tourist

All of this (with a few changes/tweaks of course):

A whole lot of this:

Is culminating into this: Little Rock (Half) Marathon

The weather is looking like this (notice 6am temp please):

Which means I'll be wearing this (gloves, hat, glasses not pictured):

I'll be carrying with me (plan on taking advantage of water stations):
I did sign up to have my race info post via Twitter and Facebook through MarathonTracks.com. I'm not sure how it works exactly, if my followers or friends can see the tweets/posts or if you have to sign up yourself.

Jason will be at the start, then he will ride his bike to a few points around the course before heading to the house to watch me there. Then he'll be back to watch me finish. I can probably persuade him to send out a few tweets/posts if you want to follow him (@jkmiller) or you can check out the MarathonTracks, or wait for my blog post of course.


Thank you all for putting up with my whining and complaining, for your constant support and motivation, your helpful tips and advice. I wish you all could be at the finish line!

Free Friday
Today is going to be a rest day for me. My body is begging for it, and I realized last night that my last rest day was last Thursday. I usually don't like to go more than 6 days without my rest day. So today it is.

I guess I shouldn't have bragged about our nice weather, we have rain and much much cooler temps in the forecast now. Darn it. I was hoping that race day (Sunday) wouldn't be too terribly cool, but it's now looking like it'll be around 33 degrees at the start of the race. That of course means having to fuss with gloves and such.

Wearing the race bibs makes layering much more difficult too. I have to have a bib on front and back so no real way of shedding a layer that I can think of. I guess at least I won't have sweat pouring into my eyes though....trying to find a positive....

Today I did pick up my race packet from the marathon expo. I can't explain just how nervous I am or why I am so nervous. At this point, I am wishing the race was tomorrow so I could get on with it. I have a feeling (or hope) that once the race gets going, I'll settle in and enjoy it more. I really do want to enjoy this experience.

Fun Facts Friday - Working Out and Running
Dawn @ Florida Coastal Cooking passed along a blogger award the other day (thanks girl!!!) so I decided that would be perfect for Fun Facts Friday.

The rules:

• Link to the person who awarded you
• List 7 random facts about yourself
• Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers

I know it's supposed to be random, and supposed to just be factoids, but since I'm focused on my half marathon on Sunday and all the training and such, I thought I would do random facts and thoughts regarding workouts and racing. 

1. It's kind of fun being the only female in the weight area of the gym - makes me feel like a bit of a bad ass. 
2. Even though I don't just love to work legs, I can't wait to hit them hard again starting next week. I feel like they've lost all definition since the IT band injury and race training.  
3. I think I may actually miss the half marathon training as crazy as that might sound. There was something satisfying about conquering some of those crazy intervals.
4. While I trained with bloks/chomps running outdoors, I felt too silly to use them when running on the treadmill at the gym so I just took water and Gatorade. 
5. I have 2 drawers dedicated to workout clothes (one winter - long pants/tops - and one -  shorts/tanks).
6. I prefer short bra tops because I get really hot and sweaty, though I feel a bit awkward wearing them at the gym because no one else does.
7. I firmly believe the only good treadmill run is one with intervals.
   

So, now to pass this along...

1. Courtney @ The Granola Chronicles
2. Kalli @ Fit & Forty Something
3. Alison @ Physically Philosophical
4. Madeline @ Greens and Jeans
5. Bela @ It's Life, Max it Out
6. Melissa @ Melissa Dishes 
7. Kristen @ Swanky Dietitian

But as usual, I hope you will all play along and list a few random facts!

Beautiful Day for a Run
I hate to brag, but it was another gorgeous, spring-like day here today. Sunny with temps hovering at 70 degrees. Perfect for an outdoor run by the river. Though, I must admit that I really wasn't wanting to go run today.

I debated with myself about changing up the running plan (plan? what's a plan???). But tomorrow is supposed to be rainy. I also had a feeling that the sunshine and fresh air would do me some good. I've been up and down with my mood recently. I know a lot of it has been stress from the car situation. Also, the upcoming race is on my mind of course.

As expected, the run really boosted my mood. The wind had picked up quite a bit and it was in my face on the way out. I think that's probably better than having it in your face for the return though. Maybe....I did 4 miles then 4 gentle pickups. I'll be totally honest, it was supposed to be 2 miles and then the 4 pickups (hanging head...). No scolding please. I swear no more extra miles. In fact, I'm thinking of fewer.

The plan calls for rest tomorrow (all over that) and then 2 miles on Saturday. I sort of question the 2 miles on Saturday though. Any thoughts??? Should I run tomorrow and not at all on Saturday or just do a super easy 2 on Saturday to get the legs loosened up? I was thinking that a positive would be a little bit of energy/stress relief.

Tempeh Thursday
During lunch today, I got dinner started so it would come together quickly tonight. I made a Carrot and Cabbage Slaw and started marinating some tempeh in BBQ sauce. My hope was that marinating it for several hours would help keep it from being too dry when baked or grilled. I was really planning on grilling out this evening.

Alas, I got lazy. After getting stretching, rolling, and getting cleaned up after the run, it was starting to get a bit late, and I knew I was going to run out of day light. Instead, I did my nails, baked the "fries" and tempeh. I know there will be plenty of grilling soon enough.

So, not grilled, but still just as tasty. Even better, it did come together super quickly since I started it at lunch. And, marinating the tempeh for about 6 hours really did seem to help with the dry factor.

Gym Day
The weather today made it really really hard to hit the gym and not the road for a run. Another gorgeous day, and warmer than yesterday too. Can't wait to be able to run for fun again and not based on a plan. 

Anyway, today I hit the gym for my usual elliptical and weights session. Today was shoulders, chest, triceps and abs. I went with the trisets done in 3 sets of 8 reps again like I did on Monday. I started with a 15 minute warm up on the elliptical.

TS#1
Chest flye
Chest press
Decline pushups

Staggered chest press -8

TS#2
Standing dumbbell shoulder press
Lateral raise
Front raise

Front raise open to side back to front - 8

TS#3
Double-arm overhead triceps extension
Lying dumbbell triceps extension
Double-arm kickbacks



Triceps dips - 16

I did a variety of ab exercises like hanging leg raises, some weighted exercises, and some stability ball work before finishing off with another 10 minutes on the elliptical.

Hump Day Dinner
Back to what was supposed to have been Tuesday's dinner...Baked Italian-Style Quinoa, Kale & Canellini Beans. Warning, this makes a butt load, so if you don't have a large family to feed or don't like tons of leftovers, you may want to half the recipe.

Baked Italian-Style Quinoa, Kale & Cannellini Beans
Ingredients:
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
white wine (approximately 1/4 cup) or low-sodium vegetable broth
1.5 cups cannellini beans
To taste: salt, pepper, parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes
1 cup red quinoa
2 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth
To taste: parsley, basil, oregano, salt, pepper
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used homemade)
1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
Vegan cheese (optional)

Directions:
In large skillet, saute onions and garlic until onions soften. Add in kale, spices, and broth or wine and allow kale to cook down. Add in the beans a few minutes before the kale is done to allow them to heat through.

In medium pot, cook quinoa per package directions in water or broth adding in the spices.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a glass casserole dish.

In a large bowl, mix together kale mixture, quinoa, nutritional yeast flakes, and spaghetti sauce. Transfer to casserole dish and top with vegan cheese (optional).

Bake approximately 20 minutes until golden on top.

This turned out soooo good. We were already talking about other ways to use this - like as a filling for portobellos, winter squashes, or bell peppers. So, maybe having leftovers is ideal after all!

Back to Tuesday
In my haste to get yesterday's post done, I forgot to mention a fantastic package that was waiting on me when I got home. I recently one a NuNaturals giveaway from the adorable Kristine @ Busy But Healthy. I am very excited as they included a few items I haven't tried yet. It felt like hitting the jackpot!

It really was a good Tuesday - great run, giveaway package, new car. Speaking of the car. You guys are really demanding I tell you. You wanted pictures, well, here's one. Jason tried to get one of me by the car, but it really wasn't a picture I wanted to share with anyone. I promise I'll have him take another one though.
 

From: psycho.bimo

Saya gak tidur om. Hehehe. Tp bawa tikar + bantal. 2 mobil kemaren.
Nggelar tiker di pemecah ombak. Ni foto pas bakar2 ikan.

Ini hasil bandeng pake popeRio 3cm.. he3..
gak pengen ??

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: *Constannian (KHT)*

Ca........iki aku casting banding pake popper sampeannnnnn

-----Original Message-----
From: michael@mancingonline.com <mailto:michael@mancingonline.com>

Foto-foto kemarin di Kamal. Aduh... internet di kantor saya tiba-tiba
lemot... Maaf... Btw, next time kalau Mike foto lagi senyum ya bos...
Hehehehe. Bukan apa-apa.. biar makin cakep aja... :) Sampai jumpa lagi.
Oh
ya Mike juga bisa di email di michael_risdianto@yahoo.com
<mailto:michael_risdianto@yahoo.com>

Mike

From: psycho.bimo

Penn reel yg ini graphite om. Kalo yg bait runernya kebanyakan tombol
adjusment. Ada 4 tombol. Hahaha. Lali nganggone. X-calibur apik lo om,
tp gede sih 90 cm..

From: Buchori-SFT

FYI

From: *hadi gumilar*

No comment

***********************
Your mail has been scanned by
Telkom Anti Virus System
***********-***********

You have received a new private message at FishyForum from purwanto,
entitled "casting bandeng".

This is the message that was sent:
***************
Pak Soni......

Hehehe Happy new year ya...

Mengenai perbedaan Toli sama saya adalah mungkin saya nonstop casting
terus dan juga cara mereka retrive terlalu cepat tuh...

Oh ya... kemaren saya coba lagi dengan popper Pak Soni yang 5cm dan
hasilnya sangat memuaskan cuman saya cat ulang poppernya dengan warna
merah putih seperti rapala tapi yang dove ...

kalau yang shining malahan gak bagus tuh....

Thanks

Pur
***************

Taper Run...Sort of
So today was supposed to be 2 miles with 4 1:00 intervals. It was sunny, I was stressed, and I deviated from the plan a bit. I ran down by the river (a lot windier than the weather reported), but it felt great - hello capri pants and short sports bra weather!

So, back to deviation....I ended up doing 2 miles, the intervals, and another 2 miles. It's supposed to be my taper week, so I did at least stop myself from going any farther, but I felt like I could have done another 2 miles so easily today. I suppose that 4.5 miles is short compared to the 8-milers I have been doing on Tuesdays.

So, I know I did more than I was supposed to do, but it was a much-needed stress-relieving run. I needed that jolt of sunshine too. 


Dinner Plans Delayed
I had planned on this great baked quinoa dish for dinner. I was excited about it. Had been planning it in my head all day. But like the running deviation, there was a dinner deviation.

I suppose the reason is worth it though. I got a car!!! I ended up getting a 2008 Infiniti G37 Sport. It was dark by the time we were done with everything, so pictures will come later. We didn't get home until about 7:50, no dinner yet, so we threw together some burritos and pretty much wolfed them down in record time.

Sorry for the super short, picture-free post. It's getting late and we're just now getting settled. We also have a car manual to read up on ;-)

Monday Gym Day
Today I decided to go with my typical (or what has become my typical) Monday routine of hitting up the gym for elliptical and weights. I started with about 15 minutes of the elliptical today, then hit the weights for back and biceps. I went with trisets of 3x8.

TS#1
Underhand barbell rows
Pullovers
Single-arm rows

TS#2
Dumbbell curls
Hammer curls
Cross-body curls

Assisted pullups - 8
Concentration curls - 5 (went pretty heavy with idea of just going to failure)

I finished out with another 15 minutes on the elliptical. Overall, a really strong workout. It was definitely what I needed today as a stress reliever.


Mustard Sauce for Monday
I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do for dinner tonight. Last night I actually had cereal (gaps). We had some asparagus that needed to be used up quickly, so I went with that and built the meal around roasted asparagus.

I did roasted sweet potatoes (rosemary, salt, pepper, parsley), roasted asparagus (salt and lemon pepper spice blend) with homemade Chikn' Seitan Patties that I basted in a sauce of Dijon mustard, splash of vegetable broth, salt, pepper, parsley, nutritional yeast flakes and baked. I made a Dijon Mustard Sauce that turned out wonderful. I was rather proud of it as I just threw in ingredients.

Dijon Mustard Sauce
Ingredients:
1/8 cup minced red onion
Dijon mustard (maybe 1 1/2 tbsp)
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Small amount of no-salt vegetable broth (to consistency basically), white wine would be good too
Nutritional yeast flakes (approximately 1 1/2 tbsp)
To taste: salt, pepper, parsley

Directions:
Lightly saute onions then add in remaining ingredients and allow to simmer to desired consistency.

I was really pleased with how everything turned out. It wasn't a complicated meal, which is even better after a long Monday. Do you ever build a meal around one single item like a veggie on the way out the door or do you start with the protein as a base? Or is it totally random from day-to-day? For me it can vary. Sometimes I think of a sauce that sounds fantastic and then figure out what to use the sauce on even. Perhaps a bit backwards....

Boxing Over Running
I had thought that I might run today depending on the weather. I just wanted to head out for an easier 4-miler. My training plan had originally called for 5-6 yesterday and 9-10 today.

Unfortunately, it was really windy and looked like rain all day. I took that as a sign that I needed to do something other than get in a run. So, I went with Cathe's MMA Boxing then abs from Power Hour. It was a fun workout and time flew by this morning.

Errands, Chores, More Car Shopping
After the workout, I started working on some house chores before we decided to head out to run some errands. We recently rearranged the living room, and I wanted a new lamp for a side table. We hit up Kirkland's and scored a great deal on the perfect lamp - $16.97! Then we hit up Target and a few car lots before decided we really had to eat before we could even think about the grocery store.

While eating, however, we talked ourselves into going back to one of the lots to test drive a car there. Of course that meant we were there far longer than we had hoped or planned on. I've had several people ask me about what I've been looking at. I didn't really want to say, some of the cars sound pretentious to me, even if they are used. I don't ever want to come across that way. I mean, my car was 10 years old and Jason's is 11. We haven't bought a new car in a LONG time. We're definitely not luxury car people, but used? Hey those kind of are affordable.

So...I kind of like the Hyundai Genesis (though I can't drive the standard because the seat doesn't scoot up enough to touch the clutch), Infinity G37 Coupe, and I test drove a BMW 328i Convertible today ('07). While I loved the BMW because it hit all of my criteria (sporty, standard, convertible), I am still oddly leaning towards the G37. Major "zoom" factor with that one ;-)

I still had some chores I wanted to finish up and some doggy treats to bake up for an order. Jason was kind enough to drop me off at the house and take care of the groceries. I think I can handle doing some laundry, baking treats, and blogging rather than the grocery store ;-)

Anyway, since lunch was sort of late (and I ate too much), I'm not sure what we'll end up having for dinner tonight. It's oddly warm here because we have a front pushing though (which is going to bring some storms tonight), so soup really doesn't sound appealing at all. Maybe some sort of salad perhaps. If it ends up being anything exciting, I'll be sure to post tomorrow ;-)