A Change of Plans

You can follow my sporadic blogging at Running Towards Wellness or on Twitter @runismymantra

Music Monday is Back

I went for a run today. You may think this is a regular event since not running makes me all squirrely like, well in the last few weeks I've only been walking to and from the rehab hospital to the train. The running will come back when I have time to carve out the time.

Darn You Miley Cyrus

I didn't even get through my whole running list - so that's good - I won't have to add a whole lot more songs - maybe mix them up better or something. I love running in Philadelphia - the weather is so amazing - it's almost the end of November and it is the equivalent to local September day for me. The miles went by easier than they did last year or so I thought - in the end I am pretty sure I didn't beat my Victoria time - I had some knee strain, serious back pain (note to self getting adjusted the day before you sit for 12 hours and then try and run 24 hours after that - is a REALLY stupid and painful idea). I seemed to have finished with only a blister on the bottom of the toe next to the baby toe on my left foot.

I have lots I want to say about Philadelphia but right now my brain is a little slow. Yay for calorie burns that turn you senseless. The point I wanted to get at is I had Miley Cyrus' The Climb is on my playlist. At Mile 10-11 it came on and I just about broke down crying there - yes it's the hormones and the stress but at that time it was the great message - it isn't about the win or lose it is about the journey - that itself makes you who you are each time you cross the finish line.

Have You Ever

Sung along to a song over and over and then in the middle of writing a paper realized that the lyrics were actually profound?

Happiness hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds /
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled /
With every bubble she sank with a drink /
And washed it away down the kitchen sink.

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are comin' so you better run

Run fast for your mother; run fast for your father /
Run for your children all your sisters and brothers /
Leave all your love and your longing behind.
You can't carry it with you / if you want to survive

The dog days are over /
The dog days are done /
Can you hear the horses/
'Cause here they come ... Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over

I leave my personal life for the most part off this blog for long and complex reasons but I will say that I started running for a lot of the same reasons people pick up exercise. It is a daily act of exorcism of all that we have or want to leave behind so that we can run freer in our present and future life. So run because with each step those days are further behind you.

An iTunes Monster Has Been Created

I was initially fearful of the process, crazy I know but I don't really like technology - anyways not the point - I purchased the large portion of my running list and some others and not some of the below - one that I added when I realized that I LOVE it and I haven't become of sick of it, and hopefully I can pace myself because I might listen to it long enough to make myself sick:



PS Check out the actually music video it's really well Florence esque

Apologies

I have been very tardy and will likely continue to be very tardy for a while as I am in school, working full time and training pretty continuously since Houston is coming and apparently a few other marathons too...

But so I don't completely ignore you - my song list for Philly:

· One Step at a Time - Jordin Sparks
· Broken Glass - Annie Lennox
· Circus – Britney Spears
· Toxic - Britney Spears
· Stronger - Christina Aguilera
· Ain’t No Man – Christina Aguilera
· Not Afraid - Eminem
· Lose Yourself - Eminem
· Eye of The Tiger - Survivor - I am running the home of Rocky
· Settlin' - Sugarland
· Last Name – Carrie Underwood
· Undo It - Carrie Underwood
· Need Somebody - Kings of Leon
· Playboy - Candy Coated Killahz
· Release Me - Agnes
· The Climb - Miley Cyrus
· The Pretender - Foo Fighters
· Universal Mind Control - Common
· Bleed it Out – Linkin Park
· What I've Done – Linkin Park
· Faint - Linkin Park
· Survivor - Destiny's Child
· SOS - Rihanna
· Don't Stop the Music – Rihanna
· Shut Up - BEP
· Pump It – Black Eye Peas
· Into the Rush – Aly and Aj
· Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane
· Life in the Fast Lane – The Eagles
· Burn it to the Ground - Nickelback
· Stronger – Kanye West
· American Boy - Kanye West/Estelle
· Take it Off (faster good beat) – Kesha
· When Love Takes Over – Kelly Rowland
· Man Eater – Nelly Furtado
· Just Wanna Dance – Whitney Houston
· Hot and Cold – Katy Perry
· Pink
· This Ain’t a Scene – Fall Out Boy
· Just Dance – Fall Out Boy

My Apologies

I have fallen of the face of the Earth - I was sick for a while, busy with work and school... I haven't been able to blog from work like I usually do. I will try to be better. I will let you know how the training has been going. I have started doing yoga again. I normally resist yoga when I'm a little squidgy in places - because somehow having to bend and bind around your Beyonce like booty is not like running in a what is effectively a mini skirt in pouring rain and wind. Yes the later should be more uncomfortable but I digress. I have had problems in the past with plantar fascititis and snapping hip syndrome (which apparently is only a dancer's injury - oh bless my weird body) and the Runner's World insistence on core stability has me back at yoga.

So lessons learned:

1. Yoga - I recommend it - I found that my core class is really good for me on my rest day. I have done some of an advanced Hatha class per my teacher's suggestion that I challenge myself. Too much challenge. I (and possibly you) are training for a race not a better shoulder stand or what have you. I will definitely keep this one up and I might up my yoga in the summer when I normally decrease my mileage because of the damn heat.

2. Diet - Being GF/DF and well let's face it S Reduced is challenging - my health in general has been really challenging to the point where this might be the last racing year for a while. I am finding that I am still very immune compromised and my acupuncturist can't seem to tell me more than the specialists - they know my body isn't happy, they just don't know why. Acupuncturist says it's heat in my liver and kidneys and the Immunologist just shrugs his shoulders - apparently my body is upset but what is causing it is anyone's guess. Sweet.

3. Persistence - find joy in the little victories and acknowledge when you've set the challenge too high.

Spring Marathon

I am very tempted to sign up for the Napa Valley Marathon and then see who I can con into coming with me or figuring on how I can get there. I do need a spring marathon as the local marathon is too late in the season.... so on that note have a look at the beauty of Napa.

Napa Valley Marathon

Music Monday

I can't believe I forgot the Black Eye Peas so far - well on that note there is a whole lot that I like of their music but from the last album, not the most recent one:



Don't Lie and Shut Up are also great options!

Food Friday

I recently featured this recipe on my food blog, but I feel that it also has a place here. The large majority of people have a sweet tooth and while mine leans more towards chocolate, during the months of amazing local (and organic) fruit I feel that it would be more than a shame to pass on the fruits:

Peaches are in season, and as such I feel compelled to bake with them. There is no need to drown them in batter, in cakes and muffins. I believe a crisp is about the best thing to eat after a meal, sweet wise.

For the following I used:
4 peeled and sliced peaches
1/4 cup of cane sugar
1T of cornstarch or alternative thickener
1 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon - mace would also be a good addition here
slight pinch of salt
1tsp vanilla.

Mix the dry ingredients together and then pour the vanilla on your dirty hands and mix in. If you have vanilla sugar or powdered vanilla (Dr Oetker I believe sells something of the sort), then try that.

Options to add: chopped crystallized ginger, mango or blackberries to the fruit portion

Top with gingersnap crumbs* (1/2 cup) combined with 1/4-1/2 cup of GF flour or oats - or a mix there of. I used 1/2T of canola, you could use butter or goat milk to create crumbs. Top the fruit with the crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for 20-40 minutes depending on your oven, the vessel it is baked in etc.

Before

After
* GF version of VWAV Ginger Snaps - add 1tsp xantham gum and 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger, bake, cool and then pulse in a food processor or place in a ziploc bag and beat out all your frustrations with a rolling pin or cast iron pot. Store the unused portion in the freezer. If you're wondering why the crumbs - well if you are testing cookies and want to ensure you won't sit down and eat 5 in one night while reading, grinding them up makes that a heck of a lot more difficult.

Alternative vegan version of Ginger Snaps is here

Gear Review

I am aware that it is "Website Wednesday" but since it's my blog I can detour the schedule. I purchased two new running skirts a few weeks ago in an attempt to find a new running skirt that wasn't too short, to see-through or too "sticky."

I will preface my review by stating that I am a 5'5 "pear" shaped woman - so if you are taller or short or apple or whatever you may or may not find that the same problems or successes occur.

1. Lucy brand - I purchased in desperation and wore for the Philadelphia Marathon over my tights. It worked. It doesn't really work for day to day running, the compression shorts are not all that "compression like" but the bigger issue is that the short fabric and the skirt fabric are the same stretchy/cotton like material. As such there is a lot of ride up. Grade: C (for the price I paid B-/B)

2. New Balance - There are a lot of great options - the side pocket for your IPOD or debit card, the ICE strip. My issue is the same as the Lucy, you can't put the same cotton like fabric on the short and the skirt. Even worse, the white color. It is shockingly transparent. I will say that I will still use the skirt in the winter as a layer over my tights. At that point I won't be worried about pulling it down or what can be seen through the back. Grade: C

3. Nike "Personal Best"(straight skirt): I purchased the "mini" skirt format of their running skirt last year in Portland. I hated it right away when I started to run in it. Standing it's great, running - well it has a tendency to bunch above the shorts, which defeats the whole purpose. Grade: F (for the price I paid a D, still not a passing grade)

4. Adidas "Supernova": I have worn this skirt consistently - it has it's faults, the shorts or are more less useless compression wise - but the skirt does what a skirt should - flow. It is made entirely of "performance" fabric so it's great in the rain too. My only concern is it is about 2 inches too short for my liking and a low rise waist band. In theory the low rise is great, but it's a little too low rise for my liking. Grade: B+

5. Saucony "Go Girl": I appreciate the higher waist, though it is possibly too high. The light weight skirt makes the issue regarding ride up disappear. My only complaint is the pleating and almost bubble skirt like format isn't that flattering around the waist, though in the end this is really minor considering that it will be covered most of the year. I will say pockets please!! Grade: B+ with pockets like NB's it would an A.

6. Nike "New Adventure": It's a skirt and short hybrid, in that the sides are structured like a short. I like the loose skirt idea - the flow is good. The pockets are an issue though. They have a large one in back that fits an IPod just fine, but I've learned that keys that go into these kinds of pockets always disappear - this is have learned the very hard way. Grade: B+ the rise is great, the pockets fine but the compression shorts ride up. Post script this is my favorite now I discovered the ipod pocket and well we have a winner, high enough and pocketed enough - sure it's short but heck I know shorts alone would still show more - A.

Images in order of review (L to R then top to bottom):

Dear New Balance

I love your 769 shoes. I love them with a passion that I do not think you understand, because if you did, you would not have eliminated them. I am aware that you are moving forward, providing the market with new shoes, more colors, more gadgets and gizmo's. That is all fine and good when those new models work for people. They probably work for many people, but they do not work for me. I have tried every other model that can be recommend for me both in stability and neutral cushioning and both have either been not enough or too much for my feet. As a result I have had a flare up in my plantar fasciitis for the first time in 4 years in my attempt to find a replacement. This is not acceptable. I have worked too long and hard and had too many specialists appointments to have a flare up because of a shoe change.

I will say thankfully I have managed to find two pairs online. These two pairs will make a total of 6 pairs of 769's I have purchased. I love New Balance shoes, but if I cannot find a suitable replacement after I am finished with these pairs, I will be looking elsewhere.

Music Monday

TOITB recommend last week that we check out Vampire Weekend - unfortunately I cannot embed their song, but you can check it out here

Or you can also consider:

Swag...

There is a local fitness "hot spot" called the Grind, which has released t-shirts much like this one. I think they are fabulous within the tiny microcosom of our city, but I don't think I'm going to travel anywhere with this t-shirt... eek. However, that being said often the swag is one of the reasons I do the crazy things I do, or boink,* one such swag item is the Napa Valley marathon duffle bag. It actually might be enough to convince N to run her one and only marathon. I figure if she can't honor her 10 year old promise to me to run a marathon, she might be swayed by pretty things. What girl isn't?

*runner lingo for busting your guts

Quinoa!

I am not really a fan of the grain but I am desperately trying since millet and I aren't always friends. The good news is quinoa can be easily cooked in the rice cooker. Just rinse as per usual instructions, and then the standard 2 to 1 ratio.

After my quinoa was cooked, I refrigerated it and used it in the defacto bean salad -that recipe again:

1 can of white beans rinsed
1/2 a large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2T red onion minced
Italian parsley finely chopped
1 cup cucumber diced
white wine or apple cider vinegar
olive oil
salt, pepper
and a little agave - like my salad sour and sweet and I use very little oil

Mix and add 1/2 the prepared quinoa. Goes great with barbequed salmon

Website Wednesday!

I am putting the shout for the following info in regards to the Houston Marathon (yay I got in!):

1. Have you taken the rapid transit line in Seattle to the Airport - if so how is it? I am flying out of Seatac but coming in from out of town.

2. Hotels in downtown Houston - do you have any recommendations - right now TripAdvisor and Expedia are telling me conflicting info about the quality of the hotels. I am looking at ONLY downtown hotels, I have to be able to walk to the start line and back to the hotel.

3. Food in Houston - I know my GF, DF, SF diet is annoying - but all I need to do is feed myself three meals of which ethnic food is the easiest to adapt the above... but will try anything. I do know that there is no Whole Foods in downtown Houston which is sad but not unexpected, but if you have the inside track to any other Health Food stores downtown that would be great so I don't have to fly with my Almond milk

Of course today's website is the HOUSTON MARATHON

Music Monday

Again, it's all about the beat.

Food Friday

I think we all have sweet tooth's I know I do. So given that - I have a suggestion for a dessert that can well be eaten at any time, and if you were my father you would eat it at every meal, as the meal.

For a 8x11 pan (1 1/2 inch deep)

5 large peaches peeled and sliced
1 pint (2 cups) of blackberries

Toss in 1/4 cup of sugar (or less) and 1/2 - 1T of cornstarch (depends on juiciness of your peaches)

Add 1-3T of diced crystallized ginger

Top with:

1 small box of gingersnaps ground up in a food processor or beaten with a pot while in a ziploc. (I used Mary's Gone Crackers - you need about 1/2 of the box or go for the whole amount)

1/4 cup cold butter - I used goat milk butter - I really prefer it's consistency and flavour - the fat content makes it a different substance.

Sprinkle of GF flour mix and sugar - I did this solely on flavour

Combine crumbles, butter and flour/sugar and crumbles over the fruit and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Note you can add more fruit or less topping - remember you are the one in the kitchen, not me.

Website Wednesday

I mentioned last week that I was going to post some "Whole Food" websites for some ideas.

Sprouted Kitchen
Gluten Free Girl

Music Monday

I must confess despite the negative content, I don't think there is better running music than Eminem, maybe it gives me a channel for all the negative thoughts that come when you run - like I can't make it up the hill or the next mile or whatever...