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! As always, YMMV (Your Milage May Vary) as these are all set to Southern California grocery stores ads. 


I haven't done one of these in a LONG time! My apologies-life has been crazy. I finally feel like it is all leveling out so I will try to get this up every week again! 

SPROUTS

• Green seedless grapes-88 cents
  
• navel oranges-99 cents
  
• potatoes-2 lbs/1 dollar
  
• yellow peaches-99 cents
  
• green bell peppers-50 cents
  
• apples-99 cents/lb
  
• barlett pears-2 lbs/1 dollar
  
• squash-88 cents/lb
  
• eggplant or red bell peppers-99 cents
  
• chicken breasts-2.99/lb
  
• lamb shoulder chops-2.99/lb
  
• organic products (yogurt, fruit, milk, etc) 2-3 dollars
  
• fage greek yogurt-1 dollar
  
• kerrygold butter-2.99 each!!! (seriously, best butter ever)
  
• larabars-1 dollar
  
• traditional medicinals tea-2.99 each
  
• vitamins-20-25% off
  

VONS

• Chobani and liberte yogurt-1 dollar
  
• hass large avocados-1 dollar
  
• pears-99 cents/lb
  
• safeway chicken-1.49/lb
  
• bell peppers-1 dollar
  
• limes-5 for 1 dollar
  
• potatoes-99 cents/lb
  
• organic squash-90 cents
  
• simply juice-3.50
  
• large eggs-2.99
  
• FIVE DOLLAR FRIDAYS-2 lb organic or 3 lb regular grapes, frozen veggies-5 for 5, cheese-2 for 5
  
• Just4u deals-salad dressing, fruit, salad, eggs, cheese

RALPH'S

• pork-50% off
  
• large eggs (12 count)-1.50
  
• milk-3.49
  
• lettuce-99 cents
  
• bell peppers-99 cents
  
• avocados-99 cents
  
• apples-1.88/lb
  
• broccoli/cauliflower-99 cents
  
• tomatoes-99 cents
  
• oranges-99 cents
  
• pears-99 cents
  

FRESH N EASY

• I finally went back to Fresh n Easy last week and got some good clearance. They don't really have sale ads anymore (it just features the regular prices of products) but I did have a great coupon for 3 dollars off almonds so I got a pound of almonds for 3.99!
  

I plan on going to Sprouts on Thursday or Sunday (depends on how I feel) to get all the groceries I need for the week. I will also stop by Von's for some cheap bananas and other fruit.  I am going to try and get through some of the freezer food I have and also eat some baked potatoes and rice (carbloading!!!). All I need to get in a bit of fruit and veggies for the week. 


What are your shopping plans for the week? 

EAT WELL

LAST WEEK: I really focused on eating good food and feel so much better this week. I also increased my fat intake and I dropped a few bloated pounds really quick which is always great. I also was productive and cleaned out my pantry and threw away a lot of food (some whole grain rice went bad! like a13 months early-what in the world?!?!) so I feel much better. 

THIS WEEK: I made lunch yesterday which I will get through for the week as well as make dinner tomorrow int he crockpot. I think it will help me stay on track and healthy for the week. I should not need to do much grocery shopping minus some fruit and veggies for next week. Also, I am going to try and drink more water this week. I think I am dehydrated and with the heat coming back, I need to be prepared! 

SLEEP WELL:

LAST WEEK: The weather has helped so much this week. Getting to bed last Monday after 1am after the concert was not good but I finally feel caught up on sleep. Yesterday I slept in for the first time in probably 3-4 months.It was awesome to just relax in the morning. I also got into bed at 11:15 after class. 

THIS WEEK: gotta keep the sleep up-it seems like my body likes the 7-7.5 hours of sleep so I will keep shooting for that. I am also going to try and get into bed by 1 on Wednesday after class. I just need to come up with a wind down routine when I get home. 

EXERCISE WELL

LAST WEEK:

MON: rest day
TUES: rest day because of the concert
WEDS: a bit of yoga-my legs were still tired
THURS: 2.5 miles
FRI: 2 .2 miles of speed wok (40 sec sprint/30 sec recovery)
SAT: 10 miles in 1:49:15 before working the game. I added 5 miles just working
SUN: total rest day
TOTAL MILEAGE: 14.7
I am fine with the rest-work has been crazy and I have been trying to level everything out with school. I am hoping to not have anymore of those weeks. My legs were very sore after 3 days of running but I think it is good training for everything I have going on. 

MON: Piyo
TUES: 5k easy pace 
WEDS: PiYo 
THURS: 5k
FRI: 6 miles-race pace
SAT: rest day because I will be very active with working the football game
SUN: Rest Day because it is packed solid

BE WELL

LAST WEEK:

• Lil Wayne/Drake was AMAZING!!! Logistically it was a nightmare but we had a great time. Fun fact: they were the first Hip Hop concert ever at the Bowl-so historic! 
• I am finally level with school-I hate to have to be less social but it is so important for me to find the balance. If what I have planned for this week works, I will report on it! 
• First home tailgate and I had a great time. One of my classmates ended up at a tailgate I was at so we are going to try and recruit more classmates. 
• Working the game is so fun. Many people from the section I worked in remembered me
• I booked a trip to see my Dad in Houston and go to a Texas A&M tailgate over Halloween weekend! The boyfriend is coming too and we are both beyond excited. I can't wait to show him some real football traditions. and even better-my stepcousin works for the team the are playing so we are all going to meet up before! So fun! 
• Yesterday was epic because I had nothing planned. I got all of the homework I needed to get done and feel much less stressed. 

THIS WEEK:

• All done with my furniture picking! I am ready to order-yay!
• I am ready to cook and eat some good food. I am oping to leave wok pretty early all week. 
• I get to teach a class today! I love teaching and spreading the Assessment love. 
• Wednesday is the 3 year anniversary of me meeting my boyfriend-time really does fly!
• Going out downtown on Friday for a friends bday, then tailgate Saturday, then Sunday I have to tutor and also present at a Penn panel for 500 PEOPLE. Wow! I really need to make sure I have all of my research down for that :) 

So for you, how was your week?

Another Tuesday, another Tuesday on the Run hosted by our favorites: 
April from Run the Great Wide Somewhere, Erika from MCM Mama Runs, and Patty from No-Guilt Life.

This week's topic is Favorite Distance. If you had asked me that same question a year ago, I would have said the half no doubt but since then a lot has changed. Running has meant a lot more to me now and I do a lot more races (they are just so fun!). The more I have been thinking about this topic all week, the more I realized I do not have a favorite distance because they all mean something different to me. So can my answer be-ALL but it depends? 

5k: Race your heart out
As the Dodger 5k was the first 5k I ran (I ran one as part of the 2011 Christmas Run but it was insanely hard after doing the 10k and then resting for an hour) but I LOVED it. It was short and challenging and I really got to push myself as it was only 3.1 miles. Intervals are there but do go out the window quickly depending on course. I can't wait to do another one!

10k: Race but with a purpose
As with the Great Race 10k and the Culver City 10k I got to run a hard race but follow more of a plan. Both times I came away with PRs and I really liked them. A bit more challenging than a 5k but not as much work as a Half. Intervals are important but can be manipulated to fit the race course. 

Half: Challenging yet fun
This distance will always have my heart as it is where it all started for me. I enjoy the challenge of finishing the half and all of the planning that goes into it. It is very important train, stick to your eating plan, carbload and also follow your intervals. It is best to hold back a bit so you can fly at the end. I can't wait to race the LA Rock n Roll in less than a month! 

Full: HARDWORK but so rewarding
The big one. It takes a lot of pre-work (early nights, long runs, fueling, researching, training, mental training) and it is such a long race and such a mental game. However, when I finished the LA marathon, I have never been prouder of anything in my racing career. It is a huge endeavor and the reward is amazing. Intervals are a must and really holding back at the beginning is clutch. All of the long runs are a MUST and trying out different fueling techniques is so important. Also, food and fuel is more important here than anywhere else not to mention the mental game as running a fuel is a lot of time for your mind to play tricks on you.

Honestly, it depends on the mood I am in. I love all distances and the each bring something rewarding to the table for me. 

Because of the love for all of the different races, I am participating in Jill Conyers 14 in 2014! You can click on the picture at the top and it will take you to the website for more details but I will be running 14 races in the year 2014 (and will probably go over that total!) I have included all distances on there as I think they are all important. To see all of the races I have done this year and will be doing in the future, make sure to check out my Races Recap page. 

How about you? What is your favorite distance? 

Hi all!
Crazy week and it is finally Friday! I am trying to get in a run this morning as well as a run tomorrow and work and homework and everything else. I am trying to just stay calm!

Anyways, onto my 5 favorite Fall activities! 
1. Running
I have a lot of races coming up in the Fall and I love to run while it is still cool in the morning!

2. Pumpkins
I love decorations and I love carving pumpkins! Last year I made a Jack Skellington one and I want to make one again this year. I will probably wait and do that closer to Halloween.

3. Holiday drinks!
As you know, I love my PSL (Pumpkin Spice Lattes) but I also looking forward to peppermint lattes around Christmas, the christmas starbucks cups and the greatest of them all: christmas tree gin and mulled wine!! 

4. TV shows!
I am sitting here watching Scandal as one of the first shows I am catching up on from this week of premieres. I enjoy watching television shows when I come home to wind down and I am excited start watching some new shows. Everything I have seen so far has been so good-can't wait until next week!

5. Football!

NCTA CONFERENCE: MY PRESENTATIONS

I am short on time today so I thought I would do a brief overview of the presentations that I did in Denver since one of them is where the name of this blog came from!

1. Be well

My first presentation was on the 4 Well Rules which as readers of my blog you should all know well! I went through the basics of Eating Well (JERFing, reading food labels, reading ingredient lists, how to shop), Sleeping Well (importance of sleep, how to track your sleep, etc), Exercising Well (importance of exercise, how much to do, a little is better than none, etc) and Be Well (importance of taking care of yourself, having hobbies and activities, taking vacations and days off, going to conferences for professional development, etc). I think it was well received and a many friends attend which was great. I even had 2 people come and bring me apples the next day as well as about 10 people come up and tell me the next day that they took the stairs this morning. Baby steps! 

2. Non-accommodative/universal design

My second was on accommodations in testing and the importance of Universal Design. It was apart of a committee I am on and I enjoyed it. I think it helped to facilitate some good discussions.

3. Certification

This present was how to become a certified test center and I was on the panel answering questions. I worked with one of our graduate students to create a brochure and it was very well received. I think it was very successful.

4. Organization

            My last presentation! I was talking about how to get organized in your office and stayed organized. I brought along all of the forms, handouts and checklists I made for the office and freely gave them out to people that wanted them. I took a more general approach and just gave people questions and scenarios to think about and also spoke from personal experience. It facilitated some good discussions about other peoples strategies.

Overall, I think my presentations went well. I had a lot and I am not sure I would do that many again but I am throwing around some ideas for next years conference (maybe one on getting organized at home? Maybe about mentoring graduate students??) we will have to see. Even better, the conference next year is in TAMPA! Woo-hoo! You know a WDW trip will be happening after for sure! 

3 posts in 1 day!?!? woo-hoo

Anyways-1 week from today I will be registering for the LA Marathon once again. You can read my recap here but overall it was INSANELY hot and humid and I did not meet my time goal but I did train well for it and felt I kept the energy up as I went along. However, I am out for redemption and want to rock this race and try again!It was crazy warm for March so hopefully it will be much better this year!

Why do I bring this up? Well I just got an email about registering!

Registration for the 2015 ASICS LA Marathon opens on Wednesday, October 1 at 9 a.m. PDT. 

To show our appreciation for past participants, we will extend a discount code for $10 off registration, delivered via email on October 1. The discount code is only valid on October 1 from 9 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. PDT.

In celebration of our 30th Edition, ASICS will provide all runners who register in October with a discount code for 25% off your total purchase onasicsamerica.com*. Additionally, the 30th, 300th and 3,000th person to register on October 1st will receive a FREE pair of ASICS running shoes.

Eventbeginning Oct 1*  
ASICS LA Marathon - U.S. Residents$160
ASICS LA Marathon - non U.S. Residents   $205
LA Big 5K$40
*Terms and Conditions apply: 25% off discount code is a one-time use code to be applied during checkout at www.ASICSAmerica.com. Total cart value may not exceed $1,000.00 for this code to be applied. The codes will be e-mailed to all registrants who opt-in at time of registration, starting October 1st, 2014. Discount code expires at 11:59 PST on October 31st, 2014. Must Opt-In to receive ASICS email newsletter to be sent discount code.

I will definitely be looking for that discount code-10 bucks is not a lot but it is something. and I love free discounts so I will definitely look at the 25% off coupon on Asics. Maybe buy a new pair of training shoes?

And notice free pairs of shoes if you are the 30th, 300th or 3000th person registered. I am hoping to register first thing on Weds morning so maybe I will be one of them.

One more thing---The 2015 USATF Marathon Championships will be held in Los Angeles on March 15, 2015 in conjunction with the ASICS LA Marathon.  A total prize purse of $150,000 will be awarded to Americans vying for national titles in the marathon, in addition to a guaranteed prize purse of $110,000 for the overall field. Yay for running with some crazy fasts runners!

Anyone else planning on running the 30th anniversary of the LA Marathon?? 

So my phone app has decided to freak out so sorry this is a few days late. On top of that, my phone is how I put my pictures up! So hopefully it will be fixed by next week

EAT WELL

LAST WEEK: I was pretty good with my eating this week. I had a few more sweets than I would have liked but that’s okay. I ate some really great food and am happy with my choices.  Also, my mini carb loading adventure was a success (smoothie, sweet potato fries, pasta, etc) and I definitely think it helped fuel me for my race yesterday!

THIS WEEK:

Hopefully it will be okay. I plan on making tacos on Thursday for the Premiere of Grey's, Scandal and How to get away with murder. Other than that, I am trying to get back on track. I feel very bloated and blah. Hopefully by the end of the week I will feel better. 

My other goal is to not grocery shop as much for the next few weeks. I am making a dent in the food in my freezer but not much. I want to try and get as many meals as possible from food I already have.

SLEEP WELL:

LAST WEEK: After a few days of 105, I was very worried about my sleep but I ended up averaging about 7 hours a night. Not back to my full 8 but much better than I have been. I had a semi-relaxing evening on Saturday, my first one in a long time, and I think it helped me wind down before going to bed early for my race.  

THIS WEEK: I want to try and get as close to 8 hours of sleep as I can. The weather finally cooling down should help a lot. I also need to work on figuring out a plan for what to do after class. I get home by 10:30 but I always want to relax a bit and that usually has me getting into bed around 1130/12 which is way too late for me. I am going to try and see what I can do after class, maybe watch a tv show while stretching, so I am productive but not overly stimulated. I also need to find some quick snacks-fruit maybe?

EXERCISE WELL

LAST WEEK:

MON: Piyo Core
TUES: 5k in about 32 minutes-including my fastest mile at 9:26!
WEDS: Piyo Drench. Very long and very hard-I will not be doing that one very often as I was insanely sore for days
THURS: rest day because of my stupid iphone ugh
FRI: 5k in 33 minutes (I went slower to test out 3 min run/30 sec walk intervals)
SAT: Rest Day before the race-lots of stretching and foam rolling
SUN: Dodger 5k in 29:50!!!! 

THIS WEEK:

MON: Rest Day!
TUES: 5k easy pace for recovery
WEDS: PiYo
THURS: 5k
FRI: 4-5 miles
SAT: 10-12 miles before USC vs OSU football game
SUN: Rest Day!

BE WELL

LAST WEEK:

• I finally got an office at my new job! I can’t wait to decorate it and buy furniture (I will of course post things along the way!) The Katy Perry concert was epic-seriously the most fun I have had in a long time. It is always good to have a Girls Night! 
  
• I turned in my first graded assignment for school
• Also go in another Disneyland day and finally got my sister’s birthday presents!  She turned 7 on Saturday! 
  

THIS WEEK:

• Drake/Lil Wayne concert today!! I am excited for the concert but not for the logistics of getting to and from the venue but we will have fun nonetheless
• USC football! I finally get to work a home game this season and also see a lot of friends-should be a blast (even though night games can be rough)
• Sunday, Sept 28th I HAVE NOTHING PLANNED! And I plan on keeping it that way-even though I may head over to Ikea in the early morning for food and looking at furniture before I commit to buy. A day to get ahead on work and also just sit and chill. I can’t remember the last time I had one-maybe July? 
  

So for you, how was your week?

We're about 50 days away from the Avengers Half weekend!!

They just released the program. Overall it is super cute. Below you will see the basic dates and times for the races. This seems to be a much smaller race than the DL half weekend which should be nice!


FRIDAY, NOV 14
Health and Fitness Expo 12-8pm
Pasta in the Park Party 6-730

SATURDAY, NOV 15
Avenges 5k 5:30 am start
Kids Races 9am
Health and Fitness Expo 900-400

SUNDAY, NOV 16
Avengers Half Marathon 5:30 am start (Wheelchair 5:29)
ChEAR zones 530 open, 700 DL closes, 1000 finish line closes
Awards-8:00 AM

The big thing of note is the Package Pickup! This is the first race where you have to pick up your own packets. 

Now onto corrals! A-F look normal sized and G and H are much bigger. Within the next month, we should get our waivers, Bib numbers and corral assignments! 

The rest of it is the typical things: Race Etiquette, Tips, etc. But overall,  I am excited!

Who else is excited to run Avengers Half so soon? 

BIB PICK-UP
It was so smooth. It was at the Stadium and even though the directions were a bit confusing, I figured it out in no time! I found my bib number, got my bib, shirt and bobblehead and was done in about 5 minutes. I also got out of the parking lot pretty easy too. Overall, one of the easiest bib pickups I have done

RACE DAY

I went to bed about 11:00PMafter finishing all of my homework. My plan was wake up at 7:00, out of the door by 7:40 and to Dodger Stadium by 8:00 with a start time of 8:30. 

The night before I prepped everything (my bag, my clothes, etc) as well as my morning food. I decided to fuel how I normally do for a run-carbs and fruit. I went with a gluten free blueberry waffle with peanut butter and raspberries. I also had pumpkin spice tea in the morning and a glass of water on the way as it has been very humid lately. 

I left my house at 7:40ish and was parked at Dodger Stadium at 8:00. It gave me time to get ready and walk over and use the restroom and get to the corrals by 8:18. It was seriously so easy and stress free! 

I hopped in the middle thinking I would be mid-pack. In all of the emails they sent it us it said to line up according to where you would finish. There were no signs so I just guessed where the 9:30 would be. 

The MC was awesome. So much energy and so much fun and the national anthem singer was also great. Before I knew it, we were off!

Well that's where the problem started. People were all different speeds and walking and jogging and there were strollers. The start was a mad house! Not to mention it was slightly up hill so people were going slow already. I was very worried for my pace as I weaved around walkers and strollers. I knew this could be a time disaster and decided to do the best I could. 

One thing of note, the beginning of the course was the start of the LA Marathon course so it was all very familiar which was nice. One other thing-the entire thing was in parking lots around dodger stadium which is pretty amazing. They don't make parking lots around stadiums like that anymore so I was impressed with that. 

It took about a good kilometer for it to be clear enough to be able to just run but after that it cleared out nicely. 

I was not sticking to my intervals mainly because after the first hill climb it was down hill for a long time! I really just went based off of how I felt. I want to say I went about 2:40-3:00 running and between :15-:45 sec walking but it wasn't consistent. I do know that I finally figured out how to get my watch to do intervals and pace at the same time which really helped me. 

Before I knew it, we were at our water stop. There were volunteers and also Dodger legends! I got my water from a very old guy who people were happy to see (sorry-don't know my dodger history but I will try to find his name!)

Next thing I know, we are on a random trail-thank goodness I brought my sunglasses as it protected my eyes from the dust because it was a bit crazy. Here is also where the course opened up more. I never had to worry about someone being behind me when I wanted to walk and I just went based off of how I felt. 

Around mile 2, I could tell I was sweating a lot and decided to take a margarita shot blok. I figured it would only make me feel better and I'm pretty convinced that is what made me do as well as I did. 

Coming around the turn, I could see the people finishing and they were so crazy fast. It was very motivating to watch from a far. 

This is the point where I started doing Math in my head and decided depending on elevation and how hard I could push, I could maybe go sub 30. No matter what I was going sub 32 and I came to peace with that. 

We went up one final hill and I could see the end of the course and as I was descending the hill, my watch was almost at 3 miles with 2.5 min left. I COULD DO THIS! I went into overdrive and went as hard and fast as I could. I knew from speedwork I could do it and I pushed as hard as I could to the end! 

I finished in 29:50! I can't believe how hard I pushed the whole race especially with the crowding. I'm still I shock. It was literally the fastest I had ever run in my life. 

Also of note-my garmin said I ran 3.19. So my actually 5k was 29:08 which is just crazy. but it's also crazy how much weaving I did in the beginning. 

During my 10k PR in June, I ran 1 or 2 miles below a 10 minute mile pace which was only the second time in my life I had done that (first time was elementary school). Every single one of my miles was sub 10-my garmin said I did 1 mile in 8:38!! I did the math for where I finished (I think it was 545 out of 3204) and I finished in the top 17%!! That is just so awesome! 

This honestly motivates me to keep pushing and trying hard. I know my body is capable of fast times and I need to keep working hard and dreaming big. 

A sub 30 to some people is no big deal but it is something I have dreamed of for a very long time and I honestly wasnt sure I would ever get there. Last year I was praying to get below 36 minutes and now here I am! I did it!

I will do another post about how I think I got there/what I did but for now let's focus on the race. 

PROS

• free parking and so easy
  
• Very fun and well organized
  
• Great gifts-great tech shirt, bobble head, ticket voucher (which I forgot to use) 
  
• Bananas, apples and water at the finish
  
• Beautiful medal

CONS

• PACE TIMES-they need signs or to ask for a proof of time. I know I could have done even better but more importantly, I'm just lucky I didn't get hurt! And strollers have to start from the back!
  
• I would have loved to know the elevation. More hilly than I thought it would be. 

Overall, this race will become a new must do for me! It was super fun and I enjoyed myself. I'm even going to sign up for the Angels 5k next year because it's supposed to be similar. 

I did not take any pictures while racing because honestly there was not much to see minus parking lot and it was very overcast (I could barely see the downtown skyline) but below is a picture that looks great and gives you an idea of how it all looked! 

Have you ever done a run for a sports team before?

I did it!! Sub 30 5k!!! 29:50 and I honestly couldn't be happier. I cried the whole walk back to my car. Last year I was praying one day to go below 36 minutes and here I am with my ultimate goal. What else can I accomplish?

Full recap coming Tuesday but I'm still in shock right now!!