Milano Italy

I didn't make it to the Carlsbad 5000, but I did run 5000 meters today anyway. I did it on a treadmill with a time of 41:50. While that time may not sound impressive, keep in mind it was done after a traveling 18 hours of travel (which included a trans-atlantic flight) and walking around Milan, Italy for 3+ hours.

So to celebrate my accomplishment I had a wonderful meal in the hotel restaurant. Dinner started with an appetizer, followed by a main course, finshed with dessert all while drinking a half bottle of wine so I can sleep soundly before my business meetings tomorrow. The appetizer was "Petto d'antrana Mulard carmallata all'arancia con daducci di mango, fichi secchi e pinoli" which translates to Breast duck coated i orange carmel with mango, dry figs and pine nutes. It also had several sprigs of arrugula which were completely unnecessary. It was delicious!!! The flavor of the mango, caramelized duck breast and fig complemented each other nicely. I only ate about half of the dish since I wanted to leave room for the main dish - although I easily could have eaten the whole thing because it was so good.

The main dish was "Ossobuco con risotto alla milanese" which is Ossobucco with saffron risotto. Again, it was delicious. It was the first time I had ever had ossobucco. The meat was fatty, but ever so tender and tasty. The bone marrow, which is supposed to be the best part, didn't do much for me. It was too fatty for me and I knew it would leave me with the trotts (and I didn't need more of that since I already have a problem with that due to my recent travels). The meat was covered with a rather nice meat sauce, much like a pasta sauce you would find in the US but more "brown" and deeper in flavor instead of your traditional tomato sauce. It was outstanding! The risotto was also amazing. It was somewhat cheesy in flavor and texture an yet with a safron flavor. It pair very nicely with the sauce from the ossobucco. Again, I couldn't eat the entire dish. I ate all the meat from the ossobucco (have to get that protein!) and about 4 bites of the risotto - each and every bit of the main course included some of that amazing meat sauce.

Then for dessert I had the ice cream. It was a rum and tobacco (not sure if it was really tobacco or tobacco flavored or what) ice cream in a chilled chocolate cup accompanied with a chocolate "cigar" and the plate was decoratted with caramel sauce, vanilla rum sauce, strawberry sauce, a fresh strawberry, crushed pistachios, crushed black "rum/tobacco" sugar, and topped with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. It was decadant. I did eat all of the ice cream, but only half of the chocolate and sauces/toppings/decorations.

The red wine was also very good - but I don't remember what that was. All in all, it was a rather spectacular day. Walking around the Milan Duamo district, running a 5 k (on a treadmill) and eating a fantastic meal. The only thing I could have asked for is to have shared it with my dear husband who had to stay behind in the USA.

I love you babe and hope you can come along next time.

Well, tomorrow starts the grind of the business trip. At least could I enjoy the joys of Italy for 1 day before the harsh realties of work come crashing down around me!

Run or Italy?

My choice - run the Carlsbad 5000 or go to Milan Italy. Hmm, tough choice. Fortunately for me the trip to Italy is for work so I don't really have a choice. I'm still training as if I were going to do the race, but it's nice knowing I will instead be in one of the worlds fashion capitals.

On the weight loss front, I've past the 170 mark and still moving down. Can't complain :-)

Quick Update

What's happening:

• My first race - Carlsbad 5000 - is <4>
• Graduation is in 8 weeks
• 2 pounds away from another milestone
• I can easily run 9 minute intervals (run 9 minutes, walk 1, repeat for 30+ minutes)
• Size 10-12 jeans

Bottom line - lots of stress, lots of good news - life is good.

Sweet Spot

I've hit my sweet spot. I went to the doctor yesterday and was surprised to learn that I've lost 11 pounds since my last visit 6 weeks ago. I really shouldn't have been surprised, since I weigh myself daily, but I guess seeing my weight change on a daily basis didn't allow me to see the big picture. My doc said you should be the poster girl for lap band surgery - you are doing really well! No adjustment this time since he didn't want to rock the boat and I seem to be satisfied with small portions of food for longish periods of time. He also said, whatever you are doing, keep it up!

That got me to thinking, what have I been doing? The past few weeks I've been tracking my food intake using the tools on the My Daily Journey on Lapband.com. I've also been either working out at the gym or running at least 4 days a week. I've also cut back significantly on the snacks I eat and I make sure I eat 50-70 grams of protein every day. Since it hasn't been hard to do these things, I'll keep doing them for the next 6 weeks and hopefully another 11 or so pounds will be history. Stay tuned.....

Going for it

I'm frustrated. I haven't been able to lose much weight, and that is an understatement. I have lost 1 pound in the last 3 weeks. It's like I've hit a brick wall. I don't know what to do. I've been going to the gym 4 times a week vs. 2 days a week, and I make sure I do at least 2 hours of cardio a week, and I'm burning at least 300 calories each time I go to the gym. I'm stumped. However, I WILL NOT let this get me down. On the bright side I have been improving how long I am able to run on the treadmill. I am up to alternating 3 minutes of running with 1 minute of walking for 30 minutes - which is MUCH better than I've ever been able to do in the past. Actually, now that I think about it, it's better than I've ever been able to do in my lifetime!

Oh, one other thing. I registered to run in the Carlsbad 5000 race. I may be crazy for doing so, but it gives me the motivation to keep going to the gym and a goal to be able to run for 3+miles non-stop by April. Wish me luck!