ouch

up until about a week ago, i prided myself in that i haven’t had an injury that has prevented me from physical activity. sure i’ve been sore, stiff and achy. but that’s pretty standard. last wednesday after my 5 mile run, my L foot was on fiah! it hurt to walk so i took friday off from running. thursday i did my p90x routine and was fine. saturday i decided to burn through my planned 10k ‘practice’ run, in preparation to the 10k turkey trot on thanksgiving. it was okay the first 2 miles but the last 4.2 it burned. i iced it and just figured it was a muscle problem. later i googled my problem and found out that it could be a bone spur.

sunday came and it was more swollen and almost looked bruised. i did a little more research and here’s what i found:

Metatarsal Stress Fracture

Description:
Pain in one of the long thin bones that run along the top of your foot and attach to your toes (the metatarsals). There may be a little redness or swelling, and if you touch this area the pain will practically knock you over. Press along the shaft of the bone toward the outside and then toward the inside, and you feel a stabbing pain.

Likely causes:
The metatarsals can be broken or bruised under the stress of running, particularly for long distances. You’re running harder and longer than your feet are able to take.

Remedy:
This is not a do-it-yourselfer. Stop running and see a podiatrist or an orthopedist immediately. Under a doctor’s care, you should be back to running in about six weeks.

 

my pain isnt bad enough that it can knock me over, but it does hurt. i found an office near my house and set up an appointment for this morning. the xrays didnt show a stress fracture, but it can take a few weeks for those to appear on an xray.

so now i can’t run for atleast 3 weeks and i need to stay off my foot as much as possible. great. oh, and i have to wear a boot! i’m very upset about this. i was planning an 18 mile run this saturday. however, i am a little curious to try biking and see how i like that for exercise. i think this will force me try other activites that i wouldnt have done otherwise.

fudge babies-remix!

here’s my low cal remix of fudge babies:

5 dates

1/2 c oat bran

1T peanut/or other nut butter

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa

1tsp vanilla

mix in food processor. add water if needed. roll into 12 balls. freeze. enjoy!

comparison:

fudge babies (also made 12):

93 calories

12 g carb

5 g fat

2 g protein

 

remix:

37 calories

7 g carbs

1 g fat

2 g protein

 

i think i found a winner!

 

fun eats

after reading chocolatecoveredkatie.com yesterday, i stopped at the grocery store for some fresh ingredients to make a few treats. i was craving something sweet and couldnt wait to try out fudge babies and banana butter!
both: A+

fudge babies are delicious, expecially after being in the freezer for a while. the only thing i’m not so happy about is the calorie content. it’s not bad, i just thought it would be lower. dont fret, they wont be going to waste. however, next time i will try substituting atleast half of the amount of walnuts i used with either oat bran or oatmeal and see how that works.

banana butter was amazing. hott stuff even likes it! i had myself a slice of apple cinnamon toast (alpine valey) with 1 T of banana butter on top! so good! i love that i have the peanut butter taste without all the calories. the banana gives it just the right amount of sweet. it’s perfect after sitting in the fridge for 15-20 minutes! yum!

*pictures to come*

what has gotten into me?

 i really don’t know what’s gotten into me. perhaps caitlin has inspired me. perhaps my former self has (the one who ran a 1/2 marathon lst november). after my 1/2 marathon last year (2:17:39), I stopped running. I took a few months off. at first it was weird, i missed it. but after a while i was okay. i started focusing on strenght training.  i ran a 10K with my sister on 2.14.09 and that was pretty much the last time i ran until 9.21.09.

end of september to the end of october i pretty much ran anywhere from 3-5 miles. then i thought, “i wonder if i could do another 1/2 marathon before my one year anniversary of my first 1/2?” which would be 11.11.09. so i set out to accomplish that goal. on 11.4.09 i ran 6.25. thursday, 11.5.09 i was informed that mywork would be closed 11.6.09 due to asphalt resurfacing. perfect day for a long run! in the very back of my mind i was going to try for 13.1, but if i didn’t get there i’d be okay since i still had 5 more days. in the middle of my brain i just told myself to run 10 miles. when i got to 10 i felt great and knew i could do 13.1. i bought clif shot bloks the night before and took a bite around 6, 8, 10, and 12 (i think).

i went farther than 13.1….i did 13.35! i even BEAT my time from last year! I did 13.35 in 2:13:14…a pace of 9:58 minute mile! i was extatic. i cried ( i cried last year, too) i called my husband and cried and laughed and cried some more! I just could not believe i did it again and even did a little better. it was the greatest feeling of accomplishment.

i stuck around 10-15 minutes and stretched. i went home and made a delicious bowl of oat bran. i wasnt really hungry, in fact i felt a little nauseous ( i remember i felt that ay last year, too) but i knew i needed to eat something.

i ate while i iced my knees,watched tv, and just reveled in the fact that i ran for 13.35 miles. without stopping.

….then…..i was bitten…….

i bet i could run a full marathon if i wanted. sure. there are plenty of other people who do. why not me?

and there it began.

now the rest of the day, the next day and even a little bit on sunday i.was.sore. like i could hear and feel my hips ‘clicking’ my butt was sore, my calves, my thighs. but it was kind of fun. i knew i did something hard, but i did it.

monday i ran 3 miles. wednesday i ran 5 miles. friday i ran 3.1 miles.

saturday i told myself, again…just make it to 10. when i was at 10 my goal was 13.35. when i was at 13.35 my goal was 14. when i was at 14 my goal was 15. then out of nowhere i ran 16.06 without stoppig! and again beat my last long race min/mile time.

stats:

16.06 miles. 2:38:45. 9:52 min/mile average.

my sister was supposed to come the last few miles but she was late and made it for the last mile maybe. another runner caught up to me to pass me and asked if i was training for a race as he noticed i must be doing a long run when he saw me take some goo (it was another clif chot blok) i ended up chatting with him for abut a mile and a half. it was wonderful! i was trying to keep up with him ( maybe at a 9:30-9:45 pace) and the talking was wonderful! we talked about running. he really inspired me to do a marathon, too. he only began running in 2001, he’s an older man, late 50′s? he’s done 4 marathons! well i looked down and noticed 16.06 miles and i needed to stop since i really was only planning on 15 miles and i had 45 minutes to stretch, get home, eat and leave to see my sister run her first race!

i walked like i just got off a horse. my chins were burning but i felt great…on the inside! i did it again! i didnt cry this time, but i felt just as accomplished and proud of my body as i did last week.

i need to do better at blogging more often. i have felt so incredible the past week and a half. it’s amazing the things we can accomplish with just a little bit of faith in ourselves.

*pictures to come*

running

whew. last week i was a little off kilter. i got sick on friday the 23rd and went home from work early. monday i took the day off and tuesday i left early. i’ve never taken so many sick days in my life! it was somewhat frustrating, well i enjoyed leaving work, but i hated that i didn’t feel up to working out. wednesday i gave it a whirl. i did a 5 mile run (49:11). i was feeling like my body needed it, but by late afternoon i was hating myself! thursday i took off and then friday i did 3 miles. saturday my man and i went to the track together!  one problem there: i’m a dark morning runner. i love it! so it was more difficult running at 9am vs 5:30. however, i was suprised to see my time was a pinch faster 26:54 on saturday vs 27:05 on friday. i’ll take it! i can’t comprehend how people can run 4 minute miles. insane!

well, this morning i don’t know what my problem was. i was scared to run early, since it’s colder and that’s where my sickies came from. but i leave for work at 7, so if i cant get a workout done by 6:15 i have to put it off until the afternoon. aparently i convinced myself that night running would be better.  well, then i found out a church meeting was moved to today at 4:30. i finally got home at 5:45. i hurried out the door for a quick (my quickest, i think) 3 mile run. 26:48. it felt good! but now, after dinner, i have little time left before i hop into bed and start another day!  oh boy!

this is a lot of rambling, but i think what i would eventually get to is that i’ve got a 10k coming up on thanksgiving. that past 2 races i’ve done i always ask myself why i race. i really don’t enjoy it. i hate running in the sun and i just feel like a failure. so, we’ll see how this one goes.

alright, i’m off to make some banana soft serve, (omg! thank you heather)  then shower and off to sleep!

one of my most favorite things is this:

up until recently, it had been years (years!) since i had myself a grilled cheese. i used to eat them when i was younger, but came to the conclusion they were unhealthy. not so! this beauty clocks in at 221 calories. i used 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 2Tbsp of trader joes eggplant hummus, 1/4 c of part skim mozzarella, 1/4 c of mashed black beans and 1/2 c of alfalfa sprouts. so good! 

this sammie along with some homemade sweet potato fries…oh boy, i’m in heaven!

the beginning.

Third time’s a charm. Or is it thre strikes you’re out? This is my third attempt at “food blogging” and I’m ready to give this one more try! I love reading other food blogs and have found them very helpful. I hope to be able to do the same for someone looking to improve their eating habits. One thing I have come to learn is that no one is perfect, but we can always improve!

I am at a confused state right now. I have gone from program to program doing different things to guide me in my eating and exercise habits, which have certainly helped keep me focused and have given me a schedule to go by. I love my schedules! However, I am so ready to follow my own path of what I should eat and how I should work out. I am excited to start this new lifestyle.  I hope you will join me!

I would love any tips/feedback. So please, don’t hesitate. 

So, who is the person behind these words? You can call me Alli. I am 24. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have been married for 5 years. I am a mother to a furry and adorable {yet sometimes stinky} bundle of joy. Patch is a 4.5yr old shih tzu. I currently work as an executive assistant {yeah, fancy for secretary}. I live in the inferno that is Arizona. There, I think that sums up the basics.