Training-- short runs

I've been asked lately what I'm doing to train for our upcoming running adventures, so here it is.

In June, some close family and friends of ours are embarking with us on a Grand Canyon trip to remember. We're hiking it rim to rim in one day. That's roughly 25 miles. It's 7000 feet down and 6000 feet back up the other side. It's crazy. My family (parents and siblings) has done this 3 other times in the last 10 years. Nate and I have only done this once before (I was pregnant all the other times), 10 years ago on the first ever attempt with my parents when we were dating. Well, kind of dating, we'd actually broken up for a couple weeks, but since the trip was planned we went together anyway. It was just the 2 of us with my parents, a romantic little trip for four, in which Nate had to share a bed with my father on the North Rim. Hilarious. It was also the trip we came to our senses on the trail, and got back together at the scenic Ribbon Falls. But I digress.

This time we have a bigger group going, and we've been planning and training for months. Nate and I decided that since we'd not have much hiking time to train because we're going so early in the summer, we'd better train all fall and winter with running. This consists of short runs to build up endurance, and long runs to test it.

My short runs are almost exclusively done in the Gulley near my house. Here is what it looks like:

 There are quite a few different trails down there, the one below is the bottom trail that travels the length of the bottom of the ravine (hence the original and obvious name) and runs from 200 or so East near the trax station clear up to 2300 East near Granite Park. It's a shady quiet and thin footpath, great for thinking, or worrying about serial killers if you're alone. I don't recommend going that one alone.

The others I like to take are the Mountain view trail (Pops and I call it the middle trail), The Sego Lily trail (Pops named it the "sisters" trail because of 3 hills he calls the 'sisters'), and the Top trail (I don't know it's official name).

Each run is either a 5, 6, or 7 mile loop just to keep my heart, lungs, and legs in good shape. It's the maintenance work, you might say, to keep my body running optimally. I do this 3 times a week, unless I'm working in a long run, then I only do it twice. It's gorgeous and challenging and I live for it. The long runs are a different story, but I'll post about our first one later. Care to join me? Just say the word.

Curried Anything Cures All

So, a word about curry here. I LOVE IT. Sorry if you don't, because I'm going to go under the assumption here that curry was an inspired thing, meant for the good of all mankind. I'd eat curried anything any day. This particular day I was trying to use up some produce I had, as well as cure the mid-spring-rainy-day-blues. This soup totally worked for me.

Warning: This recipe was made up on the fly, so I guarantee nothing. I loved it. Pops, one of my favorite running partners loved it, but the rest of my family not so much. I think if you like the curry flavor, it's for you.

Sorry about the picture, it's a little dark. In my defense, I never said I had any photography skills, so don't judge me.

Curried Cauliflower and Butternut soup

2 cups butternut squash puree
1 head cauliflower cut into florets
1/2 t. ginger (or 1 t. fresh grated)
1 clove garlic
1/4 C. chopped onion
2 1/2 C. broth (I used chicken) or bouillon
 2 chopped carrots
4 ribs celery chopped
1/2 t. curry powder (or individual herbs and spices that are contained therein)
1/2 C. heavy whipping cream, whole milk, or half and half

Here's how it went:
Place cauliflower florets, ginger, garlic, onion, carrots, celery and broth in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, boil for 5-8 minutes or until tender and fragrant. Place in Blender with  Butternut puree and blend until smooth. (VITAMIX! Man, I love that thing.) pour back into sauce pan and add cream and curry. Serve warm with Butter Naan or other bread of choice.

Note: You can prepare it without the curry, but since it adds no heat and does only good  for the soul, I say keep it in. However, if you really do not care for the flavor, just don't add it, it's good without as well.

Runner's Little Helpers

Every trail runner knows how important it is to have a good partner, especially if that trail runner is female. I'd love to go into a big old discussion here about the injustice of it all. How unfair it is that men  may run when and where they please with little to fear besides a side ache, whilst us poor females, for safety's sake, must be at the mercy of things like daylight and running partners....sigh. But I'm not going to go into all that right here and now, that's a post for another time.

Today I'd simply like to pay homage to those that make my runs possible! Because for me, as a girl and a mother, I need more than one person to make each run happen. I need both babysitters and partners. I'm so happy to have them. I've dragged people out of their homes at ridiculous hours of the morning, or the hot random hours of the afternoon. I've asked family, friends, and neighbors to babysit to support my habit at such awkward times as the lunch or dinner hour. At times even dropping off a grumpy or drowsy toddler who's nap time is being postponed so I can get in a run. And other times I've left my husband to handle the kid's morning routine alone ( of which task he's more than capable), so I could go before the day starts. It's never a regularly scheduled thing, it's always flying by the seat of all our proverbial pants, and I am so grateful!

Since I rarely remember to snap pictures mid-trail, I have hardly any pictures to post as monuments to these unselfish and unsung heroes. Especially not the sitters. I do have a couple, though, of one of my favorite partners, my neighbor's dog, Artemis.

I chose Artemis as a partner because of her looks, which is not always politically correct, I realize, but I needed the 'intimidation factor', and she has it. Wouldn't you agree? No one's messin' with me on those trails with Artemis around! Turns out, though, besides her looks she is also a champ of a partner. She pushes my pace at times, or trots along behind in her good-natured way, though she prefers the shady side of the trail to running when I've foolishly dragged her out in the middle of the late spring afternoon. 80 and above and that girl protests. With good reason, though, I mean look at her! She heats up in a hurry.

So here's to you, people (and animals) who help people run. You know who you are. It's an important job, and no one HAS to do it, it's all volunteer based. My love and my adrenaline pumped thanks go out to you.

Mayday Mayday; Wait, I'm fine now

In case anyone was wondering, I was on hiatus recently. I'm sure you gathered from my last post that things were not going so well in my hormonally challenged life. Well, things are better now.

Firstly, I ditched the doc. That's right, I just flat out said 'enough is enough' and I'm not going back. After my results from the metabolic test things went downhill in a hurry. I have no energy to elaborate. Suffice it to say that I followed what turned out to be the worst advice from a medical professional I've ever received and I suffered for it. I let them have it after that, and you know what they said? We need some more tests. So I quit. As soon as I made that decision everything went better. I'm now managing my condition completely doc free and feeling great about it. I still have challenges, but not insanity.

Secondly, it's finally May now. Can I get an AMEN??? AMEN! I'll cheerfully get more recipes, etc. on here, and feel free to comment or leave some of your own. If you'd like to email me some to post, I'm happy to do that. I'm happy to do just about anything at this point, because I'm finally happy again :-) Yay for May.

Also, I have a great big grand canyon running trip coming up next month, and I can't wait to share my training for it with you runners out there. Runners: what big running plans do you have for the summer?

Good News Bad News

As I sit there in the endocrinologists office thinking over what I need to talk to the Doctor about, this guy enters, not a doctor, but he sees patients like he is one. It's the same guy I talked to last time, the one who said I probably have both crappy conditions all my doctors have been torn between diagnosing for the last couple years. He sits, we chat. I mention something about having both like he said last time. He bluntly says he never would have said that. What? I'm politely confused. He says quite simply, that I must have misunderstood. All signs point to just one: PCOS. Poly-cystic Ovary Syndrome.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, he says, is quite rare. It would be very unlikely to have both PCOS and CAH (IHMA - I Hate Medical Acronyms), so he proceeds to talk about treating just the one.

I'm stunned. I'm thinking I've just wasted 3 months worrying about the treatment of both conditions, misunderstanding my blood test results, and agonizing over whether or not I want to accept the medications. So I ask, "Is this a solid Diagnosis, and how will that change anything treatment-wise?" He tells me he's recommending the same 2 medications he would if I had both. So the good news is, I've only got one condition. The bad news is: nothing changes.

I still have facial hair, I still lose the hair on my head, I still get a manly spare tire, I still have problems with my cycle, I'm still addicted to sugar, and I'm still insulin resistant. The small glimmer of hope, though, is that I may not have to deal with the medications he's suggesting for the duration of my life. I could, in theory, get my symptoms under control with them and use diet and exercise to control them once the goals are reached. Huh. That really was my plan all along. Truly nothing changes.

So 3 days ago I started my rigorous regimen for the 3rd time in 2 years. Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD every other day, and jogging 6 + miles the other 3. Sunday I rest. No treats, no refined carbs, lots of fiber, water and veggies.

I'm now in moderate sugar withdrawals. Headaches the first 48 hrs, fatigue, dizziness, and severe crankiness! All bad news. Today I went in for a metabolic test which indicates by my breathing into a tube my resting metabolic rate (how many calories I could burn in a day by just sitting there). The preliminary results show my rate is on the low range which is odd considering how much I exercise. More bad news. Now I have to wait for the results of both a blood and metabolic test, but I'm guessing it will go something like this: "The good news is your results are back and the supreme endocrine overlord has authorized me to descend into the civilian world long enough to call you about them. And the bad news is.....

Buttermilk Pancakes with Homemade Maple Syrup

I'm not a huge pancake fan. Waffles are more my thing, but try as I might I CANNOT convince my family to be only of the waffle persuasion like me. They LOVE pancakes! All kinds. So I've given in somewhat and have even been known to enjoy a hotcake or two on occasion. The real key is the homemade syrup. My mom always made our syrup growing up. I think they bought syrup from a store once because an empty syrup container is what they used to store our homemade stuff, but I don't remember ever eating it. Once I made it for my husband he could never go back to the store stuff. Easy, cheap, and delicious. A must have for our kitchen.

Here is our usual recipe for good old American pancakes:

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/4 C. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. soda
1 beaten egg
1 C. buttermilk
2 T. oil

Mix dry ingredients, add wet all at once. Do not overstir, mix will be a little lumpy. Add more buttermilk or regular milk for desired consistency

And for the secret weapon!

Mom's Maple Syrup
2 C. sugar
1 C. water
2 t. maple flavoring
1 t. vanilla

bring all ingredients to a boil, boil 5-6 minutes (use a large pot, this will boil up and over if you let it!) stirring frequently. serve warm. Excess may be stored in the refrigerator for quite a while, maybe even forever, but it will never last that long, it's way too delicious!

Flower Power

Ok, I get that the paint on my girls' wall is neither about running nor eating, but it's a fun share nonetheless. My girls have finally reached the age where they'd like to pick the theme and direction for the decor in their room, much to my dismay. They decided on flowers, butterflies, and fairies. I'm an expert at none of these things. So in my desperation I turned to paint, my cricut, and a treasure at the most surpising of places. Here's how it turned out:

First, I started with the grass and stems. I used paint and a foam craft brush for this. I had to have someone else in the room letting me know if I went to high on one side, or dipped too low with the grass, but that was the most difficult part. Grass is a fairly forgiving freehand venture.

Next I did the flower middles. Yellow paint. I tried this two ways: I cut a yellow circle from my cricut to the size I wanted then used the paper as a sort of stencil. Also I tried using the cut-out circle itself as a pattern and traced in light pencil where I wanted the circle to be atop the stem and painted in my lines. Both ways turned out fine, I'm not sure I'd say one was easier than the other, I guess it just depends on your taste.

Next came the petals themselves which I used colored vinyl and my cricut for. I cut out various shapes using the George and Basic Shape cartridge (I think).


I was competely stumped by the butterflies and fairies, though. I could have used the cricut for them, but I couldn't find any I loved with as many color layers as I wanted. One morning while trying to kill time with my 4 yr. old we perused the dollar store, which I haven't done in years. They have everything there! Not great stuff as you might imagine, but wall stickers? Oh yes.
They had a couple kinds of butterflies and fairies, and after a quick eenie-meenie-miny-moh game we had some picked. Now they have a gorgeous purple room with one white wall full of flowers and fairies, and remain the happiest girly-girls you ever did meet!