Another Day of Pizza

Hi everyone,

Today has been a whirlwind of a day so far. Its always hard coming back to work after the weekend. I was going to get up and run this AM, but I think I might take the day off, either that or run tonight after work, we shall see what happens. My knees have been bothering me a bit, so seeing as I ran 8.5 miles yesterday, I might give ‘em a break today.

Last night I had butternut squash pizza! Pizza again, this seems to be a theme here. However, it was delicious! It contained roasted butternut squash, onions, chicken, Parmesan and asiago cheese. I also sprinkled a little fresh rosemary on the squash before roasting.

This morning I had a cliff bar along with some unpictured toast (photos came out too dark). Upon getting to work, I also sipped on a coffee from downstairs.

Unfortunately, last night my MacBook Pro began to act up again, which will likely involved a new computer sometime this week. Its been a long time coming. My Mac has lasted 5 years with no problems, so I can’t really complain, its just an expense that will def. put a hole in my wallet! I’m excited though, the new MacBook Pro’s are pretty fancy!!

Today for lunch we were treated with some Ian’s Pizza (AGAIN!) by a coworker as a belated Christmas gift.  I LOVE Ian’s pizza, even though I’ve had pizza the last couple of days. I had the fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil pizza x2. This stuff is SO good, I can’t even tell you. I think Ian’s needs to open more stores. They’ve really got something good going on here! So far, they have locations in Madison and Chicago

Tonight I have a grocery shop planned to get some additional items to get me through the week. I’ll check in lata!

On a side note, does anyone have any suggestions for meals that are good for one person? I can always find meals for four or ever two, but never recipes for meals for just one person. My bf has decided to go on some sort of high protein diet and so he’ll be out on dinners for the next couple of weeks. I’m on my own…What do you guys do for “meals for one”?

Sunday Long-Run day

So not to be a complainer, but seriously, running long distances on a treadmill is NOT my idea of fun but with temps dipping below 0, I didn’t have a choice. I managed to squeak out 8.5 miles on the treadmill at a 1.5 incline, before I was officially going stir crazy. I was zoning in and out of the Today Show most of the run.  I was supposed to run 10, but I’ll save that for next week when its going to be 35 degrees!! Woo hoo!

Does anyone have any advice on how to keep yourself occupied on the treadmill? I’ve tried breaking my workouts up into increments where I change speed an incline to keep in interesting.

I snacked on some pretzels and PB before my run. After I was done, I was famished. Behold, the Breakfast Pizza. I had left over crusts from last night so I used those to make some personal pizzas containing TJ’s chicken sausage, cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs, itialian seasoning, and mushrooms. YUM. Exactly what I needed. I ate about 3/4 of this pizza.

Then around noon, I dug into a delicious salad containing romaine, hummus, mushrooms, olives, feta cheese, crunched pita crackers, and roasted red pepper dressing. It hit the spot. I also had two cups of Earl Grey Tea

Now I’m just watching the Patriots get their butts kicked Arg. Hopefully the Packers will do better this afternoon!

As I was running on the treadmill this morning, I read an interesting article in Runner’s Word, and I came across this very useful list:

Running Rules of Thumb

1. If you see a porta potty with no line, use it. Even if you don’t need to.
2. If you have to ask yourself, Does this driver see me? The answer is no.
3. If you have to ask yourself, Are these shorts too short? The answer is yes.
4. 1 glazed doughnut = 2 miles
5. You rarely regret the runs you do; you almost always regret the runs you skip.
6. Not everyone who looks fast really is, and not everyone who looks slow really is.
7. Nobody has ever watched Chariots of Fire from beginning to end. Not even the people who made it.
8. You can never have too many safety pins on your gym bag.
9. Running any given route in the rain makes you feel 50 percent more hard-core than covering the same route on a sunny day.
10. If you care even a little about being called a jogger versus a runner, you’re a runner.

Aren’t these great? I really appreciate #5 What do you guys think? Anyone have any others to add to the list? Do tell!

Happy Sunday everyone.

Lazy Saturday

Hi guys! I am planning on staying in tonight and getting a good night’s rest. I have been feeling a bit under the weather, and I think its finally on the out, so I’m hoping to squeak in a long run tomorrow. I am planning on running the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon on Feb 27th in New Orleans, but my training has been a bit stinted due to the weather and my health. Hopefully I can get back on track! I still have almost 2 months.

Anyway, dinner was PIZZA. We made our own personal pizzas that consisted of one Greek, one Chicken and Sun dried tomato, and on mushroom and onion, all topped with fresh mozzarella and some spinach. Just what I needed to warm me on a cold day like today

I only got to photograph one of the pizzas, the other two were on my boyfriend’s plate and GONE before I could get a picture!

I also had a bowl of vegetable soup with crackers later in the day

Now back to my researching project while watching football! Go Philly

Have you ever had to stop training due to being sick or due to poor weather conditions, or any other reason? What did you do to get back on track?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Up and at ‘em!

Good afternoon everyone! I’m just trying to stay warm here in Madison today…I think the HIGH is 13 degrees. A bit too chilly to do a whole lot outside, actually, I haven’t ran outside in the last week :/ However, its is supposed to warm up over the next few days. Thank goodness.

I was forced to run on the treadmill, per usual. I was a little groggy from last night’s festivities which consisted of a few too many glasses of red wine, so my 5 miles was a bit slower than planned, but a slower run is better than no run at all

5 miles
8:40/min mile pace, thanks to my Nike+ Sports band. I LOVE that thing!

I also managed to make it to TJ’s this morning, and restocked my fridge. I was down to literally nothing but  some green onions and salad dressing, and a girl has got to eat, so I made the trek. Brrrrrr

For lunch I whipped together a salad consisting of literally everything I bought. (chicken salad, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, red peppers, red onions, chick peas, and carrots. YUM!

The rest of the day will likely consist of doing research for a colossal project that I’m involved in at work (ie website redesign and restructure).

I may also do a little cleaning, and some YOGA

What kinds of things do you like to do on days when its just too darn cold (or hot) to leave the house?

Back on the Blog-wagon in 2010

Hellooooo everyone! Sorry to say,  I’ve been slacking off. I now, in 2010, am ready to take the blog thing seriously ( I don’t really believe in resolutions, but aspirations, yes). November and December were filled with tons of life stress  (unrelated to blogging or running), but more-so my job situation. Everything ended up working out, and I’m still at my current job, with a new outlook and new opportunities!! I’m going to be back on blogging about my running experiences tomorrow I’m also going to add in a little bit about my freelance graphic/web design projects and interests. Sorry for the delay here guys, but I’m coming back with a gusto, I PROMISE. I’ll also include a recap of the last month-or-so

Happy New Year everyone!

Rain, rain, rain, and more rain

Today was definitely a day that I couldn’t get out of bed. It was raining this AM so I was forced to run on the dreadmill. I managed to squeak in 5.25 miles, but MAN, it was hard. I just wanted to stop.  I tried to distract myself with the News, and it worked for a few miles, but soon I wanted to stop again. Then I came to notice my Nike+ sensor was beginning to die. Apparently I need to replace it, which isn’t surprising. I’ve ran with that thing for almost 3 years! Does anyone else just have those days when you want to quit? What do you do to keep yourself going? On the flip side, I did finish my mileage for the day

For breakfast, I had a humungo bagel from Gotham Bagels with cream cheese. I was starving! Later that morning I had a Nature Valley bar. For lunch, I went out to Za’s Cafe, where I consumed a large salad with sunflower seeds, mushrooms, red peppers, carrots, spinach, feta cheese, and broccoli. I didn’t photograph my salad because I forgot my camera….AGAIN. I have to get used to this bringing my camera everywhere thing.

For dinner tonight, I made mini pizzas. They were thin mini pizza crusts topped with pizza sauce, yellow peppers, fresh mozzarella, red onions, chicken and spinach. I precooked the chicken yesterday so it was super easy and I went heavy on the veggies, lighter on the cheese. I also had a bowl of butternut squash soup from yesterday.

I also dipped into this container of pumpkin ice cream, and had one of each of the Girl Scout cookies. This ice cream is seriously amazing, and I might actually shed a tear when its pulled from shelves (its limited edition..tear) I think I’m full now. I was really a bottomless pit today.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for running and I’ll feel refreshed after a good night’s sleep. I got a new SELF magazine to read to distract me from the treadmill Good Night! I’m off to read my new book, Born to Run

Oh butternut squash, how I love thee

Howdy everyone,

Today was quite the day! I wasn’t able to photograph  my breakfast and lunch due to the fact that I forgot my camera at home! BUT, I was able to photograph dinner. For breakfast, I had a bagel and cream cheese. Lunch was a huge salad from the salad bar at Copps consisting of mushrooms, spinach, chickpeas, blue cheese, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, turkey, crab meat, and olives. I came back to the office and realized that my girl scout cookies had come in. I ordered tag-a-longs and Thin Mints. I had two of each, I just couldn’t help myself. I also had a pumpkin flax bar (Kashi). In the words of Larry David, “Pretty, pretty, pretty” tasty.

On my lunch read today, I purchased the book Born to Run. I can’t wait to dive in. I’ve only heard good things, and anything to motivate this poor runner in the winter

For dinner, I made butternut squash soup.

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, peeled
• Nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 apple
• 6 cups chicken stock

Directions

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until clear, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve.

I must say, with some crusty bread, this was divine. I also sampled the boyfriend’s Chicken Alfredo. I don’t usually eat alfredo sauces seeing as they are high in fat and low in nutrients, but it looked soooo good, I just HAD to try some. I also had a cup of Pumpkin Ice Cream.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my book is waiting for me in bed

Anyone have a recommendation for other good running books?
Until then, Goodnight!

Weekend Recap

Sorry this is so late! But, this past Saturday, I had some friends come down for the Badgers vs. Michigan game. It was a grand old time, as always. To start our day (the game was at 11 am which meant we had to start tailgating at 9), we witnesses a “fire call” to remove some balloons hanging from a light post. Mind you, the balloons were blue and yellow, so of course, the fire department HAD to be called to remove them. If they were red and white, I’m sure they would have remained. HILARIOUS. Here is the sequence:

Yay! Those balloons are never to be seen again

Next we followed the bar string up Regent Street, and followed it back down after the game. We won the game so that was fabulous. GO BADGERS!

Best friend and best margarita EVER

Around 3 we all came home for a nap that lasted a couple hours. After that, we went out to dinner at Frida’s where I drank the most delicious margarita of my life (Guava). I also had a Chicken Fajita burrito along with chips and guac. Everyone got the same thing, except the boyfriend who got the fish tacos, which were also great. Soon after dinner, we were all spent so we called it a night and watched a movie. WHEW. Another badger Saturday. If you’ve never been to a Badger game, it is truly madness (in a good way) and worth checking out if you are ever in the area!

Our mighty feast!

Chicken Fajita Burrito GOODNESS

What tailgaiting festivites do you guys participate in? Does everyone start drinking at 9am for games or is that just us crazy Wisco peeps?

Five life lessons that can be learned from your pet

This morning, I ran into a coworker in the elevator and she showed be a handout she’d been working on relaying the benefits of having a pet. Being an avid animal lover, I thought I was relay some of my reactions to the handout, because they are quite useful life lessons, not a bad way to brighten a Monday

Your pet can teach you how to:

1. Live in the present
Pets  don’t worry or regret the past, or get anxious about what tomorrow might bring. Every day is the best day it can be, and every meal is the best meal.

2. Resolve grudges
Animals don’t hold grudges, or even know what grudges are. Animals don’t hang on to negative thoughts and feelings, why should we? They move on.

3. Trust your gut
Animals are instinctual and recognize what’s really going on behind the eyes; they don’t pay attention to words.  They pick up on tone, body language and energy flow.

4. Listen
Listen to the people you care about, but don’t take on their problems as your own.

5. Live life with a purpose
My corgi for example, has aggression issues and destroys things while I’m a work, if she doesn’t get enough exercise, or has no purpose and becomes bored. These issues can be resolved if she’s given a chance to contribute to the “pack” or given a “job” and is able to herd and run (ie. a purpose).  We should ask ourselves how WE can contribute to make the world a better place

___

Dinner tonight was Chinese food. I had steamed veggies and chicken, with sauce on the side. That’s pretty much as healthy as you can get with this type of takeout. I have my meals steamed instead of fried, and I prefer to add my own sauce. Chinese sauces usually have a ton of sugar and salt, so I like to add my own, sparingly.  I only ate about half the container, I was stuffed! I might go meet a friend for a drink later tonight, but first I MUST clean my apt.  Chow for now. Hope everyone had a fabulous Monday.

Breakfast, lunch, and Operation Beautiful

Good morning!

This AM started off with a nice workout on the elliptical machine.

Duration: 45 Min, Interval training
My knees were a little sore from the speed work I did yesterday, so I thought I’d take ‘er easy on the impact.

Next up was a lovely Dr. Appointment, and while I was at the doctor, I stopped in the bathroom near the psychiatry department and posted an Operation Beautiful note on the mirror. Could there be a more appropriate place? I wanted to put one on the door to the waiting room, but too many people were looking and you aren’t supposed to have cameras at the Dr. (opps!) All for a good cause!

Post doctor, I stopped at Einstein’s and had a Honey Wheat bagel with honey almond cream cheese! YUM. I scarfed down half of it before I could photograph the thing. I really love that cream cheese. I also had a snack mid morning. I ate a Kashi pumpkin pie bar. That was also delicious. I’m going to have to get my veggies in for lunch today seeing as all I’ve had is carbs and coffee.

For lunch, I was able to get out and go to Marigold Cafe on the capitol square with my friend Melissa from Brandzane. I have a delicious salad with parmesan cheese, cucs, carrots, mixed greens, tomatoes, roasted corn, green beans, red cabbage, red onions, snap peas, and balsamic dressing. It was great! Sorry for the blurry photo, my phone doesn’t do the salad justice. It was fantastic. This place is really a gem, and is PACKED every day of the week. Luckily, we were in and out in an hour

Coming this evening: Six Great things you can learn from your pet Stay tuned.