accountability

In keeping with my accountability of my progress and work outs, I have decided to post each day of my training on here. Sometimes, that might be all that you get, but I am promising to post it. No matter how slow, how crappy, or how miserable my run was, I will post it. I feel like making that promise will force me to keep up with my training and continue toward my half marathon goal.

Today was Week 1, Day 1 of half marathon training. According to Hal Higdon's training schedule, I need to run 3 miles today, as well as tomorrow and Thursday, with a 4 mile run on Saturday. For some reason, I was moving this morning! Maybe I was excited about starting the training, or maybe it was just one of those "great runs" I was talking about before, but I looked down a few times and I was running in the 7s!

I felt pretty great during my run and was shocked to look at my splits. I never understood how people got faster in the last mile of their run, but it looks like I did just that this morning.

So my plan is to post at least the above pictures for each of my runs during training. That should hold me accountable and help me to get out of bed every morning. The only time I won't be posting the runs will be while I am in Mexico, unless they have free wifi and I can throw up those snapshots without being charged a few hundred pesos. If I can't do it there, I will post as soon as I return to the states, because I will be running in Mexico. Again, I WILL BE RUNNING IN MEXICO... No excuses, not even tequila related excuses. :)

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Last night I made a quick stop at Joe the Trader's to grab a few things, including our dinner. Mike and I were both in the mood for hot dogs, (why?) so I grabbed some chicken sausages instead. Along with our sausages, we had some garlic fries, which were surprisingly delicious for frozen fries. They were just the right amount of crunchy and tasted somewhat fried.

Somehow these ended up in my cart which proves the point of never going to a grocery store hungry... I had these puppies open within seconds of getting into my car.

The good news is that we actually have some food in our house now, which we didn't have any of before. I am really sick of eating crap and ready to get back to my regular eating schedule. Yesterday I tried one of the new salads from Wendy's and was pleasantly surprised. The dressing was not terrible for you and I was excited to see they offer half sized portions now, which are just the right size for lunch.

This was the apple pecan chicken salad (half portion) with pomegranate vinegarette dressing. It was really tasty. But, I just looked up the sodium content and am not very happy about it... so maybe I will steer clear of those in the future.



While we are talking about nutrition and sodium content, I thought I would circle back to my calorie counting. I had stopped for a while, because I feel like I have a really good handle on what I was eating, but I think I need to start back up again. Although I am pretty good about knowing what is going in my body, I don't know that I am staying completely on track. My weight loss has been at quite the standstill lately, which I am actually ok with, but I still have about 4 lbs to get to my 1 year goal. I have no doubt I will get there, but I am just kind of hanging out in the 139-142 lbs range. I am super proud and happy about that, but I think if I got back into my strict calorie counting, I could drop those last 4 lbs easily.

Another reason I want to start it back up is because I know I will need to increase my calories as I increase my mileage with the half marathon training. I haven't done a ton of research just yet on how and what to do change my calorie intake, but I plan on figuring all that out as I get into the 5-10 mile range.

As far as my sodium is concerned, I am pretty convinced that it is not having a huge impact on my blood pressure. I haven't talked to my doctor yet about it, but I feel like on the days that I have a lot of sodium, my bp is no different than on days that I haven't had a lot of sodium. One thing I have noticed is that I get headaches and feel crummy on days that I have things with a lot of sodium in them. Maybe I am just crazy, but I definitely feel a difference when I eat out or eat things that I know are pretty high in sodium.

I think I would like to stick to the low sodium lifestyle, since our bodies just do not need as much sodium as we take in. I know that I will have to adjust that as well, since through running, sweating, and losing sodium, I will need to make sure that I don't get dehydrated. But, I hope to find some sort of balance through it all, since I obviously am going to have this blood pressure problem, and I still don't want to go on any type of medication for it. (FYI, my bp is too low to actually go on bp meds, but this is something that I may have to accept in the future).

Well, would you look at that, I only meant to write a short little post about how I plan on posting my runs throughout my training but I actually wrote a whole post. Lucky you! :)

Yesterday's Stats:

Calories (-) 309
Sodium (+) 1437
Protein (+) 9

farm hangover

A little warning, this post will have nothing to do with healthy living... I am seriously in a fog right now from eating, drinking, and being merry. I am still recovering from a truly wonderful weekend at a farm and bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, so get ready for photo overload. This place was absolutely breathtaking...

 

 

 

 

 

That cow, her name is Butterscotch (named by me), and she wanted to come home with me. :) Darn CRV wouldn't fit her though...

Mike and I did get 1 run in while we were there, a hilly and tough 3 mile run, but a run none the less. I stopped to take pictures quite a bit, so I really wouldn't even call it a work out.

I have a slight obsession with cows... those who have known me my whole life will remember it.

Yup, there I am, in my bridesmaid's dress, trying to get close enough to a baby calf to take a picture with it. Those suckers are fast though... and the mama didn't really like me chasing after her babe and made it known by mooing like crazy at me.

It was the best weekend ever... good food, good friends, and good times.

Oh yeah, and Mike was there. He had a lot of fun too.

Now, it's back to reality... and HALF MARATHON TRAINING!!! That shizz starts tomorrow! EEK!

i heart food

Getting called off from the hospital when I am supposed to work is like winning the lottery for about 5 minutes. I spend all day trying to get my mind in "hospital mode," dreading it because I have 800 other things to be doing at home, and then I get the call. As soon as I see who is calling, I start smiling from ear to ear. I imagine an evening filled with relaxation, accomplishment, and an early bedtime. Then, I end up going home and cramming 900 things into an evening that I didn't even know I had a few hours earlier, going to bed later than if I had worked at the hospital... it's funny how that happens.

Either way, I was really glad to not have to work last night. After Mike and I ran a few errands, we headed home and I made dinner. I am sure all of you are readers of SkinnyTaste, Gina's Skinny Recipes. If you aren't, you should be. She always has wonderful recipes that are simple and health(ier) than most other recipes. A few days ago, I saw her post about Zucchini Tots and wanted to make them immediately. I already had the ingredients (win), but didn't have the time (boo). Last night was the perfect opportunity.

It was a fairly simple recipe to follow and they took no time at all. I roasted some broccoli and grilled some chicken with bbq sauce to go along with them, and dinner was ready in under an hour.

Mike was a big fan of the tots as well, and I can definitely see making these for a party or a cook out in the future.



For lunch yesterday (and today), I made a hummus and veggie sandwich, oh. my. yum. Garlic hummus, sliced cucumbers, red peppers, and tomatoes on toasted bread with a side of cherries.  I haven't had hummus in a while, and you can tell because we bought the container on Sunday and it only has 1 serving left. That will be tomorrow's lunch. :)

Breakfast this week has also been extra special. I have been adding sliced peaches, blueberries, and strawberries to my overnight oats with greek yogurt. The peaches add such flavor to my otherwise regular breakfast and I just can't seem to get enough.

Reading back through this post, I pose the following question; Should I get this excited over my last 3 meals? Am I normal? Don't answer that...



That is about all I have for you today. I ran again yesterday morning, another so-so run that didn't feel great, but at least I got it in. I didn't have enough time to run this morning and planned on going to the gym to get my push ups and abs in, but didn't even have enough time for that. Gotta love it when I walk into the gym, go straight to the locker room to get ready without doing a single work out... What that means is I will have to squeeze my push ups and abs in tonight before I go to bed. It is looking like it is going to be
another late night in the Black household!

We have a wedding this weekend for one of my close friends in Virginia, so we are packing up tonight so that we can leave straight from work tomorrow.

If I don't post tomorrow, have a great weekend everyone!

meatloaf in july

We had a pretty low key weekend, not nearly as exciting as the weekend before. We had dinner with friends on Friday for Natasha's birthday, then called it an early night so that we could tackle our huge to do list on Saturday.

Saturday morning, we were up and out of bed by 6:45, partly because of annoying dogs, and partly because we wanted to get an early run in before the humidity got too bad. We were out the door by 7:00 and did 5 miles around our neighborhood. I was absolutely drenched by the time we got home, so I guess the humidity was already bad. It was a slow run, but it was pretty good. I am glad we got it over with early, so we had the rest of the day to work on other things.

Starting this upcoming weekend, we have a very busy schedule. Each weekend, we are out of town until we leave for a week and a half of weddings/vacation in Mexico and Providence, RI. We used this past weekend to prepare ourselves and get some things done that will need to be done by the end of the summer. 

One of the items on my to do list was to go bridesmaid dress shopping with Lindsay. We definitely found "the one(s)" and had a blast trying on bunches of dresses. After shopping, I introduced Lindsay to the fabulous world of ring cleaning, and we grabbed lunch while our rings were soaking at the jewelers. During lunch, Lindsay mentioned she was making a turkey meatloaf for dinner. I thought that was a little weird considering it is July and 100+ degrees outside, but for some reason, I began to instantly crave some.

Lindsay assured me it was a lighter version of the winter time favorite and forwarded me the recipe from Real Simple.  The spinach, egg white, and ground turkey combination definitely had me interested so I decided to give it a try. It turned out fantastic.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe by subbing whole grain oats for the breadcrumbs, cutting the parsley measurements in half, and per Lindsay's suggestion, cutting the onion and spinach measurements in half as well. I decided to make mashed red skinned potatoes and corn on the cob to summerfy this meatloaf even more.

Mike and I both really enjoyed this meal and I am really glad Lindsay suggested it. Thanks so much!



While everything was cooking, I decided to use up some kale in the refrigerator the only way that I know how... kale chips. :)

They were a great snack to have while we were waiting for dinner to be ready.

We had some great fruit this week in our weekly produce box, including cherries (love), strawberries, and more blueberries. I feel like I hit the produce jackpot with this delivery. The only problem, how are we going to get rid of all these blueberries before we leave on Thursday? I know we will get through the strawberries and cherries, but I really only take a small amount of blueberries in my oats everyday, and we have 2 full pints to get through.

Since the lemon blueberry muffins that I made last week were such a huge hit, I decided to make more yesterday.  This time, I threw in some chopped strawberries to make them a little more exciting.

They turned out so delicious. The strawberries give them a gooey, sweet flavor that goes so wonderful with lemon.

I had one this morning with a little butter on top and it was absolute perfection. This recipe is so easy and I plan on continuing to make these for as long as we have blueberries. I am considering making an extra batch to throw in the freezer for when we don't have any... That might have to happen before we leave on Thursday.

I also made some super creamy overnight oats with greek yogurt, strawberries, and blueberries for breakfast this morning.

Don't want those berries to go bad!

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This morning I did 3 miles around Mike's office and it was pretty sluggish. I just didn't have it in me today and I ran super slow... maybe that meatloaf had something to do with it? I felt heavy and tired, and HOT. It was only 8:15 in the morning, but the heat was so miserable. A friend told me over the weekend that runners only get a few "great" runs per week. 3/5 runs are just bad but you have to get through them. That is a pretty true statement and I guess today was one of my bad ones. I can look forward to my next run and hope it is a good, or great one.

Have a good Monday, everyone! I've got leftover meatloaf and mashed red potatoes for lunch with cherries for dessert. It is going to be a good day. :)

brunch, garden, and muffin makin'

Read part 1 here, and part 2 here!

I told you all that last weekend was full! I feel like when we actually have the opportunity to stay home and don't have plans, we cram as much as possible into those few days to accomplish everything that we can.

After going to church on Sunday morning, we went to brunch at Beasley's Chicken and Honey in downtown Raleigh with a few friends. Oh my yummness. It was amazing.

We each started with a drink, because that is what you do at brunch. I went with a cucumber, mint, and moonshine combo which was fabulous. I can't remember the name of it and it isn't on their website, but I am sure if you can remember cucumber, you can find it there.

It was extremely refreshing and I loved the cucumber flavor. Plus, it came in a mini mason jar... enough said.

Mike ordered the Reunion, chicken, egg, and cheese on a biscuit, which I had a little bite of. It was really good.

I ordered the Red Beans Rancheros, which was beyond delicious. I love Mexican inspired breakfast... eggs, beans, tortilla, guac... yum.

Adding yet another place to my list of fave brunch spots in Raleigh.

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Garden Update!!!

This go-round of veggies has been way more beneficial to us than the last. We have already harvested several things from this garden and the boxes are so full! Below is our squash and zucchini box.

Our brussel sprouts, which are from our first round of planting, are still hanging on. They are finally starting to look like sprouts and the buds just keep getting bigger and bigger.

We also have some mini cucumbers poking through,

Some itty bitty green peppers starting to bloom,

and a huge mess of melon vines...

If only someone would have listened to his wife when she warned him of this... Oh well. We will see if we get anything from it!

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After brunch and an extended nap on the couch, I decided to make some blueberry muffins. We have quite a bit of blueberries from our produce deliveries lately, so I wanted to do something to use them up.

I found this recipe on a blog and followed it exactly... I don't mess around with baking, way too easy to ruin things that way. I loved the addition of lemon zest, it makes them so tasty!

So good! I had one for breakfast this morning with a little butter and it was a great way to start the day. The greek yogurt and whole wheat flour keeps them relatively healthy, which makes them even more awesome.

I think I will make another batch this weekend, because Mike loves them too and they are great to have in the mornings and easy to grab for work.

I have already gotten in 3 runs this week, which is pretty exciting. I am going to do another on Saturday morning, but will have to wake up pretty early so that we can beat the heat. Even my 830AM runs this week have been HOT! 

homemade weekend

Back with part 2 of this past weekend. To see part 1, click here!

After running on Saturday, Mike and I spent the day around the house. He did some yard work, I did some house work, and then I got serious about some cooking. I have been wanting to make my own pasta sauce for a while now, since everything that is store bought is full of sodium. I had done a little research, so I knew how to get things started, then I just started adding ingredients until it tasted the way I wanted it.

Not only did I have some homemade pasta sauce to make dinner on Saturday night, but I also have leftovers to make something else this week, plus 3 bags of pasta sauce for the freezer. It will be so nice knowing those are there to pull out and use whenever we want.

We happened to have had a bunch of tomatoes on hand from my mom's garden, the produce delivery box, and even a few from our garden, so I just used everything we had. As soon as I finished making the sauce, our delivery arrived with 3 more tomatoes... perfect! 

Carolyn's Homemade Pasta Sauce
makes: A TON!

10 cups of chopped tomatoes
4-5 yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Italian spices
1 cup sugar


I made mine in a crock pot, which made things really easy. I started by adding the olive oil, onions and garlic to the crock pot, setting on high for about an hour. I stirred it frequently and turned it down once the onions were translucent. Then I added everything else. Left the sauce on low for about 2-3 hours.

After everything was cooked, I put the sauce into the blender and blended for a quick 5 seconds to puree the veggies a little more. I like my sauce kinda chunky, so you can do whatever you like.

Place in freezer safe containers (which apparently mason jars are not) and freeze or use immediately.

It just looks so cute in mason jars! But after a quick freezing lesson from Mike, I moved them into quart sized bags, which makes a lot more sense for defrosting and using. I can simply cut these bags open and throw the frozen sauce in a pan if I really wanted to. That Mike... so smart.

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Mike and I were out running errands while the sauce was cooking in the crock pot, so when we got home, I got started on dinner. GoLocal had sent a spaghetti squash in our produce box last week, so I decided to make a spaghetti squash spaghetti casserole. The sauce was already piping hot, so all I had to do was cook the squash, the meat, and then put it all together. Are you sure you can handle this? 2 recipes, 1 post!?!

 
Spaghetti Squash Casserole

1 spaghetti squash, seeds and guts removed
1.5 cups of pasta sauce (I used my freshly homemade sauce)
0.5 lb ground turkey (optional)
4 oz. cream cheese (I accidentally bought fat free, yuck, but you couldn't tell in the casserole)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

To cook the spaghetti squash, cut it in half lengthwise and place it face down in a microwave safe dish after smearing with olive oil. Be sure to use a dish with a lid. Place covered in the microwave for 10-12 minutes, until you can easily insert a fork through the skin of the squash.

While that is cooking, brown the ground turkey in some olive oil until cooked through. When the spaghetti squash is done, use a fork to scrape the inside of the squash. You will see how easily this just comes out in strands to look like pasta. Place the squash "pasta" in the bottom of a 9x9 oven safe pan, preheat oven to 375F.

Add the sauce to the cooked ground turkey and allow to heat up. Once hot, add in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Pour the sauce mixture over the squash and then top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and dish is warm.

This was AWESOME! Mike and I really, really liked it and plan on making it again. I love the spaghetti squash and helped me not to feel guilty about having a piece of real italian bread with garlic butter!

Along with our dinner, we each had one of Mike's home-brewed beers.

Finally, for dessert... homemade ice cream. Homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream to be exact... I know. You are jealous. ;)

Mike put together a batch after we ran out to get some peppermint extract and saw these were on sale.

The ice cream turned out fantastic. We have so much leftover and we just keep going in for spoonfuls here and there.

Yum!

Part 3 will include updates to our garden and some yummy blueberry lemon muffins that I made on Sunday. Stay tuned!