Where's the Beach?

After yesterday's way-to-deep-for-a-Monday post, I thought I'd make today's post much lighter and simpler, kind of light this recipe. I'm rather liking Tasty Tuesdays actually. Kind of keeps me inspired to be creative in the kitchen again. We haven't been to the grocery store in a little over a week now. That means fresh veggies are pretty low and the pantry is starting to get a little more bare than usual too. Jason has this thing for casseroles and baked dishes. I decided to just work with that as a starting point for dinner. I had rotini, frozen spinach, some tomato sauce and silken tofu. I thought I'd make a fast, creamy pasta sauce with the tofu. Love using silken tofu to make a "cream" style sauce. It works so well plus it's an added boost of protein. Now, if you can't do soy, you can always use a cashew cream, coconut or almond milk instead. It'll just make for a slightly looser sauce, but shouldn't affect flavors much. Fe...

Spaaaaaaa Today was a rest day for me. I definitely was ready for one too. And how do you top off a rest day? How about with a facial? I'm kind of a cheap girlie girl (cheap as in frugal thankyouverymuch). I love fashion, love having my nails painted, makeup, jewelry, all that jazz. But I won't pay for manicures, pedicures or even massages...let alone a facial. Jason, however, surprised me for Valentine's Day with a gift certificate for a facial. So today I put it to use. And the timing couldn't have been better. I've not been sleeping well this week and have had a headache for three days. Just not a happy camper basically. So it was perfect timing for me. It was so indulgent and relaxing. I just wanted to melt into the table. I had a bad crick in my back and she massaged that out as well. So, hopefully tonight I'll sleep more soundly. Carb Loading Tomorrow we're planning on another long run if we can handle the heat. Our lows aren't exactly low ...

Sprints & Legs This morning I had kind of sort of hoped to wake up when Jason got up for swim so I could get in some kickboxing. However, he apparently decided not to go so he didn't get up, which means neither did I. So, the next plan was to get in a speed workout. We hadn't done a speed workout since that last wonderful one when it was 103 degrees out. Sadly, that one actually felt better than today. We did the same set up as the last one - 1.1 mile run over to the park. Then 8 35-40 second intervals with rest between. The rest times became more sporadic depending upon the puke factor that was happening. While it was cooler out, index 89, the humidity was insane. It felt like it should have been raining, but it wouldn't. Seriously sweating the minute I started moving. My lungs were not happy at all. I had such a hard time breathing today. I never seemed to get it completely under control. But, I managed my intervals at a decent time somehow, miracle or delus...

Another 2-a-Day Today Jason and I had planned to do some speed work during our lunch break. I knew it was going to be hot, but at least with the speed work you get a few rests. Right? Like I said, I knew it was going to be hot, I just wasn't prepared for how hot. The heat index was already in the low 90's when we set out on the run at 11:30. At first, the skies were cloudy and there was a strong breeze. Unfortunately, the sun came out in full force mid-run. We ran 1 mile as a warmup to a nearby park before starting the intervals. They ended up being about 1 minute each: slowly start then build speed to 80% max effort for 20 strides (about 20 seconds) then a super easy jog back to the start (about 30 seconds) so we would wait the remainder to round out to a minute. We did 10 intervals total and it actually put us right at a mile. The area we were doing the speedwork at is a grassy area that is pretty shaded. The wind really felt great when we stopped, but not so awesome w...

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 s...