Yoga for the runner

This is something I haven't done in a very long time (probably 3 years). I love yoga! It relaxes me and calms me down. 

It was the perfect thing to do after the boys went down for a nap. It also helped me since I had done 1.75 miles alone, an ab workout and then another 2.5 miles pushing the boys. It was an awesome day for working out! I loved every (very) sweaty second!!!

After the yoga session, I had a very filling lunch! Yum! Just what I needed.

Shane has started walking around and that's all he wants to do. He doesn't want to be held, he wants to walk around, hanging out with Lars. It's cute, but my back is killing me and so are my knees. I'm hunched over or or my knees helping him walk. I remember this phase very well from Lars. They are both skipping crawling. 

How often do you do yoga?

Stretch it out

It was another windy day here in Nor Cal. I didn't even workout outside, and all my "wings" started to show. Yes, I did say "wings". It's that part of my hair, on the sides that won't lay flat and kind of do a little curl thing and stick out, a lot. It was really windy outside! This is just from me walking from my car to the gym, and then leaving the gym. It's a good thing I don't care what I look like when I workout.

I lifted some weights with my legs before my yoga class starts. I always go into my yoga class a little early, so I can do my own stretches that I like to do. The fans and lights are all off and I can starts to relax and stretch what I needed stretched, just in case we don't focus on that part during class. 

About 5 minutes before class started, a guy walked in (no biggy, we have lots of guys in the class). He had his buds in and yelled "can I jump in here?" (he had a jump rope in his hand). The instructor replied "no, but you can yoga in here", he said "what!!?!?" (still with buds in), then looked around class and looked very embarrassed. It was funny!

I think my instructor read my mind of what I needed to stretch. We spent so much time stretching our upper leg muscles. It felt so nice! I feel like a new woman now! I'm so glad, because I have (an outdoor) run and spin class on my schedule tonight. I can't wait for the class, but I know my legs will be sore again. I'm trying to concentrate on my upper legs and booty area. I saw something I didn't like, so I'm trying to make it the way I want it to look. It's going to take some time, because I don't want to stop eating yummy desserts!

Do you get "wings" when it's windy? What are you training for?

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Booty Workout

I took off all of last week. I wanted to heal completely, my half marathon, before I started working out again. I'm glad I did. I got a lot of things around the house taken care of and caught up on a lot of things, too. I was nice to have that extra 1-2 hours a night. I did realize that I wasn't in such a great mood, as I normally am. 

Jason was out all day with some friends, on Saturday. So, I decided to take advantage of the quiet time and great weather (70s with a lot of sun, yes, you can hate me). I did a 90 minute booty/back thigh workout. I never, ever workout those areas, so this was the first time. 

These were my tools: a chair, mat and a medicine ball (6 lbs). I did use a wall, too (but I think everyone has at least one of those). 

This workout was a doozy. I will be adding it to my Saturday (after my run date) routine. Sunday morning, I was in a world of stiffness!! I haven't been that sore in so long!! I always sit in the kneeling position, and I couldn't!

Sunday was St. Patty's day!! I always try to make something out of the ordinary for at least one meal. So, I did some research and found bangers and mash. Little did I realize (until I started cooking), it's just sausage, and mashed potatoes with an onion gravy. I used this recipe, but I added a little milk to the potatoes and some flour to the gravy. The gravy was just way too watery, so I thickened it up just a tad, but it helped. Our beer was too dark to try to make it green. Oh well (really, I was just too lazy).

Dessert was green sugar cookies. Most normal people would make green four leaf clovers. But, after I made the dough and poured out my huge collection of cookie cutters, I realized it didn't come with a four leaf clover cutter. It has a football helmet and a hand and a foot, but not a four leaf clover. What crazy person put this thing together? I guess that's why it was on sale. Oh well. They were still yummy, no matter what shape they were in (I made stars, circles and butterflies).

Yesterday was another nice day in NorCal. I went for a very short and easy 2 1/2 mile run around my local park. It felt so good after not running for a week and after my killer workout on Saturday. It was just what I needed to stretch out before my ripped class. I love this class!! My instructor is pregnant and I will miss her dearly while she is out. I have a few months until that is here, though. 

I''m still a little sore. But, tonight, I have leg weight on the schedule followed by a very much needed yoga class. I can't wait to get stretched out!!

Did you do anything for St. Patty's Day? What is your favorite gym class? Do you take a yoga class? If so, what kind? My yoga class is your ordinary yoga class. 

The Angel's Dance

I left work just a tad bit late last night. So, I only had about 10 minutes to get in a good leg workout. I headed over to the weights, and did a quick (literally) routine. 600 seconds later, I was cooling down in the yoga part of the gym (a separate room). 

When I got in there, there were a couple other people waiting for the class to start, but there was also someone that didn't belong. In the back corner, there was this girl (maybe 13-15 years old) and she was bent over, getting something out of her bag. The first thing I noticed about her was her shiny, sparkly, silver cape she was wearing. I didn't think too much of it, until she started to dance all over the room (between the people waiting for the class). While she danced, she lifted the cap with her arms, and it was actually something that looked like angel wings. They were huge, silver, sparkly, shiny wings. She seemed very proud of the dance routine she was practicing. I've never seen anything like it. She left once the instructor same in. 

Yoga was such a great workout, especially after doing a quick leg workout before hand. It usually takes me 20 minutes sometimes longer) to do the same routine, I just packed in to 10 minutes. It was good for me to use different muscles, doing this quickly. My legs are still sore. But, they feel good! I think I may do this every other week, or so. I feel little muscle (that I didn't know could hurt), burn. I love it! Too bad I have 11.5 miles to run on these legs. It's also good to run on tired legs (I use to do it all the time). When it comes to race day (half marathon the first weekend in March), tired legs are a good thing to know when it comes to the end and you're still able to push yourself. It's great practice!

How often to you train on tired legs? I use to do it for the entire week and rest them on my rest days. I have a more relaxed approach to this training cycle. I like testing out different options and using what fits me best.

Do you own a pair of shiny, silver, sparkly angel like wings? Was that you last night? Any other crazy outfits (non-Halloween)?

I felt like one of the 3 little pigs

So, I worked my legs on the weights last night, followed by my hour long yoga class. This class always stretches me where I need it most. I love every 62 minutes of it (it went over a little bit). 

While in class, the instructor reminds us to breathe (yep, I'm one of the people that would end up holding their breathe for the whole pose). There was this guy (out of 2 in the entire class) that would take such a deep breath and let it out (it seemed like for 10 minutes) and it was so loud and deep. He would take a lot of breathes like this (every breath), I thought he was going to blow us all over while doing the tree pose. I'm glad he was across the room and now behind me. Can you imagine, him letting out those long breathes right on you. Gross!

On another note, I actually looked really cute at the gym (I rarely ever match), so I had to show you a picture.

I'm not sure what pose I'm doing, but don't you love my new long sleeve tech shirt that Jason bought me for Christmas?!

Do you ever feel like the 3 little pigs while in your yoga class, or are you more like the wolf? Any new workout clothes l lately?

I have some errands I have to run directly after work, then another at home workout. I like posting when I'll be doing an at home workout on here, because it keeps me accountable.

Rainbow Bright Vomit

It was a relaxing night at the gym last night. I used the weights section to work my legs. I usually use the stairs, but I realized that I hadn't used the weights in way too long, so I really needed to. I don't want an injury, and I've learned the hard way, that cross training is a necessity for my half marathon training. 

While I was lifting weights, I realized that everyone was in matching clothes (no that they matched each other, just that their "outfit" matched). I think I may have been the only one that wasn't matching. I looked like rainbow bright had thrown up all over me. I had on blue (3 shades) pants, pink tank, red/white jacket and purple shoes. The thing is, I don't care. I'm not one of those girls that needs to match all the time. I've been tired in the mornings, so I haven't cared what I threw in my gym bad for that night's workout. 

I don't think it matters what you wear, as long as you're trying. Except, there was a guy in my yoga class that was wearing skin tight jean (definitely jeans), a chain to hold his wallet (I guess while he's in downward dog) and a button up collard shirt. I guess he wasn't expecting to come to the gym last night. Whenever we would come in to a balancing pose, he would hop all over the room. It was pretty annoying. If you lose your balance (which happens all the time), come out of the pose and try again, slowly. 

Do you match when you workout? What's your favorite yoga pose? how often do you cross train?

Calluses Do Running Good

Earlier yesterday, I pulled some sort of muscle in my chest region. I don't know what I did or how to make it feel better. It was really strange. I'd never had this pain in this area before. It hurt to stand up straight or stretch. I was hoping it would go away in a few hours, so I could spend some quality time with the stairs and my yoga class.

Right before my lunch break, I noticed that I was finally standing up straight and wasn't in any pain! I enjoyed (only) 15 minutes with the stairs and a wonderful 60 minute yoga class, stretching. I say "only" for the 15 minutes, because I really wanted to spend more time. I got off of work on time, but traffic was a pain. It doesn't matter, I got my sweat on!

I've been noticing that when I get home, and get out of my shower, my feet are back to looking horrible. It's pretty embarrassing when I take off my socks in yoga class. 

 

I can't wait until I build up the calluses back up, so my feet won't hurt as bad when I do my long runs. Calluses really do running good. It's like they add a little protection between my feet and  ground (besides my good socks and my awesome shoes).

I can't wait for my spin class tonight. I've also declared that Wednesday nights are sprints night. Sprints and spin. How do you spend your Wednesday night?

How do your feet look? Do they look worse while in training? How do you hide your horrible looking feet when you must show them (yoga class or sandal season)?

Tree, Joe, Cobbler

I was so sore yesterday! All those squats in my ripped class, I really did kill my thighs. I was really looking forward to my yoga class, but first, my thighs had to hold up to 20 minutes on the stairs. I walked up 68 floors, stepped 66 steps per minute, burned 106 calories and went 1.26 miles. Pretty cool. Those are a few reasons why I love the stairs. I love to hate them!

Yoga, was exactly what I needed after the last couple of hard workouts. One of my favorite poses: the tree pose

The first few weeks of training can be difficult to start. I have the motivation, I'm finally reading The Long Run. I'm only in the first couple of chapters. All I can say is "wow!". I can't wait to read more. Getting out the door and pushing myself when I start, is the most difficult part (in the beginning). I always hate the first drop of sweat. Once I start sweating, I want to keep dripping.

When I got home, I really wanted dinner. I made home made sloppy joes. I love the red bell pepper in it. It adds a little freshness to it. 

I made a mistake by eating dessert too soon and too fast. I ended up with a slight tummy ache. But, it was worth it! I made berry cobbler, in the crock pot. It was ready when i got home and nice & warm (you can see the steam).

The cobbler was made with 30 oz of frozen fruit (I chose one big bag of mixed berries), 1/2 cup bisquick, 1/4 cup-1/2 cup sugar, all mixed together. Place in crock pot. In another bowl, mix 2 cups bisquick, 1/4 sugar, 1/2 cup  milk, 2 T veggie oil and mix. Place dropfuls on top of berry mixture. In another bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar with 2 T cinnamon. Place crock pot of low for ~8 hours or high for ~4 hours. Enjoy the yummy bowl.

This is a great winter time dessert and everyone loves it! You can mix it up with different berries.

How do you stretch after a hard workout? What's your favorite yoga pose? Do you use a roller after a long run? Is it worth the cost? What is a winter go to dessert for you?

Getting Back to My Old Self

All week, I've been back to my old self. I'm back at the gym, and running more. No, I'm not getting up at 4 am to head to the gym. But, I have been spending a couple hours each night spending my free time trying to get as much salt in my eyes as possible. 

When I get home, this is how I spend a few minutes (about 15 or so). Laying down, with your legs up like this after a hard workout (tough on your legs) will allow all that horrible acid drain out of your legs, so they won't hurt so bad the next day!

On Monday, I was stuck running my 5k indoors, because of tornadoes touch downs (I know, in Sacramento??). After 33:54 on the dreadful treadmill, I headed over to the group exercise room for an enjoyable 60 minutes getting ripped, in my favorite class.

Last night was pretty fun, too. I climber 81 floors of stairs (1.67 miles), then stretched out in an hour long yoga class. It was just what I needed after that ripped class and especially all those stairs. I'm going to start keeping track of how many floors I cruise up and try to beat it each week.

Tonight, I have another indoor 5k (it's suppose to be pouring tonight; it is right now) followed by a 60 minute spin class. 

I better work my butt off, just in case we don't get a lot of trick or treaters, so I can enjoy my leftover Halloween candy.

How do you make it possible to workout hard the next day (stretching, putting your legs in the air, etc)? What are your Halloween plans? Are you dressing up, if so, as what?

Prevent Injuries

Doesn't everyone hate being injured? Sometimes, there are things you can do in order to prevent getting injured. When I was training for my very first half marathon, I got injured. I had trouble with my knee(s). My quads weren't strong enough to keep my knee cap in place, so it (mainly my right) would move sided to side. I was in so much pain, I ended up seeing a doctor (I hate going to the doctors). The sports specialist told me that I needed to work my quads and get them stronger. If I had just been working out my quads more, I'd be fine.

She gave me this pamphlet and told me which workouts to do in order to get them stronger. I make this part of my normal workout routine. If I'm running, I'm working my legs, too. I'm also stretching a lot more and spending time really listening to my body and seeing if there are any unusual pains. If there are, I look up to see what I need to do to stop it and prevent it from happening again. 

Because I love running so much, and I never want anything to effect my training (in a bad way) again, I include injury prevention workouts and a ton of stretching (like yoga) in my workout routines. 

How do you prevent injuries? Tonight I'm walking some stairs, legs weights and a hour long yoga class!

The Perfect Workout

This was my passenger in my car last night. Great company and ready to relax. 

In class, I've noticed that I'm the only one that has an orange mat.

Yoga was just I needed. I started the night by working my legs with some heavy weights. I like doing this because I really ware out my legs and then they get super stretched out in yoga. The perfect workout!

What color mat do you have?

Before vs. After

Let me know which looks better...

Before

or After

This is what we've been working so hard on all week. We finally finished our rock wall and are enjoying it very much!!

I think my favorite plant in there is the jasmine. It just relaxes me every time I smell it. 

It's just like the yoga class I take on Tuesdays (and I took last night). Every time I walked into class, it just calms me so much. Jasmine and yoga...best relaxing medicine ever!! It would be nice to see how it is after a yoga class and while you're finishing up, you put a towel spritzed with jasmine spray. I had an instructor that sprayed her towels (that you lay over your eyes while you're laying down) with lavender. It was nice too, but I prefer jasmine.

What smells do you prefer? Which looks better, before or after?

Yoga with Denise Austin

Last week, I didn't go to my yoga class, I stayed home a did a disc on the tv. I had Denise Austin in my home instructing me. It was so nice to be at home working out (minus the cats trying to lay on my mat the entire time).

I did go to yoga class class (and it was so nice to stretch, I really needed it) last night. After that and doing some more digging for the rock wall, I needed dinner badly. Talapia and green beans were it!! Yum!!

I was able to relax a little and cuddle with my little Izzie kitty (she loves her blue monkey).

I am so tired, but I try to keep a smile on my face (it's all for fun in the end and I'll never forget building this wall).

Do you prefer going to a yoga studio, taking a class at the gym and practicing at home? I've never been to a studio, so I think I prefer the gym.

Yoga in the Ocean & Decorating

Yoga class goes by way too fast. That is my only complaint today! I loved working my legs with weights before yoga and I absolutely loved class. It was one of those perfect workout days. I was able to forget everything and just sweat. It was much needed. 

In yoga, it was so calming, the instructor played one of those cds that has the sounds of the ocean. So, I felt like I was really there. Plus, I get super cold during class and the fans above cause a slight breeze, so it really does feel like I'm there. A great night!

That type of workout is so great, when I'm working on so many things at once. I work full time (which is getting very busy right now), then I workout and come home to get ready for the next day and fix dinner. On the weekends, we work around the house.

This weekend, I painted the hallway and hung the pictures up (we'll get more as time passes).

I made a picture of mine and Jason's first dance (from our wedding) with the lyrics off to the side and hung it up in the un-finished bedroom.

I also painted some canvas with leaves from our backyard and hung them on the wall (near the living room), as well.

All this, while we continuously worked on our rock wall in the backyard (which we're hoping to finish this coming weekend). We're a little over half way there. It's going to be so exciting when it's finished!

And, I'm also planning Jason's 40th (big) party for next month and I want everything to be perfect!

Right now, I really need my workouts. They really keep me sane! I think my ankle should be better for my run next week. That will help even more!

What keeps you sane in your daily life? What's making you insane?

Look Sky, Down Dog

My newest hobby is finding fun crafts and things to make. Since Jason is a big Star Wars fan, I thought this was fun. This a clone trooper paper snowflake. They have a lot of different characters on this site. It's fun!

Since I felt 100% better (from yesterday's stomach issues), I was able to go to my yoga class. There was a sub for the class. In my experience with subs, they never teach the class as good as the regular instructor. This instructor was difficult to understand (she had a thick Russian accent) and had a different way of teaching. She called downward facing dog, "down dog", and when she wanted us to look up, she would say "look sky". It took a little time to get use to her. Last night's yoga class was taught as a workout, not mainly stretching (like I'm use to), which was a nice change. 

Since I am use to the stretching kind of class, I had worked out my legs prior going to class. It was pretty tough balancing in tree pose for about 2 minutes last night. My legs were quivering. I learned a lot of new poses, I've never done before. I think one of my favorites was preying mantis pose. You have your legs on the ground, put your forehead on the ground, in front and place your elbows on the ground next to your ears with your hands behind your head (palm to palm). It's not so much fun to do this pose on hard tile. I wouldn't recommend it.

I was starving when I got home (dinner was in the oven when I did this pose for you guys). What a better thing to do in a house that is 87 degrees, bake chicken. I was not thinking ahead when I planned this weeks menu. But, man, was it good! I started as soon as my bags hit the ground (which Jason hates when I leave my gym bag in the kitchen...I don't know why). 

Last night's dinner (and tonight's left overs) was chicken parm, with green beans and garlic muffins. 

Jason and I are huge fans of garlic (I feel sorry for anyone that comes close to us sometimes). These muffins hit the spot (you don't have to put in so much garlic) ! I've made this chicken many, many times (that's how good it is). 

What do you classify a muffin (vs. a cupcake)? I think a muffin doesn't have frosting and a cupcake has frosting. If I had frosted this with something (not sure what), it would become a cupcake. 

I'm taking my first ever pilates class tonight, should I bring my yoga mat (do people use them in this class)? I was also going to work out my arms before hand, is that a bad idea?

What's your favorite yoga pose, anything uncommon?

Cold Feet

Last night's yoga class was so much better than last weeks. I was finally able to relax and forget all the bad things that have been going on in my life (it's getting better, don't worry). 

My feet get so cold, that in yoga, I usually just take off my shoes and leave my socks on. Then, about half way through class, I take them off, just in time to start the cool and they get cold again. I just can't make up mind! All the other people have their socks off the entire class. Actually most of them arrive in sandals. 

I was so relaxed when I got home, I didn't want to do anything that a responsible adult should do. I did all my busy things, then sat down for the night and watched some Dexter with Jason.

While we watched Dexter, we ate dinner. We rarely ever eat dinner at the kitchen table (but we always eat breakfast there). I made Jason's favorite dinner (which is good, because it's so easy to make): chicken taco past salad. It may not look appetizing, but my taste buds really enjoyed it!

After the evening was over, I went into the bedroom to change out of my gym clothes and shower and this is what I found on our bed. I think I had a tired kitty waiting for us.

Do your feet get cold easily? What time do you go to bed? What's your "go to" recipe?

Difficult Time Relaxing

Last night, I went to a much needed yoga class. I had the worst time trying to relax. I'm was trying to concentrate on my breathing, but the guy behind me was such a loud breather, it made it very difficult to pay attention to myself. Doesn't everyone know it's all about me? The worst pose for me last night was this:

Mountain pose. I couldn't get comfortable and I just wanted to lay down (shavasana). I've had a difficult couple of weeks and just wanted to relax and concentrate on my breathing and it just didn't work for me last night. I guess everyone has a bad workout. I've usually only had a bad run, but never a bad yoga time. There's a first time for everything. 

Have you ever had a difficult time relaxing during a yoga class before? What's your favorite pose? What's ?your least favorite?

Yogaing Again & a Look Back

Monday, I hit up my ripped class for the second week in a row! I think that may be a new record (for 2012 at least). As I look back at last year's training, I was very determined to get into shape. I was up and at the gym by 4 am, then came home to blog about it. Then, I worked for 9 hours and headed straight back to the gym for more training and classes. I was spending at least 3 hours (most of the time 4 hours) at the gym 4 days a week, then a 2 hour run on Sundays and a short run thrown in there somewhere. No wonder why I was always crashed out by 8 pm every single night. Since I don't have any major races coming up, I've been taking the training slow motion. I just want to keep in shape. I'm extremely happy where I am. 

So, I've decided to change up my workout schedule. On Mondays, I will either participate in Group Strength Training class (GST) or RIPPED, Tuesdays will be yoga, Wednesdays is spin night and my 5k training. There will only be working out 3 days a week (2 hours at a time) and the rest of the week will be spent working on the house. Jason's 40th birthday is in a few moths and I'm throwing him a party (and everyone will see the house for the 1st time). Being busy is great!

Yesterday, I had a great passenger in my car, on the way to the gym:

I was so excited all day long, for my yoga class. I haven't taken, or done, any yoga in too long to think of. I'm so happy I went. I did work my legs before hand and stretched them really well during class. My only complaint...the class went by too fast!

What is something you look forward to?

Uncomfortable & Unhappy

As requested, here's the zucchini recipe. I got this out of an old cookbook. I like type out my recipes and tape them to 3x5 cards and organize them into different categorise. Much easier to find what I need to.


Here are the directions. Go out, buy everything you need, make it and post it on your blog. I would love to see how yours turns out!

After staying up until about 3am, I thought I was going to be a zombie waking up and 7:15 this morning. After feeding my dog and eating breakfast, I looked at the clock and my alarm hadn't even gone off yet. I woke up about 20 minutes before my alarm was going to go off. I haven't been tired at all today (until the last 20 minutes). Crazy.

Since I was out of protein bars, I decided to eat 2 chopped up kiwi. I know they aren't the same, but I mostly needed something that would fill me up until I got home at 8:30 tonight. I love kiwi. They taste so fresh and new each time I eat one.

Don't you hate it when you're working out, and you're really sweaty and you feel something tickling your arm. I had this happen while I was running my 4 miles (42:31). I had a piece of hair loose and on my sweaty shoulder / back. It bothered me sooo much. I hate it when that happens.

During my run, the first mile was horrible. My left knee was killing me and my feet were starting to hurt. I figured that it was just because I took the weekend off of the gym. What do you know, it was. About 2.25 miles into my run, I started feeling great and more energized. I wanted to keep going, but my spin class was about to start.

I hurried and put away my running stuff and grabbed my spin stuff. Monday night's instructor's favorite saying is "you should be uncomfortable and unhappy right. I don't want to see you smiling, I want to see you struggling to breathe." I love her. She is great. She really keeps everyone pumped and wanting to keep going.

In yoga, there was this guy that sounded just like Darth Vader. His breathing was so loud. That's great for him, but other people are trying to relax and concentrate on their breathing. It went on for the entire class. I know I wasn't the only one that felt this way. I felt like I was in some weird triathlon. After pushing myself to run my (great) 4 miles, a 65 minute spin class and then a 60 minute yoga class. I felt I should have been swimming. I actually felt like I had been, with all the sweat dripping off of me. It was a "prefect" workout today! I love those days.

Tonight's dinner was courtesy of the Food Network channel. I made Greek Past with Feta and Chicken. I have never made a Greek dish before, so I didn't know how it was going to turn out. It was the fastest dinner I had made in a while (besides left overs). Here's the ingredients:

What you do is mix everything except for the chicken, pasta (cooked) and the feta. Add in the chicken once everything is combined well. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the mixture (very well). Once served, add sprinkles of the feta. I've never been a big fan of feta, but I was loving it today! It goes really well with this dish (of course).

Here it is pre-pasta.

Served with the feta. So yummy!

Dessert was a small piece of the zucchini bread. Still good after 24 hours (I knew it would be).

I think my cat is ready to go to sleep.

My next race (5k) is this Saturday in Davis. It's my first night time race. Do you have any races lined up? If so, which ones and what's the distance?

Monstrous Monday!!

This morning started out like any other morning: 7:30 am alarm and a few snoozes, multi grain cereal, and rushing out the door for work. I wasn't very hungry this morning, for my snack. This is pretty unusual, I'm normally trying to eat my desk, I'm so hungry. I ended up eating my snack around 1pm (normally 12).

I love cut up apples. They always taste so much better when they're chopped. They're even better when someone else chops them for you, I don't know why.

At 3pm (my normal lunch time), I had my whole wheat bread, deli chicken meat, mixed greens and mustard sandwich (only half of the sandwich to save on calories). I knew I was going to need something to tied me over until I was finished with my 3 hour workout today. So, I went searching my a protein bar.

In my desk, I had a Balance Gold bar. It had a chocolate outside and so many good things inside. It only had 180 calories, which I only ate, 1/2 of. Everything was all natural, no artificial flavors or coloring. So much wheat, and sunflower oil. Those were the two major ingredients. I was thinking I wasn't going to like the taste, because of what it looked like inside (green horse poop), but it was fantastic. It was more expensive than the other bars I've tried, but definitely worth it. I will be buying these again!

Every Monday, I always say "I never knew I could workout this hard". It was on of those Mondays. I had sweat pouring out of my body. After the gym, I had salt stuck to my skin, and it hurt to take off. I loved it! It means something is happening and I'm not working this hard for nothing. I love seeing results and having to work for them. I means that I'm real, and I deserve it.

Today (as all Mondays are), I ran a flat 3 1/2 miles on the treadmill, rushed over to my 55 minute spin class. This time, our instructor had a lot of sprints. Sprints are one of my favorite things to do (treadmill, road or bikes). Then, I had to hurry and grab my yoga mat for my 1 hour long yoga class. Yoga is great after pushing your muscles so far, then being able to stretch them out for an entire hour! My body loves my last hour at the gym.

Tonight's dinner was, once again, left overs. I tend to make too much food, and we have left overs forever! The left overs were from Saturday. I had a hot dog in bun with ketchup and mustard, potato salad with a bottle of water. I love summer time food!

Tonight's dessert was one of my favorites....baby carrots. I love how they crunch and they're a little watery and they help cool you down on a nice warm summer night. Yummy!!

What is your favorite summer time dessert??

What is the longest you have spent in the gym in one "sitting"?