My new obsession...

For me, the highlight of last Sunday's Superbowl party was not watching the Steelers lose (although that was a fantastic moment!) Nor was it Christina Aguilera's shameful demolition of our national anthem, or watching Cameron Diaz "romantically" shove popcorn down A. Rod's throat. (although both scenes made my patriotic heart almost burst with pride.) No, for me the highlight of last Sunday was when my lovely hostess asked if I would be interested in joining her relay team for the American Odyssey Gettysburg-to-D.C. Relay Race.  

I just recently became familiar with these "Van Relays," as I call them, and since January have been itching to do one.  It entails a group of 12 (or less) people running a 200-mile relay race in a 24-hour period.  Essentially, you're stuck in a a few vans with 11 other people for 24 hours, and occasionally you get out and run a few miles.  If you're lucky, you can maybe sleep from time to time.  But you will probably end up as a tired, dirty, sore cranky person by the end of it.  I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea, but then again, ten to fifteen years ago, people who ran marathons were the minority, and now look--everyone runs them...Even Oprah.  So, maybe it these relays will catch on in a few years. 

There is a whole series of these relays called "Ragnar Relays," named after the legendary Viking, Ragnar Lodbrok.  Although, in actuality Ragnar was a vicious and brutal pirate, Norse poetry and sagas have revered him as a much-admired conqueror and explorer--tough and fearless.  

"The tough, fearless, rugged attributes of this Norse King are shared by all who participate in a Ragnar Relay” according to the Ragnar website.  “In a Ragnar Relay the wild nature of this Norse King is embraced by many participants. Participants who aren’t afraid to paint their van plaid, to bring along their own hair band, to join together in yelling as they cross the finish line. You may think that you are not one of them, but you are. Everyone has a wild side and nothing brings it out of you like a Ragnar Relay.” Sounds amazing. I'm pumped up just reading this.  I was so so excited to have the opportunity to do one, I couldn't believe it!

Sadly it was too good to be true.  I just realized today that the American Odyssey Relay is the same weekend as my Revlon 5K in New York City, which I have already paid for. I understand that all registrations are non-refundable, but it's a huge disappointed.  I had such a good feeling about the race.  Then again, the NYC race is just a 5K, so the registration fee (& processing charges) is under $40.  I'm seriously considering just letting it go.  Economically, I know it's not the wisest decision, but honestly how often do you get an opportunity to do the rugged pirate-viking relay??  I am torn...The fiscally responsible thing to do would of course be to say no to the "Shoe-tang-Clan" and tell then I can not be a part of the American Odessy this year.  It is expensive, especially since I'm signing up late, so I have missed all the discount-deadlines.  Maybe this is my goal for Spring 2012. Maybe the Shoe-tang-Clan will love it & do it again next year....perhaps with a more exotic locale? Who knows...I'll be so disappointed if I don't sign up.  I need reassurance that there are more Ragnar-esque races in my future....

M-words: Miami, Marathon, March & Death-by-10-Meters

I finally went to the doctor yesterday to have them x-ray my silly left foot.  It's still hurting from when I landed wrong on January 29--11 days ago.  The fantastic news is: It's NOT broken! Hooray Hooray!!  The less-than-fantastic news is:  No running on it for 10-14 days. (Bad, especially when the National Marathon is under 2 months away....yikes!)  The good doctor also chastised me a bit for running on ice....but hey, there was a medal and a free t-shirt in it, how could I resist??

I am thankful now that I wasn't able to sign up for any races earlier in March (or fly down to New Orleans to do the Rock & Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon, as I was contemplating a month or two ago.)  I am allowed to do spinning and elliptical, so that will help keep my cardio up while I'm not running.  Also, I can walk as much as I want (thank goodness, or I wouldn't be able to get to my office!) and do weights, which I enjoy.  Also, I did my boot camp class this morning, in which we did a fun activity called "Death by 10 Meters" that involved 5 min of 10 meter sprints.  The sprints actually weren't as bad on the foot as a long-distance jog-run.  And, after 5 minutes, I felt like I had exerted myself....quite a bit actually.  I might keep them up at home....thought it might be harder without a trainer counting and watching you.  Maybe they will help me increase my speed, even though I won't be running for over a week and a half.

Inconveniently, I leave for Miami on a week-long work trip on day fourteen of this no-running-sentence, so I'm hoping it feels much better by then.  The problem with this Miami trip is that it is all work and no play.  It's usually 16-18 hour workdays, leaving very little time for any sort of workout.  I usually can squeeze in one workout my first morning there on this type of trip, then it's all downhill.  Diet-wise, it's also a battle because  we eat large meals (3-4 courses) with nothing in between.  And the food is delicious.  So, by the time I finally sit down to a meal, I'm ravenous and ready to dive into anything.  Then, I look down at my plate and it's amazing food that I typically only eat on a special occasion (or a fancy date.)  In addition to that, I'm usually mentally & physically exhausted from the long days and, since it's a work trip, the conversation isn't exactly intriguing. So, because of this, I tend to eat more than I care for.  In short, these trips tend to be weight-loss/diet/nutrition suicide.  While I'm looking forward to heading somewhere warm & sunny (it's in the 20s here in DC) I wish I had that extra week to get myself more prepared for the marathon.  This will be my sixth trip of this nature and each time I resolve to keep myself and my diet in check. Each time I have failed.  My only hope is that the beautiful people who live in Miami year-round will inspire and motivate me to NOT polish off a filet mignon or pile extra banana pudding onto my plate. I'll cross my fingers.... 

I still have thirteen days now until I depart--plenty of time to work on all non-running aspects of my diet and fitness goals. Though, on March 1, as soon as the plane touches back down in DC, there will be a Blitzkrieg of health and wellness for the following 26 days---maybe even St. Patrick's Day! (gasps!!)

Anyway, I need ideas for good ways to stay on track while traveling....

View of sunrise over the Potomac as I walked over the Key Bridge.





SuperSized, SuperCheesy, it was Superbowl Sunday!!

Saturday morning, I thought about posting ideas & recommendations for healthy Superbowl party treats.  Obviously that did not happen.  I realized that I actually don’t make very many “healthy” Superbowl treats.  Although, if I needed inspiration, my favorite diet guru of late, Bethenny Frankel, and the Hungry-Girl have some good recipes. (or at least some that look promising….I haven’t actually made them yet.)  I tend to make very unhealthy Superbowl treats, because I don’t really cook that often and, when I do make something for a party or a large group, I want people to enjoy it, so I make the best tasting (if unhealthier) version of a dish.  (I’ll make the low-fat/no-fat versions for myself, because I don’t mind if it tastes blander or less creamy etc.  I’m more forgiving.)  Also, I had to work on Sunday morning, so I didn’t have much time for a culinary experiment yesterday before the big game.

I attended a great Superbowl party (with very few Steelers fans--woo-hoo!) I did not cook or bring anything, aside from frothy beverages. But the spread was fantastic---cheese, beer, cheese, cheese, and more cheese.  Apparently, we were channeling the spirit of Wisconsin quite well!  I knocked back more cheese & beer than I care to think about this morning.  Brie, melty queso dip, some sort of cream cheesey delight, cupcakes with cream cheese frosting….it was all delicious!  Although, regrettably my stomach & my scale were both quite angry with me this morning.  There was a small—and I mean small—plate of veggies and hummus out.  But when you are at a party with 20 people, taking all 12 red peppers slices is a bit of a faux pas, right? 

Anyway, I tend to view Superbowl as one of those once-a-year-indlugence holidays, like Thanksgiving.  I let my diet slide a bit.  I mean, it's not an ALL day affair, it's dinnertime--one appetizer laden 3 hour game.  I ate light/healthy during the day--even though I desperately wanted a treat since I was stuck at my office on a Sunday. (boo, hiss!)  Also, I knew that my tastebuds were in a very "salty mood" yesterday...so, I stuck mainly with the chips and cheese, instead of trying a bit of everything. (Although I did try a cupcake to be polite.)

I’m back on the wagon (the Health Wagon) today.  I managed to squeeze in a quick but effective Ab workout this morning before work (it’s still Ab month!) and hopefully I’ll be able to leave my office in time for spinning tonight.  My foot is STILL hurting from where I landed crooked on ice last weekend, so running is probably still out. (This is worrisome…I need to get this checked out or else the National Marathon might not happen next month!  I would be so disappointed.)It's frustrating when you feel like your strength and endurance is improving and you're on the right track, only to be [potentially] derailed by an injury or something similarly beyond your control.  I hope that's not the case, but it's been a week, and it has not improved.  :(

....Bright Side:

Ab Month Plank: 1:23:08 (+14.53 seconds longer than Friday!)

Ice is not my homeboy.

Last Saturday I ran the Snapple High Cloud Half Marathon. The course is usually a nice soft and flat gravel trail in the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Park.  However, due to several days of "wintery mix" prior to the race, instead of a comfortable gravel trail, we ran the race on about 2-4 inches of snow, ice and slush.  The snow and slush, while obviously wet and difficult to run in wasn't that bad, but the ice was really terrible.  Alternating between sheets of slick surfaces and jagged crags, it forced you to constantly keep your eyes glued to the ground at all times.  Around the last quarter of the race, when I could feel myself getting tired, I accidentally slammed my left foot down--hard--on a frozen jagged ice mound.  My foot landed at a funny angle and, because I was tired, I was probably landing harder than usual.  I felt a sharp pain on the outer top of my foot.  It hurt a lot, but it was one of those race-day things that you just accept and keep moving. 

Conveniently, for the next 48-72 hours following the race, I got really sick.  I slept for almost two days straight and barely put any weight on my foot at all.  But Wednesday, feeling much better and anxious to get moving, I tried to go for a run on the treadmill.  It seemed fine until about 3 miles in, and then it started to hurt more and more.  It's not swollen, but since then, the spot has been increasingly painful.  Also, since I was 1-2 miles a day to & form my office, and the icy crags on the ground haven't gone anywhere (if anything, they've gotten worse with the melting and re-freezing) I keep misstepping in the same way.  I probably usually land that way but never with enough force to cause pain or damage--until last weekend.  

 Hopefully this is not a severe or a prolonged injury.  The National Marathon is in under two months, and a training sabbatical would just not do.  Also, I need to try on and purchase new running shoes--a feat which is difficult when one foot is in pain regardless of the shoe you're running in.  Hopefully this weekend I can either rest & heal it, or miraculously feel better and have a nice long pre-superbowl run. (I'm crossing my fingers for the latter!)

Me on the Treacherous Ice

In the meantime, Ab Month is progressing. Day Two.

AB Month:
Morning Ab Workout
Plank: 1:08:55 (I've never actually timed a plank before.  I only really do them in classes at the gym & I just hold it as long as I can or until the instructor tells me I can stop. Everyday of Ab-Month, I'll try to do it for longer than the day before. 3min plank at the end of Ab-Month? Let's see!)

Did someone say National Ab-Month?!?

Here’s an exciting feature of February I learned about yesterday from Laura’s blog, Absolut(ly)Fit:  In addition to being Black History Month and Heart Health Month, it’s also....drum-roll, please..... “National” Ab Month!! Hooray! 

(Although, I must say, we’ve designated a lot of focus groups to the year’s shortest month, right?)

I love this idea and the more I think about it, the more I love it.  

Here's why:

1. I think Ab workouts are probably my favorite exercise to do.  I have a long torso, for being a shorter gal, so I struggle with carrying extra weight around my middle. (Aside from my butt, it’s always the last part of me to look toned. Even when I’m thinner, I still have some love-handley bits.) So, doing ab workouts make me feel like I’m actually making a significant change in my body’s shape.    

2. You can quickly feel and see the results.  If you’re challenging yourself, your abs will be sore the next day, and the muscles tend to appear pretty fast, especially in your upper abdominals.  It is always a great motivator to see your body actually changing for the better!  

3. Ab workouts are pretty easy to do.  You can do them almost anywhere, with little space and little to no equipment. So, if you’re traveling, short on time, or can’t get to a gym, you can still squeeze in an ab-workout.  

4. Also, you can easily adjust the difficulty to make the workout as easy or as challenging as you want. Just starting out? You can talk yourself into doing 12 crunches a day and gradually add on as you get stronger.  Or, if you're more advanced, throw some ankle-weights on and do double crunches or do sidebends with heavier weights.  There are so many variations, it’s hard to get bored.

5. Lastly, I think February is the BEST month for this. January is a bit overwhelming, at least for me.  On January 1st, after having spent the past 31+ days since Thanksgiving shamelessly gorging myself on an endless parade of heavy dinners, cocktail parties, cakes (my birthday is in December) wines, cheeses, hams, cookies, pies, casseroles, dips and similar, I, like the rest of America vow to clean up my act in the new year.  A strict detox program is enforced, or at least attempted, for the next few weeks.  The problem is, January is usually almost as busy as December.  It’s also dark, cold and sometimes very snowy or icy.  All factors which make me prefer to curl up in a snuggie with a crockpot full of macaroni and cheese and a large spoon. Not that it’s impossible to achieve our January resolutions we've set, but it’s certainly not easy.   Then, like a guiding light, comes Ab Month. A short month. A month when you finally notice that the days are getting ever so slightly longer.  And just focusing on one thing, like abdominals, makes a fitness goal seem much more manageable.  Maybe I can’t always fit in 5-6 60 minute workouts a week.  Maybe I can’t increase my running by 3 miles a week, every week.  I can do something “abbie” a few times a week—maybe every day! It’s more manageable.  It’s a smaller, more focused goal. And on a cold dark morning, it’s easier to talk myself into 15 minutes of Abs than a 4 mile run.    

There are 28 days in February.  I’m going to try to do some kind of ab-related workout on at least 75% of the days (21 days.)  It seems doable. I already did some this morning, “I Want Those Abs” from my favorite workout DVD, Tamilee Webb’s “I Want That Body.”

We will see how it goes. You never know, maybe March will be a self-proclaimed “butt month” (or something! ;)) Good luck and Happy National Ab Month!

 

Fit & Fabulous Chi O's

This week, a sorority sister of mine started a Facebook group titled "Fit & Fabulous Chi O's" (We are all in our late-20s, so these are not metabolism-charged co-eds in this group, this is a group of singles, new-mommies, newlyweds, etc.)  It's a great idea and I like the accountability factor, as well as the opportunity to reconnect with some out-of-touch friends from college. 

Ironically, as I was joining the group, I was simultaneously skipping the gym in favor of putzing on the computer, and eating, in one sitting: steamed pork dumplings, 2 handfuls of cherry Twizzler-bites, a Nutella taco (my own creation--Nutella on a flour tortilla, microwaved. delicious.) and about 15 tortilla chips with asiago-artichoke dip (which is mostly mayonnaise and decadently rich.)  To be fair, this was my first meal since Saturday afternoon, as I had been horribly sick with a flu-like nausea for the past 48-72 hours, so this food-festival (or borderline-binge) could be seen as a celebration of wellness, albeit a bit misguided.

Anyway, despite my reckless buffet of snacks last night, I posted a comment in this new Facebook group that I was trying to motivate myself to go to bootcamp in the moring. Bootcamp is every Wednesday morning at 7am, so I have to begin motivating myself on Tuesday evening in order to be packed, dressed and out the door on time in the morning.  It's also free, so it is very easy to talk myself out of going.

As far as a workout, this particular Bootcamp class is not that physically demanding.  But the instructor is a fun guy who gives us lots of different and new moves to try.  He is also a stickler for form and posture--two areas I definitely need help with!  Furthermore, the store that hosts the class is a good 2 mile walk to my office, so I count that as part of my morning workout.  I find that, even though it's a struggle to rouse myself out of bed and outside in the dark hours of the winter morning, after class I feel like I have accomplished something great by going and doing something different from my normal routine.  I wish I had a camera this morning, because the view of Georgetown right at dawn in the misty rain was just breath-taking.  It made me happy I woke up and reminded me in what a special and beautiful place I'm fortunate enough to live.

Were it not for the fact that I'd posted this goal on the Facebook group wall, I'm not sure I would have gone.  I like the idea that I was somewhat accountable for my actions through this medium.  Had I not gone, no one would have cared.  In fact, my cat probably would have been tremendously happy that he had a few extra hours of body heat to snooze next to in bed.  But I didn't want to publicly admit I skipped it or didn't go, so I went.  I like this idea.  I think it may turn out to be a nice extra-motivator when I'm feeling lazy....So, thank you, you Fit and Fabulous Chi Omegas! I'm happy you're all out there in Facebook-land!