Low Carbs Day 3 - no serious casualties

It's been 3 days since I cut down on carbs. I would say there have been zero casualties, not including the crappy waiter and the incompetent coworker, both of whom needed, and deserved, a little bit of "educating."

I realized that I'm still eating a lot of vegetables and fruit, which have carbs, so I'm not really going low-carb normal people style, just low-carb Kayan style. Definition: Before, my days were split something like 90% carbs and 10% everything else, now it is closer to 50% carbs and 50% everything else. I usually don't eat a lot of straight meat. It is generally mixed it in with some yummy starch, but I've been eating steak, scallops, chicken, etc. without mixing it in anything.It's tough, because I sooooo want some bread, or crackers, or potatoes, or noodles. I still eat constantly, so I feel full all of the time, but something is just not quite there....

Low Carb Diet - Take Two!

Look out World! I'm on the wagon again - trying out a low carb diet. Last time I did this was a few years ago, when I got P90X, which came with a nutritional guide that pretty much deprived me of all carbs. I lasted one week before I exploded and decided to forgo the diet plan. It was one of the worst weeks of my life. I was angry, bitchy, tense, shaky, and curbed my carbo-cravings by shopping. And it only lasted 1 week. Barely.

Cody started P90X 2 last week, and I haven't watched much of it yet let alone try any of the videos, but I have a marathon in less than 3 weeks and have been eating my way through the Holidays, so I decided to try LOW, not NO, carbs for a few weeks. Yesterday was not bad. I even had a whole protein shake, which wasn't nearly as yucky as I thought it would be. I steamed a bunch of veggies last night and plan to eat that with lean protein and fruit throughout the day.

Hopefully, I will last longer than last time without hurting anyone....

No Go on the Training Goal

Only 54 miles. Try again next week.

Training Goal This Week

60 miles.

Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon - night run!

The Vegas R&R half marathon starts at 5:30pm, so you essentially get to run on the strip from Mandalay Bay all the way to the old downtown area in the night time in almost freezing temperatures. In comparison to the Seattle R&R:

Pros:
-The bands were excellent!
-45K runners (vs Seattle's 26K) meant a lot more cheering, happily drunk, people holding signs and shouting encouragements on the street - since I wasn't competing I got to stop and take pictures of all the debauchery, which was super fun!
-The scenery was beautiful

Cons:
-Same with Seattle, the bus service to the start line was poorly coordinated and people were left without transportation to the start. We were lucky and ended up on one of the last shuttles, but had to start in the very last corral behind an impenetrable mob and right in front of the sweeper vehicle.
-45K = lots of bodies to dodge
-Froze my butt off before and after.... we had to find our way back to the hotel ~2+ miles away, on foot, in the freezing temperatures
-Marathon start time of 4pm means if you can't finish the first half in 1:30:00 (yeah, right), you will get mixed in with the half marathon starters/runners, and that sucks!! There's no separation of the course, unless you count the silly orange cones they tried to put out.

I'm glad I did this, and even more glad I didn't catch a cold! I'm very proud of my friend who got healthy this year and was able to complete his first half marathon, and am happy that I was able to be here for him.

Didn't really get to do much in Vegas this time around, but I was just here in May and it's way too cold out to really do anything fun here. So, I'll spend the day working remotely and will be happy to sleep in my own bed tomorrow night.

3 days to recover

My legs are finally feeling better after 3 days. I ended up registering for the 1.15.2012 R&R in Arizona because of the cost and timing. While the registration fee for the race is doubled that of the IMS, flights and hotel came out lower. Also, I really don't want to train through February considering we still want to do the Lake Stevens half ironman in August. The crowd at R&R won't bother me much, mostly because I assume I will be closer to the front of the pack so less bodies to dodge. Friend Erik ran this last year and said it's a very fast course but he didn't like the massive amount of people.

Everything is booked except for the rental car, so I'm committed. I'll have to train hard for the next 6 weeks and hope to kill it. Wish me luck!

Sign-Up for Arizona Marathon today

*Sigh* Yup, didn't quite meet the BQ time in the Seattle Marathon with my time of 3:48:10. I was doing GREAT up through mile 17-18. My half way split was a PR of 1:41, but then the back end came and the last 6 or so miles were all hill, coupled with rain, wind, cold, and at one point, there was hail. The ending was such a disaster. There was a reason I stopped supporting this marathon a few years ago (the race director was an evil wench), and now, I will vow never to run this one again, for a different reason.

Today, I have to choose between the R&R Arizona marathon on 1.15.2012 or the IMS Arizona Marathona on 2.19.2012. I figured it would be best to just find the earliest marathon to try and get this BQ thing done, so that I could use this past weekend as a training run. I'd prefer the timing of the R&R, but the course, cost and size (small) of the IMS is much more appealing. I will likely go with the latter.

My legs are super sore. I'm hobbling around like a goofball. It was soooo cold out there, but the asics arm warmers I purchased at the expo were fantastic - so glad Bri recommended them!

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

My first time running the Seattle Marathon. I really hope that the weather will be decent; that I do not injure myself before then; and that I qualify for Boston.

Only after training for about 7 weeks, I'm sure I'm fully unprepared for this. But what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger, right??

On a high note, two of my friends rocked the Arizona Ironman this past Sunday, and my coworker volunteered at the event and then signed up for 2012 this morning. I will definitely try to volunteer next year and cheer her on! Then, maybe, just maybe, 2013....

12 days until marathon!

I've barely begun to train and it's already time to taper down. I feel super ill-prepared for this marathon, but at least I'm not injured like I was during the last one. Between now and the 27th, my goals are to eat healthy (no junk, no booze) and try to combine bike and swim with a little bit of running.

Two of my friends are doing the Arizona Ironman this sunday and one of my coworkers is actually volunteering at the event (I think she wants to sign up for it next year. crazy woman!) Good luck, #229 and #949!!

Training Log

I've decided to share my training log: KL Training Log
It's nothing fancy. I've kept track for years. Even before this file was created, I used to track on manual paper. It's nice to be able to reference what I've done. I haven't really been able to successfully stick to a plan, so I usually don't bother. I find that writing down what i actually did is enough to motivate me for the next day.

Apple Pie!

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
•  tbs. of vanilla to the syrup
• dash of nutmeg
• tsp. of cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 (less 1 tbsp) cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
•  6 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 egg white

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Brush bottom of crust with egg whites to keep it from getting soggy. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Gently pour most of the sugar and butter liquid into the apples. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the rest of the liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 50 - 60 minutes in the preheated oven until apples are soft.

Avocado Bruschetta

Guacamole Bruschetta

Yield: 12-15 servings

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 6 min

Ingredients:

½ loaf French bread
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 tomatoes, medium chopped
2 avocados, medium chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Slice the French bread on the diagonal into ½" rounds and place on a baking sheet.
Toast the sliced bread in the oven for 3 minutes, then flip each piece over and toast an additional 3 minutes.
Remove the toasted bread from the oven and immediately rub with the clove of garlic (it works best to first cut a small tip off the garlic clove so that the oils will seep out).
Brush the tops of the garlic-rubbed toasts with olive oil and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix together gently making sure the avocado is well coated in the lime juice.
Spoon a portion of the mixture onto each of the garlic toasts and serve.

Guacamole!

Ingredients

• 3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.

Greenlake!

Ran around Greenlake 3 times with CH last night. One of the reasons I prefer to run solo is because I tend to pace others, so it ends up throwing me off and I can't get into my preferred running zone. Well, turns out CH's pace was perfect. We averaged 8:25 per mile, which is a push for me when it's not a race day, but that's about where I want to be for a full marathon. The standard rule is that you end up running about 30-60 seconds faster during a race, so knowing that I can do 8:25 is pretty satisfying. He had his book on tape and I ran without any music. The weather was nice and the sun set just as we were finishing up. Couldn't have asked for a better training day.

Creamy Cajun Chicken (or shrimp??) Pasta!

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips (I also tried this with shrimp - much better!)
8 ounces linguine, cooked al dente (I used whole wheat linguine)
3 teaspoons cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I used 1/4 nonfat milk and the rest whipping cream)
3 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (I used fresh minced garlic)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or margarine until chicken is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat add green onion, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and heat through. Pour over hot linguine and toss with Parmesan cheese. I found the original recipe to lack flavor, so i threw in a few dashes of Slap Yo Mama (or any go-to seasoning of your choice) and it was way better!

Lazy week

All last week I felt like a lazy bum. I was afraid to check my training log this morning, but to my surprise, I was able to get in 42 miles. Yesterday, I ran 14.15 from home to Magnuson. Rather than going on hilly sandpoint way, I discovered (as I was chasing some dude in a red shirt, I hate being a rabbit!) that if I stuck to Burke-Gilman, it pretty much leads me straight to the park. Duh! That was a nice run, even though I know hills are good for me.

Marathon is 4 weeks away. I really have to start eating better. It's halloween today, not much else going on. We didn't really do much for halloween this year besides carve a few pumpkins, not even a costume. We won't be handing out candy either, but we probably won't be home until late so it doesn't really matter. There's a costume contest at work, but I really need to avoid candy. =)

Not a bad week

I caught my first, and hopefully my last, cold of the season last week and was pretty miserable from Wednesday onward; however, still managed to crank out 45 miles. I was pretty happy with that. Yesterday, we went to brunch with some friends at Barrio and as I stood up from the booth where we were seated, I felt a pull in my left butt cheek. Throughout the day it grew progressively more painful. Still, I ran 13mi. Today, it's still pretty sore. I don't know what happened, but I felt fine in the morning. I don't think there was anything blatantly wrong with the booth. I've sat in it before without any issues. It was weird.

5 more weeks until the Seattle marathon. I need to keep adding mileage, don't think I'll get a chance to taper down.

Sick of being sick

I've been fighting a sore throat for the past few days. As usual, I don't really do the coughing, sneezing, runny nose thing, which is great. But my throat gets super dry and sore and I lose my voice and sometimes my taste buds. Life is not worth living without my taste buds, so at least I still have those this time around. I haven't been taking much meds during the day because I don't want to be drowsy, but I'm still a bit tired. I took a 'heavy' dose of nyquil last night (we didn't have the measuring cup, so i just chugged, and chugged again) which knocked me the eff out. I think I was still drugged up this morning. I have been able to work out the past few days though. Not as hard as the beginning of the week, but hopefully I'll make it up over the weekend.

Beef Stew Recipe

Found this recipe online. Probably going to try this in the winter time. Yummmm

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Sunny in October?!?

Took advantage of the sunshine yesterday and ran outside - twice! 6mi in the AM and 7mi in the PM. I'm hoping the weather for the Seattle Marathon will be tolerable, but as I started out yesterday at 7AM with long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, I realized I'll likely freeze my butt off on Nov. 27th because "tolerable" will still mean 40-degrees in Seattle during Winter time. If I am lucky.

I woke up with a super sore throat this morning. Had dinner with SC on Sunday only to discover via fb the next day that she was super sick and had to leave work because of it. Gee, thanks for sharing. Plus, everyone around me at work has had some illness or another ever since September, likely from all the little kiddies going back to school, aka the ultimate in germ cesspool.I'm scheduled to get my flu shot this afternoon. I wasn't sure if that was okay, but from all the internet searches I did this morning it seems okay as long as I don't have a fever, which I don't. I'll check with them before they shoot me up, though.

Biked 12mi this AM. Took some drugs. Now I'm drowsy....

Week 1 of Seattle Marathon Training

Yes, I do realize that the Seattle Marathon is only 6 weeks away, so the fact that I'm only on week 1 of training is probably no good. But my foot injuries have prevented me from running at all for most of the past 11 months, so last week's total mileage of 48.5 is quite a triumph and I will take whatever I can get.

For my Sunday long run, I went to Alki and back - 16 miles. At the midpoint I was actually averaging 8:15/mi, which is way too speedy for me so I kicked it down a bit. Don't want another injury, have to be careful with old bones. I wonder if my cycling really is helping my running. That would motivate me to bike more, I guess. Still haven't made it to the pool though. I'm good at avoiding water.

Seattle Rock & Roll Marathon registration opened up today. For the first two days, there's a discounted price of $90. Full price is supposed to go up to $150, I think. Expensive habit. I think I'll hold off, not really sure I want to do the R&R next year. I should check when the Boston registration is....

Carbo Load: Mac & Cheese!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn or diced into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 pound elbow macaroni (or other small pasta shape)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter (alternately, melt butter in the microwave). Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside. Pull out 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar, and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and reserve.

2. Fill a large pot with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. In the same pot you used for boiling the pasta, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

4. While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano. Stir reserved macaroni into the cheese sauce.

6. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. If after 30 minutes, it's not browned to your liking, broil the topping rather than leaving it in the oven, which may cause the pasta to overcook and sauce to dry out. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

Arizona Ironman 11.20.11

We decided to be spectators at the 2011 Arizona Ironman! We looked for volunteer positions, but all the fun roles early in the morning were taken, so we passed. Our friends BC and ES are doing it, so we can cheer them on! Both of them volunteered at the event last year. Apparently, you get priority in next year's race when you volunteer. I really want to watch the event and check out the course to determine whether it's something I want to attempt. Cody said "no way, Jose!" 70.3 is all he'd put himself through, not a whole 140.6. I am crazy, though. If being a spectator doesn't scare the sh*t  out of me, we will volunteer for 2012 and I will sign up for 2013. At least, that's the plan.


Still no swim last night. Ran 7 miles instead and then went to have sushi. nom nom nom

Still no swim

It's Thursday and I've managed to dodge swimming the entire week. Biked this morning (13mi) and ran last night at the gym (7.5mi). HOPING to get the motivation to go into the pool tonight, and really hoping I won't have to share a lane. I still need to go find a one-piece bathing suit. I went through 2 in the past year and don't even swim that much! The chlorine just eats it up. So, I have to wear a bikini and all I can think of is my swim instructor telling me "no one will take you seriously if you wear a bikini to swim laps." grrrrr....

I made eggplant parmigiana last night, super healthy and yummy! =) 

Get in my belly!

It is so hard to eat healthy, and in moderation, when you love food as much as I do. *sigh*

I'm having oatmeal for breakfast today and will likely take advantage of the $5 for any footlong month at Subway for lunch. Sometimes, I wish I were taller, but only so that I could afford to consume more calories. It's hard being 5ft tall. Fine, it's hard being 4'11.75. Technically, I should only eat what 2/3 of what a normal person eats. What is that, like 1,333 calories a day?!? I love fruits and vegetables more than anyone I know, but even if that were all I ate, that number would not be enough.

OK, enough ranting about food. My body felt great this morning and I did some yoga. The sun is peaking out so hopefully I will get a few miles outside today. Cross my fingers!

Bike. Run. Bike. Run.

Went to the gym yesterday afternoon and did a second workout consisting of 8mi bike and 4.5mi run. I did it to avoid swimming. I really need to stop doing that.

No soreness this morning, though, so I biked another 12mi. Going to get sweet potato fries at Counter Burger this evening, yummmmmm, so I'll probably try to get some cardio in before that.

I never used to like working out with other people, but I think it'd be nice to have more workout buddies nowadays. Sometimes, I get so bored. Any volunteers??

YOU ARE An IRONMAN!

Welcome to my journey through hell!  (Hey, I'm just being realistic here. Why try to sugarcoat it?)

I just finished Jacques Steinberg's "You Are an Ironman: How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World's Toughest Traithlon" (i.e. The 2009 Arizona Ironman) and I am inspired!

Step 1: Start a blog to log progress and keep myself motivated. CHECK!
Step 2: Get a formal training program. ALMOST! (KG working on it)
Step 3: Recruit other crazies to join me! CHECK! (fb event page created)
Step 4: Go nuts! CHECK!

This morning was the first time I'd ever biked (12mi.) and then immediately ran (2mi.). It makes sense to practice doing these things together as part of tri-training, but I had never thought of it until reading this book. I actually run a lot better after a good warm-up, so it felt good (granted, both were only short distances.) Baby steps.

The people in the book trained somewhere upwards of 15hrs per week. That's ridiculous! I don't know whether I will be able to (oh, who are we kidding?? it's really the "want to" that I'm concerned about) devote that kind of time to this, but I guess if I want to succeed, I don't really have a choice. 

Oh, and no more junk food. Wait, "cutting back" on junk food.
Baby steps.