Monthly Archives: February 2014

Packing is Hard

Daily Life!, Running, , , , ,

So I started finally packing my race weekend bag last night… And I must say, it’s hard to pack for a race when the temperatures could be anywhere from 40-60 degrees and there’s a good chance for thunderstorms.

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From left to right, I compiled a cold outfit, a medium temp outfit, and a ‘holy crap it’s hot’ outfit. If you look closely, you can see a sleepy puppy that was no help at all in this process.

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Mr. Mac was a lazy boy last night! Anywho, I’m hoping I’ll be wearing my medium temps outfit: Lululemon running crops and tank top. This will be the comfiest for me. But I know I’m not in charge of the weather that day, so I’m prepared to adapt to whatever the Little Rock meteorologists say!

Due to the rain in the forecast , I’m also packing a hat with a brim to keep the rain out of my eyes, lots of Aquaphor! (for obvious chafing reasons!), and plenty of trash bags and ziploc bags to go around. This girl doesn’t mess around when it comes to being prepared, so I’m ready to rock this potentially rainy first marathon! 🙂

I got in my last scheduled run this morning despite sleeping past my alarm a bit. Oops!

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I did this run at a nice easy pace. It was definitely more for my peace of mind than anything else! The whole time I was trying to focus on my stride and how I wanted to run during the race. I was completely at peace by the time I arrived home, so I think that’s a good sign. I’m not sure what this 26.2 will bring, but I do know that I’ve done everything I can to be as successful as possible.

Tonight I’ll be focusing on finishing packing my bag and packing Mac’s bag for the weekend. Luckily, he’s not difficult. Food, a toy, and his bed is all he needs to be happy!

Nick and I will be finalizing our travel plans, and I’m hoping he’ll be the world’s best navigator for me. I will drive us on Saturday and he will drive us back on Sunday. But he will also do all the driving to the start line on Sunday morning. The stress!! I’m praying that this is much simpler than I’m anticipating. And if we get desperate, he can drop me off and go hunt for a spot farther away. Post-race pics with my giant medal will be the most important thing anyways! 🙂

I’m off to get some of my packing done before Jazzercise at 6:45. I’m thankful that during this stressful week, I still can go and dance with my awesome Jazzer ladies! Have a great night, everyone!

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Carbs & Anxiety

Daily Life!, Running, , ,

Happy Tuesday!! I hope you’re having a great day.

The last couple of days when I’ve written, I’ve been avoiding the big topic of the week: my first marathon. It’s a big deal and lots of last minute preparation is going on. But I’m trying to not talk about it too much – simply because I’m trying to remain calm and not go crazy by writing out every last detail I have planned for the weekend. Now, with that being said, my attitude will most likely change. And if you wake up tomorrow with a new post from me that outlines everything for the Little Rock Marathon, I apologize in advance. 🙂

Breakfast

Breakfast today was a little more fun than normal thanks to chia seeds!

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I added this little packet of chia to my morning oatmeal, and it was awesome! It added a nice flavor and thickened up the oatmeal perfectly.

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I felt accomplished for the day after reading the nutrition facts on the chia seeds. Those little seeds pack some powerful nutrients!

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And while we’re on the topic of food, my dinner last night was pretty fab as well.

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I was near a Chipotle, so I decided I could get a fairly healthy and delicious meal to take home. So I opted for this massive chicken burrito bowl! And it tasted as amazing as it looks. I loaded it with brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, grilled chicken, corn salsa, and guacamole! It was amazing and I felt like a stuffed piggy by the time I threw in the towel a few bites near the bottom of the bowl.

I was reading about race week nutrition on Active.com, and I came across one article that really stuck with me. It said that the week of your race is the time when you really need to care for your body. You’ve spent months sculpting it into a lean running machine. So this is the week to flood your system with antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and nutrients for muscle repair. And this burrito bowl was awesome in that respect! Brown rice, beans, veggies, and chicken… All superfoods to help our bodies be strong and repair muscles after exercise. I rarely splurge on eating out during the week, but this week just seems worth it! 🙂

So other than fueling my body with lots of good food and carbs, my only other main anxiety factor is the weather. Why must the weather always be against me?! My first half marathon was run in frigid temps with wind gusts of 40 mph. And now the forecast for Little Rock is around 40 degrees and rainy. Can I not get a race in 50 degree temps with partly cloudy skies? So I’ll be weather watching all week in hopes of the forecast changing to be slightly warmer with no rain. I’m going to be optimistic as long as I can!

Send me your positive thoughts as I prepare for my first marathon this weekend. This Type-A girl needs to take a chill pill and know that everything will be ok!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Meaty Lasagna Recipe

Recipes, , , ,

Happy Monday to ya! Hope your week is off to a great start. Mine was slightly better than normal because I had some awesome leftovers to look forward to during my lunch break!

IMG_3399Lasagna!!

I got semi-crafty in my kitchen yesterday afternoon, and decided that it had been far too long since I made lasagna. So I made sure to pick up some lasagna noodles while grocery shopping, and whipped this baby up!

Meaty Lasagna Recipe

IMG_3381 IMG_3384Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb. ground beef (or turkey!)
  • 3/4 lb. ground Italian sausage
  • Garlic salt
  • 1 jar pasta sauce/marinara sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
  • 2 eggs
  • 15 oz. container Ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups reduced fat Mozzarella cheese
  • 3 tbsp. parsley (chopped if fresh)
  • 1/2 cup cottage cheese
  • Salt & pepper

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Brown the meats together in a large sauce pan.

IMG_3380Drain off extra grease, add a couple hearty sprinkles of garlic salt, marinara sauce, and water. Let this meaty sauce mixture simmer on low while you prepare the cheese mixture. Stir it occasionally and don’t let it stick!

IMG_3382In a medium size bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, parsley, 2 eggs, and salt and pepper (around 2 tsp. of each).

IMG_3385Avoid the urge to taste this cheesy concoction – there’s lots of raw egg in there! Now you can start layering the lasagna into a 13″ x 9″ baking dish. Turn off the heat to the meat sauce if you haven’t already. Begin by pouring about 1 cup meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

IMG_3387Next place 3 lasagna noodles lengthwise on top of the sauce followed by adding 1/2 of the cheesy mixture on top of the noodles, spread evenly.

IMG_3388It’ll look kinda like that! Now do the sauce, noodle, cheese layers one more time. On top of the last layer of cheese add one more layer of noodles followed by the remaining pasta sauce.

IMG_3389Mmm look at those layers!

Once everything is spread evenly, layer the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese over the top.

IMG_3392Now cover the top with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. OR you can cover it and refrigerate it for a few hours until you’re ready to start baking – this is what I did! After it bakes for 45 minutes, remove the foil and let it continue baking for an additional 10 minutes. Don’t overbake it because your noodles will start to get mushy!

IMG_3394And voila! After those final 10 minutes, you are all done! And your house should be smelling mighty fine. 🙂

IMG_3395Yummo! Nick and I both had seconds….and yes, I took my Lactaid to help my tummy digest ALL the dairy!

IMG_3397And now we have leftovers for days. I love it! It will make lunch prep super fast and easy for the week..or maybe the first part of the week at least.

Well now I hope I’ve inspired you to make a semi-homemade lasagna for your family in the near future. It took less than 30 minutes to put together and was a big hit!

Have a great evening! Nighty night. 🙂