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New Growth in 2011

January 1, 2011

One really wouldn’t be able to tell how excited and motivated I feel about 2011 by looking at me today. With holiday time off from work it has been permanent jammie mode around here. But that doesn’t mean I’ve been unproductive. Jammies just happen to be the preferred clothing for productivity, or so it seems.

We’ve cleaned out our back bedroom which has been sitting full of boxes since we moved into our house last February. It is now a place where I can take pictures, and should we have more than two guests, he or she can actually sleep in there without fear that a giant spider may climb out of a box and swallow them alive. Kentucky spiders are huge, by the way.

We took advantage of the warm weather and took down all of the Christmas decorations, organizing our storage tubs and storage space in the process. I even went through my piles of magazine recipes, categorized them and created a binder.

I know. We’re really on top of our game around here.

So even though I look like a lazy bum today, I’m feeling rather organized and inspired to start off this new year. Of course we can set goals any time, but there is just something about the beginning of a new calendar year that makes things seem fresh, new and motivating. And I have to admit that starting it on the day 1.11.11 makes it that much more interesting.

2010 was a good year even though there were times I felt as though I was simply sitting and watching it pass me by. That has a lot to do with readjusting to the US. This was our first full year back in the States and the adjustment was much more exhausting and emotional than I thought it would be.

Despite that, we got our house. I ran my first half marathon and authored my first book which will publish this March. I gardened, learned how to can and began a new job in September. In December, we topped off our year by rescuing a new pug, Dixie. She and Macy Mae are slowly, but surely becoming best buds.

In 2009, I really rocked my resolutions (or goals, whatever you prefer to call them.). However, in 2010 I barely remember what I set out to do. Life seemed to take over and I went with the flow. In 2011, I’m ready to get back on track so that this time next year I can check off all that I had hoped to accomplish.

It feels like a year of new growth to me, and in honor of it I’m doing a little growing of my own in our back room which is now clean and spacious. This summer I bought two dwarf Meyer Lemon trees that are doing quite well. Now they have their own private space in the sunshine. Hopefully in a couple years, I’ll have some lemons to show for my efforts.

My brother gave us a small AeroGarden as a house warming gift this past spring. Since it was just about garden time when we got it, I decided not to take advantage of it until winter. Now I’ve got basil, chives and thyme that I hope will sprout any day now.

With all the growing going on in our back room, I think I need to plan for a little growing myself this year. My main priority when it comes to blogging this year will be less stress. I got really concerned, and honestly, stressed out when I started my job back in September. I had less time to cook exciting food and when I did, I had no light to take photographs. When our weekends were busy with races or travel, I couldn’t even catch up with posts then. I had trouble keeping up with my own blog, and those I once loved to read on a daily basis.

This year I’m not going to let it get to me so much. If I have a busy week, there may not be a post, but some other weeks there may be 4 or 5. I’m finding that I need to relax the pressures I put on myself so that I can continue to enjoy my favorite hobby.

In addition to that, here are a few other things I plan to do in 2011. How about you? Care to share your goals for the New Year?

If 2010 was the year of running, 2011 will be the year of yoga. I plan to do yoga at least once per week, preferably more, and deepen my knowledge.

But I won’t be giving up running. In 2011, my goal is to run at least two half marathons.

Weight lifting is one thing that has fallen to the wayside when it comes to my fitness program. I will be incorporating a lot more of that this year as well.

I will focus more on ethnic cooking. I’ve tried to do this in the past, but seem to constantly fall back on the standards. I really want to challenge myself with Indian, German and Thai cooking from finding the ingredients to perfecting my results.

In addition, I will focus on utilizing all the great cookbooks I have. In 2010, I tried to make a lot of recipes from other food bloggers. This year I really need to explore all the great resources I have in print.

I want to learn to knit in 2011. Please still act surprised when you get your scarf for Christmas next year.

I want to begin to learn German. This is something I plan to focus more on in the summer and fall.

I will submit to one writing and one photography contest this year. I have no plans of winning, but I think identifying some contests and submitting will help me challenge myself to keep learning when it comes to my writing and photography.

I will recommit to my Flickr 365 projects for food and everyday living. I sizzled out about July/August in 2010, but I really enjoyed doing it and looking back so we are going to give it another go.

Finally, I’ll revisit my goals in April and October to see how this year is stacking up.

Happy 2011!

Love Isn’t the Right Word

August 22, 2010

I rarely do hodgepodge posts, but for some reason this weekend I have several things to share which all seem to be in completely different topic categories. So in case you’ve stopped by for something specific this weekend, here’s the order: training, review, links and big news.

After my race recap last Sunday I really enjoyed everyone’s comments and I was thrilled that for some it gave you a sense of motivation. One comment however has stuck with me all week. The reason being that it elicited a response in me that I’m not sure I’ve made clear when talking about my running.

One of my favorite health bloggers and inspirational entrepreneurs, Michelle, commented – run because you love to run. The second I read her comment which I know was meant to be positive and support (thank you!), I thought –

But I don’t love it. There are days I barely even like it.

My love for running hasn’t changed I’ve never been a person who can’t live without it, but what has changed is my attitude. My relationship with running over the past year and my decision to run half marathons has been as much an experiment with myself as anything else.

Simply put, I am exercising the power of a positive attitude.

The days my legs hurt, I’m so tired in the evening I know I’ll barely be able to wake up on an otherwise lazy weekend morning, and when I curse the next mileage increase to come, I go straight to my social media outlets. I talk about how great the weather is, how exciting it was that I reached my goal and some of the cool things I saw along my route. Guess what? It has kept me running.

So my decision to do weekly posts during my training this time isn’t about convincing everyone to be a runner. It is to convince people to step out of their comfort zone, do something that is uncomfortable and that you don’t like. Then change your attitude about it. Be positive and watch things change around you including the accomplishment of goals you never thought possible.

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All that being said, I could never be a daily runner. I would burn out quickly. Therefore, I run 3 days a week. That’s it. I’ve tried more and I begin to dread it. Three days has been enough to allow me to run a half marathon and I’m happy with that.

My challenge has been to keep up with my cross-training on the days I’m not running. I say challenge because it is so hard! My runs wear me out, even the short ones and I want every non-running day to be a rest day. This isn’t good for a lot of reasons, so I make my main motivation that cross-training helps me to avoid injury.

Yoga helps with my shin splits and focus, and strength training helps my core and decreases the back pain I used to have when running.

A few weeks ago, America’s Nutrition contacted me about trying some products. I’m not a supplement girl any longer so I knew that many of the items wouldn’t be for me. However, when I saw that they also provide fitness equipment I offered to review some, knowing I could use some new things for my cross training. I was sent a Zenzation Athletics yoga block and a Valeo 10 lb. medicine ball.

If you are new to yoga, which I still consider myself to be, get a yoga block. Wow, it makes me feel much less inferior during my practice. By sitting on it during poses and using it for forward bends and similar moves, I find I’m straining myself less and able to focus on the practice itself. One day I’ll be able to reach that far and get my legs into that challenging position, but for now I love the yoga block!

When I was working out in gyms before our move, I loved using a medicine ball so I’m thrilled to have one at home now. New gadgets are cool like fancy bands and kettle balls, but I tend to like old school equipment. I use the medicine ball for abs exercises and have incorporated it into strength training videos I do at home.

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Okay, so now you are holding out for this week’s links, I can tell. I came across some great stuff!

Waffleizer is a blog I can’t believe I’ve missed! It’s basically about how to make everything with a waffle iron. Incredibly creative!

Baking Without a Box featured the coolest food truck in LA, Austin and NYC in a post this week. Coolhaus is a design your own ice cream cookie sandwich dessert truck. You pick from six cookie varieties and then from eight ice cream fillings. Such a great idea!

Old Fashioned Lemon Bars from Culinary Travels has me so hungry for this dessert. I used to never crave lemon bars, but now I find I miss them when I don’t have them for a while.

Math Lessons for Locavores was an opinion piece on NYTimes.com. I am so glad that it was written by someone who grows his own food and understands the value in it. It brings up great points that not all transport is bad and reminds me why I embrace both local and global. I buy local because I like to support the farmers, I grow my own food for the flavor, but if I’d never be able to have sticky rice, coconut, and good coffee if there was no food transport.

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Finally for the news…

We’ve been back in the US now for about 10 months and I’ve decided it is time for me to go back to my work in community health education. I’ve accepted a job and begin September 1st! The great news is that I get to work with a huge variety of programming and not only nutrition and fitness as I have before. I’ll even be teaching a little cooking and canning!

No worries, the blog will still be going strong because I’ll never leave my passion for real food and travel. However, you will likely find me catching up on your blogs with multiple comments over the weekends!

Have a wonderful week!

Disclaimer: The products mentioned were sent to me free of charge from America’s Nutrition. I was under no obligation to write about them and received no compenstation for doing so.

Canning for a New Generation: A Cookbook Review

August 18, 2010

Call me easy to please, but there are few things more exciting than receiving an unexpected package in the mail. When that unexpected package turns out to be not only a cookbook, but a cookbook covering a topic and technique you are currently trying to master; well, the excitement goes beyond words.

I know you think I’m exaggerating, but I have no doubt that my neighbors heard me shout, “Awesome!” when I opened an envelope at the mailbox a couple weeks ago to discover a copy of Canning for a New Generation: Bold Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry by Liana Krissoff.

This summer is the first that I’ve finally been able to overcome the fear instilled in me by my food safety nutrition courses in college. I’m not kidding. The reason I have never canned is because of how strong the warnings were in those classes about botulism and all sorts of unpleasant things.

This year, however, things changed. One, we have our own garden, and two, I’ve been witnessing this canning craze going on in the food world accompanied by wonderful recipes and cookbooks.

My first sign that I’d love this particular cookbook came in the introduction as I read through helpful info that was down to earth and completely…well, me. For example, in an attempt to explain the basis for the book and how it relates to the reader, Krissoff writes:

“How an early-morning spoonful of perfect blueberry marmalade, made by a good friend you might know only via email and your perspective blogs, can help you make it through a busy day of office work.”

See? Perfect for me. Perfect for us. I’ve lost count of these types of relationships I’ve stumbled upon in the past couple years.

Before I go on and on with detailed stories about why I am a huge fan of this book (because I certainly could), let me break down the pros and cons.

Things I love about it:

There is a detailed, yet easy-to-read intro on the basics of canning including the purpose of different ingredients and equipment.
The recipes are divided by season and fruit or vegetable.
There are freezing tips throughout the book for some of the same ingredients used in the canning recipes.
The diversity in recipes is astounding, 200 total. There is everything from traditional U.S. jams, jellies and pickles to Indonesian and Indian vegetables and relishes.
In addition to weight measurements for the ingredients in some recipes, numbers are listed too which is helpful and the ones I followed were spot on.
While the author tells she uses white sugar, she does recommend a resource for using alternative sweeteners and aims to reduce the use of commercial ingredients. For example, she uses green apples for pectin in her canning.
All the recipes are for water-bath method which is the only method I’m interested in at the moment. A pressure cooker is a whole other canning animal for me.
After you can your fruits and veggies, there are plenty of recipes provided for using up your stock of homemade canned goods. Enchiladas Verdes and Toffee Topped Vanilla Peaches, to name a couple.

Things I’m not so crazy about:

Some of the instructions are in long paragraphs so you really have to sit down and read carefully before getting started. This makes it really easy to lose your place when you are going back and forth between the recipe and your pot.

My first success using the book came with the Whole Jalapeños with Honey and Allspice which is the recipe I have to share with you. First of all, I like the fact that there is so little chopping with this recipe. The author explains that these are barely hot, but I left the ribs and seeds intact so there is no mistaking the heat in mine.

Next time I may remove those parts, but otherwise this recipe is a keeper for me. The spiced honey adds an element that is surprisingly tasty with the hot of the jalapeño. It is like sweet pickle meets chile pepper. I served them up with the Vegetable Fried Rice I made recently and they were delicious!

My next success was the Charred Tomato and Chile Salsa. At first I wasn’t sure how I would like the charred flavor of the veggies, but I opened a jar today and it is fantastic! There is a slight sweetness that hits you first and then the spicy jalapenos come in with a punch. This salsa is gift worthy for sure.

I have so much left to try in this book that I’ll be using it for seasons to come. My next project includes the Spiced Apple Butter, Hot Chile Jelly and the Minted Cranberry Relish with Walnuts!

Whole Jalapeños with Honey and Allspice
Reprinted with permission from Abrams Books

Makes about 5 pint jars

2 ½ pounds jalapeño chiles
6 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)
2 tablespoons pure kosher salt
2 tablespoons honey
5 cloves garlic
5 small bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
½ teaspoon black peppercorns

Slit the chiles almost in half lengthwise from the bottom and set aside. (I did go ahead and remove the stems on mine and cut them fully in half.)

Prepare for water-bath canning: Wash the jars and keep them hot in the canning pot, and put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl.

In a non-reactive saucepan, combine the vinegar, 2 cups water, the salt, and honey. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and honey.

Ladle the boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids. Using a jar lifter, remove the hot jars from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a folded towel. Drain the water off the jar lids.

Working quickly, pack the chiles as tightly as possible into the hot jars (flattening them first with your palm if necessary), along with the garlic, bay leaves, and spices, leaving 1 inch head space at the top. Ladle the hot vinegar mixture into the jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Use a chopstick to remove air bubbles around the inside of each jar. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it’s just finger-tight. Return the jars to the water in the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes to process. Remove the jars to a folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours. After 1 hour, check that the lids have sealed by pressing down on the center of each; if it can be pushed down, it hasn’t sealed, and the jar should be refrigerated immediately. Label the sealed jars and store.

Disclaimer: This cookbook was sent to me free of charge. I was under no obligation to review it and received no compensation for doing so.

Thinkfood Featured Recipe

August 4, 2010

Let’s all take five minutes and relax. Yes, that’s it. Sit back, close your eyes, and breathe deeply. Wonderful.

I just wanted to share this moment with you. The way I’m feeling right now.

Why? Well, because as of about 2:00 pm yesterday. I’m finished with the book!!! I have submitted the final manuscript for the Everything Guide® to Food Remedies! Yes, there will likely be revision to come, but nothing takes away from this, I’m-finally-done feeling. I’ve been walking around the house just sighing with relief.

I don’t know the publication date yet, but will share it with you when I do. I’ll also have a couple copies to give away to my readers.

With these past two weeks behind me, I feel like I’m returning to normal life as I know it. More writing, of course, but blog reading, and without a doubt, cooking and baking! I started the latter last night.

To top off this wonderful week, the featured recipe for the Thinkfood Cookbook today is by yours truly! You can check out the site for my Curried Wheat Berry & Tomato Salad.

If you aren’t familiar with the Thinkfood project, I posted about it on the blog a few months ago. It is a cookbook of recipes utilizing ingredients that boost brain health, a collaborative effort by Posit Science and 50 fabulous food bloggers that I’m honored to be a part of.

You can check out the site and sign up for a weekly recipe announcement. There will be hard copies of the book as well which you can preorder. Those should be ready soon and when they are, I’ll be giving one away here on the blog.

That’s it for now, but I’ll be back tomorrow with a report from our trip to the orchard and what became of all the peaches and blueberries we picked there!

Spiced Local Lamb over Israeli Couscous

July 16, 2010

At a party about a week or so ago we were having a discussion with friends about cooking. It was mentioned how fortunate my husband is to be the recipient of all my cooking creations. This particular friend didn’t overly enjoy cooking and was frustrated with the same dishes. Even more so, she was frustrated when she put in the time and things didn’t turn out well.

It was at this point that I took the opportunity to say that while I enjoy cooking my creations aren’t always especially delicious either. I have about a 60/40 success rate. Sixty percent of the time I end up with something that tastes and looks good and 40 percent of the time something is lacking. It might be the flavor, the appearance, or both.

Sometimes I mention my failures here, but to be honest I have limited time to edit photos and write up posts. So why would I concentrate on all the bad things I make? No, I put up all the great things! It isn’t about being dishonest; I just think most people would like to see things they can recreate that will taste good.

So just know it isn’t all roses in Lori’s kitchen. Sometimes I have difficulty keeping the ugly weeds from popping up.

Let’s use Israeli couscous as an example. I am completely new to it. I read the directions carefully including the part that said – cook the couscous in a skillet over low heat, but do not let it get brown. Ooops!

This is a dish I was able to save in the end with lots of flavorful toppings, but if you look closely, pieces of the couscous are definitely brown! Some almost burnt. Better luck to me next time, but you can recreate this with no problem at all and hopefully you won’t burn the couscous like me.

I’ve never cooked with lamb before (look at that, two new ingredients in one post!), but for the first time I am now in an area with a local producer, Windhover Farm. We picked up a pound of ground lamb at the Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago and I hope to buy more in the future because it was delicious.

I first started out with lamb patties, but soon realized that crumbled lamb works better in this dish. You can use either. I seasoned the lamb, topped it with all kinds of fresh stuff and came up with one tasty dinner in a bowl!

Spiced Local Lamb over Israeli Couscous

3 cups Israeli Couscous, cooked
1 lb ground lamb
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp onion, grated
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

¼ large onion, thinly sliced
8 slices of tomato

Sauce:
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup cucumber, finely chopped and squeezed dry
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

In a skillet, brown the lamb. When it has been cooked about ¾ of the way through add the allspice, coriander, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until done and stir in the parsley.

(If making lamb patties add the spices to the raw, ground lamb and mix well. You might also want to add a couple tablespoons of bread crumbs. Shape into four patties and cook in a skillet about 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.)

Divide the cooked couscous into four bowls and top with one-fourth of the ground lamb. Add onion and tomato slices followed by 2 tbsp of the yogurt sauce. Enjoy! Serves 4.

The Benefits of Food Blogging

May 13, 2010

Food bloggers seem to get a lot of attention. You’ve likely come across articles in popular newspapers about how some chefs don’t like us because we come to a restaurant with an uneducated opinion regarding culinary excellence. Some gourmet diners tire of us because we take pictures of our food before we eat. Still others think we may be the death of printed cookbooks.

There are certainly some people out there who feel what we do is silly. Then there are others who we have helped tremendously or, at the very least, entertained. These are the folks I like to focus on and it gets me thinking about how much food blogs have helped me. The knowledge I have gained in the past two years is unbelievable.

I’ve met incredible people as well. These people are happy too. You don’t find much negativity in the world of food appreciation. Sure, there are food critics out there who enjoy complaining, but for those of us following our passion it is mostly fresh strawberries and sunshine. I, for one, LOVE IT! Food blogging is a true testament to the fact that a positive attitude rubs off. You only need a few comments telling you how delicious your food looks or how someone was inspired by what you did to put a smile on your face and give you a positive outlook for the rest of your day.

I like to think we are so happy because we have found the secret to eating delicious food while maintaining a healthy balance. We get to exercise the greatest form of creativity that combines food passion with cooking challenges. We eat what we want, moderate when appropriate and we are happier for it.

In fact, I’m feeling all happy and positive as I write this. If you hang out in the food blogging world long you see many bloggers come and go. They lose interest or life gets busy and the desire to post becomes less and less. I plan to be in this for the long haul because I’m having so much darn fun! These are a few of the things that keep me going, things I’ve learned and reasons I enjoy food blogging.

Quinoa, udon, fiddleheads, zucchini blossoms – just a few of the foods on my very long list that I might have never known existed if I hadn’t read about them on food blogs.

India, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Hawaii, London, Philippines, Ireland, Indonesia – a few of the places and associated cuisines that I knew little-to-nothing about before I began reading food blogs.

I owe my inspiration to start running and my increased intake of oatmeal to food blogs.

Photography and gardening — a couple of the hobbies I’ve picked up since food blogging.

Cookbooks, chefs and restaurants – I still have a long way to go to be fully educated in this area, but at least I now know of Mark Bittman and Dorie Greenspan now.

I have a much greater interest in history. Yes, this history has to do with cuisine, cooking tools and food practices, but I loathed history for years. You might say food blogging helped me grow up and appreciate my roots.

There are more herbs and spices in this world than I thought possible and it may take the rest of my life to discover them all.

Whether you read, write or both, what have been your greatest benefits of food blogging?

Photos of cabbage, strawberries and leaf lettuce from my parent’s garden during our visit over Mother’s Day.

Health as a By-Product

April 16, 2010

Lately, I find that I am focusing less and less on health. Yet, strangely, I feel healthier than I have in a long time, perhaps healthier than I ever have. Over time we all go through changes in our ways of thinking about food and health, and we are able to look back and see where we were and compare it to where we are now. That’s the place I am at right now. I think I’m experiencing a decent amount of balance.

I used to think a lot about numbers. Calories, grams, micrograms, cups, minutes and hours. I also had big, fancy names on my mind a lot – anthocyanin, flavonoid, erythrocyte, anaerobic, oxidation. I was recently reminded of just how much this was on my mind in the past as I sorted through some old college binders and course notes.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. At one time it motivated me and made me feel knowledgeable. It also enabled me (and still does) to help other people. However, over time it also made me feel like health was a bit of a burden, a little too complex for my current interests.

I don’t think I consciously changed. I think my mind did it out of a necessity; necessity to remain a healthy person, and therefore, began seeking other avenues to maintain and celebrate health.

As a result I think more about being well, contentment, laughter, smiling, energy, enjoying the scenery, accomplishing goals (not associated with numbers), tasting good food, and being energized to wake up each morning and face the day. By doing this I’ve found that health is a by-product, not the main focus.

I eat the foods I eat because they taste good, and I feel better because of them. I run because I want to check out what the basset hound a few streets over is up to and see the cows grazing in the fields. I cook and write because it relieves my stress, I read because it fills me with knowledge.

Because of all this, I believe I am healthy and well.

My focus has changed. I don’t do things necessarily because I deem them healthy, I do them because I enjoy them and I know they are right for me. I feel I’m no longer seeking a means to an end, or a final goal of ultimate health, I’m simply living and enjoying.

I do have to admit that numbers haven’t completely left my life. There is a number on the scale that has my attention and when I sit down to a big salad I may think about the number of cups of veggies I’m eating. I have pace goals associated with my running. When I see a colored vegetable I often think of the nutrient in it and how that influences health. I also do a few things I don’t enjoy from time to time, like eat the broccoli I make for my husband because I know it is good for me.

However, these numbers don’t overpower my lifestyle. They aren’t the driving force anymore and as a result, I have to admit I am a much more relaxed person.

Health shouldn’t stress us out.

Do you focus on health or are you healthy because of your focus?

Myths and Truths: My First Half Marathon

March 29, 2010

For a while now I’ve been trying to determine where this goal came from, this goal to run a half marathon. A goal which, I might add, I successfully accomplished yesterday morning.

I’ve never especially liked running. There are times when I hated it with a passion. I just prefer other forms of activity. However, I was to the point where I wanted to stop confusing not liking it with not being able to do it. As a result I’m starting to enjoy it more.

Let’s be clear. I run, I’m not a runner. And there are several reasons why I likely won’t ever consider myself a runner. When I think of a runner, I think of someone who is in love with running, and needs it in their lives. Someone who is willing to push themselves to the point of injury and past it to run. Now, I don’t mean to generalize, certainly not all runners are like this, but I know many who are.

Personally, if I hurt, I’m not going to run. I don’t just mean sore, aches and pains hurt, I mean injury hurt. I view my body and all its wonderful capabilities as a gift. Hurting it to the point where it is injured and can’t function is not respecting this gift. Wellness means understanding your limits as well as exceeding them when appropriate. For me, not respecting this gift by pushing too hard is as bad as not respecting it by not using it and letting it waste away without any activity at all. I have issues with both.

The second reason I say I’m not a runner is that I am slow. And I mean slow. I fall into the jogger/walker category. In fact, there were race walkers flying right by me yesterday. When people tell me to slow my pace down I laugh because going any slower for me is walking and it is physically impossible for me to go any faster. I’ve tried hard, too.

My goal was to finish the race in a motion that somewhat resembled running for 13.1 miles and I did. I never stopped running and I came in at a time of 2:57:26. About a 13 minute mile. See, I told you. The fastest I’ve run is a 5K at a 10:45 mile. Still no speed of lightening.

One thing that helped me keep fighting for my goal was a comment I recently read in a book which said “there is no freedom without discipline.” I’d never really thought much about that before. But if we don’t provide structure for our lives, make ourselves do things, we really can’t accomplish much.

Setting out on my training it wasn’t until I was able to run 10-11 miles that I honestly felt like I was going to complete the half marathon. That was about 2 weeks ago, so I was basically pushing myself to obtain a goal I wasn’t sure was possible for 10 weeks.

Throughout the training I knew I wanted to present a post that highlighted the honesty of running a half marathon. Not something that says “it was tough, but so worth it.”

I don’t have finish line blinders on, I have reality set in my mind. The reality of how hard it was to accomplish my goal. I also thought a lot about the things people told me along the way or views I developed and whether or not they were true. So if you are thinking of running or shooting towards a goal you aren’t sure you can accomplish, this is for you.

12 weeks is enough time for training. Debatable.

I think everyone is different when it comes to this. My original plan was to run a half sometime during 2010 and I was shooting for fall. When I discovered this local event it was 14 weeks out. I began training at 13 weeks and used Hal Higdon’s Novice Half Marathon program which is a 12 week program. I added an extra week myself and got up to 11 miles before the race.

Initially I thought this program was too ambitious and at certain points it was. The day I was supposed to run 9 miles, I had to stop at 4.5. I did not reach the goal for many weekday runs because of shin problems in the middle of my training. Also, if I had stopped my training at the 10 mile mark, I’m not sure I could have finished. Making to 11 miles pre-race had a postive impact on me mentally.

Looking back though, I’m glad I pushed the training and got the race in early in the year. At certain times 12 weeks seemed fast, but it is also enough time to get discouraged. If I had pushed the race to later I may not have stayed motivated to meet my goal.

Cross-training is important. Truth.

I suppose there are people out there who love to run and run and run. I don’t. I ran 3 days per week and if I had been forced to run more I would not have enjoyed my training at all. I didn’t enjoy it that much to begin with. In addition, my shin problems stopped as soon as I incorporated yoga into my routine. As with everything else in life physical fitness is about balance and performing different types of exercise helps establish that.

Running will make you lose weight. Myth.

I lost only 6 lbs during my training, but I knew that losing weight by running was a myth before I started because you typically eat more. I could have cut back drastically on my caloric intake and lost weight, but I wasn’t willing to do it. If I didn’t eat, I didn’t have the energy to run. It was a difficult balance for me and stressed me out in the beginning. Finally I decided I would eat healthy foods as I needed them and let my body decide what it wanted to do.

It hurts. Truth.

Fortunately, I had no injuries, not even a blister during my training. I suffered from shin splints halfway through, and a bit of chaffing that was taken care of by BodyGlide. Everything I encountered was manageable.

That being said I have been exhausted for the past 12 weeks. I came home after runs of 5 miles and longer and basically lay around the rest of the day. I was sleepy all the time and incredibly sore after my long runs. During the runs themselves my knees, ankles and hips ached like crazy. It was just part of it for me and I’m glad that part is over.

The adrenaline and atmosphere will push you through the last few miles. Myth.

I’ve heard and read this several times, and I’m sorry, but I don’t agree. It is highly dependent upon the race you do. This was not a high energy race, it was a rainy day and I was running past other people leaving as I rounded the ½ mile mark to the finish. The last two miles were complete agony. I got maybe two cheers when I rounded the bend for the finish and a couple claps once I crossed the line. Perhaps if you choose a high energy race with lots of people, music and celebration on a sunny day this statement could be true. Yes I made it, but it would have taken a lot less effort on my part if there had been more support.

Crossing the finish is the best part of the race. Debatable.

I’m going to be honest, because of this particular race, crossing the finish was one of the most disappointing experiences of my training. I was hoping for cheers, music and lots of people around. The place had cleared out. It was me and a handful of people there to hand me a medal and take my picture (a special thank you to them). There were granola bars, water and bananas left to eat, and all the vendors had packed up early. To be honest, it made me sad and even sadder for all the people behind me who still had to finish. Because of this, I think it is important to be prepared that the finish may not be what you have envisioned in your mind.

Note, this doesn’t include seeing my husband there to take pictures of me and hug me afterward. Now that was the best part of the race.

After all this, am I glad I did it? Of course! I accomplished something that I honestly didn’t think I would ever be able to. I also fully believe that pushing myself this hard was beneficial to my well being. I think it is important to find things that push you as hard physically, but it doesn’t have to be running.

What are my goals now?

My running started back in January 2009 with a goal of being able to pick up and run a 5K at any point. I accomplished that and then set one to run a half. Now, I’ve accomplished that.

I’ve discovered that I do enjoy running out in the country and seeing the landscape, I just enjoy running shorter distances. To be honest, I’m tired of running long distances and having to be so structured with my workouts.

So the plan is to now be comfortable with running a 10K at any point in time. I’ll likely run 2-3 miles two days per week and 4-5 miles on the weekend. I want to increase my speed and get closer to a 10 minute mile. I also want to start concentrating on other activities again such as more yoga, spinning and strength training.

Will I run another half?

I haven’t decided that yet. Three weeks ago I would have said no. Everyone told me that when I made it to the finish I would want to do more, but I’m not there yet. I can see signing up for a half that is guaranteed to be fun and energetic at some point during the future, but now I’ll stick with 5Ks and 10Ks. I just find them more enjoyable and don’t view them as work like I do a half.

Now for all those who have been holding out for the food. We had an amazing post-race brunch at Alfalfa Restaurant in downtown Lexington, KY. I’ve posted about this place before and we certainly weren’t disappointed on this visit. I enjoyed a Spanish Omelet with white cheddar and ranchero sauce with their special Alfafries. My husband had the Breakfast Burritos. We split the Buttermilk Buckwheat Blueberry Pancake. This thing is amazing. The first bite tastes like a blueberry cake donut!

Special congrats to my husband! Although he’s run relays of the same or greater difficulty, this was his first official half marathon finish as well. He finished in 1:53 and is preparing for the Flying Pig Marathon in May.

The What-Works-for-You Attitude

March 25, 2010

Occasionally, I have a topic on my mind to blog about and while I’m waiting for the ideas to build and the words to formulate themselves, I come across a post that says exactly what I was thinking. This happened to me just a few weeks ago.

Developing and practicing my food and health philosophy is constantly evolving task for me. While three years ago I would have described myself as completely lost (even though at time I thought I was healthy), now I consider myself moving in the right direction, but still far from perfection.

That is, if you even believe that perfection exists in these areas. I have to say I’m not sure that it does. Sometimes I think perfection with healthy eating is just an imaginary goal that we strive to achieve without every really getting there. Why? Well, because things are constantly changing and everyone has a different idea of how perfection is defined.

Now to that post I mentioned earlier.

My Google Alerts end up finding me all kinds of interesting things to read when it comes to food, real food and fake food. To Be, or Not to Be: Omnivores, Herbivores, and Deciding What’s Right For You posted at the Health and Happiness Club is an example of this.

Let me correct myself. Not just an example, but one of the best, respectful, well-balanced posts on the subject that I have yet to read. As I read everything word for word, which I should mention doesn’t happen all that often (yes, I’m a scanner), I realized I couldn’t have said it better myself. It was as though the thoughts in my head were right there on the page.

I encourage you to read it, but I will summarize a bit for you here. It is about how different people are meant to have different styles of eating. What works for one person, may not work for another. That means that some people are perfectly happy eating meat, others it doesn’t agree with so well whether due to personal beliefs or in physical digestion. Some can thrive on only vegetables or raw food while it makes others feel as though they are missing something nutritionally.

I happen to fall into the meat-eater category and I’ve especially realized this through my running. Before I started training for this half marathon I probably would have told you that I would have no problem becoming a vegetarian, although I’ve never really desired to proclaim myself as such. We eat a lot of high-protein vegetarian meals and I go many days without any meat. And you know what, personally, now I can tell when I do. I need the nutrients that humanely raised meat gives my body. However, you may be completely different.

My choice is not to push my beliefs on others verbally, but to show them by the way I live and eat. I haven’t always been like this, but there are a couple reasons why I have developed this philosophy.

One, preaching to others will make you a hypocrite. Yep, if you are going to work hard to spread the word about what you believe is right and wrong with how to eat you better not get caught going off the path you have paved for yourself. I’m an advocate of non-processed foods and have eliminated a lot of them from our diet, but I can’t promise you I won’t eat an Oreo at the next family picnic. I’m human, and I do love desserts.

Two, I really do believe that different eating styles work for different bodies. You just have to find what makes you thrive. I feel confident that I’ve found what makes me thrive and perhaps you have to, but we should be open to the fact that we might both be wrong.

Sometimes I think people may feel that this type of attitude means you aren’t standing up for what you believe in. You know, the whole, “if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.” However, for me it is about respect. I respect the meat-eater, the vegetarian, the vegan and the raw foodie to name a few. I may not agree with the associated philosophies for myself, but I respect a person who has the ultimate goal to be healthy. Agreeing is different than respecting, of course. Respect is essential my book, agreeing is optional.

With all that being said, I think there are some things that most of us can agree on. Fast food and processed sugar aren’t going to help us out any. However you might believe the old saying, “everything in moderation” while I happen to believe there are some food-like substances that were never meant to be consumed.

However, I’m not going to preach what not to do. I’m going to do my best to be an example and live what I believe is right path for health while respecting your choices at the same time.

What is your food philosophy? And if you read the post I linked to, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Unhealthy Obsessions with (Un)Healthy Foods, Part 1

February 23, 2010

Last week, I came across an interview with Michael Pollan from Active.com. Despite hearing or reading the same message about food and responsible eating, I never seem to tire of getting the message again and again. I always seem to find something new that gets me thinking.

This time it was the phrase, “an unhealthy obsession with healthy food.”

For a long time before I even had ideas for this blog, as I was studying nutrition and creating my own path to health, I felt that an obsession with healthy practices was as negative for wellness as not caring about what you put into your body. I remember verbalizing this thought to those around me at the time. Addiction comes in many forms and those related to overeating can easily be transformed into under-eating and counting every calorie, gram and milligram.

This phrase really brings about two different thoughts for me and today I’ll concentrate on the first one.

When we become so concerned about what a food will do for us, or how it will affect us we stop enjoying the food. Often in our society it feels that we are so desperate for perfect health that we’ll pay any amount of money and believe any bull to get it. So we’ve reached this point where we’ve forgotten about food, the art of making it, the benefit of eating it together and eating slowly.

Food is a thing, a thing that can make us fat or thin, disease-ridden or disease-free. A thing that must be consumed when our stomach growls, when we are stressed or when the clock strikes a certain hour.

The irony is that even when we have health as our number one priority those foods, those things, we are obsessing about aren’t even healthy. (Preservative-filled, artificially sweetened, artificially-thickened, fat-replaced yogurt, anyone?)

Sadly, the unhealthy obsession with healthy foods that I’ve battled from time to time made me miss out on some great stuff. The one thing that stands out in my mind is that I avoided some truly healthy foods because they were high in calorie only to eat fake foods with lesser nutritional value.

What was I thinking? Well, I’ll be easy on myself and say I was thinking what society and food companies wanted me to.

Nuts, peanut butter, olive oil, whole grain cereals and bananas are all examples of food that at one time or another I ate very little of because of the calories they contain. Instead I ate fat-free yogurt, low–fat crackers, processed cereal bars, frozen diet meals and light ice cream.

Just think about all those calories I was saving! Funny how my struggle with carrying a few extra pounds never changed. Not to mention the fact that I was getting very few nutrients when I could have been getting a multitude of vitamins and minerals, protein and heart-healthy fat.

An obsession in any form can be damaging to wellness, but can be especially so when directed at what the food industry and society convince us is healthy. An unhealthy obsession with so-called healthy foods can cheat us of both the enjoyment of food and of eating real food all together.

When we eat real foods, there is no need to obsess because health will naturally fall into line.

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Muesli is one of those foods that I knew about years ago, but wouldn’t eat because of the fear of calories, despite the fact that it is packed full of nutrients. Fortunately, we were re-introduced to it at a hotel breakfast while traveling around SE Asia last October. I’m so glad my views on healthy food have changed! Now I’m making my own and breakfast has never been better.

My Muesli

Rolled oats
Raisins
Dried cranberries
Chopped walnuts, pecans and almonds
Unsweetened, shredded coconut
Sprinkle of mascavo sugar