I'm back!

A trip to Pennsylvania, Summer Karate Camps, and Marathon training have kept me unbelievably busy for the past several weeks. I have been still cooking healthy meals and trying new recipes and products, but just haven't gotten off my butt long enough to post any.

There are just 18 days left until the San Francisco Marathon! Last year, I struggled with the hills and motivation and cramps and finished in 5:56, a disappointing time. This year, I am MUCH stronger and MUCH faster, but still worried about hills. (Oh, yeah, and let's not forget about 40 pounds lighter, too). I am hoping to beat 5 hours, but I realize that shaving a whole hour off my previous time is a lot to ask for...so we'll see.

The SF Marathon sends out a monthly newsletter for all registered participants. This month's version included an article about tapering (reducing the mileage you run in the last 3 weeks before a marathon). You can read the article here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-5958-0,00.html

I printed it out and brought it to karate with me last night. Reading it got me SO pumped up (and a little nervous) for the race! It has plenty of tips and tricks and also has a section at the end for tapering for shorter races.

This past Sunday, I did a 23.85 mile training run as my last long run before the start of my taper. It was quite adventurous. At mile 21.5, I stopped to help a disoriented cyclist with chest pain until paramedics arrived. At mile 23, I got chased by a dog. If any of you have ever run more than 20 miles, you know that at this point, you become emotional and aren't thinking quite clearly. The cyclist and the dog just completely drained me and I almost cried! Nothing a hot shower, a bowl of cold fruit salad and a Slurpee didn't fix, however! If you've never tried a Slurpee after a super hard workout, I highly recommend it!

Stay tuned for more marathon training posts and hopefully some yummy recipes. The pre-marathon nutrition plan is in full effect as I try to detox some of the junk out of my system!

Weekends are hard.

Saturday night I got together with a bunch of people from karate. We were celebrating all the April birthdays. This included dinner at a Chinese Restaurant - it was a set menu. The only healthy choices were hot and sour soup and Deluxe Vegetables. I was tired and hungry from a long day, so I just went with it. I tried to only eat until I was no longer hungry (instead of cramming food in until uncomfortably stuffed, which is how I USED to do Chinese). The last dish that came out was Peking Duck. I was full by then, so I passed. 3 small glasses of wine accompanied my dinner.

After dinner, we went to one of the instructor's homes for drinks and desserts. Seriously, there was about eleven different kinds of wine, champagne, mojitos, Midori Sours, and 3 kinds of cake. UGH! I managed to limit myself to one piece of chocolate cake, one glass of champagne, and 1 Midori Sour.

After we got home, I had fully intended (with the help of a wine-champagne-Midori-induced buzz) to fall face first into the massive pile of leftover Easter chocolate that is in my room. I was going to eat chocolate until I passed out. After 4 pieces from a Whitman's sampler (what used to be "warming up" for me and only cost me 5 points), I was over it and stopped eating chocolate. I completely stayed away from the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Eggs (we have regular size and King-Size) and the giant See's Bordeaux Eggs, and the "Ginormous Chocolate Egg" that JP bought for me (because the word Ginormous on a product is funny), and the dark chocolate bunnies, and the bunnies with extra big ears, and the M&Ms and Dark Dove Eggs. Yay! So even though I ended up being well over my WW points for the day, it wasn't entirely hopeless. I said I wasn't going to journal. Of course, first thing in the morning on Sunday when I woke up, I went through and journalled everything. I know, I'm weird like that.

Sunday morning my tummy felt gross from the excess of the day before. That didn't stop me from eating 11 points worth of breakfast, though. It was all healthy stuff, but come on, 11 points?! Seriously...

Guilty feelings about food leads me to work out a lot, even when I don't feel like it. Is that good or bad? I don't know. It gets the job done, though. I had run three days in a row previous to Sunday, so I wasn't sure how I would feel or how many miles I would want (or have time) to do. I talked JP and my 7-year-old Justin into coming with me for my first lap of 3.89 miles. Oy, they run slow! We did a 3:1 jog to walk ratio. It took us 50 minutes to do the 3.89 miles. It took some major convincing to get Justin to finish all of the jogging intervals. Especially when we saw a dead raccoon in the gutter. It freaked him out. LOL. Thinking about it now is making me laugh. I did a second 3.89-mile lap after dropping them off at home. That one took me 37 minutes. My stomach felt so gross, though, and I was sweating a good deal, so I decided to call it quits. 7.78 miles is nothing to sneeze at! I'll run tomorrow, too, as long as my knees aren't too tired. I'm still heavily considering signing up for the SF marathon again this year. I feel very confident that I'll improve my time substantially from last year. I am a lot stronger and a lot faster now.

Lunch was rushed as I had errands to run and things. One thing I DID have after my run, though, was a "Dark-Berry" flavor Mix1 High-Antioxidant Fiber Drink. I LOVED the orange-carrot flavor I tried the other day. The berry flavor has almost identical nutritional stats, and tastes just as good! I DEFINITELY need to go back to Whole Foods and get some more of those. At 2 points they are a nutritional bargain, and with all that protein and fiber in them, they really provide long-lasting satiety.

Dinner tonight after church was at Shari's Restaurant. It used to be Bakers Square. I am bummed that they don't have anything on the menu that is the same as Bakers Square except for some of the pies. No more dino tots or Honey Mustard chicken or fried cheese or stir-fry with rice pilaf. :( I ordered a veggie burger that came with fruit, and a side salad. It was delish! The bun the veggie burger was served on was dusted with cornmeal and just really hit the spot. I looked online to see if Shari's has nutritional info for their menu items. They have the calorie count, saturated fat, and a couple of other things listed. Not helpful from a WW point of view. Plus, it stated 713 calories for my veggie burger and fruit. The burger didn't seem to contain cheese. It was grilled, not fried, there was no mayo on the bun as far as I could tell, and the fruit cup was small. I have a hard time believing it had that many calories. I counted 8 points (7 is how many for Burger King's veggie burger with no mayo, which is comparable, and 1 for the fruit cup).

After dinner, I wisely opted for a cup of coffee instead of dessert. This was a victory indeed. Shari's has all the same pie that Bakers Square had, plus a variety of milkshakes, a chocolate lava cake, a turtle sundae, a banana split, and a cheesecake sampler on their dessert menu. Ohhhhhh, all of those things looked SOOOOO good. But I didn't want to negate the work I did running today. I had a 2-point WW ice cream bar when I got home instead.

Tomorrow my girlfriends and I are starting a month-long challenge where we set our own goals and earn points if we stick to them. I am hoping that we will have a good competition and push each other to do well. I am coming up on 1 year of being hard-core on WW this time around. I don't want to lose momentum! I want to keep going all the way to goal, and I think this challenge will help me do just that!

A whole lot about Glycogen!

When I trained for the 2 full marathons that I ran in 2007 and 2008, I trained with the National AIDS Marathon Training Program. It was a 6-month program that got us ready to run the 26.2 mile race in addition to raising funds to support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. One of the coolest things about the program was that the coaches taught us a lot about running from every aspect, including nutrition for before, during, and after running.

During aerobic exercise, the body will use the most easily accessible energy it can. Our bodies are efficient (or perhaps lazy) in that way. Carbohydrates are much easier to break down than proteins or fat, so the carbs get utilized first.

The carbohydrates we eat are broken down by the body and one of the results is glucose, some of which is temporarily stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Only glycogen from the liver can be made available to other organs for energy. Once your body has used any available glucose that is in your bloodstream and liver from recent meals, it will look to other sources for fuel.

When we exercise for an extended period of time, and/or work out major muscle groups, the muscles involved will begin to use the glycogen stored there as fuel. Endurance athletes (such as marathoners, long-distance cyclers, competitive swimmers and the like) will eventually use up all the glycogen in the muscles and go into what is called "glycogen debt". Marathoners know this phenomenon well. We call it "hitting the wall" because the runner suddenly experiences great muscle fatigue and sometimes pain. It suddenly becomes excruciatingly hard to continue moving forward. The body is now in a state of hypoglycemia, which can become dangerous, and can be accompanied by diziness, weakness, and even hallucinations. This is why Olympic-level marathoners sometimes run with smelling salts.

At this point, the body may begin to cannibalize proteins from the muscles for fuel, and begin burning fat stores. Sounds good, right? Well, maybe not. I'd like to keep my lean muscle mass as opposed to using it for energy, wouldn't you? Adults tend to lose muscle mass over time anyway, as part of the aging process. I'd like it if my body could solely burn my accumulated fat stores (even after losing 80 pounds, I still have plenty). But it takes more energy to burn fat than it does to burn protein or carbs. It also requires more oxygen. After prolonged running, most runners are not able to consume enough oxygen to keep this anaerobic process going for long. Additionally, some experts believe that this type of stress on the body can be damaging to the immune system!

So what is the best way to keep from going into glycogen debt during exercise? Consuming carbohydrates before, during, and after exercise is the best way to prevent hitting the wall. Sporting goods stores, nutrition stores, and running stores offer a host of products that endurance athletes can consume easily while exercising in order to replenish the glucose that has been used.

Some of my favorite products to use during exercise are Gu Brand Energy gels, Clif Shot Bloks, Luna moons, and PowerBar Gel Blasts (especially the Cola flavor...just like a Coke Slurpee!)

Just as important as fueling DURING exercise is what you put into your body AFTER exercise. After intense and prolonged exercise (over an hour), the body will convert carbohydrates into glycogen to replace what was used up to 3 times faster than it does at normal times. This is called the "glycogen window". You want to take advantage of this period and get that glycogen back in there ASAP so you have it available for your next workout. If you don't, you will certainly notice the lack of readily available energy in the form of fatigue, sluggishness, and maybe even muscle pain.

In addition to consuming carbs after your hard workout, you also want to consume some protein to help repair any microscopic muscle tears. An ideal ratio has been suggested by nutritionists of 2:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio. If you have been sweating a lot, you will also want to consume some sodium, which is lost rapidly during prolonged exertion. Now, a big mistake that many people make is to eat a huge meal after working out. They justify their hard work as an excuse to consume huge amounts of calories. Regardless of your increased caloric burn after exercise, any EXCESS calories will still be stored in the body as fat, negating all the hard work you just did. And research has shown that most people tend to overestimate the amount of calories they burn during a workout.

So what are some healthy, great-tasting foods with a 2:1 carb to protein ratio that contain sodium and won't destroy your calorie budget for the day? Here are some great suggestions:

--A glass of chocolate milk, half a banana, and a piece of string cheese
--A hard-boiled egg, plus half a bagel with hummus
--Half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a piece of fruit or glass of juice
--A Big handful of Trail mix (the type with nuts and raisins) and some sports drink
--A tuna sandwich with dill pickles
--An energy bar that contains protein, carbs, and some fiber, along with water or sports drink

Obviously, I am NOT a doctor or a nutritionist, so these ideas come solely from my own opinions and experience of what works for me personally.

I am officially in better shape now than everyone in my family.

This includes my four sons.

This morning, I was feeling guilty from the millions of calories I ate over the weekend. (Easter party and a birthday party). I struggled out of bed (with a Food Hangover) at 7AM and made myself go for a 4-mile run. This meant I didn't really have time for breakfast. I nibbled on some snacks on the way to work. After running a morning camp (where I nibbled on some more low-calorie snacks), I rushed home because my husband had said that he wanted to run today, too, and make the kids go with us. It's their spring break and I'll be darned if they are going to sit on their butts all week!

We set out at a nice, easy pace. Approximately 4 minutes into the jog/walk intervals, my 11-year-old was whining and complaining and falling behind. 5 minutes later, my 7-year-old was, too. I didn't have enough time to walk the rest of the course and get back to work on time for afternoon classes. My husband told me and my 13- and 14-year-old to continue on ahead and they would finish at a slower pace. About 4 minutes later, the 14-year-old pooped out. He has the longest legs and should be able to run the fastest!

My 13-year-old and I are the only ones who finished at our 3:1 jog/walk intervals that we had started with. He was complaining of a cramp in his side but I encouraged him to run through the discomfort and finish strong. The last 3-minute jog nearly defeated him, but as he is starting his Jr. High School track team next week, he sucked it up and finished. I barely was breathing hard, despite being tired and sore from my morning run and the 11.7 miles I did yesterday.

Vinnie and I finished the course in 43 minutes (slower than my normal average of 37, but still pretty good). The rest of the stragglers trickled in around 55 minutes. My husband couldn't get my 11-year-old to jog any more past the halfway point on the course.

I am in complete shock that I am in better shape than my 4 energetic, skinny, athletic boys! It's not supposed to be that way, is it?

Wednesday is Weigh-In Day! (and running)

I weighed in this morning and was pleasantly surprised on the scale. Despite a rough weekend, I lost 2.1 pounds. My total lost is now 75.8! Too bad I don't go to meetings or I could have gotten a 75-pound award. That would have been super fancy!

Ok, so, probably the main reason why I had that big loss was because I earned 68 Activity Points (APs for short) for the week. But that's ok. I don't mind putting in those hours exercising. Exercise has many more benefits than just weight loss. It lowers cholesterol, helps you sleep better, increases heart health, reduces stress, and is good for the bones. I still journalled everything and stayed within my weekly points and APs. I am just scared that as I get closer to goal weight, I won't be able to "get away" with that so easily. I am scared of maintenance. I hardly ever just maintain. For me it is a gain or a loss. But I'm not going to cross that bridge until I come to it.

I think I am going to eat a banana now and then go squeeze in a run before I go to some appointments. I should have run Monday and didn't. I only have time to do 4 miles this morning, so I will have to run a little further on Friday. Then Sunday I don't know what I want to do for my long run. Should I bump up to 16 or do a shorter run for a recovery week? Maybe 8 miles?

Sunday long run Plus a 2-fer recipe!

Oh, the last few weeks have been filled with food-laden temptations. Friday night it was pizza, wine, beer, and 4 kinds of desserts at my grandma's house. Luckily the pizza was vegetarian (because everyone is Catholic and therefore not eating meat). Round Table's veggie pizzas are surprisingly not that terrible for you. I only had 2 pieces. That is impressive for me.

Saturday I mostly hung around the house after a half day of work. After a stimulating 40-minute bike ride in GORGEOUS weather, I cooked a healthy dinner of chicken stir-fry with two kinds of mushrooms, lots of ginger and garlic, and some crushed red pepper. Yum! But then I was sitting around a house that still has Christmas, Valentine, and now Easter candy hanging around (plus leftover desserts from Grandma's house).

Today, Sunday, is my day to go for a "long" run. This can mean anything from 4 miles to whatever. Today I decided to try for around 14. I ended up doing 13.93. Who would have thought that a piece of cake, half a banana, and a glass of milk would make a good pre-run breakfast? Well, it did! That particular cake was NOT leftover from Grandma's house. I made it myself for my son's birthday and there were leftovers. It was reduced sugar, reduced fat, no cholesterol. (only 3 WW points)

Anyway, it was very warm and sunny today on my run, but it was also WINDY. I capitalized that for a reason. At one point I was running hard and it seemed like I wasn't moving forward! I got my resistance training and my cardio in at the same time, I guess!

Usually on long runs, I run in intervals of 5 minutes of jogging to 1 minute of walking. Today I upped it to 6:1. It went well! I was so glad! Every 4 miles or so I stopped by my house to eat a Clif Shot Blok and drink a little electrolyte drink (also by Clif). I have a bunch of that sort of junk left over from marathon training. I'm all out of my favorites and just trying to use up the dregs now.

I made my 7-year-old come with me for the last 2.25 miles. He didn't really want to, but I talked him into it. It was such a beautiful day and he was just sitting indoors since his brothers were all gone for the weekend. He balked at the idea of doing 3:1 intervals (none of my boys can keep up with me when we run so I have to slow down, WOOT), so I lied and told him we would do 3:2. LOL, I fessed up the last half mile, though. He wasn't mad.

All together, my run today took me 2 hours and 29 minutes. Not bad! I averaged a 10-minute mile until I slowed down for my son. Afterwards I downed about a half gallon of water and a glass of milk for some carbs and protein. After my shower, I was craving salty food (lost a lot today in sweat). Since I am totally obsessed with Trader Joe's pizza sauce the past few days, and had some mushrooms that needed using, I whipped up some turkey-stuffed mushrooms. I had a lot of meat filling left over after I stuffed the caps, and I had already counted all the points for everything, so I just cooked it up into a "turkey pizza burger" and ate it with a fork and knife. Both turned out delicious, and it was actually a pretty filling lunch. You could serve the pizza burger on light bread or a bun if you like!

--Turkey Stuffed Mushroom Caps (with a bonus)--

-3 ounces extra lean ground turkey breast
-7 large white button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
-1/4 cup fat-free pizza sauce, divided
-1 ounce lite shredded mozzarella
-1/4 ounce shredded parmesan
-1 tsp. garlic olive oil
-1 clove garlic, chopped
-2 Tbsp. diced onion
-Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Sautee the onion, garlic, and mushroom stems over medium heat just until softened. Mix with ground turkey, about half of the pizza sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and mozzarella. Use a small spoon or your fingers to pack the mushroom caps tightly with meat mixture. Mound it up so the top is rounded; place a few shreds of parmesan on top of each one. Bake in a dish sprayed with cooking spray for about 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through and cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. If desired, top mushrooms with additional pizza sauce after cooking.

You can cook any leftover meat mixture in a nonstick skillet until cooked through - about 7 minutes per side. Serve with any remaining pizza sauce and parmesan cheese not used for mushrooms.

Nutritionals: Sorry, I was too lazy to calculate them. But the WW points are 4.5

Fridays mean running...

I typically run (either outside if the weather is nice, or in the gym) on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I don't particularly love running. In fact, I used to say I hated it. I called people who did it "freaking nuts". I was always that one kid in Highschool P.E. class trying to fake an asthma attack or find some other way to get out of running the mile. But guess what, it burns a TON of calories, and is great for my heart, my lungs, and my muscles. So now I do it. In fact, I ran a marathon in 2007 in Florence, Italy and one in 2008 in San Francisco and have done 4 half-marathons.

The full marathons I ran were through the National AIDS Marathon Training Program. It is a great training program that teaches you a lot and gets you ready to finish a half- or full marathon. Go to www.aidsmarathon.com if you want to check it out. I'm not sure if I will do any full marathons this year. I am tempted to do the San Francisco Marathon again just to see if I can improve my time. (I am a LOT faster and a lot stronger now). But then I am reminded of last year around mile 22 when I came around a corner to see another HUGE hill, and proclaimed, "This is the last full marathon I'm doing!"

Last year I completely geeked out and made a spreadsheet to track all my running mileage for the year. I ALMOST made it to 600 miles. In fact, I would have if I hadn't gotten sick with the flu the last week of the year! This year I have set a goal for myself of 700 miles. I am on track to get there if I keep up my schedule of running four times a week. So far I am a little past 200. Who knows, maybe I will make it to 800 this year, barring any catastrophic injuries?

I'm not sure if I will go for my run now or a little bit later. I have a 2-month-old baby nephew that I am completely enamored of, and I think I need to go visit. It's way easier when his brother and sister aren't around hogging him.

What, then, should I have for breakfast? It needs to be sweet (because I am in a sweet mood). It needs to have both complex carbs and protein in it. Some potassium would be good to help prevent muscle cramps on my run, and fiber would help me stay full longer so I won't be tempted to snack while I'm out visiting. (That's what people in my family do when they get together - they eat).

Hmmm, I'll update when I've decided and see if it's anything worth posting.