I knew I couldn't run 5k on the treadmill but also didn't have to start at the beginning so picked week three and did that last week. Also the program suggests you run every other day and give your body a day of rest in between. So, being Monday, I looked up my new routine for the week. It's 3 min, then 5 min then 3 min with walking in between. Sounds doable.
I did find what helped me last week was watching an action movie I had downloaded onto my iPad, No Escape. There really wasn't much plot or dialogue and it was about a family stuck in a Southeast Asia country when a coup occurs and all westerners are being shot. So basically it's the family running from one scenario to the next trying to flee the country. I found I had trouble focusing at the beginning when the characters were being set up, but otherwise it was a good adrenaline rush to spur on my running. I was running along side them in a way.
I've been trying different things for entertainment. Listening to music, different types of podcasts, watching tv shows and different types of movies, reading books, flipping through magazines, even doing nothing but just the machine. At first I thought the gym was a great way to catch up on watching stuff with subtitles. But I really need something that holds your attention. A movie or show or podcast I'd be focused on at home or in the car (podcasts only - I don't watch tv while driving of course) I have more trouble focusing on when I workout. I have been reading a book but can only do it on one machine - the reclining bike. I think I need my back stable to read because even the other bikes, I can't read a book well while riding. Well, I'll keep experimenting.
Speaking of experiment, I tried something yesterday and even though it didn't turn out fabulous I'm super excited. I made sweet red bean buns. I first discovered them when I was in grad school, tutoring at a Korean family's house. The mother would bring out snacks for us and one day it was the red bean buns. It's basically a sweet roll but with a wonderful paste like filling in the middle. Fast forward to moving to Boston and working next to china town and I found them again. I even went to a bunch of bakeries and figured out which one was my favorite. Apparently there are sweet and savory variations.
Fast forward to me experimenting with making pickled vegetables to put into salads and dishes and to use up my root vegetables. Side note, I experimented with different vinegars and spices and so far I've definitely ruled out using apple cider. It's really strong and not in a good way. I had bought a bunch of cucumbers (I like getting my vegetables at the seconds table of my local farmers store - they are often good vegetables, reduced price and I'm helping them from being thrown away and wasted - win win). Well, I made tahboli with a tahini dressing which was good. And for the other pickle I thought, I could pickle this along with some carrots and it reminded me of the Vietnamese sandwiches I'd get in china town, Bahn mi I think they are called. Well, and that reminded me of the sweet red bean buns and since I was exploring making Asian food which I hadn't really ventured into too much before, I thought, hey, I bet I could make red bean buns.
After a little research I realized it would probably be easy to make the paste instead of buying it and gave it a go yesterday. I had soaked the adzuka beans then cooked them forever. I forget how I have a hard time cooking dry beans. Luckily I figured out instead of pushing through a sieve, I don't have a food mill, that I could just use my hand blender. And ta da - good red bean paste. A little butter sugar and orange zest and it was perfect. I made the dough according to the recipe but half my ingredients were coming from the freezer and I didn't let them warm up. So the dough didn't really rise well. Even so, I ate over half the rolls yesterday. They were so good even though the rolls weren't as light and airy. But I can work on that. I think I've found a new staple for my repertoire. Oh and on a side note, I've found a trick to making cookies for one. I make a batch, then roll them in balls and put them on a cookie sheet, freeze them and then transfer them to a bag. This way you can bake a few at a time and are not stuck eating a bunch of cookies quickly before they go stale. It worked for an almond meal chocolate chip cookie and my favorite gingerbread chewy molasses cookie. Still experimenting.
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