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#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 :)
The Adventure Backpack & 6 Other Weekend Highlights
My weekend was a mixture of everything….chores, work, interning, basketball, running, hiking, picnicking, chick flicks, cooking, homework, shopping, coffee shops. Here are 7 highlights:
1.) The Adventure Backpack: I bought this backpack to use as a purse, but I only ever seem to use it when I go on a hike and pack a picnic. It’s become a picnic basket :) I also put it in my closet and forget about it as soon as I get home, so I pull it out for the next hike to find it already stocked with sunscreen/hand sanitizer/chapstick/deodorant (essential for any outdoor activity right? haha) hence: The Adventure Backpack.
2.) Day Trip to Sedona with my best friend: For us, it was just a quick day trip for lunch and a hike. But some of the license plates in the parking lot showed our fellow hikers had come from Minnesota, Illinois, Maine, Kentucky and Missouri. Our 70-degree February weather is probably making more than half the country pretttty jealous right about now.
Kerri and I have been best friends ever since we became cross country teammates freshman year of college and bonded over Sunday night ‘Desperate Housewives’ episodes and gossiping about boys. Four years later, Desperate Housewives is cancelled and boys have come and gone but we are closer than ever. After we graduate in May, we’ll be living in different states. So we are fitting in a few last girls’ days!
3.) Church Hunting and Traffic Jams: There is a church, The Church of the Red Rocks in Sedona, that is built in to the side of the mountain. I’m not even sure what denomination this church is affiliated with, just that it is absolutely beautiful and we wanted a picture. We asked Siri on Kerri’s iPhone for directions….first mistake. We saw the church in the distance, and watched it get farther and farther away as we followed Siri’s directions in the complete opposite direction.
Instead, we came upon one of the round-abouts at the perfect timing. Two cars were obviously confused by the counter-clockwise stop-sign alternative and a car crash caused the single-lane round-about to completely block traffic in both directions. We sat still for almost thirty minutes waiting for traffic to begin flowing again. Kerri had plenty of time to walk out of the car and take a picture of this sign.
We had good music (Eli Young Band!) and even better views to keep us from growing impatient.
We kept making sarcastic comments like, “Gosh nature is just so ugly.”
“I’d much rather be looking at my cell phone right now.”
“These poor homeowners who have to look at that view every day. Must be rough.”
And no, we never made it to the church.
4.) This creepy photobomb:
Looks like a normal picture, right…..
……?
No, we do not know this person, and we thought we were alone until we were flipping through pictures at home….
5.) S’mores Quest Bar: Kerri and I both love learning about nutrition and trying out new healthy snacks and products. (The first thing out of Kerri’s mouth when we found a flat-ish spot at the top of Bell Rock: WHERE ARE THE SNACKS?!)
Quest bars became popular last year for their high protein/low sugar formula and just introduced a new S’mores flavor. Currently they are only available in GNC in our town, so we made a special little stop on the way home for a protein-packed snack. Delicious :)
6.) Jenna Marbles Videos: In high school, I saw the viral Youtube video “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking” video from Jenna Marbles that launched her into Internet-stardom. I used to watch her weekly videos after that until I started college. Kerri and I decided to see if Jenna Marbles was still making videos (she is!) and watch some of the newer ones. We loved the “What a girl’s eyebrows mean” :D
7.) A big W for our basketball team today! I was working at the game for my sports marketing internship, and it was one of the most energetic crowds we’ve had this season. The pom-pom giveaway was a huge success and made the cheering spectators that much more spirited. Our boys played the leading team in the conference. The score was 70-69 in the last 30 seconds and they pulled away with a victory!
Aaaaand there’s still a full day of the weekend to enjoy. I hope where ever you are, you’re staying warm!
Xoxo
