Disney bound + beginning running again

Disney bound!

If you follow me on twitter, you probably already know on January 7, 2012 I will complete the Disney World half marathon. It will begin at 5:30 am. I will maintain at least a 16 minute pace per mile (or be kicked off the course). And I will do it with dear friends.

With Warrior Dash in September, this will be my next big half-marathon. Of course I'll continue to do smaller races in the mean time.

The biggest challenge for the Disney race is the time limit. I walked the Mercedes half with a 16:25 pace. I don't see myself getting much faster than that unless I begin jogging. My back problems have prevented much progress.

I've signed up to complete Brad Gansberg's 5K in 100 days program. I hope with some instruction and 35+ lbs lost since I tried running last August, I can overcome this issue. I have a weak back. I know the problem stems from a weak core and I am trying to fix it, but it is no easy feat when you carry the majority of your weight in your midsection. After running a couple 1 minute intervals last week I've also realized I strike too hard on my heels causing my back and hips to absorb the shock. I'm not sure how to correct this.

So running is still scary to me. Remembering all of the injuries I had last summer/fall (2 ankle sprains and the back pain), I'm really insecure about running/jogging causing an injury. All I can do is try again, if I end up with another back injury then I know I am not ready and maybe I need to go see an orthopedic doctor to have it looked at. I've never had imaging on my back, so there could be a slight possibility I have a slipped disk or something else causing the pain.

If you have any advice on running form or preventing low back injury, please, please share!

Eggplant pizza bites and a weekend preview

I promised to share the goodness of the CSA and here I have delivered.

That is basil, sweet potatoes, various peppers, summer squash, butternut squash, cubanelle peppers, acorn squash, 2 kinds of eggplant, 2 kinds of cucumbers and okra! What a stash!

As is typical for Wednesday nights, my awesome housemate, KG and I made a CSA approved meal - Alea's Eggplant Pizza Bites.

Letting the eggplant sit, sprinkled with salt to draw the bitter juices out (it worked!)



Finished product - we added pepperoni because I was feeling some protein (it was supposed to be turkey pepperoni, but Kroger fails and was out).



Upclose of the cute little bites.

With the pepperoni, each bite was around 37.3 calories. I had 7 bites so I ended up with around 261 calories. We also made some sweet potato fries from the sweet potatoes from last week's CSA pick up. My dinner was probably around 450-500 calories. I love our CSA!!!

Back pain update

After walking a little over 2 miles on Saturday, my lower back pain got progressively worse over the long weekend. It seemed to be better yesterday and today I didn't take any pain meds, although I did use my Lidoderm patches. I haven't done any exercise this week, but I am thinking of starting by doing just a short (20 minute) walk tomorrow, followed by water aerobics on Friday. I hope that this back pain goes away soon, I'm ready to exercise regularly again!

This weekend is Nashville's annual Greek Fest. It will be my third year going and it is my favorite event of the year! Dancing! Gyros! Lukamades! Opa!

Skin health and frozen yogurt

Last night my favorite frozen yogurt chain, Sweet Cece's, opened a new store 4 miles from my house. eeeeeee!!! I admit, for someone who is in the process of losing weight, I am entirely too excited about this new addition to my life. BUT with this new location (previously I had to drive about 14 miles into downtown) I can forgo the DQ dipped cones and go for a lower calorie, fat free choice.

Sometimes I stretch the truth and say something is 'basically healthy' when it has some sort of tiny health component to it. However. Sweet Cece's really isn't horrible for a treat. If you stick to the half cup serving and choose your toppings wisely you can have a luscious frozen treat for just around 150 calories! My favorite lately has been Original Tart with a sprinkling of coconut, almonds and fresh fruit. Last night's fruit options were raspberries, blueberries, pineapple and blackberries.

Yes, I just wrote 2 paragraphs about froyo.

Skin Cancer Screening

Today I took part in my employer's free skin cancer screening. I didn't notice anything particular on my body that concerned me, but afterall, as a child I pretty much spent entire summers out in the sun, sometimes without adequate protection - swimming, water skiing and enjoying my parents' boating hobby.

Ultimately there was nothing to worry about my moles caused by sun damage, but the doctor mentioned my Keratosis Pilaris. It is a skin condition that causes rough spots, or bumps that are red/white on your skin. Usually on your arms and thighs. It is only on my arms, but I am sort of self conscience about it because the bumps sometimes look like pimples and as if you have acne. I was told as a child I would grow out of it, but at the age of 26 (almost 27) it is still present as ever. He mentioned while it's not curable (it's hereditary), there are over the counter and prescription remedies to treat the cosmetic issue of the disorder. I've hated having this issue my whole life, so I am thinking I should focus on treating it.

Does anyone else suffer from this? The doctor said it's usually more present in those who have bad allergies, but I am not allergic to anything and experience only mild seasonal allergies. I've found that exposure to the sun really helps the areas it is present on my arms, but I am researching over the counter creams and soaps that are supposed to help.

Progress this week

My back is about 85% better. Tomorrow I plan to do a 3 mile walk to enjoy the wonderful 70 degree weather we are supposed to experience. I've had a rough week in the food department, I'm not expecting forgiveness from the scale on Sunday.

Doctors orders

I visited the doctor this morning about my back pain. Last Friday, I decided I couldn't 'power through' the pain anymore so I made an appointment to see my primary care doctor.

First of all, the doctor basically told me to stop running and that I shouldn't run again until I lose a considerable amount of weight, especially without the guidance of a trainer. I understand that there are avid runners out there that think this is horse malarkey, but honestly I don't think she is off base. I weigh 318 pounds. When I think about what the impact of that much weight does to every bone, joint, muscle, tendon, ligament and every other part of my body with each step when I am running, I realize it's too much to risk. I can still have the life goal of running a 5K, it just won't be by the end of this year.

My pain is thought to be muscular so all you can really do is treat the symptoms and rest. So, my doctor prescribed some pain meds and Lidoderm patches for my back and ordered bed rest for 2 days. After I got home around lunch time I took the 3 pain meds prescribed and was knocked out for a couple hours this afternoon. It was really heavenly.

As far as my workouts, I will take this week off from exercise then resume walking and water aerobics 3-4 times a week. I still plan to walk the 5K in October and will be looking for to see if there is a 10K that I can walk towards the end of the year or the beginning of 2011.

With no working out this week, I will need to watch what I eat more closely. This is truly going to be hard for me because 1) being home all day tomorrow I know I will want to snack, snack, snack; 2) I always want ice cream and fast food when I am home sick from work and 3) I just made some Butternut Squash brownies.

The brownies, inspired by my favorite food blogger, resulted from mixing together 1 can of Trader Joe's organic butternut squash puree and 1 box of Pillsbury milk chocolate brownie mix. This was the result:

Not exactly healthy. They are approximately 150 cals per square.

Delicious? You bet! And a perfect "home sick" treat.

New recipe and continuing back pain

General Tso's Chicken (almost) from Now Eat This by Rocco DiSpirito

I am in love with the concept of Now Eat This the (newish) Rocco DiSpirito cookbook where he takes traditionally bad for you comfort food recipes (like mac & cheese, hot wings, jalapeno poppers) and turns them into healthy versions.

I am constantly taking my favorite recipes and trying to make them "healthy." Seriously, ask my roommate because she is usually my guinea pig - and sometimes things don't turn out so well.

One of my 101 in 1001 items was to make 20 recipes from this cookbook. Tonight marks recipe #3 and it turned out mighty tasty. The only thing is that instead of dealing with making the tangy Asian sauce, I bought Trader Joe's version of General Tso's sauce. It was a bit higher in calories and sugar than Rocco's recipe, but I'm all about ease in the kitchen.

The important part was that the chicken turned out crispy. I served the chicken and broccoli over brown rice for a completely Asian inspired meal.

As I mentioned this was my 3rd recipe from Now Eat This. I've made the jalapeno poppers (two thumbs up!) and the mac and cheese, which did not turn out very well, but I think I substituted a few too many items. I will attempt that one again.

Back Pain

I've been resting resting resting this week.

My back is continuing to give me problems. Primarily in the mornings when I wake up and it's really stiff. I try to do a few stretches in the morning, but it's mainly painful to stand or walk so getting ready in the morning is quite a challenge.

Yesterday, I actually moved a stool from the kitchen to my bathroom so I could sit while I did my hair and makeup. I felt so....pathetic.

At this point, running is on hold. I haven't completed a Couch to 5K run since last Sunday. I'm still going to sign up for the Oktoberfest 5K, but I may just have to walk it. I did go to water aerobics this week because in the past I've found it to do well for my back. The class on Friday was really good. It was with the instructor that I like and a small group, so I was able to go slow, steady and focus on stretching out my back.

I have a doctor appointment on Monday morning. I kept putting off going to the doctor thinking it would just go away. I've dealt with lower back paint, attributed to my weight, for most of my adult life. Three years ago I suffered terrible spasms while I was driving and ended up in the ER. The things I've found that help are heating pad, lots of Advil and Icy Hot pads/gel.

The advice I received from Danny with Run University was to moisten a wet towel and heat it up in the microwave as hot as I could stand about 30 minutes before bed. I tried this a couple times and I honestly just found that the towel would lose it's "heat" too quickly. I was spending more time running back and forth between my room and the microwave than I could keep it on my back. It did feel good when it was hot and one my back, so I don't discount his advice, I just find the heating pad to be more convenient.