Almond Joy
10:24 PM Boston time
Happy Friday night, everyone! I am soooo happy to *officially* be on vacation!!! 
First, my apologies for not having blogged since lunch time yesterday. It’s been a crazy week and I’ve been so tired at the end of each day. I literally fall asleep as soon as I change from my work clothes and into my PJs! I really had to work for my vacation! 
Workouts
Coach Joe gave me a pretty light this week so that I could recover from my 20-miler on Sunday. I think I have a total of only 9 miles so far this week! I definitely feel like I need a recovery week these past few days so i was a nice scheduled “break.”
After work yesterday, I went straight to Healthworks and did the following workout designed by my coach, Joe:
- 10 minute run on treadmill (1.05 miles)
- leg swings
- 2 sets of heelkicks
- stretched inner & outer ankles
- jumping jacks: 2 sets of 30
- knee circles, forward: 1 set of 25
- plank for 90 secs.
- knee circles, backward: 1 set of 25
- stretched
- foam rolled
Today, I got back outside for a short, easy run, even though it was quite gloomy and windy outside. It was nice to get my legs moving even though I was actually not motivated at all. I just had one of those really long days at work, so working out was the last thing I wanted to do as soon as I got off work. But of course, I felt much better and was happy that I did it as soon as I started running.
I ran 4.1 miles today in 35.08. My Garmin 305 was still not charged so I ended up using my simple Timex watch! This watch was my first running watch when I started seriously running almost 3 years ago!
I still love it even though the strap is actually kinda broken! It still works so that’s all that matters!
Sorry, I digress! I did 4.1 miles in 35:08.89 — about an 8:45 min/mile pace. After my run, I cooled down by doing the following:
- lunge position holds (lph): 3 x 6-sec. holds per leg
- lateral leg raises: 1 x 25 per leg
- plank & side planks
- stretched
- foam rolled
By the way, here’s the MapMyRun link to tonight’s route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/pa/north%20east/506126845165860122.
I really love starting my weekend off with a workout!
Dinner
I was starving by the time I got to Matt’s, but believe it or not, we didn’t have Chipotle tonight! Matt decided to grill some chicken legs, which were on sale at Whole Foods — I got four of them for about $3! When I got there, I quickly made some rigatoni with vodka sauce to eat with the chicken.
The chicken was delicious — perfectly grilled!
For dessert, I enjoyed some Almond Joy!
And now, I’m relaxing and watching some CSI — I love these mystery/detective shows!
I hope you guys have a great weekend! I’ve got a 13-miler planned tomorrow before we leave for Mexico (!!!) on Sunday!
Happy running & good eating!
Patricia
Loco for Zocalo
11:53 AM Boston time
Hi everyone! Hope your Thursday is going well! Mine’s been good so far!
Before I go on to today’s lunch, here’s a recap of last night’s dinner with my girlfriends at Zocalo, a Mexican restaurant in Allston. We bought one of those BuyWithMe.com coupons so we got $40 worth of food for only $20. Such a great deal!
Last night was my third time at Zocalo and it was good as expected! As soon as we got there, we started munching on chips and salsa. I was starving after last night’s workout.
When our entire party arrived, we ordered some guacamole, which they make right in front of you. It tasted so fresh!
Don’t you love the piggie stone bowl that it came in?!
Yum yum!
I munched on so many chips, but I still had plenty of room for the main dish. I ended up getting the steak fajitas! It was a huge serving, but I did a good amount of damage before I packed the rest of it home for Matt. It came with rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and lettuce.
And finally, the fajitas!
Everyone enjoyed the food!
Look at one of my bites!
It was definitely a delicious dinner — quite a treat, especially for a Wednesday night. But as my good friend, Ro, say all the time, you should treat yourself everyday!
Well, lunch is almost over and I gotta head back to work! Enjoy the rest of your day!
Happy running & good eating!
Patricia
iPhone Bloggin’
7:15 AM Boston time
Good morning, everyone! It’s finally Thursday! Almost the weekend!
I’m blogging from my iPhone this morning because my computer’s battery is dead – forgot to charge it last night! I usually start my post while commuting then publish it once I get to Starbucks where I have Internet connection. I thought I could at least blog from my phone and write about my workout from last night.
Last night was my first run again since Sunday’s 20-miler. I definitely felt tired still but I’m glad nothing (as far as aches and pains go) was bothering me. *Crossing my fingers* that I can stay healthy until the Marathon!
Anyhow – I did ~4.25 miles at an easy pace. I finished in about 40 minutes. My Garmin 305 ran out of batteries (looks like this is a theme for me lately) so I was only able to record the first 5 minutes of my run. I will try to put up a MapMyRun link at the very least on my Workout Log when I get a chance later today.
That’s about it for now! Look out for last night’s yummy dinner recap later today!
Happy running & good eating!
Patricia
Train Your Brain
6:51 AM Boston time
Good morning, everyone! Happy hump day!
I woke up extra early today to make breakfast and because I have to be at work a little earlier today. It was nice to have some time to make an egg & cheese bagel sandwich today. It’s going to be a busy day so I need all the energy that I can get from breakfast.
I just scrambled some eggs, topped it off with Cabot’s mild cheddar cheese slices, then sandwiched them into whole wheat bagels. Yummy! 
I’m also enjoying a tall iced coffee with soy milk and sugar-free vanilla from Starbucks — haven’t had one of these in a long time! Was craving it this morning — the first sip of it tasted oh-so-good! I hope my brekkie keeps me satisfied until lunch!
Train Your Brain?
The other day, someone in my running club (The Most Informal Running Club Ever, aka TMIRCE) sent a link to an article called “Train Your Brain: Can Jogging Make You Smarter?”. I just thought it was interesting and wanted to share it with you.
You can find the article here.
Healthworks – Runner of the Week
As some of you guys might already know, I love my gym, Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women. It’s a great community and they really support their members in their fitness goals outside of the gym. In the next few weeks, they are featuring members who are running the Boston Marathon. Guess who’s the runner for this week? Me! I just thought it was really cool and if you are a Healthworks member, make sure to look out for it in the newsletter.
I have a busy day ahead, including a run after work and dinner plans with some girlfriends, but I will see you guys later! Enjoy your day — another sunny one in Boston!
Happy running & good eating!
Patricia
Veggie Burger Delight
8:11 PM Boston time
Hello everyone! Hope you had a good Tuesday! Is it really only Tuesday?!
Anyhow, I am still taking a rest day from running per my coach’s schedule so I went to Marshall’s right after work to shop for some swim suits and pretty sandals for the vacation! I got some pretty good deals — one was $14.99 and the other $12.99 — love that!
I’m sorry I didn’t get to blog during lunch — I didn’t leave the building and just ate lunch with my coworkers in the lunch room. We don’t have WiFi in our building yet so I couldn’t pull out my laptop and blog.
Lunch
I shared last night’s leftovers with Matt to bring for lunch today. It was still good but this dish definitely tastes the best right after cooking.
Still very good though!
There wasn’t very much left from last night so I had some other goodies on the side. I had an organic bartlett pear and a bluberry Chobani.
I also had my favorite lowfat chocolate milk — this has recently become a staple for me since it’s a great post-run drink! Next to it is what was left of my Chobani — I totally forgot to take a picture of it before I started eating it. It was almost gone when I remembered!
It was a yummy, satisfying lunch. It powered me through the rest of my busy afternoon!
Dinner
I was really tired from walking around all day so when I got home, I just put together a quick dinner. There is also a St. Bonaventure basketball game on so we gathered in the living room to cheer them on in tournament play.
I decided to make a veggie burger sandwich just like Sunday night’s dinner. This Gardenburger brand is really delicious! I also love that you can see the actual vegetables that the burger is made of.
I melted some Cabot mild cheddar cheese slices on top of the veggie burger.
It tasted so good with the Ciabatta bread I bought from Trader Joe’s and some baby greens.
I also had some Lightly Salted Kettle Chips on the side.
I ate my meal with a little bit of ketchup — soooo good! After I scarfed my sandwich down, I had another serving of chips. And then look what suddenly appeared on my plate?!
Yup — that’s right! More carrot cake bread and Girl Scout peanut butter pattie cookies!
It was quite a yummy day for me! Okay…that’s it for now. Time to get back to the basketball game! Enjoy your evening, bloggies!
Happy running & good eating!
Patricia
