Resolution to Succeed

A few months ago, I had a great conversation with a long time friend about perspectives. He asked me to look around and notice a particular color in my vicinity. Taking note of all the things that were visible in my area but paying such close attention to what was pointed out already, I lost the attention to detail needed to answer questions about what wasn't in my view. What did this mean to me? Options. 

There are so many options available to me to help me become a better person that if I focus all of my attention on what is right in front of me, I can lose sight of those options. Being a better person means that I have to continue to keep my eyes wide and my mind open to the various possibilities. Most people don't care as much as my success as I do my own, despite my passion for helping others see their own potential. 

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." 

-Abraham Lincoln 

Expanding my options, I ventured into some new mac and cheese options while surfing pinterest again: I tried Chorizo Mac and Cheese and Avocado Mac and Cheese.

I'll share the Chorizo Mac and Cheese, a recipe that I found on Pinterest (pinned from Simply Recipes).  The recipe is a bit spicy if you use both spicy jack cheese and from the spice of the chorizo. If you can't handle the heat, feel free to use monterey jack cheese instead.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups elbow macaroni

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon corn starch

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)

4 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese (about 1 cup)

6 ounces Mexican chorizo

1/2 cup minced red onion

2 Tbsp flour

2 teaspoons lime juice

2 Tbsp breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp butter

You can get the cooking directions on simplyrecipes.com

I added a handful of chopped cilantro, too. 

Adding a dollup of sour cream and guacamole on top makes for a fabulous complement to the dish. Enjoy and remember, keep the options open, even when it comes to food. :) 

Solo Sports

I have frequently heard that distance running is an individual sport. True. I run with my own legs from start to finish. I use my own lungs and pump my own arms to get my body moving in a forward direction. It's true, a person can train for and compete in their own races with minimal human interaction. Like a big city, a runner can easily get lost in the crowds at immense races like the LA marathon. I understand that running does not require the intense teamwork needed from baseball or basketball to win a game.

In the literal sense, a runner can be out in the world, alone. With enough self discipline, a runner can train for his or her own marathon. I know, because I've done it. I created my own training schedule and got myself up  to 18 miles on my own, running the streets and hills of San Francisco with nothing more than my pedometer and my music. Training for the marathon was the only thing that helped me survive the loneliness I felt in the city. I was by myself on those runs along in Balboa Park, around Breaker Beach, through the Presidio, with my own thoughts, racing against the sunset to get home, running through sheets of rain, and hoping I didn't get hit by a negligent driver as I tried to cross the road at the same time as they did.  I did it, and I barely finished.

For the last seven seasons since I started training with the high school students and other adult leaders, I have learned that although running can be an individual sport, training with others can elevate a persons' performance more than they could ever do alone. From August until March, I can depend on at least thirty other runners to join me on the streets of Los Angeles. We will tackle the increased weekly mileage together as we train for the LA marathon, rain or shine, hills or straightaways. I don't know if I would be as consistent with my own training if I didn't have these runners.


On our team, some of the runners push themselves to keep up or stay in front of me in the same way I push myself to run a bit faster when I see another runner in close proximity.  I can push myself through the hills and negative split can serve as an example to others that continue to learn how to manage their endurance. The faster runners often run in a small pack to encourage and push each other in hopes to reach their goal of sub-four hour marathon (and so they don't get lost).

Within the team of high school students, there is a range of experience from seasoned marathoners training for their fifth marathon while others are training for the first time, determined to finish the season. We have coordinated pacing groups, lead by a runner that has completed the marathon at least once so that they can help answer questions or offer support and suggestions. These marathoners-in-training are certainly learning how to work together to tackle the task of completing twenty-six point two miles. Sure, each one of them could train for the race alone, but the vital information from seasoned runners would be missing and the runners would have to learn by making mistakes instead of learning from past errors of their teammates.

I have to admit, teaching teamwork in a traditional "solo" sport isn't easy. But I have learned from my fellow coaches and from the mistakes I have made in coaching distance runners in the past. I have modified the training based on the vibe of the group, incorporated team leaders in leading practice and relied on their input to create an effective workout. I have learned, through much trial and error, how to manage and increase mileage on our long runs to help the runners reach optimal performance on the big day.  I like to share my successes. Most take advantage, others like to learn the hard way.

I was thinking about this the other day as I stood with my family making our several dozen tamales for Christmas Eve dinner. Each year, many of the women in the Torres family organize on December 23rd to make tamales for the entire family. Over forty people to feed with nearly one hundred pounds of masa, several pounds of lard, beef and chicken later, we have seven pots of tamales on the stove for our families to devour and take home as leftovers. I usually make the sweet tamales solo on the morning of Christmas Eve.  Me and my "solo" sports.

Potato-Fennel Gratin

This year, my cousin suggested that I start on them in the evening while everyone was still in aprons and in tamale-making mode. Why not? I thought. I could make this a solo sport like I have been so used to doing, or I could use the help offered to me. I took the help and we finished another 15 pounds of pineapple masa, chocolate chip masa and raisin masa. It gave me a chance to make a potato-fennel gratin to share with my family on Christmas Eve (the local Coachella market didn't have any Gruyere cheese so I settled on an aged-Salvadorian cheese). They loved it.

I also was able to make a new flavor tamale, pumpkin-raisin tamales. I was inspired by Tamara's Tamales in West Los Angeles that also offer a pumpkin tamale on their menu. My family loved those too. I realized that there are a few recipes for pumpkin tamales online. I think that if I did some research, I could have used one of them. But I didn't. And my portions of spice came out pretty well in the mix.

On Christmas Day, I convinced my cousin and two aunts to work out with me at the local high school. Originally, I only invited my cousin Vince. Since we overindulged on tamales the day before, I knew I could get at least one of my aunts to come out. The other came begrudgingly.  We knocked out a modified crossfit.com met-con.

Cooking, like marathon training, is really about trial and error while using others' experiences as a guide to being better. Both can easily be a solo sport, but what's the fun in that?

moving on....smarter and more humble.

On Sunday, Students Run LA took over the streets of La Puente for the La Puente Main Street Run. I ran the fastest 10K I have ever run-1:00:24. For me, this is incredibly fast. At the six mile mark, my Nike+ app voice told me my average pace and I did a little squeal. I knew if I picked it up, I could run the last .2 of the 10K fast enough to hit one hour. I am still proud of myself for pushing myself even though my legs were begging to stop.

Two weeks before that, I ran the toughest marathon I have ever run in my life (aside from the first). The Long Beach International Marathon course is a beautiful and scenic run. We run by the beach, on bike paths, near the Aquarium, by Cal State Long Beach, through very pretty residential areas, and near the marina.  Taking in the sites distracted me from any pain I was feeling along the run, initially.

The race started off great. I was running at a pretty swift pace for the first ten miles. When I realized that I was running faster than my normal pace, I slowed down. I started to pick it up in the later miles but then I started to feel like my insides were heating up. I drank more water, threw water on my head, poured water down my back but nothing seemed to help cool me off. At mile 24, I slowed down again. I started to get a little dizzy and uncomfortable. I wasn't feeling any pain, except for the discomfort of having run 24 miles. Despite this, I was still sort of on pace to at least tie my PR.

I was not prepared for what my brain was telling my body in the last mile. I hit mile 25 and checked my clock 4:52:37 (or something like that). I wasn't going to PR but I could easily hit my fastest time if I pushed it just a little bit.

In my head, my thoughts started to scold my body "what are you doing to yourself? Why are you still running? No one is at the finish line waiting for you, you can quit! You should quit, you're not going to make your PR anyway." That last 1.2 miles of the race was the toughest, ever. I had to fight with my body to keep going. Keeping my thoughts quiet was next to impossible. I finished the race at 5:12:17.

I don't even remember what the finish line looked like, I couldn't tell you what the gender of the person putting the medal over my head, because the two hours after I crossed the finish line (finally) were a blur. I drank the entire bottle of water they gave me at the end in almost one gulp and inhaled the pretzels I got in my finishers bag. I was delirious. Still dizzy. I needed to sit down. I remember walking to the park and laying down under a tree. I took a nap. I woke up an hour later and puked my brains out. And I still had to walk to the train to go home. 

After reading this, one wonders, why in someone's right mind would a marathoner put their body through this...ever?

Because, not all the races are like this. Most races, if runners are adequately prepared and properly trained, are fantastic. Finishing 26.2 miles is the most humbling accomplishment in my life. I still get teary-eyed at the finish line even after having completed eleven of them.  I am blessed to know that my healthy body can handle the pain, and endure the pressure of this demanding activity.

I told myself during the horrendous run when I was talking myself onto the ledge, that I was never running another marathon. Yeah, I'm lucid now, and that's not true. I will run another one, at least to prove to the negaholic in me that I can still do it-and do it well. I have plenty of other marathons to run, plenty more miles to log and exciting more stories to tell.

Before the Long Beach marathon, I never believed people when they said they just had a bad race. I didn't think that could ever be the case. I would think that they just didn't prepare well enough, they didn't drink enough water the week before, they didn't eat properly or they wore the wrong socks or clothes (?!?! I was full of excuses). I'm a believer now. Some runners just have shitty races.

And then we move on to the next race and hope for a better performance.

Who are you?

Carolyn is a good friend of mine that I met at work. She's a teacher of English and of young people.We haven't worked together in several years, but we both still work in education, helping to transform the lives of young people every day, and serving as a role model in many ways.  We've run marathons and half marathons together. She's faster than me and pretty much kicks ass. This past week, we had a very pleasant discussion about culture and how people understand it in their lives.  These controversial topics are so common with us, we have similar perceptions about some things and very different perspectives on others. I appreciated this particular conversation because it has been something on my mind for the last couple of weeks.

I spent a good majority of my life trying to figure out who I am, understanding how I fit into this huge concoction of cultures in this amazing city in California. I grew up in a homogeneous community with most people of the same values and content with the lives they lead in the small town. It was a great place to grow up, but I grew out of it pretty quickly.  I understood and spoke a bit of Spanish because it was (and still is) the only way I could communicate with my grandparents and my grandmothers siblings. I learned how to cook most things Mexican, with a few American dishes sprinkled in moderately. My grandmother enjoys listening to cumbia but my grandfather was all about the big bands. He loved them.  We have a traditional and yet eclectic upbringing.

After three decades of living on this planet, it still sometimes bothers me when someone insinuates that I'm not quite as "cultured" as I could be. It's like a low blow. Not really a blow to me, but a blow to my parents and my grandparents. That pisses me off.  And I won't get over it in the same way some people won't get over the fact that culture means different things to different people (even within the same culture), that is what makes us different and awesome. 

Culture in my life was about family and food. That's how we understood our Mexican roots in this previously Mexican (now "American") land. There are few basic foods that my grandmother did not teach me (only because I'm not a big fan of chile relleno so I didn't bother learning how to cook them) but most of my dishes are seasoned a la mexicana. I even put cinnamon in my morning coffee. 

I grew up in southern California.  I learned how to speak both Spanish and English, how to make tortillas as a kid and taught myself how to make crepes as an adult. If there is anything that I can identify with, it's the ability to fit in with a plethora of cultures, living on the border of two cultures (one of them already a melting pot) and creating a nice home between the two.  I am defined by everything around me and maintain my roots with what is important to my life, not what someone else thinks it should be because of my last name. Plus, my novice home cooked meals are pretty bad ass. Ask my friends.  I have to thank my friend for reminding me that food is one important artery to culture.

I don't have a real recipe for the dish below-I tried to measure the portions when I made it yesterday. I've made it many times for my friends and have gotten pretty good reviews. My tia inspired this way of making the dish. I have a short cut that most people would shun (canned sauce) but whatever. Try it....then let me know if I should change it.

Chilaquiles makes 2 servings
2 eggs

2 servings of corn tortilla chips*

4 oz of "El Pato" brand Tomato Sauce (Mexican Hot Style) in the yellow can

Can be found this near the tomato sauce at most grocery stores-at least in southern Cali

1 tbspn Parmesan cheese

1/2 tbspn canola oil

1 teaspoon of oregano

1/4 cup of onion, diced

1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded (queso fresco could be a substitution)

salt and pepper to taste

*one can use any kind of tortilla chips, but this meal will come out best with restaurant style, thick tortilla chips that were friend from a thick tortilla-almost pita-like in thickness. The traditional brands usually found in the chips section of grocery stores will get soggy and although they work-won't be the best looking plate. If you can't find any, it would be ideal to fry your own tortillas into chips. 

Using medium heat, warm the canola oil in a medium sized frying pan. Toss in the diced onions and let them sizzle.  While the onions are cooking, beat the eggs into a bowl, add in the Parmesan cheese and mix add a dash of salt and pepper. 

Once the onions are slightly browned, add in the tortilla chips then pour in the egg scramble. Mix the eggs through the chips. Once the eggs are mostly cooked (a bit runny) add in the tomato sauce. Save the rest of the sauce in the refrigerator. Lower the heat of the stove and mix the eggs, sauce and chips together so most chips have egg and sauce on them. Mix in the oregano. Once the eggs are fully cooked. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the pile. Serve hot.

Some people like to add a dollop of cream or some guacamole over the top. Feel free to add that. 

I ate both servings. That morning, I ran 4.5 miles and walked two so I allowed myself to eat both. :) 

Enjoy!

international eating

Anthony Bourdain is a bad ass.

Yea, I think I'm on the late freight with this discovery, considering he wrote his books many years ago, has (had?) a television show and is considered a celebrity chef. It's amazing where life can take a person.

I just finished Medium Raw after spending a day reading his pissed off angry Kitchen Confidential biography/food writing book. I toyed with the idea of pursuing a chef's profession, but after reading what he has to say about the business, I was convinced-otherwise.

I will not go back to working in the food industry. Back? Yeah. I spent a couple of years working with food services while in college, I made hundreds of smoothies, pretzels, hot dogs, and popping popcorn for basketball games. After a year, I was promoted to cash manager and quit because of the stress of that responsibility. And I was nineteen years old! Things do not change when making food for others. People always complain. Food is not ALWAYS perfectly made, but made well enough to be eaten.

Medium Raw gave me such a better appreciation of describing food for people reading or listening to me describe. I read, and read...addicted to indulging on the words describing Bourdains' indulgent experiences in the various countries. I could almost taste the tacos he savored or the description of the fish that melted in his mouth.

Bourdain does seem to have a soap box of his own, attempting to educate people not only about the goodness of food all over the world, but also in food etiquette. When Anthony got on his soap box about the importance of manners and accepting meals no matter what they serve in whatever country we travel to.

This part of the text immediately took me back to Asilah, Morocco. My friends and I took a weekend trip to Morocco while I was living in Spain for a semester. We decided to go into town, knowing that most people would be at home-it being Ramadan and all.

The bell boy at the hotel invited us to his home with his family. His mother made us a delicious meal of I have no idea what. It was super exciting to taste everything on the table, in the different textures and flavors. I remember that I kept asking "what is that?" and eating it anyway because I was so excited to be in the coolest place with some of the most hospitable people I have ever met.

I think back at the four months I spent in Spain, indulging on paella, churros y chocolate, tortilla, fresh bread, and sangria. I also think of my "food allergy" of swine and how much that completely affected my trip. I feel so horrible to lose that experience. I wonder what it would have been like to taste jamon serrano along with my manchego cheese.

I probably offended the family I lived with when I explained to them that I didn't eat the best thing on the menu (according to them). At 22, I didn't think much of it. At 31 (and after reading Bourdain's justification), I understand that I could have sucked up the pain of eating "different" foods than my body is used to eating.

It is my intention to travel back to the motherland. I want to change my way of viewing particular foods (and maybe taste them) next time.

30 days

Today marks 30 days since my first day at LAXCrossfit thanks to an AmazonLocal deal. Membership over. Yesterday was my last hard workout at the box. I start training for the LA Marathon with my adolescent team of runners this Sunday.

One of the reasons I started Crossfit (besides the sweet deal) was because I wanted to learn more exercises and training activities to incorporate into my workouts and believe me I did.

I also learned that I tend to err on the side of caution and with a little support and encouragement, can surprise myself with my abilities. Yesterday I did a back squat with 80lbs on the bar. Holy crap, I thought to myself. I can do this! It was almost twice the amount of weight as one month ago. James, the evening coach said that I made it look easy. Ha! That was the compliment of the year.

If there was one important theoretical concept I learned while at the box three times a week (twice last week because of the car accident/start of work/too much drama taking up my time. I know I said I'd go four times, but that was just too difficult) was to remember what I am capable of and to expand my abilities from my starting point-not someone else's.

This revelation surprised me yesterday as I was dragging my exhausted body upstairs to my bedroom after the workout. Seeing as this program is so intense and has such an incredible reputation for bad-ass-100%-in-your-face-intense workouts and the misperception that crossfitters are lifting hundreds of pounds (some of them are, but not everyone in the box does), I expected to be pushed much harder than I was. There was a strong emphasis on proper form and getting it right rather than going big.

I learned how to lift weights properly and have since learned to get better at proper form (my arms have taken much self-criticism because they can't stay straight for thrusters or jerks).

I learned that I don't have to put a hundred pounds on a bar to look cool if the work out calls for multiple reps for many minutes of the same weight. I want to be able to last during the workout until the last second-that's the endurance athlete in me. Despite the group workouts or the fact that I had to memorize my box-mates names for each workout, it was training for me. I improved for me. That was exciting.

I truly appreciate the team mentality and the support I got from the other box mates during our one hour of sweat and muscle confusion. It was cool to hear the words of encouragement and it was nice that others appreciated mine. I loved hearing how great I did during a workout and that Kasuza (the morning coach) believed I could move up another level of KettleBell weight or that I was getting better at my kipping pull up. I know I push my runners to believe in themselves, but I think I can do a better job at showing them how to do that, thanks to what I saw from Kazusa.

There are some things that I probably won't incorporate into the marathon training-the paleo diet being one of them. I can hardly get teenagers to eat more than hot cheetos and soda, much less get them to eat and enjoy spinach instead of a granola bar. Baby steps. Plus, I love bread. Freshly baked bread and manchego cheese takes me back to Spain every time I have the opportunity to savor them together. I won't give that up-and I don't expect others to give it up either. It is my hope that the youngsters also incorporate "better" foods into their system too.

I am contemplating going back to the box after SRLA marathon training season. I had a great time. My knees are just now getting used to the extra weight and my body is barely getting used to the perpetual soreness.

On another note, my whole body yearns a long run. I think I'll do that this weekend.

Fear of the tuber

I think potatoes get a bad rap.

Maybe it's because people love fried potatoes, or maybe because they are so scrumptious and people can't control themselves from eating many many many servings of those oh so delicious, starch infused tubers.

Ever since I could walk, potatoes were my best friend. My grandparents always had a house full of potatoes, rarely would they buy them. My grandfather, a local mechanic, would often be paid or thanked in rations of fruits and vegetables from local farms from the Coachella Valley. The potato sacks would sit behind the kitchen door, waiting to be cooked for breakfast, steamed for lunch or chopped for dinner.

I would sit on the sack of potatoes, with my teddy bear and watch my grandmother cook. As a toddler, I would sit there for hours until discovered by my uncle Felipito (the eldest) who would yell for me to get out of the kitchen. I would go back to my sacred secret spot once he went outside to help my grandpa work on cars.

As the years passed, I no longer sit on the sack of potatoes but still buy them by the sack....when they are on sale for $1/10 lb bag.

I thought about this story as I prepared to make a cauliflower and potato baked soup (oh the things I find on Pinterest).

It's a challenge to find health food articles that don't shun potatoes. I find plenty of recipes and articles on Runners World and other endurance nutrition sites but potatoes and their starch and carb components don't seem to bode well for those just trying to shed pounds (why doesn't anyone talk about how much Vitamin C a potato holds?). Although there are plenty of places that will try to tell me that potatoes are the devil...I have to remind myself that I am a runner and they indeed work for me. We're going to stay friends.

As for the potato/cauliflower baked puree/soup-well it's just fabulous and didn't need any butter! I got the recipe from SkinnyTaste.com and only substituted out a few ingredients. You know the trick to not overeating this amazing dish? To buy serving size dishes. The bowl I posted is 1 cup (yes I measured it). Eating slow also makes for a more satiated appetite.

Apparently it is a weight watchers recipe:

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried

1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed cut into florets

1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth

1 1/2 cups 1% reduced-fat milk

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup light sour cream (I used coconut milk instead)

10 tbsp reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I mixed the cheeses-sharp cheddar, pepper jack and queso fresco)

6 tbsp chopped chives, divided

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you can use turkey bacon if you prefer)-I didn't use any bacon

Find out more at http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/baked-potato-soup.html. Happy healthy eating!

Fran 4:33

Fundies graduation was:

Fran

21, 15, 9

Thruster

Pull-ups

Okay, but I only had 25lbs on for the Thruster and I completed Jumping Pull-ups. Still a workout beyond insane. I finished, graduated and am on to the "real" classes. Oh joy.

Today, we learned how to execute a split jerk. I remember watching the Olympic competition on the clean and jerk earlier in the week so it was pretty inspiring to learn how to properly do this. Well, I haven't quite perfected this, I just did it. With 45 lbs on my bar.

Wow.

We did 7x2 on the "most" weight we could do. Yikes! Sometimes I get frustrated with my inability to withstand more weight, but I remind myself of the baby steps necessary to achieve.

Today's workout From the LAX Crossfit site:

Strength.
Split Jerk 7×2

Met-Con.
AMRAP 12:
15 KB Swings (2 pd/1.5 pd-I used 3/4 pd)
50′ Overhead Weighted Walking Lunge (45#/25#)
15 Wall Ball (20#/16#-I used 10#)
50′ Overhead Weighted Walking Lunge

I am quickly learning that my muscles can withstand much more than I give them credit for. Today I did overhead lunges with a 25lb weight and used the 10lb wall ball-way more than I thought I would be able to use this close to starting the program. I guess strength training for the last two weeks has really helped me. I need to have more confidence in my abilities. Kazusa has really encouraged me to push myself to go farther. It's nice to have a female coach in the program.

Learning all these new strategies on training will really help me out with my runners this marathon season. I am really excited to try some of this new stuff out with the youngsters. I am also thinking about ways to have them work as teams for training. Oh the possibilities.

For my snack yesterday, I made myself some spinach parmesan dip. It was incredibly delicious! I had to put it away to prevent myself from eating it all.

Here is the recipe (I found it on Pinterest and modified it for what I like-more cheese and more garlic):

10 oz fresh spinach chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cloves fresh garlic minced

1 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 stalk green onion, sliced

salt and pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 370 degrees

Stir all ingredients together, pour in oven safe bowl, bake for 25-30 minutes or until there is a nice golden brown brown crust around the edges.

This serves as many people as can eat it. Not a very good paleo option, but delicious nonetheless.

Habits

The fundamentals course is 5 workouts (5 days) long. It used to be 2 weeks long. I think I would have preferred the 2 weeks, it is after about 2-3 weeks that we start developing habits. I am going to make it a habit to attend a minimum of 4 days a week after fundies (for the month)-the 5th day will be for my long runs. I do have a marathon to train for, after all.

There was an awesome Aristotle quote today on the white board in the box “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I really want to remember this when living my life.

Everything that we say and do defines us-it builds our character. I want to be remembered as someone who stayed true to their word and gave everything she had, no matter what the situation. I held myself up (sort of) on the rings today. Very proud of myself. One step closer to (and a little bit stronger for) that pull up. I can't be judged by what others do, but what *I* can do, with my abilities. ;)

Who's ready for the Zombie Apocalypse?

I woke up this morning and everything hurt. It hurt to sit and pee, hurt to move around in the bed, hurt to walk down my stairs, hurt to move. I woke up to the earthquake at 3:18 this morning and my body hurt so much to move. My only thought was, "please don't shake anymore, I don't want to get out of my bed."

Reluctantly, I got up a couple of hours later and got ready to take my dogs out for a walk. Did I mention I still do my ritual morning walk (it's only a walk right now) before the workout? Two miles today. That hurt too. But it helps with the lactic acid buildup and with soreness.

I popped a couple of ibuprofin and got on my way to day 3 of Crossfit Fundies. The warm up was really cool, burpees, lunges, caterpillar crawls, broad jumps (burpees and broad jumps), and of course our dumpster run.

I learned how to do a power clean (weak sauce 35lb) but I got an "atta girl!" out of my form-I think it was because I almost cried out of fear, knowing that I had to pick up that weight to my collar bone. Yikes!

The wall ball was super fun, I wanna get one of those for my house. I need to practice. Our workout was running, lots of reps of hang power cleans and wall balls, and more running. It was mostly using legs, so the workout wasn't too bad.

Adan also gave us a quick lecture on "What is Crossfit?" (quickly defined as "constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity") and it certainly inspired me to continue this training. I have to check myself and remember, I am a marathoner and I need to get in long runs, too. Although it would nice to be physically fit *in case* there really is a zombie apocalypse sometime in the near future.

I'm eating oatmeal with 1 tbsp of Nutella, banana and 1 tbsp of peanut butter-all mixed together. Takes five minutes to make. No need for additional sugar, add a pinch of cinnamon and mix.

I have a left over half chicken wrap from the California Chicken Cafe that I will be eating for lunch...in about 2 hours. That's how fast my metabolism is working this week. Insane.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, TIME!

I wasn't so apprehensive driving up to the box today. I was looking forward to what was in store for the workout. My shoulders are in pain. Not bad pain, good pain that I know will go away once I keep working those particular muscles. Pain that I like to feel after an awesome two hour run. My legs crave this sensation. I also used my marathon trick and took some ibuprofin before going in to the workout. Just keeping it real. :)

I greeted my fellow "fundies" peeps and we headed in for another galvanizing workout. They were aching as much as me (I don't think they liked the feeling as much as I do....but I can't read minds).

We did a dumpster run (400 m-to the dumpster and back) and started our warm ups. More push ups, squats, bear crawls, leg lifts, high knees, butt kicks...I fell on my chest when I tried to do the bear crawls from putting so much weight on my shoulders after the push ups. I laughed out loud, got up and tried to keep going, slower. I crack myself up.

We also did 500 meters of rowing (on the only exercise machine in the box). That was fun.

Adan then taught us how to properly do a hang power snatch, a power snatch and a burpee. I remember learning how to do a hang power snatch from my friend, the trainer, back in the day. It came back to me when I had the bar above my head. I hear that stance is the most technical part of lifting weights. One wrong move and those weights are coming down-with your arms. I practiced that stance until Adan stopped saying "not bad" and "better" and started saying, "good"....I need more help on that one. But I have hope! (That's not me, it's a photo I found on the internet of a woman with excellent form).

Did I ever tell you that I love you, burpee? (Covers face in shame...not really).

Todays WOD was 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

*Hang Power Snatch

*Burpees

I rocked that. It was electrifying. I didn't even think about my shoulders hurting or how much I pain I knew I was going to be in later. I called time after the last burpee and gave a big shout...as if I finished a half marathon in record time. Another guy was struggling at the other end of the box...I went into coach mode and went to cheer him on. He was half way finished so I counted for him. He did 5, 4, 3 and Adan called time. I hope that guy comes back. He had a perfect stance for the hang power snatch .

I ate two chorizo con huevo tacos and hash browns with my coffee. Maybe I'll take some more ibuprofin in a bit, too. See you tomorrow!

the "off-season" and a "real" push-up

I used to call my summer months "the off-season" because I only trained for the LA marathon and didn't have another race after that. In the last three years, I have also started running a marathon in October. I've run the Nike Women's Marathon for the last two years and also plan to run the Long Beach marathon this October.

What I really mean to say is that the "off-season" is when I train alone, me and my music, my dogs and routes south of Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area and more in my neighborhood.

It is also a time for me to reevaluate what I do at practice for the youngsters during the school year, to get them trained for the LA marathon.

A couple of months ago, Amazon sent me an deal email for a month membership to the local Crossfit "gym". I've never had a gym membership in my life (except when I was in college and it was a part of my student fees-I went twice). I thought this training would be good education to share with my runners. This isn't a typical gym. In fact, they call it "the box" because it is. a box with weights, pull ups, rings, etc. Simple.

My good friend is a Crossfit trainer/coach on the other side of the country. He took me to a workout once and I left feeling light-headed, my arms felt like spaghetti, and yet I was excited to try more. A person can go on the general crossfit website, watch the videos, learn how to exercise the crossfit way and not have to pay for a membership. The women on these videos are bad ass.

I do modified Workout of the Day (WOD) with my runners every now and then. They do burpees and squats on the regular during marathon training season.

Nothing compares to what I went through today-well maybe marathon day. I had a piece of toast with peanut butter (typical pre race food), checked the directions for the place, fed my dogs and got on my way.

Today, was my first day of fundamentals class. Crossfit has us newbies learn all the proper stances, movements and warm ups before setting us out into the "real classes." The warm up consisted of leg lifts, high knees, lunges (again, I learned the proper way), some bear crawl things, and running. I was sweaty with just that. Fun stuff.

Midway through the class, when Adan was teaching us how to do a proper push up, I thought to myself "F*#&, I've been doing them wrong my whole life." I'm in for a tough WOD. Yikes. I take back what I said in my last post. I can only do two real push ups. All the others are a "nice try".

Then it was time for the WOD. He writes it down on the board: Deadlifts, pushups, squats, run (4 times). Push-ups? I'm screwed. And I was. It took me almost a minute each time to get through 10 push-ups the "right" way (barely). The other stuff I could do and enjoyed it. I am excited that I actually am learning how to lift weights properly. By the end of the third run, I was burping up that toast and peanut butter. Probably wasn't a good idea for this workout. Lesson learned.

My arms feel like spaghetti, my legs (which are used to the pain) are yearning for more and I was starving and craving carbs after the workout. I went to the market and bought two peaches and immediately ate one of them. Came home and made myself some waffles. I smeared one waffle with Nutella, another with peanut butter (we eat a lot of peanut butter in this place) and smothered the top with a peach and banana compote.

The pancakes were from store-bought Bisquick. But the compote is something I came up with on a whim once.

Banana and peach compote

(You can substitute the fruits for whatever you like)

1 banana (as ripe as you can find it, even with black dots on it)

1 peach (soft and squishy to the touch)

1 tbsp butter (I use the low calorie Smart Balance stuff)

1 tbsp sugar (you can also substitute a tbsp of honey)

a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon

a dash of vanilla extract

Heat the sauce pan to medium heat, add in the tbsp butter let it sizzle, add in the ingredients and let simmer. The more ripe your fruit, the less sugar need.

The bananas will melt within a minute. The peach will melt into the compote soon after, depending on the firmness of the peach (I ate the wrong one coming back from the market....I ate my super soft one, but I digress). Let it simmer while stirring the compote together to mix everything evenly. I added in a splash of strawberry nectar this time and I really like how it added to the texture and flavor.

This paired perfectly with the waffles. And the peanut butter. And the Nutella.

In the box, I noticed the white boards had lots of writing about proper nutrition and how food affects the fit body. I smiled, thinking how awesome this training is going to be. In huge red letters at the top of the board, it read "No Sugar". Yeah, that's not going to happen.

I do look forward to tomorrows workout! Maybe I'll be one step closer to doing a pull up.

165

In April 2010, I weighed 165 pounds. I am 5'3". And I was getting slower. My marathon time slowed about thirty minutes and my knees were hurting. I have always been a runner. I competed in high school Varsity cross country and track and have been signing up for community races since college.

Running has been a part of my life. As a youngster, I could really eat whatever I wanted because the amount of exercise helped me burn it off almost instantly. It wasn't until I was in my 20's that the weight slowly crept up. I was still eating three servings of whatever I felt like it.

I really was never taught about serving sizes or how to eat. I just ate. People used to talk about portion control but I never knew what that meant. I never knew that eating a super star with cheese at Carl's was 920 calories. And I had no idea how much exercise it would take to burn that off.

I am forever appreciative for whatever clicked in my head on the day that my long time friend introduced me to this cool calorie-counting app for my phone. I started using it all the time-it sort of felt like an obsession. I learned how to portion out my food and how many calories certain foods had. I liked the app because I was able to give myself a goal weight and the app would tell me how long it would take me to lose the weight.

I started cold turkey. 1500 calories a day. I earned more calories if I exercised (I think that's like Weight Watchers) so I incorporated running with my dogs every day (they need it too). We woke up every morning and ran. I walked on the days that I didn't run. I hiked on the other days. I climbed the Culver stairs every day the week of Thanksgiving to give myself enough calories on reserve to "pig out". I tried to eat more than one plate on Thanksgiving and I was spent on the first.

For the first three weeks of this challenge, I was hungry. Every day, all the time. I drank lots of water and made myself tea (unsweetened tea has almost no calories). It was tough, I won't lie.

However, there was a point in time after the initial period of hunger that I stopped being hungry all the time.

I started cooking a lot more for myself and learning what it meant to eat a serving size. I bought a kitchen scale and used my measuring utensils a lot more frequently. Told you it was an obsession.

When I went to the doctor in September of that year for my physical, I had lost 10 pounds. I felt awesome! I knew there was much more work needed to be done and I really didn't see the results on myself but I saw progress on the scale. I went out and bought a scale for my bathroom. I told myself that I would only weigh myself once a month-that seemed like enough time to watch the scale drop a little.

I continued to watch everything I ate. Now that I knew how to portion my food, I was eating appropriate serving sizes and taking my home cooked meals to work every day. I made myself a to-go breakfast of 1/2 potato, a hard boiled egg, 1 oz. of cheese and coffee. I ate that almost every work day. My snack was a serving size of almonds and cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices, to be snacked on until lunch time.

Cooking for myself was so much more exciting because I knew veggies would fill me up and would not add much in the way of calories to my weekly calorie count. I started finding new recipes and used my kitchen much more than I was used to. I started to read more about eating for a marathoner. I used "RunnersWorld" recipes and paid close attention to how foods would benefit my running. I absorbed everything I could and began looking at food as fuel for my running.

By December, I definitely saw results.

My clothes started to fit loose after that. Little by little, my clothes became much more baggy and pretty soon, my size 12 was just too big. I had to buy more clothes. I did so sparingly, buying only a couple of pairs of jeans on ebay, because I wanted to treat myself after hitting my goal weight. I even unpacked some of my clothes from college and asked for hand me downs from my family members.

I started sharing what I learned with my runners (I'm a coach, mentor and leader for a running program in Los Angeles and have written about my experience with them-sans weight loss). Nutrition was part of training that I never could share with anyone because I wasn't well versed on the subject. I learned so much about food in the year that I was so excited to share it (I still am) with my marathoners-in-training.

February, 2011 was when I hit my goal weight, 135. It was a month after I expected, but I did it. I also saw other benefits. My running pace improved by almost a minute per mile. In 2011, I beat my marathon time from 2010 by 26 minutes and beat it again this year by 43 minutes.

Changing the way I ate and the way I perceived food certainly helped my training, it made me a better (and smarter) runner. The process sometimes felt impossible-especially when I really wanted a piece of chocolate cake and man did it challenge my self discipline!

But slipping into a clothing size 4 for the first time ever in my life was exhilarating. Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely. But have patience with yourself.

I still don't know how to do a pull up and have a hard time doing any more than 10 push ups at one time, but I'm working on that. Stay tuned! Cheers!

garbanzorizo....whaaat?

For nearly a year, I counted the calories I consumed. It was one of the most difficult tasks I have ever done. The counting of the calories wasn't the problem, it was having to restrain myself from overeating and finding foods that weren't saturated in butter or sauces or whatever high calorie options permeate American culture. What I did learn during this time, was that it is completely possible to feel satisfied and satiated with a 500 calorie meal.

One of the tricks was to also ease away from eating so much red meat. Don't get me wrong, I love the juiciness of a nice piece of carne asada topped with avocado and queso fresco and salsa on a corn tortilla. I also salivate at the thought of eating an In-n-Out burger animal style. But I have learned how to balance out my food consumption with the amount of running I do for the week. Balancing out my food and exercise actually gives me something to look forward to after a really long run.

10-mile run? I get to treat myself to a #2 animal style at In-n-Out.

13 miles? the Fiesta Martin Special at my favorite restaurant (steak and eggs, beans, potatoes-heaven).

26.2 miles? Anything I want (although I do get really full now, this isn't as exciting as it sounds).

Vegetables and legumes are some of the best food options to satiate a very large appetite-and are low in calories as well as "good for you". Doctoring them up makes life so much better.

I had an idea one day.

It was a day that I really needed to go to the market but I was also really hungry. In the cupboard, I had a can of garbanzo beans and a packet of chili seasoning. In the fridge, tortillas. What the heck? Turns out, they can all go together quite nicely. The seasoning coupled with the flavor and texture of mashed garbanzo beans makes me really feel like I'm eating chorizo. Put that in a tortilla? Garbanzorizo tacos.

Say what?

Yeah, 1/2 cup off garbanzo beans=120 calories. Two tortillas?=110 calories. Half an avocado? 114 calories. 1 oz. queso fresco for topping? 80 calories. Yup. You get the picture. A meal under 500 calories. Beware, the tacos are so good that you may want to eat more than two tacos...eat them slowly. Enjoy the flavors.

serves 2

Garbanzorizo tacos

Ingredients

4 tortillas

1 can-15 oz garbanzo beans

1 packet (1.25 oz) Hot chili seasoning (McCormicks is my favorite, but you can use any that you find in the spices and seasonings aisle.)

1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

juice from 1/2 lime

1-3 tbsp canola oil

I like to make the entire can but I only use about half of it for this serving. I would store the remaining for another fabulous day.

First, you'll need to warm your hotplate or metal skillet to warm the tortillas, eventually.

If you are lucky enough to have an awesome sister that bought you a hand-held food "processor" the mashing up of the garbanzo beans gets really easy. Smash up the can of beans good enough so they have a really smooth consistency.

Once you've smashed up the garbanzo beans, add in the parmesan cheese, lime juice and the packet of chili seasonings. Mix well.

Use 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a saucepan, add in the garbanorizo and let it heat up.

There are a couple of ways to make the tacos: soft or hard shell. The hard shell tacos increase the calorie count (because of the fried tortillas) but also increases the yumminess.

For soft tacos, warm up the tortillas and add about a tablespoon of garbanzorizo into the tortilla. They are awesome.

For hard tacos, heat up two tablespoons of oil into a frying pan (I use an omlette pan because I don't like the tacos to be saturated in the oil. Just enough for the tortilla to get a little crunchy.

Fill the tacos with the garbanzorizo. I keep the two sides of the tortilla together with toothpicks on each side. Place the taco into the oil and let each side get crispy. Once the tortilla gets a bit golden, flip them to the other side.

Pull the tacos out, place them on a paper towel to cool off (and to absorb the excess oil). Pull out the toothpicks and get them ready to fill with extra flavors. Add in whatever toppings you'd like. I add in some shredded lettuce, queso fresco, and avocado.

I've been told that these tacos can trick a person into thinking they're eating a meat of some sort. The flavors of the garbanzo beans, lime, parmesan cheese and seasoning mix is a perfect kind of happiness on a plate with a great depth of flavors. Tell me what you think! :)

Homage to the Southland

Living in Los Angeles gives me the pleasure of fast paced, urban awesomeness. I love (dare I say it) traffic, people, diversity in places; it is amazing. I especially love the bits of nature in the city where I can go, work out, breathe in the beautiful scents of the arid climate and forget for a minute that I live in this bustling city.

Three miles away from my house is the very convenient Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. It is a place one can go if they want a great 300 degree view of the city, from San Pedro to East LA on a good day.

The catch? You have to get up there.

Of course, someone could drive, park, pay $5 and enjoy the view, but what's the fun in that?

Being at the top of the "stairs" (as they are called out here) with calves, quads and lungs burning while enjoying the breathtaking view of the city, is quite the accomplishment. It's why patrons frequent the place. The stairs are a pretty intense workout and lots of fun, especially with the right music or company, just watch your step! Yelpers have taken some pretty cool photos of the stairs but the best way to enjoy the view is to be there. And you can't just go up once.

In honor of nature and eating fresh and healthy, I decided to make a delectable breakfast dish of fresh vegetables-Mexican style, something that my family (mom, aunts and grandmother) taught me to make.

Nopales (prickly pear cactus) with eggs (and potatoes...did I mention that I love potatoes?). It sounds weird and crazy and everything in between if you've never tried nopales-or tried them when they weren't cooked properly. But they are yummy and smell delicious when cooked!

Of course, I watched my grandmother make this dish on more than one occasion but in all honesty, making nopales terrifies me. I worry that they won't come out right (that doesn't happen) or I worry that someone won't like them (that doesn't happen either). It would be a good idea to google (or bing or ask jeeves or whatever internet search is on your current computer) the health benefits of nopales-oodles of Vitamin C and antioxidant properties that would make you go "hmmm." I was inspired to make this dish last week after my friend ordered it at my favorite restaurant.

Let me give you the ingredients...(and the calorie counts because I'm a bit obsessed).

Serves 4

Nopales Scramble

• 8 eggs (74-90 calories per egg depending on size)
• 1 cactus leaf chopped (14 calories)
• 1/4 brown onion chopped (4 calories in an entire onion)

you can substitute any kind of onion you'd like or have in your home. I have brown onions because they're inexpensive...and in my home at the moment.

• 1 red bell pepper chopped (30 calories)
• 1 green bell pepper chopped (30 calories)
• 1 serrano chile chopped(miniscule calories)
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 tbspn butter (I use Smart Balance extra virgin olive oil buttery spread because it's only 60 calories a tablespoon)
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 c cilantro
• 1 heaping bunch of bravery (if you've never had nopales)

Warm up your frying pan with medium heat.

Start off with taking the prickly stuff off the cactus. Run your sharp knife sideways on one side of the cactus like you're trying to spread oil over it (it will start feeling slimy-but no fear that will cook away). Do the same thing for the other side. Then cut around the leaf, taking off the prickles from the outside of the leaf. Once you have a slimy leaf, it's time to start slicing away!

It may be a good idea to wipe off your cutting board (or use another) for the rest of the chopping.

Once you've done that, take a tablespoon of butter and put it into the pan and let it melt, toss in the nopales and onions and let them cook until the onion is translucent. While the onion and nopal are cooking, squeeze in the juice from one lime, add in salt, pepper, and garlic. You will notice that the slime is cooking away at this point.

When the onions are "ready" (and the slime is nearly gone) toss in the bell peppers, chile and let them cook together. If you'd like more heat, add another chile.

While those are cooking, it may be a good time to crack your eggs into a bowl and scramble them. (I add in grated parmesan cheese to add texture and about 1/4 c of milk for creaminess but shh don't tell anyone!).

Right before tossing in your eggs, add in the cilantro and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and scramble! When the eggs have cooked, add oregano at the very end and mix everything together for one last time.

I garnished it with a slice of queso fresco to cool my mouth a bit from the heat of the serranos (the cheese could be crumbled, yes).

Eating the nopal alone will reveal that they have almost no flavor. The lime, salt and pepper enhances the flavor. Bell peppers are sweet and not only add beautiful color to the plate, they add crunch and lots of antioxidant properties. The red peppers add almost a fruity flavor to the dish while the green bell peppers even it out with a hint of bitter (fajita) flavor. My grandmother also likes to chop up tomatoes and add them in, but I forgot to buy one yesterday. Oops.

Mixing it in with the rest of the vegetables makes for a very healthy, low calorie and filling breakfast. You can also put this scramble in a corn torilla and take some to-go tacos or fill a flour tortilla as a burrito.

I had food coma after my meal. I guess I deserve a nap after my workout on the stairs and in the kitchen.

Garlic and cilantro fries

The last several days has me scouring pinterest for recipes, new DIY project ideas, crafts, and home decoration inspiration. It was actually on that site that I realized how amazing some of these home cooks are and how excited I was to know that so many people are willing to share recipes! It's quite awesome.

Growing up, it was a common understanding that if someone wanted to know your recipe, you wouldn't just hand it over...you had to teach them how to cook it.

That's how I learned to make mole, Mexican rice (Spanish rice is yellow, not orange/red like Mexican rice), frijoles de la hoya (pinto beans-of course I under cooked and over cooked plenty a pot of beans before I could be comfortable saying this) and the list goes on.

It's also where I learned how to substitute ingredients if I didn't have anything of this spice or that one. My grandmother has quite the creative mind when it comes to cooking.

She's about to celebrate her 80th birthday at the end of the month. She has over thirty grandchildren and several great-grand children, and nine children of her own.

Gramma had to cook for a lot of people. There are 10 seats at her dining table. When

we get together, we often eat in waves at the table.

The rest of us that aren't so patient take our plate to the living room and eat it sitting on the couch or another chair, using our knees as a table.

Today, my breakfast brought me back to gramma's house, partly. It consisted of chorizo (spiced ground beef) and egg tacos (that she taught me how to make) and garlic and cilantro fries-a recipe I pinned earlier last week. They look yummy in the picture. I don't know how people make their food look so yummy in photos. My photos barely look delectable (even though they are delicious). Anyway, thetalkingkitchen's recipe looked simple enough so I made them this morning.

by lafig

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20-25 mins

Keywords: potatoes cilantro garlic

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

• 5-6 yukon gold potatoes, cut into thin fries
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 – 3/4 tsp sea salt
• pepper
• 1/4 c. loosely packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped

I replaced the "Yukon Gold" potatoes with Russet potatoes because I have those coming out of my ears ($0.89 at the local market for a 10lb bag would have you buying a few bags too).

I love potatoes.

Because I only cooked for myself this morning, I made one potato and fractioned up the rest of the ingredients (almost 1Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, small handful of cilantro leaves).

I added finely chopped garlic to the olive oil mix and some onion powder (I love onion powder-but that's another blog). Added the potatoes to a plastic container, added the oil and shook away!

When I put them into the oven (for 15 minutes), the aroma of warm garlic immediately filled the room. I'm so glad I added the fresh garlic!

The chorizo and egg tacos were easy. I used store bought beef chorizo, cooked up about 1/4 cup before adding in the (previously mixed) egg. The grease (I know, yuck but yum!) cooks the eggs and chorizo so it is really not necessary to add anything else to the pan. Adding any sort of spice to the eggs will be washed out by the flavor of the chorizo. I only add some shredded Parmesan cheese to the egg before tossing it in to cook.

Once they're finished, I cut up some avocado and added slices in the taco.

Avocados are 7/$1 at the market so I add avocado to everything. This entire meal is about 700 calories. Crazy, right?