But here I am and here we go again...

Purity Dairy Dash 10k Race Report!

2010-04-10T15:17:00.003-05:00

Just to not keep you in suspense, today's 10k was awesome and I finished and had no knee pain! AH! I'm so excited and thrilled.

Back it up to this morning. I really couldn't sleep last night and woke up every few hours to look at the clock and flip over. I ended up getting up at 6:45 to get ready and head downtown. The race didn't start until 8:15 but I took a nap yesterday and forgot to pick up my race packet... oops. I just had a piece of toast with almond butter and a small banana to hold me over. I'm still a little iffy on pre and post race fueling as my stomach doesn't like most things when I run but this seemed to work out alright.

The 5 and 10k started right on time, surprisingly. Since everyone started together, it was a bit slow getting out, but they had the 4 lane road closed so it started to thin out after about a half mile. However, once we got to about mile 2, that course changed to a narrow paved trail that could only fit about 3 people wide, so it was a pretty close pack for that portion. As usual, I hated the first 2 miles and wondered why I was doing this, but once I warmed up, everything felt great. My main goals for the event were to finish (see: Clarksville 2009) and to have a negative split. At the 5k mark, I was at about 32:30. Unfortunately, I forgot to set the auto lap on my Garmin so I don't have actual splits, but I remember checking this one. Since everything felt great at that point, I started to pick it up a bit, especially since I wanted to make my negative split!

Once we passed mile 4, it turned into a regular 4 lane road again, so the pack opened up a bit. For the last mile, I was running at about a 9:20-25 pace, and then for the last quarter mile, I picked it up to about a 7:45 (you can do anything for 2 minutes, right?), pulling in to finish at about 1:02!! The second 5k ended up being about 29:30 minutes, so I met both my goals! I was trying to not puke (so elegant, I am) and forgot to stop my watch, so I'm curious to see what the chip time was. I also hope that I got a good race photo! It was about at mile 5 and I tried not to look like I was suffering. :)

Anyway, all in all, it was a great race. My legs felt good, the course was nice and flat, and the weather was perfect. It was actually in the 30's this morning so I wore a long sleeve shirt and tights, but I ended up being a bit hot. Weather.com had said it wouldn't pass 40 degrees by 10am, but it was about 55 when I finished. Shorts definitely would have been more comfortable. I also brought my fuel belt because I wasn't sure what the water stops would be like, but they ended up working out fine and I barely used the water in my belt. Nice to know for next 10k because its kinda heavy and bulky if I can get away with not having one.

Lastly, my only main complaint was the post race celebration. It seemed like most people really enjoyed it, but they were serving bbq and mac&cheese and ice cream sandwiches. Just the smell of it made my stomach turn, so I grabbed a water, banana and a luna bar, and left. Yick. I don't know how people can eat such heavy food right after running hard. It took about 2 hours for my stomach to willingly accept solid food. All together, amazing experience and I'm so happy that both IT bands feel good. I plan doing some more ice and foam rolling later, but right now, all is great!

In closing, I also ran with EN on Wednesday (5.6 miles) and then did a short run (2.9) on Thursday. Nothing terribly exciting with either, but the EN hills were nasty, which I guess is appropriate. :) Off to eat again!

I'm insane

2010-04-07T11:56:00.001-05:00

I just registered for the Marine Corps Marathon.
Eek.

The long winding hill

2010-04-04T22:18:00.002-05:00

Hello! I'm back from NY for a wonderful (short) Easter break. I was only able to steal home for a long weekend, but it was just long enough to get a little bit of a rest. There are only 3 weeks of class left so life is about to get chaotic. Eek

On Friday I was able to steal away for a long run. I always get nervous before I head out on a run past 5 miles or so. Anyway, I was planning on doing about 8 or so, and my mom drove us out about 2 miles away from the house and ran the first couple with me (she's coming just off injury too!). The route was basically running up this long mile long hill and back three times and then the two miles home. It was excruciating, to say the least! The grade on the hill wasn't terribly steep but it was for the whole mile up. By the 5th mile, I really just wanted to keep going and head home, but I turned around for the final time up and down that blasted hill.

Finally I got to start the trip home, with one fourth and final time up the mile stretch. However, the last mile of the trek home though was an enormous hill. Gigantic. Huge. Monstrous. My mom had suggested that I just walk it since it was so steep, particularly since it was pretty gravely. Both wanting to get home and being an idiot, I tried to run it. I made it up! And then spent the next 3 minutes trying to catch my breath and not puke. I was successful though and made it home for a grand total of 8.6 miles of pure hilly torture. Well, the whole thing wasnt torture but parts were certainly pretty bad!

I followed up with ice and some rolling, and it seems like my ITBs did pretty well! My lower back was a little sore the day after, but I think it's from a combination of running on the pavement, lack of sleep, and the fuel belt I was using. It was slightly too big so I think I was arching my back a tad to keep it in place. My calves were also screaming the next day but that's to be expected. All in all, I made it past the distance where my ITBs gave out on me back in October and I'm pretty grateful to have made it past that point.

For next weekend, I decided to register for the 10k. I'm still a little scared of it so that's a good reason to do it. :) I think it's a pretty flat course too. Plus, free ice cream! If only they could put it on a stick and dangle it in front of me as I trot.

So my question for the day: The Country Music Half is in 3 weeks. Hypothetically, I do 9.5 next weekend, then 11 the following, should I got for it? I want to!!

Hooked on East Nasty

2010-03-31T23:03:00.005-05:00

I'm hooked. I'd been hearing about East Nasty, a running group in Nashville, for quite some time now but didn't really have the nerve to go. I kept nursing fears about injury and pace, and didn't want to be the girl bringing up the rear of the pack. Yes, I do realize there has to be someone who does it, but still, I didn't want it to be me. So today, I finally was brave enough to try it out and I loved it. Love love love. I don't know why I waited so long to check it out. It felt like running in a race without numbers, and everyone was so supportive of the other runners.

EN does a rotating set of 12 runs and today was back at #1, a 3.1 mile figure eight. I figured it was a good distance to start me at, plus it was all of a gorgeous 78 degrees today. When I arrived, there was a giant pack of spandex clad runners, some with pups, all set to go. I think that maybe there were 100 in all? (I don't have a method for estimating that, but there were a lot) I started out pretty fast (probably too fast) at about a 9:10 mile, but settled in at around around 10ish. There were more hills than I was expecting, long ones too, but I think I did a pretty solid job of powering up those, even if my pace dropped a little. Since I run mostly flat courses, the hills were pretty challenging, but I looove the relaxing momentum of running downhill. Anyway, I ran pretty well I think, and at the 5k mark, my watch said 30:23.

REALLY!?!?!? On a super hilly course, less than two months post recovery, I shaved 3 minutes off my 5k time. Ecstatic. Now I'm dying to see what I can do on a flat course. I've been planning on running the Purity Dairy Dash 10k for the mid-distance, but now I'm considering shifting down to the 5k for the fun of it. A sub 30 minute 5k would be awesome. Things to think about... :) Although my IT bands feel pretty awesome, I bought a tennis ball a few days ago so that I can work on my peroneal muscle (peroneus longus) in my calves. They are both awfully tight and are a bit sore. Hopefully some self-therapy can take the edge off. It's amazing how much lower body anatomy I've learned with this injury!

Anyway, I had an awesome salad-esque dinner when I got home. I tried to make the Mediterranean Chickpea Patties from Carrots 'N Cake, but since my food processor is hand operated, the puree never got quite smooth enough so they kind fell apart. They were still pretty tasty, but i couldn't coat them in flour without them breaking into pieces so I just went without. Also, tonight I was out of lemon, so instead I mixed some olive oil with Greek yogurt (plus salt and pepper) and that was an amazing dressing.

All served on top of a salad w/ peppers, tomatoes, and onions, plus an Ezekiel English muffin on the side. Yum. (Check out the original recipe; they photos are much nicer!!)

Anyway, I need a good night sleep, but as a farewell, here's the little one. Martha was being a doll tonight and was begging to have her picture taken. :) I have the sweetest pup in the world.

G'night!

Improving, finally

2010-03-29T22:41:00.006-05:00

Today I finally took some time to notice how much my running has really improved. I still describe myself as a slow runner, which is true, but it's almost like a defense mechanism to protect against criticism from "real runners". In addition, I think I tend to focus on my speed compared to other runners instead of compared to how far I've come, particularly since I'm just barely post-injury. In late October, my 5k time was 33:19, with two bad IT bands and a ton of pain. Today, I did about 3 miles of speed work (warm up + 400+600+800+600+400, with a one minute walk in between sets) and that took about 29 minutes. How can I be disappointed with that?! I walked about 5 minutes recovery in this workout and still am killing my last 5k. Maybe I can't run a 7 minute mile, but I can run a 9:30 now, and I did all of my intervals at about an 8:30 pace. Considering that until mid-February, I couldn't run a quarter mile without pain shooting up my thigh, I should be thrilled. So here's to focusing on my own improvements and not about the 6 and a half foot tall guy at Centennial who was lapping me, and to keep my eyes on my own mat (to use a yoga-ism :) ).

Besides, his legs are twice as long as mine anyway. :)

Oh, last thing. Have you seen the new lululemon ad? It's in April's Runners' World (p. 39) and is currently hanging on my fridge. Scorpion handstand with one leg in lotus? Killer.

Running again!

2010-03-28T14:41:00.003-05:00

Blog resuscitation, part III? A good friend and I made a pact to blog two times a week and she's been keeping up her end of the bargain. I certainly haven't though! Trying again! :)

I went for an amazing run yesterday. As I've clearly complained about, pretty consistantly, I hurt my IT bands pretty bad back in October. However, after months of physical therapy with some amazing people and a couple cortisone shots, it looks like I may be in the clear! In fact, I feel like a stronger runner than ever, probably because of all the PT work.

So yesterday, my run was 7 miles and it felt incredible. I kept the pace pretty slow since it was the longest I've gone since injury and since I basically climbed a friggen mountain during it. I had decided to try out Edwin Warner Park, which was really pretty with tons of trails, but also mighty hilly at parts. However, no pain! I walked about a quarter mile in the middle just to give my legs a break before they needed it, but other than that, ran through the whole thing without a problem, even going up hill. A-mazing. Plus, it was 70 and sunny. Spring may finally be here!

In other news, I finally saw Coco Avant Chanel last night. It was not was I was expecting but I certainly liked it. The plot centered much more around her personal life instead of her design career but it was pretty beautifully filmed. I was also pleasantly surprised at how much French I still understand. It was still nice to have subtitles as a reminder, otherwise I probably only would have gotten a very general idea of the story. :) Hélas, j'ai besoin de plus étudier.

I have piles of work to do and would love to fit in a trip to the gym today. I had planned on taking the day off for recovery but I feel fine. Also, I'm heading to NY for Easter next weekend so things will be a tad thrown off there. Off to enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend!

Pancake Heaven

2010-02-06T15:57:00.004-06:00

I just had the world's most delicious, shockingly healthy pancake. (~400 calories with toppings)

Into the mix went

1/3 cup buttermilk pancake mix
small handful of rolled oats
large splash of skim milk
egg white
cinnamon and vanilla
one small mashed banana

It made one giant pancake which I topped with blackberry jam and a tbsp of almond butter. SO good! I actually don't really like real maple syrup and how it saturates the pancake (ew) so I used to only eat fake syrup. However, after looking at the ingredients a while back and realizing how artificial it is, I've switched to warmed up jam. Works for me!

Anyway, last night I really didn't want to go to the gym. (I have a lot of trouble convincing myself to go on Fridays so I may need to reorganize my workout schedule to accommodate that!) I had joined the YMCA here in Nashville a few weeks ago and it's so wonderful. It's way affordable and I actually like it more than NYSC in NY and I was paying three times as much there! Anyway, I didn't feel like driving out there so I convinced myself to squeeze in a short 40 minute work out at the crappy gym at my apartment complex. So I ran 1.5 miles (no pain!) and I hit all the major muscle groups with weights. I'm proud that I was able to make myself go, even for a half workout. :)

It's miserable and rainy here in Nash, but I'm at least thankful that I'm not stuck in the DC snowstorm! Stay safe and warm!

I'm back! For real!

2010-02-05T13:29:00.003-06:00

Oh man. So I stopped blogging regularly after I hurt my IT bands, mostly because I didn't have all that much to write about regarding training. I do realize that's a bit silly and that there are other things to talk about, but I got to the point that I would avoid clicking on the bookmarked link! However, a friend of mine inspired me to get back on the proverbial blogging horse today. (Thanks :) )

Truth be told, I really do like having the space to write down whatever I feel like telling you so I'm looking forward to turning over my new blogger leaf... again. Plus, it certainly helps that my IT bands are finally starting to get better. PT was helping to make my hips much stronger, but I still couldn't get past about 1/2 mile without pain, which would linger for hours afterward. It was so frustrating that 3 months post injury, I wasn't getting anywhere (well, I wasn't running anywhere at least!).

So, I went to an orthopedist who gave me a couple anti-inflammatory injections into my knees, which I was totatlly skeptical of and was pretty certain that they would be useless. However, I tried out running a mile a few days later and would you believe it, no pain! It actually felt good to run and I felt like I could've kept going for miles. I was a good patient and stopped after a mile though and iced/foam rolled. YES! So I'm going to very gradually increase milage and frequency and take it from there, but it finally looks like I've turned the corner on this injury.

I started having fantasies about doing the Country Music Half right away, but after some rational thought, I realized that's probably not the best plan. The last thing I want to do is re-injure myself so I'm going to take it slooooow. Plus, I found my distance race to aim for (as long as all goes well!).

Presenting: the Crossroads 17.75k! It's an 11 miler just outside DC (where I will be for the summer! woohoo!! More on that later) and isn't until June so it gives me a whole lot more time. I'm hoping to squeeze in a few 5 and 10ks before then, which I'll plan as I progress. All in all, it feels so good to be running again. My last run on Wednesday, I did 1.25 miles felt so good that my legs really just wanted to open up and run instead of the slow pace I'm keeping so I allowed myself a 30 second sprint at the end which was so fun. I'm thrilled. :)

Alright, I'm need to make myself some lunch. Last night I made a batch of Baked Sesame Ginger Tofu (I halved it though) which looks delish and I think I'll just throw some broccoli in the oven to roast.

updated for picture. mmmm:

Speaking of food btw, I want to make these Chickpea Blondies this weekend from Carrots 'N' Cake (a favorite blog of mine). They look so different and tasty. Yum. Hurray for the weekend!

Ick.

2009-12-05T17:27:00.003-06:00

Goodness, exam time is never fun. I always find myself thinking of all the careers I'd rather be pursuing. At the moment, yoga teacher and nutritionist are at the top of the list!

I'm currently at Frothy Monkey, but am about to leave because it's SO noisy. I can't concentrate, even with my headphones in, and I have enough distractions running around in my own head without external help! I did want to share my deeeelicious sandwich though!
The Ned Sandwich! Marinated tofu, red peppers, hummus, alfalfa spouts, whole grain bread... wonderful. Plus, the side salad is acutally a real salad.

Alright, heading off to school where it is guaranteed to be quieter, if pretty boring.

I'll leave you with this interesting vintage ad. Funny how things change.... I particularly like the health warning regarding exhaustion at the end. :)

Pups!

2009-12-03T16:16:00.006-06:00

Since I've talked about my pups so much (and I'm procrastinating), I thought it would be worth devoting a quick post to show of their cuteness.....

Martha on the trip to NY! Poor tired thing

Max and Sam

Martha and her wildfowl

Tired from chasing geese and getting under foot all day

:) :)

Belated Thanksgiving Recount

2009-12-03T00:39:00.008-06:00

Alas, how time gets away from me.

I spent just over a week at home in New York for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be home and sit still for a moment! Of course, I also did lots of running around, seeing some people (but not enough!) and making it into the city. However, this time around, I did spend most time upstate, mostly because I was so exhausted and just needed a break. Plus, then I got to cook with my mom and play with all the pups! We had tons of people over for Turkey Day so it was certainly busy.

There was so much good food to be had and I ate like there was a famine coming! The appetizers I really loved were roasted chickpeas and baked brie with cranberries, walnuts, and currant jam (as well as some impromptu trail mix created by the chefs for cooking snacks!). The dinner menu was particularly amazing this year. We always have both a turkey (this year we actually had two) as well as brisket, plus all the trimmings. My personal highlights were the whipped sweet potatoes with caramelized apples, roasted root vegetables, jalapeno corn muffins, apple sage stuffing.... I'm really a carbohydrate kind of girl! The boy came to Thanksgiving too and I made him one of his favorite Thanksgiving dishes, green bean casserole, which I actually liked! (I was able to subdue the food snob in me for a bit!) I also tried these Sweet Potato Biscuits out. They were a huge hit at dinner, but for me, they were too light and fluffy. I like my biscuits to have more substance so I can load butter and other things onto them! For dessert, we also had deliciousness like lemon pecan squares, oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies, and my absolute FAVORITE, my mom's homemade rugula with nutella. A guest also brought these oatmeal bars which were filled with chocolate chips and gooey caramel. I pray that I never get my hands on that recipe because I must have eaten half of them (and finished the rest off in the morning).

I love how my mom plans Thanksgiving. One of my favorite tips is that the day after the meal, we write down comments about the menu which she files away for next year. It's always super helpful since it's so hard to remember specifics about the previous year. For example, from last years comments, we remembered that the meal worked better without a salad course (too hectic) and how it's always hard to keep mashed potatoes hot (thwarted again!). Also, we have dessert in a more informal setting and with bite sized pieces instead of full pies. Usually everyone is so full that bite-sized grazing is all that can be managed! Finally, for the cooking process, she also photocopies all the recipes so it doesn't matter if you spill vanilla extract all over it (oops) and there isn't a huge stack of cookbooks taking up counter space.

Thanksgiving Table, all set up before the masses descend...

....and the feasting begins!

Unfortunately, I barely got any work done (read: none) which means I'm in a bit of a crunch now. Only two and a half weeks until the end of the semester though and then home for a whole three weeks! Too bad there's a whole lot that needs to be learned between now and then...

Yoga has been going pretty well. I went to a class in Beacon at Shambhala Yoga and was the only one to come to the class so I ended up with a private session! I'm so used to my teachers method here in Nashville so the cadence of the class felt a little odd but it was still fun. I also was able to get some more one-on-one feedback on my headstand which was great! It was nice to be back here in my usual classes though.

PT has been going pretty well too. I was pretty good about staying up on my exercises while I was home but had a few days of laziness/fullness! On Tuesday I was cleared to try a 10 minute run today, but about 5 minutes in, my left knee started to hurt so I immediately stopped and walked home. I'd rather be careful this time around. Sigh. I did walk the New Paltz Turkey Trot while I was home though (walked. the. whole. darn. thing. yay self control) and had no pain! I know that I'm making progress, it just feels sloooww. I did get a pedicure today and now have glittery gold holiday toes, so that helped of course. :)

Alright, time to walk the pup and get some rest! Hopefully I'll be more productive tomorrow!

Free Cheese!

2009-11-18T01:02:00.003-06:00

On a completely non-workout matter, I won a cheese basket today from Ile de France! I'm so excited! I never win anything. I signed up on a whim and got lucky. Plus it looks like they are giving them out for the next couple of days so you should sign up too. :) Who knows?! As a warning, I'm not planning on sharing. Well, except with the 20 people coming to Thanksgiving... no one else though!

Tonight I had yoga which was lots of fun. I got about 3/4 up into headstand for a bit (no wall!) and didn't flip over onto my back like last week (that bruise is just fading). Plus, I got to untape my feet afterward. I think that it helped, but by the end of the day, the outside of my right foot was sore. I don't know if that has anything to do with the taping or if I just walked into something though!

Alright, late night for me. Another round of PT exercises and maybe a little more time on this exam before bed. As of Thursday afternoon though, 2/5 classes down! Woohoo!

Laziness, Acorn Squash and Taped Feet

2009-11-17T09:43:00.008-06:00

Well, not running has certainly made me lazier about updating. I tend to do my updates after a run to document mileage and progress, but since I do my PT exercises throughout the day and yoga at night.... I get lazy. I'll work on it!

So physical therapy has been going pretty well so far. I try to make sure I do the exercises consistently and my therapist sees some improvement so far. I can now walk downstairs but up is still a little bit difficult. However, rolling my IT bands out feels much less tender now. It was really excruciating before, especially on the left side, so I'd have to do it in shorter sections.

Yesterday, she also taped up my feet to see if that helps with my knee pain (the point is to keep my arches from rolling in). I'm not sure if it helps but I like the pressure on my feet. The bottom of my right foot is super itchy though. I only have to leave them on until tonight, but if they are helpful, then orthotics may help keep my feet more stable.

They look a little silly, but I hope it helps!

I also have been cooking lots! I was in the mood for squash again, so I did a quick internet search and found a recipe for Stuffed Spicy Acorn Squash with Quinoa, Walnuts, and Dried Fruit. I was out of walnuts so I subbed pecans, and also added some raisins and an apple. It was so good! I suggested the quinoa mixture to my mom for Thanksgiving and I think that we are going to make it. Yum. I also made a white bean spinach soup out of my new vegetarian slow cooker book and oatmeal for the week. Anything to put off doing schoolwork!

It made for awesome leftovers too

Besides that, I have just been trying to get through some work. I have an exam due Thursday so I'm hoping to get through a lot of that tonight, before and after yoga. However, I'm going home to New York on Friday morning! Super excited for that. I can't believe how close finals are getting though. I really need to bring some work home with me, even though I definitely do not want to. Oh well. Only a few more weeks of this.

Back to work!

P.S. How fun does this look!? Country Music Half Marathon

Running Blogs

2009-11-13T20:29:00.002-06:00

I miss running. To make up for it, I've been reading lots of articles and running blogs. Here are some of my favorites that I read daily...

Runner's Kitchen
I love her blogs about balancing running and healthy eating, in a realistic manner! Plus, she was so kind to answer an email I wrote her about IT band injuries :)

Heather Eats Almond Butter
I've been reading this forever. I love her recipes and yoga stories. Love love love. Plus, it's turned me on to kabocha and a few new things in Nashville!

The Long Run
My friend gave me this link, which chronicles her friend's marathon (and now ultra) training! Eek.

New York Times: Training the Mind to Run Through the Winter

It's been so beautiful out so there are lots of people running out now and it makes me so jealous! Sigh.

PT and New Cookbooks!

2009-11-13T17:25:00.007-06:00

I've been rather lax about posting recently. I apoligize!

Physical therapy has been going pretty well. I've been pretty good about keeping up with my exercises at home, I think, as I've been pretty sore every morning. However it's a good sore now! I don't mind muscle soreness as long as it's not causing pain. So this week, I've gone three times and I've got another three scheduled for next week. Unfortunately my insurance isn't covering as much as I'd like, but this is pretty important to me so it's worth it. I can walk normally now (good for Martha!) but I still can't manage stairs. It's amazing how many glares I get taking the elevator at school or the bookstore. I think most people think I'm just being lazy. Judgy.

So I learned a little bit more about my IT band from talking to my physical therapist (love her, really!). It seems that something that I do every day might also be really stressing my IT bands. When ever I'm standing still, I tend to cock my hip to one side, which really stresses the band in that leg. Once I noticed that I do it, I see that I do it ALL the time. While brushing my teeth, washing the dishes, even during pauses while walking the pup. I'm trying to keep my weight evenly distributed on both legs, but I've had few lapses. It looks like this is going to end up being a total re-education in how I walk, stand, run... I usually sit on the couch in a way that stresses it too because I fold my legs under myself in a weird sorta way. I'm trying to be pretty conscious of it so that I can learn new ways to do things that don't stress my legs.

I've been making it to yoga at least! I went on Tuesday and Thursday this week, and I hope to make it to the free class at lululemon tomorrow too. I've been taking it easy and trying to not push it, but so far, no pain from class. I think I've developed a little bit of fear towards re-injury too. It hurt a lot. These past two classes, I've been using my new lululemon yoga mat and I'm shocked to report that I really don't like it! I even switched mats mid-class yesterday because it was so slippery that I can't stay in downward dog. Luckily, the company stands by their products so much that I've heard that they will take it back! I will test that theory out tomorrow and see what happens. Maybe tomorrow if I make it to the class?

I picked up a couple new cookbooks to try out as well! As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not a vegetarian, but I tend to eat a rather plant-based diet so I bought two vegetarian cookbooks. I find that most others revolve around meat as the main part of the dish (i.e meat and a veggie side instead of veggie with a little meat), especially for slow cookers. I'm pretty excited to try both out and if I'm really craving bacon, it looks like it would be pretty easy to toss some in.

First up: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

I really like Bittman's column in the NYT and his food philosophy. I also have his book Food Matters, and while the recipes are really good, it's got a lot more narrative than cookbook. I was especially excited about the section in this book on seitan! I love getting it in restaurants but am clueless as how to handle it in my own kitchen. I'll let you know how it goes!

Second: Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker
I just bought a slow cooker, thinking how wonderful it would be to just toss some ingredients in it in the morning and to have something ready for dinner! However, most slow cooker cookbooks are for roasts and stuff. This one has a great white bean and escarole one that I can't wait to try out. Yum.

One last comment on food before I get back to some physical therapy exercises. I had some Ben and Jerry's light Phish Food Ice Cream last night which is deeeelicious, but I took a gander at the ingredients and almost fell over. Ingredients 2-4 are liquid sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and sugar. ICK. I'm going to finish out the pint (can't waste tasty ice cream), but I'm kinda conflicted at buying it again. That's a lot of sugar and artificial sweeteners, and since I'm so careful about not throwing that into most of my diet, it seems like a bit of a shame to eat it for dessert. Any thoughts on this?

So tasty! But so artificial! What to do!

As I go, I'll leave you with a picture of Martha (who just turned two!). The poor pup has been trying to climb into my lap for the past half hour and has been asking me to hurry up with the update so she can settle in. She says hi. :)

Physical Therapy Round I!

2009-11-09T20:33:00.002-06:00

Fantastic! Wonderful! Awesome!

What are: words that describe my first physical therapy session?

:)

I'm really pleasantly surprised at how well that session went. I love the office and the people who work there are so nice and helpful. I was seen right away and the therapist I was working with got a pretty detailed history of the injury and then proceeded to examine me. She looked at my feet, how I walk (limp?), checked strength on both legs.... plus, she said I had very good feet for running! Something on me is natural for running! Her assessment showed that my knees curve a bit inwards, my glutes are a bit weak and the muscles on the insides on my knees aren't responding as quickly as the outside ones... that's my summary in very non-medical terms of course. So she worked on the IT bands on both legs which was about 25% nice massage and 75% ouch pain, but I was shocked when I stood up to walk. My knee was still twinging, but I could walk on it. Amazing. I'm a convert. Finally, she put the e-stim pad thingys on my left leg with some ice and showed me my "homework" exercises. I'm heading back in tomorrow and Thursday!

I'm so excited. She said it will probably be about 2 weeks off of running and then from there we'll start with light runs and she'll watch my stride and see what is causing the injury. She already had a bunch of ideas from inserts to taping my feet to more exercises. I'm so happy to find something that I think is going to work for me. I've still got a whole load of work to do before I can really train again, but that's ok. We're on the right road at least. The idea of running pain free is amazing. I hope I get there. :)

For dinner, I just warmed up some left over frittata and made butternut squash. Delicious for watching House. Now it's time to get some reading done... and do my exercises again!

Race Report of Kneee Disaster

2009-11-09T10:17:00.007-06:00

Well, I've been putting off doing this race report because the race did not go nearly as well as I'd hoped... however, I'm sitting in class, enjoy some nice oatmeal with banana and almond butter, so now is as good a time as any I suppose!

I'll start with Friday. I dropped Martha off in the morning to stay with a puppy friend and headed out to Clarksville to pick up my race packet. The "race expo" definitely left much to be desired but it was cute. This year was also the inaugural Clarksville race so there were expected kinks to be worked out for next year. I also checked into our hotel and instead of doing work for a bit there, I just napped in the patch of sun on the bed... ah....

After a bit, I picked my mom up at the Nashville airport. Hurray! I was so happy that she flew in to run with me. We had a pretty good dinner at Cafe Nonna in Nashville, but I was a little disappointed with the lasagna. Not nearly as many tasty fall veggies as I had hoped. We drove back to Clarksville and after some ice cream, called it a night in preparation for the morning race.

We were up and fed and at the starting line by 7:45am the next morning, and the race began at 8. The course and weather were both perfect! The course winds its way by some wineries and farm houses and had a good mix of flat stretches and good hills. It was about 60 degrees when we started and I was actually kinda hot as it warmed up. All in all though, perfect conditions. Plus, the run felt great. My legs felt relaxed, the pace was nice, and my heartrate was comfortable. At about mile 2, my left IT band started twinging, but not too bad. However, by mile 6 it was really starting to hurt. We stopped to walk for about a half mile, hopping that it would give my knee enough of a rest to come back. Between mile 6.5 and 7.5, it hurt but I figured that i could run through it. Only another 6 miles to go at that point! However, between 7.5 and 7.9, it went from uncomfortable to unbearable. We were going around a curve and within 10 steps, I couldn't put any weight on it. With some tears (I'd say half from frustration and half from pain), we got a ride from a really rude cop to the finish line, where the EMTs had to check me out.

Beginning of the race! You can see how beautiful the weather was. :)

Once they determined that I wasn't going to die on the spot and I signed a refusal of treatment form, my mom got the car and picked me up, and off we drove. I didn't want to stick around for the festivities and medal stuff because it would just add to the depressing situation.

After a few days of contemplation, I know that it was the right call to stop and that I probably ran through it for too long in that I still can't really walk on my left leg. I think I kept going because I didn't want to stop and give up and then think back that I hadn't pushed hard enough. I think the lesson is to listen to your body and when it says no, it means no. Also not to take two weeks off with a race coming up!!

So for the future! I'm going to physical therapy today and we'll see how it looks. Hopefully in a few months, I can start really training again and maybe the DPHM is still a possibility. Rehab it and try again! I'm more determined than ever now to finish it because having an unfinished half hanging over my head is going to irk me until I finish one. I hope I can come back stronger and quicker. I also hope that my knee feels well enough for yoga tomorrow!!! I have it in a brace now because it helps keep it stable as I drag myself around. I'm a tad worried that I'm going to throw my right hip out with the awkward way I'm walking but hopefully we'll talk about that at PT today. It felt a whole lot better this morning after icing it lots and elevating yesterday, but it's pretty uncomfortable in class with the angle of the chair and all the stairs I have to hop up to get to my seat. Last class of the day at least! Hopefully someone can give Martha a long walk for me today too... poor puppy.

Here's to hoping that PT goes well today and that I'll have some good news in a few hours!

Frittata Success

2009-11-04T13:19:00.005-06:00

My run yesterday was a tad miserable. I got about 2 miles in on the treadmill and the left knee was starting to twinge and by the 2 1/2 mile point, it was downright hurting so I stopped. I'm glad that I got a little bit in but I'd feel better about it if I could've gotten through the whole thing pain free. Right now I'm just focusing on getting the knee swelling down and making it through Saturday in one piece. My mom suggested that I just do the 5k instead of the full half, but I want to try. Hopefully my knees will play along. I wish I had fit more runs in the past two weeks. Sigh. Things to do next time around.

Yoga was pretty theraputic though and felt great. My teacher did lots of corrections on me and it felt great on my knees and back. Plus, I really am starting to get the hang of headstand!! I still have my legs bent but I can hold that for about five breaths. I wish I had more room in my apartment to practice on. Now that I'm not totally relient on the wall maybe I can try the living room? There isn't a whole ton of free floor space! I'm looking forward to Thursday and told her that I might need to opt out of a few warriors so I don't exhaust my legs for this weekend!

Last night, I opted out of going to Zumi because I am both trying to save some money and get more veggies into my diet. Solution: I made this awesome frittata from the Clean Eating website!! I've been considering subscribing to the magazine, mostly for the recipes, and now I think that I definitely will. I found the recipe on their main website, under Menus&Recipes (I can't seem to get a direct link to the recipe), and it was delicious with potatoes, arugula, and cherry tomatoes. I subbed in red potatoes because I like how creamy they are and added onion.

Easy Deliciousness

So amazing. I planned on eating half of it, but could only manage to eat about a third so now I have lunch for today and tomorrow! I'm going to roast some butternut squash to accompany it, if I have the time. I have another class this evening and a presentation to work on for the next couple of hours so I don't know how much time I have to devote to cooking. Unfortunately.

However, when I get home tonight, I'm going to try my hand at this Curried Vegetable Stew, but I think I'll just have a nice chunk of sourdough bread instead of the couscous. Hopefully it goes well! Goodness, what would I do without the internet and its recipe search functions.

Swine flu avoidance at school

2009-11-03T11:46:00.007-06:00

So the knees are feeling a bit better today! Hurray! I bought another IT band strap for my left knee yesterday and I'm going to try a 3 mile jog or so this afternoon to see how it goes. I'm hoping it goes well ... or else. I know that the straps are just a temporary fix, but after this weekend, I can work to get to the root of the problem. Eeks, I also have lots of work to do and errands to run as well. Yikes. I can't believe it is already November!

Plus, school right now basically sounds like a swine flu infirmary. On all sides of me, people are coughing and sneezing and looking downright feverish. When I had the swine this summer, I was out of work for almost an entire week so these people must really be suffering trying to get here for class. On the other hand, I am working so hard this semester not to get sick so being surrounded by all this illness really stresses me out. I had bronchitis during both sets of finals last year and got pneumonia this summer. My poor lungs just can't take another round! I'm doing all I can with eating well, exercising, sleeping enough, and taking lots of Airborne. Hopefully I'll make it through the semester unscathed as I definitely do not have time to get sick again. Although I should be immune to swine flu now, I still fear the seasonal flu... and any cold really, as it always goes straight to my lungs.

On a happier note, tonight I have yoga, hopefully after a successful run! I'm working on my schedule for next semester and as of right now, it looks like I'm going to have loooong Tuesdays, with class intermittently from 8am to 5:50pm. Sigh. I was trying to avoid that but the schedule of offered classes for next semester is pretty terrible.

OK, I'm off to get some more reading done and have a snack, of course. Skim cappuccino and cashew cookie lara bar it is! However, before I run off, I have a bone to pick with Starbucks...

Really!? It's the beginning of November! I love the holidays as much as the next person, but this is getting ridiculous. I am officially boycotting all things holly jolly and jingle bell-y until post-Thanksgiving. Call me Scrooge but this is starting to become absurd.

IT Band strikes again. and again.

2009-11-02T10:13:00.003-06:00

Well, my running freakout was certainly justified. Unfortunately. However, I did complete my first official 5K on Saturday!! It was just a fun experience in general to get a number and line up and run with lots of people you don't know. Plus, there were some fabulous costumes which provided on course entertainment. :)

Awkward pre-race, sun-in-my-eyes picture.
At least it proves I was there!

Blurry action shot

I'm not sure what my official time is, but the clock said 33:10 when I finished. I'll update when I find out the official time. (UPDATE: Apparently the official time was 33:19... Don't know how that happened but maybe I saw the clock wrong.) My knees were in a world of pain though, and not just the right one. By mile 2 they were both hurting, but it was really the left one that was killer for the duration. It feels like it's the IT band on that side too. Sigh. I think it was caused by a combination of things, mostly that I hadn't run in a while and the entire course was pretty much uphill. They were pretty swollen on Saturday night and when I woke up on Sunday, my left knee was so swollen I couldn't bend it all the way. I iced them on both Saturday night and Sunday morning, but I'm not sure how much it helped. Any kind of motion that involved pivoting was super painful. I cleaned the apartment last night and just vacuuming was pretty painful.

Of course, the swollen knees prevented me from my long run yesterday and now that the half is only 5 days away, I think I just need to focus on getting my knees back to normal and will run it without doing a last long run. I'm definitely looking forward to the race, but I'll be happy when it's done and I can go to a doctor to get my knees checked out again. I think I may pick up an IT band strap for my left knee as well, since the right one seems to give my knee some relief and that knee recovered much quicker.

For some reason, if I have a long run scheduled and I can't fit it in, I just skip it instead of doing a shorter one in its place. With finals coming up, I definitely won't have time for long runs (long being 9+ miles) but I'm really hoping to squeeze in 3 or so 3-5 mile runs a week, focusing on speed. Then when finals end, I can start working on distance again, hopefully to do the DPHM. :)

Project done and running freakout

2009-10-30T00:50:00.006-05:00

Soul-sucking, life-killing project has been submitted! Hip hip hurray!
And the Yankees won tonight to tie up the series! Hip hip Jorge!

Goodness am I glad to be done with that project. Well, in all truth, only the writing portion is done as we still need to present next week. Also, I have to physically turn it in tomorrow morning as it was just sent to the printer to be bound. However, as it is no longer able to be edited, in essence, I think it is done.

Tonight, I was able to beg off a few hours from my partner (who was fabulous by the by) and steal off to yoga for an hour tonight. It was so nice to be back moving, but I could really feel my inactivity from the past week. Plus, it was a crazy challenging class! We must have held chaturangas for 5 breaths at a time, 8 or 9 times. I was suffering by the end of those. Plus, my body was really super tight, probably due to stress.

Usually, I find Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated twists) to be super comfortable and easy to bind, however, I was having a lot of trouble getting into it. So, instead of being an intelligent yogini and taking it easy, I shoved by shoulder down and pulled my left shoulder. I suppose it's not really the shoulder, rather the muscle under my left armpit towards the back? Anyway, it hurt. I tried to rotate my shoulder a bit to loosen it up, but it was hurting even to extend my left arm all the way out so I was down for the count. I was especially sad because they spent the rest of the class working on backbends and walkovers, which I loooove. Anything involving a bendy back. :) I wish I could say lesson learned but we'll see. I tend to be rather injury prone and it's usually from pushing myself... or walking into walls. I don't think it's bad though and will probably be all better tomorrow.

Anyway, tomorrow is a "no school work" day for me as I am celebrating the end of this project! I'm looking forward to a nice pedicure, some sushi, maybe checking out the new Lululemon showroom. Fun fun fun! I also need to pick up my 5K registration. Oops. I haven't really run in.... (checking blog for training records).... OH MY GOSHNESS NINE DAYS! And my last long run was TWO WEEKS AGO!?! Crap crap crap. Well, 5K Saturday and I'll do a long one on Sunday and have a short taper until the half on next Saturday. This project could not have come at a worse time and I need to learn how to fit runs in when I'm busy. I hope this doesn't really screw me over come next week as it would suck if I lost all my endurance after all that work. Sigh. Alright. Positive thoughts and energy to my muscles.

Plus it's my five year anniversary on Saturday! "Anniversary of what?" you ask?

I shall tell you tomorrow. :) Good night!

Another article to tide you over while I slave away

2009-10-28T00:45:00.003-05:00

No time to run and had to skip yoga today. Awful. Therefore, also no time to post. To keep you entertained, check out this additional New York Times article on human physiology and running.

The Human Body is Built for Distance

(I'm assuming that the New York Times is posting so many interesting running articles in preparation for the upcoming New York City Marathon this weekend. Keep 'em coming!)

I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to hop on the barefoot running train, but once I get through this academic crunch period, I'd love to read Born to Run. (Realistically, I won't have time until the end of December but oh well. I'll squeeze it in. Plus, it helps me me one of my goals set at the left!!)

Sigh. Back to work. Barf.

Interesting NYT article

2009-10-25T15:58:00.004-05:00

Interesting New York Times article about slow runners. I go back and forth between being offended and agreeing with them.

Plodders Have a Place, but Is It in a Marathon?

Thoughts?

Wanted: Time for a run!

2009-10-25T15:29:00.004-05:00

AHHHH! All I want to do is go for a run! It's so beautiful outside! 60's. Crisp air but clear blue sky. Crunchy leaves. Air smells smokey. UGH school UGH. I need to get this done.

I've always been a procrastinator. In high school, I got away with everything. Writing a paper in the class before it's due? Check. In college, I'd cram for exams the night before, sometime day of. Fine. However, it's so much hader to do now. I've gotten a bit better, but not really. I've always been jealous of the people who can sit down at a computer and write a paper in 3 hours... several days before it's due! The very few times that I've managed to do this, I notice how much less stressful it is and how I actually enjoy the process. Again, I think it comes down to mental stamina. Maybe doing school work can help my running by teaching me concentration? I truly don't know how I've made it this far academically without learning how to prioritize work.

While taking a break (read: avoiding writing like the plague) I found another race to do! :) The New Paltz Turkey Trot. I called my mom and told her about it, and she said that she'd been thinking about it today too actually! Weird cross country ESP that we have. It's on the morning of Thanksgiving, so the whole family will be in NY. I know at least 4 of us would want to run it and maybe others would want to walk! Nice way to start off a holiday which involves stuffing yourself chock full of food for hours.

Also, I heard from a good friend of mine out in Nevada who apparently reads my blog frequently. Just wanted to tell her that as soon as we get her back to her good and healthy self, I will run her first 5K with her. :) :) :) Now, I just have to do MY first one next Saturday!
And sometime between now and then, I have to do my 12 mile run...

GAHHHHHH! Ok. Back to work.

In a rush!

2009-10-23T00:57:00.002-05:00

Busy busy busy! Please pardon the quick updates for the next few weeks. I have a giant project due next Friday. Honestly, I probably spend more time thinking about how much work I have to do and finding ways to put it off instead of actually doing it. As is, unfortunately, the norm for me. Anyway, so Tuesday as usual was yoga. Lots of quad work, for sure. I was actually thinking that I may either take the Thursday before the half-marathon off of yoga or ask her to not do so many warriors. I can't tire those muscles out!!

On to Wednesday which was supposed to be my short run of about 4 miles. However, because of my weird Wednesday schedule, I had to do it inside again so I got about a mile and a half into it and gave up. I'm surprised how running on a treadmill makes me so aggravated. It's all mental I realize and I really need to work on just calming my mind down. Once I start thinking that I hate what I'm doing, it's usually less than 5 minutes before I hop off and walk back home. I need some more mental stamina stamina stamina...

Thursday was yoga again. I'm surprised because at this class, there were more men than women again. This makes me happy because so many people think yoga is only for girls, but it's for everyone. :) The highlight of the class for me was definitely that I held my handstand (without the wall) for a few seconds for the first time. I wasn't expecting it at all either, which is actually probably why I did it. I wish I had some place to practice more. I don't have a lot of open wall space in my apartment and the carpet makes it hard. I wonder if some studios have open time?

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get my 12 mile run out of the way. I had wanted to do it today but it was in the 70s and tomorrow will be in the low 50s which is much more comfortable. I'm also thinking that I may just do the full 13.1 miles just for my mental piece of mind.

Ok, must sleep and do work. Hope to have more time to do a real update later.

Weekend update!

2009-10-19T22:44:00.006-05:00

What a long but lovely weekend!! It was such a short and busy whirlwind trip so I didn't get to see everyone that I had hoped to in the city, but luckily I'll be home for a week before Thanksgiving so I can catch up then. Also, I didn't bring my computer with me and tried to update from my phone once, but it ended up being too difficult of a process. Here is the quick rundown of all my my training from the past couple days!

Thursday was yoga, but with a different teacher for the day. Definitely challenging but I was surprised with myself in that I finally got the hang of one-legged chaturangas. Kind of. I think I sink into my shoulders a bit too much so I'm still working on pushing out of them.

I had an early morning on Friday to make it to the airport for my flight. Although I'm usually late for many things, I'm never ever late to the airport. It makes me too crazy. However, it usually means I end up sitting around for a loooong time especially because my flights are often delayed, which of course happened last Friday. Luckily I made it to NY at last and my mama picked me up and we headed upstate where I got to meet the new puppy! He is so sweet and I can't wait for Thanksgiving when all three Havanese pups get to play together. We'll have our own mini-herd of Havanese puppies wreaking havoc all over the house, with my Martha probably being the fearless ring leader.

Even though it was freeeeezing outside at aroun 40 degrees, my mom and I did a 7 mile trail run on the Walden Rail Trail. What a gorgeous place to run! I also got to test out some of my cold weather running gear and I warmed up pretty nicely. I think I need gloves though as my thumbs were pretty cold for most of it.

I was surprised how nice and comfortable it was to run with her. We were aiming for an 11min/mile pace, but hit under every mile. I think running with someone forces me to push my pace and then she pushes her and back and forth. When I upload my Garmin data later tonight, I'll put up the splits but it ended up being 7 miles in 1:16:05. Awesome. I really liked the Luna energy chews. I still find that around mile 5 or 6 I start to fade but hopefully munching on those will help me get some much needed energy to my muscles! I didn't feel too shabby the next day either, and haven't yet resorted to an ice bath!

Update for mile splits!:
Mile 1: 9:58
Mile 2: 10:21
Mile 3: 10:47
Mile 4: 11:15
Mile 5: 11:17
Mile 6: 10:56
Mile 7: 11:30
So I guess we didn't hit under 11 minutes every mile. Oh well. :)

On Saturday, I made it to the Lululemon store on the Upper East Side and it was love at first sight. I just wandered around for a bit picking stuff up and adding it to my pile. In the end, here are a few of the things I got: Swift tank, yoga towel, headbands, water bottle, and Groove pants for my mom. They even hemmed them for her in the store and are shipping them upstate to her. So nice. My bank account is going to be in so much trouble when the Nashville store opens up. Plus, my favorite yoga teacher, Gillian, is teaching the first community yoga class there on the opening day! Life is so good. :)

Back to this weekend, Sunday I did some speed work in the hotel gym (ick, treadmill). It was 40 degrees and rainy in the middle of nowhere Jersey so I didn't want to run outside. I planned to do a 2 mile speed workout, then stretch and do abs, then repeat the 2 mile speed workout again. I did the first set and it was SO hot in there. There was no air movement and the air between me and the treadmill screen was just hot and dead. So I did my stretching and some quick mini yoga, and hopped back on the treadmill. A half mile in, I paled and got cold and clammy so I hopped off and called it the end. I've never passed out, but I've come awful close in the gym a few times when it's too hot or I haven't eaten recently so I try to play it safe. Plus, there was all that wedding dancing later on at night. The wedding was beautiful and lots of fun, as expected!!

Finally, this morning, I took a flight back to Nashville. It was super early and my knees kept cramping on the flight so I was exhausted and cranky for most of the day. Instead of doing my scheduled run, I went to a yoga class which was a lovely way to start the week and loosen me up from a weekend of flying and running. Lots and lots of lunges and warriors so it was definitely a class for quad strengthening!

Whew. So that's the quick rundown. I have more yoga tomorrow night and then a run on Wednesday. Busy busy busy. I also registered for the Nashville Halloween 5k! Now I need to think of a running-friendly costume. I think fairy wings are probably aerodynamic. :) I also realized that this is my first official 5k and I'm running it exactly a week before my first half marathon. I probably should've spaced those a little better... oops. :)

Speed sets and yoga

2009-10-15T10:50:00.004-05:00

Wednesdays are always hard to fit in a real run. I have class starting at 9:30am and don't wrap until about 6pm and my breaks in between classes are not quite long enough to run in. Therefore, when I finally got home last night at 7pm, the idea of going for a 5 mile run sounded pretty attrocious. Instead: speed sets! They aren't too time consuming but are really good for leg strengthening. It's basically a minute and a half at jogging pace (5.2) and then a minute and a half at a run (5.9). Then back to 5.2 for a minute and a half, then up to 6.0 for a minute and a half. It keeps going back and forth from jog to run and the run goes up .1 in speed every set, for seven sets, which ends up being 2 miles. I find that it goes pretty quick because you spend so much time concentrating on the time and changing speeds that it's over before you know it. Definitely a good way to squeeze in a good workout in 21 minutes when I don't feel like doing anything at all.

At least my legs felt better on this run. Finally recovered, just in time for my trip back to New York tomorrow!! Unfortunately, the weather there is pretty indicative of the end of the world. I bring bad weather with me, wherever I go. Hurricanes, snow storms, rainy summers. I apologize. Tomorrow, my mom and I have planned to go on a 11 mile run together, however the weather may dampen that a bit. It's supposed to be about 40 degrees and rainy so it may turn into just a 5 or 6 mile run. Apparently there is a 5.8 mile trail loop that she runs a lot so we'll test that out. Hopefully it's not too terrible outside! I plan on layering!!

Tonight I have my yoga class but it is a different teacher for the evening, so that should be an interesting change! I love my teacher, but I suppose that it's a good thing to change it up a bit. In fact, if I can find an early morning yoga class in NYC on Saturday morning, maybe I'll try to get out to that. I already have tons and tons of stuff that I have to bring with me but pair of Lululemon crops and a tank doesn't take up too much room! (Oh my, and I get to go to the Lululemon store in NYC and they are opening a store in Nashville on October 30th. So excited!) There are so many wonderful studios in Manhattan. I'll start searching tonight! Hopefully my flight will be on time tomorrow because I have so much to do and see and eat.

Ice baths?

2009-10-14T00:01:00.004-05:00

Today my legs still felt pretty sluggish and I was so frustrated in yoga. Although I felt pretty alright after my run Sunday, I'm just not recovering well from it.

Which led me to, of course, do a handy internet search. The suggestion that kept coming up for recovery from 8+ mile runs was.... ice baths. I find that runnersworld.com usually has great articles and advice, so I'm a little dismayed that they also support this tactic (see this article!). I'm starting to like running more and I'm really pleased with my progress, but I hate, despise, loath being cold. My car's seat heaters are always on, I have about 4 or 5 throw blankets in a one bedroom apartment, and my winter heating bill is embarrassingly atrocious. Therefore, the idea of lowering myself into a bath with ice sounds appalling. However, it seems like there is a whole lot of support behind it and marathoners and ultra-marathoners swear by it. (And then there is little ol' me, huffing and puffing behind.)

Plus, the science of it makes sense. When you run, the blood vessels in your legs open up to deliver extra oxygen to your muscles. By cooling them, you are helping to restrict the vessels which keeps blood from pooling in your legs and helps in the healing process. (Can I tell you though, just the idea of blood pooling anywhere, even in my legs, is enough to make me squeamish... Ick)

Have any of you actually done this ice bath madness? Did it result in hypothermia? What kinda of really really exciting reading material did you have to take your mind off of the numbing of your extremities? Sigh. I'd like to think that I'm willing to do anything, within reason, to help my running process along, but I wonder if this is outside my boundaries of reason. Burr.

Yoga was shockingly unenjoyable today. I think much of it was because my legs were so tight and my body felt crappy. We also were working on peacock pose, which involves resting on your chin a little bit in order to get your balance to go totally up. I can't put any weight on my chin since I broke my jaw a few years back (more on that soon, I'm sure) so I found it exceedingly frustrating.

Peacock Pose in Yoga Journal

Oh well. There will always be hard days. I suppose that getting through hard classes and difficult days with grace is always a bigger accomplishment, but that didn't stop me from cursing under my breath. At least, I got to gorge myself on sashimi afterward!!

Sigh. Onward and upward, I hope.

Recovery Run as Torture

2009-10-12T21:57:00.005-05:00

Since I felt so good after my run yesterday and so good this morning, I figured that my recovery run would be a super pleasant jaunt around the block. You know, just logging a few miles to loosen up some tight muscles.

Oh how wrong I was.

I pretty much felt like I was slogging through quicksand. I did 2 miles in about 23 minutes and then walked a really slow 1/2 mile. Sweet goodness, I was not expecting that kind of pain and sluggishness. At least I got out there and moved around a bit, but this felt like I was picking up right where I started yesterday at the end of 10 miles. However.... I ran 10 miles in under 2 hours yesterday and I'm still riding that high. Plus, my knee still feels great even though I forgot the strap today (oops). But golly, what a difference it makes when I'm well rested. I barely have enough left in me to update my blog.

All energy reserves have been depleted so I must eat some ice cream and get some sleep to rebuild. A vacation would be nice too. Something like... this.

Ah... Could you pass me a Corona and a couple teenage vampire love stories please? Thanks.

10 miles - Accomplished!

2009-10-11T21:15:00.007-05:00

Holy amazing run! I did my 10 miles this afternoon in 1:50:32. Considering that I ran 8 miles last week in 1:47:28, this is a pretty incredible time for me. My 5K split was 31:38. Really pretty amazing! I think the thing that made the most difference is that IT band strap that I got last week. Honestly, I didn't have any side knee pain during or after the run. Both knees are still a little bit sore, but more the general soreness that comes from pounding on the pavement for two hours! I'm ecstatic. I actually got the chance to push my muscles without worrying about what it would do to my joints.

I'm also glad that I waited until today to do the run. On Friday, I wasn't really feeling it and I felt so rested today. I also didn't have my watch on Friday and it helps a lot for me to know my pace etc. Speaking of pace, my mile splits! (Goodness I love this watch)
1: 10:00
2: 10:06
3: 10:32
4: 10:47
5: 10:59
6: 11:02
7: 10:55
8: 11:23
9: 12:56
10: 11:42

I pretty much had no energy after mile 7. I'm going to try out a couple of things to munch on as I go to see what works for me. My mom tried Luna Sports Energy Chews today on her long run and really liked them so I think that I'll pick up some of these to try out this week.
I think it's time to invest in that fuel belt too as I'd like to have more water and Gatorade on me as I run. My arms also got tired holding the full bottles in the beginning!

I walked a minute after every mile and I think it helped save some of the energy in my legs. I also walked 1/2 mile of mile 9 because I was so exhausted but I pulled it out for the last one. Not bad, not bad at all, in my opinion!!

My muscle pain is also definitely not as severe post-run this week. I downed a banana and some Muscle Milk Light following the run as I was starving but I still felt a little nauseous about an hour or so later. I'm not a huge Muscle Milk fan as I think it tastes like chocolate chalk, but it's a quick way get some nutrients and a lot of protein. After dinner, I felt a little bit better though. Dinner was pretty simple but so delicious. I just mixed a cup of chickpeas, half a chopped tomato, half a chopped cucumber, some red onion, and balsamic vinegar and then devoured. I also had a baked sweet potato with some Greek yogurt mixed in.

Following dinner, and with a much calmer stomach, a friend and I tried out Sweet CeCe's frozen yogurt here in Nashville. I was pretty pleasantly surprised! I had stepped in before when I was in the area and was disappointed because it's self-serve and only one or two of the flavors were listed as low-fat. However, I found out later that all of the flavors are fat-free, unless it says low-fat. Interesting. They need to explain that more clearly at the store because I was ready to write it off pretty quickly!

I tried the pumpkin yogurt (fat-free!). It was very good and tasted like fall to me with pumpkin and cinnamon flavors. It was really sweet though so I'm not too sure of what the sugar content would be. Sweet CeCe's website lists the nutritional info for a bunch of the flavors, but pumpkin didn't make the list. Cookies n' Cream however had 110 calories, no fat, and 17g sugar in a 1/2 cup. The self serve cups are giant and the yogurt comes out really fast though so it was even difficult for me to regulate portions. I added some golden graham cereal and a little crushed malt balls. Final verdict: It was a tasty treat, but probably not one that I will be having all the time. Definitely worth trying out though if you are in Nashville!

Thwarted by the weather

2009-10-09T21:49:00.007-05:00

Today was supposed to be my 10 mile run. I didn't get up as early as I would have like but I got dressed and drove to the park. On my drive down, I heard the warning signal on the radio that there were tornado watches and hail warnings. I made it a mile into the run when I decided that the sky looked way too ominous and that I would try again tomorrow. The sky opened up about 30 seconds later so I think that I made a good call. :) I will run through rain but I will not run through hail and high winds. I had a bit of a bad experience with the movie Twister when I was younger, so I have a tiny (read: huge) fear of those ravenous wind tunnels. During the spring in Nashville, the tornado sirens go off almost every afternoon and I usually spend the afternoon hours of 3pm - 6pm terrified. I'm certainly not up for running in it. Plus, I had forgotten my watch at home so I felt totally off kilter without it.

Yoga last night was crazy challenging. However, I suppose that I write that about every Thursday class but it's very true. I loved it though. I think I do need to find a new mat though! Mine becomes way too slippery when I sweat and it's caused me to fall on my face several times. This past class, I was in side crow and my right hand slide out from under me and thump, I was on the ground. Takes all the pride and fun out of doing a really difficult asana! My shoulders are a bit tight this morning but I'm definitely not hurting as bad this time around. My teacher is also a dancer and I like how graceful she makes everything look. All of her asanas have a really amazing flow to them and it is certainly something to look up to and try to emulate. I'm one of the world's most ungraceful beings, but it's still fun to try!

On a rare non-training note, today I bought a couple of pumpkin ales to test out. First up:

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale

Pretty tasty, smooth, mellow. I can't say that I taste all that much pumpkin in it and it's not as sweet as pumpkin beers can sometimes be. Definitely a delicious beer to just sip on while I did stuff around the apartment, but it's a little steep on calories at around 216. I might buy it again, but I'm going to wait to see what I think about the others. I only have 2 more types to try right now but may be willing to open up my lateral taste test to some more options!!

Off to walk the puppy and hopefully get to bed early so I can try a new yoga class tomorrow. Still working on my getting up early goal but at least I'm going to bed earlier!

Update:
How have I not mentioned the Yankees yet? After tonight's game, I'm ready to propose to Teixiera. I love that team, even if they try to kill me by being down in the 9th. Just saying.

Ouch

2009-10-07T17:14:00.003-05:00

So, the morning run did not go as I’d hoped. Even though I was in bed by 11:30pm, I flipped and flopped in bed for another 3 hours so I decided to put it off to catch a few more hours. Sigh. I think that when I got into bed, I immediately started to worry about not being able to fall asleep in time plus worrying about a thousand other things. Dear brain, please shut down at 11pm. Thanks.

When I woke up and hopped out of bed this morning, I was shocked. Muscles I didn’t even know I have hurt! My butt, my thighs, inner shoulders, the outsides of my feet, even the muscles in between my ribs hurt. Granted, nothing is actually in pain, it’s just sore and achy, especially in the morning when I’m dragging myself out of bed. It’s probably a good thing because it means I’m working hard enough to be making myself stronger but yeesh, could I use a massage. I think I’m also a little dehydrated so hopefully my water guzzling will help. Plus, it’s my blog so please excuse me while I whine just a little bit!

Today is a 4 miler, but I may only be able to squeeze in about 3 because I have a softball game later tonight. I’ll try to sprint around the bases to make up for it. Theeeeeeen I have yoga tomorrow, 10 miles on Friday, 4 miles on Saturday, and maybe yoga too on Saturday. Sunday is finally a day off to rest. Eek. I’m thinking of doing my long run tomorrow and bumping the workouts up a bit so I will have more time to recover this weekend. Somehow in there, I also need to squeeze in a boat load of school work. I have a giant project due at the end of the month and am also going to be out of town next weekend (yay!!). I could probably learn to be more productive on the weekends for sure.

OK, so I have work to do, things to be read, and notes to be taken.

P.S. For breakfast tomorrow, I am meeting a friend for buttermilk pancakes and I'm already pretty darn excited. Plus side of all this exercise: stack of carbs and syrup. Mmmm.

Yoga for the Hamstrings and to bother Julia

2009-10-06T22:27:00.008-05:00

Some crazy person said they wanted to work on hamstrings and quads today in class... OW. Those muscle groups are so tight on me now! Looking at it objectively, it was a very necessary class because I really needed to stretch them out because of all the running but as I was doing it, I was not having very yogic thoughts. Asanas that are usually pretty standard for me were really hurting. However, I do at least see a whole lot of improvement in the length of my hamstrings. Pre-yoga, my hands would come to about my knees when I'd try to touch my toes. Now I can now get my hands flat on the floor. I'd love to be able to do a full hanumanasana at some point but right now, I'm pretty happy with where I am. :) Oh yes, and a headstand. For some reason my body is afraid to go upside-down...?

Hanumanasana in Yoga Journal

At least post-yoga I had some delicious salmon sashimi and miso soup. I'm very odd about salmon. I like it raw, i.e. sashimi, and smoked, i.e. lox, but salmon fillets really do not appeal to me at all. Something about the texture and smell... yick. However, Zumi Sushi is really fantastic. I'm so glad that this city finally has a decent sushi joint. So yummy.

This is a super short and boring post but I'm tired and want to go to bed. I'm glad today was a day off from running and I felt a whole lot better this morning after a full night's sleep, but tomorrow it's back to the grind. In theory, I'd really like to run tomorrow morning before class. It's only a 4 miler and to be able to bang it out before my day really starts would be so fabulous. We'll see what I think this idea at 6:40am tomorrow morning though. It's a process but I'll get there. I think.

Looking over this blurb, it's such an optimistic entry. Yay me. :)

Ouch Ouch Ouch

2009-10-05T22:51:00.004-05:00

Ouch. Everything hurts.

Today was a 5 miler and I actually semi-enjoyed (read: didn't completely hate) it. I ran the first 3 miles at about 12:00 each, walked the fourth in about 14:00, and ran the last one in just under 10:00! Even my fast mile is probably pretty slow for most people, for me, it was pretty darn quick.

However even though it went pretty well during the run, my body is really hurting now. My right knee felt kind of alright (more on that in a second) for most of the run, but now it's throbbing. My ankles are sore, my lower back aches, even my calf muscles hurt. I just took a pain killer and I'm looking forward to when it starts to kick in. I'm icing my knee now and will probably ice my ankles in a little bit, just for good measure.

I bought an IT band strap to see if that helps. I'm pretty sure that it's my right IT band that is flaring up and bothering me, and I thought today to search online if they make some kind of support for it. They do! I bought this one and tried it out today. So far, I'm undecided. My knee still hurt at about mile 2, but I think it felt a little better and didn't hurt as sharply as I continued running. It also didn't feel quite as stiff at the end, but then again, I am currently icing it so who knows. I'll hold off on judgment until I try it out a few more times. I'm pretty sure it didn't make anything worse though so I may as well keep at it.

Also, in a move of sheer brilliance, I decided that I'm not going to go to another orthopedist until after this half... mostly because I don't want to be told to lay off the training and not be able to do it. We'll see what kind of smart plan that really is. If I end up on crutches or needing surgery, here is a note to my future self: You friggen idiot.

Alright, off to finish up the icing and head to bed. I'm exhausted and could probably use a full night sleep. Thank goodness for Advil.

Update:
I was looking over the last couple of posts and realized that I ran 8 miles in 1:47 last week and 5 in 1:00 today. That's a difference of and average 13:23 and 12:00 mile splits. Granted, I tend to get slower as the mileage drags on, but I'm pretty proud of pushing myself. With running, I think I have a tendency to stop or slow too soon (when it's not related to pain) so I've been trying to run through being tired or cramps and only walk for knee pain.
Hurray for going from super slow me to slow me in a week.

Running Gear

2009-10-04T16:49:00.011-05:00

4 miles in the rain. Ahh. With a big shock to myself, I didn't hate every single step. Now, this doesn't mean that I loved every second as I sped around the loop but I was able to enjoy a few moments. As I was running in the rain, I was thinking about what a big difference my running gear made. I was always of the mindset that you should get the good gear as you get better and pretty much "earn" it. In some sense, that makes sense. However, on the other hand, for someone like me who really really struggles with the workouts, good quality gear makes my life (and run) just a little bit easier. So, here is a run down of my usual running pieces:

1. Sneakers
I've been a converted Asics fan for quite a bit. They are so light and comfortable. I got a new pair about a month ago and I love them. Introducing my Asics Kayano 15. The best thing about them is that somehow, they stop me from kicking my ankles. I couldn't figure out why, but for years I would kick the inside ankle on my opposite foot every 10 steps or so, so a 5 miles run would leave them pretty raw and bruised. Not a problem anymore!

2. Clothes
I jump around in a lot of brands, but I think my favorite is Under Armour. I didn't realize what a ginormous difference sweat-wicking clothing makes. I was always under the impression that cotten tanks were fine and it was no big deal. For shorter 3 milers, I still don't really care but if it's raining or I'm running a long run, I now really appreciate the difference these make. For example, it was pouring today during my run, and I was only mildly damp at the end. No dripping at all. Today I was wearing my UA long sleeve and Nike running capris. My absolute favorites are the UA Quickstep shorts, too cold for them today though:

3. Watch
For my birthday last year, my mom got me a Garmon Forerunner. It is so technologically advanced that I'm pretty sure I can command satellites with it if I finally got around to reading the whole instruction manual. I probably never will. However! It's very useful for other reasons. First and probably most importantly, calculates distance so I get in the full length of each training run. Second, calculates speed. I find this especially helpful for keeping my walking recovery speed up and my run speed down because I'm really trying to pace myself. I can also use the lap timer to set mile splits, see my heart-rate, calories burned, elevation of course.... amazing thing. With all this data, I should at least be able to fine tune some of my training, right? It's certainly an investment piece but a really amazing tool. My one and only complaint is that the chest strap it comes with is way too big for me. I currently have part of it tied up with a hair tie which give me a nice lump on my back and I'm still always hiking it up. However, my mom just ordered an XS one for me, so that will be fixed soon. Minor complaint and easily fixed.

4. Fuel belt
I don't actually have one of these yet but I want one! I'm thinking of getting the Wachusett Belt for water, Gatorade, and to hold a snack (I start to starve after 7 miles). However, I think the 4 bottle one might be better for longer runs? I really despise holding a water bottle as I run. I suppose I could always refill though... hmm. Things to think about. I'm a pretty thirsty girl. Suggestions?

5. iPhone and headphones
Enough said. How people can run sans music is beyond me. BORED. I was all about Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers on todays jaunt as I will be seeing them (for the 6th time!) tonight.

6. Recovery food!
For the last mile of my run, I usually just think about what kind of recovery food I get to eat. Goal is for high protein and nutrient dense. Today was an apple and my favorite: low-fat chocolate milk. I've been buying cases of it in the little kid lunch box size, in vanilla and strawberry too, so I can have one waiting for me in my car. Mmm. So good and so worth running for. Plus, I don't like regular milk so whenever I can cram it into my diet with lattes, protein shakes, or chocolate is a good thing.
So that's a pretty complete run down of my running gear! Are there any things that you can't workout without? (And of course, don't ever forget the SPF! I had 30 on today... and it was pouring). :)

8 miles! 8 miles!

2009-10-03T00:41:00.005-05:00

I did it! I ran my planned 8 miles at Centennial Park this afternoon in 1:47:24. It was grueling and difficult and at mile 3, I was pretty ready to give up but I didn't. I'm so proud of myself, really. My knee started hurting about at mile 2 so I did a variation of run/walk every quarter mile. When it was really hurting, I'd walk a half, run a quarter, but by the end, it was back to the original plan. I was so exhausted and starving when I finished but at least I finished.

This trail was a great find though since it's much much closer than the one in Brentwood. It's a mile loop, with every quarter marked. Paved, flat, and very pretty. Also helped that today was perfect running weather with 68 degrees, sunshine, and a light breeze.

Trail

View of the Parthenon over the lake/pond

My whole body is pretty achy though. I popped some ibuprofen when I got home but my lower back especially is bothering me. The combination of my yoga class yesterday and the run today really kicked my butt. So, what do I plan to do about it? I'm going to another class tomorrow morning! :) This one is only a level II though so it should loosen me up a bit. I don't want the running to shorten my hamstrings and counteract all the goodness I have been achieving in yoga!

Alright, I'm exhausted but wanted to document my accomplishment today. Certainly not on the pace to break world records, but it was right on for making my under 3 hours goal (on pace for a 2:55, but I was definitely slowing towards the end). I also tried to keep my walking mile time under 15:00/mile in order to keep the pace up, even if I couldn't run all of it.

Good night! Hoping for less sore muscles in the morning!

Good night moon. Hello October.

2009-10-01T16:24:00.004-05:00

Alright! I'm excited to run again! Woo! The weather is so perfect outside that it has renewed my running spirit. The fact that I find it really difficult doesn't mean I should give up as nothing worth doing ever comes easy, no?? Well, it surely does not for me. Plus, I have found the next half that I want to do: The Disney Princess Half Marathon. Imagine the possibilities! A sports tiara! Pink running skirts! A finish line filled with Disney princesses! A giant pile of chocolate chip pancakes with Goofy following the race!! Unfortunately the race starts at 6am, probably to both avoid the heat in Florida and so that they can open the park to the public at a reasonable hour. My goal is to finish the November 7th one in 3 hours, and then I will consider the DPHM. Goals to work towards! Tomorrow is my long run and I'm looking forward to checking out the loop at Centennial Park finally. Hopefully this nice weather will hold out for me (According to the weatherman, it should be perfect around 9am!!).

I'm hoping that my morning run will loosen up my legs a bit. Yoga was insanely difficult tonight and I was almost chaturanga'd to death. I'm always surprised by people who think that yoga is just stretching and chanting Om. Holding those high lunges and up-dogs for several minutes can be excruciating! I definitely need a towel for class though. I was trying to hold onto my ankle in trikonasana and my hand kept sliding off! Funny... but ew. I love the crazy challenging classes the most though. I love feeling exhausted, like I've worked hard and done my best. I've been easing up on the strength training in the gym because yoga is doing a pretty great job kicking my butt on its own. Interestingly, I find the meditation parts to be the most difficult as I can't quite get my mind to sit still yet. It's amazing how hard it is to think of nothing and just... be.

Also, I finally got around to making the acorn squash tonight. I meant to take a picture, but it was at about 10pm that it finally finished cooking so I basically dove into it. It was alright, although not the most special thing that I've ever eaten. It was definitely less food than I was expecting as I ended up also making tomato soup and crackers, and later had some of the roasted cauliflower that I made for tomorrow. I'm actually hungry now again. I guess that means that I better get to sleep.

Good night moon. Hello October. :)

Yoga and Acorn Squash Adventures

2009-09-30T09:56:00.004-05:00

Ah, yoga was as lovely last night as I expected it would be. It's definitely a pretty tough workout for me and I pour sweat (such an attractive, feminine quality, I know) but I really love it. We spent a lot of the class working on back bends which I adore so it was a pretty fun class! I think I finally got the hang of flipping the dog too. Tuesdays classes are more instructive while Thursdays are more flow-y so it's a very nice combination. Hopefully I can add one in on Saturday too this week.

I ran out of healthy food on Sunday or so and never got around to getting to the grocery store so for Sunday and Monday, I kind of just ate crap. (Well, crap for me.) Grilled ham and cheese, grits with butter, chocolate covered pretzels, eh. I was surprised how blah I felt because of it, and rather quickly. Yoga always inspires me to do and eat good things though so I restocked yesterday. I bought an acorn squash, which I've never worked with, and through a quick online search, found this recipe that I think that I will try out tonight. I'd like to roast a head of cauliflower too for the next couple of days. I love cauliflower in eggs... maybe with some potato and spinach and cheese for a frittata? Delicious. This upcoming weekend (which starts for me tomorrow night - no class on Friday!), I'd like to do some cooking for the upcoming week. I love making homemade soups and they are so easy for midweek meal because you can freeze them. Plus, I've been meaning to make some more veggie burgers, but they take forever without a food processor. Maybe I'll just give in and buy a Cuisinart...

I also hope to get a run in today. I have a softball game, but I think that counts more as hanging out than real exercise so hopefully I can squeeze it in. My breaks are annoying on Wednesdays though because they are all about 2 hours long... not quite long enough to get a whole lot done but too long to just be lazy. At least I've been a little bit better on the sleep front. I was asleep by 1am last night and up around 8am... I'd love to be a morning person and I think it just will take some training to go to bed earlier and get up by 6:30am everday. I feel like I waste so much time with my current schedule.

Anyway, the weather is finally gorgeous and is so autumn-y! I guess I should bite my tongue from what I said a few days back! I think I'll go sit outside for a bit before shuffling back to class... mmm...

Can't sleep but at least the sun is back in Nashville!

2009-09-28T01:55:00.008-05:00

Ugh, my sleep schedule is so off. I've been staying up really late recently which unfortunately results in my sleeping later than I should. So tonight, I tried to be in bed by midnight to reset my clock, however, after lying in bed for two hours, I just can't seem to get to sleep and gave up so I could write this. I suppose the other way to do it is to just get up at 7am tomorrow and just spend the day exhausted so I fall asleep earlier. I think that's the way that I have to do it. Darn me and my night owl ways.

Other than my insomnia-like habits, I had a rather nice weekend. I can't say that I was terribly productive though. I got caught up on some of my work at Bongo, but really, I just wanted to sit and absorb some sun (with SPF 50, of course) as it's been weeks since I've seen it. Finally the sun came out in Nashville. It has rained every day for almost 3 weeks straight so everything has just been damp and dank and icky. The weather for the next week looks so lovely though -- 70's and sunshine. However, that probably won't help with my renewed work ethic to get more accomplished. I decided to go back to taking all my notes by hand as I end up with much higher quality notes... it's just a whole lot more boring during the process! Along with that, my goals for the week are to get to bed by midnight/up by 7am and to drink more water. I already failed on the former today so we'll see how the rest goes.

My run on Saturday was eh as I got about 2 miles into it and my knee starting aching again. So I walked another 2, got fed up and went home. Yes, I realize that this is not the most dedicated strategy as I have 13.1 to run in 40 days but I'm just awfully frustrated with it. Now that the sun is back and I've had some time to cool off, I have a bit of a better mindset. I just don't quite understand why I have so much trouble with running. I know quite a few people that can pick up and run distance with just a few weeks training. I'm in pretty great shape right now and every step is a fight at the moment. I look forward to the day when a run sounds like a great idea, but right now I kind of dread it.... that attitude probably doesn't help too much either though. Work in progress, work in progress.

One exciting event from this weekend is that I went to see GirlTalk. I had seen him last year and it was sooo much fun. This time he was alright but the music and mixes were better last year. There was also a bar at last year's event so that probably had something to do with it. This one was was filled to the rafters with neon-spandex clad, drunk freshman girls. Goodness, they were rude and pushy and obnoxious. Plus, they made me feel about 100 years old. Granted, I was home that night by 11:30pm, so maybe I am.

GirlTalk Show

I also went to see (500) Days of Summer. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but it was really great. I'm glad that I got to see it before it leaves theaters because I think that it's one of those movies that is more enjoyable on the big screen. I also don't think I expected it to be so funny. However, parts of it definitely broke my heart at times and wasn't really as romantic comedy-ish as it was billed. Movie love stories always kind of hurt my heart though! I think I'm just a big sappy mush. Parts of it reminded me of High Fidelity, althought that's probably just that I loved both movies. High Fidelity is definitely a top five :) and has my all time favorite movie quote: "It's human chemistry. Some people just feel like home."

Alright, on that scattered note, I should try to sleep again. Have to be up by 7am, no matter what time I actually fall asleep.

Pumpkin EVERYTHING

2009-09-25T00:44:00.007-05:00

Ethiopian food last night was certainly not vegetarian friendly. Oh well, the kitfo was delicious and I'm glad we got to try a new place. Mmm. I can't even begin to explain my love of food. I love to eat it, cook it, smell it, look at pictures of it, read recipes in books and magazines, read about it on blogs.... I associate certain foods with celebration and sadness and family and seasons. I'm very grateful for my somewhat solid metabolism but all this exercise certainly helps too! Now that it's officially fall, I've been wanting to celebrate autumn food with warm, heavier dishes, Unfortunately, it doesn't get crisp here until early November-ish? On days like today, I do miss the northeast and the clear divide between the seasons. In fact, one time that I flew home during the fall, I basically cried during the descent because I was so happy to see the changing leaves on the trees (and unfortunately, I had typed that as dissent at first. ugh.). Here, it's hot April-October and an ambiguous rainy cool for the rest of the year.

As much as I love summer and the beach and the hot hot hot weather, I eagerly anticipate the change over to autumn. Especially after months of being sticky and sweaty in shorts and tanks, I love the comfort and warmth of fall clothing. Cable knits, sweater dresses, riding boots, scarves, leather jackets... delicious. Plus, once I'm all decked out in my northeast best, walking around Manhattan as the breeze gets sharp and leaves are changing just feels like... magic. (Don't worry. I rolled my eyes at myself on that one.) Even more so, I get to go home upstate and it's painfully beautiful there. Have you ever been out for a walk, hopefully with a great dog or friend, late on a fall evening and the cool air burns your face for the first time, your steps crunch, and the air smells faintly of wet leaves and fireplaces? Just the thought of those nights makes me so happy that I'm positively giddy when I actually get to do it. I think I still consider autumn as an opportunity for new beginnings because I associate it with the start of school (and new school supplies! Always a favorite). I usually find myself making changes and decisions and plans.

I also notice that I associate lots of my memories of places and people and things with walking... I think it's the most authentic way to experience a lot of things. Especially when I travel to a new place alone, I will leave my hotel with a map and walking aimlessly through side streets. There is much that isn't in a Fodor's that I've been able to discover just from my serious case of wanderlust. In fact, this summer in Brooklyn, I didn't have all that much to do so I would often wander around by myself for an hour or so and then use my phone to guide my way back. Found some great coffee, met some nice people, bought a cute dress.

Anyway, I ramble. Back to my love of fall foods. I've been craving a pumpkin scone recently, like the ones at Alice's. If I was as good of a baker as I wish I were, I would grab a real pumpkin at Whole Foods (I know they're available already) and make the whole thing from scratch, but I'll probably cheat and use canned crap. Or be really lazy and really cheat and make these: Pumpkin cupcakes. I could settle for my standard Irish soda bread recipe though (and a pot of Barry's) for a lovely Saturday afternoon, if only the darned weather would do as I say! Alas it will not. At least I'll be back in the city exactly three weeks from today. If I don't eat an Ess-a-bagel soon, I may truly expire on the spot.

Goodness, after writing all this, I can't wait to get back to New York for a bit. I never understand how I can love and miss an entire city so much that it's physically painful.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_history/foliage.html

Semi Vegetarian

2009-09-23T17:26:00.003-05:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I haven't been eating all that much meat recently. For a few years now, I have been back and forth on whether or not to become a vegetarian. For the most part, I'm tempted because of environmental concerns (read Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemma) and animal cruelty. I actually am not against the consumption of animal products but I prefer to do so in a eco-conscious manner. For example, I think that small farms that treat their livestock humanely and don't pump them full of hormones are lovely. However, the vast majority of meat in supermarkets and restaurants comes from concentrated animal feeding operations (affectionately known as CAFOs) which saddens me. THerefore, it's really just easier to forego meat if I really want to practice what I preach.

On the other hand, the second I decide that I'm giving up meat for good, all I want is a cheeseburger. And a giant corned beef sandwich. And maybe some flank steak with chimichurri sauce. And a big plate of meat lasagna. So you can seem my dilemma! I suppose that happens with a lot of things in that once it is banned, it is all that I can think about.

Therefore, I've finally come to the semi-vegetarian catagory. Ninety-five percent of the time, I try to avoid meat products but since it's not actually forbidden, it's a much easier policy to follow. There are some comfort foods, like the aforementioned corned beef, that I'm not willing to give up but on a day-to-day basis, I try to be fairly meat free. It's super easy to do most of the time since I cook and prepare the majority of my own food. However, when I go out to eat with friends, I usually don't admit my eating status to fellow diners because it prompts a few undesired responses.

(1.) You're a big pansy for not eating meat.
(2.) Yay for not eating meat! Wait, did you just get bacon?
(3.) Being a vegetarian most of the time doesn't make you a vegetarian.

So really, it's just private choice to not eat a lot of meat that I try to live by but no need to be perfect. (Well, private except between you and me now!) I still eat a fair amount of fish, but now that I think about it, I don't think that I've had meat in 2 or 3 weeks now. However, I'm also going out for Ethiopian food tonight so we'll see how that goes! :) Do you have any self-imposed food choices?

I also need to squeeze in a four mile run today. Because of my schedule today, I need to do it inside on a treadmill. Boo. I feel like a hamster on a treadmill. I do appreciate that it's flat and very convenient at least and I think for my 8 miler on Friday (knee pending of course) that I'll make it out to the Brentwood trail. Even if I have to walk a bit of it, it should be an enjoyable romp. Bug spray is definitely a necessity though!!

Finally, my yoga class yesterday was lovely again!! The teacher is so challenging and teaches lots of poses that I've never done before. Plus, she is really hands on and corrects your alignment which I love. It's the only way I learn, especially since there is no mirror in the room. We also spent a lot of time in trikonasana and half moon pose which are two of my favorites. All in all, a great class. A friend of mine also started it too which was sooo much fun, especially since we got sushi afterward. Actually, I should probably eat before class because I started thinking about food about halfway through! All in all, it was a solid class and I'm looking forward to another yoga class tomorrow. Life is pretty good. :)

Yoga Beginnings

2009-09-22T17:04:00.004-05:00

Yoga class today! I've been looking forward to the class since my last one late last week. Right now, I only have two classes scheduled per week and although I would love to add another, I'm a bit worried about over training with running and yoga and recreational softball. I was pretty much just a lazy slug this summer so this past September has been rather active!

I started taking yoga classes at my undergrad a few years ago and loved it. It was really the perfect way to start to learn because the class was 4 times a week AND I got school credit for it! I'm pretty thankful for those classes because they gave me a pretty nice foundation to work off of. In the past 3 years, I've been on-again off-again with it and usually slack when I start to get really busy. I'm hoping to stick with it this time around though because it makes such an enormous difference in my mind set and relieves a lot of the stress that I've been putting my legs through! My goal for this class is to work on crow pose. I've gotten up into it, but usually just for a few seconds. I'm hoping that I can hold it for a few breaths today. Do you have any poses that you are working on?

I must get going but I will leave you with a picture of my pup, who is the sweetest most gorgeous little doggie in the world.

Meet Martha!

New trail and protein powder

2009-09-22T01:19:00.005-05:00

After my bout of knee problems yesterday, I decided to cut my 5 mile run today by a bit and transfer to flat ground. In fact, I finally tried a new trail! I've been running the 2.1 mile loop by my apartment and it was getting pretty boring. In addition, there are parts with no sidewalk and some serious hills so that was definitely not going to help my knee. Due to some great searching by my mom, I went on a 15 minute drive out of town to try out the Brentwood Breezeway. It was a fantastic find! The loop around is about 6 miles I think, but I only did a portion of it due to time, light, and knee. I do hope to head back there for some of my long runs though. It is a whole lot more visually interesting than my current loop... AND FLAT! (Nashville is a pretty hilly place for those not familiar with the area.) I'm actually not even sure how far I ran as I left my watch at home (amazing how dependent I am on that thing now) but I'd estimate about 3 miles or so. I was pretty careful about my knee and walked whenever it started to fight me.

But really, isn't this trail just gorgeous? I kept taking pictures with my phone, probably to the annoyance of other runners on the trail...

Besides my run out there, I had a pretty low key day. I did manage to pick up a new protein powder. I'm definitely lagging on protein intake (only managed a measly 40 grams today) so I'm trying to squeeze some more in through this method as well as with low fat dairy and beans. First to try is GNC's be-BUFF Vanilla Bean Protein and Fiber Complete Mix. I bought it basically because I liked the new ads... I'm such a sucker for packaging and advertising. Today I had an OK shake with the powder and just water, but I'm hoping that adding a frozen banana will make it more palatable for me. This summer at Gold's Gym, I had an amaaaazing protein shake with some kind of chai tea powder, but I can't seem to replicate the flavor on my own yet. Anyone have suggestions for how to make protein shakes more tasty and fun?

Besides that, my school work is stressing me out a bit more than I'd like it to and I am hoping that I can start getting to bed earlier than my current 1:30am schedule, but we'll see how it goes. I know the work is only going to pile on as we head more into the semester. Speaking of heading into the semester, Happy Fall! I love this season and already made myself oatmeal with pumpkin butter and walnuts for breakfast tomorrow morning. Of course it won't be cool and autumny here for a bit, but I'm all ready to dive into fall foods. Butternut squash soup, apple cider, white bean chili... Mmm. Starved just thinking about it.

Running Pains

2009-09-20T20:43:00.005-05:00

Soooo frustrated with my body today! According to my training schedule, today was supposed to be a seven miler. The weather here has been so rainy recently, so I just decided to try for it in the rain. It was actually very nice and cool but then my right knee decided it wasn't going any further. I got about 4 1/2 miles into it and on one step, my right foot hit the ground and pain shot through the outside of my right knee. This knee has always been a bit of a problem for me and it frustrates me so much! I walked on it a bit and then tried to run again and it hurt to even bend my knee.

While trying to run again, I noticed that I was favoring it and starting to kick my foot out to the right just to clear the pavement so I cut the run short just at about 5 miles. The yogini in me was telling me to listen to my body and to be forgiving of a sore knee, but athlete in me was basically screaming obscenities at it. A bit of an internal Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde argument. I know it's never good to run on something that hurts so sharply, but it just feels like I'm at such a roadblock.

ARG.

I feel like my body has been fighting me through out this training. I've been waiting to enjoy the workouts and the training sessions but so far I dread most of it. I need to find some kind of happy medium so that I don't end up really injuring myself. I guess I'm not quite sure what to do differently. I've been pretty diligent on the strength training and yoga, eating really well, and took extra care to hydrate well today. I've had the knee MRIed just to make sure there isn't anything structurally wrong but this has happened a few times before. I think I may talk to a running coach to see if there is a problem with my stride that is putting stress on my outer knee. Sigh, I'll get through it and even if I have to walk part of this half marathon, I'll cross that finish line!

At least I did have a delicious post run dinner though! I haven't been eating much meat recently (an upcoming post on that) so eggs have been my go-to food. So I had some whole wheat pasta mixed with blanched grape tomatoes and arugula, a little feta, and all topped with a fried egg. Egg onto of any kind of carbohydrate is a favorite comfort food of mine! I took a picture of it but it looks like if I'm going to be uploading food pictures, I need a better camera! It did not look very appetizing on my little low quality camera.

OK, on that note I'm off to play with the pup a bit. With all this awful rainy weather, she's looking a bit forlorn from being stuck inside so much recently.

Hello!

2009-09-19T21:23:00.012-05:00

Hello Interweb!

The first post is always the hardest, or so I'm assuming. Where do I start? Is an introduction in order or am I just to assume that will all come out eventually? And really, who am I actually introducing myself to?

Well new friends, please bear with me as I awkwardly start off.

During my most recent long weekend run, I was thinking about all the silly and inconsequential things that pass through my mind on a daily basis. To stave off running boredom, I figured there has to be at least one person out there in this ginormous world who is interested in my musings. We'll see how true that turns out to be.

So what am I planning to write about? Well, I've lost my mind and am training for my first (last??) half marathon. I'm a terrible runner. Really, no modesty there at all. I've always been really daunted by the activity and that bugs me to no end. So the solution? Grab that running beast by the horns and defeat it! Very very slowly over the course of 13.1 miles. That's the plan at least.

I'm also getting back into my yoga practice. It helps me find some much needed balance and clarity. Plus, all this running has really shortened my hamstrings so that's a nice bonus as well! I just started at a new studio and I already loooove the teacher.

Ok friends, I have loads of work to get done and I can't give it all away on the first post but I'm glad you found me!