Where's the Beach?

3-Mile Run I won't brag too much about our weather as I know that some of you are actually experiencing real spring, as in it's gotten cold, or rainy, or cold and rainy again. But it was another beautiful day here. Though, I will admit that 80+ degrees in March does feel a bit wrong. I keep waiting for some freak snow storm now. But, in the meantime, I'll take full advantage of the weather. I won't even complain that it was sweltering for a run at lunch today. I won't have any problem adjusting to running in summer heat at this rate. I'm pretty much already doing it. We set out around 11:30 for a quick 3-miler. The first thing we were hit with was a wonderful headwind for the first 3/4 mile, which also happens to be a nice long, steady, sneaky incline. Let's just say I wasn't a Chatty Cathy today. For the most part (other than standing at street corners waiting on cars that took forever to move along) we kept around an 8:30-8:40 pace. There was a ...

Family Day Recap Today was the first day since I've been off work (since Wednesday) that wasn't jam packed. In other words, I was able to sleep in guilt free. We had no place to be. The only thing that we actually had planned was to get in a run if the weather was decent. The forecast kept changing, so the last we saw said rain. It was a pleasant surprise to see sunshine and blue skies rather than the dreary, gray skies we had yesterday. Oh, yesterday...that family-filled day. We left home at 10:45 in the morning and didn't get home until after 9 pm. Needless to say, the dogs were very unhappy and we were very worn out. The day started at my sister's for lunch of a brunch menu that consisted of 2 types of frittatas, fruit salad, bagels, sausage (for the meat eaters), and my mom made a gluten-free coffee cake as well.     It was so fun watching the kids open up their gifts. It was definitely a cooking type of Christmas for them. I had found these super cute Curious...

Running & Triceps Last night I set my alarm for an early morning run, however, I wasn't so sure I'd really get up and get the run in. I had my gym bag packed as a backup plan or Plan C was rest day. The alarm went off at 5:15 am. And you know what? I was wide awake. I knew Jason wasn't going with me, so the dilemma became: to run in the dark alone or just be up an hour early. I went for the run. I got to the Big Dam Bridge earlier than when Jason goes with me (sorry dear, but you can be slow going). The bad part about that was that it was going to be even longer before the sun started to rise. It was fairly empty, emptier than usual for 5:50 am I should say. I ran sans music so that I could be very very aware of my surroundings and hear anyone approaching. I didn't see anyone for almost a mile, then I passed the guy who tilts his head to the right listening to his music. I waved, I think he waved (hard to say because it was really that dark). A bit down the...

Sunday Weights Sunday morning we got up early and headed to my sister's to pick up the pups. Maddie was a crazy loon, but both of them seemed happy to see us. When we got back home, I headed to the gym to meet up with a friend to do weights. I had really wanted to run, but the heat index was already in the 80's by 7:30 am. Not fun. We started with about 15 minutes on the elliptical then hit the weights for back, chest, and triceps, followed up with some ab work. We did trisets as 3x8. TS#1 Underhand barbell rows Chest flye to press Double-arm overhead triceps extension TS#2 Pullovers Staggered chest press Lying triceps extensions TS#3 Single-arm row Pushups with feet on bench Double-arm kickbacks After some ab work, I hopped back on the elliptical for 10 minutes. My friend had to leave and get home and cleaned up. I know part of it was how the workout was set up, but man did I feel fatigued with the weights. Definitely not a strong day for me. Pool Time ...

Well today I had planned on doing shoulders and triceps and likely a step workout after work. My sinuses are a mess though and my legs are just heavy from the runs this weekend. So I decided to take today as my rest day. I just wasn't up for anything to be honest. I think it was a smart decision for the fact that tomorrow's cardio will likely have to be indoors because of weather. I know that two days of step would be difficult for me to swallow. Also, I needed to hit Target at some point so the rest day lets me run that errand without feeling rushed, so things work out sometimes for the best. I've been seeing a few posts for recipes and dishes using delicata squash. I am a huge squash fan, but I had yet to try this one out. So the other day I picked one up just to try it out. I wasn't exactly sure how I was even going to use it to be honest. I figured I could roast it up and serve on a salad if nothing else. What I decided to do, since I had the extra time today,...

Soup Sunday I ended up making a vegetable soup to go with the freshly baked wheat French bread. You just can't pass up fresh bread. I wasn't sure what direction to go with the soup but it ended up being a Vegetable "Chicken" Soup. Vegetable "Chicken" Soup Ingredients: 1/2 white onion, diced 1/2 green bell pepper, diced 2 carrots, diced 1 small sweet potato, diced 1 tbsp minced garlic 1 carton no-salt vegetable broth 1 can no-salt diced tomatoes 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained To taste: salt, pepper, red pepper, parsley, basil, oregano 1 zucchini, diced 1 yellow squash, diced 1 package chicken substitute of your choice, diced (seitan, Quorn, Meal Starters) Directions: In large soup pot, saute onion, peppers, carrots, sweet potato, and garlic until begins to soften. Add in remaining ingredients up to the zucchini. Let simmer for about 25 minutes then stir in zucchini, squash, and your "chicken" substitute. Continue to cook un...

Roasted Salad With New Dressing  Last night we did have a roasted veggie and tofu salad for dinner. But, I made a new dressing that I was really pleased with: Creamy Balsamic Dressing . Creamy Balsamic Dressing Ingredients: 1/4 cup cashews * (really it was a handful so maybe a bit more) Almond milk (just enough to cover cashews or a bit more for runnier dressing) To taste: Balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, parsley, onion powder, splash of OJ Directions: Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth. * Either soak cashews for at least 30 minutes or grind in a coffee grinder if you do not have a high-powered blender. I essentially used the same flavor ingredients (minus cashew cream) as a marinade for the tofu, which I bake until firm and crisp separate from the veggies. I know that the grilled or roasted veggie salads aren't terribly exciting, but man are they so good! And I'm loving having a creamy dressing option that's vegan. Bis/Tris and Step This morni...

Shoulders and Step Oh busy days. Yep, on repeat again. But I had a great workout at lunch to help break up the day. I did shoulders using the pyramid method of 12, 10, 8, 10, 12 reps increasing then decreasing the weights: Overhead press Rear delt flye into Front raise into Side lateral raise* *This was like a tri set where I did each exercise for 12 reps before moving to the next set of reps doing all 3 exercises again for 10 reps rather than the pyramid up and down for flye, then up and down for raise, etc. I had a really strong weight workout and was able to keep some of the heavier weights even with the addition of the reps. Love it when I have those "strong" days. After work I did cardio. I had thought about trying for another run, but my hamstrings are still sore from Sunday's workout then running yesterday. Of course, I didn't go for an easy workout - that's so not like me ;-) I opted for about 35 minutes of Cathe's Imax 3 . That worko...

Summer Salad Dinner last night ended up being a Grilled Tempeh & Veggie Salad . I grilled sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and tempeh (which was marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette). We piled everything on top of a mix of red leaf lettuce and baby spinach. This has become one of my favorite summer meals I do believe. Missing My Mojo So this morning I slept in rather than get up for my workouts. I was planning on either biceps or shoulders at lunch and knew I could get in cardio after work. I decided to change up my splits this week. I've been doing biceps and triceps together for too many weeks now. Change is good. So I went with biceps and abs at lunch: Dumbbell bicep curls 3x8 Hammer curls 3x7 (just couldn't manage 8 reps with the weight I used) Concentration curls 3x8 Dumbbell biceps curls - 21's I did abs from Cathe Friedrich's Cardio & Weights DVD. After work I did a cardio only premix from Low Impact Circuit . I must admit that to...

Rewind to Tuesday - Taco Bowls I made a big oops in my dinner post last night. I apologize because I was rushing through and failed to explain the "bowl" part. I actually started making them after reading about how easy they were to make on many other blogs. They are super simple to make and a fun alternative to a burrito or quesadilla. How to make a Taco Salad Bowl : Preheat oven to 425 degrees F Prepare a pyrex bowl (or other oven-safe baking bowl) with a non-stick spray. Insert your favorite flour tortilla  (I use a whole-wheat variety) and shape - you will have some fluted edges. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden and crispy. No Whimpy Wednesday Well, I must admit to having very little sleep yet again. One of our sweet furbabies is about to start sleeping downstairs. I love her dearly, but the girl doesn't stop moving...ever. She wakes up frequently throughout the night to itch, lick, move about her kennel, causing general raucous. She seems to...

Two on Tuesday This morning my eyes opened wide at 4:55 am. I tried to go back to sleep, but quickly realized I was only fooling myself. So I got up and got my workouts done. Today was leg day with quad focus. Wide-stance squats - 3x8 Rear leg elevated lunges - 3x10 Firewalkers - 8 total Narrow-stance squats - 3x10 Static lunges - 3x10 Squats with low-end pulse - 3x8 Wall squats with ball - 6 reps of squat with 10 sec hold Outer thigh raises with ankle weights on ball - 2x24 We had storms roll through last night, so the temperatures dropped finally. It was 74 this morning, so I decided to take advantage of that and get in a short 20-minute run. When I first started out, I seriously didn't think I was going to get very far. My legs were already yelling at me. But, about half a mile into the run, they loosened up and it felt good. What's the Deal With the Road Trip? I am really glad I got the workouts done early. I feel like I still have so much to do to get ready ...

Plan B - Rest Day Well, let me just say this, those hill repeats seriously kicked my ass (and quads). Yowzers. My legs feel like lead today. I feel like I did nothing but a million squats yesterday. All good though. It just meant that today was my rest day rather than tomorrow. I can bend a little, especially when there was no way I was doing anything that involved working my legs ;-) Oddly enough, however, I woke up wide-eyed (not exactly bushy-tailed) at 5:26, which is when I have been getting up to go run. Apparently my brain missed the "rest day" memo. Do you ever have those days when you know it is going to be a mandatory rest day, but part of your body or mind is still thinking you should be working out? Maybe it's just because it's habit. I have to say, when I don't post a workout, I feel like my posts are insanely short. But, short isn't always a bad thing right? Better than unnecessary rambling (which I'm beginning to do). Plan B - Quorn Pi...

Weights & Step As much as I wanted to run today, I knew there was no getting up early enough to do so. Monday's are hard enough without getting up at 5 am to run. Yawn ... So, today I did my weights at lunch then cardio after work. Weights were pull muscles (biceps and back). I did 3 sets of 8 reps of the following: Biceps : Alternating curls Cross-body curls Zottoman curls Back: Single-arm horizontal row Underhand DB rows Double arm rows It was a pretty good workout. I felt pretty strong today for some reason. Love it when that happens. My legs were pretty sore from yesterday's workout, so I opted for a lower intensity cardio: Cathe's Low Impact Circuit - Cardio Only Premix plus abs. It was a great workout and helped to loosen up my legs. KIND Review I have been very remiss with my review of the KIND bars that I won from Jill @ My So Called Health LIfe . I won the Nut Delight. I don't know why, but I expected it to be a tad softer...