I Melt With You

Today I got to do some of my favorite things after work – I ran outside (2 miles), grabbed Natalie after 1.5 of the miles, then dragged her to the gym for a weights workout. It’s strange to say, but I think I might actually prefer hanging out with friends while working out (legitimately working out) as opposed to meeting up for happy hour. Not that there’s anything wrong with happy hour, but the best part of any happy hour (for me) is hanging out with people and commiserating. It’s just as much fun (plus cheaper and healthier!) to hang out and chat at the gym while getting buff.

When I got home, I was ravenous, so I popped this super-cheesy ham & cheese into the oven with some sweet potato chunks and got a shower while dinner baked. I emerged fresh, clean, and with the beauty above waiting to slide down my throat.

Dee-licious.

I Melt With You by lsnod · 365 Project

Top O’ the Mornin’ To Ya

Waking up at the crack of ridiculous in order to make an 8 am doctor’s appointment sucks, but treating yourself to a Starbucks breakfast after the hassle almost makes it worth it.

Almost.

The egg-bacon-gouda sandwich was really good, though – even if I did ask for egg whites and they gave me egg beaters. Blech. The bacon made up for it, though. And, you know, the coffee.

Cause nothing beats battling 7:15 am traffic sans caffeine and then getting poked with needles while on an empty stomach.

But really, the sandwich was tasty and brightened my rainy day.

Top O’ the Mornin’ To Ya by lsnod · 365 Project

Ohmmmtastic

As much as I hate to admit it, there are benefits to the clean house I’ve been maintaining for a few weeks now… namely, my “yoga room” floor is clear and available for, well, YOGA. I haven’t done yoga in ages and it felt pretty wonderful tonight. In fact, I’m more sore from the stretching than I was from yesterday’s 4 miles.

I suppose that’s a good thing, right?

Ohmmmtastic by lsnod · 365 Project

Rage Against the Machine

Whelp, I’ve successfully been converted.

I used to run exclusively on the treadmill at the gym. Running outside “hurt my knees” and was harder for me. I came up with excuses to not run outside – “but I pay for the gym!” “it’s so cold out!” “it’s raining!” “it’s safer to run at the gym!” But lately I’ve been on a roll. I think I’ve run outside more times since November than I did the entire rest of 2011 (Jan-Oct), and that included training for my first half-marathon.

Now it seems I can’t stand to run at the gym – I can handle it for about 2 miles, but then I’m done. I hate it. I hate the hassle of waiting for a treadmill to open up, and I hate when people beside me run way faster than me – it very much lowers my running self-esteem. I also hate that I seem to run slower on the treadmill and take walking breaks more frequently…

Speaking of walking breaks, I finally called myself out tonight. My runs lately have consisted of many more hills and I’ve been forcing myself to run up them instead of walking up them. When I reached the top of one steep hill tonight and started trucking towards a long, steady incline hill, I thought to myself, “I should walk for a sec.” But instead of slowing to a walk, I actually questioned myself. Was I hurt? No. Was I in any pain? No. Out of breath? Not really. I’ve gotten it in my head that when I accomplish something (in this case, running up a steep hill), I deserve a reward (walking for a minute). So tonight, instead of giving in, I ran until I was completely out of breath, which happened just in time for me to reach a busy intersection. I walked a few seconds until the light changed, and then I ran the rest of my route. I walked a total of 3 times along a 4 mile route, and for only a few seconds each time. This was a HUGE breakthrough for me.

So now I run almost exclusively outside. It toughens me up for marathon conditions and it wears me out better (I’ve been sleeping like a baby). I make myself wear a sweet little reflective vest (pictured above), but that’s no big deal.

No more treadmills for me if I can help it.

Long live the road.

Rage Against the Machine by lsnod · 365 Project

A Case of the Mondays

A case of the Mondays deserves the “traditional” Monday meal.

It was my first time making red beans & rice, and I’d wager I was more than a little inspired by my venture to NOLA on the Square last Wednesday. My version was vegan and cooked in the crockpot all day, but it was not what I’d call a winning recipe. In fact, when I got home and sampled it before my run, I almost spit it back out. Wayyyy too salty. Then again, a hard pretzel stick was too salty for me today, so who knows? Maybe it’s just one of those weird days.

I scooped out most of the remaining liquid and added plain water, then left it cook on high for about 40 minutes. When I returned, it tasted much better. Still not great, but better. I pulsed a hand blender a few times to turn the beans into a nice thick paste (I would take more water out next time to make it thicker) and served it over pre-cooked frozen brown rice.

It certainly wasn’t bad, and I enjoyed eating it, but I think a second attempt will turn out better. Still, I’m not complaining – it was nice to essentially have a really healthy meal (no meat = no added fat) ready for me when I got home.

A Case of the Mondays by lsnod · 365 Project