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Tempo Run Tuesdays & Fueling the Future
Tempo Run Tuesday:
Last week I reintroduced “Tempo Tuesdays” into my weekly running schedule. The morning starts like this: wake up at 4:36am, down a half a cup of coffee with almond milk, lace up the tennies, turn on the Garmin and jog a warm up mile. It’s dark for the first 20 minutes which I love.
Lucky for me, my daddy/pacer/crossing guard rides along on his bike. It seriously helps to have someone out there with me! He rides a few meters ahead, which gives me someone to chase!
My pace for the first 3-mile tempo of the summer was a good starting point. 18:39 for three miles (average 6:13 mile). By end of August I will be in the mid-17’s which will put me in good cross country racing shape :)
As for now, I will take it one Tuesday at a time and keep shaving off a few seconds each week!
BUT waking up at 4:30am and evening gym sessions are wearing me out. Time to listen to the body and give it a little break tomorrow!
Which is perfect timing because I have a very exciting day ahead.
I’M MOVING INTO MY NEW APARTMENT!
Well….I’m moving my stuff in. I have a great full-time job at home for the rest of the summer so the celebration in the new digs will be short-lived. But still……it means picking up keys, buying furniture, setting up my space and getting everything cleaned. Very grown up, no? ;)
My past week has been FULL of grown-up” (i.e. NOT FUN) chores like signing a lease, paying rent, setting up insurance, gas and electricity. Exciting stuff. Very exciting. I would like to eat some skittles for breakfast and relive my youth again now please.
Fueling the Future:
To me, thinking about the future is so……exhilerating. I can’t stop researching graduate schools, Masters programs, sports marketing internships, potential jobs, and new cities like Boise and Charlotte.
Everything in my life through senior year of college was part of a plan. I knew in advance what city I would be in, where I would be living, who I would be living with, what I would be doing, how I would earn money. It had a feeling of safety knowing that I was guaranteed 4 years in college with the support of my parents being a full-time student.
The day I graduate college (10 months and counting!), all of that “safety” goes away. But for some reason I am not scared at all. I am thrilled. Not knowing if I’ll have a job, where I’ll have a job, where I will live. This is the first time in my life when I don’t have a plan to tell me what the future looks like.
At the same time…that just means so many POSSIBILITIES.
A few things are certain:
Wherever I am, I will always be a runner (so the city better be pretty!).
My plan is still to race 1 marathon each year. :)
I will adopt a dog. A new running buddy, roommate, best friend.
My passion for health, fitness, exercise, nutrition, exploring, and enjoying scenic beauties will only grow.
A far-off goal is to become a personal trainer or fitness class instructor as a hobby because I love sharing all of the POSITIVE aspects of working out.
It’s funny because my family watches House Hunters…a lot. I remember going on a recruiting visit to Chico State during senior year of high school. The coach had me stay with some seniors on the cross country team, who had a “pasta party” and meet-n-greet. After everyone left, I made up my bed on the couch and watched a couple hours of House Hunters with my hosts. Scandelous first college experience right? ;)
The show has me excited to do my own search for a home (well, apartment but same difference) and I’m loving the East Coast right now thanks to several amazing posts by Julie at PBFingers.com and Taralynn at Simplytaralynn.com!
I think all of this anxiousness and urgency is natural for such a transitional period in our lives.
From dependent to independent. From student to worker. From a plan to the unknown.
And now I will stop day dreaming about my future, refill my mug with some Vienna Cinnamon brew from Sprout’s and get back to some important projects.
:)
What are you daydreaming about today?
College Life Round 2 Begins
I am once again back to living dorm-style, which means dorm room workouts and recipes are coming! Yesterday my parents drove me and all my belongings one state over to my new home sweet home for the next 9 months. It was quite a workout hauling heavy bins up stairs, but unpacking and decorating was actually fun and my new room is ready for the year! My roommate and I have a little “Kitchen-area” complete with a coffee pot and baking goods…Pictures to come : )
Until then, I will share a fun, healthy, summery dessert I made my last night at home: Peach n’ Pecan Greek Frozen Yogurt!
I was inspired by the recipe from Chocolate & Carrots, because I love frozen yogurt and it sounded too yummy to pass up.
(It does require an ice cream maker!)
I made this on my last night at home before leaving for school. I knew it was my last day in my (read: my parents) kitchen with all the ingredients at my disposal. Plus I wanted to make something extra special for my parents before they sent me to college! I think this was a hit, they are both peach fans and this was such a good summer treat without the fat and calories of ice cream.
The only fat in this dessert comes from the Pecans which combined with the greek yogurt makes this quite a protein-packed dessert! (Good, we would need our muscles for lifting my heavy boxes the next day!)
Ingredients:
Pecan & Cinnamon mixture
2 Cups non-fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt
5 ripe peaches, peeled and diced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar or sugar-substitute
1 cup Pecans
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Tbs Agave Nectar
1. Start my cooking the diced peaches and water in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until they are cooked and soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Remove from heat; add sugar and stir. Allow to cool in the freezer.
3. Once peaches are cool, combine the peach mixture and greek yogurt in the ice cream maker and set to mix for 25 minutes.
4. While the yogurt is mixing, blend the pecans and cinnamon in a food processor until crumby. Add in the vanilla and agave nectar until a doughy-ball forms. Then, shape the pecan mixture into mini-sized dough balls. Once the yogurt is done blending in the ice cream maker, turn off and add in the pecan bites. Stir in gently with a spatula, cover the ice cream maker bowl and freeze until ready to eat!
*I recommend removing the bowl from the freezer about 15 minutes before you are ready to serve to allow it to thaw a little bit, making it easier to scoop out.
The pecan bites are like a nutty cookie dough and the cinnamon combined with the peach flavor is so yummy!
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