"Train"ing Run At the Towpath

The annual towpath "Train"ing run is a grand occasion for the club. Hundreds of runners flood the 34.1 mile towpath that runs all the way from Highland Park to Trenton, to celebrate National Trails Day.

Start time is based on estimated pace and distance. The goal is for the entire mob to finish together at Johnson Park at 11 AM. The mileage covered by every runner is totalled and 0.50 cents per mile as well as part of the entry fee are donated to the Cancer Institute of NJ. Then the fun begins as sweaty, stinky runners mingle, enjoy the camaraderie and gorge on fresh burgers, hot dogs and salad.

We had a blast. Despite the blazing heat and humidity, the turnout was tremendous and we totalled close to 2000 miles, my contribution being a teensy 5.5 miles. What can I say? My long run days are on Thursdays! I ran with Ken (who I was seeing after a year) for the first 3 miles, then finished the run with John. Thank you, guys!

I planned to picnic for an hour or so and ended up staying past 2 PM. By the time I got home, the heat and humidity made me feel like a wilted head of lettuce. But a nice dinner at Applebee's with margaritas,
grilled Dijon chicken and portobellos, and a maple butter blondie restored me like nothing else can.

The protein predicament

Some of you (especially those who have been reading my rambling posts for a while) know exercise, outdoor activity and health rank pretty high on my family's list of priorities.

Well, over the past month, my dad, younger brother, DH and I have been affected by varied strains of viral infection, so one of the observations as we are returning to our regular active routine was the weakness and lethargy that remained even after the symptoms faded. That led to a discussion on nutrition, specifically our daily intake of protein.

Most of us know that protein is one of the basic building blocks of the body and is essential for muscle growth and repair. Protein is required for every vital body function...repair and maintenance of all organs and connective tissue (bones, ligaments, cartilage, muscles etc.) skin, hair and even genes. And if the body does not get enough protein, it starts breaking down muscle to get its needs within a day or two...this is scary stuff, as I am pretty confident your everyday activity involves a lot more than just vegging on the couch.

We all take some form of protein in our diets every day. But as we engage in more cardiovascular activity, we focus on loading ourselves up with carbs. As for protein, a smear of peanut butter, a glass of milk, an omelet...and we believe we have enough protein to keep our bodies running (pun intended).

So, the question is, are we taking enough protein to cover the body's needs?

How to calculate your protein needs:
Weight in kilograms multiplied by (0.8 - 1.8)
Use a lower number if you are in good health and are sedentary (i.e., 0.8). Use a higher number (between 1 and> 1.8) if you are under stress, are pregnant, are recovering from an illness, or if you are involved in consistent and intense weight or endurance training.
(Source: About.com)

It is well-known that only animal protein has all the essential amino acids the body needs. But the downside is the high fat content and associated risks of heart and other diseases.
Plant (vegetable) protein is incomplete and lacks certain essential amino acids. It is also more difficult to digest and absorb. According to this article, with vegeterian diet, to achieve a balanced amino acids intake, a variety of plant protein sources need to be complemented with each other in the diet.

Monitor your average protein intake over a day or two. You will notice that unless you are diligent about it, you could be severely shortchanging yourself.

I eat meat, but am not a regular meat eater. Also, I prefer natural food sources to artificial supplements. I eat chicken once or twice a week, fish, steak and pork a couple of times a month (if that). My major sources of protein then are milk, yoghurt, eggs, peanut butter and lentils (which, in order to get the quantity of protein I need, I should be eating tons of). I also get a few grams from oats and whole wheat sources, but definitely not as much as what I should be consuming. Even if you are counting the protein you consume everyday from different sources, is the protein content in the said sources accurate considering that nutrition charts only indicate the protein content in a particular source, and not the amount that is actually absorbed by the body? While I do not believe that high-protein diets are the answer, I have decided to add to my diet more egg whites, milk and canned lite tuna (in water), in addition to vegetable sources.

Here are a couple of articles that list the quantities of protein in various food sources. Note that large quantities of each source (plant sources, in particular) only yield a small amount of digestible, absorbable protein.
http://laurensfitness.com/2008/03/17/protein-natural-sources/
http://www.weightlossforall.com/protein_content_from_good_source.htm

How do you get your daily requirement of protein? What are your preferred sources of protein?

Julie and Julia

Watching DH endure 2 bouts of flu/cough in the past month, my body must have decided that some sort of sympathetic reaction was in order. After a crisp 8-mile tempo run last Monday (1 1/2 mile warm-up, 4 mile tempo at 8:10 per mile, 2 1/2 mile cool down) when I felt on top of the world, and a 6 mile recovery run the day after, I caught a severe throat infection that still has me croaking (though at times, I sound closer to a sheep in distress). I bleated to my brother across the globe in India, who, after a rip roaring laugh at my plight, pointed out that this is the sexiest I have ever sounded. Anyway, this bug's got me cowering under a blanket with soup, hot water, cough drops and antibiotics close at hand. I have not attempted to venture out in the cold in the past week. A feeble 1/2 hour on the bike a couple of times was all I could manage.

The past weekend has consequently been a blur of movie watching and mindless reading. The one movie I really enjoyed is Julie and Julia. If you have not watched the movie, I recommend you head over the nearest Blockbuster or order it on pay-per-view or wherever it is you get your movies from. It is a must-see for all you established and/or aspiring food bloggers! I am a little embarrassed to admit I watched it to the accompaniment of take-out from Schezhuan Kitchen (I have nothing against Chinese take-out, but we all know it can't hold a candle to the authentic Chinese fare). The movie inspired me...especially as I have been spending an awful lot of time in the kitchen lately. I cannot imagine living on French cuisine for a year and I am pretty confident DH would suffer tremendously if he is not fed Indian food for more than 3 days in a row. But all the time I watched the movie, I was feeling intensely jealous of the husbands (of Julie & Julia) who got to taste Julia Child's delectable culinary creations on a daily basis.

On a different note (but also in the culinary department), I realize I have been spending a lot of time lately in planning healthy meals. You see, it takes a lot of creativity and deception to get DH to ingest healthy food...he has such an aversion to anything proclaimed to be healthy.

Some of the tricks I've resorted to include:

- passing off scrambled egg beaters (with tons of veggies) as scrambled egg.

- keeping a bowl of baby carrots and another bowl of walnuts and cranberries within easy reach when he returns from the office (that's the time of day he is ravenous and doesn't really care what gets shoveled into his mouth).

- satisfying the sweet tooth by substituting the syrupy Indian sweets he used to knock back daily with these phenomenal Banana Butterscotch blondies that I read about on athlEAT. (I use EVOO instead of butter (Julia Child would not have approved) and honey instead of sugar and molasses; and I bake it at 300 degrees instead of 350 degrees).

- using less oil and boiling veggies instead of frying whenever I can get away with it.

- making atleast one whole wheat pasta dish and 2 salads a week. For DH, salad and pasta can never be a meal...they are appetizers at best...but this way, he gets a couple of extra servings of veggies and fibre every week; and it means that he eats a little less of the carb-rich white rice that we South Indians are so addicted to.

- I also carefully avoid letting DH accompany me on grocery shopping trips, so a lot of fried snacks, desserts and other dangerous items don't make it to the shopping cart. Of course, that doesn't always solve the problem, because I'm not craving-free myself. But better to indulge one craving than 2!

DH calls me manipulative; I think I am creative. You be the judge!

I am a sucker for books, and running books in particular, so let me point you to a super giveaway by The Happy Runner...one that I am hoping to win myself!

The Hike that didn't happen

Workouts for the week: 37 miles total
Monday: 7 miles
Tuesday: 6 miles + core work
Wednesday: spinning
Thursday: 13 miles
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 6 miles

Now that the important news has been taken care of, let me issue a warning: Feel free to scroll to END OF RANT, in order to avoid long, lame rant that follows. No feelings will be hurt, I promise!

RANT:

On Friday evening, my backpack was packed to the brim with everything I would need on a 10 mile hike in the first real snowfall of the season; water, gatorade, trail mix and granola bars, extra socks, gloves, hand and toe warmers and insect repellent (on the off-chance that some of the hardier fellas decided to wander about and explore the winter landscape). My hiking boots were waiting by the door, ready for my first winter hiking expedition ever. I had printed out directions (DH has ordered me a GPS, so if UPS delivers as they say they would, by tomorrow, I will be a paperless traveler...Merry Christmas!) to the commuter parking area in Sloatsburg, where I would meet the rest of the group from the Appalachian Mountain Club and begin the 5-6 hour hike in the Seven Hills area. I was nervous about hiking in snow/sleet and was unsure about the pace of the group. This was a much faster group than I had hiked with before. But I was also excited and looking forward to the the experience.

On Saturday morning, the alarm went off at 6 am; I sleepily turned it off and rolled over. Checking the weather forecast the previous night was a bad idea...I knew that if I left my warm bed, I would be stepping into a chilly 28 degrees outside. I thought of trudging about in that weather all day and driving back in sleet. Beside me, DH coughed violently a few times, then reached out an arm and caught my hand, as if to stop me from getting up. Dutiful wifely feelings rushed through me...I couldn't leave my poor coughing husband home alone on a Saturday (he wasn't really that sick; but everything somehow seems more dramatic at night). I imagined returning, thoroughly exhausted from the hike to a gazillion chores that had to be done, including cooking for the friends we had invited for lunch the next day, meeting some other friends for a late dinner and a 6-mile run Sunday morning. In a vague state of semi-sleep, I recall a moment of mild annoyance at the mental inventory and excuse-making. My body was still aching from the 31 miles I had already run during the week and was begging for a couple more hours of sleep. The last thought that went through my mind before I decisively drifted off to sleep was, "If only I had a hiking buddy (I mean a regular hiking buddy as opposed to the dozen strangers I was scheduled to meet, who wouldn't care whether I joined them or not), getting out of bed would be sooo much easier"...

When I woke up 4 hours later, I hated myself for being so weak-willed, kicked myself a good bit(figuratively of course...I have no intention of causing more damage to this already injury-prone body). DH got a earful for his part in holding me back. After fretting about, I finally placed the blame for the morning's despicable display of laziness on those melancholy small hours (of the night) when both body and spirit could be at their lowest ebb (Alexander McCall Smith in The Lost Art of Gratitude).

Have you felt that way? When the alarm screams, you would give almost anything in the world to hold on to those few precious hours, minutes (or moments, even) of sleep...and then, when you are wide awake, you cannot remember why in the world it was such an endeavor to simply get your butt off the bed and get on with your day.

END OF RANT

That was my long-winded and totally unnecessary way of telling you all that instead of a wild winter hiking adventure replete with pictures, I spent a tame Saturday afternoon looking out wistfully at the snowfall, wishing I were out there with those daring souls. The 6-mile run in the morning helped purge me of some of the guilt...and a nice, quiet dinner and stimulating conversation with friends made me more accepting of what a wuss I had been.

Today, in keeping with the spirit of the holidays, there was lots of gorging (and no working out). I am by no stretch of imagination a food blogger and I lack creativity in clicking pretty food pictures, but my cooking has vastly improved, so let me leave you with pics of some of the dishes I cooked up for lunch today.

Chicken curry with coriander and mint

Mutton curry

Palak Panneer

Feeding the heart

I am seldom as consistent in the kitchen as I am (or try to be) with running. I do spend an hour in the kitchen every week, cooking up dishes to last for a few days, while DH and I plod through our work week. But they are the same few recipes, repeated over and over to the point of boredom. When I increase my weekly running mileage however, I tend to get hungrier, which leads me to furious recipe-hunting on interesting foodie blogs, followed by a dedicated hour of cooking. The result is usually of a far superior quality than the normal fare. Like anything else, when you put your heart into cooking, the result is delicious. I had one of these moments of perfection yesterday. I soared to the absolute heights of culinary glory, even if I say so myself (pausing to take a bow).

I borrowed this Kerala Chicken Fry recipe from So I married a Meat-a-holic. I must admit, the name was what attracted me to this blog in the first place; but I found out the recipes are just as alluring. I added a bit more gravy, pressure cooked the chicken for a couple of minutes and changed the recipe to Kerala Chicken curry. (Kerala is a state in Southern India, home to some of my favorite dishes). The recipe called for a small quantity of different ground spices and coriander leaves. As the chicken was stewing in its juices and the gravy was getting cooked, the aroma that arose from it made my kitchen smell like a classy Indian restaurant. Though the picture I hurriedly clicked before I dug my teeth into the end product is nowhere near as appealing as the original, the taste more than made up for it. In fact, I discovered that whoever said The way to a man's heart is through his stomach (the shortest road to a man's heart is down his throat?) was not kidding. DH was the most doting husband in the world last night.

Today, I followed it up with Brown rice and Garlic Asparagus with Lemon. As you can probably see from both pics, I am a big fan of the red onion. If the recipe calls for yellow onions, I use red onions. If the recipe calls for shallots, I substitute red onions for the shallots. If the recipe calls for anything resembling an onion, I throw in a red onion instead.

Directions
Melt butter (1 teaspoon) with olive oil (1 tablespoon) in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic (1 clove) and onion (1 medium), and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in asparagus spears
(1 bunch); cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Squeeze lemon (1/2) over hot asparagus, and season with salt and pepper.

The result, while not as dramatic as the chicken curry, is also excellent for the heart.

My foot was throbbing just a little last night, so instead of a 6-mile run, I worked out at the gym this morning (20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes swimming and 5 minutes at the rowing machine). I couldn't spend more time at the gym because I had to get to work. I can never figure out how 45 minutes at the gym eats up 3 hours out of my day!

Never a dull weekend

It felt so good to be running again...even if only a few miles. I ran 2 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Wednesday, 4 miles on Saturday and 5 miles today. Yesterday, I met Glenn at Green Acres Park and we ran 4 miles in the neighborhood where he grew up, finishing up with a loop around the park. I have lived in the vicinity for the past 3 years, but I am getting to know the area like I never have before, thanks to Glenn.

This weekend was supposed to be a quiet, uneventful one. But here's something that cannonballed it into the Eventful weekend category.

DH and I are watching TV Friday night (about 10:30 pm). It is raining outside. Suddenly, we hear a thunderclap and the lights go out.

DH: What was that explosion?

Me: It wasn't thunder?

We step outside and look around. A car has just crashed right into the transformer sitting on the lawn of the house next to ours. There are 2 teenagers frantically pacing up and down the road. One of them is repeating over and over, "Man, are you serious?"; "It's my car, man". The speed limit on this road is 25 mph...there is no way this car was going under 40 mph. The rain and darkness probably didn't help matters, but the driver clearly had his attention elsewhere.

Our neighbor is not at home. DH and I ask the boys if they are alright. They are obviously in shock and don't hear us. I call the cops while DH opens the door and tells the 3 teenagers in the back of the car to get out. No one is hurt though the airbag has deployed and the engine is damaged. We wait outside till the cops get to the scene.

When things quietened down a bit and the mood was less sombre, DH got some pics.

Scary, huh?

Here's the actual angle the car was stuck at...

The tow truck arrived shortly and by 1 am, everything was cleared up. To PSE&G's credit, they wasted no time in getting the electricity back up...we had power before 6 am.

There is a huge gaping hole where the sidewalk was and part of the lawn is gone, but it is being patched up.

--------------------------------------

While marathon training last year, I went through a phase when I dreamed of food, diligently watched Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals on Food Network every day, cooked up a storm every weekend and ate everything in sight.

Around that time, I developed a craving. This has now become my favorite snack.

The older boxes had a grinning Rachel Ray on them.

I imagine you have an approving look on your face...wholesome whole wheat snack...excellent for you, you say.

Or maybe you're horrified: who in their right minds would willingly subject themselves to such torture? I agree. By itself, I think triscuits taste like sawdust mixed with gravel.

But when generously smeared with this...

...(mmm...creamy hazelnut spread!)...ahh! It becomes something else altogether.

A couple of hours after lunch, when my insides crave something sweet, this keeps me sugared up while I work. I've deluded myself into believing it's a healthy snack. Atleast partially...no? You don't buy that? Well, it became clear that tucking away triscuit after triscuit, while hard at work, I failed to notice I have been consuming waaay more than 1 serving (1 serving = 2 tbsp = 190 CALORIES!) every day. I reluctantly decided to put this bad boy away and bring him out only on special occasions. Especially as I am just limping back into my running routine and my mileage is nowhere near where it was a month ago.

Sigh! I need a nutella patch. How in the world do you control portion size of your favorite snack???

On Fuel Belts

200th post!!! I want to gush over how much I've enjoyed being part of this community. You guys are the best. You keep me running on those days when I just want to curl up and go to sleep, you make me laugh when life is glum; I enjoy reading every sordid detail of your lives and want to share the same with you. Love you all!

Wish I had planned some cool giveaway, but that sounds like a lot of work.
Instead, I am going to shamelessly announce that I just got my free Wright socks in the mail!!! I am so excited to try them out. Runnerslounge is the best!

I do want to broadcast a 200th post giveaway, courtesy Mel of Tall Mom on the Run! Win cool Pearl Izumi running shorts...who doesn't want those? And as I love you so much, please don't forget to mention that I sent you over!

Also, check out my colorful tofu dish, embellished with onions and peppers...yummy, even if I say so myself.

On to the subject of Fuel belts.

One of the reasons I enjoy running (and I'm sure you'll agree with me) is that feeling of levity...the feeling that I am soaring and everything is alright with my world, as long as I can keep on running. But would you feel that way if you were weighed down by...

...THIS?

I bought this belt when I first started to train for a marathon...more than a year ago. Very functional, as you can see...2 bottles for water and gatorade, and 2 decent sized compartments that can house just about anything you will need on your run. But I've never been a fan of fuel belts. After a couple of half-hearted attempts at wearing it on my runs, I gave up, finding it far more convenient to run several out and back loops around my house, filling up on water, gatorade, fruit and GU at my doorstep fuel station every few miles.

But, as I have started to venture into unknown and uncharted territory, I feel a more compelling need to wear this contraption, to carry the innumerable things I never needed to carry before...water, gatorade, GU, a snack, money, car keys, cell phone and camera...without having to juggle them (I've always thought it would be so cool if humans had more than 2 hands). I also think it's not acceptable (*ahem*...after the first few times), to take a swig out of your running buddy's water bottle or steal a snack from him/her everytime I feel the urge to refuel, no matter how nice he/she is about sharing.

So in anticipation of Sunday's long run (if this weird tendon pain I'd been having since the morning will ease up by then!) when Glenn and I intend to traverse the pretty neighborhoods of Watchung and Gillette, I decided to try out my fuel belt one more time...on my 8-mile practice run last evening.

After tightening the belt (to prevent it from jiggling about and bruising my mid-section) and filling it with all the aforementioned accessories, I strapped it around myself and set off on the 8-mile adventure, feeling a little like a pack mule.

I was a bit self-conscious...people I knew would probably wonder why I was wearing all these bottles, when I was mere blocks away from home. Then I realized the only person who would even think that is me. Everyone else in the neighborhood knows me as the crazy running lady...would a few sloshing bottles and jangling keys make a big difference?

I started out slow...it's my high mileage week, and I didn't want to aggravate the pain in my tendon. The pain is right above the ankle, on the outside of my right leg, and didn't bother me after I started running.

Now, on my local runs, I refuel once every 5 miles. I know...that's not enough fluid, I risk getting dehydrated, hyponatremic, and all that good stuff...but it's what I'm used to. I take 2-3 generous gulps of water and gatorade and a mouthful of banana every 5 miles and it has done the trick. But when you are burdened by a fuel belt, you tend to take a swig every 1/2 mile. For one thing, the fluid is right there, why not chug it down? Besides, the more you ingest, the less you have to carry.
So after 3 miles of filling up on water and gatorade, I was moving along at a fast clip, hoping to get home and safely into the restroom before my bladder exploded. The contstant rubbing of belt against belly didn't help. Meanwhile, I didn't even notice that my new sunglasses were fogging up and collecting pools of sweat under my eyes.
The last 3 miles were completed sans fuel belt. 5 miles are good enough for my maiden fuel-belt adventure. Hope I last longer the next time!

So, the verdict is, fuel belts are a good investment, if you can build rest stops into your run every half hour or so. They prepare you for heavy lifting, keep your hands free for clicking pretty pictures, and take your concentration away from things like annoying injuries and cheap sunglasses.

Happy weekend, all!

Weekend in Canada

It's taken a couple of days to recover from last weekend. DH and I took a vacation day on Friday and flew to Ottawa to visit friends. We were scheduled to take the Porter Airlines flight from Newark to Toronto and the connecting flight to Ottawa. Only, the flight landed in Ottawa instead of Toronto, due to bad weather...and after having our hopes raised that we could deplane directly at Ottawa, we were told we had to fly all the way to Toronto on the same plane, because customs had to be cleared at Toronto. By the time we reached Toronto, we had missed all connecting flights, so we had to stay the night at Toronto.

Making the best of it, we treated ourselves to an upscale dining experience: brunch at the revolving restaurant 360, with panoramic views of the city...and took a later flight out of Toronto the next afternoon.

What we saw (I am sure it must look breathtaking at night...too bad we couldn't stay):

What we ate:

DH ordered lamb chop...

...I got spinach quiche, sweet potato fries and a salad.

The food was passable, but the views were worth every penny.

I managed to squeeze in an 8-mile run at Ottawa on Saturday. Most of the run was on the road (for a Jersey girl, roads with no cars count as trails!)...

...but toward the end, I found a little trail (if you can call it that) alongside the Rideau Canal.
The weather was perfect...in the mid 60's with a a slight breeze.

You know I love little rustic wooden bridges.

My running buddy for the day...
I would move to Canada, just for the awesome open spaces.

A tip: When you walk into a grocery store in Ottawa, make sure you carry Canadian money, not US money! I had to return the bananas, apples, granola bars and protein shake I greedily picked up after my run, because the store would not accept US dollars. What was I thinking?

We drove back with a couple of friends who live in NJ.

Last week was a light recovery week, after the NYC Half Marathon.

Tuesday: 1250 yard swim

Wednesday: 4 miles

Thursday: 6 miles

Saturday: 8 miles

Hope you are having a wonderful week.

Cleansing Day

On my visit to India last year, after a week of gastronomic indulgence, my insides started revolting. After a night of forceful upchucking, I decided I needed to detox. My father, who is already one of the healthiest people I know, joined me in a day of wholesome eating. No meat, processed food or drinks were allowed. We stuck to fruit, vegetables, fruit juice, whole grains and natural foods. This may not seem like a hard task (Erica does it practically every day and doesn't brag about it), but keep in mind that my mother (who is one of the best cooks I know) was busy in the kitchen, whipping up her culinary masterpieces to feast her gluttonous sons and son-in-law, none of whom were in the least affected by all the overindulgence. And of course, there were the friends and relatives we would visit that day, all of whom would insist on us staying for lunch/dinner/brunch/tea or whatever meal was laid out at the time of day we were visiting and would take offence if we refused.

The important thing was, my father and I both survived that day unscathed, felt awesome at the end of it, and enjoyed our run the day after. Recently, we decided to make it a monthly event. I christened it the Cleansing Day.

Yesterday was the day. Here's my report:

Breakfast: bowl of oatmeal with 1% milk and honey and a glass of orange juice

10 am: a banana and a glass of pomegranate juice

12 pm: another banana and half a Strawberry kefir smoothie

1:30 pm: an apple and a couple of slices of dried papaya
3:00 pm: boiled veggies (carrot, peas and soya beans with salt and pepper), baby carrots, almonds and dates (5 almonds and 2 dates).

5 pm: Banana (that's 3 in a day! Can you get potassium poisoning from too much banana?)
I went for a swim after work (1250 yards).

I was ravenous after the swim and had nothing but an oat and honey granola bar on hand, hope that counts in the healthy foods category.

Dinner was leftover boiled veggies, almonds (15), dates (4) and prunes (2), sunflower seeds and more baby carrot.

I was not even tempted to cheat once (which isn't that big of a deal...my mom's not cooking this time). I would not survive on a raw fruit and veggie diet, though.

I ran 4 easy miles this morning and felt on top of the world. Healthy eating - score!

Today, it's back to oily chicken curry and rice, and cream puff for dessert.

Philadelphia Zoo

I've been MIA again...my new job has been keeping me tied to my workdesk, but I have hope that at some point in the near future, I will be able to return to some sort of blogging routine.

What a weekend! DH and I spent Saturday with a friend, M and her boys (a 3-year old and a 9-month old) at the Philadelphia Zoo. M's husband has been deployed to Iraq since the little one was born, and she has been raising the kids by herself. She has always been a cheerful, high-energy woman, juggling 2 jobs, then school and 2 jobs, and now plunging headlong into motherhood, but after yesterday, I have renewed appreciation for her strength and stamina.

The weather was perfect; the children were well-behaved and we had no trouble shepherding them through the zoo. Just as we were all beginning to enjoy the day, an unfortunate incident occured. We parked her efficient Schwinn double jogging stroller (loaded with baby food, snacks, shoes and the toys we had bought for the kids) outside the cat cages, under the sign "Stroller parking" and came back 20 minutes later, to find it gone. Disappeared! We split up and combed the area, hoping it had just rolled away somewhere close, but it was nowhere to be seen. While DH and I watched the kids, M went to review the security camera. A man in a white T-shirt and blue jeans was actually caught on tape, wheeling away the stroller! We were asked to stay on till after the park closed, in case the stroller was abandoned somewhere. The park security was alerted, and they rolled off in their carts, on a mission to retrieve the stolen stroller, but at the end of the day, the stroller was still missing.

We stayed on to lodge a complaint, though we were certain, by the obvious lack of interest on the cop's face, that the chances of getting the stroller back were slim to none. Tough luck! By the time we left, it was 7 pm. DH had been carrying the 3-year old on his shoulder most of the day, and thanks to the lost stroller, M and I had been taking turns carrying the baby all day; our arms and shoulders were sore. The boys were exhausted too. Luckily, no valuables had been lost.

We joined another friend for dinner at Banana Leaf, and plenty of nasi lemak, crispy golden fried squid and lychee drinks were consumed. We drove home in a heavy thunderstorm, hoping that the nearly-bald tires would not steer the car into a ditch. Not surprisingly, we came across 2 accidents on Route 1. It was about midnight when we reached home and 5 minutes after that when we gratefully fell into bed.

I didn't get much sleep though, because I had to be up at 6:15 to meet Glenn and Sandy for a run. Since Glenn had mapped the run, I expected a challenging course. I was in no shape for a 11.25 mile hilly run, and my left shoulder and arm were still tight and hurting after yesterday's child-carrying experience. I don't know how you moms do it!!!

Anyway, I decided to take it a bit easy, and when Glenn mentioned that we could walk up some of the hills, I readily agreed. Sandy raced off ahead of us at 7:45; she had to be done by 10. Glenn and I took off a few minutes later. There were 4 major hills on the course (according to Glenn). I beg to differ...some of the "inclines" were hills to me! We did a good bit of walking and still got a great workout. As usual, Glenn had done an awesome job with the course, covering pretty neighborhoods and allowing for water/rest stops at gas stations along the way. We bought water/gatorade at each of the stops. I wished I had worn my fuel belt, so I didn't need to carry the water bottle in my hand. I could have also stowed my camera in the belt and taken pics. I will definitely be doing this course again, and there'll be pics next time. A Cliff shot blok helped me pick up speed during the last 3 miles. We finished by Watchung Lake.

Week's workouts:

Monday: 6 miles

Tuesday: 12 miles + core work

Wednesday: Aquafit + swimming 500 yards
Thursday: 7 miles
Friday: 6 miles (1 1/2 mile warm up; 3 miles at 8:30 average; 1 1/2 mile cooldown)

Sunday: 11.25 miles

Total: 42.25 miles

After a restoring nap, lots of cooking and squirreling away for the week was accomplished today.

Toor dhal curry

Avarakkai (hyacinth bean)

Brussels' sprouts

Potato and methi (fenugreek) leaves

"Super G"

DH and his colleagues had planned a BBQ yesterday, but of course, rain ruined it. The park would not cancel or postpone the reservation based on the weather forecast (a little annoying, but I don't really blame them, these forecasts can't be believed), so we had to drive to the park Saturday morning and watch the rain beat down mercilessly on the already soaked earth, before heading home. One of the families joined us and we did some indoor grilling, stuffed ourselves and played table tennis. I don't think I can handle any more hot dogs or burgers this summer!

Glenn has been talking about this combination workout he designed, which he calls the "Super G". It's his workout, he can name it whatever he wants! It includes 6.2 miles of running (flat roads + hills + stairs + running backward) + strength training. He estimated it would take about 2 hours to complete. We decided to meet this morning and take on the "Super G".

I had switched my long run to Thursday and did nothing but a slow 4 miler since then, so I would have some fuel in the tank for this. I didn't really know what to expect. It was pouring rain this morning, when I met Glenn and his friend (and personal trainer), Blaine. The rain subsided somewhat by the time we started. I am always interested in new running routes, so I enjoyed the run. Glenn grew up in this town, so he pointed out historic neighborhoods and the grammar school he went to (we did the stairs portion of our workout in the school yard). We then headed to Green Acres Park, where Glenn's girlfriend Mikki was patiently waiting for us in her car, loaded with refreshments and dumbbells. The next 1/2 hour, the rain came down heavy, as we struggled through weights, pushups and punishing exercises. Blaine demoed the exercises; they were challenging, but not overwhelming. I have no doubt we looked like 3 crazy people. I mean, running in the rain is one thing. Pounding weights in the middle of an outdoor basketball court, in rain that almost blinds you, is something else! Mikki shook her head in disbelief; she informed us that the US Open Golf Tournament postponed play due to the weather today...Tiger Woods wouldn't play in the rain, why were the 3 of us out here?

After gulping down way too much Gatorade and chewing on a lemon lime Clif Shot Blok (I might start using these instead of GU on my shorter "long" runs), we made our way out of the park. We still had 3 miles to go. The last 1.6 miles were hills. That did not sound like fun...a mile and a half of hills at the end of a 2 hour workout is not what a hill newbie like me wants to hear. They were not as bad as I imagined, though. I took them at a slow pace, and we finished together. It had taken us exactly 2 hours, including breaks. Bananas and apples, protein bars, more gatorade and water awaited us. Glenn was so thorough in planning this. We stretched and chatted for a while. The pain came much later, after I showered, fell asleep on the couch and awoke from a solid 3-hour nap. My legs are holding up alright, but my upper body took quite a beating. If I make whining, whimpering noises, DH might give me a shoulder rub later.

That was a complete workout. Thanks a ton, Glenn and Mikki!

Week's workouts:
Monday: 7 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles + BodyWorks + spinning
Thursday: 14 miles
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday: 6.2 miles + strength training

Total mileage: 36.2 miles

Tennis ball action

Following several gushing comments on DH's roast tandoori chicken,

I have decided to divulge the secret ingredient responsible for the masterpiece:

Yup, tandoori lovers, that's all it is. You can use any tandoori spice mix available in Indian grocery stores. Just preheat the oven to 350-375 degrees, rub the whole chicken (we used 2 cornish hens) with 1-3 spoonfuls of tandoori masala spice mix, chilli powder (if you can tolerate it), lemon juice and salt. Add chopped veggies of your choice and roast for an hour and a half for mouthwatering, tender, juicy roast tandoori chicken.

You guys are the best! I feel a little silly to whine about my oft-occurring, petty injuries, considering there are people suffering from real problems, but you are all such good sports, throwing brilliant suggestions my way...like the footsie roller and the tennis ball thingee...thanks, Amy, Lindsay, Scheri and Felice!

After reading about it a dozen times, most recently in The Happy Runner, and reading your comments on this post, I finally decided to try the tennis ball technique, in preparation for my long run (I switched my long run day from Saturday to Thursday this week...explanations to come in my next post). Easier said than done. I had to find the tennis balls first!

I live in a little 2-bedroom townhome, with hardly any room to lose things. But somehow, it is always a challenge to find anything that I have put away "in a safe place". So, after digging in the basement for 1/2 hour, moving heavy boxes and dredging up long-lost treasures (including a much-needed spare (new) toilet brush, an exercise ball pump, a rolling pin (which DH claimed ecstatically, to exercise away the pain in his shoulder) and a cricket ball (now, we just need to find the bat), I finally unearthed 1/2 dozen tennis balls. If only all foraging missions were as successful.

After all the drama, I feel I need to provide an illustration: here's one of my feet (badly in need of a pedicure, please excuse the ugliness), rolling on a tennis ball.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ahhh! Sweet relief! I didn't realize how much stress I put on these poor feet.

This morning's 14-miler was almost entirely painless (there is still a tiny pressure spot, which I need to work on). 12 of the 14 miles were run in pelting rain, but I figured if I let rain stop me, I may never run this summer! I couldn't pamper myself with an icebath today (when did the dreaded icebath become 'pampering'?), because work came a-calling. But I'm definitely getting a little more of the tennis ball lovin' later.

QOTD: How often do you switch your long runs to a different day in the week? Have you encountered any problems/injuries while doing that? (I used to switch my long runs often, and sometimes a long run would be only 4 days away from the previous one. I'm trying to stay more consistent now).

Finally: Want free running shoes? Check out Steve's blog!!!

Fires in the Dark

Reading about different cultures and lifestyles in various time periods is fascinating. This book will take you into the lives, customs and traditions of the Romani gypsies, before and during the Second World War. There are tons of books on the holocaust and life and death in labor camps, but this one portrays the terror, despair and the hope that sustained people through those terrible years with such empathy, it almost brings them back to life. It will take you through the world of a proud Romani family and on the journey of its only survivor, who manages to escape from a prison camp, live out the war and scrape together a new life after the war. Very moving!

Last night's dinner: Roast (tandoori) chicken. Mmm...DH has a way with meat!

This week's workouts:

Monday: 7 miles.

Tuesday: 5 miles (3 tempo-ish miles; Average: 9:24 per mile) + BodyWorks + spinning - Whew! A 5-mile run and 2 hours at the gym on the same day can be brutal. As my legs were spinning mechanically, my mind was spinning out glorious visions of the leftover roast chicken in my refrigerator.

Since the long run on Saturday, the sole of my right foot has been bothering me. Not enough to stop me from running, just a nagging ache. I tried icing it and repeated the Monopoly Game several times during the day, using ear plugs and paper clips instead of monopoly pieces (I keep a pair of ear plugs on hand, to protect my ear drums against DH's drumming, and they get reused for foot exercises! I know...I'm disgusting!) I just hope it works.