Et Tu Butt

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

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

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

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

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

- 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

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

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?

This is so disturbing and yet so informative:

Inclusive exclusion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.