Weekly Training Log - Week 13

Only three more weeks until the half-marathon and I am definitely on track to PR but I am starting to worry about my speed.  For the amount of training I have put in I feel like I should be faster. 

This was a recovery week so the mileage is lower than it has been.

Monday - Yoga.  This was a new class and a new type of yoga for me: kundalini yoga.  If you read about it it sounds a little woo-woo but it is great breath work and mental cleansing plus a couple of moves that kicked my butt.  A winner I think.

Tuesday - Cancelled the scheduled run because of some family health drama.  All is normal again now.

Thursday - Four great miles around the home neighborhood.  I chose the hilly route because I need some hill work and I am proud to say I didn't have to walk any of the hills.  Even the beast that appears at about .15 miles in to the run.  Woo-hoo!

Friday - 3.5 craptastic miles.  I haven't felt this sluggish on a run in a very, very long time.  While I was out there I mentally went over my food intake for the day and I am pretty sure that is the culprit. 

Sunday - 11 miles!  My legs got really tired after mile 6 but I pushed on and finished without walk breaks.  I had to really, really, really fight myself to not stop but I didn't and that was a huge mental boost for me.  The bad part about this run was "Morton's Neuroma:  The Return".  Instead of the usual numbness I have always experienced, about 7 miles in I could feel sharp shooting pains start in my left foot.  It got really bad in the last 1.5 miles;  I actually yelped out loud a few times.  Yes, I yelped.  It was particularly painful when I would step on a pebble with just the right part of my foot.  Most unpleasant.  I am buying new shoes and new SuperFeet this weekend which will help down the road but I won't wear them for Eugene.  There just isn't enough time to break them in properly.  In the meantime I might just stay off of gravel paths. 

Total mileage:  18.5

Happy Kitty Anniversary

Six years ago today I found Jackie at the Humane Society and brought her home with me.  She was nine months old at the time and hasn't aged one bit.   She is still the same weight, which means if she were a person she could totally still fit into her old high school jeans.  Bitch.

She is still playful but respectful of bedtime which are wonderful qualities in a cat.  She is also becoming a bit of a lap cat but only for me and, much to his dismay, not for Kevin.  She'll get there though.  Lately, she has been enjoying her cat condo and all the birds that descend in almost Hitchcock-ian fashion upon our bird feeders.  The hummingbirds have also drawn a lot of interest.  They must look like the world's biggest insects to the cats.

She is probably the sweetest little kitty I ever met and I am very glad I found her meowing with her little paw reaching out of her cage towards me. 

Getting ready to bat a hair tie and send it flying.

It is also the 144th birthday of the ASPCA so go forth and hug a furry friend today and do something nice for those that aren't fortunate to have homes yet.

Easter Eats

What is the first thing you do with your big box of fresh produce that is meant to help you eat healthier?  Why you make a tart, of course.  A Meyer lemon and chocolate tart to be exact and my it was tasty.  Healthy eating is awesome! 

This was one of our desserts on Easter which, of course included the traditional ritual bread bunny slaughter.  Even though I know my brother is going to do this every year I am still surprised when, at some point, I turn around in the kitchen and see the bunicide on the table.  This is really the only family tradition we have.  Not sure what that says about us.

I hope you all had a fabulous bunny day. 

Green Smoothie Joy

It is 10:00 a.m. and I have already had my five servings of fruits and vegetables.  I love the green smoothie.

Weekly Training Log - Week 12

I hit another weekly mileage PR last week:  23 miles.  I think I am going to drop the overall mileage this week but still bump up the long run mileage on Sunday.  The Higdon schedule I am ever so loosely following has this week as a recovery week so I think I will *ahem* run with that this week.

Monday - One hour of yoga.  This was my first class since my Thursday night classes ended.  It was taught at the Y and I didn't like it so much.  I got some good stretching and strengthening but no time to quiet the mind.  I am surprised by how much I missed that part of it.  I found a different class at a different Y this week and I LOVED it.

Tuesday - 4 mile inadvertent tempo run at the lake.  I meant this to be just an easy four-miler but everything just felt great so I went "fast". 

Thursday - Blew off spinning class because I was exhausted.  Felt some rest and grocery shopping were a better use of my time.

Friday - 5 miles of half-marathon pace at the lake.  However, I couldn't hold myself down to that slow of a pace for some reason and ended up doing 30 seconds per mile faster then I set out to do.  On the plus side, I was able to hold the entire 5 miles at the exact same pace which is almost impossible for me.

Saturday - 4 miles on a quesy stomach in the rain.  I really wasn't feeling good but made myself go out and do this. 

Sunday - 10 miles in gorgeous weather.  This was much more difficult than last Sunday's run even though the conditions were vastly improved.  I actually had to take a couple of walk breaks but I still cranked them out.  Hooray for the out and back run because it leaves you no choice but to finish your distance. 

Monthly Weigh-In

This wasn't exactly what I had expected this month.  I thought I could hit my 10% loss goal but I fell a little short.  I admit that there were more than a few days where the point counting got a little loose and it shows in the results.  However, it is still a loss for the month of 2.4 pounds and I will take it.

Starting Weight (12/29/09): 185

Current Weight (03/31/10): 168.8
Pounds Lost: 16.2

The Veggies Are Here! The Veggies Are Here!

I used to serve as kind of a fruit and vegetable hospice.  I would buy the lettuce or the pepper at the grocery store and bring it back to live out the rest of its existence in the comfort of my vegetable crisper.  Nothing was asked of it and it was allowed a dignified death; if by diginified death you mean turning to squish in my refrigerator. But no more.  I have turned a corner (or a new leaf one, who is punny could say) and have began to embrace vegetables.  While Kevin was gone for a month I even, of my own volition, cooked and consumed broccoli.  Twice. I know, I know, who is this person and what have you done with Ann-Marie?

In the spirit of new, healthier food discovery I signed us up for a CSA last week.  CSA is Community Supported Agriculture for those not familiar with the acronym.  Our first delivery from our CSA came this morning and I am very excited about our produce.  OK, this isn't a CSA in the most technical sense of the word and yes I am aware how geeky being excited by produce is.  They do get product from outside their farm especially during the winter and early spring when not a lot is growing around these parts  They partner with mostly Washington and neighboring states but also with other producers.  It doesn't meet the locavore standard but I am not trying to be a locavore.  Besides, fresh produce from this region this time of year will pretty much be crap I don't want to eat; asparagus anyone? 

The produce is all certified organic and comes highly recommended by my friend Liane who has been a customer of theirs for awhile. 

Our box of happy that was delivered sometime before dawn this morning.

The contents of our box: 

• Four Cameo apples (I ate one today so there are only three in the picture)
• Four D'Anjou pears
• One pound zucchini
• Tomato
• One pound potatoes
• One bunch carrots
• One bunch French breakfast radishes (who the hell eats radishes for breakfast? *le sigh*)
• Four Valencia oranges
• Two Meyer lemons (I have been wanting to try these for awhile.  They included a recipe for a lemon/chocolate tart that I might make for this weekend.)
• One bunch green chard (any cooking suggestions?)
• One bunch Romaine lettuce
• One cucumber (for which Kevin is wholly responsible to eat)

You can permanently omit up to five items and we chose to never receive asparagus, avocado, cauliflower, mushrooms and okra.  You can also customize your order each order period if you want to make substitutions.  There might need to be beet substitutions in the future.  We are getting the small shipment every two weeks.  Once the tasty summer fruits and veggies start pouring in I might consider a weekly shipment though.

Seriously, any ideas what the hell to do with chard?  I don't care much for cooked greens as the texture is a little too close to mucous.