Monday, March 29, 2010

Brazil in the suburbs...

Check out this new store that popped up next to my local Publix grocery store.




No, not the dance studio, the Brazilian wax place. I live in metro Atlanta, very middle class, not the area I would think would be a hot bed of waxing. Maybe I am sheltered. Is there really such a market for Brazilian waxing out there that would require its own store? LOL... Oh and, there is a table set up in the front window. The kind you might lie on for this service. Surely it is display only ;)

In other news, I won an awesome box of Glo bars in a raffle last week. Yum, yum. Globakery.com if you want your own!





The weekend was full of work, naps and tennis here and there. I am officially launching into marathon training mode this week - watch out world!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Perhaps I should change my title...

It seems like I have been doing less "working it out" and more "not working it out" LOL. As they say failure to plan is planning to fail. Sometimes there is just no time to plan. CR spent last weekend in the hospital and the rest of the week kind of snowballed from there. He is back on the mend and doing much better now. The short version is there was a second brain bleed that they did not catch when he was in Florida and he kept passing out at home thus the second trip to the hospital. All is well, all is calm now. :)

I did make it to boot camp a couple times this week. Trainer Herb has now committed the Warrior Dash as well. Apparently, the event was so popular they have added a second day. It is nice to have a partner in crime interested in prepping for the event!

Runner friends, I promise I will get back to running soon and have lots to tell as I try to get back in shape. For those of you paying attention, I added a couple more races. The Skirt Chaser 5k in May. How can I turn down a race that gives you a running skirt as part of your entry fee? The bigger race is the Chickamauga Marathon in November. This will be my first "smallish" marathon (as opposed to the Uber-commercial Disney and Flying Pig). Truly looking forward to it!

Did everyone know it is Strawberry Season? I picked up a couple of pints at Publix this week, straight from Plant City, Florida. Check out the size....



No, my hand is not freakishly small. These are gi-normous! Interesting bit of trivia about CR. Back in the day, he used to skydive in to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City as part of the festivities. His brush with fame was skydiving in to one of the concerts and handing a pint of strawberries to Tammy Wynette. Told you he was a dare-devil. Remind me to tell you about the time Evil Knievel rode past us on his Harley at Daytona Speedway...

I am hoping these brain bleeds are not affecting CR's eating style. You know how he eats the same thing day after day after day? Today, he told me he was tired of chicken soup. Uh oh. He normally LOVES this soup. Here's hoping he recovers soon or learns to cook! In the meantime, here is the super easy soup that he has tired of... My version of chicken and dumplings. Not like your Grandma used to make but close, easy, and something someone might eat for days (unless they have a brain injury..)

1. Grab one of those rotisserie chickens from the store. Pull off as much chicken as you can and put it to the side. Cover the carcass with water and bring to a boil. Sometimes I toss in another chicken breast or two to make it meatier. Add salt and pepper to taste. Boil for 25 minutes.



2. Pull the carcass and chicken breasts from the broth. Discard the carcass. Chop up the chicken breast meast. Add that and the meat you save in step 1 and add it to the broth. At this point, I usually toss in some peas and carrots. I have a thing about color in my food. Oh and, nutrition and all.

3. Open a can of bisuits. I use these...



One by one, flatten each biscuit and cut into smallish pieces. Not too small or you won't have any dumplings. Add the pieces to the boiling broth. Slightly stir them in but not too much.

4. Let this cook uncovered for about 30 minutes on a low simmer. Voila. Chicken and dumplings. Sort of.



Hope you had a great weekend! Congratulations to all the ING Atlanta finishers today!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Happy Weekend...

Grains of Goodness Winner... Hannah! Send me your address and I will get your prize pack shipped off to you.

Friday Bootcamp... Herb (trainer) has made it his personal mission to ensure that I am ready for the Warrior Dash in May. There was talk of an obstacle course being set up at Lifetime Fitness for training purposes. My fellow campers and I are suffering as a result. I believe they secretly wish I had signed up for the marshmallow dash instead as it might require less training.

Weekend Eats... I impressed myself with easy-peasy 5 minute granola bars. A tiny bit sticky to make but I think they are worth it. I usually eat a granola bar on my way to bootcamp in the morning and these are a cheaper alternative. They are chewy (as opposed to crunchy), not supersweet and have a nutty flavor that I like. All in all thumbs up.

The recipe came from FANNEtastic Food. Check it out...

Ingredients:

1 & 3/4 C rolled oats
1 C crisp puffed brown rice cereal (I used Kashi)
3/4 C seeds (I used 1/4 C each of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds)
1/4 C finely ground flaxseed
1/4 C unsweetened coconut
1/2 C brown rice syrup
1/3 C creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
* I also added 2 T of mini chocolate chips and am thinking craisins might be a nice addition too.

Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Mix them together. In a separate (microwave safe) bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, then microwave them for about 20 to 30 seconds. This will make it easier to mix and add to the dry ingredients since it’s really sticky!

Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix! Keep mixing until the wet binding ingredients are as well distributed as possible. Put some muscle into it! Then, put the mixture into a shallow pan and flatten it down. Refrigerate. Done and done!



I had a little Ying and Yang moment in that while I was making over the top healthy granola bars, I also made some fudge brownies with peanut butter frosting. Dear Lord, the frosting was good.



This recipe came from How Sweet it is... She has some really great looking food that makes you want to cook and bake all day every day (or at least I do since I love that sort of thing). Give it a read.

And in case you were wondering if I was ever going to start running again... After a hiatus of who knows how long from any sort of schedule, Hal Higdon and I are now in a relationship or at least until the Goofy Challenge. Hal and I have been through a lot together. If asked, he will not know who I am but I am all too familiar with his plans. I used him for my first half and have complete faith in him to get me through the Goofy (or Dopey now...). I have it all on paper.



I love the pencil and paper approach to my running plans. I know there are probably all sorts of assorted phone apps or online tracking programs but for me I prefer to see it all one month at a time on paper. Call me old fashioned. :)

Have a great end to your weekend. I am off to take out the trash. Our trash is picked up on Monday. How cruel is that? Something about it really marks the end of the weekend. Maybe it is just me.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Boot Camp Scars, Food and a Giveaway...

Today's workout was Boot Camp. There were only minor injuries. :) Long story but I almost got decapitated at Lifetime Fitness on Monday with a flying cable from the shoulder press machine. Picture yourself holding the cable from a shoulder press machine in your left hand around a stability ball while facing sideways and twisting to the left. Now picture said cable going flying up and over the ball then across your neck. Near decapitation. Minor scratches and a few drops of blood were spilled. It looked like I might have been held at knifepoint at some point during boot camp and forced to do crunches. I consider it practicing my warrior ability for the upcoming Warrior Dash. Battle scars. Cool, yes?

In running news, I have added a third race to my Goofy Challenge in January 2011. Today I decided to make it a "Dopey" and tack the 5K on which runs on Friday. Now I will have the 5k on Friday, the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday. Can't wait! I am pretty sure I have talked one of my friends into doing it as well. Now I just need to get moving or it will be a couch to 5k program for me!

(I read this week that unwritten blogger law states you are to be brief and stick to one topic. Since I have never followed blogger law before, why start now... My apologies but keep reading if you want to win!)

As someone who has recently tried to embrace more healthful eating, I have found that it is not always easy or obvious. CR and I were at a restaurant a year or so ago. This restaurant was a little upscale for us as there were no peanut shells on the floor. We were presented with a bowl of edamame in their little pods. Having had no experience with such things, we ate a few - shell and all. Not that great. Upon reflection, months later, I realized that we should have just eaten the beans without the shell. They looked like sugar snap peas, it was confusing! Oh well. Live and learn. I had a similar experience with pumpkin seeds. Who knew they were like sunflower seeds and needed to be shelled? I didn't. I also didn't get why everyone liked them...until I tried one without the shell. LOL.

I don't know if you have noticed but a lot of foods these days now have the whole grain stamp. The idea behind the stamp is to make whole grain easy to identify so you can incorporate it into your diet. The recommendation is at least 3 servings per day or about 48 grams. The 100% stamp means all the grains in the product are whole grains while the basic stamp means you are getting a half serving of whole grains.





Why do we care? A whole grain is made up of 3 parts: bran, germ and endosperm. If you get all three then you get more protein, fiber and minerals. When an item is not whole grain, you are typically just getting the endosperm which is mostly the carbohydrates without the extra B vitamins or as much of the fiber. Voila. It is that easy. There is tons of information online about it. Check out Whole Grain Nation and check your Whole Grain IQ and pick up a coupon for $1 off. Turns out I am a Whole Grain Diva. Who knew?



So I think I mentioned that cereal+yogurt+fruit = TRUE LOVE ALWAYS in my book. Look at this cool Fit & Fresh cereal bowl. If you like mine, you are in luck because General Mills through MyBlogSpark has given me one to give to one of you too! Can I get a WOO HOO?



You can put fruit in the bottom, the nifty ice ring to keep the yogurt cold and then the cereal dry in a separate compartment up top.



Oh, and, a cool spoon that snaps into the lid!



The Grains of Goodness Prize Pack comes with:

- A cereal mug
- Coupons for TWO FREE boxes of General Mills Cereal
- A Fit & Fresh container
- And more!

If you want to win the coolest yogurt holder EVAH (I think it probably would work for salads too but we will stick with the cereal theme ...), leave me a comment with your best tip for working whole grains into your diet. For extra chances, become a follower and/or link my giveaway on your blog.

I will choose a winner on Sunday. Good Luck!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

A little of this, a little of that...

Last week really did not go as planned. Thursday, I picked hubster up at the airport. At the Atlanta airport, essentially you meet all incoming people at the top of a bank of escalators. It is sort of a red carpet affair, family and friends are standing behind ropes anxiously trying to spot their loved ones as they get off the escalator. In my case, I knew CR would be coming up on the elavator in a wheelchair so had my eyes peeled. I had no doubt I would recognize him. When he did get off the elevator, I felt bad because I didn't immediately recognize him. It was a weird glimpse of his possible elderly future. He looked tired and in pain. Not the cheery face I expected. The skycap wheeled him out past baggage claim and waited with him while I pulled the car around. Really nice.

Once we got home, he made his way to bed. Initially, I had him propped up on about 18 pillows. He had to get up and go to the bathroom then we made the ill-fated decision to lie flat. It turns out when you have four ribs broken in the back, it is next to impossible to get up from a lying down position. Who knew? At one point, I thought we were going to have to call 911 to get him up. Once he did power through the pain and get upright, we knew he was going to have to sleep sitting up that night.

As luck would have it, we had found the perfect lounge chair during his leg surgeries and knew that is what would work this time too. The chair pivots up to a seated postion and then back to a lying down position. Perfect. Unfortunately, his chair was in Daytona in his truck that is to be driven up here this week. A quick trip to Wal-Mart later and we had a chair! I am soooo thankful they happened to have one or who knows what we would have done. Crisis averted.

I ended up staying home with him Friday as he was essentially unable to get up and down unassisted. Over the weekend, he has become a little more mobile which is great so I can go to work tomorrow and not worry about him. I am told he went off of the right side of the motorcycle and did some flipping finally landing on his head with his right arm kind of crumpled behind him. Now that he is feeling better, he is a little disappointed that no one took a picture. Boys.... He is definitely thankful to be alive as it could have been so much worse. A bruised hip, four broken ribs, and a bruised brain none of which required surgery. Someone was definitely watching out for him that day.

Saturday morning, after getting CR showered and situated, I was able to go to a tennis match. I actually had 2 this weekend. One Saturday and one Sunday. Two BIG wins - WOO HOO! The first was 6-0, 6-0 and the second was 6-1, 6-2. These were both in the league I want to do well in. I have 2 leagues I play for singles, one is for practice and one I take seriously. The one I take seriously has had me trudging away at the same level for far too long. I am hoping with my 2 wins this weekend, I might have opened the elevator to take the ride to the next higher level! It is still early but looking hopeful!

Here is a funny story... Do you see the small black line/scrape looking thing on the fender?



I noticed it Friday as I was getting the chair for CR. I didn't give it a close inspection but kind of ran my finger over it. To me, it looked like maybe someone had backed into me or possibly a shopping cart thing. It appeared to have a cut in the paint and maybe the paint pushed away a bit. Yesterday, I am putting my groceries in the back and look at it again. Touched it again. IT WAS BIRD POOP. Immediately washed hands, thankful that there was no dent after all! How I thought the bird poop was a dent, I will never know. Clearly, I was tired. :)

CR is in his WalMart Patio furniture lounging and watching the race. I have some cleaning, laundry and prepping food for the week to do. I have a giveaway that I want to do one day this week. A pretty cool food chiller thingy from General Mills. Stay tuned and have a great night!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A little flax, a little sunshine ...




I ended up taking today off from work because I wasnt sure how CR was going to get home and one of the options involved me going to FL and driving him back. Thankfully another, simpler option emerged. It is lovely and sunny out today. One of those days that instantly makes you feel better.

I did a quick tennis workout this morning and came home for lunch. It is interesting to me how my perspective has changed on food lately now that I have been trying to keep it healthier. I find myself having internal debates on whether I really want to stop and get fast food and would it be worth it? In most cases, I would have stopped for something easy on the way home and not thought twice about it. Now, I don't partially because I just don't have a taste for it. All I can say is it is kind of amazing.

For lunch I roasted some asparagus and tossed together a yummy salad.






In other news... Apparently there was a Brady Bunch reunion in the works. It was canceled "earlier in the week, reportedly because of a longstanding feud between Eve Plumb (Jan Brady) and Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady)". Good to know disfunction exists even among the Bradys...

GIVEAWAY ALERT!
Anyone interested in a Calyx sportsbra giveaway? Check out Setting you Free for the scoop!

How about a Kettleworx DVD series? Visit Running off at the mouth!


DO YOU KNOW THE JOY OF FLAX?
In the 8th century, that King Charlemagne believed so strongly in the health benefits of flaxseed he passed laws requiring his subjects to consume it. Flaxseed’s healthy reputation is because of three primary things:

·Omega-3 essential fatty acids, "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.

·Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75- 800 times more lignans than other plant foods

·Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

There are also possible connections to other health benefits include reducing the risks of certain cancers as well as cardiovascular disease and lung disease. Check it out:

Cancer

The lignans in flaxseed may provide some protection against cancers that are sensitive to hormones by blocking enzymes that are involved in hormone metabolism and interfering with the growth and spread of tumor cells. Some of the other components in flaxseed also have antioxidant properties, which may contribute to protection against cancer and heart disease.

Cardiovascular Disease

Research suggests that plant omega-3s help the cardiovascular system via several different mechanisms, including anti-inflammatory action and normalizing the heartbeat. Several studies have suggested that diets rich in flaxseed omega-3s help prevent hardening of the arteries and keep plaque from being deposited in the arteries, partly by keeping white blood cells from sticking to the blood vessels’ inner linings. Lignans in flaxseed have been shown to reduce atherosclerotic plaque buildup by up to 75%.

Eating flaxseed daily may help your cholesterol levels, too. Small particles of LDL or "bad" cholesterol in the bloodstream have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

Inflammation

Two components in flaxseed, ALA and lignans, may reduce the inflammation that accompanies certain illnesses (such as Parkinson's disease and asthma) by helping to block the release of certain pro-inflammatory agents. The plant omega-3 ALA has been shown to decrease inflammatory reactions in humans. And studies in animals have found that lignans can decrease levels of several pro-inflammatory agents.

Hot Flashes

One preliminary study on menopausal women, published in 2007, reported that 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed (taken twice each day) cut the women's hot flashes in half. In addition, the intensity of their hot flashes dropped by 57%. The women noticed a difference after talking the daily flaxseed for just one week, and achieved the maximum benefit within two weeks.

Tips for Using Flaxseed

Many experts believe it's better to consume flaxseed than flax oil (which contains just part of the seed) so you get all the components. The optimum dose to obtain health benefits is not yet known. One to two tablespoons of ground flaxseed a day is currently the suggested dose.

Buy it ground or grind it yourself. Flaxseed, when eaten whole, is more likely to pass through the intestinal tract undigested, which means your body doesn't get all the healthful components. If you want to grind flaxseed yourself, those little electric coffee grinders seem to work best.

Milled = ground = flax meal. Don’t be confused by the different product names for ground flaxseed. Milled or ground flaxseed is the same thing as flax meal. Many supermarket chains now carry ground flaxseed (or flaxmeal). It’s usually in the flour or "grain" aisle or the whole-grain cereal section, often sold in 1-pound bags.

Keep it in the freezer. The best place to store ground flaxseed is the freezer. Freeze pre-ground flaxseed in the bag you bought it in, or in a plastic sealable bag if you ground it yourself. The freezer will keep the ground flax from oxidizing and losing its nutritional potency.

Whole flaxseed keeps longer. The outside shell in whole flaxseed appears to keep the fatty acids inside well protected. It’s a good idea to keep your whole flaxseed in a dark, cool place until you grind it. But as long as it is dry and of good quality, whole flaxseed can be stored at room temperature for up to a year.

Flaxseed is so easy to incoporate into you diet. A little sprinkle here, a little sprinkle there.

Microwave Eggs...

In keeping with my recent love for trying new things, today I poached an egg in the microwave. I know, alert the media. It is something I knew could be done just never have tried it. As you probably guessed, it was pretty simple.

I put about 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl then cracked the egg in the bowl. Make sure you loosely cover as there was some popping. I microwaved for 1:10 but I think a little less would have been better.

Check out the finished product:




Not exactly ready for the cover of a magazine but it worked. I made a sandwich with Arnold's multigrain thins, a sprinkle of cheese and some herdez salsa (salsa on eggs counts as new thing number 2 today by the way...). Not too bad, it was easy, didn't make a big mess to make and something I could do at work if i am ever in a breakfast pinch.

In other news, hubster gets released from the hospital today. Apparently, he was able to keep down a sip of water and lift his head off the pillow so that means you are good to go! I imagine had he not been in another stare away from home, they probably would have released him yesterday. They are recommending he fly home instead of make the 8 hour drive which makes it easier logisitically. I am hoping he can get bumped to first class so he will have a little more room. At least it is only a 90 minute flight.

Have a good Thursday!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Power of Purple...

Today was day 2 of boot camp. My legs were DYING going into boot camp this morning, and were not necessarily DYING but more of a long term care type situation when I left. You know when you have worked out so hard going up and down stairs is painful or the thought of strolling from your office to the restroom 50 feet away makes you rethink whether hydration is really all that important? I dropped my power cord for my phone when I was trying to plug it in. I contemplating letting the battery die rather than do the squat necessary to pick it up. Seriously.

Once I got moving this morning in boot camp, they were better but it was one of those things where you knew you had worked your legs and worked them hard. Boot Camp Herb says it because I do too much running and not enough strength. Clearly. If ever I doubted the need to balance running (or any cardio really) with strength exercises, this confirmed how many muscles aren't being worked by running alone.

Today's boot camp was a hodge podge of everything which is why I love it!

Lunges down one side of the basketball court and back (x3)
Jumping jacks (60 seconds x 3)
Wall jumps (60 seconds x 3)
Running side squats (down and back on the basketball court x 3)
Wide squats up 2 flights of stairs (x 3)
Tricep dips (20 x 3)
Bicycles (25 per leg x 3)
Shoulder presses (30 seconds each arm x 3)
Jumps on the bosu ball (60 seconds x 3)
Cable Standing Row (60 seconds x 3)
A variety of partnered pulling and twisting exercises with exercise bands

I actually burned 100 some odd more calories today than day one, we seemed to have more exercises that got my heart rate going than we did on Monday. All in all a good day and I think my legs will survive!





Today's food offering is brought to you by the color PURPLE (just the color purple, not THE COLOR PURPLE as in the movie, book or broadway musical). Did you know the power of purple? Purple fruits and vegetables contain a variety of phytochemicals important to health that are lacking in the greens, oranges and reds that you normally see on your plate. The benefit to eating purple (and blue) fruits and vegetables are:

Increased Memory Function
Lower LDL Cholesterol
Improved Urinary Tract Health
Reduced Cancer Risk
Encourages Healthful Aging

Next time you are stocking up, don't pass by the blackberries, blueberries, purple grapes, plums, eggplant, or purple cabbage so quickly! This past weekend, as I was whirling up spinach shakes, I decided maybe I should try some other things that I previously thought might not taste too good. In honor of my new food attitude, I had some eggplant.

My first experiment with eggplant was not great. Not bad, I just wasn't impressed. I will say, I forgot to spray the pan with Pam when I roasted eggplant on Sunday so there was a lot of scraping eggplant pieces off the pan and I am sure that didn't help the curb appeal of roasted eggplant. I ending up tossing them on a salad for lunch on Monday.

In light of my less than stellar attempt, I decided to give eggplant another try. Last night was Baked Eggplant Parmesan. I know this is kind of a "been there done that" dish. For someone whose only experience to date was some eggplant remnants scrpaed off a pan and tossed on a salad like yesterday's trash, I thought I would go with something a little more universal. I am so glad I did.

Easy Baked Eggplant Parmesan
(recipe borrowed from Whole Foods)

1 Large Eggplant cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 egg whites (the original recipe called for whole eggs, I just used the whites)
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 T olive oil (I omitted this and just sprayed the pan with Pam)
1 jar pasta sauce
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c Parmesan cheese (I just realized I forgot that last night... ha.. guess I had Eggplant Mozzarella instead of Eggplant Parmesan).

Preheat oven with baking sheet inside to 375. Coat eggplant slices in egg white and dip into the panko crumbs.



Spread oil (or Pam) on the hot baking sheet and place eggplant slices in a single layer.



Bake 15 minutes, flip the slices and bake 10 minutes.



Increase oven temp to 475. In a 8 x 10 pan (I used 9 x 9 and it seemed too big - I am a perfectionist and it didn't seem like they really layered well enough even in the smaller pan I used), layer sauce, then eggplant, then cheese. Repeat, finishing with the cheese.




Bake until cheese melts and is golden in spots, about 15 minutes. (Mine was a little too golden so maybe more like 10 to 12 minutes)





The recipe serves 4 and is about 400 calories per serving. Next time, I will probably use a smaller pan. I went a little light on the sauce and did not nearly use a full jar (maybe a half jar). It was incredibly good. I cannot believe I have not had this before! Please try it...

In other news... One step forward, two steps back. I guess if you could control everything in your life, how would that be interesting? I have grown to hate calls from CR's friends. Granted, I really only have had two. The first was to tell me he had a dirt bike accident and I needed to meet them at the hospital. The second was yesterday.

It was the usual, "Rick is OK but...". Turns out he had some sort of motorcycle accident yesterday in Daytona Beach. It required staples in his head and an ambulance ride. He has a bruise on his brain and four broken ribs. Ouch. I am kind of in limbo right now trying to find out when they will release him. Tonight will be night two in the hospital. He is supposed to have some kind of physical therapy tomorrow mostly because he cannot move without a lot of pain. I am told it took three people to get him to the restroom. I guess my achy quads are nothing to complain about. He always has to "one up" me... :) I guess that is to be expected when you are married to Evel Knievel's long lost brother. Now to figure out how to get him home as Daytona is about an 8 hour drive from here ... Keep him in your thoughts for a quick recovery!

Given the current state of affairs and stress level, I did what any self respecting girl would do... I got my toes done. Welcome Spring! It will be 60ish this weekend. Flip flops, here I come.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Hello Spring?

It is snowing here again. I cannot tell y'all how unusual that is for Atlanta. We just don't get snow like we have this winter. Weird... I keep thinking maybe that means a really warm summer. You know, we have sort of wrung all the cold air out and there is nothing left but warm. Just a theory... :)




By the way, I woke up in a mood today. You have been warned... I intended to get up in order to get to the gym for at least an hour on the treadmill but sleep was too hard to shake off. In the end, sleep partially won but not without a fight. I convinced myself SOME time was better than NO time at the gym today and managed to get out the door to get 30 minutes of cardio in the books.

My legs are hurting pretty good from yesterday so couldn't muster up a run. A hill climb sounded better somehow so I used the incline and pounded out 30 minutes in zone 2 (I have been doing zone based training again). All in all I really wish I had gotten up earlier but sometimes the call of a few more minutes of sleep is too strong to resist!

Part of my mood has to do with the tennis league I am in now. My first 2 opponents couldn't play their match so gave me a free win (on paper it sounds good but I really would have preferred to play). My 3rd match emailed this morning to reschedule our match. Initially, it was a GRR! moment but now that I have had some time to think on it, it actually works out for the best as I have a thyroid biopsy tomorrow (again) and really probably shouldn't be playing a match right after. So, the moral is don't get all crabby about something until you have fully assessed the situation as it might be for the best!

The spinach obsession continues. I very well may be one step away from spinach cookies at this point (or not).

Last night's shake experiment:
2 cups spinach
10 frozen cherries
Scoop of chocolate protein powder
1 c skim milk

Surprisingly good - a must try. If you dare...

Speaking of things that are surprising...





Did you know that ONE Hershey Nugget contains 50 calories? That seems like a lot for one piece of chocolaty, almond goodness. I believe I am more shocked by that calorie content than I am by the girl scout cookies containing 100 calories per cookie for some of their offerings. Granted, it won't stop me from eating them but now I am just a well educated consumer :)

One final thing... As I was eating my lunch yesterday perusing the magazines we keep in the break room, I ran across an article on one of my favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman. Mostly, I love her cooking information but she has a pretty interesting story living on a ranch. It was in Woman's Day March 2010. Very cool.

Monday, March 1, 2010

My arms hurt too much to type...

Seriously. Is there anything better than leaving a work out knowing you are spent? You know, you can barely hold up the hair dryer to dry your hair. Your legs are like jelly walking down the stairs to the locker room and you are wondering if anyone would notice if you were 15 minutes late for work so you could sit in the whirlpool. All signs of an excellent work out!

A month or so ago, I participated in a national calorie burn challenge at Lifetime Fitness. Basically, you just had to log in how many calories you burned that day for a chance to win $50 that could be applied to purchases at Lifetime. They selected 20 members from each club and I was one of the winners from my club. WOO HOO!

I have been missing my boot camp experience and kind of wanted a little kick start so I put my winnings toward a month of boot camp. The thing of it is, once you leave boot camp, it is tough because you still see all your friends taking part and there you are trying to go it alone. Kind of like not being invited to eat lunch with the cool kids. :)

So today, I was back. I KNEW my strength was not where it had been and it showed today. The first round was 3 - 60 second sets each of bench presses, squats with 25 lb weights and triceps dips.

Round two was the same 60 second sets repeated 3 times but this time was leg presses, plank on the stability ball and squats where you swing the 25 lb weights with you arms.

Round 3 continued with the same 60 second format for each exercise repeated 3 times. This time was some kind of ab thing (I am pretty sure that is the official name). You lie on your back with legs lifted slightly and you head and shoulders off the ground and hold for 60 seconds. The other 2 exercises in the group were some kind of side lunge with weights (like swinging a bat) and then regular lunges holding 10 pound weights overhead. The final few minutes were a variety of pushups, mountain climbers, burpees and squats. It was plenty for me!

Luckily, my opponent for my tennis match tomorrow just cancelled as I am pretty sure my arms will be hurting! I am so excited to be back at boot camp even if it is only a month.

By the time I got to work, I was ready for some food so I had my usual vanilla yogurt, grapefruit, pinapple, granola combo. It was the best ever today!

On my day off yesterday, I was experimenting a lot with food so am looking forward to trying some at lunch. I have a white chili along with a spinach salad (I have a serious spinach addiction right now, can you tell?). I roasted some eggplant last night so tossed that with some broccoli and tomato on the spinach for my salad.

I have a run planned for tomorrow AM and then bootcamp again Wednesday. Have a great day!