Mar 30, 2012

And here I thought I wasn’t going to get the chance to run

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  • Running because I WANT to
  • Greek Yogurt and popcorn

I would like to just give a special shout-out to one of my best friends today! Happy Birthday Rose!! I hope you had a very special day and hope your weekend of celebrations is just as wonderful as you!

Running because I want to

And not because I have to.

Last night I had my normal grad school operations management class scheduled. I arrived to class right on time and Jackie and I walked in to find out that the teacher had “forgotten” some items at home and would be at least a half hour late. He is always saying how grad school classes should be real life like work and if I ever told my boss I wasn’t prepared for something he would tell me to reschedule and wouldn’t wait so I decided not to wait either… we left!

Now, this is TOTALLY out of character for me. Usually I get really nervous when I miss class thinking that I am going to miss something life-changing. Turns out, it was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be haha.

So when I got home I quickly realized that I had no idea what to do with myself! Having hours in the evening to just do whatever?!? I had no idea what they felt like. Usually I am running off to workout class, grad school class, or some other commitment for work. So when I sat down on the couch and started thinking about the best use of my time, I realized that I was finally getting to the point where I wanted to be with running…

Because running was exactly what I wanted to do with my time.

It was a nice 45ish degrees outside so I bundled up just enough and let my feet hit the pavement for a 4 mile run. My goal for this run was to try to improve my time. I knew distance wasn’t the best goal to set because it gets dark out and well I get hungry haha so I knew I couldn’t be gone too incredibly long.

Goal was met and I finished with an average pace around 10:40 which is faster than my 11:15ish pace so I as proud of that. As I mentioned before by the time the halathon comes up I hope to be doing under a 10 min mile but the primary goal is pretty simple..

Just finish!

This run did really make me realize that inspiration comes in so many different forms as so many different times throughout your day/life. I had a conversation earlier that afternoon with 2 girls I work with about running (they are doing a halfathon in May) and we just chatted about the things that we struggle with, the things we do well, where we like to run, our pace, our goals, and most importantly what running means to us. It was so nice to chat with them because I feel like we are all at that stage in running where we are starting to really enjoy it and we look forward to it yet we still struggle a little to meet all the goals we set for ourselves. The talk really did inspire me when I got home because I already had running on the brain and after reflecting on all of the reason why I enjoy running, it made me want to do it even more!

Here are some of the reasons why I love running

  • It’s time I get to commit to just ME
  • It’s a time to reflect on what has been going on in my life recently
  • It’s a time where I outwardly express my appreciate for my body and all that it is capable of
  • It helps me sort of conflicts I have going on in my life because it clears my head of all the “shit” that is usually in there
  • It feel good to accomplish goals
  • It feels good to depend on my feet and not on technology to take me everywhere
  • It helps my body to become stronger

So, if you are a runner? What are the reasons you love running?

 

Food I’ve Tried

I don’t know if I have ever shared this before but I am extremely picky about Greek Yogurt. Every since the Greek Yogurt bandwagon as been moving I have wanted to jump on. Sometimes I am totally successful, driving the wagon or at least sitting in the front and sometimes I just fall right off. Majority of the time I am hanging out for dear life.

Here are my general thoughts/reviews on Greek Yogurt…

  1. Chobani- I’m pretty sure this is like the #1 seller within the Greek Yogurt market but I just can’t do it. It just always seems super thick to me and something about that super thick consistency makes it hard for me to enjoy. Maybe I just need to try a different flavor- who knows but for now I assume I am not a big deal
  2. FAGE- I think this was probably the first Greek yogurt I ever tried and it was also just a little too thick for me and tasted a little bitter. I think I liked the one with the honey on the side but I remember needing to add even more honey than what came with it
  3. Yoplait- I got kind of hooked on Yoplait Greek yogurt for a while- it was one of the first ones I actually liked and I still like it- thinner and they have really great flavors
  4. Stoneyfield- I never disliked Stoneyfield and I wouldn’t deny one but I never got really into it
  5. NosTiMo- I just tried the blueberry for the first time the other day (it had fun writing on the packaging so I was immediately drawn to it in the grocery store) and I have to say it was pretty good. It was a little thick so I was worried I wouldn’t like it but I really did enjoy it. The blueberry was just enough and there were just actual specs of blueberry in it which is always a big win for me!

    6. OIKOS (by Dannon)- I literally just ate this today and I LOVED in. Go figure this one is not fat free right? The consistency was pretty perfect to how I like it and honestly I felt like the strawberry flavor tasted like I was eating a strawberry pound cake or something… that is how much I liked it! This is a winner for me and I think I’ll be getting more of it at the grocery store during my next trip!

Riddle me this: Do you have a favorite Greek Yogurt?!

Now, let’s talk a little about popcorn! I go through legit phases with popcorn. I will LOVE it for months and then not eat it for like a year and I am apparently on my phase of loving it because I have really been enjoying it! I like all sorts of popcorn- I love the occasional buttery salty kind (which I ate today at work since we always have popcorn on Fridays). I love the 94% fat free better for you popcorn (which I will occasionally put my own butter on haha). I love the bad for you caramel corn from the fair. I love the sweet salty mixture of kettle corn. And I even sometimes enjoy that colorful popcorn that you used to love as a kid.

Then I found a popcorn BAG that makes me feel like a kid again!

First off, finding popcorn at Acme is HARD. They have it like hidden on shelves near the produce not by the potato chips and nuts like they should. So after asking the boy stocking the shelves I finally got to pick out my own popcorn. I opted for a box of just regular light butter popcorn and then came across these tremendously amazing bags of kettle corn.

They actually look like a bowl of popcorn!

Amazing right? Well I thought so. Plus, this was a delicious treat. There is seriously something magical about having a snack that is both sugary sweet and salty. It’s like peanut butter and jelly… it’s just fits. Don’t ask questions.

I do recommend this so give it a try if you like kettle corn! It is really cool to see the bag start popping in the microwave and see it turn into a bowl. I tried to snag a picture of it but the light reflecting off the microwave just was not my friend so I just suggest you try it for yourself and see if you are as impressed as I clearly am!

 

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my friend and family.

Filed Under: Good Eats and Treats, Primary Menu · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sep 7, 2011

Happy Labor Day!

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Labor Day is great in my mind… why do you ask? No, not because the world tells me I can’t wear white pants anymore because I actually HATE that part of Labor Day but I love it because I get a free day off of work! And I certainly did not waste my day!

Tim and I started the day by accomplishing one of the goals I set for myself this week. We did our first loooong run of the week. I promised myself 2 of them and I knew today and Thursday would be the best days to do it! I figured with the extra time I thought I had that morning I could enjoy the cool air and the company of my wonderful fiancé so we headed to one of the many Metro Parks (Big Bend was the one we went to) in Akron and put feet on the pavement and went for it! Now, this was Tim’s first long run so I was secretly hoping he was struggle a little but of course he did not. I did notice however though that Tim is very “goal” driven when he runs which is exactly how I used to be. He was constantly announcing how far we had ran or how long we had been going for until I finally said STOP! Hahah. I tried to explain to him the value of not worrying about those things and just running for him but he doesn’t really get the “runners high” that myself and a lot of other runners do. High or not I just appreciate him coming with me and it was nice to have the company. Oh and let me just say here because I don’t think I have actually said it… ASICS are the best running shoes. I LOVE mine and today I was very grateful for them since this path had like 100 different terrains! They just make my feet feel like they are getting a hug while I am running… and who doesn’t like a good hug when they are working hard?

The weird part of the run is that you end up running on the side of a pretty busy street for a little piece of it. I have mixed feelings about these types of courses. On one hand it isn’t the pretty scenery you would expect out of a park and it gets noisy. On the other hand you are motivated to run faster and work harder because a TON of people are watching you- or at least they better be so that they don’t hit me. The other slightly odd thing about this path was that we ended up running right by Tim’s office at work so it was just weird to do that. Also (wow sounds like I am complaining a lot about this) we ended up running about 22 minutes and then turning around meaning I had to run the same path over again. That’s not my favorite thing to do- I would much rather run in a circle and not back track a whole lot but it was still a great run.

Oddly enough, once again my foot fell asleep. I should probably Google that to make sure it isn’t like some weird bad thing going on in my body! I was just thrilled that the run was getting easier, my breathing was slowing, and my legs were just taking me where my head wanted to go. I am finally noticing that little by little things are getting easier and I am hoping that, before it gets too cold, I can do 6 miles in about an hour or so. At least that will put me one step closer to the half marathon goal I set for myself! Tim and I did over 4 miles in about 43 minutes so I think I’m off to a good start.

If you have ever run a race before how long was it and what was your best time? Leave me a comment! 

After the run, actually during the run, Tim’s mom called to tell us to get ready to head out to the Indian’s game. Tim’s mom’s side of the family (all 14 of us) were going to enjoy the game together in Cleveland. Turned out to be a cold and rainy afternoon and the Indian’s lost BUT it was a ton of fun! While we were there I did enjoy a hot dog and a beer (my favorite part of sporting events) and also managed to eat a burger. Clearly I was VERY hungry.


We managed to snap a few family photos before going in.

Robin and the kids!

Then they let me in too!

And then Tim made his sour patch kit wear a hat. And I thought it was cute so I took a picture!

Good Day Sir

Then while we were at the game we all started talking about Harry Potter and realized we had to go see it THAT NIGHT because it would be out of the theaters by the end of the week so we did!

AND I LOVED HARRY POTTER! What a great ending to a great set of books and movies. I am sort of sad that it is over but I am never less than amazed at the amount of talent that the writer, the actors, and everyone else has to execute such a strong and entertaining story line. So stinkin’ impressed!

Oh and I popped my own popcorn before going to the movies and I snuck it in… heheheh (that was my scary witch laugh). I figured it was better to eat my better for you popcorn than their buttery terrible for you popcorn! I’m pretty sure sneaking in candy is not legit but hey when a girl wants popcorn and doesn’t want to get fat enjoying it a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

Oh and I took my own bottle of water too. I am not paying 5 dollars for one of theirs!

Filed Under: Good Eats and Treats, My family is the best, Primary Menu · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,