Thanksgiving 2009, and a Day to be Even More Thankful (Two Days Later)

Went to Tower Oaks Lodge in Rockville, Maryland with the partner and the in-laws for Thanksgiving. Felt a little odd-- this is the first Thanksgiving I have not cooked a big meal in a decade or two. I tried to be good for a change, and did not order a big turkey and dressing meal. My mother in law did. It looked delicious, and it was huge. I ordered the beef osso buco, thinking that swiss chard, beef, lentils, and chanterelle mushrooms sounded like a tasty, but modest meal. It was not as expected. The taste was fine, but it was in one big pile. I expected something a little more...divided up, and pleasing to the eye. Oh well. The service was great, and the server, Foster D., did a fantastic job with our somewhat difficult table.

Here is the osso buco. See? A brown mess. If the green swiss chard had been in one separate place, the chanterelles next to the chard, and the lentils in a smaller portion to the other side of the beef, it would have looked a lot better.


Toward the end of the meal, my mother in law became ill (nothing to do with the food) and had to be taken to the hospital. She is elderly, and we were worried. Happily, she is better now, and could be taken home two days later. We stopped by Jaleo in Bethesda, Maryland to celebrate. http://www.jaleo.com/

To the left is a spinach dish. Below are cod fritters and a sweet honey aioli sauce.The food was infinitely more pleasing to the eye, and the palate than the food at Tower Oaks.

















Fried calamari and garlic aioli sauce.





Fresh bread and an olive oil dip with crushed garlic.



























Jose S. was our main server. He had just the right balance of seeing to our needs without hovering. We go to Jaleo in Crystal City, VA and sometimes to the downtown Washington, DC locations more than we get over to Bethesda. This was our best Jaleo experience in some time. Kudos to Jaleo Bethesda for a wonderful lunchtime experience, and truly a day to be thankful-- taking my mother in law home from the hospital.

Sunday 22 November 2009-- Intervals, Dim Sum, and Tuna

Last night added a PM 2 hour session of cross trainer at level 12.

This morning, did 2 hours of intervals-- walk 1.2 mile +- at 3.4 mph average pace, jog 1 mile at 6.0 mph/10 minute per mile pace. Total of 8.5 miles in 2 hours. Very tired after. Had a low energy day.

We went to Silver Spring and picked up Fred and Ipu for dim sum at Wong Gee in Wheaton. http://www.wheatonmd.org/go/wong-gee


The Yelpers were pretty hard on the restaurant, except for the fairly obvious owner or owner's friend review. http://www.yelp.com/biz/wong-gee-asian-restaurant-wheaton

Maybe it helped that I haven't eaten much lately and was hungry, but the noon Sunday dim sum was really good. We order a plate of baby bok choy, various steamed dumplings, custards and spring rolls for Fred and Ipu, and fried fungore dumpling for Dan. It was all tasty and well-prepared.

Service can be slow at Wong Gee. The steam cart lady was going to pass us right by, but I caught her attention and so we were served pretty quickly. We are regulars there, and know some of the wait staff from other dim sum restaurants that have closed in the last year. They take pretty good care of our specific dining needs-- dinner out with two elderly people requires a little more help.

Doesn't look like there will be a PM workout tonight. I just need a good workout in the morning, and I believe I will hit my weight goal for Monday without it. If I do the exercise tonight, I may be too tired for a good morning workout. Really low energy right now, but had a pan-seared ahi tuna steak, and feel better. Will have a little more on top of a salad with Dan later.

Saturday 21 November-- 5k plus 4.9 mile walk

Here's the theory: workout like crazy in preparation for Thanksgiving (and the rest of the holiday season) so the food doesn't do as much weight gain damage as it would if you just said, "Oh, it's the holidays. Just do whatever, and start being good on 1 January."

Walked 1 mile on the treadmill, jogged 3.1 miles, walked 3.9 miles more for a total of 8 miles this morning. It took 2 hours to do this. The jog was at about a 10 minute mile/6.0 mph pace. I am getting a little faster from my 10:20/mile 5.8 mph pace. I prefer to run at 6.0 or 6.2, but I seem to damage my legs less when I do 5.8 or so initially and slowly increase the speed. The goal is to do a 6.2 mph/10k per hour pace for an hour by 31 December. That seems achievable at this point.

20 November- Friday-- !O Soleus Mio!

Monday 16 November jogged 3.25 miles and walked 2.0. Had a head cold and took off Tuesday-Wednesday.

Thought Thursday would be great with 2 days of rest. Instead, soleus muscles, a literal pain when running for the last several years, made anything but 1 mile jogging/walking intervals impossible. Frustrating. Will try new stretches I was shown yesterday. I did 4 miles total, jogging 1, walking 1, and repeating. I was grumpy at work because of a Thanksgiving potluck. All that delicious food, but I really didn't need more food. Ate an apple and breakfast bar, especially since I was invited over a friend's house for dinner. It paid off, but is a challenge. This whole season from now through 1 January will be interesting-- seeing friends and family, but not overeating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soleus_muscle

Friday 20 November-- maybe the soleus stretches helped. Early AM before work, walked 1 mile, jogged 3.5 miles, and walked 2.5 miles for a total of 7 miles this morning. The longest jog this year since January. All on treadmill. Will work up to running outside on the sidewalk again. PM after work, hit crosstrainer for 60 minutes at level 12, and walked on treadmill 60 minutes moderate speed.

Looking at the anatomy chart, maybe it is the tibialis anterior that is the problem. Whatever. I just want my muscles to behave and let me run.

15 November: Improvement, At Last

Mid-October through the 29th did 60 minutes at level 13 on the cross trainer machine most days. Worked up to doing interval jogging/walking, as well. 24 October began doing intervals on treadmill-- walking 10 minutes, then jogging 10 minutes for a total of 60 minutes per workout. Did occasional light upper body workouts, as well.

Went on a business trip for two weeks to a location with limited sight-seeing options. Jogged a lot, instead. Each day for most of the two weeks I continued did interval training, but usually walking one mile and then jogging one mile for a total of six to eight miles, depending on the day. Had some weight loss success, and gained a fair amount of stamina.

Jogged the first 5k since February or March on the treadmill today, 15 November, in 31:50 minutes. Walked 5.35 miles more for a total of 8.25 miles today-- the longest distance in some time. I did 6 and 8 mile intervals on the trip, but not after jogging 3.1 miles consecutively. I had gained weight from my starting point in January, rather than lost, so this is welcome change-- I am down nearly 20 lbs. from my worst number, and 5 lbs below the starting point. The current goal, in spite of Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, is to be 225 lbs. by 1 January 2010. Not the goal I had hoped for in January 2009, but still a victory, especially given the bad fitness year I have had. Progress!