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Love,

Jess

Weather: Gusts of 20-30 mph brought the wind chill to 28*. Yesterday’s high: 80*

Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes 53 seconds

Distance: 16 miles

Average Pace: 7:48/mile

Average Heart Rate: I didn’t wear my HR monitor. I’ll probably just wear it for speed workouts now.

Notes: It’s a dreary day here in Central Texas, a stark contrast to the gorgeous, sunny, summer-like Friday. A cold front with a harsh wind just in time for the weekend, and just in time for my long run.

I don’t feel like I had a particularly good run today. It wasn’t bad, but I ran quite slowly. Maybe it was the weather, maybe the hills, or maybe I’m just comparing it to last weekend’s fantastic 15-miler, but I felt lacking in energy today. My legs felt fine, my knee held up well, but I felt lethargic.

Last night I went to bed ridiculously early for a Friday night and woke up before my alarm. Despite my full night’s sleep, I think my body is tired. It’s likely that my two speed workouts and cross-training on the reject elliptical tired me out for my long run.

But like I said, not a bad run. Sometimes that’s all we can ask for, right? I got my 16 miles done in a strong wind and a hilly course.

By the way, Snickers Marathon Energy bar is still my pre-long run bar of choice. I tried a Gu gel for the first time today in Chocolate Outrage. Yummy, for a gel, but I’ll have to try another Gu before I can determine if they work for me or not. My refuel method: No Sugar-Added Carnation Instant Breakfast in Chocolate, mixed with soymilk and canned pumpkin to make a Chocolate Pumpkin Smoothie. Delicious. Thanks for the idea, Lacey!

And yes, my pre, during, and post run fuel all contained chocolate.

Remember when I said that I’m going to lower my grocery bills by using up pantry staples? No? That’s good, because I’m doing horribly. Anyway, I decided to buy frozen shrimp and canned baby clams for my pasta to combine with a few of the frozen scallops already in my freezer.

First, I started cooking my whole wheat penne. Then I heated up a little olive oil in a skillet and threw in a chopped clove of garlic, the scallops, and the shrimp. I let them cook for a bit and then added sliced mushrooms and capers.

Next, I added a dollop of my favorite jarred sauce: Central Market Organics Primavera sauce. I just used a little because I wanted to taste the other flavors in the dish–like the white wine that I added after the sauce.

I let the wine reduce slightly and then added the clams, chopped tomatoes, and a sliced up wedge of garlic and oregano flavored Laughing Cow cheese. I stirred the cheese into the sauce to make it creamy, and then added a few handfuls of baby spinach. After the baby spinach wilted, I stirred in a few sliced kalamata olives and  feta cheese.

It was a really good, kinda fancy (but still quick and easy) version of my favorite dinner the night before a long run or race: whole wheat pasta with a lean protein and vegetable-based sauce. (Don’t forget to add a little healthy fat like olive oil as well).

Nutrition of this Meal

This meal contains 10 ingredients on the World’s Healthiest Foods list (estimate because the jarred sauce has lots of herbs and veggies that I am not counting):

• Garlic
• Mushrooms
• Olives
• Tomatoes
• Spinach
• Scallops
• Shrimp
• Low-fat cheese (I buy reduced-fat feta, Athenos brand)
• Olive oil
• Whole wheat

I added shiitake mushrooms and a frozen Asian blend of veggies. I used leftover baked tofu from last week, so this was a nice, quick meal.

Served over the last of my Annie Chun’s soba noodles.

There are a lot of vegetables in that bowl. This recipe is not spicy, so it’s a good choice if you don’t like spicy Asian flavors.

Nutrition of this Meal

This meal contains 9 ingredients from the World’s Healthiest Foods list:

• Bell peppers
• Garlic
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Soybeans (edamame in frozen blend)
• Tofu
• Buckwheat
• Ginger
• Soy sauce

Time of Day: 5:20 PM

Weather: Climate-controlled

Duration: About 40 minutes

Notes: Another crowded gym day. I’m getting tired of hauling a mat, dumbbell, and stability ball to the gym hallway so that I have room to workout. I did, however, get to do lat. pulldowns today. Not much to say about the weights, so I’ll just report. Besides, I have a lot to say about my cross-training session this morning and don’t want to make the post too long.

2 x 15 reps of the following:

• Lat pulldown
• Lat row
• Chest press
• Vertical butterfly

1 x 15 reps of the following:

• Biceps curls on stability ball
• Tricep dips
• Lateral shoulder raises with a dumbbell
• Dumbbell shoulder press on stability ball

Core exercises (all of these in Ultimate Abs):

• Back extensions, 25 reps
• Swiss hip extension, 10 reps then 11 reps each side
• Erect lateral bends, 15 reps each side
• Turkish get-ups, 15 reps each side

Legs:

• Squats with a stability ball between my back and a wall, 2 x 12 reps
• Balance run, usually 3 x 30 seconds
• Heel raises, 1 x 10 each leg
• Hamstring push-up, 1 x 10 each leg

Cross-training – Today, Jan. 23rd 

Time of Day: 5:55 AM

Weather: Climate-controlled, yet freezing

Duration: 50 min. elliptical

Notes: My gym has three elliptical. I like exactly one of them, and I use the term “like” very loosely. Today I showed up early, and yet the gym was already crowded.  Apparently they’ve been opening a little earlier and not telling me. Anyway, my favorite elliptical was taken. My second favorite elliptical, also taken. I had to use the reject elliptical, the one that feels stiffer and more awkward than the others, despite being the same make and model. Sad story, I know.

Thankfully, that is not the most interesting thing to happen to me today, because somehow, before 6 AM, someone managed to ask me:

“You must wear children’s clothes.”

I’m not quite sure how to respond to such a statement. Was this woman complimenting me? Should I be offended? Is she saying I look fit? Does she think I’m too skinny?

But then it hit me: her statement is rude, but brilliant. Because you see, readers, I’ve been buying pants in petite sizes and then attempting to shrink them in the dryer to make them shorter. I should just cut out the middle man and buy kids’ clothing.

And then the statement hit me even harder: I can go shopping at Limited Too.

Most of you may not realize the significance of the above realization, but it’s huge, people, HUGE. You see, when I was 9 or 10 years old, my best friend had many, many pretty clothes, most from Limited Too. And she let us all know they were from Limited Too. She pranced in her Limited Too jeans. She preened in her Limited Too tees. She sparkled around school with her shiny blonde hair and her Limited Too matching ensembles. At least I was smarter–the Velma to her Daphne, if Velma was good at Freeze Tag.

I also wished to dress in Limited Too, of course, so I would drag Mumsly into the store, where she looked at the price tag, laughed at the manufacturer’s apparent audacity, and redirect her silly daughter to the sales rack of a much cheaper store.

But now, readers, I have my own money, most of it expendable. I can buy all the Limited Too I desire. I may desire none, but it’s the principle.

Also, I’ll be able to tell people I wear size 14 pants next time they rudely inquire (yes, a co-worker did this!). I’ll leave out the information about children’s sizes. They can ponder that for the rest of the day.

Weather: 41* Gloves came off!  Sleeves rolled up!

Duration: 1 hour 8 minutes 19 seconds

Distance: 9.25 miles total with 2 x 15 minutes tempo, 5 minute jog between

Average Pace: 7:23/mile overall; 6:34/mile for first tempo section; 6:40/mile for second tempo section

Average Heart Rate: 164 bpm overall; 176 bpm for first tempo section; 177 bpm for second tempo section

Notes: Well, I’m a little closer to finding my 7:10 per mile marathon tempo pace; a whole 8 seconds per mile closer, in fact. My new tempo motto: ‘Tis better to be too fast than too slow. Yes, you can quote me. Matt, I want to be at the top of your next blog post.

I enjoyed the warmer weather this morning. Granted, 41* is a far cry from the 80* high for today (God bless unseasonably warm weather). Granted, tomorrow morning I’ll be on the elliptical for the warmest morning of the week (how does that keep happening!?). However, I’m lucky. I know many people are suffering through cold weather right now. I feel for you, I just don’t want to be you.

I am also enjoying the ever-so-slowly increasing light in the mornings. The long road where I do my speedwork is highly elevated and gorgeous. On my right, I see the city lights and a pink horizon; on my left, a lake. This may be why I’ve managed to complete three whole weeks of speedwork. I do believe that’s my Post-College Speedwork-Adherence Personal Record.

What am I not enjoying? Being tired at work. But it’s worth it.

Fish: I thawed two small orange roughy fillets and placed them in a baking dish with sliced mushrooms, a clove of garlic, and a quartered lemon. I added a little chopped sweet potato (leftover from making sweet potato fries) and doused everything in the dish with salt, pepper, parsley, and white wine.  I baked it at 350* for 11 minutes, but then had to take the sweet potatoes out and microwave them until they softened a little more.

Wild Rice and Barley Salad: I’ve been holding onto this recipe from Cooking Light for awhile now and finally got around to trying it. I already had cooked wheatberries in the fridge, so I used those instead of the pearl barley. I also used pine nuts instead of almonds and had to use dried basil instead of fresh. I didn’t have any chicken broth, but cooking the rice in water works fine as well. I really liked this recipe, which is good because I made half of it so I could eat the leftovers for lunch today.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts: Another Heidi Swanson recipe, intriguing because she says it’s her favorite Brussels recipe, and also because I’m excited about the inclusion of cheese. It may also be my new favorite Brussels recipe, and I used sub-par cheese (a 2% milk, bagged Italian blend). I also used frozen Brussels.  Still good, and maybe even the highlight of dinner. Amazing what a good dousing of olive oil can do for a vegetable.

Nutrition of this Meal

This meal contains 14 ingredients on the World’s Healthiest Foods list:

• Brussels sprouts
• Garlic
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Sweet potatoes
• Lemons
• Raisins
• Low-fat cheese
• Garbanzo beans
• Olive oil
• Brown rice
• Whole wheat
• Basil
• Parsley

Time of Day: 6:40 PM

Weather: Climate-controlled

Duration: About 35 minutes

Notes: My hair appointment took longer than planned (my stylist is good, but she is slowww), and I definitely did not want to go lift weights afterwards.  But…I didn’t want to have to go today either, and I was in the neighborhood anyway, so I went. I was not rewarded by a nice, empty gym. Quite the opposite, in fact: I didn’t do use the lateral pulldown machine like usual because a man was on it literally the entire time I was there. Lifting a little, resting, lifting a little, being lazy and in the way, etc. Some people have no gym etiquette.

But I got it done and had a good workout in a relatively short amount of time.  Here’s what I did:

2 x 15 reps of the following:

• Lat row
• Chest press
• Vertical butterfly

1 x 15 reps of the following:

• Biceps curls on stability ball
• Tricep dips
• Lateral shoulder raises with a dumbbell
• Dumbbell shoulder press on stability ball

Core exercises (all of these in Ultimate Abs):

• Back extensions, 25 reps
• Birddogs, 1 set of 24 reps each side
• I did planks and side planks in the morning before running, so I didn’t do these at the gym last night.

Legs:

• Squats with a stability ball between my back and a wall, 2 x 10 reps
• Balance run, usually 3 x 30 seconds
• Heel raises, 1 x 10 each leg
• Hamstring push-up, 1 x 10 each leg

In lieu of the lat pulldown, I put my feet on a stability ball and did push-ups until I had to stop at 31 reps. Then I took a short break and did 10 more. I wore my heartrate monitor as an experiment. Conclusion: lifting weights doesn’t get it up very high, except when doing push-ups, but does raise it a fair amount.

Then I finally went home to my DVRed coverage of the Inauguration. I envisioned myself sharing the story with my grandchildren: that long ago, Grandma made a veggie burger while watching the inauguration of the first African-American President, and ironed her work clothes while listening to him speak, but was touched and inspired despite the mediocrity of her food and chores. Maybe my grandchildren and I will be watching the inauguration of the first female, homosexual, Muslim President while I tell them the story, and they’ll think, “Wow, we’ve seen Presidents of all races and walks of life; Grandma must be really old if she remembers the inauguration of the very first black President. And yet, she doesn’t look a day over 25.” And then maybe they’ll ask, “Grandma, what’s ironing?”, because hopefully we’ll have invented a much better method of getting creases out of clothing by then.*

Daily Run

Time of Day: 5:50 AM

Weather: The high today will be in the 70s, but it was 27* for my run. Thanks, Mother Nature.

Duration: 48 minutes

Distance: 6.12 miles

Average Pace: 7:51/mile

Average Heart Rate: 151 bpm

Notes: I needed a slow, easy run this morning. Thankfully, that’s exactly what was on the schedule. I don’t have much to say about this run: it was cold and dark, but I was grateful for a chance to run slowly and therapeutically. Also, my ART appointment went well today. I’m sure my doctor thinks I’m a hypochondriac by now.

I hope the recovery run refreshed my legs. Tomorrow’s tempo run looks much more intimidating than last week’s.

*Bonus Jess Fact of the Week: Ironing is my most lacking domestic skill. 

Weather: 45* and breezy

Interval Workout: Warm up, 2 x (800m, 600, 400, 200) with 1 minute jog between intervals and 5 minutes jog between sets, Cooldown

Total Duration: 1 hour 0 minutes 36 seconds

Total Distance: 8 miles

Average Heart Rate: 162 bpm

Notes: This workout marks week 3 of the Great Return to Speedwork, and I finally hit all my goal times. This is exciting because I was very intimidated by this workout because at 5K-10K pace, it’s faster than I’ve had to go in awhile. Also, I’m still having some leg pain (ART appointment tomorrow).

It appears, however, that I had nothing to worry about. Yes, the speed intervals were uncomfortable. Yes, they made me cough up a lung. But no, the leg wasn’t bad and I racked up some nice data:

First set
800m (goal 3:00-3:07): 3:01
600m (goal 2:22-2:30): 2:17
400m (goal 1:30-1:34): 1:31
200m (goal 0:45-0:47): 0:46

Second set
800m (goal 3:00-3:07): 3:03
600m (goal 2:22-2:30): 2:16
400m (goal 1:30-1:34): 1:29
200m (goal 0:45-0:47): 0:45

The 600 meter intervals were the hardest. I was decently fresh for the 800 meter intervals, but had to do the 600s just one minute after completion. For me, the best part of a speed workout is the cooldown. I’m tired and slow, but I know all the hard work is behind me and I can jog to my heart’s content.

I feel compelled to go to the gym this evening and lift weights, since I didn’t get to go yesterday. However, I also have a hair appointment, so it may or may not happen. I’m vain about my hair, but I’m also vain about my muscles, so I’ll try to make it an evening of vanity and squeeze in both.