Thank you Secret Santa

When I got home yesterday I had a small envelope from Amazon waiting for me sent by my secret Santa Leana http://runnerleana.blogspot.com.  Jill over at Run with Jill hosted a blog gift exchange and when I opened my package inside I found this:



Got a kick out of reading it and learned lots of interesting Canadian recipes like beaver tail and moose stew.  Thanks Leana and Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Random Thoughts and Trying Something New

Ahhh Christmas.  The time of year when people's driving sucks even more than usual and when sweaters that should have been burnt years ago are now proudly sported everywhere and called fashionable.  Lest my sarcasm confuse you let me reassure you that this isn't another post filled with reminiscing about the "good old days" and talking about the unappreciative youth of America.  I like Christmas and I like presents.  Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or depressed.  How can you not help but fist pump in triumph when you beat other shoppers and find that one perfect parking spot close to the mall entrance?  And you can practically taste victory when you manage to score free shipping and a coupon code on that item for Aunt Sally.  Christmas can manage to bring out the best and worst in people, but while driving around looking at Christmas lights, I focus on feeling the Christmas spirit (while harshly judging tacky light displays).

But Christmas aside, I did want to post the first of what will hopefully be weekly(ish) posts as mom and I delve into new workout routines.  We have both been really bad these last few months and are looking to drop some weight in 2012 and get back on track.  While running will still be our thing....five marathons on the books for next year (more info to come)!!  We both recognize that we need to cross train more and try new things.  The fitness world is chocked full of classes and we have decided to venture into this strange and crazy world by trying one new class every week.  Luckily a lot of gyms close to us offer a free trial class so this will hopefully be a cheap way to sweat off some weight and probably make complete a$$es of ourselves in the process.

This weeks attempt: Pilates for Runners.  Now we have both tried Pilates in the past and found it to be a great cardio workout.  Unlike the yoga classes I have taken where flexibility and head stands are called for, Pilates seems to be more of a toning and strengthening workout.  I am particularly looking forward to this class as it is taught by a marathon runner who promises to make you a "faster more efficient and injury free runner."  Who wouldn't want that!  So mom and I will be jumping in the car this evening to head out and try Pilates for Runners....I'm anticipating lots of grunting and potentially some uncontrolled laughter as I struggle to do sit-ups.  I'll be sure to post our thoughts after class!

UPDATE:  So we made the trip downtown to Pilates and all in all really enjoyed the class.  Kristine the instructor was very methodical in her approach and rather than jumping from one position to the next, really took the time to explain the reasoning behind each move and how to position your body.  Also, because this was tailored to runners, she spent a lot of time working those muscles that are frequently weak in runners.  Once again I was surprised to find myself sweating during this class as the movements are so minute and to the outsider it probably looks like we are all lying on our backs struggling to tie our shoes.  Oh well, Pilates for runners was fun and we will be sure to update you all on our next exercise adventure! 

Living in the Present

Christmas is stressful.  We all freak out about it,  whether it be gifts,  decorations,  holiday parties,  or crazy families.  And then you get a message out of the blue that puts everything into perspective. Tuesday,  I went to the memorial service for my friend's husband.. Charlie.  Charlie was only 63,  which now that I am 52.. I can say is way too young.  This was unexpected,  and no one was prepared for it.   Family and friends had an opportunity to talk about a man they had all loved.  It was a service that truly was a tribute to a life well lived.  And that was the one thing that struck me... everyone was laughing because they all had Charlie stories and the common theme was Charlie always lived in the moment.  His goal in life was to enjoy it and to make sure those around him enjoyed it as well.   Every statement was a joyful remembrance of this man's life.  I was struck by all those who related how much they would miss Charlie's laugh the most.  What a life lesson I got.  I was prepared to go and grieve and to leave feeling wrung out and miserable.  Instead I left much more light-hearted than I had when I arrived.  

Charlie was also the man that taught me how to program computers almost 30 years ago.  His patience and laughter during my beginning attempts as a programmer provided just the balance to my frustrations at learning this new task.  But he believed that I could do it,  and because I respected him,  I believed I could as well.   His belief fueled a 30 year career that has provided for my daughters all these years as a single parent.  To say I owe him much would be an understatement.  And at his memorial service,  I received another lesson from him... to live in the present.  To focus on joyful moments with friends and family because those little moments become the memories others have of us.. and wouldn't you rather want them to be positive ones!  Charlie you are already missed,  but your friends are already talking about this years Christmas party and how you will be there in the stories that are told about you at past gatherings.   You lived life well,  thank you for the reminder to all of us on how to do this.

What Do You Eat....?

So now that it is several days past Thanksgiving and we have all begun to crawl back from carbohydrate comas I thought a post discussing one of the most common questions Mom and I get would be in order.  When we decided to change our lifestyles and become healthier, one of the most important things to consider was our diet.  Previously, I had become a vegetarian due to ethical reasons.  While this change certainly decreased the amount of red meat I consumed it also meant I just swapped breads and pasta for chicken and steak and a 350 lbs. vegetarian was created.  I stuck to the vegetarian diet, even when I received quiet a few surprised looks whenever I told anyone I was a vegetarian.  I could see their eyes grow skeptical as they sized me up and thought "what a fat vegetarian!  I thought that was a myth, like Bigfoot or Yeti's."

So our first step was to ditch the unhealthy vegetarian food items and get back to the basics.  In the summer this meant a lot of salads and fresh fruits and veggies, in the winter big pots of vegetable soups.  Somewhere along the way I decided that mom and I should take the next stop and adopt a vegan diet.  This change has brought even more benefits and has left us truly feeling healthy at last.  While I'm not pushing the vegan diet on anyone else, I can say that personally it helped me drop some of those pesky pounds while leaving me feeling energized and satisfied.  I have found it is hard to be sluggish on kale and spinach!  This transition, was made that much easier with a few food items I would like to share.  These are all quick and easy products that taste great and also just so happen to be good for the environment too.

First up is the so called "miracle noodles" featured on many talk shows, diet cookbooks, and blogs.  We were on the shirataki train well before Rachel Ray decided to splash some EVOO on them and found these noodles to be a great alternative to traditional pasta.  At about 10 calories a serving you could potentially eat the whole bag and still be under 100 calories for a meal.  However there is one caution - these noodles, made of some sort of yam flour, smell extremely strong straight from the bag so follow the directions and wash them well before eating!!

If the thought of yam flour noodles doesn't make the kiddies run to the dinner table another pasta/main dish option we have found is broccoli slaw.  Those bags of pre-shredded ruffage, when steamed and lightly tossed with pasta sauce, make an awesome quick dinner for two.  Again they are extremely low in calories so you don't have to feel guilty going for that second helping.  Another note of warning about these though - if you are new to eating lots of fruits and vegetables, broccoli can cause some serious gas.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but the first time mom and I cooked up a big batch of this we created our own soundtrack to Australia as we watched the film later that night.  



Two other products I have come to love are my go to food items for lunch.  First, I am a peanut butter addict and find it difficult not to take spoonfuls of this stuff several times a day.  To combat this addiction I have found the pre-portioned Justin's nut butters to be a great option for me.  Throw this in my lunch bag with a couple puffed cakes and I'm set.  And the cakes I am currently loving are Kim's Magic Pops...we have these at several local grocery stores, and while I don't know who Kim is, I can say her cakes are magic at only 15 calories a piece and great topped with a variety of items like hummus, honey, or yes peanut butter!

So while temptation is all around this time of year, make sure you take some time and plan to have some healthy options on hand...come January 1st when the fitness craze hits everyone, you will be able to smile and strut in jeans that still fit!  


Have you tried one of these products? 

Do you have your own favorite healthy foods or tips to share?

One Hot Mama

Getting older sucks... okay I'm going to say it again... Getting older sucks.   To hell with the 50 is the new 30 crap that you hear. If you hear that from someone,  I wouldn't want to buy a used car from them,  because they are liars.  

Milestones that no one talks about.
30 +  Once you cross the 30 age mark you stop healing the way you once did.  
Remember when you could go on a weekend and party,  or perform some fun athletic event,  like whitewater rafting,  horseback riding etc,  and then go into work on Monday none the worse for wear...  Once you hit your 30's.. that leaves you.   Maybe it is for a reason.. you are 30 something after all so time to start acting like a grown up.   I got tossed off a horse at the age of 31 and dislocated my ankle.  The really cute emergency room doctor said.."wow.. your going to wish you broke that..."    Why?  Because your over 30 and that is going to take 6 months to heal.. WTF???  I was incredulous... but he was right.   It was 6 months before I could honestly say it didn't bother me anymore,  and it still lets me know when the weather is going to change.
40 +  40 something becomes the decade where you no longer have long enough arms to read.   It starts slowly.. you find yourself squinting at print and bitching in restaurants that the lighting is really bad.    You hold items out as far as you can to be able to read small print.   Finally you break down and buy a pair of readers at the grocery store.   1.25 magnification isn't s-o-o-o bad...right?  Besides they come in really cute colors.  Next thing you know you have 10 pairs of the suckers in varying degrees of power sprinkled all over the house/office/purse/car.  Next step must be the big sun-glass goggles that are so prevalent in sunny southern climes.
50 +  Welcome to Menopause...  Our mothers didn't really talk about it.   Yes they mentioned hot flashes in passing but really you couldn't have done a better job preparing me for this? Thank heavens layering is currently a fashion trend.   I head to work with a tank top under every outfit because I just never know when the strip show is going to begin. Now that it is winter in Ohio.. and my bedroom is kept at a comfortable  60 degrees,  I thought this would help.  But I go to bed under 2 blankets wearing fuzzy pj bottoms ,  a tank top and a sweatshirt.. and sometime during the night I find myself lying naked under a ceiling fan?   I know ,  I know you can take medication for this.. but really I don't need drugs to deal with something that is normal and natural,  even if it isn't exactly fun.  I have tried the teas,  and I know there are other herbal remedies to try.. but many of them are pricey... so...we shall see how long this phase lasts... And hopefully I won't have a house fire on one of the "those" nights.    Can't wait to see what 60 brings....

Marshall Marathon - Race Recap

Most of us are aware of the Marshall Football team tragedy in 1970 , when the football team was lost in a horrible plane accident.   So running a marathon , where you finished inside the "Thundering Herd"  stadium, carrying a football tucked under your arm across the finish line,  made this race an attractive option on Lindsey's to-do list.   In case you didn't know it she is going to try for the 50 States marathon club.  This is where you run a marathon in every state.. At first I thought this was a crazy idea,  but... now that I am going to attempt a full marathon next year .. not once ... but 3 times.. I understand the attraction.  So I went along to do the 1/2 marathon,  and to drive the car home.  It was just 3 weeks ago that we did the Indy marathons, and both of us were wondering how this would work.

We drove over Saturday afternoon.. Huntington is a quick 3 hour scenic drive.  The marathon is hosted by an organization called Healthy Huntington.  And the one thing that struck us as we drove in to town,  was the number of Cancer and Heart doctors with billboards around town.  Also the number of cemeteries...It was kind of creepy.  We picked up our race packets at the University rec center.. really nice place by the way and the shirts were ADORABLE!  Buffalo imprinted long sleeve tech shirts from Brooks,  very nice.

Race morning,  I wondered who they had to pay off to get such amazing weather.  Temperatures were just under 40,  but it wasn't windy at all.  Stadium bathrooms were open so no long lines waiting to use a freezing cold porta-potty,  but rather a toasty warm bathroom.  The race is small.. about 1500 half marathoners,  and 500 full marathoners.  And the runners are extremely friendly.
Honestly it was the people we met along the way that made this race for both of us.   We met 2 gentlemen who were part of the 50 states club.  You can find them ,  because they ... like us... hang at the back of the pack not trying to break the time of their last marathon,  but just enjoying the run and the scenery.  Both had run marathons the day before!  One had driven down to Savannah,  run the Savannah marathon, then got in the car and drove 9 hours to Huntington,  to run Huntington on Sunday!!!!  We picked their brains to see what races they had enjoyed the most and just chatted along a mostly boring first half of the course.   It wasn't until about mile 6 when we entered a park ,  did I really enjoy the run.  You can't tell from this picture though.. This was in the Huntington newspaper the next day...I don't look like I'm enjoying this much..

The park had a nice crushed gravel path and we spent the next 5 miles running in comfort.  We could have used a few more water stations along the way,  but for a half marathon experience,  I was enjoying it.  It seemed easier somehow than Indy had been... probably because it was so flat.

At  mile 12.1 Lindsey and I separated.. I headed toward the stadium to complete my run,  she headed across campus to circle around and start the loop again.    I finished the race 3 minutes faster than my last 1/2,  which was nice... but the post race food was a disappointment... lots of Little Debbie snack cakes and burgers... so I headed to the car to grab some peanut butter crackers and to change my clothes.   I caught Lindsey as she made her way around the back of the stadium and bitched about the food... She just looked at me like I was crazy... because she still had 12 more miles to run!
I jumped in the car and drove back to the park area,  so I could wait for her there.  The weather was still gorgeous with temperatures in the mid 50's and tons of sunshine.   I hung out at one of the water stations talking to the volunteers and complementing them on a job well done!  They had the football game on and were having a great time encouraging the runners.   I ran about another 2 miles with Linz around the park and then drove back to the Stadium to see her finish.   She completed her race about 2 minutes slower than Indy, but not bad at all.  (She swears it is the extra Porta-potty stop she had in this race versus the last)

Overall not a bad weekend.  Great weather certainly helped make this an enjoyable one,  but she is glad to have WV off her race list.   3 down... 47 more to go!

Success at Indy

Since I have done a terrible job updating this blog to reflect my running goals/progress I did not share how my marathon training (version 2.0) went compared with the disaster that was the Flying Pig. If you need a refresher on my first attempt at a marathon just scan back to one of the early posts and you will see me lamenting about poor training decisions, poor nutrition decisions, and poor outfit choices....or maybe those came only after looking at the race photos.

Anyway, this time around I promised that I would train smarter, eat better, and be less of a head case about this whole marathon thing and the result was that I had a MUCH better race this past Saturday in Indianapolis.

We left Cincy on Friday afternoon with the dogs safely in the care of my gradma, a.k.a dog babysitter and hot dog provider, and made the short drive up to Indy. The race is sponsored by their big health network, so the race expo was appropriately staffed with tables full of free bandaids, icy hot, and athletes foot creme. With about 2,700 runners total between the half and full marathon it was a small, but well run expo and while I missed all the glossy brochures and swag that the larger Flying Pig expo had, it was still a very organized affair. We then left the expo and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Drury Inn and lets just say it was a great choice! I am not a paid spokesperson for this chain, and really dislike staying in hotels, so believe me when I say mom and I were impressed. They were a sponsored hotel of the race and went

out of their way to include race friendly hot food on their free dinner buffet as well as open the free morning buffet about an hour earlier than normal so we racers could eat before we left.

Morning of the race arrived and all in all we both felt calm and ready to go. We arrived about an hour before the race, got our race numbers and chip timers on, and then stepped out of the car into 25 mph winds. Yes, the curse of Lindsey struck again where weather is concerned. I can almost guarantee that if I am running there will be rain, snow, desert heat, or hail...I think I have run in all these conditions so Indy started off as no exception. We made it to the start line, visited the potties, and then huddled together to try and stay warm.

Outwardly we looked like this...

Inwardly we were both questioning our sanity as to why on earth we wanted to drive all this way, spend the money, and then freeze our smaller butts off all for a shirt and a medal. So in reality we probably felt more like this...(notice the crazy dude behind me in tiny shorts and a t-shirt. Honestly I don't get some runners!!)

But we went ahead and lined up with the rest of the slow runners in good old corral F and hit the road at 8:30 am. The marathon and half marathon course was identical for 12 miles so mom and I got to stick together for a good long time. That was a huge plus for me as I definitely tend to hit the early miles too fast and then pay for it in the end so mom's job was to keep the pace steady and be my donkey. If you a horse person who get the reference...have a thoroughbred that needs settling down, stick a donkey in with them and it calms the horse. Not that I consider myself a thoroughbred or anything...but mom was definitely my jacka$$ this morning. The course was amazing as we ran through a big national park and beautiful old neighborhoods. The early miles were clicking and here I am at mile 8 even smiling...something I don't think I did at all the last time.

Mom did great for about the first 8-9, but then her stomach started acting up and by the time we reached the hills on mile 10 she was clenching and shuffling up those babies. I give her a ton of credit for keeping up though as I have had those days before where you are begging for bathroom and they are just no fun. We stopped at a porta potty around mile 11 and then reached the spot where we parted ways and I head out into the park again while she turned toward the finish line. After she left I got out the good old ipod, cued up some Eminem and started rapping and running. The course was a long out and back between miles 15-24 so it was great to be able to see all the people both ahead and behind you. As I went I started to feel better and better, I even sang and cheered them on as I went. By mile 19 I was full out belting Adele's Someone Like You to runners as I made the turn and headed back into town. I felt great, like I could tackle anything...the kind of run where everything falls into place and you feel amazing. I remember thinking this is why people do this and as a woman yelled "You go girl" to me at 22 I thought "that's right Lindsey you got this b*tch." My hips and glutes did start to act up by mile 23 and I walked a decent portion of the way until mile 25 rolled by and I could start to hear the music at the finish line. I picked up the pace a bit and headed back and by mile 26 could see the banners, and finish line crowd. That last .2 miles didn't mean a thing as I jogged into the finish with the smile on my face happy with my performance. I finished in 5:20, no speed record here, but a 40 minute improvement over my Flying Pig time....so yeah I was happy. Medals were given out by the local Army ROTC guys who all called us ma'am and who I made pose in a picture with me.

The post race party was small, but these race organizers thought of everything and even had veggie burgers for us vegans to eat...I LOVE THAT and made sure to send them a big thank you afterwards as many race officials just don't think of us veg-heads. So Indy was a huge success and a very enjoyable weekend and I will be sure to post official race pics when they go up. Mom and I have one more big race on the calendar for this year in three weeks we head over to West Virginia to tackle the Marshall Marathon and Half-Marathon where she will hope to improve on her time, and I will hope to have a repeat of Indy.

I leave you with the Adele video of Someone Like You as I wish you all nothing but the best!!