8 weeks later...

I wrote quite a while ago about starting the Couch-to-5K program. I may have mentioned it a few times since, but I haven't done a very good job of keeping you up to date on how it's going.

Well, now I have a verdict for you: the program absolutely, positively works.

How do I know?

A picture's worth a thousand words:

Yours truly, crossing the finish line.

Look at me go! (Yes, I'm still excited about this.) And this, folks, is only a few days after I completed the last workout in Week 8.

I have to say, I've learned a lot from this experience. I never thought I was the "running type," and I still don't know that I am. But I'll tell you what I'm not: I'm not the quitting type. I like to finish what I've started. And although there were several times when I thought things like "It's cold today. Do I have to run?" or "I'm tired; maybe I should walk the rest of this set," I didn't give up. I decided after maybe two weeks that I'd put too much time and effort in to just stop, or to not do the workouts correctly. And in the end, it all paid off.

I've had other experiences where I pushed myself to the limit (see this one on drum corps, for instance!) but this was different. In most of those other situations, it was me against something else--another person, another organization, etc. A good part of drum corps is mental (and therefore individual), true, but ultimately it's a group sport out there.

Running a 5K was different. Yes, I was competing (and I even beat people) but for me it really wasn't about the other runners. It was me against myself. The whole race was a fight for control--over my feet, over my lungs, over my thoughts.  I didn't set a record or win an award, but I kept my feet in check, controlled my breathing, and at least in my book, came out on top.

I'm glad I did it...and I'll probably do it again!

The winners' circle!

Mental Health Day

Brownies: The official food of Mental Health Day.

I don't take "days off" very often. Most of the time, my days consist of unequal parts work and play. I do what I need to do, but it's spread out over 12 hours or so and dispersed with short breaks for Facebook, cooking, blogging, and catching up on How I Met Your Mother or The Office.

But today, I basically took the day off. I slept in. I went grocery shopping and took my time. I came home and ran in the misty rain (halfway through Week 4 of training!). I made myself a nice lunch with fresh ingredients. I sang in the shower. I baked a pan of brownies from scratch. I went out to a bar with friends for dinner, drinks, and some very impressive readings by very talented people.

Even though I spent only about two hours today on schoolwork, I still feel like I've accomplished a lot. Sometimes a Mental Health Day can be justified.

Ah, but the brownies, you say? Very well. Let us explore the culinary creation that is the official food of Mental Health Day.

I kept running across this recipe online, and finally decided to give it a whirl. According to multiple recipe databases, magazines, and bloggers, this is supposed to be Katharine Hepburn's brownie recipe.

I can neither confirm nor deny those rumors; I can, however, tell you that these brownies aren't just popular because of Katharine. They are moist and fudgy, with a crispy sugary top, and so simple that you may never want to buy a brownie mix again. But, be forewarned: if you prefer cake-like brownies, these are not for you.


Katharine Hepburn's Brownies (modified)

Makes one 8x8 inch pan

What you're looking at: Butter in the saucepan, cocoa, oil,

a cup of sugar in the middle, eggs and vanilla in the mug,

flour and salt in the bowl.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Steps

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour an 8-by-8 inch brownie pan. (Tip: Butter the pan with the wrapper from the stick of butter!)

2. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the oil and cocoa powder and stir until combined.

It'll look something like this.

3.  Remove the pan from the heat. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour and salt and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

It won't be a lot of batter--you may need to push it into the corners.

4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool, slice, and serve.

(Tip: The best way to cut brownies is with a serrated plastic knife. Really. Trust me on this.)

Let them cool for about ten minutes before cutting!

What I Changed

• The original recipe actually calls for two squares (two ounces) of unsweetened Baker's chocolate and no oil. I didn't have any Baker's chocolate on hand, but luckily my fellow internet cooks discovered a "hack" for cocoa. The dry cocoa combined with the oil gives you the chocolate flavor with a consistency similar to melted chocolate.
  
• The original recipe also lists a baking time of 40 minutes. Now, I am cooking with an old gas oven which is pretty touchy about temperature, and tends to burn everything anyway. 20 minutes was plenty of time for my brownies, but it may not be for yours.
  
• I also left out the optional nuts. If you want them, mix one cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, etc. into the batter with the flour and salt before baking. You could also add chocolate chips, M&Ms, or whatever other mix-ins you like in your brownies.

The brownies are going to be thin, even in a small pan, but they are rich and delicious. The perfect comfort food for a day off.

How do you celebrate your own Mental Health Days?

Learning to Run

So I know it's been a while, but I haven't had much to share. However, I do have some news finally, and a recipe I'll probably share later in the week. But for today, I want to focus on one thing:

This week I started a Couch to 5K program!

Let me explain why I find this significant enough for a blog post. Running is something that I used to absolutely hate. I did it when I had to for gym or marching band, but I despised every second. It was hard and it was boring, and I just didn't see the point.

My running buddy Jacob on laundry day!

And then, something called drum corps happened to me. Suddenly, fitness became incredibly important in my life and running was a huge part of that. I had to run all the time. We ran back to our sets. We ran to get water. We woke up every morning and ran for PT. I even found a "running buddy" in the corps who ran at exactly my pace. And by the end of the summer, I didn't hate running any more.

My feet, however, had other ideas. My left foot developed a habit of cracking, like you would crack your knuckles, while on tour. It hurt, but it didn't prevent me from marching so I basically ignored it. When I got home though, I realized that my left foot was swollen and probably had been for most of the summer. I kept running for a while after that, but not as frequently or to the same intensity as I had during tour. Eventually I sort of stopped altogether, and started working out on elliptical trainers and doing low-impact "Turbo Jam" workouts.

At the height of my running prowess. I was also quite tan.

And then, finally, last spring I went to see a podiatrist. He examined my feet, took some xrays, and watched me walk around barefoot. And then he told me something I didn't know: "You have flat feet."

Ok, so what does that mean? I found out that it's something I was born with and something that won't change. It's not harmful or bad, it just means that running or being on my feet for a long time can hurt! So, he took molds of my feet and had orthotics made that I now wear in my shoes. Since then, my left foot has stopped cracking and both feet are much happier.

Flash forward to now. This week I started a Couch to 5K training program and did my first three runs, pain-free (for my feet, anyway!). I'm using a great app called 5K Runner which tells you when to run and walk at various intervals. You can even listen to music with it, and it will lower the volume of the song to give you instructions! (Maybe I am easily impressed, but I appreciate that they thought these things through!) The app has made the transition into running much easier than if I'd been doing it by myself.

I've also gotten a lot of support from friends. I posted about my first two runs on Facebook and got a lot of "Likes" and comments--thanks for the encouragement! I now feel accountable for my workouts, and I'm planning to get through the whole program and maybe even run a race someday.

My running shoes with one of my magical orthotics.