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Cookbook Review: The Happy Herbivore

November 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

Funny thing happened on the way to nirvana.

Today I was scheduled for a “long run”, which at this point is still only 10-11K.  It was raining when I woke up and I faced either a depressing hour on the dreadmill at the gym, or a possibly exhilarating, definitely soaking, hour of running outside.

The last time I ran for an hour on the gym treadmill, it began to smoke.  People gathered around trying to ascertain the source of the smoke that was filling the gym.  It was slightly mortifying.

I decided to brave the rain.

Not wanting to ruin any of the electronic implements I usually have attached to my person, I unplugged.  No heart rate monitor.  No pace monitor.  No pedometer.  No ipod.  I was going Off The Grid.

“Hmmm, this nature theme makes me want to run through the orange groves”, thought I.  I remembered my long training runs last year where I ran from my town, Kfar Saba, to, and then through, the beautiful agricultural (and mansion dotted) village of Sde Warburg.  Somewhere in my not so clever morning mind I reasoned that this distance was not quite 10K, therefore I did not bring my phone.  Nor did I bring any snacks or even a water bottle.

One hour into the run I suddenly woke up to the fact that I should be home by now, warming my toes and drinking a smoothie.  Holy Shit.  Last year I trained in MILES.  This is a TEN MILE RUN, NOT 10K.

No phone, no water, no food and 6K more to run.

Did I mention the orange groves?  Thank you very much to the farmer whose oranges I may have nicked.  It was an emergency.  I love living in a country where food grows on the trees!

So fed and watered, there was only one way home:  my feet!  I did my best – had to walk a bit at the end.  I imagine ice packs will play a major role in my weekend activities.

Training Log for T-minus 19 weeks:

Sunday: Ran 10K

Monday: Abs and Arms

Tuesday: Legs & Back

Wednesday:  Ran 6K

Thursday:  Rest

Friday:  10 miles, 16K, I ran about 14-15K of it.

Training Chow:

I got a new cookbook this week and had lots of fun playing with it:  The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay Nixon.  I am a happy, happy, VERY happy Herbivore, as a matter of fact!  How could I not buy this book?

Lindsay’s recipes, not only vegan, are also low-fat, simple, easy to prepare, and use mostly whole, natural healthy ingredients.  We have spoken before here about how just because something is vegan, doesn’t mean it’s healthy.  (um, like that Vegan Cranberry Almond Cake I made)

So I got down and busy with Happy Herbivore recipes this week and got used to cooking without any fat.  Know what?  Things really do taste good even if you don’t use oil.  Not AS good, mind you, but definitely still plenty good.

This week I made:

Mini Vegan Pizzas, which had a cheese-y topping made of nutritional yeast, wheat flour, dash of cornstarch, miso, garlic and onion powder.  Delish!  And that’s a side of Split Pea Soup (not from the cookbook, that we splurped and supped all week):

vegan mini pizza

Veggie-Filled Fritata (from tofu):

vegan frittata

Red Lentil Dahl:

red lentil dahl

And Creamy Carrot Soup, in which oats are the secret ingredient to all that creamy.  Sorry, no photo.

No training song this week either.  I ran all week to PodRunner.  170 beats per minute to the place where 10K and 10 miles feel like the same thing!

Filed Under: beans, Exercise, Inspiration, Product Reviews, Recommendations, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, Triumph Race Club, vegan Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Day of Reckoning

August 3, 2011 By 3 Comments

cue dramatic music…

Last week I laid down the gauntlet.  I challenged my readers to join me in training for an athletic event, a race, triathlon, dance-a-thon, whatever.  Your assignment for the past 7 days has been to find an event in the next 12 months to train for and to make the commitment to do so.

Quite a few of you wrote to me right away with the events you chose.  I salute you, People of Action!

Some others wrote that they would definitely be participating but were in the midst of a vacation/work/family visit etc and would get back to me when you had a chance to look over the possibilities.  Awesome, I am waiting to hear back from you.

How did the rest of you make out?  Motivated but still too scared?  Or just plain convincing-yourself-that-a-sporting-event-isn’t-for-you-ever-don’t-talk-to-me-about-it anymore- resistance-resistance-resistance?  Fine.  You can lead a horse to water and all that.  Just stick around and allow for the possibility that your thoughts may one day change.  Or not.  Up to you.

So, here we go:

1.)  Tell Her About It!  If you have not yet told me about your participation, comment below, facebook me, or email me.  If you want to participate but don’t want to be public about it, you can tell me that also and I will keep your confidence.

2.)  Take a sheet of paper out and write a sentence or two of WHY you are training for your event.  Even if this seems totally obvious to you, trust me, there will be dark, cold mornings when, for the life of you, you cannot remember why you need to get out of your warm bed and put your sneakers on.  So write out your “why” and put it on your bedside table, bathroom mirror, alarm clock, fridge, the wall next to your bed, taped to your forehead…   Your reasons could be anything really, but some common ones might be:

  • To prove to myself that I CAN
  • To prove to someone else that I CAN
  • To be a great example to my kids
  • To fight back from disease, disability, depression
  • To raise money for charity (more on that later)
  • To lose weight (more on that below)
  • To get fit
  • To get out of my comfort zone
  • To have fun
  • To meet new people
  • Because Emily pressured me into it (hello, you need to pick a new WHY)
A few words about weight loss:
I don’t know why this is, but I have seldom known anyone to lose weight while training for a long-distance endurance event.  When I train for a half marathon, I burn up to 1000 calories per workout and STILL don’t lose an ounce!  This may be because long-slow-cardio is not the best fat burner or because our bodies are magnificent machines that turn up appetite to exactly match our expenditure.

Truthfully, I don’t even think trying to lose weight while training for an endurance event is even such a great idea in the first place.  You need to fuel yourself well to prevent injury or burn-out.  Being in constant calorie deficit is probably not a good training state.

So…  if you’ve got weight to lose, start that NOW, before your official training begins.  ”But Emily, HOW do I lose weight?  I’ve been trying to lose weight for YEARS with no success?”

(giant yawning silence)

Um, hi, my name is Emily Segal and I’m a weight loss coach.  You are reading my blog as we speak.  Not to be obnoxious, but if you need to lose weight, why are you not working with me?  I can get you there without putting you on a diet or yucky meal plan or demanding that you eat food you hate.  I design each person’s program to be what THEY want, to hone in on their strengths, and fortify their weak spots.  We work together to correct all those misconceptions about weight loss and all that black and white thinking about the “right diet”, this idea of suffering through someone else’s limited plan, and to address any addictions or destructive habits without which, you literally soar right on down the scale for once and for all.

And as a last teeny tiny kick in the pants – more like a punt really – you need to know that at the end of September I am raising my rates.  But clients who begin programs BEFORE Sept 28th stay at the current rate for as long as they work with me.  It is NOT expensive now and you CAN afford it (actually how can you afford to keep putting this off?).  But come Sept 28th, you will need to dig deeper into your pockets, so no more procrastinating!

To make an intro appointment just to give it a whirl, fill out the contact form HERE, or email me at healthcoachemily@gmail.com.  I work with people all over the world via Skype.  Or in person for those in my area.

So, your assignment for the week are:
1.) Notify me of your participation if you haven’t already
2.)Write your WHY
3.) Get started on a weight loss plan if you need to lose some weight
4.)  Watch the videos below (get a kleenex!)
Next post will be about training plans.

For now, I leave you with my most favorite inspiring videos of all times.  If you are receiving this via email, you will need to click on the title to view it on the blog.  Please do take the few minutes to watch these videos because they may just change your life.  If you can watch the story of Dick & Rick Hoyt and not feel a stirring in your heart and a call to action in your own life, well…  Just watch:

Filed Under: Exercise, Goals, Growth, health coach, Inspiration, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, Triumph Race Club, weight loss Tagged With: , ,

Let’s Race! Part One

July 27, 2011 By 9 Comments

OK, here’s the deal.  As most of you know (because I rarely shut up about it), I am planning on running the Full Tel Aviv Marathon on March 30, 2012 in honor of my 45th birthday.  I have run 3 Half Marathons, but never a full and it has long been a dream of mine.  Frankly, I have no idea how I will run a full marathon, when half marathons seem pretty much the limit of my ability, but I strongly believe that “where there’s a will, there’s a way”.

Continuing with the well-worn sayings, “Misery Loves Company”, which is why I’m planning to take as many of YOU on this journey with me as possible.

And I don’t mean vicariously, chicas!

My dream/plan/desire, is to form a racing TEAM of participants all over the world, competing in any sort of sporting event and using this blog as Motivation Central to cheer one another on, get and stay inspired and on track.

It doesn’t matter if you have never run, biked, or swum before (What’s the deal with English past participles and why can’t I remember how to use them?)  We are each going to choose an event, in a time, place, distance and sport convenient for us.

ANYONE can participate in a race!  Every race that I have run in, there have been fat people and out-of-shape people and old people and handicapped people.  In the Tel Aviv Half Marathon there were religious Jewish women running in skirts and headscarves and I even saw one Muslim woman running completely covered up!

And I must mention that the reason I saw all those various people is because they all PASSED me.  I am slow and you can be too.  What’s the rush?  If you pick a race and need to walk it, fine, you will have lots of company.  I am not going to run the marathon for speed this time, but rather just to finish it.  The power is in the intention, the planning, the effort and hopefully the completion.  You can set whatever kind of goal you wish.

Honestly, just set aside your excuses and step up to the plate.  I swear your life will be eternally changed for the better.

So…  our first step is to choose a race.  I am going to refer you to this post on No Meat Athlete about how to choose your first race, HERE.  Then come back and bookmark these sites so you can investigate and choose a race that suits you.

My only requirement is that you choose a race within 12 months from now.  My race is a full 9 months away but my preparation is already underway although not in the way you might expect.  I’ll explain in an upcoming post.

I’m giving you a full week to let this idea percolate and to explore different possibilities.  By next Wednesday I want you to all have an event in mind.  I’m not sure what format will suit us best, either the comments section, or maybe a facebook page or sparkpeople team?  But I want to keep it public so the chickens people who think they aren’t ready yet, can be inspired.

The Tel Aviv Marathon site is HERE.  There’s a Full Marathon (42.2 km), a Half Marathon (21.1km), a 10-K and a 10% race (4.2K).

The Jerusalem Marathon site is HERE.  They’ve got a Marathon, Half and a 10K.

The Israel Women’s Triathlon in Herzliya is HERE.  You can do various lengths and even put together a relay team with 2 other women, each taking one sport.

For those who read Hebrew, you can find a full calendar of races and events at Shvoong, HERE.

For races internationally check HERE.  North America, check HERE.  Or just google the name of your city and “race” and see if anything comes up.  Almost every town has a turkey trot or charity race.  Kfar Saba and Raanana also have local races.

So your assignment for the week is to find a race, sign up if it’s soon, and post it in the comments section here.  I will be giving a shout out to all who are participating!

Don’t worry yet about how to train and what to eat, what to wear etc etc.  I will be walking you through all of it, OK?  Free coaching, community support, public accountability, how great is this?!

Come on, claim your medal!

Filed Under: Events, Exercise, Goals, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon Tagged With: , ,

Chocolate Mint Chia Pudding

July 11, 2011 By 5 Comments

Chia.  Yes, one and the same:

chia petTurns out that little sprouty dude is a super power of nutrition!  ”Chia seeds contain 6 times more calcium, 11 times more phosphorus, and 4.6 times more potassium per 100g of edible portion than milk, and have 6 times more iron per 100g of edible portion than spinach, 1.8 times more iron than lentils, and 2.4 times more iron than beef liver. To this, add a high protein composition (19-23%) and the fact that they can aid in hydration for physical fitness, and you have a very nourishing snack indeed!” (Source)

More iron than beef liver.  Did you read that my anemic friends??

Much like flaxseeds, when you add water to chia seeds, they become gel-like.  In fact, during my training for the Tel Aviv Half Marathon, I often filled my water bottle with the Mexican treat, Iskiate, a blend of chia seeds, sugar (I used date syrup), lime juice and water.  I found it a fabulous energy beverage and excellent re-hydrator.

I have always been intrigued by the Chia Puddings I see on people’s blogs, but the appearance bothered me.  It looked like a cross between tapioca and caviar.  Bleh.  Then I realized I could hide the darkness of the seeds with cocoa powder, and because chocolate is always better with mint, that went in too.

chia pudding cup

Chocolate Mint Chia Pudding

1/3 cup chia seeds

1 cup almond milk

1-2 Tbsp agave or maple syrup (or a few drops stevia)

1 tsp mint extract (or vanilla)

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes or so until it’s solid.  I prefer this cold and eat it only when thoroughly chilled, about an hour of chilling time.   I ate a serving of this chia pudding for breakfast the other day!  This makes about 4 small servings.

So many times, the desserts I make are “better for your health” than those made with white flour, sugar and butter.  But they are still desserts and still not super healthy.  NOT SO chia pudding!

chia spoonful

Delicious Dessert AND Super Healthy!

Cha-cha-cha chia

Filed Under: dessert, Exercise, Recipes, Recommendations, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, vegan Tagged With: , , ,

Did you Miss Me?

April 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Well, I missed you.

After the race I really needed to spend some time re-grouping.  You know, you hold something as a Goal in front of you for so long and then when you achieve it, you have to stop and think “What will I do next?”

But while I was trying to decide my next move, my husband decided to surprise us with a family vacation to Greece!  So off we went, totally spontaneous-like.

love at the parthenonLove-struck at the Parthenon

We had our Passover seder with Chabad of Athens (and 200 other Jews from Greece and all over the world!).  The vacation was awesomely fun, but eating was a bit difficult for me.  Not only was it Passover (no bread or flour products etc), but Greece is not really such a vegetarian-friendly place!  In fact, I found that just asking “Do you have anything Vegetarian?” was a remarkably effective way of getting rid of the restaurant hawkers that follow you down the street trying to convince you to eat in their taverna.  They dropped me like a hot potato every time I asked that!  I ate A LOT of cucumbers, tomatoes, and french fries and not much else!

the boysMy Testosterone Posse


sponge bobBob o Sfougarakis

Now that I have had a few days at home, mainly spent sleeping for hours and hours and eating MY FOODS, my plan for my next goal(s) is solidifying.  Here are some of the things I will be working on here on the blog for May:

Goal #1:  Blog Every day!  I want to blog mostly food and recipes, because quite frankly it has been about 2 months since I have done much interesting cooking and my family looks sad and malnourished.  If I know I have to blog something interesting, I will have to cook it first!

Goal #2:  Do a blog series about getting into the exercise habit, especially about running and training for races.

Goal #3:  Run a couple of workshops in May, probably a 30-Day Detox and also a cooking class.  Let me know if there is anything you’d like to see offered or any times and days you’d like to request.

Goal #4:  I’m teaching a family nutrition workshop at City Kids in Tel Aviv on May 16th at 20:30.  You can read more about that and City Kids HERE.

Goal #5:  Personally I am also working on a few things:  I’m going to be back in the gym after a hiatus, justa working on my fitness.  I’m doing a gigantic project with my coach to help me gain some clarity in a few areas.  And additionally, I want to have May be totally Vegan.  I’ve been eating lots of eggs and dairy in the past 3 weeks or so and I want to cut them back out.  I feel better without them, not to mention how much better my skin is without dairy, Holy Cow,  literally!

So that’s where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.  I hope you will be here reading with me and leaving me your comments and feedback.

By the way, please note that you can subscribe to get my blog posts delivered right into your email inbox.  That way you don’t have to remember to check on your own.  Right there in the right-hand column is a box that says “Subscribe to my blog via email and never miss another post!” and you just fill in the email address of your choice.  You will then get an email there that YOU MUST CONFIRM or you won’t receive the updates by mail.  After you confirm (just follow the directions), you will get each post about 24 hours after it is published, right in your mailbox, with photos and formatting and all.  It’s awesome and there are already about 20 of you signed up.

Please note that this is NOT the same as being on my newsletter mailing list!  The two lists are entirely separate.  This is just a list for the blog.  To sign up for the newsletter mailing list, and get all my special articles, recipes, tips and special deals, you have to go to the home page and sign up for the Starter Kit.  That will put you on the newsletter mailing list.  Or do it HERE.

Filed Under: Detox and Cleansing, Events, Goals, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, vegan challenge Tagged With: , ,

Race Report Tel Aviv Half Marathon 2011

April 10, 2011 By 7 Comments

The best part of any adventure are the stories you tell of it afterwards.

“The Race” – Here’s how it all went down:

Wednesday, April 6th, 6pm:  Took my visiting sister out to a falafel dinner.

Wednesday, April 6th, 10pm:  Not feeling so great.

Thursday, April 7th, 6am:  Sick.  Not sure how much detail my blog readers desire, so let’s just leave it at “sick”.

Thursday, April 7th, all day:  Hoping it would be a “24 hour thing”, I proceeded with my life and food as normal.  Took visiting sister out for hummus lunch.  Unfortunately, it was NOT a “24 hour thing”.

Thursday, April 7th, all night:  No sleep, lots of bathroom trips, worried about waking up in time (dumb since I wasn’t even asleep), worried about my stomach and how the past day and a half of sickness would affect my running…

Friday, April 8th, RACE DAY:

4:30am – Alarm rings.  I get up, dress, use the bathroom 7 million more times and wonder if I should eat the breakfast I had planned?  Decide against eating at this point.

5:30am – M and I leave for Tel Aviv.  Lots of cars on the highway.  Lots of people inside the cars wearing the white marathon t-shirts!

6:15am – Pull into South Tel Aviv and the streets are thronged with runners having last minute snacks, attaching race numbers, rubbing themselves with lube, walking to the starting line 1/2 mile away.  There is zero parking anywhere, so we decide I will get out and walk to the start and M will find a place to stash the car.  First a photo:

pre-dawn me

6:30 am – I eat two bananas on the way and pray that they will stay in my digestive track for at least 3 hours.

6:40 am – I was assigned to Heat #1, so I line up with tons of other runners to get ready for our starting gun.  The full marathon has already started ahead of us.  I try to get to the back of the pack as I am slow and don’t want to get trampled by faster runners.  There’s a DJ at the starting line playing music.  The atmosphere is festive.  Everyone is happy and excited.  I wish I had someone with me, but I am still smiling like a silly fool.

6:45am – The first rays of the sunrise and we’re off!  I keep thinking “I am really doing this.  I am running through the beautiful streets of Tel Aviv, on a gorgeous April morning, while the sun rises, with thousands of other people.” I planned for this moment for so long and here it is!  I am overcome by happy emotion and pride.

Miles 1-5:  I quickly find a group who are running my pace (10:30 – 11:15 by my training watch) and just stay behind them.  This way I can enjoy the scenery without having to keep checking my watch.  The natural urge is to start out fast, but it’s better to run slow at the beginning and save your energy for the second half.  This is called running a “negative split.”  There are so many runners rushing past me I literally feel like I am being swept along with the tide.  We run on Allenby and then Rothschild, with a turn-around at the HaBima Theater, for those who know Tel Aviv.

Miles 6-8:  It starts to rain a bit.  This is fine with me and feels pretty nice actually.  I am still behind my pacer group, but they are beginning to pull ahead.  My watch shows that they are speeding up.  I am SO tempted to follow and have to keep reminding myself to “run my own race”, stick to my own training plan and keep consistent and slow.  The course goes back to HaYarkon and then to Rokach and all along the side of Park HaYarkon.  The sun comes back out and it starts to heat up.  There are a lot of runners and supporters along the roadside.   I find someone else to follow at pace and try to keep loose and calm despite growing fatigue.

Miles 8-10:  As we reach the turn around in the Park, I start feeling really poorly.  The full marathoners have gone straight where we turn, and that cuts the pack down considerably.  The Park, although lush and green, feels humid and hot compared to the open roadways.  The path is choppy and uneven and I have to pay attention to my feet.  My stomach starts to hurt in earnest and my head begins to throb.   Sadly, I realize it is time for those bananas to make their exit.  Luckily I find a bathroom, do my business, splash some water on my face, drink water and suck down a Gu packet to help replace what I have just lost.  I return to the race, but my spirits are down.  My pace slows to 11:45 and I consider walking.  Right then, a spectator leans in and says, כל הכבוד לך. אל תוותרי.  ”Good Job. Don’t give up!” and that is exactly the strength injection I need to get my head back in the game.  This will not be the last time support saves me.

Miles 10-12:  Lonely.  Where is everyone?  My head pounding.  Thinking not in full sentences “Head hurts b/c you need to drink.  Get something to drink.  Where are the tables?”  We are out of the park now and running through the deserted Namal (Port).  There are not many runners around me.  There is no one in front to pace me.  There are not many spectators.  I don’t like running on the wet wood slats of the boardwalk.  Then, somewhere near Aroma cafe, I am handed a water bottle and an orange slice.  I honestly didn’t even see the person who handed it to me, it just appeared in my hands.  Second time today I am overcome by gratitude to strangers.

Mile 12:  Back to HaYarkon and passing the Hilton Hotel.  My watch says we are at Mile 13, in other words, I am supposed to be at the finish line but I am not anywhere close.  Huh??  With a sinking spirit I realize that my training watch, which as you remember, I never calibrated b/c right out of the box, it seemed pretty accurate, is in fact, not accurate at all.  Meaning I am nowhere close to the finish line and already at the distance of my longest training run.  In front of us is a frigging long slow HILL and I can not see the finish line anywhere.  My heart sinks to my feet.  I slow to a walk coming out of the tunnel.  Another runner comes plodding up beside me and says “Yalla, Yalla!”  (Let’s Go!).  I grumble back about who put the ^%$# hill at the end of a race, which makes those around me laugh.  That smile puts energy into my heart and gets my butt in gear to run again.  As we pass one of the beach-side hotels, a uniformed doormen steps out to high five me, and I almost start to cry.  That makes times 3 and 4 today that I owe a debt to strangers.

Mile 13 (Mile 14 now by my watch):  At the top of the hill, the sea and beach lay stretched out before us, thousands of people are at the race expo, runners already wearing their medals are cheering us on.  I can see the speck that is the finish line in the distance.  I suddenly realize that everything I have worked for for the past 6 months will be over soon.  I throw my grumpy pants to the ground and savor the last minutes of this race.

I cross the finish line and fly right into the arms of my smiling husband who spins me around shouting “You did it!  You did it!  It’s over!”

It’s over.

The bar mitzvah at the kotel.  The bar mitzvah at shul.  The kiddush at shul.  The bar mitzvah party.  THE RACE.  It is ALL behind me, all of it.  I have crossed the final finish line.

with finishers medal

My chip time was 2:36:11.  I estimate 6 minutes probably were spent in the bathroom.  None-the-less, this was still a lot slower than my desired 2:20.  Next time, I calibrate my training computer!!!  Duh, seriously.

There is always a let down after a big accomplishment and this is no exception.  I even feel discouraged for a variety of personal reasons, not the least of which being my finishing time.  But I know that running 21km is not something everyone will even try to do and it IS a big accomplishment.

I may not have done my absolute best, but I did pretty great.  And now I have something to improve upon for next year.  My next post is going to be about planning for the next year’s race and my intention is to get as many of you to consider running it as I can.  Training for and running a race is an emotional roller coaster, but one that changes your character in a profound and positive way.  As you walk away from the finish line with that shiny medal around your neck, you feel “I can do anything I set out to do.”

and of course,

you can.

Finally, just a few words to the race organizers and supporters.  This was a FABULOUS RACE.  The course was clear and well-organized.  The entertainment was good.  The support was awesome.  To the people who stand on the sides and call out our names and numbers as we pass, you cannot imagine the kind of impact you have.  As you see from this post, just a few words of encouragement can turn everything around for a runner.

Thank you, thank you to all of you who supported me and encouraged me in person, via text, on Facebook, on the phone, mentally….  I needed every single drop of what you poured out.  Much, much gratitude.

I am taking a couple of days “off” but my next goal is already being formulated.  I gotta always have a goal!

All the official race pictures of me are up on my facebook page HERE.

Filed Under: Exercise, Goals, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon Tagged With: , , , ,

T-minus 36 HOURS to the Starting Gun!

April 6, 2011 By 1 Comment

starting lineThe starting gate is already up!

GULP

And I’ve got one of these:

blisterfrom dancing in heels at my son’s bar mitzvah!

OK, so hindsight being 20/20 and all that, there are a few things that I would have done differently if I had consulted a crystal ball:

  • Running a major race after a major event such as a bar mitzvah was in fact, NOT my most brilliant idea after all.

While the rest of my family was dancing with carefree abandon and a sense of “It’s Over!  We Made it Through!” at the bar mitzvah, I was taking mincing steps and thinking “Don’t twist your ankle.  Don’t get blisters.  It’s not over yet.”  (and I got a blister anyway)

  • Running a major race while family who havn’t been to Israel since my wedding 15 years ago, are visiting, is also not a splendid idea.

They want to see the country and eat and play.  I need to train, rest, sleep, not eat too much, not twist my ankle, and not get blisters.  Boring for them and I feel guilty for spoiling the fun.

  • For future reference, it is very difficult to maintain an in-training eating plan during a bar mitzvah week with visiting family and a kazillion meals.

I wanted to train for this race as a vegan and I did fine up until this last week.  Then time took a rapid speed-up and everything food-wise sort of spun out of control:  sugar, wheat, dairy and eggs – all things I have been avoiding because they drain my energy – have been staples of this last week’s diet.  I am feeling like a bloated slug.

BUT, on the glass is half full side:

  • All that training helped me manage my emotions during a very stressful time.
  • Running for hours was a great and private outlet for all the crying I did: happy crying mostly, but a lot just out of sheer overwhelm.  (Oh, and if you happened to see me running down the street crying like a lunatic and think you should tell me it wasn’t exactly “private”…  well, feel free to keep that to yourself).
  • Physically I was in good shape to handle the demands of cooking, cleaning, carrying bags and boxes from place to place in preparation for the kiddush and the party.
  • I slept really well on heavy training days.  I probably would have otherwise had stress-induced insomnia.
  • I am going to feel really, really, REALLY proud and accomplished when this race is over!
  • It was really nice to have my mom and sister with me the day I went to Tel Aviv to pick up my race packet with t-shirt, number and timing chip.

race bib

I am nervous and all butterfly-stomached, but mostly I am just excited and looking forward to that nice morning run in Tel Aviv with 18,250 other runners! WOW, that’s a lot of sporty people in one place!  I love sporty, healthy, inspiring people!  Most of the time, I feel like some kind of aberrant freak due to my interest in fitness and health.  So many people in my life think it’s extreme or weird.  It’ll feel good to be with such a large tribe of like-minded folk.

This morning I went on my last training run.  No stopwatch, no pedometer, no pacing or tempo.  Just me, my sneakers and Gumby the Ipod.  Easy, slow, relaxed and totally pleasant.

I am as ready as I can be at this point.  You can’t exactly cram for an event like this.  All I have left to do is prepare my playlist.

(and not get any more blisters!!)

Filed Under: Exercise, Goals, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon Tagged With: ,

The Transformative Power of Compassion

March 25, 2011 By 2 Comments

I want to tell you a story today.   As you know, I am knee-deep in bar mitzvah/visiting family/Half Marathon training.  In addition to that, we’ve got rockets falling and buses exploding again.  Living in this strange country where “life just goes on” despite things that would definitely grind the US to a halt, takes its toll on us in a deep internal way.

I spent yesterday morning flitting and flailing from thing to thing, not accomplishing much of anything, with a giant lump of emotion in the pit of my stomach: sadness, fear, agitation, anxiety and depression were my companions throughout the morning.  Oh, and did I mention rainy cold weather that has interrupted my race training and exercise routine. (And we know how without exercise, I am more likely to fall prey to my negative emotions. )

When my 9-year old came home from school I barked “Take the dog out!” and off he went without me even kissing him hello-how-was-school-how-are-you.  Clearly a bad state of affairs.

A few minutes later, same child bursts through the door, panicked and crying.  Clinging to his sweatshirt is the tiniest, wettest, most pathetic looking little kitten I have ever seen.  It is mewing wildly and trying to burrow into a warm, dry spot in his arms.

“Ima, I couldn’t just leave him there!”

We toweled the little dude off and assessed the situation.  ”We have to put him back.” I said.  ”His mom is probably out there looking for him.”  Reluctantly we dragged ourselves back downstairs and set him in the yard where my son had found him, in the cold and the rain.  We left him the towel but he climbed right out of it and into the rain frantically calling for his mom and for help.  I could feel my heart literally ripping in two.  My son’s grief was beyond words.

If…

If those innocent babies in Itamar hadn’t just been murdered.  If 4 lbs of shrapnel hadn’t just been blown into the bodies of 40 people waiting for the bus in Jerusalem.  If my friends’ kids hadn’t had to miss school today in order to sit in bomb shelters.  Then maybe, maybe, I would have steeled myself with the whole “Let Nature Take It’s Course”, “Survival of the Fittest is what makes evolution work” thing and this story would have had a very different ending.

We went upstairs and listened to the kitten mewing piteously for one hour in the rain and cold.  We prayed for it’s mom to return.  I called my husband who ordered me to leave it outside.  I spoke to my neighbors who warmed me not to touch it.  I emailed my friend J in the US.  J is a vet tech and specializes in the care of rescued and abandoned animals.  J, the one voice of dissent said “Em, bring him inside.  He might die anyway, but he deserves not to suffer.”  Then I remembered my friend O, here in Kfar Saba, an animal lover like myself, who takes in strays and knows people who maybe could help.

The rest of the day was phone calls and emails back and forth, while I wrestled with my conscious and my heart.  With the kitten back in the warmth of my son’s arms, we got him cleaned up and comforted.  He was only quiet and calm when fully encased in my son’s warm hands:

kitten

One of the things that convinced me to take him back inside, was when my older son, the bar mitzvah boy came home.  We were standing outside wringing our hands over it and L said “Ima, to leave it out here is Tzar Balei Chayim (cruelty to animals) and that is forbidden in the Torah.”  I am so proud of my bar mitzvah boy who is also an amazingly compassionate young man!

We found a vet who would take care of him until a foster family could be found.  While waiting for our vet appointment, our little guy, now sporting the name Lucky, fully warmed and comforted, resorted back to his natural curious kitten state and began exploring our apartment, (much to the great dismay of our Labrador Retriever, who was definitely in the “leave him outside” camp.):

kitten walking

Shortly before we were to leave for the vet, we heard more meowing and thinking it might be the returned mother, ran outside just in time to see a second kitten fall 2 stories from a tree and splat into the soggy ground.  Miraculously, our 2nd baby (now named Nessie (miracle)), survived the fall and he too came inside to get warm and clean.  The two siblings immediately clung to one another and would not part:

kittens

At the end of the day, we handed them over to a vet who will try to nurse them to health and strength, before either adopting them out or releasing them back to their streets, spayed and neutered, so at least their lives won’t continue this legacy of suffering.

The reason I am telling this story is because those few hours changed all of our lives.  Where before I felt hopelessness for this world where people kill children because they are the wrong religion, now I feel a hope I cannot explain.  My 9-year old, the one who started the whole saga said happily as we kissed our babies good-bye, “I will remember this day forever.”

I will too.

That got me thinking.  If just a few hours of compassionate action can have this much of a positive effect, just think how a steady diet of it could affect one’s life!  What a primary food!  And how I have over-looked it.

Lucky and Nessie, your tiny little lives taught us a great lesson today.  We wish for you a life that lives up to your names.

Now the rain has stopped and 20km of road are waiting to be massaged by my feet…

To find a Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in your Israeli town, click HERE.

To get help with animal issues like this in Kfar Saba, HERE.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Love, Primary Food, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon Tagged With:

There is always time for some Chocolate-Mint

March 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

My life is a tad busy at the moment between my son’s bar mitzvah, my upcoming race, my family’s visit, Purim and Passover.  So you’ll pardon me if my blog posts are a bit less rambling and a bit more to the point.  (I can hear you cheering, you know).

As Elvis says “A little less conversation, a little more action.”

mint chip smoothieChocolate-Chip Mint Smoothie

Chocolate-Chip Mint Smoothie

recipe inspired by chocolatecoveredkatie

1 banana, preferably frozen

2-3 dates, depending on your desired sweetness

2 handfuls spinach

2 Tbsp coconut milk

1 T ground flaxseeds

2-3 drops peppermint extract

1 cup water

2 T chocolate chips, plus a few more for garnish

Blend everything but the chocolate chips in your blender until smooth.  Add more water if you want it thinner.  Add in the chips, except a few for the garnish and just pulse a few times to lightly chop.

Slurp.

mint chip smoothie

Get back to To Do List.

Filed Under: dessert, Picky Eaters, Recipes, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, vegan Tagged With: , ,

A Dose of Concentrated Inspiration

March 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

rainbow

Inspiration:

  • an arousal of the mind to special unusual activity of creativity
  • a sudden intuition as part of solving a problem
  • divine guidance
  • arousing to a particular emotion or action

We all need inspiration to get things started and to keep things going.  Every one is inspired by different things at different times in their life.  Today I want to share some of the things that have and do inspire me.  Writing this post was difficult in that there are SO MANY things that inspire me it was hard to pick the tops.  I just went with the ones that came instantly to the top of my head at this moment.  Know that there are many, many, many more (especially books and websites!)

Music

Anyone reading this blog already knows this about me.  We are actually at the point where readers are sending me songs they think I might like!  I love that!!  Itunes has made a fortune off of me.  Not a month goes by that I do not download new songs and create new playlists.  My life has a soundtrack.  When a client comes in with a “I don’t wanna exercise” attitude, the first assignment they get from me is to go to itunes and update their current selection of songs.  Sometimes this is all it takes to get the ball rolling.

Podcasts and Lectures

  • I am currently being inspired by the talks at the Women’s International Summit for Health (WISH).  Fantastic line-up of speakers, free access to download all the talks.  Yesterday I ran 15km while Marianne Williamson and Kristen Morelli knocked my socks off with their words and ideas.  Holy Wow!  WISH is HERE.
  • I am HUGELY inspired and majorly educated by the podcasts called Food for Thought by Colleen-Patrick Goudreau.  Colleen shares her favorite vegetarian foods and how to cook and eat them, explains clearly how foods go from farm to table, teaches vegetarians how to answer all those inane questions and bullying we get (“Plants have feelings too you know.”  ”Are you wearing leather shoes, you hypocrite?”  ”You can’t possibly be getting enough protein.”  ”Humans need to drink milk to survive.”)  She is also a great story-teller and a fabulous word-smith.  Podcasts HERE.
  • A client turned me on to Jillian Michael’s podcasts.  The second Biggest Loser trainer to stop eating meat (Bob Harper went entirely vegan!), Michaels dishes on fitness, health, weight loss and green living.  Podcasts are HERE.

Websites

OhSheGlows and Peasandthankyou are my favorites for delicious vegan recipes, good writing and beautiful photography.

VeganFoodgawker for food ideas and to find even more recipe websites

TheFluentSelf and EarthEmpress for creative and writerly inspiration

CrazySexyLife is Kris Carr’s awesome wellness blog with fab guest writers

ThePlantBasedDietician,

ThePhysician’sCommitteeforResponsibleMedicine,

PETA,

VegNewsMagazine

are just some of my vegetarian inspiration favorites

Books

The Body Fat Solution by Tom Venuto

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Thin Tastes Better by Stephen Gullo

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

The End of Overeating by David Kessler

Reason for Hope by Jane Goodall

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong

Journey into Power by Baron Baptiste

Things: Places & Activities that spark Inspiration

The ocean, prayer, exercise, the gym, movies, the health food store, farms and gardens, writing, being outdoors, my kitchen, the Sun, the Moon and the Stars, being with my kids and realizing they will need a healthy, happy parent for a long time…  And YOU!  You all inspire me when you tell me I have touched your life in some way, when I hear your stories of perseverance and strength, and when I see the things you have created.

Now, my turn to lend some inspiration of my own:

Training Log T-minus 3 weeks:

Sunday, March 13 I ran my longest run of the entire training period:  13.1 miles (21km), the final race distance.

Monday, March 14: Strength Training

Tuesday, March 15:   Ran 6 miles (10km)

Wednesday, March 16:  Rest Day

Thursday, March 17:  Ran 9.5 miles (15.3 km) – This was supposed to be 10miles but I was honestly staggering at this point, so I listened to the bod.

Friday, March 18:  Strength Training

And finally, training song of the week is Fort Minor with Remember the Name (thanks again to Lior for this one!):

That’s it for me.  Tell me what inspires YOU!

 

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Filed Under: Exercise, Inspiration, Positive Thinking, Product Reviews, Recommendations, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, vegan Tagged With: ,
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