Sunbutter and a Chest Cold

I have never been so happy to see my own kitchen.  After a week of fried and junk foods, vacation-burnout hit hard and I’m ready to make my own meals.  Before a workout I try not to eat a full meal; most days I eat a snack of about 300 calories with plenty of fat, protein, and carbs.  Today’s preworkout snack was a treat featuring my new Sunbutter.  How is this new to my life?  I love sunflower seeds!  This spread has a savory flavor and slightly grainy texture: a refreshing change from my usual peanut butter.  Sunbutter on a Nature’s Own Whole Wheat Thin-Sliced Bagel hit the spot and I watched Ruby with MamaDi for half an hour before hopping on the treadmill.

Breakfast Part 1--Sunbutter is going to be a new obsession 😉

My workout could’ve been better.  I’m fighting a lingering cough from a nasty flu/chest cold I had way back in February and today it reared its ugly head.  I was feeling good for the first twenty minutes of my hill workout and then I was hacking and wheezing.  No amount of water seemed to help so I cut my run short around the 3 mile/30 minute mark.  Though I felt fine once I got off the treadmill (despite the continuing cough I wasn’t in much discomfort—mostly it was irritating and disruptive) I thought a healthy smoothie was in order.

Green Deliciousness--maybe it can scare away a cough?

Does anyone else experience a lack of appetite after running?  I have trouble thinking about solid foods for an hour or two after so I normally stick to a smoothie to refuel.  Lent’s hitting me hard in the smoothie department: I love a chocolate/banana/something flavor and the no-chocolate-milk-till-Easter is only getting harder.

This smoothie was no Green Monster (well, technically I think maybe it was…) but the nutritional stats weren’t too shabby.  I threw in a couple handfuls of spinach, three ice cubes, 1/4 cup of pineapple juice, 1 cup of milk, and 1 giant frozen banana.  Fruit does make a smoothie high in sugar, but there wasn’t any added sugar, so I’ll take it!

Recipe Analysis by CalorieCount.com

Afternoon update: I think I picked up a normal cold in addition to my lingering cough.  There’s a chance my wheezing and now-runny nose are due to allergies, but it’s fairly unlikely since I have never suffered from sensitivity to anything besides lactose.  I plan on cuddling up with a Robert B. Parker novel and a bowl of soup for the afternoon.  Maybe even an attempted nap is in order.  Hopefully this is a 24-hour bug, because I want to get back on track with my training after a week away.  Cross your fingers!

Time for some Link-Love:

 Tempting Food Can Trigger Urge to Splurge
An Egg a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
12 Ways to Eat More Colorful Fruits and Veggies

Hitting my Stride

Today was my first day running since the Monday before Disneyland.  On my workout log I ran twice in that time: both runs were likely less than two miles and I couldn’t track time or distance accurately.  But today was different.  Today my hotel had a functioning treadmill—it was going down 😉

Overdue for a speed workout, I slipped into my running skirt and sneakers at six.  After a sprint down a few flights of stairs I was in the fitness center and ready to run.  I started by walking a mile on 6% incline; as I walked I could feel the stiffness from a day in the car melting away.  After the first mile I lowered the incline and hit an easy running pace (that’s usually 6-6.5mph) for a half mile.  I was barely sweating afterwards.  My body is finally getting used to this abusive “exercise” thing.  When it was time for the second half mile of running (my speed routine includes half a mile of walking between two half miles of running) I cranked the treadmill to 7mph.  Two weeks ago I was panting at that speed, but now I was itching to speed up.  I took the last quarter mile at 7.5 miles per hour!

I was in shock as I walked a cool-down half mile.  That was really running and for the first time it didn’t feel hard.  Yes, I was still exerting myself.  Yes, I was still sweating.  Yes, I still felt that twinge in my side that at any moment could turn into a stitch.  But none of that made me want to stop.

This feels like a turning point in my relationship with running.  In the past I ran because I dreamed of being a runner someday.  Today I feel like I already am.

In less philosophical news, I’m furious with my camera.  It’s been cooperative for several years of abuse.  I think it’s finally going through teenage rebellion because it deleted all of the pictures I took today.  Luckily I have been loading pictures onto my laptop each night so I still have my Disneyland photos.

LilSis isn’t feeling well, so I’m making her tea before we go to bed.  Sweet dreams, all 🙂

Time for some Link-Love:

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes
Vegetarians may be at a Lower Risk of Diabetes, Heart Risk
Exercise Preserves and Builds Heart Muscle

Disney Vacation Day 4: Afternoon Nap?

Disney Day 4 started with a scream—literally.  MamaDi has a penchant for insanely long, steamy showers, so just as I was blinking angrily at the alarm clock (I had planned on getting up at six thirty and it didn’t go off) the fire alarm shrieked.  I slipped on a sweatshirt and opened the door to our room because I initially thought someone had tripped the alarm in the whole building.  Then I remembered one of my apartments in Florida, where we had to leave the porch door open whenever someone was in a shower to keep our alarm from going off.  I told LilSis to try and get the window open as I held the door to our room open to the hall.  A few people poked their heads out of their rooms to glare at me.  MamaDi kept asking what was wrong, was it the whole building?  No, just our room, just the steam from the shower.

An inauspicious start to our final day of park fun, but I have to say I was sure we’d have a great last day anyway.  We lounged around the hotel and didn’t leave until ten o’clock.

LilSis and the Fiancé love Disneyland

When we got to the park, we headed straight for Tomorrowland to get Fastpasses for Space Mountain.  For those unfamiliar with the Disney parks, Fastpasses are available to everyone by putting your ticket in the machines at popular rides.  The Fastpasses allow you to take a shorter line later in the day (you can pick up a pass every two hours or so).  If you time them right, it really helps you skip long waits for crowded attractions.  Fastpasses in hand, we hopped in the stand-by line.  Half an hour later we were screaming in the dark on one of my favorite coasters.  It’s definitely a classic!

By 11:00 it was 80° and sunny—time for a little break in the shade 😉  I was craving fried food and fish and chips were near at hand.  Score!  I have to say, it’s pretty easy to eat pescatarian (if not particularly healthy) in the Disneyland area (a small section of Anaheim), but if you’re a vegetarian you’re stuck with soup or junk food.  I wish I had remembered to take pictures of my food this week.  Highlights included: teriyaki tofu rice bowl on the Wharf at California Adventure (scarfed down while waiting in line for the California Screamin’ Roller Coaster), buttermilk flapjacks and eggs at the local Original Pancake House, fresh-popped popcorn in a collectible bucket, shellfish sampler at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion, and shrimp in a spicy broth at Bubba Gump’s.

We took the afternoon off since Disney vacations can be tiring.  MamaDi met with me after I ran a mile and a half and we walked this route.  Now MamaDi and LilSis are napping while I type.  Try as I might, I’ve never gotten the hang of midday sleep.  Tonight we’ll head back to the park for the fireworks show.  I can’t wait 🙂

7 Wallet- and Eco-Friendly Things Our Grandparents DidSix Surprising Superfoods
Healthy D-Fense: What’s so Great About Vitamin D?

Disney Vacation Days 2 & 3 in Pictures

I’ll eventually get a chance to write up a full recap, but those of you who’ve been to Disneyland or Disney World before know how long and happily-exhausting it can be.  So for now, here are some pictures.

One of my favorite rides as a kid was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, so we always endure the twenty-plus minutes wait to ride that antique car to hell.  (If you’ve been on the ride, you know what I’m talking about!)

LilSis loves the landscaping at the parks, so we’re always sure to snap a few pictures in front of the train depot out front.  Check out the Mickey flowers!

MamaDi’s favorite touristy restaurant is Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (themed after the Forrest Gump movie with Tom Hanks) so we had to head over there the first night.  There was a bit of a wait, but when you have a camera that’s not a big deal 😉

And what better way for a single girl to start the day than some Jack Sparrow over at the Pirate’s of the Caribbean?