pieceofcakerunning

Some of our friends are on vacation in Maui this week. Kinda wish I could skip school and go with them!

Back to reality on a Monday morning here. It seems a tropical storm is headed our way, so we’re in for an interesting week of weather. Fortunately it’s supposed to be sunny and in the 80s for Memorial Day weekend, so we’ll at least get some Maui weather for a few days.

Yesterday I ran a 5k in Virginia Beach for a nonprofit organization called S.M.I.L.E.(Samantha Makes It A Little Easier). My friend Rick from the Tidewater Striders asked me to come to the race, and I just can’t say no to a good cause. Samantha and Rick had the same form of cancer, but unfortunately she lost her battle. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma after her sophomore year in high school, and went through several periods of remission before succumbing in January of 2009 during her sophomore year in college. S.M.I.L.E. aims to…

“Enhance the lives of children who have been impacted by a life threatening disease or its treatment through education, encouragement and empowerment.”

Before the race, Rick said that if I was in the lead someone was going to hand me a t-shirt with bib #1 pinned to it, in memory of Samantha. He wanted me to run across the finish line with it. So as the race went off, I had that in the back of my mind. I started off at a quick pace, and found myself behind only one other runner. After about a half mile, a high school boy came up on my shoulder and passed me. I was about five seconds behind the two guys at the mile mark, which I came through in 6:05 (I wanted to run a steady 6 min pace for this race).

I came through two miles in 11:45 (markers were off) and I noticed that the high school boy had taken off. I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to catch him, but I started to run down the other guy. With about a half mile to go, I passed him, although I encouraged him to stay with me to get a good time. As I sprinted toward the finish, a man handed me the shirt and I ran in with it. The clock said 18:40 (although my official time was 18:44) so I had met my goal. More importantly, I had the honor of running across the finish line with Samantha’s race shirt and bib number. Samantha’s sister was emotional when I handed it to her after the race, and that was a moment I will never forget.

So, what happened with the high school boy? He wasn’t registered! Can you believe it? That is the worst faux pas in the sport of running, to bandit a race. The race only cost 25 dollars, and it was for a good cause, so I have no idea what he was doing.

I’ll be back racing another 5k on Memorial Day, but this time it’s a cross country race. It should be fun, plus I’m looking forward to the day off from work. I wish all weekends were three day weekends!

My heart is racing as I type this.

I don’t know why this so such a big deal. I guess I was hoping that all of my tests would come back normal and I would go back to being a healthy young person with maybe some anxiety issues. Lots of people deal with stress and anxiety, and most of them get through it just fine.

Well, it turns out that one of my blood tests came back positive for Factor V Leiden, which is a genetically inherited blood clotting disorder. [note: you may want to skip down a few paragraphs if you slept through Human Physiology] Everyone has a gene for Factor V which functions as a cofactor which allows another factor to activate an enzyme called thrombin. What does thrombin do? Well it helps to form fibrins, which form clots. Eventually, another protein (activated Protein C) is activated which helps to signal Factor V to slow down and eventually stop coagulation.

With me so far? So, those of us with the genetic mutation Factor V Leiden have an issue with that protein (activated Protein C) that stops the clot formation. Somehow it changes one of the amino acids normally present in Factor V in a way that it blocks the activated Protein C from working. As a result, I have an increased risk for dangerous blood clots called Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

According to the Mayo Clinic…

“Factor V Leiden (FAK-tur five LIDE-n) is a common inherited genetic disorder that can increase your chance of developing abnormal blood clots (thrombophilia), usually in your veins.

Most people with factor V Leiden never develop abnormal clots. However, some people with factor V Leiden develop clots that lead to long-term health problems or become life-threatening.

Both men and women can have factor V Leiden, but women may have an increased tendency to develop blood clots during pregnancy or when taking the hormone estrogen.

If you have factor V Leiden and have developed blood clots, medications can lessen your risk of developing additional blood clots and help you avoid potentially serious complications.”

So, what does all of this mean for me? The gene most likely came from my father’s side of the family because it is most common in those of eastern European descent (my father is half Italian/half German and my mother is English/Irish/Dutch). Luckily, I haven’t had a DVT, and I don’t have any additional risk factors, so I do not need medication yet. However, I have talked to my OB-GYN about the diagnosis and it was a bit scary. If we decide to have children (and apparently the clock is ticking) then I will have to give myself a shot in the stomach every single day. Not cool.

For now, though, I’m back to training and racing without fear of a heart attack. I’ve been tracking my blood pressure every day and it has been perfectly normal (except at the doctor’s office). My doctor ordered one more round of tests just to rule out some additional genetic conditions related to Factor V Leiden and some other test having to do with my kidneys. It’s been an exhausting few months, but I think I’m getting over my fear of needles with all of the blood I’ve had drawn. Good thing, since I’ll have to stick every day myself for 9 months at some point in the future!

Tomorrow I am headed to the S.M.I.L.E 5k in Virginia Beach, another low key race for a good cause. I’ll go into more detail about that race tomorrow, because it’s quite a story. I am definitely excited to get back out there and rep Oiselle again, and hope to share some good photos from the event too!

I promised this a few weeks back, so here it is! The only changes I make are that I add about double the chipotle chiles and I use a 28 oz can of tomatoes instead of the 14.5 oz.

Our Trader Joes sells ground turkey in 1.5 lb packages so I tried adjusting the recipe by 1 1/2 and it was the perfect amount for two meals for both of us (I know the recipe says four servings, but let’s be real).

Also, try Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I thought it would be gross but it tastes just like sour cream.

30-Minute Turkey Chili
From Food Network Kitchens

Prep Time:10 min
Inactive Prep Time: –
Cook Time:30 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 chipotle chile en adobo, coarsely chopped, with 1 tablespoon sauce
1 pound ground turkey
1 (12-ounce) Mexican lager-style beer
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Sliced scallions, cilantro sprigs, avocado, sour cream, grated Monterey jack cheese, and/or tortilla chips, for garnish, optional
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, chili powder, and oregano and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and the chipotle chile and sauce; cook 1 minute more. Add the turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until the meat loses its raw color, about 3 minutes. Add the beer and simmer until reduced by about half, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes–crushing them through your fingers into the skillet–along with their juices and the beans; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 10 minutes.

Ladle the chili into bowls and serve with the garnishes of your choice.

Cook’s Note: A skillet’s larger surface area reduces sauces faster than simmering in a saucepan.

Copyright (c) 2004 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2012 Television Food Network G.P.
All Rights Reserved

Another favorite (as of last weekend), is a healthy version of Chicken Lettuce Wraps from P.F. Changs. I borrowed the recipe from another blog called Iowa Girl Eats. Here is the link to the recipe:

http://iowagirleats.com/2011/04/26/p-f-changs-lettuce-wraps-remade/

Trust me, these wraps are really good! The recipe wasn’t that hard to make, and it’s much healthier (and cheaper) than the original version from P.F. Changs.

Enjoy!

Here’s my recipe for “healthy” guac. It’s a little lower in calories because I add extra tomato. I’ve been fiddling in the kitchen for awhile and finally came up with a recipe that I love. Enjoy!

Guac-a-Mollie

3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded, and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp kosher salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I use a rounded 1/2 tsp)
1/2 medium red onion, diced
2 Serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (I like a lot of garlic so I added more)
About half of a 28 oz can of tomatoes, drained, and diced (NOT the kind with basil)

In large bowl place scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to oat. Add salt and cumin, mash with a fork or potato masher. Carefully stir in Serrano chiles, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cilantro. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or Mexican-ish meal!

Note: I would have included a pic but we ate it all already. Also, you can add more or less tomatoes depending on your taste preference. I added a little at a time, stirred it and tasted until I had the right mix. You can also use fresh tomatoes, but I really like the flavor of these tomatoes.

Next up: 30-Minute Turkey Chili

It’s been a little over a month since the Shamrock Marathon and I’m back in training. I have this love/hate relationship with running (anyone remember those old New Balance ads?) and I think I’m finally over feeling sorry for myself.

I enjoyed running the Mohawk Hudson marathon so much that I thought it was logical to train for another in the spring. My real goal was to have an actual track season, and I was headed in the right direction in December and January. Unfortunately, I also have to work to pay my bills, and my work got to be too much to handle over the winter. I work in a Title 1 school because I am participating in a federal student loan reimbursement program, and it’s just very different from what I expected. On most days I come home exhausted and fall asleep on the couch. Not to mention, education is a hot mess right now, and many teachers are at risk of losing their jobs because the government has decreased funds. To me, this seems like a bad idea. It has also led to a lot of complaining and a general uneasiness among educators. I’m hoping for a turnaround and trying to stay positive, though. Summer is only eight weeks away.

This week I feel refreshed and ready to begin training again. I scrapped the idea of a track season, but I will be running some shorter races this spring. So far I have a 10k scheduled at the end of May and a 5k in the beginning of June. I am definitely not done with the marathon, and am dying to get under that 3 hour mark. My 3:05 in October felt so easy, and I wasn’t even sore afterwards. I feel like I have a lot of potential in the marathon, but it’s going to require another solid summer of training. And I’m going to get my fill of track action in another way… Pete and I are headed to Eugene, Oregon for the Olympic Trials and to hang out with the Oiselle team! We could not be more excited!

I had a great picture from my long run this past Sunday, but unfortunately my blackberry did not survive the run. I guess it wasn’t the best idea to take my phone along for 16 miles in the rain, but I always feel safer when I bring my phone along. The run went really well, and I think I’m about to get a new iPhone to make up for it. Now I’ll be able to talk to Siri instead of talking to myself. I’m only half serious about that part.

Two more quick notes:
This Sunday is a big day for my Piece of Cake runners. My sister and brother-in-law are running another half marathon in NY and Lauren is doing the second part of the Boston to Big Sur Challenge. Yes, that’s right, she ran Boston and less than two weeks later will be running another marathon. Fingers crossed for a PR since the heat destroyed her chances in Boston.
I also started writing a novel! It’s a mystery with a little running thrown in. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and I’m looking forward to this summer so I can devote more time to writing.

Every slight turn in a marathon gives you a chance to cut corners, so to speak. You can’t really make the race shorter than 26.2 miles because of the way the course is measured, but you can eliminate adding extra distance by cutting the tangents. If you have a mathematical brain like I do, cutting tangents occupies your brain with something positive instead of obsessing over mile splits.

Before we turned onto the boardwalk I had to make a decision. I was following two men with distinctly different body shapes. One of them was tall and broad, the other short and slender. I chose to go with the tall and broad guy because I figured he would better block the wind. Unfortunately he cut the turns wide and insisted on running in the middle of the road when he should have been trying to run the shortest distance. I made a hasty decision and switched to drafting off the smaller guy, but he wasn’t wide enough to stop the wind. At this point I had no choice because there was no one else around, so I stayed behind him, put my head down, and prayed for it to end.

I think the only break in my concentration came when I saw a sign that said, in big block lettering, “Don’t Sh!t Your Pants!” It’s funny now, but at the time I thought it was juvenile and slightly disturbing. I had a brief vision of how awful it would be if that actually happened to me. My family would never let me live that down.

When we finally made a left turn off the boardwalk, I was relieved. I think that relief caused me to let up my pace a little bit because I noticed the man I had been following was several feet ahead of me. Then I looked to my right and saw a woman who had just dropped out. I was in ninth place at the turnaround and had passed one woman a few miles back, so with this sudden turn of events I was sitting in seventh place. The top five women earned prize money, so I was encouraged for a brief moment. In my first marathon last October I went from 12th place to third place after the halfway point, so it was definitely possible.

About a minute after I saw the woman who had dropped out, I noticed that my legs were not functioning properly. They felt out of rhythm with the rest of my body. I looked up and saw my sister, my brother-in-law, and finally my husband who handed me two Hammer gels. He told me I was doing great, and that Steph and Brandon had run big PRs in the half marathon. I told him I wasn’t feeling good, but I would keep going.

I hit the 13 mile split and saw a 7:22 mile split, took some water, and then hit the halfway mark in 1:31 and a few seconds. I had my first thought of dropping out, but I kept going hoping this was just a bad section. The wind had somehow picked up even more, and my legs were not cooperating. People were passing me for the first time in the race, and when a woman passed me she said a few words of encouragement. Things were getting worse. I started to have more negative thoughts, but I tried to push them away. In my mind I was the tin man from Wizard of Oz and my joints needed oil. I felt uncoordinated, and I felt like everyone was staring at me and wondering what was wrong with me. Before I could hit the 14 mile split, I stopped.

I turned on my heel and started jogging in the opposite direction toward where I had last seen my family.

(to be continued…)

I promise I have not crawled into a hole.

I am, however, in a bit of a slump. My day job has been filling me with overwhelming feelings of anxiety. I love teaching, but sometimes I just feel helpless. There is just so much to do… And I am torn between dealing with the politics of my job and actually doing my job (ahem, teaching). There have been a few days where I have just come home and crawled into bed. And on my worst days I have crawled into bed with a jar of Biscoff.

Of course, this is no excuse for missing workouts. Surely, it would make me feel better if I just went for a run, right? Well, I normally love to de-stress with a good afternoon workout. I hate to be vague here, but I’ve had a few health problems lately, and they made me kind of scared to run. I got cleared to run again, but something was still holding me back. I guess I knew in my heart that I wasn’t fully prepared to run a marathon, especially with only two long runs (an 18 miler in December and a 20 in early February). However, I am bred to be stubborn with my Irish-Italian heritage, so I went for it anyway.

On race morning we got up at 4:30 in order to be at the oceanfront in time for the start of the half marathon. My sister and brother-in-law were running, and as their coach I definitely wanted to be there for some last-minute encouragement. I also got to see one of my cross country girls start her first half marathon (I actually had five of my cross country runners finish their first half marathon- proud moment). After that I spent the next hour and a half preparing for my race, applying Oiselle and Hammer tattoos, warming up, etc. When the race went off, I was determined to chill at 7 minute pace and hope for the best. First mile was a bit fast, 6:45, but no big deal. I tried to slow down, but then I heard someone yell my name. It was one of my roommates from the Nike Farm Team who I hadn’t seen in 8 years! She lives in another country, so seriously what are the odds of that? We chatted for the next few miles, running 6:45- 6:50 pace. At 7 or 8 miles I told her to go ahead and I hit 6:50s for the next few miles.

Then the wind hit.

Oh, that damn wind. This guy rode up on a bike and told me to catch up to some of the guys ahead of me so I would have someone to block the wind. “You’ve got about 8 miles into the wind ahead of you,” he said. I took his advice and ran behind a guy for the next few miles. When we turned onto the boardwalk I stayed behind him. That boardwalk stretched on forever.

(to be continued…)

Some of the local running stores sell t-shirts with a play on that Virginia slogan “Virginia is for Lovers”. They say “Virginia is for Runners”. But this post isn’t about a slogan, it’s about a race of the same name, the Virginia is for Lovers 14k. Pete and I signed up at the last minute for this race, and we really had no expectations other than getting in a good workout. I mean, first of all it’s February, and it’s a weird race distance. How does one even go about pacing 8.7 miles? So we both kind of picked random times to shoot for, basically close to our half marathon paces.

We left our house on Saturday morning with no time to spare, as usual. I get really anxious if we’re not at the race one hour ahead of time. I don’t know what my problem is, but I go into this weird state of panic if we don’t have that hour to warm up and prepare mentally. My dear husband, on the other hand, could not possibly care less what time we get there. Of course, since we had not run this race before, we were not prepared for massive traffic delays. I thought there would be a couple hundred people there, but there were a few thousand! We finally parked our car and had 45 minutes to pick up our packets, wait in line at the porta-potties, warm up, get changed, and put on our numbers with tiny pins and numb fingers. Since we were pretending this was a workout, I made it to the starting line without too much emotional damage. I really though I was going to freak out in those last few minutes, though.

The race itself was pretty fun! I ran most of the middle miles with another woman who I met on the course. It was nice to have someone to talk to, and it made the race go by quickly. In general, everyone was friendly, we were all talking to each other and encouraging each other, remarking how we had no idea where we were going, and laughing about how were all going to set a new PR for 14k. At the halfway point of the race there was a wedding! The bride, groom, and wedding party all ran the race, too. I thought that was a unique idea, although I think the woman should have gone with the Oiselle wedding dress. The only tough part for me was in the last two miles when we ran into a strong headwind for what felt like forever. A woman passed me on that stretch, and for whatever reason I could not get it together. I didn’t know where the race ended, so all of a sudden we were running into a building (the race finished indoors), and that was it. I was encouraged by my pace and overall finish time because I had met my goal. I’m pretty sure that I can hold that pace for a half marathon, and I think I’m going to try for that in two weeks at a half marathon in North Carolina. I’ve been feeling pretty unmotivated lately, and racing is the best way I know to stay motivated.

I’m trying to get my mileage back up to 60. This week I ran 50 miles in 5 days, and last week I did 40 miles in 3 days. The week before that I ran 45 miles in 5 days. Ugh. I’m feeling guilty. My goal for next week is to get back up to 60, and to only take one day off. I don’t understand how people run high mileage. Shamrock is only a few weeks away, so it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty, as my mom would say.

I have run my last race as a 31 year old, since my birthday is this Friday! Happy Valentines Day to all of you (or Valentimes, as many of my students say) and happy running!

If there’s one thing that really frustrates a endurance athlete… that would be hydration for sure. Why? Well, there is a delicate balance between taking in enough fluids for your cells to function normally, and taking in so much so that your body rejects it. I’ve been on both ends of the woes of hydration.

I’ve had two experiences with running out of fluids on a long run. The first time it happened I was only a mile and a half from home and it was a very hot day. I was extremely dehydrated and starting to feel like I might pass out, so I stopped into a restaurant called the Sunrise Cafe (which ended up being a Philipino reestaurant) and asked for water. I was wearing a sports bra and shorts, dripping with sweat and everyone was staring. The lady behind the counter gave me a cup mostly full of ice, which I immediately chugged. Twenty seconds later as I walked out the door= worst brain freeze of my life! A few months later I had a similar episode, and ended up stopping at Starbucks two miles from home. They were a little more accepting of my situation and I didn’t get as many stares.

On the other end of the spectrum (which is much worse in my opinion) are the times when your hydration beverage of choice just does not settle well. I’ve had a few episodes of reverse peristalsis (puking, for those of you who didn’t pay attention in Biology) which has always been related to an excess of sugar. I sweat a lot, and unfortunately it can be quite difficult to make up for the amount of fluid and electrolytes lost on those hot, humid summer days. In order to encourage drinking, I usually pick some kind of low calorie version of a major brand, like G2 or Propel. Well, I hadn’t found something that actually settles my stomach, tastes good, and keeps me hydrated until I tried Nuun. What an ah ha! moment! Nuun is slightly fizzy (in a good way, don’t worry, it doesn’t cause loud belching), and for some unexplained reason it settles in my stomach unlike water and Gatorade (which just sloshes around, and sometimes finds its way back out). I had previously tried the grape flavor, which I really liked, but I hadn’t tried it in training yet. I also tried their orange flavor last week (there are 11 tasty flavors to choose from). For this past long run, I tried the strawberry lemonade flavor which was flipping fantastic. I felt great, and ended up averaging my marathon PR pace for 20 miles! I think that PR is going down…

Yes, I took this picture in my classroom this afternoon. Nice backdrop, eh?

So, to wrap things up (I tend to be long-winded, I know), if you are interested in trying out Nuun for yourself, check out their website www.nuun.com. You can also follow Nuun on Twitter at @ministryofnuun and (to go for the trifecta) like them on Facebook here ——> https://www.facebook.com/nuunhydration!

After a month of missing long runs (due to some weird issues with my blood pressure and then being sick for almost an entire week), I did my first 20 miler on Saturday. My last long run was over Christmas break, I think a few days before Christmas when I was home in upstate NY (I did a hilly 18 miler in 2:14, which wasn’t bad considering the terrain).

I’ve been operating under what I like to call “flow training” for a the past few weeks instead of the steadfast adherance to hitting a particuar time or weekly mileage. I woke up on Saturday with the idea to test myself by running a 20 miler, but I was less than optimistic about the outcome. First I had to find my watch, which I hadn’t worn since my 5k two weeks ago. My first few steps felt fluid and I got into a rhythm immediately.. glanced at my watch at 2.5 miles (17:56) then my mind wandered off. A short while later I was at the park, 8.5 miles into my run. I knew I was running pretty fast, but when I hit the first mile marker at the park in 6:50 I couldn’t quite believe it because I felt like I was running 7:30′s. The next two were 6:45′s. I had taken a few sips of strawberry lemonade Nuun from my handheld water bottle during the run, but I finally stopped for a Hammer gel (banana, yum) at 11.5 miles so I could throw it in the trash can at the park.

At this point, I realized I was having a good run and that I might actually be able to pick it up on the way back, which is exactly what I did. I didn’t really pay much attention to my splits after I left the park, but I do know that my last 2.5 miles were in 17:03. Total time was 2:21, for 7:05 average per mile.

I’m not quite sure what to make of this run. My marathon in October was a 3:05, which is a 7:04 average. Did I really just do a 20 miler at the same pace? Last fall I gave up on marathon pace workouts at 7:00 pace because they were too hard for me. A lot of that was due to anemia and the opressive weather conditions, but regardless I have come a long way. I’m encouraged by this run, but now I only have six weeks of accelerated training before my marathon on March 18th. Is six weeks enough time to prepare for 26.2 miles of racing? I’ll find out soon enough…

(I’ll have another blog on the way shortly… it’s about Nuun! It’s my new favorite (tasty) way to hydrate! )