Yummy Energy Thingies

The kids will probably like too...

Energy Bites

1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ (I use ground Chia seeds, it's what I had on hand)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. I got 16 when I did this. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. They freeze well.

In the Books

And my half marathon I was worried about....it's over.

I did it today.

I have to say now that I have done two of these things, I have some thoughts (of course):

1) Between mile 11 and 13, I have some seriously dark conversations with myself. I hear Jillian Michaels in my head, "Unless you're bleeding, puking or dying....don't stop."

2) It is in the last three miles that you find what you're made of. I really thought my last three miles were miserable in the first race because of the horrible weather. Not so much! Today was decent weather and it was still difficult.

3) Different races definitely mean a different mix of people racing and today was no different. Lots of women. About a third of the runners overall from December. I liked the route today, a lot. The mix of racers....had some issues.

4) I definitely do not hurt as much as I did in December and I attribute that to cold weather and better stretching.

5) I did better than I thought after the health stuff I have been fighting for a month. I managed to finish having run the whole thing. No walking, no stopping. 

6) When is the next one?

Giving Thanks

So the week before the half marathon is going well. I am a bit nervous still but the runs this week are going well. They are not the struggle they were last week. Endurance has returned. It will need to be enough. I have one more long run on Friday and will do a short run on Saturday and the half is on Sunday.

As I run the thoughts are all over the place. I have 60+ minutes to sort out a whole lot of life. Today it was thanks. I really am thankful for something that seems so silly. Ready? The calorie counting app I started this whole health focus two years ago on, MyFitnessPal. I am not kidding, it has been a stalwart guide through all of this. So I wanted to pass that on. I got online and sent a simple letter of thanks to the developers.

"MFP:
I have been doing MFP for two plus years now. I had a lot of weight to lose and had some success before with calorie counting. I decided to use MFP at the recommendation of a friend, and put only a few extra restrictions/guidelines on myself.

I have lost 90 lbs and am looking to do my second half marathon this weekend. I have to say, the feature to link MFP with other fitness apps (I use Endomondo for my running) has made my health focus so easy!!

I now have several friends who are doing MFP after watching me, and I am so proud of them.

If you want details, here is a blog post I wrote about the two year journey:

http://candlemom.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-difference-two-years-can-make.html

Here is a blog post I wrote last week about my first half marathon I did in December. That was an amazing goal to reach, and again, I thank you for your amazing, yet simple app for giving me the tools I needed to do it.

http://candlemom.blogspot.com/2013/03/december-16-2012.html

My most heartfelt thank you for a great great product!
AMG"

 I have to be honest, I didn't expect to hear anything back or if I did, maybe a simple "thank you for sharing". After all, this is a very popular weight loss/fitness app that is used by millions of people. My message was one of thousands they received today.

To my surprise, within an hour, I received this email:

"Hi AMG,

First let us say, Wow! Wow! Wow! Congratulations on your beyond tremendous success of 90 pounds! That is so amazing! Not only do you look like a completely new woman, according to your blogs, you feel like one too! We also have to thank you, thank you so much for sharing your amazing journey with us. I just finished reading your blogs, and still have chills! It is for members like you that make our jobs rewarding each and every day.

I was also absolutely taken away by your blogs, and truly enjoy the way you kept encouraging yourself. Yes, our program is a great tool, and it does help, but only for those who are determined to make a change. It is our members, their challenges, and inspirations that are the true success! We do hope you continue to enjoy using the program, and we wish you nothing but a lifetime of being able to say "I did it"!

All the best to you and your family!

N"

And that is a little reminder, it is worth it saying "thank you" even when you don't think it will hit it's mark. 

March 24th, 2013

So, I am kind of addicted to running now. All the things you hear people say they love about running that I have always blown off as "weird".....I love now.

Here is my list:

• I love the quiet time it gives me. It is just me and my brain. No phone, family, voice mail, email, etc.

• I love that it truly keeps me skinny. While I still watch what I eat, if I am running regularly, it truly is a metabolism miracle. I don't have to worry about every little morsel I eat. 

• Running is a stress shredder and I love it, and cherish it. I was working a very stressful temporary job last summer, and most of the time, I found myself wanting to run to relieve the stress rather than for the physical health of it. 

• I love being outdoors.

• I love that even on a day that feels like a "bad run", it's better than no run at all. It's a good run no matter what.

• I love running with my trusty dog. She loves to run with me. We are a great partnership, and I love having her with me.

• I love the amazing muscle tone I have. I am shocked that I have muscles places I never thought running put muscles. Abs and arms? I asked a physical therapist friend how in the world does that work?  I have always had flabby arms and a genetically given "tummy" to the point where I never ever wear clothes tucked in. Ever.

         She asked what I did with my arms while running. Of course I answered,
         swing them in control, and yes, flexing them as I go. What are my abs
         doing? she asks. I  answer they are flexed, staying in control as I twist while
         running and slightly sucked in as I control my breathing. All for about 60
         minutes straight while breathing hard. Surprise! Muscle tone! All over
         muscle tone.

• I love how I feel when I am done.

• I love when I am done I have energy instead of lacking it. 

My next half marathon is set for March 24th, and I am very nervous. I have really been battling health issues this month before the half. I have had a week of chest cold sickness, followed by a week of nasty food poisoning followed by another week of chest cold sickness. It has been impossible to do the ramp up runs one should do before a half marathon.

I went on a five mile run yesterday and it was a struggle. I need to be able to do six to seven miles effortlessly to do this like I did in December. Before the sickies, I was doing six miles, effortlessly, each run, and not even thinking about what the body was doing from moment to moment because it was doing very well. If I could say one thing I dislike about running, it doesn't take much to lose efforts gained, but it also doesn't take much to gain them back. I need to remember, even bad running days are good running days just for the fact I am running and physically fit.

I have had to have some moments of reality as I look at this coming in less than two weeks.
*I am not going to be as physically prepared.
*I will go running every other day until then to get as prepared as possible.
*After my final training run on 3/22, I will have a conversation with myself to see if I have "permission" to walk sections of the race if needed.
*I will not withdraw from the half.
*Any organized races I do....I need to realize they may not all be great. Again, at least I am out there doing it, and running!
*This half marathon will be better if only for one reason.....I won't be pelted with freezing rain.

December 16, 2012

I haven't had a chance to really sit down and get the words out of me. If you know me, you know I set a goal back in about March or April 2012 to run a half marathon before the end of the year. I set the goal to do it around August or September, based upon what I was able to run in April.

Well life got interesting and hectic. August and September both came and went. At about mid-October, I realized while I might be physically ready for it, I may have lost my opportunity to actually do it since fall and winter were fast approaching. Luckily a friend told me about one in December that would truly be one of the last one's of the year to do.

I signed up to do Portland's "Holiday Half". Just a fun, holiday themed run through the city. Not a super competitive, hard core race. Just fun. Perfect. I signed up.

Then I trained, and had actually not really stopped all spring, summer and fall. At about Thanksgiving I was fighting my body trying to keep it well.  I declared myself ready about two weeks before. However, I had never actually run 13.2 miles, I had come comfortably close.

Race day. It was cold that morning, and there was no parking and I knew that. But it became a factor. My husband dropped me off super early. We had made arrangements to meet along the route and then at the end of the race.

As you can see by the picture, not only did the day start out cold, it continued. By the last three miles, the rain was coming down fairly briskly and it was cold. Like little razor blades on my face, and it sucked the energy right out of me. The picture below is at about mile ten or eleven, and I am struggling. My legs are tight and I am just plain cold. Lungs were doing well, it was my leg muscles that were dying.


As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of several things. I did it! I absolutely did it! I didn't stop and I didn't walk once during the race. I felt great emotionally! I teared up a bit and it surprised me. This was a huge accomplishment for me and it all rushed to me what I had done.

I started looking around....no husband....no kids.....didn't see them on the route. And I was cold. Very cold. My clothes are soaked and I am shaking uncontrollably.....that kind of cold. There is no shelter. I had my cell phone with me to track the race, and I had about 2% charge left on it. I know enough about hypothermia, I knew I needed help out of there. Fast.

Call the husband. He didn't expect me to finish that soon. He's way back on the route. Nice compliment! Doesn't help the immediate need right now. I needed warmth, now. I got on a race-provided shuttle bus and took a ride to an overflow parking lot and told the husband to meet me there. That got us away from the crowd so we could find each other easier. More importantly, it got me on a slightly warm bus. I got off the bus, phone dies, husband pulls up, I get in, kids hand me a protein drink. and home we go.

I did it!!

The pics with the kids were at home. What you can't see....I am still shivering uncontrollably. It was a long shower, a long nap, and three blankets that finally took the chill out.

Found This! I See Bacon!

Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole:

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed (1")
8-10 medium potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1&1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
6 Tbsp. hot sauce

Topping:
2 cups fiesta blend cheese
1 cup crumbled bacon
1 cup diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a 9X13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the left over olive oil/hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl ix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.
Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.