More coming…

I’m also quite charged up about some of the produce that’s available this week.

I have been devouring blood oranges.

They taste like navel oranges, but with a super-interesting aftertaste.  I can’t explain it, but I love, love them.

I’ve also been continuing to eat as many greens as I can stand.  This wrap has red pepper spread, organic greens, edamame and half of  a boiled egg.  It was quite satisfying.

I’m normally not a big oatmeal fan, but I decided today to make a bowl of oatmeal that tastes like an awesome granola bar.

I added coconut flakes, sunflower butter and dried cherries.

After breakfast I was privileged to be joined by my oldest son for two of the 6-mile run I had planned.

After the first two he needed a walking break so I kept going and looped back around and picked him up.  I kept thinking, as I saw women pushing jogging strollers:  it won’t be long before that little bundle will get out of that stroller and run along beside you!

Lunch was a ton of roasted brussels sprouts, brown rice, black beans and two pearl tomatoes sliced up.

Normally after lunch I start looking for chocolate.  But today this lunch satisfied me, so I’ll go searching for the dark stuff later on.

Tapering is going well, but my runs have not felt easy or light yet.  I’m hoping by next week I will be flooded with energy, my legs will feel fresh, and I will be ready to knock down 26.2 miles!

Have a great weekend!

Since I know my body is working hard to repair itself in preparation for the Surf City Marathon on February 6, I’m trying to feed it well.

Over the past few days I have eaten an entire bunch of kale all by myself.

Here’s how:

I made black bean burritos and layered kale over the beans.  I added an egg for extra protein.  I sautéed the kale in olive oil, garlic, a little water and a bit of apple cider vinegar.  It was perfect.

The next morning I had a smoothie with kale:

In it:

1 banana

1 cup kale

1 scoop whey protein powder

1/2 soy milk

water

It was delicious.

I had more kale for breakfast today.  I made the same smoothie as yesterday, but served it in a bowl with some Hemp Granola cereal and a glob of peanut butter.

Believe me, there’s no way I could eat kale raw.  But if  it’s cooked well, or combined with other ingredients, it’s delicious!

I haven’t been eating enough greens over the past few weeks, but I am trying to make a commitment to eating at least a serving a day since flu season has arrived.

Last night I made a giant salad with organic greens.

This is one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salads. 

I added:

dried tart cherries

organic Fuji apple

onion

edamame

balsamic vinaigrette

I did my next to last speed workout this morning.  Sadly, I did not stick to the training plan and ran my fast five miles about 20 seconds per/mile slower than I would have liked.  However, I am not angry with myself about this at all, because I know that “blowing it out” a week and a half away from the marathon is not a good idea.

I am focusing on eating well, getting rest and staying healthy instead.

I will  be thankful to make it to the starting line with strong legs.

Have a great Thursday!

We are now running low on fruits and vegetables, and while I am tempted to just make a simple peanut butter and jelly for lunch and call it a day, I forced myself to look a little deeper.

Into the freezer.

Remember these?

Since we don’t have a microwave, I dumped it into a sauté pan and heated it up quickly.  Next, I roasted some frozen broccoli on 425 in the oven.

Lunch!

I had another boring blackberry smoothie for breakfast, along with a half of a bagel. 

I had to move my run to the gym today, as I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get out of the house once my husband left for work.  I did an easy 6 miles and then did some strength training.

I’ve been spending most of my time taking care of my middle son for the past few days, and I it takes me back to the days when worked out bleary-eyed at the gym in the early morning hours before the workday began.

Thank goodness for podcasts and yogadownload.com, which make it possible for me to work out at home when I wake up.

On the agenda for tomorrow:  grocery shopping and cross training.

Have a great Tuesday!

(source)

I don’t eat these guys, so I have a little guilt when I take their milk.  I won’t get into the ethical implications and health hazards of consuming too many animal products, but I do want to discuss eating dairy products.

A few years ago my husband’s acne flared up terribly after Christmas, and we couldn’t find anything to reduce the inflammation.  He never seemed to grow out of his teenage pimple problems. 

Exasperated, we decided to look into what he was eating to see if we could control the break-outs.  The first thing he cut out of his diet was dairy.  No more cheese.  No more yogurt.  No more milk.

Within a week his skin had cleared, so he continues to shun any food laced with dairy products.  He can’t have pizza, cheese dip, ice cream.  To him it’s not worth looking like a teenager, and he’s found plenty of foods to satisfy his cravings.  He uses soy milk in his cereal, skips cheese on his pizza and has dark chocolate for dessert instead of ice cream.  It’s working beautifully.

Except that since I am a vegetarian, and he can’t eat dairy, our meals can be complicated.

Last night I had this:

An organic cheese pizza to which I added peppers, spinach and red pepper flakes.  I was really craving pizza after my long run yesterday, and this hit the spot.

There were only two problems:

• my husband had to fend for himself for dinner (we had leftovers, it was fine)
• the pizza gave me a stomach-ache

I had stomach cramps for the rest of the night!  I am suspecting that since I cook mostly non-dairy meals around here, that I am becoming hyper-sensitive  to it as well.

I do eat yogurt on occasion, but I hardly ever eat  cheese;  we just don’t have it lying around. 

I am a bit sad that I might have to forgo an entire food group from now on.  I know I won’t miss it that much, mainly because I think eating dairy only occasionally is much better for your health.  But not being able to eat it will make me feel claustrophobic.

I’m sure there are a million environmental and health reasons that one should avoid consuming animal products, so I should stop my belly-aching about it and move on.

For breakfast I stuck to a smoothie with added Multi-grain Cheerios.  I had a half of a bagel later in the morning.

For lunch I had red peppers, onions and leftover quinoa, broccoli, spinach, white bean and tofu sauté.

I attempted to do a round of yoga this morning, but ended up in savasana after my first round of sun salutations. 

After such a long run yesterday, it felt perfect.

I addition, my middle son is home sick from school, and I always try to take it easy when there’s sickness in the house.  If I try to stick to my normal routine while taking care of a sick child, I end up getting sick as well.

Have a great afternoon!

I like to be prepared.  I was getting more and more freaked out that my longest run would be 20 miles, and yet somehow I would have to continue on for 6.2 more in the actual race.

I felt like it was like being almost prepared for giving an important speech;  like you would just somehow think of an awesome way to wrap it up at the last minute while on stage in front of everyone.

Today I decided that I would push past 20 and go a little further, just to see what it felt like.

I’m so happy I did.  I think one of the reasons I felt so good is that I stuck to water instead of Gatorade.  I did take two energy gels, one at 8 miles and another at 16, but other than that, it was just plain water for hydration, and my stomach thanked me.

I also had great weather for running – 60s and sunny in the morning. 

(And my handy dandy compression socks.)

Another secret to getting through a long run?  I listened to podcasts of “This American Life,” from NPR and the miles flew by.  I thought listening to stories would slow me down, but I don’t think it did.  For me, it worked much better than music.

I fueled with half of a bagel this morning and this drink:

I’m actually not a huge fan of coconut water, but it seemed to work.

I came home and had a Belgian waffle with almond butter and blackberry smoothie drizzled on top.

And a delicious grapefruit.

I also had an Epsom salt bath and put my feet up for a while.

My dinner last night was actually not very tasty at all.

Broccoli, spinach, quinoa, soy sauce, tofu and white beans. It did the trick, but it was not best meal I’ve ever had.

Lunch was equally mediocre:  hummus, tofu and salsa on whole wheat.

Dinner the night before was just what I needed, however.

A giant veggie burger from Rocky Cola Café with sweet potato fries.

Followed by Sinful chocolate/ Reese’s cup frozen yogurt from Froyo Life.

My appetite is still being quelled by my long run, but I look forward to refueling later today.

Now I’m on to tapering and trusting the miles I’ve put in over the last ten weeks.  Tapering is not my strong suit. 

I will be mentally challenged until race day, for sure.

My speed work had to be readjusted on Thursday due to lack of focus.  My run today was equally lackluster, but I’m trying to look on the bright side – I finished the mileage, and that’s quite an accomplishment.

This morning I had three halves (1 and a half)of a bagel with peanut butter and jam.

These were Thomas’ Whole Grain bagels, which I don’t usually buy.  I paid dearly for overeating fiber on the run (luckily there was a restroom on the route).

For dinner last night I had quinoa, white beans and broccoli with some soy sauce, plus a side of potato.

Lunch yesterday was red peppers, tofu on whole wheat with a side of apple slices.

It was a very red meal.

Breakfast yesterday was a huge smoothie in a bowl with oatmeal and almond butter (I wasn’t able to finish this). 

As I’m getting closer to the marathon (February 6) I am starting to think about my time goal.

When I first signed up, my training runs indicated a possible 3:45 time was possible.  But as I grow more and tired from training, I am going to move it up  to about 4:00 hours, at best.

I have experienced the sensation on my really long runs of “running out of steam” on the last few miles, so I have to be able to give myself some room to breathe time-wise. 

I want to be able to enjoy the end of the marathon and not be beating myself up over lost achievements. (I can be crazy like that).

The more people I talk to say that just finishing should be your goal on your first 26.2 race. 

I couldn’t agree more.

(That’s why I’m not even going to look at what the Boston Qualifying time is for my age group.)

Well, maybe I’ll just take a peak. 

One of the important components of any training plan is good, old-fashioned R-E-S-T.  In addition to all of the running I’ve been doing, I’m also spending much of the rest of my day standing or walking.

This morning I made sure to stretch out Ashtanga-style.  I did a 45-minute variation on the primary series.  I usually practice in the office while everyone sleeps, but since my mom is sleeping in there this week, I’m practicing on the floor beside my bed while my husband sleeps. 

It’s been interesting. (Trying to do difficult poses silently is quite challenging.)

I had a nice piece of toast before I began.

After yoga I had my good ole blackberry smoothie with whey protein and soy milk.

My mom and I went on a mission after breakfast to find a dresser to replace the one I am using.  ( I am actually using a dining room buffet at the moment, because both of our previous houses had dressers built in to the closet.)  I’ve been ready for a real dresser for a while!

Here’s the one we picked:

We got it at Ikea.  I’m not a huge fan of Ikea because the furniture we’ve bought there in the past hasn’t been very sturdy.  But I did my research, and I made sure that the floor sample of this one was holding up well.  (I usually inspect the floor samples for signs of wear and tear to get an idea of what the furniture will look like in a year or two.)

I am most excited about the four drawers across the top because I can put my running gear in them.  The only drawback is that we have to put it together ourselves, which will be no cake walk for sure.

After we shopped, we picked up lunch at Subway.

I had the 6-inch veggie delight with mustard.  It hit the spot. 

I’m not a huge fan of Subway, but it’s often the healthiest option for fast food, so I don’t mind eating it occasionally.

Hopefully this sandwich will fuel me through the rest of the afternoon’s activities.

Have a great night!

Today we went to lunch at Daphne’s Greek Café.  I’d never eaten there before, but I was intrigued.

I had a salad with falafels and some hummus and pita to start.

I love a restaurant that is fast, cheap and has plenty of vegetarian options.  I’m sold!

For breakfast, I had the usual.

Blackberry/whey protein smoothie with a half of a whole wheat bagel smothered in pb & j.

I ran 12 glorious miles today in perfect 75 degree weather and felt great.  I’m still pretty sure I’ll slow way down in the last six miles of the marathon, but hopefully I’ll at least finish!

We ate at the Olive Garden last night on the way home from an adventurous day at Legoland California.  I had a bowl of Minestrone soup (which I’d half-eaten by the time I took this picture, starving as I was) and the limitless salad.

For dessert we all split an order of Zepolli’s.  One was enough for me.  Delicious but very rich.

At Legoland I had a pretty decent lunch:  Caprese Panini.

The pesto was amazing.

Plus salad and some fruit.

I did some more Ashtanga yoga before Legoland and it was so amazing.  My legs felt much better.

I had another frozen berries smoothie with Multi-grain Cheerios after. 

This is my last week of high mileage before I start to taper for the race.  I am trying to put it all out there on my runs this week, because after this week none of the miles I run will matter anymore.

This is it.

I’m tired, sore, and afraid.

But I’m going to still try my best.

It took me (and my husband) three hours, but we did it.  Now I’ve run 20 miles twice.

The bad news is that it was so hard past mile 18 that I have my doubts about 26.2.  My pace stays at a steady 8:30 per mile/pace until mile 18 and then I slow down to almost a 10 minute mile.  I’m not sure how I’m going to run through heavy legs for 6 MORE miles without walking.  Either adrenaline will kick in, or I’ll just be slow.

Carbo-loading last night was a veggie burger at a local diner.

Much better choice than my husband.

Who eats a plate of fried food the night before a long run?

This morning we woke up early and gobbled up a bagel with peanut butter and jam.

And a huge glass of G2 Performance Gatorade.

(And I made sure to charge my Garmin.)

Since my mother is visiting, we even had our picture taken.  (We weren’t smiling like this when we got home, of course.)

I immediately gobbled up the second half of my burger from last night when we walked in the door.

Plus, tortilla chips for salt, and two oranges for vitamin C.

I snacked the rest of the day and even had a short nap.  I also made sure to have an Epsom salt bath.

I’m so thankful  that I didn’t have to stop and walk today due to my ankle or IT Band. 

I’m always so amazed at what the human body is capable of.

Now, for more food and some rest.  My husband is preparing a delicious dinner for us all!