Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Running, Stretching and Tofu Jerky

How does this sound?

Tuesday am: 5.4 miles, 1:04:54
Tuesday pm: 4.8 miles, 55:09
Wednesday am: 6.3 miles, 1:20:03

Not too bad! Sonya and I ran the same hill run that Rob and I ran last week. This time though, we found our way through the neighborhoods to avoid the busy street for an even six miles. So where'd the extra .3 come from? That'd be the wrong turn into a dead-end that I took us on. I turned us left instead of right. Fortunately, Sonya is used to my left/right mistakes and just laughed. By the way, it rained the entire time. Starting out, I could feel yesterday's runs in my legs, and they feel heavy now, but during the run they were fine.

Donald, this is for you. Last night we went in for the hamstring study. There was paperwork, then some random selection of cards to set up my particular part of the study, then a neurological (I think that's what they called it) test - mostly of reflexes. The real study started after that. I laid on a table with my pelvis and one leg strapped down. They marked hamstring insertion points, they put a bar above me and brought my knee to the bar with my leg bent. Then she slowly straightened my leg till I told her I could feel a stretch and the angle was measured. Then one of the other students stepped behind a curtain, and the leg was either stretched by itself, or while being iced, or while being sprayed with a cold spray (some kind of icing spray). The therapy student holding the leg increased the stretch every 5 seconds during this. At 30 seconds, they stopped and measured. Then they switched legs and did the same thing - only changed the stretching application. So for instance, one leg would be stretched on its own, the other might get iced. That was it. The purpose is to determine which, if any, increases the flexibility of the hamstring over the next month. We are supposed to continue our normal running and stretching routines during this time. I can't believe it's going to make much of a difference (we'll be doing it twice a week for the month), but I guess that's what they are trying to find out.

I had a little project yesterday. I love tofu jerky, but it's pretty expensive for a small package. So I tried making my own! I found a recipe (I got it from a cookbook, but it's all over the internet) and went for it. I don't have a dehydrator so I did it in the oven. It came out pretty stongly flavored, so I think I'll dilute the marinade a little next time. Plus, I need to slice the tofu thinner. I know this sounds bizarre, but I need a quick protien source and I kind of crave the salty, chewy texture. And for those of you who think it's gross - Eric liked it! He's not a vegetarian - I'm the only one in the house, but since I'm the cook, they eat veggie about 90% of the time.

Okay, that's it for today. Thanks for checking in!

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice job on the running. Was there any hot chicks stretching you out? That's what I want to know.

Olga said...

Don't listen to Rob, his walk is not where his mouth is:)
Nice running!

Anne said...

Glad I'm not the only one that tends to lead everyone down a dead end. And if I were part of that hamstring study, I'd blow the curve for sure. Mine are tight tight tight.

psbowe said...

Hey Michelle, thanks for stopping by, I still need to work on it. I noticed that my comment counter isn't working.
Nice running there, plus the jerky and stretching...nice combination.

Flo said...

Wait, isn't tofu jerky and oxymoron?? I've never heard of that, and I live in Hawaii - 2nd tofu capitol of the world.

Sarah Elaine said...

Wow... that's quite the life you're living there!

Tofu jerky, huh? Who woulda thunk it?

Living the beef capital of Canada, I enjoy beef jerky, but have never tried the tofu stuff.

Donald said...

You're right, they might not see very dramatic results by stretching for that frequency and duration. But it's cool that they're looking at it. Grad students often select research projects that are very "micro" - pertaining to changes at a cellular/tissue level - instead of something on a "macro" scale that is functional and might actually apply to regular people. Good for them.

Anonymous said...

Tofu jerky (that's a new one on me) -- so is the hamstring therapy thing -- you can't tell your left from your right. Man you are full of all kinds of interesting info. Glad to see the miles are increasing.

Liv said...

My personal fave is Turkey Jerky, but it's mostly all in the name :)

Legs and Wings said...

Tofu? Jerky? Is that like a Gu or a Gel? Should I drink water with it?

Okay, so I'm a smart **s!

My 8 year old told us at supper the other night that he wanted to be a veggie but I think it was a ploy to avoid eating his halibut steak.

Dawn - Pink Chick Tris said...

I have a dehydrater and have made both beef and turkey jerky. I love the stuff. Not sure I'd wanna try tofu. But heh, each to his/her own. :-)

onepinkfuzzy said...

mmm tofu jerky...sounds excellent!!!

and rob wants to be a teacher?! uh, I think he needs to work on his grammar ;)