Marathon and Food Pics (11.10.2008)

Finally got the pictures uploaded and thought I would keep the words to a minimum since I wrote a looong recap earlier today...

Pre-Race Dinner (ww cheese ravioli w/ turkey meatballs and squash)Pre-Race Breakfast (ww eggo with almond butter and fig jam, a banana)Bridge that was destroyed by ice (thought it was a cool picture)Kevin and I - before the raceDad and I - ready to startThe starting lineRunning through the cityPath along the river - this is where the wind was horribleRed, pained face, dealing with the wind (sorry it is blurry)Not the prettiest scenery...Almost there...Done!! (Notice the bagel and PB in my hand!)Picked up a ton of these at the racePost-race meal...Frisco Grille in Columbia, MD. This place is awesome. We made the hour and a half trip back in order to have this Mexican food! They even have tofu burritos here - never had one, but I thought it was cool!

Queso dip to start...perfect.Chicken tacos on corn tortillas with rice and beans11.10.2008 - DAY AFTER

Breakfast - (oatmeal, skim milk, dried cranberries, almonds, almond butter, 1/2 banana, drizzle maple syrup)Lunch - (buon giorno salad with grilled shrimp. walnuts, cranberries, feta, cukes, balsamic vinaigrette)Pre-Dinner- I had a avocado that was ready to use, so I mixed it with some lime juice, salt, and a squeeze of cilantro paste. It tasted delish with corn tortilla chips.My mom and grandmom made this homemade apple butter over the weekend...
I had to try a bite and it tastes amazing!Dinner - (veggie burger on ww english muffin w/ hummus and a side of brussels w/ bacon)Dessert - (THIS STUFF IS AMAZING)I am going to hobble over to the couch and LAY. My legs and back are killing me. Hope everyone has a great night!

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Harrisburg Marathon Recap (11.10.2008)

Where to start? Did I hit my goals I made for myself? Let's get into the recap to see!

Miles 1-3: These are always the hardest miles for me. Everything hurts starting out - always does for me. I noticed right away that my right hamstring (the one I have been "feeling" was letting me know it was there). My dad started the race with me and was planning on dropping out around mile 20. We were right on pace with our best mile (mile 2) being a 9:12. This hamstring wasn't going to stop me.

Miles 4-7: We looped through some beautiful paths along the Susquehanna River and were still on target with our planned pace. Our miles were all in the 9's, but some were creeping up in the 9:40s and 9:50s. We came back by the starting line on City Island and saw Kevin a bunch of times. He was on his mountain bike trailing us the whole way with supplies.

Miles 8-10: These were the hardest miles of the entire race. We left city island and turned left on a path right next to the water. The wind gusts had to be close to 20 miles per hour and it was making it feel all uphill. Why couldn't the wind be at our back??!! My dad was trying to block the wind for me by running immediately in front of me. It helped a little, but my hamstring pain was getting worse. It was creeping down behind my knee and felt like it was spasming. We met up with Kevin and I popped some Advil. Then I popped some more. I felt like these miles went on forever. We hit mile 10 at 1:38, which was still under a 10 min pace, but barely. I was trying so hard to hold on, but my hamstring was making it extremely tough. My leg felt worse than ever before. I was thinking about my blog title for the recap during this period - some ideas, "I am an Idiot" and "What was I thinking?".

Miles 11-13.1: I lied - these were the worse miles of the entire race because this is where I considered throwing the towel in. My leg wasn't getting better and these 2.1 miles felt like it took a year. My dad did give me an out at one point saying that maybe it wasn't my day and we should stop so I don't injure myself worse than I already have. I seriously considered it. But I have NEVER not finished a race and I knew I had to make it. Even if I had to crawl or hobble like the guy in "Run, fat boy, Run" - I was going to finish. We hit mile 13.1 at 2:13 and I knew my hopes of breaking my PR were long gone. Now, this was about finishing with a respectable time.

Miles 14-18: Despite running through an ugly industrial park, I felt slightly better for a little while during this portion. Maybe my overdose on the Advil was kicking in?! It was enough to clock a 10:13 min mile for mile 15!! We hit some major hills running around this one lake and I had to walk on those, but I picked it up on the downhills and was running. Not walking - that was an accomplishment! I was still managing to only walk through the water stops for the most part. They were out of cups at one water stop and had gallons of water for us to chug if we wanted. Out of cups? Come on!!! Thank goodness Kevin was there and filled up the Gatorade bottle with water for me.

Miles 19-23: We were heading home. I was trying so hard to stay positive. Mentally, I was playing a game with myself where I couldn't let these the "girls in the yellow shirts" beat me. We had been jockeying with them the entire way. They had to be in college and I kept thinking about how much more beer they consumed than me. I had to beat them! The one girl was stronger than the other and she eventually left her friend and took off. Now it was about beating the one girl in the yellow shirt in front of me. My back was killing me and at one point it was enough to force me to walk for a bit. It was making it hard to breathe. But, I could see the bridge we had to cross to get back to City Island, so I pushed on.

Miles 24-26.2: Heading back on the same path we were on earlier with the wind gusts, we were looking forward to that wind being at our back. No such luck. The wind was now pushing us the other way. I just couldn't get a break. But I was still running - well maybe more of a shuffle. The Survival Shuffle - that's what I was doing. Did my hamstring still hurt? YES, but it was this numb, throbbing pain that I had gotten used to now. There was no stride because I was basically dragging my right leg along with me. The finish of this marathon is torture. You run by the finish line and can see the clock, then you have to loop around this baseball stadium to come back to where you just passed. It felt like the longest 5 mins of my life.

But - I DID IT! I crossed the finish line. My 5th marathon was over and my clock time was OK. 4:47:52. Not great, but I was pleased with this time considering the wind and my hamstring.

Here are my splits, courtesy of my dad:

• To the start: .28
• 2M - 19:20 (9:26 ave.)
• 3M - 9:25
• 4M - 9:43
• 5M - 9:52 (48:22)
• 6M - 9:45
• 7M - 9:45
• 8M - 10:15 (wind)
• 9M - 10:46 (wind)
• 10M -9:52 (1:38:44) (wind)
• 12M-21:33 (total for miles 11 and 12 - this was where I almost quit)
• 13M-12:07 (i almost quit here too)
• 13.1 - (2:13:31)
• 14M-11:22
• 15M -10:13 (2:34:01) (how did I do a 10:13 here?)
• 16M-11:25
• 17M-11:47
• 18M-12:26 (in the hilly park)
• 19M-12:15 (most in the park)
• 20M-12:35 (3:34:33)
• 21M-11:02
• 22M-11:35
• 23M-12:04
• 24M-12:08
• 25M-12:06
• 26M-11:55
• 26.2--4:47:52 (gun time)

Did I beat the girls in the yellow shirts? I beat one. 1 out of 2 isn't bad.

Did I beat my PR? Obviously not, but now I still have a goal to achieve.

Did I maintain under 9 mins miles in the first half? For the first 10 miles I did, so I did pretty good there.

Did I only walk through water stops? No, I walked on some major hills, but I ran for the majority of the race and feel good about that considering everything.

Did I stay positive/enjoy it? For the most part. When the sun was in my eyes annoying the hell out of me - I thought about how I was getting some sun on my pale, wintry face. :)

Now it is time for some REST and RELAXATION! I was majorly out of it after the race and left my camera along with my whole purse at my sister's house, so I didn't get to upload any of the pics Kevin took, but I will make sure to do that tonight!!

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Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Pasta/Marathon Goals (11.07.2008)

Last evening's 3 mile run turned into a 3.73 mile run. I knew it would be around a 3 mile loop when I went out, but when I finished, I checked usatf.org/routes and found I had run almost 4 miles. No harm there though. My plan is to possibly get out and do a very small, easy jog in the park with Oscar today. It is SUCH a beautiful day outside - hate that I am in this cubicle right now!

After the run, I whipped up a pretty basic meal. Baked Chicken which had been marinated in garlic and wine (pre-packaged stuff in the freezer - nothing fancy that I did myself) with sauteed yellow and green squash and Amy's rotini and four cheese sauce.

Since I have started this blog, I am so much more concerned with how things look on my plate because I want to take an appetizing picture! Last night was a good example, so I thought I would show the progression.

Here is my plate on my first try - BORING.
Here is that same plate with some fresh parsley to make it look pretty - it ended up looking messy.
So, I figured I might as well mix it all together. I thought this looked the best and it tasted really good this way too! Oh and not to mention it could count as a new recipe. Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Pasta! :)
Harrisburg Marathon Goals

So I wanted to write out my marathon goal(s), which is completely scary to me because usually it is in my mind and changes at different points through the run depending on how I am feeling. So here we go - I am sticking to it!

1. Break my PR (personal record) of 4:27 (everything else is supporting this #1 goal)

2. Start out running low-mid 9 minute miles and try to maintain this through mile 13.1. This will give me some time padding for later in the race when I may need to slow it up.

3. Only walk through water stops. I am not skilled enough to drink on the run - it ends up going up my nose and doesn't feel good.

4. ENJOY IT! (and remind myself that I am lucky enough to be ABLE to do this, so yeah - no negativity)

Happy Friday to all!

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It's Thursday! (11.06.2008)

All I am going to say about last night is WINE and CHINESE TAKEOUT.

Moving on!

This morning the snooze button was somehow pushed about 3 times more than usual which led to a very late start. whoopsie daisy.

Breakfast was a bowl of grape nuts, raisins, almonds, and skim milk. I like alot of milk with my cereal, as you can see.

I also stopped and got a regular "Costa Rica" blend coffee from High Grounds, my corner coffee shop. Brett, the owner, roasts his own coffee and it has such a smooth taste. I have just started drinking the regular because it isn't bitter like I thought regular coffee was! Lots of skim milk and one packet of sugar in the raw - it tastes perfect. Oh and it is also $2 cheaper than the lattes! sold.

Had a flat out wrap with almond butter and pumpkin butter for my morning snack today. I am loving these Flat Outs - I was convinced I didn't like whole wheat tortillas because I hated how they would always break. Then I realized I had been eating the wrong kind! Flat outs are so chewy and stretchy - it is great.

Lunch was Vegetable Korma with a spoonful of Fage on top. This was such a tasty and filling lunch. I love that this one comes with rice - long grain brown rice to be exact. I also like that I recognize everything in the ingredient list - all real stuff. Thought you may be interested in the Nutrition Facts on this:

Calories: 300, Fat: 6g, Sodium: 680mg, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 8g

Not too shabby - the sodium is a bit much, but as long as I watch it for the rest of the day...hopefully Teri will be ok with that! :)

Afternoon snack will probably be the rest of the greek yogurt with grape nuts and dried cranberries...but I do have a PB Zbar and banana hanging at my desk, so who knows!

Tonight will be one of my last runs (if not the last one) before the Harrisburg Marathon on SUNDAY. My plan is to do a 3-miler. The weather is still looking great for Sunday - low of 36, high of 53! I have been planning out my gear for Sunday because I know I will be cold when I start, but will warm up quickly and not want to be wearing too much.

My plan is to wear running pant/capris, a long-sleeve dry-fit with a short-sleeve under armour over top and then wear running gloves I can throw off when I don't need them anymore. I actually got some in the bag for the Baltimore marathon, so that is perfect. Depending on how I feel in the morning, I am going to bring a running headband, in case. The good thing is that Kevin should be riding along some portions on his bike, so I can give him stuff I don't want. My dad is running the last 20 with me, so that will help get me through! My stomach is starting to get nervous!

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday!

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I'm Baaaack! (11.03.2008)

So this weekend was fun and relaxing at the same time. I didnt get much computer time, so this is my first post in November!

Saturday started out with a walk in the park with oscar and then a ton of cleaning. Later on, I had a fun afternoon/evening with my sister! We went shopping, had dinner, and then saw a movie. After a TON of shopping (my feet hurt), dinner was a delicious one at The Tomato Palace in Columbia, MD.

We each ordered a glass of wine (pinot grigio for me) and then we decided to split the meatball and polenta appetizer. This was SO delicious and after splitting this, we realized that we should have just ordered salads as our entrees.

Especially because they bought a plate of these hot, garlicy, bread knots to our table. whoa.

I had ordered the roasted chicken special with peppers, onions, sweet potato, tomatoes over linguine. It was HUGE and just OK. The chicken was perfectly cooked, but I barely put a dent in this.

My sis ordered sole over spinach linguine with a white wine sauce w/ tomatoes and capers. I LOVED her dish and had more bites of this than mine.

We went to see The Changeling and it was a mistake. Horrible movie - we both hated it. I had a completely different expectation of the movie and felt like it was such a downer. If you are thinking about seeing it - I say wait for it to come out on video so you dont spend as much $$ on it!

Sunday AM was my last longer run before the Harrisburg Marathon which is THIS COMING WEEKEND! oh man - I cant believe I am doing this, but hopefully the weather is OK and I can beat my PR. But, I want to just enjoy it and not put TOO much pressure on myself in case it isnt my day and I cant beat my PR. I will be happy with a finish too!

I ran a little under 7 miles on and my feet and legs all felt pretty good. I am a little worried about my right hamstring because I still "feel" it. It is not like it is a pain, but it just feels tight. The first two miles were in the park with Oscar, then I dropped him off at home and ran down to the water/inner harbor and ran through fells point and over to harbor east area before turning around. My time was 1 hour and 7 mins. (I actually wore my watch!)

The rest of Sunday was spent doing some much needed laundry, resting, playing with Lucy and Oscar. Later on, we took a trip to Whole Foods and came back with some very good stuff.

Dinner on Sunday night consisted of chicken and vegetable potstickers from whole foods, edamame, and a multigrain rice/shrimp/california roll. Here is my plate before eating...

...but, I could only eat two of the sushi rolls - just wasnt into them - which is weird. I did eat the potstickers and edamame, which both were amazing. I have a potsticker obsession lately.

Breakfast this morning (monday) was a great oatmeal combo:

• 1/2 c oats
• 1/2 c skim milk
• raisins
• almonds
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• spoonful of almond butter (I got some more - thank goodness)
• drizzle of maple syrup (I have a heavy hand with this and need to start measuring!)
  

(I really do love having oatmeal in the morning and want to thank all the wonderful food bloggers out there who inspired me to try it again and start coming up with combinations I enjoy. I hadnt had oatmeal since I was little, up until a few months ago. It is such a quick, easy, hot thing to put together. I am loving how it keeps me full for so long in the morning too!)

Morning snack (had around 10:30am) was a Lemon, Vanilla, Cashew Nectar bar. love these. Lunch today will be Channa Masala with a spoonful of fage mixed in and a piece of naan bread. Afternoon snack will be the rest of the fage with pineapples and pumpkin granola mixed in.

Fresh pineapple from whole foods. I used my new pineapple corer (from my mom) and it worked great!

I almost forgot that Oscar dressed up for Halloween! He decided to rock out two different wigs.

The first is a more classic blond bob...but he likes to keep it messy.

The second is a little spunky shag cut. :) (check out that tongue...aww)

Hope everyone is off to a good start this week!

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Some Eats and My Next Marathon!

Thank you so much for all of your well wishes for my mom. She is doing better than we expected only 2 days after the accident, which is a great thing!

I wanted to share some of my eats from yesterday that were delicious. I was craving healthy stuff since Sunday consisted of a chicken cheese steak (grilled chicken, but still) and pizza. Ordered out from the ER and needed the comfort. For Monday's breakfast, I whipped up a fruity protein shake with the following:

• appx 1.5 cups frozen mixed berries
• 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
• appx. 1 cup of skim milk
• 1 banana

I didnt measure the ingredients (besides the protein powder), but it filled two coffee cups perfectly which was great for Kevin and I. When I arrived to work, I ate a AB and fig jam sandwich to round out my breakfast. This filled me up until I snacked on some edamame around 11am - i love these. Could eat them every day. Also brought a honey crisp apple and carrots, which I ate later in the afternoon.

I met my friends Camey and Ashley, Camey's mom and Camey's daughter Mya for lunch at Don Pablos. I ate too many chips and salsa and then had 1 chicken taco with some beans and rice. I was stuffed. But had to share this cute picture of Mya, who is 10 months old. Such a sweetie!

Ok, maybe 2 pictures! Check out those bottom teeth and that cute smile!

I headed over to my parents house later to check on my mom - she was up and moving around, which was a great thing! Dinner was made by my father: Panko crusted chicken tenders with a apricot marmalade on top, sweet potato fries, and steamed broccoli. YUM.

This morning, I signed up for the HARRISBURG MARATHON on November 9th, so I have 4 weeks to maintain and be ready for this race. It is supposedly a pretty flat and fast course, so my goal is going to be to break my PR of 4:27. lets hope I can do it!!! :)

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