Q&A Part 1

I’ve had a nice day — my run this morning went really well, so I took the plunge and registered for three races this spring, including a 10k, which is going to take some training (I generally run 5k or less when I go to the gym). It definitely feels great to have something to shoot for, though! Sometimes, between waking up later in the day and going to the gym, I wind up not having a real lunch (just a Luna bar or something after I run), and that means a meal gone missing that would usually contain a lot of veggies. So I bulked up on my green at dinner tonight — broccoli, asparagus, AND kale. So good.
Anyway, time for part one of the questions and answers! The second part will be the questions pertaining to the house and my living situation and other such things, so tonight’s Q&A is sort of a grab bag! I’ll put everything in the extended entry, so click to read my answers!

Do you ever get in workout ruts?
Sometimes I think my life is a workout rut. On any given morning, if I stop and think about it too long, I can talk myself out of going to the gym. The only time I’m gung-ho about it is when I’m actually running and right after I’ve done so. That said, I think running keeps things more interesting than many forms of exercise. Every run is a chance to do better or to meet whatever goal I’ve set for myself that day. It also ‘helps’ that I quit in the summers (although I’d like to stop that tradition this year), so every November, I have to start down the path of rebuilding my endurance.
When did you start running, and what shoes do you wear?
I started running in the spring of 2006, after I signed up for the Race for Life in London. I had not run at ALL before that point, and I used a schedule that I found on the Runner’s World (UK) website to train. I started with 60-second running intervals (and barely made it through those) all the way until I could run a 5k.
I have Saucony running shoes with very high arch support inserts. It’s not worth recommending shoes, in my opinion, because you really have to go to a specialty store and have an expert help select the ones that will work for you, if you’re going to be doing any significant amount of running. I got plantar fasciitis one spring from running in shoes with inadequate arch support, and that’s not a mistake I’ll make twice!
What’s your favorite recipe that involves quinoa?
I don’t actually cook with quinoa as often as I’d like. (For a really dumb reason, too — I always am tempted to buy it when I see it in boxes, but then I think, ‘No, I’ll wait until I’m at the co-op and can buy it in bulk.’ And then I forget about it.) But I think this soup was one of my favorite uses of quinoa. Otherwise, I tend to use it like I would use rice, especially with something like fried ‘rice’.
Do you keep in contact with Rob?
I do, although we’ve both been busy lately. He’s visiting in March, and he usually makes it over here once or twice a year. We chat over Skype and e-mail. I can only speak for myself, but I feel like our dating history is just a dot in the bigger picture. He’s one of those friends-for-life friends.
Pauline (in London) asks, ‘Do you miss us?’ Will you be here for the London Book Fair?
I do, Pauline, I do! In general, I don’t miss living in London, but I definitely wish I could see the friends I left behind more often. I feel so incredibly lucky that I managed to make good friends when I lived in the UK. As far as I know, I won’t be going to the London Book Fair this year, so I’m not sure when I’ll be back in London. If it weren’t so far away (and expensive to fly to), I’d visit London all the time, just to see all my pals.
Why no TV?
I had a sort of TV set up when I first bought my house, and I had digital cable with a DVR box. But I eventually stopped watching much TV, and there came a point where Hulu had almost all the shows I wanted to watch, and paying for cable was too expensive. I have a big iMac, so, to me, watching a show on that from Hulu is no different from having a ‘real’ TV.
What I really like about the non-traditional set-up is that I can’t just flick the TV on and have it going in the background. I never just surf the channels for something to watch and then sit there for hours. My brain isn’t really conditioned to zone out on TV anymore; I get bored towards the ends of even the shows I love to watch.
And the most important question, from Alex: According to Noni of Butter London, the 2010 nail is all about “unusual medium tones” and “textured layering.” Matte black is right out, because “the vamp is dead”. What are your predictions for nail polish in 2010 … and beyond?
I can’t speak to matte colors, but I still like dark — dark blue and gunmetal grey. But with a bit of shimmer. Textured layering sounds horrible. Keep the layers for the taco dip.