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By Liz, February 10, 2010 12:17 pm

Hello hello dear bloggies!

I got a great idea for a post while reading my new issue of Runner’s World magazine on Sunday. This lovely lady was on the cover.

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That’s Kara Goucher by the way. Her cover story was incredibly inspiring. In a nutshell, the article was about Kara’s mental side of running. One of her main problems in training is having confidence in herself. I guess even elites have to overcome the mental side of running, too.

I really liked the article, mostly because it focused on the mental aspect of running instead of the physical. Sure, we all need to do tempos runs, some track work and log in the long miles to prepare for a race or just stay in peak shape. However, working out our minds is something that needs to be done, too. And this aspect is sometimes overlooked.

For me, as with Kara, my confidence in my abilities and myself as a runner has been a huge drawback to my performances. I will sometimes give up before I reach the starting line. I’ve worked my way up from being a back-of-the-packer to a middle-of-the-packer and now to a upper/middle-packer. I’m not sure I will ever be up in front (unless I’m in a small local 5k), but know I have really improved over the years I’ve been running (age 15-22). However, sometimes my mind gets the best of me and I forget that I have achieved so much and gotten so much faster. I will still think of myself as the chubby girl who would usually place last. It’s a similar anomaly that occurs with people who have lost a lot of weight. They will still think of themselves as fat sometimes, even though they are at their healthy, goal weight. Bottom line: our minds like to play tricks on us. Learning how to overcome them is the hard part.

Two of the ideas the article proposed for overcoming the confidence barrier were:

1) Look to your training to give yourself confidence. If you’ve put in the work, there is no reason to doubt yourself.

2) Remember how pleasurable the feeling of running is. Lock into that zone, where your body feels in sync and the feeling of movement uplifts you.

These two tips really resonated with me. The first tip is just common sense. If you’ve done training at your race pace, done the volume of miles you needed, etc. then there is no reason to not have confidence that you can complete your race or set a PR, or whatever your goal may be. The second tip though is one I forget sometimes. To me, running is fun, and feeling the body in motion, the breathing, one foot in front of the other, torso twisting, arms pumping, heart beating is one of the best feelings in the world. The article said, that if you focus in on this feeling then your body will loosen up and let our physical abilities shine through.

I used the second tip consciously during a hard track workout on Monday.

Warmup: 2 miles and a 400m at workout pace plus 2×200m strides

Workout: 4×1200m with a lap rest in between. My times: 5:02, 5:02, 5:01, 4:58

Cooldown: 2 miles                       Total workout: 8miles

This workout was tough. Once my coach told us the workout, I shut my mind off. I wasn’t into it. I didn’t feel ready to hit the paces he set for me, I just didn’t feel like working that hard. However, during the warm-up, I told myself that I am doing the workout, so I better get in the mindset or else it won’t be any fun at all.

So I did. After the first 1200m repeat, I hit a time faster than the one set for me. Sweet! Once the workout progressed, it was harder to keep that pace, but I focused in on the feeling of running around the track, one foot in front of the other, going around the turns, striding out that last 100. It felt good, it felt right and I began to feel confident. It was a pretty darn great workout.

Running is just as much, or more, mental as it is physical. Our minds are really like the gateways to our bodies. For me, lack of confidence was that closed gate and by opening it up, I have made great achievements in my running. Sure, I still have off days and off races, we all do and will. However, trying to tap into our mental focus when it really matters is one of the keys to running success. Good luck out there! And have:

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By Liz, January 30, 2010 11:05 am

Hey guys!! Today is a big day in Therefore I Eat world!! It is my 100th post!!! I think that’s a pretty big milestone, don’t ya think? I started all of this in August, after reading other blogs for a while, and just decided to take a chance and try blogging. I still don’t think I’ve truly found my voice or real path I want the blog to go, but I’m just taking it wherever it goes. And one thing I know for sure is that I have really enjoyed blogging and interacting with all the other awesome bloggers and the healthy food/running blog community!

Okay, enough with the sap.

I decided to do a humble yet fun giveaway to celebrate my 10oth post. It’s nothing big, just a small gift that one of my lucky readers will have a chance of winning (and since there aren’t to many of you, the odds are good )

So what am I giving away??1 pair of Drymax socks!

These socks are my fave for running and doing just about everything else. They wick moisture (goodbye blisters!), are fitted through the arch to prevent slippage, have a wider variety of sizes for a more specific fit and are just freakin cool! I know many of you guys are into running or exercise of some sort, and even if you aren’t, they are a great, comfortable sock for everyday use.

So, here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment ab0ut anything really. (If you are a regular reader, I would appreciate a comment about what you would like to see more of on the blog.)

2) For a second chance to win, link back to my blog on yours (if you have one) and leave a second comment telling me you did. (Hey, gotta spread the TIE love, man!)

And one final legalish note: I have not been compensated or given the socks by the Drymax company. I have paid for the socks with my own money for this giveaway.

I will pick the winner on Monday….so ready….set….comment!! ……after you finish reading the rest of my post of course

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Okay, now with that business out of the way, I wanted to share a foodie discovery that blew my mind!!

The other night, the roomies and I made breakfast for dinner. My contribution to dinner was whole wheat waffles topped with yogurt sauce and blueberries. I ripped into it and almost forgot to take a picture, but I thought the half eaten pic was a good testament to how freaking delish this was!

So, the big thing about this waffle is the fact that it tasted just like cake. This tasted sorta like a white cake with vanilla frosting and blueberries. A cake-waffle!!! Soooo good.

Here’s how to recreate this amazing masterpiece:

1) Make your fave waffle recipe or use a good quality frozen waffle

2) Mix vanilla yogurt with a tablespoon of honey and a couple drops of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

3) Top the waffle with the yogurt and a generous handful of blueberries. Enjoy!

Seriously you guys, A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

So tonight is a pretty big night for me. After I get off work today, I’m celebrating my 22nd birthday!!!! My actual b-day is tomorrow, but I’m gonna rage it up tonight with a bunch of friends. I’m soooooo excited! And then tomorrow my rents are cooking me a special dinner. I love birthdays! I have good feelings for my 22nd year of life. Yay!

Have a good Saturday everyone! I’ll definitely recap the night tonight and my special birthday dinner (most likely on Monday).

Now…enter my giveaway! Adios!

Comments (5)

By Liz, January 25, 2010 1:36 pm

Hey guys! Well, it’s been forever and a day since I last posted now hasn’t it?! I’m alive and well, though, so it’s all good. Hopefully you guys didn’t miss me too much.

Anywho, I have two pretty fun things to blog about today!

First up, is the absolutely amazing dinner I shared with Jacob for our 5 year anniversary.

We got all dolled up…

Sorry, but I have no idea how to turn the picture, so y’all have to tilt your head to the left to see how super amazing we looked.

After our prom-esque photo shoot, we headed out to my favorite restaurant of all time…Villa Creek.

Warning: The lighting at the restaurant was sooo low, so my food shots are pretty bad, but I will share nonetheless.

First course: Cheese plate.

There was a blue cheese, aged cheddar and goat cheese accompanied with almonds, pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries, sliced apples and shortbread. Too die for. We paired a Rhone White wine with this.

Second course: Spring mix salad topped with walnut encrusted goat cheese and tossed in a cilantro vinaigrette. I totally forgot to snap a pic though…the salad was inhaled before I knew it!

Entree: Oaxacan short ribs with creamy polenta and steamed kale leaves.

The meat was cooked to perfection. The meat fell right off the bone and it was pure heaven taking a bite of short rib covered in the polenta. I don’t use this word often, but this entree was seriously foodgasmic! The wine I paired with it was a Grenache. Really good!

We decided to skip dessert and get a cocktail at a local bar down the street. I sipped on my new fave cocktail, a Vodka Press. Very refreshing!

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It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful night shared with one of my favorite people in the world.

Okay, so the second fun thing to mention is that I have a juicerand I made my first juice today!! Sooooo exciting, no?

So, I went to a family Christmas gathering a few weekends ago and my aunt had a juicer she didn’t want anymore and just gave it to me! I felt like the luckiest girl in the world!

However, it took me forever to use it! Well, two weeks later, I made juice. This morning blend was ginger, lemon, celery, carrot, beet, pear, orange juice. I kinda went wild!

So, I think it’s safe to say I’m obsessed with juicing now. Sadly, it is expensive to make only 2 cups of juice, so I will have to save juicing for occasionally, maybe once or twice a week.

I drank my yummy juice with 2 scrambled eggs, salsa and 1/4 of an avocado.

Well there ya have it folks! I promise I will try not to have such a long hiatus like that for a while.

Catch ya later, track practice awaits me!

Comments (4)

By Liz, December 18, 2009 12:28 pm

Finals week is over! I took my last final yesterday at noon, and now I do not have any homework, or tests, or reading, or studying or paper writing. It feels pretty amazing, I have to admit.

So, on the food front…I’ve been trying to make new recipes and use new foods to expand my eats. I get stuck in food ruts a lot, and make the same few dishes all the time. So, after my positive venture into making a curry, I made  a few new dishes this week.

I did make curry again last Sunday. It’s just so gosh darn fast, easy and delicious to make. I used chick peas this time, which worked great with the sauce. I also had edamame and a Kona brew.

Monday night I decided to try out one of Matt’s recent recipes…Sweet Potato Gnocchi. I began my new cooking excursion with a glass of my favorite wine ever….Bianchi Pinot Grigio. Quick sidenote: I’d been saving the bottle for a special occasion for about a month, and I figured cooking a fun new recipe with a glass of wine was special enough.

So, I have never made homemade pasta before, so this recipe seemed pretty daunting. But, it actually wasn’t that bad. The gnocchi didn’t turn out super pretty or professional looking, but they tasted great and that’s what matters.

I made a quick tomato sauce to go with it: 2 cans tomato sauce, spinach, cannellini beans, broccoli, garlic, basil, thyme, s & p. Topped with some parm of course .

Great recipe Matt! I loved this gnocchi and will for sure be making this again!

I made an apple crisp on Monday also. I was supposed to make it last week for Jacob’s birthday, but that never happened. So tonight was the night, and it turned out utterly delectable. Monday night’s dinner was soooo great and tasted pretty gourmet if I do say so myself.

Random comment…This was the view for a few moments outside my work on Monday. Beeea-utiful That is one of the only nice things about rain…rainbows.

The next new meal on the block was a breakfast creation. I was not craving my usually sweetish carbs in the morning and wanted something more savory. So, I toasted a slice of ezekiel with a smidgen on cheddar cheese, fried an egg in butter and topped all that with 1/4 of a smashed avocado and salsa. This was a light, yet filling and delicious breakfast. I will for sure be adding this to my usual breakfast rotation.Wednesday night I made a tribute to Hanukkah dinner….latkes. For anyone who doesn’t know what latkes are, they are potato pancakes.

Latkes are super easy to make. I didn’t use a recipe and kinda winged it, but here’s what I did.

Holiday Latkes

• 5 small russet potatoes
• 1 large zucchini (or a few baby ones)
• 1/2 a yellow onion
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• unsweetened applesauce (for dipping)

Directions: Wash potatoes and zucchini. Grate the potato and zucchini and place in a large bowl. Finely chop onion and add to bowl of potatoes. Stir in eggs, flour and seasoning until well combined. To cook the mixture, heat a pan with about a 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom. Use a medium to medium high heat. I used a 1/4c. measuring cup to portion the pancakes into the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side and serve with applesauce. (Recipe by Liz @ Thereforeieat.com)

We turned dinner into a breakfast-for-dinner of sorts and made scrambled eggs with spinach and sausage. I had the last of my Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale with dinner, too. Latkes aren’t exactly the healthiest meal in the world, but they sure are delicious.

Last night night I tried something else I have never made before…stuffed bell peppers.

These were so good!! And, I just have to share the recipe with you.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

• 1c. cooked quinoa
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 small can sliced olives
• 2 eggs
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• basil
• thyme
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 chopped onion
• bread crumbs (I used panko)
• about 1/4c. cheddar cheese
• 2 bell peppers (any color you want)

Directions:

1. Prepare the peppers: Cut the tops off. Chop and reserve the tops for the filling. De-seed and then steam the peppers for about 10 minutes.
2. Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. In a large pan, saute the onion, reserved pepper tops and kidney beans in a little olive oil over med-high heat.
4. Once onions and pepper are tender, add in the quinoa, tomatoes, eggs, olives, spices and garlic. Stir for about 5 minutes.
5. Combine bread crumbs and cheese.
6. Spoon the filling mixture into the peppers until the peppers are full. Top with the breadcrumb cheese mixture.
7. Place the peppers in a small pan (I used a bread loaf pan) bake the peppers for 25 minutes. Enjoy! (recipe by Liz @ Thereforeieat.com; adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

Jacob and I both loved this dish. With our first bites we both looked at each other and had that “Wow” look on our faces. So, ya, you guys should really try this!

Finally, I tried a recipe I have been dying to make for a while, but just havn’t had all the ingredients to make it.

Averie’s chocolate chip balls! Boy oh boy are these amazing!!! I may have single handily almost finished a whole plate of these. You rock Averie, and I’m for sure going to be making your other balls, too.

There is just one final new food I have tried this week, and it was my breakfast this morning.Those may look like regular pancakes, but they are actually Almond Banana Pancakes made with 4 simple ingredients: banana, almond butter, egg and cinnamon. I found the recipe at Mark’s Daily Apple. I actually think I liked them better than regular pancakes. I put 3 twists on the pancakes. First, the cinnamon was my idea. Next, I used a little agave instead of maple for the topping and finally, I cooked them in the pan with coconut oil instead of butter. YUM!! Try these out, you won’t be disappointed.

So, on my final note, I want to share with you the absolutely adorable Christmas tree Jacob bought this week.I couldn’t get the lighting right, but this was the best pic I got. Those are our roommate’s stockings in the background. They also used a few of their ornaments, too. The tree is just sooo cute!

Tonight I’m doing Bikram with Jacob.  I think we’re gonna make a stop into New Frontiers for some green juice afterwards, too. I can’t wait!

Adios!

Comments (6)

By Liz, December 13, 2009 12:34 pm

Happy Sunday! Hope all is well to all my bloggie friends around the USA and other countries, too.

So, I’m not one to usually do inspirational posts and stuff, but sometimes I get a thought that I really want to share. Actually, Matt inadvertently inspired my thought when I read his post yesterday (or was it Friday?). He was mentioning that he didn’t really want to run that day, but he knew he wanted to deep down. He said, sometimes it’s getting out the door that’s the hardest part. Because, once you’re out there running, or any activity really, you usually never regret it. Well, Matt’s comments really struck a cord with me yesterday, because I had planned to do a swim workout yesterday, but it was cold, raining and I would have to do it after work. I really wanted to go straight home, lie in be with some tea and watch the brain sucking machine (aka TV). However, I used all my willpower and after work, I went to the gym and busted out an amazing 3000m pyramid workout in the pool. I felt great afterwards and knew I made the right decision, it was just a matter of getting out the door and doing it.

I know we’ve all been there. Some days you are just more motivated to workout than others. 95% if the time I love to get out there and break a sweat and feel the rush of endorphins. However, there is that 5% where I just want to sit on my butt and be lazy. So, to try and inspire y’all in a similar 5% situation, I have come up with a list of a few tricks I have learned along the way of how to get my (and your) butt out the door:

1. Listen to music. There have been days in the past when I have just dreaded running. I usually never listen to music when I run, but on those 5% days when I just don’t want to go out there and pound the pavement, I will listen to my Ipod. The music distracts me and lifts me up. Also, watching TV at the gym can be a similar motivator.
2. Reward yourself. Last night, I rewarded myself with a nice dip in the hot tub right after my swim. The hot tub gave me something to look forward to the whole time I was swimming and it felt so great to hop in to the warm water after pushing myself. It just wouldn’t have felt nearly as good if I had quit.
3. Call up a friend. Sometimes this isn’t possible, but on days you know you don’t want to work out, try to call up a friend or bug your spouse/bf to workout with you. Jacob is really nice and sometimes he’ll go running with me on days I don’t want to. The company really helps the workout go by faster, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to.
4. In the event of inclement weather hindering your want to workout, think about how BAMF (love this term Karyn!) you’ll feel after being done. I’ve ran in really crazy conditions, like rain, wind, trees being uprooted weather. This was before I had the nice, dry gym to run on the treadmill instead. At first, I really didn’t want to go out there, but I did anyways and I felt soooo badass during and after my run. You can brag and bit and say. “Ya, I totally ran out in that storm” and people will think you’re so crazy and badass. Love it!!
5. Working out is really a small part of your day. This one gets me almost every time. I’m usually awake for 16 hours. If I work out for 1 hour, there are still 15 hours of my day left of doing other things than working out. Putting a workout into perspective like that can really help get your foot out the door.
6. Finally, this is my number 1 motivator for working out when I don’t want to. Think about how crappy you will feel if you don’t work out. Working out makes me feel great. After a run or any exercise, I feel energized, happy, healthy and light. Endorphins make you happy, and boy do I feel happy after working out. If I do skip a workout, I usually feel guilty and sad. Exercise sets a tone for the day, and without it I don’t think I’d be nearly as happy a person as I am.

So there you have it folks. My top 6 reasons to get your butt out the door and workout! I do need to mention that sometimes it’s okay to skip a workout. If it’s due to injury, illness, a scheduled and necessary rest day, etc. it’s okay to say “No, today’s not the day.” This list is for those days that you know that you should be working out and just need a little motivation to do it. I hope this list helps you guys!

Okay, so onto some FOOOOD!I made this oldie but goodie last night. I wasn’t really in to mood to cook some amazing masterpiece, so I threw together one of my fave quick and easy meals: Supernatural Platter (inspired from the Natural Cafe). Just some homemade whole wheat cornbread, topped with steamed veggies, pinto beans and cheddar cheese. YUM!

I tried a new beer last night, too.Sorry, but I couldn’t figure out how to turn this right side up. However, if you tilt your head to the right, you will see that this beer is Fire Rock Pale Ale by Kona Brewing Co. This was pretty good. It’s not as good as my favorite (Great White by Lost Coast Brew) but it was up there. This beer was smooth, with a slightly bitter finish. The taste changed as you drank it, too. It was pretty yummy, and I will definitely buy it again.

Last night I watched the Notebook on TV. I haven’t seen it in years, and I completely forgot what a freakin sob-fest it is!!! I cried like 5 million times and Jacob just sat there and laughed at me for being so sensitive. However, he said at the end he was holding back tears. I mean, they die together for goodness sakes!! *insert awwww here*

Anywho, this morning I woke up, slipped on my Vibrams and was out the door. I changed into shorts and a t-shirt also, just to be clear . Today was one of those 95% days where I was super happy to be out there running. I ran 6 miles in 52 minutes. The weather was really nice. We had a little break in the torrential rain this morning, so the skies were mostly clear, the air was moist an clean and the roads were mostly car free. It was really peaceful.

Breakfast this morning was an exact repeat from last Sunday.Well, not exactly. I smeared some almond butter on my waffles, so that was different. These waffles are actually from the same batter as last Sunday, too. Whenever I make pancakes or waffles or muffins, I wrap the leftovers in plastic wrap and freeze them, so I can have a weekend breakfast any day of the week. Oh wait today is a weekend day, but I had to rush off to work, so these frozen waffles came in handy .

Only 2.5 more hours till I’m off work. Yippee. I told Jacob to think of something fun for us to do when I get off work. We need some fun couple togetherness time badly. So hopefully, he is brainstorming as I type.

Have a great afternoon and be careful out there braving the Christmas shopping crowds!