A Bump in the Road

So remember right before I ran the 5k last month, that I was worried about injuring myself by running it before my training was over? Well, let it be known that you should always trust your first instinct. Even though it's cliche, it's cliche for a reason. That reason is because it's true. You already know that I pulled a calf muscle racing for the finish line, but I iced it when I got home and it felt fine the next day (Monday). Tuesday morning, I woke up and my legs felt great, so I went for a run (2.5 miles) and I felt awesome. No pain, no discomfort, just awesomeness.

Well, Tuesday night I started to get this really sharp pain just below my knee joint on the inside. But it was weird because it was only when I lifted my knee up, like to put on socks, shoes, jeans, or to climb stairs. And, it was excruciating. Like, on a scale of 1 to 10, it was probably an 8 or so. Anyway I iced it a bit, which seemed to make it worse so I stopped. I stayed off it for a few days, and it was totally not getting better at all.

So of course my next step was to do some internet research, which, in general I try to avoid, especially when it's something medical. Things you find on webMD can be pretty darn scary. Anyway, I googled "pain below knee inside" and found quite a bit of info. After I waded through the symptoms and descriptions, I figured out that I have Pes Anserine Bursitis of the knee. How do I know? Well, let's check the symptoms:

"The patient often points to the pes anserine as the area of pain or tenderness. The pes anserine is located about two to three inches below the joint on the inside of the knee. "

Yep, that sounds about right. Let's see what the causes are:

Overuse of the hamstrings, especially in athletes with tight hamstrings?
Check. I have notoriously tight hamstrings... like, I can't even touch my toes. So yeah. Check.

Are you a runner?
Check. Apparently runners are affected most often.

Sudden increases in distance run?
Uh... definitely check.

Running up hills?
Does a humongous hill, count? If so, check.

Anyway, I'm no doctor, but I'll be damned if that's not what I have. According to everything I read, the only treatment option says, "Stopping the activity that brings on or aggravates the symptoms is the first step toward pain reduction." It also said that icing it and taking an anti-inflammatory would help.

So that's the deal: I've been sitting around on my ass for almost THREE WEEKS and haven't been able to run at all. It took a solid two weeks for the pain to subside even a small amount, and I haven't wanted to risk running too soon, because I definitely don't want to go back to square one and sit around for another three weeks. Anyway, I waited until my knee really felt great (which was yesterday) and decided to go for a test run. And, because I wanted to try out my sweet new gear: a wicked running jacket, long-sleeve shirt for cold runs, and some amazing socks.

Yesterday's run was okay. Frustrating, but okay. I made it about 3/4 mile before my knee started to hurt, so then I walked about 5 minutes and started back jogging, but my knee hurt so I stopped, stretched, and walked some more. Then I ran for about 2 minutes until it started hurting again, then I stopped, stretched, and walked. I repeated this process about 4 times all the way back home. So, I finished feeling pretty frustrated that 3 weeks ago I was almost running 3 miles and now I can't even run one. When I got home I iced it of and on for about an hour, and then took an ibuprofen. It feels pretty good today, but I'm not sure if I will run tomorrow... I might wait 2 days in between until it gets better.

My plan is to keep at it, though, and to just ease back into it slowly until I'm back where I was. I'm not quitting!!! I know you might think I will, but I'm not. I promise. But obviously, I'm not going to be running the Run Like Hell 5k I was hoping for at the end of this month. It's okay though, because I didn't really know what costume I was going to wear anyway.

Race Report: Race for the Cure 5k

I did it!! I ran my first race! I ran the whole time, and I finished (and I wasn't last, either)! My final time was 33:19, which isn't great (everyone I know finished before me), but it's right on pace with what I've been running, so I think that's good. I didn't go way faster or way slower than normal, and I'm feeling like that's a good thing. My best friend Amy told me not to start out too fast, and I intentionally held back at the beginning, which I really believe helped me in the end.

I am not in this picture, so don't waste your time trying to find me.

Honestly, I can't believe I did it. I'm usually a quitter, which you know by now. But, I've had a surprisingly easy time sticking with the training, and it really never crossed my mind as an option to not do it. Which, is a good thing. I think I've passed some sort of important milestone because of that. I haven't been this proud of myself in a long time, and that is totally awesome.

So, how did it go? It went fine, actually. I think I've mentioned that Justyn runs faster than me (he finished in about 31 minutes), and so I ended up running alone for practically the entire race. I found that part of it harder than I thought, actually. Every time I would get close to another group of people, I would get a burst of energy... but when I was alone, my energy started flagging a bit. I don't really understand why, because normally I run alone anyway. Not sure what that's about. They're estimating that there were about 50,000 people there, and I think I was really hoping to feel like part of something. I did at certain points, but I think being surrounded by a bunch of people, but still alone, made it kind of hard. There was no one waiting for me at the finish line, either, which kind of took something away from it for me. I mean, I know I should be doing it for myself, and I am. But... it would've been nice to have someone cheering for me, you know?

About halfway through the race, I passed an older guy with a sign on his back that said he was running in memory of his wife who died of breast cancer. I totally almost broke down at that point. I was almost at the top of a huge hill, at which point you could look out and see the river and several of the bridges (a really great view of the city), and I just got totally overwhelmed with emotion. I started to tear up, and my breath caught a little and I almost lost it. But then I realized I probably wasn't going to make it very far if I was bawling, so I cut it out and passed him. I don't know if it was the emotion of actually doing what I set out to do, or if it was seeing this guy who lost someone, or the beautiful city view, or what. Regardless of the reason, I felt really moved and totally in the moment.

Anyway, that kept me motivated for another mile or so, and around 2.5 miles (previously the farthest I had run before), I definitely started getting tired. But then I saw the finish line, and totally busted it out. I pushed myself a little too hard, though, and pulled my calf muscle. I iced it when I got home, and it feels much better today. But, I definitely learned a lesson. Just because you can see the finish line doesn't mean you're invincible. I knew my legs were fatigued, and I started to realize that I should slow down, but didn't. Anyway, like I said... lesson learned.

A couple of pet peeves I have already with racing. First of all, to the old lady who nearly ran me over: Just because you're old and you're a breast cancer survivor doesn't mean you can plow into me and push me out of your way if you want to go around me. I'm glad you beat cancer and everything, but you don't have to be mean to people who are running slower than you. Maybe you should have lined up in the "7-8 minute" section instead of the "Over 10 minute" section.

And, why, oh why do people cross the finish line and then just freaking STOP? I mean, seriously, who are these people? Am I the only one who needs to ease myself out of running? Seriously, as soon as I crossed the finish line, I hit the people in front of me like a brick wall. I mean, they were just standing there! I'm like, Excuse me... umm... I need to keep walking or I am seriously going to pass out. Who are you people who can just stop, mosy over to the tent and grab a banana to chill out for a while? Am I in the minority here?

Lastly, the race t-shirt was ugly. Even though Amy says they're always ugly, I was holding out hope that it would be cool because it was my first race. Not so much. Honestly, I'd rather they just kept the shirt, and used that money to find a cure. Not that $5 is going to help much.

Anyway, I'm kind of sad it's over now, but I'm definitely sticking with it. I still have 2 weeks of the training program left, so I'm going to pick up where I left off. I found a 5k in another month that I think we're going to run, so I'll be interested to see how much of a difference one more month of training will make. Plus, it's right before Halloween and you're supposed to run in costume, which sounds totally awesome.

A Secret

I've been keeping a secret from you. Not a deep, dark, incriminating secret, no. I don't have any of those. But, no matter how you slice it, it' still a secret. Something I have intentionally not told you about. It's not like one of those things I haven't gotten around to writing... I specifically did not want to tell you. But now, I can't put it off any longer, so here goes.

I have been training for a 5k for 7 weeks now, and am running my first official race this coming Sunday. I know, I know... we've been through this before, you and I. And, then, I quit on you. Not only did I quit, but I didn't even tell you I quit until way after I quit. That was in November, and I said as soon as I was feeling "fully mobile" I was going to get back on it. Well... obviously it took me a little longer than that, but come on, I did buy a house, move, had eight weeks in a row of visitors, etc. Anyway, I was totally ashamed last time I had to quit publicly, so this time, I figured I'd make sure I was sure before I told you.

If you remember correctly, there were several issues I was having during my runs, finally culminating with a strained muscle in my ankle which caused me to bag the whole thing. (Incidentally, even though I gave Justyn mad props at the end of my quitting post for going on without me, he did quit like a week later, too. I realize that is officially me throwing him under the bus, but I can't have you guys thinking I'm the only quitter in this household.) Anyway, I was running in some pretty old shoes before, so that was the first task on my list before I started training this time. So, I found a sweet deal at REI for these babies:

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8

I got them for half-price, around $45, which is totally awesome. And, they feel really good on my feet. I have had zero pain in my left ankle this time around after 7 weeks, so I think I'm good. Issue # 1? Resolved.

Another issue I was having was with my ears, which through the use of my iPod, has become a non-issue. Issue # 2? Resolved.

Issue # 3 was temperature control. I've since figured out my temperature thresholds, which has helped a lot. 65 degrees is definitely my optimum running temp, in which case I wear calf-length leggings and a racerback top with a sports bra. Over 70 calls for shorts instead. 60 degrees and I have to throw on pants and a super thin cotton t-shirt over my sports bra, which usually ends up pushed way up to my biceps after about half a mile. But I found some awesome brand new Nike running pants at Goodwill for $7 which are absolutely perfect for cooler mornings. I definitely need to get some winter running tops, though, which will be next on the list for sure. Another issue resolved.

I was also having problems with my posture and breathing, which both seem to have worked themselves out on their own. I think a big part of my success this time around has been the warmer weather. We started training in October last year, right around the time it cooled off and started to get a little rainy, not to mention it was getting dark super early. I realize that time is coming up again soon, but I'm hoping my habits will be set by then enough that it won't be that big of a deal. Issue # 4? Mostly resolved.

Finally, the issue of timing. This was a big one for me, and honestly, I think resolving this issue alone has made the biggest difference. The Couch to 5k program is great, but requires a lot of different timed intervals which is difficult to keep up with while you're running. So, this time around, I googled "Couch to 5k iPod playlists" and found some chick who had put together some music with voice cues to tell you when to start and stop. I was so unbelievably psyched to find this, and it has made a huge difference. And, of course now I'm running 25 minutes at a time, so I can finally listen to my own music which totally rocks. Final issue? Totally resolved.

So anyway, Justyn and I have signed up for the Race for the Cure in downtown Portland this coming Sunday. And honestly? I'm a bit worried about what I've gotten myself into. You see, we aren't really done with the training program. I think we're through the hard part, but technically we still have like 2 weeks to go before we're consistently running a full 3 miles. I don't really mind it if I have to walk part of the race, but I'd like to run the whole thing. On the other hand, I don't want to hurt myself either. Does anyone out there think I'm risking injury by trying to run the whole thing if it's farther than I've ever run?

The other thing I'm worried about is this: When you start the program, they tell you that you can either run for time or distance. Well, time is so much easier, so that's what we've done. Until today, when I actually mapped 2.5 miles beforehand, just to see how I was doing. So in 25 minutes of running, I should have run 2.5 miles. But instead, I only ran 2.37 miles (averaging about a 10:30 mile... which, by the way... is that like laughably slow?). Could I have pushed my way through to the 2.5 mile mark? Absolutely. Is it a big deal? I don't know. All I know is that on Sunday I have to run 3.1 miles which, at my pace is going to be about 33 minutes and I don't know if I can do it. Or more importantly, if I should.

On the flip side, I am super excited about running my first race (for a good cause), getting my first race t-shirt, and a real live BIB!! I totally can't wait.

Nudity & Bicycles (part II)

UPDATE: Apparently some people didn't like the naked bike ride. One guy dislikes it so much, in fact, that he grabbed his video camera and rushed to the event just to make sure everyone knew he didn't approve. He starts yelling at them around 24 seconds in.

Warning: There is nudity in this video (obviously.)




He's saying "Get raped, degenerate scum!" (For those of you can't understand crazy-talk.) If you're interested in this guy, you can read more funny stuff about him here.

Nudity & Bicycles

You don't realize it yet, but I have let you down. As a faithful blog reader, you expect a certain level of service from me, and rely on me to report on quirky things happening here in PDX. Especially the uber-Portland-y ones.

So this past weekend was the annual World Naked Bike Ride in Portland. It's a big freaking deal here, apparently, but I didn't know. I promise I didn't know. If I had known, I would have been there getting the scoop for you, and taking pictures of nakedness. Although, I'm not sure all those naked people would appreciate a fully clothed person standing on the side of the road taking pictures of them. But then, if they did care, then they probably wouldn't be out riding their bikes naked, would they? Update: Check out my later post about a guy who doesn't approve of the naked bike ride.

Anyway, last year, Portland tied with London for the largest turnout of around 800 people. This year, they're saying that an estimated 5,000 people came out. Since I wasn't there, I can only direct you to read the account of someone who was there. This report is complete with photos. But reader beware: Not all bikers are supermodels, and some of these people have no business being naked in public. Don't say I didn't warn you.

In related news, the World Naked Bike Ride is part of Pedalpalooza which is going on here in Portland now. It's basically 2 weeks of nothing but bikes, bikes, and more bikes. From June 11 through the 27th, every day contains multiple events and rides for all ages, shapes, and sizes. During this 2 week period, there are around 200 different rides and other events you can take part in, to celebrate the greatness of the bicycle. There are bike jousting events, bike scavenger hunts, a "bike-in" movie, bike polo, zoobombing, even a vegan bike wedding.

To celebrate in my own special way, I got some new tires for my bike. If you recall, my bike is a mountain bike, complete with super-knobby tires that sound like a freaking weed eater motor when I'm riding down the road. So I got some slicks. Check it out:

My knobby tires (before)

My slicks (after)

The other bonus of changing tires, is that I learned what to do if I get a flat. But, it was pretty freaking hard and I really relied on Justyn to do the hard stuff. So, if I ever get a flat, I'm pretty sure I'll just call someone for a ride instead of trying to fix it myself. My bike maintenance skills have a loooong way to go.

Anyway, my new tires have made such a huge difference in my riding! I do want a better bike at some point, because I have been riding quite a bit. I ride to the grocery store, to the library, to happy hours, you name it. Between riding to the farmers market and back, and then to Trader Joe's and back, I got home and realized I accidentally rode almost 10 miles a couple of weekends ago! This was surprising to me, because the weekend prior, I had gone out to Sauvie Island (home of Portland's nude beaches) with a friend to ride, and bailed out because the loop was 12 miles and I didn't think I could do it. Granted, there was a lot of traffic and it made me nervous. But it was good practice to get used to cars, and I'm super glad I went. Now I'm pretty comfortable on the road, as long as it's not a main road with lots of cars. Anyway, I didn't think I could do 12 miles, but it turns out I probably could've. I just had to work my way up! I still can't take my hands off the handlebars, though, to signal when I'm turning. Which, is probably pretty dangerous, but I figure it's less dangerous than me riding one-handed.

**If you click through the nude beach link, it takes you to ORCOBA's website (Oregon Clothing-Optional Beach Alliance). There are photos there, again, NSFW. And also, keep in mind we're not talking about a Sports Illustrated photo shoot either. Same as the bike ride, some of these people should not be naked in public. But if you wanna check it out, go for it. I don't judge. I just provide the info. Oh, and by the way, if you are one of those naked people, I'm not judging you either. If you want to be naked, that's cool.

Bike At Your Own Risk

I am afraid of my bike. Like, totally terrified. I don't really recall riding bikes as a kid growing up in the south. We mostly rode 4-wheelers (now more commonly known as ATVs) around in the mud where there were no other cars or people or roads, etc. But, Justyn is super-active, and having grown up in Colorado and lived in San Francisco, he's a biker. In my never ending quest to improve myself and open my mind, I told him a couple of years ago that I'd try mountain biking with him (no traffic to worry about) so I searched Craigslist and found this for pretty cheap:



I think we went mountain biking twice in Nashville, both of which involved me getting scared from going too fast downhill or almost hitting a tree and then walking for a good portion of the trail. You see, I'm not a clumsy person (at least I don't think I am), nor am I accident-prone. But I am one of those people who gets hurt. You know, like... I don't always get hurt, but if someone is destined to get injured during some sort of activity, it's usually me. I also don't generally do well with activities which involve some type of device between my feet and the ground (think ice skating, skiing, skateboarding, etc.)

I also had a traumatic experience with a bike when I was a child. I was riding on the back of a bike with my mom, and even though I was small (about 6 or 7 years old, I think), I just couldn't keep my feet on those little pegs that were about 2 inches long. So, genius that I was (even at that young age) I decided I would just stick my legs way out to the sides and I'd be fine. Well, mom turned a corner and my foot got sucked up into the rear spokes. There was crying, blood, an exposed tendon, and a trip to the emergency room with my foot wrapped up in a blue kitchen towel. But the whole time I was sitting there in my mom's lap in the front seat on the way to the hospital, all I could think about was that I had ruined my favorite Strawberry Shortcake socks with the little pink fuzzy ball on the back.

Anyway, you can see why I have a deeply ingrained fear of bicycles. When we were packing to move, there was a moment when we both stood in the garage looking at all of our crap - Justyn looked at me and I looked at him, and we discussed if it was worth moving the bike (that I had only ridden twice) 2500 miles with us to Portland. In the end, I chose to keep it in hopes that I will be brave enough one day to call it my friend.

Because the thing is, that Portland has quite a reputation for bicycling. Apparently it's the most bike friendly city in the country, and number 2 in the whole world (second only to Amsterdam). Almost 10% of Portlanders commute by bike, and there are 164 miles of bike lanes, 66 miles of bike paths, and 30 miles of bike boulevards throughout the city. Almost 15,000 people crossed the bridges into the city by bike in 2007, and that number is growing about as quickly as gas prices. All those statistics should make me feel safer, right? I mean, in Nashville, you don't see many bike commuters... there is no "Share the Road" mentality there, and for that reason I would never consider biking in Nashville. Southerners + Hummers + Bicycles = Disaster Waiting to Happen. But here, I shouldn't be so worried. Drivers are used to bicyclists here, and bike lanes. There is a great biking community here, and even classes for women who are scared.

So, the point is that lately I've been thinking a lot about it. Our apartment was in a super hilly area of Portland (not very bikeable for a rookie/weakling like me). But now that we've moved to a flatter area where there are actually things to bike to, I've been thinking of giving it a shot. Justyn can bike downtown to his job in 15 minutes! I am sufficiently jealous every time I get on the bus to go downtown, wearing my gloves because I'm afraid I'm going to catch the swine flu. Plus, mass transit is not as cheap as I thought it would be. It's $2 for a 2 hour bus ticket, so $4 for a whole day. To me, that's no bargain because I'm pretty sure I would pay less than that for gas in my hybrid to get downtown. But whatever... it's still better for the environment I guess. But, it would be nice to not have to pay that, or pay for parking, and also to be in shape.

So May is national bike month, and this week is national bike to work week. Now, I am not going to be biking to work, for obvious reasons. Gotta start small, you know. In fact, the mayor of Portland, Sam Adams (yep, like the beer) has announced that he will be going car-free this month and ride his bike instead. Wow, he's really in the spirit! (Or, it could be that he totalled his truck last week in a controversial crash that some are saying involved some type of libation. Maybe the whole Beau Breedlove thing is getting to him.) It's a complete tangent, but interesting if you need a distraction for a while. Lots of drama here in Portland politics.

Anyway, this past weekend was really nice, and a friend of mine told me about an awesome breakfast spot pretty closeby (Justyn is always on the hunt for good breakfast). So, on Sunday morning (Mother's Day) we decided to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather, hopped on our bikes and rode to Bridge's Cafe. It was only about a 5 minute ride, and we didn't have to cross any busy streets to get there. And, it was totally awesome! I have never in my life used my bike as a mode of transport, and it was rad. I loved it! I felt like a real Portlander, locking my bike up outside and walking in with my right pant leg tight rolled up to my calf like the 40 year-old virgin. Oh yeah. It was awesome. It sounds dorky, but it means I'm part of a club now. It's like a gang sign, or a calling card. I'm a biker. And, I'm gonna do it some more too. Just wait and see.

Moving In

Alright, we're in! It was painful, but here we are. Our internet just got hooked up like an hour ago, and I'm excited to tell you what's been going on. I'm tired, so I'm not going to give you all the gory details just yet, but here are a few updates.

Painting? Yes, we painted some of the new place. Namely, all the trim (crown molding, baseboards, window trim, etc.) in the living room, dining room, and master bedroom. You want to see? Okay, here you go:



Sorry, it's the best I can do right now. I promise I'll put some pictures up, just as soon as I get all this sorted out and can actually walk into the living room to even take a freaking picture.

I mentioned that there were no outlets in the bathroom. Honestly, I don't understand how a family with 4 kids lived in this place. No outlets in the bathroom? Oh, and only one (yes, ONE) outlet in the kitchen. And, guess where it was:

Really? Really? Really? How am I supposed to use that? I can compromise, people, I really can. But you have to give me something to work with. I can just see myself wrangling with an extension cord all over this kitchen to try and cook one freaking meal. I think my rice cooker would fit really nicely over there on the floor, as well as the coffee maker and the toaster. I could just make that whole nook area "appliance land".

Sounds amusing for about 2 seconds (not really). So, we called an electrician to add some outlets (a.k.a. "receptacles" in electrician-speak) and to ground the fuse box because it's so freaking old and it's not grounded which is totally freaking scary. He did all this last week while we were painting, and then the city inspector came out today to approve the work that he did. Well, guess what? Umm...the electrician forgot to connect the new ground wire to the fuse box. He ran it all the way inside, and then just left it cut off. I don't know crap about electricity, but I do know that a ground needs to be connected to something. As a result, our house failed the inspection. So, the electrician has to come out and fix it, and then the city has to come inspect it again. Good times.

Oh, and check out my new stove:

Oh yeah, double oven baby!!! And, it was super cheap on Craigslist. What you're seeing is a vintage Kenmore, I think probably from the mid 60s. I was totally psyched to bring it home, but when we got it here and plugged it in, only the lights worked. No burners, neither oven. Luckily we asked the electrician when he was here...turns out it was just a fuse issue. Yes, it's so old it has fuses. Is it energy efficient? No. But is it totally awesome? Yes. I just used it for the first time to make my lunch (ramen). Am I in college again? No. But is all my food packed away in boxes? Yes. It cooked my ramen just fine, and I can't wait to make something even way better than that. I owe our neighbors some baked goodies because they brought us food when we were over here working until all hours trying to get this place move-in ready.

Oh, and by the way, if you want to lose a little weight and get in shape, here's a tip: refinish about 1000 square feet of hardwood floors, tape, prep, and paint some trim, and move yourself all in 2 weeks. Justyn and I have both lost about 10 pounds since we started all this. I probably didn't need to lose any, but I definitely feel stronger than I did a month ago, and that's a good thing.

That's all for now... I have to get some more boxes unpacked so Justyn doesn't think I've been sitting around blogging and eating ramen all day.

The Big Reveal

After almost 120 hours of manual labor, 60+ gallons of sawdust, and lots of aches and pains, we have finally finished the floors of our new house! And the verdict is: I will never ever refinish my own floors again. It was definitely the most taxing physical work I've ever done. But, that being said, we actually had a pretty good time and it is one of the most rewarding things you can do to a house, I think. Each step is tedious, but you can see clear progress with each goal, and the finished product is so gratifying. It went pretty smoothly, except that I ran over the cord with the drum sander and ripped it down to the bare copper wire (oops), and at one point I forgot to empty the dust bag (the point of which I still don't really get, because it is SO dusty even with that attached). I was cruising along, sanding the floor, and it got so heavy it fell off and a ginormous cloud of dust exploded all over the room. Not fun.

To recap the steps for you, this is what we did in 5 rooms (1000 square feet), plus some of the stair landings: sand with 40 grit, edge with 40 grit, sweep, vacuum. Repeat with 40 grit again, because we're anal. Fill entire floor with wood filler (by hand, with a plastic trowel) to seal cracks, gouges, etc. Sand and edge with 60 grit, sweep, vacuum. Repeat with 60 grit again, because we're anal. Spot fill the floor with wood filler for any places you missed. Sand and edge with 100 grit, sweep, vacuum. Get a 1 1/2" paint scraper to scrape out the corners you couldn't get with the sanders, sand by hand with 100 grit. Buff with 120 grit, sweep, vacuum. Sweep & vacuum again, then wipe all surfaces (floors, walls, baseboards, windows) with a damp towel to remove ALL dust. Apply oil sealer to fir, water-based sealer to oak. Let dry overnight. Buff the fir with 120 grit, sweep, vacuum, wipe all surfaces again to remove dust. Apply first coat of water-based finish to all floors. Let dry overnight. Buff the oak with 120 grit, sweep, vacuum, wipe all surfaces again to remove dust. Apply 2nd coat of water-based finish to all floors. Walk away very, very slowly so as not to stir up any dust. I'm so not exaggerating, my friends. It was brutal. But check out how great they turned out!

Here's a reminder of what they used to look like:

The landing has been refinished, the stair treads are what the floors used to look like.

Here's an action shot of me applying the oil sealer to the fir floor in the master bedroom. You have to use an oil sealer for fir floors because the wood is softer and needs a little more protection. We used water-based on the oak (living room and dining room) because we like the look of it a little better, and it's not so fume-y.

I have intentionally refrained from commenting on the pink and green paint in this room. (Not to mention the mysterious sticky drips of unidentifiable liquid on the baseboards.) I don't want to talk about it, but it will be addressed. Trust me.

This is the finished master bedroom. It's not a great photo, but you can tell it looks better than it did.

Finished guest bedroom # 1 (notice, no more burn marks - yay!)

Finished guest bedroom # 2

Finished living room

Finished dining room


Another action shot of Justyn buffing the floors (after we applied the sealer). You can see how dusty it is... I couldn't keep the lens clean long enough to snap the shot.

So, I mentioned that Justyn has done a lot of construction, remodeling, etc. We were sitting around on one of the last days of this project and I said, "Honey, please tell me this is as hard as it gets." He was like, "Oh, yeah, this is definitely the hardest I've worked in a long time." And I was thinking, Whew, what a relief! Then he said, "I think hanging drywall might be harder, but luckily we don't have to do that." (Plaster, people. Our house was built in 1925.) Then there was a pause.... and he said, "Painting. Painting trim especially sucks, and is a lot of work, too."

Fabulous. That was next on the list, and we had about one day to rest before we had to start prepping for that project. I'm sorry, but I refuse to live in a place with mysterious crusties on door frames and baseboards. Also on the agenda before move-in: buy a stove, have the place professionally cleaned with the strongest chemicals ever made (I know, I know...I should be ashamed), and get an electrician out to remedy the fact that there are no outlets in the bathroom (among other electrical issues). More on these projects coming up, but right now I've gotta start packing!

Daniel-san, Show me 'Sand the Floor'.

I casually mentioned on Friday that we were planning to refinish the hardwood floors in our new house this weekend. We had high hopes to finish it all up in one weekend, but now we realize that's crazy. It's a looong, complicated process: Sand with 40 grit, edge with 40 grit, sand with 60 grit, edge with 60 grit, sand with 100 grit, edge with 100 grit, buff with 120 grit... and that's as far as we got. Now we have to clean up all the dust, seal them, let them dry, put one coat of finish on, buff again, clean up the dust from the buffing, and put one more coat of finish on. Why, on earth we thought we could finish all this in one weekend is beyond me.

You see, we had someone come out and look at the floors to give us an estimate on refinishing. They said, "These are in such bad condition, they really aren't worth refinishing... you should just have them replaced." Too bad replacing them would have cost $15,000. Sorry, floor people. We don't have that kind of cash sitting around without a name on it. Anyway, these people also offer classes on how to refinish your own floors, which Justyn and I both attended a couple of weeks ago. It was really great, because they let you use the drum sander and edger to get a feel for what they're like, and you can practice on some floor samples they have. Anyway, if you're going to refinish your own floors, I'd recommend finding a class like that and taking it. It was $40 but totally worth it.

Part of the reason we didn't finish in one weekend (but not the only, let me assure you) is that our floors were NASTY. After we did the 40 grit, there was still some of the old finish showing, some weird stains and streaking, etc. So, we did the 40 again. And then after the 60... same thing. So we did the 60 again. We're overacheivers, Justyn and I. When we took our class and they were listing the steps, they said "DO NOT SKIP STEPS!!" Because, really after the first round of sanding, your floors already look a lot better, and it is tempting to just be like, "Eh, that's good enough." But noooo... not us. We add steps because we're just like that.

Anyway, like I said, we're totally not done yet, but I wanted to give you an update and show you some 'before' and 'during' photos.

Living room before sanding

Living room after sanding

Dining room before sanding


Dining room before sanding


Dining room after sanding


Master bedroom before sanding

Master bedroom before sanding

Master bedroom after sanding

Guest room 1 before sanding

Guest bedroom 1 before sanding (note the big black burn marks)

Guest bedroom 1 after sanding

Guest bedroom 2 before sanding

Guest bedroom 2 after sanding

That's it for now... gotta go start sealing these bad boys. More pictures later this week.

Disappointment

I had a hard time choosing the title of this post. On one hand, I could be a "glass half full" kind of gal and call it "The Promise of Spring". Or I could go the other way and call it "The Early Bird Gets Nothing". While I did decide to go with the down-side for the overall post, don't worry. It's not all bad.

I'm referring to the First Hike of the Season, a.k.a. Cherry Orchard Trail. I read about the hike in this month's issue of Portland Monthly (an excellent resource if you've just moved here... I highly recommend it). It sounded perfect: sweeping views of the Columbia River Gorge, ponds swarming with butterflies, a wind-swept meadow and blossoming cherry trees. Pair that, with the fact that it was sunny and 75 degrees this weekend, and I mean, come on! Who could pass that up? Not me, that's for sure.

A little background: we signed all the papers for our house on Friday (yay!) but I guess here in Oregon that doesn't count as a "closing" so we didn't get the keys. I, personally, was glad because I knew the weather was supposed to be nice and I didn't want to be stuck inside doing a bunch of chores the whole weekend. Plus, the cherry blossoms in the city are at their peak, and I just knew it would be a perfect time to start our hiking season. Nevermind the fact that this hike was 4.5 miles out and back, and there was an elevation gain of 1500 feet in the first 2 miles. And nevermind that the last hike we went on was around Thanksgiving. I knew it would be tough, but I also knew that it would be totally worth it once we got to the top.

It's not a super-popular trail, which was good because it was so amazingly beautiful that I'm sure it would've been very crowded if it were more well-known. The way up was extremely steep, and parts of it were covered with scree and gravel, making it pretty tough to get your footing. Plus the trail goes right along the edge of the cliff in some places, and for someone who hasn't been hiking in 4 months, it's pretty scary. By that time you're gaining elevation pretty quickly, and I tend to look at my feet a lot (for obvious reasons) so when you look up it's easy to get a little vertigo. I got dizzy a couple of times, and almost lost my balance once (at this stage we discussed turning back, because nothing is worth Stephanie falling off the edge of a cliff into the Columbia River Gorge, cherry orchard or not.) It was also pretty windy, and you know that I have trouble with this, so I stuffed some tissue in my ears (a trick I learned at an Alice in Chains concert) and I was good to go.

After you go through a series of switchbacks, the trail starts to level out and goes through a whole bunch of scraggly looking trees:

Once we got to this part, the rest of the trail was pretty easy... still some up and down, but nothing like the first mile and a half or so. The article I'd read said, "At approximately 1.5 miles, you'll see a pond known for attracting swarms of fluttering butterflies." Another website had touted the pond as "a small, seasonal pond that's just packed with butterflies in the early spring". Well, we found it:

No butterflies in sight. Hmph. Disappointment # 1. But, by then we were through the hard part and only had another 3/4 mile to go. Plus we were hungry and anxious to eat our avocado, tomato, spinach & cucumber sandwiches. Mmm. At the end of the road we came to the meadow, which was pretty neat. It had beautiful views of the river, so we sat and had our lunch.

Oh, Where's the cherry orchard, you ask? That's an excellent question, and one I'd love to know the answer to. We didn't see any stinking cherry trees. The article said, "The few remaining trees, which sprout snow-white blossoms each April, line the eastern edge of the meadow." But we didn't see any. Not even one. And, apparently (after doing some more research this morning) there is only one. Another source says, "Once upon a time, the Lyle cherry orchard was just that. But when farmers stopped irrigating, the orchard died—save for one tree, whose survival no one can fully explain. Look for the cherry tree on the eastern edge." My only guess is that maybe it died? Disappointment #2, not to mention quite a tragedy, if it did, in fact, die.

But on the way back, we did see more signs of spring (aside from the gorgeous weather.)

Spring blooms just waking up.

But don't get me wrong... it was totally worth it. No pain, no gain. I mean, where else can you get a view like this, and all from your own leg work?

I'm extremely sore today, but I feel great. All in all, I still think it was a perfect way to start off Spring, regardless of the disappointment. I can't wait to get some more hikes under my belt and share them with you!

And, P.S. I'm going to find some damn cherry blossoms if it kills me. Pictures to come.

Vegging Out

So, when I first started this blog, one of my intentions was to write about my goals to become healthier and more active. Aside from my brief excursion into running, I haven't really lived up to this task, especially given this, this, and this. (Not to mention the chocolate pecan pie with bourbon I mentioned here, and the recipe for Mississippi Nilla Mud Cake I mentioned a while back but have been too ashamed to post.) After all, you can take the girl out of the South, but can you take the South out of the girl?

Tennessee was ranked 47th in the list of healthiest states in 2008, and Oregon was 16th. This study takes a lot of things into account, like access to health care coverage, etc. so it's not really a fair comparison. So, I will also quote the American Fitness Index for 2008, which ranks cities according to how active and fit their citizens are. Portland is #7 on the list, Nashville is #23. So, while the cities do rank closer together, there's some obvious room for improvement.

I did not grow up on a healthy diet (don't worry Mom, it's not your fault). I was the world's pickiest eater and have a vivid memory of sitting at our dining room table in the dark after everyone had gone to bed because my mom told me I couldn't get up until I ate all my green beans. I absolutely hated green beans with a passion (and anything else green for that matter) until I was in college when I started eating green beans by the can because it was easy and cheap. (Of course even then, they were boiled on the stove for about 30 minutes with 2 or 3 cubes of beef bouillon, but that's beside the point.) Finally I think my mom gave up and just started making the same 3 or 4 meals every week: Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, Salisbury Steaks with gravy and rice, and spaghetti (notice - not many veggies, and certainly nothing fresh.) I refused to even TRY new foods, including salad, and I didn't eat my first salad until Justyn and I were dating and I was 22 years old. (He refused to date a picky eater, lucky for me.)

Now that I live in Oregon, it's easy for me to blame the state I lived in for my sorry diet and lack of exercise, but it's not really fair. The truth is, it's just the way I grew up. I was never particularly active - I didn't play team sports or even competitive sports. I tried gymnastics for a while but it didn't stick, and I really wanted to be a cheerleader but that didn't work out either time I tried. I grew up in Louisiana and we spent most of our time poking around in the creek for crawdads, or fishing, riding our 4-wheelers around in the mud, or pulling each other around in cardboard boxes (yes, we really did that). Anyway, my point is that while Justyn was in Colorado skiing and snowboarding and kayaking, etc., and eating every vegetable his mom could figure out how to cook, I was in Nashville trying to figure out how to make my bangs stand up higher, dancing around my room to Debbie Gibson and spritzing myself with Exlclamation! perfume while the smell of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese wafted down the hallway.

I mentioned around Thanksgiving that Justyn's mom came to visit and that she is an amazing cook. Honestly, she has mad kitchen skills that I never even knew existed. The amazing thing about her is that she can just look in the refrigerator and make up stuff using what is available. I have never been around anyone like that, and it is crazy to watch. I truly think that watching her in the kitchen is equivalent to watching Picasso paint a masterpiece. She made some impressive meals for us while she was here, and so after she left there was a definite void. So, I decided that I could also do these wonderful things. But then we started traveling for the holidays, yada yada, (insert excuse here) and I lost momentum.

Then a few weeks ago, I saw this video by Mark Bittman (the guy who wrote the How to Cook Everything cookbooks) and it blew my mind. Note: This video is long (20 minutes) but it is SO WORTH WATCHING. I'm not going to get into the crazy statistics he mentions... just watch it... PLEASE. My regular readers know I'm a self-professed tree-hugger, and to be honest (and admittedly stupid) I have never linked what I eat with the environment. Soon after I saw this video, I was reading one of the many food blogs I follow, and he started talking about being a "part-time vegetarian". Now, Justyn has always told me I would make a great vegetarian (remember the chicken truck incident)? So when I read this, I thought it was a pretty good idea for me.

Okay, okay, don't get freaked out. I know some of you are thinking now I've really gone off the deep end, and my once-subtle liberal tendencies are now spiraling out of control. And I know that Oregon has a reputation for being "the land of fruits and nuts" where a bunch of granola-eating hippies walk around with no bras and armpit hair, but hear me out. I mean, there are some good, intelligent arguments for doing this: it's cheaper, it's healthier, and it's better for the environment. I mean, seriously, how can you go wrong? It's even got a cool name: flexitarianism. Some would say that "omnivore" pretty much covers it (i.e. one who eats meat AND vegetables), but I think "flexitarian" has a nice ring to it. It shows that you are making a conscious decision to be aware of what you eat, and make a concerted effort to decrease your meat and packaged food consumption.

Then I started looking around and I realized I have four (yes, four) vegetarian cookbooks that I have never so much as cracked the binding on. (They were all gifts from Justyn's family, of course.) So, thinking on these things and realizing I had a pretty amazing arsenal with which to begin my foray into veggie-land, I figured I had no further excuses to put it off. I haven't been keeping track of my exact statistics, but I'm pretty sure in the last 2 weeks, I've eaten meat about 3 times... a pretty strong start, I think! Incidentally, and for those of you who are wondering, Justyn used to be a vegetarian before he moved to Nashville. Now he keeps telling me he wants a big juicy steak. I guess you can't take the South out of the man either, even if he only lived there for 6 years.

Admission of Guilt

Hello friends. I have bad news. I have been waiting, hoping I wouldn't have to write this post, but today I realized that it's time.

I hurt my ankle. Well, I didn't hurt it, really I think it hurt itself. I didn't fall down or anything.

The 5k training was going really well, actually. I was starting to find my groove. I got the wardrobe thing down, started covering my ears, got the intervals timed out correctly, etc. I was actually starting to feel like a real runner. Then around the end of week 3 of our training program, my left ankle started to hurt a little, but only when I ran. So I figured, maybe it's no big deal, just a little adjustment my body needs to make, you know?

Not so... it got progressively worse, and so I grilled Amy since she's basically my running coach. She said as long as it wasn't radiating up to my knee, it was fine. Well, sure enough, within a couple of days my left knee started hurting. But again, it was only when I ran, so I still didn't worry a whole lot. I thought maybe I just needed new shoes, so I started running in different shoes to see if that helped. Then one morning, I woke up, slung my legs over the edge of the bed, stood up, and BAM!

I mean, seriously intense pain in my ankle. Couldn't walk. Hurt. So. Bad.

So, I tried soaking it in epsom salt, which didn't seem to help, contrary to my dear mother's belief that an epsom salt bath will cure any problem you have. (I love you mom.) In her defense, I have often soaked in epsom salts after a rigorous hike, or if I'm just feeling achy, and it actually does help a lot. And epsom salt is cheap at any drugstore...you should pick some up and give it a try.

Then I asked Mom, who is also an amazingly talented massage therapist, if she had any other ideas to relieve my pain. Then she proceeded to convince me that I had a stress fracture. She has had a stress fracture before, and all of the symptoms seemed to match mine, so I proceeded to freak out and start checking into my insurance to see if I could get myself an x-ray.

Finally, while gently probing with my curious fingers around the ankle joint, I found something. I found my peroneous longus. And it hurt. I was actually glad, because finding a sore muscle, to me, negates the existence of a broken bone (which, I know is not necessarily true, but let me have my moment). I have been working on this muscle to try and relieve some of the constriction, and I can say now after over a week of sitting on my ass, that my ankle is feeling a bit better. But, I still feel a little twinge of pain when I walk, so I'm not 100% sure my troubles are over.

Needless to say, and to finally come to the point, we are NOT running the planned 5k on December 7th. I have now learned the importance of building in plenty of extra time in your training plan so things like this don't screw you over. But, as soon as I am feeling fully mobile again, I will be picking up where we left off, and setting a goal of my own to run 3 miles anyway. So, I'm not a total failure.

P.S. Give some kudos to Justyn. He's been running his tushy off without me, which is no easy task especially when I was like, "Nah, just skip it. Don't go. Sit here on the couch with me and watch CNN and eat Mississippi Nilla Mud Cake." (Yes, that recipe is forthcoming. Just a little teaser for you.)

Training Day

Justyn and I decided that we want to try running. I mean, like a real race.

I have never considered myself the running type, but I've realized living in Portland, that exercising and being healthy is totally contagious. And, for me that's a good thing, because I've been known to be kind of a quitter when it comes to physical exertion. I feel terribly uncomfortable when I exercise... my hair gets all sweaty around my face/neck, and my face gets all hot and red. And afterwards I always feel like I'm going to pass out. I have a pretty serious fear that I might give myself some sort of heart failure if I over-exert myself. I have no idea what my target heart rate is supposed to be, but I'm pretty sure that mine must get up to like 180 bpm.

Portland has an amazingly large percentage of people that are active. Almost every person you meet is into some sort of outdoor activity: skiing, snowboarding, running, kayaking, climbing, you name it. Which, to me, is kind of odd, considering that Portland is known for having awful weather. Anyway, some people at Justyn's office are training for a half marathon, and he feels left out. The half marathon is in January, so I asked my runner friend Amy if it's possible to train for a half marathon in 2 months (shows how much I know, right?) The answer is a resounding "NO," for those of you who are as ignorant as I am about such things. So she suggested a 5k for winter, and then if it goes well, we'll try for the half marathon in Eugene which happens in May. She also sent me a "Couch to 5k" training plan, and considering we are essentially starting from the couch (aside from some vigorous hiking we've been doing, and 30 minutes a day on the elliptical machine), we decided to go for it.

After a solid week of procrastinating (I'm kind of tired, or it's a little dark, or it's raining, or it's cold, or I have a little headache, or maybe I'm getting sick), we finally got off our rumps to start training. Overall, it went pretty well. I didn't have any problem maintaining the intervals, but I did get super tired after about 12 minutes, and the running portions seemed to get longer. But we stuck with it, and finished our 20 minutes (plus stretching and warm-up, of course). I know I'll hurt tomorrow.

Issues I need to resolve quickly:

Ears - I believe that my ear holes/canals are either abnormally large, or they are aerodynamically shaped in such a way that allows cold air to rush into my ear canal at an alarming rate. The result is that after being outside in the cold (even if it's mildly windy...I promise I wasn't running THAT fast) my ears hurt. Like bad. So, I wonder if I should try earplugs of some sort, or some kind of wrap or hat? Or possibly some earmuffs?

Photo courtesy of http://www.funnyjunk.com/

Breathing - I think I'm not breathing correctly when running. I try to time my breathing with my pace... so for instance, I breathe in for 3 steps, and breathe out for 3 steps. It seems to be working okay but I always start feeling a little stitch in my side about halfway in, which makes me feel like quitting. I also breathe through my mouth, which I'm not sure is the right thing to do. I think not, because the inside of my mouth gets all filmy and weird.

Posture - Sometimes I feel like my bottom half is moving at a different pace than my top half, and that it's quite possible that I look like Quasimodo to bystanders. Also, my neck kind of hurts now (about 3 hours after), so I'm pretty sure something weird is going on. I need to run in a mirror, just to make sure I look cool. Because I'm pretty sure I don't.

Clothing/Temperature Control - Tonight when we ran it was somewhere between 55 and 60 degrees. I wore cotton yoga pants, a sports bra/top and a light cotton jacket. I ran the first few intervals with the jacket on, then got super hot and so I unzipped it. Then it proceeded to flap around while I was trying to run, so I tied it around my waist. That wasn't much better, because then it was not only flapping around, but was also hitting my legs at the same time which was super annoying. But, my top half was cooler so at least that part worked out.

Timing - I have a Timex Expedition watch, which I have had for a while (I use it as my 'casual' watch). I have never used it for its functions. It's a good thing. The first week of the 5k training is to run for 60 seconds and walk for 90. My timer only has one setting, so I can time the 60 seconds each time I start to run, but then don't have a way of timing the 90. So I thought maybe the Chrono setting would work, but then I'm having to do quick math in my head and have to look at my watch constantly. Not fun. Not to mention that it is uber-dark where we ran, so I had to also hit the Indiglo button so I could read it. Maybe I need a stop-watch, or some kind of funky running/training device that I don't realize even exists?

I'm telling you all of this because I figure I should just get all my excuses out of the way first. I realize that these things could undermine my goal and I'd rather just get it out in the open. All of that being said, I did feel pretty good afterward. Tired, but good. And hungry.

I hope this doesn't come across as a negative post... on the contrary: my hope is that someone out there reading this will realize that maybe they're not the only ones who have all of these hangups. And then maybe you will get off your rump and start running too!