Category Archives: Fitness
#TBT 7
It’s Thursday, which means another throwback blog post! :) Last week I experimented with the “Thirteen Things Thursday” but it didn’t fare so well. I was excited to share this article as “thing #1” but only 18 readers clicked on it…..less than 2%. (yes I see stats!) And so, #TBT returns :)
Double Days & Quest Bar Crunchies
Originally posted on: June 25, 2014
Ever have one of those days where one workout just doesn’t seem like enough? ;) Yeah I’m guessing it’s pretty rare. Cross country, track and summer training introduced me to “Double Days.” Yesterday was one of those days.
Double run = double shot cappuccino.
Run #1: My high school teammate Matt & I covered just over 5 miles around the neighborhood in the misty morning June Gloom. It had to be quick becuase I’m on the road to work before 7am!
My training goals right now require more than 40 minutes a day, which is all I can fit in the mornings. Solution: add a second round after work. A double run day means a 5:00am five-miler and a 5:00pm five-miler. (And a 2:00pm iced coffee from the shop next door!)
Run #2: took place in the air conditioned LA Fitness cardio section while watching the College World Series. Two words: Baseball boys. Or three words: College baseball boys. (I take advantage of treadmill sessions to watch whatever news or sports are on to stay up to speed!)
Performing 2 workouts in a 12 hour period can require a bit of extra motivation and fueling. Morning is the easiest time for me to run, on an empty stomach with cool air. Evenings after a couple of meals and snacks, the hot sticky air and some exhaustion from the previous effort needs some preparation:
Motivation: What is the purpose of your second workout? Sometimes I need to finish my mileage for the day. Other times the second run is a “Shake Out” run to start eliminating lactic acid from the morning’s more taxing workout. Somedays it’s to burn off the unexpected chocolate pretzels I splurged on at lunch ;)
Set yourself up for success with a different route from the morning, some music or entertainment, and remind yourself that sleep is only a few hours away!
Fueling: After your morning run, it’s important to put some protein and carbs into your morning meal to kickstart recovery before Round 2! Running “double” does burn a substantial amount of calories, like my ten-mile total yesterday. But consuming your “extra” calories in between runs might hinder your evening effort. Give your body at least 2 hours to digest before the second run. Hydrate all day long to replenish what you lost from the morning and prepare to sweat it all out again!
Protein Snack: Quest Bar Crunchies
My lunch hour yesterday took me to GNC to make a beloved Quest Bar stop. I stuck with my favorites: White Chocolate Raspberry, Cookies & Cream, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. (Sweet tooth much??) Which were immediately devoured in the form of: Quest Bar Crunchies!
The bars are so versatile because of their soft chewy texture.
*I promise this is not an endorsement, I am just a loyal customer ;)
Quest Bar posts a bunch of fun and low-sugar recipes on their web pages, and the simplest one is definitely the cookie crunch. Break up a bar, bake at 350 for 8 minutes, flipping them over half way through.
Like tiny cookies, best devoured hot from the over. (I also love mine with almond milk and a spoon, like cereal. Ridiculously good cereal, not that shredded wheat crap.)
I used 3 different bars and split the pan with my mom an dad. We couldn’t choose a favorite flavor! One bar is about 180 calories, 2 grams of sugar and 3 grams of net carbs with mega protein.
So good I could eat double :)
You have a finite number of college weekends!
There are approximately 128 weekends in your college career.
There are currently 3 left in mine.
In marketing, we learned about the “scarcity phenomenon.” When a product or service is presented as “limited time” or “limited quantity,” consumers tend to feel a larger sense of urgency or need that they wouldn’t otherwise feel to demand that product.
When the number of weekends left in college is in the single digits, the scarcity phenomenon sets in.
Like most college kids, we begin freshman year with the idealistic goal of making as many new friends as possible. And as we change and develop new priorities, that initial number of friends typically decreases. But the quality of those existing friendships only strengthens.
Friends from freshman to senior year have been a part of some of your best memories, seen your embarrassing moments, know your habits, and love you anyways. We are spoiled by the fact that all of our friends are in a concentrated little area by the university, all within a one-mile radius. We took complete advantage of this sunny and gorgeous April weekend to cram in as much of our favorite activities as possible.
I love making dinner with friends, probably more than I like going out to dinner. The whole process is fun and active, rather than sitting at a table and waiting. I’ve made Pineapple Boats before, but Kerri hadn’t and she added a quinoa stir-fry twist. This dinner paired with decaf coffee, the best study playlist, homework session around my dining room table, healthy dessert = one of our college night staples.
The next day we dressed up to go downtown, shopping, dinner with friends from cross country, then to frozen yogurt and the new movie The Longest Ride.
CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THE LONGEST RIDE FOR A MINUTE?
I saw the trailer while watching McFarland, USA with friends. Right when the “Waiting” song by Banks came on, I was intrigued. A chick flick about a college girl and a cowboy, set in North Carolina and flashing back to the 1940s and 50s…..it is quite perfectly my dream life. (And 4 million other girls’, right?)
We knew that a Nicholas Sparks movie would have a predictable level of cheese but Scott Eastwood makes that completely forgivable ;) I would honestly rate this as one of my top 3 Nicholas Sparks stories. I would go see again for sure!
After the amazing sushi rolls and sinful frozen yogurt, I am feeling quite motivated to get out there and do my long run today. ;) But it was another college weekend for the (scrap)books.
All of these pictures from the last four years make me happy. A colorful life = a good life. I’m not sad or nostalgic that my college days are coming to an end, just pointing out the fact that when you have a limited amount of time left, you have to make time for the important stuff!
And because social media is the new resume and my current profile picture makes me look like a Backstreet Boy, Kerri and I made a pit stop for one last Flagstaff sunset picture while we were all dressed up. Immediately we had to laugh at this one…..I didn’t know what to do with my hands! #AwkwardCurtsy
Hope you had a fantastic weekend :)
XOXO Kenz
Biscuits (It’ll make sense later)
This morning I woke up at 4:00am. Try as I might, my body was not going back to sleep. I made myself lay there until 5:15. It reminded me of when I was a toddler and my parents put a clock next to my bed, teaching me to wait until 6:00am to get up on weekends ;)
Around 5:30 I was sipping my first cup of coffee. Now I have a few extra hours in my morning that I didn’t expect, so here I am. Thought I would put together one more spring break post before I break into some new territory with projects I’m working on for next week. A lot of my California friends have different spring break schedules and many are on vacation now, so I feel like it’s still appropriate to bask in the spring-y-ness one more time :)
Any college kid will tell you one of the best parts about coming home is family dinners. If not, then A.) they are lying or B.) their momma’s homecooking left a lot to be desired… (insert smirky emoji here). 
You go 18 years eating the same kinds of dinners at home with your family, until suddenly you’re living on your own. Dining halls, communal kitchens, take-out, fast food, delivery, cooking for yourself….it’s just not the same. I’ve come a long way in following recipes and recreating family favorites, but eating by yourself in a tiny apartment will never compare to eating at home.
In 9 days, we only went to a restaurant once. My parents had LOADED UP on produce at my request (well, they usually do anyways) and we had the most colorful dinners.
I told myself that I was completely inspired to return from spring break and start cooking similar colorful balanced meals……and then I went and got three sushi rolls. It’s a work in progress.
My dad pumped up the tires in our bikes so that I could take a leisure ride around town and he could ride with me on my Sunday long run for the marathon training. I probably spent more time snapping pictures than pedaling. 90 degrees feels like heaven after a frigid Flagstaff winter.
And of course the sea-level (extra-oxygenated!) air did wonders for my marathon training. I was able to get in another great Yasso 800s workout on Wednesday, some cross training, and a killer long run. I set out for 15 miles on my favorite running path at home. This time, I had water and fuel along the way! I used the Vega gel for the first time, which is made with dates, water and grape juice rather than straight sugar like other brands. I felt better about putting something a little more “natural” in my body during the run…..but it didn’t taste great. Seemed to do the trick though because I ran my last couple of miles at 7:00 pace, averaging 7:18 overall.
(Yes, I used a picture from my Warrior Dash Race haha)
Also got to spend some quality time with my girl Missy….HAH whattajoke. That maltese of ours has grown quite comfortable being the “only child” now that I’ve been gone off and on for four years. She onced used to cuddle and love me. Now she has a jealous side whenever I visit my parents. She literally pouts when I take my mom’s attention away from her. (This is coming from a spoiled only-child herself.) She did watch me as I curled my hair, trying to imitate Miranda Lambert’s from the pool scene in her Little Red Wagon music video. Nailed Failed it!
Well this turned into a pretty random hodgepodge of pictures and tangents, didn’t it? Might as well add in a new jam that I’m loving!
*I’ll throw something more organized/themed at you next time. This is what you get at dark:thirty in the morning! <3
Kacey Musgraves, Queen of Country Cool, has been on my playlist since I heard her hit Follow Your Arrow. Biscuits is actually pretty similar, and equally adorable. Good message and reminder to stay focused on myself during the last weeks of college. We need less negative comparisons in our lives because that is just stressful. “Pouring salt in my sugar won’t make yours any sweeter.” Hope you enjoy it as I do. :)
What were/are your Spring Break highlights?!
