32K - Not Quite But Not Bad

Well, I didn't quite make 32K this week.  Hubs and I decided to run on one of local trails as we thought it might be easier on his sciatica and my foot.  My physio had said if I could make it to 15K painfree, that I could continue on so I was crossing my fingers that the pain would stay away.

Off we went...Hubs sprinted off as he was feeling pretty good.  I started off slowly - I wasn't feeling terribly energetic today, but after about 3K my body warmed up and I started trucking along.  I decided to do 10 and 1's today, hoping to give my foot a bit of a break from all the hard pounding and I think it worked to some extent.  I made it to 15K without any pain, but I could feel a bit of niggling in the ball of my foot which is how this whole thing started on my 32K run three weeks ago.  I really wanted to do the scheduled 32K today, but thought better of it and tried for 24K...but finally decided to stop at 22K.  I didn't want to inflame things too much and I was starting to feel it act up, but it was definitely not as painful as last week.  Not sure if it was the running surface or what it was, but I'm happy I was able to get that far without any acute pain.  It's a bit sore now, but I'm able to walk on it.

Poor Hubs though...he got to about 12K and his sciatica really started acting up.  At this point, we're not sure if we're going to change our races - his from the half to the 8K, and me from the full to the half.  We were talking about it and while I don't expect to have some stellar marathon time - I don't want to walk half the race, I want to run this thing.  I want my first marathon to be a good experience, not one where I'm hobbling along for most of it.  I'm going to see how far I can get next week - 28K scheduled - and then I'll decide what race I run...so, I'm still hoping!

Angry Little Asian Girl

Today I remembered why I love to run - stress relief.  The traffic situation has been insane lately due to construction, so what used to be a busy but doable commute is pretty much unbearable.  There's construction happening on one of the main arteries into town, so all the traffic that used to go that route is now being diverted to the main highway into town from up-island.  That's about 12,000 cars apparently...and our little Highway 1 can't handle the extra load, esp. with all the people that are now living out in the Westshore.  Victoria is an incredibly expensive place to live, so lots of people live out in the Westshore as it's much cheaper to buy a house.  When we moved out there six years ago, we could have bought the same 50's bungalow that we already lived in but on a quiet street in Victoria or a brand new three level house in the Westshore.   My rant isn't about the traffic though...it's the fact some people in Victoria do not know how to drive...in particular, the concept of merging.  It ain't that hard people!  I was trying to merge today and no one, NO ONE...would let me in.  I signalled and people actually moved up to tighten the space.  Grrr!

I was all hepped up but thought OK, I'll relax now and proceeded into work.  I made my way into town and was at a red light, but wanted to turn right so I was looking at the traffic to my left for an opportunity to turn.  I looked up at the light and noticed it had just changed green so as I started to move, the guy behind me leeeeaaanns on his horn.  Not just a tap, a full out blast.  As he drives by me, he gives me the finger...and then makes a racist motion at me.  The horn, whatever.  The finger, meh.  The racist taunt?  Oh no,  you didn't.  I'm not proud of this and it wasn't one of my finest moments, but I rolled down the window and let the expletives fly at this guy.   I used every word in the book that I could come up with, and maybe even came up with a few new creative combinations.  You can call me stupid.  You can tell me I'm ugly.  You throw an ethnic slur in my direction?  It's go time, the gloves are off.  I was absolutely seething.  It's been years since I've had something racist happen to me and I don't take lightly to it.  It was odd timing too because I had just told my MIL that I hadn't experienced any racism in years and I felt accepted and no different than anyone else...she currently lives in the U.K. and she gets it all the time unfortunately.  Yes, yes...I should have turned the other cheek and not let it get to me...I know that.  But that kind of ignorance is unacceptable in this day and age and I just couldn't be "the better person" today...sorry. 

So tonight?  I'm getting on that treadmill AND the exercise bike to work off some steam.  Hope I don't burn out the motors!

Are You There, Universe? It's Me, Cindy

Oh yayz!  I am back at the yoga tonight after what feels like an interminable time away and I'm dying dying DYING to get back at 'er.  I had to skip my final class in my last session and then there was a two week break until the Fall session started, so I'm feeling the need for some zen-ness in my life right now.  I'm taking it with two ladies in my hood who haven't done yoga before, so should be fun - I hope they enjoy it and don't curse me under their breath as we get into our poses.  I remember my first class clearly - runners are notoriously stiff so getting into downward dog or pigeon pose was not easy.  Actually getting into the poses isn't too bad, it's extracting yourself out of them that is the hard part! 

Foot is pretty much pain-free right now, except I'm having residual twinging in my inner knee, not sure if it's from IMS. My leg felt kind of funny today...sort of weaker, if you know what I mean.  I'm getting these weird half face headaches too, after I had one of the worst headaches I've had in awhile on Monday.  I'm fallin' apart!  Anyways, I'm going to do a short run on the treadmill Friday and then try the old foot out on Saturday - 15K to start and we'll see how things go. I've been kind of deal-making with myself and the Universe - if I'm a better person, will she smile on me and let me run the marathon? I started to come up with a list of how I could be a better person:

1.  I promise I will finally set up a compost box instead of throwing all my food scraps in the garbage. I always feel soooo guilty about this and keep putting it off.
2.  I promise I will be more patient with people who are idiots. They can't help that they're idiots, so I won't hold it against them.
3. I promise I will nag less at Hubs. This one will be tough. No one mention this to him in case I renege on this one, he doesn't read my blog so he'll be none the wiser. 
4. I promise I will clean up my potty mouth. I keep things clean on this blog, but I have a mouth like a trucker and sprinkle f-bombs liberally at home.
5. Alright...a serious one.  I promise that I will start volunteering. I've been thinking about this for the last two or three years but can't get off my ass (heh....gotta get the swearing in while I can) to do it. I want to do something food-related i.e. soup kitchen or breakfast club, as I hate the thought of anyone going hungry.  Or old people...I have a real soft spot for old people. 

OK...not bad. Those are doable things and things I can definitely work on - even if Mr. Foot doesn't get better. Universe, deal or no deal?

Mr. Right Leg - You Can Do It!

Oooooch.  My right leg is hurting and achy, but it's a good kind of hurting and achy.  I went to see my physio last night, and filled her in on my foot woes.  She wanted to see me run on the treadmill (darn, I hadn't brought my runners with me, duh) to watch my form.  It was kind of funny - she had me change into this huge t-shirt and shorts, so big that she couldn't see how my body moved.  I had luckily worn a tank top to work so changed into that and kept the shorts on...but as I was running, the shorts kept falling off me.  Now this wouldn't have been so bad if the office was empty.  But there I was, sprinting like all get out with a regular bra on so the girls were all over the place (gah) and my shorts were halfway down my bum exposing my delicate unmentionables in front of the waiting room and all the other clients.  And she had to keep lifting my top so she could see how my back and hips moved so my none-too-firm midriff was exposed and jiggling somewhat violently.  I didn't really realize there were so many people around until I got off the treadmill and turned around and everyone was staring at me.  Like that "I can't avert my eyes it's like a train wreck" kind of staring.  It's times like these I wish I was Frodo from the Lord of the Rings so I could just disappear at will.  Oh, le sigh.

My physio's verdict - when I run, every third or so strike on my right leg crosses over the mid-line of my body, so she's thinking that is the issue.  It's not a foot problem exactly, but the pain is showing up in the foot because I'm contacting on parts that I shouldn't be.  It kind of makes sense because if I'm curling my leg across my body, I'd be hitting the outside edge of my foot where the pain is.  The problem?  Tight bum and inner thigh muscles, pulling my leg to the middle.  The treatment?  More IMS in my bum (ouch) and right in the vulnerable, delicate, sensitive upper inner thigh region.  Like upper upper innermost thigh.  Yeeeaaah.  I didn't love getting needles there and it was painful, but I could feel the difference in flexibility immediately after.  So...I'm allowed to run on Saturday up to 15K, and if I'm pain-free, I can continue on...I'm supposed to do 32K so here's hoping!  If I can get myself up to the mid-twenties this weekend, I would be thrilled.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will be pulling out all my lucky charms and working on my karma.  Marathon Quest 2010 is still a possibility.  C'mon Mr. Right Leg - you can do it!

Need Inspiration?

Alrighty - I'm a sucker for a good video and this one is awesome.  I spotted this on another blog and had to share this with you folks.  Not only does it use the best song from the best band in the world ever (Chris Martin - dump that bone rack Gwyneth and run away with me)....but it's totally inspirational what this guy has done with his life through running and exercise.  This inspires me to get out there and keep putting one foot in front of another.  Check out the rest of Ben's blog at http://bendoeslife.tumblr.com/. ....pretty amazing.

To all you criers out there?  Go get yourself some kleenex first before you watch this video.  Do it, do it now...or at least make sure you have long sleeves because you're gonna need them.  Just sayin'. 



Kudos to you, Ben.  I think I miiiight just have a little crush on you.

It's All Good

OK, yeah... so yesterday was not a stellar day, but today was a great one and I'm feeling much more zen about things.  The foot is still hurting a lot so I'm walking on it gingerly and popping lots of Advil to keep the edge off the pain, but the upsetedness (is that a word?) is significantly reduced today.  Hubs came home yesterday after I phoned him and blubbered my face off, so he pulled out his entire routine of goofy antics to make me laugh (which worked).  I then gingerly approached the subject of a "next year" IF I can't do it this year (I'm still remaining hopeful that the running gods will smile upon me) and he pretended to pass out, giggled and then said that of course he'd train with me - we get to hang together and he benefits from the extra exercise.  What a good, good guy he is.  And honestly - yesterday I felt like a failure and down on myself for wimping out (or rather mad at my body for giving out), but sleeping on it has put things into perspective and I'm feeling more positive.  I'm going to draw on all the law of attraction vibes I can, so I'm going to start with this statement...

"I'm looking forward to crossing that finish line after the marathon on October 10th!" 

Thanks Universe, do with it what you will!  And you know what?  If I don't end up running the marathon this Fall, well watch out because next Spring - I'm going to smash my half marathon personal best and gun for a 1:50 finish - look for that on my 2011 goals.

Anyways - on with my day.  I started the morning off with an awesome visit with one of my besties B - we have a once a month Sunday morning coffee ritual and it's always so much fun when we get together.  We're like two old hens, catching up on each other's lives and having a giggle or two while we're at it.  After our little coffee klatch, I went off to the local SPCA's Paws for a Cause walk.  R does annual fundraising for this so I joined as part of her team and I raised $630...and our team is #1 in BC - woot!  It was pouring outside today, but it was fun to hang with KEW & A and it felt good to help out a cause that I care for.  And how can anyone remain sad being surrounded by doggies in bandannas and little rain jackets??

After the walk, I met up with family for a nice lunch and then out for dinner with some family friends.  I really didn't want to go - but you know how when you're not really wanting to go to something and it turns out fun?  This is what happened - we dined like kings on some fresh crab that the host caught that morning (soooo good), had some delish Vietnamese food and some hilarious conversation with two of the most generous and genuine folks I've ever met.  Awesome.

So...how can one be sad and miserable after such a great Sunday?  Today - it's all good. *smiles*

28K - Shit

Sorry for the profanity, guys....but that's how I'm feeling and...well, it's my blog and I can cry if I want to!

We went out for our long run this morning - Hubs and I started out at 6am for 8K, met up with M as she had a 20K run scheduled and I had a 28K run to do this week.  We were heading out on this great trail in Victoria called Lochside Trail, which goes all the way up the peninsula.  Very flat and very scenic.  Hubs' sciatica is still an issue so he ran another 2K with us and turned around, so he got a 12K run in and M and I continued on.  This was where things were still good.

At around the 14K point I could feel my foot ache a bit, but I pressed on thinking it'd be fine.  By 18K, I had to start taking walks breaks as the foot was starting to hurt.  By 20K, I could barely run anymore and had to finally call it quits at 21K.  There's a little shopping centre at that point luckily, so I could use the phone at the restaurant to call a taxi to come get me.  Note to self:  if I'm going on a run like that again, I'll carry my cell phone with me.  Another note to self:  never darken Adrienne's Tea House again (yes, sue me if you want to, owner of Adrienne's Tea House at Mattick's Farm in Victoria, British Columbia)...I very nicely asked to use their phone and it was like I'd asked them to give me a free meal or their first born.  The looks and treatment I got were NOT nice.  I had to ask them for a phone book too, as I had to call a cab - the girl just grabbed the book and just handed it to me without a word.  WTF?  Grr.

The cab came quickly - and took me back to where I'd parked my car.  Thank god, I'd taken my whole wallet with me and not just my Driver's License.  I'm icing the foot now and taking an Advil - but man...it really hurts to walk and I'm limping badly.  On the drive home I was pretty upset - I have 4 weeks to go and now I'm injured and not sure if I can do the marathon - there was no way I could continue on today.  I've got another physio appointment booked this Tues, as a 'just in case' kind of thing so I'll be going for sure to see if there's anything I can do. 

So I'm feeling down in the dumps right now and kinda weepy.  "Shit" is where I'm at right now.  It's been a lot of training and long hours - and I feel bad as poor Hubs has been right there with me, getting up early and sacrificing a lot of his time too. And I really, really wanted this - it's pretty much been all I've been focussing on for the last four months.  I'm praying to the running gods right now for some magical foot healing but I think this marathon quest might be over...at least for this year.  I'm don't mind pushing my body a bit, but I'm not willing to push and injure myself so badly that I can't run for months or at all - because that would be worse than missing out this year's marathon - and stupid.  I'm not giving up though...if it doesn't happen this year, it WILL happen at some point - and it'll just mean that much more. If there's anything this little Asian lady is, it's stubborn and tenacious!

30 More Days To Go!

Holy shite!  I can't believe it - 30 more days to go until the marathon.  I'm getting really excited - I'm really hoping for a sunny, crisp day like we had last year - it was actually perfect running weather.  No wind, cool, sunny - so gorgeous.  I'm feeling pretty good and think I'm over this dang cold (knock on wood) - I went to my naturopath to get an immune booster shot to ward off any nasty bugs, and will get one just before the race to avoid getting sick after the race.  A lot of marathoners get sick after the run - your immune system takes a hit as running really hard and long suppresses it...plus if you think about it - you're out there running with thousands of people, breathing deeply and likely inhaling a few germs here and there.  Ewwww...no thanks!  I've taken the week off from work to hang out and recover, so I really don't want to be sick either.  My naturopath also suggested I take extra Vitamin C so I'm going to do that as well.  Whatever it takes to stay healthy and injury free.

Also - I'm back on the running wagon.  First time running since Aug 28th - almost two weeks ago!  I did a very slow 40 minute run on the treadmill and it felt GREAT.  My foot/leg isn't feeling too badly and it felt great just to move and break a sweat.  Running, I miss you so very much!  I admit my eating has been a bit bad the last few days - definitely when I'm not working out, my eating goes astray.  Clean start - 30 days to go - clean eating, lots of sleep, hydrating, and supplements...here I come!

My Name is Cindy, and I Have a Problem

I was stalking perusing some blogs earlier today and noticed an interesting post that Amanda over at Run to the Finish  http://runtothefinish.blogspot.com/ had written about exercise addiction.  She was reading an article about it and was wondering about if she was an addict.  She included some sample questions so I thought it might be interesting to see if I'm considered "an addict":

I have missed important social obligations and family events in order to exercise - no, but I will make adjustments in my schedule to fit it in i.e. get up earlier

I have given up other interests, including time with friends, in order to make more time to work out - no

Missing a workout makes me irritable and depressed - yes

I only feel content when I am exercising or within the hour after exercising - no

I like exercise better than sex, good food, or a movie -- in fact there's nothing I'd rather do - uhhh...an emphatic NO.  Nothing trumps eating good food in my books!

I work out even if I'm sick, injured, or exhausted. I'll feel better when I get moving anyway - no if I'm sick or injured - yes if I'm just tired

In addition to my regular schedule, I'll exercise more if I find extra time - no

Family and friends have told me I'm too involved in exercise - ha!  yes

I have a history (or a family history) of anxiety or depression - no

Hmmm, so three yes's.  OK, so here is the blurb on what the quiz means:

"If you have checked three or more of these items, you may be losing your perspective on exercise. Exercise is healthy as long as it is in balance with a full life. It is recommended individuals who answer yes to three or more of the above items consult with a mental health professional or doctor for assistance."

Wow, so I need to go see a shrink for my "addiction".  Ha ha!  I know family and friends who aren't runners think that those of us who are training for marathons are a little insane and may see it as weird or an addiction.  I definitely do make time for exercise - it's a priority for me...but as I've said before, it's all about having balance and I'm working towards that all the time.  I admit - I'm addicted to endorphins and being healthy...and I'm addicted to the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a race or have a great run.  I suppose there's worse things I could be addicted to!  I definitely do spend a lot of time running, but it's for a specific goal - once the marathon is over, I won't be doing 3.5 hour runs for fun.  At least I don't think I will...baahaaaa! 

Chomping at the Bit

Man, it feels like I'm never going to be able to get running again!  It's times like this when I can't run or work out that makes me regret kvetching about having to do a long run or blowing off a workout.

I went to physio today to get my foot checked out - thought it might be a good idea to get it looked at earlier since I only have 32 (gulp) days left to go until the race.  I know I went on and on about how much I love my RMT, but if it's possible...I may just love my physiotherapist a titch more.  She's helped me immensely with my back issues and she really cares how I'm doing.  She's extremely personable and we have some of the best conversations, where we're laughing our heads off about stuff.  And best part is...she used to be a runner!  She's done one marathon and was in the midst of training for her second when she became injured two weeks before her second marathon (she hasn't run in a few years because of it) - so it seems like she is extra supportive of me with this whole marathon gig as she says she's still a runner at heart. 

So I thought I'd developed some sort of plantar fasciitis or some foot problem - but turns out, she thinks it's all related to my chronic back issues.  I guess when I stand, I always favour my left side so am very unbalanced which is, of course, showing up now with all the repetitive running motion.  It was so interesting as she had me stand and bend over at the waist as I normally do.  She then repositioned me slightly so that my hips/back were balanced...and it felt so weird.  She then asked me to bend over, and I almost lost my balance...that's how out of alignment I am.  Incredible.  Because of all this, my muscles are shortening up in my left hip and in my right leg so I'm running with an odd gait, resulting in the sore foot.  I have to work on consciously trying to rebalance how I sit, stand and run - no more zoning out when I run!

To release my muscles, we did a round of IMS, or intramuscular stimulation.  Basically it's kind of like acupuncture with the needles - but instead of putting them in your energy lines, she inserts them into the muscle knots.  The action of the needle causes the muscle to clamp on and tense up, and then release completely.  I'm not going to lie - it can be pretty painful especially if your muscles are really tense - so if you can handle the thought of needles, I'd highly recommend this if your physio ever suggests it...it's made the world of difference with my back and neck issues.  Afterwards there can be some soreness and you can't get a massage or chiropractic adjustment for a few days to give your muscles a break.  Oh...and, you can't work out!  Which is why I'm chomping at the bit because I really wanted to go to bootcamp Wed morning but am going to have to put off any running or working out until Thursday night.  Sigh...well, bright side is - I'll be super rested for my 28K on Saturday!

No Labour Today

I must say it one more time - man, I love long weekends.  And I almost don't mind that it's grey and rainy today - sort of a good introduction to the Fall.  I had planned on going for a run today, but woke up exhausted (even after a pretty good sleep) with a screamer headache and slight chills again - exactly what I felt like last Monday.  Le sigh.  Against my better judgement, I almost went for the run...but Hubs was not wanting to run outside in the pouring rain so he's running on the treadmill whilst I sit next to him and blog my little  heart out.  I seriously am feeling super guilty as there's only 33 days left to the race but seems like I'm still not really over this bug.

I emailed the running coach who designed the running program I'm following (Bruce Deacon) to see how I should rejig my running schedule to fit in the 35K run.  He emailed me back quickly (awesome!) and said that he wouldn't try to make up the run or change things up, but to just return to the training schedule when I'm ready.  He noted that his training plan called for two 32K runs and one 35K run, specifically as it will help on race day and also in case we have to miss one of the really long runs due to injury, illness, etc.  A lot of plans I see only have one 32K run before tapering so I asked him as I was curious.  He cautioned me to really ease back into things slowly as he thinks the cold is a sign that I need more recovery time...Coach's orders!

Back on the Food Train

I think I've been a bit remiss in posting some of my latest recipe discoveries - I've been focussing so much on my running foibles, that I've forgotten about my other favourite subject food!  I've made this yummy rice salad a few times now, as it's one of Hubs' current faves.  He was so cute the other day, we were eating dinner and he was tucking into this rice salad...and he looked at me and thanked me for trying to so hard to find recipes that were less meat/more vegetarian so it would help his little cholesterol issue, but that still tasted really good.  *sniff* I got a little verklempt I must admit - being healthy is so important for a whole variety of reasons, but mostly because then we can enjoy our time together fully and hopefully for a long time!

Sri Wasano's Infamous Indonesian Rice Salad - from the New Moosewood Cookbook

1.  Place 2 cups brown rice and 3 cups water in a saucepan and boil until tender.

2.  While the rice cooks, combine in a larger bowl:

      1/3 cup peanut oil
      3 tbsp sesame oil
      1/2 orange juice
      1 to 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
      1 tsp salt
      2 tbsp soy sauce
      1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
      2 tbsp rice or cider vinegar
      1 cup chopped fresh pineapple

3.  Add the hot rice directly to the bowlful of dressing.  Mix well when it has cooled to room temperature, cover tightly and refrigerate until cold.  Shortly before serving stir in:

     3 scallions, finely minced
     1 stalk celery, finely minced
     1 medium red pepper, thinly sliced
     1 8 oz can water chesnuts, drained and thinly sliced
     1/2 lb fresh mung bean sprouts
     1/2 cup raisins or currants
     1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts or cashews, lightly toasted
     2 tbsp sesame seeds
     optional - snow peas for garnish

Makes 4 - 6 servings

My changes - I omitted the pineapple (even though I'm sure it would be good) and the bean sprouts (this needed to keep for a few days so I thought these would go mushy).  I also cut waaay back on the oil - 1/3 cup is a LOT, I maybe used 1 tbsp as I thought there was enough sesame oil in this.

Ahhh...love the long weekends - still another day left!

Road to Recovery

Yessss!  Finally - I got more than two hours sleep last night which is making a huge difference in how I'm feeling.  I woke up this morning and my cold was waayyy better.  I'm still pretty tired but I'm on the road to recovery, yipppeee.  I might do a quick HIIT workout tomorrow and if I'm feeling better, will do a shorter run on Monday with Hubs - probably a 10- 15K run and will save the biggie for the next Saturday.  I'm still feeling guilty for not running, but I know it was the smart thing to do.

I think I've found myself a new favourite running magazine - I usually read Runner's World, but lately have been picking up Canadian Running and am really, really enjoying it.  The latest Sept/Oct issue is focussed on marathons and I read it from cover to cover - lots of great information and it's kind of cool when they talk about races or people that I'm familiar with.  I have a subscription to Runner's World, but think I'm going to subscribe to Canadian Running as well.    Two thumbs up!

OK Body...You Win

I give!

Seems that my body is trying to tell me something.  First the foot, then the cold...now the cough.  Over the last 24 hours, my scratchy throat has turned into a very persistent cough - I'm sure I'm driving everyone in my office insane with the hacking (sorry dudes, I can't help it).  I've decided - after fighting against what I want to do vs. what I should do - to not attempt the 35K this weekend.  Really long distance running stresses your immune system, so it would be stupid to even attempt it when I haven't fully recovered from my cold - worst case scenario, I could end up with pneumonia or bronchitis.  I also haven't been sleeping well this past week due to my cold, so I'm also sleep deprived on top of being sick.  Not good.

I was googling everything I could find to see if my decision is right to assuage my guilt from not doing the run - and it looks like I'm doing the best thing.  It's now moved "below the neck" and into my chest, so I'm going to move the 35K to next weekend when I'm feeling better.  In the meantime, I'm going to pump myself full of vitamins and try and get some sleep to allow my body to recuperate.  There is no way that I'm going to let a cold stop me from running this race!

Silver lining?  It'll give some extra time for my foot to get better.  And it's the long weekend!!!  I CAN SLEEP IN!!!  Always gotta look at the bright side of things, right?

Holy Mother of *(#*&*#!!!

So today I had an appointment to see my massage therapist who I love, love, love.  You know what it's like when you find a good hairdresser - you follow them to the ends of the earth, right?  This is me and my RMT.  She's this tiny sweet little thing, but this girl has fingers of steel.  Actually more than steel - titanium.  No...even better yet...adamantium.  She's Wolverine of the massage world!  I started seeing her a few years ago and her hands are definitely magic.  I've been trying to see her at least once a month to keep my back loose and work on anything else that ails me - me and Hubs have already booked our post-race massages.

Anyways, I was so glad to have this appointment, so I could get her to work on my foot.  It's not hurting as badly as it was, but I thought I'd get her to see if she could loosen up the tissues to avoid getting plantar fasciitis, which I think I may be heading towards.  I'm not sure about any of you or if I'm just weird, but I hate getting the arches of my feet massaged.  Like I can't even do it to myself!  It makes me feel weak all over or something.  So picture this - there I am on the massage bed face down, vulnerable...and she starts working away and probing crazy deep right into my arches with her adamantium fingers.  This is what I was doing inside:

Seriously.  I was sweating, I was clenching my fists...I was counting slowly and breathing deeply to work through the pain.  We're having a conversation about what books she's read lately, and the only sounds I can muster are "oh yeah?  really?  cool!  ah hah haha..."  Allie over at Hyperbole and a Half ( http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/) summed it up best in her revised pain scale:

I was easily a 9...at moments, a 10 when she really got in there.  Darn effing foot fascia!!  Good news though...it's feeling better so I'm hoping to get my 35K in on Saturday.  Just gotta get over this darn cold first!

PS.  You need to go check out Hyperbole and a Half NOW - esp. the "Sneaky Hate Spiral" at:
and  "Texas" for you runners out there (yes, she's one of us!  links on the right side of her blog page) - this girl is funny.  I had to stop reading her blog while eating as I kept choking on my food!

PPS.  Darn cold is turning into a cough.  Boo urns!

Race Plan

I don't know if it's just in my head or if it's actually the case, but it seems like the older I get, the worse my colds are.  I've never had a cold like this - usually colds stay "above the neck" for me, but I'm achy, crazy tired and am alternating between freezing cold and boiling hot.  I normally don't take stuff for colds as I seem to react the opposite to what the desired effect is - Neo Citran and night time cold meds make me all cagey and wired and I get incredibly thirsty.  However...I gave in today - the throbbing in my head and the pounding in my sinuses were too much for me to handle.  As soon as I got home I popped a few pills, so I'm feeling much better right now - just hope I sleep tonight.

I also stopped by the Running Room  to pick up some new insoles and gel pads for the forefront of my feet to hopefully add more cushioning.  Apparently, Mizunos are not heavily cushioned in that area - while I love the lightness of the shoe, that might be an area that they're lacking.  I'm really hoping that the sore foot thing doesn't hold me back.  As I was picking up the gel pads, I started chatting with one of the girls who worked there, and who was training on her second marathon.  I asked her what advice she could pass on to this marathon noob.  This got me to thinking - since I haven't been able to work out/run since Saturday due to my foot/cold, I could at least start to put some thought into my race plan.  

Pre-Race Preparation:
 - 1 Nuun every day for one week leading up to the race
 - Hydrate min 3L/day for one week leading up to the race
 - Minimum 7 hours sleep for one week leading up to race, go to bed extra early Friday night before race (apparently, the sleep you get two nights before the race is most important)
 - Banana/nutella before race
 - Cold F/X, echinacea, Vitamin C and oil of oregano every day for 10 days leading up to the race

Nutrition:
 - Gu gels, Espresso flavour (2x caffeine) - 1 Gu 15 mins before start, 1 Gu every 6K after
 - Bring one pack of Gu Chomps (just in case I need a pick me up without needing to take a full gel)
 - 1 Saltstick capsule at the beginning, 1 capsule halfway through (bring one extra)
 - Advil - take with me just in case but try not to take it unless I have to (hard on my stomach)

Hydration:
 - Water at each aid station (approx. every 3K)
 - Wear water belt (I'm going to pick up a 2 bottle belt by Nathan - the pouch for gels is much bigger than the one that I currently have)

Pace:
 - Walk through each aid station, esp. at the beginning
 - 6:30/km for the first 14K, 6:15/km for the next 14K, target 6:00 - 6:15/km for the last 14K

Gear:
 - Lululemon running skirt (I WILL look cute in my race photos - no spandex short catastrophes this time!)
 - Underarmour singlet
 - iPod (very important!  must work on my marathon playlist soon)

This is the plan for now anyways - I'm sure I'll change my mind over the next six weeks!

Meh

*grumble*  Yep, I'm cranky today.  On the cranko-meter, I am definitely hitting a 9, maybe even a 10.  Egads, Hubs might have to watch out or he might lose an eye.  My foot is bugging me and I'm icing it as I sit here, stupid thing.  I got next to no sleep last night - it was one of those nights where I woke up every hour on the hour, and then fiiiinallly fell asleep around 3:30.  I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning when the alarm went off at 5:30am...and once I did get up, I had a stuffed up nose, a scratchy throat and general malaise.  Oh great.  As the morning progressed, I got colder and colder and my nose got runnier and runnier - I have a full on cold now and am sitting here feeling sorry for myself and rather miserable.  Bleh.

My day did have a happy moment though....I, Foodie at the Finish Line, have been given my first bloggie award!!!!!  YAY ME!!!!  I've been awarded the Cherry on Top award by Hunnybee....

Along with great power comes great responsibility, so there are a few things I need to do before I can accept this award:

1. Answer the question:  If you had one chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

I would have taken that leap to become independent from my parents when I was 21 (Asian parents are notoriously overprotective of their kids, esp. girls)  and moved to Vancouver to go to school to become a nutritionist...my parents felt that because I was a girl, that I didn't need an education...sigh.  In hindsight, that would have been the perfect career for me.

2. Pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have been selected for the award.

1.  KEW & A
2.  From French Fries to Flax Seeds
3.  Run Sarah
4.  Confessions of a Health Nut
5.  My Little Big Life
6.  Food and Whine

3. You have to thank the person (people) who gave you the award.

Thanks Hunnybee!  I totally admire how you fit in being healthy, training for a half marathon and balancing it with having a beautiful family - don't know how you do it!  I'd like to also thank my mom and dad for always being there and my Hubs for his undying support and...and....

32K - Limpy Gimpy

32K on the menu yesterday - I was excited (strangely) and anxious to get at 'er yesterday morning once we got up.  We slept in a bit (man, we needed it) so didn't get out on the road until about 8am.  We decided to do an out and back of sorts so ran 10K out in one direction and back to the car so Hubs could pick up his rollerblades, and then jetted out 6K in the other direction and back.  Poor Hubs, his sciatica started acting up around the 10K point so we had to make quite a few stops so he could stretch out his glutes.

The weather was much, much cooler than it had been so I was feeling pretty awesome throughout the whole run - I was keeping a pretty good pace and while my body felt a bit tired, my head felt good and not tired at all.  I was also testing out taking Advil half way through to see if I'd have an GI issues - it helps just take the edge off the pain and I might need it during the race to get me through to the end.   At around the 25K point, the ball of my right foot started to hurt a bit and while I noticed it, it wasn't super painful - in retrospect now, I wonder if it was the Advil numbing the pain a bit.

Ooooch.  This morning my foot is not super happy.  My arch is pretty sore and walking on it is painful and I'm limping a bit.  NOOOOOOO!!!  Not what I need 6 weeks before the race.   I've been massaging it and stretching it out like crazy, and will stay off it tomorrow and do some stationery bike work instead of bootcamp.   I looked up painful arches on the interweb, and it seems that a lot of it starts with tight calves - guilty!  I'm really bad at stretching and really, I should know better - virtually all of my injuries have been due to my calf muscles.  Next week's long run is 35K, so I'm going to run on a chip trail next week to give my legs and feet a bit of a rest from pounding on asphalt.  My legs are extra tight and sore this week too, I'm sure just due to the overall distance. 

Sooo...while my run itself was great, the aftermath isn't so hot.  I'll stretch it out and give it a rest, and then see how things go.  That was one part of my body that I didn't have a talk to the other day!

Someone Save Me From Myself

Soooooo...you know how the other day I was saying that I was going to clean up my eating?  That I was all good with it for my run?  That I had set all these goals and was going to start a few days ago, go me, I'm so great, rah rah rah?

Since I got home from work today, all I've done is eat.  Eat, eat, eat.  It's like my body knows that I'm going to be depriving it of all my favourite things, and I'm craving everything.  EVERYTHING!!!  Salty, sweet, creamy, crunchy.  And I have the willpower of a gnat today.  I went grocery shopping after work today, and picked up some of those Quaker's rice cakes - those little snack ones.  As soon as I got home, I ripped that bag open and scarfed down pretty much the whole bag.  Hubs got home, and we had dinner - prime rib/gravy with some veggies.  You'd think I'd be full, right?

Not so, my friends...not so.  Friday night is hockey night for Hubs - and no sooner is he out the door and barely even down the street and I'm in the garage, scrounging around in our Goodie Box.  We have this banker's box packed full of our garbage food like chips, chocolate and cookies, that we only eat once a week as a treat.  We "hide" it in the garage - out of sight, out of mind, right?  I pulled out some chocolates and pour myself a bowl of chips and sneak back to the computer to catch up on some blogs.  Hubs will neeeeevvvver ever know.

Hmm.  Feeling peckish again, so I start scrounging around in the fridge.  Victory!  BBQ pork buns that my mom made for us.  I warm up one of those too, and eat that.  Delish.  OK, you ask - you MUST be full after that?

Nope.  I grab some rice crackers and start spreading smoked salmon cream cheese on them - you know, cream cheese made with cow's milk.....AKA dairy.  Which I'm hugely sensitive to and makes my tummy hurt.  Super.

I'm such a train wreck.  OK - I swear - I will start for sure on Sunday...after I have pizza tomorrow.  Heh.

The Day After

This video gave me a really good giggle...I'm quite sure that's what I'm going to be like after the marathon - I could barely walk after the half, so can't even imagine what I'm going to be like after the full!  Hubs and I have taken the week off after the race, so he can piggyback me around the house if need be.  What are husbands for, right?  I'm thinking breakfast in bed and lots of foot rubs...grapes peeled and fed to me.  I LIKE IT!  Would it be wrong if I maybe milked it a wee bit?  Just a teeny tiny bit?? One thing though for sure is that I am NOT cooking Thanksgiving dinner - I did it last year after the half and it wasn't too bad as I had prepped a lot the night before.  However, this year, I'm going to use my "get out of jail free" card and have made it clear that dinner is out this year! 




32K on the schedule for Saturday - is it weird a part of me is kinda looking forward to it? 

Holy Crap

OMG.  I just counted how many more long runs I have until race day and it's only SIX!!!  SIX!!!  That's hard for me to believe.  The months have gone by really quickly - I started back in May and four months have really flown past.  I'm on the home stretch now and I'm feeling good - I feel like I can do this.  I'm really hoping my body holds up - I might just have to have a talk with it:

Mr. Neck:  If you really wouldn't mind, if you could not go out of place and start hurting our girl.  She's been training really hard and it'd be much appreciated if you could just hang on until October 10th.  Thanks.

Mr. Back:  Hey little buddy!  You've been doing an awesome job of staying knot free and not aching much lately.  We're gonna treat you to some more massages in the next while.  Oh, and if you could keep Mr. Right Second Rib in line, that would be great - he seems to start a lot of the trouble.  He's SUCH an instigator.

Mr. Left Shoulder:  C'mon man...let's hug it out.  You haven't ached since before Hawaii.  You rock.

Mr. Knee:  Dude!!  You've been kicking ass!  A little soreness here and there, but pretty darn good.  Seven more weeks to go until the Big Day.  You can do this.  We're gonna be stretching like nobody's business to keep you happy.  We can't do this without you.

I think all this running is depriving my brain of oxygen - I'm a little nuts I think.  Ha!

Cracking Down

*sigh*  So now that my girl's weekend is over, I will make good on my comment about cleaning up my eating.  Can you hear my heels dragging?  I love food, so cutting out my little indulgences is going to be hard but if it helps me with the marathon, then it's a good thing.  And maybe it will help me lean out a bit more so my running times improve and - vainly - maybe I can fit back into my sexy tight jeans that are just a wee bit snug at the moment and not so sexy.  I bought these awesome jeans two years ago when I was skinny but skinnyfat, if that makes sense...they fit everywhere but are just a smidge too tight through the waist to be uncomfortable.  Gah!  Anyways, these jeans are my barometer as I felt the best at that size but actually want to be healthy and fit at the same time instead of all soft, doughy and completely unfit.

So - here are my goals for the next 8 weeks until the marathon:

1.  Cut out all dairy and eggs
2.  Cut back my cheat day to one cheat meal
3.  No alcohol
4.  Cut out all processed sugars and carbs (good bye chocolate)
5.  Increase vegetable/fruit intake
6.  Increase water intake to 3L/day
7.  Take supplements every day, esp. omega 3s to reduce inflammation
8.  Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night

Yikes, I'm getting scared.  Ha!  It was apparent to me what bad eating, alcohol (and not even that much) and lack of sleep did to me as the 16K I ran this Sunday was really hard and I laboured esp. at the beginning - normally 16K is no problem at all.  So if two days will do that, I'd hate to see the cumulative effect of multiple days on my body and my run - I'm still bloated and feeling crappy.  As they say, there's only one first marathon, so I want to finish it and I want it to be memorable! 

So here goes...starting tomorrow.  My wonderful mom made me prime rib with our favourite WHITE rice dish so I'm thinking that doesn't quite fit in #4 above.  Wish me luck!

An Epic Weekend

Man, I had the absolute best girl's weekend ever!  It was awesome from start to finish ...even the weather cooperated and was pretty much perfect for Friday and Saturday.  So where do I start...

We decided to take the 7am ferry out to Van so we could maximize our time at Ikea - the three of us luuurrve that store (who doesn't?) so got there at the opening and spent four hours there...yes, you read that right...four hours!  Before we went to Ikea we decided to check out our hotel, the River Rock Casino Resort...I give this place a massive thumbs up as it's really beautiful inside and the customer service was probably the best I've ever had, even beating out chi chi places like the Fairmont and Pan Pacific hotels.  And the best thing about the place was that A won $125 on $10 at the casino - not bad!

After our Ikea-fest, we got some nibblies and headed back to the hotel and got down to business:

We'd forgotten a martini shaker but A's water bottle (on the left) did the job rather nicely.  After a few yummy martinis, we headed down to Rogers Arena on the Skytrain which was great - a couple of transfers and we were there in about half an hour.  The opening act was Naturally 7 - I've never seen an opening act get a standing ovation, but these guys did and deserved it.  They use their voices as their instruments, so if you shut your eyes, you'd swear it was a full band up there playing...it was crazy!  But we were there to see Michael, my boyfriend...

Hello, Michael!  He put on a fabulous show - I would say the second best concert I've ever seen, after Coldplay (who I loooove, so this is very high praise)...he was funny, entertaining and sounded amazing.  We screamed, we swooned - my boyfriend did me proud. 

The next day we headed to Empire Stadium for the Bryan Adams/Beach Boys concert, who were opening the PNE.  Again...fabulous!  They both played full sets - the Beach Boys were on for about 1.5 hours, and Bryan Adams played a two hour set!  Hubs came over to Van to meet up with us for this concert, and so glad he did as he really enjoyed himself.

It was a weekend packed full of great music, awesome shopping and fun times with great friends...what more could a girl want?

Sooo...the big question is...did I do my 32K run?  Nope...I didn't.  We ended up taking the 9pm ferry so didn't get home until about 11:30pm and not into bed until about 1am...so there was no way in burnin' hell I was getting up at 6am to run 3/4 of a marathon after two days of eating crappy, drinking, lack of sleep and not enough water!  I did end up deciding to switch weeks so did 16K with my coworker M and will have to do three 30K plus weeks in a row - that 16K was really hard and I could really feel myself labouring so knew I made the right decision.  Oh well - it's all about balance, right?  It's definitely worth it for one of the most fun weekends I've ever had!

Where's My Legwarmers?

Jazzercise.  OK, so what does this word invoke in your mind?  Hokey dance moves, Flashdance style tops, and a lot of colourful spandex, right?  Well, a neighbour of mine that I've become friendly with asked if I wanted to join her for a class or two to check it out, and at the time I had to stuff back a snort of disdain.  I can pound out 30 full pushups in a row...I can run 20K no problem...I can pump out multiple lunges, squats and burpees like nobody's business - what could I possibly get from Jazzercise?!

Anyone got a fork?  Cuz I got me some humble pie to eat.  I busted out a huge sweat as the class was pretty fast paced and I had to call on all the 80's and 90's aerobics moves that I'd ever learned back in the day - I gotta say, the class wasn't that easy and really required some coordination and I had to pay close attention.  There were a ton of people in the class - probably close to sixty, so it's a popular class to go to at my local rec centre.  The strength training portion was fairly light so that would be my only downside...but I can see why people liked it - people were enthusiastically singing along to the music (which was pretty awesome - nothing like exercising to a little Lady Gaga), you got to do some fun dance moves and shake your bootie...and one of the instructors was this cute young buck with tattoos - a little eye candy never hurts, no matter where you are!  But best of all, it was a ton of fun and everyone was hooting and hollering their enthusiasm.  To me, any exercise where you can have fun while breaking a sweat is A-OK with me! 

So lesson learned - never judge something until you try it because you just never know - you might just like it! 

Buble, Bryan and Booze-ahol

Yes, I have no shame - this is a gratuitous eye candy shot for all you women folk out there who read this blog.  Have I mentioned I'm going to see Michael Buble on Friday?  Heh...I may have a few times already but I'm gonna say it again - I'm going to see Michael Buble!!!  Giddyup!  I'm currently listening to him on my iPod to get familiar with his stuff and I gotta say, I'm really likin' it - happy, upbeat stuff.  And that voice!  And those eyes, and those lips...and those..errrhhh... *cough cough*.  Aaaannnyways,  me and my homies R and A are heading over to Van Friday morning and doing a wee bit of a pit stop at Ikea - one of our favourite places on earth.  I love going to Ikea with these ladies cuz we meander through slowly and really look at everything, whereas when I go with Hubs, we're in and out in 30 minutes flat. Concert is Friday night, and the next day we're going to see Bryan Adams at the PNE - Hubs is coming over and meeting us there for Bryo so should be a great weekend!  I'm so looking forward to our little get away, it's been awhile since our last girl's weekend.

So....I'm sure you're then thinking well...when is she gonna do her long run then?  Isn't Sunday cooking day?  Is she gonna be a jam tart and blow it off?  We're coming back Sat late afternoon so I'm hoping that I won't be misbehaving toooo badly Friday night and that I'll be in OK shape to run 32K (gulp) Sunday morning.  I think I'm going to run the first 16K with Hubs, and then meet up with my coworker M and the Sunday Running Room drop in group for the second 16K.  I just hope I don't hold anyone up as I really dragged my ass last week but the weather is supposed to be much cooler this weekend so I really want to get this one out of the way.  I was half thinking of switching the weeks and doing 15K but that would mean three 30K plus runs in a row.  I'm crazy but not that crazy!!  I'm going to have to a really easy cooking week (no Rebar cookbook this time!) and do some fast dishes so I'm not standing for 6 hours after running for 3 1/2 hours.  Geez, just reread that last line - maybe I am a little crazy. 

Owwie

Ouchie!  I definitely paid for Saturday's run - I got up out of bed Sunday morning and could barely walk for the first bit until I loosened up a bit.  I'm pretty sore and stiff even after repeated stretching and my feet are really aching...and it looks like my second toenails on both feet are going to give up the ghost soon - they're definitely hurting and turning blacker and blacker each time.  Oh well, at least they grow back! 

I sooo didn't feel like standing yesterday for hours and cooking - first cuz of my achy legs, and second cuz it was smoking hot in the house.  But I had to, otherwise there'd be no food in the house for this week and we'd end up eating chips for dinner or something similar.  I'm still on a Rebar cookbook kick, and made four more dishes from them - the mushroom pecan burgers, the african yam and peanut soup, spinach linguine with artichoke hearts and sundried tomato salsa and the bhangra curry burritos.  So far, I've tasted all four and they all get the Foodie seal of approval!  Deeeelicious.  I'm not going to lie though - the recipes from the Rebar cookbook are a bit of work and require a lot of ingredients, but the results are excellent and packed full of veggies, beans, whole grains and all sorts of good stuff so I'm all good with it.  And Hubs is really liking the food too...I was kind of thinking that maybe this whole Cholesterol Challenge thing was a blessing in disguise because it's really expanded my cooking horizons to try different things - for instance, I never would have tried the mushroom pecan burger but this burger is incredible....it tastes like so much more than it's parts! 

Mushroom Pecan Burger - from the Rebar Modern Food cookbook

Makes 10 - 12 burgers

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp red chile flakes
6 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1 cup pecans, roasted and finely ground
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and saute onion.  Turn up the heat and add the garlic, mushrooms, salt, thyme and chile flakes.  Stir and saute until the mushrooms have released all their juices and the pan begins to dry out.  Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar.  Let the liquid evaporate, turn the mushrooms out into a large bowl and cool.

Add the brown rice and grated carrot to the mushrooms.  In a food processor, pulse the mixture in two or more batches until well combined but still coarse in texture.  Return to the bowl and add all of the remaining ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and season to taste.  Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.  Shape into patties and saute until golden brown on both sides.  Serve with grilled onions, lettuce, sprouts, sliced tomato, pickle, dijon mustard, ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Hint - pack these puppies tight when you form them into patties - two of mine fell apart in the pan, arghh!  And when I was frying them, I painted the top side with a bit of olive oil so both sides got nice and brown.  This burger goes a bit crispy too on the outside.

Afterthought...maybe me discussing losing my toenails followed by a recipe maybe wasn't the most appealing thing.  Whoops...sorry guys!

30K - Conquered!

Well - OK maybe I didn't exactly conquer 30K (errrh...don't look at how long it took me) but I don't think I've ever been as happy to finish a run as I was today.  We're back in a bit of a heat wave again, so my coworker M and I decided to meet up at 5:45am at the local Running Room.  I got up fairly easily as I had a pretty good sleep, and as I walked out the door the air was already warm - there was definitely no early morning chill in the air.  M is doing a half marathon clinic with the Running Room, so knew of a route that we could take that was going to be approx. 15K.  Off we went - and I gotta say, it was great to have company because as we chatted, the time went by incredibly fast.  We finished 14.5K at around 7:30am and I drove back to our usual little loop in hopes of catching Hubs.  As I was rounding the corner, there he was - perfect timing!

I ran a few loops with him...and after he left I decided to run along the main parkway that runs along our loop - BIG MISTAKE.  There was no cover from the hot, hot sun and I completely wilted.  Up to that point, I was feeling really, really good and super fresh.  I turned around and headed back to do our usual loop but I was already done for.   I was at about 24K and I thought OMG...how am I going to finish this?

I ended up taking many, many walk breaks and drank all my water (BTW...loooove the Fuel Belt!!) and still felt really depleted.  I finally got to 29K and thought OK...one more kilometre to go....dig deep and finish this thing!  I was definitely shuffling along and was never so glad to hear my Garmin beep at the 30K mark.  IT WAS FINALLY OVER!  As I got in my car, the temperature gauge showed 27 degrees at 9:45 am....man, it was hot.

Soooo...needless to say I'm pretty exhausted right now.  Had a busy day after so no rest for the wicked - I got home, did a cold water bath, took a shower, went to visit with my besties to figure out our trip to see Michael Buble, car shopping with Hubs (we bought a new car today - Mazda 3 sedan...woot woot!), and dinner with my parents.  I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open and I'm sure I'll sleep pretty soun....zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....zzzzzzz...zzz.......

Psyching Myself Up

...or out?!

I think I'm ready for my run tomorrow.  I think.  I'm sure it's mind over matter - I mean...it's only 2K more than my last really long run, right?   And it's been almost a week and a half since my last long run so my legs should have had plenty of time to recover, right?   And I've been hydrating like crazy today so should be in good shape, right? 

So why do I feel so nervous?  I guess it's like any big milestone - I'm hitting the thirties and there's no turning back now.  I have 58 more days to go until I run this thing!  Because I'm going to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, I've laid out all my gear and put out everything I'll need.  I'm going to chill tonight on the deck with a good book and a nice summery limoncello/vodka/soda, hee hee.   

Speaking of cleaning up my diet, for the next few months I'm really going to really clamp down on my eating and clean things up.  Overall it's pretty good but there are the occasional indulgences.  However, this is going to be AFTER my girl's weekend in Vancouver...girl's gotta live a little!!

Update to come tomorrow...stay tuned.

Turning 30 for the Second Time

Oh my.  So I'm hitting a "30" milestone for the second time in my life - I actually didn't mind hitting the big three-oh the first time as I really enjoyed my thirties.  That was the decade where I learned who I really was and who my true friends were, and well...if you don't like it, you can kiss my big fat you-know-what.  Don't think I could have said that in my twenties.  I don't think I'm going to like my second "30" milestone as much however - 30K this Saturday *insert scary music*.  The weather is supposed to be hot again (we've had a bit of a cooler period) so I'm running with a coworker at 5:45am for about 15K, continuing on with Hubs for a bit as he's doing our loop (he doesn't want to get up quite so early) and then finishing off the full run on my own.  I went after work today to buy myself a water belt - I don't mind carrying my small handheld water bottle but I find the big one hard to get used to.  I know a lot of people love them after they get used to them, but I'm not sure if I'm a fan.  I kept debating with myself in the store if I should get a two or four bottle water belt, so decided to go with the four bottle so I had options.  Anyways, excited to try my new belt out as I won't be able to stash water anywhere as I'm not sure what our route is.

It's going to be a toughie and I have a bit of mental block about running 30K (gah!) but I'm staying positive and will hydrate myself to oblivion and get lots of sleep so I'm fresh.  I'm excited to get this out of the way though as afterwards I get to hang with R and A as we plan our girl's trip to Van the following weekend to see Michael Buble and Bryan Adams!!  We're staying at the River Rock Casino and I'm sure we'll fit in lots of laughs, Ikea and perhaps a drink or two or ten, heh.  I'll also be heading out for dins as it's my mom's birthday.  I always thought she wanted to go out for Chinese food but turns out,  not so much...she actually said she was tired of eating Chinese so I suggested Korean food - not Chinese but still in the Asian realm.  There's a little place here in town that has Korean and Japanese food so it'll be cool to expand her culinary horizons.  Excellent!  I'm looking forward to a Saturday...a day filled with eating, family and friends - my three favourite things!

We're Baaaaaaaaa-aack

Ahhh...back from the big city and we had a great time!  Next time though...I have to remember to bring my camera with me to take pics of our eats - since I'm new to blogging, I forget my camera all the time and there were all these photo opps that totally went uncaptured, boo.  We were out at Richmond Auto Mall checking out some cars as we're thinking about buying a new car...and the place is totally overrun by bunnies.  We were heading back to the car after drooling over a few vehicles (I'm a bit of a tirebiter) and there was the cutest little bunny ever! He looked like he had a little mask on his face and he had little white paws (pic above was closest I could find to Bugs)...and was so tame, I was handfeeding him leaves. Super cute.

We definitely crammed as many food type pleasures in as we could...burgers at Vera's Burger Shack, delish sushi at Samurai but unfortunately some meh Chinese food at Cabin 5555.  My in laws really like this place for some reason but we found the food to be not great...but maybe it's because we find it gimmicky because it's done to supposedly look like the cabin on an airplane.  They even serve you the food on trays, and make it look like airplane food.  What is appealing about airplane food?!  And every time they brought out the food, they didn't give it to the right person - just kind of brought it over and slapped it in front of someone and darted off - and the food came at all different times.  Not impressed. 0/5!
 
Anyways, we gorged and we shopped.  We're back on the good food train for this week and I realized I hadn't reviewed the Anaheim Black Bean Burgers that I'd made the other week.  These are pretty darn good as is, but it needed just a bit of tweaking for my tastes - more garlic, more cumin/chili powder and a bit more salt to bring all the flavours together.  We had these with the regular ketchup/mustard, cheddar cheese (OK, OK, I snuck some dairy!), pickle and red onion on a Thintini - next time I think I might whip up some guacamole or something to really zhuush it up.  Hubs liked them and the texture was quite good.  They're not quite burgers from Vera's Burger Shack, but they're not bad...and no cholesterol!

Anaheim Black Bean Burgers - from Rebar Modern Cookbook

Yields 6 burgers (I got about 8 out of mine)

•2 x 19 fl oz cans black beans
•1/2 cup cooked brown rice
•1-1/2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
•1 small red onion, diced
•3 garlic cloves, minced
•1 tsp pure chile powder
•1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander seed toasted and ground
•1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
•1 tsp salt
•2 tsp chipotle puree
•1 small can Anaheim chiles, drained; or 4 Anaheim chiles, roasted,
seeded and peeled
•1/4 cup masa harina
•1/4cup toasted pumpkin seeds, finely ground
•3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions:

1) Heat oil in a small skillet, add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue sauteing and stirring for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2) In the bowl of a food processor, add 2 cups beans, rice, Anaheim chiles and the cooled onion/spice mix. Pulse to coarsely grind the mix. Turn into a large bowl and add the masa harina, pumpkin seeds and breadcrumbs. Mix together thoroughly. Add the reserved whole black beans and mix in well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3) Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form them into patties. Dredge with a light coating of masa harina and fry in a lightly oiled pan until browned on both sides. Serve hot on sourdough buns.

Green Glitter

Jeez...I think I'm still verklempt!

The last few weeks I've written about being meh on the marathon training and losing my inspiration and drive to forge ahead.  I know deep down that I really, really want to do this - the whole finishing a marathon thing means a lot more to me than just putting one foot in front of another and getting a good time, but about achieving goals and making positive changes.  In the clip that I posted previously from the Spirit of the Marathon, Kathrine Switzer was saying the marathon was about triumphing over adversity and that afterwards, there's the feeling that there's nothing that you can't do or triumph over in life.  However, those thoughts tend to dissipate quickly when you're facing a three hour run in hot and muggy conditions!  I've definitely been fighting the blahs and fighting them badly.

Well, fight no more!  This morning I was sitting at my desk, and one of the gals was handing out the mail and slipped me an envelope that looked like a card.  I thought  hmmm...what's this?  I looked at it and it was from one of my close friends A...and I was thinking is it a party invite?  Birthday card - no, she sent me one and my birthday was in April!  Birthday party for her little girl, KEW?  What could it be?  So I opened the envelope and pulled out the card...and a little sprinkle of green glitter fell onto my desk.  At that moment I knew exactly what it was...A is one of my cheering section and said she was doing up signs with green glitter and the card was a prototype of what was to come, to give me some motivation to carry on.

So not sure if this has ever happened to any of you ladies, but I hid behind my computer screen to avoid anyone see me do the dreaded "ugly cry".  Tears were brimming all afternoon!  I was so touched.  This was exactly what I needed to keep me going - being so fortunate to have the support of family and friends really means so much more to me than anything else...I'm sure that every other person attempting something for the first time, be it a walk around the block or a marathon, can attest to this.

I've put the card up in our display shelves in the kitchen - on the same prized shelf as my wedding invitation and favourite wedding picture.  That way I can see it every time I head into the kitchen to eat that banana and nutella 'fore I go out on a run:

Thanks KEW and A - you guys are awesome!

PS.  16K run finished tonight - it was tough as it was hot and I only had two days rest after the 28K run on Monday.  I was just about to call it quits after 10K but Hubs and the card kept me going!  Whew - now on to 100% relaxation and fun times this weekend!

Heading to the Big City!

I'm getting excited - Hubs and I are off to the big city (Vancouver) this weekend for a little R and R.  Well, OK not really R and R, but it'll be a nice break to get away since from now until mid September we'll have houseguests for most of the time...sigh.  We have family coming from Edmonchuk so we're hanging out with them for most of the weekend.  As per usual when Hubs and I go away, we're already sussing out the food situation - where we gonna eat?  Where we gonna go?  Vancouver has the best Chinese food around bar none - apparently because when Hong Kong went back to China, all the top notch chefs came to Vancouver.   I don't think I've ever had a bad Chinese dinner in Vancouver - all the food is authentic and reasonably priced  - not the Westernized stuff.  Not that I don't love a good sweet and sour pork and chow mein binge every now and then, but it's not what I crave when I'm wanting Chinese food.  And the sushi!  We're in heaven when we go because the stuff we get over there is fresh, inexpensive and nice sized portions.  Hubs is super picky about his sushi as he's a trained Japanese cook so pretty much turns his nose up at all the sushi places in Victoria.  Wait a sec...even with all this training, I never seem to get any Japanese food made for me...huh, how about that.  Anyways, Vancouver is absolute foodie heaven and I love going there! 

And the shopping.  Don't get me started!  Whenever we hit Van, I always must worship at the temple of the Banana - Banana Republic that is.  For whatever reason, Banana Republic is not in Victoria - and I find it really, really difficult to find good quality, fashionable work clothes that fit my odd proportions...I'm only 5'2'' and I have what Hubs calls an "athletic build"...which in my interpretation is like being "husky" is for guys.  Ha ha!  Anyways, just cuz I'm short doesn't mean I'm a little old lady.  I do not need an elastic waistband in my pants.  Cutesie poo little details like bows, beads or sequins are bad.  And I actually have regular length arms - don't shorten the sleeves, please!   Anyways, I'm hoping to get a bit of time to dash off to check out some stores as hopefully some of the Fall clothes are filtering their way to the stores now and some good sales on summer stuff might be on.   Better warm up my credit card just in case!

So the big decision then - do we run in Victoria or Vancouver?  We have 15K on the menu - thank god, it'll seem short by comparison!  Hubs and I were contemplating running Friday morning, but if we do we'd have to be on the road at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am.  4:30 am!!!  That's crazy talk.  We could do it Sat morning in Van, but then it would cut into family time.  I think what we're going to do is run Thurs night and get it out of the way. 

Note - next week is my first foray into the thirties - 30K run, on the menu!

28K - Reinspired

Woohoo!  DONE!!

A few days ago I posted that I was losing steam and the training was really sucking me dry for energy.   And - in a weird way - I was starting to resent the training because it takes so much time, even though I honestly do love to run.  It's been a really busy summer with all sorts of things, and all I wanted to do was to chill this weekend with a good book but the spectre of this long run was hanging over my head.

I kept putting off this run - we were supposed to go Saturday, I blew it off and said Sunday.  Sunday rolled around, I blew it off again and said Monday.  So this morning, I had to go - no ifs, ands or buts.  We got up and were out running by about 7:30 this morning and was fully expecting to be out there until at least 10:30.  We ran along one of our local trails, so parked our car in the mid point and ran 7K out and back to the car and then 7K out and back the other direction.  Hubs is having some sciatica pain due to tight muscles in his glutes, so he could only do the first out and back.  To keep me company, Hubs had bought rollerblades a few months ago as he promised to train with me, even if he didn't actually run the full distances (he's such a good guy).  I gotta say - today's run was awesome - I felt great with lots of energy, and even pulled out a 5:38 time on the last kilometre!!  It was perfect running conditions - cool, overcast with no wind...I think the cooler weather really helped as the heat really sapped my energy last week.  And having Hubs with me for company really made a difference as he kept joking around and making me laugh so it wasn't quite as painful.  At the end my stomach was really bothering me though.  Not sure why - I'd done a Saltstick at the start and halfway point, and took a Gu gel at 14K...but I was absolutely starving so maybe that was it.

I think I'm getting used to the cold water soaks - as soon as I got home I got in the water and it felt soooo good.  So far so good, my legs are feeling pretty good as well.

Overall stats - 3:08 hours, 28 kilometres, 1657 calories burned - pizza, anyone?  :)

Lovin' the Long Weekend

OK - who the heck to do we have to petition to change our work week?  Seriously, I totally think it should be changed to a four day work week - is everyone with me on this?!  I never find that the weekends are long enough...by the time that I'm finished all the chores and general house-y type stuff that one has to do to avoid the wrath of our strata, it's like 5pm on Sunday so I get a few hours to sit down before I have to go to bed.   Anyways, I am loving the fact that I still have another day off!

This weekend has been a really busy one so far - yesterday we spent the whole day in the garden, and then I spent a few hours prepping food for the weekly cooking.  I had a ton of cooking to do this week, as we're away next weekend so I had to basically do two week's worth of cooking today...I think I was cooking for almost 6 hours today, in addition to the 2 hours yesterday.  I'm definitely finding that incorporating more vegetarian dishes is adding more time to the cooking as the recipes I've chosen seem to be more labour intensive - I think to add more layers of  flavour so the dishes aren't bland.  Anyways, I'm good with it if it means that Hub's cholesterol numbers get better (Week 3 of Cholesterol Challenge!).

For whatever reason, I'd forgotten that I owned the Rebar cookbook - Rebar Restaurant is this great little place in Victoria where they have great vegetarian food, delish baked goods and amazing smoothies.  If you're ever in these here parts, check it out at http://www.rebarmodernfood.com/.  I flipped through it and decided to try the Anaheim Black Bean Burgers, Tuscan White Bean Soup with Rosemary and Kale, and the Shiitake Tofu Potstickers.  I haven't tried the burgers yet so will review once I do, but the soup was a little meh.  It wasn't bad per se, but it tasted a little flat.  The potstickers however...those are another story!

These are FANTASTIC.  A little labour intensive, but the end result is worth it.  They'd be great as an appy for a party with a little soy dip - I improvised and did half soy, half rice vinegar and some pressed garlic.  Hubs couldn't believe how good these were...and said "if this is what going vegetarian tastes like, I'm there!" 

Shiitake Tofu Potstickers with Scallions, Ginger and Cilantro - from Rebar Modern Food Cookbook

1 oz dried shiitake mushrooms
1 block firm tofu, pressed (put tofu between two plates, place can/brick on top for an hour)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 scallions, finely minced
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cracked pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp minced cilantro
round wonton wrappers
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp water

Place mushrooms in a bowl and cover wiht boiling water.  Put a small plate on top to keep mushrooms submerged, and soak for one hour.  Drain, cool, and finely shop.

Drain pressed tofu and crumble.  Heats oils in a skillet and saute the garlic, ginger, chile flakes and scallions until golden.  Add crumbled tofu, mushrooms, pepper and soy sauce and saute until the mixture is dry and heated through.  Stir in cilantro.

Whisk cornstarch and water in a small bowl.  Take a wonton wrapper and place a teaspoonful of filling in the center of the wrapper.  Brush some cornstarch water along the edge of the wonton with your finger.  Press the edges together to form a half moon, making sure the filling remains packaged within and all edges are well sealed. 

To cook, heat oil in a heavy skillet until a drop of water bounces and sizzles.  Working with up to 8 potstickers at a time, place them in the hot oil and fry for several minutes until golden.  Turn over, carefully add a few tablespoons of water to the pan and immediately cover with a lid.  Fry for a few more minutes to heat through and crispen.  Drain on a paper towel and repeat with remaining potstickers.

My adjustments:  I doubled the garlic, used 3 tbsp of soy sauce, and added the sesame oil as a flavouring rather than cooking the tofu in it...I find the sesame flavour stays stronger that way.  I also steamed these on a plate in an extra large frying pan that I have, to save time and calories.

Give these a try - you won't be disappointed!!

PS.  28K on the schedule for tomorrow - woot!