daily grind?

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half of man's hunger.

- Kahlil Gibran

At the moment work for me is study..with the end of my undergraduate career looming i need to start thinking about grad school..and that means sitting the GRE..and that, unfortunately, means studying..during my summer break..so i took the above quote to heart an decided if im going to study..im going to enjoy it!what better way than to combine study with a love of mine..catching rays!

..and it can't be all work, no play..so i snuck away to cherry st coffee shop..next time i might take the study with me..and get an iced drink..95degrees and humidity in the 80's..hot drinks don't go well!

a little easy summer listening...

Ben Harper - i want to be ready

final groundwork

preparation for NCAA west-regional championships at hayward field, eugene

yesterday we headed to pre-trails for a light workout before our 5000m races on saturday

running in eugene reminds me a lot of new zealand..being surrounded by hills and plenty of tree's, bush and other things GREEN!its great to be surrounded by some beautiful nature!

warmup..gaz found this a difficult task and spent most his time running away from the ducks...between them and armadillo's training has been pretty dangerous lately

4 x 1 mile repeats along the river

thanks to captain carl for the images above and to brant for making sure no ducks attacked me during the workout

this afternoon the boys get us underway with the 1500m pre-lims followed by Jen in the 400m and Mitch in the 10000m tonight..plenty of entertainment to brighten this cloudy oregon day!live streaming of the meet can be found here

tornado alley

tornado: a dangerous column of rotating air connected to the ground and a cumulus cloud..something foreign to me..that i un-intentionally signed up for when moving to the mid-west

it's tornado season here and the weather is this time behaving like the season we are in..

coming from nz where tornado's and thunder storms are a rarity, seeing a flash of lightening and hearing the skies rumble is a new experience..what to do in the threat of a tornado?something i have no idea about..but one thing i have learnt quickly..don't go out for a run..instead burrow down as close to (or below) the ground as possible..

storm clouds brewing during sunset in tulsa the night before i flew out

the mid-west has been rocked by several tornado's in the last few days..worst of which hit joplin..an hour from where our heads lay..
i flew out to eugene, oregon yesterday morning for regionals..just hours before the next bout of storms came through oklahoma..although away from the danger area iv spent the last day thinking of all those who are still there and hope that everybody stays underground and safe until these storms pass..love to all those who have been affected by these terrible natural events..and to those who are there helping the town get back on it's feet..i am thinking of you all xx

to donate to the red cross joplin relief fund follow this link..every little bit will help!

eager as a beaver

houston was great..sunny, not too humid..truely beautiful..but i spent most the day cooped up indoors..trying to conserve energy for the races..so on our return to tulsa i was excited to get out sunbathing, do a bunch of outdoor activities and enjoy the golden rays once again..yet tulsa went into a coma..cloud cover came in and rain and thunderstorms returned..and yet again i was left to day dream about the sun and how great my tan would be looking had i had some time to busk in it..
so when the sun came out yesterday i got pretty excited..and maybe just a little too eager..picnic's were planned..bikini's were pulled from beneath the rain jackets and the pool was definately on the cards (i wish that sunblock had been too!)

ash and i headed out early to mohawk park for a run..the park looked lush after all the rain and warmer weather we have had and the plants were thriving..it was a gorgeous run amongst the greenery!after a quick shower we headed to wholefoods to grab take-out containers of goodness for our picnic in the rose garden at woodward park..

a little bit of wildlife hiding from the sun rays

after the picnic it was back to campus and straight to the pool side..next time i must remember the sunscreen..apparently the pink in my floral dress is clashing with my skin.cant have that.

hope you all got time to play in the sunshine this w.e too

xx

homespun

today was a dreary day..the humidity was high..leading to the terrible state of my hair..but the clouds made for an inside day..with not much on the agenda i had plenty of time to full the apartment with the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread..i was craving a burger..nz style..and being too far from bareback grill to get amongst my favourite lamb burger..i got busy in the kitchen making burger buns!one of the things i miss from home is my mums herb garden..being able to walk out the door and pick whatever herbs you needed for dinner that night was something i took for granted!now without a garden i hadn't been using fresh herbs until mum and dad came over and cooked for me..fresh herbs returned..and the taste was so much better..il be making a make-shift garden from now on!

my buns before and after they went in the oven...

i got this idea of adding cheese to the top of the patty while its cooking from a KathEats..it melts perfectly by the time the meat is cooked..nummy!

homemade tomato pesto my mum made and brought over went onto the bun first..followed by the meat..patty + bacon..

..topped with veges and greens to bulk it up

no better way to spend a cloudy day ae..homemade burger and a glass of vino

xx

outdated

the stubborn one in me likes to see things til their end..before moving to the states (and having someone else buying my running shoes) i would wear those little puppies into the ground..i would run until the soles were speaking to me..at this point ignorant to the fact that all those injuries may have been related..

my little mitzi, now sold on to the next victim, was nearly at its end..i sure ran that thing into the ground..the many trips back and forth to dunedin with the cassette player full blast..the windows wound down (for lack of air con)..and hammering it up the windy, hilly roads did take its toll..

then there is the banana laptop..it may not have been a typewriter..but it was a brick..you couldn't take that thing anywhere..although on its last legs i refused to let it go..now unable to survive without a power supply..it is forever hooked into a wall somewhere..but it did the trick..it got done what needed to be done..what more could you ask for?

maybe one that actually works as a laptop is meant to?..as a wee graduation come birthday present, mum and dad bought me a MacBook Pro..and my god i now see what i have been missing out on for the last two years..a laptop that you can take anywhere, which connects in a flash to the internet and can actually be used without a wall attachment..

it takes getting something new to realize just how bad, worn down, useless and crappy the old one was..the day you step into those new runners, awww man how great you feel bouncing along the pavement..the day you belt up in your new vehicle, oh yea how great is the smell of clean upholstery, shocks and the sweet cool air from the air con..the day you turn on your new laptop, damn how those keys easily tap tappity tap...
one day i will also eventually give up on my phone and give in to the i-phone takeover..but not until the other one stops being of use..until then i will run that puppy into the ground!
here is an oldie but a goody..Macy Gray - i try ...this one is for lauren and erin xx

a clock with wings

time sure has flown by since i moved over to the states..i feel like im just getting started and already im competing in my last college outdoor meets..

last weekend we were in Houston, Texas for my last outdoor conference meet..hosted by rice university in the heart of the city..it was four days of competition, lying about the hotel, shopping and eating!we spent the majority of our spare time outside the hotel in rice village - a collection of cute shops, restaurants and cafes..i found one restaurant that was a splitting resemblance of my favourite takeout back home in Dunedin..Paasha's..the turkish restaurant in houston was much the same..minus the takeout option..but same name, same great quality food and nummy nummy nummy hummus and pita!if ever in houston i would recommend you try this place!

congratulations must go out to all the medal place getters over the long w.e and to our men's team for putting up a great fight for 2nd place (unfortunately being pipped at the line by UTEP)..our small girls team did great under the circumstances finishing up in 8th place!here are some highlights..unfortunately i didn't get much of a chance to get many good pictures as i was racing both days..but i hope to get some off my dad who was in prime position to get some stunning home straight shots, undoubtedly including great facials!

above photos from the 10000m on friday night

relaxing at friends of my parents before my 1500m prelims on saturday

one part of houston i could live despite the weather..pool + lake would sure beat those hot rays!

carl on his way to gold in the 3000m steeple saturday night

finishing my 2nd and last outdoor conference in style with the 1500m/5000m golden double..it was a brutal turn around..the heat sure did make recovery between the finals hard, but when there is a will there is a way (and when there are carbo drinks, cold towels and shade)

hope you all had a fantastic w.e also, its time for recovery for 10 days here before we head to eugene, oregon for regionals!

xx