Blogs Make Me Smarter...

Hey

So my last update was Saturday (i think)- so what have I done since then - not a whole lot, lol :P I spent Saturday afternoon doing the 30 Day Shred/Yoga, cleaning and getting some groceries. I decided to indulge in an "I'm home by myself" dinner and had asparagus and mushroom risotto using a recipe that the MIML found me off the Food Network. It was delish, but involved a sizable amount of BUTTER :P eee... oh well. Nice to pretend like you don't care every now and then. Saturday night I was supposed to go out with some people, but I bailed, because I totally fell asleep on my couch for 2 hours at 7:00 - and figured I was too tired. Bah - I'm no fun I guess. Or maybe I'm just getting OLD!

Anyways, yesterday I hit the gym fairly early. Pre-gym I had breakfast that consisted of rye toast with cashew butter, which I found while shopping on Saturday night. It is FAB-U-LOUS... I'd put it on par with almond butter - so that was very exciting. At the gym I ran 3.5 miles as per my 10K training plan - it was a bit rough around the middle, but I finished pretty strong and was happy with my time. Nike+ stats were: 3.5 miles/36:49 min/10:30 min per mile/385 Calories burned. The Nike+ thing almost made me laugh out loud when I finished because Lance Armstrong came on and congratulated me - haha, SOOO random. That made me smile. In the afternoon I took some old clothes to goodwill (*yay* for giving back), grabbed a Starbucks, did some laundry, and hunted for jobs in Calgary. I hate job hunting, its depressing - especially in this economy. I'm terrified of not finding something once I get out there. :S

Couldn't decide on what to make for dinner last night, so I made lemon chicken and ate some leftover risotto with it. It was tasty, and I have extra's for lunch today. While I was making dinner I discovered that my mother THREW OUT my $11 package of QUINOA while she was packing on Friday, because "I already had alot of rice" - its NOT THE SAME... lol :P - silly lady.

Anyways, so I've decided that the tips I find in blogs - make me way smarter about eating healthy. Exhibit A: I decided to try Overnight Oats which I've been hearing lots about in the blogosphere. They turned out great, I was so impressed. They are definitely going to be a staple in my breakfast routine. THANKS KATH. I added some almond butter and strawberry rhubarb jam and it was the perfect treat before my strength training.

So, do any of you have any favorite goodies you add to your oats? As I mentioned, I feel like they'll be making a regular appearance, and I would love to try some new varieties :)

Day 1 = Success

So today was Day 1 of my 10K training plan, and it was a big success. Feels good already. Day 1 is just strength training, so I did a combination of arms, legs, and ab work - but focused primarily on legs (for running purposes, afterall). Probably about 50% legs, 40% arms, 10% abs. I was surprised that it didn't take me that long to get through everything either, only about 45 minutes. And thanks to 'falling back' this weekend, it was actually sunny when I left my place at 7:15 this morning, that was a nice change.

I just got into work and I've started the day with a Timmie Ho's (Tim Horton's for all the USA readers) tea, and two Kashi granola bars (Honey Almond Flax & Peanut Peanut Butter) - cuz I was starving, but wanted something healthy.

Last night for dinner, the boy and I had a quinoa salad with lots of veggies in it (peppers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes etc) and it was delicious. I was super impressed with how quinoa tastes and isn't super time-consuming to make. Now we have leftovers for a week!

After dinner we met two friends downtown and headed to Centennial Hall for the Just For Laughs all-star tour, it was mucho funny. I've never really been to a comedy show before, but I was very impressed. I think it'll have to become a regular occurance, since it seems like one of the few things me and the boy can agree on.

Anyways, better get cracking on work - but I'm soooo looking forward to tomorrow. 2 miles here I come!

The 10K

So as I mentioned in my prior post - I was gonna give some details about my road to health and fitness. Here's what I'm thinking...

I currently can run 5K fairly easily, but I'm am by no means a regular runner. I just can kind of push through the pain and bust out a 5K without THAT much effort. So... to make sure that I push myself and get into a serious running regimen, I've set my first goal at completing a 10K. I'm sure all the runners out there in the blogosphere know of Hal Higdon, and after looking through alot of training plans, his seems like the best strategy for me to fit into my life. I don't have a particular race I'm planning for at the moment, considering that Hal Higdon's plan is only 8 weeks - and by that point it'll be around Christmas and the dead of winter up here in Canada... so not a whole ton of road races to choose from. I will likely be completing my training using a combination of outdoor running, and classes/machines at the gym as the weather gets colder.

I am planning on making a few slight modifications to Hal's plan, so I'm thinking my plan will look something like this...

Monday: Stretching & Strength Training (45 minutes)
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Cross-Training (Yoga Class + Cardio Machine)
Thursday: Off
Friday: Short Run + 20 minutes Strength Training
Saturday: Cross-Training (Spin Class, Walking, Kickboxing etc)
Sunday: Long Run

So only some minor variations on the plan - but I think it'll work well for me.

There are only a few challenges I foresee in this plan. #1) I'm moving at the end of December - and its not just a little move - I'm moving from Ontario to Alberta - so umm, I dunno 4000+ miles. :S #2) The reason for this move, is the man in my life (MIML) got a job out West, and my job is a contract position that ends just before xmas, so the timing for this kind of change is good in that sense. Downside is, I will be without a boyfriend to motivate me for about 6 weeks (he leaves next weekend), and I'll be stuck in Ontario packing up our life ... wooo, fun! NOT!

Hopefully, this blog and my exercise plan will be a good distraction for me while he's away. I'm also hoping that if I get out West and can find a good gym quick enough, I won't miss out on any of my training plan... (Anyone know any reasonably priced gyms in Calgary? I could really use some tips!) Assuming all goes well, I am planning on running in the Calgary Marathon next May, hopefully either a strong 10K or a half-marathon if I can really push myself.

I figure that will give me lots of time to adjust to a regular running schedule, and figure out what works best for me. I'm also planning on trying to eat natural, healthy foods from this point out and I will try and document some of that to share with you as well. I'd love to know what some of the experienced runners out there thinking of this training strategy, I'm still pretty new at this so I'd love to learn more. Nonetheless, I will keep you posted on my progress this week. Wish me luck!