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.