Recap tomorrow. For now I'm hanging on my couch drinking Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea out of my 13.1 "been there, run that" mug that I picked up at the expo :)
Showing posts with label philly half training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philly half training. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
I DID IT!
I didn't hit my sort-of-secret time goal of 2:15, but I did just fine. With plenty of help and encouragement from running buddy Stephanie.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Elimination Diet
I mentioned on Twitter a while ago that PhillyGuy has been prescribed a very restrictive diet.
He's been having some GI issues and, among other things, is now being tested for various food allergies. This requires a couple of things, including starting with a completely clean slate.
The doctor called it an "elimination diet." Because it basically has eliminated all major possible allergens from his diet. What does that include? Let's see. Gluten and lactose, for sure. All dairy products. Most sugars - refined AND naturally occurring. Acidic stuff. Any refined carbohydrates or other processed food. Nothing with nitrates. Artificial sweeteners. Artificial ANYTHING. And (I suspect) soy.
However, instead of going at this from a "don't eat X, Y and Z" angle, the doctor (very helpfully) prescribed it from an "only eat A, B, and C" angle, which makes it much easier to follow. What does that leave us?
Just about any type of meat, as long as it's not processed - that means pork, chicken, red meat and fish. No ham, no bacon, no processed or treated lunch meat. Eggs. Brown rice, quinoa and millet (which I actually thought was birdseed and did not realize was available for human consumption). Nuts. Specific types of green and generally non-fibrous vegetables - summer squash, spinach, asparagus, green beans. Cook and season your foods with olive oil, parsley, salt and black pepper. Drink water, mint tea (SO GOOD) or fennel tea (vom vom vom).
It's been a challenge, for sure. Our meals have been repetitive, but (honestly) delicious. On the weekends, for breakfast we almost always have eggs over-easy, on top of quinoa and spinach. I've been pan-frying thick-sliced turkey breast and pretending it's canadian bacon. Dinner has been some kind of meat, either pork chops, chicken breast or steak, simply grilled with just salt, pepper and parsley. On the side, I roast veggies - almost always asparagus or fresh green beans - with olive oil, salt and freshly-ground pepper.
It's a challenge because it eliminated SO MANY of the things we had made staples, like mushrooms and onions and garlic and brussels sprouts. And seasonings! I have a cabinet full of herbs and spices that I can't touch.
But it's also been good, and not only because PhillyGuy is feeling MARKEDLY better. It's been good because we don't go out to eat or order takeout as often. It's been good that I now appreciate how tasty simple things can be. The first night I made veggies with only salt and pepper, instead of our usual rosemary/parmesean cheese mix, we were both shocked at how GOOD it was.
I've been cheating, though. Brown rice with just salt and pepper isn't quite as tasty as, say, asparagus. So I use some Earth Balance, too. I figure it's dairy free, gluten free and vegan...how bad could it possibly be?? (Answer: soy. I bet soy is off-limits.)
Don't get me wrong - I'm looking forward to the next stages of this diet, when he gets to systematically introduce different allergens. Fruit would be nice, you know. Or cheese. In the meantime, the lack of tasty food groups and different spices has not stopped the dogs from assuming their usual begging positions.
It also hasn't stopped Sophie from having demon eyes in every freakin' picture.
And it hasn't stopped them from playing with their Martha Stewart screaming skeleton toy. That no longer screams (thank god) because Cosmo broke the screamer thing within the first ten minutes that the toy was in the house.
Still looking for anyone who wants to join a little pace group for the Philly half this weekend!
He's been having some GI issues and, among other things, is now being tested for various food allergies. This requires a couple of things, including starting with a completely clean slate.
The doctor called it an "elimination diet." Because it basically has eliminated all major possible allergens from his diet. What does that include? Let's see. Gluten and lactose, for sure. All dairy products. Most sugars - refined AND naturally occurring. Acidic stuff. Any refined carbohydrates or other processed food. Nothing with nitrates. Artificial sweeteners. Artificial ANYTHING. And (I suspect) soy.
However, instead of going at this from a "don't eat X, Y and Z" angle, the doctor (very helpfully) prescribed it from an "only eat A, B, and C" angle, which makes it much easier to follow. What does that leave us?
Just about any type of meat, as long as it's not processed - that means pork, chicken, red meat and fish. No ham, no bacon, no processed or treated lunch meat. Eggs. Brown rice, quinoa and millet (which I actually thought was birdseed and did not realize was available for human consumption). Nuts. Specific types of green and generally non-fibrous vegetables - summer squash, spinach, asparagus, green beans. Cook and season your foods with olive oil, parsley, salt and black pepper. Drink water, mint tea (SO GOOD) or fennel tea (vom vom vom).
It's been a challenge, for sure. Our meals have been repetitive, but (honestly) delicious. On the weekends, for breakfast we almost always have eggs over-easy, on top of quinoa and spinach. I've been pan-frying thick-sliced turkey breast and pretending it's canadian bacon. Dinner has been some kind of meat, either pork chops, chicken breast or steak, simply grilled with just salt, pepper and parsley. On the side, I roast veggies - almost always asparagus or fresh green beans - with olive oil, salt and freshly-ground pepper.
It's a challenge because it eliminated SO MANY of the things we had made staples, like mushrooms and onions and garlic and brussels sprouts. And seasonings! I have a cabinet full of herbs and spices that I can't touch.
But it's also been good, and not only because PhillyGuy is feeling MARKEDLY better. It's been good because we don't go out to eat or order takeout as often. It's been good that I now appreciate how tasty simple things can be. The first night I made veggies with only salt and pepper, instead of our usual rosemary/parmesean cheese mix, we were both shocked at how GOOD it was.
I've been cheating, though. Brown rice with just salt and pepper isn't quite as tasty as, say, asparagus. So I use some Earth Balance, too. I figure it's dairy free, gluten free and vegan...how bad could it possibly be?? (Answer: soy. I bet soy is off-limits.)
Don't get me wrong - I'm looking forward to the next stages of this diet, when he gets to systematically introduce different allergens. Fruit would be nice, you know. Or cheese. In the meantime, the lack of tasty food groups and different spices has not stopped the dogs from assuming their usual begging positions.
It also hasn't stopped Sophie from having demon eyes in every freakin' picture.
And it hasn't stopped them from playing with their Martha Stewart screaming skeleton toy. That no longer screams (thank god) because Cosmo broke the screamer thing within the first ten minutes that the toy was in the house.
Still looking for anyone who wants to join a little pace group for the Philly half this weekend!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Short and Sweet
Yeah, I have like seven posts backed up in my brain. And no time to sit down and write out any of them. IMPORTANT QUESTION AT THE END!
Quickie:
Last week I intended to run my last LONG training run. I planned to do twelve miles. We spent the weekend helping my mom move, so I pushed the run until Tuesday.
And then Tuesday I was crabby and not feeling it. I headed out solo. I dressed too warmly. My camelbak was annoying me. I was really bored and distracted - and not the GOOD kind of distracted. I started playing games with myself. "Self," I said around mile five, "you don't have to run steady miles. Let's do intervals!" So I'd run a quicker half-mile, then walk for a tenth of a mile, and then repeat.
And then I decided that enough was enough and I didn't need to do twelve miles. So I did nine instead.
Whatever. Mental stamina...I does not have it. I hit nine right after the end of the river trail, and then walked the .37 miles to the little grocery store by my house before remembering to turn the Garmin off.
Stephanie and I met up for our last long run this weekend and knocked out 7.5 miles along parts of the race route, which I swear to god I will post about sometime before the actual race.
In the meantime:
Does anyone want to plan to run the half this weekend as a group? As I told Stephanie this weekend, my (somewhat lofty) goal is to average ten-minute miles. My other, more realistic goal is to finish without crawling or dying. Anyone who wants to join the cause is more than welcome - I do far, far better when I run with friends.
LESS THAN A WEEK TIL MY FIRST HALF!
Quickie:
Last week I intended to run my last LONG training run. I planned to do twelve miles. We spent the weekend helping my mom move, so I pushed the run until Tuesday.
And then Tuesday I was crabby and not feeling it. I headed out solo. I dressed too warmly. My camelbak was annoying me. I was really bored and distracted - and not the GOOD kind of distracted. I started playing games with myself. "Self," I said around mile five, "you don't have to run steady miles. Let's do intervals!" So I'd run a quicker half-mile, then walk for a tenth of a mile, and then repeat.
And then I decided that enough was enough and I didn't need to do twelve miles. So I did nine instead.
Whatever. Mental stamina...I does not have it. I hit nine right after the end of the river trail, and then walked the .37 miles to the little grocery store by my house before remembering to turn the Garmin off.
Stephanie and I met up for our last long run this weekend and knocked out 7.5 miles along parts of the race route, which I swear to god I will post about sometime before the actual race.
In the meantime:
Does anyone want to plan to run the half this weekend as a group? As I told Stephanie this weekend, my (somewhat lofty) goal is to average ten-minute miles. My other, more realistic goal is to finish without crawling or dying. Anyone who wants to join the cause is more than welcome - I do far, far better when I run with friends.
LESS THAN A WEEK TIL MY FIRST HALF!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween 11
It was a GOOD RUN today several days ago when I started this post.
I was a little nervous about this week's long run. Not only was I on target for eleven miles - the furthest I've ever run - I was doing it solo. But I shouldn't have worried.
I estimated that it would take me close to two hours - and I beat that time by a few minutes. I started from my house and ran down 24th Street to Locust, picked up the Schuylhill River trail, ran up behind the Art Museum to Kelly Drive, did the Kelly/West River loop, and then back down the river trail. I hit 11 miles right at the corner of 24th and Locust, which gave me a nice half mile to walk home.
I was feeling really, really good. Every time I've run the loop, I've used the East Falls bridge as my first walking break, and then picked up again on West River. On Sunday, I started feeling the distance a bit by mile 8, and I told myself it was fine to walk/run a bit. I ran half a mile, walked for a bit, and repeated as necessary until I was done...sort of.
During the last quarter mile, I ran straight into some kind of dog-walking Halloween extravaganza. I estimate about forty dogs, all in costume, and their owners. Wandering around in circles. Standing and stopping in the middle of the river path. Walking three or five deep. Talk about a freaking obstacle course!
Even so - I can't complain, AT ALL, about a time of 1:53. Moreover, this was the first long run I've done where I didn't feel completely and totally spent afterwards. Every run I've done for the past month, I scream internally for the last quarter mile, gritting my teeth and begging for it to be done. And then I finish the last mile and I'm like, WOW. No way in HELL can I imagine myself running any further!
Nottoday SUNDAY. This was the first run I've had where I finished and felt confident that - yes - I COULD do another 2.1 miles on top of that. I mean...holy shit. I might not be the fastest I've ever been, and I sure as hell get passed constantly while I'm running on Kelly. But regardless - I'm going to run a half in a few weeks. For real.
In the meantime, let's see what else I've been up to since I last posted, based on the pictures I uploaded nearly a week ago and intended to post on Sunday. This should be fun.
Hmm. I've eaten a lot of honeycrisp apples.
I took my first ice bath and ate homemade mac & cheese while I was in there.
I've chilled at home with a black sulfur mask on.
(The dogs did NOT like this mask. Cosmo wasn't sure it was still me, and he kept sniffing my face really close to make sure it was okay.)
I've been drinking a TON of Celestial Seasonings holiday teas, in the new ING mug PhillyGuy brought home for me. (I'm out of Candy Cane Lane and need to restock. Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride is OMGHOLYCRAPAMAZING. I am NOT a fan of the Sugar Plum one - too sweet and spicy, I like my tea a little milder. And Gingerbread Spice = delicious. But nothing will ever top Sleepytime Tea as my all-time favorite.)
My dogs have snuggled with their new non-stuffed squeaky toys.
And they've stolen my spot on the couch every time I've gotten up to get more tea.
So, yeah. This has been another crazy week at work...what else is new? I've worked late, I've dealt with frustrating clients and frustrating borrowers. I gave poor Sophie a bath last night because she walked straight into Cosmo's stream of pee when we were on our walk. That's about it.
What distance should I run this weekend? 12? 13? It'll be my last "long run" before the half - next weekend I'll scale it back to 8 or 10 miles. I'm not going to do much of an official taper because my mileage has been low overall.
I was a little nervous about this week's long run. Not only was I on target for eleven miles - the furthest I've ever run - I was doing it solo. But I shouldn't have worried.
I estimated that it would take me close to two hours - and I beat that time by a few minutes. I started from my house and ran down 24th Street to Locust, picked up the Schuylhill River trail, ran up behind the Art Museum to Kelly Drive, did the Kelly/West River loop, and then back down the river trail. I hit 11 miles right at the corner of 24th and Locust, which gave me a nice half mile to walk home.
I was feeling really, really good. Every time I've run the loop, I've used the East Falls bridge as my first walking break, and then picked up again on West River. On Sunday, I started feeling the distance a bit by mile 8, and I told myself it was fine to walk/run a bit. I ran half a mile, walked for a bit, and repeated as necessary until I was done...sort of.
During the last quarter mile, I ran straight into some kind of dog-walking Halloween extravaganza. I estimate about forty dogs, all in costume, and their owners. Wandering around in circles. Standing and stopping in the middle of the river path. Walking three or five deep. Talk about a freaking obstacle course!
Even so - I can't complain, AT ALL, about a time of 1:53. Moreover, this was the first long run I've done where I didn't feel completely and totally spent afterwards. Every run I've done for the past month, I scream internally for the last quarter mile, gritting my teeth and begging for it to be done. And then I finish the last mile and I'm like, WOW. No way in HELL can I imagine myself running any further!
Not
In the meantime, let's see what else I've been up to since I last posted, based on the pictures I uploaded nearly a week ago and intended to post on Sunday. This should be fun.
Hmm. I've eaten a lot of honeycrisp apples.
I took my first ice bath and ate homemade mac & cheese while I was in there.
I've chilled at home with a black sulfur mask on.
(The dogs did NOT like this mask. Cosmo wasn't sure it was still me, and he kept sniffing my face really close to make sure it was okay.)
I've been drinking a TON of Celestial Seasonings holiday teas, in the new ING mug PhillyGuy brought home for me. (I'm out of Candy Cane Lane and need to restock. Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride is OMGHOLYCRAPAMAZING. I am NOT a fan of the Sugar Plum one - too sweet and spicy, I like my tea a little milder. And Gingerbread Spice = delicious. But nothing will ever top Sleepytime Tea as my all-time favorite.)
My dogs have snuggled with their new non-stuffed squeaky toys.
And they've stolen my spot on the couch every time I've gotten up to get more tea.
So, yeah. This has been another crazy week at work...what else is new? I've worked late, I've dealt with frustrating clients and frustrating borrowers. I gave poor Sophie a bath last night because she walked straight into Cosmo's stream of pee when we were on our walk. That's about it.
What distance should I run this weekend? 12? 13? It'll be my last "long run" before the half - next weekend I'll scale it back to 8 or 10 miles. I'm not going to do much of an official taper because my mileage has been low overall.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Friday Night Adventures
Adventures in baking, that is.
But first. Sometimes, there's only one thing you need at the end of a long week.
Okay...maybe two things.
After enjoying some Murphy-Goode pinot noir and a couple pieces of Lazaros - my favorite delivery pizza in the city! They do some crazy magic that makes the crust juuuuust right, the sauce is sweet but not too sweet...I love it! - I got down to business.
REAL business. The key ingredient in Friday night's baking adventures was...
BACON.
Yeah, I went there. I made bacon chocolate cupcakes with homemade caramel buttercream icing. I used Scrumptious Photography's recipe - no adaptations at all. Except that I made a half batch, which should have yielded 12 cupcakes rather than 24...but it actually ended up yielding 16.
I started with the cupcakes. Melt together your chocolate and butter. I used the metal bowl of my mixer as a double boiler:
Stir in your sugar:
While the chocolate cools, whisk together your dry ingredients and chop your super-crispy bacon.
After adding your eggs, one at a time, to the chocolate, it's time to stir in the dry.
And then your secret ingredient - fold in most of the chopped bacon. I say "most" because I decided to reserve a bit to use as topping/decoration for the cupcakes...couldn't tell you how much.
Once it's all just incorporated, fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, start the icing. By, you know, MAKING YOUR OWN CARAMEL.
I MADE MY OWN CARAMEL, BITCHES! Honestly, I think you'd do just fine using store-bought caramel topping, but making your own is surprisingly easy. And then you get to say "I MADE MY OWN CARAMEL BITCHES!"
This is what FOUR STICKS of butter looks like beaten in with eggwhites and sugar.
And then it's time to switch to your paddle attachment to blend in your HOMEMADE CARAMEL!
MAN, this frosting is delicious. I mean, wow.
Now, my decorating skillz are...shall we say...amateur. But for having never made cupcakes before? Ever? Let alone making them from scratch and making the icing from scratch and using an icing tip for the first time in my life?
I can deal.
Thank goodness Stephanie and I had a running date this morning. I only ate a couple bites of cupcake, but way more than my fair share of frosting and batter while I baked :) We braved the Kelly Drive/West River Drive/Art Museum loop, despite yesterday's insane flooding, and covered 8 miles in about 1:25.
Busy day - time to go get my haircut, hang with some great bloggy friends for a fun event at Sabrina's, and then out to the 'burbs for a "Diaper BBQ." Some of my bacon cupcakes might make the trip out with me...
But first. Sometimes, there's only one thing you need at the end of a long week.
Okay...maybe two things.
After enjoying some Murphy-Goode pinot noir and a couple pieces of Lazaros - my favorite delivery pizza in the city! They do some crazy magic that makes the crust juuuuust right, the sauce is sweet but not too sweet...I love it! - I got down to business.
REAL business. The key ingredient in Friday night's baking adventures was...
BACON.
Yeah, I went there. I made bacon chocolate cupcakes with homemade caramel buttercream icing. I used Scrumptious Photography's recipe - no adaptations at all. Except that I made a half batch, which should have yielded 12 cupcakes rather than 24...but it actually ended up yielding 16.
I started with the cupcakes. Melt together your chocolate and butter. I used the metal bowl of my mixer as a double boiler:
Stir in your sugar:
While the chocolate cools, whisk together your dry ingredients and chop your super-crispy bacon.
After adding your eggs, one at a time, to the chocolate, it's time to stir in the dry.
And then your secret ingredient - fold in most of the chopped bacon. I say "most" because I decided to reserve a bit to use as topping/decoration for the cupcakes...couldn't tell you how much.
Once it's all just incorporated, fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, start the icing. By, you know, MAKING YOUR OWN CARAMEL.
I MADE MY OWN CARAMEL, BITCHES! Honestly, I think you'd do just fine using store-bought caramel topping, but making your own is surprisingly easy. And then you get to say "I MADE MY OWN CARAMEL BITCHES!"
This is what FOUR STICKS of butter looks like beaten in with eggwhites and sugar.
And then it's time to switch to your paddle attachment to blend in your HOMEMADE CARAMEL!
MAN, this frosting is delicious. I mean, wow.
Now, my decorating skillz are...shall we say...amateur. But for having never made cupcakes before? Ever? Let alone making them from scratch and making the icing from scratch and using an icing tip for the first time in my life?
I can deal.
Thank goodness Stephanie and I had a running date this morning. I only ate a couple bites of cupcake, but way more than my fair share of frosting and batter while I baked :) We braved the Kelly Drive/West River Drive/Art Museum loop, despite yesterday's insane flooding, and covered 8 miles in about 1:25.
Busy day - time to go get my haircut, hang with some great bloggy friends for a fun event at Sabrina's, and then out to the 'burbs for a "Diaper BBQ." Some of my bacon cupcakes might make the trip out with me...
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