Spill It Sunday ‘Protein’, Weekly Running Recap, and ‘Who Wore It Best’?

Happy Sunday – I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend! What an incredibly crazy weather week we’ve had – started and ended near 40F … but had a snow and ice storm and wind chills of about 15F in the middle! I was hoping that this would be the first week without a sub-zero run … but alas Friday was really cold in the morning (and broke 50F in the afternoon)!

The top picture is my Saturday run gear – single layer and light gloves and my Saucony Kinvara 4s. Wait – what?!? That’s right, I brought out the retired shoes again – why? Because I was feeling like the New Balance Minimus were getting played out, so I tried the Kinvaras to see … and sure enough the Saucony felt better. Only 600 miles or so on the New Balance. Not exactly happy when I have been getting more than 1300 miles on the Saucony and Nike shoes.

Here is my weekly summary:

Sunday: 17.75 Miles
Monday: 22F … 8.25 miles
Tuesday: 18F … 6.75 miles
Wednesday: 39F … 7.25 miles
Thursday: -6F … Rest Day!
Friday: -2F Wind Chill … 7.25 miles
Saturday 45F, did 9.1 miles

So another pretty solid week with 56.35 miles – obviously my long Sunday run helped the total. I hadn’t planned to take Thursday off, but I had run 10 days straight already … so it wasn’t a bad choice. Friday I was annoyed about how cold it was – and I knew there was no way I would get out in the afternoon, so I pushed it a bit harder in terms of distance and pace. And on Saturday it was a matter of threading the run in between National History Day and the marching band playing at the St Patrick’s Parade in town. I dedicated my run on Twitter to #RunForJane, for the young single mother who was killed recently while out running.

As you read this a two day cold snap is descending on us before returning to more seasonal temperatures. Who knows – THIS might be our first week without a sub-zero morning!

Who Wore It Best?!?

Poor Megan, she has to take abuse two weeks in a row! A few weeks ago she did a review of Natural Energy Rush eBoost, and one of the items she got was a hat that wasn’t really her style. She said whoever made her laugh most in the comments won the hat – and that ended up being me!

This week I got the hat … but also so much more. Here is what I found when I opened the box:

There was the hat, of course, and also the promised shirt – but also a bunch of goodies … raw, natural, organic goodies! And also a wonderful note! Check it all out:

We have already tried out some of the snacks: the Go Raw pumpkin bar was great, as were the flax snax; the Tanka Bar was a bit ‘jerky-ish’ and that isn’t something we generally eat so it was less of a hit. We haven’t tried the rest – but there were some great things in there we’ll definitely be checking out. And for pricing context, you can get 10 of the Go Raw pumpkin bars for $11.90 at Amazon.com.

But the REAL reason we are here is for the ‘Who Wore It Best’ challenge. Let’s start with Megan:

And here I am (sadly you can’t see my ‘live long and prosper’ sign). The joke here is I won for talking about how ‘gangsta’ she could look in the hat!

One final thing – looking at how huge the hat is on Megan compared to knowing how small it is on me (I had to adjust it larger) puts the relative size of our melons in context!

So … ‘Who Wore It Best’ – Megan or Me?!? Let me know in the comments!

And this week over at Arman’s site, the ‘Spill It Sunday’ is ‘Protein’ – one of the most important things we put into our bodies.

1. What is your favourite protein source?

I would have to say nuts – I have peanut butter on my toast at breakfast, or sprinkle almonds on my oats or yogurt, keep pistachios in my desk for snacks and so on. Yeah, nuts.

2. What is your favourite meat (If you eat it)

I rarely eat it (less than once per month), but steak.

3. Which protein receives unfair flack? Which protein is most overrated?

Red meat is unfairly criticized. I say that because all of the studies showing how bad it is included bacon and sausage and other processed crap under the ‘red meat’ category. A good, butcher trimmed lean grass-fed piece of red meat is about the best source of protein available.

In terms of over-rated, I’ll go with Protein powder. Why? Because there’s no need to consume processed food in order to meet your protein intake goals. Obviously everyone has to make their own choices, but if your dietary choices (as opposed to health-related restrictions) has you eating things make in labs and factories, then please don’t claim you are a ‘clean eater’ or that that you only eat ‘whole foods’.

4. Link up a favourite protein rich recipe (it can be your own or another bloggers!)

I always mess around with recipes, but this Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili is one of my faves. The sweetness of the potatoes makes if less of a chili, but I totally love this and could eat it every week (not so for my family … see comment about sweetness).

5. What is YOUR perception of this macronutrient?

Protein helps keep me full and fueled, and is incredibly important to me.

6. What benefits does PROTEIN play in YOUR personal eating habits?

As a runner it is incredibly important, helping to rebuild and restore my body, including bone and muscle tissue. Since it fills me up, it keeps me from snacking too much or getting cravings that I might fill with junk foods or empty carbs.

So what about you? How was YOUR running this week? Did you have better weather this week? And how do YOU feel on the subject of meats and proteins?

Hope everyone has a great week!