Comments (4)

By Liz, November 15, 2009 9:31 pm

I absolutely loved having the day off today. I feel (mostly) recharged and (sorta) ready for the weeks ahead.

I slept into almost 10 o’clock this morning! Ack, it felt good, but I usually like to be up by 8 at the latest. I sure felt rested though!

While laying in bed, I made a game plan for how I wanted to spend my day. Jacob and I had thrown around a couple ideas last night, like maybe hiking. But, this morning we decided on making a relaxing breakfast, hanging out a bit, then going for a long run at Montana de Oro (my favorite place ever!), window shopping in downtown SLO and going to New Frontiers (my 2nd favorite place ever).

First things first…

I made waffles using whole wheat flour, oat bran and ground flax. I reduced the butter in the recipe (from Joy of Cooking) from 2 sticks to 3/4 of a stick. They sure were tasty. For some protein power, I made a 2 egg omelet stuffed with spinach and a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese. And, of course, there was some maple syrup on the side for dipping the waffles in. Yum!

Jacob and I hung out in our pjs watching some Spongebob Squarepants. I swear I’m still a little kid! I mean…my comforter on my bed is Pooh bear and I have 2 Spongebob pillow cases. Real mature

After digesting breakkie, it was off to Montana de Oro. I ran 7 miles in 64 minutes. I ran in my regular Mizuno trainers, no Vibrams for longs runs yet. I felt amazing…like I was gliding along. The weather was gorgeous, too. A light breeze, just enough warmth, the rustling of leaves…perfect.

After-run refueling was chicken sandwiches I made before we left for the run.

I was afraid all the fillings would fall out if I took a picture of it after I unwrapped it, so a saran wrapped picture it was. I made the sandwiches with 2 slices Ezekiel bread, 1/4 avocado, 1 tbsp. TJs tuscan dressing, shredded carrot, roasted chicken, red pepper slices, radishes and spinach. On the side, I had 1/2 and orange and a homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.

After lunching, we drove into SLO-town and hit up a couple stores downtown. I made some serious hints to Jacob of possible Christmas presents. I also used a gift card that I had from my birthday last January, and bought a pair of running shorts with it. A little Starbucks was had, too.I got my recent addiction of a cafe americano with 2 pumps pumpkin spice with a splash of half and half. Too good!

Of course, our New Frontiers stop was wonderful. This health food store is quite expensive, but aren’t they all? I limited myself to 4 small items, and somehow walked out only spending 12 bucks. I am proud of my smart spending. I made my selections carefully…

Annie’s woodstock dressing (aka my favorite salad dressing), 2 bars of Green and Blacks chocolate (also my favorite dark chocolate in the world) and a package of coconut water. I’ve heard that coconut water is a good natural sports drink, so I’ll test it out one of these days soon.

When we got home, we were both pretty famished! I whipped up some quick dinner.

All pretty:

All messed up:

This dish was inspired from a similar dinner Christina made a while back. I’ve had it in the back of my mind ever since I saw it, and tonight was the night to try it out. I didn’t use the ricotta though, and I’m a bit sad I didn’t. It really would have added something too the dish…next time though. I also added in some green beans for some more veggie action. I loved the green beans in it, too! This dish was fabulous, even without the ricotta and Jacob and I both went back for seconds. Lucky me, there are some leftovers for my lunch tomorrow!

Dinner was accompanied my a beverage…

This was better than the Blue Moon pumpkin ale, more spice to it. However, I was still a bit disappointed in how it almost tasted like regular ol’ beer. Anyone have some recommendations for a really good pumpkin brew?

Dessert was obvious…

This was the first time I tried this variety and I was seriously impressed. I had to hold myself back from eating the whole bar! I will admit I went back for a couple more little squares. Too good, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from G&Bs.

Just enjoying the rest of my night before I have to go back to the daily grind. Nighty night.

Comments (7)

By Liz, August 31, 2009 4:04 pm

Good afternoon friends! I have had a yummy morning and afternoon!

I woke up early at 5:30 this morning to swim with some friends at 6. And boy did it feel early. I had to peel myself out of bed. I nibbled on 1/2 a banana on my drive to the pool. I swam 3,000 meters at the pool. I LOVE swimming. I really felt “on” today. My arms felt strong, my legs were kicking up a storm and I was gliding through the water almost effortlessly. I live for days like this! After swimming, I did 30 minutes of core work. My obliques and lower abs are sore already. Nice!

After the pool, I had breakfast. I haven’t had a Green Monster in about 2 weeks, and I was really missing them. Since I went grocery shopping yesterday, I had everything I needed to make one! Yay!

In the blender:

The ingredients: 1 cup low fat milk, 1/2 scoop plain whey protein powder, frozen strawberries, banana, 1/2 scoop Barlean’s Greens powder, 2 big handfuls of spinach.

The breakfast:

With my wonderfully delicious Green Monster, I had 1 slice of Ezekiel bread with some peanut butter and boysenberry preserves on top. I also had a cup of green tea. Yum! I really do LOVE Green Monsters. They taste amazing and I feel like I start my day off so well; energized and ready for whatever comes my way.

And, I was off to work. It was a slow day today. I broke for lunch at 11:30.

I had a taco salad filled with spring mix, broccoli, carrot, tomato, 1/4 avocado, 1 oz sharp cheddar cheese, leftover re-fried bean/beef taco filling, cilantro and olives. For dressing I used some salsa. I also had a serving of corn tortilla chips for crunch. Here’s a close up:

I also had the juiciest pear ever!

Look at the juiciness! It was a yummy lunch indeed.

No practice for Liz today! My only exercise for the day was the swimming. So, I did what any girl with free time would do…

I had some wine! Is 2:30 in the afternoon too early? Nah!

As I type, I’m muching on some Kashi Autumn Wheat cereal with a dollop of peanut butter and low fat milk.

And I’m totally going to be eating the last chocolate chip cookie (the roomies LOVED ‘em!).

Let’s see, on the agenda for the rest of the day:

• Write an outline for a speech for Speech class
• Maybe finish my final draft of my essay for English
• Spend some quality time with Jacob
• Make enchiladas for dinner!

Sounds like a plan!

Now on a side note, I want to talk about hydration during exercise. After my run yesterday, which was not very good, I was thinking to myself that I should have hydrated more. All I had to fuel me for 8.5 miles was 1/2 a banana and a few sips of water. Umm…in hindsight, that totally was not enough! I’ve toyed around with drinking water and some Gatorade during my morning swims and spin classes, but not too much during running. I have to say, I’m not a big fan of sport drinks. They’re sooo sweet and I don’t like the HFCS is ‘em. So, this morning I was talking to Kass, the “leader” of sorts for the group of us that swim in the morning. I really respect her. She is currently training for an Ironman and has competed in the Boston marathon more than once. Add onto that numerous half-ironmand and olympic triathons. So, she definitely knows her stuff. I told her about my run yesterday and my issues with lack of energy and “lead legs” that I’ve been having lately. She told me I should be hydrating and fueling on my runs, especially my long runs. So, I heeded her advice and at work today I bought a sports drink mix and a Camelbak.

I didn’t want a fuel belt, because I didn’t want something jiggling around my waist, and I already have a handheld bottle, but it bugs me because I feel lopsided when running with it. So, the Camelbak seemed to the best solution. It’s lightweight, holds 50 ounces of water, has a little compartment for keys, gels or whatever, and it looks pretty cute, too! I chose the HEED drink mix by Hammer Nutrition. It is not sweetened with HFCS. The main source of carbs is maltodextrin, which I believe is corn derived. I have tried this mix before and I like the subtle flavor. Not super sweet at all! So, I’ll give you guys an update when I try out my new Camelbak! I’m super excited. I’m doing 5 miles tomorrow in above 90 degree weather, so I think I’ll give it a try then.

What do you guys use for hydration, if anything at all? I’d love to hear some other ideas and comments!

I’m making a special dinner tonight! Can’t wait to show ya! Bye!