Last Run.

"You are in a relationship with running..."

Yesterday was a bad day in the relationship, today was better. After work (standing on my feet for seven hours has got to be good for healing) I headed over to my PT's office to run on the treadmill and then have him fit me in between his other patients. They worked on me today for free! My referral for an extension hasn't gone through yet. I really appreciated how hard he has worked to get me ready for race day. So today I showed up and ran on the treadmill for five miles. It was sort of weird running there, not that it doesn't have a somewhat gymish atmosphere, but because there is only one treadmill and the rest of the people there were either old or working. I was a little self conscious for the first 15 minutes but soon found my stride. He also watched my form and said that it had improved a lot from the first time they had analyzed it. After the run his assistant worked with me (massage, ultrasound, etc). Then I finally got my custom insoles! Wahoo! I'm excited. I have to break my feet in to wearing them, but they should help when I train for my next race.

Basically where I'm at right now is really in between. My leg hurts and I wish I had another few weeks to heal. The upside to all the downs during my training is that I have learned so much about myself, my body, nutrition, running, and training in general that I know next time will be a much difference experience. I also know that I can do anything I set my mind to.

Today was the last time I'll run before Sunday. It felt good. In fact it felt better while I was running then while I was cooling down or warming up (maybe I'll have to run the entire 13...). It boosted my confidence to run a little bit longer of a run, especially after yesterday's 1 miler. But if there is one thing I know for sure its that I need to go slow. Slower than I will want to go and MUCH slower than Ryan is going to want to go. I know my goal is just to finish, but I want to finish happy and excited for the challenge of another race. I'm hoping for very little pain but I'm not silly enough to think it wont be painful, a girl can dream.

These babies are the "master forms" for my insoles.
If anything happens to them they can recast them from these molds.

Have I shared this blog with you before? The No Meat Athlete  is an awesome site for runners, vegetarians and meat eaters alike. So many great tips and reviews. I'm glad my friend Nicole stumbled upon it and sent it on to me! I plan to use a lot of his tips when I start training for my next half. 

I don't call it a love/hate relationship for nothing. I know I complain A TON about running (unfair this, unfair that...blah blah blah) but I really do love it and want to continue on my journey to a full marathon someday.

Blah Blah Blah....

Sometimes you just have one of those days.

You know the one I mean.

What should have been one of my awesome energy filled days... just turned out blah.

When you wake up early for a run that turns out to be more of a walk... at least there was good conversation.

When you get work related text messages on your day off.

When your physical therapy appointment that started with a,"Now my left leg hurts, but a different kind of hurt."

Turns into, "I think you have a strained calf muscle."

Five days before my race.

Blah.

Blah.

Blah.

At least it ended like this:

My oldest brother Marcus is in town for a couple of days!
He lives on the other side of the mountains in Yakima.
I miss him like crazy! Its always so nice to have the whole fam together.

And maybe a bit of gluten in the form of a chirro (somethings you just can't say no to ever, as you can tell from the blurro blurry photo, I was trying to get a photo before anyone snagged one and my brothers are quick).

ok and maybe this.... 

And since last night ended with this...
I think no more sweets for me (now that I'm re-addicted)!
Those extra 5 chocolate pounds aren't gonna make running 13.1 miles with a strained calf and two sore shins any easier thats for dang sure!
Oh! and did I mention that it is supposed to be over 70 degrees on Sunday?!
Not my ideal running weather but its better than 30 and windy. 

Lets look on the bright side..... I get to go to sleep now! :)

Feel the Burn.

I don't know if I feel better or worse after my physical therapy appointment today. Right now I'm leaning towards worse with the hope that tomorrow will feel much better. They WORKED on my left leg like crazy today. I mean it. Worked. I felt worked. I feel like I have a pretty high tolerance to pain but today I had to tell them to stop. Tomorrow might mean bruises. But man did my leg need it. For the past two months they have been working almost exclusively on my right leg, but after Saturday's race it was the left one that felt it the most. Now I know why, apparently it was a big ball of knots. 

Tomorrow, if I'm feeling good, Ryan and I are going up to the race course to run the first few miles. I wont get as nervous if I can visualize a bit of the course. 

Tomorrow I will also be visualizing the Art Institute of Seattle. I'm going on an interactive tour. I don't really know what this means yet... All I know is that at 12 noon I need to be at my computer with my phone. I'm still not sure if the Art Institute is the place for me yet (maybe a different culinary school may be a better fit or a better opportunity) but I do know that everyone I've talked to about my idea has been really behind me. We shall see. It has been my experience in the past that these things seem to work out the way they are supposed to.

On to my promised food diary photos. The only one I forgot to take a picture of was my carrot snack. I ate completely normal for how I've been eating the past three weeks or so. This is my jumping off point...

Overnight Oats in a Jar. So delicious!
I also read that lemon juice in the morning is supposed to aid in digestion.
Well it was hard to swallow thats for sure.

Terrible lighting for a photo
Leftover sloppy joes on some spinach!

Dessert....
Dark Chocolate stick (ok sticks... I had three)
I love them with my mint tea.
I used to be addicted to Hershey's kisses with Earl grey.
And by addicted I mean I ate like ten every night.

Pre PT snack Apple and almond butter
This almond butter is from the bulk section at Central and is not my favorite.
It is way too close to what I can make at home, I like it creamier with chunks in it.
If that makes any sense.

Post pt snack
The other half of my english muffin with some Almond butter and chia seeds!

Handful of trail mix...

You know how I said I wont let myself buy tortilla chips anymore?
Well I never said I couldn't make them.
Cut up a corn tortilla. place on lined baking sheet.
Spray with olive oil and drench in salt.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Flip the chips and bake for another 8 minutes.
Crunchy warm tortilla chips! With half the fat!

Ryan came over to study for our spanish class.
So far the class hasn't taught us very much except for an appreciation of cerveza...

Watermelon in a watermelon inspire bowl for dessert!

Side note... I don't know where my brain is at the past few days. I've been mixing up times and messing up words. I think I need more sleep.

OH! Tomorrow I go back to the Naturopath for my results from the allergy test! 

Plastered.

Today I got plastered. Not the alcoholic kind.... The foot molding kind. I found out that my insurance will cover custom orthotics! After the great results I've experienced with the cheap ones, I wanted something that would last me for a long time. Something that would get me through future races. So today they plastered my feet up! I wont get them for two weeks so unfortunately I wont have broken my feet in enough to wear them for this half-marathon, but they will last for seven years (I see future races in my future)!

Today I was completely off... I put on my shoes to go to work and realized right before I left that they were from two different pairs of shoes! At work it got even worse! I'm all sorts of discombobulated (really proud of myself that I spelled that word right the first time!) So off to bed I go....

Egg mixed into my oats! Much more filling!

Packed up lunch!
Snacks of carrot, pretzels, apple and an english muffin! 

When I work late I'm always starving when  I get home!
I made a quick salad of Tofurkey Beer Brat salad with Sorghum Bread!

Stop Teasing me Sunshine!

I upload a lot of pictures. I didn't realize how many until yesterday when I hit my free limit! So you better believe that from now on my posts will ALWAYS have photos because I'm paying $5 a year for more storage space! Although I think it is sort of ridiculous I have fun going back through and looking at photos and my journaling thoughts.... which is something else I did yesterday. 

My cousin Rebecca gave me the idea that I should link back to my book recommendations from my book list! Well it would have been really difficult to go back and do it on the main screen, so instead I created a new page up at the top where you can click on a book title and see what I thought about it in my original post. A found a few that aren't working right now, but I think most of them are (still a work in progress!).

It was really fun to go through almost all of my posts from last year. It made me really miss how into reading I was. It also made me realize that I haven't reviewed all the books that I've read yet! Somehow I just skipped the last few from 2010 and even a few from this year! I plan to go back and fix that! It is nice for me to be able to go back and see what I thought.

I had a great PT appointment today. I've been having a lot of pain in my arches the past few days. Almost like a charlie horse, but not quite. So he fitted me for a pair of insoles to test out. If they work then I may get the expensive orthotics (I'm on my parent's health insurance until February and they will pay for 90%). He also used an infrared light therapy on my leg. Tomorrow I run in the orthotics... wish me luck!

I'm trying to figure out ways to stay get full in the morning.
So I tried whisking in an egg into my oats this morning!
The eggy oats
1/4 C Rolled Oats
1/4 C H20
1/4 C Unsweetened Soy Milk
1 T Chia
1 Farmer's Market Egg added at the end!

My most royal linen... a week late.
 Topped with a half a sliced banana, homemade granola and peanuts.
This was a smaller portion than I usually make, but kept me pretty full.

Brew Master Bruce!
My Dad is brewing up some Hefeweizen for my nephew's first birthday in June!

I made the guys a lunch of ABBJ (Almond Butter, Banana and Jelly!)
And snacked on a half a sandwich for my lunch!

When I work in the afternoon my entire routine is a mishmash so I ate dinner really late!
Kind of a weird creation...
I whisked an egg and poured it into the pan and let it set like an omelet.
When it was almost set I placed a corn tortilla on top.
Then Flipped and cooked for a few more minutes.
Then filled it like a taco!
Turned out pretty good!

I walked to work today because the weather was so great!
I'm really missing summer right now.
I usually enjoy every season, but I am literally craving summer.
I'm sick of being teased!

Less Caffeine.

I didn't drink a drop of coffee today. Not one. I'm trying to become less dependent on caffeine. Right now I'm basically a cranky little demon without my morning cup. I'm planning on just lowering my intake. Lowering my morning amount from 2 cups (half a pot all before 6 am) to just 1 cup. Today I felt was a good day to stick with tea and for the most part I didn't feel the need for caffeine (until 4 pm) and now I feel very naturally tired. I'm still drinking mint green tea throughout the day which like pretty much all green tea isn't decaf.

I had a very lovely morning! Sometimes it is so nice to go into work late! I woke up to the sun and a delicious bowl of oats! Oats made on the stove are my favorite, I wish I had the time every morning to make them!

After breakfast I contemplated a run. The sun was out and I felt good and I had just enough time to fit in my scheduled training run before my PT appointment. It felt great to be running outside! It had been far too long since I had experienced a run outside that actually felt good; good weather, good energy, and only a little bit of leg pain. Only 2 miles... but I'm working my way back up!

I had a great PT appointment. I'm now working with Mike, who went to school in Bellingham! It is fun to reminisce about Bham.... mostly the food. He showed me a lot about my arches today. He showed me where my ankle should be when I plant my foot as opposed to where it actually is. He also showed me the wear on my running shoes. It was interesting to see how different the two feet are. Lots of work on my arches today.

Today was the perfect day to walk to work! I'm still trying to do this more... at least one day a week. I live close enough that I should do it everyday, but the weather has been so terrible and I usually have to rush somewhere right after work so I don't.

Today's food was a remix of yesterday.... except the oats. I had tacos for lunch... Just a little bit of brocguac left! And a Mediterraneanish mixed salad for dinner (chickpeas, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and feta on top of spinach). I talked to my Dad today right after he had tried a slice of the Peanut Butter Banana Bread and he said it was pretty good but we both agreed that chunks of actual peanuts inside instead of the flax seed would be amazing... also, chocolate chips?!

I was really inspired by the sun and this bowl of oats....

So fluffy and delicious!

Bigelow Earl Grey is my second favorite source of caffeine. 

I'm getting sort of sick of the book I'm reading.... Way too much fact, I think I may be into a fiction faze once again.

Overnight oats in an almond butter jar and waiting for me! I think I better hit the hay and get a ton of sleep!

Analysis of a Pavement Pounder.

That is me. No wonder I have such a tumultuous relationship with running! Apparently I'm a pavement pounder.

Today was my fourth day of PT and we finally got to some run fun stuff! I got there, warmed up and jumped on the treadmill. Let me just tell you this much.... running in front of people when you know they are watching you intently is a pretty awkward situation. Here is the gist of what I learned today...

I'm a pavement pounder.... I run hard, I always knew I was an angry runner! Overall I don't think I have a terrible stride, but I have some issues that could be causing some of my pain. These are kind of hard to explain without demonstrations and with only a very minimal amount of info and knowledge, but I'll try!

1. I plant my forward foot in front of my body instead of underneath my body. This causes me to not only hit harder, but it also makes me slower.... almost like I'm putting the brakes on rather than speeding up. This is causing me to put more pressure basically everywhere on my body. The legs get too much impact, my upper body is bending back too far and it throws my hips at a weird angle. This is kinda hilarious to me because my brother Joe has always called me "Brakes" especially when I'm biking, but also when I'm hiking and skiing.... so it makes sense that I would always be trying to apply the brakes when I'm running!

2. I don't have very good rotation. Normal upper body rotation is sort of swinging in a circular motion, I have very little rotation and way too much side to side motion. Also funny because yesterday when we were plating it became obvious that I couldn't work in a straight line to save my life!

3. There was also something about my hip and a lack of flexibility in my right leg.... I'm going to have to ask them to remind me of that one!

After we kinda worked that out (I probably only ran about a mile and a half) Lauren helped me activate my obliques. I was not surprised at all to learn that there were muscles in my core that needed to start working! It was sort of like active stretches... probably only about 10 minutes worth and now those muscles know to start working more.... kinda crazy but that's what she said! She recommended I start adding planks to my workouts to strengthen them.

After taping up both my feet and all the stretching exercises, I ran again and I could not only feel the improvement... but I could hear it! I wasn't shaking the entire treadmill. This is something that I'm going to need to actively be thinking about while running, but it should help out a lot! I tried to go for a run after the appointment but the tape was digging in too much. Also, it was super windy. I hate running in the wind. I'd take the rain over the wind any day.

This was exactly what I wanted to know! Happiness Commandment #19: Don't second guess yourself!

Overnighters with pumpkin granola sprinkled on top.
Don't like bananas... Don's have bananas on hand?
You can use any fruit or veggie in your oats!
Applesauce is good (on top too!) or pumpkin!

Tiny bit of leftover kale lasagna and a gigantic salad...
sprouts, carrots, arugula, spinach, tomato, broccoli slaw, and peppers oh my!

I have an abundance of veggies in my fridge.
What's a girl to do?

Roast 'em!
Zucchini, leeks, sweet potatoes, garlic, carrots on top.
Tofu on the bottom!

Topped a bed of arugula with the roasted veggies and smoked paprika flavored tofu.
I need to work on my tofu baking skills or more accurately marinating skills, but I really like this!
I also nibbled on some more sourdough bread!
I'm trying not to eat the entire loaf today...

I didn't take any photos of my snack attack today... but believe me when I say it happened. I'm currently obsessed with dried dates, apricots, raisins and almonds. 



I've been thinking some about books on tape. They would be good for when I'm walking.... can I even count that as reading a book? Seems sort of like a copout....

Low-Dye

Today turned out to be a lovely day in my neck of the woods! All morning at work I predicted that the sun would find it's friend the clouds at precisely 2:30 when I was getting off of work. I hate when I'm right. Luckily the clouds were in the mood to play games and didn't actually rain on me. 

Right after work I went to my third physical therapy appointment. I gave them an update on how my run went on Saturday, then they went to work on my calves. They worked really hard on massaging two specific tendons. It was really neat that they can actually tell where the tendon is tight just by me moving my foot. Apparently my tendons were VERY tight, I might even have a little bit of bruising, but they actually feel so much better. 

After they treated my calves with their meat pulverizing hands, he taped up my arch in what he called a 'Low-Dye' technique. They are trying to see if orthotics would be of any benefit for me. The best part was when he told me I needed to run tonight! Since the taping was pretty uncomfortable and I was nervous about how it would hold up over time, I opted to test it out on the treadmill. The taping helped! After a mile though I had to take it off because it was giving me a blister. I continued on for another mile. It felt so good to work up a sweat!

Next time I go in (as long as my legs aren't hurting) they are going go over running mechanics with me. They will watch me run and see if I am doing anything to cause the problem. Pretty much exactly what I've been wanting! 

This all brings me back to one of my Happiness Commandments..... "It's ok to ask for help." There was a time in my life where it hurt for me to run and I just took my doctors advice to stop running. But I knew it wasn't the answer, I knew there was someone out there who could help me to get an answer. I'm so happy that this time I didn't stop at the first road block, I didn't even have to be mean or rude, I just went with my gut and kept on pursing it. Maybe I should add to the end of that commandment, "and don't stop asking until you get help." It sure has made me happy.

*I almost added a photo of my taped up foot. I took the picture and edited it and even had it on here, but I just couldn't subject you to it! I don't like feet and will assume no one else does either. (even though mine are cute... but in need of a pedicure. 

I've been missing oats and Almond butter!
I can't believe I went all day yesterday without any!
This was plain jane oats and it really hit the spot!

Lunch!
Baked tofu half sandwich and a tasty salad.
I was running low on spinach so I tossed in some raw kale.
This was my first experience with kale in its raw state, it was really good!
This lunch was a good combo of protein, veggies, fruit, and carbs!
It kept me full for a while!
I'm still leaning about tofu...
Baked is certainly delicious and easy to put into lunches. 

Snack! Trail mix has a ton of fat.... at least it is all good fat though!
I've run out of all my go to snacks, I need to make a market run!

When I first started 'eating clean' I thought for a while about making EVERYTHING I ate.
Since then I've decided that I just don't have the time, but when I do I should.
I bought this corn flour back in those days.
It is really handy though when you don't have any tortillas in your house!
And I like that I can control how big the tortillas end up being!
Tonight's were minis!
Just add water and a touch of salt, mix and roll the dough into a tortilla!
Then you cook it in a frying pan with a bit of oil.
They are better when you use a large bit of oil, but I'd already had my healthy fat in the form of trail mix!
Super easy.

Tonight's dinner was a tostada!
Inspired by a recipe I saw in a Vegetarian Time's special edition called "Quick & Healthy 30-Minute Meals"
For 8 bucks it was basically a small cookbook.
I love that almost everything has a picture and it all looks so tasty!
I had to modify the recipe some for the ingredients I had on hand.
Not only is this vegetarian and gluten free, but you leave out the cheese and it would also be vegan.
Tasty Tostada(One serving)
Tortilla of your choice
1 tsp Canola oil or several sprays from a misto
3 tbs. white onion
1/2 clove garlic (I like the prediced kind)
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tbs. green chiles (the canned stuff)
sprinkle of brown sugar
bell peppers to taste
salt/pepper
1/4 C Beans (black would be best, I used pinto)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Heat oil in saucepan. Brown the onion with the garlic, around 3 min (I skipped this, but it would have made it better). Put onion and garlic with all the rest of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend well.
(While all this is going on, prepare your tortillas. Either pull them from the bag or start mixing!)
Put the tortilla on a cookie sheet and spread the bean mix evenly on top.
Bake until the tortillas start to brown.
Serve with lettuce mixture of your choice.
Sour cream would be tasty on top...
And corn on top... This is a very versatile recipe!
Get creative.

Dessert....
I've been thinking about how to do this since my Dad's dessert from last night.
He had a Strawberry Diplomat which included deep fried strawberries covered with cinnamon and sugar....
I switched it just a little...
I rolled the berries in a mix of brown sugar and cinnamon and popped them in the oven for 5 minutes.
Sprinkled with powdered sugar...
DEVINE!
The strawberries get all warm and gooey and amazing! 

Fascia.

I am so happy right now. So happy. Finally someone who will work with me to solve my leg issues! I was sort of prepared for anything going into my first physical therapy session. But I think I was more prepared for a negative experience. I'm so excited to report that instead of telling me to just stop running or run less their answer was actually more along the lines of, "there is an underlying issue that is causing your pain and just stopping your activity isn't going to fix it." I'm working with a girl named Lauren, she is an intern who will be graduating in a month. I think a lot of people would be hesitant to work with someone right out of school or still in the process, but I feel like they are more likely to be incredibly thorough and everything is so fresh in their brains. And this way I actually get the benefit of working with her and her teacher, Ron.


She did all sorts of measurements of flexibility and strength then explained that while I was doing a lot of the right stuff.... I have a little bit of an arch issue which is causing one of my tendons to be over worked. I'm also stretching only my muscles and not my fascia. I didn't even know what that was or that it needed to be stretched! Apparently it really shows! The fascia is sort of the covering of the muscle and your muscles can be incredibly stretched out and it wont matter if your fascia isn't. She worked on my legs a bit and did ultra sound (which works to heat the muscles from the inside) she showed me a new stretch (that wasn't on the pamphlet given to me by my doctor) and showed me a tool called a massage stick that could be beneficial. I also asked the PT if I should continue taking Advil and Aleve, basically he explained that these don't cure anything, pain is natural it is telling you something and just masking the problem isn't going to solve it (he also explained that inflammation is a natural response to an injury and that it actually is helping the recovery process. He gave an analogy that involved a party and a clean up crew. lol) 


I can't even begin to describe how much of a positive experience this was. I go back on Friday and they are going to try taping my arches, watching me run.... FIX ME!


*I'm also thinking about getting a new primary care physician. I shouldn't have to beg for an answer. I'm thinking of going in a more Naturopathic direction. My mom has had a great experience with one that listens.*


Book Update 08: Brida by Paulo Coehlo
"The Alchemist" is one of my favorite books so I sort of had some high hopes for this book. But I never really felt connected to the overall message he was attempting to create. It was sort of a mishmash of his other works with the same ideas.... Follow your path, listen to God, and your life has meaning. Which is great when I believe in the story, but "Brida" didn't hook me. I had a really hard time getting into it and feeling like reading it. Perhaps it was the wrong time in my life to read this. Lately I seem to be reading a ton more non-fiction which I was never interested in before. Maybe my mind had enough stories during my path to 100 books? Either way, now I'm more interested in facts and real-life accounts. I've also been really into following blogs involving food, reading, and gardening!

Speaking of Gardening...

Garden update!

I showed you photos of our raised beds at Carly's, well here is a photo of my garden! On Sunday morning before I baked and made almond butter, I worked outside cleaning out all my pots and doing some weeding. Almost ready to start planting away I just need to get some soil and a plan going!

This is what happens when you leave pots out all winter and
they fill up with water then freeze and unfreeze!
Next year I need to be better about my pot care.
It happened to a couple more but I think I'll be able to use them for at least one more season.

I love working in the garden!
New gloves!

Almost all ready for some plants!

A few of my strawberry plants are still alive! Lets hope they produce some fruit for me this year!

Chives came back too!

New pots! Ikea and TJMaxx are too good of deals for this girl to pass up!
Lots of work ahead!
So excited!

How about some food shots?!

Good morning oats!
My almond butter on top!
Needs work.... but still tasty.
Neat library book all about herbal remedies.

Sometimes I crave a protein snack

Fresh strawberries + frozen peaches+ spinach+yogurt
equaled a delicious smoothie!

Dinner time.
That is my Nook in the background!
Those are all the meals I ate, but there were plenty of snacks....

Sorry for all the negativity yesterday!