Revival

I haven't posted on here in almost 3 years! The last time I posted, I was pursuing a Ph.D in environmental science and intended to blog about that process, along with other happenings in my life - namely, running and my wannabe minimalist/sustainable lifestyle.

Wedding Day!

And then, life got in the way - big time. Since my last post, I moved in with my significant other (now husband), we bought a house, I left (ok, quit) the Ph.D program, started a job, got married, started a different job, renovated (some of) our house, traveled a whole bunch, and finally, switched jobs for the third time within two  years. 

In the midst of all this, I've tried to keep up my running and yoga; I've tried to maintain a semi-minimalist lifestyle and have tried to meet my low-waste and sustainability goals; we've tried to keep up with friends and family. Most weeks have been a bit of a one-step forward, two-steps backward dance. 

So, what's driving me to start writing a blog again? A few things I suppose...

First, in the last several months I've watched: a college sorority sister start her own blog, Women Do, championing women's issues; a high school friend start her own YouTube channel, Tarable Decisions, chronicling her no-buy year; and a grad school friend start an Instagram page discussing her sustainability journey via @sustainablej. All of these women have inspired me to give it a go again!

Second, I've wanted to be a writer almost my whole life. 

No, for real. In 5th grade we had to do a project about our career ambitions. I discussed my plans to be a writer. I interviewed a local journalist, filled out a number of worksheets with my research, then dressed up in a jumper and took a typewriter to school as my prop to discuss my plans. (Yes, we had computers in 1995, but our HP wasn't quite a portable as my handy typewriter!) I know there is a picture for progeny - if I ever find it at my parents, I'll post it.  

I don't know what will come of me writing this blog. The other day I told my husband and a good friend that "I feel simultaneously bored and overwhelmed with life right now." I'm not sure how to rectify these contradictory feelings. Ultimately, I seem to be missing a creative outlet. Reviving this blog seems like a good way to address my seemingly unrelenting restlessness (ahem, see second paragraph for proof of this trait). 

Third, I've started a new career path. And I've started to wonder how to incorporate low-waste living into this new position.

What is this new job? I'll give you a hint . . . last week I had a snow day. 

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Did you guess teacher? 

Yep, I am now teaching high school chemistry (first and second year chem) and anatomy & physiology! I have one semester under my belt, so it now feels safe to spill the beans to anyone taking the time to read this. 

Blogging will help me to think through ways to minimize waste as I embed myself into this new profession and new culture. As a chemistry teacher, minimizing waste is a concern to me in the everyday teaching (worksheets, guided notes, activities) as well as in the lab. I don't have all the answers; things are not as black and white as we all might wish, but here I will explore this idea of low-waste teaching.  

Some topics I plan to explore on this blog and on Instagram @chasingthegreenlife:   

Portland, OR in spring 2018

• Low-waste living and teaching
• Minimalist living and teaching 
  (currently striving for some balance here...) 
• Home renovation projects
  (which we try to approach from both an environmental and economical standpoint)
• Dog stuff - because I love my pups!
• Running/Yoga/Gardening/Reading/Traveling
  (so, basically whatever piques my interest at any given point in time!)

Currently, we are wrapping up our master bath reno, which I'll reveal in an upcoming blog post! In the mean time, come follow along on Instagram @chasingthegreenlife 

  

Connersville, IU, and Trails, Oh My!

The last few weeks of training have been better than I would've anticipated several weeks ago!

Connersville Spartans or Indiana Hoosiers? 

Two weeks ago, I was at my parents' house for the weekend for a high school basketball game at the Spartan Bowl.  I intended to run Friday, but it was super windy and I knew that wouldn't make for a pleasant 7 miles. So, I held off until Saturday morning. I could've ran down some of the county/country roads right from their front door and incorporated some pretty good hills, and I have at times. But, honestly, I was a little concerned about doing that for 7 miles. In the past when biking or running in those parts, I've had some pretty close calls with cars and dogs. I mean, I honed my driving skills on those roads when I was 16 and 17, I know how people drive on them! 

So, instead I started and finished my run from my old stomping grounds at CHS. I started off with the 1/2 mile loop we used to run for gym class (and which I hated - people can change, I guess). Then, I ran through town, which is not particularly hilly. To get in at least one good hill, I made myself run up 3rd street hill. If you are from

Post-run photo at CHS

Connersville, you know what I'm talking about. Uphill, into the wind, toward the end of my run. Whew. I had to take a break at the top! 

Last Saturday, I did 8 miles in Bloomington. Most of my long runs in Btown have not involved running near or on campus. Now that I'm getting up there in mileage, I've had to be a little more creative on my routes - especially since I'm trying to incorporate hills in preparation for the Hoosier Half (aka Hilly Half). I ran from my apartment, over to Indiana Ave, north to 17th St. Once there, I realized there aren't really sidewalks on that stretch of 17th St. Oops! So, I ran back down to 13th St, past the SRSC. I finished up my run by going toward the mall, and then back through Bryan Park, and onto my apartment. It was basically a nice big loop - with me checking my Garmin every so often to figure out where to go next to get in enough miles. 

Then, today! Today was great. I ran with a group for the first time in ages and ran on trails for the first time in over 2 years! Fairly recently, a fellow IU grad student started a trail running group for women. I stumbled upon the group FB page purely by accident. Expressly for women because it seems many of us are not particularly comfortable hitting the trails on our own. I sort of fall into that category - maybe if I knew the trails better I wouldn't mind going alone. But, I'm not super interested in getting lost in the woods, so.....until I know the trails better, I'm a little leery of going at it by myself. The group meets about once a month - today was the first time I could meet up with them. We ran the Lake Trail at Yellowwood State Forest (~5.5 miles) and then tacked on an extra 4 on the road around Yellowwood. That means I actually ran a little over my intended 9 miles. It was so nice to have the company and the trails were really fun. The time passed so quickly, I think due to the company and new(ish) terrain. If you're a female runner in the Indy/Btown/Columbus area who wants to hit the trails with the group, check out Indiana Female Fellraisers on FB. 

AND. AND. I was really worried my SI joint/back would flare up because it felt a little off on the treadmill Wednesday morning, but it did not. I'm so, so, so thankful to my body for not giving out. But, I will take it fairly easy the rest of the week until I see the chiropractor on Friday. Seriously, the glute bridges and lateral leg raises have been lifesavers. I've also started lifting my legs one at a time while doing the glute bridges. I think the whole "strengthen your core" advice is holding true for managing this injury. 

Lots of running talk, not so much on anything else. When I go to Michigan for a field campaign this summer, my academic work might become more story-worthy. ;) 

A Real Runner

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted. 

Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary. 
The Clean Power Plan was stayed by the Supreme Court.
But, looks like Obama will be appointing a new justice after the passing of Scalia.

I put in a 6 mile run last weekend (after a night out to send-off my roommate!). And, that's the farthest I've ran since February 2013!

And, probably most importantly, Beyoncé dropped a new single, "Formation". 
And, if iTunes were selling the song...
And, if I still had an iPod to run with...
Then, I probably would've had that ish on repeat while I ran (a very cold) 5 miles today.

Instead, I had to settle for repeating "Cause I slay, cause I slay" over and over to myself for the last couple miles.

3 of my 4 top layers!

I was supposed to run 7 miles today. I knew it was going to be really cold today, so I decided in advance that I would run in the early afternoon. Honestly, I prefer running first thing in the morning. Some days, though, that's just not realistic. 

It was 9 F when I woke up this morning. So, I waited for it warm up to 18 F at 1:30. Then I looked at the "feels like" part of the weather app.

Feels like 9 F! 
So much for waiting for "warmer" temps.

At that point, I decided to do my cut-back mileage this week and switch my 7 mile run to next weekend. I wore 4 layers on the top and 2 layers on the bottom. It might have been overkill, but I'm really not a cold-weather person, so I was playing it safe. I've ran in colder temps, but not in a very long time. And with the El Nino weather this year, I've been quite spoiled with decent running weather.   

When I wasn't singing Beyoncé to myself, I was thinking about running because today's run wasn't spectacular. I felt a bit sluggish and heavy. Sometimes when the going gets rough, I start to question if I'm a "real runner", whatever that means. Especially when it's cold, and I'm not feeling very motivated to get out the door, then falling into the trap of "who do I think I am? I'm not really a "runner", I didn't run in high school or college, I'm not that fast, etc." becomes a little too easy. Sometimes, I forget that I've been running on and off (mostly on) for over ten years. 

Ten years.

How did that happen? 

And almost always, after the first or second mile, I find my rhythm and settle in for the run. About halfway through today, I thought, well I really should've just done the original 7 miles. Really, this is true for most aspects of my life. The "getting started" is often the hardest part for me.  
Overall, though the 5 miles went ok. More or less negative splits, though not as fast as previous weeks. But, I was wearing A LOT of clothes! :) 

Lou! Always ready for play time. 

However, my post-run stretching was pretty fabulous. My back was hurting a little bit, but glute bridges and side leg-lifts (I should really figure out the real name of these) seem to help a lot. The next step is to make them a nightly habit. 

And, of course, the moment I pulled out the foam roller and got on the floor, Louie thought it was play time. This always cracks me up. Maybe one of these days I'll get a video of his shenanigans. 

Tomorrow I'm planning to attend a yoga class and put in a recovery run at the gym (after putting in some time at the lab). Sometimes, in the winter, the treadmill is just a necessity, especially since I'm trying to avoid falling and injuring myself. 

Countdown to the Hoosier Half: 8 weeks

The Comeback Race

The last time I blogged was about 13-14 months ago. A lot has happened since then. I spent the summer in DC for a grad school internship, I graduated from IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs with masters degrees in public affairs and environmental science in December, and I decided to stick around Bloomington for a few more years to pursue my doctorate in environmental science! eek!

Hoosier Half Marathon Route & Elevation Map
http://www.hoosierhalf.com/course.html

AND, I am trying my damnedest to get back to running like I used to. Right now, that means I'm training for the Hoosier Half. (Sometimes, I accidentally call it the Hilly Half - mixing up the names of the Hoosier Half Marathon and the Hilly Hundred bike ride...oops! But really, it could be called the Hilly Half because it is a super hilly race for this girl who took up running in the flat city of Indy!)

Today during my long, slow run of 5 miles, I thought maybe I would revive this blog in a new manner to talk all things related to running, PhD studies, yoga, and of course, more on my successes and (lots of) failures with trying to live sustainably.

Also, I've been writing a couple of papers with professors the last 3 weeks and my mom joked: well you did want to grow-up to be a writer. Research publications and scientific writing was not exactly what I pictured at 11 years old, but maybe writing this blog will fulfill the more creative side of the writing puzzle. Plus, I think the best way to be more comfortable with writing in a professional manner is just to write, period.   

So, this is a new, exciting, crazy time in life, though I can't imagine it being more so than quitting my full time job to get my masters degrees. Now that was a bit crazy. And I worked. All. The. Time. during the masters program (work = real work, classes, reading, assignments, etc). Honestly, yesterday when thinking about the kind of hours I put in over the last 2.5 years, I bet most weeks I was pushing 60-70 hour work weeks. So, while the PhD program is certainly going to have its own challenges, I am striving to maintain more balance in my life. Classes are finished - I am just doing research - and my intention is to make it as much like a "real job" as possible. Of course, it won't always work out that way, but I'm going to try. Thus, my recent push to get back into the saddle with running. 

A sacro-illiac (SI) joint injury stopped my running cold in March 2013. While I have ran a little off and on since, I haven't run a race longer than 5 miles. Sadly, the injury has not really been entirely resolved either (and I'm not sure it can be based on things I've read). So training for this half-marathon is going to require more work than training for my previous long races. I need to train smart and protect my SI joint to ward off lower back pain. That means I'm incorporating yoga at least once a week, weight lifting (especially deadlifts, squats, lunges) twice a week, and planning to visit the chiropractor once a month. Further, I need to make this type of training my new normal for...forever. I want to run like I used to in my mid-20s, but I can't get away with not stretching or strength training anymore. I also need to hold myself back a bit on my training runs. It's hard - this week I saw sub-7 interval paces and sub-8 on my long, slow run today. I have to remind myself that is not the point of this training cycle - these numbers are due to a fresh legs from less running the last several months and muscle memory. I do not want to provoke my injury by running too fast too quickly. This will be the hardest part - I usually just run by feel. I did not even wear a watch or Garmin to train for my first 6 half marathons! I think running without knowing my pace can be a good strategy, but sometimes I need to know empirically that I'm going too fast so I can dial it back. 

So it goes. 

And now here I am blogging about it. I'll try to blog once a week. A little check-in for myself on the running or other subjects I mentioned previously: yoga, PhD work, sustainable living. And maybe a few far-flung friends will get a little inside scoop of my day-to-day life. ;)    

Final Thoughts on Sustainable Communities

Sustainable Communities has been a nice departure from the norm. Every other class for me this semester is very quantitative and very exam driven. It was nice to step away from that every Tuesday and Thursday this semester. 

I was excited, though a little apprehensive, at the beginning of the semester. Though there was no pressure to cram for a test, it was really up to me to stay on top of my required blogs and projects. For the most part, I am pretty driven - and mostly by internal motivation. So, generally this was not a problem. However, my general workload this semester was so high, I was afraid I was falling behind at times. 

Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the co-teaching, co-learning concept of this class. I loved reading my fellow classmates' blogs. So many times, I walked away thinking, wow, I never would have heard of this if they hadn't written that blog! Similarly, I enjoyed writing my blog pieces, especially for the readings. Maybe that is surprising? I'm not sure, but I felt like it allowed me to explore some ideas that we might otherwise not have discussed. It gave me a creative outlet of sorts to express my vision for sustainable communities. And, I got to indulge in discussing my home-away-from-home, Indy, on more than one occasion. Since I think Indy is doing some cool things lately, I really enjoyed talking about the city. 

As for the other components, I found the outside experiences very useful. In fact, I wish I could have attended more just for personal enrichment! Each of my outside experiences was pretty different and they all provided me with some great information.
My personal project was a great opportunity to try out something I'd been thinking about for a while. I feel like I could have done more with it - tried to use even less plastic, blogged more, etc. I had wanted to contact various companies and encourage them to use alternatives to plastic or to stop using plastic windows on their products (I mean why? Isn't a picture good enough?). But, unfortunately, I did not get a chance to do so. (Though I have in the past...but that's another story). Though at times I felt my actions were lacking, I will say this project was constantly on my mind. If I purchased something fairly unnecessary that was in plastic, I immediately was thinking about why I was doing so and whether I could make different choices in the future to avoid such a purchase. 
Finally, the group project was pretty challenging. I found it difficult to wrap my head around what exactly we were trying to do for several weeks. When we finally had some concrete information, it felt like it wasn't enough. I felt a little let down that we did not have a more tangible (ex. GIS) deliverable for BCOS. BUT, I do feel like our group did a fantastic job. It was just the nature of our categories and our personal areas of expertise. 

I don't have too many suggestions for changes, but there are a couple of things which come to mind: 

1. Perhaps put more emphasis on the policy instruments used to make these changes in sustainable communities happen. In the real world, we will probably need to think about such things in a more specific way.
2. Don't spend too much time on blogs - we were supposed to read them anyway.
3. Provide a little more guidance on the group project.  I know we could ask questions, but often I didn't know what questions to ask. 

Overall, I really loved being a part of this class!  I met some colleagues I otherwise wouldn't have and enjoyed their varying perspectives on the different topics!

Until next time,
Katie :) 

project plastic overhaul: final thoughts

I found my personal project to be quite challenging. In fact, to be truly transparent, I am sitting here working feverishly to finish up a lot of projects for the end of the semester. And, as I sit here in my shared office space in the MSB-II building, working on blogs, grading papers, and  making adjustments to presentations, I have one of these sitting next to me: 

Yup, a plastic bottle. Exactly one of the main things I pledged to do away with for the semester (and preferably forever!). 

The other day in class, Professor Brown mentioned Sarah had tweeted about a blog post where a 23-year-old had begun to live without any waste. I went to said blog post, read it, and had a little chuckle. Here's the thing, that girl was inspired by the exact same blog & book I've been raving about all semester, the Zero Waste Home blog. I couldn't help but be amused that no one in class noticed this fact.  

Honestly, though, I am truly impressed this 23-year-old met her goal so quickly. Meeting my plastic goals was a real struggle on some days. One of my bigger personal weaknesses is this: with food and drinks and sometimes clothes, I have very little self control and often make impulse purchases. And that is why this project was so challenging for me! 

I can easily say no to the plastic trinkets and decorations, can easily conserve my use of face moisturizer, switch to bar soap or visit Bloomingfoods to fill up my honey, shampoo, conditioner, and hand soap, and can easily walk past certain items or find alternatives to certain plastic wrapped items.

But, I am terrible at planning ahead, at cooking for one, and at forcing myself to eat the veggies at home when someone asks if I want to grab dinner. I am horrible at walking past that vending machine when I got 5 hours of sleep and I want the quick caffeine or sugar fix. When everything else is my life is dictated by a schedule set by another person, when I can't get in my runs or bike rides or even walking my dog, I CAN get some feel good endorphins from that sugar and caffeine. And, so, I do. 

I've always had quite the sweet tooth and enjoyed my caffeinated pop. But, since starting grad school it has spiraled outta control. I had hoped to reign it back in with this project and self-imposed limits to buying less plastic. Some weeks I succeeded, but other weeks (like this one) I failed miserably.  

Regardless, most weeks I did hit my goal of purchasing 50% less plastic than I purchased the first week of class through some highlighted actions noted below.
Successes:

• Finding bulk dog treats in Bloomington
• Finding refillable shampoo, conditioner, and soap at Bfoods
• Replacing my plastic razor 
• Buying only tortilla chips that came in a brown paper bag with a small plastic window 
• Decreasing purchases of plastic wrapped cheese 
• Visiting Bfoods for plastic free salad bar and hot bar to-go food
• Only buying 5 plastic wrapped cookies/donuts at SPEA (compared to a daily cookie last year)
• Forgoing plastic straws
• Reusing my same plastic container for the olive bar
• Purchasing more fresh, non-plastic wrapped veggies at the store & farmers' market 

In situations where I have ended up with plastic unexpectedly, I have tried to make the most of it. I ordered a shirt from online and used the plastic packaging to take out some trash today (Kleenex, mostly, I wish I could get more on-board with reusable handkerchiefs or tissues). The few times I've purchased meat, I've gone to the counter to purchase it so it will be wrapped in paper - instead of a plastic-wrapped styrofoam container. One weekend, my mom visited and brought a locally sourced roast, from which we made a pot roast in the crock pot with only non-plastic wrapped veggies, including sweet potatoes, white potatoes, onion, and carrots. 

Fails: 

• Occasionally (but rarely) forgetting my reusable grocery sacks
• Succumbing to food/caffeine cravings at the vending machine
•  Making online purchases and simply hoping the packaging would be "greener"
• Purchasing plastic wrapped candy or lots of yogurt

One weekend, I went tailgating and took cheap OJ in a plastic container.  I arrived to the shindig without any cups for people to pour their drink it.  I didn't even think of it. Soon, a friend showed up later with "red solo cups". I was so mad at myself - I have plenty of cheap, but reusable, plastic cups at my apartment. I rarely use them, opting for glass cups instead, but that would have been the perfect place for using them. 

Forgetting my reusable sacks wasn't the end of the world. My roommate and I only use a small under-the-sink trashcan. Unfortunately, collectively, we are far from zero-waste and so we do use the plastic grocery bags for trash bags. 

Would I like to change this? Well, yes. But, certain things are out of my control. I cannot force other people to reduce their trash or consumption. I can only educate people about my reasons for reducing my plastic (and in general my waste), try to make it more of a social norm, and work for policy level changes to implement certain ideas.

Case-in-point, if plastic bags were banned in Indiana, I would be fine with it. I would find an alternative to our current trash set-up. But, I personally think reusable grocery bags are still quite the novelty in Indiana. Even my own mother will not use them - despite my pleas, despite my leveling with her about my own occasional fails, despite my attempts to make it a norm. Basically, this is a place I think policy changes are necessary to facilitate quick, widespread change. And, that goes for many plastic wrapped things. Here's the thing: I literally cannot purchase cauliflower from a grocery store. I've yet to find it not wrapped in plastic. Why is that the norm?? 


So What's next?

• Use Winter break to solidify certain habits, like purchasing more fresh foods and learning some recipes to increase eating from/at home
• Move toward less waste overall - not just less plastic -- How?
1. Begin Composting 
2. Make less unnecessary purchases 
3. When purchasing, seek out second hand items 
4. When purchasing new items, pay attention to clothing (not brand) labels - is the item made of more natural fibers? (A recent scientific publication noted the high amount of plastic waste from synthetic fibers)
• Dispose of other plastic items in my life - think personal care products, e.g. make-up, face wash, lotion, pens, office supplies, magnets, cleaning products - and replace them with at least more sustainable options

  

  Plastic pens that are now out of ink.
  I've replaced them with a metal pen with refillable ink.

Now that this blog post is pretty much a novel, I just want to say this project has taught me a lot. I've learned how hard it is to change ingrained habits - and I want to change. And, I've discovered preparation is key to success.  I think I'd have been more successful or felt more successful if I'd been more prepared. Finally, I am excited to continue stretching my boundaries to see how far I, personally, can go with "Zero Waste" idea.

Outside Experience #3: NPR Visits SPEA

OnThursday, November 13th, NPR Cities Project did a broadcast from the SPEA atrium.  I would have attended this event no matter what, but their topic was only too appropriate for our Sustainable Communities course.The discussion revolved around Urban Life in the 21st Century and the idea of designing for "resiliency." 

They started the discussion with some quick info: that 80% of the U.S. population lives in an urban area; that the 21st century is expected to be the "Urban Century"; and the question, is resilience the new sustainability?  

Resilience, per the speakers, is the idea of adapting to climate change rather than mitigating climate change. Accordingly, the top 3 important considerations for resiliency are location, design, and mobility:

• Location - is a community in a flood prone area? a fire prone area? a coastline that's eroding?
• Design - includes engineering, science, visual, and structural considerations
• Mobility - transportation considerations - making multi-modal cities, including alternate pathways and redundancies

A few cities were highlighted: 

• Staten Island - they are tearing down some homes to let nature return & provide a buffer
• Yemen & Phoenix - implementing a light rail, tall buildings and narrow streets to take advantage of shade, & decrease the heat island effects

 This event really made me sit and think about the idea of adapting versus mitigating climate change. It also made me think of some environmental justice issues. 

For starters, while I like the idea of resiliency, I cannot support only adapting to climate change. I think it needs to be used in addition to aggressive climate change mitigation measures. To simply make plans to adapt is risky. However, I also recognize the fact that at this point, we are likely too late on addressing climate change to simply mitigate. We need a robust discussion about both adaptation measures and mitigation measures. We need to implement policies aimed at decreasing CO2 emissions and other GHG emissions, such as methane. Also, we need to look at areas where people maybe should not be inhabitants. Maybe it is better for some coastlines to be buffers. Maybe there is a way to encourage these buffers and also use them to some degree for hiking or exploring or nature classes. Perhaps there are means to directly & economically benefit from those areas returning to nature. Finally, I think adapting our urban centers and implementing systems to make them more resilient is also a necessary part of the puzzle. We need mass transit options that are extensive and reliable in all major cities to discourage the use of individual cars. We need safe bike lane infrastructure to encourage travel by bike in cities. We need more trees and better buildings to make the most of city living while respecting nature. Essentially, I want the best of both worlds. I want the US and individual states to take all of these actions!

As for the issue of environmental justice...the main speaker was discussing these issues with the perspective of having dealt with Hurricane Sandy.  And, that's great. But where was this conversation 9 years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans? Well, I think part of the answer is that (some) New Yorkers are wealthier and have a voice to bring these issues to light. They will demand these issues be addressed and their government will respond. Unfortunately, I do not think that's the case in New Orleans. Thus, they did not see this sort of rebound and response after Hurricane Katrina. If I'm not mistaken, there are still negative effects lingering in certain areas of New Orleans.  

I think this NPR discussion is great for SPEA. Hopefully it sparked these same sort of thoughts in many of the audience members.