corona del mar scenic 5K race report

The weather was GREAT, cool and cloudy with a breeze.  We ran the whole race at a comfortable pace.

Place 684

DivP 184 

SexP 184 

Name Kayla Kaiser

S F

A 31 

Location Glendale 

NetTime 40:38 

Pace 13:04 

GunTime 41:08 

Bib 309

This was my second race of the year.  The first race of the year was the Glendale Downtown Dash, which I ran alone after not getting a good night's sleep.  I ran faster (9:12 min / mile) in that race but I had to walk towards the end.  And there are no pictures of it, not to mention I am still confused as to the layout of the course, which snaked around downtown Glendale (as you could probably guess from the name of the race).

This race, the Scenic 5K, was totally different, we ran it as a family and went to bed early the night before.  My summer training plan (which started in January 2012) went a little something like this...

Run/Walk
Week
Miles
Starting
0.8
8-Jan
1
15-Jan
1.2
22-Jan
1.4
29-Jan
1.7
5-Feb
2
12-Feb
2.4
19-Feb
2.9
26-Feb
3.2
4-Mar
3.5
11-Mar
3.8
18-Mar
4.2
25-Mar
4.6
1-Apr
5.1
8-Apr
5.6
15-Apr
6.1
22-Apr
6.8
29-Apr
7.4
6-May
8.2
13-May
9
20-May
9.9
27-May
10.9
3-Jun
12
10-Jun
13.2
17-Jun
14.5
24-Jun
15.9
1-Jul
17.5
8-Jul
19.3
15-Jul
21.2
22-Jul
23.3
29-Jul

I would have posted it sooner, but I created it on our home computer, which promptly contracted a virus and caused us to reformat the whole thing.  The documents had been backed up within the last month but we still lost a few files.  Luckily I printed the training schedule out and posted it on our kitchen marker/magnet board next to a picture of my cousin (for inspiration).  Soon to join him was Mary Metcalf-Collier, another GRRRRRL that inspires me to train.

Anyway, the Downtown Dash fit in 11-March so you can see that I did not exceed the 10% rule.  I considered running the Verdugo Mountains 10K on the week of 6-May, the Pasadena 10K on the week of 20-May, and half-marathons by now (Simi Valley Arroyo Creek Half, 24-June) but I haven't been running with the schedule.  I sprained my calf at 19-Mar and took a break from most activities while that healed properly.  I guess you could say I started over at the beginning on May Day (May 1st)

During the race is when we planned my juice cleanse, I asked Nurse Sally (my MIL) what she did for years as a runner and mother of 3 to stay fit and healthy.  She recommended the tops of beets and eggplant.  Her drink was called "Swamp Juice" and was not the most tasty concoction.  She also recalled that during the course of training for marathons, she was running 50-60 miles per week.  If one long run is executed on the weekend, of an ~18 mile distance, that leaves 32 miles to run on the other 6 days (nearly a 10K every day). I'm not sure I see myself EVER doing that, but who knows?  You can see that my training schedule only has a max distance per run but not a # of miles per week to attain that distance in a single day.

So... with all that said, I can say I'm happy with the cdm5k result.  I was not in any pain and quite enjoyed myself.  What's next, you might ask, well that will have to be the topic of another post... suggestions?

mean green day #10

I think I've reached the end of this juice cleanse/fast/detox.  I can't say I've followed the program to the letter but I have added something to my daily routine that wasn't there before (juice) and taken a few things out that were not-so-healthy (tobacco, alcohol and caffeine).

I don't know if that back pain was my nervous system purging itself or a true inflammation.  I thought the chamomile tea would sufficiently (naturally) reduce inflammation, but it wasn't powerful enough.  I definitely didn't lose any weight, in fact I gained some, but truth being that I didn't stop eating.  Today I weigh 145.0 lbs.

In the interests of full disclosure, yesterday I ate a handful of almonds and a large bowl of oats, peanuts, and dried fruit smothered in whole milk yogurt for an afternoon snack.  It was so filling that I didn't eat dinner until late in the evening (~8:30pm) when we had soup & salad buffet at Marie Callender's.  The soup of the day was mean and green (pea soup), though it contained a lot of ham.

This morning's juice is a motley concoction of whatever veggies were left: three handfuls of baby greens, almost a whole bunch of celery, 4 beets (with some of the tops), a small head of red lettuce, and a peeled lemon.  Probably I should have added strawberries for flavor, it pretty much tastes like dirt even though I scrubbed everything clean before juicing it.  I will say that I'd rather drink fresh juice than take a multivitamin.  But I will probably go back to eating raw fruits and veggies as much as possible, taking dairy for calcium and fat, and eating nuts and beans for protein.  I will also try to keep up with the fish routine, and keep eggs in the diet since both of those seemed to provide essential macronutrients that the juice alone could not deliver.  I've tried to stop eating red meat, but the beef jerky was my downfall.  It left me feeling bloated both days I ate it.  So no cured meats, I cannot forsake all red meat since dear husband brings home lamb and beef ribs almost weekly for a grilled feast and I cannot say no to that!

mean green day #9

This morning's juice was made of Farmer's Market goodness that dear husband picked up this weekend while I was out of town; three handfuls of baby greens and a basket of strawberries!  From Whole Foods were added two stalks of celery, two green apples, a peeled lemon, and ginger.

Last night, I made broiled Tilapia with bell peppers and garlic with brown rice on the side.  It was drenched in olive oil and smothered in butter and seasoned with dried oregano, parsley, and basil.  For lunch I just ate a raisin-bran muffin, a string cheese, and drank a protein shake.  I still feel hungry.

Reading the wikipedia stub on juice fasting made me think twice.  It stated that a common problem with these programs is a lack of dietary fiber.  I can agree, when I clean out my juicer I am throwing a lot of that in the trash.  I guess I should have started composting!

Other articles too highlight the dangers of juice diets. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/fashion/28Cleanse.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/22/do-juice-cleanses-work_n_1372305.html

One of the things I read before starting this 10-day juice program was
http://gliving.com/diary-of-a-juice-fasting-skinny-bitch/
It was humorous and probably the reason why I kept a blog about it myself.  So thanks Rory!

mean green day #8

Today was a good day, but perhaps not a green one.  Not having time to visit the store to properly acquire a cache of Kale, I left the house for work with a raisin-bran muffin in hand and a chamomile tea.

Lunch was brief, I ate what happened to be in my office: a green apple, a protein shake, and a string cheese.  I forgot to drink water so by the time I left campus I was parched.

After stopping by the student garden to water my babies, I rolled over to Juice it up! for a 32 oz Rejuvinator.  After drinking 2/3 of that, I felt much more relaxed and back on track with my juice program.

Truth: morning weight 146.5 lbs. evening weight 148.5. Also my back does not hurt. Is that because (a) I did less driving than usual this weekend, (b) I stopped drinking homemade mean green, or (c) I took enough anti-inflammatory medication to reduce the nerve root compression?

mean green day #7

Today I had two small green apples for breakfast and a cup of trail mix for lunch (peanuts and dried fruit).  I also ate a See's Candy lollipop (butterscotch).  While driving back to LA from San Diego I ate an entire package of beef jerky : /  but on the green side, I found a cute little 10 oz Naked Juice in green machine.

For dinner I ate a side salad at Outback steakhouse (and half a loaf of their complimentary bread spread with butter) and a few bites of Bloomin' Onion.  At the movies, I ate a bunch of popcorn and tried to eat some Junior Mints then started hacking and couldn't breathe.  Maybe my body was trying to tell me to stop eating the damn candy.  So I took a couple sips of Pepsi.

During the drive, seeing all the fast food restaraunts and places to stop for "convenience" food, it's no wonder we are so out of shape and undernourished.  (not underfed but lacking nutrients)  Why aren't there more corner stands with a farmer and some produce?

Truth:  Yesterday I ate lunch at http://www.thekebabshop.com/ and although we had salad, we also had a lamb Döner Kebab.  For dinner we ate at Rock Bottom Brewery, I had a chicken tortilla soup and a large salad.

mean green day #6

Just finished drinking another "Green Machine" Naked juice for today's installment of micronutrients.  Slept better last night than the one before.  Back still hurts, despite lots of love and well wishes and advice from friends and family.

Truth: Last night, I ordered a chicken Caesar salad via room service and ate every last bite (including the side of bread and butter, oops).  This morning, I ate three pieces of fruit for breakfast (good) and had a "Chewy" granola bar with chocolate chips as a snack (bad).  Hoping we are heading out to lunch now...

huevos

As I said before, this juice thing has left me craving eggs and fish.  Today, I've eaten 3 pieces of fruit, two packages of nuts, one Green Machine juice (Naked), and we had brunch at the "Broken Yolk" which screamed at me like a terrified hen as we strolled around the gaslamp district looking for a brunch spot.  I got the huevos rancheros with corn tortillas, and refried beans on the side.  The salsa and guacamole was topping two sunny-side up eggs atop a corn tortilla.  It totally hit the spot.  But I'm hungry again now, so off I will go in search of JUICE!

mean green day #5

This moring I woke up in a hotel in downtown San Diego, without my Juiceman II.  I went for a workout and found a couple pieces of fruit in the fitness room.  I'm heading down to the convenience store in the hotel to grab a Naked Juice.  I'll see what they have, but most of them seem pretty light on nutrition compared with the juiced Kale.  But at least they don't have celery.

Truth: Yesterday I only had 1 juice.  My back was hurting so bad, I thought maybe I should take a break from the celery (in case it is the reason for my nerves being over-stimulated).  I ate 2 potato (fried corn shell) tacos for lunch with a raisin-bran muffin on the road while driving down to San Diego.  Also I ate a mini Clif bar (crunchy peanut butter).  Also, when I got here, I took 2 Aleve.  We went out for Sushi for dinner and I even ate dessert (fried peanut butter & jelly sandwich with ice cream).  I took 2 more Aleve this morning before my workout.

blueberries?

This morning I made the Mean Green according to the original recipe.  I set out 4 strawberries and a container of blueberries, but they wouldn't fit in my to-go container that I took my juice to work with, so I left them out.  Also, I left out 1/4 of the apples.  Too much juice!

So it's Day #4 of my juice experiment.  My back hurts worse than ever, on the drive in to work this morning, I actually pressed against my legs, hoping to lengthen my back and stop the pain.  That reminds me, I should take some ibuprofen and put on my back brace.  It is horrible.  If I'm doing a detox, then shouldn't I not take medication?  I got up in the middle of the night to do some stretching and found my hamstrings, back and calves tighter than ever.  I did the foam roller for about 20 minutes and that relieved me enough to go back to bed.  When I woke up before my alarm went off, I laid in a chair with my little doggie Edna for some pet-therapy to ease the pain naturally.  Also, I heard that chamomile has anti-inflammatory properties, maybe I ought to drink more of that?  Maybe I should decrease the celery, since I heard it is activating for the nerves.  For sure this can't last...

Truth: 143.0 lbs

fish & juice

Made mean green according to recipe except used 6 celery stalks instead of 4.  Split it with husb again.  Served it for dinner with broiled tilapia together with 3 sliced bell peppers (one home-grown) and a head of garlic cloves (peeled) sprinkled with dried oregano and Penzy's old world seasoning.  Drizzled with olive oil and each fish fillet (4) went into the oven with a pad of butter atop.  Super sweet dinner, served with basmati rice.

Tried doing yoga and stretching to ease back pain but still feeling it, hard to sit still.  Did some gardening at home and raked the front yard, in addition to making dinner.  Still hurtz.

photos here

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/kaiserwellnesscenter

Rejuvenator @ Juice it up!

Rejuvenator™

Apple, carrot, beet, cucumber, ginger.  From Juice it up! in Upland, CA again.

After drinking half of this (20 oz, no ice) I did some gardening at CMC student garden.  It was the only time all day my back stopped hurting.  Then I got in my car and drove home, drank the other half of the juice diluted with water, and cringed as my back started hurting again.

Stopped at Whole Foods on the way home to get more supplies for tonight's and tomorrow morning's mean green.  Yumsville!  Also got some frozen Tilapia fillets for dinner tonight.  Now that I'm drinking juice, I can let my body decide what else it needs and it seems to be animal protein.  I'm craving cheese, eggs, fish, and yogurt.  For some reason, my body seems to be resisting 100% plants.  Also, I am taking in nuts 1 x per day.

mean green day #3

This morning husb wanted in on the mean green action again, so I added about 12 strawberries to the mix along with using red kale.  The color was fascinating and the drink was sweet since I used the second celery heart.

Truth: Yesterday in addition to juicing, I ate 1 small bag of granola for breakfast, a tin of stuffed grape leaves for lunch, and a half of a Khachapuri for dinner.  Maybe I feel like I need protein.  Or I can't help chewing.

Also, I am drinking home-grown chamomile tea instead of coffee.  I am yawning a lot more but stressing a lot less.  And even though I got a massage on Monday, my back is killing me.  It's either the nerves that connect to my legs or my kidneys.  I tried using the foam roller yesterday, but I'm still in pain today.  Perhaps this calls for a regimen of planks.

garlic & peppers

Made a batch of juice for my dear husband with baby greens instead of kale, 6 stalks of celery, 1 cucumber, 2 bell peppers (orange & red), 1 small lemon, 6 cloves garlic, and a bit of ginger root.  It's very potent and tangy.

tomato?

Now drinking modified mean green: Kale, celery, 1 tomato (instead of cucumber and apples), 1 sm. lemon, 1 thumb of ginger.  It's funny, I smell like celery now...

mean green day #2

This morning I made the mean green according to the recipe except I used a whole lemon because the bag I got at Whole Foods had petite lemons.  But they said they were local.  The cucumber is from Mexico, I guess they haven't ripened in CA yet.  Also, I used some ginger but not a whole lot, maybe about the volume of my thumb.  This batch is a lot tastier than the one I made last night.  Strangely enough I'm not sick of drinking juice, actually I am thinking about the possibilities.

Weigh in: 144.5 lbs.
Truth: yesterday in addition to juice, I ate a breakfast burrito (eggs, cheese, potato, salsa, tortilla) half for breakfast and half for lunch.  I ate a handful of nuts and some granola (with yogurt and chocolate chips) for dinner.  And half a package of teriyaki beef jerky (0.5 oz).

Lacinato Kale

I wanted to post last night but for some reason I didn't.  I made the mean green with a bunch of organic Lacinato Kale (from Bakersfield, CA) that I got at Whole Foods.  I left out the ginger.  I got a pain in my lower abdomen last night around 2am and got out of bed to sleep in the La-Z-Boy.  By 4am the pain had subsided and I went back to bed.

detoxifier @ juice it up

Detoxifier™
Red grapes, lemon, cucumber, parsley, spinach, ginger.  $6+ for 20 oz. served over ice.

Juice It Up!
Upland/Foothill
1013 W. Foothill Blvd
Upland, CA 91786
ph: 909-946-5700

mean green day #1

Today I used half of a pre-washed baby greens mix instead of 1 bunch of kale, also I used about 7 celery stalks instead of 4 because I forgot the cucumber.  I added only one granny smith apple, because the ones we got from the market yesterday were oversized.  I had to cut it into 9 pieces to get them to fit in the juicer.  I used half of a (peeled) lemon and a (peeled) ginger root.  I didn't know how much ginger to put in there but I'd guess it was about the size of two of my fingers.  The juice really zings in my mouth, kind of like sparkling but it tastes full of minerals.  I really wish I was eating Kale that I knew where it was grown, I have heard it bioaccumulates all kinds of things, including toxins.  The juice from all this fit inside one large beer mug and it isn't hard to drink, despite its mean green color.

The original recipe for this juice can be found here https://sites.google.com/site/kaiserwellnesscenter/home/plants-and-food