Rebounding

I don’t mean this kind of rebound:

While we’re on the subject…congrats to the Duke men for winning the NCAA championship last night! I’m not a big basketball fan, but I do tune in during March Madness.

I’m really talking about rebounding after a disappointing workout.

I had a bad run last Friday. I’m talking HOR-RI-BLE! I set out to run the same route I’ve been doing for a week or so, but just past halfway I was complete toast. My legs felt like Jell-O, my feet felt heavy and I couldn’t slow my breathing no matter how hard I tried. When I looked down, my heart rate monitor was reading a little over 200. Being in the 190s when I run isn’t uncommon for me, but I’ve never seen a number that high. I decided to walk a little to calm my body down. When I tried to pick up a run again, I immediately felt exhausted. I walked the rest of my running route, then doubled back around to cool down. The whole time I was mentally beating myself up and questioning my ability. “Why couldn’t I run that? I did it just fine two days ago.” This one subpar run had me doubting whether I could ever really get back to where I was pre-baby.

One thing that kept me from completely berating myself was knowing that I’m not alone. Just last week, Caitlin posted about the first race in which she bonked. The week before, Allison posted about her less-than-stellar marathon training run. Granted, these ladies are running a LOT further than I am, but I admire both of them (through their blogs) and asked myself WWHLBD (What Would Healthy Living Bloggers Do)? Did they quit running altogether? Nope. Did they use that fluke run to define themselves as runners? Nope. They’re both still running…and kicking booty!

I very easily could have slipped into a funk over my lackluster run. Instead, I started my “rebound” as soon as I got home.

• Positive Self-Talk: We are our own toughest critics, but we can also be our own biggest cheerleader. When I walked in the front door, I vowed to only say positive things to myself about the workout. I applauded myself for getting out the door and exercising in the first place. I mentally thanked myself for getting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather. I commended myself for how far I’ve come in the 7 weeks I’ve been back to running. “Remember when you couldn’t even run for a minute?”
• Retrace Your Steps: While I was showering after my workout, I tried to think of anything I’d done differently that day that could have had an impact on my workout. The four things I identified were 1) not drinking enough water throughout the day; 2) eating lunch about 30 minutes before running instead of my usual snack before, lunch after schedule; 3) running in the late afternoon rather than late morning; 4) first day of 80+ degree temperatures rather than the 60ish I’ve been running in lately. I didn’t set out to find excuses for hitting my wall. Identifying these things just gave me an awareness of how my body might react to certain variables.
• Look forward, not back: A funny thing happened when I started being nicer to myself. I started getting excited about going on my next run. The “bad” run was over. Done with. Finito. Dwelling on it would accomplish nothing. I laid out a complete workout outfit on top of my dresser (including my running shoes) for the next time. Because there would be a next time. I was NOT giving up.

That “next time” came yesterday and guess what happened? I rocked it! Not only did I run the whole route, I actually added an extra .25 miles or so to the end. I took hydration and eating schedule into consideration and ran at my more usual time of day. Those might have helped, but I know that setting out with a positive attitude was the most crucial key to my success.

Post-run lunch was a humdinger of a salad:

~organic greens
~broccoli
~cherry tomatoes
~1/4 cup Sabra Hummus with Roasted Pine Nuts
~1oz. President fat free feta cheese

The star of dinner was the spinach & asiago chicken sausage I reviewed yesterday. I cut the three leftover links into rounds, then cut those in half (to form crescents) and reheated them in a skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil. + a jar of spaghetti sauce + a handful of mushrooms = delicious spaghetti sauce! My husband raved about it’s deliciousness.

(Sorry for the blurry pics. My camera battery is going.)

Have you ever had a disappointing workout or race? What did you do to rebound?

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Technical Difficulties

So yae…about that contest I was going to have last week. I’ve been having camera issues since my last post. They weren’t downloading to my computer correctly and several ended up being deleted between the camera and the computer. Everything appears to be corrected now and my first giveaway will be in tomorrow’s post!

Yesterday was an uneventful Monday. The only real thing of note was the temperature (with wind chill) was below 0. Soooo cold!

I started the day off with a bowl of Cascadian Farms Multigrain Squares. This is one of my go-to cold cereals. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. They have a very nice texture and are extremely filling. I eat them plain right out of the box sometimes, but this was a “with milk” day. Organic skim in case you were wondering.

My morning beverage of choice is my newest addiction. The wonderful folks from POM Wonderful sent me a box of their delicious pomegranate juice to sample and review. Two thumbs way, way up on this one. It’s delicious! I love the perfect balance between sweet & tart. Combine that with all the health benefits and it’s a clear winner. I like it straight up, but I’ve also been mixing 8oz. of juice with 16oz. of Perrier for a pomegranate spritzer. Or, as my husband calls it, a “pregnant lady cocktail.” LOL

The drive to work flew by. I’ve been whipping through audiobooks lately. If I find one I really enjoy, it seems to make the drive go faster.

My morning snack at my desk was a Baybel Light cheese wheel & a big, hot mug of Lipton Black Pearl tea. I made the mug myself. Well, just painted it. My friend and I went to one of those paint-your-own pottery studios a couple years ago and this is the fruit of my labors there. I am by no means artistic, but I love pretending to be.

Lunch was exactly what I was craving. Light Cheese ravioli with homemade tomato sauce. I’ve been in the mood for spicy lately so I added some crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce. Whoa Nelly! It didn’t taste nearly that hot when I sampled it from the saucepan. It was still really, really good.

The afternoon was a typical Monday. Uneventful and booooring. My husband sent me a text message saying he was making dinner, but wouldn’t tell me what. I assumed omelettes. Wrong. He pounded out some chicken breasts, seasoned them and cooked them in the grill pan. He also made steamed broccoli & egg noodles. While he ate his as three separate things, I threw all three of mine in a bowl and stirred in a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese. Everything was cooked to perfection and a simple meal turned out to be extremely yummy. I think having someone else cook for you always helps.

Everyone have a fabulous Tuesday! The weather here is still extremely cold, but the sun is shining which makes it easier to handle…at least when you’re inside. We’re supposed to be in the 60′s this weekend. Rainy, but warm. Spring is slowly but surely making it’s way to Ohio!

What’s your favorite season?

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Goosebumps and Tears of Joy

The title of this post sums up my feelings on today’s inauguration. President Barack Obama. It has a nice ring, doesn’t it?

I wasn’t able to watch on TV, but I did manage to get my radio tuned in to the coverage. I was deeply moved and filled with an amazing sense of hope. There were many quotes that immediately hit home with me. Here’s my favorite:

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.”

Okay. Back to food.

I totally restructured my routine today. I am hypoglycemic and have a lot of trouble keeping my blood sugar stable throughout the day. I get weak, shaky, nauseous and have passed out on more than one occasion.

The best fix I’ve found to remedy the problem is to eat a “mini-meal” about every 2 hours while I’m at work. Since I eat so often, I tend to stick with low-cal options and/or very small portions. I never really feel satisfied which leads to getting hungry in between “mini meals.” These are the times when I find myself gravitating toward the unhealthy snacks in the work kitchen like cookies, chips & candy.

Today I decided to try eating less often, but eating foods that pack more of a punch. I’m very happy to report that the experiment was a huge success!

I’m backtracking a bit to my last post, but this is what I ate today at work:

• 8:00AM: 1/2 cup steel cut oats w/ 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut, 1/2 cup blueberries & 1 stick organic agave nectar
• 12:30PM: 1 serving of Quick Quinoa Turkey Taco Stew from GreenLiteBites.
• 3:30PM: 1 container Fage greek yogurt with 1 stick organic agave nectar & 1/4 cup Amish peanut butter almond granola

The only things I had between those times were plain water and unsweetened hot tea. Overall I took in less calories than an average day because I never felt hungry and didn’t graze between meals. Normally I’m starving after my hour commute and have to have a snack as soon as I walk in the door. Not today. It was almost 8:00PM when we sat down to eat dinner and I was just starting to get a little hungry.

For dinner I made Creamy Pasta Primavera from KraftFoods. I tweaked the recipe quite a bit. I used broccoli instead of asparagus because it was on sale. I added red pepper flakes to the chicken & veggies because we like a little heat. I also used whole wheat pasta and light cream cheese. I didn’t think it was an A+ recipe, but my husband loved it.

Several of my food and product choices today were made based on things I’ve seen and read since discovering the food blog community. You’re all so amazing, inspiring, fun, kind and extremely welcoming. THANK YOU ALL! (((((virtual hugs)))))

Speaking of great bloggies, Angela over at Oh She Glows is having a fabulous giveaway. Up for grabs are some yummy-looking products from Neal Brothers (for Canadian readers) or Honest Foods Country Squares (for US readers). Check it out!

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