The B.R.A.T. diet

Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
Toast

It's not a new reducing diet; it's just the opposite. I've had some stomach crud the past few days and haven't been able to keep any food down since Sunday night. Any food. On Sunday I couldn't even hold down water, which really worried me. I mean you can go without food but you can't last long without water. That changed on Monday and I've been drinking Ultima to replenish my electrolytes. But it's been hit and miss with the solids. I tried Yogurt and banana on Monday, but that was a bad idea. I called my friend Paula to see what I could eat. She's a mom and her kids are always sick. She said dairy isn't a good idea. She suggested chicken broth. When SD came home, he heated up some, but he makes his own and he makes it super-rich. With all that chicken fat, it just tasted too greasy--and I'm a girl who likes to eat fat.

After taking Theraflu on Monday night, I slept through the night and felt great the next morning. So I went to Starbucks and had a slice of sugar-free banana bread. Another bad idea. Later on, my friend Kathy called and told me of the BRAT diet. Her kids swear by it. I made some rice last night and poured a little chicken broth on it; it didn't sit so well, but it stayed down. Kathy is coming over in a little while with chicken soup and trashy magazines. I didn't realize what a good friend she was.

All this has taken a toll on my weight. Last Saturday I weighed 136.4, which is down since I quit sugar 6 weeks ago. Yesterday my weight was 134.4 and today it was 133.6. This is getting down to size 6 the hard way.

More on Garmin

Danielle and Eric expressed interest in the software for Garmin that I saw demo'd at CES. The software is from MotionBased, and supports the Forerunner 201 and 301 as well as the 205 and 305. It also works with Garmin Edge for cyclists. I don't know much about it, since I use the Training Center software, but you can get a good idea by perusing the website.

They offer a "lite" version that is free and for about $8 a month you can upgrade to the full-featured one. From what I could determine on the website, the feature that has the running routes is called Courses, and that feature can not be downloaded to the 201. Perhaps it can be used online, though. I plan to download the free software and play around with it.

One more thing: until May 15, Garmin is offering a $50 rebate on the 205 and 305!

Never mind the gods, I must be crazy!

That's what I thought as I left my warm bed. Heck, I'm not even training for a race! Temperature for my Saturday morning 8 a.m. run was 6 degrees F, with a wind-chill factor of 7 below zero! How do you even dress for that?

What I did was put on two pairs of leggings, Smartwool socks, long-sleeved base layer, windbreaker, vest, and jacket. A fleece neck-gaiter, headband, and acrylic Google cap from last year's CES completed the ensemble. I even put Vaseline on my face, a winter running tip from Janice. I asked a woman in the dressing room if she put Vaseline on her face and she said she used Body Glide because she didn't think it would be so heavy. I thought about where my Body Glide has been and stayed with a light coating of Vaseline.

Even with all that gear I never felt overheated, but I also didn't feel cold. We stayed on the Downtown Trail, which sheltered us a little from the wind, and it was actually a pleasant 4.5 miles.

Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada

As you know, I was in Vegas last week for the Consumer Electronics Show. It's an industry-only show, but somehow I always manage to get in. This was my fourth year and I look forward to seeing what's up and coming in the consumer electronics field. This year it seems to be television--really big screens (102 inch, 1080 DLP) and really small (mobile TV.) Also better resolution on cell-cams. Nokia has a new N-phone that has a higher pixel camera and a flash. They also have one for taking video, which looked really slick. They don't call it a phone anymore--it's a "multimedia computer."

The show is enormous and I found myself concentrating on specific areas. For instance, I never even went into the North Hall of the Convention Center, which was predominantly sound systems for cars. Instead, I focused on home computing (Microsoft, Hewlett Packard), home sound (speakers, home theatre systems), and of course, athletics.

In the latter category, I was disappointed to find only Garmin. Last year Garmin announced their 301 and 305. There wasn't anything new that I could see for this year. At least not for runners and bikers; they had a huge booth, but I didn't pay any attention to the other GPS products. I spoke with a Garmin representative and he showed me the bike computer. I told him I was interested in biking and running, and he said I could take the wrist strap off my 305 (which I don't have, but want) and mount it on my road bike (which I also don't have, but want.) There's also a cadence counter that you can attach to your bike. He said if I wait until May, they will probably package it all together. That will be about the time I expect to move into my new house, so I guess I'll wait until then.

I got an overview of their software, too. You can type in a city and get a suggested running route, complete with map. It allows you to view streets from your computer, but when you download it to your watch, you just see an arrow indicating when you should turn left or right. The site allows others to download their favorite routes, so that there will be a whole network of running and bike routes to access, all over the world.

Trade shows are fun, but they can be exhausting. Marketeers do what they can to attract you to their booth and after hours of walking on concrete, I'll gladly listen to a sales pitch just for the opportunity to sit down. One year David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, and Nash) was performing. That was very special for me. Last year Ricky Skaggs played. This year I didn't see any performances, but that may be because I didn't know where to look. Maybe the XM booth had entertainment, but they were over in North Hall.

SD had meetings the first two days, so I was on my own. At the Dolby booth, I sat in their makeshift theatre and watched movie excerpts that showcased Dolby's awesome sound. And I talked to someone at Wynit, because they are a Garmin distributor. He said if I was a dealer for them, I could buy Garmin at a discount. I told him Wynit is a distributor for the company SD works for and he told me to have SD contact him and I could get a price break. When I told this to SD, he said someone at Wynit told him of a contact that could provide a better price than even Wynit. I was very excited, but then SD said we'd been spending a lot of money and should wait on buying a 305. What!!! I've already waited over a year, I think that's long enough. But OK, I'll wait a little longer. My 201 is working fine, I just want to have the latest model. Although on the last day, we bought a unit from XM radio, one of those "show specials." I guess we only need to save money on things that I want.

I didn't drop any money in slot machines or on the gaming tables, but I did gamble. Creative Labs, the people who brought you SoundBlaster, had a large booth and if you sat through two demos, you get a chance at the Wheel of Fortune. The first day, I won this. That's all well and good, but what I really wanted was a web cam. I went back two more times to win one, but no luck. I did win a travel mug and a duffle bag. I had to leave the mug behind for lack of luggage space, but I can use the duffle bag for the gym.


SD had time on Wednesday to look at the show, so we wandered over to the Sands, which is where the high-end audiophile electronics are. It's also where another trade show, not related to CES but capitalizing on the attendance, is located. It's an "adult entertainment" show and you can generally tell who is there for CES and who is there for the other one. Sometimes you can't avoid mixing. I was walking down the hallway of the Sands and there was a woman wearing very little, posing. Unfortunately, I saw her from behind... and saw her behind. I found that very offensive. I mean, if I wanted to see a woman's butt, I'd pay good money to see it in a Las Vegas show.

Speaking of Las Vegas shows, we saw the Cirque de Soleil "Love" show. It's done to the music of the Beatles and it's incredibly well-done. I've seen other Cirque shows in the past, but this was my all time favorite. If you ever get the chance, I encourage you to see it. We brought one of SDs Japanese co-workers, and he wasn't familiar with Beatles' songs. I was concerned that he wouldn't enjoy it, but he loved it!

I did get one run in while in Vegas. It was nothing spectacular, but it felt good to get outside. I mostly ran behind the Strip, because I was trying to avoid crowds and I prefer to run on asphalt, which I can't do on busy Las Vegas Blvd. We left on Thursday morning and drove a rental car to our homesite in California. More on that in another post.

MeMeMeMeee

I was tagged by YaYa.

A-Available or Married --- Married
B-Best Friend --- Paula
C-Cake or Pie --- Pie,
D-Drink of choice --- Grande skim latte
E- Essential Item --- Purse
F-Favorite color --- Red
G-Gummi Bears or worms --- Ewww. Neither
H-Hometown --- Currently Minneapolis
I-Indulgence --- gemstones
J-January or February --- July
K-Kids & names --- 0
L-Life is incomplete without --- My husband
M-Marriage Date --- March 1980
N-Number of siblings --- Two
O-Oranges or Apples --- Bananas
P-Phobias/Fears --- rattlesnakes, heights, cancer
Q-Favorite Quote --- "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
R-Reason to smile --- Crossing the finish line
S-Season --- Summer!
T-Tag three people --- MinnesotaDon, Waddler 26.2, AmyBee
U-Unknown fact about me --- I never forward chain e-mails
V-Veggie I hate --- String beans
W-Worst Habit --- Nail biting
X-X-rays you've had --- dental, left leg, mammograms,
Y-Your favorite food --- gnocchi con pesto
Z-Zodiac --- Moon Child

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!

Congratulations to Don, who ran an indoor marathon yesterday. The field of 30 runners ran around the track at St. Olaf college in Northfield (not far from Carleton College, where Hal Higdon went to school.) That's how many laps around the track? I'll let him tell you.

Congratulations also to Minnesota Firefly Denise, who ran the Rock and Roll Half-Marathon yesterday in Phoenix. With temperatures in the 30s, she must have felt right at home--except at home yesterday the temps were in the single digits! Her friend, Full Metal Lunchbox, posted the results and pictures for her on his blog.

I ran out of my old club on Saturday--7 miles with Marcia and Mary. Tough, but worthwhile. They're both faster than me and I got winded and tired. We took walking breaks every 9 minutes, but eventually I had to ask if we could drop it down to every 6 minutes. They got tired too, so I didn't feel so bad. On our way back we took an unscheduled rest because a freight train was rolling down the tracks we needed to cross to get back to the club. I used that time to take a picture of my running friends.

It's been a while since I've run 7; I'm thinking of joining a marathon training group so that I can get my distance up. I'm just concerned that there will be someone to run with. I need that not only for the company, but I'm more likely to show up if someone is depending on me.

Saturday night, SD and I went to dinner at Vincent's restaurant. We ate in the kitchen, along with some friends of ours. Chef Vincent created a tasting menu for us and we each got a copy of the menu. I've mentioned Vincent before; he is a triathlete and last October ran the Twin Cities Marathon. He has an Ironman in his sights for 2008. Whenever I see him, we talk about running. At the end of the night I asked him to sign my menu. He wrote, "Happy Marathoning! Merci. Vincent." I thought it was cool that he associates me with marathons.

I'm in Las Vegas now, attending the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Today I visited Garmin and I'll tell you about it, but not tonight. I need to get some rest. After Vegas, SD and I are driving to California to check on our house. The drywall is up and I'll post some pictures when I get home. I probably won't post until I get home, but I'll try to get online and catch up on your blogs. Have a good week!

I went for a run with Baby New Year

...and came back feeling like Father Time.

First run of the New Year! My friend Marcia organized a buddy run for tonight and several people showed up. We met at 6 p.m. and headed out for a 5-mile run. The weather was a balmy 38 degrees, and although there was some ice, the path was mostly clear.

I started out strong and able to keep up with the others, but by the second mile I was starting to flag. Some people turned around at mile 2 and I was tempted to go back with them, but it was only laziness that made me want to go back. I knew I was capable of 5 miles. Rick ran with me on the way back; he's way faster than me but is recovering from that pesky plantar fasciitis so I don't think he minded going slow and taking walk breaks. And I was grateful for his company, as well as Coach Gary, who ran with me on the way out.

Last night I was all set to go running but when I got to the gym discovered that I was missing a vital piece of running gear--my sports bra--so I jumped in the pool instead. It's been years since I've swum laps, but I wanted to get some kind of exercise in. I swam slowly (there's a surprise) but stayed in the pool for almost 30 minutes. My goal was to swim 15 laps, but the pool was getting crowded and that intimidated me so I stopped at 13. I actually got a cramp in my foot while in the deep end so all I could do was keep swimming until I could stand up. That was weird. I'm just glad I wasn't in the middle of a lake when it happened. Swimming was OK, but I'm not signing up for any triathlon's.

Both the swimming yesterday and the running today made my back hurt. I think that means I need to strengthen my muscles, but where? And how? I stretched after tonight's run, but didn't feel human until I came home and took a shower. I was pretty stiff.

Oh, and I'm still off the sugar--three weeks yesterday. I can't say I feel much better, and I'm certainly not slimmer, but it needed to be done. Unfortunately I've compensated for the lack of sucrose by adding starch, so there goes the 500 calories a day deficit I was trying to create. Eating healthy is hard work!

Feliz Ano Nuevo

Last night, SD and I rang in the New Year in with some friends of ours and two of their daughters. Since they don't know that I posted this picture, I'll just call them the A's. We started at their house with a fish stew dinner, then we all went to a show in downtown. It was a comedy show and pretty rowdy. That's my husband, SD, in the blue hat.

We finally got the snow that the western part of the country had been experiencing. It arrived yesterday afternoon, just in time for New Years revelry. We only got a few inches, but first we got a sheet of ice, which made driving treacherous. I spotted plenty of cars in the ditch, and I don't think it was because of drunken driving. SD went out walking this morning and took some "Winter Wonderland" pictures, including this one:



Some of you commented on the Christmas picture that I posted. In 2002, SD and I spent the holiday in London, and we were disappointed by the lack of Christmas displays. As we walked down some major road, I looked to the left and saw this little alley lit up. Imagine my surprise when I watched the movie "Love Actually" and saw my picture in that movie!

Thank you for your well-wishes, and I hope you all have a great 2007!