Scooter Snacks

It's no secret that Dillon is a little picky when it comes to things I make... so I am always apprehensive to let him try a new recipe until I think it's a pretty safe bet that he at least won't hate it. Good news, he loved this one! So I named it after him. Can't go wrong with whole food ingredients that whip up in 5minutes total.

Scooter Snacks

• 2 cup oats
• 30 pitted dates
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

Coaching: See? I promised simple... but be warned, you may want to make a double batch because they won't last long. Put all ingredients in the food processor. Mix until combined. Roll into bite sized morsels, and pop in the fridge or freezer to harden. 

The Importance of Hydration Before and After Running: A Guest Blog

This guest blog is by Harper Reid, a freelance writer from Auckland, New Zealand who is passionate about healthy living and fitness. When she's not writing, you'll find her sweating it out in the gym, practicing yoga or checking out the latest fitness trends. You can find more of her work on her Tumblr.

Photo Credit: Alan Carrillo via Unsplash under License

We can all appreciate, in theory, how vital water is to our health and wellbeing – but do we know the specifics of how H2O interacts with exercise? If you’re a runner, keeping hydrated will prove an integral aspect of your active lifestyle – and here’s why.

It starts beforehand
Hydrating for exercise doesn’t start the moment you run out the door; rather, you should prep for a good workout far in advance by regularly drinking H2O. It’s especially important to keep tabs on your hydration during the warmer months, as hot conditions will put extra strain on your muscles and vital organs - most of all your heart - while running.

The good old urine test is a sure-fire way to check your internal water levels. The darker and yellower, the more water you need to fuel your body with. Aim to drink regularly through the day, and consume an extra half a liter of water a few hours before you set out for a long run.

Photo Credit: Maarten van den Heuval via Unsplash under License

 Running depletes your stores
When we’re dehydrated, the amount of water in our body decreases to the extent that we can lose up to 2% of our sum body weight. This loss of water wreaks havoc on our cardiovascular system, energy levels, and the efficacy of our muscle function. We tend to forget that our muscle cells are made up of 75% water, so it makes sense that if we’re losing fluid through sweat, we’ll feel weaker pretty quickly.

But don’t go too far in the other direction: too much fluid can be detrimental not only to your running performance (hello, water bloat!) but to your overall health. In the worst-case scenario, severe over-hydration can lead to hyponatremia, a condition that occurs when salt levels in the blood reach a life-threatening low.

Remembering to drink
Keeping hydrated isn’t a case of just remembering to drink when you’re bone thirsty. As a general rule, drink around 100ml of water every quarter of an hour that you exercise (this amount may need to be increased or decreased depending on your body size, the temperature outside, and the intensity or length of your run). If you need to set a watch alarm to remind you, then do so, and make things easier for yourself by investing in a hydration pack that you can easily pound the pavements with.

When doing an intense activity like running, you may want to switch out water for a sports drink with added carbohydrates and electrolytes. The kinds of chemicals and minerals contained within electrolytes (like sodium, potassium, and chloride) will replace the nutrients you lose by sweating, which will then help you to fend off the runner’s enemies – dizziness, leg cramps, and racing heartbeat. To DIY your own drink, mix a cup of water with a cup of orange juice and a pinch of salt – easy, effective, and tasty.

Photo Credit: Dominik Vanyi via Unsplash under License

The benefits of hydration
So: why is drinking water so important during, before, and after a run? Well, aside from keeping our bodies functioning at the cellular level, water can actually improve athletic performance. Studies have proven that running endurance and speed is enhanced significantly with proper hydration – we’re talking minutes off of your 10km time!

And since all that sweat loss can lead to very dry skin (something you’ll want to avoid if you suffer a skin condition like eczema), runners should keep in mind the benefits of hydration for skin health. Skin is an organ like any other, with skin cells mainly comprised of water. If you’ve been feeling a little dry around the edges lately, you may want to start taking hydration during exercise more seriously.

Travel Tips

Before our European babymoon, I asked my doc what I needed to do to help minimize stress on my body during travel. Funny enough, everything she mentioned is exactly what I do for travel to running events!

Car, train, and plane trips over 3 hours require a little extra thought and effort to help you feel your best at the end of travel. Here are my 10 suggestions for you whether you’re a runner, pregnant, or both!

1. Wear compression socks. Maintaining blood circulation in the feet and lower legs will greatly reduce fluid build up and help prevent the dreaded “cankles”.
2. Hydrate before, during, and after. Take your own water bottle so you can drink whenever you want. Getting up to pee a lot is a good thing because it helps keep your muscles from getting too tight and increases your circulation. Each time you get up, spend a few minutes stretching.
3. Take 1 baby asprin to prevent blood clotting issues.
4. Get up every 1-3 hours.
5. Pack healthy snacks.
6. Do a shake out run, walk, bike, or swim upon arrival. (Keep your compression socks on until you get this completed!) Just 10 minutes of exercise will go a long way with freshening up your muscles and getting the fluids in your body moving.
7. Try some light stretching, foam rolling, or yoga to reengage your muscles actively.
8. Massage your calves, feet, and behind your knees to open up your lymphatic system.
9. Prop your legs up higher than your head for 10 minutes.
10. Take magnesium before bedtime to help calm your restless travel legs and promote relaxation.

If you try these tips, let me know! I would love to hear about your travels.

Happy adventuring!
NSG

*I am not a doctor, these tips are what has worked for me personally, but consult your doc if you have any concerns or pre existing issues.

Adjusting for Effort

If you’re like me, splits are everything! I get very focused on hitting the exact paces prescribed, and if I don’t meet or exceed them, I feel like I failed. But this isn’t true and it doesn’t create the best environment for us to chase our goals! Why? Because effort in a workout will teach you effort on race day. And that is the best strategy for racing! Let’s explore what I mean and how this looks in training.

1-How do I know what my effort should be?

Your breathing rhythm! If you have followed me at all, you will know that breathing comes up a lot. (Here’s an article I wrote on breathing rhythm)  It’s simple, you can’t run for more than 20seconds if you’re not breathing. Learning to control your breathing will teach you what your breathing should feel like at different efforts. If you’re running easy, then your breathing should be very controlled. You should be able to hold a conversation without difficulty. For a moderate workout like a tempo run, you should be focused but controlled. Feeling like you could answer a question with a few sentences, but don’t want to maintain a conversation. With a hard effort, you should be able to only respond in short one or two word answers. When you apply these principles, you will be able to judge your effort better and thus get the most out of your workout and race.

2-Once I learn effort, how do I apply it to races?

Effort based training will help prepare you for races with hills, wind, turns, all the things that would impact your pace. It also helps in city races where GPS isn’t accurate. The only time splits can be 100% accurate and un-interrupted, is racing indoor track… How many indoor track races do you do? Probably none or not many. Learning this effort strategy will be so applicable for you!

3-Why breathing and not heart rate?

It’s one and the same. But with breathing, you don’t have to have a heart rate monitor, or be so focused on what the apparatus is saying. Instead, you run freely and more in-tune with your body, both mentally and physically.

If you practice this method, some days in training will be faster than you expect, and other days slower. You will work with your body instead of fighting it and this will help keep you healthier and able to keep working towards your goals! Let me know if you have specific questions, I am happy to share my advice! But for now, happy training and happy racing!

NSG

Applely Crisp

The best part about apple crisp is that it makes a great dessert, breakfast, and snack! I love making this any time of year, but especially in the winter when sometime warm just sounds so appealing. 

• FILLING
• 4 apples
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
   
• TOPPING
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• Almond milk or greek yogurt to get desired texture

COACHING: Grease a 9x9 inch pan. Chop and decore apples leaving the skin on, and combine all filling ingredients in the pan. Mix. In a bowl, stir together all the topping ingredients with a fork. Add in the almond milk or greek yogurt to get a moist batter, and then using your fingers to spread it evenly across the apples. Bake at 375 for 30minutes. Serve warm with milk, yogurt, or ice cream.

The Difference a Year Can Make

I keep a training log, both paper and online. I've done so since 8th grade, and I have every log on my book shelf so I can go back through and look at previous workouts, notes on races, injury status, travel, mileage etc. (I use Believe I Am for the paper one, and Final Surge for the online one)

I was updating my January training log, and realized I accomplished my goal... Run every day the first trimester of pregnancy. I did it! Some days were only a mile, and nothing was fast of far, but I am proud of my training.

Then I looked at last year's log, and wow, what a dramatic difference. I was in the beginning stages of my racing season, running 80-90 miles a week vs the 30-50miles of this year. I am thrilled with what I was able to accomplish this past month, I am very grateful for every run (despite how terrible I may have felt doing it.)  While my current schedule is such a contrast from my usual training, I am equally happy and proud of where I am. My goal next January is to say the same thing! 

Time for a #fastfriday workout... You will see this one on the calendar from last year as I prepped for the Rock N Roll New Orleans Half Marathon.
-Cut down long run: The purpose is to teach the body to run faster as you fatigue. I did this one week prior to the race.
-The effort gets progressively more intense as the run goes on. Here are my splits as an example.

The purpose of my training log is not to compare myself to who I was as an athlete last year, it is to see how I have grown in my approach and in my ability to listen to my body and do what is best for me and my goals at that time. Do you keep a log? What are you proud of? Take a moment and pat yourself on the back!

Here are my online workouts from last year and this year at this time!

Jan 2017

Jan 2018

Sweet Potato Pie Protein Smoothie

A sweet blend of flavors that satisfy the recovery hormones and taste buds at the same time! Sometimes after a hard workout, I am not in the mood for solid food. A protein smoothie is a great way to refuel and not upset the belly.

1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes (hint: you can cook a large sweet potato and then remove the skin and freeze the potato in an ice cube tray for multiple future smoothie prep)
1/2 cup greek yogurt OR cottage cheese
6 ice cubes
1 scoop whey protein powder
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger spice
1/4 cup water or milk
stevia or sweetener to taste

Blend all ingredients and top with candied pecans, dried coconut, cacao nibs, granola etc!

Healthy Holiday Recipes

The holidays are such a fun and special time full of many social gatherings... it can be tough to find healthy options to bring that others will enjoy too! I compiled some old and new recipes for you to look over and take to your next holiday party!

BREAKFAST
Blueberry Cream Scones
4 cups flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup room temp butter
1 cup half and half
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Coaching: Preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. Cut in butter. In a separate bowl, mix half and half, eggs, vanilla and then pour into the dry ingredients. Combine. Flour a surface an roll dough into a ball as you mix in the blueberries. Cut in half. Start with a ball and then flatten out the dough to about 1.5in thick. Using a knife, cut like a pizza into 6 triangles. Arrange on baking sheets (keeping them far enough apart to expand with baking). Bake 12-15minutes until golden on top.

Frittata
1 head of broccolli
half an onion
1 jalapeno
6 eggs
½ cup greek yogurt
½ cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Coaching: Preheat oven to 375. Spray an 8x8 square baking dish. Dice the broccoli, onion, and jalapeno and spread evenly in the pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the parmesan, and whisk for 1minutes to get the eggs frothy. Pour over top the veggies, sprinkle the parmesan, salt, pepper over the top and bake 30-45minutes until golden on top and eggs have set. Cool 10minutes before serving.

Hazelnut Biscotti with Chocolate & Ginger
Toast 1.5 cups chopped hazelnuts in the oven for 10min at 275
2eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour (white,wheat,almond,gluten free,coconut, etc it all works!)
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup dark choc chips

Coaching: Combine all ingredients, mix well. Place on parchment covered baking sheet in a 1in X 4in log. Bake for 20min at 275. Let cool, slice diagonally into 1/2-1in sections. Lay cut side down on the tray and bake once more for 15min at 300. Cool and enjoy with your favorite hot beverage!

SIDES & ENTREES
Sweet Potato Casserole
4 large sweet potatoes or yams, roasted by wrapping in foil and putting in the oven for 90minutes at 300.
1/2  cup vanilla or maple greek yogurt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
Add ins:
½ cup pure maple syrup
¾ cup chopped pecans* reserved for later

Coaching: Preheat oven to 350, spray a 9x9 casserole dish. Using an electric beater or a fork, smash up your roasted sweet potatoes (I keep the skin on since its super nutritious). Add all the ingredients and combine well. Pour into the dish Lastly, drizzle the maple syrup evenly all over the dish. Bake 20 minutes, add pecans on top, and cook another 10-20minutes.

Jalapeno Bison Chili
2lbs ground bison
2 cloves garlic
2 diced jalapenos
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup water
1/4 cup masa flour (corn flour for thickening)
2 cans kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes

Coaching: Add minced garlic, jalapenos, and bison to a large pot and brown the meat on medium. Drain. Add the tomato sauce, spices, and water and simmer on low for 1 hour. Mix the masa with 1/2 cup water and add to the chili along with the rest of the ingredients. Simmer an additional 10minutes. Top with your favorite add-ons and enjoy! Serves 6.

Speedy Stuffed Squash
1 acorn, butternut, or kombocha squash cut in half and de-seeded
Brussell Sprouts (diced)
Handful of dried cranberries
Handful of pumpkin seeds
Balsamic glaze
Salt & Pepper

Coaching: Put all ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine. Add 3 tablespoons of water to the bottom of each half of squash. Fill with ingredients. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for 45minutes covered in foil, then uncover for the remaining 15-30minutes. Cool 5min before serving. Serves 2.

DESSERT
Carrot Cake with a Kick
8oz can crushed pineapple (drained and pressed to remove excess moisture)
1.5 cups finely shredded carrots (about 3 whole carrots)
½ cup golden or normal raisins
¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup coconut

2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup unbleached white flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup truvia brown sugar (or ¾ cup brown sugar)
½ cup greek yogurt
¼ cup apple sauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting:
¼ cup greek yogurt cream cheese (or regular)
½ cup greek yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon ginger
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
Optional: Sprinkle ¼ cup crushed walnuts and a ¼ cup toasted coconut flakes over top the cake.

Coaching: Preheat oven to 350. Grate the carrots and place pineapple, carrots, raisins, walnuts, and coconut in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly until well combined. Fold in the carrot mixture. Spray a small cake pan, and pour in batter. Bake 35-45minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For the icing, combine all ingredients and beat with whisk or electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Put in the fridge as the cake cools. Ice the cake, sprinkle with optional toppings, and keep in the fridge until eaten!

Almond Coconut Bites
¼ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup cacao nibs
¼ cup cacao powder
½ cup chopped almonds
7 dates (pitted)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sprinkle of sea salt

Opt. Shredded coconut for rolling

Coaching: Place all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until it starts clumping and if fully combined. Roll into balls and then roll the balls in the extra coconut. Freeze.

Pumpkin Rock N Rolls
¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup truvia (or 1 cup sugar)
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
Optional: powdered sugar sprinkle

Cream Cheese filling:
8oz whipped cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coaching: Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl or electric mixer, whisk the wet ingredients. Add the wet into the dry until just combined. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and pour the cake batter into the middle of the pan. Using a spatula, spread and shape into a rectangle leaving at least 1 inch along every side of the pan. Bake 8-10minutes. Immediately after you remove it from the oven, start at one of the short ends and start rolling the cake towards the other short end with the parchment paper attached so it separates the cake during the roll. Cool completely as you prepare the filling. Mix all ingredients together, if it is too wet, add in a bit more powdered sugar. You want it easy to work with, but not drippy. After your workout, or a few hours, you can gently unroll to load the cream cheese filling. Leaving 1inch on all sides, spread the cream cheese evenly onto the cake. Reroll, removing the parchment paper as you go. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill. Before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar and slice into 3/4in rolls. Enjoy!

Christmas Gift List for Runners

Are you like me and find it tough to get just the right gift for the runner in your life? Here are some ideas to make it easier!

1-Massage Gift Card
What runner wouldn't love this gift?

2-Running Warehouse Gift Card or Merchandise
Using my code ATHLETEBIZ at checkout, you will get 10% off on most products. Click this link for a list of my favorite Adidas gear and learn how your purchase helps support my goals! (I recommend cold weather gear, new shoes, and a new gym bag!)

3-Coaching Services
Give the gift of coaching to show your support! Check out my coaching page for more info or just email me at neelyruns@gmail.com

4-Get Running T-Shirt
Support Team Get Running by wearing these super comfy v-necks.

5-Trust The Process Bracelet
Momentum Jewelry and I partnered to create a wrap bracelet with my favorite mantra.

6-Sunglasses
I can't run without them! So many cool options to choose from on the Adidas website!

7-Compression Sleeves
Practical, but a very useful item for all runners!

8-A Training Log
I use the Final Surge to upload my watch data... but I still record my complete day in the Believe I Am training Journal.

9-Nutritional Product
BeetIt shots, PowerBars, HotShot, and Sword Caffeine Tabs are all part of my training and racing protocol. Your runner might appreciate some new products to try out!

10-Training Tools
Some of my essentials are the Proform 9000 treadmill, 8c ElliptiGO, TRX straps, R8 Roll Recovery, and R3 Roller.

Train Hot, Race Cool: A New Way to Improve Running Performance

Most runners are aware that when summer rolls around, their body needs to acclimate to the rising environmental temperature. The human body will respond to a couple weeks of running in the heat by delivering more blood to the skin, increasing sweat rate while retaining electrolytes, and increasing plasma volume (the liquid component of blood, which allows more blood to be pumped to the skin for cooling). These physiological changes help to prevent hyperthermia and improve running performance in the heat.

In most of the country, the heat of summer is quickly giving way to the cold of winter. This means fewer sweltering, sweaty runs and more hats, gloves, and jackets to keep warm. It also means that runners will start to lose their heat acclimation.

Recently, exercise scientists have started studying whether heat acclimation can improve exercise performance in colder weather. Why is this? Well, expanded plasma volume is one of the main ways the human body responds to training, regardless of temperature. The idea is that training in the heat will cause the largest increase in plasma volume and cause a bigger improvement in running performance than training in cool to cold weather.

A preeminent researcher in this area is Dr. Christopher Minson; he and his colleagues at the University of Oregon have been studying the effects of heat training on cool weather exercise performance in endurance athletes (mostly cyclists). They’ve found heat training improves cool-weather VO2max, lactate threshold, and time trial performance compared to the same training protocol done in cool temperatures. Other researchers have tested the benefits of exercising in cool weather but then keeping core temperature high by immediately sitting in a hot tub or sauna after exercise. This post-exercise heat stress has been shown to elicit similar improvements in running performance compared to exercising in the heat. All these results suggest that heat training would improve running performance in cold-weather races.

Many runners will train through the winter in preparation for a spring marathon. Race-day temperature can vary greatly from year to year and an unseasonably hot day could derail months of dedicated training. You need look no further than the 2017 Boston Marathon, which was run on a very warm, sunny day. Most runners who trained through the winter were not heat acclimated and their finishing times suffered as a result. Heat training can help prepare runners to be able to handle a warm weather race that may otherwise derail a training cycle.

There is still a lot scientists must figure out. For example, might improvements simply be due to the increased stress of exercising in the heat, where the heart must work harder to supply enough blood to the muscles for exercise and the skin for cooling (suggesting the same benefits could be attained by simply training harder)? How long the benefits of heat training persist? What is the optimal exercise protocol (for example, heat training combined with high-intensity interval training has not been studied yet)? While not every study has shown a benefit of heat training, no study has shown that it impairs performance. This makes heat training a low-risk, high-reward investment in your training.

Interested in heat training but don’t have the high-precision heat chambers or ability to constantly monitor internal temperature (rectal probe) like the sports scientists do? Here is how you can make it work for you:

·       Most of the benefits can be obtained with 7-10 consecutive days of exercise in the heat.

·       You should exercise for an hour a day in a hot room. The temperature the room needs to be depends on a lot of things (humidity, airflow, exercise intensity). The simplest rule to follow: it should be hot enough that you sweat heavily.

·       You can also try sitting in a hot tub or sauna 30 minutes after each run.

·       Heat training should be stopped about 3 days before your goal race. This will give you enough time to recover, but you should retain most of the benefits.

·       Hotter is not better and dehydration doesn’t help. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and stop exercising if you begin to feel any symptoms of heat illness (read about that in detail here).

Hopefully after reading this you are warmed up to the idea (pun intended) that heat training can improve your race performance, regardless of temperature.

Happy training!
Daniel H. Craighead PhD

*Please email Neely if you wish to submit a guest blog at neelyruns@gmail.com