Finally seeing some progress!

While my weight hasn't dropped much in the past few months, I am finally seeing some progress with my runs.  I am getting faster.  9:30 - 10:00 minute miles have always been pretty standard for me when running 3-6 miles, but I am finally starting to see some improvements.

I'm not currently following a plan, because it always seems that when I do, I get stuck in a rut and I might add mileage, but I don't ever get any faster because I am so concentrated on distance.  So this winter, I decided to run fewer miles but work on the quality of them and that is what I have been doing.  Some days I only run a mile, some days I run 3 miles...but the point is to push my speed more than I am used to.  I've been trying to get my single miles as close to 8:00 minutes/mile as I can and I am working to get my 3 mile runs as close to 9:00 minutes/mile as a I can and it is working.

This morning I ran 3 miles and averaged around 9:10 per mile for a total of 27:30.  I am pretty sure that this is my fastest 3 miles yet!  I am looking forward to some spring 5K's to see if my hard work will pay off or not.  I planning on running the Neighbor's House 5K in April, and this is where I PR'd last year with 28:35...so I definately think I am on the right track to blow that PR out of the water!  This 5K will also set my training times for my marathon training. 

I think I have decided on the Furman method for my marathon training.  It is what I used when I trained for my half marathon last year and it worked pretty well.  Only 3 runs per week, 2 short speed runs and 1 long run.  I am pretty sure I can fit that into my schedule without any problems.  I am going to do my best to get the cross training in, but we shall see!

Wednesday's Motiation:

"Find Motivation in Every Mile!"

Monday Motivation!

So I am finding it is too hard to keep all my motivations through out the week and post them all.  I wish I could find a way to do it, but it's just too tough!

So I think I will simply randomly post my motivations a few times a week and try to get them all in there.  But I will definately post on days when I pull motivations that I think are important!

We've been doing the motivations a bit differently in the last few weeks.  Originally, I had made the motivation jar for myself...but as all the other mom's out there know, nothing is sacred when you are a mom.  Over the few weeks I've been doing the jar, I noticed that my kids (and even my hubby) began to look forward to hearing the motivations and the kids looked forward to picking them out of the jar.  So it has become a family motivation jar.  Now, the kids and I try to pull a motivation every morning and we have a white board that sits next to the jar.  We write the "motivation of the day" on the board for all to see and enjoy.

This was last week's motivation!

Monday Motivation:

"Do it for YOURSELF!"

Foodie Friday 2/2/12

Lately, it's been grab and go in our house at meal time.  I've been doing my best to try out one new healthy meal each week, but it's been tough!

The hubby has decided to really "buckle" down and get fit again.  And I need to lose a few lbs before I begin my official marathon training in May/June, mainly to save myself from injury.  So we are trying our best to get back to a "whole foods-paleo" type diet.  Although, I'm trying to move us over gradually, so we don't miss some of our favorite junk foods!  Can't go off junk food (think pizza, pasta, all the good stuff) cold turkey...but we'll get there!

So, I had planned on Sunday being a "freebie day" in which we would eat some junk and enjoy ourselves during the Superbowl.  But I was told in no uncertain terms, that the hubby would NOT be eating any crap and he needed some healthy options!

Which is leading me to try something new.  While I was working my clinical shift at the hospital yesterday, I was chatting with some of the x-ray techs who have or are doing Weight Watchers.  They were telling me about how they combine greek yogurt with dry ranch dip mix and snack on it with veggies!  I thought "HOW PERFECT!"  Ranch with a little extra boost of protein!

So that is what we will be trying out in the next week!  Once I actually get it mixed, and figure out ratio of yogurt to dressing mix, I'll post an actual "recipe" and a review and let everyone know how it was!

I hope everyone has a great Superbowl weekend!  I am heading out for a run!

Officially registered...

Eeeeeek!  I realize it has been almost a month since I last posted, but since school started back up, finding time to post has been tough!  I will promise to try to get better!

Registration officially opened for the 2012 Chicago Marathon today and I got my registration in!  Now, I need to buckle down and get my training plan chosen and sorted out and get ready to do some serious running over the next few months!

I promise to try to get better about blogging the experience as I go!

Foodie Friday ~ 1/13/12

Ahhhhh, Happy Friday the 13th! 

I haven't tried anything too creative this week.  I spent the week working on coming up with creative "make ahead" healthy meal solutions.  Since my semester break is winding down, next week I'll be back to being busy and studying non-stop, while still trying to get my runs and workouts in and try to keep healthy meals on hand.  Here are a few of the make ahead things I came up with:

Breakfasts:
Baked egg cups ~  18 pack of eggs, 2 cups of shredded cheese, and canadian bacon.  Scramble eggs and pour into greased muffin tins (I stress the greasing.  I forgot to grease 1 muffin cup and I still can't get all the egg out!)  Push a piece of canadian bacon into each cup, then top with a small sprinkle of cheese, add a small amount of pepper if you wish.  Bake at 350 until the eggs are firm.
Why I love this:  I don't eat a lot of eggs, but my husband LOVES this in the mornings.  He doesn't have a lot of time, so having them pre-made is fantastic.  He just pops them into the microwave and they re-heat really well.  This week, I'll be taking some of the egg yolk out and doing more egg whites to make it a bit healthier for him and maybe adding some veggies!

Lunches:
I'm still stumped on lunches.  I will probably make sure that I pre-cook chicken breast for salads and have tuna at the ready for flat bread sandwiches.  If I come up with anything super great, easy and healthy...I'll be sure to post it!

Dinners:
Spinach stuffed chicken ~  this was good, I pounded out chicken breast and added some shredded cheese and spinach (along with a bit of seasoning)  into the middle of the chicken and rolled it up.  Baked it at 375 until chicken was no longer pink.  It was good!

Snacks:
Snacks are where I have been having trouble.  I need to come up with some better snack options.  I need some easy take along ideas, that I can stick into my bag and keep there!  My go to snack has been apples and peanut butter...but honestly, I've been over-doing the peanut butter and I know it.  Really not that healthy of an option when you eat a million tablespoons at one sitting!
But I love sweet snacks, so I am looking for something that will give me a bit of sweet, without over doing it!  So here is what I have come up with:
Fruit (plain, no PB :( )
Mixed nuts with a small ration of M&Ms
Homemade granola with raisins (1/3 cup PB, 1/3 cup honey, 3 cups oats - melt PB and honey together, add oats, bake at 350 for 10 minutes)

I will be adding to this list as time goes by...I need to come up with a great snack list, so I don't stray and go to the "bad" options!

I hope everyone has a great Friday the 13th!

Motivational Monday 1/9/12

I did some heavy lifting at the gym with "the big boys" (ie. my hubby and his workout pals) yesterday, so needless to say, just lifting my arms to type this post is a bit, well...difficult.   I have been so busy trying to find my own motivation just to get housework and general daily tasks done today, that I almost forgot the Motivational Monday post!  But I remembered in the knick of time, so here are all my motivations from the previous week!

Tuesday 1/3/2012

So of course, I had to grab this one on a day that started out at a balmy 13 degrees!  At least there is no snow yet.  But I think I'll do my running at the gym today!

1 mile warm up run (8:58)

30 minutes stationary bike

60 minutes weight training

Wednesday 1/4/2012

While the optimist in me thinks that I can do anything...there is always that nagging voice inside me that says "what if you can't?"  So this is a very good reminder of how it will feel when I cross that finish line in October.  Everyone has naysayers...fortunately for me, I am surrounding by people who are incredibly supportive of my crazy endeavors, so my only naysayer is usually myself.  So I just have to remember to stomp that voice down and go out and do it!

 Beautiful 5 mile run outdoors!

Thursday 1/5/12

Definately true of all of us.  We all have something amazing in us...others can see it.  But sometimes we have to look really hard to see in ourselves what everyone else so easily sees!

Took the day off!

Friday 1/6/12

Part of the reason I love running is because it is just me against myself.  There is no competition, it is just me out there seeing if I can accomplish what I think I can.  These are words that always come to me at the end of a tough run.  If I don't do it for myself, it won't get done.  Sometimes these words or variations of them are what get me out the door in the first place!

Another beautiful 5 mile run outside today!

Had a busy weekend, so I kinda forgot to pull motivations for the weekend....
but I did get some great workouts in!  Weights and biking over the weekend.

And the Motivational Monday quote is:

Another great reminder that even though sometimes it doesn't feel like I am making progress, I actually am.  Even if it isn't yesterday vs. today, week to week and month to month I am getting stronger and faster!
3 mile run today, and I swear all 3 miles were against the wind!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and stay motivated!

Foodie Friday

So this week has been a crazy one for us.  The kids and the hubby are back to school and work, respectively.  And my semester break is winding down, so I am trying to get a bunch of projects done before I go back to school.  So, food has been kinda grab and go this week.  I have a handful of great recipes to try and unfortunately, the ingredients are still in the fridge!  But I did come across 2 new recipes that I absolutely had to share.  One because it was sooooooo easy and the other because of it's healthful deliciousness!
Breakfast:
Green Smoothie
You can find the recipe here!
Why I love this: I am sticking with green smoothies for breakfast simply because they are so easy in the mornings, when I am trying to get the kids out the door, and they are great for fueling morning runs!

Lunch:
Flat bread sandwiches made with Flatout Foldit 5 grain flax flat breads.  I've been filling it with turkey or tuna and lots of veggies.
Why I love this: I love these Foldit's breads because they are only 90 calories, have tons of fiber  and are very filling!  And honestly, when I can't have bread, I miss it terribly.  So this is a good solution.  They would also be great for mini pizzas!

Dinner:
Ham Sliders
1 package of Hawaiin rolls (sweet or non, your choice)
Deli ham
Provolone cheese
1 onion, chopped
mustard

Cook onion, until soft.  Then add mustard.  Cut rolls into sandwich form, then place ham and cheese on rolls.  Add onion & mustard mixture.  Wrap in foil and back for 10 minutes at 375.
Why I love these:   Ok, these are not great for you... but they are so easy and everyone loved them.  Plus, you can make these ahead of time and pop them into the freezer.  Take them out of the freezer and just increase cooking time to around 20-30 minutes or until they are heated through!  These were a huge hit, and I think I'll keep these in the freezer at ALL TIMES!  I paired them with some quick brocolli and cheese and we had a great, complete meal!

Snack:
Banana Bites:
4 bananas
1 package of sugar free pudding (chocolate is best)
2 cups of milk
Make pudding and let it soft set.  Cut bananas into bite size pieces, then dip them into the soft set pudding and place on a cookie sheet on wax paper.  Pop into the freeze and freeze.  Pull of wax paper and put into a gallon size freezer bag and keep in the freezer.
Why I love these:  I have a crazy sweet tooth and these seem to do the trick.  Yes, the pudding still isn't the best for me, but it is far better than sitting down and eating a box of oreos!  And the beauty of them, they are so cold, you can only eat one or two at a time.  So, it is almost impossible to over do it!  And the kids LOVED them!  I will be making these often too!  They do taste like chocolate and banana....so if you don't love banana, you won't enjoy these!  But I suggest trying them, they are fantastic!

I have a ton of new recipes to try for next week, so hopefully I will have a few new recipes for next week!

Have a great weekend everyone!