Category Archives: Working Out

Week Two Wrap Up

Posted on by

0

This is my week 2 check in to update my training. Here is what I did last week:

Monday: 4.1 Mile Run

Tuesday: Nothing

Wednesday: 4.1 Mile run

Thursday: Nothing

Friday: Nothing

Saturday: 4.1 Mile run

Sunday: Yoga!!!

Uh, ok so I was kinda indulgent this week between the dinner at Kitchen, Lakers game watching, and truffle grilled cheese. Well, time moves on. I did finally get to yoga for the first time in almost two weeks and it felt so good! I love the Sunday class with Joey Soto. Its a great stretch and my hip feels tons better. I bet I’m sore tomorrow and I can’t wait!

After this week I’ve decided that I have to try and get to a good vinyasa class once a week minimum and I want to also try to incorporate abs and weights more. Running three times a week is great but I have to stretch everyday. I think its going to be essential.

And now I am off to feed my little beast.

Best of the Rest

Posted on by

0

of Saturday!

After brunch I hit the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

The farmers market was awesome! I got all my veggies and fruits for $19! This included: potatoes, kale, avocado, 2 tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, pepper, green beans, and cherries. Yum!

When I got home I had a salad with some chicken curry salad from Coral Tree Cafe. I gave some to Catie as a house warming present and she said it was really good so I decided to try it for myself! I put the chicken salad on top of an arugula salad, purple carrots, and green pepper (all FM buys!)

I LOVE the contrast of the purple carrots and the curry chicken salad. It was a delicious late lunch.

I went to Whole Foods earlier today (where they have 17 flavors of Larabars!) and stocked up. Before my run I had 1/2 of a Gingersnap flavored larabar.

Then I went on a 4.1 mile run which was good.

I haven’t gone to yoga this week and my hip is angry with me. I should have stretched more. I probably only ran just short of 4 miles. Today I read Runners World and they were talking about the importance of hills. My run is already very hilly so I felt good about that. RW said that you should push to run faster on the downhills and I incorporated that into my run. After my run I finished the larabar.

Then I relaxed until dinner. Dinner was roasted veggies with a multigrain pilaf.

I love Trader Joe’s Multigrain Pilaf because there are only a few ingredients and I know what all of them are and its well spiced. How can you argue with that? While cooking I snacked on this…

Cook the pilaf and combine with veggies.

Dinner! Tons of fiber in this meal so its super filling and everyone knows how I love a roasted veggie.

After dinner I noshed on a Z Bar. These were recommended to me by Carolyn, my fitness foodie friend, who said they tasted just like a cookie and were only 130 calories. Clearly I had to check this out. First, I checked the label to make sure that it was made of ingredients that I knew what they are and the calorie and sugar count. I figured if Carolyn likes them then there probably good for me.I decided to dig in.

It DOES taste just like a cookie! This was wonderful and I will be buying again. It was kinda like raw cookie dough with oats. I love oats, cookies and chocolate. All together was pretty much amazing.

Night readers!

Signs of Summer

Posted on by

0

Hey there bloggies.

I have an announcement.

Yesterday I successfully ran without pain.

I have child’s pose to thank. I kicked it in this posture until my hip opened up. It hurt getting into the posture but boy am I glad that I did. I think I just was really really tight in my hips and needed to loosen up.

Also, I finished my first “training” week. And it went a little something like this:

Monday: 4.1 mile run

Tuesday: power yoga

Wednesday: off, triceps dips

Thursday: 4.1 mile run

Friday: triceps dips

Saturday: 4.1 mile run

Sunday: triceps dips, yoga crunches, and sun salutations

Wonderful! I wanted to try and make yoga today but I had a Simmons Club of LA event and then I had to go to Target and Trader Joe’s. There just wasn’t time in the day. Plus, I was able to make it to Josh’s place to watch True Blood, which was fantastic!

Then I enjoyed this healthy dinner.

Roasted brussel sprouts and stuffed salmon. Ab Fab!

Good night readers!

Training Day

Posted on by

0

This week marks that start of my formal running training. Actually, I’m not doing much different than I usually do. Running 4.1 miles at least 3 times a week with yoga in between runs and triceps dips and light weight training on my “off days”. I want to also introduce some interval training. I had my first run yesterday and it was great. I think that knowing I was going to run a race made me more motivated. I was running with purpose. However, my left hip didn’t like it too much. I really have to up my stretching before and after runs.

Tonight I did power yoga which was intense. I sweat a lot and the  6 pm class was packed. The guy next to me was sweating before class started and was rocking a yoga headband. That’s a deal breaker. As I said, class was intense and sweaty and I expect to be majorly sore tomorrow.

After yoga I caught up with a taco truck I saw on my way into yoga. How awesome that it was still there, right? I was kinda thinking about it all through class. I know, I have a sick obsession with food trucks. I ate a taco so quickly that I didn’t get a picture. When I got home I knew I should eat something else so I had this piece of Ezekiel bread with hummus, arugula, and sun dried tomatoes.

Yum. Delicious.

This was so good! Definitely going to have this again soon.

And one more thing before I go. Last Sunday my balcony was infiltrated by a squirrel.  Izzy took this invasion very personally. She became fixated.

I have since removed the pumpkin but she remains obsessed. Literally, she has been stalking the screen and staring at the place where the pumpkin was for hours. Poor thing. Goodnight, bloggies!

Power(flow) Hour

Posted on by

0

Today I did my first Power Yoga class. Holy yoga! I left a pool of sweat on my mat. I know, gross but in an awesome way. The class was really intense and fast moving. Towards the end it slowed down and we did inversions. We even did pranayama breathing in the chair position. I’ve never done that breathing in a class that wasn’t Bikram. It was pretty interesting. I got a decent stretch from yoga including a long time in pigeon which I hope makes a difference in my running. I noticed my ankles were very stiff which made child’s pose a bit uncomfortable which is depressing since child’s pose is my favorite recovery poses. Anyways before yoga I went to Clementine and  had lunch. Much to my delight I was greeted by this wonderful sign…

Yes! A whole new menu with all types of new options!!! Some items are still the same, like the rare roast beef sandwich. I was momentarily upset because I couldn’t get my favorite egg plant sandwich but I soldiered on and ordered the local mozzarella sandwich. It had mozzarella, greens, and artichoke on whole grain bread.

And of course being at Clementine I had to treat myself to a cookie! I tried peanut butter sandwich cookie and it was delicious of course! I enjoyed it while driving to power yoga (where I promptly burned it off).

So delicious.

And now I have an announcement: I am going to run my first race! I have been playing with the idea of running a race for a while. I have been asked if I would like to run a half marathon and Carolyn just ran one recently so I got her input on it. I’ve decided to hold off on the half for now. However, thinking about running a half has made me consider racing seriously for the first time.  So I have decided to start racing. I will start with a 5k, then do a 10k, then a 15k and then reassess the half marathon. I want to start with a 5k because right now I am running 4.1 miles a couple times a week. I would like my first run to be a confidence booster and also not too intimidating. So my first race will be on July 11th. Of course, my training plan will be documented here!

Do any racers have any words of wisdom for me?

I finally meet a cookie I don’t like

Posted on by

0


So there is this awesome farmer’s market near my work where there is a mix of made to order food AND veggies and fruits. Plus, its next to the Coffee Bean. Score! I got a ton or arugula for 95 cents and a thing of raspberries. I cannot wait to make oatmeal tomorrow. So anyways, I hit Coffee Bean and got some veggies and then I bought these cookies for $1. Um, not my favorite. I actually only had one of these thin cookies. They were pretty flavorless and also very chewy, but chewy like a store bought cookie. Well, we can’t win them all. There were some great roasted nuts. Next time I will get those for sure!

After work I had happy hour and then went on a run. I made sure I stretched my hip out before starting my run. I did pigeon, butterfly and a few other yoga poses. I stopped my run a little early because I could feel my hip. After I stretched again. I feel ok now but we will see tomorrow. Yoga will be a must do this weekend. I also made this delicious pasta. Basic homemade tomato sauce with roasted broccoli and eggplant. I also added some of the arugula. Yum.

and crap. I’m hungry again. Why am I such a beast today? Night!

I finally meet a cookie I don't like

Posted on by

0


So there is this awesome farmer’s market near my work where there is a mix of made to order food AND veggies and fruits. Plus, its next to the Coffee Bean. Score! I got a ton or arugula for 95 cents and a thing of raspberries. I cannot wait to make oatmeal tomorrow. So anyways, I hit Coffee Bean and got some veggies and then I bought these cookies for $1. Um, not my favorite. I actually only had one of these thin cookies. They were pretty flavorless and also very chewy, but chewy like a store bought cookie. Well, we can’t win them all. There were some great roasted nuts. Next time I will get those for sure!

After work I had happy hour and then went on a run. I made sure I stretched my hip out before starting my run. I did pigeon, butterfly and a few other yoga poses. I stopped my run a little early because I could feel my hip. After I stretched again. I feel ok now but we will see tomorrow. Yoga will be a must do this weekend. I also made this delicious pasta. Basic homemade tomato sauce with roasted broccoli and eggplant. I also added some of the arugula. Yum.

and crap. I’m hungry again. Why am I such a beast today? Night!

Into the Groove?

Posted on by

0

Today I went on my first long run (4.1 miles) in 4 weeks. The last time I ran this run was May 8th- I think. I probably could have waited an extra day due to my heinous sun burn, but today is National Running Day and I was antsy to run to work off the “checking my grades” anxiety. I started slow and felt good but when I got to the “Hilgard Hills” I stopped for a little bit and walked in place because I had a major cramp in my side. Does anyone know a trick to stop a cramp other than stopping and breathing deeply? Then I resumed running and was doing OK until the very end when I had to stop at a stop light. When I started running again my left hip was really sore. Argh! More yoga, more stretching? I think so! I did a bunch of hip openers after I got home (while simultaneously checking my twitter feed, Katherine FTW!) Hopefully I won’t feel too bad tomorrow AM. I’m off to sleep.

andddd because I took too many picture in Chicago, here is my little retriever buddy, Wally…

Couch Potato Workout

Posted on by

0

Today was a crazy day for me between work starting and still adjusting back to LA. Finishing running errands at 7 pm plus a painful back sunburn deterred me from going on a run, although I am planning on going tomorrow. Instead I made a delicious dinner and decided to watch Glee and get my workout in during my commercial breaks. Working out during the Glee commercial breaks works for me because the show is upbeat and makes me want to jump around. Here is how it broke down:

9:08 – 9:12

  • Down dog shifting to plank position x3 (long deep breaths in each plank and down dog- applies to all down dogs)
  • Dolphin pose to plank x3
  • One leg plank to down dog, both sides x3 each side

9:17-9:22

  • 20 squat and bicep curls w/ overhead arm lifts using 5 lb weights in each arm
  • 20  squats with extending back arm lifts with weights
  • 20 weighted “wing” lifts

9:27-9:31

  • 30 weighted squats
  • 20 couch dips
  • 30 bicep curls

9:37-9:41

  • 1.5 min plank with a break in dolphin pose for last 1/2 min
  • 20 couch dips
  • water, feed the cat

9:49 – 9:53

  • 4 slow sun salutations

This was a pretty good workout for 21 min using items just around my house! Of course I would love to go on a great run but tonight it just wasn’t in the cards and I’m happy that I was able to come up with a workable alternative. The couch dips especially kicked my ass (and legs and arms)! I also used core workouts (plank, and plank to down dog variations) that didn’t make my lay on my back because it is uncomfortable because of the burn.

Afterward I celebrated with a small palm full of chocolate chips. Now I’m watching the new Jillian Michael’s show which is intense! Beyond her simply yelling at this family to workout, she’s having this family (from Wilmington, MA!) talk about their infant that died. Jillian is crazy intense but hey, she gets the job done right? Off to bed!

Boredom Sets In…

Posted on by

0

So, day 5 of vacation and boredom is setting in. I could feel it this morning when I just wanted to lay on the couch and not get dressed but I forced myself up and out on a 4 mile run. Post yoga running is a whole new world! No pain in my hips or knees. Then I came home to see Iz just hanging out in her favorite perch:

Oh, hi Izzzzz!

Then I had lunch: small salad with arugula, chopped walnuts, orange flavored dried cranberries, brie and balsamic vin. I supplemented my lunch with apple sauce and edamame.  I made sure to eat immediately when I returned from my run and drank a ton of water:

Yum! Then I did a variety of things in the afternoon, which included buying a pair of size 28 skinny jeans from jcrew! This is UNPRECEDENTED! I pretty much hit puberty and became an 8, but a 28 in jcrew translates to a 6. This might be too early to call it but I feel good. Also, I am feeling healthy which is the most important thing.

So I arrived home triumphantly and made a healthy dinner which I’d been dying to try for a long time: eggplant and tomato towers. I preheated the oven to 350 and cut eggplant and tomato into slices. Then I added salt, pepper, and EVO to each side of the slices and roasted for 20 mins.

Then after 20 mins you add cheese and stack em! The recipe calls for mozzarella but I forgot to buy it so I used the left over cheddar with garlic and apple flavor. It was a decent replacement (although would have been SO GOOD with alternating levels of buffalo motzo and basil on top, now that I consider it!) After 20 mins you add the cheese and stack it and cook until the cheese is melted and browned (10-20 mins, make sure to keep an eye on it). Unfortch, my stack kinda fell down while cooking. Eh, you can’t win them all. It still turned out well and was totally delicious and healthy.

It turned out really well! I can’t wait to try with motzo and basil, but this was a great dish and so healthy. I love eating a healthy dinner and feeling good at the end of the day especially after a long run. I need to make sure that I am structuring my time this week which means healthy eating and exercise. I have just a few more days before the little bro arrives in LA so I better enjoy my alone time!