Where's the Beach?

Run & Spin I feel like my posts can get so repetitive because I stick to a fairly regular routine with my workouts. So what did I do today? Yep, you guess it. I hit up the noon spin class. I thought I might get in my triceps workout before class, instead I did about 12 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. I should have started my half training plan this week, but I didn't know I was going to sign up for it. So, I am winging this week and just decided to throw in a short, but fast interval run. After a warm up at a 9:13 min/mile pace, I did 4 sets of 1:00 minute intervals. Interval 1: 8:00 min/mile; 9:13 min/mile Interval 2: 8:13 min/mile; 9:31 min/mile Interval 3: 8:06 min/mile; 9:31 min/mile Interval 4: 8:06 min/mile; 9:31 min/mile I ran another couple of minutes at 9:13 pace to cool down. That put me at 1.7 miles. I definitely have some catching up to do on speed. I used to run sub 8:00 min/miles for 5K times. I know that's not a feasible goal (for me) for the...

Recipe Recap Last night I made a dish based off a recipe that we used to make quite often. The original recipe was from Better Homes & Gardens - Cheese Tortellini with Cannellini Bean Sauce . I decided to try to recreate the sauce from memory because I was too lazy to pull out that cookbook, and I also had to figure out a different way to cook it as I didn't have any soy or almond milk on hand, no parmesan or tortellini. So, here's what I came up with instead: Rotini with Sundried Tomato, Peppers & Basil Cannellini Sauce . Rotini with Sundried Tomato, Peppers & Basil Cannellini Sauce Ingredients: 4-5 oz whole-wheat rotini (penne would work as well), cooked per package directions 1/2 small white onion, thinly sliced 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced 6-7 sundried tomatoes reconstituted and chopped 1 tbsp minced garlic 1/2 cup no-salt vegetable broth (you may need more so keep on hand) 1/2 package silken tofu (firm)...

Sunday, Gym Day Why do vacations and min-vacations go by so quickly? Just doesn't seem quite right. Anyway, we left Branson around 9:30 am to head back home. It was a pretty uneventful drive back, which is usually a good thing. We got home and unpacked, then I headed up to the gym. I started with a 10-minute treadmill run to warm up before hitting the weights for back and light legs then abs. I went with a giant set for back then supersets for legs. GS - 4x8 Underhand barbell rows Pullovers Double-arm rows SS#1 Rear-leg elevated lunges (Bulgarian Split Squats) - 3x8 Calf raises - 3x20 SS#2 - 2x8 Walking lunges Plie squats with low-end pulse Single-leg deadlifts - 2x8 I did some ab exercises, stretched, and called it quits. Lazy = Crazy Dinner I may have made it to the gym and washed a few loads of laundry, but I never made it to the grocery store - lounging in the pool trumped grocery shopping. This meant getting creative with dinner. We had another package...

I wish I could say that I'm getting tons of restful sleep here. Not so much unfortunately. The bedroom only has blinds so once the sun starts coming up, that's all she wrote. Also, the walls seem to be very thin or we just have very loud neighbors. But, I won't complain too much because I'm having a very good time. Today we decided to run a trail along the lake front. It ended up being 4.6 (rolling hills) miles. So, 4.6 actually felt more like 6. It wasn't an easy run, but it was scenic and it was nice running with Jason. After the run, we found ourselves a nice spot to go hang out by the lake. Jason floated in the water and I sunbathed on the shore. The lake is gorgeous, but it's a lot different than what we're used to. There are no sandy beaches at all. It's very rocky - hence Table Rock Lake I suppose. But, it was nice and relaxing.  We brought a picnic lunch to enjoy. Here's what we gazed at while eating.     Not too bad huh? I...

Thursday Night - Branson Day 1 Than you everyone for your kind words on the Fun Facts Friday - Anniversary post! My internet is sketchy so replying to everyone is more difficult than usual. In fact, posting, blogging, anything is more difficult. Thursday night we arrived in Branson, MO later than we had hoped because of extremely backed up traffic heading out of town. It took almost an hour to get to a town that usually takes 30 minutes. Good times my friends. Thank goodness I had my purse loaded up with protein and granola bars. I'm like a Girl Scout I swear. People make fun of how much I carry in my purse, but they will never starve, have bad breath, have a headache, migraine, messed up fingernail, get wet, or need a tissue ;-) Anyway, we got our bags dropped off and cooler unloaded and headed to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. It's close by and we know that I can eat from the salad bar. And I pigged out! I started with a Skinny Lavender Lemon Drop Martini. It was really quit...

Since tomorrow is our 11-year wedding anniversary, I thought today would be Fun Facts Friday - Anniversary Edition . We met just before St. Patty's Day in 1995 at a party that I had to chauffeur my sister to. We pretty much only met because Sarah was dating Jason's friend (also named Jason). Jason and I didn't exactly hit it off like love at first site. I just happened to be the last girl standing anytime we were around each other. We stupidly moved to AL together within 6 months of meeting - somehow that seemed better than AR.  We lived together for 5 years before deciding to get married. We actually bought a townhouse together before getting married. Jason "proposed" after a long night at the restaurant (he cooked in a fancy schmancy French restaurant). Basically, sitting in his stinky chef clothes, me in my PJs, both with Bud Lights in hand he just asked if I wanted to go ahead and get married and use our vacation package as the honeymoon. Sure......

Running (Short on Time) This morning I just couldn't get myself energized or enthusiastic enough to get out of bed for a morning run. It was pitch black. Jason wasn't going to run with me (he had to be at work early). Of course I kicked myself big time when I stepped outside to head to work. While it was very humid, it was only 72 degrees. I just hate feeling like I HAVE to get out there at any moment when the temps cool off even slightly. I could have done spin today, but I really don't like the class style from the instructor for today. Instead, I sucked it up and hit the treadmill for intervals before moving onto triceps and abs. As much as I hate running indoors, at least the treadmill is good for speed work. Especially since I don't have any way to calculate my pace when running outdoors on my own. I was in a time crunch to be honest, so I did a simple giant set for triceps as 3x8 and some ab exercises during the rests. Double-arm overhead triceps extension ...

Spin & Ramble Ugh, another sleepless morning for me. Maddie has been waking up at 3:30 am on the dot bouncing around her kennel causing a ruckus. Yes, I know. We should put the kennel downstairs. But they stay in the kitchen ALL day long. So I feel bad. But I'm about to not feel so bad any longer. Anyway, I kept waking up every hour after that, then Jason got up at 5 to go to swim practice. I finally dozed off soundly just in time for the alarm to rudely interrupt me. You see, while I have been getting up early for some morning runs and am at work really early, I am not actually a morning person. I do not wake up all happy and cheery. I don't bounce up out of bed with enthusiasm. Nope, quite the opposite. Don't talk to me, don't even look at me first thing. It's like I have to wake up and totally get my bearings and contend with the fact that I am no longer asleep and must get my butt moving. The only way I can get up and out so early is that I have everyth...

Muggy Morning Run & Weights This morning Jason and I managed to get up and out the door for an early morning run. I have decided that I no longer need lungs to run. I need gills. The heat index was already 86 and humidity 90%. It was super foggy out and damp from last night's storms. I made it 6 miles, but they were rough. I added in a few sprints along the way. Probably not the smartest move since I was already struggling. I never felt like I hit a smooth rhythm. Even taking a drink of my water threw my breathing and everything else off. And the gnats...very annoying when you're soaking wet (sweating from your toes even) and the damn gnats keep buzzing you and sticking to you. Grrrrr. But you know what? I got it done. Plain and simple. Mind over matter. At lunch I decided to get in my biceps and abs. I knew I wouldn't have the steam left to get it done after work. I went with a giant set of 3x8 then finished off the workout with a set of 21's (just for fun)....

"Sausage" on Sunday Last night we ended up just chilling on the couch watching a movie - Winter's Bone . We also decided to try a new product we picked up at Whole Foods the other day - Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage "Sausages."   We have tried one of their roast loaves, but I have never seen the "sausages" until recently. Kristina @ Spabettie had done a post about them, highly recommending them. So I was excited to see Whole Foods finally carrying them. Since the weather turned out to be fairly nice, we decided to grill the "sausages" with some veggies (onions, zucchini, squash). I made some quinoa that I flavored with thyme, salt, pepper, parsley, fresh garlic, and nutritional yeast flakes. When the quinoa was done, I tossed in some halved cherry tomatoes then I added the grilled veggies and "sausages" over the top. This was a really great, light summery dinner. The "sausages" would be perfect for a vegan stuffi...

Super Saturday Well, yesterday was just an amazing day. Sarah got here just after 1. We ran a few errands before hitting the pool. Some friends came over to join us so it was a Saturday Pool Party kind of day. And you know what, I absolutely disconnected. After I did my blog post, I put the laptop away. Period. Done. Even more...after everyone got to the house, I left my phone in my purse. No checking emails, checking to see who had posted a new blog post, no Facebook or Twitter. Nothing. I lived in real life and enjoyed ever single moment. Don't get me wrong, I love blogging and love the constant interaction. But there was a time when I didn't spend half the weekend checking the computer. It never was turned on. I think it's good for the soul to remember that. To remember to just enjoy the here and now before it's gone. The plan was Pizza Saturday. I started the dough for our pizza (as in me and Jason) and then got Sarah's socca pizza going. Our friends deci...

Seitan Wraps for Friday Last night we had a good time meeting up with some friends for happy hour. We just visited and caught up for a few hours. A nice way to unwind after a really long week. Normally we would have gone home and made pizza for Pizza Friday. But my sister is coming up today and has requested pizza for dinner. I can definitely forgo Pizza Friday for Pizza Saturday with Sis ;-) Instead of pizza, I had made up some Blackened Seitan before we had left for happy hour. I used that in whole-grain lavash wraps for a really tasty Blackened Seitan Wrap with baked sweet potato fries. While I do love my pizza, it was sort of a nice change. Plus, my second love is sweet potato fries. 9-Miles This morning I was up really early for a Saturday thanks to Maddie's antics. She started banging around in the kennel around 6. I finally decided to go ahead and get up at 6:20. I was planning on running anyway, and I knew I should get started sooner than later because of the tem...

So today is definitely a rest day for me. I thought I was going to crash out and sleep soundly last night. Not so much. I tossed and turned starting around 2:45 am until I finally just got out of bed at 6. Yawn. Let's just say that coffee never sounded so good as it did this morning. I really hate it when I am unable to sleep and it's my rest day. I feel like I should go ahead and get up and run anyway, take advantage of the situation. But, I knew it would be a really crappy run if I had attempted it. So I just stayed in bed, thinking. It's funny when you run the same routes routinely and at the same days/times. You start to see the same set of people. You almost look forward to it, kind of like seeing a friend. Sometimes I think I should just run alongside someone and start up a conversation since we're already out there together all the time. Then I think that people would probably think I was a lunatic. So I refrain. Along with seeing familiar faces, you start ...

Dark Morning Run This morning I got myself up and out the door for an early morning run. It's getting harder though now that the sun isn't coming up until mid-run. For starters, it makes me a little nervous to be out there by myself. There are usually cyclists, a few, but not as many runners until the skies begin to lighten up. So, finding a good running time is now on the shuffle for me - not sure how to run before it gets too hot, when it's light enough, and still get to work. Anyway, it was about 10 degrees hotter this morning and the humidity was definitely up there. Not nearly the pleasant, chill bump inducing weather from Tuesday. But at least it wasn't 90+ degrees with blazing sun right? I set out thinking that I might do 4 miles then some hill repeats. I quickly realized there were not going to be any hill repeats though. My legs were feeling pretty heavy from spin, run, spin this week. It could have easily been a rest day for me actually. But, I was out ...

Spinning & Overthinking  Today was a pretty typical Wednesday. Jason got up at 5am for swim, I did not. Instead, I hit up spin at lunch. Jason actually went with me today too! I really do look forward to my noon workouts. Even if I'm feeling sluggish, I know that going will really help boost my energy and mood. Sometimes I think the key to getting workouts done and maintaining routine is just getting yourself going. Don't think about it too much, just get in there and get started. Overthinking causes us to question ourselves too much sometimes. I know that when I get too much inside my head, that's when my runs tend to falter. I start to question my ability to make it a certain distance or speed. I start to notice those little aches or pains and they suddenly seem way out of proportion. So then I'm so focussed on discomfort, that I stop myself short. And I don't mean pain as in an injury, I just mean being out of a comfort zone kind of thing. Working out sh...

Morning Run This morning we woke up around 5:20 to get ready for a morning run. My plan was to run 6 miles. Jason was going to do 2 then bike. Now that it's getting light so much later, I can't really get started on my run until right at 6 am. This makes me feel like I'm really crunched for time. I normally go into work at 7, but if I do 5 or 6 miles, plus the driving time to and from the Big Dam Bridge, then I don't get to work until 7:30-7:45. So I "feel" like I'm late even if I just stay later. Guess I just feel thrown off is all. Anyway, we got going and Jason turned around at mile 1 to give himself 2 miles. He is still trying to nurse his IT band after his blow out when we were in Chicago. I definitely don't want him to be hurt, and it was so peaceful and calm that I didn't mind doing 5 solo miles really. Though, his company does make the run enjoyable as well, don't get me wrong. It was only 70 degrees out, which felt amazing. Defi...

Spin Day Today was a fairly typical Monday. I hit up spin at noon. It seemed like everyone in the class was having a major case of the Mondays though. Normally it's a fairly lively class. Today...not so much. But it was still a great class, and I felt so much more energetic after class. I had thought I was going to get in biceps before the class. But I just didn't have it in me today. So, I'll get to those tomorrow. Some days just aren't meant for lifting. Workouts for Work Health? Today was a fairly hectic day for me at work. When I get to enjoy a workout mid-day, it really helps me refocus. I feel so incredibly lucky that I am fortunate enough to be able to get in a workout during the day. I kind of think all work places should promote that to be honest. I know how much better I feel, more energized, re-focused, just happier. It would seem to make sense that the company as a whole would benefit from all employees coming back feeling like they were ready to tak...

Snacky Saturday It took a long time for either of us to start thinking about dinner last night after our lunch yesterday. We were so full and lazy the rest of the day it just wasn't even funny. I knew dinner needed to be something on the light side. Jason suggested a snack plate of sorts. Of course I never do anything super simple. That'd just be too easy right? We had plenty of fresh veggies and some frozen tofu. We also had some rice wraps, which I never think to use. So, I decided to go with baked tofu and spring rolls. Spicy Peanut Soy Marinade/Dipping Sauce Ingredients: 1-2 tbsp plum sauce Sriracha chili (to desired heat level) Soy sauce (to consistency, probably 1/4 cup) 1-2 tbsp peanut butter Water (to desired consistency) Directions: Simply whisk together all ingredients. Pour over tofu or use as a dipping sauce. When using as a marinade I will say that I think using frozen then thawed tofu is ideal for this recipe. It soaks up the marinade much faster a...