Day 27: April 24, 2013- I’m lovin’ it!!!

Day 27: 6.03 miles today, Miles to go: 805.22… Not a ton of miles, but inching closer to my 200 milestone as well as my 100 mile in two week mini-goal (that one has 8 miles to go and is running ahead of schedule). Chilly afternoon, and even colder evening. With that being said, I thought I would share some cold weather walking tips that I looked up. I bring up this topic because of an injury I sustained a few years ago. After a few years away from running, I decided to try and train for the spring half marathon. I started JAN 1 that year with walking a few miles and worked up eventually to six mile morning runs by APR of that year. What I didn’t realize that because I was not stretching well enough for the cold weather, I was actually damaging my right hip. Eight months, one surgery, and a lot of physical therapy later, we finally had an answer to what was causing all of my pelvic/abdominal area pain. So this topic is near and dear to my heart, and with the flux of cold weather still peppered into the warmer temps we are experiencing, I just want to make sure anyone attempting to reach their spring fitness goals is “walking into” their exercise routines with both eyes open!!! So here is what I found that I hope might help all of us…

“•  Allow at least 10 minutes to warm up. When it’s cold, your heart and muscles need more time to get ready.

•  Wear a scarf or mask loosely over your nose and mouth to prevent the sting of icy cold air when you inhale. This is especially important if you have asthma or heart problems.

•  Choose shoes with lugged soles for traction, and buy an inexpensive pair of ski or walking poles to help keep your balance. (The poles will also help you burn extra calories because your upper body is getting a workout too.)

•  Take your workout indoors if you’d be risking frostbite (temperatures around -20 degrees F, including any windchill), if it’s icy, or if you’d encounter dangerous traffic.

Dress for success When you step outside, you should feel slightly chilled but not cold. During your workout, you want to feel warm, not hot and sweaty. That means you need to dress in layers so that you can take them off or put more on as needed. Here are the basics of layering: An inner layer made of synthetic fabric such as CoolMax to wick sweat away so you stay dry A middle, or insulating, layer (or two) of light-weight fleece fabric such as Polartec to keep you warm An outer layer of waterproof, breathable fabric such as Gore-Tex to buffer you from the elements and let sweat escape; and Don’t forget a hat, gloves, and sunscreen!”

From: http://www.prevention.com/term/cold-weather-and-winter-walking

You can also find cold weather stretching tips at: http://www.runningincoldweather.com/stretching-for-cold-weather-running

On a different note, last night’s run left me famished this morning, but I knew that I had a BNI 1-to-1 at 11:30 at Panera, so I was determined to hold off until then. In the meantime, it was apples and and almonds and a great big Diet Coke from McDonalds. With that being said, walking into McDonalds with its yummy smells this morning was challenging. So in lieu of ordering the biscuits and gravy that I was coveting, I thought I would share what you can get at McDonalds for under 400 calories… my favorite of which is the two apple packets for $1. At 15 calories a packet, you can’t go wrong!!!

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/meal_bundles/favoritesunder400.html

p.s. Kudos to McDonalds for adding their calorie count to their menu board!!! As they say, “I’m lovin’ it!”

Day 20: April 17, 2013- damn that quad!!!

Day 20: 13.25  miles today, Miles to go: 868.85… A lot of smaller walks yielded a big distance for the day. Started out walking two miles with Dante and Maggie (well… Maggie only did a fraction of that, and I had to carry her most of the way) while we waited up at the vet office to open. Another almost two miles from the office in the a.m., and then a hot 4 mile walk mid-day. Nice that the weather has finally made a turn for the warm. I actually broke a sweat. Then ran 1+ miles before football practice, and finished out the night with a 3 mile walk, one mile of that with Bobby.

Football practice is always such a fun time, but I tweaked my left quad again… grr!  Natalie, who is our unofficial trainer person, gave me a great analogy to describe what I have done to my quad when I injured it on SUN and again tonight. I started out the practice well, but midway through a play, the sprint motion quick burst basically pulled apart what is like the equivalent of an internal scab on the inside of my leg that has been trying to heal the last few days. Disappointing that I can’t get in more practice of the plays, but this injury will dictate how fast I can get back into actually practicing. In the meantime, the goal is more stretching, more bananas for the potassium, and more water to stay hydrated.

Aside from that, I am really looking forward to the Junior League of Evansville/Evansville Morning Rotary Rockin River City Ride on SAT (www.RockinRiverCityRide.org). Need to get the bike out and dusted off, but think that the change of pace will be nice for my muscles, and the change of scenery will be good for the soul as well. The event has a variety of run/walk and biking options along Evansville’s beautiful Greenway, so the kids and I are going to try the 25K with a fellow Team Blonde teammate. I have some other people who joined my “team,” but they are doing different distances walking. The event is a Lets Move! event. Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. The event is also a great way to make an Upgrade commitment to yourself. For more information on the Upgrade campaign, visit: http://upgradenow.org/ For additional information on Lets Move! visit: http://www.letsmove.gov/

Now if ya’ll will excuse me. I need to ice my quad, then take a rolling pin to it (it was recommended?!?! I will be the first to admit that it looks really funny!), then shower and head to bed. Early day with BNI tomorrow!!! Later folks!

Day 18: April 15, 2013- Back on the saddle- part 2

Day 18: 10.53 miles today, Miles to go: 886.41… So apparently my quad isn’t near as angry with me today as it was last evening- thank goodness!!! I would totally cry if I had a repeat of last night’s football practice tightness and pain. Thankfully, instead, I was able to do a 4+ mile walk this afternoon, a 3+ mile walk with the wonderful Dr. Christine Verbeck out at the USI/Burdette trails, AND a three mile run tonight. The running is what I feel like is the biggest accomplishment of the day. I was going to be disappointed if my quad “tweak” as Bob called it (he said if it was a pull, there would be bruising) hindered my running. I can cut my times considerably and rack up more miles when I am able to run vs. walk, and tonight’s run actually had 11’27” pace that is a good early season time for me. But aside from all of that, today I have quite a bit more to talk about other than myself…

First off, I am super excited that Facebook friend and old high school colleague Beth has decided to try my 1000 mile challenge! I wish her the best of luck as she begins this journey!!! For anyone else interested, I encourage you to read my earlier blog posts for more details about the highs and lows of trying to walk/run 1000 miles in a given time frame (for me, as mentioned in previous posts, I am shooting for 6 months in what is my second time at this milestone goal- the first time I did it back in ’07, it was a goal time of 1 year, and I did it in a little over 8 months). Any questions or if you need any additional information, just let me know via email at: nikki@davisdigitalphotography.com!!!

Next, for the sake of capturing a moment in time, I was out walking my first 4 miles of the day when I got an email on my phone from my Aunt Sandy about the tragedy today at the Boston Marathon. My cousin Anna’s two friends were doing the race today, but they are OK. So I rushed back to turn on the news. What senseless violence!!! What is this world coming to that someone would as the reporter noted today perform such an act of violence at a time of the race that would cause “maximum damage”??? These families were waiting for their loved one to cross the race finish line. The runners were experiencing a bucket list item many of us could only dream of doing…. The big question is why? Why would someone or group of someones aim to cause such violence? We may never know, but I think it goes without saying that the nation will rally around Boston, and they are all in our thoughts and prayers tonight!

For more information on today’s events, visit: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/us/boston-marathon-explosions/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Lastly, I wanted to report this touching bit of news reported by the NBC Sports Network via Twitter:

“Reports of Marathon Runners that crossed finish line and continued to run to Mass General Hospital to give blood to victims #PrayforBoston”

Whether or not this is true, I think we can all agree tonight we should all #PrayforBoston!!!

Day 17: April 14, 2013- The good news and the bad news

Day 17: 9.83 miles today, Miles to go: 897.14… The good news? I logged my first 100 miles today, which equals 1/10th of my goal already done- woo hoo! I didn’t think doing it in 16 days was too shabby- Yeah!!!… The bad news? I pulled my quad at Team Blonde football practice tonight! Icing my leg now, but can’t stress how important stretching is!!! Had a great 8 mile walk this morning with Debbie (no Cate today : ( She is still up at St. Mary’s with Jacob post-surgery), but I could tell as soon as we started doing sprints at the start of practice that something wasn’t quite right in my left thigh. Apparently that muscle is called your quad, and apparently according to my husband, while I am athletic and go long distances, I am not athletic in the football sense (short bursts of speed)… So what I am taking away from all this is that it sounds like I will have to work more sprint rotations into the mix once I get a good range of motion back in this leg.

Sitting in bed icing it now (speaking of which, I used to HATE the thought of icing an injury, now I welcome it… vey ironic!!!) and posting pics from practice. Since I wasn’t much use on the field, I tried to snap some great pics from the sidelines to help share what we go through to prepare for the event.

Most of you know that I have lost now over 60lbs since last year, and I was half tempted to show you a before and after pic, but for tonight I think I will just stick to sharing a fun photograph from this evening’s practice, which for me is a place where we not only get to learn the ropes of football, but we also get to support a great cause AND make some wonderful new friends (photographed with Crystal Elliott and Rose Lansink)!!!

With that being said, I still have wedding pics to put into an album, so I need to sign off to shower and work on those. Thank you to everyone who has started following my blog, and I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend!!!

Day 14: April 11, 2013- rainy day + migraine could not slow me down

Day 14: 3 mile walk with Bobby (2+ miles done with hand weights), Miles to go: 925.31… Rainy day with BNI and some time spent up at the hospital with a friend, so wasn’t able to get out midday like I have been doing. Rainy day also equaled a raging migraine that I am trying fight through with the help of a Maxalt. Three miles are better than no miles, though, so will shoot to make up the difference over the next few days. Productive day otherwise. Got my Chef Spotlight done for News4U’s May issue, took the kids to the dentist, wrapped up a SMILE grant document, and am midway through a State Farm project for the office. Next up is a quick dinner (100 calorie baked salmon) and about an hour’s worth of work on my new art room in progress…

On a different note, I have been having a number of conversations with Bobby about healthier eating. I have come to the conclusion that migraines and lack of sleep can often be my undoing. Carbs and sugars for me have always been a crutch to fuel a late night of work or to take my mind off of the pain of a headache. Candy for me is a very slippery slope. I looked at the calories in a Twizzler the other day (30), and part of me could reason that 30 calories would not blow my whole calorie count for the day, but 1 Twizzler can turn into 2, which can turn into 10 very easily (same with Starbursts, Lemonheads, Jelly Bellies, etc. I love the fruit candies and also have an affinity for Reeses Peanut Butter Cups). So I have been trying to avoid candy and sweets altogether. The Easter candy still lingering on the counter is a daily reminder how hard I am trying to not eat it, though.

So what do I eat and drink? My morning usually starts with a large diet Coke (generally my only one of the day). Then for the rest of the day I try and only drink diet green tea and water. Given enough of any of those three drinks, I can feel pretty full for the majority of the day. I snack on almonds every few hours and occasionally throw in an apple or two throughout the day. For dinner I eat 1- 100 calorie salmon, which gives me a very lean protein that is high in omega-3 (for other health benefits of salmon, check out: http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/6-health-benefits-of-salmon.html). If I’m hungry while dinner cooks or mid-evening, I have been eating a small (equivalent of 100-150 calories) piece of Colby jack cheese. I try not to eat past 8 or 9 at night unless we get home late and that’s the earliest I can eat supper. The salmon can taste a little spicy, so I sometimes end my meal with a small glass of diet (no calorie) Root Beer, just for a little bit of a sweet taste to end the night. Beyond that, it’s water for the rest of the evening.

As I begin to up my miles (next week’s mini-goal is 50 miles in 7 days starting on SUN), I’ll have to watch my calorie intake in relation to what I burn. I anticipate dropping weight throughout this process, which will put me closer to my overall goal. In the meantime, the changes that I am already seeing in my body (legs and abs noticeably firming up) make me happy!