detox deluxe

October 10, 2009

but first: a request
dear whoever-is-in-charge-of-the-weather,

i ran 13 miles in maine in driving rain last weekend. i ran 14 this morning in 79 degree heat (73% humidity) . . .in the morning, IN OCTOBER. can you please ensure that next weekend’s conditions are more favorable so that ‘slogging along’ isn’t the best descriptor for my gait, pace, and overall feelings about these outings?

thanks. i promise that i will appreciate it!

detox? or something like it
part of the vacation detox mentioned yesterday involves a return to balanced, healthy eating. now, i’m never one to venture to mcdonalds (um, ew), but i love eating at restaurants and enjoying desserts. my latest trick to not getting ‘restauranted out’ has been to pay attention to portion size more than anything else, and i feel like i actually enjoyed my dining out experiences more during this last vacation because i DIDN’T always leave feeling as if i was about to die.

but even still — restaurant food is rich and decadent and salty (that’s why it’s so good!). and while the nightly wine fests and lavish desserts were fun for a while, those habit isn’t exactly sustainable if i want to continue to fit into my clothes and keep my cholesterol at non-dangerous levels.

so, it’s back to normal. thankfully, i really LIKE my version of “normal”, which includes regular hearty doses of peanut butter, daily chocolate consumption (required), plenty of carbs (running fuel!), and delicious meals (often à la martha).

here is friday’s laptop lunch, which was both aesthetically pleasing and in line with my detox vision. included are fresh bell pepper and tomato, sliced kiwi, pumpkin-cranberry granola and mixed nuts, and 2 laughing cow cheese wedges (although what i really want to get my hands on are those individual-sized bries i have seen on various blogs from ile de france).


for dinner, however, we headed out. because as much as i might yearn for kath-style celebrations of in-season bounty eaten at home, i just don’t DO cooking on friday nights. it just doesn’t feel right! instead, josh and i went back to twisted noodles at its new chapel hill location.

it is super-convenient and fairly inexpensive, but . . . we’ve gone twice now, and i’m sad to say that it’s just not as good as durham’s thai cafe. now, don’t get me wrong, it was still an enjoyable meal! the service was nice, the food tasted very fresh, and (unlike last time) i didn’t feel that things were too greasy. but the sauces lacked a certain complexity to me. when it comes to restaurant food, i want their creations to taste MORE exciting than what i could mix up in my kitchen, and that really wasn’t the case.

clean-looking, fairly minimal decor


sake menu next to my glass of sauvignon blanc. i wish i had seen the ‘sparkling sake’!


pot-stickers that tasted like pierogies. comforting, yes, but just not as much FLAVA as i was expecting.


baby corn, green beans, carrots, and button mushrooms with shrimp in a light brown sauce. the vegetables were cooked nicely (still crisp the way i like them!) and the shrimp was plump and flavorful. but the sauce was a little meh.


served with a massive pile of white rice. i ate less than half of this: sufficient to replenish my glycogen stores for today’s run, but not enough to send me into a carb coma . . .


. . . or even enough to curb my need for TCBY, located next door. in line with my version of detox, i got a kid’s size rather than a small. reese’s pieces were still involved, however. in eating my treat, i came up with an analogy:

twisted noodles :: thai cafe
TCBY :: LOYO!

(thai cafe happens to be located next to local yogurt, making this comparison all the more apt.)

IKEA fail
apartment therapy may have started, but home improvements have yet to be made. instead, we’ve got a lot of boxes all over the place. one box contains our new bed, another a dresser, and 2 more contain nightstands. the dining room (if you can call it that) table is out of the box, but it is legless and upside down. and it will remain that way for right now, because:


there were supposed to be 8 long screw thingies, 8 washers, and 8 nuts. and, as you can see, there aren’t. sigh.

there really is no pleasing me, is there!??
i apologize for my pickiness today. this has been one majorly CRITICAL post! so anyway, POM was very nice and sent me two new flavors of their juices to try (i didn’t even have to beg like i usually do!). in my usual fashion, i mixed up a post-run glass of juice + sparkling water.


it does look pretty, doesn’t it? unfortunately, i was not a huge fan of this flavor. it tasted much sweeter than regular pom juice, and somewhat artificial to me, despite the ingredients containing only: pomegranate and nectarine juices from concentrate and natural flavors.

i have another flavor to try, so hopefully i’ll like that one more! i still have much love and adoration for the plain old all-pomegranate POM juice, so thank you to POM for sending me these samples!

contest reminder!
a 2010 rhodia planner is up for grabs (and as of now, your odds of winning are quite GOOD). click here to enter!

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10.7, 8, 9.09

running run-down:
wednesday: 6 mile tempo run on the TM. 1 mile warmup @ 9:13/mi pace, then the next 5 at 8:20/mi, 0.5% incline. this felt harder than it should have — i think my apartment gym’s treadmill tends to feel this way.
thursday: rest
friday: 5 easy miles outside, average 8:51/mi

doin’ time: has been missed! i am so ready to return to martha.

reading: not enough, but i did bang out a presentation yesterday aftenoon. hooray for productivity!

7 Comments

  • Reply Jess March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    It was 25* cooler here this morning, so maybe our weather will blow over to you.

    I&#39m like you and need a little kick in my Asian flavors.

  • Reply Lucy March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I am with you on Twisted Noodles vs. Thai Cafe. Fortunately, so is my Mom – we&#39re headed to Thai Cafe for her b&#39day dinner on Monday. Yay!

  • Reply Denise March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    You guys should try Thai Lanna – best Thai food in the Triangle. It&#39s in Durham near RTP.

  • Reply crgilvr March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Yes, my running partner and I did the Carrboro to Chapel Hill out and back for a ten miler this morning and stopped to buy another bottle of water 8 miles in. It&#39s NOT FAIR.

    Love your blog.

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    hope the weather gets nicer for you. driving rain then hot and humid? yucko!

    ugh to ikea. setting stuff up is a pain anyway nevermind when pieces are missing

  • Reply Chelsea March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I would send you cold weather if I could. We had frost and flurries today. Not sure if that&#39s worse than heat and humidity or not.

  • Reply Heather March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I so feel you on this weather. Granted, I&#39m in FL, but I am over this 90+ degree weather and the humidity. Sweaters are popping up everywhere and I want to buy some so badly!

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