recovery morning

I had every intention of spending this Monday morning like every other Monday morning: getting up with the dog around 6 a.m., having coffee while making our breakfasts and Andrew’s lunch, then heading to the gym for pilates/yoga and swimming.

Until we didn’t go to bed after our day at the “beach” until well after 11. And Hadrian woke me up at 3:50 to go to the bathroom. (To which I replied, “It’s not time to get up yet, go lie down” and he promptly crawled back onto his bed.) And then he woke me up again, this time at 5:30, and I relented and took him out. When I ended up sleeping-in until 7, I still thought I might just fit in a quick run, but my body was telling me I needed a rest day. Between 13 miles on Saturday and an easy elliptical workout and long day yesterday, I was tired!

That, and I needed to get organized for the week before picking Andrew up to see houses with our realtor over his lunch break. It’s my routine; I hate being super busy on Sunday night or Monday morning and not feeling prepared for the week.

So, I’m calling this my recovery morning, filled with:

-a big steaming cup of coffee, sweetened with creamer and coconut milk

-two loads of laundry

-downloading yesterday’s photos

-catching up on blogs and email

-making the bed

-adding “to-do” items to the planner

And, of course, my “recovery” breakfast:

One banana, cut-up strawberries, 1/2 C plain yogurt, 1/4 Wegmans granola with raisins, flax seeds and flaxseed meal. YUM! Today will be filled with lots of water and nutritious foods to make up for yesterday’s steak sandwich and mindless munching. Overall, I think I did very well for someone watching what they’re eating while being surrounded by chips (I took it easy), beer (I refrained, mostly because I just wasn’t interested) and burgers (I ate what I packed–leftover quinoa and an orange).

On the docket for the afternoon:

-beach-photo post

-blog work–new page and updated “About Me” page coming soon!

-emptying the dishwasher

-writing contest entries

-“clips” portfolio work

– Ellie Krieger’s Sloppy Joes for dinner!

THREE homeruns in one day – score!

I pulled out all the stops today and made not one, but TWO new and different meals today. For a lazy Saturday, I think that’s pretty outrageous, even for me.

Lunch was a stuffed tomato with leftover quinoa.

The beefsteak tomatoes cost me an arm and a leg ($3.50 for 2!), but it was worth it to hear Andrew approve. The filling was a mix of diced, cooked chicken, pineapple and spinach, dressed with olive oil and dijon mustard. It was a cinch to whip up and you could easily do just about anything with this…switch out the filling components and use ranch dressing or a balsamic vinaigrette, or you could always stuff a pepper.

After lunch we headed into EA; me to visit Abigail at Fowler’s and Andrew to spend some time at work prepping for a Monday telecon. I “splurged” (not really since I ran THIRTEEN miles, but still) and got a scoop of Birthday Bash ice cream before leaving. YUM. It’s cake-flavored ice cream with swirls of blue icing. Seriously amazing.

I picked up the mail at Andrew’s parents’ house and then he arrived from work and we left to run errands. On the agenda: buy Holly a new bathing suit. This proved much harder than we thought it would be, seeing as it’s early August and pretty much everything that’s left is on the clearance rack. And it’s either all tops or all bottoms. How that happens, I don’t know…

After striking out at Target, Kohl’s, Swim City (it had a “For Lease” sign on the door…grrr) and TJ Maxx, we made a last-ditch effort and headed across the street to the mall. SCORE! JC Penney was loaded! I was able to pick two different patterns to try on, and, thankfully, the one I loved from the moment I saw it totally worked. It was meant to be. And major bonus points to Andrew who was incredibly patient through all of this suit-shopping.

When we finally got back to the hotel, I hurriedly whipped dinner together. Spicy Southwestern Tabbouleh, or, in this case, barley. If you don’t know, tabbouleh is a classic Middle Eastern dish made with bulgar, parsley and mint. I had just used up the last of my bulgar, so I substituted barley and cooked it earlier in the day.

It’s full of southwestern spices, like chili powder, paprika, cumin and allspice, and veggies akin to taco fillings: red onion, cilantro, tomatoes, yellow pepper and jalapeno. I added avocado to mine and leftover diced chicken to Andrew’s. It was a hit with both of us. This is also a very versatile dish; you could use just about any grain here. Brown rice would be a fantastic choice, and one most people have in their pantry.

I found these at Target today and thought I’d give them a try.

The coconut flavor caught my eye. I’m obsessed with coconut-anything lately. Not sure why… A co-worked of mine a few years ago used to drink these all the time and I’ve been intrigued ever since. I’m not a big mineral/sparkling water fan, but because I don’t like drinking sugary drinks, I thought these might be good. Well… I’m still not a sparkling water fan, and I think it’s a taste you have to get used to. I’m also not sure coconut was the flavor to start with; they have other ones like lime or cran-raspberry, which might have gone down easier. I am, however, willing to keep drinking them to see if I develop a taste for it. It’s zero calories without an artificial sweetener, which is important to me. Who knows? I might be a convert in no time!

Tomorrow is our beach day with some of Andrew’s friends from work and Abigail!

a (half) marathon kind of morning

Whew! It’s not even noon and I’ve already done so much…

I decided to go for 13 miles this morning; it’s been quite a while since I’d run a half-marathon (last September, perhaps?) and the weather outside was perfect: mid-70s and overcast.

I’m not sure what came first; my eyes popping open at 6:18 a.m. or me hearing Hadrian’s collar clinking as he awoke. After taking him out and caffeinating myself, I powered up with this:

Kath would be so proud! It was 1/4 C oats, thinned with my new find So Delicious Coconut Milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 C sliced strawberries, 4 oz. strawberry yogurt, 2 tbsp Wegmans granola and some flax seeds. It was awesome! I was a bit worried it would be a little heavy in my tummy for my run, but I had to fuel up somehow.

I devised a plan that would allow me to not carry anything on my run. I hate holding stuff, like a water bottle, while running. I would do 4-5 miles outside, then 3-4 miles inside on the treadmill while eating and drinking, then finish up the remaining miles outside again. I set my towel, water bottle and snack out by the door and headed outside. I did my 5-mile residential route near the hotel in 40:30 and quickly let myself back into the hotel.

I grabbed this, along with my water bottle and towel:

Susy found these awhile back and we ended up splitting a box of them that she ordered online. I only have two left! Instead of a goo or a gel, these are nickel-sized gummies you can chew while running. I’m not sure which I prefer (sport beans, goo or chews), but these certainly take a little while to eat. Goos are often thick and a little chalky, so I have to have water immediately after, but the upside of goo is that it’s super quick to take. I’ll have to do some recon around here to see where I can find an assortment of refueling options and pick up a couple soon. I used to think I didn’t need a gel or anything unless I was running a full marathon, but in reality, anytime I run ten or more miles, I make sure to take something around mile 4 or 5 to help keep me going.

Anyway… I hopped on the treadmill and set it for 7.7. I’m not sure what that equates to (this machine didn’t tell me what my pace per mile was), but I ended up doing 5 miles in 39 minutes–FAST! Thankfully, I got to talking to the guy next to me, who just relocated temporarily from Florida, so that helped kill the time.

I quickly dropped my towel and water bottle back off in the room and headed out for the remaining 3 miles. My legs were tired after such a fast pace on the treadmill, but I smiled to myself as I left the parking lot for the second time this morning, because I felt so good and strong and healthy. Despite my fatigue (ten-plus miles will do that to you no matter how well you refuel), I was definitely on a runner’s high.

I slowed a bit to about a 9-minute mile for my remaining three, but still felt good. It’s not often I run 13 miles. On a whim. By myself.

I was soaked, obviously, so I stretched and changed my clothes once back in the room, then headed BACK out to take Hadrian on a slow jaunt around the hotel. I downed a cup of the coconut milk and took this to go:

I was craving something chocolate-y and decadent after that run and knew I needed to start eating soon. I LOVE Luna bars. They taste great, and with only about 180 calories each, they are great snacks without being too much.

I figured out my time for this morning, and it is my fastest yet! My last actual half-marathons have all been almost exactly 2 hours, to the minute. My first one at that time was great, but later on I’d been training faster yet always crashed mid-race. Needless to say, my last couple half-marathons have been very disappointing. My time today: 1:46! As in ONE HOUR AND FORTY-SIX MINUTES! Holy cow! How did that happen? Well, losing 18 pounds doesn’t hurt, and I think I’ve come up with the reason I was always crashing. I always went out fast with Susy, and I just couldn’t maintain her speed. I’ve gotten faster, but I have to keep my pace strong and even to have energy left to finish the distance. For me, that’s about 8-minute miles, max.

After the walk, I whipped up some smoothies for Andrew (who got up just as I returned from my run) and myself:

I used the remaining half of my banana, 1/2 cups each of pineapple and frozen peaches and mango chunks, 1/4 C plain yogurt, 1/2 C coconut milk and flaxseed meal. YUM. Andrew got a strawberry-banana one with oats and flaxseed meal.

I’ve still to shower; between shake-making, dish-doing and now blogging, I feel kinda lazy right now! Well, I suppose “lazy” might not be the right word to describe me…

We’re having a low-key day today 🙂 Andrew has already fallen asleep on the couch in front of a gangster movie, and after a late lunch we’re going to head into EA to visit Abigail at work and borrow a cooler from his parents. Some friends of Andrew’s from work have invited us on a “beach” trip tomorrow, so I’m going to try to find a bathing suit today–all of mine are a bit big! Wish me luck…