Fitness Friday–1/31 Marathon Weekend!

Currently training for:
-Rock N Roll New Orleans Marathon – February 2, 2013, Louisiana (IT’S MARATHON WEEKEND!)
-Glass Slipper Challenge, Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 22 & 23, Walt Disney World

Saturday – 6 miles on the treadmill 
Sunday – Squats/Lunges
Monday – 3 miles on the treadmill…boo. 
Tuesday – 2 miles on the treadmill….double boo. Squats/Lunges
Wednesday – 2 miles with Madalynn OUTSIDE! Yay! Squats/Lunges
Thursday – Squats/Lunges
Friday – Squats/Lunges

Well, here we are – marathon weekend! Stay tuned on my Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter accounts for a weekend filled with fun and excitement in good ol ‘Nawlins!

The only thing I’m worried about for the weekend is the weather forecast. It’s changed many times over the past few days, and I’ve yet to see a chance of rain less than 50%. There’s nothing I can do to change it so I’m going to go out and make the best of what’s handed to me. As long as I finish upright and with a smile on my face, that’s all that matters.

By the way, did you hear that Deena Kastor is running the Rock n Roll NOLA Half Marathon? I had the honor of watching her compete in the Marathon Olympic Trials of 2012 in Houston, Tx and I can’t wait to share (part of) the New Orleans race course with her!

Speaking of the race, here’s my outfit…



I’m wearing a Sparkle Skirt and it’s a beautiful purple – perfect for rocking the streets of New Orleans!



The crazy “sneaux storm” also allowed me to spend plenty of quality time with my friend the Rumble Roller. I say “friend” lightly – we are still learning to like each other.



Did someone say friends? Cause this King Cake and I made fast friends on Wednesday. It was still warm and fresh from the bakery. Mmhmmm mmhmm good! :0)



Madalynn and I were becoming quite stir crazy, so we headed outdoors for a 2 mile run on Wednesday. The amount of treadmill running I had to do over the past week was making me craaazy and I couldn’t wait to run outside again! We both enjoyed my last run before the marathon!
Finally, I leave you with my latest favorite…



…Disney Luxe Collection sleepwear from Dillards. I am obsessed with pajamas and when I saw (and felt) these, I immediately fell in love! I purchased a pair after Christmas and couldn’t help myself when I came across these yesterday! Can’t wait to wear them! :0)

What are your weekend plans? What’s your latest favorite thing?

Race Memories

Apart from hanging medals on the wall or displaying race bibs in a holder, how do you document your race accomplishments?

If you couldn’t tell, I’m a fan of pictures – so much so, I take a point and shoot camera with me pretty much every where I go. I love documenting life through photos and don’t want to miss an opportunity to capture memories on camera.

When I first began running, I made Shutterfly books for each major race I ran (ie. Half and Full Marathons). The Half Marathon received an 8x8 book and the Full Marathon a 12x12 book. I’m quite a few races behind on my Shutterfly albums, I know I need to get caught up. Unfortunately, I’m so OCD I spend hours working on these books (which isn’t always feasible to accomplish). Ah well, maybe one day!

My other alternative is scrapbooking. I’m much closer to being caught up on my race scrapbooks than I am with the poor Shutterfly albums.

Each page of these two books contain pictures from every race I’ve ever run from 5K’s to mud runs to Half and Full Marathons. How do I keep up with it all? After each race, I fill a folder with race pictures on my computer. Once the pictures have been ordered, the file goes to my hard drive and off my desktop.

Here’s my scrapbooking “suitcase”. I think I need a desk to store all of these items so I don’t have to drag my supplies out every time I scrapbook. Hmmm…now there’s a thought! Oh Jason….hint hint….

I also keep Expo/race bag items together in a container in my closet. Along with pictures from each race, I also like to scrapbook with items from each race’s Expo/swag bag/race bib, course map, etc.  Once I’m finished with that page, I throw all of the extra items I’ll never use away (papers, fliers, etc).

Intro page to book one. :0)

Here’s a few sample pages:

My first ever “Disney Race”, the Castaway Cay 5K in April of 2009. It counts, right? Back in those days, we received a Magical Moments certificate of completion!

The Wine & Dine Half…see, I have my bib and everything!

And just because these two are coming up in a few days…

Rock N Roll New Orleans Full Marathon of 2012…

…and the Princess Half of 2012!  (Secret: I even kept my race box of goodies…you know, the one they give you after the race? I cut out pieces from the box itself to use with these two pages!)

Flipping through these scrapbooks sure brought back a lot of fun memories and great times shared with friends!  Most of these photos were taken by my husband with a DSLR or by me with my point and shoot camera – I rarely purchase official race photos unless I really really like them!

I spent a good bit of my iced-in afternoon on Wednesday catching up on book #2. Currently, I’m up to Goofy’s Challenge of 2013. That’s pretty darn close if you ask me! ;0)

Do you display your race photos in any way? How do you document race accomplishments?

Disclaimer: I did not write this post as an advertisement for Shutterfly, nor did I receive any promotional goods or compensation for my opinion. I just like to share my way of documenting races with you! :0)

Another Louisiana Snow Day

Yes you read that right…ANOTHER Louisiana snow day in less than a week! What is happening here?

In the past, we’ve gone years between bouts of sleet or snow and so far this year, we’ve had two (today makes three) days off work because of icy conditions!

Apparently, the thought of a few snow days causes panic in the hearts and minds of southerners. In turn, this causes a mad rush to the local grocery stores to purchase all the bread and milk available. Seriously, you would have thought a hurricane was coming with the way the parking lots were on Monday afternoon on my way home from work. I chose to refrain from partaking in the madness.

 

Our local news station posted the above photo of a nearby Albertson’s.  Yes, we are insane I know.

…and now I give you, the SneauxPocalypse of 2014!

In my area, that’s it. We received about 9 hours of sleet and no snow.  Again, I didn’t get to build a snowman. Sad times.

The freezing temperatures did cause closures of many roadways and bridges – they didn’t want a repeat of Friday…

Scary roadways = scary drivers!

To pass the time yesterday, I washed clothes and caught up on magazine reads.

I’ve been slacking since September…whoops.

Speaking of whoops, I made a few yesterday -

My Breadman, oh how I loathe thee. The aromas of freshly baked bread filled the air and caused me to eat irrational things. Never. Again.

The final whoops of the day…

I bit the bullet and registered for the Royal Family 5K during Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend! I figured I would be out at the race site anyway to cheer on my husband and my parents so why not? Can’t wait for a fun-filled weekend of running!

These past few days have shown me that I’m way to ADD to stay at home with nothing to do. (Working from home or having kids at home would be a different story since I would actually have something to do.) I’m so glad I have things to keep me busy throughout the day on a regular basis!  I have a feeling by the end of tomorrow, I’ll be caught up on my scrapbooking and several closets will be organized! :0)

What do you do on snow days? If you live in the south, have you ever had a “snow” day?

Destination Race Packing List (Non-Flight)

I might be a little early and maybe I can blame it on the recent snow days here in Louisiana….but I began the packing process for Rock N Roll New Orleans over the weekend. (I honestly think I’m just going stir crazy.) I like to be prepared, but I don’t usually start packing until a few days before a race!

Today, I’m going to share my packing methods for a race that doesn’t involve a flight. This will be a two-parter with the second post focusing on packing for a race that involves a flight.

My packing process always begins with a list! I’m super paranoid – I like to write everything down so I don’t forget anything. Inevitably, if it’s not on the list I won’t remember to pack it.

I like to separate my list off into three separate columns: Race Day Needs, Post-Race Items, and Non-Racing Essentials.

Race Day Items:

• Race Shirt
• Race Bottoms/Skirt/Shorts, etc
• Socks
• Shoes
• Garmin and charger
• Camera and charger
• iPhone holder
• GU
• Atomic Balm
• Knee sleeve
• BioFreeze sample packs
• Foam Roller/Rumble Roller
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Headphones
• Extra safety pins
• Breakfast/tea
• Sweaty Band
• Throw away items

My favorite part about not flying? I can bring whatever I want, including my entire race bag and my full size rumble roller! For a look inside my race bag, check out this post.

Post Race Items:

• Compression tights
• Chocolate milk
• Clothes to change into
• Comfortable shoes

Non-Racing Items

• Day clothes
• Pajamas
• Chargers for iPhone, camera, and Garmin
• Cosmetics, face wash and makeup
• Brush, toothbrush, toothpaste
• Perfume and deodorant
• Pillow (I like to make sure I’m going to be comfortable the night before a big race)
• Cross-body purse
• Zensah Compression Sleeves
• Nail polish
• Food items – water, fruit, tea

Part of “bringing whatever I want” along on this trip includes fruit, snack items, and water! When flying, everything is so compact and neatly organized in the tightest space possible, it’s nearly impossible to bring along fruit and other perishable items (for me, anyway).

I’m going to use the remainder of the week to finish packing and then the real fun can begin – race weekend!!

Did I leave anything out? What else do you bring along for a destination race weekend when a flight isn’t involved?

Recipe: Paleo Banana Nut Muffins

Friday, a surprise came to Southwest Louisiana – a surprise in the form of ice and snow! Here in the south, we aren’t used to this type of weather – which caused roadways, bridges, schools, and area businesses to close. I work in an outpatient clinic and was told not to go into work, so I enjoyed a nice iced-in day at home!

After attempting to make a mini-snowman (my “snow” wouldn’t stick together as it wasn’t the powdery type), I decided to bake. I don’t often get the chance to bake…so I took my opportunity for what it was worth!

These little guys were so tasty, I decided to share with you!

Paleo Banana Nut Muffins
Adapted from: Paleo Grubs

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
• 1 tbsp honey or other sweetener of choice (may add more for additional sweetness)
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• (optional) 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp chopped pecans or walnuts (the tbsp is for the topping) – I used pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 6 cup muffin tin with muffin cups.

In a medium sized bowl, mash the bananas together with a fork. Once bananas are mashed, add eggs, almond butter, honey (or sweetener of choice), coconut oil, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer to combine. 

Once combined, add in coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, pecans or nut of choice (optional), and salt.

Continue mixing with hand mixer until all ingredients are blended well. Distribute the batter evenly – this makes enough to fill six muffin cups.

Sprinkle reserved chopped nuts on top of muffin batter (optional).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with a nice warm cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!

This recipe yields 6 muffins.

Gather ingredients – yes, I like my bananas THAT ripe. :0)

These muffin cups were perfect for a cold Winter’s day!

Mashed bananas

Note to self: cold bananas right out of the freezer will cause your melted coconut oil to harden (duh)…

Mix well!

Chopped pecans

Ready for the oven!

While the muffins baked, Madalynn and I watched a tiny bird who was seeking shelter from the cold in a plant on my patio!

Sweet bird! I had to remind Madalynn, “Birds are friends…not food!”

Speaking of food….

After 25 minutes of baking, the muffins were ready!

Delicious, moist, and wonderful – I enjoyed every bite. At only 160 calories per muffin, I allowed myself to have two!

(If you don’t find the muffins sweet enough, you could always add a drizzle of honey on top.)

These muffins didn’t make it through the weekend! :0)

What is your favorite type of muffin? Favorite breakfast food?

Fitness Friday–1/24

Currently training for:
-Rock N Roll New Orleans Marathon – February 2, 2013, Louisiana
-Glass Slipper Challenge, Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 22 & 23, Walt Disney World

Rock ‘N Roll New Orleans is NEXT weekend! I’m currently in Taper Mode and I’m trying not to freak out. :0)

Saturday – 10 mile training run with Kelli and a friend
Sunday – Squats/Lunges
Monday – 3 miles with Jason; Squats/Lunges
Tuesday – 3 mile run; Squats/Lunges
Wednesday – Rest Day
Thursday – Squats/Lunges
Friday – 2 mile run; Squats/Lunges

Tomorrow is my final long run before my next Full Marathon. It’s hard to believe that just two months ago, I decided to bump up from the Half to the Full!

This week was quite eventful, especially last weekend. After Saturday’s run, I helped with a wedding shower for a friend. I was gone most of the day and wasn’t home long before hitting the road again because a few friends invited us out for Hibachi. We had a great time!

Instead of ordering from the grill, I decided on sushi – a Disney roll, of course! I’m not quite sure why it’s called a Disney roll…but despite the name, I really do like it! :0)

On Tuesday, I went for a lunch-time run and thoroughly enjoyed myself! It was a beautiful sunny day – I wish we had those more often!  (Today, I’m at home because I was called off of work….this crazy icy winter storm passed through overnight and several of our roads/major bridges are closed. What can I say? We are used to hurricanes, NOT this!!)

This week, several exciting items arrived for our upcoming Princess Half Marathon Weekend…magic bands, luggage tags, and a Sparkle Skirt for my costume!  It’s becoming more real now…can’t wait!

Last but not least, I’ve discovered my newest favorite afternoon snack, sliced gala apple with a triangle of Laughing Cow Swiss…it’s delicious!

What’s the most exciting thing that happened to you this week? What’s your favorite (healthy) afternoon snack?