Week in Review and Looking forward to 2012

I guess technically I am officially training for marathon #2. I don't have a training plan written down or anything, but I'm not good at following stuff anyways. I am going to increase my mileage and cut back every 4th week. I'm going to get in 3-4 20 milers and hopefully do speedwork once or twice.  To me, that sounds like a plan! 

Saturday was my first trail run ever! I met up with my wonderful running group and off we went for 10 miles around Kennesaw Mountain.  The first mile I was terrified, it was narrow, rocky, leafy, and steep. I was sure I was going to break a bone.  It got a lot better after that and I had a ton of fun.  It was a totally different experience than I'm used to.  Most of my running is on the treadmill, I set up my Google map and off I go.  The treadmill automatically adjusts incline and decline and I zone out.  It was really a change to pay attention to where I was running and not trip on a rock or branch.  The weather was perfect too.

So far December has been a good month both running-wise and other.  I would say I'm 60% done with my Christmas shopping #winning
Were heading to Florida for Christmas and won't be able to take all of the kids gifts down so I'm trying to be mindful of that and buy some smaller "stocking stuffer" items too.
I have no idea what to get hubby. None. 

I'm looking forward to some fun and festive activities with the kids this weekend.

What are your plans?

What do I buy for my spouse?  P.S. he has no interest or hobbies, makes it even tougher! Seriously.

Cold November Rain

I thought it was going to snow a couple of days ago, but no dice.
Oh well... I'm sure there is plenty of time for that.  What there isn't time for, apparently, is blogging!
No Thankgiving thankfulness post. No gobble job 10k race recap.  No pictures. Nope nothing!
I smell a new year's resolution in the making.



In the meantime I did run a 10k on Thanksgiving.  The course was a double loop of the 5k there were 2 hills (so technically 4).  My lungs started burning .02 seconds after I started running.  It was rough, I thought I was going to cough up a lung or that blood was pooling in my lungs.  Yep, I'm dramatic.
Anyways other than being insanely uncomfortable for the whole race, I finished in 51.10.  My goal was 50 min. After the race I came home, started the Thanksgiving cooking and somehow contracted some sort of food poisoning/stomach flu that kept me from eating Thanksgiving dinner and more importantly Thanksgiving dessert. Boo :(

I got a good amount of Christmas shopping done over the weekend and it's Dec 1! Where does the time go!
I had a fantastic run on Tuesday 5 miles sub 40 min (that's been my goal for awhile)!
And, a really crappy run yesterday.

All in all November was a good month.  Busy busy like the beaver's say!
I'm sure December will be much of the same.  I'm excited to go home for Christmas and be with my family.  I'm trying to enjoy Christmas shopping and not stress about it.  Although I had  big fat fail at Toys R Us yesterday.
I'm having a great time running and feeling good.  Except for a spot on my left calf. 

I really truly have no real complaints.  This year has been unimaginably good. Really and truly better than I could have even hoped for.  I hope for more of the same!

I'm jealous of everyone going to Vegas!  I can't wait for the stories and race recaps!
Annnnnnd now that it's December it's time to start baking cookies!
Recipes to follow...

Friday Fav's

TGIF, it has been a loooooooong week!
I have lot's of things to be happy about though and in the spirit of being thankful, here goes:


Preschool! not for me, for him.  It gives him a chance to burn off some energy and he learns a lot of new things.  My daughter gets to play with toys without them constantly being snatched away and I get 3 1/2 hours of uninterrupted work. 

Smoothies! Especially when I get to drink them out of my Atlanta Marathon cup!  It's really cold so I have on a sweater, jacket, and scarf so I can drink it and not freeze! Weird?

 And remember how I wanted to bake something sweet? Well that very day my neighbor brought over these babies!  Amazing! She makes the most amazing cakes and cupcakes, I am such a cake snob now and cannot eat anything but her cakes!  They're gorgeous too... she is super talented.  She has a cake business Cake's Caboodle

 She did my son's and daughter's birthday cakes:

Aren't they amazing?!?!?!  You like the the shadow of me standing over the cake taking a picture!

I've got ridic photography skills (with my iphone)

Anyways she is local to Atlanta, too bad for you guys!  I've got all of my friends hooked.  Since I only have 2 kids and that means cake like this only twice a year I had to make sure all of my friends with kids got cakes from them too.  So now it works out that I get to eat it at least once a month! #winning.

I plan of running 15 miles tomorrow... My longest run in 2 weeks.

Happy Friday!

An extra hour of sleep it is not...

Fall back has not been good to me.
Although my kids still goto sleep at the same time each night they have been waking up exactly one hour earlier every day.
I like waking up and having it actually be light out, but I hate that it's dark by 6 pm, it really shortens the day. 

I've been running almost my normal running schedule. I have noticed that after some longer runs I get sore, that didn't used to happen. I am assuming it is because I didn't allow enough rest time after the marathon.  I just don't know how I'll feel to run a half two weeks from now. 
I ran Saturday morning on a beautiful trail that follows the Chattahoochee River, it was cold but warmed up nicely after about an hour.  The fall leaves were beautiful and littered the and the river had a light fog over it. I wish I would have remembered to take pictures. This one is from the Silver Come Trail. 

Where did the Year go?

Seriously, where is it?
The older I get the faster time goes by.
I cannot believe it is already November. I'm excited for the Holiday's they seem to take on new meaning once you have kids. Right now my kids are young enough that it's still enjoyable.

I've been consistently running for a little over a year now, I know to most of you that's nothing, but prior to this I literally couldn't run more than a mile at a time (I was a walk/run girl/ elliptical lover). I'm so excited for the future as far as running goes I can't wait to see more progress and get more and more races under my belt. I have a lot to learn as far as running goes, I'm still navigating race day fueling (I suck at it right now), speedwork (I hate it right now), finding the perfect shoe (maybe next pair?), and actually sticking to a training schedule.

I ran 4 miles on Wednesday at a 9 min pace and felt great, ab work too. I did a circuit training exercise video and ran 5.5 miles at an 8:40 pace and am really hurting today. I don't know if it was the running or the jump squats but my knees are just not happy. I'm going to take today off from running, I'm running with my running group on Saturday morning and I need fresh legs.
Atlanta has a Thanksgiving half marathon and I REALLY want to run it. I've got a couple things holding me back though:

1. price. It's $75 and I don't know if it's worth it.
2. It's Thanksgiving and I don't know if I want to drag my poor family out (plus it could be super duper cold)
3. My husband is having a procedure on his leg on Tuesday, It's outpatient, no biggie, but who knows how he will feel.

I'm really unsure, but I think if I don't do that I at least want to do a 5k or 10k.

What are your plans for the weekend?
I don't have any (except for my Saturday run) I'm thinking a day trip, but where???

Do you love Christmas music?
I LOVE it. I adore Trans Siberian Railroad and I actually had some on my playlist for my marathon.

Have a great weekend! Good luck to those running RnR Savannah and NYC!

Atlanta Marathon Recap

The race started at 7:00 am. and as I said earlier I woke up at 5:30, that was not the start to race morning I was hoping for. I had coffee and nothing else (not a good fueling plan) my stomach just wasn't up to it, not eating seemed like the lesser of 2 evils. It was cold and I was glad to arrive late because that meant less time standing around in the cold. I wore shorts, compression socks, a long sleeve dri-fit, with a sports bra and sleeveless tank underneath (just in case I got hot). Once we started running I warmed up pretty quickly, except for my hands. My hands were cold for most of the race. They were red and swollen and completely numb. I think I have bad circulation.
The first few miles were a blur. It was dark, I hadn't really grasped that I was running 26.2 miles yet.
I had no plan as far as paces or a goal time. My training didn't go as planned and my paces were all over the place. I planned to run by feel and just hope for the best.
I hit the half way mark at 1:57, but it was all down hill from there (time wise). I stopped to use the bathroom at mile 16 and lost a ton of time. Between trying to rush, my handheld, my head phones that kept falling out of my ears, I was a mess. I was trying to be quick and ended up taking like 3 minutes. I didn't want to put my hand held down!
I took gels at mile 5, 9, 14, and 20. But, I didn't eat breakfast or a whole lot the night before and I think it really affected how I felt. I've really never felt so fatigued, I wanted to sit down and rest!
After the 18 mile mark I got very emotional. Someone in the cheer zone was speaking and he said:
"This isn't your first run, you've been training for months. It's not easy, it hurts, but today
YOU will finish a marathon!"

That's the first time I realized I was going to finish a marathon! I didn't care about the time, I just wanted to finish!
I started to get very emotional the rest of the way. I went back and forth between wanting to cry because I was tired to being excited about finishing a marathon.
My right knee and ankle really started to hurt the last few miles. All of that treadmill training did not adequately prepare my body for running 26.2 miles on the road. The soft surface of the treadmill is great and I love it, but I think when I run outside it really takes a greater toll on my body. I did most of my long runs outside, but my last 20 miler was at the Silver comet trail and there are no hills there!
As I was rounding the last corner to the finish my hubby and kids were there cheering me on. It was a great surprise I gave them high five's and finished my first marathon in 4:18:21.
Here are the stats:
Overall Place
483 of 1124
Gender Place
138 of 427
Age Division Place
35 of 86

I'm still on a runner's high and can't wait to run another race. It was a great experience and I wouldn't change anything about it. I learned a lot and know training wise I have a lot of room for improvement and that's exciting, I can't wait till the next one!
I'm already signed up for the Publix Georgia marathon in March and I think I'm going to do the St. Louis one in April. We have a half for Thanksgiving, I would love to run it, but I'm not sure what our Thanksgiving plans are yet.

I'm so thankful for all of the blogger's out there. I love reading the race recaps and I am so motivated by everyone's honesty and running talents.
I don't have any race day photos. Well actually I do, but I don't plan on buying them and I can't save them to the pc. Oh well...

I can't wait to read everyone's (who's running it) NY reacap!!!

My First Marathon (Reflections)

It's Fall, that means I dye my hair darker. I'm just festive like that.

Sunday 10/30, I ran my first marathon.
I'll post a recap later, but I want to get down ALL of the events leading up to it before I forget.
The week leading up to the marathon was supposed to be relaxation and carb loading, with a couple easy runs peppered in. It was anything but.
We had two pretty major family things happen, one on my side and one on my husbands, that kind of left the marathon in the back of my mind, with so much else to focus on.
I didn't really intend to carb load, as in I wasn't going to do difficult math problems calculating carb ratios etc...
I did plan to eat more carbs a couple days leading up to the race though. What actually happened is all of the stress really did a number on my appetite and I had to force myself to eat the little bit that I did.
Race morning was COLD. I had set my alarm for 4:45 am with intentions to leave around 5:45 for the 7 am start time. I overslept. I woke up and my phone said it was 5:27, I almost died!
I drank my coffee threw on my clothes and got to the race. I waited in the (thankfully not too long line) for the port-o-potty and had to hop one of those barriers to get to the start.
I didn't feel like running. I wasn't nervous, excited, or even tired. I just didn't want to run. I think all of the emotionally draining events from the week just left too mentally tired to think about running 26.2 miles.
I got it together though and started feeling pretty good a few miles in.
More on that when I do the recap.

After the race I left pretty quickly, I had to take my son to a birthday party.
I was sore and I'm still sore. I have never been in so much pain from running.
My right knee hurts, when I bend it, it takes a couple minutes to straighten it back out. My ankles hurt, even my wrist hurts from the way I was carrying my water bottle the whole time.
I definitely did not anticipate hurting this much. Trick-or-Treating with the kids will definitely be a "treat" for me later on. Having kids is awesome, it means I get to trick-or-treat again and I get to dress them up however I want!


Happy Halloween!

Less Than a Week To Go!!!!

Yep, I have less than a week to marathon #1.
Just 3 more runs...
So far the weather looks perfect.
It's funny it seems that everything falls on the same weekend. We can go an entire month without any weekend plans and than one weekend we have a ton of stuff to cram in. I should have expected it this time, Halloween is Monday so there are lots of things to be done. (besides a marathon).

Last weeks runs were more of the same:
Monday - 4.5 miles (8 min pace) + abs
Tuesday - 4 miles (8:44) + strength
Wednesday - 7.13 (8:25)
Thursday - 5.47 (8:25) + strength
Saturday - 8.04 (8:27)

The "vegan" week went well. I even made vegan pumpkin bars.
I don't eat a lot of meat and don't think I am going to cut it out permanently.
I don't think my body reacts well to dairy. It's hard to completely cut out dairy because it is in so many things. However, I don't drink cow's milk and will continue with that and I've stopped eating yogurt (I was never a big yogurt fan anyway).
Cheese is tough because I LOVE pizza. So I'm not willing to cut that out... maybe cut it down, but not out.

All of this food talk is making me hungry!
I can't believe I'm going to run a marathon this weekend!!!! It's the waking up at 4:30 am part that's hard for me! I'm always so scared of over sleeping!

Have a happy Monday!

Vegan for a week?

Can we do it?
Over the past 6 months we've cut down on meat. We would eat fish and chicken once a week and vegetarian the rest of the time. We never eat meat at breakfast or dinner. For the past month or 2 I've been trying to cut down on dairy (mostly for my kids) because hubby and I aren't milk drinker's or yogurt eater's. So the next step is to completely cut out meat and dairy this week and to see how we do. I also want to try and cut out gluten, but one thing at a time. I want to say this is a lifestyle change, however, I doubt that this will be permanent. I want to see if we feel different
Last night we had salad, parsnip fries, roasted turnips, and asparagus. It was great, these are all foods we eat regardless. I'm not going to try anything new just more of the veggies we currently eat and none of the meat or dairy.
I think lunches will be the most difficult because the kids usually eat yogurt and a cheese sandwich for lunch... so any ideas would be great!!!

Moving on....

Last week was my first week of taper and I can honestly say it was the best week of running I've had in months.
I was excited about the 4 mile weekday runs instead of dreading the 9 mile weekday runs from before.
This weekend was only 12 miles... ONLY! I can't believe 12 miles seems like a short run.
Here's the breakdown:
Monday - 4 miles (8:07 avg pace) + abs + 30 day shred
Tuesday - 4 miles (8:05 avg pace) + upper boday
Wednesday - 7.10 miles (8:27 avg pace)
Thursday - 3.56 miles (8:26 avg pace) + full body
Saturday - 12.61 miles (8:48 avg pace)

This week will be similar to last week.
I'm craving pizza.

Questions:
What do you eat?

Do you like to taper?
This is my first time, but I think I like it!!!

Let the Taper begin!

I completed my final long run of marathon training on Saturday.
It was a great run with a great group of runners. We literally talked for 3 1/2 hours straight. We ran the silver comet trail. The weather was perfect and it was a great way to start my weekend. I felt good afterward (not to say I wasn't super sore later on).

I'm excited to run a marathon at the end of this month. Honestly, I'm really trying not to think about it.
I don't want to spend the next 3 weeks nervous and anxious. I don't want to put pressure on myself to achieve any sort of time goal.
I'm definitely a "newer" runner and I've seen great improvements in myself over the last year. I think I'm in good enough shape to run a marathon but not enough to really put any sort of time goal expectation on myself. I didn't log the miles I should and could have. I didn't do speedwork or cross training or even a lot of strength training. I know I have a lot of room for improvement and I am looking forward to a few spring marathons.
That being said I am not disappointed in how my training went, I just know I could've put in more effort than I did. Life got in the way and I'm ok with that.
I'll always put family first and even work too... sometimes. Right now that's my reality. Kids don't always nap as planned, events pop up, work piles up, and sometimes something has to give. My husband is amazing at being supportive of my running and watching the kids when I run and even putting his own running and plans aside.
He's spent a lot of Saturday mornings up way too early, watching kids, and cleaning house, while I was running.
I'm happy not to have any 20 mile runs to deal with for a while (well a couple months anyways).

On to more important things, like food!
Last nights dinner was truly oooey gooey comfort food, at it's finest. Deep Dish Pizza and Greek Salad The pizza was amazing.

• Provolone, mozzarella, and parmesean cheese.
  
• Homemade sauce.
• Spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Congrats to all of the AMAZING Marathon finisher's!

Friday...

Doesn't mean what it used to now that I do my longrun Saturday morning.
The most surprising thing to myself and most people that know me is that I actually wake up early to run. I'm not an early riser, not even close. Tomorrow is my last attempt at 20 miles (or 21 or 22) miles before my marathon. It would be lovely to finish and feel ok instead of wondering why I signed up for a marathon and resigning my self to distances under 15 miles. Ive literally been unable to function after the last 2 20 mile runs. 3rd times a charm, right?

I have a fun filled October and am kind of glad to be tapering these last 3 weeks. I'm also excited for runs that are actually less than 8 miles long!

I can't wait to read everyones race recaps.
Good luck to all of the half and full marathon runners!
I cant wait to join you invthecranks of 26.2!

Marathon Training Recap

Soooo, in less than a month I will be running my first marathon.
I'm excited, nervous, and really intimidated.
My training hasn't been what I hoped for. I've not been recuperating from my runs very quickly.
I'm constantly sore, like really I can't walk down the stairs or sit on a toilet sore.
I've done speed work like 4 times in 3 months.
I ran 20 miles on Saturday. It was better than the 1st attempt, but not exactly a confidence builder.
I'm still very sore, I've had a lot of pain on the inside of my shin. It's sore to the touch and changing shoes has not helped. I have blisters. I'm just a mess :(
I have 22 miles on the schedule for next Saturday, I'm tempted to do it on the treadmill, but I think I really need the practice on the street.
My paces are ALL over the place. I really have no idea what to expect come marathon day.
Most of my runs are between 7-10 miles and paces are usually 8:20 - 9:00/mile. Mile repeats (the only speed work I've done) are around7:05, long runs (16 or more miles) my paces have been anywhere from 9:15 - 10:00/mile. Oh and I did yasso's 800s once at 3:45.
You know they say you make the greatest improvements from your 1st to your 2nd marathon. So that means my 2nd will go much better than this, right?

So this was last night's dinner:


I know it doesn't look very appatizing (that's mostly because I cannot take pictures), but trust me it was good and vegan!
We've got braised green beans - fresh green beans, tomatos (in a box, bpa free!!!), onion, sumac (a really yummy spice) and garlic and braise forever! They are so good.
Roasted sweet potatoes
Roasted cauliflower and broccoli
and rice... Yum-o

Tonight I'm making stuffed vegetables (acorn squash, zucchini, and red peppers) with bulgur.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Dairy free and meat free dinner ideas???

Please help. They say (obviously) to run your marathon at a pace you can sustain the entire time. I have no idea what that is (partly because I've never run a marathon) and my training paces have truly been all over the place.
HELP!

My legs are sore, my ankles hurt, my feet are a mess, and my shins hurt, but I'm going to attempt some sort of speedwork today, wish me luck!

Information overload

I try, like all of you, to live a healthy lifestyle. Nothing is off limits and I really try to practice an everything in moderation philosophy. Our diets are focused on veggies, grains, fruits, a little meat and a little dairy (more for the kids though).
My daughter drinks soy milk because regular milk seems to upset her tummy.
I have some misgivings about the soy milk because of the phytoestrogens, but I can't do almond milk because of allergies and rice milk has double the sugar and 1g of protein to soy's 7 grams.
Plus, rice milk has less fat, a lot less (good for me, bad for babies).
With all of this in mind I have been researching options and obviously coming across information I may or may not need to know.
I read some very very scary facts about dairy. I usually ignore a lot of the "facts" about why we should eliminate whole food groups etc... but this stuff really hit home and made a lot of sense.
My kids (especially my son) eat a lot of dairy and I really think we need to cut it down, drastically.
He has a lot of food allergies, read: most nuts, egg whites, white fish, sesame seeds.
That means no peanut butter or hummus (how he made it in this household I'll never know).
Anyways because of this he always had lots of dairy, cheese sandwiches, yogurt, milk, smoothies with milk.
I don't even know where to begin. Any cheese and yogurt that is not made from cow's milk is made from soy. I'm trying to get rid of the soy too.
I have been overloaded with information and am going through a nothing is healthy, I'm poisoning my kids stage.
Not to mention the whole BPA thing. I've eliminated canned beans and tomatoes because of that.
I don't plan to cut out dairy but I do think it should be limited in the same way I limit meat.
Is there such a thing as an 80% vegan?
Oh btw, I'm trying to limit wheat gluten too... you know the whole GMO thing. Yup I sound like a nutcase.
I did manage a lunch that met my requirements:
Quinoa with oven roasted veggies (broccoli, carrot, mushrooms, zucchini, and chick peas).
That may become a staple.

Do you ever feel like there is just too much "information" out there to have a perfect diet?
I do, I do!!!

Are you a vegan?
Please tell me, what do you eat?

Iron Horse 15k

Yesterday I ran the Iron Horse 15k, I signed up for it a couple of days back on a whim.
I thought it would be a fun distance and it worked out perfect for my marathon training because last week was a recovery week. Last week was not a good running week. I had the horrible 20 mile long run + 3 not so great runs + 3 days off leading up to this race. I gave the race little thought, between car problems, crazy work problems, last minute vacation problems, and my very negative attitude lately when it comes to running I didn't even feel like running it.

I woke up Sunday morning and told myself not to stress it, it is a training run, with food and a medal at the end!

I finished with a time of 1:20:28.
In retrospect I wish I would of run a little harder, but isn't that ALWAYS the case.
The race was right by my house so the race route was very familiar and a little bit boring.
The miles went by really fast.
The after party had really good food, albeit odd to eat pizza, sushi, and fried chicken at 9am.
I also scored what seems like a lifetime supply of 5 hour energy, lara bars, and granola.
I didn't feel well afterwards and thought it may be because I only slept for 5 hours the previous night, but now I realize I have a cold. I'm slow like that.
I tried to run earlier and made it 2 miles, I'm achey and stuffy.

On another note I got my new shoes in the mail!I think they are soooo pretty.
I ran my whopping 2 miles in them and they felt weird. I think I just need to get used to them.

How was your weekend?
Mine was stressful! I found out my car needs a lot of repairs. So we decided I should get a new car, so we went car shopping and realized we can't afford what we want. I hate looking for cars and looking for cars with 2 hungry, sleepy, bored, children is torture.

What are your secret cold remedies?
I need to get over this thing fast. I have running to do. Plus I'm out of town on Friday.
I've been chugging O.J.

Still Recovering...

20 miles is WAY harder than 18.
Previously I had done 2 18 mile runs. I felt good after the 2 runs like I could keep going. I wasn't tired, dehydrated, or defeated. I was confident about this 20 mile run.
It didn't work out. My Achilles hurt from step 1. I had some stomach issues from miles 8-12. After I got that taken care of (around mile 12) I was never able to find my groove. Also, when I get tired I tend to run harder (not harder as in faster, harder as in it seems like I'm almost stomping) that does a number on my quads. It was rough, my total route was closer 20.5 miles.
My legs still hurt. I have a 15k on Sunday.
I thought it would be a great tempo run distance. I don't feel like even attempting to run more than a half hearted jog.
I'm tired. It's been a long week.
I should have taken an extra day off running.
I shouldn't have attempted speed work.
I just have it in my headed that I can't take a lax approach this week.
I'll be out of town next week from Fri - till Tues (late Tues). I know my run's aren't going to exactly be quality while I'm gone.

Do you feel like if you take an extra day off it will ruin your entire training plan?
I do

How do you adjust to changes in your training, do you make up miles? or, just let them go and move on?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

I'm going to run 20 miles this morning...

Even though I would rather sleep.

But I posted it so now I HAVE to do it!

Tips and Tricks on how to save money from someone who CANNOT coupon.

I'm jealous of my friends who go to the grocery store, walk out with a cart full of groceries, and end up spending $5.00. I just can't do it, I've tried, I'm not nearly organized enough. I usually lose my coupons in the grocery store before I get to check out.
I am the least organized person in the world I have 2 children under 4 and have never owned a diaper bag. I am NOT the mom with a sippy cup and snacks.
I work from home and that requires a certain level of organization, I think every ounce I have is devoted to that.
I'm passionate about healthy, quality food for my family and myself, but also can't afford to spend $200/week on food.

So without further adieu, how I (an unorganized, non-couponer) saves money:

I plan meals in advance and buy enough food for the week. We are literally out of food on Saturday, but there's no waste.

I cook in batches
I make large portions and we eat the same dinner for 2 days.
We go meat free most of the week, beans are way cheaper than meat.
I make lunch. For instance I buy whole wheat pizza dough and saute spinach and onion wrap in the dough and bake. I get 10 "pies" (we call 'em spinach pies) for each 1 pound of dough, I buy 2 doughs and that's lunch for all 4 of us for the entire week, for like $10 worth of ingredients.
I buy some things in bulk. Like my 3.5 lb bag of organic spinach, it's $7.00, but that equals like 5 bags of regular size spinach and it's organic. I use it for the spinach pies, salad every night, and in my smoothies. Grains (oatmeal, bulgur, rice, quinoa), nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts), dried fruit (cranberries), and beans are all in bulk. Not like huge portions but from the bulk section at a whole foods like store (I get mine from Dekalb Farmer's Market, but that's only local).
Also, you know those bagel thins? Just buy regular whole wheat bagels, they're pre sliced, take a half and slice it in half. You have double the bagels for like half the price. Plus, it's easier for and better portioned for the littles.
I plan our dinner's around vegetables. Whatever is in season and was the best price that week.
Right now were eating lots of zucchini, yellow squash, red bell peppers, asparagus, and broccoli.
In the winter we'll eat sweet potatos, squash, and turnips (my fave).
We eat lots of fruit, but stick 100% to only what is in season, plus bananas. I've got 3 lbs of plums and 3 lbs of peaches in my fruit basket, mangoes ripening on the counter, and grapes in the fridge.
I buy very few prepackaged items and the snacks that I do buy are whatever is bogo at Publix.
I also don't spend money on drinks. We drink water. I never buy soda. I used to buy a bottle of 100% juice for the kids and add a touch to their water, but I got lazy and don't do that anymore.
They don't care.

Latley, we've been eating a lot of fish, and it ain't cheap, so if you know how to save money there please let me know! I've tried frozen fish but it changes the texture and it's expensive too.
Oh well, I'm thinking about making the switch and just going vegetarian. I don't think vegan because my kids eat a lot of dairy, but I could definitely do meat-free.
I just ordered peasandthankyou the cookbook and I can't wait to get it!

I've got new running shoes coming too! Hopefully tomorrow!

Tell me! What are your budgeting secrets?
The more money I save the more running related things I can do!

I wish...

I were a better blogger. *sigh*
My problem is 3-fold.

1. I LOVE all of the other blogs I read and learn so much, I feel I have nothing to contribute.
2. I don't have the time and/or computer skills to commit to this blog
3. I think of great topics and than draw a blank as soon as I sit down and I cannot take pictures, I'm bad at it and forget to take them.

Oh well...
So begins another month...
Time to recap August!

Total Miles: 168
Days Run: 20
Highest mileage week: 45
Highest mileage run: 18 (x2)

Marathon training is going good.
I have a 15k on September 18th that I'm really excited to run.
I'm going to Orlando the week after for 5 days, running will be tricky, but I'll get it done!My baby started school (pre k3) I can't believe it!!!
He's such a big boy.

Friday Fav's

My 10 year high school reunion is next month.
I am soooo excited to go, and were turning it into a 2 part vacation!
After the reunion were going to stay at the beach one more time before summer is officially over and going to a YANKEES game!!!

I'm happy with my running. I've been increasing my mileage slowly and am feeling really good.

I finally got a BOB! For those of you non-mama's that's a jogging stroller!
I can't wait to run outside this fall with my daughter in tow.

Earlier this week I made mushroom quesadilla's...best. decision. ever!
Sauteed baby bellas, onions, mexican blend shredded cheese, whole wheat tortillas.
They will definitely be making a reappearance in my house, very soon!

Greek salad. There are no words. It's amazing.

As for shoes I think I'm going to go with the Mizuno Wave Precision 12's.
We will see...

What are your weekend plans?
I have a kiddie bday party, long run, and lots of rest planned.

Marathon Training Thus Far...

So far, my runs have gone well, not great.
I've been getting in 4 runs each of the last 3 weeks.
I'm striving for 5, but something seems to always come up at least once.
I've only done speedwork once so far... oops.
The new treadmill is great, better than great actually, my legs feel good.
The shock absorption makes a huge difference. I haven't figured out any of the ifit features or attempted to use the internet or watch t.v. yet, I'm too impatient. Those features will have to be reserved for when my husband runs.
My runs have been between an 8:20 and 9:15 pace.
I'm starting to feel very comfortable running for long periods at an 8:30 pace, and that's my goal.
My longest run to date is 18 miles, that was this past Saturday. It was a good run, and I wasn't even tired afterwards, which is good because my kids were antsy and ready to be on the move!
I can't wait until Fall, running in the crisp Autumn air is going to be AMAZING.

I'm almost in the market for new shoes. Right now I have the Saucony Pro Grid 3's and while they don't hurt my feet, I don't love them. The heel is very thick and I would like a little more flexibility.

What shoes do you wear?
Pro's? Con's?

Thanks for any input!

The best thing since sliced bread...

I have been working very hard and saving for a long time for this:


Oh my gosh! I love it soooo much. It was delivered to our garage meaning my husband and I had to transport 350 lbs inside a too tiny doorway at 9pm on Friday. After 3 hours and 2 doors taken off the hinges it was finally inside!
Sooooo exciting.
I played with the computer for a little, decided it was way too advanced for me and made it to sleep around 2 am. I woke up at 6:30 the next morning for my first run on the new tread!
I ran 16 miles @9:15 pace. The fan is amazing as you speed up, it speeds up. It has a port for your iphone/pod and really good speakers, my family loves hearing me blast Pitbull and Kesha at 7 am! This thing has an incline up to 15% (didn't make it nearly that high) and a 3% decline. Holy quads batman!
It came with a heart rate strap, which I used, it gave continuous feedback of my heart rate on the screen, I loved that. I didn't use the internet at all or any of the cool ifit features, I've yet to figure all of that out.
So other than finally getting my treadmill, not much is going on.
I've been working non-stop. My kids are going a bit stir crazy. By the time it's cool enough to play outside, it's literally bedtime. I've got plans to take them to the children's museum this week, I think they will love it.
My running has been o.k. I'm getting my runs in (for the most part) but they feel much harder than they should.
Oh and the Yankees blew it in the 9th than the 10th last night! Not a good way to start the week.

What running shoes do you wear? I'm almost in the market for new ones.

Are you a neutral runner, overpronater, underpronater?

Plans are made to be broken...

Or is that rules?
Whatev same thing, right?
I've finally come to the conclusion that training plans are not really for me. If it's says I should run 7 and I run 5, I feel like a failure. I should run easy, but I want to run hard. I should hit mile repeats at 7:15, but it's 95 degrees and hot, and I'm just not there...
I don't need a plan to get in my miles, I can definitely do that on my own, ditto for "quality" runs.

Life, just like running has and always will be unpredictable, a hard-fast plan just doesn't fit into my equation. Now that I've finally accepted that, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I never want running to feel like a chore. Strength training on the other hand is a completely different story. That's the chore that I seem to always put off or find an excuse to skip, and that has to stop.

Today's run: 9.21 miles/1 hour 21 min.
I was aiming for 10, baby Leila woke up, so 9.21 it was.

Now goto the grocery store and get Turkey Hill Double Dunker Ice Cream!!!!
It is Mocha ice cream with "oreo's," chocolate chip cookie dough, and a fudge swirl....
There are no words.
... and I ate it with Publix Chocolate overload cake...

I'm going to eat dessert now... have a good rest of your weekend!

Trails, explosions, and running in the rain.

When it comes to running outside I am a sissy. Bigtime. I will not run outside if the conditions are even slightly off. There are a couple of reasons for that, I'm terrified of falling, rain increases that risk. I've been reading all of these horror stories about running in the heat and increasing your core temperature.
Well Saturday morning came and I woke up at 6 a.m. came downstairs and saw that it was raining, in my groggy state, I went straight upstairs and back to bed. When I woke up at 8:30 I checked the weather, drizzling, cloudy, and 68?!?!?!? It's the middle of July in the middle of terrible heat waves and unbearable hotness, I couldn't pass up 68 and no sun! So I left for my run. The first couple of miles I was cautious, everything was really wet, and I did not want to fall. Than I finally realized I'm a nerd and it's awesome to run when it's raining. It was a great run, it didn't rain hard, more of a steady drizzle, and by the end it had stopped. I know I'm still a nerd, but I'm proud of myself.
Week 1 of marathon training was a success!
Miles: 40
Long Run: 14
Days run: 5

Sunday I went to the Silver Comet Trail. I've never been there and I wanted to check it out so I could come back for future long runs.
The trail is amazing, beautiful, and flat! Well the website says it's a 2% grade. It felt like less than that to me, but where I run now, it's hill after hill after steeper hill. Also, all that shade makes it really cool, even when it's 90 degrees out. I can't wait to run it, I was so jealous watching all the runners and bikers!

After the trail we went to the farmers market and got the standard. It's normal to eat 2.5lbs of baby spinach every week?

On the way home we saw this:
It was a Van on fire, maybe 10 cars up. It literally happened in front of us. The fire was huge and there was so much smoke, people started getting out of their cars and taking pictures. I stayed in my car and took pictures. It took like 10 min for the fire trucks to arrive (too long?) and they literally put out the fire in 5 seconds. As we drove by the van was completely burnt to a crisp, I've never seen anything like it. Luckily everyone got out safely and no one was hurt. I can't imagine how scary and traumatic that must have been.

How was your weekend?

Did you have a long run? When marathon training, what's your longest run?

Happy Monday! Here's to a busy week ahead!

So far...

Days 1 and 2 of marathon training, done! Just 100 more to go.
Yesterday was speedwork, mile repeats. I did 4:
1) 7:17
2)7:22
3)7:27
4)7:33
Ok, so each mile got slower instead of faster, but I still think they went pretty well!
The heat index is 110 today... my a/c can't keep up.
I love the summer and am already thinking about how much I'm going to miss it, but as far as running goes, I can't wait for cooler temps.
I don't know why this picture is so small, but it's Mahi Mahi fist tacos.

They were so amazingly good. I made salsa verde to top them, I've never even seen tomatillos prior to that, but it was so yummy. I can't wait to make them again. I have been obsessed with fish lately. Good thing because I need to be eating more of it and less of this:


Yep, 4 birthdays in 4 weeks + 4 cakes + leftover's of 2 of them + vacation + friends in town = 5 lbs apparently.

Do you get upset if you gain a few lbs?
I don't, I'm pretty aware of my normal weight and know if I'm up of few, and I make the changes and get back to my normal set point. It's more how I feel, if I've been eating crap I feel like crap.

How is your running going with this heat wave?
It's impossible, thank goodness for indoors, but it's still hot inside on the treadmill!

Im back!

After a long hiatus, I am back to the blogging world, for now...
The month of June was busy, busy with work, with kids, friends, everything! July started off with a beach trip which helped put June behind us. Now I am ready to rock my marathon training plan. Which officially starts today!
My training plan is 16 weeks and I'll be running the Atlanta marathon Oct. 30th!
I'm so excited, even though it's soooo far away. I'm keeping the plan kind of open for change, because I realize a "set in stone" schedule just doesn't work for me. My schedule is unpredictable with kids and work and sometimes adjustments need to be made on the fly.
My training goals are:

• Running 5 days per week
• Saturday long runs (I really hope not to miss any of these)
• speed work
• (2-3) 20 mile runs and (1) 22 miler

I've been running about 35-40 miles a week for the last few months so I'll be increasing my mileage from there. I also hope to keep strength training twice per week, and to increase my protein intake. I don't have a time goal yet, but I think I'll have an idea of that about midway through.
My left hip has been bothering me for about a week, it pops when I walk and is a little achey. It doesn't hurt when I run, but I've definitely got to keep an eye on it.

The past month and a half have been chaotic, but fun too. I don't have any pictures because my son erased all of my photos on my camera (accident) including our vacation pics and my daughter's first birthday. Plus I'm on a new computer and haven't even attempted to upload photos.
I've been reading everyone's blog from my phone, anytime I have a free moment and I need to be better about commenting and posting. I stopped posting because I didn't have time and I didn't feel like I had anything to post about. At least with the marathon training about to be underway I'll have a topic to talk about incessantly!
Happy Monday!

TGIF

I'm so happy it's Friday, not because I have awesome cool plans this weekend, because I don't. I'm just so done with this week. It has been long and stressful. I didn't run yesterday, I was supposed to run 5 miles. All I did was eat, eat, and eat. I am overtired, over worked, and definitely over stressed. I even had really weird scary dreams last night.

Today will be a better day. This will be a relaxing-ish weekend.

I actually have a lot to do. I've got 14 miles that will get run tomorrow morning. A birthday party. Cleaning for company that will be coming next week and getting things in order for Baby Leila's bday party.

Adam finished his sports class. He didn't love it, I totally thought he would, oh well, on to the next thing.




I hope everyone has a great weekend.

It's Only Wednesday?!?!

As of yesterday it had already been a long week... I can't believe it's only Wednesday, I hope the second half of this week goes by fast! I think it's because the weekend was so weird it didn't seem like a weekend... no rest for the weary.
My workouts have been going as planned. I did a yoga video yesterday, I forgot what kind of yoga it was, something that starts with a v? I really liked it. Eating has been going well too.
I have been eating so much fruit.
Peaches are amazing right now and so are mangoes.
I've been eating giant bowls of fruit salad (watermelon, honey dew, pineapple, grapes, and strawberries)
I've always loved my veggies but was never really into fruit, I guess that's all changed!


This is what I do to frozen pizza. There are layers and layers of toppings on there. I have to cook it for way longer. It has red and green bell peppers, tomato, purple onion, basil, spinach, broccoli, garlic, fresh mozzarella (yes, I added even more cheese), oregano, and red pepper flakes..


I can't believe my sweet little baby is almost one! *tear*

Me, after a run.Adam and I, because he loves taking pictures.

Obviously, I don't really have anything to post about. My legs are sore, today's schedule calls for 7 miles with 5 @ 8:21, fun.

I have to goto the grocery store, post office, baby storytime, and I'm supposed to start buying stuff for baby leila's bday party, but I think I'll just procrastinate on that for a while.
I have got work to do from home and cleaning to do. And here I am writing a blog post, reading blogs, and not doing what I should!

That changes right now! Have a good Wednesday! Stay cool!

Weekly Recap and Goals

Time for the weekly reacap:
Monday: 7 miles /9:30 pace/was supposedly an easy run... didn't feel easy.
Tuesday: 5 miles 5x800m @ 3:41... that was HARD, 30 day shred level 3
Wednesday: 6 miles/9:40 pace/I did a hill workout kind of... I kept my base pace at 2% than went gradually up to 10% than back to 2% ab video
Thursday: 3.63 miles/8:41pace/was supposed to be 6 but I was short on time, dentist appt.
Friday: 4 miles/8:40 pace
Saturday: 9.12 miles/9:50 pace/it was sooooo hot outside.

I need to do some strength training this week, it is going to be my main focus.
Also, this past weekend was the start of a very busy month ahead.
Next weekend we have another birthday party. The weekend after my bff's will be in town and it's my daughter's 1st bday and father's day. The weekend after that is yet another baby's first birthday (we know lots of June babies) Followed by a beach trip over 4th of July weekend.
Needless to say there will be a lot of cake consumed... as well as other various delicious but unhealthy things... So I'm going to really try and keep Monday - Friday extra healthy.

Do you try to eat healthier when you know you've got events coming up?

Have you been hitting your workout goals?

bla bla Birthday bla...

So yesterday was my birthday I am now 28. Birthday's stopped being fun after 25. Nah it's ok I don't think I'll get really depressed until I hit 30, I like being "in my twenties." Even than I may welcome my thirties with open arms... depends on what I get accomplished by than...

• It was a very very odd weekend to say the least, both kids were sick, high fever's, stomach issues, etc... A trip to urgent care was in order on Saturday.
• My planned 14 miler turned into 9, I was really upset about that, than I thought since when do I think 9 miles is a disappointment? I got over it.
• My daughter is a bouncy chair maniac... her seat broke, misery insued. She's gone through 3 bouncy seats already! So we got her this: It is the most amazing thing ever, she is in love.

• We were all in funky moods.

Thankfully by Sunday afternoon, things were getting back to normal. We made an impromptu trip to Chattanooga, after I got this for my birthday:




We ate at one of my favorite restaurants in downtown Chattanooga, Big River Grille
I had fish taco's... yum yum yum

The very odd weekend ended on a good note... the kid's are still a bit out of sorts, but I think the worst is over!

PS - I got new running clothes too!!! I can't take a picture because they are in the wash. Nothing special but I am in LOVE!

Happy Monday, Stay cool!

Thankful Thursday and Poor Quality Pictures...

Today I'm thankful for the ability to run. From my legs that allow me to physically run, to my hubby for waking up early on Saturday's so I can get out there, to my kids who usually nap each day. Running gives me something that I don't think most people feel. It makes me happy, proud, humbled, peaceful, strong, confident, and so so much more. I'm thankful that I have something that I love so much, that I don't care if I'm good at it, fast enough, can run far enough, none of that really matters. I can run. And that is enough. I hope everyone has something that makes them feel as good as running makes me feel.


We went to the lake and skipped rocks. It was sooooo fun, I didn't even know I could skip rocks!
This heat is something else... I don't know how I'm going to run outside on Saturday morning... I better wake up really early like 6 am early.

What do you do when it's 90+ degrees out? Do you shorten your runs or slow down your pace?

May Recap

Total Miles Run: 134.3
Days run: 23

I'm happy with that. I also ran my first ever 5k! I know I'm not exactly a race expert, as I've only run 2, but I love it. I want to run more... but they are so expensive. I'm going to run a marathon this year, another 5k, and I want to do another half and at least one more 5k. That's over 200.00 for those 4 races. Not to mention the need for new shoes every 4 months and ridiculously expensive running clothes that I don't yet own but covet.

My goals for June are to stick as closely as possible to my current training plan. I also need to work on waking up super early for my long runs, I have no desire to run in 90 degree weather.
I wanna hit the weights too! I want muscles!

May got a little out of control on the sweets front, as I found a place that sells the biggest, most amazing, most decedant cakes out there and I went twice in one week. These cake slices are literally like 5 regular cake slices. I know June is going to be hard, I have a birthday every single week this month. Mine being on Sunday and my daughter's 2 weeks later. I've got friends coming into town, and it's summer: bbq's, pool parties, etc...

With summer finally here are you more social?
I think we are, were outside more, at the pool more... we also grill a lot, as do our neighbors.
I always try to bring something "healthy" when we goto bbq's.

Super Market Sweep

I'm am always on a quest to spend less at the grocery store... never happens.
We eat a lot of fresh produce, a lot. My husband hates frozen and canned vegetables so we always buy fresh. We don't always buy organic, but if it's available and it's part of the dreaded dirty dozen we go organic. These fruits and veggies include:

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Bell peppers
8. Spinach
9. Cherries
10. Kale/collard greens
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes (imported)

If your budget allows for more, here are the next few to try to buy organic:

1. Lettuce
2. Blueberries (imported)
3. Carrots
4. Green beans (domestic)
5. Pears
6. Plums (imported)
7. Summer squash
8. Cucumbers (imported)

Obviously this can be expensive. They don't print coupons for produce. So, the best way to save is to buy in season. When it's in season it's cheaper because it's more plentiful and it tastes better. Have you had a tomato in December and one in June, there is a BIG difference. Plus, often times, it's local. That means less travel = fresher, cheaper, and better for the environment. During the summer many cities have local farmer's markets, these are awesome! You get the chance to meet local farmers and eat the freshest produce, almost as good as growing it in your own backyard. I can't garden fyi. Sometimes you can even goto a local farm and pick your own.
With summer rolling in, the produce gets better and better every week!
Happy chompin'

Back to Life... Back to Reality ...

Monday is always better when it's on a Tuesday, but I'm going to be off a day the entire week.
The weekend was great, I'm not going to bother you with a day by day account, but it was full of:
Swimming!Playing at the park.

Running, BBQ, shopping, and more eating.

I like to be home as little as possible during the weekends. Well I guess that holds true for the weekdays too. The kids hate being couped up in the house all day and so do I.

I got in a great long run on Saturday morning: 14 miles, avg pace 9:17, and my last 6 miles were my fastest. Yesterday was a 7 mile easy run, but it did not feel easy, it was soooooo hot!
I've done a good job of following my training plan and I do enjoy knowing what I'm going to run each day. On the strength front, I did well. I got in 3 videos. I want to start using heavier weights, right now, I use 5 lb weights, 10 lbs for some exercises. I would like to use 10 lbs for all of the exercises.

Did you all have a great weekend? What was the highlight?
I had a great weekend, I wanted to go out of town, but it didn't happen. We still managed to do a lot and have a good time. Our neighbors had a BBQ that was really fun and swimming was a blast.

It's Friday Friday Friday!!!

Rants and Fav's:

Rant: When people find out you run, their first response... I hate running...

Fav: BBQ season is officially in full swing!

Rant: House flies... in the summer one fly's in the minute we open the door... annoying little buggers!

Fav: The pool is open!

Rant: The older kids that don't pay attention and jump on your little kid

Fav: 4 day weekends with these guys:
Bonus fav: We have plans every weekend from now until the 2nd week of July! That could become rant...

Have a great weekend!

Sleep Deprived

As I lay awake at 2 a.m. last night, I read about reasons I have been unable to sleep.
I am convinced I have Restless Leg Syndrome, the symptoms are me to a 'T' I have had all of the symptoms for as long as I can remember, even as a child. One thing I know about it is that antihistamines can make it worse. Antihistamines as in benadryl or the main ingrediant in all of the "PM" medications. I used to take a benadryl to help me sleep but it made the RLS so much worse. I have been wondering why it's been bothering me so much these past few days and I thought it was soreness from running. As I was reading last night, I read one of the most common causes is iron deficiency. I've never been deficient in iron, however, I know that running can cause iron deficiency, something about the repetitive foot strikes doing something to the blood that lowers iron? And, TMI, it's that time of the month, and I've only had that time of the month twice (being pregnant and than nursing for 9 months.) I eat a lot of spinach which I know is high in iron, but very little meat like 3 oz 3-4 times a week in the form of chicken. I don't eat fortified bread, and I know cereal usually has added iron, but I haven't eaten cereal in a long time. I don't actually know if my iron is low, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I need to start taking a daily vitamin.

Have any of you ever dealt with low iron?

When your pregnant they test your iron levels quite often, and I was never too low, though often on the lower side. I was also diligent about taking my prenatals with extra iron, which obviously I don't do now.
My husband told me to eat a steak. I think that's code for he wants steak.

Yesterday's workout was 5 miles at easy pace: 9:40, which is a little too easy, I think I am going to up it a bit and the ab video.

My weekend starts tomorrow! So TGITH!!!

May you all have sweet dreams!

Wednesday Eats

When your dinner looks like this, how can it not be a good day?

Yesterday's workout per schedule speedwork, 7 miles with 4 x 1600 @ 7:51 w/ 800m jogs.
I iced my hamstrings afterward, I think it helped. My legs are still sore (mostly my hamstrings) I know it's because I'm lazy and don't do anything after runs, ie... stretch, ice, eat... That all changes now.
Thank you for the comments and suggestions... I think I need to get more protein in my diet and I know I have start rolling and icing. I think I'm going to get the stick... I tried it at the running store and really liked it. It's pricey, but hopefully, it will be worth it.

Lets talk about schedules, not running ones, daily ones...
Do you follow one?
I do, to a T.
I have to, with two little kids, it's the only way I can get anything done, and it helps them because they get used to routine.
The question I get most from friends, family, strangers, bloggers, etc... is how I find the time to workout.
My daily (weekday) schedule looks a little like this:
Wake up
Give Kids breakfast - Pick up house
Work on the computer for an hour or two (the kids are good in the morning and content playing)
Run errands
Eat lunch
Down time for kids (I do a little more work)
nap time! (Workout time for me!)
More work
Cook dinner
Eat
Play
Kids sleep
Relax time for me and hubby = I read blogs
The weekends are totally different. I do my long run on Saturday morning, hubby stays with the kids. They meet me at the park, Baby Leila is ALWAYS dressed weird. I have to get in the habit of leaving her clothes picked out. Why is it that hubby can dress Adam no problem, but baby Leila always looks ready for Tacky Tuesday?
Do you guys follow a routine?
Do you like routine?

It's Tuesday...

My legs are SORE, like keeps me up at night, achy, can't get up if I'm squatting down sore. I barely ran last week and they've been like this for like 2 weeks. I need a foam roller or the stick. I want the stick but it's like 35.00, that's a lot of money! My legs are actually more achy than sore, as soon as I'm moving around they are fine, and I don't feel it when I'm running, but when I'm laying down trying to sleep they feel like they need to be stretched 10 feet.

I ran 5 miles at 9:50 pace yesterday, that's what the plan called for. It was weird because I usually run at almost the same pace every run and it's usually around 8:30 - 9:00 so this seemed slow, but I varied the incline from 2.5% - 3.0% and it was a really easy run. I guess that's why they call them easy runs! I didn't even feel like I'd run afterward. I also did Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 level 4, my arms, shoulders, and back are already sore.
Holding this one is a good workout too.


Yesterday's lunch was left-over pasta salad over spinach, now that it's warm out you will start to notice I eat pasta salad almost everyday.

Here is Adam's breakfast! Whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese, grapes, and milk.
I haven't had breakfast yet, but it will probably be the rest of his bagel and a banana.


Tangent Time:
1. I am a terrible sleeper, no matter what it takes me like an hour to fall asleep. I always wake up multiple times throughout the night and I move around a lot. Oh, and I'm also told I grind my teeth. I'm pretty sure I have restless leg syndrome. I think I'm going to try those melatonin pills to see if they help, it's getting out of hand.
2. Even though I don't get quality sleep, for some reason I am always hyper. I think maybe I just have way too much energy because I'm very rarely tired, except when I first wake up in the morning.
3. I don't know anyone in real life that likes running. It really really sucks! I talk to my husband incessantly about it, but he has to listen. No one else cares, they don't know how many miles a 5k is, they could care less about the difference between a 10 min and 8 min mile, and whether I run 10 miles or 15 it's still crazy. Thankfully, I talk to myself more than anyone and I do care about running, so I love listening to me!

Are your legs always a little bit achy?
How do you sleep? Have you tried melatonin?