Ryan Adams redux

You can tell how quickly my Ryan Adams obsession diminished into nothingness by the fact that he, apparently, has been all over the news for marrying Mandy Moore. And I managed to miss it.

I'm not exactly the queen of celebrity news, but I was pretty on top of All Things Ryan Adams last winter when I wrote quite a few posts about his music and surreal blog, which is no more. I think the obsessive thing happened partially because his catalog is so huge, and I had just discovered it.

Sometimes, with both musicians and writers, I have to go back and hear or read their entire output. I'm doing it with Murakami now. I've done it with Vonnegut, Graham Greene, David Foster Wallace, etc. And Ryan Adams.

Monster game

My 5-year-old, my husband and I played a fun game tonight outside.

It's called "Monster Game," but it's basically tag. Paul and I hadn't played much together in that way, since I've spent three years of our marriage pregnant and a lot more of it with babies and toddlers attached to me.

Here's what we found:

Paul's foot speed is surprisingly good. He could dodge like a running back.

It took him only about 10 yards to catch up with me.

The time I caught him, he was letting me.

The 5-year-old is also fast, but I, fortunately, can outrun him.

I think we're going to get the other kids involved as well.

Just to add to my humiliation.

45 minutes

Yes, I'd been slacking the last couple of days.

No running -- only limited calisthenics and weight work.

I even missed my Pilates class because of nasty traffic. It took me about 2.5 hours to go under 10 miles around the Westside of L.A. yesterday evening.

But, this morning, I got 45 minutes of running in. I've been trying to vary the times a little. I couldn't skip three days in a row, but I want to do a longer run of 90 or more tomorrow, so I didn't want to push too hard. Forty-five minutes at about a 10-minute per mile pace qualifies as a pretty easy run right now. Which still stuns me.

My total for the week is up to 240 minutes, which is probably about 22.5 miles.

Mini Book review: Advanced Marathoning

I went and got Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger today.

It's definitely an aspirational book for me. His audience is people who want to improve their marathon time. I've never done the smallest race.

But, I appreciate knowing more of the science behind the training. He definitely delivers there.

There's also some great training plans, as well as the kind of nutritional info that I can adapt, rather than the simplistic advice (common to most running books) to cram simple carbs.

It's a brainier book that assumes a seriousness of purpose, and I appreciate that. Even though I'm clearly not at that level of seriousness of purpose myself.

Right now, I'm just thrilled with sustaining long runs, even at my slow speed. Advanced Marathoning, however, offers insights into intelligent training -- some of which I can use even now.

Today is a day, though, where I read about running and didn't do any. I focused on some weight work instead.

75 minutes

With today's 75-minute run, I've now run more minutes this week than last, and I have a four more days to get some time in.

It was nice and cool -- but a little windy. I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, and all the dog walkers kept saying, "Aren't you cold?" Of course, I had two other shirts and three underwires on, so I was plenty warm.

Paul came out looking for me with the kids, as it ended up being dark by the time I was done -- but I had made it back to the nearby, well-lit area. I reminded him of what happened yesterday, how I cut short a run (even in the well-lit area) because there were too few people and the ones I did see looked as though they weren't up to much good. He forgets I'm on top of that stuff.

I am feeling achy in the back after this one, which is surely a sign of needing even more core work.

If anyone has any ideas for core strengthening that are semi-fun or at least repetitious and mindless, I'd appreciate hearing them.

Do I have to show you my belly?

I get a lot of fussing now about how I don't need to lose any more weight.

Yes, from a pure appearance issue, I do worry a little bit about the increasingly lollipop-esque thing I'm starting to have going (my head is big, both literally and figuratively).

At the same time, I still have a belly. And that's a health issue.

So, my new line is "Do I have to show you my belly?" And, then, sometimes I do. (I can go over-the-top when I need to.)

That usually shuts people up.

Satisfying carbs

Thanks to another friend on the plan, I finally tried a good cauliflower-as-mashed-potatoes recipe. Hers, fortunately, was half-potatoes and half-cauliflower, and that was much yummier than the the 100 percent cauliflower ones I had misguidedly cooked.

I had pretty much stopped making mashed potatoes, as my alloted portion is too small to be satisfying. Mashed sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are satisfying, even in the half-cup portion.

That's one irritation about the diet. Sometimes, I find things that I'm allowed to eat that I just need to avoid, as it's challenging for me to limit portion size with those certain items.

The nice thing is what I find challenging will change. When something is triggering potential overeating, I just avoid it -- even if it's on plan.

That has happened to me with mashed potatoes, Mary's Gone Crackers (when I first tried them), even Ry-Krisps (which are not anywhere nearly as yum as the Mary's crackers).

Making cauliflower mashed potatoes helps in two ways: 1) they don't taste quite as good as straight potatoes and 2) the portion size I'm allowed is doubled and that feels much more psychologically satisfying.

30 minutes

I did a quick 30-minute run today, just to get out there.

I was feeling great, physically, but I wasn't getting a good feeling about the whole scene. It was dark (though well-lit), and I didn't have my security guard or Paul ("24"!). It had gotten too late, and no one else was out. So I came in and did core work, which I need at least as much.

90 minutes

After yesterday's lousy run, I needed to get out there again.

Today's 90 minutes felt great, to my surprise. I was starting to think negatively, that maybe I couldn't run over 60 minutes ever again. (I know -- that was foolishness, but that's where I tend to go when it comes to athletics.)

I'm also sweating now, at any run over about 40 minutes, which is a good thing. I was worried more when I wasn't sweating. It does make my 10-year-old order me to the shower when I come back from my runs. She likes to do that because I'm always sending her to the shower.

I talked to my favorite security guard, who always asks how many laps I've done. I tend to lose count, unless I'm officially measuring, usually I just do time. He had told Paul he'd never seen someone as old as me run for so long. (Most people who can run for a long time must just get bored and need routes with more variety. I, apparently, am easily amused.)

More new music

New (for me) music to run to: "Timebomb" by Beck, "Crazy Over You" by Foster & Lloyd (great, rather obscure country duo), "Jackson" by Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash and "Get Rhythm" by the Man in Black all by himself.

One thing that has been strange for me about losing weight is that it's almost as though there's an emotional flashback related to my physical size. I listened to a lot of country music in 1989-1995 (the last time I was this size -- or smaller) because I lived in southern Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee during those years and that was what was on the radio. And I'm interested in it again, although I lean more strongly toward alt-country.

I also was listening to a lot of rap then because friends were sending it me. Oh, I also have added some Cypress Hill from the early '90s. My interest in dance music is new, though.

I had cut back on my musical interests with domesticity and the time-intensive needs of small children, and it's been fun to reclaim it.

Another candy holiday

There is, of course, much more to Easter than candy and feasting.

But, also of course, nearly everything I write about here is related to food and fitness -- and the psychological and social ramifications of losing a ton of weight.

So, forgive me for focusing on that.

As I dished up a rich, dairy-based dessert, Paul asked -- once again -- if I were tempted.

My answer: Not really.

And, once again, it's not something special about me. It's the plan. It's the combination of foods as well as the discipline of "I just don't eat that." Which is easy to think when you don't crave things.

So, I love the candy holidays, as they remind me of a time when I did indeed crave things I don't eat now. And how much better I feel now.