its a small thing and I'm sure it's boring...

but I managed to convince myself to get on the treadmill despite the negative inertia pulling me back. 3.3 miles this morning at a decent clip. And here is the great and obvious thing - it keeps getting easier. I no longer cough and have to clear my throat for days after my lungs have expanded beyond their previously uninflated state (not sure if that is a proper sentence / word). Boy, those babies protested the first time I did more than walk - it was like 30% of my lung capacity had atrophied and decided to just fill up with assorted bodily fluids. Nasty - and OVER.

Should I be feeling quite this mortal before I even turn 40? All of a sudden I'm noticing how much my body doesn't behave the way it used to. I'm certainly not seeing the changes that I would have if I had exercised this consistently & vigorously for a month before. And it finally occurred to me that it ain't gettin' any better than this, so there is no point in waiting for that to happen. Gotta "take the bull by the horns", etc etc. Turn the bus around! I want to lose weight, but for now I think my best goal (which will eventually result in that) is to simply remain consistent with running. I want to enjoy it for what it is. Even though I hurt for days afterward. : )

Another new quirk lending itself to this feeling is reading the obituaries that they conveniently list in the business section of the paper. Lots of people around my age die. Younger even. And people that I know catch horrible diseases before they "should" and leave people behind in disbelief and grief. My mom just called to let me know that the husband of my old HS algebra teacher (who shares my b-day) has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

It's really easy at times to focus on all of the minor irritations in life. The toothpaste left within reach of the toddler every day, the toddler climbing all over me constantly, etc... but I'd rather start thinking of the other side and actively try to come from a happier place. I don't want to be that crabby ass person that I know I am a lot of the time. I have a lot to be happy about.

So, appreciation / happy post of the day: 1.) that I have a treadmill on which to run, 2.) that I have a husband that is interested in the same things that I am (some of them anyway) and that we will be enjoying that shared interest tomorrow night, and 3.) that I get to spend my days with my little girl. I know she's all we're having and that I am fortunate (though frequently frazzled) to get to hang out with her and see her funny personality develop.

5 miles for the 1st time in a long time.

And I'm happy with that! And the 2 pound loss. Loving the new digital scale, accuracy & knowing to the 10th of a pound just feels better that "eh... not exactly sure what that says!" I'm ratcheting down my expectations for spring running. I want to set high, but achievable goals and I feel like telling myself I'm going to run 13.1 miles at the beginning of May considering how I'm doing right now is a big stretch. I'm now aiming for a 10K in that time frame. Checked out CARA's web site today to see what races are on the schedule already.

malaise

yesterday I motivated myself enough to spend 40 minutes on the treadmill, but today I don't see it happening. I just want to use my 1-2 hours of non-toddler time to read something for enjoyment - for example Ann Patchett's "Patron Saint of Liars" that I'm enjoying but only get to read in 10 minute increments. Gray skies don't normally bug me, but I am feeling down, bored, in a rut and just generally in a purple funk that won't go away. IL is showing a strong resemblance to OH recently in the crappy sunless weather department and I am not enjoying it.

To summarize - BLAH.

by definition

The NYT has an article exploring the reasons that professors seem to lean left. No one seems to want to look at traits of conservatives & liberals that lead them to that very label. Liberals have a tendency to want to help the less fortunate and often at great expense to themselves while conservatives are so pro market economy that its a race to make and keep the most money possible and everyone else is on their own. That perspective alone eliminates an academic profession.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/arts/18liberal.html

Eight Forty-Eight - Former WBEZ Reporter Carlos Hernandez Gomez Dies at 36

I am so sad about this. It's weird when you listen to someone all the time, it never occurs to you that it's temporary. And while it's been a long time since I've heard his voice on WBEZ, I admit to not thinking about it til I saw his obituary in this morning's paper and then I felt sick. One of the worst things about losing his reports is the deep background knowledge that he had and added to his stories - it was more than just the facts and you don't find that often.

Eight Forty-Eight - Former WBEZ Reporter Carlos Hernandez Gomez Dies at 36

Frustrated

After busting my hump for 3 weeks and being a very careful eater for 1 of those I have managed to lose 2 lbs. This is going to be a long and painful slog. I never appreciated the quick pay off that I got in the past. Yesterday I covered 5 miles on the treadmill, running a little more than 2.5. My joints are not in favor of this. Today is my day off and I will do another vigilant week starting Tuesday. I have to say that I love the weekends when Hub is home and I can spend an hour exercising vs. constantly watching to see when the peanut's patience with playing by herself in a cold basement while I tread will end. Next week I add upper body work.

Fitness... the usual January drivel

I was just challenged by my 26 year old hair stylist to run the Kenosha Half Marathon (it's the cheesiest!) on May 1, 2010. For those not in the know, that equals 13.1 miles. 10 years ago I ran a full marathon in St. George Utah but never wanted to train that hard again - I'm glad I did it, but I didn't have what you would call a "peak experience" or anything. In fact, when I look back now I clearly remember a few details - the 7 mile long uphill stretch in the middle of it, the fact that the air was so dry that my face had salt crystals all over it - sweat never dampened my brow, it simply evaporated, and then the fact that the last hotel room available was up a flight of stairs. That little fact didn't seem like a big deal when I booked it, but when I got back to my room after the race I realized my folly. It probably took me 10 minutes of holding tightly to the hand rail and gingerly taking each step before I made it to my room.

I really used to enjoy running at a more moderate level when I lived in Chicago, had access to the lakefront path, and lived with a young Labrador Retriever that needed a lot of exercise (she's almost 15 now and barely moves). Things have dropped off dramatically for me as well in the past couple of years. Now I live in the burbs and have a small child that severely crimps my style in that I have to keep my eyes peeled and tend toward sleepiness at a very early hour since she wakes me at the butt crack of dawn every day. This led to many desperate feelings and whimpering pleas to my hubby to get me a treadmill so that I could set up my own personal torture chamber in the basement - he relented and I've been plugging along a a fairly regular basis ever since. The hubbster definitely saved my sanity!

Long story long - I'll be 40 in 3 months. It's been 10 years since I did any serious long distance running. I have about an extra 30lbs that I am lugging around with me now. But I think I need a challenge. I'm going to work toward it and see where I am running wise in the next 2 months and meanwhile will post my progress here. Maybe a little (very little) public accountability will be good for me.

Today: 4.024 miles, 51 minutes, 627 on the calories counter

In the past 20 days:

44.5 miles (avg 2.225/day)

615 minutes (30.75 minutes/day)

6420 calories (that's a satisfying number!) (321 cal burn/day)

Illinois primaries

Another link to a piece by Eric Zorn in the Tribune in which he evaluates the Governor's State of the State address earlier this week. This is an OPINION piece - please keep that in mind. http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2010/01/quinn.html

I normally teach State & Local Government as well as American Government, and believe that this should be an area of high political awareness for people because the more local the government is the greater the impact on your everyday life. Strangely, most people focus least on this area - for many reasons, media coverage goes to national news, confusion about the structure of government and simply being overwhelmed with the size & complexity of it. I think that many of us feel that there is little that we can do to change things, but guess what? We have an election coming up here. The primary is February 2 - you can pick the candidate of your choice to run in the general election.

Locally we need to think about who our Governor, Lt. Governor, Treasurer & judges are going to be, as well as a national election for a Congressional reps and we have a senate seat that needs to be filled. You can do your research on the candidates by looking at sites like: Project Vote Smart www.votesmart.org

This site gives you background information on the candidate, how they have voted in the past (if in a legislative position) and also gives interest group ratings. Are you a feminist? Look at how the League of Women Voters rated the candidate. Interested in right to bear arms (or not) - check out the rating by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

They also rate judges.

Check this page on the Chicago Tribune web site - you can enter your address and it tells you what offices are up for election: http://elections.chicagotribune.com/

Clearing up where we are with healthcare

Here is a nice summary and explanation of where we stand as of January 10.

Terry Gross of National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" program has an interview with Jonathan Cohn on what happens now with the proposals and how the two bills (one passed by the House of Representatives & the other passed by the Senate) will be reconciled into one bill for the President to sign. The interview describes what the differences are, what the political difficulties are and what strategies the Democrats and the Republicans are using to either pass or block passage of the bill.

You can access a stream of the interview at this link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122483567

Culture shock

Just picked up Barbara Demick's book "Nothing to Envy" about life in North Korea and the deception that the North Korean government manages to perpetrate on their people by making them believe that they are the most powerful and envied country in the world. This despite absolutely miserable living conditions including famine, lack of basic utilities like electricity, and absence of any sort of freedom of expression.

A satellite photo taken over the Korea's at night is very "illuminating". She makes the point that their lack of electricity is not because they are undeveloped nation, but one that had "modern" conveniences at one time and dropped off the grid.

For me, as a political scientist and general government geek, this exploration of such a unique political culture is a fascinating contrast to ours.