A Case of the Runs

Okay, so this is not a "humble pie." My homemade egg tarts : jumbo & standard. ***WARNING: LONG (but entertaining in a sick way) POST!! I did a 22-mile training run in preparation for LA Marathon 2011 .  Now, I've done many 20-milers in preparation for my (about-to-be-8) marathons , and they have had various outcomes.  But if those really, really long runs have one thing in common, it is that they are nothing to take lightly.  Any way you slice it, 20 miles is just a long @$$ way. However, I DID start taking them lightly, I guess.  For my last marathon , I maxed out at 21.55 miles  for my longest run.  I would have rounded it out to the next whole mile, but I had misplanned and reached my house before I got there.  I felt accomplished, as I had very little cramping and felt like I could have easily finished it. So when I set out to run 22 miles for my longest run this cycle, I didn't think much of it .  O...

This week begins my taper for LA Marathon .  I plan on taking my taper seriously in terms of cutting down mileage, though I am going to keep up the strength training because I feel that will help balance myself out and prevent any last-minute injuries I might get.  I'm knocking on wood, but this is the first time in a year that I have been injury-free and intend on staying that way. Another Confession : Additionally, this week marks the beginning of my dash to complete my dissertation to a point where I can do my final defense, hopefully sometime in April.  Anything with the actual manuscript itself I will worry about later.  I call it a dash because I was planning on taking an additional semester on this, but plans that are out of my control have changed.  I am not 100% sure I will be successful, and I am scared as heck that I will fail or become paralyzed as I get overwhelmed.  (On that note, I did try to pull in more dissertation study participa...

I once got this comment from one of my classmates that went something like, "I bet you have a six-pack, don't you?" HAH! I couldn't blame her (or a couple of others who made similar remarks over the years) for suggesting this.  I was often running before class, racing a lot, and drinking vegan smoothies in class because I didn't like the smell of real food while trying to learn.  But most of the time, I'm a desk-jobber, lazy weekend person who gets tired easily and has an unfortunate love for sweets and distaste for ab exercises ( THIS being an exception).  So... of COURSE I don't have a six pack (and that's what I tell people who ask), but that's not to say I don't like my abs at all.  On the contrary, I think they stay relatively flat considering my less-than-stellar eating habits and lack of crunches.  But this is generally only in the morning or when I haven't eaten anything in a while.  Once I put anything in my mouth, I start res...

What nerdy person who also happens to chronicle their running adventures doesn't like playing with numbers? I find myself calculating distances, paces, and time as I am running.  Okay, so maybe this isn't out of enjoyment and more from necessity.  But even so, I couldn't have gotten through XX (i.e., too many) years of education without developing some affinity for quantifying information -- just see THIS POST on the time I did a metabolic test. So when I was given a chance to do a free health screening at work, I jumped/ran to the chance.  While I can't avoid the doctor forever, I could at least know that none of the below would send me there. Of course, this involved a quick finger prick, which I hadn't considered before going.  As they say, "no pain, no gain."  I would have taken a photo of my finger, but I'd just be flippin' the bird. I had four main measures done on me.  Well, more like five -- they took my weight -- though that's ...

If you've been checking up on my weekly workouts /training, you may have noticed that compared to past training , I had been doing a lot of what I have been calling "strength" training several times each week. I have purposely been vague about the details of this training for a reason. And that reason, my friends, is the classic FoF ("fear of failure").  I was secretive about this training to everyone, except my boyfriend who gets to hear about everything, and my little sister and cat who watched me crank 'em out at home. Long story short, after my last marathon , I wanted to take on the hundred-pushups program. The specific reasons for this are unclear but influenced by two main things: 1) I maxed out at 36 pushups in a duathlon I did in 2009. Had I been able to crank out a few more, I would have done much better than I had. 2) Since I've switched gyms in July, no more FitMoves classes have made me worry about my overall fitness beyond runni...

Last week, I was pretty darn sick .  I had a low-grade fever for two days, both of which I went to work.  It was hard to sit... I even had to sleep in my car during lunch to last through the day.  But I'm pretty ridiculous and worked out both days (not intensely but still).  I work out pretty early in the morning, which had been too early to get a good gauge of my health.  So I'd always be fine, only to crash a few hours later at work. My illness resulted in the end of my excessive appetite.  While I'm sure it would have happened on its own, this just made it really abrupt.  I had to force myself to eat food regularly, and when I ate, I was MUCH slower than usual.  I remember having lunch with the family, and in a very rare event, they all finished before me. While it's not smart sometimes to work out while ill, I'm glad I did.  I had been prepared to quit at any time I didn't feel right -- and yes, I did cut down when I needed to.  ...

I might be lame, but this Sunday marks the one year since I woke up and discovered this: I'm not a cat person, so usually any cat that walks by the back door is "shusshed" away by me or someone else in my family.  And believe me, we tried.  She would NOT leave.  She had no collar, and then it started to rain.  The cat gained entry into our previously pet-less home (well, except when it serves as a pet hotel to my canine nephews). You can read more about her breed here .  As far as cats go, she is about as low-maintenance as can be.  She took to the litter box like a champ.  And after a few "toilet paper roll destruction" episodes, she has learned that those are not her toys.  Speaking of toys, she doesn't take to them as excitedly as many cats do, but she still has a couple nonetheless. And as I mention on my About Me page, she is smart, too.  Even at her non-kitten age, I was able to teach her how to sit on command.  It took ab...

The great folks at Larabar  sent me a sample of one of their newest flavors, Blueberry Muffin. I've eaten MANY Larabars over the years , and I'm proud to say I've tried most of the flavors ( reviews are here ).  But they made my heart be still when they launched a flavor that has a likeness to one of my favorite foods in general -- blueberry muffin! Upon trying this, I really did taste a resemblance.  Something about the sweet outer layer reminded me of the glaze they sometimes put on blueberry muffins, and the tiny plump bits of dried fruit satisfied my need for tender blueberries. Of course, there is no delicious crusty "muffin top" involved in this Larabar, and if you're looking for that aspect, you're probably out of luck.  But the flavor does do the pastry some justice, and is probably a whole lot healthier, as well. :) ------ FTC Disclaimer: I was sent this product to try for free but was otherwise not compensated for this review.

If you have been following my blog, you have probably noticed that over time, I have been: 1) posting more frequently 2) featuring more food, including restaurant dishes and my own cooking While I don't feel the need to explain the reason why running isn't the center of all my posts, I will say that I used to blog a lot less frequently relying on running topics alone. So while reviewing races and running gear will always be my favorite... I eat way more often than I do any of these things! Not to mention, I'm sure you don't want to hear the gruesome details of every single one of my runs. (If you'd like to see my daily workouts, though, click HERE and HERE for examples.) Anyway, about cooking.  On a normal basis, I prefer to prepare simpler meals like this one: Above: Trader Joe's veggie marsala burger patty with greek yogurt on top and sandwich thins, with a side of spinach salad, mushrooms, tomato, and half a banana. I've gotten a little more ...

A while back, I bought a new cookbook called The Happy Hebivore . I had made a recipe from the site that inspired the book before with some pretty decent success. So when I heard about the cookbook, with over 175 of these yummy healthy vegan comfort foods featured, I pre-ordered it on Amazon . Although... "happy herbivore" reminds me of these "Happy2BHardcore" CDs that I am really into.  Happy Hardcore is a dance genre that is basically electronica with high, cheery vocals.  This CD pictured below is one of my favorites: But back onto the topic of food, I could not wait to start making stuff from this cookbook!  This is the second of probably more installments of recipes featured from this book. Why this book?  Well, unlike many other vegan cookbooks, it generally features cheap and accessible ingredients.  Also, the recipes are generally quick to make.  Finally, the recipes don't contain added fat, which keeps calories down.  You know ho...

It has been a long time since I bought any sport belts, and for good reason.  I wasn't really a fan of this one or worse, this one  (fanny pack!), so I had given up on the prospect of carrying stuff around in a belt.  So I had been using my shorts , my pants , my jackets , sweats , and even my own hands to haul stuff around during my runs.  And since I mostly run outside now, it is getting hard to keep up because I only have a few items of clothing that can carry my stuff, and I hate carrying stuff with my hands. For that reason, I hardly ever run with my cell phone.  Yes, this is bad, but my cell is a large touchscreen that I don't think tolerates moisture too well.  I used to run with my old phone that was flip, but I think my sweat destroyed it eventually.  So I prioritize and bring my RoadID , pepper spray, gels , and key only.  Well, I recently decided to give this belt thing another shot and got an iFitness belt.  My sis...