day 26. running and thoughts

I’m sure all runners have experienced this feeling before. I think now that I’m so close to the marathon, I feel this almost every day when it’s time to get up a go for a run. I was really feeling it on Friday after talking myself out of my thursday run. I knew I couldn’t miss 2 days in a row though and it was a beautiful sunrise and rainbow yesterday which helped with my motivation. I was shocked by how fast and easy the run was. I only went 4 miles, but kept it under 9 min miles the whole time! I should have already started my saturday long run, but I’m still looking for the motivation. I thought I’d write a blog post first. I’m struggling because I’m not sure how far I want to run or where I should do it. Long running by yourself really is no fun. Only 4 more Saturday’s after this one until the marathon. I’m so close, I can’t give up now.

Today is day 26 of the Whole30 and I’m still feeling really good. The cravings for “less healthy” foods is completely gone, though now I crave things likes dates, fruit, sweet potatoes, anything with pumpkin and coconut. This week I feel like I’ve been eating A LOT. I’m not snacking too much in between meals, but finding that I eat a lot at each meal. I also feel like I’ve been gaining weight, but I think that is a little bit mental. I’ve definitely noticed some changes in my body, but not bad ones. I notice I’m beefier, more muscle on my stomach that I’m normally used to. Before the whole 30 I was struggling with wanting first a flat tummy, once I achieved that I still couldn’t get it to tone up no matter how many ab exercises I did or ran. Now even though I think it’s bulked up, it’s muscle now and not fat. I’m still trying to get used to it. I feel most “fat” at night and the lighest in the morning. I’m curious what my weight is and I plan on doing a body fat test on Oct 14. I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am for after this marathon when I can focus less on running and more on crossfit, yoga, swimming, weight training and see the continued transformation my body is going to have. Running, though keeps me in good shape, is not great for toning. I need to eat so many carbs to maintain my long runs that my body stores all this extra food for me to get me through the long runs and I’m not liking the feeling I get after I eat, but I’m so hungry during my meal times.

We have to have our money raised for the marathon by Friday so this weekend is seriously crunch time! I’m still a $1,000 away so I’m hoping I can rally this weekend.

On a personal note, I’m meeting my boyfriends mom for the first time tonight and I’m pretty nervous. I’m nervous to meet her, but I’m also nervous because she is cooking dinner and I have to be that girl that’s on a “crazy” diet! My boyfriend has been very supportive during the whole30 and has told his mom my restrictions in hopes she doesn’t make anything I can’t have. I plan on bringing a little salad in my purse in case of emergency 🙂

Hope you enjoy your weekends, I’ll let you know how my long run goes. I’ve procrastinated enough, time to get out there.

 

day 24, 30 day challenge and recipes!

From my last STAY CALM post, I think I did pretty well. I had fun with my dad on Friday night with dinner and the theatre, but I was shocked as someone who loves to eat out (normally) how uncomfortable I was not knowing for sure how they cooked my food. They assured me it was whole30 approved, but I’ve noticed through this process how much I like cooking my own food and knowing exactly what’s going in it.

Saturday’s long run was hard. I ended up doing 16 miles. Mile 14-16 was the hardest 2 miles so far. Everything hurt, from my core to my feet. I think a quarter of that is mental since I knew I was almost done and I wanted to be done so badly! I shopped at whole foods after my run, first time shopping at whole foods, what a treat! I probably spent over an hour there just looking for fun stuff I could have. I bought all my organic grass fed meats and organic veggies plus a few other things I’ve had a hard time finding at regular stores. I put a salad together to bring to the gorge along with some roasted turkey breast. Side note: JASON MRAZ IS BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE HIM.

Sunday’s baby shower went well, I made sure I ate before I went and my friend that was hosting the party had called me the night before asking what I could have and made sure she had a few things whole30 approved which I thought was so sweet of her.

I made a roast and a quiche on Sunday that has been my meals for breakfast and lunch all week. Such a good idea to meal plan ahead like that. Has made my week days really easy and nice to only thing about what I’m going to make for dinner.

I decided to join Kate’s 30 day fitness challenge. Which I pretty much have already been doing, but on my rest days I’m going to do active recovery for 30 mins instead of doing nothing. I’m going to officially start on 10/4 the day my whole30 is done and not coincidentally it will end the day of the marathon. My week so far has consisted of hot yoga, strength training for my legs, and two 6 miles runs. I need to get another 4 miles in this week before my long run on Saturday. I’m hoping to do that tonight and then upper body strength training tomorrow.

I have to share my recipes for both the roast and the quiche because they were just too good not to share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The roast is super simple.

INGREDIENTS:
Beef Roast
6 Carrots
4 Celery
1 Onion
2 Sweet potato
1 Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Canned Stewed Tomatoes
1 cup, maybe a little more Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp Coconut oil

Season meat with salt and pepper and brown in cast iron skillet with 2 tablespoons coconut oil.
Chop all veggies into chunks and throw all ingredients in slow cooker. Set to high for 8 hours and done!

Sweet and Savory Quiche.I made my own version of Kate’s quiche, taking advice from her and it starts with food.

1 tbsp coconut oil
1lb ground sausage
1 green pepper, diced
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
1/2 onion, diced
Handful of mushrooms, chopped
2 large handfuls of spinach chopped
1 large heirloom tomato, chopped
Bunch green onions, diced
9 eggs
Cinnamon
Unsweetned cocoa powder
Chile powder
Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper

Ground the sausage with the coconut oil and add the onion, green pepper, mushrooms and asparagus, sauté for a few mins until all mixed together and slightly cooked.
Mix eggs with all spices, I didn’t measure but I used more cinnamon, chile pepper and salt and just a dash of the other ingredients. Once whisked add the ground sausage and veggies to the eggs.
Grease 9×13 pan with coconut oil and add egg mixture, sprinkle on top spinach, tomatoes and green onion. Did not mix together.
Bake at 375 for 45 mins

Both of those items were perfect portions for breakfast and lunch Sunday through Friday. My dinners this week have looked like this..
Monday: Balsamic Glazed Chicken Breast with Spinach, Sundried Tomatoes, Artichoke and Mushrooms
Tuesday: Lemon-Herb Butter Baked Chicken Thighs with Roasted tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli and onion
Wednesday: Leftovers from Monday Night

6 more days of whole30
40 more days until the NYC marathon

Enjoy your Thursday!

KEEP CALM on Day 18.

 

I think I needed to read this today. I’m calm today and have had a pretty good day, but I’m getting a little overwhelmed thinking about the next 3 days. It’s been really easy for me to stay whole30 when I cook all my meals and I rarely leave the house except to go to work, the gym, running or church. This weekend is a different story and in a perfect world all my meals would be prepped and planned out so I could easily have things to eat. This isn’t a perfect world though and I’m a busy girl and haven’t had time. I’ve turned my Friday nights into my weekly grocery shopping meal planning that way I can prep everything over the weekend and be set for the week to come.

Instead, I have plans to go to dinner with my dad and to see Memphis at the 5th ave theatre. Which should be very exciting, but eating out sounds like a horrible chore to find foods I can have and being around a lot of unnecessary temptations. KEEP CALM.

Tomorrow Morning, I’m scheduled to run 18 miles in my training for NYC Marathon, which is kind of an important one as we are getting down to the last few weeks and I haven’t ran more than 14 so far in my training. KEEP CALM.

After my run, it’s my girlfriends birthday and we are going out to lunch with 23 girls, I don’t think I need to talk about how many temptations and how hard this is going to be. KEEP CALM.

After lunch, my boyfriend and I are driving out the to eastern wa to see Jason Mraz at the gorge. I have been waiting for this concert to come for about 4 months now and I’m really excited. Just stressed I’m not going to have enough time to pack dinner for myself and being that it’s going to be such a late night since we are driving back the same day, I’m sure I’ll get hungry again before I go to sleep so another meal to think about. KEEP CALM.

Sunday, I have a friends baby shower to attend. Baby showers = food I can’t have. Another meal to plan. KEEP CALM.

After the shower I’m volunteering in the nursey at my church which is right at dinner hour so another conflict. KEEP CALM.

Writing all this down makes me need to KEEP CALM. It’s funny how all of these events will also involve a lot of booze which usually I’d be bum I’d missing out on, but it’s the furthest thing from my mind. My biggest worry is not having food around me that I can eat and getting really hungry. I’m going to do my best to prep as much as I can tomorrow morning before my run and then again on Sunday morning before the baby shower.

As far as an update from the last couple of days, tiger blood is still in full affect. But I also am fully aware of my emotional side. If something upset me, I feel it in my whole body. It’s probably the most raw and real emotions I’ve felt in awhile. Hormones are weird. I’ve also been eating more I think? And today I was full from breakfast, but didn’t want to meet my noon hour lunch and mess up the rest of my day so I ate anyways and now I’m still feeling that too full feeling. Hopefully it’ll be better by 6, but also nice so I’m not as tempted with restaurant food for dinner.

Any whole30’ers out there that have had really busy weekend they’ve needed to get through and could shed some light? How about 1st time marathon runners that have ran 18 miles for the first time, I’m nervous.

Day 15…. It’s that Tiger Blood

“Goodbye cravings, hello Tiger Blood! This must be what everyone is talking about! You’ve hit the downhill slope of your Whole30 and life is beautiful. Your energy is through the roof, you’ve kicked the cravings, you’re experimenting with new, delicious food, and you’ve finally got the time to notice that your clothes fit better, your workouts are stronger, and you are generally more awesome”

Above is a quote from the whole30 timeline of how you might be feeling Day 16-28 and I absolutely feel all of that. All day long I was focused at work, my mind didn’t wander about food or cravings. I couldn’t get the smile off my face if I tried and I had so much energy that just kept going. By 6 o’ clock I was ready to leave work and hit the gym. I had the best workout, maybe ever! I felt so strong and so powerful. I had a really great routine focusing on each muscle group and could really feel the energy in my muscles as I pushed the weights. I must have been glowing because I had a few people ask what I was working out for and why I was in such good shape. I don’t want this feeling to ever go away. I craved Steak and Broccoli for dinner, not pizza, sushi, tofu, pho, or anything else ‘less healthy’ that I usually crave. I’m a strong believer in the whole30 and I hope the next 15 days go as perfectly as today did.

A few days ago I talked about wanting to make the Best Chicken Ever from Melissa and if anyone doesn’t believe her, I’m telling you that was the BEST CHICKEN EVER. I made it that night with a Mediterranean side consisting of sauteed broccoli, sundried tomatoes, garlic and artichokes. I couldn’t believe how moist the chicken was, I will forever brine my chicken now. And as much as I loved her seasoning blend, I’m excited to mix my own seasonings and preparing it the same way. By the way the moroccan dipping sauce she list was amazing on my mixed green salad that had tomatoes, avocado, blueberries and walnuts. I’ve had the chicken for lunch the last two days in a salad with the dressing and have been loving it. Sad it’s gone and I’m going to have to have something different for lunch tomorrow.

I ran 6 miles last night and struggled to get through it, after the energy and power I had today at the gym I’m really curious how my 6 mile run will go tomorrow morning. I only hope I worked my legs enough to give them the strength and I wake up with the same energy I’ve had today.

Cheers to day 15 and making it half way through the program!

day 13. food. running. family. football.

Ever since I started this whole30 challenge. I’ve been eating every meal from home. Even finding myself, bringing in leftovers to work instead of eating free restaurant food. Last Friday I figured out a list of food I wanted to make for the week, put together a detailed shopping list and spent an hour at the grocery store, not forgetting anything. My groceries lasted exactly too Friday again. Something I’m very proud of! Usually I’m so spontaneous that I could have a ton of food in the fridge and want none of it so I became a go to the grocery store every day to pick up what I felt like for dinner that night type of girl. It’s nice to have a routine and have groceries last and not go bad. So on Friday I created another list of meals I wanted to make for the week and headed to the grocery store. I’ll admit though I got everything on the list, I also bought a few extra things and I think this food will last into next week. (hopefully!)

Meals planned for the week:
today, Football sunday:
breakfast: eggs and bacon for the boy, eggs, veggies and sweet potatoes for me
lunch: leftover “spaghetti” (recipe below)
dinner: best chicken ever with broccoli, zucchini and sundried tomatoes
Lettuce wrapped tacos, pot roast, Marinated Flank, NY Steak & eggs

Hopefully, I’ll remember to take photos and share recipes with you this week 🙂

Here is a little recap from my weekend so far:

Friday morning was spent doing strength training, really starting to get a groove in the weight room and it feels good. Afterwork I did my weekly grocery shopping and then made homemade spaghetti sauce served with spaghetti squash. My best friend came over for another Dawson’s creek marathon and we ate dinner and finally got through more than 2 episodes in one night!
Saturday was my long run and a family reunion. I was really dreading my long run. My short runs have just become part of my weekly workout routine so it’s been easy, but for some reason getting up and knowing you have to run for a few hours is hard to do. I’d much rather spend the time in the gym or doing hot yoga. I forced myself to do 10 miles though and finally around mile 5 I felt good and was able to pull through it. Next weekend is 18 miles and I have to find tricks all week that will get me mentally ready for that. Hopefully going to find a running partner too. After my run, I went to a family reunion for my dad’s side. It amazed me how many people I didn’t know or recognize because I haven’t seen them in years. I brought my left over “spaghetti” and it got a lot of raves. I spend Saturday night watching “snow white and the huntsmen” with my boyfriend. It was a nice relaxing evening and think I was a sleep before 11. 🙂
It’s sunday now and my plan after posting this is running to the store so my boy can drink coffee when he wakes up, then make breakfast, brine my chicken for dinner, go to church with my best friend, watch hours of football with my guy, eat chicken and hopefully between all of that get my laundry done.

I’ve been truly enjoying September, the whole30, cooking, figuring out my workout routine for the fall and getting closer in my marathon training. I couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend or better friends. I’m so blessed and so excited for the weeks and months to come.

my version of spaghetti (only remember to take a photo of all the ingredients, not the final product, but trust it was delicious)

 

 

For Sauce:
1lb ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 half large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 green and yellow pepper, diced
1 bunch mushrooms
1 bunch fresh basil, parlsey, oregano
1 28oz canned diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
S&P to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

For Squash:
1 large spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
S&P to taste

To Cook Squash (i did it a day ahead of time)
1. preheat over to 375
2. cut squash lengthwise
3. scoop out seeds and debris from instead
4. drizzle with olive oil and s&p
5. place face down on baking dish and bake for 30 mins
6. flip squash side up and bake for addition 10-15 mins (shell should start to soften)
7. let cook and then use for fork to scrape, full all spaghetti squash out.

To make sauce:
1. heat large skillet or pan to medium-high heat and add olive oil
2. mix together onions, carrots, celery and 1 pinch herbs, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 mins, stirring occasionally
3. Turn back to medium, add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds
4. Add the rest of the veggies and stir occasionaly for about 6-8 mins, until veggies have started to soften
5. add tomatoes, tomato paste, rest of herbs and s&p, stir, cover and reduce heat to low for 15 mins

enjoy of spaghetti squash and spinach. *note do not put hot sauce directly on spaghetti squash or it will get mushy.