cha cha cha chia! Running Food

Confession #1:  I'm probably one of the only runners left on earth who has NOT yet read "Born to Run" by Chris McDougall. You know, the one about the Tarahumara tribe who runs a bajillion miles a day barefoot, fueled by their chia seeds (or something like that)?  It's on my book shelf...I just haven't gotten to it yet. Sorry Mr. McDougall, it's nothing personal. Just the life of a crazy running mom.  One day I'll get to it, I swear.

Confession #2:  I don't eat as well as I should, or as well as the people who know me as a fitness health freak probably *think* I do.  Heck, just last night Twitter suggested I follow Hostess Snack cakes and I got a little giddy inside thinking about cupcakes and ding dongs, I won't lie. 

I'm trying to make a change. And like any lifestyle change, slow and steady is the way to go.  Everyday I try to incorporate more and more healthy items and less and less junk food, though I will cave in to the occasional Taco Bell and not feel (too) guilty about it.

But I am also a picky eater and there are some things I just DO NOT like...one of the big ones being seafood.  I mean, I'll eat it occasionally. Fish and I do not loathe each other, it's just not one of my all time favorites.  Fish however, are a huge source of those awesome omega fats that we all need.  So I turn to chia seeds.   Most people have never even heard of these little guys, and the look on their faces when I say yes, it is INDEED the same seeds used to grow chia pets is almost always priceless.


Chia is an itty bitty little seed that is high in fiber, omega 3,'s 6's and 9's (in the correct ratio your body needs), antioxidants, and vitamin C. It  has 16% of your daily value of calcium, plus boron and magnesium, which help your bones absorb the calcium. It can help lower cholesterol, increase energy levels, level blood sugar, induce weight loss and aid intestinal regularity (woo!) And the best part is that its' all natural, a plant, not manufactured supplements.  So if you are into eating as natural and clean as possible, it's a great addition to your diet.


When I first started eating chia, I just bought whatever I could find.  But like anything else, you get what you pay for. That's why I was excited to find the brand "Running Food" chia.

Now, I'll be honest with you, it's hard to review the taste of chia, because frankly, I can't taste it. I mix it in with things like  yogurt, smoothies, salads, etc and I really do not even notice it's there.  So I'm not going to tell you that "Running Food chia is the best thing I've ever tasted!".  But I will tell you WHY I will continue to choose their brand over other chia: 

- Chia is Micro-Milled , a process that doesn't apply any crushing pressure or heat that could degrade the nutritional value of the chia. 


- Running Food is a raw power food, a complete protein, is gluten free, Vegan, Kosher, and GMO free. The equipment is used ONLY to mill chia, so no chance of cross contamination. 


- It's packaged and milled in New York (go USA!) Running Food works directly with fifth generation chia farmers in Bolivia. Running Food is completely traceable from the farmers fields, to their customers hands.  No junk or mystery food! 


- They love mother earth.  Packaging is environmentally friendly, and they use 100% renewable energy sources to produce all of their products.


Now, let's go back to confession #1, the whole deal with the Tarahumara and chia.  How can chia help you as a runner?  Let's review.  Actually, let me just cut and paste what Running Food has to say from their website (they say it better than me and the kids are starting to wrestle with the dogs)

Endurance: Protein is essential for sustaining energy during lost distance events. Running Food is loaded with easy to digest proteins. Chia has two times the protein of any other grain or seed, including soy! The way your body digests chia seeds naturally helps you sustain energy. Running Food mixes with water and your stomach juices, forming a gel that creates a barrier between the carbohydrates and your digestive enzymes. Therefore, the carbohydrates digest at a slower even rate, keeping your energy levels constant.

Hyrdation:  Maintaining hydration is key during any endurance event. The way your body digests chia seeds naturally helps you maintain hydration. Running food holds seven times its weight in water, therefore eating chia helps you level out your water intake and retain your electrolyte balance.

Recovery: Protein and antioxidants are crucial for recovery. Running food is packed with both, and it contains the richest source of omega 3's, 6's and 9's of any commercially available source. Plus, the omega fatty acids are plant based. Plant based omegas are easier for your body to absorb than manufactured omegas.

So there you go. Nothing like a sports physiology/nutrition lesson first thing on a Monday morning!


Running Food brand chia offers a number of ways to get your daily chia fix, from whole chia seeds, to micro milled chia, pure chia oil, and even chia oil soft gels (GOOD BYE stinky fish oil supplements!)  So go check them out at www.runningfood.com and tell them Run Faster Mommy sent you !  


QUESTION OF THE DAY:  Have you ever tried Chia? Is it a staple in your diet? 

The winner of the Pro Nutrients giveaway:

Congrats Megan !!!  Send me an email at heathergannoe @ gmail.com to claim your prize!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, and when you are running today or tomorrow, remember to  run for Sherry Arnold,  a fellow running mom who was recently abducted and presumably killed while out for her run.  RIP Sherry, you will never be forgotten, and so many prayers going out to your family and loved ones!  Be safe out there you guys!!!

Stronger.

Yesterday I penned (typed?) a  guest post for LoziLu Women's mud run about the reasons WHY we as mothers absolutely need to make the time for exercise.   Among the important reasons listed, one was simply: because you have an audience. Kids watch EVERYTHING you do, and they often take it in at a much deeper level than you might have expected. Never sell the little ones short, the simplicity in their thought process often means they are much wiser than we give them credit for.

Today is going to be a busy day for me.  I know at work later I will not have time to squeeze in my own workout, so I decided to pop in a quick round of my ol' reliable "Plyometric cardio circuit" Insanity DVD.  My 5 year old asked if he could watch and/or join in, so I said of course.  About a few minutes into it, he says "Mom, why do you do this anyway?"

In a mom panic, I searched for the "right" words in my head. The words to let him know that exercise is fun and necessary, and that while momentarily this may have had more to do with the hoards of food I ate over superbowl weekend, in the bigger picture it has NOTHING to do with that at all.  It's never about fad diets or quick fixes or weight loss. It's about being strong. It's about being the best ME that I can be.  It's hard raising two little boys by myself at this very vulnerable age. I want them to know that women can be strong, and women are so much more than the latest clothing style our outward appearances, that their self worth is never ever based upon the number in the back of their jeans or on the scale.  And *I* am their #1 example, the woman in their life that they will learn all of these things from.  Don't just tell them, SHOW them, Heather.

So I spit out something along the lines of "well buddy, you see exercise is fun, and it makes mommy happy and..."

He cut me off.

"Mom. I thought you did this so you can get even stronger.  You know, so you can beat all the other moms and even the dads at your running races, and win some more medals. Right?"

"Right. That's exactly right."

"Well keep it up, you are getting even faster, I can just tell. "

And then he high-fived me...and told me to pay attention, I wasn't keeping up with Shaun T.

I love my kids :)


What kind of example are you setting?

You can fly! Inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon

How can you NOT love a race where you get to do THIS? Ole!

News flash: I LOVE runDisney.  Yeah, yeah, it's probably not secret, I only post about them whenever I get a chance  But seriously, in both my grown up, somewhat picky race connoisseur AND my "still a 7 year old at heart" opinions, runDisney puts on some of the most fantastic races I've ever run (and believe it or not, in the last 5.5 years since I started I've run well over 50 organized races).  So last summer, when the Inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland was announced, I knew I had to go.  At the same time, I heard about the opportunity to run as a member of the Leukemia and Lymphoma's Team in Training fundraising/racing group. Something seemed like a perfect fit:  help raise funds to kick cancer's a$$ + visit the West Coast version of my favorite races ever.  Before I knew it, I was signed up.


And thanks to my amazing friends, family, and the online running community, I was able to raise $3,904.70.  That's some serious cancer a$$ kicking, THANK YOU ALL!!!! 

So without further ado...the recap.



The flight to California, my first (and I really don't like to fly) was relatively uneventful and smooth. I got to the Orange County airport (nope, didn't see any housewives) just in time to welcome my favorite running partner in crime, Hope, to sunny California.  We grabbed the most insane cab ride (seriously, Southern California highways are just as crazy as they look on TV) to our hotel, the Anaheim Sheraton.

the hotel looked like a castle, how Disney appropriate! 

 What surprised me the most about the local landscape: the mountains. I expected the sunshine, I expected the endless palm trees and crazy cab rides, but I did not expect all of the mountains. They were so beautiful and so vastly different from the mountains here in New England, that I longed to grab some trail shoes and just RUN up them.  Though I'm almost certain I would have been met halfway by a mountain lion or rattle snake.

Hope and I spent the first night exploring downtown Disney, pre-pre-carb loading on Mexican food, and trying to get used to the time difference. Needless to say, we were fast asleep by 8:45 pm California time.

Tortilla Joe's in Downtown Disney = delicious! 

The next morning we were up at 5 am (yaaay time change!) with plenty of time to get ready for our TNT flex group run & breakfast. I practically FROLICKED down the street, not only was it in the 70's and sunny, but the blue sky, the palm trees....it was just SUCH a much needed change from snowy, sloppy, grey New Hampshire.  We even ran by the starting line!

After breakfast, Hope and I grabbed our bags and walked to the expo.  We started by picking up our bibs:

frolicking down the ramp like I'm wearing pixie wings, ha

cheeeeeese!

Then we headed to the main expo where we picked up our shirts/bags.  I was a little torn over the race goody bag. It contained the bib, the shirt, and a luna bar. And that's it.  I love luna bars, don't get me wrong. And I love that races are starting to go more "green" by not putting flyers for every race you could ever possibly run in the next 365 days in your race bag, but it was just so...empty.

So anyway, then we proceeded to spend A LOT of time oogling stuff. I was so stoked to see my friends from INKnBURN there with a booth, with their new prints & running skirts! Can't wait to get my hands on one! And speaking of running skirts, the awesome chicks at "Running Skirts" were AMAZINGLY patient and awesome to us, as Hope built her Princess half marathon outfit...and a few others ;)  Thank you ladies!  I also ran into a long time virtual friend, Stephanie, from the days of the myspace running group 5 years ago, that I had never actually met. This is one thing I LOVE about the running community. No matter where you go to race, you always know someone, and there is always a giant hug waiting to be had :)

So after much shopping, we headed home to relax, meet up with another amazing running mom Bethany, and get ready for our Team in Training Inspiration Dinner.

Dinner was yummy, and I was excited to hear that collectively, Team in Training groups had raised one MILLION dollars while fundraising/training for the Tinkerbell half marathon alone. Pretty amazing! I loved hearing the speakers talk, but to be quite honest with you, I was on East Coast time still, tired, and anxious for race day!

The next morning, 12:45 am came very quickly. Yes, 12:45 am. Hope's iphone was still on east coast time, and our 3:45 am wake up call came three hours too soon, haha! So after we realized our error, we both crashed for a few more hours. Then we woke up, got ready, and headed to the lobby to meet with the rest of the team.  A few group photos, and we started the mile or so walk to the start line.

While we all run for so many reasons, during the process of fundraising, a new, very important "fight" came about in our lives. One of our amazing running mom friends Denise, otherwise known as "Da Diva" is a CLL & cervical cancer survivor.  She recently found out that she has to go back on chemo , or the "glow in the dark juice" as she calls it, to try and kick this cancer's ass once and for all. She is a fighter, she is hysterical, and she is one of MY heros. Everytime she donates to one of our fundraising efforts, she always joked that she would "reserve the left cheek" for advertisement space.  So DaDiva, these cheeks are all yours!

The starting line was your typical Disney starting line = fun!  Lots of lights, lots of music, and LOTS of women in tutus and fairy wings, haha!

Soon enough the Disney version of the gun went off (fireworks!) and we were on our way. The weather was PERFECT for the race...probably in the 50's and sunny. Everyone seemed content in tanks and short sleeves.  I, always the chicken in the cold, was perfect in a running skirt and arm sleeves.   My only complaint about the first mile or so was getting out from behind so many darn fairy wings, haha! I swear 75% of the runners seemed to have them on. It was really cute thought *slightly* annoying when you almost take one to the eye, haha.

 Here's a quick run down of how the Disneyland version of runDisney works.  In DisneyWORLD we spend the entire race course ON property. So while you might not always be in a park, you are still in the wonderful world of Disney. Thus, you may encounter characters on the side of the highway in the middle of the course.  DisneyLAND however, while certainly not any less magical, is much much smaller, and sandwiched in the middle of Anaheim, CA.   So while you still certainly get the runDisney aspect, character photos, running through the parks...a good at least half of the race is run through Anaheim. Which, by the way, is a beautiful city!  However, off property there are NO character ops.  There were, however, tons of local bands, cheerleaders, dancers, etc on the sidelines cheering you on!   The water/aid stations were right on cue, the volunteers had smiles on their faces, and the people of Anaheim as well as all of the spectators were the most amazing cheerleaders of all.

Now, onto MY race. I don't run Disney races to PR.  That is, unless you count it as a Personal Record in FUN!  There are way too may pictures to be taken to try and beat any times.  OK, OK, before I get called out by my running buddies Hope and Bethany, I will say I had a cranky "back of the front of the pack" runner moment where I told them, at a 5 minute porta potty stop, that we HAD to finish before 3 hours or my ego would be shot or something really rude along those lines (sorry gals, I have this issue with seeing HUNDREDS of people pass by as I stand still, haha).   And we did, around a 2:33 I believe.  A good 40+ minutes from a time PR for me, but as far as fun goes, I'm pretty sure this race took the cake :)

We finished and recieved our medals which were EVERYTHING I'd hoped they'd be.  You know me, I love to run, but I'd be lying if I didn't say half the reason I race is for the bling !  We met up with some fellow TNT'ers, ate some food, and took in the beautiful California sunshine....from the middle of the parking lot. Sounds silly, but this is another favorite part of racing for me. There's something so awesome about dry bagels and powerade while wrapped in a space blanket sitting on pavement.  And that's a serious statement...

Kat, another survivor and AMAZING woman, I was so glad to be on her team and have the chance to meet her! See you at Wine and Dine my friend! 

Some of the RMM: me , Hope, mama Cathy, and BB

Eventually, we did walked back to the hotel and did what any post-half marathon runner should do in Disney: active recovery by means of walking the parks and riding ALL of the rides.  Being my first trip to the West Coast we had a tough decision to make: use the park pass TNT gave us on Disneyland or California Adventure. Having never been to a Disney park period, Hope let me choose. And behing a good friend, she didn't flinch when I said the nostalgic, Disney lover in me wanted to go old school and see Disneyland. Besides, rumor had it they still had Mr. Toads Wild Ride....

We road every ride we could, including splash mountain, to which I *assured* hope she would stay dry, only for her to get soaked not even on the first hill but the first corner, haha, until we were so exhausted we had to call it a night.  But not before a few last pictures. Another thing I love about Disney is how all of the cast memebers treat you like you just won an Olympic gold medal with all of the congrats and high fives they give you in the park. 

So, another successful runDisney event under my belt, and I was very excited to be a part of the inaugural year.  Again, I can not tell you enough how these races ARE, in my opinion, well worth the money.  Not only do you get the opportunity to run through the parks and experience the magic of Disney, but from a strictly running point of view, the courses are usually flat and fast, the aid stations are dead on, and the post race medals and celebrations are top notch.  And if you ARE indeed looking to PR, then these are the races for you.  It's easy to get into a front corral with a qualifying time, and since the majority of people do stop for photos, you can easily get past the crowds in the first half mile and not worry about getting stuck behind anyone.

Now I can't WAIT to register for Wine & Dine half marathon to earn my very first runDisney coast to coast medal! 

The flight home was thankfully equally as uneventful other than an almost missed connecting flight in Dallas Fort-Worth.  I came home to two beautiful little boys who I kid you not, could not WAIT to see mommy's new medal. I love that they are so proud of me and they are more than content to let me sneak away for a weekend to get a racing fix...even if it's to Disneyland AND I don't take them with me, haha! I am so blessed :)

One of my two favorite little dudes, cheesing between the bling! 

ProNutrients giveaway

Supplements.  As a personal trainer and fitness specialist, people ask me ALL OF THE TIME about supplements, and what they should or should not be taking.  My view is this: your best bet is to get all of the vitamins and nutrients you need from your food.  Real, natural...but not always easy.  The reality is, we can't always get everything we need from food.  Be it a time issue (getting all of your meals in), a money issue (some produce is outrageously priced) or a "I just can't eat that much in one day" issue, many of us come up short daily on our basic nutrition needs.

I am NOT a registered dietician nor a nutritionist, so I'm not here to tell you what *you* need as far as your daily nutrition needs. I will however, tell you that I'm a big fan of the multi vitamin.  So I was excited to try Centrum's new line , "Pro Nutrients".  Centrum sent me samples of their Omega-3, Fruit & Veggie, Probiotics, and my favorite, the Centrum Specialist Energy multi vitamin. Before I tell you what I thought, here's a little bit of info about the ProNutrients line

• ProNutrients is a new line of dietary supplements launched by the makers of Centrum multivitamins, and is formulated to naturally work with a multivitamin.  

• The line includes Omega-3, Probiotic, and Fruit & Veggie—three supplements that support health and well-being.  Each supplement is backed by the nutritional expertise of Centrum, identifying the right ingredients to take consumers’ nutrition to the next level.

• New ProNutrients Omega-3 provides two of the most scientifically studied Omega-3s (according to Eicosapentaenoic Acid/EPA and Docosahexaenoic Acid/DHA standards) in an ultra-concentrated MiniGel.  Since the MiniGels are smaller than the sizes of most brands’ softgels, they are easy to swallow. They help support heart health, brain structure and eye structure.*  The retail value of the 50-unit package is $12.99, and the 100-unit package is $19.99.

• ProNutrients Fruit & Veggie each MiniTab of new harnesses the power equal to a serving of a blend of fruits and vegetables. It is 100 percent naturally sourced from grapes, blueberries, raspberries, plums, carrots and tomatoes.  Each MiniTab helps support cell protection and general health.*  The retail value for the 50-unit package is $11.99, and the 100-unit package is $19.99.

• New ProNutrients Probiotic is a unique blended powder containing two of the most scientifically studied probiotics.  The individually wrapped packets are designed to ensure the bacteria arrive active and ready to work in the digestive tract.  ProNutrients Probiotic helps support immune health and digestive balance.*  The retail value for the 14-unit package is $18.99, and the 28-unit package is $29.99.

I really did feel more energized after taking the daily Centrum Specialist Energy multivitamin.  Not in the crazy-energy drink sort of way, but more the, OK, I'm awake, had a morning cup of coffee, took a shower, I'm ready to go sort of way.   Works for me!

As far as the probiotics go, I was able to blend them into an awesome fresh fruit and veggie mix I made with a juicer. I call it....well I don't know what to call it. But it went like this:

1 beet (peeled)

1/2 cucumber (peeled)

1/2 cup baby carrots

large handfull fresh spinach greens

1 kiwi (peeled)

4 strawberries (no idea why I chose 4)

1 pink lady apple (cored)

Juice. 

Add Centrum ProNutrients Probiotic powder. 

Stir. Drink. Enjoy a happy digestive system :)

The good people at Centrum were kind enough to offer one of my lucky readers a chance to win a ProNutrients product of their choosing

To enter: take the Nutrition Possible survey at the following link, HERE.
Comment below to let us know which supplement it suggested for you, and you will automatically be entered!

One winner will be chosen on Friday 2/10/12 via random.org. Official RULES for the giveaway can be found HERE.

Don't want to wait? Check out http://on.fb.me/ProNutrients for $5 off coupon from their facebook fan page!   Good luck!




I am participating in a CentrumProNutrients campaign hosted by One2One Network. I received nutritional product and compensation including a gift valued at $150. While all opinions stated are my own, I make no claims about Centrum ProNutrients as a product or it's effectiveness.