Category Archives: Running

52 Cards

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Today I reached day 17 of #100daysofworkouts.  I’ve been doing pretty good with this.  Even if I don’t “workout” per se, I count my time doing yard work and running errands all day long as movement-the ultimate goal is to just keep moving.

I was watching The Biggest Loser about a month or so ago and I saw Bob the trainer give his team a last chance workout in which they dealt out a stack of playing cards.  Each suite was an exercise and the number determined how many of each exercise they would do.  This looked like a great way to work up a sweat without having any equipment.  As long as you have a deck of cards, this workout can be done anywhere.

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When we do this at work we try to mix it up to keep from getting bored.  But pretty much it goes something like this: Hearts=Cardio (BURPEES!) Diamonds=Push ups or an arm workout (today we did tricep dips), Spades=Abs (in/out with our feet) Clubs=legs (squats today).  We used to do it so that 2 would equal two push ups, but we realized that was kind of a waste, so now we’ve decided that anything under 5, we add 10 to it.  So instead of two push ups, we do 12.  So much more challenging and effective.  I love this workout because you never know the hand you get dealt.  There was a time when we did 14 burpees, flipped another card and had to do 12 more.  Ass kicker!

For dinner tonight I make baked marinated salmon served with a kale salad.

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I marinaded the salmon in teriyaki sauce, red chili sauce, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, and juice from one orange.  I placed it in a tupperware container, shook it up and let it sit all day until I came home and baked it.  It was, in my opinion, the best salmon I’ve ever made.

For the kale, I mixed a bunch of bite sized pieces with 1/4 cup olive oil, sea salt, pepper, pine nuts, lemon juice from 1 lemon, lemon zest, parmesan cheese and cranberries.  Sooo good!  Normally when I make kale, I sautee it very lightly in a pan with olive oil, garlic and lemon but I prefer it not cooked-it taste a lot better that way.

People at work ask me why I eat kale over spinach and my response is, “Because it’s healthier!”  Here’s a link that goes a little bit more in depth about the benefits of eating kale.

So, I did something pretty crazy last night.  I signed up for my first 1/2 marathon post Madelyn!  I sat there and stared at the screen thinking, “Do I do this? Do I not?”  I’ve ran 3 1/2 marathons before this, so I’m not sure why I was so hesitant about this one.  So I did it anyway and I’ll be following an 8 week training program to a Tee.  I figure, it will help pass time while I’m away on my deployment and my goal is to beat my 1/2 marathon time of 2:25 which I feel is pretty doable.  Training starts in just a few weeks!  Until then, I’m focusing a lot on strength training in hopes of staying injury free.  I will be running the Rock N Sole Summerfest half marathon and I’m so pumped to run across the Hoan Bridge.

Any plans for a summer race or event? Hubs keeps talking about Tough mudder and other obstacle course races.  Tough Mudder is one that I won’t do, but I’m more than happy to donate money to the wounded warrior project without having to be electrocuted :-)

My Running Epiphany

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After work today, I headed down to Milwaukee’s lakefront.  It was looking pretty bleak and I thought to myself, “Where are all the runners?  Am I crazy for wanting to run in this?”  Then I saw a runner and I thought okay, I’m not the only person wanting to get a run in on this freezing cold day.  Then I saw a man running in a t-shirt and shorts…he definitely won the crazy award.  

I parked at McKinley marina and started my run Lafayette hill by Alterra.  Nothing like jumping right in!  If anyone’s familiar with this hill, you know what a killer it can be.  The thing I love/hate about Chicago is that it’s so flat. Love because it’s great for speediness, hate because it gives me zero hill training.  Needless to say I had to walk for a few seconds when I was done running the hill…but hey, I ran it!  
When I set out to run today, I had no path layed out.  My initial plan was just to run, enjoy it, and look at some Christmas lights (and glimpse inside those big fancy east side houses).  I left my Garmin in the car, so I had no sense of how far I had ran since it’s been a while since I’ve ran this route.  After running for a while I found myself somewhere very familiar. 

My old stomping grounds.  It felt very nostalgic to be running around my old college campus.  It brought back lots of great memories and very little has changed in the past (almost) 4 years since I graduated.  As much as I enjoyed my time in college and the friends that I made, I’m very happy that that chapter in my life has closed.  I’ve grown up so much in the past 4 years and I can’t believe everything that I’ve accomplished after leaving school.  I must say, that I’m very proud of myself :-)

I’ve been struggling with trying to figure out my career and path in life.  I’ve been at a job that I don’t really care for for the past 3 1/2 years and tonight, I realized that my job does not define who I am.  My career doesn’t make me any better or any worse than anyone else.  I need to remind myself of this from time to time because I have a tendency to compare myself to others who have, should I say, “fancier” careers who graduated at the same time as me.  Sure, some people might have better paying jobs with distinguished titles, but are they happy? Did they run 3 1/2 marathons in the past two years or have a beautiful wedding to a wonderful husband? Or did they get to pet a camel in Qatar or swim the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey?  Yes, I’m not where I want to be job wise, but my life has been pretty damn awesome post college graduation. 

After I circled the campus, I started to run back to my car and spotted some nicely decorated houses on one of my favorite east side roads.

FYI, these pictures don’t do these houses justice.  Mother nature can bring on the snow any day now.  I’ve been patiently waiting.  After my run, I stopped by Whole Foods and stocked up on some hotel friendly meals for the rest of the week.  I was so happy when I found a rotisserie chicken meal for one:

I decided to give glutino’s frozen macaroni and cheese a go. Verdict? Eh.  So far, I’ve been really satisfied with all of their other gluten-free products that I’ve tried, but I wasn’t loving this.  I felt like it was missing something.  Tomorrow, I’m headed west for a home cooked meal and to spend some time with the ‘rents! Enjoy the rest of your evening, I’m off to drink so tea, read and then bed.

Frozen Tundra 100 challenge update: 10.37 miles complete; 89.64 left to go!

Oh, Snap!

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This past Saturday we got out of drill early because of the family Christmas party.  Because this is a rarity, LC and I didn’t know what to do with ourselves so I suggested we venture out to Sports Authority.  Damage done:   
 
New running shoes.  Hubs and a friend of mine swore by their Zigs and I was in the market for new running shoes with lots of ankle support.  These babies delivered.  I ran 3 miles outside today free of ankle pain.  Things are looking up and I think 2012 is my year for the Chicago marathon :-)   I really love these shoes.  They’re light in weight, yet offer a lot of support for my weak ankle.  Win & win.

 

Mondays around here are normally meatless, but tonight I was craving fish.  Inspired by How Sweet it Is, I created Gingersnap crusted salmon.  Deliciousness. 
Everytime I see gluten-free cookies at Trader Joe’s, I feel the need to purchase and try them.  I’ve finally reached my cookie limit.  The gingersnaps were my first purchase.  Although they were really good, I could only eat so many of them.  One day, I was browsing blogs & came across a recipe for gingersnap crusted salmon.  A solution for too many gingersnaps.    
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Here’s how I made this awesome salmon.  I beat two eggs in a bowl and dipped the salmon in them.  I crushed up the rest of my gluten-free gingersnaps (about 10 cookies).  Seasoned with Mrs. Dash, pepper and sea salt.  Then, I baked the two salmon fillets  at 400 for about 30 minutes.  Served with rice & asparagus.  Perfect Monday night dinner, and now I know what to do with those leftover cookies (a rare occurrence in our house).  
I’m off to relax & watch Water for Elephants! I’ve been waiting since forever to see this movie! I loved the book so I’m hoping the movie doesn’t disappoint.  Have a great night!   

Exercise ADD-Why I fail at Beach Body Progams

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Happy Friday! I can’t believe that it’s December already.  This month is going to be absolutely crazy for me.  I will only be at my regular job 6 days total this month.  The rest of my time will be spent working at the base in WI, flying down to Texas to rescue my sister (and then driving back with her to Wisconsin), trying to spend as much time as I can with my husband in Chicago, and managing the holidays between two families in two states.  I feel stressed out just writing this (enter yoga), but good things are hapenning people! Stay tuned :-)

So remember on Monday when I said that I was going to attempt to follow the Turbofire workout schedule and continue it through? Week 1 results so far? Big. Fat. Fail.  I did ONE TurboFire workout this week.  Am I ashamed or embarrased? Not at all.  I’ve been running, going to Bar Method & doing Zumba in my living room for all the neighbors to see.  And I’ve been loving every minute of it.  Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy beach body workouts.  TurboFire is a lot of fun and Chalene Johnson has great energy.  I turn to Shaun T when I need an ass-kicking cardio session.  And Tony Horton’s Ab Ripper is the icing to my 3 mile run.  But I’ve come to the conclusion that I have exercise ADD.  I cannot do the same type of workout day after day.  Unless I’m training for a race, that’s the only exception.  Last night I was supposed to do a 30 minute TurboFire workout, but the weather in Chicago was much too perfect to stay in doors so I took my butt to the streets of Michigan Avenue and ran.  It felt amazing! I forget how much I love running sometimes.  It’s nice to be reminded :-)

After reading about the Frozen Tundra 100 challenge on Nina’s blog and realizing how much I miss running outside, I decided to give this challenge a go.  The gist of the challenge to is to run 100 miles outside between December 1st & January 31st.  3 miles down, 97 more to go. Doesn’t sound too horrible.  But let me remind you what Chicago winters look like:

I get cold just looking at that picture. I wonder if they sell running boots somewhere?  The best part of running outside in the cold? The hot shower afterwards!  Enjoy your weekend & GO BADGERS!