First Frittata and Team Ortho

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Melanie

Super creative post title today, right? I covered my bases with that one.

I mentioned that I wanted to briefly describe some of the details of the Minneapolis Half Marathon, in relation to Team Ortho’s wonderful organizational job with the race. The day of events put on by Team Ortho included a full marathon, a half marathon, and a relay.

I also wanted to share some of the inspirational and comical signs I saw throughout the run, to help get me through to the finish. So, we’ll start with that…

A woman dressed up in a banana costume with a sign that read, “Nipple Chafing Turns Me On.” This one was for the men mostly.
“Pain is temporary; Pride is forever.”
“Worst Parade Ever”
“You’re So Pretty”
“It’s okay to go in your pants. Just go.” This one was more geared toward the marathoners.
“Run like you stole something”
“Beer at the finish”
“You go girl”

What I loved about this race

Although, personally I had a very difficult time throughout this run physically, and couldn’t enjoy myself as much as I had hoped, there are still pieces I reflect upon that I am thoroughly impressed by and that I can say I loved about this race.

1. The staff and volunteers were awesome. The people in charge of handing out water were on top of their game; always prepared with handfuls of filled water cups. The medical staff was right there in case of emergency; post-race I was not feeling so hot and immediately a medical staff member approached me to make sure I was okay, and brought me a bag of ice. The pacer’s were incredibly energetic and motivational; they kept cheering everyone on throughout the race and also instructed runners to stay off parts of the course as marathoner’s were coming through at the time.

2. It was so well organized. Packet pick-up was coordinated so that it was quick and easy to navigate. On race day there were so many staff members helping with bag check, water, answering questions, etc. You didn’t have to look far to find someone to help you if needed. They had plenty of Port-A-Potty’s available because we all know how important those are pre-race. The lines were very long right before the race but that is to be expected. Race start was organized into expected pace/mile and groups were set off on the run in “batches” so that a running clog wouldn’t be created. The course was marked off clearly with staff there to instruct as well (turnarounds, water stops, etc.). Post-race bag pick up was set up very nicely and staff were eager to assist.

Photos courtesy of Team Ortho and Minneapolis Marathon

3. I loved certain aspects of the course. Passing the 35w Bridge Memorial Site was really neat. I had never seen it before and what better way to see it than to run by it. The Mississippi River was flowing behind it which was another beautiful site to see. The way the course was drawn out was as such:

You can see that there are two turn around spots. At first I wasn’t sure how I would like this. The idea of retracing my steps didn’t sound too appealing to me.

However, I ended up liking it and here’s why. I knew other runners in this race: my husband, my brother, and a couple of other friends. They all ran faster than me which meant that they were going through the turnaround before me, therefore we were basically running right by each other, just in opposite directions. I got to cheer them all on as they passed me in the other lane! Also, it was inspiring to see the top finishers bolting by. The speed of some of these runners leaves me speechless.

Overall, I am very impressed with this organization. Thank you Team Ortho for all of your hard work in making this day of events such a success. It’s no wonder they always have such high registration rates and such a great rate of runners returning year after year to participate.

************

Dinner

Last night I made a frittata for Dana and I. This was my first ever attempt at a frittata and I have to say I am proud of it. I went with a mushroom, spinach, and onion combo. I used a recipe from Health.com as my guide, and made adjustments as I always do. For anyone unfamiliar with frittatas, it is an egg-based dish which is cooked in a skillet.The first portion of the preparation involves cooking on the stovetop, and the second part involves baking in the oven. I used our cast iron skillet and it worked perfectly.

Review: We loved it! We ate the entire thing. If anyone is interested in the recipe let me know. I can post it if there are any takers. If not, I won’t be offended. It was very tasty and satisfying. If could be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

The rest of the night was spent preparing for our garage sale…..price check!

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

My First Half Marathon

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Melanie

It’s time for a recap of my first half marathon experience.

I want to premise this recap by reminding you all that I have been struggling with a colitis battle now for one month or so. A voice in my head kept asking me if I thought it was a good idea to run this race yesterday or not, not to mention the fact that I came down with a 24-hour stomach bug on Friday. Was my body trying to tell me something? I usually listen to my body, but not this time. After all of the training and anticipation of this race, there was no way I wasn’t going to give it my best shot. I HAD to do it. I didn’t care what time I finished in, I reminded myself it was okay if I needed to walk, I just wanted to finish. Period.

The morning of the race I woke up at 5:15 am, hopped in the shower for a quick wake-me-up spritz, put my running gear on that I had placed out the night before, and made myself my usual pre-run breakfast.

I had my usual pre-race jitters. It doesn’t matter if it is a 5k, a 10k, or a half marathon, I react the same way. I give myself plenty of time to use the facilities before a race (and this is if I’m in a flare-up or non-flare up). This is how my body has reacted to nerves for as long as I can remember; before basketball games, before dance competitions, before the Registered Dietitian Exam, etc.

We loaded up the car at 6:15 am and headed to the race.

Upon arrival, we parked, walked to our destination, checked our bags, and headed to the biffy’s (port-o-potty if you will). I forgot to take any pre-race photos and that’s probably because I was totally nervous and more focused on finding the bathrooms before we had to go into our start corrals.

7:15 am rolled around, and it was time to make our way to our corrals. We dropped my brother off in the 8:30 minute/mile area and Dana and I headed back towards the 9:30 minute/mile area. During our other long runs, we averaged a 9:30 minute/mile pace, but we knew that this may be far-fetched today since we had never ran this length before. We gave ourselves some slack and knew we could fall back if necessary, of course.

A woman sang a beautiful version of the national anthem and I tried to use this time to close my eyes and relax. It really was beautiful.

Then the race began. They started letting groups off by start time, and then held the rest, so we were walking in a slow pace to the start. It was a very dramatic moment to me, and it’s the moment that I noticed I had a rock in my shoe. I was about to start running with it when Dana told me I’m not going to want to run with a rock in my shoe. It turned out I had plenty of time to remove my shoe and dump out the miniature rock. Ok, all better. Now, get your music ready. It’s time to rock.

Our corral was set off and it was go time. Immediately I felt the excitement from the cheering crowd holding their awesome signs and from the other runners who were just as excited as I was to be running this race as I was. But I wasn’t about to let this excitement run me into an overly fast pace. We kept it low and slow. In the first few miles, we ran by the 35W bridge collapse memorial site which I had never seen before. We passed the rolling Mississippi River and of course passed hundred’s of energetic spectators and cheerleaders.

We made one bathroom stop around mile 2. Around mile 3 I started to get an awful feeling in my stomach. I thought it was maybe just the jitters and kept praying that it would go away. It felt like my stomach was completely empty and cramping at the same time, and it was bringing me to nausea. I thought that I might just be hungry as I hadn’t eaten for two hours now, so I snacked on a couple of Blueberry Pomegranate Gu Chomps. I also sipped on some water from the water stop and waited 15 minutes or so to see if the pain would go away. Not a chance. It only progressed and got worse.

I kept running up until mile 6, when I told Dana I had to walk. I HATE walking on runs. I don’t like stopping because 1. I find it harder to start back up again and 2. It slows me down and keeps me from reaching the finish line sooner obviously. When I stopped to walk I was fighting to inhale a breath and felt tears beginning to swell. What is going on with me? Then it was time to give myself a little pep talk (in my head of course): Melanie, your body is going through a lot right now with the colitis, the stomach bug, etc. You can do this though, I know you can, but remember that time doesn’t matter today. It is OKAY to walk. No one is going to judge you except for yourself, and you’ll get over it. Take care of yourself and you can finish. I began running again but was only able to run for about 5 minutes before needing to stop again to walk. At this point I made Dana go ahead because there was no way I was going to hold him back like this.

Once I talked him into going ahead, I walked for probably another 5 minutes or so before I tried giving the running a chance again. I was able to run for a long time after that but at a pretty slow pace. I would walk through the water stations and then pick up the running again. I would tell myself that I would run to the sign ahead, or run until I saw some of my family and friends that were there to watch us, and then I could walk but only if I really needed to walk.

When I saw mile 10 I thought okay, one 5k to go. I’ve done how many 5k’s? No big deal. Ha, well, that last 5k seemed like the longest 5k ever (and looking at my time it literally was my longest 5k ever). At about mile 11 we had to run up what seemed like a mammoth hill at the time. I ran up half of it, then walked the rest. I picked up the running again and told myself I cannot stop until I get to that finish line. I am way too close now, and there are so many people watching…and that was enough to keep me going.

I reached a corner where everyone was yelling, “You’re almost there! Just around the corner!” Sure enough, I rounded the corner and saw the finish line. Out loud I said ‘Oh, Thank God’ and I bolted to that finish line. They announced my name as I was running through and I felt such a great amount of pride at that moment. I thought I would get emotional but I think I was in too much pain to get emotional. In fact, Dana greeted me at the finish and it was a good thing because I felt like I was going to fall over. Immediately, a member of the medical team was at my side with an ice pack and water, and that was just what I needed. Well that, and to sit down, stat.

My official time was 2:20 which makes for an average pace of 10:42 minutes per mile. I am usually a 9:30 minute/mile runner, but not today, and that is okay. I just finished a half marathon. Wow, what an incredible feeling.

We gathered with our family that had come to watch and then eventually conjured up enough energy for post-race photos.

In the photo above: Kevin’s friend Jeremy, Kevi, Me, and Dana.

My body was so unhappy at this point. That smile on my face and standing up there was taking every last bit of energy in my body. After photos, we made the lengthy trek back to our car (about a mile to our car…..blech) and I tried munching on a banana on the way. I felt such a void in my stomach yet everything sounded awful to me. The banana tasted extremely starchy to me but I know it was just an imbalance in my body so everything would taste off right then.

We headed back to our cozy home making one pit stop at Subway to pick up some lunch. At home, I immediately jumped in the shower, put on comfy clothes and settled myself on to the couch with water, Powerade Zero, and a blanket. This was going to be my spot for a while.

My day of eats minus breakfast which you already saw:

Newman’s Own Thin & Crispy Margherita Pizza that we protein-ified by adding some honey ham (and pineapple) making our very own Margherita Hawaiian Pizza. Num!

My favorite food from today: Froyo from Freeziac. I once again went with Cake Batter Froyo and added brownie pieces, cookie dough pieces, crunch bar bits, reese’s pieces, a dash of hot fudge, sprinkles, and one red gummy bear on top.

It was definitely a lazy food day. We were on the couch until about 3pm after watching a movie and taking a short nap. Then we decided to run and get groceries for the week. Once we got home, I returned to my spot on the couch which is where I spent the rest of the evening before bed.

As mentioned yesterday, TeamOrtho did an incredible job of putting on this event. I would love to go over what I loved about how they organized this event, as well as the amazing supporters and their encouraging signs, but I think I will save that for another post (this one is getting pretty lengthy).

Although I struggled throughout this entire race with some pretty awful stomach issues, I still finished. I will forever take pride in knowing that I completed 13.1 miles in the Minneapolis Half Marathon. If I ever decide to run another half marathon, I will run it when I’m not in a current flare-up. The trouble is, when I registered for this one I was completely healthy, but a lot can change in 3 months so it’s difficult to plan for. I know I can complete a more successful half marathon, without the pains, and actually be able to enjoy it a little more than I did this time around. I don’t think this will be my last one, but who knows!

I am so proud of my husband and my brother and myself for completing our first ever half marathon together. I am so lucky that I got to share this incredible moment with such amazing people.

Thank you for our cheerleaders who came to watch us yesterday, and for those who were cheering at home in spirit! Your love and support meant the world to me and my heart melts from all of the love I felt from you all.

Sorry for such a lengthy post, but this was an event in my life that will never be forgotten, and I’m so happy to be able to share it with you all.

I have the day off today to recover and to get a few things done around the house. I hope you have a wonderful day.

The Day Before The Half Marathon

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Melanie

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I survived my first half marathon today! Unfortunately, it was a pretty painful run for me, but I will be saving these details for tomorrow’s post. All that matters though is that I finished!

Recap from yesterday

I did my best to get a good mix of carbohydrates and protein in my diet yesterday. Friday I stocked up on the carbs as well (that was when I wasn’t feeling well and only bread and fruit tasted good to me). I was building my glycogen stores!

Anyway, I began my day with my standard as of lately: Cream of Wheat sweetened with stevia, a touch of brown sugar, and cinnamon.

After breakfast, we walked a few blocks down the road to cheer on a friend of ours who was running a 5k race in our neighborhood. It was a gorgeous morning and it felt good to stretch the legs on our walk to the race.

We spent a couple of hours out there, cheering (she did awesome btw), supporting, and chatting before heading home.

I was starving by the time we got home so I snacked on a banana some peanut butter.

I made sure to drink A LOT of water throughout the day to hydrate myself well for race day.

We relaxed for a while, gathered some items from Dana’s parents for our upcoming garage sale, and eventually ate lunch. I heated up the last of the grilled chicken breast, sauced it with Kraft’s Asian Dressing. On the side, I had green beans.

In the afternoon, Kevin, Dana, and I headed out to pick up our race bibs, race chips, shirts, etc.

I was EXCITED! Team Ortho did a wonderful job with the production of this Minneapolis Marathon. We have run one other race with them when we ran the Get Lucky 7k in March (which was great too). Everything from registration, to race-info pickup, to the actual day of the half marathon, was very well organized and the volunteers were great too! I would recommend their races to anyone.

When we got home from picking up our stuff, we fired up the grill. I wanted to make sure we get dinner in at a decent hour so that we had plenty of time to digest it, and sleep it off, so that we wouldn’t feel icky in the morning. I planned a protein and carbohydrate packed dinner. I gotta take care of my boys. On the menu: Super lean turkey burgers and sweet potato fries on the grill, and ketchup obviously.

The rest of the night was spent preparing for the run. I laid out my running gear, pinned my number on, placed my race chip on my shoelaces, packed our bag, charged the iPod, iced, stretched, and did anything else I could think of to make the next morning go as smooth and painless as possible for us. I’m a planner.

We got a good chuckle from the doggie when Dana put a backpack on his back. Moose is all ready for school. He’s always such a good sport, not to mention the cutest thing ever. I wish I knew what he was thinking at that moment. Probably something like, “Really guys? Again? I’m the brunt of your joke…again? You’re going to have to start paying me for this kind of entertainment.” Love you Moosey.

We got to bed around 9:30-10ish, and slept pretty well surprisingly. Excited to fill you in on the race details. Stay tuned!

My Half Marathon Non-Plan Training Plan

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Melanie

Hello there! Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I got hit with some kind of bug on Friday (which actually sent me home from work), but I am happy to say I am feeling much better now. I didn’t photograph any of my food photos from yesterday because they were extraordinarily boring; lots of carbs and fruit because that was all that sounded good to me. I would not let my body stay sick for long and kept a positive attitude all day because I HAVE to be well…I have a big event coming up tomorrow:

My First Half Marathon.

I am getting very excited for it and slightly anxious. Later this afternoon we will be going to pick up our race bibs and such.

Today’s post is going to be about how I prepared and trained for this half marathon. I thought it would be good for me to mentally walk through my training, to help me build confidence in my ability to carry out this run successfully tomorrow. I also thought some of you might enjoy reading it as well!

When Dana and I first decided to register for this half marathon, we began browsing through training plans. Initially, we had found two we were interested in: Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Training Plan and Jeff Galloway’s Half Marathon Training Plan. Dana liked one of them, and I liked the other. We had tentatively decided we would each train on these schedules and make adjustments as needed.

Then, one of my reader’s Lisa, who is an avid runner, gave me some wonderful advice as I was contemplating the possibility of not following a strict training plan, and instead just running when I wanted to, and resting when I felt I needed to rest. She wrote: ““For my very first marathon, I followed a training plan and I found that when someone else was telling me when to run and how far to go, it became work and I dreaded it. Since then, I have just run to run and not worried about how far I was going. Two years ago I ran my first sub-four hour marathon and couldn’t have been happier. Now, this is not to say that training plans don’t work, but I found that I resented mine. Like I said, I listen to my body, run longer runs when I feel like it (or have the time- usually on the weekends) and give myself rest when I need it.” I also mentioned her comment in a past post: Enjoy Life While Training Plan.

After I read her comment it was as clear as day for me. I would not be following a strict running plan, instead I would make my own, and make it work for me and my life. I want this process to be enjoyable, and not become a second job. So that’s what we decided to do: A Non-Plan Training Plan.

I am trying to remember when I first starting training for this half. Throughout the winter I did continue to run, so this spring I wasn’t COMPLETELY out of running shape, but I definitely wasn’t IN running shape. I would say the more regimented training began in March sometime (when it was starting to get nicer outside here in MN).

There wasn’t necessarily a “typical” weekly workout pattern, but usually it was something along these lines:

Monday: Cross-train, strength
Tuesday : run
Wednesday: Cross-train, strength
Thursday: run
Friday: rest or light walk
Saturday: longer run
Sunday: cross-train, strength, or rest depending on the mileage from Saturday

It was nice having so much freedom throughout this training. However, it is important that if you do follow this type of non-plan plan, that you don’t let yourself fall off the workout wagon being that it is so flexible. You have to stay very motivated and also learn to listen to your body. I really enjoy working out so staying motivated was fairly easy for me, and I also feel like I know my body pretty well and understand when it’s trying to tell me something.

To help me stay accountable, I recorded my workouts here. I like being able to look back and track my weekly workouts, and as I mentioned before, I thought this would be a perfect time for me to review the past few months, so that I continue to remember that I am prepared. I’m physically and mentally ready.

The big race is finally here. U.C. and all, I got this. I cannot wait to report back! Yikes!

Beautiful Surprises

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Melanie

Hola! No messing around today. Let’s get down to business.

My day of eats yesterday….

Breakfast: Cream of Wheat with stevia, cinnamon, banana, and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Cinnamon apple tea on the side. This has become my usual breakfast lately. It sits very well in my tummy and it tastes good too!

Part of my lunch: Slightly burnt sweet potato fries with cinnamon maple Pb2.

Dinner: Tilapia seasoned simply with salt and pepper, leftover potato salad, and a plain salad with honey mustard. Call me crazy but my favorite thing on this plate was the GREENS. I have missed my green salads so much and although I’m still not going to go all out into the roughage types of foods, I am enjoying my small salads whenever I let myself have one.

After work yesterday I geared up to head out for a 3-mile run around the neighborhood. I ran an easy, relaxing pace, and it felt great to stretch my legs out. Just 4 days until the half marathon!

When I got back from my run, I found the sweetest surprise waiting for me in the dining area.