Category Archives: Food for Thought

5K Training…Round 2

Food for Thought, Workouts

Well, it’s official folks. I’m training for my second race! And it’s going to be a fun one.

The Glow Run 5K

My friend Carley (an old friend from college and KD sorority sister) and I have decided to run the Glow Run 5K together on Sept. 14! This will my second race (I’ve only recently become a ‘runner’!) and Carley’s first! She a race virgin, and I’m so excited to run this fun race with her.

It’s a night time race, starting at 8 PM, and apparently incorporates lots of glow sticks and neon running shorts with crazy designs. I’m gonna rock this. For reals.

So, because of this news, my 5K training has begun again! I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten out of running shape since my first race last April. At least to tackle a 5K, that is. My daily Jazzercise classes keep my endurance up enough to be able to knock it out fairly easily. But, I’m OCD about being prepared and ready, so this morning kicked off with a 3.1 mile interval run on the treadmill at the gym. I was lucky and got stationed right in front of a TV with my favorite news station on, so the time passed extra quickly!

Workout

I started out with a 3 minute incline walk, starting with speed of 3 and slowly moving it up to 4.5 until I felt awake enough to start running. Something about 5AM makes my body tense, and I cannot jump into a cardio workout for the life of me without a few minutes of walking. Maybe my quads have to be woken up slowly and gently like grumpy cat?

620x400x31_495709.jpg.pagespeed.ic.olWjbuNMaZI then kicked the treadmill up to a speed of 6 (10 min. mile) and used that as my base and resting speed between my faster sprints during the 3 miles. It looked something like this:

  • 2 minutes at Speed 6
  • 2 minutes at Speed 7
  • 1 minute at Speed 8
  • 2 minutes at Speed 6
  • 2 minutes at Speed 7.5
  • 1 minute at 8.5
  • 2 minutes at 6
  • 2 minutes at 7

I repeated these intervals for 3.1 miles which I hit around the 28 minute mark so this definitely had me sweatin’ like a fool! Something about counting down 1-2 minute intervals during a treadmill workout make it go by so much faster than trying to simply run a certain distance. I then had about 20 minutes before I needed to head home, so I did some light cardio on the elliptical while I caught up on my social media for the day! Overall, it was a great endorphin boost for my morning!

Breakfast

Breakfast was wayyyy too rushed this morning and took me about .65 seconds to throw together in my bag as I was running out the door!

Breakfast Grab-n-GoClif Bar + Greek yogurt + Berries = Yummy and Nutritious!

This was my first time trying the Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar. And I will definitely be buying it again. I love me some coconutty-chocolatey goodness early in the morning! The Clif Bar plus my Greek yogurt left me full of protein and fairly content. So I saved my berries for a mid-morning snack.

Berries!Don’t they just look perfect? Well they tasted exactly how they look. They were sweet and made me happy amongst the chaos of work!

I’m now poking around my kitchen looking for lunch…what’s in store for today? I have no idea. Indecisiveness at its best.

Tonight will be featuring more bridal shower crafting (hopefully with a sneak peek photo!), a hot walk with Mac, and a Jazzercise class at 6:45.  Hope your Thursday is going well! We’re almost to the LONG weekend!

Another Hump Day Comes to an End

Daily Life!, Food for Thought

As Wednesday comes to an end, I’m sitting here with a busy and tired brain. It has been a long day! But this evening away from my normal Jazzercise class has left my head spinning thinking of the upcoming weekend!

Upcoming Nuptials

My long time girlfriend, Katie, is getting married at the end of September, and her personal and family & friend showers are this weekend! Saturday is her personal shower followed by a spa day with all of us bridesmaids. Then Sunday afternoon is the big family and friends shower. I am in charge of the shower favors, games and the game winner’s gifts. This has been a large undertaking for the most uncreative and non-crafty girl in the world!

So tonight has been a blur of cutting ribbon, constructing favors, and wrapping my personal gifts for the bride. My kitchen table is a wreck! Pictures to come on Friday night. I’m a little ashamed to show what little progress and how big of a mess I have made up to this point!

So let’s back up…

Lunch

Lunch today was weird. After working out this morning, I was starving for lunch way ahead of my normal schedule! My tummy was loudly growling while I was sitting at my desk. This rarely happens. I left a few minutes ahead of schedule and arrived home ravenous! I threw together a spinach mixed salad with radishes, snap peas, and a couple sweet peppers.

Salad!!
Salad!!

I scarfed down this salad as I reheated some veggies I steamed for dinner last night.

Leftover broccoli and carrots. Delish!
Leftover broccoli and carrots. Delish!

It was a veggie kind of day, I guess! And after all the vegetables, I was feeling oddly full. I knew I needed some good protein for staying power til dinner time, but I couldn’t even find one thing in the fridge that sounded appetizing. I quickly walked Mac and came back inside to assemble this.

Cottage cheese and turkey bagelwich!
Cottage cheese and turkey bagelwich!

Sounds weird, tasted amazing. I bought some bagelthins over the weekend and had been meaning to try one. Perfect opportunity! I smeared about 1/4 lowfat cottage cheese on one side and 2 turkey slices on the other. It was creamy and very satisfying! Plus tons of protein and healthy carbs. Win, win!

photo(23)I think I might’ve discovered a new fave today in this bagelwich. I hate dry sandwiches, but I also hate wasting calories on condiments like mayo. So this was the perfect solution!

And yes, you’re thinking “Yet again, she’s eating dairy and is lactose-intolerant.” Yup. It happens just about daily. Cottage cheese and yogurt are eaten daily in my diet. Cheese on occasion (like yesterday!). And things like ice cream happen just about never. Some dairy products just seem to make me a whole lot sicker than others!

Does anyone else out there with lactose intolerance experience this? I have also found that white cheeses are easier on my stomach than heavier yellow cheeses. Just takes some trial and error – that’s for sure!

I’m going back to frantic crafting time. See you all tomorrow!

Toasty Morning!

Food for Thought, Workouts, , ,

I was going to name my post this morning ‘Sweaty Morning’ since I got in a nice, long workout before the workday. But as I was finishing up on the elliptical around 6:20 AM, I was watching the sunrise out the windows of my gym. It was truly breathtaking and turned the sky a hazy orange. The site of the orange sky sent chills up my spine, and I was immediately cozy and content. It reminded me of a crisp, Fall morning! At least the way it looked….yes, it was already over 70 degrees outside, with a forecasted high of 92 today. Yuck! So even though it is still summer and humid and icky hot, my brain is in Fall mode, and I’m officially ready for cooler weather here in the Ozarks! So back to where I started, ‘Toasty’ seemed like a better word to describe my feelings this morning. Toasty feels more warm and cozy than the words Sweaty and HOT!

Wednesdays are always a little fun and different for me because it is my night off from Jazzercise. This makes the day fair game for whatever workout I want to dive into. This morning, I awoke around 5 AM to get a nice long workout in at my gym. Since I had almost more than an hour to burn once I got there, I started with a 30-min. interval workout on the treadmill. Mostly a mix of incline walking, jogging, and 30-second sprints. This took me up to 3 miles, and I was a sweaty mess! I then completed a circuit of strength training on the weight machines (no free weights today!). I did mostly upper torso (shoulder and arm) work, but did a few sets of leg presses and hamstring curls as well. Gotta take advantage of an empty gym!

Busy gym this morning!
Busy gym this morning!

This left me about 10 minutes before I had to rush home, so I completed my workout with 10 minutes, or 1 mile, on the elliptical. I tend to be a cardio junkie, so mornings when I get in some good strength training make me feel extra awesome for the rest of day!

Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was courtesy of my productive self last night. I prepared a bowl of overnight oats last night and washed a bowl of berries that I would stir in this morning before digging in.

Oats and berries. YUM!
Oats and berries. YUM!

Into my overnight oats, I added…

  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 2/3 cup vanilla soy milk
  • 1 TB chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 packet of splenda
  • a couple shakes of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon

This concoction is a go-to breakfast for me since it just has to sit in the fridge overnight! This morning I added in the berries and tossed the container in my bag on my way out the door. I eat my breakfast at work, and my overnight oats are always a treat when I’m at my desk!

Looks Gross, but Tastes Amazing
Looks Gross, but Tastes Amazing

My coworkers think I’m crazy. I haven’t coaxed them into trying my cold oats yet. But they’ll come around. 🙂

Hope your Hump Day is off to a great start! Catch ya later!