Monthly Review - OCTOBER 2011

19.8 km :(

Less km than when I resumed running in February 2011 after my achilles tendonitis and Snowmaggedon.

It's a fact of life after tearing my left calf muscle. :(

Keeping my fingers crossed that there will be running between now and Christmas!

FOOD RULES - RULE #39

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #39 - Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

There is nothing wrong with eating sweets, fried foods, pastries, even drinking a soda every now and then, but food manufacturers have made eating these formerly expensive and hard-to-make treats so cheap and easy that we're eating them every day. The french fry did not become America's most popular vegetable until industry took over the jobs of washing, peeling, cutting, and frying the potatoes - and cleaning up the mess. If you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often, if only because they are so much work. The same holds true for fried chicken, chips, cakes, pies, and ice cream.Enjoy these treats as often as you're willing to prepare them - chances are good it won't be every day.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

FOOD RULES - RULE #38

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #38 - Favour the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground.

When grindstones were the only way to refine flour and oil, flour and oil were generally more nutritious. In the case of grain, more of the germ and fibre remains when it is ground on a stone;you can't get white flour from a stone. The nutritional benefits of whole grains are impressive: fibre; the full range of B vitamins; and healthy oils, all of which are sacrificed when the grain is refined on modern roller mills (as mentioned, highly refined flours are little different from sugar). And the newer oils that are extracted by modern chemical means tend to have less favourable fatty acid profiles and more additives than olive, sesame, palm fruit, and peanut oils that have been obtained the old-fashioned way.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

A Race Report from the Niagara Falls International Marathon ...

Although this isn't the race report I had hoped to be posting on my site, this inspirational and enjoyable post by Cynthia's Adventures is an excellent replacement for 2011. :) Cynthia just ran her first marathon in Niagara Falls.

My goal is see this blog looking similar to hers in 2013, with months worth of consistent running/training updates, complete with a successful full marathon race report in the fall. :) :) :)

FOOD RULES - RULE #37

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #37 - "The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead."

This rather blunt bit of cross-cultural grandmotherly advice (passed down from both Jewish and Italian grandmothers) suggests that the health risks of white flour have been popularly recognized for many years. As far as the body is concerned, white flour is not much different from sugar. Unless supplemented, it offers none of the good things (fibre, B vitamins, healthy fats) in whole grains - it's little more than a shot of glucose. Large spikes of glucose are inflammatory and wreak havoc on our insulin metabolism. Eat whole grains and minimize your consumption of white flour. Recent research indicates that the grandmothers who lived by this rule were right: People who eat lots of whole grains tend to be healthier and to live longer.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

FOOD RULES - RULE #36

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #36 - Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the colour of the milk.

This should go without saying. Such cereals are highly processed and full of refined carbohydrates as well as chemical additives.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

My Cancelled Niagara Falls Half Marathon (2011)

A very sad post to write, and more than likely, not coming as a surprise for you to read. :(

It's official: I am not going to Niagara Falls this weekend. I have torn my left calf muscle. Although I am not limping or on crutches, I can feel the damage (tightness, dull pain at times, sharp shooting pains up the leg after standing for too long, swelling). I have been told 'no running' or physical activity for 6-8 weeks. I am currently waiting for a phone call from the Fowler-Kennedy Sports Clinic after my doctor acquiesced to my request for a referral to them.

Five weeks ago, I tore my calf muscle at the 18.5 km mark at my Springbank Half Marathon, and self-misdiagnosed it as a muscle cramp. Before my left leg suddenly seized up on me, I was on Cloud 9 - I was feeling great about how I was running and very pleased with how well my training was by this point. Although I PR'd by 11 minutes, I limped the last 3-ish km to the finish line, and felt concerned then by how much time it would take for me to heal. Three weeks later, after lots of R.I.C.E., and cutbacks on my training runs, I PR'd in the Festival City Run in Stratford. I used this race as a test to see where I was at with my leg 'cramp.' I ended up worsening my muscle tear at the 8K mark: I felt the "gravel hitting me in the back of the leg" sensation, the commonly-used description for a muscle tear, and this is when I realized I was in trouble.

This explains the lack of training updates on my blog, and why I stopped the automatic NFIM countdown posts I created for my blog weeks ago.

Last Sunday, I drove up to Grand Bend for the Pinery Provincial Park Road Races. It was the last run of the Runpiker's Series, and the Series shirts were being distributed to all the runners who had participated faithfully in them. I had pre-registered for the 10K a while ago so I had a race shirt to collect, too. :) I didn't want to miss out on this event and actually debated with myself on the drive north whether I could participate in at least the 5K ... when I took a wrong turn which ended up making me miss the start of the races. This was not just a coincidence (Divine Intervention?). :) I ended up cheering for my friends and fellow runners as they ran in, collecting my race shirts, eating my free egg sandwich and walking away empty-handed from the Series draw for big prizes. And I didn't re-injure my leg. :)

I needed to work through this disappointment on my own before sharing it with everyone here. The timing of my injury is very disappointing because this has been my #1 running goal since participating in the same event last October. However, I am okay with it now after allowing myself to go through different stages, which included a huge amount of denial, before finally reaching acceptance.

I am very grateful for having a terrific running season filled with so many fun races, a slew of successful secondary running goals and milestones, and proudly, quite a few PRs, before this occurred. I have already contacted my local running store to be a race volunteer in a few weeks at the annual Halloween Haunting race. I have run in it for the last three years, but will be on the sidelines this year volunteering instead.

I have draft posts written from these races and will edit/post them this week, for anyone interested in the details. I know that I love to read other people's race reports so I am assuming 'better late than never". :)

In closing this post, I just want to thank everyone who checks in on my blog for your supportive comments and encouragement throughout this year. I really appreciate how enthusiastic and positive you have been for me. This has definitely been one of the best aspects of running!! :) :) My posting will no doubt be haphazard for the next six weeks since I use this exclusively for recording my running and I will have nothing but physical therapy and rest to report on! :) However, at the top of my homepage, there is a tab called, "Training and Race Calendar (Nov. 2011-May 2012)." Six weeks from now is when this plan is supposed to start. Hopefully, I will heal in time for the next round of training for a spring half marathon. :) :)

FOOD RULES - RULE #35

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #35 - Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature.

In nature, sugars almost always come packaged with fibre, which slows their absorption and gives you a sense of satiety before you've ingested to many calories. That's why you're always better off eating the fruit rather than drinking its juice. (In general, calories taken in liquid form are more fattening because they don't make us feel full. Humans are one of the very few mammals that obtain calories from liquids after weaning). So don't drink your sweets, and remember: There is no such thing as a healthy soda.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

9 DAYS FROM NOW .....

FOOD RULES - RULE #34

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #34 - Sweeten and salt your food yourself.

Whether soups or cereals or soft drinks, foods and beverages that have been prepared by corporations contain far higher levels of salt and sugar than any ordinary human would ever add - even a child. By sweetening and salting these foods yourself, you'll make them to your taste, and you will find you're consuming a fraction as much sugar and salt as you otherwise would.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

10 DAY FROM NOW .....

FOOD RULES - RULE #33

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #33 - Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi.

Many traditional cultures swear by the health benefits of fermented foods - foods that have been transformed by live microorganisms, such as yogurt, sauerkraut, soy sauce, kimchi, and sourdough bread. These foods can be a good source of Vitamin B12, an essential nutrient you can't get from plants. (B12 is produced by animals and bacteria). Many fermented foods also contain probiotics - beneficial bacteria that research suggests improve the function of the digestive and immune systems and, according to some studies, help reduce allergic reactions and inflammation.

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

FOOD RULES - RULE #32

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II : What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants).

RULE #32 - Don't overlook the oily little fishes.

Wild fish are among the healthiest things you can eat, yet many wild fish stocks are on the verge of collapse because of overfishing. Avoid big fish at the top of the marine food chain - tuna, swordfish, shark - because they are endangered, and because they often contain high levels of mercury. Fortunately, a few of the most nutritious wild fish species, including macherel, sardines, and anchovies, are well managed, and in come cases are even abundant. Those oily little fish are particularly good choices. According to a Dutch proverb, "A land with lots of herring can get along with few doctors."

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Problems with the Computer ... :(

CRAZY how dependent I have become on a computer!

Well, folks, I am behind on yet another race post because my computer died on me. :( I am quickly typing this using someone else's computer. :( Ben and I share an iMac and for the first time, it's stuck on the grey apple when it starts. I am spending all my free time trying to figure it out on my own so I don't waste money hiring somebody to fix something that I am able to do myself.

So! Until I am back in action ...

#1 - I PR'ed! 1:04:41
I am VERY, VERY pleased with this because I had energy to burn at the end.

#2 - I hurt my left calf again. :(
At the 8K mark, just after realizing I could kick my pace up for the last section to see how I could do, and while waving at some volunteers and thanking them for being there, I felt a large piece of gravel smack me in the back of my left calf. I actually looked to the left and over my shoulder to see who might have accidentally kicked this at me. After several more strides, I realized that it wasn't a piece of gravel that hit me, but something inside my muscle. It was a weird struggle for me for the last 2 km to slow down and nurse it so that it wouldn't completely stiffen and seize up the way it did on me during my Springbank half marathon, but it was hard to slow down after really hitting my stride. :(

More details to come, but two days later, I am not in pain nor am I limping; however, I can feel it, I am icing it, and I cancelled my 11.km today to give it more rest.

Hope to catch up sooner than later! I hope YOU had a good run for me today. :)

20 DAYS FROM NOW .....

FOOD RULES - RULE #31

from "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," by Michael Pollan

*****

PART II: What Kind of Food Should I Eat?

(Mostly plants.)

RULE #31 - Eat wild foods when you can.

Two of the most nutritious plants in the world - lamb's quarters and purslane - are weeds, and some of the healthiest traditional diets, like the Mediterranean, make frequent use of wild greens. The fields and forests are crowded with plants containing higher levels of various phytochemicals than their domesticated cousins. Why? Because these plants have to defend themselves against pests and diseases without any help from us, and because historically we've tended to select and breed crop plants for sweetness; many of the defensive compounds plants produce are bitter. We also breed for shelf life, and so have unwittingly selected for plants with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids, since these fats quickly oxidize - turn rancid. Wild animals and fish too are worth adding to your diet when you have the opportunity . Wild game generally has less saturated and more healthy fats than domesticated animals, because most of these wild animals themselves eat a diverse diet of plants rather than grain (see Rule #27).

*****

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Race Prediction - Festival City Run 10K

Here we go again. :)

My race prediction for tomorrow should be 'predictable' because I outlined earlier this week in another post as to what I should be doing in order to make up for my speed workout.

Scheduled speed workout for Friday:

3 X 2 miles @21:22.

Using the pace calculator from Cool Running, this is works out to be a 6:38/km pace, and when the distance is changed, it means I should be running this 10K in 1:06:23.

My current PR for the 10K was established at the Ingersoll Harvest Run - 1:06:04.

My actual goal, factoring in all of this? 1:05:00

"5" is my favourite number so seeing it for the first time in a 10K race would be awesome. :) And aiming for a pace of 6:30/km is an easier number than 6:38. :) I also had very good luck at this race last year, both in fun/scenery and in PRing,

I do have one concern. I still feel slight tightness in my left calf, and it's in the back of my head that it might act up again, the way it did at the Springbank Half Marathon. This is just something I have to deal with mentally and to be prepared for in case it actually manifests physically.

In closing, I promised Suza @More to Life Than This that I would post a cartoon for her in this post. She is organizing a 5 hour run with her room-mates this weekend, weather permitting, complete with a designated 2 mile route and planned snacks! :)