I finally moved on from my gouda apple sandwiches. It took me a few months. But I think I found a replacement — still involving fruit.
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/4 c craisins
1/4 c walnuts
8 oz plain yogurt (I like Kalona organic)
Dash of pepper
Mix ingredients together and chill. Can be used for sandwiches or on lettuce for an amazing salad (no dressing!).
I borrowed my friend Molly’s dog, Bailey, for a run yesterday and I didn’t realize just how much fun it would be puddle-jumping and stomping in some mud with a dog. Bailey is a very athletic dog, and it would take an olympic athlete to keep up with her when she’s got the zoomies. My run is her gallop speed.
I didn’t have any idea how far we went, but when I got back I mapped the course. We ran 7.41 miles. Which is the LONGEST run I’ve been on in I can’t even remember how long. I’m thinking since the half marathon last April. Usually I run 3-5 miles a couple times a week nowadays (as opposed to my 8-10 a day 3 years ago). I try to do a longer 6-7 mile run on the weekend.
I hadn’t planned on any specific distance — we just ran. I had planned on running until the dog was worn out or until I was entirely too cold. She won. She didn’t get tired.
I returned her to Molly covered in mud, but she was a happy doggie!
My favorite post-workout snack is a faux chocolate malt. And I think I’ve finally perfected my recipe.
1 frozen banana
3-4 ice cubes
3/4 c milk (I use soy milk)
2-3 T Rich Chocolate Ovaltine (or malt flavored OR if you’re feeling naughty, Nutella)
Put ice cubes and banana into blender and add milk. Pulse blender to crush ice and banana. Blend until smooth. Add chocolate and blend until combined. Serve immediately.
If you’re needing some extra protein, add a tablespoon of almond or peanut butter (I like almond better) or use a chocolate-flavored protein powder in place of the ovaltine.
Remember that time I said I hate treadmills? Well … I have a date with a treadmill today. I run an hour to an hour and a half on Saturdays and the last few Saturdays have been pretty crappy outside. I thought I’d take the opportunity to get a good interval workout in since that’s kind of my theme nowadays.
Behold. I wrote another workout. I’ve done this before, except I think it was a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 minute thing instead of a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 minute thing. Fun times. My high school boyfriend and I ran this on the cross country course back home when I started running. He was trying to make me get faster.
Note that since you’re running for a longer time that the bursts of speed are a little less speedy. Feel free to adjust if you feel like you could kick it a bit faster.
It’s that time of year that everybody is magically all of a sudden concerned with their health and fitness.
I’m not immune to this trend. I’m generally pretty concerned, but I’ve been half-assing it lately.
I run. (Not) a lot. I laugh because what used to be a short run for me is now a long run. I do 1-2 short runs per week and 1 longer run on the weekend. I try to keep in shape.
But, what’s the point of working out without a purpose? Unless of course you’re having fun — not going to lie — sometimes I do have fun running.
I hit the treadmill today. I HATE TREADMILLS. I would much rather be out in the -10° weather (did that over break) with ice pellets hitting me in the face (did that too). However, treadmills are great for working out with a purpose — you can control speed and incline. I’m a huge fan of just pushing a button every quarter mile to keep boredom at bay.
Regardless, did you know that interval training is the BEST way to blast fat? And it helps you pick up speed in your regular runs.
So I did an interval workout today. And I’m sharing it with you in hopes that you might try it out. You don’t have to go as fast (or slow) as me. Do what you’re capable of. But do it. With intention.
Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve done a Humpday Blog Love post.
This week’s Humpday Blog Love goes to one of my favorite local ladies: Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats.
Kristin has been on a fabulous vacation in Italy for the last several days (I’m so jealous!), but she is a foodie who’s into being healthy and fit. Her blog includes a lot of recipes, ideas for food combinations, reviews of local (and far-away) restaurants and foods, fabulous traveling escapades and tips for running/walking/working out. I’m always inspired by her — she’s healthy and fit, but isn’t afraid to eat what she wants — good food is good food.
So thanks for the inspiration, Kristin! Be sure to check out her blog, Iowa Girl Eats.
I’ve got 3 more invites if anybody would like them. Just drop me an e-mail.
I may or may not have stolen this idea from my friend at Domestica.
Regardless, I’m doing it.
Recently I was invited to a wonderful community where people can curate and share things that they love with one another. It’s called Pinterest. It was pretty much what I used to use tumblr for, but better. It’s like visual bookmarks for things I want to come back to. Not to mention, it’s helped me find all sorts of new things that I love to look at.
Here’s something lovely I found and posted on my designy board.
However, Pinterest is invite-only for now. BUT: I have 5 invites to give away!
Interested yet? I know I would be. How do you win?
Well … let’s see here … how about we make this contest about social networking — since that’s what Pinterest is about. To enter, comment on this post and tell me your favorite social networking site and why I should use it.
Good luck! I’m closing the comments at midnight on August 15 and a winner will be posted that day (winner chosen with the random integer generator).
Since it’s been a MONTH since I ran the half marathon I’d been training for since February, I thought I should probably post the results.
First off — I need to re-calibrate Nike+ SUPER hardcore bad. It was almost a mile off when I finished (so I run faster than the device tells me that I run).
Here’s my results via nike+
and here are my official results
I finished 23rd in my age group, 73rd in my gender and 321st overall. There were 353 women and 863 participants overall. I’m not sure how many people were in my age division, but if I would have hit 1:45 (the time I was shooting for) I would have been in the top 10.
To compare, here are my results from 2 years ago, the first time I ran the race.
I finished 208th in my gender and 32nd in my age group.
However, if you notice, I SHAVED 20 MINUTES OFF MY TIME. So really, that’s the big news. I kicked ass.
I forgot to mention that my friend Kelly awarded me a bloggity-blog award! The SUNSHINE award. 
Apparently that means that she likes me. It also means I’m supposed to award it to five other bloggers who I think are awesome. And it means that I have to tell you five things. I guess.
