Why I still Run

Yesterday was my last workout before the RnRNola half marathon this Sunday.

Non-runners, hang in there and keep reading. :)

It consisted of  2x2mile tempo and 1x800m at 10k pace. I felt great and negative split until I was done.  Every workout this month has had a short recovery time which enables my body to keep working during that time.  I basically never feel like I get a break which is very different from the workouts I did in college.  Not to say that there isn't a time for full recovery to run shorter and faster intervals, but it is definitely not my focus right now.  It is humbling to run workouts at half marathon pace instead of 5k pace. I have to remember that there is a different goal , and we are working to improve in a different way.  After a few months to a year, I believe I will see big improvements.  However, right now I am working my way up there.

As of January, I have a new coach, Stephanie Rothstein Bruce.  She is an elite marathoner for Adidas and NAZ elite as well as her husband, Ben Bruce, who is about to be a pro at almost every distance given he is debuting in the marathon this weekend in Nola. Stephanie is also the co-founder of Picky Bars along with Lauren Fleshman , who was 7th in the World in the 5000m in 2011.  I have truly enjoyed how each workout has been different and the communication that we have been able to have.  I am excited to cheer Ben on this weekend and especially to meet them in person for the first time. Also, Deena Kastor will be there! Deena is one of two American women who have won an Olympic Marathon medal. She holds the American marathon record of 2:19:36 and half marathon record of 1:07:34. Kara Goucher's 1:06 was not on a record breaking approved course.  She's kind of a BIG DEAL. I hope the running community is not clueless to who she is like they were with Mo Farah, who won TWO Gold Medals, one in the 5000m and one in the 10,000m, at the London Olympics in 2012. Watch here: Nola news crews asks Mo if he has ever run before

I have run the half marathon in Nola 3 times, and it is always one of my favorites.  I have spent a lot of time in the city of New Orleans over the years and fell in love with its culture and Saints' Football. I actually have my PR of 1:29 there.  Unfortunately, this year I am not racing it but doing a long progression run in which I will start out conservatively and negative split every 5k or so.  We shall see.  I know that I am capable to run sub 1:29, and my 5k and 10k times suggest that.  I just need to have the perfect training and the perfect race conditions to do so one day. One day... Lord, please.

That is only ONE of my many goals. I find it has been difficult in my life to decide how dedicated I should be to running while being completely sold out living for Jesus.  I tend to make this more complicated than it truly is. Chariots of Fire's Eric Liddell, the 400m Olympic Gold Medalist in the 1924 Olympics and a martyr for Jesus Christ, said it best:

"I believe God made me for a purpose, and that is for China. But He also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.  To not do so would be to hold Him in contempt."

Now, in no way did God create me as fast as Eric Liddell, but He did create me to believe in Jesus, live for Him, and to bring Him glory while also making me somewhat of a talented runner, above average as a whole. I do believe that God made me for a purpose, to be a missionary (literally meaning-one who is sent. Yes, I know the gospel needs to be preached here in American, and believe me, Shane and I and the people of Grace Community Church, by the grace of God, are doing that) somewhere (wherever He sends Shane and me) and to be willing to die for Him as Eric did. It is true that He made me a runner and that I feel His pleasure when I run.  Some runs have been my most intimate times with Him filled with prayer or singing or in awe of His creation.  I do believe that He can receive glory in it. That is, if I give Him the glory in which He is due."He who glories let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1:31

It can be done. Did any of you see Kevin Durant thanking God ? When asked why he was on a roll and playing well lately he said, "Jesus Christ." The interviewer laughed and asked, "So you had nothing to do with it?" And he did not claim to.  Amen!!! I am praying for him today, as he is persecuted for giving God credit, that he will stay strong in the Lord and know that all who are godly will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12), and I am thanking God for the glory He was shown through the boldness of Kevin Durant.

That is why I still run.  The Lord has taught me so much through running.  And you know what? I believe he created us as humans with the ability to run for that reason (Heb.12:1-2, 1 Cor. 9:24,-27, 1 Tim. 4:8)! He created marriage to be a portrait of the gospel (Eph 5), palm trees and the cedars of Lebanon to show growth and unity in Christ (Ps. 92:12), fig trees to bear fruit like we should bear fruit (Mark 11, James 3:12, Matt. 7:17-19, John 15), our body to need water and bread to show us our dependency on Him (Deut.8:3).... and so much more! None of these are coincidences that we brilliantly find in our life on earth and turn to a metaphor in the Bible. Don't you see that God made it that way to glorify HIM? He is in ALL things (Col. 1:17).  We CAN run and glorify Him at the same time, and if we, as believers, ran and did not, then we should no longer do it. Look at Ryan and Sara Hall. I thank the Lord often for the way they serve Him.

Recipes for 2: One with a BIG appetite and One with a Healthy appetite

So my husband used to be a thin, lean,  mid-distance running machine but since our collegiate careers were done, he moved on to body building. What??! Yea, so I have been learning a lot, and cooking is more of a challenge. However, I think I am getting the hang of it, and it's fun! This, also, can be helpful for anyone cooking for their man who simply just wants to eat more and less healthier than you. If you know anything about body building--I only know via Shane--most go through a Bulk/Cut phase in which they spend months working out hard and eating an extra amount of calories per day for the Bulk Phase.  For the cut phase, they still work out hard but eat extremely healthy and clean (that's what I am talking about!).  Supposedly, more gains will be made for the long term using this method than trying to gain lean muscle from the start.  Therefore, my goal is to make him MORE FOOD and by more I mean more than I initially think is a lot of food for one person.  Most of the time, I make him a full meal while I have something small like a salad or a protein smoothie if I just finished a run.  The following recipes are ones that I made for both of us at the same time for both of our individual tastes. Here is what I mean:

My half of the pizza = veggie pizza in the leftover container for my lunch the next day :)

Veggie Pizza 1/2 + Bacon Pepperoni pizza 1/2

Ingredients:

One can of Pillsbury Wheat Pizza Dough

One can of Pizza Snack Sauce (I used Kroger brand)

Desired amount of pepperonis 

Raw Kale leaves--- maybe 3 stems

Chopped 1/2 green bell pepper

Chopped 1/4 white onion

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Shredded Mexican cheese

2 Pieces of lightly cooked bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Roll out dough to desired thickness.  Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the dough rises a bit in the middle. 

2. Chop bell pepper and onions. Wash kale and chop leaves to thin strips.

3. Cook bacon in microwave for two minutes with a paper towel underneath and on top.  This saves the mess in the skillet and keeps it from getting too well done before going into the oven. Chop into bite pieces. ( I actually chopped them before I cooked them )

4.  Spread pizza sauce over entire pizza. To one half, add onions, kale, bell pepper, and top with Parmesan cheese. I added a few pepperonis as well.

5. To the other half, add bacon and cheddar cheese with pepperonis on top.

6. Bake the additional time as explained on the Pillsbury can or until golden brown.

Shane and I loved our halves ! The kale tasted just like spinach and was yummy! I did try to make the dough from scratch in the past, but it made our stomach hurts. The Pillsbury wheat is just too easy and good, so we will stick to that. I had leftovers for the next day while Shane's was just enough for his dinner.  

Cinnamon-Sugar Pancakes + Almond Chia Pancakes:

We make breakfast for dinner a lot usually when my creativity level is LOW. You can easily guess whose was whose. Obviously, I could not make these at the same exact time, but it did have similar ingredients and tools in the kitchen.  Thus, it helped save double the mess and time. I literally made up the almond chia recipe and expected it to be just O.K. I was surprised at how delicious it was, and Shane even tasted them and liked them (not usual).  I have had chia gel in my fridge which I have been using every day in something such as smoothies or oatmeal. Here's how:  http://eatingwithpurpose.com/2011/10/how-to-make-chia-gel/

Ingredients for Cinnamon-Sugar Pancakes:

Bisquick pancake mix: according to the box to make 8-11 pancakes

-milk

-1 egg

-vegetable oil

Cinnamon

Sugar

Butter

Powdered Sugar

Hungry Jack's Butter syrup

Directions: 

Every thing is according to the box. Just make cinnamon-sugar in a small pinch bowl. I kept adding until I got the mix to a neutral color.  For Shane, the sweeter the better. I spread butter on top of each pancake and sprinkled powdered sugar on top of the snack.  The amount of syrup was in his reign!

Here's the Challenge..

Ingredients for Almond Chia Pancakes:

1/3 c of Almond Meal/Flour

2/3 c of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

9 tbsp. of chia gel

2/3 c of milk

1 tbsp of oil

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients.

2. Add egg, chia gel, milk, and oil and mix until consistent.

3. Add to the skillet and done ! 

I did use the same syrup instead of making my own. (Sometimes I do this with honey orange juice and salt) It was great.  The pancakes look like little potato cakes, but once you add the syrup, it's hard to tell the difference.   I am interested to try this recipe without the egg and the oil and with more chia gel.  It seems, from what I have read about them, that you can substitute them and make it even more healthier! I am sure it would not taste as good, if you're standard of good is to taste like a normal unhealthy pancake.  I wish I had pictures of these, but we ate them too fast!! Mine were enough to have leftovers for the next day-- it also made about 8-11 cakes depending on size.  Shane ate all of his at one sitting though. Yes, I made him enough ! 

My first Blog Entry = Our Love Story

My name is Jennifer Brogdon, and on October 5th, 2013, I married my college sweetheart and  track & field/cross country teammate--Mr. Shane Brogdon.  So, yes, we are still thriving on being Newlyweds, discovering through trial and error how to keep the house clean and cook good (meaning BOTH of us like it) meals while loving each other more and more only through the grace given to us by God.  He is a Birmingham, AL boy who came to run at Mississippi College as did this hometown girl.  Shane came in as a freshman when I was a junior (oops) and was crazy good-looking and fast. One day, my senior year during track season--meaning I am about to graduate--he decides to sit by me on the bus to a far far away (as usual) track meet.  In the past, I was so wrapped up with my studies-- pre-dental/med biological sciences major who did not use it to go to either of those careers-- that I rarely did much outside of practice, studying, and the group of girl friends I had already made before I decided to join the team my sophomore year. Needless to say, this was my first REAL conversation with the guy and turns out he was good-looking, fast, and LOVED JESUS! Can we say perfect match? And, hello, he told me he desired to be a missionary. I have only desired to be a missionary since I was five years old! Yea, so, I began falling in love after that night and thanked the Lord so much for bus trips and all of the good conversations we had. 

4 months into our relationship, I took off and moved to Switzerland!! Ofcourse, it had nothing to do with him, ha, I had been planning this for a year before our first REAL conversation. So why Switzerland??? God led me as a missionary through YWAM to the base in Lausanne, Switzerland  ( http://www.ywamlausanne.com/ ) Then, I moved to Burkina Faso and Mali in West Africa and traveled to Italy as well. So..... I was gone for a total of 6 months.  There will be more details about this journey in further blog posts. Even though it has now been 2 years (wow), I cannot NOT share this time in my life.  I kept running, too, and DUH. Here's a glimpse:

Our first Swiss event! Culture shock.. but a good, fun shock.

This was the home of us and ~80 more YWAMers. A 5 story building full of love and people from all over the world.

After YWAM, I decided to come back to Mississippi and use my last year of cross country and track eligibility-- since I did not join the team until my sophomore year.  And... Shane was now a senior on the team, so I enrolled as a graduate student and got TESOL certified ( http://www.tesol.org/ ). Together, Shane and I both ended up having the best collegiate running seasons ever.  I could not have done it without him.  He definitely could have done it without me because he is just good like that, but I never EVER could have done it without him yelling my splits and pushing me to my limits.  Shane went to NCAA Div. III track nationals that year.  I went to nationals in cross country my junior year.  However, my last cross country and track seasons were the best, hitting PR's in every distance, but the national level was in better shape as well (figures).  Here are recaps of both:

 My sweet teammates threw me a party before I left for Nationals. This really makes me feel old.. 2009..wow.

It was filled with goodies and encouragement!

A full dinner and... Ice Cream Cake. I cannot say I ate much of it since it was Race Week, but it sure was pretty !

My thoughts: "I actually feel like a college runner and not just a small DIII school runner. NCAA logos everywhere!"

We felt pretty welcome getting off the plane. Thanks Cleveland! 

And the finish.... Let's just say I finished.  I am the one in the navy and white--the farthest in the pic.

Coach and I freezing before the race.  I have yet to find those black Asics' pants--my fave. I hope you're enjoying them Cleveland. 

I was blessed to accompany Shane to his National track meet. 

The most beautiful track we had ever personally been to! UW-La Crosse

And.. we visited Chicago on the way home. We called Coach our Chauffeur.