The Taper and Fruit Wraps

A Blogger Award

I got an award! Thanks Sophie!

As race day gets closer, I pay more attention to superstitions.  I am TERRIFIED of spiders. As superstition has it, it’s bad luck to kill a spider.  So this is what I kept my eye on ALL DAY at work as the little guy did laps around my ceiling:

FREAKY!

Mile review and taper:

Last long run of 20 completed as of Wednesday. It was my best 20 yet. Although my legs didn’t get tired and the hip and hamstring pain was manageable, I had a little bit of pain in my right foot so I completed the run with the last 3 ½ miles on the college track, a more forgiving surface than the pavement. Ted and Shane were my running partners for about 6 miles.

Thursday was a recovery run of 6 easy miles. That’s one of the first times in weeks that I have been able to run the day after a long run.  Feeling so G O O D!

I was just reviewing my training for the last 11 weeks. It looks like this:

Date /Long Run Miles/ Total Weekly Miles(rounded down)

• 1/17   16         58
• 1/28   17        57
• 1/31   15         36
• 2/7     18        43
• 2/14   16        48
• 2/21   18        27
• 2/28   22        51
• 3/7     20        53
• 3/14   18        54
• 3/21   20       60 Longest mile week
• 3/28   20       Goal is 45 – 50 (beginning to taper) w/ a 10K race on Saturday.

I got some good miles in considering the situation this past winter. Unfortunately I neglected one key training rule: take a break in between long run weeks. No wonder I was hurting! My thoughts were always “those miles were so slow, I can run the same or more the next week and do better”.  I should have taken a break because it wasn’t until the past 2 weeks that I have overcome the coughing and been able to control the pain.  In summary: There’s a lot of JUNK miles in the above data. On April 18^th, we’ll see if junk miles pay off or if they are really not worth the effort.

Rules for training and tapering or rather, reducing effort in preparation for the race.  Based on the article “How to Train for the Boston Marathon”, by Patrick McCrann at active.com.  Patrick also writes on Marathon Nation.

Based on the above, I met the criteria of “uninterrupted training with quality volume at the end of a long season”.  I did a half marathon within the 14 to 8 week window of my key race. I accomplished 3 to 4 long runs (anything 18 miles and over).

The taper should be anything from 21 days out from race day.  From that point the focus is on technique and making each run as good as possible. *So far so good this week! There are a couple more weekends until race day so the first weekend will be approx. 2/3rds of my longest run. Lets just say about 15 miles.  The next weekend, about 1/2 the miles, 11 – 12.  Those will be steady effort with a couple of miles at marathon pace.

The article also talks about visualization.  I’m a HUGE fan of this method.  Envision yourself during the race: at the start, half way, beginning the hills, pushing strong up Heartbreak hill, and most importantly, that strong finish across the finish line, looking at the Garmin and seeing 3:46.   Visualization gets me excited. There is NEVER a negative thought or image going through my mind when using this process.

Not sure what my race week schedule will look like yet, but most likely something along the lines as defined in “How to Train for the Boston Marathon”:  Monday 45 min. run with a few repeats. Tuesday: weights.  Wednesday:  6 miles with 2 miles at marathon pace (get some hills in there).  Thursday:  Same as Monday.  Friday:  Easy 45 min. jog.  Saturday:  30 minute run with some repeats or strides.  Sunday: EXPO and day off.  Monday:  BOSTON 26.2!

Last minute dessert:  Fruit Wraps

Never leave yourself in a pinch in regards for a quick and impressive dessert or low fat treat.  Keep these eggroll wraps on hand in the freezer

Another very handy item to always have on hand, if you haven’t discovered it already, is Reynold’s Wrap Non-Stick Aluminum foil.

No non-stick cooking spray required and no fat or oil required. Pretty handy stuff for a fat conscious diet.

We’ll use both these items to create an awesome low fat dessert that’s quick, easy and fun.

Fruit Wraps – makes 16 wraps or you can use the entire package by the suggestions following the recipe.

• 2 Golden Delicious apples – peeled and cored. Chop small
• 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 4 TBS Demerara sugar (you can certainly use granulated sugar)
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 package of Egg roll wrappers *For smaller ones, use the won ton wraps.
• Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Line baking sheets with non-stick aluminum foil. *You need non-stick because your juice might leech out and, if you’re not quick to remove the wraps, the sticky juice will act like glue and you’ll never be able to remove the delicious wrap in one piece.

In a bowl, mix the apples, berries, sugar, juice, and cinnamon.

Follow the directions for filling and folder on the insert of the wrappers…

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3 – moisten the edges as they come together with water.

Step 4 – moisten the edge for the final fold and turn over so the seam is resting on the baking pan.

Bake for 15 minutes.  After removing from the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar to finish.

If you eat these when they are hot, make sure to add ice cream or whipped cream. . Oh yeah! To heck with fat free.

Alternative to fresh fruit with a little more sugar and fat: Fresh Fruit Berry Preserves AND cheese.

I used goat cheese because I love the salty taste of goat cheese but if you like, a wonderful combination would be marscapone cheese (you know, the kind used in Tiramisu??…drooling yet???) OR simply ricotta.  Both of those are sweet cheeses where as goat cheese tends to be more salty than sweet.

Delicious!

Easy and impressive. Go for it.