10k Outta the Way

Today’s 10k went by in a flash! I loved the atmosphere, the excitement, enjoying new running scenery, the spectators cheering along the way… It was all so fun!

By 8:30 a.m., I was done running 6.2 miles… I love having a 10k outta the way so early in the day.

Me 'n' My Race Number

Super Sweaty Post-Race

I typically lounge around and go to the gym later on Saturdays, so it’s nice to have my workout checked off the to do list so early!

The bummer of the morning: I forgot the SD card to my camera… so no action race photos were taken. 😦 Fortunately I did have some fantastic fans at the race to cheer me on.

My Fans

I finished the race in 54:37 (8:47 pace). This race was one of the most crowded races I’ve ever run. I think I started a bit too far back because I couldn’t really run until after I passed the first mile mark. My first mile was about a 10 minute mile because I couldn’t get around people to get into my groove. 

Almost the entire course was on brick roads which made me nervous that I would twist my ankle. Luckily I emerged from the race without taking any spills! 🙂

The weather outside was perfect and the course was beautiful. We ran through different Winter Park neighborhoods and passed ginormous houses which were gorgeous. 

Breakfast

By the time Ryan, Sadie and I arrived home, I was ready for a big breakfast.

While I toasted waffles and cooked eggs on the griddle, I polished off a small bowl of perfectly ripened strawberries. Yay for in-season, on-sale berries!

Bowl o' Berries

I was in the mood for waffles and eggs, so I figured why not combine the two?

Egg + Waffle

Breakfast

I love the dippy yolks and the using the waffles to soak up the goodness was delicious.

Yummy Yolk

 Do you like sweet or savory breakfasts?

I almost always prefer sweet breakfasts (yogurt, berries, fruit, oatmeal), but when I want eggs, the craving is super intense! Eating a hot breakfast of eggs, toast, and hash browns can’t be beat (unless you throw a Belgian waffle with chocolate chips and whipped cream in there, too!).

Today’s Plans

Today we’re lounging around the apartment until it’s time to head out to a bowl-a-thon we’re participating in through Ryan’s work from 1 – 4 p.m. I’m not a good bowler (in fact I’ve even received a prize for being the worst bowler before), but it should be fun!

After bowling fun, we’ll probably take Sadie to the dog park or on a walk before heading out for a dinner date! We’ve been meaning to try this hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Winter Park  that we’ve heard wonderful things about and it looks like tonight is the night.

Catch ya laterrr!

Raspberry Ricotta Waffle Sandwich

Ever since I made ricotta stuffed French toast a couple weeks ago, I’ve enjoyed incorporating it into my breakfasts in different ways. Today’s ricotta-based breakfast was a winner!

I started by toasting two whole grain waffles. While the waffles were toasting, I mixed frozen raspberries that I let thaw overnight with ricotta cheese to make a creamy, raspberry filling.

Raspberries + Ricotta

Pretty 'n' Pink

After spreading the raspberry ricotta mixture on one of the waffles, and topping it off with the second waffle, I topped the waffle sandwich with syrup and dug on in!

Open-Faced Waffle Sandwich

Smothered in Syrup

Yum, Yum

This breakfast was easier to make than a batch of oatmeal and yet seemed like the kind of breakfast I’d normally save for the weekend. I love special weekday breakfasts!

Workout

Today’s workout was a cardio hodgepodge!

• 15 min. stair master
• 15 min. run
• 5 min. incline walking (7.5 incline, 4.2 pace)
• 5 min. stair master
• 10 min. elliptical

I was hoppin’ from machine to machine like it was my job!

Eye Spy

Last night when I was photographing our dinner, Ryan asked me if I always look through the camera lens with my left eye.

Though I’m right-handed, I’ve always looked through a camera with my left eye. Weird, huh?

I Spy Book (These were the best!!!)

We then realized that cameras are made for right-handed people. The button you press to take a picture is on the right side of the camera. What about the poor lefties out there???

Are you right handed or left handed? Have you noticed any other products catered to righties or lefties?

“Exercise Gives You Endorphins”

“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”

Elle Woods knows what she’s talkin’ about!

I woke up this morning feeling sleepy and blah. On my way to the gym I thought “I really don’t feel like working out today” a couple of times.

I repeated my motivating exercise mantra “I’ve never regretted a work out,” and headed off to BodyPump. Before I knew it, I was in the groove and feeling happier. Gotta love those endorphins!

After BodyPump, I did 25 minutes of light cardio while reading the latest issue of Oxygen magazine.

Breakfast

Today’s breakfast gets two thumbs up!

After last night’s eggplant lasagna, we have a big ol’ tub of ricotta cheese that we need to plow through before it goes bad.

When I popped open the lid on the ricotta cheese container, Sadie went into instant begging mode.

Cheese, Please

After giving her a couple spoonfuls, I scooped out about a quarter of a cup of ricotta cheese before adding a bit of Splenda and cinnamon to make it s a lil’ sweeter.

I spread the mixture on top of two toasted waffles before topping them with syrup.

Cinnamon Ricotta Waffles

Loved this breakfast!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday. 😀

Egg-Topped Waffles

Quite a few breakfast foods made an appearance in my dinner tonight:

• Eggs
• Waffles
• Canadian bacon

Breakfast for Dinner

I actually brainstormed the idea of egg-topped waffles as I was going to bed last night. I think about the most random things when I’m trying to fall asleep. Sometimes I wish I could just shut off my brain and get to sleep!

Yum

Last night’s brainstorming session paid off though because this dinner hit the spot.

I love a dinner that comes together in less than 10 minutes. When I want to eat, I want to eat now, so speedy meals greatly appeal to me.

Since Ryan is at a soccer game tonight, Sadie and I have plans to watch the latest episode of The Bachelor. (Go Tenley, go!)

Pinkberry: Buy One, Get One Free

If you’re lucky enough to live near a Pinkberry (unlike me 😦 ), click here to receive a coupon for buy one, get one free Pinkberry yogurt with toppings, valid through February 19.

Pinkberry

I’m jealous…

Hot Mess

After my morning workout I was a hot mess!

Phew!

I guess interval training will do that to ya.

I initially planned to go to spinning, but a new teacher took over the 6 a.m. time slot and he’s not my cup of tea. You can tell he’s the kinda guy who thinks he’s pretty nifty and he doesn’t ride the bike at all. He opts to do weird dance moves beside the bike (you know, the kind where you don’t move your feet?). It’s like Club YMCA and is not something I care to partake in as my first activity of the day.

In your opinion, what makes a good fitness instructor?

To me, good fitness instructors are positive, encouraging and play upbeat music. (For you Biggest Loser fans out there, I am much more of a Bob lover than a Jillian fan.)

Since spinning was out, I opted to take myself through an interval workout that I saw on Jessica’s blog a couple of months ago. I keep print outs of about five different cardio workouts in my gym bag as a fall back plan for when I’m not feeling creative. The 20-minute interval workout called to me today.

Workout

• 5 min. incline walking warm up (7.5 incline, 4.2 pace)
• 20 min. intervals (2.0 incline, 20 seconds at 9.0 pace, followed by 40 sec. at 4.5 pace… repeat for 20 min.)
• 5 min. incline walking cool down (7.5 incline, 4.2 pace)
• 20 min. elliptical

By the time the 20 minutes of intervals were over I was sweaty! I still wanted to read the latest US Weekly since I couldn’t read it while running, and opted to finish my workout with 20 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical while taking in my celebrity gossip.

Breakfast

Along with the tasty BBQ chicken pizza from last night’s dinner that I took from my parents’ house, I also nabbed a box of Eggo NutriGrain waffles and toasted one up this morning.

Leggo My Eggo

Toasty

I dipped it into a mixture of 1/2 c. cottage cheese, 1/2 c. organic pumpkin, sweetener and pumpkin pie spice.

Organic Pumpkin

Cottage Cheese Pumpkin Dip

It was quite the yummy breakfast.

Save the Date Help

Thank you to all of you who weighed in on my save the date question. It sounds like sending them out 6-9 months in advance is a good amount of time. We’ll probably send them out sooner rather than later. Time is flyin’!