Honesty time - no pictures, just words

Hi friends and happy last day of November!  I can officially put up all my Christmas decorations this weekend and am SO excited!  I am most definitely NOT one of those people that forgets about Thanksgiving and goes directly to Christmas.  I think November and Turkey Day deserve their time to shine, and then once December 1st hits, I get ready for Christmas. 

Ok, so I need to get honest for this post.  I haven't posted anything in a while, because A. I've been busy lazy (honesty!), and B. I've been scared to actually admit some things, and feel that as long as I don't say them "out loud" its not actually true.

So here's the thing, first off, Thanksgiving was great.  We traveled to Grand Forks, ND to visit Jake's family.  It was so nice to be there for a few days and have the chance to really do nothing - a nice break.  I tried to not make myself feel guilty for eating far to much, and we did manage to get out and run a couple days.  FYI - NEVER run in the flat-lands of ND in the winter, its sucks and I wanted to die.  But we managed 2 runs in the blistering cold.  On the plus side I did get to wear my sweet new running tights!  People could see me a mile away! (they are BRIGHT blue).

However, that week of basically eating whatever I wanted has left me feeling a little on the "puffy" side.  I hate this feeling, I'm bloated, my jeans are tight, and I get really unmotivated to workout and eat right.  I still have yet to strike a good balance, and its been what? almost 2 years?!  Also, if I'm hopping on the honesty train I might as well get it all out.  Basically since I got hurt in October my eating habits and workouts have been all over the place.  Nothing has been consistent, and there are too many times that I tell myself to not workout "just this once", or that I can make and eat a pan of brownies cause " I work out enough so I can afford to".  I HAVE to get back on track.  I don't like feeling this way, I get so down on myself.  I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm not running as much.  I fully believe that my knee is pretty much healed.  My last few runs have been pain free and stayed that way, but for some reason I'm constantly nervous before a run, which causes me to not do it at all.  I have lost my confidence and am not sure how to get it back.  I know its mostly mental, because when we were running in 19 degree weather and into 25mph winds, I was able to keep a 8:20 pace for 6 miles (which is SUCH an improvement from a month ago), so I know I can run, it's just getting past the mental block that I have.

I know I sound like such a debbie downer, but I just need to get this off my chest.  I am not happy with where I am.  Weight wise I know I'm still healthy, but I think all of us have a weight that we are most comfortable at, and mine is about 8lbs from where I am right now. I wear a size 4-6 and am just barely fitting my size 6's right now. I do not say these things for attention, but for people to understand that it doesn't matter where we are in our health and fitness, that everyone struggles with the same things, and we are all a work in progress.  I just hope some people can relate.

Consider this my promise to myself that I will buck up and get back on the wagon.  I have to clean up my eating for the next few weeks and hit all my workouts.  I have to remind myself how good I feel when I'm eating well and working out regularly.  So that might mean I become a hermit for a while ( I kind of already am), choosing the healthy (aka less fun) option when eating out with friends, and moving myself more, not just with structured exercise, but just getting out and doing more activities.  Less couch sitting = less mindless eating.

I am still proud that after almost 2 years, I have been able to maintain my 35lb weight loss, when it can be SO easy to go back, I am proud that I am able to go out and run 8 miles if I want with little effort.  I just need to get my determination back that I once had  With the holidays coming up I want to enjoy them without making myself feel guilty or anything.  I want to feel my best all the time, so I'm going to try my hardest to do that.

Sorry for such the long random post.  Oh, also I'll be back to let you know how I did on my November goals, and make some new ones for December :)

being this lazy is exhausting...

How can it be Thursday already?!  Seriously, this week is flying by, which is a good thing cause each day that passes is one day closer to me stuffing my face with potatoes, turkey and green been casserole.  I'm just warning you now to be prepared for way to many pictures of really fattening food.

Workout:  55 min. bike - hard intervals
                 
Ok, I don't know what is wrong with me, but I haven't gotten up early once this week to workout, and I was actually looking forward to the spin class that I was supposed to get to this morning.  I'm starting to hate myself for it cause I've been feeling super rushed at night.  Getting my workout in after work, making dinner, eating said dinner,  drinking my mandatory 2 mugs of hot chocolate and trying to be in bed by the late hour 8:30pm isn't easy - I might need to take a rest day because of it.  But for real, this has to stop, I feel much more productive when I workout in the a.m and lets be honest - the real reason I'm not getting up is because I'm lazy, and that's not a good reason.  I give myself one more day and I will start fresh on Monday :)

I made this tasty dish for dinner.  Its from the same Oxygen mag. that I've used before.  I've made it a few times and is always good.  So since I'm a HUGE fan of tasty food and think you should be too, I will share the recipe in another post :)

roasted tilapia with baby potatoes and capers

J has been super busy with school lately so I feel like I haven't really seen him much.  Something about wanting to do well on tests and papers, I don't get it, skool is for fools!  We do have some pretty super duper fun plans this weekend so I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with him. I will make sure to document it all so you don't feel left out - I know you would be sad.

Have a great evening guys.  All my favorite funny shows are on tonight, yippee!



Anyone else have green bean casserole or is that just a Midwest thing?

Stuffed Pepper Recipe aka - the best thing you will ever eat

Ok, I made this for dinner the other night and it was SO good.  If I could eat this, along with my apple salad for the rest of my life I would die happy. 

Stuffed Chili Relleno
Makes 2 servings

2 Poblano peppers
1 cup corn
1 cup black beans
1 cup brown rice (dry)
2 triangles Queso Laughing Cow (or other spicy cheese)
chipotle salsa
panko bread crumbs
egg
milk

Preheat oven to 400
Cut a slit in each pepper and take out the ribs and the seeds
Fill each pepper with a 1/2 c. each of the corn and beans
Add in the cheese
Mix the egg and milk in a shallow dish
Put panko in a shallow dish
Dip each pepper in the milk/egg mixture
Dip into panko
REPEAT

Lay the peppers on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 40-45 min,
Cook the rice
Once the rice is cooked place on low heat and add in salsa ( add as much as you want)

Serve the peppers on top of the rice, prepare to have your taste buds to a happy dance!

nothing like a blurry photo to make it EXTRA appetizing

unintentional meatless monday and sleeping in

Happy Tuesday best friends!  Let me recap yesterday before I tell you about today (notice the build-up there?  Like I'm about to tell you something really exciting when in reality its just the same ish different day)

MONDAY

Workout: 40 min. strength DVD
                 20 min bike

I didn't get up early this morning so I did my workout at home today.  I knew I needed to get some strength work in so I did a 30 min. DVD followed by a 10 min. abs DVD.  Then to make it an even hour I hopped on the bike and pedaled to an episode of Seinfeld.  A nice low impact workout so hopefully my run on Tuesday goes well.

Over the weekend J and I hit up Trader Joe's for a few items.  Back before we got Stella, I would go to TJ's every 2 weeks, but since we got her we've had other responsible things to pay for so I haven't been there in forever.  Since when do vet bills trump delicious pita chips, cheap wine and pumpkin butter?!  Well we decided enough was enough and we went.  I stocked up on some favorites which included these,

I swear, these are the BEST veggie burgers ever.  If you haven't had them, go now and get some, they will change your life.  We had them with the worlds best salad.  Seriously, look it up.  The combo of apples,
 craisins, pecans and feta = heaven on a plate.

OH!  and before I forget, I think I made the best dinner of my life over the weekend, I will post up the recipe so you can have it too :)


TODAY

So I couldn't pull myself out of bed again this morning, so I will once again workout after work.  I did pack my gym bag to I can grab it when I go home for lunch and get to the gym right after work.  That way I don't have an excuse not to go.



Workout: TM Run 5 8 miles! BOOM!

OK, so before the gym I was having an inner struggle on whether or not to go.  The negative Nelly side of me was trying to say that I was a big lazy bum and that skipping one workout in favor of couch siting wasn't going to matter cause I'm not in running shape like I used to be, so why even bother.  But the positive side told me that I would feel SO much better if I worked out and that if I skipped I would just feel worse.  So I told myself to grow up, put on my big girl undies and go. So I went.  The first 3 miles were tough - I have found that it really takes me about that distance to really warm up.  After that I was flying.  I had planned a 5 mile run, but once I got going I just thought I would see how far I could go with my knee. Turns out my knee let me go 8 glorious, sweaty miles.  It was awesome and such a confidence booster.  MY knee still feels great which hasn't happened in about a month.  I'm not going to go crazy just yet and keep it low impact tomorrow, but this is a silver lining for me, maybe all is not lost :)

proof I got my rear in gear....so glad I did

 Have a lovely evening friends, I'm currently enjoying some hot chocolate and The Voice :)

Exercising my booty and my right to vote

feeling like a VIP rollin' up to my polling place

Happy Election Day!!  Hopefully everyone already has or will get to the polls to vote today.  This is the 3rd election that I've been able to vote in and I still feel extremely grateful that I have a chance to let my voice be heard, even if the candidate that I voted for doesn't win.  I do make a conscious choice not to discuss politics - not because I think my opinion doesn't matter, but because of the nastiness that unfortunately surrounds it.  I have had to block/hide some people on facebook & twitter this election season for that reason.   I understand we ALL have the right to our own opinion, I just personally feel that it's best to keep things to myself and let things play out they way they are supposed to.  I am all for having polite, educated conversations with those who agree or disagree, but for the most part I think we all need to just put our money where our mouth is and VOTE for who we think can do the best job for our country - I know I did! 

Workout: TM run 5 miles 1% incline
                 10 min. stretch

My plan was to do a "longer" run today to see how everything felt.  I felt really good the whole time.  I even ended my 5 miles with a sub 8 min. 1/2 mile.  Not much, but its something.  Makes me confident that I haven't completely lost everything and I can still run fast if I want.  I told myself to keep it slow for most of the run, but that if I felt good, I could speed up towards the end, so that's what I did.  It still is just so weird that 5 miles at my pace right now isn't hard - I'm hardly breathing hard when I'm done, and the rest of my body definitely feels like it can run longer, its my damn gimp-knee that is stopping me.  I'll get there, its just a strange feeling.

 Dinner tonight was tasty,

pork loin, carrots, taters and bubble water

I will probably stay up way to late watching the election results - even though they most likely wont be finished until tomorrow a.m.  I can 100% guarantee that it will be a massive struggle to get up in the morning, my only motivation is to watch more news coverage as I run.

I will probably need BOTH of these in the morning...

Now I'm enjoying my cookie vote and watching the election coverage - have a great night all!

A day late and more than a few dollars short

* I forgot to publish this last night - whoops, better late than never right!.....right?

Hiya buddies! Happy Monday to everyone :)  Hope you all had a wonderful rest of the weekend and are off to a great start today.  Yesterday was pretty relaxing, slept in (thank you xtra hour!), made waffles, ran some errands, did some couch sitting, and eventually got around to working out.

Sunday Workout:  40 min. stationary bike (2 episodes of Seinfeld)
                             20 min. lower body strength Turbofire DVD

No pictures to document any of this cause I'm lame.  I really need to get better about it, cause obviously if there isn't a picture it didn't really happen.  For all you know I laid around in my pj's eating candy all day...i wish

Today was another early morning at the gym.  Holy potatoes was it hard to get up!  Once I got going I was fine, but I think I could have kept sleeping for another 100 hours.  I swear, if I can get up at 4:30am to get my rear to the gym anybody can!

Workout: 25 min. Octane machine - hard intervals
                30 min. upper body strength/weights
                5 min. abs ( hey, it's better than 0 min.!)

I gave my legs a break from running so hopefully they will be ready to go tomorrow morning.  Since I've started doing more weight training I have realized that I have really lost a lot of strength I used to have, I used to be able to bust out  30 push ups no problem (real ones, none of the on-the-knee-girly ones), now I'm lucky if I can do 12 without needing a break. To me that's enough motivation to stay on top of it - and I have no doubt that it will help my running too.

Since my workout is already done, and J-Bob has to stay late after to work to study, I decided to take the pooch for a walk.  It was either that or eat everything in my pantry - I eat when I am bored so it's always best to keep myself busy.  But first I got dinner going in the ol' crock,



chopped...



proof that I did take a walk!


I got this recipe from an Oxygen magazine, here is the recipe and stats if you want!
Chicken Marrakesh
ready in 4 hrs. - makes 6 servings

1 onion ( I used 2 small shallots)
2 cloves garlic
2 lg. carrots, diced
2 lg. sweet potatos, peeled & diced
1 15oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained & rinsed
2lb. boneless chicken breasts, chopped into 2-3in. pieces
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. turmeric
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 14oz. can chopped tomatoes

1. Combine first six ingredients in a slow cooker
2. In a small bowl, mix together the spices.  Sprinkle over the food in the slow cooker.  Add the tomatoes
3. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

Stats per serving
Calories: 421, Total Fats: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 123mg, Sodium: 384mg, Carbohydrates: 36g, Dietary Fiber: 8g, Sugars: 8g, Protein: 37g, Iron: 4mg.




cooked!

It was really tasty!  I made the full recipe so that we would have leftovers, and I have a feeling once it sits for awhile it will be really good.  I ended up adding a little feta cheese to give it a little oomph.  This is a good cold weather dish without being super heavy and unhealthy - I will definitely be making this again .

Super Saturday and food!

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope everyone's day is off to a good start  So far so good over here.  Started the day early and am now talking with you fine people with a puppy at my side and brownies (healthy ones!) in the oven.

Workout:  TM run - 4.5 miles incline 1%
                Surprise spin class - 40 min.

I decided against running with the group this morning, but J-bob still wanted to, so I went with him to the gym and while they ran outside, I kept it inside to do my workout until they got back.  I went slow and steady on the T Mill and at mile 3.5 I increased the incline for a half mile then came back down to finish.  The ol' knee felt good, but I kept my run short.  After that I had plans to go to a spin class at 8:15am, once the class before us was done, everyone went into the studio and waited....  Long story short, the instructor never showed, and I jokingly said I could just teach it since I used to anyway - well the other folks in the class thought it was a good idea so I went for it.  Luckily my instructor folder was still in the studio with all my cycling notes, so just grabbed a random class list and a CD and taught the class.  It was such a blast!   I forgot how much fun teaching is, and I'm glad it worked out that I was able to teach, and everyone still got a good workout.

I met up with J once class was over and came home to make this tasty dish,

spicy egg whites, bran muffin and coffee

Then we took the beast out for a walk - Stella came too :)

We had a few other random things to do after our hike and by the time we got home were hangry!

 Hangry

When someone becomes irritated, angry, or cranky when they haven't eaten and are hungry.

Allen: I hate you and I want to punch you.

Randy: Why are you so angry with me?

Allen: I'm sorry, I haven't eaten since breakfast so I'm just hangry, bro

So before we killed each other over who gets the last piece of gum in my purse, I made a super fast lunch,

soup&sammies

Now J-flow is off pretending to be a hipster at a brewery tour in Minneapolis with some buddies for the evening, so I'm a single gal tonight - watch out!  I'll probably just watch Seinfeld DVDs that I've seen a million times and eat a baked potato...

Hope everyone has had a delightful day so far, and please, for the love of god, do something more exciting than me tonight.

Any beer lovers out there?  Ever been on a brewery tour?  If it was a wine tour I would be all over that!

Back in action and November goals

Happy Friday folks!  Well I was out of comission for a few days at the beginning of the week.  I was feeling pretty under the weather, so I had to for-go my early workouts in favor of a lot of couch sitting - pretty sure I have bed sores now. 

I haven't ran since last Saturday morning.  Every Saturday there is a group that runs from our gym.  The standard milage is 10 miles, which up until I got hurt, I was able to do no problem.  I went into this one planning on being conservative by going slow (for me) and planning on just going out 3 miles and back 3 for an easy 6 (3+3=6, see mom I AM smart!)  Well we started out really slow, which was fine, but it probably made me feel better than I actually was.  That combined with the fact that we were running as a group and I put pressure on myself, I ended up going all the way to the 5 mile turn around.  I thought to myself "great, now I'm stuck, and the only way to get home is to go the 5 miles back, yikes..."  My knee was holding up, but I could start to feel it and once I got to mile 7 I had to stop (yipee that I was able to do 7, boo that I pushed it to much)  From there I walked about a 1/2 mile, tried to run, yeouch!  Stopped and walked again.  J said he would run ahead, grab the car and meet me to pick me up, like roadkill getting scraped off the ground.  He ran, I walked about another 1/2 mile.  By this time I really wanted to run, I was feeling like a loser, plus it was freezing!  So I ran, and felt good - no knee pain.  I ran another mile then stopped when I got to a downhill cause I knew it would hurt my knee.  I saw J a little way down the road and stuck out my thumb to be picked up.  I ended with a total of about 8 miles, but was happy that I was able to run the 7 with minimal pain and without having to stop.  Lesson learned - ONLY RUN WHAT I PLAN ON RUNNING - DONT TRY TO BE A HERO.

I am planning on running tomorrow with the group, and I only plan on doing at most 5 miles, and I will stick to that no matter what.  I need to get back into running shape and if I keep pushing it and overdoing it I wont get there.  I really want to have a good base for the winter since I dont think I will want to run 12+ miles in the freezing cold and snow...


blurry photo - but this was last Saturday on our way to the group run, it was a balmy 30 degrees.  Thanks alot Minnesota!



 The base milage I would like to have is a comfortable 6-8 miles, with a Sat. 10 miler thrown in as my "long" runs.  I would love to have this built up by the end of November.  I think know I can do it, it will just take me actually being smart and listenting to myself instead of putting pressure on myself to be better.  I'm the worst at comparing myself, not only to other people, but to my past.  It doesnt matter what I was able to do before I injured myself, all that matters is what I can do now, and that I will get back to it and be even stronger and faster, because hopefully I've learned something.  I have to remember that I havent been doing this for very long, and if I want to run for years and years (which I do!) then I need to play it safe and smart.  So here are my November goals:

1.  Work on getting a base ( 6-8 miles) and get comfortable with it
2.  Do not run through pain, if I feel knee pain I have to STOP collaborate and listen...
3.  Cross train and strength train like a boss.  Especially my lower body - I know this will make my knees healthier and stronger (seems obvious, but hard to get through my thick skull)
4.  Keep up with the early morning workouts.  I dont mind this actually, so it shouldn't be to hard :)
5.  Since it is Thanksgiving month - be thankful and greatful that I can run.  There are many people who are not able and I am lucky that I can throw on my trusty Mizunos anytime I want and bust out some miles.
6. Oh, and I cant forget, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite "food" holiday, so is it bad that my goal is to eat as much turkey, potatos, and stuffing as humanly possible?

Anyone else have some November goals?  Lets here 'em if you do!

I also have to give a shout out to Nichole who is running the New York Marathon this weekend.  She has been a big inspiration for me and my running.  Feel free to stop by her blog and wish her luck!

Have a great Friday friends!  I will let you know my run tomorrow goes - cross your fingers.  I also have some DIY projects planned too - so lets hope I dont burn my house down in the process.