Lately

Oh Phew... you are still here!  

Sorry about my absence.  

July has been crazy!  

What have I been up to?

Still running! 

I have been running my three miles twice a week.  (pending the weather). 

Not as much as I would like but the heat has been unbearable.    

I will step it up a bit when the weather cools down and the humidity goes away.  I am so active in the summer with hiking, walks, diving and riding that I am not too beat up about low mileage. 

Yes ... I saw 110 on the car temperature gauge while working outside.  

We had a killer heat wave here in New England. 

Olive is still cute as a button and staying cool :) 

I have been riding and showing Bradley 

and we have been successful in the Adult Equitation. 

 I really think he likes his new job...

I always find some time to relax with the furr kids.  

Sun bathing on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The furr babies got new matching collars, leashes, toys, and snacks.  

Spoiled much?

I went from stuffing my face with pasta and bread to a low carb diet.  And it is paying off!  I am down 15 lbs from the winter.  I know a lot of that is loss of muscle after I stopped training for my marathon.  But I feel and look great so thats all that matters!  I really want to incorporate more of a weight, ab, toning program into my cardio. 

I get a little misguided for dinners but I have been sticking to healthy clean lunches and breakfasts.  I have been experimenting with fun and different salads and found my new favorite dressing.  Newmans Lite Honey Mustard- I can't find enough things to dip in it and considered drinking it one day... TRUTH. 

Oh and my sister's bridal shower was a HUGE success!  

But you will hear about that tomorrow.

Time to wrap up this work day and meet my friends for our Wednesday night Scuba

Diving (and dinner... and drinks... )

Ciao! 

Four on the fourth

Why do we love holiday races so much?

Is it the support and comradery? Is it because we get to dress up and look a little sillier than normal? Or is it because we can eat guilt-free the rest of the day?

For me, its is all of the above.  

When Stacie mentioned the local road race in our town on the fourth of July I was excited to sign up and join the event.

She had warned me about the hills and the heat... but all in all it sounded like a fun race, close to home, and with a cheapish entry fee at only $25 (with a t shirt!)

I went to Walmart to find obnoxious accessories and lucked out when I saw these star headbands  ($2.50) and awesome striped tank ($3.99).  I paired them with my new blue running shorts from marshalls ($9.99)  and threw on my lime green compression socks ($24.99).  Everything I bought was on sale, and its a little sad that the most expensive thing was my socks.  They were a life saver after running on some very tired legs after a few long nights behind the bar. 

I looked very silly, yet very patriotic :) 

The headband wasn't half as annoying and I thought it would be and I even forgot I was wearing it for most of the race.  I kept smiling when the volunteers and other racers kept raving about our patriotism and "antlers".

My usual distance is 3 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays with Stacie.  We generally run a pretty flat route and run at 6:30 before it has a chance to get too hot (the humidity in New England has been awful lately).  

I was a little nervous when I saw that we were running at 9am, on a hot sunny day, on a hilly route, and a mile more than my comfort zone.  Of course 4 miles is very doable for me (especially after claiming my 18 miler), but I wanted to enjoy the race, and not feel like I was dying so I opted for a nice leisurely pace with no time goals.   

I am very happy to report that my run felt great.  While I was a hot sweaty mess, my legs felt great, and at no point did I feel like I had to stop or was out of breath.  Stacie and I ran it nice and slow, trying to enjoy our workout without pushing ourselves in the heat and humidity. I had one egg and a water with a NUUN tablet before my run and had a gatorade, water,  and banana after to rehydrate. 

Throughout our run, I was amazed at all the volunteers, handing out water, cleaning up the streets, and all of the residents who turned on their sprinklers and their hoses for us.  It was amazing to be able to cool off in the sprinklers along the route and I am so thankful to all of the volunteers that helped make the race a huge success.  Seeing the volunteers out there, hooting and hollering, handing out water and organizing everything really made me want to give back and volunteer at a local road race.  What a great way to spend the fourth of July in a small New England town :)

Did anyone else run a race this fourth of July?

Anyone ever volunteer for a race? 

Summer Squash Side Dish

I had such a great weekend, that my smile carried over to Monday.  Friday night I saw my lovely Liz who was home from DC for the weekend to look at WEDDING VENUES!   I was so happy to see her, chat about the wedding, and see the beautiful diamond on her pretty little finger- Congrats lover:)

 Saturday I rode all of the horses before heading out to one of my dive friends engagement parties.  When I started diving last year I met a fantastic group of people who are as crazy and quirky as me.  I had an amazing time with our group of friends, enjoying eachothers company in the sunshine and drinking a few too many gin and tonics (oops).

 I was so excited and honored when she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.  3 of my friends are getting married and I am so honored to be a bridesmaid in each one and be a part of their special day-  I don't know if I have ever felt so happy for my friends or so loved!

After a week of healthy eating and down a few pounds, I was so excited to pop into my new dress for the engagement party (marshalls 25$) and loved how I looked and felt in it.  Topped it off with my J Crew wedges (clearance section 20 $) and I was ready to go!  Entire outfit for under 50?  Yup!

Sunday was a very early (dehyrdrated and hung over)  horse show with my sister's horse Bradley.  He was a complete superstar and we had a great day in the show ring at the Westbrook Hunt Club.  Riding all three horses Saturday and Sunday left for a really sore Katie on Monday.

By about 3 o clock I had yet to eat anything and of course, went on a complete binge.  I grabbed a Mystic Pizza "family size" and continued to eat the entire pizza, without the family.  There is nothing wrong with pizza every now and then, and While I will argue that there was NOT four servings in that darn pizza, it certainly wasn't made for one.

I know better to bring snacks with me, but no use crying over spilled milk. Everything in moderation. Next time I cook a pizza I will have to find some company to share it with.

 Until then I am going to laugh about it, leave some emergency snacks in the car, and share a healthy summer side dish with all of you. 

  I needed a side dish for a BBQ and wanted to stick with my healthy recipes.  My heart said POTATO SALAD but my thighs said no.  So I made up my own fun little salad that was flour/potato free but still had the crunch I was looking for.  

I present to you:  

Summer Squash Salad

Cut up two zucchinis and one squash.  I used a pastry brush to coat the slices in garlic infused olive oil. 

I griled them for a few minutes on each side until they were tender and had nice grill marks. 

I chopped up some fresh basil from the garden and halved some cherry tomatoes.  I have never seen purple basil but it was a nice fresh pop of color in my salad. 

To finish off the salad I added some goat cheese, garlic infused olive oil, salt, pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Light, Fresh, Seasonal Summer veggies- 

 It is a perfect summer side dish for any occasion.

Its Monday, and its July 1st, back to a week of clean eating and hopefully some more running.
Fresh starts for all! 

Summer Fruit Salad

Yesterday marked my fathers 49th birthday.  My father is an amazing role model who has always let me be the crazy impatient opinionated tom boy I still am today.  

(obsessed with the fishes from the beginning, naturally) 

 To celebrate his last year in the 40's, we had a good ol' fashioned BBQ with the family.  Thursday marked day 5 of healthy eating for me and  I decided to keep it up and pass on the potatoes, bread, and ice cream cake. 

Instead I opted for grilled chicken, grilled pork tenderloin, beans, corn, and an arugula salad.  

Oh sure a potato wouldn't have killed me but I love love love potatoes, so I decided complete avoidance was the best option.  I made sure the potatoes and bread basket sat at the other end of the table so they didn't taunt and tease me.   

While everyone was eating ice cream cake, I decided " I just passed on potatoes... I can take on THE WORLD".  So I said no to ice cream cake and headed to the fridge for a substitute   I found strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and yogurt.  I also grabbed some fresh mint from the garden and some apple pie spices.  Throw them all together and enjoy :) 

It was a great dessert that left me full and satisfied.  What beats fresh fruit on a hot summer day?  Hooray for strawberry season in New England.  

I would love to hear your healthy dessert recipes.

Fruit pops?

Watermelon?

Send them my way!

Friday Craving

Good morning and congratulations on surviving another work week.    I feel that Fridays deserve a congratulations- maybe even a high five.  

You made it through five days without getting fired and/or killing your co workers? 

 High Five!

It has been a long week here and I am so thankful for the weekend.  First week back from vacation was rough but I am slipping back into my routine.  

Got my Tuesday/Thursday morning runs in (that deserves another high five) and planning a run for tomorrow.  Three days of running on top of hiking, walks, and horse back riding? I will take it. 

After my return from Europe, I decided to try to severely reduce the amount of bread, rice, potatoes and pasta I put into my pie hole.  Spending a week in the Azores shoving carbs in my face left many afternoons trying to name the food babies I had just created.    After countless loaves of bread and a few baby names later, I landed back in the USA with a plan to try to reduce my breads/pastas/rice/potatoes to two meals a week.  

I decided that bloated, heavy, rock-in-your-stomach feeling just isn't worth that bowl of pasta and basket of bread.    Of course I am still going to enjoy those carbs I love, but I am just limiting them to two meals a week.  Week one has been going very well and I haven't missed my carbs, 

until today.  

This morning I woke up and I had one thing on the mind.  It took over my weakened Friday brain, and before I knew it I was gravitating out of my bed and making my way toward the kitchen.

 What did I need so badly?

Pancakes.

The best part? 

I kind of hate pancakes.....

I probably eat pancakes 3x a year and they have to be loaded with chocolate chips fruits nuts or what ever else you can shove into those fluffy buttery cakes.  

I sprung out of bed and proceeded to make cinnamon chocolate chip walnut pancakes while still in my underwear.  30 minutes later I was late for work but had a plate full of delicious hot cakes. 

Maybe it was the change in diet?  Maybe my taste buds are changing?  Maybe I had a really good dream about pancakes?  Regardless, I am a firm believer into giving into cravings (in moderation) regardless of what kind of food regimen you are following.   I have found that cutting out anything completely leads to bingeing   Next time I have a craving for pancakes I am going to try Taralynns Banana Egg Protein Pancakes.  I didn't have bananas or protein powder on hand so I went for the mix version. 

What are some weird cravings you have had waking up in the morning?

What protein powders do you recommend?

Favorite type of pancakes?