Before I get into the heart of today's post, I just wanted to share some news: I officially kicked off my summer running program. My goal is to be able to pretty solidly run/jog (whichever I tend naturally towards, I guess) 2-3 miles. I'm still deciding this week whether I want to train with the standard Couch to 5k program (7 weeks to be able to walk/run a 5k, or a little over 3 miles) or with this "8 Weeks to Become a Runner" program over at Runner's World (8 weeks to run nonstop for 30 minutes, or a little over 2 miles). One lets me cover more distance, one lets me go for longer times. But regardless of which I end up with, the first week works roughly the same.
Unlike prior attempts at running, this summer I am not just deciding to myself that it would be cool. I have roped in my parents to keep me honest, and I will be printing out my training schedule once I decide on it and posting it in the kitchen, for all to see, crossing off days as I complete them. If I can complete either of these programs by the time I get to San Antonio in late August, I will be prepped and ready to join the half-marathon training group run by my school. Today, I went power-walking with my dad for a good 75 minutes or so, on hilly terrain, with 7 separate jog intervals thrown in. Not by time, but rather by distance. We estimate that the majority were about 100-125 yards, but one was an absolute killer, and included a pretty decent hill. I'm still working on keeping my pace slower but my foot rate quicker, and I experimented with the whole "leaning forward at the ankles" style. It shows definite promise, but it's going to take some getting used to.
So much for a quick update!
What I've really been wanting to get on here and talk about for a few days now is nutrition and work-out recovery. Not in the traditional sense of what to eat immediately following a workout. Rather, how my overall nutrition has affected my ability to recover from workouts.
Though I started making an effort last summer, I didn't really start eating in a totally nutritious manner, focusing on whole foods, until this past month. And despite the fact that on my first day back at Superfit I could barely squeak out reps on Blue, I am now solidly in Red, even on my weaker muscle groups like biceps and chest. I can do the full set of reps, and not be dead the next day. I'm eyeing the calendar for when I want to make the transition into Silver. I've never done Silver, but then I've never had my muscles repairing themselves this quickly.
Beans have been a large part of my focus. Refried beans with melted white cheddar for breakfast, red beans and rice for lunch or as a dinner side, sauteed tofu every which way, Cuban black beans with a little feta on top, hummus (the perfect homemade hummus is still a work in progress), sauteed falafel (nailed it on my first shot, and now it is an essential), burritos, and black bean chilies. Good sources of healthy carbs, protein, and with the exception of the tofu, fiber. All low calorie, as well. I'm not really counting calories as I go, but when I look back to see how I've been doing, I can tell that I'm staying nicely under 1500 most days.
I'm not doing milk much anymore, preferring to drink water with meals and use yogurt for my cereal, but I'm still getting in dairy. As I just said, yogurt features prominently. Still can't stand it plain, unless it is for my tzatziki sauce for my falafel, but vanilla on its own, or mixed with some Kashi Go Lean Crunch. Pretty hooked on Trader Joe's non-fat Greek yogurt right now, but I'm going to need to find an acceptable alternate, because Texas has no Trader Joe's. The nearest one to my university is over 600 miles away. Boo. Also eating small amounts of many different cheeses. Still having love affairs with feta from my time in Greece and goat cheese from my time in Paris, of course. And sometimes when I'm feeling naughty I use my vegetarian parmesan (and white cheddar if it is in the house) to make an alfredo sauce for my whole wheat penne. Made with limited butter, non-fat milk, and whole wheat flour, so I'm not being too horrible, but definitely not a simple pesto or marinara sauce.
Grains are always easy to work in. I finally got a strainer small enough to rinse my quinoa, and it really does make a difference to the taste! It's wonderful now! I'm making up batches of brown rice or quinoa each week to have as a side with my tofu, since I found out that tofu has no fiber (who knew?). Though I bet the sprouted tofu I've seen at Trader Joes does... must investigate. Then, of course, there is whole wheat pasta, corn tortillas, and the occasional healthy whole wheat pancake inspired by the various creations of Angela at Oh She Glows.
I want to work in more vegetables. A few weeks ago I was able to eat some stir-fried carrots and broccoli without the customary gag reflex (pretty much entirely a mental thing). I've asked my dad to help me learn how to do it myself. I'm also aggressively attacking my issue with onions (they make that horrid squeaking sound in your ear when you bit into them) by adding them to as many recipes as I can find. Raw but processed in my falafel, and whole but sauteed in my Cuban black beans. And more Green Monsters. I just want to figure out a way to do so that keeps the amount of beans, grains, nuts, and yogurt that I am enjoying in my diet right now, and the right amount of calories to give me enough energy to continue moving up in my weights. Especially now that I am adding in cardio to my non-Superfit days. I will have a slight increased need for calories, but I don't think I will actually need to increase my intake much at all.
From my small binge last week, I learned that I actually have significantly decreased my stomach size, or whatever else it is that causes you to feel full at various quantities of food. When I was bingeing horribly in France, I could pack away a disturbingly large portion of food before I felt it. Last week, it was easily half that before I had to take a "I feel sick" pause. I'd like to not alter that with added consumption of vegetables. So it's something to consider.
But, point being: being fit is so much easier when you are fueling right! Letting your body recover and build strong new systems with the right nutrients feels wonderful and speeds up improvement. Something to remember for the future, when I am tempted to stray into packaged meals and all white food and the like.
Showing posts with label walking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walking. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Quick Turnaround on a Quick Tour
It's interesting how much my body really wants to be healthy. I guess it makes sense, from an evolutionary standpoint. I've been hiking the Scottish Highlands for the past 5 days, and I really do mean hiking. Lots of elevation, clambering on rocks, jumping off things. I'm really seeing how far I've let myself slip in Paris, and how much work I have to do to be ready for that bachelorette party hike. The fact that I'm now stationed in Edinburgh will help with that- this city is nothing but HILLS. Crazy hills. I was going to change into basic flats now that I'm city-bound again, but I think I'm going to stick with my Vibrams so that I don't find excuses to stay on level ground.
In addition to all of the walking and climbing, I'm also eating less often, and making a bit more of an effort to eat well. In the UK, they have many more foods that are closer to my American style of healthy eating- lots of beans, whole wheat and whole grain products, raw nuts rather than salted and roasted and smoked and the like, etc. Plus, the hostels have all had kitchens with fridges. Don't get me wrong, I've still been plenty naughty, but just five days of a slightly altered eating style and more movement, and my cheeks have hollowed out again.
I actually found refried beans on the remote island of Skye. It was a teeny 100 or 200 gram can, and they were spicy (really spicy!), but they were refried beans! I spread them out on a plate and melted some mozzarella cheese on top, until the edges were crispy. Heaven. This is what I'm planning on doing frequently for breakfast once I'm back home in the US. With regular refried beans (maybe even of my own making, if I get really into it) and a cheddar-jack blend, most likely, but the same general thing. I had them for lunch after a particularly extensive hike on Sunday.
It's odd how I get so much more of a mental buzz out of feeding myself nutritiously than I do out of giving in to a binge, yet binges still run my life to a certain extent. Still, over the past few days, I am seeing even more how healthy habits build on themselves. When I am out and being active and eating healthier, I get on a roll. I can't tell you how many times I tried to buy tofu during our travels this weekend. No one had it! Amazingly, the only tofu I found for sale was in a little remote town of 300 that takes over 90 minutes of traveling, via bus and ferry, to get to. They sold both tofu and vegetarian sweet chile sauce! I didn't get it there, because we weren't going to be cooking for ourselves that day, but I'm betting now that I'm back in Edinburgh I can find some. Even if the major shops don't have it, apparently there is an Asian market here. I am so psyched about the sweet chile sauce! I'd found a recipe to make my own, but the stuff in the bottle looks just like the stuff at my favorite restaurants. Also hoping that one of the Thai restaurants here serves my favorite appetizer (the tofu with the chile sauce), unlike the one in Iverness, which oddly had corn fritters instead of tofu (very delicious corn fritters, but not what I was hoping for).
Something really cool about European foods, as much as I miss my American foods: they are labeled "Suitable for vegetarians and vegans" (or sometimes just vegetarians) when applicable! No more scouring the label, wondering if they forgot to mention that the cheese is made with animal rennet, or if gelatin goes by any other name. In France, obviously, this label is much harder to come by, but up here in Scotland I'm finding it on most everything I think to look at.
Going to go walk the Royal Mile today, and probably do a little shopping. But I'm going to do it in my VFFs, and I am going to throw in a few hills. There's nothing like powering up a huge, endless hill to make me realize how out of shape I'm in, and know that I'm definitely doing something about it!
When I get back home in the US, I think I'm going to do hills every day. It won't actually be a big deal- I live right at the base of an extremely steep hill. It's not huge, but if every morning I speed up it three times, that will do so much for my endurance. If I want a huge hill, about a 20 minute walk from my house (up moderate hills) is an absolutely gigantic one. I always am wildly impressed when I see a biker attempting it. But just stick to the healthy eating, my Superfit, and adding in that little hill each morning. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it. Also still really hoping I can convince the parents to get a recumbent stationary bike off of Craigslist...
But first, Edinburgh.
In addition to all of the walking and climbing, I'm also eating less often, and making a bit more of an effort to eat well. In the UK, they have many more foods that are closer to my American style of healthy eating- lots of beans, whole wheat and whole grain products, raw nuts rather than salted and roasted and smoked and the like, etc. Plus, the hostels have all had kitchens with fridges. Don't get me wrong, I've still been plenty naughty, but just five days of a slightly altered eating style and more movement, and my cheeks have hollowed out again.
I actually found refried beans on the remote island of Skye. It was a teeny 100 or 200 gram can, and they were spicy (really spicy!), but they were refried beans! I spread them out on a plate and melted some mozzarella cheese on top, until the edges were crispy. Heaven. This is what I'm planning on doing frequently for breakfast once I'm back home in the US. With regular refried beans (maybe even of my own making, if I get really into it) and a cheddar-jack blend, most likely, but the same general thing. I had them for lunch after a particularly extensive hike on Sunday.
It's odd how I get so much more of a mental buzz out of feeding myself nutritiously than I do out of giving in to a binge, yet binges still run my life to a certain extent. Still, over the past few days, I am seeing even more how healthy habits build on themselves. When I am out and being active and eating healthier, I get on a roll. I can't tell you how many times I tried to buy tofu during our travels this weekend. No one had it! Amazingly, the only tofu I found for sale was in a little remote town of 300 that takes over 90 minutes of traveling, via bus and ferry, to get to. They sold both tofu and vegetarian sweet chile sauce! I didn't get it there, because we weren't going to be cooking for ourselves that day, but I'm betting now that I'm back in Edinburgh I can find some. Even if the major shops don't have it, apparently there is an Asian market here. I am so psyched about the sweet chile sauce! I'd found a recipe to make my own, but the stuff in the bottle looks just like the stuff at my favorite restaurants. Also hoping that one of the Thai restaurants here serves my favorite appetizer (the tofu with the chile sauce), unlike the one in Iverness, which oddly had corn fritters instead of tofu (very delicious corn fritters, but not what I was hoping for).
Something really cool about European foods, as much as I miss my American foods: they are labeled "Suitable for vegetarians and vegans" (or sometimes just vegetarians) when applicable! No more scouring the label, wondering if they forgot to mention that the cheese is made with animal rennet, or if gelatin goes by any other name. In France, obviously, this label is much harder to come by, but up here in Scotland I'm finding it on most everything I think to look at.
Going to go walk the Royal Mile today, and probably do a little shopping. But I'm going to do it in my VFFs, and I am going to throw in a few hills. There's nothing like powering up a huge, endless hill to make me realize how out of shape I'm in, and know that I'm definitely doing something about it!
When I get back home in the US, I think I'm going to do hills every day. It won't actually be a big deal- I live right at the base of an extremely steep hill. It's not huge, but if every morning I speed up it three times, that will do so much for my endurance. If I want a huge hill, about a 20 minute walk from my house (up moderate hills) is an absolutely gigantic one. I always am wildly impressed when I see a biker attempting it. But just stick to the healthy eating, my Superfit, and adding in that little hill each morning. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it. Also still really hoping I can convince the parents to get a recumbent stationary bike off of Craigslist...
But first, Edinburgh.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Zen in Paris
I have finally found my zen with my situation for the rest of the semester. I am not going to feel guilty about eating lots of bread. After all, in two months, I will no longer have fresh, truly French French bread 30 seconds from my house. I've also found teeny little single serving cans of lentils, and of spaghetti sauce, so I will just pop open a few of those each week to make sure I am getting in nutrients.
Upon my return to Seattle, I am going to distract myself from my breadless state by instead going full force with all of the foods I have been wanting to eat here. You know, foods that they don't sell here, or, most importantly, that REQUIRE A REFRIGERATOR. Never again. NEVER again will I live without a refrigerator. To put it succinctly, and a little crudely, it blows.
Spring (and practically summer) has finally come to Paris, and with it my last excuse for not getting out and running has flown the coop. My little sleeveless workout shirt is going to do just fine. And I saw someone out in Vibrams (probably a tourist, but still), so I know that it isn't unheard of here. Plus, it is light so much later! Until 9pm, basically, and it's only going to keep getting lighter.
I have been consistent at doing push-ups, though I have fallen off the schedule. Now that I've switched to really truly proper form, with my chest between my hands, it is SO MUCH HARDER. I think I need to accept the inevitable and start the 6-Week program over, at whatever level I am at with the truly proper form.
Walking more now that I have flats, randomly doing walking lunges and ab workouts in my room. It's getting alittle harder to get in all of my water now that it is getting warmer (and this room refuses to let out heat), but it's going pretty well, all in all.
Still, need to make a point to start sharing the brie with other people, so I don't go through an entire wedge by myself in one hour....
Upon my return to Seattle, I am going to distract myself from my breadless state by instead going full force with all of the foods I have been wanting to eat here. You know, foods that they don't sell here, or, most importantly, that REQUIRE A REFRIGERATOR. Never again. NEVER again will I live without a refrigerator. To put it succinctly, and a little crudely, it blows.
Spring (and practically summer) has finally come to Paris, and with it my last excuse for not getting out and running has flown the coop. My little sleeveless workout shirt is going to do just fine. And I saw someone out in Vibrams (probably a tourist, but still), so I know that it isn't unheard of here. Plus, it is light so much later! Until 9pm, basically, and it's only going to keep getting lighter.
I have been consistent at doing push-ups, though I have fallen off the schedule. Now that I've switched to really truly proper form, with my chest between my hands, it is SO MUCH HARDER. I think I need to accept the inevitable and start the 6-Week program over, at whatever level I am at with the truly proper form.
Walking more now that I have flats, randomly doing walking lunges and ab workouts in my room. It's getting alittle harder to get in all of my water now that it is getting warmer (and this room refuses to let out heat), but it's going pretty well, all in all.
Still, need to make a point to start sharing the brie with other people, so I don't go through an entire wedge by myself in one hour....
Monday, January 24, 2011
Nutella Overload? Not possible.
My legs. *Whimper*
I've started P90X now that I've settled a bit into my room and routine here in Paris. I have my first round of Shoulders and Arms coming up tonight, which should be nicely pathetic. But I'll do my best.
The first day started right off with Chest and Back, and I gamely struggled along. It was hard to adapt some of the push-up moves for the modified knees position, but I managed. Definitely didn't keep up with the tempo, and didn't get too deep in most of the pushups, but I stayed all the way to the end, darn it! Mighty proud.
Yesterday was Plyometrics, and the reason for my legs' state of distress. I had to bug out after only half. That stuff is intense! They say it's the hardest, so I don't feel as bad about it as I could. I wanted to cut out after about 20 minutes, but I told myself if I gave in too early on only the second day, I would jeopardize my likelihood of actually sticking to the entire program. Still, after another 10 minutes, I literally couldn't do any more of it. But I've written down the exact stopping point, so I'll know how much further I can get next week (I can't just start it from the stopping point, because of all of the warm-ups in the beginning). The warm-ups were a workout in themselves! Once I've finished the 90 days, I think I'll keep the full set around even if just for the plyometrics. Now there's a workout that's going to get be up that bachelorette hike!
I live on the 6eme etage ici, which is to say the 7th story. And I have created and stuck to a policy of always taking the stairs up. 7 stories, usually in heels, 1-3 times a day? My tush is going to be up to there...
Eating has been a bit hard here, as expected. I'm currently subsisting almost entirely on crumpets with Nutella, and lots of water. Bought a few things (like nuts, and pre-cooked quinoa) today that I can start to add in, and I brought some chia from home.
Et finalement, I've been doing lots of walking. Lots of walking. And I'm planning on adding even more, as soon as I get some new shoes (read: cute moderately low-heeled boots). I was right, most people don't jog in the streets, but I have seen a few, so I could get out and do it if I really feel the need.
I've started P90X now that I've settled a bit into my room and routine here in Paris. I have my first round of Shoulders and Arms coming up tonight, which should be nicely pathetic. But I'll do my best.
The first day started right off with Chest and Back, and I gamely struggled along. It was hard to adapt some of the push-up moves for the modified knees position, but I managed. Definitely didn't keep up with the tempo, and didn't get too deep in most of the pushups, but I stayed all the way to the end, darn it! Mighty proud.
Yesterday was Plyometrics, and the reason for my legs' state of distress. I had to bug out after only half. That stuff is intense! They say it's the hardest, so I don't feel as bad about it as I could. I wanted to cut out after about 20 minutes, but I told myself if I gave in too early on only the second day, I would jeopardize my likelihood of actually sticking to the entire program. Still, after another 10 minutes, I literally couldn't do any more of it. But I've written down the exact stopping point, so I'll know how much further I can get next week (I can't just start it from the stopping point, because of all of the warm-ups in the beginning). The warm-ups were a workout in themselves! Once I've finished the 90 days, I think I'll keep the full set around even if just for the plyometrics. Now there's a workout that's going to get be up that bachelorette hike!
I live on the 6eme etage ici, which is to say the 7th story. And I have created and stuck to a policy of always taking the stairs up. 7 stories, usually in heels, 1-3 times a day? My tush is going to be up to there...
Eating has been a bit hard here, as expected. I'm currently subsisting almost entirely on crumpets with Nutella, and lots of water. Bought a few things (like nuts, and pre-cooked quinoa) today that I can start to add in, and I brought some chia from home.
Et finalement, I've been doing lots of walking. Lots of walking. And I'm planning on adding even more, as soon as I get some new shoes (read: cute moderately low-heeled boots). I was right, most people don't jog in the streets, but I have seen a few, so I could get out and do it if I really feel the need.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Very First Run
I'll get into the background story of how I started this crazy venture and the specifics of what I am doing and all that a little later, but first I want to post about my very first training run!
Well, to start, there was very little actual running involved. Primarily I just walked, with about 5 1-minute bursts of running thrown in. These little snippets of running caused my face to turn a particularly lovely shade of deep violet and my lungs to heave at roughly the sound and speed of a Airbus cargo plane. I imagine this led to those who passed me during my walking times to think I am the most out of shape person ever. On a related note, I also felt like I was going to swallow my tongue at a few different points. I hope that is normal at this stage.
There are several high points, however....
First: for whatever reason, the sort of early evening time at which I chose to go running is also the time when every single dog owner within 50 blocks decided to walk their dogs, so I saw lots of cute puppyage.
Second: I actually started training for my marathon!
Third: There were actually times I felt pretty good about my running, what little of it there was
Fourth: This is by far my favorite- it somehow worked out that whenever I crossed paths with someone who was out running rather than out with their dog, I was in one of my rare running spurts, and we shared big comradely grins as we ran by each other. It felt pretty special and cool.
Well, to start, there was very little actual running involved. Primarily I just walked, with about 5 1-minute bursts of running thrown in. These little snippets of running caused my face to turn a particularly lovely shade of deep violet and my lungs to heave at roughly the sound and speed of a Airbus cargo plane. I imagine this led to those who passed me during my walking times to think I am the most out of shape person ever. On a related note, I also felt like I was going to swallow my tongue at a few different points. I hope that is normal at this stage.
There are several high points, however....
First: for whatever reason, the sort of early evening time at which I chose to go running is also the time when every single dog owner within 50 blocks decided to walk their dogs, so I saw lots of cute puppyage.
Second: I actually started training for my marathon!
Third: There were actually times I felt pretty good about my running, what little of it there was
Fourth: This is by far my favorite- it somehow worked out that whenever I crossed paths with someone who was out running rather than out with their dog, I was in one of my rare running spurts, and we shared big comradely grins as we ran by each other. It felt pretty special and cool.
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