The Little Things
November 30, 2012

Wow- we’re about to hit December once again. I struggle to believe that, because it honestly doesn’t feel like that long ago that I was going to my parents’ house for Christmas last year. Boy time sure flies when you’re constantly training for something! In my October Recap and November Goals post, I talked quite a bit about my upcoming half marathon. Having struggled with IT band pain, I was sincerely worried that I wouldn’t finish, and my primarily goal for the month was to cross the finish line. That race started a truly fantastic month for me! Here’s a look back on the last month:

Picture 19

Yeah. November was a great month. I ran a really fun and great race, I met my goals, but while I have rehabbed my IT band a bit, it still has a way to go.

And now for some December goals. December is tough because about half the month I’m on vacation from my job, so the structure isn’t there and my exercises change.

Now it’s your turn! What is one thing you accomplished this month or are proud of yourself for doing? What’s one goal you have for yourself during December?

November 29, 2012

While we’ve made it out of the Thanksgiving holiday, it doesn’t mean that it’s time to stop being thankful! I believe that a regular practice of gratitude is an important component of healthy living, so I’m still committed to regularly engaging in this practice. How about you? Here are a few of the things I’m thankful for right now:

I’m thankful for safety in traveling. I drove almost 1,200 miles in a six day period- that’s a lot of hours where things could go wrong. I’m so thankful that all 3 days were beautiful for driving, and things went really smoothly. I’m thankful that we stayed safe, and that other drivers around us stayed safe as well!

I’m thankful that I was able to run well on Thanksgiving Day! I seriously considered not even going to the race on Thursday morning. I thought my IT bands would hurt badly as they have in previous runs, and I thought it wouldn’t be fun. Boy was I wrong! I had a great run and ended up with a great result! You can read about it here.

I’m thankful for the fun that I had with my family over Thanksgiving. It was so good to be at my parents’ home with my family, both immediate and extended. It was great to spend a few days with my cousin as well. There was lots of eating, laughter, fun, and memory sharing; a perfect mix for a holiday!

I’m thankful for my Christmas decorations that I put up right before I left for Thanksgiving break! I put up my decorations before I left for Thanksgiving, so when I arrived home all I had to do was plug in my lights and I could enjoy! I love these weeks when I can come home from work and my living room is filled with white lights and ornaments on the tree! It’s so festive! I’m also happy that I’m allowed to decorate my office! Since I spend more hours there than anywhere else each week, it’s nice to have lights and a little tree there!

I’m thankful for a parent who has taken the time to cook meals that meet my dietary needs. I didn’t become lactose intolerant until part way through my senior year of college, and I was the first one in my immediate family to be lactose intolerant. Because of this, my mom was used to using all types of dairy in her cooking. When I’d come home to visit, it was certainly different for her to change up various recipes. She’s done a really great job since that time of changing up recipes so that I can eat them too! I really appreciate the hard work she puts in to cook for me when I come to visit!

I’m thankful for music! Like I mentioned above, I had quite a long way to travel over Thanksgiving. My brother and I were together in the car for about 21 hours in total. He slept about 5 of them; I slept exactly 0 minutes of the drive. Music definitely helps the time go by quickly. Especially when you listen to Call me Maybe 6 or 7 times in the first 10 hours:) Plus now it’s the Christmas season which means I can blast Christmas music in the 10 minutes between my clients. Love it!

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? Have you decorated your house and/or office yet? Do you have a favorite road trip song? 

November 28, 2012

I don’t know how people can spring back after a race to race again in a week or two. I ache for days after a long run, and for a few weeks after a half marathon. Anyone else feel that way, or am I just extremely weak? I think the important thing in recovery is to not expect too much from yourself. Just because someone you know of someone who can immediately bounce back doesn’t mean that you can, and that’s ok! One big thing I’ve learned in this running journey is to not compare to other runners. Each body is different! I don’t claim to be any expert on race recovery, but I thought I’d share with you what I do to help recover.

After the race immediately stretch, drink gatorade or coconut water, and eat a banana. Walking a bit and stretching helps your muscles not immediately stiff up, and will help on your drive home! It’s also important to get in some calories and hydrate!

About two hours after the race I eat my first meal. I love eating subway after races! While I’m normally a 6 inch girl when it comes to Subway, after a race I quickly devour an entire foot long! Getting starbucks is also on the schedule!

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki loaded with veggies

Salted Caramel Mochas are critical for post-race recovery:)

ICE BATH! This is one of my favorite parts of the post-long run recovery process. I’ve detailed how to take an ice bath comfortably here, so check it out:)

Foam roll diligently for a number of days! I love my foam roller and the little balls I lay on to get to specific muscles! I do them at the end of every day, and occasionally in the morning before work if I’m really feeling stiff!

Recovery is physical and mental. The post race blues are definitely a real thing, and need to be addressed during this recovery time. You can find my post on beating the post race blues here.

Get moving again! Your recovery should be active recovery, meaning that you are still moving and exercising! After my race on Saturday, I did yoga on Tuesday and that felt fantastic! I’ve only done a few short runs, but I’ve been walking a lot and that has been great!

Remember that recovery takes time. I’ve read in a number of places that recovery basically takes a day for each mile that you ran. Whether that’s actually true or not, I can’t say, but in my experience it has definitely taken at least that long to get completely back to normal. Remember to be patient with yourself and give yourself the necessary time to actually recover.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are your recovery tips after a race? 

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or certified trainer, and this post is not meant to replace medical advice. I’m simply sharing what has worked for me. Please consult a doctor or trainer if you have specific questions or an injury. 

November 27, 2012

Sometime right after my last half marathon, I searched online for races in my parents’ town. I knew I’d be there for Thanksgiving, and thought it might be fun to run a race together on Thanksgiving morning. It sounded like a great idea while on the post race high. But then my IT bands kept on hurting, and I really struggled to run a 5k just five days before Thanksgiving. I seriously considered a DNS. My dad wasn’t feeling very well, but he decided to run the race as well. We decided to run a 3:1 race per the Galloway method, but agreed to walk more if we needed to.

I went into the race with no time goals. I really wanted to run a 5k this year with the intention of breaking my 5k PR (30:48 from the Turkey Trot I did in 2011), but I figured that given my IT band issues that wouldn’t happen.

This was the first year that the race took place, so it was a little disorganized, and the start line was chaotic. There were no corrals, so walkers were lining up at the front of crowd, which is clearly not ok. The first 4 minutes I spent weaving quite a bit, and feel that I could have cut some time if I hadn’t had to do that. Once I got in the groove I felt like I going fairly quickly, and it felt really great to be racing again- 19 days after my last race. Mile 2.0 to 3.0 went by very quickly, and I was feeling great! I kicked it to the end, and finished the race with a time of 31:32! I was less than a minute off of my 5k PR, and I think that if the weaving hadn’t occurred and I wasn’t slow the first mile and a half because of my IT bands, I could have beaten my previous PR and maybe even hit sub 30. I know I have a sub 30 5k in me, but I guess I’ll have to wait…

Either way, I’m really happy with my time for the race. I often go out way too fast the first mile, and there is very rarely a time that I have negative splits on my runs. I’m really happy that my 3rd mile I was able to run my fastest time from the race- that’s progress:)

After the race I grabbed a bagel and bottle of water and headed back to the car. I quickly went home to shower and stretch before I cut up the apples for the apple pie. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon on my feet cooking our delicious Thanksgiving dinner! This was my motto for the day:

I loved getting to start Thanksgiving day by going out for a run. I’ve talked about how thankful I am for running quite a bit this month, so it was nice to actually get to run on the day of thanks.

Now it’s your turn to share! Did you run a Thanksgiving race this year? If so, tell me how it went (or link up to your own race recap)! What’s your favorite thanksgiving day tradition? 

November 26, 2012

I’ve decided that on Mondays I’ll often be doing a “mental health monday” post. I’m a counselor, but tend to talk primarily about the physical aspects of health on this blog. I’m trying to get more of a balance of the physical and mental/emotional aspects of health. So, in that vain, and because it’s finally the Christmas season (!!), I decided to do a post on decreasing your stress during the holidays.

I know that the holiday season can be really stressful, and the important thing to remember is that you are in control of yourself, and you can make decisions to decrease that stress. Here are a few tips to help you decrease you stress during the next few weeks.

  1. Set a budget for yourself and stick to it! There’s no reason you need to go into debt during Christmas. Spending can get out of control, and this will only increase you stress levels in the months following December. Set a reasonable budget for yourself and buy accordingly. This also goes for holiday decorations and clothing.
  2. Release the expectation that you can be the perfect superhero! Sometimes we feel pressure to do everything perfectly during the Christmas season; provide the perfect meals, the perfect parties, the perfect gifts, etc… Humans tend to crack under pressure, and of course we can’t be perfect even if we try! Check yourself to see if you’re struggling with the “superhero complex”, and work on releasing that.
  3. Set realistic expectations for participation in activities. Does anyone else get overwhelmed with the amount of activities that are presented to you during this month? Between parties, concerts, gift exchanges, work events, family activities, Christmas movie viewing, caroling, cookie decorating, house decorating, and everything else in between, it’s one packed month. We can’t do everything without feeling stressed and overwhelmed. To be honest, how fun is an event you’re going to out of obligation while feeling stressed? If you can prioritize your events, and maybe say no to a few things along the way, you can limit your stress due to a busy schedule.
  4. Limit the people that you buy for. I think sometimes we feel pressure to get everyone in our life a little something. Remember what I said above about sticking to a budget? This is what I’m talking about. It’s just not practical to buy something for everyone in your life. You don’t owe it to them, and shopping for so many people can just get stressful. Limit the people that you buy for, and give out of generosity, not obligation. It’s ok to tell someone that you would like to buy for them, but you’re tight on money, for example.
  5. Implement the strategies for surviving the holidays with your family. Last Monday I devoted an entire post to this. You can read that post here.

More tips to come soon! The important thing to remember is that you get a choice as to how you choose to handle your stress over the holidays!

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you feel pressured to buy for lots of people in your life? How do you decide who to buy for and who not to buy for? 

November 25, 2012

Can Thanksgiving really be over already? This last week has been lots of fun, and I’m sad to see the holiday go. However, I absolutely love the entire Christmas season, so I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks. While my mileage was definitely a bit lower than in previous weeks, I did manage to move every day in some way, which is great for a holiday week! The weather through Thursday was really nice, so that definitely helped quite a bit! Here’s what the week looked like:

Total Miles: 9.56 mile walk + 3.1 mile run + 10.46 mile bike = 23.12 miles and 2.5 hours pilates

So, that’s my Thanksgiving week workouts. It definitely was a much lower total amount of time working out this week, and I think sometimes with holiday weeks that’s just inevitable! I was so happy to get out on an actual bike instead of a stationary bike at the gym! Nothing beats gliding down a hill and feeling the wind hit your face!

Now it’s your turn to share! Did you have nice weather that allowed you to be outside this past week? What was your favorite part of Thanksgiving? 

November 23, 2012

Happy Friday! I hope you all are surviving your post-holiday food states, or, if you’re crazy, the black friday early morning rush:) I’ve certainly been busy with family this week, so I haven’t done nearly as much blog reading. However, I did find a few links I wanted to pass along to you all!

Peppermint Pattie Brownies. Now that the Christmas season is officially upon us, it’s time to start planning out all the Christmas making! I think this recipe sounds delicious, and the perfect addition to a Christmas party!

Cranberry Orange Brussels Sprouts With Walnuts. I don’t even like brussels sprouts, but once you see the pictures of this recipe on Emily’s blog, you’ll see how tasty this dish looks…

16 Essential Things When You’re Becoming An Adult. A great post by Thought Catalog on a few critical things we should be responsible for once we reach adulthood!

Most Patients Are Reluctant To Ask Doctors To Wash Their Hands. Ok. Gross. Doctors know that they should be washing their hands before touching a patient. But sometimes in the busy schedules of the day, it’s easy to forget. Please don’t be reluctant to advocate for yourself and keep yourself safe!

Getting Through Gluten Free Holidays: While Thanksgiving is now past, Christmas is coming up, so i thought this post could still be helpful! Also, just because it says “gluten free” doesn’t mean that it can’t be applied to other food allergies or intolerance.

Now it’s your turn to share! How are you spending the day after Thanksgiving? Did you learn anything interesting this week? 

November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!! For all of you who are celebrating, I hope it’s a truly fantastic day! I’m spending the day with lots of family members, and I’m excited to enjoy a big meal later this evening! It’s exciting that Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday, so today I guess we can just get a double dose of thankfulness? Here are some of the many things I feel so very thankful for today:

I’m so thankful for my family and friends. Where would I be without them? I’m so thankful for the love, support, fun, and laughter I share with them on a regular basis, whether they live near me or at a distance.

I’m so thankful for my wonderful job! I love being a counselor, even on the really tough days. It’s such a wonderful career to have, and I feel so thankful to get to walk alongside people as they fight through whatever they are seeing me for. I love seeing them reach their goals and see their excitement and joy. I love my co-workers and my place of employment, and feel regularly blessed by this.

I’m thankful for my “side job” where I speak and write. I love the people all over the world that I’ve gotten to connect to through this, on top of all the places I’ve gotten to visit because of this! I love getting to be challenged on different topics, getting to research so many different areas, and getting to continue to write.

I’m thankful for running. It’s a really tough journey, and I’m certainly not a natural runner at all. I get injured, it’s tough, and there are runs that are really bad. But I’m thankful that I had the courage to start, and the opportunity to do a sprint triathlon and two wonderful half marathons this year. I’m so so thankful.

I’m thankful for my daily needs being met. Electricity, a place to live, heat, food, and fresh water are all things that are so easy to take for granted, but we only have to look as far as Hurricane Sandy to realize that we should recognize what a blessing these things are.

I’m thankful for the delicious meal I will be consuming later today! YUMM!! I love thanksgiving dinner, but don’t like the sick feeling I get after eating so much.

I’m thankful that, although one of my brother’s doesn’t get to be with us for Thanksgiving, he will be able to be with us in a few short weeks for Christmas. This is the first time that my entire immediate family hasn’t been together on Thanksgiving. Now that my brother is in the military, he can’t just come home whenever he’d like, so that’s been an adjustment. Even though he can’t be with us, I’m glad we know that he does get to come home for a week soon!

I’m thankful for God’s grace. Life-transforming and hugely important. I’m so thankful for grace.

Now it’s your turn to share! Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving today or not, what are you feeling thankful for? What are you doing for Thanksgiving? 

November 21, 2012

Back in 2007 I had the awesome opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic to help build a school house for an orphanage there. I loved my time there, and thing about the people I met there on a regular basis. While there I also fell in love with the food, and one of the dinners we had while we were there was Taco Soup! This recipe came from a number of recipes I looked through online mixed with my own favorite beans and veggies to put into mexican food!

Ingredients

While the beef was cooking, I pulled out all the other ingredients. I drained both cans of beans and the corn (don’t drain the tomatoes!). I cut the pepper and onion into bite sized pieces.

I threw everything into the crock pot on low and let it start to cook as I drained the fat off the beef and mixed in the taco seasoning.

I tossed the beef into the crock pot, covered it, and cooked it on low for about 6 hours.

Of course you can toss whatever you’d like into the pot, and you don’t need to put in meat! I like to add meat and beans to increase the amount of protein and staying power that the meal has. You can serve it with tortilla ships or cheese on top if you’d like!

This made about 6 servings worth for me. I ate four in a few days time, and froze the rest! I love knowing I have meals pre-made that will taste delicious, and this is particularly nice to have during the chilly winter months!

Enjoy!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s your favorite meal based on a trip you took?

© Journey To Wellness, Caroline, 2012

November 20, 2012

Coming off a race that you’ve spent hours each week training for, visualizing, and preparing for is tough. The post race blues are definitely a real thing, and I’ve been fighting hard to not let myself feel too down after running the Indy Monumental on November 3rd. This being the start of the holiday season, it’s definitely given me something to focus on and work towards. I don’t claim to have the perfect way to deal with post race blues; I think everyone needs something a bit different. Here’s what I’ve done to survive the post race blues.

Engage in other types of exercise. Yes, I certainly miss running, but running isn’t the only way to break a sweat or get some endorphins. I’ve started biking again, and I’ve walked quite a bit each week.  Yoga has been great, and I’ll be doing lots of Pilates around Christmas time.

Find a new race to work towards! I’m planning to sign up for the Indy Mini again this coming May. While it’s still a ways away, it motivates me to keep a good base throughout the winter so that I can be strong when I go into training in the winter!

Plan other fun activities. On the weekends I’ve scheduled out my time a bit to keep me busy and focused on what needs to be done. I’ve spent a lot of time doing other non-exercise related activities with friends, and the laughter and fun I’ve had helps to mitigate the post race blues.

Re-focus on relationships. Race preparation can take a toll on our family and friends, and the time we spend with them. Focus on rebuilding some of those relationships again!

Focus on building up other areas of wellness as well. Sometimes those last weeks before a race we’re so focused on the race that other areas of wellness seem to decrease a bit. The post race time period can be a great time to work on other areas of our wellness as well!

Engage in self care! Recovery takes time, sleep, stretching, and good food! Make sure you’re giving yourself what you need!

Spend time remembering the race! Finding people you can talk to about the race! I keep my medal out for awhile and look at pictures! I think it’s helpful to think about everything I accomplished while on the course! Just don’t ruminate on it so much you can’t enjoy anything else.

Now its your turn to share! How do you deal with the post race blues? 

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or personal trainer. I am simply sharing some of the things that have helped me get over the post race slump. If you feel that you are really struggling or feeling depressed, please contact a doctor or professional counselor.