Recovering well. Strong runs continue.

*Um yeah. This post is from last week and I am just now getting around to posting it. You are welcome ;)

RUNS: I took the day off after the half marathon but then ran the following two days. Surprisingly I continue to feel good and run strong. Of course I continue to slack in the hill department. I have been doing some but I really need to add more back in. Another thing I need to start adding back is the long run. I havent had a run longer then 16 miles in almost 7 weeks! It scares me more then anything. Not the long run itself but the recovery. My body just likes to take its time to recover after the long ones.

The water was higher then normal here on a VERY cold day. No choice but to get the feet wet!

Not my fastest time on this loop but felt great for the first run after the half marathon.

Didnt even know I did this until after the run when I was stretching.

EATS: Aka dinners. Because my breakfasts are nothing special I havent even taken a picture of them in quite some time. I mean, really....pancakes, mini oatmeal cakes, and whatever else I can scrounge up.

Actually, now that I think of it, my lunches really havent been photo worthy either! Pretty much the veggies, dip, fruit and snack as usual. Im not sure if it because I have been doing the Dietbet again and I pretty much know now what the general calories are of these meals or what. But they have been boring but delicious!

Mmm. Peanut Butter Tastykakes!

Dinners are another matter. They continue to vary everyday!
How about some Crispy Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms made very similar to that recipe.

Or how about the Zucchini Baked Ziti that we made on a Friday evening after coming home from a extremely cold run! It was the first time that we made this and I will say that it was so good that it will become a regular on our menu. We got home from the run and prepped it while still wearing our warm jackets because we were so cold. But then thru it in the oven to bake while we got our hot showers and came out to the amazing meal. It is even good as leftovers. None was wasted.

Another dinner fav seems to be this Apple and Tempeh Sandwich. Probably because it is another one that we can pop in the oven to bake while we shower after our runs. And then bam...ready to eat when we are done! I ate it with potato chips and grapes on the side.

I think I am about ready for some warm runs and cold food! I take that back. I love the cold runs but maybe just a bit warmer so that I can still feel all of my appendages when we are done!

Are you a cold or warm weather runner?

Peace.

Squirrelly Tail Twail Run (1/2marathon-race report)

Before I started to write this years race report I had to go back and read last years report from the same race. Interesting what a difference a year makes. Last year was colder with a bone chilling wind. This year was only slightly warmer with temps still below freezing but we had an incredible amount of ice to deal with. Also, this year the course start was at a different location and the course itself was slightly different.

Rik & I got up at the oh so early time of 6am for a 10am race. I was less then thrilled about this but we needed to stop by the Starbucks store to pick up enough coffee to make 300 cold people warm/happy and all the supplies that go along with that.

We got to Pinchot at about 9am and set up the coffee. I checked in and got my bib. Then started chatting with a bunch of people. I couldnt believe how many of my friends were running the race that I didnt know about! For a local race, last year there werent as many. The word is out that this second year race is a good one.

Scott, the RD got us off to a quick start just after 10. He warned everyone of the ice and not even 200ft down the trail, a girl on my left slid onto her back with a thud. That kind of set the tone for the race. Lots of ice and some very cautious running! Oh, and many more of mother natures obstacles on the course this year. Alot of over, under and around things. Very cool.

Paul running in shorts in 22 degrees!

I started off running with Sue. She is usually faster then me but with the ice she needs to take it even more cautiously then normal. We stayed together for about the first 5 miles. We were running with a nice group of about 6 girls. Everyone was slipping and sliding on the trails but I saw no one fall immediately around me. At one point I was directly behind two girls and wanted to pass but every time I thought I could I would slip and slide and change my mind to just stay where I was. Eventually they moved to the side and I went around. We lost some of the girls at the water crossing (just taking longer to get across). I managed to make it across with dry feet. Woohoo! It was a different water crossing this year then last and it makes me wonder if the water was just to high at the other area. Its a very good possibility. Once we made it to the aid station at 6 miles I kept going while everyone else took their time there.

Josh- look at their great running form!

Im not sure how far I ran by myself but it felt good. I was just cruising along thinking about all of the kids that I was running for that day. The kids who cant run and I was running for them as much as myself. I cant explain how amazing it felt. As I was running I kept noticing swedish fish laying on the trail. It was as if someone was laying a trail of them. Hmm.

I eventually came up to the road crossing and back around onto the trail. This is where I met up with Carli & Vanessa. We were running together and chatting when Vanessa (who knows how much I adore gummies) asked if I saw the swedish fish on the trail. She said that she had tripped and her bag of candy went flying! Ha! No wonder they were all down the trail.

I shed the gloves, ear warmer, and jacket with in the first few miles!

I know that once I started running with them that we picked up the pace. I was having trouble keeping up but determined to do so! Neither of them wear a watch and had no idea how far we were. I knew I was getting tired because we were cruising a down hill and I felt like I wanted to walk. I didnt but I knew I must be getting tired to feel this way. I eventually told them that we had two more miles and that was when they both kicked it into high gear and took off. I couldnt keep up but I did manage to still pass two more people after that.

As I came out of the woods to the final stretch I could see that we had a long flat open stone trail. I decided to walk for a couple of seconds while talking to some guy wearing the YakTraks. He wasnt very happy with them and they sounded heavy. I started to run again. I rounded the last bend to see my friend Gary waiting for me. He started to yell for me to run to finish under 3hrs. He started to run with me and everyone at the finish line started yelling for me. Then he started to yell to pick it up and finish under 2:58. I dug down deep and ran across the line right about at the 2:58 mark.

I went and chatted with people, got some chocolate and headed back over to the finish line to cheer Sue in to the finish.

Even the first place guy had both knees busted up!

Eventually almost everyone was done except one more person out on the trail. We started to pack things up while waiting for him. He came around the bend and we all started cheering for him. He had a friend running him into the finish as well. It was so awesome and inspiring. He said that it was his first trail race and very first half marathon too. What an experience for a first one! He had the biggest smile on his face and said he cant wait to do it again.

That is what is all about folks. A great day running on the trails. Fun.

*My Garmin info last year was 12.4 miles/ 2:38 time/ 12:41 pace
                           this year was 13.08 miles/ 2:58 time/ 13:38 pace

Dietbet final weigh in.

RUNS: Over the weekend and Monday included, I've had some pretty good runs. Friday I actually did some hill work with Rik. We headed out in hopes of getting some miles in before the snow arrived. It worked out well even though we didnt get the whole way to Highpoint before it started....
Check out Rik being blinded by the snow!

Oh wait. There is one of me being blinded by the snow too! It was actually only bad when we werent under tree cover.

On Sunday I headed out on a run without a real plan. I was feeling good and having a good run. I took a few extra trails and even messaged Rik at about the two hour mark to let him know where I was but that I was going to keep going. I stopped at the bathrooms at the lake and refilled my water but forgot to turn my Garmin back on after and it took me probably about 2-3 miles until I realized it. And once I did, it totally took everything out of me. For some reason it just really got me down. So I texted Rik and told him to come get me. I was done. Blah. Good run done.

So when we ran on Monday it just so happens that I forgot to turn my watch on at all! What the heck. I never do this. I think it must mean that I am meant to not wear my watch this week. Atleast this time when I noticed it, it didnt really effect me like the day before and I just kept running along. Not sure how long or far I ran. All I know is that it is so much fun to run in the crunchy snow...

EATS: I have been completely uninspired with food porn pictures over the past couple of days. The only food picture I have from over the past, um, 4 days is of a Spaghetti Squash and Breaded Eggplant dinner. I actually roasted up the squash to have for breakfast this past week but it never happened since I still had some of the mini oatmeal cakes left. I didnt want it to go bad so I did what I usually do with it.....

But let me tell you about how excited I am about the end weigh in that I did today for my first round of Dietbet! I did it! I lost more then the 4% required to win your bet.

If you dont know what it is check out the link. I will say that I found it through another blog and you bet however much money they say for the game (mine was $10) and you need to lose 4% in the following 30ish days to win your bet. Which means so long as I lose the weight I will get my $10 back and maybe more! Who knew losing my $10 would be such a big incentive for me to lose the weight!

Even with the 4% weight loss I am still above where I was at this time last year but atleast I am moving the in the right direction now. I need to be successful with this round 2 bet to get back to where I was.

And incase you are wondering...I simply cut back on the junk and made better food choices. I did not count any calories for the first two weeks. I did keep track of them for three days the third week. And about five days of the last week. I think I will try that strategy again this month and see how it works out for me because I really dont want to count calories forever and would rather listen to my body.

Do you go crazy when you cant track your mileage or pace?

Have you ever tried a weight loss game like Dietbet? 
I had never heard of anything like before a month ago.

Peace.

Super cold weather runs this week!

RUNS: It has been so dang cold here in PA the past couple of days. The wind, of course, just makes it worse. But I am telling you...I run so much better in the cold weather. Maybe not so much in the wind but the trees on the trails usually cut much of that.

Tuesday was an okay run. I had to pick up Dakota at school after my run so my run ended up being just okay. I dont know if I was still recovering from my weekend runs or just because I was trying to run the clock.

Wednesday I had a doctors appointment and couldnt get my stuff together before it so I ended up just cleaning the house. Then I had this bright idea to visit the treadmill at the gym in the evening! Yeah, that is as crazy of a thought as it seems. The last time I was on a treadmill was months ago when I was injured. I cant remember if I lasted 10 or 15 minutes. But you get my point.

I got dressed and headed up (it is exactly 1mile from the house). And as I am driving through the parking lot I realize that I forgot my headphones. No way will I be able to run on the TM with out my headphones. So as I am passing the gym to return home to get them, I notice that all whopping 6 of the treadmills are being used. Bummer.

I head for home and start getting excited because that means I am going to put some additional layers on and head out in the 14 degree night time weather! Here I am all suited up...

We determined that I had on every color except purple ;) And the shorts over pants are because the only thing cold on me on Tuesday was my thigh area.

I headed out and had the most fantastic run! I kept thinking that if things were good, I was going to keep on going. And keep on going I did.

This is a road course that I have run a total of four times now and each time my pace gets better.
12:12, 11:32, 11:21, 11:03
The only problem I have with getting better each time is that I fear how I will feel when I have a run and my time doesnt improve. But they cant all be good runs, right?!

EATS: For dinner the other night we had some stir fry with quinoa in place of rice. I have been doing that more frequently and this seems to be a great substitute. Tasty and more protein for the win.

Check out the new dressing I got during one of our trips to Maryland. It sounded delicious and thought it would go perfectly with a stir fry. I just wasnt sure about the part that says medium spice and two peppers pictured. I can only handle so much heat and peoples perceptions of heat are so different.

 It actually WAS medium spicy and very good. You can see that I only put a little bit on the veggies and more on the side "just in case". And I did infact use some of the extra. It is only 20 calories per Tablespoon.

Quinoa Stir Fry

We actually had enough quinoa left over that I am going to try making a quinoa hummus! It kind of sounds good and kind of not. Not sure how I feel about it but it does sound interesting so I am going to atleast try it.

Are you a cold weather runner or do you hit the treadmill when you need to?

Does quinoa hummus sound good or scary?!

Peace.

Mini Oatmeal Cake Recipe & Weekly Review

RUNS: Lets talk about my runs this week. They have been AWESOME! And when I say awesome I dont mean that I ran the fastest times or the most miles. Im not comparing myself to anyone else. No sir. It has been all me and I have not felt this STRONG in my running in a very long time.

Every single run this week has been a good run. My breathing still sucks but not quite as bad as it has been. No pain of any kind. Just all good stuff. I have not had a week like this in probably about a year. I dont know what is different about this week but I am digging it. I do have several possible ideas but I am just going to keep a watch on things and see what happens.

Speaking of fast runs...I did have two runs that were about 10mm paced runs. I have not had runs that fast in  about a year also. And two in one week?! Woohoo! Check out the run I did on Friday morning. I even got three miles in at a sub 10mm! Of course, once I realized it my body totally slowed down! But I was okay with it.

Fastest 5k in umm...forever.

Saturday I did my long run for the week with some friends around the lakes. It was a good time and I totally felt good the whole time. Sue was a total badass as usual and ran the whole thing with me! I love it. She never has excuses. She just RUNS. Kinda sounds familiar, huh!

How could I almost forget the only non-awesome part of that run. I ended up with two small blisters. One on each big toe. I felt a hot spot on the one around mile 10ish and ended up with two. Nice.

Usually when I run the whole lake loop or a long run like that I am pretty wiped out and cant/dont run the next day. But I actually felt good so I went and ran 10 miles. I couldnt believe how good I felt. I really wanted to cry but I was even to happy for that. Everything was great except that those two little blisters now turned into big blisters. Ouch! Thankfully they didnt bother me while I was running though.

Trust me. I am analyzing the crap out of all my runs and food intake over the past week or two to see if I can narrow down what it is that I seem to be doing "right" to be feeling so good. So strong. A few of the ideas I am looking at...

-took the pressure off of myself by claiming that I am not doing a spring 50 miler (even though I am still thinking about it)
-claimed that I was going to cut back my mileage (even though I am still running ~40mpw/44 miles this week)
-only long runs in January have been 16milers x2 (no 20+ mile runs)
-yoga is making me a kickass runner (just as I had suspected ;))
-I am eating better (but really, am I?!)
-I have lost a couple of pounds (couple meaning 6 = not enought to make a difference)
-I took max dose of Ibuprofen x4 days for the whole whiplash/neck pain thing (thinking same idea as when I am on Prednisone and have awesome runs....thinking something to do with inflammation in my body but just dont know enough to know what...looking more into this one)
-no meds at all for 6 weeks (other then above mentioned Ibuprofen) (no asthma, allergy, reflux, non allergy whatever its called nose spray)

So there you go. Thats just a few off the top of my head. What happened to the just have fun and run stuff?! Im having a blast and I want it to stay this way. I need to find out what is going on that is "right" with me right now.

EATS: Now lets talk breakfast again. I knew I was headed for an oatmeal cycle and indeed here it is. How about some Oatmeal Pancakes with maple syrup?! I like to rip them apart with my fingers, dip and eat. No utensils required.

Oatmeal Pancakes w/ maple syrup

And then I have also been eating Mini Oatmeal Cakes. It finally occurred to me that these might be a good replacement for the pre-race poptarts that I feel like I just have to have. So I ate one before my 16M on Saturday and the belly totally loved them. I am seriously going to try it pre-race now!

Mini Oatmeal Cake

Mini Oatmeal Cakes
12 muffins

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
2 over ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tbs agave, maple syrup, or honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup water
2 Tbs applesauce
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup diced walnuts

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another bowl.
Then combine the two bowls.
Pour evenly into greased 12 muffin tin pan.
Press mixture firmly into tins to pack it.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy them warm or at room temperature!

Even better with Peanut Butter smeared on top!

This week was also my dads birthday and my sons. My dad turned 60 and Colton 20!

Cookie Cake!

I was oh so good and only had one piece of that sucker!

Have you ever had an unexpected good run that make you feel on top of the world?!
Have you ever had cookie cake?! If not, you just dont know what you are missing ;)

Peace.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe)

RUNS: Quick update on the whiplash stuff. I have had some fantastic runs this week despite my neck pain. The 800mg of Ibuprofen is working wonderfully. On Thursday I was even able to skip a dose before I finally had to cave back in and take some.

I went out for a run on Wednesday. It was so ugly out that I really tried to talk myself out of it claiming that I really should rest my neck, what if it was something serious, etc. But ultimately I headed out and was happy that I did. At first I could barely turn my neck side to side before crossing the roads but eventually it loosened up and I had a great run. 8 miles at 10 seconds per mile faster then I have ever done this loop!

I swear that my best runs are done in ugly weather! When it is sunny and sixy...not so much. Whatever, I will take what I can get. I have another longer run planned this weekend so I hope I am feeling back to normal and I dont FALL during the run again.

Currently I dont have any ultras planned and I really dont know what I want to do this spring. I have a couple of ideas but not signed up for anything yet. So I think I will just keep plugging along and see what comes up. I kinda like this plan!

I do have a trail half marathon on the first Sunday in February but its just a fun run that I can count as my second half in the 13 in 2013 challenge!

EATS: I seriously love when I can throw a few things together without much thought or time and call it a successful meal!

Steam some kale. Throw it in the food processor with 1/2 cup green water from steaming and 1/2 cup walnuts. Pulverize it like crazy until smooth like butter (similar to a pesto).

Bake some sweet potatoes and top them with the Kale butter and maybe a little brown sugar if you are like me and love anything sweet. I put a side salad just because and bam. Healthy meal complete.

And even easier one I did uses the three ingredients below...

Eggplant hummus, Vegetable Masala Burger, Four veggie Rainbow Salad

 I cooked up the burger and added it to a bowl of the salad and topped it with some of the hummus watered down to make it thinner and more of a dressing.

It was so good! The burger is spicy which works well for me because I have to eat alot more of the veggies with it to cool my mouth down. And I like the contrast of the warm burger and the cold veggies. I usually make this as a wrap but I thought it worked great this way. And the whole bowl was only like 200 calories! The wrap usually adds anywhere from 100-200 more.

I think the reason why I like to make such fast and easy meals is because then that give me time to make the important things...like cookies. Like Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 18-20

2 cups + 2 Tbs Whole Wheat Pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup applesauce
6 Tbs creamy Peanut Butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix the flour, salt and baking soda in bowl.
In another bowl mix peanut butter, applesauce, both sugars and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
Then also add in the mashed bananas. It will no longer be smooth.
Gradually add in the dry ingredients until dough forms.
Then fold in chocolate chips.

Using a spoon, put golfball size dough balls onto a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Let them cool completely then enjoy!

They come out nice and fluffy. Almost like a muffin top. So moist and delicious!!

What is your favorite kind of cookie?!

Peace.

I seriously think that gave me whiplash!

RUNS: Remember how I fell on Saturday while running that lovely mud run. Here is the only visible evidence left.....

Its now got the pretty colors going on! The reason why I say "the only visible evidence" is because I am actually having other "issues" that one cant see.

I seriously think I got whiplash from the fall!!! I knew I fell hard. I joked that you know you fall hard when it knocks the snot out of you. But dang, I didnt really think anything of it because I the knee was what hurt. And once I started walking and then running again I figured I was good. I even ran 10 more miles after I fell.

Right at the end of the run I started to get a aura on my right side and I was glad to be getting done the run figuring I was going to be getting a migraine for whatever reason. But the aura went away and I never got the migraine. I was very tired after the run and went to bed very early that night.

The next morning I got up and felt like I was hit by a truck! My upper body was so sore. I couldnt believe how sore my lats and shoulders were. But I had another run planned and got on with my day. I was fine during the run. The knee was even feeling pretty good.

Once I came home and got a shower though I couldnt believe how sore I still was. It was even into my neck. Rik joked about how out of shape my upper body is to be hurting that bad from a fall and I agreed.

But Sunday night the headache could not be ignored. My neck was so stiff. And I was just feeling like crap. Monday I slept okay. Thank goodness it was a rest day because I had such a headache. But atleast now my upper back muscles were feeling much better.

Tuesdays sleep was the worst. The pain and stiffness in my neck was just to much and I couldnt sleep well. Even with that I headed out for a short run. When I was done I was pleased at how good I felt. Maybe it had finally worked it way loose as well.

Nope. That feeling only lasted an hour at most and then the pain came back. Worse. By now I couldnt even turn my head side to side with out great pain. And the headaches continued. Geez. Rik joked that I probably got whiplash when I fell. We laughed. And by the time I got to work I was thinking alot about what he said. So what else would I do but ask Mr. Google what he thought.

Sure enough I many of the symptoms associated with whiplash!!
I took 800mg of Ibuprofen this time and it seems to have helped alot. I think I just needed a stronger dose then the measly 400mg I usually take at a time. It certainly has helped. For now.

Okay. So I might not have whiplash. Heck maybe if I google "brain aneurysm" I may have those symptoms too! But whatever, thats what I am going with. And all I know is I must have had one heck of a fall and this stuff better quit hurting...soon!!

EATS: I've eaten eggs twice this week. I rarely eat eggs. I dont know whats up with that. The one day I had them with a pear on the side with chocolate syrup drizzled over. And the other day was just with a clementine.

I hope I have time and am up to making pancakes tomorrow. I could really eat some pancakes.

Lunches have been the usual veggies, dip, fruit, etc...

This time I used peanut butter as a dip. Brilliant!!

For dinner I made some Eggplant Hummus...

Eggplant Hummus

If you have read my blog more then once you know that I LOVE hummus and really...any kind of dips. But the reason I made it today was to put it on our pizza! Gotta love Hummus & Veggie Pizza...

Grill or roast your veggies first.

Then top your pizza and cook that for a couple of minutes.

I weighed in again today to see my progress and now my DietBet game tells me that I have 12 days to lose 3lbs or lose my money that I bet that I could. Looks like I better get serious now. No problem, right?!

Ever try Hummus Pizza? You should.

Peace.