Keep Smiling

First of all, I forgot to mention yesterday, on Saturday I went for 2 runs. One in the morning, the 2nd in mid afternoon. They were both about 3 miles each, but they felt great! I have been smiling so much more since I got back to my normal routine. Here I am after run #2 on Saturday. I may have a huge vein popping out of my head (it was warm), but I was smiling!

I'm also trying to eat a little more healthy. I am now keeping a general count of my calories (a few weeks ago, I wasn't keeping track at all). I love celery with PB (lunch from Saturday)!!

Last night, I had my ripped class (aka: ass kicker). Before the class, I ran 4 glorious miles on the nasty tm. I loved every single second. Now that I'm running just for fun (not on a schedule), I'm having so much fun! Since I was drenched with sweat from class, I came home and hopped directly in the shower. When I got out, I made dinner (I was starved). Jason baked potatoes while I was at the gym, so I just had to make the "salad": 1 can black beans, 2 tomatoes (chopped), 1 t coriander, 1 t cumin, salt, pepper, 1 t olive oil and heat over high (stirring occasionally) for a few minutes. Place a little sour cream right op top and enjoy! I love this dinner, it's easy and quick (you can bake the potatoes ahead of time).

I finally was able to get my ass out of bed this morning (at 4 am). I haven't done this since before my race (3 weeks ago). I'm so glad I did it. I had a great 45 minute work out. I spent 15 minutes with my old friend, the stair stepper. Then, I headed over to my other friend, the leg weight section and lifted the rest of the time. The guy even opened the gym 10 minutes early, so it's like I got a free extra 10 minutes. Yay!! I love it when things like this are ahead of schedule.

What's your favorite part about being off season? I love being able to do what I want when I want to and not trying to work my life schedule around my workout schedule (plus I smile more when I'm not worn out). I do start back to training in December. So, I have a few months to have a "real" life.

What's In The Foil?

Once again, after work, I went to the gym. I'm so happy!! My knee allowed me to run an entire 2 1/2 miles!!! My knee hadn't hurt at all today (sometimes it does throughout the day). When I got on the treadmill and started going, my knee was starting to hurt. I knew that I could run more than 1/4 mile. I dealt with the pain and continued running. The pain slowly went away and I was able to run pain free the rest of the treadmill journey. If I keep progressing this way, I think I should be able to run my first 10k next month!!

I was starving once I got home, so I started dinner. Guess what's in the foil...


This is what I used to make my dinner (plus the foil mystery).

Yep, that's right, they were potatoes. I drained everything in the cans , added some salt and heated over low heat until heated through (just about 10 minutes). Usually, I would top this with a little sour cream. It's so yummy, and pretty healthy!

I'm doing laundry right now, and it seems weird to be hanging up most of my clothes, once again. I had to remember to go through it all before I through them in the dryer. I love my running clothes, I need to take good care of them.

Don't forget about my giveaway. The more you comment on that post, the more chances you have to win. You have until the 12th!

If you like potatoes, what's your favorite thing to make with them? Have you ever tried making mashed potatoes with 1/2 cauliflower? I know it sound odd, but it's healthier and you can't even taste the cauliflower (which I hate).

Yummy Baked Potatoes

Today was pretty slow at work. So, the day a while to finish the day. I got home before the hubby, so I was able to get some stuff done around the house before he got home. I put some Idaho potatoes in the oven for about 1 hour while I finished things.

For dinner, I made one of my favorite meals. It's pretty healthy and tastes so good. It call Sweet Potatoes with Warm Bean Salad. I have altered this meal a bit with what I like. I use regular potatoes and kidney bean instead of black beans (it tastes meatier). It's so easy to make and pretty quick (once the potatoes are baked). I also make the sauce on the stove top instead of the microwave. I usually top it with the sour cream, but we didn't have any, so I used shredded cheese instead.

I'm finally updating my poll (sorry it's taken so long). It looks like 54% like to use yoga for cross training, 81% biking, 36% swimming, 18% stairs and only 9% on the elliptical. These are all the things I use for my cross training. I love my cross training. But, I do love running more, what can I say?

I ran out of sugar, so no baking this weekend. Don't worry, I'll more than make up for it next weekend!