Girls on the Run Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona

Posted on January 20, 2011 by beckyajohnson

I’ve just returned from 5 amazing and inspirational days in Scottsdale, Arizona, attending the Girls on the Run annual summit. Those of you who have been following my blog for a while may already know that I’ve been working with 3 other women for the past 6 months to establish a local council – Girls on the Run of Las Vegas.

While I mostly want to share more about the awesome speakers I heard at the summit, if you’re interested in learning more about this great organization check out this short video.

The first morning of the summit, we were treated to a humorous speech from co-host of NBC’s Today Show, Jenna Wolfe.

Photo credit: Girls on the Run International

Jenna shared about her career path, from being an intern, to becoming a female sportscaster, to being hired by The Today Show. Along the way, one of her favorite phrases has become “Fate loves the fearless.”

One of the more interesting anecdotes from her career she shared to illustrate this was a sketch where she was blindfolded, placed in a car, and submerged into water with the goal of trying to demonstrate how to save her life if trapped in a car in murky water. She was given 45 seconds to get out by herself before she was rescued, and had to repeat the sketch until she succeeded. Talk about overcoming one’s fears!

Day 2 I woke up early to hear Jean Kilbourne’s presentation “Deadly Persuasion.” For those who don’t know Jean Kilbourne (I didn’t before attending this summit), she has been working for nearly 40 years as an activist, connecting negative images of women portrayed through advertising and the media with eating disorders, violence against women and addictions.

She is the creator of the documentary Killing Us Softly, and author of the book So Sexy, So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can do to Protect their Kids. Kilbourne spoke of the “toxic cultural environment” we live in, where we are constantly exposed to media images detrimental to our health for the sake of profit.

I took a break Tuesday afternoon to hike to the summit of nearby Camelback Mountain. While the trail to the top was only 1.2 miles, with an elevation gain of over 1,200 feet, this hike was definitely a bigger challenge than the half-marathon relay I ran on Sunday. The trail was so steep in places and was a great opportunity for me to try out Jenna Wolfe’s slogan of “fate loves the fearless!”

I was so glad there were hand rails here to help me pull myself up, and more importantly, guide my way down!

The speaker for Tuesday’s banquet was Caitlin Boyle, healthy living blogger of The Healthy Tipping Point, Girls on the Run volunteer coach, and creator of Operation Beautiful. Operation Beautiful is an international movement where women leave anonymous post-it notes in random public places with the goal of ending negative self-talk or “Fat Talk.”

My colleagues demonstrate how ‘Operation Beautiful’ works, with a “You are beautiful” note left on an empty dinner plate.

Caitlin also has an Operation Beautiful book, where she shares empowering post-it notes from around the world and dozens of tips for living a happy life just as you are.

And last but not least, Molly Barker, founder and vision keeper of Girls on the Run International, continues to be an inspiration to me. I’m so happy to be a part of this movement to help young girls live out their full potential. Stay tuned for more updates as we begin our inaugural season of Girls on the Run in Las Vegas this spring.

My colleague, Veka, and I with Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker.

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Rock n Roll Arizona Half-Marathon Relay

Posted on January 16, 2011 by beckyajohnson

I was already planning to be in Scottsdale, Arizona for the Girls on the Run Summit, when my colleague asked me if I wanted to run the Rock n Roll Arizona Half-Marathon Two-Person Relay with her. After checking out the registration website, and realizing that I only had to run 4.5 miles plus I got free beer at the finish line, I was hooked.

We got into Phoenix yesterday afternoon and headed to the Health & Fitness Expo. After picking up our packets, we made a mad dash around the expo to collect as many free samples as possible.

Free wine from Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon title sponsor PF Chang's

All my cool swag from the expo. I seriously didn't hear the Larabar sample person tell about the 2 bar limit until I had already put 6 bars in my bag. Oops!

Last night we met up with other Girls on the Run staff, coaches and board members from across the United States at a pre-marathon carbo-loading dinner at the Roaring Fork in Scottsdale. Many of the runners were participating in the marathon or half-marathon as SoleMates, an adult charity running program that raises funds for Girls on the Run. I’ll be running a half-marathon for SoleMates later this year – more on this in an upcoming post.

So dinner at the Roaring Fork = super delicious. The best part was the green-chile mac & cheese.

Marathon morning, we were up at 4 am (3 am by Las Vegas time) to catch the bus to downtown Phoenix. We were there by 6 – about 4 hours before I started running – but fortunately we at least had a band to listen to while we froze in the dark. These guys were troopers.

Back to the relay, my colleague, Veka, ran the first 8.5 miles, and I took public transportation to the relay transition area, where we met up and I ran the remaining 4.6 miles. The relay itself was super fun – a great opportunity for people not up to the full or half-marathon experience to participate in the event. I hope relays are offered more often at upcoming races.

In the end – we rocked! Our cumulative time for the half-marathon was 2:16:22, and we just missed placing in the top-third of the all-female division.

Me & Veka enjoying our free beers at the finish line festival

The top 3 female half-marathon finishers. It's amazing that the 2nd place finisher just gave birth in September and she's already back and almost winning races.

The top 3 marathon finishers. The winner (on left) ran an additional 18 laps around the track at ASU after the race and broke the American record for the 50K. He missed the world record by only 7 seconds.

Vertical Horizon, the post-race concert main act.

The awesome finisher's medal

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The Way of the Labyrinth

Posted on January 13, 2011 by beckyajohnson

I’ve always been intrigued by labyrinths, but I’ll admit that I’ve also been a bit intimidated by them. While I consider myself to be a spiritual person, walking a labyrinth seemed to be a bit like trying to engage in a yoga practice without knowing how to do the asanas properly. What if I did it wrong?

I was pleased to learn earlier this week about a free labyrinth tutorial class to be held at the San Martin Campus of St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Las Vegas. This one-hour session began with a short intro by a labyrinth educator, followed by our small group experiencing our own labyrinth walk.

The labyrinth is a universal image that represents the path of life. There is only one path to follow, and you cannot get lost or come to a dead end while on your journey. Labyrinths have been around for over 4,000 years and are present in almost ever major religious traditions. As St. Rose Hospital is a Catholic-affiliated hospital, their labyrinth is modelled after the style used at Chartres Cathedral in France.

The labyrinth at St Rose Hospital's San Martin Campus in Las Vegas

While walking the labyrinth, we were encouraged to comtemplate a mantra or theme. As it was the first time for all in my class, our instructor had us draw words out of a bowl to help guide us. My word was ‘connected;’ others had words such as ‘clear’ and ‘focused.’

The labyrinth at St. Rose Hospital is almost a 1/8 mile path to the center of the circle. One way to explore the labyrinth’s journey is to consider it a three-fold path. Your walk to the center is to release and quiet yourself; your time in the center is to be open and receive; your journey outward is to take what you gained back into the world.

The symbolism I found in my own labyrinth journey today is that it was not so much about the final destination, but it was more about the path along the way. Although there were nearly 10 of us walking the small labyrinth, I only needed to worry about running into the person in front of me (i.e. my immediate obstacle). So often I am caught up in planning and goals and getting to where I want to be (the end result), that I neglect the impulse of the moment. This was my lesson for today.

To learn more about labyrinths, check out the website of the Labyrinth Society. They even have a highly-useful Labyrinth Locator, where you can find the closest labyrinth to your area of the world.

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The Almost Moon Virtual Book Discussion

Posted on January 13, 2011 by beckyajohnson

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. Published in 2007.

Synopsis: While caring for her aging mother, Helen Knightly impulsively decides to smother her to death. The novel is played out over the next 24 hours following the murder, while at the same time intertwining the past histories of Helen, her parents, her children and her best friend.

About the Author: Best known as author of The New York Times best-selling novel The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold is also author of the memoir Lucky (about her experiences as a rape survivor during her freshman year at Syracuse University). She is a graduate of the MFA program in creative writing at UC Irvine, and lives in California with her author-husband.

My Initial Reactions

I’ll admit that while brainstorming potential titles for Around the World Virtual Book Club selections, I got many ideas from authors I’ve previously enjoyed reading. Alice Sebold was one of them, as I was a huge fan of The Lovely Bones. However, in reading the synopsis of the book and reader reviews, I almost decided against adding this book to the list. The reader reviews were overwhelmingly negative, with over one-third of the reviewers giving this book only 1 star and the critics’ reviews were ugly.

While I did not find this book to be an incredible page-turner, I did think that it was quite well-written. I am left in wonderment why so many people hated it. Could it be the dark subject matter, the stream-of-consciousness writing, or the difficulty in topping The Lovely Bones? Do I need to remind readers that a young girl being raped and murdered and her killer never captured isn’t the most cheery of subject matters either?

One of the things I find unique to Sebold’s novels is that all of the drama is spilled out in the first chapter, and the remainder of the books involve the protagonists coming to terms with their fate. In The Lovely Bones, in the first paragraph we learn that the protagonist was murdered, and we shortly thereafter learn who her murderer is. Half-way through the book it becomes clear that her killer will never be caught. There is no mystery. The story is more about Susie coming to terms with her death and her family moving on.

In the first chapter of The Almost Moon, we witness Helen killing her mother. The disturbing nature of the book continues, and I think one of the most disturbing elements is that it is told as a first person narrative. From Helen’s eyes, we see her meticulously washing her dead mother’s body, cutting off her braid to keep as a souvenir, decidedly storing her in a meat locker, running off to have sex with her best friend’s son who is 20 years her junior, going to work as if nothing happened. The real mystery of this novel is who is the most mentally ill – Helen or her mother?

I really hope that the poor reviews don’t keep Alice Sebold off the scene for too much longer. She is definitely a writer that I would like to read more of.

So what did you think of the book? Did you love it or hate it and/or find it incredibly disturbing? What did you think of Helen’s motives for killing her mother? At the end of the novel, do you think she made the right decisions? Have you also read The Lovely Bones and/or Lucky, or was this your first Sebold book? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Next Up for Discussion: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Discussion begins January 27th.

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Goat Cheese, Shrimp & Veggie Pizza

Posted on January 10, 2011 by beckyajohnson

One of my goals for 2011 is to make more food from scratch. Seriously, there are so many added preservatives, pesticides and hormones in a lot of store-bought food, I believe in being aware of everything I’m consuming.

For New Year’s Eve my husband and I decided to stay in, make pizzas from scratch, down a bottle of Schramsberg sparkling wine and watch the John Adams miniseries (a great pick as well). This combo of pizza toppings was so delish, I decided to make it again tonight. Here’s the recipe. (Note that the pizza dough makes 6 servings, my pizza was 3 servings, and active prep time is 1 hour – dough prep included). Adjust according to your preferences.

For the pizza dough ingredients, you’ll need 1/4 cup warm water, 1 package of active yeast, 4 cups of either white or wheat flour (I like to use 2 cups of each), 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1-1/2 cups of cold water, and 4 tablespoons of olive oil.

Start by combining the warm water with the yeast and mix with a fork. The scent of this combination will really make you crave a beer. Resist the temptation, and set this mixture aside for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sift with your hands for about 30 seconds to mix well.

Now, add 2 tablepoons of olive oil plus 1-1/2 cups of cold water to the liquid mix and whisk with a fork.

Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture. Dust your clean countertop with flour and kneed the dough for about 5 minutes until you end up with a blob like this:

With your fingers, spread the remaining olive oil on the sides of your large bowl and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for about 2 hours to allow the dough time to rise.

When you return after 2 hours, the dough should have doubled in size. (Or, in my case, you may have left it for 3 hours while you attended a meeting and it may have tripled –oops.)

Preheat the oven to 375*F. Divide your dough in half. The remaining half you can either give to your meat-loving spouse/friend or freeze up to 3 weeks.

Sprinkle more flour on your clean counter top and also on a rolling pin. Roll your dough until it is your desired thickness.

Spray a cookie sheet with no-stick cooking spray and place your dough on the cookie sheet. Poke holes in the dough with a fork to prevent swelling.

To make pizza as delicious as this one, for toppings you’ll need 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 or 2 cloves of crushed or finely chopped garlic (I use a garlic press), 12-15 pre-cooked shrimp, 3 ounces of crumbled goat cheese, 2 handfuls of baby spinach, 1 finely sliced tomato, and half a chopped green bell pepper.

Spread the olive oil and garlic evenly across the pizza with a knife or spoon. Arrange the remaining ingredients on the pizza to your liking. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.

The pizza is ready when the crust is golden brown. Enjoy with a nice bottle of red wine.

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