Fri 3 Sep 2010

Racing Earl

Posted by Bekah under Running
No Comments

If you live on the East Coast it’s a good chance you have been hearing a lot about Hurricane Earl for days.  I was just hoping that he would just not make it here before I had the chance to run my 10 miles this morning.  Once upon a time I would have never thought it possible to run more than 6 miles before work.  Then it became 7, 8, 9 now 10. 

Reaching the runner’s high before work does wonders for my mental health.  When I first started running it was much easier to reach this level, but now it seems to take somewhere between miles 5-6 before the rush occurs.  Have you found that your fitness rush takes longer than it use to?

Seems like Earl “hit the wall” so I did get those 10 miles done in 1:36. 

As strange as it may seem I will not be running tomorrow.  Saturday is always a run day, but the schedule calls for an extra rest day before the big 2-o on Sunday.  Looks like I will need to pick up another hobby.  Painting???  How cute is this pig!  I have a confession, I love pigs and these mini pigs are the best! 

 

My Question To You: What are some of your favorite hobbies?

Tags:

 

Wed 1 Sep 2010

Food Snob

Posted by Bekah under Running
[2] Comments

Yowzah it is September 1st!  Just 21 more days until FALL, my favorite time of year.  I just love autumn in New England.  To fall is all about foliage, crisp air, Macoun apples, marathons.  Do you have a favorite time of year?

Macoun apples are my absolute favorite.  I have to admit I’m a bit of an apple snob because for me to eat one it must be crisp.  I just cannot consume a soft mushy apple unless of course it is baked into a pie. ;)  Macouns are out for such a short time so typically you have to get them right when their season starts while they are still small because once they get larger they get mushy and lose all of their goodness.  Funny thing about Macouns is that I really do not know how to correctly pronounce them.  I’ve heard them called Macoons to Mccowens.  What do you think is right?  Do you a favorite variety of apple?

This morning was so beautiful.  My run started under the moon and stars which slowly gave way to pink skies of dawn.  Life is so good.  

Just last week I was saying how I had maxed out my morning runs to 8 miles and talked about running The Double.  But after last Thursday’s double I discovered that I actually do not like running in the evening and I found that I was more fatigued and sore the next day. To me those are just signs of pre-injury waiting to happen.  With that being said I am trying to incorporate my 9 and 10 mile runs over the next few weeks of marathon training in before work!  Running that mileage in the morning is 

  A bit more stressful……

  • Up at 4:10am – Yawn
  • Must be out the door by 4:30am
  • Must be back before 6:15 am
  • Must have breakfast and lunch packed for work

But so worth it…….

  • Started the day feeling a like I’d already accomplished something and was ready for more.
  • So relaxed and feeling the runner’s high at work – made for a happy Bekah
  • Workout was crossed off the To Do List

This morning I passed so many runners (all going in the opposite direction).  It is nice to know that I am not out there on the dark streets alone but was so surprised by their lack of reflector use.  I was all decked out in my Amphipod xinglet and my new Nightrunner belt and felt like an overly decorated Christmas Tree compared to these other runners.  And you know what?  I am fine with being a little overboard with safety.  God knows I do not want to get hit by a car or fall in a pothole so if it means that I am one big reflector or light source on the road I am good with that.

A few weeks back I posted on the safety of running in the dark and while searching for a photo to use to dress up the message I came across the Nightrunner belt.  After some more review I decided that it would be much better than the tiny head light I typically use.  I’ve worn it the last 2 morning runs and love it.  It is not without some faults but I think the Pros outweigh the Cons.
          

           Pros: 

  • 2 side lights provide a larger area of  visibility 
  • More visibility = more speed
  • Belt is comfortable to wear
  • The back LED blinking light provides more safety

           Cons:

  • The belt accommodates all sizes so unless you tie a knot to stop it, the belt will continue to loosen as you run.  
  • The 2 small side lights do not have an on/off switch and are very difficult to turn off which also means while running you can not turn them off when you no longer need them. 
 
My Question To You: Do you ever consider yourself a food snob?
 
  

Tags: ,

 

Sun 29 Aug 2010

Long And Winding Road

Posted by Bekah under Eat Clean Diet, Pups, Running, green monster
[4] Comments

One of my favorite Beatles/Paul McCartney songs is Long and Winding Road and that is what I felt like I was on with my long run this morning.  I decided on more of a figure 8 course instead of my usual out and back.  I traveled along a rolling rural road passing 2 golf courses and 2 farms bringing me around to beautiful water views ending through various neighborhoods.  So much to see and experience today.

Marathon Training Recap:  
  • 18 miles 
  • 2:52:49
  • 9:36 pace
  • 619 ft elevation gain

5:30 am wake up call to scurry downstairs for a quick bite to eat of Ezekiel 4:9 toast topped with honey almond butter and half banana but did not make it out the door until right before 7 am.  Typically I eat a bowl of oatmeal with half banana, but after today I am a toast convert.

I would love to say that after this effort I was full of energy and ready for more but I was more like this….

After a quick shower I was ready to eat! 

Van’s Flax Waffle topped with Laughing Cow Cheese, blueberries and walnuts and a side of Green Monster Smoothie powered up with Vega Shake and Go Protein powder.

Today I also took along Cliff Shot Bloks.  The first time I tried them was at the Key Bank Vermont City Marathon  as a product in the goodie bag.  When I reviewed the ingredient lists of the most popular gels I found that Cliff has the cleanest ingredients.  Yesterday, I tried finding them at the only local sports store in my area with no luck but then I discovered them at Target of all places!  How exciting!  I really enjoyed the strawberry flavor but more than that I loved the effect it had on my run. 
 
The best part of the run today was around mile 13 when I approached an elderly man coming in the opposite direction.  I noticed he wanted to say something to me so I stopped, removed my ear phones just in time to hear him say, “If you were heading in my direction I’d race ya.”  How cute was he! 
 
My Question To You: What was the best part of your run or fitness routine today?

Tags: , , , , ,

 

Sat 28 Aug 2010

Weighing In

Posted by Bekah under Eat Clean Diet, Running
[4] Comments

Meeting with a Health Coach each month not only provides valuable information from a trusted source, but keeps me on point for reaching my health goals.  

Each month I weigh in and my BMI and Body Fat composition is reviewed.  He breaks the numbers into pounds of fat and lean body mass so we look at more concrete measurements to base my goal directions.  Honestly, I am a bit of a geek because I’m fascinated when the weight on the scale changes the ratio between fat and lean changes too shining a spotlight on potential issues.  

But Thursday when I got on the scale and had gained 1.5 pounds I was confused and upset.  My first instinct was to throw up my hands and run away.  I’ve struggled with a positive self image ever since Jr. High School.  At that time I started my first diet per fad of the year and aerobic exercises to mold myself into what I thought I was suppose to be.  What I did not understand was that food is not the enemy but fuel for life.    

November 2009 I started and have remained faithful to a clean eating lifestyle and my weight has slowly come down naturally as a result. I have not changed my eating portions or content so those extra pounds caused old doubts to surface.  Another good thing about having a Health Coach is that he keeps me calm and shows me the truth beyond just the numbers on the scale.  When comparing the fat and lean with the weight gain it showed him that due to my increased mileage that if anything I was not over eating but under eating.  

My first homework task for the next week is to keep my detailed food journal again making sure that I am taking in around 2000 calories with at least 80 grams of protein.  After day one I can see that I am running under that goal.  The second homework task is to commit to 2 days of strength training which I’ve been such a slacker for the past 3 weeks.  We will recheck everything in 2 weeks to see if we are follow the proper prescription.  

Marathon Training Update  Friday was a rest day and today was just an easy 3 mile getting ready for another 18 miler tomorrow and looks like the weather will be perfect.

Thanks to my big brother I feel like I’ve won the lottery.  As a blogger I feel really behind the curve because it has been a month since Larabar released some new flavors but in the area where I live I could not locate them anywhere. 

Then it hit me.    Light Bulb Big brother lives in Boston near a Whole Foods so just maybe he could be convinced to sending his baby sister these much sought after new flavors plus 2 that I have been wanting to try and again could not find.  The one drawback was that 2 of the new flavors have sugar in them, which I was a bit disappointed to discover. 

Jackpot!!! 
 
 

 I can’t wait to dig in.

 

 

 

 

Tags: ,

 

Thu 26 Aug 2010

Missed The Pack

Posted by Bekah under Daily Lessons Learned, Running
[2] Comments

Too Happy 1It was so wonderful to wake up for this mornings run to see that the stars and moon were shining brightly.  No rain in sight!   

As I had mentioned yesterday I’ve maxed out my weekday mileage to 8 so for the next couple of weeks when my schedule calls for the 9 or 10 mile mid week run I will have to run The Double.  It has been more than a year since I have done this, but know that it works great for getting your mileage in when you have time constraints.  This training technique is one that I would not use more than once a week and not for the long run unless I was without any other way.  Your body is still able to reap the benefits of this longer run even though it is broken into two parts.  

Typically I would split the mileage in half, but tonight there were special circumstances.  I woke up and ran 3 miles at my normal time and will run the remainder of the 6 miles tonight with my running club.  Thursday night is the club’s 6 mile tempo run.  I am so excited to see everyone!!  It has been way too long since I’ve attempted to meet for a group run.    How often are you able to exercise with a group?

The Power of the Pack means not only friendships, conversations and laughs but Speed baby.  Whenever I am with the group I push myself to limits that I think that I can not achieve when I am out as the lone runner.  Unfortunately there was not a group run tonight.  Bummer!  So I ended up running my 6 miles tonight alone. 

Daily Lesson Learned: If you haven’t be to a group run in awhile it is best to check club schedules to see if changes have been made or you may run away disappointed.
 
 

Tags: ,

 

Wed 25 Aug 2010

Soaking Wet

Posted by Bekah under Running
[2] Comments

 I know that my Sunday post was named Rainy Run = Happiness but this is ridiculous.  I don’t mind 1 day sprinkled (no pun intended  Ignoring You  ) throughout the month but 3 running days in a row!  Now that’s an outrage, I tell you.  

Today was by far the worst of the 3 days.  4:30 am start for 8 miles and I must have had extra 10 pounds added to my body from the volume of water in my clothes by the time I returned 1:20:15 later!  Gasp, what a lousy pace.  At one point I heard this sloshing sound and it took me a moment to figure out that the sloshing sound was me!  Not sure if it was my saturated shoes or vest but it was definitely me.   Too Funny 

It was a wet and wild 8 miles of playing Avoid The Puddle.  Ever played?  Well, this morning I was the big loser.  The rivers streets were crazy, but what is crazier is that I kept running.  What?  

Week 9 of my marathon training has taken a turn.  The first 8 weeks concentrated on hill work now it is all about speed.  I’ve never been great at following tempo runs which I know is so important on being able to reach and keep MP race day.  One reason I struggle is because I run so early in the morning and it is still so dark.  Who feels comfortable picking up speed when you can barely see the step in front of you?  I think the double will be a good solution, but more on that later.  

Week in Review:

Monday- Rest Day (much needed after 5 days straight of running)
Tuesday – 3 miles with 3 strides (check)
Wednesday – 8 miles with 3 miles at 8:30 (8 miles, Check – 3 miles at 8:30, Big Fat Fail)
Thursday – Should be rest day, but I am moving Friday’s mileage here
Friday – 9 miles with 7 at MP, but this will be my Rest Day
Saturday – 3 miles easy
Sunday – 18 miles

I have maxed out my morning mileage before work to 8 miles.  It is much too hard to get back in time, stretch, refuel and be ready to leave for work by 7:30 am, so I will be incorporating the double this week.  Be sure to come back to see how the double goes.

As a huge fan of Big Brother I know that one of things the house guests learn is to Expect the Unexpected.  Relating that to my run this morning I can flip that to say Train for the Unexpected.  When you sign up for a race months in advance you never know what mother nature will throw at you the day of the actual race.  Today was a perfect example of going the distance and training for the unexpected.  It might have been as far from sunshine and rainbows than you can get, but in the end I am just a little more prepared.

My Question To You: Are you prepared to go the distance to reach your health/fitness or life goals?
 

 

       

Tags: ,

 

Tue 24 Aug 2010

Lions, Tigers & Bears, Oh My

Posted by Bekah under Eat Clean Diet, Running
[2] Comments

 

  It was another windy rainy morning.   The wind was causing all kinds of crazy shadows and scary sounds this morning that made me a bit nervous on my quick 3 miler in the very early still dark morning….Leaves, Twigs &  Branches, Oh My! Shock 2 

 

I’ve been enjoying pumpkin seeds lately so I thought I would look into the nutritional value of these nutty tasting seeds qnd this is what a found from the folks at whfoods.org.

Pumpkin seeds are high in manganese, magnesium, iron , copper zinc even protein.

The most interesting thing that I learned was that these little guys promote prostate health.  Something to share with the men in your life.

As a runner I am always looking for natural anti-inflammatory foods.  I use tart cherries and turmeric but now I can add pumpkin seeds to this repertoire.

Another surprising factoid is that these little seeds are good for your cholesterol health by coming in a close second to pistachios and sunflower seeds for those foods rich in phystosterols.

Storage tip:  They do stay edible for months, but loose peak freshness after a month and should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Yikes, my P-seeds need the refrigerator STAT!

Serving Ideas:  I love them as a topper to leftovers.  It adds a little texture and nutty flavor which creates a casserole feeling to many dishes.  You can top veggies or salads, add them cereal and cookies or how about some ground seeds in veggie or meat burgers?  

Did you know that pumpkin seed benefits were so wide?  Here is a partial list from healthdiaries.com

  • Prostate health
  • Improved bladder function
  • Depression treatment
  • Prevention of osteoporosis
  • Natural Anti-Inflammatory
  • Kidney stone preventionM

My Question To You:  How do you eat your Pumpkin Seeds?

Tags:

 

Sun 22 Aug 2010

Rainy Run = Happiness?

Posted by Bekah under Running
[2] Comments

It was a very overcast rainy Sunday, but I was happy with this because we so need rain. 

I mentioned yesterday that I seemed to be fighting a bit of a head cold and well my night was not the most rejuvenating sleep, but I was determined to still get my 14 mile training run in.  Today made the 5th day in a row of running.  I typically do 2-3 days together so 5 days was in word, EXHUSTING.  Don’t think I will be doing that again any time soon.  Annoyed And Disappointed 

Last week I tried eating a late snack right before bed to get ready for the long run, but because I was not feeling great eating was the last thing on my mind and went to bed without a snack at all.  This morning I knew that even though again I did not feel like eating I needed to get something in if I was going to complete those 14 miles. 

A quick bowl of oatmeal, a hard boiled egg white and a cup of water did the trick.  An hour later I was out the door.  I made it to mile 4 before the rain started.  The rain continued as a light steady shower through mile 10′ish then let up some before coming down harder during the last mile.  I actually love running in Summer rain but our Summer has been so dry this is was my first run in the rain all season.

14 miles completed in 2:12:13.  I was happy with that effort.

After the run I just wanted to relax and preserve what little immune system I had left to fight this head cold so basically have spent the rest of the day in lazy fashion.  I am happy with this too.   Winky 2 

Hope you had a brillant weekend.  What made you happy this weekend?

Tags:

 

Sat 21 Aug 2010

Power 4

Posted by Bekah under Eat Clean Diet, Running, Yoga
1 Comment

I’ve never consider myself a superstitious person or one to rely on numerologyor horoscopes.  At an early age I made the decision to put my faith in God, but there are times that numbers seem to follow me.  Has this ever happened to you?   Lately, for me it is the number 4.        

  • I am training for my 4th marathon
  • The marathon was ranked the 4th best marathon in the country in the January, 2010 issue of Runners World Magazine
  • I am trying to PR at 4 hours
  • Now due to a thunderstorm earlier this week I had to run my 4th day in a row

Strange as it may be for now I will just go with it. 

Sometimes I just feel like a good crispy waffle.  Van’s Natural Foods  puts out a good frozen alternative to a homemade waffle. Yesterday I paired up their Wheat Free/Gluten Free Flax flavor with 2 hard boiled eggs.

Later I had mixed up some Greek Yogurt, banana, unsweetened coconut, walnuts and grain sweetened chocolate chips for a hearty snack.

Another snack later was a carrot, Mary’s Gone Crackers with a different flavor of my new favorite hummus by Tribe Origins.  Spicy Red Pepper held to its spicy name but oh so good. 

Lunch was a tuna roll on Ezekiel 4:9 pita.

Today I ran 5 miles with the intention to run 3 of those miles at marathon pace.  My overall pace for the 5 miles was 9:00 flat which was better than I was hoping.  Guess that Power of 4 is working.  ;)

I decided on some health clean eating french toast to help refuel my body after the run and a yoga for runners practice from yogadownload.com.  Topped with half a banana, walnuts and a little maple syrup did just the trick.

 

Now just resting up for tomorrow’s 14 miler.  It seems I am fighting a bit of sinus head. Not sure where it came from but yesterday I started getting some face pressure yet I do not feel run down or sick. Hopefully my body is able to fight, fight, fight!

 

Tags: , , ,

 

Thu 19 Aug 2010

Extreme Running

Posted by Bekah under Running
[2] Comments

As Summer leaves us and gives way to Fall each mornings run gets darker and darker.  While out on yesterday’s 8 miler and today’s 5 miler I started thinking about safety while running in the dark.  

  (source)

Here are my best tips:

  •  Reflectors are a must - There are so many great options on the market now from arm and leg straps, flashers to vests.  I just started wearing the Amphipod Xinglet and love it.
  • Choose streets with the most street lights - Common sense here I know but it is not always easy depending on the area you live in so plan those darker runs accordingly.
  •  Run along the white line - This may sound a bit on the dangerous side, but I find it safer to run along the white line of the road’s shoulder because it reflects in the low light of the early morning making it easy follow.  Of course you must stay aware and on the look out for on coming traffic to move in a bit when necessary.
  • Choose to run on the sidewalk - I actually do not love this tip, but thought I would throw it out there.  Cement sidewalks again reflect more which makes it easier to see that next step in front of you vs. the blacktop of the road.  I personally find running on the sidewalks harder on my legs so prefer sticking to the road.
  • Leave the earphones at  home – As much as I love music while running I leave the Ipod at home for the early morning runs so I can stay focused on my surroundings.
  • Wear a head lamp - Works to shine just enough light right in front of you in those less lit areas and works as another source of light for cars to see you.   It does take some getting use to and some “runner” versions can be expensive but if you go to your local Wal-mart they offer more reasonable options in the outdoor/camping department that work out great.
  • Buddy System -  Running with someone else or even a local running group during these dark runs can be fun, motivating and give you that added peace of mind. 

I think it is most important to stay alert and to not just assume that drivers see you.  In fact, let’s just assume that the oncoming cars are being driven by distracted, tired or frustrated drivers who do not see you.  If you make this assumption no matter all your precautions you will be the safest runner you can be.   

  (source)

My Question To You:  Do you find yourself out running in the dark?  Was there a tip you can add as we spread the word of being safe while running in the dark?

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Tags:

 

Next Page »