Fitness

June 4, 2014

National Running Day

June 4th is National Running Day!

How many of my readers got out there to pound a little pavement?

 

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What do you run for?

 

Most days for me:

 

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Other days:

 

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Running is therapeutic for me.   Sometimes a hard day at work requires a good run or a long Harley ride.   It was a tough decision for me choosing between the bike and the running shoes… but considering it was National Running Day, I had to do my part.

I almost hit 5 miles, but fell short.  I also had to walk before I hit mile 4.  I never do that.   😦

 

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I have been battling what I thought was strep throat.  After a visit to the doc and a nasty throat swap yesterday, the tests came back negative.  Surprising since I’ve got all the signs of strep hanging out in my throat (gross), but also not surprising because I am not knocked down on my ass like strep normally does to me.  No fever, no aches.  Just tired.   And I DEFINITELY felt it around mile 3.5.

This small incline nearly did me in.

 

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But, hey.  I did it.

Did YOU?!

Also, what on EARTH do you people do with your keys when you go for a run?  Since I have a stupidly large key fob and not an actual key, I can’t loop it through my shoe laces without being incredibly annoying.

My solution?

 

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Yep, it’s clipped to the ol’ shirt and tucked on in.

 

Using my resources, folks.

 

Alright, there is still time to get out there and get a run done.   Even if it’s just running around the block or taking a lap around your yard, do it.

 

I challenge you.

 

 

Cheers!

 

May 25, 2014

Vanilla Protein Cake

I have a problem.

A sweet tooth problem.

My weakness has ALWAYS been candy, cakes, cookies, chocolate.  If it contains sugar, I am eating it.  And most likely, all of it.

Not a good obsession when I am trying to shake off the body fat.

What’s a girl to do?

Well… considering I am trying to up my protein intake each day I decided to pair my sweet addiction with my protein needs and create some delicious protein treats!

Ladies and Gents, I bring to you:

Vanilla Protein Cake

Vanilla Protein Cake

 

Simple ingredients, 1 minute prep time, 1 minute cook time, 1 minute cool down time and this little baby is all yours.

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Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe mug OR bowl.

I always choose a bowl because the cake grows. Mugs are far too tiny unless you’ve for one of those gigantic soup mugs.

Pop in the microwave for 1 minute. (Watch closely).

Slide the cake right out onto a plate and eat as is OR whip together a little frosting using Greek yogurt, sugar free pudding mix (I used cheesecake flavor) and a little milk for consistency.

 

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Share or eat all by yourself.

Nutritional Information

Without the frosting:

  • 180 calories
  • 8 grams carbohydrates
  • 31 grams protein

 

With the frosting adds:

  • 40 calories
  • 9 grams carbohydrates
  • 7 grams protein

 

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Enjoy!

Vanilla Protein Cake

May 12, 2014

Market to Market Iowa 2014

Apparently I like to spend my weekends running long distances.

Who am I?  

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This past Saturday I added the Market to Market Iowa Relay to my list of races.    M2M is a relay race between two cities, 6-8 person teams, 75 total miles, 17 exchange points and a celebrated group finish.

It. Was. Awesome. 

We set up our groups into two 6-person teams so that each team had one person running every stage.  Having a partner turned out to be a great idea.  More time to chat and less time to focus on the rainy weather and the miles.

Meet my team:

Team Runaway Brides

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And the other team

 

Off Like A Prom Dress

minus 1 because she was already running 

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Each team had a runner 1, 2, 3, etc.  At each exchange point the runners would pass a timing chip off to the next group.  This exchange happened for 17 stages.

 

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I was runner 3 and was teamed up with Tracy, a fellow fitness instructor.

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Tracy and I found ourselves with very similar stories, which made the distances seem shorter as we had much to talk about.   We also challenged each other by running at faster paces then we normally would.   Our running distances weren’t bad at all, but when you combine the distances with long intervals of rest, your body tends to respond with stiffness.

 

 

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It took us a little over 11 hours to run the 75 miles.  We managed to hit all the weather elements, minus snow.   Cold, Rain, Wind, Hot.   But, we had an absolute blast.  I only knew four of the 12 runners so it was a perfect set-up as we had so much to talk about and learn.

 

Highlights from Leg One

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 The Starting Line

 

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Finishing with a smile.

Seriously, what is wrong with me?

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An Exchange Point

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Go Jessie, Go!

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Highlights of Leg Two

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Happy!

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They’re smiling too.

We are all insane

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Waiting for their exchange to happen.

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Way to bring it in strong, girls!

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No explanation needed, right?

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Highlights of Leg Three

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Last Stage for Runner 1.  Looking good!

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They finished strong!

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Runner 2- getting ready to hand off!

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This totally looks staged, but it so wasn’t!

Stage 3… here we come.

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This is my

“Oh Thank God I am DONE” look

and Natalie’s

“Oh, Shit, here I go AGAIN” look

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For the record, Tracy and I’s third stage of 4 miles was BRUTAL.

One mile of it was all UPHILL.

Are ya kidding me?

I thought I was dying.

Done.

         Dead.

                       Holy Sh……

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Almost Done!

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Couldn’t resist a cute shoe pic…

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Rach and Mac waiting for our last runners to come in so we could finish Team Strong!

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This team carried that American Flag all 75 miles.

Awesome.

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WE MADE IT!

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Teams:   Off Like A Prom Dress

&

Runaway Brides

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Cheers to an EPIC race, new friends and Ice Cold Beer.

May 4, 2014

Lincoln Half Marathon- 2014

You guys…

SERIOUSLY on a high right now.

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Completed my second ever Half Marathon today.

 

And you know what else?

I hit my PR!

2:05 

 

That is 5 whole minutes FASTER then last year.

And you remember how I trained this go around, don’t ya?  Weekends.  I ran on the weekends and cross-trained by teaching during the week.

To say I am elated is the understatement of the YEAR.

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To anyone in the Lincoln, Nebraska area….  Thank You!  You guys know how to organize a race.

I have never seen so much support for runners IN. MY. LIFE!

There were people cheering, bands playing, kids giving high-fives, water, gatorade and kleenex every step you took.  I am not kidding when I say every last stretch of that 13.1 miles was filled with someone or something.

 

Lincoln- you made that 13.1 miles seem like 6.   It was fantastic.

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This morning started off in a little bit of a cluster.   My 4:30AM alarm didn’t happen.

Nope!

What happened was my 5:21AM internal alarm clock that was FREAKING OUT!

Race-7am.  Drive time- One Hour.  Parking time and walk to starting line PLUS last minute bathroom break – OMG I am gonna be late!

Ninja like moves happened and somehow my race clothes made it on, my teeth got brushed, my lucky hat made it to my head and my race bib made its way into the car.

And off we went.

No water.  No fuel.

Usually I eat a Clif bar before a long run.  Sometimes I even have a little caffeine.   Clearly THAT wasn’t happening this morning.

Thankfully, I calmed down once we were on our way.

It was going to be ok.

We made it to Lincoln just prior to 6:30am.   Found a spot to park relatively quickly (miracle in itself), hit up the porta-pottys (a must, if you know what I’m saying…) and made my way to a spot in the middle of the pack.

In the middle of 10,500 other runners, that is.

 

And then the wait.

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The race started at 7.  It was 7:32am by the time I made it up to the starting line.  And off I went for the most enjoyable, exhilarating, hyped up 13 miles I have EVER run.

I paced myself at around 9:30 the entire way.  Sometimes I was little faster, sometimes a little slower, but I never broke that average pace of 9:30ish.  Thanks to MapMyRun, my trusty GPS sidekick.

The final results?

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Finishing inside the Nebraska stadium was pretty fantastic as well.

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And my sis-in-law Jamie ran her FIRST ever Half-Marathon.  She did SO great!  Very proud of her for committing and conquering.  Way to go, Jamie!

 

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And of course, a shout-out to my #1 supporter for getting up at the crack of dawn to drive me down to Lincoln to just ‘hang-out’ for two hours while I ran.  He’s pretty awesome.

 

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And THAT my friends, is the end of my Lincoln Half-Marathon recap.   Will there be another?  Not sure.  Time will tell. 🙂

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