Le Plus Grande Pilgrimage

In France, there is a song about the pilgrimage of the Basques.

J’irai de Pampelune jusqu'a Bayonne (I’ll go from Pampalona to Bayonne)

J’irai de Dax jusqua Mont de Marssan (I’ll go from Dax to Mont de Marssan)

Je ferai le plus grande pelerinage, (I’ll go on the biggest pilgrimage)

Le plus grande que tout le temp! (The biggest pilgrimage of all time)**

**pardon me if I spelled any French words wrong or translated incorrectly. It's been a while since I learned that song OR spoke French!

I learned this song when I was living in Bordeaux. We went to Dax during the running of the Bulls and celebrated with hundreds of Basques, dressed all in white with a red kerchief around their necks.

My friend Raquelita, and her friend M, went to Spain and did a hiking pilgrimage on the same route as the Basques, many miles over several days. They hiked a little bit each day in order to eventually conquer a great distance. They are both in academia, and when M suggested using this same principal to get some of their writing done, I jumped on board. Her challenge to herself and to others, was to write 400 words a day, at least, and to reward herself with a new pair of boots after she got to 10,000 words (I especially like that part!)

I don’t have any academic papers to write; I don’t have any homework. However, I do have a couple things that I am using M’s pilgrimage for.

Journaling: When I travel, I usually keep a journal, or try to. I really enjoy this for several reasons. Looking back over them is fun, as is remembering what you did and all the little things that you quickly forget about. Also, it’s a great way to keep your facts straight. I write down where we stayed and how much it was so if anyone needs a recommendation for a good hostel, I have it. I keep track of how much I spend, so later I can remember that, yes, Egypt WAS cheap. BUT, I often fall short on my journaling. I tend to start off strong and end up…well…nowhere. So, my goal #1 is to catch up on my journaling, not only for traveling/fun days, but for regular days. Luckily I have photos to help me remember each day! 

How’s it going so far? I started on the 8th, a week ago, and so far, I have written over 400 words each day. I plan to keep on with this for at least the month of February, and hopefully longer.  My end (optimistic) goal is to get done with my entire travel journal and start making my life journal an everyday thing (right now I maybe get it done once a week, usually when I have problems I need to hash out in my mind).

Goals: Sometimes I let my goals scare me. If they are big, they seem too big, too far away, unattainable even. I need to break them down into bite sized pieces instead of letting them get the best of me. My friend Karen uses the 52 weeks of the year to attain her goals. She makes 52 goals and tries to accomplish one each week.

Sometimes my biggest problem is the making of the goals themselves, not necessarily the accomplishing of the goals. Once I buckle down and decide what to do, I can get things done. But I don’t want to make a goal and then fail it, so my fear of failing the goal makes me not make goals, which is in itself failing anyway. So hopefully this challenge will help me to MAKE goals and to realize that if I work on them a little bit each day/week/month, I can get them done eventually!   

How's it going so far? Last week, I sat down and made three big goals. Now I need to break them into manageable bites and then get chomping!

Running: Some days I don’t feel like running. I have to talk myself into going out and just running a few miles, since that means I will still be able to run less miles per day to achieve my weekly goal. I would rather run 4 x 4 mile days than 1 x 16 mile day! I am usually pretty good at doing this, but I just want to keep it in the back of my mind for those days that I am feeling less motivated. 

Hows it going so far? This week I ran 5 times, rather than 4. It was great to have one day where I could do a shorter, "easy" run, instead of cramming all the miles into less runs! 

Do you have a pilgrimage of your own to conquer? What things do you try to do every day so that they don’t get out of hand in the long run?

Running Related Tidbits

I finally made a tentative training schedule for the 12 in 2012 races. I wasn’t really sure how to do it, since I will be racing every 2 – 8 weeks. Basically, I am going to stick to the same running schedule I used for the marathon, which is two easier days of 5-7 miles, and two longer days, one of them being mid-week and roughly 6-10 miles, and one being on the weekend, which will be 10-15 miles. I figure I may as well keep my mileage up as well as I can for now. However, I don’t really feel the need to run more than 4 days a week. I don’t want to get burned out or bored with it. It’s supposed to be fun!

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In other running related news, I have been logging my miles into Dailymile by hand, since I haven’t always had the internet to upload my Garmin. Then I had the internet the other day, so I plugged my Garmin in and uploaded all 60 runs that I was missing. So now I have double miles on Dailymile. Does anyone know if there is a way to do a batch edit, instead of having to delete each run, one by one?

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This weekend I ran for Sherry, who is a runner from Montana who went missing last month. You may have heard about it on the news. Her body was never found. They declared her dead just the other day. Her cousin hosted the run on her blog, and I was excited to take part.  As a runner, it makes you think twice about where and when you are running, even though you don’t really want to think about that kind of stuff. I usually tell someone where I am going and when I think I will be back and I wear a Road ID in case I get hit by a car, but unfortunately, you really can’t prevent everything.

I ran11 miles out and back on a nice clear, cold day in the mountains. This one's for you, Sherry. I hope that by having so many supporters running this run for her, her family and friends will feel the massive support of the running community. I know a lot of other people did this for her and I love being a part of such a caring group.

Did you run for Sherry?  Do you have any suggestions as far as my training schedule? Do you know if Dailymile has a group edit?

Half Time Recap

Another week, another photo here and there, and February is almost over. Woo Hoo.

That means the #febphotoaday is well underway.  And it's time for another recap post.

Day 4: Stranger

Have you ever seen anything stranger than this? Mouser and Hillary. 

He looks pissed off. 

Maybe it's because he is a Republican.

Day 5: 10 am

We took a drive last Sunday to do a little four wheelin', hiking and photo taking. 

Day 6: Dinner

Have you ever seen a bag of carrots this big?

Day 7: Buttons

I got lazy this day.

Day 8: Sun

Ironically enough, this day WAS sunny so we sat out on the front porch, soaking it in! 

Day 9: Front Door

Mine has a window and the light was shining in, so I covered it with a shopping bag and a couple of magazine pages. Classy, I know.

Day 10: Self Portrait

Going running. It was raining, so I added the rain effect. 

That's not all I did this week! 

I also...

Made banana nut bread. 

Ate a piece before taking this photo. 

Took photos of mountains and bridges and rivers, oh my. 

Went running.  

Lost my emergency $5.

And then found it again three days later.

Went bowling. 

Bowled FOUR strikes in a row. 

And then bowled REALLY crappy the rest of the time, which is par for the course. 

I usually barely break 100.

The idea for this weekly photo post came from Kim. I am not trying to steal it.

What did you do this week? Are you a good bowler? What would you do if you had a huge bag of carrots?

The Very Hard Leg

I mentioned a while back that not only was I planning on doing the 12 in 2012 Running Challenge this year, but I also have another couple of races on the horizon. One of them, I am very excited to say, is The Relay, which is a two day, 199 mile relay run from Calistoga, California to Santa Cruz, California. The very coolest part is that the race is run over the Golden Gate Bridge at midnight on Saturday. 

Here’s some info from the website: CALIFORNIA'S LONGEST PARTY - YOU'RE INVITED! Gather your friends (12-member teams). Decorate your vans. Dress your best (costumes optional). Run (or walk). "It's the most fun 24 feet can have in the best place on earth." From Napa Valley to the Pacific Ocean, 12-member teams run 36 legs (3 legs per runner, 3-8 miles each) through 36 cities and across the Golden Gate Bridge at midnight in support of Organs 'R' Us ("ORU") and 100,000 Americans waiting for organ donors. Contact info.

This run has a special meaning for us, since our team, Jonnycat’s Dirty Dozen, is running for our close friend Jon, who is currently on the donor list for both a kidney and a pancreas. There are twelve runners, who each run three legs each, each ranging from 3 – 8.1 miles and ranging in total from 12.9 to 18.5 miles. You can see on the chart below what I am talking about. As you can see, they rate the legs (on the right column labeled “difficulty”) by harder (#1) to easier (#12). You can also see that the “more data” section below states that legs 34 and 35 are the hardest. 

Now, I am going to give you three guesses as to which runner I am. Nope, it’s not number 1, the easiest runner. Nope, it’s not number 6, the cool runner that gets to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Did you say that I should probably try one of the harder runners? That’s what I thought you said. Well, I guess you are right. Why don’t I pick number…11?

Actually, I “picked” number 4. I know. What a copout right? Right smack dab in the middle of the difficulty scale. But, I will tell you why I picked that one. I picked it because it was the second highest amount of miles. And I can run a lot of miles. But my friend who is organizing this emailed me a week after I sent her the email saying which leg I wanted and begged me, pleaded with me, told me I was very strong and brave and good looking asked me to switch to number 11. I said yes right away. Then I looked at what I had gotten myself into. This is what it looks like.

It “looks like” a 500 foot elevation gain over 6.2 miles! So it’s a difficult 10k race, which I will run after running two other “races” that day (6.9 miles and 3.7 miles) and probably getting little sleep.  Phew! I am going to be a mess! I guess I should be glad I am not number 10!

I’m actually very excited about this race, even though I am joking around about it right now.  I am, as always, nervous, even more nervous than normal, because I wouldn’t only be letting myself down if I do badly; I will be letting my team down! I am looking forward to a few things. One, Dean Karnazes has won the Ultra portion of this race (yes you can run it by yourself. Maybe next year) several times and will be hosting the Friday night pre-race dinner in Napa County. Two, it’s on my home turf. I have relatives north of the city who will be able to watch as I run leg 11. I have friends south of the city who can watch 23 or 35! The weather is going to be great; the scenery is going to be awesome; I will meet 11 new people! Plus, I get to sleep in a van with five (smelly) other people (down by the river).  How can you beat that?

Have you ever run a relay race? Have you ever been to Napa County? Have you ever walked across the Golden Gate Bridge?

What I Love Everywhere

I'm not really a sappy, lovey-dovey type person. And I think Valentine's Day is a bunch of commercialism. We should love each other Every Day! But I do like themes. And what better month for the theme I am about to show you but February! I apologize in advance for the subject.

First, remember these? I saw them in a few places while traveling. This one was in New York.

Excuse the blurry photo; it was dark and it was snowy and it was cold. 

But you get the point. Love is, literally, everywhere.

There is love in food. 

There is love in man made things.

And there is love in nature.

Yes, that's a camel on the top right.

Where will we find it next? 

There it is!

Do you have a specific thing that you take photos of, over and over? Do you celebrate Valentines Day?

The Run That Cost Me Five Dollars

In Which I Lose a Challenge: Thanks to NYC Running Mama and the Patriots, yesterday I had to run 4 miles. The challenge was that you picked a winner and if your team lost, you had to run the number of miles of the point spread. Well, as you all know, the final score was 21 - 17, which means four miles for this girl. I am not really a Pat's fan, but since the Niners were already out and Mr Lovely is a Pat's fan AND I do like Brady, I went for the Pats. I did not watch the game; I only googled the score Sunday night to see how many miles I would be running yesterday. I would have run anyway, but it is kind of fun to run for a "reason". 

I did four miles for Brady and another 1.7 for myself.

In Which I Discover a Trail Fairy: I have been running on the trails a lot lately. Luckily, we have had very little snow in our area this year, so they are fairly clear of moisture. However, the other day we had a bit of a storm and when the trails finally dried up enough for me to run on them, I discovered quite a mess. There were branches and trees everywhere. I spent the majority of my first run clearing the trail of debris. 

Here is an excerpt from my running journal that day: I ended up running (and walking) 6.24 miles. It took me an hour and twenty four minutes. Here is my pace chart, so you can see how many times I stopped to throw branches off the path. All in all, it was a struggle today.

Ug. But today I noticed that the trail was looking clearer. I have been getting rid of a few branches each day, but the trail is still by no means totally clear. BUT. It is clearer than I left it. Somebody else must be clearing it! Thank you trail fairy!

In Which I Almost Eat Dirt: I was so excited that the trail was clear and that today's run was So Much Better than the one I was mentioning above, that I got overly excited, sped up, tripped over a rock, stumbled, arms flailing, flew through the air and caught myself from falling with one finger upon the side of the bank. Really. I did not fall, but I must have stumbled for a good 12 feet before finally righting myself. Luckily there was no one around to see me (except maybe the trail fairy?)

In Which I Lose $5: Today, as mentioned above, I felt really good, the trail was clear and my run was for a good cause, and so I was running a bit faster than normal. Because of this, my body was a bit more bouncy than normal and my iPod fell out of the holder on my belt. This belt not only holds my iPod, but I also put my keys and an emergency $5 in there. You never know when you may need an ice cream, or a bottle of water, or to bribe a policeman or to pay someone to use their phone... Actually, I run in the boonies, so most likely I would spend my $5 bribing a deer or a squirrel, since I never see another human being on my run. Ever. I always carry the spare fiver anyway. 

Today, my bouncing caused the iPod to bounce out of my belt and down the mountain, causing me to spend several minutes climbing down the side of a hill to retrieve it. Once I returned it to it's rightful place, I continued on my run for Brady. Little did I know, but the $5 had fallen out as well. I think I know where it is and I will probably look for it next time, but darn it, it was at the very top of the hill (see below graph for elevation)! I wasn't planning on going that far up the hill for at least another week. 

So, is it worth going three miles up the hill to try to find it? Or should I leave it for the trail fairy? 

Did you watch the Superbowl? Have you ever fallen while running/walking?

One Step at a Time: Part II

After a year hiatus, I recently started running again and it was a great change for the better! You can see my post about that HERE. These changes made me feel much better and as an added bonus, I did lose about 15 pounds. Change in eating habits were also a huge part of my increase in energy. People have asked me what changes I made. I am here to tell you.  

Note that a 150 pound woman burns approximately 100 calories a mile when running. All calorie information is derived from LoseIt.

Eat a Good Breakfast: I know you have heard this one a million times. But how many times have you rushed out the door with barely time for a cup of coffee? Or you may say that when you eat breakfast you are hungrier during the day. Yes, this may be true, but that is because eating breakfast kick starts your metabolism (which is good). You don’t have to spend a lot of time or energy making something every day. Just have one of these quick and easy choices or something equally filling: an egg and toast and fruit; peanut butter, toast and fruit; oatmeal with fruit and nuts. It’s important to have a good mix of protein and carbs to keep you feeling fuller throughout the day. If you need a snack later, have one. But make it a healthy snack (see below)!

2 Lg Eggs (180), 1 slice Multi Grain Toast (69), Banana (105): 354 cal

2 Tbsp PB* (188), 1 slice Multi Grain Toast (69), Grapefruit (78): 335 cal

½ cup Oatmeal (150), ½ cup Strawberries (23), 2 Tbsp Walnuts (96), 2 oz Almond Milk (15): 284 cal

*2 Tbsp Almond Butter = 203

Limit alcohol intake: I am not saying you need to be a complete teetotaler, but cutting out some alcohol makes a huge impact on your calorie intake, AND your budget. Not having a bottle of wine at dinner makes it seem like the restaurant has just given you a huge discount! As far as calories go, booze is empty calories. It really has no beneficial effect on your body (excepting maybe that red wine/heart thing they keep going back and forth on).

6 oz glass of red wine: 150 cal

6 oz glass of white wine: 145 cal

1 oz whiskey: 64 cal

1 oz vodka: 64 cal (8 oz soda: 97 cal = 161 cal mixed drink)

12 oz Bud Light: 110 cal

12 oz Michelob Ultra: 96 calories

So, for almost each drink you have, you have to run 1 – 1.5 miles. Also consider that for every 100 calories, you could instead have 3 oz of chicken breast, ½ cup of brown rice or as a treat, a cookie! If you feel like having a whole bottle of wine, go ahead. Just make sure you run approximately 6 miles to make up for it!

Limit snack intake: Like I mentioned above, a cookie is nearly 100 calories (or if you get the molasses ginger snap at Starbucks, it will cost you 350 calories!) There are many snacks which we just eat to feed a craving, because we are bored or because we are sitting in front of the TV or computer (side note: bad idea!) and not even because we are hungry. However, if you are hungry, you may want to consider eating a more filling meal at mealtime. Or if you do feel the need to snack, eat something that will sustain you. Those chips will not make you feel full until you have had way too many of them. Have a banana first. If you are still hungry afterwards (or you NEED salt), have a few chips. I am not suggesting you totally cut out the things you love, just be aware of portion sizes!

7” banana: 105 cal

Lg Apple: 116 cal

Mandarin: 40 cal

15 baby carrots (52) & 2 Tbsp Hummus (46): 98 cal

Vs.

27 Cheez-its:  150 cal

2”macaroon: 97 cal

¼ cup peanut M&Ms: 220 cal

½ cup of ice cream: 150 calories

Limit Eating Out: You have heard this one before as well, I am sure. The portions are huge, if it is there in front of me, I have to eat it, and who knows what they put in that food. If it tastes good, they probably loaded it with butter, salt or some kind of fat or oil. Why not go make your own broccoli soup so you can control how much of the good stuff goes into it? Why not buy your own hamburger fixings so you can do-it-yourself at home? You don’t have to give up treats altogether, but it is better if you can not only make your dishes with less of what ails you, but serve yourself less as well. If you are going to eat out, be aware of what you are eating. Restaurant food is loaded with hidden calories.

Eat Your Leftovers: I read a study where they tested two sets of people to see how full they felt after a meal. One set had one bowl of soup. The other set had a bowl with a hidden stream of soup, refilling from the bottom. Both groups said they felt equally as full, even though the second group had eaten 70% more soup! Oftentimes I make a big pot of chili or a bunch of chicken breasts on the weekend and eat them throughout the week to save time. Be careful though, or you may find yourself eating the entire pot in one go! Experts suggest serving yourself one serving size to and putting the rest away, right away. If it is in front of you, either on the table or even on the stove, you will be more tempted to have more, even if you don’t need it.

Keep Track of What You Eat: Like I said above, keeping track is a great way to help you make good decisions. You don’t have to be on Weight Watchers to realize that keeping track and keeping yourself accountable of what you are eating is a smart move! I have heard some people say that it doesn’t work for them for a couple of reasons. 

1.) If they go a little bit over budget in one day, they figure what the heck, you may as well go way over. NOT TRUE. You can make up for it tomorrow, but why not just go a little bit over today if you have to, instead of binging! Keeping track helps you realize when you are getting close to enough calories per day for YOUR body. The other thing is that if you go a little bit over, go out for a half an hour walk to balance things out instead of giving up on yourself all together! 

2.) They don’t enter the food until later in the day or tomorrow, when it is already too late. THAT’S OKAY. It still gives you an idea of where you did well, where you went wrong and what you need to change in the future. This is only a tool to help you plan the future, not one that restricts you! It just makes you more aware! 

Free trackers: LoseIt, My Fitness Pal

I hope that this post will help you to learn from my mistakes! Don’t forget that exercise is also a very important part of staying healthy and feeling good! 

Have you ever tried tracking your food and exercise? What do you normally have for breakfast?