Race Shirt

I met Becky for our run today.  I wore a race shirt in honor of the Marathon victims.

The weather was a bit chilly by the time we left.  We took a hillier route than normal which was a bit rough after Sunday's long run.  The run felt good overall though.  It was therapeutic to get out and pound the pavement.  I've said it before and I'll say it again; running is very cleansing for me.

I wore my calf sleeves for the first time that Laura got me from Pro Compression for my birthday.  I like these a lot more than the full socks.  If I get another pair, I will definitely just get the sleeves again.

I was off Monday and got some cleaning done.  I finally have cleaned off my dresser.   It's the place I throw everything and just let it pile up.  I had to take a picture to prove that it was clean at one time.

Did you run today?

Pray

The Boston Marathon was rocked by explosions leaving many victims.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected.

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Running in the Wind

I had to work at the crack of dawn today.  I'm glad I don't have to do that too often.  Getting up at 4 in the morning is a little rough!

I tried to go to bed at a reasonable time.  I didn't want to be too exhausted for my long run today.  I was probably asleep before 11, so I felt pretty good today.

I met Becky at 3:15.  We had 9 miles on the schedule for today.  It was pretty windy out, but sunny and NOT raining for once even though it snowed this morning.

Weather according to my Garmin.

As we headed out, I could tell the wind was at our backs, pushing us on.  I was dreading the run home, because we would be running into it if we went back the same way.  Thankfully, Becky is smart about that kind of stuff and had a route planned out.

The worst part was when we were headed east towards the Lake.  The wind was icy cold and took our breath away!  I had to put my hood up on my sweatshirt to keep warm.

The rest of the run wasn't bad.  We walked twice.  The first time was at the halfway mark for a potty break.  Somehow I forgot to pause my watch, or I double hit the stop button, because when I thought I hit start and was running, it was stopped.  I noticed when Becky's watch beeped and I glanced down at my watch.  I was only off by about .15, so I decided to just run the extra minute.  I knew it would be all down hill anyway.

The second time we walked was about a mile and a half before the end.  Becky was getting some soreness and so was I.  Walking a minute or so really helped.  It also helped to know we were so close to finishing.

The last half mile we really pushed ahead.  After the last hill climb it is all down hill and so fun to run down!

I was starving by the time we were done.  I had three Clif Shot Blocks on the run, but my stomach started growling around mile 6.  I scarfed down a Greek yogurt as soon as I got in and drank some water.  Then I stretched right away.  I was so tempted to just hop in the shower, but I never stretch enough when I do that.

I was surprised how good I felt and still feel afterwards.  I haven't run that far since December and was a little nervous about it.  Next week is ten miles!  Only a few more weeks until my half! Can't wait for number 5!

Oh, and a side note, you will be relieved to know I am finally washing my Nike sweatshirt that I wear on practically every run.  I figured it's time.  It's probably been a couple of weeks...or so...an emphasis on the "or so".

Happy Running!

Is anyone watching the Boston Marathon tomorrow?  I am going to try and remember to!

6 Weeks to a 6 Pack

How many times have you seen a workout plan on Pinterest that promised great results and pinned it and then...never used it?  Yeah, me too.  A week ago, I saw a promise that if I did a few simple ab exercises everyday and some cardio that I would be rocking a six pack.

I knew I wouldn't have a six pack, but less of a one pack would be nice.  I've been wanting to do some kind of core/strength workout, so now was a good opportunity.

I started on Monday and have done the workouts all week.  The first couple days I was a bit sore, but the workouts are short and quick, so the pain isn't too bad.

Here's the workout. Have you seen this on there yet?

Just out of curiosity, I decided to measure my mid section to see if there was any difference.  I have actually gone down a half inch in my waist, stomach and hips, so a 1.5 inch loss!  Pretty cool!  Hopefully I can keep this momentum going!

Do you strength train or cross train?

Friday Flooding

It's been raining almost all week.  Today we finally got a bit of a break.  It's been misting on and off.  The river by my house is starting to creep into the back yards of the houses around it.  All we need is a day or two of no precipitation!

The picture on the left is from two weeks ago and the picture on the right is from today.

The picture below on the left is from today and the right is from two days ago!

I tried getting the same angle so you could see the difference.  I walked down the path a bit to check out the other houses along the river.  

I just hope the water recedes quickly!

On another note, I had a four mile run to get in.  It was a bit chilly from the wind and the on and off again misting.  I decided to wear my leg warmers to add a little extra warmth.

I made them for the Halloween Hustle where I dressed up as a 80's/90's girl.  I still use them pretty frequently when I run.  They really keep me warm!  I keep forgetting to make another pair.

The first two miles seemed to take forever!  My shins and calves were feeling pretty tight as well.  The last two miles were better, but we ended up a bit far from home so we ran .3 more to get closer.  

Our splits were pretty consistent as well.  We have been running at almost the same pace every time.  We always seem to average about a 11:30 and that feels pretty comfortable.  

 

I hope the weather clears up a bit for my long run on Sunday!

Happy Running!

Speed Work Success!

I've mentioned that I've been following Hal Higdon's Intermediate Half Marathon program.  I have actually been doing really well following the plan.  The last couple of times I tried using this one, I reverted back to the Novice plan, because I really struggled with doing the speed work and the tempo runs.

I'm in week 7 and have done my 3rd speed workout (I missed week one).  The speed workout consists of running .25 miles so many times and walking/jogging comfortably for recovery between.  I always choose to walk, mostly because I'm lazy.  This week I had to sprint 8 times.  The workout says a 5k pace.  I really don't know how to determine that, so I use my goal pace which would be a 6.2.  It was hard, but I didn't feel like I was going to die like last time.  I can only conclude that I am getting faster!

It's blurry, because I was walking and trying to take a picture.

While writing down my workout, I noticed something else rather amazing. I am actually sticking to my workout plan that I laid out for myself at the beginning of the week.  There's a little spot to plan the workouts in my fitness journal and then you say whether or not you did it.  I have been able to say yes to all of it so far!

Now, hopefully I don't screw it up!

How is your week going?

Butterscotch Bars Recipe

My favorite books to read are quick mysteries, with a female leading character who solves cases on the side. Once I find a new series to read, I fly through them quickly until I'm done and then move on the the next.

Recently, I found books by Joanne Fluke.  The main character owns a cookie shop, is about my age, single, owns a cat, need I go on?  I think it's pretty obvious why I like her.   Another bonus, is that every book has about a dozen or more recipes.  They aren't just cookie recipes, but any recipe that someone in the book makes.  I've tried a couple of them out.

In the book, Devil's Food Cake Murder, there's a recipe called Butterscotch Bonanza Bars.  They sounded really good, because I love butterscotch, and the ingredients were really basic.  I actually had everything I needed.  So, I decided to try it out and oh my! They are so delicious!  They are crisp on the outside and chewy, gooey on the inside.  I made them plain, but as you can imagine, you can add all kinds of things to them.  Some of the suggestions are walnuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, fudge frosting, whatever else you can imagine.

When you go to the website, there's a place where you can submit pictures of the recipes you made.  I submitted mine to see if they would put up my delicious creation.  Mine isn't up yet, but hopefully I will see it soon.
Here's the recipe for the bars.  I must warn you that there is nothing healthy about this recipe, but they actually aren't too bad.  The nutrition info is included at the end.

Butterscotch Bars
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups packed, light brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs (I used Ener-G egg replacer)
1 1/2 c. flour

The first time I made these I shaved chocolate on top.  I prefer them plain.

*It's easiest to work this when the butter is still warm.  Have everything ready to go so it will go quickly and the butter won't cool too much.
**I used an electric mixer to combine the ingredients.  It made it much easier.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Melt the butter, either on the stove top or in the microwave.  Put in a medium sized bowl.  Add the 2 cups of brown sugar and mix until completely combined.  Add the baking powder, salt, and vanilla.  Stir until completely blended.  Add the eggs.  You'll see that I used Ener-G egg replacer.  If you do this, combine the "egg" mix and water first.  Let sit while you mix the other ingredients up.  Just give it a quick stir again before adding it in.  Stir until combined.  Now, add the flour 1/2 cup at a time until each half cup is completely combined.  Pour into the 9x13 pan and smooth out evenly.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.  The first time I made these I had to make them for 25 minutes, the second time for 30, but the instructions in the book say 25-30.  Also, when they come out they should have a golden color on top, but you will notice that it will seem very liquidy.  It will harden as it cools.  The recipe says it serves 40, but my nutrition info is for 32, because that's how many servings I got out of it.

They only have 100 cals a piece which isn't too bad.  They are really, really sweet, so you really don't want more than one or two at a time anyway.  

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Happy Baking!