Just do it!

This one time I googled Nike because I wanted to find out about the goddess but apparently that day a video of a man in a Nike jumper having sex with a woman on a footpath had got a lot of hits because a 'news' item about the video was at the top of my list. That's just by the by, really. The reason I was thinking about Nike was I wanted to know if she was a 'just do it' kinda gal. As the goddess of victory I guess she must have been somewhat that way inclined.

Anyway last night I went for a run. Last week my neighbour suggested we go running together one night a week and last night was that night. Guys, it was awesome. For so many reasons.

1) Physically I felt great!
2) Spiritually I felt great!
3) Dinner tasted so great afterwards!
4) It was so effing cold outside but it was invigorating!
5) It was totally legit to have a shower afterwards. A hot night time shower in winter is one of life's finest simple pleasures and it was great!

Have a great weekend y'all!

I don't even know what this is (PM)

It's a limerick mate, and it's GREAT!

Another girl ran fifteen k
Fell asleep in the middle of the day
When she woke up for work
Her body ached like a jerk
And her brain also had nothing to say

Terrific Tuesday (PM)

I LOVE TERRIFIC TUESDAY! Way to turn a regular Tuesday into a terrific one, mate! You know what else, on top of me trying to add to the terrificness of this day, the Universe is really helping out too. Here's how my terrific Tuesday is going and will continue to pan out. Hopefully.

Great weather

Have you guys looked outside today? Or better yet, been outside?! The sun is shining, there is a cool breeze but a warm sun. It is basically the best kind of day!

Running in my new shorts

Guy's my new gold trim Adidas running shorts that I ordered from the Internet arrived today! Way to make this Tuesday terrific Universe. And I am going to run the heck out of them!

Eat an egg salad sandwich

Sorry guys, I have to split because I have eggs on the boil and am about turn those babies (not babies, them eggs have not been fertilised) into an egg salad inspired by this one

Terrific Tuesday (AM)

I feel like having another Terrific Tuesday. No idea what I'm talking about? Read this you guys. It will make as much sense as can be made from within these crabby pages. I guess wanting to have another Terrific Tuesday is code for here I am in front of the computer on a Tuesday morning and I can't think what to write because I am too busy thinking about things I am going to do with my day.
Which, of course, are things I think will make this Tuesday terrific. Which is why I'm telling you about them. Two birds: one stone, people. (Hello to all our duck hunting readers this morning! I believe your season opened on the weekend.)

Ok enough of the small talk. Here is some of the terrific stuff in store for me today.

Drinking a bunch of coffee
It's a Terrific Tuesday tradition, so I might have even more than usual. I can tell you for sure that as soon as I finish writing this I am going to pick one up to drink on the tram on the way to work. Serve it up, lets go!

Experiment with wearing shorts to work. 
It's a risky move, the shorts at work look. But is it as risky if you wear stockings underneath them and a blazer? Or is it just slightly muddled? I'm going to find out today.

Diagnose my knee complaint with the help of the internet. 
We all love the internet. And we especially love it when the internet can be our Doctor. Well today, I am going to ask the internet why my right knee hurts so much when I bend it, particularly on the outer perimeter of the right side. I'm not going to stop until it tells me there's nothing wrong and if I give it a few days rest I can go back to dragging myself around Princes Park like a wounded duck in a wetland in March.
Wish me luck, readers.

Adidas, I just can't quit you (PM)

J is going to blow a gasket when she sees this picture I found off Stefan Edberg these days...

Warm, dry and still committed to Adidas. Pretty much her favourite things. I guess she really knows how to pick them.

Adidas, I just can't quit you (AM)

In late 2011 I saw some Adidas running gear in the window of Rebel Sport and I wanted it. It was some kind of whack, fluoro pink, eighties-inspired running shorts and singlet, but at the time I wasn't really running much or doing much proper exercise so I didn't buy them. Thought about them a lot though. So, naturally late last year when I was doing some running and needed some shorts, I decided I'd see if those delightful pink whack attacks were still around. They weren't and I just ended up buying a pair of navy and green Adidas running shorts that I liked well enough.

End of story.

I thought. But then, in January when I decided that I was really going to start running regularly and setting goals and shit like that, I decided that I may need some more running stuff. Like a singlet or two. Maybe another pair of shorts. You see, if you can remember back to when I got my compression tights in 2011, I like to have real exercise clothes to exercise in. It makes me feel more likely to succeed and generally better at stuff and also like people won't judge me 'cause I look serious about my sport. I realise this is pretty weak-minded but whatever works, right? Plus, you can only run so much. Well I can anyway, and running was all I could think about, so if I could channel some of that running obsession into clothes it seemed somehow productive. Or something.

When I thought of buying running clothes, all I wanted was Adidas. Oh sure, I looked at Nike, checked out what Puma had to offer but none of it appealed to me. I thought about it. A lot. Did that pink running ensemble really hook me so hard? I mean, guys, I bought a singlet with a giant Adidas logo on it! And a garish running jacket (which I effing love and which I have run in once and can't wait for the cooler months so I can wear it more!!)

 
And then it came to me. I suddenly knew why I wanted only Adidas.

Stefan Edberg, who has been off the tennis circuit for almost 20 years, was sponsored by Adidas. And I loved Stefan Edberg. I loved him. And even though I don't ever think about him  And even though I very rarely think about him, I am pretty sure that all those years of loving and following and thinking and watching him has ingrained Adidas as my preferred sportswear label.

Well played Adidas. Well played.

Not that I'm bitter about it. If it weren't for a childhood crush on Stefan Edberg and subsequent life-long brand allegiance to Adidas I never would have discovered these bad boys on the Internet. And soon they will be mine.

GOLD! When it comes to running clothes, the stupider the better, I always say.

So, well played Adidas for also making stuff I want.

These are the insights I have when I'm running (PM)

This is the view from my run this morning. My longest run yet!

It's true, the Misses Soft Crab are running our little hearts out (not literally I hope). Running our little butts off (a little bit literally would be fine).  And sometimes I have insights too. Mostly, though, I just have some random thoughts.

Insights include things like:

It is easier when I have a better posture!

Cee Lo Green makes great running music!

This New Stretchy Men's Chesty from Bonds that I am wearing is the perfect running top the way it is more sleeveless t-shirt than singlet!*

I don't think I'm going to run all the ks I was hoping to.

Don't think about running.

Running along the Elwood Canal is not like running along an Amsterdam canal. A thing I did one time but like to pretend I did a bunch of times.

Elwood canal. It's ok I guess.

Random thoughts include things like:

When will the...

So hot...

Water...

I love running...

I wonder how much money I have in the bank.

Running is hard!


*I run in this top often. It looks like this.

But I don't look exactly like that in it. Firstly, mine is navy of course, second that guy is way buffer than me, third, that guy is a guy, fourth the sex difference makes the top sit less singlet-like.The women's version is way more singletty and I wouldn't recommend it for running. At least not to K.
 

These are the insights I have when I'm running (AM)

Did you know that the Misses Soft Crab took up running recently? It's true. Actually, it's not entirely true. The J-Crab has been doing it on and off for years. But I have never done it before. So I guess what I mean to say is "Did you know that I took up running recently, but J has been doing it for ages?" The truth can be so boring.  

Anyway, we've both been running lately. 

It's true what they say about running making you feel like a million bucks. Obviously while I'm doing it I want to puke a lot of the time. But afterwards, and not long afterwards, I feel like a million bucks. And the feeling lasts and lasts. 

And sometimes during the run, I have some moments of clarity that lead to super insights. Like these things, which I thought about this morning:

Shoulders are really important for personal temperature regulation!*

To all the groups of friends walking three abreast on the Princes Park running track - don't!^ 

Dogs who let their tongues hang out the sides of their mouths when they are running look so goofy!#

The rest of the time I just want to puke. 

*I roll up the sleeves of my K t-shirt when I'm running. I expose those shoulders of mine like a hipsterish gentleman exposes his ankles. At first I rolled them up because I thought it made me look tough. Then I realised that when the sleeves fall down and that tiny little bit of t-shirt material covers my upper arms, I steam up like the glass on the front of a bain-marie. So now I think I should get a sleeveless k t-shirt. If anyone sees one, please email me. 

^I guess this isn't an insight, it's just something I think. Groups of friends walking abreast on a running track may be having a lovely conversation, but please, consider the runners. Do you know how hard it is to find the energy to speed up to overtake you guys? Its really hard. Please don't make me do it. 

#

Am I right?

Haiku Thursday (AM)

Reflections on a run

 I

Running leggings on

I feel buffer already

This is a good start

II

First run a mile. 

Easy, so run another.

Then quit while ahead.

III

Feel great after that.

Feel good the next day. Till noon.

Legs are fucking sore.

Ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa

Oh man, Die Antwoord really were the bestest.
Like you, I felt afraid when the DJ person came out in the creepy mask. Unlike you, I didn't have any recent experience of seeing their videos to provide comfort, even subliminal comfort, because I am the original square. Not that being a square needs to be a competition. We can both be squares.

But seriously, I had no idea what I was seeing, but it didn't take long for me to realise that what I was seeing was formidable. I guess the fact that they began their set with Enter the Ninja contributed to the rapid blowing of my mind. That song rules! My mind was again blown when immediately after that song, the girl in front of me turned around and asked "have they played Ninja yet?". I replied "um, I think so". But that's by the by.

Anyway, congratulations on your run. All runs are a win in my book. And listening to Die Antwoord while running is a first class idea. I should do that. I have a playlist I like to listen to while running. It's called Untitled Playlist #3. Would you like to know what's on it? Here it is:

Heart of Glass - Blondie
MOR - Blur
Wordy Rappinghood - Chicks on Speed
Lust for Life - Iggy Pop
Paper Planes - M.I.A
Wanna be Starting Something- Michael Jackson
What Difference Does it Make? - The Smiths
Soma - The Strokes
Push It - Salt N Pepa

I don't know what it's like for you, but for me, running is no picnic. From Heart of Glass to Paper Planes, I pretty much want to die. But at some point, usually around the time Wanna be Starting Something starts, I start to get slightly in to it. Then, when MJ starts singing "Ma ma se, ma ma sa ma ma coo sa" I am totally in to it.

Then things go bad again. But I know Push It is coming and I love that song so I keep going. I guess I'm still trying to figure out how to make it work.

In other news, you know who goes for a run every day? FRAGY!
Do you forgive us Fragy?
Hugs?*

*I totally took this photo myself at the K Mart near St Marks Place!

Fu*k, this is like, the coolest song I ever heard in my whole life

So I finally went for a run. Basically every night for the last 9 months I've thought I should go for a run and finally I did it. I think it was made much easier for two reasons. I only had a 15 minute babysitting window, which meant I was forced to make it quick. Also Die Antwoord was on my iPod. The best running music!

Remember when we saw them? (I know you do, it was only 3 months ago.) We were so innocent then. We ate our delicious Indian dinner with Bees and Fragy,* and innocently went along to what we thought would just be a great M.I.A show, little did we know our minds were about to be totally blown by something other than M.I.A.** Remember how the Die Antwoord DJ came out with that creepy mask on and those dark beats. (Initially when I tried to find a picture of the Die Antwoord creepy mask all I could find was a picture of Slipknot. HAHA. Slipknot.) And frankly I was kind of terrified. I kind of thought I didn't want to walk to my car by myself after the show.



And when Ninja came out the fear deepened. But then as I started writing a text to Russeth explaining how to make custard for ice-cream while Enter the Ninja played my old friend hysteria set in, and it was in the midst of that hysteria I realised that Die Antwoord aren't scary (yes they are) they are FREAKIN HILARIOUS AND AWESOME (and a little bit scary).

***

While watching them that night I realised that I actually did kind of know who they were. They were this band; I'd seen that video a few months earlier. I'd thought at the time, "Ewww, who are this creepy fucked up band?" But MY GOD they are a creepy, fucked up, hilarious, awesome band. They are totally mind blowing. But for some reason I hadn't been able to tell at the time. All that time. That beautiful time I could have had with them. Gone. Gone, because I am such a square.

That night we saw them I wrote to Russeth later telling him that until he'd written an ice-cream recipe while watching Die Antwoord he hadn't lived. He told me he wanted to see them and asked "Doesn't Yolandi Vi$$er remind you of Chickpea if she'd gone totally wrong? Or maybe totally right?"

"TOTALLY RIGHT!!!!!"

Thank you Die Antwoord for being so awesome.

*Hi Fragy, I hope you have forgiven us.
**M.I.A was totally great, I don't want anything I say about Die Antwoord to detract from the awesomeness of her.
***The great pictures used here are not mine. They are from all up in the interweb.