Shortly after Meliska had little Liam, Greggy-D's sister, Lisa sent out a Care Calendar for friends and family to help out by picking a date and supplying dinner for a few weeks while they transitioned into the whole parenthood thing.
I picked Saturday, October 30th for purely selfish reasons - a chance to hang out with my buddies and love on little baby Liam. I basically made a meal and invited myself over for dinner. How rude am I?! =P When I initially plotted this brilliant strategery (love that word, Al Gore), I instantly thought to make chicken tetrazini for my friends. It's one of my specialties, after all. One problem with my plan. I went back to the basics - took that step backward into Phase 1 of South Beach which meant no pasta for me. So, what did I do??? I made a chicken tetrazini for Meliska and Greggy-D and then I made another meal for me, of course!
I've made it before, albeit a pasta version. It was called Chicken Pasta Parmesan and it's a soup based sauce served over pasta. I decided to modify this to make it Phase 1 friendly. Now I'm sharing it with you.
2 cans 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup (you can use cream of chicken or a combo)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, basil
spaghetti squash
Directions:
Cook your spaghetti squash for about 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees. Once cooled, remove the "guts and seeds" and then using a fork, pull out the "spaghetti strands". Place in the bottom of a casserole dish(es) that has/have been sprayed with Pam.
In a large skillet, heat 2 TBSP of olive oil and saute and season the cubed chicken.
Once browned, remove the chicken and add in the sliced mushrooms and saute and season them.
Add in the marsala wine and add back in the chicken. Heat through before adding in the 2 cans of soup and the Greek yogurt. Add some additional seasoning - tasting to make sure you have it just right. Once the mixture is heated through, add in the parmesan cheese until melted.
Pour the mixture on top of the spaghetti squash.
Bake in the oven on 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour until bubbly.
Enjoy! I did just that, but not even half as much as I did my time with my friends and one cutie patootie Liam!
3 months, my friends...3 months until I set forth to do the most challenging event of my life thus far - the Houston Chevron Marathon. So many questions fill my head - will I be ready? will I be able to finish? will I be able to finish in 6 hours? Then I tell those questions to go fishin' cuz I don't want to have negative thoughts filling my head right now. It has been said (by several people) that I am my own worst enemy. I believe this to be true, but I don't want this to be me anymore. Does that make sense? Instead of the "will I?" or "can I?" or "what if?" questions that I've been occupying my time with, I want to run with the notion of I GOT THIS!
You see, I could totally go all Negative Nelly on myself today for my 12 miler that wasn't, but I'm not. You know why? It's cuz I listened to Kenny Rogers and I knew when to "fold 'em" and that is far different than the Kim of days gone by. If you haven't caught wind through my Facebook posts or my Tweets, I've been nursing an injury I got from my half marathon (that wasn't) last weekend. I got a massage, I've taken Epsom salt baths every night, I've foam rolled, I've popped Advil Liqui-Gels, I've Bio-Freezed, and I've even sat on a sock filled with 3 tennis balls in the hopes of fixing myself prior to today's run. I know that I did everything I could, but my body was not healed. I probably should not have ran at all, but I'm going to be proud of the 7 I did do and I'm going to be proud of the fact that I called it quits when my body screamed "NO MORE!"
On a fun note, at family lunch today, I felt like I had gone trick-or-treating as my mom gave me a pumpkin filled with all kinds of goodies. I got a Carmel Apple soap from Bath & Body Works, a Nutmeg Cream candle, a can of almonds, a coupon for Kohl's, and a gift card for the movie theater. She's such a thoughtful mom!!!
On a parting note, I have been blessed with some truly amazing friends. Laura may live in Tallahassee, but thanks to Facebook, we are ever present in one another's lives. She is always so encouraging and positive and somehow knows just what to say when I need to hear it. Laura sent me an incredible email last night with two videos that I'm going to post here. She explained that there are others who experience set backs and disappointments, but that it is not over. She asked where I will be in 6 years... She's such a thoughtful friend!!! Please take the time to watch these videos as they are truly uplifting (and rather emotional - I cried watching both)!
Since I've gone back to the basics for the next two weeks (read: returned to Phase 1 of South Beach), I can't eat fruit. It's cool, I promise EXCEPT with the whole green monster thing. I mean I have to admit I was sooo scared to try to make one without my loyal and trusty banana.
When I did my grocery shopping this week, I dutifully bought a bag of spinach. I also bought some Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Normally I go for the almond butter, but truth be told there really isn't that much nutritional difference between the two - they are pretty much par for par. Oh and in case you were wondering, I did NOT buy the reduced fat peanut butter because it has more sugar (+1 gram) and carbs (+8 grams) in it.
I decided to give Jillian's Whey Protein Powder a try. It's only $10 for the tub - quite affordable!
So, I took 2 cups of spinach and placed it in the blender. I added 1 TBSP of peanut butter, then a scoop of Jillian's chocolate whey protein powder, a cup of skim milk, and some ice. I filled up my cup and was pleasantly surprised that it was sooooo delicious (and quite nutricious), not to mention incredibly filling!
I can't wait to have another!
Have you tried something you were scared of lately?
We all have a vision of what pot roast is supposed to look like and taste like. It's down home deliciousness, that's what it is! I mean what's not to love about meat, gravy, veggies, and potatoes that can simmer all day long while you are at work or at play?! Unfortunately, the vision we all have in our heads is not one that is going to get me to my goal weight on the diet plan I have chosen, so I have created a new vision of pot roast, one in the style of South Beach.
Ingredients:
1 - 2 1/2 lb tender chuck roast
2 yellow squashes - chopped
2 zucchini squashes - chopped
1 onion - diced
celery - sliced
mushrooms - sliced
garlic - minced
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 packet of slow cooker pot roast seasoning
salt & pepper
Directions:
First I cubed up my chuck roast just to help it cook and break apart better. I then put half the can of crushed tomatoes in the bottom of my crock pot and whisked the entire packet of pot roast seasoning mix into it. I added the roast. The night before I had done all my dicing, slicing, and chopping so that the morning would be easy breezy. I added in my onion, zucchini, yellow squash, 'shrooms, and some garlic. I then topped off the veggies with the remaining half a can of crushed tomatoes and then I sprinkled some salt and pepper on top the whole shbang. I set my slow cooker to 10 hours on low and let it do it's magic while I went to go earn my income.
When I walked in the door after work, my nose was delighted with the aroma of my creation! After scooping out a hearty portion in a bowl, my mouth was delighted with the taste of my creation! Now, your eyes can feast upon (and hopefully be delighted by) the look of my creation!
I ended up eating it as if it were a stew since Phase 1 does not allow me to pile this bad boy on top of some starchy like substance. It was filling and delicious! I *heart* crock pots!!!
I made a decision BEFORE I raced my half marathon that when I finished it (starting today, Monday, 10/25), I was going back to South Beach, Phase 1 for two weeks.
Question #1: Why wait until after my half? Well...I don't know how a lack of bread or fruit carbs is going to affect my body during intensive exercise. I was unwilling to risk a possible negative effect on a race of that magnitude (or...a race at all, for that matter). I am willing to risk it for a long Saturday training run.
Question #2: Why is it necessary to take the step backward at this point in the game? Well I've been quite stagnant in my weight loss for a LONG time now. I've also found myself eating way more than is necessary and even eating off of my diet plan (during non special occasions) using that age old excuse that "I've earned it because of the running". This is a dangerous game to play, by the way. I've been having big time cravings for the sugar and more often than I care to admit, I've caved into the cravings. I don't need to be eating that junk. This leads me to the decision to remove the cravings which means returning to the basics.
Question #3: How can I handle running without carbs? Naturally carbs exist in most food that we eat, so I'm not opting to have a meal plan without carbs for a 2 week period, but rather I'm limiting where the carbs are coming from. I can fuel before my runs with a protein shake, eggs, and/or Canadian bacon (as an example). I can fuel during my long runs with string cheese, nut butters, and/or nuts. I will eat veggies (which have carbs) with each meal. I will consume dairy products (which have carbs) with each meal. Where there is a will, my friends, there is a way.
Question #4: Won't it be hard to go back to Phase 1 after having been on Phase 2 for well over a year? Yes, it will be hard. Isn't that the point? For so long when it felt like everything else was spinning out of control in my life, I was able to control my food. I don't feel like I have that control over my food anymore. I'm taking back the control.
I'm still a good 50 to 65 lbs heavier than I need to be. I think sometimes it gets frustrating to know that I've worked hard for over a year to lose over 100 lbs just to know that isn't good enough or long enough. I then find myself letting that frustration get the best of me. I started a journey back on July 6th of 2009. It was not a mission I took lightly and it is not one that I will quit. It is a life long journey. There will be hills, there will be valleys...I am the constant and I am strong. I can do this. I will do this.
Today didn't go as I had hoped. There are two road I could travel right now. One path leads down a road of negativity filled with tears, doubt, and all those bad things that fill my head trying to destroy my spirit. The other path leads down a road of tears (cuz I'm still sad), perseverance, stubbornness, and all those things that make me want to pick up the pieces and try again. I'm gonna go down that second path, if you don't mind, but it's still a struggle. Thankfully, there is another opportunity on 12/12 with the RunGirl 13.1 to try to get this right.
I'll bottom line it for you and then I will take you through all of the events of today. Sometime just short of mile 7, there were policemen that made us turtles take a shortcut. In other words, we were not showing signs of finishing in the 3 hour time limit, so they cut our run short approx. 1 1/4 miles. My initial instinct was just to stop running and walk the remainder. My second instinct was to run to my sisters and brothers-in-law who were so awesomely out there supporting me and then have them just drive me to the finish line so we could cheer on our friend Melissa, in other words...QUIT. My third instinct was to suck up the shame that washed over me and carry on. I followed my third instinct, but with a little less skip in my step and a little less pride in my heart.
I had a hard time falling asleep last night. I tossed and turned quite a bit allowing the nervousness to bother me. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep, though. I woke up at 4am. The dogs were insistent they were famished - I had my doubts since it was about 2 hours before their normal feeding, but whatever! I had a breakfast of a half a multi-grain bagel with Justin's maple almond butter and a banana. My friend Jon had suggested drinking NUUN the night before, morning before, and then again after the run. I had already had some the night before, so I drank some with my breakfast. I got all geared up, and went to pick up my friend Melissa. We found a parking spot in a $20 parking lot once we got down town. I didn't care as it was close to the start/finish line. I received a text message from one of my employees letting me know he couldn't go out of town, so I had to make a call to another employee trying to fix the situation (nice). After a frustrating phone call, I think it got squared away. Then, there was some parking lot drama, but I don't really feel like getting all into it. Let's just say a mood was set. I'm used to people being all happy and friendly on race day.
Melissa and I got in the LONGEST LINE EVER to use one of the 12 port-a-potties that were available (in the dark). Afterwards, we stretched and headed to the back of the lined up crowd for the START. This was Melissa's first Half, by the way. =) It was nice to have a friend there!
Craig providing "free" high fives
We started. It seemed pretty uneventful. I was just listening to my tunes and running. The first few miles are always so hard for me...it's hard for me to get my muscles ready to cooperate. They had water around every 2 miles, and as I mentioned in my last post, my plan was to walk through the water stations. I did this. I knew my family was planning on cheering Melissa and I on around Mile 3, so it gave me something to look forward to (that and I knew they were going to have a little cute bottle of G2 for me). I was super excited when I saw them around 3. They had a sign for me which made me smile, but I was wondering if they had made one for Melissa. I figured it had to be on the back of my sign. I greedily drank my G2 and then continued running. Between mile 4 and 5, they had another water station and I saw an empty port-a-potty, so I jumped in and out as fast as possible. I also threw back 3 bloks from my Clif's Shot Blok pack and grabbed a cup of water from the station which was just a head. A little while later, I saw a dude coming back on the opposite side almost pass out...it was scary, but a medic was on it! I saw my family again just after mile 5, but this time I didn't take them up on their offer of contraband. I did notice there was no "Go Melissa" sign on the back of mine, so then I was thinking they were rude. ha! I found out later they had a whole bunch of signs. They did actually have a sign for Melissa and they had a "free high 5" sign, too. Brother-in-law Craig was really getting into it! I think next time he will bring a sweat towel and some hand sanitizer!
I remember hitting the half way point and being disappointed in my time. I knew stopping at the bathroom hurt me, but I had to go! I also knew that I WAS HOT! It was way hotter than it's been and it wasn't helping. I just continued running regardless. Up in the distance was the 6-10 turn around, but the policemen didn't let us get that far. They made us U-Turn at the Memorial Loop. At first I was confused like I had misunderstood the map, but then I realized what was going on and then well...I made a decision to stay in the race in body, though my spirit was somewhat broken. My miles started getting slower and slower, I started feeling more and more defeated. It took everything in me not to give up. Melissa ended up passing me (again). She must have been confused by this. I explained what happened. At some point I should have taken 3 more bloks, but I didn't. I was just blah, so apparently I was showing me. =/ When I passed my family after mile 9, I explained what happened to Linda and she told me that I was still doing it and to keep going!
It was a hard race - because we were moving around Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive, there were several hills. We do a little bit of training for these in my group, but I hate them and I could feel these hills attacking my left hamstring. Thankfully, my feet felt fine (despite me making the cRaZy decision to wear my new shoes). A couple of times I got some all over body tingling - not sure why, and then my feet tingled too, like they had fallen a sleep. Weird. I got a little light headed once and made myself walk for 30 seconds. I walked 2 or 3 more times for 30 seconds a piece during various times throughout the race - while going uphill.
When I saw the 13 mile marker, I booked it to the FINISH line. Finishing song - Flo Rida's "Low"!
Oh and props to everyone who offered me up songs to add to my iPod for the race - it brought a special little smile to my face if/when your song suggestion made it to my ear! I saw my family and Melissa right before I crossed the line. That made me happy! I was handed my medal right away. Where was water? None to be found by the race peeps. Cathy gave me a G2 which I chugged and then Melissa and I took some pics like this one:
Then Cathy, Jay, Linda, and Craig went to find a restaurant for us all to have lunch at while Melissa and I went to go find our finisher's shirts and some water. We had the worst time finding water. The first bucket we came to was empty. We had to ask where we could get some. Most races hand you a beverage when you finish a race, I'm just sayin'. Eventually, we found some. I got greedy. I grabbed a Sobe Life Water 0, a grapefruit juice, and a water. I quickly drank the grapefruit juice and the Life Water, and then I felt like I was going to be sick. While I was getting us drinks, Melissa went and got our shirts. We then headed to the car and we were thankful to change into our new shirts and to put on our flip flops. We were also thankful to discover that our $20 parking lot was FREE! Yay!
We met up with my siblings and their spouses at Grand Lux (one of my fam's favorites) and had a much needed lunch.
The weird thing is that my knees don't hurt AT ALL. Both thighs are KILLING ME and then there is the left hamstring which is just a mess. Maybe the new shoes fixed the knee issues?! Hmmmm...
So, two paths to choose from and as I've mentioned...I'm gonna go positive here. I'm not giving up. I might not have done what I set out to do today, but I did something AMAZING and I'm going to be proud of me regardless of the outcome. That's the path I choose.
Special shout out to Melissa for kicking booty on her first half!!!
Special shout out to Cathy, Jay, Linda, and Craig for their love, support, and hydration provisions!
Here are some more pics:
Jay is holding the sign
action photo
Jay is holding the sign
action photo
While at Walgreens buying drinks, Linda found me Granny Panties with pockets...she thought I could put my iPod in them while running. Cathy was holding them up for the pic! gotta love my family! =P
Linda had her camera ready to capture the moment I opened my panties with pockets present. =P
As I have mentioned several times, my 2nd half marathon is coming up THIS SUNDAY! Yikes! I'm nervous, anxious, and excited! I feel infinitely more prepared than I did for my first one which was the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half on August 1st.
This time, I know what 13.1 feels like. It's far, y'all.
This time, I'm on my home turf. Let's hear it for home court advantage!
This time, I have way better endurance. Yay for training with my running group!
This time, I have set some realistic, achievable goals.
This month's Runner's World actually had an article about establishing goals called "Good Targets". The article discusses three different possible goals - one could be just to finish - another could be to PR (or even to PR with a specific time) - and still another could be some performance type goal not related to time. I read this article thoroughly and really let it sink in. I wish I had the luxury of just setting a non-time related performance goal, but unfortunately a concern of mine has to be time as this race has a 3 hour time limit which means a PR for me by default if when I finish this race in "legal" time.
I thought in spirit of this article, however, I should set a goal in each of the categories.
1 - Just Finish! Seeing as I completed a half marathon already...um...I'm just going to run with faith that this won't be an issue...
2 - Banner Day! Well, I'm not going to do Runner's World's proposed fancy calculations. My goal is simple - to PR with a 3:00:00 finish. This means taking 24:39 off my previous time. Doable? Yes. I'm better trained for this race and I've been running my long runs with an average of a 13:23 pace. A 3 hour half marathon is an average of 13:45 pace. Let's just say there is a bit more motivation and a whole lot more encouragement to BOOK IT! during an actual race than a long Saturday (or Sunday) run! I'm also going to be wearing my Garmin and a pace bracelet to help keep my eye on the target!
3 - Best Effort! For Chi RnR, I employed my 4 minute run/walk interval method for half the race until I got plagued with the charlie horses and then I power walked the remainder of the race. In a way, I kinda feel like I gave up. I'm not going to give up on this race! Since the 3rd or 4th week of training with my running group, I have dumped the interval method and focused on running my mileage outright - only stopping for water and/or bathroom breaks. My Best Effort (non-time related performance goal) is to run the entire 13.1 miles with the exception of walking through the water stations (which will be located approx. every 2 miles).
I know that in order for me to be successful, I must be properly hydrated and fueled. Here is my plan of action:
Younger sister Linda is going to pass me off G2 (can't make myself drink full sugar Gatorade and still taking Amanda's advice regarding drinking some calories for energy) during the race. Since I figure I will see them at least twice during the race, I figure that drinking those electrolytes combined with drinking water at each of the water stations should take care of the hydration issue.
Of course, I will be eating a good breakfast before the race - most likely a bagel with almond butter and a banana. I will be carrying with me a pack and a half of Clif's Shot Bloks. Truth be told - one pack is probably enough, but I'd rather have too much than not enough. I will be taking 3 bloks at mile 4, and another 3 at mile 8. If I feel the need for another boost, I reserve the right to hit it up at mile 11 or 12 - whatever it takes to get me to that finish line IN LEGAL TIME! =)
So there you have it - my goals and my plan of action! Oh...I almost forgot my music! I posted on Twitter and Facebook that I was looking for some suggestions for tunes to add to my iPod. I got some great ideas and have already started switching out some of my music for some fresh vibes!
I've got this! I know I do!
Okay, so onto other race related things...I picked up my Race Packet today at Luke's Locker. Lamest Swag Bag EVER! There was no swag. How disappointing is that?! I mean would it have killed them to get someone to donate a lip balm?! a granola bar? a key chain? something? anything? I like to feel a little love when I open up my bag. I felt nothing. We don't get our finisher's shirt until we finish (which is totally cool with me), so that bag was way too empty for my taste (bib w/ d-tag and a couple of slips of paper). Party foul, Houston Half, party foul!
While at Luke's Locker, however, I did decide to let their shoe experts help me *finally*. You see, when I first bought myself my running shoes (in December), I just got them from the New Balance outlet mall. While the sales associate that helped me was very nice, she wasn't very knowledgeable (or if she was...she didn't offer up the help) like the dude at Luke's did. I explained to him the issues I've been having with my feet - pain on the side of my left foot, black nails (oh joy), soreness, and other such issues, and he said he could help. He measured my foot and had me do a couple of things to determine stuff and brought me out a pair of Brooks Glycerins. Oh my how I liked the way they fit before he even tied them. He had me run on the treadmill and then proclaimed they were too short and went and brought me back a half a size up and then a pair of Asics something or another. He tried the Asics on me first - they felt good and I ran with them on the treadmill. Then he tried the upsized Brooks on me. Oh what a difference...I felt like I was running on a cloud. I had asked him about how to tie them since I sometimes feel like I'm tying them too tightly and they are hurting me and he showed me a new way to tie them. Sold! I'm going to run with them tomorrow morning - just 2 or 3 miles - super excited!
What a difference from my nervous nelly million posts prior to my first half, huh?! ha!
Oh...shout out to younger sister Linda for signing up for RunGirl 13.1 (12/12/10)! Sooo excited to be reunited in race with her as our one and only was back in March with our 10K H.E.B. Bayou City Classic. Yay!
