Monthly Archives: January 2012

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Week 2: Spring Marathon Training

Wednesday: 3 miles (26:50)

Thursday: 3 miles on TM (29:10) / BodyPump

 

My friend Amy and I are currently following Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 Marathon Plan and are on week 2.  We have been running together a few times a week and attending BodyPump class two times a week.  After the snow last weekend, I had to run my 6 mile long run for week 1 on the treadmill.  Our roads were terrible and I refuse to run on ice.  It was raining pretty hard all day today, so we had to run on the treadmill again before BodyPump.  My legs are definitely adjusting to running 4x a week and BodyPump since I took it pretty easy in December.  My appetite is really starting to increase too!  I am trying to foam roll every day and I hope it is okay I’m spending so much time on the treadmill.  The marathon is pretty much completely flat because it is on a trail trail.

 

I was reaaaallllllly happy with my run on Wednesday this week! It was my first time going outside to run in almost a week and I really tried not to look at my Garmin that much.  I decided to just be comfortable and ended up running a 9:09 for mile 1.  Around 1.5 I started to slow down but thought I would challenge myself by aiming for negative splits.  This was also the first time running by myself in awhile and I could run so much faster when I wasn’t talking to Amy.  I definitely think there is value in running with a friend and talking because it makes me so much stronger!

 

I’m also in my second week of my FINAL graduate class!!! WOO HOO!!  I need to stay organized and keep up with my reading.  I end up using my grad books to press my tofu more than I actually read them :)

 

 

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Snowed In Workout

I was extremely excited to not set my alarm this morning and I was able to sleep in until 10:00! I didn’t realize that Colby was up earlier shoveling our entire driveway and front sidewalk.  We got about 4-5 inches of snow overnight and I already planned to run my 6 miler tomorrow with Amy.  We knew there would probably be too much snow for us to comfortably run Saturday.  I spent lots of time working on my grad work today, because this was the first week of my class. This is my final class for my Master’s program!  :)

I did a mix of three internet exercises inside the house today…

I tried and enjoyed the new 20 minute HardCORE yoga class from YogaDownload.com

I tried most of the Tone It Up Ab circuit.  You were supposed to start with a walk and end with a mile run, which I didn’t do inside the house.  You are also supposed to do this ab circuit 6 times! I did it once and I was already sweating after the 20 minute yoga.  The Tone It Up girls are in crazy good shape so I should probably try their workouts more often!

I finished with the new BodyPump 80 ab track.  Our gym does the side planks a little differently by making you raise your top leg at the very end.  Love tough BodyPump ab tracks!

Did snow mess with your weekend long run?

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Vega Sport Nutrition

I was lucky to receive a Vega Sport Startle Bundle from the nice people at Vega Sport to try out!

 

Vega Sport is an all natural, plant-based sports performance system. Their system contains three categories: “Prepare, Sustain and Recover”.  I was very excited to try out their products, especially the “recover” products.  I am always looking for protein/recovery products to try that are dairy-free because of my allergy.  Luckily, all of the Vega products are completely vegan so I was happy to try everything.


Inside the Starter Bundle was a bunch of products, and so far I’ve tried the protein bars and performance protein.  The protein bars are kinda high in calories (240) but are extremely convenient to eat after I run and go to BodyPump on Tuesday/Thursdays.  I really liked the chocolate coconut protein bar and I was not sore the day after BodyPump. P.S. I just started BodyPump release #80 this week and it is crazzzzy! I think the lunges and shoulders are tough!

 

I am excited to try the endurance gel instead of my usual GU when my marathon training runs get a bit longer.

 

Vega is currently running a sweepstakes until March 31.  You can click here and enter to win over $30,000 in prizes.  Maybe you can win a few Vega Sport products to try out while you train for your spring race!

 

 

How do you get ready for your workouts and keep energy up during and recover after?

What are your favorite running fuels?

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Yoga Saturday and Giveaway Winner!

Saturday: 20 minute Power Vinyasa Flow #5

Sunday: will be … 5 miles with Amy

As soon as I publish this post, I will do this 20 minute YogaDownload video. I have been feeling sore lately, so I thought it would be better to push my run back a day and do a little yoga.  I like this one a lot and if you download the 20 minute video, it is free! I love trying them out first to see if I want to purchase a longer video later.

 

I’ve been trying to get organized with this buying your own groceries and cooking thing :)   I know that next week is going to be a tough start to the next few months with my 18 week Hal Higdon plan starting and my final grad class. I kinda came up with an excel chart to combine food, groceries and exercise.  I then hyperlink the recipe to the title so I can just click on it and see the recipe. So far it is going well.  When I didn’t plan, I would go to the grocery store two or more times because I would need to pick things up for a recipe I would find half way through the week. Last night I made black bean burgers that were fantastic.

I promise they taste good. I threw so much onto that roll and it could barely handle the tomato, avocado, pickles, daiya cheese and more.

 

The meatballs I made in the slow cooker earlier this week made a great sandwich and Colby was really happy to have meat. I used ground chicken and followed this Barefoot Contessa recipe.  I added some sweet potato fries too.

Don’t worry, I wasn’t too healthy this week. These things are my weakness. Hands down, best brownies ever. I’m not an ice cream/cake person, but I LOVE brownies.  Colby and I finished the pan in two days. That’s why I try not to make them all the time.

 

I found this hot cereal a month ago at a store for $1.99 and tried it out this morning. It was pretty good and cooked on the stove fast. I added some pb and banana and I’m full.  Look at me turning into a food blog… I promise I will have more running stuff to talk about next week when I start my training plan!

 

The Nasoya Giveaway Winner…

 

 

 

Email me Melinda and we can get you hooked up with your free products! Now you can try some new recipes and learn how to cook it with Nasoya’s TOFU U website. Congrats!

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Nasoya Giveaway!

Nasoya contacted me a few months ago about trying out some of their products and hosting a giveaway.  I waited until Colby and I moved into the new house so  I could use my new kitchen to prepare some tofu-based recipes!  Nasoya makes other food products besides tofu, like noodles, wonton wraps, hummus and Nayonaise.  I’ve tried to use extra firm tofu before, but didn’t really know what I was doing.  After looking through lots of recipes on TOFU U, I found a few recipes to try.

 

After Nasoya sent me some free product coupons, I went shopping at my grocery store’s organic refrigerated section.

 

I’m more confident with the silken tofu because I’ve used it before.  Silken works great in desserts, smoothies and dips. I was a little worried about the extra firm tofu and found a recipe on Nasoya’s site to try.

I used the Crispy Tofu Tacos with Creamy Lime Drizzle from Nasoya to cook the crispy tofu and used an old Pampered Chef recipe card for the taco filling.

I was suprised to use cornstarch as “breading” for the tofu but later realized it was perfect because it absorbed the extra water.  I do wish I would have cut the tofu a little thinner, but it was easy to cook on the stove.

 

Extra firm tofu dipped in egg and worcestershire sauce and then coated in seasoned cornstarch.

 

 

 

The taco/burritos were absolutely delicious.  The tofu was fantastic and I would have never thought to use cornstarch as a breading.  They didn’t have too much taste, so I wish I would have put more seasoning into the mix.  They were nice and crispy inside the taco and I made them for my parents and Colby.  Mom and I ate them while Colby and my Dad ate shrimp tacos.

I also used the silken tofu to make Nasoya’s avocado dip for the tacos.  I’ve made guacamole recipes that use half avocado and half white beans or peas before but they were never as good as this.  My whole family thought it was great and I just threw all the ingredients into the food processor and it was great.

 

I made Mama Pea’s pb blondies with silken tofu for the second time and they always turn out great.  The silken tofu mixes with dark chocolate to make a ganache for the top of the blondies.

Do you want to try a few free Nasoya products? Nasoya is going to give one reader 5 free products (tofu, noodles, wonton wraps, hummus, Nayonaise-anything you want to try!) and some Tofu U gear.  You can also take a pledge on their website to cook tofu once a week for a month and receive coupons.  Their website also has lots of videos and recipes, so definitely take a look.

 

To enter the Nasoya giveaway… leave a comment below telling me your experience with tofu. Does it scare you and you would just go for their other food products? Do you cook with tofu all the time? Do you want to learn how to cook tofu? Let me know! I will pick a winner Saturday morning :)

 

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Dinner Plans

Monday: off

Tuesday: 2 miles on TM, BodyPump

 

Since I have my own kitchen now in our new house, I have been trying to plan healthy dinners for each night.  After going to the grocery store a few times without thinking ahead, I end up going an extra time during the week to pick up extra food.  I would love to be super organized and plan out all dinners on a spreadsheet to make sure I only buy what food we need and I don’t waste anything. I know this might not always be the case because I start both my final grad class and marathon training plan next week.  This will be a busy spring semester!

Tonight, I made Mama Pea’s “Mmmm Sauce” for the first time.  I know I write about her recipes all the time, but they always turn out good!  The Mmmm sauce was a success (mix of chickpeas, almonds, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and more) and I put it on some gnocchi tonight.  I added in Morning Star’s veggie sausage for extra protein and Colby liked the vegan meal.

Looks like a mess in the pan but it was good and very filling.

I’m planning a crockpot recipe for Wednesday and Thursday night.  Colby and I made chicken meatballs tonight to keep in the fridge and put in the slow cooker in the morning with tomato sauce, onions and peppers for sandwiches.  I always use Barefoot Contessa’s wedding soup recipe for meatballs. I never measure anything and only use 1 lb of either ground turkey or chicken and they always turn out great.

I have been cooking a bit more lately and have a giveaway planned for this week! I will post all about it tomorrow and you will be able to enter until Friday.   :)

 

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New Neighborhood, New Routes

Friday: Run with Amy: 3 miles (28:55)

Saturday: BodyPump (1 hour)

Sunday: 4.09 mile run (39:09)

 

My friend Amy and I ran 3 miles after school on Friday in her neighborhood.  We are getting ready to start up an 18 week training plan for a spring marathon.  We are definitely kicking up our workouts after the holiday break with running again and BodyPump.  I went to 3 BodyPump classes this week!! Three classes a week is not my goal… 2 classes a week will fit into my schedule for this spring and is my goal.  I’m definitely feeling better and my appetite is starting to increase with the added workouts!

 

Amy and I with our matchy matchy green Garmins on Friday.  I know, we are too cute.

Our stats while we talked the whole time.  It is definitely difficult to talk to a friend while running at first, but I really think it is a good thing!

Earlier today, Colby and I went out for a 4 mile run in our new neighborhood.  Since we were running separately, I was kinda nervous to go out on new roads.  I’ve actually been avoiding running outside in the new neighborhood because I’m scared the new roads will be busy with cars and I’ll get lost.  Seriously, how horrible would it be if I got lost?!  Colby told me where he was going run and promised me I would like it because the roads were safe.  I decided to go for it and he was right.  I really liked it! It is refreshing trying a new running route and I think I could really add on to it for longer runs in the future.  We are so lucky to have long roads that go through communities of houses with safe roads.  I guess I’ll get more adventurous this spring…

My run from today… I tried to kick up the pace near the very end and was happy to see I had gotten into the 7′s for a little bit!  The big difference between the roads near our new house are hills. I am not a fan of running hilly roads but I think this will be good for me.  Nothing is really flat around here.

Garmin question… does anyone know how to change the intervals for elevation on Garmin Connect??? I really don’t think it was by 250 ft intervals before… and it makes all of my latest runs look flat! There were hills… I promise! Do any Garmin people know how to change the elevation charts???

Colby and I bought a filing cabinet from someone on Craig’s List this weekend because we had bills and house papers everywhere.  We spent the rest of today filing tons of papers and cleaning the house.  I didn’t get the Christmas tree down yet, but it can wait another week. I currently have the lights on while I type on the couch.  Might as well turn it on so I can enjoy the lights a little longer!

Also thought I should mention that Colby just got super excited that I told him it was okay to go to Five Guy’s to pick up a burger.  I seriously think I am the health food police and should probably take it down a notch so I don’t drive him crazy.  I didn’t feel like cooking anything for dinner and have been snacking on chocolate chips and granola. He said he would bring me back some fries :)   I wasn’t that hungry because I made quesadillas for a late lunch today.

Tofu (Colby had chicken) quesadilla with salsa, guac and dairy-free sour cream!!

I found this at our new grocery store this weekend!! I was SO excited because I couldn’t find it before and it has been probably 2 years or more since I had sour cream.  It tasted just like it, which I expected because I had this brand’s cream cheese before and it is good.

I hope you had a good weekend! I’m ready for some more running and BodyPump this week.  I really need to spend some time with my foam roller and stretch more from the extra workouts!  And seriously, does anyone know how to change the elevation intervals on Garmin Connect???? :)

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Spring Workout Schedule

Thursday Workout: 1 hour Zumba and 1 hour BodyPump

 

I tried a different Zumba class at my gym after school today and I wasn’t really in love with it. I just didn’t think it was intense enough so I’ll have to try a different class in the future. I’ve been keeping to my BodyPump goal of 2-3x a week and went both Tuesday and Thursday this week.  I’m getting close to the amount of weight I was using a few months ago when I was going all the time.

I’ve come up with a workout schedule that I can hopefully stick to this spring.  I will start Hal Higdeon’s Novice 1 Marathon Plan on January 17 and want to continue to go to BodyPump.  If possible, maybe add in yoga on the off days.

 

I know that I will not be able to go to 3 BodyPump classes each week, but I know this schedule will help me stay flexible so I can move things around when necessary and get to at least two classes.

 

I used my new Le Creuset dutch oven to make dinner last night.  My Mom got it for me when we moved into the new house.

 

I made the same Chickpea and Dumplings recipe (Peas and Thank You) that I’ve posted a bunch of times already.  It is so good and easy to make! Doesn’t it look pretty in the red dutch oven? Ina would be so proud…

My Mom and I love the Barefoot Contessa (Food Network) and she always has her Le Creuset dutch ovens in her kitchen looking pretty.

 

Not really sure where this post is going… but I’m getting tired! I need to hop in the hot tub to make my sore muscles feel good, shower and get to bed! Have a happy Friday!

 

 

 

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2011 Highlights

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I’ve had so much excitement settling into the new house this past month :)   I am hoping to spend some more time blogging in January and will start an 18-week Hal Higdon marathon plan in a few weeks!

I updated my Exercise Log this morning with my last few workouts.  Not too much running going on over the holiday break, but that will change soon.  I went to my very first Zumba class this past Tuesday night and loved it! I was really nervous but as soon as I relaxed I thought it was fun. I went back to BodyPump on Thursday and was so sore I had to take Friday off.  I went back for another class Saturday and remembered to take a recovery drink after class. I feel a million times better today and I’m hoping to get to class at least 2 times a week this month.

Colby and I bought curtains the other day and he put them up yesterday.  I also had my piano moved to our new house.

2011 Highlights:

*I got engaged!

*We bought a house!

* I ran about 750 miles this year (I had to estimate my treadmill mileage)

*I ran my first full marathon (Pittsburgh Marathon, May 2011)

*I started my blog!

*I re-joined a gym and added different workouts to my schedule

I belonged to another gym from 2009-2010 and quit because they didn’t have classes and I was running outside all the time.  Later, I wanted to try BodyPump and decided to join Golds. Best decision ever. I LOVE bodypump and really enjoy trying new classes.

*I ran 6 races

I ran my first full marathon, two half marathons, one 5 miler and two 5ks. I also updated my Races page with my times from the past year.

Happy New Year!