Conquering Asthma: breathing through my nose

I'm excited to share that I'm making significant progress on my asthma problem.

How do I know? Did I go to the doctor? (No, I don't even have insurance right now, so that's out of the question.) How do I know I'm getting better?

I ran my entire 12 mile long run on Sunday while breathing through my nose. That's right--no open mouth breathing, no gasping, no out-of-breath feelings. I ran 12 miles straight and didn't lose my breath. Not even going up (several) hills.

This is HUGE! I've been trying to breathe through my nose more as I run to help filter the air I take in (something useful when pollen and allergens are nature's confetti), but this was the first real run I did with NO mouth breathing.

I'm delighted.

I still take my rescue inhaler with me (better safe than sorry), and I still take my asthma medications every day (though getting them at a reasonable cost soon may be difficult if I don't find a way to get health insurance). But I feel so FREE when I don't need to THINK about breathing. Free! Free, at last!

This is a milestone for me. My body is strong enough to run the distance and my lungs can now keep up. I feel incredible.

Birds of many feathers

If you've been reading along for a while now, you'll know that I occasionally freak out about birds.

I love birds.

I live in an area where birds are plentiful--from water fowl to hummingbirds and everything in between.

In the past few days I've had a good number of run-ins with birds. They're all short stories, so I thought I'd weave them all together here.

First I have a nuthatch. He perched on my open window. I was literally just on the other side of the screen taking photos of him.

I love how nuthatches have perfect cone-shaped beaks. Also, I love fancy headgear on birds. The crown on this fella looks like it is preened into a mohawk!

We stayed there for awhile--me photographing him; him looking adorable--until he flew off my porch into the lush green beyond my window.

Another morning at home showed me just how bold the geese are becoming.

I've written before about the intrepid geese that make their home in my neighborhood--I jokingly call it the Goose Family Reunion. Each year there seem to be different times at which the group (a gaggle of geese!) decides to migrate a little closer to my house.

This photo is looking off my back porch into my yard. The geese are standing near my very well protected garden. (I have a cylindrical fence that encloses my garden. It goes up and down on a pulley system. Think Mouse Trap, that old board game.)

This poor goose I saw while I was running. My boyfriend warned me about some really sad roadkill: evidently the new construction near the highway made a mess of the wetlands called home by yet another group of geese in my town.

Bf told me a goose got hit. :(

I'm really grateful I didn't find the roadkill. (I would've sobbed the whole run home.)

Canada geese are monogamous. This poor goose just lost the love of his life...

So sad.

On the way to see my career counselor in Pittsburgh, I saw these wild turkeys. They're such big birds that they're hard to miss!

They didn't mind my approach to snap a photo, fortunately. There were more than the photo shows, but the bird next to the tree does a good job of showing its comparative size.

Pittsburgh might be a metropolitan area, but the neighborhoods surrounding it are fairly wooded, and I'm not even talking about the preserved wildlife in the parks we have. I've seen deer in Pittsburgh and, now, turkeys.

Finally, this poor guy was hanging out behind my landlord's business. I took a bag of trash to the dumpster and saw this gigantic bird. I think it's a hawk of some kind.

I was really nervous to continue my trek because I didn't know if the bird was hurt or what.

Later he moved into my neighbors' yard. They were talking about him and I volunteered the phone number for Animal Rescue League. They agreed that they thought it was strange for this guy to be hanging out near humans.

My neighbors' son took him to a vet in a kitty cage to get help. I hope he's okay.

Adventures in Nutrition: Arbonne Fit Kit Detox (review)

June 1st through 30th I removed all gluten and dairy from my diet and followed the Arbonne Detox Fit Kit.

Now let's get this straight--this was not easy, especially when much of your diet is wheat- or dairy-based. I think I chose a good time of year to do this experiment. Fruits and vegetables abound, making my food prep fairly easy and straightforward.

Now the specific Arbonne products...

The whole Fit Kit: chocolate protein powder, vanilla protein
powder, two boxes of herbal detox tea, citrus fizz sticks,
pomegranate fizz sticks, lemon fit chews, caramel fit chews,
and daily fiber boost. 

Protein mix - I used coconut milk and a banana in every shake I made. Initially I struggled with grittiness, but once I began using bananas I found the thickened consistency to be pleasant. (I wasn't doing the detox to lose weight, so the banana fit my plan. Others who were trying to lose weight most likely didn't use bananas since they're considered extra sugar, etc.) I noticed that mixing frozen fruit changed the flavor more effectively than fresh fruit (with the exception of the banana). I was most pleased by the way my GI tract handled the protein. I've gone through several brands trying to find something that didn't bother the "I" part of GI, if you know what I mean. My only real complaint was that the zipper closures on the bags weren't that great, so I ended up using a clip on the bag to make sure everything stayed fresh. Both chocolate and vanilla flavors were satisfying, but I enjoyed mixing things up with the vanilla mix most. Coconut milk, pineapple, banana, and orange juice were amazing mixed with the vanilla shake.

Energy fizz sticks - Delicious. I was originally nervous about using these since they were supposed to be replacements for coffee and other caffeinated beverages because I don't do well with caffeine anymore. (Before my tumor I was fine... Now that I've only got one adrenal gland and no tumor making extra adrenaline, if I have a cup of coffee I usually end up feeling really loopy.) But I didn't feel jacked by the energy aspect of these drink mixes. The flavors were nice--citrus and pomegranate--and I was pleased that I could have even two of these in a day and not feel crazy. My only complaint is the little perforated area to tear open the packets was usually insufficient for opening it. I often had to use scissors to open it, which makes it slightly less convenient for on-the-go drink portability.

Herbal detox tea - This is amazing as sun tea. Herbal iced tea is one of my favorite things to drink in the summertime, but making sun tea with this particular tea was really enjoyable. I used five tea bags per quart and no added sweetener.

Fit chews - I had to keep these in the refrigerator after a bad experience with the wax paper not peeling off of the chew. The consistency is like salt water taffy. The lemon is my favorite flavor. Caramel was okay, but not as satisfying as the lemon was, as a replacement "candy" treat.

Fiber boost - I think this did its job--it helped me stay full between my breakfast shake and lunchtime. No flavor here, so it's an invisible extra in the blender.

All in all, I recommend the Fit Kit if you're looking to do some detective work around your diet. I was majorly uncomfortable after eating any gluten once I finished the 30 days, so I've learned that I'm sensitive to gluten. This has been really helpful information for me when shopping and planning. I still enjoy bread, beer, pasta, and pastries... just not all at once or all the time. I'm selective about what gluten to include in my diet now. It has to be quality if I'm going to eat it. (I'm not sitting around eating plain white bread!)

I learned a lot about what I *can* eat too. I've not gone the route of finding all my gluten-ridden favorites in a gluten-free form. I admit I'm concerned that I could end up swapping one unhealthy thing for another if I'm taking sugary or fattening versions of GF food. I really stuck to a meat, fruit, vegetables, and brown rice diet pretty well. (Again, doing this in the summer made the difference for my palate and patience since veggies and fruits were plentiful.) I can't say that I tried any new recipes or food preparations. It felt too complicated to try to overhaul my diet and my way of cooking in just one month. One thing at a time... :)

So before and after is a big deal with this Fit Kit, but mostly for folks who were trying to lose weight. Since I didn't get to workout for about two weeks in June, I know I didn't do anything truly spectacular for my physical shape. (I kept my same weight, within a few tenths of a pound, and my measurements didn't change either.) Lots of people kick up their fitness routine to get the maximum benefits from this kit, but I actually toned my routine down (by force, not choice) and ended up noticing how the nutritional changes affected my appetite. I wasn't hungry. I felt fuller longer and my GI--both G and I!--felt better and I'm okay attributing that to not eating handfuls of gluten every day. Dairy (fortunately) is not a problem for me, so I've integrated that back into my diet slowly (so as not to shock the system).

Good tidings of great gluten free Fit Kit

I'm interested in finding more information about digestive enzymes to help me process gluten better. I'm also interested in just keeping a low profile on the gluten-filled foods I like. I know I can live without them and I know how they will affect my insides. I pray I never get to the point that I have Celiac's disease or some other affliction that forces me to act on my diet again. I also have a new respect for my friends and acquaintances who eat gluten free regularly, either by choice or force, because I now know the pervasive grip that gluten has in our society's generalized diet. It's tough to be 100% gluten free because that little protein gluten is in so many things that we don't even realize it sometimes.

Would I recommend the Fit Kit? Sure. For people who are looking for a way to jumpstart their foray into dairy- or gluten-free life, this is a good way to get used to new things in your diet. It's simple too because there is no restrictive calorie counting or other numeric calculations (outside of your weight and measurements, if you choose to track them). Having the Facebook group to go to with questions and successes was a nice addition. (The Facebook group helped me solve the gritty smoothie problem in a matter of minutes, when I could have spent hours trying different combinations.) If you're looking to investigate your GI health in a safe way (no crash dieting), I think this is a good program with lots of information and support. The Arbonne consultants stick with you and have answers to questions, which makes the system really work. (Kudos to Becki from Fighting for Wellness!)

I'm on Team Ignite! (plus coupon code)

I'm delighted to report that I'm now part of Team Ignite, with Ignite Naturals!

As an ambassador for Ignite, I'd love to share my initial review of the electrolyte beverage mix. I love the dragon fruit!

Want to try it? Use my coupon code for 10% off! (IN0720)

I'm looking forward to being part of the team and learning more about the all-natural approach Ignite takes with its products. Real ingredients for real health!

Adventures in Hydration: Ignite Naturals IN Refresh Electrolyte Drink (review)

This month I was delighted to have the opportunity to try out Ignite Naturals IN Refresh Electrolyte Drink mix. I sampled the Dragonfruit lemon lime mix.

I learned about Ignite Naturals on Twitter. Their approach to active hydration is different than most other sport drinks. Some sport drinks are sugary or salty to the taste and contain food coloring and other unnatural ingredients (e.g., Gatorade*, which includes long explanations for use of food coloring, sodium, and isomaltulose in the FAQ for the product). Other sport drinks created with tablets are more balanced when it comes to sugar and sodium and contain natural flavors and colors, but the ingredient list reads like a chemistry textbook (e.g., Nuun*).

IN Refresh ingredients are simple, non-GMO, whole foods.

from IgniteNaturals.com

So I started my trial with a small glass of Dragonfruit lemon lime.

Whoa! Flavor!

The directions indicate one level scoop (about a teaspoon) for 6-8 oz. of water. That, my friends, produces a rich, bright, tasty beverage. 

Scoop & mix from Ignite Naturals and my resulting beverage.

The flavor is sweet, but it doesn't taste like a sweetener or sugar. It's more fruity than anything, which I really enjoyed. My tastebuds were dancing freestyle.

I tried the drink mix in water several more times, experimenting with more water (up to 16 oz.) to experience the diluted flavor (which I associate more with drinks like Nuun). My personal preference is to mix one scoop into a 12 oz. glass of water. That hit the perfect level of saturation for me. Not too sweet, not too dilute.

In other experiments, I mixed the drink powder with other liquids. (Bold, I know!) Since the ingredients include freeze dried organic coconut water, it seemed like an obvious choice was coconut water.

Let the chemistry begin!

I mixed one scoop of the mix with 8 oz. of coconut water. The result? Spectacular. Coconut water is not my favorite on its own, but I usually don't regret mixing it with other things. It tasted like the IN Refresh Electrolyte mix was made for coconut water, really. The thicker feel of coconut water combined with the fruity taste of Dragonfruit lemon lime made me smile on even the hottest afternoon.

I also tried mixing the powder with coconut milk (nah), in a banana coconut-milkshake (okay), and orange juice (meh--the OJ overpowered it).

But what about the actual hydration component of this drink?

I don't let myself get dehydrated on purpose, so I just incorporated this mix into my daily routine of water, water, protein shake, water, and more water. :) I almost ALWAYS need to drink water while I am running. I am one of those people who sweats just thinking about sweating, so I need to replenish my fluids pretty quickly. (I'm also a "salty sweater," meaning after a really sweaty workout I get little salt crystals on my forehead and temples. Sexy, I know.) So my IN Refresh mix came along for a few runs too. It felt a little too high-maintenance for a run because of having to make sure the mix was, well, mixed. (Some powder does separate in the solution.) I would say that it helped me recover from my workouts best of all. I didn't feel like I needed to chug it in order to rehydrate and I felt better sooner, even in humid, hot weather.

So let's break it down...

Benefits

• Made from 100% plant-based, natural, non-GMO food
• Ingredients list is readable (not chem class all over again)
• Sweet, not sugary/sweetener, taste
• Fruity, tastebud dance-provoking taste
• Serious electrolyte recharge for post-workout
• Makes coconut water a worthwhile beverage
• 1% of Ignite Naturals sales go to onepercentfortheplanet.org

Drawbacks

• Some of the powder separates and sits at the bottom of the glass after mixing. (I just kept my spoon in my glass, but it was a little weird to see a little bit of mix at the bottom of my glass. Also makes this drink higher maintenance for running or other activities for which you might bring along a beverage.)
• "Pepper" in the glass. I let several friends try the mix and they all brought up the little black specks floating in the mix and sticking to the sides of the glass. I'm sure they're from the food ingredients, but it's worth mentioning since several friends told me about it.
• The canister for the powder is too large. It arrived with 30 servings, less than half full. Proper packaging is important for shipping, marketing, etc., but the canister seemed like it could've contained 90 servings, not 30, so psychologically it was a "glass-half-empty" feeling. (Also, smaller canisters would mean less packaging, which could result in savings for the company.)

Overall reaction: I'd encourage you to try Ignite Naturals if you're looking for an all-natural solution to your hydration needs. IN Refresh comes in four flavors: Dragonfruit lemon lime, Tangerine passion fruit, Blueberry, and Prickly pear.

*Don't get me wrong--I drink Gatorade at races and I love Nuun. I am just pointing out the differences between these popular drinks and the Ignite Naturals drink mix I'm reviewing. 

Summer Garden Progress!

My whole garden!

It's tough to get a garden up to speed with wishy-washy weather and frost lasting through the first week of June, but, at last, summer is here and my garden is thriving!

My meager beginnings indoors with grow lamps and seed pods have led to healthy seedlings and, now, healthy vegetable plants and flowers. This is my favorite time because I get to care for the plants until they burst into color with fruit and flowers.

Last year I didn't really know what I was doing. I bought some seeds and dirt and hoped for the best. The funniest thing that happened was that my labels washed away... I didn't know what any of my seedlings were! I called it my secret garden because I really didn't know what was what...

Makeshift set up

I've come a long way this year. In February I took a short course with a local non-profit, Grow Pittsburgh, to learn some gardening basics. I was more excited than ever to have a garden after that class. Spring couldn't come soon enough!

I planted my original seedlings in April. I didn't have much success, unfortunately. I think the location in my house was too dry and that I used poor soil. So I started a second batch later on. These were much more successful.

Meager beginnings

I've still had attrition, even while hardening off the seedlings... which was sad because so many of them were doing well! But it happens. Not all seedlings are strong enough. It's a really brutal version of evolution's favorite game, Survival of the Fittest.

I know I didn't do everything perfectly. I definitely fried a few seedlings accidentally. :( I also got carried away with potting things as an in-between stage before planting them because the frost here didn't stop until early June. So some plants probably died just from the trauma of moving them too much. My fault. Ah, living and learning, again.

Nevertheless, I have some really beautiful plants right now. The garden itself looks marvelous. The individual plants are making me really excited about what produce I'll get this summer. Here are some more photos...

Itty bitty cucumber plants 

Broccoli... maybe. If it doesn't bolt. Again.

A forest of heirloom tomato plants!

Spinach! Popeye would be proud.

Watching Geese Form a V

I peeked out the window when I fed my dog a few minutes ago and saw this:

The encroachment.

This year's gaggle of geese are bolder than before (at least at this time of year...). They've been creeping up into my yard closer to the house, despite my dog leaving her "scent" wherever she pleases.

I decided to go out on the porch to take some pictures. Instead, I got to watch these geese communicate in a way I never noticed before!

Shortly after I stepped out onto the porch (which is about ten feet above level ground), the geese began moving back towards the pond. They didn't like me standing on the porch. I think they associate my presence with my dog... barking at them.

Bird body language? I think so.

I noticed a few geese lifting their heads up at a severe angle--really nodding upwards--at all the other geese. I guessed that they were leaders and that they were saying something to the others.

This next photo is from a different day, but it's a better shot of what I saw the leader geese doing with their heads. Look at the fella on the left.

The goose on the far left is *clearly* calling the shots.

So the geese congregated, as geese are wont to do, and they hurried down towards the pond with their friends and family.

Grouping together near the other geese (and ducks).

I thought that was it. They'd be down by the pond for the night with all the other waterfowls and that was okay by me. But then something else happened...

Whoa! Suddenly all white bellies!

They did a complete about-face and were facing me. I was a little freaked out because I knew that my presence had sent them packing for the evening. Were they going to hiss at me? Fly at me? (Or was I really going too far by inserting myself into the equation?)

The Army couldn't have put together a better battalion.

As quickly as they had turned around they were forming a V. I knew that meant flying, and I was instantly impressed. I had just witnessed bird communication at its finest. These geese had first retreated and then decided to form up to fly! I don't know if you've ever seen geese run, but they can really move it. They weren't running in this case, but you could tell who the slow ones were.

Eat your heart out, Mighty Ducks.

Before I could snap another picture of them shaping up, they were airborne. I was kicking myself for leaving my camera zoomed in. (D'oh.) But you can see that they are in shape and ready to fly in that oh-so-familiar migratory V we see in the sky. Something like this:

Migrating? Probably not. But evolution persists.

Later this year I know I'll be able to count on the Goose Family Reunion, as I have in several past years. My yard usually looks like this:

At last count, there were a bajillion geese at the Goose
Family Reunion. And one white duck.

New neighbor!

Yesterday I had a great reason to be late for work: there was a red-headed woodpecker on my porch!

Rain poured on my house, making his initial hammering sounds seem faint, but when he hammered his little beak into a wooden beam on my porch, I definitely heard him!

I immediately stopped what I was doing and ran to get my camera. I knew he was on my porch. I'm really lucky that my porch is just outside my bedroom window and that it's the same level as my window.

The woodpecker is a little too big for this feeder (usually the biggest birds that fit here are cardinals, bluejays, and nuthatches), but he slid himself under the shield and snacked on some seeds.

This second photo is kind of hilarious because there are other birds--my usual neighbors--trying to fly up into the feeder, only to be greeted by this huge woodpecker. Here you'll see a gathering of a few house finches and a chickadee.

I really enjoyed watching the woodpecker on my porch. The drama that unfolds between the birds that live in my yard is astounding. The summer addition of a red-headed woodpecker should be interesting, provided I keep supplying the food he likes.

Spring sprouts!

SPROUTS!

I started some seeds for my spring garden crops last weekend and--lo! and behold!--midweek I had some sprouts!

Plastic greenhouse with grow light
and water spray bottle near my
heating vent. This is gardening, folks.

My setup isn't ideal, but I'm doing my best. I used the little plastic greenhouse tray I kept from last year's "Secret Garden" mishap and decided to leave the lid on only until I got my first sprouts. Last year I ended up with mold and sick seedlings to boot... No one really mentions that on the greenhouse packaging. They just say to keep the seedlings warm and moist... but that *duh* equals mold. No more mold for my seedlings! I have the tray on top of a towel on the ground near a heating vent in my house. (My house is old and doesn't warm up really well... so I wanted to keep the plants warm.) I bought a fluorescent "grow light" to give my plants some faux sun since Pittsburgh is anything but sunny right now... not that I have decently sunny windows anyway. Three-quarters of my house is surrounded with porches, which keeps the house cool all year (whether I want it to be cool or not).

I learned a LOT from my garden last year, and I'm taking a new approach to gardening thanks to the stellar class I took through Grow Pittsburgh. (Best $60 I ever spent!) I grew several flowers and vegetables from seeds last year, but I'm going to try to grow all my crops from seeds this year--vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

So far I've started the following seeds:

• lettuce (sprouted)
• broccoli (sprouted)
• lavender (some sprouted)
• Shasta daisies
• lemon balm

I need to get my spinach seeds SOON so I have those seedlings ready to plant when the rest of these seedlings are ready at the end of April/beginning of May. The rest of my spring crops I plan to plant by direct seeding (seeds in the ground, not started indoors for transplanting). But, naturally, I will need to wait for the weather to cooperate for most of those to even have a chance at survival.

This year's garden is off to a great start!

Look at those happy little sprouts. :)

A Teaview: Get Burning, by Republic of Tea (review)

I just returned from the southwest where chili peppers are king with a capital K. I tried both green and red chilis in my enchiladas, my breakfast biscuits, my fudge candy, and my coffee.

I had to come home and dig into my RunnerBox to get red chili in my tea. The pop of flavor in this tea isn't just red chilis, though: in each sip you're greeted by ginger, cloves, and black pepper, which I never thought of as a tea flavoring until trying this blend. (See below for full list of ingredients.)

Get Burning by Republic of Tea is an herbal tea for boosting metabolism. Gluten-free, sugar-free, caffeine-free, zero calories, kosher, and certified organic, this tea is for everyone.*

Thermogenesis is the metabolic principle at work, by boosting the body's core temperature with ingredients like chilis and rooibus (pronounced roy-bus). Other herbs in the blend boast fat oxidation for weight loss and claim an increase in cellular energy production, supporting health and boosting metabolism.**

While I can't speak to the efficacy of the herbs, I can agree to their tastiness. The sweet taste makes the tea smooth and easy to sip as a warm drink and as you swallow the liquid, the warmth only increases as the heat in the chili peppers is activated on your tongue. The overall experience is quite pleasant and much different than most teas I've had (and I'm basically addicted to tea; ask anyone who has seen my pantry...).

I waited a few hours after trying the tea to post this blog because normally I get headaches from Stevia. Since Stevia is an ingredient in this tea (see below) instead of an added sweetener from a packet, as one might expect with tea, I was a little nervous about how I might react. I drank my tea four hours ago and I don't have a headache. Hopefully that bodes well for my experience with Get Burning (and Stevia at large, though I am not a fan of non-sugar sweeteners in general, artificial or natural; they all seem to bother me).

Overall reaction: go get yourself some hot Burning tea! The pep from the peppers is a delicious and welcome change of pace.

Ingredients: organic green rooibos, ginger, cinnamon, holy basil, black pepper, cloves, chili peppers, cordyceps extract, stevia and natural sea buckthorn flavor

*Except pregnant or nursing moms, who should read the warning here.
**These claims are not evaluated by the FDA and the product is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease

Listening to my body

Howdy. I've been MIA this week, I know. I don't know what it is, but I have been completely uninspired. I've got some stuff happening in my personal life that's taking time away from running, blogging, and such, but I really thought I'd get to blog about last Saturday's race sooner...

Last Saturday's trail race was okay. Not stellar, but not awful. I finished. I decided that trail running isn't my favorite thing. I also decided that I really, really need to work on hills. Not just for my legs, but for my lungs.

The first hill in the race was up a paved hill and, as predicted, I had to stop to begin attempts to *not* pass out. I had already taken preventative measures with all of my asthma medication before the race, but it was cold, the hill was steep, my heart rate rocketed, and I was a goner. My focus was just not passing out... I was listening to my body for cues of what to do next.

I often find that it's moments like this when my goals are whittled down to the very basics that I get stuck in my head and the race becomes a mental game more than a physical challenge. I'm learning quickly that I need to go through a really quick and dirty round of RADICAL ACCEPTANCE before I even take one more step.

The conversation I have with myself goes something like this:
body: *huff, puff*
mind: "Oh, great, you can't breathe again."
body: "Nope." *wheeze*
mind: "Okay, well, we can't run like this."
body: "Nope." *cough*
mind: "You're going to have to slow down to take care of yourself. And that's okay."
body: "Yes, because it's better to not die."
mind: "Right, that's in line with the goal of finishing the race. Not dying."
body: *huff, puff, deep inhale of medication* "Yep."
mind: "You have asthma and it's amazing that you even run. You're slowing down to take care of yourself."
body: "Yes." *deep breath*
mind: "How do you feel now? Ready to keep going? You're doing a good job. You're taking care of yourself."

If I don't take the steps towards acceptance in those critical moments that I am slowing down to care for myself, I slowly begin to criticize myself for being weak or slow, which is really unfair because I would never ever ever do that to someone else who was suffering like I am. So to get OUT of the head game and back into the race, I have to get that conversation going and accept the reality of my illness and what I need to do to treat it and care for myself, then move on with my life.

I am working with my doctors and a health coach to get my asthma under control. I yearn for the day when I can run free like so many of the bloggers and tweeters I follow online. I'm hoping to get things together soon, but I also know that I can't rush. I have to allow my body to get stronger, adjust to medications, and tell me what it needs. It's difficult to do sometimes, though, because I want to be better, faster, and stronger NOW. I've worked to get my body in shape... but my lungs just haven't gotten around to keeping up yet because of my asthma. We'll get there. I know we will because I won't stop till we do, but the struggle is real.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know... I know. But, wow, when things get busy, it's easy to start feeling unwell.

This week was a busy one for me in a number of ways. I'll spare you the boring details. Luckily next week I can switch my work schedule back to 9-5 (instead of the 8-4 I've been doing, which puts me in worse morning traffic, and everyone knows that's no way to start a day, no matter how good your attitude!).

Along with my work schedule, my workout schedule should be able to resume too. Earlier on this fall I was getting to the gym five days a week--three days for running, two days for cross training or weight lifting. I felt great! I've had to let this slide so I could take care of (yes, this is hard to believe) more important things.

I know that some of you might want to jump on my case and tell me that getting to the gym IS important... and I think it is too, especially if I'm paying for the membership! But sometimes life gets in the way. And that's what happened. So now that the other pieces of my life are falling into place, I can resume a fulfilling workout routine. Phew!

Trail race #1

Trail racing is way more difficult than I thought. I run a few trails in my neighborhood when I can (when it's not 6 p.m. and dark already...), but I know those trails pretty well. On Saturday morning, I rode to Munroe Falls, OH with my brother and I competed in my first ever trail race.

The morning was cool. Clouds threatened rain, which I had driven through all morning. I was really excited to be there. It was my first race out of state. (That, of course, meant waking up at 5 to meet my brother at 6 to then drive a little more than two hours to reach the park where the event was held... but it was worth it.)

OhioOutside.com puts together a nice event. The race packet swag included a solid drinking glass with the race date on it and a hooded sweatshirt. The atmosphere was quite friendly. I enjoyed chatting with a few other runners and learning more about the race scene in eastern Ohio. A few runners had dogs who would be joining us on the course. They were sweet, well-behaved pups.

The trail was challenging. There were some decent inclines, lots of bends and bumps, and the ever-present threat of tripping thanks to roots, rocks, and holes. I struggled with my asthma a little bit and I used my inhaler, but I ended up having to walk for a good portion of the course because I was coughing or couldn't breathe. I found a few people to pace with and kept up with them to keep myself moving. That helped a great deal. I met a nice woman who I chatted with for the remainder of the race. We decided that we should meet up before the second trail race in November.

People cheered for us at the finish line, even though we were far from the first to complete the race. The feeling of camaraderie grew stronger as we sipped cider and clapped for the winners in each age bracket. My unofficial finish time was 1:03:27. Not spectacular, but I finished. Since this race is part of a trail running series, I'll have two chances to improve my time. That excites me.

Today, one day later, I feel like I must have done the crab walk for the entirety of the race. My body is sore. Like I said, I've trained on trails at home... but this was much different. Different parts of my legs hurt, I'm guessing because I used muscles that aren't regularly strained like they were that morning. I'm hoping to run a little later today so I can get my legs stretched out and ready to run again for Saturday's race. For the 27th, I'll be in costume!

Mantis reprise!

Yesterday morning as I took my dog back into the house, I noticed something (I didn't know what) on the side of my house. Lately I've had to be vigilant about whereabouts of every last stink bug in my neighborhood before opening my door, so I've paid more attention to what, exactly, is on my house.

I came back outside and crept closer. I found, to my delight, a beautiful mantis.

I hadn't seen one of these lovely creatures prior to my birthday last summer when a mantis made a fashionable entrance to my party by landing on my friend Nancy's face. Now it seems that, if I'm careful, I can spot several each year. I must live in a good place for mantises to live...

This little fella was turning orange. I don't have any idea what that means. I thought perhaps it helped him cloak himself in foliage, since that's shifting from green to red-orange-yellow-brown these days too... But I'm not sure. I already read that it's possible that this fella was a male because he was brown or that the color indicates the climate he lives in (?). I'll have to pose this question to my entomologist friend to find out the real deal.

In any case, I loved finding another mantis! They're really beautiful.

What makes the difference in day to day air quality?

Yesterday and today are nearly identical end-of-summer days in Pittsburgh. In terms of weather, temperature, and wind, they were cut from the same mold. Yet the air quality index is significantly different from yesterday to today. Neither day is as awful as the orange action days from last week... What makes the difference?

It rained last evening. It was intensely foggy this morning. It is a Tuesday and therefore traffic patterns and weight might vary. But scientifically, what makes the difference?

Tuesday, August 28

Monday, August 27

I wish I knew.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as looking at the numbers and doing simple math--a particulate matter pollution rate at 58 today (8/28) from a nice low 23 yesterday (8/27) means little to us non-scientist types except that the EPA has done the math and assigned a ranking to the level of pollution present in the air (seeing today as more hazardous because of a higher rate of PM). The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) lists primary and secondary standards--primary for sensitive populations and secondary for the general public welfare.

There's some serious atmospheric science involved with these calculations and the regulations that apply, and I hope to understand more as I continue to read about them, but for now I'll take the AQI for what it's worth and adjust accordingly.

Toad for my birthday

And now for a less serious post!

It seems that nature has a way if reaching out to me on my birthday. Last year it was a praying mantis at my rendezvous. This year it was a toad greeting me and my dog in the twilight.

The picture isn't great, but he was a wonderful toad! He didn't pee on me (yay!) and he didn't get scared away by my dog.

Pride in zinnias

When I decided to plant seeds this year, I didn't really have a plan. I never tried growing anything from a seed...

My little labels got rubbed off in my mini greenhouse early on, prompting me to regard my experiment as "The Secret Garden," since I had no idea what anything was. All the seedlings looked alike and until they grew and had differentiating characteristics, I couldn't tell a cucumber from a sunflower.

The last plant to really give me clues to its identity was the zinnia. I didn't have much experience with zinnias anyway, so identifying one in its infancy was not happening.

But now they're in full bloom and they're the visual pride of my garden. The colors and sizes thrill me, and they're attracting the bees too! (My cucumbers hadn't been producing any fruit and I was worried, but I think the zinnias drew the bees towards my cucumbers because now I have a plethora of cucumbers-in-progress!.)

Return of the Bloginator

Okay, okay, okay. I am really bad at not having a blog. I'm still not sure I can maintain one with working full time, commuting, and the actual living of life... but I'm going to try. If I have any readers left, I guess I'll find out soon.

So in prior posts I was going on about my nature encounters. I think I'd still like to do that. Since I last posted, I've become obsessed with birds--field guides, binoculars, multiple bird feeders with multiple kinds of feed... and photos of as many birds as I can capture with my iPhone. Of course, I'll have nature encounters that don't include birds, and I plan to post those too. I grew my first garden this year, and it's been a bit crazy to keep up with, but I'm enjoying it. It's like one morning I washed my hands after watering my plants and discovered a green thumb attached to my own hand.

Nature won't be my only topic, though. I recently took up running and I'm quite passionate about it. There's something about the sport that drives me. I hope to make this a little bit of a diary about my running.

Unfortunately, writing about running means that I will also have to include some discussions of my asthma. Yes, what I thought was a childhood pulmonary pest has surfaced again and with vengeance. Currently I haven't run for a week and a half because my asthma has been so bad. I'm being treated, but it's difficult to know if something will work because, as we all know, everyone is different. Oh joy.

I'm Karissa a.k.a. Grammarissa. This is my blog and these are my adventures.

Porch find: Maimed grasshopper

I swept off my back porch today, delighted to find that the recent rain had cleared away most of the bird mess left below my feeders... When I was sweeping off brush, leaves, seed pods, and stink bugs (ick), I saw something bright green and stopped to examine it. 

What I found was this poor little guy. It clung to the porch, so I ran to get my camera (of course!). I noticed that it only had one back leg while I was taking pictures. It's remarkable how these little guys survive with fewer limbs than intended.

Beetle beat

I found this little guy in my mulch one day when I got out of the car. I was carrying in groceries, but I ran in to grab my camera so I could get a shot before it went away.

According to my entomologist friend, this is a spotted pelidnota or grapevine beetle, which is a cousin of the Japanese beetle.

It's fun to find things like this out of the blue. I know I probably should have begun paying closer attention to nature earlier in my life, but I guess what matters is that I'm doing it now!