Welcome to my blog My name is Liz. And I like to run. In DC. But you may have figured that out from the title of my blog.
I love to run, bike, hike and swim. I recently completed my first sprint triathlon and am now training for a marathon. This blog documents my training journey, as well as how I find a way to balance work, a social life, and a healthy lifestyle.
Upcoming Races Marine Corps Marathon:
10-31-10
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After last week’s disastrous 10 miler, I was anxious about my upcoming 15 miler all week. Also, I wanted to do the run this morning before work because this weekend I am going camping in the Shenandoah Valley.
I decided I had to really focus on getting enough fuel and carbs the day before.
Last night we had some friends over for dinner and we made homemade pizzas. We bought store-made dough: one white, one whole wheat. The first pizza had tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, turkey pepperoni and mushrooms on half.
The second pizza (the one on whole wheat) had pesto, goat cheese, mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. This combination is AMAZING. We also brushed a little olive oil on the crust of each.
With a belly full of pizza, I hit the hay around 10:30-11 and woke up at 4:30 am. I had laid my clothes out the night before. I had an Arnold Sandwich thin with almond butter and half a banana. I started my run around 5 am with my Camelbak on, and it was still pitch black out. (I plan on writing a post about running safely in the dark in a city next week.)
One way to tackle long runs mentally is to break them up into shorter distances. This run was a large loop, but I was never on a single road for more than 3 miles, and most of the time for 2 miles. I focused on getting through each 2 mile segment rather than the whole 15 miles.
I only took one walking break! This was to eat my jelly beans halfway through the run. Full disclosure: I happily took that break on a very steep uphill. I should also note that I get plenty of standing breaks waiting at city lights.
By mile 12-13 I started to feel that runner’s high. I was singing along to my music and so happy to be out there running. I finished 15 miles at an average 9:10 min/mile pace!
Our office is closing at 12, so I’m off to get a few hours of solid work in and then come home and get ready to go camping. I spent sometime with the foam roller after my run, so hopefully my legs will be ready for some hiking. Do you have any plans for the long weekend?
I have a lot I want to talk about today – including a new vegan restaurant I discovered. But first, a quick review of how I did on my August goals.
- For short runs, maintain an 8:30 min/mile pace. I did try to run my short runs faster, and sometimes hit this pace.
- Strength training once a week. I actually ended up strength training 2x a week most weeks – I think I finally am out of my strength training rut.
- Yoga once a week. I didn’t make it once a week, but I did do yoga twice which is more than I have been for the last few months.
- “Do” my hair at least a few times a week. I have been doing my hair more. I think I owe this to having shorter hair more than making time to do it though!
- Spend as much time outside as possible…because before you know it summer will be over. I definitely have been spending a lot of time outside, especially with walks in Rock Creek Park at least once a week.
My new goals for September are:
- Get more sleep. With morning runs I need to be in bed before 10 to get 8 hours.
- Post one new recipe a week. The last few months I have been coming up with impromptu recipes more often and there is no reason (aside from laziness) that I don’t post them.
- Bring water on all runs over 7 miles. No excuses.
My neighborhood is what some would call up-and-coming. I live a few blocks from some popular bars and restaurants, but the area right around my house still has a ways to go. However, there is a vegan cafe I’ve always wanted to go to right down the street. Can you believe I have lived in my house for over a year and hadn’t gone until last night?
The restaurant is called Everlasting Life and is on Georgia Ave. In my defense, it looked like it was under construction for the last year. But I’m happy to report the inside is now super nice, with couches and flat screen TVs. The staff was extremely welcoming, helped me pick out my order as a first timer, and gave me complimentary samples of a bunch of food!
I ordered a garlicky kale dish:
A spicy veggie stir-fry:
Plus samples of a bunch of other stuff. I usually stay away from mock meat products, but the fake chicken was AMAZING.
I highly recommend this restaurant, even if you are not vegetarian or vegan. They also had a line of shakes that a fellow customer recommended.
Aside from the delicious vegan eats, I stole some of Neil’s pasta to get some carbs. I think carbs helped me power through my run this morning. I did 7 miles @8:43 pace. Great way to start my day, especially since it’s going to be a busy one.
Today marks exactly two months until I run the Marine Corps Marathon – assuming I make it through the next 2 months injury free. I’ve been feeling a little pain in my shins, not localized or severe, so I’m hoping they are normal running aches and not something more serious. I’ll obviously be paying close attention to them.
So far the training has gone well. I’ve had some tough runs, but I’m actually excited to up my mileage in the next few weeks. I’m also proud to say that I have hit all my workouts. In fact, the only days I’ve “missed” are doing workouts on rest days. Don’t worry. I’m not doing crazy intense workouts when I add something else to my routine. Usually its just adding another day of bike commuting or some strength training.
Look at all those stickers! I highly recommend the calendar-sticker method if you need some extra motivation.
All in all in August I have run a total of 85.1 miles. This is actually a lot less compared to two months out last time, but hopefully less running = less injuries!
If you noticed the date, you may have figured out that the Marine Corps Marathon is on Halloween. I have a few months to figure out if I am going to dress up during the race. I wouldn’t risk wearing anything too crazy, since its important to test-drive your race gear before race day, but I think it would be fun to do something. If you have any ideas for a fun race costume, hit me up in the comments!
Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing the progress in my August goals, and set some new ones for September. I can’t believe today is the last day of August…wahhhhh!
I’m so sad the weekend is over because it was such a good one. Highlights included:
- My first time doing yoga on a blacktop. This reminded me of Ashley’s all over yoga movement. It was free class part of Columbia Heights Day (a festival in my neighborhood). It was a relatively easy class, but since I’m not good at yoga that’s just what I needed.
- Cleaning & organizing closets. And yes, this is exciting for me.
- A walk/hike in Rock Creek Park at sunset time.
- Watching the movie version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (read the book!).
- Homemade brunch.
- Playing tennis for the first time since last year. Neil and I normally play tennis throughout the spring and summer, but my stress fracture delayed our start. Here is Neil goofing around on the court. Neil – don’t say I didn’t warn you that this would be on the blog….muahhaha.
- Planning a last minute camping trip for this weekend. All summer I was trying to work out a camping trip with various friends but it hasn’t worked out, so we just rented a tent site near the Shenandoah Valley for Friday and Saturday night.
I loved getting 2 different form of cross-training than my usual bike ride. And this morning I started off my week with a 4 mile run.
What was the highlight of your weekend?
Yesterday after work I decided to combine an errand – picking up Leela from doggie daycare - with my scheduled 10-miler run. The idea was to run from work, pick up Leela, then run home.
I was excited for a step back week and an “easy” run. Unfortunately things did not go to plan.
Mistake 1 – not packing fuel (water or food). It was cooler than it has been, but certainly hotter than I anticipated. I was feeling parched by mile 2.
Mistake 2 – planning a route that is way too hilly. I’m all about incorporating hills into my training, but for this run it was practically ALL uphill. Anywhere north of downtown in DC is going to be uphill, but I took it further by running up one of the hilliest neighborhoods. 10 miles uphill = unhappy legs.
Mistake 3 – thinking the dog would have energy to run home. I picked her up around mile 7.5-8. She did well for the first mile or so but she was too tuckered out and kept stopping. One of my miles with her was over a 12 minute/mi pace. She’s in very good shape, but usually naps most of the day and as far as I can tell she doesn’t sleep at all at daycare.
All in all, I’m happy I got it out of the way for the weekend (@9:41pace overall). However, when I got home I felt nauseous for over an hour and had to lay in bed. I’ve actually never felt nauseous like that from running. Have you ever experienced nausea post-exercise? Any idea of what the cause is? From what I googled, it could have been heat exhaustion or the beginning of dehydration.
Anyways, after I felt recovered enough I played in the kitchen. I made Neil some burgers with the beef from the farmers market. I also experimented with a fritter idea inspired by Top Chef DC this week.
Chickpea & Corn Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 cup of chickpeas
- 1 roasted red pepper
- 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1 ear of corn
- Salt, pepper, spices
- 1/3 cup of panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 tbsp oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350*. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Cook corn. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add corn and cook for six minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine chickpeas, roasted red pepper, and S&P in food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Add any preferred spices (I used Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper) and whole wheat flour. Blend for another minute. Move to a medium mixing bowl.
- Cut kernels off corn and incorporate into chickpea mixture.
- Put panko crumbs on a small plate.
- Take chickpea mixture, and form small balls, about 1.5” in diameter. Roll each ball in the panko crumbs and place on baking sheet.
- Cook for approximately 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
- Heat oil in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Remove fritters from oven and put into hot pan, until browned on all sides.
They are delightfully crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Plus the corn kernels add even more delicious texture. I ate them plain. I think they would be really delicious as part of a vegetarian sub. Or simply served with toothpicks as an appetizer if you are having guests.
Nutritional Information ( for 2 servings):
Calories – 307.1 Fat – 6.0g Carbs – 55.2g Fiber – 9.4g Protein – 11.0g
The format of this post is inspired by Katie and her three things Thursday posts.
- Yesterday I went to the farmer’s market near the White House.
 I got the following for $20: 1 lb ground beef, 2 red peppers, 3 peaches, 3 nectarines, 2 ears of corn, and a fresh loaf of bread. I will miss you summer produce.
- I finally bought new running shoes at Pacers! I am making the switch from Aasics to Brooks. Dear Brooks shoes, please don’t give me a stress fracture. Love, Liz.
- This weekend is a stepback for my mileage – only 10 miles to be done this evening or tomorrow morning. (You know you are training for a marathon when you say only 10 miles).
- Remember that time I said you should always check your tires of your bike before you hit the road? Well on Tuesday I went to go bike at lunch and found my tire completely flat. I have a slow leak which I need to get fixed this weekend. The silver lining of this story is that I was able to lift twice this week since I wasn’t spending time biking home to walk the dog.
- I have two opportunities for free yoga this weekend. In light of the fact that my August goal was to do more yoga and I have only done yoga once, I need to get my butt in gear. If I blog it I must do it, right?
Hope your Fridays go quickly and your weekends go slowly.
Calling all DC bloggers and readers! I’ve been wanting to organize a meet-up for ages, and now that the weather is getting cooler I think it is time.
Who: DC Blogger & Readers
What: A potluck picnic! Each person can bring a dish they want to share, and afterwards we can lounge around, go hiking, go biking, or whatever strikes your fancy.
Where: Rock Creek Park
When: 1 pm on September 11th
Why: Because eating is fun
If you would like to join, please leave a comment, email me or direct message me on twitter. I will put together a spreadsheet with names, emails, blogs, etc. If you know what you would like to bring already you can include that, but we can sort out those details closer to the actual day.
Also, please spread the word via twitter or your own blogs. The more the merrier!
Last night I decided to experiment in the kitchen. I’ve come up with a similar casserole before and it’s a pretty good way of using up leftovers (rice, meat) and pantry items (beans). On top of that all you need is some cheese & veggies and you are good to go. Here is the recipe:
Mexican Inspired Casserole
Ingredients (for 4-6 servings):
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup part-skim shredded cheese (Mexican blend preferred)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tomato
- 1 cup zucchini
- 1 cup mushrooms (note: you can use your veggies of choice instead of these 3)
- Spicy spices and salt
- 1/2 cup of salsa
- 1 can of black beans
- Optional: 1 chicken breast
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 350*. Begin heating a non-stick pan on medium-high heat (you can use some vegetable oil here if you would like). Chop up all veggies and chicken and add to pan. Use a bigger pan than I did.
- Add desired spices and salt.
- Sauté until chicken is cooked through.
- Take a casserole dish and add the rice and chicken-veggie mixture. Add tomatoes, black beans, salsa and 1/2 cup of cheese and mix well.
- Cover with tin foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.
- Remove tin foil and sprinkle with rest of the cheese.
- Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted – another 10 minutes or so.
- Enjoy Mexican-inspired comfort food goodness!
Nutritional information for 6 servings (with chicken breast)
Calories – 260 Total Fat – 4.9 g Carbohydrates – 32.3 g Dietary Fiber – 7.0 g Protein – 21.1g
Love all that protein! This may not be the healthiest recipe, but sometimes everyone craves some warm cheesy goodness. This only made 2-3 “Neil servings” but I think most people reading this have a different idea of what a portion size should be.
In other news, I ran 7 extremely hilly miles this morning (@8:51 pace), went on a hike with Leela & Neil during my lunch break at Rock Creek Park and plan to play tennis this evening. This is because I worked from home today and didn’t have to waste anytime commuting, and showering and getting prettified. Can someone offer me a job that telecommutes all the time??
I’ve been avoiding even muttering the i-word in the last few months. In fact I’m not sure if I have even mentioned my injury on the blog since my doctor declared I was healed.
For new readers, I was diagnosed with a tibial stress fracture during my training for the National Marathon this past March. It was especially traumatic because the pain didn’t start until I began the taper period and because I didn’t get my official diagnosis until the day before the marathon. I was sidelined from running for over 14 weeks.
I’ve been scared if I write something about it, it will come back. Then I read this article in the New York Times health section about running injuries, and found myself relating to many parts of the article. I realized that almost everyone gets injured at some point, and with endurance athletes injuries are likely to happen multiple times.
Here are some points that really resonated with me:
“I also am a serious cyclist, but running is my true love.”
When I was injured I ramped up my bike riding as a replacement. I often mused that I didn’t get the same “high” or peace that I did with running.
“’There is something about the experience — be it figure skating or running or cycling — that really produces a pleasurable experience,’ Dr. Coppel said. ‘That connection is probably not only at a psychological level but probably also something physiological that potentially makes it harder for these people to transition to other sports.’”
I also signed up for my first triathlon pretty much immediately after getting the news that the marathon was a no-go. So I spent a lot of time swimming as well, but also never loved it in the same way.
“’I could give up cycling,’ Jen said. ‘But I could never give up running.’”
While I did have some positive experiences during my running hiatus, I am terrified that I will get another stress fracture and the dream of running a marathon will slip away again. Regaining my ability to run has made me love running more than ever.
So aside from keeping my fingers crossed, not writing about it in fear of jinxing it, how am I preventing a second fracture?
- Running 3 days a week, instead of 4, to put less stress on my body.
- Taking calcium chews each day to build stronger bones (since I don’t eat much dairy).
- Trying to keep my weight down so there is less impact on each step.
- “Testing” my shins for localized pain. The doctor would press down on the bone to find the fracture, so I’ve been doing that.
Have you dealt with an injury before? How did you get back into working out without re-injuring yourself?
As you all know, I bike everywhere and have been commuting by bike to work for about 2 years now (usually taking most of the winter “off”). Neil and I share a car but I don’t drive much. I’ve been lucky enough to have not gotten in any accidents involving cars yet. *Knocks on wood.* There was of course my wipe out in May, but that was caused by a ridge in the road I didn’t see, plus I was probably going a little too fast.
If you are thinking of beginning a bike to work program, or simply biking on busy streets for the first time, check out my first post on bike commuting tips (includes being alert, getting the right equipment, planning your route, avoiding blind spots and how to approach traffic lights). Here are a few more tips (a mix of safety and comfort tips) I’ve picked up along the way:
Make Eye Contact with Drivers
This is especially important when you have the right of way (for example if you are going straight through an intersection where a car coming the opposite direction is taking a left at that intersection). Drivers often have a blind-eye when it comes to bike riders. I have had a few close calls because the driver simply did not see me, even in broad day light. If you make eye contact with the driver you can be sure that they know you are there.
Don’t hug the right side of the road TOO much
I read this on some one’s blog once and it could not be more true. If you are in a bike lane or the right lane, and keep as far over to the right as possible, cars tend to crowd you more. If you stay in the middle of a bike lane or even slightly to the left it seems that cars understand that this is YOUR lane. If you do not have a bike lane, you don’t want to be too far over to the right in the event of someone opening a car door!
Check your tires every weekend
Checking your tires applies to recreational biking too. Even if you aren’t riding every day, your tires will lose air throughout the week. It happens even faster in colder months. The last thing you want is to blow a tire on a busy road. It might seem like a pain in the *ss to do so often, but you need to make sure your equipment is working before you hit the streets.
Invest in side bags
My last bike was not equipped with bags (and actually couldn’t be because of the type of bike it is). I would put my things in a backpack and ride to work that way. Since I switched bikes and put on side bags my back has been very thankful! Not only am I less sweaty when I get to work, but my back would get sore if I was carrying a ton of stuff in a backpack.
This has also been great for doing my grocery shopping on bike.
Keep track of weather reports
Since I often ride home for my lunch break, I keep the hourly weather forecast open on my computer and refresh it throughout the day. I’ve heard enough horror stories of people wiping out in the rain to want to stick to dry rides. Plus, if you are commuting you probably don’t want to come in soaking wet!
Do you ever ride your bike on city or busy roads? What other tips do you have to add?
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