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Feels Like Summer

Date: May 28, 2016
Author: astottler
Categories: Uncategorized

After a particularly cold and wet spring, with temperatures climbing to the 80s, it feels like summer!

And if we’re being honest…it feels really hard to keep pushing through with classes!

On Wednesday, we had a Senior Toast. It was a chance to see our class and drop something in the time capsule, which will buried under our class plaque in the quad and opened in 100 years. My contribution was my Giants ticket from Monday night!

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At the toast, there was a chocolate fountain+liquid nitrogen to dip things in! I had a banana covered in chocolate and then frozen in liquid nitrogen.

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^My God, this is a thing??

Dinner that night was also fabulous. Shrimp risotto, garlic bread (GF), and tomato and cream cheese jam.

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I actually had a little bit of a rough time after that chocolate. I felt it in my heart (I’m crazy caffeine sensitive), and couldn’t fall asleep for a while.

This week was rough on my stomach, with some high fat items and the chocolate. I’ve just been craving fruits and veggies to get that out of my system!

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Also: still cat sitting! Boot goings cat sitting?

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Thursday evening I went to a spin class, and on the drive back I had a really strong feeling that something bad was going to happen. I was really concerned, until I realized my heart was racing from the chocolate. Chocolate sometimes gives me really bad anxiety the next day (presumably from the caffeine). I also now understand the heart attack symptom that is “an overwhelming sense of doom.”

Thursday night, the boot took on the last senior night of the year! It was crazy crowded, but I still enjoyed seeing everyone!

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Friday, after class, I was looking forward to a low-key evening.

I started my morning with some Blogilates videos: I think I did Extreme Abs, and then an oblique focused one? I took the workout to a local park/grassy spot and got drenched on the dewy grass. Luckily, Friday was the first time the weather was really starting to warm up, so I decided to just embrace it!

Dinner was pretty delicious. It was steak, but since that’s not my thing I grabbed some leftover teriyaki salmon from the fridge. Our chef seriously makes the best salmon! He also made a giant GF chocolate cake, which was crazy rich or chocolately, so I was able to enjoy it without the sense of impending doom! The frosting was really light, almost whipped.

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I spent the night watching my friend’s dance performance, and then having a very long conversation about alternative medicine with my roommate. As a scientist, I have to give it the side-eye, but I am trying to keep an open mind, because there still are a lot of things we don’t know or understand yet. I told her the only reason I was able to buy some of the things we were talking about is that our universe is 70% dark energy, and we have no clue what that is, so it’s theoretically possible that plays a role. #biomajor

I actually went to bed far later than planned, but was up for a morning spin class. It was nice to get my sweat on to start the day. Even nicer? I stopped by the farmer’s market on the way back and picked on lots of fresh summer produce! I’m ready to embrace it with open arms.

Lunch after spin was a nectarine+a tortilla pizza with shrimp, salad, and half a slice of cake.

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The main event of the day was the last Stanford baseball game of the season! I’ve really enjoyed going to games this year, and I’m sad to see the season ending.

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It was a bit of a scorcher. I’m glad I decided to wear a hat! There was no shade or breeze for most of the game, and I just sat there roasting and sweating.

As for the game, it was 0-0 until the 6th or 7th, and they drew the first blood was a 1-0 lead. We took the lead in the 7th, with back to back home runs, and held on to win 3-1.

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My gosh, I love baseball.

After the game, I wasn’t ready to shower for an event tonight because I didn’t want start sweating once I was clean, so my roommate and I went out for a little drive, with the top down. It was the perfect day for it! We blasted music and enjoyed the scenery. One of my favorite things to listen to is a set of medleys by Anthem Lights. They have best of 2015, 2012, etc. The best of 2013 brings back all the freshman year feels. Jeez!

And with that, I’m actually off to a freshman dorm reunion tonight! Crazy how fast these 4 years have passed.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

The Great Water Experiment

Date: February 21, 2016
Author: astottler
Categories: Uncategorized

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Mine has been fantastic. It included some good food.

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Our chef made gluten free mocha chocolate cookies and they were INSANE.

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Sunday brunch of a hash with sweet potatoes, eggs, spinach, and fancy cheese from my fruit and cheese of the month club. Good cheese takes the eggs to another level. This month is a citrus ginger, although those notes are very subtle. It’s a fairly strong cheese that almost reminds me of aged gouda.

It included time reconnecting with old friends. This is seriously the best.

It included some awesome times pounding the pavement. Friday night I dragged myself away from Netflix to hit the street in drizzly conditions and I shocked myself when the 4 miles felt fantastic, because I had such low energy. I’ll take it!

Saturday morning was my rest day so I took a little walk while listing to gastroenterolgy podcasts. Look what I found—such a cute idea!

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And this morning after a glorious long night of sleep, I did my 5 mile training run which felt good! I’ve gotten spontaneously faster, which is awesome. I didn’t have my watch on pace and just ran what was comfortable. Comfortable seems to have gotten faster, so it looks like my speed work is paying off!

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And finally, my weekend included a Stanford baseball game! I legitimately thought I would go to every single game when I was in college, but sadly it’s my senior year and this is the first one I’ve been to! This is definitely going to become a regular thing The weather was warm and sunny, and we won our opening game!

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Now, onto the great water experiment. A few weeks ago, I learned that many people (often women) have electrolyte balance issues. They drink lots of water, but still feel thirsty and dehydrated because “plain” water doesn’t have the necessary electrolytes to be absorbed in the bloodstream. This hit a chord with me. I feel like I’m ALWAYS thirsty, and always drinking. These past few months, I felt like my water balance issue was especially getting out of hand, as I was up almost every night. I figured, in the spirit of science, why not conduct a little experiment?

In class, the recommendation we were given was to add a little salt to drinking water. I was a little worried about doing this because a) I have no measuring spoons and b) I tried it one morning and had a mini flare (almost 100% unrelated, but I wanted to be safe). Ever since my ridiculously hot and humid 10 miler in Hawaii with Smartwater, I’ve been a big believer in the effect of the electrolytes in it. For my experiment, I decided that for 3 days, I would drink nothing but Smartwater. These 3 days included teaching 2 spin classes, which I normally get dehydrated from, and one normal day.

The difference was dramatic and immediate. I felt SO much better. Often times, I feel really dehydrated mid-morning after my morning workout, but this wasn’t the case at all. I felt like the water I was drinking was FINALLY going where it was supposed to go, and actually being absorbed. The morning after the first day, I woke up in the morning without a bursting bladder, and to me that was the most dramatic and definitive thing.

Unfortunately, drinking nothing but bottled water can be quite an expensive habit, so I may try adding salt again, or may choose smartwater as my sipping water throughout the day and after workouts, and drink regular water at meals and things like that.

The conclusion? I 100% stand behind the importance of electrolytes in water. If you feel like you’re constantly dehydrated despite constantly drinking, I highly recommend trying this!