Fact: Last summer, I trained my heart out for the BAA half marathon. I followed a serious training schedule, I did my work. In the midst of it all, I learned to love running (before that I was just doing it for the challenge). I also became a much stronger runner.

Fact: On October 11, 2009, I ran the BAA half and blacked out after 12.56 miles. I pushed too hard right at the end and I was severely dehydrated. If you like horror stories, you can read my recap of that race here.

I was so upset with the outcome of that race that I actually wanted to run a half the following weekend. It wasn’t a sane decision, although I truly felt that I trained hard enough that I should be able to complete the race. Probably under 2 hours (PS – if I didn’t walk off the course, I could have actually walked, heck crawled to the finish line and still would have finished it in under 2 hours. I think). Instead, I listened to my husband and chose a half in 2010. A race that would allow me sufficient time to train. I wanted to KILL it on my next one!

So I did it, sometime late last year, I signed up for the Run to Remember half. I set up a training schedule. I wanted to run up to 18 miles at some point. I thought this would make 13.1 seem like nothing on race day. I started training in February and just burnt out. Running didn’t seem fun anymore. Training for a half didn’t seem worth it.

Fact: On March 21, I announced on the blog that I was really letting go this time. That I was going to be kinder to myself and pursue other passions. Running became a choir I wasn’t interested in… and the race was another 2+ months away. I didn’t want to waste 2 months of my life on something that didn’t make me happy. So I stopped running. Really. I maybe ran one time a week (if that) for a month after that. It felt so freeing. I could do whatever work out I wanted (and I really do love working out so the possibilities seemed endless). It was awesome!

And then at the beginning of May I decided to see if I could get back into running. The idea of running the half just 4 weeks later seemed crazy, but I kind of wanted to see if I could do it. I promised myself that if it wasn’t going to make me happy, then I really was to drop it for real this time. But you know what, spring was upon us and it actually felt great to get out and hit the pavement. No, not every run was easy (actually most of them weren’t) – I was coming back for a long running hiatus after all. But it did seem worth it. It felt fantastic to be able to challenge myself in this way again. And really, a post run high cannot be beat. Period.

Last weekend I finally made the decision. I was going to try it. The longest run I did was 8 miles at this point (which was last weekend) but I thought if I just went slow and tried to have fun, I could finish it. I was actually excited for it. Walking was allowed. Timing goals were not.
Are you still with me?

RACE RECAP

I woke up (actually pretty much bounced out of bed) at 5:45, had my usual pre-long run snack: toast with almond butter and banana + coffee, watched a little tv to calm my nerves (it was a mixture of excitement and definitely a bit of nervousness). I arrived at the World Trade Center around 7:30 (half hour before race time). The Seaport Hotel was right there and it was so nice to be able to use a real bathroom before the race. [They had dozens of porter potties too but I opted for a real bathroom, even if the wait was a tiny bit longer.]

8:00 – someone (I couldn’t see her) sang the national anthem and I started tearing up a bit. The energy was just so magnetic. It was definitely emotional. 7,000 people were going to accomplish something so big today. I was going to accomplish something so big today. Push my body to the limit and finish a half marathon. I was determined to make it happen.

Miles 1-5 – I felt pretty good. I really didn’t want to worry about time but I glanced at my garmin out of habit a few times and saw that I was running about 9 minute miles. It seemed too fast so I tried to slow down.

Mile 5 – was really tough. I knew my friend Katy was going to be around mile 6 or so and I just concentrated on running until I see her. Seeing Katy’s smiley face, cheering me on, was incredible. I was tired though and I still had 7 miles to go. Yikes.

At 6.5 miles (half way point) I had a sip of Gatorade. I hate the idea of that stuff (brought coconut water with me instead) but the extra sugar (and whatever chemicals they douse it with) really did give me a bit of a boost. I could do this!!

My next goal was to make it to somewhere between miles 9 and 10 where Shannon was supposed to be waiting for me. I was kind of done at mile 7. All I kept thinking about is just going slow and hopefully making it to Shannon, who was surely going to help me run the rest (she said she was going to join me if I wanted her to… um yeah, “wanted” is an understatement).

Mile 8.75 – I can’t take it anymore. I am SO exhausted, it’s not even funny. I didn’t know if Shannon was around the corner or if I had to go for another mile but I just couldn’t do it. I actually walked off the course for a minute and then snapped out of it. I was going to finish this thing, even if that meant walking the rest of the way.

I walked for maybe .20 miles and then decided that I really wanted to greet Shannon while running, not walking. It didn’t last long. The second I saw her (basically right around 9 miles), I started walking. And she was walking with me. I really needed a friend at that point. I kept saying how I really thought I could run the whole thing if I was going to go slow, but clearly I couldn’t. I kept on calculating how damn long it would take to walk the rest of the way but my legs felt like lead and I just couldn’t even try to run. Walking was challenging enough.

Mile 10.15 (these extremely accurate mile markers are brought to you by my baby garmin, btw ) – I decided to try to run. To my surprise, my legs felt ok. We were going slow but we were running. The problem was that I drank so much water during our walk that it was now sitting like a rock in my stomach, making me totally nauseous. Just 3 more miles, though, could I do it?

My legs felt fine but my head wasn’t in it anymore. Poor Shannon was doing her best trying to distract me but I was just so ready for it to be over. I knew I’d be proud of myself for just attempting to do it and FINISHING, whether it meant running or walking. At mile 11.5 I gave into my head and started walking again. This is when Shannon suggested that I probably would feel better if I ran at least some of the last part. We made a pact, we were going to do the last mile running, no matter how slow. I kept saying, I can do 1 mile in my sleep, right? Yes I could. I ran the last 1.28 actually (that extra .18 miles I could really do without, thankyouverymuch, race people).

Adam! Getting close!!

Shannon let me run that last 1/4 mile on my own. I finished really strong. I sped up but didn’t push to my absolute limit. Blacking out was not on the agenda for today.

Official net time – 2:24. Miles walked: 2; mile run: 11.28. To be honest the finishing time is just a number to me. I FINISHED A HALF MARATHON TODAY!!!   (is that enough smileys? lol)

After crossing the finish line, I went inside the center to grab a water and more Gatorade, then went back out to look for Adam and Shannon. There were so many people everywhere!

It took a while but we finally managed to find each other. I gave Adam a giant sweaty run! He was happy to see me finish (instead of meeting me in the medical tent like last time).

Recovering on a cold floor. 13 miles, baby!

Some race pictures Adam took. Boston looks so pretty from this angle.

Shannon and I:

Shannon I owe you BIG TIME. You saved me today. Seriously.

I am so incredibly happy that I did it but I also never want to do it again. I think I can take it off the bucket list.

PS – Shannon brought this amazing homemade bar for me that I eventually was able to stomach. Go to Tri to Cook and harass her to post the recipe. I need to make these pronto.

That’s it. My plans for the rest of the weekend are to do a whole lot of relaxing. That means dinner out tonight and a pool party for Memorial Day tomorrow. Yay for long weekends!

Other than that though, I’m starting to get the hang of it. That’s really great news since it’s only been about a week. Anyways, this post is not really about my progress on IE. There will be more posts on that, I promise. The reason I am mentioned it is because trying to eat intuitively is teaching me something other than not eating mindlessly. It is teaching me to be more kind to myself. That’s when yesterday’s run comes into play… shall we begin?

I had a goal – I wanted to run 12 miles and I wanted to run them by myself. It was supposed to be a gorgeous day out – this was the perfect day for me to run at a comfortable speed and really listen to my body. No distractions, no guilt about holding someone else back – just me and my ipod. The sun was shining, I was pumped. Around 10 am yesterday morning, I took off. I had a whole run mapped in my head and was looking forward to every milestone. After about 2 miles I was done I wanted to walk, just for a few minutes. I made a deal with myself that I could walk after 3 miles. Done – walked for 0.15 miles at mile 3. Loved every second of it. Then I slowly took off. It felt great to run. I didn’t understand why I needed to walk before. And then oh I don’t know, less than a mile in, I wanted to walk again. I walked again for about 0.15 miles. This little game continued for a few more miles. I was mentally exhausted.

Right at the half-way point, I was just DONE. I didn’t feel like running for 1 more second and I started questioning the reasons for running at all. The high of finishing a challenging long run cannot be beat. You know you accomplished something so amazing, all with your own 2 feet and mind (the latter possibly being the more important one). I wish I could bottle up this feeling, but yesterday I didn’t care about how amazing it would feel. I wanted to be kind to myself and just stop. I don’t mean just this one time, I mean just stop… for good.

Running has become a source of (mental) pain for me, only sometimes followed by joy. Of course it feels so good because it’s hard but maybe that’s not good enough. Maybe I can live a life where I follow my passions (fitness related included) and have that be enough, whatever “that” may be. I do enjoy running but I’m really done with training. I want to run because I feel like it, not because I have to. I think this whole time I was beating myself up for that horrible ending of last half. I forgave myself yesterday and I’m moving on.

What does that mean going forward? I will continue running with my friends and sometimes on my own (most likely just shorter runs). I will NOT worry about pace or distance. That’s not the point. I will explore other workouts. Yoga has become a recent passion I have not been able to dedicate sufficient time to. I was postponing so many things until “after that May half.” Once I made the decision to stop training, it was like this giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. What’s quite ironic, is that I actually sprinted. I took off because I wanted to and it felt amazing! I ended up covering about 10.5 miles yesterday. I probably ran 7 of them. I am happy with that because I am happy with my decision to let go. This is progress for me.

I haven’t posted about any of my food since Thursday. I put a self-imposed ban on eating out this weekend because we’ll be eating out A LOT next week. Everything was delicious and I would love to share it with you over the upcoming days. Although it’s a bit out of order, I guess I’ll share yesterday’s eats with you in this post. I ate intuitively. It actually is easier for me on the weekends.

PRE-RUN SNACK

1.5 toasts with homemade almond butter, 3/4 banana and coffee

SNACKS

I was running late for my hair appointment after the run/walk and a shower so I grabbed a juicy apple + a larabar to consume on the go.

LUNCH

After 2.5 hours at the salon, I was more than happy to eat for real. I was actually dreaming of a veggie/hummus bagel sandwich the entire time I was in that chair.

The Boston Garden from Finagle A Bagel (hummus, mixed field greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, olive tapenade & balsamic vinaigrette) on a ww bagel, scooped out

I enjoyed it on the bench in Copley Square while soaking up the sunshine and people watching. It was perfect.

DINNER

Sushi that we made!!!!

Adam and I took a maki making class yesterday and came home with so much good stuff. I’m just going to post these pics for now, but I will do a recap of the class in a separate post. Deal?

The sushi was awesome. We both felt so proud of our creations.

Quite the day. Lots of decisions. I feel like I have so much more to share but we’ll leave it at that for now (gotta leave a little material for future posts ). I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I hope that you’re not disappointed in me. I’m happy with my decisions this weekend.

And on that note… peace

Someone peer pressured me into signing up for it The Ras na hEireann 5K (say THAT 10 times fast! ) is a St. Patrick’s day/Irish themed run with the runners racing towards their first drink. I figured if I were to sign up for a random race, this would definitely be a fun one to do. Well, mother nature threw us all quite the curve ball. I think today was the worst weather we’ve had EVER. Ok, I may be slightly exaggerating but the rain was crazy hard, it was cold and the wind definitely brought chill to our bones. Notwithstanding, thousands of runners showed up for the race today and (I think) I am proud to say that I was one of them.

Oh wait, wait… pre-race breakfast. 2 Food For Life millet bread toasts with homemade almond butter, a small banana + coffee

Back to the race…

I ran into Shannon right before the race and we patiently waited for the starter gun to go off. So many people were cheering, I was really getting pumped. Shannon had an under 24 minute goal and although I knew it would be waaay too ambitious for me, I figured I could try to stick with here. Well, this girl is a speed demon because we took off at a 7 minute mile and I didn’t last long. My lungs were burning, the rain got more intense and my mind quickly shut down. I wanted it to end. I let Shannon get ahead and do her thing, and instead concentrated on having a little more fun. I’m not going to lie – it was hard. I decided that my goal was to finish, regardless of the time, so I slowed down and just kept trekking. I was surprised to find out that I was still in the low 8′s going uphill and in the high 7′s going downhill. Hey, apparently I could still make a great time! A little over a mile in, I thought this whole racing this is really not for me. I was writing a blog post in my head about how running no longer excites me and that I’m going to put my half marathon training on hold (possibly permanently) but before I knew it, there was a little over 1/2 a mile left in the race and I got a jolt of energy. I couldn’t get in between people ahead of me to speed up (seriously, there was like a wall of people and every time I took a step to the left to squeeze in, the guy in front of me would take a left step as well… *sigh*) so I just figured I’d finish at the speed I was going instead of trying to fight it and stress about it. The finish line did in fact come fast. I finished somewhere around the 25 minute mark. My garmin said I averaged 8:03 minute miles but I don’t think that’s right. Probably a little slower but still a very respectable pace for me (I’ll let you know what my official time was once I find out). EDITED TO ADD: my official chip time was 25:11 – 8:07 pace (I finished my previous 5K 2.5 years ago in 28:42 – 9:16 pace – quite the improvement!).

After the race, I found Adam, Shannon and my friend Katy all waiting for me at the nearby Starbucks. I was soaking wet but happy. My throat was definitely burning. I told Adam to take a picture of me so I could remember to never do this again. Haha

Yes, our finishing medals were bottle openers!

Am I going to stop running? Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve had a rough running week and this race did not quite reignite my running fire. I’m going to go with the flow. I’m not a quitter so I’m probably just talking smack right now but I would like to follow my passions instead of attempting to chase stale dreams… so there may be changes in my future after all.

After the race I checked out Joshua Tree but it was way too packed and smelly and I didn’t see Tina (who was planning on being there) so I went back to the Starbucks and we called it a day. At home some delicious leftovers were waiting for me.

Mystery pasta leftovers. SO good!! It’s “mystery” pasta because I did not make it and I plan on writing a separate restaurant review post about it. Cool?

I also made a small sundae with Amy’s vegan chocolate cake, Stonyfield nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt and a drizzle of TJ’s chocolate syrup

The cake is kind of boring, the frozen yogurt has been in our freezer for way too long and was icy but combined this became a satisfying dessert. Works for me!

With a happy belly and a warm blanket, I plopped myself on the couch for hours. With weather like this, I was not motivated to move at all. My husband was antsy, though, so somehow eventually I got my act together and we met up with some friends at Jillian’s to bowl. It was actually really fun. I even scored over 100 during my second game. Awesome!! [There was a crazy happy dance, if I recall correctly ].

Expert bowler in action… haha

What do you think of my new (first!) specs?

Bowling was followed by dinner out and once again this post has become way too long. I’m going to stop right here but I promise a few “bonus” posts to cover the rest of this weekend’s eats. There were some good ones and even a new kitchen experiment that I think worked quite well. Stay tuned.

Any weekend highlights for you? Are you excited for St. Patty’s day?

[This ended up being a long recap - follow along at your own discretion ]

I woke up an hour and a half before my planned run and had my usual toast with Barney Butter and banana (you’ve seen it a million times, click here for a visual if you need it ). I was a bit nervous, but decided to just take it really easy. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Ok, no exactly… but it may make for a more pleasurable run. After a 1/2 mile warm-up walk (until my Garmin found the satellites) I got to it. I roughly planned out my route to make a 9 mile loop. I like running to a “destination” so there is something to look forward to. Also, this prevents me from deciding to cut the run short because I’m already so close to home. Today’s “destination” was the Jamaica Pond (in Jamaica Plain). I’ve done this run so many times and it never gets old. There are always so many runners and power walkers by the pond, no matter the weather, and I feel proud to be part of this little community.

So I took off, every time I looked down my Garmin said I was doing an 8:30-8:40 pace. I couldn’t believe it – it felt so easy! I know that usually when Molly and I run we talk the entire time. It makes the time really fly by, and we catch up on everything that’s happened in the past week. When we ran the half, we ran side by side, but didn’t talk, and our pace indeed was the pace I was running at today. I wasn’t complaining, that’s for sure! Around mile 3, I really wanted to stop and walk. Originally my plan was to run straight through – no stopping, but right around that mile 3 marker that seemed like a silly plan. So what if I stopped for just a minute? Would it really make that much of a difference? I bargained with myself and decided to take a walking break at the half-way point. Man, that’s a whole 1.5 miles away!! No, no – that’s negative thinking, I could do this!

Minutes after deciding to allow myself that walking break, I realized that I was running uphill. The second I hit flat ground, a walking break seemed like a silly idea. Now I really wanted to make it a full 9 miles without stopping, and this time I really did know I could do it. I ran around the pond twice, it’s fairly flat there and very beautiful. After the second loop, I was at 5.6 miles – the perfect time to run back home. I was smiling ear to ear at this point. OMG, I’m going to rock this run!!

By the way, I forgot to mention that this run was basically the exact same route that the BAA half follows (except I turned around 2 miles earlier). Around 7 miles or so, I was starting to slow down. My legs were starting to hurt a little. I was at the exact location that I started to really feel it during my half (it was mile 9 then). I distinctly remember Molly asking me if I wanted to walk for a minute or slow down… and I remember saying “I don’t know…” and kept running. I wanted to be stronger than that on THIS run. I pictured the point at which I thought I saw a 13 mile market (it was a 12-mile marker in fact). I wanted to get there, and I wanted to keep going. Remember, I was going to rock this run!! So I kept running and drinking water. I brought some orange slices with me for fuel, but I didn’t want them. I knew I could finish without them. I slowed down a bunch just to make sure I finished the run strong. Finishing the distance was my main goal. I didn’t care about speed. At the end, I was happy with both. I finished 9 miles in 1:22 hours – 9:08 minute average pace. I did it!!!!!! [Insert happy dance here ]

After a good stretch and a shower, I met up with Coco for a celebratory brunch. I’m going to do a recap of that in a separate post because you are probably tired from reading. Here are the rest of the day’s eats.

Organic fuji apple

Grilled chicken, avocado and cheese panini + baby carrots and grape tomatoes

I ended up dumping a bunch of salsa over the sandwich. That was an awesome addition to the panini!

TJ’s nonfat european style yogurt, chia seeds, pear slices + Zoe’s granola

A Black Dinah Chocolatiers truffle

It was the perfect Sunday!

Do you have any tips for completing long workouts?

Speaking of donations to good causes, a friend of mine emailed me a few weeks ago about Taste of the Nation, a culinary benefit in Boston. I was lucky enough to get a few tickets. 100% of ticket sales from Taste of the Nation are granted to the most effective anti-hunger organizations working to end childhood hunger in America (click here for more event details). I think this will be a really spectacular event, so if you are in Boston, please consider purchasing tickets. Donations that reward you back with yummy food are my favorite kind.

Now onto today’s eats…

BREAKFAST

2 Nature’s Path organic flax waffles with Barney Butter and pear slices

[387 calories]

MID-MORNING/PRE-WORKOUT SNACK

Clif Mojo mountain mix bar

+ tea

[180 calories]

WORKOUT

I had 5 miles on my training schedule for today, and I really had a hard time talking myself into going to the gym. I realized that as much as I LOVE my long weekend runs with friends, I have a hard time with mid-week runs on the treadmill. This is not a physical constraint, btw, I just really have to continue convincing myself to keep going (it starts with getting to the gym, and then actually staying at the gym). All in all, the run was hard, but it was actually really good. I planned on staying at 6.8 mph and varying inclines. 6.8 used to be my warm-up/”resting” speed. I am not there anymore, but I hope with continued training to get back to this level of running fitness and even exceed it! I completed my planned 5 miles and stayed right around the target speed, speeding up at times when I had more energy and slowing down when I needed a little break. I felt fantastic after finishing! Hopefully I will remember this wonderful feeling on Friday afternoon (my next planned run).

LUNCH

I had no time to make a real lunch this morning so that’s why you see a very ugly collection of ingredients here. The truth is, it was actually quite tasty.

TJ’s roasted chicken patty with laughing cow cheese and mustard on a FFL english muffin + baby carrots and an orange

[431 calories]

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

Oikos with 1/2 apple and Barney Butter

[221 calories]

Man, this was GOOD (and also filling)!

DINNER

When you’re low on groceries and want something quick, make a tortilla pizza!

TJ’s flour tortilla with whole wheat, TJ’s organic tomato sauce, organic pizza cheese blend, roasted rosemary chicken + avocado

I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. TJ’s organic tomato sauce (in a can) makes the best pizza sauce! It is so flavorful. I love love love it. The roasted chicken was courtesy of my PILs. Also, have you ever had avocado on pizza? It’s pretty awesome!

Open wide!

While eating dinner, I was watching the Food Network ice cream challenge. Instead of 2 little truffles I planned on having for dessert, a frozen chocolate covered banana seemed more appealing. Can’t wait for some truffles tomorrow though.

[all together = 436 calories]

While typing this post, I also had a mini pack of somersaults (70 calories).

Total calories consumed: 1,736

KITCHEN CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

We are getting SO close! Over the weekend we had the cabinets installed and today the countertop went on. I am counting down the days until I can cook in my own kitchen!!!

So excited that it’s already Wednesday tomorrow AND I have a fun lunch date planned and a dinner out. The weekend will be here before we know it.

I kept the rest of my toenails in tact, with some pilates and nutritious eats

BREAKFAST

Egg whites, cheese and bacon on a FFL english muffin + coffee

[308 calories]

LUNCH

Ellie Krieger nutty sweet potato soup

[290 calories]

Eaten while on a conference call to make sure I have enough fuel for pilates.

SNACKS

[280 calories]

[120 calories]

+ a Hershey’s chocolate almond bar (unpictured). I don’t know why, but these are my guilty pleasure. I really wanted chocolate so I hit up the vending machine. I hope to keep these incidents to the minimum. [210 calories]

DINNER

We have a few more days with our old kitchen so we’re trying to use up everything we have in the fridge that we won’t be able to cook once construction starts. Today’s dinner was easy and super delicious!

Nuovo portabella & fontina ravioli with peas and vodka sauce + roasted cauliflower

The ravioli was delicious! I love fresh made pasta. These were not only yummy but very pretty – great for a meal for company that can be made in less than 10 minutes! (the ravioli took 4 minutes to cook once the water boiled).

The roasted cauliflower was pretty awesome too (even Adam loved it even though he wasn’t excited about this addition to dinner beforehand). I roasted it for about 20 minutes at 450*. Easy peasy

[~350-400 calories]

Then the snacking began I swear, every time I watch the Biggest Loser, I eat! How screwed up is that?!! I had a packet of almonds and 4 squares of chocolate. I wanted to continue going but realized that there was absolutely nothing I was craving and that I wasn’t hungry, so I forbid myself from going back to the kitchen. Crisis (kind of) averted.

Total calories consumed: over 2,000. It’s still a work in progress, obviously. At least my workouts have their luster back

Have you ever had exercise related injuries… or lost soldiers?

THE RUN

This morning at the last minute, Molly and I decided to go for a quick run. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about how it was all going to go down. I pretty much run once a week now, and it shows… my stamina has really decreased. It was a beautiful day and we decided to just start running and see where that goes… it could even end up with just being a coffee date if the run wasn’t really happening. I met Molly about 1.5 miles into my run and I was already feeling it. I told her how silly it was for me to assume that I could just do 7-8 miles, just like that. I no longer run like I did while training for the half marathon, so I shouldn’t expect to be able to run decent distances just because I the number sounded good to me that day. So off we went, and somehow we both really got into it. Every time we had a chance to turn around, we just kept going! I’m going to fast forward to the end, I ran 9.5 miles today, averaging 9:48 minute miles (with the last 1.5 at an 8 minute mile pace… I was flying)!!!!! In fact, I could even keep going, I just decided it was time to get home. Oh, I also drank 18 oz of water, while running. I’m very proud of this too. This run was just amazing for my self confidence, on every level. I was seriously on cloud nine for the rest of the day and felt like a rock star!! Molly, you rock… and I kind of rock too

PRE-RUN SNACK/BREAKFAST

The usual: ww toast with Barney Butter + 1/2 banana

LUNCH

Lunch was crazy awesome… see it says so on my recipe so it must be true! Wow, I’m a dork… moving on!

I followed Meghann’s recipe for chickpea parmesan burgers, plopped it on a FFL english muffin and voila – an incredible (and filling!) lunch! Some carrot sticks on the side were the perfect sub for fries.

This recipe was super easy, and was seriously amazing. You have to make it asap!!!

And then it was time to enjoy this gorgeous day with my husband…..

I enjoyed a bite of this chocolate sample from Hotel Chocolat

And a delicious pumpkin spice chai with skim milk (no sweetener) from Tealuxe (my favorite tea spot!). Look at the frothy milk… mmm

Having my camera with me at all times comes in handy. This is our street… isn’t it cute?

A juicy apple tied me over until dinner…

DINNER

Shannon brought this amazing roasted red pepper dip to our housewarming party that was camera shy. The dip is slightly spicy and tangy (Shannon added some light cream cheese to cut the spice down) and is absolutely amazing scooped up with crackers, in sandwiches as a spread, and over pasta like in tonight’s dinner (the recipe for the dip can be found here).

Happy husband (candid shot)… I hope you don’t mind, Adam!

My portion: 2 oz whole wheat pasta with 1 chicken sausage, grape tomatoes, baby spinach and roasted red pepper sauce. This was so satisfying, perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious!

PS – This was yesterday’s lunch: 2 ww slider rolls with leftover grilled fish, roasted red pepper sauce and laughing cow cheese. Amazing!!

This sauce is so versatile. I highly recommend it! Thanks, Shannon, for bringing it over. Adam and I are in love with it

I’m off to a few bars to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Happy birthday, Emily!!!

How is your weekend going?

Saturday started by meeting a reader, Allison, who teaches lots of fitness classes at the Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs. I decided to attend her muscle and abs class at the center in Brighton. After chatting for about 10 minutes before the class, we got to business The class was really a blast. Allison knew everyone’s name and mentioned Jillian Michaels, new tv shows, while kicking our butts with moves I’ve never seen before. We used every gadget you can think of, and just kept moving. Awesome! Allison also introduced me to the class as her special blogger friend. If some of you Brighton BHAC girls are in fact reading this post, say hello in the comments section!

Allison and I after a super sweaty class:

I actually decided to take a break from taking pictures of my food for the day, so Saturday eats will have to be my little secret Let’s get to Sunday!

I woke up super excited for my first Healthy and Sane social running group meet-up! I fueled up with some dessert for breakfast: When Pigs Fly chocolate bread with chunky Barney Butter + coffee. Not a bad way to start the day, that’s for sure

Our first social run was awesome! There were just 4 of us running today, which made for easy navigation. We ran across the Mass Ave bridge towards Cambridge, looped by the Museum of Science, then ran to Fenway and back to the Back Bay. I ran 7 miles and didn’t even realize it! I was too busy having fun!! We held about a 9:30 minute pace (I think, I actually reset my garmin by mistake without checking) and all felt great! I got to meet and get to know Shannon from Lessons to Learn, and hang out with my Boston girls, Shannon (from Tri to Cook) and Molly of course. Great fun! I feel so lucky to have met so many cool people because of my blog! If you like running and live in Boston, you should join us. I can almost guarantee a good time

Oh, look what Shannon brought for me…

Baked mini cider donuts!!! Yum! But we’ll get to that later… onto…

LUNCH

1 cup of V8 Vegetable Blend soup with the bud of the olive bread.

I tried the soup by itself this time, without adding anything else, and it was delicious! Mmm, chunky delicious veggie soup (a few more days left to enter the V8 soup giveaway!)…

+ yummy olive bread. I think I’ve eaten my weight in bread over the past few days. It’s too good!

+ Dessert: mini baked cider donut

These tasted like delicious mini muffins – lots of cinnamon and spices. The perfect fall treat! My parents in law came over and got to enjoy them as well. They were a hit for sure! Check out Tri to Cook in a few days for the recipe

OTHER SNACKS

There were lots of snacks because I’m never hungry after a run, which made for a small lunch and a ravenous Elina later in the day

One of the last apples from the apple picking trip:

Mini peach pie slice with Stonyfield nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt:

Yellowtail cabernet sauvignon:

This is a pretty nice wine, especially for the price. Brings back memories of buying giant bottles of Yellowtail wine with my sister and polishing them off way to0 quickly in our NY apartment. Good times! :lol

DINNER

Dinner ended up being such an amazing fall treat! I wanted to make something with wonton wrappers we had on hand, and came across this recipe in Cooking Light for sweet potato ravioli with lemon-sage brown butter. This was my first time making ravioli… pretty fun! The wonton wrappers are a great shortcut to making the pasta dough, and these really did taste like real ravioli. I was a proud ravioli mama

I cut the amount of butter a little bit, but the butter lemon sauce makes these really special so definitely don’t skip the butter sauce!

Absolutely delicious! Rich, flavorful, and so “fall.” Adam loved them as well, despite being hesitant at first. Sweet

What a great weekend! Lots of food, lots of exercise. Perfect! What food defines “fall” for you?

During my half marathon training, I realized how fun running can be when I run with friends. Running every Sunday, reaching new personal distance goals, while having fun, was an experience that I truly believe changed my life. Although I decided to cut back on running and concentrate on other types of exercise during the colder fall/winter months, I would like to continue to run socially. To me that means meeting up with some girlfriends, who I enjoy spending time with, and chatting while running. Time flies by when you’re having fun and you burn a few calories while you’re at it. Hey, not bad!

I completed a 9 mile run with Kirsten during a downpour the week before the half marathon and got to know her a little better, and this past weekend Molly and I did a quick 5 1/4 mile run during another super cold and rainy morning. What I realized both times is that having a date got me out the door, and after a few minutes I was drenched but getting warmer… and I was with a friend! I’ve received comments on my blog and a few emails recently, asking if I wanted another running buddy. Of course I do! We all can support each other!! If you are interested in joining me on a weekend run, please leave a comment on the blog or send me an email at elina@healthyandsane.com. Molly and I usually meet mid-Sunday morning and run a random distance at around 10 minute/mile pace. Join us! We can maybe even train for a race together in the future… we’ll see how this goes

RUNNING FUEL (and a little extra )

BREAKFAST

Nonfat yogurt with an apple, grapes, pb puffins, Zoe’s granola and cacao nibs + coffee

LUNCH

V8 Vegetable Bland soup, bulked up with brown rice and green beans, and garnished with pumpkin seeds + 1/2 FFL english muffin with laughing cow

The soup was delicious and you may be able to taste some for free (check back in the afternoon for a giveaway!!)

DINNER

Cabbage salad and roasted root veggie “tacos”

SNACKS

1/2 banana with Barney Butter

TJ’s 100 calorie dark chocolate bar and sea salt somersaults

Yogi  peach detox tea with Kashi pumpkin pie granola bar

Yogi tea people are so wise

It’s been a long day (actually long week)… I’m ready for the weekend. If you live in Boston, let me know if you’d like to meet up!

Question for all of you: have you ever belonged to a sports team or any other social team?

Do you like stand-up comedy? When was the last time you’ve been to a show and who did you see? Anyone famous?

BREAKFAST

A delicious blueberry bran muffin from Whole Foods (+ coffee) that Molly brought over on Sunday before our run. Oh did I mention we went for a 5.25 mile run on the rainiest day ever… and we’re not even training for anything?! We’re pretty hardcore, huh? Running with Molly is really socializing for me, while incidentally burning calories, so I don’t think of it as running. With that said, with our warm up and cooldown walks, we covered 6 miles in just a little over an hour. I say that’s pretty good for a day we’d otherwise want to be lazy on! This is the kind of running I plan on keeping up – social running.

Buttery delicious muffin. Definitely a treat!

LUNCH

Random plate of goodies:

Meatloaf stuffed with mushrooms and eggs, prepared by my mom:

Chicken thighs with mushrooms and raisins (also prepared by mom):

1/2 FFL english muffin with hummus (gotta have carbs!)

Freshly roasted red peppers (yup, mom made them):

+ a cabbage salad and grape tomatoes (see above) for some veggies. I usually don’t like meals that are more like random snacks put together, but this ended up being well rounded and satisfying. Thanks, mom, for sending us home with some extra food!

SNACKS

There was A LOT more candy than this. Halloween will be the death of me if I don’t nip this candy eating in the bud. There is candy available all year round – no need to consume ridiculous amounts of it in the month of October, especially since there will be much more worthy treats in the office in November and December, with “real holidays” coming up.

This bar above has artificial stuff in it. I found it in the back of my desk drawer and really enjoyed it but you definitely won’t see me buying more of it in the future. Otherwise, if you’re not artificial ingredients averse, it is delicious – kind of tastes like snickers with the nougat filling and peanut chunks.

DINNER

I had about 5 minutes to make dinner last night. With all the candy consumed I thought about just grabbing a banana to go, but on the way home I brilliantly came up with a quick dinner plan instead. Shrimp, corn, and salsa quesadilla – now that’s a great quick healthy dinner!

Not photogenic but super flavorful! Corn is becoming my favorite random ingredient – remember corn and tuna pizza? Delicious!

During the show, I also had 1/2 of Sencha Tea bar (I decided they were a bit weird and since they’re expensive, you won’t see them on the blog again). There were also some chocolate covered edamame consumed as a dinner dessert. Serious sugar overload. I am committed to treating myself with more respect than that. As Jillian Michaels would say – think through you choices! Next time I’m grabbing candy bar #100, I’ll try to remind myself this!

Speaking of sweet things… check out a sweet giveaway at Tri to Cook.