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 :)

Advanced Yoga = A Bit Scary

Hey,



So I did an evening workout tonight, which was fun - and I had an absurd amount of energy when I got home, like it was a little ridiculous, I was bopping around to my iPod for like the first 10 minutes I was home. Anywho, I did a quick 20 minute cross-train on the elliptical tonight and burned a little over 200 calories woo! Then I went to a yoga class, I've never been to the Wednesday night class - but it's listed as just a general yoga class. Problem was, I'm 98% sure it was some type of crazy advanced yoga, cuz it was nowhere near as do-able as some of the other classes I've been too. Huge challenge, on the plus side, I had a great time laughing at all my awkwardness.

Today eating has been pretty good, I had some cottage cheese and a granola bar for breakfast; and then I grabbed a veggie sub from Subway over lunch, and had the 2nd half as a late afternoon dinner before the gym. I also went to Wal-Mart over lunch and got some of those Space Bag things for when we move. I really hope they work, and don't like explode in the suitcase, has anyone ever tried them before?

Not sure if I'll get a chance to blog tomorrow, the MIML is defending his Masters thesis - so its a pretty big deal. I'm taking a half-day at work so I can go watch him present. The in-laws are coming into town to see it as well, so we'll probably do dinner/family stuff - should be good, I know he'll do awesome.

Guess thats about it for today!

P.S. I'm in love with the new BSB song "Bigger" I've probably played it like 10 times today - go download it.

Learning to Breathe

Do you ever just forget to breathe? I did that repeatedly this morning. Today was my first run as part of my 10K training plan. It went pretty decently, I guess, I've done better before - but I think the delay was largely due to the weather. It was only like 2 degrees this morning, so it was a tad chilly. The Nike+ stats are:
Distance: 2.51 miles
Time: 29:30
Pace: 11:42 min/mile
Calories: 277

So it wasn't a super quick run. I did stop 2-3 times at traffic lights for short walk breaks and water... so that may have made it longer. Either way I'm happy I stuck it out and finished. Could be alot worse. I didn't even realize how chilly it was outside until I got back home, and couldn't breathe properly for like 5 minutes while readjusting to "regular" temperatures. Has that ever happened to anyone else? I think I'll have to try and re-train myself to breathe better in colder weather. That was the most challenging part I think.

I've also decided I need to devote some time to my iTunes Workout playlist - considering its basically non-existent at the moment. I find that a good song will really motivate me to move my arse, so that's definitely on the top of my running to-do list. Any recommendations would be awesome!


Anywho, I'm looking forward to the rest of my day. Started it off with a Liberte Strawberry Yogurt and a tea for breakfast. Then I'm meeting my friend at Starbucks for a coffee over lunch - (*WOO* Red Cups start Today!!). Later I think me and the MIML are going to finally pick out furniture and order it so it can be delivered to him when he gets to Calgary next week. Then, one of my bestest friends and my old roomate, Ange, is making us a going away dinner. How awesome is that? And she's Italian - so its guaranteed to be AMAZING! Such a sweetheart.

Anyways, that's my plans for today - tomorrow, I'm gonna do a yoga class in the evening and maybe 30-40 minutes on the elliptical beforehand. So it'll be an evening blog tomorrow, just for a change of pace.

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!