Fit By Proxy

Sunday nights

2009-12-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

For a year or more now a friend of ours and we (the Boy + I) have been getting together for Sunday dinner. It started as a way to see a show that aired every Sunday but now it's just a standing date.
We used to alternate venues. Her place one weekend, the next ours. Lately though, it's been more of who wants to cook something specific or who is really busy and can't cook or we go out because none of us feel much like cooking (or really really want some Ethiopian food). It's often simple food. Comfort food that one would want at the end of a week or simple food at the end of a really bad weekend. I mean really simple, I made lentil soup and bread or salad (I forget which) the Sunday before thanksgiving to prepare for the gorging.
Sometimes we add friends, sometimes we don't.
Sometimes we have wine or beer, sometimes we don't.
Sometimes we even move it to midweek.
It's always so wonderful. Even on those Sunday's when I am dreading the upcoming week, the Sunday dinners make it better. Something I look forward to and cherish as our constant.
Tonight was chickpeas with potatoes and rice. Simple but combined with easy conversation, it really made my evening.

Microblogging is the new blogging

2009-12-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

It seems like I tweet so much more often than I post to this blog. I really should be better about it but my short attention span is gratified by the one liners and yet my verbosity is infuriated with the 140 character limit.

I'm training for the 3M this year. I'm also running for asha again.

I hope to finish the half in under two hours but I'll also accept 2:00:59. Wish me luck.

Et Tu Butt

2009-08-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

I did a tri relay today. 15 miles on my hybrid bike.
My bike and my butt conspired against me and ruined my ride. And the hills helped in that conspiracy too. It was fine most of the way. Then with 5 miles to go, my left sit bone started to hurt. As I was registering that, the chain on the bike fell of and lodged itself between the shafty-thingy and the other metallic thingamabob. It took me 5 minutes to pry that thing out and put it on the correct geary-whatsit. I take that five minutes off my time. The stupidity of my bike cannot (and will not) count against me!
So now I must buy a new road bike and make this right. I must restore my honour as not-so-awful cyclist (who doesn't really cycle except to commute).

Thus ends the story of how I was once again betrayed by my butt.

Speed workouts are back

2009-08-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

I suppose it's time I started to actually train to meet my half marathon goal. I've been running regularly since the Austin half but just running. No speed work and no hills (unless they are part of the long run route).
The party is apparently coming to an end.
I did my first tempo run last Tuesday. 5 miles or 3 miles and then 2 miles depending on whether you believe in a water break during a tempo run. The 5 mile tempo went smashingly well. The 3 then 2 mile version, not so well. I did my last two miles slower than the first three. I'm chalking this up to the weather.
Here, I can even prove it mathematically:
Heat + Humidity = slower G
There! Now, it has to be true.

So yesterday, I did some fartleks on the indoor track. I forgot my watch at home so I did it by distance instead of time. 1.5 laps on (i.e. fast) .5 laps off (slow). Approximately 2.5 mins on, 1 min off. Once my body got past the shock of running in 75 degree weather, it adjusted pretty well.
I used to run on the indoor track after I tore my ACL but before I had surgery for it. While it can get monotonous; running on the treadmill really puts it in perspective. I would rather run on the track even though its only 1/7th of a mile long. Treadmills are too rickety for me. I sway too much on them.
Trick to running on an indoor track, it seems, is to have something else to do. Speed work may be the best suited to an indoor track when it's ridiculously hot or cold outside. So the plan is to do speed work once and week. I made the mistake of mentioning this to my trainer and she may have me do hills once a week too.
I really, really hate hill workouts. Like "why is the sky clouded over today but it's still 100 degrees outside" hate.

Currently Craving

2009-05-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Baked sweet potato with butter and brown sugar
Broccoli (steamed with salt and pepper)
And I think I'm craving ice cream too. That might be the heat at play.

I really really craving the sweet potato, don't know why. I tend to not like them usually except in baked or mashed form.

Alternative titles

2009-04-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Apparently the authors of Skinny bitch are planning to create a new book for men (as read on Jezebel).
I think that we need alternatives to their version of healthy eating and I would like to suggest a few titles to those books should anyone consider writing one.

So, listed below are the ones I came up with. Feel free to add your own.

"I eat full fat dairy for my skin: I heard that on a science podcast so it must be true"

"And that one too: a complete anthology of my favourite cookies"

"2 out of 2 moms agree food IS love"

"Protein nuggets from veggie heaven are the devil and I will have their food baby"

Biscuit

2009-04-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

I ate a biscuit, big whoop. Right?
Well, I ate it even though I didn't want it.
I didn't want it to go to waste so I ate it. It was awful. Made to taste like a powdery hockey puck. The thing is, I was going to waste the remaining four anyways. There was no way I would eat the remaining by myself or feed anyone else with them.
But I still ate one. It upset my stomach. It also messed up my day in food. Too much fat, trans fat, refined wheat etc etc.

Mostly, it tasted bad. If I had waited two seconds and thought about it, I would have known I didn't want it. But I ate it so quickly, I didn't even have time to complete a thought.
I wonder if I've been doing this a lot, eating food really quickly so that I don't think about whether I even need it.

There were many reasons I ate that atrocity:
don't waste all of them
don't waste that last bite/half
want something sweet/salty/spicy
eat it because I've gotten used to the mouthfeel.

There's just one reason to not eat it:
It tastes bad.

Next time, I'll remember that.

Random thoughts

2009-02-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

- Why do I bother styling my hair? All I do is find new ways to sweat the style out and the frizz back in. Example, spinning.
-Why do I feel so proud of that resulting sweat? When I used to grapple long ago, the sweat on my shirt was never just mine. But the activities I do now create sweat that I get to see and knowing that I made it makes me really proud. A little too proud. I looked at my shirt the other day and thought to myself "That's all mine!"
- Why do I think that after meeting with my amazing personal trainer (lets call her Trainer Jo) I won't sweat enough to need a shower? Once I had to shower in my socks and towel off using my shirt.

Help wanted

2009-01-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

I've been injured. The SI joint issue morphed into a Hoffa's pad impingement (the fat behind me knee cap was pinched). I couldn't run the marathon I had planned. It's not so bad, I got to start all kinds of other activities I can now ignore (like aquajogging). I also discovered that I'm not just someone who is fond of activity. I genuinely like running. I look forward to it. Or I may just look forward to being done with it. Either way.

I've been running a few months now. Even getting regular at it. And cross training regularly too! I know. Good job G, right? Wait a tic.
I irritated my plantar fascia on one side and the abductor on the opposite side of the foot. I can't run for a week. Contrary to the obvious reaction, I think this is good thing. You see, I have never been able to pronounce the name of this muscle (or is it a tendon?) before. Now, I'll get all sorts of practice.

Friend: Howz the training going?

G: It was going well but I'm not running this week.

Friend: What's going on?

G: I injured my plantar fascia (and some other muscle)

See? Serendipitous is what I call it.
But I digress. After a few days of some pain, today was the first day I have been able to walk around comfortably. So of course, my first thought is:

I should go for a run!

That way I could test out whether I am actually feeling good or just imagining it. That thought is then followed by:

So if I run today, then I could keep my 12 mile run planned for saturday

These thoughts have led me to conclude that I need an injury sponsor. So here's the ad I plan to post. Reply if you meet the requirements:

Needed, an injury sponsor to help a runner. This runner has been injured several times and tends to run on healing injuries to 'test' them out. She also likes to use logic that can be (generously) referred to as frightening flights of fancy.
Must be available for phone calls or hot chocolate or bourbon at odd times of the day (i.e. lunch or midnight). Must not be the runner's running buddy (without meaning to, they only encourage her). Must not be runner's spouse (he only makes loud sighs of annoyance and resignation). Must be able to sound simultaneously sympathetic and authoritative. Must not yell no matter how frustrated.

I think I got it all.

Currently Craving

2008-11-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

Spinach or broccoli.

I got some for dinner, both spinach and a broccoli + cauliflower mix. I also got a few other fruits and veggies. The check out guy told me it good to be eating lots of fruit and vegetables. I guess I'm glad he wasn't there the time I bought potato chips and ~~butter~~ (that's gross) frosting to dip the chips in.

I couldn't decide what to make, spinach or broccoli + cauliflower so I made both. I microwaved the two together for a minute or so and added some feta marinated in oil to it. So simple and tasty.

Here's a photograph:

Whose rights?

2008-10-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is so disturbing and yet so informative:

Inclusive exclusion

2008-10-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

When I started doing ashtanga (a form of yoga) lots of years ago, my teacher said a really interesting thing.

anyone can do ashtanga but ashtanga is not for everyone

"How poignant!" I thought at the time but since then I've given it more thought.

It's the strangest thing to say. On it's face it implies every one is welcome to do this one thing. But the fact of the matter is that not everyone is going to enjoy/be good at this thing, bless their hearts. Too bad they'll be missing out on this amazing activity.

But the really, um, how do I put this, asinine thing about it is that this saying is true for pretty much anything you do or would like to do.

Try it:
anyone can run but running isn't for everyone.
anyone can eat sushi but sushi isn't for everyone.
anyone can sleep till noon but sleeping 16 hours a night isn't for everyone.
anyone can aquajog but being considered the crazy lady by the people lounging by the pool isn't for everyone.

Of course, I just applied these to my hobbies. Try it out for stuff you like to do. Saying it has an odd effect of making you feel as if you're hugging the whole world and yet morally superior to the general populace.

I'm injurrd

2008-10-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

I've tried to blog about it but it all comes out sounding trite and empty. So here's a summary:

I'm injured. Fat pad impingement.
I am barely running a mile once a week or so. Things are looking up though.
I thought I would run the san antonio half and the austin full but I think its going to be just the austin half for me this year. That's ok now. I did panic when I first realized that.
I'm spinning and swimming and aquajogging. I love them all.
I miss running and seeing all my running buddies immensely.

A Dear John Letter

2008-09-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Zucchini,
I have never liked you. You look like cucumber but don't taste like anything. However, in my quest to eat in season and also eat locally, I decided to give you another try. It turns out fried or browned you almost taste okay. Your texture is just slightly too mushy for me but I thought that if I was able to make you taste good I would look beyond your texture.

Today I made a mixed vegetable dish. You should try it, it's my mom-in-law's recipe and it's delicious. I'll send you a copy. Anyway, it turned out really well. The eggplant, onions and peppers just work so well together and they got soft and stewed. The spices and vegetables shared their flavours, melded and became a happy meal that both satisfied and nourished.

And then there was you. The zephyr version of the zucchini I got from the farmers market. you're supposed to be tastier than the usual variety. What a disappointment. Not only did you contribute no flavour of your own but you didn't even absorb any of the other flavours that were available to you.
You were bland, mushy and overall disgusting. Your only redeeming quality is that you didn't ruin my dish and I was able to remove you from it entirely.

Needless to say, I am extremely unhappy with you performance and as of now you and I are done. I think going our separate ways is best for both you and me. I wish you the best in life and in your future endeavours.

-Gayatri

p.s. If you see me with Kale or Spinach, please don't try to strike up a conversation. Eventually we may reestablish our friendship but for now let us keep our distance.

Know I need to post

2008-09-07T17:15:00.001-07:00

I have something in the works but in the mean time please enjoy photos of my new shoes and kitten.

These shoes were talked about on the gazelle forum, runners world and a running podcast. Given this nerd trifecta, I knew I needed to go out and buy these. I ran in them once but it didn't feel very good so I won't be doing that again. I felt the impact of the run way up in my hips. They are great to walk around in and also to bike in, so still very useful.

Behold the vibram 5 finger shoes (not bought w/ my five finger discount):

and one last one w/ the cats (one of them is barely visible):

Who is this cat? This is Hexley and here is a video of him a few days after we got him home:

The Omnivore's Hundred

2008-08-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

Found this on the chocolate and zucchini blog:

The Omnivore's Hundred is an eclectic and entirely subjective list of 100 items that Andrew Wheeler, co-author of the British food blog Very Good Taste, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his life.

Rules:
1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4. Optional extra: post a comment on Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

I was absolutely certain there are things I wouldn't eat but then I saw this from the writer of the above blog, Clotilde:

There are a few that I wouldn't rush to eat, but none that I couldn't swallow if someone's life, honor, and/or feelings were at stake.

I love this sentiment and would like to echo it. The crossed off food items are things I wouldn't eat unless I was presented with the opportunity in the best place possible to sample it. For example, haggis is something I wouldn't seek out but if I were in Scotland and was offered a sample at a little pub, I would eat it. Atleast once and then again to confirm an opinion.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea (I've always wanted to try nettle soup, something I saw on a show about food from Scotland)
3. Huevos rancheros (ATX! Woot!)
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (Clotilde thinks boudin noir counts so yes I suppose I have but the spanish version)
7. Cheese fondue (Yeah, in switzerland)
8. Carp (apparently, there's a deccan white carp. As in, the deccan plateau which is part of the state of Maharashtra. The odds are high I've eaten this. I need a hindi or marathi name for this fish)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush (in the US and in Saudi Arabia)
11. Calamari (of course a great way to test a chef's skills)
12. Phở
13. PB&J sandwich (definitely an acquired taste but I will only eat it with grape or strawberry jam)
14. Aloo gobi (huh)
15. Hot dog from a street cart (Ann Arbor had this amazing cart that serves all it's hot dogs in french bread)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle (didn't like it. Don't see why I should)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Japanese plum wine)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream (just finished a stash in the freezer)
21. Heirloom tomatoes (darker the better, I say)
22. Fresh wild berries (does picking off the mulberry trees around austin during spring count?)
23. Foie gras (don't like it, too strong even though I do like chicken liver)
24. Rice and beans (which beans?)
~~25. Brawn, or head cheese~~
~~26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper~~ (I'm not a masochist but they do have a non spicy version which allows you to actually taste the pepper flavour. I'm told it's citrusy)
27. Dulce de leche (next step is try to make my own)
28. Oysters (not raw but fried)
29. Baklava (I think it's too sweet, let the ostracizing begin)
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas (um okay, really?)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (see above)
33. Salted lassi (tempered w/ mustard seeds and curry leaves and untempered)
34. Sauerkraut (meh)
35. Root beer float (like most foreigners to the US, don't like root beer)
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (whatevs. We get it, you're a man's man)
37. Clotted cream tea (I'm counting this because the only way to get cream in india used to be to skim it off milk which I have then added to tea)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (was this list made by a 20 year old frat boy?)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (would love to try this in spain)
41. Curried goat (my mom's and my dad's recipes both great but subtly different)
42. Whole insects (I do want to try crickets but no grubs ever.)
43. Phaal (apparently, this is a south indian style curry. Perhaps, I've tried it?)
44. Goat’s milk (surprisingly tasty)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more (maybe, what about scotch?)
46. Fugu (I really want to even get into a situation where this is even a possibility. In the US the fugu available is completely tame, the poisonous organs are removed in Japan and then it's flown here)
47. Chicken tikka masala (really? bleh)
48. Eel (yum)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (I tried one of these warm and understood the lure of the donut)
50. Sea urchin (a while ago, I don't remember liking it but I would give this another try)
51. Prickly pear (growing wild outside a mexican restaurant. Made Sandeep stop the car, got one, peeled it and ate it right there. He wouldn't let me in the car till I was done)
52. Umeboshi (I do want to try this. It sounds like some thing I would like)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer (cannot be made with skim milk. Will be cooking some with spinach for dinner tomorrow)
~~55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal~~ (never have eaten this, don't intend to. Whataburger 4Eva)
56. Spaetzle (wurstfest, texas)
57. Dirty gin martini (with hendricks. Delicious but I couldn't finish it.)
58. Beer above 8% ABV (started drinking beer on the harder stuff like triples)
~~59. Poutine~~ (I don't know if I could stomach this)
60. Carob chips (it's as if they have to make these super sweet so that they don't taste awful)
61. S’mores (too sweet.)
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (um, this is a clay. Why?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (yes, yes, yes and yes please)
~~68. Haggis~~
69. Fried plantain (My favourite are the sweet ones but also those plantain chips which are slightly sweet and salty)
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (in menudo but did not like it)
71. Gazpacho (love it but had it once at Epoch where it was so thick it was almost gummy. Gross.)
72. Caviar and blini (almost, caviar and toast not blini but I think the point here is the caviar. Yum!)
73. Louche absinthe (~~I want to try absinthe so badly. I think we would make great friends~~. Nope, didn't get along at all.)
74. Gjetost, or brunost (brown cheese with caramel undertones, sounds tasty)
75. Roadkill (I would try it because I really like the concept of it. Nothing wasted)
76. Baijiu (why not, think rice wine but closer to rice vodka)
~~77. Hostess Fruit Pie~~ (Why? Why not just have some pie?)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong (tasty but easy to overdose on the smokiness)
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum (one of my favourite soups)
82. Eggs Benedict (again, was this list made by a 20 year old just being introduced to the joys of brunch?)
83. Pocky (Ah, yes, yes it was)
~~84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant~~ (not interested in that level of food snoberry)
85. Kobe beef (got it, fatty beef is tasty)
86. Hare (what about rabbit?)
87. Goulash (I even liked the crappy dorm cafeteria version)
88. Flowers (sure. Eaten as a meal accompaniment and as a kid on the playground)
9. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (apparently the thing to eat if you're a chocolate lover. I'm not)
91. Spam (I come from a family of canned meat lovers. Me, not so much)
92. Soft shell crab (have I told you that I'm allergic to shellfish? No? Well soft shelled crab is amazing fried)
93. Rose harissa (it's harissa with rose petals. Color me intrigued.)
94. Catfish (yee haw)
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
~~97. Lobster Thermidor~~ (allergic to shellfish and won't push my luck w/ lobster)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (I think I would like snake meat. Beating snake heart in snake blood? Not so much.)

Things I have learned from years of physical therapy

2008-08-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Had my annual pilgrimage to the physical therapist today. Actually this was the referral to go see the PT tomorrow. I came away with my head swimming in lots of fancy words and compounded latinates like patellofemoral. I'll have more details about how this will affect the training plan tomorrow.

But for now I give you some nuggets of wisdom:

1. Names of the muscle are fun to say. Popliteal muscle anyone? How about iliotibial? But with another word attached they become scary. e.g. popliteal tendonopathy or iliotibial syndrome.

2. Do not trust a first diagnosis of anything that ends in 'bursitis' that means, they don't know what it is. Sandeep had a 'bursitis' till they figured out what is was. My SI syndrome (OMG SYNDROME!!) was a 'bursitis' till Dr Spears got to it. Just get a second opinion.

p.s. the SI syndrome has undetermined-graded to SI joint dysfunction.

p.p.s. I might have to start aquajogging. I might also have to give myself a wedgie. We'll see.

Magic Mixer

2008-08-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

I used the bullet to make vegetable soup yesterday with roasted veggies and spinach. Blended all of them up and heated the soup with a pat of butter. Served with goat cheese crumbles. So simple and so good
Also made banana peanut butter smoothies with it.

peanut butter (also bananas) makes everything taste better.

The one about the pull ups

2008-08-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

I can't do a single pull-up, I hang there and bend my elbows pretending I'm lifting myself.

I did five yesterday. By 'did' I mean, I hung there and bent my elbows while the guy who helped me did 5 of those 'lift a weak G' exercises that are so trendy right now.

My arms hurt.

Weekend run

2008-08-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

My first ever 14 miler. It's the longest distance I've ever run and I can't believe it went so well. My knees were tired by the end of it but otherwise I felt great. Since my left side (leg, knee, hips back) are weaker than my right, I was encouraged (is that the right word to be using here?) by the fact that both my knees felt equally worn out. We've started to experiment with salt tablets and they make such a difference during the long runs especially given the humidity in this hell-hole that is austin this summer.
I ran with Leslie and Jessica. I'm surprised how smoothly things went considering, I ran 14, Leslie ran 12 and Jessica ran 8. We ran into a fellow Gazelle that had been left behind by her group who ran my 14 with me. Having someone to run large distances with you is great but having someone who is fun to talk to really makes the run. Emily, the girl I ran with, was a talker and interesting to boot.
She also happens to be crazy!
She is training for her second marathon and she does all her runs without any nutritional supplements, I mean no food whatsoever! The only time she has used gels was during the marathon itself and it her cramps so she's a little weary of using them. I shared an extra gel and salt tablets with her during our run and I hope that has changed her mind about using the stuff.

A weird result of the salt tablets is that I need less gels to run on. I took three with me since that's how many I used during my training runs over 12 miles during the half. I ended up using only two. As long as I was alternating the tablets w/ the gels. I was fine. Actually that's a lie. I almost forgot to take a second gel because I felt fine but around mile 9 I started to feel a little nauseous. Realizing that I was probably low on sugar, I took a gel and immediately felt better. Ah, mustn't forget to take those things.

Then, the strangest thing happened once stretching was finished. I realized how amazing my legs are. This is a big deal because my legs (thighs) are what I like the least on my body. But the run made me feel this intense love for them. They carried me through those miles and kept me moving. They are getting stronger as training progresses and I can't help but be proud of them.

Mile repeats

2008-07-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's workout was mile repeats. I've never done this one before so I was a little nervous. I was also late. The cat hasn't been feeling well and I woke up to puke. I ran by myself to Zilker where we do mile repeats around the pool area. My group did 3-4 depending on how 'accomplished' they were feeling. I stopped at 3. I ran all three at an approx 9:35 mins pace. That's crazy because I'm not that fast in reality. Even coach was surprised.

The first two miles were great, albeit tough. The last one though was like running with 20lbs weights attached to my legs. I couldn't seem to move as fast as I wanted to. This was also how I felt during my long run on saturday. The same long run that we had to cut down to 10 miles from 13.5 because of the humidity.
So the question here is, is the humidity making it difficult to run because it makes my legs really heavy or is it something to do with what I'm eating or drinking. I suspect it's the humidity combined with the fact that I have been a little lax with my water/electrolyte intake.

Peanut butter smoothie time

2008-07-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

My mom-in-law (MIL) is a teacher and she gets the most crazy gifts from parents. One of the gifts she got was the magic bullet. Actually she got two. While it may sound kitchy is supposed to work really well and is a really great tool to have for a small kitchen.Since she doesn't use either, I asked her to send one to me.

It arrived yesterday in all it's awesome informecial glory complete with the other ten thousand things I will never need to use. I don't have the space for a blender but this fits in a much smaller area and I think I might able to get rid of some of the other single taskers I own (like my coffee grinder I use for spices).

Anyways, the number one reason I've wanted one was to make smoothies with. It's just too hot for a warm breakfast but smoothies are perfect for this weather.
So this morning I went for a run. A short one, around 4 miles and made a smoothie when I got back. It was delicious. I can't wait to try more recipes.

For this morning I used:
Ice
Milk
Soaked almonds
Banana
Cottage cheese
Honey

I've been adding strained yogurt or cottage cheese to my smoothies to add protien since I can't take the taste of whey protein. It works beautifully. There is absolutely no texture of the cottage cheese in the smoothie. It's smooth and a little tangy from the addition which makes it really tasty. I think I want to experiment w/ rose/kewra water(kewra is a flower, the essence is a bit similar to rose but flowery-er) and vanilla next.

Did you know?

2008-07-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

1.Alcohol is metabolized as fat? Fat has 30-something kcals (kJ, I can't remember) per gram, alcohol has 29. Both protein and carbs are in the late teens for energy/gram.

2. Oxybenzone (half of neutrogena's helioplex) is a chemical sunscreen but it's also a carcinogen? I started to use sunscreen w/ helioplex a few months ago and had a significant allergic reaction to it. So I went online to look for what might be causing it.
I found this wikipedia link.
And it's not even the only one; the internettings are full of information about this chemical. If I remember correctly, it cannot be used in sunscreens in Europe. Just in the US. Nice.
I switched to Eucerin's sunscreen w/ titanium dioxide*. This took about half day's worth of going through all the suncreens in the stores because almost everything has oxybenzone.

* in the interest of full disclosure, titanium dioxide may also be carcinogenic but the study deals more with inhaled Ti dust not in suspended form.

A little pick me up

2008-07-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Never fails to make me smile.

Nike women's marathon

2008-06-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

I love the idea of sport events directed at women. The whole feel is different at a women's sports event. It also takes some of the intimidation away from someone just getting into a sport who is starting to compete.

Now, here's my problem. I don't want to run for a tiffany necklace. Or chocolate at a water stop. Or a pedicure. It's a friggin' marathon and no amount of telling me it's a party is going to make 4-6 hours on my feet 'fun'.
I happen to know for a fact that love for chocolate, pedicures and branded jewellery don't make or define being a woman.

That being said, even I'm not stupid enough to complain about the firemen that hand said necklaces out to the finishers.

Do Not Want

2008-06-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

I almost don't want to talk about this but I must. Please forgive me if I offend you.

I just don't want it.

I don't want to get my degree, have a kid and then do something else. I don't want to have kids, decide academia isn't for me and stay at home. Then write a blog about my kids or about gardening or food or knitting.

I want to be a researcher (well be good at it). I want to be proud of my accomplishments independent from those of my children.

Note: I do reserve the right to change my mind as the situation demands.

JELJAB!!

2008-06-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've been struggling on my long runs ever since I got back to running in April. Last week changed all that. I took the first two miles really slow and that may have done the trick. Or not restricting my calories (carbs more specifically) may have done the trick. Or drinking accelerade before the run may have done the trick. Or not drinking coffee before the run may have done the trick. Or drinking electrolytes during the entire week leading up to the run may have done the trick.

Anyway, finally kept up with EELBA (w/o one E, erin but with two extra Js, Jessica V and Jessica C).

Let's see how this saturday fares, we plan to do the lopsided lolli (since there is a turnaround that looks like a circle). That's 9.8 miles with a middle with serious hills. I plan to sing 'lollipop' in all its misogynistic glory.

she says he's so sweet....

Well that was fun

2008-06-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Let's never do that again.

We ran a 4 mile run on wednesday with the last two miles paced.

It started out great. I kept a pace of under 10mins/mile for the first two miles and I wasn't even pushing it. I tried to take it slow to keep from overheating in the afternoon. With close to 100 degrees, I thought I was doing well. Then during the third mile, I started to struggle a bit. Walked, felt a little pucky and then ran some. Mile 4 created more nausea but also added chills. A little unusual and alarming.
When I got back Allison was nice enough to get me some water and coach didn't let me run the cool down mile.
I went to his truck to get some accelerade and managed to spill it all over my shirt. It wasn't exactly dissolved in the water and looked like I had thrown up all over myself. Yikes, I left. I went home, showered and wallowed in self-pity for the rest of the evening. This could/would have been the best tempo ever. Stupid texas summers.

Note:
self-pity entails me yelling 'my life sucks' intermittently through the night.

Currently craving

2008-05-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

To not have to cook dinner everyday.

Note on currently craving

2008-05-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

The 'currently craving' posts do not include any of the PMS cravings. I've been monitoring those and it seems like it is always something sweet and soft like Quack's strawberry oat bars (effing awesome!) and the newly discovered carmelita bars at Whole Foods. The interesting thing is that it never involves chocolate and the carmelitas have chocolate chips which kind of ruins them.

I tend to crave things a lot and they tend to strange, specific items like salmon sashimi or the potatoes from tacodeli. But I'm discovering that the cravings right before my period always involve sugar in a soft chewy form like caramels or fudge or local cinnamon buns (think cinnamon sugar dusted croissants).

dee-lie-ma update

2008-05-21T10:08:00.001-07:00

Her royal laziness returned the pants and hopes to find a similar pair that are as cheap and cute. At the rate she is going, the ETA is 2012.

Cheers!

Conundrum

2008-05-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

I bought a pair of shorts at target. For $7. Ya for me.

They are a size 13. I am not a size 13 but my thighs are. So while I fit into the smaller sizes, I like the way these look around my widest part (my thighs).

But here's the problem, as I mentioned, I am not a size 13. I worked really hard not to be a size 13 (actually 14) anymore but really I don't know if I care, it's just a number. But these shorts don't sit on my hips, they slip off. I could spend a little more money and get them altered to fit my hips. Or I could return them and hope to find something in my size in the same colours (did I mention they are tan, green and blue? Cute.)

So help me with my dilemma (or like Chitu likes to call the frivolous ones, dee-lie-ma), should I return the shorts or alter them?

Mama's day or the weekend of two runs

2008-05-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and I ran two shorter long runs this weekend. We ran 6 miles on saturday and decided to keep Jessica company as she ran her 6 miles on sunday.

First of all, this is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!! I can't believe we did that. This time last year, just the one run would have been an accomplishment. It's amazing that we ran two of those in succession.

I had been dealing with a strange backache that appeared out of nowhere on thursday. After not moving for two days, I knew that warming the muscles up would help. I did make a pact with myself to stop if it didn't feel good and turn around no matter what. I considered not going on saturday and sunday but I'm so glad I went because today I woke up feeling fine.

Saturday was disgusting: humid, overcast and warm. The run was slow and uncomfortable. The highlight of the run was the family of swans on the lake, complete with five fuzzy cygnets (or as Leslie called them 'ugly ducklings'). Perfect for mother's day weekend.

Sunday was beautiful: cool, sunny and dry. We ran the eastside trail again but slightly altered so that we didn't have to deal with the road at all. We got to see the swans again, on mother's day no less! That made the two mom's day. This was the kind of run that reminds you why you love your city and running with the people you chose to run with.

I came home, called my mom who then proceeded to scold me about not 'making babies' :)

Currently Craving

2008-05-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Red meat but more specifically, steak; charred and salty. With onions involved somehow.

Those skinny jeans

2008-05-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

(Ha! I typed the title as skinny cheese by mistake (lunch time).)

Funny thing about those skinny jeans, they don't always work out the way you would want to.

Four years ago, when I weighed around what I do right now I bought three pairs of khakis from jcrew. When I put on weight (again), these became my 'skinny jeans'. These are the pants I decided to fit back into as a pre-goal on my way to my final goal weight.

I've finally gotten to the point that I can start to wear them again. Funny story though, I don't like them anymore. No, I can't stand them anymore. One of them has no pockets in the back (remember when all the pants had that no back pocket thing going?). The other one is fitted around my thighs but wide-legged around my calves. And I haven't even looked at the third one yet.

So, I think I'm going to get rid of these pants and just find clothes that fit me right now.

Speaking of finding things that fit, let's take a letter:

Re: Vanity sizing

Dear Old Navy,
why change your sizing so that now a medium is now a large? I come into the store and nothing in my old sizes fits anymore (not that it did to begin with but I knew that I needed to try EVERYTHING before I bought it). I know I'm not a size small in anything (thanks boobies!!). To someone trying to lose weight, this is just cruel.

kthxbai,
Me

Birthday present

2008-05-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is part I of Sandeep's birthday present. It's grainy but so worth it.

It's also the alcohol

2008-05-05T10:15:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago, a friend had a birthday party. A beer brewing, 16-yr old laguvilin (scotch) sharing friend. We got home feeling toasty and very much loved. The following monday, I noticed the scale was registering a heavier weight for me. I figured that would even itself out over the week and didn't think too much of it. Then on friday, we met some friends at the new neighbourhood watering hole. Didn't get drunk or even tipsy, didn't eat whataburger after (like we usually do) but again, the weighing scale registered a heavier number the following day.

I think, anything that messes with my cellular water content (i.e. water retention) messes with my weight. Salt, alcohol, humidity, gravity etc. Ever since I went off the pill, eating badly once or twice hasn't been as fatal as it used to be. This leads me to think that alcohol is particularly insidious because that 'weight gain' seems to last longer (it took almost all week to get it down to baseline).

So, for the next month, I'm going off alcohol. Completely (no let me taste your drink, no just a sip). Perhaps, once that is done, I can fiddle around with the kind and quantity of alcohol to figure out if these two factors make a difference.

Updates to follow.

Currently Craving

2008-05-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Eggplant.
Avocado.

I want the eggplant in a stewed, soft state and the avocado in a raw sliced state.
So I'm thinking, eggplant cooked indian style w/ broadbeans and potatoes (always craving potatoes) sometime this week maybe on friday.
And, and, and, a sliced avocado sandwich w/ just salt and pepper.

mmm....

Someday

2008-04-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of these days I'm going to keep up with the fast girls (EEL (Erin, Elizabeth, Leslie), as Jessica calls them). Now we can add Barb and Allison to that (EELBA?)

That'll be a good day.

Weight-loss changes

2008-04-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

So some of the questions I got from the post about my lack of weight-loss were the following:

- do my clothes fit differently
- do I drink soda
- what about diet drinks
- what about processed foods

So, my clothes are fitting differently but not enough to make be feel better about the slow weightloss. I don't drink any soda on a regular basis, maybe once every two-three weeks. But if I do drink it, it tends to be diet soda. My intake of processed foods is also minimal. I tend not to like the taste of refined flour so there isn't too much white flour in my diet. I do, however, eat lean cuisines very regularly for lunch. Dinner is almost always homemade as are snacks. I hate those 100 cal snack packs, if I want ant snacks, I'll go raid an anthill.

On a side note, the hummus from the farmer's market is in itself worth the trip downtown. I tend to eat it plain, on bread or with veggies. But then the boy gets pita chips in the house and I come home to find that he took care of the 'hummus problem'.

On a side side note, the alternative bread from central market has quinoa, amaranth and some flax and it worth the extra buck you have to spend on it (compared to the other breads they have). Expensive, but so good if you're feeling splurge-y.

Okay, back to the topic. I've cut out splenda, aiming for 14 cups of water and I am also limiting my salt intake. I drink a cup of coffee and a cup of tea a day and each one gets a teaspoon of sugar. No more added sugar to anything else in my meals (so fruits are fine, ya).

Surprisingly, I am getting in 14 cups of water a day without too much of a problem. The sugar limit is also not an issue.
BUT:
Do you know you should keep sodium down to 2300 mg/day? Do you know how much sodium a single teaspoon of salt has? 2300 mg. Do you know the culture I come from (I think most of the western part of India does this) actually gives you salt on the side to eat raw with your food. Take a bite of the rice and dal, then a bite of a green chili dipped into salt. mmm.
Yesterday was the first day I even managed to get my sodium to under 2500 mg.

Well I never...

2008-04-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

this one made me blush (I ran into it off a blog while I was looking for nutrition information on pan fried noodles):

This really shouldn't be this difficult

2008-04-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

It's even difficult trying to write about this. I've lost a grand total of four pounds in the past two months of working out on the average 5-6 times a week (two of which were weight training). In the past week (after the in-laws had gone) I regained two of those pounds and it won't budge.

I know, I've gained muscle weight. I know its impossible to gain two pounds in a week and its something else like water. But right now, I'm at a loss. I've cut out splenda and am going to increase my water intake to about 14 cups. Let's see if this helps.

I don't know if I can even drink 14 cups of water. 10-12 is difficult as it is.

Belly Flops

2008-03-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

She's in the ladies bathroom at the gym folding her sleeves up while she gets ready to go get her workout. I walk in and get the look. You know the one where she looks me up and down to decide whether I look like I should be there or not. If I look 'fit' enough to look so satisfied about getting my sweat on. Or if I look too big to be so proud of myself. I do a mental check to see what I'm wearing. I'm glad I have my Fila relays shirt on (even though it doesn't say so on the front, only on the back).
Is this why I want to wear my race shirts to the gym? So that I look like I belong? So that the big girl can stay even though her belly seems to move independently of the rest of her body?

Too bad the 3M shirt is full sleeved, I can't wear it during my workout.

It is definitely the sugar

2008-03-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

I think I write this blog more for me than anyone else. It's a place where I can write stuff down that I don't want to forget. Its finally paid off. Around december I wrote about how I think sugar makes me crazy. Well last week I had some run ins with Jam that made me eat like I was training for a marathon. So today I ate some sugar but keeping in mind what I was doing. I ate some cottage cheese with jam and then a hard candy. Its around three in the afternoon right now and I've spent the last hour trying to stop myself from thinking about food. Sugar, it seems, resets my food gauge. I remember this used to happen to me during undergrad where I couldn't eat anything sweet for breakfast or I'd spend the rest of the day rabidly hungry. Now, it appears, sweet stuff seems to do that no matter what time of the day I eat it.

Strangely enough, natural sugars don't seem to matter. I eat a piece of fruit almost every afternoon without any repercussions. This is good since I am unsure if a fruit-less existence is worth my effort.
I guess the next step from here is going to be to figure out if eating the sugar with something else helps or not. Past run ins suggest that neither protein nor fat are going to help.

Blah blah blah and then some insight

2008-03-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

Jess recently wrote about thinking a single nice thing about someone. This is something I've been trying to do myself but in a slightly altered way. I've been trying not to be judgmental about people I see around me. To be more exact, I've been trying not to judge people based on how they look by deciding who is 'too skinny' or 'overweight'. Its not acceptable to do something like that unless I'm okay with that being done to me (which I am not since, you know, you don't know me).

Yesterday was cold and windy so the gym was mostly empty. That meant that for my body sculpt class, the middle area, which is usually full, had spots available in front of the mirror. As a result, I got to work out with the added benefit of watching myself workout. This is something I have managed to successfully avoid for the past month and a half. Initially, I just wanted to spare myself that instant when you realize what you look like. It doesn't help that for some reason most of the people in these classes are really really slim (not unhealthy just naturally tiny). Compare and contrast at its best.

So I had to work out in front of the mirror. It wasn't bad and I caught myself thinking I don't absolutely hate the way I look. As in the past, I didn't spend my entire time avoiding looking into the mirror. Then I noticed that the girl next to. She was a little wider than I was but she had no tummy. Just amazingly flat abs. Unfortunately, the rest of the workout was then spent wondering why my abs are, shall we say, not flat?

So I'm going to try something new. Along with not judging people I see based on how they look, I am also going to try and be nicer to myself.

Moving on

2008-02-28T12:02:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to come up with a good way to report the half marathon to everyone (Hi Mike!) but I can't seem to put it into words. It was strange and surreal and amazing and to some extent disappointing.
I say disappointing because I got really tired with three miles remaining. With all that training, I should have known better than to start out so fast. I did finish well under my goal time of 2:30 and intend to run many more. Photos of the race before, after and during can viewed here.

Now, I must move onto the present. I've been avoiding writing because I can't seem to articulate the 3M experience. Well, then, I'll talk about the other things going on right now and hopefully the words will come.

Gratitude for the 3M

2008-01-30T11:21:00.000-08:00

Its been a week since the 3M half and I can't stop thinking about everyone who made the race one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Thank you for nodding considerately as I obsessed about training and thinking of me during/after the race.

Some friday nights Sandeep actually laid out all my stuff for me so that I could go to bed on time before a long run. I definitely would not have done with this without some amazing people to run with. Running long runs is bad enough but if I had had to run them alone we all know that I would have just slept in. During the race, there were throngs of people out there to cheer the runners on. Volunteers frantically working to keep the water stops functioning but still taking the time to say an encouraging word. Some of the spectators were even nice enough to bring out bananas and tissues. Simply amazing!

Even our running group is amazing, they were so proud of us for racing. I can't help but be touched.

To some this might sound like an acceptance speech but I can't help but feel the need to give thanks all around. So, in conclusion, I would also like to thank my physical therapist for keeping me as strong as he could despite the issues that cropped up and then congratulating me and looking appropriately impressed with my time even though he also works with women like this: http://www.desireeficker.com/

I can has 3m photos?

2008-01-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

If you said the photos would go up on the 30th, why aren't they up on the 30th?

Running is for fun!

2008-01-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the race and I'm having trouble eating. I'm so nervous.
I really like races because of the sense of community they create and I feel really connected and a part of something bigger. The problem is that I'm afraid that my back is going to rebel. I want tomorrow's run to be more than just something I was glad I got through. I've done everything I can. It's time now to relax and thank nature for being kind to us. Its going to be cloudy/clear and amazing weather in the 50s during the race. Time to go to bed.

Two days remain

2008-01-25T11:38:00.001-08:00

I had my first panic attack two days ago on Wednesday about the half marathon I am told I will be racing on Sunday. I think I need to be really good and blog about what is going on with me.

Wednesday was my last hard workout. 6 X 400s at Austin high. It was cold but almost all the familiar faces showed up. It felt really good to just talk to them and run. Minnie, Barb and I ran without timing ourselves. Alison, Sarah and Jessica ran ahead of us (and I think they did time themselves). I did some core work and PT yesterday but nothing strenuous.
Dinner at changos made my stomach so unhappy even today two days later I can feel it. That being said, you'll have to pry that al pastor taco from my cold dead hands.

Yesterday was bad in the sense that I didn't drink enough water at all. I maxed out at 7 cups if I'm lucky but I need to drinking close to 12.
I hope today will be better.

FYI, masoor (brown lentils) = tons of protein
chana (bengal gram/horse gram) = very little protein.

Today's dilemma: Eat dinner with some asha folks (catered Indian (?) food) or eat dinner at home (Rajma and rice a.k.a red beans and rice).

Ha!

2008-01-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

This ad has been making the rounds and is quite funny.

But what is truly funny about this is ad is that the people I run with have used all these complaints/excuses at one time or another. While we run.

Infact, just yesterday, Alison thought her run was going to suck because she didn't have her Gu on her (with caffeine), I thought it was too cold and a bunch of us weren't feeling well because of allergies.
Yesterdays run was 900 meter repeats around the Zilker pool in alternating directions. Either way ends with either a steady climb or a steep climb. Favourite conversation during the run? Which direction do you hate more? The steady or the steep incline?

Running or jogging

2008-01-11T08:36:00.001-08:00

Apparently, in order to be technically running your speed has to be 9min/mile or faster. Otherwise, you're jogging.
I disagree.
There has to be a definition of running that involves perceived effort because a raw running pace cutoff doesn't take into account weight and body builds. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point that I can sustain 9min miles for longer than a mile but that doesn't mean that I'm not going the fastest I can when I 'run'. Not to mention, even though I'm slow, I do have a running pace and a jogging pace. I think there needs to be a new definition for the two terms.
Or maybe we just need to get away from this need to feel better than all those slow people out there (they jog but I actually run).

Thoughts?

Running with all the 'real' runners out there

2007-12-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

This is from four weeks ago:

Sometimes, things just work out. I was supposed to be working on a qualifying exam all weekend but my teacher decided to give us some extra time.

So, this weekend for the first time since the EAS 10miler, I got the chance to really run. These past few weeks I've been holding back. I've had to try to conserve energy to work for the rest of the day and also I haven't been eating well.

What I did:
breakfast: smoothie with fruit and protein powder. Waffle. Coffee. 16 oz of water.
three gu packets during the run
3 cones of water per water stop (got a bit much and ran the last few miles with a side stitch)

It was great, I got really sick of running with two miles to go and started speeding up. Something I've never quite done. I was feeling strong but I felt like I could sustain it.

Then....

with half a mile to go, I sprained my leg. But I was trying to make my goal so I tried to keep running on it. I finally stopped after cussing like a mad woman (a hold over from my VT days, when being injured warranted lots of @#$*s) and scaring the bejesus out of two women on the trail. I stopped, walked and tried not to kick myself with the leg that still could. Fortunately, It wasn't bad and I eventually ran the last quarter of a mile.

The ankle got lots of rest since the next week was spent frantically trying to finish the qualifying exam before the trip to portland. Trip was great. We got to run once in that entire 10 day period. Once. we did walk everywhere though. And I mean everywhere!

Sometimes you feel like a runner

2007-12-09T20:15:00.001-08:00

and sometimes you don't.

Went for my long run Sunday instead of Saturday. It was supposed to be relatively short 7 miles and I was running by myself. I was looking forward to it but at the same time it didn't seem right to take time out to run while I'm struggling to finish this semester.
I still went to the trail.
Well, I got shin splints in the first mile. Not sure what caused this. I also had an odd pounding headache and fuzzy contacts.
This year as with the last, I lost the enjoyment I get from running around this time. I've been thinking about what might be causing this and I think it is the end of the semester stuff that just gets me down. I'm not getting good sleep. My allergies are starting to act up. I'm stressed because of qualifying exams. Essentially, school is interfering with my extracurricular activities.
Update: ran around the neighbourhood and got shin splints again. I think I need more arch support with the Sauconys I'm using.

Cats

2007-12-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

Our neighbour's cat is trying to adopt us. He just sits in the back door and stares in. He's a cute one.
He was there when I left for a run yesterday and still there when I got back. It started one night when I cooked salmon...
Also, my cat will (without fail) want love when I stretch. For some reason he thinks it's perfectly acceptable for me to scratch his ears when I'm in downward dog or triangle.
And lastly, I really like chasing cats when I'm out running. It's really fun to watch them freeze initially when they see me 'charge' and then take off themselves.

good times...

Sugar!

2007-12-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

ta ta ta ta ta
oh honey honey.
(I used to love that song)

I've been monitoring my sugar intake lately since it seems like I'm particularly drawn to it. My nutritionist noticed that I tend to eat a little bit of something sugary almost everyday. So for the past two weeks, I've been trying to avoid it and also pay attention to cravings.

Things were going quite well until yesterday.
I had to leave home in a hurry so I grabbed a third of a nature's path bar as a snack (these are fairly balanced bars so I thought it wouldn't be too bad on my sugar levels). Last night though, I was craving something sweet so badly that I ate 1.5 hermit cookies. That in and of itself isn't too bad (they were newman's own) BUT...
I ate the half first and then instead of eating the remaining half, I actually ate a whole other (or for those of you that prefer: a whole nother) cookie! Then I caught myself wanting that half that was left in there.

Today was similar. I had a kashi frozen meal for lunch (sweet and sour chicken). It didn't occur to me that the entree was so sugary I could hear my taste buds singing their special sugar song. So for a snack this afternoon, I had pistachio nuts (good job G!) and 2 nutter butters (aw, and you were doing so well... sad face)

Now I have what I think is a sugar headache. Woe is me.

So here are the pressing questions:
I am quite hyper after I come back from my long runs. Could that be because of the 1-3 gel packets I consume? 100 calories of various sugars per packet. Hmmm.

Also, I eat like a mad woman over the weekend. Sure, saturdays are going to be a food fest since I run for hours at a time but its not just food but food like cookies and white chocolate mochas that I want. Then I get one because, you know, I worked for it. Then I want more. So I get something else on sunday because, you know, I'll work it off.

But that's the problem. I will work it off. But what about the gigantic arse on me that I am still trying to work off in the first place?

Long run 12/1

2007-12-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

13 miles at 6 am with Jessica. For some reason, the 7 year old impatient me was around and by mile 6 I was ready to be done. I had the hardest time keeping the motivation going. Having Jessica around made all the difference. On my own, I would have gone home after 7 (probably angry and disappointed in myself). Slept like a mad woman the rest of the day. Also in full on crunch mode for the next two weeks so the blog posts are going to be as incoherent as this one is.

Fun for me and fun for you.

Out of town long run

2007-11-27T08:41:00.000-08:00

Long runs when away from home are always interesting. The last long run I did was in Michigan during Sandeep's cousins wedding, it was supposed to be 6 miles so I mapped my run out and went for it. I realized too late I didn't have any gu on me so I took some jelly beans with a little salt sprinkled on. Disgusting! But it worked and the run went off without a hitch.

This time, I planned for the gel, post run banana and the map of where to run. But this time, I wasn't alone. My brother-in-law needed to be back sooner than me so we tried to stick close to home. I figured, I would run with him, drop him off at home and get the rest of the remainder of the 7 miles on my own. But by the time we were done with the first part, I felt empty. So I stopped. I hate running in those subdivisions. It's all concrete on the roads.

Well it turns out, that may have been the way to go. Gilbert said, running on roads is really not good for you. Good thing I stopped at 4.5 miles even though I still feel so guilty about not getting my entire distance in.

But can it be cured?

2007-11-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

I think I might have body dysmorphic disorder

While I was in physical therapy today my therapist had me do lunges for 12 minutes. It's a long time and your mind seems to wander. So I was thinking about how tiring this was the last time I did it and how much better I felt today.

So while I was in PT for for my weak hip and tender patella and weak hamstring and weak back and weak abs; I was congratulating myself on being strong!

That god, she is on my side today

2007-11-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Went to get a salad from chick-fil-a. Decided to get four nuggets as well (eat two today, two tomorrow). But they had only packets of 8 and 12, so didn't get any.

Went to the store to get some milk for tea. Saw what I thought was carrot cake w/ cream cheese frosting.
Crap, can't resist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

But it was actually banana cake with cream cheese frosting.

Phew.

Crises averted.

p.s.
The salad is delicious with sunflower seeds on it. Cheese on salads is overrated unless it's something like feta or gorgonzola.

I'm just sayin'

Runtex 10Miler recap

2007-11-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

Now that the week of hell that lasted 10 days is over. I can post about the EAS/Runtex run for the water 10miler benefitting the gazelle's foundation.

The day started off great. We took off on the race with me running with Carol and Staley but I realized quickly that I wouldn't be able to hang with these guys so I slowed down (that's a good thing since Carol finished at a 8:30 pace and Staley at 9 min). Jessica (who had started out with Sarah and Allison, who were running the 5k) met up with me and we ran together from the half mile point.

It was humid but we started off feeling pretty good. But things went a little downhill from that point. Jess realized that she had been on her feet the entire day before the race (volunteering for the race) and then ate badly because she waited too long. So around mile 2 or 3, it became a very real possibility that she might throw up. I was just trying not to push myself because I still had most of my presentation for a class to work on for the rest of the day (~75 pages in all). So we ran, trying to remember that this was supposed to be a training run and not pushing ourselves. We talked the entire way to try and keep each other entertained/distracted.

Miles 8-10 were probably the most painful. The hills were done. We had successfully avoided pushing ourselves or throwing up but we were just exhausted and wanted to be done. We even took a walk break around mile 9.5 but we seemed to just be sick of it. I think we just wanted to be done.

The volunteers were amazing. They cheered us, directed us and some that we knew even ran with us. I'm not sure if we would have made it if it hadn't been for the familiar faces and encouraging yells and hoots.

It felt good to be done but I'm not sure I felt happy to have run it, just happy to be finished.

So, it turns out Decker 20M will not be happening. I can't deal with these baby hills. Decker's hills would make me cry for my mama.

I think that a hilly race may not be the best way to motivate yourself to run a longer race. During the second half of the race a question kept popping up in my mind: If I'm not doing so well with this mileage, how am I going to keep going for three more miles? But I need to remember that the half I'm running is qualitatively different. It's flat. In fact, some people tell me it's downhill a large part of the way. Supposed to be among the fastest races around.

I'm still in training. I just need to get stronger around hills and not plan to race during hell weeks.

OMG

2007-11-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

It's tomorrow. So much hard work and it doesn't really end tomorrow, it just begins. The first race of the season, the EAS 10miler is tomorrow.

After that there might be a very scary (read: hilly) 20K (~12 miles) in our near future called the decker 20K. We'll see, I'm not supposed to know about it since Jessica has only started thinking about it.
And to end it all, the 3M half at the end of december.

But for tonight, I working on my presentation for monday (which is sucky BTW, thanks for asking) and really excited about the race tomorrow. I think sometimes, my need for speed (and I use the term "speed" very loosely here) might be the only thing that keeps me going through 70 pages of dry, inane reading that I need to talk about for 2 hours.

It's tomorrow. I can't wait/I'm petrified of those hills on pecos and scenic drive. But I have a mango flavoured clif shot that deserves to be tried in the field.

Breathe

2007-11-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

1st year research presentation in 1.5 hours. So pucky. Need to lay down. Or just throw up and get it over and done with.

Eight days a week...

2007-11-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

I don't need a whole extra day, just an extra hour a day would be helpful. Although, I'd probably just use it for sleeping. Also, on a related note. Sandeep and I are having a really hard time adjusting to the daylight savings change. It seems that it takes the body up to six weeks to adjust to the fall change and up to four weeks to adjust to the spring daylight savings change.

JP's irish breakfast at 2 in the afternoon really does make things a little more bearable. It also helps when cute UPS men stop by. Ooh, caffeine and eye candy. Excellent!

The EAS 10Miler race is this sunday and for a brief period of time this morning I considered not running it so that I have more time to prepare for my presentation on Monday. Then I remembered just how much time I've put into training and that it's the only thing I'm looking forward to. Also, I think Ms. "I don't like road races" would kill me after I used what she called my puppy dog eyes to get her to run with me for the race.

Must post

2007-11-06T07:35:00.001-08:00

But school demands attention. Will post on Friday.

On Second Thought

2007-10-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

Maybe not. Maybe I don't want to run this race.
Jessica and I (and two other girls) ran the bulk of the course set for the runtex 10 miler in preparation for the race. It's behind lake austin boulevard and just so pretty. There's something about running in the neighbourhoods of Austin on a cold day. I get nostalgic/pensive/joyful (all of the above). I can't describe it. It involves feeling so glad to be part of something and at the same time so small and wanting to do something worthwhile. To give back to this world that gives me so much to be happy about.

But that really is where the joy ends. It turns out these beautiful areas of Austin are also substantially hilly. The portion of the run that we tried out will be spank in the middle of the race and it's a mixture of rolling and steep hills. I'm a little worried since I really don't do well around hills.

But that being said, I feel a change. It's as if I'm no longer a girl and I'm sprouting into... I kid. Its just that I feel really strong lately, where in the past I would have needed to walk up one of these hills, this time, I ran every single one.

I will run the race. I will run those hills and walk if I have to. Jessica will run them with me and we will show them who is boss.

Unexpected realizations

2007-10-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Monday workouts with the gazelles are supposed to focus on strength. We were doing circuit training this week. That means run a lap on a track, do a bunch of exercises and then do that all over again. On a good day we can fit in 4 reps. On a really hot day we're lucky if we can get 2 reps in.

Last monday, we were doing core work which involves passing these 6lb medicine balls between partners. I could have sworn the one we (Sarah and I) were working with was heavier. Sarah thought so to but Gilbert overheard us. He said something to the effect of "Gayatri, I thought you were a tough girl. I'm disappointed"
I replied with "It is heavier but that doesn't mean I am not going to do my share!"
I'm kinda proud I said that. So many people tend to presume that just because you would say something about a task being difficult means you're complaining and plan on not doing it. We were just making conversation to distract from the pain.

But the thing that really floored me was how annoyed/defensive I got after he said that. He didn't mean anything by it, he was just pulling my leg. But I didn't like hearing that. It seems a lot of my self-worth in terms of working out is tied up in the fact that I believe that I am not lazy about it. I'll take days off when needed but when I'm there (be it running, yoga or VT as it was in the days of yore), I'm there to workout.

What was my realization you ask? That while most people would be proud of starting or sticking to an exercise regiment or being really good at a sport, I guess I'm proud of the fact that I am persistent at sucking at a sport.

Miscellanea

2007-10-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

It makes me laugh every time someone is surprised that yoga can make one sore. Let me count: upper abs, shoulders, biceps, inner thighs, hamstrings, palm right underneath the thumb etc etc so on and so forth.

You know you're in training when strange parts of you ache and you don't even stop to think about it. e.g. "Oh, that was inside the right butt. Good one". Wait, I think that counts as thinking about it.

I feel like such a loser when I get out of the yoga class and then sit with my back hunched. You would think I would know better. Oh yeah, back is also sore. Nice sore. Like my muscles may get over their shyness and come out to play.

EAS 10Miler is only 2.5 weeks away. I can't wait. And by can't wait, I mean I'm really excited/anxious. I also think I'm worried I might injure myself and not be able to run. That would possibly be the worst thing that could happen.

My protein tragedy

2007-10-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to get 30% of my calories from protein. So says my nutritionist. I can barely make it to 26% on a good day. I'm to a large extent a vegetarian and a carboholic. So trying to get 30% protein is indescribably difficult. I tried to help myself out by having an omelette with two eggs and an egg white. We've all been told that almost all the fat is in the yolk and almost all the protein is in the white. Well, we've been told wrong!

Fact:
2/3 of the protein is in the white, 1/3 is in the yolk. So if you expect 7 gms of protein from an egg white, you are going to be sorely disappointed. It's more like 3.6.
In a sense this is good news to me because the yolks are the only reason why I eat eggs.
Another justification for eating the yolk? All the good stuff in an egg, all the nutritive stuff, vitamins, minerals etc are all in the yolk. This also makes sense since that is the food sac for the embryo.

So besides meat, what else is there that delivers protein. No carb-protein compounds like beans but just protien. Dairy?

Long run Oct 20th

2007-10-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

We hit the big 1-0. 10 miles at 6 am on saturday and it was amazing. It was just Jessica and me since both Staley and Zaundra ran the IBM 10K today.

I can't believe we did the entire 10 mile trail!
The south first bridge divides the trail into two distinct halves. There's the four mile half which is more populated and more consistently pretty. Then there are the other 6 miles. There are some amazingly pretty portions to this side of the trail. Unfortunately, you have to put up with a few things to get to the pretty portions. For example, a lot of homeless people sleep long the trail on this side for some reason. All the crime on the trail has taken place on this side. Also, you have to run along the street for about a quarter to half of a mile and cross a highway (I-35!) to get to the trail. Uphill (ok, not the entire way, but there is one killer). Still, its relatively quieter on this side and I think overall just a prettier run. Its my favourite side.

So, since it was still dark outside, we decided to run the 4 mile side first and continue onto the 6 mile side hopefully around sunrise. The nice thing about that would be that we still get to do the side that both Jess and I like and the killer hill on the street would now be all downhill. Yaa! Did I mention I HATE hills?

We started the first mile out really slow to warm up. We meant to speed up after that but the trial was so dark that we had to keep going slow for at least the next mile if not more. We took breaks every two miles or so for get a sip of water or take some gel. I think this was key in keeping us going. Since the breaks came so frequently, we never felt it get too hard to keep going. Wait, it might also have something to do with the fact that we stretched our backs out during these breaks too (both our backs were a little vocal during the run). We took it easy and talked the entire way. We walked maybe around a quarter of a mile in total so I have say this was a good run. I felt strong most of the way except at one point when my knee complained a bit. Stopping and walking for a little bit was all it needed and we finished strong.

Notable Sights:
- sudden daylight. I know it wasn't really sudden but it seemed like at one point it was still dark and it was dawn the next.
- a huge, obnoxious house with lines like the alamo along the road part of the run.
- a cocoon that was at least 3 inches in length suspended between two silk wires in a tree. Come to think of it, it might have been spider food suspended in a web not a cocoon. That's going to be one large snack for a spider.
- a duck on the lake gunning it towards breakfast. It was far enough away that we could just see it's silhouette and the massive wave of water it left behind it.
- Andre and josh (/jake/john?) leaving a whole hour after us to do 10 miles and getting done with us.
- Mocha Jess. She has trouble opening the gel packets with sweaty hands. So this week she tried to slit one open and reseal it with foil. She then put this sachet into her shorts with the cut side above the band of her shorts. At mile four when we took our first gel, it turned out, her shorts and her hip also got a little snack.

Keeping yoga in the mix is making sure that I have just the usual aches and pains that one would get from increasing mileage like this. Nothing that causes concern.

When I started running, if I started out slow, I would finish slow but we're getting to the point that we are making up all the time we lose when we start. I can't believe this 10 mile run was easier than the 9 mile run two weeks ago. It's not simply that I am getting better at this running thing but I think I'm also getting over my fear of running long distances.

I need to start keeping track of what I eat. What works and what doesn't. That can be the next post, I suppose.

Long runs for 6/9 and 13/9

2007-10-21T15:21:00.001-07:00

Three weeks ago Jessica, Staley and I ran our long run together, 9 miles. This was the longest run I had ever done uptil that point and I was really nervous the entire night before. I had trouble falling asleep but thankfully not too much trouble getting up. The last two miles were a little tough but having Jessica there made a world of difference. The strange thing about that is that I wasn't exhausted. To a large extent, it was mental. I knew I was past 7 miles and I'd never run this far so my brain was telling me that I had to be tired for the last two miles.

Last weekend we were supposed to run 7 miles but I decided I didn't want to drop so far down so ran 8 instead. This time, Staley and Jessica and Zaundra were with me, which is good because we started at 6 in the morning and it was still dark outside. Jessica and Zaundra had planned to do 7 miles while Staley was willing to do 8 with me. Midway through the run, we were discussing how to add the one mile in and he tried to trick me into doing more than 8 miles. His argument was that once I was done, I would feel like I had accomplished so much. But for me, I don't like being misled. I need to mentally prepare for the work ahead. He also will say things like "that's it, now we have only 4 miles left" but in actuality, we have 4.5 or 5 miles still left and needless to say, I don't like that either.
It took a little while to shake the irritation off from that encounter but I think at the end of the day, I would still rather have someone running with me that I get along with than have to do this alone.

Weightwatchers

2007-10-11T12:25:00.001-07:00

I think weightwatchers is too concerned with fat and not concerned enough with protein. For example, an ounce of nuts are the same amount of points as a can of coke. Someone on WW please comment.

Whoa Spinach

2007-10-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Is there anything you can't do?

I knew you had fiber, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, folate etc, etc.

But now you tell me you are pretty high in protein. What? Should I be calling all my past, you know... partners to let them know about this?

Different goals

2007-10-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

I was eating eggs for breakfast today and thinking about how body builders can eat food the way they do. They eat the same things everyday, in massive quantities and get sick of it. But they still eat it. Similarly, people with eating disorders don't like the purging or the starving but they do it anyway.

I think I know what the difference between them and me is. The end goal is different. They see that the ultimate goal is to get your body to look a certain way (not always a healthy way, mind you). My end goal seems to be to eat and enjoy the food I am going to eat in an attempt to get my body to look a certain way. You see the problem?

I think the saying "you can't have your cake and eat it too" works really well here. I can't eat to enjoy my food and still expect to see results of weight loss from it.

Food doesn't do double duty. It can't be entertainment and sustenance. If it's entertaining, it ain't doing anything good for your body and if it is fuel then it sure as hell ain't going to be fun to eat (except maybe steel cut oats)

things you learn on a long run

2007-10-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

apparently you can chaff (chafe? I don't know the spelling) unexpected 'areas' on your body when running really long.

huh.

Weird Wants Wednesdays

2007-09-19T15:28:00.001-07:00

Crazy craving for the day:
apples
polenta

SoF- part deux

2007-08-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

So some really odd and good things have come from this:

I have returned to yoga after close to 7 months off.
My running is so much stronger and happier because I know I can push myself now.
I have learnt that I can workout in a way that is good for me. By that I mean, workout just to work out. No other agenda. With the injuries, I was just glad that I got to even move so I couldn't workout to lose weight or build muscle etc. This is good to know because it means that I can trust myself not to push me to far.
Its been kind of fun to see how different the two sides of my body are. Especially during yoga, my left hip is so unsure where my right can do things effortlessly. I think its also going to be a good day when both hips can do the same things.
And lastly, it turns out I have a stronger core than I thought I did, my PT didn't need me to do the core exercises that most people in my situation would need to do. Yeah! that one month of ab-lab really helped, eh?

Summer of fun

2007-08-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well there were injuries and lots of wondering what is wrong with me.

Injured my hip in may and realized that maybe my knee wasn't quite as 'rehabilitated' as I had thought. I tried to rest for two weeks but that didn't help it at all. Since running seemed to help, I went back to running and just took it slow. I did stop by a doctors office and he told me that it may have been a simple muscle inflammation and offered to give me a cortisone shot if the pain didn't go away (FYI, if the doctor's diagnosis invovles the term 'bursitis and a cortisone shot, the odds are he doesn't know/care what the actual problem is). Thank goodness I didn't believe him and went back to even slower than usual running.

A month back, my back siezed up. On the way to running one monday, I realized just how bad it was. I was having trouble sneezing and sitting. So I gave in and got a deep tissue massage. That was great but I knew that at 80 odd dollars, I can't use this as therapy. My decision was to take those 80 dollars back to yoga.
Best decision ever, not completely healed but my back felt better my hips did too. In the meantime, I went and saw another doctor about the pain in my hip. I felt so frustrated because I wasn't even able to describe exactly what was going on with me. My hip on my left hurt, my hamstring on the same side seized up when I ran as did my knee but not so bad I had to stop. And to add to it, my back was in bad shape. It turns out, by Tx law, they can see me for only one injury at a time so my hips, it would have to be.

The doctor comes in all rushed and I'm thinking that he is going to go too fast and get me out of there as fast as possible. But he took his time and after a ton of hip manipulations and very painful thumb presses he knew what was going on. So much so that he was able to predict where it hurt and why.

So the diagnosis is: Sacroiliac joint syndrome + weak abductors on the left + patellar tendonitis . My back is compensating for my hip and since I have back issues already, it's not happy.

Fun. Physical therapy began a week ago and I feel so much better already. My PT is also a chiropractor so he adjusted my hips. The pain in my back went from a loud roar to a small groan almost immediately. Wow!

Next post about the good things that have come from all this.

5th May '07

2007-05-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and 1/2 & 1/2 (3 carbs)
Eggs - 2 (0 carbs)
Sausage - 2 (1 carb)

Snack
Pistachio mix 3 oz (8 carbs)

Lunch
Indian leftovers (8 carbs)

Dinner
Korean Beef stir-fry (8 carbs)

Total Carbs - 28 carbs
Activity - None

Let's face it -

2007-03-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

I'm fat.
This is not a post asking for comments disagreeing with me to pad my ego. I know that I'm overweight. It's just been weird this week. I'm putting on weight since I went off atkins. That's a little crazy considering I have been eating under 2000 kcalories and running 3-4 times each week (also back to 6 miles on saturdays). I mean seriously, is this how its going to be for the rest of my life? I'm going to try and lose the same 10lbs over and over again? The really sad thing is that they aren't even the last 10 that I need to lose. I still have another 13-15 to go to just be in the 'healthy' range. We aren't talking svelte yet. Hell, I'm not even asking for svelte. I picked 5lbs under the maximum I can be for my height as my goal.
Last monday, Gilbert took a picture of the group and it appears that I am the largest of the women in there. That's fine. I don't mind. Yes I do. It's frustrating to see new people come in and become faster than me. That's okay I'm getting stronger too. Then cedar kicks in. Then exams kick in. There's always something, isn't there? I'm not making excuses. I work really hard at running. I am not very good at it but I am diligent. Being slow isn't a result of laziness, it is a result of body type. These aren't running hips, they are child-birthing (as Amanda calls them) hips.
So back to my original point, this week has been tough. I'm putting weight back on but I am faster than I've been in a long time. We did 400m this wednesday and I kept them under 2:15 each time. We did eight of them. So I'm back to the speed I was at before finals last semester (my strongest). So what's the problem? Well the girls I run with ran them really strong and fast
(under 2 mins each). These are girls I was just beginning to keep up with before finals/cedar season. I just want to be able to run along with them and it looks like that isn't going to be happening. But that's okay, I run for myself. I need to keep reminding myself that. I run for my weight, for my strength and for my mind. I run for myself. This is going to be tough to remember.

G - 1st March 07

2007-03-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (30/0/0/1.5)
Omelette w/ cilantro and chillies, 2 eggs (192/15/0/1)
Apple, small (55/0/2.5/12.5)

Snack
Crunchy peanut snack 1/2 oz (83/7/1/x)

Lunch
Pickle, 2 tbsp (80/6/0/9)
Rice, brown, 1.5 cups (328/2.4/5/63)

Snack
Carrot-orange juice, orange ruins the carrot, 12 oz (155/0/1/34)

Dinner
Quinoa, w/ pine nuts, 1 cup (338/17.5/5.5/29)
Potatoes and asparagus w/ 1 tbsp oil (260/14/5/26)

Total - 1521/62/20/174.5
Activity - Running

G - 28 Feb 07

2007-02-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (30/0/0/1.5)
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6/21)

Lunch
Ziti Bake, 1 cup (333/13/2.3/35)
Green tea (0/0/0/0)

Snack
cookie, hmmd, 1.5 (225/7.5/6/33)
All bran crackers, 18 (130/6/5/14)

Dinner
Fried rice, veggie, brown hmmd 1 cups (169/8/2/20)
Milk, 1%, 1/2 cup (77/2/0/9)
Kashi golean crunch, 1 cup (200/5/8/26)

Total - 1334/44.5/29.3/159.5
Activity - Running with cramps

G - 27th Feb 07

2007-02-27T08:15:00.001-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and 1/2/ & 1/2 (30/3.4/0/0)
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6/21)

Snack
Morning glory muffin (444/22/2/54)

Lunch
Amy's Tofu lasagne, 3/4 (232/8.25/4.5/26)
Green tea, 2 cups (0)

Snack
Light granola, 1/2 cup (158/2.6/2/41)
Milk, 1%, 3/4 cup (77/2/0/9)

Dinner
Pasta, WW, 2oz (210/1/6/38)
Tomato sauce (100/9/2/2)
Shrimp, 2 oz (54/1/0/0)

Total - 1475/46.25/21.5/191
Activity - None

G - 26th Feb 07

2007-02-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (30/0/0/1.5)
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6/21)
Butter, light, 1 tbsp (50/5/0/0)

Lunch
Pizza, veggie deep dish, 272gms (705/33/4.5/64)
Fig Newton, ww (50/1/1/10)

Snack
Golden Raisins, 30 gms (91/0/1/23)

Dinner
cookie, hmmd, 1 (150/5/4/22)
Fried rice, veggie, brown hmmd 2 cups (338/16/4/41)
Potato, small (131/0/4/25)

Total - 1584/63/24.5/207
Activity - None

G - 25th Feb 07

2007-02-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (30/0/0/1.5)
Banana, 1 small (90/0/2.6/20.4)
cookie, hmmd, 1 (150/5/4/22)

Lunch
Breakfast tacos, 1.5 (472/x/3/33)
Hot chocolate, 12 oz (249/10/1/25)

Snack
cookie, hmmd, 1 (150/5/4/22)

Dinner
Masale Bhat, 3/4 cup (303/13/0/39)
CM 9 grain bread, 2 oz (142/2/3.6/23)
Butter, light, 1 tbsp (50/5/0/0)

Total - 1636/40+/16.7/153+
Activity - Sun salutations

G - 24th Feb 07

2007-02-23T21:47:00.001-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (30/0/0/1.5)
Luna sunrise bar (180/4/5/24)
Luna sunrise bar (180/4/5/24)

Snack
Thin crust veggie pizza, 4 oz (250/8.5/1.75/30)

Lunch
Be bim bop, 1 cup (400/20/0/53)
Calamari, 2 large pieces, (100/7/0/3)

Dinner
Beer, 24 oz (307/0/0/25)
Munchies (300/10/1/30)

Total - 1747/53.5/12/190.5
Activity - running

G - 23nd Feb 07

2007-02-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (30/0/0/1.5)
CM 9 grain bread, 2 oz (142/2/3.6/23)
Butter, light, 1 tbsp (50/5/0/0)

Snack
Apple, medium (72/0/3.3/15.7)

Lunch
Pizza, thin crust, pesto, 8 oz (554/20/3.5/64)

Dinner
California roll, 4 pieces (120/2/3/17)
eel roll, 2 pieces (90/2/0/14)
Pork egg roll, large (250/15/1/17)
Blood orange italian soda, 8 oz (120/0/0/28)

Total - 1428/46/14.4/180.2
Activity - None

G - 22nd Feb 07

2007-02-22T10:53:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (30/0/0/1.5)
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6/21)

Snack
Apple, medium (72/0/3.3/15.7)
Peas bhaji, 1/2 cup (115/7/2.5/5)

Lunch
Rice, 1/2 cup (121/0/0/27)
Rajma, 1 cup (187/7/4.5/16)

Snack
Macciato w/ 2 packs sugar & 1 oz half and half (61/3.4/0/7)

Snack
Bread, 2 oz (154/2/1.5/27)

Dinner
Pasta, WW, 2oz (210/1/6/38)
Tomato sauce (100/9/2/2)
Bread, 1 oz (77/1/.75/13)
Salmon, 3 oz (143/7/0/0)

Total - 1440/40.4/26.55/173
Activity - Running

Counting carbs

2007-02-21T12:25:00.000-08:00

Apparently athletes are able to make it on a restricted carb diet so I'm going to try and make it for the next month on a 150gms/day of carbs. The last number in the food journal denotes a gms of carbs per food item.
Why for the next month? I will be trying to run five times a week for the next month to get my abilities back up to where I used to be before the finals last semester. Why not add the carb restriction as well. This way, maybe I'll actually see some weight come off without Atkinsian carb intakes.

G - 21st Feb 07

2007-02-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0/1.5)
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6/21)
Butter, light, 1 tbsp (50/5/0/0)

Lunch
Ziti Bake, 1.5 cups (496/19/3.5/51.5)
Green tea (0/0/0/0)

Snack
Banana, pre run (90/0/2.6/20.4)

Snack
Powerade, ~8oz (78/0/0/19)

Dinner
Rice, 1 cup (242/0/0/53)
Rajma, 2 cup (375/14/9/32)

Total - 1538/41/21/208
Activity - Running

G - 20th Feb 07

2007-02-18T08:20:00.001-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6)
Butter, light, 1 tbsp (50/5/0)

Snack
Peanuts 1oz (166/14/2)

Lunch
Amy's veggie enchiladas, 2 (360/12/6)

Snack
Stonyfield maple vanilla lowfat yogurt (130/1.5/2)

Dinner
Smart ones, meat lasagne (300/6/5)
Coffee w/ sugar and milk (63/0/0)

Total - 1276/41.5/21
Activity - none

G - 19th Feb 07

2007-02-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
Kashi golean crunch, 1 cup (200/2/8)
Milk, 1%, 1 cup (102/2.3/0)

Snack
Tangarine, 1 (64/0/2)
Banana, med (105/0/3)

Lunch
Amy's spinach lasagne (310/12/5)

Snack
Crunchy peanut snack 1oz (166/14/2)

Snack
Grapefruit juice, 8 oz (96/0/0)
CM 9 grain bread, 2 oz (142/2/3.6)
Cheese, 2%, 1 oz (50/3/0)

Dinner
Burrito, guacamole no meat, 3/4 (652/22.5/11.25)

Total - 1924/57.8/34.85
Activity - Running

G - 18th Feb '07

2007-02-12T11:43:00.006-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
Strawberry oat bar, 1/2 (140/4.5/1.5)
CM 9 grain bread, 1 oz (71/1/1.8)
Butter, light, 1 tbsp (50/5/0)

Lunch
Dim sum, lots (500/15/2)

Snack
Hot chocolate, 12 oz (249/10/1)

Dinner
Peas bhaji, 1 cup (231/14/6)
Green tea, 2 cups (0/0/0)

Total - 1278/49.5/12.3
Activity - None

G - 17th Feb 07

2007-02-12T11:43:00.005-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk, 2 (74/0/0)
Oatbran muffin (305/8/5)
Banana, med (105/0/3)

Snack
Banana, medium (105/0/3)

Lunch
Pasta w/ marinara, 1 cup (204/3/2)
Bread, foccacia, 3 oz (250/6/2)

Dinner
Israelly couscous salad, 1/2 cup (155/10/0)
Tangarine, 2 (128/0/4)
Wild oats cookies, 2 (260/10/2)

Chocolate martini, sml (241/9/0)

Total - 1827/46/17
Activity - Running

G - 16th Feb 07

2007-02-12T11:43:00.003-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6)
Butter, 1 tbsp (76/10/0)

Lunch
Sushi rolls (rice paper, no rice) 6 pieces (204/10/6)
Israelly couscous salad, 1/2 cup (155/10/0)

Snack
CM 9 grain bread, 2 oz (142/2/3.6)
Butter, light, 1 tbsp (50/5/0)

Dinner
Wild oats cookies, 1 (130/5/1)
Rice, 1 cup (242/.5/1)
Misc, lentil and meat stew (200/5/2)
Chapatis - 2 (120/1/3)

Total - 1526/51.5/22.6
Activity - Laser Tag!

G - 15th feb 07

2007-02-12T11:43:00.001-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
Luna sunrise bar (180/4/5)

Snack
Kashi Golean Waffle, 2 (170/3/6)

Lunch
Vietnamese noodle bowl with fried tofu (326/17/4)

Snack
Tangarine, 1 (64/0/2)
Wild oats cookies, 2 (260/10/2)

Snack
Stacy's pita chips, 1 oz (130/5/2)

Dinner
Tortilla, 2 (220/5/2)
Cheese, 2%, 1 oz (50/3/0)
Fake taco meat, 1/4 cup (130/6/4)
Guacamole, 1/4 cup (170/16/7)

Total - 1737/69/34
Activity - Running

G - 14th Feb 07

2007-02-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
CM 9 grain bread, 1 oz (71/1/1.8)
Butter, 1/2 tbsp (38/5/0)
Stonyfield maple vanilla lowfat yogurt (130/1.5/2)
Light granola, 1/4 cup (79/1.3/1)

Snack
Stonyfield chocolate underground nonfat yogurt (170/0/3)
Peanuts 1/2 oz (83/7/1)

Lunch
Chapatis - 4 (240/2/6)
Chole, hmmd, 1 cup (300/18/8)

Dinner
Tortilla, 1.5 (165/3.5/1)
Fake taco meat, 1/4 cup (130/6/4)

Total - 1443/45.3/27.8
Activity - None

G - 13th Feb 07

2007-02-08T19:50:00.001-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
Kashi Golean Waffle, oat, 3 (240/4.5/4.5)

Snack
Peanuts 1/2 oz (83/7/1)

Lunch
Subway veggie sandwich w/ mayo and cheese, 6" (380/18.5/4)

Dinner
Chapatis - 3.5 (280/2.25/7)
Chole, hmmd, 1 cup (300/18/8)

Seirra Nevada IPA (153/0/0)

Total - 1473/50.25/
Activity - None

G - 12th Feb 07

2007-02-08T19:49:00.003-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
Egg, 2 (143/10/0)
CM 9 grain bread, 2 oz (142/2/3.6)
Butter, 1 tbsp (76/10/0)

Snack
Fig newton, ww, 1 (55/1/1)

Lunch
Rice, 1/2 cup (120/0/0)
Palak Paneer, hmmd 3/4 cup (162/12/3.4)

Snack
Stacy's pita chips, 1.5 oz (195/7.5/3)

Dinner
Light granola, 2/3 cups (210/3.5/4)
Milk, 1%, 1.5 cup (154/3.5/0)

Total - 1294/49.5/15
Activity - None

G - 11th Feb 07

2007-02-08T19:49:00.001-08:00

Breakfast
Coffee w/ splenda and milk (37/0/0)
CM 9 grain bread, 3 oz (213/3/5.4)
Butter, 1 tbsp (67/7/0)

Snack
Hot chocolate, 24 oz (450/18/2)
Super veggie Sandwich (300/5/3)
Latte, whole, 8 oz (146/8/0)

Dinner
Pizza, thin crust, eggplant, 8 oz (505/17/2)

Total - 1718/58/12.4
Activity - None