Cherry Blossom 10-miler: check

I did the 10-miler yesterday! woop woop! I was pretty nervous about it because I didn't feel great about my training, but I managed to slog through it and I'm really pleased with my time! I finished in 1:45:52, which means I averaged about 10.5-min miles through the whole thing. Many miles were more like 11-mins or more, but the final 2 I was able to speed up a little bit, with the final quarter mile Much faster than the rest of the race. I like to keep some reserves for the sprint to the finish. So that's out of the way...

...now for the marathon!! Eeeep! Amber, Eliz and I have officially registered for the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon. I am PSYCHED. and terrified. But while I was running the cherry blossom race yesterday, I felt pretty good about my chances for the marathon. It wasn't easy, but just considering how I felt around 3/4 of the way through 10 miles, I felt good about my chances for the marathon as long as I train well enough. And with Amber & Eliz to train with, we should be able to do a good job!

But I keep forgetting this blog was originally intended to track my progress on the Biggest Loser thing.. I keep forgetting to weigh myself on Sunday mornings, but I think I'm doing ok. The last couple weeks I've been thrown off by traveling and preparing for the race, but now I can focus more on this competition, and also building up my mileage to get ready for official marathon training, which we'll be starting at the end of June.

My goal this week is to not go crazy with carbs. Friday and Saturday I was sort of carbo-loading in preparation for the 10-miler, but I think I overdid it a little. And then Sunday I think I ate more than I needed to but I wanted to make sure I wasn't eating Too little. It's tough figuring out how much I should be eating while I'm training. I want to lose fat but I don't want to go into starvation mode and actually slow down my metabolism..

wooops update

It's been so long since I posted here, I forgot which font I was using.. I think this is the one.

Anyway, I've been a lot better about working out lately - I kinda have to be, my 10-miler is coming up in umm less than 3 weeks now, and one of those weekends I'll be in Portland, OR, so I probably won't get to run that weekend.

I haven't been to the gym yet, but I have been getting better about getting up in the morning to run before work. I don't do it every day, but I do it Almost every day when I've decided the night before that I would do it. There are days I turn off the alarm and go back to sleep, and most days when I actually get up, I'm running late so I don't get as long of a run in as I should, but it's still progress. It'll get a lot easier when it's not black as night out there at 6am.

Good news - I ran in the St Patricks Day 8K in D.C. on Sunday, and improved my time by almost 2.5 minutes, from last year! Last year I finished in 51:32, this year I finished in 49:07. So that's something to write home about. My goal for next time is 45 minutes.

OH and another announcement, I think I must be absolutely insane, but I'm almost 100% sure I'm going to register for the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon. :-o I'm terrified, but So Pumped at the same time. Amber suggested it and we're both pretty sure we're going to register - maybe Eliz too! Registration opens April 1, so we'll see.

epic fail continues..

OK wellll I definitely gained 2 lbs this past week. That's umm not really what I meant to do, but I wasn't really trying too hard to not gain 2 lbs so I deserve it.

I'm considering possibly maybe going back to the gym. Have i said this on this blog before? I feel like I'm repeating myself but maybe I just say it to myself a lot..

Actually the weather over the next couple of weeks looks supa fine, in the high 40s and low 50s, mostly sunny except this Friday, so I should be able to get outside no problem. There is the issue of the sun going down kinda early, but honestly that's not that big of a deal, I just won't listen to my Shuffle and I'll make sure I have reflective clothing on - and I'll stay in the busier parts of Clarendon rather than the dark neighborhoods.

I also have weights I can play with in the apartment, there's just not a lot of Space..

Recipe 2

Another contribution from Coach Fred - well actually Mark Bittman, via Coach Fred.

Polenta “pizza” with pancetta and spinach

Mark Bittman

Yield: 4 servings/ Time: About 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for the pan

• 1/2 cup milk, preferably whole

• Salt

• 1 cup coarse cornmeal

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) chopped pancetta

• 1 pound spinach, washed, trimmed and dried

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 450˚ F; brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Combine the milk with 2 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring just about to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and add the polenta in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; for this crust, you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.

2. Stir 1 tablespoon of the oil into the cooked polenta and pour and spoon it onto the prepared pan. Work quickly so the polenta doesn’t stiffen and spread it evenly to a thickness of about 1/2-inch all over; sprinkle with salt and pepper; cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to set (at this point you can leave the polenta overnight if you prefer).

3. Put the polenta in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until it begins to brown and crisp on the edges. Meanwhile, put two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the pancetta is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take the onion and pancetta out of the pan and set it aside. Add the spinach to the skillet and sauté until it releases its water and the pan becomes dry; sprinkle with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.

4. Take the polenta out, sprinkle with the Gorgonzola, then spread the onion, pancetta and spinach evenly on top of the cheese; drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil. Put the pizza back in the oven for two minutes, or until the cheese begins to melt and the pancetta and vegetables are warmed through. Cut into slices and serve hot or at room temperature.

TIPS

Variation: Before you put it in the oven, top the polenta with thin slices of fresh mozzarella, two or three thinly sliced Roma tomatoes or a bit of tomato sauce, and a handful of fresh basil leaves.

no excuses

OK dang I am having some trouble focusing on this biggest loser thang. The wedding blog is taking over my liiiife!! haha. good news? blabbing constantly on the wedding blog keeps me from snacking my butt off all day.

I still haven't done any laundry so I still have no workout clothes. How PATHETIC. But I think I really need to unpack some box I shoved somewhere because where the heck are all my workout clothes?? I now only have 1 sports bra, what the eff, I know I have at least 4, where are they?? I think there must be a bag somewhere full of everything from my workout drawer at the old apartment.... Sigh it's probably in a box full of ramen and headphones...

Tonight I'm eating at the Peking Gourmet with Mary's mom so I can't make any promises about how healthy it's going to be! Hopefully I can at least work in some steamed vegetables and avoid the sweet and sour pork or whatever. Sommme day I will get back out on the road again, would really help if this winter crap would cut it out!!

Thanks Mom for the comment on drinking more water to make up for high sodium! Hadn't really thought about that, but it makes sense. I just hate peeing.

sugar is scary

Coach Fred sent out this article about how to lose a bunch o weight just by cutting down on sugar intake - most of the things were kind of obvious but there are some helpful tips in there.

This weekend was a total bust. I didn't run, I didn't really work out at all except for some walking to and from brunch, grocery stores, etc. I ate meatloaf and cheesecake and drank a lot of wine and beer.. Somehow my scale tells me I lost 2 pounds last week but I think that's a fluke. I weighed myself on Sunday morning and it showed the 2 pound loss, but then I weighed myself again on Monday morning and I had gained back a pound. So net loss 1 pound, that seems more likely. This week I've already missed 2 days where I definitely could have gotten a run in, so now I have to try to make up for it. I'm surprised I don't feel more motivated to get into shape, I have a bridesmaid dress fitting with Kara on the 28th, would Kind of like to not be a blob by then.

I did make some lentil soup this weekend, I think that's pretty healthy. I heart lentil soup.

well it's a holiday weekend...

Just realized I forgot to post anything yesterday.. well it's alright, nothing happened! I didn't run, I didn't work out.. during the day I think I was pretty good about what I ate.. OH right, I had a frozen meal, shrimp alfredo... sounds much worse than it was actually. It was about 250 calories and it was pretty balanced, bad thing was the 1230mg of sodium.. yikes! other than that, good day food wise. For dinner we made a spaghetti sauce with turkey burger meat, mushrooms, spinach and onions, and then had it over whole wheat shells. Had a glass or two of red wine but not the whole bottle! so that's an improvement. ;)

Today, I've been OK. I took the day off so I should have plenty of time to go out for a run, but I've actually been pretty busy! Should have gone for a run first thing I guess. Anyway around 9:30 I walked down to the store and back, so that's about 2 miles. Had a nice healthy lunch of turkey/swiss/lettuce/tomato/avocado/cucumber on whole wheat bread, strawberries on the side. Oh but then I had umm probably 2 servings of Pirates Booty, so that's another 300 calories I probably didn't neeeeed...

Tonight I'm going to try not to overdo it on the wine/sparkling wine, I think we're just staying in but we might walk out to a movie or something. Tomorrow is going to be the big challenge.. Who thinks I'll get a run in before brunch? HAHAHAH well we'll see.

And then Sunday, I'm weighing in again. I can't imagine I'm going to see a lot of improvement. I don't think I'll have gained any weight, but this was a pretty pathetic week in terms of effort. I'm hoping as the weather gets warmer, and the sun stays up longer, I'll get better about going out for a run in the evenings..

good workout!

OK it probably wasn't long enough.. but given the fact I was about to not work out at all, it went well.

When I got home, I went to get ready to go for a run and I realized I had no clean sports bras. So I improvised and put on a regular bra and then a tank top with a shelf bra in it, figured that would be enough. Anyway by the time I was all dressed, it was rill dark out already.. and I just couldn't get excited about running in the dark, especially alone and without reflective gear. So I dug the barbell out of the closet! At first I just sort of grappled with it, seemed to weigh a ton so I thought I'd pull off some of the weights on the ends and use them as hand weights. But apparently I'm not smart enough for whatever mechanism is holding those things on because I just couldn't figure it out. So I hauled the whole thing out into the middle of the room and clumsily did some lifting with it. Too much for me to do bench presses with, so I did some kind of squat lifts but they seemed awkward and bad for my back so then I did some push-ups.

Finally realized this would be easier with music, and then the real workout began! I had 2 weights of 2.5 lbs each that were loose from the barbell so I used them to at least get a Little resistance, and started dancing around to the music, worked in some of my kickboxing exercises, did some balance exercises I learned from Fred, and overall had a pretty good 25 or 30 minute workout! I was definitely breathing hard and sweating by the end of it, and I think it ended up being good for my arms. They're so weak!

Anyway I'm pleased. Now to try to find something healthier to eat than that Yummy stroganoff...

epic fail

Yesterday was basically epic fail, in terms of diet and exercise. I had sort of planned to drag out my pilates mat and do some push-ups, sit-ups, and maybe some other miscellaneous mat work, buuut zp and I went to Whole Foods after work for some groceries, and then we made beef stroganoff. Probably my first clue should have been the 4oz (a whole stick) of butter called for in the recipe. I did cut it down to 2oz, but still I felt like I was definitely not doing my best to eat healthy fud. Sooo I'm going to try to eat lots of beans and veggies tonight, not so much butter and red meat.

Also I'm going to run this eve. I'm thinking of doing my 4-mile loop - if I really can't do the full 4 miles, I can just walk, no big deal. But I should probably try to push myself, I really need to work up my mileage or I'm never going to be ready for the Cherry Blossoms.

FitnessCoach.com reminded me today that I need to vary my workouts. I sort of laughed and said to myself, How about working out at all?? That would be some variation. But honestly. I can't just work in a few 3 or 4-mile runs a few days a week and expect anything major to happen.

One thing I've been getting better at is drinking more water. And dang I'm having to pee a lot more and I don't like it!

Recipe 1

I thiiiink this is pretty healthy. Not sure I could nail down the exact fat content, but most of it comes from the almonds and nut fat is a good fat. haha nut fat...

1 bag Eating Right broccoli slaw
1/2 c. Eating Right lemon poppyseed dressing
1 single-serving packet slivered almonds
1/2 c. sliced grapes

Not sure how many servings that should be, probably 3 if it's a big part of your lunch, or maybe if it's just a small side, you could get 4 or 5 servings out of it.

Flavor Stars: 3 (out of 5)

The 10:30am and 2:30pm Doldrums

I don't really remember what the doldrums are. Aren't they those regions of the globe, when you're out at sea there it's like time stands still and you're just miserable? I don't know. BUT. 10:30am and 2:30pm are the worst ever times of day. Well, on a weekend, 10:30am could mean brunch, and that's fine. At work, it means I'm HUNGRAY and/or bored and just want to eat to pass the time.

Right now, it's 10:26, and my stomach is growwwling. I'm trying to gulp water to get through this, because I had a thing of string cheese like an hour ago and I don't think I should need another snack yet. I should definitely go to the store today and get a bag of apples or some other kind of fruit, maybe some carrots.

I'm considering just biting the bullet and signing up for that kickboxing cardio class in Courthouse. I've been putting it off because it's $175 for like 10 sessions, and I'm already paying $50/month for Bally and I don't go to that. Maybe I should just try to get to Bally more often. I guess I could pack my gym bag every day and try to stop there on my way home. It's just unbelievably annoying to lug that bag back and forth on the metro every day. I used to do it more often when I worked at IEDC.

update: it's 11am now and I definitely caved and ate another string cheese. Better the cheese than the hershey hugs in my office!!

Heart Healthy Wines..

Ok everyone's heard that wine can be good for you in moderation, but I'm definitely not one to let an open bottle sit around for more than one evening.. I need to work on sticking to one glass with dinner rather than half the bottle, but also I just found this interesting bit of information, from FitnessCoach.com that ranks the wines from Most to Least healthy:

Opting for that glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with dinner may do more for you than just add zest to your meal. Studies over recent years have suggested that flavanoids in wine are linked to improved cholesterol levels and healthier hearts. You should always drink in moderation (and never if taking some medications). Check out these suggested wines (from most to least healthy, in terms of flavanoids): Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Syrah Pinot Noir Merlot Red Zinfandels

Day 1

Ok well today wasn't a huge fitness bonanza but I weighed in, got my body fat percentage, took some body measurements, etc. AmbER came over and we ran 3 miles - not as easy as it probably should have been, it's been too long since I ran. It was hilly though, I think it was a good workout. Then we had a nice brunch of scrambled eggs, turkey bacon and whole wheat waffles. I had smart balance and sugar-free syrup on my waffles so I really don't think the calorie count was too high.

BUT we also split a bottle of sparkling wine between the three of us, that added a bit. I just don't like the idea of brunch without sparkler. Alsoooo we had more reason to drink it, Zach and I just got enGAGED yesterday whaaaat. So yeah. :)

For lunch my mom made homemade pizza. Not exactly your picture-perfect health nut meal but it could have been worse. I had three pretty narrow pieces, and just drank water so not too bad. For dinner I had leftover whole wheat pasta with chicken/spinach/olive pasta sauce which I think was pretty good for me - but I also drank a beer with it! :-o Sooo probably need to get in the habit of not drinking a beer with dinner all the time.

I feel good about today though, I didn't eat any real junk, and got some miles in, so I'd say a pretty good start. I'm not really sure what's reasonable to expect in 12 weeks, but I've set some goals:

8 - 10% weight loss (somewhere around 12 - 16 pounds)
an inch or two around my thighs (yikes!)
2 inches around my waist
3 - 4 inches around my Butt
1 or 2 inches around the bussst.

Soo yeah. Time for bed. Tomorrow should be fun - I imagine there will be a lot of celebrating of my engagement at work, hopefully they don't try to stick me full of cake.. ;)

...Is Worth Doing For Money

The title of this blog comes from this key chain my mom used to have that said "Anything worth doing is worth doing for money" and on the other side was a picture of George Washington. I don't really intend to get into what my price might be, but I know one thing I would do for money - compete in a weight loss competition. Yes, we're going for it, we're doing the Biggest Loser thing, and I think it's going to be fun. And I'm gonna blog about it. Maybe after this 12 weeks is up I'll find a new thing worth doing for money.

Official kick-off is this Sunday, February 8. Haven't decided yet whether I should go on a binge till then, get my number up, or start getting used to the idea of working out more and thinking about what I eat... By "binge" I don't really mean binge, I just mean eat what I want, how I've been eating all winter, or start cutting back now. Definitely going to make one last trip to Chicken on the Run, probably should cut that out of my life for the next 12 weeks. Whimper. Also next weekend is Valentine's Day brunch, am I really going to forgo the amazing looking waffles at Belga Cafe? No, I don't think so. I'll just have to run like 6 miles that morning.

PS I'm also training right now for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler coming up in April. Ok haha, not "training" in the truest sense of the word, but definitely Thinking about it. I'm hoping this biggest loser thing will motivate me to get those miles in. Last Sunday I ran for the first time since Thanksgiving, barely made it 3 miles.

So, on Sunday, I'm going to weigh in, take some measurements, and set some goals. And we'll see how this works.