We’ve moved on from the snow to ice. This city is shut down. Even derby practice has been canceled all week! In case you were wondering, ice is significantly less fun than snow.
Peachtree St. (the main drag through Atlanta) is literally a sheet of ice. No joke – this dude was ice skating down the street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iudRPyX4934
This is 2 blocks from my condo.
Being trapped has done a lot for productivity – I have gotten 2 big deliverables done for work, changed my sheets, hand washed dishes (I always put off doing hand wash-only dishes), worked out everyday, done laundry, and some other random “to do” items.
I did get out on Monday night for some fun. Atlanta was in par-tay mode! 
Picture taken by random guy on the street:
Told you I'm a red-head!
Last night I made some rockin’ roasted sweet potatoes. I couldn’t take a picture, but my sister requested that directions be posted. Here you go, Alli:
Lavender Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 1 Giant Sweet potato
- 1/4-1/2 tsp Dried lavender blossoms
- 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 T EVOO
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop well-rinsed (I don’t peel mine) sweet potato into 1/2 in cubes and spread out on foil-lined baking sheet. Toss with herbs, salt, and EVOO.
Roast in oven for ~40 mins, tossing once at 25 min mark. Remove and enjoy!
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I read an interesting article from my Active.com daily email. It discusses training for a race vs. weight loss.
Many people begin running for weight loss. One of the common stories I see is that of people signing up for a 5K as motivation to begin running and drop a few lbs. I don’t think this article is necessarily referring to those people – this seems more related to longer races or more competitive racers – but it is an interesting read and can provide some perspective.
Major take-aways:
- Your body needs more calories when you’re seriously training. This is not the time to cutting to under 1,500/day .
- Strength training shouldn’t be a focus while training. Muscle burns fat, but lifting seriously can exhaust you and add more muscle than is ideal for a race.
- Endurance require some carbs. Losing weight does not. Eat more protein if you are trying to lose. Sub in some carb-cals for the protein when you are in training.
- Many of the fitness magazines are highlighting the awesome weight-loss results you see from cardio intervals. True story. Just don’t make these the bulk of your workout if you are trying to run a marathon – they aren’t a substitute for a long run.
- “Fasting” workouts are when you workout first thing without any food on your stomach. In theory, they burn straight fat rather than burning off carbs first. I’m not a fan of these in general (it can also mean muscle breakdown as you body struggles to fuel the workout), but you especially don’t want to do this for longer/endurance runs.
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What are your thoughts? Can you focus on weight loss and training? Anyone a fan of the fasting workout?
Speaking of… I’m off to the gym! Gotta do what you can to warm up.
I live in the ‘burbs so I’ve been totally stuck in my house. I’m leaving tomorrow! I actually want to go to work.
I’ve gained weight when I’ve trained for longer races. I definitely don’t think that running more = weight loss.
I was totally one of those people who started running for weight loss! However, when I trained for my half marathon last year, the joke was on me– I ended up gaining a few pounds instead! I’ve heard that it’s really common to gain weight while training for a race, so lesson learned!
I actually do enjoy running first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, but only if the run is less than 45 minutes (3-4 miles). Longer than that, and my body needs some extra fuel! And I’m not sure I buy into the idea that my body is burning straight fat by running on an empty tummy– I just prefer it because I don’t get side cramps!
Funny how that happens, right?! Got to fuel the run though!
I have the side cramp issue too. I have to wake up 2-3 hours before a race to eat and drink so I don’t cramp during. Maybe I’ll try a couple of miles on an empty stomach and see how it goes… thanks!
I guess I subscribe to the theory that my exercise will be fueled by what I consume just beforehand and that the existing fat will be burned during the recovery process. Personally, if I don’t eat before a run I can count on performing AT LEAST 20 – 40% worse than if I had eaten. I used to get side cramps during nearly every run, until I learned that it was my improper breathing that was acting like a catalyst for it. I don’t remember the last time I had side cramps.