Christmas Break Days #4-10: Fun, fun, fun!

     Hello everyone! It's so good to have internet! Internet and cell service has been spotty to none existent this past week. But I've finally gotten the chance to stop off at a cafe that has free Wi-Fi. My next post will probably be Friday night at the hotel we stop at for the night on our way back to Lincoln.

DAY 4 (12/21)

     Wednesday we all got up semi-early (its vacation so we weren’t really in a rush). We then proceeded to pack up the car and head out to Fort Braggs with Jamie’s dad, Barry, and Jamie’s sister, Joanne, right behind us in the horse trailer. The first part of the drive was pretty easy taking the freeway, but once we got through Willits the rounds became twisting and winding, varying in elevation. This wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t like this the last 26 mile (approximately) to Fort Bragg. After a while you start to get car sick. =P

            Once we were there though everything went great and we all had a blast! The sand wasn’t the light colored sand I was used to seeing. It had a mixture of various shades of black and gray. There were also remnants of the old dock that used to be there on the shores. Hearing and smelling the ocean air was such an exhilarating experience, and I don’t think I will ever tire of being there. I would love to one day live either near or on the beach.

             I spent the first couple of hours walking along the sand and the boardwalk taking photographs while Jamie and Johnny took the horses for on the trails. Once they got back I grabbed a quick lunch of persimmons before heading out to ride with Joanne on the horses for a couple ore hours; I rode Arnie, Jamie’s horse, and Joanne rode Buddy, Barry’s horse. We took the trails for a little bit before taking the horses out on the beach.

           
     On the way back we decided to walk the horses up the steep hill from the beach to make things easier on Buddy, who doesn’t like walking on the sand. However, this turned out to be a mistake for me. While walking Arnie up my foot slipped on some lose sand causing Arnie to accidentally step on my left foot. Wearing only my Vibram Classics it was pretty painful initially. Almost immediately afterwards though the pain turned into a dull throb, and by the time we had ridden back to the trailer it had gone pretty numb (it had also started bleeding some this point).

            Barry gave me some first aid stuff to clean my foot up; luckily nothing was broken, cracked, or crushed. However, I did have a cool cut, some bruising, and a horseshoe shaped impression on my foot to show for it all. Afterwards I tried walking round only to discover that walking brought the sharp shooting pain back into my foot, so I was out for the count for the rest of the day.

            By the time we started heading back it was getting late and we were all getting hungry. Everyone else was going to stop off at a local pizza parlor to eat, but on the way there we stopped at the Living Light Café (a place that serves raw vegan cuisine) so that I could pick up something to eat. I grabbed a couple bags of dried mulberries (to replenish my road trip snack supply) and a nice Spanish/Mexican styled salad (which was INCREDIBLY good).

            After we got back to the house Jamie, Johnny, and I spent the rest of the evening watching movies until we fell asleep. It didn’t take very long. I was really surprised at how exhausting an active day on the beach could be. This day was one of the best days I’ve ever had.

DAY 5 (12/22)

            Since we were all so tired from the day before we woke up late. When we did get up we didn’t feel like doing all that much; we spent the better part of the morning playing around in the kitchen and watching movies in the living room. 

            I wanted to make Jamie and Johnny my mom’s scrabbled tofu recipe but we didn’t have all the ingredients necessary, so I improvised and came up with this:

It wasn’t as pretty as the regular recipe because they didn’t have any turmeric (which gives the tofu its yellow coloring). However, according to my dear friends it tasted good, which was all that mattered. They piled their plates high with the tofu, some hash browns, my raw cheese sauce, some salsa, and avocado. The food seemed to hit the spot for them because neither of them ate again until dinnertime.

            As for my breakfast, I had the pleasure of enjoying a perfectly ripe, sweet, and juicy pineapple. I was able to eat the entire thing without my tongue bleeding because it wasn’t acidic like the ones you get in Georgia or Nebraska. This is because California is closer to Hawaii, Mexico, and Costa Rica (where pineapples are grown), therefore they don’t have to be picked green to be able to make it to CA without rotting.

     After breakfast we all felt much more energized and ready to do something more active then lying around the house. Jamie’s parents’ house is situated on a 10-acre plot of land with some medium sized wooded mountains behind them that they can go trail walking or horseback riding up. We decided to hike up to the look out point since Johnny and I had never been and Jamie hadn’t gone for a while.

     There weren’t any “official” trails we just followed the small, almost indistinct, trails made by deer trekking up and down the mountain. It was only a little less than a mile to the look out point, but the steep incline made for a wicked workout. Once we reached our destination though, even with out legs muscles burning and hearts pumping, the view we got from the look out rock was worth the effort.

     On the way back down we got a little turned around and lost the deer trails for a while. However, we knew that as long as we were heading down (partially sliding down due to the thick layer of leaves that covered the steep slope) towards the creek bed we would be doing all right. Eventually we did stumble back onto a deer trail and were able to get ourselves back to level ground with only minor scratches, cuts, and bruises.

           
     After we gotten back, showered, and got dressed in some fresh clean clothes we used up the last of our citrus fruit to make Clementine/Satsuma/Orange juice to rejuvenate after our hike. Then the rest of the day was spent in Lakeport to purchase groceries. Jamie did have us make a quick stop at the lookout in Lakeport so that we could see the lake that gave the town its name. I don’t get why Nebraska and Georgia call their bodies of water lakes, because compared to the ones I’ve seen in Colorado, and now California, those bodies of water are ponds, not lakes.

           

DAY 6 (12/23)

     Friday was Redwoods day. After a lovely breakfast of super-sweet honeydew we drove north towards the Redwood forests. We stopped at the drive through Chandelier Redwood Tree (located just south of Garberville), Garberville, and Confusion Hill, and Founder’s Grove.

     I didn’t take any pictures in Garberville because we were originally just passing through to get to Founder’s Grove, but I saw a hemp shop that I just had to check out.  Inside were clothes, paper, rope, string, hats, bags, notebooks, writing utensils, soaps, and shampoos all made from hemp. I couldn’t really afford to buy any of there merchandise, but it was fun to look. I’d never been able to feel hemp clothing before. I was impressed by the good quality of the material. I don’t understand why the U.S. won’t legalize the growing of hemp. If they did a huge industry would be created in this country that would create good quality merchandise and jobs for the American people.

 DAY 7 (12/24)

            Saturday (Sabbath) we all stayed in the general Upper Lake area. However, that doesn’t mean we didn’t do anything. On the contrary, we played hard all day long riding on Barry’s motorcycle, going horseback riding, and hiking on the Glen Eden Trail.     

DAY 8 (12/25)

     Since Jamie, her family, and I don’t celebrate Christmas, the holiday was relatively uneventful. We were planning on driving back up to the Redwoods, but Jamie’s mom, Sheri, and Joanne were having some people over, so we stayed at the house to help out.

     When we weren’t visiting Jamie and I went walking out in the beautiful (and WARM) outdoors, relaxing with Johnny in one of the backrooms, and watching movies.

DAY 9 (12/26)

     Yesterday we planned to drive into Sacramento to hang out in Old Town. Before we headed out I made myself a large fruit smoothie (bananas, mango, peaches, strawberries, a raw organic superberry powder, and coconut water) and offered to make Breakfast for everyone.  I cooked up some more scrabbled tofu (I had all the right spices this time) and some more raw cheese sauce.

I may not eat cooked vegan meals like this anymore, but it is still much healthier than the SAD and vegetarian diet. Also I love to cook/bake/prepare as good and healthy food for people as I can, so if you ask to make something for you I’ll gladly do fix something to your tastes and preferences.

     It took a couple of hours to get to Old Town (we got there around 1pm), and a few more minutes to find a parking space (we had no idea it would be THAT busy). We spent the next 4 hours walking and shopping around. There was a lot of cool stuff, but I didn't have the desire, nor the money, to buy a ton of stuff. However, I did purchase some original Kodak Box Cameras form the early 1900s and a Sacramento sweatshirt.

     For dinner we stopped off at a Fresh Choice. I took advantage of their all you can eat policy and loaded up my salad with every good looking vegetables they had.

     We got back to Jamie's parents' house around 11pm and we were all exhausted, but it had been a pretty good day. We all passed out in our respective sleeping areas as soon as we got through the door. LOL.    

DAY 10 (12/27 – TODAY)

     Today is just going to be spent helping Jamie pack up some of her stuff in her room. I'll probably go for go for a walk or a run in the afternoon, and tonight I'll be making dinner for everyone: A vegan lasagna. I'm not sure what I'll be having for dinner, but I'm sure I'll be inspired by whatever yummy fresh food I can find in the house. =)

STAY TUNED

     Tomorrow we'll be spending the day in San Francisco! And Thursday has yet to be planned, but it will be out last day in California before we head out, so we'll be sure to find something awesome to do for the grand finale. 

Thanksgiving Break Recap, Fruit Deliveries, and Winter Running

     I can't believe its almost been a week since I got back to Union College from Thanksgiving Break! Being home with my mom and my brother was something I really needed. We all stayed up late watching movies, slept in late,  I had long in-depth conversations with my mom, I got to see my old friends, go to cycling classes at LA Fitness, and do some fun trail running. I also took advantage of Black Friday by purchasing some new Vibrams online (they were 30% off!) instead of buying them at Abbadabba's in Atlanta (I needed a new pair of Sprints. My old pair I wore a whole through it after wearing it everyday for almost 1.5 yrs.).

    

      I was planning to do the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon while I was home, but I changed my plans; my mom asked me if it would be alright to skip it this year so that she could have a relaxing and well-slept vacation (I didn't have my car so she would have driven me to the race at 5am on Thanksgiving Day in downtown Atlanta). Everyone just needs a break now and again, and my main priority on this vacation was to spend quality time with my family. They have supported me in my food choices, school choices, and especially in my races, and they are what I am most grateful for.

This is my latest creation, a "Baked" Apple Smoothie.

This smoothie was invented to replace my preplanned 

raw persimmon pie. I had all the ingredients but somehow

ants managed to find their way into the reusable bag, 

paper bag, and plastic bag that I had wrapped 

the Hachiya persimmons in to ripen.

     When I got back from break my good friend, Jamie, and her boyfriend picked me up at the airport in Omaha. Although I had persimmons waiting for me back in my dorm and some clementines I had brought back from the Farmer's Market at home, I was still going to need some more food to last me until my next shipment from Jourdan's Beautiful Foods arrived, so we stopped off at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

Yum yum, eat em up!

     Yesterday was when my fruit 

packages started to arrive again. More Dragon Fruit!   

And today my package of Pomelos came in!!

I was amazed at the size of these guys. 

Wow! I know what I'm having for breakfast.

     Since getting back I hadn't gone running. I was sick of using the treadmill, but it was cold outside and I didn't have the appropriate outdoor running clothes for midwest temperatures.  So this Tuesday I went over to Scheels (a popular sports store hear in Nebraska) to fork out some money for a good quality winter running outfit: pants, shirt, coat, gloves, and hat (the whole shebang).

     While I was there I also invested in a new pair of running shoes. I haven't run or really even walked in anything but Vibram Five Fingers and thin sandles in well over a year. However, I've found that even with the Bikila's I'm only able to run a max of 14 miles on pavement (trails aren't a problem) before I start experiencing ankle pain. I viewed this reaction as an indication that if I plan on training and running the Lincoln Marathon this May, then I was going to need some shoes with more support; and with some research beforehand and some assistance from one of the staff members from Scheels, I found something that I believe will work for me - the Nike LunarGlide+ 3 Shield running shoe.

I ran in them for the first time today.

It felt a little weird because I'm not accustomed

to running in actual shoes, but I don't think it 

will be to difficult to adjust seeing as they are so light.

And even though they provide more support than 

Vibrams, they aren't really all that thick.

Bring on the cold, I'm ready!

     I only have one more week after this week before finals; then I can enjoy myself over Christmas Break - 3 whole weeks of fun, rest, and relaxation before Spring Semester starts. The first two weeks I'll be in California with Jamie (road trip!) and the last week of break I plan on flying back home to visit my family. So my posts might have been rather sparse over the Fall semester, but look out for a lot of activity  anytime after December 18th.

Later!

The rest of my race photos and video came in yesterday. I complied them all together into one video on my youtube account, but I'm also placing the stills in this post as well. I've got two more races this spring: an 11K on April 22nd, and 3.2 mile run + obstacle courses (the Warrior Dash). I can't wait! =)

Georgia Publix Half Marathon: Go Vegan!

     Well I did it again! Yesterday morning I ran my 3rd half marathon, and although it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, I still had a blast! =)

     This was the first race I got to run wearing my "Go Vegan" Organic Athlete's running outfit. All throughout the course I would hear "Go Vegan, woohoo!" being screamed from people on the sidelines. I also met several other vegan runners during the race and I had to pleasure of running across (pardon the pun) one of them after I finished the race, and she said that she would be visiting Organic Athlete's website to buy her own "Go Vegan" running outfit. It feels really good when you can encourage others to promote a healthy lifestyle.

     The weather Sunday morning was overcast, but the temperature (approx. 62-63 degrees) with a slight breeze made it the run very comfortable. My goal for this half was to finish in 2 hrs. or less, and halfway through the run I was running strong, and it looked like I was going to reach my goal, and that's when tragedy struck. During a particularly narrow and congested part of road, a runner tried to pass me, and accidentally bumped me, causing my to stumble and strain my ankle. My ankle hurt so badly, but I pushed through it and kept running, but I was forced to slow my pace down considerably in order to finish the race. It didn't help that this injury also affected my running form, which also led to irritating an old knee injury. My knee doesn't give me any problems when I run, unless my technique is poor.
Alas, the injury meant that I didn't meet my PR goal for this race, but I keep reminding myself that I was lucky to be able to finish the race at all, and I am grateful for that.

Just before the race.

After the race. In slight pain, and favoring one leg, but very happy indeed.

I so happy to see a fruit stand at the post-race festivities. It was the California Cuties Clementine Company. The employees were handing out free clementines, some to eat and some to snuggle with.

Stopped off at Whole Foods on the way home and picked up a Orange Blueberry juice to go. Nectar of the gods in a cup.

     My estimated race time given to me after I crossed the finish line was 2hrs. & 10 min. Today the results were posted online, and my official chip time turned out to be exactly 2:11:15. I was amazed that even though I didn't make my 2 hr. finishing goal, I still managed to set a new PR for myself even though I ran the last half of the course injured. I'm one lucky fruit loving girl! 

One More Day to Go

     It's almost here! The Georgia Publix Half Marathon (formally known as the Georgia ING Half Marathon) is this Sunday. This will be my third half and my second time running this particular half. 

     The Expo was held in the same place as last years: the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta. When I got there I experienced an acute feeling of deja vu. It felt like it was just yesterday I was at the Expo last year, picking up my packet, so nervous because it was going to be my first race, and it was all so new. 

 I came out in my full "lifestyle advertising" get up: Vibram Five Fingers, "Go Fruit Yourself" 30 Bananas a Day T-shirt, and my Tree of Life Pendant. Yup, I was a walking stereotype. . . hehe. =P

   Things weren't exactly the same though this time. Since Publix is now the primary sponsor of the race since ING stepped down, the color scheme, the layout, and some of the booths were different this year. One of the changes I liked best, was the addition of a fruit stand. While their selection was very basic (apples, oranges, grapefruit, lemon, and limes) it's a step in the right direction. =)

     The Expo also had added a booth to sell Vibram Five Fingers. Go Vibrams! Unfortunately, it was the one thing I forgot to take picture of (bad Amanda! LOL).

    In order to be reduce stress and get as much sleep as possible the night before the race, my race day cheerleader/photographer mom and I will be staying at a Holiday Inn that is right next to the starting line in Centennial Olympic Park. Last year I had to wake up at 4am to get to the race in plenty of time, not something I want to do again. I'm hoping that decrease in stress and increase in sleeping hours will improve my overall running performance so I can set a new PR.

     Stay tuned!

Spring is Coming, Spring is Coming!

     Today was my first day back from Spring Break, and what a beautiful day it was indeed. Classes kept me indoors for the first half of the day. However, this afternoon I was able to go for a short 4 mile trail run at Turner Lake Park. Turner Lake is probably my most favorite place to run because it's only 5 minutes away from my house, and the only other trail runs are 30+ minutes away. Today was perfect running weather: 72 degrees, a slight breeze, clear skies, and trails bursting with fresh spring flowers and greenery!

   Turner Lake's trails are a perfect place to work on increasing my running speed, strength, and endurance.  Today I chose to hilly route and aimed "power through" the hills, pushing to go as fast as I can up them, instead of slowing down (which is what my legs and lungs wanted me to do, but I told them no and kept going. LOL),

   After I got home and took a shower I had just enough time to grab a dozen dates before accompanying my mom to the grocery store. I had promised her that I was going to make her a special raw vegan dinner, and we were out of a couple ingredients that I needed. When we got back my mom was famished, so I quickly set to work on preparing some Jicama Nori Rolls.

   This delicious meal is salt free and 100% raw vegan, and best of all, my mom adored it! It's hard for me to come up with savory raw dishes that she likes, mostly because her taste and mine are so different. I was just so happy that I was able to concoct a recipe that was tasty, healthy, satisfying, and raw.

My mom is camera shy when it comes to putting her face on the internet.

 However she did allow me take a photo of her chopsticks, 

getting ready to tuck into her meal.

   This recipe will be featured in my our upcoming health & lifestyle/recipe book, as well as my LFRV recipe book. So stay tuned to find out the secret ingredients to my special Jicama pate! =)

   Now, once my mom was settled into her food, I wasted no time in whipping up a fruity green pudding smoothie.

Kiwi, Mango, and Spinach (a dinner that Popeye would love)

   The rest of my evening was filled with homework, returning emails, and working on my recipe book. It was only just a few moments ago that I realized how late it is; this time change had really thrown my internal body clock off. It's amazing what a difference just one our can make isn't it? Oh well, hopefully by the end of the week I'll be back "in tune" so to speak.