Saturday, March 19, 2022

Too Old to Run? and I Tried it! Naked Protein Cookie

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Naked Nutrition sent me a package of Sugar protein cookies to try in exchange for my honest review.

On Monday, I ran into a neighbor who I hadn't seen for a while. In what became an awkward conversation, he said he was surprised to see me still running. I asked him what he meant and he kind of stammered a non-answer. The insinuation was that I'm 'too old' to be doing this anymore. He didn't say it in those words, but trust me, that's exactly what he meant. 

This week, Tom Brady announced that he's going to return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one more year. He's 44 and holds nearly every NFL QB record. While he's the oldest QB in the league, he's not the oldest QB to start a game (that honor goes to George Blanda at age 48). No matter how you feel about him, he's the GOAT and is still at the top of his game. 

Now, I'm no Tom Brady, but my point here is: who gets to decide when one is too old to participate in sports? I should give this topic the full blog treatment. Ageism is pervasive in our society. I think the baby boomer generation is doing a good job of changing expectations, but we've got a ways to go. 

Speaking of old, I completed my screening mammogram, breast ultrasound, and DEXA scan on Monday and my colonoscopy on Tuesday. Everything was normal except my bone density, which has unfortunately declined alarmingly. This really bothers me because I'm doing everything that I'm supposed to for bone health: weight-bearing exercise, eating healthy, and taking lots of Vitamin D and calcium. As my rheumatologist said, the only thing I can do is not get old. Ha! So it's back to my regularly scheduled program and hoping that what I am doing will slow the bone loss.


Weekly Rundown
Sunday: Trail run 9 miles
Monday: run/walk 3 miles
Tuesday: colonoscopy
Wednesday: trail run 6.5 miles
Thursday: strength training
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: rest

Running

On Sunday, I ran with the Trail Sisters Chicago Northwest! It was cold and windy but sunny. There were only 4 of us brave souls and we ran a nicely paced (slow) run at the Lakewood Forest Preserve, this time on the Fort Hill Trail, which is a 7.5 mile out and back. We all wanted a little more mileage, so we ran a loop on the Millenium Trail, which brought us to 9 miles. I do enjoy running with these ladies and it looks like all 4 of us will be running that Earth Day Trail 15 miler in April!


In preparation for Tuesday's colonoscopy, on Monday, I started my clear liquid diet. I decided to go with Tailwind, which I blended with crushed ice in my Vitamix. I added some GLG collagen and squeezed in some fresh lemon juice. I didn't think it would be a good idea to do a pool running workout, since they are so intense. Instead, I decided to go for a 3.14 mile run. Well...that wasn't a great idea either. I felt my blood sugar crash in the middle of it and I ended up walking home. I've had this happen with Tailwind before and I probably should have brought some along to sip on while I ran.

I slept 11 hours the night after my colonoscopy and on Wednesday, I was ready for the trails! I still felt a little fatigued, but somehow I was able to eake out 6.5 miles. The trails were really muddy and I really had to slow down to avoid slipping and falling in the mud. It warmed up pretty quickly. Dressing for a run this time of year is always a challenge. But as always, I really enjoyed my time on the trails. 


With rain and wind in the forecast, I feel really lucky I was able to get my 6 miler in on Friday morning before work. It was chilly and breezy. I decided to try to pace myself to run the whole thing without walk intervals again. On the way back home, a male runner about my age ran behind me for a while until passed me. He pulled in front of me and ran at my pace, which amused me to no end. When he turned off the path, I told him he was a great rabbit. He laughed and I headed home, finishing this run with an average 9:15m/m pace! 

Strength training

No CrossFit this week as I had my colonoscopy on Tuesday. But on Thursday, it was back to work with Sammy Jo. She had me do 'supersets'--one for lower body and one for upper body. The lower body workout was trap bar deadlifts (140#) alternating with jumping squats, 4 sets of 10 each. After that, I did dumbbell bench presses (25#) alternating with push-ups. The goal for these was 3 sets of 10 but after 8 reps, I couldn't lift anymore. It's pretty funny--you cannot muscle your way through upper body work! My arms were just like, "nope, not gonna happen". Good stuff!


I Tried it! Naked Protein Cookie



A few weeks ago, the rep from Naked Nutrition reached out to me to see if I wanted to try and review the new Naked Shake. Since I use Naked Pea Protein (vanilla) in my smoothies, it seemed like a slam dunk, but as it turned out, I didn't care much for the taste of the shake I let the rep know and she offered for me to try a different product, so I went with the Naked Cookie. I mean, who doesn't like a protein cookie, right? In fact, I have a fantastic recipe for homemade protein cookies. So using those as as a frame of reference helped me review this product. There are 3 kinds of Naked Cookies: Oatmeal Raisin, Chocolate Chip, and Sugar.


I was sent the Sugar Cookies. Each cookie contains 10 grams of Naked Protein and 6 grams of fiber. There is very little sugar in these sugar cookies which struck me as kind of funny but is actually great for overall health. I loved that they do have sprinkles in them! The cookies are a great snack, especially when I'm at work because they stay with me for a while. I will comment that if you like sweet things, these might not be the cookie for you. I think my homemade protein cookies are a little sweeter, but for me, the Naked Protein cookies will be a great ready-made alternative for a snack on the go!


How was your week? Is it greening up where you are? Have you ever had a colonoscopy? How was your experience preparing for it? Were you able to workout? Who gets to decide when a person is too old to run, play football, or any other physical activity? Have you ever tried a protein cookie?

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. 



35 comments :

  1. What I'm finding as we go forward in this "woke" world is that pretty much everyone EXCEPT people of a certain age are represented and given consideration. Nobody gets to say how old is too old. Clearly that number is different for everyone. That's a bummer about the bone density. I can't imagine what else you could possibly do.

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  2. No way are we too old for running! So many women in my MRTT are running stronger and better in their 50's (me included). Great to hear all of your tests came back well. I was so out of sorts for days after my colonoscopy. Every time I ate I got a stomach ache and well you know.That prep is brutal!

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    1. This was my second one and supposedly this prep was better? No thanks, I didn't enjoy the dehydration. I don't think there is a better way to clean out the colon, lol

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  3. What Marcia said. Thee are women in their 90s still out there running. Maybe slower but who cares.

    And I embrace those walk breaks. I think they will keep me running longer. That's more important to me than pace at this point.

    I just did a (virtual) half in a little over 3 hours. And I was content.

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    1. I did think of you when I wrote this post. I can't use those 90 year olds as an example because there are so few of them. But yeah, they are still doing it.

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  4. I didn't start running until I was 64 and the thought never entered my mind that I might be too old to do it. I'm 75 now and still run at least 4 days per week, usually more, albeit at a slower pace than 10 years ago. Good news on your test results except for the bone density although it doesn't seem to interfere with your level of activity. Hope to see you out on a run or at an event sometime soon.

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  5. My mom gives me slack all the time for all the workouts I do, especially "all those miles." Well, she's never exercised in her life, so I just chalk up her opinions to motherly advice (which I don't follow, LOL). Like the others stated, I'm definitely in the best shape of my life right now, even after a few curveballs (setbacks) in recent years. Yeah, I think it was five years ago I had my colonoscopy...the prep was nasty, but the recovery was much easier than everyone warned me. I guess I got lucky!

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    1. I didn't have any issues with recovery from the colonoscopy either time, but I was tired from being up all night during the prep.

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  6. I just noticed it is getting more green around here and I see a few new plants peeking out of the dirt. Yay spring! I tried to follow a colonoscopy prep diet and tips I found on the internet. I was pretty weak from lack of calories by the time my test happened! I did run on day close to my test and was just exhausted. I was afraid of not being able to get the test due to not properly prepping so I probably went overboard. I was so happy to eat again afterwards! Glad all of your tests went well.

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    1. I did watch my diet leading up to the prep, so that part was easy. I think the prep was for people who don't watch their diet and it was harsh for me. The good news is that he said I was very well prepped, lol, so he know I had a good test. Thank goodness I don't have to go back for 10 years.

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  7. Truly the only person who decides "when" is the person doing the activity. Otherwise it's just none of anyone's business. I have plenty of older friends still running!

    Obviously you know I had my first colonoscopy this year. I personally think it's better to give your body some rest with stuff like that, but that's me. Glad all your test were good. I was also surprised with low bone density a couple of years ago, also "do all the things". I think it has a lot to do with where we live, and maybe genetics, too? Who really knows!

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    1. I'm sure my bone density is due to genetics and my body type. Also, I have take steroids in the past for RA. You get what you get, and in the big picture, this is certainly better than colon cancer. Or heart disease.

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  8. Wendy, I had a similar result with my bone density scan- VERY frustrating, especially when the doctor recommended weight bearing exercise- ahem. Pretty sure running counts. My doctor also recommended a supplement called Osteo Vegan, made by Nu Medica. It's not like it's just for vegans- I guess all the ingredients are vegan. Anyway the company GUARANTEES that it will increase your bone density- we'll just see about that. I get another scan in a year and if it didn't work I'm going to demand a refund!
    I definitely think a whole post could be dedicated to ageism and running (or any sport.) One thing people can't seem to get over is the thought that running is bad for your knees, so it could be your neighbor just assumes everyone has to stop running at some point because of their knees. He was just surprised you haven't wrecked your knees yet, not necessarily that he thought you're too old.
    ANYWAY! Glad your other tests came out well (it feels good to get those over with, right?) Oh and one thing- I looked at the ingredients for the Naked cookie and the protein is whey protein, so not vegan (unless I'm missing something?)
    Sounds like you had a great week of workouts in spite of your advanced age :)

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    1. Oh my goodness, I thought the cookie had pea protein. So sorry about that! I am not vegan, but still, I want to be accurate.

      I am going to look into that supplement!

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  9. Sorry to hear about the bone density test, that is tricky as you are doing All The Things already. I hope you can find a resolution on that. Here we have to have someone looking after us for 24 hr after a colonoscopy and no intense activity (a friend's friend just had one) but like with how old you can keep running, it's how you feel, right?! I've had a hard week myself, thank goodness for running keeping me on a more even keel as I deal with a good friend being pretty poorly with Covid.

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    1. So sorry to hear about your friend! We aren't seeing a lot of Covid right now, but we're watching what's going on overseas. What we are seeing is everything else--it's like all the old viruses were waiting in the wings! So it's still busy, but it is nice to see other things instead of Covid. Interesting about the 24 hour recovery after the colonoscopy--we just have to ease back into eating but other than that, it's all about how you feel.

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    2. Covid is terrible here at the moment, we're being told 1 in 20 have it but I know too many people who mysteriously were unable to report positive results (I mean I literally know people, like my parents in law, not a friend of a friend in an urban myth). My friend is highly vulnerable and has been shielding for two years but now she's got it, so it's really scary.

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  10. The fact that you of all people have a decline in bone density really scares me, Wendy. Because I know that if this happens to you, who's doing everything right, then it will happen to me very soon, too. But I'm sure your results are still much better than your non-active peers!

    Haha, people who I haven't seen for a long time always ask me that question..."are you STILL running?" I guess in their world, I should be bound to a wheel-chair with broken knees. :-)

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    1. I was pretty shocked about the results, truthfully. I do have genetic risk factors (my mom and my sister) and being small framed. But I hoped all my exercise would override all that. I guess you can't get away without something, right? And maybe it would be worse if I wasn't doing all the things? We'll see what my rheumatologist says when I see her in May.

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  11. Ugh on the bone density. My Mom and her sisters have osteoporosis, so I am worried about it. My PCP said I was too young for a scan now? I guess I could pay for it myself anyway.

    That cookie sounds good. I think being less sweet might make it taste better to me. I hate fake sweet things.

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    1. I don't know how old you are, but I didn't realize there was an age for bone density scan?

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  12. Funny I recently had a similar encounter with someone I hadn't seen in a while - that "are you still running?" question definitely irked me a little. I say we each get to decide what's "too old" - I know I'm not planning to stop any time soon.

    Bummer about the bone density - as you said with all of your strength training I would have thought you'd be fine. Good to hear all of your other screenings went fine. I've got mine lined up for later this year.

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    1. I was pretty bummed out about the big decline in my bone health. I sure wasn't expecting it!

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  13. Well, I'm 40 and get comments that I should find a new hobby (particularly since I broke my leg twice and am occasionally rehabbing some small injury)...Non runners always have an opinion. You are so healthy and active and strong, for ANY age.

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    1. Thank you!!! I like to think so, although that strength sesh with SJ when I got nervous about what she loaded on the bar definitely made me think twice about what I'm doing. There has to be a fine balance.

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  14. I encountered 3 mountain bikers on the trail Friday. They passed me before the 2 mile mark and I didn't know if I'd see them again. I ended up catching them around 4 miles - one was off the bike completely and the other two were slowly going up the hill. I power walked past both of them. I turned around at 5 miles, but they had already gone back and I never saw them again. I share all that because they were all much younger than me! Don't mess with a Boomer!

    It's green here, but our hills are starting to turn brown. Sadly, another year of drought for California.

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    1. Seriously! i'm glad you passed them up. I get annoyed with bikers on the trails--they are so destructive!

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    2. Our trail is so dry they can't do any damage.

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  15. Things are always green in Florida! That's just how we roll.

    I'm glad you are all done with your tests and can move on!

    And that's nonsense about your age. Some of our fastest local runners are in their 60s and 70s. You run until you don't want to.

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  16. Thanks for the review on the Naked Cookie. I'm always looking for good, protein filled snacks, especially on those days when I'm too busy to grab lunch. This sounds like a great option!

    It always surprises me when people think someone is "too old" to do something. I'm a firm believer that old is simply a state of mind. There are some people in their 20s that aren't nearly as active as people I know in their 40's, 50s and 60s, so age literally has nothing to do with it!

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    1. I agree with 100%. I wonder if people will ever be able to stop labeling others?

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  17. mm. Sprinkles. Colleague had shortbread/trefoil girl scout cookies and everyone was going for the chocolate ones so I had a sleeve to myself. Oops.
    Boo on bone density, but yay on the rest. and mega boo on busy bodies. You're never too old until your own body says you are.

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