Checking In Before the Weekend

Every winter Andrew and I schedule the Broncos v. Zags games as date nights, drumming up our Alma Mater rivalry for some good old-fashioned competitive fun.  We'll go out to a sports bar, order beers and nachos, and trash talk throughout the game.  This year, we've started doing it a little differently: sofa seats.  We've decided to forgo the bar and recreate it in our "home theater."  Andrew streams the game on our luxurious 24-inch television, and I handle dinner.  We decided to go with sports bar type food in the spirit of the event (burgers and beer), but I'm working really hard to stay on track and Andrew's being supportive, so we changed it up a bit.

Dinner was black bean turkey burgers on whole wheat bageleans with pepper jack cheese, avocado, lettuce, and tomato.  I also picked up honey mustard pretzel bites (one of my favorite snacks) and some bud light.  The burger ended up being giant, and in its entirety was only 490 calories.  I had some pretzels and a single beer, which brought my daily total above what my recommended net intake is (if you're trying to lose 2 lbs a week), so after the game, I powered out a Jillian Michaels six-pack workout.  It's hard after a beer, man!  But I did it, and I didn't puke.  Go me.

I am pleased to say, last night my Broncos kicked Andrew's Zags' asses 85 to 71.  This is a huge upset, because it's always been the other way around since we started dating almost five years ago.  I'll admit:  I gloated.  A lot.

Beverage for a Thinner Me

I've mentioned I've been battling an obnoxious cold lately, and while I'm almost over it, I think I'm going to keep my lemon ginger "tea" concoction going.  I don't do well with tea - it's not delicious to me and often upsets my tummy, but just adding a lemon wedge and three slices of ginger root to  hot water has become my favorite new beverage.

I'm constantly sipping it, which is increasing my vitamin C and hydrating me at the same time.  It's also been my alternative to that second (or third) cup of coffee in the morning, which I typically drink with cream and sugar.  That alone saves me at least 150 calories per cup.

Side update: last night was my 6-mile run day, which I did on the treadmill after work.  I brought short running shorts because I knew I was also going to be doing squats and lunges as part of the workout and I hate it when my shorts get in the way (try not to think about it too much).  Anyway, at about 5.5 miles, I start feeling a little chafeage, but I only have a half mile to go so I decide to tough it out.  Well, ladies, I'm walking a little bit like a cowboy today because it turns out that five minutes of constant chafe is a lot.  Ouchertons.  Note to self: stick with your spandex on longer-distance runs.

Recipe: Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I've got a recipe for you.  It's a good one.  I adapted it from the Everything Thai Cookbook, and took it from fried eggroll form to healthy lettuce wrap with just a few minor changes, so the integrity of the recipe and its deliciousness are intact.  For my vegetarian friends, I think it would be just as delicious if you subbed in barley or chopped tofu for the turkey.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced crosswise
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 3 tbsp raw sugar (regular white granulated sugar is fine too)
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp green onions, sliced crosswise

Directions

Heat veg oil in pan on med heat.
Add sliced garlic and turkey meat and cook through.
Add carrots, celery, and green onions and turn heat to high.
Add remaining ingredients and cook for 5 min, stirring occasionally.
Drain out any remaining liquid and reserve in a bowl for dipping.

Serve with iceberg lettuce leaves to eat taco-style.
Feeds four.

Weekend Running

  

Lk Union

Green Lake

I've been keeping up on my promise to myself to run longer distances.  Saturday I ran the perimeter of Lake Union, which is a nice 6.5 mi run.  Including stretching time, the whole thing took about 70 min.  I've done the lake before, but this time it felt easier - I didn't have the overwhelming urge to just stop and sit in the middle of the path.  Sunday I met a friend at Green Lake for a late morning run.  I arrived 15 min before our meeting time and decided to do the inside loop before my friend arrived.  It's a 2.8 mi track, which I accomplished in 23 minutes.  Go me.  We did the outside 3.2 mi  loop together at his pace (and as you know, gents tend to run faster than ladies), and finished in under 30 min.  It's the little things. :)

After grabbing some lunch, watching my dad tinker on my car, and freezing my butt off, I returned home and rounded out the workout with a little bit of Jillian.  I'm almost to the point where I don't hate life while trying to get through the side plank knee lifts.  Yesssss.

PS - I didn't take either of these pics, just pulled them from the magical world of the internets.

My Current Obsession

I am totally into this.  I started off barely able to finish a 30-minute beginner session.  I kept with it, doing the workout every other day.  Now, a week and a half into it, I'm totally rockin' the moves.  I am a girl who hates working my abs, but this video switches up the moves so often that I never get bored.  She's seriously good stuff.

Aloha and Happy New Year!

I seem to have a bad habit of falling off the radar for lengthy episodes.  Work got crazy, my class (wine sensory evaluation) took up a good chunk of free time, and mixed in there was my social life and the holidays.  In any case, my apologies.

The day after christmas I got on a plane with the in-laws bound for the Big Island of Hawaii.  It was a much needed, much appreciated break from the damp and gloom of Seattle winters.  Initially, I had planned to do what I like doing best on vacation: read by the pool, drink afternoon cocktails, and, with a few exploration adventures mixed in, relax with the family.  And I did.  

I brought my running shoes with the plan that I'd get in at least a couple runs a week while taking it easy.  When I got to Hawaii, however, something took over.  It started innocently enough.  I got up early that first morning because of the time change from Seattle to the islands and decided to hit the pavement for an easy run.  It felt great.  I wanted more.

I made a decision to start out each day with a run.  I snapped a picture during my workout, sending it to my running buddy who gets on my back if he thinks I'm slacking off (I love you, Wade!), and I realized this might be a good way of keeping me honest in my commitment to run every morning.  It worked.  Every day I sent home a different picture titled: view from my run. occasionally also forwarding it to family members, or various friends in Seattle, but when palm trees are involved it's hard not to seem like I was bragging - just sharing!  Promise!

In addition to getting up and sweating each day, I was also having a good time deciding what snapshot would be representative of my chosen route.  By the end of the vacation, not only did I have bragging rights for sticking to my fitness commitment, but I have a great photo-diary of the experience.

We stayed in a resort complex known as Mauna Lani.  Several individual hotel and condo compounds make up Mauna Lani.  This is the entrance from the highway.

Our particular development was called the Golf Villas, which were surrounded by a golf course, as were all the other resorts.  I'd gotten up late this day and it was already pretty sunny and hot when I got started.

(3 mi run on the first day)

I liked to get started early and be out the door before 6:30 am.  Before 6:30 it was really too dark, and as the sun was rising, the temperature was perfect.  Usually by the time I got back it was in the low 80s and I had broken a good sweat. 

(4 mi run on the second day)

Often, I left closer to 7:30am.  The temperature was still pretty good and the wind in the mornings kept it feeling relatively cool.  This is the road leaving the Golf Villas.  

(4 mi run on the third day)

All the roads and even highways were designed with giant shoulders to accommodate bikers, runners, and golf carts.  This is an extremely active resort area and I rarely had the road to myself unless I got up before daybreak.  I actually really loved greeting all the other runners and bikers I passed.

(4 mi run on the fourth day)

The resort was built right overtop of what looked at first glance like barren lava fields.  Nothing grows here.  There's no soil for seeds to root into, so the rock stretches on and on.  It grew on me and I found it very beautiful by the end of the trip.  From what I could tell, this was the home of lots of birds, geckos, and mongoose.  Probably a few bugs too, but I never checked.

(4.2 mi run the fifth day)

I love the contrast of the lava fields and the palm trees that were planted at the resort.

(4.5 mi run on the sixth day)

All along the highway, people had brought up white coral rocks and written their names or messages with them.  I'd been admiring the shark for several days --it was right across the highway from our resort gates-- but by the time I had decided to run up there with my camera, someone had ruined it by writing ESTEP inside the shark.  I was annoyed, but at least the outline was still there.

(5.5 mi run on the seventh day)

 This was a common view from my runs.  No matter where I went in Mauna Lani, I was next to a golf course.  At night we were allowed to walk on the golf course, but during the day we had to yield to golfers.

(2 mi run on the eighth day - my "off" day)

 

I decided I liked the run up to the shark - the distance was right and there was a long hill up to the halfway-point, so you really felt the burn in your legs and lungs.  When I got to the shark the second time, to my delight, someone else had been annoyed by the defacement of the shark and had the cojones to scatter the stones.  I snapped a second picture.

(5.5 mi run on the ninth day)

There's a petroglyph park next to a beautiful lavarock and coral beach within Mauna Lani that we'd gone to one afternoon. It was only a few miles from our condo.  I decided to run that direction for 25 minutes one morning to see if I made it.  Almost.  I got about a half a mile away, and stopped to stretch at a golf cart crossing sign.  This picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing against the rocks from where I was standing.

(5 mi run on the tenth day)

The next morning I new I wanted to increase my mileage, so I ran the route again, hoping to make it all the way to the end within 30 minutes.  My stopwatch alarm went off 50 feet from the beach.  Fantastic!  All those white rocks are sunbleached pieces of coral that have washed up.

(6 mi run on the eleventh day) 

That same day we made a stop at Costco to pick up some macadamia nuts to take home to my parents and co-workers.  While we were there we found some awesome athletic clothes and I was so excited about them, I immediately went for a second run when we got home.  This picture does not do justice to the sunset I witnessed.  It was absolutely beautiful.

(3 mi run on the evening of the eleventh day - yep, that's a total of 9 mi that day)

This might be my favorite shot of the entire trip.  It was also taken on my 3 mi twilight run.

 I ran the route to the beach again the next day and got a closeup of the lava and coral that covered the beach.  I also did a few push-ups and planks while I was there.

(6 mi run on the twelfth day)

 My final Hawaiian run was on the day we left.  I had packed the night before and got up extra early so I could fit it in.  I left the house just after 6am and started my run in the pitch black, watching the sun slowly come up from behind the mountain as I ran down the road toward it.  It was glorious.

(5 mi run on the thirteenth day)

It was a great project and I plan to carry through with this momentum into my daily routine.  Hawaii was really good for me, and I made some goals about habits to break and habits to make.  More fresh fruit, fewer starches, smaller portions, drinking more water, and cutting back on wine will all be worked into my habits this year.  Diligence and commitment.  I have been doing a decent job taking care of my body, but I want to be diligent and committed about doing a good job - maybe even a great job.

Week Two: Sticking With It

I reported last week that I had indeed stuck to my ambitious work-out schedule.  I didn't see any change from last week to the next, weight-wise, but I felt great about staying on it, and making the early morning workouts consistent.

This past week, I was able to pull it off again!

Dance practice was more of a day off than an actual workout, but we were dancing around for three hours, so I can't just leave it off - that's some serious time I put in!

Here's the kicker - I stepped on the scale yesterday and it told me I actually gained a pound!  Booooooo!  I'm confused about this because I don't think I build muscle quite that fast, but I have been feeling leaner.  I'm going to take this in stride, and if I don't see positive results by next week, I'm going to have to take a good hard look at everything else in my life and see what's what.