Tomorrow Kelly and I start another cleanse. We did it in January for 3 weeks and both lost some weight and reset our diets. Unfortunately we have fallen off the health wagon somewhat ( one of us a bit more than the other) and now it is time to get back in line. In this last week I have eaten Palomar hospital cranberry muffins (basically cake), half a box of Hot Tamales, Lorna Doone shortbread cookies, Molten Lava cake, regular chocolate cake, potato chips, beer, wine, mojitos and I' m sure there is more I can't remember. So tomorrow we start a cleanse in which we eat only veggies, fruit, lentils, and nuts. No sugar, no alcohol, no processed foods of any kind. No eggs, no fish, no tofu, no meat. We use a program from the Whole Living Magazine. This will be the third time doing it. The first time we did this we had massive headaches and fatigue for the first few days and then it got better. It requires a lot of cooking and shopping for lots of veggies but it feels good once we get into it. I'm not sure how a cleanse is really different than a diet. But it sounds a lot cooler to be cleansing than dieting. I guess the point is to clean yourself of toxins but who is kidding who that losing a few pounds isn't part of it.
This morning before work I ran 3 miles in the neighborhood and then ran 4 sets of strides at the park. When I got home I did my core exercise routine. As usual it felt great to get this all done before my real day starts. I hope to do the same tomorrow. Friday I work 10 hours at Zion Hospital and Saturday 24 hours at Palomar Hospital so unfortunately my running will be limited the rest of the week.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
10 miles and the Ace Hotel
Well that PMS was actually PMS and it got worse yesterday. Sorry to my family for my bitchy mood. I got my hair cut and colored yesterday morning. The color, highlights and length were great but the style (especially when the stylist did it) was a bit too bob like and conservative. I got home and Aiden told me I looked beautiful but my daughter and husband told me I looked like a librarian or teacher. Not what I was looking for. Well that put me into about a 4 hour funk. Thanks to my period for that. Anyway I eventually came out of it and Kaylie, Kelly and I had a nice dinner at True Food Kitchen, one of my favorite restaurants. The edamame dumplings are divine and the Panang Curry bowl with Tofu was excellent also. Unfortunately,though, I woke up with a bit of a tummy upset and that affected my run this morning.
Ah yes, the 10 miles. I got out a bit late at 8:45 to Penasquitos Preserve for my long run of the week. I needed to be done by 11 so my hubby and I could head out of town to Palm Springs for a romantic night away from it all. In fact, as I write this I am laying by the pool drinking a cocktail. Back to the run. Except for the stomach issues it was a good 10 miler. At about mile 7 I ran past a gentleman who asked me if I worked for Kaiser. I realized I had on the same free Kaiser cap that he was sporting. As we jogged in place we exchanged name and Kaiser rank. He's an oncologist named Paul Cheng. We were going opposite directions so off we went but it was nice to make a brief connection. Otherwise, it was an uneventful run. The first 3 and last 3 miles are relatively flat with hills in the middle. The sun came out blazing at the end which wasn't very nice of it. At the end I somewhat quickly got in the car to get home so we could leave for PS and felt like yacking but was better by the time I got home 10 minutes later And now we are here in PS relaxing, chilling, vibing. The dj at the pool has some cool tunes playing and Kelly and I are people watching. Lots of tattoos, cigarettes and people in their 20s having a good time. And despite our being ancient in this crowd we are having fun too. Oh and Happy Anniversary to the man who makes my life the best!
Finished Run: Jul 28, 2013, 10:39:42 AM
Route: New Route
Run Link: http://runmeter.com/423448324b5fff63/Run-20130728-0842?r=e
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/423448324b5fff63/Runmeter-Run-20130728-0842.kml
Run Time: 1:56:17
Stopped Time: 0:49
Distance: 10.06 miles
Average: 11:33 /mile
Fastest Pace: 9:17 /mile
Ascent: 653 feet
Calories: 1068
http://www.runmeter.com
Friday, July 26, 2013
Happy Birthday Aiden
Today Aiden turns 9 yrs old. Happy Birthday to my baby boy.
After cuddling with my boy for a bit this morning I got myself up and went for an easy run followed by some strides in the park. I ran about 3.75 miles around the hood. I had one big hill and a few more ups and downs. At the end of the run I did three 30 second strides at the park. I haven't done those for a while and my quads were cramping by the 3rd set. I was planning on doing 4 sets but the cramping on the 3rd made me think twice. It is amazing how running as hard as you can for 30 seconds really works those leg muscles. I then came home, made myself a chocolate smoothie and before sitting down to drink it did some core exercises. Here is my routine adopted from Jason Fitzgerald:
For 45 seconds each with no break in between.
modified bicycle
plank on elbows
bridge with alternating leg lifts
side plank on elbow
modified bird dog(on hands and knees lift right arm and left leg and then alternate)
supine leg lifts
then repeat the above after a short rest.
This core routine works really well if I would just remember to do it regularly.
The rest of the day will be celebrating Aiden's bday with a trip to the beach and then dinner with a couple of his pals. We are keeping it simple this year. Though he did ask for Molten Lava Cake for his birthday cake. Not in those exact words but he asked for the cake that has chocolate that pours out of it. I guess he must have had it some time when we were out and remembered it. So I got a recipe from Paula Deen (it looked good and easy despite my reluctance to have anything to do with her). I am going to boy it up by adding crumbled oreos on top to look like dirt and then put gummy worms on it too. I'll post a photo if it looks good. I've got to figure out when I am going to get in my next long run. Tomorrow morning might of worked but I am going to get my hair cut and colored (going a bit shorter!) at 9:00 and then at noon we are meeting the cousins for lunch at Grandma's to further celebrate Aiden's birthday. Maybe Sunday morning before Kelly and I leave to spend a night in Palm Springs for our anniversary. More on that to come...
Thursday, July 25, 2013
A New Day
This is a photo my son took of me in Poipu, Kauai. I had run right along this area earlier in the day and saw a group of sea turtles surfing the waves.
Yesterday was a PMSy type day. I don't even know if it was PMS or I was just feeling fat, lazy and lacking in motivation. I felt moody all day until honestly about 7 pm after I had a glass of wine. I ate horribly (at least for me). I had my typical smoothie for breakfast but then had a Lara Bar (200 calories) and then a vegan Trader Joes raspberry muffin (300 calories) all before lunch. I had a sandwich with avo, tomato and hummus for lunch and A LOT of crinkled potato chips. And then pizza for dinner -home made though with vegan cheese and lots of veggies. I just felt so bloated and nothing was satisfying me until that glass and half of Pinot Grigio. I was planning on running in the morning before work but since I had to go see my postop patient in the hospital before the office I had to get up at 0630 to run and I just couldn't do it. So bad day eating and no run and I wasn't a happy camper.
Today, on the other hand, is so much better. First I started my day with a 5 mile run in the neighborhood including a fairly long, fairly steep hill. I felt good on the run and had no problem with running the whole way though I did run it at my more comfortable speed. It is amazing how running only a bit faster (say 20-30 seconds per mile more) can make it so much more challenging. For some strange reason I had a stomach ache this morning which was the only issue on the run. Hmmmm maybe something to do with what I ate yesterday...
Oh and last night I finally did my exercises again. I made a promise to myself about a week ago that I would do either my ITB (iliotibial band) knee exercises or my core routine every night and well last night was the first time I actually did them. I got the two routines from Jason Fitzgerald at strengthrunning.com. I think they are super helpful but I just can't get in the habit of doing them. In fact, I know from my reading on running, that I need to be doing more strength/core exercises to help with my speed and most of all to help prevent injury.
My run today:
Finished Run: Jul 25, 2013, 7:58:06 AM
Route: New Route
Run Link: http://runmeter.com/
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/
Run Time: 54:51
Stopped Time: 0:00Distance: 5.04 miles
Average: 10:53 /mile
Fastest Pace: 8:43 /mile
Ascent: 751 feet
Calories: 574http://www.runmeter.com
Monday, July 22, 2013
90% Vegan
My son Aiden sleeping with our dog Max
I was supposed to go on a run this morning at 7am with my neighbor friend (also a mom of a 4th grader) but she cancelled at 6am. She didn't sleep well so she begged off. But I ran anyway! And instead of doing the 3 miles we were going to do I did 4! It was a good run, no significant pain except the stupid blister on my left big toe. Still unsure about the shoes...
Besides being a runner I am also mostly a vegan. I tell people I am 90% vegan, 8% vegetarian and 2% pescetarian. When I am at home I eat vegan. When we go out or travel I am vegetarian. And rarely (like when we were in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago) I eat fish. I tried being 100% vegan in the past twice and lasted about 6 months each time. It is too difficult when eating out or travelling. I know some people, especially animal rights folks, think this is a cop out. I really do care about the treatment of animals. But I do the best I can do and that is that. The primary reason I am mostly vegan, anyway, is for health. I believe, and I think the evidence supports this, that eating vegan (or now it is called plant based since vegan has earthy hippy overtones to it) is the healthiest way to eat. I don't know if it will prolong my life (yes I could get hit by a bus tomorrow) but I do know it makes me feel good now.
When I have more time I want to figure out how to create a sidebar list of the blogs I like. For instance, No Meat Athlete, the Athletarian, Brendan Brazier and more. But my lunch hour is almost over and I still have some patients to call. No run tomorrow as I have surgery early in the morning.
Today's run:
Finished Run: Jul 22, 2013, 7:58:45 AM
Route: New Route
Run Link: http://runmeter.com/
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/
Run Time: 42:11
Stopped Time: 0:00Distance: 4.06 miles
Average: 10:24 /mile
Fastest Pace: 7:57 /mile
Ascent: 377 feet
Calories: 432
http://www.runmeter.com
Short and quick
My friends from High School (and two of their kids)
This morning my run was short and quick. I was meeting my pals of 40 years or so for breakfast so I just had about 30 minutes to run. I ran to Albertsons and back and probably ran about a 9 minute mile which is faster than normal. My heart was pounding and I had to stop briefly to catch my breath. The experts say it is important to run faster than usual once or twice a week. The only way to learn to run faster is to actually run faster. But it is hard!
Friday night I went to my high school 30 year reunion. It was great to see my girl friends but sort of strange to see people I never knew well then and not at all now. Relating to running I did have one conversation where a friend's husband spoke about his run that morning in which he ran a 7 minute mile for 6 or 8 miles or something. I am so slow!!! I felt like less of a runner. But such is life. There will always be faster but also slower people and hey I am out there, ya.
Here is the chocolate smoothies recipe I like. The extra stuff I add is at the bottom.
Number of Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 banana
2 fresh or soaked dry dates
2 cups cold water (or 1 cup plus 1 cup ice)
1/4 cup almonds (or 2 T almond butter)
1 T ground flaxseed
1 T hemp protein
1 T roasted carob powser
extras: (included in calorie count)
1 1/2 t acai powder
1 t chlorella powder
1 t maca powder
Directions
Combine everything in a blender and let 'er rip! Best very cold.
2 servings
Number of Servings: 2
2 servings
Number of Servings: 2
And I add 1T Mesquite Powder
1T cocoa nibs
1T chia seeds
1 large leaf kale or a handful of Spinach
Friday, July 19, 2013
New Running Shorts
New Running Shorts
This morning I ran 3 miles in my new running shorts. This is the first pair I have owned that aren't the tighter spandex type. 
Here is a photo of Kelly and me after we ran the Coronado Valentines Day 10K.
The picture with Kelly shows the tye of shorts I normally wear. Anyway the new shorts were okay for a 3 mile shorter run that wasn't too hot. i.e. not too much sweating. Anymore than that and I think chafing may be a problem.
It was a nice run at 7am in the fog this morning. I didn't time it. Sometimes I just like to run unencumbered with no phone, no gps, no watch. But I probably ran about a 10:20 mile average. I ran down Penasquitos drive to Carmel Mtn, turned right to the first turn past the new condo complex, up to Cuca, back to Penasquitos and back home which is 3 miles. It is kind of a new thing for me running before work. I like to sleep and it is HARD to make my self get out of bed to run. But it sure is nice to have it done all before my day really starts. I plan to keep this up for my shorter runs. The long runs I will do on my week day off and the medium runs on the weekend. My goal is to get 4-6 runs in per week instead of just the 3 I have been doing.
My knee felt fine which is surprising since I ran long yesterday. Small blister on left foot bothered me just a tad. Hopefully as the new shoes wear in this will go away.
Tonight is my 30 year high school reunion. Should be interesting....
Thursday, July 18, 2013
First Post on this running blog
My right knee is my nemesis. It likes to hurt after long distances. I am still working on it. I did physical therapy, saw an orthopod (who was great and encouraging to keep running) and still try try to remember to do exercises for the knee.
Now I've done a total of three Halfs. The second was fun because it was laid back and straight and easy. My PR was at that one at Silver Strand running from Coronado to Imperial Beach. We camped in our RV the night before and after which made it even more fun. My PR was 2 hours and 19 minutes, yeah not fast but in the middle of the pack and that is okay. That was in November 2012 and then in January 2013 I ran the Tinkerbell Half at Disneyland. That was a blast too for totally different reasons. Expensive and crowded but worth it. It was really cool to run through the park in the dark at 5am with no one but runners and Disney Characters cheering you on. Unfortunately my right knee started to absolutely kill me at about mile 11 1/2 so the last bit was tough. So, I took a rest after that and now am planning on another Half in November 2013 (sherun on trails in Escondido) and Carlsbad Half January 2014, probably one more in March or April and then hopefully a full Marathon December 2014 in Sacramento. So, that's the plan. We'll see how it goes.
This will mostly be a log of my runs. So, maybe boring for most and probably I will be the only one reading it .
Today I ran a great run ,they usually are great, but this one was particularly great. Because I conquered a hill I have been nervous about. I did Torrey Pines. I started out parking on the street outside of the parking lot off of Carmel Valley road. I rad through the parking lot, over the bridge along highway 1, into Torrey Pines park, up the grueling hill (didn't stop the whole way!!! but I was slow!!), through Guy Fleming trail (2/3) mile, up the hill some more, through another bit of trail and then slightly up past the golf course almost to UCSD which was mile 4. I then turned around and ran back but skipped a bit of trail though I did do Guy Fleming again (it is beautiful, right on the cliff looking out north to Del Mar and south to La Jolla beaches) and then back to the car. It was a total of 7.5 miles. It was very slow but so satisfying to do the hill. My right knee hurt a little after. I iced it and had a chocolate power smoothie with lots of superfoods in it. I'll post that recipe sometime. It is good and I think really healing and good for you. So that was my run for today. I am going to try to post the stats for my own record and some photos.
Oh I also am in new shoes. I just got them, this was my second run in them. I have been running in Brooks Glycerins. But now I am in Asics Nimbus 15. They felt good though I did get one small blister on my left big toe. And on a different run with them I felt like my feet were a bit numb. So still thinking about them....
Finished Run: Jul 18, 2013, 11:27:16 AM
Route: New Route
Run Link: http://runmeter.com/
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/
Run Time: 1:36:44
Stopped Time: 1:40
Distance: 7.58 miles
Average: 12:45 /mile
Fastest Pace: 9:47 /mile
Ascent: 636 feet
Calories: 761
http://www.runmeter.com
New Shoes
Today's run at Torrey Pines
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