Wrapping it up

I've been really craving wraps! I've been eating them for breakfast with scrambled eggs and bacon and also for lunch with (see below) lunch meat, bacon, mayo and lettuce. Stacey's Organic tortillas sent me some awesome tortillas to try out. It's not because they sent them to me, I really, really love them! They're made with things I can pronounce (and often found in my own kitchen and I love that). 

I don't always have bacon with every meal, so you don't have to worry about me. 

Running has been going pretty ok. I've still running 5k (since I wasn't able to get out too much last month for it). 4 miles starts next month! I need to make it over to my old running path (6 mile loop). It's so much better than stopping at stop signs, so we don't get run over. 

This little guy has been a picky eater and being so stubborn about trying to feed himself. When we try to feed him (by spoon), he puckers his lips and turns his head. Since we've been feeding him by hand (and letting him help), he's getting better. 

Yesterday, we shared a part of a hard boiled egg. We're working on his pincer grasp. 

Anyone have this trouble while feeding their baby (breast feeding is no problem)? How far are you running?

Frozen

I don't eat much in the frozen food department, but I was sent some awesome tamales. I think I could count how many times I've ever eaten a tamale. It's not that I don't like them (they're pretty good), I just usually go for tacos or burritos if I'm at a restaurant. 

Cedar Lane sent me a few different tamale flavors to try. 

Not too bad on the calories and ingredients.

The flavor was beyond what I expected for a frozen food item.

Their foods are all natural and the tamales are gluten free. This is what I'm looking for when I'm in a pinch. My little man can take up a lot of time (and energy), so it's nice to not have to cook sometimes. 

On another subject...RUNNING!! I've finally got up to running 3.1 miles, as you may know. My foot is still healing from the blister, but I've been running anyways (I know, not all that smart). The other day, it was so nice. I was able to run with the stroller umbrella down (again) and Lars was able to car watch. He loves that! 

It really tired him out though. All it took was a little mommy kisses to wake him up and I got this smiling face again. In case you were wondering, he has 2 teeth (on the bottom). He's not all gums anymore.

What type of frozen foods do you eat? 

Snakes and Blisters

This week has been a pretty good week. Lars and I went to this animal show at our local library (they have so many events!). At this even, you got to be up close and personal with so many types of insects (ewww!) and reptiles. They even let us hold one of their snakes (I love snakes!). Lars really liked how slimy it felt. 

On another note, I went for my first 5k run (which took a lot longer than it use to). It was a good day for a run though. After Lars' nap, we were able to get out of the house around 9 am.It was overcast (and about 70), so he was able to travel with his cover (to the stroller) closed. He loves people watching and watching the cars drive by. Everything is so new to him (even if he's done it a million times now). 

I worked up a sweat! It felt great to be running my 2nd favorite distance (half marathon is 1st). I haven't run a 5k since I was pregnant with Lars. 

Also, another first (for this training cycle): My first toe blister. Ugh! It doesn't hurt, but I always hate blisters (who doesn't). I always pop my right away (and of course, clean it). I've found that it heals so much faster than if I don't. 

At least I get to wear flip flops all day long and don't have to irritate it. 

What's your favorite running distance? How do you handle blisters?

Windy Running Night & I Ran Over My Foot

After work, last night, I finally had some free time to go run, outside!! It was about 88 and sunny. But, the windy was pretty crazy (but not as bad as yesterday). I ran my normal 5k route and walked a lap inside the park that I have never actually walked before. I think that's crazy. I've been to this park a million times and have never been on this path. It was nice and peaceful. There were other people out getting their sweat on, so it was such a nice way to end my night. 

In the picture below, I'm trying to show you my "wings". Wings are the little baby hairs on the side that won't lay flat (I don't use any hair product, so that's why). The wings were trying to make me fly, all day (even at work). Also, do you see that vein on the side of my head. It always pops when I workout. 

I guess my ankle got in the way of my running last night. I think I ran it over while being so speedy. It doesn't even hurt. I noticed it after I took my shoes and socks off. 

After dinner, we had strawberry shortcake for dessert, I made everything from scratch. We just bought the strawberries and I wanted to use the rest of them before they went bad. I made the cake (but it didn't taste right, so I'm not going to post the recipe). And I whipped up the whip cream in a jiffy. I put it all together and this is what happened. it tasted pretty good, despite the cake part. 

Besides your hands and feet, do you have any veins that pop whenever you workout? Have you ever ran over one of your own feet (please tell me I'm not too crazy)? Do you have a good recipe for the cake part of the strawberry shortcake?

Sweat-y Workout

All of last week, all I wanted to do was workout. I wanted to get my sweat on. But, I couldn't because I was  so sick. Every time I took a deep breath, I hacked up a lung for 10 minutes. So, I took it easy and got a lot of things done around the house. yesterday, as it got closer for me to leave for the gym, I didn't want to go. Working out gives me a boost, a boost I haven't had in over a week. I needed to go, so I made myself. And, boy an I glad I did!

On Saturday, I was finally able to meet my friend for our run date. I was able to convince her to do my crazy leg workout with me afterwards. We completed our 5k around the park and then walked to a (mostly) quiet place in the park to work our legs. Let's just say, I'm still sore and my ripped class didn't help make my legs feel better last night. 

Since it was crazy windy here yesterday, I took my outdoor 5k to the treadmill. I don't mind the treadmill, I would just rather be outside. If there is any weather that I don't like, I will go inside (unless I'm training for a race in that weather). 

After the 5k, I was able to sneak in some legs weights (which did make my legs feel happy) before the hour long ripped class. I love this class. This is what my workout did to me. I did take it a little easy because, I  still have this stupid cough, so I can't push too hard without coughing like a crazy person. It looks like I got kissed by the sweat fairy (never mind the horrible picture of me)!!

Tonight, yoga is going to feel so good! I can't wait to stretch for an hour! My legs so need it!!

What area do you need to workout the most? I need the upper leg/booty area the most!

The Best Yet

This is the best my feet have ever looked during half marathon training (don't zoom in, trust me)

They're not prefect, but they do look good, from a distance. I'm not pushing myself as hard as I did in 2011. But, I am pushing myself. After every workout, I'm dead. I always make sure that I've left everything at the gym. 

On Monday, I ran my speedy (for me) 5k (32:53) and then headed over to the last ripped class of the year (don't worry, I'll continue January 7th). It was really difficult, but so much fun. The room was packed and the lady next to me would run right, when we were suppose to go left (and always ran into me). I think she apologized ~50 times (not exaggerating) for running into me that night. It was getting really old, though. I'm not perfect when it comes to my ripped class (I have no coordination), but I've never ran into anyone (especially 50 times in one class). 

Well, I have my long run tonight, then I don't have another one planned until Jan 3rd. So, this is my last long run of the year. Since I'm off of work all next week (I have 11 days off...in a row), I'll be doing some shorter runs around my house, to get more familiar with the new(ish) neighborhood), and some other, at home workouts to keep i shape while I eat a million cookies and other sweets. 

If you paint your toes, what color are they now? Do you have any coordination? When is your last long run of the year scheduled? What are you training for?

Ginger Bread & a Chilly 5k

This weekend, I had my friend over to build ginger bread houses. This is the first time that either of us had ever made these. since both of us hate ginger bread, we made these out of graham crackers. This is the site where I found the cutting templates and recipe for the royal icing. I was nervous about making the royal icing because it only called for 2 egg whites (only liquid), I was thinking it wasn't going to be enough. But it was! I had lots left over, too!

Here's my candy spread: I had xmas wreaths, red hots, pb pieces, mini m&ms, red & green jelly beans and so much more!

 

Here's the beginning of my houses. My friend houses kept falling over, so she said that they went through an earthquake.

Here are our houses (mine & her rubbish).

After we finished, we got ready to go for our 5k. We usually go about 6:30 am, but we're changing it to 10am. It's just too dang cold. I hate being cold. We ran about 3. It was about 50 degrees, slightly foggy and just starting to sprinkle. It was the most perfect running weather. We loved every minute. 

This time, I decided to push my friend more than I have before. I wanted her to pr this time. This time, she préd by 3 minutes! I'm so proud of her!

Here we are after our 5k, very proud of our houses. Jason loved them too!

Do you build houses? Ginger bread or graham crackers? What is a holiday flavor you hate? I hate pumpkin and ginger bread. 

Thanksgiving & Addition to the Family

Thanksgiving weekend was long and very busy. I made the standard dinner: turkey, stuffing, broccoli salad, cheddar rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy. Then, sweet potato pie and apple hill bought apple pie.

I did find some time to hang out and relax some. This is one of my favorite things to do.

I didn't really participate in Black Friday, but I did buy something, for myself. I added to our family by buying a new (to me) SUV. I've been wanting a newer car for a while. 

Last night, I ran my 5k (31.28)  and felt something weird in my right ankle. I didn't want to push it and injure myself, so I stuck to an extra long cross training session (~45 minutes). In my Monday night ripped class, there's a lot of jumping and running in place. With a slight twinge in my ankle, I didn't want to push it. I want to keep training. I love running and can't wait until my long run Thursday!

Stairs and yoga are on tonight's schedule. 

How was your Thanksgiving? What was your contribution? What kind of vehicle do you drive? 

Happy Legs with a Side of String Cheese

My "go-to" snack, while at work, I've been going crazy over pears and string cheese. The thing about pears is that the more bruised and beat up they are, the juicier and more flavorful they are. Love them!

Last night, my ripped class kicked my butt. Exactly what I needed before Thanksgiving. I think she pushed us more because the holiday where you eat as much as possible is around the corner. I'm so glad!

I'm really feeling it right now. Can't wait until this afternoon (enter sarcasm). My legs haven't been this happy since my last long run, last week. 

I have my long run tomorrow. I need to kick out 6 1/2 miles before Thanksgiving and tomorrow is my only day to do so. 

How are you prepping for the holiday? How many miles are you running per week, right now?

Apple Hill and a 5k in the Rain

There are some days when your weekend is so busy, that you're too tired for too many words. So, here's a post mainly in photos.

Jason and I went to Apple Hill this weekend to collect our annual apples and cider and pies.

Is was a beautiful day!

We drove up a little ways to play in the snow. It's kind of crazy to think that this was only 10 minutes away from the above picture.

Again, I met my friend for our weekly outdoor 5k. It was sprinkling some of our route, so it was really fun! I actually miss running in the sprinkling. As you can tell, from the below picture, I felt like a bad ass when I got home. 

Another 5k, weights and ripped class are on the schedule tonight. It's going to be a short workout week, because of Thanksgiving. We're hosting this year, and I'm making everything from scratch, so I have a lot of things going on and will need to relax afterwards. 

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving? What is your signature dish? If you don't have one, what's your favorite dish to eat? Any turkey day races? 

5k Outside

I have a park less than a tenth of a mile from my work. So, usually, if I run outside, I'll go from there. It's awkward leaving from work and having everyone see me like that, it's just easier to drive there. This is how my run starts. It's so green and pretty.

 

Most of my run is in the sun, so that's why it gets so freaking hot. There are so many trees, but the way the sun is at that time of day, it's not a lot of shade where I'm running.

There's a little bit of "trails"on my run. But, it's mostly pavement. I think I'm mainly a pavement runner. That's where I prefer to train (even if it's deathly hot or pouring down rain).

Towards the end of my run, I enter the park. There are a lot of baseball and soccer fields here. I love it! So many people are here after work, I'm not alone getting my sweat on.

I'm almost to my car (I just passed some bathrooms, where I've had to make many, many emergency stops). 

I had another great outside run last night! I've missed it so much. When the weather cools down, I will be running outside a lot more and head to my classes afterwards.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we've been eating a ton of tomatoes in our random dinners. Our tomato garden is going crazy, but only producing small baby tomatoes. I can't stuff them or make tomato sauce or soup of of. We would be pushing it with salsa. I only have a handful of small "normal"tomatoes. I hope to picks up because I really want to make all that stuff again.

Where do you prefer to train (pavement, trails, treadmill, shower, backyard, etc)? Do you have a garden? If so, what are you growing? Are you producing as much as you have in the past?

PS.   In case you were wondering, yes, I did some more digging for the rock wall.

Gone Running

So, this is day one of upping my mileage. As you may remember, from yesterday's post, I was talking about running in only my sports bra today. Well, it was only in the low 80's, so, not warm enough to do so. That was close! But, for real, I will try that out as soon as it gets back in the upper 90's (which should be later this week). 

I had a friend join me for my run today. I got off of work early and snuck in a mile before meeting up. We ran 3.52 miles together, so I totaled 4.62 miles for the day. Yay!! I think this may have been my highest mileage since my 10 miler a few months ago. It felt great! We're going to do all this again tomorrow. 

My legs are feeling pretty good, especially after my killer workout yesterday. I warmed up with 10 minutes on the stairs, 3 miles of sprints at 9.5 (nope, I didn't break the machine, again), leg weights and ended my night with a 60 minute ripped class. I've found that the only diamonds this girl hates are in the form of push ups. I think we probably did 75  of them. Crazy stuff!! I already feel stronger, though. 

I need to find a 5k, I'm going to run one in under 30 minutes. As long as I see 29:59 or less, I'll be happy. This is my new goal. I'll probably race sometime near the end of the year (lots of happy personal stuff going on that I'll tell you about as they happen). So, training begins in a week.

What are your goals?

Keep Going

Here's how I rigged my toe for last night's run (and tonight's). First, a normal band aid and to top it off, duct tape. I wrapped the duct tape around the base and then over the top, so it wouldn't be pushed forward and fall off. It seemed to work and I'm going to keep doing it until the blister heals.

My legs still feel good. They are a little tired, but it felt nice to run my 5k (30.59, not bad after a long run day) on the tm and then head to spin class.

I have 6 miles on the schedule for tomorrow. After today's nice stretch (3 miles), I should be ready for the 6 tomorrow.

Have you ever taken a spin class? If so, what type of music do you prefer to spin to? I prefer dance type of songs that I know (90's alternative).

Also, can feet grow as an adult? It feels like my feet are too big for my shoes, is this possible? Maybe that's why I'm getting so many blisters on my feet???

1 Step Back Brings Me 3 Steps Forward

I had the best day today. The owners (at work) got a new shop kitten. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the little cutie. This made the day fun (more than normal). Yes, I do love my job!

The gym was even better! I didn't have much in mind as for running. When I hit the treadmill, my knee started feeling really good. Next thing I know, I have finished my 5k (my knee was starting to hurt some, so I decided to stop). I'm so happy I was finally able to finish it!! Here's what I looked like (a reenactment) when I saw how far I ran.

In case you're new to my blog. Just before turkey day, I injured my knee and haven't been able to run much without pain. This is why I was so excited. I was running 7 miles before this happened. I haven't this far since my last race.

After the run, I did my PT (even thought I don't mention it every time, I do do the PT in the am, too). My knee was starting to feel better, so I hopped back on the treadmill once again. I was able to run 1/2 mile completely pain free.

Every time I start to doubt myself, I make a come back. Every time I start to think I'm healing, I take a step back. I wish my knee will make up it's mind. I hope running more (thinking a little bit 7 days until I don't have much pain) will help. It seems better when I run in consecutive days. Let's see.

I've added a new countdown to the right. It's a count down to my 1/2 marathon. It's on April 30th (wish I will register at the end of the month). I also added another poll. Sorry I've been slacking on it. I'm curious what these results will show. Don't forget to enter my giveaway. Tomorrow is the last day.

Food Induced Coma

Today was a rest day from the gym. After a very long appointment, I headed home in the freezing weather. It was so cold outside today. I know 41 is really warm for some of you, but I'm a true Cali girl. I could have frozen outside today. I know, I'm a big baby when it comes to the cold.

I didn't feel like cooking when I got home, so the hubs and I went out. I had a coupon for buy one get one free sub at Mr. Pickles. It's a local sub shop down the street. They have the best subs. They are always high school kids working there. They are very school oriented. Here's what we came home with:
My sandwich had chicken salad, avocado and swiss cheese.

Hubs sandwich was chicken and teriyaki sauce (heated).

They always give free cookies with every purchase!

I am so stuffed. I knew I shouldn't have eaten all this food, but it was so good. Subs aren't nearly as tasty the next day, so I had to...(I guess that's a good enough excess).

In other news, I'm hoping that I'm able to run at least 5k on the treadmill tomorrow morning at the gym. Let's see if I can!

A Great Night!

Today, at work, I had a very nice client that brought in some chocolate covered strawberries as a Thank You for my job, It was so sweet. Of course, I shared with my co-workers (everyone was involved in the order). They were so good. This was my favorite (dark chocolate with chocolate chips)! Yummy!!


Tonight was an early x-mas with my father-in-law (he's from Idaho in town). I got off of work early so I could get my front door fixed (yay)! Since I left early, I was able to get a head start on baking for this weekend. The first thing I baked were cookies (my PB/chocolate chip/oatmeal). My favorites! Everyone loved them. I will post the rest probably tomorrow or Sunday.

I made spaghetti for dinner. Here is the ground beef. Usually I use ground turkey, but this was cheaper (I trying to stay on a budget this month).

Here's the sauce. It had basil and a bunch of other yummy spices!

All plated...

My hubby likes to cut up his spaghetti...

It looks like his father is where he gets it from.

We had a great night, now it's time to enjoy the great company and relax. I can't wait for the morning. It will tell all, if I can start running again. Wish my luck. I don't really care about the time, just as long as I cross the finish uninjured.

Four More Days

Standard morning. I wasn't awake like yesterday. I was extremely tired. I didn't have time to even sit down last night until 11:30pm. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. I feel asleep trying to watch I Love Lucy.

I had my standard cereal with non fat milk. My snack was my usual apple (just a different kind).

My lunch was another standard for the week. I ate 1 kiwi for my afternoon snack. It didn't do the trick today, like yesterday. I just washed it down with a bottle of water. It tied me over until I left the gym.

My legs were still pretty sore from my crazy Monday workout schedule. Since I have my race on Saturday, I decided to take it easy at the gym today. I only spent 1 hour there. I used the elliptical for 30 minutes, and worked my abs for another 30 minutes. Just in time to drive home in rush hour traffic. Lucky for me, I only live 15 minutes away. I hope my legs feel better by tomorrow (I know they will).

To wash my dinner down, I drank a small glass of blueberry pomegranate V8 juice. Another great juice. I know it sounds gross, but it has a lot of flavor, and gives me my full servings of veggies.

Dinner was left overs: Greek pasta salad with chicken. It wasn't as good as last night, but it was still good. The pasta was a little dry. I added just a touch more olive oil and mixed. Good as new!

It looks like my Roxy girl is ready for dinner, too.

My dessert was another yummy slice of zucchini bread. I can't wait to see some of your photos and see how you guys liked it.

Tomorrow is my last day of working out until my race. I always take 2 days off before and 2 days off afterwards. I'm only going to take 1 day after, this time because I really love my hectic Monday workouts.

What is your favorite (non ice cream) dessert on a hot summer day? Mine is cookies (mainly chocolate chip)