Back!!!

There hasn't been anything too interesting going on these past few weeks and I just changed work schedules so I took a mini break. But I'm back! With a bunch of snacks I founds and some good post run rituals.

Last Sunday I had a 12 miler, and it went great! Definitely better than my half the weekend before. Tuesday I had a 4 mile run and I ran it 6 minutes faster than my last 4 mile run! AHHH!!! I was so happy, that proves it really is the humidity and weather that's been holding me back since it there like no humidity and kind of chilly that day. But since I was pushing it a little the knee pain was creeping in. So I've been trying to keep myself to a post run routine to keep the legs and feet happy.
First! I'll Ice my knee, 10-15 mins on the inside, top, then underneath.
Second! Stretch! I'll do all the basic calf, quad, hamstring, etc stretches
Third! Foam Roll! I whip out that foam torture device and hit my quads, calves, and IT band.
Fourth! Roll my Arch out. I'll use a tennis ball or baseball and stick it under my arch and roll it back and forth with pressure. This helps prevent and treat Plantar Facsilitis.
Fifth! Ice my arch. I freeze a plastic water bottle then while sitting I'll stick it under my arch to help with any arch pain that might be creeping in.
Sixth! Hip strengthening. To help with my nagging knee pain I found a quick routine on RunnersWorld. Basically, its single leg raises, 10 with the leg straight, then turned in, then turned out.

I've also been trying out something before my run for my knee, heating a gel pack for my knee. I read it helps loosen and warm up the muscles.

This past Sunday I had a draw back week, so I only ran 10 miles but man... they were slllooowww. Which is fine, I had my PT test today!!! So I didn't want to completely kill my legs... I've been freaking out about this test for a while. I'm always scared some freak thing will happen like my legs will just give out or something, and my pushups are terrible. BUT I PASSED!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!! No more sit ups or a push ups for a while :D ALSO I ran my fastest mile and a half in a couple years. 13:25! For a celebratory lunch James and I went to Jason's Deli and I had a little bowl of ice cream after lunch.

Speaking of food, I've got a few snacks I wanted I discovered that I really wanted to share. Last weekend I took a trip to Trader Joes (one of the best stores in the world) and picked up: Almond butter, Coconut oil, and rolled oat fiber bars.
Almond butter: Contains monounsaturated fat which lowers cholesteral, helps lower blood pressure, controls blood sugar levels, and is also high in protein and fiber. It definitely beats out peanut butter!
Coconut oil: Originally known as a bad guy in the food world for having saturated fat, its starting to getting a name as a health food.  It helps with: maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, high blood pressure, bone strength and more. It can also be used for tons of different things like lotion, hair, lip balm, and skin problems. Its amazing on bread, in smoothies, and to cook with.
Roller oat fiber bars: SUPER TASTY!! I love Fiberone bars, I could eat a whole box of them. But these have almost half the sugar of FiberOne bars and contain 9 grams of fiber, they're also pretty cheap.

A couple other food products I wanted to share are Amy's Organic Burritos, Kashi Thin Crust Pizzas, Spelt Bread and Flat Out Whole Wheat Wraps.
Amy's Organic Burritos: Way better than those nasty fatty frozen burritos from 7/11 and contains 7 grams of fiber and 11grams of protein! Fills you up for a while.
Kashi Thin Crust Pizzas: Overall a healthier pizza choice if you need a pizza fix!
Spelt Bread: Contains more protein than wheat, has lots of B vitamins, fiber, less glucose than regular bread and is easily digested. It has a nutty chewy taste compared to regular bread and is AMAZING with coconut oil.  
Flat Out Whole Wheat Wraps: Big wraps and only 90 Calories! Lots of fiber too. Great for making pizzas! Throw on some marinara sauce, low fat cheese, spinach, other veggies, and chicken or turkey then bake it in the oven!

I wont be away for too long again!!

Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon!

WHEW!!! All the anticipation for the race... and then it's over!
Race Report:

Saturday:

I took Saturday off of work so I could drive to VA beach, pick up my race number and shirt and enjoy the expo! I. LOVE. EXPOS. There's tons of free food, samples, snacks and trinkets and then booths with everything ever that I wanted to buy. I did pick up some GUs, a really cute charm that's a hare chasing a tortoise (I'm the tortoise says James), a 26.2 sticker for motivation, and some Zip Fizz. I love Zip Fizz, I haven't mentioned it yet because I totally forgot about since I haven't picked any up in a while. It's basically a really healthy energy booster before work outs, it's low in calories and has added vitamins and good stuff. It might be all in my mind but I really feel the difference in my run quality when I use it. There were also tons of booths doing arch checks, running analysis stations and Kinesio taping. I remember seeing during the olympics all the athletes being covered in it and I was still terrified of my arch and knee problems popping up during the race I decided to give the Kinesio taping a try. Basically, the construction of the tape allows blood flow while keeping everything in place unlike braces which can cut circulation and be restrictive. It also lasts up to 5 days through showering and exercising. Almost immediately after them taping my knee I could feel a difference as if everything's secure and in place... but I'll give my final opinion later!
I know its unnecessary to carbo load for a half marathon, but I figured I'd fit in some simple carbs to avoid runner's trots and a mini burn out since I'm pretty slow and would be out there for a bit any ways. I munched on some air popped popcorn, garbanzo beans, whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter and bananas, then for dinner... PIZZA! My long run last weekend was great after a night of a few slices of pizza so I made a healthier one at least this time.
Quick Homemade Pizza
*Thin crust premade                        *Lots of spinach
*Marinara sauce                              *Chopped Garlic
*Lite Mozzarella Cheese                 *Thinly sliced Mushrooms
*Reduced Fat Turkey pepperoni
I followed the directions on the crust package for cooking and threw everything on. The only special thing I did was add the mushrooms the last 4 minutes of cooking to avoid a soggy pizza. It turned out great!!
Before hopping in bed I made sure I had every single thing ready for the morning and made a list of the things I needed to get done still.
Sunday:

AHHHH RACE DAY!! After an anxiety filled night of awful sleep I got up bright and early at 4 am! Got dressed, filled my bottles, vaselined up and cooked me a big bowl of oatmeal. We got in the car and zoomed to VA beach, on the way we passed a few cars with running stickers... and then there was one with a 26.2x10 sticker, definitely made me feel like a weenie with my 13.1. We parked at a nearby convention center and took a bus over to join the 10,000+ crowd of people. I said farewell to James as I made my way to corral 13... it took 20 mins to get from 1-13!! I guess it's better than all us slow people getting trampled. I was feeling great all through the beginning and even though I was paying attention to each mile marker it seemed to make it go by faster. I was definitely starting to feel the side effects of wearing a long sleeve shirt, normally I wear one during training to keep the sun off (and bad tans) but it was not doing it today. The course was set up great though, lots of refreshments and sponges along the entire way. The bands every mile and cheer squads really helped keep my spirits up, I really appreciate the time people volunteer for events like this!
Once I hit Mile 9 I really started to feel it. I was just happy to get to each mile marker by then, they all seemed to get farther and farther apart. Around Mile 10.5 there was a bridge we had to cross over again and I probably would've walked that stupid thing faster than I ran it... then! I saw a sign that was marked 15K and in my delusional running state, some how I did terrible math and thought it meant mile 13 and I only had .1 left to go!! So I used my last boost of energy only to see a fuzzy big banner way at the end of the board walk :( It felt like a whole hour just to get to it. BUT I FINALLY DID!!!! In 2:36, 7 minutes slower than my CA time but thats ok. I didn't train specifically for this race and it was crazy hot and humid (I swear those are my only excuses!). Then I got my awesome medal, and a quadrillion snack things I could barely hold onto... I just needed to find James before I puked everywhere and died. OH, and the Kinesio tape worked! I didn't have any knee pain, at all, the entire run.
It was so much fun, a great experience, and I'm so happy to have 2 half marathons under my belt now! Every time I finish one though I always think 'Man, I can't believe in November I'm going to be running that long... twice.' Ah I hope I'll be trained enough by then!
After we got back I took an ammmaaazing shower and plopped in front of the TV with some ice bags and a PB&J.

Such a great hubabub waking up at 4 am and waiting around for hours :p

Monday:
I could barely get out of bed!!! I contemplated going to gym... I really wanted to, but decided against it today and literally stretched, foam rolled and iced. It was torture. I always ate... way too much, but I was just ravaging all day, I guess tomorrow I'm kicking my butt to get back way on track. I did make some Super Healthy Whole Wheat Waffles!! It was sort of an accident too, I was reading a simple recipe that I was going to alter a little bit but ended up using water instead of milk. Whoops! They still turned out really really good though!
*1 1/2 C Whole wheat flour (you can use equal parts white if you're not used to whole wheat flour)
*2 Tsp baking powder
*2 Stevia packets
*1/4 C egg substitute (1 egg)
*1 C water
*1/2 C milk (or subtract the water and use 1 1/2 C milk)
*1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
*Cinnamon and Vanilla extract
I was able to make 5 decent sized belgian waffles in my waffle maker. I cooked them longer than my cookers timer just to make them extra crispy. I topped them with a super thin layer of peanut butter but you could also use sugar free syrup!
Nutritional Info:
Cal: 143 Fat: .7 g Carbs: 29.5 Fiber 4.5 g Sugar 2.9 g Protein 6.7 g
Sounds like a pretty healthy waffle to me!!!

So that was my race weekend!!! Lots of food, pain, sweat, and accomplishment! Tomorrow I have my first physical therapy session, I hope it won't be too bad!