Life After A Marathon

On October 13th, I completed my first marathon.

I trampled on child sex trafficking by raising (to date) $3371.85 for Happy Horizons Children's Ranch in the Philippines. I trained for over 4 months for that marathon, with about a year of training before that.

I wanted to share some issues I've faced since the big race and before.

Maintaining Injury-free Fitness
In March, I started having severe pain in my right leg (mostly a burning in my hip). I went to the doc, to a physical therapist, to another doctor, to a different physical therapist with no relief.  I did find out there is nothing structurally wrong with me: no bursitis or anything like that.

I knew before I completed the marathon that something in my fitness routine needed to change.  I did start cross-training, doing some spin classes and using the elliptical.  I also lowered my mileage. Despite this, the pain increased, move down my leg to knee and a bit in my shin.

I can run through the pain.  I'm not really getting too much faster, but it's not really affected my speed.  But as I told someone last week, I want to still be able to run when I'm 60 (or 90 if I'm still kicking!). I don't want to just power through it and end up unable to run.

I have taken my sweet time getting back into running post-marathon. We left for Virginia 5 days post-marathon and have been staying in a hotel.  After a week of no running (except for that day when I almost missed the train), I've been slowly easing back into both the elliptical, treadmill running, and trail-running (W & OD, baby!). The feet platforms of the hotel elliptical seem a bit awkwardly placed.  I'm realizing they hurt my knee as well.

So until I can get to a sports medicine doctor, I plan on being very consistent in doing my stretches and strengthening exercises.

Weight Maintenance
Racing makes me gain weight, and I'm up almost 8 lbs from my weight a couple of months ago.  8 lbs is not a ton, but it's enough to make even my looser pants tights.

I am feeling out of shape. Living in a hotel with limited cooking facilities does not help! They also provide meals that aren't always healthy. But I can't use that as an excuse.

When I went back to Boston last week, I returned with my Blendtec (yay!) and bread machine.  I also brought back my bathroom scale and my Weight Watchers food scale.

You all know I am a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers.  I'm also an employee.  I know what to do to get back on track. It's simply a matter of putting what I know into practice during an emotionally challenging time.

What's Next?
The last thing I've been pondering is: what's next?  What does one do after completing a marathon? What's my next goal?

I don't race much.  Over the past year, I've only raced 1 10K (I'm not counting fun runs) and 3 half marathons.  I think I'm going to try and run some 5K and 10K's, starting (hopefully!) with a Thanksgiving 10K I ran last year.  I think living so close to the amazing W & OD trail will help me train in that regard.

Today's Green Smoothie

I'm getting down to business, people!  Who's with me?

My Most Recent Green Smoothie Creation

I think I mentioned here before that green smoothies and I haven't been getting along so well this pregnancy. I've had to give up my traditional green smoothie combination, in which I tried to pile as much fruit and greens as possible, and keep it completely raw (except for stevia).

This is now what my green smoothie has morphed into:

Chocolate Green Smoothie
1 cup coconut milk kefir (strawberry, vanilla or original are all good)
1/2 cup "milk" (I use rice or coconut)
3 tablespoons raw cacao
2 tablespoons rice protein powder
1 scoop stevia
1 frozen banana (or more)
A couple ice cubes
Tons of greens (I use mostly spinach with some collards and kale)
A small amount of additional fruit, optional (a handful of dark cherries is my favorite)
Agave to taste (if it's not sweet enough)

Blend to smoothie consistency.

I end up using just as many greens, if not more, than my traditional smoothie (a 10-oz bag of spinach plus the other greens). Also, I don't feel the need to add a ton of fruit because I'm eating plenty of fruit anyway. This also works out really well because my 2 year-old son loves it. Like today, I asked him if he wanted some, and he spit out the potato chip he was eating so he could have the smoothie faster! Plus we're getting all the benefits of kefir (probiotics and fermentation!), some added protein (a food group my son is a bit lacking in) plus raw cocoa (antioxidants!), plus all the greens. And it tastes like a chocolate milkshake :) Can't beat that!

Green Smoothie Combos

Check out this blog post over at Green Smoothie Revolution, "Which fruits taste good with which greens?". I'm not a big fan of parsley in my green smoothies, but I'm certainly going to try some of their suggestions.

Exercise

We bought a used jogging stroller this weekend off of my local mom's list. It's a pretty nice stroller, and we got a good deal, but it's a lot heavier. I had to walk up several hills, but I was still able to meet the time I ran in the route in last time, even though last time I ran Bear-less. So that's pretty good!

In other news, I think my blender is going to die soon. It's just not built for making green smoothies. I still can't justify a $400 blender purchase, though, and was hoping to get a dehydrator first before I splurge on the blender.

Bear is getting closer and closer to saying actual words. This morning, I thought he said "dog" (that would be his first word, huh?) and then when the sitter came, it sounded as if he greeted her. She even said, "Did he just say hello?"

I'm Back!

I've been slightly missing in blogland due to the presence of my very good friend, Eva, who has been visiting from the west coast. She's gone now :( But before she left, we shared 2 green smoothies, some awesome chocolate "ice cream" and a strawberry vegan "ice cream" banana split.

Bear seemed melancholy this evening and I think it's because he misses Eva :(

Articles Done - Time to Relax!

I have 2 articles due tomorrow, and they are done! I sent them to the publisher, and now I can relax.

After I finish my green smoothie, I'm going to feed Bear lunch. Then we'll head over to see a friend and go to the farmer's market.

Chocolate Green Smoothie

I'm working hard on finishing 2 articles that are due on Friday, having been fueled by a chocolate green smoothie!

Chocolate Green Smoothie
About 1 cup milk (coconut and/or rice milk work well)
3 big handfuls of spinach
A couple spoons of cocoa
Sweetener (I use stevia)
Berries (I use 3 large frozen strawberries, raspberries are good as well)
A couple ice cubes
A scoop of protein powder (I use hemp and/or rice)

Blend it up until smooth. Drink & enjoy!

Green Smoothies, Soda, Headaches & Caffeine

I've decided that I just can't seem to fit green smoothies into my weekends. I think it's partially because I often do ministry on Saturdays, and then Sundays, I often lead worship at church. And now that we're back to 2 services (we only have 1 service in the summer since we're about half college students and most of them go home), by the time we get home from church, most of the day has gone by. But I've been diligent in having them on the weekdays.

I've been off of caffeine for several weeks now. Unfortunately, about once a month, I get a killer headache that no amount of ibuprofen can chisel away at. So yesterday, I made an Americano with about 10% caffeine, hoping it would help my headache. No difference. I would have just ridden it out except I had a meeting to lead last night & I needed my brain to not be so squished. So I went to the Brazilian convenience store up the street to get a soda. I can't have corn, so I have to drink diet soda, and they have these little 8 ounce glass bottles of soda. So I got a Diet Coke & drank it. Still no relief. I drove to the meeting and went to the store to get another soda, 20 ounces this time, only I grabbed a regular Pepsi by mistake & didn't realize it until I got to the meeting. Fortunately, an awesome friend ran out to the store and got me a cherry-flavored Coke Zero. And it killed the headache. I came home, totally hopped up on caffeine, and Bear was still awake, so I fed him, praying that the caffeine wouldn't affect him too much and that he would sleep. And he slept fine!

Today, I'm back to decaf Americanos and herbal tea :) Right now, I'm drinking Yogi Tea Classic India Spice Tea. Yum :)

Still Running

Still running & gearing up for the "big race". OK, so it's only a 5K (3.1 miles), and I've done that before (albeit in 2003), but it's still exciting! Today, we (Bear & I) ran for about 43 minutes.

I'm back on the green smoothie band wagon today after only having 4 green smoothies last week. It was quite good.

There's still time to donate money! Actually, I'm pretty sure you can donate after the race is over as well. We're over 60% of the way there!

The 5 Blogs I Read the Most

I wanted to take a moment to share with you all the blogs I read the most.

These are in no particular order :)


Kristen's Raw - raw, vegan, and healthy living talk
Green Smoothie Girl - green smoothie talk

Confessions of a CF Husband - the blog of a man whose wife has cystic fibrosis

The Simple Dollar - a financial blog by an everyday guy

Everyday Thoughts Collected - the blog of my friend and ministry colleague Randy Thomas

One of the reasons I generally check these blogs daily is because they all basically blog daily, if not at least on a regular basis. So to all the bloggers out there - if you want people to frequent your blog, make sure to write regularly.

In fact, here's a good article on blogging: 12 Traits of Successful Bloggers

More Fun Recipes to Try

Today, I bought a bunch of new, fun things at the farmer's market. There are 2 farmers there - one is organic, the other is not. The organic farmer is just getting started and doesn't have a huge selection, but I also go to his booth first as I try to support organic farming whenever I can. Today, I bought baby red potatoes, sweet green peppers (both of which are on the Dirty Dozen list, which are the 12 most pesticide-contaminated fruits & vegetables, even after washing), as well as black cherry tomatoes, a fun and tasty treat! I bought cabbage, curly parsley, carrots, cauliflower, and swiss chard from the other farmer.

You all probably know that I'm an extrovert. Well, I saw someone eyeing the beets and had to mention that I had used them in a salad just the night before & they were quite good. The person was intrigued that I had eaten them raw, asked if they were too hard (no, they were about as crunchy as a fresh carrot), and commented that they must be better for you that way. I think I may have mentioned that I used up all the beet greens, as well as some rainbow chard that I had purchased the week before, making smoothies and was trying to find a use for the beets. The cashier must have overheard because he started asking me about green smoothies, and the woman next to me started listening in as I shared Green Smoothies 101. The original man (with the beets) told me I should write a book :)

So upon arriving home, I decided to make use of my wealth of knowledge & made some sweet cole slaw :)

Brenna's Sweet Cole Slaw
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I use organic canola mayo)
2 tablespoons honey (I use raw & local honey)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (I use raw & unrefined)
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1/2 medium head of cabbage, sliced
1 medium beet, peeled & shredded
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 apple (I used yellow delicious)

Mix first 5 ingredients. Set aside.
Stir fruit & veggies together. Toss with dressing.

The beets do a wonderful job of making this treat especially pleasing to the eye.

Then tonight, we dipped our cauliflower & black cherry tomoatoes in Creamy Kickin' Dressing, a recipe I've been wanting to try from Kristen's Raw.

Creamy Kickin' Dressing
2/3 cup water, or more
1 1/2 avocado, pitted and peeled
2 prunes
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Mexican Seasoning (I used this Taco Seasoning that I mix myself)
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Blend until creamy and enjoy this thick, creamy and kickin' dressing over your next salad or with chopped veggies.

I altered the original slightly & added an extra half of an avocado (the original recipe just calls for 1 avocado) because it is quite spicy. You could also leave off the cayenne pepper if it's too spicy, or just sprinkle a little in. Either way, it's really good, and you can't even taste the prunes!

New Recipes & Awesome Food

Tonight, I made 2 new things.

First, at the produce store last Saturday, I bought some chicory. I've never had it before, but the man working there said I could make a salad out of it. I also had some green-less beets from the farmer's market (I had already used the greens in green smoothies), and some cucumbers. Tonight, I found a recipe on-line and modified it slightly.

Brenna's Chicory Salad
Ingredients
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon coarse-grain mustard (I used regular)
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
As much chicory as you'd like to eat - I imagine I used about 5-6 cups
1 beet, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 cucumber, sliced

Preparation
Mince garlic with a large heavy knife, then mash to a paste with salt using flat side of knife.

Whisk together garlic paste, mustard, vinegar, and pepper, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

Just before serving, toss greens with vinaigrette. Portion salad into bowls, top bowls with cukes & beets, & then drizzle the leftover dressing (from the bottom of the bowl where you tossed the greens) on top of the salads.

It was surprisingly good! The chicory alone is rather bitter (I had tasted it earlier in the week to see if it would fit in a green smoothie), but the dressing really mellows it out. Even Roy liked it!

Second, we discovered on Roy's birthday that a local ice cream shop has sorbet that is made from water, sugar & fruit/flavoring, therefore making it Brenna-safe. Initially, I was thrilled! But soon the excitement wore off as we grew tired of paying $4 for a small cup of the stuff. So we set out, looking for an ice cream maker. In fact, every Saturday, Roy would suggest we go yard-saling, to look for an ice cream maker, of course :) Well, about a month ago, we scored an electric ice cream maker at a church yard sale for $2.50. And yes, it's taken us a month to find room for it in our freezer :) Here's what we made tonight.

Awesome "Ice Cream"
1 1/2 cups coconut milk, chilled (I used canned light because that's what I had)
2 teaspoons brown rice syrup (agave, maple syrup, or sugar will do)
1 heaping scoop stevia (I get the concentrated kind - you can simply up the sweetener or skip the stevia altogether))
2-3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (to taste)
3 cups bananas, chopped & frozen

Put all ingredients in a blender, except only use half the bananas. Use the "puree" speed, slowly blending. Slowly add remainder of bananas & blend until smooth. Dump into the ice cream maker and follow machine direction (or in our case, turn the machine on for 10 minutes).

If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can use this method. My friend Raspberries swears by it :)

Enjoy!

International Green Smoothie Day

Mark your calendars! August 15th is International Green Smoothie Day!

And I for one will be celebrating :) More information as the day approaches...

Green Smoothies 101, part 1

Here's part 1 in a series of posts I'm calling "Green Smoothies 101".

As I said a few days ago, I've gotten a lot of inquiries lately about how to get started making green smoothies. So here's the basic starting point.

Ingredients
1 banana or less
Other fruit you enjoy (1-2 cups chopped) - I suggest various berries, apple, orange, mango, peach, nectarines, etc.
2 cups of spinach
8 ounces of water
2-4 ice cubes (optional)
Sweetener to taste (optional)

If you have a low-end blender (as I do), this is definitely not the type of smoothie where you can put everything in the blender at once & hit "Liquefy". You have to put the ingredients in slowly & add more water as needed.

Start by putting about a quarter cup of water (2 ounces) in the blender. Then add some high-liquid fruit (I use half an apple, seeds removed, and half an orange, peeled). I add Stevia at this point, but you could use honey, maple syrup, or skip the sweetener altogether, especially if you use a lot of fruit.

Then add about half of the spinach. You may need to stop the blender a couple of times to stir it in order to get the spinach to blend, or add a little more water. Add the rest of the spinach and repeat.

And then add whatever fruit you want to. Make sure to include a banana, as that makes it creamier. I use frozen fruit so that it's colder (peaches, nectarines, strawberries or mango), or I add a few ice cubes. For me, it's harder to drink if it's not cold. If you are making smoothies for kids, or the green color bothers you, then use lots of dark fruit: cherries, blackberries, blueberries, etc.

Drink this for a few days to get used to the taste. Honestly, you may not even taste the spinach. Then I'll add some variations in my next post.

Any Questions?

The Daily Grind (or Blend) & Green Smoothies 101

So, it's back to regular life in the Simonds household. Yesterday, that meant running for 66 minutes, walking 3 miles, and having over a quart of green smoothie. It also meant reacquainting Bear with the front porch (he got all excited as we went out there) and playing outside in the driveway. Bear also ate bread for the 1st time today. It was rice bread made with egg replacer, but bread none the less. I gave it to him while I was cooking breakfast. He kept putting it on the floor and staring at it between bites. Obviously, we're not germaphobes in this house :)

I've gotten a lot of inquiries lately about how to get started making green smoothies. So keep your eyes open for a series of posts I'll call "Green Smoothies 101".

Green Smoothies on the Road

This post is not about the Exodus conference, per se, except that I'm at the Exodus conference and I'm writing it ;)

Today, I made my 1st green smoothie on this trip. Yesterday, I didn't have a green smoothie, though I had plenty of raw fruits & veggies, including half a bag of spinach. Last trip, almost 3 months ago, was a road trip, so I was able to bring my blender (which means I've been drinking green smoothies well over 3 months!). The blender definitely would not have fit in the suitcase this time, so I brought a simple hand blender. The other half bag of spinach had frozen in our too cold mini fridge, so Roy suggested I make a green smoothie out of it. I blended the drink in a empty spring water gallon jug that I cut the top off of. It took forever..... and ever...... and ever. I can't believe I used to make green smoothies with this thing!

My smoothie included (using some food we brought from home & some from a store run):
Spinach
Kale
Banana
Strawberries
Nectarine
Hemp Protein Powder
Stevia

It came out OK once it finally blended - actually not that different than when I make it at home. I'm waiting for the day when I can upgrade my blender! Roy watched me make a green smoothie at home this past weekend, and our blender takes sooo long. I think it made him appreciate the process all the more.

Good Day with Bear

I'm excited for the long weekend coming up!

This past weekend was sort of blah. A serious highlight was having 2 friends stop by with their new baby! But the rest - I'm just glad it's over :)

Bear & I had a great day today. I'm trying not to overanalyze as to why :) We played and ate and went for a run and went for 2 walks. I think I wore Noodles out; he's sprawled out on the floor now. I didn't make him go on the run, but I did take him on the 2 walks. I have to remind myself sometimes that he is 10 years old :)

In the green smoothie demo I posted a few weeks ago, Green Smoothie Girl said she gets 15 servings of fruits and veggies in her smoothie. I did a loose measurement today, and I only used 3-4 servings of greens, and 4-5 servings of fruit. I'm consulting with her blog to find out how she crams all that stuff in there. I know you're all on the edge of your seats with anticipation.

Green Smoothies

I got a new pair of running shoes yesterday at Bill Rodgers Running Center. It's pretty close to Boston Harbor Community Church, where we are members, so we headed over there after service. This is my 3rd pair of shoes I've purchased there. The first pair of running shoes that I had years ago I bought at City Sports. No offense, but they really have no idea how to fit people for shoes, and this is based on more than one experience. Bill Rodgers Running Center, on the other hand, do know how to fit people. In fact, I've always gotten great service there.

So I left the store yesterday with Saucony Hurricanes:



I celebrated my new shoes by deciding I'm going to up my running to 3 times a week. I succeeded at running twice a week for the last 3 weeks since I started running again. So today, in an attempt to find a less hilly running route, I ran 55 minutes....in new shoes....over a lot more hills than usual. Oops! Generally, I run about 2.8 miles and it takes me 36-40 minutes, depending on whether or not Noodles runs the second lap with us. I don't know how far I ran today, but it was well over 4 miles. Somehow I ended up at a spot that is 2 miles away from home, and I didn't go straight there. But it mostly felt good :)

I succeeded in drinking a green smoothie every weekday last week (M-F), and even had a big spinach, kale & collard greens salad on Saturday. Tonight, I had a green smoothie with a little chicken and a gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffin that I baked yesterday :) Quite an interesting dinner, but I had to throw something together quickly!

My Brain is Melting

I haven't blogged yet today because my brain is melting. Even after 32 ounces of green smoothie, I still can't think straight. I only walked about 2.5 miles today, quite slowly I might add. Though it's only hovering around 90 degrees, it's still too hot for me!

More Weather Talk

Bear is 10 months old today! My, how time flies :)

Yes, at some point, I'll stop talking about the weather, but it's hard not to think about it right now! It's frighteningly close to 100 degrees out. I did walk up to the post office & grocery store, which is a little over 2 miles round trip. It wiped me out! I'm probably not eating & drinking enough. I was able to put Bear down for a nap (his preferred napping spot is my lap), so I ran downstairs & made a green smoothie.

Today's Recipe
1/2 a large orange
1/2 a grapefruit
1/2 an apple (saving the other halves for tomorrow)
2/3 of a banana (Bear ate the other third for lunch)
10 cherries
1/3 cup of frozen blueberries
2/3 of a frozen peach
1 1/2 packets of stevia
2 spoons hemp protein powder
1 spoon rice protein powder
5-6 ice cubes
Handfuls of spinach, kale, broccoli, red & swiss chard, & collard greens
Water as needed

This made a lot of smoothie. I'm drinking 32 oz, and I gave our roommate probably 8-10 oz.

For those of you interested in green smoothie making, here's a video. No, I do not have the $400 blender, though I'd like one :) I have a regular old Target special; it just requires more patience. Notice that there is water in her blender, which she fails to mention in her demo. The first time I tried to make one, I was wondering why my smoothie wouldn't blend :) Enjoy!