Fitness Friday: Workouts and a WINNER

I'm linking up this Friday Five with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC and the theme this week was five days of work outs (with pictures). Since I have been having some unfortunate leg issues, my workouts haven't been great! But in any case, here are 5 workouts I've done since last week.

1. I did get a strong 5 mile run in over the weekend. It was COLD!

2. I did LOTS of Foam Rolling!

I find it funny that every time I have the foam roller out. I always find Baylee taking control of it.

I snuck up on her the other day and found this!

 

https://fairytalesandfitness.shutterfly.com/pictures/13

3. Stretches from my Chiropractor to help with the IT Band.

4. I did go for a 3.1 mile run yesterday to see how my leg/knee would react. It wasn't good, but I got it done and wasn't in too much pain. I could still feel the tightness but it was more tolerable than it had been the last few days!

 Although I went to the Chiropractor for ART on Wednesday, he would not perform it because he said it would hurt me WAY too much at this point. He sent me home with some stretches ( to hopefully release some of the tightness). He set me up to come back today to see how much it has released and see what my next step is. I have learned SO much from this Dr. already that I will be sure to post what I have learned next week so it hopefully helps someone else.


5. And in case you are wondering about Lacey's workouts this week, well lets just say this picture says it all. Snow on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach!

Oh, and guess what? We have a winner for our cool Yoga products!  This makes me happy to announce because one lucky person will have a fabulous Yoga bag with gear, but it also makes me a bit sad because I know so many of you were hoping to win this great gear. But guess what, we have another giveaway coming up after PHM that is just as great ( Believe me)!

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who entered this giveaway!

 

Congrats Maryalicia!  Please contact us at fairytalesandfitness@gmail.com

 

How were your workouts this week?

What was your weather like?

Who's gearing up for a Super bowl party?

 

Have a Great Weekend Friends!

What Marathonfoto has told us: Just in time for Disney Princess Races!

What's the deal with Marathonfoto?  We've talked and they've listened!

As you are running along a Run Disney course, you will see photographers in bright yellowish vest taking pictures. Try to smile as you go past ( or at least try not to look completely exhausted) because these will be your official race pictures.

My Disney Sidekicks and an Update!

This weeks Wednesday theme is Disney Sidekicks. I think I may have taken this a little out of contexts as most people probably think of Sidekicks as Characters that hang out with one another.

Well my Disney Sidekicks are my mom and sister. ( so I guess maybe we are characters that like to hang out with each other) I have spent more time with these two ladies at Disney than anyone else. My sister and I have done a ton of "just sisters" trips, we've done several "girl trips"  and I've even done just a me and mom "mother daughter trip".  

This picture makes me laugh! This was the first race my mom and I had ever run. You can tell we are newbies because look how high we put our race bib! However, this was NOT Lacey's first race! Shame on her for letting us all look like this!

This was one of my proud sister moments as I presented my sister with her first Marathon Medal during one of our many "sister trips".

This was a "Me and Mom" trip circa 2010!

If you are a regular reader of our blog than you know that I am gearing up for my next "girls only trip" with these ladies for the Princess Half Marathon weekend!

I think everything is pretty much in place. I've helped my mom put the finishing touches on her race outfit. I can't wait to show you all pictures of them!

*Update: If you have been following along, then you may know that I have been having terrible IT band pain. I made a PT appointment on Monday morning for Feb 3. I was in terrible pain on Monday night to the point were my whole body couldn't even function. I ended up sleeping with ice packs on my legs and that seemed to help. On Tuesday I made an appointment with a Sports Chiropractor who performs Active Release Therapy (ART). Thanks Kristy and Heather for both suggesting this method. Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions and well wishes. They don't go unappreciated! I have my Chiropractor appointment today. Hopefully I have good news to report later this week!

Thank You to Deb at Focused on the Magic for hosting the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop!

Tasty Tuesday: What's The Deal With Star Fruit?

One of my favorite lessons while teaching Nutrition Class was the one on fruits. I would gather a handful of fruits that weren't all that common that my students probably had never tried before. Usually 3/4 of the class or more had never tried what I would bring to class.

Some of the fruit wasn't all that "uncommon" but ones they had never had the courage to try. The list would include fruits such as:
Persimmons
Mango ( many people have had "mango" flavored things but never have tried a real mango.
Papaya
Avocado
Grapples ( love these) An apple that taste like a grape!
Kiwano- The horned melon
Kiwi
Star Fruit
Pomegranate ( Never again, this makes a huge mess)

There were a few more and some semesters I would change it up depending on what was available, but the fruit that always got the best response was the Star Fruit. I know many adults that have never even had a Star Fruit so I thought I would share a tid bit here!

Do you see why they get the name Star Fruit?

When you see them in the grocery store you will see green ones and yellow ones. The yellow ones are the ripest and are ready to eat. They should have brown on the edges and that's okay.

You will slices these brown edges off before eating (  really no harm done if you don't cut it off).

And then just slice it

Star Fruit does have little seeds and you'll want to remove them

They are readily available in Winter

Great Source of Vitamin C

Great source of Fiber

About 30 calories per fruit

Star fruit have a pretty sweet taste. If I had to describe it to someone who has never had it before, I would say it kind of taste like Juicy Fruit gum.  What do you think?

Start fruit are in season right now and they have been on sale at my local grocery store for 50 cents a piece. I've been grabbing a few each time I visit!

Do you like Star Fruit?  Is there a fruit you've never tried?

Self Diagnosing: What do you think?

So after this weekend, I have come to the realization that my leg/knee pain is IT band Syndrome. Now this is just a self diagnosis of course, but I am 99.9% that is what it is. I have the centralized soreness on the side of my knees ( both of them) and the pain has extended to my hip as well.  At first I thought it was just soreness and nothing real serious because I had it in both legs/knees. What are the chances of being injured on both sides?  Well I guess I am.

I haven't put in a whole lot of miles yet this month ( currently only 47.36 miles) so I have been quite perplexed how this happened.  But after reading up on the causes of IT band pain, which include running on flat surfaces for an extended period of time ( like treadmills), and running down hills, I could clearly see now how this happened. 

I had been doing a lot of treadmill running and doing some outside hill work, ( but I am always careful to take it very easy when going down hills).

Along with my self diagnosis came trying to self treat! I have read about a ton of other runners who have suffered from IT band and it seems the consensus it to do a ton of foam rolling and exercises/stretches, so I started searching for them online.   My friend Monica has a few easy exercises that I've enjoyed doing over the past few days, but then she left me know that these exercises are for preventing IT band pain, not healing it.

 I will continue to do them though because I have to admit, my knees/legs did feel better when I was done.  Even if you are not having pain, you should check out her exercises.

So in an effort to find some exercises that will help heal the pain, I found this video as well.




Then my friend Heather from Mouse Fitness, sent me this wonderful information from Athletes Treating Athletes. Have you ever been on this sight? It is wonderful.  They tell you all about the symptoms and what each pain could be, offer solutions, step by step videos, and even show you properly how to apply KT tape to your injury. Thanks Heather!

I know people who have dealt with the IT band issue for weeks before they felt 100% back to normal. This really couldn't have come at a worse time for me, The Disney Princess weekend of races is only twenty some days away.  I know walking the 5K  (and possibly some of the 10K) is not a big deal, but my mom and I have trained really hard for the half and I don't want to slow her down much with all the walking I might have to do.   I didn't sign up for the Glass Slipper Challenge with the intention of "Walking"!   Last week my mom and I did a 10 mile walk on the rail trail  and  were still able to keep a 13 minute mile pace. So worse case scenario even if I have to walk some of it, I know we won't be in any danger of seeing the balloon ladies. That's not really my concern though. My concern is more about all the time, effort, and training my mom and I put into preparing for this race since last year. I know she is going to do her best and I wanted to be able to do mine too!

Since I already have learned so much about this pain and have been doing the recommended stretches and exercises, I was debating weather or not it was necessary that I visit a Dr, but in the end, I think it's probably a wise decision to make an appointment.   ~M

Have you ever had IT pain? (if so,what did you do?)
Have you ever been able to self treat a pain/injury without going to a Dr?


P.S If you had been following my Issue With Dick's Sporting Goods Online, I am happy to report that it has finally been resolved. After TWO MONTHS of going back and forth with them, I finally got the refund back on my credit card. Every week I would call and ask what was going on and they would always say that it was taken care of. I would wait a few days and check my statement and still see nothing, so I would call back and then they would tell me they were sending me a gift card instead, but then I would get a call back from Dick's  a few days later saying  I would be credited on my credit card not a gift card. This went back and forth for several weeks. I finally said "Would you guys make up your mind"!  Finally it was resolved, Thank Goodness!  ( And just to note, I didn't return anything. This was all caused by an incompetent sales associate that didn't know what she was doing, even though I tried to explain to her she was doing it wrong.) You need to just go and read my Dick's Sporting Goods post if you haven't already!

I hope you all have a great week!  Stay warm!

Runner Snacks Review

One of the great things about reading blogs is learning about different products that we didn't even know existed.  Sometimes just a mere mention of something is enough to intrigue us and we ended up finding something that becomes a favorite of ours!

We hope that by reading our blog that you find new products that you end up enjoying too!

This brings us to SNACKS! Who doesn't love a new snack. Here are a few new things that I've tried over the past several weeks and thought I would share.

So here are our Friday Five!

 1. The Carrot Cake Clif bar is simply yummy! This was my breakfast one day with a glass of Vanilla Almond Milk. I will definitely be picking up a few more of these next time I go to the store!

2.  I just discovered the Chocolate Peppermint Stick Lara bar right after Christmas. I love Peppermint flavored stuff during the holidays and probably would have had a lot more of them if I had found them earlier in December. I thought maybe they were seasonal bars, but I am still finding them in the stores. I guess if there is still snow on the ground in some places then it is still okay to eat peppermint stuff, right? Sorry there is no picture of the bar, but they are really a chewy chocolate bar. almost like a brownie!

 3. The Peanut Honey Pretzel Luna Bar: I found this to be a little dry. It has peanut butter chips in it but that didn't make it as creamy as I was hoping for. I think the pretzels contributed a bit to the dry taste as well. I'm gonna say I probably won't buy this Luna bar again.

 4. This White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Peak Bar was a total surprise to me. I had stopped by Aldi the other day to pick up something and I saw these bars at the check out line. Does the packaging look familiar?  I thought it resembled a Clif bar so I decided to give it a try. I guess it was the Aldi brand of Clif bar and it was only 79 cents.   I ate it for lunch that same day and it held me through dinner time without feeling hungry. After having an actual White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cliff bar the following day, I could tell that the Cliff bar brand was a little bit sweeter ( and I preferred it better).  But if I end up going to Aldi again, I wouldn't be opposed to picking up another one!

 5. This Planters Cherry Chocolate Peanut butter was also a new discovery. It had a hint of cherry flavoring and tiny pieces of chocolate in it without being overly sweet.  I thought it was rather good, but I admit I am a bit of a peanut butter snob and nothing will ever be as good as my Honey Roasted Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter. The Planters Cherry Chocolate is a nice treat, but I wont stop buying my Honey Roasted Peter Pan.


I know it's a "Friday Five" but I have 2 more for good measure!

6. I have already voiced my opinion on the Vanilla and Chocolate Honey Stinger Waffles. You can read that HERE. I recently found a Strawberry Waffle and thought I would try it.  Since the Vanilla and Chocolate waffles were colored accordingly, I fully expected my Strawberry waffle to be pink. It wasn't pink, but that had no bearing on the flavor. it was yummy! This is something that I will buy again. Actually I often crave the Honey Stingers after a run!

7. I bought this Cinnamon Coffee Cake Kashi Go Lean Bar because they were on sale at my local grocery store for $1 a bar. I had never had a Kashi Go lean bar so this was a first for me. I did take a bite out of this bar before I took the picture, but the actual size of the bar wasn't even half the size of the package. The bar was a little harder than I was expecting and the flavor was only okay. I can say for sure I won't buy this bar again.

So there ya have it.  Out of seven products, maybe one or two of these ( or all of them) are new to you. Maybe you will have found a favorite, or maybe you now know a products you won't waste your time or money on!

What do you think of any of these products? Are there any you would want to try?
                                                 ~M

I'm Linking this post up with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC and her DC Group!

Green Dawg

I set out on my run the other day and decided to take my Baylee girl with me. So actually it was more like a Walk/Run/Walk.  This was the Walk/Run/Walk were my leg started to get sore and I could barely make it home.

I think she had to walk through every other mud puddle we passed.

 

 

This is what Baylee looked like when we were done!

She was desperately in need of a bath.

 

 

Thank Goodness Green Dawg sent me this dog Shampoo!

This is all natural shampoo  which is plant based and the scent is "Rainbow Cookie".  As soon as I opened it up  I smelled a pleasantly familiar scent. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was until read the label.

 

"Scented with sweet almond and cherry oil to soften skin and coat. Low foaming and sudsing, 100% biodegradable and non toxic. Safe for all your furry friends. Can be used on Dogs, Cats, puppies, and kittens"

 

It smelled like Almond extract and reminded me of baking cookies!

 

So I admit, Baylee is one of the best bathers.  You know how some pets don't like water or have a difficult time getting in the bath? Well, we don't have that problem here!

She loves getting baths. She would stay in here all day if I let her! I guess they don't call Labradors water dogs for nothing!

 

Of course she has to wear her robe! This actually serves a purpose. This prevents her from shaking all over my furniture. I didn't have to worry about that though this night because after she laid down in the corner, I couldn't get her to move! She must have been one tired dog too! Oh, and she smelled so good too. I could help but keep sniffing her all night!

 

*I received this Rainbow Cookie shampoo from Green Dawg in exchange for this review!

If you would like to learn more about this wonderful product, please visit the Green Dawg site at www.mygreendawg.com

( and guess what, the owner Mike is a huge Disney fan!)

Parades, Publisher, and Photoshop

Even before I started blogging, I've been using a program called Microsoft Picture it Publishing for all my photo editing needs and to even add a little element of fun to the pictures such as these parade pictures.

Travel Tuesday ~ Ft Lauderdale

I decided to do a "Travel Tuesday" today since I had a quick trip down South last week! Here's a brief recap and some pictures. Enjoy!

 

After spending a lot of time up North (where it was in the single digits with snow on the ground). I decided to get away to some place a little warmer (Unfortunately it wasn't Disney, where some of our friends were running the Marathon).

 

 

 

I went to the beach in Fort Lauderdale!  Here the sun was shining and the temperature was in the 80's. It was so relaxing laying out by the beach soaking up the sunshine for the afternoon.  

 

 

We even had a quick bite at the tiki hut for lunch. Later that night we went down town for some shopping and dinner.

 

Afterwards we found this fun dueling piano bar. You could practically request any song new or old and they knew it. It was good time! I even got a few good runs in the warm weather while I was down there.

 It was a fun little get away to beat the cold weather. I picked the perfect week to go away because by the time I arrived back home, it was so nice out that I could wear shorts and a t-shirt for my run. This was nice because I haven't done a long run since before the holidays. I hope the weather stays like this. Better weather makes it much more motivating to want to get up and run, but unfortunately I think it's suppose to cool back off again at the end of the week. Enjoy it while it lasts!

 

What motivates you to get out and run when the weather isn't quite as nice as you'd like?

                                                                ~L

 

 

Bits and pieces

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? I spent most of the weekend with sore legs. It actually started earlier last week. I was getting sore on a 5 mile run last Monday and then on Tuesday I could barely get in a 2 mile walk/run with my Labrador!
The pain is mostly on the sides and backs of my knees. I've been stretching and foam rolling like crazy but I still feel pain in places that I can't quite get with the foam roller. I tried using the tennis ball massage method but every time I put the ball in my hand Baylee thought I wanted to play and would try to get the ball!

After taking 2 rest days, I did a 10 mile walk/run with my mom. I felt like I needed this and it really helped me stretch my leg muscles out. I felt good during the run/walk but I was very sore afterwards.   I spent some quality time with this massager after this. This really does wonders for the calf muscles. Love it!

New Year New You: Yoga Giveaway

I'm working with Lotus Fitness again to bring you this next giveaway!  And guess what, I'm also a part of a Giveaway blog hop!

Runners Re-organize!

Since we had a snow day/Cold day one of the days last week, I decided to get organized for the new year! One of the things that drives me crazy is an unorganized pantry. I don't have a small kitchen but I do have a small pantry. I am one of those people who has certain shelves for certain products: ( all can goods go on one shelf, all cereal on one shelf, you get the picture?)  I want to easily be able to find my post run snacks when I get back to my house!

But I couldn't stop there. I went around to the hall closet and gave that a mini makeover as well.  A few years ago I purchased one of these over the door hanger things.  ( I think it is suppose to hold shoes, but we use to hold all that extra stuff that we feel needs to be in our foyer)

This works great for me because now when I go for a run, I know everything I need is right in the one pocket.

I can easily stuff my I-pod, Garmin, gloves, hat, and road ID right there by the door!

And since I was gifted with new clothes for the holidays, both fitness and real clothes ( Note: only runners would call everyday clothes "Real Clothes" don't you agree?) I decided that I had to reorganize my dressing room.

                                                        BEFORE

 

Notice how messy the shelves are?

 

AFTER

 

I don't know why I spend my precious time organizing my clothes by color, but it makes me happy!

All the fitness clothes that were once stuffed into the shelves on the right hand side are now nicely organized in this sweater hanger.

 Now I can organize my clothes by type. One pouch has running tanks, one has long sleeve running tops, one has compression capris, one has running shorts, you get the pictures!

Okay, now that I have organized my post run snacks, running gear, and fitness clothes ( and real clothes), what should I go and organize next?

Have you ever been in full on organization mode? What room in your home needs the most organization?

Vega One shakes

So let me tell you about what I made in my Blender Bottle the other day!  As luck would have it, the same week I received my Blender Bottle, I also received a box of Vega One Nutritional Shake Mix.
I knew this would be the first thing I would put in my Blender Bottle!

If you have started this year off as a "Clean Eater" or "Vegan" or "Gluten Free", than these shakes are for you! Actually, I haven't committed myself to any of these eating styles, and I still enjoyed the Shakes.

They come in a variety of yummy flavors including:

French Vanilla
Chocolate
Natural ( not sure what that would be like)
Vanilla Chai
Berry

I am participating in the #OneChange campaign and was lucky enough to get sent the French Vanilla ( my favorite flavor)!

The packet is to be mixed with a cup and a half of water, juice, or non dairy product. I used my Vanilla Almond milk ( see told you I liked vanilla). And you can also mix it in your favorite smoothie as well.

I actually did not eat lunch this day ( this happens quite often), so this shake was a substitute for my meal. But that's okay because look at what all you are getting in this shake.

50% daily intake of vitamins and minerals

15 g protein     ( The same as eating 2 eggs)

6 g fiber           ( The same as eating 3 pieces of bread)

1.5 g Omega-3 ( The same as eating 2 servings of salmon)

Antioxidants    ( the same as eating 2 cups of blueberries)

Probiotics        ( the same as eating 1 cup of yogurt)

Greens             ( The same as eating 3 servings of veggies)

The next day I decided to make a shake in my Magic Bullet. This time I added frozen peach slices, half vanilla almond milk and half orange juice.

I think I prefer to use the #VegaOne in frozen drinks like this one! Even though I put peaches and orange juice in my drink, I'm thinking it came out green because the #VegaOne is plant based. Even though I added other flavors to my smoothie, it did not over power the vanilla flavor and I could still taste it throughout my drink which I enjoyed.

As part of the #OneChange #VegaOne campaign, we were asked to pick a persona that we best relate to. Since I said that I often skip lunch, I picked the Serial Snacker. Which one do You relate to. ( See descriptions below)

• Breakfast Skipper: You don’t have to sacrifice nutrition to fit it all in. You hit the ground running every morning, prepping and planning for your day on the way out the door. Wilting at your desk by 10 AM, you kick yourself for missing breakfast. As you reach for your third cup of coffee to get you through, you wonder who the heck has time for breakfast when you’re already skimping on sleep to fit it all in.
• Serial Snacker: Yes, you can snack and feel good about giving in. Your stomach talks to you all day (it never shuts up!) Your bag or desk drawer is strategically stocked with a wide assortment of get-me-through-to-the-next-meal morsels. You struggle to turn down a slice of office birthday cake—hungry or not. And the 3 PM growlies can lead to pre-dinner nachos or a midnight snack over the kitchen sink.
• Number Cruncher: All calories are not created equal—make them count, nutritionally!Less is more, right? So you keep score of everything you eat, as you eat it, on an app on your smartphone. Food and exercise are the columns on your weekly balance sheet, and you’re an expert strategist when calculating how to make up for every indulgence. 
• Weekend Splurger: Don’t skip the party—just party smarter. Your best healthy-eating intentions crumble without the structure of Monday to Friday. By Sunday night, you feel like you need a weekend to recover from your weekend. Between late nights, sleeping in, social outings with friends, and catching up after a busy week, it seems impossible to eat right. Monday is your day to reset the dial.

Did I mention that Vega One also has bars too?

 I did not get to try one of these yet, but I hope too soon. I bet they are delicious.




* The shake mixes are formulated by Brendan Brazier, professional Ironman triathlete and bestselling author on performance nutrition, Vega One Nutritional Shake is free from dairy, gluten and soy, and contains no added sugar, artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.

I was asked to participate in this #OneChange campaign with Vega One. I received a free box of Vanilla Vega One Nutritional Shake Mix but all opinions are my own.

Which Persona do you most identify with?

Do you use Nutritional Shakes on a regular basis? If so, which ones?
Do you make smoothies?