Long Runs and Chocolate Milk

Ahhh yes... It's that time of week again, SUNDAY! This morning was a 15-mile run at the Bedford Reservation through the Cleveland Metroparks. I had two awesome ladies to accompany on the run too! It would have been a tough run to go on without some company!

Running and picture taking!

The run was supposed to start at 8:00 AM, but I got there about 30-40 minutes early so I could get four miles in before the other girls got there because the plan was to run 10 today, but mine was 15. It was a great path! I think I'm going to be running at this spot a lot more! It was kind of like Sunny Lake's little fitness area, but they had different fitness spots through out the course. They consisted of poles and such to do pull-ups and push-ups and stuff. The path was also nicely paved and had a divided line like a road. I took a couple pictures on my phone during my four-mile run. I brought it with me so I knew how close I was to 8:00 AM. Once the other two ladies arrived we went the opposite way I went to do 10.

Bedford Reservation

This weekend's long run was nothing like last weekend's, and it was even longer! Last weekend's 14-mile run was brutal! Blake and I also ran it at 11 or 12, so it was pretty damn hot out! This time the sun was barely out at all and the path was pretty shady for the most part. There was also a nice breeze. The night before I had whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, some mixed veggies and crumbled up a Boca Burger in. NOM! I had a yogurt and banana as a snack later too. This morning I wasn't too hungry so I just drank a little over eight ounces of Gatorade and was ready to go! Christa seemed to be surprised that I don't take any kind of gels or anything. I think I'm going to start though... I drank water the whole 15 miles, but no other type of energy/electrolytes and carb replenishment.

Afterwards though I had, wait for it.... CHOCOLATE MILK! For those of you who have known me for quite some time know that I DO NOT eat any type of junk food... No cookies, candy, hamburgers, hot dogs, bacon, white bread/pasta, especially chocolate. I just started making my own whole-wheat pizza and that was  BIG step. But, chocolate milk? That's just crazy talk! I honestly can't even tell you when the last time I had chocolate was... It's been YEARS! I started restricting my diet back when I had my eating disorder when I was 11 years old and it got worse when I was in high school. I mean, I wouldn't even eat potatoes or yogurt because I thought they were too fattening! It all has to do with my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Anorexia... I say I'm recovered, but it's always there in the back of my mind trying to sneak back into my life. I still am obsessed with eating "healthy," but there's nothing wrong with having some chocolate or cake here and there. All in moderation. I just need to get myself to start believing it. But, I'm getting there, slowly but surely. Who know, maybe I'll have some cake on my wedding day?! :)

On the car ride back home I was debating on even drinking it... I was thinking about my meal to eat after the run last night... I kept thinking, is that too much protein? Is that TOO many calories? Then, I just tell myself to get over it and do something good for my body! Running 15 miles is tough and my body deserved some calories and protein! I didn't drink a whole thing of chocolate milk, a little less than eight ounces. But that was a BIG step for me! And I'm proud of me... :)

Anyways, back to chocolate milk! It's been proven to be a great muscle recovery beverage because of it's protein to carbohydrate ratio. A study from James Madison University found that drinking low-fat chocolate milk after a rigorous workout provides "superior muscle recovery compared to a high-carbohydrate recovery beverage with the same amount of calories." Check out the article in Medical News Today!

Well, that's it for now. Getting my puppy Miles tomorrow! So excited! MANY pictures will be posted. :)

P.S. New motto - Stay HEALTHY my friends! ;-)

It'll All Be Worth it at Week 18!

Boston Store Visitor Center on the Towpath.
Courtesy of NPS.GOV.

One word: WHEW! Did my 14-mile run this morning/afternoon... I decided it would be nice to sleep into 9:30 AM this morning, the most I've gotten to sleep in forever! Well, maybe that wasn't the greatest of ideas! HAHA I decided to take Blake out to the Towpath out by Boston Mills where I ran with the Grunt Girls last weekend. That was about a 20-minute drive or so, by the time we got out the door and to the towpath it was already close to 11 AM.... The first couple of miles felt good! We ran five miles one way and back and then another two miles out the other way for a total of 14 miles. I followed instructions from an Active.com article titled, "The Pre-Race Meal,"  I came across where it said to drink about eight ounces of a sports drink about 30 minutes before a long-distance run and to eat little something. So, I had half of a whole wheat bagel and about eight oz. of Gatorade G2. Now, my legs felt GREAT and I felt GREAT, however, my mouth was dry as heck! We filled up Blake's water backpack with Gatorade and sipped on that every 2-3 miles. I don't know if it was the sodium in the Gatorade, but no matter how much I drank I had the worse dry mouth ever! Another factor could be my medication, Celexa, which may cause dry mouth... Either way, it slowed me down because all I wanted to do was DRINK DRINK DRINK! Afterwards I felt a little queasy and could barely stand still... After about five minutes though I felt fine, just still thirsty since we drank all of the Gatorade.

All in all, it really wasn't that bad of a ran today. I wish we would have gone a lot earlier to beat some of the heat. But, there was LOTS of shade on the Towpath and a pretty nice breeze. The last four miles I stripped my top off, which isn't usual for me because I feel very self-conscious about my stomach... =-/ But, boy did it feel good to run in a sports bra! :) Minus the dry mouth, it was a good run! Towards mile 11, I was thinking, "Damn, I am barely half way to 26.2! How am I going to do this in a couple months?" But, I just tell myself that I need to gradually increase my mileage and 14 miles will be a breeze! Shoot, a couple years ago I thought I'd never even run a half marathon and that more than five miles was a lot! Sometimes I even ask myself, why the hell am I doing this? Well, because I LOVE it, the good and the bad. The pain and the victory. I may complain after a 14-mile run, may even be a little cranky (ask Blake haha), but to me it's the best thing I can do for my body and mind. :)

Mango, Pineapple and Banana Smoothie!!

OH! Blake and I made some pretty awesome smoothies last night! Maybe even the best ones we've made so far! We used some frozen pineapple and mangoes with bananas, honey and yogurt. AMAZING! Also, for dinner last night we loaded up on carbs with chicken, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower on top of pasta with cream of celery for the sauce. Not too bad.

After the run today I refueled on Diet Arizona Green Tea with a PB&J on whole wheat bread with low-fat Activia yogurt and a banana. :)

Now I'm just going to finish  up my laundry and RELAX. These past couple of days have been nothing but running and driving around. I'm just going to rest my legs and relax for the rest of the day. :)

Stay FIT my friends!

Talking to HS Girls About Running and My Own Regrets

So, today I spoke to the Streetsboro High School Cross Country Girls about running and nutrition. Man, was if weird going down the halls of my old high school... So many good and bad memories. I didn't recognize one face in that classroom I've sat in so many times, except one - my old high school teacher/coach, Mr. Kidd. Kidd is the track/cross country girls coach at SHS and he asked me last week to come speak to his girls. I felt so honored! He is the one that really got me into running. I only ran one year of track with Kidd my senior year, which I wish would have been four! But, I'll get into more of that later.

The girls were great! Some of them looked like they were nodding off or were giggling to their friends, but that's what I expected after they had a long day of running. I was pretty nervous going into it. I mainly talked about running and nutrition; what they should be eating, tips on how to pick out the right foods for their bodies, my experiences as a runner outside of high school and I ended with a talk about eating disorders. I brought up my story and how important it is to talk to their friends, parents, coaches, doctors and teachers if they ever develop/have or know someone with an eating disorder. I was kind of winging it, so I really didn't have a speech prepared or anything. So, afterwards I felt like there were a few things I should have mentioned - like signs of an eating disorder and the side effects. Luckily, Kidd said he'd like to have me come back to talk to the kids about nutrition. Of course I said YES! This is what I LOVE to do, educate and raise awareness to others on health and wellness. I'm just so passionate about all wellness topics that I get so excited! =-D

Another thing I brought up to the girls and even told Kidd on the side was that I really wish I would have ran cross country and track throughout my four years of high school... Soccer was fun and all, but let's face it, WE SUCKED! When I played, we only tied like TWO games... I met some awesome girls and was still running, but not to my potential. Softball on the other hand, I could have done without that! We really didn't do much running or physical conditioning at all, expect for the beginning of the season. Plus, I really wasn't the greatest at it - probably because it really didn't interest me all that much. I really only did it because it was something to do and my parents got me into it when I was younger so I felt as though I had to... Plus, I felt embarrassed to go out for the cross or track team when I was younger. I didn't want people watching me run! I didn't even like running all that much when I was younger and couldn't imagine running more than three miles! Oh, silly young Colleen... :)

Me running the 2-mile senior year. I'm the second one from the front.

Luckily, I decided my senior year of high school to say, "Screw softball! I'm running track!" And I did, and fell in love with it! I mean, don't get me wrong, it was TOUGH! But, I was in the best shape of my life and actually was a pretty good runner! Coach Kidd really got me into it! He'd asked me for a couple years to join cross, but I was too in love with soccer... I could have done both, but that would have been tough! I know everything happens for a reason, but I can only imagine all the opportunities and how much fitter I would have been then and now if I would have ran...

Me, Coach Kidd and my BFF Courtney track senior year.

If I could go back in time and change one thing, it would definitely be to have done cross and track in high school... That was one thing Kidd wanted me to touch on, my regrets for not running all four years. Not because he wanted the girls to stick with the sport for his own personal benefit, but for the girls' benefit. He wants to help them with their own fitness and set them up for a lifetime of fitness, not just in high school. And I think that's great! We need more teachers and coaches like Robb Kidd! More teachers and coaches who educate their students on nutrition and fitness, even if they are a history teacher. To want their players and students to benefit from the sport for themselves and incorporate what they learned through sports into their everyday lives as adults too. Too many coaches just want to WIN WIN WIN. That's not what you want to instill in our future, you want to instill confidence and educate them on what will be beneficial for them, not just the team.

So, even though I do indeed wish I would have ran in high school, I try to take an optimistic approach. Instead of "regretting" those three and a half years without running as a sport, I'm thankful for that season of track that changed my life and for the coach who changed my perspective on running and built my love for what I do or think of just about everyday. :)

All that matters is that I am running NOW. I know so many people who back in high school were great athletes and runners, yet they don't do much of anything now. That's what matters. To be an athlete for LIFE, not just high school... Of course, it's important for kids to be active, it helps aid them in their healthand future fitness. But, if you don't continue with that activity level throughout your 20's, 30's, 40's and beyond, you're really not doing anything for yourself. I don't see running as a chore. It's a sport, activity, competition for most - but to me, I see it as a lifestyle. I can't imagine my life without running in it. It's what I look forward to! The early morning runs, the races, the medals and trophies, the amazing sore feeling after a good workout and of course that runner's high. I love every minute of it, the pain to the victory. It's all the same to me - it's all part of my lifestyle.

Chicken tacos!!

Well, getting ready now to eat some chicken tacos I made! Nom nom!


Stay fit my friends! :)

Makeup-less Running and PB&J's

Just got back from a nice 7-mile run with Blake at Silver Springs in Stow. My legs felt great and I felt like I could keep on going. The weather was perfect. It was cloudy, so no sun in my eyes, slightly breezy and not too hot. I was sad though that I forgot my Nike iPod at home because then I couldn't keep track of my miles and pace. Luckily we run that trail a lot so we knew how far it was. I love long-runs on a trail with Blake. It gives us time to talk and to enjoy nature at the same time.

I saw lots of things on my run this morning... Dead mice, lots of bikers and fellow runners, trees, cute puppies, and one of my pet peeves when running... A woman wearing makeup... She had the eye shadow, mascara, cover-up and all! Can't stand it when people dry to doll themselves up when they go to workout, even to the gym. No one cares what you look like and I feel bad for people who try too hard to look good when they're going to just sweat it all off anyways... Maybe they don't have a good self-esteem that they think they're not beautiful without makeup? Or maybe they're trying to look good for the hott guy or girl? Now the first reason, I can see. But, I think it looks pathetic when people wear makeup when working out. I bet men (or women) find it more attractive if you're not wearing makeup when working out. It shows that you don't need to try hard to be beautiful and it shows more confidence. Makeup is used to cover up those insecurities we have, short, thin eye lashes, pale skin, dull eyes, etc. A real woman (or man) doesn't need to wear makeup to feel good about themselves and to be beautiful. Now, don't get me wrong, I too wear makeup on occasions, but not EVERYDAY. It's just unnecessary... A little bit of mascara and lip gloss every so often is OK, just leave it at home when you're going on a run or hitting up the gym, please.

This is how I look on my runs, makeup-less! I may not be a supermodel , but I don't need no makeup to feel beautiful!

Carrots, banana and most of the PB&J were already in my tummy at the time of this picture.

Now that I'm done with my rant... (lol) I just got done eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat with carrot sticks and a banana on the side. NOM NOM! I don't think I can go a day without having a banana or peanut butter. They're like a necessity for me. Definitely my two favorite foods. They're just so good! Especially together on a bagel... Mmmmm...

Well, time to go shower and get ready to head over to my grandma's house. My younger cousin is out of rehab for the day. So proud of him. :)

Stay fit my friends! :)

Colleen