Jar Oats and 8 year old marathoners?

Count down is on..... 5 days till NYC!!!!

Um... yep, I'm a tad nervous. You just never know what the day will bring. I just hope to enjoy the run though. I don't think I'm in PR-setting shape unfortunately..... I just hope to keep it under 3:40.

I have been enjoying sleeping in till 6:30 lately...... and well, I did it again. I really have no desire to run in the pitch dark this close to the marathon. Tripping would not be pretty.

Instead I headed to work a bit early and had a fabulous wonderful treat........

JAR OATS!!!!

Who knew I could ever be so happy about an almost empty jar of almond butter?

BREAKFAST
-oats made with milk
-1T pumpkin butter, ground flax & walnuts
-almond butter jar remnants

At lunch time today I went to a information session put on by our local rotary. A friend of ours invited me to go, so I went. I do a lot of volunteer work in the community so it seems like a bit of a no brainer for me to join. I just LOVED hearing about how supportive the group is and how ACTIVE they are in the community. Our local Rotary has done some amazing projects and has some fabulous on going programs that do so much for those less fortunate.

Plus they get stuff DONE!
(that is huge, ideas are great but action and follow through is where it is at)

So hopefully soon I'll be a Rotarian. :-)

As for the lunch portion. I didn't do photos.... felt kinda rude snapping a picture with folks talking.

Nothing fancy... they provided lunch.
Turkey on a bulkie w/ lettuce & tomato. I skipped the chips and had a cookie. :-)

Later back at work I needed a snack. I had a post work run planned and needed a little something more to keep me going.

Pita Chips.


After work I headed home and got ready for an easy 3 mile run.
I was good and iced my plantar fascia before heading out. I really do think that helps.

I had to wear my florescent long sleeved Boston Marathon shirt, the sun was starting to set and darkness was creeping in. Amazing how quickly that daylight fades away once fall sets in. Pretty soon I'll be wearing my headlamp!

My run was suppose to be an easy one...... but I felt good and was tempted to pick the pace up a bit. I did for a little bit. Just to feel a little speed. It wasn't a sprint, just a little comfortable speed.

I re-used some leftovers.

DINNER
-field greens w/ tomatoes, gorganzola, leftover salmon and some TJ's balsamic vinaigrette

I'm chilling once again with Reggie. The hubby has night two of the same work function as last night.

I was talking with a colleague earlier today about NYC.
He mentioned this article that was in the NY Times today. I found it interesting.
Back in the late 70's kids, 8 and 9 year olds, ran the NYC marathon!
And with incredible times I might add.

Of course kids that young are no longer allowed to run the marathon. Although it does mention kids as young as 12 running other marathons. Obviously there is some debate of what long term affects this would have on the child's long term health. I have friends with kids that run, however they are 8 and 9 year olds running 5K's.... not a marathon. I know one mother waited until her daughter was 9 before she could run a 5 mile race, until that age she only would let her run up to a 5K.

What do you think about kids under 10 running races? What do you think is an appropriate distance for a child that is 8 or 9 years old?

I definitely think 8 or 9 years shouldn't be running marathons.... I know how taxed my body feels after that distance, I cannot imagine what it does to such a young body. But then again, I'm not an expert. I would love for the kids I have some day to run. If they liked it and wanted to race, I would definitely consult with their doctor on what distance might be appropriate.

Hope you have a great night!

Britt

Not the suggested pre-race kinda night.....

Ahhh...... Friday!

I love the weekend, although it is sad to sometimes wish the week away. BUT I'm going to try and be more positive about things. I started reading The Secret.... we will see how well positive thinking works for me. ;-)

Any how... I slept in the morning. I figured I would take the day off from kettlebell, a little less cross training and weights as I get closer to NYC. I think I might just go once next week.

I had a tasty treat to look forward to this morning.... an almost empty jar of honey peanut butter. Mmmm......

BREAKFAST

-1/2c oats with almond milk & water, left over PB

-ground flax & Kashi Vanilla Island for toppings

Lunch time came around and I went for a run. I had to sign something at the hubby's office, so I ran there. I love when I can actually RUN an errand. So round trip it was about 5 miles. Also one of my good friends work's at his office so I got to gab with her for a bit.

Then it was back to work, to shower up and have lunch.

LUNCH

-spinach wrap w/ chicken salad and loaded with veggies

-side of carrot sticks, brussel sprouts and broccoli

After work I picked up my dad to take him out for a drink. The hubby joined us as well. We met up with some random friends that just happened to stop by.

Also on the way home I picked up some ingredients for dinner.

DINNER

- maple glazed salmon

- risotto al autumno (I'll post the recipe tomorrow)

-roasted eggplant & brussel sprouts

I do risotto the old fashioned way.... ie. lots of stirring.

But its made less tedious when you have a glass of wine in hand.

Dinner is served.....

With wine of course. :-)

While dining we had my dad's photos from his trip to northern Canada on his computer. He went on a paddling trip in the northwest territories.

Now we are just chilling and relaxing. I have a 5K tomorrow morning. Normally I wouldn't be doing one right before a marathon, but its part of a series I'm doing. I have to do one more race and this just happens to be the LAST one. So gotta do it.

I think I might actually be in the top 5 for women. Woo hoo! Kinda sad too though, as one of the races I did with a bad hangover.... yes sometimes I am NOT the picture of health. Never said I was perfect.

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Any races this weekend? Or trying anything new for activities?

Have a great night!

Britt

Beer, Baseball & Bruins

Um... I was doing great today till after work. Let's recap.

BREAKFAST

-oats made with water & almond milk

-topped with almond butter, walnuts, ground flax & maple granola

-side of STRONG green tea

I started to get hungry by 10:30. But I had no food in my desk and no money for the cafeteria. Then someone had food at their desk by 11am. So I headed to the gym.

WORKOUT

Today was a speed workout day. 5 miles with 3 miles at a 7 minute pace.

I was doing well, 1 mile warm up and then running a 7 minute pace on the treadmill.

However, I ran into a guy I knowing from my running club. He is talker.

So me trying to run a 7 minute pace and trying not to be rude.... not pretty.

He is also a fast runner, so to him a 7 minute pace is nothing.

When he finally left I had done 2 miles at that pace. I had to bring it down for the last mile, 7:15 pace. Then cooled down with a relaxing last mile.

I'm not sure if it was the talking or what, but those 7 minute miles whooped me.

Oh and then after cooling down & stretching out I hit the locker room.....sweaty gross me....... and then realized I had no towel.

Fabulous.

Made do with paper towels and a long sleeved fleece that was in my gym bag.

I was happy to finally get to eat my lunch though.

LUNCH

-spaghetti squash w/ marinara and left over veggies (broccoli & turnips)

I really should have brought an afternoon snack. By the end of the day I was starving.

I headed home to the dad & the dog. The dad wanted to go out and who was I to go against the patient's wish. He wanted his first post-op beer.

We headed to an italian place that has $2.50 drafts on Thursday.

Mmmhhh.... Sam Octoberfest.

The hubby had a function and was going to be awhile, so we ordered an appetizer.

HUGE bruschetta. Don't worry, we didn't eat it all.

Had another beer.... or two.

Then the hubby arrived with co-workers and we ordered more food.

My HUGE dish (notice a trend here)

It was a pasta dish with chicken, prosciutto, mushrooms & cheese.

Yum. I ate maybe half..... I guess I was hungry.
So dinner was eaten in the bar. With lots of TV's around us.... the Bruins were on, my dad's favorite team. The Yankees were on, my hubby's favorite team. Whenever my dad visits I am guaranteed A LOT of sports. I have watched maybe a half hour of news this week and MANY MANY hours of sports. Ack! Thank goodness for Tivo, I'll catch up on my shows this weekend.... Biggest Loser, yay!

Do you watch much tv? Do you watch much sports? I really don't watch that much. I just have a few shows I like. But typically I do marathon session and they usually result in me going to bed WAY too late. Once I start I cannot stop.

Alright. Speaking of way too late, I need to not stay up to late.... again.

Have a great night!

Britt

Tabata fun.....

Happy Monday and happy Tabata day at Kettlebell.

Don't know what Tabata is?

The original Tabata Protocol requires the following:

• 5 minutes of warm-up
• 8 intervals of 20 seconds all-out intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest
• 2 minutes cool-down

The are lots of sites and articles on internet about this type of workout. Of course some claim all kinds of crazy miracle weightloss, etc. I just like it as I can compete with myself and try to maintain the same number of reps for each interval.

Also at our gym we do mutiple exercises, each is done for 8 intervals with 20 seconds all out and then 10 seconds of rest. The exercises sometimes vary though.

Today's Tabata Recipe included.....

-situps (I did 9 each set)

-pullups (3-4 each set)

-air squats (12-14 each set)

-sledge hammer (was having too much fun to count)

-push ups (8-10, I tried to keep up the regular ones but my wrist was hurting... had to do girly ones the last couple of intervals)

So sledge hammer..... yup that involves an actual sledge hammer.

Too bad this wasn't on a Friday when I need to get some anger out. LOL

We smack a big ol' tire, kind of like chopping wood. Fun! Although I tad dangerous at 6am.

He he....

After a fun morning workout I prepped some breakfast to bring to work.

BREAKFAST

- .5c oats, .5c almond milk, .5c water

-1T almond butter

-4 crushed up Kashi Vanilla Island squares

-few walnuts

Around 8:30 I ran home to pick up my dad and deliver him to the hospital for day surgery. He had to have a little minor knee surgery.... torn cartilage and torn miniscus. The patient is recovering well.

After dropping my dad off I headed back to work.

Snacked on a Honey Crisp Apple. Yum!

Lunch time came and I realized I forgot to pack something, so to the cafe I went.

LUNCH

-1/2 ww wrap w/ chicken salad & loaded with veggies

-side of carrot sticks

-side of broccoli & brussel sprouts

I thought after work I had a school board meeting, however I was pleasantly suprised when I opened up my packet and found it CANCELLED!! Yay! Free night. :-)

Although this was after I had already grabbed some food.... had I found out sooner I would have snuck a run in. Gggrrrr.... by the time I would have digested it would have gotten darker out and I knew my motivation would have faded. Oh well.

DINNER

-beef stew (it tastes better than it photographs)

This is the stew that I made yesterday.

I should have made it totally from scratch but those seasoning packets help so much.

My stew includes.....

-store brand seasoning packet

-stew meat

-CSA potatoes

-CSA onions

-carrots

-baby bella mushrooms

-about a cup of red wine & couple cups of water

Might have a chocolate chip cookie in a bit. Mmm.... love cookies.

I'm definitely getting my winter eats on. This cool weather is getting to me.

In other big news today I found out my number for the NYC Marathon! I'm in the 14,000's. This places me in the "sub-elite" category. Um, if they say so. They assign your number based on a recent marathon, I used this past spring's Boston Marathon 3:28:15. I'm getting very excited now!

My brother, who lives in NYC, was home this past weekend to visit since my dad is in town. He is going to be our tour guide in the city and we will finally get to see his 'hood.

Do you ever build vacations around races? I do this on occassion, I of course prefer to get the race done and then enjoy where I am at. ;-)

Have a great night!!

Britt

Falling for a great run.....

Hello! Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Sorry didn't get to blog yesterday, was a busy bee.

Quick Recap though....

BREAKFAST

-pumpkin oats

LUNCH

-met my wonderful mom for lunch at our favorite spot

Turkey Rubini, basically a turkey ruben. Yum. With their crunch cole slaw kinda salad.

Also had some Pumpkin Cream tea.

After work I met up with the hubby and my sister-in-law for a drink.

Then the hubby and I headed home to make dinner. A friend of ours was on his way home for the weekend so we invited him over for dinner.

DINNER

We had some CSA brussel sprouts, roasted.....

And some CSA turnips & turnip greens...

TJ's Mahi Mahi

All in the oven....

Um and then I forgot to take a picture of my dinner... gah!

I was a little tired.

BUT I had leftovers after my run today.....

LONG RUN

this morning after a quick breakfast of oats, I was off for a 13 mile run.

It was a little chilly out, around 40 degrees with a breeze. But the sun was shining and the fall foliage was putting on a great show.

Of course I still needed to go buy some water..... :-)

Good run. Did 13.25 miles. Didn't wear a watch though, but I know my pace picked up a few times and I felt great. Actually had a driver give me the thumbs up and then when I caught him at a stop sign he asked if I was training for NYC. I told him it was a good guess and that I was. :-)

Alright I need to get some relaxing in.... we have a surprise party tonight. I've been doing laundry, switching clothes over from summer to winter and cleaning up the garden & deck planters. So if I don't relax soon, I'll be fading fast tonight!

Do you ever feel like you need to compensate for time "lost" while working out? While I was off running the hubby was mowing the lawn and cleaning up leaves..... so I felt like I had to do something product around the house too. But then that means I never really get around to the resting part. :(

Have a great night!!

Britt

Sore....

Yep, today I'm just plain sore.

Usually when I'm sore I figure its a good to work through it. But not today. I definitely felt like my body was rebelling and needs rest. So I'm listening and obeying. I stretched as often as I could at my desk. Although I could use a good massage....... I think.

I slept in to 6:30 this morning.... so nice.

Packed up my breakfast for work. Even though it was cold and I was craving oats, I went for cereal & yogurt, as I had some I needed to use.

BREAKFAST

-1/2 c Kashi Vanilla Island

-1/3 c Kashi Heart to Heart

-plain Oikos

-1T almond Butter

-1T ground flax

Lunch time I headed home to walk Reggie. I was in a cheese mood today.

While my sandwich cooked, I started on some apple with brie. mmmmm......

LUNCH

Grilled hummus & cheese

-sandwich thin, brie, mozzarella and hummus

YUM......

Afternoon snack, carrots & almond butter.

After work, I thought about doing speed work, but I wasn't sure how my foot would hold up and I was still pretty sore. I did want to get one thing off my "to do" list, so I headed to the hubby's workplace and finally finished up the thank you letters to sponsors of the road race.

Found out the hubby had not eaten ALL DAY. Seriously, how does someone do that? He had a board meeting this morning and he managed to just drink coffee through it.... then just never got around to lunch. I don't get it.

He requested dinner out. So out we went.

I had pizza. Don't worry, this was smaller than it appears (and much less blurry), plus I ate only half. It was delicious though.... white pizza with prosciutto & caramelized onion. Heaven.

Tomorrow I'll get a short run in. Also I think I'll move my long run up to Saturday as Sunday is suppose to be a wash out.

Do you ever forget to eat? Have you ever gone most of the day without eating?

I rarely ever have this issue. I think on the day of the race I coordinated I didn't eat much, but finally remembered after it was over.... which lucky for me was before noon time. ;-)

Have a great night!

Britt

Pumpkin Trifecta....

It was a chilly fall day and that required some fall goodness...... thus lots of pumpkin.

As seen this morning, I started the day with some pumpkin pie oats.

Prior to lunch I hit the gym for my run. It was cold, rainy and just gross outside.... not inspiring for my run. Not that the treadmill was any better.

4 miles, 1% incline

32:30

Back to work where I heated up my leftover Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili from Chili Fest.

It was a perfect post workout meal, yum!

Later on I needed a snack though.... sticking to the day's fall theme.....

A little apple pie.

sort of.....

After work I tried to stay motivated. Finally.

-started laundry

-organized the pile of clothes on our guest bed (I'm changing clothes over from summer to winter)

-cleaned up the kitchen

Then the hubby came home and he wanted to go for a run. He wanted me to run with him. So we did an easy run of about 2.5 miles and picked up Reggie at the end from my in-law's house. It felt like December out there!!!! Ack! Not ready for it to be this cold yet!!

It was getting late so dinner was a frozen pizza. But I needed something to warm me up, I found some TJ's Butternut Squash soup and heated up a bowl for myself. Added a little freshly grated parmesan.

And enjoyed it.....

with a Pumpkinhead Beer.

Mmmmm.... more pumpkin.

And then a couple small slices of pizza. :-)

My hamstrings are SO TIGHT and SORE today. I think all those walking suitcase lunges did me in yesterday. They felt great after my runs, but as soon as I sit down for a bit it is so hard to stand up and walk. Ugh.

We will see how they feel tomorrow at Kettlebell, eeks!

I need to get to bed early tonight. I have big meeting at work tomorrow. One of my largest accounts is in town for a visit and wants to meet with me to go over numbers.

So it will be a power suit kinda day.

Do clothes ever make you feel more confident? Whether it be a suit, a favorite workout outfit, a snazzy going out outfit......

A suit always makes me feel more put together and more authoritative.....it helps build my confidence especially when I'm meeting with folks older than me or a room full of attorneys (yes they intimidate me at times).

Have a great night!

Britt

Sluggo....

Good Morning!

I've been a bad blogger. Ugh.... Procrastination has set in, I am overwhelmed with things to do and let myself get stuck. Must. get. moving!!!!

So today is a dreary rainy day. I'm going to move my run inside, as the chilly rain is just not appealing. So a lunch time run is on tap. Most likely it will only be 3-4 miles. I’m scheduled for 5 miles, but I think 4 will suffice considering the weather, my foot, etc. Speaking of my foot its still feeling great, I just want to take it easy for a bit, especially considering I did 20 miles on Saturday.

While prepping breakfast I enjoyed some of this…..

Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost Smoothie

Its really thick, almost too thick.

A little goes a long way with me, as I like to water it down. Its yummy though!

Breakfast this morning, OATS! But I had to finally do it and add some pumpkin, all I could find was this though…..

But it smells delish.

This is the final product.

BREAKFAST
- ½ c oats
- ½ c almond milk, ½ c water
- 2T pumpkin pie mix
- 1T almond butter
- 1T ground flax
- sprinkle of chopped walnuts

A quick revisit of yesterday……..

Up in the early AM for Kettlebell!

Did the following 5 times
- 7 double clean & presses
- Figure 8’s for 1 minute
- Russian Twist 1 minute
- Plank 1 minute
- Suitcase Lunges for 50 ft

BREAKFAST
- plain Oikos
- Kashi Heart to Heart
- Kashi Vanilla Island
- 1T almond butter

LUNCH
Leftovers
- sautéed greens
- turnips
- multi-grain tempeh

SNACK
- Cinnamon Roll Larabar

Dinner was camera shy; it was just leftover whole wheat pasta w/ marinara & TJ’s pesto chicken sausage.

I turned into a bump on a log last night. I had a million things I should have been doing, instead I watched a few shows on Tivo. The hubby had a meeting after work and I kind of felt stalled till he got home….. wasn’t sure how long his meeting would be, what time to start making dinner, etc. Instead of being productive I just stayed in once place, literally. Blah. Tonight will be different! Too much to do, I hate unproductive evenings!

How do you keep yourself moving? Do lists help? I usually keep a list but didn’t have one last night, maybe if I had all my “to do’s” staring back at me I would have kept moving.

Hope you have a great day!!

Britt