Where's the Beach?

Lifting on Blah Monday
Today I definitely had a case of the Monday Blahs. It didn't help that the skies were heavy and gray today. Tomorrow it's supposed to storm and then get down into the teens. So much for early spring huh?

I had actually contemplated trying to do tomorrow's training run today just so I could get it done outside. But I had to be realistic, I had a long run Saturday and another 4 miles yesterday. I needed to do something other than run today.

So, I hit the gym for some upper body weights and a short stint on the elliptical. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical to warm up then I went with back and chest, then abs

Assisted pullups - 10
Pushups - 24

TS#1 - 3x8
Underhand barbell rows
Flat bench flyes
Flat bench dumbbell press

Assisted chinups - 10
Pushups with feet on bench - 16

TS#2
Single-arm rows
Incline bench flyes
Incline bench dumbbell press

SS#1

Pullovers
Staggered chest press

I did a variety of ab work including some stability ball abs and weighted ab…

Housewarming Recap
Just a quick recap from the housewarming I mentioned yesterday. The new homeowner, Gwynne (seen in the middle) was very appreciative. Cris (the gorgeous blond) is the one who really put it all together though. I forgot to take pictures of the spread. But everything looked great and I don't think there was any of my hummus or Black Bean Salsa left. Even the not-quite-so right cereal bars were devoured. 

I will say that I was so worn out from the long run that I was worried I'd have to be leaving at like 8pm. But I guess I caught a second wind and we were there until about 11, which is beyond late for us. I guess that's what chatting it up with girlfriends will do for your energy levels. Good times with good friends is good for the soul.


More Running 
The weather forecast for today had originally been low- to mid-50's and rainy. But when we set out for our 4-miler, it was sunny and 64 degrees. My legs felt a bit heavy today after yesterday's long run…

Felt Like a Spring Run
Today was an absolutely, unbelievably gorgeous day. Seventy-three degrees in January??? I'll gladly take it. Jason had some errands to run and he wanted to bike rather than run, so I headed to the river trails solo. Of course, it was packed down there so I was anything but alone. In fact, when Jason got home he asked if everyone in the city was down there when I was as well. Yep.

I got in a really good 9.5 miles today. No IT band pain at all, but my piriformis on my left side did start to hurt around 5 miles into the run, but nothing sidelining.

The only big fail was that I ran out of water and tried to stop at two different water fountains that were shut off. Not cool at all when it's warm out, you really need to take in a shot blok, and you have no water and are more than a mile from your car. I may have to get a larger water bottle or see if I can stand running with a water belt. 

This could have been a fail...I was running in new shoes today too. Pr…

Gorgeous Day for Blogger Lunch Date
Today was another beautiful, and unseasonably warm day here. It would have been ideal for a run, but today was a much-need, well-deserved rest day for me. At least tomorrow is supposed to be another really nice day. My longer run is scheduled for Sunday, but it's supposed to rain and cool back down. So, I'm switching up my plan and getting in the long run tomorrow on the prettier day. Smart huh ;-)

Today I finally had a blogger lunch date! I've only met two other bloggers, but I felt like that was less of a blogger meet-up really because I was meeting Jessica and Jolene for the Cathe Road Trip. I swear it feels like there are no bloggers in Arkansas, or at least not where I live. Anyway, I finally met a local blogger - Jenny @ Vegan and So Forth.

We've been trying to schedule this meet-up for some time, but you know how schedules work sometimes. We decided to eat lunch at a place down in the river market - 4 Square Gifts. It's …

Nice Day for a Run
Today turned out to be a sunny, warm day (well, warm for January). It was in the upper 50's so that may as well be 70 degrees right about now. I had a long-ish run scheduled for today that included some intervals. Here's what the weather looked like when I set out for my run.

It was simply too nice outside not to take the run to the river trails (even with the wind gusts), plus, the Big Dam Bridge provides the perfect incline for the incline intervals the run called for.

6 miles, 4 x 1:30 incline intervals, 6 gentle pickups

I had a really really good run. For the first time in ages at the turnaround I didn't feel like I had been smacked by a wall of wind. The wind actually felt nice as I had on long sleeves so was getting little warm. The 6 miles really was just a blur. It flew by as I just bee-bopped along with my music, soaking up the sunshine. I felt really strong.

The incline intervals were no joke. A minute and half feels long a long as time going…

Weights & Elliptical on Wednesday 
Today I had thought about running 3-4 miles of tomorrow's planned run making tomorrow's run with intervals shorter. But, my legs were against that idea. So, I decided to hit the gym after work (despite the fact that it was way to nice out to be inside). I wanted to get back done, and had thought I might do chest as well to be done with weights for the week. In the end, I just did back and abs. I started with 20 minutes on the elliptical to warm up before hitting the weights. I really only planned on 10, but someone was using the barbell I needed.

This is yet another tweaked version of my last back workout from Cathe's STS rotation. It was done at 4 sets of 8 reps at my 1RM.

Pullovers
Single-arm rows
Underhand barbell rows
(I omitted the single-arm horizontal rows)


Assisted pullups - 2x6 (I tried to go as light as I could with the assist)

I also did some ab work before finishing up with about 5 minutes more on the elliptical before …

No Whining Today
First off I want to thank everyone for your super kind words of support and encouragement regarding my little temper tantrum/rant. I know that so many of you understand and get it. Thanks for any advice as well. It's much much much appreciated. I promise to not go overboard being a big brat about this training.

Today I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I had no idea how long it would take, but I knew I probably wouldn't get back to work until after 3 pm (and I leave at 4). So I went ahead and took the rest of the afternoon off and that worked out to my favor for the run today. Thankfully the sun also came out finally. It was windy, but the sun made it feel so much nicer out.

I almost decided to take my run to the gym because of the wind, but I knew the sunshine would make me feel so much better. So, I took my run down to the river trails. The half marathon training plan called for 3 miles, 3x(2:00, 2:30) athletic intervals, 2 miles. This ended …

Heather vs The Crockpot
Ok so you remember yesterday that I mentioned starting a crockpot dinner? Well, we ended up having leftover sushi instead. It's not because the crockpot dinner was inedible, it's because it was taking WAY too long. Yes, started it at 10 am and it was still not ready by 7pm. Clearly I need to learn to follow a few crockpot recipes or read up on cooking times before just coming up with recipes off the cuff.

I had decided to try to make Vegan Crockpot Red Beans and Rice. I say try because I've never really made it. Jason used to make a red beans and rice dish for us eons ago, but he couldn't remember what he used to do. So, here's my version, with lots of notes on improvement at the end.

Vegan Crockpot Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients:
1 bag red beans soaked  overnight
1/2 white onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 carrots, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups water**
2 cups no-sodium vegetable broth
1 not-beef bouillon cube
Liquid smok…

Sushi Saturday Success 
So last night I finally did it. I finally made sushi! Well, ok, I only did one roll and let Jason do the rest of them, but that's not the point. We were like kids in a candy store coming up with combos to make. We went a little overboard, but it was so fun.

The ingredients we used to make a variety of combos were: Kabocha squash, portobellos, asparagus, red and yellow bell peppers, zucchini, and, avocado.

I also made some spring rolls with a Spicy Sweet Peanut Dipping Sauce and some baked tofu cubes.We obviously made wayyyyy too much. For the filling for the spring rolls, I used a broccoli slaw mix (it was a manager special) and combined with basically the same ingredients in the dipping sauce but also added in some vegan tom yum.

Spicy Sweet Peanut Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
Tamari sauce
PB2, approximately 1 tbps (could use creamy peanut butter)
Honey
Sriracha chili sauce
Rice wine vinegar

Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients to desired consistency. (…

Pizza Friday Shared
Last night was Pizza Friday, of course. But we actually shared the occasion with another couple for a change. I may need to invest in a larger bread machine though. I had to plan out the timing on getting two pizza doughs done. But it all worked out perfectly. We had so much fun too. I made two pizzas, but did three different options total.

Veggie & "Sausage" - onions, red and yellow bell peppers, spinach, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, Tofurky Keilbasa

Greek - roasted red bell peppers, artichokes, banana peppers, spinach, sundried tomatoes, seitan, feta

Buffalo "Chicken" - onions, red and green bell peppers, portobello, seitan, and BBQ and hot sauces

Our friends really seemed to enjoy the homemade pizzas and didn't even mind the vegetarian additions like the faux sausage, seitan, and Daiya.

Running Plan Redo
The half marathon training plan called for a 5K today. We did not sign up for any race, and quite frankly, the idea of running 3.2 mile…

Early Morning Workouts
I had another crappy night of sleep last night. I woke up at 3:30 and never went back to sleep. I finally got out of bed at 5:15 and got my workouts done. Because yesterday's workout was such a doozy, I decided to keep today's short and fairly easy (not that this weight set up was exactly a cake walk).

Today was back done at 90% of 1RM doing 4 sets of 6 reps.

Underhand rows
Single-arm rows
Pullovers
Single-arm horizontal rows

I added in low back extensions on the stability ball and finished off with two combos from Cathe's MMA Boxing. Very glad to have the workouts done for the day.

Sister's Surgery Update
And, after the blizzard-like snow we had yesterday, it all melted and dried up by around 5-ish. Yep, not a sign that there was ever that much snow other than an iced-over car this morning. While I love my house, I do not love that we don't have covered parking. It took forever to de-ice. Actually, it took a while just to break into my car.…

Conquering the Dreadmill
Well today started off chilly and misty then turned into chilly and snowy. We were supposed to be doing my boss' birthday lunch, but I actually thought ahead just in case the weather caused us to have to cancel it and brought along some Amy's Organic Split Pea Soup. Very glad I brought the soup as the lunch was indeed postponed.

The snow was thick and wet, coming down sideways. It was so heavy that from our 10th floor windows it actually looked more like fog. Probably about 15 minutes after I had finished my soup, the bosses said that we could go home as we needed and just use personal time or work from home. Well, in all my planning, I brought along my gym bag. The plan was to get in my training run at the gym because I knew the weather would likely prevent an outdoor run. I figured I needed to wait at least 30 minutes before leaving so as not to hurl split pea soup all over the treadmill.

I finally decided to leave work around 12:20 and get the run …

Whoa Rest Day
Well, I have sufficiently fried my legs. Today ended up being a mandatory rest day. I was hoping that I might find it in me to hit the gym and work the legs out on the elliptical. But I seriously don't think that would have loosened them up this time. Sometimes an easy workout helps. The only thing is that now I have to try to figure out how to squeeze in a workout on Friday. I'll figure something out I suppose.

Of course, not having a workout today gave me the extra time I needed to get to the grocery store. We never made it over the weekend so things are getting sort of bare in terms of anything fresh. Yet, once again, the grocery trip is falling on the day before we're supposed to get a wintry mix. How am I so talented to schedule these trips before bad weather? Pure old luck ;-) So, the store was a mad house, and they were out of many things, as was Whole Foods (aka, repeat grocery trips).

With bad weather in the works tomorrow, it looks like I'll h…

Tired, Two on Tuesday
Can I just say dreary days suck? They kept saying clearing today....it's been so incredibly foggy though so that means damp. Thankfully it was about 50 degrees, but did I mention damp? So it felt cooler (as in 45 degrees) but not freezing at least.

I was feeling so lazy about working out. I had thought Jason and I might try to get in our training run at lunch. He had other plans apparently that he failed to mention. I ended up going home and getting in shoulders and triceps. I increased weights again (90% of 1RM) and dropped the number of reps so that it was 4 sets of 6 reps.

SS#1
Standing overhead press
Lying triceps extensions

SS#2
Seated lateral raise
Double-arm overhead extension (rather than single-arm as it was hurting my elbow)

SS#3
Seated rear flyes
Double-arm kickbacks

I was very happy with the weights today; I had a strong feeling day oddly enough.

Onto workout #2. Today's half marathon training plan called for 2 miles, then Athletic Intervals…

Double Weight Day
It's a misty/foggy, chilly, gray day here today. It certainly made it that much harder getting up for work. Even harder knowing so many have the day off. Sigh. I was really feeling super lazy and contemplated making today a rest day.

But I know that I'll want the rest day (need it) more later in the week. So I mustered up the energy and got in biceps and abs during lunch. Biceps was supposed to be 4 sets of 6 reps at 90% of 1RM.

Dumbbell curls
Hammer curls
Concentration curls

I had a pretty strong feeling workout and wish I could have adjusted the weights for hammer curls by 1 lb.

I am finding it nearly impossible to get in a leg workout now with this new half marathon training. There just seems to be no ideal day. I have been doing legs on Monday the past couple of weeks though, so I decided to go with legs after work rather than doing any cardio. My legs were starting to feel a bit of fatigue after the weekend runs. Rather than going super heavy with we…

Fantabulous Night Recap
Ok, sit down and hold tight. Lots of pictures ahead:

Well, yesterday evening was a great time. We started off at a Japanese sushi/hibachi place in our hometown. It was me, Jason, my sister, her friend C, and another couple (S and M). We sat at one of the grills, you know the kind - fun hibachi guy tossing around utensils, throwing flames, tossing food. I ordered some edamame, seaweed salad, a shiitake sushi roll and later a veggie roll. Everyone else stared with sushi then had the hibachi. 


Sarah got the whole Birthday song and dance that came with tempura battered cheesecake. Extra dirty martini was not free ;-) After dinner, we moved along to the first bar where a friend of hers was bouncing. She pretty much just wanted to say hi to him. Music started off ok then turned to country.



After the country started, we moved to a bar next door that played more dancing tunes.










I must admit to feeling terribly old. Jason was DD and also guarding purses and coats. …

So So Weights
It's funny how a super cold snap bringing wind chills of 2 degrees can change your perspective on what suddenly feels warm. It was about 40 degrees at 9 am and I thought, "Wow, it's warm out there." I was definitely more excited about the training run on a gorgeous, slightly warmer day. Too bad we were only schedule for 4 miles though. I would have preferred that we did the longer run today.

But, before I got the run in, I did finally do my chest workout and finished up with abs from High Reps. Today was supposed to be 85% of 1RM doing 4 sets of 7 reps.

Flat bench chest press
Flat bench chest flyes
Incline chest press
Incline chest flyes

I'll admit that today was HARD. I ended up hitting failure at the 6th rep for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th sets of the presses. I ended up going back to last week's weight for the Incline Chest Press because I just couldn't hold form right and was struggling. Better safe than sorry.


Awesome Run
Now, the run...it was a…

Rest Day
Well, today is a much-needed rest day for me. I had thought about trying to sneak in my chest workout during lunch, but I'm going to be realistic (and rational) with myself. I need to rest completely. I have a 4-miler tomorrow and 7-miler on Sunday. If I don't rest up, the runs will suffer. Period. My muscles will not atrophy if I miss the chest workout this week. They won't will they??? Just kidding.

Tonight we're supposed to meet up with some friends at The Flying Saucer for a happy hour. I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends (not just guy friends, but a girl friend as well). I realized recently that I mostly spend time hanging out with the guys. Our typical Friday happy hour involves Jason and me meeting up with 2 guy friends who also work right by our offices. Don't get me wrong, not complaining, but I do think I need more girl time too. Or maybe not, that just encourages things like shopping trips....LOL

Tomorrow I…

4 Miles, Below Freezing, No Problem
Today was yet another chilly one. It was sunny at least. The skies were clear enough that you could see the moon even. I love that crispness in the sky. Now if only it weren't so darn crisp in the air too. Today's workout plan was a run. The half marathon training plan called for a 4-mile run followed by 4 1-meter gentle pickups*. I called Jason around 11 to see when he wanted to get out for the run. I was prepared to run outside (despite the temps). However, he was planning on the treadmill after work.

I told him that I was either going to run the 4-miles and intervals outside, or not at all. Period. That's how much I hate the treadmill. Anyway, it was about 22 degrees at that time. I said we could just eat lunch then go a little later. Well, that ended up being about 1:30. It warmed up to a balmy 27 degrees with a wind chill of a cozy 20 degrees. But it wasn't terribly windy so that really made a huge difference. I actually ended …

Freezing Outside
Well, I know almost every single state has snow, but I have to bring up our frigid temperatures. It was warmer on the days it snowed here! Walking into work at 7 am, it was 16 degrees with wind chill of 2. Yes, that's a single digit friends. I thought I lived in the south??!! I guess the only saving grace was that it was sunny. Sometimes really cold days are some of the prettiest - so crisp (literally). Tomorrow's high is only 32 and that's not the wind chill of course. It's going to make the scheduled 4-miler a bitch.

Gym Day
Speaking of workouts, today I did 15 minutes on the elliptical then hit the weights. I did biceps for STS Week 2 of Meso 3 (sort of). Since I was at the gym, I didn't have my weighted gloves that allow me to micro load (in 1 and 2 pound increments). So say I did 15 pounds last week and needed to increase 5% this week. I could use the gloves to do that rather than trying to jump from 15 to 20. Also, the incline curls are suppo…

Two on Tuesday
This morning we got another 2-hour work delay because of the weather. Now, I'm not complaining one bit, but in all honesty, they should have shut down yesterday and done a normal workday today. Anyway, this did allow me plenty of time to get up and get my weights done early. Today I went with shoulders and triceps from STS Week 2 of Meso 3. The reps dropped and weights went up by 5% of my 1RM (85%). It's the same workout as last week other than the changes in reps and weights - 4 sets of 7 reps.

SS#1
Shoulder press
Lying triceps extensions

SS#2
Seated lateral raises
1-arm overhead triceps extensions

SS#3
Seated rear delt flyes
Double-arm kickbacks (in lieu of lying cross-body kickbacks, which hurt my elbow)

I had a really strong workout session and was successfully able to increase all weights and complete all reps.

After work, I hit the gym to get in my scheduled run. The half marathon training plan this week is the same as last week. Today called for 2 miles,…