Author Archives: runningthewindycity

Five Things Friday {11-09-2012

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1. Earlier this week I received my confirmation of acceptance card in the mail for the Boston Marathon. I have to admit, even though my name has been on the entrant list since a few days after I registered I always get nervous that something went wrong during registration or somehow my name was left out etc. It was nice to get a reminder in the mail– if only the Goofy Challenge/Disney Marathon would do the same!

2. On Tuesday night Ian decided that he wanted pizza. We usually keep frozen dough and other ingredients on hand but we were all out so after a quick trip to the convenience store in our building, Ian returned with a DiGiorno. Unfortunately, we do not own a circular baking sheet so we had to get a little creative and used a flipped over circular casserole dish (so the solid side was up). Obviously neither of us really thought this through because as the dough softened it molded to the pan making a nice pizza casserole!

Ian said it tasted the same but the crusts were doughier. Hmmm….

3. I almost never go out to lunch during the week– in fact, yesterday was only the second time I’ve purchased lunch since starting my current job in late-July. Yesterday morning I was not feeling packing a lunch so I decided to pick one up from the fancy grocery store salad bar near my office. I felt like a kid in a candy store (flashback to college cafeterias) and I loaded up my salad with the most random things (raisins? ok! marinated mushrooms? sounds good!).

When I got back to my office though I was disappointed. First, my crazed put-everything-on-salad mindset hadn’t created a coherent meal and second, it did in fact taste like a college salad bar (nothing wrong with that but for almost $5 I should have picked up a salad elsewhere).

4. This week was a good week for mail. On Tuesday night I was informed that I had received a package and I was in no way expecting one (while I was/am but I knew it couldn’t have gotten there by them). Yay surprise package! I walked over to the package pick-up place in my building and found a large and somewhat heavy box. I was so excited to open it!

Turns out it my Muir Glen Tomato Gift Basket that I won from Blonde Bostonian. Yay, chili for everyone!

5. You know when you have a good idea for a meal so you make it and it looks good but unfortunately it doesn’t taste half as good as you thought it would? Yeah, that was my breakfast this morning.

I toasted two gf waffles and topped them with pumpkin mixed with protein powder, honey, and pumpkin pie spice, banana slices, and pb2 sauce. It looked so good but tasted kind of bland. Boo.

What are your plans this weekend? Ever won a blog giveaway?

Last Chance Survey

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After staying up way too late on Tuesday night watching election stuff + getting up super early to fit in a long run on Wednesday, my brain has completed turned to mush. So, instead of rambling on about who knows what today (it wouldn’t be pretty I promise), I’m going to fill out the Last Chance Survey that’s been floating around blog land. Enjoy!

1. Last food you ate?

Well I’m currently eating breakfast which is pumpkin protein oats in a sunflower butter jar with banana slices. Pumpkin oats + sunflower butter might be one of my all time favorite combinations!

2. Last beverage you drank?

I’m drinking water right now and looking forward to my coffee when I get to the office ;) .

3. Last workout?

This morning I competed a 6 mile recovery run. Nothing too out of the ordinary to report but I am LOVING that it’s getting light earlier. I keep reminding myself to appreciate the light because it will only last a few weeks!

4. Last thing you pinned?

I use Pinterest almost exclusively for recipes so the last thing I pinned was OSG’s Fall Detox Salad. Yum!

5. Last text message you sent?

“It feels so cold out today”. Pretty self-explanatory :P .

6. Last blog you visited?

7. Last tweet you sent?

Besides for tweeting my run through Daily Mile, my last tweet was to Erin about moving to a self-hosted platform.

8. Last place you visited?

Well the last place I physically went to was work  but if we’re talking about vacation (besides going home to Michigan) it’d be Boston!

9. Last time you did ab work?

Remember when I tried the Whittle my Middle Challenge? Yeah. I lasted about 2 weeks. Even though I could tell I was getting stronger, I lost interest pretty quickly.

10. Last show you watched?

Ian and I have been [slowly] working our way through Arrested Development. I love it!

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11. Last thing you baked?

I helped Ian make some cinnamon rolls last night. I’m not sure which recipe Ian picked or why but I do know that I was called in for damage control about halfway through. They actually turned out well though and for picking a complicated recipe, Ian did great.

12. Last thing you instagrammed?

Ah I’m so bad about using instagram but it’s a picture of Sonic all swaddled up in a towel.

13. Last item on your to-do list today?

Laundry! I washed the linens and towels last night but I forgot to do my own laundry. Annoying!

Now it’s your turn, pick a question and answer it :)

WIAW {11-07-2012}

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Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Today’s eats are all from yesterday– enjoy!

[From left to right and top to bottom]
1. Pre six mile run snack- stuffed date with almond butter. almond milk, and water. 2. Breakfast- cinnamon apple protein oats with almond butter on top. 3. Lunch- leftover cocoa chili with daiya shreds & veganaise and cornbread. 4. Snack- fruit & veggie leather from TJs. 5. Dinner- repurposed leftovers, mushrooms + thai veggies sauteed in key lime cilantro taco seasoning sauce and chili peppers with adobo sauce over leftover masa with avocado. It looks huge but I didn’t eat the 5-6 huge chili peppers in the bowl. 6. Dessert- chocolate covered frozen bananas.

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately?

Running Q&A {11-06-2012}

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Happy Tuesday guys! I’m going to start things off by saying please go out and vote today. This isn’t a political blog and I’m not going to sit here and make you read all about my political beliefs but please vote today. It WILL make a difference.

I’ve received a few running questions via e-mail/comment in the last week or so and I thought it might be helpful to address them in a post. If my answers don’t do it for you or you have other questions (running or non-running related) don’t hesitate to e-mail me at runningthewindycity[at]yahoo.com!

How often do you buy new shoes?
Unlike many runners I don’t have a set number of miles that I log on each pair of shoes, I just wait until one day when I go out for a run and my shoes feel broken down. It’s pretty crazy because it will seem like they broke down overnight. Depending on how much I’m running and if I’m training for anything, I’d say this happens about every 3 months– more if I’m running higher mileage weeks and less if I’m not. I also don’t rotate shoes like many other runners. I keep one pair as my main shoes and one pair as back-ups (this may change this winter though– more on that later if it does).

What do you do with your old shoes?
Generally I hang on to my old shoes until I hear of a shoe donation event (remember Give Your Sole?) and then I scrounge around my apartment for my 10 pairs and donate them. Unfortunately I haven’t found a running store in the Chicago area that regularly does shoe donation but I’m always looking for more options. If you know of one or better options please let me know by leaving a comment or shooting me an e-mail.

Have you ever thrown out a pair of running shoes?
Not to my knowledge. I still have a zillion pairs at my mom’s house and when I was living at home she would often take my old running shoes and use them as ”yard shoes” (mowing the lawn etc.).

How do you only take 1/4 of a gel at a time without getting sticky?
First I’m going to say that I’m far from an expert on fueling during runs. In fact, I only started using gels about 3 weeks ago (I ran my other marathons on a mix of shot bloks and dried fruit).I also have a sensitive stomach and have been too afraid to pound an entire gel at a time. So here’s what I do, after I open the gel and take 1/4 of it, I smooth out the top so that there is no more gel left in it. Then I fold the packet over and place the gel in a tight pocket in either my running jacket or my running tights. Last Sunday I wore my lululemon aphrodite pants that have a small key pocket right over the hip, it was the perfect size to hold my gel. Sometimes my hands get a little sticky but smoothing out the top of the gel seems to help prevent too much stickiness.

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What do you wear when it’s cold and you go out for a run in the morning?
Honestly it depends on how cold it is. If the weather is in the 20′s or 30′s I layer up with a long sleeved shirt tech shirt and sometimes an under armour shirt as well. I will also wear a running jacket, tights, socks, gloves (sometimes two pairs), and something over my head/ears like a headband or a hat. If it’s a bit warmer I may wear a short sleeved shirt under my jacket and crops. It all depends! I will suggest that if you’re running in the dark that you wear reflective gear and if it’s not well lit you consider a blinking light and/or headlamp.

I actually wrote a post on winter running gear last year and you can read it here and there were some great discussions on this post about running in the dark.

Now it’s your turn: what do you do with old running shoes? What do you wear running in the morning?

Monday Things {11-05-2012}

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1. On Friday evening my mom drove in to Chicago from Michigan. Even though Ian and I were home not too long ago, I was really excited to see her, I love spending time with my mom! We decided to go to one of Ian and my favorite restaurants for dinner, The Publican. Ian and I have been twice before and unfortunately the experience was much better then than it was Friday night. We ordered some oysters (amazing), I had the apples salad without cheese, my mom and Ian split the frites with eggs, I had the fish stew, and my mom and Ian split the blood sausage and the porchetta. While nothing was bad per say everything was just okay.

2. On Saturday morning I woke up early and went for a 5 mile run. I switched things up and headed south along the lakeshore trail and ran through one of my favorite spots in the city, the path around the aquarium. I don’t run there often but the view of the city is always breathtaking and I just had to stop and take a picture.

Booping idea courtesy of Sierra.

3. Back at the apartment, my mom and I each had a small breakfast and some coffee before heading out to enjoy the overcast city. Our first stop was Fleetfeet where I finally replaced my FuelBelt. I decided on something similar to my previous one that carried two 7 oz bottles and had a little pouch to store gels, cash, a credit card, etc.

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I also picked up enough gels to last me about a month. Besides Fleetfeet I haven’t found a store in Chicago that carries a decent amount of flavors and kinds of gels. As it takes me 30 mins to get there and it’s out of my way, I don’t want to be running over there every week. I’d be so tempted to buy everything in the store!

4. We also stopped in a Starbucks so I could use the restroom and my mom could get a latte. She ended up buying Ian and me some Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend too! Yum, thanks Mom!

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5. After shopping, my mom and I met up with Ian (who slept in and then avoided a trip to Fleetfeet) at Frontera Grill for a late brunch. Over a year ago we all went to Frontera for dinner and loved it and I knew we’d have to go back for brunch eventually. After my mom told me which weekend she planned on coming to Chicago, I made sure to make a reservation ASAP.

We all started with the guacamole which was absolutely amazing and so simple. I could have just eaten chips and guac and been content.

Ian ordered the sapitos (A trio of Xalapa-style gorditas (corn masa cakes) in chipotle-black bean sauce each with its own topping: scrambled eggs, grilled chicken, chorizo, plantains; homemade crema & queso fresco)

My mom had the enchiladas de mole poblano (Homemade tortillas rolled around Gunthorp free-range chicken, doused with Mexicos most famous mole. Black beans)

And I had the vegetables in oaxacan green mole (Corn masa tamales, vegetables from local farms, Oaxacan green mole, crispy epazote).

Everything was amazing and we all left the restaurant in foodie heaven.

6. After lunch we walked around the city some more. We went to the Anti-Cruelty Society to look at puppies and kitties and then walked over to my new office so my mom could see where it was. It was starting to get cold and we were starting to get tired, so we headed back to the apartment to veg on the couch and watch Arrested Development :) .

7. Lunch was pretty filling and had it been a normal evening I probably would have made a salad for dinner and called it a night. However, I had 20 miles on my schedule for Sunday morning and I knew I needed to eat something more substantial. We kept things simple and headed over to Amarit, a thai restaurant near our apartment.

I started with one of my favorite lighter thai dishes, green papaya salad.

And then ordered their mixed vegetables over rice.

It was good and safe for my stomach but nothing fabulous. I kept eyeing my mom’s pad thai and Ian’s pad see eiw ;) .

8. We debated going to see a movie but we were all pretty tired and decided to watch a movie on Netflix instead. Has anyone else noticed how bad the streaming movie options are? Every time I want to watch a movie on Netflix it takes me like 30 minutes to find one that I remotely want to watch. Ugh. Anyway, we finally decided to watch I Love You Phillip Morris and while it wasn’t my favorite it was interesting.

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9. Sunday morning I got up super early and headed out for a long run (you can read more about my training last week here). The extra hour was greatly appreciated and it got light during my first miles (yes!). I also finally think I’m figuring out how to fuel during my runs. Yesterday I took 1.5 gels, 1/4 of a gel every two miles starting at mile 8. It was kind of annoying to remember to fuel every two miles but I didn’t have any stomach issues which is more important. I have also been paying with GUs vs. Clif Shots and caffeinated vs. non-caffeinated gels. So far I seem to prefer the caffeinated Clif Shots.

10. After my run, I iced, stretched, snacked, showered, and then my mom, Ian, and I walked over to Hackney’s for brunch. I ordered the tilapia tacos that normally come with black beans and quinoa but shortly after telling our waitress that I was allergic to dairy, she told me both the black beans and quinoa are cooked in bulk in butter. Boo. We talked through my other options and I ended up with tacos, broccoli, and fries. Random but delicious. Plus, I was too hungry to care at this point!

11. My mom left shortly after brunch (:() and Ian and I vegged on the couch, watched some tv, and eventually did our grocery shopping. I also had about 30 minutes of work that I wanted to get done before going in on Monday so I did that too. Why do weekends have to end?

12. For dinner last night (and for lunches this week) I decided to make my favorite chili recipe and one of my favorite cornbread recipes.

I followed the recipes but swapped the bell pepper in the chili for a sweet potato and really liked it. It gave the chili a heartier texture.

I had the chili with a little veganaise and some daiya shreds. Delish!

13. Ian and I spent the rest of the night catching up on our DVR, watching Walking Dead (ummm what happened?), and then doing some reading. I definitely crashed early, I was a tired lady.

14. This morning I whipped up some delicious chocolate pomegranate protein oats but cooking my usual protein oats base, stirring in some pomegranate seeds, and then topping the oatmeal with more pomegranates, enjoy your life chocolate chips, and sunflower butter. Chocolate for breakfast is totally acceptable on Mondays.

How was your weekend? What did you do?