Breakfast at 625pm

Yum!  Off to work :)

Hot sausage

Last night gatorA and I put together a pretty savory dinner of spicy italian turkey sausage, shrimp, and sauerkraut.  I forgot to take a picture, but oh boy it was delicious. 

It's become a tradition for us to go grocery shopping late Sunday night after he gets home from the hospital.  We hit up Harris Teeter so I can get my whole wheat english muffins and Chobani greek yogurt, then we head over to Whole Foods for the fresh produce.  This has really kept us from going out to eat or ordering delivery too much (we were really bad about ordering out when we lived in Gainesville, and that habit carried over to our first few months in Cville).  Even though Whole Foods is overpriced, it keeps us from straying from our healthy diets.  We've been eating a heck of a lot of fruit, veggies, and fish lately.

I woke up late today because I'm working a night shift tonight, and even though it was the late afternoon I decided I wanted breakfast.  I made my signature - ;) - english muffin with sausage, egg, and cheese.  On the side I had a sizeable plate of fruit.

I think it's pretty clear that I love fruit.

I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app, and it's awesome.  I'm trying to keep better track of the calories I eat so I can put on a couple pounds (don't laugh), and this app is great.  It actually scans barcodes on food products and gives you the nutritional info so you can add it to your meal diary.  Here's what my diary looks like so far today:

 

Last night's workout was lower body and core:

•  Squats: 3 sets of 10 with 50lb weight
• Around the world lunges: 15 sets total
• Leg presses: 1 set of 6 at 205lbs, 2 sets of 6 at 190lbs
• Planks x 3 for 1 minute
• Mountain climbers: 3 sets of 20 on the swiss ball

Planning on a very early morning workout after my shift ends tomorrow. 

Mud Warrior in 12 days.  Woo!

Prepping for the Mud Warrior

I was talked into jogging on the Monticello trail bright and early today.... really glad I did it.  It's a great trail that takes you up Carter mountain to Monticello's visitor center, about a 4 mile loop.  We took it slow, but the uphill climb was a challenge.   I'm feeling pretty good right now :)

All mixed up

Another issue with working nights is that you can end up eating breakfast meals at dinnertime and dinner meals at breakfast time.  Also, you often find yourself drinking beer at a time when most people are just heading off to work (you might be an alcoholic if...).

I woke up "early" today (about 2 hours before my alarm, meaning 330pm), so I decided to make a big breakfast and get a quick workout in before work.

 

That's a whole wheat english muffin stuffed with peanut butter and nutella (YUM), scrambled eggs, grapes, blueberries, a banana, and a clementine.  Also drinking my requisite mug o' coffee and some milk.   I'm hoping to feel pretty energized for a long night at work :)

Gonna work on the glutes today with some hip raises, squats, and different variations of lunges.  I'm also going to work on improving my foot strike while running - I'm a hard heel striker, so I really need to push my center of gravity forward more.  I imagine it will take a lot of practice.

Slow

Yesterday gatorA and I went for a jog on a trail near our apartment.  The trail follows a nice little creek, and there are points where you have to cross said creek via some rocks.  Last time we took the trail I ended up slipping on a rock and almost fell in (and gatorA watched with amusement).  With all the rain we've gotten lately, the water was a little too deep and was rushing a little too fast yesterday, so we ended up turning around and finding another trail.  The second trail was a little tougher - very narrow with a lot of rocks and tree roots, but it was fun (and maybe had an aura of "you might be kidnapped by a hillbilly at any moment," which made me run faster).  We estimated the whole trip was about 2 miles. 

We passed a couple other runners, and one of them had a very... unique... style.  I really hope people don't look at me running and think the same thing. 

Today I had a yummy breakfast of a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit with kiwis, clementines, and blueberries on the side (plus a big ol' mug of coffee).  It got me perfectly energized for my workout this afternoon.

I jogged an embarrassingly slow 2 miles on the treadmill... but it still felt good to get it done (and I didn't feel like I was dying at the end).  I really need to work on improving my time before the race, though.

Then I did a little back work:

• Lat pull-downs: 3 sets of 6 at 70lbs
• Seated rows: 3 sets of 6 at 70lbs
• Bent over rows: 3 sets of 10 with 15lbs each arm
• Bent over flys: 3 sets of 10 with 5lbs each arm

Now I'm off to shower and head to the mall to get a mani and a little shopping done.  Book club tonight!  We're discussing Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, so I'm making a Greek-themed appetizer of Tzatziki.  It's basically a dip made of Greek yogurt, sour cream, cucumbers, olive oil, vinegar, and dill (and I'm going to add some peppers and garlic).  I've never made it before, so hopefully it turns out alright.  I still have a couple chapters left to finish... lots to do today :)

xoxo

Lazy Saturday

I've been very lazy lately.  Night shifts can really screw up your "off-day" schedule if you're not careful, and you could end up wasting entire days by sleeping.  Couple that with some bad food decisions (*ahem* fried chicken and fries from the night shift grill, chinese food, and greasy breakfast with my ED crew), and I haven't been feeling so hot this week.

So today I decided to turn things around.  When gatorA got home, we booked it to the gym for a quick session before the UF vs Louisville game (which we're watching now).  I felt like kicking my butt into gear, so I did some of my favorite lower body workouts:

• Leg presses: 3 sets, increased weights from 170 to 180 to 190lbs and did as many as I could
• Squats: 3 sets of 12, increased total weight from 30 to 40lbs
• Around the world lunges: 3 sets of 5 lunges in each position
• Donkey kicks: 3 sets of 30 (I love these)
• Hip raises: 3 sets of 20 with a 15lb weight over my hips

Tonight is date night :)  We're going to check out the Royal Indian restaurant and then go to a movie.  We keep our date nights simple, but that's how we like it.  I figure Indian food offers a lot of healthy options without being boring.  Plus we love spicy food (sadly gatorA's spicy-tolerance is much higher than mine... I'm a terrible Korean).


A week ago, gatorA and I went hiking at Crabtree falls.  There are a lot of great hiking trails around Charlottesville, but this particular hike offers views of one of the tallest waterfalls east of the Mississippi.  It's a steep 3.5 mile loop, which really got my heart pumping and legs burning, but it felt great to finish it.  Plus, the views were incredible.

We had a quick lunch at the top of the falls with the stream gurgling next to us, and it was beautiful.  I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in hiking.

Alright, back to the game... our Gators have a good run at the Final Four :)

Protein

Today for breakfast I had a bowl of oatmeal mixed with gatorA's chocolate whey protein powder, a glass of milk with some of gatorA's muscle milk powder, a toast sandwich with peanut butter and bananas, and an apple and banana on the side.  I was pretty full and energized, so I cleaned the apartment from top to bottom.

I decided to test myself against the fitness recommendations for the Mud Warrior.  Here's how I did:

Pushups: 15 [Goal 30]
Situps: 76 [Goal 75]
Lunges: 35 (each leg) [Goal 35]
Squats: 70 [Goal 40]
Pull ups: I can't do any :( [Goal 5]
Run: 1.5 miles in 18 minutes on a trail near our apartment
100 meter wind spints: [didn't do these today]
Planks for 30 seconds: 5 [Goal 3]

Needless to say, my lower body is a lot stronger than my upper body (probably due to all the focus I put on my butt during my workouts).  When gatorA gets home from work, we're going to hit the gym, and I'll do some treadmill and upper body work.  T-minus 4 weeks to the race!

Here's what I've made for lunch:























That's a pita pocket sandwich with red pepper hummus, cucumbers, salami and ham.  Carrots, pickles, and Clementine on the side.  GatorA just got home and wants to go for a run, so I'm sticking this plate in the fridge for when we get back.

Then it's time for UF vs UVA basketball!

Here's to a good start to the day :)