Snacking & Running

I am a compulsive snacker.  I don't know when or how it started, but it's progressively getting worse.  Anything I can get my hands on.  I pride myself on being a pretty healthy eater, so in all honesty, my compulsive snacking is not so much of a bad thing as it is annoying.  I would say, on an average day, I get up 6 times to go to my lunch box in my office kitchen.  My office is the furthest one from our communal kitchen, therefore everyone sees me walking to the fridge. 

My Graze Nibblebox!

My favorite snack of all times are chips.  Any and all chips: tortilla chips, corn chips, potato chips, veggie chips, pita chips, chocolate chips... I love them all.  So much so, that the first word I ever learned how to spell was "chips".  My other go to snacks include: apples with PB, my awesome homemade granola bars, strawberries, clementines, carrot sticks, grapes, almonds (any of these flavors in particular) and yogurt covered raisins or pretzels.  I also get a Graze box every month ($6/box) filled with different snacks- it's a fun way to try out different things that I'd be skeptical to buy in a large size.  You can use my friendcode to receive your first & fifth Graze box fo' free!

Tasty fruit platter snack

I try to plan my snacks so that I don't have any within an hour before my run (hurts my tummy too much).  I also try to plan any snacks post-workout to include protein of some sort, even if it's just peanut butter.

I've been reading a lot about fueling during runs, and don't really know much about the topic.  Because my stomach hurts if I eat before I run I'm really skeptical about "eating" and fueling during longer runs.  I'm on a quest for more information on the topic and opinions about the best fuel.

PS- My kickball team lost last night... badly.  Our pitcher's nickname is Snacks... how fitting for this post! 

Here is my team! We love each other.

PPS- It's National Donut Day! 

What do you recommend for fuel during runs? Any advice to someone whose never eaten during a run before?

Are you a snacker or more of a meal eater? What is your all time favorite snack?

Do you have a cool nickname like "Snacks" does?

National Running Day

Happy National Running Day to all!

To celebrate this awesome day, I'll be doing a quick three mile run after work... it's all I've got time for today!  From my office window (I'm on my lunch break) the weather looks magnificent, so hopefully it holds up the rest of the day.  Here are some fun ways to celebrate National Running Day:

~Sign up for a race- as you may know, I'm registered for the Hartford Half.  Today I also signed up for the Hartford Scramble Series
~Treat yourself to new running shoes- I'll be doing that in a week or so
~Join iRun4 and dedicate all of your runs to a special coach
~Grab a friend, family member, or pet, and go for a nice evening run 
~Make a new running playlist
 
That's all... keeping it short today.  Enjoy your Wednesday!
What are you doing to celebrate National Running Day?  Have you celebrated in the past?

The Chaos That Was My Weekend

I have a tendency to go to bed at insanely early hours on Sunday nights.  Like... two weeks ago, I was tucked in and sound asleep by 6:30 pm.  Last night was no exception, in bed and lights out at 8:30.  I had a pretty exhausting weekend, and several events in the past few days made me really wish I carried my cell phone with me while I run.

I decided to get my Saturday 4 mile run in on Friday night because of weekend confusion.  The sun was shining and I set out on my run around 5:15.  Around 5:20, rain clouds moved in and it began to sprinkle.  Like, one drop every 20 seconds- not bad.  I got to the end of mile 3, and it was sprinkling a little harder.  Mile 3 is right near my boyfriend's parents' house, and his mother was outside and asked if I wanted a ride; I declined and claimed "a little rain never hurt anyone!".  A few minutes later.... downpour.  I mean, torrential rain- lightning, thunder, painful raindrops.  I stopped my watch and huddled under a low tree for about 5 minutes, and contemplated what to do in this situation.  I wished I had carried my cell phone so I could have called someone for a ride.  I decided that I just needed to book it home, so I started my watch and ran really fast home.  When I walked in the front door, sopping wet... my mom was grabbing her keys to drive and come find me.  I'm trying to tell myself that it was "refreshing" and that "I liked it"... but it was no fun!!  I spent the rest of the night lounging, doing laundry, and trying to warm up from my rain run!

Saturday I headed to the southern part of CT for my friend Nicole's daughter's (Skylar) dance recital- whose aunt is Daniella- she and I got to chat about races and runs...

Me, Nicole, Skylar, & Jenn

Daniella might be convincing me to do the Princess Run at Disney!  It was nice to see her and catch up about our goals and stuff.  I then continued my tour of southern CT and went to visit one of my college roommates and a couple of her friends for the night.

Golf lesson dorky-ness

Sunday morning I came back to Wethersfield nice and early.  My mom and I had our first golf lesson in the afternoon, so I wanted to make sure I was ready for it.  We both panicked about what to wear, contemplated rushing over to Golfer's Warehouse to find new outfits, but then decided that we were dressed fine.  Our lesson was sooo fun!  Obviously we are not ready for the LPGA tour yet but we both did fairly well.  

After our lesson and a few errands, I got dressed and headed out for my Sunday 3 mile run.  I was around 2.5 miles when I saw an adorable dog running through a busy intersection.  People were driving around the dog and someone even beeped at it and that made me mad.  I ran across the street and got the dog to come to me, found that it had only one tag, with his name, 'Blackie', and a telephone number (which was a Florida number...).  I sat there awkwardly for a few minutes and wished I had my cell phone with my so I could have called the number listed, but finally I saw a young kid on a phone so I asked to use it.  He was definitely creeped out by me- haha.  No one answered the phone at that number, so I thanked the kid and continued to awkwardly sit with the dog (who didn't have a leash on by the way).  Not seeing anyone looking for the dog, I scooped him up and we trekked the 3/4 mile to my house (he was kind of heavy by the end and he definitely peed on me... twice).  I rang the doorbell and my mom looked at me like "ummm explain".  I called my friend who is a police officer, and he told me to call the non emergency line and they'd send someone over. 

Blackie. Isn't he a cutie?

The officer arrived and took Blackie and said he'd drive to the dog park in town and see if anyone was looking for the dog, and if not, take him to the pound.  My mom and I said if no one claims him we would adopt him.  About 45 minutes later the officer came back to my house and let us know that he found the owner, a guy who actually lives on our street, who had just gotten the dog from his late mother in law.  I'm happy Blackie got home safely, but I secretly wish I could have kept him.

Overall... it was a crazy weekend, with two very unusual runs.  As I write this, I'm eating a Lara Bar.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Also... I'm #1314 on the iRun4 wait list!! Moving up so quickly! Have a great Monday everyone.

Do you carry your cell phone while you run? The craziest thing that's happened to you while on a run is _________.

Have you tried a Lara Bar? Please explain your feelings about them.

Did you have a good weekend?