Slacking Already?

Yesterday I was supposed to get 4 miles in. I didn’t do any. I went to the grocery since I didn’t go on Sunday (my usual shopping day) and it took me a little longer than normal. I found a few new recipes that I wanted to try so I had to get all the ingredients. I’m not a big cooker/baker (yet) so I didn’t know what all the ingredients were. It probably would have helped if I would have looked the ones that I didn’t recognize up online before going. It probably would have saved me time. I finally got home and unpacked everything which was when I should have head out for my run. Instead, I was SO excited to make Baked Cherry Pie Breakfast Pudding that I stayed home and did that instead. YUM!!!

I made up for it a little bit today. I got 5 miles in instead of my planned 3. I’ll get there!
On another note… I joined in on the great thing that they’re doing at Operation Beautiful. I love this site and am really excited for what they are doing! In today’s world younger girls see models and TV actresses and think they have to look like them to be beautiful. I’m hoping this wave covers all women but mainly the younger girls who might be struggling! It’s simple, leave a note somewhere, take a picture of it, and send it to them!

Week at a glance

Here was my plan for this past week and how I actually did.

23rd Monday 5 miles        Actually Completed: 5
24th Tuesday 2.75 miles    Actually Completed: 2.75
25th Wednesday 5 miles   Actually Completed: 3
26th Thursday 2 miles       Actually Completed: 3
27th Friday rest                Actually Completed: 0
28th Saturday 2.75 miles  Actually Completed: 0
29th Sunday 3 miles         Actually Completed: 3.5
Total Miles = 20.5           Total Completed: 17.25

Blue represents the days I met or exceeded my goal. I was 3.25 miles short… I’ll do better this week!

Here is the Plan for this week.
30th Monday 4 miles
31st Tuesday 3 miles
1st Wednesday 3 miles
2nd Thursday rest
3rd Friday 5 miles
4th Saturday 5 miles
5th Sunday rest

QOTD: Is there a strategic way you should plan out your miles?

Another Giveaway!!!

Kayte from Long Legs on the Loose is having a giveaway! Check it out here.

New Giveaway!

Holly at Rust Belt Runner is having a giveaway! Be sure to check it out here.

Sweet Treat

Lately this sweet treat has really hit the spot for me… No added sugar or preservatives or anything, just pure goodness

½ cup frozen honeydew
½ cup frozen cantaloupe
1 cup frozen watermelon
12oz 100% orange juice

Blend and enjoy immediately! You can alter the amount of orange juice depending on how smooth you like it. Also, I LOVE the watermelon in it, so I put more of that. You can adjust to your taste buds!

Weekly Check In

Courtney from Run, Courtney, Run is having a 100 day challenge that I joined. You can read about it here. I decided Wednesday’s will be my check in days so for the next 14 weeks I’ll share my progress. I love that she didn’t make it inclusive to any one particular thing, but that you could set your own goal towards a healthier lifestyle.

My goals for the challenge are:

1. Create and maintain healthy eating habits

2. Run 20 miles each week

3. Lower my body fat %

Healthy Relationships

This past week our team at work did a little team building exercise. We went to the park and played kickball at lunch! Me and a few others ran to the park while the others drove. We had lunch and then played kickball for the rest of the time! It was a great way to get away from the stress of our jobs and just hang out… and do something healthy in the process! Here are a few shots from our great adventure!

These guys weren't playing, but they were rock climbing right next to us.

A few of the girls didn't play, so they ref'ed... And I learned that I need to STOP SLOUCHING!!! UGH.

Planning My Week

I like to be a bit of a planner almost always sometimes. I feel like if you don’t plan to make time for certain things, the hours tick away and before you know it you didn’t accomplish anything you wanted. The same thing goes for your running schedule. If you don’t plan when you’re going to get your time in, the week kind of trickles away and you didn’t get out as much as you wanted.


In a perfect world, this is how my weekdays would go…
Wake up
Breakfast
Spend time reading
Workout +/or run
Work (although if this is a perfect world, this part is debatable)
Spend time with friends/family/volunteering
Dinner and hang out with my hubby
Get ready to do it all over again

I don’t think there are enough hours in my day right now to get all of this accomplished. For one thing, if I don’t get at least 8 hours of sleep I’m not fun to be around. Also, I’m A-ok for the morning workouts, but not the morning runs. I still haven’t figured out the proper fueling to have the energy I need.

I have started just planning my miles a week in advance. Not too far out, and for the most part, I should have a good idea of the events that are taking place that week.

Here’s the plan for this week (in regards to running)
Monday 5 miles
Tuesday 2.75 miles
Wednesday 5 miles
Thursday 2 miles
Friday rest
Saturday 2.75 miles
Sunday 3 miles
Total Miles = 20.5

I started following a 5K training plan, but I didn’t feel like I was running enough. So I kind of altered it. We’ll see how that works. Do you plan out your weekly miles or do you just wing it?

Healthy Cookies

I found a recipe and tweaked it a little bit to make it a cleaner...

Ingredients:
1 medium banana
1/2 cup almond butter or natural peaunut butter
1 cup dry rolled oats

Directions:
Mush all ingredients together
Form into 8 cookie shapes on wax paper
Freeze

Total (per cookie / using almond butter)
Calories: 150
Saturated Fat: 1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 2.5mg
Total Carbs: 38g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugar 2g
Protein: 4g

Healthy Living Blogs

I am always on the hunt for new blogs to read regarding running, exercising and eating healty. One of the blogs I follow had a link to Healthy Living Blogs.

Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Created by Lindsey of Sound Eats, HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support.

Also, If you're interested in having your site listed on HLB, simply send the following information to healthylivingblogs@gmail.com and check the site out for yourself!

* Email subject line: MEMBERS
* Your name (please share if you prefer to go by first name, first and last, or however you prefer to be known on the Internet)
* Blog Name
* Blog URL (please start with http://, not www.)
* Your twitter handle, if applicable
* Your location (if you prefer not to disclose this information for privacy's sake, that is completely understandable. We'll simply include your blog listing in the A-Z listing, not by location, too)
* Any specific labels (i.e. vegan, gluten-free, weight loss, running, etc.)

Training Schedule

I am set to run a 5K on 9/11... For previous races, I have never followed a formal training schedule; I would just kind-of wing it. For this race, I'm going to follow a training plan and see if it can improve my time!

I have another 5K at the end of September and am still on a hunt for a 10K for October.

Have you ever run a race and not followed a training plan? Did your run improve after you started following one?

My new wallpaper at work =o) Thanks Runnersworld!

Holy Hotness!!!!

Yep, that's right! 104... YIKES! My hubby (jokingly) sent me a message and asked me if I wanted to go running when I got home. Yes, I'll run right in to the swimming pool, thank you very much! I just can't get out and run when it's this stinking hot. I have to stick to the treadmill on these days. So today, my five miles were on the treadmill. I'd rather run outside, but the TM will have to do for now.

I'm SO ready for fall! My FAVORITE time of the year! I'm kind-of excited for winter. This will be the first year I attempt running in the cold / snow. I'll be asking for advice once it gets closer. The one thing I fear most is slipping on the ice.

The temperature today made me wonder if others go running in this mess?!? The heat advisory today said not to go outside unless you absolutely had to, and to stay in the air conditioning as much as possible. I don't see as many runners when I'm driving through the park, but there are a few out there still. I guess for those few, running is an 'absolute' reason to get outdoors. I posted a new poll... do you run when there is a heat advisory?

New Running Blog

My blogging pal Chloe partnered up with a friend and started a new running blog. They are having a give-a-way to launch their new blog! Check it out here!