Marathon Mom

Not so sure about this...  I think I'm getting the hang of this present thing  Yesterday was Ophelia's 1st birthday party and I went a little overboard with the desserts, regular food not so much. There are local grocery stores who give a free cake for a child's 1st birthday, I wasn't huge on letting her smash and eat the cakes but said I would get her picture with it and if it happened well fine. Not knowing the outcome I decided to make backup cake: almond pound cake with homemade whipped cream which got great reviews. On top of that I had to take care of my sweet tooth and make GF peanut butter cookies and mini pumpkin cheesecakes. I also had a massive cookie fail with GF oatmeal caramel apple cookies that were way too chewy to serve, yikes those need work. I hope my coworkers are hungry tomorrow because I need to get these desserts out of my house! Ophelia had a blast and really didn't care about the cake, she touched the frosting ate a little and signe...

I can't believe that 1 year ago today my baby girl was born and I officially became a mother. She acquired the nickname Pumpkin Seed this Fall when she was wearing her "Little Pumpkin" pajamas and we decided that she was too small to be a pumpkin. What an educational and exciting year we've had. Today I was thinking about how our lives have changed and I remembered this post and all the changes we had been told to expect . Well I don't think any of those things occurred: I do not own a minivan, we still travel, run, go out to dinner, sleep and haven't quit grad school. I still care about how I look, just a little less some days and all the pregnancy weight is long gone. We've just learned to incorporate a baby into these things, BOB is my best friend some days and the treadmill is a close second this Winter. Ophelia has a passport and so far she's been to California, Alabama, and Mexico. My advice (and some people may think this is wrong) make time f...

When I trained for TCM this Fall I started off following a plan, but that quickly turned into a "make it up as I go" schedule. It worked, I ran a PR, but this time I said I would stick to a plan and hopefully get even better results. I made it maybe 2 weeks in and I'm back to making things up as I go. How do I manage to train others and have them stick to a plan when I can't even do it? Today I spent another morning on the treadmill running 10 miles while Ophelia napped, I am thankful for this option but really missing outside runs. The combination of cold weather and unclear paths has prevented me from get out with the BOB during the week and then weekends have been bringing brutal cold. Where is the January heatwave we always get? The treadmill may or may not be a good thing for my training, I get bored really easily and have a tendency to increase my speed to get done quicker. I guess I'll have plenty of speedwork for Boston, now hills on the other hand those...

Wow, I guess I have a lot to say lately! Today I am doing more testing that the last docotr ordered and this requires me to avoid a list of foods and medications the worst being caffeine. The timing is awful as I have now gotten the sickness that has struck at our house the past week and my head is about to explode from the pressure. On top of this I also need to avoid Tylenol, good thing I found an old bottle of ibuprofen in my drawer at work to combat this combined sinus/caffeine headache. Yes there are foods I need to avoid too but most of those are easy, except bananas which I eat everyday and pineapple which is nicely cut and sitting in the fridge. I am over 24 hours into this and will be done when I wake up tomorrow morning, so for now I sit here drinking my decaf (yes I know it still has a small amount of caffeine) in attempts to trick my body. I just hope all this is worth it and I have some concrete answers soon, if not then we move on to yet another doctor. Right now the th...

Another gluten free vegetarian recipe that Matt will eat. It was great served with gaucamole. This batch made dinner and enough for 2 bowls of leftovers. Black Bean Soup 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 15-ounce cans of black beans, rinsed 1 cup corn 1 can diced green chilis 2 cups vegetable broth or water 1 teaspoon chili powder ½ teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon cumin Squeeze of lime juice Saute the onions and minced garlic in oil. Once the onions have become translucent add remaining ingredients. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Taste-test the soup after 20 minutes and remove from heat once the beans are cooked to your liking. Top with cheese and gaucamole and serve. Next up: Tonight's Dinner will be Peanut Sauce  with tofu and veggies over rice.

After the food issues on vacation I needed to get back to closely watching what I ate and actually planned out meals for the week and beyond. Ophelia has been sick this week and napping a lot meaning I had plenty of time to cook. Peanut butter (actually any nut butter) and cereal are two of my addictions so this new recipe for granola looked perfect. It is a variation on This Cinnamon Raisin Granola   GF Raisin Coconut Granola 4 cups gluten-free rolled oats (NOT quick cook) 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I don't measure) 2 pinches finely ground sea salt 1/2 cup sliced almonds 1/2 cup shredded coconut 3/4 cup apple juice concentrate  1/2 cup almond butter 1/2 cup agave nectar (can use honey, brown rice syrup, or maple syrup) 2 Tbsp coconut oil 1 cup raisins Preheat oven to 325º F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Mix together oats, salt, cinnamon, almonds and coconut in a large bowl and set aside. Mix together apple juice, almond but...

Little beach baby! We just spent a week in Cozumel hoping for a week of sun and relaxation but instead we got a mix of sun, rain, clouds, and illness. The vacation started in typical me fashion with a flight delay and a mad dash through O'Hare to catch our connecting flight, but in the end we actually arrived in Cozumel early. The week was relaxing and time away, no internet or email to deal with and I even read a book. Weatherwise the first few days were great: sunny and warm. Ophelia loved the beach and managed to keep most of the sand out of her mouth. She even made a few friends and made sure everyone talked to her, not sure where she got this outgoing personality since it wasn't from Matt or myself. Then the week turned and it was cloudy and rainy the rest of the week, we even woke to a leaking roof one night. It is just wrong that I spend half my time in pants and a sweatshirt!  The cold days!  It was great to get outside for a few runs last week. We found the r...

I am still lacking an official answer, but through elimination and trial it seems I have gluten intolerance (can't call it celiac since the often false negative bloodwork was negative). I have decided against the biopsy at this point and probably for good since it would require me to go back on gluten. I still have one more doctor to see regarding this, but don't expect anything to change. She is a newer endocrinologist focusing on metabolism and malabsorption so with my history of hypothyroidism my primary thought it would be a good direction. It has been 1 month since I started the gluten free diet and what a difference. I have energy, the abdominal pain is gone, the weakness is gone, no more fatigue or headaches. I have even gained a few pounds and am back up to the low end of my training weight. I am a functioning human again. I've actually been really good at following the diet and have realized it really isn't too difficult with a little planning. GF food is...