The wagon

I never once thought it'd be this difficult to get back on the fitness wagon!!

I have a few good days that involve decent exercise and somewhat healthy food choices. 

Then I fall off and it seems harder to pick it up. 

The past two days have been good though!

Yesterday the hubs and I took nugget for a 2 mile run/ walk.

Today we hiked for 3.5 miles. 

I also did some arm weights and 8 minute abs!!

Woohoo!!

Hoping this healthier streak lasts a bit longer than those of late. 

What have you been doing to keep active?

The {not so} naked truth

So it has been a rough start.

Weekends are rough for me since I work super late Fridays and therefore have no energy Saturday or Sunday. It also didn't help that it was a friends last night so we celebrated with a few pints. 

Willpower and beer are a hard mix for me.

I did manage to eat alright. 

My new go to snack is apples topped with cinnamon and dipped in PB.

I also put together a Mediterranean style dinner that was healthy (ish). Pork and lamb gyros with Kale-slaw and (not fried) falafel.

However, exercise wise was not so great. I managed 75 squats and a mile walk on Sunday. Yup. That's it!

I could blame the heat, but I'd rather say I was to busy playing with this beauty

 So if I'm going to do this, I suppose I need a picture of myself to compare to.

Perhaps posting some very unflattering pictures will help me get my sh*t together! 

Here goes

And here's to a better, more active week. 

Back on track

I need to get back on track. I have fallen so far off the track that I need binoculars to see it!
I think I started derailing slowly after I finished the Carlsbad Half.
Preceding the race I was in relatively good shape and eating healthily. I felt wonderful and had confidence.

I did manage to run 3 more half marathons to date: La Jolla Half in April; Rock-n-Roll in June; and AFC in August <--- but if I'm honest I walk/ran the last 6 miles due to heat and under-training.
Since the last race, I've ran a handful of times and stopped most fitness activity. I have let myself "go". My pants are tight, my legs don't feel as strong, and my beer belly can hold about a keg now.

Change is in the near future!
I want NEED to get this train wreck back on track! Maybe even surpass my previous level.
So I'm blowing the dust off my blog, and reaching out to whoever wants to listen.

The change includes only 2 things:
getting back into running/fitness
 consuming healthier/clean food

I will keep myself accountable through six 9 eleven.
This may be a bumpy ride, so hold on!

Carlsbad Half Marathon Race Recap

I did it!!

I truly can't believe I actually did it!!

I completed my FIRST HALF MARATHON!!!!

I was pretty nervous going in to it, because the longest distance I'd completed was 10 miles.

We (my running buddy Jessica and I) made it to the expo Saturday, about an hour before it closed. The reality that I would be running the distance the following day still hadn't set in. We collected our bibs and tech T's, and I stocked up on some Nuun. The expo was relatively small and not very busy, so we were in and out.

I managed to carb load with tortellini and get to bed at 9:00 without too many nerves.

The next morning I woke promptly at 5:00 am and realized as I started the coffee that my hands were shaking. Ok, nerves had definitely set in at this point!

We found parking on a random off street which worked out really well. We had about a mile walk to the start. 

After a quick trip to the porta potties, we had about 30 minutes to keep ourselves warm until the 7:45 start time.

At 7:35, we arrived in our corral with nerves flying and everything feeling surreal.

Wave 1, 2, and 3 were off and before we knew it; our wave was toeing the start.

The first mile flew by so fast as did the second mile. At mile 3 we climbed a hill, and before we knew it 5K was under our {fuel} belts.

We rounded the corner and were awarded with the ocean view this race boasts about. My legs were feeling great, the weather was perfect, and the views were beautiful.

 Right before we hit the halfway point, which was also the turnaround, we encountered our fourth (and longest) hill.
Once we turned around, I knew we'd have to tackle that same hill again.

I don't know if it was the hill or the nerves, but I hit a wall around mile 8. This made me feel disappointed because I thought at this point I would hit my runners high. I just kept trekking along, and thanks to Jessica, moving at a great pace.

To help climb over my "wall",  I decided I should take in more calories, so I took half a Clif shot that was handed out on the course. (I had been snacking on my go to Clif Bar.) I also had a couple oranges that someone was handing out.

 A wonderful spectator at mile 12 was handing out beer and I gladly took the small 3 oz stout. {Not so} Surprisingly this was exactly what I needed. Then the crowd began to thicken which could only mean we were coming up on mile 13 and the finish! At this point I was smiling because I knew I would finish (and be done)!

We did it! Finishers!! First half marathon DONE!!
Finish- 2:12:31

We chugged our finish line waters and ate the delicious banana while trekking back to the car. 

Overall the race was beautiful with aid stations every mile and plenty of spectators to keep you occupied.  Everything seemed well organized and so many port-a potties the lines weren't a thing to worry about. It was also nice they had a tent set up to keep warm pre-race.

Victory lap was held at Pizza Port where we indulged in a well deserved beer and pizza.
It'll be hard to wipe this smile off my face for a while!

Cheers!

Peanut Butter Oat Cookies

Peanut Buttery Oat Cookies

If you a craving a cookie with delicious peanut buttery flavor with healthy(ish) ingredients. THIS is the cookie for you! I enjoy eating this cookie for breakfast :)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup quinoa flour*
1/4 cup coconut flour*
1/4 cup oat flour*
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

*If you don't have these flours, don't fret! Sub it out with any flour on hand!


Process:
In a medium bowl combine the flours, oats, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Next, using an electric mixer, mix together butter, coconut oil and applesauce.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Then incorporate the peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla.
Finally add the dry ingredients slowly to the mixer. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop by the tablespoon on a prepared sheet pan.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
Enjoy!!

Great Urban Race Recap

Great Urban Race Recap

November 2, 2013
San Diego, CA

The race started and ended at Whisky Girl downtown. We arrived at 11:00 (the race starts at noon). Upon arrival, before entering WG and obtaining your bib # and swag, you must sign your life away to Red Frog Events.

Since we arrived early, the signing process and pickup went relatively fast. Once this was done, we were able to relax a bit before the adventure began. It was fun watching as teams arrived emanating excitement and donning fun costumes.

The race started right on time. There were several 'race personnel' scattered about WG ready to hand off the envelope that contained the clues. We grabbed our clues and got right to solving the 12 puzzles.
Each puzzle solved would give you the address to the checkpoint. You were allowed to skip one.

It took us nearly 45 minutes to work on the puzzles and we still hadn't solved them all! But we knew we had to get moving! So we mapped out the most logical route using the addresses we had solved, and hoped we would stumble upon our unsolved locations. (Spoiler: we did!)


Our first three stops took us to seaport village.
{At every stop, you must either take a picture or video as proof, along with collecting a flyer.}

1. Hot Licks- Eat a bug covered in hot sauce.

2. Apple Box Toys- One teammate must stack blocks according to a picture while the other teammate calls out directions.

3. Seaport Oil and Vinegars- Taste 2 vinegars and 2 oils and identify their flavor.

We then headed back toward Gaslamp via the Convention Center stairs (Thanks, Jessica).

4. Old Spaghetti Factory- Climb to the 3rd floor. Hold an uncooked spaghetti noodle in your mouth and "thread" 6 penne noodles onto the noodle in your mouth, no hands!

5. Bub's @ The Ballpark- Shoot 6 baskets into a hoop positioned onto your teammates head, then pose like Michael Jordan.

6. Basic Pizza- link an arm with your teammate so each only have one functioning hand, construct a pizza box. (This place was so HOT we were dripping pools of sweat all over the box)

7. Feel It- Construct a cassette tape tower, pull the middle cassette out and repeat until the top cassettes land on the bottom with out falling <--- if that makes any sense? (It actually wasn't as hard as it looked and sounds) After this, complete a puzzle of a record label.

After this we encountered a nice, BIG hill! So fun ;)

8. Little Yoga Studio- One teammate stands in tree position while other wraps toilet paper 12 times around torso. Then both must stand in this pose for a picture.

9. This clue was in tic-tac-toe form (with 9 choices). We were to choose 3 that formed a tic-tac-toe.
Our choices that we completed throughout the course:
     Take a picture with a bald man.

This man was quite happy to be chosen :)

     Take a picture with a bridge in the background.

Might as well make those convention center stairs worth while!

     Take a picture with a witch or zombie. This was so hard to find, luckily Jessica spotted this candle in a coffee shop!

One of the clues listed 7 toiletry items that we could choose 2 to buy and donate to Father Joe's Village.
After our yoga stop, we still hadn't seen a CVS which we were sure we would. Luckily en route to the drop off location for the donations, Jessica spotted thesmallest shop that sold what we needed!!

10. Toussaint Academy- Drop off donations.

11. The Local- Play a plinko-esq game involving Bacardi Oakheart Rum (a sponsor for Great Urban Race). "Plinko" chips must land in coke, oak, ice and avoid landing in spill. If this happens, start again. We got it on our second try!!

Half skipping, half running we made our way back to WG. We were so excited to have completed all the clues! As we came down the block, there was a lot of cheering. We then had an official check our pictures, videos and flyers to mark our finishing place and completion.

We came in 21st place out of over 100 teams. 

Overall, this race was a lot of fun. It was a great opportunity to explore part of our city. The clues were slightly difficult(for us at least) but somehow we managed. We covered almost 5 miles during this race and ran to each destination. I would definitely do this again!

Have you ever completed a Great Urban Race? Or a race with different checkpoints, destinations, or scavenger hunt?

All American Hero 10K recap

All American Hero 10K

August 31, 2013

San Diego, CA

Packet pick-up was the day of. We arrived at 6:30 and found parking right away.
Bib and t-shirt pick-up took a total of 15 minutes. After using the port a potties, and meeting up with our friends who decided this race was a good idea, we bummed around the start line until the race started at 7:45.

Myself,  Jessica, Lesley and Doug: ready to sweat!

I was really nervous for this race because it was so hot, and I really didn't want to do it.

Because this was such a small race, there were no corrals to start. Everyone just started at once.
About a 1/2 mile in, both Jessica and I needed to use the bathroom (all that pre-race hydration).
I begged to just quit now. Thank goodness Jessica pushed me to keep at it.

We ran a slow race, but the views were beautiful. I noticed many people taking it slow, due to the heat I assume.

Major props to this guy running in full suit!

The out and back course was grueling, but thank goodness for the water stations at every mile. I dumped 2 cups on my head at each one.

Knowing the Nugget and hubs were at the finish line helped me complete the last couple miles.

When I saw the hubs and Nugget I was so happy! I grabbed my little darling and crossed the finish line with a vow to never race in this heat again.

All in all, the course was beautiful, the volunteers great, post race snacks were superb. The t-shirt we received is wearable and it was fun to sport the medal I clearly earned for surviving!

Afterwards we celebrated at the Broken Yolk with delicious mimosas and breakfast.

Jessica and I then followed that up with just one more celebratory drink, since the race was that draining! {always remember: re-hydration is key!}

Even though the race was tough, I am happy to have helped motivate a friend. 

Even though I didn't get to run the actual race with her (she was TOO FAST!), she was able to find some passion for running. 

Even though I won't run a race in late August heat again, I WILL run.

Even though I complained and suffered, I finished!

What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger... RiGhT?

What's the worst race (or run) you ever ran?