an aggregate of all things Johnson

Running is a mystery. At times it is the worst punishment in the world, and then at other times it is a miraculous moment of peace and triumph. Triumph is probably too strong a word, especially if you could see me run. I am so slow and so non-athletic looking. The good news is that I actually think I may be getting better! (Have I said that before? Well, this time I really mean it!) I had a great time at our speed and hills practice on Tuesday (amazing because those practices usually fill me with dread) and yesterday I had the most awesome solo 6-mile run. It felt great. I had new shoes (see above), the weather was perfect, and I felt strong for the whole two loops around Prospect Park! I think this week has been a break through in my training…

I didn’t want to write about my long run on Saturday because immediately following it I felt totally discouraged… again. We ran 16 miles and I was in pain for a good portion of it. (The video above was taken during the good, pre-pain time at about mile 6.) I was so mad at the end! I was thinking, why must this continue to be so hard?! I was also angry that the long runs wipe me out for the whole day afterward and take forever to recover from. I took an ice bath just to cover my bases, but was resigned to the fact that I was going to be sore for another week. BUT, then something pretty cool happened. I felt better on Sunday! Travis and I took our trip to Queens and I walked around a bunch without trouble. Nice. By Monday I was feeling totally fine! Miracle!

Training is truly getting hard at this point. We are tackling a lot of mileage and many of my Team In Training members have been nursing some injuries. At practice this week a friend asked how I have kept from getting injured. I think a lot of it is luck and my lack of ambition when it comes to my pace and time, but I joked that it was because of my thick and sturdy legs. I come from solid and hearty lineage… and man, have I fretted about that my whole life. Probably every day of my existence, I have wished for the long, lean limbs of a super-model (how pathetic is that?!), but maybe I should cut myself some slack. My “sturdy” body has taken me this far and I plan to use it to do a lot more cool stuff in the future!

This Saturday I am going to attempt to run 18-20 miles. I really hope for 20, but I want to be flexible in order to avoid injury. On October 10th, I’ll be running the Staten Island Half Marathon. I have never been to SI, so I am looking forward to checking it out. I am also looking forward to the “short” 13.1 mile race! Then, I will attempt one more super-long run (20 miles, I hope), and then it’s time to taper down my mileage… the marathon is just 40 days away! wow!

This photo is from two weeks ago after another tough 16 mile run. (I even had to walk a bit at the end of that run. ugh.) I was dead, but so happy to be hanging out with my team. It is so much more fun to share the suffering and successes with others.

(p.s. You can still help support my marathon adventure and help find a cure for Leukemia & Lymphoma at the same time! Donate to the cause via my Team In Training fundraising page. Your support truly means so much and I will be thinking about all of my generous donors as I pound out 26.2 miles on November 7th!)

Related posts:

1. Central Park road race
2. Team In Training update
3. one half marathon down…

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What do you get when you combine a craft show, a technology expo, a science museum, crazy inventions, Martha Stewart, music, costumes, and delicious food? The World Maker Faire 2010 that took place last weekend in New York. I attended the Faire on Sunday and it was quite the scene!

The Maker Faire was held at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens (the location of the 1939-40 and 1964-65 World Fairs). Exhibits were spread throughout the interior of the science museum (seen above) and also in the surrounding park area. There were craft areas, technology areas, building and construction areas, demonstration stages… too many different booths and exhibits to keep track of!

I made sure to visit the Craft Pavilion, which had a Craftzine.com booth (seen above), as well as a Lion Brand Yarn station where you could learn to knit or crochet, and a Xyron table where you could play with all of their different craft tools and pick up your own, free sticker maker! Score!

Martha Stewart Living was one of the main sponsors of the Maker Faire and the magazine had a huge booth where you could make butterfly wands and giant papier mache bones. They also had two spooky backdrops set up that you could pose in and get your photo taken by their professional photographer. I forced my husband to pose with me in the butterfly library (all of the resulting portraits can be viewed in the Martha Stewart Living Maker Faire Flickr group).

One of the things that I was most looking forward to at Maker Faire was the Bust Magazine Craftacular that was held in conjunction. I always love a good craft fair, and this one was billed to have over 100 vendors and appearances by some big name craft personalities.

Since I am not a vendor, I can’t be sure, but I would guess that the Craftacular was maybe not as successful as many would have hoped. It was spread out in the parking lot outside the Hall of Science and was a little lackluster. Because it cost $25 to get into the Maker Faire, some visitors may not have been in the mood to shop once they got inside. I didn’t see any purchases being made. However, some of the excitement may have been drained by the second day, when I visited. Plus, it was over-cast and a little rainy on Sunday, which didn’t help. All that being said, there were some awesome vendors to check out. Here are some of my favorites…

Related posts:

1. weekend of crafty shopping
2. more craft
3. A Craft-Filled Saturday in New York

I have met so many talented and accomplished people since moving to New York. I don’t know if it is New York City specifically, or if I am finally in the age bracket when people start coming into their own career-wise, but I am constantly blown away by the professionalism and just downright coolness of the people I have met here.

Case in point: Jessica and Eric of Crude Products. I met Jessica in a sort of round about way (through another awesome female entrepreneur I met at Etsy Labs) and it turned out that she lives in my neighborhood… and is pretty great. But this blog post is not a love letter, it is a review of my new Crude lip balm.

I am a lip balm addict. I’ve tried just about every brand, but my usual weapon of choice is Blistex Herbal Answer. I like its texture and consistency, but what I don’t like is that it contains both petrochemicals and parabens, plus some other chemicals that I can’t identify. Crude products contain none of that ickiness — only all-natural beeswax and oils — and after trying the Tone It Down tinted balm, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Blistex! It is smooth and soft, and it moisturizes without being sticky. It leaves just a sheer hint of color, which is perfect for this no-lipstick girl. Basically, I love it. Much more passionately than I thought I would considering how many lip balms I have tried in the past…

Above you can see that I also tried out the Heart of Gold, which contains real 24-carat gold powder (for color and shine). It was written up in New York Magazine (that’s big time!) and it gives your lips a peppermint-y freshness and moisturized shine. Subtle sophistication + soft lips = perfect.

In addition to lip balms that exceeded my somewhat impossible expectations, Crude has a super-clean website with clever product descriptions. Plus, free shipping in the US! Truly, I can’t recommend Crude Products highly enough. …next, I want to try Sweater Weather and Happily Ever After…

Related posts:

1. recommendations
2. cupcake craft night
3. Seaport Crafts

friday: I hosted a little pasta party at my place on Friday. It is always fun to get together with running friends and talk shop. (Above is Fitz, Hannah, Jenique, Lauren, Brian, and me. Travis was there, too – he snapped the pic.) I ate a bunch of pasta and other carbs, because it had worked so well the previous weeks to prepare me for my long run. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite do the trick this week…

saturday: Early Saturday, like every Saturday, I went for my long run with Team in Training. We ran out to Coney Island again. (Last time we jumped in the water!) It was very interesting to see Coney Island after the summer season has come to an end. All of the eateries were closed, the beach was empty, and it was a bit eerie. I took a bunch of photos like the one above with my artsy Hipstamatic iPhone app. I also tried to distract myself by taking some video and sending some tweets… but nothing could quite distract me enough. I was in pain on Saturday! It just wasn’t a good run. I am not sure what the problem was (maybe the lower body P90X workout I did on Thursday?), but 16 miles was just too much for me this week. I ended up walking some of the last two miles. It is discouraging because last week’s 18 was fine… I’ll just have to try again next week – I might run 20!

sunday: My sweet husband took me shopping today. Well, he needed to do some shopping, too… so I guess it was mutual. He bought some new work clothes and I finally got Adobe Creative Suite 5!!! I know I am going to be frustrated for a little while trying to get used to it, but I am excited to finally be up to date. We also had an amazing brunch with our friend, Sarah, at Hundred Acres in Soho. Sarah is leaving NYC very soon (boo) for a great new job in San Diego (yay), and we will miss her. After brunch, we walked around the Village a bit and I snapped the photo above of the funny cat sign at Bleeker Records. awesome.

So… that was the weekend, more or less. It was fun, but I am still sore from the running. It feels like I have been sore for weeks! Turns out, marathon training is difficult! ha! Anyway, what did you do this weekend?

Related posts:

1. back in the groove
2. NYC Tourist Spectacular #2
3. lovely weekend

This post is based on the blogging prompt “What do you think of when you think of September?” from IndieBizChicks’ September Blogging Special.

Is September half empty or half full? I can’t quite decide, but I am happy it is here even if it is already half over! September makes me think of fall, of course. You can smell the colder air approaching and the weather has been much more hospitable to running. I hate to say good bye to summer, but I have a feeling that autumn is going to be a good time, too!

September also makes me think of school. I am no longer in grad school (thank god!) and I do not have any children returning to school, but it still feels like a month for learning. Maybe that is why I have been adding so many books to my reading list! Right now, I am working my way through Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and I am determined to finish it even though it breaks my heart every time I pick it up. After that I MUST read these five books:

• The Lampshade – I read the excerpt of this non-fiction book that was in the last issue of New York magazine and I am so totally hooked… is the lampshade a Nazi artifact made of human skin?!!
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – A nonfiction pick that has been on my list for a while… “a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty.”
• The Warmth of Other Suns – Another nonfiction book that I learned about in New York magazine (love that publication). I am really into historical nonfiction lately and this book would be a new perspective for me: the twentieth century migration of African Americans from the South to the North and West.
• Let the Great World Spin – Finally a fiction pick! This National Book Award winner has gotten rave reviews and tells the story of New York City in the 1970s. Must read.
• The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival – This is a brand new addition to my list. It turns out that the author, Ken Wheaton, is on my Team In Training and he just told me about his book last night. I am fascinated by Louisiana culture and religion in general, so it seems like a perfect match for me!

I wish I could say that I am going to read all of these by the end of September, but that is way too ambitious for this slow reader. I will do my best to get them all finished by the end of the year! Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What other books should I add to my reading list? Besides learning, what do you think of when you think of September?

Related posts:

1. new books
2. a shelf and some educational stuff
3. update