Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Ah, Running

First, I apologize for not posting last night.  As I (think I) mentioned in a previous post, I'm not going to stress myself out about posting daily.  I work a lot, I volunteer a lot, and I am just busy a lot.  And, when I'm not busy, I kind of want to hang out with The Boy.  So, that's what I did last night.

When I say I'm not going to stress about posting every day, though, I am actually going to try and post a few times a week.  No more three-month sabbaticals for this girl.

One reason I didn't post yesterday was because I was so darn busy working out and eating healthfully.  Oh yeah, get at me.

I started the day off with a delicious Almond Joy smoothie, courtesy of the Abs Diet.

Speaking of the Abs Diet, I think I may have given the cookbook some love:


How much longer do I have before it falls apart all together?

For a morning snack, I brought a small granny smith apple and a piece of string cheese.  (It's been a while since I've had string cheese, and whoa: it's so darn good.)

For lunch, I ate Amy's Organic Tortilla Casserole and Black Bean Bowl.  It was soooooo good.  And, despite the sodium content, pretty darn healthy for a frozen meal.  I do believe I'll be eating this again.

Source
For an afternoon snack, I had half of a Fiber One bar.  I swear: those things are candy in disguise.  I just wasn't super hungry and didn't want to get stuffed before my workout.

Yes, I said workout.

Since it was 85 degrees below zero (or, okay, like a 15-degree windchill or something), I headed to the Y for the first time in months and hopped on the treadmill.  I was mildly dreading the run since a.) it had been 49 days since my last run, and b.) it was inside on a treadmill (blech).

However, I cranked out two miles fairly easily.  And, I even chatted with an SRDM friend for quite a while without panting like a dead dog.  (I am fully aware that dead dogs don't pant.  It just sounds good.  Lay off.)

Also, I loved the Galloway method.  I did three minutes jogging, one minute fast walking, and felt great.

I know I'm not fast.  Shut up.
After my run, I headed to the mats to crank out 25 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, two 30-second planks, and 25 squats.  All of them (except for the sit-ups) were tough, but I did 'em!  And I'm feelin' 'em today!

I headed home and whipped up a delicious dinner: homemade Chipotle burrito bowls, courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats.  One of my vegetarian friends was coming over for a meeting, and this was a super easy dish to make for both vegetarians and meat-eaters.

I enjoyed a glass of wine with KB, and I'm not going to lie: when The Boy and I were watching TV, I may have had some popcorn.  But, at least it was popcorn, not flaming hot Cheetos.

Today, I made something new for breakfast: the French Toast Breakfast Scrambler, courtesy of Carrots 'n Cake.


It sounds crazy: essentially, it's a banana and some spices mixed in with scrambled eggs.  

But seriously.  Make it.  Tomorrow.

It was yummy, and it kept me full until lunch - which was good since the apple I had brought for a snack made it about two bites until I decided that it was absolutely disgusting.

For lunch, I had a leftover burrito bowl, and I'm pretty sure it was just as good today as it was last night.  

Side note (since I just remembered): I always have a mug of coffee in the morning, and lately I've been bringing my go cup of water with Crystal Light packets.  Interestingly, teaching is not the most convenient profession for using the restroom since I can't just leave a classroom of 30 14-year-olds by themselves.  I'm pretty sure I got some good workouts sprinting across the school during our five-minute passing periods.

But I digress.

After school, I ran some Christmas errands!  Yes, I am absolutely obsessed with the holiday this year.  It's always been my favorite holiday, but for some reason, I am way more excited than normal this year.  All I want to do is buy stuff for people, listen to Christmas music, and wrap presents.  In fact, as we speak, this is going on:

The Pandora Christmas station is wonderful.
I even listened to Christmas music on my run this evening.  I mean, nothing says "work it harder" than O, Holy Night.

Speaking of running, I actually ran outside today.  My errands took a little longer than I anticipated, and since I had to go to Walgreen's to pick up some photos, I decided to run there as part of my two-mile run.  It wasn't the greatest idea since it was super dark outside (and uphill the whole way back), but it was totally worth it to be outside rather than on the treadmill.  And even though it was pretty chilly, I was drenched in sweat when I got home.

Unfortunately, that meant that I hopped in the shower prior to doing my sit-ups, push-ups, planks, and squats.  Oh well.  I'm pretty sore anyway.  And, frankly, I think my hip flexors need a bit of a break.  They're pretty sore, and since I've had problems with them in the past, I'd better take it somewhat easy.

I currently have Chili Mack with Jack cooking on the stove, and I'm waiting for The Boy to get home from work.  What do you think the chances are of convincing him to watch a Christmas movie tonight?  :)

Also, I wanted to warn you: tomorrow my workout schedule says that I'm going to Y-Pump at 5:10 a.m.  I'm already not planning on that, as I have had two really crappy nights of sleep, and I think the extra 90 minutes will be really beneficial tomorrow.  We'll see if I can squeeze something in between school and my evening obligations.  

No promises.

Peace out.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Back. Again.

I swear: I was fully intending to blog regularly this time around.  But, I guess when you head to Vegas, quit CrossFit, spend Thanksgiving in Omaha, eat too much junk food, and get super busy at work, blogging kind of takes a back burner.

And, I've felt pretty crappy in regards to self-esteem lately.  (I'd like to give a shout-out to Cheetos and no exercise and five pounds of weight gain.)  A lack of self-esteem does not leave for positive entries on a healthy-living blog.


However, I have decided to take matters into my own hands and get back to blogging - and healthy living.

And I'd like to tell you how I plan on making that happen.

First, I have planned a hugely busy (in regards to races) spring.  In a matter of five weeks, I will be tackling three big races: the Drake Relays Half Marathon, the Lincoln Half Marathon, and Dam to Dam (20k).  Leading up to that, I have three smaller races planned: the Red Flannel Run (5k), Loop the Lake (10k), and the Glow Run (un-timed 5k).  I will also likely do Gladiator Assault again (5-mile trail run with over 30 crazy obstacles).

Interestingly, I have not run at all since the marathon.  Two months ago.

So, I put together a fairly structured exercise schedule that starts tomorrow and that I will be sharing with you weekly:

  • Monday: run two miles
  • Tuesday: run two miles
  • Wednesday: Y-pump
  • Thursday: run two miles
  • Friday: Y-pump
  • Saturday: run three miles
  • Sunday: yoga
In addition, every day I will be doing 25 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, two 30-second planks, and 25 squats.

I am going to try really, really hard to stick with this, and rest assured, I will post here how it's going.

Second to exercise, I am planning to eat much healthier.  This means that when The Boy is enjoying Cheetos and Oreos while we're watching TV together, I will not.  Rather, I will eat healthier options: pretzels, light popcorn, apple slices, etc.  

Again, in order to stick to healthy-eating, I am working on weekly meal plans.  Those have worked tremendously in the past, and although they take a lot of time up-front, they make meals during the week so much easier.  Like before, I am hoping to follow the Abs Diet as closely as possible.  It just makes sense.

So, here's this week's plans:
  • Monday: 
    • Almond Joy smoothie
    • Apple + hard-boiled egg
    • Healthy Choice rice bowl (only because I will not have leftovers for lunch)
    • Fiber One bar
    • Chipotle rice bowl
  • Tuesday:
  • Wednesday:
    • Virgin Cabo Daiquiri
    • Apple + hard-boiled egg
    • Chili Mac with Jack
    • Minimal consumption of junk food
      • Holiday social at work
      • Potluck for bowling league
  • Thursday:
    • Two-ingredient pancake
    • Apple + string cheese
    • Amy's rice bowl (again, only because I will not have leftovers for lunch)
    • Fiber One bar
    • Sausage, grape, and pasta skillet
  • Friday:
    • Almond Joy smoothie
    • Apple + hard-boiled egg
    • Sausage, grape, and pasta skillet
    • Fiber One bar
    • DATE NIGHT!
Like before when I was so successful with healthy eating, I am planning on logging each and every morsel with My Fitness Pal.  Again, it. just. makes. sense.

I am not doing this "crazy" diet and exercise plan in order to lose weight.  I am simply doing it to feel better.  It's a wonder what that can do.

See you tomorrow!  :)