3 Marathons in 3 Weeks

Amazing Myeloma Marathon Sweetie of mine!
Hartford, Marine Corps and New York City Marathon: he ran them all in 3 weeks.

Sweet Pie and I ran the Hartford half and cheered at the Marine Corps and New York City Marathons.

Love to run love to run love to run! It all began after each of us reached Weight Watchers goal weight.

First Week of February

Yesterday was a spectacular day! Don's blood tests came out better than last month. He will be posting results on his Myeloma Hope blog ... probably tomorrow.

Sweet Pea and I celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our first Weight Watchers meeting...
In April/May we each will celebrate our 7th anniversary of reaching goal.

Sunset picture by Sweet Pea.
We think this may be a female redpoll. She was flocking with the goldfinches (in their drab winter coats).... except she was quite territorial.

Sweet Pea got all dressed up for running in 40 degree weather at 3:00 this afternoon. I can almost believe spring will come eventually.

Two questions have come to our attention recently.
1. What can I do about my high triglycerides?
2. What is so bad about high-fructose corn syrup?

Today I found both in an extensive article in Life Extension magazine, March 2009, page 90.
This sentence ties the two questions together....

"When high-fructose corn syrup is consumed, blood sugar goes directly to the liver instead of to muscle and fat cells. The liver utilizes the sugar to produce triglycerides."

And a PS to runners: Don't assume that all packaged post-race foods are free of high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated fat.

Over last weekend I had a rotten cold, but like most colds, it is fading away. Looking forward to better days! The worst of the cold winter is past.

Breakfast : Protein & Fruit

By popular request ... truly! People have asked for help to eat the way we do. Wow.
... And said, Oh thank you ... and That would be wonderful ...
when I have said I will work on it soon.

The first year we were married, we had dinner every morning before work ... our big meal of the day ... like meat and vegetables, etc. And smaller meals at noon and in the evening. Very healthy. We remember now being concerned about weight, and reasoning that a big meal at the beginning of the day was better. But we didn't keep that up after the first year. I have read that there are people who do this ... but .... anyway ...

We still have protein to start our day. Two eggs**(see egg paragraph near the end of this post), cooked in about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of macadamia oil (I have found that it sticks less for me) and 1/8 teaspoon of butter for flavor. Those measurements are per serving. Pepper to taste, and salt if no blood pressure issues.
No bacon, sausage or sausage links in our breakfast.
Maybe you have one egg a day.
This plate was my mother's. She was just a bit more traditional than I am, but I appreciate the things I have that were hers.

These are the kinds of oatmeal we use. The "Holly and the Ivy" bowl was a gift from family. I love using it year round. The oatmeal is cooked with about a tablespoon of flame raisins and a tablespoon of dried cranberries per serving.

Don decorates his oatmeal with marvelous fruit and berries ... and walnuts, the nuts with omega 3.
These are some of the supplements and vitamins I take. Don takes many more, of course, because he is targeting myeloma. Any antioxidants are probably worth considering. Check the internet; discuss it with an ND (naturopathic doctor).
No time in the morning for cooking eggs? You can hard cook (not hard boil) eggs ahead of time and they will keep in the refrigerator for several days. Many cookbooks and the internet have instructions.

Low fat or non fat cottage cheese or yogurt is another possibility for protein. A cold piece of last night's left-over meat (not processed meat, of course) is another possibility.
Here are other fruit choices. Watermelon can be good for breakfast. We are finding that filling our meals and our lives with fruit leaves little room for junk.

If you eat bagels, pastries, hamburger buns, candy bars, bags of chips, think about substituting a cup of blueberries, half a grapefruit, an orange, an apple, a banana.

Nearly everything we eat either contributes to health or has some negative effect. Now that Don is eating to fight myeloma (and to be a runner!) that seems clear to me.

RUNNERS: need to eat protein and carbs within an hour after running or working out. Whole fresh fruit is great; that's why they have bananas for post-race food. It is helpful to think of fruit and bread and cereal and carb vegetables ... being the carb group. The idea of bread and cereal being a separate group may have been contrived by the food industry when they were designing the first food pyramid, around the time of the beginning of the obesity epidemic.
Note: Sugar is not a nutrient.
Running AND good eating is a lot to fit in before getting to a job in the morning: I hear you... and my best wishes are with you to keep moving toward both.

PEOPLE LIVING WITH MYELOMA: healthy eating (essentially a diabetic diet) may help in this life-and-death way of life.
As for aerobic activity, all of Don's doctor's have strongly encouraged his continuing to run: "Whatever you are doing, keep doing it!"

GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE: everything we do to eat a little better, every effort to be active, every positive change really does make a difference in health. I like to think of it as a journey.

Part of the journey for us may mean finding ways to include herbs and spices in breakfast: cinnamon (moderates blood sugar) in the oatmeal, a Denver omelet or salsa with scrambled eggs (for antioxidants.) Thanks to Margaret, I will add: .. thinking about turmeric, curry spices for the eggs ... perhaps a splendid weekend breakfast of eggs and curried fruit?

** What about eggs?? My HDL (good stuff) has always been too low .. until this spring when it was actually above the desirable range (Yea!), and the LDL was fabulous. What had I been doing? Running, a little resistance training, eating lots of good fats: nuts, avocadoes, salmon, olives, olive oil ... and 2 eggs for breakfast every morning.
Also lots of fruit, melon, and berries, vegetables ... and no wheat, no gluten, no processed meat.
And, of course, the vitamins and supplements pictured above. The vitamin D3 (2,000 units) and the curcumin were probably additions since the last blood test.
Eight years and pre-Weight Watchers, I weighed 20 pounds more than I do now.
I am 5'3 1/2 and wish I weighed 15 pounds less.. which would be 123, but my blood is beautiful, and sometimes I get age group awards.

OUR RUNNING THIS WEEK: Hot humid days are a little easier for Sweet Pea and me on the indoor track, air-conditioned, but still humid. We are working on getting our miles in this week.

Independence Day

4.1 miles on the 4th of July ... benefit for the historical society, located at old Hay Lake School, where the mostly downhill race begins.
But Mile 2 is a dreaded flat stretch of loose dry gravel, devoid of shade, and dusty with speeding an occasional SUV or pickup truck... about 75 degrees yesterday.
Feels like I am recovering from Grandma's Marathon two weeks ago, but pushing about as much as I ought to.

Anyway, at the finish line in Marine on St. Croix, we were elated to discover that Sweet Pea and I had made a PR for that race ... and Don and I had each won an award:
2nd in our respective 60-69 age groups.
This small, community annual event is a regular on our racing schedule. We enjoy seeing friends and children of all ages.
We hurried home for Sweet Pea's weekly American Sign Language conversation with her tutor. Meanwhile Don stopped by the River Co-op for fixings for a pot-luck salad.
He is also working on setting up interactive calendars between all of our laptops... and we had some fun with entering data in the afternoon.

4th of July Picnic and Fireworks
Our gracious host and chef provided delicious barbecued chicken breasts (and hot dogs for those who made that choice).
We appreciate the good conversation with friends ...
and their potluck contributions, too, of course.

Fresh fruit salad:
Pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, grapes
Blender dressing: banana, raspberries, raspberry vinegar, olive oil, poppy seed

Thanks to the creator of this delight for sharing her recipe before we dished up. Being a regular reader of our blogs, she understood that we would like to know what we were eating. And we went back for seconds!
Click on this one for the luscious super-size picture.
The fireworks were predicted to be the best in the area due to Stillwater being the birthplace of Minnesota and 2008 being the 150 year anniversary of statehood.

In viewing a picture, a person has to have seen fireworks to appreciate the color, magnitude... and noise! of fireworks. So why do Sweet Pea and I take pictures of fireworks? Because it is fun to do (and yes, we do have the flash turned off!)
Our sweet potato salad:
Actually, our old favorite recipe for potato salad.. but just substituting sweet potatoes.. for more nutrients and a lower glycemic index.

Sweet potatoes, cooked just until tender (boiled or steamed), peeled, cubed, drenched in lemon juice .. If you have fresh organic lemons, grate some of that pesticide-free lemon rind on there too.

Frozen peas, with any ice rinsed off
Cubed cucumber (hydroponic or organic is nice)
Sliced organic celery, including some leaves
Sliced fresh onions and green onion tops would be nice, but the co-op didn't have any yesterday.
Eleven hard-cooked eggs ...
I always cook one more than I need, and then try one while they are cooking .. to see if they are done.
And thanks to our Weight Watcher's leader, the day before, for sharing that her gandmother made the best potato salad: "I use a dozen hard cooked eggs !" she explained.
Some salt

Dressing: yogurt, excess liquid drained off, and chopped chives
We set a bottle of raspberry vinegar by the salad, for added tang.

This salad needs something else, I think ... some caraway or fennel seed? dill? fresh ground pepper, too? An Independence Day with some sadness and anger: ... the war, the fractured economy, the inadequate health care, the global warming, the declining respect for the US in the world community, the (expletives deleted) administration.

Appreciating January

January: all sorts of new beginnings! The New Year, another birthday (flowers below), first anniversary of starting to blog, 9th anniversary of our first visit to Weight Watchers (a total of over 100 pounds ago, altogether, for the 3 of us), time for a fresh running season and mapping out training schedules for races and the next marathon.
And new hope for managing myeloma with supplements and diet and activity, without super-drugs.
Appreciating January: with icicles. Running tracks, with their tight corners that can crunch knees but also inviting straightaways, boring dreadmills but with calculators that can clock speed and distance, getting back to strength training because strong muscles make strong bones, venturing outdoors to freeze the bones but gracing us with the promise of warm spring running.
Discovery: Many people may be healthier without gluten.
One of the secrets of gluten-free baking (besides commitment to the life-saving aspect of it for some folks) is not trying to replicate gluten-laden (unhealthy) foods. Once I gave up using white rice flour and nutrition-stripped potato flour, we found new delights in ancient whole grains: teff, millet, amaranth.
Click on pictures to enlarge; hover to read captions.
This January I celebrate my first year (2007) of having my own lap top computer, a year of learning to make photo albums with 8X6 inch prints of digital pictures... with captions! Because my computer expertise is spotty, I decided to record the steps for editing pictures... with my digital camera... see below. Appreciating January memories:
**the gift of being snowed in,
**standing in snow posing for Dad to take my annual birthday picture of me holding the cake Mom had made and decorated,
**the January I began teaching 4th grade in Minneapolis,
**the 3 Januarys that I was pregnant and stayed cozy indoors,
**the January day the butter hardened on the kitchen counter because the movers had the doors open while they were in and out loading our furniture and belongings,
**taking pictures of our kids out sledding and shoveling in the snow,
**braving the Minnesota winters on my journey through 3 years of seminary and a year of internship,
**running 5K races in January weather

And now, appreciating the rhythm of the changing seasons and eagerly anticipating the first spring run out on the Gateway Trail.

Post-Race Breakfast

Whole wheat French toast (two slices, made with one whole egg and milk).
maple-apple topping, briefly steamed until tender: one whole apple, cubed, dash of cinnamon, one tablespoon real maple syrup (no water added).
fresh blackberries, 1/4 ounce raisins, and plain organic yogurt.
Weight Watcher points depend on bread used; note that just one tablespoon of maple syrup is enough flavor without piling on the carbs.

Celebrate a Healthy Eating Journey

MY JOURNEY of REVISIONS: POSITIVE SUGGESTIONS

(1) ALWAYS EAT LEAN PROTEIN, PLAIN NUTS, or low fat cheese FIRST, BEFORE EATING ANY CARBS (fruit or whole grains or even vegetables). That keeps blood sugar more stable and appetite moderate.
(2) ENJOY the FIRST SERVING. If hungry after eating one serving, weighed/measured, of a particular food, find a different food to have one serving of. No second helpings of the same food.. And always avoid over-sized servings.
(3) Generous variety of VEGETABLES ... cooked, especially roasted with olive oil, but also salads of raw vegetables and olive oil. We do not limit consumption of vegetables.
(4) Fresh raw FRUIT really is, along with a few nuts, a delightful snack. Explore a variety of fresh fruits.
Fresh raw fruit is an ELEGANT DESSERT!

A few extra notes:
* I relish all kinds of ripe juicy BERRIES, MELON, FRUIT; Raw and unsweetened; Whole fruit, not juice. Keeping that suggestion of no second helpings in mind, eat a variety of fruit each day.
* Dairy: consider dairy foods that are as low fat as possible.
* Raw broccoli/cabbage family vegetables depress thyroid function, so we cook those.
* Establish serving sizes for yourself: 3-4 ounces of lean protein; 1 piece of fruit; 2/3 cup of whole wheat pasta; 1 slice of whole wheat bread, etc.
* We consider one ounce of NUTS, raw or roasted without oil, perhaps salted but not seasoned, a serving. We eat a variety of nuts... in moderation, only a serving at a time. Three or four Brazil nuts each day is a nice way to get your selenium.
* Likewise, one ounce of CHEESE is a serving. A quarter or a half ounce of hard cheese as the last food of the day seems to be of some help in preventing cavities.
* Just say no to trans fat (partially hydrogenated) and nitrites and chemicals in your food. Experts are beginning to discover the harm that high fructose corn syrup can do. (Check labels on things like catsup.) White flour products are junky fuel in your precious engine!!
* Science tells us that cancer cells love refined sugar more than healthy cells do.
* Could be important to know that soy and possibly peanuts can depress thyroid function. If you need to limit intake of iodized salt, figure out another way to get iodine.
* Keep informed on the latest “dirty dozen” list of most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables and chose organic for those.

We keep moving on a learning curve:
* Interested in using more fresh and dried herbs and spices... turmeric, rosemary, basil, fennel, and cinnamon, ginger, cloves (without sweeteners)
* Hoping to increase consumption of foods high in antioxidants, etc.
* I am focusing on increasing my daily cup of TEA (either black or green) to two cups.
* Investigating the effects of nightshade family foods (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers; tobacco is a nightshade!)
* Wondering if gluten is not such a healthy ingredient for most folks.

Need ideas for good eating ?
Weight Watchers CORE FOODS are a great way to LIVE !

PS... I also love a plain, skim milk latte;
Once in a while 2-3 ounces of red wine with dinner;
And about 12 grams or about 1 square or 1/3 ounce of dark chocolate each day. (Carefully measured)

Gifts of Weight Watchers

There are many, of course, good gifts of Weight Watchers.
One of my current favorites is the list of Core Foods. Whether one is on the Core Plan or the Flex Plan, the list of Core Foods is an insightful list of the good healthy foods: eaten just a serving at a time, ... a life-giving "core" of first choice foods to live on.

My resolve to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks did not result in 10 pounds lost, but did result in a good reward of 3 pounds lost. I am below goal weight, but 3 pounds less to lug along on races is delight.

Appreciate a flower today: on the best day of the year. Happy birthday to special people born on this day.

Cherish Walking

My daughter and I have finished ten marathons... in nine different states.

Sometimes people say, “Oh I could never do that; I just walk.”
“Walking is good,” I always quickly reply. “You go! Keep it up.”

Walking is a treasure right up there with sight and hearing and a clear mind (free of alzheimers.)

Having the ability to walk is the gift of a million choices about where to go, where to live.. And how to live.

Walking is an avenue to using up enough calories to be able to eat the nutrients I need... and an occasional little dish of ice cream!
Walking helped us two achieve our Weight Watchers goal weight.

At the age of 88, my grandmother lost walking... and immediately lost the power to live in her own little house. It didn’t kill her. She lived to the age of 92...in a wheel chair, in a nursing home. I will always wonder if physical therapy... getting her out of bed... encouraging stretching and exercising.... might have enabled her to regain the strength to walk.

In the past it was considered an embarrassment to use a cane or a walker. What a joy it is to see some older folks achieving mobility... walking... with canes or walkers.

Myeloma is a blood cancer that eats the bones out from the inside. With my Honey’s myeloma, one of the biggest terrors is that he might fracture a bone which would deter his running... well, even his walking! When he tells his cancer doctor that he has run another marathon, the doctor says, whatever you are doing, keep on doing it. Impact helps to strengthen bones.
Running is a life-giving essential of Runner Dude’s days.

I don’t have myeloma, but when I run, my heart is flying with the joy that I can run.. And I can walk. I believe the saying, “Use it or lose it” definitely applies to walking.

Walking... running... stretching....massaging....strolling....eating healthy.... getting good sleep.... getting out of the chair....putting one foot in front of the other....and walking!

I cherish this best day of the year... I cherish walking.

11K on a Snowy Day

Snowy day and a delightfully routine 11K on the indoor track.
No pain, no strain, one K after another.
Yea Beep; Yea Sunshine.

The snow seemed light, temperature outside around zero, huge multiple vehicle pile-up on I35 south of the Twin Cities. Runner Dude cleared the driveway; we enjoyed our usual eggs and oatmeal and lattes... all cozy indoors.

In the afternoon we two did another 48 minutes of laps in the house for 4 more Weight Watchers points. We are beginning a new project to keep our metabolism a little higher. We are both below WW goal weight, but not at optimum weight for the best marathon run.

Later this afternoon we had the gift of a phone call from an old friend, acknowledging that he had received our annual Epiphany letter. It was good to hear his voice and his greetings.

Best day of the year: we rejoice in it!