My Hidden Stash

My morning started out well enough: Bryce had come into bed with us around 4:30, which meant I have been awake since 4:30. This is ok, though, because it is very comforting to have 2 of my favourite people snuggled in so close and safe. The biggins were missing, but they've had their turns already...
So I was outta bed at 5:15, made coffees, and finished watching "Running", starring Michael Douglas.

What a great movie! I had never heard of it and just happened to stumble across it Sunday while scoping out the movie channels (which will be my undoing as colder weather approaches!) I found it sad to watch the movie, seeing Michael in perhaps the best shape of his life, knowing that he is now perhaps in the worst shape of his life. After the movie finished (I only had 10 minutes left!), I surfed around and found a documentary about some Olympic Athletes from the 2004 Athens Summer Games. It was toward the end and they were interviewing a female sprint cyclist, the ones who go round and round on the Roller Derby track. Massive Thighs. Holy Crap. So when THAT was done I bounced around again and landed on Prefontaine (do i really need a link here? nah.), but they were already at the Olympics, so I turned it off. Will have to check and see about recording it some day. OR....(hint hint) someone could get it for me as a b-day or Christmas gift. Just sayin'. Anyway..
So it started out to be a good day. Then something happened while I was at work, somewhere around 9:45, and my day went to Hell in a handbasket. Not from a productivity standpoint, but more from a mental outlook standpoint. I was getting stuff done, but just didn't give a rat's ass crap about it. I snuck out of the office to run an errand, and after that snuck home to see the fam. Mike was home from school, which lifted my spirits, but I didn't get to see him 'cause he was holed up in that cave he calls a room downstairs studying. I miss seeing him around.
So I went back to work. Slogged through the rest of the day, sat in on 2 conference calls, helped a friend with her school project (reviewed, commented via email), created some database forms and reports, and daydreamed (daydreamt?) about being outside. Which was easy to do since I have positioned my monitor so that  I can see out the window. That is, I can see out the window until my gum-chomping-heavy-sighing-moaning-and-groaning office mate decides to CLOSE THE BLINDS. What? Yep. You read that right. But enough complaining about things I cannot change.
In a few minutes I will change my clothes and go run on the dreadmill for a while. Can't decide how long I'll go, so I'll just let my legs determine that. A BIG HEYOOOOH! thank you shout out to Tracey for being so fexible and supportive of my hobby.
One fun thing I did do today was to take a picture of my 'stash'. Does anyone else have a stash like this?

Don't forget to enter my One Sweet Giveaway!! (scroll down)

accountability

In reviewing my postings lately, I haven't really talked much about running. Whoops. Food and product reviews, yes. Running? Meh.
But this week i started running again. Two days in a row, and it was great. Ran in the woods again, too. I like this trail system (not the same one as the 5ks last week), but the beginning is just like running up a cliff for the first half mile. talk about getting your butt handed to you. I make deals with myself.
"ok. just keep running until that "no trespassing" sign. then walk. but don't stop moving."
"alright. this time, we're (i run alone) gonna run until the grass in the middle of the road is gone."
"almost there. pretend that Tracey is waiting at the top with no top (sorry!) an ice cold NUUN. And a ventilator. How'd she get that up here? Gotta hand it to her, she's pretty crafty!"
Once I get to the top of this hill, there is really nothing left to do but go down the other side, run around a mostly empty pond, and then head back UP, then cruise down. The 'back side' of this run is kinda spooky. I feel like I am in the middle of nowhere. You know, as in 'even if i needed to yell for help (what? no more GU?), no one would hear me anyway. Yea, kinda feel like Ripley out there. Or Bishop. But not when he gets cut in half. More like when he is doing that thing with the knife and that dude's fingers. (huh? Alien.)
Where was I? Oh, right. Space. I often expect (hope) to see deer out there, but have only seen chipmunks and squirrels (POINT! I mean POINT!). I think that the smarter wildlife can feel my heart trying to pound its way through my sternum soon after I start up the hill, so my chances of actually seeing any are slim to none, and slim just left for Kona.

Here's the elevation profile of Tuesday's run. Monday's was just up to the top of the first hill, then back down again. One day I hope to have the ability (endurance) to make it twice around. I suppose that I could do it tomorrow if I wanted to, but I have trouble allowing myself the time. The above run only took me around 43 minutes.  So lets say 90 minutes to do it twice. I need to re-read Barefoot Neil Z's post...

One Sweet Giveaway!

Welcome to my first ever give away! Thank you very much for being a follower-reader-commenter over the past year or so. I have been a weener of a few giveaways, and want to give back, so without further ado...

Welcome to Gene's Real Vermont Maple Syrup Giveaway!!!!

I have in my possession ONE QUART of 100% Pure, Organic, Friend Made, Real Vermont Maple Syrup. Follow the simple instructions located in this posting, and you can have it. Soon, you may be enjoying the healthy taste of 100% Real Vermont Maple Syrup on your pancakes! Does life get much better? No.
A good friend of mine and her husband (and their extended family) run a sugar house in a town just south of ours here in Vermont. They started is as a hobby a few short years ago, and it has since pretty much become her passion, behind her wonderful kids (and husband!). Their daughter just started running X-C this fall. Her first race was at Thetford Academy, host to some of the toughest X-C trails and races this side of the Mississippi. Seriously. She did GREAT. but I digress....
Here is a link to Amy and Kevin's sugar house on the web, the Raymond Sugar House! Go there, poke around a bit. See some things you think you might like? I know you will. I have had the priviledge of sampling some of the goodies. Lemme tell you, I was never let down. I don't like a lot of sweets, and the maple flavors are just right. The granola is very good. Just sweet enough to munch munch much. I haven't tried it in yogurt, but I bet it is wonderful. The first way to gain entry into the contest is to simply leave me a note in the comments telling me that you want in. Remember, if you don't leave your name somewhere and only comment as 'anonymous', well, then, you're entry doesn't count.
Here are some pictures of the production process that I took two springs ago. We were just driving around one evening and decided to drop in on the Raymonds. Their sugar shack (as it is called) is in their back yard. Very cool.

It takes around 40 gallons of sap from a sugar maple tree to make ONE gallon of syrup. This and other facts about syrup production can be found by poking around on  Amy and Kevin's site. Production Photo.....

that's my wife and little guy watching the
evaporation process

After the sap has boiled down sufficiently, it is poured off and then put through a series of filters before it is ready for consumption. One of the BEST TREATS EVER is called 'sugar on snow', where you make a 'snow cone' out of real snow and then pour fresh, hot maple syrup on it. mmmmmm. nothing quite like it. Gain yourself another entry into the contest by letting me know that you follow me on twitter. No need to retweet about the contest. I want the winner to be someone who has been part of my virtual support system for more than just the duration of this contest. Also, please don't post it on FB. Thank you.

I cannot say enough good things about Amy and her family. They are the kind of people that you wish you could spend more time with, but just never seem to be able to do so on a regular basis. So go check out their site. Bookmark it to come back to when you need to buy a gift for that hard to buy for person on your list (this is always ME). Oh, and of course, leave a comment telling me that you want to be part of this. Sorry, I can't ship overseas, but I WILL ship to Canada.....
Oh, right. About the drawing. I will do it in pretty much the same way that Barefoot Neil Z. is doing one on his blog, but not sure about the video taping part. I am not quite that techno savvy...."My son will pick entered names out of a hat in a really cute and aw shucks inspiring way"
Oh, right! CONTEST ENDS 30 SEPTEMBER.

Uncle Sam Cereal Review and Prelude to a Contest

Just over a month ago I won a contest that Carissa had on her blog Fit To Indulge. The prize was a coupon from Attune Foods for a free box of Uncle Sam cereal. A few things came into play when I decided to try to win:
I am a sucker for "Uncle Sam" things. If the product was called "Uncle Sam's Sandpaper based Toilet Tissue", I probably would still want to win it.
Carissa is a dietitian who practices what she preaches. I can't take advice from people who aren't willing to put their money where their mouth is. Like overweight doctors. What?
I had never tried anything with Flaxseed before, and, well, if i could do it for FREEEE? Bonus. Alright, here we go.....
My typical breakfast consists of some fat free plain yogurt with GoLean Crunch  some other crunchy cereal and either banana ("blub-blubs"!) or strawberries or blueberries or nothing, and a cuppa coffee (I hope I win some in Neil's contest!). Simple.
When I got the box of Uncle Sam, the first thing I noticed on the top lid was this warning:
"PLEASE NOTE: TURN PACKAGE UPSIDE DOWN AND SHAKE BEFORE SERVING. THIS PROMOTES EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF FLAXSEED IN EACH SERVING"  (good to know!).
So I shook it. Like a polaroid picture. For the first 'test' I used 2% milk. Batman helped make sure that I used the right portion of cereal (serving size 3/4 cup (55g)). I think that this is the first (and last) time I have ever measured cereal. Breakfast looked like this:

I don't like soggy cereal so I started to eat right away. I did NOT add any sugar to it, although some honey drizzled on top might not be bad. Or perhaps some Real Vermont Maple Syrup. (That link serves as the aforementioned 'prelude'). Right. So....The flavor is mild, earthy, but not at all like most of those highly marketed high fiber high bran cereals that fill supermarket shelves. No twigs and bark here! Just tasty, mild flakes. And seeds. Did I mention the seeds? No? Well......
Flaxseeds. This was my first experience with them, so I didn't know what to expect. They are a bit crunchy, but then again they almost seem to 'pop' when you bite them. I did notice that there was a slightly 'oily' feeling on the roof of my mouth when I was done, but the hot coffee took care of that. What the java didn't take care of was the seeds stuck between my teeth. For this reason, Uncle Sam is not really first date material. (Although, if you ARE sharing it for breakfast, chances are you have already had the first date). In a word: brush your teeth. Or swish the coffee around like I did. Saves time!
The second day I ate the cereal, I tried it with yogurt. I put in too much, and it turned my yogurt to cement. Tasty cement, but cement none-the-less. My advice? Go lytely. I mean LIGHTLY. whew. (big, BIG difference there....)
I honestly enjoyed this cereal. I didn't eat it every day, and the box lasted me about a week and a half. One caveat, though. If you are lactose intolerant, I suggest using yogurt with this cereal. The combo of fiber and my 'intolerance'....well.....sped things up a bit after the second day. With yogurt? No problems. Regular readers of this blog know my sentiments toward cow's milk anyway. What? You don't? Read this.
I have yet to come up with my rating system for reviews, but if I had, Uncle Sam cereal from Attune Foods would rank way up there. On the simple scale of 0-11 (0 being worst), I give it an:

(for you youngsters out there, this is an EIGHT track cassett. go ask your parents....)

I found the cereal in the 'healthy foods' section of our local Shaw's supermarket. Well worth trying out!

Back on the Run

Two evenings ago I went for a run and had a blast. Kinda rainy at the beginning, but since I was in the woods, I didn't feel much of it; the sun came out less than half way through. It was very nice to be surrounded by trees and plants and such.

photo credit: Salomon Shoes

I ran on a trail that I like to call (when I talk to myself about these things) my 'Test Piece'. Do you have a Test Piece? A spot on a trail, a hill, a stream, some thing that was a challenge to you when you first started, but you have been able to notice steady improvements? Could be a timed distance, the ability to make it to the top of 'that hill' without stopping, anything really. Afterall, it is your Test Piece.

Mine has a crazy but short uphill along a powerline about 200m(eters) into it. Hard packed and very slick when it rains. I have never been able to get to the top without nearly dying. Monday, I made it right up. Stopping never crossed my mind. It goes up rather steadily for a bit after that, and reaches it's height at about .45 miles into the trail. After that, a long, steady downhill to the end. In the past, I have had to stop and walk before I reached the 'summit'. Not Monday! I ran all the way to the end! Very cool. Not wanting to over do it, I did take 2x30second walk breaks on my way back to the truck.
One of the things that I struggle with is not feeling guilty about taking time for myself. Some may say that I take waaay too much a LOT of time for myself. I won't dispute that I try to take some every day, but lemme tell you it is filled with guilt. I am working on that, but it will be a 'process'.
Any one else feel like they 'shouldn't' be taking time to run? My wife is very good about my running. She even encourages me to do more of it. She has said, "when you run regularly you seem happier, nicer to be around. That makes you a better husband, father, friend. when you don't run, well....we wish you would." (not an exact quote, but i don't think she'd deny it....)
I have a giveaway that I am getting ready to post. This one is a doooooozy. Stay tuned. Maybe tomorrow...

VT Remembers 10k

This past Saturday I had the honor of participating in one of the most meaningful races/events in the state. The Vermont Remembers 10krun/walk/ruck march raises money and awareness for the Vermont Fallen Heroes Memorial at Camp Johnson, Headquarters for the Vermont Army and Air National Guards. This year was the 4th year of the event, but the first time I was able to participate.
My sister invited me to come along, and how could I refuse? Z had a football game in Pembroke, NH, so I missed that. Can't be in two places at the same time, though.

Some of you may be wondering what the "ruck march" part is all about. Here's the skinny; you have to do the 10k with a pack, minimum of 35 pounds. The packs were weighed at the start AND at the finish, and if your finish weight was less than 35 pounds, you were ineligible for prizes in that category. My little sister's pack finished out at 37 pounds. Here she is at the start. We hung out toward the back for the entire event. Think: "No One gets left behind."

That's her on the far right, looking back toward the camera.

After the dirt road leading out the 'back gate' of Camp Johnson, the rest was all on pavement. We hugged the shoulder all the way. The course was marked with cones, and at regular intervals there were Army Medics waiting to help anyone who needed it. Water was available along the course. Soldiers were at all intersections, as well as side roads to help control traffic and prevent accidents. We acted as sweepers, and made sure that everyone crossed the finish line. It was one of the best 1:54 10k's I have ever walked. Oh. I also pushed her son and our son in our stroller. Here they are, each earning (sharing) their first race bib!

Our nephew Carson(1) on our left, our son Bryce(4) on our right.

The kids had a great time. Carson fell asleep around mile marker 4, but B stayed awake the whole time, chatting, helping Carson, and fighting to keep the sun out of their eyes. For a looped course, we sure seemed to be facing the sun almost the entire time. Odd.....

I can't remember how fast the first runner finished, but the first person with a ruck finished in around 50 minutes. My PR for 10k is right around that, and that's wearing the bear minimum, NOT carrying 35+ pounds. Hoo-ah!

Here are some photos of the Memorial. For what it is worth, I recommend that we all seek out at least one race like this every year. Doesn't have to be for a military cause. Could be any local 'cause'. The military ones are near and dear to me, so I tend to gravitate toward them.

The plaques on either side of the statue are names of VT's Fallen Heroes

I worked closely with this Hero. He struggled with our 2mile run.
After I would finish, I would go back out on the course and pace
him in the rest of the way so that he would make the cut-off.
He 'hated' me for doing it. RIP, Kevin.

Bryce asked lots of questions. A day later, he was able to
tell his Mom exactly what I explained to him about the
statue.

Soldiers from the Revolutionary War, Vietnam, and the Gulf War look on.

It was a wonderful day. I wished that Tracey, Mike, and Zach could have been there, too. Perhaps next year, when my sister's husband is back from the 'Stans', the 8 of us can participate together. That would be Awesome. I might cry.

I am not worthy

I was going to post something funny here for Friday, but Adam beat me to it. He said that Red told him about it.
Many thanks to both of you. Here is the direct link. (note: make sure you have peed already, AND that you are not drinking a hot or carbonated beverage while viewing this).
AND....it seems that I have ruffled some feathers, and that was not my intent. I incorrectly (but meant NO harm or foul) called Jamoosh a 'beer snob', to which he has seemingly taken offense. Please allow me to re-label him as a beer 'enthusiast'. To wit:

"Moi? Daggers to my heart. Two things. First, I believe every beer has its place. Contrary to popular belief I don’t drink a whole lot of beer, or alcohol for that matter. Thus, when I do enjoy a brew it must be flavorful and it must bring me a modicum of joy. Therefore, I prefer the beers brewed by craft breweries over their mass produced brethren. Second, I am going to let you in on a little secret. Lone Star. Yup, that’s right. On the rare occasion I need an ice cold beer that goes down easy and fast, I choose The National Beer of Texas. No beer snob would dare pick up a Lone Star."

Hmm. the only Lone Star THIS beer snob has ever heard of was last seen travelling through space with a Druish Princess ("funny, she doesn't look Druish").

For those of you looking for a good movie to re-watch, Spaceballs is a great go-to movie for a rainy friday night and a plate of (organic, of course (HA!)) nachos. And maybe a Lone Star.