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My family spent the last week and a half enjoying a vacation in Seattle.  Of course no vacation would be complete without running so we included the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon in our trip.  My race report for this one is short because I pretty much ran the same race as I did last year in Seattle.  

It was a great day for a run – cloudy and around 50 degrees.  This year my brother in law, Paul also joined us – running his first half.    The four of us – Mark, my sister, Manisha, Paul and I hired a car to take us to the start.  Traffic was better than last year and it seemed like the shuttles were taking a different route, eliminating some of last year’s issues.   We were seeing lots of runners getting out of their cars on the highway so we decided to go for it. We hopped out at the exit for Tukwila where the race began – ignoring motorcycle police yelling at us to get back in the car, we darted across the exit on ramp to gear check and honey buckets.   The lines were long and despite getting there almost 40 minutes early, we ended up missing our start times by about 15 minutes… pretty much the same scenario as last year. 

Like I said, for me the race was a déjà vu of the 2009 race.  I finished in 1:53:49 compared to last year’s 1:53:30.  I felt great, enjoyed the lack of altitude.  I was a bit surprised my finish wasn’t a little faster because quick glances at my Garmin throughout the course showed me between an 8 and 8:30 mm.  I must’ve lost time at my water stops (which I jogged through) and I did have one quick stop when my sunglasses flew off my head and I stopped to back track and pick them up.

running Seattle

I will also say, I didn’t push the hills and unlike last year, I didn’t feel totally beat up when I was done.   I guess I could’ve pushed a bit harder but with TCR on my mind, I erred on the side of caution and I don’t regret it.    I ran the race I needed to run this year in Seattle – especially considering the summer running ahead of me.  

my 2010 results

Mark did great, setting a new PR: 1:46:19.  Paul finished his first half in an impressive 1:47:18 and Manisha shaved almost 6 minutes off of her time from last year. 

Manisha and me - done!

Next: Summer Roundup Trail Run 12K (2^nd leg of the Triple Crown), July 11, 2010

Yesterday’s Colfax Half Marathon was my first race of 2010.  It was a relatively last minute decision – my running peeps were all running it and I wanted to play, so I signed up Mark and myself last week.

We drove up to Denver on Saturday and hit the expo to pick up our packets (quite small compared to the Rock n’ Roll expos), and headed over to meet everyone at Tokyo Joes for dinner.   Love the Boulder Veggie bowl and I wish we had a local restaurant here in the Springs!

Weather conditions were perfect – after a week of rain and snow (yes snow), we woke up to relatively warm temps, and sunny, blue skies.  We arrived to the start, hit the port -o-potties and got in line to start the race… we were pretty much at the end of the line so navigating slower runners/walkers after the start took quite some time.   I think it wasn’t until after mile 2 that it cleared up and I could focus on just running.

Once we got through the crowd, I ran in my typical style – the exact opposite of the elusive negative split – keeping a pace between 8:00-8:30 for the next several miles in an effort to keep up with my hubby until I could no longer see him in the crowd.   I stopped at one aid station sometime before the turnaround (mile 7) and grabbed a Gatorade which was way too concentrated.  I gulped down the entire cup and felt a bit queasy for the next two miles.  It was around this time that I was starting to slow down as well…once the nausea passed around mile 9, I was wishing I had a gel or something – my energy was pretty low and I was giving myself the pep talk: “it’s only 4 more miles,”, “just 36 minutes, a half hour” – that sort of thing.  I had to keep talking to myself because I really felt like stopping at this point.     I grabbed a water from a generous spectator who was handing out little bottles and paced myself with a runner who was running just under a 9 minute mile.  I lost him a couple of miles later as he gained speed and I continued to chug along.    My last three miles were slow,  mile 11 in particular, but I managed to rally after 12 –  I finished strong for a final time of 1:55:51… not a PR race but felt like I ran one – it was tough…and I am feeling a bit creaky today.

It was hard but I am glad I jumped in and started my races for the year.  Next up:  Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day!

results

race picture

I wanted to answer the question, “you’re vegan, what do you eat?”  and “aren’t you hungry?” with an example.   A vegan diet does require creativity sometimes.  And as I’ve mentioned, if you want something good, sometimes you just have to make it yourself.  But being vegan is not about deprivation – food is good, it’s healthy and it is filling.  It can be very simple.  With that in mind, I made super healthy, easy and hearty burritos for my family tonight: 

fresh ingredients

ingredients:

• Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf
•  1 package of corn (canned or frozen)
• 2 cans of organic vegetarian black beans
• West Soy Seitan – 1 package
• a handful of chopped cilantro
• a couple of cloves of garlic
• a teaspoon or so of chipotle spice (to taste)
•  a tablespoon of olive oil 
•  ¼ of a packet of vegan taco seasoning
• giant tortillas
• vegan gourmet cheese substitute (cheddar flavor). 

 Optional: salsa, avocado, vegan sour cream – any other stuff you want to stuff into this burrito. 

again, you can add anything to this - onion, mushroom... peppers

Cook the Kashi Pilaf as per instructions.  Heat the oil, cook up the minced garlic.  Add the chopped seitan and about a teaspoon of chipotle spice and heat the combo for about 5 minutes.  Add the black beans, corn and pilaf.  Add about ¼ cup of water and the taco seasoning.  Once it’s all simmering, throw the cilantro into the mix.

I like a little fresh salsa, the vegan cheese adds a gooey texture

 Assemble your burrito and wrap it up.   

yum

eldest son's second vegan burrito

This meal is a hit with my entire family.  My eldest child gobbled one down, asked for another … this is what we eat – we are not hungry.

Most runners have had a bad run (at least that is what it says on the internet)… the run that is the total opposite of the runner’s high. I had one yesterday and sadly, it wasn’t even a long run. It was only an 8 miler… I had a great one on Tuesday and headed out with my hubby today so he could get his miles in for the week as well. 

Heading through the neighborhood toward the Santa Fe Trail, I was feeling pretty good. 

I cruised through the first three miles and instead the typical, “I am warmed up and in the zone feeling,” I hit the wall – yeah I hit the wall at mile 3.  To be fair, as soon as we left the neighborhood and started to head north, a head wind greeted us with a ferocity that literally took my breath away.  Another mile or so and I was sucking-wind literally.  I didn’t even attempt the steeper hills … slowing to a jog/walk until the road flattened out again.  I kept thinking that once I changed direction, the wind would work in my favor but apparently they were pretty variable yesterday with the only relief a 2 mile stretch on the Santa Fe Trail heading south.  But instead of being able to enjoy the tail wind, I was scared to death by a snake… slithering its happy self across the trail – ugh.  Heart rate thoroughly thru the roof now, I managed to finish the run from hell.  I came home, drank my Mix 1… logged this lousy run and looked forward to a better running day. Some days are better than others: I am going to blame it on the wind and the snake!

My sister was in NYC recently and sent me a picture of a donut covered in nuts with the caption “Sonal’s biggest nightmare.”  Funny joke – I have an irrational fear of donuts and I have recently developed a severe allergy to most nuts (more on that later).  Anyway what struck me about the picture was that the calories for the donut were included on the sign… pretty cool. 

 Then just today, I saw an article on msnbc.com – Menu calorie counts can alter food choices.  NYC law requires all chain restaurants to include a calorie count for all menu items and apparently this has been an eye-opener for many previously unaware Americans.  The article says many consumers are unhappy because now they can’t enjoy their favorites … that’s kind of funny.  I watch my calories. Generally speaking, I know what I eat, I know what I burn.  I know that the muffin pictured below would provide me with enough calories to run about 7 miles… yeah, that makes you think, 7 miles for one muffin

I think we should be aware of what we’re eating.  Most food has nutritional labeling… it makes sense that food offered by restaurants would have the same info.  I think a carb/fat count next to that calorie number would be helpful as well.  The article says that menu labeling laws are growing across the country and if the health care reform bill passes, restaurants with at least 20 locations throughout the country will have to post calories on menus; and provide other nutritional information as well.  This information would be helpful to those who want to use it – like me.  When I get a snack from a restaurant, I make an educated guess as to the fat/calories that I am eating. For those consumers who aren’t aware or interested in the info, they can ignore it – they probably don’t pay much attention to nutritional labels either.  For those who are irritated because now they gotta know – well…

I know a lot of women who don’t lift weights because they don’t want to bulk up or look like a man.   I am not a fitness professional, but I can probably find several studies documenting the benefits of weight lifting for women – maybe another day.  What I do know is that I lift weights… and I haven’t bulked up.   I think most of us gals are safe from the Madonna effect:

Seriously… what does she do?  I don’t want to look like this but I can’t help but be awed…impressed by the significant amount of work it must take Madonna to look like a she-Hulk!  And she is 50 years old – amazing….even if it’s a bit creepy.

Kelly Ripa is another celeb who makes no secret about her work out routine which includes weight training:

Ok so she is a beauty regardless –but who wouldn’t want those arms??

I would rather run in the rain … even snow than on a treadmill or as many fellow runners dub it “the dreadmill.”  Don’t get me wrong treadmills have their purpose – sometimes it is impossible to hit the road or trail.   I don’t advise running in icy conditions or during lightening storms … so to stay on track, you can rely on the treadmill.  And I will admit that I find it a little easier to use the treadmill than the road for speed and interval work.  

 Other than speed work, there is one exception to my dread of the treadmill…. the Woodway.   Check it out: WOODWAY Treadmills the World’s Finest Treadmill

There is one coveted Woodway treadmill at the gym where I work out.   It is often occupied by a runner who is not going to get off without getting in several miles… I recognize these runners…if I see one of them walking in at the same time as me, I make a mad dash for that treadmill trying to beat her to it – and vice versa I am sure :-)  I don’t know how to explain it –  but this treadmill is amazing.  It is like running on a cloud – no impact on the joints, smooth, bouncy…  It is really a comfortable run and as such, it’s clearly not going to mimic race conditions so it’s still preferable to hit the road.  But the luxury of running on the Woodway is pretty tempting – especially when I am a little low on motivation.