No-bake cookies!

Hey, all!  It's been a while.  Nothing like the winter slump between race season and run camp starting up... you know, that month or two that I get in a couple miles a week just to feel like I did something, but can't understand why I feel so out of shape?

The good news is, Borgess Run Camp is back underway; despite being struck down with that two-week flu everyone keeps raving about, I seem to be injury-free thus far.  This year I'll be training for the half-marathon again.  I'm already signed up for several spring halfs and a winter half in about a week and a half (yikes!), including the inaugural Portage Winterblast, the inaugural Gazelle Girl (girls only!), the Bayshore, and I still need to get signed up for Borgess.  I'm hoping my training goes well and I stay healthy.  My goal, besides mileage, is to start working more strength training/core work into my week.  Even if I just start with one session a week, it's better than zero.  People keep giving me all of these great exercises, and I just keep thinking I'll do them and then become complacent.  My husband and I always lament that we watch Biggest Loser while playing around on our laptops when we could be doing sets of crunches or something... so that's going to change, too.

But hey, this post was supposed to be about no-bake cookies...!  I went to a Super Bowl party last weekend, and wanted to bring some dessert that was "safe" for me to eat.  I made these no-bakes that I rolled into small balls instead of larger cookies.  The recipe doesn't make a ton, so you may wish to double it.  Also, I added a bit of cinnamon to the mixture.  Delicious, with a few healthy fats (peanut butter and coconut oil!), antioxidants (cinnamon and cocoa powder!) and some fiber (oats and whole wheat flour!), too.  Enjoy!

Yummy no-bake cookies!

Chocolate milk... sugary treat or recovery drink?

Chocolate milk.  I have been hearing for the better part of a year that chocolate milk is a "perfect" recovery drink.  After hearing people like Jamie Oliver talk about the evils of flavored milk, I know I found this to be confusing.  Are we saying chocolate milk, the sugary twin of regular milk, is good now?  What is this new world I live in where chocolate milk and whole eggs are now nutritious?  Who can sort this out for me?

I was listening to a Jillian Michaels' podcast this morning on my commute, and she was totally trashing chocolate milk.  In her opinion, the "chocolate milk as a recovery drink" movement was concocted by the dairy industry, and is complete bull.  What struck me is that she was ripping it a new one without a second thought.  This made me realize: I've been assuming it's crap without really doing any research into it. 

Here's what Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, has to say about three reasons why chocolate milk is special:

#1. Its ideal 3 to 1 ratio of carbohydrate grams to protein grams, which appears to enhance glycogen replenishment into the muscles post workout. Regular milk has a carb to protein ratio of about 2 to 1.

#2. It contains whey protein, which is digested and absorbed quickly, getting essential amino acids circulating in the blood stream soon after consumption. Whey protein is thought to enhance the building and repair of muscle. Twenty percent of the protein in milk is whey protein.

#3. It also contains the protein casein, which is digested and absorbed more slowly than whey protein and sustains amino acids in the circulation many hours after consumption. Casein is thought to reduce the amount of muscle breakdown. (Magee, 8/17/11, Chocolate Milk vs Recovery Drinks: Which One Comes Out On Top?, http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-recipe-doctor/2011/08/chocolate-milk-vs-recovery-drinks-which-one-comes-out-on-top.html)
 

 So, I can see how chocolate milk might have a post-workout benefit.  But is chocolate milk right for everyone?  I personally like to have have a handful of almonds and some coconut water, because I don't eat refined sugar and coconut water is great for replacing electrolytes.  (Another favorite post-workout snack is a cup of greek yogurt with some crushed walnuts, pomegranate seeds, and a drizzle of honey... yum!!).  In my own opinion, chocolate milk might be best suited for those who just completed a really vigorous workout and need to supplement without putting a bunch of food in their stomach.  If you just ran a marathon, you're probably not ready to chow down solid food immediatley after.  But you'll need to replace some energy (calories), and also start repairing muscle.  So perhaps a bottle of chocolate milk will aid in doing that. 

If you just went to the gym, did a half hour on the eliptical, and lifted some weights, I'd probably suggest going with a more substantial snack post-workout.  I'm not saying you didn't go to the gym and do work; but chance are good that you a) didn't burn 3,000 calories, and b) are going to be hungry soon after your workout.  Know that an 8 oz serving of low-fat chocolate milk has roughly 190 calories; you don't want to undo a good workout with just a beverage.  Plan ahead for a post-workout snack that will fuel you, fill you, and try to eat it within an hour of working out (when the muscles absorb the most nutrients and energy is replaced most efficently).  Yes- you should eat something after you work out, even if you're trying to lose weight.  Refeuling is part of training.

All of that said, if you choose chocolate milk, be wary of what you are buying.  This is not permission to drink a bottle of Nesquik after your workout.  Opt for 8 ounces of low-fat, organic, chocolate milk to avoid hormones and antibitotics, as well as any other garbage many chocolate milks have.  And remember, not everyone agrees with the idea that chocolate milk is a recovery drink.  "Chocolate Milk as a Post-Exercise Recovery Aid" (http://oakbrooksc.com/docs/stager_chocmilk_study.pdf) is probably the first study you'll see if you Google this topic, and the nine men (what, no women?) followed in this study were all elite (ie high-performance) cyclists.  Also, some say that this study was funded by the Dairy Council.  So, choose what's best for you and your training, but know that chocolate milk is probably not best for everybody. 

Oh- and more on why whole eggs actually ARE amazing another time.  Until later...

6 post-workout snacks from Fitness magazine.
Trainers reveal some of their favorite post-workout snacks in Shape magazine.
Post-workout snack ideas for vegans!

Getting back my inspiration

There was a time in my life when I ran purely for the feeling of accomplishment.

With Kenny and Kimmy for our first 5k in 2002.  

I'm not sure if I've talked about it before, but at the age of 22 I ran my very first 5k with two good friends of mine.  It was my last semester of college, and my friend Kenny and I spent a lot (a LOT) of hours in the gym.  I'm not sure why. I honestly don't remember what possessed us to wake up one morning and say, "You know what would be awesome?  If we spent, like, two hours a day in the gym.  Let's make sure we follow it up with 15 minutes in the tanner while we're at it.  Check out this tattoo of a Playboy bunny I've been marking into my hip with this sticker!"  (But seriously.  I did that?  Who was I?)  The point is, we were young, bored with our last semester of college, and once we started getting in shape, it was like something took over and we were just obsessed.

This workout obsession culminated into the idea that we'd run a 5k.  It seemed like a huge undertaking, this 5k.  Like, "HOW IN THE WORLD ARE WE GOING TO RUN THREE MILES???"  But we got there, we did what we needed to do, we finished.  We didn't time ourselves; we didn't even wear the timing chips.  We didn't over-think how fast we were or were not going.  We struggled up the hills, but we made it up them, and were proud.  We didn't beat ourselves up that "we could have done better" or "got beat by a six-year-old".  No; we finished, we smiled, we high-fived, and I called my mom excitedly to shout that I DID IT.  I ran a 5k.

Fast-forward ten years and I am still running, with more goals and more obsessing.  Only now, it seems like I have been running less and less for the accomplishment, and more and more because I want to beat someone or PR or get a medal.  Medals are great.  Beating the other girls in my age group is great.  Beating my fastest time is great.  But that feeling I had when I finished that 5k and couldn't believe what I had done?  That was top.  I have been missing that feeling.

Two weekends ago I did a half-marathon called the Park 2 Park, in Holland.  I tried not to psyche myself out about the lack of work I had done to prepare for it.  I went into it with an open-mind and a solid plan following the Galloway method (I should do a post on that running method sometime): I would run for four minutes, followed by a minute of walking, and repeat, repeat, repeat.

A storm brewing; September 2012

It started out a gorgeous morning; cool temps, sunny skies.  I ran the first four or five miles with my old 5k buddy, Kenny; he started me on this new Galloway path, as he has been using it to train for his first marathon.  After those first miles,  I sent him on his way (I knew he had his sights set on a PR) and continued on my own.  Mile six/seven brought us to the shores of Lake Michigan.  Trouble was on its way inland; dark skies that looked to be carrying more than rain were closing in.

By mile eight, there were some thunder rumbles and a few lightening flashes.  I heard a rumor that the race was called, but no one around me seemed to be stopping... so I kept on going.  Mile nine, the lightening seemed to have subsided for the moment; but there was torrential rain.  Hey!  Rain!  It felt good!  I kept going!

A police cruiser edged slowly down the road, announcing that the race was cancelled, there were shuttles available.  Still- me and everyone around me kept trudging towards the finish.

Mile ten.  I got a text from a friend, asking if she needed to come pick me up.  I texted her back and said, "Not stopping til they make me".  I kept going.

Mile eleven.  I felt a sharp sting on my arms.  Hail.  Lots of hail.  I put my jacket back on.  I kept going.

Mile twelve.  My knee began hurting badly, probably because I had abandoned Galloway at mile eight with the lightening, so that I could get back to base camp quicker.  I found another girl struggling through the rain, hail, the sideways wind.  We started talking about her kids.  We kept the conversation going through the last mile, chatting as though we weren't running through ridiculous conditions.  It kept my mind off the ache in my knee.  We just kept going.

When I reached the finish chute, there were no timing mats.  They were winding up the pennant strings lining the finish.  It was just people standing in the rain, shouting to keep going, just finish.  As I crossed where the mats had previously been and got my bottle of water, I felt... awesome. I felt like I had started something and refused to quit until I finished it.  I didn't care about my time or anything besides feeling like I had just done something amazing.

I think I really needed that renewal of spirit.  It's been a long and trying summer, between getting married (oh hey, I got married!) and scaling way back on the races.  Some of the scaling back was because of money and trying to save it; but some of that was just fear.  Fear that I would be beaten, fear that I couldn't do it.  So this win against the elements felt big to me.  That storm woke me up, it showed me I can still do this.

And maybe our biggest accomplishments are not in being the fastest or the best, but in doing the best we can with what we're given.  Don't ever shortchange yourself into thinking you can't do something, whether it's running a 5k or running a marathon or simply running a mile.  Every step counts.  You just have to make them.

me and my new husband at the Park 2 Park in 2012

“Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.” 
― Lao Tzu

Adventures at the farmer's market...

Man, I just love the farmer's market here in Kalamazoo.

So many people selling so much delicious, locally grown produce, much of it on the cheap.  I love wandering through the aisles, seeing what everyone has to offer, running into friends, and leaving with a bag stuffed full of goods.

Today I took $20 to the farmer's market and left with:

• A giant bag of lettuce (after I cut up one bunch, I realized I really didn't need to buy two bunches... let's just say, I'll be eating a lot of salad this week.)
• A giant bag of cherry tomatoes
• A bag of six delicious and huge pretzel rolls
• A small bag of dog treats
• An avocado
• A huge basket of strawberries
• A sweet onion
• Three sweet potatoes
• A large zucchini
• A bunch of asparagus

And everything smells so good, and the strawberries are so ripe and juicy.... YUM.  After my trip to the farmer's market, I hit up my favorite butcher shop, V & V Quality Meats.  If you have never bought from them before (they're on Sprinkle, a little north of exit 80), I can tell you their meat is awesome.  Chances are good you will spend less than you would have at Meijer, and they have locally sourced meat.  (Not to mention it's delicious.)  Today I spent about $23 and got:

• Two big t-bone steaks
• A pound of thick cut bacon
• A pound of deli turkey breast

So all in all, I'm pretty pleased with my purchases.  I supported my local economy and got some awesome food to show for it.  If you're interested in going to the farmer's market, I'll give you a couple of tips.

1. Go early if you want a good selection.  If you wait until late morning or lunchtime, it will be very picked over.  
2. Look for the young hippies behind tables... they almost always have the organic produce, hahaha!  
3. Ask how people grow their food if it's not posted.  There's not a lot of sense in buying something locally if it's still grown in a blanket of pesticides.  Not everyone is a completely organic farm, but at least find out if they use chemicals to grow.  
4. Bring cash and a large bag!  People don't just sell fruits and veggies... you'll find local meat, eggs, breads, doggy treats, desserts, tamales and salsa, flowers, soaps... so much to explore at the farmer's market!

until later...

"Gardens are not made by singing, 'Oh, how beautiful', and sitting in the shade."  ~ Rudyard Kipling

My week without make-up...

A few months back, I heard about  "The Naked Face Project".  I think I may have spoken of it before, although perhaps only on This Healthy Girl's FB page.  Two women (Molly Barker, the founder of Girls On the Run; Caitlyn Boyle, founder of Operation Beautiful) decided to go 60 days without make-up.  Without shaving.  Without primping.  60 days of denying the conventions of "beauty" that society tells us make us beautiful.  If you ask "why?", I can tell you that these women didn't have a clear hypothesis to prove.  They weren't trying to make a particular "feminist" statement.  According to their web page, their goal was simply to "live in our own space of authentic beauty and be more intentional in our actions."  


"Huh."  That was pretty much my response.  I thought, "But I like make-up!"  "I like straightening my hair!" But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, I kind of didn't.  I have been a slave to my cover-up for many years.  I know I've talked about my problems with my skin growing up, and it definitely caused me to feel very dependent on make-up.  I used to wake up early when I worked at camp, before the kids got up, just to go put on some foundation and feel "comfortable".  I had a fear of getting wet... but it was really a fear of getting my face wet.  If my face got wet, everyone would see what was underneath my mask.  I was embarrassed by myself.  


So as I followed the journey these two women were on, I wondered if I could have that kind of courage.  (Isn't it sad, that I just used the word "courage" to describe living my life in a natural state?)  The idea of waking up and not putting my safety blanket on my face terrified me.  I suppose, in the end, my fiance insisting that he likes me better without make-up gave me that extra push to give it a try.  "A week," I thought.  Just without make-up, baby steps.  


Here is what DIDN'T happen my week without make-up:

• My face didn't fall off.
• No one unfriended me on Facebook.
• No one said, "Wow, you look terrible!  What happened?"
• In fact... I don't think anyone really noticed.  Or cared.
• I didn't go to sleep with make-up on because I was too lazy to wash it off.  
• I didn't constantly check my face in every mirror or window I came across.
• My fiance didn't break up with me.

Here is what DID happen my week without make-up:

• My skin felt like it could breathe.
• I forgot I wasn't wearing it.  
• It took me less time to get ready to go places.
• My face got a little sun.
• I swam without worrying that I got my face wet.  
• I felt good.  
• An intentional act turned into an effortless act.  

Yesterday, after 8 days without make-up, I decided to wear just a little powder.  It honestly felt strange.  By the end of the day, my skin looked greasy and I was dying to wash my face.  So, will "make-up free" be a permanent change?  Probably not, as sometimes make-up is a fun way to express myself (and as a theatre person, it's illogical to pretend I've given up make-up for good).  There's also the fact that I'm getting married later this summer, I'll be wanting a little pizzazz!  But I have a feeling- I'll be going without it a lot this summer.  Just being me feels pretty good.  

"The way women are portrayed in so much of what we see in the current popular media (and further reinforced by the comments made anonymously by those beneath many of these articles) goes beyond just appearance and whether a woman is pretty or not.  A woman’s worth is often tangled up in her ”sexual-willingness” and her desire to please others."  ~ Molly Barker

"NeverSeconds"

I'm just checking out "NeverSeconds", which has been in the news today.  A Scottish 9-year-old girl is blogging her way through her cafeteria meals, rating on health, taste, how many hairs she finds... if anything, it's interesting to see how a child rates a lunch.  She's also been posting lunches people have sent in from around the world... check it out.

http://neverseconds.blogspot.com/

This unhealthy girl...

I'm going to be brutally honest. I have an anxiety problem.

I can think of really specific times in my life when my anxiety felt out of control. The Challenger Explosion when I was just in kindergarten. 4th grade, when a bulk majority of my classmates suddenly turned against me and made it their mission to make me miserable. Freshman year of college, a good six months after my dad died, and that fact really sunk in. Having to re-watch the Challenger Explosion in a college class. A long and broken relationship full of more misery than happiness.

I have tried many tactics to quell the storm of anxieties that sometimes plague me. Lying on my stomach to think away the stomach aches in 4th grade. (Funny- I still sleep on my stomach.) Holding my breath in the bath tub to force deep breaths when I was older. And then, exercise.

Exercise has been an excellent tool for moderating my anxiety. Running feels almost like it's pounding negative thoughts out of your brain; you can think through problems while you're out there, and enjoy the "high" when you finish and your endorphins are pumping. You feel excited and accomplished when you swim a longer distance for the first time. You feel calm and centered after a good, stretchy Yoga class. There are so many different ways to clear your mind or calm your fears, really healthy ways.

So what happens when that doesn't work anymore? When you find yourself stressing about the exercise? It's not fast enough. It's not long enough. It's not enough times a week. I can't let [insert varying nemisi] beat me.

I'll tell you what happens. You start breaking down.

Somehow, I managed to twist something I started in an effort to calm myself, to point myself in a new direction, into something negative. I let it own me, I let it own my thinking just like those 4th grade kids or that bad relationship. And to make it worse, the fact that I was associating negative feelings with exercise was making exercise feel like a chore. When the exercise feels like a chore, I don't do it. When I don't exercise, well, I've now lost my best tool to combating the anxiety I feel about a bevy of other things, from planning my wedding to my job to even going out with friends.

And I started feeling sick. Really sick. Stomach aches, headaches, fatigue, shakiness... it was tiring to even run once around the block. I was terrified to even go out, because what if I had an "attack" of the above-mentioned while I was out? And then, the inevitable; if you think something will happen, you focus on it, and then it happens. It's like the chicken or the egg; do I feel sick because I was thinking about feeling sick, or am I thinking about feeling sick because I am sick?

Once my fiance pointed out that it could be anxiety-driven, I admitted it to myself. I am anxious. I am anxious about the unknown. I am anxious about what I can't control. I am anxious what I do won't be enough. I am anxious I will let someone down.

Just the simple act of admitting, despite what else may be wrong with me, that anxiety was a likely contributor to the way I was feeling lifted a small weight off my shoulders. I found myself admitting it, out loud, more often, because it was like getting those simple words out of my mouth made me feel understood. And then I was ready for more answers.

I started seeing a chiropractor, and after a few visits, found my headaches had dissipated. A few adjustments to my hips seemed to alleviate the leg problems I've been having running. I got a full physical, and got a letter stating normal results on my blood work and thyroid. It turns out, I'm not dying.

As for the exercise, it's a work in progress. This summer, I'm concentrating mainly on races with friends, races with no real goals, races meant for fun. I'll still do a couple of triathalons, as swimming has become more fun and more relaxing than I imagined. I'll challenge myself with the bike, as challenges keep us motivated. But my advice to you: never let exercise be the sun your life orbits around. If you find that you feel anxious about missing a workout, or having a beer, or skipping an event because you might have to race "so-and-so"... it may be time to re-evaluate, as I needed to.

We all stress out from time to time. It's all in how we manage it.

"Keep calm and carry on." ~British government, 1939