Archive | April, 2012

127 Hours

30 Apr

Since finishing the book, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” I’ve developed a bit of an Aron Ralston obsession.  Immediately after I watched the book I watched the Dateline special, “Desperate Days in Blue John Canyon,” in which Aron Ralston returns to the site of the accident with Tom Brokaw exactly six months after it happened.

Image via usatoday.com

It was incredibly well produced and shot, and I gained a new respect for Brokaw, who hiked, climbed and repelled right along with Ralston!  Having created a picture of the accident scene in my mind, it was astonishing to me to see how the actual place was situated.

Image via 10sbuzz.com

Seeing overhead shots of Blue John Canyon, and the tiny little crevice in which Ralston was trapped, it was even more isolated than I imagined.  I immediately thought, “Oh yeah.  No one would have found him if he had just sat there and waited.”  This place is in the middle of no where.

Start of one of the branches of Blue John Canyon, Utah (Image via americansouthwest.net)

If you want the real story, just watch the Dateline special.  If you want to see the amputation, watch 127 Hours.  The amputation is portrayed (to my medically untrained eye) exactly as Ralston describes it in his memoir.

I enjoyed the movie.  I’m VERY glad I read the book first – because quite honestly, I don’t know if I would have believed some of the things that happened.  I would have thought they played up the drama for the movie.  Like when he had a hallucination/vision of his future son before he cut his arm off… cheesy sappy movie twist?  Nope, he wrote about that in the book, and how it gave him hope.  Or when he took the time to take a picture of his arm stuck in the boulder just after he cut it off, before he scrambled out of the canyon.  Seriously?  Who would have done that???  Aron Ralston did.

I’m not a huge James Franco fan, but I liked him in this.  I can imagine for him, it’s the role of a lifetime.  Imagine getting the chance to tell such a courageous true story.

Image via movies.about.com

I wish they had made Ralson’s mother a bigger part of the movie.  Based on the book and the Dateline interviews, I believe his mother’s actions played a huge role in the quick mobilization of rescue crews.  She hacked into her son’s email, got in touch with his friends and co-workers, and started calling random ranger’s stations in Utah and Colorado.  Like my mother, there’s no way she can sit idle when she knows there’s something wrong.  I wanted to hug her after I read the book.  She was barely in the movie.

As I was putting together this entry, it struck me how much publicity Ralston’s story has received.  You can’t google “Blue John Canyon” without having Ralston’s (and Franco’s!) picture pop up.  His life has changed in so many ways.  Well, now that this is published there will be one more search result about his amazing story.  Hopefully now this obsession is out of my system… but I have a feeling the lessons and inspiration will stay with me for quite some time.

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Sunday Fitness Funday

29 Apr

Since Mr. Dish decided to go to Citizens Bank Park to watch the Phillies lose today, I actually had a Sunday all to myself.  I figure, if I’m going to be a  baseball widow, I might as well be a fit baseball widow!

I signed up for a yoga workshop at Mission Yoga, a fairly new yoga studio in downtown Scranton.  I’ve been meaning to try it out since its grand opening, but the classes never seemed to fit into my schedule.  Well, when a press release for some weekend yoga workshops landed in my work email last week, I knew this was the perfect chance.

Image via mission-yoga.com

It looks small from the outside, and it is small on the inside.  But there is room for about 20 people on mats, plus there’s an upstairs “front desk” area where people can check in and leave their jackets.  The people there were very friendly, and recognizing me as a new face, they introduced themselves.

Because I’ve been doing bridal bootcamp, my weekly yoga class has gone to the wayside.  I just can’t seem to fit it in, and I miss it.  It’s something I definitely want to get back into once bootcamp is over in June.  So I signed up for a 2.5 hour workshop with guest instructor Phillip Askew.  2.5 hours sounds like a long time, but the class really moved, and I figured I needed the stretch and the practice having not gone to a yoga class in several months.

The workshop said “all levels welcome,” but I was definitely glad I had prior yoga experience.  Phillip gave instruction, but it was fast, and there were a few times when he told us to go into a pose and I had to look around and see what everyone else was doing.  (Hopefully I wasn’t the only one!)  It was a vigorous practice, both in strength and flexibility – Phillip had no qualms about coming over and making “adjustments,” pulling on your arm/leg/head until it was in the “right” place – no matter how painful!

Before we got into our bending/lunging/feet behind our heads routine, we meditated.  It could have been 15 minutes, could have been 30 or 45, I really have no idea.  But right off the bat, it reminded me why I miss yoga so much.  It really does “center” you.  Something about sitting up straight with your eyes closed, listening to someone else’s voice and the sound of your own breath… just feels luxurious.  Indulgent, even.  It was a nice way to start off the workout.

Later, after I had recovered from my extended pretzel-like twisting yoga session, I ran a 5K in Nay Aug Park.  This one was a last minute decision.  Someone posted something on Facebook, and I couldn’t resist not going and seeing some familiar running faces.  An all-too-rare evening 5K in one of my favorite places, all to support the local Children’s Advocacy Center?  Count me in.

Self-bib picture. (I think this angle makes me look tall. Maybe I should take more of these.)

There were a few little hills, but nothing unmanageable.  While I was happy with my time of 24:11, I was :16 away from a new PR!  While it was frustrating, I still gave myself a pat on the back for maintaining a sub-8:00 pace after a challenging yoga session.

Overall, a fun, relaxing and fulfilling day off.  Namaste!

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Dish Read: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

28 Apr

I’ve been meaning to read this book for quite some time.  Exactly nine years after the incident happened, I finally read Aron Ralston’s account of his brush with death in 2003.

Image via amazon.com

If Aron Ralston’s name or face doesn’t seem familiar, his story probably will: the hiker who was trapped in a canyon for six days, who cut his own arm off to survive. (“Oooooh, that guy!”)

The experienced outdoorsman was hiking through a slot canyon in a remote section of Utah when an 800 pound boulder fell on him, pinning his arm against the canyon wall.  He would be stuck there for six days… from Saturday until Thursday… until he commits the ultimate act of desperation to save his own life.

The book is an interesting mix of the incident itself and his past experiences in mountain climbing.  At first, I got annoyed as the chapters would jump back and forth between his days in the canyon and another previous (usually dangerous) mountain experience.  I would think, as another non-stuck-in-the-canyon chapter began… “I just want to find out what happens!  Get to the good part already!”  (Alright, I know I knew what happened to him in the end all along.  But I still wanted to hear the juicy stuff straight from the horse’s mouth.)

But once I really got deep into it, I was glad I knew more about his background.  With each risk Ralston took I understood him more.  As I read about each one of these risky solo 14,000 foot mountain climbs (in the middle of winter!) I would think, “WHY is he doing this alone!?!?  It’s so dangerous!”  His recklessness was actually kind of irritating.

But then as he sat there, dehydrated and dying in the canyon, having told NO ONE where he was going or for how long… he said what I had been thinking the whole time:

“I go out looking for adventure and risk, so I can feel alive. But I go out by myself, and I don’t tell someone where I’m going that’s just dumb. If someone knew, if I’d been with someone else, there would probably already be help on the way. Dumb, dumb, dumb.”

He was changed and humbled by the experience.  One of the more remarkable things about this whole ordeal was that he had a video camera with him, and essentially recorded his last will and testament.  He said his good-byes, his I love you’s, his wishes for cremation and where to spread the ashes.

The amputation was gruesome, but explained in amazing detail that somehow made it seem less barbaric.  I suppose when you’re forced to cut off one of your limbs, you remember every single unfortunate detail.

In his recovery, Ralston handles his new way of life with humor.  Once he had recovered, he participated in a ski race, taking “…six hours off the time Gareth Roberts and I set in 2003, when I had both my hands.  Next year, I’m going to cut off my left arm and see how much faster I can go.”

In the end, it was an incredibly inspiring book.  It truly is a testament to how much the human body and human spirit can handle.  I can’t wait to see the movie, 127 Hours.  Mama Dish actually said she liked the movie better than the book.  (Except for the amputation scene, which is obviously more gory on screen than on paper!)

In each of my marathons, I reached a point where I thought to myself, “This is crazy.  Why am I voluntarily running 26.2 miles?”  But in the end, I always answer my own question.  As Ralston says looking for adventure and risk makes him feel alive, the feeling I get when I cross the finish line of a full marathon is just that – I feel deliriously, unbelievably, blissfully alive.  I thank God that – so far – it hasn’t cost me a limb.  Reading this book made me realize that everyone should find at least one thing that really makes them feel alive… and let nothing – not even an 800 pound boulder… take it away.

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Broad Street Blueberry Muffins

27 Apr

Mr. Dish and I are hosting a post-race brunch next weekend for our family and fellow racers after Broad Street.  I know when I finish a tough race, I want to do three things immediately:

  1. Take my shoes and socks off
  2. Lay down
  3. Eat a large quantity of food

Our brunch will hopefully allow us to do all three of these things in the comforts of home, while re-capping the morning.  I don’t know about you, but I always find myself day dreaming of carbs as the miles tick by, so in addition to the usual eggs/bacon/coffee, I decided I would bake homemade muffins as an extra reward.

Of course, I’ve never baked muffins from scratch before, so I needed to do a test run.

I used this recipe for blueberry muffins… it seemed pretty straight forward.  But when I was done mixing the batter… it was way too thick.  It was more like cookie dough.  Now I haven’t made muffins in a while, but I knew this wasn’t right.  I double and triple checked my measurements… either I made a mistake I didn’t find or this recipe is whack.

So, with the help of Mr. Dish and the Betty Crocker cookbook he had laying around, I did what I hate to do most in cooking… improvise.  We found another recipe that was similar to mine, but called for way more milk.  So I just started slowly pouring and stirring until we got a texture that we liked better.

Fingers crossed...

I added the crumb topping, and while they looked right, I was still dubious, and puzzled by the recipe mishap.

Oven ready...

I was very relieved to see them emerge from the oven looking like this:

Behold! They look like blueberry muffins!

Of course, they still had to pass the taste test…

And they did, with flying colors.

Beautiful blueberry deliciousness!

I think next weekend I will just use Betty Crocker’s muffin recipe, since it’s the one that saved me from muffin disaster this time.  So I took one more step in overcoming my fear of kitchen improvisation… and of muffin baking!  I’ll be dreaming of these babies as I crank out my 10 miles next weekend!

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The Bears (and the Dish) Go National

25 Apr

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, I have to tell you about the latest developments.

Bear: "Oh, CNN wants an interview, too?" **Yawn**

In the midst of our Primary Election coverage last night, a producer from CNN called our Meteorologist, Kurt Aaron, wanting him to appear on their morning news to talk about his close encounter with the bears on Monday.  Kurt politely declined, saying something to the effect of, “I did mornings for years, I don’t want to do another one!”

But CNN was persistent, so they said they’d settle for one of the anchors who was on set during this bear fiasco.  So that leads us to this:

This morning I called into Early Start on CNN to recap what happened… at 5:30 in the morning!  You can see the interview with Ashleigh Banfield here!

I was running on about 4 hours of sleep, but I did my best to sound awake and alert.  The producer who called me at 5:12 a.m. to make sure I was awake definitely knew what she was doing!  They then called me back two minutes before my segment… when I was patched into the control room.  I spoke with an EXTREMELY chipper line producer, and then it was interview time.

It was a neat experience, and I think they produced the segment really well… not only with video, but also with a clip of Kurt telling Scott and I what was going on live on the air.  Too funny.  The best part?  I could go back to sleep five minutes after the interview.  Oh, how I love phoners!

It’s really amazing how quickly this has spread.  If you search “bears, weather” on Google, 124 news stories come up.  124!!!  For stations and newspapers across the country, it’s an incredulous oddity that makes for great banter.  For us, it’s just another day in Northeastern Pennsylvania!

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Bears and Ballots

24 Apr

So far I’ve made it a point to avoid blogging about work… not because I don’t like work, but because this is supposed to a personal, write-about-whatever-I-want blog.  But in the past 24 hours the most interesting thing that’s happened to me in quite some time happened at work.  You may have seen this video already, but just in case you haven’t… check this out:  Bears Invade WNEP Backyard

Back?  Good.  Here’s one of our best photos of the bear, taken by Sharla McBride:

Excuse me, Ms. Mama Bear... but we're trying to do the weather here.

It was probably the closest I’ve ever been to a wild bear.  Fortunately, there was a glass wall between us.  And it made for great television.  We had planned to run some political stories in the block after weather, but we made the split second decision that bears are far more interesting than politics.  Turns out, we were right.  This video is everywhere.  We sent it to the network and POOF! we were on GMA this morning.  Papa Dish snapped this picture when he saw us on the local NBC affiliate in Philadelphia:

Instant jump from market 54 to market 4!

It’s fun and kind of nerve-racking having gone viral.  I’ve heard from some old friends today I haven’t heard from in a while, which was really awesome.  It is strange being all over the place though – you never know where it’s going to pop up next.

Fortunately, no one was harmed, including the bears, and we haven’t seen them since we turned the lights off at 11:35 last night.  Hopefully they’ll go back where they belong and live out their lives like we will.  (If only they knew how many viewers they reached!)

Finally, today is Primary Election Day here in Pa.  Go out and vote.  It doesn’t matter if you’re not a “politics person,” the people we elect still make decisions that will affect you.  Do a little bit of homework and take five minutes to cast a ballot. (I highly doubt there will be much of a line, based on the low turnout expected.)  We’re lucky to have the right to choose our elected officials… so take advantage!

So that’s my soapbox sermon for today.  Enjoy the bears… and the election coverage!

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Amada ‘Bout You

23 Apr

This weekend Mr. Dish and I had the pleasure of a night out on the town in Philadelphia with our Best Man and his lovely girlfriend.  All four of us go back to high school, and I’ve actually known Mr. Best Man since the second grade!  His affinity for bad jokes inspired this blog title.  (I felt the need to explain my sudden cheesiness.)  We always have a fun time, and I especially love dining out with this couple in particular because they’re such adventurous eaters!  Which brings us to our Saturday night double date spot:

It means "darling" or "beloved" in Spanish. Awwww!

Amada is a Spanish tapas restaurant in the 200 block of Chestnut Street.  We’ve been out for tapas several times, and each and every time SOMEONE we’re with has to say something to the effect of, “I love topless restaurants!  It’s my favorite way to eat!”  Smooth.  Real smooth.

The view from our table.

Our first stop was the bar, where I just had to try a glass of white sangria.

While we shared all the plates, we decided we could each handle our own beverage. Mine had a lovely sprig of rosemary :)

Amada is cozy and candlelit, and if you don’t mind sharing lots of small plates, it’s a great way to try lots of new dishes.

Just a few of the many plates of food we devoured.

Everything was delectable.  The bacon-wrapped dates, the lamb meatballs, the skate wing.  I could go on and on.  Two of my favorites were actually two of their pretty tapas basic dishes…

Tortilla

Traditional Spanish tortilla is a fluffy potato omelet… not to be confused with the flat, burrito-encompassing Mexican tortilla.  I had no idea there was a difference, and this was a delightful new dish for me and my carb-loving Mister.

Spicy potatoes

These little babies were like a fancy tater-tot.  And we LOVE tater-tots.  Deep fried potato bites with a zesty dollop of sauce on top.  I could have popped ‘em in my mouth all night.

We had no room for dessert but Mr. Dish and I split one anyway… we highly recommend the flourless chocolate cake.  I would have taken a picture of it if we hadn’t inhaled it so quickly.

So if you find yourself in the vicinity of Old City and you’re looking for a nice night out, check out Amada for some topless… I mean tapas… dining!

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Death of a Garmin

22 Apr

Garmin Forerunner 205: 2008 - 2012

I held on as long as I could.  I really did.  This isn’t something that I want to do, but sometimes you just have to move on.

I was given this GPS running watch as a Christmas gift from my parents in 2008, about a month after I completed the Philadelphia Marathon.  (Can you believe I ran my first full marathon with only a regular old sports watch!?  I know, me neither.)  Several of my training buddies had this watch and I yearned for the ability to know my exact pace at any given moment.  It gave me a freedom I didn’t even know existed!  If I wanted to be sporadic and change my route mid-run, I could do so – because Garmin would still tell me how far I’ve gone!  It would connect to my computer and make fun charts to show me my progress.  It became not just a toy, but a necessity as I trained for more marathons.

As time went on though, it became less reliable.  The battery life decreased.  In the beginning, I could get in a whole week’s worth of runs without having to charge it.  In the past few months, if I didn’t charge it immediately before I ran I didn’t know if it would last or not.  One day, after having charged it overnight, I took it off the charger, only to have it do absolutely nothing when I tried to turn it on.  I put it back on the charger… and nothing.  I thought it was gone then.  The next day I tried to charge it and it worked.  I was frustrated, but it looked like it still had some life left to live.

I had given it to Mr. Dish and he cleaned the connections so it would charge more effectively.  This worked for a while, and then it went back to its same old antics.  (He says he may still take it apart to do an autopsy.  Stay tuned for a post-mortem.)

This weekend was the last straw.  Mr. Dish and I set out to do our long run of 8 miles… the longest run before Broad Street and his longest run EVER.  We got to our starting point, I went to turn on my watch… and nothing.  Just a blank screen staring back at me.  I wanted to scream.  Fortunately I had mapped out our route using walkjogrun.net in case of such an occurrence.  But it was then that I knew I had to let go.  It was no longer the reliable watch I knew and loved.

After our 8 was done (Mr. Dish did fabulously, by the way.  He is totally ready to conquer Broad Street.) I asked him if he thought it was time to get a new watch.  I had been contemplating asking for a new one for my birthday at the end of the summer anyway.  He gently assured me that I needed something more reliable as I up my mileage for Steamtown.

So today, with mixed emotions, I ordered this:

Welcome to my world, Forerunner 305!

It is essentially the same watch I’ve been using, only with a heart rate monitor.  I’ve never trained with one before, but I’m excited to learn how to use it and incorporate it into my runs.  I won’t have to spend too much time learning the watch itself, and I can hopefully go back to running whenever I want to run, not when my watch is done charging.

So thanks for getting me through many miles, Forerunner 205.  You will be missed.  On to the next generation of running toy, to help me tackle the miles that lay ahead!

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How Mulan Saved my Run

21 Apr

The other day I set out to enjoy the sunshine by getting in 10 miles before work.  I grabbed a gel, filled up my water belt and prepared to zone out with my iPod.

But for some reason, the first few miles didn’t bring me the glorious, exhilarating feeling I was hoping for.  I felt sluggish.  Uninspired, even.  I took my gel at mile three instead of mile five as planned.  I felt so tired I was considering cutting it down to six miles.

So I decided to scroll back through the iPod archives and shuffle through some stuff I haven’t listened to in a while.  All of a sudden, there it was.  The most awesome running song EVER that I had forgotten all about until that fortuitous moment around mile 4.  You’re going to laugh.  Go ahead.  I don’t care.

I actually downloaded this song after another runner posted it on a Runner’s World message board, claiming it was the best song ever to run to.  And boy, was she right!  C’mon, who’s going to listen to those drums and hear those lyrics and NOT run faster?

BE. A. MAN!
We must be swift as the coursing river,
BE. A. MAN!
With all the force of a great typhoon,
BE. A. MAN!
With all the strength of a raging fire,
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!

Seriously.  My average pace decreased by :30 per mile instantly.  I was in the zone.

A few other songs I hadn’t heard in a while that helped picked me up:

Dog Days are Over by Florence + the Machine
Crazy by Alanis Morisette
Higher Love by Steve Winwood

It’s amazing what a new old song can do!  After finishing up my 10 miles (with a negative split to boot!) I savored my Gatorade with a peanut butter and  honey sandwich.

As usual, whatever I’m eating after a run becomes “the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”  I wonder what Mulan ate after her she was done preparing for war.  Hopefully something with a good balance of protein and carbs!

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Bridal Dishcamp: Measurements Revisited

20 Apr

As promised, we got a re-do on our third set of measurements.  We were measured on Good Friday, and while the results weren’t bad by any means, we got another chance to get measured a week and a half later when the TV camera showed up for our monthly update… after our workout, of course!

Image via wnep.com

While my eating wasn’t perfect my any means, my measurements did go down!  Here are my measurements for month three:

Neck: .3″ lost
Core: .5″ lost
Waist (below belly button): .5″ lost
Calves: .5″ lost
Body Fat: .5% lost

Total body fat lost since January: 4.5%

My arms, hips, and thighs all stayed the same.  Weight is still the same.  And I feel great.  I’m definitely seeing more definition in my arms, and I’ve been feeling great when I run.

Kerry’s wedding is less than TWO months away!  She’s lost a total of EIGHT PERCENT body fat since we started.  HOLY COW!  She’s kicking serious butt.  Trainer Greg says we’re two of his hardest workers, which was the best confidence booster of all!

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