Over the Hump

It's Wednesday, and I'm happy to report that I've completed another Jillian Michaels' 30 day Shred workout. According to my Fitbit, I've been pretty consistent. The workout is 26 minutes long and my heartrate has stayed pretty much 70-80% in the fat burning zone. It's not getting any easier yet, but I'm still hoping to see some results especially in my upper body. Let's hope that I'm shredding that back fat!

 

Tonight's dinner was Jamie's Salsa Spaghetti with Black Olives & Fresh Basil. The sauce had a nice flavor with no added sugar. I really enjoyed the fresh basil. I'm finding this experiment with Hello Fresh interesting because the recipes come perfectly portioned for two servings. You would receive four times this much if you ordered it in a restaurant. Speaking of which, this recipe was by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who has recently joined up with the Hello Fresh team to create some special recipes for us at home. 

I mentioned the no added sugar a moment ago because I've been reading Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub. When my daughter first saw the book she asked, "When did you switch to horror?" Typical teenager! Just the first few chapters have made me much more conscious of what is going into these recipes that I've been making. Some of the recipes have been higher in calories, but that has been due to the use of olive oil and the inclusion of healthy fats such as avocado and nuts and seeds. I can't wait to read about the changes this family has experienced throughout their year of no sugar. 

I'm sitting here watching The Biggest Loser and anticipating the big changes coming their way. I really find it inspirational how hard these contestants work. But why does it always make me cry?

Two in a Row

Thank goodness for running buddies. Nadine and I have a standing early morning date twice each week, so I really did get out of bed this morning. Ah, accountability! 

After experiencing record breaking high temperatures many times over the last month or so, today was a nice, cool run. There was a ferocious wind along the river, but it was downright refreshing after the hot, humid running conditions we have been enduring. We had a slight increase in pace as a result.

When I returned home from work today, I initially thought Chris and Julie had Subway for lunch. When they do, the smell of raw onion permeates the house for hours. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was not Subway, but that Chris had started dinner. Thank you Hello Fresh for making life so easy! Tonight we had Vegetable Ministrone with Tuscan Kale, Cannellini Beans, and Parmesan. I was caught a bit off guard that this soup did not have pasta as an ingredient, but we really didn't miss it. The veggies and beans were enough in the sweet broth, although I did add some cornbread to round out our meal.

While the cornbread was baking, I completed day two on level one of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I used the same modifications as yesterday and kept up pretty well. I love using the fitbit to track my workouts. It showed that I stayed right in the fat burning zone for this video, which is exactly where I want to be. 

Speaking of fitbit, I received an email today with a summary of my week...yeah, I'm kind of geeking out over all this information! 

Monday Motivation

I had every intention of getting up at 5:45 and getting a workout in before work. I guess I just need to face the fact that I am NOT a morning person. Forget the snooze button, even before the alarm sounded I changed the wakeup time thus eliminating any chance I would have of squeezing out the time to exercise. I do like to sip on my coffee and scroll through Facebook before getting ready for the day. Is that so wrong?

Instead, I had an afternoon snack when I got home and immediately changed into my workout clothes. I had gotten the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred as a gift (at my request) LAST Christmas and until today it had not yet been opened. I read a few blogs about the workout and was impressed by some of the results that were reported. I did heed their caution and took it slowly for my first time through.

Can I just say that I have absolutely no upper body strength. I run, but that's it. My legs can go and go and go (while running, of course, not performing squats and lunges). I've been called Katharine Hepburn one more than one occasion due to the tremors I experience almost immediately when lifting any size weights. 

I think I did pretty well with the video workout. First, I liked the fact that in total it was 22 minutes long. There was a two minute warmup followed by three rounds of exercises. Each round consisted of three minutes of strength exercises, two minutes of cardio and one minute of abs. I took the modifications for most of the exercises so that I would not only be able to walk and move tomorrow, but so that I would be inclined to replay the video tomorrow.

From what I read, it is suggested that each of the three levels be completed for ten days, hence the 30 day shred. Hopefully, I will be able to keep this up as a cross-training activity while I continue to train for half marathons. It is quite obvious that I need to incorporate more strength training to my routine.

I was also motivated today by participating in a fitbit challenge, so while I was in the midst of cooking dinner I took a 20 minute break and hopped on the elliptical, rocking out to some 80's tunes.

Dinner tonight was roasted acorn squash with a coconut curry sauce served with jasmine fried rice. This recipe was really tasty and not that difficult to make. 

All in all, not bad for a Monday. Now, I'm wondering if I can get in 500 more steps to meet my fitbit goal before bed. 

Savory Sunday #2

For a couple of weeks now I've been receiving shipments from Hello Fresh. Every once in a while I need some new inspiration for cooking dinner, whether it be a new cookbook, a new diet challenge, or in this case, a delivery service. I opted to get the vegetarian meals as I often get tired of meat and lean more toward plant-based eating. Also, it was the cheaper option.

One of the meals I made this week was Stovetop Shells and Cheddar with Crispy Breadcrumbs and Roasted Carrots. This dish was really very easy to make. The shells cooked right in the sauce and everything really melted together when stirring in the shredded cheddar cheese. The homestyle twist came when topping it with some seasoned panko and giving it a quick broil. The side dish was roasted carrots which tasted just like sweet potato fries. 

Another night we had Creamy Pear and Turnip Soup with Radish, Pepitas, and Toasted Baguette. When I opened the box for this one I was a bit wary as there was just one teeny, tiny turnip. After peeling and chopping it, and cooking the turnip right along with the pear, I saw that not much would be needed to help flavor the soup. This recipe was a bit more labor intensive than some of the others since there was the preparing, cooking and then blending, but it was well worth the effort. I thoroughly enjoyed the creamy soup combined with the crunchy texture of the radishes and pumpkin seeds. 

Tonights dinner was also a bit ambitious: Winter Risotto with Kale, Fennel Seed and Parmesan. I have never made risotto. In fact, I've always been a bit scared to after watching Hell's Kitchen and no competitor could ever live up to Chef Ramsay's expectations when making risotto. I half expected him to barge into my kitchen and take over, but alas, I understand his frustrations a bit more now: you can't rush risotto! And, when it's done right it's absolutely delicious!

Sunday Summary:

Given the fact that it was New Year's Resolution time and that I was on Winter Break, I really intended to get in more exercise. However, I am L.A.Z.Y. and I like my naps. I did manage to get the dust out of the exercise room and finished the week with two 30-minute elliptical sessions, one 21 Day Fix video workout, one yoga class and logging 10.63 running miles. 

This week's accomplishments:

1. I used the fitbit for a whole week and earned 5 badges. 

2. Cleaned off my home desk

3. Purchased the necessities to get some organizing done around the house

Sleepy Saturday

Saturday mornings are long runs. For this training cycle Kristine and I are disguising our speed training in the way of hill training, or more precisely, bridge repeats here in Florida. We ran four crossings totaling five miles. Our interval was 90/45 seconds with a final average pace of 12:38. Not bad for the first time doing the bridges in about a year. 

Getting up at 5:00 am always leaves me sleepy, so I came home and took a nice long nap! This was followed by grocery shopping and some cooking. Dinner tonight was turnip and pear soup. After it was blended the recipe suggested adding radishes and pumpkin seeds for some texture. Yum! 

2015 Running Year in Review

Best race experience?

This year I had the opportunity to check two states off on my quest to complete a half marathon in all 50 states.

#15 Mayor's Midnight Sun Half Marathon in Anchorage
#16 Route 66 Half Marathon in Tulsa

The Alaskan trip has been in my mind for years and I don't know why, but I never really believed it would or could even happen, until it did. The expedition took two years to plan and save for, but boy was it worth it!

I was thrilled to see so much wildlife - only the moose was missing!

It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I'm so glad to have shared it with Chris and some great friends! 

Best run?

One of the best parts of my year was training with Tammy, a friend who had not run in some years. She committed to completing the C25K program with Nadine and I by running intervals 2-3 times each week. At the end of the program, the three of us participated in a virtual 5K run with Mothers Run This Town. Even her daughter came out that morning to help cheer her on! We were all so proud!!

Best piece of running advice you received?

I had the great fortune of attending Jeff Galloway's running clinic this past summer. We were able to get some great advice such as:

     "No pain, no puking, and no dying."  

     "When you run with a fast crowd, you can get into trouble."

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?

One step forward and two steps back!

It seems I was plagued with injury this year and had many stops and restarts. It was one of my lowest mileage years so far at 417.43. So that brings me to next year's goal. I'm determined to double those miles to 834.86, which would surpass my highest mileage year (2014 @ 620.30). Slow and steady consistency will lead me closer to my goals. 

Savory Sunday #1

I was on vacation this week so it was a great time to try out some new recipes. I've been following along on some of Bob Harper's Skinny Rules so I recently picked up his Skinny Meals cookbook. This week I tried two recipes.

The first, Baked Squash, has butternut squash, kale, Greek yogurt, egg whites, garlic, lemon zest, spaghetti squash, chicken breast, feta cheese and fresh mint. It is certainly an interesting combination. I typically love both kinds of squashes, but the texture of the egg whites and yogurt reminded me of finding long lost sippy cups with really bad curdled milk when the kids were younger. I thought it was a tad bland, but the mint did add a refreshing taste.

The next recipe I prepared was Spaghetti Sqush Pad Thai - a healthy way to make a high carb, high fat favorite. This recipe called for chicken, mixed veggies and the spaghetti squash. The sauce was a creative mix of chicken broth, tamari, Sriracha, almond butter and some other seasonings. Wow, was it flavorful. I will definitely make this one again.

                        

So, it's back to work for the new school year tomorrow. In trying to hold myself accountable, I have spent some time preparing lunches and fruits & veggies for the week. I want to make it as easy as possible for me to get my exercise in every morning, get ready for work, and have healthy eating options. Plenty for me to snack on rather than be tempted by the traditional "welcome back to school" feasts. Must...have...willpower...

                       

Sunday Summary

This was week one of a fifteen week training plan created by me and Jeff Galloway.  It was a pretty easy week in that there was no speed training and the long run was only five miles. I experimented with some of the intervals this week and found that I really think I need the one minute walk breaks, even though he has revised his thinking to take shorter intervals. I'm wondering if it is just the heat and humidity, but it really gets to me when I try a 30 second walk break, so much so that I walked out a couple of miles on two of my runs this week. I'll stick with the longer intervals for now and perhaps try the shorter ones again in the fall.

This week's accomplishments:
1. 18 miles and 1 yoga class
2. thoroughly cleaned and put back together 2 of the rooms in my house after having the majority of the inside painted
3. was pretty close to the 80%-20% rule of clean eating this week
4. celebrated Julie's 19th birthday!!