Kir's Krumbs

Updated training log!

2011-07-17T17:01:00.001-07:00

Just updated my training log and race highlights. The last week has been a whirlwind of emotions and traveling. My grandfather passed away a week from Friday so I flew down to Virgina with my mom and brother for the wake and funeral service which were on Monday and Tuesday (my dad had been in Virginia since before July 4th when my grandather went into the hospital). The burial was actually in Syracuse, NY which occured on Thursday. It was a tough week emotionally. It was also a little stressful since I had to miss a week of work.

I drove back to school on Friday and went into the lab around 9pm. I also got to see my boyfriend! He's been at school for the past week and a half helping coach a soccer camp. Yesterday there our track team held it's annual Summer Run- it's basically a run put together by the head coach for any townies or students on campus, but the primary participants are cross country and distance runners. It's a fun weekend though because everyone comes back to campus and after the race we all go out. The race went really well- I ran 18:36 for the 3 mile race. Afterwords we enjoyed a feast of subs, pizza, fresh fruit, pretzels, and LOTS of water- it was HOT.

I haven't really been taking many pictures- here are a few photos of tonights dinner. A few of the girls who stayed with me overnight went on a run this morning- a grueling 8.5 miles- it was HOT. We made the mistake of going at 11 so we got to run at the hottest point in the day- hungover- soo much fun. Anyway, all day I can't stop drinking water and I've been ravenous.

Since it's been awhile I don't know if I've mentioned that my mom bought me an ice cream maker! I tested it out a few days after bringing it home with the help of Allie's recipe. I just mixed equal parts plain yogurt and plain greek yogurt along with some cinnamon, vanilla, blueberries and strawberries- it was delicious!

Here's another random photo of lunch- same as usual- turkey and roast beef sandwich along with some carrot fries (juts sliced of carrots grilled on my george foreman).

Does anyone have any suggestions or recipes for my ice cream machine?

What are your favorite add ins to ice cream or frozen yogurt?

Done any fun races recently?

check out chocolate covered kate's giveaway!

check out julie golean's giveaway!

Quick Hello

2011-07-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting- I'm still not really sure if there's anyone out there!?! If you are I'd love to hear from you. I just updated my training page. I ran a really fun 5k today. It felt awesome and I pr'ed (18:49). I went in to it as just a training run- meaning that I would be running around 7 minute pace. Well- I ended up running a little faster than expected. I love racing and when I get into racing mode I just get competitive and thats the zone I got into today- it was awesome!!! I actually won a pair of sneakers which was exciting. I will write another post soon- things have been hectic and I actually am heading to Virginia tomorrow unfortunately for my grandfathers funeral. I hope that everyone has been doing well and again- if anyone's out there- love to hear from you!

What gets your competitive spirit going?
Just being in a race- I love picking out people then chasing after them!

What would be your favorite "race prize?"
Pretty much anything- it's just fun racing no matter what

ps- check out pbandjenny's giveaway!

2011-07-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

check out pbandjenny's giveaway!

5 minute chocolate cake

2011-06-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I posted a (hopefully) enticing picture of a microwaveable dark chocolate cake. My inspiration for this came from Spoonful of Sugar Free's chocolate cake for one. I changed up the recipe a bit using :

-2 egg whites
-1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
-dash of salt
-cinnamon
-vanilla extract
-baking powder
-handful of chocolate chips
-splash of almond milk (or any kind of milk) if necessary

Since I don't have access to an oven where I'm living right now I mixed up all the drye ingredients, then stirred in the egg whites and applesauce and microwaved it all for 2 minutes. I thought it turned out delicious! I made it twice and the second time topped it with some greek yogurt. It's a little bitter as she mentions, but depending on what kind of chocolate chips you use and if you feel like adding sweetener, you can sweeten it to your liking and enjoy!

By the way, check out PB and Jenny's giveaway

Also check out Gourmet Runner's giveaway

Dispatch

2011-06-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!! I was in Boston, MA this weekend! to see Dispatch!

For my 21st birthday, my lovely boyfriend bought me tickets to see Dispatch at TD Garden in Boston!

We had an awesome time as I'm sure you can see from our awesome faces

More to come later!

P.S. My training log has been updated

Words to come!!

2011-06-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a preview of what I've been up to. Meanwhile, check at Hungry Runner Girl's giveaway!

Hiatus

2011-06-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the three day hiatus. I went home again this weekend and even though I go home to relax I find that my weekends end up being crazy busy! I also tend to forget to bring my camera therefore I don't have any pictures.. I will try to work on this!

I did manage to take a few from breakfast and dinner yesterday:

I made these over night oats with a new ingredient:

Myoplex Original

I used 1/3 cup of this, 1/3 cup of oats, 1/2 tbs. chia seeds, and 1/3 cup of Fage greek yogurt- they came out VERY thick but I thought they tasted awesome! Recently I received a case of these drinks in the mail- I must have signed up for some promotion? Because I don't recall ever ordering them and the billing slip that came in the box said charge: $0.00. I didn't question it- I've just been using them :) They taste alright, alone they do have a bit of protein bar taste- my dad described it as "metallic-y"- however they have awesome nutrition stats and are a great post workout recovery drink. I also think they would make a tasty smoothie with a frozen banana or other fruit and some nut butter.

Amount Per Serving	% DV^*	% RDI
Serving Size: 17 fl oz (500 mL)
Nutrient Data
Energy, Cal: 300
Energy from Fat, Cal: 60
Fat, g: 7	11
Saturated Fat, g: 1	5
Trans Fat, g: 0
Cholesterol, mg: 25	8
Sodium, mg: 280	12
Potassium, mg: 870	25
Carbohydrate, g: 19	6
Dietary Fiber, g: 6	24
Sugars, g: 2
Protein, g: 42	84

For lunch I made a delicious sandwich of Wegmans organic turkey, roast beef, lettuce tomato, mustard, and hot sauce on rye bread. I ate this along with some baby carrots and fresh picked strawberries (!) which I unfortunately forgot to photograph.

Dinner was made on my George Foreman. I've been seeing a lot of "pizzas on the grill" so I decided I would make due with what I had and attempt it. I used a flatout wrap, tomato sauce, muenster cheese, and frozen microwaved broccoli. First I put the flatout on the grill and and "pressed it" for a few minutes until it started to crisp up and I saw those awesome lines the grill makes on it. Meanwhile, I heated up some tomato sauce, and the vegetables. I spread the sauce on, tore up and put the cheese on, the placed the warm vegetables on top. I kept the grill open in order to avoid making a massive mess. It worked out perfectly- the cheese melted nicely, the vegetables were cooked, and the flatout got nice and crispy. I will definitely be doing this again.

Well, I will be posting later today. hope you all had a great weekend and got through Monday alright!

What are some things you've made on a george foreman type grill?

Do you like protein shakes/ is there a certain brand you tend to buy?

Thirsty Thursday

2011-06-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

I started off this morning with another great run! We did a hilly 6.07 mile run in 45:22 (7:29 pace). It felt great and again, good conversation was had by all (my assistant coach, the local high school track coach, and a Penn state girl home for the summer). Same routine as yesterday- shower at the fieldhouse, scarf down breakfast, go in to work. Today's batch of overnight oats included 1/2 c. almond milk, 1/3 c. oatmeal, 1/2 tbs. chia seeds, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.

It was a rainy day here in Lewisburg, PA, so a nice hot grilled cheese sounded great. I made this with Heidleberg Oat Bran and muenster cheese. It was ooey, gooey, and delicious! I had it along with a pathetic looking salad, some carrot sticks, and an unpictured pear and warmed up mug of almond milk.

eaten with some dijon mustard and hot sauce for dipping

The professor I do research for is on her final stretches of submitting a paper to publish. Since she was working from home today I had a little more leeway in terms of the hours I worked. I went in from 9-12, went back to my room for a delicious lunch (pictured above) then relaxed a little and watched the first episode of Food Network Star on Hulu.

I watched it while laying down in bed and actually dozed off for a few minutes. When I "came to" I got up, drove to the storage unit to pay my monthly rent, dropped of my most recent netflix dvd (Couples Retreat), then made it back in to work around 2:30. I stayed until around 5:30 then decided that today would be a great day to drive to our local mall to utilize a soon-to-expire American Eagle coupon for $10 off of a $40 purchase along with a giftcard I got awhile ago for my birthday. After trying on numerous outfits, I decided on:

a pair of pants

and a dress

Overall it was a relaxing, and productive day. I'm excited over the fact that it's almost Friday! I'm going home again this weekend to celebrate father's day. I still have to decide what I'm going to get for him... Any ideas?

Just realized that my post has NOTHING at all to do with the title, I originally typed it as I was chugging from my Nalgene. Usually I fill this up at two or three times a day but I just realized that today I only filled it up once maybe? Well.. off to pack my bag for tomorrow!

What are you doing this weekend?

What's you're favorite way to pass a rainy day?

By the way, check out gliding calm's giveaway!

Also check out say yes to salad's giveaway!

I love Muenster cheese!

2011-06-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I got to sleep in this morning until 8:15! C. Rob had a running date with the boys cross country team tonight at six so I made the decision to run this afternoon by myself. That means I had time to make myself a bowl of hot chocolate oats with some oiko's greek yogurt. I like to scoop out a serving of yogurt into it's own bowl then take a scoop of each. That's how I eat the whole bowl- scoop of yogurt, scoop of oatmeal. In this bowl was 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk, 1/3 c. oats, 1/2 tbs. chia seeds, and 1 tbs. cocoa powder.

For lunch the same sandwich I had a few days ago but this time with muenster cheese. I LOVE muenser cheese! It's so creamy and mild, and the full fat kind definitely has a much better flavor and melting capability than low fat cheese. Alongside my sandwich I had roasted carrots made on my george foreman. I like the way they start to caramelize. I usually grill them until they get a little juicy but are still crunchy.

For dinner I utilized my muenster cheese again in a grilled cheese sandwich and melted on some frozen microwaved broccoli and cauliflower. I also made Perdue chicken tenderloins sprinkled with some Cajun Foreplay. This spice is awesome. I use it on burgers, fish, chicken, and rice and beans.

For dessert I had a fresh peach and two pieces of endangered species dark chocolate. This chocolate is awesome. When I was younger I used to pick a bar based on the animal, but now I'm more into the type of chocolate- 88% is awesome.

I have to go back to the lab for a little bit then I think I'll enjoy some Gilmore Girls before going to bed :-) Hope you all have a good night!

What's your favorite kind of cheese?

Do you like running by yourself or with other people?

Garmin and strands stats

2011-06-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Figured it might be cool to post my weekly strands log as well as Saturday Garmin stats! I ran Saturday from my house, the first mile is all down hill, then it's a LONG uphill back to my house.

What type of running gear do you use?

I use a Garmin and just purchased a pair of compression socks which I love and will review later!

Do you use any online training programs?

I use strands which I like- it keeps a daily log of your training as well as a weekly, monthly, yearly, etc. log. It's easy to use and has a nice layout which makes it convenient to look back at old workouts.

Tempo Tuesday

2011-06-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

So today I did my first cross country workout of the summer! On the schedule was a 2-mile tempo run at 6:10-6:40 pace. I woke up bright and early at 6:15 and biked over to the field house with my breakfast and bagged for work. I met my assistant coach at 6:45 and after a quick dynamic warmup we were off to do a 15 minute/ 2 mile warm up. We ran to a neighborhood deemed the Kenya loop because tempo training is the foundation of Kenyan running. I did a couple of strides, then the workout began. We ran the first mile in 6:12 minutes and it felt great. The next 800 meters I really focused on staying loose and relaxing my shoulders. The last 800 meters of the loop are all uphill so I had to really work on maintaining my pace and staying relaxed. I finished the two miles in 12:29 (6:14 pace). Overall this was an awesome workout! I finished feeling accomplished, and like I had put in a great effort but with enough energy left at the end to perhaps do another one? That's for later on in the season though.

After our two mile cool down, we did about 8 minutes of ab exercises, push ups, and some leg strengthening exercises. I jumped into the showers at the field house and got dressed quickly since my stomach was grumbling. I don't have any pictures, but for breakfast I packed overnight oats made with 1/3 c. oatmeal, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/3 c. plain greek yogurt, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 tbs. chia seeds eaten alongside a nie ripe pear. Then it was off to start my day. Sorry for the lack of pictures, I'll try harder tomorrow not to scarf down my food so you have more to look at than crumbs and/or dirty napkins. Here's a picture from a few days ago- a flatout wrap with laughing cow, string cheese, and peas- delicious!

Hope you all had terrific Tuesday! We're almost halfway done with the week!

Whats your favorite type of workout (running or not)?
Do you like working out in the morning?
Also if anyones interested in a post on ab and leg exercises for runners let me know!

Giveaway

2011-06-14T10:47:00.001-07:00

Check out Bites and Bliss' givewaway!

My story: Part 3

2011-06-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

So, I'm hoping this will be the last of the "My Story" series- since I'm sure you guys have read enough! This is actually the first time I've sat down to think and write about my past- it's kind of therapeutic even if it's way too much to read.

I left off last time as a senior in high school. Things weren't going very well and on top of it all my parents had given me more freedom so my eating disorder was running wild. During all of high school I would have weekly or monthly (depending on how I was doing) weight checks. Around the winter of my senior year I lost a lot of weight and began hiding weights under my gown so that my doctor would think that I weighed more than I did. I actually don't even remember how my secret was revealed, but once my true weight was known, my doctors and parents were shocked. My doctor told me that I needed to be hospitalized and began making phone calls that night. I remember bawling, and being terrified of my parents. I think though that in some ways I was relieved- I was in such a bad mental state that I think I just wanted to be taken care of. I wanted to be fed, I wanted the eating disorder to be gone- I just couldn't do it on my own.

A week later I was admitted into Strong hospital in Rochester, NY. This experience was definitely eye opening. I was put on a normal adolescent ward and surrounded by "normal patients"- a girl with kidney failure, another with cancer, and a guy who had skied off of a cliff and had to be strapped into a full body splint that rotated so that he didn't get bed sores. I was here because I was scared to eat? The patients I was surrounded with were fighting death with all their strength yet I had put myself into this state by not eating and lying to my parents. In some ways I felt guilty, like I shouldn't be there. However, the nurse that ate my meals with me reminded me that this was a disease, I was fighting for my life just like the other patients on this ward and food was my medicine.

The first three days of being in the hospital I was on an all liquid diet- I had two Ensure for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks (but got the exciting choice of chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla- or even a combination of any or all three). Eventually I met with a nutritionist who walked through the hospital menu and helped me choose appropriate meal and snack choices. I would choose my meals for the week with her guidance. This was a challenge for me because the meals I had to choose from were foods I was terrified of- peanut butter, lasagna, chicken parmesan, meatloaf, ice cream, cinnamon rolls, etc. However, this taught me that I could eat these things and live to see the sun rise. In addition, my metabolism was so happy to be fed that I actually lost weight once I started eating meals and therefore and to increase my food intake.

My hospital stay lasted seventeen days. During this time I met two other girls suffering eating disorders and together we struggled to eat our meals, sit through therapy, and make efforts at getting rid of our eating disorders and gaining back our normal lives. It was definitely strange sleeping in a hospital bed for that amount of time. I was woken up every morning at 5:30 am when the nurses did their rounds to be weighed and have blood draw. While the transition back home was difficult, I definitely adjusted quickly to my own bed. My parents and I made the decision that I would gain the rest of the weight I needed at home as opposed to going to another outpatient or part time treatment center. I was committed to gaining the weight this time with the stipulation that if I did I would be able to go to college in the fall.

As you may have concluded I was able to go to college in the fall. I worked hard to stay accountable and gain the necessary weight back. It was hard, mentally and physically, but I was determined. I hope that this story has not triggered anyone. I just want everyone to be aware of the dire consequences of eating disorders and the ways they ruin lives. I also want you to understand what I've been through in order to better understand my current daily struggles. I would love to hear people's responses and am glad to answer any and all questions!

Wine tasting

2011-06-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

It started storming today around two as my parents and I were on our way to go to some garden with peacocks!

This put a little kink in our plans so we decided that it was the perfect day to go to my first wine tasting! We figured it would be best to have some food in our stomachs first so we went to Panera to get a late lunch. The Panera strawberry poppyseed salad is back for the summer! This is one of my favorite salads so of course it's what I got along with a bag of Panera's delicious chips.

We also stopped by one of my favorite shoe stores in Collegetown. They have a great selection of Birkenstocks, Frye boots, and sandals. I was in need of some flip flops so I bought a pair of plain black Reefs.

I had my eyes on a pair of Frye boots, but unfortunately they didn't have my size (and they cost about $300). Maybe some day when I'm not a poor college student.

After these two stops we went to Sheldrake Point Winery. Since I turned twenty-one in May this was the first time I had ever done a wine tasting. When I was younger I used to love eating the wine crackers they give you for between tastings.

Today however, I had a flight of three red and three white wines. My favorite was the Pinot Gris. My parents even bought me a bottle to take back to school. I'm not a huge fan of red wines but I did enjoy the Lucky Stone red which was a lighter red wine.

We just had a great dinner of tenderloin with Montreal steak rub, shrimp, salad, asparagus, and corn on the cob (my first of the season). It was all delicious and definitely worth the two and a half hour drive home. I'm off to watch some Mad Men with my parents then maybe have a Skinny Cow? Hope you all have a great Saturday night! By the way visit Carrie's giveaway at Moves N' Munchies!

Anyone out there?

2011-06-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hello from home! This summer I was awarded a grant to stay at school and do research with one of the professors in the biology department. I actually did this last summer and I really enjoyed being at school. I met a lot of great girls and that's actually when I started running and what prompted me to join the cross country team. This summer there isn't really anyone I know so it can be a little lonely. This week was crazy in the lab and I probably worked over 40 hours which kept me busy. I also found a yoga class which I went to Tuesday and Thursday. Anyway, I decided to come home for the weekend to relax, see my parents, and get some good food. The dorm I'm living in only has a kitchen in the basement so I've been confined to using a microwave and george foreman to cook most of my meals.

I got to sleep in this morning until 9:30. When I woke up, I got dressed and went for a quick run. The weather is so much cooler here. It was nice to run out of the sun and humidity of Lewisburg, PA. When I got home my mom was just about to go do gardening work but I convinced her to do some abs, core, and leg strengthening exercises with me. Afterwards, I made breakfast. Sorry I don't have any pictures. I had a poached egg on a flatout wrap with muenster cheese and an orange. It was delicious! By the way, have any of you tried microwaving a poached egg? It's so simple and comes out perfectly.

Last night when I got home we went out to dinner at Rogue's Harber. I wanted the black angus NY spiedies but when I ordered them the waitress informed me they were all out! I had to choose on the spot what I wanted so I ended up ordering the Atlantic salmon: fresh, boneless side cut poached in white wine and served with caramelized onions and wilted greens, choice of potato. It was great, but no spiedie (or steak)! I also had a glass of Pinot Grigio, bread, and a side salad. Afterwards we went to get Purity ice cream. I ordered a small coffee cone with chocolate sprinkles. I love getting sprinkles on my cone but I wish there was a way that I could have a few with every lick! Not just a ton on the first scoop. Anyone else have this problem?

picture from google images- similar to my meal last night

Overall, it was a great dinner and dessert. It's sometimes hard for me to have my food prepared by other people such as in a restaurant, or to order dessert. I start to feel guilty and find myself second guessing myself- "should I have ordered that? sprinkles add a lot of calories (probably not true), this ice cream is definitely full fat." I find that the only way to deal with this is to just talk against the voices. It's frustrating that I still have thoughts like this, but I'm glad I was still able to enjoy my meal and ice cream cone.

imagine this in a cone covered with chocolate sprinkles

I'm not sure what the plans are for today. Ithaca has a great farmer's market and I usually feel the need to go to Wegman's when I'm home since the closest one to school is thirty minutes away. Hope you all have a great Saturday and if anyone's out there I would love some feedback??

How do you deal with eating out/ ordering dessert?

Whats you're favorite kind of ice cream?

Do you like sprinkles?

My story: Part 2

2011-06-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

So I left off last time being terrified of eating basically anything unless I had the ability to throw it back up. My therapist, doctor, and parents all decided that if I could gain some weight at home I wouldn't have to go into a residential program. This was enough incentive for me to attempt to gain weight and eat. My parents used the Maudsley method, which as it says on the website is a family based treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa. This worked to an extent and I was able to gain enough weight that my health wasn't in danger. I think that the problem for me however was that since I was in high school, it wasn't as simple as just gaining the weight back. I hadn't addressed any underlying issues as to why I felt the need to lose weight in the first place. Furthermore, I didn't feel a connection with my therapist and was scared of telling her how I really felt. I often lied during therapy sessions just to get through them. For the rest of ninth grade my parents would take me out of school for lunch and we would sit in the car or go outside somewhere and eat. My mom really struggled with seeing me in this mental and physical state so for the most part my dad would come and have lunch with me. While this was such a mental battle, I began to enjoy spending time with my dad and by the end of school even looked forward to our lunch dates.

I don't exactly remember when I stopped eating my meals with my parents, but when sophomore year came around I was starting to get back into old habits. I lost a substantial amount of weight again and was sent away to a residential eating disorders program for about six weeks. This was a difficult time for me; my mom and I weren't on the best of terms so my dad would mainly come and visit. I definitely learned a lot during this time and seeing the adults in the program motivated me to want to get better. For the first time I learned that I could eat foods I enjoyed and I wouldn't gain twenty pounds over night. I also learned a lot about myself in therapy and group sessions. It was hard leaving school for that amount of time. A lot of people asked where I went, and while I did tell my close friends, I felt uncomfortable sharing with most of my classmates what I was going through. Everyone was really understanding though and I had a lot of support from my teachers and friends.

Things went well for awhile. My parents began to trust me to eat my meals without them and I felt more comfortable with the weight I had gained. I liked not obsessing over food or having to find a bathroom after every meal. At some point though, I reverted back to thinking that I could stay in recovery even if I lost a few pounds. Soon enough a few pounds turned into a lot.

The summer between junior and senior year of high school I went to another outpatient program in a town about an hour away Monday through Friday. This program used calorie counting as a method of meal planning. This seemed to work for me since I am a very analytical and numbers oriented person. Looking back, I think I liked this method because it still put me in control of everything. In my worst stages of my eating disorder I would obsessively count calories and that is essentially what I was doing in this program, however I had a much higher "allotted" calorie count. I think I was only half in recovery. I wanted to stop the behaviors, I was sick of always thinking about food, but I was terrified of gaining weight. I had it in my mind that if I could just stay at a low weight and eat healthily I would be fine. Unfortunately, this mentality stuck with me through my senior year which led me to the worst relapse that I had.

Sorry for the length of this. I will continue later!!

Running and weight gain

2011-06-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

image source:http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304--11903-0,00.html

So I woke up this morning at 6:30 am to meet one of my assistant coaches- C.Rob for a lovely run. We took it slowly and chatted the entire time. One of the topics we discussed was running and weight. A lot of people talk about an "ideal competition weight." For some this ideal weight is less than they weigh and for others it's more. He told me about a runner that went to my school a few years ago. Since then, she's moved on to bigger and better things yet running still remains a huge aspect of her life. In a conversation with C.Rob, she told him that since college she's probably gained about five pounds but is currently running better than ever.

I have yet to finish my story, and will continue with it later on today, but one of my goals for the summer is to gain some weight. I know that I need it to be healthy, but I also think having the extra muscle will help me. It's been difficult running and trying to gain weight. It is also difficult, as some of you may know, to deal with the changes your body goes through as it is gaining weight. I have found from past experiences that I have to just allow myself to feel uncomfortable with the extra "padding" and in time I will get used to and learn to love it. I think that this is something I just need to keep reminding myself of. In addition, I need to focus on the benefits of gaining weight as well as the dangers of running while underweight. I need to remind myself that with weight gain and good nutrition comes better bone mass (less risk of stress fractures), better iron levels (no iron deficiancy/ lead legs), and more muscle mass. All of these things will serve to improve my running performance. I will keep you updated on how I plan to gain weight as well as my progress. One thing that has helped with the mental aspect is to look at strong runners. So many elite women runners look emaciated or underweight, I think that it's important to have healthy looking role models. I hope that this was a semi informative post! See you later!

Molly Huddle- American 5k record holder- 14:44.76- you bet she has muscles to power her through that!

I'm pretty sure most people know who Kara Goucher is- but look at her leg muscles!

Emma Willard is an amazing and muscular steeplechase runner

Have any of you struggled with gaining weight while running?
How do you deal with the mental aspect of gaining weight?
Who are some healthy role models you look up to (athletes, celebrities, real people)?

My story: Part 1

2011-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

I know I don't have any followers right now, but I figured that maybe that means this is the best time to begin opening up about my struggles and goals for the blog.

When I was younger (middle school age) I was a competitive gymnast. I worked out about 16-20 hours a week and spent most weekends competing. My summers involved practice Monday-Friday from 9-4 with a two hour lunch break. I quit in 8th grade as a level eight gymnast. After many injuries and pressure from my mom to quit, I guess I decided it was finally time. This was a difficult transition; my life was all about gymnastics, that was who I was, I loved it. For the first time in my life I had all this free time. I didn't know what to do with myself. When I was a gymnast, weight was the last thing on my mind. I really didn't know or care what I weighed. I think quitting gymnastics left me without an identity. It also left me without a way of coping with normal middle school aged drama. Somehow at the end of 8th grade I began to equate my weight with my worth. I began to weigh myself and became obsessed with the number on the scale. I began exercising a lot and trying to avoid eating. Eventually, this led to bingeing which ultimately led to bingeing and purging behaviors in high school.

Enter 9th grade. I had lost a few pounds. I was never big to begin with- I was always muscular and people would comment on how tiny yet strong I was. These few pounds lost (while they felt victorious for me) were largely unnoticed by my friend and family. It wasn't until halfway through ninth grade that my parents expressed concern. My mom confronted me about my purging behaviors and the amount of weight lost. She took me to see my doctor who told me I needed to gain some weight back or I would have to go into a residential program. This scared the living crap out of me so I attempted to gain the weight. Unfortunately by this time, my thinking had already started to become obsessive. Suddenly a cracker wasn't just a cracker but 30 calories. I remember one poignant time sitting at the table staring at a glass of milk, some saltines, and maybe some nuts and bawling while my dad urged me to eat it. I was terrified. The "voices" in my head kept telling me how fat I would get if I touched the food.

Sorry for stopping in the middle but I will continue this tomorrow! Goodnight all!

Terrific Tuesday

2011-06-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a long day. As mentioned before, I woke up early (7 for me is pretty early given that I'm used to going to bed after midnight) then went in to work until 4:30. Don't worry. I had an awesome breakfast before going in to work. I made an attempt at Katelyn's cookie dough in a bowl, but didn't have any Amazing Grass Superfood Powder, therefore my bowl (or tupperware in my case) included 1/3 cup of 1% milk, a scoop of protein powder, and 1/3 cup instant oats. It came out pretty well, reminded me of a more moist (great usage right?) version of a breakfast cookie.

This breakfast held me over well until lunchtime. I made myself a turkey and cheese panini on Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Seeded Rye (this bread is awesome- even better is that it contains no high fructose corn syrup!) with pickles, lettuce, dijon mustard, garlic and herb Mrs. Dash, and Frank's Original Red hot sauce. Along with my panini I had some (unpictured) baby carrots and fresh strawberries.

Look at the size of that strawberry!!

After relaxing for awhile reading my new Runners World and munching on some Utz special dark pretzels and almonds, I went to yoga at 6. I love yoga, it's so meditative and relaxing in different ways than running. When I first started it was hard to focus and my mind would wander all over the place- specifically about how much pain I was in. Now I find it easier to focus on the moment and enjoy all the good things yoga does for me.

After a quick and satisfying dinner while talking to my mom on the phone, I headed back to the lab. I'm here at school doing research for the summer. I'm currently watching Modern Family on my computer and "heat shocking" virgin fruit flies (I'll go into more detail on this later). I hope to get out of here soon so I can get to bed. Hope you all had a wonderful Tuesday. Goodnight!

Whats your favorite type of sandwich bread?
Do any of you enjoy yoga along with your other fitness routines?

Peace of mind

2011-06-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning at 7:15 so that I could run before going in to work at 9. I brought my breakfast, clothes to change in to, and a clean towel to the field house so that I could go straight to work after my run. This week I'm aiming for around 30 miles. I ran 27 last week, so I'm slowly trying to build up. With a day off this week, that means I'm aiming to average around 4.5-5.5 miles a day. Yesterday I ran around 5 and it was HOT! For some reason, in Lewisburg, PA the highest temperatures always occur around 4-6.

This morning however, it was a cool and crisp 68 degrees. This morning I ran 4.7 miles at around 7:13 pace. It was so peaceful. It was one of those days where I felt like I could run forever. I was a relaxed and let my mind wonder. Even though it was an easy pace, I was still pretty sweaty when I got back. At the field house I did some abs and the mandatory pushups then hopped in the shower to continue my day.

Protein Balls

2011-06-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am a sucker for freebies. The other day I received these in the mail from a deal I found on sweetfreestuff.com. I was excited to try them, especially given that they were Fudge Brownie! I planned to run after work and decided that these would be the perfect pre and post run fuel. I liked that they came in a resealable bag since I don't think my stomach could handle the full serving (that would be quite a few balls!). I wasn't too impressed with the taste. I don't know if they were stale, but they were a little dry and chalky tasting. I don't usually eat PowerBars though so maybe thats just how they taste. They back a bit of protein in them as well as a good ratio of carbs and fats which, according to the package is perfect for pre and post exercise. I don't think I would buy these on my own, however I do like the idea of portable balls (hehe). I think I would rather make my own in the future though.

Hello!

2011-06-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog ever since I first read Carrots N' Cake a few years ago. I am entering my last summer of being a college student and decided it was finally time to start my own. Ever since ninth grade I've struggled with eating issues. Throughout high school I was in and out of programs and had one hospital visit (more on this later). Thankfully I was able to enter college and these past three years have been the best and often scariest times of my life. I still deal with those nagging thoughts on occasion and sometimes let them even control what or how I eat. This blog is an effort to remain accountable and chronicle my struggles and efforts as I learn to eat intuitively.

Hope to talk to and/or hear from you soon!