Holy Crutches!!

When I was in high school, I was forced to use crutches after I experienced a hairline fracture in my ankle. Getting around school for the next week or so was brutal! It was towards the end of May and I was sweating through my school uniform just getting from one end of the hallway to the other!

I probably looked like this guy in the morning:

 

And this kid throughout the day:

 

If someone were to ask me to complete anything further than 100 yards while on crutches I would probably look at them like they had three heads. So you can imagine my awe when I  read about a guy crutching 3.1 miles this past Saturday. I can't begin to fathom how my upper body would feel after a feat such as that. I still think I'd feel like the kid in the picture above, but this guy probably felt like this:

Read the story here: http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/man-crutches-5k-in-10450

If anyone saw me getting ready to run in this northeast cold, you might think it's blizzarding outside. Lately, I am putting on some kind of short base layer tights, topped with track pants or sweat pants (different bottoms if it's a speed workout). I then put on a short sleeve cotton t-shirt (should probably start with a wicking shirt), then layer a long sleeve running shirt or jacket over that and then top it all off with a wind-resistant jacket. And it's not a winter run without the thermal headband or running beanie and gloves. 

I have been encouraging everyone to not let the winter cold stop you from getting outside and getting in your form of exercise, but sometimes that cold can just stop you in your tracks once you open that front door. I came across a Health.com article that shares with its readers 6 precautions to take to safely and happily enjoy a run or outdoor exercise during these wintry, snowy times! Enjoy: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20753416,00.html

Happy Tuesday Night everybody!

Great weekend for running!

Christmas is coming!!!! Ten days. Holy Cow! Good thing I'm already done all the Christmas shopping and wrapping...kidding! Though, I wish I wasn't. I guess I can look at it this way: I still have ten days to finish my shopping and wrapping. Yeah let's go with that. Clearly I'm a bit addled this evening. I think it's the Sunday off from any kind of work or maybe the chocolate coated mini rice cakes Val and I just enjoyed as dessert. Whatever it is, I'm loving the energy.

Speaking of energy, this weekend was a great weekend of running. I hope everybody else managed to show Mother Nature who's boss out there. I tried on Saturday. She won. But I did manage to get in a little over 13 miles before I decided to wave the proverbial white flag and surrender to the relentless cold that She sent to squash my hopes of running for 3 hours. I think I might have had a chance if it wasn't for frozen hands....second pair of running gloves I've bought this season and I was promised that these would do the trick..Err!! Wrong! I guess I have to figure out what I'm going to do for the 50 miler in January that I'm planning on running...wishful thinking aside, it only gets colder for the next couple of months.

Today's run wasn't bad either. After binge eating after work last night while visiting Val's mom, I had all the energy in the world for this morning's run. I managed to get Val to run with me and we got in a nice 90 minute run...I could have run longer, but I'm glad I didn't. According to the conventional wisdom in the running community, total weekly mileage should't be increased by more than 10% each week. Now, I've bent that rule a few times this past year alone, but had I run the planned 3 hours this morning, that would have been an increase of about 30% of last week's mileage (which has been roughly consistent for the past month or so). Besides, I enjoyed getting out there with Val and toughing out those slushy roads.

Enough about me and my rambling...Here's the good stuff:

I don't know how many people checked out my most recent post, but I'm hoping you enjoyed the Run, Run, Run song I shared with you. Here is another video that you HAVE to watch video. It was posted on an ultra running and trail running group page I'm linked to on Facebook. I think you'll enjoy it even if you haven't participated in a marathon, but if you have then you should enjoy it 10x more! The link is below the picture.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ItnxJLAOeY



"What the heck is that," you might ask. "Running shoes of the future," I might respond. Click below!
http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/are-these-the-running-shoes-of-2050


That's all I have for you tonight!

Happy Running!

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Today's run: About 9 miles
Pre-run fuel: Nothing (going off of last night's binge-eating feast!)
Post-run recovery: Banana and natural peanut butter with cinnamon.

Run, Run, Run

Had to share this news article before I called it a night! Check out this guy's video at the end of the
article:

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/an-album-full-of-running-specific-songs

Off to bed to try and beat the snow in the morning! Long weekend run...have to run off these extra calories thanks to Val's Blondies that she baked for a holiday party.

As I say that, I can't stop thinking that Val should try these out:  

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=5286&catId=11

Happy Running everybody!

Sometimes you just gotta to go all in

I received a text from Val while I was in school today and she informed me of a beautiful 5 mile run she had just completed earlier this morning. I was jealous. Getting a taste of early morning runs again due to yesterday's snow day was and is making me crave these runs again. When I got home after school, I kicked off the dress shoes (read: took them off slowly after untying the laces so as to preserve their condition), and laced up the running shoes. I grabbed my Garmin running watch and out the door I went for an 8 mile workout. Val had said in her text that she loved the dodging ice patches part of her run. Me? I did an 8 mile workout in a 1.5 mile radius so as to avoid these ice patches and iced over sidewalks. 

Even with the confined route, I thoroughly enjoyed the run today. I think it was this enjoyment and the endorphins that were released that led me to the second half of my feel-good evening: food :) . Val brought home some Spicy Tomato soup from the restaurant she works at and we warmed that up for dinner. Nothing like hot soup after a cold, Winter run! As we were eating the soup, I had a mouthwatering lentil and black-eyed peas dish cooking in a saucepan with some chopped up broccoli, onions, and fresh garlic. I had mine with cayenne pepper and another Latin-style spice mix we have; Val decided to add nutritional yeast to her dish for a cheesy-like taste. And if the soup, lentils and black-eyed peas, and a shared avocado wasn't enough to satiate my hunger--apparently it wasn't--we would always have our beloved George St. Co-op.

The George St. Co-op is a local natural foods store that we frequent when we are looking for something in particular or just want to treat ourselves to some of the many vegan and sometimes-but-not-always natural snacks. Tonight was a treat ourselves kind of night. We went for gluten free cookies and coffee and left after enjoying and sharing vegan Thai Dumplings (delicious!!), coffees, 3 small gluten free cookies, and 2 vegan chocolate bars that we NEVER get (and yes, maybe I put "never" in capital letters to relieve myself of some of my guilty conscious!). If you have never tried one of the chocolate bars located below, please do yourself a favor and locate one ASAP. You will not regret your decision, nor will you find the need to indulge in a Milky Way, Snickers, or whichever candy bar suits your fancy. Plus....these are vegan. And vegan ALWAYS means healthy...right? Oh...It doesn't? Well uhh...Hey! Sometimes you just gotta go all in and tonight we had no regrets. 

Val and I spit a Twilight bar, think "Chocolate Milky Way" and a Jokerz bar which tasted like a new and improved Snickers bar. Yes...I went there.  

Happy Running everybody! And I guess it's also fitting to say, "Happy Eating"!! 

Snow Day!!

Last night I gave a quick speech at a casual dinner celebrating the student volunteers that will be embarking on some truly awesome community service trips this school year (some students have already completed their trip). These trips are planned by student leaders involved in the group Alternative Breaks here at Rutgers University and I had the pleasure of being an "Alt Breaks" member for three years as an undergrad at Rutgers. Being able to speak at their Kick-Off dinner as an Alternative Breaks alum was a great experience and one that can now be added to the many great experiences and memories I have as a result of the community service trips I participated in during my college career. 

After the dinner, I returned to the apartment to do complete some late-night planning for today's school day and having closed the laptop after 11pm, I was not looking forward to the now-inevitable dragging state I'd be in for school. You will understand, then, my relief and excitement to find out this morning that school was closed due to the impending snow, however I did not read that "impending" part. So as I go to look outside the bedroom window, I am expecting to see nothing but a pristine, white blank of snow covering the street and sidewalks. Instead, I see absolutely no sign of snow. "Oh well. No school!" I think to myself. So I change my alarm clock to 7am (yes, that's sleeping in for me), but as I am lying in bed I can only think about the endless possibilities of a snow day: a ten mile run, completing a paper due Thursday, buying fish food, a ten mile run, doing laundry, catching up on some TV episodes, a ten mile run, enjoying a hot lunch at the kitchen table, writing this blog post, and lastly, a ten mile run. Needless to say, I could not fall back asleep and decided, instead, to go on...you guess it....a ten mile run. 

AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! 

I haven't been so ecstatic about a run in a long time. I would choose an early morning run over any other time of day without pausing to think about it. Having been unable to leave the apartment for a run while the sun is yet to rise made the run today so much more enjoyable. Andddd to top it off, it started snowing about 5 miles into my run and with no sunglasses to protect my eyes from "the elements" I was really forced to enjoy Mother Nature in all her beautiful glory. 

I just wish I had my phone with me to take a picture of the untouched snow covering the streets and sidewalks not even 20 minutes after it started coming down. 

If you haven't gotten a chance to exercise today, I encourage you to grab some gloves, layer up, and go "play" outside. Don't think of it as exercise. Throw snowballs in the air for your dog to catch or jog around a local park that's bound to be more beautiful when covered in snow. Or you can be like my girlfriend, Val, and get off of the bus a mile and a half early and walk back home (or to destination x)! Now that's the spirit, Val! 

Lastly...I stumbled upon an article for those of you who have contemplated changing your diet to a vegan, plant-based diet or for those of you who have tried, but reverted to your old ways for whatever your reason. This Health.com article may prove helpful! I encourage you to read the article even if just to educate yourself...you never know if a friend or family member of yours might bring it up in conversation.

http://news.health.com/2013/12/06/jay-z-is-going-vegan-6-dos-and-donts-for-first-timers/

Happy running!

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Today's run: 10 miles

Pre-run fuel: Nothing, unless half a glass of water counts. I was aiming for my late dinner, as a result of the event I went to, to hold me over for the run. I was right!

Post-run recovery:  Breakfast: Two small, toasted whole-wheat rolls (from last night's dinner event) with natural peanut butter and a banana sliced up for each one (2 small bananas). Excellent recovery breakfast or snack for multiple reasons: potassium for muscles, protein for muscle and tissue recovery, and carbs for restoring glycogen levels.    

News Blast!

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! I remember talking to everyone about my upcoming student teaching internship in the Fall and now I have 13 school days left to teach. Additionally, I asked Val about any upcoming exams she may have and she replied, "Not until final exams." I was shocked at this long break in her exam, however I was also dead wrong. The last day of Rutgers classes is next week! I've been out of the college courses game for almost an entire semester already. I guess celebrating Halloween and then Thanksgiving weren't really time-checks for me; the days have just been rolling on, blending into one another. 

As I'm posting before school this morning (due to my increasingly busy days which is the reason why I've lost all track of time!) I'm going to keep today's post a news blast! Maybe I'll post again later on if I feel..inspired. Please feel free to post any comments following the post. I'd love something to read tonight after class!

Did you think you can just run away all of those holiday/winter-time calories? "Think again," says a recently published study. I probably should have taken notes while reading the article, but I couldn't help salivating at the look of those runner gingerbread cookies! 

 Check out the news article here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/moderate-eating-not-extra-exercise-key-to-fighting-holiday-weight-gain

Would you like increased heart contraction rates with that drink? Didn't think so. 

Check out the article here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/energy-drinks-said-to-alter-heart-function

Did you have a bowl of these at your Thanksgiving meal? Well if not, there's always next year! Oh and the 364 days in between. They help with more than just preventing UTIs. Check out why cranberries should be a regular part of your diet:

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/the-health-benefits-of-cranberries

And of course I couldn't be "up with the times" and not post about the latest celebrities to try a vegan diet...that's right: Beyonce and Jay-Z are going vegan for 22 days. 

Read about it below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2013/12/04/jay-z-and-beyonce-go-vegan/

I hope you enjoyed today's news blast! 

Happy Winter (okay, cold Fall) Running!

Cinnamon is da winna mon!

How was everybody's Thanksgiving!? I'm truly sorry for not wishing everybody a Happy Thanksgiving. Between grading projects and tests and making sure Val and I had all the ingredients for our Thanksgiving dishes, I was too tired each night to post anything.

Speaking of Thanksgiving dishes, ours was a success! It took three kitchens to complete our cooking (our apartment kitchen, my parents' kitchen, and my sister's kitchen), but the effort was worth it! Our dishes were the following:

• an Almost raw pumpkin pie - courtesy of Rich Roll
• a hot vegetable dish of oven roasted sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and beets
• the best stuffing I've ever had- Val's masterpiece that was a huge hit this year
• sweet potato-cranberry sauce- I was so happy for how this sauce came out!
• Tofurky's Tofu Turkey w/ gravy- Val and I tried the Tofurky for the first time last year at a "Friendsgiving" dinner party we attended and knew it had to be on the menu this year!

There were many other dishes on the table that Val and I were able to enjoy due to the considerations of my family as they prepared their meals such as mashed potatoes with soy milk, butternut squash and cranberries prepared with Earth Balance (vegan) butter, and yellow rice (Spanish-style). For an ingredients list of the dishes that Val and I prepared, check the end of this post.

On another note...who remembers eating this cereal      when they were younger or maybe even this morning? I never actually opted to get this cereal when I tagged along for grocery shopping, but I have vivid memories of visiting my family in Virginia and having Apple Jacks for breakfast (it was my cousins' favorite cereal). Well it turns out their selections were probably a bit better than my Count Chocula or Cocoa Puffs. Why is this so? One reason: Cinnamon.

If you haven't heard lately, cinnamon has been the center of many recent studies on the benefits of particular foods. It's nothing groundbreaking. The studies pretty much just support what was already shown back in studies 3 or more years ago, but there's nothing wrong with reassurance! It has been shown that cinnamon helps stop blood sugar spikes, provides blood sugar control over a longer period of time, and lowers the risk of diabetes! So cinn-a-mon reall is "da winna mon" as Stick so accurately puts it in those great Apple Jacks commercials. Of course the benefits of cinnamon are kind of neutralized by all the grams of sugar in Apple Jacks so I highly recommend adding ground cinnamon to your apple slices in the morning or maybe your banana or pear. Oatmeal or cereal person? Sprinkle some on there too! It also is great to add a dash of it in your morning coffee! You really can't go wrong...at least, it's not easy to do so. If you're skeptical about what I've shared with you, then that's great to hear! I like skeptics. Check it all out for yourself by simply Googling "cinnamon" or "benefits of cinnamon" and find some credible sources so you can find sources. Credibility-advice aside, here are some sites I found when Googling "cinnamon" for this post.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266069.php

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2901047/

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Val's Thanksgiving Stuffing

Main Ingredients: Butternut squash, brussel sprouts, shallots, gluten-free bread, an apple, dried cranberries, walnuts, and celery 

The Tofurky (The size of the box was quite deceiving. Good thing it was only Val and I enjoying this softball-sized ball of tofu!

Val's Almost raw pumpkin pie

Main Ingredients: fresh, cooked pumpkin, coconut milk, maple syrups. Walnuts, dates, and flax seeds (crust)

AND my Sweet Potato Cranberry Sauce (think of a puree)

Ingredients: Sweet potatoes, cranberries, brown sugar, orange juice

SO glad to be back to blogging with all of you! Until next time!