Where's the Beach?

Not only is it Friday, but we're actually above freezing! And of course this is my rest day, go figure right? Today I thought I would just share 5 Things from the Week for Fun for Friday . 1. Book Anatomy for Runners : Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention by Jay Dicharry (apologizing in advance for not giving a review that does this book justice) This book is fantastic. It's not a book telling you to rest and do prescribed exercises to  overcome an injury. No, it delves into the causes, the root of injuries. So that piriformis pain or knee pain, it's not just about strengthening your hips and glutes, it's about understanding the full connection of the body and also strengthening, say, the multifidi and deep core muscles. This, of course, is just one little example that I thought many runners might relate to. He talks about the various types of tissues and how they are supposed to align. When there are weaknesses and d...

I know it's winter, and winter is cold. I get that logic. However, I live in the south where winters are typically mild. We have only a handful of days that dip below freezing. We rarely see any good snow, you know, the kind that actually sticks. Usually we get ice, gray, dangerous ice. We worry more about power outages from ice storms and being stranded because the roads are too slick far more than we worry about any need to shovel our driveways. Our weather is notorious for crazy temperature swings. As an example, I ran on Sunday in shorts and a tank. Yesterday and today it was 2 layers on top and bottom with ear warmer (headband thing), hat, gloves with mittens over the top and my neck warmer. This morning was 14 degrees. I realize that for some, that's a mild heat wave. For us, it's almost unheard of. In fact, it's so rare to have these temps (and so many days of them) that I only have 1 pair of fairly thick running tights. I did purchase a new pair this year ...

Last week I spent a little extra time in the kitchen with the goal of putting together a few new dishes to try out. We've definitely been in a major rut with cooking. I thought it would be fun to try out a few new ideas. First up was to use up some cauliflower. I love roasting cauliflower and using that for lunches throughout the week. I decided to kick it up a notch though. Usually I just toss with salt and olive oil. This time I broke out some other spices. I have been using more and more turmeric in my cooking because it has some pretty fantastic health benefits to include acting as a liver detoxifier and as an anti-inflammatory. Spicy Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower Ingredients: 1 head of cauliflower Olive oil To taste: salt, powdered red pepper, garlic powder, turmeric Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, toss together the cauliflower, oil and seasonings. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake approximatel...

Well, I won't start off by asking who all is excited that it's Friday. That's sort of a given right? I do know that I was beyond excited this particular Friday because it meant sleeping in and not getting up for a crazy-cold, dark thirty run. It seems like everyone is experiencing colder than usual temperatures. I know that when I say it was 13 degrees here this morning, you guys in the North will snicker and call it a warm front. I accept that. But for the south? Thirteen degrees is a cruel joke. I will say that the positive is that it is sunny out, and it's finally not gusting winds for a change. Good hair day! I feel like I've not been super attentive to my blog recently. My first reaction is to apologize. However, I won't do that. Work has been crazy busy, I've been sort of scattered in my thoughts and prefer to write posts with meaning rather than to write just to be writing something. Based on my post from the other day about bad nutrition ad...

This morning started off like most mornings when I run. I begrudgingly get out of the warm bed and stumble into the bathroom to start the process of layering up. I guess I should say this is typical for winter mornings. It always seems to take so much longer to get ready for a cold weather run. And then there's the debating on whether or not you're over- or under-dressed. I often pull out several options even. Once I'm finally settled on my attire (or just tired of over-thinking it), I'll head downstairs to let the dogs out. I will drink some water, maybe check email, Facebook, Twitter. Just trying to wake my brain up. Then I'll start the process of putting on all my gadgets and gear. I affix my blinking lights, buckle on my SpiBelt, make sure my mace is securely attached to the SpiBelt, tuck my phone into a baggy then into the SpiBelt pouch. Gloves go on, Garmin goes on, and I'm off to face whatever the weather and wind throw at me. As a runner, I am...

Well, this post might be all over the place and a bit rambly/ranty, but that's kind of how my brain seems to be working this week. I've been a little mopey and completely scattered. I had wanted to maybe share a new recipe. But that might have to come next week. Jason is hell-bent on making split pea soup, a vegan version of the kind he grew up eating that was made with ham. I do have some tofu marinating in a tandoori sauce - yes, I know tandoori is the method, but that's what the spice jars says ;-) I stumbled across this article on Yahoo (by the editors of Runner's World ) 25 Snacks that Boost Weight Loss Results . Some of the snacks listed actually included Pop Tarts, Gummi Bears, Fruit Yogurt, and Fig Cookies. Anyone see a theme there? Processed, sugary-carbs. Yes, yogurt can be great for calcium and protein, but the fruit yogurts tend to be extremely high in sugar. Why wouldn't they say "Greek yogurt with fresh berries" instead? And I have heard ...

It's (finally) that day of the week again - Fun For Friday . It's been a LONG week, ok, it's been the same number of days as always, but it's felt long. Work has been busy and then there's that whole waking up at 5 am to run thing plus getting in my weight workouts either at lunch or after work. So, I'm pretty tired by Friday. I did manage to get in one last early morning run today. It was one of those times when you do question your sanity though. The windchill was 22 degrees and the winds were crazy, gusting at 28 mph from the northwest. You never realize how often your route goes north or west until the wind is that direction. Despite the weather, it was still a good run. The moon, in case you missed it, was simply amazing. I'm glad that we had clear skies so we could enjoy the glow, especially on streets that for whatever reason don't have the street lights on. What's up with that? Anyway ... I've done a few Runfession posts, but t...

Sometimes I feel guilty for sleeping in on the weekends. Sometimes I don't.  And why should I? Why brag about being up at 5 am even on the weekends rather than slowing down for a change, for not just hitting the ground running at full speed? Sometimes I feel guilty for that extra glass of wine. Sometimes I don't. Really no explanation needed here. Yes, I know the plethora of articles existing about wine and women. One article says it's good for the heart, another says no, and another says I'll get breast cancer. At some point you have to live and enjoy. And I enjoy a glass of wine. Sometimes I feel guilty for not having a spotless home. Sometimes I don't.  No, I don't want to live in a pig's sty, nor do I. Yes, I'd love my home to look like one from a magazine, but in reality, sometimes it's more important to focus on something for myself, like reading or even watching a tv show.  Sometimes I feel guilty for not wanting to bl...

A couple of months ago I was contacted about reviewing a new cookbook, Cooking with Coconut Oil by Elizabeth Nyland. Elizabeth is a blogger at guiltykitchen.com. I was really excited to get this cookbook. Not only do the recipes incorporate coconut oil, they are both gluten- and grain-free. I love seeing a cookbook that is very much based around healthy, whole foods. Also, I have coconut oil, but don't often cook with it. Mostly it's because I just forget about it and tend to just reach for my olive oil sitting out on the counter. I thought this cookbook would help encourage me to use coconut oil more while also giving me some new recipes to try out. I decided I wanted to try out one of the recipes for Christmas lunch with my mom. I opted for the Caramelized Carrots because they looked amazing and super simple to make. That's a win-win of course. This recipe really is very easy to make, but so full of flavor. It also smells amazing. If you're like me and don...

What a week ... I'm finally feeling semi-human again after being taken down by some sort of plague funk. I honestly don't think it was the flu as I felt something start to come on slowly mid-week last week. However, I did run a pretty high fever for 2 1/2 days. I became one with the couch and my warmest, fuzziest blanket. I know all my posts this week have been about being sick and not working out when sick . But that's kind of all I've had to roll with this week. I promise this is the last of the sickies posts. It is Fun for Friday so let's do a funny post about being sick shall we? You know you're really sick when ... You quite literally blow through every box of tissues (and several rolls of toilet paper) in the house. You have to resort to Vaseline around your upper lip, nose and cheeks from blowing your nose so much. Your significant other starts drinking Airborne or Emergen-C like it's a life force. You have carefully positioned every ...

I would love to be sharing my workouts with you. Would love to tell you I was a badass and ran with Amy when it was 10 degrees yesterday, or that I got in a kick butt weight workout on Monday. But, whatever sickness has taken over has totally sidelined me. There are many times when I am feeling less than stellar but am still able to get in a workout. I tend to try to listen to my body and do what I can. As a lifelong asthmatic, I know that if it's in my chest, then working out is a no go plain and simple. But sniffles and sneezing just mean that I need extra tissues. It's been a really long time since I've been too sick to even think about working out. There are times when I feel under the weather and think about it, but then decide on a rest day. This time? Not even an inkling of a thought. I hardly even have the energy to move off the couch to go get water let alone run even half a mile. To add to my list of when not to workout is a fever. The fever knocked m...

I wish I had a super fun weekend recap post. I guess if you find sitting on the couch and not moving fun, then it was a blast. Unfortunately, my rear end indention on the couch was out of necessity not because I wanted to be parked there. It started slowly on Thursday with a tickle in my chest and a heaviness. If you have asthma or have had frequent bouts of bronchitis, you probably know the feeling. I thought it was from running in the cold weather. Friday morning's run was another freezing (literally) run with strong northerly winds. I wore my new neck warmer that helped save my chin from frostbite. During the run, my lungs hurt, but I wasn't really having a hard time breathing. By midday, all bets were off and I was full on short of breath. I wasn't having any sinus drainage or congestion though. I was starting to freak out about blood clots again. I knew I was being paranoid. But that's where my head was. In reality, I was just flat out getting sick. Saturday ...

Cori from Olive to Run did a fun post yesterday that I thought was perfect for Fun for Friday , it's called "Would You Rather Running Style Survey" I loved reading her responses and found myself nodding along with almost all of her answers. It was also fun reading the other comments. So, here are my answers to Would You Rather ... 1. Would you rather run in a thunderstorm or a snowstorm? Hands down running in a storm, unless it's freezing out. Running in the rain is just fun, makes you feel both like a kid again and a badass. However, if it's cold, but not cold enough for snow or sleet, then nope. And sleet or snow only prior to it actually sticking. 2. Would you rather breathe through your nose or breathe through your mouth? I do both. As a child I was always stuffed up and breathed through my mouth. I didn't realize that wasn't exactly normal. I find that I revert back to mouth breathing when I'm working out. Hello dry mouth. 3. Would you rathe...

It's really hard to believe it's already a new year. 2013 seems like a blur right now. In looking back at my New Year's post from last year, I think I fully embraced my word: Change . I don't intend on letting go of that word. I'll just add it into my vocabulary for this upcoming year. I don't set out specific goals or resolutions. But I love the idea of giving myself a word for the year. Last year was going to be a year of change one way or another (I mean, every day is change if you want to be honest), and I wanted to remind myself that change can be a good thing. I think it's important to embrace it rather than fight it. In 2012, I set out to live fuller. I think Change goes well with Living Fuller and this year I want to expand on those ideas. I think Hope will be my word for the year. Hope ... To wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment. To have confidence; trust. To look forward to with confidence or expectation. We hope t...