Fitness – Page 4 – Fervent Foodie

She’s going the distance…

August 16, 2011 17 Comments

I’m one of those weirdos who likes to run WITHOUT headphones. Did you know that some people actually do that? I think the first thing most runners do after lacing up their sneakers is pump up the jams. Yes, it’s 1992 again. Where IS that jock jams c.d. anyway?

Personally, I just like to hear the sounds of nature (or the sounds of city) as I’m running. Or, perhaps it really just has something to do with my paranoia and not wanting any crazies sneaking up behind me without my knowledge as it could impede my natural defense mechanism: the karate chop. Hyyyyyyyy-ya!

Sometimes as I’m running sans music, my subconscious starts to play songs to keep me entertained. There are two songs that pop into my head more than any others. The Rocky Theme song. Yes, I’m serious. And Going the distance by Cake. “She’s going the distance. She’s going for speed. She’s all alone (ALL ALONE) in her time of need.” Not that any of this songs applies to me, but for some reason it keeps me chugging along. Whatever works, right?

As much as I enjoy running, sometimes I wake up and want NOTHING to do with it. I have this mental debate with myself about whether or not to run. Then I try to convince myself I’ll go after work (haha, nice try self, but when has that ever happened?!). The process of just getting myself outside is the hard part. Once I get going, I’m ALWAYS glad I did.

I was talking to my mom a week or so ago, and she mentioned this new book she’d read called In the Long Run.

She casually suggested I read it. AKA she told me I needed to read it. She told me why I needed to read it. Then she told me once again that I should really really just give it a shot. And then three days later the book miraculously appeared at my doorstop. Funny how those things work, isn’t it?

I can’t fully recommend the book. BUT I can recommend the first 104 pages (slowly but surely making my way through it Winking smile ). It does have my mom’s stamp of approval though, and I’m pretty sure that’s the highest level of stamp a book can receive.

The one theme in the book that has really resonated with me so far is: “slow down, and you’ll go farther”.

When I woke up Sunday morning I REALLY wasn’t in the mood to run. I felt groggy (even with 8 hours of sleep), so I made some coffee and cooked up my normal dippy egg + 3 egg white scramble + a toasted slice of Trader Joe’s sprouted bread.

Then I decided if I was going to run (which the jury was still out on), I’d need some extra fuel so I threw in a 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s plain vanilla greek yogurt (my fav) and some strawberries. While I let all that deliciousness sink in, I started thinking about the book.

Slow down, and you’ll go farther.

It’s like I could hear my mom whispering these words in my ear. Slow down, Mare. Slow down….. That was enough for me to get my butt in gear. Once outside I decided that rather than hitting the trail for my normal 3 mile loop, I’d head for the city for a leisurely uncharted jog. 2.5 miles into it, I felt like I could run a little farther than my normal 3 miles. 4 miles into it, my knees still weren’t bothering me. 5 miles into to, I was pretty much AMAZED at my progress. And at an OUTRAGEOUS 6 miles, I was still holding steady at my normal 10 minute mile pace.

Never in my life have I ran that long.

HOLY COW. Where did that come from? I’ve been running 3 mile loops consistently for the last couple of weeks after FINALLY making it through my interval training and getting to the point of running without any walking intervals. But going from 3 miles to 6 miles, no problem? I’m still shocked. On my normal 3 mile loop, I always feel like DEATH at the end. Like every last ounce of life has been sucked from my being and it’s all that I can do to drag my feet back to my condo. Is that because I have a predetermined route in mind and I’m just hurrying to get to the end? Is it really just in my head? Just HOW far can I run if I set out with no plan in mind? 8 miles? 10 miles?!

I guess mom was right. Maybe I’ll actually finish this book, unlike the 5 others I currently have in progress Smile

What’s the farthest you’ve ever ran?

Fitness, What I ate

Run and done(ish)

June 28, 2011 6 Comments

The low down: This week marks week four of my self-proclaimed Kick the Knee Pain running program. I started off this new program with intervals of 2 minutes walking 1 minute running, and each day I run I bump my run interval time up by 1 minute. Sunday I completed 3 intervals of 8 minutes running and 1 minute walking.

Status: Other than some mild tightness in my knees, I haven’t had any knee issues so far!

Contributing “Success” Factors:

Buying new running shoes BEFORE starting to run.
Running primarily on softer surfaces (trails, paths, etc.)
NOT running every day and giving my knees a chance to recuperate
Being conscious of my natural tendency to heel-strike and focusing on NOT
Strength training. Building up the muscles in my legs and my core supposedly takes stress of the knees.

Conclusion: Boo ya.

*Note that stretching is not on the list above… feel free to leave angry comments about the importance of stretching. Maybe that will get it through my stubborn brain.

Short-Term Goal: Be at 30-minute running only intervals (i.e., no walking) with no knee pain by August 15th.

And now on to more exciting things… like this lovely tuna wrap I had for dinner Smile

Isn’t it perdy? This was a quick hodgpodge I threw together after work and consisted of:

1 can chunk tuna in water, drained
1 tbsp light HELMANS mayo (none of that miracle whip crap )
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 small dill pickle, chopped
Handful of romaine lettuce
Handful of grape tomatoes
S&P
Dried Dill
1 light Italian Flat-out wrap

This made for one gynormous wrap, that I basically inhaled. Along with some cucumber salad:

This should be called the Lazy Girl Salad. It consisted of 1 sliced cucumber, some white vinegar, and some dried dill. Easy peasy!

Tomorrow is Wednesday! And for the 92nd week in a row, I’m going to attempt to NOT forget it’s What-I-Ate-Wednesday. I even put a reminder in my phone Smile

Question of the evening: How do we feel about my giant head on the right hand side of the page?

Fitness, Ramblings

Stop.and.go.

June 17, 2011 7 Comments

Stop and go. Stop and go.

Ya’ll may recall my short-lived escapade with running last summer. And you might also recall when I hurt my knee. And if you recall those two things you might also recall that I tried to get back into running by purchasing new running shoes and starting interval training. And then remember when I hurt my knee AGAIN? And then I went to the orthopedic surgeon and he told me “some knees just aren’t made for running.” And then I said screw you, doctor. I’ll show you, doctor. And then remember when I tried to do interval training again? And then I hurt my knee.. AGAIN. And then basically said yeah screw running?

That was fun, wasn’t it? Smile

Sooooooo…. about 2 weeks ago I went to the Charlotte Running Company to buy *new running shoes* … Stubborn might just be my middle name.

Note that I purchased the new shoes BEFORE trying to start running again. Let’s give Mary a cyber pat on the back for at least taking one step in the right direction.

The coolest thing about my visit to the Charlotte Running Co., was the personal fitting. This involved me running on a treadmill while they videotaped my ankles and feet. The playback was pretty interesting to watch. I learned that I do not over or under pronate (roll the ankles inward or outward), which I was always curious about. What I do do is over extend my legs when I run, which causes my heel to hit the ground first. Apparently, the balls of your feet should hit first. The salesman told me to pretend that I’m running on hot coals and take quick short steps.

Verrrrrry interesting. It’s funny to think that there’s a “right” way to run. There’s more to it than strapping on any old pair of tennis shoes and hitting the payment. Really, Mary? Cuz that worked oh so well for you last summer, didn’t it?

After trying on about 10 pairs of running shoes, I ended up going with the Asics Gel Nimbus 13:

Even with my new shoes and my new hot coal running technique, I didn’t want to just jump into running head — strike that — ball-of-the-foot first. I decided to ramp up with… you guessed it.

Interval training.

Originally, my goal was to start with 1 minute running and 1 minute walking for 20 minutes. Then each week gradually increase the run portion of the interval by 1 minute.

Good plan, eh?

Probably was, but it just wasn’t challenging enough. But as much as I just want to just get out there and RUN until my legs can’t carry me any further, I have a little nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me how devastated I’ll be if I hurt my knee again this summer. Sooooooo I reached a compromise with the nagging voice. Instead of bumping the run time up a minute each week, I’m bumping it up a minute each day that I run.

My feets in action:

I’m also running every other day (as opposed to EVERY day I tried to run last summer), and I found a pretty nice path to run on (as opposed to hard streets/sidewalks).

If I stay on this plan, I should be able to run 5K no (knee) problem by mid August! That would be the ultimate accomplishment in my mind. I know 5K isn’t much—I mean it’s no walk in the park but it’s also no marathon—but in my knee-injurfied world it’s quite the accomplishment!

Fitness, Ramblings, Restaurants

So fresh and so (not) clean

June 13, 2011 5 Comments

I’ve been in Charlotte for nearly 2 months now, yet my place is still in disarray. So, my primary goal for the weekend was to be OOBER productive. Looking back I’d say I did a fairly good job of meeting that goal—good enough that I may even be able to post some pics of the apt in the next week or so Smile

Amidst all my oober productivity, I squeezed in a Body Pump class Saturday morning and a “run” (Ah! more on that to come) Sunday morning.

After the Body Pump class, the instructor called me a “real regular”. I know it seems silly, but her little comment and acknowledgement that I’ve been body pumping on a regular basis gave me this sense of pride and accomplishment. I guess it’s because I’ve NEVER been able to stick with any sort of strength training program. I’ve tried. I’ve failed. Annnd repeat. I mean, you all remember my strength training powerpoint, right? Fail.

The hard part for me was finding something I could stick with, and something that I KNEW wasn’t a waste of time. I’m happy to report I’m four months in to Body Pump and going strong! So strong in fact, that today without thinking I flexed my biceps in the bathroom mirror at work. Who does that?! Luckily no one walked in on my “which way to the gym” routine Smile

Anyway, after body pump Saturday I headed home for a quick shower and scooted out to run some errands. I was about 5 centimeters down my street when I realized that I had not only forgotten to shave my armpits, BUT I’d also forgotten to put on deodorant. I slowed the car down to a crawl contemplating on whether or not I should turn around. On one hand I had my goals of oober productivity. On the other hand I had my newly formed goal of not ruining my chances of making new friends in Charlotte because I smell like B.O.. Now if it had been my cell phone I’d forgotten, you’re darn tootin I would have turned that car around. But hairy au naturale armpits? Not so much. I guess we all have our limits Be right back

I hit up Lowes, Target, and Trader Joes before rolling my famished self (neglected armpits included) into my first ever visit to Zoe’s!

Simple.Tasty.Fresh!
My strength training obsessed BF tells me I need to make sure I get bookoo protein in after body pump, so as I perused the menu for something meaty I giggled when I saw they had a dish called The Protein Power Plate. Really?

REALLY??

As unappetizing as the name sounded, the description really hit a special place in my heart. Flat-grilled chicken, caramelized onions, and slaw. Say it with me. CARAMELIZED ONIONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I was also pleasantly surprised that the dish was sprinkled with a bit of feta. You know what they say. Feta makes everything betta.

This was one DELICIOUS dish. One that I’d eat again regardless of my body’s protein replenishment needs. Zoe’s has a ton of other things on the menu that look worthy of a taste – several sandwiches, kabobs, salads… not to mention the hand-made chocolate cake and homemade cookies. Can’t wait to go back!

After lunch, I headed back to the apt where I unloaded my booty… as in all the goodies I scored shopping… not as in #2… ummmm moving on….

One thing I scored was this lamp shade from Lowes:

I love the color and pattern. Yes, I plan to take the plastic off. Please note the pile of crap on my nightstand. Now envision a 1,000 square foot apartment filled with similar piles of varying heights. That’s what I’m working with, folks.

Slowwwwllyyyy but surely Smile

Fitness, Ramblings

Beef Cake Mary–part 2

May 20, 2011 11 Comments

Lucky for me the BF doesn’t read this blog. If he did, he’d catch one of the RARE instances of me admitting to be wrong. One of the far and few between moments where my big brains did not perform to their maximum outrageously high potential. Lucky for me, this little admittance will stay between you and me Smile

Last post, I admitted that there might just be a little something to this whole weightlifting thing. Perhaps.

Of course I did some (extensive) research. Hello, have we met?! And apparently it’s not just about WHAT you eat that’s key, but the combination of foods you eat.

Way back last year I revamped my workweek meal plan to include lots of healthy and nutritious meals. Step in the right direction? Check. The combination of foods in these meals, however, never crossed my mind. I had a really good plan based on ZERO exercise. So if work got insane, at least I was eating healthy. And if I did exercise I got to eat more. (more=better, am I right?!)

My anal teensy bit neurotic self likes to keep track of everything I eat (I use myfitnesspal.com). This means I have TONS of data of the foods I’ve consumed over the past year. When I sat down and started analyzing all this information I realized something. Something kinda big actually. I was doing such a great job of eating healthy during the workweek (weekends are another story), but those days that I did exercise I filled those extra calories “earned” with the junk that I’d worked so hard to get out of my diet. If I ran on the treadmill I earned a cookie or two or a big bowl a cereal before bed. None of these are “bad” things, but if you think about it I was forcing my body to work overtime so that I could refuel it with crap. No wonder I have been feeling so weak. Busting your butt exercising results in your body needing FUEL. Not cookies or chocolate or Peanut Butter Puffins, but rather lean proteins and slow digesting carbohydrates.

Lean protein and slow digesting carbohydrates… that doesn’t sound nearly as tasty Sad smile

So my new project at hand is tweaking my meals to focus on the pairing of foods and the quality of “fuel” for my body. All without sacrificing the level of tastiness my mature pallate demands 😉 The other issue to take into consideration is that I get super bored eating the same things day after day. So my lunches and dinner NEED TO be especially varied.

For those who are interested, here’s what I’ve come up with so far. No, I’m not a nutritionist or any sort of dr. This is meant to be a rough guide to help me make smarter choices throughout the day—not a rigid list of requirements.

Granted this is Week #1, so I foresee lots of adjustments to come. Suggestions are WELCOME!

Pre-workout (EARLY am)

1 slice Trader Joe’s 7 grain Sprouted Bread (protein & slow digesting carb)
2 tsp Smucker’s Organic Natural Peanut Butter (protein & healthy fat)

Breakfast #1 (post workout)

1 whole egg (protein & healthy fat)
3 egg whites (protein)
1/2 cup strawberries (fast digesting carb)

Breakfast #2 (mid-morning)

Overnight Oats (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, cinnamon, 1 tsp brown sugar) (good carbs)
1/3 cup Greek Style nonfat plain yogurt (protein)

Lunch

Flexible, but frequent large salads with protein (chicken, tuna, shrimp, etc) (protein and lots o healthy veg)
2 tbsp cheese (fat/protein)
1/4 beans (good for ya carbs)
Small piece of dark chocolate (mandatory for mental health)

Afternoon Snack

1 apple (carb)
~~Small protein shake (protein)~~ Bleghhhhhh… I tried. I promise I tried. I just can’t stomach protein shakes. I’m still seeking a good protein to pair with the apple…

Dinner

Flexible. Focus on protein, veggies GALORE, and minimal processed carbs.

Late night snack

Cottage cheese Strike that… cottage cheese is absolutely disgusting. It literally made me nauseous the first night. Dry heaving commenced. So I cut it out IMMEDIATELY. For now I’ve replaced it with 1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt (protein)
2 tbsp nuts (healthy fat)

I’m really interested to see how my body reacts to these slight changes in diet over the next couple of weeks. I’m also really interested to see if alternating Body Pump days with cardio days will hold my easily bored self.

We shall see……………

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