My first 5k.

Sunday, September 20, 2009.

Bangor, ME

Komen Foundation Race for the Cure.

My time: 42:36, 13:43 per mile.

Following the 5k, I have had a week off my running schedule.  This week I will be getting back into it.

Sorry for the clinical post today.  I’m a bit too tired for interesting writing tonight.  More later.

As awesome as a hundred billion hot dogs, sir.

Pretty excited.

Last week I finished Week 3 of my 5k training program, and am now embarking on entirely new territory (meaning I am farther in the program now than I ever have been during any of my numerous false starts in the past 3 years).  This week I am on to Week 4, which increases some of the running stints from 3 minutes to 5 minutes.  That’s pretty intense, for me.

In food-related news, I avoided a donut craving today, simply by being too lazy to drive back into town.  Actually, let me rephrase that.  I avoided a donut craving today after the FIRST donut place I went to was all out of donuts (how is that possible?!) and I was too lazy to drive back into town two blocks to get donuts elsewhere.  So I am a little more trans-fat free today, thanks to the Universe who makes some donut shops sell out, and laziness.

No recipes to share, as yet.  I am going to be making a birthday cake soon, so if you’re very lucky, I might post my famously fantabulous chocolate cake and homemade white frosting recipe.  Maybe.

Peace. 

Confession time

I am the worst kind of blogger.  Sadly, though, that means I’m pretty damn typical—one of those adventurous folks who dream up a fantabulous idea for a blog and steamroll ahead for a week, two weeks, maybe a month.  Then, nothing.  Occasionally we come back to our blogs, when we feel guilty for the .8 people on average who might happen to point their browser in our direction.

Blogging is a bit of a trial for me.  I love to write, but I hate having a commitment to do something.  A requirement, a deadline, a freaking obligation.  Perhaps this is why I have a hard time with running.  Oh yes, FYI, this blog is likely to be mostly about food and partly about why my brain hates running.  Anyway, back to topic at hand: obligation.  I hate obligation, most of all obligations to which only I hold myself to.  Obligations to other people are easier to handle, because at the very least in the end you get the respect of another person.  Personal obligations, like running, are only between me and me.  And I wimp out quite a lot.

I love food.  Cooking it, shopping for it, reading about it, talking about it, even writing about it.  But set up a blog, and suddenly it becomes an obligation.  And Nickelodeon is a hell of a lot more relaxing after a long day at work than seeing to a personal obligation.

So, apologies, I guess.  For being typical, and wimping out.  I’ll try to do better.

No significant food-related stuff to talk about today, so I’ll just mention a few favorite things that get me through the average day and/or week.

1.  Odwalla Choco-walla bars.  How can something so chocolatey-licious be good for you?  Though, Odwalla, don’t think I am fooled by the new packaging.  I know your Choco-wallas are now only 2 oz each as opposed to the original 2.2 oz.  The same price, too, hmmm?  I guess nothing is untouched by the bad economy, even chocolatey goodness.

2. Roasted grape tomatoes.  Can dinner get simpler?  I don’t think so, unless we’re talking non-homemade.  Boil pasta. Roast tomatoes with oil, herbs, salt, and a pinch of sugar for the length of time it takes to cook pasta.  Stir together.  Yum.

3.  Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla decaf iced coffee.  Yes, I know, I caved to the corporate media’s influence on America’s food choices (hey, at least I’m not drinking Starbucks).  But I health it up by getting it with skim milk, so…yeah.

4.  Oatmeal.  Oatmeal is defreakinglicious.  And super healthy for you too, as long as you don’t go hog wild with the mix-ins.  I like to make oatmeal at work, with frozen berries, agave, and milk if it’s on hand.  Can’t think of a better breakfast, unless you add some wheat germ and flaxseed to that mix.

5. AmazingGrass chocolate Green Superfood Powder.  I am noticing a chocolate-related trend here.  Green Superfood is awesomely good for your body, but tastes and feels like slimey grass.  UNLESS you buy the chocolate variety, which can be mixed almost pleasantly with milk.  I use mine as a recovery drink after a run.  10-12 oz cold milk, one scoop Chocolate Superfood powder, and a Tbs of Hershey’s Syrup (because, seriously, it needs a little more chocolate to cover up all the, um, green).  Stir, stir, stir, chug, chug, chug.  I highly recommended continuing to stir while you drink.  It’s fiber, people.  It’s not supposed to disappear completely, so there will be sediment to deal with.  It tastes almost like chocolate milk while you chug.   The chlorophyll doesn’t hit your tastebuds till 5 minutes after you’re done.  By then I’ve moved on to driving to Dunkin’ Donuts for my iced decaf coffee with skim milk.  A few minutes of green taste in my mouth is a small price to pay for super healthy good stuff in my body.

An update.

So, it’s been awhile.  My apologies.

Tonight I challenged my dad to a weigh-off.  He accepted. 

I plan to start using this blog to track my food intake and whatnot.  I’m sorry to say that there will probably not be many recipes in the next several weeks, unless I get extremely motivated.  But I do need a place to write down all my food intake and the corresponding point values.

My goal:  Lose 12 lbs by May 17th.  My prize: my dad has to donate $10 per pound lost to sponsor me in the American Heart Walk.
His goal: get down to 200 lbs by May 17th (a loss of 32 lbs).  His prize: I have to buy him a case of red creme soda for every 10 lbs he loses.

Thursday, 2 October 2008

Breakfast:

• 1 serving organic oat bran hot cereal (2)
• 1 cup skim milk (2)
• 1/3 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries (0)
• 1 tsp honey (0)

Snack:

• 1 No Pudge brownie (2)
• 1/2 cup natural no-sugar applesauce (0)

Lunch:

• 1 cup homemade beef stew (5)
• 1 serving baby carrot sticks (0)
• 1/2 cup natural, no-sugar-added applesauce (0)
• 1 No Pudge brownie (2)

Dinner:

• 1 cup homemade chili with ground chicken and beans (7)
• 1 serving cornbread (4)

Daily Points Budget/Used/Remaining: 26/24/2