Friday Food

Monday evening I had a dinner meeting to pitch an idea to a local organization.  It was a casual get together but  I was still a little unsure of my stomach so I played it safe and just ordered a bowl of soup.  The meeting went well and I headed home only to hit the door feeling starved.  My appetite was back and my stomach has been completely fine ever since.  I hit this bucket 'o cookies hard this week and just polished off the last few.  Too bad there were supposed to be 17 servings in the bucket.  

 I played it safe only running some easy, slow miles this week.  I spent my usual early morning runs just slow on the treadmill and then lunch time runs with the dogs.  I expect to be back to normal by next week and am feeling good!

Hopefully I can make this a productive weekend both with some neglected house chores and re-stocking the house with some real food...not just cookies.

A few things from the past few weeks that were contributions over at Once a Month Mom,

First, Shrimp and Orzo Bake

And, Buffalo Turkey Lettuce Wraps

HAT Run 50K

Saturday was a long, long day packed with many miles through muddy, muddy trails in Susquehanna State Park in Havre de Grace, MD for the 24th annual HAT Run 50K.

Friday evening, my sister drove down to spend the night at our house.  We planned a 4:30 AM wake up call so we could hit the road at 5 AM.  I didn't get a whole lot of sleep.  My husband got home late, after spending 2+ hours trying to find me a cheap watch.  I could not find my regular old Timex anywhere and just wanted a regular watch to use for the day.  I was going to take his but he is sweet and didn't want me to have to wear his big men's Timex around.  Apparently no stores had cheap ladies sports watches in stock but he finally found one at Kohl's 5 minutes before they were closing.  On top of him stirring around, the dogs were barking and there were thunderstorms throughout the night.

Picture inserted only because I do not have enough pictures for this long of a recap!

At 5 AM, my sister and I headed out, first dropping her truck off at Park 'N Ride on the way.  We drove in and out of some really heavy downpours - great!  I ate a Clif bar and a banana on the way.  The drive didn't take as long as our directions indicated which was both good and bad.  It was good because we got one of the few remaining parking lot spots and didn't have to park in a field that I saw a truck almost get stuck in on the way out.  It was bad because we ended up getting soaked on our walk over the pavilion where we hung out for almost an hour before the race started.  We were cold and wet already and both seriously thought we hadn't dressed warm enough.

Eventually, all 450 of us that started the race gathered in a field and were off at 9 AM.  The course consists of  a short 3.6 mile loop that took us through some fields to get us all spaced out before hitting the single-track trails.  When we hit the first trails, I was pleasantly surprised.  They were very run-able and were not technical with roots and rocks.  Part of the way through the short loop, I started to get really hot.  At this point, I was already a little worried.  I wasn't feeling great but that is typical for me in the first few miles until my legs are warmed up and moving correctly.  After shedding the jacket, temperature wise I was straightened out and things were looking up because my legs finally felt like they were moving as well.

We passed through the main pavilion and headed out for our first long loop of 13.7 miles.  All trails continued to be about the same.  It was single-track trails that were for the most part run-able, very few rocks and roots.  There were tons of constant, relatively short climbs and we walked anytime everyone around was walked.  The course description says there is 9,800 feet of climbing.  While there were lots of hills to climb, I don't think it had as much as the other two trail events I've done.  Overall, I'd say it is a great race for those running their first ultra.  Trails were mild, decent amount climbing but nothing too technical on the trails and a wonderfully marked course.

There are 4 advertised stream crossings.  Water levels appeared low so only 2 required getting feet wet.  And, really, some people may have gotten through those by rock hopping but I'm a klutz on the rocks and it is just easier to go through the water.  The second one was a little deeper, almost to my knees but actually felt refreshing.  As long as the stream crossings aren't every 20 feet, I don't mind occasional wet feet.  We were in a field for awhile and on a road for 1 or 2 miles during the loop.  For me, the fields were by far the hardest.  For some reason, I just wanted to walk through them and more people kept passing me in the fields more than anywhere else even when I tried to keeping 'running'.

The end of the first long loop and we were back to the main pavilion 17.3 miles into the day in 3 hours and 43 minutes.  I filled up on some M&M's, a PB&J square and a cup of Coke and off we went.  My main concern was cut-off times.  The 17.3 mile cut-off time was 1 PM so we made it through that one.

The second loop is running the long loop a second time.  Very shortly into it, my sister asked if I would be able to finish if she dropped.  I said yes, asked if she just wanted to walk a little more to which she replied no and then did the only thing I knew to do.  I went in front of her, didn't really talk and just hoped she'd hang on.  There were a few factors.  First, the weather was pretty miserable the whole day.  There was some very light rain off and on and we went through one decent downpour.  By this point, the trails were rough.  There were 450 people that started this race, on the same single-track trail that you passed through in some areas a total of 3 times.  They were a sloppy, sloppy mess and for those of us more in the back of the pack, those conditions continued to get worse and traction was sometimes tough.  She's not a fan of multiple loop courses either since there is nothing new to see (or distract us).  Also, she put a new valve on her pack and didn't test it and couldn't get any water out so was relying on just the aid stations (though we could have stopped if really needed to if she needed to drink directly out of the bladder in her pack).  Luckily, she hung on and got through the low spot and did some leading for me in the later miles.

(Source) - Mile 25.7 - posing with random people I do not know

Up through mile 25.7, I felt pretty good physically and mentally.  Mile 25.7 had the last cut-off and we were through it an hour ahead of cut-off so I was happy to know I managed all those without issue.  I tried to make sure I was eating and drinking enough because I know that's one area where I failed miserably at Fire on the Mountain.  Throughout the course of the race, I went through 2/3 of the water/Nuun mixture in my pack, 4 cups of Gatorade, 2 cups of Coke, 1 pack of Shot Blocks, 2 PB&J squares, a handful of M&M's, some pretzels, a couple of cookies and a few of the best tasting french fries!  The last 5.2 miles seemed to drag on forever.  It was a bit disheartening to be on one side of a mountain and hear music and noise from the finish line area and know you still have a ways to go before you get to the other side.

Slowly, but surely, we eventually made it and crossed the finish line in 7:42 which means it took us way longer to do the second loop than it did to do the first 17.3 miles.  It had not really occurred to me that it took that much longer until I saw the splits on the results page.  But, I was happy.  We finished in all time limits and I wasn't the last one, there were still 60 or so official finishers behind us.  We collected our hats, and car seat covers (great idea!) for finishing.

A garden hose was laying out to rinse off mud so we got off the major amounts, grabbed a quick bite to eat though jambalaya wasn't really tasting that great to me at this point.  It was quite a slow walk back to the car even though it was a short distance.  We cleaned up the best we could, changed clothes and then headed out.

We made a stop in Towson to stop at Trader Joe's, which was a bit of nightmare because we couldn't really figure out where the Trader Joe's was or where you were supposed to park for it.  Eventually, we figured it out and got our groceries but just wanted to get out of there and decided to stop somewhere less busy for something to eat.  Things went a little downhill from there for me.  Around 9:30 PM, we pulled into the lot for my sister to get her car (she still had 2 more hours to drive, I only had 30 minutes).  As soon as I opened the door, the McDonald's I'd eaten a little earlier decided it wanted to leave me.  I made the remaining 30 minute drive without puking again but felt awful.  I went upstairs, laid down on the floor for 30 minutes before I could even think about showering.  I really just wanted to crawl in bed, but I didn't want my filthy self to climb into a nice, clean bed.  I finally showered, puked again and then fell asleep.

Fruit has been the only thing I can even look at to it but slowly, my digestive system seems to be getting back to normal.  On Sunday, I was pretty sore and the extent of movement for the day was a very slow walk around the neighborhood with the dogs.  By Monday, I was navigating the stairs without issues and already getting the urge to get back out there.          

Success

Finished...

Back at the car, hosed most of the mud off and ready for warm, dry clothes!

Within all cut-offs...

Got the finisher's hat

Wasn't fast...but wasn't last either.

Race report soon.

Freaking and Breaking

It's race week and I'm freaked out.  Luckily, this week is going to be busy with lots of non-running tasks.   Hopefully the busyness will keep my mind off the 50K this weekend.

On Saturday evening, while most normal people were probably partying it up, I was glued to my computer reading old race reports and looking at photos of trails.  At 10 PM, I even found a trail half marathon close to home that I debated about going to on Sunday morning.  Luckily, reality (aka my husband) kicked in and I was brought back down to earth and decided I really wouldn't gain anything this close to the race.

So, I just met up with some friends for 10 miles in the morning.  Before leaving to run Sunday morning, I threw in a load of laundry and the washer made a terrible noise and smell.  I had to leave so I just left it to deal with later.  After I got home, I fiddled with the washer again and concluded that I did indeed break the washer.  My husband agreed this one was beyond his expertise as well.  I went out for 4 more miles with the dog and decided to deal with the broken washer on Monday.

Luckily, I got a repairman to come today.  He agreed I broke the washer (note to others - if you run a 'mini' load make sure you switch it back to 'large' so you don't burn up the gears on the transmission).  Much to my surprise, he asked me to dig out my warranty on the thing even after I said I didn't think any of it was still under warranty (it's seven years old).  I found it (times like these I'm very glad I'm organized) and the washer is being fixed as I type and the parts were in fact still under warranty.

In an attempt to convince myself I'm cut out for long trail races, I tried coming up with a list of reasons why they fit my personality and ability.  Maybe this will help me avoid my freakout and the thoughts that I am in no way cut out for this?

1.  Mountains, trees and rivers are much nicer to look at than bank buildings, crack houses and pavement.

2.  Large groups of people, particularly in a small area like an expo, give me major anxiety.  No need to worry about this at a trail run.

3.  Port-o-Potties are disgusting and there is no need to wait for one when running a trail race.

4.  Gels make me gag and my stomach revolts.  However, mud covered M&Ms and potato chips seem to sit just fine.

5.  I really have no place to hang a medal anyway so leaving with just my race number is enough of a memento for me.

6.  At the end, it's typically a short walk to my car parked in a field somewhere.  This is much better than crossing the finish line in a big city and realizing you have no idea where you are, where your hotel may be, have no phone or money...just a long, painful walk filled with asking every person you pass if you are going in the right direction.

7.  The cost/mile run is typically much better at an ultra.  If I add in any extra miles I may take for getting lost in the woods, it is likely even more cost effective.

8.  Long runs truly are my favorite, anything less than 5 miles and my legs just don't seem to know how to work.  We'll ignore the fact that they don't like anything over 20.

9.  If someone asks you what you did this weekend and you say you ran an ultra, they will have no idea what you are talking about and will change the subject.  If you say you ran a marathon, they may tell you about the marathon they ran that weekend too - a 5K.

10.  I really can only go up from here.  At the last (first) 50K, I was dead last and 12 minutes away from the cutoff.  I am stronger, don't have a bum foot and have been putting in more miles (let's ignore the fact that not enough of them have been on trails).  Hopefully this means I am better prepared to reach my goals:  finish, within the cut-off and don't be last.          

Friday Food

A few weeks ago, I mentioned cleaning up my diet a bit.  How is that going?  Actually, it was going pretty well.  Until last weekend, when I went shopping immediately after the half marathon.  I ended up with a snack fest that included cookies, cake pops and ice cream purchased at the store.  Whoops!  Luckily, things are back on track this week since we managed to polish off the goodies pretty quickly.  If I bought that much junk food after a half marathon, I hate to see what I'm going to bring home next weekend.  After the HAT Run 50K, a stop at Trader Joe's is planned for the drive home.

In the kitchen, there have been a few hits and misses recently as well.  I attempted to make fruit leather and while the flavor was great, drying in the oven didn't work out so well.  The texture was just awful so they ended up in the trash.  I used this recipe.  I think it deserves another chance because I had some issues with the timing on this.  I made it evening and it didn't dry before I was ready to go to sleep for the night and I didn't want to leave the oven on overnight so I had to finish drying it out in the morning.   I think that could have been part of the issue!

Looks OK - ended up too leathery!

Over at the OAMM website, my latest contributions have been:

Yogurt Covered Fruit and Granola 

Italian Turkey Zucchini Burgers

Luckily, both of those are good!

When BodyGlide Doesn't Help

This weekend, I experienced a new kind of chafing while running a half marathon.

I would have expected it if I had worn something like this and forgot the stick of BodyGlide:
  

But, I was wearing this - very safe and chafe proof:

The chafing I ended up with was on my eyelid.  My eyes tend to water a lot if it's cold and a bit windy.  I'll blame my contacts but other people who wear contacts don't seem to have the same kind of issues.  Due to repeatedly wiping my eyes with my shirt sleeve, my left eyelid was left with a small chafe mark where I rubbed it raw and it hurt!  I attempted to take a picture of my left eye on Monday - it didn't work out so well.  In case you are wondering, taking a picture of yourself with one eye shut makes for some terrible photos.

Sunglasses would be the obvious choice to help prevent the issue but I've just never been one to wear sunglasses.  The watery eye issue tends to be particularly bad while on trails.  I'm not sure sunglasses would really work there either.  It seems like when I'm on trails, I have to wipe my eyes repeatedly to keep them clear so I can focus in front of me and where my next foot landing will be.

Anyone else have watery eye while running issues?  Any recommendations?

Chambersburg Half Marathon - Race Recap

Two years ago, I ran the Chambersburg Half marathon.  It was my first one.  I signed up last minute.  The furthest I'd ever run was a 15K (the week before).  The weather was absolutely terrible, pouring rain and terrible winds.  I loved every minute of it, surprised myself by being able to run the whole thing.  I was completely beat and sore after it, finishing in 2:09:48.

Last year, I had a goal to run a half under 2 hours.  I figured this would be the one to try but my month long work trip threw my life out of whack.  I arrived home just the day before the race, showed up and wasn't planning on much - just to enjoy the race.  I surprised myself with a time of 1:56:07 on the rolling hills course.

This year, once again I haven't been doing anything to get faster since I'm concentrating on building up mileage but of course I had the goal to at least beat last years time in my mind.  I didn't know if was feasible so settled on thinking I'd be happy with anything under 2 hours but would approach it like I was going for 1:55.  I just said beat last years time, not necessarily by a lot!

I woke up early in the morning, antsy to get going.  Eventually, I had enough waiting around the house and drove over to the middle school where the race begins.  I was surprised because there was a good number of people there and the parking lot was already full.  Found a place to park, went in to get my number and started looking around for people I knew.  It was a little chilly in the morning but overall a great day for a race.

Pretty soon, it was time for us to line up and I didn't even hear any sort of start but all of a sudden, we were off.  My goal for the race - run a pace that felt comfortably hard and try not to look at my watch too often.  This seems to work the best for me.

The first few miles I was feeling a little stiff.  My left hamstring has been a little sore lately but I figured by mile 4 or 5, I'd start to feel pretty good.  I was right.  Although I'll admit the hills were feeling a little harder than they had in the past.  This is known as a hilly course but the past two years, I haven't actually thought they were bad at all.  It is very similar to what I run on every day and I tend do much better on rolling hills than completely flat.

I continued chugging away.  There's a short out-and-back section where it's nice to see some of the faster people who make it look effortless and also get a view of those behind you.  For some reason, that gives me a little pep.  By this time, I was feeling like I could keep up with the pace I was going, keeping miles somewhere between 8:30 and 8:45.

In the later miles, I started to become annoyed with some of the people around me.  Maybe it was just my distraction to keep moving and not think too much about the actually running part.  The things that annoyed me - first, the dude in front of me who turned around every 3 seconds looking for someone.  I can't remember if I eventually went by him or not.  Not sure if he ever found who he was looking for either.  Next, the heavy breather behind me.  I kept turning up my music volume but it couldn't drown him out.  Eventually it stopped so I must have picked up the pace enough to drop him.  Finally, it was the dude with his number pinned to the back of his shirt.  Could someone enlighten me why people do that?  I've seen it at pretty much every race, including marathons so I don't think it's a novice thing.  This guy and I had been passing each other back and forth for most of the race.  Pretty soon, I could see the roof of the middle school and knew we'd be finished soon.    

I was still feeling good so I tried to pick it up a bit, passing the dude with his number on his back and also another girl.  I actually ran beside her for a little bit then pulled a little ahead.  It was a little embarrassing to find out I actually know her but was just in a zone and didn't realize it while running.  She said something to me afterwards when we were hanging out and eating!  Crossed the finish line with a new PR of 1:52:45...I'll take it!  I also still felt good afterwards.  Last year, I pushed at end and pretty much felt like death.  Guess I'm still getting faster with all the extra, long, slow miles.

source

After the half, I went grocery shopping, came home, helped re-do tile in part of our kitchen, took all the dogs on walks, finally showered, went to PetSmart to clean cat cages for the animal shelter and 90% sure I got one of the cats adopted to a really great family - all in all, my kind of day!

The North Face Endurance Challenge - D.C.

The other week, an e-mail came through promoting The North Face Endurance Challenge D.C. on June 2-3, 2012.  I had a moment where I looked at the calendar to decide if I should run sign up for one of the events.  After all, races are fun and this one has every distance imaginable from 5K-50 miles.  I've seen these events advertised in pretty much every magazine related to running.  It's also within easy driving range of my location.

Then, the logical side of me kicked in - between now and the middle of June, I'm registered for a half-marathon, marathon, two 50K's and a 40 miler.  On the calendar, it doesn't look so bad.  When I write it in a single sentence, it's a little scary.  Adding another race, two weeks before the difficult 40 miler probably isn't the best thing to do...not like I'd want to go to this and do the 5K!

So, no DC Endurance Challenge for me.  But, are you interested in running?  There may be a giveaway for entry into any one of the open events soon!   The longer distance races are on Saturday, June 2nd and the shorter distance races on Sunday, June 3rd.  In the meantime, check out their video below or the site above to register.    

New Music Time!

This weekend, I'm signed up for the local half marathon.  I'm getting ready to go through my ritual where I delete everything off my mp3 player and re-load it with different songs for running.  I get rid of stuff I'm tired of, reload some old favorites that were previously removed and add some new ones.

So, give me some suggestions so I can have a great half!!

My typical theory for half marathon music is feel good songs for the first 6 miles that make me want to dance (and nobody wants to see me dance), mellow songs that I love for miles 6-10.  Miles 6-10 are always my happy miles - finally warmed up and in a groove.  Angry songs for the final three to get my ass moving faster.  I also just listen to everything on shuffle and then skip through a bunch or only listen to partial songs so an actual 'playlist' doesn't really work for me.  

Here a few that'll make their way back on.  Looks like I need more angry songs...

Over You - Miranda Lambert
One and Only - Adele
Ray Charles - Chiddy Bang
We are Young - Fun ft. Janelle Monae
Dedication to My Ex - Floyd ft. Andre 3000
Wild Ones - Flo Rida
Good Feeling - Flo Rida
Kissed It - Macy Gray
Legend of a Cowgirl - Imani Coppola
Heavenly Day - Patty Griffin
Hell on Heels - Pistol Annie's
Forever - Chris Brown
Kandi - One EskimO
Galvanize - Chemical Brothers
Till I Collapse - Eminem
Where Dem Girls At - David Guetta, ft. Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj
Don't Stop - Glee Cast
Shake it Out - Florence & the Machine
Born this Way - Lady Gaga
Martin Solveig & Dragonette - Hello
Disturbia - Rihanna
This City - Patrick Stump
I'm a Goner - Soulja Boy ft. Matt & Kim
Keep Me in Mind - Zac Brown Band

Also, any suggestions for good headphones?  I go through them pretty quickly and none ever fit my ears, apparently my ears are small.  I bought the Yurbuds a few weeks ago but they didn't work and I wasn't really getting a response from customer service so I just returned them to the store.  I went with a different pair of 'Sports' headphones by Philips which are OK but still not great.  I have to get the over the ear kind and then tuck them behind a headband for them to remotely stay in my ears.

Friday Food - Oatmeal from the Freezer

I've been on an oatmeal kick lately.  That's pretty boring in general but I figured I'd share how I cook oatmeal because it has actually made a difference in wanting to have oatmeal in the mornings.  A couple of years ago, my husband was on an oatmeal kick too.  However, at that time, I bitched and complained about how I would not be making oatmeal on the stove during the week so he could either make it himself or eat the instant kind in the microwave.  This solution solves all the issues I had with actually cooking real oats for a quick breakfast.

First, make a batch of steel cut oats in the crock-pot.

Crockpot Steel Cut Oats
1 cup steel cut oats
5 cups water
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together in the crockpot.  Turn on low and cook for 3 hours, or until oats are cooked through, stir once each hour.  Makes 6 servings.

Next, prepare the individual servings.  Divide into a large 6-cup muffin pan.

It makes 6 full servings...we ate some of this batch before freezing.

Stick in the freezer to flash freeze (I usually make the oatmeal in the evening and then freeze the muffin pan overnight).  Once solid, remove the oatmeal from the muffin pan and store the cups in freezer bags.  They should just pop right out.  If not, stick the bottom of the pan in a little warm water and they'll pop out.

The individual servings are easy to take out of the freezer, throw in a bowl and microwave.  For our microwave, I heat for 2 minutes, stir and then heat for an additional 1 minute.  Mix in whatever stuff you want and eat.