The Long Ride

Today I decided to take the scenic route to Morgan Hill for my ride, most likely stopping at Starbucks before heading towards home. I packed a baggie of sweet potato wedges and a small breakfast burrito into my jersey pockets.

It was overcast when I finally set out (got all the way down the stairs with my bike before realizing I hadn't pumped up the tires...had to go back up again) but not too cold. I had on my shorts and a sleeveless jersey, but also had on arm warmers and a wind breaker. Easy layers to remove during a ride.

Not too far into the ride, I was swept up by the Sports Basement cycling group. We kept meeting each other at stop lights. When they finally turned off the road I was on, I was relieved to get rid of the awkwardness. But then they came up behind me at another light and I heard one of them say "She took the short cut". But I also know I was going further today than they were. I talked to one of them about where they were going and where I was going. When I said I was going about 55 miles, he commented "Wow, that's far." The light turned green so I don't know how far they were going.

My first stop was the Calero Reservoir for a bathroom break.

It wasn't long before I was on a road I recognized from club rides. It's a fairly quiet road with rolling green hills and green trees, lupines and golden poppies dotting the landscape, cows hanging out in the grass, and a bubbling creek leading the way to the next reservoir.

At Chesboro Dam I pulled over for a snack and a view, eating my entire bag of sweet potatoes.

I said good morning to the cyclists out enjoying the misty morning, but mostly stood over my bike enjoying the quiet. There were a few people fishing and I wondered if the fishing was any good. I clipped back in and went on my way.

I had a general idea of where I was going. Enough so that if I took a wrong turn it would only change my route by a mile or two. I had an index card with directions clipped to my handlebars, and if all else failed I could just tell my Garmin to "return to start". Although it's old enough that it doesn't know roads so it might be a little extreme with directions. I think the "return to start" function works as the crow flies. The actual route would be up to me.

As I got down near Morgan Hill, the houses started getting bigger and more glamorous. I turned right into town and then looked right and saw the biggest house I have ever seen. I was so distracted by it that I almost missed my turn. It was literally a mansion! Who owns these places?

I located Starbucks and went in for some caffeine. I contemplated getting a little sweet snack too, but I still had my breakfast burrito and didn't need to shove 6 cupcakes into my mouth, which is what I was really thinking. I decided a light sugar fix would be fine, so I ordered a caramel macchiato. I was at mile 30.

I decided to also eat my breakfast burrito, which concerned me a bit, knowing I had a little over 25 miles to go to get home. But I would be riding through towns that had food, so it wasn't too big of a deal. If I got really hungry I could just pull over for a burger or something.

I hopped back on my bike and headed into a busy intersection. After sprinting through the turn, I was hit with a simple truth about human physiology. When you sit down for say, a half hour, and eat a burrito and drink a caramel macchiato, your brain says "Hey, we're done with the leg thing now, let's divert blood to the stomach to digest all that goodness". And when your legs suddenly sprint through an intersection after being seated for so long, and all your blood is in your stomach, there's this really weird thing that happens. You suddenly feel like you're about to die. Ugh. That was fun. Apparently we are taking this leisurely for awhile.

My route home would take me over the mostly flat valley, but would avoid the awful route home I took the last time I rode down here. The thing about flat in these parts though, is that it usually takes part in a valley. And the thing about valleys is that they are windy. And the thing about being on a bike on an open road in a windy valley is that you get tossed around like a leaf. Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I don't weigh enough. Probably should've had the 6 cupcakes.

I noticed cyclists on the other side of the road crouched into aero bars or low in their drops. Weird, I was pretty sure I was getting a head wind, which would mean they were getting a tail wind. No need to get low, take advantage of the push! I crouched low for a bit to get out of the wind.

I should mention at this point that it's allergy season here. The only antihistamine that works for me is Zyrtec, but it also makes me drowsy. So I used a steroid nasal spray before the ride, which cleared up my congestion, but it did nothing for my persistently running nose. Apparently runny noses are common with cycling anyway because they put these little snot wipe pad thingy's on cycling gloves so that you can blow your nose on your gloves. At least I think that's what they're for. My new(ish) gloves have a smaller snot wipe area than my older ones. This is an issue. So I generally wipe as much snot onto my fingers and then on to my shorts as I can, and then use the snot wipe pad as a finishing touch. 36 miles into an allergy ridden ride, this just doesn't cut it.

Anyway, I trekked on, nose running like a faucet. I rode by dozens of bus stops, and it occurred to me that I should carry my student ID card with the transit sticker on it. As a student at SJSU, we get free transit.  There are spots for bikes on both buses and light rail. What if I needed a ride?

I finally made it out of the wind and into a residential area. I had to pee. Almaden Lake should be coming up according to my current mileage, and I'd be able to make a stop there. It was hard to tell how far away it really was, so I looked for Mt. Umunum, the image of my battle with Hicks Road. For the longest time I couldn't see it. I kept searching. I hummed songs to myself and eyed bushes on the side of the road.


When I finally spotted the tower on top of Mt. Umunum, it looked so far away! 46 miles had passed. I should be nearing Almaden Lake soon. I took a left on Coleman road and knew it was near. Then there it was! I turned into the parking lot and found the restrooms, drank some water and got back on my bike. I knew it was about ten miles from here to get home. I was hungry.

About 2 miles later the rear of my bike got a little soft and squirrelly. I tried to get a glimpse of the rear tire. It looked a little flat. I pulled over. Yep, flat. I pulled up on to the sidewalk to change my first mid-ride flat. The only other flats I've changed were at home due to me ripping out the valve stem with the pump. At home I have a nice floor pump. On my bike I have only a hand pump. I thought again about that transit pass. Bah, you've got this.

It wasn't too bad except that I think the limit of my ability to pump up my tire by hand is about 40 PSI. I was hoping for about 100. I wasn't too far from home so I had to take what I could get. I thought about the CO2 cartridge pumps and wished I had one in addition to the hand pump. That way I could pump it up as much as possible by hand, and then finish it off with the CO2 pump. More stuff to carry. I would say worth it though. Road bikes don't generally appreciate 40 psi.

Just over a mile from home, I pulled up to a stop light on a left turn and noted the guy standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross. Once again I blew my nose into my fingers and wiped it on my shorts (I'm so classy, I know). But then I thought of something. I looked at my fingers. They were black from the grease from changing my tire. And...I just wiped my snotty nose with them. "That's wonderful" I said out loud. I wiped down my nose with my snot wipe on my glove, hoping to remove any black.

The light turned green for the pedestrian to cross and I waited patiently. As he walked in front of me he avoided making eye contact and had a bit of smirk on his face. Hmm. That probably looked a little interesting, what I just did there. I kept myself from laughing out loud. The light turned green.

But! I made it home. 40 psi and all. 56.6 miles total with an average speed of 14.7 mph. My longest ride yet and on track to have a good century ride at the end of May.

I drank a quick protein shake, took a hot bath to soothe my aching quads and crawled in to bed for an hour nap.

Gentle Reminders

The time change has not been kind to my morning routine. Things were doing so well, it was starting to get light at 6:30am. I was enjoying getting off the treadmill and into the streets (or track) for an early morning run.

And then we were robbed of an hour of time. Just like that.

I bet night-type people enjoy this. Now I'm shorted an hour of daylight. Why do we call this daylight savings time? It is now pitch black when I'm supposed to be running or cycling. What the hell?

When 4:30am suddenly becomes 3:30am, life gets rough. This morning my alarm jolted me out of sleep after having gotten up at 4:45am for months with no alarm clock. I grabbed a cup of coffee and crawled back under the covers with it.

I heard rain outside my window. What is that? I got up and peeked out the window. The street was wet. It was raining. Grrr.

I had a full body strength training routine to do at the gym and then on to a speed workout at the track. Can you run at the track in the rain? I guess it depends on whether or not it's an all-weather track. I have no clue.

These are the days when I need a reminder of why I do this. Because there are plenty of people who don't. And most of them are plenty happy. Training is miserable some times. The motivation you get from embarking on a training routine in the first place never lasts very long. You get some crazy idea to do some stupid race and it all sounds fine and dandy. And then reality sinks in. Training is hard. Eating right is hard. Getting out of bed at 4:45am after the government just stole an hour from you, is hard. Suddenly the original fun idea is not fun anymore.

Lately I've been thinking about Boston. I guess because it's that time of year, the trial is on the news, and my physical therapist requested a Boston picture of me. Remembering the excitement of Boston, it's easy to remember why I do this. I think about running and swimming events I've done in my life, when it was time to perform, when it was time to put aside whatever I had going on, and give it the best I had. I love those days. The moment when the buzzer goes off, and you start your journey. In that moment there's no making up for lost training, poor nutrition, crappy sleep habits. There's no un-doing injuries or illnesses. You have what you have and now it's time to show yourself what you can do with it.

Snuggled under my covers with my coffee this morning, I decided I would have to dig into some of my Boston memorabilia for some motivation....after my workout that is. I have my short sleeve and long sleeve training shirts. I have a sweatshirt, and of course my medal hangs on the wall with my other medals. My gym shoes are the ones that ran Boston.

I tumbled out of bed for cup number two and set some rainy running gear on the bed- my shorts, a hat, and a rain jacket, and then got dressed for the gym. After my gym workout I head straight to the track, so I bring my running clothes with me. I drank my protein shake and headed out into the rain.

The gym workout went well-upper body and lower body weights and an ab routine. I looked out the window into the darkness and then went to change into my running clothes. When I got to the track it was still fairly dark, and still raining. I groaned and got out of the car.

The track was wet-but turns out it's all-weather. Not slippery at all. It wasn't as crowded, but as expected, there were walkers with umbrellas. I suppose that's fair. By the end of my workout my shoes were soaked but the rest of me fairly dry. I went home, had a cup of hot coffee and some quick pasta before my hot shower (hey, it was the only thing already made).

Then I decided to go back to my Boston blog, look at the photos of my running gear laid out on the bed, the temporary tattoo on my arm, and read the story again- to get that sense of the rewards for all my hard work.

And...it made me cry. What an emotional and rewarding experience! (Aunt Pat- I found a couple typos and fixed them.) People who wonder why I'm so hard on myself and try my best not to miss a workout, have obviously never experienced anything like this first hand. Yes the training sucks sometimes. It's hard. But not everyone will get to experience what I did- and that was due to hard work and commitment. It was due to pulling myself out of a soft, snuggly bed. Eating healthy food when I'd rather have McDonald's.

And when I see my times improve, that's another reward for my hard work. It's such an amazing transformation for me since it wasn't too many years ago when I would not call myself a runner. I felt I was too slow to be labeled a runner, which in itself is pretty silly. I think I tried to deny it for awhile too. Especially because if I admitted I was a runner- a marathon runner at that- then I would have to train hard, be dedicated, make sacrifices, and be strict with how respectful I am to my body.

But it pays off. The reward is great, and it's personal. Possibly my most inspiring photo is of my Boston running outfit laid out on the hotel bed the night before the race. When the excitement and nerves had me restless and unable to concentrate. When I was about to take part in one of the greatest running events in the world.

Oh yeah. I remember why I do this.

Helium

My grandmother sorrowfully said to me “He had such a beautiful mind”. But we all noted how as his mind slipped away, it revealed such a beautiful heart.

When my dad died, a chunk of my grandfather's heart broke off and fell away as my dad's soul drifted into the ether. It fell among his son's ashes, stirred along with it in the memorial garden to live among the flowers and roots, diving deeper into the soil with each passing rain.

The day my grandmother slipped away, he must've somehow felt her soul take flight of him: fluttering softly like a butterfly having just found its wings. Though he consciously didn't understand who she was, he must've felt the lack of her and been at a loss to explain it. He noted though, that as the pieces of him fell away, he somehow felt heavier instead of lighter. Being an engineer, he thought “Helium. Our souls must be made of helium.”

It's as if the hearts we cling to hold us up on strong shoulders, lightening the weight under our footsteps. As they leave us, we grow heavier. Pockets full of rocks.

And as he lay there in the dark, staring at the ceiling, he suddenly knew where to find his wife and son. He shook himself free from his old body and the weight of the world, looked toward the sky and let his soul be captured by the passing stars.

The Other Carrie

I like the sleeping side of me. I find her amusing. She lives a life I never recall but I see evidence of her existence.

This morning I woke around 2 am feeling like something was jammed into my ribs. Thinking it was the sheet balled up, I pulled at it, trying to get it out from under me. It still felt like I was laying on a tennis ball. Tired and irritated, I reached under me and pulled out a wadded up sock.

At that moment I realized I had pulled off both of my socks and one had somehow wedged itself under my ribcage.

Just crawling in to bed right now, I found the other sock, also near the head of the bed. I laughed and pictured how that all must have gone down. I'm amused to know that I lead another life at night that I don't always remember. It's like being two different people. And knowing myself as well  as I do, I can imagine why or how I went about doing something. The socks must've come off because I got hot. How they ended up near my head is a bit more mysterious.

I also love those nights when I remember nothing at all, because it means I slept. Deeply. Those are rare nights for me. Usually I do not sleep completely through the night, so I awake with memories of getting up a few times during the night. I also have very vivid dreams that I remember well into the next day, on a regular basis. So having a night that is a complete blank is rare. And to know that I do stuff during that time is just intriguing.

Fruity Spring Rolls and the Journey to Mt. Hamilton

I'm riding The Art of Survival Century at the end of May, so on today's agenda was a 30-something mile ride. None of the club rides suited my needs and I wanted to get back early enough to do some homework (bahahaha!...about that...), so I tried mapping out a ride on MapMyRide.com. Nothing looked interesting. It's kind of nice to do a new route, but not if you're unsure about how well traveled it is or the state of the bike lanes. On a whim I decided to go back up Mt. Hamilton.

The Century I'm doing is flat, so there's really no other reason to do hills other than it's good for me and will maybe help me gain some strength back in my legs (getting there!). I haven't been up Mt. Hamilton since early last summer, so it's been awhile. I don't remember it being particularly difficult, just a long steady climb.

I've also been trying to fuel myself with healthy foods as much as possible, which can be a little difficult while participating in training events. Running any longer than 10 miles in training, I  bring along a GU. Which is really just sugar in gel form. While not an ideal replacement of nutrients for your body, it is incredibly convenient and does not involve any chewing and greatly limits the likelihood that I will choke on it and die. Also, it's fairly hard to digest solid food while running. My stomach does not appreciate any attempt to make it do so.

Cycling though, allows for some creativity and solid food. Your stomach doesn't bounce around while riding a bike. Unless you're doing it wrong. So why not have really tasty, healthy, real food?

You might remember my go with "Feed Zone Portables", my athletes-on-the-go cookbook. Lots of great ideas with an incredibly horrible description on how to wrap the stupid things. Anyway, it's really great to figure out new exciting foods to take with me on my rides. These rides can last several hours. I on the other hand cannot last that long without refueling, especially if I'm exerting myself substantially. It's nice to drop by Starbucks mid-ride for a cappuccino and pastry, but really that is not an efficient replacement of much needed nutrients.

I was at Sprouts yesterday and came across this:

This is rice paper. As you can surely read. If you've ever had a spring roll at a Thai or Chinese restaurant, this is what they are made with. Not the fried egg roll things, those are different. These are just clear rice paper.

While I had already planned some prosciutto quesadillas for my ride, when I saw this on the shelf, I instantly thought- portable food! Portable food is awesome. On my last ride I brought a banana and a chicken breast. I just shove them into my jersey pockets and go.

Since I already had the savory quesadilla planned, I decided to try to make something sweet. And then I decided on Strawberry and Banana Spring Rolls with peanut butter.

So this morning I cut up a banana and some strawberries and rolled them up into the rice paper. It was interesting. After completely fouling up the first one, I got a good technique down and the rest went much better.

All you do is dip the rice paper (which comes out looking like a plastic disk) in warm water for about 5 seconds, put it on a plate, put your filling on it, and roll it up.

 I know, they look kinda weird, but they were delicious! The thing about spring rolls is that they're kind of sticky. So you can't really just stack a bunch on top of each other and go for it. I should get some of that foil that's lined with wax paper. But for now, I just rolled them up in foil.

I wasn't chomping at the bit to go do this ride, as much as I love the ride, since I knew it was going to be at least a little tough. Boy do I underestimate mountains sometimes.

It turned out to be a beautiful day. Perfect temperature, sunny, and everything is green right now.

There's a "warm up" section of the ride before you dip down in to a valley just before starting the actual climb up Mt. Hamilton. Turns out to be an 8 mile warm up. And it's steeper than I remember.

I stopped in the valley for a bathroom break at the county park (dirt trails there for hiking and mountain biking). As you start to climb up out of the valley (sad that you're already in your last gear) Mt. Hamilton disappears out of view and it's just you and the road. And the occasional cyclists who miraculously zooms past you. And cars too. But I got up there before it got busy, so that helped with vehicular traffic.

I stopped to take a photo climbing out of the valley and got the first view of Mt. Hamilton (and Lick Observatory) since diving into the valley.

So very far away.

I couldn't believe how I was stuck in this same last gear for so long. I don't remember having to be in that gear the whole time last time (although who can actually remember what gear you were in 6 months ago?). I thought about how much fitness I had lost this last year due to injury and getting in to a relationship. That's what happens when you get in a relationship you know. You forgo workouts in exchange for spending time together. I started to berate myself a little while struggling up the mountain.

After what seemed like forever, I spotted a sign that said "Lick Observatory, 5 miles."

So close....yet so far. 5 miles is nothing on flat or downhill. 5 miles is forever going uphill. I started to switch back and forth between standing and sitting. I was tired and slightly downtrodden at my loss of fitness. Well Carrie, that's why you're climbing Mt. Hamilton now. To get stronger.

Every once in awhile I got another view of the observatory, taunting me. I was now close enough that I could see a few people leaning on the railing looking down into the valley, and presumably discussing how slow I was coming up the road. But I'm guessing they were the motorcyclists that had zoomed by me. Or perhaps the couple of cyclists that had managed to fly up the hill with ease.

And then there it was. I passed by the dormitories and back behind the largest telescope. I knew I was almost there. I came to the most beautiful stop sign in the world and an even more beautiful sign pointing in the direction of the observatory. "Lick Observatory 1/4 mile".

I had planned on resting before making that last 1/4 mile push. I remember that last part being exceptionally steep and I was exhausted.

But a quarter mile, a quarter mile! I had to keep going. I turned up the hill and pressed on.

Finally!

I coasted in to the parking lot and dismounted my bike, trying to suppress the groan that escaped my body as my muscles spasmed and cried out. I looked down the valley toward San Jose and snapped a few pictures.

You can see San Jose in the far valley, before the Santa Cruz mountains in the background.

Mt. Umunum marked by the small little rectangle on top (you'll have to click on the photo to enlarge it). Hick's Road leads up to Mt. Umunum Road and is my nemesis currently. I have never made it up Hicks without stopping to rest my legs briefly- several times. One day I will. It's steep and unforgiving. The old military tower on top of Mt. Umunum is a constant reminder of my struggles with Hick's Road.

And there it is, Lick Observatory. And some guy who came up the hill with the Mini-Cooper convention.

A lady walked up to me and asked if I had ridden all the way from the bottom. I said I had. She asked how long that took. A couple of the fast cyclists standing nearby enjoying the view looked over. Whatever. I looked at my garmin. "Well, 2 hours and 14 minutes actually." I told her, avoiding looking over at the fast guys. It was almost 19 miles uphill. I might not be fast, but I can chug along. At least she was impressed even if the other cyclists were not. I got the impression she couldn't fathom coming up that hill on a bike, especially with it taking so long to do so.

I pulled around the back to sit in the courtyard and eat my little lunch. They have a gift shop and coffee shop there too. I was tempted to go in but I didn't need to spend money and I certainly did not need any caffeine for the harrowing ride down. I needed to be as relaxed as possible.

I sat in the sun and enjoyed my fruit spring rolls and prosciutto quesadilla, leaving one small piece for the end of the ride.

After about a half hour, I headed back down. I tried to stay relaxed and work on my descent and my turns. I placed my hands low in the drops and let the bike shift back and forth around the turns underneath me. It was such a long descent my body got tired and my lower back started to ache. My hips no longer wanted to move separately from the bike. My turns started to get messier. Hairpin turns. I coached myself in my head. Lean the bike, not your body. But my body was so stiff it no longer wanted to lift off the bike and allow it to move freely underneath me. I slowed down.

I got to where I could sit up and stretch a bit, and then the descent started again. Again I went down into the drops, relaxed my shoulders and let the bike lean in and out of turns while I held my body still above it. My back had relaxed a little, so again I worked on my turns until my body stiffened up and quit taking them smoothly.

I stopped at the county park again to use the restroom, had one more small climb before the last descent, then cruised through the turns that weren't quite so steep or tight. As I pulled into the intersection at the bottom, I could see my jeep waiting for me and had a small urge to just blow through the stop sign. Those last ten feet separated me from my vehicle. From being able to dismount this bike for the last time today.

I waited for the cars to pass, then coasted over, clipped in on one pedal and standing on it, pushing with the toe of my other foot.

And I was done.

Turns out I actually did quite well. I plugged my data into Strava, the online sporting competition/bragging rights thing, and I had a ton of PR's! Mind you, Strava does not stop the watch when you stop for lunch or take pictures, which is a bummer, but oh well. It tracked my ride and it turns out I might not be in as terrible shape as I thought.

A little screenshot of my strava account. 37.5 miles, in less than 3.5 hours. Over 4800 ft of elevation gain. It took me an hour less to get down than it did to get up.

In case you can't see that elevation profile very well:

There it is. That is a mountain. And I climbed it today. On my bike. And I have since not accomplished much at all. Just the thought of trying to focus enough to do physics or calculus homework is just too much to bear. But I did take a hot bath, nap, make food and eat it, prep more food, and I'm almost done with laundry. So it's not like I've been completely lazy. Plus I looked over my computer code a few times since it isn't working and I can't figure out why. Something about thermal diffusion and advection, which I don't entirely understand and therefore incapable of tweaking the equations we've been given. Bah.

I have an 8 mile run tomorrow. Nice and easy, just cruising. Monday's ride is going to be flat.

Curried Chickpeas and Rice

I'm loving my long weekends. On Monday/Wednesday I have a class from 3:30pm to 5:20 (M) or 6:15(W). On Tuesday/Thursday I have class from 9 am to 5:20 pm with no break. Then I'm off Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I'm also excited to be cooking again. I guess last semester was not a good set-up for cooking. I never brought enough food for lunch and then made poor choices when searching for food at school (say, in the vending machine perhaps). Now I'm on a mission to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in my diet.

Tonight's dish was an attempt at dressing up the good ol' rice and beans standby. I like rice and beans. Of all sorts. And being as I frequently forget to take meat out of the freezer, or I run out of meat, or just to shake things up a bit, I've decided to have more beans in my life.

I had a bag of brown jasmine rice on hand (yes, it is definitely worth it to switch over to whole grains from white processed stuff- it might just save your life...and waistline). So let's see...jasmine rice....great northern beans? Hmmm...no. Black beans? Nah. Hmmm....how about- the great garbanzo bean?! Aka, the chickpea. When saying the name of a recipe, chickpea sounds far more gourmet than garbanzo bean.

Now for the vegetables. I have to put vegetables (or fruit) in everything now. No more just plain meat and starches. Load up on the good stuff! Well, onion was a good start (yellow). Also for whatever reason I was thinking celery. I have too many carrots in my fridge right now, so I had to throw those in. How about some red bell pepper? Don't mind if I do.

The carrots I threw in with the rice to be sure they were soft. I browned the onions and then threw in the chickpeas.

Hmmm...flavoring, spices? This one was a little tough. No sugar allowed. Chili lime? I don't have chili powder so I just used red pepper and lime juice. Then I sniffed the pan. That's how I cook. Lots of sniffing. First sniff what you've got, then hold the next potential spice to your nose. Go back and forth sniffing them. Do they go well together? Do they smell good together or does going back and forth make your nose jump a bit?

I threw in some nutmeg...guess this thing is getting curried. In went the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and salt. At this point I considered adding canned coconut milk. (By the way, you should always have some canned food on hand to make stuff- diced tomatoes, beans, coconut milk, etc) I decided the coconut milk would be a bit much for today, so I passed on that.

Meanwhile, the rice simmered in a bit of beef broth with the carrots.

                                     (Once it was done simmering.)

Then I mixed it all together.

For a little added crunch and texture I threw in some raw, unsalted sunflower seeds at the end.

And voila! Dinner is served!

My next challenge is going to be making a meal out of fruit. Probably not until this weekend after I go grocery shopping again. Can you make a filling meal out of fruit that doesn't remind you of breakfast? Fruit and cheese plate aside?

I remember a day when I was a kid that my mother didn't feel like cooking (she was an amazing cook and was always coming up with new and exciting things...that I wasn't always thrilled about). So she declared we were going to have watermelon for dinner. And we did. That's all we had for dinner. We all ate watermelon until we were completely stuffed.

So how long is my adventures in food-land going to last this semester? Who knows, but I'll definitely forgive myself if I'm eating Pop Tarts out of the vending machine during midterms.

Breakfast Bowls!

Before I get into my scrumptious breakfast this morning, let me give you a bit of background. I'm trying to improve my eating (and exercising) habits. Some of you might be shocked by that and think I already eat so well and exercise so much. Well, no I don't. I have all these great ideas about eating well and exercising well, but in practice, that doesn't always happen. And in truth, quitting my job as a hotshot to become a grad student has wrecked havoc on my activity level.

Let's be truthful here. Sugar is amazing. I love sugar. It's fantastic. However, sugar can actually be pretty dangerous to your health. I've also been eating more than what I need to, being as most of my day is actually spent sitting on my butt. So I decided to make some changes, and my awesome new school schedule is helping with the activity level. I now have plenty of time to go on club rides, get my runs in, and do strength training. So I set up some rules for my activity level and nutrition.

Activity level rules:
1. No injuries this year!
2. Run 4x/week, starting at a very low mileage and working my way up slowly.      My next marathon is in December (California International), no need for high mileage. There will be a few half marathons before then, but easy does it.
3. Cycle twice a week- make it fun! Ride with the club if possible. No serious cycling, fun only.
4. Be consistent with weight training, stretching, and injury prevention exercises.

Nutrition rules:
1. Sugar is for special occasions only. If I have to add sugar to it in order to eat it, I'm not eating it. Oatmeal now goes in morning protein shakes instead of eating it with agave, maple, honey, or whatever.
2. Eat tons of fruits and vegetables. The bulk of my food should come from here. Fill up on that first.
3. Healthy carbs!!!! Dude-do you really need tons of pasta? No.
4. Protein should come from a variety of foods, not just beef.
5. It has to taste good. If your food doesn't taste really good, you'll crave something that does.
6. If you're hungry, eat.

Yesterday on my ride I brought along baked sweet potato wedges, and boy did they taste awesome after summiting the mountain. I also had a small bowl of fruit and a cup of coffee (I drink my coffee black and I love it). There's something about food after working out really hard that makes it so much more delicious.

So Runner's World had a section in it about breakfast bowls. I skimmed it. I had a breakfast bowl yesterday morning (I just use my own imagination, screw recipes) with butternut squash, two poached eggs, 1 tomato, and a little salt. It was pretty good. Filled me up too for the ride.

Before a short workout, I still have to eat something. But before a run I have to be really careful what I eat and how long ahead of time I eat it. So I had a smoothie for breakfast today (protein powder, whole milk, a banana, some berries, and oatmeal) before my 5 mile run.

After my run came this amazing creation:

I know, it just looks like a hot mess. Maybe that's what I should call it. Breakfast is not time to worry about presentation though. Plus this photo was taken with my flip phone, so there's that.

My breakfast bowl (aka Hot Mess) consisted of butternut squash (steamed from the day before), 2 poached eggs, one tomato, half an avocado, some green onions, and a little salt. It tasted way better than I thought it was going to! And way better than yesterday's bowl. The addition of avocado added a creaminess to it that would make you think there was cheese in it. The onions were a nice touch too.

This leads me to an important point. Fat is important. Fat adds flavor, it helps us to feel full, and most importantly, it helps us to be satisfied with what we just ate. If you aren't satisfied with what you just ate, you're either going to be miserable or you're going to go eat something else that's going to make you happy.

Some people aren't affected by food. It doesn't make them happy, it's just another necessary thing in life. I personally love food. And if what I eat doesn't make me happy, well then that's just depressing.

This makes me so excited to fill my fridge (and fruit bowl) with all sorts of fruits, veggies, squashes, etc. There's all sorts of healthy and tasty foods to be discovered and to make into new concoctions!