I fly to Fort Worth today for work as a apart of the Strategic Planning Committee for the future of NCTA which is a real honor. And even better-I get to see my siblings on their birthday!! And I plan on blogging while I am there as well :)

However I am worried about food especially since we will be in meetings from 8 to 530, which is a lot of sitting!

Yes I am turning into one of those people that travels with food! I want to test it out to see how it goes I can do it for princess half marathon weekend.

What I have packed to bring with me on the plane:

• Chia seeds
  
• Flax seeds
  
• Water bottle
  
• Empty Tupperware to make chia gel (plan on taking every morning)
  
• Coconut oil in a bag and wrapped up (for coffee)
  
• Homemade granola bars in tupperware 
  
• Apples, pears and leftover bananas
  
• Starbucks via packets
  
• A package of clif shots (gotta get in my 7-9 mile run)
  
• Packed lunch-banana, yogurt, pbj sandwich, leftover fruit , bag of chips (strawberries, grapes and blueberries)
  

I really would like to eat my lunch when I get to the hotel so I don't have to look for food right away.

Also this way I will have snacks during meetings and meals to make sure I get good nutrients. They will be providing most of our meals so I'm hoping there is some good salad and protein options so I can cut out the grains. I'm still having serious issues with gluten. :/

Wish me luck! I will definitely report back on how it goes!

Many websites do grocery store match-ups, which is a great way to save money (Chief Family Officer and Southern Cali Saver are my two favorites) , but I tweak it just a bit. I only highlight the good deals that are healthy, all-natural. Nothing in a box or can (unless it's exceptional!). By buying what is in season and on sale to build your meals, you can save a lot of money each week! 


SPROUTS (REMINDER: Wednesday is Double Ad Weds. You can use the sales from this week and also last week!)



Asparagus-1.48/lb

Has avocados-2 for 1 dollar

Oranges 88 cents /lb

Lettuce 88 cents/lb

Peppers 50 cents

Apples 98/lb

Broccoli/cauliflower-99 cents/lb

Almonds-4.99/lb

Chicken breasts-1.99/lb

Organic yams-98/lb



VONS

chicken breast halves-1.29/lb

Kiwis-34 cents

Potential blackberries and raspberries BOGO



RALPHS

Baby peeled carrots-99 cents

Organic kale-99 cents

Fage yogurt-1 dollar each

I got amazing deals through my  Just for You account. including sargento cheese for 2 dollars, broccoli crowns for 89 cents, bananas 64 cents/lb, and paul salad dressing for 2.39. 

FRESH N EASY

again no real sales :/ 

However they are still offering 10x points on Eat Well products!

I got some coupons (check your account) 



My plan for when I come back next Tuesday:

Fresh n easy for clearance and deals

Sprouts if still need food. I will get enough just to hold me over and go and get more the next week.

My goal is to post a recipe a week and some of them will be QEMs aka Quick Easy Meals. This one took me about 15 minutes total and was able to cook it when I got home from work and was doing dishes and packing my lunch for the next day. 

The best tip is how to make creamy Macaroni n cheese and I got this tip from Heavenly Homemakers. You cook the pasta in milk! it saves a ton of time (and not to mention you dont have to mix it on the side and waste water) and it also makes for the creamiest macaroni and cheese. 

TIP: since you are cooking in milk, you have to stir almost constantly or it will not end well (read: a HOT MESS). I actually ended up with less milk than I wanted so I added some water and it tasted just fine:

My recipes are very different than most as I don't measure much, I just go by look and feel and taste (I get this from my mom who cooks the same way). I also use oil and seasonings a lot so feel free to adjus

Prep, Cooking and Serving Time: 15 minutes (depends on your stove)

Ingredients: 

• pasta (I used gluten free pasta)
  
• cheese (I grated about a regular bowl full of cheese so half a bag. I used raw cheese and spicy cheese)
• milk (I use whole milk but use whatever you have)
• salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder
• green onions (since i grow them and they need to be used!). I have also used stir fry veggies before and it was great

Steps: 
1. Grab a regular pan on the stove and put the milk and pasta and salt. Put in enough milk to cover the pasta (it will thicken I promise) and put it on medium to high heat. 
2. While the pasta is cooking, shred your cheese (if you are going that route)
3. Stir continuously. You will notice it getting thick. The pasta is all done when it tastes how you want it (I like mine slightly al dente)
4. Take pasta off the stove and stir in cheese. You will see how thick and creamy it gets. 
5. Stir in adds spices and veggies. Add to taste. 
6. Ready to serve!  

So delicious! 

VERDICT on the Gluten Free pasta-DELICIOUS! My boyfriend had no idea it was gluten free until after he finished eating and I told him. and even better for me-NO GI problems for me! yayayay!

VERDICT ON RAW CHEESE: not really my thing. I could smell it which bothered me. I plan on using it up soon in something else but I don't plan on buying it again. However the hormone free spicy cheese was amazing. It added a bit of a kick to the recipe. Maybe one day I will go the raw cheese route but for now it's not for me. I will stick with my hormone free cheese from Sprouts (I get small bricks of cheese for 1.20)

I can't believe I haven't written this and were almost a month into the new year! Well better a bit late than never, right?



NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

1. Examine food and drink scripts

This one I'm still working on. We all have food ideas in our head (burgers and fries, pizza and beer, pizza and wings, etc). I'm currently coming up with a list of these and want to spend time examining how I relate to them and what I can do to fix/change/improve them. I would like to post about this every 2 weeks and see how far I can get!

2. Switch to a (mostly) gluten free diet

I plan on writing a real post about this but me and gluten are not friends right now. I've noticed over the last month or so, when I have gluten I feel the effects immediately-stomach cramps, tired, gas, bloating, brain fog. So I have decided to give it up and find other alternatives. Bread, sweets and tortillas seem to be triggers for me. I plan on exploring how I feel on these products especially because most of the symptoms lessen when I have organic bread products.

3. Continue to work out 6 days a week

I have working out 6 days a week for awhile but want to solidify it. I need to make sure I'm stretching and rolling every day as it's the only way my race schedule will stay intact.

I usually do 3 days of running, 2 days with weights, 1 exclusive day of yoga and 10-15 min of stretching everyday.

4. Blog 5 times a week

I would love to blog once a day but I feel like I will run of out stuff to talk about! However, I think 5 days is a good starting point and hopefully I can get into a habit of certain posts (grocery matchups, my healthy eating journey, shopping trips, work out schedule).

5. Start our Disney blog/ be more involved in social media

I used to be really involved on the DIS boards and I loved it. I decided I missed that part of my life so I'm going to take a big leap and start posting more, meeting more bloggers and going to disney meet ups. I think it'll be good for me!

RUNNING RESOLUTIONS-yes it needs to be separate!

1. Carb load naturally

Switching away from gluten means I need to carb load more natural form of carbs-sweet potato, rice, potatoes, etc. It will be a journey but I flirted with it during my 20 miler and tinkerbell half marathon and never felt better. Hopefully I can get a routine down. I will be able to test this with my 26 mile training run on 2/9 and also with the princess half marathon

2. Finish my first marathon

Never would have thought four years ago, I would be here. I'm very excited to run the LA marathon! I'm very nervous and freak out often but I know my training has prepared me for it. I have a feeling I will be wanting to do more in the future.

3. Switch to a 5:1 interval for dumbo
I worked on this over the weekend and it seems like it will work out well. With Chi Running becoming such a big part of my running, I feel so much less effort while running and I know increasing my intervals will help me finish races faster. I have decided to do one run a week at a 5:1 and all of the rest at 2 min:40 sec since I feel like that will be a good interval for me to use for the LA marathon and princess. After that, I plan on taking a break from running and not doing many long runs as a way to really focus on this 5:1 interval. I am hoping to be able to introduce it at Dumbo and use it as well at rock n roll half in october and wine and dine in november. 

According to Jeff Galloway, I should be able to run an 8-9 minute mile which isn't going to happen but I should be able to get close to a 9-10 minute mile as right now my chi running with a 2 min:40 sec is getting me around 11 minutes miles. 

4. Run a sub 2:30 half (assuming it'll be at LA rock n roll) and a sub 1:10 10k
I love disney races and will NEVER PR at one because I take too many damn pictures (which is not a bad thing, I pay good money to take these pictures and dress up). However I love the LA Rock n Roll as it is very flat and on a route I am very familiar with and have walked many times on my own (ie-from the Coliseum after a football game back to my apartment in graduation school) and feel good on the course. Also, it's halloween themed so costumes are definitely always encouraged! I think the LA rock n roll are my best bet for a 2:30 sub half. 

I also would love to run a sub 1:10 10 K which my best bet will probably be the christmas run in December. I may try and fit in a cheap 10k before then but we will have see! 

5. Roll and stretch every day
When I was injured a few months ago, not stretching was my downfall. I have now switched to a method of rolling and stretching in the morning after my workout and also before I go to bed. I would to insert a good 5 minutes of yoga (sun salutations, downward dogs,etc) as another way to stretch my body as when I feel looser, I feel much better. 

I even try and sit on the floor in random positions while I am watching tv and relaxing as a way to stretch in different ways

6. Completely adapt chi running techniques
I promise there is a post coming on this (probably this week or next!) and I have adapted many of them. I want to continue to learn and adapt chi techniques. The ones I am struggling with are using my calves too much and rotating my knees. I plan on re-reading the workout sections of the books as a way to work on them. I think by the end of the year, I will be a complete chi running convert. 


So that's it for me for now! 

What are your new years resolutions? How are they coming along? 

Here is a review of my past week of working out as well as my hopeful workout schedule for next week. Hopefully this new post feature will keep me accountable!



Monday- walk around Disneyland

Tuesday- 2 mile easy run

Wednesday-a bit of stretching/rest

Thursday-3 mile run, 6 mile bike ride, and 15 min of weights

Friday-40 min run-/walk with nane

Saturday-6 mile run

Sunday: NONE :) 



Upcoming work outs:

Monday-back to weights I go!

Tuesday-run 3 miles

Wednesday-yoga and stretching

Thursday-off to Dallas I go! I land around 230 PM and don't have plans for the night so I want to get to the hotel and get in a 6 mile run (maybe outside if it isn't too cold!)

Friday. Saturday. Sunday-I plan on doing 10-15 min of weights and then cardio for 30 min since I'll be in meetings from 8am-530. I plan on waking up early to fit in my workouts.



I also need to pack in there too! Eek!



What are your workout plans for this week?

Overall I got amazing deals today!

VONS

I spent a lot but most of it was stock up.

45 dollars in fandango gift certificates (I got 5 bucks off)

2.21 for Fritos (I'm making chili when I get back from Texas)

94 cents for tea!

3.50 each for All detergent

1.74 for organic frozen veggies

88 cents for open nature Greek yogurt (going to try it)

2.22 for a pack of eggs land best eggs

2.11 for a pound of pork

1.48 for some grass fed beef

99 cents for oranges (for Dallas)

59 cents/lb for organic bananas

2.50 for blueberries (12 oz)

FRESH N EASY

Got some jicama sticks to try

Hummus

Chia seeds and flax seeds (a bit expensive but I got 5x the points)

Green grapes on clearance

RALPHS

Clearance salad for devins tomorrow

Cheap apples for me to take to Dallas

Strawberries

Missed the prior recaps? You are in luck!
Carb Loading
Expo
Half-Marathon
Post-Race Recovery


The next day I woke up at a normal time and dropped Ralph off at work before heading home and getting organized for the day. I knew I would need to roll again and stretch and I did that. I waited for Damian's flight to land and went to pick him up at his hotel in the OC before heading to Disneyland.



The drive took an hour and then 15 min to Disneyland and 15 min to get to te park so it was about 1 when we arrived. I was able to get Ralph's parking refunded from the day before and it was put on a gift card (even better!)



I wore my shoes and brought my medal to get a castle picture since I did t get to do that to day before.



Overall the park was insanely crowded. Such long waits so we didn't do much but the walking around helped my legs so much.



We ate lunch at flo's and had a cone for dinner. I've been. Craving both of these and the little bit of carbs I did have (roll with lunch and a cone for dinner) did upset my stomach but I was fine.





The best news of them all: we planned a trip to WDW in May from 22-30!! AP rates are cheap (all star sports is 95 a night) and we have (maybe) convinced Ralph to go too! He needs to see if he can take 3-4 days off. If he could come I would SO HAPPY. I think he would love it (Disneyland is growing on him) but Damian and I are excited to spend many days at WDW to be able to experience so much we usually can't do in short trips.



Also I convinced Damian to do the wine and dine half marathon!!! Yay for planning more trips.



I got home around 9 as couldn't sleep so I planned our entire WDW trip: parks and restaurant reservations! I didn't sleep much but I wasn't too sore.



The next morning I did a 2 mile training run and it did hurt a bit but I just slowed down. My training run on thursday-3 miles-was much better but still pretty slow.



Overall my post race strategy worked well. It also bodes well for princess half marathon weekend which is 1 month away!!





What are your post race traditions? When do you do your next training run?

Missed the prior recaps? You are in luck!
Carb Loading
Expo
Half-Marathon


Headed back to the room to shower and pack and get ready in a jif. Literally it was less than 20 minutes total!

We checked out of the room and walked the 10 minutes to the Disneyland hotel to get to goofys kitchen. The lobby was insane! It made us glad that we arrived at 1020 for a 1030 reservation. So many people everywhere and it took is about 5 min to check in and pay. But they were calling people quickly. After about a 25 minute wait, devin went to acquire how much longer and we were seated right after that.

We got our table and ran to get food. I wasn't that hungry walking over but whole waiting I got ravenous and went to bar and loaded up my plate and are a slice of Mac n cheese piZa immediately. I piled my plate and went back to the table where everyone made fun of me.

We saw a good amount of characters:

Goofy at the front

Pluto

Alice who we told it was our unbirthday

Jasmine who said she takes the magic carpet to the finish line of half marathons

Baloo who loved Ewok

dale who is my moms favorite



We saw all of the characters in under an hour. A good pace and we were able to get more food.



My second plate was fruit and dessert.

After lunch we walked to the car in Mickey n friends and back to the hotel to gather my stuff and off back to LA we went.

I felt fine but my stomach hurt-little did I know what was in store. I got home and my stomach seriously looked like I was 3-5 months pregnant. It could only mean one thing: GLUTEN STRIKES AGAIN.

I dealt with feeling bad for the next few hours however I don't regret it because the food was delicious!!

I did laundry, unpacked and started packing for Dallas. I rolled and put compression socks on and laid on the couch doing nothing. I was hoping to fall asleep but it didn't happen. I had dinner of stuffed bell pepper and watched football.

Ralph and I went to the airport to get his housemate who was starving from LAX so we stopped at mcdonalds on the way home. I got a BBQ ranch burger (only ate 1/2 of a bun because it was going to be a mess to eat without it) and a spicy chicken sandwich (I okay ate the chicken and lettuce) and felt full but not overly. After that I passed out in Ralph's lap at 1030. I went from feeling fine to just passing out!

Overall my post race recovery went well! I think I would limit the gluten next time (yes we plan on doing goofys kitchen after dumbo!) but overall my race went well so my recovery went well.



On to the next one:
Post-Race Recovery

Because I signed up for Dumbo Double Dare again!! It was more expensive this year by about 40 bucks but I had such a good time last year and I want to be a legacy runner for the 10k and dumbo.

And even better:Devin decided to do it too!!! And my friend Suzi from England is doing the half.

And it's right after my bday!

I'm so pumped already!

However they really messed up the presale. Since I'm a premier passholder I got to register through the WDW site that opened right at 9. Disneyland didn't open until 1030 and then they PUBLICALLY POSTED THE LINKS. so you didn't have to be a passholder to sign up and it was closed with 30 minutes.

LESSON LEARNED: do presale a through WDW passholder website and do it immediately!! For wine and dine (feb 26th) I'll be in WDW so I'll need to be somewhere at noon to do it and then dopey I will head to work early.

SO PUMPED!!

Hello all! Back from my race and need some need for hydration. While I do always drink powerade while racing, I try to avoid it any other time because it is very processed. articial dyes, added sugars and other things my body does not need! so after consulting pinterest, I was able to adapt a few recipes to make my own homemade sports drink that I love! 


A few days before the race(or training run!), I make a batch and have a big glass a day. Then I drink it right before and after my long runs. 

Making time: 5 minutes
Ingredients: 
3 cups filtered water
1 cup orange juice
juice from a 1/4-1/2 lemon or lime
sea salt (a do 3 pinches but I saw it should measure out to about 1/4 tsp)
maple syrup/honey/molasses/sugar to taste-i usually do a spoonful of powdered organic cane sugar

1. pour all ingredients into a blender
2. mix ingredients for 1-2 minutes (make sure to hold the lid!)
3. pour into a container and it's ready to serve!

4.sometimes if it seems a bit too strong, I add some more water to it. Whatever works for you

Easy and all natural and will help with electrolyte balance after long runs