Oh, the hills

Didn't consider all the hills when we decided to live in a place with "ridge" in the name. I ran my typical 3.5 mile run backwards today, so instead of a 10-block downhill, I did a 10-block uphill. I think I could have walked up the hill faster than I was "running," but I did manage to jog the entire thing without stopping. Good thing it was at the start of the run. Also convenient was the fact that the rest of the run was at a slight downgrade. So overall, my time was a bit better than Monday's run. Now I'm exhausted.

My next run will be in Portland! Very excited for this trip. Anyone know a good five-mile route in Portland that starts/ends downtown?

Water, anyone?

I had to report for my first day of jury duty today, where I promptly was put in a jury this morning. That meant I didn't have my regular schedule of water, water, water, water, fruit, water, water, water, lunch ... by the end of the day I had a horrible headache. I snarfed down a burrito from Taco del Mar for lunch (love that place ... if you think it's vegan, it is!), ate a granola/power bar and a handful of nuts. While that's enough calories, it wasn't nearly enough water. Funny, they supply coffee but not filtered water. (And only had Styrofoam cups, but that's a different topic ...)

By the time I was almost home on the bus I was really feeling ill. A nearly empty stomach + not enough water + public transportation = horrible car sickness. I got off early to walk in the air and by the time I got home I had convinced myself to attempt my scheduled 3.5 miles.

It was slow going, about three minutes longer than my last run on that route, but it got rid of most of my headache. I need to keep running every time I have a headache, its a lovely feeling to know I didn't just pop a pill that does who knows what to fix the problem. Go endorphins, go! We'll see how tomorrow's stint at jury duty goes, I might get an extra run in this week ...

Now I need to go chug some more water in preparation for another not-enough-water day tomorrow.

Sugar sugar

Listening to NPR the other day, I heard two stories (one and two) about the same study that was just published regarding sugar and our health. The basic finding is that people who consume the most added sugar in a day have a higher risk for cholesterol problems that can lead to heart disease. Turns out, reading a label on processed foods isn't even going to give you an accurate picture of how much sugar you're really consuming. On the label, there is no differentiation between natural sugars (like those in fruit) and added sugars. On top of that, sugar comes in many different names (one article gave the examples of evaporated cane juice and malt syrup).

So here's the thing about sugar for me: It's been the number one hardest thing to reduce in my diet. Giving up meat was easy. Giving up dairy wasn't even so bad. I even gave up drinking my beloved soda (though I do have a Sprite or 7up once in a blue moon--I used to have something every day). But sugar has been HARD. Much harder than I thought, as I just recently managed to scale back. And the kicker is that refined sugar usually isn't even vegan. They use animal bones in the processing of sugar.

This study helps me steel myself against the darn sugar cravings, though. I know if I can just get rid of most of the added sugar in my diet, fruit is actually going to taste sweet, and I can have the sweet I crave packaged in a neat little case that also has some vitamins.

I need to hire a gardener ...

I am officially over the five-mile mental hurdle! On the most hills I've run, yet, too. It is windy today, though I only went about seven blocks running straight into the wind--lucky guess on the direction to run first on my part, I guess.

Running (or walking, or probably biking) lets me see a lot more than I can in a car, including all the people in our neighborhood that have really nice lawns. Though I'm not an advocate for watering grass just to keep it looking like a golf course, it does look really nice when the lawn is thick, green grass instead of the weed/grass jumble we have. I also saw a lot of nice fences (we need a fence, so I suppose that's why I was noticing that), including one that had this intricate carved sunflower made out of different kinds of wood on the front gate. There are very few mass-manufactured lawn ornaments in Seattle. I love being able to see that.

I also spotted two beautiful, brick tudors. I love our house, but I think I'd trade in an instant for one of those brick tudors. These two also had the golf-course grass.

I need to hire a gardener.

That risotto and the number five

So the risotto was NOT as pretty as the picture in the cookbook, but it tasted fantastic! No photo: by the time I finished making it (I'd forgotten how much work risotto is) I was so hungry, and my husband was so hungry, that we ate it. I was done eating with leftovers put away before I realized I should have taken a photo.

The hubby and I both agreed that it almost tasted cheesy. That was kind of nice. Its hard to get that macaroni and cheese consistency (unless you get the Mac 'n' Yease at Plum Bistro. Awwwsome!) but this risotto had it. And it has nutritional yeast in it, so it even had that color of boxed mac and cheese.

Today was another cross training day before the big run of the week. Tomorrow I'm set to run five miles. For some reason, the five mile amount in my head seems really far. It's silly because last Saturday I ran 4.41 miles, so I'm really not going that much farther (or running that much longer) but the number five just seems like a lofty goal. Maybe that's because that's my husband's average run and he's the runner out of the two of us. I jog, use it as exercise, but he runs.

With that logic, then, do I get to officially become a runner tomorrow after I finish my five miles?

Happy Earth Day!

I hope there were many trees hugged today.

Tuckered out

Did my second of the two shorter runs for the week tonight. Now these seem like no big deal. But for some reason I am TIRED tonight. That hasn't happened before, especially when its a shorter run. Maybe I need to eat some protein. While we had quinoa Sunday and Monday (an excellent source of protein, by the way, and its so much better than rice if you need that type of side), I haven't had any other big protein source in dinner the last two days. Tomorrow's dinner has nuts in it, so I'll get some protein then. We're trying another recipe from The Conscious Cook. It's a risotto, and I'll take a photo if its as pretty as the photo in the book is.