I wish Friday wasn't followed by another day of work :\

I took a time out from a bunch of things after work yesterday - run, cooking and getting up early this morning. I felt like I really needed to catch up on sleep after running around non-stop for the past few weeks. I think I'm back on track now, but of course, I must scoot on out of here soon for job numero dos :(

I feel like I have so much blog catching up to do! GAH! I can't comment on a few blogs (Val, B.o.B, Mia, Shoestrings) at work because the comment function gets all funky and I can't write until I get home :( Anyone else run into problems like this? Maybe my office is just super strict (I can't blog at work)? Any tips on how to squeeze writing/reading/commenting into your day??

One of these days i'll get back to normal blog posts, but for now I'm going to go with some random things that have been on my mind lately. I did want these to be individual posts, but I've been so scatterbrained lately I started to worry that I'd forget about them! beware - these are ALL over the place haha.

Cold-brewed coffee - The other day at job number 2, one of our regular visitors started talking about how he's had some stomach issues with regular coffee lately (mostly due to the acid). He said a friend suggested he try cold-brew coffee, which is supposed to have less bitterness, acidity than regular coffee.

Basically, you let some coffee grinds filter through with some room temperature water and you let it sit overnight. The result is a coffee concentrate that can be kept for a couple of weeks. You can then use the concentrated liquid to make a hot OR iced cup of coffee. I thought it was an interesting (though, time intensive) concept. Curious about the taste? Head to your neighborhood Borders (or anywhere that serves Seattle's Best Coffee) and grab an iced coffee (they still use regular brewing for the hot stuff). I might grab one this weekend to test it out...let me know what you think!

Running vs. Run/Walking - Without fail, this subject always comes up with coworkers at job number 2. I was first introduced to the concept of run/walking when I trained with Team in Training in 2007. There were a bunch of run/walkers and I remembered always running into them (har har) on our long runs. It was like I'd see them at the start, not see them for a few miles and then poof - there they were passing me. Their watches would go off, they'd start walking and I'd pass them. I'd like to note that they usually finished before I did.

My first actual experience with run/walking happened last summer during my 18 and 20 mile training runs. Thanks to Jamie, I was able to jump in on some runs with his coworker's wife out in Vienna. She was training for the Richmond Marathon and thankfully some of her distances coincided with mine! She was a run/walker and was totally cool with me running or run/walking. I decided to give the run/walk a try for the 18 miler...just for fun. I think we did a 3:1 ratio (run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute) and I felt FANTASTIC afterward. So much better than when I ran a straight 18 miles! Run/walking shouldn't be knocked...your body definitely takes less of a beating. Also, as we discuss this more at work, I've found out that people have run/walked marathons and come in under 3 hours. Granted, the walk portion is miniscule, but whatever...I think it's impressive.

The key to run/walking is to commit to it. You have to run/walk during training (your body does need to adjust to the walking part - as strange as that may sound) and come marathon day, you can't just save all the walk portions for when you get tired. Nono. It's not THAT kind of run/walk. Are you a run/walker? How do you like it? Jury's still out on if I'll run/walk a race one of these days...

Running w/headphones - Once upon a time, I swore I couldn't run without headphones. I think it's one of those things you depend on/enjoy as a new runner. The thought of listening to yourself huff and puff with every step never sounds appealing ;) Again, Team in Training and a few run-ins with runners that don't pay attention broke me of that habit.

I've never run a race with headphones - I've always been too scared that someone will pull me out of a race and yell at me for not obeying the rules. One year, Jamie and I ran the Capitol Hill Classic 10K and Jamie almost fell over because some dude in headphones didn't pay attention to his surroundings and cut him off. It had all the makings of a disastrous 2 person roly poly spill. My run in didn't happen until toward the end of the race when I got blocked in by a couple of women wearing headphones. Despite yelling 'excuse me' and desperately trying to find a free spot to scoot away, I ended up jogging my way across the finish line with the headphoned ladies. UGH.

During my TNT season, we weren't allowed to run with headphones (though, some people managed to sneak them in) - they stressed the danger of running with headphones every week, especially since the majority of our routes were shared with bikers. I thought it was great - I learned how to listen to my breathing and I had some awesome, random conversations with my teammates. There's nothing like some good conversation with a quasi-stranger to take your mind off the fact that you have 15 more miles to go.

I know the whole headphones/no headphones thing is constantly under debate, but I must say I've encountered too many negative headphone experiences first hand to condone headphone use while racing or even while running on the street. Plus, I get sucked into reading articles that freak me out/frustrate me even more - Rock Creek Park - I want to know what woman thinks it's smart to run alone with headphones in RCP in the EVENING. And this one I just read on Runner's World. Just some food for thought...

Speaking of food, post-hot, muggy run breakfast was
Fage Total 0% Yogurt with some honey and ghetto low-fat granola (ghetto because it reminds me of rice crispies with some oats) HA!

I've had a craving for a big, juicy burger for the past couple of days so it looks like beef's for dinner tonight! Any suggestions for a quick and easy (preferably cold and crisp) side dish?