Wednesday, April 09, 2008

How Am I Doing?

HOW AM I DOING, YOU ASK? WITH THE NO SUGAR THING??? WAIT, AM I YELLING??

I'm doing just fine, thanks. Today is day SIX. SIX sugar-free days.

It's entirely possible I might be a bit on EDGE. Just a little. I haven't made anyone cry—yet, though I've come close to crying myself.

But I've been making up for it by loading up on fruits and trying new veg. Tonight as I was perusing the grocery store after my exhausting 2.5 mile run, uphill both ways, I spied: "Melissa's Peeled and Steamed Ready to Eat Baby Beets."

(Good GOD am I lazy!)

AWESOMENESS! The perfect side to barbequed tofu.

I also loaded up on brussels sprouts for later.

Now don't go saying "yuk, beets." When was the last time you tried them? I bet it was in grade school, where they practically taught us how to hate vegetables by serving those slippery pickled beets that made you gag. Try some grown-up beets! They're surprisingly good! And...wait for it...they're also GOOD FOR YOU!

they are high in folic acid (great for pregnant women) [err, whatever], potassium, calcium and antioxidants (betacyanin, which is what gives beets their rich red color.)
&mdash from Beet Nutrition

In other news, I missed out on running the Cherry Blossom 10 miler (held last weekend) that every single person I know ran because I managed to procrastinate just long enough (4 hours) until it was full. No problem, I thought, I'll run the GW Parkway 10 miler, or even the 5k, a race I've done twice, and love (can one love a race?) That's on April 27. And...that race is also full.

So THEN I found the Pike's Peek 10k (ALL DOWNHILL, and point-to-point!) also on April 27, which I manage to miss every year cuz I'm doing the GW Parkway thing. And Pike's Peek: Not Yet Full!

But THEN I found out that my lovely bell-ringing group is performing at church that very same day. At first I thought well...maybe I could run Pike's Peek, which starts at 8, and be at church ready to go by 10?? Well, someone could probably do that, but I'm pretty sure I'd crack under the pressure.

My bell-ringing group, under the lovely direction of D., was also supposed to play this coming Sunday, April 13, but that gig got postponed, so I started looking around for a nice little race for Sunday since I wasn't due at church 'til 11ish. It was like I got a hall pass!

So I found this: Stop the Silence 10k, a 2-loop 10k.

And just before I hit enter, I got an e-mail reminding me that this very Sunday was the ONE day every other month that I volunteer to usher at ... church.

Someone. Is. Trying. To. Tell. Me. Something.

Message. Received.

My ass will be at church on Sunday—along with the rest of me.

But on Saturday, I'll be at Catholic University, at my first swim clinic.

(For you with reading via RSS: Awesome photo of authentic baby-beet package added. Just so you don't miss anything.)

14 comments:

Mike Fox said...

Just to clarify - Pike's Peek 10K is not ALL downhill. It is NET downhill, but there are a few uphill spots [which totally caught me off-guard and unprepared b/c someone once told me it was ALL downhill...grrr].

It is still the course that I have my 10K PR on, so it can't be too bad!

I won't be running it this year since it is a week before my first marathon. I'll be in taper mode (and hopefully not getting too fat and/or slow in the process).

jeanne said...

Mike: Thanks for the clarification. I'm still screwed cuz I still can't run it! :)

Danielle in Iowa in Ireland said...

So, after my doughnut victory yesterday, guess who caved today? It was a boxed lunch! and there was a cookie! I can't just throw away a cookie, can I? Sigh, I guess someone probably would have taken that cookie off my hands...

Nancy Toby said...

SAVE THE BABIES!!!!


Oooooh, the humanity....

Susan said...

Sgar, beets and church -- oh my!

Vickie said...

Days 5-10 are about the hardest on the no sugar thing. By day 5, your body has figured out what you are trying to do to it and rebels. The next 4-5 days you are just trying to keep up enough energy to get through the day so you can sleep and forget about the whole experience! Beets and brussel sprouts have to be my least favorite veggies, no matter how their fixed. They both taste about the same to me actually! I prefer brocoli, asparagus, and spinach. Maybe its a good thing to not do any races for a couple of weeks until your body gets used to the no sugar thing. I found it was very hard to concentrate on any workout over 45 minutes during the first couple of weeks.

Judi said...

I stayed away from sugar for a year when I quit smoking. You can find "no sugar added" ice cream that's pretty good.

Lesser is More said...

I've learned to love brussel sprouts, despite being taught in school to gag at the site of them. Beets...well I haven't given them a fair chance yet, but I'll be sure to try anything once. After all, if its healthy, it can't be THAT bad, can it?

LBTEPA said...

Nothing Bad Will Happen if you don't race for a few weeks. Your brain is trying to hurt you b/c of the sugar thing. Breathe in...breathe out...

Anonymous said...

Ok, the beets recipe from my Italian teacher Maddalena: cut beet top and root off beet, boil like a potato, test with fork to see if done, drain and wait till cool, slice, add chopped garlic, celery, olive oil, (salt, pepper, vinegar ?) to taste. Serve room temperature. I never liked them as a kid, but these are good - delicioso !

Anonymous said...

I love beets! I have little Del Monte pop-top cans in my pantry all the time. I used to be praised for eating them as a child and eating them now brings back that fond memory. Hope the swim clinic is good and actually in the pool and not the lobby.

zanne said...

i feel your pain. i have done this no-sugar thing. it is hard as hell, but if you are already 6 days into it, i promise you - there's a light at the end of the sugar free tunnel! hang in there!

Anonymous said...

I did a no-sugar "diet" for 3 years. I have to say, the best part of being no-sugar is the taste of sugar when you *do* eat it. You need a tiny little bit to satisfy your sweet tooth. I know every sugar-free trick in the book. Lost 60 lbs just eating low glycemic and working out, and ran my first 5k on Thanksgiving!!! GOOD LUCK!

Rich said...

You need a greasy burger really bad. Yes you do. Uh huh.