Running

I always cool down – after races; after workouts; I even do a cool-down walk around the block after regular mileage runs.

In an email on Monday, my friend Carrie said: “Reading your race report I decided this is the difference between between people who really run and those of us who are hacks. Real runners run a couple miles after the race to cool down. The rest of us say "F#$# that was hard," pass out on the grass, and stuff ourselves on more calories worth of pizza than we possibly could have burned (but tell ourselves otherwise) and then limp home.”

Cooling down/cheering for CAR teammates after a 1-Mile race. 

Carrie is by no means a “hack” – she’s done an Ironman!!! And I may or may not hit up the pizza and M&Ms after my cool-down…but I do see her point.

In my opinion, good cool-down jog is almost like reward-running: I go as slow as I want for as long as I want – sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 5 miles – and after a race it just feels soooo happy and easy! In my experience cooling down does decrease muscle soreness, plus it keeps me from getting light-headed after a hard run.

I realize the science on this is not conclusive (anti-cool-down arguments here), but I am 100% pro.

What is a cool-down?

Cooling down is usually a slow jog or walk that allows your body to gradually transition from exercising to resting.

How long does it take?

I am in the former-college-runner habit of warming up and cooling down at least 20 minutes, but really anywhere from 5-15 is totally reasonable. The easiest cool-down would be to jog for 5 minutes, then walk for another 5. Then it's pizza-time.

Why should you cool down?

Most people understand the concept of warming up. Warming up dilates your blood vessels, supplying your muscles with oxygen, and also raises your muscles’ temperature, which increases your flexibility.

Cooling down is equally important because it slowly lowers your heart rate and keeps blood flowing to your muscles, which will result less soreness/stiffness the next day. (You’ve probably heard of “lactic acid build-up” causing soreness, but apparently that’s a myth.)

What kinds of workouts require a cool-down?

As I said, I at least walk a bit after every run. In the summer it’s more about body temperature (you know when you get in the shower right after running, then get out of the shower and are still sweating? Not ideal). This is a personal preference though, born of the habit of taking my dog for a walk after running.

Cooling down is a lot more important after races and hard workouts. For shorter/faster races (5k/10k), jog for 10 minutes and walk for 5. For longer/slower races (half-marathons and up) just walking for 10 minutes is probably fine.

Who should cool down?

Even the cool-down haters agree that athletes can benefit from cooling down.

• Exercise researchers say there is only one agreed-on fact about the possible risk of suddenly stopping intense exercise. When you exercise hard, the blood vessels in your legs are expanded to send more blood to your legs and feet. And your heart is pumping fast. If you suddenly stop, your heart slows down, your blood is pooled in your legs and feet, and you can feel dizzy, even pass out….“If you are well trained, your heart rate is slow already, and it slows down even faster with exercise,” he said. “Also, there are bigger veins with a large capacity to pool blood in your legs.”

If you’re not “well trained” (whatever that means), maybe you won’t benefit from a cool-down. But if you run hard (whatever pace “hard” is for you), I say do it! And if the idea of additional running horrifies you, just go for a little walk.

Again, these are my opinions, and some people disagree. But no one is saying that cooling down will hurt you in any way, so why not add a couple more miles to your week, right? Do what you feel.