I spent this weekend trying to get back on track. It has been a little less than a week since we moved into our new place, I had a week of working at my new job under my belt, I learned what grocery stores carried what, what fitness centers available to me (yeah, I have three FREE options- work, base, and the apt complex) had what equipment and my Vitamix arrived Friday so I had no excuses left not to get my life (RE: training and eating) back on track. So, on Saturday morning Paul and I set out to do just that.
Our first stop was the local farmer's market. It was pretty small and most people were selling just baked goods but we managed to find some amazing rainbow swiss chard, baby kale, carrots and broccoli. It was raining so I think there were probably less vendors that usual. It was our first trip there so we aren't really sure what the norm is but we still plan on going back. Especially since it is on the way to base, which was our second stop.
My half marathon training schedule called for a 7 mile run but the weather forced me to run inside instead of the awesome chip trail I ran on the week before. Sidenote: Sunshine State...is that sarcasm? We've had 2 sunny days out of the 2 weeks I've been here. I don't do well in these conditions. I need sun daily or I go a bit mad. Hopefully the weather gets better. Anywho...7 miles to run. I am still not great when it comes to running a constant speed on the treadmill so I ended up splitting my time between the treadmill and the elliptical. I did just shy of four on the treadmill (snooze fest) and a bit more than three on the elliptical. I was hoping to use the arc trainer but there weren't any available so I grudgingly used the elliptical. I know those elliptical miles don't really count as running but hey, I did the best I could.
Then we headed to the natural foods co-op to pick up some bulk goods. I am a huge fan of buying grains, seeds, nuts, etc in bulk and now that I have a Vitamix I am can use them whole or grind them to make my own flours, nut butters, non-dairy milks, and such. So far I used the Vitamix to grind my own corn meal out of popcorn kernels, flax meal out of flax seeds, and I made some apple juice (for a recipe that called for it as a cooking liquid) using an apple and some water. This week I plan on making some hummus and almond milk as well. I am so excited to be able to make more of the things I eat at home especially almond milk. It's hard to find a decent non-dairy milk that isn't pumped with funky chemicals and preservatives. I used to only buy the Whole Foods brand but I don't have that option down here. I have been using a brand of soy milk I found that has just two ingredients; soybeans and water, but I prefer almond milk over soy so I am glad I can make some myself.
This weekend we also created our meal plan for the week:
Sunday: Stuffed peppers with swiss chard hash
Monday: Polenta (made from the cornmeal I ground yesterday) with green lentils (which I am currently sprouting) and portobello mushrooms topped with a creamy basil/spinach/sun dried tomato sauce and steamed broccoli
Tuesday: Veggie burgers (new recipe out of the Vitamix cookbook) with fries and greens
Wednesday: Tofu scramble with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and spinach with hash browns
Thursday: Portobello steaks with roasted cauliflower and sage carrots
As I mentioned above, I am sprouting some lentils right now. I am also sprouting some quinoa to use to make my own rejuvelac- a natural probiotic. I have found kombucha down here but it's more expensive and I am kind of sick of paying so much for it. I can make 64 ounces of rejuvelac using only 1 cup of quinoa. That will save me between $13-$15 just by making my own. And if it does the same thing as the store bought kombucha then I totally think it's worth the effort.
I also made up a huge double batch of steel cut oats in the crockpot yesterday. It was pretty simple recipe; I just threw some oats, water, soymilk, an apple, and two plums in the crockpot with some pumpkin pie spice (couldn't find the cinnamon) and let it cook. Then I portioned them into 1/2 cup servings (which I will have 2 of for breakfast) by scooping them into lined muffin tins and freezing. So that took care of breakfasts for the next two weeks. Score.
My training plan for this week will be running Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Hot yoga with my friend Jodi on Saturday morning, and hopefully a bike ride around the UWF mountain bike trails on Sunday.
It feels good to have a plan, to be able to eat 'real' foods again, and to finally be able to shift my focus back to training and being active. I feel like crap when I eat crap and I feel like a sloth when I act like one.
Happy Monday!
Monday, February 25, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wordless Wednesday: Pensacola Pictures
Some pictures from around town; the bay, NAS Pensacola, and Pensacola Beach.
Happy Wednesday!
Happy Wednesday!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
On the Road Again
Hello...I'm here...I'm not avoiding you- I swear.
Life has been somewhat hectic the past few weeks. Why, you ask?
Well, let's see. January 18th was my last day of work at my job in San Antonio. I gave my notice after the New Year and then spent a very chaotic 2.5 weeks there trying to train my former co-workers to take over my responsibilities. That was crazy. Just a few days after my last day there I headed up to Rhode Island to attend Paul's graduation from Navy OCS- Officer Candidate School. From RI we headed to Boston for the weekend to celebrate. From Boston, we both returned to San Antonio in order to prepare for our move to Pensacola, FL that would take place just 12 days from our return. I should mention here that we didn't even find out our move dates until we were in Boston so we basically had just 2 weeks to prepare.
We are beyond fortunate that the military contracts movers to take care of the packing, loading and delivery of the household goods so that made the move a million times easier. That being said, there are still alot of things involved in moving hundreds of miles away like finding a place to live, where to stay while the household goods are in transit, what needs to be packed and taken with us (like important paperwork, dog meds, underwear, etc) and of course all the fun stuff like calling the power company and waiting on hold for 38 minutes just to stop service - which took less than a minute to do once I was on the line with a human. Sheesh!
And of course in the mix of all the moving stuff Paul and I started training for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon on April 7th here in Pensacola. We had a crazy first week of training because we thought it would be smart to do back to back to back runs- speed work one day, long run the next, and then a 7K race the day after that. I should also mention that we did that 7K race after an 18 mile bike ride. Needless to say my legs were TIRED after all of that. We had to fit in the runs whenever we could but it would have been smarter if we skipped one of those and gave our bodies adequate rest. Or at least maybe done an easy run in place of speed work. Hindsight, right?
Week two of half training was almost non-existent for me. I think I only got in one run, maybe two if you count the tiny bit of time I spent on the treadmill and elliptical Saturday morning before we drove to Pensacola. I had great plans on how to squeeze in my training schedule around my move but it just didn't pan out. Faced with the choice between running or cleaning/packing/organizing I had to go with the move stuff. It NEEDED to be done. Oh well, I am definitely not losing sleep over missing a few runs especially since it was only week 2. Life happens, we have to be flexible.
Now I am 'settled' into our hotel room here in Pensacola and have much more free time this week. I have gotten in 2 training runs so far (both on the treadmill) and have a my long run on the books for tomorrow. Paul found a great, unpaved running trail along the beach at NAS Pensacola and since I am still not working I will be able to join him tomorrow for a run.
On Saturday we sign the lease to our new apartment. We were hoping to rent a house but that didn't work out. We did however find a pretty awesome apartment complex with some amazing amenities; two pools, two fitness centers, and a huge dog park. Oh, and it is just 2 miles from where I will be working. So, yay me! I totally lucked out on that one. We are still waiting to hear from the movers- we were told the other day that our household goods might arrive Saturday which would be awesome. If not, they will be here early next week. Either way, I am just super thankful that it won't be much longer before I can get back into a normal routine. My body is sick of eating out every day and sleeping way too much. Ugh! I just keep telling myself that this situation is temporary and that I just need to make the best decisions I can.
Next week I start my new job, we'll be able to settle into our new home, and hopefully the weather gets a little bit nicer (no more rain, please!) and we can do more exploring of the downtown/beach areas. It should be great! Oh, and last night Paul and I went to Mellow Mushroom for trivia night and even though we were just a two person team we managed to come in third place. It was super fun and I think it will become a weekly tradition for us. Yay!
So that's my update for now. I hope to be back blogging regularly soon.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Life has been somewhat hectic the past few weeks. Why, you ask?
Well, let's see. January 18th was my last day of work at my job in San Antonio. I gave my notice after the New Year and then spent a very chaotic 2.5 weeks there trying to train my former co-workers to take over my responsibilities. That was crazy. Just a few days after my last day there I headed up to Rhode Island to attend Paul's graduation from Navy OCS- Officer Candidate School. From RI we headed to Boston for the weekend to celebrate. From Boston, we both returned to San Antonio in order to prepare for our move to Pensacola, FL that would take place just 12 days from our return. I should mention here that we didn't even find out our move dates until we were in Boston so we basically had just 2 weeks to prepare.
We are beyond fortunate that the military contracts movers to take care of the packing, loading and delivery of the household goods so that made the move a million times easier. That being said, there are still alot of things involved in moving hundreds of miles away like finding a place to live, where to stay while the household goods are in transit, what needs to be packed and taken with us (like important paperwork, dog meds, underwear, etc) and of course all the fun stuff like calling the power company and waiting on hold for 38 minutes just to stop service - which took less than a minute to do once I was on the line with a human. Sheesh!
And of course in the mix of all the moving stuff Paul and I started training for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon on April 7th here in Pensacola. We had a crazy first week of training because we thought it would be smart to do back to back to back runs- speed work one day, long run the next, and then a 7K race the day after that. I should also mention that we did that 7K race after an 18 mile bike ride. Needless to say my legs were TIRED after all of that. We had to fit in the runs whenever we could but it would have been smarter if we skipped one of those and gave our bodies adequate rest. Or at least maybe done an easy run in place of speed work. Hindsight, right?
Week two of half training was almost non-existent for me. I think I only got in one run, maybe two if you count the tiny bit of time I spent on the treadmill and elliptical Saturday morning before we drove to Pensacola. I had great plans on how to squeeze in my training schedule around my move but it just didn't pan out. Faced with the choice between running or cleaning/packing/organizing I had to go with the move stuff. It NEEDED to be done. Oh well, I am definitely not losing sleep over missing a few runs especially since it was only week 2. Life happens, we have to be flexible.
Now I am 'settled' into our hotel room here in Pensacola and have much more free time this week. I have gotten in 2 training runs so far (both on the treadmill) and have a my long run on the books for tomorrow. Paul found a great, unpaved running trail along the beach at NAS Pensacola and since I am still not working I will be able to join him tomorrow for a run.
On Saturday we sign the lease to our new apartment. We were hoping to rent a house but that didn't work out. We did however find a pretty awesome apartment complex with some amazing amenities; two pools, two fitness centers, and a huge dog park. Oh, and it is just 2 miles from where I will be working. So, yay me! I totally lucked out on that one. We are still waiting to hear from the movers- we were told the other day that our household goods might arrive Saturday which would be awesome. If not, they will be here early next week. Either way, I am just super thankful that it won't be much longer before I can get back into a normal routine. My body is sick of eating out every day and sleeping way too much. Ugh! I just keep telling myself that this situation is temporary and that I just need to make the best decisions I can.
Next week I start my new job, we'll be able to settle into our new home, and hopefully the weather gets a little bit nicer (no more rain, please!) and we can do more exploring of the downtown/beach areas. It should be great! Oh, and last night Paul and I went to Mellow Mushroom for trivia night and even though we were just a two person team we managed to come in third place. It was super fun and I think it will become a weekly tradition for us. Yay!
So that's my update for now. I hope to be back blogging regularly soon.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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