Oh the humanity that is my belly. Yesterday, I cheated. I had Vietnamese iced coffee. And some cheddar cheese. And they were really, quite, very good if I must be honest. And I don't have to be, you know. Honest. I could have lied by omission and none of you would have been the wiser. But instead, I admit my foibles to you.
I also had vietnamese chicken rice noodle soup, a.k.a pho ga or some such thing. Wow! So yummy and totally hypo-allergenic. I must definitely have some more, soon.
What the Heck! There is SOY in Emergen-C! Sheesh Louise, people. If you have a true soy allergy, you are screwed. It's in EVERYTHING! I swear! It's in ALMOND MILK!! Chewing Gum!! Ice Cream! You cannot get away from it. It's like the elephant in the living room except you don't really know it's there. My rant bores me now. Moving on.
I made a suitable soup last night, and it was even vegan to boot. Chickpea & Leek Soup courtesy of Jamie Oliver. I had some leftovers for lunch today. Tonight, if I have enough energy, I am going to attempt mushed up mint peas, fried fish (in amaranth flour, natch) and fried sweet potatoes. Oh, Hubby gets fried tofu instead of fish.
Today is a rest day from running. We've got six miles on the docket tomorrow morning.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
More weird food from Bloated Granola Runner Girl
I don't know what it is I ate today but my belly is BIG. Oh. You know what? I think it's the 41 grams of fiber I consumed today. Oh yah ... and that's in addition to the 36 yesterday. Okay, this Big Bloatation Device, a.k.a. my belly, makes a lot more sense now. Guess I better up the water consumption (ahem dear reader ... you know who you are!). As they say, "this poo shall pass." Bwahahahahaaha! I'm Finnish. We love poo jokes more than most nationalities, or so I read on someone else's blog.
NO, really, I'm not drunk. In fact this is day 10 of no alcohol, sugar, gluten, corn, strawberries, coffee, etc. Today was probably the cleanest day I've had as far food goes. My only contaminant was a lick of peanut butter from the butter knife I used to mix in the oil of a new jar of PB. It's a skill I have that most of you don't know about. Usually when people open a new jar and mix the oil with the butter, they do a half arsed job. They don't REALIZE that unless you take a little extra time and show the bottom of the jar some love, they end up with super duper dry PB at the bottom and super duper oily PB at the top. Not in my kitchen, lovelies. I mix it up right and good.
We bought lamb chops from the farmer's market on Saturday. OMG, YUM! Lamb is good, lamb is great. Did you know that one cannot mass produce lamb like cattle? They die. Hence, lamb must be free range and fed a proper lamb diet which leaves me, the omnivore, with healthy, hormone-free and antibiotic-free meat that I can rub with a spice mix and broil for 4 minutes each side. I had two last night and one tonight with baked broccoli and wild rice pilaf. Lucky hubby got to eat corn on the cob. I also added a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to help kill of any yeasty beasties in my G.I. tract that may be contributing to the stinky farts today.
That run I mentioned yesterday? NAILED IT. I felt pretty weak heading out but I actually ran further up the Hilly Grail in one stretch that I ever have before.
NO, really, I'm not drunk. In fact this is day 10 of no alcohol, sugar, gluten, corn, strawberries, coffee, etc. Today was probably the cleanest day I've had as far food goes. My only contaminant was a lick of peanut butter from the butter knife I used to mix in the oil of a new jar of PB. It's a skill I have that most of you don't know about. Usually when people open a new jar and mix the oil with the butter, they do a half arsed job. They don't REALIZE that unless you take a little extra time and show the bottom of the jar some love, they end up with super duper dry PB at the bottom and super duper oily PB at the top. Not in my kitchen, lovelies. I mix it up right and good.
We bought lamb chops from the farmer's market on Saturday. OMG, YUM! Lamb is good, lamb is great. Did you know that one cannot mass produce lamb like cattle? They die. Hence, lamb must be free range and fed a proper lamb diet which leaves me, the omnivore, with healthy, hormone-free and antibiotic-free meat that I can rub with a spice mix and broil for 4 minutes each side. I had two last night and one tonight with baked broccoli and wild rice pilaf. Lucky hubby got to eat corn on the cob. I also added a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to help kill of any yeasty beasties in my G.I. tract that may be contributing to the stinky farts today.
That run I mentioned yesterday? NAILED IT. I felt pretty weak heading out but I actually ran further up the Hilly Grail in one stretch that I ever have before.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Surviving a dinner party hypo-allergenically free
Well, I survived past my first week. It hasn't really been bad, but I've been a little mopey, I admit, at times, about wanting certain food stuffs that are not on my Approved To Eat List. During one hot day in The City, my colleague was heading downstairs and asked if anyone wanted anything while she was out. I petulantly cried out,"Yes, a double espresso and a large fro yo with Oreo crumbles... and a glass of wine!!" I was joking, sort of.
According to the scale, I lost three pounds but one of those pounds was nothing more than the monthly glom on weight because of hormonal fluctuations. My nose is still runny from time to time and I have had mild headaches which I attribute to caffeine withdrawls. Even though I've been sucking down green tea like it's the Fountain of Youth, the caffeine content is nominal compared to coffee or black tea. One day I had to really fight myself over getting a decaf coffee. I can't even tell you why decaf coffee is not on the approved list but I decided to stick to my guns and gulp down more green tea. I've finished off my sample tea container of Mango Green tea that Hubby brought back from Boston and now I'm sipping on the Snowbud White tea.
So last night Hubby and I hosted 2 couple friends over for dinner. The menu: avocado-white bean dip with crudite, crispy snap pea chips and tortilla chips for appetizers; light mac n cheese with spinach; moroccan tilapia with mango and cilantro, simple dressed green salad; wild rice and dried fruit pilaf and peanut dream bars (made with love by Uber Hubby), fresh figs, honey and blue cheese, pecans (raw and spiced), dried dates stuffed with walnuts and theses cookies called "Coque d'Asses", no lie. These provided nice breaks to awkward silences around the dinner table. It was a little rough to be at my own dinner party and not drink any wine, or even beer, while my guests were. Well, half of them. There was a definite gender divide in alcohol consumption. Interestingly, the gender drinking the beer kicked the non-drinking genders asses at Cranium. Hm...
Hubby and I ran 5 miles on Saturday morning. Well, ran most of it. I was super low in the energy department and I needed walk breaks. But, regardless, we got it done. I kind of feel like these are the more important runs because even though the pace sucks and they are rough on the running ego, but they teach me to keep putting one foot in front of the other even though I am phenomenally tired. Anyhow, now I need to get ready for a 3 mile run.
According to the scale, I lost three pounds but one of those pounds was nothing more than the monthly glom on weight because of hormonal fluctuations. My nose is still runny from time to time and I have had mild headaches which I attribute to caffeine withdrawls. Even though I've been sucking down green tea like it's the Fountain of Youth, the caffeine content is nominal compared to coffee or black tea. One day I had to really fight myself over getting a decaf coffee. I can't even tell you why decaf coffee is not on the approved list but I decided to stick to my guns and gulp down more green tea. I've finished off my sample tea container of Mango Green tea that Hubby brought back from Boston and now I'm sipping on the Snowbud White tea.
So last night Hubby and I hosted 2 couple friends over for dinner. The menu: avocado-white bean dip with crudite, crispy snap pea chips and tortilla chips for appetizers; light mac n cheese with spinach; moroccan tilapia with mango and cilantro, simple dressed green salad; wild rice and dried fruit pilaf and peanut dream bars (made with love by Uber Hubby), fresh figs, honey and blue cheese, pecans (raw and spiced), dried dates stuffed with walnuts and theses cookies called "Coque d'Asses", no lie. These provided nice breaks to awkward silences around the dinner table. It was a little rough to be at my own dinner party and not drink any wine, or even beer, while my guests were. Well, half of them. There was a definite gender divide in alcohol consumption. Interestingly, the gender drinking the beer kicked the non-drinking genders asses at Cranium. Hm...
Hubby and I ran 5 miles on Saturday morning. Well, ran most of it. I was super low in the energy department and I needed walk breaks. But, regardless, we got it done. I kind of feel like these are the more important runs because even though the pace sucks and they are rough on the running ego, but they teach me to keep putting one foot in front of the other even though I am phenomenally tired. Anyhow, now I need to get ready for a 3 mile run.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
More Hypoallergenic Eating Adventures!
The lack of coffee is really kicking in today. I just feel pretty low energy and I have a slight headache. Nothing massive, mind you, but it's there. Hopefully this means I've reached the Wall of Withdrawl and I'll come out on the other side with renewed adrenals. Don't ask. Just take my word for it that your adrenals are damaged by daily caffeine intake. Well, okay, maybe not YOURS, but I'm willing to bet mine are. It's 3:30 p.m., do you even KNOW where your adrenal glands are?
Breakfast was once again a berry (cherry and blackberry) shake with almond milk. It was not enough. I was pretty hungry by lunch. I had a tuna salad made with olive oil, balsamic, green onion, basil and white beans. It was a tasty combo that I will endeavor to recreate on my own. There was a green salad on the side. It had tomato but I pushed it to the side. Bread was present on my plate also, but clearly, I wasn't eating that gluten infested crap. Sorry, I need to make myself feel better about not eating bread. Anyway, I did squeeze a lime wedge over my tuna salad. GASP! That wily citrus fooled me with its...with its...uh...darn. I just forgot about the citrus no-no rule.
However satisfying lunch was to my palate, I was still hungry. And no wonder as I had consumed less than 600 calories by 1:00 p.m. Once I got back to the office I had my original lunch of the fantastically amazingly delicious quinoa salad with dried fruit and nuts. hey you know what kind dried berries I put in the salad? Gooseberries! Don't think about it too much because you'll start coming up with aviary poo jokes, like me, in my head. No, I won't share, get your own!
Dinner plans? I don't know exactly, but they involve broccoli! Hubby might be stuck with chinese leftovers but I'll probably share some broccoli with him.
Today is a rest day as far as exercise goes.
Breakfast was once again a berry (cherry and blackberry) shake with almond milk. It was not enough. I was pretty hungry by lunch. I had a tuna salad made with olive oil, balsamic, green onion, basil and white beans. It was a tasty combo that I will endeavor to recreate on my own. There was a green salad on the side. It had tomato but I pushed it to the side. Bread was present on my plate also, but clearly, I wasn't eating that gluten infested crap. Sorry, I need to make myself feel better about not eating bread. Anyway, I did squeeze a lime wedge over my tuna salad. GASP! That wily citrus fooled me with its...with its...uh...darn. I just forgot about the citrus no-no rule.
However satisfying lunch was to my palate, I was still hungry. And no wonder as I had consumed less than 600 calories by 1:00 p.m. Once I got back to the office I had my original lunch of the fantastically amazingly delicious quinoa salad with dried fruit and nuts. hey you know what kind dried berries I put in the salad? Gooseberries! Don't think about it too much because you'll start coming up with aviary poo jokes, like me, in my head. No, I won't share, get your own!
Dinner plans? I don't know exactly, but they involve broccoli! Hubby might be stuck with chinese leftovers but I'll probably share some broccoli with him.
Today is a rest day as far as exercise goes.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Granola Girl
Wow, I am so freaking granola today. I've got my Happy Hiker shirt and FitFlops on. FitFlops aren't granola but I just thought I'd let you know that I have some. Anyhow, as I'm typing this, I'm snacking on a couple of dried dates with walnuts sipping on some Teeccino, a coffee substitute with Almond milk, unsweetened of course. I bought it at the Food Mill because I went there looking for dried chickpeas and amaranth. Yes, I know most of you think I'm super healthy to begin with but I'm embarking on my latest dietary experiment: The Hypoallergenic Diet . I'm trying this out because I've been getting these explosive headaches and, well, there always seems to be sticky white mucus in my nose. That just ain't right.
The idea is to clean out my system of all common food allergens and then reintroduce them one by one for a few days each and notice any symptoms that might arise with each one. There are some obvious allergens: soy, dairy, wheat, alcohol and peanuts but then there are others that you might not think about as often: sugar; the nightshade family with potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers; cashews; artichokes (if you have a ragweed allergy which I don't know if I do but I guess I'll play it safe); citrus; strawberries; melon, peaches and apricots; coffee and black tea and the biggest pain in my butt: CORN.
Anyhow, this is Day Three and I'm not climbing the walls. I made a fabulous roast chicken on Sunday and I've been eating at that. We also got Chinese take-out yesterday: Veggie egg rolls (no sweet and sour sauce for me), steamed chicken and broccoli and veggie fried rice. Hubby got sweet and sour tofu, which I couldn't have because I can't have soy. I figured the rice would have soy sauce but I forgot about the cooking oil. It was probably corn. Oh well. I figure of I keep myself 90% - 95% allergy free that'll be good enough for me.
My breakfast was kind of weird: spinach, white beans, peas and blueberries with a low-fat honey mustard dressing. It was a leftover salad that I didn't eat for lunch yesterday because the baked yams and chicken were enough. The salad probably would have been good with out the spinach, or maybe if the spinach were chopped. Tonight's dinner is a salad of quinoa with dried fruits and nuts over arugula topped with chicken (for me) and feta cheese (for Hubby).
Oh, I also ran twice this week so far. Neither have been easy or breezy but they are DONE.
The idea is to clean out my system of all common food allergens and then reintroduce them one by one for a few days each and notice any symptoms that might arise with each one. There are some obvious allergens: soy, dairy, wheat, alcohol and peanuts but then there are others that you might not think about as often: sugar; the nightshade family with potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers; cashews; artichokes (if you have a ragweed allergy which I don't know if I do but I guess I'll play it safe); citrus; strawberries; melon, peaches and apricots; coffee and black tea and the biggest pain in my butt: CORN.
Anyhow, this is Day Three and I'm not climbing the walls. I made a fabulous roast chicken on Sunday and I've been eating at that. We also got Chinese take-out yesterday: Veggie egg rolls (no sweet and sour sauce for me), steamed chicken and broccoli and veggie fried rice. Hubby got sweet and sour tofu, which I couldn't have because I can't have soy. I figured the rice would have soy sauce but I forgot about the cooking oil. It was probably corn. Oh well. I figure of I keep myself 90% - 95% allergy free that'll be good enough for me.
My breakfast was kind of weird: spinach, white beans, peas and blueberries with a low-fat honey mustard dressing. It was a leftover salad that I didn't eat for lunch yesterday because the baked yams and chicken were enough. The salad probably would have been good with out the spinach, or maybe if the spinach were chopped. Tonight's dinner is a salad of quinoa with dried fruits and nuts over arugula topped with chicken (for me) and feta cheese (for Hubby).
Oh, I also ran twice this week so far. Neither have been easy or breezy but they are DONE.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Yes, I ran the marathon!
Yes, I know. I'm lax as far as blogging goes. Most of you who care by now have heard the details of my marathon. So below are some highlights from the trip and the race.
I was rooming with a member, J., of the South Bay Run Team and because of her, I was pretty much adopted by the South Bay team. That was great. I met several wonderful people and it ended up being a saving grace during the marathon.
J., R. and I all saw Indiana Jones on opening night in Edinburgh. That was cool. The movie theater was nice and clean and you could drink beer and wine if you wanted. You were also assigned seats when you bought your tix. I also discovered that I rather like Mars Bars. Who knew?
I avoided drinking a week before the marathon to help my liver out because that organ works really hard during endurance events and I needed it to be my friend. Of course, once I completed my 26.2 all bets were off and I was on a mission to try Scottish whiskey and a variety of beers from the British Isles. Hubby and I went into this little shop, Cadenhead Bottlers, on the Royal Mile. What a find it turned out to be!! We had to wait while the shopkeeper helped out a customer (we were virtually ignored all the while) but once we had his attention, it was well worth the trial of my patience. I blatantly availed ourselves to his expertise and he obliged with a well informed whiskey tasting that took the better of a half hour I bet. We tried something like 5 whiskeys and we feel confident we could identify whiskies from the Islay region. Cadenhead is a great find because they "don't insult the whiskey consumers intelligence" by homogenizing their whiskies. I guess most of the major bottlers do that to give their whiskies 40% alcohol by volume. Single cask whiskies can have a wide range of alcoholic content in addition to their nuances of flavor. What surprised me the most was that the glass REALLY made a huge difference in the experience. I need to get me some of 'em little tulip-lipped glasses now! Another little side note: Mama E. went to the very same bottler a couple of years ago and had virtually an identical experience to ours.
What trip to Scotland is complete without braving the national dish: haggis, neeps and tatties? Don't know what haggis is? According to Wikipedia there are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Haggis somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines otherwise known as chitterlings or the kokoretsi of traditional Greek cuisine), sausages and savoury puddings of which it is among the largest types. Sounds awful but it was truly all right. It's heavily spiced and, well, kinda heavy. It's actually not a bad pre-race dinner because of the neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes). At some point during the meal, I started thinking too much of what I was eating and had to stop. I had the best burger of MY LIFE at a pub. It was so good I almost cried. Seriously. Another culinary note worth mention was the GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT KNOWN AS THE SCOTCH EGG. A Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, breaded and cooked by baking or frying. Sounds good to me! Unfortunately, it was hard to track down and when I did, it basically sucked. It was bland like wet cotton. I feel like I could do it better.
The day of the race started off cold and windy. It was rough. I started feeling all sorts of problems and pains I never had before in my running career. My shoulders were constantly clenched and right up next my ears despite my best efforts. My back started to spasm and my freaking calves cramped up less than 3 miles in. I kept trucking on. I wanted to walk off my cramps but NOBODY was walking. I didn't want to be the wimpy American so I kept running but right around 9 miles I had to step off to the side and stretch. It didn't help much. The worst part was running along the beach. That wind came off the ocean and just took the piss out of you. Eventually, the sun came out and that helped with the tight muscles. I caught up with R. around 12 miles and paced myself with him for a bit. He was in agony over his knee so we walked quite a bit. I was all right with that because I needed a break.
I forget when it was that we saw the TNT support. They told us that someone would also be at the 22 mile mark. That ended up being a saving grace. Shortly after 15 miles, I left R. because I was on a roll and frankly, I had more energy than him. After 16 or 17 miles, the marathon path took us past the Gosford House which was amazing. The path after the house took us past idyllic pastures of grazing sheep and flocks of chickens. It was so darn pretty! Once I was back on the highway, that 22 mile marker was like a beacon to me. I kept up my running pace as best I could because someone was waiting for me. It was such a mental boost to know that a friendly face was just up ahead. I saw several TNTer's along the way (it was an out and back course for over 10 miles) and I surprised myself with my exuberant "GO TEAM!" cheers. We were the only chapter of Team in Training running the Edinburgh Marathon so the cheers felt personal to me. I've been at some races where it seems like it's nothing but a sea of purple and randy randoms are calling out the cheer to you. It can get annoying I think. Not Edinburgh though.
I reached the 22 mile marker and one of the coaches ran with me for a bit and gave me another energy gel. Seriously, it was such a boost. And then...I realized I had 4 very long miles to go. Damn. I was in pain by now. I did forget how much running a marathon HURTS. It hurt more to walk than run but I was mentally tired and my energy stores were low. I kept chugging on though and eventually FINALLY the finish line! YES! This random guy caught up with me around 25.5 miles and said that I was his goal for the last 10 miles I think. We ran together for a bit and chatted but I left him around 26 miles because I picked up my stride for a strong finish. I heard Jim from the finish line and waved to him.
My results:
10k: 00:59:55
Half: 02:13:46
30k: 03:18:16
Marathon: 04:46:11
My Edinburgh time is 10 minutes faster than my Portland time. I would have liked to have seen more improvement but I guess it just makes it that much easier to beat it next time. My half marathon time is my best so far I think. If I didn't have to stop at 9 miles, I think I could have beaten 2:10 for the half. But whatever, less than 1% of the U.S population completes a marathon each year, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm awesome.
Thank you so much for your support everyone! Your contributions went to support a really fantastic cause: the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and truly, they do good work.
I was rooming with a member, J., of the South Bay Run Team and because of her, I was pretty much adopted by the South Bay team. That was great. I met several wonderful people and it ended up being a saving grace during the marathon.
J., R. and I all saw Indiana Jones on opening night in Edinburgh. That was cool. The movie theater was nice and clean and you could drink beer and wine if you wanted. You were also assigned seats when you bought your tix. I also discovered that I rather like Mars Bars. Who knew?
I avoided drinking a week before the marathon to help my liver out because that organ works really hard during endurance events and I needed it to be my friend. Of course, once I completed my 26.2 all bets were off and I was on a mission to try Scottish whiskey and a variety of beers from the British Isles. Hubby and I went into this little shop, Cadenhead Bottlers, on the Royal Mile. What a find it turned out to be!! We had to wait while the shopkeeper helped out a customer (we were virtually ignored all the while) but once we had his attention, it was well worth the trial of my patience. I blatantly availed ourselves to his expertise and he obliged with a well informed whiskey tasting that took the better of a half hour I bet. We tried something like 5 whiskeys and we feel confident we could identify whiskies from the Islay region. Cadenhead is a great find because they "don't insult the whiskey consumers intelligence" by homogenizing their whiskies. I guess most of the major bottlers do that to give their whiskies 40% alcohol by volume. Single cask whiskies can have a wide range of alcoholic content in addition to their nuances of flavor. What surprised me the most was that the glass REALLY made a huge difference in the experience. I need to get me some of 'em little tulip-lipped glasses now! Another little side note: Mama E. went to the very same bottler a couple of years ago and had virtually an identical experience to ours.
What trip to Scotland is complete without braving the national dish: haggis, neeps and tatties? Don't know what haggis is? According to Wikipedia there are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Haggis somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines otherwise known as chitterlings or the kokoretsi of traditional Greek cuisine), sausages and savoury puddings of which it is among the largest types. Sounds awful but it was truly all right. It's heavily spiced and, well, kinda heavy. It's actually not a bad pre-race dinner because of the neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes). At some point during the meal, I started thinking too much of what I was eating and had to stop. I had the best burger of MY LIFE at a pub. It was so good I almost cried. Seriously. Another culinary note worth mention was the GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT KNOWN AS THE SCOTCH EGG. A Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, breaded and cooked by baking or frying. Sounds good to me! Unfortunately, it was hard to track down and when I did, it basically sucked. It was bland like wet cotton. I feel like I could do it better.
The day of the race started off cold and windy. It was rough. I started feeling all sorts of problems and pains I never had before in my running career. My shoulders were constantly clenched and right up next my ears despite my best efforts. My back started to spasm and my freaking calves cramped up less than 3 miles in. I kept trucking on. I wanted to walk off my cramps but NOBODY was walking. I didn't want to be the wimpy American so I kept running but right around 9 miles I had to step off to the side and stretch. It didn't help much. The worst part was running along the beach. That wind came off the ocean and just took the piss out of you. Eventually, the sun came out and that helped with the tight muscles. I caught up with R. around 12 miles and paced myself with him for a bit. He was in agony over his knee so we walked quite a bit. I was all right with that because I needed a break.
I forget when it was that we saw the TNT support. They told us that someone would also be at the 22 mile mark. That ended up being a saving grace. Shortly after 15 miles, I left R. because I was on a roll and frankly, I had more energy than him. After 16 or 17 miles, the marathon path took us past the Gosford House which was amazing. The path after the house took us past idyllic pastures of grazing sheep and flocks of chickens. It was so darn pretty! Once I was back on the highway, that 22 mile marker was like a beacon to me. I kept up my running pace as best I could because someone was waiting for me. It was such a mental boost to know that a friendly face was just up ahead. I saw several TNTer's along the way (it was an out and back course for over 10 miles) and I surprised myself with my exuberant "GO TEAM!" cheers. We were the only chapter of Team in Training running the Edinburgh Marathon so the cheers felt personal to me. I've been at some races where it seems like it's nothing but a sea of purple and randy randoms are calling out the cheer to you. It can get annoying I think. Not Edinburgh though.
I reached the 22 mile marker and one of the coaches ran with me for a bit and gave me another energy gel. Seriously, it was such a boost. And then...I realized I had 4 very long miles to go. Damn. I was in pain by now. I did forget how much running a marathon HURTS. It hurt more to walk than run but I was mentally tired and my energy stores were low. I kept chugging on though and eventually FINALLY the finish line! YES! This random guy caught up with me around 25.5 miles and said that I was his goal for the last 10 miles I think. We ran together for a bit and chatted but I left him around 26 miles because I picked up my stride for a strong finish. I heard Jim from the finish line and waved to him.
My results:
10k: 00:59:55
Half: 02:13:46
30k: 03:18:16
Marathon: 04:46:11
My Edinburgh time is 10 minutes faster than my Portland time. I would have liked to have seen more improvement but I guess it just makes it that much easier to beat it next time. My half marathon time is my best so far I think. If I didn't have to stop at 9 miles, I think I could have beaten 2:10 for the half. But whatever, less than 1% of the U.S population completes a marathon each year, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm awesome.
Thank you so much for your support everyone! Your contributions went to support a really fantastic cause: the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and truly, they do good work.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Big Send-off is coming up!
Oh Boy! This time tomorrow I'll be checking into my flight or standing in some god awful security line. Hard to believe that on Sunday I'll be attempting to run my second ever marathon. Thanks to all of you who helped me get me this far!
This past week I've squeezed in three runs. All of them were short ones. I have to say that the first two were just awful. They were in the morning and I don't think that I had much to eat beforehand. I think I pretty much bonked. My legs felt like they were full of lead and I couldn't run for more than a minute and a half straight. It was rough. Today's run was better. I had more energy and more endurance.
Part of the joy of trying to run up the Hilly Grail is seeing this one garden, a front yard, which is nothing but edible vegetation. It's cool. Rebellious. I like it. I can't tell what all she planted but I know there are peas, beans and potatoes. She also has a solar power sign which I also think is cool. Go Green!
Thanks.
This past week I've squeezed in three runs. All of them were short ones. I have to say that the first two were just awful. They were in the morning and I don't think that I had much to eat beforehand. I think I pretty much bonked. My legs felt like they were full of lead and I couldn't run for more than a minute and a half straight. It was rough. Today's run was better. I had more energy and more endurance.
Part of the joy of trying to run up the Hilly Grail is seeing this one garden, a front yard, which is nothing but edible vegetation. It's cool. Rebellious. I like it. I can't tell what all she planted but I know there are peas, beans and potatoes. She also has a solar power sign which I also think is cool. Go Green!
Thanks.
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