Delectables and Distances

The quinceañera

2014-03-12T13:34:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday was the Asics LA Marathon. It was my eighth time running this race and fifteenth marathon overall. It was a whirlwind of a week, facilitating a college planning seminar, coordinating my SRLA team to visit the LA Marathon Expo, meet the marathon elites on Friday morning, and try to figure out where I was going to fit in 14.2 workout from the CrossFit Open. With insane weeks like the last one, I try to stop thinking about how much needs to be done and just do it.

I was relatively happy with the attendance at the college seminar considering not many parents attend evening events. The parents had tons of questions about planning for the future, and I love being a part of it. I love sharing information with them and helping parents navigate the complicated system of college planning. I don't really love spending the evening at work instead of at the gym, but I am willing to compromise for something as important as college planning.

The whirlwind week kept me busy from thinking about the marathon and what was to come in the next workout for the Open. I made plans to complete the workout on Thursday, whatever was in store for the workout. The workouts are released on Thursday at 5pm and we have until Monday at 5pm to complete the workout. There was no way that I would have the energy to complete the WOD on Monday and I wasn't about to put any weight over my head on Saturday. My only shot was on Thursday. When I watched the announcement on my phone while I was at the last SRLA practice with my runners, I started to freak out. Overhead Squats at 65# and Chest to Bar pullups. Two movements that I have not yet conquered but have come close!

I haven't worked on OHS since December and I just recently started working on pull ups without a resistance band. I messaged my coach and he talked me down from my panic attack and made me feel confident in my abilities and reminded me that I was running a marathon on Sunday, and that should be my focus.

I ended up hitting 10 squats, more than I have ever done at that weight. Plus, I was so close at getting a chest to bar pull up for the first time, ever. With practice, I think I'll get it pretty soon. It is amazing what registering for the Open has done for me. I have hit more goals in the last two weeks than in the 8 months of training CrossFit.

Friday, my runners had the rare opportunity to meet the elite runners, running the LA Marathon. We were chosen last year for this event, too. I'm convinced that it's because I am active on social media and I would tweet and post about the event. I did. We cheered, they jogged and got autographs from their role models. The morning in the park was relaxing and it was a great way to spend the time with a few of my runners.

In the afternoon, the team boarded a school bus and traveled to the Expo to pick up our t-shirts, bibs and other goodies. I have tried to make it a point to give the high school runners the complete experience of training for a marathon. The expo is part of the experience. We even went to "carbo-load" together at Souplantation.

I ended the day with a a hot tub soak and good conversation with my friend Missy. I didn't have to think about the marathon because I was so busy on Friday. I didn't think about running 26.2 miles much, even though everything that I did on Friday revolved around the marathon.

Not so much on Saturday. I couldn't stop thinking about the race, strategizing about the course, thinking about my pace, wondering how I was going to keep cool since Saturday was already warm. I was a mess. By the afternoon, I started to drink some herbal tea to calm my nerves. Even though everyone kept telling me that I got this and that I'm a pro at this stuff, I still get nervous. I still can't sleep. I still worry about getting hurt. I am still a basket case.

Everything on Sunday morning went well. All of our students arrived to the school on time and the bus departed the school with plenty of time. We got to the starting line at Dodger Stadium with plenty of time to hit the pre-race food before they ran out and to use the toilets before the lines started to form. Then we waited. Stretched. Started. The race felt great. I was in good spirits and thought that I could go faster than usual. So I did for 20 miles of the race. I met Missy near mile 20 and she sprayed me down with a water bottle she brought with her. I was really starting to feel the 80 degree heat at that time. I needed to keep my body temperature down.

More than the water, the spirit and support she gave really helped to push me even through the heat. Another spectator was giving out ice that I gratefully took and shoved in my cap to keep my head cool. I let some ice melt in my hand while I ran. I remembered to keep my extremities cool so that my body temperature would stay down; I had this race in the bag!

I was so excited to finish the race way past my anticipated finish time...until unbearable pain struck my calf. Both calves actually. It felt like daggers to my legs! Talk about frustrating. I hobbled into the finish line, found the medic, got ice and walked to meet the rest of SRLA at Santa Monica High School. It took me nearly 40 minutes to walk the mile back. I thought that I did something terrible to my legs. When I finally found the SRLA doctor, she asked me a ton of questions about the pain, she started to massage my calves and explained that it was only a cramp and nothing serious. If I wasn't crying in pain from her massage, I would have told her that it was serious enough for me to slow down during the run! Since I changed my birthday on Facebook to March 9th like I said that I would, I had several people wishing me well, which really boosted my spirits before my phone died.

I didn't PR this race, but I didn't feel as bad as I did during the Long Beach race. It was a finish. That was all that I was happy with on Sunday. Now to get ready for this week's 14.3 workout and marathon #16 (sometime in the near future).

Double Unders and Bison Balls

2014-03-02T18:29:00.001-08:00

Last year, I accomplished my marathon goal of breaking five hours, three times. I thought about adding more speed work training to the marathon work so that I could run a faster marathon, but I seem to be happy with where I am, training wise. I am going into my fifteenth marathon in exactly one week from today. I did change up some of my training by adding more weights and strength speed work on top of my regular running. I am a wreck about it. I can't stop wondering whether I put in enough miles or if I trained hard enough. In the last few months, I drastically cut back in running and in making attempts to lift more weight at the CrossFit box. I suffered a hamstring strain and my masseuse told me that my muscles needed a rest, so I took some.

In the last month, I finally accomplished kipping pull ups without the aid of a resistance band. I am still slow at them, but after eight months of working, I did it. I even completed the benchmark girls workout "Fran" without assistance (or as we call it, RX). I finished in 12 minutes and 47 seconds and I couldn't have been more proud of myself. That score will most certainly will not make it to the CrossFit Games like the woman in the video, but it will make into my PR notebook and for now, that's good enough.

For those of you that recall, one of the first benchmark workouts that I completed was Fran, with a 25 pound barbell and jumping pull ups. As scaled back as one could possibly be. At that time, it was humbling, considering that I had completed multiple marathons before stepping foot in a gym and "thought" I was pretty strong.

Completing Fran RX alongside another box mate that also "RX'ed" was a huge confidence booster....that is until the first workout was posted for the CrossFit Games: 14.1.

Our task: AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) 30 Double Unders and 15 Snatches. My two nemesis because they are two very technical movements that I could get better with practicing the technique every day.

I'd rather go for a run.

There are plenty of movements that I have yet to grasp in CrossFit. Double Unders seem to be the most challenging of the "easy" stuff. In 10 minutes, I completed 118 reps and had plenty of reminders on my arm to show me that I still don't know how to do a proper double under with the jump rope. Those whiplashes are still sore, two days later.

I was both proud of and embarrassed with myself.

Other people on our team wanted to redo the workout to see if they could get a better score, or more reps completed. I thought about it, and despite the energy and positive encouragement from my box mates, chose otherwise.

I posted my score online and earned another heaping slice of humble pie and a reality check on where I am in the context of the CrossFit world with regards to double-unders and snatching:

...and that's not everyone reporting their scores yet.

Taking this as a metaphor, I see that there will be plenty of things in my life that I can do better by working on technique, and it will come with time and practice. This challenge of signing up for the Open will teach me about how to have patience with myself and my abilities. And maybe in future WOD's, kick ass, too.

Today, I made bison balls, thanks to my good friends at the Honest Bison.

I was having Carolyn come over for a quick visit and I had just thawed my ground bison and wondered what I could do with it without simply making burgers. Balls! In honor or one of my favorite movements in CrossFit: WALL BALLS!

Bison Balls (not paleo):

1 lb ground bison (of course from the Honest Bison)

2 eggs, whipped

1 cup bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic minced

1/3 cup chives, finely chopped

1 tbsp oregano

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Mixed well (with your hands) until everything is well blended. Create small balls, roll them in your hand until they are nice and round. Make sure they are as tightly packed as possible

Heat a pan (Medium heat) of EVOO and place them in the pan, let them brown and rotate them to get all "sides" brown. Remove when all sides are brown.

I added a tzatziki sauce to them, thanks to a box mate that has found many paleo recipes:

3/4 cup coconut milk yogurt

1tbsp fresh lemon juice

1tbsp fresh dill

1tsp fresh mint (I added waaaay more than she did)

1 minced clove garlic (I added 2)

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

Mix it all in a food processor/blender/whatever you have to mix it all well. The color may be a bit off since the recipe calls for coconut milk yogurt and it's a bit more transparent than traditional Greek yogurt, but it is freakin' tasty-paleo tasty!!

The mac and cheese is from a recipe previously posted.

I may not be great at mastering double unders quite yet, but I can still throw down in the kitchen. Baby steps.

Jesus Year

2014-01-24T22:55:00.001-08:00

I thought I would be excited when I finally looked into the mirror after 33 years to see a few wrinkles. I have been looking forward to the time where I sorta look older than the teenager that I have looked like my whole adult life.

But when I saw myself in the mirror today, I just looked exhausted. I don't have crows feet, but the furrow between my eyebrows is nice and chiseled, just like everyone said would hapen. My forehead has a nice fault line through it from too much raised eyebrows. Those "wrinkles" look more for someone either always angry or constantly thinking about...whatever.

So much for wishful thinking.

People keep telling me that I'm going to be happy when I get older that I look so young. I've been hearing that phrase since I turned 21 and even when I fake getting happy for getting carded and am very "flattered" when I get carded at bars (or to get into rated R movies), I still think it's super annoying and wish that I looked a little older. Still waiting for the time when I am thankful for looking younger! The grass is always greener on the other side, I guess.

Another thing that I noticed especially this week: I find myself "needing" my sunglasses so much more often, not because they are cool, but because everything seems so freaking bright now. Seriously, who turned up the light in the world? I have a difficult time staring at my computer screen for long periods of time. I used to be able to program classes all day and go home feeling slightly weird and needing a break from any kind of monitor. Now, I go an hour on my blue screen and then need a break.

My body requires much more prep work before heading in to hard core workouts or training sessions. I have this false assumption that I think I can sprint like I did in high school (or jump like I once did).

I learned that lesson the hard way as I winced away during a sprinting warm up two weeks ago with a strained hamstring. My knees used to hurt when I weighed more, but thanks to poor form on a lift earlier in the month, I had a week long of pain in my knee while running, or what many call "Runners Knee." Foam roller, ibuprofin, marathon stick, and stretching have become very important to me, much more important than I previously put attention on.

Don't get me wrong, I will never make excuses for where I am in my fitness. I think I am much more fit now than I ever have been in my life. I may have been fast in high school, but I was super lazy and burned out from 13 years of competition. Now, I at least love going to the box and lifting weights. I love going out to run with my kiddos on Sunday morning and I love waking up early to walk/jog with my dogs.

Three weeks ago, I was super excited to see what 2014 had in store for me, it is both the year of the horse (on the Chinese calendar) and my Jesus year. This means that I "should" be making unremitting efforts to improve myself this year and perform a "miracle" in some way. I was super motivated, and then I caught a snag in training with a strained hamstring, then caught a nasty flu that knocked me into bed for three straight days. Talk about putting everything on hold. So tomorrow, on my birthday, I'll be heading to my first wod in two weeks. I am looking forward to working out and making more gains in my fitness this year, eventually and progressively throughout the year.

Yes, I did mention that it is my birthday. I used to get super excited about celebrating another year of life. Now, celebrating at this time of year just feels wrong considering last week was the anniversary of my niece passing. I haven't wanted to celebrate or even care to acknowledge anything exciting this week, knowing that it's not a very happy time. Plus on a completely different argument, what is the excitement of living another year? I didn't break a record today nor did anything spectacular happen. I was just born today many moons ago. And I'm alive.

I am tempted to just tell people that my birthday is on the day of the LA Marathon and it would give them more of an incentive to go out and watch me run. This day will also give people a reason to actually cheer for me when I need it most during the year. Yea, maybe that's what I'll do.

I signed up for a pretty awesome delivery service from Nature Box. I initially thought that $20 for snacks was expensive and unnecessary. While it is pricey, especially for those on a limited income, this first box has some pretty tasty (and healthy) snacks. I love that there are few ingredients in each bag of snacks and there is a variety to choose from. On the website, I can check off if I have food preferences and limitations (which they would help modify what is delivered to me). I got $10 off the first box, thanks to a coupon I found online so the first order only cost me $10.

The other thing I wanted to point out is that while we may be able to get snacks that are less expensive at the grocery store, we don't always know what goes into the process of making the snacks and I often cannot read the ingredients (because I'm not a chemist and I can't read some of these chemicals listed). I feel more comfortable knowing what I am putting into my body, even if it is a bit more expensive.

Well, here I go....into year 33....positive thoughts can commence!

The snatch

2013-12-10T15:48:00.003-08:00

Since day 1, this movement has been my least favorite. I sometimes wanted to pretend having a rest day when I would find out the WOD included the snatch. I even complained about it on this blog to the five of you readers. One day, I even left the box in tears because I couldn't get it. I sat in my car and cried out of frustration.

After being called on it a couple of times indirectly, I stopped. I needed to get better. It's been five months. With much coaching from the awesome people at LAX CrossFit, I finally look like I know what I'm doing. Looking at these photos makes me want to cry, this time because I'm proud of myself for not giving up.

Today is also my late baby niece's birthday. She was a fighter at only 5 weeks old. I can at the very least do what I can with my own abilities.

two's, three's and PR's

2013-11-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

I realize that it has been a few months since I have posted anything. What a slacker. So much has happened in these months that I don't even know where to begin. I can start with adorable babies. Just looking at their faces makes the world much brighter.

My godson was born and is developing into a healthy boy. He laughs at everything, eats all the time and stares in awe at his momma. Watching a baby's eyes light up as they try to learn what you are teaching is so fascinating.

My goddaughter Maliya turned one year old and she is walking and waving "hi" and saying "bye" to everyone she meets. I must say that I am an incredibly proud nina. I was excited to be able to push jerk Maliya up and over on to my shoulders with absolutely no problem. She was not impressed with my functional fitness. She will be when I "fireman carry" her when she gets older (and I get stronger).

The school year began as did the Students Run Los Angeles season. I am in full swing working with thirty-nine high school students and four other adults (and anyone that would like to tag along in our training) to complete the LA marathon. We are having a blast in training. The team recently completed a 15K race at the Universal Backlot and we collect 83 cans of fish/tuna for our new SRLA Cares program. Nike is also donating shoes to each of the SRLA runners after this milestone.

This is my eighth year as a coach and I must say that I learn so much every year to share with the team for the next year. For my runners that have been running with me for multiple seasons, they too have been able to share with the newbies the benefits of proper eating and training. Talk about being super lucky doing something every day that I absolutely love.

I also finished my fourteenth marathon with another PR. As much as I love running through the streets of San Francisco during the Nike Women's Marathon in October, this year was pretty exciting and extremely crowded. I wonder whether my time would have even been much faster if I wasn't weaving through walkers along the course.

I PR'ed this marathon time by two minutes without adding in much more in the way of long distance runs during the months before. I ran a few miles a few days a week and spent more time lifting weights. During the race, I was super conservative at the beginning while maintaining the typical 11 minute mile pace. I knew I could go faster, but that mental resistance for fear of hitting a wall is too scary to push myself out of that typical slow start. I think I started picking up the pace too late. Every marathon is a time to analyze every step for next time I'm out on the streets. I am really looking forward to LA marathon after finishing this race.

I had the incredibly opportunity to run the Nike Women's Marathon and earn that Tiffany necklace thanks to a very amazing and active SRLA team, the Mount Gleason Runners and their coach Craig. A group of about fifty runners traveled up to San Francisco to complete the half marathon. The team also met Kara Goucher and Joan Benoit Samuelson during the Expotique. I remember a few years ago when our students met Joan at the Expo and how starstruck I was to meet her, knowing that she paved the way for women marathoners to be integrated into the sport.

I still train at CrossFit 3-4 days a week. I augment marathon training with weights, sprints, rowing, games and have met a new group of people excited to find out what the next WOD will be. This has really helped my confidence in running, both mentally and physically. Hitting my own personal records for weight lifting has been exciting and challenging. I have developed some favorite movements like the split jerk, thrusters and back squats.

I have been humbled every day at the box, missing/failing a lift, not getting the hang of double unders, or not getting that freakin' squat snatch! I have asked for so much help during every workout that I'm sure I have (unintentionally) tried the patience of our CrossFit coaches.

I am still sticking firm to my stance on eating "clean" and staying true to that. I do allow myself some sugar, pasta, and gelato, but on the whole those foods are still kept to a minimum. I know how important food is to training now. I know how much better I can train, how much heavier I can lift at the gym and how much better I feel after eating foods that my body can take full advantage of. And I look good. In order to remind myself to eat my fruits and veggies, I have continued to use Farm Fresh To You service every few weeks delivered straight to my door.

Leeks are in season! I love leeks. I love potatoes. And I love that I have learned how to make Potato Leek Soup! I used a few food recipes from the Food Network a few attempts at making this soup but I think I've figured this out on my own and have some substitutions for my Vegan friends, too.

Potato Leek Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 slices turkey bacon, chopped (don't have to use this for Vegan recipe)
2 large leeks (or 3 medium sized leeks-whatever you can find), white and light green parts only, thinly sliced (you don't need the green leafy looking top part)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces or bigger if you like chunks of potatoes
Kosher salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream (coconut milk works, too)
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (do not thaw)

Cook the bacon until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon to let it cool. While the bacon is cooking, heat a sauce pan and add the butter (I use a wok, it's easier and less messy). Let the butter melt, then add the leeks and garlic; cover and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the paprika and pepper at this time, too.

Add the broth, 2 cups water, the potatoes and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 15ish minutes.

Puree half the soup in a blender (remove the filler cap to let steam escape), then return to the pot. This can get messy, so be careful. The puree is hot! It's probably good to use a measuring cup to scoop the soup into the blender.
Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the peas and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper again if needed.

Chop up the bacon into rough bits and pour it all in.

You can also toast baguette slices and use them to dip into the soup. Feel free to freeze the soup if you want to make extra for the week.

This soup reminds me of my days in Madrid when my host mom would make us puree for lunch almost every day.

One of my favorite pastimes while in Europe is lunch. It is a huge meal and almost always begins with a puree. My recent trip to Berlin was no different. I hope you enjoy the soup as a meal or as a primer plato during lunch or dinner.

Active Rest Day

2013-08-08T20:30:00.001-07:00

I took a day off from the box today. After what felt like the most intense, nauseating workout yesterday, I decided to give myself a break. I went for a run in the morning with my dogs and then headed out to pick up my cousins for a day trip to the LA Zoo.

We spent a good six hours walking through each exhibit. I watched my cousins run to each exhibit with their outside voices exclaiming their raging enthusiasm as they found each animal in their habitat. It made me happy. Gordo was very good at that game. He found most of the animals before either me or his sister, Ana.

Of course, I was using my active rest day and still working it by picking up the six year old and sitting him on my shoulder to aid in his search (someone say push jerk?).

Gordo's reactions to the Reptile Lair were priceless. Both were asking me to take photos at almost every exhibit...

They even convinced me to jump on the carousel with them.

In a commercial for CrossFit (during the CrossFit games), I heard a quote that stuck with me: "The reward for doing well is the ability to express your fitness in everyday life." I was happy that I was able to throw my cousin up to sit on my shoulder as I aided in his skill of playing "Where's Waldo" with the animals.
By the end of the day, they were complaining about how tired they were. I told them that they had to keep trucking because we only had a short amount of time at the zoo. I was able to push them to keep walking and we were able to see every exhibit at the zoo. They were exhausted by the end of the day.

If anyone wants an idea for an active rest day, I would highly recommend picking up your kids (or someone else's children) and taking them for a day at the zoo (or the Aquarium). I had a blast.

Panama

2013-08-06T21:33:00.002-07:00

Every now and then, I think it is important to get away. Spending some time away from the busy city can help put my choices into perspective. I got to spend a few days in Panama city and Contadora Islands in Panama. Although Panama city is a major city and perhaps one of the wealthier of the Central American cities, it was still a place that moved much slower than Los Angeles.

The food is different. I tried my best to take in all that was Panamanian in the three short days that I was there.
That meant that I spent most meals tasting sea bass or other seafood options. Coconut rice, curry, shellfish, wine, Balboa (the local beer). I savored the Panamanian flavors; the fish was perfectly seasoned and cooked, the coconut rice was a perfect sweet complement to the savory fish. Although I enjoyed the several days of being a pescatarian, by the time I was back in Miami for my layover before returning to Los Angeles, I was craving red meat. I stopped by The Counter in the airport and indulged on a custom burger and fries.
While in the country capital, we got to visit the old city and the colonial district. We shopped, and tried to stay cool in the heat and humidity.

I was ecstatic to visit the Panama Canal. I walked up to the top balcony and stood on the fourth floor, completely mesmerized by the mechanics of the canal, "sinking" enormous cargo ships low enough to move through the canal and on their path to delivering goods throughout the world.

The canal doors quickly opened to allow the ship to pass through once it was low enough and the water rose to accommodate the ship. The particular ship I watched go through the canal weighed about 4,000 tons and went through with only 24 inches on either side of the canal to spare. Fascinating.
What I found completely mesmerizing was only two hours by boat away from the mainland: Contadora Las Perlas (it was featured in "Survivor: Pearl Island" several years ago). The resort is right off the shore of the Island and we were greeted by the The Point resort staff with a scoop of pineapple sorbet and someone taking my bag directly to my room. The service was on point. And so was the view from my room.
The group I was with were given the opportunity to relax and enjoy the island after our whale watching and snorkeling excursion. I wish I knew enough about fish and sea life to tell you the names of the blue and iridescent fish, but I don't. I also do not own an underwater camera, yet.
On Sunday morning, I got a chance to take a dive out to Pacheca and Pachequilla Islands with Guillermo from Coral Dreams. On Saturday, I walked in to his shop and caught him before he took out a group for snorkeling. He told me that he was going out for a dive with a few people in the morning and I asked him to allow me to tag along.
He did and we sorted out equipment and times later in the evening. After a few questions (okay about 100 rookie questions) Guillermo showed me an article written about him that he has logged in 11,000 dives in 20 years. Wow! I am in good hands.
Morning came around, I showed up at the dive shop and learned that I was diving with a group of men that work in Panama and were spending the weekend "teambuilding" or whatever, whale watching, fishing and diving. Thank the universe that our worlds collided.
Within minutes, we were on the dive boat with our equipment and heading out to the Island where we would jump in, and experience an underwater abundance of schools of fish, sharks, coral of brilliant colors and the underwater sounds of migrating whales!

A couple of the divers had extensive experience and dives under their belt. Me and France (above on the boat) were the rookies, but our experience together as a group with Guillermo who gave us a tour of both islands, will be a memorable one.
If it wasn't for American Airlines losing my luggage and not getting it back for three days, I would say that my trip to Panama was phenomenal. I would love to visit these islands again and watch the canal open and close over and over again.

Mac and Cheese

2013-06-30T22:24:00.001-07:00

I'm coming up on two months working out at LAX Crossfit. Since then, I have hit some pretty exciting goals. One of these goals was to climb up to the top of the fifteen foot rope.
A few months ago, my friend and CrossFit coach tried to show me how to climb. With several attempts, I wasn't able to get more than two pulls that afternoon, but that didn't stop me.
At the box, I worked on the rope climb form any time I had enough energy and strength after the workout to make some attempts. That wasn't easy. I got some pointers from some of the box mates and started gaining confidence on getting to the top. A few weeks later, I nabbed it, twice! I had the evening coach record the success because I wanted to mail it to the coach that inspired me to even get up there in the first place. It was lots of fun and super motivating.
In that time, I also completed my thirteenth marathon in San Francisco, this one also in under five hours time. I completed the LA/SF Challenge by running both LA Marathon and SF marathon back to back.
I love running through San Francisco. Each neighborhood has something different to display and running through the town is the best way to learn more about it. The race took us across the Golden Gate Bridge which was probably the coolest experience, during a race, that I can think of. I do wish we had more of a cheering audience on the course. I felt as if I was running on my own throughout the entire several miles through Golden Gate Park, something very different than the LA marathon experience.
Comparing this race with the Nike Women's Marathon (also in SF), the NWM has a much larger cheering audience with much more energy. The enthusiasm from marathon cheerleaders helps when running through the hilly streets of the city by the bay.
In the few months leading up to the race, I was completing two workouts, a morning run of 2-3 miles and then another CrossFit Workout of the Day (WOD) in the evening at the box. I did this four times a week. I loved how I felt during that time and surprisingly had much more energy to complete work and go about the day.
I'd like to think that the intensity and consistency in my weekly routine helped me with the recovery time after completing the marathon. Generally, the soreness and tight muscles stay for several days after the race. This time, I was back working at the box on Tuesday, like I didn't miss a beat. I even tackled a "Toes to Bar" attempt!
In the short time, I have also improved my weight lifting form and other parts of WOD's. I love the support and encouragement I get from the morning and evening coaches and box mates. They meet me at my level and provide just the right amount of support and encouragement to push myself to a heavier weight or a better form completion. Just the other day, I was able to complete three pull-ups without the assistance of a resistance band. I can't wait until I can string more of those pull-ups together and RX that Helen workout in the near future.
One thing I did not realize that I would appreciate so much are the small changes to my diet. Although food is an important component of training for the marathon, I did not realize how much a solid and wholesome diet can really help my CrossFit training. The better I ate, the more positive my results at the box. I have tried to modify my eating to more veggies, meats and fruits. I guess it would be called Primal more than Paleo since I still eat dairy (I love me some cheese). But even then, I really haven't sat down to plan out which diet I choose. I used to weigh out my food and portion control like the Zone diet prescribes. Whatever, clean and unprocessed food make me feel better. And I eat oatmeal.
I haven't eaten nearly as much pasta as I usually do, but from the looks of my fellow training buddies' Instagram accounts, there are plenty of other "pasta" options. This makes me happy since I love pasta. I just recently learned how easy it is to make mac and cheese from scratch. My sister asked me for the recipe for mac and cheese so here is the basic recipe (it can be modified for any preferences). It is such an easy recipe that I beg all of you to never buy boxed mac and cheese again. There are so many processed and unhealthy ingredients that come in the "cheese" powder mix that can't be good for anyone eating it.

Mac and Cheese with Carrots

Easy Mac and Cheese

8oz pasta (elbow macaroni)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup butter (use no substitute)

2 cups cheese (at least one cup of cheddar, but may be mixed with another cheese to add bite or creaminess)

1 cup milk (I use lowfat)

1 cup water

salt and pepper (to taste)

1 teaspoon corn starch (this isn't crucial, but it helps to keep the cheese from becoming clumpy)

Cook the pasta according to packaging.
In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Mix in the flour. Add in the milk, slowly whisking it in. Add in salt and pepper. Whisk in the cheese little by little so that it melts while you are whisking.
If you are feeling daring, you can add in extras like carrots, sun dried tomatoes, sauteed kale, peppers, or whatever feels right. Once the cheese is completely melted, add in the corn starch and mix well. Toss the macaroni into the cheese sauce and mix well. Serve hot with complementary meat and veggies. The better the meal, the better the athletic performance. Enjoy!

Sundried Tomato Mac and Cheese with avocado and beef ribs

The universe heard me

2013-05-21T12:34:00.001-07:00

I spent this past weekend attached to the Twitter feed about the CrossFit Regionals for Southern California. Watching these women compete with amazing statistics was amazing.

I couldn't wait to get back to the box on Monday for another exciting day of....whatever was in store.

When I saw Monday's WOD (30 Burpee Muscle Ups) and then the scaled set for muscles ups (1MU=3 pull ups) I was very excited! I would practice completing scaled pull ups all workout! This would be perfect in my quest to eventually complete "Helen" without a resistance band.

I should be careful what I wish for:

I purchased a set of gloves online over the weekend, because I was worried that my "lady-like" hands would eventually take a beating. I didn't think that beating would come in the form of a total of 90 pull ups within 16 minutes on Monday. Needless to say, the gloves are still in the mail and I am typing this with painful pulled blisters (and bandages full of neosporin) on each hand.

I'm supposed to work on rope climbing today. I guess I'll make a quick stop at the store and pick up some tape for my blisters. Stay tuned!

In Helen we trust

2013-05-17T22:00:00.002-07:00

I started back at the LAX Crossfit box at the beginning of the month. Today marks the second full week of sweat-drenched nights. The first week back was loads of fun. Coming back to an intense workout on Monday and a high-five with the 8pm coach gave me some positive energy for the first, of I hope many, workout of the day (WOD).
This past Monday, I spent the entire time working on the Snatch Balance and the Squat Snatch. Before heading to the box, I watched a few videos to get the technique before going in. No matter how much I worked for the entire strength session, I still couldn't get it. The perfectionist in me left the box feeling incredibly defeated and disappointed. Even though I haven't been back long, I still have high expectations for myself in properly completing the workout. I run marathons for pete's sake.
I remember one workout day of coaching my marathoners. Our workout was an afternoon full of suicides-two basketball court lengths each time (plus squats). In the middle of the third round, one veteran marathoner walked away in tears. She needed a break, but I also think the workout broke her. On Monday, my mind drifted to that day and her. That's exactly how I felt.
I went back on Tuesday and withstood another insane session and I got to practice my handstand! Wednesday was a strength day, combined with a pretty intense warm up. I accomplished something I never thought I would be able to do: I successfully completed a back squat with 115 pounds and one deadlift of 135 pounds; the equivalent of my own weight. For someone with a fear of weightlifting, that is quite the accomplishment. I left feeling much better than I felt on Monday.
It wasn't until yesterday's workout that I really got my groove back.
Thursday's WOD
‘Helen’ – 3 Rounds:
400m Run
21 Kettlebell Swings (1.5 pd/1 pd)
12 Pull-Ups
After 13:58 minutes, I felt amazing. For this workout, I transitioned to a less resistant band (the blue band) and still completed the pull-ups quicker than I thought. After calling time, I came to the conclusion that this workout is by far my favorite.
The box has a Goal Board. As a (marathon) coach, I think it's pretty awesome that the box encourages us to set goals. Here is mine. My crossfit goal is to complete the Helen WOD as prescribed, with no resistance band. Let's see how long it takes me to do that.
For now, I'll take my small weight lifting goals and perfecting my handstand.
This investment in myself is right up there with my favorite car, my home and my education. I am having a blast and getting stronger at the same time.

another one bites the dust

2013-03-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, while frolicking around my house, I strained my calf. I couldn't walk down my stairs, I couldn't put my foot down and I was walking on my heel. I immediately thought, well there goes the marathon.

Since August, I have been training with a group of high school students where I work to complete the LA Marathon. The runners start off running/walking two miles and slowly increase mileage. Every Sunday until March is spent together running, increasing mileage and getting ready for the big day. To think I wouldn't be able to run was more devastating to think about than the actual pain that was shooting through my leg at that moment.

After many ice packs, acupuncture, massage, Aleve, doctors visit and kinesiology tape, I got to that starting line. I thought to myself, if I was going down with this calf strain, I was going down during a race and not at my house. The kinesio-tape gave me a sense of security that my calf would be protected from whatever I would put it through. Since this was my first injury, ever I had no idea what to expect my body to do. Before the injury, I was setting my goal to finally breaking my 5 hour marathon that I have been hovering around for the last four races. After the injury, my goal was just to finish the race.

Even still, the optimist in me went to the MyMarathonPace website to print out a pacing plan for the race. I modified the pacing for a negative split (to finish faster than I start) and to allow for easy hill climbing, just in case. I set my goal for 4:56:00. I taped the pacing chart behind my bib for easy access along the run (I hate wristbands).

As much as I would have loved to sit and meditate before the race (wishful thinking), I still had to keep thirty five teenagers within my line of sight. The adrenaline in their bodies had them asking to use the bathroom and to check out the stadium every five minutes. We stretched as a team and then about twenty minutes before the start, we disbursed (some of my kids run sub-4 hour marathons while others sub sub-7 hours).

I had to force my body to start slow and even still, I ran a 11:30 first mile. Yikes, it was about a minute faster than the pacing chart allowed for so I slowed down during the second mile. I blame the playlist of Rock-It! Scientists mixes that elevated the adrenaline pumping through my body. The mashup/mixes are perfect to keep me moving and the eclectic mix of songs keeps me on my toes.

The first several miles flew by. I didn't stop to take pictures the way I usually do. Cindy (a fellow marathoner) gave some tips for the LA Marathon on her blog that included enjoying the sights, and so I did. I enjoyed the sites chomping on my baggie of dates (my new favorite food for distance running). This was the first time I didn't bring out my phone to take photos of anything (except for one photo of an amazing Army rucker). I forwarded my calls to my cousin that met us at the finish line and just enjoyed the race. I was, of course, checking my pacing at every other mile to be sure that I was on track to finish under five hours.

By the time I was coasting down Sunset Blvd, I realized that I was two minutes ahead of pace and started to worry about whether I was using too much energy too soon. Going downhill was also causing some discomfort in my right knee. I popped another Aleve and sent out positive vibes into the universe. At the marathon expo, my runners recorded a quick "cheer" video for me to be aired at about mile 17. Although I only heard it (I ran by before I caught it on the screen) the familiar screams definitely gave me a jolt of energy. That, and I knew I would see Cindy soon.

I didn't see Cindy initially, but I saw her husband. I stopped for a bit and grabbed some pretzels from them. What a relief from the sodium craving I was having. At about mile 17 is where the course becomes home turf. Our team runs on the west side of Los Angeles and I make it a point to have them run along the marathon course to get comfortable with the neighborhood and streets. It's the psychology behind the training. When I got to mile 19 and a kool-n-fit station, I thought to myself, it's time. I was either going to give it all that I had left for the next seven miles and risk my calf getting more injured, or play it safe and still beat my goal.

I picked up the pace. Just a bit.

On Santa Monica Blvd, near Sepulveda, I saw our school's librarian. She was out with her iPad taking photos. I knew she supported the marathon every year, I just never found her along the course. I waved and said thank you for being out there and sped along.

At mile 22, I got a chance to see our program coordinators cheering us on.The energy in that tent was so contagious and Rosny seemed so excited to see me that I left that tent feeling energized, like I hadn't just run 22 miles. I zipped down San Vicente blvd, shattering any pace that my chart had for me, rounded the corner to the finish line and it hit me. I was going to PR.

I started to hyperventilate as I got to the finish line. I saw the clock above the finish line and it read 5:06:53 clock time (different than chip time) and I knew it. I broke the five hour streak, finally! My leg felt fine and the tears just came. I haven't been more proud of myself. My official time is 4:52:56, twelve minutes faster than my previous fastest marathon time.

I saw some of our alumni runners at a water station just before the finish line (but I missed their awesome posters). They were screaming their heads off when they saw me. I was happy to see them out volunteering for the race this year with one marathon under their belt. If I would have seen these posters, I would have started bawling while I was running. They make me so proud!

The season is over, I get my Sunday mornings back from coaching. Some of my runners PR'ed and others were just happy to finish. One got sick and had to be pulled from the race. Despite this, it is such a great feeling to share this accomplishment with others.

I made myself lemon pie bars to celebrate. A student of mine brought me a bag of citrus last week so I put them to good use in this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice (from fresh lemons)
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest (the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon but I think it's too much)

The full recipe is on allrecipes.com and it's super easy to make, especially for non-bakers like me. The tang of the lemon goes well with wine...well I think so.

San Francisco marathon, I'm coming for you! But first, rest.

Fastest and Youngest

2013-03-15T12:55:00.001-07:00

My runners had an amazing, once in a long shot, opportunity to meet (and get autographs from) the elite athletes for the race in which they all will be competing on Sunday. The elite athletes had their last training run this morning in Griffith Park.

I got invited to attend with the runners by the organization we are a part of and jumped at the opportunity. I think I was more excited than the kids were at first.

I immediately got 12 of my team of 35 interested in waking up before the sun (and before school) to drive to Griffith Park where we had a photo op and were filmed by KTLA morning news. The kids had the chance to get autographs from the runners, too.

One quote from my student, "I got to put my arm around last year's LA marathon winner for the photo. If someone got that in a photo, that would make my....universe." He was talking about Simon Njoroge and although this teenage runner towers over the speed racer, he was mesmerized by this talented man. It was such a sight to see these "cool" teenagers revert back to the excitement "like a kid in a candy store" when meeting marathon runners. These guys and gals are their idols.

What a great experience for them. I am just lucky enough to tag along.

See you all out at the ASICS LA Marathon on Sunday! Remember your green (or orange)!

Made with love

2013-03-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends underwent surgery yesterday. When she told me that she was going to have surgery this year, I was worried and hopeful that all would come out well.

After-surgery recovery sucks. Food doesn't taste the same and the body isn't interested in digesting heavy foods in the first few days. I'm not very good at knowing what to say, so instead I made her food. I think she sticks around because I cook for her so much.

Because I signed up for a home delivery service of organic fruits and vegetables, I always have plenty to choose from in my house. The last three boxes included a butternut squash. I mean, I like squash, but not THAT much. I can only handle so much of any food.

Thanks to Rachel Ray and her "Every Day Rachel Ray" magazine, I found the perfect puree for post surgery-Roasted Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Carrots...and I added my own twist.

The recipe calls for:

carrots, sweet potatoes, celery

2lbs of butternut squash (peeled,sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces)
1lb of carrots peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1lb sweet potatoes (peeled,sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces)
2 onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges each
3 tbsp EVOO

Butternut Squash,garlic and onions

It didn't seem like enough flavor...so I added three cloves of garlic, Italian seasoning and chili flakes (Carmen is fan of sorta spicy), two celery sticks, and chicken stock instead of water. The recipe asks us to drizzle olive oil on the vegetables before putting them into the oven to roast. I did, but I also added the garlic and herbs before putting them into the oven. The recipes I find often consist of basic ingredients,almost daring us to make changes and update with our own flavors. This one fit that theory.

After the veggies roasted, I put them to boil in chicken stock. Then, in batches, put it all to puree in the blender. Remember to add the salt and pepper, too! The puree is a perfect blend of healthy vitamins and minerals to promote a healthy recovery. It may even be a good option for infants (minus the chili flakes).

The puree will be complemented with a dollop of sour cream on top and a lot of love while serving it to your loved ones. Carmen is in recovery and has already enjoyed two servings.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Lucky number 13

2013-01-01T10:52:00.001-08:00

Last night, after writing several letters of recommendations for students and reading a few dozen applications for admission, I perused Facebook and the many posts about what my friends were thankful for. It was nice to read the blessings each one of my friends encountered in 2012.

Babies being born, people getting married, friends graduating from graduate school, former students graduating from college, promotions, buying houses, and everything in between. It was nice.

I started the last year spending many hours with my niece in the NICU of Loma Linda University before her battle with life ended after five short weeks of life and one week before my birthday. It was probably one of he most painful feelings to endure and to try and support my sister and her husband through. It still hurts. She is buried right next to my baby brother who also died as an infant.

Little joys throughout the year were pleasant and masked the pain. I ran my tenth and eleventh marathon and coached another thirty-seven runners to the finish line of the LA marathon. I finally finished my substance abuse counseling certification program. I earned the SRLA Star Award for a blog I wrote about the program and my commitment to the students.

I watched my high school BFF, former roommate and party partner, be married to a great man.

I rang in 2012 with another BFF and his wife and then jumped for joy when they were with child and delivered a healthy baby girl nine months later.

Good things happened to people in my circles.

This year, I do plan to pursue additional training in the field of counseling. I will run another marathon. I will train more teenagers to complete a marathon. I will finish my seventh year as a school counselor. I will not join a gym in January or February. I will continue to incorporate Crossfit into my workout/marathon training routine. I may even sign up again for the box down the street from my house. I will try new recipes and share them with the five people that read my blog regularly. I will make some home improvements (or maybe pay people to do them). I plan to read more and catch up on novels I "should" read and others that I want to read. I will pay off my car and be nearly completely paid off with my debt (sans school loans).

Perhaps new prospects are looming in my professional and personal life too.

2013 will be my year. Lucky number 13.

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln

Resolution to Succeed

2012-12-30T19:03:00.001-08:00

A few months ago, I had a great conversation with a long time friend about perspectives. He asked me to look around and notice a particular color in my vicinity. Taking note of all the things that were visible in my area but paying such close attention to what was pointed out already, I lost the attention to detail needed to answer questions about what wasn't in my view. What did this mean to me? Options.

There are so many options available to me to help me become a better person that if I focus all of my attention on what is right in front of me, I can lose sight of those options. Being a better person means that I have to continue to keep my eyes wide and my mind open to the various possibilities. Most people don't care as much as my success as I do my own, despite my passion for helping others see their own potential.

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other."

-Abraham Lincoln

Expanding my options, I ventured into some new mac and cheese options while surfing pinterest again: I tried Chorizo Mac and Cheese and Avocado Mac and Cheese.

I'll share the Chorizo Mac and Cheese, a recipe that I found on Pinterest (pinned from Simply Recipes). The recipe is a bit spicy if you use both spicy jack cheese and from the spice of the chorizo. If you can't handle the heat, feel free to use monterey jack cheese instead.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups elbow macaroni

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon corn starch

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)

4 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese (about 1 cup)

6 ounces Mexican chorizo

1/2 cup minced red onion

2 Tbsp flour

2 teaspoons lime juice

2 Tbsp breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp butter

You can get the cooking directions on simplyrecipes.com

I added a handful of chopped cilantro, too.

Adding a dollup of sour cream and guacamole on top makes for a fabulous complement to the dish. Enjoy and remember, keep the options open, even when it comes to food. :)

Solo Sports

2012-12-29T17:30:00.003-08:00

I have frequently heard that distance running is an individual sport. True. I run with my own legs from start to finish. I use my own lungs and pump my own arms to get my body moving in a forward direction. It's true, a person can train for and compete in their own races with minimal human interaction. Like a big city, a runner can easily get lost in the crowds at immense races like the LA marathon. I understand that running does not require the intense teamwork needed from baseball or basketball to win a game.

In the literal sense, a runner can be out in the world, alone. With enough self discipline, a runner can train for his or her own marathon. I know, because I've done it. I created my own training schedule and got myself up to 18 miles on my own, running the streets and hills of San Francisco with nothing more than my pedometer and my music. Training for the marathon was the only thing that helped me survive the loneliness I felt in the city. I was by myself on those runs along in Balboa Park, around Breaker Beach, through the Presidio, with my own thoughts, racing against the sunset to get home, running through sheets of rain, and hoping I didn't get hit by a negligent driver as I tried to cross the road at the same time as they did. I did it, and I barely finished.

For the last seven seasons since I started training with the high school students and other adult leaders, I have learned that although running can be an individual sport, training with others can elevate a persons' performance more than they could ever do alone. From August until March, I can depend on at least thirty other runners to join me on the streets of Los Angeles. We will tackle the increased weekly mileage together as we train for the LA marathon, rain or shine, hills or straightaways. I don't know if I would be as consistent with my own training if I didn't have these runners.

On our team, some of the runners push themselves to keep up or stay in front of me in the same way I push myself to run a bit faster when I see another runner in close proximity. I can push myself through the hills and negative split can serve as an example to others that continue to learn how to manage their endurance. The faster runners often run in a small pack to encourage and push each other in hopes to reach their goal of sub-four hour marathon (and so they don't get lost).

Within the team of high school students, there is a range of experience from seasoned marathoners training for their fifth marathon while others are training for the first time, determined to finish the season. We have coordinated pacing groups, lead by a runner that has completed the marathon at least once so that they can help answer questions or offer support and suggestions. These marathoners-in-training are certainly learning how to work together to tackle the task of completing twenty-six point two miles. Sure, each one of them could train for the race alone, but the vital information from seasoned runners would be missing and the runners would have to learn by making mistakes instead of learning from past errors of their teammates.

I have to admit, teaching teamwork in a traditional "solo" sport isn't easy. But I have learned from my fellow coaches and from the mistakes I have made in coaching distance runners in the past. I have modified the training based on the vibe of the group, incorporated team leaders in leading practice and relied on their input to create an effective workout. I have learned, through much trial and error, how to manage and increase mileage on our long runs to help the runners reach optimal performance on the big day. I like to share my successes. Most take advantage, others like to learn the hard way.

I was thinking about this the other day as I stood with my family making our several dozen tamales for Christmas Eve dinner. Each year, many of the women in the Torres family organize on December 23rd to make tamales for the entire family. Over forty people to feed with nearly one hundred pounds of masa, several pounds of lard, beef and chicken later, we have seven pots of tamales on the stove for our families to devour and take home as leftovers. I usually make the sweet tamales solo on the morning of Christmas Eve. Me and my "solo" sports.

Potato-Fennel Gratin

This year, my cousin suggested that I start on them in the evening while everyone was still in aprons and in tamale-making mode. Why not? I thought. I could make this a solo sport like I have been so used to doing, or I could use the help offered to me. I took the help and we finished another 15 pounds of pineapple masa, chocolate chip masa and raisin masa. It gave me a chance to make a potato-fennel gratin to share with my family on Christmas Eve (the local Coachella market didn't have any Gruyere cheese so I settled on an aged-Salvadorian cheese). They loved it.

I also was able to make a new flavor tamale, pumpkin-raisin tamales. I was inspired by Tamara's Tamales in West Los Angeles that also offer a pumpkin tamale on their menu. My family loved those too. I realized that there are a few recipes for pumpkin tamales online. I think that if I did some research, I could have used one of them. But I didn't. And my portions of spice came out pretty well in the mix.

On Christmas Day, I convinced my cousin and two aunts to work out with me at the local high school. Originally, I only invited my cousin Vince. Since we overindulged on tamales the day before, I knew I could get at least one of my aunts to come out. The other came begrudgingly. We knocked out a modified crossfit.com met-con.

Cooking, like marathon training, is really about trial and error while using others' experiences as a guide to being better. Both can easily be a solo sport, but what's the fun in that?

moving on....smarter and more humble.

2012-10-24T16:22:00.002-07:00

On Sunday, Students Run LA took over the streets of La Puente for the La Puente Main Street Run. I ran the fastest 10K I have ever run-1:00:24. For me, this is incredibly fast. At the six mile mark, my Nike+ app voice told me my average pace and I did a little squeal. I knew if I picked it up, I could run the last .2 of the 10K fast enough to hit one hour. I am still proud of myself for pushing myself even though my legs were begging to stop.

Two weeks before that, I ran the toughest marathon I have ever run in my life (aside from the first). The Long Beach International Marathon course is a beautiful and scenic run. We run by the beach, on bike paths, near the Aquarium, by Cal State Long Beach, through very pretty residential areas, and near the marina. Taking in the sites distracted me from any pain I was feeling along the run, initially.

The race started off great. I was running at a pretty swift pace for the first ten miles. When I realized that I was running faster than my normal pace, I slowed down. I started to pick it up in the later miles but then I started to feel like my insides were heating up. I drank more water, threw water on my head, poured water down my back but nothing seemed to help cool me off. At mile 24, I slowed down again. I started to get a little dizzy and uncomfortable. I wasn't feeling any pain, except for the discomfort of having run 24 miles. Despite this, I was still sort of on pace to at least tie my PR.

I was not prepared for what my brain was telling my body in the last mile. I hit mile 25 and checked my clock 4:52:37 (or something like that). I wasn't going to PR but I could easily hit my fastest time if I pushed it just a little bit.

In my head, my thoughts started to scold my body "what are you doing to yourself? Why are you still running? No one is at the finish line waiting for you, you can quit! You should quit, you're not going to make your PR anyway." That last 1.2 miles of the race was the toughest, ever. I had to fight with my body to keep going. Keeping my thoughts quiet was next to impossible. I finished the race at 5:12:17.

I don't even remember what the finish line looked like, I couldn't tell you what the gender of the person putting the medal over my head, because the two hours after I crossed the finish line (finally) were a blur. I drank the entire bottle of water they gave me at the end in almost one gulp and inhaled the pretzels I got in my finishers bag. I was delirious. Still dizzy. I needed to sit down. I remember walking to the park and laying down under a tree. I took a nap. I woke up an hour later and puked my brains out. And I still had to walk to the train to go home.

After reading this, one wonders, why in someone's right mind would a marathoner put their body through this...ever?

Because, not all the races are like this. Most races, if runners are adequately prepared and properly trained, are fantastic. Finishing 26.2 miles is the most humbling accomplishment in my life. I still get teary-eyed at the finish line even after having completed eleven of them. I am blessed to know that my healthy body can handle the pain, and endure the pressure of this demanding activity.

I told myself during the horrendous run when I was talking myself onto the ledge, that I was never running another marathon. Yeah, I'm lucid now, and that's not true. I will run another one, at least to prove to the negaholic in me that I can still do it-and do it well. I have plenty of other marathons to run, plenty more miles to log and exciting more stories to tell.

Before the Long Beach marathon, I never believed people when they said they just had a bad race. I didn't think that could ever be the case. I would think that they just didn't prepare well enough, they didn't drink enough water the week before, they didn't eat properly or they wore the wrong socks or clothes (?!?! I was full of excuses). I'm a believer now. Some runners just have shitty races.

And then we move on to the next race and hope for a better performance.

Who are you?

2012-09-17T12:14:00.001-07:00

Carolyn is a good friend of mine that I met at work. She's a teacher of English and of young people.We haven't worked together in several years, but we both still work in education, helping to transform the lives of young people every day, and serving as a role model in many ways. We've run marathons and half marathons together. She's faster than me and pretty much kicks ass. This past week, we had a very pleasant discussion about culture and how people understand it in their lives. These controversial topics are so common with us, we have similar perceptions about some things and very different perspectives on others. I appreciated this particular conversation because it has been something on my mind for the last couple of weeks.

I spent a good majority of my life trying to figure out who I am, understanding how I fit into this huge concoction of cultures in this amazing city in California. I grew up in a homogeneous community with most people of the same values and content with the lives they lead in the small town. It was a great place to grow up, but I grew out of it pretty quickly. I understood and spoke a bit of Spanish because it was (and still is) the only way I could communicate with my grandparents and my grandmothers siblings. I learned how to cook most things Mexican, with a few American dishes sprinkled in moderately. My grandmother enjoys listening to cumbia but my grandfather was all about the big bands. He loved them. We have a traditional and yet eclectic upbringing.

After three decades of living on this planet, it still sometimes bothers me when someone insinuates that I'm not quite as "cultured" as I could be. It's like a low blow. Not really a blow to me, but a blow to my parents and my grandparents. That pisses me off. And I won't get over it in the same way some people won't get over the fact that culture means different things to different people (even within the same culture), that is what makes us different and awesome.

Culture in my life was about family and food. That's how we understood our Mexican roots in this previously Mexican (now "American") land. There are few basic foods that my grandmother did not teach me (only because I'm not a big fan of chile relleno so I didn't bother learning how to cook them) but most of my dishes are seasoned a la mexicana. I even put cinnamon in my morning coffee.

I grew up in southern California. I learned how to speak both Spanish and English, how to make tortillas as a kid and taught myself how to make crepes as an adult. If there is anything that I can identify with, it's the ability to fit in with a plethora of cultures, living on the border of two cultures (one of them already a melting pot) and creating a nice home between the two. I am defined by everything around me and maintain my roots with what is important to my life, not what someone else thinks it should be because of my last name. Plus, my novice home cooked meals are pretty bad ass. Ask my friends. I have to thank my friend for reminding me that food is one important artery to culture.

I don't have a real recipe for the dish below-I tried to measure the portions when I made it yesterday. I've made it many times for my friends and have gotten pretty good reviews. My tia inspired this way of making the dish. I have a short cut that most people would shun (canned sauce) but whatever. Try it....then let me know if I should change it.

Chilaquiles makes 2 servings
2 eggs

2 servings of corn tortilla chips*

4 oz of "El Pato" brand Tomato Sauce (Mexican Hot Style) in the yellow can

Can be found this near the tomato sauce at most grocery stores-at least in southern Cali

1 tbspn Parmesan cheese

1/2 tbspn canola oil

1 teaspoon of oregano

1/4 cup of onion, diced

1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded (queso fresco could be a substitution)

salt and pepper to taste

*one can use any kind of tortilla chips, but this meal will come out best with restaurant style, thick tortilla chips that were friend from a thick tortilla-almost pita-like in thickness. The traditional brands usually found in the chips section of grocery stores will get soggy and although they work-won't be the best looking plate. If you can't find any, it would be ideal to fry your own tortillas into chips.

Using medium heat, warm the canola oil in a medium sized frying pan. Toss in the diced onions and let them sizzle. While the onions are cooking, beat the eggs into a bowl, add in the Parmesan cheese and mix add a dash of salt and pepper.

Once the onions are slightly browned, add in the tortilla chips then pour in the egg scramble. Mix the eggs through the chips. Once the eggs are mostly cooked (a bit runny) add in the tomato sauce. Save the rest of the sauce in the refrigerator. Lower the heat of the stove and mix the eggs, sauce and chips together so most chips have egg and sauce on them. Mix in the oregano. Once the eggs are fully cooked. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the pile. Serve hot.

Some people like to add a dollop of cream or some guacamole over the top. Feel free to add that.

I ate both servings. That morning, I ran 4.5 miles and walked two so I allowed myself to eat both. :)

Enjoy!

international eating

2012-09-10T20:21:00.006-07:00

Anthony Bourdain is a bad ass.

Yea, I think I'm on the late freight with this discovery, considering he wrote his books many years ago, has (had?) a television show and is considered a celebrity chef. It's amazing where life can take a person.

I just finished Medium Raw after spending a day reading his pissed off angry Kitchen Confidential biography/food writing book. I toyed with the idea of pursuing a chef's profession, but after reading what he has to say about the business, I was convinced-otherwise.

I will not go back to working in the food industry. Back? Yeah. I spent a couple of years working with food services while in college, I made hundreds of smoothies, pretzels, hot dogs, and popping popcorn for basketball games. After a year, I was promoted to cash manager and quit because of the stress of that responsibility. And I was nineteen years old! Things do not change when making food for others. People always complain. Food is not ALWAYS perfectly made, but made well enough to be eaten.

Medium Raw gave me such a better appreciation of describing food for people reading or listening to me describe. I read, and read...addicted to indulging on the words describing Bourdains' indulgent experiences in the various countries. I could almost taste the tacos he savored or the description of the fish that melted in his mouth.

Bourdain does seem to have a soap box of his own, attempting to educate people not only about the goodness of food all over the world, but also in food etiquette. When Anthony got on his soap box about the importance of manners and accepting meals no matter what they serve in whatever country we travel to.

This part of the text immediately took me back to Asilah, Morocco. My friends and I took a weekend trip to Morocco while I was living in Spain for a semester. We decided to go into town, knowing that most people would be at home-it being Ramadan and all.

The bell boy at the hotel invited us to his home with his family. His mother made us a delicious meal of I have no idea what. It was super exciting to taste everything on the table, in the different textures and flavors. I remember that I kept asking "what is that?" and eating it anyway because I was so excited to be in the coolest place with some of the most hospitable people I have ever met.

I think back at the four months I spent in Spain, indulging on paella, churros y chocolate, tortilla, fresh bread, and sangria. I also think of my "food allergy" of swine and how much that completely affected my trip. I feel so horrible to lose that experience. I wonder what it would have been like to taste jamon serrano along with my manchego cheese.

I probably offended the family I lived with when I explained to them that I didn't eat the best thing on the menu (according to them). At 22, I didn't think much of it. At 31 (and after reading Bourdain's justification), I understand that I could have sucked up the pain of eating "different" foods than my body is used to eating.

It is my intention to travel back to the motherland. I want to change my way of viewing particular foods (and maybe taste them) next time.

30 days

2012-08-23T18:51:00.010-07:00

Today marks 30 days since my first day at LAXCrossfit thanks to an AmazonLocal deal. Membership over. Yesterday was my last hard workout at the box. I start training for the LA Marathon with my adolescent team of runners this Sunday.

One of the reasons I started Crossfit (besides the sweet deal) was because I wanted to learn more exercises and training activities to incorporate into my workouts and believe me I did.

I also learned that I tend to err on the side of caution and with a little support and encouragement, can surprise myself with my abilities. Yesterday I did a back squat with 80lbs on the bar. Holy crap, I thought to myself. I can do this! It was almost twice the amount of weight as one month ago. James, the evening coach said that I made it look easy. Ha! That was the compliment of the year.

If there was one important theoretical concept I learned while at the box three times a week (twice last week because of the car accident/start of work/too much drama taking up my time. I know I said I'd go four times, but that was just too difficult) was to remember what I am capable of and to expand my abilities from my starting point-not someone else's.

This revelation surprised me yesterday as I was dragging my exhausted body upstairs to my bedroom after the workout. Seeing as this program is so intense and has such an incredible reputation for bad-ass-100%-in-your-face-intense workouts and the misperception that crossfitters are lifting hundreds of pounds (some of them are, but not everyone in the box does), I expected to be pushed much harder than I was. There was a strong emphasis on proper form and getting it right rather than going big.

I learned how to lift weights properly and have since learned to get better at proper form (my arms have taken much self-criticism because they can't stay straight for thrusters or jerks).

I learned that I don't have to put a hundred pounds on a bar to look cool if the work out calls for multiple reps for many minutes of the same weight. I want to be able to last during the workout until the last second-that's the endurance athlete in me. Despite the group workouts or the fact that I had to memorize my box-mates names for each workout, it was training for me. I improved for me. That was exciting.

I truly appreciate the team mentality and the support I got from the other box mates during our one hour of sweat and muscle confusion. It was cool to hear the words of encouragement and it was nice that others appreciated mine. I loved hearing how great I did during a workout and that Kasuza (the morning coach) believed I could move up another level of KettleBell weight or that I was getting better at my kipping pull up. I know I push my runners to believe in themselves, but I think I can do a better job at showing them how to do that, thanks to what I saw from Kazusa.

There are some things that I probably won't incorporate into the marathon training-the paleo diet being one of them. I can hardly get teenagers to eat more than hot cheetos and soda, much less get them to eat and enjoy spinach instead of a granola bar. Baby steps. Plus, I love bread. Freshly baked bread and manchego cheese takes me back to Spain every time I have the opportunity to savor them together. I won't give that up-and I don't expect others to give it up either. It is my hope that the youngsters also incorporate "better" foods into their system too.

I am contemplating going back to the box after SRLA marathon training season. I had a great time. My knees are just now getting used to the extra weight and my body is barely getting used to the perpetual soreness.

On another note, my whole body yearns a long run. I think I'll do that this weekend.

Fear of the tuber

2012-08-19T17:05:00.005-07:00

I think potatoes get a bad rap.

Maybe it's because people love fried potatoes, or maybe because they are so scrumptious and people can't control themselves from eating many many many servings of those oh so delicious, starch infused tubers.

Ever since I could walk, potatoes were my best friend. My grandparents always had a house full of potatoes, rarely would they buy them. My grandfather, a local mechanic, would often be paid or thanked in rations of fruits and vegetables from local farms from the Coachella Valley. The potato sacks would sit behind the kitchen door, waiting to be cooked for breakfast, steamed for lunch or chopped for dinner.

I would sit on the sack of potatoes, with my teddy bear and watch my grandmother cook. As a toddler, I would sit there for hours until discovered by my uncle Felipito (the eldest) who would yell for me to get out of the kitchen. I would go back to my sacred secret spot once he went outside to help my grandpa work on cars.

As the years passed, I no longer sit on the sack of potatoes but still buy them by the sack....when they are on sale for $1/10 lb bag.

I thought about this story as I prepared to make a cauliflower and potato baked soup (oh the things I find on Pinterest).

It's a challenge to find health food articles that don't shun potatoes. I find plenty of recipes and articles on Runners World and other endurance nutrition sites but potatoes and their starch and carb components don't seem to bode well for those just trying to shed pounds (why doesn't anyone talk about how much Vitamin C a potato holds?). Although there are plenty of places that will try to tell me that potatoes are the devil...I have to remind myself that I am a runner and they indeed work for me. We're going to stay friends.

As for the potato/cauliflower baked puree/soup-well it's just fabulous and didn't need any butter! I got the recipe from SkinnyTaste.com and only substituted out a few ingredients. You know the trick to not overeating this amazing dish? To buy serving size dishes. The bowl I posted is 1 cup (yes I measured it). Eating slow also makes for a more satiated appetite.

Apparently it is a weight watchers recipe:

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried

1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed cut into florets

1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth

1 1/2 cups 1% reduced-fat milk

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup light sour cream (I used coconut milk instead)

10 tbsp reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I mixed the cheeses-sharp cheddar, pepper jack and queso fresco)

6 tbsp chopped chives, divided

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you can use turkey bacon if you prefer)-I didn't use any bacon

Find out more at http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/baked-potato-soup.html. Happy healthy eating!

Fran 4:33

2012-08-01T17:37:00.005-07:00

Fundies graduation was:

Fran

21, 15, 9

Thruster

Pull-ups

Okay, but I only had 25lbs on for the Thruster and I completed Jumping Pull-ups. Still a workout beyond insane. I finished, graduated and am on to the "real" classes. Oh joy.

Today, we learned how to execute a split jerk. I remember watching the Olympic competition on the clean and jerk earlier in the week so it was pretty inspiring to learn how to properly do this. Well, I haven't quite perfected this, I just did it. With 45 lbs on my bar.

Wow.

We did 7x2 on the "most" weight we could do. Yikes! Sometimes I get frustrated with my inability to withstand more weight, but I remind myself of the baby steps necessary to achieve.

Today's workout From the LAX Crossfit site:

Strength.
Split Jerk 7×2

Met-Con.
AMRAP 12:
15 KB Swings (2 pd/1.5 pd-I used 3/4 pd)
50′ Overhead Weighted Walking Lunge (45#/25#)
15 Wall Ball (20#/16#-I used 10#)
50′ Overhead Weighted Walking Lunge

I am quickly learning that my muscles can withstand much more than I give them credit for. Today I did overhead lunges with a 25lb weight and used the 10lb wall ball-way more than I thought I would be able to use this close to starting the program. I guess strength training for the last two weeks has really helped me. I need to have more confidence in my abilities. Kazusa has really encouraged me to push myself to go farther. It's nice to have a female coach in the program.

Learning all these new strategies on training will really help me out with my runners this marathon season. I am really excited to try some of this new stuff out with the youngsters. I am also thinking about ways to have them work as teams for training. Oh the possibilities.

For my snack yesterday, I made myself some spinach parmesan dip. It was incredibly delicious! I had to put it away to prevent myself from eating it all.

Here is the recipe (I found it on Pinterest and modified it for what I like-more cheese and more garlic):

10 oz fresh spinach chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cloves fresh garlic minced

1 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 stalk green onion, sliced

salt and pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 370 degrees

Stir all ingredients together, pour in oven safe bowl, bake for 25-30 minutes or until there is a nice golden brown brown crust around the edges.

This serves as many people as can eat it. Not a very good paleo option, but delicious nonetheless.

Habits

2012-07-26T17:16:00.005-07:00

The fundamentals course is 5 workouts (5 days) long. It used to be 2 weeks long. I think I would have preferred the 2 weeks, it is after about 2-3 weeks that we start developing habits. I am going to make it a habit to attend a minimum of 4 days a week after fundies (for the month)-the 5th day will be for my long runs. I do have a marathon to train for, after all.

There was an awesome Aristotle quote today on the white board in the box “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I really want to remember this when living my life.

Everything that we say and do defines us-it builds our character. I want to be remembered as someone who stayed true to their word and gave everything she had, no matter what the situation. I held myself up (sort of) on the rings today. Very proud of myself. One step closer to (and a little bit stronger for) that pull up. I can't be judged by what others do, but what *I* can do, with my abilities. ;)

Who's ready for the Zombie Apocalypse?

2012-07-25T09:39:00.004-07:00

I woke up this morning and everything hurt. It hurt to sit and pee, hurt to move around in the bed, hurt to walk down my stairs, hurt to move. I woke up to the earthquake at 3:18 this morning and my body hurt so much to move. My only thought was, "please don't shake anymore, I don't want to get out of my bed."

Reluctantly, I got up a couple of hours later and got ready to take my dogs out for a walk. Did I mention I still do my ritual morning walk (it's only a walk right now) before the workout? Two miles today. That hurt too. But it helps with the lactic acid buildup and with soreness.

I popped a couple of ibuprofin and got on my way to day 3 of Crossfit Fundies. The warm up was really cool, burpees, lunges, caterpillar crawls, broad jumps (burpees and broad jumps), and of course our dumpster run.

I learned how to do a power clean (weak sauce 35lb) but I got an "atta girl!" out of my form-I think it was because I almost cried out of fear, knowing that I had to pick up that weight to my collar bone. Yikes!

The wall ball was super fun, I wanna get one of those for my house. I need to practice. Our workout was running, lots of reps of hang power cleans and wall balls, and more running. It was mostly using legs, so the workout wasn't too bad.

Adan also gave us a quick lecture on "What is Crossfit?" (quickly defined as "constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity") and it certainly inspired me to continue this training. I have to check myself and remember, I am a marathoner and I need to get in long runs, too. Although it would nice to be physically fit *in case* there really is a zombie apocalypse sometime in the near future.

I'm eating oatmeal with 1 tbsp of Nutella, banana and 1 tbsp of peanut butter-all mixed together. Takes five minutes to make. No need for additional sugar, add a pinch of cinnamon and mix.

I have a left over half chicken wrap from the California Chicken Cafe that I will be eating for lunch...in about 2 hours. That's how fast my metabolism is working this week. Insane.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, TIME!

2012-07-24T09:53:00.007-07:00

I wasn't so apprehensive driving up to the box today. I was looking forward to what was in store for the workout. My shoulders are in pain. Not bad pain, good pain that I know will go away once I keep working those particular muscles. Pain that I like to feel after an awesome two hour run. My legs crave this sensation. I also used my marathon trick and took some ibuprofin before going in to the workout. Just keeping it real. :)

I greeted my fellow "fundies" peeps and we headed in for another galvanizing workout. They were aching as much as me (I don't think they liked the feeling as much as I do....but I can't read minds).

We did a dumpster run (400 m-to the dumpster and back) and started our warm ups. More push ups, squats, bear crawls, leg lifts, high knees, butt kicks...I fell on my chest when I tried to do the bear crawls from putting so much weight on my shoulders after the push ups. I laughed out loud, got up and tried to keep going, slower. I crack myself up.

We also did 500 meters of rowing (on the only exercise machine in the box). That was fun.

Adan then taught us how to properly do a hang power snatch, a power snatch and a burpee. I remember learning how to do a hang power snatch from my friend, the trainer, back in the day. It came back to me when I had the bar above my head. I hear that stance is the most technical part of lifting weights. One wrong move and those weights are coming down-with your arms. I practiced that stance until Adan stopped saying "not bad" and "better" and started saying, "good"....I need more help on that one. But I have hope! (That's not me, it's a photo I found on the internet of a woman with excellent form).

Did I ever tell you that I love you, burpee? (Covers face in shame...not really).

Todays WOD was 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

*Hang Power Snatch

*Burpees

I rocked that. It was electrifying. I didn't even think about my shoulders hurting or how much I pain I knew I was going to be in later. I called time after the last burpee and gave a big shout...as if I finished a half marathon in record time. Another guy was struggling at the other end of the box...I went into coach mode and went to cheer him on. He was half way finished so I counted for him. He did 5, 4, 3 and Adan called time. I hope that guy comes back. He had a perfect stance for the hang power snatch .

I ate two chorizo con huevo tacos and hash browns with my coffee. Maybe I'll take some more ibuprofin in a bit, too. See you tomorrow!