Day 27 was pretty unremarkable - I ran for a bit in the snow and slush. I'm quickly getting used to running outdoors in crappy weather that would previously have kept me in the house. I also get the feeling that I'm training lots of tiny stabilising muscles by running on slippery ground, and I am excited to see if it shows itself as better physical conditioning when I (finally) start marathon training in earnest.
On Day 28, Cecelia and I went to Hart House, where I used to work out during my undergrad at U of T. Since I was there last, they've significantly updated the upper gym with a new floor, and shiny, new cardio and weight machines - it was pretty fantastic, and I wish I had had more time to take advantage of it.
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| Cecelia - you're famous now! |
I ended up doing a fast 30 minutes on the treadmill, and followed that up with ten minutes on the stairclimber. It was pretty gratifying that the girls on either side of me on the treadmills were huffing and puffing and running intervals and I was able to run straight through. Less than a year ago, I couldn't have run more than 1 or 2 minutes at a time, and in September I ran a half-marathon without stopping or walking. It was a nice marker of how far I've come.
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| Love the Rvnning Track and Vpper Gymnasvm! |
After my quick workout, I rinsed off in the shower and sped out the door to meet Katie for a Les Mis matinee (yes, we finally saw it!). I didn't have time to wash my hair.
And that's fine, because I'm a dirty hippie and I prefer not to wash my hair more than every three or four days anyway (and usually with some all-natural hippie shampoo that the Environmental Working Group approves of). I usually wash it at the pool after varsity practice (mainly motivated by getting the chlorine out), and even less regularly when we aren't practicing.
Which leads to the following question:
What is a dirty hippie to do with her dirty hair when engaged in the pursuit of serious daily sweat?
When I was in New York City recently, Maddie introduced me to Lush's No Drought dry shampoo, which was really nice - it smells yummy and allowed me to extend my no-wash time by a couple of days. Amy uses Silky Underwear, which is also a nice choice (and I will admit that I have a couple of little bottles of it).
I thought it was great...and then I read the ingredients on the bottle. Cornstarch and essential oils, people!
That's pretty much all you get for $14.
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| My secret weapons against stink when I'm trying not to look cheap...when I'm okay with looking cheap, cornstarch is fine. |
Of course, I didn't have enough self-confidence to just go ahead and mix some corn starch and essential oils to put on my head, so I went on a confirmatory Google journey to prove to myself that it was okay.
News flash, guys: It's okay.
Crunchy Betty says so.
I searched out a bunch of DIY dry shampoo recipes, and tried a few, including one with cocoa powder, which is supposed to be good for dark hair. I couldn't stand the smell, and the cocoa really didn't help the cornstarch blend all that well, so now I stick with corn starch and mix in some essential oils (I really like grapefruit, and bergamot is also good).
The secret seems to be loading up on dry shampoo at night, brushing it in so that it gets to the roots, letting it soak up all the nasty oils overnight, and then blow-drying out the excess in the morning. I also have the limpest hair you've seen, and dry shampoo gives the illusion that my hair actually has body. Fantastic!
Try it. Seriously.
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| Power posing on the stair, confident in the knowledge that my armpits smell like lemon and my hair smells like jasmine. |
Gratuitous bolding.
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