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eat well. run well. be well.
Bekah

Out like a lion?

It was a very chilly morning today in New England. Brrrrr! Where did Spring go? I dressed in layers as on those yucky winter days. Actually it would have been fairly nice out if not for the constant breeze bringing the temps down into the 30’s. Although while on the run I did see a man walking his little dog wearing a golf shirt and shorts!  Seriously?!? Guess Spring came in like a lamb and is going out like a lion.

Only made 16.25 miles out of the 17 this morning. I was getting this random sharp pain in my right knee which I think is coming from a very tight upper calf. It is very bizarre, but I am not too nervous yet. I will keep stretching and if does not seem better I will visit Dr. George, my chiropractor, on Tuesday.

Overall, a good training day.

Breakfast: 3 egg whites nice and fluffy with a sprinkle of low fat cheddar cheese between 2 slices of Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain bread, a banana, Clementine and apple juice. Sorry no picture.

Lunch: A homemade veggie burger on Ezekiel 4:9 tortilla, sprinkled with low fat cheddar cheese (theme of the day, I guess) and Organic Ville Tangy BBQ sauce with my favorite Green Monster Smoothie.

I know the picture is terrible, but the food was yummy and hit the spot.

I really need to work on my food photography.     

Snack: Larabar, Peanut Butter cookie - my favorite flavor.

I haven’t introduced my babies yet so I thought I would start with Schotzie. This is his "I am a turtle" impersonation. He understands my running motto: Be the turtle. I am not a fast runner but I get the job done.

                                                    

Even dogs run on Dunkin?

    

We will meet Noah later.

Eat Well. Run Well. Be Well,

Bekah

New Discoveries

Tuesday morning was my first run after the half marathon on Tuesday and my quads were still screaming at me a bit.      Later on in the afternoon I noticed the muscles finally were more relaxed. Wahoo!

Wednesday I worked the abs again with an Exercise TV workout with trainer Cindy Whitmarsh. She has an Incredible Abs series that consists of 3 different 20 minutes workouts combining a little cardio with lots of abs. I’ve been through the series once and have every intention to keep at it. I have deemed them worthy.  

Today my alarm went off at 4:40am, which I quickly turned off and immediately fell back asleep. Yikes! I woke with at start just before 5am an jumped out of bed rushing to get dressed and out the door for my 40 minute run. Unfortunately, I have to be at work at 8am so there is not that much time to get the run in, to stretch, shower, mess with the hair, eat breakfast, fix lunch and get to work on time. Whew, what a busy morning!

I’ve been experimenting with chia seeds, but then I stumbled upon Mary’s post on Fit this, Girl! who mentioned adding chia seeds to some almond milk to thicken. So I tried it. I added 1 tbsp of chia seeds to ½ cup of almond milk to sit overnight in the refrigerator and then added 2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa and a banana which thickened up into a pudding-ish mixture. I topped it with a few sliced almonds and unsweetened coconut. YUM!

Did you catch the article today on Active.com? Marathon Training: Re-Thinking the Long Run by Patrick McCrann from Marathon Nation. It really got me evaluating my training schedule. He speaks about how the body does not think in terms of miles, but time. Essentially saying your long run should have a capped time limit and the mileage to be determined by how fast you have proven you can run. Very interesting concept. I will definitely be looking more into this theory and will continue to post the findings.

Eat Well. Run Well. Be Well,

Bekah

Half Marathon #1 of 2010

Last minute outfit change. Decided not to wear the new Track Club shirt because it just did not feel right. I have to be comfortable to run or I just get grumpy.    

It was a miracle, the weatherman got today’s forecast correct. We had perfect running weather which brought record number of spectators to cheer us on.

As I mentioned it was actually a 18 mile day for me so I ran 2 miles before the race and I did not expect to go out at race pace, but surprisingly I set a PR for this course. I finished in 2:01:22 but did struggle around mile 10 when my legs got extremely Gumbyish and forced me to walk a bit to gain control. It was my goal to run the additional 3 miles right after the race, and decide to forgo the extra mileage then I found the schedule I used last year training for Cincinnati. It was from the book 4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon and week 6 of training was, get this, 15 miles! How perfect, so of course I decided to switch schedules.

Because the race this morning started late, 11am, I was able to get a full breakfast of Scottish Oatmeal with 3 egg whites and a Green Monster Smoothie. I did not get to eat again until after 2pm which was not ideal but that is how it was for today. Lunch was quinoa with tuna and pumpkin seeds sprinkled with a little low fat cheddar cheese. About 2 hours later I ate a small snack of granola with almond milk. For dinner I made chicken paired with a nice salad and an Ezekiel 4:9 pita.  And I am now ready for another snack.


Eat Well. Run Well. Be Well,
Bekah

It's Spring time!

After several days of clouds and rain the sun finally arrived bringing along Spring temperatures. It is lovely.

Tomorrow is the 1st Half Marathon in reaching my goal of running 4 half and 2 full marathons this year and the weather should be perfect for running, partly cloudy and mid 50's.

All set to go!

I have a marathon training schedule printed from RunnersWorld.com and this weekend is an 18 mile long run so I will be running 2 miles before the race, then running the 13.1 half marathon then following up with 3 miles after the race to cool down in order to reach the 18 miles. My pace will be a little faster than my typical long training run, but not a full out race pace. I’m ok with that. Right now I am not too nervous, but come tomorrow morning I’m sure the butterflies will start to flutter.  :)

So what do you do when your favorite running shoe is no longer available anywhere in stores or online?

I’ve been wearing the Asics Gel 3010 with great success and I went to go purchase a couple of pairs to stockpile away only to find out my size is sold out. Why oh why do shoe companies do this to their loyal customers?                                  

                                                      

                                                     R.I.P, my friend.    

   

Drama queen, much? LOL! I probably have a couple month months worth of miles left in these, but guess, I will have to visit a local shop soon and see what the next best model will be and keep my fingers crossed. 

Do you have a favorite race story? 

Eat Well. Run Well. Be Well,
 
Bekah

Another Year Older

Today is my Birthday and now that I am well over 30 I try not to dwell on the number so much as living each day by choosing health and wellness to stay young at heart. Eating well, running and choosing a natural health lifestyle are ways I believe can only help.

I made the Carrot Cake from Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean cookbook and topped it with a Laughing Cow Light Swiss which tastes just like cream cheese icing. Delish!

Hubby presented me a very surprising and fantastic gift. Tickets to the Bon Jovi concert at Gillett Stadium! The only downer is the date of the concert is in July. Great test of patience that is for sure…..I can’t wait.

Do you have a band or performer that you are just dying to see?

Because of another rainy day, with a hope that tomorrow morning it will be finely clear, I decided to hold off on my training run and worked out with Exercise TV On Demand. It was a very intense cardio workout with Cindy Whitmarsh. Well worth the effort.

Did anyone else have a hard time waking up this Monday morning after the dreaded time change?

Eat Well. Run Well. Be Well,

Bekah

Go Irish

After yesterdays monster run in the rain I decided not to follow up with a short easy run today as I would on a typical Sunday. Instead I stayed in and found a Shiva Rea Yoga workout on Exercise TV On Demand. Running can make my hips so tight so I thought yoga would be the smartest decision. I am so thrilled with how I feel today after running 16 miles yesterday. There may be hope to hit my goal of 4 half and 2 full marathons this year after all!


With St. Patrick’s Day falling in the middle of the week I decided to cook the Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner today and it was so worth it. Yummy!

And there is plenty of leftovers for a casserole on Wednesday to. Although corned beef is not the best cut of healthy protein, the meal itself was still Eating Clean.

I received an early birthday gift today from my mom and so I am excited that I will be able to try another great treat I found on the Carrots N Cake blog. Almond Joy “Ice Cream”. Sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t….today I feel like a nut.

Eat Well. Run Well. Be Well,

Bekah

What A Week

Looks like I still have not found the blogging rhythm yet, but sure it will come in time.

Last Saturday's run went well, however the follow up run on Sunday left me wondering if I would be able to continue on my journey. My IT Band was very irritated and was even affecting my knee with a very sharp pain. No warning! Crazy! 2 years ago while training for my first marathon I had my first experience with ITB pain, but did not know what it was or what to do. It was after running the marathon that I decided to seek out help. An orthopedic doctor visit landed me into physically therapy and 8 weeks of no running. It was a very difficult time.

Since then I joined a company who has a wonderful Wellness Center for their employees with not only a full gym and health coaches, but physical therapists, a chiropractor among others.  So the first thing I did when I got in Monday morning was get an appointment for PT and then on Tuesday had a chiropractic adjustment on my hip and knees. Wednesday I went out for my scheduled 6 mile run with no knee pain and even though the ITB was still a little tight it was very doable. Every morning and evening I stretched and rolled out the area to break up the tightness with the Runner's Stick. Thursday I kept on schedule with a short 2 mile easy run feeling confident that I escaped possible disaster but having a team of health care providers who know my goals and are skilled in their professions.

So today I woke early to start on my 16 mile run to be confronted with the East Coast Soaker. It was a chilly, windy raining morning and I was drenched and very cold by the time arrived back home. But good news, no knee or ITB pain at all! Amazing!

My goal today was to take in 2000 – 2200 calories to allow my body to properly recover. It is often hard to remember that there is a difference between normal nutrition and sports nutrition especially since I am still wanting to lose about 10-12 more pounds. Sometimes it is so hard not to get caught up in all the numbers.... calories and the scale, but I want to be focused on eating clean and fueling my body for those long runs not to get obsessed with the numbers.

My last meal of the day. Trying a new smoothie I found on one of my new favorite blogs, Carrots N Cake with just a minor modification.

6 oz Chobani Vanilla Yogurt

6 oz almond milk

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 banana

½ cup frozen butternut squash

1 tbsp Vega Vanilla Chi Whole Meal Optimizer

Cinnamon

Ice


I give it 2 thumbs up!

Today's Tip:  Seek out experts to help you in reaching your health goals. Having a health coach to assist you with nutrition needs or a chiropractor to keep you in the best physical condition can be the missing link. Whatever your neesds may be having Peeps to support you is priceless.
 
 
Eat Well. Run Well. Be Well,
 
Bekah

Running again

So it has been a very trying week. After my last post last week I experienced a chink in my immunity armor. My body decided it needed a rest and I listened for once. Today was the first day back running and I am grateful for getting my strength back, the gorgeous Spring like weather but most of all that this week happened to be my recovery week in marathon training.

After a week of clouds, rain and snow showers the sun was shining so brightly through my bedroom window this morning I could not wait to jump into my running gear and hit the road.

6 glorious miles later I was home putting a healthy Eat Clean breakfast together. Of course I had a Green Monster Smoothie. I say of course because I am ADDICTED. My day just is not right without one. Have you given one a try? I encourage it. I also decided on a last minute favorite, French toast, Eat Clean style. Yummy.

My Fav Green Monster consists of mix of frozen strawberries, peaches, mangos and half a banana. Half a cup of Almond Breeze unsweetened Vanilla milk and coconut water. 1 Cup fresh spinach and a scoop of Amazing Grass chocolate meal and a squirt of agave.

Check out the Green Monster Movement website for more.

I made the French Toast with 2 slices of Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain bread, 2 egg whites, cinnamon and organic vanilla topped with 1 TBSP plain Greek yogurt, blueberries, walnuts and 2 TBSP maple syrup

Have you ever had one of those days when you just could not decide what to make for dinner? Stupid question, right? This probably happens to most of us several times a week. Since I started eating a clean diet I was released from the dictator of cravings so tonight when I could not even pick a protein base I was stuck. I started flipping through Clean Eating Magazine and saw the cheeseburger and one word pasted my lips, YES! Sorry I did not get a picture, but take my word it was delish!

Ok, so yes the path of writing this blog is paved with good intentions but I am finding it to be a learning process. I promise to do better and hope you enjoy.

Be Well, Run Well,

Bekah

Going and Coming

Welcome!

Today was a marathon training day.   14 miles in 2:12 

It was a crazy New England winter day.  We started with blue sky and sun, turned to clouds, some snow, then sun again then more flurries.  I was thrilled to make it to the last mile before I encountered the first of the flurries.  It really has been like this all week but most of the week we had more rain than snow so when I started out this morning at 7 am I discovered quickly that the streets were a little slick so I took it easy for the first few miles. 

Deciding on an out and back route today I ran out 7 miles, turned and ran back the same 7 miles so I caught my footprints on the crusty layer of snow going out and coming back.

Overall a good run.  March 21st will be my 1st of 4 Half  Marathons and despite the twinge of pain in the right knee I feel positive with a little chiropractic attention I will be just fine.

Since Eating Clean for the past 3 months I have been looking for products to use on longer training runs that have pure whole food ingredients.  Today I used Vega Sport Natural Plant-Based Performance Optimizer for the first time.  I drank a cup before the run and was surprised by the smooth refreshing taste.  It has a light texture and mixes well for ease of use.  I experience zero stomach distress and was pleased with the results.  The directions state for longer workouts you may drink more during exercise however I decided to stick with my favorite Coconut Water for hydration during the run and followed up with another cup of Vega Sport Lemon Lime immediately after the run.  I look forward to using the product in the future. 

I rounded off the day by going to the movies with my Hubby.  Funny thing is I realized that this was the first time in many years that I have actually gone to the movies.  The last movie I saw in a theater was Spirit of the Marathon.  Netflix is just so convenient and let's be honest, cheaper!  Any way today we decided to go see Shutter Island.  Of course I will not spoil the story for those of you who have not seen it yet but I will say I enjoyed the plot and was pleased with  the twists and turns.

Bekah