Monday, January 14, 2008

Runner's Heights: Easy on the Cheese

Cumulative mileage...134 miles.

Still recovering from the cold and sore throat and yet the day's short run was remarkably easier. Maybe, it was because I paced myself a slot slower, at about a 12-minute-mile. No shin splints and no undue stress on those old muscles, only a reinvigorating feeling after. One thing didn't change however and that was the amount of trash scattered around the Ballona Creek. I hear that the rains bring in more of the debris from connected streams and rivulets, but this is really an eye sore in the last remaining wetlands in West Los Angeles.

It seems like a serendipity, but I might have finally stumbled upon a cheese-less pizza that is delicious, healthy, and fairly easy to buy at Trader Joe's. Despite the fact that it is a frozen pizza, you can still taste the bell peppers and the mushrooms that are the toppings. And of course, you don't feel so heavy and bloated (especially if you are lactose-intolerant) because there's no cheese! I added a few toppings of my own with a sauteing a package of Trader Joe's soy ginger carrots and sliced, baked tofu. Takes less than 20 mins. and is just scrumptious and mostly cholesterol free.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Runner's Heights: The Cold or the Soot?

Cumulative mileage...131 miles.

This mileage above includes a 2-mile run in near-freezing weather in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and some runs on a treadmill in a hotel in Chicago. But, I am discounting the run on the treadmills because there are some purists who are puritanical about running on terra firma only. Yes, I am bowing to the purists but the point that I would really like to make is that running in cold weather is a whole new game, as I discovered the hard way. Unless you have proper gear in cold weather, your body reacts to the cold by stiffening up the muscles and that makes for a very strenuous run and makes you a very likely candidate for a sore muscle or shin splints. And since the air is colder, it is seemingly heavier and you have to strain harder to fill your lungs.

The one big difference between Chicago, Chapel Hill, and Los Angeles is that the air appears to be much more clean in Chicago and Chapel Hill around this time of the year. When I returned to LA from my trips to Chicago and Chapel Hill, I promptly experienced allergy symptoms from the dust and pollution. So, take your pick...freezing cold weather, or dust and pollution in a warm setting. It's a tough choice when you wish to be outdoors all the time.