Running Machine

Sorry...too tired to post yesterday, and quite frankly, really didn't have a lot to say. Work was the usual Monday, but I did get my one report (the one with all the pretty graphs and charts and data and stuff!) finished way ahead of schedule. Which is good, because I now have my typical February project (gotta love tax season) to get going on...and to remember what I did last year! I have got to start writing this stuff down! I have to remember how to write the script (oh, have I mentioned that I AM NOT a techy??) for a Dataload program to produce 1300 tax forms to be sent out by the end of the month. And no, they're not T4's...those would be easy! Oh well...I've cleaned my plate at work, so that I can focus on this for the next three weeks.

Food yesterday was good - usual oatmeal mix, followed by my version of Mexican mac & cheese for lunch. All I did was cook up elbow macaroni, and added some of the leftover nacho cheese dip I made Sunday, with some milk to loosen it up a bit. Added some diced green pepper for extra veggies. It was good, and held me over till boot camp.
Which was also good...after our run to warm up (not that cold, -6C, but still really humid and foggy, which makes it hard for me to breathe), we did a circuit of weights and core, Tabata style. After getting my sweat on, and realizing that the next round of classes start Monday (man, that was fast!), I came home and ate dinner. Rustico tomato sauce with ground pork over pasta. Since I made a little crock-pot of it, it became dinner tonight.

I was too tired (fighting with my boy cat all night over sleeping, and how much I'd like to do just that) this morning to pack lunch, so I bought. Our deli makes a very good version of the "McMuffin", so I had mine with ham, lettuce & tomato and a side of baked hash browns. Then I went out and totally kicked 6k's butt!!! Where is this coming from?! I rocked out the 6k, averaging a pace of 7:16 today. And I managed to do 1 of the km at 6:54 and two at 7:06! Bring on the marathon, I say! Okay...maybe that was hasty...let me get hill training out of the way!

Lunch was a beef burger, but I had a very large green salad on the side, and no mayo on the burger (just mustard, cheese, pickles, lettuce and tomato). In fact, I think the cook downstairs feels sorry for me when I order salad, because I do seem to get a LOT!

Came home, fixed one of the tenant's windows (fastest ever, I might add...I'm getting at it!), and then had dinner of leftover pasta sauce, layered with bowties, zucchini slices and mushrooms. Oh, and some Havarti cheese may have been thrown in for good measure. It was tasty, and is already packed up for lunch tomorrow. Along with some fruit salad (oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, blueberries and coconut, with a touch of dried mint). Just have to throw the oatmeal concoction together, and I'm good to go.

Dentist appointment in the morning (oh, joy) and then tax forms all day (further joy) followed by our first night of hills...the bliss never ends in this house!!!

Hope everyone has a great week.

Later,

Just a quickie

Up yesterday at weigh-in - was expected after Friday night, but not as much as it was...that was a bit of let-down, as I managed to find what I lost the previous week. Oh well...just makes me resolve to get back down that much harder this week.
After breakfast at Cora's with two old friends, I came home and CRASHED! I just laid down with the furbabies because they were so cute on the bed, and woke up 3 hours later! Oops!! Didn't feel like going for my 6k steady, so I opted to do laundry instead. Dinner was a hodge-podge of whole wheat tortillas, artichoke dip and chicken nugget things from Safeway. I was back in bed (and asleep) just after 10.
Got up bright and early for our 19k LSD. It was, once again, cool (-12C or so) and foggy, so everything in Calgary was covered with a layer of frost. I mean EVERYTHING! But the paths weren't too bad...we took a slightly different route today, which took us up a very long hill, which I am proud to say I ran the whole thing, head held high! Across the top, down into Edworthy (where I have Boot Camp) and back to Eau Claire. We even did some speed drills, pushing to race pace for 500 meter bursts. Our average pace was 8:57/km, which considering our average should be 8:59-10, I thought was pretty good. Heart rate was a respectable 142 (82% - getting stronger - Yay!) and I burned a total of 1252 calories (there went Friday night's wine and munchies!).
Came home (after a quick latte) and showered and changed, to go to a friend's baby shower. Well...friend isn't the right word - see, she used to be one of my WW leaders! And then, with a career change, she left us and her mother took over. She too, left, and then the meeting was closed and long story short, I'm up a few friends and down a few leaders and back with Faye on Saturday mornings! So, it was really nice to see J. again (it's been over 2 years) and her mom - even knew one other person at the party. I'm not much into babies, admittedly, but I do love buying them clothes, because it's all just so darn freaking cute!!! I got little Malcolm a hoodie and matching sketchers!! C.U.T.E!!!!! Did some visiting, controlled the eating (I had just come off a 19k run, so it could have been ugly!!), and then headed for home. She lives WWWWAAAAAYYYYY out in the 'burbs...it scared me a little!
I am home now, and had dinner of salsa, guac, ww tortillas (not chips!) and some nacho cheese dip. I am full and satisfied. Going to make some pasta and have "nacho" mac & cheese for lunch tomorrow, and then head for bed.
Back to the grind tomorrow, and Boot Camp (oh, how I missed you on Friday)...must lose what I found this week, and then some.
Later,

Friday nighty-night

Just got home from a friend's surprise birthday party at the Ranche. I tried to get there for 6, but as usual I got confused, and totally missed the turn! I wasn't too late though, although I did miss the "SURPRISE" part. There were some friends I haven't seen in awhile (met most of this group about 17 years ago, and it's nice how it has stayed pretty much the same, between marriages and kids, etc.) so it was nice getting caught up and shocking them all with my new look. I still enjoy the double-takes people do when they look at me.
I had researched the menu (had no idea what was going on tonight) but it turns out that P. had arranged for munchies and we got our own drinks. There were little appies being walked around (I felt so 'black-tie') of bruschetta, smoked salmon wrapped around baby arugula and roasted prawns. Then the table was set up with more fire-roasted prawns (these things were the size of a lobster tail, I swear!) with two dips, duck breast (which was freaking AWESOME), some home-made sausage and pate (could have been wild meat at that), a pickle platter, some veggies, a ton of fruit (and the best cantaloupe I've had in years) and cheese. Some rustic breads and crackers rounded it out. I indulged in two glasses of wine (yummy) and had a little bite of everything I wanted, and nothing I didn't. Then I switched to water. The birthday cake came out, which they then sliced and handed out. I took a small corner piece, and to my delight, it was a wonderful carrot cake with cream cheese icing. As it was a tad rich, and I was getting full, I didn't eat it all, and was okay with that.
No exercise today, mainly because of the party, but I did walk to and from work, and to and from my chiropractor's at lunch. So I guess there was some exercise.
Left the party early (everyone was heading off to the birthday girl's house), as weight watchers is at 7:30 in the morning! Man, I am dedicated!!!
We'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. I'm going to bed now.
Later,

A little more steady today

Woke up feeling great after the last two Tempo runs...ankle felt good, legs strong, etc. Didn't run at lunch, since I knew we had the Steady run coming up after marathon clinic. Instead, I wandered over to the bank, which was far enough...the fog of yesterday turned into baby-powder fine snow overnight, making everything just a little on the slick side.
I had packed my usual oatmeal for breakfast, but decided at the last minute to save that till tomorrow...I wanted an egg burrito from downstairs. They use whole wheat wraps, and it has peppers and onions in it (okay, some chorizo as well), and I always dip it into salsa. Yummy way to start the day!
Lunch was a turkey sandwich on whole wheat thintini, but that was it. So I also got a bowl of soup (cream of mushroom, which according to the deli's website, doesn't even have cream in it!) and a tossed garden salad (no dressing). That filled me up. Afternoon snack was a grapefruit (worked off the calories just peeling it to eat it!) and the new Asano yogurt (more calcium) - still 2 points a serving. I miss yogurt that a spoon can stand up in, frankly!
Came home and was so tired, I actually set the alarm and laid down for about 45 minutes. Not sure if I slept, but I did feel a tad better afterwards. Dinner was another quickie, as marathon clinic starts at 6pm. I tossed whole wheat rotini with a diced regular tomato, some sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil) and a teaspoon of evoo. Topped it with some shards of Parmesan, and dinner was served. Again, thought to take the picture AFTER I ate! Oops!!
Marathon clinic was a yoga class tonight. What I learned is that I am not bendy! At all!!! Even my arches won't bend, as we did one move that should be used to torture terrorists with! With respect for the fact that we all just did yoga, Garrath sent us out on a shorter steady run of only 6km, but it was up a rather impressive hill. It started out slow - we had a girl join us tonight that thought we were the 5 hour group, not realizing we are the 5.5 hour group...top that with the fact that the humid, cold air was not getting along with my lungs - it was a struggle to get going. BUT I ran the whole hill, and didn't slow down, maintaining a decent pace the whole time. Sadly, once we got to the top it was all residential, and therefore really loose snow or ruts. My ankle is not pleased!!! As I said, I'm getting weary of running in sand! Yes, I burn more calories, and I'm really working my butt, but I'm getting tired of having to work this hard every run. A dry path would be a treat one day!
Finished the run, did some serious stretching (my right hip wants to pop so bad - good thing I'm seeing the chiro tomorrow) and after picking up some Gu/Carb Boom and a new one (Vanilla Orange - tastes like creamsicles!), I am home. Okay, one more side stop to dump the recyclables, and NOW I am home, and in jammies. I may even make it till 10!
Later,

And the Tempo continues...

I was tired today...my legs felt like lead. I had no energy. While running, I accidentally stopped the timer, and ended up about a half kilometer into the run before I realized...and yet, I still managed to pull off a 7:31/km tempo for 6km! Where were these legs last year?!
Breakfast: nutella/banana/coconut oatmeal. It is a daily repeat, but delicious, and I like it!
Lunch: tried the Safeway Eating Right Turkey & Bean chili. High in fibre (6 gr) and low in fat, a half a can is only 4 points. And it has a bit of a kick to it! And the best part is I could pronounce everything in the ingredients list. Rounded that out with a green salad (with evoo & balsamic) and an apple. Afternoon snack was one of the new Yoplait yogurts...the one with extra calcium & vitamin D. It was yogurt...nothing special. Most certainly not Liberte Coconut!!
Dinner: since I was in a huge hurry today (had to pick up Mom in the deep southwest, and drive to the deep northeast for a CT scan this evening) and I had a piece of snapper in the fridge, I decided to make "fish & chips". I took the piece of fish, and rubbed a bit of evoo on it, and then dipped it into some panko crumbs that had S&P and Epicure Fine Herbs mixed in. Then, beside the fish in the baking dish, I put some of the McCains Roasted Potato chunks. Baked till done, and with some malt vinegar on the potatoes and tarter (miracle whip, relish & lemon juice) sauce, and I had a close substitute for the real thing, without all the deep-fried goodness! Unfortunately I was so hungry, and in such a rush, I forgot to take a picture!
CT scan went good, I think. Let's see...30 minutes to get there, 30 minutes waiting, 5 minutes for the scan, and 30 minutes to get home. Yup...that's the night in a nutshell! And explaining to Mom for the 18th time why we were doing this...today!
After a quick trip into work to drop off an Epicure order (I was too tired last night), I am home and in my jammies, and after this post, am aiming to be in bed by 10pm.
Let's see if I can rock the 8km Steady tomorrow night as well as I rocked the Tempos this week! This kind of running, I like!!
Later,

Awesome Tempo run

Started typing in the title as "Rocked the Tempo Run" and it popped up, as I've used it before. Probably last week...but this week I killed it even more!!!! Last time I rocked it, I managed a pace of 7:56/km. Today was 7:37/km!!! YA-FREAKING-HOO!!!!! The 'to finish' tempo pace is 8:09, so I'm really happy with the progress I am making.

Dad came home today, but not via the Carol Taxi...as mentioned, I found a service that picks up and delivers, in an ambulance type vehicle, to make the transportation easy and comfortable for the patient. Dad said they were really nice, and quite awesome, so I'm glad it all worked out. After all, as great as my job and my boss are, I can't just pick up and leave whenever I want! Guess I could, but then I'd find I have all day to choose from, if you get my drift!

Breakfast was the usual oatmeal concoction, and lunch was a turkey sandwich on a thintini bun. Some light havarti and some celery to munch on the side, and a 1/2 c of 1% cottage cheese managed to fill me up. Rounded the afternoon off with a peach yogurt.

For once, I didn't have to rush off somewhere right after work, but I still jumped in the car (habit!) and whipped over to the vet to pick up some needles for George.

I just had to take a picture of his feet, as they are just adorable! He has the extra toe on every foot, but his front feet look the goofiest...and he was just sitting there, falling asleep standing up...silly man!

As I was leaving the vets, I then decided to take advantage of 10% Tuesday at Safeway. Picked up some much needed stuff, and managed to walk out of there $100 poorer, but I think I did okay. Cupboards and pantry are full, and I had a nice dinner of Epicure souvlaki pork tenderloin, a sliced tomato and some sliced cucumber and a side risotto.

It's one of those packaged things (couldn't do one that had "meat" in it...yuck - how processed has that got to be, for meat to stay safe on a shelf??) and I had to chose carefully, to find the one with the lowest sodium. While it is wickedly convenient (2 minutes in the microwave), it wasn't worth the effort.

It was rather bland, and mushy, and nary a "grilled Mediterranean vegetable" to be seen. Now I know...lesson learned.

I must head down to the office to drop off an Epicure order I've been sitting on for a few days, and then it's back home to bed! I am wiped out.

Tomorrow night will be Mom's CT scan, so that will be an interesting adventure, I'm sure. She's already called me twice about it...today...sigh...

I have to say though, with all the parental stress over the last week, I managed to leave Safeway tonight WITHOUT a bag of cookies, a box of chocolates (the Valentines and Easter stuff is competing for shelf supremacy right now!) or a bag of chips. Well done me!

Celebrate the small victories, people!

Later,

Monday quickie

- Got up way too early and worked way too hard! Hate the first day back.
- ate oatmeal, celery, carrots, hummus, sushi (I was still hungry), apple & almond butter through the day.
- raced home, changed and raced to Boot Camp. Got our butts kicked again!
- raced home, changed (deja vu?!) and raced to Mom's, after inhaling melba toast and Epicure roasted red pepper dip. Went to hospital to visit Dad, hauling yet more crap. Good news is even more crap was subsequently hauled back home, as he didn't need some of the stuff. And he may be coming home tomorrow.
- if Dad is released tomorrow, I found a medical service that picks up and delivers (bed to bed) patients in Calgary. Which is good, because I had no idea how the hell I was getting him home!!
- dropped Mom off, nipped into Co-op to pick up something quick for "supper", and got home about 9:30. Ate a turkey & havarti sandwich on a whole wheat thintini bun.
- finished writing up the rental receipts for February, and now I am exhausted and am going to bed.
Night all!
Later,