I'm sitting at work scarfing down an energy bar and trying to stave off the shakes. I already ate my hard-boiled eggs and cucumber concoction that has everyone in the office looking at me funny. My heart still feels like it's hurling itself full-force at my ribcage. It is now official. The results are in.
This Morning's Fartlek: 1
Mo: 0
Let me preface this. Last night I did a little strength training before meeting my parents for dinner. Might have stressed the hamstring a little bit (it's kind of high strung - pardon the pun). We went to ilios noche for dinner which is a fabulous little greek restaurant in the South Charlotte area. It has a nice uptown feel until you're sitting outside on the patio and you feel like you should signal before raising your fork. You are quite literally in the parking lot. But this is not where my complaints lie. The dinner gets 5 stars from me - the food was fabulous and the service was top notch. We had a taste of all spreads which included hummus, tzakiki, etc. We started to run low on pita slices and still had quite a lot of spread when our server brought us an extra helping of pita. This is the first time I have been to a restaurant and they anticipated this common problem with spread-style apps. He dropped it off and said, "They never give you enough in the first place." I ordered a salad with macerated figs (thankfully this doesn't mean pre-chewed), fennel, red grapes, goat cheese and grilled chicken with some champagne vinaigrette on the side. Good gracious it was perfect. Especially after my lunchtime rampage on the leftover Ben and Jerry's I had in the freezer. What? I got distracted in conversation and suddenly it was... well... not gone... there are about 3 spoonfuls left. And yes, I did put three spoonfuls of ice cream back in the freezer.
I've gotten off topic.
So the food and service were both fabulous. My issue is the wrought-iron patio furniture. Did the manufacturer of these killer chairs give restaurants of all kinds a discount or something? From the cheap mexican place down the street to a nice thai restaurant in Asheville... my hamstring is in protest over this sorry excuse for patio furniture that appears to be universal. Last night's seating was no different and as soon as the check hit the table, I was up and out of there. Kind of sad because I love lounging around and chatting after dinner. Wait a minute... maybe it is just a ploy to turn tables over faster? I have got it! I've solved the mystery!
I crawled into bed last night with the thought in my head that I could forego the workout and just run in the morning if need be because the sitting at dinner had fired up my hamstring. But this was not to be. I told my running partners what I was thinking when we were lacing up our shoes and all it took was the tiniest bit of resistance and I was all in. Just like when I know they're going to be there... I'll get up at 5 am and meet them at the park instead of hitting the snooze. Jinnie helped me to make the workout happen instead of unnecessarily postponing it.
We did a 4 minute on, 2 minute off Fartlek. We were supposed to be ON 6-8 times. I opted for the 6 because I'm still being very careful with how much I load the hammy. After the first one I felt like we had gone a little quick but it wasn't too bad. After the second... I thought to myself, there is no way I can do 6 of these. But Stan dutifully told me the time was up and we were off again. My legs were burning and my arms felt like metal clubs swinging by my sides. When we slowed down to recover, my temples were pounding and my breath was racing. I barely caught my breath before we were off again. The second to last one was Stan's last so he pushed it extra hard and I just held on for dear life, ending up maybe 10 meters behind him. My last 4 minutes were an all-out fight between my legs and my mind and my lungs. I think everyone lost. Or won. Because when I finished and ran a half mile cooldown... I felt on top of the world. It's all coming back. Yea, Celine, it's all coming back to me now.
If only I could move my arms... that would be good. Must have something to do with that 20 X 50 yd swim workout I did at 5:30 am yesterday. Just now hitting me... moving the mouse and handing people appointment cards now appears very labor intensive.
6.17.2010
At your feet.
It is utterly unacceptable that I have not posted anything of late. The running! The fooding! I mean... the eating!
Finally things have been returning to normal in the running world of mo or the mo world of running. Ran 10 miles on tough trails in the stifling humidity on Sunday. It was fabulous. As one client said to me, "The air is so thick, it's chewable." Yuck. But I don't even care. I'm running. And I don't even care that I'm breathing hard and my conversation is not up to par because I'm struggling to keep up with big dogs. I'm running. And that's about all that matters. (I tell those grammar-nazis who say you can't start a sentence with "and" or "but" to go check out journalistic style.)
I did a little tempo action over the weekend too but that was simply because I thought I was going to have a heatstroke so I figured... the faster you run, the faster you're done right? Riiiiiiight.
Cooked for the boy since we last met on the blogosphere. I can hardly say I cooked because he really helped with half of it but I did make the main dish. Decided I would make something that is dear to both of us: curry. I found an incredible recipe on the love-love-love-it lovely Foodgawker.com for Dhaniya Anda Curry. This was a flavorful melange of mustard seed, turmeric, cumin, garlic garlic garlic, fresh ginger, shallots, tomatoes, cilantro, garam masala (etc) and eggs. Yep. Eggs! Hard-boiled eggs for protein, halved and mixed in. The flavors all just popped. It was a little overwhelming to be quite honest.
I also made a little green bean side with a twist. It was a twist on a Madhur Jaffrey recipe that I found on Foodgawker.com as well. Green beans and fennel and tomatoes... more fresh ginger. Needless to say, no digestion problems with this meal due to the massive amounts of the root of tummygoodness.
Boy was given the task of making Gobi Manchurian. This little indo-chinese treat is something I absolutely fell in love with while I was in India. And when I say "fell" in love - I mean, I fell and hit my head so hard I was seeing stars after my first bite. I remember sitting in this little restaurant in Rajasthan and having my world rocked. When we got to Chennai, our cooks at the college asked what special requests we had. The first thing we all said was, "Gobi 65!"
Think Cauliflower. Now fry that. Now dress it up in sarachi hotness and ginger sweetness and garlicly goodness. Throw some green chilis in there. Mouthwatering yet?
It was good. We also made some jasmine rice and the boy made naan he wasn't excited about. Hello, we don't have one of those badass tandoori ovens. Of course it's not going to be perfect. But he's got standards. And that's a good thing.
Dessert was completely unnecessary and didn't happen which was fine since I don't think we could have fit one single grain of rice more into my stomach.
There has been so much more that has been good and bad and ugly but I have been extraordinarily busy with some exciting changes moving around (or) percolating in my life right now. So I will back as soon as I am able to dish it out to you all over again...
Finally things have been returning to normal in the running world of mo or the mo world of running. Ran 10 miles on tough trails in the stifling humidity on Sunday. It was fabulous. As one client said to me, "The air is so thick, it's chewable." Yuck. But I don't even care. I'm running. And I don't even care that I'm breathing hard and my conversation is not up to par because I'm struggling to keep up with big dogs. I'm running. And that's about all that matters. (I tell those grammar-nazis who say you can't start a sentence with "and" or "but" to go check out journalistic style.)
I did a little tempo action over the weekend too but that was simply because I thought I was going to have a heatstroke so I figured... the faster you run, the faster you're done right? Riiiiiiight.
Cooked for the boy since we last met on the blogosphere. I can hardly say I cooked because he really helped with half of it but I did make the main dish. Decided I would make something that is dear to both of us: curry. I found an incredible recipe on the love-love-love-it lovely Foodgawker.com for Dhaniya Anda Curry. This was a flavorful melange of mustard seed, turmeric, cumin, garlic garlic garlic, fresh ginger, shallots, tomatoes, cilantro, garam masala (etc) and eggs. Yep. Eggs! Hard-boiled eggs for protein, halved and mixed in. The flavors all just popped. It was a little overwhelming to be quite honest.
I also made a little green bean side with a twist. It was a twist on a Madhur Jaffrey recipe that I found on Foodgawker.com as well. Green beans and fennel and tomatoes... more fresh ginger. Needless to say, no digestion problems with this meal due to the massive amounts of the root of tummygoodness.
Boy was given the task of making Gobi Manchurian. This little indo-chinese treat is something I absolutely fell in love with while I was in India. And when I say "fell" in love - I mean, I fell and hit my head so hard I was seeing stars after my first bite. I remember sitting in this little restaurant in Rajasthan and having my world rocked. When we got to Chennai, our cooks at the college asked what special requests we had. The first thing we all said was, "Gobi 65!"
Think Cauliflower. Now fry that. Now dress it up in sarachi hotness and ginger sweetness and garlicly goodness. Throw some green chilis in there. Mouthwatering yet?
It was good. We also made some jasmine rice and the boy made naan he wasn't excited about. Hello, we don't have one of those badass tandoori ovens. Of course it's not going to be perfect. But he's got standards. And that's a good thing.
Dessert was completely unnecessary and didn't happen which was fine since I don't think we could have fit one single grain of rice more into my stomach.
There has been so much more that has been good and bad and ugly but I have been extraordinarily busy with some exciting changes moving around (or) percolating in my life right now. So I will back as soon as I am able to dish it out to you all over again...
5.25.2010
Aquatics
Today was a big day. That's right. BIG.
I arrived at the Harris YMCA pool at 5:45 am, towel and goggles in tow. My swimming partner invariably beats me to the pool so I was a little thrown off when I realized none of the swim-capped heads were hers. So I sat down on the bench and waited. I watched lanes open and close. I watched people effortlessly moving through the water. My stomach started to knot as I watched the clock and worried about all the unknowns.
How flipping cold is that water going to be?
Do I even remember how to do anything other than breast stroke?
(Do I even know how to do breast stroke, really?)
Are my goggles going to leak and get water in my last pair of contacts rendering me nearly blind for the better part of a week until my new ones arrive?
Am I going to look like a complete ass?
I waited and pondered and squirmed for about 15 minutes. I resigned myself to the fact that my partner was not showing and went for it - into the pool with goggles smooshed into the soft circles under my eyes (this would be pretty later). First few laps I caved and did breast stroke. Finally, finally, finally - I just did it. I put my face in the water.
Let me repeat.
I put my face in the water!!! (worthy of exclamation points)
I swam for four laps breathing every four strokes and my lungs burned. I kinda liked it but I kinda felt like I might drown so I kinda decided to take a brief moment and observe the other swimmers. They were breathing every two strokes. Well sheesh. What was I thinking? So I went back and forth between two strokes and four strokes and got comfortable. Every 4-6 laps or so I stopped and did a little kickboard since I was barely kicking while swimming. By the end of the 45 minutes I was swimming without counting laps... I had learned a few very important things:
I am not going to drown
and
I can pace myself
and
No one's looking at me
so
who cares if I look like an ass?
I arrived at the Harris YMCA pool at 5:45 am, towel and goggles in tow. My swimming partner invariably beats me to the pool so I was a little thrown off when I realized none of the swim-capped heads were hers. So I sat down on the bench and waited. I watched lanes open and close. I watched people effortlessly moving through the water. My stomach started to knot as I watched the clock and worried about all the unknowns.
How flipping cold is that water going to be?
Do I even remember how to do anything other than breast stroke?
(Do I even know how to do breast stroke, really?)
Are my goggles going to leak and get water in my last pair of contacts rendering me nearly blind for the better part of a week until my new ones arrive?
Am I going to look like a complete ass?
I waited and pondered and squirmed for about 15 minutes. I resigned myself to the fact that my partner was not showing and went for it - into the pool with goggles smooshed into the soft circles under my eyes (this would be pretty later). First few laps I caved and did breast stroke. Finally, finally, finally - I just did it. I put my face in the water.
Let me repeat.
I put my face in the water!!! (worthy of exclamation points)
I swam for four laps breathing every four strokes and my lungs burned. I kinda liked it but I kinda felt like I might drown so I kinda decided to take a brief moment and observe the other swimmers. They were breathing every two strokes. Well sheesh. What was I thinking? So I went back and forth between two strokes and four strokes and got comfortable. Every 4-6 laps or so I stopped and did a little kickboard since I was barely kicking while swimming. By the end of the 45 minutes I was swimming without counting laps... I had learned a few very important things:
I am not going to drown
and
I can pace myself
and
No one's looking at me
so
who cares if I look like an ass?
5.20.2010
F(r)un Times
Freedom Park.
Quick turns.
And an IT band on fire.
Yesterday I ran with the boy and two gentleman from my Blue Ridge Relay team. We met somewhere near East Boulevard and did some crazy loopage all over the area. This was the first time I had run after work in a long time and it was gor-geous. The sweat was just pouring off me but I wasn't in the mood for taking my shirt off so it was a rather sticky run with little ventilation. But I am not at all complaining because I like running in the warmth.
Ran 8 miles which was about 1.5 more than I technically should have but I felt good. Had STEM done on my leg earlier in the day and so my hamstring was not even a factor during the run. Iced the ITB and hammy even thought it wasn't really killing me but watching a movie is perfect time to ice.
Got a tasty bit of leftovers combined... tagine sauce a la chicken and rice with some black bean cakes from monday's dinner. 9:15 is officially too late to eat dinner. The only issue with running at night is your belly stays empty way too long. Well that's not the only issue, there is the whole problem of getting too tired or too stressed or too busy by the end of the day. That always sucks.
So I guess the lesson on that is: I am so thankful for my morning running partners. Where would I be without them?
Quick turns.
And an IT band on fire.
Yesterday I ran with the boy and two gentleman from my Blue Ridge Relay team. We met somewhere near East Boulevard and did some crazy loopage all over the area. This was the first time I had run after work in a long time and it was gor-geous. The sweat was just pouring off me but I wasn't in the mood for taking my shirt off so it was a rather sticky run with little ventilation. But I am not at all complaining because I like running in the warmth.
Ran 8 miles which was about 1.5 more than I technically should have but I felt good. Had STEM done on my leg earlier in the day and so my hamstring was not even a factor during the run. Iced the ITB and hammy even thought it wasn't really killing me but watching a movie is perfect time to ice.
Got a tasty bit of leftovers combined... tagine sauce a la chicken and rice with some black bean cakes from monday's dinner. 9:15 is officially too late to eat dinner. The only issue with running at night is your belly stays empty way too long. Well that's not the only issue, there is the whole problem of getting too tired or too stressed or too busy by the end of the day. That always sucks.
So I guess the lesson on that is: I am so thankful for my morning running partners. Where would I be without them?
5.17.2010
Craving
It is a cold, rainy Monday morning and I'm thinking this little blitz from my brother's blog looks beyond satisfying.
5.14.2010
Highs 'n Lows
This hamstring injury has been a rocky road and it hasn't been a damn thing like ice cream.
5.13.2010
Recap Revisited
To motivate myself a wee bit (and because I was messing with my Garmin) I went back through and updated my Athleticore log with splits from Thunder Road. As I write this I feel like that 30 something who is still trying to play beer pong with the boys and remain in his college football days. Except I'm a 20 something and this was relatively recent and I am still in it. Right?
Thought the running side of this blog could use it:
Running Competition
Date: 12/12/2009 7:50:00 AM
Competition: Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon(Road Race)
Event: Marathon @ 3:04:23.00 (7:02 / mi) Place: 1
Warmup/Cooldown: 0 mi
Shoes: Mizuno Precision 10 (10/31/2009)
Temperature: 31°F to 40°F
Conditions: Cloudy & Dry
Intensity: Hard
Overall Feeling: Excellent
Comments: Here goes!
_______________________
This race was so much fun! I was so thankful to Logan and Joe and everyone else who ran some of this with me!
Start was pretty pathetic - couldn't get to the line until more than a minute after the gun went off. This helped me run under control for the first mile, about 7:24. Next few miles were a little quicker and then I slowed myself down purposefully so I could save myself for later. Hung out with Alice for a few miles and talked some strategy for the race and about our goals, etc. Ran with the CRC guy who was running 52 that day for a while... definitely good conversation pace! Beautiful area at this point... I absolutely love the first half of this race. Saw Joe and Jinnie around 10 right before Logan joined me. From 12 on, Logan and Joe and I just rolled along laughing and having a good time. Felt good and gradually started picking it up but I was proud of myself for biding my time even though I knew there were women ahead of me. Took the lead around mile 20 after running with Amelia for about 3/4 mile when I got to hear that she kicked butt and PRed in the half. Running through NoDa was great with the "wall" that Logan and I slapped as we went through and Plaza Midwood was awesome with the drunken corner cheering me around the curve and downhill. It was at that point, around mile 24, that I really felt like I was racing this thing and it was time to finish up. Mile 25 came and went and then it was go time! Kent hopped in out of nowhere and it felt like old times as we kicked down the hill to Try Sports or flew over the boardwalks at McMullen. Last mile ended up being about 6:08 pace up that tough hill to the finish so I was proud of that! Overall, I had the most wonderful experience ever and cannot wait to do it again! But of course, I need to wait a while :)
splits:
7:24
6:58
6:52
7:19
7:31
7:14
7:13
7:17
7:05
7:07
7:04
7:12
7:14
7:06
6:57
7:07
7:05
6:55
6:46
6:48
6:49
6:40
6:35
6:30
6:20
6:08
6:07 pace - 2:58 for last .49
Total: 3:04:29
6:58 avg
2116 cal burned
Talk about all over the place!
Thought the running side of this blog could use it:
Running Competition
Date: 12/12/2009 7:50:00 AM
Competition: Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon(Road Race)
Event: Marathon @ 3:04:23.00 (7:02 / mi) Place: 1
Warmup/Cooldown: 0 mi
Shoes: Mizuno Precision 10 (10/31/2009)
Temperature: 31°F to 40°F
Conditions: Cloudy & Dry
Intensity: Hard
Overall Feeling: Excellent
Comments: Here goes!
_______________________
This race was so much fun! I was so thankful to Logan and Joe and everyone else who ran some of this with me!
Start was pretty pathetic - couldn't get to the line until more than a minute after the gun went off. This helped me run under control for the first mile, about 7:24. Next few miles were a little quicker and then I slowed myself down purposefully so I could save myself for later. Hung out with Alice for a few miles and talked some strategy for the race and about our goals, etc. Ran with the CRC guy who was running 52 that day for a while... definitely good conversation pace! Beautiful area at this point... I absolutely love the first half of this race. Saw Joe and Jinnie around 10 right before Logan joined me. From 12 on, Logan and Joe and I just rolled along laughing and having a good time. Felt good and gradually started picking it up but I was proud of myself for biding my time even though I knew there were women ahead of me. Took the lead around mile 20 after running with Amelia for about 3/4 mile when I got to hear that she kicked butt and PRed in the half. Running through NoDa was great with the "wall" that Logan and I slapped as we went through and Plaza Midwood was awesome with the drunken corner cheering me around the curve and downhill. It was at that point, around mile 24, that I really felt like I was racing this thing and it was time to finish up. Mile 25 came and went and then it was go time! Kent hopped in out of nowhere and it felt like old times as we kicked down the hill to Try Sports or flew over the boardwalks at McMullen. Last mile ended up being about 6:08 pace up that tough hill to the finish so I was proud of that! Overall, I had the most wonderful experience ever and cannot wait to do it again! But of course, I need to wait a while :)
splits:
7:24
6:58
6:52
7:19
7:31
7:14
7:13
7:17
7:05
7:07
7:04
7:12
7:14
7:06
6:57
7:07
7:05
6:55
6:46
6:48
6:49
6:40
6:35
6:30
6:20
6:08
6:07 pace - 2:58 for last .49
Total: 3:04:29
6:58 avg
2116 cal burned
Talk about all over the place!
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