#HolidaySweat Challenge Week 4 Update

Week 4 was a week of progress.

On Monday I had my first post-op appointment and the stitches came out of my knee. I also got the go-ahead to start PT and had my first session on Wednesday. I was surprised by how much I got to do and didn't even mind the 15 minutes of NMES (neuromuscular reeducation electrical stimulation). Apparently my quad muscle has atrophied quite a bit in the two weeks post-surgery. Most of the exercises I can do at home every other day.

I was surprised that I was doing wall squats, even with support, on my first day of PT. The foam roller makes moving up and down much easier as I'm not pushing against the wall. The hardest part for me is making sure my right leg isn't doing all of the work.

Heel press seems like no big deal, but my knee had a little pain after each 8 second hold. Dr. Bri said it was a normal pain, so I will keep doing them. This one is all about the hamstrings and mine felt the work.

Throughout the week I also had fun mixing in some of the PUREDGE product I was sent to review (post here) from GNC to boost my fruit and veggie smoothies. It also inspired me to try some new recipes. My favorite so far has been a Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie.

With the help of the Plant Nanny app that I mentioned in my last update, I met my daily water goal EVERY DAY!! My first plant, befittingly named Water Baby, grew so much that I was able to move it to the "garden" and start a new plant named Dandy Baby.

Week 4 of the challenge also offered bonus points for doing yoga. Now, I'm all about using yoga to stretch, so I did what I could with my knee and it felt so good!

Overall, it was a good week for me.

How was your week?

Sharing a Love for Winter Running

Today I'm happy to share a post written by my running friend and colleague Melissa. Melissa has been a runner since her school days and is very competitive. Now she is sharing her passion with her daughter. 

_______________________________________________

It's a winter wonderland out here in New Hampshire this morning. We have big white fluffy snowflakes and no wind. Perfect winter running!

My daughter recently started running with me to prepare for a mile test in her gym class last week. I hoped she would continue to run once the school challenge ended. 

Catching flakes on our tongues seemed like a perfect draw to get an 11-year-old hitting the pavement with me. We had a blast! 

___________________________________________

I can't wait to get back in my running shoes and go for a winter run too!

Do your children run?

How do you entice them?

2014 Race Awards

Every year I like to look back on my running and fitness and reflect on what I accomplished, what I loved, and make new goals. It's always fun to reminisce while putting together an end of the year blog post. 

This year I am linking up with Montana from Pretty Lil Mudder as we dish out some end of the year race awards. My race schedule was cut short due to my injuries and I ran fewer races than previous years, but there were still plenty of races to talk about.

Most Scenic Course - Newport Half Marathon 

There are miles of ocean views like this along the first 6-ish miles of the Newport Half Marathon course. After that you get a couple of miles on mansion views. It's beautiful.

Most Challenging Course - ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon

This race has a very hilly second half. It's a challenge for most runners but my various leg injuries made this one the most challenging course of the year.

Best Expo - ZOOMA Cape Cod

It's not the size, but the attention to details that earns ZOOMA this one. They have great merchandise from sponsors and local vendors, but they also create a personalized experience. Take photos, attend presentations, meet the race founders. Just some little things like that.

Best Post-Race Food/Beverages - Kickoff to Summer 5K

Post race food that is mostly homemade treats or healthy fruit choices win the honors here. It's not elaborate or fancy, but it is always so good.

Best Swag - ZOOMA Cape Cod 

Packing my new @feeturesrunning performance socks from my @zoomarun race swag for tomorrow's after school run. #ZOOMAnation #zoomacapecod #fitgear

A photo posted by AmyC (@runningescapades) on Sep 9, 2014 at 5:56pm PDT

ZOOMA swag included the race tech shirt, a hat and the normal samples, but it was the Feetures! socks that made this swag a real treat.

Most Unique Medal - First Run 5K

I have accumulated three of them now, but the famous wine stopper medal will always be the most unique to me.

Favorite Race Shirt - Newport 10 Miler

Although this race shirt is a cotton tee, I love the simple design and color choice. If it was a moisture wicking material, I know I would run in it. For now it's one of my cozy, lazy day picks.

Favorite Overall Race - TI Disco Fever 10K

Growing up, I was a big fan of disco music. Even though I don't usually dress up for races, this one was too fun not to join in.

Best Course Support - Ragnar Relay Cape Cod

We didn't all run together like in the picture until the finish line, but it felt like we had been the whole race. Besides leap-frogging our runners on the course, nothing compares to hearing "Go runner" shouted to you from nearly every passing vehicle while you run.

Race You Are Most Proud of Yourself for Completing - Half at the Hamptons

For about a month leading up to this race, I was dealing with knee pain, that I now know was my torn meniscus, so I had no idea if I was going to be able to finish or not. My stepdaughter and I joined forces to finish this one using a run/walk plan and we did it.

Tell me about your 2014 races. Pick a category from the list or make one of your own.

This post is also part of the Fitness Friday link up hosted by Jill.

GNC PUREDGE: Chocolate Protein Mug Cake

The following post is written on behalf of GNC through my relationship with Linqia. All opinions are my own.

Over the past few months I have been coping with running injuries, recovering from knee surgery, dealing with digestive issues and overcoming fatigue. It hasn't been easy, to say the least.

However, the GNC PUREDGE line is easy to integrate into your every day life. The line includes a variety of products to meet several different needs: amino, energy, bars, and protein.

The GNC PUREDGE line is whole-food based and promises:

- No Gluten-added ingredients

- No GMO-added ingredients

- No banned substances

- No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners

- No preservatives

- No wheat, yeast, fish, or egg

- No sugar alcohols 

GNC Complete Amino includes glutamine, so it was the first product I tried. Glutamine is known to help muscle recovery, fight illness, and improve digestion. It was recently recommended to me by a running friend. When I mixed with water it tasted a lot like the tropical punch Kool-Aid I drank as a kid. I have been blending it into my morning smoothies The tropical punch flavor overpowers the fruits and vegetables, but it is still good.

GNC Daily Energy is recommended to jumpstart your day or your workout. After days of hauling myself around school on a crutch, I was running on empty at the end of the day. Adding a scoop of cherry limeade to my smoothie gave me a boost, but the flavor didn't overpower my freggies.

GNC Complete Protein Bars are easy to toss into your lunch bag as I like to do. As much as I wanted to love these, both flavors tasted a little too much like vitamins to me. I'm very picky about my protein bars though.

GNC Complete Protein was my favorite product...maybe because it was chocolate! I had been looking for an excuse to make some sort of dessert and this product gave me a great excuse.

Inspired by an awesome recipe from Julie for chocolate mug cake, I made some modifications to make it gluten-free and protein packed so it can be a delicious post-workout indulgence!

I can't believe how easy it was to make cake…and in the microwave.

How do you use your chocolate protein?

Don't forget to check out all the GNC PUREDGE products here.

This post is also part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen

#HolidaySweat Challenge Week 3 Update

I don't know why it's taken me this long to do a Holiday Sweat Challenge post, but here we go!

Week 3 started as I was 4 days post-op from my meniscus surgery. I stayed home from school an extra day to give my knee one more day of rest in the hopes of reducing the still significant swelling.

I tried to ice my knee and get some work done, but after a wellness call from Dr. O's office I spent three hours getting an ultra sound and waiting for the results. The good news was I had no clots, the bad news was I had to limit my weight bearing by using one crutch until the end of the week.

My week of workouts suffered as a result of my recovery. On one hand I couldn't do much because of my knee and on the other I was exhausted. Maybe my body was working overtime for the healing process and maybe maneuvering myself around with one crutch is just tiresome.

In addition to tracking workouts during the challenge, we also track our servings of fruit, vegetables, and water. This part of the challenge has been eye-opening.

Monday - Arm strength workout (you can check it out here) and leg exercises. Water and 3 freggie servings.

Tuesday - Another arm workout, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8:15 PM

Wednesday - Water and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8 PM

Thursday - Leg exercises, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 7:30 PM!!

Friday - Leg exercises, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8 PM

Saturday - Spent 2 hours walking around the mall Christmas shopping. Normally this would not feel like a workout, but it was the most walking I've done (crutch-free) in over a week! 2 serving freggies and tons of water.

Sunday - Arm strength workout and leg exercises. 4 freggie servings and tons of water.

This challenge has shown me how much I am lacking in my water intake. Add to that some medicine that can cause constipation, and well…not so good for my tummy. At the end of the week I saw an article on Facebook about a woman who drank 3 liters of water a day and changed her life (read it here). I knew I had to make some changes myself.

I started using the Plant Nanny app after my friend Dani told me about it. It's an easy way to keep track of how much water I'm drinking and reach my daily goal. The app also gives me my own "plant" and every time I drink water, I water the plant and watch it grow. I named my plant Water Baby.

What do you track?
Do you use an app?