Celestina Runs

Hello! My name is Celestina and I live in Edmonton, Canada. I am a graduate student in neuroscience at the University of Alberta, work at a running store, teach running clinics, volunteer at a food bank, and run a lot! This blog is just my opportunity to talk about my experiences and knowledge so that I can share it with other people, as well as be part of a really positive community. I have run 8 half-marathons, 6 full marathons, and 2 ultra marathons so far, with no intention of stopping any time soon. I also enjoy swimming, cycling, bouldering and top rope climbing, and yoga! I can be reached using the “contact me” button in the sidebar if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions! Running Records 10 km | countless | 46:01 10 mi | training only | 1:18:34 Half Marathon | 8 | 1:38:20 20 mi | training only | 2:38:09 Marathon | 6 | 3:25:25 50 km trail | 1 | 9:21:23 80 km trail | 12:18:38 Longest Distance | 80 km (50 mi)

[celestinaruns]

Monday, July 20: 10 x Royal Glenora Hill Repeats

Nothing like doing repeats on a 100 m hill with a 30% incline to get the quads feeling shaky and sore! Switched up my rest day because the sun was just shining too bright to turn down, and I had a physiotherapy appointment on Tuesday.

Tuesday, July 21: Rest Day (sort of)

Went to see my physiotherapist to follow up on how I was recovering after my ankle injury, and also to address some knee pain cropping up in my longer runs (25+ km). My quads seemed really tight and I have quite a bit of instability in my right leg (which had the injury), probably due to a lot of strength I have yet to build back up. Got my right quad dry needled, too, which was painful, but so helpful.

Wednesday, July 22: Easy 6 mi on road

This is a bit of a recovery week, especially with knee pain acting up and... not having taken a recovery week in a long time. I was exhausted though, my quad was still sore from needling and I had a long day at work!

Thursday, July 23: Easy 5 mi on road

Some more easy cruising! I totally ignored my watch navigation, which meant I got a bit more climb in than planned, but it still felt like a great run.

Friday, July 24: 25 km bike ride in the city

It was a very breezy day, so I definitely had to work hard on those uphills, but I did get a nice tailwind on the downhills, which was fun. Time to take the bike in for a tune-up, though!

Saturday, July 25: Easy 5 mi on trail

Spent the day exploring a couple new trails in the area! It was an easy run, lots of starting and stopping because I wasn’t familiar with the trails, but 126 m elevation gain over 8 km is certainly a workout.

Sunday, July 26: 10 mi (and a little more) on trail

Wrapped up my recovery week with a muddy, slip and slide style run. It had rained overnight, which I did not realize, so the trails were a bit of a nuisance to get through. Still very fun, and a whole 252 m of elevation gain! I also explored most of the trails I would have on my 24-hour run loop, and they were totally safe to cross. Annoying and muddy, but doable!

Total Run Mileage - 48.18 km (29.93 mi)

Total Elevation - 761 m (2497 ft)

[celestinaruns]

CELESTINA’S 24-HOUR TRAIL RUN: THE ROUTE UPDATE

Finally, with my personal and professional life getting some semblance of a routine, I have been able to sit down and plan a route for my 24-hour run in September!

For those that haven’t heard of this yet, it’s simple: I will be repeating a loop for 24 hours in September and using this event to fundraise for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. As someone that has had many family members suffer due to heart disease and stroke, as well as a graduate student researching ischemic stroke, it is a cause that is near and dear to my heart! Furthermore, as a woman that enjoys physical activity, I am familiar with the barriers that women face when it comes to physical health, as well as the statistical risks of heart disease and stroke.

If you are interested in donating or learning more, go here for my Team Page, and here for my Personal Donation Page. Find my announcement post over here!

As you might be able to tell, there are two routes outlined above. This was something that I deliberated on a bit, but ultimately, I thought it would be best to plan for the worst. Edmonton weather has a habit of being unpredictable, especially as we get into autumn, and the river valley trail system is very vulnerable to erosion in bad conditions.

The FIRST route, on the left, is the route I am planning to do in an ideal situation. It is 7.1 km long with an elevation gain of 107 m, and consists of predominantly single track trails.

The SECOND route, on the right, is the route I will be doing in a worst case scenario. It is 7.4 km long with an elevation gain of 77 m, and consists of predominantly double track trails and grassy areas.

You might notice that the distances and elevation are a bit similar! Where the second route is a bit longer, it has less elevation gain, and the opposite is true for the first route. I tried to make this the case so that if the weekend turns out to be unpredictable, I can easily switch between the two loops without worrying about inconsistency.

With just over two months to go and the routes all planned out, I am excited and nervous to get to the big day! Stay tuned for more updates on how you can safely participate in cheering me on the day of :)

[celestinaruns]

Hello again! I’m currently working on building some new content for the blog, including instructional videos for some things, so hopefully you can expect a more regular schedule in the near future. I am also, finally, in the process of getting my run coach certification and can’t wait to put that to use for all my readers!

Without further ado...

Monday, June 8

A day off, resting and lightly stretching. Felt super restless as I had an easy week prior to this one.

Tuesday, June 9 - Speedwork (8x800 m repeats, total 11.71 km)

Ah, the track, how I’ve dreaded her. It was hot. Everything hurt. But I got this track workout out of me one way or another, and felt great at the end of it!

Wednesday, June 10 - Easy Trail Run (8.05 km)

This was a slow one, but I ran the trail I injured myself on for the first time ever! So I’ll take the slow, all things considered.

Thursday, June 11 - Tempo (2x3 mi, total 14.76 km)

Oof, a doozy. I got through it pretty well, but I wouldn’t say I felt amazing about it. That’s what happens when you drink sangria the night before a tough run ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Friday, June 12 - Tabata + Yoga Recovery

Oh BOY, did my butt hurt after this one. I used to hate tabata in high school, but I’ve really been loving it as my crosstraining lately. It gives a good structure to follow when motivation is low!

Saturday, June 13 - Long Run on a camping trip! (22.54 km)

This was my second time running here and it definitely felt waaaay better and easier. The cooler weather probably helped, didn’t feel like popping back salt chews ever 5 minutes this time around.

Sunday, June 14 - taking it easy.

Had to pack up the campsite, so no workout!

[celestinaruns]

Hello, readers! Things have been a little silent over here as life has gotten quite busy, but I am finding my balance, so you can expect things to pick up again.

Before that happens, though, there is an important matter that needs to be addressed. An ‘unsaid understanding’ is simply not enough, so I will make it clear: this blog not only welcomes readers of all backgrounds, but actively works to be anti-racist.

I have always made an effort to filter through new followers and comments, mostly because the bots are a little out of control, but this will be a lot more thorough going forward. I have been afforded a lot of privileges in my life, and hiding behind those in ignorance would be, truly, wrong. On my blog, I want to be able to give a guarantee that commenters appearing racist in anyway will be blocked/reported, and the same goes for anything I come across outside of my blog. This is meant to be a safe space of learning and community.

Furthermore, I encourage you to use this time to learn more about racism in the context of athletics. If you follow me, this is something I want for the both of us: let’s take responsibility for our social education. Below, I’ve included some names and links that I know of to start you off--this list can be much longer, so feel free to add on to it. This is just a starting block that I’m offering.

Check out Joseph Gray (@joegeezi on Instagram and Twitter), a Black elite athlete in the predominantly white sport of trail running, as well as the only athlete of colour to represent the USA at the World Mountain Running Championships. 

If you have Instagram, follow @diversewereun for a dose of the reality of BIPOC runners. They feature recreational and elite athletes.

An article titled Hockey Is Not For Everyone by Akim Aliu, a Black professional hockey player that has faced many setbacks as a result of standing up against the racism and mistreatment he has witnessed in his sport.

A feature on 11 BIPOC Runners and their experiences in the running community.

A Runner’s World article titled How to Be an Ally to the Black Running Community by Rozalynn S. Frazier, including links to books, articles, movies, and podcasts. Bonus: Just Mercy is streaming free for the month of June and is also linked here.

I really hope we can all say, years from now, that we came out of this changed for the better. This is a chance to grow as humans, one that has been put off for far too long, and personally, it is not one I want to waste. If you have any questions, ever need to talk, or are feeling lost and overwhelmed, I am here for you.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

[celestinaruns]

Run Warm-Up Routine with Video Guide

Hey everyone! The interest in my run warm-up guidelines was big, so I put together a warm-up routine video that you can follow along for your own warm-ups. It includes the above exercises and the video can be found on my IGTV by clicking HERE :)

IGTV links should work on phones, tablets, and laptops. I had wanted to upload the video here on the blog, too, but the file size was too big! Any preference for where longer instructional videos get posted, going forward? Let me know!

[celestinaruns]

CELESTINA’S 24-HOUR TRAIL RUN CHALLENGE FOR THE HEART & STROKE FOUNDATION

See the original announcement HERE.

Yup, that is... exactly what it sounds like. For a while now, I’ve been mulling over a question I am often asked: why on earth would I run so much?

So, to show just how powerful a crazy running challenge can be, I will be embarking on one to raise awareness and collect donations for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. As someone that researches ischemic stroke and has had many family incidences of both heart problems and stroke, it’s a topic that is near and dear to my heart!

On the weekend of September 26-27, 2020, I will run for 24 hours straight on an approximately 6.5 km loop (route TBA, but I will make it publicly available). Initially, this idea baby had been meant as a way to get lots of people involved and working together, but alas, a lot of us have had to change our lives and plans. Instead, I will be running it only with the company of my family; however, I will probably set up some “live video feed” on the day of, so people can check in for updates on how things are going.

Interested on supporting me? All forms of help are GREATLY APPRECIATED.

You can give one-time donations HERE

You can pledge a donation per loop I finish in the 24 hours by filling out the Google Form HERE (I will get in touch with you after the event to follow up)

You can support my fundraising by creating your own personal running challenge and joining my fundraising team HERE

Don’t have the means to donate or fundraise? That is totally fine. If you can, please share this post and let people around you know that this is something I’m doing! Spreading the word is really powerful.

I am super excited to be taking this on, both for running and fundraising reasons. I will be documenting my summer of training for this challenge over here on celestinaruns.com (as well as @celestinaruns on Instagram). Updates on the event planning itself will be regularly posted on the HSF Event Page over HERE.

Thank you in advance for everyone’s support and time <3

[celestinaruns]

Garlic Chicken with Sautéed Carrots and Polenta

For the Garlic Chicken (makes 4 large chicken breasts, or about 6-8 servings):

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

About 1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp your choice vegetable and herb medley seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Mix the olive oil, garlic, and seasonings in a medium bowl. Add the chicken breasts in and make sure they are entirely coated in the oil mixture.

Place chicken breasts on baking sheet and brush on any garlic oil leftover. Bake for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool down. You can cut the breasts smaller beforehand, but I prefer to do it after because I always cut them uneven and that messes with the cooking time.

For the Sautéed Carrots (makes 3-4 servings):

Ingredients:

6 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper, and paprika, to tast

Directions:

Sauté onions in olive oil with seasoning on medium.

Once onions become yellowy and aromatic, add in the carrots and stir in, coating in all the oil and onions.

Add a splash of water, cover, and allow to simmer until carrots soften, but not to the point that they fall apart.

Remove lid and allow water to reduce.

For the Polenta (makes about 3-4 servings):

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cornmeal

3 cups water

Cheese or sour cream to top

Directions:

Add cornmeal and all but about 1/2 cup water to a pot. Turn the heat on the stove on high.

Whisk the cornmeal and water constantly. Polenta can be very finicky and burn to the bottom of the pan super easily.

Slowly add in the rest of the water as the polenta starts bubbling.

Keep whisking while polenta bubbles until it is thickened, sort of like a pudding texture.

Take off of the heat, but keep whisking for another minute or two. It can stick even now so it’s better to be safe!

Put it all on a plate and top the polenta with some cheese or sour cream!

This is a pretty healthy recipe that makes great meal prep, too! It keeps well in the fridge, so enjoy the leftovers.

[celestinaruns]

I put together a yoga flow for runners! It primarily focuses on leg strength, hip openers, lower back, and knees. There’s also some focus on abdominal muscles, psoas, and shoulders to help with posture. I find this a really great thing to do on rest days, especially if I’ve finished up a tough week and am feeling a bit battered.

I have built a digital version of the sequence, where you can have it emailed to yourself or printed out. You may reach that by clicking HERE.

As well, here is a typed out version for anyone that is already fairly familiar with the poses:

[celestinaruns]

Hey everyone! Here is my wrap-up of training last week. Officially starting marathon training this week so the nerves are real. If anyone is interested, I’ll also be documenting that (and sharing plenty more running tips) on my running instagram, which can be reached by clicking HERE.

Anyways, enough from me. On with the Training Log!

Monday, April 20

Workout: Yoga Session

Notes: Opened up my hips and stretched out some very tight muscles! Going to post a flow soon :)

Tuesday, April 21

Workout: Easy 5 mi

Wednesday, April 22

Workout: 6 x Emily Murphy Park Hill repeats

Notes: First go at hill training since my injury, and it actually went pretty well! I just wanted to get those hills done, stay consistent, and have a good posture. No big goals here, but I met all of my small ones :)

Thursday, April 23

Workout: 6x800 m intervals at 5KRP

Notes: Oof, this killed me a bit. My speed will definitely need some work in the coming months. Also my watch weirdly glitched at the beginning there, but okay.

Friday, April 24

Workout: Indoor Tabata Workout

Notes: Felt great! It has been a while since I’ve done Tabata, but this was just what I needed. Focused on some deep core and glute strength exercises, then cooled down with some recovery yoga.

Saturday, April 25

Workout: Easy 5 mi + 2x30 s sprints to finish up

Sunday, April 26

Workout: Tempo 8 mi

Notes: Oh, mama. My butt hurt a lot after this one. But I had a goal to keep my average pace between 4:45-4:55/km... and I managed a beautiful 4:50/km. It was harder than I would have wanted it to be, but I held on to it for nearly 13 km, so we can only go up from here!

[celestinaruns]

Classic Crêpes

I know, not the healthiest. But everyone deserves a treat, and these are classified as comfort food in my book! These are a staple back home in Romania, so I’m here to share with you the secrets to crêpes, because they are so much easier to make than people realize.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (can use whole wheat, I used white in the video because it was all I had on hand at the time)

1/2 cup milk (any kind works, I used coconut)

1/2 to 1 cup sparkling water (can just add flat water or more milk, but the sparkling water makes them extra fluffy)

1 egg

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Fillings of your choice!

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and nutmeg. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the egg and milk

Whisk the egg/milk mixture into the larger bowl with the flour and nutmeg. Continue whisking in the sparkling water until a thin consistency is achieved. Unlike classic pancakes, crêpe batter is quite thin (somewhere in that thin space between honey and maple syrup). I ended up adding a whole cup of sparkling water in that video.

Heat a pan on medium-high heat and coat with your choice of cooking oil. I actually used a mix of olive oil and butter.

When the pan is hot, lift it off the stove as you pour a ladle (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup worth) of batter into the pan. Keep the pan at an angle when you start pouring and rotate it as you pour. Don’t dump the batter all at once to make it easier to spread the batter out thin.

Stop. Take a breath. I am here to let you know that your first and last crêpes, every single time you make crêpes, will be horrendous. This is normal. Centuries of Romanian mothers have yet to fix this problem. Just take a beat, because if you messed up the first one, it is no indicator of how the rest will go.

Okay. Ready? Great. When dark brown spots start forming, flip the crêpe over. I did badass pan flips in the video but the time lapse was too fast to show off :(

Continue the same way with the rest of the batter. Re-oil the pan between crêpes.

In the video, I actively filled the crêpes as they came off the pan, but you don’t have to, you could just stack them flat and fill them as you eat them.

Ta-da. All done. You can fill them with peanut butter, yogurt, fruit, jam, and even savoury stuff. A classic back home is sour cream and jam! This recipe makes about 6-7 crêpes.

Crêpes, or clătite in Romanian, are genuinely a classic. I swear we eat them more than the French. They make a great breakfast food or dessert! I do make mine relatively more healthy, as I don’t add sugar or fat to the batter and use unsweetened non-dairy milks. Also, I’ve made them with whole wheat flour in the past and they’re still great!

[celestinaruns]

I’ve shared a post-easy run cool down, so here’s a look into my warm-up routine!

I know many runners count a “warm up” as a brisk walk, and it’s not because I’m psychic. It’s because I used to be one of those runners. But the reality is, the most a brisk walk will do is maybe oil your joints a bit and ever so slightly elevate your heart rate. At the end of that walk, there’s some really important muscles for running that get ignored in a simple walk.

Like anything in health & fitness, warm-up is not one size fits all. A good rule of thumb I’ve told new runners in the past is to have a few base exercises that will get the blood flowing better, and then add exercises on top of that that are meant to target what you would call “problem areas.” For example, if you’ve been warming up with a quick walk, but noticing some knee pain on your runs, you might want to focus on your glutes a bit more during your warm-up. If you’ve noticed ankle pain, it’s probably because your flexors need to be stretched out.

Of course, ideally, you don’t have problem areas to begin with, in which case, I suggest my usual format: work from the feet up. Warm up your ankles, calves, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, and glutes.

So here’s some examples of “base” exercises that are good for getting your heart rate up and working on/activating some more neglected muscle groups:

Zombie walks (or opposite zombie walks/Frankensten walk, where you kick up to your opposite hand)

Wide steps/hip opener walk

Lunge jumps

Star jumps

Leg swings

Rigid skips (think of doing a normal skip, but instead of leaping and landing with your opposite foot, land back on the leg you pushed off with, keeping that leg flexed)

High skips and long skips

Karaoke/Tapioca/Weave step

Lateral band walks/monster walks

And here are some examples of more focused exercises! Pick and choose, depending on areas that are “problems” (previously injured, giving you some pain during runs) or just to cover your bases and warm up from the feet up:

Plantar flexor stretch (ankle joint, arches, plantar flexor)

Heel raises (ankle joint, calves, add a resistance band to target peroneal muscles)

Arm circles (upper postural muscles, if you’re finding upper back pain after a run)

Scorpion (lower back, hip flexors, hamstrings)

Inchworm (core, hamstring)

Walking lunges (quads)

Squats (glutes, quads)

Lunge matrix (hip to ankle stability)

Hip flexor extensions (hip flexors, hamstrings)

Glute bridge (glutes)

That  can seem like a lot, and it may take some trial and error to find the combination of exercises that sits best with you, but I highly recommend you use some easy runs to play around with this.

Typically, you should be doing 7-10 minutes of a dynamic stretch routine involving the above exercises before every run. If I’m about to do a hard effort run, I will typically foam roll some areas that tend to get really tight before heading out as well. Before races, I also throw in some strides and sprints after my dynamic stretches.

As a template, here is the outline of what I do before my runs!

[celestinaruns]

Wow, it finally feels like summer here! 10 degrees Celsius 😂

Monday, April 13

Workout: Sort of rest day, but really just a challenging yoga flow day.

Notes: Honestly, it left me feeling a lot more sore than I thought, probably because my flexibility and stability has become abysmal. Also really pointed out some weak spots in my injured leg. The flow will be shared soon along with one of my Run Tips Tuesday, for anyone that wants to challenge themselves to a tough weekly yoga flow!

Tuesday, April 14

Workout: 50 min nonstop (9.18 km)

Wednesday, April 15

Workout: 55 min run, 19 min run 1 min walk intervals (9.77 km)

Thursday, April 16

Workout: 55 min run at hard effort (11.18 km)

Friday, April 17

Workout: None! Rest day!

Notes: I think the combination of introducing new cross-training and a harder run left me feeling more sore and tired, so a day off was called for.

Saturday, April 18

Workout: Slow 60 min, 19 min run 1 min walk intervals (10.69 km)

Sunday, April 19

Workout: Moderate 60 min nonstop (11.23 km)

Notes: Wow. WOW. Made it to 60 min nonstop with NO ankle problems, NO knee problems, and even a faster pace than I wanted for this run. We’re hitting the hills next week :)

[celestinaruns]

Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1-2 tsp salted butter (you can use unsalted, I just prefer having the already salted butter)

Optional but great: 2 tbsp whole milk or coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

The rest of your breakfast: buttered toast, some fruit, and most importantly, coffee!

Directions:

On medium-low heat, soften the salted butter. Crack the two eggs directly in the pan when butter is nearly melted. Add the milk now if using (it’ll add an extra hit of creaminess to the scrambled eggs).

Let the eggs be for a bit! When the whites start to cook, use a rubber spatula (best! flippers and wooden spoons also work okay, though) to move the egg whites around and form those scrambled egg-esque curds. Do NOT disturb the egg yolk.

When about two-thirds of the egg white seems to be cooked, break ONE of the egg yolks and slowly incorporate it into the scramble. Break the second yolk about 1-2 min later, or when it looks like all of the egg whites are cooked.

Turn the heat off and continue to gently scramble the eggs, using the rubber spatula to make sure nothing sticks to the pan, for another 2 min. When it looks like the eggs are cooked (to whatever extent your heart desires), put them on a plate with your morning toast and some fruit. Top off with salt and pepper, as desired.

Makes enough for one! For more, basically double/triple/etc accordingly and follow the same recipe. If you’ve doubled the ingredients, break two yolks at a time, if you’ve tripled break three at a time, and so on.

I feel like the methods people use to make scrambled eggs is a surprisingly divisive topic for such a simple breakfast food! I’ve really seen and read about every way to do it there is, though, and this is still by far my favourite way to make them.

[celestinaruns]

Did I ever do morning stretches before this whole isolation thing? No, absolutely not. But am I using this quarantine situation to play around with my daily routine? Definitely.

Truthfully, I can’t absolutely say that morning stretching has changed a whole lot, as I’ve made a lot of changes all at once lately. That being said, I’ve definitely been feeling a bit better, body-wise and energy-wise, and my posture has been better, too. Which is saying a lot, because it’s definitely been Slouchville since I’ve resorted to being in sweats 24/7.

If you are ever curious about attempting a morning stretch routine, here’s mine! I will say it is something nice to look forward to when I wake up and gives me a little pre-coffee energy boost.

[celestinaruns]

Monday, April 6

Workout: Rest day, extended morning and evening stretches

Notes:

Usually, I hold those stretches for about 30 s, or 4-5 full deep breaths. And the repetition ones I only do 5 times. So I’m making it a goal on rest days to just do those stretches but with 1 min holds and 10 reps :)

Tuesday, April 7

Workout: Easy 45 minute run in 19 min run/1 min walk intervals

Notes:

Felt great! No knee pain, which had been so persistent and excruciating just a couple weeks ago. Had some weird and new inner ankle pain about 35 minutes in, but it also went away quickly. Nothing looks swollen so I’ll keep an eye out to see if it recurs.

Wednesday, April 8

Workout: Easy 45 minute run, no intervals

Notes:

No notes! All great! Same route as the day before.

Thursday, April 9

Workout: Easy 50 minute run in 19 min run/1 min walk intervals

Notes:

NO KNEE PAIN NO ANKLE PAIN. There were definitely some moments that I felt on the cusp of some knee pain, but it never actually happened, so I think my form has been readjusting really well these past few days.

Friday, April 10

Workout: Home Strength Training

Notes:

Had some peroneal tendon soreness, probably from the increase in mileage. Just going to focus on hella rolling out and scraping. I’m sorry in advance for my crappy handwriting.

Saturday, April 11

Workout: Easy 50 minute run in 19 min run/1 min walk intervals + yoga with my mom over WhatsApp

Notes:

Still feeling really great, even picked up some speed :)

Sunday, April 12

Workout: Easy 50 minute run, no intervals

Notes:

Took it a bit slower today, my glutes and back muscles were really sore, but the run still felt great. Same route as the day before!

[celestinaruns]

Apple Cinnamon Protein Pancakes: Powder-Free and Single Serving!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup egg whites OR 1 egg

1/3 cup oats

1-2 tsp honey (optional, only if you want a little sweetness added to it)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

1 apple, chopped

1/2 cup yogurt, 1-2 tbsp peanut butter, or any other desired toppings

Directions:

Blend all ingredients (except apple and toppings) in a blender.

Chop up apple. Heat a pan on medium heat and brush with olive oil (or whatever cooking oil you prefer).

Pour about 1/4 cup of pancake batter at a time (you can do more if you want bigger pancakes) into heated pan, topping with some chunks of apple. Cook like pancakes.

Top your pancakes off with the remaining apple chunks and whatever other toppings you would like. I love yogurt and peanut butter, as well as some jam for a little extra sweet kick.

This is truly one of my favourite pancake recipes ever! It’s so handy that it’s single serving, and really easy to multiply when I want to have pancakes for multiple people or meal prep. But nowadays, it’s more like single-serve breakfasts around here.

You can also play around with the flavourings! Top with different fruits, make them chocolaty (add a few tbsp of milk if adding cocoa powder), whatever your heart desires!

These are also really great because they pack a protein punch without protein powder, which can get pricy!

[celestinaruns]

I‘ve been struggling on and off with pain during/after my runs and now that I know more about anatomy etc I know that the pain is coming from my psoas major! (a kind of continuous pain, a little stinging almost) do you have any idea what that could be? I don‘t struggle with this problem with any other type of exercise! on my last run it was in my right hip flexor and after the run was over my left knee hurt for 2 days, I wonder if that was from balanving out the hip pain? Thanks :)

Hey, so sorry to hear about your pain, but hopefully I can shed some light on it!

Usually, when you’re feeling an unusual amount of pain in your knees, hip joints, ankles, calves, etc. because of running, it’s actually because of weak gluteus muscles. We don’t realize it, but our glutes do a lot of work during running to keep our legs aligned properly. When our glutes are weak, our leg muscles (and even lower back muscles, like the PSOAS) will work extra hard to pick up the slack, and this can put some more strain on our joints. The affected muscles/joints themselves can hurt, or you can get referral pain (eg - calf muscle knots leading to pain felt in the ankle).

So, the first plan of action would be to incorporate a bit more training for your glutes! You don’t have to start squatting some heavy weights, I actually find that resistance bands work best for working glute strength and endurance. Here’s some exercises you can start with:

Triplanar toe taps (even without a resistance band, these can be tough, but if you feel them getting easier, add a resistance band at just above your knees)

Single leg glute bridges

Lateral band walks or monster walks (with a resistance band around either your ankles or just above your knees; try both and choose the one you feel you struggle with the most, as that’s probably targeting your weaker muscles)

Clamshells (with or without resistance band)

Side-lying hip abduction (with or without resistance band)

Three-way hip kicks (with a resistance band around your ankles, balance on one leg and kick the other leg out in front of you, away from your balancing leg, and behind you; this is a great move for overall hip-to-ankle alignment and stability)

Add these exercises in after you finish up easier runs and as part of your strength training routine! As for the running, don’t stop all together, but find your “max point,” so to speak. Run at the pace/time/distance right before you start having persistent pain, and increase gradually (5 minutes at a time, for example) from there as you start incorporating these exercises.

As well, focus some more stretching and foam rolling on your hip flexors and quads especially, both after runs/exercise and on rest days. Sitting around after a run that might have aggravated something could do more harm than good. Here’s some stretches to get you started:

Lying glute stretch/figure 4 stretch (primarily a glute stretch, but for good for opening up your hips a bit too)

Lunging hip flexor stretch (for an added quad stretch, bend your back leg with your foot going towards your back; you can either rest your foot on a couch/pillow/surface behind you or grab it with the same-side hand and gently pull it towards your back)

Pigeon stretch

Butterfly stretch

Add those exercises and stretches into your routine and run at where you still feel comfortable for a couple of weeks. If things don’t improve at all or get worse, it’s worth going to see a physician/physiotherapist to get a closer look and possibly something a bit more targeted.

I hope this clears up some things and that your pain improves! Running pain is the worst, but it’s so great you are taking care of this before it escalates into an injury.