And so begins the taper

Saturday night I made the idiotic decision of having a very spicy stirfry at Chanoso’s for dinner at 10pm. I got an 8 on their 1-10 scale of spiciness which was perfect for my heat tooth but not so good for my intestines.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if I weren’t planning to run 20 miles on Sunday morning. So I guess there will be no spicy food the night before the big marathon. Lesson #1 learned.

To spare myself from being miles away from home and having to squat in the woods, I decided to run my longest run of marathon training on the treadmill at the gym (in close proximity to a bathroom). I wasn’t too happy about it, because the weather on Sunday was pretty mild and would have made for a nice run, but luckily there was a decent movie on TV (Kingdom of Heaven) to occupy my boredom.

The run actually went really well. It took me 3:06 (not including bathroom breaks) which is a 9:18/mile pace.

I wasn’t as tired as I had expected to be. Unfortunately I forgot to vaseline my chaffing spots so by mile 9 my ribs and back were raw from all the rubbing against my sports bra and by mile 13 my ass was starting to chafe too. Ass chaffing might be the worst thing in the world. Lube up before you run! Lesson #2 learned.

I took a quick break at mile 13 to refill my water and eat a few dates as a snack. Once I stopped running I noticed that my right knee was hurting just a bit. I’ve never felt knee pain before so I was a bit worried about whether to keep running but I decided to give it a go. It was only 7 more miles. My knee felt uncomfortable but not painful while I ran so I just let myself run through it and after a while I didn’t notice anything. Today it feels a bit ‘off’ but I don’t think it’s anything serious.

So now that my big 20 mile run is out of the way it’s time to taper for the marathon which is only 3 weeks away! Eeeek!

The next big things to do before the marathon are 1) massage. Scheduled for Thursday.  2) put together a packing list of all the things I’m going to need so I don’t forget anything important (like vaseline or moisture wicking underwear).

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

This is week  5 of my Holiday Health Challenge with less than a week to go before Christmas. I was lazy this week and didn’t do a great job sticking to my plan.

1) Keep a food journal – B-

I got lazy and missed a few days of journalling and I wasn’t really considering what I was eating. I would look at my journal and say ‘I ate a lot of nuts today’, but then eat just as many the next day. It was pure laziness and lack of planning.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – C

Not a good week for this at all. I really want to do better this week bit in the week before Christmas I’m wondering how?

3) Floss my teeth every day – B

I think I only flossed 4 days this week.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – C

I missed 4 days.

5) Run 150 miles – A+ – (177/150 miles)

I ran all 39 miles I had scheduled for this week and so I smashed my goal of running 150 miles before Christmas by 27 miles. This might have been my best week of running ever with an amazing 5 mile run, a 3 mile run in 23 minutes where I beat my own PR!!!, and of course my big 20 miler.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A+

I smashed this goal last week and this week I got up to 8 reps at 155lbs. I tried for 160lbs and got 4 reps! Yowza. I’m rockin’ it.

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – C

I think she only got 2 long-ish walks this week. Bad puppy mom.

8 ) Take all my vitamins – A+

Done and Done.

18 mile training run

Fakest smile ever.

How I really felt after the run.

A little bit like this.

And a little bit like this.

Today I ran 18 miles in my training run for the upcoming marathon. This is the first Sunday in a few weeks when the weather has been nice enough to run outside. It was sunny and cold—my kind of running weather.

My technique was to run a 9 mile loop, then back to my house for a bathroom/water/cookie break before running a different 9 mile loop.

The first 9 went really well. I had a lot of energy and had a good tempo going. I finished the first 9 miles in 1:23 with no walking breaks.

The second 9 was a little rougher going and took me 10 minutes longer. I definitely slowed my pace and walked whenever I felt tired. I didn’t pick a very good route for this one because it was boring, windy, and extra cold. In my last 3 miles, though I did run by Santa Claus in front of a Christmas tree shop who gave me a high five and told me to “keep on truckin’!” It definitely kept me motivated. I can’t wait to see what Disney characters will do!

I am not exactly looking forward to running 20 miles next week knowing what my legs felt like after my run today. But at least that will be my last long run before I start to taper. I don’t understand how some runners complain about the taper. I’m excited for it!

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

This is week  4 of my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I did much better than last week.

1) Keep a food journal – B

I only missed 2 days of journalling.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – B

3 days without desserts again this week. Woot!
Matt and I made some caramel corn last night to eat while watching Just Got With It (which was really funny by the way) which ruined me for the weekend.

3) Floss my teeth every day – A-

I only missed a couple of days.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – C

I missed a bunch of days this week, unfortunately. Again I’ve been waking up later and later every morning :/

5) Run 150 miles – A – (138/150 miles)

I ran 30 of the 32 miles I had scheduled this week.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A+

This week I squatted 155lbs for 6 reps, in each of 4 sets. I had an amazing workout on Friday night. So good that some guy came up to me and said, “I see you here all the time. You work out hard! Do you play sports?”

I did 4 sets of each of these exercises:

Squats: 155lbs x 6reps
Deadlifts: 155lbs x 5reps
Dumbbell Rows: 60lbs x 5reps
Bench Press: 125lbs x 4reps
Turkish Get-Ups: 10lbs x 8reps (<—my new favourite exercise)

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – C

I did a pretty bad job at this, but she did get a day at the doggie spa with extra special scented shampoo

8 ) Take all my vitamins – B

I only missed a few days this week.

Banana Raita with Toasted Coconut and Mint

This weekend was so loaded that I could hardly believe that it was Sunday when I woke up this morning. I was convinced it was Monday today.

I had one of those awesome weekends where I got to spend time with friends and family that I don’t see on a regular basis. I went up to Woodstock to visit my cousin and her husband who built a beautiful house up there recently. Also I was able to spend time with my sister and brother-in-law and my friend who goes to school in Minnesota who were all home for US thanksgiving.

Today I did a bit of shopping at the mall and after trying on about 8 different black turtlenecks at 4 different stores I finally found one that I liked (you wouldn’t think finding a basic turtleneck would be so difficult). I only have a few more things that I need for my winter wardrobe and I’ll be done with shopping until spring. Thankfully.

And in the kitchen, this recipe for Banana Raita sort of fell off the radar for a while (especially since I can’t eat too much dairy) but I made it again and remembered just how good it was.

I learned this recipe when I went with Matt, my sister, and my brother-in-law to an Indian cooking class in Chicago (you can read about it here). It was my favourite recipe that we made that night and definitely the easiest to make.

Banana Raita with Toasted Coconut and Mint

Makes 1-1/2 cups

This recipe is savoury and refreshing. It makes a nice side for a spicy Indian dinner but I like it just as much for breakfast.

Ingredients

1/2 c shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 c plain full fat yoghurt
1 Tbsp milk or soy milk
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 firm, ripe miniature bananas
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

Directions

Heat a small pan over high heat. Add the coconut and dry toast it in the pan until golden brown, tossing often to even the browning. 2-3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the yoghurt, milk, and salt.

Peel the bananas, halve them lengthwise, and cut into 1/2” pieces. Add to the yoghurt along with the mint and coconut. Stir gently to combine. Serve cold.

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

This is the third week of my Holiday Health Challenge and I did really shitty. I had so much stuff going on this week, like the concert and travelling up to Woodstock to visit my cousin, that I hardly logged my meals, and I had to miss a few workouts. Not a great week.

1) Keep a food journal – B-

I missed a few days of journalling but I did eat quite a bit more protein this week and tried to plan my meals a little bit better on the days that I was able to journal my food.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – D

Again, I managed to go a couple of days without eating sweets

3) Floss my teeth every day – A-

I only missed a couple of days.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – A-

Every day but twice this week.

5) Run 150 miles – A-

I only ran 16 miles though I had planned to do 20. I’m at 78 miles since Nov 6 so I’m more than halfway there and on the right track.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – B

I missed one of my weightlifting workouts so I didn’t back squat today. On the plus side though, I did 115lb front squats!

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – B

I didn’t walk Bagigis as much as I normally do this week. Matt had to cover some of the walking duty because I was really busy this week. That said, she did get a few longer walks from me this week.

8 ) Take all my vitamins – A

I think I missed one day.

I’m going to Disney World!

So, this is happening:

On January 8th I’m going to be running my first ever real marathon! (Not counting my solo 26.2 this summer of course)

I first decided last March that I wanted to run this marathon but I wasn’t sure if it would actually happen in 2012. I’m so happy that it is!

The Walt Disney World marathon is so cool. It winds 26.2 miles through Disney World so runners can experience all 4 theme parks—Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios— by foot. The course is lined with entertainment and practically all the Disney characters who are even available for photo ops.

Truth be told, my priorities for the race are 1) surviving, 2) not getting injured, and 3) getting photos with the Disney characters. Finishing the race in a particular time isn’t really as important to me as just plain finishing.

The race is only 7 weeks away (wow, just writing that is making me nervous!) but luckily I’ve already been training for it since Labour Day with this training plan. I’ve just been waiting patiently until someone confirmed that they would travel to Florida with me, and half expecting not to end up going at all.

But on Friday night my girlfriend Tina and I booked our Florida vacation for the new year. I’m happy to go with her because it’s been over a year since we’ve travelled together and I love travelling with her. We’re planning on hitting up Disney World, Universal Studios, and of course running (Tina is planning on running the 5K race).

I’m excited. I’m ecstatic. I’m nervous as hell.

Isn’t a marathon at the beginning of January such an awesome way to kick off the year? My Holiday Health Challenge is taking on a whole new meaning, since I want to be in tip-top shape for the big run.

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

Two weeks into my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I fared well. I’m still having trouble with the whole “no sugar” business so I’m trying to focus on not eating desserts rather than specifically sugar. It’s still been hard. Very very hard.

1) Keep a food journal – A

Again I wrote down all my food intake for all but one day this week. While I’ve been writing down my food I haven’t been doing anything about the things that need improvement (like the too many grains and not getting enough protein that I’m eating). Maybe this week I will try to plan what I eat before I eat it.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – F

I didn’t eat sweets 2 days this week. An improvement from last week, I guess. Baby steps.

3) Floss my teeth every day – A+

Every. day. I use floss picks which are way better than cutting off the circulation to my fingertips with regular old floss.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – A

Every day but once this week.

5) Run 150 miles – A

Logged 27 miles this week as planned. I’m at 61 miles since Nov 6.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A

Getting there. I did 2 reps at 155lbs. I’m not sure how my form was though because I don’t have a weightlifting partner. (I really need a partner).

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – A+

Done and done.

8 ) Take all my vitamins – A+

Done and Done.

Mayonnaise From Scratch

On Mondays and Wednesdays between getting home from work and leaving again to go to the kickboxing gym I have about 1.5 hours. Usually I spend that time walking Bagigis and doing dinner prep. I’ve got my time management pretty down pat now and I always plan to cook either something slow (that I’ll let cook or bake while I’m kickboxing) or something quick (that I’ll prep before hand and come home to cook).

One night this week I was amazed by how much I was able to accomplish in that little hour and a half window. Sure, I was running around like a decapitated hen, but a very productive decapitated hen. I was able to:

- bake 3 loaves of bread
- clean the house (well, the main floor anyway)
- make butternut squash soup
- make mayonnaise, from scratch.

To be honest, I was most impressed with my mayonnaise making ability. I wanted to make tuna sandwiches to serve on the fresh bread with butternut squash soup on the side. We were all out of mayo and going to the grocery store would have killed my time management mojo so I just decided to make it.

It was a lot easier than I thought. A lot. I don’t understand why I’ve never made it before. In less than 5 minutes I had the thickest, tastiest mayonnaise ever. Matt liked it too once I finally convinced him that no, it’s really not vegan. I made it with eggs, I swear!

I saw one episode of Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes when he said “we don’t have time to bother with mayo from scratch with 30 minute meals”. But, now that I’ve made it, I disagree. Especially since, on another episode, he was able to make butter from scratch.

That’s up next on my to do list.

How to Make Mayonnaise from Scratch

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of salt
1 to 1-1/4 cups of vegetable or canola oil
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Process the egg yolks, mustard, pinch of salt, and vinegar in a food processor for about 2 minutes to combine and thicken. Pour the oil very slowly in a thin stream (it helps if you have a spout on your oil bottle). The mayonnaise with start to thicken after 30 seconds or so. Add as much oil as needed to develop the consistency you prefer.

Add the salt and pepper to taste and give the mayonnaise a quick stir with the food processor.

You can store the mayonnaise in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

One week into my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I fared well. Well, except for the sugar business. I think I might have an addiction. Do they have 12-step programmes for sugar addicts?

1) Keep a food journal – A

I wrote down all my food intake for all but one day this week. I didn’t write down my cravings though or what satisfied me. That’s something I still have to get myself to do.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – F-

Fail times a million. I think I ate something sweet every day this week. This is such a tough one.

3) Floss my teeth every day – A

Every day but one. Ironically, the same day I got together with my dentist friend.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – A

Every day but one. This seems to be a theme.

5) Run 150 miles – A

Logged 22 miles this week but planned on 24 miles. Not too bad.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps

This one is still a work in progress

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – A+

Every walk I took her on was a little longer than normal.

8) Take all my vitamins – A+

Done and Done

Holiday Health Challenge 2011

It’s time again for the Holiday Health Challenge!

Last year from November 20 to January 1 I did my first ever 6 Week Holiday Health Challenge. I committed to journalling my food, eliminating sugar, increasing my physical activity, and few other small challenges for myself.

The purpose of the challenge is to prioritize my health during a time of the year when healthy living begins to fall to the wayside in favour of parties and sweets and drinking. I want to maintain healthy habits throughout the holiday season, and maybe making some new ones.

Rather than waiting until January 1st to make resolutions after all the holiday gluttony and lethargy, I will stop the unhealthy behaviours before it starts so that I can wake up in a new year as a healthier me!

Do you want to start 2012 with vitality too? Then join in!! Come up with a list of healthy habits that you want to maintain for the 50 day challenge and run with it.

50 Day Holiday Health Challenge Details

Start Date: November 6th
End Date: December 25th (Christmas)

Check In: I will post updates to the blog every Sunday to let you know how I’ve held up in the challenge for the week.

Samantha’s Healthy Commitments:

1) Keep a food journal

Write down food intake, food group, and how I felt. Pay attention to protein and make sure I’m getting enough.

2) Eliminate processed sugar

This will be difficult, especially given the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies that I’m taking part in. I may end up allowing myself one dessert per week (which is still a hell of a lot less than what I’ve been eating).

3) Floss my teeth every day.

I always include this one in my challenges because otherwise my teeth may never get flossed.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water

I have let this one fall to the wayside lately. Maybe because I’ve been sleeping in later and later each day?

5) Run 150 miles

Not consecutively, of course. I’m not insane. I want to run 150 miles over the course of 50 days.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps

Right now I can do 150lbs so I don’t think adding 5lbs is unreasonable over 50 days.

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer

I just want to add 5 minutes to my daily walks with the dog to get a little extra exercise.

8) Take all my vitamins

I have been prescribed vitamins by both my doctor and naturopath that I notoriously forget to take.

Grab a button:

rutabaga recipe

Friday night Matt went out for dinner so I was left to fend for myself. I whipped up a super delicious dish for myself that I made up off the cuff:   Pureed Rutabaga Dijonnaise with Caramelized Onions. I think food tastes better when you give it a fancy name, no?

Pureed Rutabaga Dijonnaise with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

Rutabaga Dijonnaise:

1 large rutabaga, peeled and cubed
2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 t dijon mustard
3 T soy milk
1 T vegan margarine
salt and pepper to taste

Caramelized Onions:

1 large vidalia onion, sliced thin
1 T vegan margarine
1/2 t salt

garnish with thyme

Directions

Place rutabaga and potatoes in a large pot and fill with water until almost covered. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or until fork tender.

Drain and add the mustard, soy milk, margarine, and salt & pepper. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth.

While the rutabaga and potato are cooking, heat a large skillet on the stove over medium low. Add the margarine and, once melted, the onion and salt.

Cover the onions and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly browned.

Uncover and cook another 5 minutes or until the onions are fully browned.

To serve: Spoon rutabaga into a bowl, top with onions, and garnish with thyme.

It’s a REALLY good recipe, so I encourage you to give it a try!

How has everyone been doing with the Holiday Health Challenge?

I had a few setbacks this week, namely Matt decided to make his infamous cookie bars this weekend (more on that Friday!) and Sunday night we went to a holiday buffet dinner at Viewpointe Winery with my in-laws. Anyway, here`s my progress for week 2:

• Keep a food journal – meh. I was great all week except Sunday when I was enjoying the post-tractor-parade buffet dinner. Yeah, I went to a tractor parade this weekend. Yeah, it was as cheesy as it sounds.
• Eliminate processed sugar – fail. Like I said, Matt made cookie bars and they were awesome.
• Increasing my daily physical activity – check! My Gruve green goal went up to 811 daily calories burned and I hit my green goal every day (that is if I include calories burned from weightlifting and yoga which aren`t tracked by Gruve) Although, I still sit on my ass a hell of a lot during the day. Damn cubicle farm.
• Practicing yoga twice weekly- check! I did a Vinyasa Flow and a Power class this week.
• Flossing my teeth every day- Almost. I forgot to floss on Sunday night.
• Refrain from eating dairy- Almost. There was a delicious chick pea salad at the holiday buffet on Sunday night that had some feta cheese in it. I`m sure all the sweets I ate weren`t dairy free either. This might explain the cluster of pimples I noticed this morning. Oops.

How have you been doing with your Holiday Health Challenge?

Now excuse me while I go floss my teeth!