run + travel: Weekly roundup: post-shutdown potluck

Welcome to another installment of the weekly roundup we all know and love: Friday potluck!
Today's theme... In addition to being thrilled that my colleagues are back to work (and getting paid) and local parks and bike trails are open again (since in the DC metro, everything local is really federal), there's a ton of fun stuff in the news... Today is a true potluck!

BUILT TRI TOUGH

Triathletes really are tougher than the average bear. According to new research, triathletes experience pain at the same rate as mere mortals, but they can tolerate pain for much longer. (I seriously hope this holds true during labor and delivery...)

HALLOWEEN BUMP

Creepy baby bump costume via Buzzfeed

I love my Halloween runner costumes, but with no dress-up-dash on my calendar this year, I might go with a pregnant Halloween costume instead.

(My favorite: The "Alien" style costumes where baby is climbing out the hard way. My husband thinks that's sick and twisted. But, hey, it's Halloween, right?)

AMERICAN FOOD

I'm not sure what to think about this post "What do other countries think is American food?" Along with a photo of the "USA" food section of a local grocery store, the author writes:

It's almost embarrassing to think that this is the kind of food that other countries really think of when they think of American food -- processed junk! Shelves filled with mac 'n' cheese, salad dressings... canned soups, beef jerky, roasted nuts, and all sorts of condiments, many with sugar as the first or second ingredient.
Is this the food culture we want to be perceived as having in the United States? I sure don't!
Then again, the items weren't too far off from what fills the shelves of many convenience stores across the country.

But if I think about the "Mexican" food section of my local grocery store, it is filled with canned salsa, oil-laden mole sauces, and other prepared and preserved foods.

Yet I lived alongside the Mexican border for years, and I traveled often to places like Tijuana, Ensenada, Cabo, and Nogales. I know that "real" Mexican food is often fresh and local.

But we can get fresh vegetables in the produce section. The "ethnic" section of any grocery store is generally reserved for the preserved spices and sauces that aren't stocked in the produce, dairy, and meat aisles, no?

So... is that "USA" section of the market really an indictment of "American" food? Or is it just how grocery stores merchandise their products?

IN MY KITCHEN...

It's autumn.
That's pumpkin season.
I'm baking my favorite whole-grain pumpkin bread.