Check, Double Check…then Check Again

Happy 4th of July America! And Congrats to Amanda and Jeff on their wedding over the holiday weekend!

This was an interesting weekend to say the least. Really fun, but it took a turn from the original plans. That’s okay though, just live in the moment, right. Only got 29 more days over here to do that!

So, Friday night I was a complete bum. I’m trying to remember if I went for a run or to the gym. I forget now, but I’m hoping I did. Meh, oh well. I made it to Alesha’s to house-sit some more, and watch/drool over:

I wouldn’t mind a silver fox for my next catch, just sayin’. 😉

Saturday came with a 4a.m. sun wake-up call, as per usual, and after a glorious 3-hour Skype sesh with Ma & Pa McG (mostly Ma):

I was not really feelin’ this whole Half-Mary thing. Mom said: don’t run, it’s okay. I think: well, I don’t wanna disappoint people (that’s a funny attitude to have, but I always think like that). I finally peeled myself off the couch and away from my silver fox, and decided to head up to Aomori, if not to run, at least to see good friends.

In my freshly-showered attire, I bike back to the minami side of town. If not the ride, the stuffy, no open-window ‘apartment’ aka granny’s abode, was stifling. That’s an understatement. Instantly pouring sweat. Gross. I gathered my race gear: gatorade, running stuff, shoes, entry card…the loot.

I made my way to the station, with a quick pit stop at the local ATM. I still have yet to pay my phone bill (I like to think, the longer I wait, the less it will be that I have to pay…or maybe the phone company will just forget about last month’s bill. This is wishful thinking. And stupid thinking). I made a bolt for the station, only cutting into the traffic lane a few times and swerving out of another bikers way once. (I’m a terrible biker evidently).

I got all the way to the station to buy my ticket and couldn’t find my wallet!!! After a minor heart attack, I rummaged through everything, not knowing how it could have fallen out of my bag (possibly during the swerving in and out of traffic and fellow bikers?) All of a sudden I get a call. I knew it had to be my wallet. All I comprehended was ‘King’s’ (which is a Pachinko place back by my house and the bank). I made a mad dash back there, hoping and praying the money I just withdrew was still in the wallet. Oh for Pete’s sake, why am I so irresponsible at times? Well, I made it to King’s and saw three old women standing in the parking lot. They must have seen my wallet fly from the granny bike basket and in my mad rush, couldn’t catch up with me to tell me? My phone number happened to be on a document in my wallet –something I should have thrown out a long time ago, but never did. THANK THE LORD! All the money was there and I was instantly relieved. Wowzers, sometimes I get so lucky.

This is turning out to be a really long story. But, I made a mad dash again, totally negating the shower I just took, and made it back to the station just in time for the next train out to Aomori.

Melissa picked me up at the station and we headed back to her apartment for the night. I was ALL READY to run (mentally too…which I knew would happen once I got up and out of the apartment back in Hirosaki).

BUT THEN IT HAPPENED…

I was putting my things in order and had the race info, one shoe out of the bag, followed by a running shirt, shorts, sunglasses, watch…but wait….where’s the second shoe. Oh dear.

Yup. I missed the race because my freakin’ running shoe was somewhere on the side of the road in Hirosaki. Now I was majorly bummed. However, a night of House, grilled cheese, and no early bedtime. Well, it didn’t turn out soooooo bad.

It would have been a great day to run too, since there was practically no humidity and those predicted T-storms didn’t even show up for the event…or the entire day for that matter.

Melissa and I had a great time hanging out and in these last few weeks, that’s what it’s all about anyway! Guess I’ll have to wait till the U.S. of A. for that first half-Mary afterall. 😀

Lesson learned: put the important things in a zipper section of your bag, and 2.) check 5 million + 1 times that you have EVERYTHING you need. 🙂

I hope everyone had a safe, relaxing, and festive 4th of July! 29 and counting…

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My first 10k…went out with a bang!: Race Recap pt. 2

Did you miss Part 1 leading up to the race? This post does have pics, fear not, but it’s also slightly word-heavy, more for my memory than yours, so if you happen to get bored, you can scroll to the very bottom to see the outcome of the race…if you didn’t see it here. 😀 I’ll enlighten you with chapters for your reading pleasure.

Ch.1: Pleasant Surprises

I stepped off the train, a bit disheveled from my frazzled self nearly missing the ride, coinage flying everywhere trying to tardily pay for my fare, handing over the yens to Mr. train conductor, and was halfway out the door when I heard a faint: “Mori” (that’d be my name in the Nihon-language). Huh, who’s that? Mr. Kase? (That’d be Tomo’s dad, the student teacher from the Junior High who I run with and have dinners with at her family’s home). Yup, it was my very own supportive, Japanese adoptive father. I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Earlier in the week Tomo told me she would be too busy with school paperwork and writing letters, essays, whatnot to be able to come cheer me on at the race. My friends were out clubbing the night before with the Bri-ish guests of honor, and we all know going to bed at 5a.m. may make it difficult for making a next-day appearance, however, I know they were there in spirit. 🙂

So, as you can imagine, I was really surprised to see Mr. Kase in his car. Mind you, he knows a smidgen of English, so it was bound to get interesting. I thought he was just going to bring me to the Junior High in Ikarigaseki and drop me off. Nope, wrong again. He brought me there and said ‘starto‘. Then he proceeded to drive out of the lot and disobeying any and all traffic laws, directors with batons and police. He swerved in and out of the lined cones to take me on a ‘course preview,’ since the weekend prior, I had to work and couldn’t do a practice run with the fam. I’m REALLY glad he did this. Because I would not have known what was in store when he said the course is ‘hilly’. What he really meant was–the course was on the mountain, as in, up it. Great. So, markers had been laid, and we drove along, winding alone, up, up, up…up never seemed to end. We’re not talkin’ a gradual incline either. Straight up hell, for 3k of the race (at least it was less than half, eh).

Ch. 2: Pre-race jitters + feeling like death

Upon returning to the school, now getting nervous for what I was really in for, I could feel that beer from the night before, and ham pizza, and gnocchi, and far too much cheese for my own good. Molly and dairy before running = maayjah stomach war. The bathroom worker ladies new me by name and race number by the end of the day. However, I had to pull myself together if I wanted any sort of a chance to finish the gruesome trail. I came out from bathroom trip number one or two, I forget, and guess who was there?! Tomo, her mom, and her mom’s friends!!! All to cheer ME on! Turn that frown upside-down, you have an entire brigade!!! Oh and turn up the nerve-notch to about 70 while you’re at it.

The fam + fans:

I ran into a few of my students too, who were running the 3.5k. Can I swap my number for a shorter race. 😉

I tried to stay out of the heat/humidity, as I learned in high school track, the sun/heat drains you of your energy. True story. It was sweltering outside, overcast (which was better than the blazin’ rays) but man, sticky and hot (probably around 24 degrees Celcius). Here in Japan, evidently they schedule race times based on distance, making the 10k last. At 11:15a.m. That means I’d be finishing around noon, in the dead of the heat. Could I have more odds stacked against me?

Ch. 3: Moments before the gun

Five minutes till race time and I’m in the restroom, again, emptying the 5 gallons of water I seemed to have consumed in the 2 hour grace frantic period before the race. Now feeling nauseous, I realized I needed to man-up, suck it up, and put my game face on. Who cares if I didn’t do that well. I’m running a 10k (besides my 2 full Marathons) I hadn’t run any other long races. Finishing, was in and of itself, an accomplishment. I had a support system, slight drizzly weather (which is quite refreshing), and healthy legs, lungs, and the mental attitude to get through it.

I looked down at my watch- 11:22a.m. Laced up and ready. And we were OFF!

Ch. 4: My brain during a race

Right off the bat, I got behind girl in pink. I always pick a target, and run at their pace, as long as it’s challenging me, but still  keeping my body strong and well-paced, so I don’t putter out before the half-way point. This was my first mountain race (and God-willing, my last) ha, but I wanted to follow this chicks pace, because she’s from around here, therefore most likely has run up a mountain before. I trusted her pace and went with it. Hello 40% incline, my ass is thanking you today…

All of a sudden I saw Mr. Kase around the first loop and right before the hellish inclines proceeded one after the other. He pointed to girl in pink and said “#1 runner”. Then pointed to me, “#2 runner”. What, no way. Ok, girl in first is right in front of me. I could smell the victory (not really, I’m just thinking about not collapsing at this point).

I was feeling like a million bucks going up the incline, or as much as could be expected. I briefly contemplated passing said girl in pink, but didn’t wanna get ahead of myself. Then, it happened. I was feeling confident, strong, and motivated. I took a few long strides and left her in the dust. I wasn’t convinced that I was in first for the women, in fact, I swear I could see a few up ahead. I kept running strong, but smart, reciting in my head: “listen to your body Molly, you’ve got this, breath in through your nose, out through your mouth, pump your arms, lift your knees”. The air was hot, breathing was a challenge, but I wasn’t feeling tired, or slow…yet. I just kept pushing through, knowing I just had to get to the 3k mark and it would be steady, long strides on the down hills. The 3k mark seemed to come faster than when we drove it a few hours beforehand. I couldn’t believe it. I still didn’t turn around to see how close any other women were behind me. I didn’t want to get cocky if I was really far ahead, or discouraged if they were gaining on me. At this point I felt good and strong too, taking in the beautiful pines surrounding me, as well as the misting, foggy air. I felt like like it was a scene straight out of Lord of the Rings. I didn’t spot any Ents though ;).

The middle part of the race was kind of a blur, I was going strong, watching the clock, and taking in all of the support from grandmas, parents, students, townies, everyone. They kept saying I was in first, even though I didn’t believe it!!!

I felt amazing until probably 7k. I knew I was finishing up and had to keep going strong, I was giving it 97%, leaving that last 3% for my kick at the end. I took a quick peek behind me, just in case I had jumped the gun and gone too fast off the bat, causing the women to gain on me. I had a brief freak-out when I saw girl in pink. Not quite able to judge her distance behind me. I really kicked in in gear, now really struggling to breathe, then I saw another hill. In the practice run, ‘dad’ took me right, but the course veered left. Uh oh, I don’t know this way of the fork. He was there at the point and had water in hand for me and said sorry, go left. I would push through it, I had to. I just put one foot in front of the other, the next step stronger than the one before.

Coming up on the end, approaching town again, now I couldn’t even see pinky behind me, but I was tricking my brain saying I had to catch the next girl ahead of me (even though I was in first).

*I’m the one in gray with the pink bib…and I passed those guys 🙂

I came around the last corner, saw an O-Town teacher, he started to cheer, then I gave it 110%…little did I know the end was still about 400m away and I was sprinting all-out thinking it was less than 50m till the end. That’s when I thought I was going to pass out. I pushed every ounce of my being into the finish and then felt a huge wave of accomplishment. I’ve never won a race before! Sure, it’s a short race, but I WON!!! A victory pic with Mr. Kase, my Japanese dad. 🙂

What’s a Takenoko 10k, without some delicious TAKENOKO!!!??? *bamboo shoots*. Most delicious creation in nature. YUM!

Then came the awards, this was such a fun, surreal experience for me and I soaked in every ounce of it. To have the support of my Japanese family, students, teachers, friends, it just made the whole day really special!!

And what’s a day without some victory cake!!!

The night was spent with good friends, sushi, and an ice bath, never mind, I wished that part. Only 7 short days until the AOMORI HALF MARATHON!!!

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Carbo Loading: Race Recap pt.1

Beer is a carb, right?

Backing up to Saturday, after my decision to foolishly run 13.5 miles on Friday afternoon, followed by wine, wine, and more wine….oh and sake + karaoke, I still had plans with a few of last years teachers to have some Italian grub. This was the night before my first 10k race. I was going to back out, but then she said it was my going away party (since two of the teachers work at different schools, I probably wouldn’t see them again 😦 ).

I biked my way over to Da Ferido and met up with the same teachers as last time, minus Ms. Kimura. I decided, ah heck with the race, I’ll have a beer, enjoy my night, pizza with ham- okay, no biggie. So, we wined beered, we dined, and had a fabulous night, until my eyelids started weighing 10lbs each and I could barely stand the sweaty, sticky mess in the restaurant. The indoor conditions were inducing a coma and I had two choices, get the heck outta there, or splash my face with a nearby glass of H2O. I didn’t want to be rude and say, ‘listen, I gotta race in the morning, it’s 10pm and I’m falling off my chair.’ I didn’t really say anything, but luckily their Japanese conversation came to an end shortly there after. Another reason for my narcolepsy, they spoke Japanese almost the entire time. How’s a girl supposed to follow along when all you recognize is someones name every 5 sentences. It was exhausting trying to follow. BUT on the contrary, really fun to see the teachers one last time before jetting back to the U.S. of A.

I made it home and crawled into bed shortly after 10p.m. Race gear packed, food laid out, train station mapped, camera charged, sunscreen in tow, water filled, mentally ready. Nope, none of those things. Talk about running by the seat of my pants.

~~~~

Morning came. I received a call from a ‘sober’ friend at 5a.m. The friends I decided not to meet up with at the club the night before. Good choice on my part. I peeled my body out of bed and moseyed downstairs to pack some Gatorade, water, and brush my teeth. My goal was to leave by 7:30a.m. since my train was at 7:54a.m and I didn’t know exactly where the train was departing from. After leaving at 7:40.m. and biking at a sluggish pace (as to not wear out my muscles, yea right) I was just tired. And the humidity was off.the.charts.

Made it to the station with 2 minutes to spare. No joke. I waited in line to talk to the attendant and ask what platform I needed to be at. Thankfully, she informed me, then got on the station-wide intercom to announce one more person coming, hold the train. Yea, this isn’t surprising. Me, late?! Thanks also to the man who knew it was me when we passed in the stairway and he pointed me to ‘san-ban’ (#3) Thanks buddy, got it.

With the night before’s beer settling not-so-nicely in my stomach, jello legs from my 13.5-miler on Friday, paired with disorientation on where exactly I was headed + a few nerves, I was setting myself up for failure. Or so I thought.

Then the clouds parted and everything fell into place.

Part 2 coming soon, dun,dun,dun….

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Takenoko 10k

Full race-recap tomorrow. Best.Day.EVER.

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Casting Call for Ocean’s 14

So, I found myself in a little pickle yesterday afternoon, which doesn’t surprise me, or probably most of you either, if you know me…I have run into my fair share of predicaments over the past year. Whether it be falling off my granny bike (numerous times), getting the said bike confiscated and locked up, ending up nearly homeless in Osaka, setting off smoke detectors, the list goes on and on my friends. Well yesterday was no different. Heck, why not add to the list, go out with a bang. I’ve only got 43 more days to pull the ‘gaijin card’ for my mistakes…

From the beginning. Work was blah, blah, boring. It was Sunday after all and I really didn’t want to sit in the hot, stuffy office all day, while the kiddies were out holding their medal bats to the air in the thunderstorm playing baseball, tennis, and other activities. I couldn’t complain though, I was set free the day before. After watching ‘Jumper’ with the English Club, reading blogs, and two power outages later, I decided, what better time than to run 11 miles? According to plan Half-Mary training schedules, I was due for my last long run. The storm had passed by this point, it was nearing 4p.m. with a light drizzle covering the city. I actually really enjoy running in the rain (as long as the air temp is tolerable, not too hot, not too cold). Yesterday was perfect.

I would bore you with my every feeling during the run, but that would be, well, boring. Let’s just say I was feelin’ like a million bucks. Lungs were great, no pings, pinches, or (major) pains, and I was experiencing some serious runner’s high. I loved the whole thing. I tracked my mileage at Livestrong (excellent site), except that Japan doesn’t really have road signs. So I knew I was looking for the 144, and had to go a half mile past that. I kept running, not exactly sure where the 5.5 mile mark was. Still feelin’ good, I pressed on, then I saw Budokan! The gym–in Hirosaki that I go to! I made that my ‘destination’/half-way point. Running back I was slowing down a little bit, but didn’t stop once to walk, I was still going strong.

Then I saw Ms. ichi-nensei drive by. Followed by the VP and Principal. Hmm, wonder who’s left at school. No worries, the security man is for sure there. Well, I arrived back to O-Town Junior High two hours after setting out on my excursion. I came to the door to find it locked. Crap. 20 minutes till the train came, my bag, money, computer, coat, lunch, practically my whole life was upstairs in the office. I knocked pretty hard on the door, followed by incessant pounding. ‘KONNICHI’WA’ Anyone in there? The light was on in the security office, as was the TV (see illustration 🙂 ) Nothing. No answer, no head peeping out of the back room or from down the hall. What’s a girl to do? Use my prior convict skills Try the window, okay! It was open, too! Great security Japan. At this point I’m kind of shaking as I’ve got my leg propped 4 feet above ground level (see illustration), crawling past the spiders, huge fan, and array of documents strewn about. I made it in without plummeting to my death (yes, from the counter top). Being alone in the pitch-black school is a bit unsettling, and the security man isn’t exactly a George Clooney look-a-like. So I ransacked the office in search of the teacher’s office key (still shouting an occasional ‘konnichiwa’). Found the key, then headed up to get my belongings (meanwhile locking the door behind me so no one could follow me in (smart thinkin’, eh?). Only I would be so paranoid. As I was coming back down the stairs to make my stealth exit, who strolls out of the office in search of his master key? Oh yea, the security man. Oops. Caught. No biggie, he was just surprised to see me there, and with my 5 words of Japanese I tried to explain what I was doing in there. He didn’t care, but was curious how I got in. I pointed to the window in his office. He burst out laughing, in complete shock and surprise that I managed to climb through there. Luckily he let me exit through the front door, making in just in time to catch my train. 😀

~~~~

Then, while riding to Hirosaki, I saw these signs on the train:

Well that was the excitement for my day. Now it’s Monday afternoon, and I have the next two days off! Wahoo!

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Unplugged Nearly Killed Me!

Well hello lovelies (this includes male lovelies too). I just felt like saying that for some reason.

It’s Monday morning in Japan, blazin’ hot in this office, I’m high on something (caffeine I’m pretty sure) or life. I came into school with 50+ emails and lemme say, never again will I go ‘unplugged’ for a weekend. I will admit, it was refreshing at the time, but catch up’s a b*&$%. Ha, I think it’s safe to say I’m addicted to the internet. 😳 But anyway, this weekend was epic. I didn’t even do anything that spectacular, but it was to me, and it’s my blog, so therefore epic recap in store.

Friday Fun~

First order of business, run my little heart out. 8 miles and one bathroom pit stop later. Check.

All a part of the training sched, got her outta the way on a lovely Friday afternoon, perfect…since I knew there may not be time this weekend otherwise.

The sight from my ride home with Ms. ichi-nensei:

See that sun settin’ right over yonder beyond Mt. Iwake. That mountain never looks the same on any given day. I love it!

I had ‘plans’ to go home and self-diagnose my new ailments watch House, but when I got the call for curry (real, Indian curry, not Japanese curry) with Alesha and Christine, I obviously couldn’t turn that down, even if it was my second trip of the week (lucky for me, it lasts two meals!). I walked to the eki and brought a little friend* with me.

I sat down with the ladies and they had graciously ordered for me. I was craving Chicken tonight. I was a little ‘misty’ from the humid walk, gross, and all of a sudden I felt a little tickle on the back of my neck. I felt it, and wanted to scream (just shivered now, thinking about it) but there was a huge, yes, a huge freakin’ beetle (that little friend) crawling up my neck toward my head. I grabbed it and threw it at the wall, proceeding to squish it with a napkin and immediately go wash my hands. I don’t mind bugs (that much), but when they’re on me—that’s a-whole-nother story. Bleh. Alesha and I swapped curries (she had Dal and didn’t like it), and so I offered to switch. Not 5 minutes later I found a long black hair in mine (the chef’s). My usual self would have probably made a huge complaint and been super grossed out and maybe slightly peeved. For some reason, I wasn’t and I just took it out and didn’t think about it. We know the owners, nice guys, simple mistake. I left it at that and enjoyed my meal.

After dinner I opted for House and bed. ‘Twas glorious.

Saturday Sun~

My attempt at sleeping in failed as per usual. No joke, I shoot up out of bed at 4:15 EVERYDAY, no matter what. Well, I managed to fall back to sleep until a little after 8a.m. when I was notified via the empty pit that it was time for breakfast. I whipped up some protein-enhanced French Toast with:

• 1 slice of ‘Nice Bread’
• 1 egg + 1 white
• sprinklet of Nutmeg
• almond extract
• dabble of real Hokkaido butter
• boat loads of Cinnamon

My topper was inspired by Angela who came up with the idea of Breakfast Hummus. I don’t think her recipe has debuted yet, but just so you know it was her idea, but this is what mine entailed:

• 1/2 cuppish (I’m really bad about measuring) chickpeas
• 1/4 cuppish plain yogurt
• 1 tbs TJ’s creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 scoop Chocolate Whey protein powder
• splash of milk to help the little engine that could (my ghetto blender)
• 1/2 banana
• drizz of agave

Blend. It was really good. Perfect topper for my little Frenchie…that and a dollop of Japanese cottage cheese (which I mentioned before is not goopy). It was fabulous. MMMMMMM. So good. I had left over ‘hummus’ and it was really good with some strawbs that I bought later.

After breakfast and more House I peeled myself off the futon and got to Budokan for a little upper body, courtesy of BFL and then set out for some biking and reading (never thought I’d be doin’ that). I love reading but I’m always ‘too busy’ to sit down and enjoy a good book. Times are a changin’. I parked myself, some carrots, an orange, and crab out across a little plot of grass at Hirosaki Castle park and enjoyed the summer sun and my book. I had the opportunity to go to a ballet class (if you know me…and know that I can’t touch my toes) this is the biggest joke ever…but I did almost go. I need some core work, and flexibility. I didn’t end up going, but maybe next week, if I’m brave enough.

On my way home from biking/reading/market shopping~ pesticide-free broccoli: WAHOO, I also snapped a picture of this bike near my house. I just love it:

Then this little granny comes up to me and wants me to take a picture of this weird carriage thing with a Santa Claus in it. No thanks, that thing is creepy and would haunt me for sure. More bikes please 🙂

Just caught my eye, then I was on way.

I had the night to myself and made sure not to do a thing. I loved every minute of it.

Sunday Shopping Shenanigans

I had a shopping date with Tomo at 10a.m. We planned on driving out to Goshogawara for the day (about 30 minutes by car) to hit up Elm shopping center and see what we could find. Oh, and dinner plans for me to introduce American cuisine to the fam was still on the agenda.

With a slight budget in mind, i.e. Molly you leave in 50 days, don’t be dumb and buy anything you don’t have the space for….that idea went slightly according to plan. I bought a small ring and a ‘to die for’ scarf. Oh, and some things from the Foreign Food market (without hesitation). Let’s just say the Palak Paneer purchase got me super stoked (even more than I already am) for my trip to India, which is 40 days and counting. **Pictures tomorrow on those purchases. Promise!

Since I’m a narcoleptic by self-diagnosis, I obviously fell asleep on the car ride home. Tomo and I went for a quick run around Owani before it was dinner time. Which was BOMB! So freakin’ good.

Japanese Suroppi Jiyozu a.k.a. スロッピジョズ (a.k.a. Sloppy Joes)

• 300 grams ground beef
• 1 can of tomatoes/onion (in place of processed and sodium-intense Campbell’s soup)
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tbs (give or take) spicy mustard
• ketchup (fair share of drizzle through out pan)
• Salt & Pepper
• Buns

Directions:

1. Brown meat
2. Add everything
3. Stir
4. Enjoy

Oh boy. That was a HIT! Mama Kase, and Grandma dove right in and loved the sloppy mess. Mama even picked up her ‘burger’ and successfully got every last bit in her mouth and not all over her hands! We enjoyed some Japanese sides of veggies, potato korokke:

…fish, some gloopy seafood animal (not a fan), and fresh out-of-this-world watermelon ($30 for the thing!) as our dessert. Don’t forget the phone call Papa Kase made me make to their eldest son (in Sendai) with whom they wanted me to practice English with. First off, he answered the phone extremely confused as to who I was, why an English-speaking woman was calling him, and what the heck I was saying…all while Papa is laughing hysterically in the background. Lesson failed. Comic relief definitely a success, glad I could be of service. 😀 It was really funny, and topped off my night with the fam.

Ok, each day I realize how hard it’s actually going to be to leave. I’ve already got a ‘training date’ set up with Papa Kase next Saturday at the crack of life (8a.m. for a pre-course run) before my race. Then, the following Sunday (race day) the family is coming to cheer me on and we’re celebrating Mama Kase’s birthday after the race. Don’t forget my premature goodbye party with last year’s teachers happening next weekend too, but first: Tonight’s World Cup Game! Japan vs. Cameroon

source

I’ll be meetin’ up with a Japanese girl who is friends of another ALT and we’ll hit up the Kaji machi sports bar. Kickoff: 11pm. Gonna be a late night tonight. I promise some pics and that announcement coming in tomorrow’s post!

~Molly

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Ok I Lied

Well, it’s not technically the weekend yet, Friday here in Japan and how can I stay away from all of you 😛 I can’t. I just felt like summin’ up my day yesterday and giving you a little peak into weekend festivities. First up, I need to correct my attempt at that Chocananacado Pudding recipe, because I remember now that I added a little Chocolate Protein Powder too, Whey to be exact, 1/2 scoop to be even more precise. It’s not necessary, but just fyi.

Secondly, my workout yesterday was completely, 100% inspired by Ms. Janetha who has 1. An awesome blog, 2. Rockin’ bod, and 3. Really hard workout from BFL. I usually snoop around Meals & Moves for my daily inspiration, so thanks Janetha! It was a H.I.I.T. kinda day (I don’t know how to do the layout nice and neat like her though, so bear with me…oh and Japan measure in kilometers per hour) I did each for 1 minute and 2 % incline:

1. 8.0 kph
2. 8.8
3. 9.7
4. 12.9
5. 9.7
6. 12.9
7. 9.7
8. 12.9
9. 9.7
10. 12.9
11. 9.7
12. 13.7
13. 9.7
14. 13.7
15. 9.7
16. 13.7
17. 9.7
18. 13.7
19. 9.7
20. 14.4
21. 9.7
22. 14.4
23. 9.7
24. 14.4
25. 9.7
26. 14.4 @ 8% incline for 1min and 10 seconds
27. — 29. 8.0 @ 1% incline

30. 6.0

3 minute walk cool-down.

Rough stats (I need a Garmin. Wish list 😉 ) : 33 min/ 437 kcal/ 4.8 km (or 5.3….I forget!)

Alesha and I parted ways on the Dote (Dough-tay) and I made a mad rush for home to make a humungus salad that I was seriously craving. Here in Japan they have this out-of-this-world Sesame dressing. I found a bottle with half the cals and since I practically drink the stuff, I opted for the purchase. When it comes to food, a budget is non-existent in my world. It’s a sin that I spend $3 on 1 cup of cottage cheese per week, sometimes two. To pack in a protein punch, I had a side of cottage cheese with crab and tons of mustard. Before you gag, try it. Phenom. ‘Nuff said. I also had a Protein ‘shake’ to accompany my P90 Ab Ripper X attempt. It was brutal. Hopefully I get better over time!

Drowned in Sesame goodness.

And some crabby goodness. Downed in 2.2. So yummy!!

I took a little break to watch House, and then moseyed downstairs to prepare lunch for the next day. Granny yelling at me yet again for leaving the light on in the side room (yet she’s always leaving the light on in the bathroom!)

Oh, remember how I got two books from the library? I started reading the second one, the title I had previously forgotten, but now remember: “Why Men Don’t Listen, And Women Can’t Read Maps.” It is a fascinating read so far. Yes, I’m reading both books at once. Probably why I never finish what I start! Always got too much goin’ on at once. But I just love this book. It’s by Barbara and Allan Pease and it actually reminds me a lot of my Evolutionary Psychology class in college. The one and ONLY textbook I read cover to cover. It was that good!

*My computer camera only takes ‘mirror image’ pics. So everything is backwards. 😛

Taken from “Why Men Don’t Listen, And Women Can’t Read Maps”:

When a man goes to a rest room, he usually goes for one reason and one reason only. Women use rest rooms as social lounges and therapy rooms. Women who go to a rest room as strangers can come out best friends and lifelong buddies…Men dominate TV remote controls and flick through the channels; women don’t mind watching the commercials. Under pressure, men drink alcohol and invade other countries; women eat chocolate and go shopping…Women criticize men for being insensitive, uncaring, not listening, not being warm and compassionate, not talking, not giving enough love, not being committed to relationships, wanting to have sex rather than make love, and leaving the toilet seat up…Men criticize women about their driving, for not being able to read street directories, for turning maps upside down, for their lack of a sense of direction, for talking too much without getting to the point, for not initiating sex often enough, and for leaving the toilet seat down…Men can never find a pair of socks, but their CDs are in alphabetical order…Women can always find the missing set of car keys but rarely the most direct route to their destination…Men think they’re the more sensible sex…Women know they are.

I’m excited to find out more reasons why men are so confusing. 😉

~~~

In store for the weekend is first and foremost: Sleep. I wake up EVERY freakin’ day at the crack of life (thank ‘Lesh for the phrase, ha), and run of course. Got an 8-miler to tackle, the gym to hit up (hoping Muscles* will be there 😉 ) biking to Apple Park for a picnic, Don Don’s consignment shop, groceries, lunch prepping, and Sunday FUNDAY spent with Tomo shopping on the west coast (Goshogawara) and dinner with her fam. Rumor has it, I’m makin’ Sloppy Joes! Can’t wait.

I hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend where ever you are! P.S. ANNOUNCEMENT on Monday (your Sunday U.S.A.) Stay tuned!

XO,

Molly

*Muscles~ In college, my roomie Jamie and I would name our secret ‘library & or gym crushes’ by something they did or how they looked. It was our code name for the “McSteamy’s and McDreamy’s of Minnesota” if you will. We were weird. A few that I remember (Muscles– obvious reasons, Chile– this one kid who studied abroad there, Prancer– this kid on a treadmill, what a sight…) Oh the good ol’ days. 😀

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Quick Recipe + Break time

Hi Bloggie friends.

Thursday here, but a quick recap from yesterday. I ran. I wanted to cry (dang shins), then I stretched, and dumb dumb, ran again (with Tomo). No pain second time around (this is my idiot self thinking, op, guess everything’s fine)…yet I better scale back on training a bit….after tonight’s H.I.I.T. run. 😛

I was about to catch the train, when Tomo’s mom called me back inside, “Molly I made pasta for you!” What?! Wow, thanks *Mom. She is the sweetest lady ever. I sat down and thought I’d be eating with the fam, but since I had the next train to catch, she insisted I ate while everyone else sat there and waited for her to finish cooking (that was awkward). She brought out plate after plate and yet another plate. I love the Japanese. Small portions of about 10 different things. It was a nice treat to have American (more like Italian) pasta too. It’s been a looooooong time since I’ve indulged in that! I usually use soba (buckwheat) noodles here for my pasta. Anyway, dinner was scrumptious, and I made the walk home afterward, only to be greeted by the kitchen and many-a-tasks that lie ahead. I really wish I would prepare it all over the weekend. Since I eat 5 or 6 small meals a day, it makes for long nights prepping in the kitch. Meh.

Chocananacado Pudding (my quick, lazy, SCRUMPTIOUS, version)

• 1/2 avacado
• small banana
• 1/2-1 TBS cacao powder
• 1 TBS All Natural Peanut Butter
• 1/2 scoop or so of Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
• A few sprinklets of water (if you have a ghetto blender like me that needs all the help it can get)

Add ingredients and blend. Refrigerate OR freeze in ice tray for bite-size fudgecicles.

Totally appetizing to look at, I know. Serve in a small dish with a side of floral printed granny panties. Oh wait, that’s just me (and my panties, not granny’s. Easy mistake).

~~~

Break-time. I may or may not have access to internet for the weekend, so my apologies in advance if you don’t hear from me. I need a little check-out time from the blog anyway. Full recap Monday. Promise.

XOXO,

Molly

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Gym Snob

Hellooooooooo there!

It was another grand ol’ day here in O-town with a bunch of 2nd graders on my hand, and boy were they rowdy. Slightly OC if you ask me. Definitely a good birth control. Sheesh. We’ve got Yu who sits in the front row, inches from my desk, playing with my emotion faces on a stick all hour, Yuma making bodily function noises, Tatsumi fascinated with the English word: “ouch” and keeps insisting I fake punch him just so he can keep repeating “ouchie, ouchie.” While it is frustrating at times, I mostly can’t help but laugh. Mostly because in 55 days, it’s sayonara smart a$$es, I no longer have to deal with you (but that leaves the little hellions to poor Ms. ni-nensei), and then I feel bad for her.

Crazy cats I tell ya!

After a day of practically pulling teeth to get the kids to cooperate, I was off and motivated to test out another new gym! Apparently in Hirosaki, there are a few pay by the hour places. Not NEARLY as nice as my spoiled experience at Holiday though. I miss that place. Walking to the station, however, was a lovely treat for the eye.

Back to green mountains, hallelujah!

The beginning of Main Street (I highly doubt that’s what it’s actually called). Oh wait, they don’t have street signs here.

On the train and bound for Hiro by 4:15p.m. I made the executive decision to walk to the new gym Sasamori and get in a quick lift before going for a jog with my new friend Tomo (a student teacher at O-Town Junior High).

Let me just say: The gym is ghe-tto. To the max. I was just about to take pics (since I was the only one in the small room), but then my batteries died. Picture yellow plastic-y patio furniture material, circa 1970’s and some weird chains to pull up the weights. I think I nearly pulled a muscle with how stiff the chains were. No free weights and some funky looking machines. It ended up costing Y210 (~$2) per hour and was not really worth it. However, I did get to blast my own tunes, so that’s a relief.

I also picked up a few books at the nearby library. Now I can officially start my 10 books for pleasure on the List! I picked up: “Anticancer” by David Servan-Schreiber MD, PhD. I’m on Chapter 2 already, and being a recently converted attempted health nut. This book is the most interesting thing I’ve read all year. (Besides food blogs of course). On the cover it says:

All of us have cancer cells in our bodies. But not all of us will develop cancer.

Expect reviews of the chapters and key points as I make my way through it. So far, I can’t put it down!

And the second book I forgot the title, something like “Why men don’t listen and women don’t….” I can’t remember, haha. Get back to ya on that!

After our run around Hirosaki, I planted myself in the kitchen for a good hour or more to prepare meals, chicken, AVACADO-BANANA-CACAO POWDER pudding. It was the best thing since all-natural nut butters. I’m in love, and hooked! So freakin’ good. I would give you my recipe, but my adaptation is probably not as good as all the ‘pros’ out there in the bloggie world. Search for theirs instead. 🙂

Bed. Time. We all know I’ll be shooting outta bed at 4a.m. (Exactly 1 hour and 25 minutes before my set alarm time.)

~Molly

P.S. Does anyone know how to personalize your own signature for each post? Maybe it’s time I buy my own domain and more space too? I’m a bloggie beginner with very little knowledge here!!

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The Weatherman Was Wrong

Rain? NOPE. Following through on a 10-miler for training, you betcha. 😉

But first, Friday’s festivities were nothing short of action-packed. And guess what…Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on ME! (Yes, I remember that tune from our kindergarten recital). And I can’t seem to get it outta my head, because all weekend long, we were graced with sun and only sun (despite the forecast for rain both Friday and Saturday). I’ll take it.

Since Ms. ichi-nensei’s birthday was last week, we were headed out for a little cuisining on the town. Shabu-shabu style. The birthday girl:

And our delicious feast! Starting with a side salad (consisting of cabbage and sesame seeds…not much of a salad if you ask me). Delicious nonetheless.

Our Shabu-ing pot:

That there is the little ‘stove’ on our table, with the pot of boiling goodness (one side soy milk, the other water). Then the server will bring out spices and ground chicken (meatball) to add to both sides. Following that, multiple platters of paper thin meat to swish back and forth in the liquid and it is cooked and ready for flavorful dippage (sesame dressing, lemony sauce, or just plain). I obviously took a strong liking to the sesame, practically drinking out of the trough.

Mmmm, steamy goodness. Yes, I appear to be sweating. I don’t recall being over-heated, but the fact that I didn’t have time to go home between the gym and dinner may have something to do with it (gross).

After a fabulous and filling meal (that tasted even better with our $10 off coupon, since I was treating) I headed back to granny’s to call it a night. With a little ice cream dessert to top it all off.

~~~

From here on out, I don’t have pics (big bummer) but it was such a good weekend, that I’m going to ramble about it anyway, and if no one is interested in reading further, well then, I have a memory to look back on myself. 😀

Saturday morning I made the trek from the minami side (where I live) over to the josei side (where Crumpet lives, i.e. Alesha). I had some Skyping to do and she graciously left me the key to let myself in and chat up the fam and my favorite Kelly. It was GREAT catching up with her!! The last time we chatted was well before my travels to Korea and such. I miss her!!!

The fam is in good order too, always good to hear. They joke about having my room being taken over by extra furniture and knick-knacky things, or worse- my own things that I’ve managed to sneak under our piano in the front room from college)…all I gotta say- that room better be spik and span in T-MINUS 57 DAYS folks :P. I kid. Sorta.

After some chattin’, lounging, b-fasting, getting sucked into House, more lounging, and nearly convincing myself out of a workout, Alesha and I peeled ourselves off the couch and were determined to tackle my 10-miler for the day. Yay training. It’s these days where I’m not a fan of training. But it never fails, once I start, I’m good to go. A little company never hurts either. I had Alesha biking next to me all the way to Owani and back. The sun was shining, the rays were shooting down in between the clouds, perfectly highlighting Mt. Iwake in the distance (insert regret of not having camera: here). There isn’t a single day that mountain looks the same. Truly incredible, and quite the treat to run towards for the 2nd half of our out-and-back run. Did I mention the rice paddies are recently planted and growing rapidly? Beautiful summer days here in Aomori.

Side note. When I’m blogging, I frequently like to use my thesaurus to 1. Broaden my vocabulary and 2. use slightly more sophisticated words when appropriate. It never fails to remind me of this:

Monica: It doesn’t make any sense.

Joey: Of course it does. It’s smart! I used a thesaurus!

Chandler: On every word?

Joey: Yep.

Monica: All right, what was this sentance, originally?

Joey: Oh. “They’re warm, nice people with big hearts.”

Chandler: And that became, “They’re humid, pre-possessing homosapiens with full-sized aortic pumps?”

Monica: Hey Joey, I don’t think we can use this.

Joey: Why not?

Monica: Well, because you signed it baby kangaroo Tribbiani (Joey makes a ‘and-what’s-wrong-with-that’ look). Hey, why don’t you stop worrying about sounding smart and just be yourself!

Yes, I live as if they’re my own friends. 😀

~~~

Anyway, Sunday was greeted at 6a.m. when my internal clock said to get up. Slightly frustrating when the sun rises at 4a.m. in Japan. I crashed at Alesha’s (as per usual on any given weekend), and managed to press play on a season 1 episode of House, before dosing off into a deep slumber. Until noon. Well, that was a waste of a day. However, after sending off my India documents (and passport, eeeep) to Tokyo, and picking up a few grocery items, I was on my way to O-town to meet up with my NEW FRIEND! Tomo is a Japanese girl who is student teaching at the Junior High. She is from O-town and she and I go on runs after work some nights. Except tonight (Sunday), her family invited me over for dinner and beer (her father), ha, and a quick jog after the festivities.

Can I just say…I HAD A BLAST. More and more I am beginning to wonder why I decided to come home. Ok, that’s only partially true. I miss home SOOOO much, but the nicer the weather gets, and the more people I continue to meet (especially Japanese), I begin to get a little sad about the farewells.

Tomo’s family is awesome. Sadly, I didn’t want to bust out the camera at the dinner table, being a first-time guest and all, but maybe next time (since dad invited me back next Sunday…that was after quite a few beers on his part, so maybe those plans aren’t set in stone). At any rate, her family is so kind and welcoming and her mom is a fabulous cook. We ate okonomiyaki, which included squid…and I LIKED it. Who am I? Dessert (post-run) was some beer and a fruit & ice cream bowl. Next week, I’m makin’ them Sloppy Joes. Straight outta father’s mouth: “Mori- you cook, but my money. No cheese.” Haha, well you heard the man! I can’t wait!!

Tomo drove me home a little before 10p.m., her father in tow. He may or may not have been lying down, snoring in the backseat by the time we reached my house. See you next week, dad! 😉

~Molly

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