The Hubs and I went to Provincetown over the weekend.  He had bought tickets for half-price for the Fast Ferry from Boston to The Cape a while back, and we needed to use them before the season was over.  Not exactly the best timing, considering that we are down to one income for the moment, but we decided to roll with it and enjoy ourselves. We did need a bit of a getaway and I needed to get out of the city for a few days to collect myself.

So to P-town we went.  We stayed at a cute little bed and breakfast, and got in around 8:30pm on Friday night.  We were both starving, and couldn’t wait to get out to dinner.  I am going to warn you all first by saying that this weekend involved a lot of really bad for you but oh-so-good food.  I also decided that I would be a flexitarian over the weekend, since otherwise I would have been eating salads and garden burgers everywhere I went.  Also, I think I actually AM a flexitarian.  As I’ve mentioned before, my reasons for going veg were not so much for ethical or environmental reasons as they were for just not really liking meat anymore.  However, I have had a few bites here and there (see my Mexico recap), and this weekend I really really really wanted some good-ass seafood.  What better place to get this than the Cape? Also, I’ll probably not eat it again until next year, so I am deeming myself a “seasonal-flexi-vegetarian”.

Anyway, since we got in rather late, by the time we checked in and dropped off our bags, it was 9-ish.  We decided to just stop at the first place we saw that suited our fancy.  We stopped in at this cute little joint called The Mayflower.  It was kind of like a greasy-spoon diner, and The Hubs and I each had an appetizer and an entree.  I chose the Portuguese Kale Soup for my app.  It was delish.

The Hubs chose New England Clam Chowder.

There were tons of potato chunks and kidney beans in mine.

Then for my entree I had fried cod fritters with french fries (I also want to warn you that there will be lots of fried things, and lots of french fries, and I loved every unhealthy minute of it).

The Hubs had Portuguese fish & chips. The Portuguese part was the dipping sauce, it was like an herby-pesto-y butter sauce.

Then, we wanted to satisfy our sweet teeth, and there were so many cute little ice cream and fudge shops, so we opted to walk around and find something that would knock our socks off.

I had my very first real froyo!! It was just ok, because it wasn’t flavored and I’m not quite sure what I was expecting.  I liked The Hubs’ soft-serve better.  Lesson learned.

After that, we decided to stop into a bar that was hoppin, and we got to see a fabulous drag queen singing karaoke.  It was AWESOME, and the crowd was really into it the whole night.  We stayed there until the bar closed.  There may or may not have been shots of Yukon Jack.  It is a taste made for hoary nights, after all.

On Saturday, we slept in until noon.  Oops.  We promptly decided that we needed lunch.  The weather was my absolute favorite kind, where you have to wear a long sleeved shirt and it’s breezy, but still gorgeous and sunny out.  I love the fall!!  We walked up and down Commercial Street and settled on a sweet little restaurant that had outdoor dining. I don’t remember the name. We both had major lobster cravings, so we got the New England classic; a lobster roll.

Also, peeps in P-town really know what they’re doing with their fries.  The Hubs thinks it’s because they fry everything else, that they’re so good at it.  I concur.

Yummy Lobster chunks!! That’s all knuckle meat, so I’m told.

We spent the whole day walking around the little town.  It is so damn cute, I was having a blast.  We also enjoyed unpictured coffee, and homemade ice cream (I had pumpkin spice, obviously).  We got a little hungry around 6pm, but didn’t want to eat dinner just yet, so we stopped into a bar for a snack.  We got conch fritters and local brews.  I didn’t take a picture because I was too busy stuffing my face.

After that, we shopped a little bit, and went back to the hotel for a wee nap and some serious DS playing.  Finally we were ready for dinner, so we head out in search of a place with waterfront dining.  We found it.  The tide was really low so all the boats were stuck in the sand.  It was hilarious.  We split a bottle of white wine with our ridiculously indulgent dinners.  We started with lobster rangoons which we split.

Then I had the special of the night, which was homemade lobster ravioli, in a lobster cream sauce, topped with lobster knuckle meat.  It was absolutely insane.  First of all, the ravioli were the size of my head.  There were 4 on the plate and I ate 2.  The lobster sauce was really um, lobstery.  There were chunks upon chunks of lobster meat.  Then the knuckle meat topping?  OMG! Totally unnecessary, but so unbelievably good.   This was a-maz-ing.

During the day we had stopped at a little dessert shop to choose something to bring back to the room and enjoy with a bottle of wine and a movie.  Little known fact: I am obsessed with red velvet cake.  So, when we saw that this little shop had cupcakes that were a) the size of a softball and b) red velvet, the choice was easy.  I couldn’t eat the thing until about 3 hours after dinner, but I devoured it.  Well, most of it.  The cream cheese frosting was piled so high that I couldn’t finish it.  I tried though, I really did.

On Sunday, we woke up bright and early to get some sight-seeing in before we had to go back to Boston.  We grabbed breakfast sammies from a Portuguese bakery before our trek to the top of Pilgrim Monument.

This was egg and one slice of cheese on a Portuguese roll.

Then we walked around some more, made it to the museum and the top of the Monument, did a little more sight-seeing, and decided it was lunchtime.  We picked a place called The Lobster Pot, which has waterfront dining also.  I started with a Bloody Mary.

Best on the Cape!!!  Then we split Oysters Rockefeller.  O. M. G.  These were out of this world amazing.

Then I had (you guessed it), another Lobster Roll.  I am pretty sure that I turned into a lobster this weekend.

It was fab.

Now we’re home, and I’m excited to get back into my healthy eating habits.  My body is craving greens and veggies.  It really is, I cannot stop thinking about salads and Green Monsters.

Now for a 5K update.  For the past 2 weeks, ever since I was so rudely fired, I have pretty much been having a pity party for myself.  I pretend like I don’t care, and that I’m going to be fine (which is true, I will be fine), but I do care.  I never realized how much I identify myself by my work.  I kind of feel lost, like I have no direction and with that comes my absolute disdain for exercise, or anything that would potentially make me feel better.  I have not even put on my brand new sneakers that I bought the day before I found myself with nothing to do except run and work out.  Ironic, no?

I thought about not running the race, but I feel like, what will that prove? Nothing.  I’m going to do it.  So that’s that.  I have to get back into the training, and seeing as how the race is in 2 weeks, I’m not sure what I’m going to achieve, but at least I won’t be a quitter.

Finally, even though I have not worked out, I HAVE been applying for jobs.  I already turned one down, and there is one that I am really hoping that I get, but I have decided that if I don’t get it, it just means that there is something better out there.

Right?

Obviously I’ve been missing for a few days.  Before I give the “big news”, let me recap our vacation quickly.  I don’t have pics at the moment, and I haven’t been photographing my food over the past few days, so I don’t have that to show you.  Sorry.

Vacation was great.  We got off to a rocky start with our flight being delayed 4 hours, which would have caused us to miss our connection to Cozumel.  The only way to get there on Saturday was to fly to Newark, then to Cancun, take an hour long bus ride to Playa del Carmen, then an hour long ferry ride to Cozumel.  We were supposed to get there around 12:30 in the afternoon, and we didn’t actually arrive until 7:30pm.  But, we got there, so we didn’t care in the end.

Our resort was all-inclusive, and had an Italian Restaurant, a Mexican Restaurant, a buffet, 3 pools all with swim up bars, a lobby bar, a sports bar, and a private beach.  All the rooms had a balcony that overlooked the ocean.  It was gorgeous.  The Hubs and I typically don’t like to stay in resorts, and don’t like to eat/drink in the same place well, ever.  This was a different situation altogether and we figured we’d try it out.

We did learn that we don’t drink enough to make an all inclusive worth it for us.  It would have been ok for a few days, or if we would have had another couple to hang around with.  Also, we really really really like to get a variety of foods, and restaurants, and styles, etc.  We mostly ate at the buffet, since there were the most options.  Surprisingly, there weren’t always many vegetarian options.  I did eat meat a few times, as in a slice of ham in a little tiny quiche, a bite of The Hubs’ steak, etc.  I never had it as a “meal”, and only had it about 4 times during the entire trip.  I also don’t know why I feel the need to justify myself; I want to go on record as saying that I’ll eat what I want when I want.  🙂

We also learned that while our resort was a beaut, we really don’t like staying in such a touristy area.  There were just so many kids, and parents who didn’t watch them, and people, and cruise ships, etc.  I much prefer my remote little Zihuatanejo.

Then, when we got home, we both got sick.  We don’t know if it was Aztec Two Step, or just a little tummy bug. Aren’t they really the same thing?  Needless to say, that laid me up for a few days.  I finally went back to work, and……

then I got fired.

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That’s right.  The company that I worked for for 5 years, moved my life from NYC to Boston for, spent a month in a hotel in San Francisco alone for, worked ridiculous amounts of hours/overnights/holidays/weekends for,  stressed/cried and lost sleep over, fired me.  I wasn’t the only one, and I’m still not exactly sure what is going on, but I actually feel pretty good.  I may have loved the company, but I didn’t love where I was at right now.

I had 2 celebration parties yesterday; one with my ex-colleagues (many of whom have become some of my closest and dearest friends), and one with The Hubs’ colleagues.  I vented, yelled, cried, laughed, etc.  I ran the gamut of emotions, and it felt great for me to be around people who care about me and support me.

Then today, my landlord called to give me more great news tell me that she has decided to put our house up for sale.  GREAT.  Just fricken great.  I love it.  She was super nice about it and told us that we’d be all set as long as we signed another lease or something, but…just one more thing to worry about.

So far, 2009 has been a banner year.  Really I shouldn’t complain because I know that it could be much worse, but sometimes it’s hard to see the upside of things like this.  At least now I will have more time to blog (yay!), work out, run, etc.  I just have to wait for my damn shins to feel better.

I’ve complained about it on the blog before, so I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I feel that this may be an opportunity.  After many hours of number crunching, student loan deferment, gym membership suspending, paperwork, etc, I am going to relax and enjoy my very first entire holiday weekend with The Hubs.

I hope you enjoy yours!!

Today was pretty much the laziest day ever.  After my run and my stretching, I made lunch.  I took Whit‘s idea and made a little spinach ditty.

I didn’t have any whole wheat pasta on hand, I so used quinoa.  I wilted some spinach, then mixed it all together with a wedge of Laughing Cow Swiss.  It was so good!!  I could have eaten three times this amount. Good thing I had no more spinach ;).

I also had a “milkshake”.  I used 1 scoop of vanilla Whey Protein Powder, and then 1/2 organic milk and 1/2 soy milk.

I can’t wait to try the chocolate Whey powder.  I love this stuff.

Later on I started feeling snacky, so I had some Mary’s Gone crackers dipped in tzatziki.  I had to use it up, and I do love Mary.  I had 7 black pepper flavor and 7 original flavor :).  The camera was way too far away for me to stop eating and get it.

Then, the only other thing I did before The Hubs got home from work was do the first load of dishes.  I promptly filled the sink again with my dinner dishes and cookie-mess. Hey, we have to use all the milk up from the organic experiment! 😉

Ok, now really, folks. I have to pack, get the kitty stuff ready (we have a cat-sitter), and make sure I have all my ducks in a row.

Hopefully I can blog tomorrow from Cozumel!! If not, don’t leave me peeps.  I’ll be back next sunday!  xoxooxxo

Ahhhh, this morning’s run was fabulous, dahling.  I really didn’t want to go, but I put my running clothes on and sat around for a few minutes then decided, what the heck? Just go out and get it done.  And I did. It was hot, I wanted to go earlier before the sun got to its hottest point, but I was much too lazy.  I’m officially on vacation so I slept in (who are we kidding, I usually sleep in), said hello to my google reader, ate a Globar, etc.

Here are my stats:

From my Nike+:

• Time: 20:00
• Distance: 1.48 miles
• Pace: 13:32 mile/min
• Calories: 239

From my HRM:

• Avg HR: 172
• Max HR: 203
• Calories: 315 (this includes my warmup)

I pushed myself on my runs today, and I think maybe I pushed a little too much, because my left shin started hurting (this has been a reoccurring problem throughout my life, so it doesnt surprise me).  When I got home, while I stretched, I iced it.  Or in this case, “pea-ed it”.

Much better.  I also plan on doing deep calf stretches and toe taps to prevent a possible shin-splint; which is in my opinion the worst possible injury of all time.  Worse than a broken ankle, and I’ve broken both of mine.

While I “pea-ed”, I drank my obligatory coconut water.

And while I’m sitting here typing, I’m dripping sweat on my computer (shh! Don’t tell The Hubs! I already dropped my laptop in the middle of the night last night! This might be too much!).  I’m pretty sweaty.

Yikes! Holy red face!! It’s my curse.

Now I’m off to get tons and tons of stuff done.  Up first: lunch, shower, laundry, cleaning.  Happy Friday!!

I didn’t get to the gym. I dilly-dallied around on my google reader until I was late for work. Ha!! Take that on my last day before vacation!!

Also, bad news.  I’m not sure if our hotel as internet :(.  There is discrepant information on several websites, and I couldn’t get a clear answer when I called the hotel.  So, I might be missing for a week.  Hopefully not, though. But, who doesn’t have internet?? Even our little condo/apartment that we had on our honeymoon in Zihuatanejo had internet.  How can a resort not have it?

Anyway, on my way to work, I drank my Green Monster. I put regular Amazing Grass in today.

I couldn’t taste it at all in my GM.  Yay!!

I am loving this shaker!! It’s great.  I can’t wait to actually shake something in it.  I’m thinking of trying the wheat grass alone.  Yikes!

When I got to work, it started pouring, it was like the skies opened up.  I made it under roof in the nick of time!

2 Hours into work I started getting the grumbles, so I broke into my snack.

So far, every Annie’s product that I have tried, I have loved.  I am absolutely obsessed with their Mac N Cheese.  I can’t get enough of it.  I had really high hopes for this product.

OMG! Look how cute!!  I love bunnies. They were every bit as delicious as I had hoped.  They tasted like a less-greasy version of Cheez-its.  Those used to be my favorite snack ;), so I will definitely be purchasing these babies for future devourment.  Yes I made that word up.

For dinner, I tried to eat as much of the tzatziki and hummus as I could.  We are leaving on Saturday for a week and I know it won’t last until I get back. I had the usual; whole wheat pita with both toppings, and I beefed it up with cucs and maters.  With 3 cubes of pepper jack cheese.

I don’t even like the pepper jack cheese we get at work, I just wanted it.  At least it was only 3 cubes, right?

Then for a snack later on I had a handful of raspberries and black berries.  Now I’m just biding my time.  I’m going to be so busy tomorrow.  I have to clean, do laundry, get to the gym, do my run, get a mani/pedi, and pack.  But, I’m happy to do all these things.

I just love vacations!!

I woke up this morning so psyched to get into my 2nd workout for my 5k training.  I fueled up with an Awake Globar.

So, remember yesterday when I said that I went about 2 miles based on the course I had previously run? Um, not so much.  My ipod was not on the fritz today, so my Nike+ worked, and told me that I went 1.46 miles.  Wah-wah-wah-wahhhhhh.  Interesting though, since I got the idea of 2 miles from my Nike+ to begin with, but I think that included my warm up and cool down, and today it did not.  Here are my stats:

• Distance: 1.46 miles
• Time: 20:07
• Pace: 13:44 mins/mile
• Calories: 237

My HRM tells me the following:

• Calories: 301 (interesting,  I didn’t think I burned that many more during my warmup, that was the only difference in time between each device)
• Avg HR: 171
• Max HR: 192

So, my pace is pretty terrible, right?  Although I was walking quite a bit (as evidenced by my training plan), I guess I can only go up from here! haha!

As soon as I got back, I had my favorite post workout drink. 

Then I got to making some oatmeal.  I am so sad that I’m out of greek yogurt. 😦  I do love oats though, so it’s ok.

My mix today was oats, chia seeds, wheat germ, a packet of Barney Butter from the Swag Bag, a banana, and coconut.

Mmm-mmm-good.

Now I’m off to the gym to get my strength training in, and then it’s my last day of work before vacation!! Ugh, I cannot wait.  I am so mentally checked out right now, it’s not even funny.

Do you “check out” of your regular life when you’ve been waiting for a vacation for so long?

I mentioned before that I’m using the Couch to 5K running and training plan for my 5k.  I put together this training plan based on others that I’ve seen like it around the blogworld.  If someone more knowledgeable than me happens to see this and finds something amiss about it, please let me know.  The plan I’m using is an 8 week plan based on the Galloway Method (run/walk).  Since I only have 7 weeks to train, I had to modify it somewhat. My modifications begin with week 6, and what I have posted below is my plan, not the one from the website.   Thankfully, this race is only 3.1 miles so I should be ok even with the modifications.
The pictures are hard to see, so I will list out the plan weekly as well.  Each week is broken down into 3 workouts, and I plan to stick to this.  On the days that I’m not running, I will be cross training.  I will also strength train 5 days a week.  Each workout is 20 minutes, with the time increasing up to 30 throughout the plan.  However, I plan to use the distance version (for example, run 20 minutes or 2 miles; so I will be running 2 miles even if it takes me 24 minutes).  This is because I know I’m not at a 10minute mile yet, nor do I plan on putting emphasis on my speed during my training.  All I want right now is to finish.  My goal time for the race is 35 minutes, which I know is really generous, but I don’t want to let myself down from the beginning, if that makes sense.  Once I’ve completed the race, I will start focusing on speedwork more and pacing my runs differently.

• Week 1  (also please note that I will be warming up and cooling down before and after, I’m just not putting it here).
  • Day 1: 60 seconds of running, 90 seconds walking.  Repeat for 20 minutes
  • Day 2: repeat
  • Day 3: repeat
• Week 2
  • Day 1: 90 seconds of running, 2 minutes walking.  Repeat 20 minutes
  • Day 2: repeat
  • Day 3: repeat
• Week 3
  • Day 1: run 200 yards (or 90 seconds), walk 200 yards, run 400 yards (or 3 minutes), walk 400 yards. Repeat twice
  • Day 2: repeat
  • Day 3: repeat
• Week 4
  • Day 1: run 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes), walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds), run 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes), walk 1/4 mile (or 1.5 minutes), run 1/4 mile, walk 1/8 mile, run 1/2 mile
  • Day 2: repeat
  • Day 3: repeat
• Week 5
  • Day 1: run 1/2 mile (or 5 mins), walk 1/4 mile (or 3 mins), run 1/2 mile, walk 1/4 mile, run 1/2 mile
  • Day 2: run 3/4 mile (or 8 mins), walk 1/2 mile (or 5 mins), run 3/4 mile
  • Day 3: run 2 miles (or 20 minutes)
• Week 6
  • Day 1: run for 7 minutes (approximately 2/3 mile), walk 1/4 mile, run 8 minutes (approx .8 miles), walk 1/2 mile, run 1/2 mile
  • Day 2: run 1 mile, walk 1/2 mile, run 1 mile
  • Day 3: run for 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes)
• Week 7
  • Day 1: run 2.5 miles
  • Day 2: run 2.75 miles
  • Day 3: run 3 miles
• Week 8- Sunday is RACE DAY!!!

I know that week 7 is going to be tough, both mentally and physically.  I know that I’m only supposed to add 10% on to my mileage each week, but I think with all the cross training I’m doing, I can handle it for a week. (right?).

Now that I have that out of the way, I can get ready for vacation! Only one working day left.  I made my packing list today.

I know this is easier to do on the computer, but, I like to write it out.  For some reason it feels more complete.

What do you always forget when you go on vacation?

On my way to the gym I snacked on a Revive Globar.   It was everything I hoped for and more, as per usual.

Nom Nom Nom.

I got to the gym with enough time to get both my strength AND my cardio in, which was a concern of mine earlier in the day.  My legs felt ok, so I decided to go with it.  I did:

• Seated Leg Press: 160 lbs 2 sets of 15 reps; 180 lbs, 1 set of 15 reps
• 45 Degree Leg Press: 200 lbs, 2 sets 15 reps; 230 lbs, 1 set 12 reps
• Lying Leg Curl: 60 lbs, 2 sets, 10 reps; 70 lbs, 1 set of 6 reps
• Seated Leg Extension: 50 lbs, 3 sets 12 reps
• Standing Hip Raise: 20 lbs, 2 sets 15 reps, 35 lbs, 1 set of 15
• Adductor: 90 lbs, 2 sets of 10 reps, 110 lbs, 1 set of 8
• Seated Calf Raise: 60 lbs, 3 sets (of 15 ,12, and 10 respectively)

Then I did my typical ab routine, and 40 minutes on the elliptical.  I really focused on staying within my target heart rate today, as I have a tendancy to go above it.   I felt like I wasn’t working as hard as I normally do, and if I had more time I probably would have stayed longer.  I used 8 crossramp and 8 resistance today, and went about 3 miles.  My HRM stats are:

• 77% of time in my target HR zone
• 2 minutes below
• 1 minute above
• Avg HR 159, peak was 177, low was 144
• 371 kcals burned

Yay! I felt great afterwards and was glad I decided to do my strength training.

As soon as I got to work I started getting hungry, so I broke into my snack.

Yum! I actually never had dried cherries before.  They were really good, and I felt that the portion size was just right.  They were perfectly sweet.  As I’m writing this, I realize that I really do like having these handy snacks on hand that are already sized and you can just grab them and go.  I find myself rushing around most times to get to work and I often forget to pack a lunch, and I most often forget to pack a snack.  I also Hate doing dishes (with a capital H), so I tend to not pack snacks as I see it as just another dish or tupperware that I need to wash.  I think I’m going to invest in packages of my top 3 favorite snacks from the Swag Bag so that I can always have something healthy to grab.

Today is painfully slow.  I don’t want to complain, however, as I’d rather have it be slow than be busy.  I still haven’t finished my training plan yet.  I got side tracked after I posted this morning and I will definitely be posting it tonight.  I am a paper girl and need to have things posted.  I’m doing a calendar with my workout days on it.

Around 5:30 I went up for dinner.  I had originally planned on splitting this up into a dinner portion and a snack portion (day 3 of minimeals), but I was just too hungry.  I’m going to see if I last tonight without needing to grab a snack.  This was pretty nutrient-dense, so I’m hoping it will hold me over.

This was my leftover quinoa and tomato mixture from last night, which I doctored up with black olives, diced tomatoes, and shredded cheddar.  As I was eating it, I decided that this is easily one of my top 5 meals that I’ve made at home recently.  It was SUPER easy, and makes me think I’m eating something bad when really it was SO healthy. It reminded me of Chef Boyardee or something.  I could have eaten a whole pot.

Quinoa is so funny looking.

Then came my dessert.  This was supposed to be my snack, but whatevs.  I was hungry.

Standard Fage 2% with raspberry tower.  Now I’m out of yogurt until we get back from Mexico!! What will I do?  And what will I eat until then?  It’s a conundrum.

Now I SWEAR I’m finishing up my training plan and my packing list, and I will post them both later on. 🙂

Last night, in the midst of the funny madness in our house, we decided to conduct an experiment.  This was actually The Hubs’ idea, so he bought supplies the other day while he was grocery shopping.  We weren’t going to do it yesterday, but realized that we were leaving for Mexico on Saturday, so we need to finish these supplies by then.

He brought home Hood conventional 2% milk, and Stonyfield Organic 2% milk.  We figured that we would blind test these to see if we could tell a difference between the two milks, or if one tasted better than the other.  I am not a big milk drinker anyway, in fact I rarely drink it, but everyone once in a while I crave the creaminess.   I was happy he picked 2%.

Obviously we know that the organic milk is in a carton and the conventional milk is in a plastic container, and we’re not sure if that had any effect on the outcome.  Also, this is a very rudimentary experiment which has no scientific bearing whatsoever, so we didn’t care.  We also stated before we even started the taste test that we weren’t sure what the results would mean; if the organic milk tasted better would we only buy that from now on, and vice-versa?  Many questions, my friends, many questions.

We decided to deal with the philosophical stuff after, and just get right down to it.  We used identical glasses, and we put a tiny piece of paper on the bottom of one.  This was only to differentiate for the pour-er, the drinker never saw which milk went into each glass.  The Hubs poured my milk and noted which glass he poured each kind, then I drank and guessed, and then we reversed.

Milk #1.

Ahh, crazy face! Milk #2.

I didn’t get any pics of the hubs. Our findings were as follows:

Nina:

• the milks tasted exactly the same as far as taste goes
• there was a slight difference in texture, with the 2nd milk tasting a bit creamier to me
• I didn’t have a preference of one to the other

The Hubs:

• his 2nd milk tasted creamier and grittier
• he said that if he had to choose, he would pick the 2nd one, but they were both good

My first milk was the organic one, and 2nd milk was conventional.  For The Hubs, his 2nd milk was organic, with the first being conventional.

What does this mean?  We are not sure. We I threw out the receipt right before we conducted our highly scientific and scholarly experiement, and we both agreed that it pretty much comes down to cost.  So there you have it, right from the HSH household.

Anyway, this morning I wanted another Chocolate Monster.

Now I’m out of chocolate amazing grass!! I have 1 packet of chocolate Amazing Meal that I am saving for a special occasion.  I think I’m really going to buy some. The chocolate flavor is by far my favorite.  I’ve had the other flavors before.

And now I’m putting the finishing touches on my training plan which I will reveal (mostly for moral support and because I want to make sure I’m doing it right) later on.  Off to the gym!  Today is supposed to be lower body, but I’m not sure how I’ll feel after my hefty lifting the other day and then running yesterday.  I’m definitely not running today though, I’m going to be on my trusty elliptical!!

Phew!! It has been a crazy day around here since my last post!  First up, I signed up for a 5k!! I can’t believe I did it.  Hopefully this will be just the push I need to get me working out more regularly.  The plan is that after I catch the “racing bug”, I will then race in a 10k, then a 10miler, then a half marathon.  These goals are spread out over the next year and a half to 2 years.  (that’s enough time, right?).

The race I chose is the 10th Annual Eastern Bank Flutie 5k.  I chose this specific one for a number of reasons, first and foremost the date.  I figured I would need about 8 weeks to train, so I was shooting for mid-October (this one is Oct 4, so I have just about 7; I should be good).  I also wanted a race that had a chip-time, and was a competitive race as opposed to one where you dress up as Superman, for example.  I’m also from Buffalo, and Flutie used to play for the Bills (I know he’s from Boston, but still), so I recognized the name.  Finally, the race is to benefit Autism research, a cause that is close to my heart since I minored in Special Education in college (I majored in El Ed).  I didn’t have the guts to do the job however, since I would come home crying every day after working with children with Autism.  I couldn’t handle it, so for some reason running this race will feel like I’m absolved of my sins or something.  Anyway, I’m psyched.  Tonight I’m going to put together my training plan and calendar, which I’ll post tomorrow.

After I left work I went directly to the gym to work on my upper body.  I lifted for about 30 minutes and I did the following:

• Chest Press: 30lbs, 20 reps; 40 lbs, 15 reps
• Shoulder Press: 40 lbs, 15 reps; 45 lbs, 10 reps
• Deltoid Raise: 10 lb dumbbells, 3 sets, 15 reps each
• Lateral Raise: 7.5 lb dumbbells, 15 reps; 10 lbs, 2 sets, 12 reps
• Rear Deltoids: 5 lb dumbbells 2 sets, 20 reps, 7.5 lbs 12 reps
• Lat Pulldown: 60 lbs, 20 reps
• Back Extensions: 2 sets, 20 reps
• Bicep Curl: 25 lbs, 20 reps then 15 reps
• Tricep Extension: 25 lbs, 20 reps then 15 reps

Then I did my standard ab workout, stretched, and came home.  While I was waiting for the bus, I snacked on what will now be my go-to pre-workout snack.

Obviously.

Then when I got home, I was so excited to start my training.  I actually feel pretty ridiculous saying that I’m “training for a 5k”, when it’s such a small race, but, Rome wasn’t built in a day, folks.

I strapped on my Ipod with nike+ compatibility, my stopwatch (for my couch to 5k running intervals), my HRM, and my ShoeWallet.  I did my 5 minute warmup, and my 20 minutes of intervals, and my 5 minute cool down.  At first, I was thinking that this week’s plan was too easy and that maybe I should skip to next week’s training, but I decided to just run harder during the running portion.  I don’t want to screw it up and do too much too soon.  I have a tendency to jog instead of actually run, so I focused on “bum-kicks” and “leg-extends” (phrases from my high school track coach) to ensure I was using proper form and getting a full stride.  I felt AMAZING.  I almost wanted to cry when I finished because I know I gave it my all and I pushed myself and I finished the workout (imagine how I’ll be when I finish the race, if i’m close to tears after the first workout, hhaha! happy tears at least, right?).

Then, the worst thing EVER happened!  My ipod got all wonky and wouldn’t let me stop the workout, so I pressed “menu” for like, 5 seconds and my workout vanished!! It’s not saved anywhere!  The entire point of me using the ipod with the nike+ footpod is because I wanted to track my distance and avg time.  Thankfully this is the exact route I ran last week, and I can wager a guess that I ran just about 2 miles (once I started the intervals, not including the warmup 5 minutes).

Then when I got home I drank my favorite post-running drink.  Water doesn’t do it for me after a run, I need something that “tastes” like something.

I never had this flavor before, and for some reason it tasted like pumpkin to me (?).  For realz.  But I love me some pumpkin, so it was all good.  While I was drinking this I started cleaning out the fridge for our vacation.  Look what I did!

I spilled tofu-water (gross!) in the fridge when I was taking it out and it dropped onto 2 bags of vegan chocolate chips.  I rinsed the bags off and dried them, and the first bag opened and spilled everywhere!! Yikes.  We had a good laugh about it.  The Hubs, meanwhile, was being a meat-atarion.

He was grinding sirloin steaks to make himself some burgers tonight.  Hehehe.  (ew).

Then, because I am the worsty, look what I did (again!!)

Thaaaat’s right.  I didn’t learn my lesson the first time when I was drying off the 2nd bag.  So we had an even bigger laugh.

Finally it was dinner time.  I had quinoa and tomato soup with extra sharp cheddar on top, and green beans tossed with seasoned bread crumbs and EVOO.

I swear there was quinoa in there.

See?  It’s there!

The Hubs’ meal went from this:

to this:

He’s a very good cook. 🙂

Alright peeps.  I’m off to shower, work on my training plan, and make my packing list for vacation! See you in the morning!