Sunday, October 19, 2008

Sunday...

Today T2 and I went into Toronto to help out at a waterstation for the Toronto Marathon. Our allotted volunteer time was 10:30 - 2:30pm. Which posed a dilemma because we also had to do a 20 long run. So the dilemma was whether we should do the run before or after. Before, we would have to get up painfully early for a Sunday, but then the run would be done. If we did it after, we could take our time in the morning, sleep in etc, but then we would have to come home after and run. Thankfully, we chose to do the run at 7am, before heading downtown.

When I woke up this morning, before I even got out of bed, I could tell it was cold. My house was chilly (14C to be exact) and when I looked at the thermometer outside, it was a 0C. Yep, that's what I call freezing ;o)

So out came the hat, gloves etc. I managed to refrain from the thermals because I knew I would be hot if I wore them, but it was very tempting. Met T2 at the corner, and we were off. What a beautiful morning! We caught the sunrise, and even managed to see a fox (or maybe it was a coyote?) in a field. I love early morning runs.

So 20k done by 9am, and then we headed downtown. Our water station was at 40k, which anyone who has done a marathon knows is a tough spot. As a runner, you're exhausted, ready for it to be over, and at that point 2k seems like an awfully long distance. So we did our best to cheer people along, help them out, give them encouragement etc. It was such a great experience and I'm really glad I got the chance to do it. I have always appreciated people that come out and help on race day and finally I was able to do it myself.

By the time I got home at around 3:00pm, I was exhausted. So I've been dragging my ass around trying to get things done, but have not been very successful. After a fully packed and thoroughly enjoyable weekend, I think it will be an early night for me!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Thanksgiving Monday

Today is Thanksgiving Monday, so it's a holiday from work... yay!!!

I decided to go out for a ride since it was an absolutely fabulous day. It was amazing, one of those rides you want to go on forever. I went by myself, so spent a lot of time thinking... about things I am grateful for, about the summer that just passed, about the upcoming winter, about training... all sorts of things that fill your mind when out for a 2 hr solo ride. At one point I rode past a bunch of wild turkeys on the side of the road - enjoying their Thanksgiving as well. Here are some pictures I took while I was out...



In total I rode 43.5k in about 1hr 50 mins.

Once I got home, I hung out in my backyard for a while and soaked up some more of the gorgeous weather.

This has been a great long weekend! I only hope we can enjoy some more nice weather before the cold fall and winter set in.

T.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!

Here in the GTA, we've had amazing weather all weekend, and tomorrow promises to be just as nice. I'm still a little under the weather, but thought I'd go out for a run this morning to see how it felt. I had 18k in the schedule, but after about 3, I knew it wasn't going to happen and turned around. So about 6k for me, but better to listen to the body, right?

I had Thanksgiving dinner with my immediate family last night. None of my fam is veg, but they're used to making lots of veggies for me, and then usually I have some sort of mock-meat instead of turkey. This year was a bit different... because I'm now vegan, I couldn't have anything with butter/margarine in it, so everything had to be made without then added in at the table for those who wanted it. (I know - Earth Balance, but unfortunately I was out, and no where around here sells it). And I forgot my 'chicken' at home, so I ended up throwing together a stew with diced tomatoes, chick peas and potatoes, which turned out okay. Let's just say the meal overall was less than inspiring, so when I got home today I decided to make myself a nice vegan Thanksgiving dinner.

I made Lemon Dijon Tofu and Potatoes which I found on Vegan Dad's blog. I have seen so many recipes there that I want to try, but this was my first one, and it was amazing.



Yes, that's steam coming off the food! I didn't want to wait for it to cool down to take the picture because I was dying to try it!

I used sweet potatoes, since I had them, and a little less dijon and more lemon than called for in the sauce. The recipe called for quite a bit of dijon, and sometimes I find it can be overpowering. Next time I make it, I will try using the full amount, as I think it would be really good.

My Lemon Dijon Tofu with Potatoes turned out really well, and I have leftovers for tomorrow as well. Now that's what I call Thanksgiving!

T.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Updates

1. I'm still sick. It still sucks

2. No working out. I had to run a block outside today cause it was raining and I didn't have an umbrella. Thought my head would explode. Didn't think speedwork would be a bright idea. Also, missed swimming on a technicality - it got cancelled, which is excellent timing because A. I'm sick and B. now we will have a make-up session at the end. It's great when things work out like that.

3. Got 'the box' today. Another wonky parsnip. I would take a picture and post it but I'm in bed already. Lots of yummy veggies. Except the dandelion which got tossed... again.

4. Today was the first 'competition/top 20' episode of So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Love that show. It was good - there is a really high level of talent here in Canada. Can't wait to see how it progresses as the weeks go by

5. Ummm... going to bed now. Good night.

T.

Monday, October 6, 2008

WAAAAAH - I'm Sick


I hate getting a cold.

Luckily it doesn't happen too often.

But when it does, I'm miserable.

I try not to take drugs because I think they only stop the bad stuff from making it out of my body. My body produces snot for a reason, and to take drugs to dry it up - counterproductive. However that being said, there are certain times where drugs are a necessity. Like when on the train. You should see the dirty looks that are thrown when someone is coughing on the train - they could kill. Or if it's necessary to come into work. I try to work from home when sick (and am happy when other people do the same). Not sure why people think it's somehow respectable or something to be proud of when they show up to work sick. No one else wants their germs...ewww!

I never know whether to work out or not when I'm sick. Some people say to sweat it out, others say rest and let your body focus on getting better. I've gone both routes, and I don't think one is better than the other (for me). However, it does feel crappy to work out when you're sick.

So tonight I'm going to ditch tri club swimming, curl up on the couch and watch tv all night . That's the one somewhat good thing about being sick - you have an excuse for doing nothing!

Fingers crossed that this one goes away in record time.
T.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

The Box

This year for the first time I signed up with a farmer in my area to receive a box of organic produce once a week. My friend and I decided to go halvsies on it, figuring that neither of us could use the whole box in a week (and to tell you the truth, I have a hard time using half the box). So for the entire summer it's been like Christmas once a week when we get the box... we open it up, look inside and marvel at all the produce. Generally we get kale, swiss chard and beets every week. Plus whatever else is in season: leeks, green onions, red onions, garlic, cabbage, carrots (mmmm... fresh carrots are the BEST!!), squash, and the list goes on. One thing that has been included a lot is dandelion... I swear that I tried my best to figure out what to do with it, even tried it in a soup, but I just don't like it. So it's the one thing that goes from the box to the compost every week. I wasn't quite sure what to think when I pulled this out...





Well actually, I thought a few things:

1. What the heck is it? (then determined it was a parsnip)
2. Why would the farmer send this out to one of his customers... heck if my farm produced it, I would keep it top secret :-o
3. Maybe I can make vegan octopus salad with it?



Still haven't decided what to do with it, so it's resting comfortably in my fridge right now. I'll be sure do a follow-up blog about what became of it.



I think we're coming to the end of our run with the box (as it's all grown on an organic farm closeby, so there's nothing really available over the winter). I have to say, I'll miss it a lot, but it will give me another thing to look forward to next spring.



Changing topics, today I went out with my friend (same friend I share the box with, I'll call her T2 for the sake of this blog) for an 18k run. It was cold this morning, got down to 5 degrees celcius last night, so I pulled out the tights, jacket and gloves (oh what a sad day when you pull out the gloves). We took a somewhat new route - somewhat new because we ride our bikes on this route quite often, but we have never run it. And it was a totally different experience (aside from the obvious differences of biking vs running). There were so many things that I noticed that I have never seen while on my bike... houses, ponds, fields etc. The run turned out to be entirely enjoyable, and partway through I even took off the gloves ;o)


T.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

My Next Big Race - Timberman 70.3

I just signed up for Timberman 70.3 Woo hoo!

Timberman is in August 2009 in New Hampshire. It will be my third IM 70.3 race. I love doing the 70.3 distance... it's a serious race with some serious training required, but still allows for a normal work schedule and a bit of a social life. Yes, sometimes it's challenging to fit in all the training, keep the house clean, mow the lawn, go to the hairdresser, run errands etc. But that is cancelled out by the long weekend rides in the country, being able to eat all the food I want (while still maintaining my girlish figure!) and spending time with my tri friends. I live for that stuff!

There is something inspiring about signing up for a race... there is now a goal, sitting out in front of you... encouraging you to work towards something.

And on that note, I'm heading out for a run ;o)