Ending on a high note

My Asics 2130s ran their last race today, the Silver Comet 10k. It was cold. It was breezy. It was drizzling.

It was also my fastest 10k to date - 54:59

35-39 Age Group: 29 out of 95
Gender: 136 out of 432
Overall: 539 out of 1,024

They're still going to be the first shoes I reach for when I roll out of bed for an easy three or four miles, and for riverside runs on the crushed gravel trail. But for anything over five miles on concrete/asphalt, the 2130s are out of rotation. It wasn't just the cold wet socks causing aches in the feet this morning.

The ING Half Marathon is March 29th, so I'll be tinkering with my run schedule. Last long run will likely be this coming Tuesday, and then I'll spend the rest of the two weeks running 3-5 miles, every other day, with a bit of time on the bicycle or in yoga.

Chattahoochee Challenge

Saturday, Feb. 7th, was the first race of the year for the clan. Part of the clan, at least. I ran the 10k, the kidlets ran the 1-mile Fun Run. (The oldest kid was away for the weekend.)

Complaints:
Had to get out of bed at 5:30.
It was cold.
I didn't get any coffee before the race.
Did I mention the cold?

Anyway. I'd picked up our numbers at Big Peach Running Co., so we were not pressured to get to the Chattahoochee Nature Center too early. Parked at St. Francis, and walked the mile to the start/finish. The boys walked; DD & I alternated walking and skipping, because it annoyed the boys. It was quite fun, and I think it helped keep us warmer than our walking pals.

The fun run started at 7:30. Here's my little runners:

DD - 11:37
B2 - 12:58

Rough times, noted by glancing at clock and trying to see where the munchkins were wandering off to after they crossed the finish line. I'm super proud of them, and will be helping them put together a playlist for the 5k they'll be run/walking with Dad next Saturday.

The 10k was at 8:00. Started in my normal back of the pack position. Hit the first mile in 8:43, then blew the official time by veering off to the park restroom at 1.5 miles. (There were no blue boxes at the start line! They had them for the summer race - where were they this time?) Made up some of my time by only walking through the water stops. The knee went numb & painful all at once at 5 miles, on the only mini-hill of the race. Slowed down to stretch out, then was fine coming back over the same hill in that last half mile.

Official time: 1:01:06

Watch time: 58:53

Got the first win for the 2009 goals - have gone faster than last year's 10k time. Now, let's get officially signed up for Run the Reagan Half Marathon, and see if I can knock out another one next week.

Once again, the race photos taken of me were all at the worst possible moments - while blowing out a breath, scrunching my face & squinting into the sun, etc., but the running kid pics were good, so I'll likely order one or two of my little runners.

Officially In-Training

With the kids back in school. I spent last week adjusting back to a "normal" schedule. Ran four times, a total of about 14 miles for the week. Hadn't quite decided what to do with my late winter / early spring, so I spent a bit of time thinking about it while I was getting back up to daily official exercise. (Lugging laundry, ironing, cooking, cleaning, etc. - exhausting, but not officially exercise.)

While putting my Saturday run into my Runners World training log, I noticed the calendar. I'm 11-12 weeks out from the ING Atlanta Half Marathon. Just enough time to start an intermediate improve-your-time program. I don't see why I can't tackle the "run a half marathon faster than 2008" goal right now.

There are a couple of 10k races between now and March 29th, so I stand a good chance of checking the P.R. for that distance off the list, too. Any 5k races over the next few months will likely be with my kids, so it's their fun that counts. (Times count too, but in an neener-neener I run faster than you, you stinky boy/ snotty girl way, common to siblings everywhere.)

I'm reading up on Hal Higdon's Intermediate Half Plan (12 week), as well as the Long Program - Half Marathon Training (10 week) at Runner's World. I'll probably end up with a mash up of the two, but here's what I have come up with for this week:

Monday - Stretch/Strength
Tuesday - 4 mile, easy
Wednesday - XT / Rest
Thursday - 3 mile, hill
Friday - Stretch / Strength
Saturday - 6 mile, long
Sunday - 3 mile, easy

Supper Wars - Week 1

Working to expand our "try something new" meals beyond just a couple times each week, by adding new side dishes with old favorites, or alternating days between the familiar and the unusual. When I'm fixing something terribly spicy or truly odd, I'll still fix a separate kid and grown up meal, but I'd like that to be the exception, rather than the norm. Tying the planning necessary to keep the kids trying new foods to the planning for reducing the average grocery bill seems like a no-brainer.

Green - Hit; will make again
Red - Miss; try a new variation, or not
Black - Mixed results; tweak & try again.

Pan Fried Deviled Eggs, on Mixed Greens
Kids did NOT appreciate at all, unfortunately. I thought it was delicious.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup w/Rustic Bread (Old favorite)

Adobo Chicken w/ Rice & Salad (Variation)
The kids don't like dark meat. Prepared a couple of skin-on split chicken breasts, in addition to the thighs. Worked like a charm.

Baked Tofu w/Fried Rice (Old favorite),
Edamame Succotash w/ Roasted Red Pepper (Variation)
Figure if I keep putting bell peppers in dishes, I will eventually stumble upon a method of cooking and presentation they like. This wasn't it. Not only would they not eat the peppers, they wouldn't eat the corn and edamame when cooked together. They eat both on their own, quite happily. (Ack!)

Turkey Burgers (old favorite) , Couscous Salad (Variation)
I'm upping the parsley, mint, and vegetable content of the salad each time I make this. Overdid it this time. Will have to keep the chopped red peppers on the side and add just to grown up plates. Kids picked out peppers and ate rest of salad, but there was much grumbling.

Flatbread Pizza
Build-your-own pizzas. Choice of either italian sausage & cheeses or shredded adobo chicken with sauteed onion & garlic slices. You can guess which kids picked.

Butter Chicken w/Basmati Rice, Nan and Green Beans
Two kids loved the mild curry chicken; one did not. He was extremely opposed to the entire concept. Will try this again, but let him add coconut milk, instead of the yogurt.

Pho Bo (Vietnamese Noodle Soup) w/Basil-lemongrass Meatball (Old Favorite)
Big bowl of rice noodles, topped with ladles of fragrant broth (beef, chicken & ginger). Toss in a couple of the basil meatballs, and let everyone pile bean sprouts, fresh leaves of thai basil and cilantro on from the salad plate. Can't go wrong.

GC - Week 1

Stock-up Shopping
International/Farmers Market - $155.04

Regular Grocery Shopping
Publix (2 trips) - $61.98
Trader Joes - $13.06

Week 1 total - $230.08

This was the stock up week. Refilled the spice cabinet, bought organic basmati rice, oat flour, wheat flour, flax meal, barley, whole wheat couscous, and more, in bulk. Spent at least $30 more at the farmers market than I would have, had I not had helpers (note the lower case h) clamoring for dark chocolate dipped ginger cookies, anchovy stuffed olives, large containers of pistachios and 1/2-lb bags of exotic coffee (the $40/lb stuff).

Made three smaller trips to the grocery stores through the week, for milk, meat/poultry, and for produce at the end of the week. (Included the wine for New Years Eve/Day)

This week's spending will be lower. Don't know how much yet, since I'm still working out the plan. I'm on day two of week two, and haven't needed to go to the store yet, so it's looking good so far. I'll be heading out when I get the rest of the meals planned for this week. Only needed half of the pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs Friday for Butter Chicken, so the other half soaked in ginger/soy/honey and became Sunday's stir fry.

Links:
2009 Grocery Challenge
Supper Wars - Week 1

Boycotting resolutions

I don't do so well with New Year's Resolutions. For starters, I can never actually come up with them in time to make them officially part of the New Year. Then, there's the matter of specificity. If the resolution is too vague, there's no way to measure it, and I get discouraged. Too specific, and I feel locked in, and my natural rebellion to anything resembling authority kicks in. (Yes, I realize I'm technically staging a self-revolt.)

I do love a challenge though, so setting a goal works for me. Fitness goals for 2008 were:
Train for and complete a 5k, a 10k and a half marathon.

• Completed two 5k races on my own, and two with my children. This was spaced through the year.
• Finished two 10k races. One at the beginning of summer, one at the end.
• This October, ran my first half marathon. Thanksgiving Day was my second.

I also wanted train for and finish a half century, but trying to increase cycling mileage at the same time I was working up to 10+ mile long runs turned out to be a bit too much - both from the physical and schedule standpoint.

My stats for 2008:*
Cycling: 1,082 miles
Running: 502 miles
Hiking (with kids): 49 miles
*all the miles I remembered to tally - often short bicycle commute trips and kid hikes miss the training log.

This year, I want to kick my own butt. I'm going to go farther and faster than last year. And climb higher.
I'm shooting for:
2,000 miles, between running and cycling.
Beat my 2008 P.R.s (5k - 31:27; 10k - 1:01:56; half - 2:18:09)
Train for & complete an autumn half century
Finish a trail 10 mile or half marathon.

There are a few trail races not too far from home which should fit that last challenge. If the rescheduled holiday trip can be worked out for mid-June (which would make two grandfathers VERY happy), I'd love to try the Garden of the Gods 10 mile in Colorado. It's on paved roads and paths, so isn't technically a trail race. I'm pretty sure the higher altitude and big hills will be tougher than our little trails here in north Georgia, so as far as I'm concerned, it counts.

Grocery Challenge - 2009

For one month of 2008, I challenged myself to keep the grocery bill for five to $125 or less. Did it. We cut back a little, but it wasn't too difficult.

Once I finished the month, I figured it would be a cinch to keep my bills lower, without extra work. I stopped planning a few days in advance, and returned to my normal pattern of "what do we want tonight?" I was wrong. The weekly spending in October and November crept up a little each week, until I hit $200/week. Reigned spending back during December, by $40-50/week, simply by going back to planning 3-4 days of meals before heading to the store.

I'm going to see how low I can keep my average weekly spending this year. I know the under $150/week target is easy to hit, with plain old, ordinary shopping at Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods & Trader Joes. No cut backs required, just that little bit of meal planning. But, what happens if I go for the bulk items at the international markets? Rice, flour, oats, pasta, beans, coconut milk, tofu - all cheaper than at standard stores. Same thing for many of the root veggies, which last quite a while when stored properly. Can setting up a vague monthly meal plan for staples, in addition to the weekly planning, make $125 or less the new "easy"? Can I get it down to $100?

We're also working to expand our "try something new" at meals beyond just a couple times each week, by adding new side dishes with old favorites, or alternating days between the familiar and the unusual. Tying the planning necessary to keep the kids trying new foods to the planning for shopping seems like a no-brainer.

The first week of shopping, the stock-up week, was split between 2008 & 2009, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Here's my rules:

• Weeks will run Sunday to Saturday, and I'll be posting my weekly total for the previous week on Sunday nights, after prep for Monday morning lunchbox packing. (Or Monday mornings, after the kids are at school and I have my coffee.)
• After the weekly amount, I'll post the updated weekly average.
• This is only grocery items. I handle shopping for most health, bath and home products during a once a month trip to Costco, Target or CVS. I will include any food items purchased on those trips with the grocery total. Even if that item is a bag of dark chocolate twix bars. (Which it won't be, ever, because I never do anything that unhealthy.)

If you're interested in what we're eating, you can take a look at Supper Wars.