Happy Veggieversary!!

RUNS: I finally ran today!! It was a beautiful 3.5 miles. Its been a week since the long run ITB/knee pain thing. And the run was good! Of course I still have plenty of Prednisone flowing through my blood, since I took my last dose this morining, so its a good thing I felt no pain or that would have been a very bad sign.

I was going to wait until Monday for this run but it was such a beautiful weekend and everyone was posting about their runs on facebook that I just couldnt wait any longer. Except, my calves didnt get the memo about the date change. Oh my they were sore! Actually my whole body felt heavy and tight. Hate not running for that long.

Rocky Ridge

You can tell that the above picture is of a new trail because of the orange flags marking where they were to build it. Its actually just a very small section that had to be rerouted from another trail.

Tomorrow starts my weight/strength training.

EATS: This month marks my husbands 6 month veggieversary!! How cool is that! I think it is even cooler how easy it has been for him. He has even found many things to cook on his grill as I think that was the one thing he thought he would miss the most...grilling. We have even found a good replacement for hot wings.

Lucky him...he has even lost about 10lbs in the past 6 months. Here is styling our 17yo sons clothes because, well, he can ;-)

Rik

He has even started to switch out his after run chocolate milk with chocolate soy or almond milk. He has no problem drinking regular milk but I am happy for these little changes!

Post run Chocolate Soy Milk Recovery Drink

I think the switch has been fairly easy for him because he really does eat just about anything. We are lucky to love beans, veggies and fruits in this house. I asked him what his favorite vegetarian dish is but he couldnt tell me because he said that we have been eating so many new dishes the past couple of months that we havent had very many things twice lately, haha.

Happy Veggieversary!!!

Peace.

Cranky Iliotibial Band and change of plan.

RUNS: Runs. Let me just tell you about runs. Since we last spoke a week ago. I decided to run over 26 miles on the Appalachian Trail with a couple of friends. Thought it would be a good training run since I didnt do the planned 50k the week before. Well...I ended up injuring my Ilitibial Band. For those of you who dont know, the ITB runs from basically your hip to your knee. And when the ITB gets inflamed it can cause incredible knee pain (see here for more info).

Appalachian Trail at Boiling Springs

I have been dealing with some knee tightness over the past couple of weeks. Pretty much since Labor Pains 45 mile run. I knew it was my ITB and thought I had it under control with rolling and stretching. This past week my runs were awesome and pain free. I had no reason to worry (to much anyway).

We took off on our run Saturday morning and it was below freezing out with frost on the ground. Love it! Totally my kind of running weather. We run an out & back part of the AT that is not very hilly and rocky except in a few sections. So I thought it would be perfect for a long run. Everything was going great and at mile 8 our friend turned around to head back to the car (this would be her longest run). Sheri and I continued on.

At mile 10 is Scotts Farm aka bathroom and water stop. We quickly decide to press on for a few more miles. I thought I was feeling fine at this point except for some knee tightness. We continue to head north for 3 more miles to our planned turn around. The last mile is pretty hilly and rocky but we want to get to that 13 mile mark. We do. And we stopped for a minute to snack. I decide I better take some ibuprofen because my knee is starting to feel quite tight.

As soon as we start moving again I can tell I have a problem. Going down that rocky hill was really hurting my knee. At one point I had a shooting pain that about stopped me in my tracks. I started limping forward and Sheri suggested I stop and stretch. I did. That made it worse. I panicked for a minute wondering how I was going to make it the 13 miles back to the car with this pain! But then it seemed to loosen enough that I returned to a decent pace until we got back to Scotts Farm water stop.

We stopped long enough to refill, snack and sign the AT book. Again, once I started moving I was in alot of pain and very stiff. Eventually it loosened again and I was running err...shuffling along. At this point I told Sheri not to let me stop again! Soon enough I could feel the ibuprofen doing it job and for the remainder 10 miles back to the car were a mix of running, shuffling, ouchy ouches, and walking. But I kept moving!

We managed to finish the 26.2 miles in a little over 6hrs. This, btw, was Sheri's longest run ever. Here she is finishing up the last .2 of her first ever unofficial trial marathon!

I knew my knee was in bad shape but as is typical with ITB pain...once the run was over, the knee pain was gone. My knee was still stiff but no really painful. That is until a few hours later when I finally got to sit on my couch for more then a minute. I went to get up and the pain was there. Big time.

Yeah. Thats where it hurts.

So in the 3 days since. I have been icing, rolling, stretching and ibuprofen (Saturday and Sunday only). On Tuesday I started a Medrol Dosepak (Methylprednisolone) to help with the inflammation since I was still having quite a bit of pain. And by the second dose the pain is almost entirely gone. Yay!

Now it is time to rehab this darn thing. I have a plan in the works for the rest of the year which totally changes my goals. I am about 99% sure that I will NOT be running Stone Mill 50miler.

If you have been following along you know that I am turning 40 in November and was planning to run Stone Mill the week before my birthday. I knew this may have been a stretch for me and now I am sure that I would be able to do it but at what cost?!

I am going to hold off for my first 50 miler until the spring. Its the smart thing to do.

EATS: Since I added this section of my blog when I started training for Stone Mill I will tell you that the goals here will change as well. I am going to go into weight loss mode instead of just eating to train and fuel my run mode.

The fact is, the more mileage I run...the more my weight seems to go up as well! Not good. Its probably from eating lots of this...

Cooked mixed grains. Peanut Butter. Agave.

When I need to be eating more of this...

Salads!

Haha. Half kidding. You know what I mean. I will continue eating all of the delicious variety of foods that are good for me but in more reasonable portions. I am going to use the app MyFitnessPal to keep track of my calories for awhile.

I will expand on my new goals in the next post. Stay tuned!

Do you count calories?

Peace.

Good run. Good eats. Good day.

RUNS: 7.5 miles around the same new trails around the lake as last week. We did do one different one to check it out but it was just a detour from another so the mileage was about the same.

Felt really good and strong on this run but my pace ended up being about the same as last week as well.

The trail ends with some awesome downhill single track that I just love. I was listening to my music during the run and decided to turn it up and put on a jammin song to get me going on this last section. I turned onto the single track and as I was messing with my music I almost fell and decided it was best just to leave the music as is! Next time I will adjust the music BEFORE the good parts of trail!

EATS: Check out the breakfast!! Quinoa Plum Pudding.

Cut up a plum. Add quinoa, chia seeds, cinnamon, and almond milk.

Mix it all up and stick it in the fridge overnight to gel.

Enjoy!

It was really good but the next time I need to add more milk. I added more after I took the picture!

Lunch was the household favorite. Peanut Butter Graham crackers. Banana. Veggies (cukes) and Italian dressing. Fig Newtons. Clif Bar-chocolate brownie. Best lunch ever!!

Packed Lunches

Dinner was made before we ran so that when we came home Rik threw some breadsticks in the oven while we got showers and it was ready to inhale when we got done! I made this Smoky Bear Quinoa Salad & Dressing exactly per the recipe except I only made half the dressing. It was incredible!!

Smoky Bear Quinoa

We sure do love our fresh veggie raw salads in this house but when the temps start to get lower you often times look for something warm which was why we added the breadsticks. You certainly dont need them with the quinoa and beans but it was a nice warm addition. And who would pass up bread!

Snack was this fruit bar. Ingredients: 1 apple + 1 pear. That's It
They are a little expensive. They taste like candy. I dont share.

Snack

Do you buy snacks that you dont share?! Or am I alone here?!

Peace.

Ran with gloves & Fast Food

Post #4

RUNS: Monday morning I did my 6 mile run commute home. It was a balmy 41 degrees out and I had to put on a pair of gloves for the first time this fall. Yay! I say this because this is my kind of running weather. My breathing was awesome and my pace was the fastest ever (by 4seconds per mile) on this route. All while feeling easy. Double yay!!

Btw, if you came here today looking for a Blues Cruise race report...you are out of luck. I bagged the race this weekend for no real reason in particular. I really cant sign up for a race at the last minute. Its way to easy to back out. Especially when Rik isnt running it with me and it is forcasted to be raining (which it ended up not doing). ALL of my friends ran but that still didnt get me to the starting line. Instead I slept from 9pm the night before until 1pm the next day! Holy cow, I must have been tired.

EATS: Im kind of proud of myself that my latest breakfast thing is fresh fruit with my oatmeal and almond milk. I used to always need/like dried fruit, probably because it is sweeter. But I am kinda digging this fresh fruit thing. It is way more volume which equals more filling! Here is a diced up plum, rolled oats, and almond milk. I always eat my oats cold.

Diced Plum & Rolled Oats

Nothing new with my lunches though. Veggies & dip. Pita chips & hummus. Fruit. Fig Newtons. And a Luna bar. I havent had Lunas for awhile and I dont know if my tastes have changed or they changed the way they make them but I am not liking them as much as I used to. I think I should stick with the Clif bars instead.

Lunch

Dinners include fast food over the weekend. Salad bar. This is NOT as much dressing as it looks like in the picture! Im not sure why it looks like so much other then the fact that I put the dressing on and shook it up before I took the picture maybe. Or maybe it is alot of dressing and I am in denial about it?!?!

Salad Bar aka Fast Food

How about a burrito at California Tortilla. No-meato burrito! I was disappointed that the limited time Caribbean burrito was gone already from the summer menu. No-meato is good but a bit spicy for me without even any sauce on. I think that is why I liked the Caribbean burrito with the mangos, to calm the heat!

No-Meato Burrito

Okay, so I actually did cook a meal at home too. I used up the last spaghetti squash that was given to us the other week. While the spaghetti squash was cooking I sauted some mushrooms in a pan. Then added a can of white beans and a jar of marinara sauce to the cooked mushrooms and let them heat together for awhile. Scraped out the squash and added the sauce mix on top. Dont forget to add some nooch on top to compete the meal. So quick and easy its almost like fast food...right?!

Spaghetti Squash w/Mushrooms & Beans

Tempeh BLT Sandwiches

RUNS: 7 miles around, up and down the trails at Rocky Ridge. 80degrees and humid. In October. Where did fall go :(

The run was okay. My legs are tired after three decent runs in a row. Rest day tomorrow.

Im still on the fence about running Blues Cruise this weekend. I am still having some pain with the ITB and I am just not sure if it is wise to run 31 miles on it.

EATS: I switched it up this morning and went with some oatmeal pancakes and maple syrup. I was hungry for something sweet.

Breakfast

Packed lunch included the Sufferin' Succotash again. Celery and dip. Apple and Pumpkin Hummus. Let me just tell you how yummy this hummus is! I have never been a big fan of pumpkin. Not even pumpkin pies. Then last year I made some kind of dessert with pumpkin in for Colton and he really liked it so I ended up making it several times and actually starting liking it myself. So this year I am trying more things pumpkin...and loving them. Funny how tastes change.

Lunch

I made a dinner for my guys that I think you will like too...a BLT! No not with bacon but with tempeh that I added spices to and baked it to give it a baconish flavor.

Another thing I was never really fond of was bacon. I did like the flavor of it just not the nasty chewiness of it  (and you know the rest). The guys liked bacon and I love tempeh. So when I saw this recipe to make tempeh bacon I knew this was a must try! Adding it to a BLT was something familiar to them. I gave it a go.

You can find the recipe here. The only thing I did differently was to decrease the liquid smoke to 2 tsp just because it smelled so strong that I was afraid the taste would be to strong as well. The next time I may increase the maple syrup though!

Smoky Maple Tempeh BLT

This sandwich was really good! Dakota even liked it. I was shocked! I think I have found that the secret to getting your teen to eat different things (and hopefully like them) is to not feed them dinner until REALLY late. And they are staving. And will eat (almost) anything.

Now I just wonder if I can get Colton to try it when he comes home on break from college!

How do you get your picky kids and/or family members to try new eats?

Peace.

Running in the rain.

RUNS: Okay. So I didnt actually run in the rain. It stopped by the time I got to the trails. But I did run 5 miles around the lake again today right after it got done raining. Lucky me. It was glorious! Well, all except for my stinkin' ITB that has been bugging me for the past week or so now.

We ran the same trails as yesterday but not the new ones around Nixon. When we got home, Rik downloaded his Garmin and it showed that those new trails DOUBLED the elevation. Holy moly! I thought those hills were big.

EATS: I am not even going to bore you with my breakfasts because it has been a 1/2 Clif bar and fruit for the past couple of days. I used to eat Clif bars alot. Then quit eating them all together. And am now back to loving them again. Go figure! I dont know whats up with the HALF Clif bar either. Like I cant eat the whole thing at one time for some reason...thats just wrong.

Lunches. Lunches. They have been somewhat different. No dips yet this week!

Instead I had some Avocado Summer Rolls that I get from Wegmans already made. Then washed that down with some kind of Pumpkin Pecan Cake that my little guys' grandmother made over the weekend.
*If you are new here...I work as a night shift pediatric nurse. So my little guy is my work ;-)

Avocado Summer Rolls

This cake was so awesome. I only had one piece...but wanted more! Im kinda proud of myself for stopping at one. Thank you very much!

Pumpkin Pecan Yellow Cake

Tonight was a Green Salad with dressing and Sufferin' Succotash Salad. Nuts. Grapes. Fig Newtons.

Lunch

Dinners include a restaurant Roasted Veggie Flaxseed Wrap with fries.

Another evening at home we also whipped together a Veggie Stir-fry made with two different Trader Joes frozen veggie mixes. Thats what happens when you cant decide which one to make. Mix them up and make both (how else do you get twenty different vegetables in one stir-fry?! Served over brown rice. Easy Peasy.

Veggie Stir-Fry over Brown Rice

And yes. I DID add more veggies to the pile after the picture.

Looks like another chance of rain tomorrow and another run in the rain, which is okay with me because I do run well in the rain.

Do you run in the rain?

Peace.

First VeganMoFo Post!

RUNS: Got to run with Rik again today. Im kinda liking that he has started these two-a-days because now he can run his second run with me and I dont have to feel so bad about slowing him down. 7.5 miles.

We explored a new trail today. It is actually in a small park off of the lake trails that we normally run but we usually just pass by saying, "Oh, thats just Nixon park". Well today we ran a couple of those trails and it was a pleasant surprise indeed! Not only were they beautiful trails but they were hilly too. Just like the rest of the trails in that area.

Here is a picture of a wooden bridge and walkway that we went over...

Nixon Park

EATS: Oh wow. I want to tell you about something we made over the weekend...Vegan Buffalo Wings.

Rik has been veg now for about 6 months and while he doesnt really say that he misses any meats...I know how much he used to like his hot wings. Him and the boys would occasionally by a bucketful and eat them up together. Hot sauce all over their face and hands. It was kind of a special thing for them.

I've read that its not really the meat that one misses but more so the tastes of the spices and related experiences that go along with it. Sooo...I saw the recipe for the vegan buffalo "wings" made with hot sauce and either tempeh or cauliflower and knew instantly that I wanted to make some for him! We love both tempeh and cauliflower so I decided to make both!

We actually ended up making two batches. The first one was with a hot sauce that we picked up and it was WAY to hot. You know its hot if Rik cant eat it, lol. He ran up to the store for a more mild sauce while I got the batter ready. The second batch was thankfully MUCH better! I really like tempeh but would have to say that the cauliflower tasted better here.

 I cut them into bite size pieces so that the tempeh and cauliflower would cook at about the same rate. And although they were good, I will make them into more of a strip the next time for a more authentic look.

Vegan Buffalo "Wings"

Rik really did seem to enjoy them. He even talked about what we could/would do differently next time (thats always a good sign)! Dakota would not try them on this day. Maybe next time...

I did want to mention that today is the first day of VeganMoFo (Vegan Month of Food)!! I will be participating for the first time this year and am excited to be a part of it. My goal is to post 20 times this month which may be a stretch since I have only done 11 entries in each of the past two months since I've changed this blog from just running to food and running. Wish me luck!!!

Peace.