Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 4

Now we are all caught up on the re-caps!  Week 4:

Monday, 1/17 - Zumba
Tuesday, 1/18 - off
Wednesday, 1/19 - 3 miles in 31 minutes (10:20 average)
Thursday, 1/20 - 3 miles in 29 minutes (9:00 average)
Friday, 1/21 - off
Saturday, 1/22 - 11 miles in 2 hours, 9 minutes (10:55 average)
Sunday, 1/23 - off

I had a GLORIOUS run on Saturday!  11 miles on a (partially)-snow-covered path, and I don't know what it was, but it went really well (this was the same day I bumped into the 50 States guy).  Now we're talkin'!!

You may have noticed that I, yet again, skipped a training run this week (where is that mid-week kind of long run?).  Excuses, excuses - here's mine for this time: Cincinnati had a big snow storm and some nasty cold weather hit on Thursday.  I very proudly ran 3 miles in the mess on Thursday evening (thanks to the amazing Yaktrax), but bailed on Friday in favor of an escape from the cold via an Ikea shopping trip.

2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats

Scheduled (This Week): 23

Completed (This Week): 17

Scheduled (Overall): 79

Completed (Overall): 63

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 3

Training is officially underway!  Here is a run-down of Week 3:

Monday, 1/10 - Zumba
Tuesday, 1/11 - off
Wednesday, 1/12 - 3 miles in 29 minutes (9:42 average)
Thursday, 1/13 - off (not feeling so hot ...)
Friday, 1/14 - off (... still under the weather - this is not good ...)
Saturday, 1/15 - off (... STILL feeling nasty, but rallied to host our *belated* Annual Christmas Dinner with the girls)
Sunday, 1/16 - 7 miles in 1 hour, 18 minutes (11:10 average)

Okay, so if you know me, you know that having this many off days is freaking me the hell out.  In training for my first marathon, I missed a total of 75 miles of the scheduled 435 - and I was bent out of shape about it.  I am a black-or-white thinker - all or nothing.  When I first missed a run as part of training for Detroit in week 7 (of 18), I instantly began freaking out.  What if I am not training sufficiently?  What if missing runs becomes a habit? What if I can't finish the marathon because I've missed training runs?  As I learned, sometimes you have to pay it forward to yourself.  Missing a handful of miles is not going to make or break you on marathon day.  So when I started feeling crappy on Thursday, I gave myself permission to take a break and rest up.

And it was a good thing I did.  On Sunday, I was scheduled to run 6 miles, but for some reason, I kept thinking I had 7 to do.  I felt sluggish heading out, but within a half mile I realized that I had a lot more energy than I thought.  Seven miles later, I was feeling back to 100%!  Sometimes taking a sick day is a good thing - and other times, you need to just suck it up and get your butt moving.

2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats

Scheduled (This Week): 17

Completed (This Week): 10

Scheduled (Overall): 56

Completed (Overall): 46

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 2

Um, so, I've been a bit of a slacker on the weekly re-cap posts (and you thought my Week 1 re-cap was late!), so I've got a bit of catching up to do.  Thankfully, I am the proud owner of a Nike+iPod, so my stats are easily accessible (the accuracy of said Nike+iPod stats are questionable - more on that another day).  Without further ado, so here is my re-cap for Week 2:

Monday, 1/3 - Zumba
Tuesday, 1/4 - off
Wednesday, 1/5 - off (cut me some slack, work was CRAZY this week!)
Thursday, 1/6 - 3 miles in 32 minutes (10:32 average)
Friday, 1/7 - 5 miles in 53 minutes (10:41 average)
Saturday, 1/8 - off
Sunday, 1/9 - 9 miles in 1 hour, 41 minutes (11:13 average)

In marathon training, there are good runs and there are bad runs: this week's 9-miler was definitely a bad run.  I started off feeling sluggish and by mile 3, was already worn out and had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other through to the finish.  After the grueling torture was over, I spent hours on the couch with an upset stomach.  Training is not off to the best start.


2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats

Scheduled (This Week): 20

Completed (This Week): 17

Scheduled (Overall): 39

Completed (Overall): 36

50 States?

During my 11 mile run today, a guy stopped me and asked if I was training for the Pig.  I told him I was, and he said, "Oh, that's great!  You should join my group: The 50 States Marathon Club.  I've done a marathon in every state.  You can apply after you've completed 10 states!"

File under: Ideas that sound great at mile 4 of 11 ... and: Ideas that sound terrible at mile 11 of 11.

My (No Longer Secret) New Year's Resolution

New Year's resolutions.  Each year, I go back and forth on whether or not I will make them.  Part of me realizes the ugly truth: I've had pretty much the same exact resolutions for at least the past 15 years (lose weight, work out more, eat healthier, blah, blah, blah).  It has to stop being a resolution at some point - I mean, I'm not meeting my goals if I have to make the same ones year after year after year - right??

I learned some great goal-setting guidelines in a business class I took in college (you may have heard of these before): make your goals SMART:
-Specific
-Measurable
-Attainable
-Realistic
-Timely

That's when I realized that the goal to "lose weight" is not a SMART goal.  Lose how much weight?  By when?  Is it realistic?  How am I going to do it?

So that's why I stopped making those same old tired New Year's resolutions.  First of all, there is no reason why you should wait until the new year to start good habits - my old "resolutions" have now become habits I've worked into my daily life.  I started to realize that, it's not that I was failing on my resolutions each year - that's just what life is about.  Achieving those goals is a daily struggle, not something I can meet one year then never worry about again.

So my "new" New Year's resolutions have been ... simpler.  Just focus on changing one small piece of my daily life that will, overall, help me achieve those bigger goals of "being healthy."  For example, one year, my goal was to brush my teeth in a manner that wouldn't erode my gum lines.  Yeah, yeah, I know this sounds completely nerdy, but I LOVE tooth care and was appalled when my dental hygienist (who typically gave me an A+ each visit) told me I was brushing too hard.  So my resolution that year was to focus on proper toothbrushing technique.  You know what?  That was almost 10 years ago, and those changes have become habit - I don't even think about it anymore.

Now on to this year's resolution: stop relying so much on over-the-counter painkillers, particularly Excedrin.

Here's my big secret (not such a big secret to my close friends, I suppose): over the past 10+ years, I've gone through phases in which I borderline abuse (perhaps too strong of a word??) Excedrin.  I would realize that, over the previous few weeks (even months), I had taken an Excedrin and/or a couple Advil tablets every single day.  Not good!

Excedrin (for those who do not know) is an over-the-counter headache relief medicine that contains acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine.  It's the caffeine that gets me: it provides a quick fix without the hassle or cost of buying a cup of coffee.

I would take Excedrin to relieve my headaches, and thought there was no way I could go without it.  That's when I realized that it was the dependency on the drug that was causing the headaches.

So my official (and now public) New Year's Resolution is this: stop relying on Excedrin as a daily dose of caffeine/painkiller, and start using healthy foods (and lots of water, for crying out loud!) to regulate my headaches.  I have a belief that (for the most part) we can control our health and well-being without the help of drugs.  PLEASE NOTE: I stress the for the most part phrase - there are wonderful advances in the pharmaceutical field that provide relief and care for serious illnesses - that is not what I'm talking about here.  I'm talking about daily minor aches and pains.

My goal is to only use OTC painkillers for true pain, and to not rely on it daily.  We will see how this goes as marathon training amps up ......

Caramelized Tofu and Brussels Sprouts

Tonight I was really craving something healthy, filling, and without beans (between this week's black bean soup dinner, black bean soup lunch leftovers, and a black bean burger lunch, I think I've nearly over-done it).  I have been on a brussels sprouts kick, too.  So on my way home from Dick's (where I bought a second pair of running tights with a gift card from my mother-in-law - score!), I stopped for some tofu and brussels sprouts.  Google dug me up this little gem of a recipe.

I subbed almonds for walnuts, since I had them handy, and cooked up a batch of brown rice for a base of good carbs.  Gotta run 9 miles tomorrow!

Now, there's something you must know.  I'm not a very good cook.  I had to Google how to cook brown rice, because I've been known to force down half-cooked rice in an attempt to save my pride.  I started the rice off, and, in the meantime, prepped all of my ingredients:

7 ounces extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into strips
a few pinches of sea salt
about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup almonds, toasted in a pan
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 pound brussels sprouts, cut into thin slices

Check out those brussels sprouts!

As a new vegetarian, I don't have too much experience with tofu.  I do know that extra firm tofu is good for sauteing, and that you need to press it before cooking.  I admit that I was a bit impatient, and didn't press for the recommended 15-20 minutes, but I got a good 10 minutes in or so.  Then I sliced it up and got busy - adding it to a hot pan with oil and a pinch of salt:

After about 4-5 minutes, I added the garlic and almonds; a minute or so later, the brown sugar.  Things were starting to come together!

A few minutes later, I set the tofu aside and mixed in the cilantro:

Now it was the brussels sprouts' turn.  On medium-high heat, I heated up some more olive oil and added the star ingredient to the pan.

I cooked these until they were somewhat brown and looking completely delicious, then mixed them in with the tofu:

And amazingly ... I made my own dinner!

This meal earned an 'A' on Calorie Count, clocking in at about 350 calories, 20 grams of fat, 30 grams of carbs, and 7 grams of fiber.  The brown rice contributed about an additional 220 calories, 45 grams of carbs, and 3.5 grams of fiber.  The only (easily preventable) drawback is that the meal is a bit high in sugar and sodium.  But I tell you what, that brown sugar was worth it!

This recipe was absolutely amazing.  I will definitely be checking back for more delicious recipes at 101 Cookbooks - that is for sure!

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 1

This post is just a bit late, as work has been crazy this week!  It was "close week" (fellow accounting nerds may be able to relate to the stress of month-end close - and in this case, it was YEAR-end close!), so the majority of my days and evenings were unfortunately spent at the office.  Waa, waa, waa.  Anyhow ...

My weekly training re-caps will run (get it, run?) from Monday (cross-training day) through Saturday/Sunday (long run day).  Since my "official" Flying Pig training schedule started on Wednesday the 29th, here is the short re-cap for Week 1:

Wednesday 12/29 (already made a schedule change and actually ran this on Tuesday) - 3 miles in 32 minutes (10:45 average)
Thursday, 12/30 - 5 miles in 54 minutes (10:49 average)
Friday, 12/31 - 3 miles in 32 minutes (10:47 average)
Saturday, 1/1 - New Year's Day, off day!
Sunday, 1/2 - 8 miles in 1 hour, 29 minutes (11:05 average)

The first three runs this week really had me worried about this whole marathon training decision: I felt sluggish, I had frequent side-stitches, and my form sucked.  Whose idea was this anyway?!  Thankfully, my 8-miler was pretty darn good - and with that, my faith in myself was renewed.  I can do this!

2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats

Scheduled (This Week): 19

Completed (This Week): 19

Scheduled (Overall): 19

Completed (Overall): 19

Learning to Fly

Well, it is official: I am registered for the 2011 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, and training is underway!  I had been wishy-washy about signing up for a second marathon (I ran the Detroit Marathon in October 2009, then took just a liiiiiittle too much time off afterwards ...), but with the encouragement of friends and family (here's looking at you, CW), I've pulled the trigger on embarking on a second round of punishment a challenging, yet rewarding journey.

Claire and me post-26.2 in Detroit, October 2009.  I was lucky I could even stand up to take this picture!

Lots of people ask me: "You've done it, you finished a marathon.  Why not cross it off your list and move on?  Why on earth would you want to do it again?!"  Trust me, I've asked myself that same thing.  In fact, that is part of the reason I put it off so long (I more or less took a year off from running post-Detroit).  There is no sugar-coating it: marathons are hard.  And training is a huge commitment - not only of time, but of mental and physical energy as well.  So wait a minute - why am I doing this again?

Because crossing that finish line is a rush like no other.  Months of preparation, miles upon miles of training runs, countless aches and pains, hours of weekend and evening "free time" devoted to a seemingly endless training program - it all culminates in that one moment when your weary legs carry you across the finish.

Crossing the finish line!

So here I go - after a year of excuses, I'm taking the plunge again.  But this time, some things will be different.

A few months ago, I became a vegetarian.  A huge part of a successful training program relies on a solid nutrition plan - including adequate (but not excessive) protein to feed hungry, overworked muscles.  Most Americans get their protein from meat - chicken, pork, beef, and fish.  I need to learn how to eat a balanced diet, including an appropriate amount of protein, in order to fuel a challenging running regimen.

I want to make another change this time, too.  Excluding the meat aspect, my diet while preparing for Detroit was filled with the wrong kind of carbs (pizza, anyone?) and too many "reward" foods.  These poor choices caught up with me very quickly post-marathon: I kept eating, but stopped running, and I gained back about 15 pounds that I had worked so hard to lose before starting training.  While marathon training is NOT the best way to lose weight (I'll post more on that some other day), I don't want to set myself up for a second round of weight gain.  (I would be lying if I didn't say that losing a few more pounds in the process wouldn't be a welcome side effect, though.)

So that is the challenge: train for and run the 2011 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, while maintaining a healthy, nutritious, meat-free diet.  Welcome to Meatless Marathoning!