My Old Posts Revived: Sixteen Sweet (Scary) Miles

Posted on December 26, 2011
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Since it’s the holidays and I’m taking a little break, this is a series featuring my old posts from back in the day.  

My first marathon was a sweet adventure.  Every new long run was a new frontier, and was fraught with anxiety.  Here’s I express some of my fears as my mileage creeps up and try to work up the courage to face them head on.  

August 19, 2010:  Sweet Sixteen

The age when little girls become women, the moment when college basketball players’ dreams come true, and the number of miles I must run on Saturday. Sixteen just doesn’t seem so sweet anymore.

It’s only Thursday and I’m already a little anxious for my long run this weekend. I’ve finally reached the phase of training where every long run is a new personal record, and this is scary as hell.

Each new mile comes with equal amounts of satisfaction and struggle. About 75% of the way through a long run, exhaustion and a tenderness in my joints set in. It’s at this point where the intrigue of a new route or the energy of a new song really matter. So far though, this pain and fatigue have been bearable and typical. I’m really starting to enjoy it in a weird, twisted sort of way.

What I am really afraid of is that I’m going to hit the wall soon. Don’t ask me to describe the wall. I’ve never hit it, and a google search returned a bunch of articles which defined it as “indescribable.” Thanks google! That really helps me out.

Biologically speaking, the wall refers to the moment when the muscles run out of glycogen. Glycogen is “calories” stored in your muscles for energy. It’s not fat (sigh, I wish I could run out of fat on my race), but rather energy created from the food consumed within the past few days. There is also a neurological component whereby the brain tells the body to stop sending energy to the muscles to conserve calories to run vital organs. The inexplicable effects include hallucination, numbness, fainting, loss of control over limbs, and delirium, to name a few. All of which lead to the worst symptom of all: quitting.

The wall is rumored to be around mile twenty because the body can typically store about 2000 calories in glycogen and common wisdom assumes that the average runner burns about 100 calories a mile (give or take 20 depending on how fast and big the runner).

Which leaves me where I am today…nervous about Saturday, obsessing over every calorie of food I consume and minute of sleep I catch. I’m compulsively drinking water, generously salting my food, and avoiding walking far in high heels.

But the pain and fatigue doesn’t scare me. What scares me is the when and where of it all. Will I hit the wall and faint in front of a raging cyclist with no time to stop? Or will I become disoriented and get lost in a neighborhood I don’t know very well? Maybe I’ll crash when I’m out of gels and with no store in sight, and maybe my feet will go numb as I’m running across a bridge. But I’m letting my imagination get the best of me. These are worst case scenarios.

I probably won’t hit the wall this weekend or the next few either, but I want to take the time to prepare myself for the moment and perhaps even avoid it completely. By far, the two biggest factors identified in conquering the wall are energy consumption and mental strength. So to fortify my mind, I’m taking up yoga. For my energy consumption, I’m going to add some more whole grains and carbohydrates to my diet. I am also going to try to run faster on my long runs. For a while now, “just finish” has been my motto.

Then finally, I’m going to accept the fact that I’m going to crash into The Wall. It’s not a road block but a rite of passage. It will be the moment when I go from runner to marathoner. After all I didn’t get into this marathoning business to play it safe.

Sources:
1. Runner’s World, “Avoid Hitting the Wall” by Paul Scott, http://runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267–11428-1-1X2X3-4,00.html
2. Marathon & Beyond, “Hitting “The Wall”" by Sara Latta, http://www.marathonandbeyond.com/choices/latta.htm
3. Running Planet, “The Marathon Wall – What it is and How to Beat It” by Rick Morris, http://www.runningplanet.com/training/marathon-wall-how-to-beat-it.html

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My Old Posts Revived: Hot July Running Musings

Posted on December 23, 2011
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Since it’s the holidays and I’m taking a little break, this is a series featuring my old posts from back in the day.  

I used to be a fair weather runner.  Literally.  I would only run if it was cool and sixty degrees outside.  Then marathon training came in July and even in the middle of the night it was sticky, hot, and smelly in New York.  But learning to run in this weather taught me a  few things I seemed to have forgotten.

September 3, 2010:  Is it hot in here or what?

Back in July, when the heat was almost unbearable, New York Magazine announced that the month was on track to be the hottest in the city ever. Unfortunately (or fortunately – depending on how miserable you were), the month cooled down at the end and ended up second to 1999.

The summer of 1999 was sandwiched between sophomore and junior year [of high school] and I spent most of it partially submerged in water. My days started with a workout at the pool, continued to lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons at the local pool and then ended with more trips to the pool and the lake.

As a sixteen year old girl, an age fraught with self-consciousness and uncertainities, I was running around in nothing but less than a yard of spandex and maybe a rubber cap and goggles. At the time, I really didn’t think anything of it. The Speedo was the uniform of my life.

But fast forward to today, and I rarely venture out in a skirt that falls mid-thigh. Granted my job now requires a much more conservative look, but even when I’m out of the office, I still refrain from the too short, too revealing, and certainly the too tight.

And then July came to 2010 and an air conditioner didn’t come to my apartment. Not only did I have to deal with July, but I had to find a way to train for my marathon in a concrete sauna. At first, I just continued on with the tried and true methods, but every run felt like the pavement had melted into quick sand. At some point the heat started to eat away at my sanity and I decided that it was time to go shirtless. Running with nothing but a sports bra and a pair of shorts felt….naked. But finally, I was able to welcome the heat into my runs. That day I ran the fastest I had run in a month.

That run felt great and I never thought a second about it again, until I heard that this might be the hottest July in the City. In the moment, it was all about surviving the run, but when I heard that the last time it was this hot was eleven years ago, I couldn’t help but draw a comparison.

In some weird way, the heat had helped me come back to the innocent, unabashed, uninhibited, unafraid little girl I was so many years ago. At first, I just thought that it was the fact that I had lost some weight and was finally comfortable in my skin. But given all the Vogue and Elle magazines littering my apartment, I know that I will never be satisfied with my figure until I look like Heidi Klum. (I’d even take Heidi’s pregnant body.)

I left my shirt behind that day because after eleven years, I finally once again saw my body as a vessel of strength and power instead of a fleshy form to be admired. I could sit around and sweat through the heat, but with the marathon looming, I realized that I had to throw inhibition to the wind and just run.

Stock market bubbles burst, one hit wonders become gay and tabloid jokes, and little girls grow up. Yet for all the time we spend laughing at our mistakes of yesteryear, there is something to be admired about the time when we were unafraid of what others thought. If I can reclaim even just a moment of that, then I am finally mature enough to know to never let it go.

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My Old Posts Revived: On Quitting

Posted on December 22, 2011
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Since it’s the holidays and I’m taking a little break, this is a series featuring my old posts from back in the day.  

I wrote this post after quitting a job because I had really surprised myself in the way that I could throw my hands up in the air and practically scream “I give up!” at work, but wouldn’t let myself do the same on a run.  

August 10, 2010:  Quitters

A few weeks ago, I quit my job. I started my last day with a 4 mile run. It was a cool morning but I had foolishly eaten Tasty D-lite for dinner. Around mile two and a half, I wanted to call it quits. My stomach was growling with hunger and my feet were burning. I wanted to stop so badly and yet I couldn’t. I knew the pains I felt were momentary and more importantly, that those were the pains of running and if I wanted to be a runner who ran 26.2 miles, than I needed to learn to ignore the pain and just….keep….running.

As I went through my last-day-run feeling sluggish and sore, I couldn’t help but wonder why I had yielded to the frustration and exhaustion that I felt at work, but could not give in to them on this run.

I know pain is a biological necessity. It’s something we need to grow (growing pains, anyone?) and it’s also our own internal traffic light – Slow down! Stop! Go! Sometimes pain comes because you are improving, growing, learning, and sometimes pain comes because you are fading….

At work, the nuances of this point are much more complicated because of financial obligations, but in running, I have developed a simple system.

Take a walk around the block. Whenever joint and muscle pain start to worry me, I stop and walk. I figure if the pain then goes away than it is of the growing type. This has been especially useful when I’m trying to push myself by running further or faster than usual. I’m always concerned during those work-outs that I will blow out a knee or worse, but I also know that faster and stronger are right through the pain, if I only I can bear it. The walking test helps me sort out the gravity of the pain. Usually, I find that it disappears the minute I stop, which tells me that I should start right back up again.

Take a coffee break. We are in the middle of the summer and the air is hot and thick. Sometimes, I’ve broken out in a sweat before I’ve even started running. With the heat and humidity raging, it’s hard to tell when I’m just battling the elements or actually suffering, so I pay attention to how quickly I recover when I stop for water, nourishment, walking or stretching. On a good day, a water break should be refreshing and literally provide a pick-me-up. Muscle soreness and fatigue won’t disappear completely, but, especially after Gatorade or energy gels, I can jump back into the run feeling just a little bit lighter despite the weather.

Take a vacation. I also pay attention to how I quickly I return to normal after what feels like a grueling run. Now I’m not saying that I should feel like I’m ready to throw on a pair of heels and dance around for a few hours nor am I suggesting that I should be bed-ridden either. The level of perceived effort during the run should roughly match my energy levels and discomfort afterwards. I also know that I should always feel a little beaten up after the long runs. If I don’t feel anything at all the next day, then I’m not working hard enough.

Play some music. When I’m doing my long runs, I should be able to sing along to my iPod or chat with my TNT teammates. Of course, this is not a test that works for every type of workout. Interval training, weight lifting, pace runs are require different effort levels – but they also have different goals: speed and strength, not building endurance. As an added benefit, if you can sing or talk while running, then you are most likely in your aerobic threshold, which means your energy source is your fat, not sugar.

I hate quitting. I tend to think that it is a sign of weakness, but the truth is that sometimes we feel pain because we are in danger and not on the verge of achieving a new personal best. Learning to listen to my body and understand what it’s trying to tell me is a bit of an art. The aches and pains that plague me are always changing as I get stronger and reach for bigger goals, and so the line between good and bad is always moving around on me. Using these few little tests on me eliminates a lot of the excuses that I can conjure up in the middle of a run.

That pain on Friday morning was the type that will carry me to the finish line. I didn’t need to stop running. The burning in my feet can be cured by a new pair of shoes and the rest….well, they were cured when I finally ate breakfast. And as for the job situation? It turns out that sometimes you’ve got to quit to move forward as well.

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Happy Holidays: My Old Posts Revived

Posted on December 21, 2011
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Whatever your holiday is right now, or even if you don’t celebrate anything right now and are just enjoying the quiet as everyone else takes off, now is the time for relaxation.

AmandaRunsNY is going to relax until the New Year.  But since I don’t want to leave you high and dry, I am going to repost some of my old very favorite posts.  Can you believe that I have been blogging for about a year and half now?  Even more surprising, I didn’t even realize that there were other bloggers like me out there until about six or seven months into blogging.  I literally just blogged my little heart away, posted it on facebook, and that was it.

Then some how I stumbled upon Caitlin’s blog, Healthy Tipping Point, and I realized that there was this whole community of bloggers out there.  I tried to find New York bloggers like me and would do silly google searches to try to find them.  But I never found anything until I saw a guest blog post from Healthy Happier Bear on Caitlin’s site.  I was surprised and excited to find out that there were other bloggers in New York just like me!

You could say that I was in the blogging-challenged group for the first few months of my blog.  When I first started blogging I was also super worried about getting in trouble at work because in my industry it’s highly frowned upon for us to have public personas that might interfere with our companies’ images.  I also wondered why people would want to read about the mundane details of my life.  Do I really need to write a whole essay on my twenty miler? And why of why would someone want to read it?

It took me several months to even make my first comment on someone else’s blog.  Looking back, I can only laugh at my silly fears.  I don’t know what I thought would happen after I commented.  Perhaps I’d get a ticket from the grammar police?  Now, I love engaging in the blog comment discussions.  They make me laugh, cry, and think.  I can’t believe I waited so long to join the party.

So here’s where I started out.  This first re-post isn’t my very first blog post, but it’s the first time, I tried to write something that wasn’t just about “tips.”

Central Park Jogger

When I mention that I run in Central Park at 6am, more often than not the reaction is something along the lines of ‘is it safe?’  My response is laughter.  All spring, summer and fall – up to the marathon – the park is a party in the early dawn hours.  There are tons of people running and biking around the loops in Central Park and more often than not at least one of those people provides my inspiration and motivation.

To start off there are the baby stroller joggers.  Sometimes the weight of my iPod feels like a burden, but the baby stroller joggers are pushing fifty pounds of extra weight, not a few measly ounces.  In addition to working out much harder, they actually have to be parents when they aren’t running.   Where do they find the energy for all of it?  Whenever a stroller jogger passes me, I make a mental note to work harder right there, because one day I hope to be strong enough to push my kids up those hills too.

Then there are the old people.   There is one guy in the park who I think had a stroke because he runs holding his limp right arm by the wrist with his left hand.   I see him all the time – all seasons and a few times a week.  Each time I see him, I immediately start to wonder about him.  Why is he running?  When did he start running? Who is he?

I like to think that he’s been running since he was a young boy and that once upon a time, he was fast.  Four minute mile fast.  And then I start to wonder about how old he was when he ran his last four minute mile, and I can’t help but pick up my pace right then.  Marathoning is a mature sport because mental strength is the difference between the winners and losers.  As I get older I get tougher, but at some point my body won’t be able to keep up with my brain, and seeing him trudging along reminds me that I’m wasting time complaining.

I can’t forget about the hot bodies racing around the park.  This city is full of beautiful people, and some of the best bodies are the sweaty, dirty ones running around the Reservoir.  I’m talking eight-packs, calf muscles split in two, and thighs with no (no!) jiggle.  These aren’t your body builder types either.  These are small, lean, sexy bodies that I think most people try to emulate.  When I’m running and I see one of these perfect forms, I get insanely jealous because I want to bounce quarters off my abs!  So I suck in my stomach and pick up my knees.

Finally, there are the cycling teams.  Like a swarm of bees, ten to twenty cyclers in matching uniforms race around The Loop.  They are hardcore.  When they get on a hill, their leaders start screaming to go faster and in unison they all rise up and power over the peak.   What gets to me about them is the way that they move as one with long, powerful strides.  There is a grace and fluidity about them that is magical and it immediately stirs up a deep urge to run for something or for someone – which is how I ended up running with Team in Training.

The park is full of so many characters – overweight, disabled, young, old, pregnant, poor, rich, professional, amateur, cancer survivor, veteran, mom, dad, police officer, and everyone in between – with the same goal: to place one foot in front of the other repeatedly.   The collective act of so many people from all parts of life coming together to engage in such a simple task IS the most inspiring thing.  It reminds me that running is not a sport where you have to be born with the right body for it, or where you need tons of fancy equipment and expensive trainers to reach the elite levels.  You don’t even need two legs to do it!  You can pick up hand cycling or a prosthetic.  It’s the sport where sheer will and determination are the only equipment you need. In fact, these days even shoes are optional.

 

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Music Monday and Happy Holidays

Posted on December 19, 2011
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Good Morning! Happy Monday!  Merry Week of Christmas!

This weekend, I had a great time enjoying Christmas in New York City, but before we can get to that it’s time for some music. And this time I was in the mood for some club music.  Enjoy in your sparkliest clothing.

Spaceship (feat. Kelis, Apl.de.ap., & Jean Baptiste) by Benny Bennassi

Set Fire to the Rain (128 BPM Dizzman mix) by DJ Dizzy

C’mon by Tiesto & Diplo

Someone Like You (extended vocal mix) by Carlos Gallardo

Top of the World (feat. Dev) by the Cataracs

And a Very She & Him Christmas.

 

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Baby Steps

Posted on December 15, 2011
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yeah, we runner people are a little bit nutty.

Even though, I’ve broken up with SmartCoach (not to be confused with my other break-up), we’re still on friendly terms.  One thing we can still see eye to eye on is the need for some speed work.  In the SmartCoach world, Wednesday’s are a day for tempo runs or speed workouts, and while we are no longer bedfellows, I figured Wednesday was as good as any other day for fast running.

SmartCoach thinks that my speed workout today should be:

1 mile easy jog

2 1 mile sprints @ 9:14, with 800 cool downs

1 mile easy jog

I started with a slow and easy jog to the park.  I was wary of what happened after my last attempt at speed work so I did a few quick pick-ups so that my legs would understand that today we had business to take care of on our run.  I headed straight for the Great Lawn which has a flat .55 mile loop to tackle my workout.

The Great Lawn

I arrived at the Great Lawn to the sight of all the dogs of the “Uppers” of Manhattan, and their coffee swizzling owners.  I took a moment to mourn the loss of my coffee, another moment to wish that I could get a dog and then I put on my game face.

Honestly, I didn’t have an exact plan of what I was going to do until I started running fast at a giant lampost.  I knew what SmartCoach wanted me to do, but I don’t think that mile repeats are the stuff that I’m made of just yet.  So I started running, weaving around dogs, running fast, fast, faster and I spotted a landmark – a row of bright blue garbage cans.  Hey, don’t laugh.  I live in New York.

The watch told me that I had run .2 miles.  Perfecto.  Between the lampost and garbage cans I had my distance set and something to focus on during each sprint.  So it wasn’t a fancy finish line banner, but at least I had something to run towards.

A finish line worthy of it's name, also an example of a clearly labeled finish line

SmartCoach wanted 9:14 miles but I decided for these short sprints that I could run a little faster.  Or try to anyway.  I did some quick math in my head and figured out that 1:48 would be a nine minute pace for these sprints, and I decided I would finish every single one of those babies under that time.

And finish I did.

My whole run took only four minutes longer than my Monday run, which was an easy run.  This is pretty awesome considering that I spent significant time shaking out my thighs and jumping around to my newest favorite song (you’ll have to wait until Music Monday to hear about that!).

Around the 5th sprint, I considered quitting.  I was tired, the last repeat was especially challenging and for some reason there were four times as many dogs on my side of the Great Lawn.  But then I told the negative Nelly in me to shut up.  It was only one more mile and I could always run just one more mile.  Besides how in the world am I ever going to get faster if I can’t finish a damn speed workout?

I pounded out three more sprints, and then Nelly came back and suggested quitting once again.  But with two more to go I answered that negative thought by running the last two around 7 to 7:30 mile pace.

Maybe there is a full 7 minute mile in my future one day.  That’s what I’m telling myself anyway.  Baby steps, Amanda. Baby steps.

 Do you prefer to do speed workouts on a treadmill, track or by simply using your watch?  

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Acid Reflux Rears it’s Ugly Head

Posted on December 14, 2011
by

My bad.

Beer is not good for my stomach

For the past few months my stomach has been driving me up the wall.  I was diagnosed with IBS in college and even the most mindful of diets can’t stop it from acting up when I’m stressed out.  Lately, my stomach hurts all the time and my digestion is anything but umm…normal.  On top of this, I’ve been having some serious heart burn and a burning sensation in my throat.  Add this to random (quiet) burps, and I’m pretty sure my body is going on strike.

It is.  My stomach is holding the equivalent of a picket line inside me.

This summer my doctor explained to me that I have acid reflux, and she gave a few recommendations on how to make things better which I promptly forgot the second I left her office.  Given the proliferation of antacid commercials on TV which suggest (to me) that heartburn is a very common occurrence and the fact that my stomach has always had a mind of it’s own, I assumed that this was just another problem I would have to deal with from time to time.

Red Rooster, I <3 you

At my annual check-up she asked for an update on my acid reflux and when she heard that it had gotten worse, she suddenly got tough and started using the C-word on me.  Yep, it’s the word you are thinking of.  (I’m not trying to make a joke.  Really.)

Basically, acid reflux occurs when the lower esophageal sphinctor (LES), the opening to the stomach from the esohpagus, either doesn’t close completely after eating or else it opens up frequently.  And each time this little dude opens up, he lets out a bit of stomach acid which creeps up into my esophagus and damages it.  Over time this damage, can cause many things to happen and the biggest and baddest of them is that dirty C-word.  Eating certain foods can further damage an esophagus that is already being battered by stomach acid. (source: WebMD)

An apple a day can keep the doctor away?

Now that my doctor had my attention, we sat down and went through a list of all the things in my life that might be causing the acid reflux:

(1) Running on nothing but coffee in the morning.  (Nooooo, please tell me I don’t have to give up my coffee.)

(2) Eating or drinking alcohol within two hours of going to bed.

And I did some googling and a few other things came up as possible causes too:

(1)  Drinking several lime flavored seltzers a day.

(2)  Eating large meals.

Big Mac...Big Mistake

Then we went over the treatment process.  My doctor’s two main recommendations were to eat a protein bar before running, and to abstain from drinking or eating 2 hours before I go to bed.  She also wrote me a prescription and gave me some samples of Nexium to take in the morning.  I asked about diet and she told me that it wasn’t a major concern as the real issue was that the LES and my esophagus needed to heal.

But of course, after the visit, I just had to google foods that are bad for acid reflux.  What I came up with shocked me and also constituted a huge majority of my diet.  Garlic, onions, tomatoes, spice, balsamic vinegar and coffee are major no-no’s.  My daily seltzers, a replacement for my Diet Coke habit, contain citric acid in their lime flavoring and the carbonation can cause the LES to open up.  Further google results, yielded more results such as peppermint tea, chocolate, fatty foods and fibruous foods such as vegetables, beans, and fruit.

Hold on a minute.

You mean, I would be better off eating a baloney sandwich with mustard on Wonder bread?  Nothing about that jives with my definition of healthy.

Where did the Radish go to have a few drinks? The Salad Bar, of course

I specifically asked about food choices, and all my doctor said was that I shouldn’t be running in the morning on a stomach only full of coffee.  She even went so far as to say that while certain foods do cause greater acid production, that is not the problem.  This study done by Stanford agrees with my doctor too.

I thought about what my doctor said for a while, all the while steering clear of coffee and limiting my alcohol consumption.  I pillaged Fairway and came up with three coffee substitutes which I can mix with soymilk (about 1/2 cup) so that I can continue with my morning *coffeee* ritual and get my protein mix.  Since I’m trying to lose weight, this adds about 60-225 extra calories a day, so I will have to take these calories out of another meal.

I also decided to lay off of the condiments –  sirachua (oh, I miss you so much!) and vinegar because I have noticed strong symptoms after eating these two.  But I will supplement with fresh, raw jalapenos and fresh squeezed citrus juice.  I stopped drinking the free seltzer at work because it’s flavored with citric acid.

The other major change is that I have stopped eating or drinking anything but herbal tea and water 2 hours before bed.  Since I am an old lady and can barely even stay up to watch Modern Family, the kitchen is closing at 7:30.  During the weekends, I’ll be rebellious and play it by ear.  Oh yeah, I’m living life on the edge.

Wanted: Tequila and Salt

But as for the fruits and vegetables, no way.  I’m keeping those.  Given that Stanford study and my doctors recommendation, I am going to eat whatever else I want.  Vegetables make me feel good.    Citrus fruits are a great source of Vitamin C, which is necessary during cold season, and they actually have an alkaline effect on the body.

Acid reflux, you can take away my siraucha but you can’t take away my kale.

I am not a doctor, nor have I been trained in anything even remotely related to human health, so do not take my advice.  Please see a real doctor, but it’s okay if you want to keep on reading my blog too.  I’m just relaying my experience and what works for me.  And I’m not even sure any of this is going to work.  So really, don’t listen to me.  

 

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New York, I Never Get Sick of Looking at You

Posted on December 13, 2011
by

Times Square...I love/hate you

Cabbage...the flowers of winter in New York

Holiday Window at Macy's

Homemade noodles in Flushing at Xian Foods....yummmm

When you wish upon a star...more of the Macy's Holiday Windows

Believe me when I say...99% of these people are tourists or bloggers waiting for friends

A graffiti artist with an agenda

Coffee, yes, I love you.

Green things I miss you

Oh say can you seeeee....oops, wrong song

 

Have you seen anything interesting around the city.? Do you plan on checking out any of the holiday decorations in New York City?

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Music Monday and Christmas Cookies

Posted on December 12, 2011
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This weekend was wonderful – not because I did anything special, but because of it’s sheer simplicity.  It was quiet, uneventful, mostly spent indoors, and full of lots of good eats.

mmmRPHMMmmmmm

Saturday morning I awoke and was struck by the sudden urge to bake, and I knew just what I was going to make:  Mama Pea’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sugar Cookies from Pea’s and Thank You.

I have never baked vegan cookies before – at least not a version that wasn’t meant to be a healthified, protien-amped up or omega-saturated version.  These cookies, while devoid of trans fat and packing a little protein from the use of whole wheat flour, are most definitely worthy of the name cookie.

mmmmmmarrmmgmmshph

The  dough balls are yummy, ooey-gooey amazingness.  I had to hide them lest I eat the whole batch.  I split the batch into two, and put white chocolate and peanut butter chips in one, and Mama’s recommendation of peanut chips and carob chips in the other batch. (Baking note: I cut down the salt slightly and found that the dough couldn’t absorb the last little amount – maybe 1/4 cup of flour.)

The salted chocolate chip cookies were the ones I had the most hope for and they disappointed me.  Although this could be entirely my fault, since I thought the dough was too wet looking and added about a 1/4 cup more flour.  The cookies are good, but they taste healthy.  I would not recommend adding extra flour, and maybe reducing the salt in the dough.

grrrmmmmmmsmsmmmRHHMMM

The sugar cookies were also wonderful.  I personally prefer a little bit chewier cookie, but these were excellent.  And the frosting tastes like the real thing, although I had to use a lot more powdered sugar.  I think that could be because I don’t own one of those fancy Kitchen Aid Mixer’s, and was using a fork (!) to whip up my icing.  Still it came out delicious.  (Baking note:  If you like sweet sugar cookies or don’t plan on adding frosting, omit the salt.  Also cookies are super-duper crumbly fresh out of the oven so handle the cookies with care.)

Now all that’s left to do is find myself a cookie monster to help me eat these cookies.  Any volunteers?

Here’s my new music for the week:

Malo (Radio Edit) by Aviici

Roll (feat. Sean Kingston) by Flo Rida

Take Care (feat. Rihanna) by Drake

Talk that Talk (feat. Jay-Z) by Rihanna

Till The World Ends (The Femme Fatale Remix) feat. Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha) by Britney Spears (side note: the lyrics are sort of hilarious)

 

 What are you listening to this week?  Do you ever try baking “healthified” versions of the traditional favorites?

 

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Peas Meet the Treadmill

Posted on December 7, 2011
by

Oh Equinox, I love your eucalyptus scented towels

Hello Treadmill?  How have you been?  Did you miss me?

Muhhhhhahahaha.

The treadmill might have been in need of a good pounding but I did not want to run on that treadmill.  Where’s the pretty sunrises? And the trees?  And what about the nice breeze?

And also the puddles, the rain, the humidity, too?   Yes, I sorta missed them as well.

But I dragged my butt to the gym for a run this morning because I wanted to do a tempo run and I thought it would be easier on the treadmill.  At least for today.

How wrong I was.

Giant gummy bears are never wrong.

First of all, for reasons I cannot fathom, when I started jogging it was at a pace significantly slower than normal.  And then when I jacked it up to my tempo pace, I ran hard, but then something fizzled inside me, and I gave up after a mile.  I kept on repeating in my head as I was running, “You get what you give.”

And I got a whole lotta nothing this morning.

But all was not lost.  The upside of a rainy day and aborted run means that I get lots more time in the morning to do things.  So I decided to make a fun salad.

My homemade lunches are a  great source fascination in my office.  People are always asking what I’m eating.   Sometimes the comments border on funny, other times curious, and sometimes a little clueless.

Carrots and Kale sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G

My many flirtations with veganism have left me with little appetite for meat and dairy on a daily basis.  Though I love myself a good piece of cheese, I really try to go without except when dining out.  I’ve also developed a taste for foods that don’t fall in the radar of the SAD - tofu, seitan, tahini, kale (though kale is quite a popular little vegetable these days), nooch, veggie burgers, seaweed, quinoa, and wheat berries, for example.

Truth be told, my salads are not that FUN, but they sure do look fun.  What else could explain all the salad comments from coworkers?  Unless, someone is trying to get on my good side.

Except for this morning.  When I buy a salad at work, I always get peas in my salad. They are seriously delicious and pack a little protein punch.  So one day, while perusing the canned vegetables at the grocery store, I picked up a can of peas.  And this morning, I decided to finally put them into action.

mmmm, peas, yes peas

So I chopped up some vegetables, spiralized some zucchini, whipped up a sundried tomato white bean spread and dumped it all in a tupperware container.  Then I opened up my can of peas.

Those sorry army green turds do not look anything like the picture on the can.  They weren’t shiny, and they looked small and a little bit embarassed to be called peas.  But being the open-minded gal that I am, I tossed in a few spoonfuls, excited to bring one of my eating out treats to my own kitchen.

Gazing down at my newest, albeit strangely colored creation, I decided I had to sample it.  I just could not wait for the delicious burst of pea goodness mixed with hummus, kale, and fresh peppers.  You know, to leave me drooling over lunch all morning.

OMG.

OMG no.

Those little peas had defiled my fun salad. They were like the friend that gets too drunk to stand up and makes you leave the party early, or the date that takes you out for tapas and then informs you that he doesn’t eat spicy food, or the teacher that tells you that there is a pop quiz.

And those little devils had snaked their way under my vegetables and throough my lettuce, rendering the entire salad inedible.  There was no saving my salad.

Thankfully, I had a quinoa salad frozen from the week before so I wasn’t forced to buy lunch, but I’m still smarting over those peas.

So do you make your own lunch?  What do you like to bring for lunch?  Also, did I just get a bad can of peas or are the peas that I get in my salads fresh or frozen? 

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