New Kicks and Pizza

I got started on my day a lot later than I had intended, but sometimes its nice to know you got to sleep in. I went out for my 4 mile run around noon. It was surprisingly cool and cloudy at first, but of course as soon as I got started running the clouds broke and the sun started shining. It was about 85 (which is about 10-15 degrees cooler than it has been in Houston lately.) I really enjoy going to this local park that has a few different trails. Today since I had 4 miles to cover I chose the 1 1/3 mile trail, so I could run it 3 times and hit my 4 miles. I did a tempo run. Lap 1 and 3 were run at about a 9 min pace and the middle lap, lap 2, at about an 8 minute pace. It felt pretty challenging, but do-able. I ended up finishing around 35:15. When I got home I did Level 2 of the 30-day shred by Jillian Michaels for some strength and toning. Love Jillian!

After my workout I had this:

Whole wheat almond butter and jelly fold over

Lately I've been wondering how the heck I ever could run a half marathon in an 8:35 pace, I have been struggling to get myself back to that pace. I know I'm being hard on myself but, back in February I ran my first half marathon and finished with a great pace. After that training, I got focused more on just staying fit for my wedding, and life got hectic between work and wedding planning. Running, at least running longer distances, was not my priority. I felt like I was on top of my running game back in February and I could go run 10 miles no sweat, I seriously think I could have gone out and run a full marathon then. I have to remind myself that everyone goes through phases in training and eventually I will get back to that point when I felt so confident in my running ability.

After my work out and shower I headed to the mall. I've been hearing rumors about a new Forever 21 store and how great it was. It was HUGE! It was soo sooo overwhelming I didn't know where to begin looking. I did end up with some good loot by the time I left the mall.

One pair of new shoes I got :-)

Since I AM getting up and joining that running club I mentioned the other day hubby and I took it easy tonight. I put my little black apron on and made homemade pizza and enjoyed some vino. Now we are watching some  TCU football (hubby loves football!). These are my favorite kind of nights- the ones spent with your loved ones just relaxing and enjoying good food.

When hubby and I share pizza we always have to do a half and half. My size was a little mozzarella, crumbled feta, basil and tomatoes. Hubby's side was cheese, and extra cheese, bacon, basil, and red pepper.

and VINO of course!

I must head towards bed. I've got a 7:00 AM 9-mile run. I haven't ran that far in over 6 months! Hopefully it goes well. I hope everyone is enjoying their evening as much as I am.

Pollo Loco

The hubby and I went out for some happy hour last night! Pre-marriage it seems like we used to do this more often, but I guess now marriage has aged us and Friday nights are spent curled up on the couch watching Two and a Half  Men and in bed by 10:30. OK, so last night might not have been sooo different we were still in bed early but, instead of the couch and TV, we had margaritas and "Pollo Loco!"

It's a fabulous dish where they give you half of a roasted chicken on a fajita skillet. I also enjoyed a yummy raspberry margarita! I think Friday nights were meant for Mexican food and a margarita! After eating we went to enjoy the company of one of our friends who was bartending, and I lived on the wild side and had a glass of water with two limes and hubby had another cocktail.

Hubby and I are newlyweds. We got married this summer on June 12, 2010. It was a beautiful and fun beach wedding thanks for the help of our lovely family and friends, and of course each other!

We went on a beautiful honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We had a blast getting to spend a whole week long dream vacation together.

We are highschool sweet hearts and Hubby is really my best friend. It's been rather challenging getting hubby to jump on the healthy eating healthy living bandwagon. He likes to eat his cheeseburgers with extra bacon, frozen pizzas,  and french fries, if it's bad for you he likes it! Funny thing is I actually used to be the same way until I realized it wasn't really agreeing with my figure, and it definitely wasn't going to fuel me for my workouts.

It's about time for me to start the day. Our alarm clock bit the dust a few days ago which allowed me to sleep in this morning. I didnt wake up until nearly 10. I made myself a nice cup of pressed coffee, and heated up a yummy blueberry coconut muffin. I've been on a muffin kick lately, and I think I have about 2 dozen blueberry coconut, pineapple-zuchinni, and cinnamon muffins in the freezer right now.

Well, I've got my tennis shoes on and I'm geared up to go enjoy a nice run at the park, followed by some strength training. Have a blessed Saturday.

Desk Sentence

I’m antsy. And I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach like I just want to get up- I just want to break free, break the shackles connecting me to this hard, cold, uncomfortable brown rectangle I find myself chained to day after day. In the famous words of Queen “ I want to break free…. I want to break free!!” Yeah, I went there, the boredom is getting to my head.


For some reason, today I feel like I’m missing out on the world sitting in this chair. It's like all these things and activities are going on around these walls with no windows but my feet are pinned to the carpet. I’ve received the worst penalty possible- the desk sentence. What worldly offense did I commit to be punished so severely. I've been serving time for nearly a year, when will my sentence end?
 
Ok... OK!!  I'll stop complaining and being overly dramatic, but really, my legs were not meant to sit in a chair from 8-5. TGIF! and a big WOOHOO it's a much much needed 3 day weekend! I don't have too much planned for this weekend except for running.
 
I'm currently training for the Houston Marathon. It will be my first full marathon. I am so excited, and maybe a little nervous too! This year, because they always have so many people trying to sign up, they hosted a lottery. They let runners register for a month and then they randomly drew people to participate. I'm so stoked that I've been chosen, and now its really time to get down to business training. However, today is Friday, my off day.
 
 I had a hard workout yesterday. I was originally going to do a long run outside, but from my lovely office I started hearing the thunder roll in and I had to quickly alter my plans. I went to spin class and then ran my 5 scheduled miles on my training plan. I feel like a run after a bike is great training, because it trains your legs to keep moving even when they are fatigued.  I reached a whole new level of sweatiness that I didn't know existed. I was one of the people with a lake underneath their spin bike at the end of class. Not one inch of my clothes were dry when I left the gym. I'm sure I was getting strange looks, for some reason I always feel like I'm the sweatiest person in the gym- especially of the girls.
 
As for this weekend, I keep telling myself I'm going to go join a local running club for my long Sunday runs because once I get my mileage up to 15-20 miles at a time, I imagine it will be hard to find motivation or a long enough attention span to run those by myself. So, hopefully on Sunday I can get myself out of bed in time to go join. I get nervous in situations like that, where I'm going to meet new people, step outside of my usual running boundaries, and run with people I'm expecting to have 5:00 and 6:00 minute paces. I think that's one of the reasons I've been putting off going. I'm sure once I get out there and get running I feel comfortable and confident. Sunday they're hosting a 9 mile run at 7 AM, and I really really gotta go this week!
 
Well, unfortunately, I must get back to the pile of paperwork calling my name, have a great Friday! :-)