What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

I survived!!  Thanks to Kelly Clarkson and some other good tunes :)

Here's the verdict on the CLIF energy shot:  It's comparable to eating three spoonfuls of straight jelly.  And I for one do not enjoy eating straight jelly.  With that being said, my run felt pretty great!  But I'm sure the sunshine-y weather helped!

I follow Bob Harper (Biggest Loser, anybody?) on Facebook.  The other day he had a post about a breakfast smoothie.  I've been using it as a post-run smoothie to refuel.  Recipe is as follows:

• 3/4 cups oats
• 1 1/2 cups berries
• 1 scoop protein powder
• 12 ounces milk or water
• Note: this makes 2 servings.

The fruit all ready to go!

Today instead of all berries I used half of a frozen banana and 1/4 cup blueberries.  I have vegetable protein powder but don't care for the taste that it gives.  I need to get a flavored powder if I choose to buy another can of it.  For now, I mixed one part of the protein powder with one part Ovaltine.  I also soak the oats overnight to make it nice and thick.  Let me tell you, my smoothie today was delicious!!!  

Yummy in a jar.

After long runs like today's, I don't do any "extras" (i.e. abs, weights, etc).  Today I just did some good stretching, my legs definitely needed it!  A nice hot shower always feels great on the muscles as well. :)

I must say, it can be very hard to get myself started when I know nine miles lies ahead of me.  But what I've learned throughout this training process, is that incorporating healthy eating and regular exercise has to be something that you want.  Other people can want it for you, but other people can't do it for you.  You really have to be self motivated, and for me, there are plenty of reasons to take care of myself!!  Slowly but surely it becomes habit.

Here's to a good week!

It's a beautiful morning!

It really is.  We've been having some chilly weather here in Wisconsin, but today looks like it actually might turn out nice.  Not the 70 degree weather I'm hoping for, but I'll take it!

I guess I haven't mentioned yet that I'm in the middle of training for a half marathon.  It's coming up in about four weeks.  David is also training for it, so that helps to keep me going.  Today will be my longest run yet, 9 miles!!  Ooh boy, my legs get tired just thinking about it.  But I just finished my pre-run breakfast of a mini bagel with some peanut butter, a small dish of applesauce with cinnamon and a small cup of coffee.  I don't always drink coffee before a run but I recently read that it might actually help with endurance.  I've never had a problem with it (stomach-wise) before running so I thought today would be a good day to enjoy some beforehand.

I've also been trying some of the "energy gels" to see which one I like best for the big day.  So far I've used Gatorade's Prime.  My biggest concern is how it affects my stomach, not necessarily how well it works because who knows, it might just be the placebo effect.  I didn't have any trouble with Prime, my only complaint is that it's such a big pouch, I felt like I was ingesting quite a bit right before my run.  With that being said, my 8 mile run went well and I felt good throughout.

Today I'm trying CLIF's version.  It's a much smaller portion so I'm excited about that.  They had two flavors (I'm sure more are available, but I just happened to see them at Wal-Mart and this is what they had), Mocha and Razz.  I went with the Razz.  Even though I like coffee, I didn't know if I'd like a mocha flavored gel shot.  For me, the fruity flavors are always a safe bet.

Now it's time to work on some math homework while breakfast digests.  I also need to get my run mapped out.  For you runners out there, if you haven't used MapMyRun, I highly recommend it.

Wish me luck on my NINE miles!!  Yikes!

Kitchen therapy.

I work at a hospital and this weekend is my weekend on.  Even though I'm not a nurse or anything, my weekend shifts can be very draining and today was no exception.  Worse than usual actually.  I work in the food and nutrition department taking patients' orders over the phone, and today the computer program we use froze up.  It might not sound like much but I'm still fairly new in the department and this was the first time anything like this had happened.  Super frustrating.  Needless to say, I was ready to go home at the end of my shift.  Couch, pizza and pj's.  Perfect.

Yesterday I was craving some cookies but was too tired to make them.  David isn't home tonight so I decided to take advantage of my time alone and do some baking.  Plus I find it therapeutic.  I looked around online and came across these cookies.  I decided to give them a whirl.  I was intrigued by her secret ingredient.

The madness all mixed up.

Final product.

Dark chocolate, coconut and the secret ingredient!!

Photography is another passion of mine that I've kind of neglected lately.  I figure this blog is a good excuse to dig out the ol' Canon Rebel and snap some shots. 

...Just taste tested the cookies with some ice cold milk.  Two thumbs up!  I will definitely be making this recipe again.  I still have a few more batches to bake, so off I go.

Goodnight!

Blog virgin.

If you couldn't figure it out from the title, I am new to blogging.  I have always enjoyed writing and have been wanting to start a blog for sometime now.  The problem was, I couldn't figure out what to write about.  But now I think I've got it.  Balance.

I'm a full time student.  I have a part time job.  And I am practically a house wife.  (A house girlfriend?)      

Over the last couple years, healthy living has become a priority of mine.  I enjoy taking care of myself and I want to take care of myself.  But at the same time, I have a very strong sweet tooth.  And at times I can also be kind of lazy.  Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated to work out regularly and to eat right and do everything else that needs to get done.  So this blog is my attempt at keeping myself motivated.

I must say I feel a bit like Amy Adams in "Julie & Julia."  I feel as if no one will read this, but that's okay.

Happy Friday!! :)

P.S.  On the off chance that somebody does read this, if you have any tips for new bloggers, PLEASE, feel free to share!  I'd appreciate it.