a thrilling post on running and brussel sprouts

I just went to my phone for photos for today's blog post and realized I only have 3. 2 of them actually just being screenshots from my run this morning, so they really don't count. Things have been.... well, hectic in my brain lately. Today was the first day this week that I got out for a run because of a few unexpected activities with work, but I guess sometimes that happens.

So, I apologize for the quick, and probably quite boring post that you are about to see. :)

I got 5 miles in today because I figured that since I haven't ran all week, and I can't run tomorrow in order to save my legs for 11 miles on Saturday, 3 miles would have just been crap.

With a lot on my mind and a podcast blasting in my ears, I felt like this run went really well. I wasn't trying to go fast or hard, I just wanted to enjoy the cooler weather and finish in time before work.

For dinner last night, I made some ground turkey tacos and brussel sprouts. I know, rando combination, but Mike had bought me a huge stalk of brussel sprouts last week and I wasn't going to let them go to waste. I am working at the hospital tonight, so I wanted to use them up last night. They ended up working out perfectly because while I was hungry enough for a 2nd taco, I decided to go with a heaping mound of sprouts instead. That left me perfectly full, without overdoing it.

That is all I've got for today! Have a good one!

Mexico, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island... in that order.

I'm back! I won't be doing a full re-cap on my trip because it was very involved and would seriously take me 8 posts to cover it all. Instead, I will give you just a little snippet as to what I have been up to for the last week and a half. First half of the trip - Mexico, for a close friend's wedding.

While I was in Mexico, I only needed to get in 5 miles on Saturday and then a 3 mile run on Tuesday. Since there was really no where to run, unless I did so on the beach or left the resort (a big scary no for me), we did a bunch of kilometers on the treadmill. Their treadmills are set up way differently than ours are, because I had no idea how far I actually ran. I pretty much just ran for 45 minutes or so at a speed of 10 (clearly not the same) and figured it was about 4 -5 miles. I ended up skipping my Tuesday run since that was the day we left Mexico and we had 12 hours of travel time ahead of us. I needed all the sleep I could get.

Wednesday we woke up in Boston and headed out for a 3 mile run around a nearby park. We really had no idea where we were going, so we ended up just going round and round and then through and around the park over and over. We just ran until we got to 3 miles and called it quits. The route looks quite funny on the Nike app.

I spent the entire rest of Wednesday exploring Boston, so I wish I had gone running after that. We could have gone on a much more fun run around the city than what we did, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Thursday was another really busy day. After doing some touristy Boston things with my sister in laws, we literally had 20 minutes to get to our hotel, grab our bags, and be on a train towards Providence. I thought I would have time later in the day to go for a run, but it just didn't happen. As soon as we got off the train we were in full wedding planning mode for my sister in law and spending some quality time with family.

On Friday morning, Mike and I woke up with a plan to run 6 miles around his cousin's house. She lives near a park along the water in Rhode Island, so we headed out by 8 am to begin our run. The run started out great on pretty flat land and then we hit the park. For some reason, my knee started bothering me around mile 2 and just wouldn't let up. I had to stop 3 or more times to stretch it out but each time I began running again, it felt awful. I could tell it was very swollen and it hurt the most to stretch it out or bend it completely. With each step I winced in pain. Finally, at 4 miles, Mike made me stop. He told me I was going to end up injuring myself worse, and though he was probably right, I didn't want to listen. I was feeling great and felt like my energy was really high for a 6 mile run. We walked the remaining 2 miles back to his cousin's house.

I was really worried about my knee. I still am a little worried that it is going to interfere with my training. After we ran, I alternated ice on and off for the next few hours which really helped with the pain. I was able to wear heels the next 2 nights without any issues and now my knee feels completely normal. Granted, I haven't ran since that day, so we will see how it goes when I am back at it tomorrow.

We had every intention of running this morning but to be perfectly honest, we are exhausted. We got back into town at 10 pm on Sunday night after a very busy few days with Mike's family and then both of us headed in to work on Monday morning. Right after work last night, we met my mom and her boyfriend half way between our houses to get our dogs and didn't get home until almost 10 pm again, getting us to bed much later than we wanted. There are suitcases and laundry piles all over our bedroom and it took us almost 30 minutes to pack up our gym bags this morning before finally realizing that even if we left at that second, we wouldn't be able to squeeze in a 3 mile run. Instead, Mike jumped in the shower while I cuddled up for 30 more minutes with the pups. I think we are all feeling a very early bedtime tonight. Right after we get some laundry started.

 
My plan is to get my 3 short runs in tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, rest on Saturday, and then get my long (7 mile) run in on Sunday. Then next week I am going to try to get back on my normal Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat schedule. After talking with a few people about what my knee is feeling like, I think I just have to treat the symptoms by icing after runs and doing some really good stretches before and after each run. Luckily, I can ice my knee at work after my weekday runs, I just worry about allowing myself the icing time on the weekends. I tend to go, go, go on the weekends, but hopefully I can get in some good rest and relaxation for the remaining weeks of my training.

Have a great day! 

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!

half marathon decision and some recent eats

Can I just tell you what a major slacker I have been this week? I feel like I can not get enough sleep and it takes every ounce of energy to wake up each morning to get to work on time, let alone get a work out in. Although totally worth it, these crazy busy weekends are really starting to affect my weekday routines. I am really looking forward to these next few weekends of staying home and saving some energy.

I guess it is time to get my butt moving because after much discussion with Mike, I have decided to run in the Neuse River Bridge Run, Carolina East Health System Half Marathon! Now that I have made this decision, I am really excited for it. For one, it is taking place in New Bern, a short 1 hour and 45 minutes away and also where my mom lives. It will still be a weekend away from home, but at least it is a few months after we finish with our crazy summer traveling, and it isn't quite as far as Virginia Beach.

Carolina East Health System is actually the very first hospital I worked for when I graduated from nursing school, so I kind of feel like it is meant to be. Also, it is only $45 to enter. I know I probably won't get nearly the swag and recognition since it is not a big fancy race, but I don't really care about all that. I really just want to accomplish this goal, and I don't want to spend a ton of money doing it.

The race is on October 20, which gives me plenty of time to train the correct way, preventing injury (and anxiety) from training too quickly. I plan on using Hal Higdon's half marathon training program and I am trying to decide between the Novice 1 or Novice 2 plan. The Novice 1 is for people who have never run before and only have a basic fitness level of 3 miles 3-4 times per week. The Novice 2 is for those who have run 5K, 10K, or even some half marathons. I think that I probably fit more into the Novice 2 category, but I plan on reading both pretty thoroughly to see which is the best option for me.

The plan calls for a 12 week training period, which, if I want to be ready by October 20, I would need to start training the last week of July or 1st week of August. I will be in Mexico/Boston/Providence for a full week in August, but I think it will be fun to continue the training in fun places and check out some new scenery.  Now, I just need to convince my sister to train and come run with me. :)

--

Recent Eats

Since we got home a little late on Sunday, and we didn't have time to put together lunches (plus we were out of bread). Instead, we each grabbed lunch out. I went to a place near my work called William's Gourmet Kitchen and got a veggie wrap with sweet potato fries.

I was able to save half the wrap for yesterday's lunch as well, but those sweet potato fries were gone!

Monday night, we had my favorite meal as of right now, roasted veggies with a fried egg on top. I love it so much!

I am seriously considering having it again tonight.

Last night, Mike and I made a huge batch of chicken and veggie stir fry. We cut up a bunch of vegetables, including some Asian white eggplant that we got in our produce box.

We used some linguine pasta, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and roasted garlic to spice the dish up a bit and it turned out fantastic. I am excited to eat the leftovers for lunch today.

We have come up with a pretty great meal plan for the week, which makes life so much easier. I love leaving work knowing exactly what we are having for dinner and that the ingredients are already at home waiting for me. I wish I would be more organized and do this every week!


-- 

Franklin

Can we just talk for a minute about what an adorable dog I have? I know, I know... usually I am talking about how annoying he is, but seriously, he is so freaking cute! I have some photo evidence for you. Please note, all of these pictures are of Franklin ON TOP OF ME. It is impossible for him to sit next to me, he must be on top of me, at all times.

"Please pet me?"

"I am too tired to get up, so just pet me."

"If you won't pet me, I will just go to sleep."

"SIKE, now pet me!"

roasted veggie and basil chicken

Mike and I have been having a hard time coming up with meals lately. Usually, I have plenty of time to research and make up ideas during the day, but lately, I haven't had a plan before the drive home.

Yesterday, I had taken out some chicken so that we could make something with that, but I wasn't in the mood for a simple piece of grilled chicken with veggies and a starch on the side. After a quick survey of our fridge and pantry, I just started throwing some stuff together that actually turned out really awesome.

After chopping up some veggies, I threw the onions and a few cloves of garlic in a pan along with some olive oil. I let each of those soften up a bit before I added the chicken until it was cooked through.

While that was all going, I coated the rest of the veggies in olive oil and sea salt, and roasted them in the oven for about 30 minutes until they were tender.

Once the chicken was cooked through, I added a little sea salt, pepper, chopped sweet basil (from Mike's garden), 2 tablespoons of skim milk, 1 oz of cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of plain greek yogurt, and about a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese to the chicken and allowed to simmer and thicken up.

After everything was finished, I put the chicken over some cooked quinoa and added the veggies.

It was really rich and creamy with a ton of flavor. I had the rest for lunch today and it was just as good as last night. I love when a meal comes together well!

--

I didn't get a run in today, since I woke up to pouring rain outside. I have absolutely zero interest in running on a treadmill these days, so I will try again for tomorrow morning. I really need to get on it, since I ate pretty awful last weekend and am still feeling heavy from it.

Hope everyone had a good day!

spoiling my dinner

Happy Friday! You all know it is my favorite day of the week!

On the agenda for this weekend... NOTHING!!! Whoo hoo! We are attending a concert with my mom tonight, but otherwise, we plan on just getting some things done around the house. We haven't had a weekend at home in quite some time, and will be out of town for the next few as well, so I plan on using this weekend to get as much (or as little) done as possible. :)

So, after work last night, Mike and I decided to go grocery shopping. We didn't have a ton to get, but we also weren't prepared to go, so the shopping took a lot longer than normal. When we headed home, I remembered that there was a Rita's close by and convinced Mike to stop. I had been carrying around a coupon for a free treat of my choice for over a year, and I was ready to cash in.

As I got to the cash register, with a mouth full of chocolate custard and mango ice goodness, the cashier informed me they no longer accept the stamp cards and I could not use it. Major sad face. But, what do you do, give it back? Heck no! Either way, I got my Rita's fix!

This was probably a pretty bad idea, considering it was almost 8 pm and we hadn't eaten dinner yet. We got home, got moving on cleaning and straightening the house, and then decided that we were too full from frozen deliciousness to have any actual food. Not the smartest moves we have made, but it was well worth it.

By the time bed time rolled around, we were all exhausted. Franklin fell asleep with his rope toy in his arms. Poor little guy tuckered himself out playing.

Since I am still walking like a total penguin, I decided to take today off from exercising. We slept in a little this morning, I actually took the time to do my hair, and I was able to get a few errands ran before coming to work. Getting in and out of my chair is still a total pain, but the car is the worst. The pain I am feeling is pure misery, maybe the worst it has ever felt before (but I could be totally exaggerating). I think I am swearing off lunges for the rest of my life... until next time.

I ended up piling some binders on top of one another yesterday to make a stand up desk. It made working pretty difficult, but it made my legs feel so much better.

---

I just finished up with my snack for today, and will move on to lunch shortly. We got some jalapeno palmetto cheese (pimento cheese) spread last night and I had some of that with a few ritz crackers. That cheese spread is awesome. I could probably eat it by the spoon.

My breakfast today was in the form of a smoothie. I used chocolate protein powder, a banana, 5 frozen strawberries, 8 oz of milk, and about 2 tablespoons of vanilla greek yogurt. It was awesome. Mike was rushing me out the door, so I didn't have time for a fun picture. Instead, you get the riding to work with my smoothie in my lap photo. Thanks a lot, Mike. ;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 40
Sodium (-) 285
Protein (-) 1

the first harvest

Good Morning!

It is Wednesday, so I am gearing up for the downward slope left in the week. We are heading to the beach on Friday, so there is lots to do to get ready. It seems our weeks just fly by since we have a few commitments on the week nights, leaving us little room for laundry and packing and such. In addition to all of that, I also need to find time to get a certain someone's birthday shopping done. I have gotten a few things, but I still have some left to get.

Since there is so much going on this week, we have gotten little to no exercise in. :( We keep making plans to run, but it seems like our list of chores after work keeps getting longer and longer. Plus, since we are taking a half day on Friday, we are trying to put in extra hours at work so that we don't have to take any vacation time. With the busy summer we have ahead of us, we have to reserve all of our vacation for that.

We WILL be running on Saturday and Sunday morning, and I think we are both looking forward to that. Hopefully next week we can really get back in the swing of things.

Dinners have been quick and easy lately, focused on low sodium and increasing my potassium. So far, I haven't seen a big difference in my blood pressure, so I am beginning to worry that it is out of my control. But, I haven't given up hope yet. The truth is that I have been reducing my sodium for almost a year, and have been conscious of it since my dad was first diagnosed with hypertension years ago, so the fact that this may not be related to anything I am doing, is not that surprising. I just want to make sure that I am doing everything I can to avoid complications. My doctor said to monitor for a few weeks and then we will make some decisions on the next steps, so that is exactly what I am doing. 

One item that has been making a regular appearance for dinner is baked potatoes. They are rich in potassium and low in sodium, so they are a good choice for me. On Monday, before we headed to trivia, we made grilled chicken sandwiches with a small baked potato on the side. Eating out just doesn't allow for low sodium choices, so I plan to do as much home eating as possible until we figure out what is going on. At times, I realize this isn't an option, but when it is, I am trying to just make my own food.

I grilled the chicken in a little safflower oil and then topped with a slice of muenster cheese. My baked potato is topped with a tablespoon of earth balance vegan butter. Delicious meal.

Last night, we kept with the theme of baked potatoes and added a fried egg to our meal for some protein. I ended up mixing my egg with the potato and it was sooo good.

Lunches for the last few days have been nothing but salad. But, it was excellent salad.

Do you want to know what is most exciting about this salad? The lettuce came from our garden!!!

After much researching, Mike found that our romaine lettuce was ready for it's first harvest, so we cleaned it up, had a taste, and made some salads. There is something about vegetables that your husband grew that just taste so much better than store bought. :)

Our other veggies are looking pretty good, but we had to deal with a bug problem. They were eating all of the leaves! Mike found some good organic options for ridding our leaves of bugs, so hopefully, they haven't ruined our crops!

I have also been eating the heck out of some mangoes lately. I love mango. It is so messy, but so very good.

After dinner, running errands, and talking to my sister on facetime last night, I was really wanting something sweet. I went for a small cup of french vanilla ice cream with some chocolate covered sunflower seeds on top. Yum.

This morning for breakfast, I finished off some vanilla greek yogurt with some fresh strawberries and banana slices. It was very tasty and very filling.

I am working at the hospital tonight, so I am praying for a smooth and uneventful shift. Then we are only a day and a half away from the beach!!! I can't wait!

Have a great Wednesday!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 235
Sodium (-) 754 (!!)
Protein (-) 12

single digits

Ever since high school, I have worn a size 8 in pants. Sometimes I would get away with finding a size 6 that fit, but for the most part, size 8 was my size. Fast forward to after college, when I started gaining weight, I was a solid size 10. Sometimes that size 10 would be snug, other times, it would be a little loose, but always a size 10.

Y'all - I am officially back in the single digits of pants sizes.

This is a really exciting accomplishment. I usually try to relate my weight loss to something other than my weight, and this is huge. I seriously can not wear any of my size 10s anymore, so getting dressed each day is sort of difficult, but I will take that feeling any day!

Luckily, I have a few pairs of size 8 pants that, for whatever reason, I have held on to for all these years. Today, I pulled out a pair of J Crew size 8 kakis that have been sitting in the back of my closet for over 5 years, without wearing them. I bought them right out of college and maybe got 1 or 2 wears out of them before they just felt too tight. I am wearing those babies today.

Although I really don't want to, I guess I HAVE to go shopping for more pants that fit me.... ;)

This past weekend, I tried on a pair of shorts that I wore a ton last summer and they pretty much just fell off of me, straight to the ground. It was such an amazing feeling.

--

Last night, we headed over to our bible study group for a pot luck of salads. This was a welcome change to our pot lucks, considering how horribly we all ate over the weekend. Thanks to my GoLocal product box, I didn't even have to go to the store to get anything. We just came home, chopped up some veggies, cleaned some spinach, and off we went.

I threw a few colored eggs in there, since I have so many to get through! It was a great dinner.

I attempted a run this morning, but it was pretty awful. I felt heavy and tired, and only got about 2.5 miles in. Franklin seemed full of energy, so I felt bad making him go so much slower than he had wanted to, but some days are just more difficult than others. I hope the next few runs will be better since I am running in my first 10K this weekend.

I hope everyone has a great day! I am working at the hospital tonight and dreading it. I would love to get in bed at 8:30 tonight and go to sleep! Oh well! Maybe tomorrow night.

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 554
Sodium (-) 57
Protein (-) 23 :(

going the distance

My sister asked me if I would be interested in doing a half marathon. My initial reaction was 'heck no, I have no interest in running for 13 miles.' But then, I started thinking more and more about it. I still haven't decided if I will (or can) do it, but it is certainly something I am now considering. I want to do some research on it and see what the training schedule looks like, first.

I really want this lifestyle change to stick with me so I am afraid of doing too much and burning out, but then I am afraid of not challenging myself enough and giving up. I am feeling really great and balanced right now, so I don't want to push it. At the same time, I am steadily increasing my running distances, so maybe in a few months, I will be much more ready for a half marathon.

I also think it would be a great accomplishment. The half marathon I am thinking about would be the first weekend in September, which would be right around the 1 year mark for starting this blog and for making a huge change in my life. I think that is a pretty great way to celebrate 1 year and to really see how far I have come.

What do you think? Should I go for it? 

--

When I got off of work yesterday, the sun was blaring so I grabbed Franklin and headed out for a run. My run turned more into a walk, but it was nice to get out and stretch my legs a bit. For some reason, I couldn't get myself together to actually run for more than a mile or so. I kept stopping, getting tangled in my headphones, and getting wrapped up in Franklin's leash. It just wasn't our day.

We walked for a little over 2 miles, and then headed home. I think Franklin was glad to cut our walk and run short, since he hadn't eaten yet and was probably starving.

For this week's bible study, I decided to make some blueberry muffins. We had decided last week, as a group, that we would have a breakfast pot luck for this week's meeting.

I followed a really simple recipe, I think from Betty Crocker, or some cookbook I had, and they turned out pretty good. They didn't have the big fluffy top like I would have imagined, but they were still pretty good.

When I got there, there was an entire table full of awesome breakfast treats. It was a total carb fest though, with biscuits, pancakes, muffins, and bread. There was also a bunch of fruit, so I tried to put a lot of that on my plate to avoid too many carbs.

I didn't take any pictures (these people don't know me very well yet, so I will slowly introduce them to my picture and blogging ways), but I had a pancake with blueberries and syrup, a biscuit, a handful of grapes, and a small piece of monkey bread. Everyone enjoyed the blueberry muffins, and I had a few extras to bring home.

When I got back home, I spent a good 30 minutes packing up my breakfasts and lunches for the next 2 days. I am working at the hospital tonight, so I will be really thankful that I already have my meals packed up and I can head straight to bed when I get off.

For breakfast this morning, I had some vanilla greek yogurt, frozen cherries and berries, and some granola on top. It was so delicious.

Then, around mid morning, I had a half of a whole wheat bagel thin with chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough almond butter and sliced banana.

I am pretty excited about my lunch today. I cut up a bunch of veggies (tomato, red pepper, orange pepper, cucumber), grabbed a handful of spinach, some chicken that was in the fridge, and a little balsamic vinegar to put inside of a whole wheat wrap. I hope it is as good as I am thinking it will be.

Hope you all have a great day! It is going to be busy, busy, busy all week since we are out of town this weekend. So much to do!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 534
Sodium (+) 408
Protein (+) 6