New Goal

Right now I am training for another half marathon. Can I just say how much I LOVE it?!?! Last year when I was training, I had a ‘training schedule’ but I didn’t do any tempo or easy runs, I just did the miles it required. I have this thing with always wanting to increase my time so I couldn’t stand to look at my Garmin and see anything less than a 10:30 pace (don’t laugh, that’s good for me!).

This time around I decided that MAYBE the people at Runners World know what they’re talking about and maybe I should give these whole ‘tempo’ and ‘easy’ runs a try… THEY’RE GRRREEEAAATTT (picture Tony the Tiger here). This past weekend I ran 5 miles and only stopped 3 short times. Twice for water and then once because the girl I was running with needed a quick breather. I could have run the whole thing though. That has NEVER happened before! THEN - 2 days later, she and I ran 3 miles without stopping! It’s been years since I’ve been able to do that! So yeah, apparently RW is pretty informed ;)

Okay, so on to my new goal… This past weekend I was at the park with my nieces and nephews. This may sound silly to you, but I have never been able to do the monkey bars. I just don’t have the upper body strength. I decided to give those monkey bars another try. While I was able to get further than normal, they still kicked my butt and I had to drop off half way through. By the end of this year – I will successfully be able to get across the monkey bars!!! I have incorporated 2 intense days of strength training each week; 1 of those specific to my upper body. I WILL be able to accomplish this!

What are your goals?

Protein Powders

I seem to constantly be trying new protein powders. I need one that tastes decent (at the least), has high protein, and one I can stomach. With all my lovely food intolerance's, I have to be very careful what I consume.

The brand I'm finishing up now is Solgar Whey To Go, Vanilla. This one meets two of my three requirements; with 20g of protein per scoop, it's high in protein and is easy on my stomach. It does not taste very good though.

The brand that is in the mail on it's way to me is AllMax Nutrition Isofemme. I've had this before and it hits all three requirements. Well, 2.5 I'd say; it's a little rough on my stomach but not enough that I would avoid it. I  know it's the artificial sweetener in it, but I think there isn't a large amount of it which is why it only kind-of hurts my stomach. I got chocolate and vanilla - YUM!

I did a little price shopping and found a pretty decent deal on them and purchased them. THEN I decided I should do more research on actual protein powders. Kind of backwards, huh?!? I think so too. I have found the one I am going to try once these run out; Dr. Mercola's Miracle Whey. This brand has no artificial sweeteners and is completely natural. It also comes with a 100% money back guarantee. So while it is more expensive, if it doesn't meet all my requirements I can send it back for a refund.

Do you use a protein supplement? If so, what kind and what do you look for in a protein supplement?