Tag Archives: Sonic

Five for Friday {10-26-2012}

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1. As nice as the random burst of hot weather was, I have to say I’m glad that it’s cooled off. See our apartment building turned off the air conditioning on October 1st and as we’re one of the top units on our side of the building it tends to be warm in our apartment during the winter (heat rises yo!). The return of hot weather has made our apartment more than a little uncomfortable and unfortunately we can’t open the windows because a certain furball likes heights/danger and we don’t have screens.

2. The presence of Naturally Nutty in my fridge has me craving breakfast quesadillas again. Why is pepita butter so good with melty banana?

Everything is always better with HUGE grapes.

3. Runs this week are going well. After my tempo 10 miler on Tuesday, I ran 4 miles recovery-style on Wednesday and then yesterday I ran a general aerobic 11 miler and ran into Emily! [I love running into people I know on the lake path, it definitely makes me feel less crazy for being up and running at 5:30 am!] Today I ran a general aerobic 7 miler with 8 x 100 m strides, tomorrow will be my long run (18!), and then Sunday is the Thriller in Schiller. What a fun week of running.

4. Last night I made this soup recipe and it was awesome! I really really liked it but I was a little impatient in waiting for the soup to be done. I tried to taste some and I ended up burning my lip pretty badly. Let’s just say I’m sporting a nice blister today. The soup was so good, it might have just been worth it?

5. I can’t wait until it’s officially the weekend! Not only has this week been BUSY but my weekend looks so fun! Ian and I are going out to dinner tonight, tomorrow I have my long run + book club, and then on Sunday I’m running the Thriller in Schiller with a bunch of my friends. Can it please just be 5 o’clock already??

What do you have planned this weekend?

Thursday Running Thoughts

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After staying up waay too late last night watching the debate and the follow-up analysis, some Arrested Development, and then spending like an hour picking the next book I’m going to read (I decided on Bossypants if you’re curious), waking up at 5 am to run this morning wasn’t my smartest decision sleep-wise. It’s leaving me feeling a lot like this.

So because my brain is mush and I can’t seem to put together a coherent post, here are some articles that are worth reading:

9 Marathon Strategies. Some of these are pretty obvious to a seasoned runner but as many of you are running Chicago this weekend, it never hurts to refresh!

Will I run Faster if I Lose Weight. This is a great article because while it admits most runners will be faster if they lose a few pounds it concedes that if you’re already very lean losing weight will only hinder your speed. Similarly, most runners are not elites and have more important things to worry about than race weight.

10 Best Running Cities in the U.S. Chicago is on this list!

5 Intense Cycling Workouts You Should Tr. I’ve already bookmarked this page and plan to use some of these during my tri training next summer. The article claims you need a power meter but I’m sure there’s a way to adapt the workouts to a normal bike ride.

Not-So-Obvious Gear That Every Runner Needs. I don’t know that every runner needs these things but some of them are pretty cool!

Do you have any not-so-obvious running gear that you find important? Honestly, I don’t think I do. Maybe my Garmin- that’s not necessary to run- but I definitely don’t own a gel-bot or anything like that :P

What’s Your Motivation?

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I’m curious to know, what’s your motivation to run/swim/bike/workout? As much as I love running, there are definitely days when I wake up at 5 am and wonder why I’m waking up so early– is a run really worth it? Similarly, on the rare days that I leave a workout for after work I’m usually not exactly in the mood to run. Those days, the only thing that gets me out the door is knowing how much better I’ll feel afterwards.

However, once I get outside and get moving I feel amazing. If it’s an AM run, I shake off my grogginess and just let myself run. If it’s a PM run, I run off any stress and frustrations that arose during the day. Sometimes I even get to see something beautiful like the sun rising over Lake Michigan.

I never regret a workout.

I thought about motivation quite a bit while running this morning and I believe there are three things that motivate me to get out of bed and run in the AM.

(1) Routine. I’ve run in the morning almost every morning for the past 6 years. At first it was tricky and there were days I slept through workouts or rescheduled them for later in the day but after quite some time I’ve realized that my workouts are best in the mornings. Now when I wake up I do the exact same thing every morning –> grab my phone, check the weather, pick out running outfit & get dressed, put on socks/shoes/Garmin, eat something (unless it’s a fasting run– more on this another time), grab iPod and key, go run. It’s easy now because it’s routine but it didn’t used to be!

(2) Grogginess. I still can’t say I’ve gotten used to waking up super early to run. There are days that all I want to do is curl up in bed and fall back asleep. Fortunately for me, my grogginess allows me to fall right back on my established routine. Honestly, it would take me too long (and it would be too mentally challenging at 5 am) for me to debate whether or not I should go run on a particular morning. It is much easier for me to just get my butt out of bed and fall into the above routine.

(3) My second alarm clock. Every morning my alarm goes off and wakes up both Sonic and me. I grab my phone and get back in bed to check the weather when all of a sudden Sonic will appear out of nowhere ready to play. The mornings that I do try to go back to sleep, Sonic will start bringing me toys, shoes, the drain (seriously), my iPod shuffle (mom it’s time to workout), or whatever else he can find. It’s honestly so cute that I can’t get mad and end up waking up anyway.

What motivates you to workout? How do you get yourself moving?

Last night I made an awesome dinner. I mixed up some tuna salad using 1 can of tuna, 1.5 T sweet and spicy honey mustard, .5 T vegenaise, and relish and then ate it with cucumbers in swiss chard leaves like lettuce wraps. I actually took a picture but when my memory card told me there was no more room this morning, I deleted all of my pictures without even thinking. Annoying! I’ll just have to make the chard wraps again sometime to have digital proof!

Anyway, I’m off to get ready for the day- I have less than 100 pages left of Gone Girl and I’m hoping to read a bit before work. Happy Tuesday!

Non-Monday Things

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1. As my Naperville Tri Race Recap took over my usual Monday things post, I’m doing a non-Monday things post today. I’m sorry if you thought that you wouldn’t have to read one until next week. Oops :P .

2. Friday night all I wanted was REAL tuna salad. Nothing healthy or low-fat, I wanted some creamy and relish-y tuna salad (and yes, relish-y is a word ;) ). I ended up making a somewhat healthy version using 1 can of tuna, 1 T veganaise, 1 T hummus, 1 T sweet ‘n spicy honey mustard, and lots and lots of relish. It was awesome served on top of brown rice bread.

3. I realized that I haven’t shown you guys a picture of Sonic in a while so I tried to take some pictures this weekend. He was sitting so nicely on the counter so I attempted to take a picture…

Two seconds later this happened…

Rawr. That is why you haven’t seen a picture of the furball.

4. I think I have some sort of sinus/allergy thing going on and I have waves of intense head/face pressure. It was really bad Friday night and most of Saturday. In fact, I slept in Saturday and skipped a workout because I felt too disoriented to do anything. I literally woke up, cooked oatmeal, and ate it slowly on the couch while watching the Olympic triathlon.

5. My appetite was also nonexistent much of Saturday. I actually treated Ian to Cookie Dough Creations and didn’t even feel jealous of his peanut s’mores ice cream topped with chocolate chip cookie dough.

6. At packet pickup on Saturday, I finally found water bottles for my fuel belt but now I can’t find my fuel belt. I know that I haven’t thrown it away but I have no idea where else it could be. My apartment is not that big.

7. My appetite finally came back Saturday night and I was able to fuel for the triathlon with a zucchini quesadilla on a brown rice tortilla (filled w/ hummus, zuke, & nooch) with a side of brussels sprouts.

8. Lots and lots of protein ice cream has been made recently. Unfortunately, I can’t get the full effect because I am too cheap to buy xanthan gum and my blender can only handle 6 ice cubes before it craps out.

9. I am so behind on the Olympics and I don’t think I’ll catch up at this point. I’m waving the white flag and only watching when I’m home at night. I just can’t keep up with all of the recordings.

10. Cereal bowls are becoming a new staple breakfast, especially when they are JAM PACKED with fruit.

11. Avocados have become one of my favorite foods… after nut butter and cereal of course ;) .

12. I went to the doctor and can start testing different foods. I’ve been cleared to try corn and soy. Of course testing foods is not like eating a food once and seeing how your stomach does, it involves eating that food at almost every meal for a week and gauging any symptoms (from fatigue to acne to stomach issues). After a week of eating soy or corn 3+ times a day I’m not sure if I’ll ever want to eat them again. Fingers crossed this doesn’t ruin them for me!

13. Marathon training starts today with an 8 mile lactate threshold run with 4 miles at 15k to half-marathon pace (7:20-7:35 min/mile). I’ll post more training deets soon!

14. Have a wonderful Monday Tuesday! :)

Five For Friday

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1. I ended up getting in my shorter run last night. Ian and I went out for a three-mile loop when he got home. The weather was perfect. It was in the high 70′s and overcast. I let Ian set the pace and we finished in under 30 minutes. Not too bad considering we did some walking because Ian got a stomach cramp. This morning I went out for a solo 7. I ran by feel and ignored my pace and finished in 57 minutes. This is a bit slower than my ideal time but my entire body felt good and that’s whats important right now. I’ll worry more about speed in a few months.

2. I have been eating really weird food combinations lately. Take my dinner last night, a peanut butter bomb smoothie and cheezy kale chips with ketchup. It hit the spot but was a tad bit random.

3. Ian and I have started watching a new show on Netflix, Portlandia. I don’t love every skit but there are some that are absolutely hilarious. Plus, after watching Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, Friday Night Lights, and Mad Men, a lighter show is much appreciated.

(source)

4. Sonic has been acting a little bizzar-o lately. He’s usually a social kitty but recently he’s been hiding under the bed. Initially I panicked and thought he was sick but I checked his ears, tongue, and eyes and he has no signs of being sick. He’s also eating and coming out to play/cuddle every so often and isn’t lethargic. My guess is that he’s going through an introvert phase and just needs some time to himself? But who really knows. I’m hoping he grows out of it soon.

5. When I first started my allergy elimination diet, I panicked that I couldn’t have peanut butter and went out and bought a bunch of nut butters. I’ve been alternating among them so that I’ve recently had a bunch of near empty jars. This means lots and lots of oats in a jar.

This morning I cooked 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1 1/4 cups water, 1 tsp chia seeds, and half a smashed banana. I stirred in 2 diced strawberries, a few raspberries, and 1 tsp maple sugar. I topped it with a few sprinkles of KIND granola and chowed down. OIAJ is seriously one of my favorite breakfasts.

Happy Friday!