Lovin' the Swiss Chard

On Sunday I was motivated to try some new veggies to meet my 10-a-day, which I realize I haven't been talking about as much lately, although I've been meeting this goal. It's easy to eat the same things each day. This frittata was a hit with Paul. I took out a large skillet, and put a little butter and olive oil in. Then I added sliced mushrooms, 5 cloves of garlic, and a bell pepper. I chopped up a bunch of Swiss chard (picture included for those who aren't familiar), sauteed that for about 5 minutes, then beat 11 eggs and added them, some fresh sage, fresh basil, green onions, salt and pepper. I cooked the frittata over medium heat on the stove for about 5 minutes, then grated cheddar on the top and baked it in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. It was so delicious! The chard gave it a neat flavor, and the basil gave it a really fresh taste. And I made enough that we've kept eating it and plan to all week.

I also ran again last night - 25 minutes. It's such a stress release, I realized last week was especially hard because I didn't have a physical outlet for my energy. I also just signed up for the Spreckels 10-K on Sunday, since I need to get my stamina up for the two 13.1-milers I have coming up in 4 and 6 weeks!

Sacks of Potatoes

I ran last night for the first time in almost 2 weeks - and I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to do it and just gave myself a 25-minute, 2 mile run along the trail. I spent the entire day procrastinating doing it though - thinking it would make me tired, and with a 21-month old you need your energy! So I took my time, not running until 7:45 p.m. It felt so good. I came back refreshed and full of energy, exactly the opposite of what I'd expected.

I also realized this week that a lack of energy is a huge problem for me. It's easy for me to have the energy to do my job, participate in activities, etc., because that's mostly mental, and I've conditioned myself to be able to sustain it. The physical energy I need to keep up with my daughter is a challenge for me.

My dad's always been supportive of my getting physically healthier (while loving me for who I am, all the while) and has told me to imagine the weight in terms of "sacks of potatoes" I'm carrying around with me each day. I'm carrying around 10-10lb. sacks of potatoes every day. I'm recognizing that instead of exercising, which I think will tire me out, I reach for something sugary or caffeinated to give me quick energy. For an hour I'm "up", and then I crash, more tired than I was to start out with. I feel like I'm completely changing the way I think - and I'll admit, it's hard! I've gotten by pretty well with these habits, but I'm really starting to crave a healthy body...and longer runs!

Bronchitis

I've been away from this blog for a week because bronchitis took me down! I wasn't able to run since last Tuesday, unfortunately, but I'll be back to it tonight.

Last night when I got home from work I was giving Livey a snack before going to the park and realized I was hungry too. Normally I would have grabbed some crackers or something easy like that, but I realized I'd only had 4 of my produce servings that day so I looked around for what we had. I found cucumbers that I'd bought a week before and grudgingly took them out. I love cucumbers, I just always think they're so time consuming to prepare. 30 seconds later they were peeled (a task that completely entranced Olivia) and sliced and we were out the door to the park. Why do we make things so much bigger in our heads?

I also had an interesting revelation this last week. When I crave something "bad" I just reach for one of my 10 servings and sometimes realize I'm not hungry at all when what I'm eating isn't my "craving". I think eating has become my way of dealing with things, and instead I need to do other things, like taking Olivia to the park. We had so much fun, and food became the last thing on my mind.

That's my Jam!

Last night's run was FANTASTIC. I was in my new shoes and ran along the trail by my house. It was so much fun. My running song of the day was "Long Day" by Matchbox 20, which totally reminded me of college and also got me going after what was honestly a pretty long day. I love what I do, but I was mentally exhausted. I'd had meetings much of the day and then had to fax a letter out to the CA Senate Ag & Food Committee in preparation for a meeting they are having today, so Livey watched Elmo at my desk while my friend/colleague Darlene and I faxed and mailed. I rushed Livey home at 7:30 p.m., put her in the bath, fed her dinner while she splashed around, then Paul got home at 8:00 and for a minute I thought "I don't need a run tonight, it's late..." but then I got up, put my running shoes on and bounded out of the house. I did 20 minutes of continuous running and about 10 minutes of walking (about 2 miles). If the sun wasn't setting I could have kept going. I'm really starting to understand what they mean by "runner's high". It felt wonderful.

I'm running with Jennifer and DeeDee tonight at Toro - they're both faster than me, but patient, thank goodness. Now for the title of today's blog. It's an inside joke my husband and I have about music we either really like (i.e. RUSH, for him) or music we really don't like (i.e. RUSH, for me). Last night I definitely found "my jam".

6 Weeks Away from 1/2 Marathon

I weighed myself on Friday and honestly couldn't get myself to write on the blog, I was so disappointed. I'd gained 2 pounds. I've since lost one of them, but I was really bummed. I think drinking a lot of water over the weekend helped; I'd had a lot of salty food over the week. I need to remember to keep doing that to flush my system out, and to help my runs. I also only ran 2 times last week - although they were good, I had to miss both of my regular runs with friends due to events and such. I'm 6 weeks away from my first 1/2 marathon - it's crunch time!

Although my weight went up slightly, I'm still feeling really good. I really feel like my body is testing me - like it's not going to "give it up" until I've proven I'm sticking with it. There's nothing like motivation - I've told you how I'm doing this for my family, so that I can have more kids. Olivia (20 months) counted from 1-10 this weekend. I've got to stay healthy so that I can watch her cross that stage in her cap and gown in 20 years. (UC Davis! UC Davis! UC Davis!) Of course, it doesn't matter at all to me where she goes, as long as she's happy. (UC Davis!)

A Bounce to My Step

Last night I had a great run along the trail by my house. It felt like I'd finally found a good stride. It almost seems as though my body has been rebelling over the past couple of weeks, not believing that I'd keep up with this plan, making my runs hard, and has now given up and given in to the cause.

I felt so invigorated during and after my run, and listened to my "good for my soul" mix on my ipod. This Wilco song (California Stars) really got me going: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXTxKTlMtlM. I also slept like a rock last night!

I'm totally looking forward to my run tonight and am going to Fleet Feet with friends to find some new running shoes - I'm tired of these darned blisters! They have you run on a machine that helps you to understand how you run and what types of shoes will help you run better. Paul's b-day present to me is a new pair of running shoes...we'll see how much these set him back!

3 Beets 1

Corny title, I know! Now I have day-in, day-out support with Jim and Joann in my office following the 10-a-day plan. This morning Jim and I had a lovely breakfast of berries and bananas.

Last night I had beets for dinner, along with a small bowl of pasta. They were so delicious! Here's what I did:
3 large beets
drizzle of olive oil
chopped fresh rosemary
1T dried oregano
chopped fresh sage
salt & pepper
feta cheese

Cut up the beets (into 1/8ths) and toss with the herbs. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper and toss until lightly coated. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Top with feta cheese to taste. Delicious!

Gunshots

Last night was a scary one. It had been a great but tiring weekend, so Paul and I had headed to bed early. Our neighbors were having a party, so there was a constant hum of a bass guitar which made Paul frustrated, and he put earplugs in so he could fall asleep. I had watched the "Sixth Sense" that afternoon and was having visions of a creepy version of Donnie Wahlberg coming out of my bathroom when the music stopped and Paul pulled the plugs out and we settled in to sleep. Just after 10:00 we heard 5-6 shots of rapid gunfire, then silence. We called 911 and were told they'd received a lot of calls, but I have no idea what happened from there; nothing's been reported in the papers yet.

What does this have to do with my blog? I love to run along the trails by my house, but shootings like this (the second in my 2 years in this neighborhood) freak me out. I know the gang members who perpetuate this violent tit-for-tat aren't looking for me - they're going after one another. But I live close enough to it that I worry about walking into a fight. However, I love Salinas. I love living in this town, and I don't want to allow a small minority of violent people to keep me from living my life with my family here. I'm going to do all of the things I learned to do last time: I'm keeping my porch light on. I'm going out for walks. I'm talking to my neighbors. I will not let this keep me from my fitness goal or living the life I want to live. I will remain aware. And I will do all that I can to make my community safe. And I will run.

Fastest Mile Yesterday...Weigh in

This will be a blog of highs and lows. Yesterday Jennifer and I ran at the Hartnell track and my first mile was my fastest ever: 11:50/mile. I couldn't understand why it felt so hard to run and why I got shin splits when I was doing it, and then I realized I was running about 1-2 minutes faster than usual. That felt great.

Today's weigh day: I'm the same at 241. But let's dissect the situation: this week was my birthday, so I ate an inordinate amount of desserts and went out to eat a lot. I kept to my 10-a-day all but 2 days (the 13.5 miler day because I was too tired to stay awake and eat and my birthday - both days I had 7 servings). I ran/walked 16 miles throughout the week, but over the course of only two days. I need to spread that out over at least 3-4 days a week and focus on doing some other types of exercise as well. I will not feel defeated by my lack of weight loss this week, I know what I need to do.

Last night I got home around 7:00 from running and Paul had made a healthy dinner filled with veggies: artisan lettuce salad with beans and feta, steamed broccoli, fresh berries, a little cheese and bread. When Olivia went to bed I found myself wanting to open the cupboards and dig around for a treat. After all, I'd had a really productive day, gotten some big projects off the ground, and I deserved a little treat. Whoa. That's my mentality! I forced myself to do something else - Paul had been doing house chores and I told him I wanted to get out of the house and go shopping just to get my mind off of food (replacing one thing with another). He wanted to go for his run, so it wouldn't have been fair for me to just leave. He said our gardening needed watering so I went outside for about 15 minutes to do that and it calmed me down. I realized I was really nervous for my weigh-in. Then why was I trying to sabotage it? I let myself have a little treat (a tablespoon of nutella) and then I had some carrots to finish up my 10 for the day. I need to learn other ways or rewarding myself than by eating something sweet.

Overall, it's been an enlightening week. I think I've already learned a lot of important lessons and appreciate all of the ideas coming my way. Keep them coming, although my main focus will remain 10-a-day and a 10 minute mile, your suggestions give me great perspective and will help me get there.

32 Today!

Today's my 32nd birthday! Last night my husband Paul made me a huge salad and steamed broccoli grown by a good friend field for our dinner. He's really behind me on this effort, having watched me try trend diets for years and yo-yo-ing.

I've had some great success with the 10-a-day and have made sure to keep to it for most of a week now. I've had a big boost of energy from it, I'm finding that I'm not as hungry for other types of food, and I'm really enjoying what I'm eating. However, I don't think I'm losing any weight yet. Thing is: I have a huge sweet tooth and although I'm eating my 10-a-day, I still nibble on sweets when they're around. My doctor, my mom and a handful of friends have suggested I look at South Beach diet. They've told me it fits right in with my 10-a-day goal, but it helps "restart" your body and gets you onto healthy sugars. I'm going to pick up a copy of the book this week; perhaps this will help my body get into the mode in needs to be in by giving me a kick-start.

Jim Bogart, my boss, is going to try eating 10 fruits and vegetables a day to encourage me in this effort. He's great at working out, but not always good at eating all of his fruits and veggies. Here we are, together working toward getting healthier!