running through the pandemic plateau

One of the many events that was canceled because of the pandemic last spring was the Oakland Running Festival, including the half marathon event for which I'd been training since late fall/early winter 2019. 

12 miles in Alameda, along Crown Memorial Beach, to Bay Farm Island, and back.

I'd just started my taper, that delightful period between your longest training run (which for me was 12 miles on February 28, 2020) and the event itself (13.1 miles through Oakland, scheduled for March 22nd) when you decrease your mileage and focus on maintaining your overall health, getting good rest, and eating lots of carbs! As the Bay Area went into lockdown, I kept running, first without a mask, then with a mask, something I eventually got used to. 

A pre-COVID, pre-dawn run.

Even masked, I only run at 6 am on weekdays, partly because that's really all that will work with my schedule, partly because at any other time of day or day of the week, the lake where I run is simply too crowded. Now that I'm fully vaccinated, I no longer wear a mask (though I do make an effort to keep plenty of space between myself and other walkers and runners) and it's wonderful. I kept running (and walking and hiking and all the Jillian Michaels workout DVDs) because it helped keep me physically and mentally healthy over the past 15 months. It's also one of the rare times I'm ever alone.

8 miles on the Bay Bridge Trail on January 10, 2020

That said, I've plateaued. Big time. I run just two days a week, once around the lake (about a 5K), the other day in the opposite direction, finishing a slightly shorter distance, about 3 miles, with one or two trips up and down the stairs that make up the Cleveland Cascade to finish. I only do the stairs in the spring to early fall since it's too dark and creepy in the winter, when it's still dark out even when I finish around 6:45 am. Since January, I've swapped out the Jillian Michaels DVDs for the Freeletics app three times a week, which I really enjoy. It's helped immensely with core strength in particular, which has helped alleviate some chronic low back pain I've been experiencing since summer 2017. I can do legitimate burpees now. I hate them, but I can do them. I try to add a rowing machine workout on to any shorter Freeletics day, ideally once a week.

An "easy 10-miler" along the Hayward Regional Shoreline on February 21, 2020

I've been hesitant to try any of the Freeletics running "journeys" yet, or add a longer weekend run back in, or do any kind of run training, really, but I know I won't progress as a runner if I don't push myself in one way or another. In the past I've used (and recommend) the plans in the book Train Like A Mother. So I may go that route again when it comes time to resume training for the 2022 running festival (rather than tackle a virtual event I deferred to next spring, when I feel pretty confident at this point that the event will be in-person). To help kickstart that eventual training, I also signed up for the Alameda 10-Miler in late August, an "easy 10-miler!" as Steve Prefontaine would say. I did have a moment post-registration when I realized I'd signed up for a 10-miler, not a 10K. Either way, I'm looking forward to using that race as a milestone to work toward; continuing on to a half-marathon training plan should be a piece of cake after that.

8 miles from the Emeryville Marina along the McLaughlin Eastshore and back, Valentine's Day 2020 

PS - If you want to read more about past running shenanigans, check out this post, written after I completed the full Oakland marathon back in 2012 (I ran Big Sur in 2001, pre-blog, but I wrote about it here). Curious about what to eat (and what to watch) while training for a marathon? Check out this series.

PPS - All of this running stuff is really just one piece of a broader topic I've been wanting to write about for awhile, which is a much broader personal project to reset my relationship with food and yes, lose weight, which kicked off a bit before I started training for the half-marathon (why yes, I had just recently turned 40). I've lost somewhere in the 10-15 pound range since late summer/early fall 2019, but that too has plateaued since the pandemic began. My BMI, which was approaching the obese range, is now very nearly in the healthy range. All of my other numbers have always been excellent (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc.), and I take no medications (yet), but as I mentioned above I was experiencing back and joint pain and that has definitely improved. Going mostly vegan (one year ago today!) is also part of all this, especially the resetting my relationship to food bit. I feel overall better and I think a lot less about food, which saves a lot of time, oddly. Anyway, it's a strange time to write or say much publicly about metrics such as weight loss and BMI, and for good reason (I'm no stranger to those reasons, having lost someone very close to me as a result of a longterm eating disorder). But weight and BMI are data, if you will, that I use in part to measure my success on this, for lack of a better word, journey. Perhaps I'll write more about it one day. Still much to unpack here (see parenthetical above).

PPPS - All that said, training for an endurance event rarely leads to weight loss. Just have to put that out there should anyone come here searching for weight loss and running! I always tend to shed pounds after a big event, rarely during training. More on that topic here.

everybody was carbo-loading

And just like that, almost five months later, the marathon is just two days away!  I haven't watched any running movies yet this week, but I have done a whole lotta carbo-loading.  Here's what my week of working out less and eating more has looked like so far:

Monday
As I'm looking at my calendar now, I honestly can't remember what I did for exercise or what I ate that evening. That's the kind of week it's been, but more on that in a bit...

Tuesday
A ha! Tuesday! Tuesday I remember!  I opted out of the last morning "buddy run" of the season in favor of sleeping in (y'know, until the late, late hour of 6:30) since Elias decided this week would be a great week to get sick - again (okay, okay, I know it's not his fault, but seriously, folks - talk about bad timing) - and was up about 2/3 of Sunday night with a seal bark-like croupy cough. Nobody slept well and it always seems to take a few decent nights to recover from one bad one.  Miraculously, I did manage to muster up enough energy to do a 45 minute cardio workout later in the day, never quite feeling up for a run.

Over the weekend I had perused my pasta and a movie series, picked out what worked well, added a few recipes, and planned my meals out in advance, having pasta and protein in the beginning of the week, and slowly transitioning to less protein, more carbs as the week has progressed, specifically carbs that are a bit lighter and quicker to digest like orzo and rice.  To that end, on Tuesday we had a mix of vegetable radiatore and whole grain penne with Trader Joe's turkey bolognese sauce, along with some asparagus on the side.

Wednesday
Since I woke up feeling the slightest tickle in my throat, I took no chances and my only activity consisted of walking around Costco that afternoon.  I made a tuna pasta salad for dinner, the leftovers of which I enjoyed today for lunch.

Thursday
Still feeling congested but overall pretty good, I went for an easy "dress rehearsal" 3-miler. I wore almost all the gear I plan to wear on Sunday. For dinner I made a chicken, orzo, and pomegranate salad.

Friday
That's today! No running for me, no sir! I'll do some stretching and icing tonight, after a dinner of Santa Rosa Valley Salad.

Saturday
Tomorrow will be another rest day. I haven't told Neal yet, but I fully intend to follow coach's orders and stay in bed as long as possible tomorrow morning.  To quote Mama Lisa:

On Saturday, do sleep late. At least stay in bed and stare at the ceiling. This may not be so easy. You are going to be keyed up, but if you think of the next morning and its demands, you may decide to remain stationary a little longer.

Aye, aye, cap'n! Once I feel sufficiently rested and ready for the day, we'll head to the ORF Expo to pick up my race bib, packet, maybe buy a t-shirt, etc.  Most of my final stretch of carbo-loading will take place at an "inspiration luncheon" tomorrow with the rest of my Team in Training peeps.

For dinner, I plan to make this black rice salad with butternut squash and pomegranate seeds. I had a great run the morning after that meal a couple months back, so that's what I'm going with for my last supper, pre-marathon.

So far, tapering and eating well this week are the two things that have gone pretty well. How 'bout we get into what hasn't gone so well?

Monday
As I mentioned already, the wee one was sick the earlier part of this week. I remember looking at him at some point on Friday last week, our "mommy day" together each week, and thinking, "man, he looks beat." Never a good sign. Sure enough, by Saturday evening/Sunday morning it was clear he was coming down with a minor cold, at least.  That minor cold turned into a horrible croupy cough that had me calling the advice line around 10 pm on Sunday night and Neal sleeping in his room Sunday night, while I took Monday night. If you've never had the experience of taking care of a kid with croup let me just say it seems usually, thankfully, a lot scarier than it actually is. Anything that messes with that tiny airway is cause for concern.  Additionally, he had a little bit of conjunctivitis (not sure if it was officially "pink eye" and, contrary to common belief post "Knocked Up", pink eye is not, in fact, caused by getting feces in your eye. At least, I'm pretty sure it's not. It's basically just what happens when the virus causing the cold symptoms affects the eyes and results in "eye boogers" and redness.).

It goes without saying that Monday Elias stayed home from school with me.  We braved the petri dish that is the pediatrician's office and got some steroids for the croup and drops for the eyes, neither of which we administered all that well.  Oh, and did I mention I slept on a pull out sleeper chair in his room Monday night?  Yep. Because, you know, I was trying to get my very best rest this week from the start.  To be fair, Neal not only had the worse night on Sunday with the coughing and such, but that chair sleeper, with a duvet thrown on top, is actually pretty comfy.  And the humidifier right next to my head was probably a good thing, considering how I was feeling by about Monday afternoon - tickle in my throat and sinuses congested. Not good, man. Not good at all less than a week before a race.

Tuesday
I had mixed feelings but having gotten the green light from the pedi, took Elias to school that day, desperate to get some work done and start the process of getting my game face on in time for the weekend. Did I mention that on Monday afternoon, when Eli and I decided to hang out in the backyard for a bit, we confirmed that the barking I heard on Sunday night was from our next door neighbor's new dog. He barked at us the entire time we were outside. And all day Tuesday (I work from home which is why that's a problem). Awesome. I love when folks get loud, aggressive, barking dogs in lieu of alarm systems.

Wednesday
Feeling moderately caught up on work, I decided to run a few errands, first of which was to Title Nine to buy a - dare I confess it? - new sports bra. The thing is, I know you're not supposed to do anything new on race day, but the chafing my year-old frog bra has been causing the last couple of weeks was becoming unbearable, even on relatively short runs and especially in the rain, which is now what the weather report is calling for on Sunday.  So I faced a dilemma: change nothing but experience almost guaranteed under-boob chafing or buy something new and hope for the best.  I went with the latter.  Funny thing is, I ended up driving all the way to Mill Valley since the Berkeley store didn't have the size I thought I needed after trying sizes smaller and larger in two different styles (the frog bra temporarily unavailable), only to buy the size I could have bought at the first store had I had the other size to compare. You follow?  Annoying, but at least I felt pretty confident about my purchase.

Neal had a long commute on Wednesday, one of those days when he's technically working in the Bay Area but might as well be in New York as far as help with the wee one before school and during dinner and bedtime goes.  I was on my own all day and Elias was not cooperating. At all.  But he was still a little sick so I suppose I should cut him some slack.

Thursday
Ah, to breath again through my nose! How nice. I had a great run in the morning, after I dropped off Elias at school (I'd normally get up early but wanted to focus at least partly on getting as much sleep as possible this week, as previously mentioned), then spent the rest of the day wrapping up a large order.  My hairbrush broke in the afternoon.  I know it's a minor calamity but annoying nonetheless - I don't have time to go buy a new one!

Otherwise, without going into too much detail, there's this other thing I've been dealing with all week that I worried would be an issue on race day but now seems like maybe it won't be after all. And that's all I'm gonna say about that. Period.

Friday
Today's been a pretty decent day so far, actually (hopefully I didn't just jinx it). I took advantage of a drop-in policy at school that's pretty reasonable, with attendance light on Fridays anyway, and Eli went to school for about four hours this morning so I could catch up on work and start to re-focus my attention on this weekend. In the process, I bugged Neal to fetch a few boxes of photos and scrapbook stuff (alas, no actual scrapbooks to speak of after, oh, sixteen years of collecting memories) and dug out all the swag from my first marathon experience with Team in Training, in Big Sur, nearly eleven years ago.

Race results, bib number, medal, of course, pictures, various TNT thank yous, the bracelet I wore with the names of my honorees ("too many damn names," as Coach Al says) - it was a little overwhelming, I have to admit.

Yep, that's Neal, then my boyfriend, now my husband, running the final 6.2 miles with me - just one reason I married the guy. He was a big part of the experience then and an even bigger part this time around, solo parenting our 3 1/2 year old almost every Saturday morning for nearly five months, without a car, to boot. Now that's supportive.

The bib! The medal! Soon I'll have a collection going!

And the results - 5:33:22. Not a great time, but not a horrible time considering I was then, like I am now, recovering from a knee aggravation and the incredible head-wind we faced that day from miles 10 to 20, give or take. Based on my training runs I'd been hoping for a finish time between 4 1/2 and 5 hours. When my knee started really hurting between miles 12 and 14, I just wanted to finish.  I remember afterward everyone complaining about how their time was about 1/2 hour slower than anticipated, thanks to that head-wind.  Getting into training this time around, I figured a PR would be a sure thing - I know what I'm doing this time as far as the importance of strength training and stretching, I'm going to push myself on the mileage (run 20 miles when the range is 18-20, rather than stopping at 18 and saying, "yeah, that's enough"), the course is a little less challenging (so I hear), and, let's face it, 5 1/2 hours isn't a terribly tough time to beat.

And yet, several weeks later I experienced almost the exact same injury at the exact same point in training.  So, once again, my goal is simply to finish - cross that finish line on Sunday and enjoy the 19 bands, the arch of fire, the views at the top of the 5-mile hill, the various Oakland neighborhoods and communities we'll be running through, and of course all the finish area shenanigans. Wish me luck! And stay tuned for a post-race recap hopefully sometime next week!

pasta and a movie: The Long Green Line

Not only am I actually blogging for the first time in several weeks, but I actually had pasta this time!

I'm solo parenting again so the wee one and I headed to Homeroom, Oakland's spot for "fancy mac 'n' cheese," as said wee one calls it, after his dance class this afternoon. We had an early dinner (thus avoiding the crowds) of little mac for him and vegan mac for me (I didn't want the cheese so much as the mac - I'm not vegan but just, you know, feel better when I consume fewer animal products, moreso as I get older and especially before a run). Delicious, as always. And yeah, we may have split a homemade oreo cookie after but I gave the wee one the bigger half.  I swear.



If I wrap up all my post-solo-parenting-13-hour-day stuff soon, I may actually watch a little of The Long Green Line, a cross-country running documentary about legendary high school running coach Joe Newton. Unlike a lot of running movies, this one has a great online presence.  Available on Netflix (but, alas, not streaming), you can also watch the entire documentary on Hulu.  When a Twitter friend recommended it, whoever manages their Twitter account replied directly to both of us. Now that's promotion!

So how are things going for me? Well, with just over two weeks until the marathon, I'm honestly not sure what my game-day strategy is yet.  After a two-week hiatus from running, partly because of IT band issues I've mentioned before, which have been plaguing me since late January, and partly because of a nasty virus that swept through my entire family, even developing into pneumonia for the wee one (not fun, by the way, for the record), I surprised myself with a pretty decent 10.5 mile run last Saturday.  It was supposed to be my 20-miler, my longest run pre-marathon. So on the one hand, I'm disappointed that the most I've run this training season is 14 miles.  But considering I ran maybe 10 miles in all of February, I was pretty happy with what I was able to do last weekend and how my knee felt during and after.  I'd finally made it in to a sports medicine/orthopedic doctor the week before and a physical therapist that very afternoon. Rather than a true IT band syndrome, she seems to think what I've been experiencing is more of a neuromuscular issue with the stabilizing muscles on that leg - not necessarily true muscle weakness but kind of like the muscles have gotten lazy and are not stabilizing the knee the way they should be, resulting in that leg being slightly knock-kneed when my foot strikes the ground, creating more tension and friction where the IT band meets the outside of my knee on that leg. 

She gave me a few key exercises to do to strengthen those muscles, which I did religiously last week, and I've really noticed a huge difference in just the first week alone.  Ideally I'd take more time to recover and work my way back up to 20, then taper for three weeks or so before a later event.  But I've wanted to run the Oakland marathon (or 1/2, as was my motivation last year) for two years now and part of me is tempted to go for it with a "just finish" strategy.  I have until the morning of to decide if I want to unofficially run the 1/2, officially run the full and hope for the best, or push back to a summer or fall Team in Training event with not only more training ahead of me but a bit more fundraising as well (San Diego Rock 'n' Roll in June and Nike Women's in San Francisco in October are the leading contenders at this time, after Oakland, of course).  Whatever I decide to do, I'm just relieved to finally be up and running again. Tomorrow I'll go for another "easy 10" and see how the knee feels as I head into the final two weeks before the big day.

pasta and a movie: Personal Best

Whoa, it's been awhile, huh? Quickly, as an update to the last post, as I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seats all this time wondering how that pre-run dinner of sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and rice went down. Let me just say I shan't be partaking of the brussel sprouts again anytime soon. Perhaps it was the apples and apple juice I added to the sweet potatoes in the hopes my toddler would eat some, or the brussel sprouts I could hardly get down - either way, that was the least GI-friendly pre-run dinner I've had yet. I guess it works for some, but not this runner.

The following day, however, I did have a pretty good run for the first ten of 14 total miles. I'd been nursing what I think was a strained muscle or ligament or something-or-other behind my left knee since early January (nope, not bursitis, thankfully), and stretching and icing has seemed to all but eliminate that aggravation. But during my 14-mile run three weeks ago my IT band along my right knee started speaking up. I should know from past experience to stop and rest as soon as the pain starts up (when I trained for Big Sur in 2001 I experienced the exact same injury at the exact same point in my training but along the other knee...I made it through training and the marathon but didn't run consistently for years after that). But I didn't. It was simply annoying from miles 2 to about 10 when all of a sudden the soreness turned into pain. I continued to run/walk for about two more miles, even using a wooden roller at the 12 mile water stop to try and roll it out a bit. I finally came to my senses and stopped running shortly after that point and walked the last nearly two miles of the course. I ran very little the next week, took the following weekend off completely (hence no pasta and a movie post), and then attempted to run again the following Tuesday morning. I made it about half-way around the lake when the stabbing pain started up again. I took the rest of that week off, successfully finished a 2-mile test run last Friday and ate this for dinner, but on Saturday morning my run only lasted about 8 minutes. I walked another half-mile or so before turning around to walk back to my car and take care of a little shopping while I waited for the rest of my teammates to finish what should have been my 16-mile run.

Talk about bummed. I've yet to run again. This past week, in addition to a lot of evening stretching, icing, and ibuprofen as often as I actually remember to take it, I did 35 minutes of strength training plus a short yoga routine on Monday, about 25 minutes of lap swimming on Tuesday, aerobics for my cardio on Wednesday, and about 40 minutes of brisk walking (while pushing my son up and down a hill in his trike, I might add) plus another short yoga routine yesterday. My knee feels totally fine, of course, during all of this but an attempt to run again tomorrow will be the true test (we're supposed to do 8-10 during a bit of a step-back week but I'll be happy to make it once around the lake). Swimming kicked my butt on Tuesday so I'm not worried about maintaining my cardio fitness and endurance level during this break from running but with the 18 and 20 mile runs looming over the next two weekends, I am worried about whether or not I'll be ready to run 26.2 miles on March 25th.

Even so, I'm prepared for as much running tomorrow morning as my knee will allow, having made this for dinner tonight and planning to watch this running-related movie in a bit. Wish me luck!

pasta and a movie: Run Fat Boy Run

Since we recently upped our Netflix queue, I can finally start to watch some of the running movies folks have been recommending, like Run Fat Boy Run.



Hey, man, whatever motivates you, right? Also, add Thandie Newton to the list of actors tripping me up with their previously unbeknownst to me non-American accents.

For dinner, I'm going to give the exciting rice-sweet potatoes-brussel sprouts medley a go. Yep, I bought brussel sprouts. Super excited about it, too. Mmm hmm. Anyway, I figure I've got to do everything in my power to prepare myself for tomorrow since I'm still nursing a mysterious back of the knee aggravation since we ran Lake Chabot on the 7th, followed last weekend by the even hillier Redwood Regional Park 12-miler. I skipped out on Tuesday's run, did yoga that evening, and cardio cross-training on Wednesday. I felt pretty good on Thursday so while I missed my morning track workout due to solo parenting, I ran about 3 1/2 miles after dropping my son off at preschool. And back came the pain about a mile in. Bummer, dude. I'll see how it feels after 14 - hopefully - miles tomorrow but it may be time for a visit to a sports doc or the like. Sigh.

pasta and a movie: Spanglish

What's that you say? Spanglish isn't a running movie? I beg to differ. We actually upped our Netflix queue so I could have a running movie each week, as I've quickly gone through much of what I wanted to see via instant play. And, as I'm currently reading Run Like a Mother (one of the raffle items up for grabs on Sunday!), I've been thinking a lot about my fellow mother runners, why is it I enjoy running so much more after having my son than I did before (solitude, being able to actually give in to that constant feeling that I'm racing the clock, etc...but more on that in a later post), which, naturally, made me think of Téa Leoni's character ("left!"). While hilarious to watch, as a mother, she's a bit nutty, don't you think? And that's the other thing I've been thinking about a lot lately, how all the women in movies are either childless, presumably because they've been busy pursuing other things (probably the subject of the movie), or, if they are mothers they're either absent (deceased with the cause of death often a total mystery or in a coma) or crazy. And if they're absent, it's pretty likely they were also cheating on their husbands before they fell into a coma and/or died. What's up with that, Hollywood? Anyway, it'll be interesting to watch the film all these years later and three plus years after having my own kid and picking up running again.



So what's for dinner? Well, I originally planned to try my mentor Laura's pre-run dinner of brown rice (but using the leftover black rice from a couple of weeks ago), sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts - she's explained that the sweet potatoes combined with the brussel sprouts make a complete protein, without using any meat (and while I almost always crave a cheeseburger the night after a long run, I'm not in a meaty mood the night before). Thing is, while I appreciate brussel sprouts aesthetically (they look like miniature cabbages! so cute!), I've never cared for the taste, so I think I subconsciously left them off my list when I stopped by Trader Joe's last night. Without the greens, I decided to make a sweet potato variation of the black rice salad I enjoyed so much, using a basmati rice pilaf mix, three small sweet potatoes (cooked like the butternut squash, but for only about 30 minutes instead of 40), about a tablespoon of chopped green onion, with some slivered almonds and chopped, dried cherries sprinkled on at the end.

Not bad, if I do say so myself. By the way, in case you're wondering, I took last week off after feeling worn down and possibly sickly following three days at home with a sick toddler. But Neal made this "salad" on Friday, also from Sunset magazine. While I've enjoyed many recipes from this latest issue, I'm sorry to say this one was not a keeper.

pasta and a movie: Off and Running

This week, it ain't pasta I'm eating and it ain't really a running movie I'm watching. But carbs will be had and to offset the unconventional running movie choice, I'll start the evening program with the NOVA episode Marathon Challenge. Off and Running, the feature presentation, is more of a coming of age story and if you're a longtime reader of this blog, you know I'm a fan of female coming of age stories, even though I have little in common with the subject of this documentary:

With white Jewish lesbians for parents and two adopted brothers — one mixed-race and one Korean — Brooklyn teen Avery grew up in a unique and loving household. But when her curiosity about her African-American roots grows, she decides to contact her birth mother. This choice propels Avery into her own complicated exploration of race, identity, and family that threatens to distance her from the parents she’s always known. She begins staying away from home, starts skipping school, and risks losing her shot at the college track career she had always dreamed of. But when Avery decides to pick up the pieces of her life and make sense of her identity, the results are inspiring. Off and Running follows Avery to the brink of adulthood, exploring the strength of family bonds and the lengths people must go to become themselves.

That synopsis is from the film's website. Here's the trailer:



Looks pretty good, don't you think, and with enough actual running footage to fill the figurative tank for tomorrow's ten-mile run (our first "easy ten"!).

To fill the literal tank, I'll be making this "salad" from the latest issue of Sunset Magazine. Turns out my best runs seem to follow the nights I have rice, not pasta, so now that we're getting into double-digit mileage, I'm starting to get a little more serious about what I'm eating all week long but particularly the night before a long run. Downside is it'll take me about as long to make this salad as it will to run 10 miles tomorrow morning! (And that's long!) Also, I'll be running in brand new shoes, brand new shoes that are currently still on the UPS truck, ready for delivery. Well, at least it's not the night before the marathon, right?

pasta and a movie: Breaking Away

Yeah, okay, so it's not a running movie, but it looks funny and after this week, week two of two weeks at home with a three year old, I need funny.



And anyway, we cross-train on Wednesdays; some of us even spin. So there. Plus, young Dennis Quaid. Swoon!

I did, however, have pasta. Pretty boring again this week - pasta with chicken and Trader Joe's pesto sauce, plus some beets on the side.

Happy New Year!

pasta and a movie: spirit of the marathon

If you run and like movies, and you're actually reading my blog, you knew this one was coming.



In the four years since it was made, the documentary Spirit of the Marathon has become a must-see movie about running, particularly if you're training for an endurance event. Because, c'mon, running 26.2 miles is absurd. And yet I'm drawn to the challenge again and watching the trailer makes me a little misty, I gotta admit.

So what's for dinner? Well, since there will be a fair amount of cooking going on this weekend, I'm keeping it simple: vegetable radiatore and turkey bolognese, both from Trader Joe's. Easy and good (and the pasta sauce has carrots in it - don't tell the 3 year old!).

By the way, a big thank you and congrats to my 12 (handmade) days of Chrimstas - runner's edition - raffle donors and winners.  I had more items up for grabs than donors between Dec. 1 and 17, so some folks won more than one item.  Thanks to Sammie, both Amanda Fs (I know two Amanda Fs!), Laura, and Margaret.  I hope you enjoy your goodies, all courtesy of generous Etsians.  I have a few additional raffle items that have been donated over the last couple of weeks so stay tuned after the holidays for another chance to donate to win! (Not that you have to wait to donate!)  And in the meantime, Happy Holidays!

pasta and a movie...or, how I ate two tacos and went to bed

Holy moly, what a week! Since I'll be home (well, I'm always home but you know what I mean) with the wee one during the last two weeks of 2011, and because I'm self-employed, that has meant I've tried to crank out as many orders as possible in the two weeks and three days I had to work this month.  I honestly lost count by about Tuesday but I believe I sent out a dozen orders this week, which is insane; to compare, I'm lucky to get 2 to 3 orders out each week during normal business conditions.  And for the most part, considering that higher than usual volume, things went pretty smoothly.  I did threaten myself that I was considering quitting at one point during a reprint but, you know, what else am I going to do?

Anywho, I did manage to make all my workouts this week: strength training on Monday, buddy run on Tuesday, cardio on Wednesday, coached track workout on Thursday (waking up for all of them at 5:30 am, I might add).  And tomorrow I'll run 8 miles and then stuff my face at an honoree potluck immediately after.  I'm looking forward to it.  But I'm not as prepared as I have been the last couple of Fridays.  No pasta tonight.

Neal gave me a couple extra hours this evening to wrap up work by picking up said wee one and taking him to Chipotle, bringing home a couple of carnitas tacos for me (with rice! y'know, for the carbs!).  I'm not sure if we'll watch a movie, but if we do, I've been a little in the mood for The Last Days of Disco.



No, you're right, it's not really a running movie, per se, but there is that one scene where she goes running in the park. In her trench coat. Okay, so it's a bit of a stretch but it's been one of those weeks.  Mainly, I think I just want to see the scene at the end ever since I heard Love Train on the radio not too long ago.



(I love how this clip has captions, you know, so you can sing along.) I just love that scene, don't you?

I'll be back next week with a proper "pasta and a movie" post.  In the meantime, just one day left to get in on my 12 days of a runner's Christmas raffle! Donate by tomorrow! Winners announced on Sunday!

pasta and a movie: Saint Ralph

After much research (and determination of what would be available on Netflix instant play), I've decided that tonight's running themed movie will be Saint Ralph, based on the true story of ninth grader Ralph Walker, who in 1954 set out to run the Boston Marathon in a sort of complex attempt to pull his mother out of a coma (as both had been said to be "miracles"):



Doesn't it look good? Plus, Campbell Scott. Swoon. 

For dinner, we're having this Santa Rosa Valley Salad, more of a rice dish but loaded with carbs all the same and oh so yummy.  The leftovers are just as good, too.  Tomorrow - 8 miles!

pasta and a movie: Without Limits

Wow, who knew getting back into running would be so good for my blog? (That said, is anyone still reading?)  As soon as I joined up with Team in Training again I thought about all the running themed movies I watched the first time around, some more inspiring than others. I remember Without Limits, one of two movies I watched about running legend Steve Prefontaine, being one of the more inspiring (we'll get to the less inspiring running films in a later post).  If I hadn't moved to Berkeley (right before the movie was made, incidentally) I probably would have transferred to U of O (since I was initially living in Bend, OR), where Prefontaine trained with Bill Bowerman. How I swooned for Billy Crudup back in the day...  And look at that, Parenthood's Monica Potter plays the romantic interest! Anyway, instead of "dinner and a movie" how about we start a little "pasta and a movie" series since I'll be doing a little carbo-loading on Friday nights over the next few months?

Now, I wouldn't normally make a pasta dish this heavy the night before a run, but since I'm solo parenting this weekend (and nursing a minor back hiccup so I won't be running tomorrow anyway) and had to throw together something we could eat after dance class tonight, I made one of Paula Deen's several crock pot macaroni and cheese recipes. It was alright - I like her use of cheddar cheese soup, which makes me nostalgic for a cookbook I had as a teenager that used a different Campbell's soup in each recipe, but I'm not so sure about the eggs. I used vegetable radiatore and served it with peas, one of about two vegetables my three year old will actually eat. Now let's see if I can make it through the entire movie in one night.