The Little Things
March 7, 2012

I’m a huge fan of oatmeal. If you need proof, here are a few types of oatmeal I’ve made in the last 3 weeks: Valentine’s Day Oatmeal, Blueberry Pomegranate Oatmeal, and Tropical Coconut Oatmeal. YUM! Oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert options (in my mind it works for any of those!). This past weekend I was trying to figure out what I wanted for lunch. My eyes crossed a bag of sliced almonds, and I instantly knew what I wanted to make: Blueberry Almond Oatmeal!

Here’s What I Included:

Normally I’m not a fan of oatmeal without a little bit of sugar, but with the almond milk there was no need for any brown sugar. It was definitely sweet enough on it’s own. Another benefit of this meal? It’s packed with protein between the milk, oatmeal, and almonds. This means that it will tie you over until your next meal easily, and is great to power you through a workout!

Just looking at this picture makes me want to make it again!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s your go to breakfast to hold you through a long workout? 

March 6, 2012

This past Friday I hit the gym to get in a good cardio work out before the weekend started. After my workout, I noticed my brother was there for a weight lifting session. In college I used to lift on a regular basis, but it’s been at least half a decade since I last lifted a weight (yikes!). Since I started training for this half marathon, I’ve decided that I really need to get back into weight training as well, and Friday seemed to be the perfect opportunity. I asked my brother if I could follow him around and have him help me out, and he agreed (such a nice brother!). We mostly focused on legs, with a few curls and other arm exercises thrown in on the side.

source

I definitely didn’t look like the girl in the above photo. With a mixture of laughter and dramatic wails that I was “dying” and why am I “so weak when I work out so many days a week”, my brother was patient and kept me motivated throughout the other that we lifted. I felt alright on Friday night, but when I woke up on Saturday morning I ached like I had the flu. I shuffled very slowly around the apartment for the day, and spent most of it on the couch. OUCH! At this point, I regret giving up lifting so many years ago. And quite honestly, I have no idea why I did.

I’m planning to start out slowly, with maybe 4-5 leg exercises and 4-5 arm exercises. That’s where you come into the picture. What are your favorite weight exercises to do? I sure could use your help!

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you ever work out with a family member? Do you lift on a regular basis, or do you tend to avoid that part of the gym? What basic exercises would you recommend that I do?

March 5, 2012

Confession. I normally hate Februarys, and leap year Februarys are even worse. Why be forced to spend one extra day in the dreaded month then I have to? This year has obviously been a bit unusual, as there as been much more sun and warmer weather then traditionally. This has helped the month speed by, so I was optimistic about this leap day. I even wore a dress with a green 3/4 sweater in hopes that it would be a good day.

Let me tell you something. Leap day was one of the best days of the entire month. You know those days were everything seems to go your way? That was my leap day. Let me tell you why.

There are just some days that come together well, and this leap day was one of them. The picture above is from the walk that I took, which I ended just moments before sunset. It was beautiful. Of course I wished that I could’ve gone on a run instead of being “stuck” walking, but I enjoyed it as best as I could.

Now it’s your turn to share! What did you do on Leap Day? What makes a day a “good day”? 

March 4, 2012

I have to be honest. I’ve been a little less then excited about this half marathon for the last 4 weeks. My shins still don’t feel fantastic, and I’m starting to doubt more and more as the weeks tick by.

Here’s the breakdown in my training for the week:

Total Miles: 7.15 miles, 12:30 planks

Lesson Learned: I really need to get back into weight lifting again. I lifted on Friday afternoon and am still in pain as I type this. Poor decisions. I don’t think I’ve lifted in almost 5 years (I’m a little embarrassed to admit that), so I obviously feel less then stellar right now. Clearly I need to start weight lifting again.

Biggest Struggle: Not being excited about the half marathon, and feeling down about my shin pain still. If it comes down to it, I can walk 13 miles, but I’m really hoping it won’t come down to that. I still have 2 months until this race, and I’m hoping that I can heal quickly and get back to running so I can run at least half this race. I’m a little discouraged right now though.

It’s been a bit of a tough month for me in terms of running. I haven’t run much in the last 3 weeks at all, and even without that I’m still having some pain at times. I wish I had the excitement I had the first few weeks while training…

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your accomplishments from the week? 

March 2, 2012

I’m often snacky throughout the day. I get full really easily, so three meals a day isn’t enough food, and I need a snack or two to tie me over between meals. It’s not that I don’t like candy and chips, or that I avoid them altogether, but I do prefer to have a plethora of healthy snacks available to me as well.

I’ve been a fan of cottage cheese since I was a child, but there were a few years that I didn’t eat it once I became lactose intolerant. About a year and a half ago, my grocery store started selling Lactaid brand cottage cheese, which is fine for people with lactose intolerance! I usually dip veggies in it or put fruit on top of it, but recently in various health forms and blogs I’ve seen people put different types of nut butter on top.

I’m on a big almond butter kick right now, so that’s what’s in my glass above. I actually used more then I would like, and would rather use 2 instead of 3 tablespoons. While I as a bit hesitant to try this at first, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. This is a great form of calcium and protein among other things, and is a snack that fills you up!

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you like cottage cheese, or does the texture weird you out? What’s your favorite way to eat cottage cheese? 

March 1, 2012

Happy 1st day of March! Did you all enjoy your Leap Year Day? Normally I dislike February enough that I don’t like leap year days, because it’s an extra February day. However, this year February seems to have flown by, so I didn’t mind having a leap year day. Alright, so onto some of the things I’m thankful for in my life on the start of a new month:

I’m thankful that awards shows exist. Some of them get to be annoying and pretentious. However, I love the fashion and entertainment of the academy awards, and I enjoyed a full day of Academy Awards programming on Sunday.

I’m thankful for fun magazines like Real Simple and Runners World: They’re perfect for when I have a few minutes of down time at the end of the day to relax. They’re informative, inspiring, and interesting.

I’m thankful that this February went by quickly and I enjoyed it. Normally February drags along slowly and I feel pretty unmotivated. However, I think the mix of sunlight, my family visiting one weekend, and training for my half marathon allowed me to stay happy, motivated, and productive. This might be one of the best Februarys I have had in a long time.

I’m thankful for Oatmeal: It’s delicious and healthy. I eat it as breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert- you name it. I didn’t even enjoy it growing up, and was always served it with a little brown sugar and raisins. However, I now enjoy being a little creative with it. My most recent oatmeal creations include Valentine’s Day Oatmeal, Blueberry Pomegranate Oatmeal, and Tropical Coconut Oatmeal.

I’m thankful that I can still do cross training. I might have shin splints, but I can still walk, do the elliptical, and bike. My initial reaction might be to grumble a bit, but every time I start I remind myself that there are a number of great sweat-inducing exercises I can do instead of running. YAY!

I’m thankful for my job. I really love it, and there is rarely a day that goes by I don’t feel thankful for it. I feel very lucky to have the job that I do.

I’m thankful for a new dishwasher. I finally have one that works. yay.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for this first day of March? Did you watch the Academy Awards, or do you tend to avoid awards shows? Tell me one thing you are excited for in March!

February 29, 2012

Happy Leap Year Day! Are you doing anything fun to celebrate?

I think this every month, but I really can’t believe how fast this month has gone by. Normally February drags by painfully slowly for me; The days are short, it’s rarely sunny, and it’s cold and icy. However, this year February has been the complete opposite! It’s been more sunny then gray, it’s been fairly warm, and we’ve had almost no snow or ice.

Here are some of the exciting things that February brought in my life:

Here are a few of my goals for March:

March is always the turn around point where moments of spring start to hit. Even though this winter hasn’t been bad at all, I’m still excited for spring!

Now it’s your turn to share! What are some of your accomplishments for the month of February? What are your goals for March? 

February 28, 2012

Back when I danced regularly, we were forced into doing planks. I kid you not- if we hit the ground before a minute was up, my less then 5 foot ballet instructor would stand over us and scream like she was our drill instructor. Needless to say, I really disliked them, and as soon as I quit dancing I quit doing planks. Fast forward a decade or so to just a few months ago, when I decided that planks might be a good idea. For those of you who don’t know what a plank is, check out Tina’s explanation on her blog Best Body Fitness. When I do planks, I can feel my core muscles working almost instantly.

I try to regularly do the three standard positions on a regular basis:

So why the Plank Challenge? If you’re following me on twitter or read my monthly recaps/goals for the month (here’s my January Recap/February goals post), you’ll know that I enjoy setting goals for myself. By setting a goal, such as an overall time goal for the month, I stay motivated and have something to strive for each week. However, by setting a time goal for the month instead of per day, I allow myself a little flexibility (like the week I lost my voice and had a wicked cold), which I think is also important.

It’s been a great first month of strengthening those core muscles, and I’m happy with the way I have my monthly plank challenge set so far. Here’s how I’ve broken it down. Most days, this is what I do:

This gives me a total of 2:30 on a regular day. Fridays (my yoga/strengthening/stretching day), I tend to hold my slide planks for 45 seconds each instead of 30 (giving me a total of 3:00 for the day), and maybe once every week or two I will do my elbow and straight arm planks for 30 seconds instead of 45 seconds each. No matter how i end up doing them, it’s been fun to see my strength steadily increasing over the last month.

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you do planks regularly? If you do, what are your favorite types of planks to do?

February 27, 2012

I’m a huge fan of oatmeal, and eat it a few times a week. Because of this, I like to have a number of different types of oatmeal to consume to keep it varied and fun. Once the end of February or beginning of March hits, and anticipation for Spring Break is in the air, I like to pull out my Tropical Oatmeal.

Here’s what I include:

It was delicious! I’ve never put kiwi on it before, but the addition of it was fantastic.

Looks tropical, yes?

Closing my eyes, I can easily convince myself that I am on a beautiful tropical vacation while I eat this. It adds an extra bit of fun to my morning!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one way you try to simulate something from vacation while you’re at home? Have you ever tried kiwi on oatmeal before? 

February 26, 2012

I’m at 8 weeks already? WOW, time sure is flying quickly! In many ways I feel like I’m behind where I was 8 weeks ago, due to being sidelined by shin splints. I haven’t run in a week, and I’m not feeling any pain while I walk around throughout the day, so that’s a good sign I think.

Here’s the breakdown from the week:

Total Miles: 5.1 elliptical + 2.95 walk = 8.05 overall miles for the week

Lesson Learned: I kind of feel like there hasn’t been much of any lesson this week. Maybe that rest is a good thing, as is listening to your body?

Biggest Struggle: Not trying and making excuses. Here’s what I mean: I’ve noticed that I am easily tempted by the thinking that “on race day these two extra miles on the elliptical aren’t going to make a difference”. I use that excuse almost every day, although I did push through that excuse a few times. But, the fact of the matter is, it really does seem like those 2 miles won’t make or break me. I have to remind myself though that those 2 miles can easily become three weeks (until I can hopefully run again), and that will make a difference.

There hasn’t been any major accomplishments for me this week, as I’m not adding on mileage right now. One big accomplishment might be that I did the elliptical twice this week. The last time I did that was in the Spring of 2008, so it’s been about 4 years since I last did that.

Now it’s your turn to share! Are you injured or sick at all right now? What’s one accomplishment you experienced this week?