B'Tyne RUN!

Untitled by delbda at Garmin Connect - Details

How long have I been tackling this running thing. Woo Hoo -ran over a half mile last night - which means I did the same on Sunday when I forgot my Garmin for tracking... YAY ME!

The next race is in 17 days - so I hope for continued improvement between now and then.

Monday Music Muse - official video

after all these years... i had no idea there was an actual official video for this song...  still a heart wrenching song after all these years..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RZOg3Ybe9M&feature=player_detailpage

Dinner

I have started to add fish back into the mix. So last week there were some cold fish adventures. Still need to finish those this coming week. Tonight I did grilled salmon. Haven't had that in a while. It was good. Also grilled some bok choy. A little different of a vegetable. And did an avocado orange salad. It was all really good.

Lunch time in the test kitchen

I am still on the kale salad slaw kick. The kale has such a great texture and chewiness and consistency. It really helps to fill you up. I didnt have ant salad lying around today so I had some of the left over roasted veggies. You know the Brussels sprouts, turnip, parsnip, rutabaga, carrot, vidalia mix... And then oops I came across this container of Gorgonzola in the fridge and some pumpkin seeds. YUMMY! Probably not in line with the food objectives but good to know.

Today in they test kitchen - breakfast

Well I had the last of the bran muffins today. But for tomorrow I am trying a combination of quinoa, bulgar and lentils with apples and dried cherries. It is in the whole grain attempt to combat the cholesterol. I have oatmeal as well but the lentils and quinoa look to have more whole grain. Not too sure but gonna give it a try this week. Loving dried cherries some am looking forward to that.

What a week

For some reason my mind got the best of me this week. So instead of writing about it and reinforcing the nastiness of it all... I am just going to mention it and move on from there.

Carb Overload

So I have been watching my carb intake.  Mostly the processed variety with a limit on potatoes and rice as well.  OK they have be close to non-existent.  I have been doing ~ok~ with it.  Definitely keeping it within range.  So yesterday started a bit of an overlaod on the processed carbs.  It was going to be that way but with all the talk of pancakes...  My will power slowly fell by the wayside.  And then there was a box of bagels in the office.  I have done better over the past months and not gone straight for the crazy decadent cinaman sugar encrusted bagel that is more like a pastry.  I had a sesame bagel with some that really did look like a schmear of cream cheese.  Of course it wasnt plain cream cheese it could have been icing it was so sweet.  I gave myself a bit of a reprieve.  Well then the reports I wanted to get done by the time I left yesterday started taking longer than anticipated - or maybe it was that 2 hour CE course right in the middle of the day...  The next thing you know I am having another half of a bagel.  Total comfort eating at this point.  And with comfort eating there is usually lower motivation.  And with lower motivation and a later departure time from the office comes NO desire to go to the gym.  Which I did not do.  And in keeping on the Pankcake Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday band wagon... I decided to treat myself for dinner.  I ended up with a mini Jersey Mike's Super Sub.. yes, that is the one with provolone and 3 types of meats... Mmmm - yummy....  topped off with a glass of wine and some crackers in front of the tele.

Well let me tell you - carb craving overload...  I should stay away from you!!!
Without the exercise and all the other crap now coursing through my system - my night's sleep was HORRIBLE!!!  I tossed and turned some where after 3am (probably closer to 4am) all the way until my alarm went off at 531...  YUCK!  On the flip side I like these observations as they help me put things in perspective on this goal of trying to be healthier.

So now that Shrove Tuesday has passed and Ash Wednesday is here.  It is time to contemplate what to give up.
In previous years I have failed miserably at giving up alcohol.  Not that I am on a big ol' bender or anything like that... but it seems that all social gatherings are around getting together for a glass of wine.  I KNOW there are people out there that have made that decision or had it made for them not to go down this path.  And I have done a good job with it in the past but...  for some reason it is not working these days.  On this note - I have decided to stick to red wine - beer makes me feel nasty bloated and white wine is a bit too sweet these days... and the martinis - that is just trouble and does not need to happen.
I have also given up Facebook.  There were points in time where it felt very compelling to be out there for some voyeuristic reason.  Now however it seems like the main form of communication with people - especially when making plans.  So that wont be happening either.
Given last night's experience I have decided that I am going to use this time to focus more on this bread, pasta, bagel obsession.  It truly is that.  So this will give me added purpose to stay away from them and give me time to focus on how to find healthier alternatives.  i am sure home baked multi grain type breads would be healthier and more satisfying to the cravings.
we shall see

I have lots to do today if I am going to make up for all that training I missed yesterday.

Work out

Did I mention we rode outside on Saturday? Yep, it was that nice outside. Sure, I know the die hards at the shop down the street ride outside all winter. Not me. The cold bothers my ears the most. So Saturday it was warm enough to tackle the outside. Hoping the rest of the weekends are the same. It was so much fun. Followed it with a run. That was not so fun. I just tell myself to keep pushing on with that part of the Tri. My legs were very tight after it all. On Sunday I did a run outside in a light rain storm. It was a nice way to get out in some fresh air. Especially since there were hardly any people out there. I followed it up with a swim at SCCL. I covered shorter distances but felt good for it. Last night was a bike swim night. Of course that crazy water aerobics course interrts thes plans so I only rode that stationary bike last night. I increased the tension on the bike for a really stressed pedal. I am not sure how I feel about that approach but... Tonight I will run and swim. Not a bad mixture.

iPad entries

Noticed that my attempt to use formatting on the iPad while making these entries is non existent. Not sure why or how this happens. Maybe a google verses apple thing. And my recent knack at rambling helps or hinders the run on thoughts as well.

Down 10 pounds

We could debate it could be closer to 11 but no matter what a good effort on my part. I am focusing on a few things. First off, the detox recipes from Whole Living. So far Inhave tried a few items that have been quite tasty. 1). Kale slaw... I created my own interpretation of this. But for the most part this salad is some romaine lettuce, a bunch of kale, red cabbage and varied toppings. This week it has been beets, radishes and tomatoes. Last week it was carrots celery and pumpkin seeds. I toss it with a dressing concoction that is not too definable in my fridge. I am enjoying it. I will make it again this week for lunch. 2). Avocado salad ... This is close to a qua anole except no real mushing of the fruit. It is sliced and tossed with tomato, lime juice, garlic and cilantro. A nice lighter version than the heavier quac. I ate it with some flax seed chips- perhaps not the best thing but they went over well. This weeks avocado recipe is going to tossed with mandarin oranges. I am looking forward to that. Need to remember to buy some fish to go along with that. 3). Roasted cauliflower... Like the kale this has been a hit. I have roasted the cauliflower with onion and peppers. Then tossed with red cabbage and almonds along with some kalamata olives. Pretty tasty. 4). Steamed broccoli - this was tasty too. The veg were tossed with a tahini sauce. The sauce burned out the motor of my hand blender so it will be a while until I have that again. And then I have also ventured into some suggested menu items. Last week was sardines. I bought some in hot sauce. It wasn't that bad. I will add them to the mix for healthy fish and protein. They were more palatable than say just tuna out of a can. This week I have had some pickled herring in cream sauce. Again palatable. Not something I would have all the time. It actually seems like it is a rather decadent type of food. But I still have half a jar in the fridge so that will be in the mix at some point this week. I also did some smoked salmon. There is no other description for that except yummy. This week I am trying to introduce some whole grains back into the mix. I made some Hodgson Mill bran muffins. Not a bad carb fiber breakfast treat. I also added red lentils to this weeks roasted vegetable. Not an overwhelmingly wonderful flavor but good belly fill none the less. I will keep tracking.

Health concern

So I went to the doctor at the end of July. Somehow the mid summer annual exam got pushed back a few months. It had something to do with the trip to Ireland and bad scheduling on my part. How silly of me to think that a month after the holidays I would be in tip top shape for a physical. Gotta love that post holiday blood work. Some of the numbers came in higher than they have before. My doctor suggested exercise and diet. No big deal just work on it. I hope that the 10 pounds down since the holidays and the reduction of red meat, butter and cheese since then will help. I have been keeping track of my cholesterol since 2003. It has always been around 200 so I keep an eye on it. This time it is at 253. The highest it has been since I have been tracking this. The LDL is just as pretty high. It is at 171. The HDL (70)and the triglycerides(58) are pretty good and pretty low so I suspect that is why my doctor had suggested exercise and diet as my approach to the numbers. Of course I have been googling to my hearts content on all the ways to reduce cholesterol. Foods to eat. What not to eat. And all those other things. So reduce the meat intake. Working on reducing the egg intake. Have tried some sardines. Have some herring in the fridge. Now trying to get some whole grains in the mix. And to find a free cholesterol screening a few months down the road.

Diet thoughts

I was forwarded an email about a diet someone else we know is following. I tried to copy it here but have been unsuccessful. But I have decided to comment. #1. Attempt to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. I know the usual is 8 glasses which is only 64 ounces. Obviously that is nowhere hear half my weight in ounces. If it was I wouldn't be in a mission to lose more weight. When I travel I usually up liter bottles and try to drink 3 each day. I have a carafe that holds one liter as well. I fill this a few times during the day when I am home. I have two pitchers that hold more water that I use when at home as well. I struggle most with getting enough water during the work day. I will try going forward to do a better job at tracking this. #2 No processed foods. I am doing better with this. Especially when I am not on the road. OK this week I did waiver a little. We can confirm that I am a fan of M&Ms. And maybe my will power is a little lower than I realised when it comes to M&Ms. I also ate out 4 times this week - which I accredit tonthenfact I have not lost any weight this week. Glad I stayed out but was hoping to eek out a few more pounds this week. Obviously there is more to be said about processed food. What can be said about Silk? I am a fan of the soy milk with the DHA Omega 3. I would be willing to call this processed. There was a reference to Kashi as well. I view most of their foods as processed, right? And lastly these weirdly processed higher fiber whole grain concoctions sold as a better way to pasta. Aren't these processed too? What to do on those? Or am I going too far to an extreme on these? I know I need to get my head around this as I need to do better with getting whole grains in my menu. #3 No artificial sweeteners. Well I have been following that for some time now. So I won't worry much on this one. Actually am very happy with my stats on how long it has been since I have had any soda. Probably only a few weeks and I am not much of a soda drinker to begin with but I know I usually take that liberty when eating out. So much better this way. And the lack of caffeine has been nice too. #4 FRUITS in limited amounts. This goes more in hand with the 17 Day Diet than some of the items I am looking at on the Whole Living web site. WL has a number of recipes with tropical fruit which have a higher sugar count. I guess the technical diet term is glycemic count. So I try to stick to apples and berries. This email also references peaches and pears. Pears I am not a fan of but peaches... I love them. #5 No potatoes. I already do this for the most part. Especially the white potato variety. The email doesn't say much about the sweet potato. I only have them about once a month or so. This rule also comments to limit intake of carrots. I had heard this a while ago and hadn't seen much on this recently. But it has been noted. I wonder where the parsnip falls in that category. I have been contemplating adding them in the mix. Wonder if I should. #6 focus daily on vegetables. This I have been doing. I have been referencing most vegetarian type meals and then adding legumes or fish to them. At the moment the only meats I have had are the ones that are in the meals I have eaten out. Actually with the WL piece I am only now slowly reintroducing fish and legumes back into the mix. That is this weeks focus. And between WL and Mollie Katzen the search for veg based meals is pretty easy. Snacks referenced are hard boiled egg whites... Not sure how I feel about that. I am going tonlaynlow on eggs for a bit. I have a dozen in my fridge that I should be done with today or tomorrow. That will be it for a while. That will make sense after a few more posts. Other snack is almonds. I have been buying this Planters Digestive nut mix. It is tasty to say the least. But I think this week I will be switching to the pure nut mix and almonds may win that decision. Although pistachios sure are appealing. Lean chicken, fish or whole grain pasta daily. This is where I fall off. How does whole grain pasta like Dreamfileds act as a replacement for chicken or fish? I don't get that. I will have to think on that some more. Also beef twice a week. I am suspecting that this was a suggested reduction to the normal amount of beef that this person was consuming. Again, for me, the beef piece may be on the back burner for a while. 45 minutes of exercise 5 days per week at 75% of max heart rate. Well we know I am sure getting close to that. Not sure on the heart rate. Again something I need to revisit. 8 hours of sleep. Oh do I try to master that. Recently I have not been as successful. But as of lat nights 9ish bed time I would say I am getting back on track with that. Overall it seems to always come back to the basics.

HNT - Sauna

Sorry for folks tuning in for thelet down of this post but it was somewhat appropriate titling. There was a post in the gym locker room late last week. In more than thee few words I chose to remember it reminded individuals to please wear at least a towel or bathing suit when in the sauna. I gagged a little. A few weeks back I thought I had come across a naked person in the sauna. But since it takes a while for eyes to adjust in the dark room I decided to situate and quickly close my eyes. Therefore I would not have to bare witness to the bare nakedness. This past week or so - right before the sign posting - I went into the sauna and it was crowded. Well when you are in there after a workout and two others are already in there it seems crowded. I took a seat in the corner. I was in between the two people that were at each end. This is where the gag comes in... I opened my eys briefly and feared what the reminder later confirmed... This woman was lying there all naked in the sauna. And in no way shape or form a demure or timid laying in the sauna. She was sprawled on out. I thought maybe it was just dark and I was mistaken. I still hope I was. But that sign has given me a bit of a heebee heebee feeling about it all. I will be the one in full clothing on a towel not on that far side for some time to come. People don't walk around their whole house naked why dontheybfeel it is ok to walk around the whole gym locker room naked.

Music

The opening song for that first spin class was a U2 song! Really?

Spinning

That whole Charlie Sheen winning thing comes to mind. I know very removed from the concept of triathlons. So I took my first spin class at the new gym last week. It was a nice size room. Had a "Big Ass Fan" hanging from the ceiling. And the instructor made the effort to check in with everyone and the bike fitting. That is always my biggest fear - fitting the bike properly. Sure I should worry about not being able to get myself up out of the saddle just yet... Or that my rims lag some... But... No proper bike fit is what crosses my mind. I was glad to have some assistance - seat height somewhere around F; handles bars around 4... I just don't remember the distance of my seat from the handle bars. We played with each setting so many times. But I found my space and started peddling. That's about when I noticed the instructor had on full cycle garb. Well one would expect the shorts. The padding does help. But a tank top cycle shirt? A regular tshirt would do... It's not like there is wind resistance and need for aerodynamics on a spin bike. Why wear that clingy thing. I thought well would I wear my new Google cycle jersey to the class? And I realised no I would not. And that's when I noticed the whole outfit... Down both legs and down the inside seams of the shirt it said "spinning". And I realised an outfit like that would not be for me. With all my pink stuff there are certain things I am just not embracing. Now to go to a different class to see what the others are wearing. Class tomorrow at 630. Gonna give it a try then although swimming and running are falling behind this week already.

PINK

I figured this was a good topic to get back into writing. I don't know why I lost interest; mayberry I just lost time. I found that with all the training I have been trying to pack in, the iPad apps I have been downloading and deleting and the tv I have been watching on demand; I don't find spaces to write. Or maybe the brain space. One of the apps I have downloaded and retained is a note taker. So all my random thoughts on things to write about that pop into my brain now have a note page. And topic number one is pink. This was a recent conversation I had with a friend. No, not the existence of pink flowers confirms the existence of God conversation. Which reminds me I am very fearful neither of my oleander are going to survive this winter. UGH! The conversation I am referencing is I don't think I really fit in in the whole tri scene with all my pink. Have you looked at some of these pics from events? I am not that athletic. I throw my blonde curly hair in a pink swim cap. I have pink race strips on my speedo swim top. My flip flops = pink Water bottle; you got it. Same with my towel. And it doesn't stop there. My winter additions have been kinvara sneaks with fuchsia accents. And my champion running shirt; yep, same color. As is my after swim winter hat. It may be a little out of control. I feel like I should do some dancing and buy a tutu instead of swim jog run. I don't know why I feel this is more in line with ballet than triathlons but I do. And on that note I think I will go buy some more pink. It goes so well with my calypso bink and Tri shorts. What color do you wear?

Again 87.2 Yards

I keep forgetting how long the shorter pool at my gym is...
4 lengths equals 87.2 yards.
last night i did 4 sets of 3sets of 4
So each 3 sets of 4 equals 261.6
And I did 4 of those for a total of 1046.4

I shouldnt have done that math - now i am tired!