Weekend Recap

Why does it have to be Monday again?  I am spoiled by my every other 3 day weekends, and it does make the 2 day weekends a little tougher to get back from. 

Friday, checked out an awesome new bar called On the Dunes which is a hike away but it offers a lot of cool activities like bags, ping pong, volleyball, all mixed in with bars and great drink specials.  We went with a huge group and everyone wanted to play volleyball, I'm not really a volleyball girl so I just sat out and watched.  It would have been a great night if it wasn't so dang cold... we will have to go back when it is a little warmer and when I am drunk enough to play :-)

Saturday got in a few hours at the pool and then headed out for the Walk the Plank bar crawl.  It was a bar crawl coordinated for a few extended friends and their birthday.  It wasn't a typical bar crawl in that the bars when from shady to just dirty and you couldn't walk from them but it was def an experience.  Plus any night that ends in drunken taco bell is good in my book!  Plus we also got our picture with the Captain!

 

 

Thankfull I didn't drink too much and was able to have a very productive Sunday.  I knew I needed to grocery shop, meal prep for the week, do 1 of my final exams, get in a good run, and skype date with my love.  Thankfully I was able to get everything done!  I can't believe that I only have 1 final exam left to do (tonight) before I am completely done with grad school!!!!  It must of put me in a good mood because I was able to bust out a solid 3 miles (at less then my normal pace thank goodness) and then enjoy the rest of the night chatting with my love.  This long distance thing sucks but facetime makes it so much more managable. 

 

 

I hope everyone else had a great weekend as well!

 

 



Back in training!

Sooo last week marked my first week back in training. I don't have any super long races coming up but I do have the Detroit Zoo 10K on September 14th and then my 4.5 miles leg of the Detroit Marathon on October 20th. Last week marked 8 weeks until the Marathon so I decided to find a good 10K plan to help me increase my speed and help with my endurance. No plan really fit what I wanted so I just took the best one I could find and made some changes.

The one thing different about the plan I printed off is that for the first time I am including speed work into the mix. I usually run a 11-12 minute mile pace for long races and can sometimes get it to a 10:30 for shorter races like a 5K. I recently had to do a mile for time and I actually got myself down to 9:35 but I also knew I only had to sustain it for one mile. Since my portion of the relay is only 4.5 miles I decided that I would set my time goal to hit under a 10 minute mile! This is a huge deal for me so I wanted to train for it appropriately.

First let me say that I had a hard time figuring out what in the world I was supposed to do... seeing things like "4x800 5K pace" threw me for a total loop. Thankfully I found an awesome plan from Hal Higdon that explained everything perfectly. Tuesday I got in 3.5 miles and yesterday I had to do 4x800's. This means that I run 400 meters at a 5K pace and then am supposed to jog for another 400 meters before I repeat. Yeaaaaaa about that...... it wasn't pretty. I couldn't seem to get my stamina up to jog during the "rest" meters. This is def going to take some work and my legs are def not happy that I even tried it yesterday. I know it is only the second week so I have 6 more to go to get the hang on it but I really hope I can pull it together at least on race day to help my team out!

The only thing that did help my running mood is that while away this weekend I decided to pick up some new shoes! I went to Gazelle Sports in Grand Rapids which is where I got my last pair and tried on a few different styles. Apparently I am a Nike Lunarglide girl because I ended up choosing the exact same shoes I have been running in since February. These ones are much brighter though and were def fun to run in. I may not be able to run fast but at least I will look good doing it (or just distract people with my neon yellow)!

Weekend recap (only a few days late)

So apparently it took me a little bit to get caught up from my long weekend! Thanks to Labor Day and my standard every other Friday off I was able to get in a full 4 days of fun, friends, and sadly homework.

Thursday night J and I headed out to Chicago where she had invited me to be her plus one to a sorority sisters wedding. We didn’t' get in until super late but it was perfect because then we had all day Friday to get brunch, lay out at the beach, and get ready for the wedding. I had never been to the beach in Chicago and I thought that it was sooooo cool that you were literally right in the middle of the city being able to enjoy the lake!

 

It was so much fun being a plus one, I have never been to a wedding where I wasn't either a part of the wedding or with someone that was. Being able to just attend, enjoy the drinks, and not follow a schedule was pretty amazing! It was also fun to meet a bunch of J's sorority sisters and friends from college. We were both AXO's at different schools and I feel like I have known her forever even though it has been such a short about of time.

Saturday morning we headed out for Grand Rapids to spend some time with my HS girls. What should have only been a 3 hour trip turned into a 5 hour mess. We literally did not move more than 30 MPH through the entire state of Indiana! Have to say though I had the best company in the world and when we weren't singing along to stupid songs, or flipping through every Sirius station searching for Britney Spears, we were either talking about everything under the sun or cursing out every stupid driver on the highway. There is a reason she is my bestie!

When we FINALLY made it we spent some time at the pool and then headed downtown GRap to some of my favorite bars. We had way more fun than anticipated and ended up spending most of the night downing girlie drinks and dancing our hearts out!

Sunday was a final drive to home and some recovery. I spent most of the day relaxing with my feet up trying to figure out what I needed to accomplish for my last two weeks of school! Sadly that meant that Monday was completely full of homework but I am happy to say I got my final 2 papers done and only have 2 final exams standing between me and my Master Degree!!!!!!

Getting my sweat on!

It may be over 80 degrees out all this week but the best place to sweat for me is Bikram yoga!

I did it for the first time about a year ago and as hard and miserable as it truly is there is no better feeling afterward.  My mind and body both always feel amazing and when I add it in to my normal running and lifting routine I can see my body transform.  I haven't been in quite a long time so I was happy to get back into last week. 

For anyone that hasn't heard of Bikram before it is a style of yoga that is done in 90 minute sessions and consists of the same 26 moves and 2 breathing exercises repeated every time.  The kicker is that the room is heated to 105 degrees with 40% humidity!  Even just standing in the room would make you sweat so trying to stay active in it is hard, it is truly a physical and mental test.  My favorite part about it is that since your muscles are super warm it is much easier to get in a deep stretch which has helped with my running and lifting.  Also as much as I hate sweating I can tell that my skin is so much better from all of it lol!

Anyone want to know what it is like for the first time can check out this amazing article from buzzfeed!  You walk out looking like a hot mess and the first thing you need to do when you get home is lay out all of your clothes because to say they are gross would be a major understatement.  Also I usually go through 2 full water bottles while I am there and then another with an electrolyte replacement when I get home.  It def isn't for anyone but I love having it in my routine!

Plan for the tonight is to get in a 3 mile run since I am officially in training for my 10K coming up in 3 weeks and my marathon relay portion in 8. Then I am taking a normal yoga class at a new studio just a few blocks from my house that just opened last week.

I also have to share that I basically had the most amazing lunch that I am now addicted to. I have a bunch of cooked quinoa and shredded chicken in my fridge so I decided to mix it up with some hummus, feta, roasted red peppers, and artichoke hearts for an amazing filling for lettuce wraps. I love Mediterranean food and this hit the spot. It was also ice cream social day for my group so of course I partook because well my willpower is nonexistent and no one was every happy by denying themselves ice cream!

Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

In an attempt to get back into my healthy eating routine after a few weeks off I really wanted to try something new. I love love love stuffed peppers and have made them in a few different varieties over the years. This week I decided that I would try to make a Mexican stuffed pepper that would be both filling and flavorful to get me back on track. I am pretty proud of the result and it was a great use for the shredded chicken I make at the beginning of each week. You could also sub in any other meats or just take it out completely in order to make this dish veggie friendly. I didn't add any cheese to the stuffing mixture but rather choose to add it on top when I was reheating them throughout the week for my lunches; I also added a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on top for a sour cream taste with a kick of added protein. These will for sure become part of the normal dinner rotation!

 

Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

 

 

Ingredients

3-4 Bell peppers with seeds and tops removed

1 cup black beans drained and rinsed

1 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup corn

4 oz shredded chicken breast

1/3 cup favorite salsa

1/2 T cumin

 

Cheese, sour cream, Greek yogurt toppings optional

 

Directions

1) In a medium bowl combine beans, quinoa, corn, chicken, salsa, and cumin.  Mix completely and test for seasoning and spice level

2) Place bell peppers in baking dish and fill evenly with quinoa mixture

3) Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until peppers are softened (adding a little water to the bottom of the baking dish will also help the peppers soften while baking)

4) Enjoy!

Weekend recap!

I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend!  Since this was the first one with the BF away I knew it would be hard but my girlfriends stepped up to the plate and made every day awesome. 

On Friday I decided to keep it low key and drank some wine with some close friends and played cards against humanity.  Seriously it is the most hillarious game and it def gave me a good dose of laughter therapy!

Saturday my friends had planned on going to a wine and food festival but the weather basically demanded that we postpone the festival and soak up every ounce of sun next to the pool.  There are a few apartment pools in our area but there is only one that basically turns into a party every weekend.  It has been nicknamed ROHAB because it is the perfect bit of rehab after a long week.  Bonus there was also a super cute pomeranian pup that was running around and made instant friends with our group, dogs make everything better!!  Saturday we were there from 11-3 before we dragged ourselves inside to clean up and head to the festival.  The wine and food festival is a really cool small event where you get to try a variety of wines from all over.  It was fun to be there with such a big group!  From there we just kept the party going with some drinking games and then we headed to the bars.  It made for a long, late, and perfect summer Saturday!

 Sunday we decided to nurse out hangovers and head back to the pool for some more sun!  It was another perfect day and we couldn't pass up the opportunity since there may not be many more left.  I got a little too much color but it was so much fun none of us wanted to leave.  We capped off the night with a "family" dinner at P.F. Changs that is going to be a new Sunday tradition!

Overall it was really such an amazing weekend perfect friends, perfect wine, perfect weather, the only thing missing was the BF but I made sure he got to enjoy it from afar by sending him and obnoxious amount of pics lol!

I'm back!

So to say I have been MIA is an understatement!  So many changes have occured in the last month and I am finally at the point to get back into a new normal routine.  So what has been going on.....

Well the BF has officially moved.  Back in April he decided to attend the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business MBA program, which required an obvious move and a lot of preperation.  Both of us were excited for him to begin something so big and life changing and the actual move came up on us so quick.  The weekend before we decided to throw a huge party with everyone of our closest friends so the BF could see everyone one last time.  The party was a blast and it felt so incredible to have so many friends there with us to support him.

 

 

Even though the weeks leading up to the party were fun we were also trying to move me into my new apartment and get the BF all packed up, needless to say with work, school, packing, emotions, etc it was exhausting!  The only perk was that I think I was too dang busy to actually realize what was happening which was a good thing at the time since I didn't become a complete hot mess HA.  That Tuesday after my workday we finished packing up the Uhaul and headed out for MN. 

 

We planned on doing the whole drive at once but we actually stopped right at the Wisconsin border for a quick nap (only slept 3 hours) at about 2 am.  The whole trip took us about 16 hours and in all honesty it was miserable.  The only perk was being stuck in the car with the BF, but we both decided that when I make the move we will be paying to have my stuff shipped for me! 

Once we arrived it was all about quality time and soaking up as much of eachother as we could.  Most days we spent at the pool and nights were about exploring the city.  To be honest it was one of the best weekends we have had which was perfect, until I started to realize it was coming to an end.  Saturday night I was a total wreck, since everything was perfect I hated that I would have to leave and it would be another month before we could have that time again.  And lets just say the amount of crying in the security line of the airport for my one way flight back was a little embarrasing. 

Thankfully the BF is the most amazing man in the world and knew that leaving would be so much of a struggle.  I arrived home to the most beautiful roses and such a heartfelt card.  It really did make me realize why I loved him so much and that he will be the person to make a long distance relationship worth every minute apart.

 So where is life now.... thankfully I am only a few bottles of wine and one emotional breakdown in lol!  It has been one full week and I finally feel like I am settling into my new normal routine.  Technology is a god send and between texts, phone calls, and facetime I feel like I haven't missed a moment of his new life in MN.  My girls have also been more amazing then I could have ever imagined.  The frist few days my phone was flooded with advice, funny stories, encouragment, and care from those who are closest to me, and even a few girls I am just starting to really adore.  I knew my friends would be there but having this much support has made me realize how truly lucky I am!  Only 4 more weeks to go until I get to visit again and until then I know my girls will make everyday special.

I am trying to concentrate right now on finishing school (only 2 weeks to graduation) and getting my eating and workout routines back on schedule.  The few weeks of moving and parties left me not feeling so hot about myself so I am finally back on track and ready to get moving again.  This started as a place for me to keep myself accountable and share my food and workout routines so I plan on keeping that up from now on!