eat.run.bake.blog

I have been sort of obsessed with granola recently. I love eating eat it with plain oatmeal and fresh berries. I'm not really a huge fan of yogurt so when I cover it with toppings its easier to tolerate. Yogurt is really great for digestion and a good source of protein which is why I try to keep it in my diet. Yesterday was my first day getting back to my clean eating routine after having off for one week. I started to feel headaches on Sunday and I'm certain it was from all of the sugar I consumed in the days before. It took me months to get used to eating the way that I have been eating but it only a few days for me to notice the side effects of coming off of my routine. I really do not think it will be a problem getting back on track. Sunday I made a loaf of my Whole Wheat Banana Bread but added a 1/2 cup of walnuts this time. I know the Banana bread will not last long in our house. Last night I made a big batch of granola to snack on or to eat with yogurt. Everyone in th...

On Fridays I usually get done work at noon. Since I did not run at all during the work week I wanted to run Friday after work and follow it up with pizza and ice cream. I have been taking full advantage of this "off" week.  My husband came down to meet us so we could run on the river trail. I'm really loving that my husband is getting more into running. I think it's awesome when couples can find new ways to relate to one another and find joy in doing so. We kept a nice pace. Right now is not the time to work on speed work. It was also suggested to me that I not run any more then 10 miles on a long run for the next few weeks to give my legs the recovery they need. I wanted to 10 on Friday but 8 was great. In a few weeks Jim and I will be running the Midnight Madness Run so it was good for him to get an 8 mile run in so he knows the distance is no issue. My husband is very funny. While running on Friday he was telling Kelly and I that he could do a half. I think he may ...

I have declared this week refeed week. I have been letting myself eat whatever I want. I have also not been out for a run since Sunday. I am feeling the effects each morning when I try to wake up and just want to stay in bed. I could also be feeling this way from the cold I am fighting, but I choose to blame it on the increased amount of refined sugar in my diet over the past week. If you are not familiar with the idea of refeeding its a term used by weight lifters and body builder that are trying to burn fat. They use refeeding as a way to spike their metabolism. I am not trying to do that. All I am doing is trying to recover from a race and allow myself to eat some foods that I would not eat when  in training. It has been a good time so far but I am really starting to miss running.  Im planning to go for a long run tomorrow after work and then follow that up with some ice cream! After the weekend I will start training for my next event/adventure. I was able to get in a...

It pains me to make this post. I planned and trained for the Ragnar Trail in West Virginia for months. I could not however plan for the weather or the fact that one of our runners was not able to make it. We signed up for the event as a 4 person ultra team. Our game plan was to run 2 legs at a time and then switch runners. If you have never done a Raganr Trail event there are typically 3 legs, Green, Yellow and Red. Green for us was 3.5 miles with minimal elevation change. Yellow was 4.6 with some nice elevation change nothing major but truly the most gorgeous screnery I have seen to date while trailing. The red trail was 6.7 miles long. The red had the most hills and lots of technical parts where running was not an option at all. We set up camp Thursday evening and were thankfully to have a break in the storm while we did so. As soon as we all came into our tents for the nights the skies opened up once again. We found out our tent was not leak proof. It was a very we...

Months ago when we decided to sign up for the Ragnar Trail Relay in West Virginia I started a list on my phone of what I wanted to pack. I have been known for being a list maker. Thankfully I am not alone in my list making when more than half of my team has an Engineering background it turns out we are all pretty listy. Our one team member even set up a google doc of what to pack so that we can all edit it. I know I'm a nerd but I love being prepared and I love being organized. I started packing over the weekend when I knew I wouldn't be wearing most of my running clothes until race day. For the Relay I will be running 3 times so I made sure to pack three complete running outfits. I found a really helpful tip online to place each outfit in a gallon ziplock bag so I wont have to be searching for everything in the middle of the night or while someone else may be sleeping. The event will be all day and all night so I needed to make sure I packed a headlamp and extra batteries. I...

Today I'm going to discuss how a proper diet effects my performance. Yesterday was the Second Race in the Coventry Woods Trail Series. My husband and I had a great time but it was very hot and extremely humid and I could really feel it. I wasn't feeling my best and I knew it wasn't just the weather. Saturday night we had company over for dinner. I made all the fixings for tacos plus black beans corn and rice in the slow cooker. I also made an amazing dessert Chocolte Lava Cake which we served with ice cream.   Normally I know better that to eat ice cream before long runs so I havno ice cream unless it's Saturday rule. Yes it was Saturday but knowing that I had a race the next morning I probably should have passed on the dessert. I ate a double portion and gave myself a stomach ache. I am certain that eating this way before race day effected my performance. My time didn't suffer extremely but I was about 2 minutes slower overall and just not in the zone. I was gratef...

I have been running with an IT band injury for several weeks now. I took one week off and that didnt seem to really help so I have been doing research online on the best methods to rehab the injury while continuing to run. I am not 100% healed yet but I wanted to share these exercises with you that seem to really be helping. This routine is by Jason Fitzgerald and it even includes a video to show you how to do each exercise. You will need a thera-band or other type of workout resistance band to perform 3 of these exercises. I have been using the lightest band I have and then I will work my way up to the stronger band. The workout is a total of 7 different exercises. It doesn't ever take me more then 10 minutes to complete the entire workout and I really feel that it is strengthening my IT Band. Be sure to complete each exercise on each leg. It's very common for IT Band pain to only occur on one side of the bottom but it is very import to strengthen both sides.  I'm feel...

This morning while out on my run I came across a fox! I immediately turned around and ran the other way. I know people say wild life are often more afraid of you then you are of them but I will admit I do not want any trouble with a fox! Also now that I seen that fox I will have the song what does the fox say in my head all day. I love that song it seriously puts a smile on my face. When it first came out my kids and I would have an intense dance party every time we played it. I'm honestly wondering what type of wildlife I will run into while out on my nigh time run at Ragnar. I have not ever ran in the dark yet and I'm starting to think Ragar will be my first time. I will keep everyone posted. Friday was my daughters last day at her first daycare. We loved it there very much so I wanted to bake something to send in as a treat. My daughter is obsessed with oatmeal and raisins so I decided on Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars. I adapted this recipe from One Ordinary Days Oatmeal C...

The other day I asked my son if there is anything he has been craving that I could bake for him. His reply was Cinnamon Rolls. Hmm I thought I have never made homemade Cinnamon Rolls. A few weeks back Jenn of Deliciously Sprinkled made a post about Homemade Confetti Cinnamon Rolls and I commented on her page about how I have always been intimidated by Cinnamon Rolls. Well I conquered my fear while taking care of my sons craving! I started the dough last night because it needs to rest in the refrigerator for several hours or up to 2 days. I figured I would finish the process when I woke up in the morning and then my son could wake up and enjoy his treat fresh out of the oven. These were really a treat for the whole family. I was so happy with how they turned out. The may not be to best looking rolls I have ever seen but they sure were tasty and I knew they were made with good ingredients. I know Cinnamon Rolls can hardly be considered a real food but making the homemade version is a...