May 10 2012

Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

 

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As a coworker pointed out to me today, it’s been over a month since I last posted.  Oops!  So much to fill you guys in on.  I mentioned before that I finished the J. Brian’s 15K, but since then I also raced the Unite Half Marathon, gone to lots of yoga classes with Mom, gone for a bunch of runs with Dad, and started marathon training!

I also need to update you guys on my race list for this year.  Up until the Half I was following the schedule as planned, but then life stepped in and a few races need to change.

So stay tuned for race recaps and schedule updates!  And of course, check back tomorrow for a new homemade Puppy Treat!

Apr 6 2012

Aloha Friday – Gina’s Three Cheese Cookies

 

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ALOHA Friday!  Today’s homemade Puppy Treats are Gina’s Three – Cheese Cookies from The Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook by Liz Palika.

These treats were so much better than Taco Treats!  Not only were they a snap to mix together and bake, but they smelled delicious.  The Taco Treats from our last batch of homemade puppy treats stunk up the entire house then the fridge and dishwasher.  Even the Puppy didn’t seem to like them all that much.

Not only did these treats smell great, they even mixed together well.  The mix wasn’t too runny and spooned onto the tray easily.  Such a nice change from the various other treats we’ve made, which always seem to be too dry.

While they were baking, Puppy sat impatiently by the oven.  I swear she knows when the food is for her :)

These treats were a big hit.  The Puppy got to try one out of the oven (after they cooled of course) and has been begging for another ever since!  Success!

Not only were these treats clearly a hit with the Puppy, they would also make good human treats.  Hubby and I both tried one of the treats and with a little garlic powder mixed in, they would be great bite-sized cheesy bread.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Puppy treat!  If you decide to make them, how did it go?

Apr 1 2012

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge – Day 6

 

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I can’t believe the Green Smoothie Challenge is almost over!  Although today’s green smoothie wasn’t really green; instead it was more of a dark purple color.  Hello blueberries!  One of my favorite fruits!

1 Cup Baby Spinach
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1 Frozen Banana
2 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Cup Baby Carrots

Another difference today was the consistency.  I deliberately didn’t add ice and kept the milk to a minimum, making the smoothie almost like frozen yogurt.  Instead of drinking the smoothie I ate it with a spoon!

Overall the taste of the smoothie was delicious, and more importantly … the taste was different :)   Finally 6 days later, mission accomplished!

Mar 31 2012

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge – Day 5

 

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Day 5 of the 7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge!  Today’s recipe was a bit different from previous days.  For once, I didn’t add protein powder to the mix since today’s smoothie was going to be for desert rather than dinner.  I also added some ingredients that I don’t normally incorporate into my daily meals.

1 Frozen Banana
1 Cup Baby Carrots
1 Mango
2 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
2-3 Cups Baby Spinach

Overall the mix was good.  In what seems to be a continuing theme with my green smoothies, this one also tasted like peanut butter and banana.  What was different was the consistency.  Today’s smoothie was thick and very pulpy.  I almost couldn’t finish it because of all the pulp.  I’m fairly certain it was the mango that caused the pulp, but it may have also been because I didn’t use quite as much milk and didn’t add any ice.

Since I have another mango, I’ll try to add it again tomorrow but with some added ice and water.

Like the new glass?  The glass was my finisher’s “medal” from the J. Brian’s Tap Room 15K today!  Race recap in the morning, so check back :)

Mar 31 2012

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge – Day 4

 

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In my quest to create new and different green smoothies, I’ve taken a few steps backward.  Today I had the same smoothie as Day 1.  I can at least I’ve stuck with my decision to use the green smoothies as a dinner meal replacement.

1 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Spoonful Natural Peanut Butter
1 Banana (best if frozen)
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
2-3 Cups Baby Spinach
4-5 Ice Cubes (add more to make it thicker)

Have you had a green smoothie today?  I swear I’ll switch it up tomorrow for Day 5!

Mar 28 2012

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge – Day 3

 

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Third day of the green smoothie challenge!  Today I tried to incorporate another veggie into my smoothie instead of just using spinach.  Ironically enough, it ended up tasting exactly the same as it did yesterday!  Win win for me, but if you need different flavors day-to-day, the recipe could use some tweaking.

1/2 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Spoonful Natural Peanut Butter
1 Cup Baby-Cut Carrots
2-3 Cups Baby Spinach
1 Banana
4-5 Ice Cubes
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
2 tbsp Dry Roasted Flaxseed
2 tbsp Vanilla Gluten Free Granola

Wow that was a lot!  I can’t seem to stray from the fundamental peanut butter and banana combo, maybe tomorrow I’ll do something completely different.  I added the granola thinking it would add a slight twist to the flavor, but I could have left it out.  I don’t think it added anything to the smoothie except to be yet another ingredient.

When everything was blended together, the color of the smoothie wasn’t the bright appealing green from the past two days but it was delicious so I’m ok with the not so great color.

As far as workout go, or I should say haven’t gone, since the Tune Up Tri I can’t seem to motivate myself to get up and do anything.  What didn’t help was sleeping weird Monday night so my neck hurt all day Tuesday.  Don’t you hate it when that happens?

I know I need to get in a few runs, especially with the 15K in 3 days (why oh why am I so lazy).  I know my body is prepared for the 15K distance, but mentally I don’t feel prepared.  Especially since I haven’t done anything so far this week.  Tomorrow I have a Peak 8 Fitness workout planned as well as a run.  Friday is packet pickup, but hopefully I can get in a short run just to keep moving.  I’m hoping to PR, but if I don’t that’s ok too.  For now, I’m going to enjoy the rest of the evening and get in some yoga.

Mar 27 2012

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge – Day 2

 

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Today was day 2 of the 7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge hosted by Peanut Butter Runner and The Real Food Runner.  My green smoothie today was very similar to yesterday, but I started to incorporate some different ingrediants and increased the number of ingrediants added.

1/2 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Spoonful Pumpkin Butter
1 Banana
~8 Frozen Strawberries
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
2-3 Cups Baby Spinach
2 tbsp Dry Roasted Flaxseed
4-5 Ice Cubes

Just like always, I made sure the spinach was at the bottom of the blender.  I actually didn’t add the ice at first, but decided I wanted to make it a little thicker.

I just threw this recipe together based on what I had in the cabinet and refridgerator, and it turned out better than my usual recipe!  I think this will become my new staple :)

If you’re participating in the challenge or just love green smoothies, what’s your favorite recipe?

Mar 27 2012

7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge – Day 1

 

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Monday started the first day of the 7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge hosted by Peanut Butter Runner and The Real Food Runner.  The challenge: incorporate one green smoothie into your diet per day for 7 days.  The green smoothie can be a meal or snack replacement.

I kicked off the challenge by replacing Monday’s dinner with a green smoothie.  I used the following ingrediants

I don’t measure so keep in mind these are all approximate values:

1 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Spoonful Natural Peanut Butter
1 Banana (best if frozen)
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
2-3 Cups Baby Spinach
4-5 Ice Cubes (add more to make it thicker)

I always put the spinach at the bottom of the blender to make sure all the leaves are blended; there’s nothing worse than finding half a leaf in your drink!  Aside from that, the ingrediants go in the blender in whatever order I remember them.

After everything’s added, just blend!  That’s it!

Six days left in the challenge.  I hope you’ll join the challenge and crate your own green smoothie mix.

Mar 26 2012

Tune Up Tri

 

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Yesterday was the Tune Up Tri!  My first triathlon of the year and my second triathlon ever!  I have now raced 5.5 miles, on my way to racing 100 miles for HHT during 2012.  5.5 down … 94.5 miles to go! ;)

The day started at 4:15am.  Well let’s be honest, the alarm went off at 4:15, I didn’t actually get out of bed until about 4:30am.  Luckily I packed Saturday night and already had my bike loaded into the car.  Puppy didn’t want to get up either, the only way I got her out of bed was by coaxing her with food!

While taking Puppy outside I discovered it was about 10 degrees cooler than I was expecting and misting/raining.  Moving to my backup plan, I grabbed a long sleeve shirt out of the laundry.

After taking Puppy out and feeding her breakfast, I left the house.  When I got to the race site, the parking lot was mostly empty.  One great thing about this race is the parking.  Of all the things to worry about on race morning, for this race, parking isn’t one of them (I don’t think the lot ever filled).  Since I didn’t attend packet pickup Saturday the first thing I did was pick up my race packet.

In addition to my number there were two Hammer Gels!  Hello breakfast!

I immediately attached my number to both bike and helmet and headed to set up my transition area.

This year, the transition area was first come, first serve.  To avoid the issues I had last year during transition, aka ‘where’s my bike?’, I chose a bike rack in the corner.  Probably not the ideal spot to choose, but at least I wouldn’t be wandering around aimlessly searching for my stuff.

I also remembered from last year to bring a plastic bag to put my helmet and goggles for transition.  Enter my Marine Corps Marathon packet pickup bag!

The bag over the seat is just a regular grocery bag.

Once my transition area was set up, and I was positive I hadn’t forgotten anything I went back inside the complex.  I immediately found where they were handing out timing chips and where they were body-marking.  They had about 8 volunteers body-marking, so even though the line was really long, it moved really fast.

     

I couldn’t believe how quickly I was able to get everything done.  All that was left to do, was warmup.  Since my bike was already setup in transition, I went for a quick run around the parking lot.  As soon as I started running I felt fast, not fast fast because I’m a slow runner, but fast for me.  I finished my warmup and headed in for the pre-race meeting.

The pre-race meeting was a little longer than I thought was necessary, but they did say it was deliberate to allow the sun to come out a little more before the race started.  Can’t say I blame them for that.  The national anthem was played and then it was time to race!

I was in wave 2 to start.  Five minutes of bouncing around trying to keep myself loose and warm later we were off.  I settled into my fast warmup pace and really tried to push myself.  The run felt great, my breathing was a little labored but I just kept telling myself it was a race and to keep pushing!  Right from the start I kept passing people.  I’d pick someone ahead of me and focus on passing them, then I’d pick someone else and pass them too.  Next thing I knew the run was over and it was time for the bike.  I walked through the transition area to my bike, got my helmet on, and walked my bike out of transition.  I knew I should be running, but I didn’t want to trip over my bike and thought it would be better in the long run to have a minute to catch my breath.

Once on the bike, it took two tries to get my right foot placed on the pedal correctly, and then another second or two to remember which gear I had left the bike in (I deliberately left it in an easy gear to start).  In an effort not to embarrass myself again, I put it in the hardest gear I thought I could maintain and just kept going.  Just like the run, I felt fast.  I kept telling myself the same thing I had during the run ‘it’s a race, it’s ok to push yourself’.  While no one passed me during the run, 4 people passed me on the bike, but one I passed back, so really only 3 people.  I tried to keep going faster up until I hit the end of the bike.  Then I slowed down to safely get off the bike; I had visions of myself falling while trying to get off the bike and was determined to not let that happen!  I ran the bike back to my transition spot and got ready for the swim.

Just like last year the wet pavement was cold and my feet started to go numb, but not to the extent of last year when it was snowing.  I ran into the building, then had to walk on the pool deck.  I got in the water and started my swim.  That’s when things started to go downhill.  I inhaled water during my third (of ten) length of the pool.  What I needed to do was stop, cough it out, and catch my breath, but I didn’t want to stop moving.  So I kept pushing myself forward, but I never felt comfortable during the swim after that.  My swim time was only a minute slower than it was last year, but I’m still a little disappointed it didn’t go as well as the run and bike.

Overall I had a great race and I’m really happy with myself.  I took 4 minutes off my time from last year!  For whatever reason, I decided to stay for the awards ceremony.  I’m glad I did because … I won my age group!  I was so surprised when they called my name.  I never win anything in races.

 

If I had finished with the same time last year, I wouldn’t have even been top 3 in my age group.  But as Hubby pointed out, their loss!  Overall this was a great race, well-organized, and the perfect start to the triathlon season.

Mar 25 2012

Upcoming

Internet is down at the house, but I wanted to give you a sneak peak of things to come :)

Race recap of the Tune Up Tri, and a seven day green smoothie challenge starting tomorrow!  I’ll post as soon as I can.  Have a great start to your week!