Ragnar 2012 recruitment!

Hi there. So, out of fear that everyone who knows me in real life will think I am off my rocker I am posting an email here that I am sending out in an hour. Please replace the word “email” with “blog” when appropriate. Also, if you think you are interested in joing my team, or my cause please comment below or email me at: annabellewinters@me.com

Thanks!

Warning: This email is the first of several to come over the next 10 days to several months, so if you know right away you are not interested in doing any one or more of the following (one is enough!): participating  in an “ultra” Ragnar 2012 relay, volunteering as a crew member for my team,  or fundraising with me for Garden Center Service (info below), please send me a reply that says something like “Annabelle, you’re nuts, please leave me alone”, and I will kindly remove you from the email list, but only if you say please. If you want to stay on the list because you just like being spammed, no worries-no judgment.

Also, if you know anyone who might be interested in any of the 3 things listed above, please please please forward this email to them, prompt them to respond, and I will include them in future emails.

 

My mission: To put together a 6 member team (3 men, 3 women would be ideal. However, any ratio will do) to participate in the Ragnar Relay 2012 Madison to Chicago. The race is approximately 200 miles, each runner of our team will complete either 6 legs of short to medium distances, or 3 legs of double that. We’ll decided as a team (likely in March) which strategy we will go with.

If you have not heard of this event before please visit the website: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/chicago

I am self-designating myself as team captain (mutiny notwithstanding), as such, I will do my best to coordinate all of the logistical concerns. This will include: calculating cost, deadlines for any money needed for registration, van rental, supplies and the like, training meet-ups or plans if desired, delegated support crew duties, scheduling running/resting/support rotation (which surely teammates will help with, and some are dictated by the event rules),  preparing food/beverage lists, preparing supplies for the race.

I will tell you right now that this team will not be “in it to win it” as it were. We will however be there to have a great time! There is no pressure to run sub 7 minute miles for all or your legs, and my personal plan is to have a beer, some chili, perhaps a little karaoke, then a nap after each leg (yes, out van will smell extra awful by the finish line).

So, if you have a problem with beer, tone-deaf singers, body odors, and enjoying every mile, then this is not the team for you.

 

What I need from you:  If you have even an ounce of interest, please respond to this email stating such. I will follow up this weekend with details regarding registration fee’s. At some point I will probably also demand that you strike a ridiculous pose, perhaps in a goofy hat, probably eating something awesome, to then be posted on my blog (which is at http://annabellewinters.wordpress.com).

My cause:  I plan to fundraise for Garden Center Services, who are indeed my employer, as I train and participate in Ragnar. Please visit the Garden Center Website to see what they’re all about: http://gardencenterservices.org

If you want to be on this team you DO NOT have to fundraise. You do, however, have to honestly believe that all people deserve to have choices in their daily life, and that everyone is entitled to an enriched environment where they are set-up for success.

I have talked with a few people, and can assure donors that 100% of all donations will go to programs and services that DIRECTLY support and benefit Garden Center consumers. No percentage of donations will go to recuperative of my costs or to other administrative activities.

As some of you know, I just finish my master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis last year. I’ll admit that while I was in school I was dreaming of chasing the dollar signs into behavioral economics and applications for large corporations. But after one small consultation gig for a crisis team (where I then worked for 9 months , I knew that I was hooked to spend my professional life serving a very specific population. I now work (as of the new year) for a small non-profit agency that serves (adult) individuals with developmental disabilities. I made the switch after working on a couple of crisis team cases and observing first hand at the creative, respectful, progressive,  and truly meaningful with work the Garden Center is doing.  Many of the people I work with have a dual diagnosis of developmental disability and mental illness, and they are historically one of the most mistreated and neglected populations worldwide. These individuals have huge potential to learn and to lead happy, productive lives. Unfortunately the federal and state funds that support the services needed for that to happen are always the first to see cuts to their already inadequate budgets.

I am hoping to make just a small dent in that discrepancy.

So my friends, there’s the lengthy introduction!

Please, let me know if you are interested, recruit anyone else you think might have interest, and I will keep it coming!

Thanks!

*AB

Shut Up + Run: Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold- February 11, 2012

Please join me. It’s hard not to be haunted by this tragedy.

Shut Up + Run: Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold- February 11, 2012.

Hogwash about Habits

Sometimes, very often, actually, I think that the real key to success and to achieving your goals is to be nice to yourself. To just step back from all the self-analysis and goal setting, and just be nice. Reward yourself for just being awesome, even if you have regressed a bit.

There is all sorts of advice out there about how many days, weeks, months, or repetitions it takes to build a habit. None of them are true. Not unfailingly. A lot of people say “it takes 21 days to build a habit”. This notion does come from research (and I use that term loosely here), but there are many, many, elements important to success, learning, and goal setting that are not taken into account.

For example, if you absolutely hate playing the piano, but somehow force yourself to practice everyday for 21 days, it is highly unlikely that you will then continue to play everyday out of “habit”. Yes, at that point one could argue that piano-playing had become “part of your routine”. However, if you dislike it, and are not receiving some other reinforcement for practicing, at the end of those 21 days you’ll likely happily replace that bit of your routine with something else.

Now, say you love jazz music, and every Tuesday a virtuoso-jazz-piano-playing-easy-on-the-eyes-friend, who you also have a crush on, comes over to practice with you. There is a good chance you will start to enjoy playing and practicing the piano. You might even start playing everyday or every Tuesday, and that “habit” might form after only one, or three sessions.

If something is rewarding or rewarded, in a way that you value, you are very likely to repeat that thing, maybe even after it has happened only once or twice.

Or, an equally useful bit of behavioral knowledge, when we have to work harder (or longer) for a reward, we value it more. And therefore are likely to repeat those behaviors again.

As I go into this last week of January – first week of February, I will be thining about how I am rewarded for your efforts, or how those efforts are rewarding me.

Join me! Let me know what you learn!

If you are trying to achieve a weight loss, exercise, professional, spiritual, social/family, or academic (any goal, really), and you are thinking “I just have to do this!”, or “I should be able to just stick to this!” stop and breathe. Then, next time you try something that advances you toward your goal, reward yourself, say to yourself  “self, you just did an amazing job focusing on what your kids were saying!”

Instead of silently, grindingly, and punishingly, slogging through your workouts alone, go to a class that seems a little goofy, allow yourself to count roughhousing and running around with your kids as exercise for now.

We don’t give it a second thought to make important things fun for children so that they will develop habits like brushing their teeth, eating healthy foods, and other generally important habits. There is no good reason that same tactic can’t be applied to adults, or yourself.

Have a mindful Monday,

*AB

11 weeks to go (16 completed)

I felt a lot better on my feet this week than last. So I am glad I backed off last weekend. I didn’t do the 4-in-1 app workout at all after Monday. I did get in more stretching, however, and more sleep. I feel just fine with that trade-off.

Week 16 training re-cap:

Monday: 7hrs Sleep, 6mi Run, 4-in-1 workout

Tuesday: 7hrs Sleep, 8mi Run

Wednesday: 7hrs Sleep, Spin Class, Home Spin Bike – 45mins of intervals (missed Boston Bound speedwork, got held up at work)

Thursday: 8hrs Sleep (woohoo!), 7mi Run

I did speed-work all by my lonesome…it went alright, I missed a few splits because I got distracted, but that only resulted in running fast longer, so no worries.

Friday: 7hrs Sleep, 3mi Run

Saturday: 8hrs Sleep, 18mi Run (4 miles of commute, 14 w/ BB)

Sunday: Spin Class x2, Body Blast Class

Total Mileage: 42

I am trying to finagle a Ragnar 2012 Ultra team, so rather than think of something meaningful to say here, I am going to go work on my rhetoric to bully people into joining my team.

*AB

Like avocado on your face.

Teresa sent me this avocado recipe the other day, and I was really skeptical. But it makes sense that the good oils and minerals you get from eating an avocado, could benefit your skin too.

 

Face mask:

1.    mash up half an avocado

2.    apply to clean face

3.    Leave on 15 minutes

4.     wash off.

Despite my skepticism, and since better skin care is a habit I could stand to get into I figured I would give it a try. Plus, a facemask you can eat, and has a flavor I love, bonus!

 

I used a whole avocado, simply because I like any excuse to use my food processor. Half is definitely more than enough to cover your face. Or you can make some guacamole with the leftover avocado and enjoy that while you sit and wait 15 minutes.

 

The mask feels exactly as you would expect: like someone smashed an avocado into your face.

 

Wearing the mask did not burn and otherwise insult my skin the way most do. Taking it off was a slimy experience.

 

I will try it a few more times to see if I notice any effects. My face did feeling a bit softer/less dry when I woke up the next morning.

 

Perhaps we are onto the next million-dollar-fad-diet-idea here: “The only eat things you can also apply to your face or bathe in diet”!  No?

Or, I have next Halloween’s Zombie mask all ready to go.

mmmm, fruit brains.

*AB

(a video) P.S. if it’s not 26.2 miles, it is not called a marathon.

There are a lot of “shit (insert athletic pursuit)’s say” video going around. I have to say, so far, I appreciate this one most.

Almost daily people try to convince me how BAD running/exercise/vegetables are for you. It’s really annoying. Please stop.

*AB

Simple Rules

It's true, I get paid to come up with this stuff.

 

*AB

Speed and kettle-corn

If you spend a couple days with me you’ll notice I mostly live off of a few foods: apples, orange juice, coffee, and popcorn. One of my most frequently used kitchen tools is a hot-air popper. I have perfected (to my taste and with the help of seasoning from Target, anyway) homemade kettle corn.

I found this stuff, and just have to share:

I have gone through very close to an entire (Cosco-sized) bag of this stuff in the last 48hrs. To be fair I have shared with 4 people at work and Jorge. To be honest I will say that I’ve eaten 85% of it myself. It’s far, far, more sugary than when I make it, and it has on occasion given me a bit of sour stomach (which has happened to me whenever I eats sweets, every since I first began experiencing symptoms of colitis), but it’s otherwise the perfect snack!

In other news, I got held up at work yesterday, then held up in traffic, and didn’t get back to the city in time for the Boston Bound Speedwork session.

So I did 45 minutes worth of hard interval work on my spin bike (thank  you Fringe and iPad “Seconds” app for making that possible!). I figure at least that way I was simulating the leg turnover, and my heart and lungs likely don’t know the difference. Right?

This morning I went for a 7 mile run and am pretty self-satisfied that I banged out some speedwork all by my lonesome!

I did this (which I totally made up):

• 2mi. warm up
• 12 x .10mi fast (6:15 pace) with .15mi recovery (8:00 pace)
• 2mi cool down

and it was awesome.

Keep Calm, Carry On.

*AB

WIA(M)W : and my inability to follow recipes

What I Ate (Monday) Wednesday.

I have to say that “attending” this party last week totally saved me from my typically fall-off-the-plan every Wednesday routine. So it’s here to stay!

So that I can be a part of the Pea’s and Crayon’s WIAW party each week (rather than be a day late all the time) here is what I ate this Monday. And next Wednesday I will post my food from today, and go forward like that.

Breakfast at my desk (I was a little rushed getting ready)

My gracious office-mate shared some afternoon coffee with me

Leftovers for Lunch

mmmmm

These were left-over from doing a preference assessment. I couldn't stand to throw them away!

Also leftover from the same assessment. Half a box. Waste-not-want-not?

Pancakes (made without butter) I like ingredients. Apparently.

Cooking on the grittle reminds me of Christmas as a kid (although I don't know that it was actually ever used on Christmas. Weird, right?)

Dinner, Breakfast, Snack....

A case of puppy lick sausage, and my eyes being bigger than my stomach (I had half of this for breakfast Tuesday morning)

Thanks for allowing me to indulge!

*AB

 

11 things (but it’s actually 33)

There is a chain letter inspired thingy going around the blogs. I was tagged by Lauren, which made me feel pretty special and probably unproportionately cool. There are rules which more or less say you write 11 random things about yourself, answer the 11 questions from the person who tagged you, tag 11 new people, then write 11 questions for those whom you just tagged.

I am playing, but not by those rules…I honestly don’t want to spend the time tagging 11 people who may or may not either A) be annoyed or B) have a clue who I am….

I am however, self-involved enough to want to do the lists.

First, here are 11 questions I would like to ask every person I meet. Please, answer them in a comment if you feel game.

1) Why aren’t people nicer to each other?

2) If you woke up tomorrow and had your most perfect day? What would it be like?

3) What is one thing you have failed at repeatedly, but you still keep trying?

4) If you wrote a novel, what would it be about?

5) Do you think a persons morality  is tied to their lifestyle choices?

6) What items would you grab if your house was on fire?

7) Why is America trying so hard to give the rest of the world the impression that we want a charicature for a president?

8) What household chore do you avoid the most?

9) What is your biggest gym pet-peeve?

10) What type of physcial activity do you love to engage in? (please don’t answer by saying “sex”. Smart Asses. I know you thought it)

11) What are 3 things you have wanted to do/learn/achieve for a long time, but never thought you could, or never figured out how to start?

Here’s 11 things about Annabelle (that’s me):

1) I think Applied Behavior Analysis can solve, or at least improve upon, any problem….

2) My biggest peeve is when people do not use person first language. There are no such people as Autistics, Depressives, Schizophrenics and so on. There ARE however, many individuals who have autism, depression, schizophrenia and so on…

Jimmy-Johnny-Joey is not autistic….But, Jimmy-Johnny-Joey may have autism.

There is a lot more to someone than a diagnosis. A whole lot more.

3) My favorite foods in no particular order are:

• Apples
• Apple Pie
• Lasagna
• Lobster
• Tootsie Rolls (the little ones, with the offensive name)
• Fudgsicles (they are like soft, yet frozen, Tootsie Rolls)
• Popcorn
• Oranje Juice

4) I love Star Trek: The Next Generation (I love it enough that I use phrases like “make it so” and “engage”, but not enough to own a uniform, but if I did, it would be blue)

5) I really can not multitask.

6) I talk a lot,  over-share, have a problem with boundaries, and have a hard time controlling my volume…I am also very sensitive to people telling me to slow down, or quiet down. Trust me, I am aware of it, and I am working on it.

7) I am totally overwhlemed by trying to think of 11 things to share about myself.

8) I like to make quilts….but have been 1/4 of the way through one since deciding to go back to school for my masters….3 years ago. Guess that hobby has been on hold for a while.

9) I want to take guitar lessons, again, I keep quitting. And I don’t actually own a guitar (but will take donations!)

10) I have my motorcycle license…I like to ride more than I like to run. Running is just more accessible when you live in Chicago.

11) I was born in Waterville, Maine.

Lauren’s 11 Questions

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? To California to hang out with my nephew (I realize the spirit of this thing is to fantasize exotically….but, honestly, I’d rather hang with Beck)
2. Do you have a goal / legacy that you’d like to leave behind?  My legacy/goal would be to create a system or  way to prove to people (politicians, policy makers, and the like) that ALL individuals, regardless of their handicaps, limitations, disabilities, or histories, can learn to lead happy and productive lives, they cannot however, always advocate for themselves. .. Also I want to leave behind at least one perfect piece of Poetry
3. What is the food you eat most frequently?  Apples, Chicken, it’s a toss-up
4. What is the best meal you ever ate? My mom’s homemade lasagna and apple pie
5. Favorite Run? uuuuh, the one I will have tomorrow?…or the day after that, or in Boston… I don’t really know. 6 miles is my favorite distance in general.
6. Who did you last talk on the phone with? Jorge
7. What is the last book you read? Crazy Like Us, My Life on the Run, and the first Game of Thrones book (I finished them all on the same weekend)…I still have 5 others in rotation ( lack of focus…or something).
8. Open- or closed-toe shoes in the summer? Closed. Always Closed. I hate peep-toe, open-toe, and I’ve never found a pair of sandals I like. And, there is a special place in hell reserved for flip-flops.
9. What’s the coolest race swag or prize that you’ve received? A skull painted by a school kid at the Uno 5K 2011
10. Do you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing? Self-Consciously outgoing….
11. Do you live near or far from family?  Far from mine but close to my boyfriend’s(Jorge) family, and they are awesome. So that helps. A lot.

Well, that was fun, actually. Back to work now. Lunch is over (I had chili and an Apple. FYI).

Be nice. Keep Calm. Move On.

*AB