My Quest for a GOOD Breakfast!

It seems these days I am constantly on the hunt for a healthy protein rich breakfast for the whole family.  The catch is it has to be easy to prepare too - and preferably not just a bar in a wrapper.  My kids like cereal (thankfully whole grain) and oatmeal, but still, no protein.  My family also LOVES eggs, but except for the random weekend morning here and there, who has time for that?  Well, I think I found a way!  I found a great recipe at one of my favorite cooking sites Once a Month Mom.  If you are at all interested in easier healthy recipes that are great for making in large batches so you can freeze meals ahead, Once a Month Mom is a great resource.  I didn't follow their recipe exactly because when I decided to try it for the first time, I did not have all the ingredients.

So, here is what I did: I had nine eggs, I used 5 whole eggs and four egg whites.  I beat all the eggs together (whole and egg whites) and added ham (a family favorite).  I did not add salt or pepper because, in general, our family rarely uses salt or pepper.  I used a standard size cupcake/muffin pan that makes 12 muffins.  I sprayed nine of them with cooking spray and placed roughly one third of a slice of whole wheat bread in each.  I filled the nine cups with the egg/ham mixture.  I baked them as recommended in Once a Month Mom.  I topped each one with roughly a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese (full fat, we don't skimp on milk fats in our family - we cut fat in other areas).  Once they cooled a bit they were pretty easy to pop out with a fork and were delicious. 

The only thing I would change is the red pepper would probably be very good, and I might add a bit of salt.  I froze the leftovers in individual plastic containers and they reheated in the microwave very well - a great breakfast for after a workout.

So each "egg muffin" had one half a whole egg, one half an egg white, perhaps 1.5 oz of ham (probably less) and 1.5 tablespoons of full fat cheese.  I haven't gone to figure out weight watchers points, but I would venture a guess they would fit quite well into that program.  I pair the egg muffin with fruit or yogurt to round out my after workout breakfast.  At some point I will have to fill you all in on my "two breakfast" mornings that seem to work really well for me.

I would LOVE to hear other good healthy and protein rich breakfast ideas from any of my readers!  Please, share!  Honestly, for myself, I tend to eat half a turkey sandwich - but the family just can't get their heads around a sandwich like that for breakfast!

Quick Deal on Reusable Lunch Bags

I just ordered Reusies for my whole FAMILY - basically these are reusable bags (think never buy another plastic sandwich bag again!) that are sandwich sized, but can also hold snacks!  They are super cute.  They regularly cost $9.00 each, but they were featured on Good Morning America today and if you use the coupon GMA when ordering they were 50% off (I think this may be for today, August 15, only)!  That is worth it in my opinion since we seem to go through countless plastic bags and these are, obviously, much more environmentally friendly!

Just wanted to share - I know I haven't posted much lately - a TON of stuff has been going on in our family, but I should have a few more interesting posts sharing some information in the next few days.  Can't wait to catch up!

New (Half) Year Resolutions!

Do you know what Friday is?  It is July 1, 2011, the official start to the second half of the year!  It got me thinking (what doesn't these days as I try to shun the vision of my bike crash on that one left turn.....oh, once again, I digress).  I typically don't do New Year Resolutions.  Well, not publicly anyway.  Frankly, I think all too often we put too much emphasis on them, but I do, in my head, usually have some goals.  But I have been thinking ahead already to the off season and what I would like to do to make sure I don't lose my training gains and can have an even better season next year.  Plus, I have a half marathon to train for in May next year!  Setting out my goals for the remainder of 2011 has had a much sunnier outlook than when I did them this past January.  I think perhaps considering New (Half) Year Resolutions when it comes to health and fitness has some serious potential.  Here are a few reasons why:

1.  Everyone won't be asking you how you are doing on your New Year Resolutions unless you tell them you made New (Half) Year Resolutions!  (Until this blog post rockets through the universe, right?)

2.  If you are inclined to join a gym, many gyms have great deals on summer enrollment because their numbers decrease during the summer.

3.  Facilities you may use will be less crowded.  With the nice weather and vacations, etc, many facilities are much less crowded during the summer.  So whether you are self conscious or just prefer to not wait for a machine, a swim lane, or potentially get bumped from a class at the gym, you will find much less crowding during the summer!

4.  Daylight is on your side.  First, the extra hours of daylight and sun always tend to give me more energy.  And, if you are like me, you may want to do a run or a swim with daylight and warmer temps.  Early morning workouts or late evening workouts are much easier during the summer!

5.  Nutritionally, fun and exciting fruits and vegetables are much more readily available and cheaper during the summer.  One of my goals is to "eat the rainbow" more consistently.  What better time to find readily available fruits and vegetables, with increased variety, than during their optimal growing season!  My guess is you find some choices you would not consider (or even find) during the winter.  If you find something in particular you can not live without during the winter months, you can freeze, can, etc the item to have all year long at the best prices and highest quality!

6.  Summer time allows you to find your bliss.  The type of activities available to try during the summer - walking, running, biking, swimming, team sports, etc - are much easier to find during the nicer weather.  Start sampling now and I bet you find your "must have" activity before the weather turns!

7.  By the time the winter blahs roll around, you will be so entrenched in your new routine it will be a habit and something you just HAVE to continue to complete your day.  Let's face it, when the alarm goes off on a cold, rainy (or even snowy) winter day at 5 am for a workout, it sure is hard to force yourself out of your nice warm bed.  But by that time, if you start now, I suspect you will find you appreciate or even look forward to that time for yourself and it will be much easier to get it done.

7.  Your Holiday 5 (you know, that 5 or even more pounds you put on during the holidays) will be much easier to avoid if you set up good habits NOW!

So, share YOUR New (Half) Year Resolution!  What's in it for you, you ask?  (well, besides a goal you can work towards?)  How about a BONUS ENTRY into our Giveaway!  If you have already entered our Giveaway, and comment here with a New (Half) Year Resolution, you will get an additional bonus entry!  I will add all the separate comments here to the end of the comments on the Giveaway to assign it a number for our random drawing. 

AND, PLEASE NOTE on the Giveaway page, each separate comment is only ONE entry.  That is the best way for me to make it random with a random number generator, so if you posted all the WONDERFUL things you did in one comment, try to go back and separate each action into a separate comment so I can give you credit for all the entries you obtained.  I will also email commenters separately to have them do that so they get the credit they deserve.  I will be clearer next time to avoid such confusion!

A Look Back at Where I Have Been - It is NOT Pretty

I have been doing a lot of reflecting these past few days trying to convince myself I have come a long way and am ready for this weekend.  It was interesting/scary/outright terrifying to really take a hard look at where I have been in roughly the last 15 years.

I went from 150something pounds, less than 10% body fat, a size 6/8, training 3-4 hours a day (yeah, single, no kids!) and feeling like my body could handle almost anything that came my way (except for perhaps those 26.2 miles of a marathon!) to, at my heaviest, 225 lbs (ouch, I actually WROTE that), Lord knows HOW much body fat, a size 16/18, aching feet and knees even when I got up in the morning from carrying all that weight, not being able to hoist myself up on a wave runner when fell off (that had to be one of the MOST humiliating moments of my life), depressed and introverted.  It was at this time that I sat in a reproductive endocrinologist's office hearing her say "You know, if you just lost some weight, you might just get pregnant."  I got angry, I was humiliated, I thought to myself "I have PCOS you B***ch, that is why I am fat, that is why I can't have a baby!"  And, that night, I just cried.  Looking back, it was partially the PCOS, it was the fertility meds, but is also was just such a deep hatred of all that was going on and of myself that led to a whole host of poor choices that manifested itself in my obesity (WOW, I just WROTE THAT!) and poor health (and don't forget self-loathing).  There are so many things I can look back at and say "hmmmm, that was an issue" or "that was seriously a poor habit/choice."  Those individual items are all posts on their own, and will be forthcoming.

But that Dr's words haunted me.  I joined WeightWatchers at work and lost 22 lbs.  And, suddenly, I found myself pregnant with my first little girl.  I don't think it was purely a function of weight, but I do think it was one of the factors.  I gained 60 pounds with my pregnancy.  But once she was born, I focused on providing a healthy home for her.  We were active (not training type active, but "family" type active), we ate right because, well, what I ate fed her through breast milk.  And, surprisingly, by her first birthday, I was 12 pounds under where I started my pregnancy.  By the time she was 18 months old, I was down to 160-something pounds.  And, truly, it was all from a lifestyle change - not intensive training.  That was 4 years ago.

In the last three to four years, my weight has gone up and down with two more pregnancies.  But each time, for the most part, I have returned to the same lifestyle I had developed as a result of caring about my child's eating habits, and, for the most part, I have been able to control my weight within ten pounds. 

I started training briefly after my second daughter turned one year old, saw some results, but quickly became pregnant with my son.  Again, I picked up training when he was about 5 months old.  Today I am down to 160-something pounds, verging on the 150's.  I am once again a size 8.  And, I FEEL good.  But really, my training makes me feel great and strong, but is not the reason for my weight loss - in fact, I am gaining a bit as I gain muscle mass.  The key has been lifestyle changes.  Portion control, quality of food, looking at food as a fuel rather than a social event, controlling alcohol intake, cooking, and having a "family active" lifestyle.  These elements are all the things I hope to share!  All in good time, one post at a time.

For whatever reason, I felt it was time for me to put this out there.  I know I talk a lot about my triathlon training - that is MY thing.  It just IS.  But that is not what this is all about - you don't need to do a Tri.  [but if you want to learn more about it, bring on the questions, because YOU CAN do a Tri, just ask - and just believe it!].  But I want to share what I have learned, what I have seen, what I have suffered through and enjoyed, hoping that I can inspire others to have that "family active" lifestyles.  Frankly, training for an event can come and go, but your healthy "family active" lifestyle is forever.

So, in short, I confess:  all of the above.  Thoughts and comments are more than welcome.

(WOW, I can't believe I just WROTE all THAT!)

Being Nutritionally Prepared and OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY!!! [GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]



Out of necessity, I began packing my lunch EVERY day about 4 years ago.  Eating out is just not convenient for me.  Sounds odd, but true.  I have found, however, that nothing is better than bringing my own lunch and snacks.  I have a choice when I pack my food for the day and if I choose wisely it is very easy to stick to my intended intake for the day.  Of course, on days where we celebrate Birthdays and other special events, I lose some control, but given the consistency of my intake day after day, those days really don't have an impact. 

When I was returning to work after the birth of my son, I needed a new lunch bag/milk bag.  A friend with Thirty-One Gifts mentioned a great special on thermal lunch totes.  I have always loved the look of Thirty-One items, particularly the casual totes and home organization items.  So, I decided to order one for myself.  I also decided to order one for each of my girls.  Our bags are pictured above.  I love mine.  It is the perfect size whether I take a sandwich or a Lean Cuisine and all my snacks.  Seriously, that is a LOT of snacks.  Most days my bag holds not only a sandwich, but a yogurt, a cheese stick or cottage cheese, two pieces of fruit, a granola bar, and occasionally other containers of fruit or nuts.  And, it is more than enough room to bring home a few bottles and my empty containers.  They clean up marvelously as well.  I was not surprised though that I loved my bag. 

What I was surprised about was how much my girls like them.  They are so proud to carry their bags whenever we head out for more than just a few errands.  We use them for packing lunches and snacks ALL. THE. TIME.  In fact, I have to hide them at home so they don't carry them around all day!  And, when I say they clean up well, if you knew my youngest daughter you would know it would HAVE to clean up well for us to still be using them 5 months after we got them!  The biggest reason I love these bags is since the girls are so proud to take them everywhere, we all prepare healthy snacks and avoid the fast food nightmare.  And, it is so much cheaper to be prepared with healthy snacks from home!  Who knew cute little bags could have such an impact on my kids, who always would ask to stop at McDonalds!

So, when I mentioned to my friend I wanted to do a post about how much I loved these bags, she was so gracious to offer to provide one for a GIVEAWAY!!  My first giveaway to my readers!  The winner will receive one thermal tote and get to choose their fabric!  So, here is how it will work:

The Giveaway will end at 9pm PST on Thursday, June 30.  I will choose a winner at random from the comments left below and post the winner here on Friday, July 1.  I will send you an email (so be sure to include an email address) and will need you to respond to me within 48 hours to receive directions on how to order your thermal tote!  There are several ways to enter, the first entry is mandatory and each additional item below will give you one additional entry:

1.  MANDATORY entry:  Visit Thirty-One Gifts and tell us in a comment which fabric you would choose for your thermal tote and tell us what would be your favorite healthy snack to carry in it.

2.  Subscribe to my blog via email or your favorite feed and leave a comment telling me you did so.  You must confirm your subscription.

3.  Like From the Glider Rocker to the Finish Line on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

4.  Share this Giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

5.  Follow From the Glider Rocker to the Finish Line on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you are a follower with your Twitter name.

6.  Retweet this Giveaway on Twitter and paste it in a comment below.

7.  Email Christy at Thirty-One through her Thirty-One web page to subscribe to her email list and leave a comment below telling me you did so.

Good Luck Everyone! 

Disclaimer:  This Giveaway has been provided by Christy at Thirty-One.  I have and will not receive any compensation for this Giveaway or my review of the thermal lunch totes.  All opinions offered on the thermal lunch totes are my own.

What I learned on my blog vacation!

It has once again been some time since I wrote here.  It has all been for fantastic reasons.  I have so many things I want to post and have been collecting a whole laundry list of items/ideas/information/resources that, frankly, I just don't know where to start.  I think I will start with just a recap of all I have learned the past 11 or so days.

Training with a friend (or even a stranger) is far superior to winging it by yourself.  I was fortunate enough to be included on an invite to swim with a group of awesome ladies at our local lake.  I had just gotten my new wetsuit and wanted desperately to get in the water but, for obvious safety reasons, didn't want to go by myself.  I jumped at the chance to swim with a group of experienced triathletes when that chance arrived at my inbox.  It was a fantastic experience.  We didn't swim far, but I got in the water, built confidence, and learned I could tolerate the cold (the water was somewhere around 59 degrees).  In addition to that, I met some wonderful people, gained some training partners, AND found myself registered as a two person relay team for an early race!

Then, this past Sunday, I set out for my brick workout by myself.  For those that don't know, a brick workout ties two sports together in sequence, the bike and run, and it lovingly termed the brick for that oh so lovely feeling in your quads as you switch from the bike to the run and the body fights to transfer blood out of the quads to the hamstrings and other valuable run muscles.  So as I set off for my 14 mile bike and then run I was actually dreading it.  Separately, they are fine - well, I LOVE the bike and tolerate the run (have I mentioned I am not a runner?  HA!), but transitioning is dreadful until your legs adjust.  About three minutes into my bike, I was entering an intersection and turned around to see a bike behind me.  Quickly I moved right thinking "where did they come from and did I just swerve into their path?"  As I was about to offer an apology I was met with a "Hi!"  I looked to see a rider wearing the same jersey as I was wearing, our team uniform!  She was out for her long ride and, long story short, we rode 7 miles together before my turnaround.  It was great, I shaved 4 minutes off my split time and got some great advice from a seasoned triathlete.  She had quite a story and long list of impressive accomplishments.  I was so thankful for her company and she left me with a lot of great things to think about on the remainder of my ride and my run.  It was by far my best brick workout.  One of the fringe benefits to wearing the uniform (and, for me, my ONLY long sleeved bike jersey) for a workout!

Even though swimming is easy on the joints and they say you can do it every day, three swim workouts in a row can throw my body way off.  On my plan, my typical swim days are Monday and Wed, with an occasional additional day, but not in sequence, thrown in.  So, last week I did my Monday workout (1300m in the pool) and then got the great chance to swim in the lake (see above!).  So, out I went on Tuesday night to swim.  We are not exactly sure of the distance, we *maybe* swam a 1/4 mile, so 400m?  It wasn't a distance type of workout, but rather acclimation.  Wednesdays are my coached workouts, which through last week were only swim workouts.  So, Wednesday night I headed to my coached swim which was a rough week.  I lost count at 1200m as to the distance and was getting my behind kicked in the workout.  Our final set were sprints against our lane partners.  I had been experiencing some minor cramping in my right foot, but that had subsided and although I was tired, I joked with my lane partner that he had better watch it because with fins my kick alone would power me through (we had put on fins as a means to mix it up for the sprints and focus on our arm strokes in a sprint situation).  So as the coach sent us off, I did a strong push of the wall and WHAM! - massive cramp in my left calf.  I kept swimming only to be in excruciating pain, and humbled by being beat by a full body length, at the wall.  And, in the true spirit of not wanting to look like a total idiot, I set up for the next sprint and did the same thing - the cramp just kept getting worse and worse.  By the time I finished the second sprint I was in tears and afraid I wouldn't even make it out of the pool without help.  With some stretching, however, I sheepishly swam 100m of breaststroke to move the muscles a bit to help with lactic acid buildup and got out.  Thankfully that was the end of our hour workout.  After a little nutrition and electrolyte lecture from my coach, along with the realization that perhaps three swim workouts in a row might not be the best idea, I literally limped home.  I also had the joy of waking up the next morning with a lot of soreness in my whole body. 

I need a little help and supplementation for adequate nutrition.  I hate sports drinks.  I hate the perception that in order to perform well you have to buy these expensive engineered products to guzzle, gulp, mix, and pop in your mouth to complete a workout or race.  I just don't didn't believe in the whole sports nutrition industry.  That was until my massive cramp episode and further research.  I still, frankly, believe that in most cases, for recreational athletes, most of the stuff on the market is crap unnecessary.  [but, read my disclaimer!  LOL]  I am leery of products until I learn more about their content and how much sugar/fructose is jammed into the drink/powder/gel/chew/pill.  But, for me, the bottom line is I don't think I can eat enough to provide some of the needs my body has.  First, I am still breastfeeding my huge baby boy.  I sometimes work long and crazy days, which can cause me to skip snacks and, on the very rare occasion, lunch.  I have also significantly increased my activity level over the past few months and built lean muscle mass that has higher demands for energy.  I also have a history of low sodium levels and have increased, dramatically, the amount of water I drink (for example, on a light workout day, I still consume 120-140 oz of water a day!)  So, nutrition right now is a crap shoot for me.  The cramping and other issues I have had (cravings, unusual fatigue, headaches) have led me to believe my nutrition needs to be re-balanced (and, no, I am not expecting a 4th baby!).  I am working on it through research and trial and error with some nutrition products designed for consumption during workouts.  I was recently provided with some samples of gels, chews, drinks and the like.  I tried them these last two weekends on my longer workouts with decent results, but not anything I can say is proof they work (although if you can get past the "snot like" consistency and fructose, Powerbar's chocolate gel is YUMMY!).  I am still hoping to learn some tricks that will allow me to provide the missing elements with whole foods, but that will take some time to "test drive."

There will always be Negative Nellies, critics, and those that, well, just would love to see you fail.  No matter what I do I have to realize there will be people in my life, whether I want them there or not, who will not have well wishes for me or my success.  It is a fact of life, one I cannot change.  It is not an indicator of a fault of mine, nor is it an indicator of their faults.  It JUST IS.  I need to remember to employ the patience and tolerance I try to instill in others around me when I hear them talk ill of others.  I always try to look at it from the other person's position, be in the other person's shoes.  In the case of those that are negative about my pursuits, goals, passions, or general lifestyle, I need to do the same thing and realize that they are never going to understand or be able to stand in my shoes and "get" my life.  While it appears they don't want to even attempt to just "leave it alone" because it would take away what appears to be a source of entertainment/amusement/gratification they get from remaining negative or judging me, I need to be the bigger person and just ignore it.  It is an energy suck.  They haven't been in my shoes, nor I in theirs, and they have no idea of the full suite of elements of my life, nor I of theirs.  The result is two-fold:  give them a break because they are not fully informed, and don't take it as true (the opinions or criticisms they put forth) because, well, they are not fully informed.  Basically, give them a break and give myself a break and just block it out - it is unnecessary noise.

Focusing some thought energy on those I admire is priceless.  I have been thinking a lot about people I admire.  For a variety of reasons, one of which is blog related, but mostly because I have been hearing about so many great things going on in my friends' lives.  Two families I know recently finalized their Forever Families after a long and uncertain time.  One friend has been committed to becoming more active in their lifestyle with things that interest them and their family and has successfully lost a whole bunch of weight, inches, and sizes!  Another friend trained for and ran a Warrior Dash and just appeared to have the greatest experience!  Another friend has lost 114lbs in less than one year and accomplished amazing fitness goals!  The list just goes on and on.  Thinking of my friends successes, their patience, their endurance, the unending perseverance has been priceless for my spirit and my strength!

I really would LOVE for people to share their ideas on topics I write about on this blog.  I know I can learn from those that read this blog, and I KNOW many of you are people I admire so I invite you to join in, even if you disagree with me.  It is all about learning for me, broadening my horizons, and hopefully providing at least one thing for someone to think about, ponder, or try!

An Unintended Experiement on How NOT to Fuel Your Body.

For those of you that are Facebook Fans you may have seen that my run Friday morning was less than stellar! I started my normal warm up (stretching, then walking on the treadmill for 5 minutes at 3.5 - 3.8 mph). Then I started jogging at just under 5 mph. Within minutes I was just spent, and annoyed, and discouraged. I thought just push through it; it will ease as you get going. Just not the case. By 8 minutes into the run, I was kind of panicking by how horrible I felt. Two minutes later, I was back down to a walk.


I was discouraged and already thinking "If this happens, how on earth am I going to finish that 5K at the end of a sprint triathlon!" Oh, the power of negative thinking, right? Then I started to wonder why this was happening. I turned immediately to what had I eaten that previous day.


On Thursday I was extremely busy and on the run. I had those dreaded errands to run during lunch, my fridge and pantry were showing the signs of just not having the time to effectively shop for the week. I was late for work in the morning, so I grabbed a couple of bananas, and apple, and made myself a sandwich with two tablespoons of peanut butter and two slices of low calorie whole grain bread. I never ate breakfast, per se, but I had eaten half a banana before my run and shoved the rest in my mouth on my way out the door.


At 11 am I was hungry, so I decided to eat half my sandwich, but finished the whole thing (I was seriously hungry after running that morning and failing to eat any "real" breakfast). I ran my lunch time errands and, I was so proud of myself for not throwing a candy bar in with the Valentine's I needed to get for my child's preschool party the next day! I returned to work and ate a banana. That was it for the day before dinner.


We had planned on plain old baked chicken (we throw it in the oven with a sprinkling of bread crumbs), baked potatoes, and a vegetable. When I got home, it was more of the same craziness. My spouse, while trying to make my life easier, ordered a pizza. I didn't even know it until it arrived at the door. So, I ate two pieces of pizza. I love pizza, but know it is far from a nutritious meal, and I can usually always predict scale results after eating pizza the night before, and those results aren't results you hope to see (yes, I am using the pound goal, but perhaps this is a good thing in this circumstance!).


That was my day. I can't even recall, but I don't even think I had a glass of milk. I drank sufficient water, but that was about all that was sufficient about Thursday's diet!


It became clear why, 16 minutes into my run, I was spent. Now I had eaten a small pre run snack, but even that wasn't my usual snack. I usually eat half a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter on it about 20 minutes before I run. Friday morning I skipped the peanut butter! So, even after eating very little protein the day before (a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, maybe some negligible protein in my pizza in the cheese and ham) I further deprived my body of protein by skipping it in my usual pre-run "snack!" And, right after that epiphany, my stomach gave a little confirmation by growling out of hunger.


So, some things I have taken away from my unintentional experiment:


1. Plan my week better, recognize deficiencies in my nutritional supplies, and try to stock up so I don't find myself hungry for lack of variety of nutritious foods.


2. Be creative if you find yourself depleted in time, money, or just sanity, to think about nutrition. I was so excited I passed up on the candy bar, but couldn't I have found myself something suitable to eat? I passed three grocery stores on my errands, and I could have simply even stopped and gotten some deli meat for a snack (and eaten it with the uneaten apple I had brought from home) and perhaps added a small container of low fat milk, and given my body more of what it requires to just operate!


3. Communicate more effectively. If I had been better at communicating my need to eat a well balanced healthy dinner I could have avoided the unnecessary purchase of a pizza by a well meaning spouse. Our chicken dinner for four may have cost $5-$7 but instead we spend $14.00 on a pizza (and that was with a 50% off coupon!).


4. Have a plan to execute the healthy dinner as I walk in the door. I was seriously stressed. If I had communicated my needs as discussed in (3) and then had a plan to get it started as soon as I walked in the door, it would have been cooking and ready as I dealt with all the other insanity while it was cooking. All it would have taken would have been thinking about the plan for less than 5 minutes of my 30 minute commute.


Many of the things I learned are subjects I have a million ideas and confirmed tricks to deal with, but even I have crazy days where they are not so second nature as to kick in when things get a little nutty.


Now, in my Facebook post I also mentioned how my horrific run turned into something positive. I am not forgetting that part, believe me! When I hit the treadmill on January 4, 2010, I noticed and committed to memory my distance at thirty-five minutes. Even with walking more than usual on Friday, and admittedly struggling and feeling horrible, questioning my abilities, and then being frustrated with my lack of attention to nutrition for the previous 24 hours, I reached that distance 3.5 minutes sooner than I had January 4. And, here I thought how my workout was such a failure - but really, that failure was still so much better than my "best" had been not even a month and a half before! That was inspiring! So much so, although I had planned to quit, I added another run interval and kept moving for 10 minutes more than I had planned as my run began to fall apart!


So, here is the question for you, my readers - When you have a crazy day, what is one thing you can have readily on hand to provide adequate nutrition to fuel your body? And, can you make it a priority to make sure this weekend, as you hit some store, you be sure you pick some up to have it on hand? Let me know what you decide on and how it works out for you!