by Sam Tackeff | Oct 25, 2014 | Blogging, Kitchen, Writing
Late night kitchen. I stand at my countertop, shelling fresh beans. It’s one of my favorite kitchen activities. Meditative. I also like cutting the tops off of string beans with scissors, squeezing limes, folding dumplings, and any other task that allows you to dip into that drowsy state as your hands and muscle memory take over the work.
Tonight, I listen to a podcast – Balanced Bites – Diane and Liz in an older episode, talking about how imposing order on yourself, be it strictness of diet a few days a week, a minimal wardrobe, or other arbitrary rules every so often can help reduce stress and anxiety, and help you do more, successfully. I know that I feel this way – imposing limiting structure every so often actually helps me be more productive – the key term being “every so often”. Abiding by food rules during specific times of year to reset my habits can help me recalibrate more quickly – it’s why I’m so fond of programs like Whole30 – they focus on crowding out your diet with real, whole foods, and encourage you to build good habits, such as cooking at home, which occasionally fall to the wayside of our busy lives, even those of us who love to cook! It’s not about restricting yourself from all the foods you love, it’s about committing to nutritious food, and letting your focus shift to other things. This also fits with the Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin’s theories of Abstainer and Moderators. Some people function better when abstaining totally, others are naturally capable of moderating themselves. I find that I alternate between both, usually preferring abstention when my life feels a little out of control due to external factors, moderation for all other times.
Tonight I’m savoring the last of the warm evening air with a mini pumpkin whoopie from Volante Farms. Maybe it’s just shy of 60, and the window is still open. The World Series is on. Funny how this Giants team feels so dear to me even though I’m so far from my temporarily adopted city. Soon though, to bed. Tomorrow is my last half marathon in Newburyport, before the big one: 26.2 in Savannah.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 15, 2014 | Books
Some reading tonight: I Am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai. This book has been sitting on my nightstand for a few months, and after hearing that she won the Nobel Peace Prize this week, the youngest person to do so, I finally cracked it open. Another article I read today was a piece about trans men at Wellesley, my alma mater. Regarding the article, which I’m still processing – gender and gender identity is inherently a difficult topic to discuss, and it’s always difficult to look critically at your own community. Ultimately I believe strongly in the role women’s colleges have played in supporting women in a society that is built to stifle. But I also care deeply about all members of my community, and dream of a world of love and radical acceptance. It’s not an easy road. And of course, I learned my lesson yet again today: when you care about other human beings, do not read the comments on the internet.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 14, 2014 | Fitness, Giveaways
Hi all, interrupting my usual programming to come at you with a great giveaway thanks to the kind folks at PRO Compression. They provided me with a pair of compression sleeves for review and another pair of sleeves or socks for a giveaway, and given that they’ve been a life saver through marathon training this past month, I thought it’d be a good match for this here blog. Of course my opinions, and you know that I have MANY, are my own.
This weekend I endeavored on a double header – running two races, the B.A.A. Half Marathon, and the Tufts 10k for Women. In planning my marathon training this fall, I opted to do two back to back races instead of the 18 miles originally on the plan. This spring I managed to snag a coveted B.A.A. Half registration, and this is my third year running Tufts – a tradition I want to keep alive as long as I can!
The B.A.A. Half Marathon is the third race in the Boston Athletic Association distance medley. One of my goals this year was to sign up for the medley and earn the sweet swag (an extra medal for completing all three races), but somehow I managed to miss the registration by a day, despite having put it months in advance on my calendar! Bitter about my mistake, I still ran two out of three this year – the 10k and the half.
When: Sunday, October 12th, 2014. 8:30 am start.
What: 13.1 miles through Boston’s beautiful Emerald Necklace, with the last mile winding through the Franklin Park Zoo.
What this race isn’t: flat. I don’t know why I assumed it was flat, but aside from the brief downhill at mile one, it was pretty much uphill the entire second half of the race!
Challenges: getting to the zoo! Parking was nonexistent at the race location, so there were shuttles and drop-offs. Traffic was altered so we had to do some detours to get to the race start. Overheating! Although it was in the 40’s when the race was starting, it quickly warmed up, and I found myself totally overheating in my long sleeved tech t, even though I was wearing shorts! At one point I had to stop by the med tent so I could get an ice pack to stuff down my shirt. This ended up being my slowest half, but the animals, sweet medals, and great looking race shirt made up for it.
Highlights of this race included: running with several of my coworkers (Chris, Matt, Rebecca, Terry, and Mike) – okay, not technically “with”, but at the same time! Animals! I took pictures of zebras, a camel, and a selfie with a giraffe sign. A flat track finish. The end of the race is actually run on a track – this was perfect as I kicked it into gear at the last straightaway to pass a dozen people at the end of the race.
After getting a good night’s sleep, I headed into downtown Boston to race with 5000 other women at the Tufts 10k for Women, which races from the Boston Common, on the river, and back again. It’s a beautiful and relatively flat course, and the positive energy is awesome. It was my third year running this race, and there are so many women who make this an annual occasion.
When: Monday, October 13th, 2014. Noon start.
What: 6.2 miles from the Boston Common through downtown Boston, over the Mass Ave. bridge, on the Charles, and back again.
What this race isn’t: coed. Except for about a hundred Tufts Health Plan gentlemen braving the estrogen wave! (Only one was in the top 50, and there were no male elites.)
Challenges: so many. At the end of mile two, my race belt fell apart, and I spent several minutes attempting to find the extra pins I had, and pinning my bib to my shirt. Tired, the aspirin I took didn’t kick in until midway through the race. At mile five, I saw my friend Ryan giving out water, and he seemed concerned that I was walking – this was actually good incentive to kick back into gear and finish the race strong! 300 meters before the finish line, I nearly ran into a girl puking, got a strong whiff, and almost lost it. On the plus side, I picked it up to sprint through the finish, because I was feeling sorry for being passed the whole race!
Highlights of this race included: running with two of my coworkers, Karla and Erin (even though I didn’t end up seeing them!!), and one of my oldest friends, Amanda. She ran with me for the first few miles last year, but is too speedy for me to keep up! Running the same race three years in a row. Getting to high five Joan Benoit Samuelson at the end of the race. At 63, she came in first in her division (60th overall this year), and then spent the rest of the race giving people high fives. Love her!
With two races in one weekend, I did my best to promote recovery, and in my book that means coffee (George Howell at Formaggio Kitchen!), and a few extra hours post-race wearing compression sleeves. What does compression do? A tight sock or sleeve adds pressure to the leg and can improve blood flow, preventing soreness, cramping, and more serious afflictions, such as clotting, blood pooling, and swelling. After a race, wearing sleeves for a few hours helps to promote recovery! And now, the couch.
PRO Compression Giveaway + Discount Code
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