Michelle's Run

I am the perfect example of the old adage, you are what you eat. Have you read the O’Keefe’s blog this week? Unfortunately, I can attest to every word.

I’ve been on Accutane twice in my life and wish so much I’d have known then what I know now. Unfortuantely, that was back in the day of fat-free diets being the rage and me not knowing any better. I used to live on fat-free sugar laden cereals and other junk – and I loved soda pop. And I paid the price. My skin looked awful! As a last resort, I took Accutane at 16 and again at 22. Accutane is a miserable experience. The side effects are awful and now they’re saying it could cause all sorts of intestinal issues later in life. Not good!

I have been trying to follos the Forever Young Diet and Lifestyle for several years now and have never looked or felt better. But, for the last two weeks, my skin has looked awful! I am broken out so badly. It should have been obvious from the first zit – my birthday was two weeks ago and I really overindulged. Birthday cake and pie and sweets galore for the whole week. And it’s still visible in my face. I’m well into my thirties now and bad skin just doesn’t look professional.

All those sweets didn’t taste anywhere near good enough to be worth this nasty skin. I’m embarrassed and I am hiding my face and trying as hard as I can to cover it up with makeup, etc. It’s just not worth going through this for the minute or two of pleasure that birthday cake gave me.

For the next month I’m going to try to completely eliminate easily digested carbohydrate from my diet. I’ll let you know how my skin looks next month.

I know, I know. I’ve neglected the advice I’ve received by so many people and now I’m paying the price.

I’ve been using the “too busy” excuse for not fitting in as much core and weight training as I should. I have tried to do my running, biking and swimming workouts, but that leaves very little time for weights and core exercises. Lately, I’ve neglected them all together.

My favorite triathlon of the season, The Win For KC Women’s Triathlon, was this Saturday. I did the Cameron, MO mini-triathlon as a warm-up the weekend before and that’s where I first felt the awful pain and burning in my left hip. It was almost unbearable and my run really suffered in that race. I took last week off of running completely thinking it would improve in time for Saturday’s race. Not so.

I probably shouldn’t have even done the race, but about 1/10th of a mile into Saturday’s run the burning was back… with a vengeance. I ended up walking part of the 5K and jogging a little. My time in the 5K was 20 seconds per mile MORE than my marathon pace. Ridiculous. Hopefully by not pushing through the pain I may have salvaged myself for a fall race. I think it’s time to see the doctor. I’m also going to check with some functional training friends to see what they recommend to avoid this injury coming back.

I’ve switched gears from marathon training to triathlon and with that comes lake swimming.  I love swimming, but I always seem to have trouble with swimmer’s ear and ear infections when I swim a lot.  I’ve tried ear plugs and they never seem to stay put through a long swim.  I’ve also tried keeping my cap over my ears and that alone doesn’t help either.  Enter my six year-old.

During a recent visit to my daughter’s Ear Nose and Throat surgeon (she had ear tube surgery in May), we were advised to keep her ears completely dry for eight weeks.  Difficult at best, especially during the summer.  Her doctor told us to coat cotton balls in vaseline and use as earplugs.  The vaseline creates an air-tight seal – she compared it to chewing gum – and keeps the ears dry.  What an easy (and economical) solution.  It’s worked incredibly well for eight weeks of baths, showers, and lots of swimming.  And, it’s worked for me, too!

Cheaper than earplugs and it works much better!  I’m off to the lake…

Last Saturday employees of CardioTabs and Good Things Health made a strong showing at the Kansas City Start! Heart Walk benefitting the American Heart Association. As a frequent participant in charity runs and races of all lengths, I was absolutely inspired by the sheer number of people who came out just to walk or to show their support for friends/family with heart disease. There were no timing chips and no prizes for the first walker to the finish line, but still thousands of people came to the event.

This is one event where setting a PR was out of the question. We simply walked and had a good time. I even refreshed my CPR skills! Every once in a while it’s good for the competitor in me to take a rest and enjoy the walk.

I think I can speak for our entire staff when I say that we had so much fun meeting long-time customers and new faces, too. We gave out hundreds of samples of omega-3 and had such great reviews! I’ll be posting pictures soon so check www.cardiotabs.com for them.

More great news: CardioTabs is giving 15% of all product sales that use promo code IHEARTKC to the Kansas City chapter of the American Heart Association. Valid through June 30th.

I did it! Stomach bug and all I qualified! For some reason, the Boston Marathon has always been my gauge. Qualifying for and running it would make me a “real” runner. I thought I’d feel different in some way upon making it, but I don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited, but maybe it’s because I never took the time to “revel in the moment” at the end. I started to tear up and get excited, but the very moment I crossed the finish line, that stomach bug had me looking for the nearest restroom.

The race really did go well. My first half felt terrific and in the last 10K, I knew I had the Boston time nailed so I relaxed and had fun with it. My brother, his brother in law (who is also a friend of mine) and my husband, who all happen to be named Jason, ran the last half mile of the race with me and those are moments I’ll never forget.
I think the real finisher’s medal should go to my parents and kids. My mom and dad got the kids up very early to watch the race and helped my husband shuttle them from spot to spot along the race course. They did a lot of work and were there every few miles cheering me on. I should also thank the other Michelle. She was running my pace for the whole first half and had a ton of crowd support – I think she knew the whole city. I just pretended it was me that they were cheering for.

Boston April 2011, here I come. My good friend and running partner will even be joining me! Thanks to all of my friends and family for the well-wishes. We did it!

Go figure!
It’s marathon week. 18 weeks of training and all has gone perfectly well. I’m finally in the taper week and guess what? My first illness of the year – a darn sinus infection has to get in my way. I have asthma and these things usually lead to breathing problems for me. I am really hoping to have this gone in a couple of days. I’m drinking tons of extra fluids, eating only healthy foods including tons of color and I made a call to my asthma doctor. I have been trying to get some extra sleep, but was up all night worrying about being sick. Ugh!

Fortunately taper week is a time for rest. I had a scheduled day off today and only a 3-mile run tomorrow. Wednesday is just four miles and then Thursday and Friday are completely off. My schedule calls for a very easy one-three mile run on Saturday and Sunday is the full 26.2. I always look forward to a few days of eating lots of carbs!

I am determined not to let this nasty sinus infection ruin what could be a great run, but I’m going to need all of the help I can get! Keep your fingers crossed!

By: Michelle Kruse

Green Eggs and “Ham”

Here’s a fun recipe to try at home with young kids. My kids LOVE the book “Green Eggs and Ham” so this is a fun, easy way to get them to eat color and protein in the morning. Put a cup of spinach in a blender with 2 eggs and liquefy – all spinach texture should be gone. Scramble with cooking spray. Your “ham” can be almost anything. We sliced apples flat and called them “ham.” We’ve used whole grain toast for the ham before – anything goes. This is so easy and takes very little time out of our hurried mornings.

By Michelle Kruse

I made this with my five year-old daughter the other day. It is easy, healthy, and the kids loved it! Perfect for Thanksgiving and the whole holiday season.

EASY, Kid-Friendly Pumpkin Soup

One yellow onion
2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin (canned works well)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
3 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth

Chop the onion and carmelize with olive oil in pan. In large crock pot or stock pot, add pumpkin, nutmeg and pepper. Slowly add chicken broth and heat thoroughly on medium heat.
Optional: Before serving, pour into blender or food processor and blend until smooth, will appear creamy. (Bonus, the kids don’t see the onions!)

By Michelle Kruse

We talk a lot about the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3, and for good reason! However, I thought I’d show everyone an article written by my eye doctor, Dr. Thomas Anderson, of Smithville Eye Center. Omega-3 has terrific benefits for your eye health. I discovered one of the benefits by accident. Several years ago, my contacts were bothering me so badly that I simply stopped wearing them. My eyes were so dry that my contacts were unbearable. Around the same time, I upped my omega-3 fish oil intake. All of a sudden, it didn’t hurt to wear my contacts. I really didn’t relate the two until shortly after that I read a study that linked low DHA intake to dry eyes. It was definitely an “AHA” moment.

Omega-3, and in particular DHA is a vital nutrient for your eyes. Did you know your retinas are made of DHA (so is a large portion of your brain)? (No wonder they put so much of it in infant formula – help those developing eyes – and brains). Download Dr. Anderson’s article below.

By Michelle Kruse

As I type this, I am sitting in the airport waiting to leave New Orleans. Happily, this is the first time I’ve ever left this town feeling well. In the city of excess everything, it’s hard to come away not feeling heavier, bloated, and worn out. What’s different? This time I made a conscious effort to eat well, avoid salty junk, and avoid smoky jazz joints and smoky restaurants. I traveled with my dietitian colleague, Sally Brown. That helped, too. My tips for traveling “light:”

1. BYOWP: Bring Your Own Whey Protein!!! CardioWhey comes in single serve packets – you can even take them on the airplane – in your carry-on. Mix it with some milk, juice or even water and have a healthy breakfast anytime. You can always find a fresh fruit cup, orange, or apple somewhere – have it with your CardioWhey and you’ve got a complete meal.

2. Request what you want at restaurants. Just because something is not on the menu, it doesn’t mean they don’t have it or can’t do it. Chances are your server can replace iceberg with darker greens or can add extra veggies to your salad. Order light dressing or even just vinegar and olive oil on the side so you can control your calories. Ask for a light protein source with your salad – small piece of grilled chicken, fish, etc.

3. SHARE! Sally and I split meals in the evenings. The portions are huge. You don’t have to eat it all! Splitting with a friend means your portion is more reasonable. Skip dessert or order fresh berries for dessert. Even when they’re not on the menu, many nice restaurants will still serve them.

4. Travel with healthy snacks. My husband always travels with raw nuts, apples, and other “easy” snacks. Then when the peanuts and pretzels come on the plane, we can skip them and eat our own healthy food.

5. Research your exercise before you leave. I always call to see if there is a lap pool at the hotel and bring a suit and goggles if so. I check out the workout room online and when I arrive, I ask at the front desk for a running map. Most hotels have safe routes mapped out for walkers and runners. They’ll always make one for you. Just ask! Never leave home without your running/walking shoes and workout clothes.

Boarding time – there’s no place like home!