300

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Ours was busy, but actually really restful and productive.

On Friday night our plans got cancelled, which was actually something we didn't mind at all. We took the opportunity to make some dinner, rent a movie, and get a good night's sleep. Since Mike and I both had really long runs planned for Saturday morning, we made a baked pasta dish that would give us some good fuel for the morning.

We also had a few glasses of red wine, since it was a stressful week and we needed to unwind a bit.

It was a perfect way to spend a Friday night.

For the pasta, we used grilled chicken, my homemade pasta sauce, and a bunch of different types of cheese all mixed together with some bow tie noodles. We cooked everything separately and then threw it in a casserole dish with the cheese and warmed it in the oven. It turned out pretty delish and we will be eating for lunch over the next few days. :)

On Saturday morning, we headed out early to get our long runs out of the way. I had 11 miles on the plan and they actually went really well. For the first time ever, I felt like I had paced myself really well, and didn't get burned out half way through. It wasn't until about 8.5 miles that my knee started to flare up. I took about 2 or 3 breaks to really stretch it out and I was able to finish out all 11 miles. I must say that by mile 10.5, I was ready to be done! I am really hoping that adrenaline takes over when I am running my half and I can push through that feeling.

I was really proud of myself for not letting my runs get any slower than 10'01. That is a pretty big accomplishment for me.

That run put me over the 300 mile mark. Pretty exciting! 

I am not sure how I am going to squeeze 12 miles in this coming Saturday with a house full of overnight guests and a wedding that evening. I hope my legs can handle dancing after 12 miles! We shall see!

More weekend re-cap in the morning! Happy Monday!

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!

top 5

Mike and I ran in the March of Dimes 5K race on Saturday, with a bunch of people from his work. I was pretty excited about this race, since I hadn't done anything speed related since starting my half marathon training. With all of the miles I have put into running lately, I figured I could set a pretty good PR for this race, and I was pumped. 

Of course, it was a great getting to run with my favorite running pal, Layne, but just before we headed to the starting line, the rain started to come down. Before picture:

After picture... and after the rain:

 Of course, Mike and I had to get an after picture as well:

This run was awesome. Not really the course, or the rain, but because I felt unstoppable. I really pushed myself, which is not something I do very often, but it gave me a great feeling. If you can believe it, I finished this 5K in 25:41 with a pace of 8:20. My best 5K to date and I even finished in the top 5 females in my age group.

Not only did I make huge strides with this run, but Mike and Layne did as well. Mike finished his run in 24:01 with an average pace of 7:47. His best run to date as well.

Check out my splits! I was moving in that first mile!

After our race, Mike and I went home to get ready before heading to Greenville for the ECU game. It was rainy and gross out, but it was still a fun time. Plus... I got to wear my new rain boots. Win-win.

Sunday, Mike and I did a lot of running around. After church, he headed out for a 17 mile run while I went shopping. :) I got supplies to fall-ify our house, starting with a new wreath for our front door.

It turned out better than I expected and I love the way it looks. I expected it to take me all day to put together, but it was actually really easy!

While I was crafting, I had dinner cooking away. Mike and I were both in the mood for something hearty, so I ran to the store and got ingredients to make a pot roast. I had to call my mom for a few pointers, but it turned out really good.

I learned a few tricks for next time, and even figured out how to make gravy from scratch, so I was pretty excited for how it came out. Mike and I have been eating leftovers for lunch and everything actually tasted better the 2nd and 3rd day. I love when that happens.

Well, things around here have been really busy, so I better get back to it! Have a great day and week!

it's really happening!

This week I signed up for my half marathon. Not only did I sign up, buy my sister also signed up.  I was excited when I first signed up on Tuesday, but now that I know my sister has signed up, I am beyond excited. (and why do her blog posts always get me choked up??)

The nerves are definitely starting to set in, and I am feeling frantic about getting as much information as possible about the race: the fuel, the water, the everything. These next few weeks are going to be brutal, but I can't wait to cross that finish line.

Yesterday, I did my 3rd run in a row, and per usual, it sucked. After having 2 great runs in a row, this one just blew. My legs felt heavy, my body felt tired, and I pretty much just went through the movements to get 3 miles done. I am glad I did it, and I never regret a run, but it certainly wasn't anything great.

I will not be doing a long run this weekend, since my training plan has me running a race. Mike and I will be running in a 5K on Saturday morning before heading to Greenville to watch the ECU football game. I am hoping that I can PR at this race, since I haven't raced in a while and my running has come such a long way.

The last 5K I ran was back in April and was my fastest race ever at a pace of 8:34, finishing in 26:35. If you remember in this post, I have gotten progressively faster over the last year and a half, and I would like to continue my streak. Let's hope I can beat 26:35 tomorrow! (btw, my ONLY goal for the half marathon will be to finish... so don't expect anything spectacular).

On Wednesday night, I had the chance to make a real dinner. I had done my run in the morning, so when we got home from work, Mike headed out for a run while I cooked.

Quinoa in the rice cooker, made with homemade chicken broth.

Stir fried chicken, red bell peppers, onions, garlic, and soy sauce, with cumin and red pepper flakes added.

Roasted sweet and white potatoes.

Mixed all together for a delicious meal and plenty of leftovers. :)

Also on Wednesday, I had a lunch time favorite sandwich: peanut butter and banana, along with mango, carrots and celery.  (I didn't eat the apple)

My department always celebrates Chocolate Wednesdays, which is awesome, especially around Halloween.

I am super excited it is Friday, and ready for the weekend. Tonight I am going to prep some food for our tailgate tomorrow, and then probably just relax. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend as well!

10 miles and prepping for the week

Let me just say that my 10 mile run over the weekend was anything but pretty. I struggled hard for those 10 miles and almost broke down in tears around mile 9.5. I thought about giving up at that point, but I only had half of a mile to go and knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that. I don't blame the mileage though, I blame myself. I did not prepare myself properly for this run, and I certainly learned a few things for next time.

I woke up on Saturday nervous, but ready, for my longest run ever. Mike and I had a big breakfast that morning, including eggs, toast, yogurt, and skim milk. I figured that would have been a perfect meal 3-4 hours before running for almost 2 hours. I figured that would keep me full, yet give me the energy I needed to finish out 10 miles. Boy, was I wrong. Since then, I have done a little research and learned avoiding dairy in the 24 hours prior to a long run is best, so I am thinking I will try that for my next one.

Keep me full? Absolutely. A little too full, actually. I felt nauseous because of how full I was and thought I was going to lose it a few times. Give me energy? Not at all. I was so full that I felt weighed down and miserable, instead of energetic and fueled. I brought along gummy bears, but only had a few due to how full my stomach was. I couldn't even get gummy bears down!

We also brought along a little water. I say a little, because seriously, it wasn't enough water for 1 person to keep hydrated, let alone 2. This is something that Mike and I really need to improve on, hydration during runs. To give us a little credit, we really didn't expect it to be as hot as it was on Saturday. I guess we could have checked the weather, or stepped outside (I even ran errands earlier that morning), but we were prepared for fall temperatures of high 70's, not summer heat of low 90's. We figured we would be sheltered by trees to provide shade, but most of our run was without any trees and the sun barreling down on us. We were parched and hot, and there wasn't a water fountain in sight. Since Mike ran a lot farther than I did, luckily he came across a guy washing his car who allowed him to re-fill his bottle, but next time, we need to plan better for that. I seriously blame my entire emotional breakdown at mile 9.5 on the fact that I was so incredibly thirsty, I could hardly stand it.

My knee started to give me a little trouble around mile 8-9, and it was really hard to recover from that along with the thirst. I definitely ran slower than usual, but I am just happy I finished.

My quads are still hurting and I spent the majority of yesterday really resting in between some cleaning and cooking. I also managed to give both pups a bath, which is a work out in itself.



I have been really trying to follow my sister's lead and prepare our meals on Sunday before the week starts. I am mostly concerned with breakfasts and lunches, since lately between working at the hospital and other obligations, we haven't had too many nights where we have to make elaborate meals.  I am getting a little sick of the same old oatmeal and yogurt, so I wanted to change things up a bit.

I started by making The Fitnessista's Cheesy Broccoli Egg Muffins. I doubled the recipe so I could freeze some for quick and easy breakfasts on the go.

Also, I took a few chicken breasts and cooked them in the crock pot with water, carrots, celery, and onion so that we had some chicken for sandwiches and some homemade chicken broth for cooking later on.

I brought some chicken today with a little hot sauce and tomatoes and stuffed them into a pita. It was a nice,  different lunch.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. It is back to running tomorrow and I am thinking I will try 3 days this week to see if that makes my long run any easier. We will see!

Have a great day!

kale salad, chicken salad, and chopped salad

Let's jump past the hurdle of where I have been and just get into it, shall we? I won't waste your time with all of my boring runs and meals, I will just hit the highlights.

I have been doing really well with my weekday runs. The cooler weather has helped my motivation and gotten both Mike and I out for evening runs and out of bed for morning ones. My long runs are where I have suffered. Since I ran those 7 miles a few weeks ago, I haven't done another long one. I have been out of town or had people in town, so I just haven't had any interest in getting them done. I am getting back into it this weekend though, no excuses.

My half marathon training has me doing 3 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 5 miles on Wednesdays. I usually play with my days a little bit and this week, I ran 3 miles on Wednesday and 5 miles this morning with the plan to run 3 miles tomorrow morning. But that will depend on which day this weekend that I plan on running 9 miles, because I definitely want a rest day before that. Either way, I am feeling pretty good about my runs and hoping that I can get back on track with the longer ones.

In some other fun running news, I have gotten a new pair of shoes! I loooved my Nike Relentless shoes and was really sad that it was time to let them go, but they were really worn out and actually started to give me major blisters from the worn material. I actually think that the blisters were the cause of my knee injury that I had talked about. I am pretty sure they made me shift my stride a bit, which misaligned my legs, so it was definitely time for a new pair of sneaks.

I took them out on a little mud trail for their last hoorah. :)

Mike and I decided to take advantage of a going out of business sale at one of the local running stores. They had running shoes for 50% off their original price, so we each got a pair for the price of one. I also scored a pair of thick running leggings for under $20, which will be perfect for winter running.

TWINSIES! :)

I am still getting used to my shoes since they are waaay more cushioned than my Nike's were. They are breaking in nicely, but I have noticed that the thick running socks that I needed to wear before, are almost too much for these shoes. Which is good since I have a ton of thin running socks that I couldn't wear before if I didn't want to get blisters.

Let's move on to the good stuff.... FOOD! Last weekend we spent our time with my favorite family, my sister and her hubby and kids. We had a great weekend just hanging out and playing with the kiddos and were sad to leave on Sunday. Before we left, my sister talked about prepping all of her lunches and dinners for the week to make life a little easier. When I got home, I decided to do the same by prepping a kale salad and some chicken salad for quick and easy lunches. I am so happy that I did!

Here are the recipes along with an extra recipe that I made a few weeks ago.


First up...  

 
Massaged Kale Salad! Seriously, I love kale. And I am not just saying that because it is really, really good for you, I loooove this stuff. The flavor is unlike any other lettuce and it is sooo filling!

Clean the kale using a salad spinner or paper towels
Cut off any bulky stems
Massage for a few minutes with just a little bit of olive oil. Start off with just a tablespoon and then add more as needed. You want the leaves to soften up, but not become soggy (which is what happened to mine).
Add a little bit of lime or orange juice to give it a citrus-y taste
Add in a handful of dried cranberries and shaved carrots
Top it off with just a sprinkle of sea salt and you are ready to go!

Health(ier) Chicken Salad

Buy a rotisserie chicken (like I did) or cook 2 large chicken breasts until fully cooked
Chop the chicken and add to a large bowl, then add:
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup mayonnaise made with olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 apple, cleaned and chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix together and enjoy! We have been using whole wheat pitas and it has been fantastic!

Chopped Salad 

Mike wanted a chopped salad recently, so instead of buying all the ingredients separately, I just went to Harris Teeter and grabbed a few things from their salad bar. It made this meal super easy to make and saved me a lot of money by only getting what I needed for a few salads.

1 head of romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped


1 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
2 tablespoons real bacon crumbles
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
2 tablespoons honey dijon mustard dressing
2 thinly sliced steaks (1 extra for the pups)
Sea Salt and Pepper

Season your steaks with a little sea salt and pepper. Grill in a pan until desired temperature (I tried to do medium rare, but it was pretty difficult with these thin steaks). I added my romaine to a bowl and tossed with the dressing before adding the rest of the ingredients. Then just pile everything on top of your lettuce, leaving the steaks for last.

Since the steak was cheap and they boys were good, I made them their own steak to share. It is amazing how they just seemed to know that I had made them one.

Well, I hope this was a nice long post to catch you up on things. I hope to be able to post again tomorrow! Have a great end of your week!

i cooked!

Things are kind of hectic around here again, which leaves little time for blogging. :(

I ran 4 miles yesterday and felt great all the way until about the 3.3 mile mark and then my knee started hurting again. I was able to make it to 4, but my knee was definitely flaring up and feeling pretty uncomfortable. I am going to keep icing it and I had planned on taking it easy this morning so I would be ready for a long run this weekend. I am really hoping this doesn't cause any real problems.

I didn't want to skip my run this morning, even though I probably should have just rested my knee, so I went for a quick 2 mile run. I tried to just jog comfortably and get in a good stretch run, which actually felt really great. My knee didn't hurt at all and I felt pretty awesome the entire run. The weather lately has been really wonderful for morning runs, I hope it stays this way.

I am going to ice my knee today, as well as maybe a little tomorrow, before trying to run 7 miles on Sunday. I have offered to help out with some things this weekend which are putting me in the office for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, so I will plan to do my icing then. I guess Sunday will be the test. If I can't do it, then I need to start looking at some other options for treatment, but I am pretty optimistic that I will be able to get through this.

So, yeah, I cooked this week! We will get to that in just a second, since I did anything but cook last night. I am feeling stuffy and allergyish this week, and feel like I am coming down with some type of cold. I have been going to bed pretty early, which I think has helped a lot, but I still feel pretty crummy. I guess that is what 6 airports, 6 airplanes, 2 train stations, 1 train, 3 hotel rooms, and being around 6 children with runny noses will do to you. That, on top of not eating my best and slacking on the exercise has landed me with a run down feeling and a perfect host for sickness. No worries, I am taking zinc (yuck) like a champ with vitamin c and drinking lots of fluids. Because I wasn't feeling great, I was really craving some soup for lunch on Wednesday. Soup in August? Sometimes you just want what you want.

Last night's dinner came in a box...

For some reason, cereal sounded like the perfect dinner last night, so that is what I had. I walked in the house with a box of cereal and told Mike dinner was ready. He is such a trooper. :)

But, on Wednesday night, I actually did cook, and it turned out really tasty. It has inspired me to make a similar type meal but more of the Mexican variety... stay tuned for that.

BBQ Chicken Roll Ups

olive oil spray
2 chicken breasts, sliced thin (I bought our chicken already sliced very thin)
1/4 cup BBQ sauce of your choice
1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a baking dish with olive oil spray.  Lay chicken pieces flat and add a pinch of cheese to the center along with a small amount of BBQ sauce. Roll the chicken up, top with remaining BBQ sauce and cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes covered.

I also roasted some broccoli and made a baked potato for Mike and I to share. It was a great dinner.

Doesn't the chicken look like a mini enchilada? I think I will try to make it with enchilada sauce and beans next time.

This weekend, besides working, we don't have too much planned. Tonight I think we will get a movie and some take out Thai for dinner, for a night on the couch. Tomorrow I have a bridal shower to go to and then a few hours at work if I am feeling better. Sunday we have church, more work, and then some more couch time. It is not going to be a productive weekend for the Blacks.... but I am perfectly fine with that.

Have a great weekend!