Getting real.

Last weekend, running got real.

It has been a long, long time since I've felt like I was really running. A long time. Ever since I started my gradual build-up from nothing to something in February, I've been on the treadmill. This winter has been too cold, too snowy for me to try anything outside during this early stage of recovery.

Saturday, though, was a sunny day. A dry day. A no-snow-on-the-roads day.

So I ran. Outside. In the sun.

Folks, I have missed it. And I didn't truly realize how much I have missed getting outside for a run until I actually did. Yes, I knew I missed running. I mean, c'mon. Of course I did. But, I'd convinced myself that it was OK to be on the DL. That it wasn't that horrible to not run.

And, in many ways, it wasn't that horrible to not run. But it wasn't great. And even when I started running again and I was logging half miles and then miles on the treadmill, I still wasn't getting the full experience.

Once I did, it all came rushing back to me.

Oh, running. I've missed you. I've missed you so very much.

Sure, it was only 3 miles but they were 3 miles IN THE SUN! With brisk air -- downhills, uphills, twists, turns. It was wonderful!

This week the weather looks like it will cooperate again and I should be able to get out for more outside runs.

Life is good.

Have a great week!

Three months.

At the 3 month mark of my injury, I'm feeling really hopeful.

My recovery is going very, very, sloooooowly. But, anything worth doing takes time, right? And recovering well is totally worth doing. So, if it takes a long time I have to be OK with that.

I'm running again. The most I've run so far is 2 miles, a couple of times. But, 2 miles is SO FAR from nothing!!! It is a pretty big deal.

I'm also still using the ellipitical and bike and I'm doing the tv workouts.

The only thing that has a tendency to discourage me is the snow and cold. At first, I kept telling myself that if I was going to be injured, a cold and snowy winter was the time to be injured. I mean, what would I be missing? Running in the freezing cold? Slipping on the ice? Who needs that?

But, now --- now, I'm recovering. I'm ready to start running outside but I can't. I can't risk slipping -- or tearing a too-cold and stiff muscle -- and setting myself back 3 months. I just won't do it.

And that rots. Because, right now, if I could run outside, I'd be farther along in my recovery. Running on the treadmill uses the same motion over and over -- especially because I can't use the incline at this stage of my recovery. So, I get to a point where I have to stop. Yes, I'm taking walk breaks and that helps. But if I was running outside . . . oh, well. I'm not. No sense making myself crazy with thoughts of what could be!

Spring and the promise of wonderful outdoor runs will be here soon! Until then, I'm content to just be able to run again :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Half and half.

Well, friends, it happened.

I ran.

Yup, I ran.

In fact, I've run twice. Twice!

This is a big deal here in Happy Runner-ville. I mean, before these two runs, my last run was Thanksgiving day. (A.K.A. Horrible Hamstring Injury day.) That was waaaaay back in November.

But on January 30th, I ran again. I was walking along on the treadmill and I decided to just go for it. Try it out. See if I could run. Even a little.

And I did! I ran a half mile. A HALF MILE!!!!

It was awesome. Yeah, it was slow as anything and my hamstring was barking for the last half of that half mile, but I RAN!

Best part? Afterward I felt no worse than I felt before.

So, I went for it again and ran on Sunday. This time, I really pushed the envelope and ran a little more than a half mile. I think I made it all the way to .6 of a mile. Again, I felt it in my hamstring for the last half of the run but I didn't feel any worse afterward.

Good signs.

If I can keep this up, I'll be running a mile in no time :-)

To me, this is a super-duper development in my recovery plan. I've been soooooooooooo patient and I just hope that all of my patience and rehab exercises work so I can come back this spring and start to actually log some decent miles. I believe I will.

Even if I have to do it half mile at a time!

Have a great week, everyone!

Crawling back.

You've heard it before but I'm going to say it again anyway: Running injuries suck.

For real.

First, they hurt. Then they force you to take time off from running. And then, once you're free to start running again, they flare just enough to let you know that they're still around and so you scale back on your grand return-to-running plans.

I've been "back" since the end of June. But, not really. I had three decent runs and then one that forced me to stop running immediately, and was followed by another week of full-on rest.

Last Friday, I tried running again, just a mile. No problems. So I went for 2.5 miles on Sunday. Again, no problems. On Tuesday, I went crazy and ran a little over 3 miles and -- woo hoo! -- no problems.

I'm hopeful -- very hopeful -- that I'm truly on my way back. Granted, it all feels like a frustrating crawl and I still can't tackle anything resembling a hill, but progress is progress.

Tomorrow, I plan to run again. Fingers crossed that it goes well!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Designer Whey snacks and sips.

I have never been a huge protein powder kind of gal so it is quite the admission to say that I've recently been won over. Which I have.

Let me give you a little history: I'm super wary of soy (the main ingredient in many protein powders) and try to avoid it. Also, I believe in getting nutrients from whole foods.

But then, in January, I was put on my sugar-free diet and, well, things changed. Not the soy part -- I'm still not in favor of soy. But the protein powder part. That, I'm down with.

See, if I want to have sugar in my diet, it needs to be from natural sources like fruit. But it also needs to balanced out by plenty of fiber and protein. Since fruit generally is pretty high in fiber, that first part is covered. Protein, though? There isn't all that much of it in fruit.

Welcome to my world, protein powder!

When I was given the opportunity to review Designer Whey protein powder I was excited to try it out. I started out by adding a scoop of the vanilla powder to my regular smoothies (banana, strawberry, a little almond milk), ate a few of their protein bars, tried the pre-mixed shakes after two tough runs, and then I decided to get a little crazy. I decided to branch out a little and experiment. I made some different smoothies with success and before I knew it, I was cooking-up (OK, processing up) new energy bites recipes.

Yes, that's apparently what passes for crazy around here!

Anyway . . . I added the vanilla powder to some of my standard energy bites recipes and felt pleased that my sweet treats were now protein rich as well.

Good for me.

And then things got even better for me. I opened my can of white chocolate protein powder. I took out a bag of pistachios. I went to town.

To Delicious Town.

Friends, these are my favorite:

You want the recipe, don't you?

Of course you do.

And I'm not stingy, so here you go:

Pistachio White Chocolate Energy Bites

• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup whole (but pitted) medjool dates
• 1 scoop white chocolate Designer Whey protein powder
• about 1/8 cup water

Process the first 4 ingredients in a food processor until well blended and the nuts and coconut are finely chopped. Add the water and pulse. The mixture will begin to clump together in a big ball. This is what you're going for. Once you have this dough, stop processing and form into balls, or squares if you prefer. I like to make mine big enough for two bites but feel free to make yours smaller or larger.

*     *     *

These are so good. The pistachio/white chocolate combination is perfect and the dates give the energy bites just the right amount of sweetness.

For someone (like me!) who needs to be concerned with balancing carbs with protein, these are a good solution.

I also made a wicked-good green smoothie:

Smooth. Creamy. Satisfying.

And easy to whip up:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1/2 an avocado
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 scoop vanilla Designer Whey protein powder
• a few ice cubes

Blend.

Drink.

Enjoy.

Here's what I like about Designer Whey protein powder (aside from the really good taste of the white chocolate):

• Whey is something that I can consume (my options are limited, after all), so that's a win right there
• It has a low glycemic index
• It is grain-free (gluten, corn, etc.) and peanut-free
• All the whey is produced in the USA

Here's what I don't:

• It contains soy lecithin. Granted, not that much but still. Why must there be soy in everything? I really wish this was a completely soy-free option, since there aren't many out there.

Overall, I like the products. 

I'm using it instead of yogurt in my smoothies. I'm adding it to my energy bites to balance the carbs. I'm checking out other recipes and have found a few dessert ones that I really need to try. For me, Designer Whey is a good addition to my pantry!

To buy: Designer Whey is available at most grocery and mass market stores. You can find store locations on their web site.

Have you tried Designer Whey? 

What do you think? What's your favorite recipe using protein powder?

Thanks for stopping by!

Review disclaimer: I was sent free products for this review through FitFluential but was not otherwise compensated. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Post marathon running.

There hasn't been a lot of it but the running I've done since the marathon last Sunday has all been good. I followed the marathon by taking Monday completely off and then ran an easy and slow 2 miler on Tuesday. No problems.

I knew that what my body needed most this week, though, was rest. So, I took Wednesday and Thursday off and ran again on Friday, basically repeating Monday's run. Yup, 2.1 whopping miles. Again, no problems.

And then --

After another rest day on Saturday, I met up with some of my fab running buddies for an 8 miler on Sunday. It was super! I felt great and was really happy to run with my friends Amanda, Tami, Karen and Melissa. We ran over hilly country roads where a donkey gave us a serious evil eye, the cows seemed indifferent to us and the horses looked at us like we were absurd to be running at 7 on a Sunday morning.

Mother's Day, no less.

But, honestly? What better way for a bunch of running mamas to start their Mother's day then with a run? No better way.

Karen, me, Melissa

Amanda and me

Today, I'm resting again and I will probably keep up an abbreviated running schedule for the rest of the week. After only running 12 miles last week, I might inch up to 20 or so this week and then I'll get back to normal. I'm happy that my body feels good.

What else have I done for recovery? For starters, I've rolled out my legs A TON, used the tennis ball on my hips and hammies to keep my ITB/hips/knee in check, and I've done a little easy stretching. I've also tried to eat well and drink a lot of water. I believe it is all working. A little easy running, a good bit of preventative rolling and healthy nutrition. That would be my marathon recovery plan.

Have to admit, it feels a little weird not gearing up for a race. But, I've got a 5K coming up on June 2nd and I'm sure I'll be gunning for a PR so I might as well enjoy these days of easy running while they last.

What do you do to enhance your post-race recovery?

Have a great week, everyone!

~ Felice

Recovery week and September recap.

After setting a new PR in the half marathon last Sunday, I took it easy and had a good recovery week. I ran 2.2 miles on Monday, 2.5 on Wednesday, 3.1 on Friday, and 4.8 on Sunday for a whopping 12.5 miles for the week. I also did two cross training sessions and went for a massage. Lucky me!

My runs felt fine, especially yesterday's run, and I think my body has recovered quite nicely from the half.

It has not, however, recovered so well from the Lyme disease. I completed my treatment 2+ weeks ago, but my Lyme disease appears to be back -- with a vengeance. So, that's fun. Or not.

The Lyme disease was one reason my September mileage was lower than I had planned and it will probably be a reason why October may end up being low, too. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, here's how September ended up:

September stats:


Running: 74.8
Racing: 1 -- the half marathon!
Out of town runs: 1 on Long Island
Cross training: 8

As Owen said, I didn't set out to run a million miles in September, I set out to run a strong half marathon. So what if my mileage was down?

Welcome, October! Hope you all had a great weekend.

~ Felice

Recovery and May wrap-up.

On Sunday, I took my tired legs out for a recovery 4-mile run and they felt lovely. My new Garmin felt lovely, too. I don't know all that it can do, yet, but I am learning. And quickly seeing that I am going become addicted to it. That's just the way I am.

I took today off from running and cross trained with Jillan Michaels' 30 Day Shred. Not bad. So, my race recovery has been fine and I think I'm in good shape to try another 5k this weekend. It's a fun race that I ran last year, too, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm not, however, going to pressure myself into gunning for sub-23 because it will only be a week between races. I'm just going to go out and run for fun. Novel idea, eh?

May stats:

Running (miles): 86.3
Cross training (sessions): 4

• 30 Day Shred, level 2: 2
  
• 30 Day Shred, level 3: 1
  
• No More Trouble Zones: 1
  

No much cross training this month but a little more running than in April (when I ran 81). I did many more speed workouts this month, which, for me, require extra rest. So, overall, I'm happy with my mileage because it is increasing in both quantity and quality.

May was also a very big month for me outside of my running life so I had less time to run than I expect to have in June. And with that I say, "Bring on June!"

~ Felice