First 21 miler

I ran 21 miles this morning, for the first time since sometime in '07.  It felt, well, about as good as a 21 miler can feel, I'd imagine.  My legs and feet are tired at the end, which is normal for me lately, but Brendon and Ev met me at mile 14, like B's been doing for the last couple of long runs, and provides some much needed mental support. Oh, and he brings pretzels. YUM. My running plan orignally has me only running 21 miles once, but in talking with folks, and having one marathon under my belt, I'd have to agree that running multiple 18 milers and a couple of 21 milers can really help you on the day-of.  Not recommended for first-timers, but sounds like it's definitely something that people do after they've gotten at least 1 under their belt.  So, it looks like I'll try and get in 1 or 2 more 18 milers and then one more 21 miler, before the taper.  Here's my route... it's just an extension of what I've been running all summer. (Meaning there are only 2 places in Nash that you can run and avoid cars almost entirely, and this is the only one that's 90% shaded!)  Total climb: 1549 feet.  Bring it on, San Fran! 48 days to go!

((My knees have felt really good this time, too, which is a huge change from last time.  All in all, I'm really happy with the way the training has gone.  Well, except for the weather. I can't wait to run in anything under 80 degrees!))

Brownie baking with mom...

Brendon's picked up a few side projects at my boss's house in the evenings.  Tonight, he headed off for a couple of hours of painting and the ladies donned our aprons and decided to make some brownies!!  

Playing with the box... (Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt brownies.  Quick and perfect when you need a chocolate fix!)

 Getting my bowl ready!

Putting the mix in the bowl.  Well, almost. :-)

Stir, stir!

 At some point, Ev's apron became a cape! So versatile!

18 month check up

Ev had her 18 month checkup this morning. Doc says she's right on track for her development in every area. (Of course we are convinced she's much smarter than average, but I digress...) :-) Up to 32% for weight (23lbs, 4oz) and 41%(!) for height (31 inches). Both were at 22% at 12 months. Woo!!
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Another training run with Carole!

I was lucky enough to hop a plane from Colorado to Portland to watch my friend Deanne defend her PhD thesis- as a surprise to her! (more about that in the next post- yes the white water rafting thing was a teeny lie in an effort to convince Deanne I wasnt actually coming up to PDX) this also meant I was able to get another 16.2 mile training run in with Carole, who I am running the Nike Women's Marathon with in a couple of months! It was only 75 degrees when we were done and it was glorious !!! Here we are post-run. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Colorado: Day 2

The conference is still going well. Yesterday my boss presented my data and it was received really well.   Lots of great questions and discussion.  A lot of folks are asking me what my plans are for after my postdoc and to keep their institution in mind when I am looking for faculty spots, so that's encouraging!
In addition, I presented my poster with newer data and got a poster award! (Some of you may know I have an uncanny ability to win poster awards. I think I am 12 for 14 since 2003 or something! Ha!). Always, they gave me a purple ribbon and everything- made me feel like I was at the state fair! Ha! Here it is:

Location:Mt Werner Cir,Steamboat Springs,United States

Conference in Steamboat Springs, CO- Day 1

I'm currently at a gut stem cells and cancer conference in Colorado. The venue is gorgeous, in the Rockies (an amazing view on my run this morning), and the only thing better is the science!!! (ok, I know I'm a nerd, but seriously- some of the best gut stem cell scientists are here and there are only about 140 people total, so it's a great meeting.  tons of good interaction. I've already established 2 collaborations on the first day. Now if I can just find the fast track to getting my own lab space... I supposed I'll need a couple of pretty nice papers and some money.... oh, and a job offer....hmmm.... )

Theres also a great pool that yang and I tried during our free time today. Great science and great relaxation... It's a rough life, but someone's got to do it!! (Did I mention that the conference ends on Friday but my boss rented a house and a bunch of us from Vanderbilt staying here until Sunday morning so that we can go whitewater rafting and have a big party on Saturday? WOOO!)

(and a huge thanks to brendon who is single parenting for the second time this month to allow me to travel for work!)






Yang and I bought matching swimsuit coverups! Grown women dressed alike definitely generated a few odd looks!






















My boss is presenting pretty much all of my data tomorrow during his 9am talk... I'm a tad nervous about how it will be received.  I'll keep you updated!

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Location:Mt Werner Cir,Steamboat Springs,United States

18 months!

Miss Evelyn turned 18 months today. We can hardly believe that a year and a half has gone by.  Evelyn is an absolute joy and we love discovering her little personality more and more each day.

Evelyn Anne: 6 months! 

Evelyn Anne: 18 months!

Stats to come as soon as we have them after our appointment in a couple of weeks!

...and I made it!

6.2 yesterday and Ev was up coughing last night for a couple of hours, but I managed to get in my 14.5 miles- no rain! The "real feel" temp when I finished was 94, and I was feeling it for sure. I had just talked to my sister in law before the run about ice baths, (she and my brother in law are also marathon training) and that sounded pretty good when I got home, so I hopped into one. My first ice bath of this marathoning season. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow!







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He did it!

It was touch and go there for a bit but he resurrected his phone. (see blog below.) I admit I was a skeptic as it was dead before he took it apart and appeared to be dead afterward, but my jack-of-all-trades husband did it.

As promised, here's the pic that shows how bad it was raining. The pic looks foggy, but it's actually the insane rain.



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Rained out.

More follies from running and training in the summer in the South!

I was scheduled to run 11 miles this morning. 8am. Checked the weather: 80 degrees, 90% humidity, 30% chance of showers. Typical.  I decided to do 14 instead, since I missed out on some of my running this week, due to my travels to Cincinnati. I've got 18.6 coming up next weekend and I wanted to feel ready. 

We made it about 4 miles in and heard the thunder.

At 4.5 miles in, we saw the lightning.

At 5 miles, it started to POUR rain. (For you westerners who have never lived in the middle of the country or the south, I would say you have NEVER experienced rain like it can rain down here! -Stand in your shower running luke warm water while fully dressed in your running clothes and shoes. While under the water, run in place for about 15 minutes.  This is what it felt like.)

I couldn't look straight ahead because it was raining so hard into my eyes. So, I looked down at my shoes at 6 miles and saw large amounts of water squeeze out of the side of them with every step. The thunder was so loud! It was actually sort of surreal. 

We put up the hood in the BOB over Ev who was now rather upset and scared by the thunder, but it didn't really help, as we didn't tighten down one of the back straps, so we actually accidentally created a funnel for the water, which made it run straight down her back. We fixed it, but she was soaked already. (Of course, we have a rain cover that fits perfectly over it. And of course, it was in the car.)

The way our running loop works, at 6.2 miles we actually run right by the car.  

And by the car we stayed. I was not about to continue in that and get 8 miles worth of blisters!

Well, besides a wet kid and two drenched parents, and besides being bummed that we had to go home, there was some other fallout.

Brendon's keys and iPhone were in a pocket in the BOB. A pocket that created a perfect air-tight bowl of water, where is phone drowned.  He is currently trying to do the self-fix. We shall see.  Of course, we are counting down the minutes until the new iPhone comes out, since ours are over 2 years old now, so we were  just hoping to have our phones make it until then!  Brendon took a pic of me completely drenched with his phone before it died.... I'll post it if he gets his phone running again. 

I am now desperately trying to dry my shoes so I can attempt 14 again tomorrow. Hopefully with less rain!

What an adventure running down here in Nashville has been!

Ev completely soaked and ready to head home.

Yet another use for the red flyer wagon.

Handy pocket to put your stuff in.

Handy pocket that fills with water!

 B attempts the self-fix.

 Ever seen the inside of an iPhone?

 Yet another use for my hair dryer.

Vietnam.

A shot this video a couple of weeks ago when Brendon was giving Evelyn a bath.... and apparently reading her the Patagonia catalog. So funny.   Hey Brendon, where was that made again?

Images from the last few days in Cincy...

Yang and I headed to a movie (Like a real one. In a real movie theater! A rare occurrence for us both with our respective toddlers...) on the waterfront in downtown Cincinnati. Despite the rest of the city being fairly ugly and a bit scary, honestly, this part was beautiful.



We packed up and headed home on Thursday and stopped off in northern Kentucky for lunch. Some of the best sushi I've ever had! It may sound surprising, but there's a Toyota factory near by.



It took us exactly 4 hours to get home- despite a stop in Kentucky at Dairy Queen where I had to have a blizzard, and where we had a little english lesson. (Which often occurs with Yang and I. She wants to learn and I forget how American English has so many words that sound alike):

[The scene: HOT 90 degree day in a rural Kentucky town, just off the freeway. We just pulled into the Dairy Queen.]
Annie: Man, I am so excited for a blizzard.
Yang: What is this bli-bli-blissssard?
Annie: Well, it's just a big mix of ice cream and candy or cookies. I'll show you when we get inside.
Yang: ok.

[2 minutes goes by and we go inside.]

Yang: Isn't here an animal that is called like this "blizzard?"
[Annie thinks for  good 30 seconds.]
Annie: Hmmm, no. That's a... "buzzard." It's a big poofy bird.
[Yang looks confused.]
Yang: Ok, hmmm. Maybe I look it up on my phone.
[Yang takes phone out and looks it up but doesn't look convinced.]

[another 5 minutes goes by]

Yang (still not looking convinced): I don't know about this "buzzard." But isn't there another animal called "blizzard??"
Annie: No. There is no animal called blizzard.
Yang: Yes. Like blizzard.  maybe..."leeezard?"
[Annie thinks...]
Annie: Oh! Yes! LIZARD!!  you mean a LIZARD!! hahaha!


Yang and I laughed and laughed about this for the rest of the way home.
Anyways- All in all, it was a great trip!

The Ladies in Shroyer Lab coats!

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Cincinnati Day 3: IKEA!

So the trip to Cincinnati has been going really well. Yang and I have learned so much and the lab has been wonderful and helpful. In the evenings, we have been wondering what to do so we have explored Cincinnati a bit. Monday night we headed to Thai Cafe in Ludlow (keeping our tradition of finding good, thai food wherever we visit) and walked around there for a bit afterwards and it was excellent. Tuesday night we were searching for something to do I got so excited when I saw there was an IKEA in Cincinnati! Yang had never been there, but had heard about it. Brendon and I miss the IKEA in Portland so much, since there isn't one in Nashville.So, Yang and I plugged in the GPS and headed north of town to that beautiful blue and yellow store.



We shopped and shopped and shopped. Here are some pics and videos from our adventures.

New drawing easel for Ev! 15 bucks! I love this store!

The girls and their loot. (This was before I found dishes and then had to go and find a cart!)

New dishes for the Powells. Finally giving the heave-ho to the ones we got for our wedding almost 10 years ago!

IKEA rug doubles as a poncho, in case you didn't know. If you were there, you know what I am talking about and you'll know why seeing these last night made me literally laugh out loud! 

Me now with a full cart!

Having a great time walking the easel to the front of the store.

Me so very sad that I carried that darn easel ALL THE WAY from "Children's IKEA" just to find a display of them right by the registers!

I have no idea how we will fit everything plus our luggage in the wagon for the trip home, but I am sure we will manage!(PS- Yes, we ate dinner there and Yang even got the Swedish meatballs!!)

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