New Things Weekends

Winter inevitably makes me feel like I'm in a rut. The novelty of the snow has worn off due to the dirty slush lining my walk to school, and the effort it takes to get my act together to try something new invariably  makes it impossible for me to actually do said new thing.

But not this weekend! My new year's goals have been looming and this week I finally started to make strides in achieving them. Let's go chronologically, shall we?

Thursday: Alright, fine it's not technically the weekend, but I did officially register to get my personal training certification. Classes start Wednesday! (with a blog post to follow)

Friday: Yoga Meltdown
Friday is the first day of my weekend which is pretty fantastic. And what better way to work out on a dreary South Bend Friday than with Jillian Michaels. While others may beg to differ, I think that I have a healthy obsession with Jillian. I simply think that she has such an admirable mission and a unique corner on the fitness market. Yes, she is notorious for being "TVs toughest trainer", but unlike all of the other celebrity trainers out there, her ultimate goal is to exercise for superior health, not for superficial looks. I've been a Jillian devotee for a while now, but her Yoga Meltdown workout - which I did Friday - is still pretty new for me, and *shocker* I love it.

Jillian's yoga is not exactly traditional yoga. She goes through the familiar power poses, sun salutations and vinyasas, but in order to work in an element of cardio, she works in reps that mimic squats, crunches, and lunges. I love it because it's a covert workout - you go into it thinking that you'll stretch and relax and then you find yourself in the middle of your crow pose thinking that you may just shed a tear because your abs hurt so bad.

Saturday: More Jillian and The Backer
Picture two girls in a tiny apartment, doing back lunges with hammer curls, plank rows and military presses, most likely looking a little a lot foolish. That was Kenzie and I yesterday, and I'm sure all of the patrons of the shopping center across the street got a good laugh if they saw us through the half-open blinds. I'm certainly not a Jillian DVD novice, but they are so much more fun when you are doing them with someone. Kenz is also finally convinced that Jillian is nice, and not terrifying.

And as more of a side note, I finally crossed the threshold of The Backer. I was pleasantly surprised by the distinct lack of sludge, however it was painfully crowded with a bunch of people we didn't know. Locals to be exact. The music was also good, but the all-female bar staff was not conducive to me getting a beverage quickly.

Sunday: The Rock Wall

Hell yeah. One step closer to completing one of my new year's goals and it isn't even February yet! Kenz and I went to the open climb sponsored by the Climbing Club. Since there isn't much information on the website other than the hours they are open, we showed up not really sure what to expect. They gave us these sweet climbing shoes and then asked us if we wanted to get "belay certified". We quickly agreed. 

Newly belay certified.

We slipped into some harnesses - as you can see from the photos we looked super fly - and then we learned how to safely attach the carabiner as the belayer and then as the climber. Once our instructor Ben officially certified us to belay we went to work. Despite one mildly terrifying drop with a little too much slack in the rope, we both did really well! Unfortunately our arms were so sore from Jillian the day before we felt a little wimpy trying to get up the wall. I'm so excited to do more climbing, especially since it's one of those activities that doesn't really feel like a workout, but it definitely gets the job done.

Kenzie rockin' the harness.

Hopefully I can come up with enough new things to do that I can make this a weekly installment. Any suggestions? We're thinking about doing Hot Yoga next Saturday, so I better hydrate to avoid passing out in the middle of Warrior 2.

Syllabus Week

I am a blogger delinquent. I know you all have been obsessively checking to see if I have written a post in the past week, only to find the sad post that I wrote at the airport more than a week ago.

I hope you all catch the sarcasm. We've had a little hiatus, but not enough to get rid of the sass.

It honestly feels like that was months ago in a world far far away.

We ran in shorts and t-shirts in 70°F weather, now we have a warm front with highs of 24°F . Just plain ridiculous.

What happened over the past ten days? Sure, I ran the Naples Daily News half marathon with Kaitlin and we had a great time, but once I got back to school, I had the realization that not only did I have to go to classes, but it was Syllabus Week. And not just Syllabus Week, my last syllabus week ever.

Syllabus Week is great because everyone is back on campus since we have to be in class, but class consists of the professor handing out the syllabus and talking in huge generalizations about the course because no one has their books yet and there's nothing really to lecture on. This creates the perfect storm of people having nothing else to do but party.

South Bend is an interesting college town in that it isn't really a college town at all. Since Fr. Sorin thought it would be awesome to plop a prestigious institute of higher learning in the middle of nowhere, there is a serious distinction between the Notre Dame community and the greater South Bend area. This city dynamic has also created some tensions between the town and the university, specifically with regards to how much South Bend should cater to the student community with a walkable downtown with bars, late night restaurants, and shops.

It doesn't.

This means that on any given night, any student that is 21 and over knows which establishment the rest of their 21 and over friends will be haunting, so on any given night, you are bound to run into the majority of the people in your class, and the citizens of South Bend know to steer clear of those establishments accordingly. Here's the weekly rundown:

Monday: Club 23/ Kildare's
The choice here depends on what kind of night you're looking for. Looking for a quintessential dive bar where the entire floor is perpetually sticky and you can get a 32oz. Bud Light for $3? Club 23 is your place. Looking for a somewhat classier establishment that has an Americanized British Pub feel that runs deals on Guinness, Harp, and Smithwick's on Monday nights? Kildare's is your place.


Tuesday: Corby's
My favorite bar. Cheap pitchers, good music, and an all-around good vibe. I've had some of the best nights at Corby's. It's actually the best when it's a little warmer outside, since they open up the back doors to a big patio with picnic tables and such.
DISCLAIMER: If you are an alum of ND this may not be the same establishment that you think of when you think "Corby's". It changed locations a while ago, but the name stuck due to all of the notoriety.


Wednesday: Mulligan's
Mulligan's certainly has more fall/spring appeal since the majority of their space is in what they call the "corral", an outdoor area for the ND kids to swarm when everyone descends on this sports bar. It has some huge appeal because it is walking distance from a lot of the student housing, but it is occasionally overlooked since some people take Wednesday night off to gear up for...

Thursday: Club Fever/ Finny's (The Blarney Stone)
FEVE! I briefly mentioned Feve in an earlier post, and people seem to really like it. The place has three floors, all with different personalities. I'm partial to the basement which is most reminiscent of an actual bar, but it is sometimes fun to emerge to the upstairs and break it down on the dance floor.


Friday: Finny's
Finny's is for the crowd that doesn't want to wait in line for the hype of Feve and doesn't want to pay cover on Thursday nights, but it's also the main attraction on Friday nights. This glorified warehouse of a bar is technically called "The Blarney Stone" but the original name stuck even when ownership changed hands.


Saturday: The Linebacker aka "The 'Backer"
I will be perfectly honest - I've never been to The Backer. I'm a little terrified of what I might find inside - everything from a crowded sweaty dance floor to the notorious "Backer sludge" that stands about a half-inch off the floor. It's definitely on my Bucket List though, since it's another one of those terrible dive bars that shouldn't still be in commission but generous donors have kept it going, paying off the health inspectors. They apparently have a rad playlist too, complete with Journey, Rush, and Styx. A DJ after my own heart.

This is all to say that I have not just been leading this life of drunkenness and debauchery. Last week I made a citrus tilapia with corn salsa, a chili maple pork tenderloin with sweet potato hash, and baked lemon pepper chicken with a panko crust last week. This week will be devoted to school work and baking. And maybe a trip to the Backer.

Airport Update

I've got three hours to kill in the Atlanta airport on my way to Ft. Myers to run the Naples Daily News Half Marathon, so I thought I'd post a quick rundown of essentially unrelated things that have kept me occupied for the past couple days.

1) SF Day 3: Napa
The only reason Day 3 didn't get its own post is because I didn't want to write a summary of where we went and what we drank and what I learned. I am vehemently opposed to blogging as a form of public diary, detailing every minute event of my fairly uneventful life. And if you are thinking, "that's what I thought this blog was," then I'll stop immediately. The important point of my trip to Napa is that I thought it was gorgeous and fascinating and I want to live there.

2) Apple TV is sweet.
When I got home from SF and plopped on the couch to recover from my jet lag, I was greeted with the recent installation of Apple TV. Not only can you access your Netfilx account, but you can access any of the movies or tv shows on your iTunes, plus you can buy or rent things from iTunes. The cherry on top is the Remote app for your iPhone or iPad, which lets you control the tv right from whichever toy you have. It's also way cheaper than buying a Wii or PS3 to stream Netflix, especially if you aren't a gamer.

3) Destination Run
Despite the series of unfortunate events associated with our destination run in San Francisco, I decided to try it out for my last long training run before the half. I went into "tourist mode" and drove down to Gravelly Point, a path that starts at Reagan National Airport and runs along the Potomac. I took the path up across the Memorial Bridge, around Hains Point, around the Tidal Basin, and up past the Smithsonian to the Capitol and back. It was a long run and the weather was pretty miserable, but it was great to break out of my normal loop around my house.

4) Black Swan is creepy.
But I'm sure that's what Darren was going for.

5) Impulse Bangs
I had been toying with the idea of getting bangs for a while, but I've never had them before. I was looking for a change of pace, but I'm not willing to give up my long hair just yet. Unfortunately, I decided to go for it, and immediately regretted it. Not only do I think they look weird on me, but I didn't realize how much I would hate the feeling of hair on my face all the time and how I need like 87 bobby pins to hold them back when I'm running or working out. It probably won't be the last terrible decision I ever make, but at least it's one that I know I'll never make again.

6) Foam Roller Love
For as much as I hate my bangs, I love my dad's foam roller twice as much. The next paycheck I get is going straight toward my own. It's an amazing way to stretch and loosen your muscles after a run, and my upper back is eternally grateful.

7) Back to School!
While I love being at home, I am so excited for this semester. I feel like I'm really taking advantage of my last semester and devoting myself to things that I really want to do, and giving myself some free time, which is somewhat of a novelty for me.

Off to Naples! So stoked to run in shorts and short sleeves! But I'm probably more stoked to go to the beach before I head back to the frozen tundra of South Bend...

San Francisco Day 2: The Literary Revolution

I'm fascinated by books. I mean, I am an English major. I love the stories and ideas, sure, but even more than that, I love the experience of reading the book. The feel of the pages between my fingers, the suncreeny smell of the paper after a day at the beach, and the discovery of annotations from previous readers. Books are unique because they can be passed from one person to another, spreading ideas and creating a dialogue between people and generations, bringing people together. Unfortunately, today there is a rift among the book-loving community, specifically over one recent development - the e-reader. Many book lovers claim that these devices are ruining the integrity of reading, taking away the tactile experience of a book and replacing it with just another screen we stare at during the day. Other book lovers claim that e-readers are great for the book world, making huge libraries available to us with just a single click. My second day in San Francisco made me realize that I think these two mentalities can, and should, live harmoniously.

I did get bitten by the Peace, Love, Can't-We-All-Just-Be-Friends, California Bug, didn't I?

I love e-readers. Kindles. iPads. I think they're great. I love that I can throw my iPad in my bag and have three books, and then I can choose what to read depending on how I'm feeling. I can also sample a book for free, without having to actually go the the bookstore, and I can read an 800 page hardback book without the physical toll of carrying around an 800 page book.

Jack and I went the the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco on Saturday - a Mecca for lit-lovers. The store is small with creaky stairs, clever posters, and probably hundreds of prints of Allen Ginsberg lining the walls. While roaming through the stacks, I found one of the best books I think I have ever seen. It is the reason that paper books will continue to be made, and is the true marriage of literature and art. The book is Jonathan Safran Foer's Tree of Codes, and it is a novel adapted from Bruno Schulz's The Street of Crocodiles. Safran Foer basically took The Street of Crocodiles and went at it with an Exacto knife, literally carving out an entirely new story.

I haven't finished reading it, but it did make me put down my iPad in the airport. I just love that in the midst of technology taking over the book world, gems like this are still popping up. My suggestion would be to put down your e-reader for the weekend and pick up this book, if just to marvel at the feeling of reading it. Then pass it on to a friend. People should see this book.

San Francisco Day 1: Listen to the Universe

No, I haven't been converted to some New Age zen mentality just yet, but my first day in San Francisco did convince me that the world has it's own way of telling us things, and sometimes in not so pleasant ways.

It all began with my walk home from the grocery store. Given that I'm in California, I had optimistically put on shorts and long sleeves to run. However, my sweet outfit made for a chilly walk home. Once the goosebumps had taken up permanent residence on my legs and my fingers were frozen in a tight grasp around the grocery bags, I was anxious to get back to the apartment. In my haste, I found myself in the wrong apartment complex, wandering around only knowing that if I got to the dog park I'd gone too far. I finally realized where I was supposed to be and hurried over there to warm up before my run.

An hour later, Kaitlin picked me up for our run, and we set out to find the trail on the Crystal Springs Reservoir. This also proved more difficult than we had anticipated. We drove around for about fifteen minutes, thought we had found the trail, determined that it was wrong, got back in the car, called for directions, and 20 minutes later, finally found the right trail. We went for an amazing run with a great view of the clear, still water and the lush green hills. But nothing kills an endorphin high like getting back to your car and seeing the window smashed in. Yep. No joke. Kait's purse got stolen as well.

After filing the police report and narrowly averting a breakdown - both emotional and due to lack of gas for the car - we got back and I decided that I could shower off the morning's unfortunate events. But alas, the fun was just beginning. I mean, it was only 1pm.

We went down to Fisherman's wharf, and walked along the water taking in the sights on our way to Pier 23, a sweet seafood joint with some bitchin' fish tacos. In true San Francisco fashion, there was a group of hippies playing guitars with a sign that said "give us money for weed". I naturally did a double take, but in that split second, their friend who was hiding in the trashcan wearing an alien costume decided to jump out at me and growl.

I almost slugged the guy while expletives spewed out of my mouth.

To top it all off, seconds after this terrifying encounter, a bird relieved himself on my face, and while I was simultaneously choking back tears, cleaning off my sunglasses and cursing Jack for laughing at me, the girl soliciting Alcatraz tours said, "they say it's good luck when a bird poops on you."

All I can say is that I couldn't make this stuff up. But I do need to figure out if these events were a product of some bad karma. If they were, I might need to do some aura cleansing. I'm sure I'm mixing up philosophies, but give me a break, I've only been in California for a couple days...

The Slump

Any runner will tell you that the first mile is always the hardest. Those first eight or ten minutes are the perfect breeding ground for swirling thoughts of negativity, and not even ke$ha's whiny voice and dance club beats can drown out the thousands of reasons you should turn around, put on your comfy pants, and watch Mad Men on DVD. Usually, once you're finally a mile away, your shoes stop "feeling weird", your stomach no longer hurts, and your body has finally adjusted to the brisk winter air. You simply get your groove back.

Now a slump is a totally different beast, but not at all unrelated, especially because... I'm in one.

I guess the first step is admitting it, right?

Since December 27, running has turned into this terrible chore. I woke up with my bi-annual cold that sets in after a really stressful time (exams, traveling, etc.), but I knew I needed to get my long run in for my half-marathon training. I finally resigned to run it the following day, hoping that a good night of sleep would help me feel less terrible. It didn't. But I sucked it up and ran, pushing myself to run faster just so that it would be over sooner.

As the week went on nothing changed. Every time I laced up my shoes and hit the pavement, I hoped and prayed that I would just have to get through that first terrible mile. But that terrible mile turned into a terrible 5 miles, a terrible 9 miles. I knew then that I had to come to terms with my slump.

So now I'm sitting in the airport waiting to get on my flight to San Francisco, lamenting the measly terrible 3 miles I ran this morning. My only hope is that a cross-country trip will be the perfect remedy for my slump. If not, at least I can commiserate with a lovely Napa Valley Cabernet.

2011 Goals, Not Resolutions

I've always had trouble with the idea of New Year's Resolutions. They always seem far too general, and since there is no specific plan for carrying them out, they become unattainable. Everything from the quintessential "Lose Weight" or "Exercise More" to "Be a Kinder Person" becomes a nebulous idea as the year goes on instead of an immediate, feasible way of making a positive change in your life. That's why instead of making a resolution, I've created a list of goals for 2011. Yes, some are more easily fulfilled than others, but as I explained last week, I always like to have a plan.


Here it goes...

2011 GOALS:

Ahh, Denver.

1) Get my personal training certification. RecSports offers a training class, and it might be a way for me to make some money on the side after I graduate.
2) Become a rock climber with Kenzie. There is a rock wall on campus (who knew?) and we've decided to train for Colorado activities so that when we live in Denver we will be prepared.
3) Run at least 4 half-marathons. I am already running The Naples Daily News Half Marathon and the Notre Dame Holy Half Marathon, but I have nothing on the calendar after April! However, the next two races are likely dependent on where I...
4) GET A JOB. Or start a post-graduate degree. I'm working on it.
5) Blog.  I don't know if you like it, but I dig it. Maybe if I get better at it more people will read it.

I could add more (travel! triathlon! cooking classes!) but I think these five will keep me pretty occupied. What are your goals? Want to rock climb with me and Kenz? What races do you recommend? Oh, and Happy New Year!