Run Eat Repeat

May 2012 Highlights

runeatrepeat — Thu, 31 May 2012 18:56:31 +0000

It’s so cliché, but this year really is flying by! I can’t believe it’s June (well, in a few hours).

Let’s check out RER’s May 2012 Highlights:

Favorite Run:

It’s a three way tie between…

The dramatic Night Leg #2 (even though I had a nervous breakdown here I kind of want a do-over so I can NOT cry in front of everyone)

and Reach the Beach Relay Leg #3 (source: pixelwiremedia.com / rtbrelay.com)

Favorite Eat:

Strawberry Trifle on Mother’s Day

Favorite Post I’d like to Repeat:

The Great Debate – Garmin versus MOTOACTV

Reach the Beach Relay’s Episode #2 is up now!

It’s titled “Youthful Enthusiasm” because I run the first leg like a bat outta hell and then have a nervous breakdown when the lights go out.

Spoiler Alert: I am the one having the panic attack in the previews for the next episode.

Sam Woo Restaurant has the Best Tofu Ever

runeatrepeat — Thu, 31 May 2012 15:34:00 +0000

I completely forgot that we had dinner plans with our friends last night! Around 3pm I got an email from Ben that we were going to Sam Woo Restaurant in Irvine.

We were there just under a year ago for his friends wedding rehearsal dinner! (<– That is a really random, but fun post!)

Anyways, I don’t remember the food being great so I wasn’t that excited about dinner. I was excited to see his friends though! They are moving to Northern California (we were just considering the same move, but opted out!) and we’re sad to see them go.

While we were waiting for them I had a lot of time to read the menu – this was perfect because many of Sam Woo’s dishes are very authentic and I haven’t tried them before.

Of course I checked the dessert section – What is Walnut Soup?!

^^Side note: Just realized that it says you can omit MSG upon request. I wish I would have seen that before we ordered!

I think it’s funny when people assume vegetarian food is “diet”. Yeah, you can eat mac n’ cheese and cookies all day on that diet…

I saw that tofu dish above and thought it looked interesting, but not good. What do you think?

I didn’t order the Dietitian’s lover, but kinda regret that

We started with wonton soup. The broth was amazing, but the wontons weren’t my thing.

But the rest of the meal made up for that!

Everything we ordered was delicious! We ordered 4 dishes to share family style. I chose the chicken and vegetables and spicy eggplant…

Janny ordered a tofu and vegetables dish…

And that tofu dish I thought looked weird in the menu…

Well, that tofu was THE BEST ever! It was lightly fried and covered in a sweet orange sauce. The inside was soft and egg-like. It was magical.

This morning I hit up the gym for a strength workout. I had a paper with an old workout I had written down and just followed that. I think I got it from the Women’s Health Big Book, but I’m not sure…

single leg dead lift
shoulder press
cable row in side plank
goblet squat
chest fly
hamstring curls
sit ups on ball
T-raise on ball

Now I’m blogging before I log into work! I have a client to train tonight and I have to clean since I’m having a house guest this weekend

Have you seen this proposal video?

Question: Girls – would you want a big ol’ production proposal or something intimate?

Boys – how are you going to compete with that?!

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Ask a Monican for Organic Apricots

runeatrepeat — Wed, 30 May 2012 22:30:40 +0000

How’s your Wednesday?

Mid-morning I enjoyed some of my mom’s super ripe organic apricots. We like to note that they’re local and organic since that usually costs more in the store – but when you grow it yourself if feels free!

I started to dig into these Lentil Chips around lunch time. They’re not good.

So, I just made lunch.

I don’t mess around with my bucket ‘o salad.

or my love for cheese lately…

Winner’s of the Believe Training Journal Giveaway:

Please email me your name & US address!

Ask a Monican #38

I posted this yesterday, but am sharing it today. If you want updates on my YouTube channel subscribe over there

Monica talks about:
1. I run all the time and am not losing weight. Help?!
2. Who is hotter – Joe Gorga or Mauricio?
3. Do you get nervous before blog events?

Regarding question #2:

This is Joe Gorga from The Real Housewives of New Jersey

This is Mauricio from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills(source)

Who would you pick?

Got a question for this Monican? Email me or leave it in the comments below!

Garmin 305 vs. MotoActv

runeatrepeat — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:40:43 +0000

First off let me say that I’ve had my Garmin 305 since November 2008! So, I’m very partial to it It’s seen me through hundreds of runs and many many races. Good, bad, ugly I wore the Garmin.

But, it’s on it’s last legs and when a MOTOACTV rep recently sent me their GPS/Fitness Tracker/MP3 player I was super excited to give it a spin.

One of my Garmin’s side buttons caved in at the Reach the Beach relay and I’m finally transitioning to use the MotoActv.

But, when I used it the other day it seemed “off” from my Garmin’s usual readings. I know where the 1, 2 and 3 mile markers are from my house and the Moto was a little different.

So, today I wore them both to compare.

For the record, these are both BIG watches so I looked like a weirdo running down the street. The things I do for you

As suspected, when my garmin clicked 1 mile the Moto was at 1.03. No biggie.

But at 2 miles the Moto was at 2.08 or something <- shouldn’t it be 2.06 at the most?

That is not a big deal to me. I don’t care about tenths of a mile.

My bigger concern was that the pace reading might be different. The two watches were never the same with pace. The Garmin would read 9:03, the Moto would read 8:47. Sometimes they were 10 seconds different, sometimes they were almost a minute!

That is a BIG difference when you’re trying to keep your pace for a race or speed run!

Final Readings:

Garmin 4.0 miles Average Pace 8:54 (max 7:25)

MotoActv 4:11 Average Pace 8:40 (max 7:24)

The MotoActv’s touch screen and MP3 features make it super cool and user friendly. But that pace reading has me a little worried.

Both of them are fairly big and come with a plastic-y band. I bought that fabric band online a while back when the original one was falling apart (it got a lot of use!).

Overall:

1. I hate having to wear a big watch plus have an ipod on my runs, so I love the music feature of the MotoActv.

2. I’m bad at pacing myself and being able to tell how fast slow I’m going, so it’s important for me to have a watch that is accurate. I think the Garmin is better with this.

3. But, I am most likely NOT going to buy a new Garmin when I have the MotoActv to use.

4. The Garmin 305 is an older model (obviously mine is 4 years old) and costs $199.99

The MOTOACTV is newer in style and costs $249.99

5. I get asked all the time, “Do I need a GPS watch?”

No. You don’t “need” anything except a good sports bra to run (if you have boobs obvi). The rest is just extras.

If you use Map My Run or drive your route to know how far your walk/run/bike is you do not. You can also just run for time ex. 15 minutes out, turn, 15 minutes back.

Oh, I gave the new Laughing Cow Strawberries & Cream spread another shot today. Nope. It’s not good. I want to try the cinnamon flavor though. I love all the other LC flavors, but this tastes artificial.

Question: Use one of these? Chime in with your thoughts?

Fun fact: When I first bought my Garmin I was working at my old recruiting job (the one I’m back to) in the office. I bought it during lunch and came back to the office to show my friends. One of them said, “Are you going to start running with a wheelbarrow to carry that along?!”

It’s big.

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Training Journal Giveaway

runeatrepeat — Tue, 29 May 2012 22:34:23 +0000

This morning I snacked on a few of my mom’s apricots (from her tree!) and a Greek yogurt.

Lunch was an early bird special because my leftovers were calling my name – salad and sandwich. I topped the salad with my leftover chicken kabob from yesterday. The extra protein filled me up in the best way.

So, I still haven’t announced my new training goals / goal race for 2012. And I still can’t spill all the details of my plans (major stuff is pending and it’s not all in my hands yet). But I will say this… I signed up for the Santa Rosa Marathon a few weeks ago (!!). It is August 26th. That is not very far away!

Then, I got hit up about another marathon that shall remain nameless for now. Since I’m not a marathon girl, I’m re-examining whether or not I want to do SRM. I need a minute to think. But, if I do… I need to get on training NOW! That is only 12 weeks away (and most training plans are at least that much, often 16 weeks)!

Anyways, if you need some direction and accountability you shouldn’t read this blog…. you should keep a training journal.

The ladies behind Believe I am Training Journals sent me one because they must have realized I need to write down my goals (and get it together)!

I love that there is a place to re-examine how a race went!

I have 2 training journals to give away! Want to win one?

Comment with one of your fitness goals OR your next race.

You can get one extra entry by running to my house to get the journal in person. 2 entries in you run here from Hawaii…

Open to US residents. Closes 5/30/12 at noon.

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Toe Update Tuesday

runeatrepeat — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:10:38 +0000

Since this is obviously a foot fetish blog, I thought I’d update you on my toe issues.(source)

Two weeks ago I explained my symptoms – the biggest one being that it hurts to curl my second toe under.

I had the Physical Therapist / NB shoe researcher at the New Balance factory look at it when we toured the place last Thursday. He didn’t really come to any conclusions, but assured me it’s not a stress fracture. Basically, everyone told me, “If it hurts to curl it under…don’t do that!”

Two weeks later it still hurts to curl under. It hasn’t gotten any worse – even after all that relay running! But, it still worries me since running can’t help the situation.

So, I’m not sure what to do next. I will give it another week and if it still hurts go to the doctor. I’m just worried that this weekends 26 miles (2 halfs = a full) is going to kill my toe ~~and make it fall off~~.

I’m dumb and didn’t charge either of my cool GPS watches for my run this morning. I ran 4 miles watch-less, which is a bummer because I felt strong and am curious how fast I was going.

My mom’s neighbor had a few apple banana trees. They sent over a lot of them and I grabbed a BIG bunch to take home. They’re like small, chubby bananas that taste a bit like apples.

Just the Tip Tuesday: I thought I would try another almond butter this week to switch things up. BAD IDEA. This is not good compared to TJ’s Roasted AB with flax. Don’t get this kind. <- that’s my tip.

I had a Perfect 10 Bagel with PB&J. Plus iced coffee…

Last night I took some melatonin when I got home because I was worried about all the caffeine I had consumed. Well, it knocked me out before I could finish watching Bethenny! I DVRd it so I have to catch up before we talk Trash TV Tues…

Question:What’s your favorite nut butter?

I love TJ’s Roasted AB with flax. Trust.

Memorial Day Munchies

runeatrepeat — Tue, 29 May 2012 05:24:47 +0000

As soon as I got to my mom’s this afternoon I threw together a fruit salad.

Then, I remembered about the whipped cream I had left here from Mother’s Day… **Actually, I don’t normally like whipped cream but I’m having a “all I want to eat is dessert” kinda day and hoped this would help satisfy that.

It didn’t work.

The boys hung out in the pool while I worked on the blog and enjoyed the view.

My mom has been making her iced coffees with Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk and insisted I try it. I wasn’t about to turn that down! Yep, delicious. Buuut, I drank that at 4pm and then had a Diet Mountain Dew. I may not sleep ~~ever again~~ tonight.

Everyone else was drinking these. Gross.

I ordered a few RER shirts from my Spreadshirt shop recently and brought my little bro Matt one of them. I didn’t realize the cut of this one is more of a boys cut…

After way too much snacking whilst hanging around talking (when will I learn not to do that?) it was time for dinner.

I brought some chicken kebobs I found on Manager’s Special this morning…

and we also had corn, beans and salad.

I love eating corn on the cobb, but always feel like I don’t get it all off the cobb. I want a big bite of corn, but the hard center stops me!

Plus, it needed parmesan cheese and chili a la the elote man!

My mom had these Klondike bars that I tried for dessert. Really good!

Back to work and the real world tomorrow!

Memorial Day Run not Race

runeatrepeat — Mon, 28 May 2012 16:11:52 +0000

A year ago today I ran the Laguna Hills Half Marathon and PR-ed that ish! I try not to put any pressure on myself for races because running isn’t easy for me. Some days I have good days, some days they’re bad. That day all the stars aligned and I felt great! I felt fast and I had a ton of energy!!

So, I am sad I didn’t run it today (especially because the start is less than 2 miles from my house!). But, I know this weekend’s back to back half marys are going to be super hard on my body. I decided to do the smart thing and skip a race down the street from me <—that took a lot of restraint.

This morning I set out for a tempo run. I tried a new route because things are getting boring and stagnant up in there. Instead of my normal route that is uphill-ish on the way out, I went the opposite way and went down the incline to start. 3 miles out, 3 miles back.

Since the first 3 where down-ish I kept a great pace. It was just more work to keep it like that on the way back.

I was greeted by my house guests when I got back…

And my neglected old friend… (who is going to get some action soon – stay tuned)

Breakfast was the usual – 2 egg whites, 1 egg and AB&J toast

Running and Eating in the News:

Man collapses near finish line of Ottowa Half Marathon. Luckily, a few spectators jumped in to help!

Ben and I are headed to a BBQ at my mom’s. I should probably throw together something to bring…

Question: Working or playing today?

Sights from Saturday and Sunday

runeatrepeat — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:31:29 +0000

Hello! Last night Ben and I headed to a going away party at a bar in Newport. His friend, Ned, is moving to Colorado next weekend and we had to give him a proper send off! From the bar we headed to the after party and it was a late night.

This morning I took a little walk with my copy of Runner’s World. That’s the extent of my exercise on Sundays

I wanted pancakes for breakfast but we didn’t have that much mix and I didn’t want to make my usual protein pancakes plus regular ones. So, I stole half of one of Ben’s and made eggs with toast.

Then it was time to get dirty clean!

Ben and I tagged teamed and I started with the laundry.

Wait, my laundry is lumpy!

Lunch was watermelon with a side of salad.

I headed to my mom’s and was recruited to cut a watermelon.

Then, Heather and I took the dogs for a walk a do.

And they wanted to come with me for a sleep over party!

Search Me Sunday:

These are some of the searches that led unsuspecting internet travelers to RER…

1. “does watermelon make you bloated” – Yes, every time. But I can’t stop.

2. “after running a marathon i binged” – Yes, again. But it’s well deserved.

3. “big man eating watermelon” – I will choose to take this as an observation and not a judgment of my stature.

4. “what was the cheese that giant gave samples of at wine in the woods in columbia md” – Ha! Very specific search. All I know is they had GREAT wine

5. “i get horny when im hungry” – You mean horny for food?

Sunday Set Up:

Dinners:

Sunday: Salmon and broccoli
Monday: BBQ with the fam
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: zucchini from the Famer’s Market and eggs
Thursday: Lettuce wraps with turkey
Friday: English Muffin Pizzas

Exercise:

Monday: Tempo run
Tuesday: 4 800s
Wednesday: Strength
Thursday: Easy 5
Friday: Yoga or Zumba
Saturday: Half Marathon
Sunday: Half Marathon!

Question: What’d you do today?

Buying Parasites

runeatrepeat — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:41:53 +0000

I ran 2 hours this morning. My MotoActive (old pic below) said it was 13.86 miles, but I think it was closer to 13 flat. I’m not sure about it’s distance accuracy, but I’m going to test it this week.

Anyways, I set out to do 16 miles, but I just wasn’t feelin’ it and remembered I ran 22 miles last weekend and I’m running 26 miles next weekend!!!

Yeah, I didn’t was so soon! Next weekend I’m running a half marathon on Saturday and another one on Sunday. I never run long runs back to back so I’m not sure how my legs will respond.

Last year I ran the Laguna Hills Memorial Day Half Marathon on Monday and the Fontana Half on the following Saturday – but that was 4 days of recovery in between.

Why would someone run two half marathons in one weekend?

Because they’re there.

It’s my favorite distance.

My friend Chandizz is coming out to run the Saturday race with me.

Refuel Chocolate Milk asked me to run the RnR San Diego and I’ve always wanted to do that race.

And because I’m crazy.

Don’t get it confused. I know there are a lot of crazy runners out there that run 18 miles 7 days a week and run marathons and ultra races like it’s no biggie. Well, I’m not a “natural” runner so it is a biggie for me. Wish me luck!

After my run, you’ll never guess what I ate…

And some eggs with cheese on bagels.

Then, I hit up a local health food store for some herbal supplements. I am still fighting with my thyroid issues and want to try something natural to see if that helps.

I didn’t buy any parasites. I have enough thank you very much.

I did buy a Kombucha.

Long time no see.

I want a nap, but I’ll probably power through and try to be productive.

See ya later!