BREAthe.Train.Live

Stability ball squats

2010-02-17T16:29:00.009-05:00

I’m a huge fan of the Olympics and watch as much of them as I can. It never fails, no matter how much I know about the athlete or don’t know I always experience the same feelings when I watch USA athletes compete. My heart starts to race, my nerves kick in, I’m at the edge of my seat, and my body tenses as if I’m the one competing. I feel the excitement and thrill of their win and the heartache of a loss or injury. These feelings come from a combined love and pride I have in my country as well as knowing what it means to be an athlete no matter the level!

I’m always amazed at the commitment and dedication all these athletes have with their sport. I totally get it and in another lifetime I would have been a professional athlete of some sort. Sometimes I fantasize about training 8-10 hours a day…conditioning and technical work, molding and shaping your body, your skills into a powerful machine. It’s so fascinating and exciting! Who wouldn’t want to work out at the gym, bike ride, swim, ski, snowboard, and skate all day long?! Yes, I realize it’s not all fun and games. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears go into becoming a great athlete but those athletes love it! I love it; just in a scaled down version :)

Ok, there really is a point to all this. The other day I watched Seth Wescott win the Gold Medal for Snowboard Cross. Amazing! There was a small excerpt on him and his training and I was just floored! As part of his off season training he does squats on top of a stability ball, not just a few but 100. WHAT?! My hero! Check it out:

Find more videos like this on Sugarloaf Community

Just goes to show how important it is to strengthen your core. I want to be able to do that. I realize to begin I would need lots of padding around me because a face plant or two would be the cards for me, lol! With a lot of practice and some sheer determination, I believe I can do it!

It Just Looks Like Slow Motion - Giveaway

2010-02-17T13:37:00.004-05:00

Check out Christy's blog - It Just Looks Like Slow Motion - for a giveaway!

I'm new to her blog and heard about it through Sweaty Hugs.

Christy is giving away yurbuds. I've heard a lot of good things about them throughout the blog world.

Head on over and check it out. Even if you don't win, it's always fun to meet new bloggers :)

Ratatouille

2010-02-15T18:42:00.029-05:00

A few weeks ago I went to a restaurant and tried ratatouille for the first time. It actually was a sandwich, which for some reason intrigued me. I LOVED it and have been talking about it ever since. So this evening I set out to recreate the sandwich. I found this recipe for ratatouille a couple of days ago and finally went to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients. I couldn't find yellow squash, so that is left out. I also used 1 can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes. I didn't use any fresh spices, they are all from jars. The recipe was really easy! For me the prep time was about 45 minutes, but I'm pretty slow when it comes to chopping veggies.

Here are all the ingredients, ready to start cooking.

Onions and minced garlic added to the hot olive oil.

Eggplant and Thyme added to the mix.

Next come the green peppers, red peppers and zucchini.

Tomatoes with juice, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper.

The recipe says to cook everything together for only five minutes. I reduced the heat to low and let simmer for an additional 20 minutes. This is what it looked like after simmering.

I did not have rosemary ciabatta bread (like the restaurant), but I did have some Arnold's Whole Wheat Thins. I lightly toasted the thins. Spread some goat cheese on one side and added the cooled ratatouille to the other side.

VIOLA!

The ratatouille sandwich turned out so good! The goat cheese really makes the sandwich and is an excellent addition to the ratatouille. It was so good that I wolfed down the first sandwich and uh..went back for seconds!

I put half the leftovers in the freezer and plan on having another sandwich or two in the next couple of days. Maybe I'll try the ratatouille alongside a chicken breast, that sounds good too!

Ain’t no joke!

2010-02-12T12:49:00.002-05:00

This morning I took my first spin class EVER! I decided last Friday that I would take one of my gym friend’s classes. I’ve been thinking about it for quit some time, but for whatever reason I have been a little nervous about trying it.

I walked in at 8:30 this morning and Denise, spin instructor, got me fitted and situated on my bike. Luckily, I wasn’t the only new person in the class so I felt a little more at ease that I would be experiencing the first time with a few other newbies.

The class was about an hour, maybe a little longer. It was one of the most challenging things I’ve experienced in awhile. We did a lot of jumps which are movements from sitting, standing, and squatting low; lots of sprints, up and down in tension, hills…. Forgive my lack of “spin lingo,” I’ve got a lot to learn.

I was a dripping, sweaty mess throughout the whole class. I made sure to drink lots of water. I think there was a time that I had to will my legs to pedal faster. They felt so tired and heavy, but I managed to work through that and was back up to speed. Denise continued to remind us throughout the class to keep our knees in and pedal down with our heels. No pedaling on your toes, with your toes as it strains your knees. Also, keep the butt/hips back. This was definitely way easier on my knees than running.

The class was great, I really enjoyed it! Denise asked me what I thought when we were finished and all I could say was, “this ain’t no joke!” LOL!

A few things I’ll do differently next class is not put lotion on my hands before I workout. My grip was a bit slippery on the handle bars and I had to keep wiping my hands on my towel. I think I’ll have to do that anyways because I sweat a lot, but the lotion didn’t help matters. I will also bring a skinnier water bottle. Mine was to fat to fit in the adjustable holders on the side of the bike. Luckily nobody was on the bike next to me so I balanced my water bottle on the other bike’s drink holder. Whenever I needed water, I carefully leaned over to grab it. I will also bring another shirt to change into afterwards, mine was so sweaty. It was a bit chilly doing a small ab workout while marinating in my sweaty top. Lessons learned :)

I’m looking forward to going to more classes and incorporating spin into my workout routine.

On a side note, I was able to get a few workouts in this past week in spite of all this snow we got. Two days were spent shoveling which equaled about 1.5 to 2 hours at a time. I also made it to the gym before our second round where I ran a quick 2 miles and than did 20 minutes on the stair climber.

Happy Friday!

1/2 Marathon Bound!

2010-01-26T07:06:00.004-05:00

I did it! Signed up for my first 1/2 marathon!

Sunday, September 5!

The best part is that I will be running it with two of my best friends and it will be all of our first half marathon race!

New Year's Running Program

2010-01-25T10:12:00.002-05:00

At the end of December, Sweaty Hugs suggested we join a running program that she found. The program’s goal is to help people run a 5k by the end of the two month training. Kind of like a couch to 5k training program. I’m not exactly a beginner runner as I’ve been running consistently for about 1.5 years. After a bit of research and discussion with the coaches, I decided to join.

We meet up once a week at a local high school outdoor track. Our sessions are structured to where we do a group run and then meet up afterwards at a nearby Dunkin Donuts (for coffee/tea) for discussions. The discussion part was my main reason for joining this running program. I knew I could learn a lot about running just during this 30 minute discussion. We also have running homework to be completed on Sun/Tues/Thurs. My homework is slightly different from everyone else. I’m working on learning how to pace myself outside by doing intervals and other exercises.

Ron is our head coach and he is an experienced runner and triathlete. He has competed and completed the Kona IronMan in Hawaii as well as a number of marathons and other races. Susan is our other coach and Ron’s protégé. She is very positive and highly motivating. Both of them have a wealth of knowledge that I’m anxious to soak in.

Our first session was January 3 and the program is set to run through the end of February beginning of March. In the past four sessions, we’ve run in 25mph arctic winds, snow, and rain! Yesterday was the first day we had relatively good weather, cloudy no rain and about 45 degrees. Also, this is the first time I’ve ever run in the cold and in the winter for that matter! It’s a very humbling experience, but one I’m thrilled to be a part of! It’s a great feeling knowing that I can run in winter and survive. Lol!

Is it possible?! Yes, I think so!

2010-01-22T15:39:00.001-05:00

I’ve had three really great workouts in a row and am hoping for a fourth this afternoon. For the past few weeks I’ve been struggling with my workouts. I’ve been doing just enough to maintain my fitness which equates to three workouts a week. My norm is 4-6 workouts a week. Prior to this week it’s been taking a lot of energy to get myself to the gym and then I haven’t really felt good about my workouts.

Something has changed this week! Sunday, I did about 1.5 miles outside in the pouring rain and it was cold (I’ll talk more about this in another post). I wasn’t too thrilled about it in the beginning but afterwards was a different story. Although I looked and smelled like a wet dog, I felt pretty amazing and quite proud of myself and my fellow runners.

Monday, I was back to my my more recent normal self not wanting to workout. So I didn’t.

Tuesday I had to workout in the evening because I have to be at work before the sun comes up. During the day, I made a conscious effort to fuel my body more efficiently. The afternoons I find myself struggling…tired, lack of energy, etc. This time at around 2ish, I took a walk to revive my energy. Drank some green tea and ate half a yogurt and a clementine. On my drive home from work and approximately 1 hour before my workout I ate a Larabar. I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I ran a total of 3.5 miles. The first 2 miles I ran at a 10 minute pace. Then next 1.5 miles I did intervals: 4 x 400 meters in 2 minutes or under with 200 meter recovery jog in between. I finished my whole run in just under 35 minutes. I stretched for a good 10 minutes afterwards.

Wednesday I was up and at the gym bright and early. I did a 10 minute warm-up on the arc trainer. Then trained (weights) my quads and abs. My quad workout included 3 x circuits of the following movements:

20lb DB step-ups on weight bench (12 reps each leg)

30-40lb Barbell front squats (12-15 reps)

No weight two legged bench jumps (15 reps)

I rested 1-2 minutes between each circuit. After I finished my legs I used the stability ball and did 2 sets of crunches, obliques, and then did hanging straight leg raises. I did 15 reps for each movement. After abs I did 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, Aerobic program, levels 8, 9, and 10. Stretched!

Thursday I ran on the treadmill again. I did a total of 5 miles in 52 minutes. My first mile was my warm-up and I walked for .25 of a mile and slowly jogged the rest of the mile. Miles 2-4 I ran at a 9:40 pace. Mile 5 was my cool down and I ran that at a 10:20 pace. Overall I felt great during my run, except my knee was aching for the majority of my run and it moved up my leg to my hip/pelvis area…hmmm.

Today, I plan on hitting the gym again. I’m going to focus on my glutes, hamstrings, calves, and abs. Easy cardio, maybe on the stationary bike or arc trainer.

You might have noticed that most of my workouts this week have been cardio and lower body focused. About a week ago, I went to the doctors about my right shoulder. It’s been aching off an on for a few months and it is sore when I lift. The doc seems to think I have a bit of tendonitis in my right bicep shoulder area and have been ordered to rest my upper body for 3 weeks. No lifting whatsoever. However, he said I can still do cardio and lower body workouts as normal. So there you have it!

Hope everyone is having a good Friday!

Beautiful Blogger

2010-01-18T19:42:00.011-05:00

Imagine my surprise after learning some interesting things about Mel over at 2nd Chances to see that she nominated me as a Beautiful Blogger. I had to read over it a second time to make sure I read it right, lol! I’m still very new to the blogging world and haven’t really gotten my name out there that much. So I was pleasantly surprised to see my name :) Thanks Mel!

Seven interesting things about me:

1. I’ve been to Australia two times in the last five years. Each visit I stayed for 3 to 4 weeks at a time. My sister lived there for several years so was lucky enough to have a place to stay. I experienced a lot of firsts during my visits there.

2. In the last five years, I’ve discovered that I’m a very sensitive, emotional, and passionate person. Way more than I ever thought I was. These are all things that at one time I might have considered incompatible with the rest of my traits. However, now I know they are highly positive and important qualities to have.

3. Farting jokes still make me laugh uncontrollably. If I hear someone fart I can’t help but laugh. I also have what some may call a strange fascination with my poop and its correlation to my health. I’m very regular and look at my poop every morning. I have called my mom and friends to share with them any amazing poops that I may have experienced. No joke! I even encourage them to look at their poop every time they go.

4. I yawn A LOT when I get nervous.

5. When it comes to sports/athletics I love being trained. I feel like I do my best when I have someone telling me what to do. I’m not saying I don’t do well on my own because I do pretty good. But I love soaking in as much of someone’s knowledge as I possibly can.

6. I’m an avid reader. Fiction is my favorite, but I will read just about anything.

7. Every time I step outside when it is dark I look at the moon and the surrounding stars. No matter what phase the moon is in, its beauty never fails to amaze me and it always makes me smile. It’s the simple things!

Passing the Beautiful Blogger torch to…

Jamie – Sweaty Hugs

Amber – Robles Family

Jess – Fit Chick In The City

Slow down and BREATHE

2010-01-15T10:13:00.001-05:00

Breathe! You’d think I would remember this just by looking at my own blog title. However, this past week breathing in the literal sense of the word has been a challenge for me. I feel like some pretty big and exciting things have been set into motion in just the first two weeks of 2010. Last week, things were moving pretty fast and all I could think was that I wanted it to slow down some. This week things have slowed down and all I want is for them to speed up. Confused much?!

Throughout this week, I’ve had plenty of signs from God urging me to slow down. Yesterday was the most dramatic of examples…on my way home from work, mind you I was in rush hour traffic and it wasn’t any different than any other trip home. No matter what I did I would get stuck behind the slowest person whether it was in the left lane or the right lane. I couldn’t win! To make matters worse I was trying to get back to town to meet up with my mom in order to make it to my sisters graduation on time. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to my mom’s house to find out she had already left. She was worried she would be late and left with good reason. However, at the time I was pretty angry that she left without me because I felt I had to perform some ENORMOUS (exaggerating of course) feats just to get there sort of on time. My mom happened to call at the same time I pulled up to her house and an angry conversation on my part ensued. So SORRY Mom, I’d forgotten what age I was! I rushed to my place so that I could go the bathroom and freshen up quickly. On my way home a rock hit my windshield and left a nice chip. At that point I was pretty enraged, embarrassingly so. I wanted to cry but couldn’t. I got home and channeled my three year old self and threw a mini temper tantrum which may have included slamming my car and house door, throwing my water bottle in the sink and throwing my lunch box on the floor. The funniest part about my temper tantrum is that I couldn’t throw it with reckless abandonment. I wanted to throw my lunch box but only tossed it a few inches because I knew my glass mug inside could break and the honey bottle could open and then the stickiness would be everywhere. My tantrum was pathetic compared to the doozies I proudly threw in my early years…LOL! That realization along with the fact that I was lucky enough to not have anyone witness my embarrassing behavior was enough to calm me down. The rest of the evening went just fine, I made it to my sister’s graduation with plenty of time to spare. Even my day had been fine. I’m not sure what got into me in those 2 hours.

My longwinded point is that I know God was urging me to slow down that things were ok and that I would have plenty of time to be there for my sister, but I just didn’t want to listen.

One of things I want to work on this year and for the rest of my life is to slow down, breathe, and enjoy and appreciate every minute of my life. Time moves so quickly on its own that I don’t need to waste my time wishing for the day to be over or being impatient for that party, trip, dinner plans, etc. that I have planned on the next day, week, or month. Those events will come but I want to be present in the now, fully take in every emotion I feel, to see and feel the little things. Because in essence those are the moments that make me feel the happiest and calmest.

I’m not saying that I won’t have anymore freak outs, because I will. But I’d like to be more aware of those moments when I’m heading in that direction and be able to remind myself to slow down and BREATHE!

14-0

2010-01-05T09:06:00.010-05:00

BSU! BSU! BSU!

Wahoo! Boise State is the 2010 Fiesta Bowl Champions!

I opted to watch the game at home and out of the public eye. I can get extremely vocal and animated when watching the Broncos play; which can be annoying or shocking to those that don't understand. LOL! What can I say, it runs in my blood! I'm not going to lie there was lots of ups and downs (for me) that included cheering and jumping on the couch to me yelling "What are you doing?!"

It was an awesome game! I thought both teams played hard and showed us how two undefeated teams should play in a bowl game. I kept saying to myself that the Broncos needed to pull one of their tricks out of their bag. And lo and behold, they did!! They faked a punt in the fourth quarter and ended up getting a first down and went on to score the winning touchdown! Holy Cow!

As I'm not the best sports commentator, check out the article from Sports Illustrated.

I'm thrilled they won, our win means so much more to me than the actual game! As soon as the game ended and I could breath easy, I called my grandma and grandpa who live in Boise! I needed to hear their voices and revel in this victory ;)

Maybe now BSU football will be taken more seriously?!

Looking forward to the 2010 season!!

Baked Lentil Casserole

2009-12-31T09:07:00.006-05:00

A new recipe to try in 2010! I got this recipe from a co-worker. She is a vegetarian and said she really loved this recipe. I made it a few days ago and all I can say is YUM! It is rich in flavor and texture. I have yet to tire of the leftovers! My slight variations/comments are in red.

1 – 12oz package dried, rinsed lentils <- store brand = $.80

2 C. water

1 bay leaf

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sage

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp cumin

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced <- at store I removed 2 cloves from fresh garlic = cheap

1 – 28oz can tomatoes, either crushed or petit diced, with juice <- used what I had 2-14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, one was no salt added and the other had green chiles mixed in.

2 large carrots cut in 1/8 inch slices

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 yellow or red pepper, chopped

2 T. parsley, finely chopped

1.5 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Place lentils in a shallow glass 13x9 inch baking dish with water, bay leaf, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, cumin, onions, garlic, and tomatoes with juice. Bake covered in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Add celery and carrot and bake covered for 40 more minutes.

Remove from oven, stir in parsley (I actually mixed the parsley in with the chopped celery and carrots and added in the step above) and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Happy New Year!

I'm back after being M.I.A.

2009-12-27T19:23:00.003-05:00

Surprise! I’m back! I realize I’ve been M.I.A. for almost four months. I wasn’t enjoying myself and I felt sort of bored. Ran out of the desire to write. However, I’ve not been absent from the blogosphere…I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs but just haven’t written on my own.

I don’t plan on writing everyday and may not write every week. But I will be more present and I am excited to write about new recipes that I try, my workouts and goals, and whatever else floats my boat at the moment, lol! The goal of my blog is still the same, to document my experiences relating to my mind, body, and soul!

Big thanks to those of you that haven’t given up on me! Also thanks to the other wonderful bloggers out there that continue to motivate and inspire me!!

I'm 30!

2009-12-27T18:57:00.013-05:00

Almost a week ago I turned 30! I kept trying to wrap my mind around the concept of turning 30 in the months and days leading up to the big day. I’m not going to lie, I experienced a bit of anxiety and nervousness. Most of that came from the fact that my twenties felt like they flew by. The idea of turning 30 was a bit foreign to me and I was having a hard time imagining myself being 30. On the outside I was playing it cool, but on the inside I was secretly freaking out….just a little. I’m not exactly in the place I thought I would be in my life when I turned 30….but hey, who is?!

I knew I was going to be ok, when the night before my birthday a wave of excitement washed over me! I have a bunch of things planned this year that I’m really excited about. I’m looking forward to those things as well as any new surprises that my 30th year will bring me!

I started celebrating about a week before my birthday and I even celebrated a few days after. Below are a few photos of my week and half celebration. Thank you to my friends and family for helping me to celebrate!!

Mediterranean Stuffed Bell Peppers

2009-09-22T19:53:00.010-04:00

The other day I tried a new recipe which included an ingredient that was also very new to me. It called for Quinoa. If you were like me than you were thinking, what is quinoa? According to wikipedia, it’s “a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds.” Quinoa can be used as a rice and/or couscous substitute.

I thought the stuffed peppers were just ok. The recipe called for quinoa, diced tomatoes drained, feta cheese, and fresh basil. The fresh basil was too overpowering, so I ended up picking out most of it. I think I prefer fresh cooked basil. I also felt it was missing something in flavor, but I’m not sure what. I’m thinking if I added some balsamic vinaigrette to the mix, it might have been more satisfying. Maybe. I also realized that I prefer cooked stuffed peppers as opposed to raw peppers. I discovered my stomach doesn’t like that much raw peppers. But than again I guess I never really practically ate a whole pepper in one sitting. I also think you could use small to medium sized peppers instead of large peppers. Large was a bit too much red pepper for me. I may or may not make this again, we shall see! The prep time and cook time didn't take long at all. I also cooked the Quinoa in too much water, I think it is suppose to look fluffier and maybe not quite so slimy. It looks slimy but didn't taste slimy.

The stuffed peppers did look really colorful and yummy! Oh and I do like quinoa!

1st Annual Fort McHenry 5k Tunnel Run

2009-09-20T14:27:00.026-04:00

We did it! Jamie and I completed our second 5k run...

and Stephanie finished her first 5k run! What a perfect day for the run, the weather was gorgeous…sunny and comfortable. I hadn’t realized that this was the first time they had ever done a run through any of the Bores of the Fort McHenry Tunnel. I’m happy to say I was a part of this event! We ran to support the Maryland Special Olympics.

Tolls Before the race

I was lucky enough to have my mom there to cheer us on! She was very nice and held/watched all of our bags for us while we were running. She also took most of the pictures for us! Thanks mom, I love you! The race started at 9am and everyone started to gather around the mysterious starting line around 8:45am. A blow horn sounded and the race began!

I was a little worried about the race course because a little over half of the course was up hill and the rest was down hill. Picture running down into the tunnel, up out of the tunnel, turning around and running down back into the tunnel, and the last mile or so is uphill. We did not have time chips to capture individual times so I have a very rough estimate of my time. Based on my time (not sure where the starting line was so guesstimated it) my “rough” splits are as follows:

1st mile – 9 mins

2nd mile – 7.34 mins

3rd mile + .14 – 10.96 mins

Like I said, who knows for certain when I started and when I finished according to time. The finish line was a little confusing because the women had to go to the left and men to the right. The girl in front of me literally stopped at the finish line which confused me because aren’t you suppose to run through the finish? That slowed me down some, area was very narrow and there wasn’t room for passing unless I had intended to plow her over, which I wasn’t! Although the thought did cross my mind. The time on the clock at the finish line was 28:08.

Here’s me (pink shirt/blue shorts) just a little while after crossing the finish line.
Overall, I felt really great in this run. My first 2 miles were awesome! I felt pretty good my last mile considering it was all up hill. I kicked up my pace a little too soon and petered out some towards the last stretch. I truly believe the training I’ve been doing the last 3 weeks (easy, long, tempo, repeats) really contributed to my endurance and pace. Granted I don’t think I beat my last 5k time, but I think I finished in the same time or right around it. I feel AWESOME because the majority of the race was hills and that is WAY different than running mostly level ground. I just know that if there wasn’t that last hill I would have creamed my last 5k time. I was well on course to a personal record. Another time!!

Jamie and Stephanie finished the race not to long after me and they were FANTASTIC!

Race mascots!

Yummy Treats

2009-09-19T21:19:00.012-04:00

Just the other day I was happy to find my bruised and battered sample of cereal from Kashi! Thankfully it was only the outside box and not the actual cereal box that had taken a beating. Before I opened the box I was already going through my head how I was going to ask Kashi for another box of cereal, I was desperate to try it. For those of you that don’t know, I heart Kashi products more specifically their cereals and granola bars. Anyways, back to my free sample of cereal… I selected to try the Oat Flakes and Wild Blueberry Clusters. I tore into the box Friday at lunch time and ate it with skim milk. Wow! I really enjoyed this box of cereal. The blueberry flavoring was great, not overpowering and not too sweet! I can see myself eating this for breakfast, lunch, and/or a snack. You still have time, hurry and get your free sample of cereal!

This evening I decided to try my baking hand at Montana Whoppers. I first heard of them on Meghann’s blog. They looked so yummy! So of course it was my turn to recreate these cookies in my kitchen. I put semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate M&M's, and raisins in mine. There’s a reason why I don’t bake cookies very often. I enjoy the mixing of the batter, but get really impatient with the baking part. I don’t like to wait which leads to huge cookies and them being in the oven FOREVER because I made them too big so they have to cook 10 times longer. I tried a cookie from my first batch and it was ok, it didn’t wow me. My other batches look pretty good, so I’m hoping they taste just as good!

Tomorrow, I will have the perfect test subjects! I run my second 5k tomorrow through the Fort McHenry Tunnel with Sweaty Hugs and her friend; this will be her first race!! EXCITING…so what better way to reward them than to treat them to one or two of my cookies?! After the race of course! I’ll let you know what they think…hahaha!

Night, Night…dreams of running in a tunnel…hmmm…

What a difference!

2009-09-14T15:31:00.007-04:00

What a difference a week and the proper preparation make in my 6 mile run! Yesterday was Week 2, Day 3 in my 5k running plan. The goal was to run 6 miles, each mile at an 11:14 pace. I ended up running it in 58.31 minutes! This run went way differently than last week’s 6 miler. Here’s what I did differently:

• Ate a big nutritious breakfast which consisted of an egg, 2 slices of whole wheat bread, banana, some cottage cheese, and a mug of English Breakfast tea.
• Continued to hydrate moderately with water for the next 2 hours.
• Downloaded new music
• Stretched before my run
• Wore my knee strap, stopwatch, and hat
• Drove to my running site and began my run approximately 2-3 hours after breakfast (ran same trail as last week).
• Monitored my pace and ensured I ran at a comfortable, not too fast of a pace.
• Focus on relaxing my body
• Found the 10 mile marker post; they replaced it! I started at the end of the trail so the 10 mile post told me when I had run 3 miles and that I needed to turn around.

I felt so good and happy that it wasn’t a rerun of last week. I wasn’t sure how I would do because I was out celebrating a friend’s birthday the night before and I consumed some beer as well as a hot dog, hamburger, chips, crab legs, and some dip. On top of the not so good food and beer, I didn’t get home until 2am. I did drink lots of water throughout the night though. I find that does wonders for me both during the evening as well as the next morning. So when I woke up Sunday morning I decided I would allow my body to relax, eat a good meal, and ensure I was completely hydrated before going on my run. I went around 1pm and finished just before 2. The weather was great! I still need to purchase a new pair of shoes, which I’m going to do as soon as I post this!

Week and a half in review

2009-09-11T18:16:00.012-04:00

9-11: I WILL NEVER FORGET! ALWAYS IN MY HEART, PRAYERS, THOUGHTS, and BEING!

Wow it’s been a very busy week and a half for me: beach, work, workouts, planning, etc. My excuse for being MIA for this past week. So for your reading pleasure I’m going to share with you what I’ve been up too! In an effort to keep from writing a book, I’m going to use key words and phrases to describe some of my days :)

Fri, Sept. 4: 6:30am take-off (road trip), brunch at Sonic…YUM, meet up with the other half of our posse, 3 hours later…arrived at BEACH, 5 ladies grocery shopping, snacks, hummus and veggie crisps, boxed wine, chatting on the beach=cloud & slightly chilly, turkey & cheese roll-ups, dancing, beer, shots, pizza, awesome DD = Amy, more snacking, sleep!

Sat, Sept. 5: Breakfast = scrambled eggs & ham, whole wheat english muffins, fresh strawberries, juice, milk; SUNSHINE, hours on the beach, dolphins, playing in the waves, 1 mile walk to boardwalk, dinner at Mangos, mint chocolate moose track ice cream, 1 mile walk “home”, 80’s movies marathon needed, charm city, chocolate city, sleep!

Salmon w/mango sauce, black beans, rice, steamed veggies

Sun, Sept. 6: early riser = reading on balcony while listening/watching waves crash on the beach, quick trip to Outlets, MORE BEACH TIME, paddle ball, jellyfish, beach “police", moved chairs 10 feet to our beach, almost time to go, dinner = not so good server, very helpful bus girl, drive home. Thanks Michelle for driving, very much appreciated!!

Monday: Week 1, Day 3 of 5k training plan = 6 miles. Goal to run easy 11:14 miles. Was suppose to do Sunday. 1st mile = 9:00, 2nd mile = 9:11, 3rd mile = couldn’t find mile marker, confusion, lost momentum! 4-6th mile = 4:1 run/walk ratio. Wasn’t well hydrated and didn’t eat enough nutrients. My hips, quads, and calves were a bit sore as well as my lungs, lol! I powered through and finished!! I’m in desperate need of a new pair of these:

Tuesday: Feel good day! Picture…new black button up dress and red heels. Lots of compliments! I’m in no way bragging, but we all need compliments every now and again and this was my day! I felt great. Week 2, Day 1 of 5k training plan = 2 easy miles. 1st mile at 10:23 and second mile at 10:54. I made a mental effort to focus on my pace. Felt great!

Wednesday: rest day. Received awesome news!! My Grandma, who is a cancer survivor is going off chemo for the next 3 months!! I’m thrilled for her. LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

Yesterday: Attended training for work = best training I’ve had in ages! Dealt with the Law Enforcement aspect of my agency. I have a huge appreciation for our nation’s law enforcement officers (LEO), probably because it’s always been a part of my life. Thanks to my dad, I’ve grown to understand and appreciate the importance of LEOs and how every day they are putting their lives at risk to protect us. The training was engaging, exciting, informative, and I’m trying to convince my director for more. Ha!

Week 2, Day 2 of 5k training plan = 5 miles. I ran 1 mile for warm-up and then ran the next 3 miles at a 9:31 pace, my last mile was my cool-down. I did this run at the gym on the treadmill. It was raining and getting dark by the time I was ready for my run.

Today: 5 minute warm-up on the arc trainer, 20 minutes on Stairmaster…Aerobics program, levels 9-11, 10 minutes on treadmill walking at 3% incline. Abs and lots of stretching. Planning my dear friend’s 30th birthday party and planning my other wonderful friend’s bridal shower! Lots of fun things happening the next few months!!

Week 1 Day 2 = Speedwork

2009-09-03T15:21:00.010-04:00

Today was my first day ever doing any organized speedwork. I debated trying to run on a local school track, but didn’t want to risk being booted off. So I headed to the gym, which was very painful because the weather is unbelievable!

I ran a total of 5 miles in 51:19. This included an easy 1.5 mile warm-up. I then did 3 x 800 meter runs in 4:19. In between each repeat I jogged 400 meters. For my cool-down I ran 1.25 miles to complete my 5 miles.

I did complete each 800 meters in under 4:19. I made sure I ran a slow 400 meters in between allowing myself to recuperate and be ready to run the next 800 meters.

The workout was challenging. I did notice a small cramp creeping its way into my side but managed to keep a full blown cramp at bay. I didn’t hydrate enough before my run, which is probably the cause of the cramp. I also had a slight headache off and on throughout the end of the run. One last thing…I really need to learn how to relax my upper body when I run. Like a lot of people I hold tension in my neck and shoulders. I’d say about 50% of my runs are uncomfortable for the simple fact that either my right or left shoulder is tight. Over and over again I have to remind myself to relax and allow my body to move in a natural flow while running.

All in all, I’m quite pleased with my first speedwork run. I believe doing speedwork outside on a track or wherever will be more challenging because I have to pace myself instead of the treadmill setting my pace. This is part of my goal…learning to run outside successfully!

Week 1 Day 1

2009-09-01T21:23:00.003-04:00

Today was the first day of my 3 week training plan to a faster 5k. My mission was to run an easy 2 miles at a 11:14 pace. My mission of running 2 miles was accomplished; however I completely failed at running at the 11:14 pace. I ended up running a tad over 2 miles at ~7:52 pace. Big OOPS! I know your probably thinking, is she crazy, she ran faster that should be good, right?! It’s not bad, but I really want to stick to the plan to see if the science behind the different paces/tempos/repeats really does make me run faster come race day.

I stepped outside, the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, the temperature was an awesome 70 degrees, I turned my IPod on and it was all over! I downloaded several new songs today and HOLY SMOKES did they make a difference. The first song in my new list was My Time (thanks Jamie for the recommendation!). The song started and I immediately felt chills run up and down my body; the chills you get when you literally feel a song that good! My feet started tingling and I just couldn’t wait to get started. What an awesome feeling!

These lyrics especially, spoke to me:

“Go hard today. Can’t worry bout the past, coz that was yesterday. Ima put it on the line coz it’s my time…”

I started off fast and was trying to slow down both mentally and physically, but the beat of the music was propelling my feet. I was really pumped! My next easy run is next Tuesday. I’m going to change my strategy up by listening to more relaxed chill music. Slow it down some!

Biking + Run/Walk

2009-08-30T20:45:00.006-04:00

Background: For quite awhile my friend Jamie and I have been thinking and planning on training for a sprint triathlon; however we don’t plan on doing the triathlon until 2010. So any hardcore training won’t begin until next year. At the same time I’ve been very curious how my legs/endurance would feel biking and then running right afterwards. Something I can experiment with now.

Today: I spent the early part of my afternoon with my niece, nephew, and sister at the park. The humidity is down and it was a gorgeous day, although a bit hot in the direct sunlight. So after about an hour of hard playing we went to Cold Stone Creamery and got some ice cream. I got a kids cup of chocolate ice cream with Heath Bar (in honor of my dad) mixed in. I’ve been craving ice cream all weekend and it hit the spot!

I was a bit worn out when I got home, so I relaxed with my book for about an hour. But while I was reading, I kept seeing the beautiful sky above the top of my book and biking was running through my mind. That was it, I decided to go for a ride!

I filled my Camelbak up, changed clothes, fought with my helmet briefly, remembered to put my stopwatch on and got my bike off my balcony. My warm-up entailed carrying my bike down a couple flights of stairs, lol! I was off! Overall, I rode ~9.4 miles in 44.10. I realized when I’m on my own, there really isn’t a leisure pace. I rode at a steady and what felt like a good pace for the whole ride. I had to slow down to cross at a traffic light and one cross-walk. I rode on a bike path. I’m not one for riding on the road, just don’t trust drivers out there! I could feel my quads burning for the duration of my ride. I felt it was a good mix of inclines, declines, and 1 pretty big hill coming and going.

When I got home, I carried my bike back up and I was feeling so good that I decided I would go for a walk to stretch out my legs. But since I was feeling so good, I decided to do a bit of run/walking. I ended up doing a total of 2 miles. For the first mile I did 1:1 min ratio of run/walk. The second mile I did 2:2 min ratio. I’m not sure how long it took me to complete the miles. But my overall workout took me about 1 hour and 10 minutes. That included the 44.10 bike ride, carrying my bike back up and then the 2 miles of running/walking and then about .25 miles of walking for my cool down.

At the beginning of the run/walk session my legs felt tight from biking, but I felt them loosen up as I got into it. My lungs/breathing was feeling a bit “tired” but I powered through and eventually I got that under wraps! For my stretching I decided to try one of Yoga is Yummy’s videos. I did the Yoga for triathletes video which lasted about 10 minutes. I really enjoyed it and my muscles felt great afterwards, thanks Polly!

I now have confidence that I will be able to survive a sprint triathlon with the proper training and of course incorporating the swimming in. In due time! I will note that the next time I decide to do the biking and running scenario I’ll eat a snack before (my stomach wasn’t hungry nor did I feel out of energy, just good practice) and remember to wear my knee strap during the running portion. My knee felt a little sore, but overall I felt really good!

Yesterday I made a quick stop at Trader Joe’s and came out with a few snacks to try:

Smart Coach = 5k Training Plan

2009-08-29T09:17:00.002-04:00

After some research and helpful suggestions from Fit Chick in the City, I decided to give the SmartCoach a try to help me come up with a 3 week program to help to attempt to train to run a faster 5k come September 20. SmartCoach is a training tool provided by Runner’s World. I realize I’m not giving myself a lot of time to train. But hey, I’m willing to put all my effort into this program for the next couple of weeks. I’m curious to see if the combination of my motivation and this program will help me run a faster pace come September 20 resulting in a faster time!

Here's your individualized training program:

Your current race time is: 0:27:27 for a 5 K
Your distance training goal is: 5 K
You currently train: 11 - 15 miles/week
How hard you want to train: Hard
Your long-run day: Sunday
Your training program Starts: Monday, 8/31/2009and Ends: Sunday, 9/20/2009
Length of your training schedule: 3 weeks

Wk	Dat	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun	Tot
1	8/31 9/6	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Speedwork Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3x800 in 4:19 w/400 jogs; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 6 mi @11:14	13 miles
2	9/7 9/13	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Tempo Run Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3 mi @ 9:37; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 6 mi @11:14	13 miles
3	9/14 9/20	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Speedwork Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3x800 in 4:19 w/400 jogs; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Race Day Dist: 5 K @8:50 Time: 27:27	10 miles

I’m already going to have to make adjustments to this training plan. Tuesday is the first day of my program. I head to the beach that Friday for Labor Day weekend. My first “long” run is suppose to be on Sunday, which is the day I come back from the beach. I’m not sure what time we are coming back, but I’ll do my best to fit it in at some point on Sunday. I’m also interested in my Thursday runs, I’ve never tried repeats before. I’m going to have to run on or near a track in order to accomplish these because I don’t have something like this to track how far I’m running at what pace. I’ll also have to figure what track to run on because school is back in session and I’m not sure of the rules of the school tracks due to after school sports and when the public (me) is allowed to use the track. Also if you haven’t already noticed, the last day of my training program is actually my race day…so hopefully I’ll be running faster than my 27.27 time!

Minor adjustments, nothing that I can’t handle! I’m looking forward to throwing myself into this program, I feel I do better mentally and physically when I’m working towards a goal! Send me happy positive thoughts and vibes (telepathically that is, ha!)!!

Sleepy mornings

2009-08-25T19:23:00.008-04:00

For the last two weeks, I’ve been struggling to get out of bed. I feel so tired when I wake up, I can’t really figure it out. I’m going to bed at a decent hour and should be getting plenty of sleep; anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on the night/morning. I do dream pretty wildly, so maybe my dreams are too active and I’m not getting enough quality sleep. I never really use to be a “snooze” button hitter, but I swear this morning I hit snooze every five minutes for a half hour. Yes, I realize I’m not getting any sleep if I’m hitting the snooze every five minutes, but I just don’t want to get out of bed! The worst part is that I know once I’m up and moving around I’m fine but it’s almost like I don’t want to do that. Bizarre! I’ve also become somewhat of a nap taker (when I can); just 20 minutes and I feel rejuvenated.

I finally got up this morning and ate a quick piece of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam. I forced myself out the door to head to the gym. I’m glad I went because I felt ten times better once I got there. I worked my quads and abs. I know I was getting tired my last set of bench jumps because I actually missed the bench with my left foot/leg and ended up slamming my shin into the side of the bench. Ouch! Haven’t done that before, but it was bound to happen eventually, ha! I regrouped and finished it out. My goal was to step out 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, but only 1 of the 3 were working and that the "one" was being used. So I ended up doing 20 minutes on the Arc Trainer.

Dinner was very light and tasty this evening! I made a salad that included black beans, corn, couple of sliced olives, diced white onion, pieces of rotisserie chicken (got from Costco), sliced apple, feta cheese, topped with a dollop of hummus. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! I’ll be eating this salad or a variation of this salad for the next couple of days, plenty of leftovers! Next time I’m going to add a little more onions and some red pepper flakes. Several years ago, my friend Kimberly made a variation of this salad and I really enjoyed it. Not sure what made me think of it, but I’m glad I recreated it!

Argh, picture blurry! (new camera maybe?!)

I just realized today that I have a 5k in about 3-4 weeks. I haven’t been running all that regularly this summer. My goal is to run a faster time than my last 5k in May. I’m going to do some research on some 5k running plans that will help me to increase my pace.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I can do to run faster and survive; recommended training programs or plans that have worked for you?

Blueberry Banana Muffins

2009-08-21T22:19:00.038-04:00

My mouth has been watering ever since I read ELR’s post about her blueberry banana muffins. She said everyone had to try them and I agreed! LOL! Yesterday, the idea of these muffins kept popping into my mind. I decided I had thought about them enough, it was time to take action. As I mentioned, after the gym last night I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some blueberries, bananas, whole wheat flour (couldn’t find whole wheat pastry flour), and some other random items I needed. After a shower and dinner, I created my first batch of homemade muffins. I’m really starting to enjoy making things, who would have thunk it!

I tried one of the smaller muffins last night. They turned out great!!

I had another one for breakfast this morning along with an egg and a mug of tea. It left me feeling energized and ready for the gym. I did my normal workout of warm-up, chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and a 20 minute walk on the treadmill.

I made myself a blueberry banana Green Monster. It wasn’t my favorite. I couldn’t really taste the blueberries. I thought it would be sweeter than it was. I’m thinking I’m a blueberry fan when they are cooked. They seem more flavorful to me. Or maybe I’m just not picking out the right ones. I’m stumped!
After a quick shower, I came up with this concoction for lunch
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Baked beans, tuna fish from a can, olives, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes sprinkled on top. I know it doesn’t look appetizing and I realize it looks like it could have come out of one end or the other, ha! Believe it or not, it did taste pretty good. I think it would be better with black beans, but I had thawed out a whole container of baked beans and I need to eat them up. I had a few Kashi cheddar crackers on the side as well as a handful of carrots.

Note: I had written this post early afternoon, but didn’t get around to posting it because things came up. So just getting home, figured I would finish it up and share what I had for my afternoon snack and for dinner. Exciting, don’t you think?! I ate an apple and a Kashi granola bar around 3ish. For dinner I raided my mom’s refrigerator for leftovers. I mixed leftover mac & cheese with leftover ham steak. My sister made me a salad with sunflower seeds, Craisens, mozzarella cheese and light ranch dressing. Oh and I had what was left in a Cheetos snack bag. I spent most of the evening with my niece and nephew. But after they went to bed, my stomach was growling. So I ate a spoonful of peanut butter with chocolate chips strategically placed throughout my peanut butter mound. I also had a mug of mango peach white tea. It tasted as good as it smelled!

Treadmill Mania

2009-08-20T20:48:00.003-04:00

This week has been an interesting week to say the least. I feel like I’m surrounded by a ton of negativity, which some of it is my doing in the way I’m thinking. Throw in some sad news that I received this afternoon and I’m a big pot of UGH! To get myself on track to a better attitude, I left work a little early. Things were slow so it was a good time. Came home and hate half a ham sandwich, didn’t eat lunch. BAD GIRL! I then headed to the gym for a hard workout.

A few years back when I was still meeting with my personal trainer, he introduced Treadmill Mania to me. It’s a tough workout that incorporates running and various lifting movements. I think he found it in a magazine, but I can’t remember which one. I pull the workout out every now and again when I want to get a full body workout and push myself. Normally I wear my stopwatch, but once again I forgot it..oops! On great days I can finish the workout in less than 1 hour, other days it takes me about 1 hour to complete. Below is the basic workout and you can adjust as you see fit. I modified the leg movements today and picked movements that focused on my Quadriceps (front squats and leg extensions). I’ve done enough hamstring movements this week. My legs are still sore from Tuesday; probably over did it.

Treadmill Mania

1% incline - 5 minutes easy (warm-up) -- I normally just walk
Stretch
1% incline - 5 mins at LT (Lactic Threshold) pace
Push-ups - 1 min (an alternate exercise would be to do 1 min of dumbbell bench press)
20 squats
1% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
Crunches - 1 min
3% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
20 dips
1% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
30 back extensions
5% incline - 3 mins at LT pace
20 one leg squats (per leg)
1% incline - 5mins at LT pace
Decline push-ups - 1 min (an alternate exercise could be decline dumbell bench press)
1% incline - 5 mins easy (cool-down)
Stretch

I am always a sweaty mess when I am finished with this workout. Imagine red face, dripping sweat, sweat soaked shirt...ahhh...I'm glistening, have a happy glow! LOL! I normally feel a mixture of fatigue but at the same time engergized. It succeeded in changing my mood for the better, all those happy endorphins were released!

After the gym, I made a “quick” stop at the grocery store to pick up a few special ingredients to try a new recipe I’ve been thinking about for several weeks now. Stay tuned!

Kardea Nutrition Bar

2009-08-18T12:07:00.011-04:00

Thank you to Kardea Nutrition for sending me samples of their nutrition bars; very generous!

From the Kardea nutrition brochure, about the founder: “Rob Leighton founded Kardea as part of a personal mission to lower his own cholesterol. Coupling a love for culinary creations with the science of natural cholesterol management, Rob founded Kardea to create great tasting, natural foods that enable daily compliance to heart healthy therapeutic nutrition.”

Kardea Nutrition gave me samples of each of their nutrition bars: Banana Nut, Cranberry Almond, Chai Spice, and Lemon Ginger. First off, I really enjoy nutritional bars when they taste good and are enjoyable to eat; these bars fit into this category. I like all of the flavors. My favorites are Banana Nut and Cranberry Almond. I also liked Chai Spice and Lemon Ginger but found them to be similar in taste. One just had a lemon flavoring. The bars look similar and share the same texture but are different based on flavor. They have a soft and crispy texture. The crispy part reminds me of rice crisps found in a candy bar. The flavors are light and enjoyable, not overwhelming at all. Yum!

I typically ate a bar as an afternoon snack. They satisfied my appetite for about 2-3 hours.

Thanks again Kardea Nutrition, I’d definitely recommend these to a friend!

Today’s workout

10 minute warm-up on Arc Trainer

Superset: 3 sets of 12 reps each
Good Morning Stretches – 25lb barbell
Leg Press on Hip sled Machine – 90lbs each side = 180lbs
Calf Raises on Hip sled Machine

Superset: 3 sets
Leg Curls Sitting – 75lbs (12 reps)
Walking Lunges – no weight

Abductor/Adductor machine: Light weight, high reps (2 sets)

20 minute cardio on Arc Trainer

2nd Bike Ride of the Summer

2009-08-17T13:06:00.004-04:00

My friend, Ray, and I went on a bike ride Saturday morning. He has a bike rack, so he came down and picked me up. I have not invested in a bike rack yet, so if I want to ride anywhere other than around my neighborhood I have to wait for my lovely friends to offer to come get me. I got up and had a quick breakfast of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jelly and a side of cottage cheese. I also drank a mug of English Breakfast tea. When Ray arrived, I was all ready with my helmet and camelbak; I was excited to be using my camelbak for the first time!

We headed over to a new trail that has been paved over old railroad tracks. When the whole trail is finished it will be 13 miles one way. They still have to finish paving one small section and that is supposed to be done by this fall. We had a great ride! What I really like about this trail is that most of it is covered by trees. So even though it was hot, we had consistent shade and a constant breeze to keep us cool and refreshed. On our way down we ended up sprinting (riding our bikes as fast as we could) for 1 mile. WOW, that was a workout indeed; my legs were burning, my heart rate was up, and the sweat was pouring! We started at the beginning of the trail and rode until the trail was closed (the section that’s unfinished). We took a quick break and headed back. The ride back doesn’t look hard…but man oh man! It’s a slight incline all the way back. Our legs kept hoping and expecting for the incline to peak, the part where you feel the burn in your legs ease some once you realized you’ve hit the peak and are either on level ground or heading down hill. I kept wondering when it was going to end, lol! However, all whining aside, it was an excellent workout! I really enjoyed myself and it was a nice change for my body.

I believe I filled my camelbak all the way up, but I’m thinking that I might not have because I ended up drinking the whole thing up. It’s 70ml and should last you for about 3 hours. I finished it after the ride, which was good, but I was a bit surprised I drank all the water up. I definitely kept myself hydrated! I think we rode 14-15 miles total. I don’t know how long it took us because I once again forgot my stopwatch. I had a great ride and am looking forward to my next bike ride.

When we got back to my place, I made Ray the Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster. He liked! It was a great refresher after our ride. When Ray left, I dug into my leftovers from the night before. I enjoyed half a chicken breast marinated in olive oil and a vinaigrette topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, arugula, and shaved parmesan cheese. I also had some leftover grilled mixed vegetables. Very tasty! I ate well during the day because Saturday night I went to a Crab Feast and enjoyed my first Blue Crabs of the season, along with a variety of yummy foods and of course some beer!

There will be no working out today for me. We will be celebrating my mom’s birthday this evening. I might try and do some stretching tonight. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Greek Pizza and Banana Soft Serve

2009-08-14T12:17:00.028-04:00

My drive home yesterday was wonderful! I got home in just under an hour and that doesn’t happen very often. I left at my normal time, 4:30, smack dab in the middle of rush hour. My goal was to run last night but I wanted to wait until it cooled down a bit more. So while I was waiting I prepped for my dinner. I cut up olives, tomatoes, and white onion. I wanted to recreate a Greek Pizza I had the other week.

I headed out the door a little after 7. I forgot to bring my stop watch, so I’m not sure how long I actually ran. I’m guessing between 20-25 minutes. I ran up the road on the new path they just paved and then turned around and came back. I think it was about 2.5 miles. It wasn’t a good run. I once again started off to fast. I wore my running shorts for the first time and the dri-fit top that I got to match it. The shorts were all right, not sure that I’m the running shorts kinda girl. Just might be something to get use to. The top was annoying because it kept riding up my stomach…uhh…too small maybe? LOL! To top it off I started to get shin splints in my right leg. I’m glad all my ailments are sticking to the right side of my body…haha! It might be time to buy a new pair of running shoes!

Got home, stretched, showered, and prepared and cooked my Greek pizza. First I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees. I used whole wheat pocketless pita for my pizza. I sprinkled mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, and black olives over the top. I also sprinkled a little more mozzarella and feta cheese over the top. Place pita pizza right on the rack and cook for 7-8 minutes. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes over the top. Tasty!

Topped with spinach.

For dessert, I attempted to make Gena’s raw banana soft serve. I think it turned out pretty good. Although I think the next time I make it I might blend some chocolate syrup or flavored natural peanut butter with it, maybe even raspberries.

I started to melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, but I got impatient. So I just dumped the semi-melted ones with some frozen ones over the top.

This morning after my breakfast of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam, cottage cheese, and a cup of English Breakfast tea, I headed to the gym. I had a good workout which included a 7 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer and weightlifting (chest, shoulders, and triceps). I did a small ab workout. I then completed 20 minutes on the Life Stride machine. I had the machine set on manual, level 8 and I did 1 minute at a 5 -5.5 pace and then 2 minutes at a 7.5-9 pace. I worked up a good sweat. I made sure I stretched really well afterwards.

After I showered I made myself a Green Monster. This time I used 2 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, ¾ of a banana, a heaping tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and a handful of ice. If you like bananas and peanut butter this is a drink for you! I liked it, but thought it could have been a bit cooler. I’ll add more ice next time. For lunch I made myself another Greek pizza.

The rest of my day will involve errands and then dinner with some of my best girlfriends! Happy Friday!

Vita-Mix = Green Monster

2009-08-12T15:28:00.014-04:00

Guess what?! I finally got a Vita-Mix! For the last month or two, I’ve wanted to get one. I’ve been reading so many different recipe ideas and a lot of them require a good blender. I have a cheap one but it doesn’t blend frozen foods or ice at all and the last time I used my blender, it emitted a burning smell. Uh, not good! I’ve done a ton of research on Vita-Mix and other blenders and I have read nothing but positive things about this blender. Yes, it costs a pretty penny. But for me I feel like it will be a worthwhile investment. I had been looking online for good offers when my mom spotted a sign at our local Costco stating that the Vita-Mix would be coming for a two week period. It was a sign, it was meant to be!! I bought one yesterday. Brought it home and read all the instructions and recipe book, still have watch the dvd. My first blend was of soap and water to give it a nice cleaning, lol!

I was off to the gym early this morning. I completed a total of 30 minutes of cardio, my normal 10 minute warm-up on the elliptical and then 20 additional minutes on the Arc Trainer at the end of my workout. I worked my back and biceps, along with two ab movements.

One of the drinks I’ve really wanted to try is the Green Monster. I’ve read so much about them on all the blogs out there. I was so excited to get home after the gym, so I could attempt creating my first Green Monster. I desperately need to go grocery shopping and that was in my plans last night, but because of dinner plans I didn’t make it. But after dinner I quickly stopped by a grocery store to pick up spinach and milk, so I would have all the ingredients for this morning! I made the “Amazing” Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster. I used 2.5 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, half a banana, about 1 cup of frozen cantaloupe, and a handful of ice. It was as good as everyone says it is. Very light and refreshing!! I can’t wait to try out different recipes to find my favorites! I paired the Green Monster with a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with peanut butter.

Behold!

I know I look serious, but it really does taste great!

Bonefish Grill

2009-08-11T21:07:00.005-04:00

Monday’s workout was another hour session of Power Yoga. I’m thinking this is going to be a staple in my workout for the time being. It was way too hot to run outside and I don’t enjoy going to the gym in the evenings due to the crowds. Yoga was the winner. This time I eliminated any distractions and threw myself into the workout. What a difference that makes! I felt stronger and more relaxed then last Monday. I built up a good sweat.

Can anyone suggest any other good Yoga dvd’s? I’d like to change it up some so I don’t get bored.

Early this morning I forced myself out of bed and headed to the gym. I started out with a 10 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer. I focused on my Quadriceps and abs. I supersetted Leg Extensions with Front Squats and I did 3 sets of 12-15 reps for each. I then used another machine which I have no idea what it is called. But you squat in it and depending on your foot placement you can work your glutes or your quads. I of course worked my quads. I supersetted that machine with 1 minute wall-sits. Feel the burn! For my abs I supersetted hanging leg raises (12 reps) with bicycles (25) and did 3 sets of those. My last ab workout focused on my sides. I laid on my back with my legs bent. My feet were spread shoulder width apart and I moved back and forth along the ground touching my heels with my fingers. I did 2 sets of 30 reps. I finished up my workout with a 2 mile run on the treadmill. It’s the first time I’ve really run in a few weeks. I felt a bit tired, but powered through! I was drenched in sweat when I was finished, which I like because I know I worked hard!

This evening I went to dinner with the family to celebrate my sister passing her test and remembering my parent’s anniversary. We tried Bonefish Grill for the first time. We finally got another seafood place in town besides “Ed Lobster” aka Red Lobster. Dinner was FANTASTIC. My sister and I got the meal for two promotion they currently have running. We started off with the Singapore Calamari (pretty good) and then I had a house salad which had a wonderful citrus herb vinaigrette dressing, so light. In between all that they brought out some bread and oil. My main dish was the Wood-Grilled Authentic Norwegian Salmon topped with mango salsa, YUM! My two sides were a medley of vegetables. I brought half home to have for lunch tomorrow. It took a lot of restraint not to eat it all. I paired my meal with a glass of Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio. I had a few bites of Misty’s dessert which was a macadamia nut brownie with raspberry sauce on the side; also very yummy! It seems like we ate a lot of food, but I left there feeling very light and quite content!! That’s how I would describe the food I had, light and tasty! In case you were wondering…Misty got the Sea Scallops and Shrimp and my mom got the Coconut Crusted Shrimp appetizer as her main course. Both of them liked their meals as well.

5 Years

2009-08-10T20:26:00.030-04:00

This weekend marked the 5 year “anniversary” of my dad’s death. In order to celebrate my dad’s life my mom, sister, the kiddos, and I decided we would spend the weekend together doing some of the things that my dad loved to do. He was a wonderful outdoorsman from an early age. Because of my dad, I have a deep love and appreciation for nature…anything and everything Mother Earth has to offer. We spent the weekend at Shenandoah National Park. We entered at the northern most point (Front Royal) and took our time driving south on Skyline Drive. There was no camping involved; we feel the kiddos are still too young and maybe we are all a bit nervous to attempt camping for the first time in a long time. I’m not sure if it is quite like riding a bicycle…you never forget?! True “dad” fashion would have been camping, loved our camping trips growing up, but I think my dad would have been quite proud and happy with our little trip!

Our first day in the park, included a picnic at the first visitor center, Dickey Ridge. We brought enough food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. We had dinner at both the Skyland and Big Meadows restaurants; such a great way to save money and to eat healthy meals. After lunch we took a hike on the Fox Hollow Trail which is a 1.2 mile circuit. Alena (5) walked the whole trail and Sean (3) walked most of it. I’d say he walked all but .2 miles. They did great on their first hike!

Our next highlight was getting to see a young black bear run across the road. We were back on Skyline Drive heading towards Skyland when we saw this head poke up over the barrier wall. We of course stopped to observe. He proceeded to climb over the wall and run across the road and into the woods. I got a picture of his butt, because I was not fast enough pulling out my camera. I think we were in all in shock and awe that we saw a wild black bear. SO COOL! We ended up seeing one or two more, actually my mom did. But I couldn’t see anything, seems my reflexes were a bit on the slow side that day.

Red square marks the spot!

We checked into our room later in the afternoon and ate a snack or two or three. For whatever reason I was famished, I had to get out of the room because I was afraid I was going to eat anything and everything in sight. Ha! After our break, we piled back into the car and headed further south towards Big Meadows. We stopped and took another walk on a fire road that bordered the Meadow (trails wind throughout the meadow). Dinner was at the Skyland Dining Room. The food wasn’t good at all; I’m a bit sad about that. I should have ordered the fries and chicken off the kids menu! Bedtime was at 10pm for me, I was so tired! All the fresh air!!

I'm in the middle.

Our second day we spent the early afternoon at Luray Caverns. It’s been a long time since I last visited; I don’t remember the audio self tour, but what a fabulous idea! You can go at your own pace and they have an adult and kids audio tour. The caverns were beautiful as always. We headed back into the park and had another wonderful picnic. After another hour or two of driving we hit another hiking trail. We walked the Limberlost Trail where we saw a multitude of wildlife: deer, turkeys, bunnies, and tons of butterflies and moths.

Dinner was at the Big Meadows Dining Room and it was ten times better than dinner the night before. After dinner we took a night stroll to the Amphitheater where a park ranger was giving a presentation on animals and mating. Did you know that most owls mate for life? The male owl goes through a lot to try and impress the female owl. If the female accepts him they are mated for life. They are forever in love!! So sweet! Another little tidbit I learned was that black widow spiders are completely misunderstood. She only invites a male spider into her web if she is hungry. She doesn’t eat every day and sometimes not even up to a month. She only eats when she is hungry, and it just so happens she prefers male spiders as her meal! She eats purely for survival purposes!

Fire roasted marshmallows were a treat at the end. Unfortunately, the kiddos didn’t appreciate the wonders of almost burnt marshmallows…oh well, their loss. Just means more for me. YUM!

Our third day at the park consisted of us checking out of the hotel and then heading to a nearby trail to get in one more hike before making our trek home. This turned into a very interesting hike! We parked at the Stony Man Nature Trail which was only supposed to be about a 1.6 mile trail circuit. We failed to look at the map and like a lot of trails in Shenandoah other trails share similar names. We ended up walking the Nature Trail and then the Stony Man Trail itself which took us to a different parking lot about 3 miles north (by road) from where we parked. LOL!

We started by hiking up to the Stony Man Summit, which had an amazing view! On our way down from the summit we came to an intersection. There were two ways we could go, back the same way we came or follow the arrow on the trail marker stating the Stony Man Parking was 1.2 miles to the left. I was thinking that this took us a different way back to the parking lot we parked at. We were having such a good time that we decided to take the “longer” way back. It ended up being longer alright! On the 1.2 mile hike we got to see the Stony Man Cliffs, another gorgeous view. The last .6 miles were down hill and very rocky. I ended up carrying Sean down most of the way because I was worried he might get hurt; definitely a bit tough for a 3 year old to walk down. Alena conquered the trails fabulously! As I already mentioned, our hike ended at a completely different parking lot! We failed to study a map of the trail, and like a lot of trails in the Shenandoah, other trails share similar names. A huge mistake that can get hikers in serious trouble!

Stony Man Summit

Needless to say we were in a pickle. Instead of having the kiddos walk back which would‘ve taken a long time, Misty (my sister) and I hoofed it back by taking the trail. My mom stayed with the kids. The hike back was mostly uphill and by my calculation was about a two mile hike back. I LOVED this part the most. Hiking with kids is a lot different (although very enjoyable) than my normal hiking pace (which is steady and quick). Misty did great and stuck with me. We made it through the trail and back to my mom and the kiddos in 45 minutes. I felt absolutely fabulous after the hike, so energized and rejuvenated! Call me crazy, but I really think my dad was listening to my inner thoughts and giving me this opportunity for an invigorating hike.

Although we were quite stupid for not looking at a map and understanding the trails, we handled the situation very well and stayed positive. It was actually quite funny. However, Alena was pretty sure I lead everyone the wrong way she told me as much when we came back with the car….bwahahaha!

We picnicked again and spent the rest of the afternoon leaving the park and driving home. It was a good trip. Much needed for my mind, body, and soul.

Weekend and Monday Recap

2009-08-03T20:56:00.007-04:00

After a good 12 hours of sleep I was up at 8:30 Friday morning, ate a bowl of cereal, and was off to the gym. Since I’ve been very inconsistent on my workouts these past two weeks I worked my shoulders and arms (biceps and triceps). I started by running 1 mile on the treadmill. I started out with my shoulders, biceps, and then triceps.

Shoulders - 3 sets of circuit
DB shoulder press – 20lbs
DB lateral arm raises – 8lbs
Upright Rows w/curl bar – 10lbs on each side

Rested 1-2 minutes before moving onto next muscle group

Biceps – 3 sets of each movement
21’s (7 bottom half, 7 top half, 7 full) 20-25lb barbell
Concentration Curls – 8lbs/12 reps

Rested 1-2 minutes before moving onto next muscle group

Tricep – 3 sets of 12 reps circuit
Dips on dip width bars – body weight
Cable push-downs – 50lbs
Kickbacks – 2.5-5lbs

My remaining 20 minutes of cardio was on the Arc Trainer.

The rest of my Friday consisted of running errands, but before I headed out for those. The lovely UPS man brought me this:

The best part of all is that I only paid a few dollars in shipping, because I used a giftcard (from Christmas) that I hadn’t used yet. Fantastic! I haven’t used my camelback yet, still need to wash it. Time to start biking more, I have no excuses anymore…well my hard seat can still be used as an excuse, right?!

Saturday I spent most of my day by the pool or in the pool. I got a teeny tiny workout by catching my niece and nephew jumping off the side of the pool as well as bouncing them up and down in the water. I managed to get a bit of a leg workout in by squatting up and down…child and water resistance…it’s gotta count for something, right?! That night I went to dinner with my friend. I tried white salmon for the first time. It was cooked medium and centered on top of red lettuce and several slivers of sweet potato. There was a beet sauce that complimented the salmon so nicely. I ate every last bite and was tempted to lick the plate…it was that good! We also split a great bottle of Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley.

Sunday was a rainy day for the most part. No workouts for me, I spent most of the day with my sister running around. She was really good to me yesterday. I can’t thank her enough. Love You Sis!

The weekend went by so fast….and now its Monday and actually almost Tuesday. Work was pretty busy, can’t complain because it did make the day go by fast and I felt pretty productive. When I got home I thought about running, but decided I needed to do more of a stretching workout. So I pulled out my Power Yoga dvd and spent an hour doing that. I felt it was one of my better Yoga days; which isn’t saying much because I don’t do Yoga all that often. I would really like to get into it more, maybe one day find a class to take. I was also cooking dinner during my workout. Not the greatest ideas because my stomach was totally growling which can be very distracting when you are trying to concentrate on the poses. Dinner was fabulous. I had leftover breaded tilapia, with homemade potato fries, steamed asparagus, watermelon, and a tall glass of skim milk. It was quite satisfying. In a few, I plan on having two squares of Lindt (mild 70%) dark chocolate. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Yummy Deliciousness

2009-07-30T21:10:00.027-04:00

The last two days have been a bit tough both emotionally and ultimately physically. My workout yesterday consisted of 30 minutes cardio, chest and back, and Week 4 Day 2 of the twohundredsitups challenge. Today I only did my Week 5 Day 3 of the onehundredpushup program. I was home in time to make it to my bootcamp class; however, I just couldn’t put on the class face today. I needed to rest. Seems to be the theme as of late, which thinking about, is making me quite frustrated.

This afternoon, my friend introduced me to Wegmans. OH MY GOODNESS…that grocery store is marvelous! Yes, I said grocery store. I’d rather not go into the psychology of why I find a grocery store so exciting. Let’s just say we managed to spend an hour in there and that wasn’t nearly enough time. I could have spent hours in there. So many fun things to look at!

I couldn’t believe how packed the store was around noon (went during lunch break). What were these people doing there, doesn’t anyone work? Ha! The only other “negative” feature I thought was that it felt pretty chaotic in there and that was mostly due to the people. There was no order to their shopping; people were all over the place. Everywhere I turned I felt like I was in someone’s way. I wasn’t too surprised because I felt these people shopped/pushed carts the way they drive. But anyone that knows me knows I don’t like crowds and I don’t like my bubble aka personal space being invaded by other fellow shoppers. Word to the wise, say “excuse me” if you would like to get at something that I or anyone else may be blocking at that particular time. I’d be pleased to move for you. Let’s use our manners people! Anyways, this irritation was only minor. I did really enjoy the store and can’t wait to go back when I have more time.

I left with a cantaloupe, raspberries, strawberries, red grapes, a black Honest Tea, Oikos Greek Yogurt (vanilla and strawberry), and the Cooking Light magazine and I only spent $23. GO ME! I washed and/or cut up all the fruit, except for the cantaloupe (got it a little green so it doesn’t ripen too fast). It’s all ready to eat!

My evening snack was yummy deliciousness, see for yourself:

Getting started again

2009-07-28T20:33:00.003-04:00

Today was my first day working out since Friday; for me, this is quite some time off. After work on Monday, I decided that I would rest my foot one more day. Mostly because it was still way too hot to running outside and I didn’t feel like dragging myself to the gym. Therefore, I stayed home, finished my book, and completed Week 4 Day 1 from the twohundredsitups program.

Today my workout started with a 10 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer. I focused on my quads. I did a three movement circuit, rested for 1-2 minutes and then repeated 2 more times. The circuit consisted of:

12 - Step-ups (per leg), 20lb dumbbells in hand
12 – Front Squats, 30lb barbell
20 – Bench Jumps, no weight

To ensure total fatigue, I completed 2 sets of single leg extensions. First set was 20lbs and I managed to complete about 8 reps per leg. The second set was at 10lbs and I was able to finish 6 reps per leg. I believe muscle fatigue was accomplished!

Hard, but great workout! Right after that I attempted to complete my Week 5 Day 1 from the onehundredpushups program. I did fine until I was suppose to max out the last set. I was supposed to complete a minimum of 45 pushups on the fifth set, however I managed only 26. I think my quad workout had more of an effect on my whole body than I thought it would. Depending on how Day 2 of Week 5 goes I might have to repeat this week. I’m not feeling very confident about completing 100 pushups in a row at the end of this program. This program should be called the 6 + weeks program! Ha!

And of course I finished off with cardio on the Arc Trainer. I did the Interval Program set at level 6 out of 10.

Sore foot, what's next?

2009-07-24T14:40:00.005-04:00

I didn’t end up working out yesterday either. My foot was still sore even after I rocked the running shoes all day at work. I figured it wouldn’t do me any good to irritate it more. So instead I did a TON of stretches. My mom was so nice and offered to bring me dinner over. She had made roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and some veggies. She also brought me over an ice pack. Thanks Mom! For about one hour I iced my right foot.

Let me describe how my foot hurts; it’s my right foot, outside ankle area. The muscle or the ligament, I really don’t know which (probably ligament), that runs perpendicular to my ankle feels extremely tight and wound up. Imagine a rubber band pulled tight; now imagine it rubbing up and down against your skin every time you point your toe. That’s what it feels like under my skin; sort of feels that it is going to pop because it feels so tight. Or like that cramp or joint that needs to be popped but it just won’t pop. It’s very irritating and uncomfortable. It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t feel good either.

Its the same leg as my "sore" knee. I wonder if wearing my knee strap could be causing me to run differently on my foot? Does it have anything to do with my foot? I've never had any foot problems before. Hmmm...

Today I started out with a four minute walk on the treadmill. Then I proceeded to do 3 movements, 3 sets of each, for my chest, shoulders, and triceps. I threw in some abs in the middle of it all. I did supersets for most of the movements and did not rest very long in between. Since I hadn’t worked out in 2 days, I wanted to keep my heart rate up so that I was getting an aerobic workout as well as strength training. I felt pretty good. I ended my workout with 10 minutes on the row machine. Thought this would be a good alternative for my foot. I haven’t done the row machine in forever and WOWEE, my butt, legs, back, arms, and chest were really feeling it. I need to remember to incorporate that in more often. My foot felt a bit tight afterwards, but didn’t notice and discomfort while I was rowing.

To finish it off, I cleaned my house from top to bottom in 1.5 hours. Not too shabby!

Time to run some errands...I have to pick up some bread and salad for dinner tonight. Meeting up with some lovely ladies for a “girls night in!” Think Italian and lots of wine! Cheers!

Testing New Meal Ideas

2009-07-22T19:57:00.014-04:00

This morning I woke up feeling pretty tired and couldn’t convince myself to go to the gym. Instead I rolled over and slept until it was time to get up for work. Last night I slept better than I have in a few weeks; uninterrupted pure sweet sleep. This is probably why I was so tired this morning.

Work started at 6am for me. Breakfast included a large mug of English Breakfast tea, bowl of Kashi Honey and Cinnamon oatmeal, and a serving of no sugar added applesauce. After breakfast and a bit more work. I did my only source of exercise today which was push-ups and sit-ups.

I started out with my progress test for the onehundredpushups program. I’ve been “stuck” on Week 4 for about two weeks, not because I felt like I needed to spend extra time on it but because for two weeks I forgot to do Day 3 of Week 4. Instead of starting Week 4 again for the third week in a row, I decided to proceed on to the progress test. I had to do as many pushups as I could at one time. This number helps me to determine which column I start in for Week 5, which I’ll begin on Sunday. I managed to pump out 44 pushups.

Next I finished Day 3 of Week 3 for the twohundredsitups program. I’ll start Week 4 on Monday. Like the pushups I managed to spend two weeks on Week 3 because I kept missing one day. I’m going to do my best to finish out these next two to three weeks correctly. Both the push-ups and sit-ups took me all of 15 minutes. That’s what I call a workout, lol, although, I’m itching to do something else. I’ll force myself to rest because my foot is still sore :(

For lunch, I had a Morningstar Farm Spicy Black Bean Burger on Ezekiel bread with medium cheddar cheese, red onion, spinach, and some ketchup. Delicious! Really enjoyed how all the flavors blended so well. My stomach felt content but still light. Not overly full! It was my first time trying Ezekiel bread as well as the black bean burger. I got the idea from ELR. She comes up with fantastic meals, making it very easy for me. Just means that I don’t have to think of new ideas on my own. I’m learning from other’s suggestions and experiences while building and creating my own! I rounded out my meal with Salsa Garden Sun Chips and a glass of skim milk.

Dinner was another new experience for me. I attempted to make Alaska Smoked Salmon Summer Pasta Salad. I first tried the salad at a wine festival at the beginning of June. They handed out a little pamphlet with several smoked salmon recipes, which included the pasta salad. I’ve wanted to recreate it for some time. I finally found most of the ingredients for the salad. Although the salmon is not from Alaska....shh, don't tell anyone. I invited my mom, sister, and the kiddos over to be my guinea pigs! It took me about 1 hour to finish the whole meal (prep and cook time). I’m a bit slow, but know I can make it quicker now that I know what I’m doing. We learned that the kids liked smoked salmon by itself! Dinner included the pasta salad and fresh cut peaches.

I thought it turned out pretty good. My mom and sister gave it two thumbs up (well that’s how I’m interpreting it, lol). I didn’t give it time to marinate, so I’m interested to see how it tastes tomorrow when I eat the leftovers for lunch.

I’d say my day of new food experiences was a success! I’m looking forward to incorporating these dishes into my meals in the future.

LARABAR

2009-07-21T21:23:00.009-04:00

Yesterday, for the first time I tried a LARABAR. They are all natural fruit and nut bars. I tried the Chocolate Coconut Chew flavor. It had the consistency of a brownie. It’s not as sweet as I’m use too. But I must say that the flavor was light and I enjoyed the whole bar. To me they were filling and kept me satisfied for a good period of time. I ate it for my late afternoon snack, about 1-2 hours before my 5 mile fun. Not sure if there is any correlation, but I had a great run. A lot of times when I try a new energy bar I typically like the first two bites but after that I’m over it. Not this time! I’m actually excited that I like these bars. There are tons of flavors; slowly I’m going to try all the flavors and see which I like best.

I like how Lara, creator of LARABAR, describes her bars on the back of the wrappers:

“We at LARABAR believe that a healthy body, mind and spirit are derived from what you eat – and that food is healthiest and most satisfying in its simplest, most natural state. Made from 100% real food, LARABAR is energy in its purest form. A magical harmony of fruits, nuts and spices. LARABAR harvests the best natural ingredients to lift your vitality and sustain energy with every bite. Simple. Pure. Delicious. Enjoy the energy bar and start humming!”

Workout:
Warm-up: 10 minutes on Arc Trainer
Back and Biceps
Abs
20 minutes on Arc Trainer (Cardio, level 6)

My workout was pretty good today. I started out with my biceps and to warm-up I did two sets of chin-ups using my full body weight. I was able to do ten my first set and five my second set. Typically you should start with the larger muscle group and then move to the smaller muscle group. To change things up and to challenge my muscles I started out with biceps and then moved to back. My back is starting to feel a good sore, so I know it’s worked!

At some point today I noticed my right foot feeling sore. It actually feels as if I have a constant cramp in it. I’ve been stretching it off and on all day. I’m hoping that I can work it out. I might consider walking or biking tomorrow for my cardio. I’ll see how I feel in the morning.

5 Mile Run

2009-07-21T09:54:00.007-04:00

It started raining on my way home from work yesterday. Debated whether I should wait the rain out and attempt to run outside. In the end, I decided to head to the gym to do my running on the treadmill. No point in wasting time.

I started by walking about 4 minutes for my warm-up. Stopped and stretched. My goal today was to just run at a 10 minute mile pace and run for as long as I felt like running. I turned on Maxwell and off I went. Overall, I ended up running 5 miles in just under 50 minutes. I felt good and probably could have kept running, but it was getting late and I still had to go home and shower and eat dinner. As good as my run felt, I did experience some interesting things while running…some that you would only experience at a gym and others because that’s just how my body works.

Here’s a play by play…

Mile 1 to 3: Breathing, stride, pace, knee, and overall body feels great! I’m in my zone, listening to Maxwell. Maxwell’s music is very chill, amongst other things; helped me to relax my mind and body.

Mile 3: My friend comes up and starts talking to me. Of course I can’t hear him because my music is too loud. So off come my head phones, maintaining my run, looking to my right; he’s asking me how the knee strap is working for me and how my knee felt. I told him so far so good, but he’s now walking to my left so I have to shift my head and try to maintain my balance on the treadmill. Doing my best not to trip! I realize after he leaves that I was practically yelling when I was talking to him. LOL! Sorry gym buddies, I’m sure that was an annoying distraction as well as I’m sure you really cared to hear about my knee.

Mile 3 to 4: Maxwell ended. Switched to the Black Eyed Peas, time to get pumped! Uh-oh! My lower stomach is starting to cramp a little…that can only mean one thing …the dreaded gas! All this running got my system working. I did my best to hold it in, but I can’t say that 1-2 petite farts didn’t escape! I’m pretty sure they were quiet and I’m almost certain they didn’t smell. But you never know. I just hope nobody was behind me on another piece of equipment. An occasional fart when I’m running outside is ok in my mind. For one, nobody can hear or smell it (if either is an issue). Secondly, I like to think the gas is giving me a little boost, propelling me forward. The gym is another story and I really do my best to avoid letting one loose at all costs. But sometimes, it can’t be controlled. Today was one of those times! Luckily, it quickly passed and I was back on track! <-- yes, I totally went there!

Mile 4.25 to 5: Back at mile 3, I recognized the guy running on the treadmill to my left. When he was done with his run and was cleaning off his treadmill, out of politeness, I looked over and said “hi” (still running). He said “hi” back, but didn’t stop there. He proceeded to turn the treadmill back on, walking pace, and started talking to me. Apparently, he chose to over look the fact that my headphones were on and my music was blaring. It wasn’t like I could pretend I didn’t hear him and run off in a different direction, I was on a treadmill. SOOO, to avoid being rude I took my headphones off and chatted while I finished off my 5 miles. So there I am, my headphones flopping uncomfortably around my neck, trying to pay attention the conversation, thinking to myself “how long is this guy going to stay and talk? He was done, finished, finito…what happened?!” He talked for approximately 7 minutes! Notice I said he, because I randomly answered but for the most part faced forward and tried to focus on my running. Don’t get me wrong, nice guy, but come on! I’m running, please DO NOT DISTURB!!

My treadmill buddy finally decides to head out. I cool-down by walking about 5 minutes. Finish out by stretching. As I was in the bathroom, washing my hands, I looked in the mirror and noticed deodorant balls coming out of my armpits. There’s a reason why I don’t wear solid deodorant when I do cardio…frothing armpits are a prime example. That’s hot….a hot mess! Haha!

Aside from my yelling, flatulence (as my mom would prefer I say), unwanted conversation, and armpit foam…my run was FREAKING FANTASTIC! I really felt I could run forever, ok not quite, but a little while longer.

7/17 Meals/Workout

2009-07-17T20:11:00.005-04:00

Meal 1: Over-easy fried egg with 2 slices of whole wheat bread, applesauce, English Breakfast tea
Meal 2: Tri-color chickpea salad with Kashi whole grain crackers, hardboiled egg, glass of skim milk
Snack: Kashi chewy granola bar
Meal 3: Chicken breast, homemade sweet potato fries, broccoli, glass of skim milk
Snack: 4 Squares Lindt Dark Chocolate

Workout:
10 minute warm-up walk on treadmill
chest/shoulders/tris
3 sets of morning stretches - 20lb barbell
3 sets of leg raises (laying on bench)
20 minutes on Stairmaster (Free Climber) - level 8, 9, 10
Stretch

7/16 Meals/Workout

2009-07-16T20:51:00.009-04:00

Meal 1: Kashi Go Lean Honey & Cinnamon Oatmeal, hardboiled egg, English Breakfast tea
Snack: Sugar free Pomegranate Applesauce and handful of blackberries
Meal 2: Leftover spaghetti, spinach leaf salad w/ sprouts, raisens, and low-fat ranch dressing (ick!)
Snack: Blackberry yogurt (Dannon Lite and Fit) <-- do you sense a theme?!
Meal 3: Chicken breast, homemade sweet potato fries (seasoned w/extra virgin olive oil, paprika, pepper, and sea salt), and steamed broccoli
Snack: 4 squares of the Lindt Dark Chocolate with a touch of sea salt

Workout:
Week 3/Day 2 of twohundredsitups

I got a little lazy today. Because of traffic I got home too late to make it to my Boot Camp class, so sad. So I sat down for 30 minutes to rest thinking I could convince myself to go to the gym to lift. Yeah, no luck in that department. Plus it was too hot to go running, too hot for me anyways! So instead I did my sit-ups and called it a night :) I did make a very tasty dinner though, highly satisfying.

CHOCOLATE and Energy Bar Mix-Up

2009-07-15T20:50:00.031-04:00

After work today, I ran a few quick errands. My first stop was Sports Authority to return/exchange a pair of running shorts I bought last Friday. I’ve never worn running shorts and wasn’t sure how they were supposed to fit. So I wanted to try a size down from what I got. Figured out the size I bought was correct but also found out the shorts were on sale this week. So I got the $4 back, but exchanged them for a different color because I also found a purple Nike Dri-Fit tank top, on clearance, that matched a pair of dark brown/black and purple running shorts perfectly! Score!! I’ll write more about my new running outfit in a future post.

My next stop was to head next door to Borders. I wasn’t in search of a good book (although I’m always looking for a good read), but my mission was to find this chocolate:

I can’t take credit for finding this chocolate on my own. I kept reading Eat.Live.Run’s (ELR) blog about her discovery of this chocolate. I’m a huge chocolate lover and she just kept talking about how fantastic it was. Here’s where I first read about it (scroll down). I just had to try, so into Borders I went. Got up to the register and the lady asked me if I found everything and then she realized that I was only buying chocolate. I laughed and excitedly said YES!! She got a good chuckle out of it!

My review…I totally agree with ELR. It’s delicious, smooth, and melts in your mouth! At the end of the bite, it's like small salt crystals materialize and a small hint of salt hits the taste buds. I looked at the chocolate closely but couldn't see any granules of salt, magic? Ha! I'm not a big fan of salt in my sweets, but I think it works well with this chocolate bar.

My last stop was to the Vitamin Shoppe. I was looking to try the Amazing Grass Chocolate Whole Food Energy Bar. Again, I heard about these on ELR’s blog. They are all natural. When I went into the store I was a bit unprepared. I thought the name of the company was “Organic Green Superfood” and it wasn’t. What I figured out is that this is language that some natural food companies use (from what I gather anyways). I am just learning about all this natural food stuff. Long story short, I walked out with these:

I had a feeling they weren’t what I was looking for. I was right. I debated on whether I should keep them and give them a try, but after looking up their website and comparing them to the Amazing Grass website, I decided to return them (I called and the Vitamin Shoppe does refund unopened products). My reasoning....Amazing Grass had organizations (USDA, COOP America, Natural Products Association) accrediting/supporting their product. I couldn’t find anything on the other website. I’m not saying one is better than the other because I really don’t know. I had to go with my gut. Also, I’m not a energy bar fan, meaning I haven’t found any that I like, but this is recommended. I’d like to give it a try to see if they are tasty. If they are, I plan to only purchase them for when I travel or am away from home for long periods of time and need a healthy snack. I’m still in search of the energy bars…will provide my review at that time!

7/15 Meals/Workout

Meal 1: bowl of Special K protein plus, hardboiled egg, ½ mug English Breakfast tea
Meal 2: Tri-color chickpea salad with Kashi multi-grain crackers, 2 tbsp of peanut butter
Snack: plum
Meal 3: 4 hard tacos (only lettuce and cheese), glass of skim milk
Snack: glass of Sauvignon Blanc and 2 squares of Lindt Dark Chocolate

Workout:
10 minutes warm-up on Arc Trainer
Quads
1 set of obliques
20 minutes on Arc Trainer (Cardio program, level 6)
Stretch
Week 4/Day 2 onehundredpushups

7/14 meals/workout

2009-07-14T20:08:00.009-04:00

Meal 1: over-easy egg, 2 slices of whole wheat bread w/butter, cottage cheese, English Breakfast tea
Vitamins: multi-vitamin and fish oil tablet
Meal 2: leftover Mexicali black bean pizza, plum, water, Diet 7-Up
Snack: banana strawberry yogurt (Danon light and fit)
Meal 3: tuna melt with sprouts mixed in, blackberries
Vitamins: calcium, vitamin C, and fish oil tablet
Snack: glass of Sauvignon Blanc and way too much peanut brittle

Workout:
10 minutes warm-up on Elliptical
Back and Biceps
Hanging Leg Raises and Bicycles
20 minutes on Stationary Bike
Stretch

Week 3/Day 1 twohundredsitups

I'm not sure how long or often I'm going to post my meals. Testing it out, seeing how I like broadcasting my habits and not so good habits... Although, the whole point of this is holding myself accountable and being honest with myself! Hmmm...sometimes not an easy task.

Running for Pennies

2009-07-14T11:03:00.008-04:00

7/13 meals and workout

Meal 1: Kashi Go Lean Honey & Cinnamon Oatmeal, hardboiled egg, English Breakfast tea
Snack: Banana
Meal 2: Leftover tilapia, tri-color chickpea salad on spinach leaves, plum
Snack: Large handful of blackberries and Kashi chewy granola bar
Meal 3: Kashi Mexicali black bean pizza, small spinach salad w/carrots & sprouts, small handful of blackberries

Workout:
Week 4/Day 1 of Onehundredpushups
Stretch
Run: ~3.6 miles at 36.29 minutes = 10.08 minute mile
Stretch

Knee Status: Wore the strap. My knee was a bit sore starting off, but after getting into a comfortable stride the soreness went away.

When I got home from work yesterday evening it was still too warm for me to run outside. So I took a 20 minute nap. Got changed and did my pushups for the day. At around 7pm, I decided to head out. I walked for about 3 minutes to warm-up.

My goal for yesterday’s run was to pace myself. Last Monday’s run was a disaster. I don’t run outside all that much, which is crazy being the weather has been so great! The hardest part for me when running outside is setting a comfortable pace. I almost always start out way too fast. That’s what happened last Monday, 4 minutes into my run I was already breathing heavily. I ran/walked and only ended up running for 22 minutes. I had no energy to go farther. Very frustrating!

Yesterday I focused on starting out at a somewhat slower pace. I ran the first loop in about 17 minutes. The second loop, I ran and walked at a 4:1 ratio. I found my stride feeling stronger and my breathing more controlled. I got the idea of run/walk from reading other blogs and them referencing the Galloway Method. The idea is to run/walk at the beginning and middle of your run and then as needed towards the end.

For some, having to walk during a run may seem like a failure. In the past, I’ve been hard on myself if I had to stop and walk when it wasn’t in the plan. But after more and more reading, I’m learning that walking is a valuable tool in your training for any type of race and achieving your personal goals. I’ve only just started testing out this method, time will tell. I can say that I felt GREAT after my run last night!

Almost forgot…while I was running I noticed lots of pennies on the ground. It took A LOT of restraint not to stop and pick them up. You may laugh and say “they are only pennies, forget about them!” NO WAY! I am always finding money (coins mostly) on the ground and I almost always pick them up no matter if they are heads or tails up (no superstitions for me). Every American coin says “In God We Trust,” and I do my best not to pass up anything that has something to do with God! I didn’t come up with this concept myself; I heard/read about a man who gave this reasoning. I thought it was a fabulous concept! I also heard somewhere that money found is left by a family member or friend that has passed. Whether, it’s true or not, I don’t care! It makes me feel good and I felt all warm and fuzzy inside during my run last night knowing I had two “cheerleaders.” Now I just need to remember to bring something to carry my treasures in! Happy Running!

Success!

2009-07-12T19:16:00.010-04:00

For the past couple of days, I’ve been struggling with my second post. I had no problem writing it. My problem was with formatting. Oh, the stress I suffered with trying to get the text in my post to appear let alone formatted the way I wanted it. There was some yelling at the computer, whining, and thoughts of quitting (I don’t consider myself a quitter, but can’t deny I don’t think about it on occasion). Luckily, I was alone and nobody had to experience my temper tantrum. LOL!

I spent most of today watching my dear friend’s son play in his baseball tournament. He has become quite the baseball player! When I got home I showered and made myself tilapia and a spinach salad topped with broccoli and clover sprouts as well as this delicious salad:

Thank you Sweaty Hugs for the recommendation!

After dinner, I decided to take another stab at my second post….and what do you know, it was a success!! Phew. My brief and irrational feelings of desperation and despair and thoughts of quitting have vanished.

To celebrate, I treated myself to a glass of Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc and two pieces of peanut brittle (yes Misty, I swiped some this afternoon when nobody was home. I couldn’t resist and thank you!)

Once I get through this learning curve, I know posts (including more than just text) will become easier and way more enjoyable! Patience Brea!

Knee Brace vs. Knee Strap

2009-07-12T17:40:00.005-04:00

In 2007, I played the role of Horse while my niece and nephew played the role of cowboy and cowgirl. I took them on a nice horseback ride, crawling around on my hands and knees all over the house. While it was very entertaining, this old horse needed a break, so buck them off I did! I headed up the stairs (on two legs) and discovered that my right knee started to crack. It sounded like a nut caught in a nutcracker. Although annoying to the ear, it wasn't painful.

Every now and again my right knee would ache but it wasn't anything that bothered me. Until a couple of weeks ago; my right knee started to ache more consistently, during workouts and not. At the end of June, I went to see an orthopedic doctor. They told me I had Patellofemoral Syndrome.

According to the pamphlet provided me by the doc, printed by Syntex Laboratories:

This syndrome is caused by an irritation of the undersurface of the patella (kneecap), which is normally smooth. The irritation can lead to a roughening of the patella undersurface, a condition called chrondromalacia. The patella glides up and down in a shallow groove formed by the femur (thigh bone) and its covering ligaments. The pain is caused when increasing tension gradually increases the pressure between the patella and the femur. The irritation and roughening of the patella cause inflammation that causes pain.

Contributing Factors:

• When the patella is not centered in the groove of the femur, there is an imbalance that results in wear and tear.
• This poor alignment can be identified on special knee x-rays.
• Overuse, especially the pounding shocks absorbed during jogging, hiking, or downhill running.
• Knock knees
• Abnormal twisting or rotation of the lower leg
• Flat (pronated) feet
• Weak front and inner thigh muscles
• Previous injury to the knee
• Family tendency
• Obesity

Treatment: Rest, Ice, Medication, Physical Therapy, Surgery

They provided me with a knee brace and told me I could wear it as needed. They showed me the correct way to wear it. My question to the doctor was, "Do I have to wear this out of the office?" He just chuckled and ever so politely said no and helped me take the brace off. Here is what it looked like:

It practically covered my whole leg! It was extremely uncomfortable, hot, and constricting. Not sure how they expected me to workout in this thing. Needless to say, I did not wear the brace. My decision to not wear the brace didn't ease the pain. About a week ago, my knee was really bothering me during my Boot camp class. My instructor suggested I try a knee strap. A knee strap is so much more appealing than the crazy knee brace, but does it work?

Thursday I gave the knee strap a try during my Boot camp class. My knee felt supported and there was no pain. I felt a twinge here and there but nothing major. I tried it again Friday during my workout:

warm-up: 1 mile (1o min run)
stretch
strength training: hamstrings, calves, and shoulders
cardio: 20 mins on StairMaster
stretch

In the evening I also did a run/walk for about 1 hour with my friend on a gravel trail.

So far my knee feels great during my workouts! Now it could be all in my mind or it could actually be working. Hey, doesn't matter to me as long as I'm feeling comfortable during my workouts. I did notice when I took the knee strap off my knee felt a bit sore when I started walking. I'm going to try stretching after my workouts with it off, see if that will eliminate any of the soreness. I'll provide an update in about a week or so.

Welcome!

2009-07-09T21:04:00.007-04:00

From early childhood through high school, I’ve played a number of sports…tumbling, dance (jazz & ballet), t-ball, swimming, softball, gymnastics, indoor track, volleyball, and tennis. I also started strength training in high school. After graduating high school, I joined a gym where off and on I continued with my strength and cardio training. This inconsistent cycle continued for a few years. August, five years ago, I lost one of the most important people in my life. I lost a parent, best friend, mentor, and kindred spirit all in one day. The following year, I experienced depression and weight gain amongst other things. I was unmotivated and lethargic, couldn’t get myself into a regular workout routine. I missed the natural high (sweating, pushing myself, accomplishment) I experienced when working out. At the time I knew I wasn’t strong enough mentally and emotionally to do it alone, I needed help! I hired a personal trainer. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I trained with a personal trainer for approximately two years. Thanks to his expertise and support, and my motivation, desire, and persistence; I’m now in the best shape I’ve ever been in. It has helped me both physically and emotionally. For the last two and a half years I’ve been training on my own and have maintained my fitness.

In December, I’ll be turning the big 3-0! I’m ok with this for the most part. But at the same time I feel like I need to kick things into gear. That’s where this blog comes in. My friend started a blog to document her workout goals. I thought it was a great idea and began thinking that I should do one too. I’ve never been much of a journal writer; I’ve started a few and ALWAYS quit them after a few days. Just wasn’t my thing. However, this time it feels different. I’m excited about the idea of documenting my goals, progress, failures, successes, etc. when it comes to my health and fitness. I’m always talking about it with my friends and family, even when they’re not listening, ha! This way I can write it down and they can read and focus on it at their leisure. This blog will also be a way of holding me accountable; help me to pinpoint what works for me and what doesn’t.

My goal is to write about anything and everything that goes into my overall health including but not limited to workouts, new activities, food, and my mental stability or lack thereof ( at times), ha! I hope to learn more about myself and gain knowledge that others are genuinely willing to share. This will definitely be a work in progress. I ask for your patience, but more so patience from myself for myself!

Enjoy!