Monthly Archives: May 2011

Marathon Countdown

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17 days until the Mayor’s Marathon. . . . :)

I am very excited for this marathon! Probably the most excited I’ve ever been for a race. Yet, there is a little bit of anxiety because I know it is going to hurt!!

And some of you are probably wondering why I would voluntarily put my body through something so brutal?!?! Well, I’ll just say this: run a marathon yourself (or any race for that matter) and then tell me you don’t want to do it again. The feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration is like no other when crossing the finish line!

(I’m not sure why the quality of this photo is so poor. No, I am not an apparition.)

Today’s run:

Distance: 10 miles

Time: 1:25

I felt much better today compared to yesterday! I didn’t recap my run yesterday, but on Monday I was still quite sore from my 21-mile on Saturday—even though I had taken a complete rest day on Sunday—so I just did an easy 7 mile run on Monday. I wanted to do a track workout, but as soon as I got up Monday morning, I knew that was not happening!

Today was another long, easy run. I enjoyed the pace, the scenery, and the time to think and pray. :)

Breakfast #2

Tropical Fruit Protein Smoothie

orange juice + 1/2 banana + 1 tablespoon protein powder + frozen fruit (mangos, papayas, pineapple)

I purchased this bag of frozen fruit from Costco, and I love the variety of fruit in it.

I like simple foods after running. Don’t give me complicated foods with a lot of flavor—just keep it simple.

bread ‘n’ butter

My mid-afternoon snack was some trail mix: almonds, peanuts, yogurt covered raisins, and dried cranberries.

This afternoon I had an appointment at Tieszen Chiropractic. (They also do massage therapy and Rolfing.)

I had an appointment to have the Graston Technique performed on my IT (iliotibial) bands.

While I have been fortunate to never have any problems with my IT band, they are very tight! I decided to give this technique a try to help loosen them up and hopefully in turn improve my biomechanics when I run.

This is what the tools for Graston Technique look like. My chiropractor joked they looked like medieval tools.

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First my IT bands were heated for about 10 minutes. Then the chiropractor rubbed a gel on the area he was going to work so the tools easily slid across my skin.

He then ran the tools along my IT band breaking up any knots or adhesions like the picture below shows.

It didn’t hurt any more than the foam roller does. There were areas where I was more tender than others, but overall there was only a slight level of discomfort.

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I will be very interested to see how I feel tomorrow. The chiropractor said I might bruise a little, but I am encouraged to keep running and do everything I would normally do. :)

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Question

Have you ever heard of Graston Technique or know anything about it?

Belated Blogiversary

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So, yes, I missed the one-year anniversary of my blog, which was supposed to be on Saturday.

But I figure it is better late than never to celebrate with a little recap. :)

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This past year was filled with my first marathon, the passing of my grandma, a stressful year of teaching, and fun with the husband.

Here’s just a few recaps of my favorite posts from the past year:

Sea Kayaking for our Anniversary

Grandma’s Marathon

Zombie Half-Marathon

A Fun Day in Seattle

Frosty Eyelashes & Running with the Sis

Moose On My Run

Yogurtland. . . Here I Come

I’ll be back with more later today! I’m off for a run in the sun! :)

Memorial Day Weekend

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What a horrible blogger I am!!

I missed the one-year anniversary of my blog (a.k.a. my blogiversary)!! So sad. . . .oh well, life goes on.

If you care to read my first post, click here. Don’t worry, it is nothing special. I basically wrote why I created my blog in the first place.

Maybe I’ll do a fun little recap of the year tomorrow! :)

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Memorial Day Weekend = start of summer

I think most people would agree that Memorial Weekend is the kick-off to summer!

If you need something to bring to your Memorial Day BBQ, picnic, or get-together, check out these recipes:

Appetizers

Edamamae Guacamole

White Bean Dip

Vegan friendly

Lentil Walnut Burgers

Fruited Bulgar and Lentil Salad

Rolls/Buns

Soft Whole Wheat Rolls

Dessert

Rhubarb Crisp

Peanut Butter Bars

Fruit Pizza

Last night Craig and I enjoyed a little homemade pizza action.

I like my variety, so I basically created 3 different pizzas on my one piece of dough. I also had some roasted broccoli on the side.

Any time I make homemade pizza dough, I always make it the night before and put in the fridge until we are ready to use it. I’ve done this because it seems like all the best pizza dough recipes require you do to this.

Well, I was lazy Friday night and didn’t feel like making it, so I held off until we were ready to actually eat pizza on Saturday.

When I started making the dough Saturday evening, I was a little worried the dough wouldn’t turn out that well since it wouldn’t be refrigerated overnight. However, through this little accident, I discovered how to the a paper thin, crispy crust!!

I was so excited because any other time I make pizza dough, the crust gets very thick and chewy (which I also do like). But sometimes I want a thin, crunchy crust.

Plus, the dough was much easier to work with and stayed in the shape I wanted it to.

My only guess as to why the crust was paper thin was because the yeast didn’t have time to start working?!?!

I used this recipe.

I thoroughly enjoyed every last piece!

After pizza, we headed to our new favorite dessert place: Yogurtland. We are definitely addicted! ;)

I filled my cup with red velvet, coconut, and cheesecake frozen yogurt and topped it with chocolate-based treats.

I am not going to waste my money on heavy fruit. I’d rather get a 1/4 cup of Oreo crumbs instead of 1 strawberry!!

This time we made it in and out in 17 minutes, thereby avoiding to pay for parking at the airport. We are getting good!

Then it was off to the movie theater to see Bridesmaids.

The movie was extremely funny!! It was definitely a little raunchy at times and I’m not a fan of cussing (which there is a lot of), but other than that the acting was superb, the script was well written, and it was a great little movie.

I have heard it is the female equivalent of Hangover I/II. I thought it might be more of a chick flick, but Craig enjoyed it as well.

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I am laying low today because my knees are sore and muscles are very tight—especially my thutt (thigh + butt) muscles—from my run yesterday!

Enjoy!