Monthly Archives: November 2011

Couch to 5K Week Four Complete

Posted on November 27, 2011 | 5 Comments

I’m almost halfway through Couch to 5K and with Thanksgiving I got some change of scenery this week. On Tuesday and Friday I was at my parents house in Altoona, Iowa, where I ran my first two runs of the week. Today I was back in Iowa City where I ran my normal route. I’ve always loved Altoona because it is so incredibly flat. Biking there is a breeze and I found out this week running was pretty great too. Since it’s so flat I could go a little farther and a little faster. Even so, my first two runs this week were incredibly sore. I did three-minute runs with a 90 second break after and 5 minute runs with a 2.5 minute break after. This is the first week where I ran the same amount I walked–which felt like I huge progress to me.

Today my run was amazing. On the five-minute runs especially I felt like I could go forever. Nothing was sore, my posture was great, and I discovered that as nice as it is to run on flat surfaces I actually enjoy the challenge of the hills. My route isn’t too hilly for being in Iowa City, but the little hills keep things interesting. Below is the route I take in Iowa City and you can see elevation on the bottom. There is 82 feet of climb on this route, although most of it is right at the beginning of my route since I live in a valley.

Compare that to my route in Altoona, with only 46 feet of climb.

I think the elevation graphs on the bottom give the best explanation for why running in Altoona is easier.

Next week my runs will  be all over the place. I’m going from 5 minute runs on Tuesday to 8 minute runs on Thursday to a 20 minute run on Saturday. I can’t believe I’ll be more than halfway in less than a week! I’ve noticed my third run every week is the best, so hopefully I’m feeling good next Saturday when I try to do my first twenty-minute run.

I’m traveling about 2.7 miles per workout and going about 12 minutes per mile.

→ 5 Comments

Posted in couch to 5k, exercise, running

Not So Junk Food: Catan Cupcakes

Posted on November 25, 2011 | 5 Comments

I’d be a pretty good dictator.

No, really.

Have you ever played Settlers of Catan? It’s an amazing game, kind of like Risk and Monopoly. This summer I became extremely obsessed with it. Each player uses resources to build settlements, roads, and cities. Each building equals a certain amount of Victory Points. The person first person to reach 10 Victory Points wins.

I really love this game.

So much that I made cupcakes in its honor.

Each cupcake represents a different resource in Catan. The Kit-Kats represent brick, marshmallows represent sheep, Oreos represent stone, crushed Teddy Grahams represent wheat, and pretzels represent lumber. There is one cupcake on the top of this picture with nothing on it. That’s the desert, there are no resources in the desert.

I know. I’m a little obsessed.

→ 5 Comments

Posted in not so junk food

Wedding: Save-the-dates

Posted on November 22, 2011 | 6 Comments

I finished our save-the-dates this weekend. It was glorious. I felt like jumping in the air because I finally got something wedding related done. Everyone says I’ve gotten a lot done already (the location booked, caterer booked, officiant and photographer well underway), but it just doesn’t feel like anything is done. So here is something concrete. Something I can send out to people to say, “Look, I’m serious about this.”

They’re vintage handkerchiefs stamped with a custom stamp from Antiquaria. I wanted something that really set the tone of our wedding, which is in a barn with lots of good Iowa food, and something that showed my craftiness. When I saw this tutorial I knew these were perfect for me. I wanted an object, not just a piece of paper everyone would throw away. I sincerely hope people don’t throw these handkerchiefs away. My hope is that they’ll bring them to my wedding and use them to wipe away any tears they have.

No two handkerchiefs are exactly alike. I bought two lots of them from Etsy and ended up with over one hundred handkerchiefs. I couldn’t use some of them because the stamp wouldn’t show up or they had rips or stains. I only needed 75 in the end and I managed to pull that many out.

The ink didn’t disperse evenly across the stamp, but I actually think it looks a little better this way. More rustic and old. The only important information is the date, which will also be stamped on the outside of the envelope.

I did find that stamping on a softer surface, like a stack of papers instead of a table, helped create a crisper stamp.

Now they just need to be folded and placed in envelopes and this will be one thing crossed off my list!

→ 6 Comments

Posted in crafts, wedding

Tagged , ,

BAND: Nonfiction to Support a Cause

Posted on November 21, 2011 | 4 Comments

Blogger’s Alliance of Nonfiction Devotees is a group of book bloggers who share a love of nonfiction. Anyone can answer the question on their blog–we would love to hear your responses! If you can’t get enough of BAND check out our tumblr page. This month it’s my turn to host the discussion, so if you write a post of your own please leave a link to it in the comments.

This month the host is Amanda at Opinions of a Wolf and the question is…

Do you read nonfiction to support a cause?

Can I just say that I love, love, love this topic? As someone whose spent at least half of her education on learning how to be a good advocate and start something that matters I love reading books to learn more about social causes. What immediately sticks out to me is my avid reading of environmental books. I have piles more of these around my house I need to pick up.

A few books that deal with environmental issues I read in the last year are

  1. Coop by Michael Perry
  2. Slow Death by Rubber Duck by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie
  3. Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser
  4. Eaarth by Bill McKibben

I also really enjoy books about feminist issues, although I’ll admit I haven’t read nearly enough of them.

I actually have a tendency to buy more books about causes I’m interested in than to read them, but I hope to change this in the new year. Knowledge really is power and the more I know about an issue the easier it will be for me to advocate for it.

Do you read nonfiction to learn about a cause?

→ 4 Comments

Posted in activism, advocacy, bloggers' alliance of nonfiction devotees, nonfiction

C25K Week Three Complete

Posted on November 20, 2011 | 2 Comments

Yesterday was my last day of Couch to 5K Week Three. As I said in my Running for the Literati post, I found the first day a little challenging but by the third day I floated along in the three-minute runs and ran a little extra at the end of the work-out. Completing week three means I’m one-third of the way through the program and well on my way to running for thirty minutes straight!

The running schedule for this week went as follows:

  • 5 minute walk
  • 90 second run
  • 90 second walk
  • 3 minute run
  • 3 minute walk
  • repeat 90 and 3 intervals
  • 5 minute walk to cool down

This was a pretty big change because the most I’d run in weeks one and two were 90 second intervals so I doubled my running time. Of course next week I’m running even more, including my first five-minute run and it will be my first workout where I run the same amount I walk. I’m nervous and excited. 

Before this week I listened mostly to punk music while running, but I had a strong desire to listen to M.I.A. on Tuesday so I made a playlist with Regina Spektor, Death Cab for Cutie, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kate Nash, and Lily Allen. It really changed the way I felt on my run. I was definitely more cheerful and introspective, which I enjoyed.

I’m averaging 12:30 per mile now and traveling 2.32 miles per workout.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in couch to 5k, exercise, goals, running

Tagged , ,