Three Things Thursday

1. Taper madness: I'm pretty sure that I'm driving everyone around me crazy. Including moi. A little over a week left and the questioning myself and my training is kicking in big time. Oh, and - of course - I'm checking the weather reports (yep, several) at least three times a day, and do I now know the course by heart. No kidding. Shoot me a question about the elevation profile at mile 8. I'm probably able to answer it.

2. Running skirt: Guess what the cat dragged in? No, I'm kidding. Dutch customs was kind enough to release one skirt I'd ordered at RunningSkirts.com. I wanted to test drive it before the marathon, so I wasn't too happy to find out that Dutch customs was holding on to it.

Yeah, yeah, crappy photo. I know. Get over it.

They are still holding the Chocofleurs runningskirt hostage, though, so, the whole 'dressing up as a chocolate' plan might not work out after all. As Zoe pointed out on the Silly Girl Running Facebook-page, they are probably prancing around in it. ;) I hope those fleurs make their butts look huge. ;)

3. Spring weather: I'm taking back everything I said about the beautiful spring weather. We're in the middle of Monsoon 2011 - as we speak. What the bleep!

3a. Throwback Thursday: My grandfather and a tiny moi. I still don't master those Carnegie Hall piano skills, by the way. ;)

Three Things Thursday

1. Meat: As part of a healthier life style, I've been reducing my 'meat-intake' in the last couple of months. I eat a lot of fish and veggie-burger-thingies, so I'm okay protein-wise. Yesterday at dinner, I realized that my meat-intake is reduced to once every two weeks at dinner and 2 or 3 times a week for lunch (a pastrami sandwich, etcetera). Not too bad! :)

2. Canicross: For those of you that are new to my blog, or do read my blog but missed all of the canicross posts (I can't blame you...seriously...I still can't believe that my mom isn't my only follower...), I love canicross! Canicross being running with your dog, or two dogs. What it looks like? There you go:

This photo was taken in May 2010.

You know how you sweat during a run? So does my dog. He's all wet and sweaty when we get home after a run. And there's the catch. I don't always finish the run and immediately hit the shower to warm up. Sometimes I'll just hang around and have a drink with running friends. Or, on vacation, I'll have a drink at an (outdoor) bar afterwards. And I get cold. And throw on a sweater to warm up. My dog doesn't have one, and his (wet) fur won't keep him warm. And the temps are still pretty frostbite-ish out here. So...I've bought my dog a thermo coat (not the 'fancy' dog coat kind of coat, but the type of coat they use for sled dogs...real bad @ss! ;)).

He doesn't look too comfortable in it yet...

3. Throwback Thursday: 2003. My University days. Sorority Prom night. Make-up faux pas...

Three Things Thursday

1. The Foot: I've been a good girl. At least, that's what my PT just told me. The exercises he advised me on doing: I've been doing those religiously. Everything to get my lower leg/foot going again. Plus, I've been doing extra core work.

Fingers crossed and knock on wood, but me being a good girl seems to pay off. At least, for now. I tried a short 3.8 mile/6K run last Tuesday and a short 5 mile/8K run yesterday. And The Foot seems okay-ish. There's a bit of a tired feeling going on there, but no excruciating pain yet.

For now, I'm glad I chose to listen to my Sports PT instead of to the Sports MD. :)

2. Exercise dresses: It's still freakishly cold out here, meaning I'm bundling up for evening runs, but yet I'm looking for an exercise dress. Mainly because the word is out that my favorite running brand ever (www.runningskirts.com) will add a running dress to their Spring line. I'm in love, and I haven't even seen the dress yet. An exercise dress seems like a great thing to wear to the gym. My cycling shorts will look less diaperish (is that even a word?) with a dress over it, I'm sure about that. Size wise I'm just a bit worried about my higth (5'9"): most dresses are actually shorter on me than the designer intented them to be... Any advice on the Nuu Muu dresses and tall girls? And could anyone fill me in on what the Runningskirts.com running dress will look like? I'm just being nosy, I know... ;)

3. Throwback Thursday: Moi. 2 years old, striking a pose with my beloved grandmother. I was quite the fashionasta back in the days. The way I pair that hat with the oversized bag: Louis Vuitton eat your heart out! ;) Plus, there is no way I could ever hide that I was born a redhead. :)

Three Things Thursday

1. The Foot. Sucktastic is still 'the word' to describe the 'The Foot' situation. I'm seeing another MD this afternoon. Why? I woke up in more pain than I went to sleep with yesterday. Walking: still limping. No improvement whatsoever. Plus the cyste on the ankle is twice the size it was yesterday. Not good. Not a happy camper. And I really want to be positive minded about this one. But it's hard. And I apologize for that to you all. I'll stop whining now. :)

2. Throwback Thursday. Don't be fooled by the haircut: I'm definitely a girl! And once again, I'm sporting the preppy European girl look. Lacoste polo, deck shoes, field hockey stick. I had pretty much mastered the preppy look at age 2. To this very day I'm still surprised that Ralph Lauren himself did not ask me to model for him. No hard feelings, Ralph. Your loss. ;)

3. Speedo. Again, not a girl to break a promise. So, here we go: a photo of me in my Speedo...

......

swimcap. I felt so cr*ppy because of The Foot that I honestly did not feel confident enough to confront you with my bod covered in a Speedo. A high cut Speedo. Showing more leg than a Rockette does. I'll promise to share a photo of the 'Speedo' one of these days. ;) I do. :)

Awkward...Really no other word to describe this...

Three Things Thursday

Cycling: 30 min

1. Homemade Pasta: My mom bought me 'The Pasta Bible'. I already knew how to make (fresh) pasta, but usually find myself buying the Grocery Store kind anyway. Now I really don't have an excuse anymore not to make fresh pasta. Seriously, check out this book. It has some great recipes and tons of different kinds of pasta in it. Do I hear 'Carb-loading'? I'll be posting some truly delicious recipes in the next couple of weeks!

2. Nighttime running: In these dark (but oh so cosy) days of winter, the sun is already setting at 5 PM. Considering the fact that I won't get off work till 6 or 7 PM...nighttime running is the way to go for this girl. I don't mind running at night, though. It's a great way to de-stress from a busy day at work. However, the obvious issue with nighttime running is .... well, the safety issue. That's why I usually head out looking like some kind of Christmas Tree mishap. Okay...it's actually not that bad (I hope), but I do think that it's important to 'run visible'.

Therefore: my go-to for nighttime running is the Saucony Vizipro line. In my opinion the Vizipro line beats the yellow Brooks Nightlife line in visibility. By far. Plus, I'm Dutch, and with orange being our national color, I have a natural weak spot for everything orange.

I love this shirt: comfy, yet warm. The light is USB-chargeable.

3. Throwback Thursday: Me: just a couple of months old. So, what can we learn from this photo?

a. I indeed did not have any hair whatsoever as a baby. How I ended up with the lion-like tresses I sport nowadays will not only remain a mystery to me, but also to every (and I mean 'every') hairdresser around;

b. Did you see the 'devil eyes' photo in yesterday's post? Where the bleep did all that baby cushy cushy cuteness go?

Three Things Thursday - the 'There's a Throwback Thursday in here' post

Ran: 5 miles / 8K with the dogs - 42:50 minutes + Cycling: 30 minutes

1. My new Newtons were sparkly white when I opened the box less than 24 hours ago. This is what one lousy 4.5 miler does to new running shoes. Lucky for me, I'm not going for the fashionable and crispy white look. I like it dirty. ;) Yep, I said 'I like it dirty'. And no, I'm not referring to 'that', I'm referring to trail running. ;)

Aren't they pretty? ;)

2. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve 2010 already. Another year has gone by. As for my private life: it wasn't a walk in the park. Not the easiest year, at all. But I do feel like all these personal 'battles and bumps (to be honest...some were mountain-like bumps) in the road' made me a stronger girl - mentally.

As for running: I do realize that this may sound corny, but it honestly seems like just a week ago that I picked up running (January 2010). And I'm still in awe over how much my life has changed (for the positive) in these past 12 months. It's been a heck of a ride, but I truly feel like this is where I'm supposed to be right now, and that this is the 'real me'. And I haven't felt like that in a long time. A long long time.

3. Last but not least: the post Kevin (http://halftriing.blogspot.com/) has been anxiously waiting for all week. Throwback Thursday!

This is me. I must have been about 2 years old in this photo. The photo was taken in France, on a summer holiday with the family.

As you've probably already noticed, I'm sporting the 'preppy European girl' look. Lacoste shirt: check. Striped Bermudas: check. And, yes, I am a girl. Hence the hair. I actually had the same haircut as my mom back then. And Twiggy. And Agyness Deyn. One might even say that Agyness stole my look. I won't hold that against her. That's just not the kind of person I am. ;) Plus, it looks better on 2 year old Me anyway. ;)