Two For My Body, One For My Mind

This weekend has been an uneven blend of fun and uneventfulness, adventurous new activity and sedentary inclinations.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Friday I STRAIGHT UP ditched class to celebrate my third wedding anniversary with the incomparable, oh-so-lovable Israel- and it was totally worth it because we had such a lovely day together. While we got off to a rough start (I had to skip my run because I woke up late and actually skipped class partly because I was running 45 MINUTES LATE for it), we quickly let that weekend-good feeling take over as we drove into LA. Walking around the Grove, taking in all the wonderful fashion and scenery and commercialism, always feels so divine to me. The only disappointment there was discovering that Topshop, a store I was really looking forward to visiting, is actually way overpriced. So overpriced that I returned the two small jewelry items I bought 10 minutes after purchasing them :'-(

My conversation with myself as I left Topshop:
Me: Dude, are you suffering from buyer's remorse or something?
Me: Oh, God, no, nothing like that!

But I was...I really was...

Window shopping at the Grove was followed by a succulent feast at Osteria Mozza, where the flavor of the food was surpassed only by the excellence of the service. Seriously, I have never in my life felt so welcome or taken care of at an establishment where I had to pay for my dinner. It was such a pleasant surprise for a last minute choice. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a satisfying fine dining experience. After dinner was the highlight of the evening (though dinner almost stole the show!)- our first show at The Groundlings Theater! I was so excited to see sketch and improv comedy live, and this group did not disappoint. I was at once entertained by comedy and mesmerized by the courage these performers exhibit as they make themselves completely vulnerable to a small audience of strangers. I was also slightly distracted by the presence of Gus Van Sant, who was sitting directly across the aisle from Israel! Gotta love LA...

Tiny stage, tiny theater, huge talent. I want to be improv comedian when I grow up.

Return of the Couch Potato

Saturday morning, Israel took off early for soccer, as per usual, and I slept in (again, as per usual). Perhaps because it didn't occur to me to open the blinds until 5pm, I was in serious couch potato mode all day. I had decided previously that I was going to make up for my missed run on Friday by going on an extra long run on Saturday, and I woke up with that intention still firmly set- to be fulfilled after I watched a little Kardashians. Then I needed to catch up on some YouTube videos in my queue. Then I got hungry, and I couldn't very well run on an empty stomach, could I? Of course, I couldn't very well run on a full stomach either... This little charade continued until the last remaining hour of sunlight arrived, and by then Israel was driving home from LA and I really wanted to let him use our Spotify account, but I couldn't bear the thought of running without my carefully constructed workout playlist. The truth of the matter is, I felt so completely lethargic all day Saturday, but not even in a terribly bad way. My body just felt...loose, like it couldn't handle the thought of the constant back and forth muscle contraction involved in running. I did feel a sense of guilt when I realized that I wasn't going to run. After about half an hour of feeling that way, I decided that I was going to run on Sunday, and that I was not going to allow myself to think about or talk about running for the rest of the night. 

Two for My Body, One for My Mind

I didn't feel super enthused about running today, either. In fact, I almost pulled another fast one on myself and let the daylight creep by so that I would have an excuse to skip it. But, sometime in the early afternoon, the productive vibe kicked in, which led me to start studying for an exam I have coming up (on aphasia, the other topic that has me embroiled in a love-hate relationship), and that somehow motivated me to put on my running clothes and head out.

I was a little nervous because I had decided that today I would increase my run from two laps around my neighborhood to three for the first time. Adding another lap was slightly unnerving because my neighborhood is in the foothills of a mountain range, so it has hills and sustained inclines, and adding a lap means just having to face those one more time. But I knew I could do it, especially since I recently re-conceptualized that route as a set of intervals, with the hills/inclines being the hard intervals and the flat/descent portions being the rest ones. No more thought about time or distance- just intervals. 

As it turns out, taking those two guilt-inducing days off from running may have been a good thing, because my legs felt so rested today that adding that third lap added little exertion. On top of that, when I got home I mapped my run (just for funsies to see the distance that I ran) and what I thought was 4.8 miles was actually 5.1 miles; all this time I thought that a lap around my neighborhood was 1.6 miles, but it was 1.7! Woot woot! That means I've been underestimating both my time and distance all this time- not that I care about those things... ;-)

Ahem. Please note the surprise distance. Thank you.

I Am What I Am...

Saturday and Sunday served as a reminder that we are different things at different times, on different days. On Saturday I was a couch potato, but that doesn't mean that I am one every day. In fact, a simple survey of the past couple of months clearly reveals that on most days I am not a couch potato, but instead a runner, a student, a healthy chef and a healthy person. I readily accept the fact that I am a perfectionist and, as such, might have been harder on myself for my lazy Saturday than most others would, but my ability to dust myself off and move on quickly and without looking back (other than to write this blog post)- that is my noted progress for the week.

Thanks for reading!

-Melissa

SONG OF THE DAY: "Suit and Tie" by Justin Timberlake. Um, let me count the reasons. 

1. My unending love for JT

2. It's been stuck in my head all day.

3. I just added it to my running play list. Even Jay's rap solo couldn't slow me down!

"Stop 

Let me get a good look at it

Ooh, so thick

Now I know why they call it a fatty"

Sheer poetry...