Summer Time Eats

When we were in Hawaii last month we had Acai Bowls for lunch several times.  The difference between an acai bowl and a smoothie is the thickness.  You can drink a smoothie, while you need a spoon to eat an acai bowl.  Acai bowls usually have some kind of a topping as well.  Packed with power foods these are very filling for a meal.  I have experimented quite a bit and the third time was a charm.

Acai Bowl (2 servings)
Ingredients:
1 cup Ocean Spray Lite Cran-Grape Juice (5 calories per cup)
1 medium banana
1 scoop protein powder
2- 4 oz packets frozen Acai Berry puree (these are from Target)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Toppings:
1 medium banana, sliced
2 Tbsp. granola
2 Tbsp. Coconut flakes
1 Tbsp. honey

1.  Add ingredients to blender in order listed.  Blend, using "crush ice" first, then move on to mix and puree until all ingredients are blended.
2.  Pour into 2 bowls.  Place in freezer for 45-60 minutes until firm.
3.  Top with toppings and enjoy!

The acai bowl is only about 200 calories with the toppings adding about 100-150 calories.  Not bad for a meal.  We've had them for lunch quite a bit. I'm usually too hungry post-run to wait for them to firm up and have them for breakfast.   I'm sure you could use other ingredients to switch up the taste, but this one is perfect in our book.

Ever had an acai bowl?  Have you made them yourself?

Our Crazy Life

Four years ago in January Les took a job working for a company based in Hawaii.  We spent most of 2013 in a rented Waikiki condo.  2014 and 2015 were filled with back and forth travel.  2016 we spent nine months renting part of a house in Hawaii Kai.  We've already made two trips to Oahu this year.  On top of the Hawaii trips, Les visits clients here on the mainland and attends industry conventions.  I'm fortunate enough that I don't have to work a paying job and can tag along often.

Plans for a busy June are starting to firm up.  Les will be in four states/three time zones in the first week and a half of June.  We are also planning to go back to Hawaii some time in June.  Oh, and I have a marathon scheduled on June 10th. As our plans have firmed up, my "racecation" was looking more and more like a solo endeavor or a flyby. I have never been to Utah and really wanted a few days to see at least part of the state.

I checked the race website and saw a "defer" option.  I can defer to 2018 or 2019.  Les will be flying home from a convention that takes place in Orlando.  This particular event takes place each June and moves around the country each year.  In 2018 it will be in Nashville.  Les grew up there so we have tons of friends and family in the area so I definitely want to go on that trip.  In 2019 the convention will be in Phoenix, considerably closer to Utah.  The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to defer to the 2019 race.  There was a $15 change fee, but with so many "nonrefundable, nontransferable" races out there, this seemed like the right decision.  I wasn't going to let my free entry fee go to waste!

In case you're wondering, Les never even suggested that I not race.  He would have flown from Orlando to Salt Lake City (about 50 miles from Provo) just to be there.  This would have meant him being home about 48 hours the entire month of June.  Some things just don't make sense no matter how much you want them to.

I've been a runner for over 20 years.  In that time I've run a total of nine races.  That probably seems strange to some people, but I'm okay with it.  I ran 2600 miles one year and didn't run a single race!   I don't regret the training I've done.  It's gone well, not great, but good enough that I know I could have finished the marathon.  But the expenses to just go there, race, and come back home were adding up to more than I wanted to commit to.  So... Utah Valley Marathon 2019 here I come!

Right now I don't know if I'll try to run a marathon this year.  We tentatively have something really big on the calendar for this Fall so I'll just wait and see.  If we're on Oahu when they are having any of marathon readiness races I might do one of those because they are usually 12-15 miles and the registration fee is pretty small for last minute decisions.

Do you or any of your family members do a lot of business travel?
Ever deferred a race?

April Wrap Up (Weeks 16 &17/52)

Happy May Day!  2017 continues to move at the speed of life...

Mid April was not kind to me.  The hormone monster reared its ugly head with hot flashes/night sweats.  They weren't as bad as I've experienced in the past, but the night sweats lead to insomnia, which lead to a very tired runner.  We flew home from Hawaii on the 19th and insomnia combined with jet lag really knocked me for a loop!  My long run on the 22nd ended up being only 8 miles that felt like I was running through sand the entire time.

Some of our roses

I turned a corner this past week and for the most part started sleeping (and feeling) better.  I went for a trail run on Wednesday and ended up having my second best time for the entire 7 mile out and back.  I'm a big fan of the saying, "Comparison is the thief of joy," but sometimes it's good to compare how far you've come and see improvement.  My 53 year old self is still keeping up with PRs I set three and four years ago. I was also thrilled with my 39 mile bike ride on Thursday.  It was my longest ride to date and we had a great time.

Post trail run socks

Our hills are quickly losing their green, but there is still evidence of all the rain we received this year.  I am allergic to something that is blooming!  I'm pretty sure whatever it is, it hasn't bloomed in about a decade because I've been coughing and sneezing up a storm.  We also had pretty strong winds for several days to keep things stirred up. But I keep moving forward.

Picture in March

Same hill, five weeks later...

Totals for April:
Running: 82.95
Walking  18.45
Cycling 60.66
Total:  162.06

And that's my April!  How was yours?  Do you have seasonal allergies? 

This is 53

I celebrated another birthday yesterday.  Les asked, "What do you want to do?"  "Let's take our bikes to Santa Monica."  So we did.  This is a ride we have been doing for years, but we hadn't ridden it in about five.  We parked at Santa Monica beach and hopped on the bike path, dodging other cyclists, walkers, runners, roller bladers, strollers, and dogs along the way.

We made it to Redondo Beach at the 19.5 mile mark and stopped for lunch.  At that point we had averaged 11 miles an hour, with no stops.

We made the return averaging 10.8 mph, not a significant drop in speed at all.  39 miles total and we were ready for dinner at Duke's in Malibu.  We had a great view and even saw whales and dolphins.

And no birthday celebration at Duke's is complete until you've had a piece of Hula Pie!

When is your next birthday?   How will you celebrate?

Tantalus Sunday! (Week 15/52)

Happy Marathon Monday!  We are six hours behind Boston here in Hawaii, so I woke up to news of Marcel Hug winning the wheelchair competition by ONE second and setting a new world record.  Congrats to the winners and way to go USA runners for grabbing two of the top four spots in both the men's and women's divisions.  Huge kudos to the amazing Katherine Switzer on her return at age 70!

I had another solid week of running with lots of walking in the mix.  I pushed my long run to Sunday.  With only 10 miles on the schedule I wanted to hit up Tantalus.  No trip to Oahu is complete until I've run the mountain.  I stopped several times for pictures so I knew I wouldn't get any PRs but I finished really strong.

The real test of any Tantalus run for me is mile 6.  After climbing almost 1,500' there is finally some downhill.  The road drops about 200' then cruelly reverses for the next half mile.  I was able to push through and run the mile in 9:11.  My final four miles just got faster: 8:45, 8:44, 8:28 and 7:57!  I was determined to finish fast and had to really concentrate to finish my last mile in under 8:00.

We fly home mid-week and my long run for the weekend is 18 miles.  Last year the thought of running that distance filled me with dread.  Although I know it will be tough, I'm ready to take on the challenge.  I'm especially looking forward to cooler temps and lower humidity.

Totals for the week:
Running: 23.95
Walking: 8.56
Total: 32.51

Of PRs and Long Runs, but Not PRs on Long Runs (Week 14/52)

This was week seven of marathon training and I really mixed things up by flying to Hawaii on Tuesday.

Sunday - Rode 13.02 miles
This was an uneventful ride, but I knew it would be my last time on the bike for a few weeks.

Monday - Rested
I had good intentions but I spent Thursday through Sunday participating in a music workshop at our church.  Long days and nights finally caught up with me.

Tuesday - Travel Day

Wednesday - Walked 3.6 miles

Thursday - Ran 9.28 miles
This was my best run of the week!  I ran to and around Diamond Head.  I also went up the road that leads into the crater.  There is a short segment called the "Pokapahu Climb."  It is 0.2 of a mile with 234 feet of elevation gain.  My PR on this, from 2013, is 2:56.  I ran it in 2:57 on Thursday!  For some silly reason this accomplishment did not show up in Strava even though it is clearly recorded in the file.  I also had two PRs on the run - "Downhill Chicken Suey" - that I have run 38 times and a big one "Diamond Head Cliff Westbound" 1.4 miles with 108 feet of elevation gain.  I have run this 34 times, including during the Honolulu Marathon.
Also walked 2 miles

Friday - Walked 4.93 miles

Saturday - LSD Ran 13.44 miles
My training plan called for 16 miles and that's what I had intended to do.  My legs were dead.  I kept saying, "never trust the first mile."  I kept saying it through the first three miles and knew it was gonna be a long morning.  I almost turned around at mile 5.  I had nothing.  I paid for those Thursday PRs big time.  I finally got my first wind around mile 6 and kept a good pace for about 2 1/2 miles.  Then it was back to Bonksville.  I crawled home and was happy to be off my feet.  A day later I'm not feeling too bad about it.  I know I pushed hard on Thursday, which I normally wouldn't do.  I am also not at all acclimated to the weather.  But the scenery makes even a bonk beautiful!

Total:
Running:  22.72
Walking: 10.53
Cycling: 13.02
Total:  46.27

When it comes to bonking, it's a coin toss to keep going or turn around.  What do you do when you bonk?

Three Things Thursday ~ 1st Quarter Wrap Up

We're almost through the first week of April, but I wanted to recap how the first quarter of this year went:

1.  Running
My focus for January was to build my endurance.  February I wanted to focus on hills and I completed the Strava climbing challenge for the month with over 6500' of climbing .  I also found out that I had won a free entry to the Utah Valley Marathon!  That puts my running in focus until June 10th.  I've completed all my long runs so far and my legs are feeling good.  I've continued to cross train on the bike and still really love it.

I don't always eat dessert, but when I do...

2.  Nutrition and Health
My second January focus was to decrease sugar.  I went the entire month without dessert and felt better than I had in about six months.  We are now allowing ourselves one dessert a week and sometimes we don't even have that.  I'll always love sugar, but my body doesn't love it nearly as much.  My anxiety/heart palpitations have been completely absent and I feel pretty strongly that sugar was a large contributor to those issues.  Bonus:  I lost 12 pounds in the first 3 months of the year!

3.  Gear
I've got over 60 miles on my new Brooks running shoes and I'm very happy with them.  My iPod shuffle finally died completely about a month ago after refusing to shuffle for months.  Since my new phone has a ton of memory I decided to just use it for my running tunes but hated the long earbud chords constantly getting caught in my equally long hair.  I finally broke down and bought the Yurbuds Inspire 500.  I've taken them on several long runs, they are comfortable and stay in.  They got the "sweat test" this morning, we are back in Hawaii and I ran 9 miles with them in without any problems.  While I'm talking about gear, I just want to say how much I still love my Suunto Ambit2.  I have had it for almost four years and it is so solid.  It's a little on the big side, but I love all the screens that are completely customizable.  I have the screens set up differently for running, cycling, walking or intervals.  Good gear isn't necessary for good running but it sure is fun!

Total distance for Q1:
Running: 202.72
Cycling 207.79
Walking 53.35
Total: 463.86

How was your first quarter?