La Luna

I love Luna Bars. I miss them very much. You see, Luna Bars used to be my favorite pre-workout nutrition bar snack. Usually on my way to a Tuesday night run or Thursday night track workout I would eat a banana and a Luna Bar to nourish me for the exhausting hour or more of exercise I was about to embark upon. These days I've had to forgo my little soy rice crisp, sweetly coated high carbo/protein yummy bar. My workouts are not nearly as strenuous as they used to be so pre-workout food is not necessary. I would run the risk of literally running out of steam if I didn't eat something before the run or bike ride. When that happens, it's called "bonking." For example, I bonked towards the end of my first long bike ride when I ate too little before the ride. Jill, one of the PacWest team captains, had to stay with me while we slowly rode far behind everyone else. It's a horrible feeling. After that, I traditionally ate a banana, a bowl of oatmeal, AND a Luna Bar before a long bike ride. The nutrition is necessary to keep you going. Here is a photo of what I consider the best flavor Luna Bars offer. Mmm... Chocolate Peppermint Stick. I am also a fan of Smores and Peanut Butter Cookie.

I found Luna Bars to be a perfect pre-workout meal and sometimes afterwards, as long as they were kept in a cool, dry place. They didn't work so well during a bike ride. The one time I tucked one in the "bento box" (sack for carrying food, energy gels, lip balm, etc.) strapped to my bike I regretted it. Mid way through the ride I opened up the wrapper for some much needed sustenance and realized the sweet coating had melted and eating the bar was very messy. It was still delicious, but I decided to stick to regular Clif Bars that would not melt for my nutrition during a ride. I tended to need my water for hydration, not for washing off sticky fingers.

I'm sure you are wondering, why is she bringing up Luna Bars now? I happily ate one today, it was the Smores flavor. Yum! I went for a swim this morning and on my way I decided to stop at the grocery store for a banana and a Luna Bar. I thought they would make a good post swim breakfast. My knee had been aching a bit after my Tuesday morning walk/run, so I stepped back to a walk-only on Friday at lunch and thought a low-impact workout would be best today. Two-steps-forward-one-step-back, as Matt says in Brain Training. It's OK, I'm going to stay the course. I'm learning that finding I've done too much and needing to step my exercise back a is simply part of the recovery process. I'm trying really hard to not let it bother me too much anymore. I'm doing more now than I was a few months ago, right? It's progress. My physical therapist friend told me to judge my recovery progress by months, not weeks or days. It takes time. No, it didn't occur to me that my knee injury then scope would take this long to heal, but it is what it is. Next week I'll try another walk/run, but maybe a little less running (I ran 16 minutes in my walk/run workouts this past week) and/or keep to a flat path. It's possible the hills near my apartment proved to be too challenging for twice a week. My 45 minute swim was good today. It was a lovely day in the city!