Sunday, January 26, 2014

Marathon No. 5: Weekly Round-Up (Week 9)

This is the story of Week 9 of my marathon training, or "How I Ran 16 Miles on the Treadmill."

Okay, actually, there isn't much of a story.  I spent this morning checking the temperature and whining about how cold it was and how I didn't want to run until it hit at least 32 degrees.  Eventually, I gave up and decided to run inside.  I've done extended speed workouts on the treadmill, but I changed the speed and incline so much that it broke up the time nicely.  Today, I started out thinking that I would run 6 miles easy and then run a few mile-long intervals before calling it quits.  I got to Mile 12 and, after that, just kept telling myself one more mile until I got to 16.  It was a challenge mentally, but it was great preparation for the marathon.  (Hey, look, I can do the same thing over and over for hours!)

Week 10 is up, and there are six weeks to go until the race.

Here's the schedule:

Monday: Stretching
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: Off
Saturday: 20 miles (second of three)
Sunday: Off

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

The Great CSA Adventure: Jerusalem Artichokes (Week 2)

I finished out my first week of my CSA with a pizza (topped with caramelized onions, tomatoes, and watercress) and beet chips.

Week 2's basket included celery roots, parsnips, purple carrots, spinach, more onions, and this:


When I pulled this out of my basket, I thought it was a different variety of ginger root.  They're actually Jerusalem artichokes.  (It's a little bit of a misnomer -- they're actually a New World vegetable that's the tubular part of a type of sunflower.)

I wasn't sure what to do with the Jerusalem artichokes at first, but, thanks to the magic of the internet, I opted to very simply roast them with cauliflower and brussel sprouts.  And, it was delicious.  Next up -- figuring out what I'm going to do with celery root and purple carrots.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Marathon No. 5: Weekly Round-Up (Week 8)

After running 20 miles last Sunday, I slacked off more than I should have last week.  Of the 25 miles I had planned, I finished Week 8 with 18 miles.  It's not a huge deal, and it may be a good thing that I didn't run as hard.

This week will be a little busier than usual with work, so my plan is to spread my miles across a few days (usually I run twice during the week and have a weekend long run).

Week 9:
Monday - 5 miles (easy)
Tuesday - Cross-training
Wednesday - 7 miles (speed work)
Thursday - 4 miles (easy)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 16 miles
Sunday - Rest


Thursday, January 16, 2014

Around the Interwebs: 37 Things Only Runners Know

Thought Catalog compiled a list of things that only runners know.  Here are some of my favorites:
10. The treadmill is to you what that chocolate cake was to the boy in Matilda: you may dislike every single second you’re strapped to that contraption, but damn it if you’re not going to do it anyway.
17. Getting the little nod of approval from a runner heading in the opposite direction is enough to make you feel as if you’re floating. 
21. There will always be that one song you rely on to pump you up like no other. 
 Check out the full list here.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Marathon No. 5: Weekly Round-Up (Week 7)

My first 20-mile run of this training cycle actually was okay.  I felt good up until Mile 18, at which point I told myself to keep running because there was a cheeseburger waiting for me in Eastern Market.  (I ran with my coworker who is training for February's Miami marathon, so we started and ended our run in her neck of the woods.)  The best part? I still have two more 20-mile runs on my training plan....

...yay?

Week 8 (the mid-point) is actually pretty relaxed compared to last week.  I have a total of 25 miles planned, spread out over three days.  Here's what it looks like:

Monday: Rest, stretching
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: Cross and strength training
Thursday: 8 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 9 miles
Sunday: Cross and strength training


Friday, January 10, 2014

The Great CSA Adventure: Collard Greens (Week 1)

Solidifying my yuppie status, I joined a CSA program for the winter.  Every week, I pick up locally-grown fruits and vegetables (and sometimes dairy items, honey, jam, and meat) from the market near my office.  My hope is that the CSA will inspire me to get out of my food comfort zone.  It will also give me an excuse to try ALL of the recipes featured in Plenty, which I received from a good friend as a Christmas gift. 

The first batch included pink lady apples (some of which I tossed with kale and dried cranberries), beets, onions, purple viking potatoes, watercress, and collard greens.

Growing up, collard greens were featured in every big, family meal.  Of course, I never ate them because, you know, green vegetables are pretty much kryptonite for kids. Now that I'm old enough to cook my own meals, I never think to buy collards and rarely look for recipes where they are the main ingredient.   (This also meant that I had no idea what to do with them when I pulled them out of my bag.)

So, I went for pesto, tossing the collards, garlic, pecans, parmesan, salt, and black pepper into my food processor and mixing with penne.   Easy and delicious. 


Next up: figuring out what I can do with watercress that doesn't involve it being in a sandwich (which apparently tastes like buttered grass).

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Marathon No. 5: Weekly Round-Up (Week 6)

This comes somewhat belatedly, but happy new year!

It’s funny – when I graduated from college in 2009 and thought about returned for my five year reunion, 2014 seemed so distant. But, it’s here – which also means that I’m also at the half-way point in my training.

Week 7 includes my first of three (planned) 20-mile runs. Thankfully, this weekend will be much warmer than it has been. I’m not going to say that I enjoyed running 17 miles in below freezing temperatures last weekend, but the temperature did provide a nice incentive to keep moving and finish as quickly as possible.

Here’s the full plan for the week (most of which is already done):

Monday – Rest
Tuesday – 3 miles
Wednesday – Stretching and foam rolling. (I started physical therapy and learned that I am dealing with ITBS in my right knee, but it’s largely due to weak gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles. I have a plan and, hopefully, will be able to correct the problem without too much difficulty.)
Thursday – 6 miles (speed workout)
Friday – Cross-training and strength training
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – 20 miles (eeeeeep!)