Wiiipe Out

So there I was… about three minutes into my run.

Beyoncé was singing her little lungs out telling me how I “wasn’t ready for her jelly.” I was feelin’ the music and setting my pace for the five miles ahead.

Apparently Sadie was feeling extra chipper this morning because she and found a stick and proceeded to jump around in front of me, trying to entice me with the big piece of wood almost immediately.

“No!” I told her.

“She knows not what she says. She clearly means OH YES! I want to play! What an awesome stick!” Sadie thought.

Usually when Sadie does this, it only lasts for 20 seconds or so, but today she was jumping around for a good minute or two. Eventually she jumped around behind me and my left foot got caught under her body and I went flying to the ground.

The result? A bloody knee.

Me and My Bum Knee

Though I was a little peeved at Sadie, she immediately got back into my good graces when she ran over to me to give me lots of kisses and a puppy hug.

How could I stay mad at this face?

"Oops. I Saw-ree, Mama."

Luckily my knee was just scraped up a bit and didn’t hurt too badly so we were able to dust ourselves off and complete our five mile run.

5 Mile Run Stats

Aside from the lil’ wipe out in the beginning, today’s run was a great one!

Breakfast

Just like my post-run breakfast on Tuesday, I was feelin’ a cold smoothie packed with fruit and protein.

Enter my piña colada green monster.

Pina Colada Green Monster

Into the blender went:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/3 c. chopped pineapple
• 2 tsp. coconut extract
• 1 tsp. banana extract
• 1 large handful spinach
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum (for thickening)
• 3 ice cubes
• Enough milk to get everything movin’

Looks Minty... But It's Not

Drink Up, Buttercup

Guuuuulp

Yum!

Hopefully the spinach in my smoothie will do my body good like it did Popeye’s and help heal my busted knee! 😀

Question of the Morning

Have you ever injured yourself while working out or playing sports?

Victory!!!

VICTORY is mine!!! 😀

Guess what I did this morning?

I went running!

6 Mile Stats

And my heel didn’t hurt. Plantar fasciitis ain’t got nuffin’ on me! 😉

Truth be told, I am beginning to think I don’t have full-blown plantar fasciitis.

Though the “running expert” at our local running store felt my foot last week  and said he was pretty sure I had plantar fasciitis, I did a lot of research and talked to more people about the symptoms of the condition. I have come to the conclusion that I may have a very mild case of plantar fasciitis, but that the real pain I was experiencing in my heel last week was likely due to a bruised heel.

Ninety-five percent of the pain I was experiencing in my heel occurred on impact, when I would walk or run. It sounds like those with plantar fasciitis feel tightness and pain regardless of whether or not they’re running or walking.

After noticing pretty intense pain in my heel, I gave myself a little more than a week off from running completely. 

My heel started to  feel remarkably better on Wednesday of this week.Though I was tempted to run on Thursday, I told myself to take a couple more days of rest and save my first attempt at running for this morning.

At 8 a.m., I leashed up Sadie for a run around the lake near our apartment. I promised myself I would stop at the slightest sign of pain. Six miles later our run was done and I was still pain free!

I am so happy. I feel like I will be able to at least participate in the half marathon on August 1. Now I just have to build up my mileage after 2+ weeks off of running my long runs. Eek!

Breakfast

Breakfast this morning resembled yesterday’s lunch because I couldn’t stop thinking about how delicious my spiced up peanut butter and banana sandwich was during my run this morning. (There are some adorable odes to different foods in the comment section of that post that you should check out if you’re in the mood for a smile. 🙂 )

I made myself a pb & b sandwich with Krema natural creamy peanut butter combined with one tablespoon of caramel sauce on one slice of honey wheat bread and banana slices on the other slice.

Banana + Pumpkin Pie Spice

I sprinkled everything with pumpkin pie spice before slicing the sandwich and digging in.

Saturday Morning Breakfast

I don’t know about you, but I find that spreading refrigerated natural peanut butter can be a huge pain. I recently started microwaving the tablespoon or two of peanut butter I remove from the jar for on my sandwich before spreading it, which makes it much easier to spread. Just a lil’ tip!

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Buttery

The Goods

This breakfast was a slam dunk! 😀

Today’s Plans

Today will be a busy but fun day!

Our plans include:

• Returns at the mall
• Pool time
• Select the tuxes/suits for Ryan & his groomsman for our wedding
• Register at Bed Bath & Beyond

Annnnnd I’m off!

Plantar Fasciitis

Lunch!

Friday Lunch

Lunch today was a simple spread.

I enjoyed homemade tuna salad on top of a toasted bagel with green peppers and smoked almonds on the side.

Tuna Salad

Fishy Bagelwich

Good-for-Me Fats

I followed this yummy lunch up with a quick trip to Mochi.

Ryan was downtown visiting the DMV and when I received his text requesting a Mochi meet up, I jumped at the chance to join him for a quick 15-minute fro yo date!

I opted for cake batter/cheesecake swirl frozen yogurt, topped with mango, strawberries, rainbow sprinkles and cheesecake bits.

Mooooochi

Ryan and I also swung by Starbucks to share a grande Tazo Chai Créme Frappuccino because we’re sweet-tooth soul mates.

Chai Tea Frapp

Those of you non-coffee lovers should give this lil’ baby a try. It’s delish!

I enjoyed most all of the whipped cream and about a third of the Frapp.

Yum!

Now on to some less-than-exciting news…

Plantar Fasciitis

This just in: I may have plantar fasciitis. 😦

Yesterday around noon, I started to experience pain in my left heel.

I thought it was kind of odd and figured it would probably dissipate by the evening.

Unfortunately that was not the case.

I went to bed thinking it might feel better in the morning… Not so.

It doesn’t hurt at all when I am sitting, and the pain is pretty dull when I’m standing, but when I walk or run, the pain becomes fairly intense.

After BodyPump this morning, I approached the instructor (who is a personal trainer, marathon runner and knowledgeable about muscles and sports-related injuries) to ask for her insight about my pain.

After explaining where I felt pain and when the pain started (several hours after my morning run), she said it sounded a lot like plantar fasciitis, a condition characterized by inflammation of the band of tissue that connects the heel to the toes.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition is “particularly common in runners.”

• The good news: Ninety percent of people recover from plantar fasciitis.
• The bad news: Recovery usually takes several months.

This doesn’t exactly mesh well with my half marathon training plan.

I am really, really bummed. I am supposed to do a long run (10 miles) in the morning and I don’t see how that’s going to be possible if my heel still feels this pained.

I really want to run the half marathon in Chicago on August 1. I am hoping with all of my heart that the pain will be a passing pain that goes away soon. Cross your fingers!

In the mean time, I plan to ice my heel, stretch it and massage it.

I want to keep my cardiovascular strength up just in case the pain goes away in time for the half, so I will follow the advice of several orthopedic and running articles I read and supplement my running with cross training (swimming, biking, elliptical) until I feel like my heel is healed (Gotta love a good pun!).

I am trying not to be too dramatic about this injury, but I cannot help but remember when I had bursitis in my hip and literally couldn’t walk without pain for an entire summer. It was miserable and I was so upset. I don’t like not being able to walk without discomfort since walking is such a huge part of daily life and poor Sadie needs her morning walks!

"What am I supposed to do? Walk MYSELF!?"

I’m trying my best to look at this as simply an obstacle I must overcome.

It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, though it’s really upsetting to me right now. I’m mostly upset because I’m supposed to be running the half marathon with my girlfriends at the conclusion of my bachelorette party in Chicago and I was really looking forward to doing something so neat with all of them.

Bummer!

I am injured, injured bad. 😉 (<– Click that link for a flippin’ adorable video that you’ve probably seen 5 billion times already.)

Question of the Afternoon?

Have you ever been sidelined from a sport or athletic training plan due to an injury? How did you cope?

(If any of you out there have experienced plantar fasciitis, please, please let me know how long it took for you to heal and how you recovered!)

21

I did it! 

I ran 9 whole miles this morning. 🙂 

9 Mile Stats

I woke up a little before 7 a.m., laced up my shoes (yes, I tied the laces – no more blisters for this girl!), and headed out. 

I did an out-and-back route for the first four miles before running my typical five-mile loop around the large lake near our apartment. 

Around mile 5.5, I stopped for about 30 seconds to sip some water at a drinking fountain and eat a Stretch Island mango sunrise fruit leather. It’s amazing how such a short break can rejuvenate a run. The last 3.5 miles weren’t too bad, and I finished the run feeling like I can tackle a half marathon in the near future! 

Don’t get me wrong, my legs and lungs felt fatigued, but I feel like as long as I keep up with my training plan, 13.1 miles is a do-able goal on August 1. Phew! 

Breakfast  

After about 10 minutes of stretching and toweling off my sweaty body, I was ready for breakfast. 

I started with a cold and creamy cup of strawberry Chobani Greek yogurt. 

Berry Good

I love this yogurt, but I don’t really like all the goopy strawberry stuff on the bottom. I think it tastes perfect without all that fruity liquid stirred in. Sweet with a slight hint of strawberries. Yum! 

My main course included two dippy eggs with a strip of MorningStar Farms veggie bacon and a toasted Alternative bagel. 

Breakfast is Served

It was Ryan’s first time trying the veggie bacon and he loved it! The bacon flavor (and smell!) is spot-on if you ask me!

Extra Dippy Please!

Toasty

Dip It, Dip It Good

I love hearty breakfasts on the weekend. 

Happy 21st Birthday to My Sister! 

Today is a big day in the life of my little sister. 

Little Les

Dancing Queen

Leslie & Sadie

Sisters

I Love Her

Twenty-one years ago little Leslie was born. 

Today she celebrates her 21^st birthday! 

I sense an extreme hangover in her future. 🙂 

Happy birthday to the best sister in the whole wide world! I love ya, Les! 

In honor of Leslie’s big day, I leave you with an old picture of me and Ryan from 2006… on my 21st birthday.  Yikes! 

Me & Ryan on my 21st

What was  your 21st birthday like?

8 Miles: Run & Done

Howdy! 

No dinner post last night + No breakfast post this morning = Catch up time! 

Dinner 

After work yesterday, Ryan, Sadie and I piled in my car to head to my parents’ house in St. Pete for Father’s Day weekend. 

We arrived a little before seven and immediately sat down to a seafood feast of crab legs, mussels and clams, with corn on the cob and asparagus on the side. 

Seafood Feast

(The two plates with a bit of food on them already are mine and my dad’s. We don’t like to wait!) 

Crab legs and shellfish are probably my favorite dinner of all time. 

My Plate (Round One)

I probably had ten times the amount of clams and mussels than you see pictured on my plate above. I also had another 1.5 crab legs. What can I say? Seafood is apparently my best friend. 

Baby We Were Born To Ruuuuun 

This morning, everyone (minus my sister) was up bright and early! 

Ryan’s dad came in town around 6:30 a.m. because Ryan, his dad and my dad had plans to to get out on the boat and spend the morning on the water scuba diving and spear fishing. By 7 a.m. they were off! 

Boys on the Boat

When the boys headed out, my mom headed to the gym and I leashed up Sadie to tackle an 8-mile run. 

Sadie and I may be insane. Who runs in 85-degree weather? This doggie-duo, apparently. 

Fortunately I had a rockin’ ’90s playlist to motivate me along the way. 

I started to really feel the heat around mile 5 and Sadie and I stopped for 30 seconds or so to stretch, sip some water and eat a Stretch Island fruit chew for a little extra fuel. 

Fruit Chew

I am really trying to incorporate some kind of carby fuel mid-way through my long runs as I train for the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon because I think a little somethin’ somethin’ will really help me feel energized as I tackle 13.1 miles. This fruit chew tasted great and had a decent amount of carbs and sugar to keep me going. 

The last two miles of our run were supa-hot! There was no shade for the final two miles which made me supa-sweaty! 

Fortunately there were quite a few things that made me smile throughout the run which took my mind off the heat: 

1. Two rainbows
2. A man that was somehow sweatier than me
3. A sting ray in a canal
4. A 10-year-old boy running who left me and Sadie in the dust
5. My mom waving to us as she drove to the gym

Sadie also had a list that she wanted me to share: 

1. Squirrel
2. Squirrel
3. Guy that looked like Ryan from a distance
4. Lizard
5. Squirrel

Here are our running stats: 

8-Mile Stats

When we arrived back at the house, my sister was awake and greeted us with a “Holy cow! I’ve never seen you so sweaty!” 

I immediately jumped in the pool which felt ah-maze-ing. Phew! 

Breakfast 

Clearly my body was craving carbs because Stacy’s cinnamon sugar pita chips were calling to me. 

Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips

I probably had three servings. 

I also enjoyed a cup of Chobani raspberry yogurt with a cup of fresh blueberries. 

Raspberry Chobani

Blueberries

I inhaled this! My body wanted food! 

Post-Breakfast 

After breakfast we headed out to run some errands. I’ll be back in a bit with an update, but I wanna get out in the sun for a bit first! 

Hope you’re enjoying the weekend so far! 🙂