Live, Laugh, Love... Run

First day jitters..

2009-08-26T13:39:00.005-04:00

So I was going to take today off, but then I got inspired by Caitlin and started doing push-ups.

Jarryd thinks it's crazy that I can do push-ups now. When we met in November, I could only do girl-style and they were pretty whimpy. Now, I can even do walking push-ups!!

Push-ups: 10 regular, rest, 5 right foot, 5 regular , 5 left foot, 5 regular, rest, 10 regular. The push-ups then turned into a short 30 minute circuit. I'm all about Jillian Michaels (you can find her videos OnDemand), but I was watching Grey's Anatomy and I didn't want to turn it off (oh how embarrassing!).

Circuit One (repeated twice)

- 60 second wall squat

- 20 shoulder presses (8 lb. weights in each hand)

- 20 bicep curls (8 lbs)

- 20 tricep kick backs (3 lbs)

- 10 bicep curls R while holding a deep squat, repeat on left (8 lbs.)

- 20 chest presses/crunches (8 lbs.)

* 20 weighted jumping jacks, 20 weighted jump ropes (X2)

- 60 second wall squat

Circuit Two (repeated twice)

- 20 V-flies (8 lbs)

- 20 tricep curls (3 lbs)

- 20 weighted standing toe touches with bicep curls (8 lbs)

- 20 push ups

- 20 supermans

* 20 weighted punches, 20 weighted standing twists (X2)

Then I did an ab workout and stretched a little bit. I'm not going to lie, I definitely wrote this post so i could remember exactly what I did (I must be getting old). It took exactly a half an hour, which is sometimes all I have.

As for the rest of my day... I'M STARTING GRAD SCHOOL TODAY!! I'm excited, yet nervous at the same time. This is actually the reason that I wanted to take Wednesdays off. I figured that they'll be my busiest day, and I won't be able to get in a run or a full workout. We'll see.... happy hump day!

Question of the day: I would love to start a new at-home circuit plan. Do you have any moves that you love?

Recipe Tuesdays

2009-08-25T22:02:00.004-04:00

Every Tuesday, I'm going to try and post at least 2 healthy recipes from that day/week. I made both of these things today, but I have no pictures (sorry.. I told you I was bad at that). Both of these recipes are super easy and SO good.

Fruity Delight Smoothie (serves 1)

1 weight watchers Peach yogurt

1/4-1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup strawberries

a splash of light vanilla soy milk (or whatever milk you like)

ice to your liking

Put all ingredients in a blender for about 45 seconds. Enjoy! This was super simple, delicious, and SO filling.

Southwestern Quesadillas (serves 2)

2 flat out light wraps (or a high fiber wrap of your choice)

1/2 package Tyson fajita chicken strips

1/2 cup frozen spinach thawed

2-3 tbsp. canned black beans

2-3 tbsp. canned sweet corn (not creamed)

2-3 tbsp. diced tomatoes

dash of red pepper seasoning

light mexican cheese (I used about 1/8 cup per quesadilla)

Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp. fat free sour cream

1 tsp. hot sauce

1 tbsp. diced tomatoes

a pinch of ranch seasoning

Rip apart the chicken (I guess the best way I can explain it is to pull it like you would pulled pork). Combine chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper seasoning. Put in microwave for 30 seconds and mix. Spray a pan (or skillet) with cooking spray. Place wraps on the pan and fill with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top and fold in half. Heat on each side for 3-5 minutes. While heating, mix the ingredients of the sauce and stir. ENJOY!

This was a spin on a recipe I found in the HungryGirl cookbook:

As far as my workout today, I ran to the grocery store (which is about 3 miles away) and then walked back with all my quesadilla goodies. Weirdly enough, my stomach didn't hurt after this run at all. After dinner I did some abs. I try to do them either every morning or night.

Question of the day: Where do you find your good/easy/healthy recipes?

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Monday!

2009-08-24T22:32:00.009-04:00

I'm going to try and make this post a little bit different and try to get used to posting some pictures. I'm not going to lie, the whole "taking pictures of my food/me during the day" thing is so not me, but I'm going to give it a try.

Today's running didn't go as well as I hoped that it would. I woke up and fueled with my normal Kashi hot oats and "the works" and then ran some errands.

<-- breakfast

When I was finally done everything, it was already 12:00 and very hot and sunny. After about 2 miles I was dying, so I started doing intervals and ran/walked/jogged/etc. I took about an hour, and I guess I did between 4 1/2 and 5 miles, but I'm not really sure. My stomach was killing me after this run. Does anyone know why this happens?

Here I am in my cute workout outfit (I am obsessed with VS pink spandex.. I highly suggest them):

Tomorrow, I have absolutely nothing to do, which makes me so happy!! I am going to let myself sleep in and hopefully organize my calendar/running schedule. I hope everyone is having a great week.

Question of the day:

I get a throbbing pain in my lower abdomen after I run. Does anyone else get that, and if so, how do I make it stop?

Ciao ciao,

Motivating my Mom

2009-08-23T13:27:00.004-04:00

I just got back from a nice walk with my mom. She has been asking me to push her and make her workout more. I am so proud of her! I love taking Sundays and doing a leisurely workout.. something that will make me sweat, but also nothing that is going to make me sore for the week ahead. Speaking of sore, I'm not sore at all from my run yesterday!! YAY!

My mom and me.. (my best friend!)

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Run baby run

2009-08-22T11:54:00.001-04:00

I RAN 5 MILES!! Although I feel pretty good now, it was so hard... not the kind of hard that I wouldn't be able to do again, but the kind of hard that made me realize that a half marathon might be a stretch for me right now. For now, my goal is to train for The Broad Street Run (a 10 mile, pretty flat run). This gives me plenty of time to train, as the run isn't until May.

As far as the half marathon in November, if I feel I am ready, I am going to sign up closer to the date. I guess this is kind of sad for me, as I really want to do this run, but at the same time, I have to listen to my body. I still have plenty of time to train and hopefully that 5 mile hard run will turn into a 5 mile easy run and then 13.1 miles won't seem too unattainable. Anyways, I am so proud of myself for coming this far. I just started running in May, and at that point, 3 miles seemed impossible. Hitting 5 miles is a definite benchmark for me, and I really do think I will be able to do a half marathon within the next year.

On a totally different note, I just had a bowl of kashi go-lean oatmeal with a banana and a tbsp of BNP. I also treated myself to a sugar free vanilla soy latte from starbucks.. yum!! Now I'm just going to relax until a family dinner tonight. Then, Jarryd (my amazing, heart-pounding, words can't describe how he makes me feel, soccer player boyfriend) has a game on tonight. Anyone interested, head to www.usllive.com at 10pm.

And some pics for your viewing pleasure... after Jar's last game in Miami (from L to R: Jar, me, his roommate Rudy):

Happy Saturday!

Let's get this party started...

2009-08-21T22:09:00.000-04:00

So, my first post... where do I even start?

As a lurker for quite awhile now, I've decided that maybe the "blog world" is just what I need in order to train for The Broad Street Run (and maybe even a half marathon). Although I have been working out consistently for about four years now, I have never been a runner. I truly don't understand how anyone finds running easy. For me, it's always been a task.. one that I feel great after, but never ever easy. After reading numerous food/running blogs I have become determined... determined to finish that race.. and hopefully on the way, I can even lose those last 5-10 pounds that I have been fighting with since college.

Hopefully this blog will be an inspiration to all. Stay tuned for my eats, workouts, and anything else you might want to know....