Speed Trials

Today I feel down. I have a big belly; I have no idea what my race will be like tomorrow; and when I look back on my training of the last 6 weeks, well… Have a look for yourself:

Yeah, I was really sick for those two weeks near the bottom, but I mean, I didn’t go on a single one of my Friday easy runs. What’s up with that?

So my race is tomorrow, and I’m not ready. I have no idea how I’ll fare, and it’s just too dang bad.

Anyway, my number is 5018, so anyone in the Ottawa region tomorrow who wants to check out the race, I’ll be the one grunting and panting, desperately trying to break 50min.

Angelo and I leave for Mexico in 9 days.
My stepfather’s birthday dinner is in 7 days.
My late night meeting #2 is in 6 days.
My father’s birthday is in 5 days.
My late night meeting #1 is in 4 days.
My grant deadline is in 3 days.
My 10km race is in 2 days.
My 2nd top tube protector is due in 1 day.

When, exactly, am I supposed to pack?

In the meantime, I managed to make a couple of all right dinners, and my first of two top tube protectors.

This was last night’s dinner. I was feeling a little basic, looking for equal parts veg, grain, and protein. I marinated some tofu in a mixture of mustard, balsamic vinegar, and minced onion. Then I poured the whole thing onto a cookie sheet, added some almonds, and baked at 375* for 15 minutes. I made some quinoa with a little earth balance, and steamed some broccoli and carrots.

It was good and hearty, though certainly nothing spectacular. The tastiest part were the roasted almonds. Mm-m.

Tonight I made a stuffed acorn squash:

I don’t normally buy squash, but it came in last week’s veg basket, and I knew I had to do SOMEthing with it.

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and tweaked it slightly:

1/2 cup brown rice (uncooked)
1/2 cup Butternut Squash soup
1/2 cup water
1 acorn squash
red onion, chopped
1 Tofurky sausage, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 apple, diced
sprigs fresh coriander
Cheese or cheeze to taste.

1. Bring water and soup to a boil. Add rice, and simmer for 40 minutes.

2. Place squash halves cut side down on a plate. Cook squash in microwave for 3 minutes on high, until tender but firm.

3. In a skillet over medium heat, cook onion, sausage, and green pepper. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the prepared rice, sausage mixture, apple and coriander.

5. Fill the two squash halves. Top with cheese (or cheeze) and return to microwave for 1 minute at a time, until chees(z)e has melted and apples are warm.

Enjoy!!

It was tasty, but I think I may have made too much rice. Next time, I would omit the rice, and scrape out the squash to make a casserole or something… It was good, and with a little fine tuning, it could actually be great.

After supper I hunkered down in front of the tv to finish up my top tube protector. After Jeopardy, Survivor, and the Office, I ended up with this:

It’s themed for St-Patrick’s Day. Angelo is throwing an alleycat on Saturday, and I offered to make some top tube protectors as prizes. The embroidery took way longer than I thought it would, but I think it turned out quite nicely.

The alleycat is called “Irish Bastards Alleycat” and you know it will involve Jameson and stops at the Pub. Sigh.

Here’s a closeup of my handywork. Chain stitch is the only stitch I’ve really mastered. I wish I could do the stem stitch nicely, because it’s a better looking stitch, but c’mon, I was under a tight deadline!!

I tried the “30 Day Shred” DVD for the first time today. On the old internet, everyone seems to be raving about it. As for me, meh.

That’s right, I said it: I don’t like it. And why? Well, let me tell you:

1. I don’t like Jillian. Now, maybe if I watched the show I’d know that by now (I don’t have cable, so I’ve only seen an episode once). I was really put off by her ‘tude, and I did not dig her little pep-talk sound bytes.

2. I don’t like short workouts. There’s something weird about cramming all this “intense calorie burn” stuff into 20 minutes. What’s the hurry?

3. The moves seem really jarring. Whenever the girls stop their jumping jacks, or any of the cardio, they appear to land real heavy like. There’s a definitive lack of grace in this video.

Workout videos are weird. They kind of remind me of porn videos – there’s about a million of them out there, and they’re all basically showing the same moves, but to find one you really *love* and suits your own personal needs is a tricky, delicate business.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ve already found my own favourite workout girl. Maybe I shouldn’t stray, now that I know the alternative doesn’t turn my crank. The whole time I was doing the Shred, I was thinking about Ellen. She’s so great, and I don’t feel nearly as embarrassed doing her videos as I did doing Jillian’s. I think the difference is that Ellen really loves to work out, whereas Jillian just hates being fat. There’s a subtle difference there, and Ellen just seems like a happier person. And her cues are perfect, every time. You can follow along any of her videos cold, and stay right on track with every new move.

So, I think I’m going to shelve the 30 Day shred, and instead do Ellen’s “Super Slim Down – Yoga Pilates Blend”.

It’s also a short one, but the moves are a little smoother, and it feels more my pace. And since these videos are to compliment my running, I don’t think it’s that big a deal that Ellen’s tape doesn’t have a cardio component.

Besides, I just have a bigger crush on her. (Angelo too – and why not, the girl is HOT!)

But before I get into that, let me go on about my morning first:

But before I get into my morning, let me tell you about my job a little:

I’m a meeting Coordinator, and as such, I look after about 4 or 5 meetings per month. These meetings almost always take place in the evenings, and I’m supposed to come in to work late on “meeting days”, in lieu of overtime. However, because I’m so new there, I have no vacation, and so I have been trying to rack up OT to cover my upcoming trip to Mexico. It meant a grueling 3 months of managing 12, 13, or 14 hour days a couple of times a week, and it made me tired and run down (I was already run down from my last job, which is the reason why I a) changed jobs, and b) decided to book a trip to Mexico with no vacation leave)

But yesterday, well, yesterday was my first “meeting day” without overtime. Sweet, glorious morning!

I woke up, played with my HRM a little, leisurely made toast, and mapped out my run. I was only going for a short 3.5km run, because I’m trying to do a little taper before the 10km this Saturday.

It was kinda cold out (-6*C) and the run tired me out. I was slow, too (20:57). I didn’t look at my watch while running, but afterwards I went through all the stats:

Resting heart rate: ~50bpm
Average heart rate during run: ~141bpm
Peak heart rate during run: ~157bpm
Calories burned: 136

So there you have it. I don’t really know what these numbers mean yet, but I’m starting to do a little research. Apparently my maximum heart rate is around 185bpm, which would make a 141bpm run a 76% workout. That seems about right. It means I’m still kinda out of shape, though, doesn’t it?

Anyway, by the time I was done crunching numbers and all, it was about 10am, and I still had 2 hours to kill before work (AMAZING to have this kind of time on my hands). I went shopping, and two things happened:

1. I walked into Chapters, looking for a copy of 30 Day Shred (didn’t find it – boo) and instead walked up to the Starbucks counter and ordered a coffee. The whole process was as routine as it had been four months ago when I was ordering one every day.

me: “Could I have a Grande Bold, please?”
her: “Is that everything?”
me: “Yes.”
her: “It’ll be $2.05”
me (as I’m paying) “Could I also get the Soy Milk, please?”
her: “Soy on the bar!”

I poured in my milk, got my packet of Splenda (and a few for my purse) and a dash of cinnamon. The first sip was devine. Heavenly. Total bliss. How did I stay away so long?

In my mind, there’s a bit of a battle over the whole coffee debate. It seems that I’ve been pretty straight edge for a few months now, and I wonder if I really want to go back to one of my vices. Not that it will lead to other vices (though it might), but am I trying to justify my lack of willpower over something that I know is a hindrance to my health? Or should I really allow myself to enjoy coffee, because I do enjoy it, and it makes me “feel” good?

I don’t know. Anyway, I drank it down over the course of the next 45 min, and it was great.

2. I walked over to Future Shop, and found the DVD for $9.99!! There were also two more Jillian DVDs for the same price, so I picked up one of the other two (though now I’m not sure why I didn’t pick up all three, just to have the set… But I think it’s because I already have so many exercise videos!) So I’m starting the 30 Day challenge sparked by Caitlin over at Health Tipping Point. Word!

Lunch yesterday was Amazingly good:

Avocado sandwich from Bread and Sons (mamma mia those are good!)
Banana Chips
an Apple eaten a few hours later.

***

It is now 3:30 in the morning, and as I type, the first spring rains are tap-tap-tapping at my windows. It is a marvelous sound, and yesterday marked the first smell of spring for me. To forgo hats and mittens is like emerging from a cocoon. Spring is near, and the great thaw (human and otherwise) will shortly begin. I think Angelo might be right, it HASN’T been that bad a winter…

I just got home from a 12 hour work day. I had the option of taking the car to work today, but because I knew I’d be sitting on my big ol’ butt all day, I figured I should at the very least walk to work.

Unfortunately, the weather turned ugly early this morning, and by the time I was on my way to the office, there was a light dusting of snow and hale over a blanket of ice (result of a flash freeze of yesterday’s snow melt). Honestly, in 24 hours we went from going out in hoodies and shoes to a full on blizzard. I had my winter boots on, but I guess even their tread was no match for the ice patches on the sidewalk. I fell. It didn’t hurt so much, and wasn’t all that embarrassing (I managed to fall on my knees, as opposed to falling backwards onto my tailbone, thank god). But when I got to the office, I realized that my tights hadn’t survived:

Luckily I didn’t have a meeting or anything, so I just toughed it out, but I felt like a really little kid, walking around with scuff marks on my knees and runs in my stockings.

I never said I was graceful!!

***

My start time is 11am tomorrow, so I’m planning a short 3.5km run in the morning. I hope the weather cooperates. I want to try my new Heart Rate Monitor (Can’t wait!!!)