Husband and I went away for the weekend to visit my mom and did a little TRADER JOES visit. The pantry was actually emptying faster than I thought it would. I employed a smarter shopping strategy- don’t buy a bunch of stuff you’ve never tried and hope you like it. This works for some people but I am a creature of habit. I eat alot of the same things every.single. day. Things like:

-Quinoa

-Bell Peppers

-mushrooms

-salsa

-eggs

-coffee

-canned crushed tomatoes

-pre-washed salad mix

I realize its really not a nutritionally sound plan to eat alot of the same foods, but when I am feeling stressed, I just head for the familiar. Its better than fast food right?

I got in 9 miles on the treadmill yesterday but it was HARD. My lunch was WAY too much food and I felt like I might throw up for the whole time. On top of that, I still felt full after 90 minutes of running. That’s sad.

I always feel compelled to do strength training or a different type of workout on rest days. And although I’m not doctor, my research indicates that one should do the counter-intuitive thing and save strength training for after a run. Rest days are meant for REST and your muscles cannot restore themselves if you are doing strength training!

I also did not eat enough yesterday before my long run and so barely dragged myself home after a 14k and nearly threw up/passed out before I shoved a muffin down my gullet and slammed a carton of chocolate milk. VERY stupid of me. The problem lay with my weird timing of the run. Usually I run within a half hour of eating breakfast. I know this does not work for most people as running right after eating tends to upset the stomach for most. For me, its the only way, as my blood sugar is super sensitive and when it dips, I am incapacitated fairly quickly. It would be quite amusing if it weren’t so annoying. Also, I feel strongest and most energetic RIGHT after eating. My other mistake yesterday was not bringing fuel and so all I had was a Vega sports drink packet in my water bottle and it did not do the job. Anyway, lesson very much learned there!  I spent the remainder of the evening laying like a jelly blob on the couch until my dinner finally did the trick and started to feel normal again.

Runs during the week are starting to get longer, this week we have 7x 400 meter hill repeats on Wednesday inside a 7 k. Thursday another 7 k, Saturday 5k and Sunday 18k….my longest distance to date! I feel confident though.

Operation EAT MY PANTRY is going well! Although I have 5 (SERIOUSLY FIVE) cans of chickpeas. Don’t know what I was thinking.. why did I keep buying them? Found a recipe for Chickpea burgers and might try that out. After all, how much hummus can 2 people eat! The answer is- not as much as you might think.

Ta ta.

I will be honest, people in most settings find ways to annoy me. I am not a very tolerant person when it comes to rudeness in public. But my fuse gets a lot shorter when I’ve been on the treadmill for over an hour.

PET PEEVE #1- People who POUND their feet on the treadmill and KICK the end of the machine so loudly that you cannot concentrate on what you are doing.

This probably doesn’t bother most people, but when I am running I am very rhythm oriented and so when a 280 pound guy gets on the treadmill next to me and literally POUNDS every step like he wants to stomp a hole in the machine, I feel like I am going to reach over and punch this person in the face. Not that I do, or would. It just really throws me off in my own running. And how is it, that after an hour and 20 minutes on the machine, that I am still able to run without kicking the sh*t out of the plastic at the end of the treadmill? Surely if I can avoid doing this, YOU CAN TOO.

Usually I end up giving the person pointed looks every few moments and of course they do not notice. I realize my rage is not an attractive quality and I should be more understanding and patient and zen etc etc etc. But I hate the treadmill and so just being on the thing drives me to another level of intolerance.

Anyhoo- thats my thought for the day.

Q: Whats your #1 Pet Peeve at the gym?

But back to what I was really going to write about- WINTER RUNNING. This means different things to different people depending on where you live. But where I live in Canada, its quite an endeavor. Its also really fun, if you have the right gear! I’m currently looking into underwear that have fleece on the buttcheeks. Apparently there is nothing like this on the market. I think I may have to run with this… but on to real life products that rock!

This morning I had the chance to try out my new Yax Trax, which I had purchased an anticipation of snow covered roads and sidewalks. Although I can wimp out and do my runs on the treadmill inside, when it comes to anything above 5k, I would rather stab myself than dreadmill it. SO boring.

In case you can’t tell from the picture, they are basically springs that lay horizontally against the bottom of your shoe, and give more traction on snow or ice. I wasn’t sure if the feeling of them on the shoe would throw me off, or make me run weird. But happily, they were GREAT! I got used to the feeling almost immediately, and once you realize you’re not going to slip, your muscles relax into regular running- which is great for avoiding strange injuries. I ran 6k over snow covered sidewalks and up an icy hill and had no slippage… yay!

Best part of my run- a guy using a snowblower to clear his driveway cheered me on as I ran past and yelled WAY TO GO!! LOL! I felt like a champion for a minute.

Winter 0   Emilie 1

I then proceeded to come home and eat a giant plate of cheese and crackers. You win some, you lose some. I’m finding it hard to snap out of the holiday eating habits. I’m tackling it one day at a time. I’ve been doing well with meals, but have been getting extra snacky and I attribute it solely to the presence of junk food in the house. I know its there. I think about it, and then I snack. I usually dont keep anything like that in the house. Most of it has gone into the freezer or (sadly) into a garbage bag. I KNOW< wasteful, but I doubt the food bank wants 3 half eaten bags of stale chips.

Q: Are you back on the healthy track after holiday treats? If yes, please share your tips!

To be fair, it is COLD outside… -6 and windy, and tonight is hill training right on the lake. So I needed to go buy these:

Lululemon Outward bound pant

I read some reviews, and these supposedly prevent that numbness that occurs on the front side of legs when running into an arctic wind. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I’ve been wavering on going to training tonight..I’ve got a headache, I feel sleepy etc etc. I’m come to the conclusion that all of these are side effects of sugar and fat withdrawal. My poor nutritional choices over the past 2 weeks are catching up with me TODAY of all days.

Well, now to go run 6k, which includes 6 x 400 meter VERTICAL hill repeats. Seriously, I love running, but this is not fun. Its not even one of those things that when you’re doing it its hell, but after you feel good. No. You feel like shit after. Your lungs want to escape from your body. But it must be done.

This stems from the fact that I like to have a variety of choices when making a meal. Needless to say, pre made meal plans don’t work for me because it all depends on what I feel like having at that.very.moment.

But this month, I am undertaking a challenge that will have many benefits. I plan to eat through my entire pantry. I will eat every weird, hoarded item in those cupboards. I’m excited about this because it will definetly take some creativity, and it will save me a ton of money! During the challenge, the only things that are permitted to be purchased are fresh fruits and vegetables, milk (for husband) and eggs. I have frozen fish and cans of beans to last me quite awhile so protein is not needed. Also, the limit on the buyables is 50$ a week. Due to the fact that we had guests and a giant party last week, we have leftovers like crazy. All I’ve spent this week is 16$!!!

Once the cheese runs out things may start getting a little cranky….

Sorry for the quality, the good camera still is in need of charger

I will update you all with the crazy creations I come up with… probably some not so tasty.

Oh! and I almost forgot- the reward at the end of the challenge- Husband and I are taking  a trip to Ohio in Feb. and on the way back.. TRADER JOES!! I am going to restock (though not to the current level) the pantry with all the TJ’s favourites!

The real reason I’m hanging onto it is that I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it. I did hot yoga a loooong time ago when I was living in Ottawa, a friend brought me with her. It went ok, but I didnt really know what I was doing and spent most of the class feeling confused. I do have a lot of experience doing a Yoga/pilates cross that they offered at my old gym, but I’m really not sure how pure those poses where.

I should really just go and see how it is. After all, I never care about what other people in a class are doing, why would they care what I’m up to at the back of the class! I feel so heavy and sluggish after last week’s holiday eating fest.

Q: any tips on a first timer’s Bikram class? I know I should bring lots of water and a towel, but that’s all I know!

I baked two dozen cupcakes because I was so bored, and frankly, just wanted to see if I could do it without using a mix. SUCCESS!! Seriously amazing. I majorly tweaked a recipe I found online… so here, bake yourself some chocolate cupcakes:

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1.5 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1/4 cup butter (or earth balance)

Preheat to 350.

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, then sour cream to creamed mixture. In a separate bowl, mix cocoa, baking soda and almond milk. Slowly mix flour into creamed butter mixture. Once incorporated, add almond milk mixture and mix until smooth. Fill approximately 20 cupcake papers in tray and bake approx. 25mins. Once cool, ice with icing of choice!

I especially liked the way they turned out a little crispy on top. I do not like a soggy cupcake.

And with that I am going to go watch The Biggest Loser!!

I would really like to buy a home. I am saving A LOT monthly towards a downpayment, in the hope to make this happen sooner. Husband doesn’t have much to spare as he has student loans that need to be taken care of. I need approximately a year and a half to have quite a hefty little downpayment and no debt to speak of- in essence the perfect home buying scenario. Its tough renting (albeit a nice home) when all your friends are buying houses and looking at you like you’re growing a third head for not. I simply refuse to buy a house before I’m debt free and have a sizable downpayment.

But theres this other thing I would like to do this year. That would be, to have a baby. Rather, become pregnant with one, in about May. After I run a marathon I want to start trying. This would be fine, except for the fact that babies are a) expensive and b) prevent you from working for at least a period of time. If I’m not working, I’m not saving money.

Alright, you say, so put off having a baby for a year. Welllll I could do that, but then I’d be QUITE pregnant at the time when one of my best friends is getting married. And no matter what anyone says, most brides don’t generally enjoy having a mammoth pregnant bridesmaid stealing all the picture space. Aside from that, I would like to enjoy her wedding and make it totally about her.

So the dilemma, do it now… buy a house… later. How much later? who knows.. babies come with unexpected expenses, not to mention DAYCARE eating up all my expendable income.

Or, wait. Wait for 2 years. Who knows what will happen in 2 years. Im surely not getting any younger, and I dont even know if everything works ok down there! Husband is just as indecisive as I am, so he’s no help.

I know by writing this I am inviting many comments, advice… this I don’t mind.. but please be kind!

(hey that rhymed)