New 4 Day Workout Split

It’s been a little over a week since my marathon and my ass is killing me. Not from the run though, that pain subsided a couple days after, but from weightlifting.

I had been doing a couple of full body weightlifting sessions while I was training, but now I’m trying to get back into it more seriously now that I don’t have to spend 6 hours a week running.

I’m doing a 4 day upper/lower body split workout (my favourite kind) with lots of really good compound exercises like Turkish get-ups and dumbbell snatches. I also included tibia raises in there which I don’t normally do, to try to improve my range of motion for my squats.

Click the image below for a pdf version of the workout.

So I’ll be working on this new training plan for the next 4 weeks or so.

I wore my new lululemon pants that I bought from an outlet store in Orlando when I finished the marathon.

<- saggy crotch

The closest I have ever come to anything lulu is making fun of the pretentious yogis that wear it, but I caved this time because the pants were super cheap, a good material, and looked pretty decent. I realized today that the crotch is a bit saggy in a way that could only be rectified by having a set of testicles.

Luckily I have a vagina, but that just means I’ll have to live with my saggy-crotched pretentious yoga pants.

Tonight for dinner I made some delicious cilantro lime fish tacos from this recipe on Closet Cooking that I pinned on Monday.

I’ve never had fish tacos before and I thought they tasted really good (I especially liked the cilantro lime sour cream it’s topped with) but to be honest I prefer beef tacos.

I would definitely make them again though and would recommend this recipe. Instead of grilling I pan fried the fish, but I would love to try it with the fish on the barbecue.

Packing List for a Destination Race

When I was getting ready to leave for Florida, I found that it was really helpful to make a packing list of everything that I was going to need for my big marathon race to make sure that I didn’t forget anything.

I put all of my “race day” stuff in a separate bag within my luggage so I wouldn’t have to do much to get ready the night before the race. All I needed was to pick up my bib and put out my race day bag on Saturday night so I was ready for the brutally early 3:20AM wake-up call on Sunday morning.

Word to the wise: Put all your running gear in a Carry-On, because if it gets lost, you’re fucked. Just imagine getting to your destination and not having your running shoes with you. Not good.

The night before the race I laid out my stuffed fanny pack, bib, race clothes, and running shoes

Race Day Packing List

Clothes:

-Running Shoes
-Socks – 2 pairs, in case it’s too cold to wear just one
-Underwear – especially if you have a certain pair you prefer to run in
-Shirts -bring an extra long sleeve shirt in case of cold weather
-Running Shorts or Tights or both
-Sports Bra
-Headgear – headband, hat, hair ties, hairpins
-Compression Gear – shirts/pants/shorts/sleeves if you wear them
-Warm clothes for the start – sweatshirts, sweatpants, gloves, hat, earmuffs (You can toss these on the side of the course mid-race. Most races will collect them to donate)
-Extra safety pins for your bib

Gear:

-Sunglasses
-Camera & Battery Charger
-MP3 player, Earbuds, & Charger
-Vaseline/BodyGlide/athletic tape for chaffing
-Bandages – in a ziploc bag to carry with you
-Food and Fuel – dates/gu/shot blocks/powerade/etc.; whatever you’re used to eating and drinking on course
-Knee Braces
-Fuel Belt with bottles or Camelback
-Extra Toilet Paper – in a ziploc bag to carry with you
-Fanny Pack – to carry fuel, bandages, toilet paper, and camera
-Watch
-Tylenol
-Sunscreen

Paperwork:

-Race Forms/Waivers, Bib, and Chip – if you get them in advance
-Proof of time – if you want to try to move up in corrals
-Pace charts
-Travel Itinerary
-Passport -if necessary

Walt Disney World Marathon Recap

I ran the Disney World Marathon on Sunday, January 8th. My first official marathon.

Click on the photos for bigger versions. See all of my marathon photos here.

Getting Ready:

The morning started out so early that it was actually late. A 3:20AM wake-up call got me up from a restless night of little sleep. I tossed my clothes on, brushed my teeth, and read through the motivational quotes that my friend Tina gave me for inspiration. I shoved a muffin and granola bar in my mouth and headed down to the hotel lobby for my 3:45 cab to Epcot and the marathon starting line.

The Starting Line:

Getting between the drop off point and the starting line meant a 20 minute walk. Tina walked with me and the 20,000 other runners all the way to the corrals even though she wasn’t supposed to. The morning was chilly, but not uncomfortably cold. I wore a light jacket to the start then handed it off to Tina before she left me for the spectator area.

I was more than pissed that my kickass music playlist was a no-go since my iPod decided to stop functioning just days before the marathon. I had no music to pump me up for the run and would only have myself and my thoughts for the next 26 miles. I was a concerned that I would run out of thoughts. :/

Waiting in my corral, my stomach was upset. A little bit from nervousness, but mostly from the cabbage I ate at an Irish Pub the night before. I know what you’re thinking Who the hell eats cabbage the night before a marathon?!? I have no words to explain my lack of foresight that evening.

I hit up the porta-potties at the start line just as the elite runners were about to take off. The extra toilet paper that I put in my fanny pack was genius! I patted myself on the back for at least that foresight.

The race started at 5:30 but, since I was in corral E, I didn’t start until 5:45. Mickey Mouse counted us down, there were fireworks, and then the runners took off.

Miles 1-9 –Excitement:

Mile 1 and 2 came and went before we hit Epcot centre. We ran through some of the World Showcase (I remember Mexico and Norway, but can’t remember if we ran through others) and then right out of the park.

Tina was waiting for me at mile 4 with noise-makers, cheering, and words of encouragement. She was waiting for me again at mile 9 and it was always so inspiring to have her cheering me on.

In spite of already having taken 2 bathroom breaks, I was keeping about a 10 minute mile pace. I was feeling really good at this point and getting excited to come up on the Magic Kingdom at Mile 10.

Mile 10 –Running through Magic Kingdom:

I would rate this one of the top experiences in my life; even higher than crossing the finish line. There were so many spectators lining Main Street USA making so much noise that you couldn’t help but be motivated by all the energy that was pumping through that place. I probably could have flown through Magic Kingdom on all that energy, but I stopped for photo-ops.

The anticipation builds as you are about to enter Cinderella’s castle too, which is the pinnacle of marathon running awesomeness.

And then out you come, feeling like a princess, with a whole bunch of snap-happy photographers there to take your picture.

Miles 11-13 –Coming off the high:

I was still in high spirits (although my stomach was not so I stopped again to use the porta-potty) after coming out of the Magic Kingdom in the part of the race. We ran past the Grand Floridian and the golf resort, both of which made for good scenery.

I spotted Tina again just before the 13 mile mark though the spectators were bit far from the route barrier so I didn’t get a chance to stop and talk to her at this point which was disappointing because I knew that I wouldn’t see her until the finish line and I wasn’t even halfway done.

Mile 14-16 –Three miles from Hell:

I run the back roads of Essex County so I’m intimately familiar with boring stretches of road, and yet getting through these 3 dull miles between Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom was tough. They call this an area “rarely seen by the public” but that’s just because it’s so awful. Hey Disney, let’s stop kidding ourselves and call it what it is: the worst part of the marathon course. You’re halfway through and there is nothing to look at, hardly any spectators, and very little incentive to keep running. At one point we even had to run past a garbage dump which smelled like ass and made me wonder out loud, “Are you fucking kidding me right now?!” to everyone around but no one in particular.

I had to make my fourth annoying bathroom stop to relieve my stomach ache and I stopped at the medical station to pump some biofreeze onto my right knee which was beginning to bother me at this point. At the medical stations they also had vaseline available. I considered reapplying some since I knew most of it had been wiped away during all my bathroom breaks, but I thought people would start to wonder when they saw me sticking my hand down my pants in public, so I refrained. In the end, the chaffing wasn’t so bad.

The highlight of this stretch was my photo-op with Pocahontas, Meeko, and John Smith from my favourite Disney movie. After that I gave a little fist pump and ran off at a quicker pace.

Mile 17-21 –Animal Kingdom:

I was relieved to see an ass on the side of the road. And falcons. It meant we were entering Animal Kingdom and most of the remaining miles would be through the theme parks. Animal Kingdom was open to the public by the time we ran through so there were lots of people around cheering on the runners. It wasn’t nearly as energetic as Magic Kingdom though where the spectators were lining the streets just to see the runners come through. I’ve never been to Animal Kingdom before but it was cool to run through the jungle trees, see the Tree of Life, and Mount Everest.

As we were leaving the park I stopped to get a photo with Minnie and then Mickey. That was my most exciting celebrity sighting.

Miles 19 to 21 were on a stretch of highway between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios where I started to add lots of walking intervals among my slower running, decreasing my pace to about 12 minute miles. At mile 20.5 there were some entertainers lining the road and asking people where they were from. I shouted “Canada!” into the mic and the guy says, “Canada? Um, okay?” which made me confused. Was that the wrong answer?

Mile 22-24 –Hollywood Studios:

My left shin was really starting to hurt and the biofreeze did nothing for my knee. I kept my walking intervals but just being in the park motivated me to run a little more than I had been on the highways.

I felt that there was a lot more to experience in Hollywood Studios compared to Animal Kingdom. There were more spectators and there were more sights to see, like the tower of terror, a costume design studio, and the iconic sorcerer’s hat. The spectators there had a lot of energy, maybe because we were so close to the finish. Everyone was shouting, “Only 3 miles to go!” but 3 miles feels like a long time when you’ve already run 23.

I grabbed some candy and chocolate at mile 23. I pocketed the chocolate for later because the richness didn’t sound appetizing, but I pounded back the candy.

At mile 24 I stopped for my fifth and last bathroom break in an actual public bathroom which felt positively luxurious in comparison to the stinky porta-potties I was getting used to. I tried to force myself to run as much as possible for the last 2.2 miles.

Mile 25-26 –The Boardwalk and Epcot:

Because you don’t need a theme park ticket to check out the boardwalk, it was lined with lots of spectators there just for the race. The energy was really building at this point with just a mile left to go and so many people cheering on the runners, it felt pretty good to be almost done despite the pain I was feeling.

We ran through the World Showcase in Epcot again which was much better during the day when you can really experience it. No one was stopping for pictures at this point because the race was almost done. I stopped for a quick picture with the Beast in France, my favourite Disney leading man, and Mushu from Mulan in China.

Before I knew it I was rounding the corner toward the finish line.

The Finish:

The energy from the crowd here was intense! I figured Tina was somewhere out in the stands so I was just waving at everyone like a celebrity on the red carpet and hoping that I she would see me. (I ended up finding her just passed the finish line)

I was so happy with my race that I crossed the finish with a huge smile on my face.

Final Time: 5:14:50
Goal Time: 5:15ish or whatever
Training Miles Run: 347.5
Bathroom Breaks: 5
Food Eaten on Course: 2 dates, 1 banana, 2 Clif Shots, 1 pack of candies
Cups of Powerade Consumed: 30+
Body Parts in Pain: 4: lower back, right knee, left shin, right foot
Disney Characters I Took Pictures With: 26 (See all of my marathon photos here.)

1 week until show time

Happy 2012 Everyone!

It’s January 1st, which means New Year’s for some, but for me it means on week until I’ll be running the Walt Disney World Marathon at the ungodly hour of 5:30am.

My training plan has had me tapering since the weekend before Christmas (so 3 weeks before the race) but I hit a chink in that plan on Friday that made me miss 8 miles of running this week:

I started to get a sore throat on Thursday night and knew that a cold was coming on. Since then I have been doing everything I can to keep the symptoms at bay. Normally I wouldn’t miss a workout for just a cold but with the marathon next weekend I don’t want to take any chances.

Luckily the cold symptoms haven’t hit me too hard but that could be because I’ve been doing everything I can think of to keep them minimal:

- gargling salt water
- resting and napping
- deep breathing a steam bath of lavender-infused hot water

(I spent much of the last few days with my head over this sink)

- taking an extra vitamin C
- drinking plenty of fluids, especially warm water with lemon and ginger
- using the steam room for 15 minutes followed by an ice cold shower to boost circulation

On Friday I went to use the steam room at the gym to help clear my sinuses and forced myself to stay in there for a full 15 minutes.16, actually, if we’re getting technical. When I got home Matt looked at me and started laughing.

“What happened to your nose!? Why is your nose purple?”

I don’t if it was from the steam or what but somehow the tip of my nose turned purple, it looks a bit like a bruise but more like I dipped the tip of my nose in an ink pad.

For the rest of the night he couldn’t look at me without laughing. Thanks, husband.

The purpleyness has since gone down a bit but the tip of my nose is still off-coloured, though now I can conceal it with make-up pretty effectively. Good news, since I went out with a big group of people for New Year’s Eve last night. I don’t think anyone noticed, although maybe it’s just rude to ask about it.

So rude.

So I’m holing up in my house and trying to get some rest and fluids and praying that I’m back in peak shape for the trip to Florida this week. Staying up way too late last night was a bit of a set back, but there was champagne to be popped, and Rock Band to be played, and lots of friends over at my house for the celebration.

In retrospect, jumping around and singing Bad Reputation at the top of my lungs might not have been the best idea.

Wait, who am I kidding? When is that ever a bad idea?

And so begins the taper

Saturday night I made the idiotic decision of having a very spicy stirfry at Chanoso’s for dinner at 10pm. I got an 8 on their 1-10 scale of spiciness which was perfect for my heat tooth but not so good for my intestines.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if I weren’t planning to run 20 miles on Sunday morning. So I guess there will be no spicy food the night before the big marathon. Lesson #1 learned.

To spare myself from being miles away from home and having to squat in the woods, I decided to run my longest run of marathon training on the treadmill at the gym (in close proximity to a bathroom). I wasn’t too happy about it, because the weather on Sunday was pretty mild and would have made for a nice run, but luckily there was a decent movie on TV (Kingdom of Heaven) to occupy my boredom.

The run actually went really well. It took me 3:06 (not including bathroom breaks) which is a 9:18/mile pace.

I wasn’t as tired as I had expected to be. Unfortunately I forgot to vaseline my chaffing spots so by mile 9 my ribs and back were raw from all the rubbing against my sports bra and by mile 13 my ass was starting to chafe too. Ass chaffing might be the worst thing in the world. Lube up before you run! Lesson #2 learned.

I took a quick break at mile 13 to refill my water and eat a few dates as a snack. Once I stopped running I noticed that my right knee was hurting just a bit. I’ve never felt knee pain before so I was a bit worried about whether to keep running but I decided to give it a go. It was only 7 more miles. My knee felt uncomfortable but not painful while I ran so I just let myself run through it and after a while I didn’t notice anything. Today it feels a bit ‘off’ but I don’t think it’s anything serious.

So now that my big 20 mile run is out of the way it’s time to taper for the marathon which is only 3 weeks away! Eeeek!

The next big things to do before the marathon are 1) massage. Scheduled for Thursday.  2) put together a packing list of all the things I’m going to need so I don’t forget anything important (like vaseline or moisture wicking underwear).

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

This is week  5 of my Holiday Health Challenge with less than a week to go before Christmas. I was lazy this week and didn’t do a great job sticking to my plan.

1) Keep a food journal – B-

I got lazy and missed a few days of journalling and I wasn’t really considering what I was eating. I would look at my journal and say ‘I ate a lot of nuts today’, but then eat just as many the next day. It was pure laziness and lack of planning.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – C

Not a good week for this at all. I really want to do better this week bit in the week before Christmas I’m wondering how?

3) Floss my teeth every day – B

I think I only flossed 4 days this week.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – C

I missed 4 days.

5) Run 150 miles – A+ – (177/150 miles)

I ran all 39 miles I had scheduled for this week and so I smashed my goal of running 150 miles before Christmas by 27 miles. This might have been my best week of running ever with an amazing 5 mile run, a 3 mile run in 23 minutes where I beat my own PR!!!, and of course my big 20 miler.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A+

I smashed this goal last week and this week I got up to 8 reps at 155lbs. I tried for 160lbs and got 4 reps! Yowza. I’m rockin’ it.

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – C

I think she only got 2 long-ish walks this week. Bad puppy mom.

8 ) Take all my vitamins – A+

Done and Done.

Glory Days

So apparently that little fall down the stairs wasn’t a big deal at all because my run today was amazing!

I set out for a 5 mile run this evening which included four speed intervals of 2 minutes each that I spaced randomly throughout the run.

Well, I must have been haulin’ ass because i finished the 5 miles in 40:43 seconds, that’s an 8:08 pace!

Ahh, that kind of speed takes me back to my running glory days of ‘07/’08.

This smile is much more genuine than this one from Sunday’s 18 miler.

This kind of pace makes me want to focus on running shorter distances again. Once the marathon is done, that is.

I just wanted to gloat a bit for you guys… now I’m off to bake more cookies.

18 mile training run

Fakest smile ever.

How I really felt after the run.

A little bit like this.

And a little bit like this.

Today I ran 18 miles in my training run for the upcoming marathon. This is the first Sunday in a few weeks when the weather has been nice enough to run outside. It was sunny and cold—my kind of running weather.

My technique was to run a 9 mile loop, then back to my house for a bathroom/water/cookie break before running a different 9 mile loop.

The first 9 went really well. I had a lot of energy and had a good tempo going. I finished the first 9 miles in 1:23 with no walking breaks.

The second 9 was a little rougher going and took me 10 minutes longer. I definitely slowed my pace and walked whenever I felt tired. I didn’t pick a very good route for this one because it was boring, windy, and extra cold. In my last 3 miles, though I did run by Santa Claus in front of a Christmas tree shop who gave me a high five and told me to “keep on truckin’!” It definitely kept me motivated. I can’t wait to see what Disney characters will do!

I am not exactly looking forward to running 20 miles next week knowing what my legs felt like after my run today. But at least that will be my last long run before I start to taper. I don’t understand how some runners complain about the taper. I’m excited for it!

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

This is week  4 of my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I did much better than last week.

1) Keep a food journal – B

I only missed 2 days of journalling.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – B

3 days without desserts again this week. Woot!
Matt and I made some caramel corn last night to eat while watching Just Got With It (which was really funny by the way) which ruined me for the weekend.

3) Floss my teeth every day – A-

I only missed a couple of days.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – C

I missed a bunch of days this week, unfortunately. Again I’ve been waking up later and later every morning :/

5) Run 150 miles – A – (138/150 miles)

I ran 30 of the 32 miles I had scheduled this week.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A+

This week I squatted 155lbs for 6 reps, in each of 4 sets. I had an amazing workout on Friday night. So good that some guy came up to me and said, “I see you here all the time. You work out hard! Do you play sports?”

I did 4 sets of each of these exercises:

Squats: 155lbs x 6reps
Deadlifts: 155lbs x 5reps
Dumbbell Rows: 60lbs x 5reps
Bench Press: 125lbs x 4reps
Turkish Get-Ups: 10lbs x 8reps (<—my new favourite exercise)

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – C

I did a pretty bad job at this, but she did get a day at the doggie spa with extra special scented shampoo

8 ) Take all my vitamins – B

I only missed a few days this week.

Getting psyched

So I’ve taken my last kickboxing class that I prepaid for. I decided to take December off so that I can get ready for the big marathon coming up on January 8th. I don’t want to get injured and I want to focus more on my running from now until January. Kickboxing classes are, by far, my favourite workout and I love going. I’m going to miss it this month.

I started training for the marathon just after Labour Day and have been slowly incrementing my weekly mileage. The main structure of my training has been:

Marathon Training Structure

Tuesdays: 4-5 mile runs with either uphill intervals or aerobic intervals.

Thursday: Easy, 6-10 miles. I increment these every couple of weeks.

Sunday: Long run. I started with 9 miles and have been incrementing by 1 to 2 miles per week.

Click the photo for my full Training Schedule:

Today’s long run was 16 miles.

I wanted to run outside today but it was pouring rain almost all day long so I headed to the gym for a looooong run on the treadmill. At least I was entertained by watching the movie Mona Lisa Smile and some shows on HGTV. I ended up getting the run done in 2h 35min, just under 10 minute miles.

My 16 mile run this afternoon left me chaffed and a bit bloody but not even all that tired. I’m getting very excited for the big marathon!

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

This is week  4 of my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I did much better than last week.

1) Keep a food journal – A

I only missed one day of journalling and I was much better about journalling while I ate rather than waiting until te end of the day to say “oh shit, I ate too much.”

2) Eliminate processed sugar – B

3 days without desserts. Woot!

3) Floss my teeth every day – A-

I only missed a couple of days.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – C

I think I only did this 3 days this week. I kept waking up too late to do much of anything in the morning. Gah, winter mornings. The bed is so warm… who wants to leave get up?

5) Run 150 miles – A+ – (108/150 miles)

I ran all 30 scheduled miles this week, even squeezing in a 5 mile run before kickboxing. 

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A+

I did it!!

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – A

With all the heavy rainfall this week Bagigis didn’t get a walk every day. But all the walks were longer than normal.

8 ) Take all my vitamins – C

I forgot a lot this week :-/

I’m going to Disney World!

So, this is happening:

On January 8th I’m going to be running my first ever real marathon! (Not counting my solo 26.2 this summer of course)

I first decided last March that I wanted to run this marathon but I wasn’t sure if it would actually happen in 2012. I’m so happy that it is!

The Walt Disney World marathon is so cool. It winds 26.2 miles through Disney World so runners can experience all 4 theme parks—Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios— by foot. The course is lined with entertainment and practically all the Disney characters who are even available for photo ops.

Truth be told, my priorities for the race are 1) surviving, 2) not getting injured, and 3) getting photos with the Disney characters. Finishing the race in a particular time isn’t really as important to me as just plain finishing.

The race is only 7 weeks away (wow, just writing that is making me nervous!) but luckily I’ve already been training for it since Labour Day with this training plan. I’ve just been waiting patiently until someone confirmed that they would travel to Florida with me, and half expecting not to end up going at all.

But on Friday night my girlfriend Tina and I booked our Florida vacation for the new year. I’m happy to go with her because it’s been over a year since we’ve travelled together and I love travelling with her. We’re planning on hitting up Disney World, Universal Studios, and of course running (Tina is planning on running the 5K race).

I’m excited. I’m ecstatic. I’m nervous as hell.

Isn’t a marathon at the beginning of January such an awesome way to kick off the year? My Holiday Health Challenge is taking on a whole new meaning, since I want to be in tip-top shape for the big run.

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

Two weeks into my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I fared well. I’m still having trouble with the whole “no sugar” business so I’m trying to focus on not eating desserts rather than specifically sugar. It’s still been hard. Very very hard.

1) Keep a food journal – A

Again I wrote down all my food intake for all but one day this week. While I’ve been writing down my food I haven’t been doing anything about the things that need improvement (like the too many grains and not getting enough protein that I’m eating). Maybe this week I will try to plan what I eat before I eat it.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – F

I didn’t eat sweets 2 days this week. An improvement from last week, I guess. Baby steps.

3) Floss my teeth every day – A+

Every. day. I use floss picks which are way better than cutting off the circulation to my fingertips with regular old floss.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – A

Every day but once this week.

5) Run 150 miles – A

Logged 27 miles this week as planned. I’m at 61 miles since Nov 6.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps – A

Getting there. I did 2 reps at 155lbs. I’m not sure how my form was though because I don’t have a weightlifting partner. (I really need a partner).

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – A+

Done and done.

8 ) Take all my vitamins – A+

Done and Done.

Mayonnaise From Scratch

On Mondays and Wednesdays between getting home from work and leaving again to go to the kickboxing gym I have about 1.5 hours. Usually I spend that time walking Bagigis and doing dinner prep. I’ve got my time management pretty down pat now and I always plan to cook either something slow (that I’ll let cook or bake while I’m kickboxing) or something quick (that I’ll prep before hand and come home to cook).

One night this week I was amazed by how much I was able to accomplish in that little hour and a half window. Sure, I was running around like a decapitated hen, but a very productive decapitated hen. I was able to:

- bake 3 loaves of bread
- clean the house (well, the main floor anyway)
- make butternut squash soup
- make mayonnaise, from scratch.

To be honest, I was most impressed with my mayonnaise making ability. I wanted to make tuna sandwiches to serve on the fresh bread with butternut squash soup on the side. We were all out of mayo and going to the grocery store would have killed my time management mojo so I just decided to make it.

It was a lot easier than I thought. A lot. I don’t understand why I’ve never made it before. In less than 5 minutes I had the thickest, tastiest mayonnaise ever. Matt liked it too once I finally convinced him that no, it’s really not vegan. I made it with eggs, I swear!

I saw one episode of Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes when he said “we don’t have time to bother with mayo from scratch with 30 minute meals”. But, now that I’ve made it, I disagree. Especially since, on another episode, he was able to make butter from scratch.

That’s up next on my to do list.

How to Make Mayonnaise from Scratch

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of salt
1 to 1-1/4 cups of vegetable or canola oil
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Process the egg yolks, mustard, pinch of salt, and vinegar in a food processor for about 2 minutes to combine and thicken. Pour the oil very slowly in a thin stream (it helps if you have a spout on your oil bottle). The mayonnaise with start to thicken after 30 seconds or so. Add as much oil as needed to develop the consistency you prefer.

Add the salt and pepper to taste and give the mayonnaise a quick stir with the food processor.

You can store the mayonnaise in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Holiday Health Challenge Update:

One week into my Holiday Health Challenge and I think I fared well. Well, except for the sugar business. I think I might have an addiction. Do they have 12-step programmes for sugar addicts?

1) Keep a food journal – A

I wrote down all my food intake for all but one day this week. I didn’t write down my cravings though or what satisfied me. That’s something I still have to get myself to do.

2) Eliminate processed sugar – F-

Fail times a million. I think I ate something sweet every day this week. This is such a tough one.

3) Floss my teeth every day – A

Every day but one. Ironically, the same day I got together with my dentist friend.

4) Start the day with lemon juice and water – A

Every day but one. This seems to be a theme.

5) Run 150 miles – A

Logged 22 miles this week but planned on 24 miles. Not too bad.

6) Squat 155lbs for 5 reps

This one is still a work in progress

7) Make my walks with Bagigis 5 minutes longer – A+

Every walk I took her on was a little longer than normal.

Take all my vitamins – A+

Done and Done