Non Sequitur Box

I'm devastated. On Tuesday morning I went for a pain-free run. I went for a swim later that night. On Wednesday afternoon, I couldn't run. There was a sharp pain in my front kneecap. I decided to bike instead. On Thursday, I tried running again. I made it maybe 2 minutes before deciding the pain was too much and turned back home for some core work and stretching. Today, I'm going to give my leg complete rest and hope that it's just some crazy "phantom pain" (like I experienced before my Boston Marathon this year) . I'm upset, yes, because I love running and all I need for some stress relief is a RUN right now, but there is no use in being upset. I have to fix myself and try to get ready for my half distance triathlon. Foam roll. Ice. Water jog. Stretch. Keep swimming and biking. That's right, my triathlon is about a week away and I'm dealing with severe knee pain that is preventing me from running. I need to relax. Everything is going to be f

I'm way behind on book reviews, but I've been reading! In July, I read 18 chapters from Campbell Biology (9th Edition) Jane B. Reece (Author), Lisa A. Urry (Author), Michael L. Cain (Author), Steven A. Wasserman (Author), Peter V. Minorsky (Author), Robert B. Jackson (Author). The book is wonderfully written. It was so easy to grasp the concepts because the textbook uses good examples and analogies alongside photographs and diagrams. This is a good book for Biology 108 (Principles of Biology). Each chapter is subdivided into sections with 2-3 questions after each section. There is a review after each chapter, and the answers are provided in the back of the book. There are also questions under the photographs throughout the chapters, and those questions are also answered in the back of the book. One feature I really liked and thought was helpful were the sidebars that summarized experiments that resulted in major scientific findings. It was presented as what the scie

This recipe is from BlendTec ( http://www.blendtec.com/recipes/blueberry_breakfast_bars ). Since my boyfriend owns a BlendTec and gets emails from them with recipes, he sends me recipes he thinks I'd like to try. I've eaten almost all of the breakfast bars by myself already. Ingredients: 1 ripe banana 2 eggs 2⁄3 cup pecans 1⁄3 cup low-fat plain yogurt 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon 1⁄2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 cup rolled oats, divided 1-1⁄4 cups whole wheat flour 1 tsp vanilla extract 2⁄3 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted 1⁄2 cup applesauce 1 cup fresh blueberries Directions: 1. Mix banana, eggs, yogurt, applesauce, coconut oil, vanilla, and brown sugar. 2. Mix pecans, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, 3/4 cup rolled oats, and flour into wet mixture. 3. Fold in fresh blueberries. 4. Bake in 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 35 minutes. Ingredients

This is another recipe from my boyfriend. You can add meat spaghetti sauce if you want, but the version below is a meatless lasagne. Ingredients :1 box of no boil/ready bake lasagna noodles 2 lbs. spinach (1/2 frozen, 1/2 fresh) 32 oz. Ricotta cheese 32 oz. regular tomato sauce (NOT spaghetti sauce) 1 jar of spaghetti sauce 1 large sweet onion 1/2 head garlic 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese Fillings: fresh tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms, whatever you'd like Directions : 1. Sauté onion and garlic in a pan. Add a teaspoon of oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and any other spices you'd like. Continue to sauté. 2. Thaw and drain frozen spinach. 3. In bowl, mix spinach and ricotta and onion-garlic mixture. 4. In lasagna pan (glass casserole dish), put some tomato sauce on the bottom (under shells), then layer of shells (overlap a little), spoon in onion-garlic mixture, sprinkle cheese, maybe fresh tomatoes/eggplant/whatever, shells layer, tomato sauce

I enrolled in a local community college course (Biology I, BI107 and BI107L) this summer at Montgomery College (MC). It was 3-4 hours per night for 4 nights per week for 5-6 weeks. I enjoy biology very much. I spent most of my time in July-August reading my biology textbook and studying for class. I passed the class and will continue my biology studies in BI108 this fall! Why Biology I? Many people know that I received my B.S. in General Science from the United States Naval Academy. I took a biology class back then, and I wanted to take Biology II now, but Montgomery College said my credit was not sufficient and that I would have to take Biology I at MC. It would cost me another $593+, but I was fine with that. Did I learn much? YES! I learned so much! I think it is easier to go back to school once you've gone to school, gone into the workforce, and are going back to school. I also had great professors. I know a few students who are stubborn to having teachers with accents of a

I am a sucker for caprese salad. It is simple and refreshing, with an emphasis on simple. I suck at making balsamic vinegar reductions (I have zero patience), so I was very excited to learn from my friend Chris that Whole Foods (and I'm sure other grocery stores, but Whole Foods is closest to me) carries a bottle of pre-made balsamic vinegar. I used it to drizzle (or drown) my caprese salad. Ingredients: 3 heirloom tomatoes (any color, any size) 1-2 fresh mozzarella balls 1 sprig of fresh basil Isola Classic Creme (a gourmet infusion of balsamic vinegar of Modena) or your own balsamic reduction Directions: Slice the tomatoes into 1-2cm thick slices. Slice the mozzarella balls into 1-2cm thick slices. Lay the tomatoes and mozzarella on a plate, alternating between the cheese and fruit. Pick some basil leaves and tear into smaller pieces (I have no patience, so I basically tear the leaves in a haphazard way) and sprinkle on top of everything. Drizzle it all with Isol

I really want to compete for the Potomac River Running Store (=PR=) trophy series (a little late, but whatever), but if I do six races this year (I already did one), then I can go to =PR='s trophy series party (for those who do six of the trophy series races or are one of the top 10 scorers). I figure this would be a good way for me to meet more runners! I need more runners in my life. This is what happens when I have a credit card and feeling lonely/sad...I sign up for races to cheer myself up. I used to only sign up for races that I trained for, or that I was in good enough shape to compete. This time, I just want to have FUN at races again. Of course, sometimes I get carried away and race. =PR= Race Series My 2013 Fall Race Schedule: South Lakes 10k - 25 August 2013, Reston (Race day registration, maybe...legs are feeling a little stiff) Perfect 10 (10 Miler/10k) - 29 September 2013, Reston (Already signed up for the 10 Miler!) Run for the Parks 10k - 3 November 2013,

It's Saturday, so that meant waking up and going for a BRiC! I love waking up to do BRiCs, no lie. It's a little weird, but a good way to entice me to do a bike ride is to promise myself to run afterwards. I've been cutting myself too much slack during this triathlon training, though, so today I was determined to do one of the workouts that Tim (my boyfriend's brother who has done a multitude of triathlons, include a few Ironmans) suggested I do. The challenge: 3 hour bike ride 1 hour run I'm always racing people on the trails, always trying to crank out my speed as hard as I can. Terrible of me, I know, but I'm an overly competitive person deep down on the inside. Today my boyfriend ("R") told me to pay more attention to the time, not distance or speed, and just turn around at 90 minutes. It was hard, especially since the "bike time" mode on my computer displays the speed at the same time. I started out super easy (14-16mph), got

Back in college, one of my favorite bar food combinations was chili with a grilled cheese sandwich. I started ordering chili at every bar/restaurant I went to decide who made the best chili in town. I never made chili on my own (the closest I came was when I would heat up a can of chili to put over spaghetti, served with honey and cornbread, a staple in my first boyfriend's diet). It wasn't until I was living alone that I decided I needed to learn how to make chili (salads and sandwiches only go so far). In fact, that was the way I convinced my current boyfriend to hang out with me ("Um...I'm pretty new to this cooking thing. I manage to burn everything, even if I stay in the kitchen the whole time. I love chili, but I don't know how to make it. I've never seen anyone make chili. It must be difficult because it tastes so good. So, when can I come over to learn how to make chili?"). It worked. My boyfriend makes a delicious vegetarian chili. I'm fa

Back in first grade, I had to write a report about birds. This "report" was really only four sentences long, but I remember having a terrible time with it. I remember getting frustrated, writing my facts, erasing until the paper was worn through, and rewriting new facts until I decided that the report held the most significant information about birds. Mind you, that is difficult to do in four sentences! Birds have different bills to survive in different environments. Birds have lightweight bones and wings to help them fly. Birds evolved from dinosaurs. Birds chew their food for their babies. I'm sure that's what I wrote. I decided that I will continue these short science "reports" that I had to write in my early career as a scientist. Here are my first two "reports." Bees There is so much information about bees. Here are my four sentences. Bees are a special type of wasp. Bees feed on nectar and pollen. All bees have two sets of wings (a larger

Many times in my life I've had to convert feet to meters or vice versa. The blame is on America, who decides to use the foot over the meter. Such is one of the prices we pay to live in this country (I do love America, in all sincerety, though). Using the foot brings rise to many questions in my head. How tall was Napoleon? What determined the length of a foot? Why can't we all just use the same system? Who decides that 1 foot is equal to 1/3 yard or 12 inches or 0.3048 meters? I went online to investigate. It's sad that I do a lot of my research of these things via the Internet now instead of going to the library. The library isn't always open when I need it, though! Okay. What does the Internet say about the foot (unit)? According to Wikipedia ( Wikipedia's page about the foot ), the foot across time and space has ranged from 250 mm to 335 mm. Apparently, there was an international yard and pound agreement of July 1959 (among the United States and the Commonwea

This summer I signed up for my first half Ironman-distance triathlon (actually, it's a 58 mile bike instead of a 56 mile bike). I signed up for the Patriots Half in Williamsburg, Virginia, which will take place on September 7th. I have three weeks to get myself ready mentally and physically. My training has been a little all over the place in the past couple of months, due to getting sick twice and having a crash on my bicycle two weeks ago. My road rash has healed (mostly), so now I can get back in the pool. I would say this weekend has been a key training weekend for me. I finally wasn't sick or injured, and I had all the weekend to myself! Thursday : Ran 2 miles. Swam 500yds easy, 10x50yds fast (15 seconds rest), 200yds easy. Ran 2 miles Friday : Warm-up run 2 miles. Ran 3x1600m with 5 minutes rest after the first two, 1 minute rest after the final one, and 1x200m sprint to finish it off. Cool-down run 2 miles. Saturday : Biked 70 miles. This is a new dista

Sometimes I feel like I don't belong to the running community. Growing up, I was always decent at running, but I never looked like a runner. I was short and not very lean. I wore mis-matched clothes, baggy shorts and oversize t-shirts. I would tell myself that once I got a job and made my own money, then I would buy matching running outfits and look cute. One day. Maybe not cute, but at least I'd match. Over the course of time, I got faster, won races, and I fell in love with running. In college, I continued to run with a team (and started to gain a little more muscle with lifting). I embraced short shorts and running in sports bras. I found that a good pair of socks could make my feet very happy. I tried new sports drinks, gels, and energy bars. I felt like I belonged to the running community! My teammates and I could talk about workouts, practices, muscles that ached, running injuries, and sit in ice baths together. We would spend vacations together, always making time