Workouts

Monday- I woke up in enough time, but the fact that it was a mere 30-degrees outside, I was not RUNNING out the door. So, I decided to suit up for a good old round of Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit with Shaun T and his crew (43minutes). I packed up what clothes I needed for a lunch run and went to work! Let me tell you what, there is nothing I LOVE more than a nice, breezy, clear, 60-something degree, lunch run! There is the linear trail head within a mile of my work and the trails are awesome to run through at any time of the year. The lower trail is “designated” as a biking trail, so I don’t ever wear headphones so I can be more aware of the warnings before I get run over (which “pass on the left” was yelled at me twice today, must be the AMAZING weather!) – 4.35mi

Tuesday- I did not get in a morning workout – the hubs went hunting and my workout was going to be in the living room. I decided to forgo the morning sweat session for a nice lunch run. So what to do with my time? I decided to focus my efforts on the laundry, dishes, and making this Banana Cheesecake Bread. Those 2 old bananas have been staring me down daily…so I finally put them out of their misery! The only issue was that I did not realize that since this bread had a cream cheese layer, I couldn’t just dump it out to help the cooling process. Yep, I tried to dump it over on a cooling rack but it just crumbled *insert sad face*. The crumbles still taste great, but the overall presentation was totally lost! On the flipside, I was able to get in a GREAT lunch run – a pace run on the back roads around where I work. I decided to take the linear trail on the way back – the landscape is always beautiful, the crunch of the gravel is a tune I enjoy – and no coyote sightings, again. – 5mi

Wednesday- Started the day with an easy 3mile run, our in the dark, home with the sunrise. I do not plan on doing anymore workouts today so I can save my energy for this weekend’s run! The rest of the week will have easy or no workouts planned as well… – 3mi

Thursday- No morning run or workout today – just cleaned up around the house and got ready for the day! It is supposed to be a “rest day” but I am not sure that is going to happen. The little man was not happy in the evening, so I ended up walking with him after work for a few miles – 3.5mi

Friday- I spend most of the morning packing up my weekend necessities and cleaning up the main areas of the house. I still had time to get in a quick mile run before work! – 1mi

Saturday- Longview ½ Marathon morning! – 13.1miles

Sunday- Rest 🙂

Total training miles: 29.9 miles

Meals

As I mentioned before, I am a creature of habit and consistency. This works in my favor when it comes to weekly meal prepping and planning. As long as I can prep a little on the weekend, I can throw my lunch together pretty fast in the morning. This past week was no different!

Breakfasts

protein shake (different varieties)
home-made baked oatmeal bars
fruit (apple, raspberries, or blueberries), yogurt, granola

Lunch

chicken breast, green beans, carrots & ranch
turkey tenderloin, sweet potato, zucchini
hard boiled eggs, cucumber, carrots, cottage cheese
stuffed sweet potato w/meat and cheese
sandwich w/meat, cheese, lots of veggies

Snack

yogurt, PB, fruit (apple, raspberries, or blueberries)
cottage cheese, cucumber, hummus
home-made baked oatmeal bars
miscellaneous protein/snack bar

Dinner

similar to lunch options, prepped over the weekend, or anything I make on a whim

Since I was out of town over the weekend, my planning just didn’t happen for this coming week… I think that there will be a lot more fresh options rather than the prepped/cooked ones this coming week. Follow up with WIAW for an update!

Weekend Happenings

Friday

Friday started like any other day – cleaned up the house, packed my weekend bags, and ran a bit in the morning. Today was my coworker’s birthday, so the gals decorated her desk and we had breakfast treats. In addition to the morning snacks, since our team won the Halloween Best Group contest (Tech Apps Retirement Community – we were dressed and acting like “bad grandpa” or Betty White “Off Their Rocker” old people), as a reward, we had a pizza party planned for lunch! Yes, not the BEST pre-run lunch option, but it was yummy! I was sure to have an extra bread stick for the carbs.

After lunch, I went home to pick up the pup and to Mrs. Jana’s to pick up the little man – and on the road for 2 hours! Paisley, the pup, isn’t always the greatest road-tripper, but it only took her 20 minutes or so to calm down and relax for the rest of the ride.

Once in KC, we dropped off the pup in the grandparent’s yard. Since we had a little time before our hair appointments, I decided to stop by Grandma/Grandpa’s work – Olathe Northwest High School. Since school wasn’t quite out, we waited a couple minutes to surprise them! Oh boy, were they ever surprised! It cracks me up how high schoolers react to little kids, the LOVE them! After wandering the halls to find grandpa, we met back at the office, met some more teachers/staff, and headed to the salon.

This is little man’s 3^rd haircut! He is growing up too fast! He was the most patient and calm little boy I have ever seen getting a haircut! It helped that I didn’t eat my apple for the day and that snack kept him pretty still and busy during the whole event. Nana was there soon after the hair cutting started so she could take him during my appointment.

This is the first haircut I have had in quite some time…I really cannot remember the last time I got a haircut (not good!)! While it was a good experience, I am not going to lie, it was a little different. My mom has cut, colored, permed, high-lighted, etc. my hair since I was a baby – this is what she has done as her career for the past 40 years. Since mom’s “retirement” from working, it has been a rough series of events – mental illness is nothing to take lightly. While it was not the easiest decision to have someone new cut my hair, it was a decision that needed to be made. I ended up getting 5” cut – a significant “trim” was what my hair needed. Now, it just feels healthy! I could have had quite a bit more cut off, but I really enjoy my hair being long and in reality, it is still pretty long!

After our appointments, I intended on going to pick up my packet for the next morning’s race. After checking the road conditions, I decided that my time would be better spent relaxing and not stressed in rush hour traffic and road construction.

After eating a little dinner, I decided to go by a running store to get some fuel for the next morning. I have not been in Gary Gribble’s in a few years! I am really glad that I went. I found a couple pairs of shoes that I will be putting on my Christmas list, a nice selection of clothes, quite a bit of fuel to choose from, and a warm staff that was eager to help. I will surely be going back for more running essentials in the future!

Saturday

I was up around 5:30am – later than I would have liked, but still enough time to get everything accomplished before I needed to leave around 6am. I was packed (bag check with change of clothes, etc.), pre-run fuel ready, and out the door around 6am. I stopped my Starbucks on the way to get my “race morning espresso” J I arrived at Longview Lake around 6:45am and was able to park in the second row – super close to the starting corral! Once I picked up my packet (bib, timing chip, and shirt), I just relaxed in my car for the next hour. I was hesitant about how well I dressed for the cool/cold morning – but after people watching for that hour, I determined that I was similarly dressed as other runners – shorts, tee, and long sleeve tee. I packed a pair of capris if I thought that I needed them, but I am glad that I didn’t change! Since I parked so close, I hopped out of my car around 7:55am, took off my “throw-away” layers, put them in my car (to throw away another day!), jogged to the start, and within a minute, we were off! While this run didn’t go completely as planned, I still was able to finish!! – And that is what counts the most in my book!! The post-race area was small, but I was satisfied with the chocolate milk, yogurt, banana, and hot chicken noodle soup,…so good! I walked to my car, changed a couple layers, stretched, and headed back for the day.

I didn’t have much plan for the rest of the day. I talked to a friend, Tiffany, about meeting up for lunch and we then decided to also go to a craft fair. The fair was interesting; I don’t think that I have been to something quite like it. In my experience, it was like a big “packet pick-up” event with vendors of all types – minus the packet pick-up element. There were handmade blankets, baby things, paintings, posters, candies, jewelry, scarfs, spices,…so many things! The vendor that really peaked my interest was one that made “busy books” for little kids. I have been talking to my MIL about making something like this for little man for a while. I bought an alphabet book as a Christmas gift for the little guy J For each letter of the alphabet, there are items either sewn on to the pages or “stuck” to the pages with Velcro. For example, “A” is a stuffed red apple with Velcro on the back. I think this will be a fun book for little man to explore in this learning stage of his life 🙂

After the craft fair, we walked to Planet Sub for lunch. I ordered the Turkey Romaine Wrap – really good, but I wish that there would have been more. I often order the “Lettucewich” from Which Wich and for similar price, I feel like I get a lot more for my money! Live and learn!

After parting ways with Tiffany, I headed back to the house to meet up with little man and Nancy, my MIL. The game plan was to go to Costco and get a few things. Little man loves going to the store because of all the snacks that he gets to try, and today wasn’t much different!

The rest of the afternoon was a time to rest, relax and regroup.

Sunday

Sunday started with and early morning trip to the grocery store. I planned on going to a work event this evening, to which I promised to bring chili. I got the additional ingredients (after raiding the in-laws cabinets for anything they had first) and started prepping everything for the crockpot. The dinner started at 4pm – I had a 2hour drive before that time, so I wanted to be sure there was ample cooking time.

Once everything was prepped and in the cooker, it was about time for my coffee date with Stephanie and Julianna! Stephanie is my long time best friend and we try to make a point to see each other whenever I am in the KC area. Back in the day, we would go to Starbucks and talk for hours. This evolved into taking baby carriers to Starbucks and talking until one of the babies was no longer sleeping or happy. Now, we meet up at either of our houses (or my MIL house) and let the little ones play while we chat. How times have changed!

After lunch, naps and playtime, I packed up and headed back to Manhattan.

I did not leave in enough time to be “on time” to the evening event, but I arrived JUST IN TIME for dinner to start – and the judging of the chili! This was quite the event! Our Marketing director, his wife, and kids opened up their home for the evening as a holiday party. There was a chili contest (5 or so crock pots), baked potatoes with fixings, fruit and salad platters, and so many deserts! Little man and I both ate too much and had a good time wandering around talking to everyone. Little man got to meet Jeff’s son’s dog – a 175-lb Mastiff named Todd. Todd LOVES little kids and it was quite obvious – I was just glad that I was able to keep little man upright though the kisses. Todd would just circle little man, as he would spin to avoid the licks, Todd would just follow with more kisses! The little man took it all in stride and even came back for more multiple times! BFFs! As the evening came to a close (for us at least), the votes were tallied and McBacon, our chili, took 2^nd place! Jeff’s wife, Marcia, made the top 3 winners a fleece blanket! So sweet! Little man was more than willing to go to bed once we got home.

A fun filled, busy weekend in the books!

Check out the other Weekly Wrap links with Holly and Tricia!