A Crumble and Cake

Tonight I felt that I had a lot of energy on my run. Even though the weather was quite nice, I worked out on the treadmill today so that I could do some uphill work (hills are hard to come by in Essex County).

I ran at about 6.5mph to warm up. Then I ran 5 consecutive minutes on a 5% incline. I decreased the speed a bit every minute, but I was really happy that I was able to keep up the incline run for that long.

My pace was between 8:30 and 8:00 minute miles for the rest of the run which was really strong.

I’ve been pretty happy with my speeds on my short and medium distance runs lately. I really think all the interval training that I’m getting from kickboxing is helping a lot.

Oh, and I may or may not have deadlifted 185lbs today(!!!) No big deal, only the best ever. I was able to squeak out 2 reps, and it felt good.

Last night I made this dish:

Root Vegetable Crumble

It’s exactly what it sounds like—a savoury crumble instead of the more common sweet version. I liked it a lot, but think that the recipe needs some tweaking.

Here’s a rundown of what I did, in case you want to run with the idea in your own kitchen:

- I cooked finely chopped onion, garlic, sweet potato, celery root, and bok choy, with a little oil and some rosemary
- I toasted slivered almonds and flax, sesame, and sunflower seeds.
- I mixed the nuts/seeds with whole wheat flour and cold butter to make a crumb. Spread it over the veggies, and baked it in a hot oven.

What I would change:
I think that it came out a little dry and next time I need to add either a vegetable with more water content or add some broth to the root veggies.
Also, I think I skimped a bit on the butter in the crumble. It was a bit too crumbly.

But, anyway it was a good dinner idea and side for Perfect Baked Tofu.

Another thing I made last night was this thing of beauty:

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

It was for this little lady’s 88th birthday which was today.

Me and my Nonna

I’ll share the recipe within the next couple of weeks. I have a few other delicious recipes that I’ve made lately! There’s so much to share.

Running Shoes

Photography Challenge Day 18: Your Shoes

Photo Taken October 10, 2011.

This post is part of the October 30 Day Photography Challenge

I know that most people who call themselves runners are probably shocked that I could go so long between running shoes and put so many miles on a single pair. To which I say, well, I haven’t been injured yet, so I must be doing something right!

I knew that I needed a new pair when the holes got so large that my baby toe was completely sticking out the side of my shoe. I like to keep all 10 toes under wraps.

I tried getting another pair of Adidas Marathon 10 shoes a while back but they were a bit too wide so I returned them.

After far too much time shopping for the perfect pair of sneakers, I eventually settled on these Saucony Kinvara 2 runners that have very little cushioning and stability support (ironically, much like my old runners in their last days). They felt comfy when I walked around the store, but that really tells you dick all about how they’re going to feel on a run doesn’t it?

I primarily bought them because I was getting sick and tired of shopping around and trying on running shoes. I just wanted to settle down and commit to one pair.

On my first go with them on the treadmill I didn’t love them. I wanted them to make me run faster, or feel like I was floating. They did not. As a matter of fact they actually left my feet feeling a bit numb.

For a fleeting moment I considered returning these shoes too, but instead I forced myself to commit to them like a bride in an arranged marriage. And in the way arranged marriages go I suspect that after many miles spent together, a little wearing in, and a few races, my tolerance of the shoes will eventually lead to love. I’ll let you know how I feel in another 2 years and 2 months.

Run for the Cure 2011

Yesterday I took part in the Run for the Cure which is a fun 5 kilometre run/walk to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

My family and friends have participated as a team every year since 2006 when we established our team, team icancervive, in honour of my mother, Hiyan Campagna, who passed away from breast cancer that year.

My friends at the Run for the Cure

Me, Dad, Sister

Every year we raise thousands of dollars which go toward breast cancer research, awareness programs, early diagnosis, and effective treatments.

As of this writing, our team raised $3,275 this year! And there are still cash donations coming in.

The run isn’t a race so you have to keep your own time. The event is more about getting together with family than beating the clock, so I wasn’t too upset that I forgot my watch. Based on the clock I suspect my time was around 27 minutes.

My sister and I ran together for the first 4K and then I decided to kick into gear in the last kilometre of the race.

Matt and I brought Bagigi to the run because she seemed so excited to come with us this morning. Also, I knew that our friend Eric was bringing his dog Boomer and my sister Vicki was bringing Ruxin.

It was a bit of a mistake because she was way too hyper to be around so many people and I was really busy trying to get things in order for the team (since I’m the team captain).

My friend Teresa offered to walk Bagig’ so I could run and I took them up on that. It was the perfect morning for a run — sunny and about 50*F.

After the run Matt and I hosted the team at our place for beers and sandwiches which was so much fun. I made a pie and 3 different types of sandwich bread yesterday which were all a hit

It turned out to be such an amazing day with my friends and family. It’s one that I look forward too every year.

High Rep Routine

I’ve started on a new weight training routine that is mostly based on lower resistance and higher repetitions (~10-12).

My goal here is just to change things up a bit since I’m addicted to my heavy lift routines. But I want to make sure that I’m lifting as heavy as possible for all 10 to 12 repetitions. No cheating.

I’m going to give it a go for at least 4 weeks (I already started the upper and full body exercises last week) and I’m going to track my progress. I’m usually pretty good about writing down my lifts, but these last 3 weeks or so I have just been winging it in the weight room.

I think this workout, which is a little more endurance-based, is a good complement to my kickboxing and “marathon training” (you know, for that Disney marathon that I still have yet to sign up for).

Weight Training Routine

- 3 Day Split: Lower Body, Upper Body, Full Body
- Method: 3 sets of 10-12 reps, unless otherwise indicated

Day 1 – Lower Body

Squat Jumps – 2 sets of 15
Back Squats – 5 sets of 5 (okay, I’m sticking with building my squat strength here)
Cleans
Plie Squats
Leg Press
Lying Leg Curl
Leg Extensions
Standing Calf Raises
Clam Crunches

Day 2 – Upper Body

Push Ups – 2 sets of 16
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Dumbbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Tricep Extensions
Cable Low Rows
Back Extensions on the ball
Bicycle Crunches

Day 3 – Full Body

One Legged Bridge -  2 sets of 15
Push Press
Deadlifts
Bent-Over Barbell Rows
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
Good Mornings
Dumbbell Rear Lunges

Running

In running news, I killed an 8.2 miler on Sunday afternoon.

The first mile started off slow and crampy but after that I ended up with a lot of energy throughout the whole run. I had a solid pace going, I maintained it, and I took very few walking breaks.

I think one thing that helped was swinging back around to my house at mile 5 to get a drink of water before heading out for the last 3 miles. I often forget how much being hydrated helps to get me through a run.

I also attribute it to the sugar cookies I ate pre-run.

Just over a 9:30 pace. Which, for me, is pretty decent.

Bagigis helped me fold laundry today:

Good dog.

Winning a 5K at 65 Years Old

I was recently thinking about winning a 5K in my age division. Not running a 5K, mind you, actually winning a 5K. It’s a long term goal (and I mean loooooong)

I think most recreational runners focus on personal bests rather than actually winning a 5K. I’m usually one of those people too. But my goal isn’t to win a race that will come any time soon it’s actually to win my age division of a race when I’m a senior citizen.

I’ve been telling myself: “You’re going to win a 5K when you’re 65”. I’m completely convinced that this is going to happen and that nothing in the next 40 years will prevent it.

There are a few reasons why I want to win a 5K at 65. First of all, I think it will be easier to win my age division if most people my age are playing shuffle board in Boca. I like to set attainable goals where statistics are on my side; I’m practical like that.

Secondly, running a 5K at 65 means that I’ll still be in shape at that age. I see my active lifestyle continuing into the future. I want to be able to bench press my 15 year old grandkids and teach them to run 5Ks too.

Also, and most importantly, old women who are active kick ass. Knowing that I’m going to win a 5K at 65 keeps me hopeful and inspired that I too will kick ass one day. Seriously. I just read this story about a 98 year old who became the first woman to become a 10th-degree black belt in Judo. At 98 years old!

(source)

Earlier today, I saw a story on TV about the world’s oldest synchronized swim team of 80 to 90 year olds kicking their legs in the air like women a quarter their age.

Right now when I’m at the cusp of my quarter life crisis wondering what direction my life should take and if I’ll ever find fulfillment in the monotony of daily life, it’s refreshing and exciting to think that I could still be so full of life and accomplishment when I’m a senior citizen. It makes me feel like I have all the time in the world to do some amazing things in my life.

Who knows, maybe I shouldn’t set my sights only on winning that 5K. Maybe I can take up some entirely new activity. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m pretty positive I’ll be the oldest performer in Cirque de Soleil sometime in the distant future.

Barefoot Run with Intervals

I wore my vibrams out running for the first time today in months. And, by extension, it’s one of the few times that I’ve worn my vibrams in months. There aren’t exactly a lot of occasions where footwear that emphasizes your evolutionary history (ie. makes you look like you have ape feet) is appropriate. You’re pretty much limited to wearing vibrams while:

- running
- mountain climbing (if you’re a badass)
- water sports
- yoga
- wearing an ape or sasquatch costume

I had been wearing them for yoga classes, especially the sweaty types of yoga (which, for a sweaty beast like myself is any type of yoga). I like that they prevent my feet from slipping so that I can actually hold my poses without ending up in the splits unintentionally.

I hadn’t worn my vibrams to run since before training for my solo marathon. Suffice to say that my calves are killing me right now.

I bought my vibrams last year to see what the whole barefoot running movement is about. Wearing them feels just like running barefoot but with the added bonus of a a thin rubber sole to protect your feet from twigs and pebbles and such. The shoes force you to hit the ground with a midfoot strike because hitting the ground with your heels would be painful.

More info about barefoot running.

Tonight`s run was 3.25 miles:

Mile 0 – 1: Steady Speed – 9:30

Mile 1 – 2.25: Intervals of 1 min speed and 1 minute recovery – 11:00

Mile 2.25 – 3.25: Steady Speed – 9:48

Total 3.25 miles, 30:18

I`m nervous to see how my legs feel tomorrow seeing as I can hardly walk right now. Yikes!

Reasons Not to Run A Marathon Alone

On the heels of my first marathon I’ve been contemplating how positively draining the whole experience was. My marathon was not a race, just a personal goal of mine to run a 43 kilometres long trail across Essex County Ontario (from the green arrow to the red one).

I was convinced that running 43K by myself would be awesome:

-No waking up at an ungodly hour to make it to the race on time!
-Running on any day that I feel ready!
-Changing the date if the weather isn’t optimal!
-No worrying about times and paces!
-No dealing with crowds of people!
-No bathroom queues!

So many sweet reasons to run a marathon by yourself. . . unfortunately none of them involved the most important thing that an athlete needs during a run of this distance: motivation. I learned hard this the hard way.

Reasons Not To Run A Marathon Alone

It’s not really a marathon. A marathon is a race which means there are multiple competitors. But running 26.2 miles by yourself? I guess that’s just, you know, a leisurely Sunday morning run.

What’s the point? In the end you have nothing to prove that you actually ran it. All you have are the memories of how mentally draining and physically painful the whole ordeal was. There’s no official time, no cool tech t-shirt, no embarrassing photographs of you on the verge of passing out, and no medal when you cross the finish line. Speaking of which. . .

There’s no finish line to cross. Crossing a finish line is exhilarating. The big clock boasting what you hope to be your new PR and the cheering spectators give you a sense of accomplishment. When you run a marathon alone there is no finish line—it’s just a point at which your run is finally over.

There’s no one to help you keep your pace. Most marathons have rabbits, or official pace-setters. When you run a marathon by yourself there aren’t any, and you can’t even pick your pony (ie. the competitor that it would be embarrassing to see leave you in the dust).

There’s no one to cheer you on. Sometimes I get annoyed by spectators. Especially the ones that shout things like “You’re almost there!” when you’re really not. But annoyed as I get, they really can be motivating and Motivation is Key. Running long distance is more mental than physical and not having anyone on the sidelines nudging your confidence up a bit can really be draining. All you’re left with is your thoughts of why the hell you decided to do this in the first place.

There are no water stops. FYI you need more than a litre of water and four dates every 15K. Plan for that.

In the end, I’m really glad that I ran my first marathon, in spite of all my bitching. Because the #1 Reason that you SHOULD run a marathon alone:

Regardless of your time, YOU are the new official World Record Holder of your own personal marathon (even if you don’t have a medal to prove it).

Today I Ran 16 Miles

16 miles; 26 kilometres. It’s the farthest I have run, ever.

Since it was a gorgeous day out today, I decided to run outside. I was secretly hoping that the weather would be crap so I’d have an excuse to run on the treadmill and watch a movie and have access to a bathroom. No such luck.

I ran on the Greenway for the first time. The Greenway is part of the Trans Canada Trail system. It’s 26 miles long and was made from an unused railway line that runs from Oldcastle to Leamington, right across Essex County. It’s the trail that I am hoping to run for my first personal marathon.

I have to admit, it was boring as fuck. Seriously.

No wonder I barely saw anyone on the trail besides a few cyclists and a dog walker here and there. The trail (like all of Essex County) is completely flat, almost entirely straight, and flanked by farm fields on both sides. You could see for kilometres and kilometres and kilometres and it all looked like this:

I’m bored just looking at that picture.

Thankfully, the trail has distance markers to keep me from going insane, not knowing when the path is going to end. I parked my car at the Oldcastle trailhead (kilometre 0), tied my keys to my laces and I ran out 13 kms and then back.

The First Half:

I ran every step of the first 13kms, which went really well. It was slow, but I suspect that I’m still recovering from my blood donation. It took me 1:33 which is an 11:30 min/mile pace. I did a little fist pump action when I hit the 13km marker and then turned around to face my certain death (potentially from boredom).

The Second Half:

13kms to go and I was feeling good. No chafing, thanks to some strategically smeared vaseline and I was still running! Go me!

10kms to go and all I could think to myself was: You are a complete idiot. I didn’t want to be carrying anything while I ran so I didn’t bring water with me or a few dates as a mid-run refuel. I would have kicked myself if I had the energy to do so. I was burning out pretty quickly.

8kms to go and I was regretting the enormous plate of vegetables I ate at Mother’s Day Brunch. My intestines were having a party and there was no bathroom anywhere on the trail. The alleged bathroom at the 12km mark that I was banking on was non-existent.

7kms to go and TMI ALERT: I had no choice but to duck in the bushes to relieve my terrible case of the runner’s trots. With 7K left, a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do right? Thankfully there was no one around anywhere.

My stomach felt much much better for the rest of the run but I was still dealing with exhaustion and dehydration, and I was losing steam fast. The only thing that kept me going was that I had to be home by 6:30. I told Matt that if I wasn’t home by then, to come out looking for me. 6:30 was coming up pretty fast.

For the last 5kms I ran at an embarrassingly slow pace (but luckily no one was around to see it. No paper bag required!) and actually walked for most of it because I was so tired. I added about 15 minutes to the time it took for the first half. But in spite of it all,

I made it!

Trust me when I say that I sweat A LOT. This terrible selfie with a painfully force smile is proof. Check out all the salt on my hat… and then look closely at all the salt on my face!

Results: 16 miles – 3:21. Slow as hell, but completed.

Gingerbread House

Last night I should have been wrapping presents. Normally I love wrapping presents, but this year I just keep procrastinating.

Part of my procrastination was productive: I headed to the gym for a 7 mile run! It’s my week 2 long run as part of my marathon training plan. It has been a really long time since I’ve run 7 miles so it was nice to know that I’m still able to do it, albeit 15 minutes slower than I used to :/ It took me 71 minutes to pump out the mileage.

I would have run outside since the weather wasn’t too cold, but I’m not a fan of running outdoors in the dark. Mainly because my favourite run routes aren’t lit, so unless I plan on sporting a headlamp, I’ll stick to the treadmill at night.

The other benefit of running on the treadmill is being able to watch bad rom-coms to pass the time.

Continuing the trend of bad television I came home and kicked back to a bowl of leftover chili from a chili cook-off that Matt and I hosted on Friday (Matt’s chili came in second place out of while watching some Netflix. I turned on the first episode of Drop Dead Diva, having never heard of the show I thought the description sounded interesting. I expected it to be dumb but it was sooo good!

Does anyone watch this show? The premise is “A vapid aspiring model killed in a car crash gets brought back to life as an intelligent, overweight lawyer, hoping to find the meaning of inner beauty” according to IMDB. I was really intrigued after just the first episode and I wanted to watch more… but it was bed time. Some of us have to work this week. (I’m jealous that my teacher husband is on Christmas vacation, staying up late, and sleeping in)

On Saturday night Matt and I went to a friend’s house to decorate gingerbread houses and play “Things”.

Matt and I decided to deconstruct our gingerbread house into a gingerbread village. There was a lot of rainbow involved in our village which was reminiscent of our old digs in Church-Wellsley in T.O.

I hadn’t decorated a gingerbread house in ages! It was a lot of fun

Did you do anything Christmassy this weekend?

sprints pt. II

So my post on my new barefoot runners generated a lot of comments. There seems to be a lot of controversy on whether or not running barefoot is really better. I personally don’t advocate one school of thought or another. In spite of the fact that I’m starting to get into barefoot running I wouldn’t call myself a champion for the movement. I just think that it’s supplemental to a well rounded running programme — a way to build strength in my feet and transition to a mid-foot strike.

So for your benefit I decided to do a little write-up about everything that I’ve been reading about barefoot running:

The Concept:

Due to the elevation of the heel caused by cushioned running shoes, shod runners naturally contact the ground with their heel first and with greater force. This strike encourages your feet to land in front of your body and the force of impact moves up through the heel, to your knees, hips,  and back. Additionally, the cushioning and stability control of running shoes weaken the foot and ankles which no longer have to do the work that the running shoes now do.

When running barefoot (or with minimalist footwear) the runner naturally has a shorter stride and strikes the ground closer to the front of the foot. Consequently the impact is absorbed by the foot  and the foot experiences briefer contact with the ground, hence the feeling of floating.

(Source)

Some Points of Interest:

• Most evidence that barefoot running is better appears to be anecdotal. There’s no concrete proof that it’s better for you, but at the same time there’s no concrete proof that wearing running shoes prevents injuries.

• The benefit of barefoot running comes from the way that the foot hits the ground, but one need not run barefoot in order to change their foot strike. With training, a fore-foot or midfoot strike can be achieved in shoes as well (my husband does this naturally in shoes).

• When barefoot training, you have to take baby steps (figuratively). You can’t try to be a champion and run 3.25miles on your first time out otherwise you might wake up 2 days later with calf muscle aches so terrible that you’re unable to walk. Trust me.
  • Start by walking barefoot around the house.
  • Then start walking barefoot 100m down your sidewalk or street or any other hard surface.
  • Then start running barefoot instead, carrying your shoes with you in case you feel pain.
  • From there, start to increase your barefoot running distance by about 10% per week, stopping if you experience pain.

• An estimated 70% of runners experience injury

• The recent popularity of the sport has changed the demographic of the typical runner– it’s not just for the lightweight, athletic, and efficient. For example, the average marathon time has increased by almost 80 minutes in the past 20 years. These days, everyone’s running, and that’s a great thing! But this points to a flaw in the common defense made by barefoot runners that in spite of vast improvements in shoe technology the percentages of runners injured has not improved. It is difficult to compare the injury rates from past to present due to the change in the running population.

• In one of the few studies to capture foot strike positions among elite runners in action, researchers at the 2004 Sapporo International Half Marathon in Japan photographed 283 runners about midway through the race. Seventy-five percent of the racers were landing on their heels. Another 24 percent landed at about mid-foot, meaning near the arch of their shoe. Only four of the 283 runners landed on their forefeet, and they weren’t the four fastest. (NY Times)

• Barefoot running requires more calf muscle strength and Achilles tendon stretching

FAQs about my Vibram Sprints

Does it create pressure on your joints to run on such a hard surface with no cushion?

I usually walk around barefoot at home and the flats I wear out have minimal support (like sanuk sidewalk surfers) so the barefoot shoes felt pretty natural. There definitely isn’t any support there and that’s the idea. It’s supposed to strengthen your feet, ankles, and calves.
I don’t know if I would want to stand around in them all day though. I remember being a cashier in my teens and getting lower back pain after working a long shift and wearing shoes with little support.I didn’t notice any joint pain while I was running with the barefoot shoes. Muscle pain, though? Yes. My calves are killing me.

How much did they cost?

They cost me $80 for the shoes. I also bought a pair of toe socks (which I haven’t tried out yet) for $15. That’s US dollars too, so they’re a bit pricier than I usually spend for runners (I love the Adidas outlet at Windsor Crossing to buy my sneaks).

And what’s on the bottom? Plastic? Rubber?

They’re actually rubber at the bottom. It definitely feels like your feet are directly on the ground– there is really no support. You still feel things under your feet like twigs and pebbles but they don’t hurt as much as they would if you had nothing on your feet.

If you have any more questions about the Vibrams just shoot me an e-mail. I’ll try to answer you back if I can, or I’ll wait until I have more experience with them and keep you posted!

See part 1 of my review of barefoot running here.

Info Sources:

http://bit.ly/a1yvC4

http://nyti.ms/2fqDy

http://bit.ly/aNwgNy

http://bit.ly/dr0KPi