New Shoe Day!

Ahhhh, what a glorious day.  Maybe one of the most glorious days of all.  New shoe day!

 

 Way easy choice for me.  Brooks adrenaline, in PINK.  The most perfect shoe on the planet for me.  I've had Mizzuno, Saucony, etc.... but no shoe ever held a candle to my very first pair of Brooks. 

 

I have this strange obsession with running shoes.  I talk to them, snuggle with them, take them with me everywhere I go, oh wait..... that's not normal?!?! 

 

Anyway, these Brooks just feel so great on my feet, plenty of room for my tootsies, cushion for my #*!&@ heel that hates me & support for my high arches. Pink is a bonus.  Best shoes ever. 

 

I talk shoes alot.  I just think it's so important to find the right pair for you.  If not, every step is uncomfortable.  http://countdownto13.blogspot.com/2011/01/lets-talk-shoes.html

 

These were my first Brooks - I never looked back after these babies.  Brooks all the way.  :)  http://countdownto13.blogspot.com/2011/04/say-hello-to-my-new-little-friends.html

 

Hey, have I mentioned I love my Brooks?  What are you running in these days?



Smoothie Talk

There are a few things I love about this blogging thing.  1. Being able to share with you things I have learned.  2. Giving you guys a chance to win some stuff.  3. Advice & support from all of you :)

Today, lets talk smoothies.  Smoothies are a great way to start the day & easy to take with you while you're running out the door.

But people, if you are buying smoothies out in public ... BEWARE.  I have searched the world over for a healthy smoothie (ok not really the world, just the town I live in), & I'm telling you that finding a 'real' fruit smoothie is tough.  The gym I used to go to was the only place I trusted.

Unless you see someone back there actually cutting up a banana for you, chances are it's a smoothie mix they are using.  Can it contain real fruit?  Sure.  But that isn't fresh real fruit in my book & it probably has some ice cream in there too.  Or frozen 'yogurt' as they call it.  Just watch out.  A smoothie from Sonic, McDonalds or Burger King?  Don't do it.  Actually, just drive right on past those places.  Nothing good can come of it.  Nothing I tell you!  :)

Side note ...  Now listen.  Don't misunderstand me here.  If you are stuck at McDonalds you are still better off ordering a smoothie than having a big as your face order of fries.

Back to smoothies.  Let's just save the $5 & make those little babies at home.

Step one.  Get a decent blender.  If you need to chop ice, it's best to have a good one or you'll get little ice pieces in your smoothie.  I prefer mine, well, smooth!  I have a smoothie maker (I like blending soups in it too).  If you can afford a Vitamix, then invest - but know I will be jealous of you.

Please note....smoothies can be calorie killers.  Watch what you put in there - you could be drinking 400 calories.  That's 4 miles on the tready.  EEEK.  If they are replacing your meal, 400 is fine though!

If you make your own smoothies, share your recipies :)

Here's a few of mine:

PB2 / Banana
2 tbl PB2 (This is peanut butter in a powder form.  Way less calorie than the oily stuff)

1 banana (I peel, cut & freeze mine.  The 4 yr old in my house calls those banana cubes)

4-5 ice cubes (experiment here - if your bananas are frozen you won't need as many ice cubes, if any at all)

1 tbl ground flaxseed

Enough milk to get it all blendy.  You can also use Almond milk, but I use regular skim.

Add just a bit of milk at the beginning.  You'll know when to add more.  I end up using probably 1/2 cup of milk.

I prefer a packet of splenda in there too.  Just to sweeten it up.  Try it without it first, you may not even need it. You can also add your favorite protein powder in there.

**They have PB2 in chocolate form too.  Buy them both & mix a little chocolate in there if you wanna.  This smoothie is yummy, has good protein & flax for all kinds of health benefits.  YUMM!

Real Fruit Smoothies
This one is my go-to. I have no real measurements here.... that's the great thing about smoothies - just throw some stuff in!  If you can catch fruit on sale, stock up & freeze it. If you live in Kansas where blueberries are $5 a handful right now, go ahead & buy the frozen stuff.

Frozen fruit of your choice - banana, strawberries, blueberries, mango, pineapple.  I put a little of all of those in there, usually I use a whole banana though. 

A handful of fresh spinach leaves (I promise you can't even taste it!)

1 tbl ground flaxseed

Yogurt (if you want - usually I leave it out to save the calories & really don't miss it.  It does make it creamier though)

A little juice to get it blending.  I use as little as possible due to the calories in juice, but any juice works.  We prefer orange juice - it makes it tangy & just gooood.

Blend it all up adding more juice as you need it.  You have just gotten your daily fruit intake, a veggie & flax too. BOOM.

Don't eat that, or this, or this .... GAWHHH!

When I was 186 pounds, I ate whatever I wanted.  I am 5'4" people, I was a pretty big gal.

In an effort to lose those pounds, I started moving (walking at first, then running), and I started paying attention to food labels.  I lost 50 of those pounds.

But I seriously had to buy a freaking book to help me understand what to eat and not eat. That book told me to shop the parimeter of the store, never even walk the isles.  Ok really, what world do you live in that you can realistically do that?  Not mine.  Try it sometime - not just once, try it for a few weeks.  I don't know how it's even possible to do for the long term.   

An article posted by a friend on Facebook made me think of this today, so I just gotta vent about it. The article was about unhealthy ingredients, which is not really the point to this post - that is a whole different post that I'll have to talk about another time, but.... 

Can I just get some damn bread that isn't killing me from the inside out or one that doesn't weigh in at 150 calories a slice?? Is that too much to ask?!  Reading food labels and knowing what to put in your cart is exhausting.

You think you're doing good by eating a snack pack of fruit - then you realize the freaking thing has added sugar and is filled with crap.  You take your kid to Sonic and pass on the cheeseburger, get an 'all fruit' smoothie because surely that is better than a cheeseburger .... then see that the damn thing has ice cream & canned fruit swimming in syrup.  You would have been better off just having the cheeseburger.  That just pisses me off.

Ok. Relax..... deep breath....

So!  Finally the point of the post.  Just last night my bf and I went to the grocery store to get a few things.  Several times I noticed in our effort to make the better choice, there was a substantial price point difference.  And not for the better my friends. 

It's way more expensive to eat healthy.  There. I said it.  I'm not saying it isn't worth it, IT IS.  But dang, it's way more.

If someone tells you different, well, they must not be on my grocery budget.  We walked out of the store with 3 small bags, $37.00.  It was banana Tuesday however, which is a total score of 29 cents per pound.  So that bag doesn't even really count.

This is just frustrating to me, and here are a few examples:

A teeny tiny baby container of fresh blueberries (enough for one, maybe two smoothies), $4.99.

Good for you cereal, $5.49.  Bad for you cereal, $1.99.

Sugar free fudge bars, $4.99.  Bad for you fudge bars, $1.49.

Greek yogurt, $1.39.  Bad for you yogurt, 49 cents.

Good for you bread, $3.59.  Bad for you bread, $1.00

Free range organic eggs, $3.49.  Regular 'ol white eggs, $1.00.

And for the love of pete don't even get me STARTED on milk.  Organic milk is well over twice the price of the hormone filled stuff.

Want to know what my choices were?  I opted for frozen blueberries, good for you cereal, skipped the fudge bars completely, and bought the free range eggs.  My boyfriend says they taste 'happier' and he's right!

So we basically spent twice as much as we could have.  Want to know why the country is so overweight?  Go to the grocery store. 

Can I get a Hallelujah!

(I am stepping off of my box now and going to clip coupons)

By the way, here's that article - it's worth a read, but still frustrated the hells bells out of me. 
http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/13-banned-foods-still-allowed-us

Happy Tuesday!

BOOM!

My last run was great!  I feel like after a few weeks of going slow & easy, my body is ready to get going again.  It's like it just remembered how to do it :) 

I have several product reviews & giveaways coming soon so keep watching for a chance to score some good stuff!

Feeling very motivated now & I got this in my email this morning. (Notice the screen shot conveniently didn't have room for the next line ... which was my age.)
I'm SO EXCITED!!

I'm looking forward to the gym today!

Happy Friday!

Just as I was whining about being cold.... it is 60 degrees here today.  WHAT?!  It's January in Kansas and that is weird. 

Hitting the gym today at lunch time but I wanted to say Happy Friday!

What are your long run weekend plans??

Kansas In January

Dang people, it's cold here.  I am not a cold weather gal, certainly not a cold weather runner.  The only time I ever have been able to run outside in the winter is when my 60ish friend Penny would force me.  She had a great way of guilting me into layering up & running outside.  *Except* for that one time I remember waking up at 6am on run day to freezing rain.  She was going anyway ... I said oh HELL NO.  That was the only day I could tell that little fireball I was going back to bed.  She is a great friend & a fabulous motivator. 

Well, she moved to Colorado, so there is noone to force my tushy out there on cold Kansas days.  The wind, my lord, the wind!  lol

These days it's the treadmill for me.  I don't hate it, but I surely would rather be outside seeing the sunrise. 

The positives: 1.  I'm warm.  2.  I don't have to watch for cars. 3. I don't get chased by dogs. 4. I can zone out. 5. I don't have to carry water & fuel (which I hate doing by the way).

The negatives: 1. BORING. 2. The gym smells like sweaty boys. 3. I worry about my butt jiggling for the people behind me to laugh at. 

So I guess I have more positives than negatives, but I'm itching to get outside for a long run. 

I hate, hate, hate running short distances.  Like yesterday, I had 2 miles on the schedule (right now I'm just doing a few miles at a time to get back into the feel of running).  I was dying during the first mile.  1.5 I start getting happy.  2 miles I wanted to keep going. 

Just makes me remember that I have ALWAYS hated the first 2 miles of the run.  I guess that's why I like endurance running so much.  It really takes me 2 to even start enjoying myself.  I also know the importance of not pushing myself too far too fast.  Too far is what caused me to sit out for an entire year with injury. 

I'm following my own advice this time around.  Strength train, respect the distance & do enough that you are improving but find that limit for yourself & be ok with easing back in.  I am starting from scratch & I'm treating it that way.  Run on friends!

28 Powerful Questions

This post comes from tinybuddha.com.  Even though it mentions nothing about running - at all - it spoke to me about my journey with this whole running thing.  It's worth a read :)

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/28-powerful-questions-for-a-happy-life/

Oh, and about running - well I am on my way, closer each day, to starting my training for Lincoln.  Feeling good with just doing a few miles at a time for now, getting my body used to running again.  :)