All posts by harkey12

10K Official

Daily Life!, Food for Thought,

Well, it’s official folks. On October 12th, I’ll be running 6.2 miles!

photoOh man, oh man. I’m not sure if I should be excited or extremely scared! My longest outdoor run thus far has only been 4 miles. And it has left my hurt slightly sore this entire week. Training over the next month should be fun! 😛

I had actually shared with Nick that I was wanting to run a 10K, but I hadn’t found a local one to sign up for. Yesterday, his boss sent out information about this run benefiting a local hospital and several other organizations. We took it as a sign that this was the race where we should attempt the 10K! Nick and I both signed up today. And yes, we are both already nervous 🙂  But, in hindsight, it makes my 5K tomorrow evening seem like an easy practice run!

After work today, I quickly drove to downtown Springfield to pick up my race day packet for the Glow Run 5K! I picked up my glow gear and my hot pink neon glow run shirt and headed over to Salon Moda for a quick haircut.

photo(67)Whadaya think?? She cut off around 2 inches and lightened up my layers a little. I love my long hair and just needed a little refreshing! She also finished me off with some soft curls. I’m always amazed at how hairdressers make curling hair with a flat iron seem so easy! I cannot make my Chi straightener curl my hair the way Amanda can! I guess she’s just a miracle worker.

Dinner

Dinner was pretty easy tonight! We had some aging green peppers in the fridge that needed to be cooked or thrown out asap. So I chopped up those babies with a turkey sausage to saute for a bit with some simple seasonings (mostly salt, pepper, and minced onions). I also threw in some chopped celery and sugar snap peas for extra veggie power.

photo(66)I added a little water to keep the mixture from sticking and getting too dry. After around 10-12 on medium heat, the veggies and meat were perfectly tender and ready to go!

photo(65)Looks delicious, right?! It was super simple. I chose to have mine by itself, while Nick had a small baked potato on the side. He liked it a lot! And his potato helped cut down the salty kick…I may or may not have added a tad too much salt!

By the time we were done eating, it was already pitch black outside! And close to 65 degrees!! This meant I could put on my fleece pullover and still be cool for our evening walk. Nick, Mac, and I set out for a 30-minute walk to help settle our full tummies. All in all, it’s been a great and cozy Friday evening.

Hope you all are having a great start to the weekend. Tomorrow will include teaching Jazzercise at 8:15, then a few hours of rest before my race at 8 PM. Nighty night!

Tortoise Speed

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, , , ,

This morning I was in a great mood when I woke up at 5 AM to head to the gym! I was ready to take on the day…or so I thought.

When I got to the gym and hopped on the Elliptical to warm up, I felt like my muscles were stuck with glue. I could barely move! My body was just TIRED. Mentally I felt great. Physically, not so much. I wanted to get out of there and head home immediately but knew I’d be angry with myself. So I powered through an hour mix of Elliptical cardio and a circuit strength set at Tortoise Speed. I was moving SO slow in comparison to my normal self in the gym. Even after I was warm and attempted a quick 5 minute run before heading home at the end of my hour, I still didn’t feel like my normal self. But I have to remind myself: Any workout, no matter how small, is still a victory for the day. Even if you feel like a tiny, struggling turtle! 🙂

Breakfast

Breakfast today began with an unpictured banana on my way home from the gym. By the time I got to the office, my tummy was grumbly! Usually on Fridays, I try to treat myself a little and make a big batch of yummy overnight oats for my breakfast. But I was feeling super lazy after my Jazzercise marathon last night, so that didn’t happen. I opted for my go-to breakroom oatmeal with fresh blueberries and some Greek yogurt.

photo(68)I added too much water to my oats, so they were exploding a bit more than normal this morning! But my stomach didn’t complain.

I was extra hungry when I left my house this morning, so I grabbed a fairly substantial mid-morning snack.

photo(69)This Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar was like Christmas and healthiness all wrapped up into one delicious bar! I bought it on a whim last weekend when Luna bars were on sale at Dillon’s. I should’ve bought the entire box because these little beauties are amazing!

photo(70)The best part is that peppermint coating on the bottom!! Yum! (And you can ignore my ginormous to-do list in the background. Work’s been a little crazy lately!) Plus, this little bar kept me full til lunch around 1 PM.

Lunch

Lunch today left me feeling extra full! Which is always a feat for this bottomless pit. I threw together my go-to salad to start. Loaded with all the extra mushrooms and snap peas in the fridge, as they were both nearing the end of life.

photo(73)For a few more veggies, I reheated the balsamic green beans I made the other evening. Still just as yummy!

photo(72)I then whipped up a quick bowl of 2 eggs with a splash of unsweetened almond milk and 3 spoons of cottage cheese. I microwaved this concoction for around 2 minutes, stirring halfway, and it came out to the perfect consistency to be eaten like a cheesy-eggy dip with some wheat bread.

photo(71)Looks weird, but tastes amazing! Plus with all the protein of the eggs and cottage cheese, I was sitting pretty with a full belly. This was just something I threw together at the last minute as an experiment, but it ended up being awesome. I will definitely try it again – maybe for breakfast tomorrow before Jazzercise!

Tonight right after work I’m looking forward to getting my hair cut with my fabulous stylist at Moda, downtown Springfield. Just a trim, nothing crazy. But we do have to discuss my updo she is doing for me the day of Katie’s wedding. I’ve got a lot of hair, and I’m afraid it could be a beast to get up on top of my head and look fancy. But hopefully she will be a miracle worker for me!

And on my way to the hair salon, I’ve got to stop and pick up my race packet for tomorrow’s Glow Run 5K! It’s tomorrow night at 8 PM. The weather is supposed to be cool and gorgeous. It’s going to be such a fun evening! Plus, it’s my girlfriend Carley’s first 5K experience. I know she’ll love it. 🙂 I can’t wait to see all the neon glowing runners!

 

Jazzercise Marathon

Food for Thought, Jazzercise, ,

I have an inside joke with several of my (daytime) coworkers about my ‘Jazzercise Marathon’ days. Usually a couple times a month, I volunteer to sub other instructor’s classes when they have to miss for whatever reason. Typically, this means I end up teaching a 5:40 PM class before my normal 6:45 time slot. Two straight hours of teaching Jazzercise after an already 8-hour long work day = Jazzercise marathon.

Today was one of my Jazzercise marathon days; I’m completely pooped! I love teaching, and I enjoy the awesome workout and energy that comes from the two hour session. But after today, I need a good night’s rest for sure! I try to stay super hydrated during these back-to-back classes and eat a healthy snack beforehand. But I always seem to feel super torn down and a little sick afterwards. Tonight is no exception! I guess it will never get easier, but that’s okay.  If it was easy, it wouldn’t be an effective workout. 🙂

I always have the thought in the back of my mind that I would enjoy being able to do something in the fitness industry full time at some point in my life. But if so, it would have to be something different than all day Jazzercise sessions! I think I would shrivel up like a prune and die if I had to teach more than 3 everyday. Isn’t it sometimes fun though to push your body and see how much you can really endure when needed? The most classes I’ve ever taught in a day is 3 + a regular 8 hour workday in my office. I remember being so stressed and tired, but I survived!

Lunch

Lunch today needed to be light to follow suit with breakfast and make up for my indulging night last night. I made a quick salad with romaine, half a cucumber and some light Italian dressing!

photo(67)Filling but obviously not fattening. Win win! Plus the cucumbers were garden fresh – given to me by one of my wonderful students who has an amazing green thumb. They are so yummy and fresh compared to the store bought veggies!

As I finished up my salad, I heated up a low-carb Lean Cuisine with turkey and green beans.

photo(66)Healthiest thing ever? Probably not. But it was tasty and good portion control for a starving tummy.

Dinner

I had a quick snack of peanut butter and celery before rushing off to the Jazzercise marathon. So I wasn’t too starved by the time I arrived home. So I had some honey Greek yogurt before fixing some steamed veggies!

photo(63)I inhaled these beautiful veggies in a flash and finished off dinner with a hard-boiled egg thanks to Nick. I guess he was cravin’ eggs tonight when he got home from work! Yay for a quick and easy protein!

Have a great night everyone. Tomorrow is Friday!