Where's the Beach?

I don't know about you, but when it's hot out, I tend to crave more watery fruit like pineapple. We've also been grilling most days, especially while we were painting the kitchen cabinets. Since I just happened to have a pineapple on hand, I decided to come up with a way to grill it. At first I had thought about sandwiches, but I ended up going with a quinoa salad instead using tempeh and veggies. I wanted to try to infuse more of the pineapple flavor in the tempeh while it poached, so I also made a puree of the pineapple. Grilled Pineapple Tempeh Quinoa Salad Ingredients: 1 pineapple 1 package tempeh - cut in half then lengthwise for 4 pieces 1 not-beef bouillon cube 2 cups water (or broth and minus the bouillon) 2 tbsp minced garlic 1-2 jalapenos, seeded if you prefer less heat Small nub of fresh ginger 2 bell peppers (I used green and yellow) 1 large zucchini, cut into thick strips 1/2 cup quinoa (I used red) 2 cups water Directions: Turn on your grill...

Miles and Miles   Happy Tuesday! Don't know about you guys, but I'm super excited for a short week. I'm also super excited about a major cool down we have had here. Last week it was 100+ degrees. Then over the weekend we had a cold front move through. Usually a "cold" front at the end of June means 95 degrees instead of 105. But this time? For real cold front.  We actually have low temps again. As in 65 degrees low. A-mazing! Let's just say I've covered a lot of miles recently. Sunday Jason and I biked about 27.5 miles. Then yesterday another 20.4. Lots of miles being covered here. The only downfall of this cooler weather is crazy winds that are bringing it in. This morning I managed my first double digit run since mid-May. I got in 10 fantastic miles and it looked like I had run not swam. I got a little over 3 in then met up with Amy for 4 before finishing out the rest of the miles. Oh, another perk of the cooler temps? A speedier run that didn...

Gym Day Today was a gym day for me. I would have loved to have gotten out for a run instead, but it was raining at the time of my break. Of course, the rain would have felt pretty good during a run I must say. I went with supersets of 3 x 8 for back and triceps today. I should have added in chest but was being a bit lazy I'll admit. And, I'm kind of glad I stuck with back and tris because the weight area got crazy busy with a bunch of guests from a nearby hotel. A little annoying. I think I say that a lot huh? Anyway, I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical than ran over to claim a spot before all the benches were taken. I did have to shoo two guys off the assisted pull/chin up machine. They were just standing there leaning on it looking out the windows. SS#1 Assisted wide-grip chin ups Double-arm overhead triceps extension SS#2 Double-arm row Triceps pushdowns SS#3 Pullovers Double-arm kickbacks I also added in 3 sets of 10 reps of low back extensions. I...

Back & Shoulders Today was a gym day for me. I think it's not so much the lifting that I'm bored with so much as my warm up and the scenery. Lately the music has been blasting so that listening to my own iPod is futile. It's hot as hell and fans are scarce. And the weight area has been more crowded. I guess that's because there are virtually no classes so people are either on the cardio equipment or in the weight area. I am growing to loathe the elliptical for warm ups too. The only good thing is that I can read a magazine while I'm on there. Or, maybe I'm just becoming an old grump....I mean, I'm really lucky that the door to the gym is still open right now. So I should change my attitude huh? Source: favim.com via Nour on Pinterest Anyway, today was back and shoulders. I decided to not do any dropsets this week, so back to regularly scheduled programming - meaning 3 supersets done with 8 reps, 3 times. SS#1 Assisted chinups Arnold p...

More Running Last night I set the alarm clock for 5:19 so we could get up for a morning run. I won't lie, part of me wanted to change the time when I woke up for the 4th time at 3:45. But, I'm glad I didn't reset it. While it wasn't easy getting going this morning, it was worth it. It was only 61 degrees when we started our run. There was a steady breeze so it was chilly at the start. Of course that change within 5 minutes. It always does. For the first 3/4 of a mile we didn't say a word. I don't know why we take this particular route, it's nothing but a long, steady incline. Actually, pretty much any direction we start out puts us hitting an incline early on. So I guess it's best to just suck it up and get it done. We hit the first mile at a 9:14 pace. Not too bad for just waking up. I commented on how light it already seemed. Funny how it's so gradual that it sort of sneaks up on you. The good thing about early-morning runs is that there is ve...

Moving It I had sort of hoped to get in a run at lunch with Jason today. But I definitely needed to rest both my heel and piriformis. So, I hit the gym instead. Since spin is out, the cardio was pretty boring - hello elliptical. I did the elliptical for about 40 minutes then did 3 rounds of a tabata session using kettlebells and body weight. It probably didn't actually help my piriformis one bit, but I couldn't stand the elliptical for a minute longer. It was a super simple workout as I hadn't exactly written it down. I just chose 4 exercises for a circuit that was repeated twice  before a break so each circuit (with break) is 5 minutes. You do each exercise for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest before moving to the next exercise. After all 8, you rest 1 minute. Kettlebell swings Kettlebell figure 8's Alternating front lunge holding kettlebell in both hands chest level Squat thrust with pushups Kettlebell swings Kettlebell figure 8's Alternating ...

Elliptical & Kettlebells Today was another oddly warm day - 80 degrees in March. Rather than hit the gym at lunch, I had to make a quick trip to Target. It was nice being outside even if it was just a quick errand spent mostly in the car. The sunshine definitely helped my mood. I won't harp on it; I feel like it's becoming redundant. But I really had no motivation for the gym. It just felt too nice outside to be stuck indoors. Thank goodness my gym does have a nice view. That helps some. But my PT wants me to lay off spin for now, so that really only leaves me with the elliptical, weights, and the kettlebell tabata that I've been doing (low-impact). In other words, it's kind of hard to get excited about doing something not terribly exciting. I can definitely understand why people stop working out if they aren't doing something they really enjoy. On a positive note, I did pick up some new magazines while at Target. I've gone through A LOT of magazines si...

Running Well, I was all over the place with figuring out the workout plan for today. I had a 4 mile run scheduled (according to the half training plan). Well, it should have been yesterday, but since that didn't happen, it was moved to today. I also wanted to get in triceps and abs, or maybe biceps/triceps/abs along with the run. I had thought that maybe I'd do weights at lunch then the run after work. Then I changed my mind and decided to run at lunch then do weights after work. Does this count as being flexible or just wishy washy? Either way, I got in a pretty quick 4.75 mile run during lunch. Yes, I know I was only supposed to do 4, but I just couldn't resist going through the part of the path that takes you through the shaded, wooded area. It's really like running through the forest. The temps were in the low 70's, but the humidity was up there today. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze coming off the river that helped tremendously. I did push myself a l...

Gym Day This morning I got up and headed to the gym. My gym is in a corporate building on the 29th floor. You have to be let in and sign in and out on weekends and after hours. Well, as I started to sign in, the guard (a real oddball that creeps me out) said I could get my workout in going to the gym. Huh? Apparently the elevators were out from 8-1 today. What? They would have to escort me up the freight elevator and then I'd have to call to be escorted back down when done. Ok, fine, whatever. Except it's really awkward being stuck in the freight elevator with the guard that sort of creeps you out to begin with. Anyway, let's just say I had the gym completely to myself. I got on the elliptical to do my warmup. CNN is was on - and it just happened to be the exact time that the 2nd tower had come down 10 years ago. What a sobering moment it was for me. I am on the 29th floor of a building looking out at a gorgeous day, gorgeous views, and 10 years ago at that same time, ...

Remodeling Snafus Well, the bathroom painting project has definitely gotten more complicated. There was a small amount of patchwork that needed to be done before we could start paining, while Jason had all of that stuff out, he decided to patch a few other spots around the house. We have a very old house (circa 1890) so settling creates cracks here and there. There was one spot that was getting really bad in the entry. When Jason started to poke around, he realized that the person who installed the sheetrock for the ceiling did not attach it to the floor joists properly so there was about an inch space between the sheetrock and the original lathe. There had been a small leak many moons ago that had softened the sheetrock joints, and gravity started taking hold so the whole area was starting to sag as it wasn't attached to anything. Nice right? So now we have a nice whole in the ceiling where Jason had to pull down all of the sheetrock so that he can properly attach new sheetr...

Resting Last night I set out all my running gear and set the alarm for 5am for my typical Thursday morning run. When the alarm went off, I automatically got up and stumbled into the bathroom to change. My hips were sore (mostly left side and not sure what's going on there), my legs heavy, and my heart just not into this morning. I went back to bed sort of feeling a bit guilty for not getting out there and getting it done. Also started thinking about how not running was going to throw off my schedule workouts for the rest of the week. I never really even fell back asleep, just dozed. But you know what, that's what I needed. So no morning run for me. I'll either get a run in tomorrow morning or maybe do something crazy insane like speed work on the dreadmill. At least it's air conditioned at the gym...well, sort of. It gets pretty freaking hot since the treadmills are up in the windows basking in radiant heat. Baking & Grilling Looking at the upside, I had som...

Spinning Back to Normal I totally forgot to take pictures from last nights dinner night with our friends. She made enchiladas (including a vegetarian version for me). Everyone loved the Layered Black Bean and Pineapple Salsa Dip I brought. I will most definitely make this again for gatherings. Today I opted for the noon spin class and worked until 5. I really wanted to go with my friend (she was doing the 5:30 class), but I just didn't want a late evening on a Monday. I'll be honest, I was having kind of a blue day. Not sure why, just was a bit down. I was determined not to let it get the best of me and thought getting to spin mid-day may help me out a bit, kind of take my mind off of things and break up the day. And of course it did. It was a good class, and I was smiling at the end (with the exception of almost being hit in the crosswalk going back to my car). Grilling I can really close to doing another dish with pineapple, but decided to go with the corn on the cob ...

To Enjoy List Follow Up I am loving your comments about the To Enjoy List ! I am going to try to remember to do a follow up next week to see where you guys are at on your lists. I did knock off one thing from my list already - enjoy gardening. After dinner, I got outside and let the rose bushes attack me...I mean, I tried to trim them up ;-) Scratches or not, it was nice to be out there doing that sort of thing. It was hot, but it was better than sitting and watching TV or being glued to the computer. Tonight I am adding "enjoy grilling out" to my list.  Were you able to knock anything off your To Enjoy List ? Teaching Spin Today I had planned to knock off another to-enjoy item - workout with my friend. We were going to meet for spin after work, but she's getting ready to go out of town and wasn't able to meet after all. So, I decided to go during lunch and just stay later at work. I was in for a surprise. I walked in and the first thing I was asked was, ...

Two on Tuesday Today ended up being a two-a-day workout day for me. It's been a really long time since I've done a two-a-day. I used to really enjoy doing a 5-day weight split by doing 30 minutes of weights at lunch then 30 minutes of cardio later in the day (major pick-me-up). But when I started increasing my running distances, this just became too much. It wasn't an hour total, it'd be more like an hour and a half. Time this week, however, is minimal. I have so much going on and may end up having to use Saturday as another rest day rather than a run day. So, I figured a two-a-day today wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. I really wanted to get some weights done and to run. It's just way too nice out not to get in a run. But I didn't want to skip out on weights this week either. I know you're probably thinking that I could just do weights Thursday and Friday, and I likely will. But I am splitting up the muscle groups and will do the other split ei...

Gym Day Today I hit the gym for another upper body workout. I did supersets of 3x8, starting with the elliptical for 10 minutes. Pushups for warm up - 24 SS#1 Incline bicep curls Underhand barbell rows SS#2 Double-arm overhead triceps extension Standing dumbbell shoulder press SS#3 Staggered flat bench dumbbell chest press (start at top, pause halfway down, pause all the way down, pause halfway up, then all the way up = 1 rep) Rear delt flyes I did some ab work then another 10 on the elliptical. I had a pretty good weight workout. However, the weight area was super crowded today. Sometimes I'm amazed at people's lack of personal space. Busy Busy Tofu Thursday Tomorrow will most definitely be a rest day. I've actually gone over on my days worked in a row. I don't feel fatigued, like not desperate for a rest day, but I know it's time. Glad to be back on my Friday rest day schedule. I have something fun planned for tomorrow night. Of course, that ...

Redeeming Run Today turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day. For a change we didn't have winds gusting hard enough to nudge you over just standing. Of course this meant a run. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. I will admit that I was honestly nervous about running today. Saturday's windy, humid, hot run kind of scarred me a bit. I know it's a little silly, but if you run and have had a bad one, then you know how it goes. Thankfully, I had a redeeming 6.5 mile run. It was a little warm, but the breeze was just about perfect. It was a little strong on the return, but I was getting pretty warm and didn't mind at that point.  I got home, stretched and rolled on my Triggerpoint Therapy Kit . Luckily, I had no pain during my run other than a little bit of calf tightness. Grilling Out Since it was so nice out, we decided we needed to grill. We had plenty of veggies. I was opting for a Grilled Veggie & Tempeh Salad and Jason was wanting a Gri...