Jumping back in!

439 days until we get married. Oh yeah, we got engaged in March! We stopped writing on this thing a while back and we missed that big announcement.

So....439 days. It seems like a lot, but then I started to look at what that actually means....I need to find a dress this summer. In order to find a dress, I need to lose some weight. I have been toning for almost a year, and I have lost many inches, but I have lost less than 10 pounds. I think it's time to really kick my rear in gear and drop some of these pounds that have been clinging to me.

I was originally going to go dress shopping next month, but I have decided to put it off until later in the summer and really concentrate on getting healthy in the next couple of months. A change in my eating habits and exercise is needed. During the school year I am bogged down with work and meetings almost every night of the week. This summer will be pretty clear, so I want to make good use of it!

If anybody wants to be a workout buddy or accountability partner, I would love that! Just let me know! :-)

Up with the Sun

Sunday morning - 2 miles in, the sun decides to join me.

The butthead phone in question.

The week in terms of exercise has been a rocky one, to say the least.  I'm still struggling with cold congestion, runny nose, and coughing which, of course, don't adhere themselves well to exercise.  That, and it was really friggin' (fraking, gol'darn, gorram, smurfing, etc.) cold.  My greatest disappointment this week was actually the inability of my phone camera to work in the sub-zero temperatures to capture icicles hanging off my eyelashes, eyebrows, and hat this past Thursday after a shortened run.  While I could be proud that I was out there in that temperature, how often do you get to take that picture?  (I guess if this winter is anything like last winter, that would occur several times a week until mid March).

Due to the temperature, though, I was still forced to cut my Thursday 6 miles to 4 which I guess in the long run won't make a horrible difference.  But it still feels like cutting corners, even when I have frost hanging from my exposed facial hair and I'm concerned that my face may soon be an ice cube to later be removed by hospital staff and replaced with a white plastic mask a la Phantom of the Opera (my mind wanders when I run a little).

We also had a wonderful time in the house this week (read with heaviest sarcasm possible) as our furnace decided that now would be the perfect time to grab all the moisture in the air and deposit it back into itself until it could spew it all forth unto our carpet.  The point of note here, by the way is that motivation to get out and exercise in any manner is reduced when you have to get up every two hours at night to empty a small Tupperware container which is the only thing preventing your living room from becoming the northern site of the Everglades.  Long story short, my Saturday rest-day was very much appreciated.

And then there was Sunday.  This morning brought on my first long run in the marathon training plan.  It was a slow 8 miles which I've done many times before, so I wasn't too concerned.  It wasn't too fast, but that was as required.  My target pace was supposed to be around 10min/mi which I was pretty good with.  And it was about 30 degree warmer than the icicle-laced Thursday run.

My biggest concern with winter long runs is in my form.  Every year that I've been a runner I've developed injuries in the Spring.  I have a natural inclination to not use my left leg very well.  My right is easily stronger and I almost limp my way through runs.  My right leg propels me forward and my left leg passes time until the right leg can move me forward again.  I'll talk more about that whole thing at a later time, but what happens in winter is that this method of running gets worse.  With snow on the ground, my eyes look straight in front of where I am and my posture sags (not that it's great to begin with), I slow my step speed to ensure that I have firm footing, and I land my footfalls on my heals as I slow my pace (a major no-no to the uninitiated).  Long story short, I tend to spend a decent amount of time with physical therapy in early-mid March.  With my first marathon scheduled, this makes me worried as it does every year.  It's led

On top of continuing some of the physical therapy exercises I've picked up over the years, I've been watching some Youtube videos on running form like this one and this one and am trying out some of the exercises. And add in some major foam rolling and I'm spending more time trying to get better running than actually running.  Let's hope the combined efforts of all involved prevent me from ending up on the sidelines again. *fingers crossed*

The first (absolutely delicious) recipe!

While Nick got out this morning and got a run in, I sadly had to go to work way too early. It was my first day back from winter break and I was dragging. By the time school let out, the snow was coming down in buckets and administration said we could leave before contract time was up. I was not one to complain, but the buckets of snow meant that I was not going to make it across town to my workout class tonight. In place of my workout breakdown, I will post our recipe we made for dinner last night.

I can't compete with holy sweatpants or snotsicles anyway. :-)

This recipe was very easy to make, vegetarian, and AMAZING! I loved every drop, and it was even better tonight as leftovers. Nick found the recipe on Pinterest here, but we doubled it and modified it to be vegetarian and low-calorie.

White Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

• 2 large head cauliflower, chopped 
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 7 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 1/2 cups milk (we used almond milk)
• 1 32 oz. box of vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 oz cubed sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup vegetarian parmesan cheese (we used Go Veggie, but if you know of another brand, that would also work. Nutritional yeast may also work)

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chopped cauliflower on baking sheet, toss with olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven about 25 minutes. 
• In a stew pot, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion about 4 - 5 minutes until it's tender. Mix in flour and cook 1 1/2 minutes (stirring occasionally). Add in garlic during last 30 seconds of cooking. Pour in milk slowly, whisking continuously, followed by vegetable stock and half and half. Add in parsley, thyme, bay leaf, roasted cauliflower, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to low. Use an immersion blender to break up some of the larger vegetables, but keep it a chunky consistency. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar and parmesan cheeses. Serve when cheese is melted.
• Oh soooo good!

It's only 236 calories for each bowl. It makes about 10 servings.

In the Iowa Tundra

Iowa City Greenspace Trail

Today marked the first day of the 16 week training plan for the Illinois Marathon on April 25th.  And to kick it off, I left the house at a balmy 0 degrees for an easy 5 mile run.

First, let me say that it really was a pleasant day despite the temperature.  I've struggled a lot with the cold over the past few years and it seems to be finally worked out... mostly.  The key as far as I know, is leaving the house with as many layers possible.  I try to find that point where I feel like a child bundled up like a body with little sausage links sticking out and back off just a bit.  A hat, a Buff wrap around my neck, three pairs of gloves (the key being to find pairs that are still functional after sticking one inside the other ala turducken - a thin Saucony glove in a Head glove from Costco in an old generic pair of flip top mittens (like the Olympic runners do... when they want to look as dorky as possible), three running tops, a wind breaker, two pairs of socks, and lastly, three pairs of pants (two long-leg running pants and an old pair of sweat pants with a large hole in the crotch).   I have a small dream to one day grace the cover of Runner's World in my old winter running sweat pants.

With that, it really wasn't as bad as it could have been.  I'll still long for the comforting 50's of April, but I'll take what pleasures I can get.

I am getting over a cold and that was less than pleasant.  For the first mile, I was able to catch my stride, hit that perfect moment when you feel like you can run forever and just look out over the scenery and enjoy.  The remaining 4 miles was a combination of wiping my nose on the gloves (they're old and I don't care to toss them in the washing machine), wincing as I wipe over the same spot I did several minutes ago which has turned into a frozen grater, and coughing up everything that my lungs can produce.  (I apologize if that's too much information, but that's the truth of the situation and we can both look back at the end of April and reflect on how it really started).

In the end, it was a nice enough run, 10:37 pace (not the best, but not the worst through snow drifts).