26.2 with Donna: National Marathon to End Breast Cancer

I am totally on a post race high after a great race and race weekend. Yesterday I hit up the race expo to pick up my race number and check out the vendors. The race schwag was awesome: we got super cute tie-dye bags and a long sleeve technical t-shirt. Best of all, everything was pink. Yeah!

Even the KT tape was pink. I love this stuff. It makes a huge difference. I have a couple rolls at home, but it's just not the same when I do it myself. So I was excited to see they were offering free expert taping. I had my right IT band taped since it's been bothering me lately.

After I had thoroughly exhausted the expo, both my feet and my wallet I headed to my hotel- the Springhill Suites. I used my points from work travel so it was free. Can't get better than free. I sorted out all my stuff from the expo, and then got all my stuff ready for the morning. At 4 am, having everything ready to go makes a huge difference.

Then it was back to the convention center for the pasta dinner. I waffled on whether or not I wanted to go, since I'm flying solo this trip, but I'm so glad I did. I should now by now that I can sit down at any table of stranger, and still have a blast if they're runners. I sat with these 2 sisters who were in their late sixties. One has been running for years, and she convinced her sister run this as her first half marathon. Another woman at the table just turned 70 and has done 24 marathons in the past 3 years. Talk about inspirational!

The panel at the dinner was also fantastic, all my running idols: Jeff Galloway, Bart Yasso, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit, and Donna Deegan. I didn't know much about Donna before the race

Other than that the race is named after her. Her story is pretty inspirational, she has had cancer 3 times but has managed to live a normal life and enjoy every minute of it. That was the over-all theme that came from all the speakers. Seize the day, enjoy life. We are incredibly lucky to be healthy enough to run for recreation. After being a bit of a running funk lately, this was just the message I needed.

I woke up early, early this morning to freezing cold. It was 28! At home I’d be good with that, but this is Florida! I am glad I packed my capri tights and not just shorts. And I went with the long sleeve race shirt instead of my tank top. Even with that it was freezing waiting for the shuttle bus in the cold and dark. The Floridians were dying!

But once the race started, the cold was forgotten. What an awesome race. We ran up the bridge and over the inland waterway just as the sun was rising. Then we got to run down on the hard pack sand on the beach for a couple miles. The time flew by than any race I've ever done.

I didn’t want to go too fast since my focus is still on training for Rome so I stuck with the 2:10 pace group. I felt fantastic. At mile 10 I just couldn’t help myself and forged ahead. The last mile was pretty tough, as we had to go back up and over the bridge. It was a good incline and there was a wicked headwind. But the crowd got me up and over and soon I was coasting into the finish in 2:04. 

And then I thoroughly enjoyed the after party. I got a free massage, some hot soup to warm up my hands, and then hit up the pink champagne booth twice. I don’t think I’ve ever had champagne at 8:30 am before, but hey why not? I LOVED this race and can’t wait to sign up for next year.

And I am so cheesy I can't resist taking pictures of myself in the mirror back at the hotel.

Down South

I am in Florida for the weekend, visiting family and running the 26.2 with Donna. I am staying with family in Palatka, and was anxious to go for a run this morning after a long day of flying yesterday. Even though, I travel to California frequently for work, there is just something so wonderful about heading out on a run wearing shorts and tank-top in February. A far cry from my runs at home. I had planned to run in Ravine Gardens, a state park, but when I got there I found there is now a $2 admission, and I had no money on me. So, I headed down by the river instead, which was equally nice. There was a nice boardwalk that ran along the waterfront for quite awhile. I alternated looking at the water and at the cool old river houses across the street. It amazes me how fresh water just has such a different personality than the ocean.

 When I got back I was determined to go swimming. That enthusiasm quickly faded. Even for a Maine girl, that water was COLD. So I made it up to my waist and then walked around for awhile to cool down my legs. I was so excited to pick a fresh grapefruit off the tree for breakfast. But when I went to do it, I realized I had no idea how to tell if they were ripe! Were they yellow grapefruit that were ripe, or pink ones that weren't ripe? The one I got was pretty good, but a little on the tart side. Then I put on my bathing suit and drank my coffee by the pool while I read a book. It was not very warm at all, and the Floridians thought I was crazy. But it's Florida darn it, I am going to get a little sun and sit by the pool!

This afternoon we went out to a great little seafood place on the water Corky Bell's. It was so cheesy it was fantastic. We sat out on the patio, over-looking the river.

When I looked at the menu, I got so excited. We used to come down South at least a few times a year to see my step-grandparents, and so I harbor a secret love for Southern Food. Hushpuppies most of all. 

I mean it's like a donut, that you get to eat for lunch a dinner! So I indulged my desire for a few hushpuppies, but also was mindful of the fact that I have to run a race this weekend and don't want to be weighed down with tons of fried food, so I balanced them out with some boiled shrimp. My attempt to go healthy with a side of broccoli was a fair, the dish had more cheese and cream sauce than broccoli!

Despite the awesome lunch, I'm already looking forward to some BBQ for dinner!

Time Changes and Night Shifts

One of the biggest changes, and challenges, I've faced in the last year with my new job is the disruption of my very regular schedule. My life used to run like clock-work, up at 6, running at 6:15, in the shower at 7:30, eating my pre-prepared breakfast at 8..... you get the idea. But with my new job, that's impossible. First of all, there is a 3 hour time difference between Maine and in California. Add in super early morning flights, flight delays that mean I don't arrive until late at night, and the need to occasionally work the night shift, and I am totally out of wack. At first my poor body was a wreck, I was exhausted and sick all the time. But I've developed some strategies that seem to be working.

-For short trips, stay on your home time. I am usually only in CA Monday to Thursday, so I try to stay on Eastern Time. I am up by 4:30 or 5 in the morning California time, and try to be in bed by 8:30 at the latest. It is good because I can get in a long (albeit dark) workout and still be at work early. It isn't so good for the social life though, I'm usually the loser falling asleep at the dinner table.

-If you have to adjust to a new time zone, do it slowly over several days. I do this if I know I'm going to have to work the night shift. I try to stay up later by an hour or 2 and then sleep an hour or 2 later in the morning each night for several nights.

-Get in a workout. This is seriously the best way for me to reset my clock. My body is used to working out in the morning. So if I sleep and then immediately hit the gym it reprograms my body into thinking it is morning. And it is an instant energy boost.

-Eat cleanly. I, like most people, have the tendency to  start craving salty, fatty, junky foods when I'm really tired, especially when it's the middle of the night. But while the quick hit of caffeine and sugar helps for a little bit, you ultimately and crash and feel worse. Monday night for example I was working 10 pm to 7 am, and had no time to turn my sleep schedule around, so I was dragging. When I got to work, there were mint chocolate covered espresso beans. So I downed a few handfuls, washed down by coffee. I was super jittery for a couple hours, and then I just felt sick to my stomach and exhausted. I find that high protein, low carb helps me last longer and feel more alert.

-Take a sleeping pill if you have to. This may be controversial, but sometimes I just need to sleep. I try to use a straight sleeping pill, such as unisom, and not anything with unnecessary other ingredients, such as tylenol pm. I try not to do this more than once a week, and never mix with alcohol.

Any other road warriors or night shifters out there have any suggestions?

Healthier Airport Treats

When I was little we flew once or twice a year and it was usually for vacation so my parents would buy us all kinds of treats in the airport that we wouldn’t usually get to eat.  So I associate airports with treats. This is fine if you only fly a few times a year, but problematic for me since I fly almost every week. I have a few weaknesses in particular: the mix of cheddar and caramel pecan popcorn in Chicago (the perfect combination of salty and sweet);  Crumb’s Cupcakes in Newark (giant frosting filled and covered cupcakes in a million amazing flavors); and Cinnabon (I totally blame my Mom for this since she used to get me one for breakfast whenever we flew). All are complete calorie bombs. My pants start to feel snug mighty quick when I have these once or twice a week. So I’ve tried come up with some healthier airport options for those times (ie. every time I fly) when you just need a treat to help you handle the hassles of flying.

Sweet

Frozen Yogurt: A 4 oz serving of the chocolate yogurt only has 110 calories! Add chocolate jimmies for only 63.9 calories. Just stay away from the extra large sizes and the caloric mix-ins. The shivers, which are a mix of yogurt and candy have 530 – 1850 calories!

Smoothies: Jamba Juice and Smoothie King both have light smoothies that are less than 200 calories. I like the Mango Mantra at Jamba Juice. Only 160 for a 16oz.  When getting a smoothie try to aim for one that is only fruit, vegetables and yogurt.  Many smoothies contain juice, extra sugars, and even ice cream which can really jack the calorie count up. The Peanut Butter Moo’d at Jamba Juice for example has 770 calories.

McDonalds: Apple dippers with caramel sauce. These only have 100 calories and you get in a serving of fruit.

Starbucks: A fat free cappuccino with sugar free hazelnut syrup, or some other light drink, The mix of caffeine, sugar, and a little dairy is a great pick me up.

Savory

Pretzels: A salted pretzel always satisfies my craving for something hot and salty. A plain pretzel is 280 calories, but I usually upgrade to the salt and butter version for 310 calories.Watch out for high cal dipping sauces, the cream cheese dipper has 200 calories just for the sauce. 

Hummus: In the San Francisco airport there is a Greek place in the United terminal that has great home-made hummus and baked pita chips. This is obviously ideal, but premade hummus and pretzels thins or pita chips from the little markets also aren’t bad.

Baked Fries: U-Food Grill  (I know they are in Boston and Dallas) has baked fries that, like pretzels, really hit the spot when I want something hot and salty. I like to ask for a side of honey mustard for dipping. 230 calories for the fries.

What are your favorite, and healthy, airport snacks?

Rice Crispy Treat Sushi

I am in a great mood today. I started my day with a step class. I know it's old school, but I seriously love this class. The choreography is so complicated that I have to really concentrate so the hour just flies by. And it's fun to be doing something where you can add a little extra flair. I also did some upper body weights before heading home.

I made an onion, spinach, and feta omelet for lunch, and it actually turned out as a perfect omelet today, instead of just being scrambled eggs. I polished off my left-over roasted sweet potatoes on the side.

Then I fired up Pandora and did a little cooking project. Tomorrow I am invited to a birthday brunch for my best friend Breezy. Sushi has always been our thing. In high school we used to have a total blast, and make a huge mess, making our own sushi. However, I know that the rest of her family and friends are huge fans of the whole raw fish thing, plus this is more of a brunch, so I made rice crispy treat "sushi." I'd seen this on-line and been wanting to try it. It was so easy and came out super cute.

Ingredients:
Swedish Fish or other gummy candy
Fruit Roll-ups
Rice Crispy Treats (Rice Crispies, Marshmellow, and Margarine)

I made the rice crispy treats before lunch and then let them cool while I made and ate lunch. Then it was assembly time. I made 2 styles.

For the roll, or "maki" type I used a rolling pin to roll out a strip of rice crispy treats so they were a little thinner. I then placed a line of Swedish fish along one edge and rolled. The final step was to wrap a fruit roll-out around the outside.

And then slice into bite sized pieces.

For the "Nigiri" type sushi, I cut the rice crispy treats into small rectangles and I cut the fruit roll-up into long thin strips. I then placed a Swedish fish in the middle of each rectangle and secured it with a strip of fruit roll-up wrapped all the way around.

A pretty and delicious looking plate!

Finally some fun

After a solid 10 days of work and travel, I needed some fun in my life. And yesterday and today, I finally got it!

Yesterday morning I got in a good long work-out at the Y. I went to a boot-camp class run by a former marine. It didn't feel like a super hard class, but my abs hurt so much today! And then I swam for 40 minutes. There is something so nice about getting in a nice warm pool in the middle of the cold winter. And something even nicer about getting in a good work-out that doesn't pound my legs to bits.

Then at night, I met my friend at the grand opening of the Thirsty Pig.

It was a pretty crazy Wednesday night! $3 Shipyard Smashed Blueberry (which is 9% alcohol), a punk rock band, meat shots, and drag queens. It reminds me why I love Portland, it's such an interesting mix of people and interests, and yet everyone gets along!

The fun night made 7am spinning not so fun this morning, but I got through. After some work I met my friends at the Seadog Brewery for Breezy's Birthday Lunch. Although I love their blueberry beer too, I decided to pass since I was still feeling last night's beer, (and I need to work this afternoon!). But I did have a fantastic salad. I got the Mediterranean Chicken & Artichoke Salad. Grilled skewered chicken and artichoke over chopped romaine, topped with tomato wedges, Bermuda onion, cucumber, feta cheese, Greek dressing and grilled pita. Yumm-o! Even better than my salad was the chance to see 3 of my best and oldest friends in the middle of a work day. Breezy is the first of us to turn 28 and we spent a lot of time talking about how far we've all come since we first met in 6th grade. We've all grown up and done very different things with our lives, and yet we still have as much fun together as we did then.

A Winter Night: Caramelized Tomatoes with chicken and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

After the craziness of the last 5 days, I was hoping for a relaxing day yesterday to get caught up. I wanted to sleep in, go for a run, do some laundry, go grocery shopping, go to the bank, and then go to yoga. I did the sleeping in and run part (in a nice surprise little snow storm), but then when I checked my work e-mail I found I'd been scheduled for conference calls for the rest of the day. No errand running for me.

Being stuck at home turned out to be not so bad. I got my laundry done between calls and I put my phone on speaker and did some yoga while on my calls. Best of all, I built a roaring fire so the house was nice and cozy.

After not eating a real meal for days, I was in the mood for a good homemade hearty dinner. So using what I had in the house, I whipped up a pretty good feast.

I had a contained of cherry tomatoes that I bought before I left and never used. They were starting to get a little soft and wrinkly to eat raw, so I decided to roast them. I tossed them with 1/8 cup of olive oil, 1 tsp of sugar, and 1 tsp of salt, and roasted for 1 hr at 350. I had a piece of chicken in the freezer that I defrosted and put in with the chicken half way through the cook time. It basically poached in the liquid from the tomatoes and olive oil so it stayed really moist!

Since I had the oven on anyway, I also made some roasted sweet potatoes. I just sliced them, sprayed them with some olive oil from the Misto and sprinkled some rosemary on top. Then then went in the oven with the tomatoes. I will never get tired of these.