Shake It Up

I thought today seemed like as good of a day as any to change things up. I have been eating a lot of the same foods and doing a lot of the same things for a while now. I started thinking maybe my body needed a wake-up call so I decided to do just that. This morning I decided to break out the Peanut Butter Puffins and Skim Milk. I cannot say enough good things about Peanut Butter Puffins. I heart them. So yummy (and low calorie too).

Today I was invited to a luncheon for a committee I am on at work. It was at a fabulous place called Robin Alexander’s American Bistro in Lynchbug, VA. Remember when I went there a few months ago before the CASA shoe charity event? No awesome pop-rock martinis today though! 😉 I did have a “harvest fruit salad” which was a bed of  clipped baby spinach topped with strawberries, pineapple chunks, cranberries, pears, fugi apples feta and a grilled chicken breast. I opted for a pomegranate vinaigrette which was a perfect pair for this salad. I also got a really tasty vegetarian black bean soup. It was so flavorful. This lunch could have easily been the perfect vegetarian lunch minus the chicken.

Sadly I did not snap a picture of my salad so I am using a stock photo in it's place but trust me the salad was one of the best I have had and I promise to get a picture next time!!

After work I headed right over to the gym. I needed to get some serious cardio done. I registered for The Presbyterian Home 5K for this weekend and due to my heel injury I have been off running for two weeks. Maybe not my greatest plan of all time but I am excited all the same. My workout was good. It was hard and exactly what I needed to start to push myself out of this workout rut I have been in. I am finally getting sick of the waiting. It is time to start trying new
things to push back against this plateau. It is truly no wonder people get discouraged and quit “diets”. Thankfully on a healthy living lifestyle plan you can’t just quit. So it’s Sara versus the Plateau. (it’s on!!) I also decided to do some P90X with my husband when he got home. I made it through a whole 16 minutes. Have you ever tried p90x?

I wanted a simple dinner with carbs, protein, veggies and fruit.  So I made whole grain spaghetti with a ground turkey and oodles of veggies sauce with fruit on the side. Food is so much better when we are really hungry or really craving something. My little spaghetti recipe never tasted so yummy!

Tonight I am making a plan of attack for my closet (more on that next week) and planning tomorrow’s menu and workout. Have a Happy and Healthy Wednesday. I will leave you with a picture of my sweet Corgi Harlow watching the storm. You just HAVE to smile at that!!

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If the Shoe Fits

Today was “Spring Fling” day at work, which I just loved. It brought out my inner former sorority girl! Everyone wore their Springiest outfits and flip-flops were permitted. They are normally forbidden in the office so even though my regular peep-toe heels are much cuter-I still decided on some blue patent leather flip-flops for the occasion.

In honor of Spring I decided on a Green Monster and V8 fusion for breakfast. Loads of fruit and veggies to start my day and it was great. I was full. I felt good and it completely got rid of my sluggishness this morning. Here is me with my “to go” Green Monster.

Going Green~

I also broke out the big sunglasses today. I love accessories in general but I have a soft spot for oversized glasses. I love them!

Work was work. Fridays are always nice. I had a little balsamic onion and roasted red pepper pasta for lunch. It was really good. I also made sure I got down an entire container of water. I drink at least one of those containers a day. Pink makes me smile so even my water bottle is pink.

After work I had oodles of errands to run and it was happy hour time before I knew it. I met some girls from work for pre-charity event cocktails. I ordered a pop-rock pomtini. How cute is that??

I also ordered a little hummus platter to share. LOVE hummus. The roasted red pepper hummus was super good.

After finishing up at Robin Alexander we made our way over to the CASA Heart and Sole event. WOW! There were girls and shoes everywhere. This is always a crazy event but I had no idea the preview night would be so crowded. I was glad to see so many ladies come out to support CASA.

The event works like this: You go in, find the table with your size shoes, and start grabbing cute pairs. There are some gems hidden in there. You just kind of have to fight your way in. Sort of like a sample sale I guess. My little group and I easily tried on over a hundred pair of shoes.

There were light snacks, door prizes, vendors there giving massages etc. It was a really great girls night.

The money goes to a great cause and I even managed to find a couple of cute pairs to bring home with me.

These are maybe the most comfortable wedges ever

Click your heels together 3 times. 😉

Cant go wrong with a flat

My most fave find! Thanks to my tiny feet pal for giving these up (they were too big for her)

I am debating on not getting up at 5:15am for the 5k. I would almost rather just do a 10k run here in town with the hubs. We will see. Either way I will get in a great workout and it will hopefully kick off a great weekend!

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Simple Wednesday

Since Wednesday is almost over we are officially over the workweek hump. I am fortunate enough to really enjoy my work but I would be lying if I didn’t say that I enjoy my family/friend/me time more. Plus today was pretty dreary in VA which was a let down after to gorgeous weather we have been having.

I started my morning with a V8 fusion, which I love, and an Ezekiel English Muffin with an over easy egg smooshed on it.  I was trying to see if this lone egg would be enough protein to get me through the morning without hunger creeping in too early-It was.

For lunch I had some of the left over balsamic onion pasta. To quote the fabulous Rachael Ray “The longer it sits the better it gets”. If you make sure to stop and drain the pasta when it is very al dente then the flavors merry up nicely the longer they have to bond in the fridge. I also had a banana (not pictured).

Late in the afternoon I had some work stuff to take care of about 45 minutes away from the office. I decided on a quick snack of Organic raisin bran with flax and skim milk. It was really filling.

I was pretty excited to get to the gym today. It was cross training day which I enjoy since it is a good break from my routine. I was extra happy that it was drizzling and gross outside because it made me feel better about not being on the trail. I did 30 minutes of “fatburn” on the stair climber and30 minutes on the elliptical. I am planning another cross train day tomorrow and plan to push myself as hard as I can. It’s been awhile since I have done that and I am curious to see where I am at now in terms of endurance with things other than running.

I got home to find the hubs had brought home dinner tonight (Hooray!) We had some turkey sammies with veggies and baked chips. I love a simple dinner sometimes. No frills.

Tonight I am researching different ½ marathon training plans. We don’t “officially” start to train for the Disney Wine and Dine ½ Marathon until 12 weeks out (so July) but I definitely want to get some stamina built up before the official training begins. Does anyone have a plan or book or website they would recommend for training?

I forgot to mention that I signed up for the Virginia Institute of Autism’s Run For Autism 5k this Saturday in Charlottesville, VA. It starts at 7:45am which is crazy early but my friend Brandi is doing a trail run in FL at the same time so we are going to run together in spirit Saturday morning! Do you prefer to run with a buddy or alone?

I am off for a little bite of my cupcake that I cut into thirds (little bites of heaven) and to do a little TIVO watching while I research some training methods. Is it sad that I still multi-task while Im relaxing? Carrie and Harlow are getting in on the snuggling in action too!

Have a happy and healthy Wednesday friends!

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Susan G Komen- Race for the Cure 5K

Happy Saturday!! Today was the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure 5K in Roanoke VA. This was actually the inaugural Race for the Cure in Roanoke so keep that in mind when I get to some criticisms of the race. I really hate to have any because it’s a wonderful cause and it was a really nice morning but there were a couple things that need some rethinking before next year.

Since I live about an hour away from Roanoke I got up super early, packed a Luna Bar and a V8 fusion and headed over to meet up with my running buddy. I have to say I was pretty chipper for 6:00am. Of course I was wearing pink. I didnt have a “proper” pink running shirt so I picked up this light weight cotton number from Target last night.

We thought we had more than enough time to make it to Roanoke by 8:00 when the packet pick up ended but due to insane amounts of traffic and no police direction there was a HUGE line of cars trying to get through a stop light and we ended up parking at around 8:15. To be fair they had anticipated 1500 runners and I saw at least up to 3012 on the race bibs, plus family members, plus volunteers. It was pretty big for a local 5K.  We made it to packet pick up and we got our numbers and packets. The only thing in said packets was a shirt, a piece of paper asking people to recycle (ironic yes?) and a course map. The pin pictured was handed out at the finish line.

Once we had our packets and got settled we walked around a bit. There were several booths set up with various community vendors. There were 3 races going on The competitive run 5k, the noncompetitive run 5k and the 1 mile fun run/walk. We opted for the Noncompetitive run 5k which I feel like was a good choice.  We had a chance to stretch, talk, get our timing chips attached to our shoes and watch the competitive run.

The competitive run took no time at all and it was our turn to line up. There were a few staff members leading stretches which was nice except that one of them was going down into a stretch that is dangerous for people who arent super warmed up. So I thought that was weird. But there were oodles of people in this noncompetitive run which made it really fun. Plus today was just a beautiful day here in VA. Check out that second pic- So nice out!!

After my disaster last week my running buddy was determined not to let me freak out again. My confidence was pretty shaken so we decided to stick to 1 minute of running followed by 1 minute of brisk walking. This might not seem like much to someone who has been running a long time but it was just what I needed for today. One issue we had is that strollers were allowed (both running and non-running). This is fine, but I feel strongly if you arent using a running stroller you should start in the back. There were huge groups of strollers making it really hard for the runners to get around. Also, there was no chip activation at the start. So we lost 3-5 minutes at the beginning because we were near the back. I really didn’t like that.

The first mile was fine until we saw a sign that said “2 way traffic”. It turns out the fun run was joining our course but in the opposite direction. That was not well thought out at all. You had runners trying to get their stride and avoid these stroller barricades and then we had to also smoosh together to avoid the fun run walkers coming in the other direction.

The second mile was a lot better with the exception of a confusing “turn around” at the halfway mark.  I will say that this mile was prettier than the first with a creek/river to watch and a bridge and the mountains. After the 2 mile mark there were cones that said 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 etc and it was driving me a little batty but the volunteers were super nice and there were tons of people out showing support.  The last quarter mile was fun because there were tons of people cheering at the end and I do love the part where they say my name!

I managed to keep the decided pace through the entire race and even though I didn’t set the course on fire with my speed, I felt great about what I did today. We estimate that we shaved several minutes off last weeks time which made me feel even better! We decided we needed water ASAP and we could not find it. Finally, we asked someone who pointed us to a tent that was on the other side of the finish-line so we had to cross back over. We grabbed bottles of water but passed on the bagels and bananas which were the only 2 options. I LOVE to have an orange after a race so I was a little bummed.

At this point I remember that I wanted a picture of me at the finish so we head back over to take that. That was not my time in the background. I just wanted to throw that out there.

So here is my pro and con list in regards to the event itself:

Pros:

• This was the inaugural race in Roanoke for a great cause.
• The turn out was awesome
• The volunteers were nice
• The runners/crowd were supportive
• Parts of the course were beautiful

Cons:

• Getting people into the event was disorganized
• The course was strange in regard to the “two way traffic” issue
• The stroller barricades making it  hard for people to get around
• The after snacks were very limited. If you didnt like 1 of 2 items you went snackless
• It was hard to find the snacks/water and there was no direction with where to go.
• The timing chip issue.

I feel that the turnout may have been bigger than what was planned for which is great. I just hope they will make the needed changes next year to make it even better. Overall, it was a really fun morning. After the race we headed over to Wildflour Bakery and Market for lunch. I had a fabulous grilled turkey sandwich with balsamic onions, tomatoes, pesto,  and lettuce with a small side of Greek pasta salad. YUM!

We were stuffed but I can never resist a trip to BubbleCake for treats so we headed over to get some cupcakes to go. Nothing is quite as fabulous as a cupcake!

Mmmm cupcakes!

YAY!

I got a Tiffanys cupcake (so cute) and a black and white cupcake and a toffee crunch cupcake for Bryan. I will be sure to post pictures before I cut them into 3 servings each as per my diet. 😉 Hey a cupcake is still fabulous even in thirds!

We finished the day with some shopping. Macys had some cute summer shirts and lots of yellow accessories-YAY! Overall a wonderful day and maybe the coolest thing was Everyone was Running In Pink!!!!! 🙂

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Good Health Guidelines

Thursday is one of my favorite days of the week. By this time I have always hit my stride at work and that light at the end of the work week tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. This morning I decided to sparkle my day up a little with a bracelet I found on sale around the holidays. I am a huge fan of over-sized pieces when it comes to costume jewelry/accessories. Something over the top can make a boring outfit suddenly have personality.

Speaking of accessories here is a better picture of my yellow bag I talked about yesterday. I do accessorize my accessories especially when they are 50% off! What’s better than a sale? A sale at COACH!

I can now proudly say that my shopping addiction will not only serve me- Next weekend I am shopping for a cause. I made my $25.00 donation and scored a ticket to the preview night for the Heart and Sole campaign sponsored by CASA. This is a really cool event where companies (brands youd recognize) donate overstock shoes, last season’s styles shoes, etc to this event. Then shopping savvy girls such as myself go in and purchase shoes ranging in price from 5-25 dollars (most are around 10). All of the money goes to CASA since the event is run 100% by volunteers. Even if I only buy a pair or two its totally worth it for the fun experience. I will make sure to post any fabulous finds after the event next Friday.  For those not wanting to make the donation you can shop for free next Saturday and Sunday and all of the proceeds from sales will go to CASA. Local girls you should definitely go out and show your support!

Today I made a little promise with myself to get back to the good health guidelines outlined in my Weight Watchers plan. They do this so that people don’t eat an entire day’s worth of points in bread or Easter Peeps or something. The idea is to learn healthful eating.

This morning I started off with my Vitatop, turkey sausage and V8 fusion. This meal is a little drab but quick. I am thinking I HAVE to try something new next week. Maybe I will be brave enough to make my first green monster.

After a couple of hours I was hungry so I snacked on berries (blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries). They were just what I needed to perk up for the afternoon.

Lunch was some of our left over “slim pigs”, green beans, and yes more berries. I cant stop with the berries. A pretty yummy lunch although while I was eating I could not help thinking that the presentation was a little sad. I think I am going to be on the lookout for some bright and fun plastic dishes/bowls that I can keep at work and just wash daily. I might even get extra fancy with a place mat.  I can say it will definitely be more zen than eating out of mismatched Tupperware. Do you have a cute lunch bag that you like to take to work?

I decided on a day of cross training since the pollen here is out of control. I hope this choice does not hinder my performance Saturday in the Susan G Komen race for the cure 5K. I am really excited about it. Post workout I was starved so I opted for an Ezekiel English Muffin with a touch of organic strawberry preserves Mmmm and a serving of skim milk (I need at least 2 dairy servings a day according to my guidelines). Also, I cannot say enough good things about this brand of English muffins. They are so filling and yummy!

Dinner was some tandori style chicken. It is a somewhat modified Rachael Ray creation since I used all boneless skinless chicken breasts. I paired it with some organic wheat mac and cheese and some organic green beans. YUM! Normally I make my own Mac and cheese but this “Back to Nature” brand is for sure my favorite boxed version.

At the end of the day my guidelines broke down like this:

Fruit and Veggies: 7 (possibly more since my second serving of berries was HUGE)

• Whole Grain: 3

• Protein: 4/5

• Oil/Fat: 2

• Dairy: 2

Points: Came in 100% on target

Without REALLY paying attention it is so easy for me to get off track and start lacking in an area. How do you keep up with your calories/diet/food consumption? I literally just headed out with my husband to pick up the desert that I will not be partaking in (banana cream pie). On the up side he did buy me a box of WW ice cream bars for the weekend. 3 little points of heaven! 🙂

I am off to organize for 20 minutes. Tonight’s project the little “catch all” area where the unwanted mail, receipts, coupons etc all go. Do you have a “catch all closet/drawer/or even room at your house?

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The Run Down

Tonight’s post is going to be a quick one since my “to do” list for today is not all crossed off yet (and I cant have that). Today’s eating was pretty good though I will say looking back  at it now, it was a bit carby. Breakfast consisted of a Vita-top, turkey sausage, and a V8 fusion.

lunch was leftover “slim pigs” from last night, an apple, and a banana & my mid afternoon snack was a yummy dipped CLIFF bar.

Tonight I was a little rushed but managed to make a sir-fry with tons of veggies, whole grain rice, and some super lean pork medallion strips.

I did not get a work-out in today as I left work a touch late and then spent the evening stocking up on some much needed groceries. I was bummed to not make it to the trail with Bryan but in the spirit of my challenge to stay positive this week I did have a great time picking out some new items at the store.  I actually got all of the items from my “wish list” last week. I am especially excited to try the new yogurt and granola.  Are there any new food products out that you are really wanting to try?

Tomorrow is a cross training day and then its back to the trails on Thursday. After my poor run last week and my less than stellar performance in the 5k last Saturday I am feeling some anxiety about getting out there this week. This has not happened to me since my injury in the Princess 1/2 and I definitely dont like this feeling! The good news is I am ready to get more serious about my running. I subscribed to Runners World magazine which I am pretty stoked about. I love getting mail that isnt bills! Since I am still somewhat new to running I have a question for all of you seasoned runners out there: What are your running essentials- the items you LOVE for enhancing your running experience?

Now on to my 20 minutes of organizing for the day. There is a pile of shoes just asking to be organized. They some how mysteriously end up all hanging out by the door instead of in the closet where they go. But I have big plans to fix them right up!  😉 Goodnight!

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Point of Honor 5K

This morning I ran the Point of Honor 5k in Lynchburg, Va. My husband was nice enough to pick up my race packet for me last night so I would not have to get there super early.This was a little race so nothing exciting in the race packet which was pretty much what I expected.Though I was bummed that the T-shirt wasnt cooler, especially when the volunteers had on some cute green tie-died shirts.

I headed over to the race and got there about 40 minutes prior to race time. There were some guys joking that this 5K was their warm up for the day which didnt amuse me at all.  Could it be that I am a touch jealous? They had like 20 plus years on me so I was thinking I must be in the worst shape ever since this is my lone workout for the day. This was my first mistake. I was in a bad mental place before we even got started.

The runners were friendly (except this one guy who kept yelling “pick it up” and “lets go” in a not encouraging way. Should I see him again he gets a punch in the face or at least a stern talking to. Jerk). Being as new to these races as I am even I knew he was being obnoxious an inappropriate. The 5k started on a hill which led to an even bigger hill up to the Point of Honor mansion. There was a pamphlet in our packet on why this place is important historically but I didnt read it. This hill threw me all off. Bryan and I have only recently worked hills into our run and this one might as well have been a mountain. Of course the pack leaders took it like pros but I wanted to cry before I ever made it to the top.

Coming down was much better but I was mentally shaken from just how difficult the climb was for me.  Once you get shaken up mentally in a run you are kind of done for. I felt like I couldnt get my breath and I am not used to running in any kind of heat as all my training for Disney was either in the freezing cold or a climate controlled gym. My running buddy basically told me that the heat is something I will just have to get used to like I did the cold. So I need to just suck it up. Its going to be rough but Ill eventually get used to it.

I had to walk huge chunks of the race which I was really upset about. The more upset I got the worse it was. My running buddy took charge and started having me run in timed spurts and it truly made me feel better. I am going to do all of my runs this week while timing my intervals (which I have not done in the past) so I am better prepared with a “game plan” so to speak for next week’s race.

The run back was fine but boring and then we had to climb the same hill yet again as from the beginning. I honestly felt like I was going to throw up. Its not pretty but it happens. When we got back down the hill we ran across the bridge and down the road to the finish line.

This race did not use the timing chips and apparently we were supposed to leave these little perforated tags on our numbers. We had both pulled them off. Therefore no recorded time for us. Honestly after my injury at Disney it was just nice to see FINISH.

After the race we walked down to The Depot Grill where they were handing out little post race bags with fruit, go-gurt,muffins, granola bars etc. I sucked down an orange and a bottle of water before going down to watch the race results.

Then I headed over to The Fat Tuna for a post race lunch. The Fat Tuna puts sprouts on pretty much everything which I love. I feel as though the sprouts make everything healthier. I actually got a very well balanced lunch. I chose the Apple Blossom Sandwich (Whole grain bread with spicy honey mustard, lean turkey, cheddar, apple slices, dried cranberries, tomato, and sprouts!) with a side of veggie chips.

What I learned today:

1. I need to work more hills into my workout

2. I need to stop getting so psyched out before a race

3.I need to do my workouts during the week in intervals and learn to keep up with better timing myself.

All in all it was a hard morning for me but I am geared up for the next race. I am running the Susan B Komen race for the cure 5K in Roanoke, VA next Saturday.

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Spring-ified (A day of good friends~good food~good shopping)

Spring is in the air! (My allergies are giving me a fit to prove it). Today was gorgeous in Virginia. It was 87 degrees and a perfect day to make the hour drive to Roanoke to see one of my best girlfriends Kristen. Since I knew we were having an early lunch I grabbed a V8-Fusion and another yummy cranberry Vita-top for a quick/light breakfast.

I like that there is both a serving of veggies and a serving of fruit in the can.  I also like that there is no HFC like there is in the V8 Splash. Plus it tastes really good and I while I try not to drink my calories I am a huge fan of juice. So sometimes this is a win/win for me.

I blasted U2 on the drive up and it was a actually a fun hour in the car. Kristen and I met for an early lunch where I had a ginormous diet soda. I forgot to have coffee this morning *gasp* so this was saving me from a huge headache later on.

I chose 1/2 a Turkey and Spinach Artichoke Panini with tomato and red onion along with a super low calorie black bean soup. The soup was vegetarian friendly and is an excellent choice to bump up the filling factor without a ton of fat/calories. Also Kristen gets a gold star for not laughing while I took pictures of my food!

After some fun/eating/catching up I was ready to head out shopping to spring-ify my wardrobe. Since Friday is my rest day this walking around was literally my only exercise  but for what it is worth I feel like I walked for miles while I shopped. I can proudly announce that the spring-ification was a success! I got a few super springy pieces that will transition right into summer. Spring is so weird. Its spring weather for like 5 days and then its just hot so I shopped with that in mind. Im most proud of the 2 dresses I bought today. They are structured and fabulous and not a hint of stretch anywhere. 😉 Plus they can be tailored next summer for a hopefully much smaller me! My favorite of the 2 is a shirt dress with some really cute detail on the front. Also, Im pretty sure my new ring  could spring-ify an outfit all on its own! A couple friends and I have been “stalking” this ring since before the holidays. Kris found it on a good deal and picked one up for me. We have matching rings now but thats fine. We also have 3 matching pairs of Muk Luks. It happens. 🙂

After getting home from a day of shopping Bryan and I decided to head out to The Depot Grill for dinner. I saw the specials menu and knew immediately what I would be eating.

The raspberry/mushroom chicken was the best! I got it with a garden salad, rosemary potatoes (which I only ate a couple bites of- WAY too much rosemary) and some homemade applesauce. The applesauce was a weird choice I know but it was SO good. My pictures of this fabulous dinner are a little blurry but I had to turn my flash off (not wanting to draw a ton of attention to myself). You’ll just have to trust me that it was really fantastic.

After a great meal and a great day I am settling in so I can be rested up for my first 5K in the morning. It seems a little out of sequence that I tried a 1/2 marathon before ever giving a 5K a shot but live and learn. Stop by tomorrow for my first race re-cap!

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Grocery Store Wish List

There comes a time every few weeks when I have to get creative with my meals. Sadly I don’t mean creative in the “hey lets try something new and fabulous” way but rather the “Sara Renee put off going to the  grocery store for too long and what can we mix together to make a meal” way. Today was one of those days. 🙂 Luckily this means that a major food shopping trip is coming up which I love. I am dying to try a few new items and these are on my list:
* Oikos Greek Yogurt
* Silk Almond Milk
* Bear Naked Granola
* Ezekiel Bread English Muffins
*Newman’s Own Organic Hermits Cookies
Do any of you other healthy eaters have a “must buy” product I should try? I am excited for some suggestions! Im especially looking for an almond butter suggestion for smoothies/oatmeal.

I had the same breakfast as yesterday but did snack on one of my favorite flavor CLIFF bars mid afternoon.  I pretty much love all things CLIFF bar (even the kid ones) but this one is my stand by.

My day at work was so incredibly busy that I was all packed up in the Wonder~Bug (yes even my car has a nickname. I was so not kidding about the nickname thing) and ready to head home before I knew it.

Today was a cross training day at the gym. I did 40 minutes (40 HARD minutes) but I felt fantastic after. There is something so great about that intense cardio. It is a different kind of good than I get from running. Its like running is my boyfriend and cardio at the gym is the hot guy that works at Starbucks (fabulous but not something to flirt with daily). Im finding that I always want to go back to the running.(Im sure Bryan loves this example but you get what I mean).  Since Im not training for a 1/2 marathon right now I am going to be changing up my routine a little soon. More on that to come.

Speaking of running I have a 5K coming up this weekend. It is the “Point of Honor” 5K. Both the words “point” and “honor” are leading me to believe that this might be an up-hill scary run. We shall see. As I mentioned yesterday I am running this race with a “real” runner so I will get to ask all sorts of questions about the things I’m still not sure about.  I will hang with her  as long as I can but I  am ok with going it alone once I reach that point where I cant keep her pace. I am kind of excited since this is my first race since the Disney Princess 1/2.  Its going to be fun.

I use the phrase “real runner” a lot. I don’t know at what point I will start to think of myself as a runner versus just someone who runs. I actually had a cool experience on the trail yesterday. One of my biggest issues has been I am spazzy when I run. My pace is all over the place, my breathing all crazy. However, yesterday I was running off road and it was just so peaceful. I hit a comfortable stride, had controlled and deep breaths, and I went way further without a walk break than I have ever been before. It felt great and just really really fueled my desire to get even better/stronger/faster. I will have 1 (possibly 2) more runs before the race on Saturday.

Since someone (ahem) let the food shopping slide and Bryan is out to dinner with his brother I picked up an organic extra thin crust pizza for dinner topped with chicken/red onion/peppers/cheese and a garlic sauce. I only ate 1/2 of it as I was not crazy about the taste but I definitely finished my serving of pineapple. YUM!

I have a full TIVO and blogs to catch up on tonight. I never knew just how many people there were out there blogging about healthy living.  Sometimes the best feeling is just knowing that I am not doing this alone. Harlow likes that too. 🙂

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Tuesday Blues (and Greens)

Im just going to put it out there. Tuesdays are my least favorite day of the week. There is not the weekend buffer you have going into Monday and the light at the end of the work week tunnel seems SO far.Plus our office has staff meetings on Tuesdays which can be stressful.All in all Tuesdays=Yuck in my world so I try to do little things to un-yucky my Tuesdays. I prefer happy so I make my own when needed.

This morning I started with one of my favorite breakfasts: Egg whites with a touch of green pepper, onions, and mushrooms (when I have them on hand) on an Arnold sandwich thin (pictured below) or a whole grain English muffin. Then I like to add a ½ serving of shredded fat free or 2% cheddar on top. I also chopped ½ a patty of left over lean turkey sausage from the weekend and sprinkled it on top. (A little goes a long way). I love the protein, veggie, grain, dairy combo.

I also wore  my favorite spring ensemble minus the two dashing princes and tiara. Maybe next time!

My final secret weapon was making a snack of my most favorite organic chocolate milk and a banana. Here is a link if you want to sign up with them for a couple of coupons.  Go here and click on coupons to sign up, grab a couple of coupons and give them a try. The individual serving milks are my favorite and easy to tuck into my bag and then stash in the fridge at work.

Leaving work I was somehow all smiles (maybe my un-yuck tricks really work!!) and Bryan and I went on a jog at the trail. We did ok with the hilly terrain (well ok for us as we are new to this) with 3 1/2 miles in 44:53 minutes.  I am running with one of my “real runner” friends in a 5k this weekend (more on that tomorrow) so I am going to have to step it up a little.

Tonight’s dinner was “Buffalo Sloppy Joe” salad, yet another “healthified” Rachel Ray creation. I start with this basic recipe and sub 99% fat free ground turkey breast for the chicken, add in a touch more veggie and slightly less brown sugar than called for. I also go HEAVY on the hot sauce. The hotter the better! Then dump it on a bed of mixed greens and chop whatever veggies you like and toss them on top. I also omit the cheese normally but have at it if you have the calories for it.Yum!

We made some baked potato wedges in the oven (with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt) for a side.  I am trying to get brave enough to try the carrot and parsnip fries I saw on this blog. I think they look fantastic and yummy! Maybe next week I’ll give that a try and let you know how it turns out for me. Im really looking forward to creatively working more veggies into the meal plan. Maybe that will be one of my upcoming “hill” goals (more on that later in the week).

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