Category Archives: Food for Thought

Mac Turns 2!

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Hey everyone! I feel like I’ve been scarce around here for some reason. It’s been a hectic beginning to my week, so I’m very thankful to have tonight off of teaching. I love me some Jazzercise, but I also love me some time at home with my doggie, Mac!

And speaking of Mac, he turns 2 years old this month!

IMG_2260Ahhh look at that tail wag. Just ignore the hair in his eyes. He is going to the groomers in the morning for a spa day. 🙂

In honor of his big day, Nick and I did a little gift shopping after my run on Saturday.

IMG_2262We picked up the cutest hoodie/sweater and a chew bone that stands up on its own! Mac had troubles paying attention to mommy with that bone around.

IMG_2264That’s better.

I’m so thankful for my little guy each and every day. He is always so happy to see me when I get home, and then snuggles into bed with me each night. He’s spoiled, but it’s for good reason. I love him! Plus, he’s cute so that makes him extra easy to love.

IMG_2266The sweater fits perfectly, and he’s been wearing it just about everyday as the temps have dropped to the mid-50’s here in Springfield. He’s not a ‘fufu’ dog, but he definitely enjoys being warm and cozy in some nice sweaters.

And in other news, I signed up for my FIRST HALF MARATHON!! I’m beyond excited! I’m going to be running the half marathon in the St. Louis Track Club‘s Frostbite Series in January. I feel like I have a good base for my training after preparing for the 10K, so I’ll just continue my running to increase my distance between now and January 25!

Any words of wisdom for this first time half marathoner?! Any advice is appreciated. I’m going into this pretty blindly I feel like even though I’ve done tons of research. Comment and let me know any awesome tips you may have to offer!

Morning Run & Breakfast

So in honor of finally registering for the half marathon (I’ve been thinking about it for a while now), I woke up bright and early today to complete 7 miles around my neighborhood. I completed it in around 59 minutes and felt great the whole time. The temps were in the low 40’s, and I was still comfortable. I’m sure my attitude will change as the temps keep on dropping during these months of training I have ahead of me.

I ate breakfast as soon as I got to the office, so it was my typical grab-n-go style morning meal.

photo(79)Luna bar. Banana. And yogurt. The Luna bar was extra chocolatey – I loved it!

Lunch

The morning went by quickly and I was headed home for lunch in no time! I started with a big salad full of romaine, spinach, snap peas, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.

photo(77)I topped this baby with my new favorite dressing, Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette, and a few dried cranberries. It was super tasty! And I finished off the rest of my meal with another bowl of the spicy chili I made on Sunday.

photo(75)Yum!!

And now I’m just relaxing at home, trying to catch up on some household chores that have been pushed aside so far this week. I also need to set up a good training plan for this half marathon so I’ll have some good guidelines to keep up with during these next few months. Should be a productive evening!

Have a good one, and I’ll see you all tomorrow!

Ready for Rest

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Happy Friday!! It’s been a beautiful day here in the SGF. I definitely took Mac on a long walk during my lunch break to soak up as much sun as possible. It’s looking like today may be our last ‘hot’ day of the season, so although I hate hot weather, I’ve gotta try to enjoy it while it lasts.

Quickie Workout

Since I’m running a 10K in the morning, I was going to sleep in today to let my body rest. But it had a different idea and I awoke at my normal 5:15 AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. So I decided to go to the gym for a light and quick workout.

I didn’t want to do anything to make my legs too tired, so I contained all my cardio to the Elliptical machine. I started with 2 miles before doing a small circuit of weight machines that focused on my arms and back. I moved onto the rowing machine for about 5 minutes (I get so bored!), and then I finished with 1 more mile on the Elliptical. It was quick and easy, but I was sweaty and felt accomplished.

Breakfast

Breakfast should’ve been better, but I don’t think I cooked my oatmeal correctly.

photo(77)Blah. It tasted okay, but somehow I messed up my classic breakroom oatmeal. At least it still filled me up. And I had an apple and some yogurt on the side with lots of coffee.

photo(78)I’ve been washing this pink coffee tumbler just about every night. It’s my Breast Cancer Awareness mug – so obviously October is the time to use it most!

The morning crept by pretty slowly, and my tummy was growling by around 11 AM. I was ready for more food!

Lunch

Lunch started out with a big salad that I threw together last night.

photo(76)This salad was FULL of veggies as I was trying to use up some stuff that nearing it’s expiration. My tummy was lovin’ it. So I had a few more veggies (also leftovers!)

photo(75)A mix of sweet corn and lima beans leftover from dinner last night. A colorful lunch so far! And then I finished it all off with some eggs and cheese.

photo(74)I scrambled 2 eggs in the microwave and then put some reduced fat colby jack on top. I could hear the lactose-intolerant part of me screaming “NOOOOO, Don’t do it!!” But the cheese was calling my name and I had to. I’m paying for it slightly right now but nothing too intense. 🙂

And now as my day is winding down I’m getting more and more tired. I wish I could’ve slept in this morning, but my body was just ready to go! I’ll be extra ready for some rest after my race tomorrow. I start at 8:30 a.m., so I should be relaxing by approximately 10:30. Can’t wait! Nick and I also have a Groupon to use tomorrow night that is getting ready to expire. It’s for a date for 2  at Vino Cellars. Should be a fun time and will be my little reward for (hopefully) finishing my first 10K!

I hope you all have a great start to your weekend. I’ll see you after I dominate my first 10K!

Strangers at the Gym

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Happy Tuesday! Hope you’re day is going well so far. From the name of this post, you can probably guess how my day started.

My day started bright and early with the intention of getting in a run. Obviously, I forgot that I went for a painful 4 mile run last night when I was setting my alarm last night. I stumbled into my closet to get on my workout gear and could feel my tired legs and sore hips screaming at me. So yeah, the run didn’t happen. But since I was awake, I decided to go to my gym to get in a little lighter impact workout before my work day began.

I started with an interval workout on the treadmill that combined a mix of incline walking and light jogging. I alternated between quick walking and jogging for about 25 minutes to keep it light and easy on my sore legs but still get my heart rate. I sweatin’ hard! I finished my workout with some upper torso work, about 5 minutes on the rowing machine, and 1 mile on the Elliptical. I felt kind of lazy going through the motions this morning at the gym, but like I’ve said before, every workout isn’t going to be so rockin’ that your whole body is on fire. Some workouts are simply going to be a little less intense.

So aside from the actual workout this morning, the gym was just weird. I have no better word to describe it. Weird. The normal morning crowd was there. I’m used to seeing their faces, and I’m starting to even memorize their individual workout routines. But what wasn’t normal though was the older men lurking around strength equipment. Two new men were there, both had long white beards, both were limping around (like any 80 year-old would), and both only did some arm work on the machines. All I could think is “Why is Santa Clause at my gym??!”

THEN, there were several new middle-aged men there on some cardio equipment. They weren’t the weird part. The weird part happened when they had friends randomly show up in work clothes (think a road crew get up), and they proceeded to just stand around and chat with their buddies who were actually using the gym.

The whole time I was working out, I couldn’t help but focus on all these strangers in the gym. Who were they? And why did they have to be there when I was there?! I’m silly, I know. But this just goes to show how much we are creatures of normality and routine. I probably won’t be back to the gym until Thursday morning…so let’s hope I can at least feel a little more relaxed. I can’t focus with all those newbies around!

Breakfast

I’m not gonna lie; my breakfast was not exciting today, and I’ve been hungry most of today because of it I’m pretty sure. The most exciting part was probably my Pumpkin-spiced coffee from Trader Joe’s. That stuff is pretty amazing and made my house smell extra festive!

But food-wise, I had some Greek yogurt that I sprinkled some Fiber One Cereal into for added crunch, and then a banana on the side.

photo(69) photo(70)Wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t special. I need to make some overnight oats or something similar tonight to make tomorrow morning’s meal a little more enticing.

Lunch

Lunch started with a big, pretty salad with a little Lite Italian dressing.

photo(71)I gobbled this up while my eggy mixture cooked in the microwave!

photo(72)I whipped one large egg with about 3 tablespoons of lowfat cottage cheese and microwaved it on high for 1 1/2 minutes. I then stirred in another spoonful of cottage cheese to cool it down a little and make it a nice creamy consistency. It was delicious! And had lots of healthy protein to help me power through the rest of my day.

Tonight will be pretty normal. I teach Jazzercise until 8, and then I’ll finally head home with a hungry tummy I’m sure. 🙂  Tomorrow is my day off of teaching, so I’m going to try and get in my last long run before my first 10K that’s Saturday morning! I’m pretty pumped about it – Nick, not so much. But I know we’ll do great!

Have a great day/evening. I’ll see you tomorrow!