What Have I Been Up To?

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Cherry Tree Festival – Blackstone Valley Half Marathon - my two second review, super organized race, pretty trails, some hills, would have done better had I listened to my own advice and been careful of my food consumption the day before. Had lots of fun running with friends though!

Fish tacos for summer!

Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day – Orzo Salad with Broccoli Pesto

Hanging with the geese on the Charles…

AND…

Chasing chickens with Kristina!!!

Get over here NOW chickens!

Got one!

Get on my arm!

Or not.

Here Kristina, I’ll help you.

Kristina, you look so happy!

You dropped your chicken!

Alright, that’s probably enough chickens.

Let’s talk about my plan.

  • Mon – Run 5m
  • Tues – Strength
  • Wed – Run 3m
  • Thurs – Run 3m & strength
  • Fri – Rest
  • Sat – Run 6m
  • Sun – Some type of cross training

I’m having a bit of a hard time with this succeeding then failing healthy eating thing and not getting down on myself. Don’t feel like dwelling on it now, but feel free to share some words of motivation/encouragement. Just in a rut. The end.

 

Twin Lights Half Marathon

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It was beautiful weather in Gloucester yesterday. The earlier morning temps were perfect racing weather, as it warmed up it was a tad warm for running, but still gorgeous. Part of the reason I chose to run the Twin Lights Half Marathon before the one planned for next weekend was to see the ocean views in Gloucester and Rockport during the run.

We started out at one of my favorite North Shore beaches, Good Harbor. I didn’t really want to walk around in the sand with my running shoes (sandy shoes for 13 miles, no thank you), so the picture is not great, but still pretty.

Earlier this week I was looking at some reviews of the Twin Lights Half Marathon and was realizing that this was not going to be a flat race. I was still holding out hope that perhaps it was not quite as hilly as “constant rolling hills”, but I learned that was correct on race day.

I was nervous as I really was not properly trained this time around, I could sit here and make excuses, but the majority of the time it was an accumulation of poor choices and too many ignored alarm clocks. On top of this, I never train for hills. I know that sounds like not the brightest choice, but I just don’t. Most of the places to run around me just don’t have hills, like running around the Charles. Honestly I’ve also found that by walking most hills in races (speed walking, not just leisurely walking) I am only going slightly slower than I would be at my struggling running pace uphill. And then I have saved the energy it took to make it up that hill. I know, I know, I should probably just train for it, but just doesn’t seem worth it to me right now.

Anyway, this is a seriously hilly course. It was an out and back course and I handled the hills fairly well on the way out, running some of the smaller ones, walking the large ones. I was actually pretty hopeful that I could beat my PR at this point. And then about halfway through I realized that was not happening. The hills were rough, the heat was on and the race was lacking in water stations. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth the extra weight of running with my fuel belt in a race, but I was thankful I did during this one. And I actually did need more liquid than I ran with, it must have been super tough for those that did not have anything.

To be clear, there were water/gatorade stations, but on the second half most of the stations seemed to be out of liquids or out of cups. They were trying their best by portioning out small amounts or holding up the containers so runners could drink below, but as you can imagine this is not ideal on a hot day. I was also a little confused that the stations were often on the opposite side of the road, there really should have been enough to have stations on both sides. I guess this would be less of an issue if the roads were completely closed, but they weren’t so if you really wanted to stop you had to cross the street with cars coming by.

Sadly I had my worst half marathon time at this race, but when you don’t train well with a challenging course that is what happens. On the second half of the course I did quite a bit of walking. At least I can be proud of the last 0.1 miles, I always like to finish strong as possible, Ben caught me right before the finish line.

At mile 10 all I could think about was having a large cold beer and a maybe a dip in the ocean. Anyone else crave beer during their long runs or races?

So I skipped the cold dip in the ocean, but beers we had! We paid a visit to Cala’s in Manchester and spent time with my friend Jaime. And seriously, I love all the food here, but these lobster rolls are always amazing (and not to mention the hand-cut fries). Plates were definitely cleaned.

And then back to Boston, desperately in need of a shower!

All in all, if you want a challenging course with beautiful views you should run this race. I know I mentioned some issues, but to be fair I’m pretty sure this race is in its second or third year and it takes some time and money to get everything to go along smoothly.

One plus, free race photo downloads, you don’t see that very often. I’ll share what I am guessing will be super flattering pictures as soon as I have them!

Wouldn’t Blame You

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If you stopped checking out my blog. I have become very inconsistent, if not, non-existent. I wish I had better excuses, but life has just been BUSY and work has still been enjoyable, but definitely long and tiring at times. That said, I really need to try to be a better blogger, because I really DO enjoy this part of my life. Even if no one reads my blog, I still love it. (although so much better when people do and make comments : )

Anyway, Ben and I just returned from a lovely vacation down in South Florida to visit my aunt, uncle and sister. (yes, I know I could have blogged on vacation, but I just wasn’t into using the computer, can you blame me?). We hadn’t been down there in a couple of years so it was so nice to spend time with family and catch up while also obviously enjoying the sun!

As usual, I’m not the best at taking pictures. The first set is some very nice family ones that my sister, Jean took, thank you Jean! (PS once again did not get a picture of the two of us!)

Happy Birthday Uncle Gary!

Me & Aunt Annie

Onto some wildlife, well, and other things.

I just thought this little owl was adorable. Visit at the nature center.

Further proof of my klutziness – bet you didn’t think it was possible to injure yourself on a stationary escalator.

Well, you would be wrong! On the next set, my aunt and uncle live in a neighborhood that uniquely has its own set of peacocks. It’s pretty cool!

Hello there

Uh oh, watch out Jean!

Mating time?

And to end, a pretty cool butterfly, don’t you think?

Sadly I am entering a state of depression knowing that my vacation time is over. I guess I should post some workouts and get motivated. Twin Lights Half Marathon this Saturday! Anyone else running that one? I’m a little on the nervous side, didn’t exactly do my best training. I would love to PR, but I would also be just as happy with finishing. Please send some PR positivity my way!

The remainder of the week…

And this week’s motivation…

 

A Sugar Vacation

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What a beautiful day!

Ben and I had plans to meet up with friends and took a nice stroll down Commonwealth and through the Commons to meet up. Just before I had completed a lovely ten mile run around the Charles. With a few walking breaks, just a few…but it was perfect running weather, still cloudy at that point and 60ish degrees. Albeit slow, I was proud I finished the ten. I had missed a few long runs so it was definitely not easy to complete. There were a bunch of people out for a day of cleaning up the Charles River. I felt a little bad not helping out, but a big thank you to all the volunteers!

I might not have pulled off all planned miles this week, but I did try out two classes that I had never done before. Have you ever heard of or taken a Tabata class? I had a free pass to try it out at Equinox this past week. That is a super intense class, but I loved it! Basically for the entire 45 minutes you are doing 20 seconds of activity mixed with 10 seconds rest, and those 20 seconds are a bunch of reps of each activity. For example, one was doing burpees with a bosu ball, another might be reverse lunges off three steps, bicycle crunches, etc. You get the idea. Not only was the class intense, but I really liked it because it was doable for someone like me that has no spatial sense or really sense of direction whatsoever. I am easily intimidated in classes, because it takes me twice as long to “get” a movement as everyone else. In this Tabata class the movements were effective and straightforward that way not a second was wasted having to figure it out.

The other class I tried out was at the Life in Synergy studio. I had purchased a living social deal here awhile ago. I was a little worried about going to a class on my own, but I started out with a basics level and actually was perfect, because the class only ended up being me, one other person and the instructor so it was a great way to learn. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was thinking it would be something totally cheesy, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. The instructor told me that the focus was to work on the muscles that we don’t use when we are sitting at our desks all day long. This makes sense to me and I was definitely pretty sore by the end and doubly sore since I had taken Tabata the night before and this class the next morning!

I’m feeling good about my activity levels, here’s how I did all week:

  • Sat – Run 3m Oops
  • Sun – Run 9m Ran 4.25 miles, too hot
  • Mon – Rest Done
  • Tues – 9×400 @5k pace Done
  • Wed – Run 3m & Tabata Ran 2m & Tabata
  • Thurs – Life in Synergy class Done
  • Fri – Run 5m Ran 2.75 miles
  • Sat – Run 10m Done
  • Sun – Rest or Strength Train I’m thinking it’s a rest day
So I feel good about my workouts, but the eating still not quite right. Well, not really at all. I’ve decided that starting tomorrow I’ll be taking a little sugar vacation for about 4 weeks. Sounds like a really cool vacation filled with sugar, right? Yeah, that’s me trying to make it sound positive. It’s a vacation AWAY from sugar. To be clear, sugar is still going in my coffee. But no more sweet treats. For now.
I know the theories always say that you shouldn’t totally deny yourselves things, that skipping it altogether will just make the craving worse and worse. I know there is something to be said about that thought, but when you lack self-control a little bit just turns into a whole lot more. Anyone want to join me on my sugar vacation? I’m thinking starting tomorrow until Memorial Day weekend.
Workout plan this week…
  • Mon – Run 5m
  • Tues - Life in Synergy class & Spinning
  • Wed – Run 9×400
  • Thurs – Tabata
  • Fri – Run 5m
  • Sat – Run 11m
  • Sun – Rest
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

I Guess I Learned Something

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Obviously.

So my workout plan has not been all that successful this week, mostly due to my laziness, but a little bit of lingering lung issues. Like is it normal for your lungs to feel like they are on fire when you workout? Just wondering?

Anyway, I accomplished a 2 mile run on Tuesday (not going to dwell on the fact that I have to add 7 to that for tomorrow’s run). That was about it  with the exception of Wednesday night.

Not sure if I mentioned this earlier, probably not, since I’ve been delinquent in blogging, but my work has offered a healthy challenge which include some local gym benefits. A week or so ago I had the lovely “weigh in” experience. Actually, this was much less about weight and more about body fat percentage and also included interesting facts like the weight of your bones, water in your body and muscles. Although I could have done without knowing my body fat percentage (not cool), it was really interesting to understand how much the muscle in your body really weighs. One thing that was noted was a slight difference in my right and left, which I’m thinking is fairly normal, but it’s pretty clear to me when I try a one-legged squat on my left side it can’t be done and on my right I can at least finish a few.

On top of this consultation there is one also one free training session. I was a tad nervous as I hadn’t worked out in a couple of weeks due to sickness and let’s be honest, my strength training has been pretty non-existent lately. I have the hardest time getting more than a 20 minute strength workout in when I’m training for a race, but really I have the time, I just have to actually get up when my alarm goes off and not snooze it a million and one times, anyway…

Have you ever been on one of those treadmills that you essentially power yourself? Okay, seriously, I knew it would be hard, but I just couldn’t get it for the life of me. The trainer had me switching back and forth between this treadmill or whatever the formal name is and then using resistance bands for squats, shoulder presses, side squats etc. etc. So I could get the treadmill to work while I was holding on when my trainer had me doing a “jog”, but then he made me let go and “sprint”. Um yeah, my “sprint” was a whopping 4.5 mph, I just could not get the hang of it and it was really hard!

Afterwards we discussed my workout plans (of course recommending personal training packages, which I would LOVE, but no can do financially). One thing that the trainer noted was to be proud of my running accomplishments, but that most likely I was not going to lose more weight from running. I know this might sound strange, but for myself, I honestly do agree. When I first started running a few years ago I went from being a complete couch potato to a runner at least 5 days a week. And…………………

I didn’t lose A POUND. It was not until I started making adjustments to my eating habits that I saw any weight loss. And then later on I lost even more when I seriously added strength training into my routine, and it was only two days a week (in addition to the cardio or running). I don’t know that it is the same for anyone else, but for me that is what works. And by doing that workout on Wednesday I was reminded of just how weak I had let myself get, by not keeping a regular strength training routine or really doing anything new. And right now I do have a busy job, but I don’t have kids and life only ever gets busier so I really need to be working on this stuff now so that it is so ingrained in my lifestyle that it is natural to include even when life does get busier. Make sense?

Of course, easier said than done. As you can probably guess, strength training, WAY easier to add that than me adjusting my food intake. As usual. Baby steps, right ?

Okay, so I’m going to go ahead and post this week’s schedule and include a couple of new fitness classes to spice up my routine and challenge myself. I’m also going to go ahead and read these for the very near Boston marathon. So incredibly motivating. So exciting, anyone else going to watch on Monday??

  • Sat – Run 3m
  • Sun – Run 9m
  • Mon – Rest
  • Tues – 9×400 @5k pace
  • Wed – Run 3m & Tabata
  • Thurs – Life in Synergy class
  • Fri – Run 5m
  • Sat – Run 10m
  • Sun – Rest or Strength Train

Getting Back

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Well, that was a bit of a hiatus. When you are sick for two weeks and the limited energy available needs to go into work; cooking and working out are not very high priorities. Hence, my lack of blog posts. Not a whole lot to share when all you do is go to work and sleep. Although, on second thought I could have posted some really attractive pictures, let’s see how red can Jess’ nose can get?

I have a little concern in the back of my mind that I missed two weeks of half marathon training and more importantly two long runs. Yikes. I’m trying not to get too freaked, I mean breathing has kind of been an issue for two weeks so there’s not much I could have done. Breathing is fairly essential to running.

Per doctor’s orders, I was unable to run my 5k on Saturday, but my awesome sister-in-law, Bethany was talked into walking the course with me. Thank you Bethany!

If I had been smart, I would have taken a picture of us at the race. But I’m not. So instead, here is one from November.

We walked the 5k  and finished in an unbelievably fast time of 49 minutes. Amazing isn’t it? Olympic speed walking team here we come. It was a very nice walking time on a sunny, cool day catching up. Ben might have gone just a bit faster. He has now completed his one run for 2012. Check.

So here’s the plan for this week. My first workout back will be tomorrow morning. I’m hoping my running capabilities have not totally disappeared, starting to run again at the beginning is always the worst!

  • Mon – one more rest day
  • Tues – Run 3m
  • Wed – 8×400 & Strength
  • Thurs – Rest if needed
  • Fri – Run 5m
  • Sat – Run 10m
  • Sun – Strength

AND I ALSO have a recipe for you. Not my recipe mind you, but yet another from my dear friend, Amanda. I could have sworn I already shared this one here so glad I made it tonight to share with you now. It is fabulous and very quick and easy to throw together for a nice light dinner.

Amanda’s Kalamata-Lemon Chicken with a side of grilled asparagus.

 

Amanda’s Kalamata-Lemon Chicken

  • 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I also will use chicken breast too)
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1/2 of a lemon cut into wedges
  • 1 tsp Greek seasoning
  • 2/3 cup dried orzo
  • 14 oz chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a casserole dish, combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Stir, cover, bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through.

 

Uh Oh

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It’s been confirmed.

There is a Mouse in my House.

Not cool.

Been sick on the couch all day, about to take a nap and then a little mouse friend ran through the kitchen. I tried opening the door, stamping my feet and banging the swiffer around, but the mouse did not come out or run outside. Next step, traps. Yuck.

Well, I have pretty much nothing to share. Big fat zero, zip on the workout front. Too sick, too tired. I’m hoping to try a brief run tomorrow after work. Wish me luck. Here’s the plan for now (yet to be revised for sick me).

  • Mon – Run 4.5m
  • Tues – 8×400
  • Wed – Run 4m & Strength
  • Thurs – Rest
  • Fri – Run 4m pace
  • Sat – Todd’s Trot 5k
  • Sun – Run 9m

 

 

I Tried to Poach an Egg

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And it was a major fail.

This month’s Bon Appetit had a whole egg section, with one portion devoted to the detailed instructions of poaching an egg. Description was to have each egg sit in vinegar for a bit and once the pot of water comes to a boil, whisk the water until a “vortex” is created and drop one egg in along with the vinegar. Sounds easy right? I was actually a little more concerned with finding a way to continue the whisking after the egg had dropped in than this part.

Do you know what happens when you haphazardly drop the egg into the swirling vortex? You end up with shredded egg white and a random yolk swirling around. It’s not pretty or appetizing.

Am I the only one that is unable to poach an egg? I guess I only really tried once, and Ben and I were a bit too hungry for lots of experimenting time. So next plan, soft-boiled eggs instead!

And not quite…

Well, it was a good try anyway and still tasty. Grilled asparagus with crisped pancetta and hard-boiled egg to top.

Unfortunately, I have managed to get sick. So annoying. I am thoroughly annoyed. And sick.

Sick enough that my workout plans have been dismissed. I think I’ll give it a try tomorrow and see how I feel though. I’m a little worried going so long without a run and just remembered Ben and I have a 5k coming up very soon. Yikes!

Anyway, I better wrap this post up soon since it’s a necessary early bedtime for me. Dinner concept and recipe for tonight was provided by my good friend, Jaime and it was delicious!

Seafood stew, leeks and onion sautéed in olive oil, white wine, chicken broth, tomatoes, scallops and cod. Yum! Hopefully this cures my ills. Goodnight!

 

Well Hello There

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Meet my new friends.

I met with friends from my church for our group half-marathon training run on Saturday. Two of us were waiting for the others to arrive and as my friend took her backpack out apparently these ducks decided there must be food involved. They were pretty cute and I was really surprised how close they came up to me (about a foot away) without even a hint of food around. They stared at us for a minute or so and then gave up and returned to the Charles. Silly ducks.

Since we are talking about animals, let’s continue discussing my dog obsession. Well, remember my crazy dog lady post and the pug I met that morning. Well, I’m so ridiculous that while I was waiting on the Charles, I once again stopped to ask to pet this adorable little pug that was walking by. Then I asked the name, um yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s the same exact pug I met that early morning. If the owner didn’t think I was crazy the first time, she most certainly does now. Oops.

I meant to post more this week, but the days just got away from me. I cooked less than expected, these allergies are seriously kicking my butt this week. Anyone else having the same? Claritin is a lifesaver right now.

Alright, how did we do…one note before I begin, the Achilles pain was a bit worse this week. Not to say this is as an excuse, because clearly I could have done something other than run, but I did have to back off on the runs during the week.

  • Mon – Run 4m Yes!
  • Tues – HILLS No
  • Wed – Run 3m & strength No
  • Thurs – Rest Strength
  • Fri – Run 3m pace No
  • Sat – Run 8m Done
  • Sun – Strength No

I’m hoping the Achilles calms down this week, but we will see for tomorrow’s run. I always get a little panicky when I start having pain. I know I’m not the only runner to go through this, but it is so, so frustrating to be injured. But this is also a reason why I should run when I can. I’m lucky enough to be able to, so I need to do it! The end!
This week…
  • Mon – Run 4m
  • Tues – 7×400
  • Wed – Run 3m & strength
  • Thurs – Rest
  • Fri – Run 3m pace
  • Sat – Run 8m
  • Sun – Strength

Looks similar I know, but technically with my training plan I’m supposed to run a 10k race this weekend, but it’s not going to work with our weekend plans so 8m repeat for me. I’m glad to have one more week with 8 miles anyway, the run on Saturday went well, but I was definitely feeling like my legs were like lead.

I’m starting to get in a salad rut. I really would like to continue keeping my lunch salads vegan, anyone have some magical vegan salad combos I should try out? This week, I’m having salad with one of these black bean burgers on top. Need ideas, please!

Also, can someone tell me why I cannot help, but rub my eye every time after I chop a jalapeno! Make the burn stop!

Gluten Free, Not For Me

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About a month ago I had a regular physical with my doctor and casually mentioned that I was finding weight loss not so easy. I know I don’t have a ton to lose, but I would like to be in a healthier range for sure. What I didn’t mention was that perhaps my lack of loss was due to my ridiculous sweet tooth (for example, cupcakes were brought in for my birthday, let’s not get into the details though). I’m sure my current status has absolutely nothing to do with Cadbury eggs showing up in stores again either. Just no way.

On that note, seriously, how can you not LOVE Cadbury eggs??? I find that people love them or hate them, but I don’t understand you haters.

They are delicious and nutritious! Okay, maybe I lied about that last part.

Anyway, back on topic. I casually mentioned this to my doctor, who is awesome, by the way. And she suggested giving a gluten-free diet a try for about 6 weeks time and see how things went. She also asked me to provide her with a list of the last three days of food I had consumed. Since this was one of the first weeks that I noticed the Cadbury eggs out and about, guess who did not do her homework?

So I thought, I’m not a big fan of eliminating entire food groups, but I figured why not give it a try. Now, I didn’t exactly go with what I will so technically refer to as “hard-core” gluten-free for one reason. I have a few friends that are actually allergic to gluten and it makes them sick to consume any amount. I know that they have a difficult time as it is going to restaurants and specifying gluten-free when so many people are doing a gluten-free diet for one of the more recent trends in weight loss. Because of that I think that some restaurants might be a little less reactive when someone states a gluten allergy. I don’t want to make that worse, so I tried my best to order gluten-free during this “trial period”, but with minimal disruption to others around me.

So for two and a half weeks I was totally gluten-free, would have probably gone for longer if not due to the weirdo power outages in the Back Bay. All my healthy prepared foods didn’t really make it through. Now, if I’m to be totally honest, did I actually feel good while I was eating gluten-free? No, I did not. I think my digestive system actually did not appreciate it, I also didn’t feel like my eating had  changed all that much. I was reminded again. I really don’t eat a lot of processed foods. I don’t even eat a ton of “gluten heavy” foods. Most of the foods I consume are also organic and not genetically modified as are some of the concerns that people have with wheat (I think this is right, but feel free to comment if I’m incorrect?). My problem is all portion control (okay and sweets, but biggest challenge, portions and self-control).

So my conclusion, gluten free is not for me! I think it would be helpful for someone who needs to start with cutting down on processed foods first as gluten seems to be in everything processed and might make some of your food decisions easier. Unless you have an allergy, I say maybe it’s best not to cut out total sections of food, makes it really hard to maintain and feel successful. Anyway, that is my two cents and simply my opinion. I am by no means qualified to give any medical or nutrition advice :)

Now, what is the opposite of gluten-free?

Pasta! Want to make me happy? Just make me pesto sauce. That’s it.

I am loving running in this weather. I almost got a little carried away and signed up for a third half-marathon in the month of May, but thought that might be a little much. Don’t forget to join me on Daily Mile. The more friends the merrier, I find it so motivating!