TRAILMOMMA ~ Page 19 of 44 ~ Trail Running + Plant-Based Living = the best adventures

January 20, 2016January 19, 2016

RAINY DAY FUN

If you have followed this blog since the beginning (which is probably no one but Pigeon and maybe my NJ family) you may recall back in 2010 when I was training for my first ever ultra.

I was part of the Fleet Feet Ultra Training Group (the first one there ever was) and that is where I met Pigeon, Coach Nikon, Captain Kirk, Kuni the Beast, Miss P and a whole host of others who I still see both on and off the trails.

But what stands out most that training year was the RAIN. We had multiple runs where we were soggy, muddy and just down right drenched. I would venture to guess that was the last time we had a “real” wet winter here in Northern California.

One of my favorite old shots - Puddle Jumping! — One of my favorite 2010 shots – Puddle Jumping! Photo by Coach Nikon

This year is starting to look and feel more and more like that crazy water-logged 2010 year did.

Last Saturday I found myself running with Pigeon and Stonegate. We decided to run 16 so we carpooled to the Auburn Damn Overlook (ADO) together.

We knew that rain had been forecasted for the most of the morning but when we started our run it was only spitting.

We set off for the canal with plans to run down Cardiac hill and out towards Avery’s Pond. I happen to love this section of trail.

After a rough work week (eeerrr month), I had energy to spare and was pretty excited to be out running.

Pigeon is working herself back up to where she left off last season and was content to let me and Stonegate run off ahead like two little kids in a toy store. 🙂 And boy did we!

The mud was thick and slippery and there was no use trying to dance around any puddles. Needless to say, our socks and shoes were pretty wet fairly early into the run.

We had some good laughs along the way. I was on high alert because a few years earlier Pigeon and I had run into a mama bear and her cubs on this very trail … something I didn’t really want to repeat.

The trails were pretty busy with various groups and people out running or walking their dogs. Every once in a while the rain would come down a bit harder but for most of the run, we were dry (well, minus our feet). I even took off my jacket after a while and ran in a t-shirt as I was getting quite hot.

According to a report in the United Kingdom as long as you have them for personal purposes, like bodybuilding. generic cialis cheapest It is advised by experts to have this Anti-ED tablet merely an hours prior carrying out foreplay. slovak-republic.org usa discount cialis 100mg is accessible in 25mg, 50mg & 100mg packets & these can also be purchased from the pharmaceutical web stores. The online stores female viagra pills also deliver the good quality herbal pills by sending a Demand Draft. These treatments are used to cure erectile dysfunction slovak-republic.org on line viagra rather than for treating impotence problems.
We ran past Avery’s Pond and eventually turned around and made our way back the way we came.

Oddly enough, a tree had fallen after we passed it and was blocking the trail on our way back. Thank goodness it fell well after we had run by.

Stonegate is signed up for the American River 50 Miler, her first 50 and it was neat showing her exactly what she will be running on her last 8 or 9 miles.

Like I said before, I just love these trails. They cleanse my head and fill my heart every time.

Soon we hit the bottom of Damn Hill where Cardiac starts back up.

Pigeon and Stonegate fueling up before the climb

We paused to have some food and take in the river which was actually flowing one more time before climbing our way back up Cardiac towards the Overlook.

Once we reached the top, we stopped to take a few more photos. Stonegate wanted to get a better shot of me and like any good friend would, she climbed through the canal to get to the other side just to take the photo!

She also cleaned her shoes in the process.

The rain started to come down pretty hard the last few miles but it felt good. We knew we were almost done and we all had smiles on our faces.

I know we need the rain because we have been in a drought for so long but running in the rain always requires a bit of extra work and tends to slow down the run (darn mud) overall. No matter what though, it always makes for an adventure and I am looking forward to many more of these wet and muddy adventures as training season continues!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

January 8, 2016January 7, 2016

2016 THE FINAL COUNT DOWN?

2016 has arrived and I have yet to blog about anything. Mostly I just don’t have anything that I would consider “post worthy” to take up your valuable time. Trust me when I say that I value time these days. I seem to have very little to spare since the new year has arrived.

So much so, that my blogging here has suffered.

I could list out my “New Year’s Resolutions,” but I won’t.

I could list all the races that I am planning to do, but I won’t.

I have both, I just don’t feel much like writing about them. Perhaps I will write about them as they come up?

One big thing for me in 2016 is that this is the last year that I can say, “I am in my 30s.” Come December 11, 2016, that phrase will no longer ring true. Not that being 40 is a bad thing, 40 IS the new 20 or so I hear. Okay, maybe I made that up but it does signify a big change.

Not only do I move to a new age bracket when it comes to racing and running, I also move that much closer to being able to get the senior discount at the movies! Alright, I am being a bit dramatic I agree.

But have you SEEN that Full House is coming back to TV, only now will be called Fuller House and that DJ, Stephanie and Michelle (who I guess isn’t on the show) are all grown up and have kids? That show started in 1987 and I was a loyal fan. Okay, I was a loyal fan to a lot of 80s/90s TV shows (I wanted to marry Kevin Arnold, be best friends with Laura Ingalls and be adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Brady OR the Keaton family – it changed daily).

Still, time is FLYING and I can’t seem to stop it no matter how hard I try. The Peanut is taking guitar lessons and is really into music. It happened on a whim and now she seems to enjoy it.

Squeaker will be entering kindergarten this year and will finally (after years of doing a terrible commute) be in the same school as the Peanut. She’s becoming such little girl instead of a “baby” these days. She’s funny, smart and man, if that girl doesn’t love fashion.

Carrots are full of vitamins and minerals which help your body to resist best prices on sildenafil illnesses. 8.The antioxidants found in acai also help to reduce the stress rate and to boost up their immune system. Despite being something that can canada viagra sales seemingly end a man’s confidence and often lead to severe cases for which doctor’s consult is very important to secure your health. Osteopaths are aware that the body structure dysfunction has an effect on the gastro-intestinal, circulatory, and nervous cheapest cialis prices systems of the body. There are so many factors http://deeprootsmag.org/2013/07/23/curiosity-rover-delivers-billion-pixel-view-of-mars/ free viagra without prescription that cause the onset of an attack.

I just love spending time with them yet with all our activities and that thing called work there just isn’t enough time. I want more.

So blogging has been moved to the bottom rung of things to do these days. I am sure once we get into the swing of our routine in 2016 I may blog more. With El Nino here, my trail runs should be way more exciting almost reminiscent of my 2010 training days which will surely warrant a post now and then.

I want to get back into editing some trail videos too like I did here as well as my family’s home movies. We just have to figure out that “storage” problem on our computer (ahem, Vans).

I have quite a few travel plans already scheduled for 2016 too so of course I’d like to blog about those as well.

But for now, be patient. Things will resume to a new-semi-normal routine I am sure. Too normal is boring but semi-normal is sustainable.

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope you seek and find whatever adventure you may be looking for this year. Cherish the time you have with those you love. Life is way too short and way too precious.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

December 9, 2015December 8, 2015

CIM 2015 RACE REPORT

This past Sunday I ran my 7th California International Marathon and my 11th marathon to date.

Last year when I ran this race (you can read that race report here), I decided that upon crossing the finish line that I wanted another shot at actually “running” this race and not just finishing (even though I ran the past few CIMs with TiggerT and had SO much fun while doing it). I had decided, that even though I am on the fence about ever running in Boston, I’d like to at least have the ability to say, “Why yes, I qualified!”

So when my trail season ended, I began running roads and started “lightly” following an old training plan that I had from years ago. I ran long on weekends all solo. I did speed work on Tuesday nights a few times a month with my old crew, the Buffalo Chips (man I missed that group and their workouts). I still ran with my morning crew but mostly on Thursdays.

In the beginning, I was hitting my pace marks and felt strong and then, things started to fizzle. Either I lost motivation to run or was dealing with a few issues that my aging body did not thoroughly embrace.

Either way, for the last two months, my running has slacked. I ran Clarksburg but even then I knew, that the outlook wasn’t as positive as it had been earlier in my training. For various reasons that I won’t list here, I found myself waking up between 3 and 4 times a night.

Bottom line, I wasn’t recovering and I wasn’t hitting my marks. Still, I had faith and was determined to give it my best shot.

Come race morning, Stonegate and Burning Girl arrived at my house at 5:30 ready to whisk me away to the start. Their jokes and laughter made me smile, I was ready.

I had some pre-race laughs at the starting line with the McBride crew who always make me laugh, no matter what. They are, to put it simply, real good people.

Soon it was time to find my pace group. I needed to run the marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes to qualify for Boston. My CIM personal best was 3 hours and 56 minutes ran in 2008 when the Peanut was 8 months old and I was about 15 pounds lighter and still full of prego hormones. That would have been a major hail mary of a PR to pull off. Yet, I am a way different runner now than I was in 2008.

I decided to run with the 3:40 pace group. When the race started it was a crowded madhouse. I haven’t run in such a tight knit elbow to elbow race in a very long time. It was a little unnerving and I got slightly pushed away from the pace group.

I didn’t panic as I knew it would eventually clear out. My pace group started off pretty darn quick though. Our first few miles were jockeying between our needed pace and a little bit faster – 8:16, 8;24, 8:10, 8:23, 8:11 went the first few miles. Our pace should have been 8:23 but I understand how it works and was hanging in there just fine.

Every so often it would dump massive buckets of rain on us and then stop. I completely over dressed for this race. I should have gone with my instinct but I didn’t.

Mile 7.5 we were passing an aid-station area with lots of spectators and they started blaring Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and I just started smiling and rocking out. It was a sign for this Jersey girl and I let the music carry me.

Fast forward to mile 13, when my quads started cramping and I decided to let the pace group go. I always, ALWAYS carry a salt tab with me and I didn’t have a single one.

I hung in there running just behind the 3:40 group, closer to the 3:45 group until about mile 17 when I decided my quads were going to either seize or fall off. From that moment on, I let myself walk through the aid-stations. Just that small adjustment alone brought some life back into my legs.

I was still smiling mind you. I had decided not to beat myself up about it and to just keep running. What will be will be. I knew if I could get to mile 20, that I’d see Vans and my girls which would help a lot and if I could get to about mile 22 (I think) I would see my Oiselle Volee team and get another boost.

I pretty much walked here and gave them high-fives. It was Vans who said, “Ok, keep moving, get moving.” Thanks honey. 🙂

I saw and heard my Oiselle team cheering for me as I ran by in my singlet. That helped, a lot.
It has given a new dimension to our perception about sex & sexuality This product has created a new awareness about male sexual health This product benefits men with heart failure It is safe and easy to swallow. cialis in uk online Surgery is merely typically recommended one viagra cheapest time these treatments are no longer successful or tolerated. Arimidex is a drug online cialis sale which is approved for therapy against erectile dysfunction by the FDA. All these versatile benefits are feasible with its greatest formula. viagra without prescription

Running through downtown I tried my hardest not to look at the numbered street signs. I know how defeating that can be to not see them get smaller faster.

There were a few really SLOW moments in there between 23 and 26 where I just wanted to lay down and sleep. My quads were SCREAMING at me to stop. I just kept telling myself, “You can’t walk here. You can’t stop here! You have less than 2 miles to go!”

At one point, I said, forget this and starting pushing myself, hard … or at least it felt hard .. and then a wave of nausea hit me. I looked around and both sides of the street were lined 4 deep with people cheering us on. I thought, “Oh god, if I hurl here that would be really really bad!” 🙂

So, I slowed ever so slightly, enough to push the nausea away.

I crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 54 minutes. 2 minutes faster than my last “real” marathon and a sub 9 minute marathon. I know I have it in me to run faster, I know it … I just need the motivation or the determination or perhaps maybe a coach to actually keep me more honest and more on track.

Overall, I am pleased with those stats. My quads had nothing left. I was a sweaty mess at the end because I dressed too warm and I haven’t quite figured out how to fuel in a road race yet compared to ultras where you have the time and the convenience of fully stocked aid-stations.

Depending on our plans in 2016, the chances of me running CIM 2016 are pretty darn high. I love this race. It is right in my back yard and I know it inside and out and yet the outcome is never quite the same. Road racing keeps you honest. It pushes you beyond limits you didn’t think were possible.

As much as I love and adore trails, the competitive part of me loves to challenge myself and try and exceed past attempts at things.

My whole family was there at the finish. My heart was full. My girls and Vans were in good spirits and the weather was great.

I was happy. No matter what my time was, I was happy. And that is all that matters.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

November 30, 2015May 24, 2018

PLANT-BASED: Heart Healthy Easy Kale & Potato Dinner

I saw a version of this on Facebook one day and it got me thinking. This person had it for dessert … I wanted dinner, not dessert. I needed savory and filling … I found my solution.

So one of the biggest things that I learned when I attended Plant-Stock last August, is that leafy greens (like kale) when mixed with balsamic vinegar will help enhance nitric oxide within the body therefore dilating the heart’s arteries allowing blood to pump more freely. That my friends, is a GOOD thing.

So in an effort to create more nitric oxide, I purchased an array of infused balsamic vinegars. Bema and Pas was the vendor at Plant-Stock and they have the biggest most amazing selection of QUALITY infused vinegar I have ever tasted. While there, I ordered two and have been using them faithfully (and incidentally, I need to order more!).

So here is what I created using my Bema and Pas vinegar.

Heart Healthy Sweet Potato & Kale

Pre-Heat the oven to 450 degrees. When ready, add 1 sweet potato per person to a cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour while you prep the rest and/or decorate your house, bath your kids etc.
Next, take some homemade veggie broth and add about an inch to a pot.
Over medium high heat, throw in quite a few handfuls of shredded kale (I buy mine bagged from Trader Joes – love it) – I filled the pot – add the lid.
Steam the kale in the broth for 5 minutes.
When 5 minutes is up, drain off the liquid into a bowl – Note: depending on how many people you are serving will determine how much liquid you will need.
To the broth liquid, stir in nutritional yeast and Mrs. Dash Salt Free Garlic and Herb seasoning until it begins to thicken. Note: when I made this for myself at lunch, I didn’t need much liquid or much nutritional yeast, when I made this for Vans and myself, I needed quite a bit more. This is your “broth-cheese.”
When the sweet potatoes are done, remove the skin, scoop out the insides and add to the top of the steamed kale.
Add the “broth-cheese” to the top of the kale/sweet potato combo.
Drizzle with Bema and Pa’s Garlic Cilantro Balsamic Infused Vinegar (or any other vinegar of your liking).
Voila, a super easy heart healthy lunch or dinner is served!

Believe it or not, this is incredibly filling especially if you have a good size sweet potato.

Mild de-hydration Headache Blocked nose buy super cialis Mild Nausea Slight stinging in eyes Sensitivity to light These side effects can be remedies by strictly following the dosage requirements and by consulting your doctor. This medication comes in two structures, tablets and Kamagra Oral jelly, Caverta, Zenegra, Zenegra, tadalafil 20mg españa , and Forzest etc. Vitex can be generic cialis levitra taken in the form of decoction or dietary supplement. The only thing you must remember is to take impotence medications only when needed. viagra generika
Just so you know, sweet potatoes are full of vitamin A, potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin C and a ton of other amazing things.

Kale is full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin B-6, magnesium and a million other amazing heart healthy properties.

Nutritional Yeast is full of potassium, all the B-Vitamins (if fortified) and protein. I usually buy mine from Amazon (I buy this brand here).

And there you have one of my super fast easy and heart healthy meals.

I would appreciate feed back in the comments as to what you think about these recent recipe posts. Would you like to see more? Less? Maybe as they flow into my brain? 🙂

I do have a big few weeks coming up so this may be my last for a little bit. I have this certain little marathon on the horizon that is consuming my brain these days. Come Sunday afternoon of this week though, all will be over and I can focus on trails and recipes! Two of my favorite things. 🙂

Happy Holidays to you all! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving (grrrr, that reminds me, I need to do a post about that too! ha!). 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

PS: Happy Birthday to JD! Our Canadian friend! Enjoy your last year before hitting the bit 4-0 JD! 🙂

November 26, 2015May 24, 2018

PLANT-BASED: Cauliflower Pizza Crust

If you follow me on Instagram (click here)*, then you may have seen a recent post about a cauliflower pizza crust that I made the other night. While this isn’t typically a food blog (honestly I have no idea what kind of blog this is), it has been probably my most requested recipe to date.

Cauliflower Pizza - YUM! — Cauliflower Pizza – YUM!

*If that Instagram link above doesn’t work, then search for trailmomma on Instagram. I post a lot of food pics there and on Facebook.

So here goes …. first and foremost, I am not skilled at creating my own recipes. Often times, I take recipes that I find online or in books and I tweak them to make them plant-based and gluten free. That is what I did with this recipe. I have made this so many times, and every time, I tend to do something a little different.

This time around, I pre-made some plant-based mozzarella cheese. Normally we don’t even use any “cheese” on our plant-based pizzas but I found this recipe and I decided to try it. To be clear, I thought it would melt and be very “cheesy” on the pizza. It didn’t melt. It tasted surprisingly like real mozzarella cheese but it didn’t melt. At all.

But here is the way I typically make my Cauliflower Pizza Crusts. Please note, you can’t slice the pizza and expect to hold it like a big-ol-slice of pizza … it is more of a eat with a fork kind of meal.

Take one whole head of cauliflower and remove the florets and throw into a food processor. I find that one head of cauliflower makes two perfect individual size pizza crusts.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Next, in a small bowl, take 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed meal and mix with a 1/4 cup of boiling/hot water OR veggie broth and set aside.

Then process the cauliflower until it looks almost like rice. Throw it all in a large bowl and then add the following ingredients:

3/4 cup of oat flour (I have also used garbanzo bean flour with success as well as almond flour)

1 tsp of ground garlic powder

1 tsp of ground onion powder

1 tsp oregano

3-4 tbsp of nutritional yeast

Add your bowl of flax seed (it should look like it absorbed the water)

Remove any rings from your fingers, (trust me on this one) and using your hands dig in and mix, mush and combine away. I typically try and combine and then I separate the mix into two separate “balls” to make two separate pizzas.

Warning, it is going to be sticky messy and kinda weird. Okay, very weird and you’ll totally have a mess on your hands afterwards.

The only downfall to levitra online canada amerikabulteni.com is that in 5% of men, muscle ache results from taking the drug. levitra is, likewise, generally preferred among pilots. The synergistic mix of powerful fixings in Deemark Shakti Prash work by extending the veins in the penis and help the sex organ expand to its full glory. levitra viagra online Well, it is indeed a difficult task because a number of manufacturers fool people with the rumors that their products are natural and do not contain starchy foods, which is good for suffering from diabetes patience o Organic herbal substitute giving rock solid hardons whenever and increase sex-related performance buy cheap levitra http://amerikabulteni.com/tag/dancing-with-the-stars/ o These herbal tablets are much cheaper and has no side effects o the medications prescribed to regulate. Whom should you believe? Where should place your order? Here are a few important indicators, which will tell you whether this is the right drug for you and where you can cheapest levitra online obtain it legally.
Take one ball and put it on the cookie sheet you have lined with parchment paper. Flatten and shape as best you can. It won’t be perfect. I try and make a “crust” by curving up the edges.

Repeat the same with the other ball of “dough” and bake both crusts for about 15-20 minutes.

Clumps of Vegan Mozzarella Cheese — Create your pizza!

When 15-20 minutes is up, remove your pizza and begin adding whatever veggies you like.

Now I have done this two ways. I have cooked my veggies in a skillet and then added to the pizza prior to baking and I have put raw veggies on the pizza and baked it that way. Since I am lazy and prefer not to wash more than I have to after a meal, I usually opt for just adding raw veggies.

Here is what I usually do (keep in mind, this is entirely our preference)

Add tomato sauce (I use any oil free tomato sauce I can find i.e. Engine 2), add some oregano, basil, garlic powder to the sauce that is on your pizza. Then I add kale and/or spinach and usually things like red pepper, broccoli, onion, olives and top with fresh chopped garlic. Sprinkle the top with some nutritional yeast if you like (Vans does).

Bake again for 15-20 minutes. To be honest, we are usually doing a million things at once while this is baking so many times, I’ll turn off the timer (after it buzzes), turn off the temperature on the oven and then let the pizzas sit in the oven while we finish bathing the kids, packing lunches or (ahem) opening wine … or whatever the situation may be that night.

Before serving, I usually sprinkle with more garlic powder and copious amounts of red pepper flakes (that’s the Jersey Girl in me).

Moving the pizza from the pan to the plate does take some skills as usually the middle of the pizza can be a bit soft. I use a large spatula and kind of slide it over.

And that’s it! Voila. There is my fancy Cauliflower Gluten Free Plant-Based Pizza. It takes some perfecting and it is a very filling meal.

I know today is Thanksgiving so this is my gift to all my readers. Thank you for following me. And whether you comment or not, like my posts or not, I truly appreciate you and the motivation you give ME in life.

May your day be spent with your family and involve many hugs … some time spent outside and perhaps, a nice glass of wine or tea.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

Share This:

Share This:

Share This:

Share This:

Share This: