Oh, Fatty Acids: How I Love Thee

Fat is changing my life. Maybe it's because I've stopped eating fish, but there was something missing from my diet, evident by the fact that around 3pm I could not prevent myself from grabbing a handful of potato chips from the office snack cabinet. If you know me well, you know that when I'm trying I can usually resist junk food. I have days where I will make the conscious choice to load up on unhealthy snacks at a party because I want to, but generally, I manage pretty well. Where I run into trouble is with servings of healthy carbs, like fresh pasta, or the Seeduction bread from Whole Foods Market.

One of the Rogue coaches had posted a topic on the discussion forum about nutrition and running. I kind of ignored it the first time I read it, because it was about how we should stick to "real food" over Power Bars, sports drinks, and fast food. Not a problem for me. He bumped it up recently and I read again. He suggested a half avocado dressed with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. My mouth started watering. He also suggested a small handful of almonds. YUM. And there it was: the craving I had been filling with fatty, deep-fried, processed, maybe-potato-but-probably-not-chips. After all, the mass market potato chips aren't exactly the freshly made wavy bbq potato chips at the Whole Foods sandwich bar. Not that those are a great option, either.

My running coach has put our group to the challenge of pushing ourselves to finish long runs without gels. For those of you who are not crazy like I am, endurance sports use up your fuel (a.k.a glycogen stores) pretty fast. The less accustomed you are to running out of fuel, the faster you will burn through your reserves. If you start doing distance sports without gels - caloric, electrolyte-enriched little gobs that you take when you run out of fuel - your body learns to reserve what fuel you have stored and you last longer. You also learn to push through the fatigue that comes later in the marathon.

What the coach didn't tell us, what I had to figure out, is how hard all of this is, but how much you come to understand what your body's telling you. I have learned that I Need Fat, and that I Do Not Need Bready Stuff All The Time. Also, I have learned that Carbs Have Many Forms. For example, an avocado is the perfect fruit. For 150 to 175 calories, you get about 20g of carbs, some healing and skin-loving fatty acids, and fiber. It's hard to get that kind of nutritional punch from that amount of calories. Top with salt and pepper and eat it with a spoon right out of the peel. I am a snob so I buy large, organic Hass avocados.

I have learned that Boiled Eggs and Tofu Rock. The protein from either hits my system immediately and I feel like I can conquer the world.

Salads Make Me Full, an amazing veggie cob salad with boiled egg, avocado, tomato, low fat feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, spring mixed greens, and Morningstar faux bacon. Paired with toasted pita bread and strawberries and I'm ready to go for hours.

Hunger is Not Necessarily Hunger. What a strange thing hunger is. I learned a lot about it around mile 15 on Saturday, when my stomach felt profoundly empty and I scoffed at the times I'm sitting at my desk craving a snack. Hunger is when you could convince yourself to put just about anything in your stomach. Then there are Cravings. When your body is missing protein, fat, or even sugar. But we don't need to throw back three servings of pasta or rice to get sugar. A nice piece of fruit might be plenty.

Finally, Food is Precious. You truly are what you eat. When you're constantly exercising, if you put junk into your body, you will look awful (read: pimples, wrinkles, pallid skin). When you eat what your body needs, you will glow, look radiant, and have lots of energy. Pick each calorie with care, because it does have a long-term effect.

I guess for the time being, french fries will have to wait.

A Weekend of Food and Footwork

There are fewer simple pleasures greater than adoring the city you live in, especially during these hot Summer months. I have to say, despite the searing heat and miserable humidity that is Texas in July and August, this is my favorite time of year. Something romantic and a little extra colorful lingers in the air. Yesterday morning, I was out and about after my 14-mile run with my new friends at Rogue. Everywhere people were on bikes, in running shoes, or simply strolling across the Colorado River with hands joined. The smell of sunscreen hangs in the air and there's this organic sense of community that makes one smile. Austin is healthy, down-to-earth, and gorgeous, even as the air shimmers from heat and the drone of locusts humming from nearby trees.

While I ate my now routine breakfast tacos from Whole Foods (yesterday's choice was on-the-run because I wanted to get to Bret's frisbee game at Zilker: egg, potato, and cheese tacos grabbed from the heater and scarfed in the car), I thought about how much runners love food. Like food, running nourishes more than the body. It's good for the soul. It brings people together. The preparation and eating of a meal resembles running so much, it's no wonder I relish both with abandon, even when the skillet blisters my fingers and the hills break down and rebuild my quads.

Yesterday morning, I took my first communal ice bath (fully clothed sans shoes) with the Rogue group. I shook up the protein smoothie I brought safely packed into my little lunchbox cooler with ice, took off my shoes, and settled into a huge, icy tub of water with the other runners. Communal ice baths are awkward, and we all knew it. And so we all silently admitted it to one another and both enjoyed the cold water and kept a kind distance of at least an inch from each other. Wow, did that feel good. And did my chocolate protein shake feel good, too. I thought I could conquer the world!

That night, after long naps and wonderful showers, I was ready for a night out. Bret and I wandered the evening along 2nd street and noticed that Malaga Tapas and Bar had happy hour - on a Saturday! Score - empanadas, roast potatoes, artichoke dip, and cocktails were savored on the uber cheap. The service was meticulous and friendly. We sweated but enjoyed the quiet patio, visiting and people-watching. I usually have wine at Malaga, but being Summer, I wanted something fresher. Their cocktails are light and cold, sweetened with simple sugar instead of sodas and mixers. I had Mexican Martinis, Bret had Mojitos.

This morning greeted me with an early-ish run with my great friend Sara at Town Lake, followed by a bike ride with the hubby. Sara and I had our usual catch-up-on-life around the lake while I ran a little too fast; I feel bad. Per the usual, I sweated too much, and it was great to spend some time with her. Sometimes life gets so busy, the time you get with your friends involves adding a few necessary miles.

The hubby was waiting when we returned for a bike adventure. We decided to bike from the parking lot at Auditorium Shores to the original Kerbey Lane Cafe for all the breakfast we could fill our bellies with. 30 minutes later, we were at the restaurant waiting for a table. The wait was short, and seeing we were sweaty, the waiter immediately brought us large glasses of iced coffee and water. What service! The hostess and waiter were both as friendly as we've ever experienced. Bret got the Carl's platter - a yummy english muffin breakfast sandwich with potatoes, and I got the breakfast platter - raspberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, and their house-made "soysage" patties. Cholula and syrup flooded our plates and we enjoyed a great breakfast with even better conversation. All too soon, breakfast and bike ride were over, and it was time for showers and more naps.

I'm trying to add the miles of this weekend in my head - seems a lot, but everything was fabulous!

Running and Food and Pie

It's been a while, because I spent the weekend of July 4th out and about, and I didn't even crack open my lap top. My marathon training program has me running six days a week, and yes, it's as exhausting as it sounds. Saturday is my long run, Sunday I do a recovery run, Monday a short run, Tuesday is my group quality workout, Wednesday I run and cross train, Thursday I do a medium-long run, then Friday I get to be off and stuff my face with carbohydrates to start another six-day stretch. Right now, life is a stretch of running, recovering from running, preparing for running, eating, sleeping, and somehow managing to find time for family and friends.

If you know me at all, you know that I don't like to eat junk. I'll fill my belly with plenty a fattening and calorie-laden treat, but I want it to be made of real food (hence my bee-squee series, which will continue soon). However, my office provides us with a host of salty snacks: potato chips, Doritos, and nacho chips, complete with an assortment of fattening dips. Read: processed, trans fats, make-me-feel-like-doodoo junk. There are several healthy options too, like all the fresh fruit I could possibly want, whole grain breads, and grains for salads. But when I need a quick salty snack, none of that works. Last week, I loaded up on several servings of chips - it's amazing how one can crave salt with such abandon - and regretted it. I can do that right now and not gain weight, but my body has to work so hard to digest all those chemicals, I feel almost immediately exhausted.

Time for planning - this week I have filled my fridge with my favorite vegetables: carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes. To salt up, I have three different flavors of hummus. While a snack of huge plate of veggies with a quarter cup of hummus has the same calories as a serving of chips, I feel very full and have a lot more energy. I'm sticking to my daily greens supplement, and have started to follow morning workouts with this Amazing Meal chocolate protein and greens powder with vitamins and superfruits. I shake up the powder with two cups of almond milk and voila: chocolate shake. 230 calories, almost immediately burned after an hour pounding the pavement. It's tres yummy, and not scary like Slim Fast.

While I'm still so exhausted at moments I want to install a cot under my desk, with the help of a little more caffeine than usual I'm doing pretty well. And, I think I might be losing weight. With all the fluctuations of water weight, it's hard to tell, but my waist is definitely smaller. Another benefit: my skin looks pretty good, probably from all the cleansing sweat (ew) and lotion. Because I'm constantly exposed to the elements (sun, pollution, dust, etc), I'm taking meticulous care of my skin, and I gotta say, skin care works. Who knew?

So here comes my next great culinary challenge: pie. Generally, I'm pretty adept at following recipes and making them work well. When it comes to pie crust, I almost always fail. They fall apart, dry and gross. However, soon I will be entering a pie contest of sorts, so I better step up my pie crust game and figure out how to make a buttery, flaky, mouth-watering pastry that could bring tears to the eyes of all tasters.

This weekend, the pie making will start. I will chronicle my processes, challenges, and triumphs in the hopes that pie fearers worldwide will no longer buy pre-made crust and instead produce delightful pastry.

Plus, I have Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream in the freezer and I'm running 14 miles this Saturday. I need a treat.