Sunday Recipe: Moroccan Apricot Couscous

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Here’s a recent low-point and filling recipe that worked like a charm. Highly recommended!

Moroccan Apricot Couscous
(from Tyler Florence’s recipe Moroccan Chicken with Apricot Couscous and Green Olive Sauce in Flat Bread)

Weight Watchers POINTS® Value: 3 (Calculated using eTools)
Servings: 6

Level of Difficulty: Easy
Course: side dishes

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/2 cups water, warm
10 pieces dried apricots
1/4 cup almonds, whole, toasted
2 medium scallion(s), green parts only
1 cup fresh mint
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 medium lemon, juiced
2 tsp olive oil, drizzled
1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Instructions

Put the couscous in a medium bowl; pour the water over it, stir with a fork to combine. Cover and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork. Put the apricots, almonds, green onions, mint, and cilantro on a cutting board and coarsely chop everything up; add this to the couscous. Add lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.

Rock Riot Run 5K and New Toy

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I did the Rock Riot Run 5K today, despite not getting enough sleep, and barely finding the starting point. It was a small run, I think the first ever, and is part of UW on-campus events to reduce dating violence and address domestic violence issues. I was definitely a decade older than many of the organizers and participants.

I completed the 5K in 33 minutes and 58 seconds. I couldn’t believe I actually did a 5K, because my Nike+ SportBand was telling me that I only did 2.79 miles. Then it occured to me – it’s not calibrated right! I barely really calibrated it, and really didn’t properly do so when I first got it. I’ve been actually runnning MORE than I thought I was, meaning my actual times are really better than I assumed.

I said to myself, “That’s it, I’m getting a GPS.”

I checked out a few places, and finally settled on the too-big for my wrist (but just good enough) all the bells-and-whistles I want (ooh! touch sensitive bezel!) in the Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor. I’m looking forward to trying out this bad boy come Monday (or tomorrow, if I can’t wait that long.) It’s hard to find a user friendly GPS and HRM that also syncs to the computer. I’ll still be wearing my Nike+ SportBand, but I’ll at least be able to properly calibrate it.

Over all, a very successful day. I’m pumped to start signing up for my next race challenges. Whose gonna join me?

Lazy Friday Before the Race

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Tomorrow I am planning to get up early (for a Saturday) and do the Rock Riot Run 5K to benefit the Eastside Domestic Violence Program. It was an inexpensive 5K, and a way to keep me motivated on this journey, so I’m rather looking forward to it. My biggest concern is if the weather will hold out. The weather in Seattle the past couple days has been completely schizophrenic. Sunny skies one minute, hail and clouds the next. I can only hope I’ll be properly prepared for my 3.1 miles.

In other news, I’m excited to write that I have officially put my name in the lottery to do the Nike Women’s 1/2 Marathon in San Francisco this October. A friend of mine, Emily, recently completed the Lavaman triathlon and signed up for the lottery for the 1/2 marathon. Given she’s been my workout buddy for 5 years (mostly in spirit due to her living in the Bay area), I felt like I absolutely had to join her. I’m very excited, and hope I get in. I hear there’s a fireman that hands you your Tiffany finishers necklace!

Weight Watchers (the system I’ve used to get in shape the past two years) is holding their Walk-it Challenge the next two months. Their challenge is to walk a 5K by June 6. I will be running a 5K this weekend, and will be training for the LIVESTRONG Challenge later in June. There’s a drawing for those of us who go to meetings to attend meetings during this time, and enter to win a trip to one of the prime walking cities in the US. I’m crossing my fingers on that one.

Sorry that it’s more of a personal post today – I hadn’t planned on anything, so you get things off the top of my head as filler! Enjoy! Wish me speed on my 5K tomorrow!

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

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Here’s a follow-up from yesterday’s post.

The other day I treated myself to a regular trip to Nordstrom Rack to try on ridiculously expensive designer jeans. Naturally, though I was feeling thinner, the moon was conspiring against me.

Not to mention, my body still ached from my first 5 mile attempt.

And that morning, I got a reply from a friend, on learning my pace for that 5 mile, that really, I’m not jogging, it’s more of a fast walk.

Oof.

Except that I know, despite my slow pace, I am technically jogging. In competitive speed walking, I recall people are disqualified for running, meaning having only one foot on the ground at a time. Even some of the beginning training programs I’ve found talk about your first jogging pace feels more like stumbling along as you work up your cardio ability.

I’m a bit sensitive, I know. I’ve dealt with a constant fear of not being good enough, and that translates both into competitiveness and defensiveness. At worst, it translates into me not even trying, or quitting before I really gave it a go.

The Tortoise and the Hare didn’t teach me what it was meant to. At the end, I was never impressed with the Tortoise, though he won. He was dull, slow, lethargic and single minded. He was also smug. The hare, though a bit of an asshole, I saw as ultimately being an interesting character. He’s overzealous, a bit of a braggart, but just seemed like more fun.

I’m hoping I’m neither – and that in the end, I’ll be more whatever animal relishes in fartleks. Here’s hoping.

“May I ask a simple question – how did you start running?”

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I got an email in my inbox recently, which prompted me to respond to the question of how I started running. Here’s my updated (and long) response.

I started running as a sort of “what the hell” kind of thing. I figured I’d give it a try. I picked up the Runner’s World Guide to Women’s Running and read through the first few chapters. Then I got my gear. I weighed about 195 lbs at the time, and at that point had been easily able to walk 3 mi or more (and often did on a regular basis.) I don’t think that the answer is putting on shoes and going out – it’s actually a bit more complicated than that. Here’s my
personal list of how to approach starting to run:

  1. Know your current skill level. Can you walk for 30 minutes to an hour at a reasonable pace?
  2. Get fitted for running shoes. Expect to spend $85-100. Go to Super Jock and Jill (near Green Lake) or another running store that specifically fits you for your running shoes. They should sit down with you, watch you take a few strides, and have you try on (and take a brief jog) in 4 or so pairs of shoes. Expect to spend about 30 minutes doing this. You will learn about what type of runner you are, and what kind of support you need when running. Don’t pick a shoe because it’s pretty or popular. Pick the one that feels the best, and gives you the support you need. This can help prevent injury.
  3. Invest in a good sports bra. The Moving Comfort bras are my absolute favorite. I recommend Title Nine for fitting if you don’t know what size you are, which is also near Green Lake.
  4. Get a heart rate monitor, preferably one with a chest strap. I use the Polar F11 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor WatchThis will allow you to keep tabs on your heart rate, and will basically tell you when you’re over-exerting yourself, and when you could step it up a bit. This is your best defense against turning red and having someone call 911. That, and getting to know your own limits.
  5. This is optional, but I truly believe it helps – get fancy tech fabric moisture wicking shorts and shirts. I like the Nike Women’s Pacer Running Shorts and Nike Women’s Short Sleeve Pacer Baselayer Shirt. The tech fabric helps lessen chafing, and keeps you cool and dry.
  6. Browse Runner’s World – don’t bother with a subscription. They have some great training programs and tips to get you started.
  7. Optional: Invest in a cold pack for your knees or other tender areas for your post-jog.
  8. Optional: I love my Nike+ Sport Band. It doesn’t do everything I want the gadget to do, but I love the Nike+ website, and I love the gadget. It’s also a low price for such a nifty tool.
  9. Set a goal. Example, “In 12 weeks, I will go to a 5k walk/run (aka “fun run”)”

Disclaimer: Talk to your doctor about starting any training program. This is what I did, your milage may vary! The method I started with was to do my training in a 30 minute block. For the first week, I did 3-4 days of 10 minutes walking at the fastest pace I felt comfortable, then 2 minutes jogging, 2 minutes walking (alternating) until I reached the 20 minute mark. Then, I spent the last 10 minutes walking. This is an 8 week program that gradually brings you up to jogging the full 30 minutes. Another option is to use your heart rate monitor, and find out what your optimal cardio zone is (the monitor should come with this information). Then you go out and walk/run depending on where you are in the zone. If you need to boost your heart rate, you jog, if you need to lower it, you walk.

I did all my run/walking in the neighborhood I lived in, which at the time was basically flat for Seattle. Now I’m in a more hilly neighborhood, so it’s a little tougher to find a good flat route to start on, but I found one that mostly works. Green Lake has walkers and runners of all fitness levels. It can be crowded and intimidating, but you’re not alone. There are people just like you, some even at lower fitness levels, out there doing their thing, going around the lake. Even the fastest runners had to start somewhere. I would think to myself when I’d get self-conscious, “Oh yeah, I know you d think I’m slow, but I’m awesome, I’m out here doing it!” I’m still a really slow runner, but this blog is a testament to my goals. 🙂