Where's the Beach?

Workouts Before I get into Way to Go Wednesday, I thought I'd talk for a minute about workouts. I haven't really been talking about them much lately. I did manage to get in a 5-mile run this morning with my running partner. Despite the dark and cold, I was looking forward to it. I haven't run since Friday because of severe plantar fasciitis pain in my left foot. Saturday and Sunday were spent literally hobbling around. In fact, the left side of my calf is sore from said hobbling. I've been icing and rolling and stretching and as of yesterday, I could finally put weight on my foot and walk mostly like a normal being. So, this morning I decided to test it out. The plan was to do 4-5 miles depending on how my foot felt. I won't lie and say it didn't hurt at all. It was slightly achy, but then it chilled out until right at the end of the run. So I definitely stopped in time. 5 miles was the max and I was honestly happy with that. I spent a good deal of time i...

Tomato Jason really likes tomato soup. He always mentions make it, but when I've tried in the past, it's been a less than stellar effort. I mean, it was definitely edible. But by no means a spectacular recipe to repeat over again. So when he brought it up again, I almost said, "no." But I gave it one more shot. And, I'm glad I did. This one turned out so much better than previous versions. Jason went back not only for seconds, but thirds. I call that a success. Creamy Tomato Basil Soup Ingredients: 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 1 can no-salt diced tomatoes 1/2 small yellow onion, diced 3 tbsp minced garlic 1 8 oz can tomato sauce To taste: salt, pepper, basil Directions: In a soup pot, saute onions and garlic for approximately 8-10 minutes. In a blender or food processor, combine tomatoes, beans, sauce, onions, garlic, seasonings. Blend until completely smooth adding in a bit of water if needed. Return to soup pot and simmer on low ...

Well, I wish I could come into Monday's post raving about some awesome runs or even crazy 14-mile adventures. But, I can't. I didn't run this weekend. I won't run today. I may not run again until my half marathon on Sunday (fingers crossed I can then). After my 10-mile run on Friday, my left foot seized up. Hello there plantar fasciitis. We meet again. I won't pretend that it hadn't been acting up. It has been. But I've been babying my foot. Icing, rolling it out, rolling out my calves, stretching like it was my job. During the run on Friday, it wasn't bothering me terribly. It hurt a little here and there, but nothing sidelining. But the minute I stopped running, I was literally hobbling along. I've iced it, stretched it, and stayed off of it as much as possible. I did get to try out some of the new Cathe Xtrain DVDs at least. I'll call that the upside of this for now. Hello DOMS. I was talking to my sister on the phone about the race....

Happy Friday friends. Don't know about you, but I was beginning to wonder if this day would make a appearance this week. It just felt like the week was dragging on forever. I don't know if part of it was getting in some early morning runs again or what. What I do know is that it's Fun For Friday ! I don't have any brilliant inspiration or even a coherent topic. It's just a random, "fun" post. We don't need anything serious today right? This showed up in the mail yesterday and it made my Thursday. It's Cathe's latest series - XTrain . I can't wait to try out the workouts and share my thoughts with everyone!  Soup has been "what's for dinner" a few times this week. So, I have some new recipes to share next week for a Creamy Tomato Soup and a Tofu Noodle Soup .  I am so very lucky to have met such a wonderful running partner and friend. We got in 10 miles before work today. Despite the freezing temps and then the fo...

Sky On Fire This morning I peeled myself out of bed to get in a run before the sleet moved into town. "A" and I were going to run after work, but Mother Nature had other plans. She couldn't run in the morning, so I was going to head out solo. But, Jason said he'd give it a shot. So we headed out into the cold, windy morning around 6 am. The skies are starting to get lighter around 6:20 am though. Such a refreshing change. And as much as I hate the cold weather, there's something quite invigorating about a cold run. It was in the low 30's - not sure what the windchill was at that time, but looks like mid-20's - as long as we weren't heading north into the freezing, heavy wind, it wasn't too bad. What made it all worth it was the sunrise. It was simply spectacular. It looked like the sky was on fire with the deepest pink, almost red creeping up from the east. I wanted to take a picture, but didn't think I could get a good one with my phon...

I saw this recipe for Baked Italian Cauliflower at Daily Food Buzz and thought it sounded really tasty, and easy to make. Even better, Jason had just picked up cauliflower at the grocery store. Of course, I had to put my own spin on the dish. I decided to use my Tofu Ricotta in lieu of the meat, add in some red bell peppers and then top with Daiya for a vegan version. Italian-Style Baked Cauliflower Ingredients: 1 head of cauliflower, chopped 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil To taste: parsley, basil, oregano, salt 1 jar of spaghetti sauce - use as much as you like (I used a homemade version) 1 recipe for Tofu Ricotta Daiya Vegan Mozzarella (optional) Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss the cauliflower with seasonings and olive oil and place in a glass baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes until just slightly browned. Remove cauliflower from oven and add on a layer of the bell peppers then the tofu ricotta. Top with spaghetti sau...

How does Monday roll around so quickly, but the weekend takes forever to show up? I know, rhetorical question of course. This weekend we actually didn't have any plans. My only plan was to try to get in an 11-12 mile run on Saturday. We have a half marathon in two weeks, and I've not followed any sort of plan. I was just hoping I'd be able to feel up to doing the race period. Thankfully, I've been feeling more human finally after this whole blood clot ordeal. I have ups and downs still, but definitely feeling better than I was a month ago. I haven't really talked much about it because still so much of a waiting game. Clot's still there, but at least I can get out and run, move, exercise, feel more normal. Back to the long run...if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you already know that I definitely got in that long run, and then some. Jason and I decided to wait until it warmed up a bit. Like 35 degrees. At least the sun was out, but so w...

I'm not sure if this really qualifies as "fun" for Fun For Friday. But I'm going with it anyway. This week, at my office, a decorated Valentine's Bag was attached to everyone's doorway and we were all given slips of paper. Directions were given to write a single word for each co-worker on the slips of paper then place them in the bags on the doorways. We were supposed to write something positive, sweet to describe each person. Basically, just saying something nice about everyone for Valentine's Day. Words I received: Driven  Efficient Attractive  Reliable  Inspirational  Disciplined  Sensitive  Driven Fearless  Hale  Sedulous Meticulous  Disciplined I'm sensing a theme here. Part of me was pleased with the descriptors. I do feel like I'm reliable, disciplined and even driven. I'm definitely a very grounded, sensible person. I won't deny that. But then I realized something was missing...fun, car...

In honor of Valentine's Day - Love in Photos Husband Family and Furbabies Friends Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day - I hope you have a wonderful day and remember the loves in your life.

HIIT IT I found some kickbutt workouts from  the Blonde Ponytail's GNC Lean Legs: Workout 2 and Workout 3 . I knew right away I wanted to try out the workouts, especially a few of the exercises she used. I will definitely do these workouts as prescribed, but on Friday, I ended up doing a little mix of a workouts to incorporate the bike trainer along with compound moves and some of her exercise for a full-body, cardio crazy circuit that took just under 35 minutes with the cool down. While I used my bike trainer, you could definitely do this same workout using a spin bike at the gym, treadmill, or even an elliptical. It's probably not a true HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout, but it's pretty darn close. There are 3 Rounds Each round includes 2 minutes of full-speed cycling (with decent amount of tension) followed up by 2 different exercises to incorporate both upper and lower body (with the exception of the last round), followed up by a cardio move.  ...

Angela at Happy Fit Mama had a great post this morning about the why she loves running. One of the reasons on her list was a morning sunrise. I always relish the sunrises when I go out for a morning run and am disappointed if it's overcast and I don't get to see one. There's just something so completely serene about the sun rising up in the east. It's like seeing a smile. This morning, I woke up around 5:30 to get in a run. Part of me was wishing I hadn't made plans to run so early. It was dark and cold and I had been snoozing soundly when the alarm went off. But I had made plans. Jason and I were going to start the run together, then I was meeting my friend somewhere around 2 miles into the run. No backing out. While the first mile was up hill and seemed to go on forever (the hill that is), once I got moving, I was glad to be out there. I saw a bunny (Jess/Jo) and I knew it was going to be a good run. The sky began to get lighter, slowly but surely. My fr...

Day at the Track This weekend went by entirely too quickly, though, don't they all. Saturday I ended up waking up around 7 am. I was sitting on the computer watching the marathon training group run past my house (house is just about 9.5 miles into the race), even saw my running partner fly by. Of course this made me feel pretty lazy, so I geared up and headed out for a chilly, but great run. My goal was to do an easy 4 miles. I kept either ended up running with parts of the training group or sometimes opposite directions from them. I got plenty of weird looks like "um, you're going the wrong way" or "where'd she come from." I ended up meandering down towards the river, putting myself way over the intended miles, like double the miles. But I kept them much slower, which was really needed. So, 8 miles done. After the run, I spent some time stretching before getting ready for the day. We headed to Hot Springs to go to the race track with my sister an...

I almost didn't post for Fun Facts Friday . I really couldn't think of anything random or fun for the day. That is, until I had a twitter convo with my friends Jess and Jo . They're getting snowed in my Nemo and there was some mention of having plenty of wine on hand. And of course justification of drinking the wine while snowed in - all the way down to it having antioxidants and not wanting to get sick while snowed in. That convo reminded me of a post. A while back, another blogger friend (Christine at Love Life Surf ) had done a New Year's post about the things she wasn't changing for 2013. So, put the two together and you have Fun Facts Friday - Things I Won't Forgo . Wine - There was a time when I actually hated wine. Jason worked in a restaurant and we could go to big wine tastings and I snubbed my nose and stood at the champagne table. Man I missed out. Pizza - Yes, I know it's a calorie, carb bomb. I do try to make it healthier by loadin...

I've had some really random thoughts and ideas going on as well as things to share. So I thought this would be perfect for a Thursday Thoughts and Things post. This is my "I'm thinking" look also showing how I look when I don't dress myself up & put on makeup.  (and wow, am I really leaving that picture for all to see?) Thin Blood/Oxygen Relationship?  I've been running crazy fast times lately with my running partner. This hasn't been intentional by any means. I have honestly been trying to just get comfortable with running again and slowly trying to add distance in. I've been learning about the training effect and how exercise can increase your capillaries as well as improve your overall cardio function. In other words, more oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood to your hard-working muscles. This got me to thinking, could the blood thinners, in other words, thinner blood mean even easier blood flow? Greater output of this oxygen-rich blood?...

Work it Out Wednesday I hope you don't mind, I have yet another spin/bike trainer workout to share. Clearly I've been enjoying my bike trainer. Obviously this means I was missing my spin classes since my gym closed wayyyyy back in May. I know that this technically doesn't count as a leg workout, but since I'm not supposed to be lifting heavy weights...ok, any weights...this is going to have to suffice for now. I did this workout on Monday and my legs were wobbly heading down the stairs. This is definitely all about the hills. You want to keep tension higher, but still trying your best to maintain a fast turnover. The first section is a rolling hill with very little back off. Each climb should begin at a higher tension than the previous one - in other words, you never go downhill until the end. The second section is still about the hills with a faster, steeper climb, meaning increasing tension 2 and 3 times each minute, but you get a little reprieve with downhil...

Surprise surprise, I have another new recipe just in time for Tasty Tuesday . As I mentioned yesterday, I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen on Sunday prepping food for the week. I made spaghetti sauce and tofu ricotta specifically for this dish - as well as more ciabatta bread. This dish is both vegan and gluten-free, but full of flavor and protein. In other words, it sounds light, but it's still hearty and filling.  Zucchini Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta Ingredients: 3-4 zucchini (depending on size) cut into thin lengthwise strips 1 recipe for tofu ricotta (see below) 1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice (I used a homemade) Baby spinach Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add a small amount of sauce to the bottom of a glass baking dish. Add in a layer of the zucchini. Top with spinach, then add a sprinkle of the tofu ricotta. Top with sauce. Repeat finishing with Daiya Mozzarella. Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes then remove cover. In...

5 by the 5th If you recall, last month I did a post ( Starting Over ) mentioning the 5 by the 5th Virtual Run Series hosted by Laura at Mommy Run Fast. You can either do 5 miles or a 5K by the 5th of each month for 5 months. I guess a month sometimes flies by, because it's already that time again to post my 5 by the 5th results for February. Sunday morning Jason and I set out for a run. I had run my first double digit run since the blood clot on Saturday. Very very proud of that. It was definitely tough the last two miles, but I did it. Right now my muscle recovery is back on track after running. However, my fatigue level is just off the charts. I could barely keep my eyes open after about 3pm. Workouts just totally suck the energy from me. So while they're getting easier and recovery in terms of muscles is good, I can't seem to overcome the exhaustion or this freaking clavicle pain. Let's just say I slept very soundly.   So, back to Sunday. I rea...

Wow, than you Friday for finally making an appearance. Show of hands if you thought it'd never show up too! Rather than dwell on the crazy week that's now in the past, I thought I'd just jump right into Fun Facts Friday . Let's put the week behind us and have a little fun shall we? I'm taking a cue from my friend Jessica. She did a post she called Sometimes (Revisited) . Mine isn't exactly revisited, just a list of Sometimes. Sometimes... ... these cuties really are as sweet as they appear here (the dogs not Jason). ... they can be rotten like coming into the kitchen to see Maddie polishing off a to-do style notepad with a magnetic strip on the back. Lip-smacking good apparently. ... they like to play the in-and-out game standing at the back door but going out only to randomly bark, repeat 5 times before they might actually potty. ... they love to get toilet paper or tissues and have both figured out how to push a basket under the coffee table ba...