May Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

Wednesday

3 miles - 1 mile intervals w/abs in between

28:32

Cross Fit workout - KILLER!

3x for time

1 clean + 3 front squats (65#)

40 yard sprint

10 thrusters (65#, 65#, 45#)

10 high knee jumps

30 dead lifts (75#)

Time: 13:42

Thursday

5 miles - trail

53:00 

In case you have been paying attention the last few days, yes I have been running more frequently, and yes that is due to me doing the Runner's World Running Streak!  I've never done a running streak before, but I'm excited to do it, I think it will be good for me mentally to push through it even when I don't want to.  

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In case you missed it earlier this week, check out the first of many posts in my new CSCS Series featuring Winning Sports Nutrition!  

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So I have decided that I need to stop doing the Foodie Pen Pal program, because it is making my year absolutely fly by!  I have been a part of the program since December and I feel like these past six months have just disappeared out from under me!   Well obviously I'm not serious about quitting the program, because I love it too much!  This month my package came from Danni over at Healthy Kitschy Vegan!

All the goods

Yes you see that correctly, she did put a book in my package...brilliant!  I love to read!  Unfortunately I have already read the first and second book in the series, but I love the book so I will probably read it again and if nothing else I can lend it to friends/family!   Seriously Danni I loved the book idea, even though it's not necessarily foodie :)

The rest of the stuff in the package I was really excited to see because it was all new to me!  I love trying new things good or bad.

Dagoba dark chocolate- This was extra dark chocolate and was actually kind of bitter.  I didn't like it plain, but it was good when I topped it off with some chocolate peanut butter (see below)!

Organic Hemp Protein Powder- I have always wanted to try hemp protein powder, so this was exciting to find in my package.  I wanted to try it with just water so I could get a feel for the true flavor so I mixed some with water...eh yuck!  Don't try that, it tastes like grass.  I think there was a reason they never suggested mixing with just water on the back of the package.  So I blended some fruit into my water-hemp mix to make a smoothie.  That helped make it a little more bearable, but I don't think I would purchase this product  from the store... is their a vanilla or chocolate flavor?  I'm still on the prowl for the perfect protein powder! 

Larabar-  Love, love, love Larabars ever since I tried my first one a few months ago from a pen pal!  The blueberry muffin flavor was delicious too!

I love all nut butters!  I haven't found one that I haven't liked yet!  I have yet to try the cashew butter, but I highly doubt it will disappoint!  Any suggestions what to eat it on, with or in?  

I think this might be what heaven feels like.  I'm typically not a huge peanut butter cookie fan, I prefer Plain Jane chocolate chip cookies, but these were awesome!  No joke, I promise I'm not just saying this because Danni will read this post...can I have the recipe?  By the way, I made a rookie mistake with these....since I'm so kind I took them to my sister's to share them and I accidentally left them there :(  Good thing I ate half of them before I took them over. 

I'm so happy I got my package and was able to snap some pictures of my goodies before my camera broke...that would've been tragic to not have pictures of my box!  Thank you so much Danni for all my great  goodies, I loved trying all new things!  Be sure to stop by Mariza's blog and check out what I sent her!

If you're interested in joining the Foodie Pen Pal Program here’s a detailed explanation of the program:

-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

***If you’re in Europe, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!

If you have any questions or want more information about joining get in contact with Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean! If you're ready to sign up, click here to fill out a participation form!

Fitness Plan

Monday - 5.5 miles - CHECK!

Tuesday - Lift - CHECK!

KB Get-Up 3 x 4/4

Plank BOSU Arm Walk 3 x 20

DB BOSU Back Fly 3 x 10/10

5:00 run @ 4% incline

Tube chop up & down 10/10/10/10

Lunge w/Curl 3 x 10/10

SB Ham Curls 3 x 20

SB Push Ups 3 x 10

5:00 run @ 4% incline

Tube chop up & down 10/10/10/10

Wednesday - 3 miles + Cross Fit workout + Abs 

Thursday - 5-7 miles

Friday - 1:30:00 run 

Saturday/Sunday - One of my girl friends is staying with me for the weekend, so any exercise will be recreational exercise :-D

Side Note my camera is broken :(  I'm not sure what is wrong with it, I'm hoping to take it to get checked out tomorrow.

Winning Sports Nutrition: Calorie Needs

A while back I mentioned that I had received some home study materials for my CSCS CEUs.  After getting through most of the information from my courses, I'm ready to start sharing what I have learned!  I will have three different CSCS Series: Winning Sports Nutrition, Marathon Training and Nutrition Periodization.  Winning Sports Nutrition has the most material so that will be the longest series of the three.  I am hoping to have 1-3 posts a week on materials from these courses, so be sure to check back frequently!

So without further ado, welcome to the first of many CSCS Series posts!

Calorie Needs 

I am sure you have heard that not all calories are equal before.  Well why is that?  When you look at the nutrition label on the back of your food, you will notice three (among other items) important items recorded: protein, carbohydrates and fat.  Each of these types of energy are measured in calories.  Protein and carbohydrates each contain 4 calories per gram.  Fat contains 9 calories per gram.  (And just in case you're interested alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, even though it is not an essential nutrient.)  The body uses these calories/nutrients to provide us with energy to perform everyday activities! 

The amount of calories a person needs to maintain weight depend on age, body weight, gender and total energy expenditure (TEE).  TEE includes two main parts... Resting energy expenditure (REE), which is the amount of calories needed to maintain basic body systems and temperature at rest, and activity energy expenditure (AEE), which is the amount of calories used during exercise.

Weight Maintenance: Calorie intake = TEE
Weight Gain: Calorie intake > TEE
Weight Loss: Calorie intake < TEE

So let's take a look at how to find out your calorie needs...

Using myself as an example ( I weight 165 and am 5 ft 11 in) here is what my REE would be: 


10 x 165 lbs = 1650 calories 


-OR-


655.1 + 9.65 (75 kg) + 1.84 (180.34 cm) - 4.68 (25 yr) = 1593 calories 


After you find your REE from one of the equations above, use the following to choose an activity factor (AF), be honest with yourself for the best results.

Then complete the following equation for find your total daily calorie needs...

Again, using myself as an example my total daily calorie need in order to maintain my weight would be:

1593 (REE) x 1.6 (AF) = 2,548 calories






What is your Total Calorie Need?  Is it what you expected?  


Information in this post is from Winning Sports Nutrition by DSW Fitness.  
I am not a certified nutritionist nor is this information intended to be used in place of seeing a physician.  
If you have any questions, comments or concerns please email me at myfoodevents@gmail.com

The Best $50 I Ever Spent

Thursday
5 miles - Treadmill intervals

5:00 WUP

1st round            2nd round

5:00 @ 6.0          5:00 @ 6.5

4:00 @ 6.5          4:00 @ 7.0

3:00 @ 7.0          3:00 @ 7.5

2:00 @ 8.0          2:00 @ 8.2

1:00 @ 9.0           1:00 @ 9.2

1 mile cool down

In between my intervals I did 1:00 of an exercise -- ie; plank, plyometric push ups, wall ball, etc. 

Friday
Stairs
45:00

I had great hopes for my workouts this week, but I ended up really struggling with allergies/cold.  I'm really not sure which one it was, because this is the first time I've ever had issues with allergies, regardless it was really hard to breath and my eyes itched like it was nobody's business!  With the pollen count really high this year, I have heard a lot of people say they are experiencing allergies symptoms and they normally don't!  Are you one of these people? 

So Tuesday and Wednesday I did some lifting and biking, nothing to note, but I wanted to get some physical activity in.  Both days were roughly 40 minutes of activity.  Something is always better than nothing in my opinion! 

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Today as I was walking in to my apartment when I saw someone in my hallway struggling with their furniture (they were moving out), so I asked if they needed help.  He declined, but we started talking and I realized that these two had been my neighbors the past 5 months and I had never met them... sad.  They are moving to California and so they couldn't take all their furniture and asked if I would like anything.  

The current condition of my living room

Recliner 

Futon Frame, cushion is currently on the ground

J and I have been searching for a new futon for a while, so I said I'd take that.  Then they asked if I'd like their coffee table, lamp and recliner... umm... sure!  I'm super excited about the coffee table since we've been living with a coffee table that has a broken leg for a couple months now, not sure if we're lazy or just determined to make our current one work.  I couldn't believe that everything they were willing to give me was something that we have been talking about needing!  I asked them what they wanted for it all and they said nothing just take it, but I insisted they take something, so I offered them $50.  All new furniture- in pretty darn good shape - for just $50!! I'm so excited!  You know what I'll be working on this afternoon as soon as J gets home from work  :-) 

Other than revamping our apartment, I don't have any definite plans, yet tons of possible plans for the rest of the weekend.  Funny how that can work sometimes! 

TGIF!  What are your plans for Memorial Day Weekend?

A Gambling Girl

Monday
8 miles/Abs
1:17:00/10:00

I split my running up today (6 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon with my abs), not only for time sake, but also because for some reason I struggle mentally to run over 7 miles alone.  Thank goodness for running buddies, but at the same time I need to get over it! 

On another note I won $2 on pull tabs on Saturday night...yes I am a big winner!  I didn't mention it, but the other weekend my friends and I pooled in some money and won $52, they have officially got me hooked on pull tabs!  I will admit that Minnesota has way better pull tabs than Wisconsin does!  Why?  Because MN there is a live person who works the pull tab booth and you can see what big money is still left in the pool, whereas in WI (at least that I have found) we only have machines where you put your money in and select a stack to get your ticket from....lame sauce.  

Any pull tab fans out there?


Dinner

Stir Fry

Oatmeal Cookie Coffee...Made in Madison, WI!

Fitness Plan

Tuesday: 5-6 miles + Cross Fit

Wednesday: Lift + Abs + Cardio

Thursday: 5-7 miles + Yoga

Friday: Lift + Abs

Saturday: 10-12 miles

Sunday: Rest

The Burner Workout

Thursday 
4 miles - Intervals 2:1 (6.7/7.0)
35:00 (ish)

Friday
Lift
42:00

If you are my friend on the Daily Mile (which you should be by the way!) you would know that today my workout was a total lung burner.  My heart rate was sky high the entire time!  Prior to working at Momentum I would do similar workouts, however, my rest time would be three times what I take now.  It is amazing what cutting your rest time can do to a workout! 

The burpee to sled combo gets ya!  Of course as always, if you decide to try this, please consult a physician first before doing any strenuous exercise. 

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This afternoon I will be heading out to see my friend Mandy and her fiance for dinner!  They are in town for her brother's graduation, I was thrilled to find out she was coming to see her brother walk! 

I love my tall friends :)  

What's on tap for your Saturday!

This Week So Far

Tuesday

Lift- Cross Fit Workout (Quads on FIRE!)

9:38

4x AFAP

12 Thrusters

9 Pull ups

Wednesday

5 miles 

49:28

Today's workout is going to be a hodge-podge of stuff.  I am working 12-9pm tonight and there is supposed to be a lot of down time, so I will just be lifts and cardio in all my down time.  On top of some other things, I am planning on checking out some Kelly Ripa moves from Shape!  

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Here's some weekend bachelorette party and mother's day pictures...

Pedal Pub

I love girl time

Coolest bean bag stand ever

Grandpa & grand kids

Sisters

Siblings :)

Coming soon is the latest Grub Club recipes!  

What are you doing this weekend?

Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

Earlier today I saw a tweet from @AsaeprisPivot asking if anyone had a good cookie recipe to make that they could bring to their race booth this weekend...

I of course chimed in with...

Yes, a great post workout option, but then I realized although I have talked about this cookie on here, I have never actually shared it with you guy...what the heck?!  So I figured I would share the recipe with you and Aspaeris Pivot at the same time!  

These cookies have been enjoyed by fellow bloggers through the Foodie Pen Pal program, some of my clients and my family members... unless they are lying to my face, people seem to like them a lot!

Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

1 1/2 c almond flour/meal

1 c vanilla or chocolate protein powder

1/2 tsp sea salt 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 c apple sauce

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 c agave or honey

1 c dark chocolate chips (small ones work best)

Combine all ingredients well and add chocolate chips last. Form 1/2 inch balls and press onto non-stick (or greased) baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes.  Note: since almond flour is used baking time is sensitive and bottom of cookies tend to brown easily.  

Enjoy! 

Now You See It, Now You Don't

Wednesday

Run

20:00

Lift

20:00 

Lunge Series

Use a 45 yard area, stopping every 5 yards

Lunge 5 yards

5 Push Ups

5 Full Sit Ups

10 Penguin Crunches 

Lunge full 45 yards back to the beginning 

Thursday

Lift

30:00 

Hurdle Squat w/delt raise 4 x 6/6

Spider Plank 4 x 15/15

Circuit 1x (w/45# bar): 

Squat 20x

Curls 10x

Shoulder Press 15x

BOSU KB Row 4 x 10/10

Single Leg Box Hops (5 inch box) 4 x 10/10

Circuit 1x

Inverted Row 4 x 10

SB Toe Tap 4 x 8/8 

Circuit 1x

Friday

4 miles

36:00

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Now you see it...

Now you don't!

Or at least you don't if you look real close.  Yesterday I went in to the doctor's office to get a mole removed from my toe.  They said they thought it would be okay, but since it was such a dark color and I don't remember it always being there they said better safe than sorry.  The darkness you see in the second picture is the scabbing and my stitch (yes that is singular). They will biopsy the mole over the weekend and I'll find out whether it was cancerous or not by Tuesday.

So now that you know what's going on with my toe, why don't I share my embarrassing doctor's office story!

If you have never gotten a mole removed, it is a pretty simple procedure.  The whole appointment took 30 minutes, which includes being called in from the waiting room.  My doctor's were telling me the risk, blah, blah, blah and then Doc said I'm going to poke you with this needle, you'll feel a little pain and then some burning, but then it will be numb.  I'm not one who is afraid of needles and can tolerate a little pain, so the injection wasn't too bad, but what got me was either a reaction to the injection or the fact that I was holding my breathe while he was injecting me.  Doc started poking my toe to see if it was numb, so I told him, No I can't feel it, but I'm starting to see spots of light and get really hot. Yes, that is when it all went downhill.  I managed to not pass out, but was sweating profusely even with the nurse fanning me.  I had sweat beading up on my face, sweat running down my neck and sweat pouring out of my legs...note to self don't apply lotion 10 minutes before going to the doctor's office.  While I was going through my little dizzy/hot flash spell, Doc got the deed done and bandaged me up.  I was fine after about 3 minutes, but when I stood up off the table with the paper on it, I left some serious leg/back/butt sweat marks on the paper they change on the table.  Yes, that happened. Embarrassing :)  Doc and my nurse were great about it though.  Have you had any embarrassing moments in the doctor's office?


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In the kitchen this week...

Pumpkin spice bagels that I found on Kelly's blog, that turned out mediocre at best for me.  I need to try a different flavor.

Chicken stir fry...yum.  A go-to at my place. 

Crock pot lasagna, from Lindsay's blog, that I tricked J with.... eggplant and spinach inside, but not detectable apparently!

Homemade Mocha Frappe, if you will, was delicious and simple! 

Coffee + Ice + Chocolate protein powder + Milk 

And my favorite for last... 

Chocolate chip cookies with my favorite little man, OJ George as he calls himself  :)

We even learned how to do thumbs up!

<3

Race Recap: PR!

I woke up at 3:00 am and silently cursed.  It took a while, but I fell back asleep, but again woke up, this time at 4:30 am, cursing in my head again.  I woke up one more time at 6:30, my wake up call, and once again cursed to myself.  It was still thunder storming!  With a race time at 8:00 am, it was not looking good for me.  My thoughts were either A.) the race is going to be cancelled, or B.) this is going to be the most miserable two hours ever running in heavy rain.  

Entry way starting to flood

Sopping wet

Well somehow, someway God decided to have a little mercy on me and the rain stopped at 7:00 am, one hour prior to race start.  Not a drop was seen the next eight hours, which was the time limit for the marathon.  How incredible is that!  The weather actually ended up be perfect temperature for running!

I didn't get any pictures on my camera, they are all on my mom's and I haven't gotten them yet, but my mom, dad, and cousin came out to support me which was great!  J tried to spot me, but never saw me.  After discussing with him where he was and when he was there, it turned out that he gave me the benefit of the doubt and thought I was faster than I was.  

Here's a rundown on what I ate...

The night before....Mexican....I know, risky, but common it was Cinco de Mayo. Enchilada Rancheros. 

Race Day Breakfast: Blueberry bagel and cream cheese + 12 oz water

During Race: Mostly water + 1 glass Gatorade + 6 Jelly Belly (I was struggling to get them out of my little pouch or I probably would've had more)

Post Race: Brunch buffet...eggs, 2 slices ham, 2 pieces French toast, fruit, half a piece cheese cake

Warning this may be gross. For some reason after longer races (10 mile, half marathon) I get the shits and my stomach cramps up.  Anyone know why or does this happen to anyone else?  I don't usually get it after long runs, just races, which I assume has to do with the difference in intensity.  Maybe I should be emailing Shut Up and Run about this one LOL :)  Anyway, my brunch wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been due to this minor detail. 

Race play-by-play...

Mile 1: A little behind my 9:00 minute mile pace due to a crammed start.

Mile 2: Right on time, feeling good.

Mile 3: Nailed my split again. First water stop. First hill.

Mile 4: Getting a little ahead of my splits.

Mile 5: Steady 1 mile climb, feel confident and strong. Water.

Mile 6: Hill decent, still feeling good!

Mile 7: See my first fan... Dad! :) Also 4:00 ahead of schedule. Gatorade. 

Mile 8: Starting to slow down, I went too strong on those hills.

Mile 9: Come on, only 4 to go, keep pushing. Walk through water station.

Mile 10: Oh hell, why did I start out so strong? Walk through water station.

Mile 11: Is this race ever going to end?! Walked for about 30 seconds.

Mile 12: Okay, there has to be a kick in you somewhere.  Nope, walk :30.  Start running and see my mom and cousin, thank goodness some motivation!  Oh crap, I still have the massive Carson Park hill!

Mile 13: Kick. Kick. Kick! I'm sprinting right now, right?!

Despite my struggle at the end, I still managed to PR by about 7 minutes!

1:57:26

That is 351st place out of 1040... top third(ish), not too shabby! I was super jacked about my time, I definitely worked for it!  I would recommend this race if you are thinking about it.  It was very well run, the volunteers were great, my only complaint is that the "expo" was pretty weak.  

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Another exciting thing happened this weekend!  This came in the mail...

I won Sarah's giveaway not too long ago and my package arrived!  I really actually only won the Mila, but she was sweet enough to throw some GUs in there!  I have never actually used GU, so I wasn't going to use them in my race, but I am super excited to try them in training for my marathon in October!  Maybe GU will be my go-to fuel? Do you prefer GU chews or gel or something completely different?

Fitness Plan

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Light 20:00 run

Wednesday: Lift

Thursday: 20:00 run + lift

On Thursday I will be getting a mole removed on my second toe, I don't anticipate it will hurt or bother me too long, but the doctor said I may want to take a day or two off, so I will be playing the rest of the week by ear.  I was happy that I was able to plan the procedure during the week after my half, since technically I should take it a little easy anyway. 

What do you have on tap for the week?

Rain Rain Go Away...

With an 8 AM start time, a forecast like this definitely frightens me...

Rain...please hold off enough tomorrow that the race doesn't get cancelled!!  Don't make me get down on my knees and beg!

Let's Be Honest Here...

Tuesday 
Elliptical
30:00
Cross Fit
5:38

5 Rounds AFAP
5 Tire Flips

10 Push Ups

10 Burpees

20 Mountain Climbers 

Wednesday

5 miles - easy pace

50:00 

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Potential has been on my mind a lot lately.  In particular my physical potential.  Lately I have have been patting myself on the back for working out 6 days a week instead of 5 like I used to, which please don't get me wrong is great, but like I said I've been thinking about my potential a lot lately.  About three of those days are cross training, and somewhere along the line I lost the intensity of my cross training.  So I said to my self let's be honest here Mac...

I am young. 

I have never been injured (minus a sprained ankle here or there when I played basketball). 

 Rarely do I have sore muscles. 

Annnnd.....

I am perfectly capable and healthy to push myself.  

The other day I posted on my blog that I had a "great week of workouts", and believe me I'm not trying to play the pity card or beat myself up, but I truly think I can push myself more and become a stronger individual more than I have in the past.  

Since I am in a taper week for my half marathon on Sunday, I plan on taking it easy(ish) the next couple weeks, but then I plan to try taking things up a notch.  Here's how I plan on becoming bigger, faster and stronger:

1. During my cross training sessions I usually read a book or magazine and take it fairly easy... Go hard or go home will be my new moto for my cross training. 
2. Incorporate one heavy lifting session in my week on top of two Cross Fit workouts that I have been doing regularly. 
3. Listen to my body... am I really tired? Yes, then stop. No, turn it up! 
4. Look into the costs of doing just Group Exercise classes at local gyms.  This goes along with #1 and is the one thing that bums me out about the gym I work at we don't have any group ex classes. It is hard for me to fork over extra money to go to another gym since I have the weights and cardio equipment I need at Momentum, but I may have to bite the bullet.  

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On another note I have been working on my biggest weakness...my diet.  I go through major streaks of eating healthy and eating like crap and currently I am getting back into an eating healthy streak.  Next week I will show and explain to you guys a model I learned about in one of my continuing education home study books, that I am trying to use.  

In the spirit of healthy food, this is what has been my "go-to" breakfast lately...

More to come on that little cupcake looking thing on the side of my egg scramble :)

Have a good day! And remember...

Choice Not Chance!