A run to the park

Hello! So today I had originally planned to get up before work and get in an early gym workout.  Can you guess how that turned out?  I found myself continually pressing the snooze button until it was absolutely time to get up and get ready for work.  Plan B?  Go to the gym during my two hour break between tutor sites.  Lunch packed, iPod charged, gym bag ready (shower flip flops included)-seamless plan, right?  Only as I’m leaving my first site I received a seemingly urgent work email requiring me to return home for lunch in order to respond.  At least I was able to eat lunch at home with my boys.  I had a turkey sandwich with tomatoes, red onion, avocado, and alfalfa sprouts.

Alright, two workout plans down the drain…do I go to the gym or run to a nearby park after my last site?  A run to the park it is!  This option was especially appealing because Rob and LeRoy decided to meet me at the park for some play time.

Typical man…not smiling for the camera!

I don’t know what it is, but whenever I run to the park I run faster than usual.  Maybe because it’s a shorter run?  Or perhaps it’s because Rob and LeRoy usually either bike along side me or meet me there?  Both possibilities seem feasible.  Anyways, it’s a two mile run to the park.  Knowing this, I ran my first two miles hard…I mean huffing and puffing, side-ache-gripping, dripping sweat hard.  When I made it to the park, Rob wasn’t there yet (Maybe he didn’t expect me to run so fast!?), so I ran around the park to make it a total of three miles.

Average mile time: 7:55, Fastest mile: 7:28

Once at the park it was play time!  LeRoy was in a running mood today so we chased him around until he decided it was time to eat some grass.  The life of a dog…so simple!

For dinner I made chicken pasta with spinach, green beans, broccoli, and pine nuts.  I’ll post the recipe later, but for now a picture will have to do!

My plan is to go to the gym tomorrow morning before work, but we’ll see how that goes!  Good night!

 

First attempt at overnight oats…not so good

I’ve been wanting to try overnight oats ever since I discovered this overnight magic-in-a-bowl from a friend.  So last night around 9:30 I searched the internet for instructions on how to make these ‘infamous’ overnight oats.  As expected, there are a variety of recipes to choose from; unfortunately, I only had the bare essentials most of these recipes called for in my fridge.  I recently picked up some unsweetened, coconut and vanilla flavored almond milk from the store and thought it would go well with my overnight oats.  So I combined 1 cup of the almond milk with 1/2 a cup of oats, 1 teaspoon of chia seeds, and some cinnamon.  I covered it up with some aluminum foil and put it on the bottom shelf of my fridge.  I was so excited to witness this overnight magic for myself this morning, only to find my overnight oats tasted like powder…which is strange considering the oats are soaked in almond milk.  Maybe it’s the almond milk?  Maybe I should add yogurt next time as several of the recipes suggested?  Oh well, next time I won’t decide to try a new recipe so late that my ingredient options are limited to what I have in stock.

I have an hour break for lunch and fortunately I work close enough to my apartment that I am able to come home.  Today I made veggie omelet with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, green onions, and avocado.  I added in some freshly grated pepper jack cheese for a little kick.

No workout today! Just hanging out with Rob and our little guy, LeRoy.  Look at that cute face!

Another late start…

Talk about failing two days in a row! I was supposed to meet my friend, Karl, for a stadium workout at a local high school at 8:00 am.  The problem is I woke up at 8:00! Luckily the stadium is only two miles from my apartment, and I was able to keep Karl from waiting too long for me.  What a great workout partner, right?  So here I am, running late AGAIN.  Pre-workout snack was same as yesterday: wheat toast topped with natural peanut butter and unsweetened, shredded coconut.  I managed to get a picture of it with my phone while on my way to the track…don’t worry, I was at a stop light!

Below is our workout:

• 1 mile warm up
• 10 frog jumps*
• 20 push ups
• 20 single-leg squats (10 each leg)
• 20 dips
• 20 lunges
• 400m run

4x

• 8 100m sprints with a 50m walk as rest
• 2 rounds of stairs (Two rounds around the stadium, that is.  This is by no means a massive stadium.  It totals about 22 reps of 20 stairs.)

*Start at the bottom of a set of stairs in a squatted position, jump up two stairs landing in a squatted position, and repeat! I’m sure there are many names for this exercise, but I call them frog jumps.

Seeing as how I got to a less-than-favorable start for an intense workout, I struggled at the beginning.  Luckily, I had THIS girl to push me through it!

After our workout I made one of my favorite breakfasts: pancakes made from a banana, an egg, and chia seeds.  I know what you’re thinking…no flour!?  No buttermilk or sugar!?  Just give these bad boys a try, I promise it will soon be one of your go-to breakfasts!

Banana pancake recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana (mashed)
• 1 egg
• Chia seeds (I use about 1 tsp.)
• Cinnamon
• Blueberries

(Last two items are for the topping)

Directions:

1. Mash banana in a bowl until smooth.  Try to get out as many lumps as possible.
2. Add egg and whisk together.
3. Add desired amount of chia seeds
4. Heat griddle to 300 degrees. (I have used a skillet also.)
5. Pour batter evenly into three pancakes on the griddle. (Usually amounts to 1/4 cup of batter per pancake.)
6. Flip pancakes after about 3-4 minutes or when the outer edges of the pancakes are visibly cooked.
7. Flip again after 3 minutes.

Topping:

1. Sprinkle cinnamon over pancakes.
2. Top with fruit of choice.  I like to microwave fresh blueberries until they pop and take on a syrup-like consistency.  I do this by placing them in a ramekin and microwaving them in increments of 20 seconds.

ENJOY!

Variations:

• I have heard of adding a couple tablespoons of unsweetened, shredded coconut to the batter.
• I have also heard of adding vanilla or chocolate protein powder to the mixture.
• You might also add a couple chocolate chips to the mixture.  I tried this once and YUM!

First post!

A few friends and I had originally planned to complete a quick circuit workout followed by a spin class this morning; however, after a 6 mile run and other late night festivities yesterday (Karl!), we decided to skip the circuit workout and jump right into spin.  I normally try to avoid spin classes, or any group x class for that matter, because I always find myself glancing at the clock every five minutes out of boredom.  I’d much rather run or bike outside.  I do live in Orange County after all where the weather is perfect nearly every day.  However, this particular spin instructor is really energetic and motivating and has such a dedicated following that in order to even stand a chance of getting in we had to come two hours early.

So, lo and behold, here I am, waking up at the butt crack of dawn to go to spin class.  I started my day with wheat toast topped with natural chunky peanut butter and unsweetened, shredded coconut.  I didn’t think I was such a fan of coconut, but this was delicious and just what I needed before my workout.  I should have taken a picture, but seeing as how I was running late and didn’t want to be ousted for a spot in spin class, I thought it best to skip the picture.  I know…I’m failing at this blogging thing already!

After spin, we went to our local farmer’s market where I picked up some fresh veggies and fruit.  I also grabbed some tasty macaroons and spinach feta artichoke hummus. (<YUM!)

That’s it for my first post…stay tuned for more!