Training Log: 8/4-8/10

This week, I decided to cross train more since my knees were feeling a little wonky after that hilly half marathon last Sunday. I did my first trail run on Monday evening with my running club, and I loved it! We did a 6 mile mixed surface run that included a loop around a small lake. The pace was a bit aggressive, but manageable, and we really picked it up near the end. I kept my eyes fixed 3 feet ahead of me basically the whole way, because I was terrified of falling and making a fool of myself.

Since Monday's trail run was a success, I wanted to go on the longer trail run on Sunday. I met up with a group of seven other people, and we did 12 miles on the trail in 2.5 hours. It's so different running on trails than on roads. I thought our pace wasn't too slow, until someone with a Garmin announced that we were going at about a 12 min/mile pace. What!!! Haha, since trails are more challenging, 12 miles is equivalent to 15 miles on the road, amIright?! I really enjoyed the run, though, and I want to do more trail running now. It's a lot easier on the knees :)

8/4 Sunday- 13.1mi run

8/5 Monday- 6mi trail run

8/6 Tuesday- P90X2 yoga

8/7 Wednesday- 22mi bike

8/8 Thursday- 25mi bike

8/9 Friday- 8.8mi run

8/10 Saturday- 20mi bike (hard)

Totals:

Ran- 27.9mi
Biked- 67mi

Read More

Tutorial: How to Make Sushi

Sushi is a great runner's food. It's nutritious with minerals from the nori (seaweed), protein from fish/eggs, healthy fats from avocado, energy-rich carbs from the rice, and vitamins from the veggies. It's a complete meal all rolled up in a neat package!

Making sushi at home isn't hard. It takes a while to prep all the ingredients and assemble each roll one by one, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty simple and fun! This is a recipe for California rolls, the ubiquitous sushi roll, but following this tutorial, you can make any kind of sushi that you wish! Make it vegetarian by using pickled veggies, tofu, egg, sweet potato, or other veggies. If you can buy sashimi-grade fish, you can make your own sushi at home for a fraction of the price you'd pay at a restaurant.

Read More

My Running Gear: The Essentials

Mizuno EVO Cursoris

This is a great zero-drop shoe for someone looking for a more minimalist ride. I love how lightweight they feel, yet they still provide some cushioning. I am a neutral runner with a mid-foot strike, so these are perfect for me. I got these about a month ago and wear them on my longer runs, since they have more cushioning relative to my Merrells.

Merrell Road Glove Dash 2

This is my other pair of running shoes. They are also zero-drop and the soles are a lot thinner. They are even more lightweight than my Mizunos and I wear them on my shorter runs. As you can see, I am a fan of minimalist footwear and avoid the heavier, more cushioned running shoes.

Belkin Arm Band + iPhone

I used to use a Griffin armband, but it didn't fit on my arm and kept sliding down. The Belkin armband is also a bit large, but I can tighten it enough to stay put. I use my iPhone for music (Pandora) and keep track of my runs with GPS apps.

Amphipod RunLite 4

This is the only hydration belt I have, and it's all I really need. I decided to get the 4 bottle belt since I can always remove a bottle or two as needed. It took a little time to get used to it, but once I figured out how to position the bottles, it's pretty comfortable and doesn't bother me at all.

iPhone apps:

RoadID- great for staying safe when running alone

MapMyRide- keeps track of my mileage and split times, though it usually over-estimates the distance. I use this for both running and biking (gives average speed)

Strava- pretty darn fun to compete with other users

Read More

5 Tips on Staying Motivated with Marathon Training

The fall racing season is approaching fast, and if you have a marathon or two planned this fall, you are probably in the middle of training. You are building up speed with interval training, those long runs are getting longer, and your weekly mileage is quite impressive. You avoid junk food and alcohol, eat well, go to bed early, wake up early, run a lot, and repeat.

At this point, marathon training may seem to take over your life, and sometimes, it's just hard to drag yourself out of bed before the sun rises to get in a run before heading off to work. It could be hard to keep the motivation up, but I hope that my tips can help you from feeling burned out.

Read More

French Toast!

"I'd rather have boring plain toast instead of French toast," said nobody, ever.

I love French toast. There's just something magical that happens when you dip a piece of bread in an eggy-cinnamon-y batter and pan-fry it until the edges get all crispy. And top it with a little drizzle of syrup for sweetness. It's a special breakfast for me and making it is a ritual reserved for the weekends. I usually make a batch of French toast before my long runs or rides, since it's a more filling breakfast, with the added protein from the egg, to sustain me for a longer workout. And eating French toast just motivates me to get up early in the morning and run. On Sunday long runs, this girl is powered by French toast :)

What's your special weekend breakfast?

Here's my recipe, so that you, too, can run those extra miles powered by French toast.

You will need:

2-3 slices of bread (I use whole wheat homemade bread)

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

A dash of salt

A dusting of cinnamon 

A splash of vanilla extract

Beat egg in a shallow bowl. Add milk, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Dip a slice of bread in the egg mixture, flipping it over to get both sides soaked. I like to flip it a few times to make sure it has absorbed as much egg as possible. Fry in a lightly oiled pan, until golden brown on each side. Repeat with the rest of the bread until the egg mixture is gone. 

Read More

No-Bake Blackberry Yogurt Pie

I still had some blackberries left over from last Tuesday's blackberry-picking adventure. I had about a pint left, so I decided to make a no-bake yogurt pie. The crust is made from almonds, oats, and dates, and can be made gluten free by using gluten-free oats. The filling is made with Greek yogurt and set with agar-agar, a vegan "gelatin" derived from seaweed. It's pretty cool to use, and a lot of Asian jelly-like desserts use agar-agar.

Read More

Yoga and Trails

Rainy day today :\ I wanted to go for a bike ride this morning, but I'm not too fond of getting soaked.

Instead, I opted to do some yoga in my basement. The only yoga DVD I have is P90X and P90X2 yoga, so I do that sometimes on rest days. I prefer the P90X2, since it's about 30 minutes shorter. It's faster paced and more challenging, as well.

My home gym set up is a black mat underneath an area rug that I roll up to workout and a projector screen for workout DVDs. Other equipment I have (that I don't really use) are PowerBlocks, agility ladder, jump rope, pull-up bar, yoga mat, resistance bands, medicine balls, and an exercise ball. My brother loves buying workout DVDs and gear, which is why we have so much stuff. In addition to the P90X's, we have Insanity and Asylum. They haven't been used much recently, since it's hard to do the program concurrently with marathon training. I just do them occasionally on rainy days like today, and when I need a break from running.

The yoga felt so good since my muscles were feeling pretty tight from the marathon on Sunday and a 6+ mile trail run yesterday. Every Monday, my running club has a recovery run in the evenings, and during the summer months, the run goes through a trail around a lake. I've actually never tried trail running before, but have always wanted to. Yesterday's run felt great and I had a lot of fun! The pace was perfect; exactly what I needed to recover, and the challenge of navigating trails full of rocks and tree roots kept things interesting. I want to run some more trails! Sorry I don't have any pictures, since I was too busy trying to stay upright and not twist my ankles. I might go on another trail run with the club on Sunday, so hopefully I can take a few then!

Read More