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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Why would someone run 50 miles in one day?

This Saturday Zach and a friend are running in the 50-mile Rocky Raccoon Ultra Endurance Trail Run.


When he told me he was going to do such a long race, I wondered why in the world someone would want to do such a thing. So I decided to ask him.

Many moons ago, I was a reporter for my college newspaper, The Baylor Lariat. It was one of the best things I did while at Baylor; for one because of the people I met and experiences I had, and for two because it gave me at least one marketable skill after leaving Waco with an English degree and no desire to teach school.

Since Zach's reasoning for doing such a grueling race roused my reporting instincts, I decided to make it a learning experience for our kids. I sat Drew and Kate down at the kitchen table and asked if they knew what a reporter was. "No," they said. "Do you know what a newspaper is?" "No," they said.

So we really had to start from square one. I explained the concept of how a reporter asks the questions that his or her audience wants to know, and then we devised some questions. Below is a transcript of our interview -- I went first to demonstrate how questioning a source works, and the kids followed with a few questions of their own.

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Where is the Rocky Raccoon race taking place?
At Huntsville State Park in Hunstville, Texas. It's called the Rocky Raccoon 100, and it's known for its 100-mile race. But there is also a 50-mile race, which is what I'll be participating in. The 50 is like the kid's fun run.

How many people enter this race?
750 are registered to run either the 100 or 50.

Why would you want to run 50 miles in one day? How did you get interested in ultra marathons?
Because there is something wrong with my brain. Just kidding. I like to challenge myself and set a goal to work toward. I got interested when I started training for the Dallas Marathon and studying training plans for runners and how to become a better runner. I read "Ultra Marathon Man" by Dean Karnazes, and it was entertaining.

How do you train to run 50 miles?
You run. A lot. It's different from a marathon in that your training runs will never reach anywhere near 50 miles at one time, because the recovery period would be so long it would be detrimental to your training. So you build up by running back to back long runs, which is two long runs a day a part.

Define "long run."
20+ miles. The other thing I tried to do was run on trails as much as possible since the race is on a trail. Many of my trail runs had much more elevation change that what I'll see in the race due to the topography of the land in Dallas versus Huntsville. I hope that will have prepared me for the distance. It's not so much about miles, but time on your feet. During training I didn't worry so much about mileage, but just about the time I spent running. Then I made sure that I continued to be on my feet for much of the day after my runs. It's just about being active.

How long do anticipate the race will take you?
They say to double your marathon time and add one to two hours, so conservatively I am hoping to finish in nine to 10 hours.

How do you fuel your body for a race like this?
My approach is a little different than most, I think. The theory is that you just need to get calories in when you're running such a long distance. But I still want to focus on healthy calories. I stick with fruit as much as possible, peanut butter and jelly is good because they offer all three macro nutrients. When all else fails CLIF bars or an equivalent are hard to beat. It's also important to make sure you're taking in electrolytes.

Are you nervous?
Yes.

What are you most nervous about?
Not finishing. I'm nervous about not finishing due to an ailment. I think I have the ability to finish.

How will it make you feel if you don't finish?
Disappointed.

How long do you think it will take to recover?
Define recover.

Able to walk normally and form a coherent sentence.
I would hope within a couple hours.

Do you think you'll do this again, or are you a "one and done"?
I don't know, it depends on how this goes. If I'm not successful, I'll probably have to do it again. If it turns out easier than I thought, then I might have to shoot for the 100.

What will you think about all day while you're running 50 miles?
How bad it hurts. Just kidding. What I do a lot of times when I think "why am I doing this?" and I want to quit, I think about all the people who aren't able to walk or run, or enjoy the benefits of living an active lifestyle, and it makes me thankful that I can. And that makes it easier to go a few more miles. Here lately, my Dad had been on my mind a lot. (Zach's Dad was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer.)

What are you looking forward to after the run?
Breakfast the next day. I'm going to have a cheat meal breakfast that consists of pancakes and syrup. A lot of them.

You must have a pretty nice wife who lets you run off and train for these crazy races.
Yes, I do. She's been better about it than she should be.

Drew and Kate, what questions do you have for Dad?

(Drew) Will you run with me at the 5K in Sunnyvale?
You bet. Looking forward to it.

(Drew) What will you wear for the 50 mile race?
It depends on the weather. The race starts at 7am. If it's above 40 degrees, I will start with shorts and a long-sleeve top and a toboggan and gloves. If it's below 40 I will add tights to the mix.

(Drew) What will the temperature be during the race?
Right now it looks like the start of the race it will be around 45 degrees, and it will be in the upper 60s in the day. So it looks like I'll be wearing shorts, and I will lose the top when I get warm.

(Kate) Can me and Drew run with you tomorrow?...I love you...I'll miss you while you're running...How do you see when it's foggy?
Well the race isn't till Saturday, and I think it will be a little far for you. I love you, too, and will miss you, too. I don't think it will be foggy.


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I'll be down at the race to procure anything they need at the drop spot and to fix dinner after the race. I'll post updates on Facebook to let everyone know how he does!

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Workout of the Day
Les Mills Combat Lower Body Lean Out

Monday, January 28, 2013

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Tacos

My son and daughter are obsessed with these black bean tacos. When I tell them we're having black bean tacos, they jump up and down like I told them it was Mac 'N Cheese night.

I remember the first time I made them last May when Zach and I were doing the Ultimate Reset. Zach and I were only allowed to have one measly taco, while Drew went on to have three. Hmph.

Since then Drew continues to load up on these tacos, and so do we. Kate scrapes her beans and rice out of the taco and eats it separate from the taco shell, but I'm not about to complain about it; she's eating, right?

The one component of these tacos that you're probably unfamiliar with is the Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and in my opinion it's the ingredient that absolutely makes this dish.


Liquid Aminos is kind of like soy sauce, but it doesn't taste like soy sauce -- it's just the same consistency and color. And it's a complete protein. Weird, but just trust me and head out to your local health store and get some because it is GOOD and you can also use it in my super favorite soup EVER, Zuchhini Cashew Soup. It's also good on salads, rice, stir fries...whatever.



Ultimate Reset Black Bean and Rice Tacos
Ingredients
¾ cup cooked brown rice
½ cup canned low-sodium black beans
¼ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
⅛ tsp. ground chili powder
1 pinch ground cumin
¼ tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. Bragg® Liquid Aminos
Himalayan salt (to taste)

Directions
While rice is cooking, heat beans gently in saucepan until very hot. Drain and return to pan. Add olive oil, spices, Bragg Liquid Aminos, and Himalayan salt. Stir well. Gently fold beans into cooked rice. Serves 1.

For kicks you can add some diced tomatoes or corn to the taco/rice mixture, or serve with guacamole. During the Ultimate Reset the side to this dish was steamed kale, which may sound odd to you (it did to me), but it was very good. I continue to serve steamed kale as a side to this, and pretty much anything else that looks like it needs steamed kale. And what DOESN'T look like it needs steamed kale?

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Workout of the Day
Les Mills Combat: Upper Body Blowout

Why do I love this workout so much? Yesterday was yoga day, which meant no Combat. I ran around wanting to box all day and singing songs from the workouts. I think I have an addiction!

Saturday Drew and I did a 30-minute Combat workout together, and he had a lot of fun. I had fun showing off my jump kick -- he said, "Wow, Mom!"

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

How to clean a wood burning stove window

You're probably wondering why in the world some Texans have a wood burning stove in their house. Well, we have two good reasons:

1) We are super cheap and don't like our heater to run.
2) We are super cold because we don't like our heater to run.

So for those three bitterly cold weeks in Texas (you know, 30 to 40 degrees), we keep that wood burning stove rocking. Last week I dragged the comfy leather chair over in front of the blower and studied my personal training test materials all day long. If I were any closer to that fire I'd have been sitting in it.

The first year we had the stove I tried to use Windex to clean the stubborn soot off the window. Then I'd give up when my arm felt like falling off.

Then I saw a blurb in The Farmer's Almanac that said you could clean soot by wetting a towel, dipping it in ash, and rubbing the soot off. Y'all, much like how the hot vinegar and Dawn miraculously dissolves shower scum, ash makes cleaning the stove window an absolute snap. No elbow grease required!

Take a look:

Dirty, sooty window. Can't see the pretty fire!

Take a wet rag and dip it in ashes.
(This rag has been used for this purpose a few times, obviously.)

Scrub gently.

After the soot is gone, wipe window clean with clean wet towel.
The fact that you don't have to buy some fancy cleaning product to get that window clean as a whistle delights me to no end every time! I imagine this would work for any stubborn window stain, although cleaning with ash is pretty messy. But in this case it's totally worth it.

Random aside:
See that neat looking iron kettle back there? It's new. And unfortunately useless.

When you run a wood burning stove in your house it dries the air out something awful, and we usually keep a little pot of water on it to humidify the air. At Tractor Supply we saw that kettle and thought, "Hey! That would be cool to use on the stove instead of our tacky little pot." But what didn't cross our mind is that, "Hey! If you leave water in an iron kettle for more than 10 minutes an inch of rust will form on it!" Those things aren't really meant to be left on the stove all day. So now we have a really cool looking useless iron kettle. At least it was only eleven bucks!

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Workout of the Day
Combat 45 and Les Mills Pump Core

It's been about a month since we started this program, and I still look forward to it every day. My kicks are getting stronger, and I still laugh at Dan's crazy comments.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Meatless Monday Episode 2: Return of the Veggie

My son is in the throes of a Star Wars obsession. He got episodes 4, 5, and 6 for Christmas, and we've seen the trilogy no fewer than three times each in the month we've owned them. I like the movies okay, but I really wasn't prepared for all the questions that come with a Star Wars obsession.

"What's your favorite droid, Mom?"

"Hey Mom, what's hyperdrive?"

"Mom, do you think hyperspace is where they go when they're in hyperdrive?"

"Where's the Dagobah System?"

"Who was the original owner of the Millenium Falcon?"

"Mom, which do you like better, R2-D2 or R2-Q2?"



"Mom, when I grow up I think I'll name my kids Luke, Leia, and Anakin." 

"You'll have to take that up with your wife, son." 
"Will she know what Star Wars is?" 
"If you're marrying her, then I imagine she will."

Today, in honor of Star Wars, Meatless Monday, and a rocking new recipe I fixed last Friday night, we're having Episode 2: Return of the Veggie.

I'm still experimenting with Rip's recipes from The Engine 2 Diet. So far there hasn't been a bad one! In fact, in the midst of eating this meal, Zach and I both declared it to be in our top three favorite meals.

The flavors in this dish complement each other so well. It's flavorful, filling, and over-the-top healthy! And one of the best parts is that I breezed in from an afternoon at the park and had this whipped up in about 15 minutes (give or take the five minutes I had to wait for the sweet potato to cool).

Give this a spot in your Meatless Monday rotation. Shoot, give it a spot any day of the week!
Wish I had a photo, but we ate it too fast.


Rip’s Sweet Potato Bowl

Ingredients:

1 large cooked sweet potato, skin removed, cut into cubes
2 mangoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Balsamic vinegar to taste

Instructions:

Warm sweet potatoes in microwave if using chilled leftovers. (I baked a sweet potato in the microwave for about six minutes. You want it to be soft enough to cut easily, but not so soft that it turns to mush.)

Place generous portion of sweet potatoes into large serving bowl.

Top with mangoes, bell pepper, black beans, avocado, and cilantro. (NOTE: I did not have any mangoes, so I substituted canned, cubed pineapple. DELICIOUS!)

Drizzle with lime juice and vinegar, stir gently, and serve.

I served it over brown rice, but you could use quinoa -- or just serve by itself!

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Workout of the Day
Les Mills Combat 60



Monday, January 14, 2013

Meatless Monday for Mom

Do you observe Meatless Monday? Have you ever heard of Meatless Monday?

It's a movement started back in 2003 as a way to improve the health of people worldwide, as well as to improve the health of the planet. (The production of animal protein consumes huge amounts of natural resources: water, fossil fuels, and topsoil, and also contributes significant pollution to water and air.)

Last week my Mom embarked on the challenge of Meatless Monday with my Dad, an avowed meat and potatoes kind of guy. It hadn't even been two hours into the actual Monday before her stress levels were elevating regarding choosing a meat-free dish that would satisfy the man who was trying to convince her that "fish isn't really meat."

Anyway, she landed on a lentil soup recipe along with mashed carrots and rutabegas, which sounds interesting and I want to try. It was a success, but there are many Mondays left in the year! So today, to help my Mom's cause and anyone else looking to remove some meat from their diet,  I'm featuring a meat-free burger from a cookbook Zach bought me for Christmas, The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn.

Rip is a firefighter in Austin and a triathlete who eats nothing but plant-based foods. (AKA, a vegan, although it's interesting that he never uses that word. I suppose he's aware of the stigma that surrounds that term. He uses "plant-strong" or "plant-based" instead.)


It's a great book, with about half of the pages devoted to the science behind plant-based diets and the latter half devoted to recipes.

One of the myths The Engine 2 diet dispels is that "you can't get enough protein from plant foods." I think one look at the author (the triathlete) puts that argument to rest.


I think it's more likely that Americans consume too much protein, and a lot of us would benefit from one or two days per week without any animal protein.

Saturday night we tried out the "New York Times Veggie Burger" from The Engine 2 Diet, and not only were they tasty, but they also looked a heckuva lot like real beef burgers. It was uncanny, really. And the consistency was much like a traditional burger.

We usually have our veggie burgers over a bed of lettuce or spinach, but I think if you slapped one of these patties on a regular bun with all the fixins', you just might be able to fool some people. We all liked these veggie burgers -- even Kate!


Check out The Engine 2 Diet and give Meatless Monday a try for yourself. Maybe you'll find a few recipes that you like. Here's the recipe!


New York Times Veggie Burgers from The Engine 2 Diet
INGREDIENTS
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes with zesty mild chilies, drained (that's Rotel, for you Texans)
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup parsley or cilantro (I used ½ cup loosely packed cilantro)
2 cups quick rolled oats (Here's a trick: if you only have rolled oats on hand, take the oats and pulse them in your food processor a few times. It cuts them up into smaller pieces, which is essentially what quick oats are.)
8 whole grain buns
Fresh veggie toppings and healthy condiments

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450º. Process the first seven ingredients using an immersion or a regular blender or food processor. Remove contents into a large bowl and stir in the oats. Form into patties, place on a sprayed baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes. Turn oven up to broil and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until the tops are nicely browned. Toast the buns and pile on your favorite toppings.
Variation:
Sauté the burgers on medium heat in a sprayed nonstick skillet for 5 minutes on each side, until both sides are browned.

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Workout of the Day
Les Mills Combat: Shock Plyo HIIT 2
5 rounds of the following circuit: 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 20 crunches. 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal

If I had to choose one thing that makes the difference between someone who is successful in becoming a "healthy eater" and someone who is unsuccessful, it would be PLANNING.

When you are hungry, you will gravitate toward the easiest, fastest option. If, when you left the house, you threw a container of almonds and Cheerios or a protein bar in your purse, that is what you will eat. If you flew out the door without eating breakfast because you forgot to go to the grocery store, and didn't throw anything in your purse because you were late -- you will go to a McDonald's drive-through.

Planning: It's the bomb.

This Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal takes a little planning but not much prep time at all. It's so easy that all the ingredients and instructions would fit in the little description space on the Pinterest pin that I found it on.

Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal


Put two sliced apples, 1/3 cup brown sugar or honey, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in the bottom of a slow cooker.
Pour 2 cups of old-fashioned oats and four cups of water over the apples. Do not stir. Cook overnight for 8-9 hours on low.

In the morning you're good to go, and if you're the only one eating on this it will last you all week long.

A couple tips: after you've spooned your oatmeal into the bowl, add a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and some raisins to really take the taste over the top on this recipe. I had it "plain" and with peanut butter, and the peanut butter version won the prize, in my book.

Another thing: get yourself an apple slicer if you don't have one. It will make your life so much easier!



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Workout of the Day
Les Mills Power Kata 45

Monday, January 7, 2013

Les Mills COMBAT

Whoa, guys. Sorry for that long blogging break! With both kids at school this year there were unprecedented amounts of holiday events, parties, concerts, etc. to attend. Then they came home and all semblance of a schedule was lost. Blogging was on the back burner and then a month went by.

To catch you up on what we're doing now, workout-wise:

COMBAT!

We pre-ordered this program a few months ago, and to be honest I was only half-heartedly excited about it. I LOVE Les Mills PUMP, but the idea of a mixed-martial-arts, kicking and punching program brought me back to these days:


Don't get me wrong...I loved me some Billy Blanks back in the day. Just ask my downstairs neighbors at my college apartment! But since then I lost the love for kicking and punching. Maybe P90X Kenpo had something to do with that.

Love ya, Tony, but I can't stand the Kenpo workout.
As Beachbody Coaches, I kind of feel obligated to be "in the know" about the programs in our library, so we went ahead and ordered the program knowing it would be popular. Our plan was to dabble in COMBAT for the last few weeks of the year on route to hitting Asylum 2 in January.

Then we started trying out the workouts and absolutely dug them. This ain't no Billy Blanks kickin' and punchin'...this is Dan and Rach kickin' and punchin', which is completely different.


These two are dynamos. Quite frankly, I'm a little scared of Dan:

Les Mills Combat Reviews

Dude is hard core! He's also kind of a goober. I mean that in the nicest way possible!

When we found out how fun and challenging these workouts are, we decided to go ahead and complete the program. Zach has a 50-mile ultra marathon coming up on Feb. 2 (more on that later), so this program will be a great complement to his running schedule (whereas Asylum would probably be too much to combine with a ton of running).

We got the ultimate package, which contains 11 workouts, including two HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts that are 30 minutes long and absolute killers. It also comes with these gloves:


In my opinion, these gloves are key to making you feel like a super cool fighter chick (or dude). I did a workout without them, and I didn't feel like I punched with near the intensity as when I have them on. I know it's all psychological but hey, whatever works, right?

If you want to get a flavor for the workouts, here's a clip of Zach and me doing one of the tracks from the COMBAT Live: 60 workout. (Shout out to my budding videographer Drew.)


(Side note about YouTube: I love how they say "We detected your video may be shaky. Want us to fix it?" Hah! Of course it's shaky...a 7-year-old is filming it.)

As always, if you're interested in this program you can buy it here and get Zach and me as your FREE coaches. Who doesn't love free stuff? And also, who doesn't love feeling like a super cool fighter chick?

Here's what comes in the ultimate package:


11 body-shredding workouts:
  • LES MILLS COMBAT: THE BASICS. Master the techniques and movements you will use throughout all the LES MILLS COMBAT workouts.
  • LES MILLS COMBAT 30: KICK START. A low-complexity but high-intensity workout, introducing you to the basic LES MILLS COMBAT combination moves.
  • LES MILLS COMBAT 45: POWER KATA. This workout combines speed and power with cross-training for complete calorie scorching.
  • LES MILLS COMBAT 60: EXTREME CARDIO FIGHTER. Challenge your endurance with a high-repetition sequence of moves that will have your muscles firing on all cylinders.
  • LES MILLS COMBAT 60 LIVE: ULTIMATE WARRIOR'S WORKOUT. Upper body . . . legs and butt . . . core and cardio . . . this workout hits every muscle hard.
  • LES MILLS COMBAT: POWER HIIT 1. High Intensity Interval Training uses short bursts of maximum effort followed by recovery to push you into muscle-conditioning overload.
  • LES MILLS COMBAT: SHOCK PLYO HIIT 2. Uses propulsion exercises to improve athletic power and endurance, pushing you into peak performance mode.
  • CORE ATTACK. The very best integrated and isolated exercises to help give you the ultimate core strength while chiseling and shredding a serious six-pack.
  • INNER WARRIOR: STRETCH AND STRENGTH. Martial arts–based strength and flexibility training to enhance your balance, coordination, and strength.
  • WARRIOR WORKOUT 1: UPPER BODY BLOWOUT. Combines weighted moves with body resistance moves to help seriously sculpt and define your biceps, triceps, shoulders, core, and back.
  • WARRIOR WORKOUT 2: LOWER BODY LEAN OUT. Strengthen and lengthen your entire lower body—hips, thighs, buns, calves, and core—with this combination athletic/mixed martial arts training workout.
Plus, training tools for the Ultimate Warrior:
  • LES MILLS COMBAT Training Gloves. Engage more muscles in your arms, so you can punch harder, strike with more force, and maximize your workout—building those strong and sexy lean muscles while incinerating calories.

Try it as your New Year's workout...I think you'll like it!

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Workout of the Day
Les Mills Combat 60: Extreme Cardio Fighter