Thanksgiving Pie Run 2013

Busy week, but I managed to go on a couple of brisk walks with my husband to knock out a handful of HBBC 2013 points.  But have to admit that running in single digit temps in the mornings just hasn't been appealing.  I know you just wear the right gear and suck it up, but I found every excuse in the book not to.  Thankfully, my sister had mentioned doing the Thanksgiving Day race that is fairly popular here in Jeff City.  So I took the race entries over last night and pre-registered (in record time - no line, no crowd SO AWESOME of JCRRC).  Then this morning we got up and got going (after a minor hiccup with her leaving her running shoes at home in WI - thankfully mine are only a half size smaller and she said she could make them work for a 5K).

We got to the race, parked and stood in line for the portopots.  Before we knew it the 10K folks were off and we moved toward the start line and then we were off.  Sis wanted to know how much I could run and not walk.   My first goal was the first mile.  After a half mile, we played a game counting the folks we passed.  We tried not to be rude and count out loud.  And a few repassed us and we took them out of our count.  This is a big race with a lot of folks that aren't necessarily "regular" runners so you always have some people that go out too fast (plus all the kids that do the sprint at the start and peter out a half mile in).

We hit the first mile in about 11:45.  Not a bad pace and generally sustainable.  But there was some superelevation on a curve that was making my legs scream (slope on the road).  Then, my legs (shins, ankles, knees, butt) never really stopped talking to me.  I was never particularly out of breath.  We chatted about exercise physiology stuff (sis is PhD) and what research says about training and so on.  I carried on a conversation the whole time.  I just felt like I couldn't make my legs go any faster.  But I kept running.

Second mile was slower - 12:27.  But I was still feeling like I could keep "running" (and yes, I realize this is a relative term at that pace).  So I kept pushing on.  As we closed in on three miles, I felt myself picking up the pace ever so slightly as I just wanted to be done.  I don't really have a finish "kick", but I did the best I could once we hit the last straight away.  Last full mile was 12:13 and then the 0.16 mi was 10:22.  So not overall awful paces, but not great either.  We did pass 50 people in our game though.

I was annoyed that I finished what I think is damn near my slowest 5K in a couple of years having "run" the whole way and not walked.  Garmin says it was 38:03.  I guess I am better at my usual approach - run until my lungs hurt and then walk until I catch my breath - because I ran this almost 4 min slower than last year.  Boo.  But I did enjoy the time with my sister.  We shared half a donut and got some water bottles and then sat in the car for a bit because the finish line was between us and the exit (no wonder no one parks over there).

Came home and took a couple pictures.  One of the two of us for Facebook and one with the Daily Vitamin F Thanksgiving Virtual Run bib. Now for turkey time!

Me and my sis post Pie Run

Phoenix Trip

Apparently I got busy before, during and after my trip to Phoenix as I just looked back and it has been over 3 weeks since I blogged.  Work has been relatively crazy plus I had all the last minute logistics and packing to do.  And I haven't been as diligent as I would like on the workout front so here we are.

All that I have on my Garmin was a run to the bank (3 miles) on 11/2.  I know I went on a walk with my husband a couple of times in there, but maybe I didn't actually "run" again until last night.  Wow!  Good news is that I had a VERY active vacation (even if all of that activity was offset by all the wonderful food and multiple margaritas). 

Last Wednesday (11/13), I had a haircut in the morning, packed and drove to KC for a meeting with a client before my 5:00 flight to Phoenix.  Yes, I love that I can now deduct my mileage to and from KC.   I landed a little early and my friend Lori was waiting for me and we headed to her house.  Getting there fairly late left just enough time to see her kids off to bed and visit for a bit and get myself settled.  After a neighbor's dog barked half the night, I was up before the sun and checking on my kids getting ready for school completely unsupervised (which went way smoother than I had imagined it would - praise the Lord!)  After her kids were off to school, we headed to the Heard Museum, had lunch at a great hole in the wall cheesesteak place and then went on to hike Piestewa Peak (aka Squaw Peak).

The stuff I found online indicated a hike of about 1.2 miles to the summit.  I failed to note it was a 1200'+ elevation gain.  So in my mind, this was going to be a fairly short and easy hike.  Lori had done it once before and said it was hard, but also said it had been pretty hot when she had done it.  I should have taken note because this was not the little crushed gravel trails I'm used to.  This was super rocky and damned near straight up.  I really wasn't sure Lori was up for it.  But a few times I kidded and said "Suck it up" and a few times I gave her the option to let me go on alone to the top.  I wasn't going to let this thing beat me, but I was huffing and puffing along too.  We stopped every so often to catch our breaths and kick ourselves for taking water bottles in hand instead of a camelback.  Note to self for future hikes made.

Lori managed to smile after she caught her breath

Enjoying the view of the valley of the sun from the top of Squaw Peak

Taken by some folks who didn't like being told "only a little further"



Kicking back my feet while checking out the view below

After about an hour, we made it to the top and the views were a nice payoff for all the hard work.  My legs felt a little like jello, but I knew it was a great workout.  Unfortunately, we still had to go back down.  This is when I realized I have a little fear of heights and as the trail is rougher up higher, I was a bit nervous coming back down on my shakey legs.  But we powered through and made it back to the car as the sun started to set.

After showers, we headed out for drinks with another friend of mine.  Lori and I split some appetizers (still way too much food - geez my guts hurt from all this eating). 


Cheers!

Me and my friend Janine

Another poor night of sleep, but Lori had invited me to go with her to spend 30 min with her personal trainer to do a mostly upper body workout at 8 AM.  I wasn't sure what to think, but soon enough we were doing all sorts of things with the weakest muscles of my body.  OUCH!!  My arms were limp noodles and I just thanked God it was only 30 minutes.  In the shower back at Lori's house, I could barely raise my arms to shampoo my hair! 

We headed over towards Scottsdale and took a wonderful tour of Taliesan West (Frank Lloyd Wright famed campus).  I wanted to be an architect when I was younger only to realize I had no artistic ability whatsoever so I went into engineering.  However, I am still totally enamored by beautiful structures that other genius minds  create and while the tour was kind of pricey, it was fantastic and lasted nearly 2 hours!  We ate a late lunch and then Lori dropped me off with my friend Anne Marie so Lori could head back to Peoria to spend the afternoon/evening with her daughter who turned 9 that day.

Anne Marie and I changed into hiking clothes and headed over to Pinnacle Peak.  We did a lovely out and back trail that totaled about 3.5 miles with some up, down, up, and down mixed in with lovely views.  You never actually make it to the summit, but you still see lots.  We cleaned up back at her house and went for dinner (another margarita for me and a beer for Anne Marie).  Then we strolled around Old Scottsdale peaking in all the gallery windows and such before she took me home.



Anne Marie and I on the front side of Pinnacle Peak





My favorite shot from the Pinnacle Peak hike



Saturday, Lori and I headed to Sedona for the day.  It was interesting to see the landscape changed as you headed up in elevation.  And it was much cooler there (so I was thankful I took a jacket along - though the weather was amazing the whole trip, it was fairly overcast and had just rained in Sedona).  We mostly followed a self-guided driving tour I had found online to see several notable rock formations, etc and get some great pictures (which was easy there).  We stopped and shopped for a bit and had lunch with a gorgeous view. 

At airport overlook in Sedona

After the sun went down, we walked through an area with a bunch of galleries and then grabbed some dinner (where I had another margarita that was very strong and got a little silly suggesting that the older gentleman at the next table would get lucky if his wife finished her margarita - I really though I didn't say that out loud, but Lori assured me I had - oops).  We did a nice little hike - probably 2 miles total with a little elevation gain to get up to a lookout.  But this was mostly a day in the car with a fairly late drive back to Phoenix.  I could definitely spend a few more days exploring other hiking areas in Sedona.  So pretty!


Toasting a wonderful day

Sunday, we headed to the Desert Botanical Garden which was featuring an installation of this artist that works in glass sculpture.  It was cool to see the added color since most of the plants weren't blooming.  We learned about a lot of the plants in and around the Sonoran Desert area and answered a few questions Lori had since she has only lived out there a year.  We had lunch there and walked around a little more before heading over to Hole in the Rock.  This actually was a short/easy hike, but still provided some nice views. 

But before it got too late on us, I wanted to do some IMAZ spectating!  So we found a place to park along the run course and walked toward the finish.  We saw a few cyclists coming back to transition and cheered them on.  We saw a handful of the fast folks finish (about the 9.5-10 hour mark).  The transition area was a site in itself to behold.  But soon, Lori was worried about getting back to the car in the dark and was sure we could park closer.  So we headed back, cheering runners along the way.  I loved some of the signs along the route and was continuously inspired by all competing.  We had dinner (more margaritas) and went back to the finish for the folks finishing in the 13-14 hour range.  Even watched a guy bend down on one knee and propose in the finish chute.  Is it terrible that I was thinking "Hey dude!  This is a race!  Finish before you do that!"  But I got some high 5's from folks that were enjoying their finish experience and cheered on those that looked like they were struggling a bit more.  So very inspirational.  I tweeted that and was asked if I signed up for next year - the answer was "no", but I have to admit it was tempting.  I definitely will sign up for some kind of new triathlon challenge - just probably not IM yet.

We headed home about 9.  I sort of wished I could stay until midnight, but I was wearing out my hostess and it was a ways to get back to her house and cleaned up for bed.  Exhaustion got the better of us.  Got up in the morning and hugged her kids goodbye as they headed off to school and we headed off to hike Sunrise Mountain that is literally a stone's throw from Lori's house.  To some, it may not be so much of a mountain as a big hill, but it was a perfect little hike to end the trip with.  We sat enjoying the morning breeze at the summit and took a few pics before going back to shower and pack up. 

We grabbed lunch after a quick stop through Bed, Bath and Beyond (I got a cute Tervis cup with little lizards to remind me of my trip and how much I had to drink water constantly on it).  I squeezed in one more margarita for the road and then we went to the airport.  It was 79 degrees when I got on the airplane in Phoenix and 43 degrees when I got off in KC and down into the 30's by the time I drove back home.  Back to reality.

Have spent the last few days catching up on hugs from my kids and some loving from my husband.  Nothing like absence to make us appreciate each other more.  Of course, I've also had the usual mom duties of piano, basketball, grocery shopping, etc. My daughter got to tell me all about shooting her first deer (a doe on opening morning of the regular firearms season).  But I also realized that the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge started this week.  So last night, after dinner and even though it had gotten dark, I drug my butt out the door for a little run around the neighborhood.  It was about 40 degrees, but I was a little overheated when I was done.  I hate that about this time of year that you always start out cold and then are overdressed after fully warmed up.  I never get that right.

Goal Review + 2 Runs

I re-read my goals from January and feel kind of disappointed in myself.  I know many were kind of pie in the sky, but many were achievable had I just committed more fully to them.  Nothing that is news to anyone who likes to set the bar high for themselves. 

I sat down and updated my mileage.  I did pass my bike goal (not a big surprise with two century attempts - though I was slightly surprised not to have surpassed it by more).  My swimming and running mileage definitely suffered from all my time on the bike (and some general laziness mixed in).  My non-training goals weren't a lot better. 

I went for a short run Sunday after I dropped my daughter off for basketball practice.  I went around Memorial Park a couple times and then down to my dad's cemetery and back.  I had to cut it short because I needed to use the bathroom.  Nothing major, but better than nothing.  My legs felt pretty heavy - like they did on Thursday.  Not sure if it would've felt better had I gone a little longer.  It was a very pretty day - lots of fall color and a bright blue sky.  Pretty way to pass 2.9 miles.


Bright sunshine, cool fall color

Stacy cajoled me into a late night run in the nice 50° temps last night (Monday).  I really didn't want to go, but I try to say "yes" when I can get in a few miles with a friend.  Wasn't fast - struggled to keep going, but we got 3.5 miles in before bedtime.

Two more months left in 2013.  Cooler temps and less daylight present some challenges, but I know I can get some training in if I put my mind to it.  I am once again participating in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge with Run to the Finish.  Hope to rack up some points and maybe a prize or two plus keep off the holiday scale creep.  

Also getting ready to go to Phoenix to visit a couple of friends in a few weeks.  I goofed off a bunch yesterday surfing all kinds of web sites for fun places to hike and cool museums to hit.  I'm sure my wish list is longer than I can squeeze in 4.5 days - especially with hopes of hitting Sedona for one day.  It is a total "me" trip - kids staying at home with their dad for opening weekend of deer season.  Still have to completely figure out some logistics of getting them to school, but I think they'll be ok.  Looking forward to the time "off".

Swimming = 10.25 mi
Biking = 1262.2 miles
Running = 227.9 miles

Ride the Rivers Century 2013

I finally did it!  I finished my first bike century!  This last Sunday I participated in Trailnet's Ride the Rivers Century along with 608 other crazy bike folks.  The weather was beautiful even if a little cold at the start and windy all day.

 

I rolled out with a few of the guys from Team TOG, but was dropped in the first few miles.   No worries as I thought I'd see them at a rest stop. They passed me once when they had to relieve the coffee I didn't drink but otherwise I was once again alone a lot.  While I understood their desire to ride faster, I wished for company.  I think finding someone to ride my speed will be key to ever choosing to do this again (if I do it again).

 

I felt pretty good as I rolled into the first rest stop at the history museum.   I grabbed a little food and headed back out pretty quickly.  I had to walk one hill when I got caught at a mid hill stoplight.  I also stopped and caught my breath on one hill but pedaled up the rest of it.

 

I was getting warm from having over dressed.  I enjoyed looking at the old buildings as we rolled through downtown St. Louis.  I wished that I had had more time to stop for pics.   Those prayers backfired and I caught nearly every red light.  Fellow riders even started to joke about it.  Once we got over on the river trail there were a few places where folks seemed to be flatting a lot.  I walked over some gravel to avoid it.  I knew that a flat tire might be the end of my ride - killing my spirit and taking time I knew would be in short supply now that it gets darker much earlier and quicker.

 

But soon I was at the rest stop at the Old Chain of Rocks bridge over the Mississippi River.  Grabbed some more water and hit the portopotty. Knowing the next stop was lunch made it slightly easier to get going again.   The view from the bridge was of downtown St. Louis in the distance, but having just gotten going, I didn't want to stop for a pic.  Too bad as there were a lot of neat Route 66 signs and memorabilia.

42 miles in - ready to cross the Mississippi River

 

The wind was soon at my back, but the pedaling didn't feel that much better.  In fact, I was getting pretty warm in the sun now that the wind wasn't in my face.  Then there were these stupid road crossings that had gates that made you ride down a steep grade, dismount, walk across and then go straight up again (where I mostly hiked).  There was also some construction I didn't feel comfortable riding around in the grass so I walked around.

 

The canopy at the amphitheater at Alton seemed visible for a long time that it didn't seem to be getting closer.   I really wanted off my bike.  I finally got there.  I pulled off my jacket and helmet and laid in the grass.  I wolfed down my turkey sandwich, chips and cookie.  Then I tried to psych myself up to get going again.  I set a deadline and only missed it by a few minutes checking my jacket and refilling my bottles.

 

I had hopes that the long stretch of relatively flat River Road would provide some relief and maybe a tailwind.  While I did feel a bit better having eaten and cooled off, I was in a pretty dark mental place.  I started daydreaming about chucking my bike into the river and calling the Sag.  I caught a woman and sucked myself to her wheel.  It was bad manners, but I just couldn't find the strength to pass her.  I hung on until the Grafton rest stop.

 

My stomach didn't feel like eating, but I snacked a little and refilled my bottles again.  It was nice to hit a real toilet at the visitor center.  I was really hurting, but I had to go on.  Saw a guy sitting on a wheel stop trying to get the nerve to get back on his bike.  I felt the same, but chose to swing my leg over and headed out.

 

Shortly after I left, I hooked up with a guy from O'Fallon that was riding about my speed.   Sharing those miles to the next stop (the first ferry) completely changed my mental outlook.  I could more fully appreciate the beautiful day.  I didn't even hate the hills as much.   There weren't that many, but sharing the pain made them so much easier.  I even started humming a tune that was stuck in my head.

 

We made it to the first ferry.  We got a break from the bike seat as we watched some poor lady blow her transmission trying to offload.  Then we rode across and fought the wind and hills to get to the Golden Eagle ferry.   Another crossing and we were welcomed at the last rest stop by super sweet cheering volunteers.   Still not really hungry, I did have half a sprite.   We took a couple pics and headed out for the final miles.

 

92 miles in - last rest stop

It was mostly flat and only a little into the wind.   I was wanting to push the pace a little but eased up whenever needed to stay with my bike angel.  I just wanted to be done and the sun was starting to drop pretty low in the sky.  Then there was my car and I was so thankful.  We snapped a couple more shots and thanked each other for sticking it out. 

 

Just finished 102 miles!  Yay!!

David from Team TOG called and said they were cleaning up the finish party.  I remembered that I needed to go get my jacket.  I visited with David for just a bit and then loaded up and headed out.  I stopped in Kingdom City for a late dinner and much deserved coke.  

 

Muscles were pretty sore but my butt was very sore.  Hard chairs were not my friend the early part of this week.  I took it super easy on Monday, walked around a job site a little on Tuesday plus took a family walk as part of my daughter's Girl Scout Staying Fit badge, and took it easy again on Wednesday (busy with work). 

 

Thursday dawned very cool again and I met Susan for a shake out run on the greenway.  I wasn't really feeling it, but was kind of grumpy and stiff at the start.  I felt so much better after our 4.1 miles and Starbucks together.  Tonight I took a walk with my husband. 

 

Now I have completed one of my big hairy ass goals for this year.  I'll need to go back and do some adding up of some of my recent mileage, review my goals list and see what my goals for November and December are going to be.  But for now, I am ecstatic with completing 100 miles in one day!

 

 

Self Magazine "Cleanse" - Part 3

A few pics that Susan sent me from our pumpkin run:

Crossing Cedar Creek - about 3ish miles in

Our usual turn around at the river overlook - 4.2 miles in

She told me to stop slouching - at Claysville Store (which wasn't open to tempt us with fried chicken) - starting to not enjoy myself here - probably about 7 miles in



Giving the Hartsburg pumpkins a "thumbs up"! 10.4 miles!

I was definitely feeling our long run.  I skipped a strength workout or two this week.  I know that is something I need to really work on this winter.  Just have to try to find the motivation.  And motivation was definitely waning the further into the week that I got.  I think this was just too radical of a change for me.  I'm not sure what freaks eat this crap, but most of it won't cross my kitchen again. 

I've always wondered if I wasn't giving some of the food items that people talk about or that I see in healthy eating magazines a chance, but I think it just doesn't measure up to my Midwest upbringing.  I made the best of it finishing up this weekend with a couple repeats to just get through (and to use up the insane leftovers - it is tough when you are the only person eating this stuff because there is no way you can buy just the amount you need for one person and try all of these different foods).

Saturday:

Breakfast: strawberry banana smoothie with greek yogurt - close to my "normal" recipe (though I usually use regular yogurt)

Workout: Had promised my daughter we'd do a ride out to the National Guard on our bikes as part of her Girl Scout challenge.  She did pretty good on the way out - kind of fell apart and was in full on tears by the time we were half way up the Wavco hill and had to get off and walk. 

Still happy about 2.5 miles in (all downhills and flats)

My last awkward selfie with my phone that did not have a forward camera

Lunch: Asian chicken cups again (using up the leftover fixings) - I didn't love them quite as much the 2nd time, but I will still add it to my overall rotation.

Dinner: We had a super crazy busy day/evening and I didn't get around to dinner until 8 PM.  But I was starving so I had the small leftover piece of salmon plus a little bit of elbow noodles with beef and marinara sauce that I had fixed for my kids that they didn't eat.  I did resist the McDonalds that my son and mother-in-law had.

I barely sat down all day between a half dozen loads of laundry and a ton of errands - Walmart, cemetery, Shoe Carnival, Old Navy, back home, took one kid home from a sleepover at our house and dropped another off for one, back home, back to Old Navy to return one pair of pants, to Best Buy to replace my dying phone, to Gamestop for my boy, to Dicks because I had a gift card (no purchase made), back home, back to pick up mother-in-law from mass, took her and the boy to McDs, drove her back to her assisted living facility, drove back home.  Whew!  So there was no time for another workout - plus I was too pooped!

Sunday:

Went to mass at 8:30 and then husband and my son voted to go back to McDs for breakfast.  ugh!  So I had a fruit and maple oatmeal for 290 calories - not exactly on the "plan", but an overall healthy choice.  By the time we got done, the morning was nearly over.  I headed out to Best Buy to exchange my phone case for a fun pink Otterbox.  I puttered around a little with my new phone.

Lunch: Tried this soybean/dried cherry/barley pilaf that was horrible.  I couldn't choke much down and finally gave up and ate the rest of the elbow noodles with marinara and lean beef. 

Then my daughter came home from her sleepover and I tucked her in for a nap for about 40 min until I had to get her grumpy butt up for basketball practice.  I should have ran while she was at practice, but I didn't get my act in gear to change clothes.  It was a beautiful day.  I could have gone for a  walk, but I watched the girls try to remember plays from last year (without much success - I think the coach may have been reaching a little).  We went shopping for her Halloween costume (she's going to be a pirate) and came on home.

Dinner: Had a lot of hope for the roasted broccoli, baby potatoes and rosemary chicken with yogurt sauce.  Everything tasted fine, but it wasn't anything to write home about.  Plain grilled chicken would have tasted just as good to me.  I did like the veggies (though again - plain would have been fine).  I roasted the broccoli a little too long because I cut my potatoes too large.  Oops.  Oh well - it was still edible.  Mixed up some Crystal Light raspberry lemonade since I was getting sick of water. 

Wasn't looking good for a workout so I texted Stacy and she agreed (fairly late) to go for a run.  We just did the neighborhood for about 3 miles.  Better than nothing even if at 8:30 at night in the dark (though at least the moon helped this time).

So one week on a diet that I probably wouldn't do again - no Coke, no margaritas or wine, more consistent exercise (which I will try again) and foods that must appeal to someone, but just not this meat and potatoes girl.  It was a worthy experiment, but I think I will go back to my previous approach of just trying to focus on getting in more produce, less processed stuff, smaller portions and more exercise.  It was a lot less stressful.

MMNW (last week): 165.0
MMNW (this week): 162.4 - an awful lot of work for such small movement.  I had really expected for it to be closer to 160-161.  I know it isn't all about the number, but I really had hoped for this to be a bigger "reset".  I guess it is better than gaining.  It definitely kept me more mindful of what I was putting in my mouth and more focused on getting some kind of movement in every day which is good since most of the time my job involves a lot of desk jockey time.

Back to regular programming this week though I did have some Bare Naked granola and almond milk this morning for breakfast.

Self Magazine Cleanse Diet - Part 2

My running shoes were getting pretty old and needed to be replaced for a while.  Finally got over to Ultramax (where a $30 credit waited because I've spent $250), and found out that my current model of Asics were discontinued.  I didn't particularly care for the newer version.  I decided to try on a few other kinds of shoes and settled on some Brooks Adrenalines. 

Thursday:
Breakfast: After the fiasco with throwing up a green smoothie during my workout on Wednesday, I just couldn't face another smoothie knowing that I was going to do my longest run in 9 months (and my 2nd longest run ever).  So I defaulted to a standby pre-workout meal - peanut butter and banana sandwich with a small glass of grape juice and some water.

The workout from one of the days called for a slower longer workout - an hour.  But Susan and I had decided last week to tackle what Susan wants to call "Pumpkin Run 2013" - she wants to make shirts for it and everything - even if just for the 2 of us.  This would take us from the North Jeff City trailhead up the Katy Trail to Hartsburg (well known around here for its annual Pumpkin Festival which happens to be this weekend).

The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  The leaves haven't really started to change except a few trees here and there, but the sun was shining and the air was fairly cool.  Don't think we could have asked for more.  We dropped her van at the end and drove my car back to the North Jeff City trailhead.  The first 4.2 miles took us to our usual turn around point.  We snapped a quick pic and ate a few sport beans.  Apparently my pic didn't save on my phone.  Doh!

About 7 miles in, my knees started to complain loudly.  My hip has been bothering me for a week, but it wasn't really feeling any worse.  My feet were starting to hurt, but the shoes were doing great - no blisters, etc.  Susan had to kind of drag me through those last couple of miles.  I did some counting off of paces in between walking.  We managed to finally get to Hartsburg for a total of 10.4 miles!  I've never been so happy to see all those pumpkins.  We stopped a couple folks getting ready to go on a long bike ride to take our picture.  Then we headed off for more water and to find someplace to eat lunch.

Dottie's Diner looked busy so we stopped in.  When we found out they didn't take credit cards (welcome to small town America), I counted out the cash I had and determined I had us covered.  I had a grilled chicken salad (that was on tap for one of the dinners this week).  I was pleasantly surprised that it had mixed greens (not just iceberg lettuce like a lot of restaurants), big yummy tomatoes and grilled chicken with a little cheese.  I didn't need dressing with all that goodness.  If it had just had some boiled egg, it would have been perfect.  Susan had a chicken wrap and I even had enough money for a tip.  Yay!

I foam rolled my legs and took it pretty easy in the afternoon. 

Snack: cucumber spears and whole wheat pita with lemon-garlic-yogurt dip - relatively tasty though I still wonder how good I would think things were if I weren't so freaking hungry.

Dinner: baked a pork chop, topped it with this cherry chutney and served it with barley and roasted asparagus. Decent enough flavor, but I like pork chops plain too.  Not sure I'd screw with the extra steps for the chutney next time.

Friday:

Breakfast: Cherry-Almond-Vanilla Smoothie - tasted gritty.  Only choked about half of it down. 

Snack: Made this early partly because it made sense to run the oven earlier in the day and some because I knew I'd be hungry with the smoothie fail.  Curry Kale Chips.  They were ok.  Not as good as potato chips.

Lunch: "Veggie Lover" wraps - except I don't eat tempeh (not even sure where to buy it) so I cooked a little super lean ground beef and used it with the sauté of mushrooms and shredded carrot with the balsamic vinegar, chili powder and soy sauce.  I wrapped it up in a whole wheat wrap with romaine and sliced tomato.  It wasn't too bad to eat. Not sure I'd bother to make it again.

Dinner:
I repeated the salmon, barley, kale cooked in water/OJ/soy sauce/ginger from the other night because it was handy while my family and one of my son's friends ate pizza (my favorite kind - spicy chicken - from our favorite place).  I think the salmon steak was a little bigger this time and I didn't eat it all. 

I didn't get a workout in coming off the super long run yesterday so I pried myself out of the recliner and went for a short run tonight - 2.9 miles in the neighborhood by moonlight.  It was still pretty warm so I worked up a good sweat.

Self Magazine "Cleanse" Diet - Part 1

As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to go "all in" and try something new on the diet and exercise front.  I chose a plan from Self Magazine touted as a "cleanse with food you could chew" that was packed full of "power foods" that help you do more than just lose weight - but be healthier overall.

I've had to do some minor modifications (swapping a few ingredients, swapping a few meals around, etc) but have tried to remain pretty true to the intent of the plan.  I wanted to try some new things because I find that I get in a rut with my eating whether it be healthy or not healthy.  What I had been doing (eating slightly less of the crap, but still drinking full octane Coke) wasn't working.  So here is a journal of my adventure on this diet:

Monday:
Breakfast:  Smoothie with frozen peaches, greek yogurt (because I don't eat tofu which is what the recipe called for), unsweetened vanilla almond milk, turmeric and 1.5 tbsp. of almond butter.  Overall, I loved the peach flavor - hated the almond butter flavor with it.  Choked about 3/4 of it down and did not feel satisfied.

AM Workout: Misread the workout - it was supposed to be 1 min intervals with 30 seconds lighter intensity in between.  I did 30/30.  That is about all I can run quickly anyway.  I had a couple times towards the end where my "rest" intervals got a little longer.  I definitely need to run more.  I went out in the neighborhood and ended up going a little longer than the workout called for, but at my slow pace it was only 2.6 miles so I called it good.

Lunch: I was supposed to get a Starbucks Hearty Veggie Salad, but the Starbucks in Columbia didn't carry salads - only pastries and paninis.  So I went to Chipotle and loaded up a salad with a little brown rice, chicken, black beans and a ton of tomato salsa.  I missed the cheese and sour cream, but again - so hungry I didn't care.

Snack: Pear (was supposed to be half and with some almond butter dipping, but after the poor experience with the almond butter in the morning, I chose to just eat the pear).  I could have used the protein, but the pear was delicious and saving a half a pear is a pain in the ass.

Dinner: Shrimp tacos with blueberry avocado salsa on corn tortillas - they were ok. Better since I was crazy hungry.

PM Workout: 8 workout cards; 12-15 reps each x3 w/ no weights; strength work with multiple muscle groups; Many were a struggle.  Don't think I did all of the required reps.

Had massive headaches from going cold turkey on the Coke.  I also have never felt so starved on a diet.  I was not a particularly happy camper. I drank some water, but made note to self to drink more.

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Jamba Juice smoothie was called for, but we don't have that chain so I made my own strawberry banana one that was along the same lines.

AM Workout: Plan was for 45 min of whatever moderate exercise I wanted. I needed to get my butt back on my bike so I headed out around my neighborhood for a couple interchange repeats and on home for a total of almost an hour and 12 miles. 

Lunch: Made Asian chicken cups that were awesome.  I was very hungry and they tasted very good.  Yum!  After 3 days, one of the few recipes I would repeat.

Snack: chickpea, tomato, red onion tossed with balsamic vinegar and a little oil.  It was ok.  Again, when you are starving you are less picky.

Dinner: Steak with mole sauce; supposed to make a corn salad and realized I didn't have corn.  Doh!  So I roasted some asparagus.  I had made some elbow macaroni for my daughter and had a very small bowl of that to stave off the hunger pangs.

PM Workout: Was supposed to do the cards again, but this time with a light weight.  Had a bunch of personal crap to deal with and blew it off. 

Headaches abated by later in the day.  I tried to drink more water.  Had to pee a lot.

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Mega Green Smoothie - spinach, banana, pineapple, nonfat plain yogurt - the taste was ok, but the texture was a bit off.  I choked most of it down.

Workout: 5 x 30 seconds of each of 5 plyometric moves (high knees, burpees, jump squats, butt kicks, and jumping lunges) with 1 min rest between.  Threw up part of my smoothie midway through.  Not fun.

Snack: Called for Kind granola blueberry clusters, but store didn't carry it so I got some Bare Naked granola that looked similar.  I had it with a little bit of vanilla almond milk.  I'm not really a milk drinker (of any kind), but it was nice to have the cool milk with the granola. The dried blueberries in it were a nice touch.

Lunch: "Bento Box" of 2 hard boiled eggs, 4 Wasa whole grain crackers, cup of carrots and cup of cucumbers and some hummus.  Very portable to the office.  I could see using this one another time

Dinner: Salmon and kale cooked in this water, OJ, soy sauce, ginger liquid served with barley.  Didn't love the kale, but mixed it all together and it wasn't awful to eat. 

Spent the evening teaching my daughter's Girl Scout troop (6 gung ho nine and ten year olds) all about Staying Fit - fueling their body, understanding nutrition labels, challenging them to get 30 min of cardio exercise 3x each of the next two weeks, learning about controlling stress, journaling feelings, we did a little yoga, etc.  Great fun, but no real workout.  Hope I passed along some things to think about.  None of our girls are heavy, but several have parents that fight weight issues. 

I think I may have been eating a lot of extra calories that I hadn't realized in the past months - enough to explain putting a few pounds back on.  I thought most of it was in soda, but apparently my serving sizes have crept up too or I wouldn't feel so freaking hungry this week.

It will be nice to knock a few pounds back off and hopefully remain more mindful of the amount of food I'm consuming while making sure to be more consistent with my workouts.  Will be interested to see how this experiment plays out.  I have to admit I'll be pretty freaking pissed if this doesn't come out in my favor on the scale.

Check back in a couple days for another update.