OMG… I Ran!!!!

OMG guys!!!! I totally ran!!! ok ok… before you get all excited, I must be honest and tell you that It wasn’t a lot…

Ok… I’ll be totally honest… it probably can’t even constitute as running…

Friday I went out for my usual walk outside and decided that my knee has been feeling great lately! Why not go for a run right?  I just needed it!  You know that itch that you get when you don’t run in forever!?  I has it! ;)

The picture below is why it really doesn’t count as running-running… just sort-of-running:

BUT… guess what?… I’m counting it!! :)  About 2 minutes total… but it’s more than 0!

My knee is feeling well still, but I’m kinda nervous to run more than a 10:1 minute walk/run ratio…

we shall see…

I’m totally excited though! :)  I can’t wait to get back to actually Running-Running… I’ve missed it! :)

 

Has an injury ever held you back from running?
How’d you get back to running?
What’s your best advice to running injury-free?

Whoops, I Did it Again… (and Apple Chip Recipe)

There are just some days when your brain just isn’t working properly and you end up doing stupid stuff… Come on, you all can admit it… I know I’m not the only one!! ;)  Things that just don’t make sense and it makes you think “Gee, what in the world was I thinking?”  The answer to that question is usually “Apparently, you weren’t” (At least that’s how the conversation goes in my head)  lol ;) If I’m being honest, I have to admit that I happen to have quite a bit of those days/moments!

Things like…

- making a special trip into town (20 minutes away) to buy gas and a specific item only to get there and realize you forgot your wallet

- coming home from the grocery store to make that special meal for your better half only to find out that you forgot the main ingredient

- finishing a really good book and getting all excited to start the next book in the series and dig through the pile of books you got from the library finding that you have every other book in the series except that one

Or, how about…

- Almost slicing off your fingers on a mandolin slicer because you’re too stubborn and think it works better without the hand protector/food grip?

Yep… we’ve all been there… and if you tell me you haven’t been, you’re lying!! OR you really are that good at thinking things through and I need you to bottle some of that up and send it to me!! ;) Your turn to be honest!! What stupid stuff have you done or “shoulda thought that one through” moments have you had lately?

So… the reason I sliced my finger was because I was baking apple chips!! These things are so good that I kept going after I got injured! lol.. not to mention they make your whole house smell like apple goodness… perfect for a fall day! :)

So for your benefit and a little snack to curb your sweet cravings… Here’s the recipe:

~ Set the oven to 200*

~ Slice your apple or apples… Using a mandolin slicer is the easiest way to get thin even slices. I’ve cut them with a knife by hand before and it doesn’t work as well.  (Just make sure you use the food grip on the mandolin slicer!)  ;)  I have an OXO good grip slicer and I put it on setting 3. I got about 20 slices per apple.

~ Line a pan with parchment paper and put your apple slices side-by-side on the pan.  Make sure you don’t overlap them or stack them on top of each other because they wont dry out evenly.

~ (Optional) Mix about 1 tsp sugar and 1/8 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle on top of your apple slices before putting the pan in the oven.  You could also skip this step if your apple is of the sweeter variety or only use cinnamon and no sugar for a little healthier version.

~ Bake at 200* for an hour then, using tongs, flip the apples over and bake for another hour.  Make sure to watch that they don’t burn!

~ Take them out of the oven and let them cool. They will crisp up a little more while they cool down.

~ (Optional) Repeat entire process for more apple chips.

~ Chow down and enjoy!!

 

Stepping Up To The Challenge (and a winner)

I’m the kind of person that always needs a challenge…

Growing up, I found that challenge in competing in sports…specifically with basketball and a couple years of track.

Even in college I competed in basketball and softball to find that challenge… In my very first blog post ever here on Runner’s Luck I mentioned that I ran out of sports eligibility in college and that’s why I started running… I needed another challenge!

Even within just running itself, I needed a challenge! That’s why I went from running 5ks to half marathons and why I ran a marathon… it was challenging to train for and run each new distance… That’s also why I feel like I need to PR at every. single. race! (Don’t worry, I totally know it’s not possible… I’m not that crazy!) And don’t get me wrong… there are TONS of other reasons why I run… mainly because I just down right LOVE it! BUT… the challenge is still a BIG appeal to me!

Then, I got hurt…and still have yet to go to the doctor. That has nothing to do with a challenge and everything to do with being stubborn, and perhaps a little scared… and definitely a tightwad…(more about the knee in a later post)

The point is, I needed another challenge…

I decided to try yoga… you may be thinking “YOGA? How is that challenging?”  Well my friends… the part of me that needs a challenge can’t settle for not being able to do the splits, or not being able to touch my feet to my head when doing king cobra pose, or not being able to do a simple handstand (more on that later too! lol) It all started as just a fun way to stretch to help heal my knee injury, but then I saw a pose that looked challenging and couldn’t stop thinking about it! So what did I do?  I tried it!

Welcome to Eka Pada Koundiyanasana I Pose

Challenge Accepted!

It’s definitely not perfect, but I've totally made some progress!! 

So, while I cannot run (I’m still working out)… I’ve found a challenge to keep me occupied! Because guess what?  There are more challenging arm balances and inversions I’d like to make progress on! While you may be reading all of my yoga posts lately thinking that it’s a total waste of time and that you’d never try yoga or it’s boring… just you wait!!  I have a post coming up that might just convince you to give it a go! :)

Do you always need a challenge in your life?
Do you practice yoga? How often?
If you don’t, why not? Think you ever will?

 

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Without further ado… the winner of the Run the Race Giveaway is…

Calm Down! It’s Just An Inversion! (Video)

Ok… you may have noticed a little yoga on this blog… you may be like… “WAIT…I thought this was a running blog?!!”  Calm down!!! It is a running blog… except for this chica hasn’t been running because of a knee injury so I decided adding a little spice to my life with yoga couldn’t hurt anything!
If yoga just isn’t your thing, then you can X out of this blog post… or stay whatever… just know that I know and keep track of who doesn’t read my blog posts word for word! ;)
OK… totally kidding… or am i? ;)

Anyways… This week is going to be yoga week on my blog… and if yoga truly isn’t your thing you may just want to stick around because you might change your mind after this week is over… pending I have some free time to blog! ;) 

In the meantime… you can enjoy a little video of me playing around with a supported headstand inversion!  At the end I try to go from a headstand to crow pose and failed big time! lol… Enjoy!!

 

Do you do yoga?
How long have you done it?
     - 4 weeks ;)  Beginner Yogi here! ;)
If you don’t do yoga, do you think you might try it one day?

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