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By kilax, May 12, 2009 5:18 am

I know some of you have got to be sick of all my running posts, but I really need to get this out there. And it’s not too brag, or gloat, but just to share my happiness.

I am at a point in my running where it feels so good to run. It feels so natural. I feel like I could keep going and going. I don’t want to stop. I look forward to my run all day long. I veg out on it. I let my mind wander. I let my body take over. I let it do what it wants to do. It feels right.

I really think my body wants me to be a runner.

I am trying to enjoy every minute of this, because I am aware of the taxing effect running can have on your body if you are not careful. I am aware that I could sustain an injury that would sideline me for awhile. I am really hoping that doesn’t happen, but I know it’s a risk, so even though I love running so much, I make sure not to run too much. I make sure to take a day off here and there, even though I don’t want to.

Yesterday was the perfect day, running-wise. I checked the forecast on Sunday, and knew it was supposed to be somewhat sunny, in the upper 50s around 6:00 PM, so I got up extra early, and got to work by 7:00 on Monday, so I could leave at 4:30 and run at 6:15. I saw the sun all day at my office, and on the train ride home, and I was just stoked. My neighbor decided to run with me (the awesome neighbor I am always writing about), so we chatted the whole way. We ran an easy 5 miles (around 10:00 minute mile pace), and pushed it the last quarter of a mile (between 7:00-8:00 minute mile pace). It felt great! He was so stoked when we hit 4 miles, then 5 miles when we ended, because he hadn’t run that far in quite some time. His excitement and energy rubbed off on me as well, so I felt even better.

I was done running around 7:20, and Steven was just finishing the end of the P90X Shoulders and Back and Ab Ripper DVD. I took a quick shower, then we made dinner together and were able to relax a bit before going to bed a little early! A perfect run, followed by a perfect night! I usually have to exercise after dinner, so it means a lot when I actually get to sit down with my husband.

I just wanted to share this, because I have been portraying a lot of stress here lately. And I am stressed, but aren’t we all? I don’t want to portray myself as an unhappy person – just your normal, “stressed out from time to time and trying to figure themselves out” type of person. It helps me relieve stress by writing about it here, but I don’t want you to think that’s all that I am about. I am actually very, very happy right now.

And I hope that all of you can find an activity that makes you happy, whether it is exercise or not! Something you really enjoy and make the time to do – something that you can just “get in the zone” of it and clear your mind a bit.

Comments (15)

By kilax, April 29, 2009 6:43 am

Look! Another meme! I’ve seen this one going around the internet A LOT lately, and I finally got tagged for it… by Bethany!

I have to be honest. I usually skim memes. Or just mark them as read. So if you do the same for me, I understand.

Although, this one was interesting to fill out, because I really had to think hard about what to put on these lists! And I am sure as the day goes on, I will think of even more things to add.

8 Things I am looking forward to:

1. The Kenosha Half Marathon this Saturday!
2. Seeing my parents this weekend.
3. Going to SELF’s Workout in the Park with Diane on 5/16.
4. Spending time on the Mississippi River this summer.
5. Going to Disney World in January.
6. Doing the 30 Day Shred for 30 consecutive days (starting 5/1) and getting shredded!
7. Trying a vegan diet.
8. Seeing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels & Demons, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Terminator Salvation this summer.

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Got caught up at work!!!
2. Blogged. Read blogs. Added new blogs to my reader. Felt guilty for being addicted to blogging.
3. Talked to my coworker about doing a sprint triathlon.
4. Listened to Jillian Michaels’s podcast.
5. Ran 4 miles with Steven.
6. Ate homemade Mexican Food for dinner.
7. Got sick and spent a lot of time on the toilet.
8. Started watching Lady in the Water and wondered, “Is this lame movie going anywhere?!?!”

8 Things I wish I could will do*:

1. Run a marathon in 2009.
2. Finish logging in my IDP** credits.
3. Learn how to style my hair.
4. Work harder at communication with Steven.
5. Experiment more in the kitchen.
6. Try yoga. Try slowing down.
7. Maintain my weight loss.
8. Get more sleep!

8 Shows I watch:

1. I don’t watch television, but I do own all 6 seasons of Sex and the City.

Play along if you want!

*Modified that one a bit!
**It’s an architecture thing.

Comments (15)

By kilax, April 25, 2009 8:39 pm

Peanut Butter is a trigger food for me. It can sit in the pantry for weeks and I don’t even think about it, but once I open it, I eat WAY too much.

We had two containers in our pantry from November – creamy and crunchy. They were both half full this week. They are now gone – mostly because of me.

We went to Target today to get groceries, and even stopped by the peanut butter, but I didn’t say that we needed any, because I didn’t want it in the house. I was being selfish.

Steven noticed we were out when we got home. He was upset that we didn’t get any. I can understand that. He likes to have it every once in awhile. And it was wrong of me to only think of myself when making the grocery list. I told him I would go pick some up, but that it is a trigger food for me, so I had no idea how long it would last. And I have no idea how long this overeating/binging phase is going to last for me. Why do I go through phases like this?

So now I feel guilty for eating too much AND for not getting any more peanut butter for the pantry. Yay.

Comments (20)

By kilax, April 23, 2009 5:32 am

Update: Aron is right – the Chicago Marathon is now closed. Funny thing is – it was open this morning when I checked it. Total bummer. Steven wanted our first full to be local – time to look into Wisconsin!

Earlier this week, a coworker (who is also a runner) asked if I will be excited when the May 2nd Half Marathon is over.

No way! I will be SAD when it’s over! I am having so much fun training. I love being on a schedule. I love having a race to look forward to.

And yes, I am a little bit worried of keeping my mileage up when I am NOT training for something specific. I feel great when I get at least 25 miles in a week.

My guess is, I will spending most of May 3rd convincing Steven to sign up for the Chicago FULL Marathon before it’s too late. (Wait, is it a good idea to give away my reasoning for signing up? Ha ha.)

Related story: On Saturday, after I got my medal, Steven said to me, “That medal is pretty cool. A lot better than a block of cheese.”

Ha ha. Yes, the Kenosha Half Marathon Medals are blocks of cheese:

And… today is the first day that weather.com is showing the forecast for race day. Let the worrying begin! I have absolutely NO faith in weather predictions. But I still look at them, and somewhat plan my life around them. Why? I am not sure.

Looks good so far…

Comments (23)

By kilax, April 18, 2009 2:28 pm

I ran the Take a Step for Kids 10K today in Libertyville, IL – my longest race to date! So of course, that means I set a new personal record by default. Yay!

The weather was absolutely perfect – clear blue skies, sun and 60° F by the time the race started at 9:00 (it later warmed up to 75° F!).

Originally, Steven and I were going to run this 10K together, but his ankle has been bothering him all week, so he thought it was best if he didn’t run it. Please send some good thoughts his way! We want to be in optimal condition for our half marathon on May 2nd!

I ran the first three miles of the race at 8:00 minute mile pace. Then I slowed down a bit when the course went from asphalt to dirt (see photo below) and I began to encounter hills.

It was nice to see Steven halfway through the race. Of course, I just had to be messing with my MP3 player in the photos!

My fourth mile was around 8:30. And I think the last two were around 9:00 or 9:25. Boo! But I finished with a time of 51:00 which was much lower than my goal of 54:00, and I also came in second place for my age group!

Sprinting to…

… the finish line!

Posing with my medal. Such a shameless poser.

One of my favorite restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes, was a sponsor, so they had tables set up with their yummy muffins as well as bowls of pasta and salads! I passed on the food, but did stop to pose with the giant tomato (who looked like the Kool-Aid guy to me!).

As if this post wasn’t already long enough, I have to mention: I have actually been listening to some of Jillian Michael’s Talk Radio Shows, and I am shocked to admit… I am really liking them! I feel like she is upbeat and inspiring, but real and relatable (not a word?) on the show. And I love the segment where she answers listener’s questions.

During the 4/12 show she talked about methods for managing stress. Even though these methods may seem obvious to you, thinking about trying them really gave me hope that it would help with my anxiety. I’ve put the methods in an extended entry below. I know #3 is a huge help for me!

Continue reading '10K numero uno: Take a Step for Kids / Jillian Michaels Radio Show'»

Comments (16)

By kilax, April 17, 2009 5:36 am

When you bake or cook, do you follow a recipe?

According to this article, most people DO NOT follow a recipe. But I almost always DO. I’m not confident enough in the kitchen not to!

Steven, on the other hand, only uses recipes and cookbooks for inspiration. Sometimes when he wants to try something new, he’ll look at a bunch of recipes for ideas, then write his own. But sometimes, he just improvises! He’s a true chef.

Some administrative stuff: On Saturday, I put up a poll asking where recipes should be posted, and the majority voted for a new recipes category, so I am adding that today. In it, you will find Fruit Pizza, Swiss Apple Pie, Banana Donuts, Granola Bars (re-visit the comments section for an update on the recipe!), the Pad Siew teaser and Christina’s Rainbow Cake. Most of the recipes for these items are posted in the comments section or in a link in the post. In the future, I will post the recipes in an extended post.

I’ve also been bookmarking a few recipes to try in the future: Denise’s Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Chocolate Covered Katie’s 24-Carrot Cake Muffins, Nicole’s Cinnamon Bun Muffins and Cathy’s Gluten-Free Brownies. Yes, I like to bake sweets! And I love to share them with my coworkers or Steven’s, so we don’t eat them all.

Comments (21)

By kilax, April 16, 2009 5:18 am

I visited the doctor yesterday for a myriad of issues. Her diagnosis? Your metabolism is all messed up and your body is confused. So try this for awhile and tell me how it goes.

Gee, thanks.

Okay, okay, what more did I expect? Some sort of miracle solution? She couldn’t give me that.

I’ve just been so IMPATIENT lately. I want to know NOW if something is going to work. But that’s impossible. She doesn’t think my metabolism will stabilize until my body weight stabilizes… which I told her may take awhile since my body is so “confused,” and I am kind of letting it do its own thing. So I must continue to wait.

I was thinking about my anxiety during my awesome run outside last night. I was trying to focus on why I’ve been so anxious. I was trying to get to the root of it all. But I can’t for some reason. I have a hard time even thinking about it. Part of me just says, “go back to the doctor and ask her for anxiety medication like you used to take.” But I really don’t want to do that. I want to keep trying on my own. I have an inner dialogue going on constantly telling myself to calm down, breathe, ignore things, blah blah blah.

And I don’t feel unhappy! In fact, I may be the happiest I’ve ever been. I just feel anxious A LOT of the time.

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By kilax, April 11, 2009 7:11 am

4/10/09 Version of our homemade Pad Siew

You’d think a spouse that had Friday off and stayed at home all day (and took a 3 hour nap!) would have dinner ready when their spouse came home. Oops, not THIS wife!

Steven asked me to cook Pad Siew while he ran, and I gave him a really pained look. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to cook it, just that I was nervous about it. Steven’s the Chef, I’m only the Sous Chef. My responsibilities in the kitchen include baking, cleaning up, washing dishes, and chopping vegetables. Asking me to make this dish was a big step… for me. I guess I should consider it an honor!

Steven gave me very specific instructions then went up for his run…

A bit of history on this dish: In winter of 2008, I went to a Thai restaurant (with a buddy) for the first time and randomly selected Pad Siew, a dish with chewy noodles, sweet soy sauce, broccoli, egg and sometimes tofu (or meat). I was instantly hooked on the dish and introduced it to Steven, who also loved it… but wanted to try and make it at home. So I talked to a coworker from Thailand about the dish, and he hooked me up with the key ingredients. Steven kept making the modified recipe (we add more veggies) over and over and over until he got it very close to perfection. Steven’s still working on it though! I like to consider this one of our “signature” dishes – we like to share it with friends and family, usually with egg rolls or pot stickers – but it’s different every time we make it! The last time we made it for kapgar, tori and diane, I asked Steven to leave out the crushed red pepper, and oops, it was so bland, we discovered that IS one of the key ingredients. Sorry guys!

So I took a lot of photos while I was making it all by myself last night, hoping to share the recipe and step by step with you guys! But when Steven came down after his run, he had to do a little “re-seasoning.” He said, “Re-seasoning is when you season it the first time then tweak it in the end!” (I think he was trying to make me feel better)

So it turned out good, but he doesn’t want me to share his recipe until it is perfecto! Should I share it then? Does it look like something you’d like?

Simmering on the stove…

I look funny – my face felt sore all day Friday, especially when I was eating dinner.

I am a stickler about eating at the dining room table, but we almost always eat this dish on the couch, while watching a movie. The perfect Friday night!

Just a little question – when I write about cooking/baking, do you think it makes sense to go into the “Health + Fitness” category? I don’t think I cook/bake enough to have a “recipe” or “food” category… Steven does though! I’ve added a poll below if you’d like to leave input!

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By kilax, April 10, 2009 6:45 pm

Runner’s World recommends refueling with carbs during a run if you are running 75 minutes or more, and refueling with carbs and protein (4:1 ratio) within 30 minutes after a run that’s longer than an hour.

Hey, just tell me I need to eat more, and I’m a happy camper.

Seriously though, I’ve noticed that I feel much better if I refuel immediately after a long run that’s more than an hour. I’ve been refueling during runs that are longer than 75 minutes, but haven’t noticed much of an energy surge from it… yet! (Steven’s noticed the difference it makes though)

During long runs, I’ve been using Jelly Belly Sports Beans and Luna Moons. The beans are really easy to throw into the side of your mouth and chew while you are running. I’ve only tried the fruit punch flavor, which I liked (even though it was very sweet), but Steven has tried orange and lemon lime and liked those (orange the best). I really like the flavor (I’ve tried pomegranate and blueberry) and chewiness of the Luna Moons, but they get stuck in my teeth! So I will probably use the sports beans during the half marathon so I don’t have to deal with that.

I have not tried GU’s, gels or bloks. I am worried about the gag effect as I try to swallow them.

The truth is, I really just wrote this so I could tell you how excited I am that I finally, finally think I found the perfect “energy” bar for after my long runs. I feel like I’ve tried a zillion different ones. So many of them tasted too thick, chewy and artificial to me. I like things that are fruit flavored, especially strawberry. I don’t like the chocolaty stuff.

The perfect bar is… the Odwalla Berries GoMega bar! It’s a softer bar, more “granola-y,” with a few different kinds of fruit in it. I really like the flavor and texture of it, and the sweetness.

I also like the Luna Sunrise bars in Strawberry Crumble and Blueberry Bliss, and the ZonePerfect bar in Cranberry Orange. I like the flavor of all three of these, but they border on “too chewy and artificial” tasting. And I think they may contain traces of milk, which will be a problem if I decide to go vegan.

And if I need some electrolytes*, I like to drink Powerade Zero in the strawberry flavor. This stuff is super sweet, but I like it!

I just realized that most of these things probably cater best to someone who has a sweet tooth, like me. Steven likes energy/protein bars that are completely different than what I like, because all of mine are “too sweet.”

Steven really likes the ZonePerfect Banana Nut, ZonePerfect Fudge Graham, ZonePerfect Chocolate Peanut Butter and the Kashi Go Lean Crunchy Chocolate Peanut.

I know this is a super long, boring post, but I wanted to share my preferences with other runners/exercisers and anyone who is interested! Does anyone have any recommendations for someone with a sweet tooth? Or maybe something for my chocolate/nut/peanut butter lovin’ husband? Or just something you’ve tried and loved and want to share?

*It’s what plants crave!

Comments (26)

By kilax, April 7, 2009 4:37 am

This postcard on the 04/05  postsecret really upset me.

The text reads: I feel superior when my machine is set at a faster pace.

It seems like I keep running into the topic of “exercising elitism.” Okay, I am not sure if that is what it’s called, but you KNOW these people – people who think they are better than everyone else because they exercise, or run faster, or lift more weights or WHATEVER. They are a bit above and beyond competitive – they think they are some sort of elite or special person. Kyra touched on it a few weeks ago – mentioning that some runners say “that people who listen to music aren’t real runners.” Seriously, what kind of crap is that?

I would be LYING if I said I didn’t have a sense of accomplishment over being able to run when a lot of people cannot. BUT, that does not mean that I think I am better than other people. I recognize that we are all different, with different capabilities. Honestly, I am just excited when someone tells me they are following any sort of exercise plan. Walking, swimming, biking, weights, rowing, whatever it is… I am happy to hear about it. I can always learn something new. And when someone tells me they are struggling, I do not judge them – I remember being extremely overweight and begging Steven to slow down when we ran because I could not keep up with him.  I remember only being able to run for 2 minutes before having to stop.

The postcard upset me, because I think everyone needs encouragement. And not just in regards to exercising – in regards to life. Everyone needs someone to back them up, or at least that feeling that they are doing “the right thing.” Support systems are what keep us going. In my opinion anyway. You can try to do it all on your own, but it’s hard.

So when when I read “I feel superior when my machine is set at a faster pace,” it makes me think this is the type of person who is not out there encouraging other runners. It makes me think that this is the type of person giving running a bad name, actually discouraging other people. I mean, come on, what were your thoughts when you read it? How did it make you feel?

Awhile ago, I wrote a post related to running, and Nilsa commented on the “running community” and the willingness of runners to support one another. At the time, I honestly didn’t know what she meant. But now that I work with so many people who are in to exercise and running, I get it. They are all so supportive and encouraging. It feels great. I don’t know if they are telling me to go for it, then thinking “I am so much faster than her,” but they are making that effort to encourage me, and I like it.

In life, who are we racing against? Others or ourselves? I believe if you continually compare yourself to others, you can never find happiness or feel accomplished.