What do you use instead of butter?

We're down the shore for the weekend and I realized I've been using a whole lot of butter for veggies, bread, pasta... I love butter! In fact, my sister made it a point to tell everyone at my wedding that my mom used to catch me eating STICKS of butter behind the curtains when I was little. Hard butter does not appeal to me, but melted butter on bread.. mmm. But I need to move away from the butter (and the cheese!) We used whipped butter at home, but I didn't buy any when we came to the beach. What do you use instead of butter for veggies? pasta? on bread when you just want the taste of butter?

I ate 2 bowls of ice cream last night! Ahh!!

We took Nick to the beach for the first time today - so much fun!

BOB IRONMAN

The bob on the right.
Travel system on the left

I have a few complaints about this thing. Maybe it is just things I don't know about it - anyone that has one, let me know your thoughts?

* The storage thingie under it - I can't even fit my diaper bag in it without having a war with it. It doesn't fold down or anything to get things in there?

* Making turns - can sometimes be kind of rough, especially right angles. Does the swivel wheel one (revolution) work better?

* The plastic thingie up top - I can't even see Nick's face using this thing. Now he is in the infant contraption, but when he is bigger, what will I be looking at - the top of his head?


On the positive side, it is versatile, but he does bounce around quite a bit on poor roads. Down the shore, I've had to tip toe over curbs at the end of each block so that he isn't bouncing everywhere!

A friend of mine - Lauren - has the travel system by Graco. The bottom part folds down to fit things in, and it still has a cup holder, and the plastic thingie works perfectly to see the baby!

What do you have to add?

Good luck SD runners!

Good luck to the SD marathoners this weekend - have fun! Wish I was running too!

Well the shore feels like the dead of winter, and no sun to report yet. Gah.

I took Nick for a jog and it was much better than yesterday. It must be less humid out. I could breathe better and didn't want to die. I also found that Jillian's workouts are on YOUTUBE!! And on demand, they only have levels 1 and 2. I found level 3. It was hard! This is only the 3rd circuit. You have to do part 1, part 2 and part 3.



I was going to take off today - walking with this thing is a nice mini workout in itself.


This morning's breakfast was more sweet potato pancakes. I added in some almond butter, but you couldn't even taste it - so that was a waste! Nick seems to be feeling better this morning.

Lunch - mini la tortilla wrap w/ some moz and avocado slices, dr praegers veggie burger and tomato sauce. The burger ended up going into the quesadilla and it got dipped in the sauce.


Lizzie asked for the recipe for the raw bars. I'm going off of the one from this blog. The picture there really makes me want them!

I took 3 tbs of dates (and I needed to ate water due to buying already chopped dates) and a cup of other things - for "Samoa" - I filled the measuring cup with coconut, chocolate chips, oats, and cocoa. I food processed it a bit.

Fit it in

Nick chilling while I ran

This morning we were heading down the shore. Nick was up last night at 11, then 2, and 5. Back to the old days for a night, it was rough! I had planned to get up around 8 to run, and I was up at 8, but so was Nick, and he was all stuffy and fussy. I ended up running around 10, and having to speed race the last few minutes, hop on and off of the treadmill to entertain Nick, and finally with 5.9 miles I stopped. I packed a few things up, put some things in the car, and hopped back on the treadmill and ran as fast as I thought I could (8.0) to finish up to 6.5 miles. It wasn't very fun, but it was nice and quick! The house was so humid - it was not comfortable running weather!

We left for the shore and I took Nick for a walk and later a quick jog, but again - humid, even though it is 60 down here! I was going to go for 3.5 miles to finish up to 10 today but I made it less than that, I have to map it out.






I made these yummy raw food bars last night - tried making them like Samoas - the girl scout cookies. I started with the dates, then added chocolate chips, cocoa, oatmeal, and almonds. They were good!



A few people are running their first half marathons coming up - check out the guide!

One of those swims

Today, I had one of those swims where I lost track of the time and realized I was swimming longer than I planned to. I usually go for 45 minutes and leave Nick at the daycare. More than that usually makes it difficult to get home in time for him to eat and would make the car ride home tricky. When I dropped Nick off today, it was shortly after he ate, and he was asleep. I was planning on 30 minutes today because I was so unmotivated on Saturday, I didn't know if I would really be feeling it. I followed the workout on the board from this morning's masters workout. I looked at my watch the first time and 27 minutes had passed. I kept going. Next time I looked 40 minutes were done! And the next time 47 - so I just kept going until I did 3000 yds. It took me around 55 minutes.

Last year swimming at LM with the Masters, we could do that in about 45 minutes. It would help alot if I could swim with people, but it was a good workout for today! I finished it off with Jillian level 2 - how many levels are there of this? I only do either level 1 or level 2 once a week. I feel like they are the same difficulty and it helps me to lift when I might not do so.Here's my oatmeal w/ a 1/2 tbs peanut butter, some flax, mystery grain and cinnamon.
After that I had my kashi with a few almonds. I'm out of cranberries and it made a difference!
Lunch was a la tortilla wrap w/ spinach frittata.
I had my berry smoothie w/ banana and protein powder and I've had some chocolate today and hard candy.
Dinner will probably be leftovers from last night or a veggie burger and some mushrooms.

I followed up on my letter to the sup't from last week, (I hadn't heard a thing), and they said they were looking into it - which could be good.

As soon as I thought about it, leaving Nick a few days a week, I was like, oh boy, what did I get myself into? But it would be a good thing. Right now, I decided, as much as I miss work, I'm living a life of luxury, kind of. I have no real stress in my life and it is so rewarding to spend the day with little Nick! I was thinking of having the first 2 kids pretty close together, like a year or year and a half. But this is fun and not chaos yet, so I might spread those 2 out a bit more than I thought to enjoy this more!

local 10 miler and savings for fall races

better on the veggies today

Decent eating day

Hodgepodge dinner

Chickpeas with curry, and lentil burgers

D10 zucchini

Do you do really well at salad bars or eating out with veggies? I do. But I did pretty good tonight.
I made D10 squash, mushrooms & chickpeas. I also had spinach frittata for lunch. And a berry smoothie with that. Fruits and veggies were decent ! Still, I'm high in carbs and fat, I think. But the calories were about the same, so I'm going with it.

Mini spinach ravioli and mushrooms

Fitday is really very cool, and if you click on the tab on the piechart screen next to the chart, it says nutrition, it takes you to a list of all of the vitamins and what you are deficient in - in red.
I've used it often when I'm trying to lose weight and count everything. Now, I don't even know what I'm doing, so I'm just playing along.


San Diego checklist (generic)- good luck runners!
Pop quiz - where is the picture from the San Diego checklist from?

Making your own nutters

Make your own...

Thanks for the help on yesterday's post. I usually do eat more veggies than that, and butterscotch tastetastions are my Werthers hard candy addiction. Eat more veggies, for sure. I'm getting off the bars little by little - mostly by making my own! That program to track your foods is at fitday and is free! If anyone has thoughts on the calories -more? less?, let me know!

Lately, since I'm not going back to work for another year and a few months, I figured I could start trying to make things on my own. I've always been one to see things in the store and try to make it at home - from greeting cards to wedding countdown boards, jewelry and emergency wedding kits, and food! Here are some of the foods that I started making on my own. My latest inspiration has been the fun gang over at Hangry Pants - Heather & Mark - who happen to be Villanova grads too!

I asked for a food processor for Christmas and I've definitely utilized the thing!

This one doesn't really count, but I started buying dried beans and soaking them to use for my dinners. They taste better and it saves money!



Nut butters - almond and peanut butter. It is probably better if I stop doing this so that I stop eating so many nutters, but I'll buy it at the store anyway!

Bean patties - so easy to make and healthy ! Using my dried soaked beans...




And most recently - Lara type bars.
I used 4 tbs of pitted dates and added some water. Food processed.
Then added cocoa roast almonds (so good), oatmeal, cranberries, a bit of coconut and a few chocolate chips. I didn't measure (I'm so bad at measuring things but a good baker!) but was aiming for 12 tbs. I added all that in the food processor and processed a little, but so that they were still chunky. I made them into mini bars and I put them in the fridge (after trying one) and they are so good!


This morning's breakfast - sweet potato pancakes adapted from Jessica Seinfeld's recipe:
1/2 cup sweet potato mashed (or pumpkin)
1 cup water
1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder
cinnamon

There are tons of make your own options and they are getting more popular - here are a few!
YouBar
Mix your own granola
element bar

In the spirit of make your own, Hangry Pants is having an element bar contest:
contest


Running - has been going ok. I've been slacking on stretching and did yoga for the first time yesterday in several weeks. My knees are the victim here, in the yoga and stretching slacking off so I have to get back into that. I ran 33 miles last week but a good amount of the running was kind of a drag.


Nutrition before the run article

Advice wanted

Yesterday I counted everything I put in my mouth! The only thing that I left out was the oat bran in my oatmeal. Here's what resulted: (click to make bigger)2133 calories.
FAT 77.9 grams 32%
CARBS 1064 50%
Protein 98.5 18%

This was a semi typical day, except for the pizza for dinner. We had a trader joe's pizza crust with tomatoes and cheese. I ate mushrooms on the side and forgot to log that.

What are your thoughts? Where should I make some changes? I think the fat grams seem kind of high but I don't really know. Maybe on the days that I am running, I should be eating more than this? Like I said, I've been feeling pretty tired by early evening and pretty much I eat when I'm hungry. I'll take anything you have to say. I know I need to fuel my body especially with running and the extra work it is doing to feed Nick! Constructive criticism - I like it.

Tonight's featured dinner: Spinach Frittata and Stuffed Portabello

Spinach Frittata is my once a week staple. It is so easy to make and gets in lots of spinach. It is delicious! Spinach Frittata - a recipe adapted from Cooking Light
4 egg whites
2 eggs
salt and pepper to flavor
one bag of frozen spinach
cheese of your liking or just skip the cheese

*You can also use mushrooms, or any veggies with the spinach.
** The original recipe calls for sauteed onions and smoked Gouda cheese.
Cook the spinach then add to a medium bowl. Beat the eggs and add them to the spinach, add in the cheese, salt and pepper. I cook it in a pie plate for 25-30 minutes until browned on the top.

Stuffed Portabellos
Choose your stuffing - breadcrumbs, couscous, quinoa, brown rice...
Tonight I used quinoa.
Use about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of whatever you choose, place in a bowl (already cooked grains), add 1 tbsp butter, 1/4 c freshly grated locatelli cheese. Makes 2 portabellos Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Yum!

Long weekend

Yesterday I went swimming and it was a drag! I felt like my arms were each like 50 pounds and kind of felt like I was 8 months pregnant again! It was a struggle to get through the 2500 yards/45 minutes. I can't wait till I can get to the masters. I swam 3 days this week and hope to get back into that routine. After swimming, I went to Gentile's market in Newtown Square (for any locals) - fruit and veggies there are great prices!! I got tons of berries, fennel, zucchini, mushrooms, & bananas. I got all this stuff for $26 bucks. The berries were like $1 and $1.39 for the little ones and blueberries $3! I need to make a habit of going here once a week for my produce. So cheap!
hard to see but 3 containers of mushrooms, 3 raspberries, 2 blueberries, 3 blackberries, bag of green beans, 2 tomatoes, a head of fennel, 2 bunches of bananas, an avocado and 3 zucchini

Running - is going ok. My knees are kind of hurting, and running has been just ok since my treadmill "race" last weekend.

Food - I'm debating whether to calorie count still, and kind of just not in a good place with how I feel about my body right now, as summer gets closer and my stomach is a ball of yuck. I'm eating well, but either too much or too little. I'm tired everyday around 4pm, sometimes I wake up starving, and sometimes I feel full and gross. I wish I had a food advisor.

Breakfast- oatmeal, 1 tbsp almond nutter, oatbran, cinnamon
Then kashi go lean, cranberries and 10 almonds


That was around 10-11, and I'm ready for lunch! Probably some bean patties or a veggie burger.


Last night I made some lentil burgers similar to the pinto bean patties, but using the lentils like Heather & Mark did. They turned out pretty similar. They are still a bit dry, but tasty. I think they'd be good with guacamole. That is an avocado on top but it wasn't ready yet! Not ripe enough. Mushrooms, tomatoes and some colby jack cheese cubes.



My latest article - 5 local marathons:

Philadelphia Running Examiner: Time to start thinking about fall marathons

Back to work...for a day

I have been looking forward to today for about 2 weeks. I was able to grade state tests today - a one day thing. Yesterday I started thinking, oh man, I can't take Nick to the Y to swim, we can't play, etc etc. But, last night I was ready and excited.

So today I headed into work. It was strange getting up, getting dressed. It felt really good. Nick was up at 3:30 from 9ish, not the best, but I got up around 5:15 to go on the treadmill. Having to pump first, it cut my workout short, but I ran 3.5 miles while I watched the news. It reminded me of the old days. I kind of liked it. I took a quick shower, Nick was awake around 6, so after getting changed I fed him. I had wanted to change my shirt, wasn't too sure about the outfit, but that went by the wayside, so what I had on was what I left the house with. I managed to make oatmeal and tea - I ate in the oatmeal at red lights on the way in the car. I fed Nick while walking around the house making sure I had everything together. Bill was staying with him till 8 and going into work late, and my mom took off today to watch him. I left the house when I wanted to and headed into work.

As I was nearing work, I started to feel sick. It wasn't that I didn't want to go. It just felt so normal and routine to be driving to work. As I walked up to the stoplight where some colleagues were standing, and they took a double take then gave me hugs, I felt really weird! Just that it was normal, like I could just jump right back into it. I made it up to the 3rd floor where I teach (taught), and felt the same way. It felt comfortable, normal - that I was there. I feel like I could do it - and I'm sure that I can, but leaving Nick 5 days a week - I wouldn't want to do. Still, there is no happy medium and I didn't want to regret that I left him. On Sunday, I emailed the superintendent to see if I could substitute teach - I could do this 1-3 days a week. He hasn't responded yet. I think this would be so great. I am almost sure he will say no. I just wish there was a way for me to stay involved with the kids and the math, and WORK. It is hard work staying home, and I definitely could do the working mom thing - I would just rather do it part time until Nick is a bit bigger. In fact, I think working (basing it only on this one day) will make me feel well rounded, and like who I am.


In other news, I started writing about running in Philly and wrote my first article on the Broad Street run. Check it out! It is a mini side job that I'll be doing. I think that I earn a cent for every view. Other than that, I am tutoring, but it just is not the same and could never replace teaching. I don't plan to stay home forever, but I think it will be harder and harder to leave Nick and then more kids. Maybe I should have just headed back in September (but too late now), so as not to prolong the process? I think about this often. And then I would return to who I am and figure out how I will include Nick in the who I am as a teacher - wife - and mom.

These adjustments are tricky.

POM

Molly from POM wonderful sent me a case of mini POM juices to try. If the bottle wasn't cute enough, the juice is pretty thirst quenching. POM juice has a slew of health benefits backed by research.

Some of these HEALTH BENEFITS are :

improved blood flow
slows onset of prostate problems
super antioxidant power
Notable Nutritional Info for 8 oz:
150 calories
600g potassium
37g carbs


Here were my thoughts on the POM -

• It is pretty sweet and high in calories. I diluted it with water and it was less sweet and cut back on some of those calories.

• It was a bit tangy, but it came in the mail on one of those super hot and humid days last week. I'm wondering if maybe it lost some of its flavor from being in the heat.

• I was a big fan of the bottle. It is cute and fun to carry around in the small size.

• I like the antioxidant power of it and the health benefits.
  
  
• At the store they sell it in bigger servings and it can be pretty costly. However if you dilute it - then you are getting more for your buck!

Today I went swimming. It could have been a day to get up and go to the masters since Nick was up around 4:50 and masters starts at 5. But I was like a pirate. I couldn't keep my one eye open as hard as I tried. So I went back to bed and swam on my own. The neat thing is that the workout that they do is always up on the board still when I go. So I still do the workout (at least 45 min of it) just not with the fun/challenge of swimming with other people. Hopefully soon I'll get Nick on a schedule. It is kind of frustrating that I suck at getting him on one.


In continuing my being thankful for this week, today I'll be thankful for my mom. I always give her a hard time.
5 nice things to say
1- She is super thoughtful. She would always put a good luck note in my lunchbag when I had big games in high school. She would be the mom who bought the seniors flowers and organize things like that.
2- she doesn't hold a grudge. I've been mean to her, definitely, from college and on. I threw an orange at her on purpose this one time in florida I was mad, and it hit her in the head. I would probably not speak to me for a long time. But she forgets and moves on. I hope Nick doesn't throw any fruit at me.
3 - she is carefree and doesn't really let much bother her
4- she wants to be involved with everything and wants to help everyone. She is a really good person
5- she would do anything for me. She's a great mom



Nick is getting huge and his feet touch the floor now from the jumperoo!

Do you TOFU?

I eat tofu just out of the package - I'll chop it up and stick some other veggies with it and just eat it. If Bill is going to have some, I'll grill it with some olive oil. What do you do with your tofu?

Today is just gorgeous out. What a great day! I ran on the treadmill this morning while Nick finished sleeping and then got out later to the path at Valley Forge to run a few miles. I wasn't planning on it, but I was out that way and always have my running clothes in the car, and it was just too beautiful out not to go! Nick was a bit fussy, or I would have probably done another mile. I did 7 this morning in a little over an hour (mid/high 8 pace) and 2 miles later in the morning at a 9:20 pace. Now that I know I can go a bit faster, I'm pushing it harder. And it is nice!

Nick is starting to require more attention and stimulation. When he starts crawling, I am in for it. Good thing I still have a few more months.

Do you take the people that you love for granted? I am horrible with this. Then if something happens or they leave, I feel sad. It is a huge thing that I need to work on. Bill went on a one night trip to Chicago for work last night. I always miss him when he leaves.

5 things I appreciate about Bill:

He is a really good dad
He is super thoughtful
He is loving and sweet
Going on a date (we had our first date since Nick this past weekend) feels just like our first date
He makes really good Banana Bread and stuffed portabellos

Even though I can be a big pain in the butt sometimes, I always love you Beez!

The Run that was

After making more almond butter this morning, I hopped on the treadmill.

I had a great run this morning! I was thinking about doing a 10k that I've done the last 2 years, but it is about a 40-45 minute drive, and I hadn't signed up. I knew last might I wasn't going to make it, with those excuses in mind - semi long drive, I could sleep in, I could save money, it was humid out... yeah. So I told myself I'd definitely run as fast as I could on the treadmill for a 10k. So I did that. I did the 10k in 49:28 which wasn't bad. I definitely took a couple of stops though, so I cheated. I varied the inclines because it was a hilly course. I kept running and did 7.48 miles in the hour and 8 miles with the cooldown in 1:05. That is the fastest I've gone in a non-race in a while, so that was great! I was sweating my A** off - the workouts you can't do when you are pregnant!

While I was running I was thinking how cool it would be if you could login your treadmill and do a course with other people and compete against them. Like in the Wii Fit, you could see the course and the incline would change when there were hills, etc. How cool would this be?



After running I had some Kashi w/ cranberries and almonds.





For lunch, I made these burgers that I saw on Heather's blog.

I used:
2 cups pinto beans that were from a bag - dried and I soaked 2 days ago
1/2 c oatmeal
2 egg whites
a tad of water
1 tbsp of oil
some cilantro
a handful of shredded cheese

I put them in the food processor and then baked them. I forgot to add salt so they definitely needed that. They were a bit dry but good. I liked them. I liked how they stayed together, my normal black bean patties don't stick together. I added some quinoa and shredded cheese and ketchup and put them on a La Tortilla Wrap - very yummy.

I had some POM juice with that. More on that soon.

Dinner:



tomato soup ala Martha Stewart w/ old bread rosemary croutons
WW Quesadilla w/ mushrooms and mozzarella

Chocolate, not flowers

I don't like flowers. For mothers day, I kept getting flowers. For special events, flowers. I don't like flowers. I kill flowers (not on purpose). I'd rather have some Dove Chocolate. Cheaper, lasts longer, and so much more fulfilling. Just wanted to put that out there.

Eating has been pretty good. Still cutting back on the nutters! Hey Lizzie - you don't have a blog? You always have great ideas - I want to read more!

Today Nick and I went to watch some of my students in the Stotesbury Regatta on Kelly Drive. I was a little nervous of how Nick would be down there, but it was a nice day and what else did I have to do? Parking was going to be a bit crazy. I decided to get off in Manayunk. I just remembered it was 6 miles from the end of Manayunk to the finish of the Philly marathon, so I thought I could run from there to the races, but wow, I'm glad I didn't do that. It would have turned into a 10 mile BOB run. I ended up parking by the Falls Bridge and got a nice 3.5 to 4 mile run in - although it was like 75 degrees and so humid and gross. I didn't really watch the races, I mainly just chatted and saw some of my students.

This whole week has for some reason been rough. I miss teaching. This is such a huge adjustment and some days are just hard. I love my little guy, but I wish I could work part-time and still be teaching. I really really miss it!

Busy Busy!

You are supposed to be napping mister!!!

This week has been busy. I ate my breakfast (oat bran) out of the pot yesterday ! Nick hasn't been napping too well, I'm working on that. When he doesn't nap, I get nothing done.

Eating:
I've been eating my oatmeal or oat bran w/o the peanut butter. This has been better for me! And having cereal (Kashi Go Lean) w/ cranberries and almonds on the side of it so that I am full in the morning. It seems to help so that there are less spoon and peanut butter jar issues. I am back to some smoothies the last 2 days. I bought the frozen cherry berry mix of fruits from trader joe's and that makes me want a smoothie. I've been eating well with fruits and veggies and good snacks, but I still wake up starving and am hungry at night. I counted calories a couple of days and it was around 2000-2200. I'm thinking maybe I need to eat more, but that whole eating more thing when I want to get some weight off, has never worked for me. What do you think?

Here's an idea of what I'm eating this week (it hasn't changed much)
balance bar pre workout
Oatbran/Oatmeal w/ a little brown sugar, flaxseed, wheat germ and cinnamon
Kashi Go Lean w/ cranberries and almonds
cherry/blueberry/raspberry/blackberry/ banana, milk and flax smoothie
multigrain flax trader joe's crackers w/ my almond nutter
2 mini apples
a bunch of werthers - a big problem - I eat alot of these
California veggie burger - dr praegers on whole wheat bread - these are yummy - w/ ketchup
spinach frittata
Boca cheeseburger
Z bar/granola bar/pick at kashi at night


One of my worst things is when I bake. I always have to try what I've baked and try the batter. I did that yesterday. The picture of the blondies that I saw just made me have to make some for a friend whose dog died. No matter how hard I try, I almost always can't say no to licking the spoon and trying the baked good. What is your biggest temptation?


I haven't been running very well, so I cut back to longer runs but less days. Pushing the stroller makes running insane. My whole upper body gets a major workout too. Abby was brave and pushed it for a bit while we ran on Tuesday. I ran with it today and it felt like the longest run ever.

Today I received some POM juice in the mail that I am going to try out and tell you about soon!
Hope everyone is having a good week!

Mother's Day and more

Mother's Day was a good time. Hope all you mamas out there had a nice day. We went to the Susan Komen run/walk in Philly. It was a ****show as far as running it. With baby in tow, we got there a bit later than usual, and I wasn't able to line up near the front. There were all these walkers lined up but the walk started 10 minutes later. I was pissed! But I was laughing hysterically at what effort it took to try to run, it seemed like 80% walkers from where I started. My first mile was 8:35 as a result. On the official clock (no chips) it was 11:00. Good to know for next time, get to the start way in advance and move up to get an official time. So, I ran it in 25:32, about 2 minutes + from my best time, but I am not going to count it. I was considering not handing in my bib# thing, my clock time was around 28:00. Annoying.

Bill (and Nick) gave me a really sweet photo book with all of these memories, sweet and funny things in there. It was a great idea and heartfelt gift - I got all teared up!!

The rest of the day we had a brunch with my parents, Bill's parents and my Uncle +kids. Ended up making a lighter version of the egg casserole, with multigrain pancakes and strawberries - so options. The men did not get up and attempt to help. I thought that was pretty lame. Bill was helpful but not the others. After everyone left I was glued to the couch. Exhausted.
_________________________________________________________
Update on WHAT IS THAT?
I think it is wheat germ. I have oat bran and flax in my cupboard so wheat germ is my best guess. I'll have to look up its qualities to see if using it in oatmeal is helpful or if I should bake with that stuff.
_________________________________________________________

I'm tired. And my feet still hurt. I was reading that some other people have foot issues after pregnancy just from a google search, but it is annoying. My knees are hurting a bit too, so I did some Jillian Shred today and kickboxing. It is hard to take an easy day when I feel like I need to sweat it out and drop some poundage, but running today wasn't going to be a good idea.

_________________________________________________________
Snacks: I'm really trying to eat well, today I am trying to really be aware of what I am eating and how much of it. I always measure the oatmeal in the morning but that is it. So today I measured out my cereal and oatmeal, and the cranberries. I think I am pretty good at eyeballing it anyways. Latest favorite snacks: Kashi Go Lean w/ cranberries and almonds, the chickpeas with honey and cinnamon toasted - gotta try these!, apples & sometimes a banana (these aren't my favorite but they are good for me), sipping green tea. I think I could just fall asleep and take a nap today. No sun out.

Some pics

I took Nick running around Ardmore on Tuesday when I had to wait for the car to be serviced. It was a little colder than I expected so I put my prized possession nike hatphones hat on him. It was a little big :)

WHAT IS IT?

what is it??

This is in my fridge. I remember it was in a bag and the bag ripped so I moved it into a container. I forget what it is - I think wheat germ? But I feel like it is too flaky. Any guesses?

Serving others____________________________________________________
I like to bake. What I usually do is bake something, taste one or two, and bring it to work. Or I'll bake for friends & family. I was a healthy baker for a while and experimenter, but I wasn't too popular among the critics (Bill, family) - they wanted the real stuff. So now when I bake, I make the butter laden "good" stuff. This doesn't really go with my diet or eating values - should I go back to being a healthy baker? I started thinking about that today. For mother's day, I was going to make this egg casserole my mom makes for events. It is like swimming in fat (cheese, butter). I complain that my parents and the fockers bring fat laden junk, but then I serve it! So I was thinking instead maybe some multigrain french toast? w/ strawberries. Mmm. Then everyone is probably going to want to go out to breakfast after and get their omelettes and bacon. Hmm. What do you think?

Nick passed out while I ran...

SALUTE TO Angela - tiart

This week's runners lounge is a salute to a running mom. Since my mom doesn't run, no matter how hard I try...

I'm saluting ANGELA for her amazingness - she has a little guy, Zach, works full time, and is super speedy. She gets up before work and gets in crazy workouts, this computrain thing that sounds incredibly cool, track workouts, long runs, swimming at lunch. I don't know how she does it, but she gets it all in, she runs fast, and seriously PRed at her last race. She ran the Disney 1/2 marathon just a few months after giving birth, and ran it fast. She gets it all done and is totally inspiring to me.

Angela, you inspire me! I hope I can someday follow your suit.

A salute to Angela.. and a Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Swim along

Yesterday I took Nick swimming for almost an hour. A kid had pooped in the rec pool so we went in the lap pool - it was kind of cold, but he was awesome and didn't cry. He liked it! He slept 3 hours after that and 9 hours last night. Today I took him back to swim. The kid pool is kind of nuts. There are kids jumping, splashing and throwing stuff. Where are their parents? Yea, I don't know. We went in the lanes next to the kid pool which are deeper and I walked him up and down the lane. He put his head back today and really enjoyed it. He is taking his nice long nap now! While I'm there, alone, people come up and tell me stories about when they started swimming with their kid, etc etc.

Today a lady told me if I let go of him, he'd float, because it is innate. Well, I'm not ready for that yet, even though I sort of believe her. She was normal and nice. Another lady comes up with a kid who looked really annoying and asked me if I was breastfeeding. Wait What?? Really? She could tell by his skin. And she was going on about it. This is when I need to have another language ready and pretend I don't speak english. But how do you tell the nuttos from the normal nice people? Yesterday I was making a mommy friend before my friend Jen came to the pool with her little boy, and that was fun! But whoa, today taught me the lesson to analyze the questions you are getting asked and break into another language quickly and move away.

In any case, swimming might be a daily thing. He enjoys it and so do I!

Being more conscious and working about eating a little more, here was my day today

Oatmeal with 1 TBSP almond nutters, some oat bran and cinnamon
Kashi with cranberries and mini chocolate chips
Apple
Banana
1/2 a powerbar on the road
Gardenburger chicken kind on 1/2 a La Tortilla Wrap
Spinach Fritatta on a piece of whole wheat bread
For dinner: Stuffed Portabellos & homemade Black Bean Burger w/ some kind of veggie on the side

Doing better! Less nutters !

New Winner

Sorry unathletic runner!

Jennifer Burgett - send me your info!

10 mile recovery and better eating

The 10miler probably took longer than the marathon to recover from! My quads have been sore since their wake up call on Sunday. I've done some slow short runs, today, yesterday and Monday.
I still don't know how I even managed a pace under 9 with how slow I've been training, but that just shows that my legs are ready to rumble!!

I've been eating better since Monday. Snacks have been apples and bananas, kashi go lean cereal w/ almonds, cranberries and some mini chocolate chips. Last night I had a big bowl of honey/cinnamon roasted chickpeas. They were great since I always have a sweet tooth! I want to try these burgers that have been suggested by Jessica - eating goes well when I have self control.

I dropped Nick at the Y today for 1/2 hour this afternoon. I met a friend and we took our boys swimming and after that he was passed out, so he slept there and I ran. They seemed to do a better job checking everything.

Nick is 3 months today! That FLEW by.

Unathletic runner - you have till the end of the day today! tomorrow I will have to pick a new winner :(

Oikos and claim your prize

Unathletic runner - you have till Wednesday at midnight to claim your prize - otherwise I will redraw on Thursday morning.

Thank you for all of the healthy snack ideas! : ) Check out the chickpea one (comment) - chick peas, honey and cinnamon - bake on a baking sheet - that is really good! I just made it! Thanks Helen!

Does anyone have a BOB REVOLUTION? I have the BOB ironman. Let me know if you've heard any reviews comparing the 2 and your thoughts if you have one of these.


OIKOS
Stonyfield sent me some coupons to try Oikos, so I tried the vanilla and honey flavors. I have had Chobani before, so this wasn't a new taste to me. Many of you have tried it out there. The yogurt is full of protein which is great for runners keeping the protein high (and vegetarians like me!) and low in calories plus non fat. It is creamy and not too sweet. I found it to be a little heavier than Chobani for those who have tried it. It is filling and a good snack or breakfast add on to eat! The only negative thing is that it is expensive!!! I've seen it for $1.79 and $1.99. So you need coupons for sure!

**I talked to the supervisor @ the Y yesterday, she didn't seem too concerned. I'll probably see if it goes better next time I go, and if not talk to the manager of the place. I'm sorry, but the whole place seems like a S**show. They do not have it together and the workers there are not very nice.

Lessons Learned/Eating/What's next

Lessons from Yesterday's 10 miler
I should be running faster. I haven't even considered myself in real training or anything, but I think I've just been kind of using the excuse that I had a baby a few months ago. I think I can start getting my speed back now that the marathon is over and 2 weeks have passed. I'll start up slowly! I don't know how I managed that 8:15 pace when I've been running tops 9:30 minute pace the last 2 weeks, and mostly a 10 minute pace. I'm happy!

I am sore today - mostly my quads, but also my abs and back! I love being sore. I swam this morning and it kind of loosened my legs but it felt better 2 days post race, rather than 1 (for Boston). I did an easy 3 miles this evening. I should have done yoga and it was in the plan, but the plan didn't fully happen. I'll stretch out more later.

Does anyone watch Channel 6 locally? Seriously - Cecily Tynan did a 1:05 yesterday - she's 40 and the young looking Adam Joseph - he's 31 - did a 1:07. Really? I need to get my act together.


What I ate today: Do I need to eat more? less?
I'm waiting till 4 months, to see what happens and then I'll decide if I should count calories and have a serious lose 10 pounds plan, but what are your thoughts? My weight is 135.2. My starting pre-prego weight was 131. My real weight should be 125-128. I would like to drop 10 pounds but haven't been serious about it with the nursing and training. You'd think the weight would drop off with the training - but nope! Check what I ate -

Banana (pre swim)
Chobani Yogurt w/ 1 tbspish Nanners Nutters (post swim - starving)
Some special K cereal (pretty hungry still post-swim at my parents house)
Oatmeal w/ Wheat Germ, tbspish Nanners Nutters (normal breakfast when I got home)
1/2 a Z bar, cranberries
1/2 a grilled cheese with amer. cheese and tofu (usually don't eat this but my sister came over)
a gardenburger w/ ketchup and 1/2 slice of bread (still hungry after lunch)
Scoops of Nanners Nutters - made some more
Morningstar sausage patty (still hungry pre-dinner)
Luna Bar ( pretty starving pre-dinner)
Some homemade peanut hummus and crackers (yeah, still hungry)
Planned dinner: zucchini ala D10, mushrooms, & pasta

Too much peanut butter. Get it OUT!My thoughts: Zbar / Luna bar - need to be replaced with fruit/veggies - any ideas what kind for snacking? I'm obviously hungry so my meals should be a little bigger so I'm not snacking all day but I'm more of a 6 small meals person than 3 large ones. I'll take any suggestions. I feel like I go to the grocery store so often for produce.

Per my nutritional visit last summer I should be eating around 2700 cal- which seems so high! How much do you think I'm eating?

My workout today: 40 minute swim (2500 yards) & 3 easy miles.


What's next
I kind of want to do another marathon soon, like in a month. The weather has to be temperate though, and I can't really travel - it is just hard w/ Nick. I found the DE marathon in a couple weeks but it is sold out! Really small one unfortunately.

I have the fall planned out - Philly Distance Run (1/2 marathon) and Philly marathon, but some of the other runs I've done (Baltimore 1/2) are on the bubble. I don't want to have to travel and spend money on a hotel and driving there now that I'm not working. Steamtown Marathon was on my mind - but I would have to travel and stay overnight - so I'll have to think about that one! Any suggestions ? I want to see what I can do with some real training and getting my speed back. But...I also want to have another baby kind of close in age, so the sooner the marathon the better!

2 weeks post Boston - a look back at my training

My training for Boston – pregnant to post partum

This is mostly for my record, and for any other crazy women out there that might attempt to do Boston or a marathon soon after having a baby. While on the blog Running for 2, I found Karla – who did this a few years ago. She was a great mentor and gave me the hope that I could do it!

There were many people that asked me if I was crazy, told me how tired I would be, told me how challenging it would be with breastfeeding, and those who asked me if I really thought I could do it. I believed that I could the whole time, though I was scared when people would doubt me, because I didn’t really know what I was getting into, it being my first experience giving birth and recovering!

Luckily, Nick is my angel child and came 2 weeks early (wahoo!) and has been a great baby, allowing me to train the first 2 months of his life while he napped or sat contently on the couch.
My training for the Boston Marathon started the week of Jan 12. Up to this point, I had been consistently running an average 30 miles a week. A few weeks I dropped below that, but the majority of my pregnancy, I ran 30-35 miles a week. My last long run (I'm considering long runs 10+ miles) was 16 miles on November 8, and I walked the Philly ½ marathon the end of November - I planned to run the full marathon at a slow pace, but my body planned otherwise and I ended up having to walk, and stop at 1/2 way. The week of January 12, I brought back the long runs. Here is my weekly mileage and my long run that week.

Training for Boston - starting at 35 weeks pregnant, finishing at 10 weeks postpartum
WEEK MILEAGE LONG RUN TIMING
Jan 12 30.1 miles 11 miles 35 weeks pregnant
Jan 19 30.8 miles 11.26 miles 36 weeks pregnant
Jan 26 34.6 miles 12 miles 37 weeks pregnant
Feb 2 12.6 miles Nick born Feb 6 (38 weeks!)
Feb 9 4 miles recovery week! 1 week postpartum
Feb 16 24.3 miles no long run 2 weeks pp
Feb 23 33 miles 10.5 miles 3 weeks pp
March 2 35.3 miles 12.3 miles 4 weeks pp
March 9 36 miles 14 miles 5 weeks pp
March 16 40.6 miles 16 miles 6 weeks pp
March 23 42.9 miles 20 miles 7 weeks pp
March 30 36.4 miles 12 miles 8 weeks pp
April 6 36 miles 8 miles 9 weeks pp
April 13 20 miles Marathon 10 weeks + 3 days pp

Running from 35- 38 weeks pregnant:
Before 35 weeks, and as the pregnancy went on, I became slower and slower! The key was to listen to my body. I started many runs and had to stop and finish later due to side stiches/cramps.

Running shorter runs was not too bad. I averaged usually between 10 and 11 minute miles. (short run pre-preg pace: 7:30-8:30 minute miles). All runs were "easy" runs - I was rarely pushing the pace (ok, maybe for like 5-10 seconds to remind myself what it felt like) and NOT doing any tempo or speedwork. My long runs in those first 3 weeks were survival running. For example, my long runs were between 11 and 12:30 minute miles (Long runs before were probably between 8-9 minute miles but I can't even remember that!). Most of my times averaged 11:30 minute miles for long runs. My long runs were on the treadmill, and I took probably one pee break for every mile that I ran. I stopped for snack breaks and water breaks. They took FOREVER. They took up my whole Saturday, and sometimes I'd have to start them, I'd get a cramp and have to stop for 20 minutes, and finish it later. It was interesting for sure.

Running after baby:
Overall, since I ran throughout the whole pregnancy I was able to recover quite quickly. I was TIRED for sure, but so excited that we had little Nick in our lives, and totally psyched to run Boston and have this big goal/running dream on the horizon. When Nick was napping (and they tell mom to "get your rest," I was running). I definitely lacked sleep those first several weeks, but the payoff was totally worth it in the end! I feel so lucky that I was able to keep on running and have my doctor’s support and approval. By training for a marathon so soon after, I sacrificed getting my speed back for endurance and now 3 months later I am working on getting back the speed. My marathon time of 4:21:03 was just under 10 minute mile average pace. I think that pre-pregnancy I could have ran at least a sub 9 minute mile pace - maybe? My race pace last spring for 1/2s and 10 milers was sub 8 min miles. So it was definitely not as fast as I could run, but I was totally thrilled with the time and the finish. I would totally do it again. Thank you for your support as I trained, ran through my pregnancy, and finished the marathon. : )

Rocked Broad Street!

1/2 mile to go - good picture mom!!

Broad Street Run 2009
1:22:29/8:15 pace

Here were my thoughts at 6:30am this morning: Nick has slept through the night for the last 2 weeks. He decides today to get up at 4am. Gah!! It's raining. I'm tired. The alarm never went off.

I got ready and ate my PB and toast and half a balance bar - these things are good for my stomach. My goal was under 1:30, but after watching the Boston marathon on the T.V. last night and watching Kara Goucher running the last 10k, I was really psyched and wanted to run fast. I didn't know what I could do. I did a 1:28 at the Ocean Drive 10 miler about a month ago, when I did the 20 mile training run, so I kind of wanted to beat that.

my mom loves taking pictures. She got out of the car when I got out to take my picture
I missed her at the finish line at boston. (she was still working her way back from mile 21)

Drank some tea and water! Off we go! My dad has been my chauffeur for the past 5 years. My sister was running today too but stayed at her boyfriend's house last night and he was driving her down (me not too thrilled, was looking forward to going down w/ my sis). My mom and dad picked me up a little after 7am. Bill stayed home with Nick, yucky weather and swine flu. No need for him to be around 26,000 people. I pumped in the car, it was drizzling on the way down. They dropped me off where they usually do right near a bridge about .25 miles from the start. Then they go to South Street and get breakfast and hang out around mile 9. I want to be a 30 year finisher of this race (started in 2004) and need to plan any further pregnancies around it to make that happen, so I hope they enjoy this tradition!


I jogged up to the start to get warmed up and felt pretty good! My sister found me around 8:10 and we chatted and got into the red corral. I was yellow and she was orange, but fighting the crowds for her to go back to orange wasn't really worth it, so we stayed there. They weren't really strict about it like Boston (totally on top of it!) She started telling me she hadn't run since Boston (with me) and that she had Mexican food for dinner last night. All I could think of was 2 years ago, her first Broad Street run, we did not even make it to mile 2. She had worked until around 1 am on an event, and drank red bulls in the morning and ate something that she had an allergy to, and we ended up in an ambulance, and ultimately, at Temple hospital. I was so sad that I didn't finish (although, I felt really bad for her). I have this heartfelt connection to this race since it was my very first race, back in 2004. Nope, I didn't start with a 5k, but instead a 10 miler! In the end, I was bummed, but more I was happy that she was ok!

I knew that today I wanted to see what I had in the tank, so I wasn't sure if I should start with her or not, but we started together. I started what felt like sprinting and left her after 2-3 minutes. I felt somewhat selfish, but she hadn't trained, and this is the last 10 mile race of the spring. It was a good idea.

Mile 1: 8:04. Holy crap! I can run this fast still? Am I really running this pace?
Mile 2: 15:43 I just went a mile under 8 min pace. S*** - I better slow it down. I am going to pay later.
Mile 3: 22 something - still under 8 - realizing that I am going to fade out and probably die at mile 6.

Since it was raining and kind of dreary, I was just in my own thoughts and music, trying to enjoy the race, thanking the people giving out the cups, but realizing that I was tired. I think around mile 4 I just felt tired and wondered when I would start to fade out and stop holding the pace. Around mile 5 which was right on 40 minutes, I was starting to wonder how in hell I ran the marathon 2 weeks ago. I was fading. I don't recommend the shuffle mode on the ipod. This was kind of not a priority for me to fix my playlist and the shuffle stinks! I kept hearing the same songs.

I was holding 8 minute miles or under until mile 6. Kind of wish I had a Garmin to see all of my splits, but I'm going from memory here.

There weren't too many people out, and my stomach was a bit screwy. I was starting to think I should have taken it easy and ran with my sister. I think it would be a good memory to actually start and finish a race together, instead of being bandits for each other! Some day!

As I approached city hall, I got a little bit more psyched. Missed Gov. Rendell and high 5, but was really interested in just finishing at this point. I saw a shirt that said something like "running for those who can't" and tried to shift my attitude and view. I thought of those who can't run and how lucky all of us running are. Don't take it for granted! Enjoy it!

6 miles was around 48:30. After that I was just trying to hold whatever pace I could and not look at my watch too much. I started to go off the 8 minute mile pace and going into survival mode. I forget when I had GU, but my stomach wasn't feeling it. I didn't eat the whole thing and stopped at most of the water stops after mile 5. I was just trying to stay below a 9 min mile pace on the clock time, even though it wasn't really good enough for me, I kind of didn't care. My mom called me around 6.5 miles to tell me they were near the stadium and all I could manage was "I'm at 6.5, I'm dying, I gotta go."

I was wondering if I should have more GU and decided to just keep getting water. Mile 7 was around 57 something? Miles 8-10 I just kept reminding myself 2 miles to go! I told myself, 1:25. I'll try to break that. I can do it. Don't slow down. You're fine! My parents always stake out around the same place and I was able to see them with about 1/2 mile to go. All I could manage was "ALMOST DONE!" I was smiling! That's the picture from up above. That last stretch until you see the finish, is kind of a long one! First there's the fake finish - the navy yard entrance with the arch, and finally you get to the real finish.



I felt good after! I always find my parents easily. My dad had walked down and found me, my mom stayed in place and waited for my sister, and my dad and I found a spot by the finish to look for her. We found her and yelled her name and she finished! First successful Broad Street finish. Way to go Kristen! I told her next year she should train and we can wear sisters shirts that are bright colored and run together! She was a little iffy. The non runner.

W/ Dad

w/ mom


The 4 of us, just Rich is missing! Time to get him running!

Now - I have my feet up and recovery socks on. Why did Nick wake up at 4am!! I am tired.
I need another run to do! Next up - Kennett run 10k?? What else is local out there?

Way to go Marathoners and runners this weekend. Today was a rainy humid day!!