Good morning!

It was only as I was drifting off to sleep last night that I thought: Egad! I didn't post to the blog. It was one of those full, full days that didn't bring us home until almost 9 P.M. We thought some lazy afternoons and bon-bon eating evenings were in store post-polo. Not so.

This week has been marked by an odd sensation: our legs are feeling better than ever. I mean, really good. There was no post-race soreness on Monday. Yes there was some tightness, but nothing like we've experienced earlier in the training plan. On Tuesday we were both dialed in and ready to go for M2. Jamie even had his highest average workout wattage to date! And then Wednesday brought about an 8-mile tempo run at marathon pace. Sure we had to do it after the faculty meeting and in the dark, but we felt like the run was easy, even like we had to hold ourselves back a few times to keep to our pace. We're hoping this feeling of fast isn't just a momentary thing. We've got a 20-miler on Saturday morning — the final peak week of our training — and then it's downhill to December 6.

The big news is we'll have an extra spectator for the marathon: Unkie! What with his busy retirement schedule he's managed to pencil in a quick trip to California to cheer us in as we hit the final stretch in Sacramento. It will be just like Ironman (minus the bike and run). The WTC fan club will surely bring us luck as we race for Boston qualifying times and push ourselves to the edge.

m&j

Running like the wind

"Are you ok?" I asked. "No," the struggling runner replied. "Do you need a gel?" "No, I need a miracle."

"I'm mesmerized by the shadow of your pony tail." — some weirdo running behind Megan

"Tomorrow is the first day of my summer vacation for the rest of my life." — Unkie

It's been a full few days. I mean really full. We ended the work week with a trip into the city. Choate was having an alumni gathering at Mr./ Barbershop and Urban Lounge. Not a place we would go on our own, but with the promise of seeing some fellow Choaties, enjoying a free adult beverage or two, and feeling like we were real adults, we enjoyed our foray into SF and had some fun, too. We were greeted with a HUGE hug from the Alumni Coordinator. She was the catering manager for our wedding and remembered our event quite well. We chit chatted with a few other alums and otherwise enjoyed the event. While there was food, there wasn't enough to satisfy the hungry beast known as Jamie's tummy, so we swung by Little Star Pizza on our way home. Great decision. Had a little carpet picnic at home and headed to bed.

Saturday started with a lazy morning and ended with a late night after the girls volleyball game. We hit up some pilates and then headed over to the East Bay to look at houses. House hunting is exhausting. We checked out different neighborhoods, about six homes, and tooled around the area more than we'd ever done before. We didn't see anything we loved (nothing today either), but we learned more about our search and what we really want at the end of this process. Of course, who knows if we'll get what we want.

Today was an early morning as we headed to Clarksburg for a half marathon training run. We met up with Megan and Anders and Tara and hit the road at 7:15 AM. The best part was carpooling. Always nice to carpool with fun people. Lots of laughter and conversation in the car. And, no sleeping on our part. Thanks to Anders for driving!! Amazing he was able to stay awake. I ran a 1:46.54 (I'm pretty sure that's a personal best) and placed 7th in my age group. Jamie went a 1:30.03 and took FOURTH in his age group. That was his highest finish EVER!! He's racing to win it or go Top 3 next year. Anders had a great half marathon as well. Megan and Tara slogged out the 30k. They're rockstars. The best part of the race is that it benefits the local schools, has great student-run aid stations, free post-race massage, and an awesome meal to refuel before heading home. All around, it was a great day of running and hanging out.

This week we'll continue to settle into post-water polo life. Most importantly, we will think of Unkie as he embarks on his first full week of retirement. He's on summer vacation forever, permanent sabbatical, living a life of leisure. Of course, there's no person we can think of that deserves a little personal time and a little extra happiness right now. So, cheers to Unkie and a great retirement -- filled with lots and lots and lots of trips to California.

m&j

Let the baking begin

"Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment" — Julia Child

The end of one passion simply means the beginning of another. That's right, with two free hours a day, there's nothing more I like to do than bake, bake, and bake some more. It's also a stress reliever, a passion, and a great way to make my students and colleagues smile. So, with a slightly wounded spirit I spent Monday and Wednesday afternoons baking cookies.

Peanut Butter Kisses

What you need
1 C suagr
1 C Spectrum Organic Shortening (much healthier than Crisco; all the crispiness of shortening)
1 C packed brown sugar
1 C peanut butter
2 eggs
1/4 C skim milk
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 C all-purpose flour (thought about whole wheat pastry, but what's the point?)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
11-ounce package Hershey's kisses

What to do
1. Heat oven to 375
2. Cream together sugars, shortening, and peanut butter
3. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well after each egg addition.
4. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture. Mix well.
5. Using a #50 scoop, place on ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8 minutes (I went 4 minutes, rotate, 4 minutes)
7. Remove, press in kisses, bake for another 2-3 minutes -- depending on oven temp.

Makes anywhere from 4-6 dozen depending on scoop size.


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

What you need
1. 1/2 stick of butter, melted and cooled
2. 1 C old fashioned rolled oats
3. 1/4 tsp each of salt, cinnamon, baking soda
4. 3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour (can use all-purpose)
5. 1/2 chocolate chips (or raisins, but chocolate is way better!)
6. 1 egg
7. 1 T vanilla
8. 1 C packed brown sugar

What to do
1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Mix together oats, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and flour. Whisk well.
3. Whisk together butter, egg, vanilla. Add in sugar. Be sure to smush any clumps of sugar.
4. Combine oat mixture with sugar mixture. Mix well. Add in chips (or raisins).
5. Using a #50 scoop, place dough on prepared cookie sheet. I made one batch with parchment and the other with a shortening greased cookie sheet. No difference except I had to wash one pan.
6. Bake for 11-13 minutes. I rotate after 6 and then cook for 5 more. Be sure not to over-bake.

Makes 18 cookies. Maybe 19.

We did have Athletic Open House on Tuesday night. Met some eighth graders actually interested in water polo!! Yahooo. We're losing four important players, so we need a few new faces to pick up where this year's team left off. So far it looks more promising than any other year.

We have a 10-mile tempo run tomorrow. Fun times. Have a Choate event in the city on Friday, and then heading to a race with Megan and Anders on Sunday. All in all, the end of the week is looking up.

m&j

Things Fall Apart

"He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart" — Obierika, Chinua Achebe's, Things Fall Apart.

"As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable" — Vizzini, The Princess Bride.

We lost. We lost one league game this season, and it was the only game that mattered. It's like we took an exam that was worth 100% of our grade, so all of the work we put in was for nothing. Now, of course we know that's not true, but that's how it feels. We were in control of the game for about 3/4s of it, but then the wheels started to fall off and the girls started playing like we weren't winning and we weren't in control. That's when our opponent tied it up and, eventually, got in one more goal to win 6-5. Three times now we've sat with a devastated team. Three times now we've cried because what was supposed to be a glorious victory and post-season appearance didn't happen. Three times now we've wondered if we now how to coach the big game, push our athletes to greatness when it's clear that's the only thing that would have carried us. So, Saturday kind of sucked. The boys took home the Championship, but it was hard to celebrate when we did not.

This is where good friends unknowingly know how to lift you up when you are down. Enter Megan and Anders.

Today we had to get in a 20 mile run. Mentally we needed some time outside of our heads, so having Megan and Anders run with us was amazing. They lifted our spirits, talked about everything NOT having to do with water polo, and ran us in for what could have otherwise been a tough, tough run. As usual, some delicious food and merriment followed. We hadn't seen them since their wedding, so it was just good to hang out, hear about their honeymoon adventures, and otherwise enjoy their company. What could have been a mope-on-the-couch day turned into one of the best Sundays we've had in a while. A trip to U2 Beauty for foot massages didn't hurt either. Nothing like a little pampering before heading home.

On one hand, we welcome the close of the season with a sense of relief. We've put a lot of emotion and time into the team, at times more into water polo than anywhere else. So we're now able to reclaim ourselves a bit. But, we're also sad our perfect league season, our 16-5 record is history, not to be added to anymore. For the first time all year, we don't get to improve or work hard or be together as a team on Monday. It's like we just got dumped and we don't know what to do.

m&j

6-0 in the regular season

Phew. We played our last regular season game today in the far, far away land known as Santa Rosa. It's about an hour north, so the cool temps were in full effect as the sun dipped in the sky and the winds picked up. Even while playing some of our girls were shivering. Kind of weird and it made us question the water temp. But, with a win, the cold, low score, and somewhat sluggish pace of the game didn't bother us as much as it could have. The end score was 4-2. It wasn't as close as the score might indicate, more of a slow moving train wreck at times. The girls are excited for Saturday's games, and we're hoping they can pull out a bit more intensity than we've seen in the last two match-ups. Because no matter how much awesomeness we've had this season, it all comes down to Saturday. Sure we're the undefeated #1 team, but as of right now, the team that goes undefeated on Saturday goes on to NCS. Let's hope it's us.

We're definitely feeling the end-of-the-season fatigue that hits us each season. Of course, each season we're surprise by it. When will we learn? We got in a good tempo run today and have a big 20-miler this Sunday. We're on the fence about an appearance at M2 tomorrow as the Bay Bridge is closed (pesky bridge broke yesterday), so the traffic in and out of the city via Marin has been somewhat hellacious. Regardless, we'll get some riding in tomorrow and Friday morning. And, of course, we'll be celebrating Halloween in style on Friday at school. We've come up with another great faculty costume. Promise some pics.

Send good thoughts on Saturday, 10:30 AM West Coast time.
m&j

The Scary Scamper

"We're those people now. We're those people that shop in the hippie section of the super market." — Jamie, inside Raley's Market, Folsom, CA

It was a weekend filled with work, play, racing and realizations. Who knew we could pack so much into 48 hours? We did. We're WTC. If our time isn't jam packed with stuff, we just don't know what to do. Weird.

After two rather simple days at school, two practices of higher than usual intensity, we headed in different directions on Friday night: I headed to fun and dinner with my friends (we were house sitting, so some friends came over to enjoy the lovely kitchen); Jamie, to chaperone the spirit dance. Who had more fun? It's hard to tell, but we both had full nights that lasted until midnight. That's a rarity in our lives, so a late morning on Saturday was a welcome change, too. But, Saturday afternoon is when the busy-ness of our days began.

Hello, Open House! We sold our wares and wowed people with our academic insights. It wasn't the best way to spend four hours on a Saturday, but it was fun to work with some of our favorite colleagues. We also met some prospective water polo players. We'll see if any of them actually pan out. The school isn't so good at bringing in athletes to play polo, hence the reason we have such a small crew of girls, but we're hoping the recent press in the local paper will woo some to the water. After Open House, we hit the road for Folsom! Where's this, you ask? Near Sacramento. So, from our house, it was far. But, we've been listening to The Lost Symbol, and it's finally getting good.

It was while we were shopping for some pre-race breakfast that we had the realization of the weekend: we're now those people that look for all natural meats, yogurts with no weird corn starches or fabricated sugars, chocolate milk with just chocolate and milk in the container. As my dad once asked, "When did you become such high class eaters?" We have no idea, but as we strolled the aisles of the Raley's market in Folsom, it was only in the "All natural", covered with fake wood flooring, earth tone painted section of the market that we found the foods we love. Like any good Bay Area residents, we now wonder why it is only in this section (not so in our local market; good food is found in every aisle) that unmodified, unchanged foods are found. Shouldn't all foods be sold in their natural state? Doesn't that make more sense? I can see my dad smiling; I'm sure he thinks we're nuts.

On the running docket for today was 15 miles at marathon pace +15. I managed marathon +4 (1:51); Jamie, +3 (1:36). Clearly we like running a bit faster, sometimes. It was a rolling course around Lake Natoma. A great course and an awesome local event. We'd love to go back next year as a relay. And, as a relay we can dress in costume. How fun!! The event I was really hoping to get involved in was the kids' 1-mile Scary Scamper. We missed it as it was after the start of the half marathon, but the t-shirts the little kids received were pretty cute. And, who wouldn't want to run in something called a Scamper? We made it home without having to pull over to nap; a first in our race history.

Last league game on Wednesday; championships on Saturday. It's super go time.

m&j

He's a beast

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."
-Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner

Sometimes when Jamie is pushing through a hard set at M2, he closes his eyes and sees the finish at CIM. He sees the time (just under 3:10), he sees the cheering crowd, he feels his legs power him through the final few steps. Today he saw his marathon dream (qualifying for the Boston marathon) come into a bit more focus: he hammered out 20 miles this morning, running marathon pace + 15 seconds. Not bad.

When you schedule a long run in the middle of the week, the wake-up time is a bit ridiculous: 5 AM. Yikes. But knowing we had such an early morning, we didn't mind the darkness as much as you might think.

With all nighttime running equipment in check — dorky yellow running vest, head lamp, blinkie for the vest, fuel belt — we set out into the darkness that is the new 20 mile loop around our apartment. Usually when Jamie runs 20 miles, he starts a bit later, and upon finishing the run, he spends the rest of the day resting and eating. Not so on this trusty Wednesday. He finished up around 8:30 AM, did some stretching and eating and recovering, and then headed to class. I was fortunate enough to have a double free (and I ran just 13), but he had to teach a little Calculus to inquiring minds. He even managed to get down on one knee a few times during class, and his hamstrings didn't seize up. Clearly all his work is playing off, and Boston, while still a dream, is coming into sharper focus.

To top off Jamie's rockstar day, our girls beat Sonoma 7-0. We were a little sluggish out of the gate, but with some added intensity and a little bit of focus, we pulled ahead with ease. Thank goodness. One more game next week before we head into the league championships on Halloween.

Even though he's been wearing his compression tights all day (adding to his temperature regulation problems), the foam roller beckons. The life of a running beast.

m&j