Kind (Kinda crazy?)

Well, it's been a while. I think the last time I blogged here was in June and then I started a new job and got extremely way too busy to really follow any of my hobbies, including blogging.

I got laid off a few weeks ago and it's actually been a blessing in disguise! I have been able to accomplish so much more since that happened now that I have a greater appreciation for how valuable and limited time really is.

So my subject today is referring to a new venture I'm taking. You see back in May, I embarked on the SS Vegan to try for an animal-free diet. I had read a popular book that one of my girlfriends loaned me called Skinny Bitch. The book was very enlightening as to what animal products were doing to my body and mind. I read the book in one night and started immediately to cut all animal products from my diet. I decided right at the beginning though, knowing myself, that if I tell myself I cannot have or do something, I crave it the most and therefore, if I felt like having sushi, than gosh darn it! I was going to have me some sushi!

I was a successful vegan for an entire month. That's huge for me. I love food and I hate to be limited. It was amazing though. Learning and discovering what meat and dairy would do to me was so motivational. I really wasn't tempted at all. It really paid off. I had such amazing clarity. If you know me personally, you know that my brain is always going off on a million different tangents and projects and dreams. But I was so focused after only one month. I also had absolutely NO PMS symptoms. I was now a believer.

Unfortunately, I started a job at a new restaurant that was probably the farthest thing you could get from vegan. Being the lover of food, when I started training in June, I decided that I would allow myself to sample all the tasty temptations. It totally wasn't worth it. The food wasn't very good at all.

Once I started working, I had less time to plan anything, let alone my menus. I quickly ran out of vegan meal ideas and motivation to keep it up. I was in a bind though. I was so turned off by meat and dairy but I didn't know how to cook anything else. It was strange. I could eat meat if someone else prepared it but it was very difficult for me to purchase raw meat and prepare it myself.

After a couple months of eating what others cooked for me, I had mentally let go of all that I had learned about an animal based diet and was cooking chicken and bacon and pork chops once again.

I knew though, that I would eventually get back to eating vegan. I just wanted to make sure that I could do it right.

Since I lost my job and have had more time, I've been checking out all the vegan cookbooks at the bookstore. I haven't really found any that completely appeal to me. My cousin is a hard core vegan and when he talks about the "delicious" vegan meals he prepares, it just doesn't appeal. I want some panko breaded chicken strips, preferably dipped in buffalo sauce, thank you very much!

But in the back of my mind, I really do know what's best for me. Since I started getting all these shots for my lower back pain, I have really put on more weight than I feel comfortable with and I need to do something! My focus has also been gone. I feel scattered most of the month. I am determined not to go on medication for that. I need a natural remedy. I'm a believer that a vegan lifestyle is that remedy for me.

A couple days ago, I was on our library systems online catalog and I pretty much requested every vegan book they offered. I was shocked by how many have been published just this year alone! I really believe that more and more people are moving towards this lifestyle. Green is in and this is one of the greenest changes you can make for the earth. I am not doing it because it's trendy, however. I'm doing it because I really believe it is the best way to take care of myself and eventually my family. I say that because until I get into it, I am not going to force them to eat everything that I eat but I would like to slowly incorporate this more and more. I also am back to the mentality that I cannot purchase animal based products anymore so if they want some chicken, they are on their own. My 9 year old son is on board and so is my hubby though. I'm very grateful for that! That will make this all that much easier!

Anyway, as I was leaving the library, one of the books I requested was on the NEW BOOKS shelf as I walked out. The book is Alicia Silverstones THE KIND DIET. I went back to check the book out and I read the entire thing by the next morning. It really gave me that motivation I needed to get back on track. They have 3 levels of commitment to choose from, Flirt, Vegan or Superhero.

Being that I have already tried Vegan, and the fact that I tend to go to extremes, I of course, chose the Superhero plan.

I planned a menu for the next 3 days and headed out to Whole Foods. There were so many foods I had never heard of so it was a little bit of a challenge to find everything but they had almost everything I needed

I was disappointed last night when I went to make our first KIND DIET meal and I realized that my rice needed to soak overnight. I made a frozen pizza for the fam and a cup of instant miso soup for myself instead. Instant miso isn't recommended but I figured it was better than a frozen pepperoni pizza.

This morning I started with a cup of carrot-daikon tea.

It's actually more like a soup. I am supposed to start out by drinking this for 10 days on an empty stomach to help detox. I was afraid it would be horrible. It took time to grate the carrot and daikon to a pulp, and I had no umeboshi plums, only the pickled umeboshi plum paste, which I used as a sub (I forgot to put the plums on my shopping list) but it turned out DELICIOUS. It was very sweet and a little salty thanks to the Nori and I didn't have any problems drinking the entire thing.

I felt pretty satisfied for a while after drinking it.

I just prepared my 2nd recipe on this "diet". It's called Millet and Sweet Vegetable Porridge.

It smelled divine while cooking but I have just taken several bites. It's a little blander than I like but I'm resisting the temptation to season it with even a little sea salt. I hear that the longer I do this, I will actually be able to taste my food without dousing it with seasoning. I'm going all in here so I will do my best to appreciate this porridge as is. It's not horrible. Tempting, no?

Some of my initial feelings regarding this new diet are excitement, fear, and "what-the-heck-was-I-thinking???"

I was very excited after reading the book. I learned a few helpful tidbits. There are some veggies known as "nightshade veggies". These include tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers. They can cause inflamation of the joints and have long been associated with arthritis. Funny that my pain management doctor never mentioned this. I am going to avoid these in hopes that my lower back arthritis improves. I am also looking forward to regaining that mental clarity and focus again.

I was excited to have a cart full of totally cool ingredients and nothing but healthy stuff. I felt very proud of myself.

I am a little worried about this diet too. I spent $200 on groceries yesterday and that is only for 3 days of meals??? The author did say that I might spend more initially because of stocking up on some new items that I will be able to use for several more recipes to come. I actually think a lot of these items will last a while, everything but the produce, that is.

I am also worried about figuring out how to do all this cooking. I love cooking. I just don't know a lot about all these new recipes. I really have to plan ahead because a lot of them involve soaking grains and beans overnight. Hopefully I will catch on pretty quickly.

So that's it for now. I'm halfway through day one. If I have time I will continue to update this blog with all the exciting details of how it's going!

Have a grateful day!

Bummer

I was recently reminded of this old girl by a friend interested in starting a blog and I just noticed that my banner and some pics are gone. I tried to find my old photobucket site but I can't remember how to access it! Bummer. I think the original banner are lost on my old hard drive. Sad.

Hmmm, should I start blogging again? I don't know. I don't even have time for FB or Twitter these days. Priorities. Ok. Just wanted to see if this account would still let me blog and so far so good.

Until next time....

Note to self: always have your camera on hand!

So I woke up really tired and sore at 5:30am today. I ran 3.6 miles on Sunday, and 2 miles on Monday. I didn't run at all yesterday and this morning I didn't have enough time because the hubster had to leave very early for work. So I slipped into some flipflops, put the leash on Mister B and headed for the beach.

As I walked along the beautiful Lake Erie shore, I asked myself why I don't walk the beach more often. When I go to the ocean, I wake up every morning before anyone and walk on the beach. I know that the lake is a lot different than the ocean but there's still something very peaceful and mind opening about walking along an empty beach. Every time I do it, it is a different experience.

Today I noticed that about every 10 feet, there was a pile of driftwood. I wondered if the property owners made these piles or if the city did that. I also wonder what is to become of the driftwood piles. I would like to think a summer full of bonfires. I'm still not sure if I can legally have a bonfire on the beach. I should call the city today and find out.

I wondered what I would see out in the water today. Ever since my spotting of the swimming deer, I always stop to look. No swimming deer today but as I got farther down the beach, I did see these two deer that actually live under a big pine tree in my yard. The deer totally dig the beach. They really do. I held the yorkinese back back when I spotted the deer. I didn't want them to see me. They were standing on the shore about 25 feet away from me. I swear it looked as if one deer was giving the other instructions because one of the deer seemed like a little kid, too impatient to wait for instructions. He wanted to go swimming. Unfortunately, they both looked up before jumping in the water and cautiously headed back towards the safety of the woods.

I walked farther down the shore than I ever have since living here. There is a man in our neighborhood who carves things out of trees. In his front yard there used to be a lion and a giraffe and something else. I can't remember what because they aren't all there anymore. Anyway, I happened to walk behind his house today and saw more of his art. There was a carving of a naked woman at the top of the hill. He also had a gazebo with another carved woman sticking out from it towards the lake as if she was swimming. Going up the stairs from the beach to his house was several more carved faces.

I wasn't sure what time it was and so I decided to turn back at that point. On the way back, Mr B was lagging behind. He was rolling his body around and I knew instantly, it had to be somethign dead. Sure enough, it was a dead fish. WHY do dogs do that? He loves to roll his body around on dead animals. I should look that up. I'm sure it has something to do with instinct but I'm curious as to the instinctual reasoning behind the act.

The beach walk was good for me. I have had a lot of things going on lately and the walk was refreshing and stimulating for my brain. Just yesterday I was looking for an escape from some of the things I have been facing but this morning I think I left some of it there. I really have to do this more often. Oh, but next time, I'm bringing my camera.

Girl on the walk....

So uhhhh, yeah. It's been a long time. I'm glad blogger didn't suspend my account for lack of use.

Anyway, Jac is back... again. It's been a rough winter/spring. I really didn't think I would run anymore. I started this job where I had to do some pretty heavy lifting and it really did a number on my back. My company also let my gym membership expire and I'm too broke to renew it right now. I know, excuses excuses.

So anyway, I'm sick of the lack of activity and the fact that I'm probably at my heaviest weight ever and that summer is at my front door. I miss running and I miss the races. I also joined a 6 month biggest loser session with my girlfriend that I've known since I was a baby. I'm not a very good supporter of diets since I am a lover of food but I think she's looking at this as more of a competition so that will work. We actually started 2 weeks ago but I've had a lot going on, trying to finish up school so we can get summer vacation started already and starting a new restaurant job where my job requirement entails that I try all the beers and food on the menu.

Whatever, this is about my run today. I woke up feeling all crooked. My back hurts a lot but running really never hurt my back so that wasn't going to stop me today. After 1/2 a luna bar, some water and updating everyone on FB that I was heading back out, I got dressed, stretched, turned up my tunes and off I went. I started out cautiously. I decided that even if I had to walk the entire time, I wouldn't go less than 3 miles this morning. After a few steps, I thought I would see what would happen if I ran. I tried to run slowly but I really don't think I have it in me to run slow. Running and slow apparently don't go together in my brain. So I ran for 1/4 of a mile and when I got to the stop sign, my chest was burning. I was breathing heavy. I couldn't believe it. I was a beginner again. I remember the first time I ever ran this route and I remember that horrible defeating sensation.

I decided I would most likely walk the rest of the "run". Hey, maybe I was going to be a walker now. I've heard all kinds of good things about walking. I don't believe them, but I heard them. Could I be a walker at races? I don't know. I really don't want to give up races. I speed-walked for about a mile before I finally caught my breath completely and then as I was approaching a friend's house, I decided that just in case they were looking out their window at that exact moment, I would run instead of walk. I could almost imagine them cheering me on and that motivated me to run as long as I could. I don't think it was that long though because I was walking again as soon as my chest started burning. After about 2 miles of walking running, I was feeling really good. I think I must have finally been warmed up. I don't think that I've ever gone on a run like this where I let my body dictate my pace. It was good for me.

I know it's important to push ourselves to improve but I basically had to look at myself as a beginner again today and I knew that even if I walked most of those 3.6 miles, it was better than no activity at all. Also, it felt so good that I knew I would be more inclined to do this on a regular basis again. Patience is not one of my best attributes and in the case of running, I have always compared myself to faster runners and so I push myself harder than I am ready for sometimes and in the end, instead of feeling proud of my accomplishment, I'm discouraged. So I will say today was a very good run. It felt amazing to be back out there.

Last year I talked some friends into doing the Ohio City Race with me and that was their first 5K. Yesterday, one of those friends asked me if I was going to do it with her this year again. I hadn't been thinking about doing any more races this year but she got me thinking. That race is less than a month away but now I have something to look forward to and to keep me motivated.

Looks like girl on run is back.

Back on track....

I feel like this has been many a blog title before with me. Ah well.

Just a quick update.

My running season has officially begun.

I'm gonna say it started on Feb 14th with the first 5k of the year. I ran in the Chili Bowl with my sister. It was wet and slushy and slippery and we goofed off a lot but it was very fun.

I am looking at upcoming races and not quite sure yet which one will be my next. I would like to do what I did last year and do a race a month. I have other plans on the same day as the races I want to do in March and April so I will have to try to find something else. There are several races in May that I want to do.

So I started a training plan to be able to do a 10 mile race in 10 weeks. Even though I can't do that race, I would still like to try to train. I started Tuesday with a very easy 2 mile run. The pace was 4.5 mph and I felt very comfortable running the entire time on a treadmill.

Today was my 5 mile run. The pace was between 4.5 mph and 5.3 mph on the schedule. I did bump it up to 6 a couple times just to save some time. I was mad when I got to the gym because I forgot my earbuds for my mp3 player. When I realized that, I really didn't think I would do the entire 5 miles on a boring treadmill. I put my mind to it though and I did it in 1 hour and 3 minutes. That's the longest I've ever been on a treadmill in one straight run. I was so proud of myself though when it was over. It made me realize that it really is a mind over matter issue. The girl next to me was trying to support me and even though she was done with her run, she stayed with me for the last 2 miles. She also noticed that my strides were too short and that I was working to hard. I took her advice and took longer strides. It felt better but I still felt like I was taxing myself a little. I think it's just about getting used to it.

I'm supposed to run 6 miles this weekend. I planned on doing it outside but the weather is supposed to be pretty rough and I don't have access to a treadmill but I will find a way. I know now that I can!

So there you have it... my running goals, my accomplishments in the middle of week one and one more thing... I am going to have killer Jennifer Aniston arms this summer. I worked them hard yesterday and I know I got a good start :)

How you like dem apples?

So I ran to the grocery store this morning to buy a few items for breakfast. I stopped in the produce section to stock up on my favorite kinds of apples... Braeburn!! Yum.

I head to the checkout line after I got everything I needed and as the cashier rang up my groceries I said to her "Lately I've noticed that a few of my apples have brown spots in them when I cut them open. I was wondering if I bring them back with a receipt, would I get refunded?"

She responds, "Stranger things have happened, I guess that would be fine!"

"Great! Thanks for your help?" I'm totally confused by her response but I took it as a "Yes".

She finally gets to my apples which I did not put in a plastic produce bag as I am trying to do my part to help the earth. I barely noticed at first that she is not setting my apples on the scale but somewhat dropping them on it. She grunts in frustration , "Common!!!"

One by one she removes each apple from the scale, slamming it down on the conveyor. Again, I don't think much of it.

"Why won't these ring up??? It doesn't recognize the numbers?"

She examines the sticker on one apple and slams it back on the scale, "Maybe if I try one at a time? Grrrrr... why won't the scale recognize the apple."

She takes all the apples again and this time I noticed as she roughly bangs them down on the scale, hits her register and pounds the numbers into the register "COME ON!" she repeats in frustration.

At that point my tired brain finally realizes why, perhaps, my apples have been coming home so badly bruised and I decide to put a stop to it. Right here. Right now! "You know what? I think by now, those apples are ready to become applesauce".

She looks blankly at me as I contemplate running over to the produce section to grab some fresh ones before deciding I can do without apples today. "OH, " she finally responds, "I'm sorry. I'm just really frustrated with this scale. I'm gonna destroy it after you leave."

"Ok, you do that. In the meantime, I'm gonna pass on the apples today."

IN RUNNING NEWS..... I ran 3.1 this morning! Chili Bowl Classics 5K is this Saturday! Bring it!!!!

2.5 miles and 20 laps.....

It's been really hard getting back in the groove of my workouts. I had to force myself out of bed this morning but it was so worth it.

I ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill and swam 20 laps. It's really a mind over matter thing. I intended to run 3.1 nonstop but by 2.5 I was just done. I was sweating glistening so much in the hot hot fitness center that the anti-runner in me finally called it quits. You know what though? I ran the entire time. Sure it was at a 12 minute per mile pace but it was comfortable. I need to start off slower like that in my training or else I will never improve. I always just want to get it over with so I run as fast as I can and die out early.

My first race this year is going to be on February 14th. It's a 5k and I am assuming the weather is going to be very cold but you never know in February in Cleveland. We've been known to have 68 degree days. Serious! So who knows how I will do as I'm not used to running in very cold, but at least I'm getting out there and I have something to look forward to.

My soul sistah extraordinaire is registered to do a 1/2 marathon in Virginia Beach in September and ya know what? This just might be the motivation I need to finally do my first 1/2. I reached all my goals last year re: running. New year, new goals.

Well, I'm off to the market. I hope everyone reading this has a fabulous weekend.