A Wonderful Beginning and Homemade Granola

Exercise: Easy 30 mins elliptical, 10 minutes core work

Yesterday I got up early and ran my first trail 10 miler in quite a few weeks in preparation for the Bulldog. I finally registered for it last week and have 6 weeks to go! The run went really well so I'm getting super excited for the race. It's the first 10+ I've completed in the last few months with zero pain. Woo Hoo to that!

Even though I've been eating pretty grain free I fueled my run with Fage 0, blueberries and 1/4 c of homemade granola. I use this recipe and I sub unsweetened coconut for the sweet stuff as well as only using 3 T honey and 3 T agave for the sweetener a splash of vanilla and 2 T of oil. I also added some chia and hemp seed for good measure. This time around I threw in the end of an open box of cornflakes st the very end of cooking. This granola is super delicious and the breakfast fueled me pretty well.

To top off my awesome run yesterday the Little Man slept in super late today. Music Man and I got over 8 hours of sleep and it was glorious! I am hoping for a repeat tonight, but not expecting much. No matter what,  it was a great start to the week.


Actually, the whole day has been pretty great, not just the morning. We were able to eat breakfast as a family and spend the morning running errands. The Little took a 2+ hour nap and then I took his friend Ethan and him to a Monday afternoon birthday play date. How awesome is that?

Because we have so many members in our mom's club instead of each of us having huge birthday parties to accommodate all the kids and parents we have a daytime play date each month for the kids and moms that have birthdays that month. It's all ages and extra celebratory and usually includes cupcakes. so much fun for kids and moms alike. And today was just great; the party included a craft, a homemade boxcar race track and not only cupcakes but frozen bananas. Loved it.

While we were at the party Music Man did the grocery shopping. This is quite out of the ordinary but so appreciated. And I didn't get one call or question because I made the list according to the layout of the store.  I should really do that more often, even for myself, because it saved so much time. And because my husband rocks, he also came home with these.

When we got home we had a lovely dinner then Music Man and Little went to the garage to fix a bike while I cleaned up.

I took one step outside to go check on their progress and immediately went back in because I needed a jacket! In the valley! In July!

And the Little Man requested a blanket for our evening walk. We got this wagon on a trip to Laguna a few months back and it is the best $15 purchase we've made. He loves to get in it and go for walks, to the zoo, and we even had to take it back to Laguna over the 4th because it's his favorite mode of transport.

Now it's relax time. Music Man and I settled into the couch to spend quality time together, with our electronic devices ;) I was feeling snacky so I made us some dessert yogurt with plain Fage 0, cinnamon, figs, blueberries, the biggest, sweetest blackberries ever, cherries and then topped it with a few chopped raw almonds. It was dreamy.

Have a great night and a wonderful week!

Five for Friday and Zen in 10

Exercise: 1 hr elliptical, 20 mins strength

1. Confession- I feel like I have no time to blog anymore and I blame it on my toddler's shortened naps and erratic sleep schedule. Truth- I am spending all my free time reading 50 Shades of Grey. It is both appalling and compelling. I find it entertaining but am totally freaked out by the fact that it's considered "Mom Porn" because I would never want my (hypothetical) daughter to be treated that way. Maybe I'm a prude, and although I am entertained, I find it about as erotic as a horror film. Wait, that makes me sound like the creepy one ;)
2. We cancelled our cable service today. I am not one of those people that never watches TV, btw. We just don't need it because we have our media center computer which gets HGTV and PBS and there's always Netflix. But coincidentally, our cable provider also provides internet and it mysteriously slowed down when our cable subscription was closed. Hmmmm...Fishy.
3. I was never one to make my bed daily; I'm just going to mess it up at the end of the day anyway. Monday I changed the sheets and have been making it ever since. I really enjoy getting in to the made bed at night and our bedroom seems so much more serene now. Then I read this: Zen in 10
4. I have been making a conscious effort not to snack mindlessly in the evening. It's my favorite time to snack but it is not doing good things for my clothes, which are too snug. Instead of snacking while reading or watching tv, I'm jumping on the elliptical. I'm going at a very easy pace but I'm not really trying to burn calories, just not consume them. Works well so far!
5. Trail run set for tomorrow, my last long one before my half in a few weeks. I'm going to try to do most of the course, about 10 or 11 miles. Hoping to avg below an 11:30 pace but the course is fairly technical in spots so I'm not counting my chickens.

happy Friday! Have a great Weekend!

Nerd Gadgets

Exercise: 10 miles biked, about 45 mins; 30 mins strength

Since receiving my new toy I've wanted to track every move I make. Even a leisurely Sunday bike ride has become competitive (competing only against myself) because I keep looking at my motoactv and thinking, "I can definitely go faster." This is great because now I'm getting way more out of my workouts. Yay for gadgets!

Speaking of gadgets, I kind of feel like a poser on my run with my motoactv on my wrist, my phone on my arm, my fancy headphones wrapped around my ears and my new trail running shoes.

They were black when I bought them (I'll review after I've had a chance to run in them a few times)

Especially while I'm killing myself to keep running a 14 mile pace (uphill, and fueled my a mother's day breakfast of bacon and biscuits and gravy!!!). All of my gadgets came in very handy since I was able to track on multiple devices and compare as well as upload to other sites to compare. I'm such a nerd but I love to keep track of my progress.

Sunday's was one of the hardest runs I've ever completed. About 10 minutes from my home there is a huge system of trails. I normally run on the fire roads and then break off to run on a smaller trail for a mile or 2 but the fire roads seem safest when running alone. Music Man suggested I try one of his favorite mountain biking trails; since I was able to run the eagle rock trail last week he felt confident I could make it up Caballero.

source

source

Even though MapMyRun has the climbs categorized as moderately difficult the uneven ground and loose rock added an extra degree of difficulty. I looked like a dirty, sweaty, beast by the time I made it up the first climb.

I still had another few miles of climbing after crushing Caballero but knew that after I reached my destination I'd have a few miles downhill before my next climb. It's the little things that keep you going. And I'm happy I completed the whole loop (8 miles total) because it made me feel pretty accomplished.

I love looking at my laps so here they are for inquiring minds ;)

1. 11:59
2. 14:34
3. 12:17
4. 11:12
5.   9:29
6: 10:24
7. 10:30
8.   8:33

All over the place but you can clearly see where the ascents and descents are. Fun stuff.

Hope you had a great weekend and are having a fabulous week!

Five for Friday

1. Today was supposed to be a rest day but we had a little bike ride planned that got postponed to Saturday and I wanted to move my body some so I did a bit of elliptical and core work. Felt great. And I got to watch House Hunters while doing it. Score.
2. Hamburgers were on the menu tonight and I didn't want to taint the plate with a vegetable ;) so I just grated a zucchinni into the mix and the burgers were moist and delicious. I want to point out that I wasn't trying to hide the vegetable, I would have left it out. But I figured it might add moisture. It did!
3. Tomorrow is supposed to be HOT so I'm looking forward to using my new Camelbak on the trails. I love new gear but I worry about arm chafing. Wish me luck.
4. Tonight we watched The Darkest Hour. I was the one that wanted to see it and it's pretty terrible. Looked action packed but turned out boring. I give it 4/10 mostly because I like Emile Hirsch
5. Now I'm off to bed and off to begin 50 Shades of Grey!
Sweet dreams and happy weekend!

The 90's Called

Exercise: 4.5 miles inside hill repeats. 9:55 avg pace

So the 90's called and Lisa Loeb wants her glasses back and Courtney Love wants her baby barrettes back.

Promise this is the last of the baby barrettes pics

So I noticed while trying to take a semi decent picture that I have a nasty souvenir from the Hollywood Half. 

 Right armpit chafing...eww

You're lucky I'm not posting pictures of my blood blisters and black toe nails. My feet have always been gnarly, Music Man calls them zombie feet. But now they're just wrong. And they will eat your brains.

My run today was tough. I thought I might puke and had to slow it down and lower the incline. I sweaty and gross and felt dreadful. The dude next to me actually moved to another machine. Maybe he could smell my rotting zombie feet? I took it to far, huh? But at least I finished. I feel like I've been saying that too much lately but showing up is half the battle right?

Tomorrow I'm taking a rest day, sleeping in til 6 and I'm looking forward to taking a ride with some friends that just got bikes. We're going to look like a bunch of goobs but we'll have fun doing it. I may do a little yoga and easy strength but I'm saving myself for Saturday's trails. I want to feel fresh and relaxed so I can truly enjoy myself.

Enjoy the rest of your week! Yay for almost Friday!!!

Mommy's Play Time

Exercise: 1 hour strength circuit...and more gardening, tis the season

I woke up this morning to 4 zits and a crop of new grey hairs. Such a rude awakening! I've been wearing a lot of baby barrettes lately, I guess I'm subconsciously trying to hold onto my youth. At the old age of 33 ;)

Today has been a whirlwind. I spent most of the afternoon preparing to host a play group for multiple ages which meant bringing out all the toys we own and cleaning every surface because there were crawling babies which we haven't had in over a year! But it's great to have everyone over because I'm forced to clean up and the house looks so nice... until 10 kiddos come and destroy it!

The kids had such a great time, for a small yard ours is pretty great.

Trampoline, ball pit, water table, slide climber, sand box, every ride on and push toy imaginable. It's probably overkill for one kid... But super rad for play dates!

I have another hill workout planned for tomorrow. I'm going to take it inside because the next few days are supposed to be pretty hot. I'll probably stick to a shorter run, just 5 miles or so so I can save my legs for a trail run on Saturday. When I told Music Man where I ran last weekend he suggested I add another 1.5-2 mile trail to a place called eagle spring (how cool is map my run???) I guess there's a majestic ocean view on this route...but look at the elevation gains! So steep. I can't wait. I swear I used to dislike hills until trail running. Now I can't get enough. It's mommy's play time!

Little Man is asleep so it's guilty pleasure time! ANTM, chocolate pretzels and maybe an adult beverage. Have a lovely rest of your evening.

Valley Crest Half Marathon

Exercise: 5am strength and cardio circuit- 50 mins

Immediately after exiting the Hollywood Half Marathon expo I called Music Man and told him I was never running a big race again. I was so fed up with huge, crowded disorganized races. So he was pretty surprised when I told him I signed up for the Valley Crest half Marathon yesterday. It's a popular race but not a big one, so it doesn't count ;)

The best part is that it's super close to my house. I do my hill repeats on the trail head! It's where I hiked 3 days before giving birth.

And it's where Music Man mountain bikes daily.

The race has a decent start time of 8am which I am truly looking forward to. That way the fam can drop me off and see me finish. This wasn't really possible at the Hollywood Half.

I'm really looking forward to more trail running too. I've spent the last few years really pounding the pavement and can't wait to get back out into nature.

I'll do my first training run Saturday but it will be short because I'm running a 5k on Sunday with a few friends. I don't plan on PRing, but it should be a good time.

Hope you're having a great week.