Global Running Day!

I linked up with Jonesin' for a Run to answer some questions about Global Running Day! Because if there is one thing us runners like to do just as much as running it is talking about running.

Why do you run?

The short answer is I run for my health.

Before I started running I had gained 80 pounds during my pregnancy.  I lost 25 of it quickly, but the other 55 pounds stuck around for over 2 years.  When, during a routine physical, my doctor discovered high levels of inflammation in my blood I knew something had to change.  I had been experiencing migraines, intense shoulder and neck pain and excruciating stomach pains. It took a few months but I was ultimately diagnosed with leaky gut.  Prior to this diagnosis I had made small changes like cutting out soda and coffee, increasing my water intake to a gallon a day, practicing intermittent fasting and following a high fat, low carb diet.  It wasn't enough.  Over July 4th weekend 2015 I finally jumped on my neighbor's old treadmill that she said I could have and slowly jogged a mile.

I was overjoyed!  I was the fat kid in school and never ran a mile without stopping before in my life.  I averaged a 15 minute mile pace but I didn't care.  Besides, I didn't really know what pace meant back then anyway.  It wasn't too long before I was "training" for my first 5K.  Less than a year later I've completed 9 races including a half marathon.   

How do you plan to celebrate National Running Day?

I think this one is self-explanatory. I'll be running.

How many miles have you run so far this year? Do you have a mileage goal for the year?

Honestly, I have no idea. I made it a goal to keep track starting at the beginning of the year with the goal of hitting 750, but to me it is just one more thing to do and I don't care that much about tallying it all up.

What big events do you have on the race calendar so far this year?

Well, I just completed my first half marathon on May 15. I didn't run it as well as I knew as I could so I didn't know if I would do another one in the fall, but after 3 days I signed up for the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon in October.

Before I leave for a run I must have: 

Oh lord, where do I start? I'm a very ritualistic person and because of all of my health issues there is a lot of prep work I have to do before going for a run. I even blogged about it HERE.

Do you track your runs? If so what do you use?

I use a Garmin Forerunner 620 that my husband purchased for me for my last birthday.

Who is your favorite running partner?

My friend, Ang. She's been running forever and ran her first marathon in the fall. I was so proud!

What races have you run so far this year?

• Lowell First Run 10K
• Snowflake Shuffle 3 Miles
• Fat Tuesday 5K
• Shamrock Shuffle 2 Miler
• Northshore 10 Miler
• Cinco de Miles 5K
• Gate City Half Marathon
• Boston's Run to Remember 5 Miler

Up Next:

• Rockin' Ribfest 5 Miler
• Finish at the 50 10K
• Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon

If you have to give someone one piece of advice about running, what would it be?

Start small by setting small, short and achievable goals. Then, go buy yourself some nice running shoes. Talk to your running friends and find a store that does professional fittings. Your feet and legs will thank you.

Me after the first time I ever ran a mile without stopping.  Took me 15 minutes.  I was proud.  

Describe your relationship with running in one word:  

Lifesaving

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Why I Won't Cuddle My Daughter Anymore

For this week, I naively rearranged my half marathon training schedule so I could capitalize on the predicted sunny and warm spring weather. That meant Monday and Tuesday were rest days with a few rounds of strength training.  I enjoyed the downtime and was even able to perform the Food Intolerance Test my nutritionist gave me. Life was good and everything was going smoothly.

Then I had to put my 3 year old daughter to bed.

Over the last several weeks I've grown to dread our once private and pleasant Mommy - daughter cuddle fests in her big girl bed. She would tell me all about who hit and pushed who in her Nursery Class and I would listen with rapt attention. Then something changed. She became wild at bedtime and our cuddles turned into kicks and headbutts. It was painful. I barely endured it. I secretly didn't want to cuddle with her anymore.

Ahoy, mateys!  It's a pirate's life for me.

This particular Tuesday night was no different from the rest. She went bonkers at bedtime.  All of my questions to find out the events of her day were answered with silly noises and nonsense. I finally sang her the bedtime song she's had since she was a baby: "Soft Kitty" from the TV show The Big Bang Theory. At the end I leaned in for one last kiss and it was met with the most horrific pain I've ever felt. It took everything I had to not scream and fling obscenities at her. I managed an, "I'm all done with this!" before I stormed out the door and slammed it behind me.

I ran into the bathroom to quickly wash my face in the hopes of alleviating some pain. It almost helped.

I jumped into the shower and tried to forgot that my 3 year old just punched me in the eye.

Only, she didn't punch me in the eye, but I didn't know that yet. Even when I woke up at 3 am with a swollen eye that dripped tears like a leaky faucet I didn't think anything different, just, "Wow, she got me good!"  At 5:30 am when my alarm went off and I quite literally stumbled out of bed and couldn't open my right eye because of the blinding pain, I started to get concerned.

I told myself and my husband that I just needed some ice and ibuprofen and I'd be fine. Don't worry about me. I've got this. I even straightened my hair with a burning hot flat iron with my eyes closed thinking I'd still be going to work.

I'm in total control. I've got this.

2 hours of icing my eye and 800 MG of ibuprofen later and I was ready to relinquish control and give up. Somewhere around the 1 hour mark I had called work to let them know I'd be a little late, "Oh no big deal, my daughter punched me in the eye and I'm blind now."

 It was now time to wave the white flag and call the doctor's office.

After explaining my situation and admitting that just maybe, maybe my daughter didn't just punch me in the eye but she actually scratched it, the nurse told me that I had better come in to get checked out and not to drive.

1 mile walk from hell, but we met a cat.

Luckily, my father lives only a half hour away so he was able to drive me to my appointment which was a good thing because by that point the only way I felt good was to lay down with my eyes closed. The dangerous part about that was my 3 year old, who was home with me, knows how to open doors. She kept begging me to go out and play. As tempted as I was to kick her out of

the house for beating me up, I silently thanked our landlord for installing a deadbolt and crawled back to the couch.

The doctor confirmed my suspicion - I had a scratched cornea.   When putting Scarlett to bed she hadn't punched me, she scratched the outer protective layer of my eye and left a good sized abrasion.

The remedy was an eye patch, eye drops and a follow-up appointment in 2 days. Oh, and no work or driving for the rest of the day. Sounds great, right?

Needless to say, the rest of my day was spent watching kids' TV shows and "relaxing" while watching my 3 year old with my eyes closed. Because I'm stubborn as hell, we managed to take a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood which I almost instantly regretted.

 And I thought I was going to run 7 miles that day!

"Mommy, I'm a pirate!"  Glad you think it's funny, kid.

A very sweaty 5K 3 days "after."

In the end, (a lot of) wine was consumed, a candy bar was eaten and I resumed normal activities the next day. By Friday, I was running again and that same day I found out the abrasion was completely gone. Who knew the eyes heal so quickly? 

I know you are all wondering if I still snuggle with Scarlett at bedtime anymore and the answer is I do not. She knows she poked mommy in the eye and it made her a pirate for the day, which was not as fun as it may seem.  She's not happy I won't cuddle in her big girl bed anymore but she knows that when she learns to settle down we will try again. Until then I simply sing her our bedtime song, give her a kiss while I hold her hands down to her sides and then quickly flee the room because this Momma is no dummy.

Stuffed Bell Peppers (Low Carb)

The basic ingredients.

About a year ago when I was re-dedicating myself to the low-carb lifestyle, I stumbled upon a multitude of recipes for stuffed bell peppers.  The recipes seemed easy enough, which as a working mom is super important to me, and none of the ingredients were exotic, another plus.  I found them great for lunches as they were easy to reheat.  Also, I played around with what I stuffed them with.  Sometimes I used cream cheese and mayo.  Other times I used cream cheese and sour cream.  I'd switch up the crumbled bacon with pepperoni if I didn't have any on hand.  Point is, once you start making these you can switch up the ingredients as much as you want and really make them your own to fit your taste.

Ingredients

• 8 Ounces of cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese 
• 2 Tablespoons of full fat mayonnaise
• 2 Green (or really, any color) bell pepper
• 2 slices of bacon, turkey or pig, your choice
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder (optional)
• Any additional low carb toppings that you would like!

Directions

The finished product!  Yum. 

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• Soften the cream cheese and then mix it with the Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and garlic powder.
• Slice open and clean out the peppers of all seeds.  
• Spoon in the mixture into the open-faced peppers and add any additional toppings you might want.
• Place the peppers onto a greased cookie sheet and put into pre-heated oven for at least 25 minutes.  I like mine a little crispier so if you do too you might want to put them in for longer.  
• Let them cool down for a bit before enjoying.
• These re-heat wonderfully for lunch the next day.  

Half Marathon Training Week 2 Recap

Week 2 of my half marathon training through Another Mother Runner is DONE!  I enjoyed the activities this week, especially the "fun" exercise with my daughter on Monday.  She must have really enjoyed it too because she can't stop talking about dancing with mommy while daddy took pictures of us.  I'm so happy that I am role modeling to her how to be healthy.

New England got clobbered with snow so unfortunately there was no "runching"(running on lunch break) this week.

Monday - Day 1

Today's assignment was to complete a "fun" workout and Super Short Strength Circuit (SSSC)1 (we have 4 different sets of these).  Since it still gets dark too early to go outside and do anything, I opted for putting on some dance music and "dancing" with my daughter which was really just us jumping, twirling and running in a circle.  I got a good exercise in but more importantly she LOVED it.  

The SSSC consisted of 1 minute of each of the following 4 exercises:  Push-ups, squats, leg lifts and spiderman wall climbs.  These exercises are so easy you can really do them anywhere which is nice.  One minute might not sound like a lot, but its long enough.  Trust me.

Tuesday - Day 2

I needed 5 easy miles today.  I got in 4.  I really should have woken up early to get it done before work, but I was exhausted from not sleeping well on Sunday night still and if I don't sleep well, then I don't run well.  Tuesday was also the First in the Nation Primary Voting here in New Hampshire so I waited in line in my car after work for 25 minutes just to park to vote so I lost some time there.  By the time, Scarlett and I got home after voting and got our chores done I was lucky I got in 4 easy miles at all.  

Wednesday - Day 3

The plan called for cross-training or rest plus the SSSC 1.  I opted for rest and completing the SSSC1 on a break at work.

Thursday - Day 4

Here we go.  Here is where I learned from my planning mistakes earlier in the week.  I set my alarm for 4:30am and dutifully got up to get 4 easy miles in BEFORE work.  I'm proud that I did it, but I was exhausted by the time I got out of work 12 hours later at 4:30 pm.  

Friday - Day 5

3 easy miles or cross-training plus the SSSC1.  I decided ahead of time that I was going to do yoga for some cross-training since I haven't been able to fit in a session in awhile.  Originally, I wanted to get up early to do it while everyone slept, but again I didn't sleep well so I needed to get some more rest.  It was a busy, long day at work and Scarlett had a short play date after school here but I did manage to fit in about 25 minutes of yoga plus the SSSC1.  I felt so good after the yoga!  My legs, especially my feet were really fatigued so they were crying out for a good stretch.  My long run was planned for the next day, Saturday, so I couldn't risk them being tired or in pain.

Saturday - Day 6

Our long runs are always planned for the weekend, thankfully, otherwise I wouldn't know how to fit them in.  7 miles was scheduled for today, which if completed, would be my longest run ever.  I decided to get up at 6:30 am to get 4 miles in on the treadmill before I had to shower, get dressed, get my daughter up and dressed and out the door by 8:45 am for her 2 dance classes.  I'm happy to report that I successfully did all of this!

Now, you might be wondering, why only 4 miles?  Don't you need 7?  

Well, I decided around 2 weeks ago to register for the Fat Tuesday 5k through Millennium Running simply because they rescheduled it from Tuesday, February 9 at 7pm to Saturday, February 13 at 1pm.  The change was due to Manchester, NH city officials urging the race to be rescheduled due to it being on the same night as the First in the Nation Primary.  I didn't want to do the race on the first date because it was going to be after work and I didn't want to deal with traffic or choose between running and voting.  Voting is more important in my book.

Not only was I going to run 7 miles for the first time, but this was going to be the first time I ever put in 4 miles BEFORE running a race!  I really didn't know what to expect.

The best part?  The temperatures were going to be downright dangerously frigid and there was a possibility of an inch of snow!  Why did I register for this again?  Oh yeah, I'm a little crazy AND there was a blingy medal to get.

Thankfully, someone in my Mom's Run This Town running group posted what to wear in such frigid conditions because I would have been waaaaay underdressed.  Instead, I was toasty warm with my wool socks, 2 pairs of pants, 2 long sleeve shirts with a fleece on top, a gaiter, a hat and 2 hoods plus wool mittens and Vaseline on my face.  WOW.  Just wow.

The race started off great.  My legs felt good and I fought my way past some slower moving people.  Mile 1 was a bitch as always and the wipping wind didn't help.  Mile 2 ended up being my slowest mile because of a hill.  I powered my now lead-filled legs up and around it.  I ended up zoning out after that and luckily looked down at my Garmin to see that I was crawling along at a 13:45 mm pace!  Considering my first mile was done in 9:41 this was so slow for me.  After that I snapped out of it and powered down the hill and onto the final mile.  I stayed pretty steady in my final mile and actually managed to zoom UP the final hill before the finish line. I powered past quite a few people that I had been chasing.

I always give myself a cheer for making it to the finish line.

I didn't PR, in fact I was 19 seconds off from my 5k PR time, but I'm not upset.  I put in 4 miles before the race and ran 7 miles for the first time in a day.  Plus it was just downright COLD.  What I am going to take away from this race is that once I crest the top of a hill I just need to get moving again.  Now more lollygagging at the top! Thats where I lost a good 40 seconds at least.

Sunday is a well earned rest day and then it is on to week 3!  

Total Miles this week:  15

Easy Chocolate Fat Bomb!

It's been a hell of a week and all I want to do is relax on the couch with a beer and pizza, but I know if I do I'll end up with a nasty stomach that will ruin my weekend.  

So instead, I'll pop a gluten-free pizza in the oven (not low on carbs), sip on some wine and whip up a fat bomb or as this nerd likes to call it a Fat Bob-omb!

Tonight I'll be making a Keto Chocolate Mousse.  It is super easy and equally as delicious.

Ingredients  

• Unsalted butter – 60g (2oz)
• Philadelphia cream cheese – 60g (2oz)
• Fresh double cream (heavy cream in the US), whipped – 90ml (3oz)
• sugar-free cocoa powder – 1 tbsp, I honestly just use the Hershey's unsweetened.  It is pretty low in carbs (1 net carb per serving I think).
• Stevia or another sweetener to taste – 1 tbsp

Instructions

• Leave butter at room temperature until softened (or blast in the microwave for 10-15 seconds if you haven’t got the time)
• Mix butter with sweetener, keep mixing until completely blended
• Add cream cheese, blend completely into a smooth mass
• Add cocoa powder, blend completely
• Whip double cream and gradually add to the rest of the mixture, mixing well
• Spoon into small glasses (I like to put it in wine glasses to make me feel fancy) and decorate with shavings of dark chocolate
• If you have the time, refrigerate for 30 mins or so – it will taste even nicer.

Now you might be asking yourself why I am eating a FAT BOMB if I want to lose weight?  Well, simple, fat keeps you feeling fuller longer and yes, your body needs fat.  Fat bombs are a quick snack that let you keep up your energy.  They also provide lots of healthy fat that your body needs to reduce your cholesterol and your risk of heat disease.  

As a runner, a fat bomb is a great way for me to fill up before a race but not to the point where I get sick from eating too much.  Remember, I have a sensitive stomach and I am still trying to figure out what works before a run and what doesn't in terms of energy.  For my first 10K (6.2 miles) I fasted for 17 hours beforehand.  My stomach felt great but I was EXHAUSTED by the end.  Had I indulged in a fat bomb beforehand I could have been in better shape.  

For more information on why fat is healthy check out Butter Bob and his website Butter Makes Your Pants Fall Off.  He also shares information on Intermittent Fasting which I practice and will talk about in a later post.  

Transformation Tuesday!

This post is hard for me to write mostly because I have a hard time looking at myself in the "before" photo.  When I look at it I see a monster.  I see lies.  I see all the lies I told myself about not looking "that bad."  What was I thinking?  I hate liars and I lied to myself every day looking like that.

Then I see my "after" photo and I take solace in the fact that all of my hard work has paid off and has not been for naught.  It inspires me to keep going and to not go back to "before."

There is a 46 pound difference between these two pictures.  With the weight loss I've gained a ton of self confidence.  The goals I've set for myself both with weight management and running inspires me to eat to fuel my body and to workout to keep it healthy and in optimal shape.

I am worth the work.