Why I don't use Strava

My apologies to the 16 of you who follow me on Strava.

Sure, everyone stalks each other on social media. Guilty! Studies have shown that Facebook causes people to be dissatisfied with their lives because we constantly compare ourselves to others, and we forget to live our own, personal existence. I find myself somewhat jealous of other people's vacations, pets, and that they have time to run in the middle of the day when I'm stuck at work. Maybe people feel the same way about me.

I do use Facebook and this blog to keep myself 'honest' about what I'm doing with my time. I like to get feedback about my activities, what I could be doing better, and am glad to start a conversation even if it turns into a disagreement. But, I'm not telling you about every aspect of my training, or my life, for that matter. My Facebook content is censored. Are you shocked? You really shouldn't be.

You  might have heard about my hatred for sites like Pinterest (and magazines, and Hollywood, for that matter). The only thing Pinterest is useful for is understanding that people, for the most part, are clones. We all like the same things. Re-pinning something with 10,000 pins is not necessarily a good thing. Pinterest is also a virtual world of what we could have, instead of what we really are. Most of the hairstyles on there don't work, and so much of the other stuff looks like it came from a catalog. It's a fantasy. It's a lot like #photostockgirl. She is a model for what we all want to be, but she isn't you. You are just fine the way you are. So am I.

Recently, I ran into someone who had asked if I have been riding my bike. I explained that I have been riding my bike - quite a bit actually. To which she said,  "Oh I just haven't seen you on Strava."

"I don't use Strava."

Strava is an app that records rides and runs like a GPS device. It collects pace, miles per hour, route, distance, and elevation. On top of that, it's also a social media app that allows the athlete to share this information with other users. People can "follow" you, or you can "follow" them like a Twitter or any other social media account. When one logs into their Strava feed, they can compare a workout to others in the Strava social network. They can also see who was on the same ride, and users can leave comments for each other. The course is broken into segments, and the app records each users best time on each segment and applies a personal record when a faster time is recorded. Also, users can compare themselves to all other users on each segment. That's where the competition comes in: the fastest athlete on the segment is named "King of the Hill."

If you use your Garmin once a year, and improve dramatically over that year - you will break a lot of personal records. Note: x 56!

There is this overwhelming peer pressure in the cycling and triathlon community to put everything on Strava. True, I do use Facebook and my blog to make myself accountable to others, but the stuff I don't feel like sharing, doesn't get shared. Strava shares just about everything (at least about riding and running). If Facebook and Pinterest make people feel dissatisfied with life - well, Strava puts it into numbers - which seems to be even worse. Who can I be the best I can be when I'm trying to beat so-and-so's time on such-and-such segment?

I already mentally beat myself up enough already.

I have a Garmin, which I prefer to use over any smart phone app. It's mostly for safety. I want the device right in front of me where I can see it, or have it safely secured to my wrist. Also, I don't want an app to run down my iPhone battery. We know how little time we have without charging these days. I don't want to track an epic bike ride, and not have the ability to call someone for help or look for directions. Yes, I tend to get lost. I track my workouts with my Garmin so I can log into my account and look up my past riding, running, (and now!) swimming history. There are still pieces of the Garmin that I haven't used to their full potential - a la the heart rate monitor. Baby steps.

It's great to see improvement, but I don't need to see what everyone else is doing or compare myself to others. When you use Strava, there is no getting around it unless you set up a private profile. But, Strava is definitely meant to be a social app, not private. You may have asked to follow me on Strava, and I'm certainly not going to reject you. I've also seen some of the awesome rides and runs that you have done, and I DO think you are really awesome. But using it on the daily would not make me feel good about my own goals, and my own efforts. Every time I see another athlete's epic workout on Strava I think to myself, "I could do that."

Or worse, "I'll never amount to anything."

If I start training for someone else, then I will surely be doomed. So, I move forward. Watching my own progress, and training to the best of my abilities. . . Strava-free.

Breakthrough and Mogwai: Kaiser Half Marathon Race Report

Having a breakthrough is like finding a mogwai. With great speed, comes great responsibility.

It was a stormy night, and I was in China Town buying presents for the family when I came across this strange shop where I bought a mogwai for my son Billy. Oh. Wait. Slightly different story...

It was a stormy morning along the Great Highway of San Francisco when my running buddies and I arrived for the Kaiser Half Marathon. Despite a temperamental quad/knee issue, I had signed up for the race, and didn't want to miss out. After all, it doesn't hurt to run! The strange Chinese man with one blue eye told me that I should be aware, go slow, and stop as needed. (Ok, the strange Chinese man thing didn't happen.) My goal for this half marathon was to use it as a training run, enjoy the Chi, and put one foot in front of the other. No pressure.

My running friends, one from England and the other from Ireland, made me hold my proverbial California tongue about running in the rain and cold. After the drought we've been having in California, the rain was a good thing, except I may have been slightly under dressed. Only one of us (not me) came prepared with a garbage bag. A garbage bag is this awesome invention that is meant for carrying garbage, but actually makes a handy throw-away jacket for the rain and cold. Make a hole for your head in the top, and you have a some schnazzy outerwear. Luckily, volunteers were handing our bags out in the bus shuttle line.We also figured out that a swim cap is an excellent rain repellent for an iPhone. These inventions should really be re-branded.

I have digressed.

There were thousands of runners out there in Golden Gate Park, set to run this early season half marathon. Good crowd. I seated myself at the front of the eight-minute mile pack, expecting that everyone would pass me in the first few miles, and I was mentally prepared for that. After a gospel rendition of the National Anthem, we were off! Mile one was good, at mile two I ditched my garbage rain coat, at mile three I got a little cramped, and by mile four I was moving along just fine.

Blah blah, moving on. I had an awesome race. Every mile except mile three was below an eight-minute per mile pace. I have been hovering around 8:02 and 8:09 for years. Granted, the course had a lot of downhill, but when I reached the halfway mark, feeling feisty, I knew I could set a personal record if I could just keep up the pace. Running along the Great Highway was flat, but runners also caught a headwind, which was mostly to our backs in the other direction.

I saw my entire track workout pace group from the turn around (around mile 10) until the finish. It made me proud to know that I hang with the right people at track workout once a week: Jimmy, Debbie, Matt, Gemma - we were all there within a minute or so of each other. Debbie, and two totally random girls picked up their pace for the last three miles, and I tried with all of my might to stay on their heals to the finish....

For a Personal Record! 1:43:52 (7:55 per mile pace)

Better yet, a PR in February, while I'm still losing holiday weight, and am injured. If this is any indication for how the rest of the season goes, I'm stoked. (Knocking on wood in fear of bad luck.) Honestly though, I got lucky. I was mentally prepared for anything, but broke rules that I wouldn't normally break on an important race day.

The rules I broke are similar to the rules of the mogwai:

1.) I'm not very "light" right now (holiday weight).
2.) I was wet (cold), didn't wear the proper gear.
3.) I ate pizza pre-race, after midnight.

Now, the pressure begins. I know I can maintain a sub-8 minute mile on a flatter course. But there is such a difference between 7:58 and 7:35. I'd like to get to that 7:35 pace and maintain it over 13 miles. Can I get there? And how?

I need to be more careful. With great speed, also comes great responsibility. Ability to improve is like the mogwai, and not caged up at a strange shop in China Town anymore. I need to give this new mogwai love, but also figure out how to live with it, and mostly, don't mess it up! I was forgiven this time, but I know the reality.

It's going to take a lot of careful training and foam rolling . . .or I will have to return the mogwai.

Injured Mogwai is prepared for battle.

It's the Climb!

Remember that song by Hannah Montana? That is definitely how I felt about climbing 8,300 feet on my bike a couple of weekends back - until we reached the last epic hill. This is the story of how a Rock Star ride turned into a big, hot mess.

I was stoked, and maybe a little apprehensive to take on so many hills for a 70+ mile bike ride. But, I do like climbing in general! Everyone should feel the desire to climb: in life, in love, literally (on a bike). Upward is the way to go.

My cycling friends and I started out on the campus of UC Santa Cruz, and straight away, we were on Empire Grade. *Note anything with the words 'Grade' or 'Mountain' won't be a nice, flat road. Furthermore, any road with the words 'Creek' isn't going to be flat either, at least not in California. At least they could call it 'Waterfall' to give you a clue, but I suppose that name is too long for s a street sign. Empire Grade became Ice Cream Grade, which might be a 'cool' place, but it's just more climbing. Around this time, I noticed a very tired calf muscle. My calves are rather tight, but so far it hasn't deterred me from any exercise.

Our group stopped, ate something and we were off again. This was our first regroup after 1.5 hours and only 11 miles. All. Up. Hill.

We made it to the town of Boulder Creek, and safely made it out of some sketchy traffic, and even avoided a run-in with a large truck that didn't give us 3 feet (It's the law, people!), and a huge deer carcass in the bike lane. That was a close one!

There were some awesome descents too! I'm finally getting comfortable riding downhill as fast as a car.

For miles 25 through 55 I felt like a total rock star! I sprinted ahead a couple of times, I got out of my saddle and pushed up a couple short hills with all of my might. I was having the time of my life. God, it was a beautiful day! We saw breathtaking views of the Santa Cruz mountain (or valley, because we were ON the mountain), took some turns around a picturesque country Christmas Tree farm, and ended up at Big Basin State Park for a potty break, followed by another leisurely climb and some conversation.

I was completely doped up on endorphin! Man, that stuff is the shit!

There was a very comfortable assent through Big Basin State Park, but toward the top, I noticed my knee was not comfortable at all. I was having a hard time pushing down on the pedals without a sharp knee pain. It was the worst time for this to happen because we just reached Jamison Creek Road (the mega hill of the entire ride). "Here we go," one of my friends said as they started the climb. We had been aware of exactly when this climb was coming, and maybe only slightly aware of just how brutal it would be.

Because I'm such a 'Rock Star' I decided to start up the hill instead of heading back to town to wait for a ride back. I started walking, and felt fine, but each time I attempted to get back in the saddle, a sharp knee pain made me get off of my bike and start walking again. I got into the saddle a total of 3 times, and probably only getting about 100 feet each time. 1.5 miles of mostly walking up that hill, I decided I might as well walk the whole way. Who knows what that descent would be like. . .

Luckily, or unluckily, this road is not traveled much by cars. I missed three opportunities to ask someone in a truck for a ride. I thought about throwing my bike over the edge once. . .

So, I spent about 5.5 hours in the saddle that day, plus an additional 45 minutes walking uphill. In my cleats. Yowza!

Never did I imagine that I would injure myself on the bike. Everyone injures themselves running, right? Isn't running the devil? Maybe I have tight calves due to running, and it was just a gateway drug to biking.

Today I am going to rehab, i.e meeting with a Sports Therapist/Chiropractor today. It was just a matter of time, I suppose. I hope it's something that can be fixed, and I can help to prevent by not going overboard in the future. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go to real rehab and that will not be pretty, or cheap. But, like anyone with an addiction, it will probably be a life-long struggle.

The moral to the story is, don't take your legs out and think you are going to be Hannah Montana. It might work for awhile because you have impressive genes from your father, but there is a big difference between having some talents, and then knowing how to use them.

Don't become the Miley Cyrus of cycling.

Why I don't eat kale.

I am boycotting kale.

There are very few foods that rub me the wrong way, and kale is one of them. Ketchup is another. I know, that is so un-American.

It may not be the kale's fault, but the people who swear by it. People brag constantly that they are getting more fiber than you, like that makes them better. I get plenty of fiber. I don't stoop to following the latest kale trend.

2012: " I'm so much better than you because I made gluten-free pancakes from scratch!"
2013: "I'm so much better than you because I made a kale shake in my Nutri-bullet this morning and shit green."

Good for you. Really.

Na-na na-na boo-boo stick your head in doo-doo. I don't care how good kale is for you, I'm not putting it in my mouth unless I somehow lose partial sensation of my taste buds. Now which taste buds would those be? Sweet, no. Um, salty. Not really. Bitter. Getting closer. Is there a taste bud for dirt?

"But, it's so delicious," you say.

Every time someone says kale tastes good, they usually follow it up with, "Yeah, I just put some apples, raisins, and lemon juice on it, and it's so yummy."

So, what they are really telling me is - "Apples, raisins, and lemon juice are delicious." I don't disagree with that. Also, baking it into chips with a bunch of salt, or deep frying it? Of course that tastes good.

A nod to one friend who admits she likes kale plain, and raw. Wow, that takes stamina!

I like broccoli. I could eat broccoli cooked, uncooked, with or without salt and pepper, I could eat it with a box, I could eat it with a fox. But, I wouldn't call it "delicious." Food that needs to be disguised is not worth eating. Someone asked me, "Isn't this the same with all leafy green vegetables?" Yes, I also add other items and dressing to my arugula salad, but the taste of plain arugula doesn't make me cringe.

Kale is the worst nutritional fad since wheat grass. Speaking of grass, I'm sure grass has some valuable nutrients, but human beings don't eat it - because it doesn't taste good. If you do like the taste of kale, clearly you are an animal.

Rrrrawwwrrr.

This is ornamental kale, and they plant it in our courtyard at work. Do you know why they plant it there? Because animals won't eat it. Oh, the irony.

Women's Multi-Vitamins have 100% of everything that kale has except Vitamin K and Calcium. So, one multi-vitamin per day, a huge helping of brussel sprouts, and a glass of milk. Sounds much better than eating kale.

I am not obsessive-compulsive enough to try and eat anything on the daily, let alone something as horrendous as kale. Do you see the bunches they sell kale in? They are HUGE. There is so much kale there that you would have to eat it every day! Sources say that kale smells like farts after sitting in the refrigerator for a couple of days. I am banning kale from my refrigerator so my house doesn't smell like farts.

I found a recipe for Crazy Sexy Kale. Kale is not sexy. It makes you poo. Poo is not sexy. Necessary, but not sexy.

That's right, make your kale shake. I will save myself from drinking my food until I'm in a hospital bed and can no longer feed myself. Living off of shakes is no way to live your life. There is too much of a sensation to chewing, biting, and enjoying your food. If you are on some kind of a liquid diet, I feel sorry for you.

I read an article lately where a mom was bragging because her kids ate kale, raw, and without any kind of dressing. Your children are scared of you, and quite possibly hate you. They sneak chicken nuggets at their friend, Billy's, house and don't tell you. I feel bad for them. Billy's mom feels bad for them too and sneaks them a couple of extra nuggets, with ketchup - another vile substance.

I'm not saying you should eat crap. Fruits and veggies are very important, but kale is not a mythical dietary secret we've all been waiting for. Even kale has some nutritional issues. If we really looked at food as fuel, and didn't care about the taste or the social aspects of eating food, then we would all just live off of feeding tubes. That's no way to live.

Remember the movie Soyent Green - Soylent Green is made of people.

Don't eat people because someone tells me to. I don't care how nutritious they are.

I also don't eat kale.

Thank you for listening.

New Season Resolution: Do things that scare you.

The 2014 Triathlon Season is upon us. This was the year I decided to do more short-course (Sprint and Olympic-distance) events to see if I can be somewhat competitive in my new age group. That's right everyone: I celebrated my age group birthday on January 1st along with 1/5 of all other triathletes. They age you up, so even though I don't turn 35 until August, I am in the 35-39 age group starting now.

While I'm working on short course triathlon, why not sign up for another half Ironman-distance event in May?  Ok, my short-course only year didn't work out exactly as planned, but at least I didn't sign up for Ironman Canada. I considered it for about a week. Maybe 2015?

My year is chalk-full of events that scare me though. Here's the plan with a 1-5 rating of how much they scare the bejeezus out of me.

Kaiser Half Marathon
13.1 mile run, San Francisco, CA - February 2 
Rating: 1
This half marathon does not scare me. It will be fun, and good training.

Solvang Century Ride 
100 mile bike ride, Solvang, CA - March 8 
Rating: 4
Mostly what scares the shit out of me is the ability to train this winter when it's raining and cold. Here is where I get a big boo-hoo from my friends in the Midwest who probably laugh at precipitation and 30 degree temps.

March Triathlon Series Olympic 
.93 mile swim / 24.8 mile bike / 6.2 mile run, Lake Lopez, Arroyo Grande, CA - March 23 
Rating: 2
Sure, I'd like to kick butt at my first Olympic of the year, but my strategy is to get out there, enjoy the day and see what I can do. No pressure racing.

Wildflower Triathlon Long Course
1.2 mile swim / 56 mile bike / 13.1 mile run, Bradley / Lake San Antonio, CA - May 3 
Rating: 4
The Olympic course scared the shit out of me last year, once I realized the choppy waters of Lake San Antonio were not kind and further, my rented wet suit squeezed the crap out of me. I got out of the water feeling totally defeated. It was kind of uphill/downhill after that (pun intended). Not my best race. So why not do the long course to show that course who's boss? *gulp*

Alcatraz Challenge Swim
1.5 mile swim, The Bay, San Francisco, CA - June 29
Rating: 5
My plan between May and the end of June is really focus on swimming. It will take many weekends in the ocean to prepare mentally and physically (mostly mentally). I'm not in this to race, per se, and I don't really care if I'm one of the last people out of the water as long as the safety boat doesn't mind waiting around for me a little longer. If I can jump off of a boat positioned more than a mile off of the shore, and plunge into the San Francisco Bay, and then swim approximately 1.5 miles, then I can pretty much do anything.

Trans Tahoe Relay Swim
Swim relay, Lake Tahoe, NV/CA - July 19
Rating: 1
After two years of doing this event, this should be the best year ever. We have our team, we have our house, we now know what a "low profile Malibu" is. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Donner Lake Olympic Triathlon
.93 mile swim / 24.8 mile bike / 6.2 mile run, Donner Lake, CA - July 27
Rating: 2
This event doesn't scare me, as much as I just want to do well. I should be elevation-ready after a week in Tahoe, and hopefully I'll get a couple of workouts in at altitude while vacationing in Kings Beach. Yes, this is how I spend my vacations now: tapering for triathlons. What about it?

Age Group Olympic Nationals
.93 mile swim / 24.8 mile bike / 6.2 mile run, Milwaukee, WI - August 9
Rating: 4
Please note. I am not going to the Olympics,  nor will I qualify for the Olympics. The "Olympic" Triathlon just means the course is the same distance they do at the Olympics. If some of you thought that I am going to the Olympics - God bless you for thinking I am awesome, but I hate to inform you that is not the case. The reality is, I will work very hard to be in the top of the bottom 25% of finishers in my age group. (Not even overall.) Going to a national competition is scary. Will I be the last one out of the water? Will people laugh at me? I know I should put all of that aside, and just have the best race and be the best I can be. But, it's pretty intimidating to be on the same playing field with people who are really, really good. I will go for the experience, and I will not be the last person out of the water!

Marine Corps Marathon (pending lottery)
26.2 mile run, Washington D.C. - October 26
Rating: 1
I'm not scared to run another marathon. Remember the rating system is for scary, not difficult. Marathons are difficult. But, I've heard this is a great event with all kinds of clean cut men calling you "ma'am" and handing you electrolytes. Sounds like my kind of race!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's . . . Photostock Girl!

I really hate exercise blogs and the photos they use. The people depicted in these photos are not normal people. They are models. If you want to see pictures of real athletes, use Google and look up the top women runners of all time and see what a professional athlete looks like. If you want to see what an amateur athlete looks like, go to a race site and look at some race photos of people who ranked 10th in their age group, or 100th. All of them are athletes. Athletes don't typically have a lack of sweat glands, perfect hair, or for that matter, a smile on their face. No one looks that good when they exercise.

In addition to the people they chose for these photos, these models aren't even outfitted correctly. They wear things you shouldn't wear to lift weights, or worse -

In preparation for the Solvang Century ride in March, I searched the web for a beginners training plan and found this article from Shape Magazine: Ride More than 100 Miles in 8 Weeks. Anyone see a problem with that picture? If you are a true beginner - maybe not. Let me help you. See the bike? It's a mountain bike, or maybe even a hybrid.

For the love of God do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT train for a century ride on a mountain bike or hybrid. YOU WILL DIE. Ok, all extremities aside. A picture is worth a thousand words. And in this case - it was all kinds of wrong.

A mountain bike is made for mountain trails, and a hybrid is made for, well, picking up groceries or going for a ride in the park. Neither are made for a 100 mile road cycling event - they are way too heavy and don't have the proper components. Does a magazine intended to promote women's exercise not know the difference? They should.

My favorite triathlon writer, Susan Lacke, wrote a brilliant article that poked some fun at lame stock photos. After I read it, and posted it for other's amusement, it seems it was taken down. (I wonder if the stock photo site people got upset.) So, you just have to believe me. It was funny.

Because my blog is not as public, or for that matter, not as well written as an article by Susan, I'm going to take a chance and post some photo evidence I've found recently.

Ever since I read Susan's article, one Photostock girl in particular keeps rearing her skinny arms and perfect hair in my face. She is everything America's Next Top Model would want: she looks young, she is a size 2 or smaller, and she is racially ambiguous.

I feel like she is taunting me.

She is in my Facebook feed, not even breaking a sweat. And she brought a friend.

She was on a pamphlet I received in my Chicago Marathon swag bag.

She is being used to promote online training tools. 

Even the Jewish Community Center is using her image to run promotions.

Who is Photostock Girl and where did she come from? I hope she is at least making a profit from all of her posing. I would like to find Photostock Girl and challenge her to a race and see what she's really made of. I would like to see if she looks that good without editing. Maybe she is more than a poser.

Where are you Photostock Girl? I challenge you.

Being A Girl: The Holiday Edition

Sometimes I feel like I failed big time at being a girl. This is magnified at the holidays when I receive the perfect gift from a friend, or read a well-written 2013 year in review. Am I not creative? Am I not thoughtful? Why don't I enjoy decorating? Did I somehow not receive some kind of domestic/baking gene that seemingly 90% of women have? Am I a failure to all woman-kind?

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME??

(Sorry too much sugar from a work colleague, who gave me homemade caramels, carefully twisted into lovely brown non-stick wrappers.)

Every holiday season I go to Trader Joe's and buy the biggest poinsettia I can find. It is much prettier and takes up much less room than a Christmas tree. Plus, buying a tree means you have to buy ornaments, and you have to store those somewhere, and Lordy who has time for all of that decorating? (I would totally be one of those people who leaves up their Christmas lights all year if I had a house to decorate.)

Most of the decoration around my place is my Christmas mural, which is the fireplace mantel covered in holiday cards from friends and family. I really love the cards, so keep them coming!

I thought about sending a holiday card this year - especially when my boyfriend grew out his mustache for Movember. Most women with significant others in the Movember or No-shave November movement hate it. I thought it was epic. For one month, I got to live with a handsome hipster man and my boyfriend didn't mind.

I digress. What do I put on a holiday card anyway? As much as I think finishing a half Ironman is a momentous occasion, it seemed wrong to put a picture of a sweaty Suzanne on a card and send it out to all of my friends and family. The proper message for a holiday card seems to be only family related: new baby, what the kids are doing, family vacations, weddings. That's it: no triathlons, no marathons, no new jobs, no we-are-doing-great-living-together-in-sin.

Stop asking us when we are getting married. Happy Holidays!

The thing I like most about the holidays is music. It's the only time when it's okay for American society to admit that they like choral and orchestral music, and further admit that they like Julie Andrew's version of "Favorite Things" better than Carrie Underwood's version. I think it's sad that I have to set my DVR to record St. Olaf Choir's Christmas concert, which is on at 2 AM here. But, at least the good quality, Virgin Mary, baby Jesus in Jerusalem songs are still out there. I'm not religious either. Traditional holiday music is a good, quality reminder that insane commercialism and Black Friday specials are NOT the reason for the season. Whether you are into WWJD or not, find some peace and love in your souls, people.

I went to a fabulous holiday concert sung by my fabulous friends in Resounding Achord. They do a good mix of highly classical selections and they also do some standard Christmas tunes.

Shopping is a chore, and shopping for other people is near impossible. Unless I know you really need something, I don't know what to get you. Furthermore, there is nothing more lifeless and soul sucking than walking 2 miles from the closest parking spot into a mall where, people are become mad, pre-holiday trolls. I've worked retail over the holidays, and let me tell you - the sales people hate the holidays. Contrary to what the holidays should be, customers are rude, pushy, the lie to get deals, and are generally a bunch of a-holes. I tend to go to boutiques and buy fewer things and spend 30% more. Also, thank God for the Internet.

Guess whose credit card information was safe this season? Mine! :)

Once in awhile, I do get the itch to bake. Oh, and when I say itch, I mean it - I am allergic to flour. Not eating flour, but having flour around in the air. It makes my nose and ears itch something awful, and then I start to sneeze all over the kitchen. If you want my sneezed-on cookies, I make exactly two kinds: pumpkin/walnut/raisin, (which no one seems to like except a former neighbor - sad he moved), and chocolate chip.

I can't possibly eat all of the sugary stuff offered to me on a daily basis every day since October. So, why create more?

I made some banana bread. Go me.

Amidst all of this winter/holiday self-loathing, I did do something rather crafty this winter. . .

I was recently convinced that even I can sew a quilt made out of my old race t-shirts. It took two full afternoons, lots of mentoring, and fear of getting my finger poked with a racing needle, but I survived and even made something useful. Will I do it again? Eh, not sure. Aside from the fact that races don't give out cotton t-shirts anymore, I don't know how much patience I have to make sewing a regular thing. Oh, and there also takes so much thought about the process, what fabric to use, patterns... it's mind blowing. I feel the same about knitting. It would be nice to make holiday gifts for friends, but have a hard time sitting for a long time, or working on something so intricate.

I will be a terrible old lady.