Today's Thought

On a side note....I get my coaching sched soon...wee!!

Back To Basics

As my good buddy Richie the Copy used to say...stay in basics and you don't ever have to worry! So true!

I'm still doing Weight Watchers, but I'm going to go back to what worked for me - eliminating sugar, flour and wheat. I felt good, lost weight and wasn't so obsessed with wanting crave worthy binge foods. Today will be day 2 and I feel pretty good, and I didn't have the delicious homemade cake that was in the office, total bonus!

I'm also back on the sponsor hunt (12 step talk for those who don't know). I want to keep what I have, so I have to keep doing what I was taught!

I'm looking forward to my after work run, it should be in the upper 60's and sunny which is exactly what I'm needed right now! Planning on 4 miles then to the gym for a strength workout if I have time. Can't wait to clear my head over a good run!

Oh, the Holidays!

The holidays...love em' and hate em' but at the same time we have to celebrate 'em!

I'm an only child, with a pretty small family so holiday functions tend to be small (just me, mom and dad) and quite frankly a little boring. Thanksgiving and Christmas I usually spend the majority of the day with my parents then head over to my good friends house to hang with their family. Easter tends to be the wild card...which is kind of nice. We are not incredibly religious and with no little kids around the Easter egg hunt and all that stuff just doesn't happen. Past years I have gone out with friends, done brunch with mass followed by nothing...this year we decided to spice it up and hang in the City.

I'll start off by saying that I was in a major down mode this weekend, I only ran 2 miles on Fri and was just off and miserable on Sat. It rained like crazy and I was just not into getting my workout on. I woke up late, had an 11:00 commitment then a party at 3:00 so instead of getting my endorphins going, I cried under the covers (boys will do that to you sometimes).

Sat night was much better, but in keeping with my down mode I slept way late on Sun and missed my semi-planned run. I jumped in the shower and headed over to my parents to scoop them up to head into the city for brunch at our most favorite place, The Garage.

This place rocks, literally. They have live jazz pretty much all day and night, it's always one of my go to places. It's in a great neighborhood and just an all around good time, I highly recommend it. Plus the french toast is amazing!

And so was the band...

From there we did some shopping then checked out the Highline which is a really cool above ground park built on an old train line. I highly recommend a visit!

From there we checked out the car show...

...then back to LI for burgers at the diner.

Such a great day!

Dreaded Lead Legs

Last night I went out for what I was hoping would be a quick (re: in the 9's) 3 mile run, instead I was in the 10's (!!!) and had heavy legs the whole time! My hammies are still killing me from the yoga mala on Sat which is probably part of the problem, I also think I'm a little dehydrated. I have been drinking NO water. I know, I know, so bad for me. It was a random run totally off my usual route and although slow, I felt pretty good.

On the cooking front, I made a banging shrimp, spinach, caramelized onion and goat cheese quesadilla. No pics, but it was so good! Not sure what the menu if for tonight, something light since I'm going out on a business lunch. I'm really starting to get into this cooking thing!!

On A Roll!

I've been cooking like a mad woman these days. In an effort to save some money and be a little more health conscious I've been trying to make the majority of my own meals.

Breakfast is usually oatmeal, or a Van's waffle, the occasional (ok maybe once or twice a week) bagel, lunches vary but I try to go healthy with a salad and dinner ends up depending on what's going on. CC and I used to eat out a lot, but since the breakup I've managed to cook almost all my own dinners.

I'm a fan of healthy premade stuff - think grilled chicken from TJ's or some premade deliciousness from the Babylon Village Meat Market. The easier the better and I pair it with a veg and a starch.

Tonight I was inspired by a recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes - but I switched it up a bit...so good! And easy!! I made mine with asparagus and mozzarella paired alongside mini-potatoes and sautéed spinach...yum!

Since the chicken came out so great and I've been dying to make my famous oatmeal muffs, I decided to whip up a quick batch. This is such a great easy recipe and easy to store and eat throughout the week.

Easy Oatmeal Muffs
1/2 cup oats (flavored, non flavored, your choice you can even mix grains, think oatmeal and bran)
1/3 cup dry milk
apple pie spice or cinnamon
2 eggs (sometimes I use egg whites)
Mix-ins - tonight I used apples and blueberry's
Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes

(note: I doubled the recipe which yielded 6 muffins, 2 per serving, 5 points plus)

Enjoy....I know I will!

For The Love Of Bagels!

So I lost 1.8 lbs this week, which helps with the 3(!!) I gained last week...yikes. But then in true self-sabotaging form, I had Wendy's. So random, I don't even really like fast food. I'm going to blame it on the boy, well, not him, more the breakup. Ok, I feel better now!

I want to try and lose 2 this week, that will put me back on the losing side of things.

This morning I had this, which is not going to help with my 2lb goal, but I love them so (and I ate the other half!!).

I mean how bad can they really be!

Update on "The Coach"

I met with my buddy Bob last night to talk about coaching....finally! This is something I have been thinking about for awhile, but didn't really see a need for it. Now that I'm in the holy grail of marathons (NYC) I know that I need more than a down-loadable plan and a few running buddies.

The whole thing is pretty exciting, I basically have to do a formal intake (on paper) of my goals, races I want to do, the types of cross training I want to incorporate...all the good stuff, then coach (wee, I get to call Bob coach now!) will magically whip up a plan that I will do my best to follow. Those who know me, know that I have a hard time with accountability and follow through, don't get me wrong, I'm usually working out, but when it comes to training, I think I fall flat because I'm not sure what I'm doing, hence the coach.

After speaking with a few people, some who think coaching is a waste, others who are like "use me I'm an Iron Man", I'm pretty happy with my decision...one of the cool things about Bob is that he is local, as are most of his athletes, so there is a chance to meet and train together, something that I am definitely looking forward to.

Moving On....An Ode To Spring

Oh, winter, you were so good to me, between the snow and the ski house, I was one happy girl!

I had a ton of fun with the boy, which has sadly come to an end. Not all is lost though, I managed to have a great time, inspite of the flaws and I gained a great friend.

Now I'm ready for the beach

Running with my club

And the sun on my face!

(super bad pic!!)

Biting The Bullet

I think I'm getting a coach....gasp!

I know, I have talked abut this a little bit over the past year or so, but I really want to kill my first full and I think I need a coach to get me there.

We are meeting Weds night to discuss....deets to come!