Day 39 - Thursday

Breakfast - 10:30am - Mimi's Cafe
1 Buttermilk Spice muffin
1 broiled turkey patty

Lunch

Snack

Snack

Dinner - 7:00pm

Note:

Day 37 - Tuesday

Breakfast - 9:30am
1 cup Basic 4 cereal w/ soymilk
1/2 cup mixed fruit
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB

Snack - 11:30am
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB
1/2 cup mixed fruit

Lunch - 2:00pm
Vegetarian indian food w/ 1/4 piece of naan bread

Snack - 4:30pm
1 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB
1 large banana

Run Practice - 6:30pm
Run 6.75 miles

Dinner - 9:00pm
3 oz of chicken meat w/ sauteed french green beans and brown rice
Baby tomato halves

Note: It felt like such a long day today. I was really tempted to skip run practice today but am so glad that I went. I felt so great afterwards. Hopefully I won't miss any more runs after this Saturday. Somehow I am going to have to make up the 14 mile run. I might run it on Monday.

Day 36 - Monday

Breakfast - 9:30am
1 cup Basic 4 cereal w/ soy milk
1/2 cup mixed fruit
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB

Snack - 11:30am
1/2 fruit cup
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB

Lunch - 2:00pm
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB

Snack - 4:00pm
1 small red delicious apple

Dinner - 7:00pm - Santouka
1 bowl of shoyu ramen
1 pickled plum riceball

Note: This past weekend was spent helping Sister K move back into her dorm. I love the way her school has organized the moving in process. It is just one of those things I can go very wrong if a system was not in place. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me the whole weekend so I was not able to capture all the fun times. After we moved Sister K's stuff in, we all went to have a snack at her dining hall. Sister K stayed over at my place on Saturday and we hang out and than we had breakfast on Sunday morning, hit up Target for last min buys and than it was back to school. I spent Sunday helping Sister K unpack but mostly I was just hanging out pretending to be a student again. At my old age that seems like a stretch. I had a really fun time hanging out with Sister K at her dorm. Kinda made me miss my student life. It is awesome that she has her own digs this year so maybe I will come and hang out more if I have time.

Day 34 - Saturday

Breakfast - 5:30am
1 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB
1 banana

Run Practice - 7:00am
Run 20 miles

Snack - 11:00am
1 Ultragen recovery drink mixed w/ cold water
3-4 Accel gels
1 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB
1 small Gatorade

Lunch - 1:00pm

Dinner - 5:30pm

Note: Today is Sister K.'s move in day. It's another school year!

Day 33 - TGIF!

Breakfast - 9:30am
3/4 cup frosted shredded wheat w/ slivered almonds and soy milk
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB
1 cup hot green tea

Snack - 11:00am
1 cup mixed fruit cup

Midday workout - 12:00pm
Indoor spin bike - 45 mins (this could be the start of my tri training right here..hahaha)

Lunch - 2:00pm
Protein sushi roll w/ tuna, crab meat and cucumber, bit of lite soy sauce
1 cup hot green ginger candy tea

Snack - 4:00pm

1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB

1/2 green coconut pandan waffle

10 mini cheddar flavored ricecakes

Dinner - 7:30pm - Banh Mi & Che Cali
1/2 fried egg and cha sandwich on french baguette

1 pennyworth drink

(Going to get some yummy banh mi's for dinner and have a fun night-in watching anime..hehe. Gotta get to bed early tonight so no late night anime obsession..boohoo!)

Note: 20-miler is tomorrow! *Gasp* I hope for cool weather and a speedy run with no incidents. Is that too much to ask for? I'm going into the gym at lunch and despite it being "Run @ Work" day, I am going to warm up my legs for tomorrow by riding the spin bike. Have to make sure that I drink lots of water today and get in a good dinner with some good carb since I might not have any appetite tomorrow morning. I wish I was more hungry in the morning but when I wake up earlier than I normally do, I cannot eat anything and I never want to force myself to eat.

Ginger

About 2 months ago I was shopping at Mother's Market preparing for my drive to to SF for the half marathon and saw these ginger chews (Royal Pacific Foods - The Ginger People). I gotta say that ginger is not one of my favorite things. Accidently biting into a piece of raw ginger is like death to me. I like the taste of ginger just not in it's raw form I guess. However, I do love the properties of ginger...especially the one that allivates nausea and motion sickness. I am no stranger to these two ailments so I decided to pick up a pack since the drive to SF is long (being in a moving car for many hours is not a good thing for me). I think I first saw or learned of this product on Run to Finish's site. I think she was giving some away. I remember thinking to myself...yuck..who would want that. Apparently, I would! These things are so yummy and addictive. They are chewy, warm tasting and the bag says that you can throw a couple of pieces into boiling water to make a ginger tea. If you do use it to make tea, you will need to throw in at least 3 pieces. I find it better if you make a cup of tea and then pop one of these into your mouth for that ginger flavor. Otherwise the flavor tends to be too weak unless you use a couple of pieces and they are 40 calories per 2 piece. I have a bag of this stuff at my desk at work because for no apparent reason, every once in a while, I would get nausea just sitting in front of my computer. Maybe it is the radiation from the monitor or something (that's a terrible thought). Anyways, I try to limit myself to 2 pieces at most at any one time but they are just so addictive.

Day 32 - Thursday

Breakfast - 9:30am
1 cup frosted shredded wheat w/ slivered almonds and soy milk
1 iced soy latte
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB
1/2 cup of mixed fruit

Midday workout - 12:00pm
Run 6 miles on treadmill

Snack - 1:30pm
1/2 cup mixed fruit
1/2 toasted mini whole wheat bagel w/ PB

Lunch - 2:00pm
Brown rice, sauteed french green beans and roasted chicken meat

Dinner - 7:00pm - Lee's Sandwiches
1 vegetarian sandwich at Lee's
1/4 piece of green coconut waffle
1/2 bartlett pear

Note: I've been getting to bed way too late at night and as a result have failed to wake up early enough to workout in the morning. I will try to get to bed earlier today. This saturday is the big 20 miler run. The longest we will have to run this training period. I am a bit concerned since I missed out on the 18 miler last week but I think that only adds to the fun of not knowing if I can finish it...hahaha. Yeah I still have those fears. Since I am not ready to BQ this time around, I can enjoy myself a bit while still trying to come in under 4. So in the aftermath of Nautica, I've been toying with the idea of training for a sprint tri. I was looking at the Pasadena Tri next year but it falls on the saturday right before the LA Marathon so that isn't a good idea. CSLBU Tri club also holds a pool swim tri that I am also interested in. Ultimately, I want to train enough to complete either the sprint or olympic distance tri at the Nautica next year. I don't know if this is a realistic goal. I will really need to get my act together and train hard and perhaps have my bike souped up a bit. Just a fun idea to think about this winter.

Day 31 - Wednesday

Breakfast - 10:30am
Small burrito w/ 1 fried egg and turkey deli slice w/ salsa
Sliced pineapple and strawberries
1 mini chocolate chip corn muffin

Lunch - 2:00pm
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB
1 toasted mini whole wheat bagel from Thomas'

Snack - 4:00pm
4 mini caramel ricecakes w/ PB

Dinner - 7:00pm
1 bowl ramen w/ choy, egg and ground pork
1 cup iced passion fruit green tea w/ boba

Note: Don't think I am going to be able to get my workout in today. I will try to do another 8.5 mile run to work tomorrow morning.

Didn't get my run in today as there was a large meeting at work that I had to attend to.

Day 30 - Tuesday - Biggest Loser Premiere!!

Breakfast - 9:30am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB
1/4 cup large red grapes

Snack - 11:00am
1/2 bartlett pear

Lunch - 1:00pm
Brown rice w/ sauteed french green beans and 1 roasted chicken drumstick
1 large honey green tea w/ boba and rainbow jelly from T.E.

Dinner - 6:30pm - Santouka
1 bowl of shoyu ramen
1 pickled plum rice ball

Note: Yes...Biggest Loser is back and I am so happy! I did not go to run practice today because my thighs are so sore from doing legs yesterday in the weight room. I guess it has been a while since I've worked out my legs. :( So weak!

2009 Nautica Triathlon Olympic Distance (Relay Race) - Race Recap

Date: September 12, 2009
Location: Zuma Beach, Malibu CA
Finish: 10K - 50:11

This past Saturday a couple of teams from my company went out to Malibu to compete in the Nautica Triathlon Olympic distance relay race. It was such a great time. Special thanks to Sister K for being my cheering section at this event. Sister K was so nice to accompany me on this trip and she really kept my spirits up. She is such a trooper to wake up at 4:30am and go with me to the starting area at Zuma beach even before the sun is out. Our team did ok but we could definitely improve. I did my 6.2 mile run in 50:11, missed a PR by a couple of seconds. I am not happy about it as I had wanted to come in under 50. I actually feel very disappointed in my performance but I had so much fun doing this that the time is secondary to the experience. Lots of crazy things happened out on the course. The weather was really nice. It was cool in the morning but not cold and it was overcast the entire time of the event. It was ideal. The event really inspired alot of people who had never been a part of an event like this. This is speaking for myself as well as I had always wanted to witness a tri race. I hope one day that I can do one of these all by myself. One day! It was just amazing. I hope we get to do this again next year.

We arrived at Zuma Beach on a Friday afternoon to pick up out bibs and goodie bag.

We checked out the course maps.

I checked out the starting line for the running portion.

Here I am on race morning. Too early even for me.

The swimmers started around 7:30am for our division. Then our relay biker took off. I didn't end up running until almost about 10am.

Seriously, I think I was cross-eyed in all my running photos for this race. I think my sister also caught me in a photo with my eyes crossed..haha.

Here I am crossing the finish line for our team. That clock time is incorrect for our team since that clock is based on when the first wave of swimmers departed.

I got to keep the Nautica tri medal at the end of the relay since I was the runner. How would I share this medal with my other teammates...ahhh another reason why I need to just get my own next year...haha.

The male and female Olympic distance winners. I believe they are husband and wife. Such a fit family!

Everyone from our corporate team was invited to a catered champagne brunch at a nearby restaurant. 

The food was okay. 

Day 28 - Sunday

Breakfast - 9:00am
1 belgian waffle w/ syrup
1 cup of OJ

Lunch - 1:00pm
3/4 belgian waffle

Snack - 3:00pm
1/2 belgian waffle

Dinner - 5:00pm
1 grilled hotdog on a sesame bun w/ ketchup, mustard and baked beans

Snack - 8:00pm
1/2 cup green grapes

Note: Needless to say that my diet today was just awful! It's like I'm on the Belgian waffle diet. :(

Day 27 - Saturday

Event - 9:00am - Nautica Malibu Tri - relay
Run 6.2 miles

Brunch - 11:00am
Scrambled eggs, 2 mini blueberry muffins, 1 mini bagel w/ jam, red and green grapes
1 cup OJ

Dinner - 6:00pm - Brodard
Shared a bowl of blood cube congee and 1 bowl of bun bo hue with Sister K
1 shrimp paste roll w/ dipping sauce

Note: My meals today are just terrible. Good thing I don't eat like this everyday. Terrible!

Day 26 - Friday

Breakfast - 10:00am - Mimi's Cafe
1 buttermilk spice muffin
4 slices of watermelon
1 cup of coffee w/ sugar

Lunch - 1:00pm - Terri's Cafe
1/2 of a 1/2 lb burger w/ mushrooms, tomato, lettuce
Sweet potato fries

Dinner - 7:00pm - Gissini's Italian
Fresh tri-colored spagetti w/ arrabbiata sauce
Foccascia flat bread & crispy thin bread sticks

Note: Today I will be traveling to the the Nautica event area to check into my hotel, pick up my packet and maybe tour the route with the other team members. Tomorrow is the big day. I might not get a chance to fill in my food for today so I might do it tomorrow or the next day if I can remember everything that I eat.

Day 25 - Thursday

Breakfast - 9:30am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB
1 tall OJ
1 cup mixed fruit cup

Lunch - 1:00pm
Salad (mixed greens, carrots, heirloom tomato, roquefort cheese, cucumber, balsamic vinegar)
1/2 cup capellini pomodoro

Snack - 3:00pm
1 cup green grapes
Small piece of banana bread w/ PB

Dinner - 7:00pm - Pho Bac
1 bowl of rare steak and tendon pho

4 fried shrimp appetizer

Note: I am currently into this:


Note2: So I haven't been working out as much this week since the Nautica event is this Saturday but the real reason is because I hurt the ball of my right foot at run practice this week. Must have been when I was ripping up those hills. Yeah, note to self to not do that anymore. I felt great during the run but was hurtin' the next day. So here I am resting and letting it heal. Thank goodness it is getting less and less painful everyday. I am itching to go out and run but I must rest my foot. So I've been watching alot of anime after work. On another note, I will be missing my 18 miler this weekend due to the Nautica so I hope I am feeling ok on Sunday so I can do a 14-16 miler to make up for it. I really need to get that in so I will make it a priority to do so. Next weekend is my big 20 miler. We are only doing one 20 miler so I wonder how this will compare to when I did three 20+ milers with my other running group. Come October we will know.


Note3: Come next pay period and these will be mine...all mine...muhahaha! Haha...the funny thing about these lunch boxes is that they are not that large so they are perfect for packing normal size lunch and snack portions. I think they are so cute!

Roquefort Cheese

I've been eating quite a bit of roquefort cheese lately so I thought I would post some info on it. I remember my first encounter with this cheese was when I was in my early 20s. I remember going to the market with a friend of mine and getting schooled on cheese appreciation. I think to this day my love/hate of cheese came from my early encounter and knowledge of it. I can say that I love most cheeses. I especially love what people call "stinky" cheeses. I love the full body complex flavor and it always makes me feel like I am having a special meal if I have a little bit with my food. One of my favorite stinky cheese is roquefort from French. To say that I adore this cheese would be the understatement of the century. When I eat this cheese it takes me to another time and place and turns any old salad into something amazing. Despite the fact that I am lactose intolerant, I can eat a little bit of aged goat's cheese and some aged cow's cheese. I can only have a little bit but it is a little bit of heaven. I found the below link on the different varieties of Roquefort and some info on this amazing cheese. Roquefort was in the news recently because the Bush Administration had imposed a 300% tax on this cheese. Yeah, that makes me mad! I still eat it when I can find it and I am a hound when it comes to Roquefort. I love it in salads, with preserves, fruits, some nuts. It is just good eats!

http://www.slashfood.com/2009/08/11/five-different-kinds-of-roquefort-le-cheese-course/

Day 24 - Wednesday

Breakfast - 9:00am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB
1/4 cup green grapes

Snack - 11:00am
1 mini toasted ww bagel w/ PB

Lunch - 1:00pm
Salad (mixed greens, heirloom tomato, carrots, roquetfort cheese, 2 kho egg, balsamic vinegar)
1 cup capellini pomodoro

Snack - 4:00pm
1 large peach
2/3 large chocolate chip cookie (what?!)

Dinner - 7:00pm - Fukada
1 bowl of sensai hot udon noodle soup (yay!)
1/3 chocolate chip cookie from earlier
some green grapes

Note:

Day 23 - Tuesday

Breakfast - 9:00am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB

Lunch - 12:00pm - Santouka
1 bowl regular shoyu ramen
1 large honey green tea w/ boba and rainbow jelly (half sweet)
(I don't know what came over me to eat this sort of lunch but I had a moment of weakness.)

Snack - 4:30pm
1 medium nectarine

Run Practice - 6:30pm
Run 7.5 miles - interval

Dinner - 8:30pm
Salad (mixed greens, carrots, heirloom tomato, roquetfort cheese, cucmber, 2 kho eggs)
1 small slice of Red Baron pizza

Note: I had such a lazy weekend, I am kinda glad to be back to my routine. I was mostly laying around and eating but it was nice!

Day 22 - Monday

Breakfast - 10:00am
Corned beef hash w/ breakfast potato and 2 eggs over easy
1 buttermilk spice muffin
1 small OJ and 1 cup of coffee w/ 3 packets of sugar

Lunch - 12:00pm

Dinner - 4:30pm
1 piece of pork ribs
1/4 cup baked beans
Some pasta salad
2 popiscle

Note:

Day 21 - Sunday

Breakfast - 8:00am
1/4 large breakfast burrito (scrambled egg, sausage, and breakfast potato)
1 large OJ
kettlecorn

Lunch - 12:00pm
kettlecorn

Snack - 3:00pm
1 los rios currant scone w/ black cherry jam
1 medium nectarine

Dinner - 7:00pm - Tea Station
1 bowl of ramen
1 regular iced honey green tea w/ boba

Note:

Day 20 - Saturday

Run Practice - 7:00am
Run 16 miles (done baby!)

Snack - 10:00am
1 Ultragen drink mixed w/ Cytomax bottled drink
1 Clif bloks
1 small Gatorade
6 Endurolyte pills

Lunch - 12:00pm - Side Street Cafe
1 bowl of mixed chopped fruit
1 piece of french toast
1 french fry w/ ketchup (apparently you CAN eat just one - yeah only because it was so hot in that restaurant that I wanted to melt)

Snack - 3:00pm
4 pieces of dried baby pineapple slices from TJ's
Salad (mixed greens, heirloom tomato, 1 kho egg and some kho pork pieces)

Snack - 4:30pm
1 piece of french toast w/ maple syrup
5 mini caramel ricecakes w/ PB and sliced banana

Dinner - 7:30pm - Takayara
1 bowl of miso ramen
1 regular honey green tea w/ boba and rainbow jelly

Note: So I did not have a good night last night. I woke up in the middle of the night with some weird stomach pains that I thought would prevent me from doing my long run today. I was worried. But then this morning I got up, dressed, packed my things and went to run practice. I must say that it was not an easy run as it was 90 degrees outside even early in the morning but the important thing is that I finished. I was soaking wet when I was done. I had to change my clothes standing next to my car out in the open as there was no where to change there really. The many shameless things that we runners do. Anyways, I am glad I got that out of the way as I plan to fully enjoy the long weekend. Going to spend some time at the in-laws beach house and spending time with my lovely sisters. We are going to eat snacks, play Wii and board games and go swimming in the ocean. I cannot wait.

Day 19 - Friday

Breakfast - 9:30am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB
1 tall iced coffee w/ agave nectar from Starbucks

Snack - 11:30am
1/2 cup green grapes

Lunch - 1:00pm
Salad leftover from yesterday
1/2 cup green grapes

Snack - 3:00pm
1 medium nectarine

Dinner - 7:00pm - Macaroni Grill!
1/2 loaf of warm rosemary bread (yes, I did eat that much white bread, but only because I love it and I have a 16 miler tomorrow and bread or potato are my fuel of choice. Note that Mac Grill has some salty bread and I only ate that much because I know it will be a hot day tomorrow and I will need the extra sodium. I have lots of reasons for eating white carb...hahaha)
1 cup capellini pomodoro

Note: I have a 16 miler tomorrow morning. I just hope that it is not too hot. I love long run days...am I strange? I decided this morning that I should take a rest day today to prepare for my run tomorrow. Ok so I it wasn't me who decided but someone suggested that I should take a day off. I normally don't rest before my long runs but since this long run is over 15 miles, I thought maybe it would be a good idea since anything over 15 miles is "long" to me. I always start to get weird after mile 15. It's like when you are running 26.2 miles and you start to get weird at around mile 22. That weirdness like you are almost there but not.

Day 18 - Thursday

Breakfast - 9:45am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB

Lunch - 12:00pm
Frisee salad w/ pears, grilled chicken, blue cheese w/ port wine vinaigrette
1 cup green grapes

Midday workout - 1:00pm
Cardio - run 5.5 miles on treadmill

Snack - 3:00pm
1 chocolate protein drink
1 medium nectarine

Dinner - 7:00pm - Tea Station
1 bowl of ramen w/ minced pork, egg and chopped choi
1/2 honey green tea w/ rainbow jelly from yesterday

Note: I am having a serious chocolate chip cookie craving right about now. I baked some this past weekend but had not wanted them then but now...now I want one.

Day 17 - Wednesday

Breakfast - 9:30am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB

Snack - 11:00am
1/2 cup green grapes

Midday workout - 12:00pm
Cardio - stairclimber - 30 mins
(I was really hungry again after only 30 mins on the stairclimber so I had to finish up, shower and get some food. I am not doing a good job at fueling properly before my workouts. )

Lunch - 1:30pm
1 cup brown rice in pasta sauce
1/2 chicken, hummus, tomato, roasted red pepper in wheat wrap
1 medium nectarine

Snack - 4:00pm
1 cup green grapes

Dinner - 7:30pm - Santouka
Regular bowl of shoyu ramen
1/2 large honey green tea w/ rainbow jelly and boba

Note: Today is another day of massive cardio. Trying to build up my endurance and cardio strenght. I've not been doing too much weights lately and noticed that my guns are disappearing. I think I am glad. I am not sure. Nine more days until the Nautica.

Note2: Well for some reason, I was really tired yesterday afternoon so I did not go on that bike ride as I had planned.

Day 16 - Tuesday

Breakfast - 9:30am
1/2 cup cooked rolled oatmeal w/ wheatberries, seedy nut mix and PB

Snack - 11:00am
1/2 small orange
1 Simple Harvest bar
7 mini caramel flavored ricecakes

Lunch - 12:30pm
Sashemi (tuna and halibut - 4 slices each) w/ seaweed and lite soy sauce
Cut up raw carrots

Snack - 2:30pm
Iced coffee w/ soy milk

Snack - 4:00pm
1 slice banana bread w/ PB and sliced banana
1/2 small orange

Run Practice - 6:30pm
Run 6.5 miles - intervals

Dinner - 9:30pm - Cha for Tea
Small honey green tea w/ boba

Note: I had an amazing run practice session today. At one point, I looked down at my Garmin and it was showing 6:30 pace. Anyways, it was really really humid out yesterday but I still felt great to run. I had gone to the chiropractor earlier in the morning and my back and shins were feeling so great. I had not gone to see the chiro in months. I think from the time that I got sick. My lower back and shins were bothering me and after hearing my coach tell me that it might be back related, I quickly made an appt to see the chiro. I don't know why I don't go more often. I almost always feel better after I go. Then I got home after stopping off at the market and did not feel like eating anything. I know that is really bad but it was so hot and I was so tired that would rather sleep than eat. Maybe I am doing too much.