Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

Monday, I gave in and bought some Chia. It seems like it is a new trendy health food item that is versatile and can be put and made into anything.

I sprinkled a spoonful on my salad on Monday night. I was so creeped out that one was going to get stuck in my teeth and I was going to sprout chia out of my mouth. Spinach & quinoa gets stuck in my teeth, why wouldn't chia? I totally flossed afterwards!


Tuesday I bought some vanilla almond milk and made a pudding sprinkled with chopped raw almonds (instead of the figs, and currants) and shredded coconut.

I do have to run to the store to get more PB. It seemed like our last jar we went through it SO fast. But I do plan on making some chia protein bars this week. 

I guess chia has a lot of health benefits and I would totally call it a superfood. 

Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. And it has another advantage over flax: chia is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds don't deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And, unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body. Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc. Another advantage: when added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar. Chia has a nutlike flavor. You can mix seeds in water and add lime or lemon juice and sugar to make a drink known in Mexico and Central America as "chia fresca." As with ground flax seeds, you can sprinkle ground or whole chia seeds on cereal, in yogurt or salads, eat them as a snack, or grind them and mix them with flour when making muffins or other baked goods. I find them tasty and an interesting addition to my diet.

Since these little bad boys absorb so much water (and are a good source of fiber) I totally increased my water drinking intake this week.

Like I said earlier, I am trying not to creep myself out by thinking that one is going to sprout in my mouth or gut. Something like what our parents said about swallowing a watermelon seed. I KNOW it is not going to happen...

Have you tried chia? What is your favorite way to consume it?

Girlfriends Got A Problem

I am in a shopping mood. This is going to lead to a problem. I need something to organize my shoes in my closet. Badly. Bad-ly.

I went out to Sports Authority, because I know they have NUUN.

I got 3 packs of NUUN.

And a pair of running shorts. They were on sale! Unexpectedly, and a very welcome $5.00 off.

What is next door to Sports Authority?

Natural Grocers.

What did I buy there?

Chia, Honey Stinger chews and I used my free coupon for Vita Coco.

The chia is going on my salad for lunch tonight. Spinach, red bell pepper, quinuoa, bbq'd chicken breast. And ch-ch-ch-chia.

Last night after I posted one of many NUUN/Hood To Coast posts, I went to the Libary.

I think it is a sign that the Hood To Coast movie was actually checked in! It is a sign!

I also had Relentless Forward Progress waiting for me there too.

 Last week I ordered another pair of shoes. How many pairs of shoes have I bought this year alone? I think 5. And it is only March.

Those came today too. I ruined my fresh coat on my nails ripping open the box.

Brooks Pure Grit! I am going to wear these for Robie Creek in 25 more days!

Brooks also thew in a cute coozie. I need a bottle to put this on.

Have you tried Chia yet?

Have you watched the Hood to Coast movie?

What was your workout today?

NUUN Hood To Coast Desire - Part 1

I was up way too long last night. I was laying in bed for over 2 hours thinking. Not because of any sexytime, but because I ran (haha-ran) something by the BF before we went to bed (at 10pm! Super early for me) and he actually had a great idea.

I said I wanted to apply for the NUUN Hood To Coast female blogger team.

He was quiet for about 5 minutes (which isn't unusual) and and said he was thinking about my video app.

I told him that if I get this, he will get me out of the house for a few days. How motivating is that? 

Then he told me the idea that he came up with. Something I couldn't do all week long & he came up with this super good idea in, like, no time at all. 

I was laying in bed for 2.5 HOURS last night excited about all of this. I could not sleep.

I am going to apply to run this race!

I have my idea that I was up late thinking about.

And I have ANOTHER idea that the BF was telling me about this after-nuun. :-)

Thanks to the TV show Wilfred, that I forced the BF to watch, he wants to get some plushies involved.

Great. Dog hair in my Nuun. My favorite.

This week will be checking to see if I can find the right props. Which will include a plushie or two. How many friends can I recruit to be in plushie outfits for a few hours/all day? lol

I know I am not fast. My one and only 10k that I participated in was slow. It was my very first race last year. I did it in, like, 1:16.

But I think I can totally handle this Hood To Coast. I LOVE Seaside. LOVE it. My feet love Seaside.

I love the mountains.

And I am female and I run/slog and have this blog thing. 

I was on a trip to Seaside about 10 years ago or so and it happened to be when people were running HTC. I thought it was pretty freakin' cool.

I want to do this.

Have you ran or applied to run Hood To Coast? What is your favorite Nuun flavor?

I Ride My Whip Back & Forth

Holy crap, it is/was so freakin' nice out. Usually I spend Sundays recovering from drinking/eating/running too much on Saturday. But I HAD to get outside today.

Had to.

Dusted off my whip. Seriously. It was dusty. Pumped up the tires. First time this year I got to hop on for a ride.

Yea, I didn't notice the wind when I set out on my journey. I just wanted to get to the library and back. Quickie bike ride. That's it.

There was so many people on the greenbelt. But I hate, hate riding down Vista on my bike. Hate it. So I was left going a little slower on the bike then I wanted. But it's ok. First bike ride of the year.

I also hate going UP Protest. That hill always leaves me gasping for air. I thought that with all the running, my quads were stronger to make it up easier but I guess I still have work to do. But I don't think that I will ever love biking up hills.

Somehow, my Garmin said that my max speed was 151 MPH. I KNOW even flying DOWN Protest hill, I would never, ever go that fast. Silly Garmin.

 I usually wear a pair of padded bike shorts to protect my girl parts while riding. Nearly ever ride. I need a new pair. The chamois of my pair are not very padded anymore and my nice bike leggings are, well, full leg. So this year, I need to break down & get a new pair. 6 miles was about my biking threshold.

I also need new shades. My regular shades don't protect from the wind very well & I had tears down my face going down Protest. Not safe.

Now, time for fooding with the fam while watching Basketball.

Do you use your bike to do errands?

Official Long Run Day

Friday night at work I had to trot laps around this table to his my 3000 NikeFuel points on my Nike FuelBand. It was a hard day at work but I didn't walk around all that much. Needed to get my points in before midnight. And I did. #makeitcount

 

Saturday I did 14 slow miles. Made it to the dam, took a phonecall and slogged back. 

 

I got asked for directions as I finished up my call and I watched about 30 rock climbers. I am never going to be hardcore enough to do that. I am seriously scared to do that.

Seen about 7 deer that I didn't see on 1st trip. They were very concerned about me as I was slogging by.

The wind was really getting to me on the way back. I was walking a little more then I wanted.

But I did get to enjoy all the birds and people passing me on bikes. I didn't want to hurt after my long runs like I normally do, so walking is AOK by me. And those Brooks PureCadences are actually comfy. Can't wait for my longer runs in them. Oh and I did buy the PureGrits and I will be getting those Tuesday!

I made the BF take me to replenish my glycogen stores. The bowl was my lunch AND dinner. There was carrots, celery, small shrimp and fake crab along with lots of garlic and sesame seeds.

My friends hubby did a 100 miler today. He finished in 23 hours 50 min. That is so awesome! 

Did you run or race today? How did you refuel after your workouts?

Friday Fooding

 I have been slacking on going to the grocery store for a few weeks. We have been out of milk since Monday, almost out of butter, no salad fixings other then 2 huge artichokes, red bell pepper , spinach, and I have a half cup of sugar left. I have been going through the kitchen trying to use up whatever I can to prevent going to the store. But I will have to go to get sugar tomorrow. I need it for my coffee.

All this is because I was inspired by The Bitten Word & their kitchen cleanout.

Thankfully, I had everything I need to make pizza.  

I love pizza. No really, I LOVE pizza. So I made a BBQ Chicken Pizza this afternoon. The BF says that it sounds gross & BBQ sauce doesn't belong on pizza.

I say he is wrong.

I mean, he IS from California where there is the CPK and he HAS been there. So he SHOULD know you can really put anything on pizza.

I just made a dough but added ground flax in place for part of the flour.  Smeared a bit of BBQ sauce, although I could have used more, thinly sliced some mozz and placed on top. I sliced & cooked chicken breast in a pan & then placed on top. Sprinkled chopped up red bell pepper and then threw in the oven.

Then I nommed. The plate below is a small salad plate. Not a dinner plate.

The BF got a so-called stir fry with the rest of the chicken that I cooked & some leftover rice in the fridge. He somehow didn't complain when he scarfed it down.

He did say that if I was served that pizza at a restaurant, would I eat it? Prolly not but it tasted perfectly fine.

On another note, I found this pic yesterday - after I entered into a contest to get a free entry into an ultra next month.

Hopefully the BF will bring me back because I already said he is going to be my crew. He hopes I don't get the free entry because he doesn't want to crew.

Crossing fingers, toes, legs, eyes in hopes I get the free entry.

Are there any races coming up that you want to enter?

The Long Run Is Taken Care Of

Saturday, when I do my long run, it's pretty much in the bag.

Other then the whole running part. I have the fueling, recovery, and washing taken care of by just going to my mailbox today.

It is all because I got a bunch of good freebies in the mail today.

Lemon-Lime & Grape GU Roctane - which I am excited to try, a coupon for a FREE Vita Coco, and a sample pack of Purex detergent. Nice how, like I said, my LR is taken care of.

So my run today. The weather was like this.

So I went and ran on this. This section of the Greenbelt makes me a trailrunner, right?

And the total slog at the end was this.

Not bad for it being windy as all get out.

What was your workout today? Did you get anything other then bills in your mailbox today? 

The Real Start of Spring

Yesterday, the 1st day of Spring, was snowy, windy rainy, cloudy, and cold.

Today, it is a real spring day. 60 degrees, cloudy, but the trees and grass are starting to get green.

And since the last few days were pretty crappy, I have not shaved my legs in 2 days. So I had to wear long pants to slog today. Anything over 50 is just too warm for long pants.

Just a quick, yikes - or not so quick, slog on the greenbelt.

The 1st mile I must have looked like I was struggling. My body wasn't warmed up. My legs were stiff and not awake yet. Running after work is so much easier because my body is warmed up. So called morning runs for me, my body is stiff and not awake, and it is not easy. I had a runner dude tell me something like "looking good. keep it up." I know my stride was not feeling smooth and easy. I must of looked like a newbie runner. And that is the only reason why I think he told me that.

All the male runners that I passed were super friendly and said Hi. All the girl runners that I passed today were not nearly as friendly as the males and we ignored each other. I guess we are a catty bitchy bunch.

I am actually not catty and not bitchy - yet. ;-)

 

What was your workout today?

How is your Spring weather? 

Willpower Power

Just when I said that I wanted to cut back on carbs, I get bombarded with tempting sugary sweets less then an hour into my workday.

My Bosnian co-worker had a birthday Saturday and he gave me THREE pieces of baklava-like cake and a Pepsi.

But everywhere I go at work, I have sweet temptations.

 Robin's Eggs!

 Cuties!

Hershey's Chocolate Eggs!

Temptation. Everywhere.

I have to kick in every willpower trick that I can remember. I am a certified smoking cessation facilitator with the American Lung Association and American Cancer Society. (If you or someone you know wants to quit smoking, I can give free smoking cessation clinics thanks to Idaho's Millennium Fund.) In my Smoking Cessation classes, one of the big things that I tell people about is willpower. It is not just tricks to stay away from that ciggy, but tips that also help you not put that bite of cake into your mouth and to keep your hand out of the candy bowl.

Distract your mouth with some gum (I chew at least 3 pieces of gum a day.) Or brush your teeth or swish with mouthwash. Minty fresh is always better then ciggy breath or after eating anything.
Distract your hands with grabbing some weights and doing some bicep curls, take up knitting, grab a stressball, type a blog post. Anything that you can do to not grab a fork, ciggy or candy in the candy bowl.
Walk or run away from the temptation. You can't have that candy if it is in another room. Or across the city.
Put it in the trash. I am so not going to eat something if it is in the garbage, or has something gross on it. That yummy cake went into the garbage after I took the pic of it. The Pepsi went into the fridge because I am not a big pop drinker anyways.
Set rules. Although this is too easy to allow, but the only candy that I will have is if it is chocolate. And obviously that chocolate is everywhere!
Be accountable to others. I told you all that I was going to cut the carbs today and I am staying accountable to you all!
Take a break. Sometimes stress is a trigger for smoking AND eating. Take 10 deep breaths to calm down and visualize something relaxing.
Make new friends. Only one of my friends smokes, which is good because smoking is not a peer pressure temptation. But we all love fooding. I guess I need to meet some people who don't like to eat. Or who don't like to eat chocolate covered bacon.
Get busy. Doing anything. Clean your bathroom/litterbox (which kills MY desire to eat), deleting text messages from your cell phone, have sexy time, call someone.
Substitute. I was going to sub a chocolate protein shake today instead of snacking on the candy in the dishes above. I tried to make myself prepared to encounter something I didn't want to have.
Drink more and less! Drinking more water will help with some cravings. Drinking more alcohol will lower inhibitions and willpower.

Do you have any tips for sticking with your goals? How to you keep your willpower? Do you or someone you know wants to or has to give up smoking?

Just A Little Off

I spend this weekend, and starting this week, just a little off.

I just didn't hit green on Saturday & Sunday.

Saturday's long run was a little shorter, and a little colder then I wanted it to be. The greenbelt was peaceful because there was no one on it, except for a few bike riders. I really like to be the only one on foot plodding away. Makes me feel a little hardcore.

But these huge balloons made the last 2 miles of my run just that much better. Also seen a coyote and bunnie around those cows that I have all named Dinner out by Harris Ranch & Barber Park.

I actually blame being a little off this week on my consumption of chocolaty treats I cross paths with and am given at work. Must resist carbys this week. I actually feel better when my carbs consumption are low.

Today's Groupon is for Octobers Farm Man Challenge in Meridian. $17 for a the Hellish 6.66 Miler, the Running with the Dead Zombie 5K, or the Xross Challenge actually seems like a deal.

Also, one of my favorite blogs posted today about a potentially great long run recovery drink. ;-)

Do you drink pickle juice to recover? I know my little brother did after football practices in high school. I always laughed at him and thought he was a freak. Now that I know, I don't think it is so weird anymore.

All Signs Point To...

I was thinking. Yeah, sometimes not the smartest thing. And I do need someone to tell me "No!" or "Go!" with most moves I make in my life. Sometimes I make silly and unwise decisions. But I was thinking. I do want to keep running next year. If this year is going to be a marathon year (I want to sign up for another local marathon that just happens to fall on a Sunday, which is better for my work life.) But NEXT year, I would like to do an ultra. And a relay. People seem to have too much dang fun at the Ragnars and Hood to Coasts. I feel like I am missing out.

What gave me the ultra bug is this race. The Pickled Feet 24 & 12 Hour Runs.

How many miles COULD I do in 12 hours? Or 24? I ran (haha ran) it by the BF today and he thought it was a horrible idea. But he hates running. And sits at a desk all day. So what does HE know? ;-)

Thankfully I found out about this race AFTER registration was closed on Thursday afternoon. Otherwise I would have made a potential mistake and register for it.

Another sign that is pointing for me to run an ultra next year is this race - The Ponderosa Pine Relay on July 20 & 21st.

If I had more running friends, and if I didn't sign up for that silly Sogonapmit Marathon (which I am having second thoughts over) this relay would be a fun race to do. So localish running peeps, 2013 I would like to do a relay and ultra. Think about think about joining a team with me next year! Or go ahead and join with one inaugural teams this year. 


Either way, both of these are on my list for next year!


Am I the only one that looks at races over a year in advance? 

Going for 5000

I had to get outside today and try out my new shoes on a slog.

Plus I set my Nike FuelBand to 5000 fuel points today so I had an earn that extra 1000 points. 

I am halfway there at 2400 points. Earning 2600 points walking around at work is a cake walk for me.

I feel like I am in Seattle today with the clouds, 50 degrees and how wet it is outside. The greenbelt was so peaceful. Only a few walkers, a few men runners, 3 girl runners, some bikers, and a few others walking their dogs. It was so nice that it was basically dead compared to 2 weekends ago when the weather was warm. I didn't take my phone because I thought it would have rained on me. I didn't even take my ipod either. Just me and myself.

I did 4.74 miles with a 12:23 average pace.

Today, I really focused on my stride and how my feet land. I played around with different speeds and how I place my feet. I think that these new Brooks were easier to land on my forefoot on. But when I land on my forefoot, my speed, which I wanted to keep slow at 12:30per mile, I speed up to 10min/mi. And I feel like I use less leg muscles when I land on the front of my feet. Which felt like a better use of my power, to help conserve my muscle power. And I think that it was easier to run on my forefoot then in my Newtons. I felt like how I was landing on my feet, I felt like I was landing on my feet when I have ran barefoot. Which was comfortable and natural feeling.

One thing that wasn't too smart that I did today was go out and run right after getting up. Just ate a piece of wheat toast with HoneyPB. I didn't have any coffee. Or water. Just wake up and out the door. Yeah. Not smart. I felt pretty sluggish. Girlfriend here needs coffee.

Here is me drinking my 2nd cup of the day. As I write this. It has been a while since I have posted a crappy post-workout pic of me. :-)

How's the weather where you are today? Any green beer drinking plans for tomorrow? What was your workout today?

Girlfriends Got Gear

Whoever thinks that Retail Therapy isn't therapeutic is just plain wrong.

Today, I had to get me some new kicks. And I feel good about it. I think this is the 4th pair of shoes I have purchased since the start of the year. My closet is overflowing with heels, flip flops, ballet flats, running shoes, cross trainers, and shoes I wear to work. I am always on my feet and need cute, comfy shoes.

I tried these on a few weeks ago and fell in love with them. My local running store had a Groupon a few weeks ago for $30 for $60 which I used for these shoes. So a $120 pair of shoes cost me $90. Which for a pair of running shoes is reasonable. I did a quick slog around the neighborhood in them. I am bummed that they didn't have these Brooks PureCadence in the blue color but I am happy with the black color. I also picked up some Honey Stinger gels today too.

I have been slacking on my running this week. I blame my FuelBand. I have it set for 4000 fuel points a day. I always hit my 4000 while at work. And I walk about 3-5 miles at work every night. I actually did Insanity Abs last night to help me hit 4000 before midnight. And I did a bazillion squats too. And a few pushups. And ran in place. At work.

After my tantrum that I had online the other day, I finally got my Heart Rate monitor from Omrom and FitFluential. And they threw in a Pedometer. I am sorry about my tantrum as it was unprofessional, but I can't wait to wear my monitor!

Have you treated yourself to new goodies lately?
What is your workout today?