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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

WIAW #2 + First Ice Bath!

I miss blogging every day SO much!!! I wish I had the time to blog a lot more because it really is my creative outlet and a place where I can just say what I feel. But, unfortunately I don't have that time :( Right now I leave the house before 8am and get home around 6pm, at which point I eat, shower, read emails/blogs, and then get going on my pile of homework. Even by 8pm I am utterly exhausted.

Getting back into the swing of things with school and practice is really hard. But I know it will get better soon! I just am disorganized and have pushed a lot of things to the back burner, most of which is stuff I would do in my "me time" (blog, write in my journal, read my bible, watch a TV show, cut my nails.. yes, even simple stuff like cutting my nails!)

I am trying to make more time for these things but there's only so much time in a day. I was really happy to write this post today though.

These are yesterday's eats (WIAY!), but to be honest this is pretty much what I eat every day. The dinners change, but my breakfast, lunch, and snack are very similar because I just don't have the time to think up of new more creative things. At least this is including some of my favorite food!

Peas and Crayons
peas and crayons WIAW! join the part-ay! :)
breakfast was scrambled microwaved eggs, tortilla + peanut butter, and fruit (yesterday it was strawbs, today it was watermelon)




weird lighting... there is no good lighting at 6:30 in the morning!!
I have been packing the same lunch for school because of my tummy problems at practice. I have been getting a million cramps but this lunch is easy on my stomach and has lots of carbs that are easy to digest, so most of my cramps have gone away.

Nanner + peanut butter sandwich + chips (sometimes it's cereal, sometimes it's pretzels)








After cross country I've been drinking smoothies because I've been running in the heat and they taste realllyy good. This one included fresh strawberries, greek yogurt, frozen mixed berries, spinach, and almond milk.


At this point I get really snacky (even after slurping up that ginormous smoothie!) and alotta unpictured eating is happening. More pb + tortillas, pretzels, almonds, dry cereal, etc...

Dinner last night was an (unpictured) salad with lotsa veggies, plus a yummy burrito. I chopped up chicken really small, mixed it in with some pintos, salsa, and cheddar, and stuffed it into a whole wheat tortilla.


And dessert was a microwaved s'more with butterscotch and semisweet chocolate chips. You must try this! Oh so yummy.


Now onto running! To be honest, the past week or two at cross country has been pretty awful. My legs constantly feel drained and exhausted even before we start our run, and today was the worst day of all.

I do much better when I am able to cross train, but my team runs 6 days a week and my coach does not put much emphasis on strength training or other cardio. It's run, run, and run some more. I'm feeling a little burnt out already - and we haven't even started racing yet! Luckily today I was talking to an assistant coach about how tired I've been feeling (especially since today's mile repeats were super painful and slow) and he recommended an ice bath.

It didn't even occur to me before that I should take an ice bath, even though I've seen them all over the blog world. I was glad he suggested this - guess it just shows that communication is really important - and I'm hoping it will help me recover more quickly. Any other tips would be welcome! I can't really change how much I'm running since I have to be at 90% of practices to race, which basically means that I can't miss very many. But any recovery tips on fueling, stretching, and pretty much anything would be greatly appreciated!!

I've been trying to take pictures of my outfits to share with you guys but this is the only one I remembered to take this week!



New skirt by Lucky + Target cami = easiest outfit ever. I've worn a skirt or a dress every day this week and am lovin' it. It's a lot cooler than being stuck in jean shorts!

I also got a new backpack and am loving it - the colors are perfect, it's really comfy, and it fits all my stuff.


and one last bit of cuteness before I go...

Lexy in a box! she loves it when we get packages and after my new backpack came in this box she popped right in.



And so prissy Ginnie Mae doesn't get her feelings hurt :)


This was really long post - thanks so much for reading! I don't think I can say enough how much your comments mean to me, I love you guys so much.

Any tips for running recovery? Fueling, stretching, hydrating, icing?
If you are in school, how has your transition back to school been?

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Triple Nut Butter

I hope you all are having a fantastic and relaxing weekend! I am trying to squeeze in as much down time as I can today because I am getting completely exhausted already from school and cross country. Last night my eyes were drooping at 8:30 - apparently I am turning into a grandparent already, heh.


Yesterday at practice we did a really hard run that was both fast and long. There is a flat paved trail right near my school and we ran on that 4.7 miles out and then turned around. For the entire way there we kept about 7:20 - 7:30 pace since it was supposed to be fast, and on the way back we tried to keep up that pace for as long as possible. It was TOUGH! 

I only made it about halfway back before my pace was slowing a lot, so I started taking it easy to get back to the school. By the time I was about 1.5 miles away my legs were exhausted, and my mind was having a tough time keeping them going. The main thing that kept me putting one foot in front of the other (besides singing Katy Perry's Firework to myself. best motivational song!) was saying that I still had to get back to my car, one way or another, so walking would just take more time. 


When I got home I made a big cereal bowl that included
  • Kashi Golean
  • Kelloggs All-bran
  • Rice Krispies
  • Chocolate "brownie" treat cereal :)
  • dairy milk for some protein
  • peanut butter
This is the kind of breakfast I end up eating when we are all out of produce! 




After I did some of my anatomy & english homework I went with my family to run some errands. We went to Costco and stocked up on our staples (post coming on that soon, hopefully!) and got lots of strawberries. I want to eat as many as possible before they go out of season cause they're my favorite fruit. I also ate about a million samples there. Best place to go shopping when you're hungry for lunch!



We also made a stop at Target and Office Depot for some school supplies. When I was younger this was pretty much my favorite thing on the planet! I still love it, but not quite as much. Now I prefer food shopping ;) Although nothing beats the feeling of being super organized. 



When we were at Target I also picked up this little gem:


TRIPLE nut butter!!!! Almond, peanut, and cashew. Nut butter lover's heaven! Although I would've preferred there to be more peanut and cashew flavor, this all-natural super drizzly nut butter is pretty darn fantastic. 




I don't think you even need to ask how I tried it first... as soon as I got home a big smear went on a tortilla and a big spoonful went straight to my mouth. Heaven. 

We also went to church last night (there is a Saturday 5:00 service at my church) so that I could sleep in this morning. I have seriously been lacking in the sleep department so sleeping in until 9 today was a gift! 

After I got up I went to the gym to do some light lifting. I can't lift as heavy and often as I was this summer with cross country season starting, because it's too much stress on my body. I'm exhausted after practice and lifting heavy would just tire me too much. But I don't want to lose all this muscle that I built up over the summer! So my goal is to go twice a week to the gym to lift - one day during the week after an easy run day, and on Sundays. 

When I came home I made a big bowl of voluminous oats with flax and chia, and topped it with an outrageous amount of my new triple nut butter, and some strawbs. 



 I promise you there's nut butter in there!


There it all is... :)


Today I'm going to finish up my homework, hang out with some friends, and hopefully either go to the movies or get a pedicure. Enjoy your Sundays, my lovelies! 

What was your favorite part of going back to school as a little kid? School supplies and friends. Enough said. 

Thursday, August 25, 2011

First Week of Senior Year

This week has been insanely busy!! School and cross country practice have definitely been exhausting me. Making the transition back to school is always a bit of a shock - but tomorrow is Friday!

I wanted to share some of my eats + workouts with you guys lately since I haven't gotten much time to update.

Monday: 20 minutes stair climber, 2 mile run, 10 minutes elliptical (freshman orientation, so I couldn't go to xc practice)
Tuesday: 2 mile run + 4 x 1200 repeats
Wednesday: 6 mile run + 20 minutes weights
Thursday (today): 5 mile run + 6 hill repeat loops

My stomach still has not adjusted to running at 4 in the afternoon after school. I'm not used to eating two meals before running yet (breakfast & lunch). I have been cramping all over the place, and today was especially bad because when we were halfway back on our run I just got this huge stitch in my side. I need to try to figure out what foods work best for me at lunch, since I haven't had this problem before. I'm thinking maybe it was the yogurt I had - sometimes dairy doesn't sit too well with me.

EATS!


super voluminous oats made with almond milk, topped with a spoonful of pb, strawbs, and a sprinkle of sugar


eggs + ketchup, tortilla + peanut butter, yellow nectarine

romaine, mushrooms, pintos, cheddar, newman's own

turkey, cuc, ranch on english muffin

plus yogurt & berries


hot dog + french fries... this actually didn't taste too good. my body doesn't like junk food very much!!



breakfast burrito with eggs, cheddar, pintos, salsa, and rice


a million chocolate protein smoothies! perfect post-run snack.

broccoli + cauliflower + a buttload of parm

mini margherita pizza

froyo + brownie crumble + waffle cone bits

My eats haven't been quite as good as I would like lately, especially for my running performance. I need to include more "real food", but it just takes so much longer to prepare! Since I haven't exactly had much time lately, microwave pizzas, peanut butter tortillas, and protein shakes have been quite prominent. I still need a little more time to transition back into school (which means having no time!) and planning my meals better so I can run/perform better. I always notice that I feel better when I'm eating really well. 

Do you notice a connection between running (or working out) and what you're eating?

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Summer 2011 Recap

Hello my friends! :)

I can't believe that today is my last day of summer. Where did the days go??

Today has been a busy day - cross country, babysitting, car decorating with a friend (seniors woop woop!) and I was also supposed to have a job interview that got rescheduled for tomorrow. Fingers crossed!


Anyway, since my eats have been the same-old I thought it would be fun to do a recap of everything fun that I did this summer. I think that it's been one of the best ones yet so I'm sad that I'm losing my free time but excited to be a senior!

This summer:

I went to my favorite camp that I go to every year and met some amazing people!



My family took a week-long vacation to Maui. It was one of the best vacations ever. Swimming, beach, and snorkeling every day!


 Here's the three posts that I wrote while I was there:

And the three recaps that I wrote at home:




I had the time of my life in Maui and I can't wait to go back. Hopefully that day isn't too far away!!

I also saw the last Harry Potter movie at midnight. I have grown up with this series and was sad to see it end, but the movie was everything I'd hoped for and more. 

My mom and I spent an afternoon with our family friends and I got to hang out with super cute kiddos. 


My family rented a convertible and spent a day in San Francisco driving around and having a blast. 


My mom and I had a really fun mother-daughter day. She is the best momma a girl could ever want. 


I went to my first restaurant as a blogger and ate some really good pizza! 


I went to Great America and spent a really fun day with my parents. I know that most teenagers hate hanging out with their parents, but I love it! We always have the best time together. 


I wrote a blog post that included my August goals and have already done everything on that list! I've increased my running mileage, I made some new recipes, I organized my room and finished my summer homework, and I just made the most of my summer! 

I also did three other blog-related things: I wrote a post on the ABC's of me, I wrote my first-ever guest post for Tara at XC Foodie on the importance of strength training, and I wrote a WIAW for the first time

strength training is important!!
And more recently I took a trip with my dad and brother to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and we had a blast. 


A few other things I've done this summer include being a leader at freshman orientation at my school, going to the pool lots, crazy fun night-hangouts with friends, and blogging lots! I'm sure I forgot a few things but I am amazed at how blessed I am that I got to have this much fun during the summer. And the coolest part is that I documented it here on the blog, so I get to go back and read it all later! 

Tell me the best thing that you did this summer!