Cold Weather Running Attire

Happy Friday everyone!  Today I'm going to talk a bit about my cold weather running clothes.  Its been in the 30's here in the mornings on and off for several weeks now.  I still have to get up in the mornings and run. I just don't trust myself to do it in the afternoons after working and driving home. 
I've read that you should dress for 10 degrees warmer than what it really is to count for your body heating up.  I absolutely love Target's workout clothes! 
When its in the 50s-60s I will wear capris.

Target running tights $16

I always wear a base layer of a moisture-wicking tank.  I don't like tanks with a shelf-bra.  I wear a heart rate monitor strap. So the shelf bra rubs against that. 

LuLuLemon Cool Racerback $42

Then if its in the 50's I might throw on a long sleeve vented shirt like the one below or just wear a long sleeve to begin with.

C9 1/4 zip shirt $34.999

C9 long sleeve athletic top $24.99

When its in the 40s and below I will wear full pants.

C9 Long Tights $34.99

Then I will wear a tank, 1/4 zip shirt, and then I add a light zip up jacket over it.  If its in the 30s I will run with gloves and a headband to cover my ears also.

Tuff Athletics Jacket- Ebay- $14.99

C9 Headband $10

These are just a few of my favorite cold weather running items!  I actually really enjoy running in the cold. Its easier for me.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!  Tomorrow we are celebrating Thanksgiving with my in-laws.
I just realized that it was a year ago today that I decided to become a pescetarian.  Best health decision I've ever made!

Xo-Heather

Holiday hottie week 2

Today is day 3 of week 2 of the holiday hottie series! So far I am loving the encouragement and motivation coming from K & K and the TIU community!
This week we are doing the 5 day slim down and two a day workouts.  Since I'm training for my half marathon I'm just doing my training run in the mornings and whatever toning routine they post in the afternoon.
Monday was a little rough for me because we went to the Saints game Sunday so I didn't get a morning workout in. But I did get in my PM toning that afternoon. Below is a few pics from the game. These tickets were my anniversary gift to my husband last month.

My menu for this week is looking almost exactly like the menu the last time I did the 5DSD. I just picked a couple of meals to repeat all week.

M1: I made a batch of protein pancakes at the beginning of the week for each day.

M2: either apple or pear (today I forgot my fruit so I ate a Larabar)

M3: teriyaki tempeh wraps and tuna wraps

M4: green juice (spinach, banana, apple, pear, ginger, and cilantro)

M5: garlic shrimp w/ broccoli slaw, quinoa cakes w/ cilantro pesto & roasted veggies

I have been so busy at work lately.  And as much as I love the time change so that its lighter in the mornings it is now officially completely dark when I get home at 6.  So I've been falling asleep so early lately.  But I get up at 5 am!  So I haven't put much effort into blogging. 

I hope everyone else is having a great week though!  This Saturday we will be doing an early Thanksgiving with my in-laws.  I need to figure out what I'm going to bring!  Of course it will be something healthy.  I already know they will probably not have any healthy or meatless options for me... Last night my husband even said why don't you make something healthy that you and I can eat. That made me so happy to hear him say that!  Maybe I'm rubbing off on him...

Have a great Wednesday!

XO- Heather

 

Holiday Hottie Series- Catch Up

Happy Wednesday everyone!
I really hope social media goes back to normal now that the election is over.  I'm all for people voicing their opinion.  But intentionally attacking another person because their opinion is different is just ignorant and a real asshole thing to do.  I'm over it!  America chose.  Now we can be happy because its who we voted for, or we can move on and support our country regardless.

Enough political talk!  Let's move on to the Holiday Hottie series! 

I am really loving all of the encouragement and positive attitudes that comes with something like this! I love seeing the check-ins and pictures on twitter, facebook, instagram, and the TIU Community.  Its so much easier to keep going when you know so many other people are doing the same thing!

The daily workouts are throwing off my half marathon training. But the HM isn't until February.  So I have an opportunity to even start back from the beginning if I wanted to after this 2 weeks is up.

Yesterday's workout was so so tough!  Take a look at the cardio circuit from yesterday!

I managed to make it through and burn 367 calories! 
M1: pumpkin protein pancake and coffee
M2: green juice (kale, banana, apple, cilantro, & ginger) and 2 boiled eggs
M3: tempeh sandwich w/ asparagus
M4: Luna Fiber bar and hummus w/ green peppers
M5: almond crusted tilapia and roasted brussell sprouts

Now on to today's plan.  I started my day with the MaliBooty workout.  I woke up pretty sore this morning.  So this was a killer!
My meal plan for the day looks like this:
M1: pumpkin protein oats and coffee
M2: plan greek yogurt w/ honey, pumpkin spice, & pear
M3: sauteed tempeh and brussell sprouts
M4: hummus w/ bell peppers
M5: Hearty Mushroom Soup

I hope everyone has a great day!  And if you haven't joined the Holiday Hottie challenge you can do so here!

Holiday Hotties

The gorgeous girls of Tone It Up are hosting the Holiday Hottie series starting today.  And of course, I am participating!
Basically it is taking the next 2 weeks to prepare, refresh, and transform your body to get ready for the upcoming Holidays!  There will be live daily chats with Karena & Katrina, giveaways, daily workouts, and daily motivation!  You can sign up here to receive the emails for the series.

So this first weeks is focusing on meditation, appreciation, and setting your intentions.  These are things I need to work on! 

The first week is eating strictly on the Tone It Up plan.  Week 2 will include two a days and the 5 day slim down again!  My only concern is doing this in conjunction with my half marathon training. I don't want to overdo it. 
You can check out today's workout here.  I only had time to do half of it this morning, and I will do the rest after work.
Here's my eating plan for the day:
M1: green juice (spinach, apple, ginger, cucumber, and carrot) with 3 boiled egg whites
M2: blueberry oikos greek yogurt

M3: homemade butternut squash soup 
M4: hummus and bell peppers
M5: almond crusted tilapia w/ brussel sprouts

I hope everyone has a great Monday!
XO-Heather

Recent photos

In case you can't tell I'm Harding a hard time finding the motivation to blog. So here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks.

Work outfit

Fred loving Halloween!

my mini quiches

recent runs

TIU 3 ingredient cookies

outfit for anniversary day date

my roses and Lush gift box for my anniversary

My Girls' Night Recipes

Last Tuesday I hosted a girls night at my house with my friends, Amanda and Victoria.
We are obsessed with PLL. They've been watching it way before me, but they got me interested in it.
When I decided to watch it I watched all the past episodes to catch up the started back with them when this past season started.
I have also read books 1-9. I'm currently on 10. Right now there are 11 total. The books are really good! The show is awesome too! I really like suspenseful movies, shows, and books. I like stuff that keeps me guessing and surprised!! This series is great for that. I have yet to lose my interest in it. I tend to lose interest easily in tv shows.
So the show has been on this random break. And it came back on for a Halloween episode. Then it will start back up in January.
For our girls' night I cooked Tone It up Savory Fall Stew and Karena's Kale salad. I posted the recipes below (both recipes from the tone it up website) and some random pics! I was really impressed by both of these recipes. They were awesome! I ate the soup every day for the rest of last week. And I still ended up throwing some away it was supper easy to make too.

Tone It Up Savory Fall Stew
1 Cup Dry Lentils
3/4 Cup Dry Quinoa
1 cup Water
2 Quarts Vegetable Broth
2 cups Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Carrots, sliced
1 yellow Onion, diced
1 Tbs. Black Pepper
1 Tbs. Basil
2 cloves Garlic
2 tsp. Thyme

Mix ingredients together in crock pot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Karena's Kale Salad- I cut this recipe in half

• 5-6 cups kale, washed and cut with kitchen scissors into thin strips.
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries.
• 1/2 cup pine nuts.(I use almonds)
• 1/2 cup diced red onions.
• 1/2 cup cherry red tomatoes
• 1/3 cup feta cheese.  We suggest low-fat or non-fat.
• juice of one lemon
• 2 fresh diced garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• I also added some hot banana pepper rings

Mix kale, cranberries, tomatoes, nuts, onions in a glass bowl.  In a separate dish, mix lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic to make a dressing.  Pour dressing over kale and toss to coat evenly.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight 6 hours or more is best!   Before serving, toss in feta cheese.

Hopefully everyone had a great Monday!  Let me know if you try these recipes.  I promise you won't be disappointed!

XO-Heather

Race for the Cure recap

Guys I have been so busy at work lately. The last thing I feel like doing is getting on the computer again after work.  I've been trying to write this post since Monday, but I'm finally getting to it!!

My company sponsored the Susan Komen Race for the Cure this year. We put together a team of 48 employes, their friends, and family. And we got everyone team t-shirts.

The race was this past Saturday in City Park in New Orleans. We got there around 8:15, and the race was set to start at 9:30. I knew it would be crowded because last year there were 17,000 participants. I think I found some info online that said there were 12,000 participants this year. It was insane!!! We parked a good mile or so away. When we arrived it took 30 minutes to find other people from our team. I never actually got everyone together because it was just so crowded.

They started calling people to line up around 9:20. We got in like close to what we thought was the start line. It was really just too many people in one spot. I never even heard a gun go off. We walked very slowly for a while before we got to an open area to even start running. And at that point I started my watch. I knew I wouldn't be able to trust what the clock said at the end. The first .5+ mile was spent weaving in and out of really slow walkers and dodging people on the grass, the road, the railroad tracks... Once we finally got out of City Park and into the road it was fine. I ran with my friends most of the time. On the last 1.5 we split up. Once I looked down and realized I only had a mile left I started sprinting a little faster. According the my watch at the end I went 3.14 miles in 33:43. I was extremely happy with that time! Especially considering it was with a group of 12,000 other people, most of them walking! The clock said 45 minutes when I got to the end. I guess that means we walked like 12 minutes before even getting started.

With an event like this there are so many people who do it to support the cause, not competitively. So I knew it wouldn't be a good indication of how I'm doing. I had a goal to finish in less than 35 minutes and I did it! I hadn't done a race in a while. So this was my first official race that I ran the entire thing.

It was a great event. I loved seeing the survivors in their shirts! It was really inspiring! I did wish they had organized it a little better though. Some of our employees said they didn't even get to start until well after the first person finished! Here's a few pics from the day.

 

Afterwards a big group of us went to the Rum House on Magazine Street! It was awesome!  Then we went to the Bulldog (a beer bar) to watch the rest of the LSU game.  I found this sign, and I loved it!  

 "To Live Without Beer is to Not Live At All."  

Word.

X0-Heather

OOTD & a recipe

I haven't been feeling too good since yesterday afternoon. I had a 3 mile run scheduled with a friend. And I thought really hard about canceling. But I went anyway, and I felt better afterwards.

For my meal 5 on day 1 of the 5dsd yesterday I made a random concoction of kale and chickpeas.

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Minced garlic
A few handfuls of kale
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
.5c veggie stock

Heat up a pan with olive oil
Add minced garlic (however much you like)
Pour in chickpeas and heat them up for a minute
Throw in kale, balsamic vinegar, & stock
Let simmer until kale is wilted
* this would w great topped with feta too!!

This morning I did not want to wake up to work out. But I got up and did the surfer girl routine from the TIU beach babe DVD. My M1 was a typical protein pancake.

Here's an outfit for today too!

 Top: Loft

Blazer: LC for Kohls

Skinnies: Kohls

Shoes: Steve Madden

Necklace: Stella & Dot

Headband: Goody from Target

Happy Tuesday everyone!!

XO-Heather

My first 5 mile run

Saturday morning I woke up around 7, laid on the couch, and drank a couple cups off coffee.  Around 7:30 I decided I go on a 4 mile run.  I ate a think thin protein bar.  Then laid around for a little bit to let it settle.  (I usually do not eat when I run before work b/c its so early.  I just have water).  Then changed my clothes, stretched, and set out around 8:20.  It was extremely foggy out so the sun was hidden.  It was nice and breezy.  I normally don't run with music b/c I think its extremely peaceful when I run in the dark in the mornings with no noise.  But I brought my phone and put it on the Pandora Alternative Endurance station. 

My street is exactly .5 mile to the end from my house.  So I ran there and back twice.  I felt good.  The first 1-2 miles when I run is always really hard.  Its so funny that I even say that b/c I normally only run 3!  But the beginning is tough for me.  When I got back to my house after the 2 miles I turned around and ran around the neighborhood block, 1.5 times is a mile.  I still felt pretty good.  I wasn't bored yet.  I did have some stomach cramps.  And I am blaming it on the 2 cups of coffee.  But I had tons of energy.  My legs felt great.  Eventually I passed the 3 mile mark, then the 4.  At that point I thought about a post I had read from Mama Laughlin last week.  And I asked myself, how do you feel?  How do your legs feel?  Are you hurting?  Are you tired?  Why not go 5?  I've never really thought of running that way before.  I kept telling myself... since you feel good... Just make it to the end of this song and then go back in.  But then I kept going.  I finally looked down at my watch when I was coming to the end of the block.  I had just ran 5.3 miles without stopping.  And I felt amazing!  I decided to go inside b/c my stomach was still cramping up a little, and I didn't want to overdo it.  I have the Komen 5k this Saturday, and I didn't want my knee to start bothering me.  
I ran inside and showed my husband my watch.  Panting... "Look what I just did! I just ran 5.3 freaking miles! I ran the whole thing!"  I think he was also a little stunned...

I did a few things different this time that may or may not have helped.  I drank coffee before, I ate, and I ran with music.  All of these things probably worked in my favor.  I always have to remember to stretch afterwards.  Normally I just want to lay down for a while.  But I did about 10 minutes of stretching/yoga.  I was so hot it took a while for my appetite to come back.  I shouldn't have waited so long to eat, but the thought of food made me want to throw up.  Around 11 it hit me how damn hungry I was.  I wanted carbs!  Hell, I just burned 525 calories!  So husband went to Quizno's for me to pick up a tuna on wheat.  I inhaled it! 

I took a shower and laid around for a couple of hours.  Then around 3 we left to head to the LSU game.  It was my first LSU game.  We went to a local bar/restaurant near campus, Walk-ons.  It was actually voted America's #1 sports bar!  I love this place because the atmosphere is great and the food is delicious!  The game wasn't until 7 so we had a lot of time to kill.  I didn't want to be stuck eating nachos or something random for dinner in the stadium.  So we decided to just eat there.  I honestly don't know that I've ever been so hungry.  My appetite was so spiked!  After drinking a few beers I ordered a fried shrimp po-boy with french fries.  I never order stuff like this.  But I was so hungry.  I ate every single morsel of food on my plate.  I haven't eaten fried food in several months, much less that much food.  But oh well!  It was a special occassion...

The LSU game was ok.  I'm not really a sports/football person.  I do love going to Saints games though.  I think they are way more fun! 

Yesterday I was pretty sore.  After running, walking a lot at the game, going up and down stairs, etc... My hips were hurting.  I didn't do anything yesterday.  I ended up going to the grocery store around 6 last night.  But that was the extent of my day. 

I picked up food to do the 5 day slim down again.  Not really because I want to lose more weight. I just noticed the Tone It Up Girls, Karena & Katrina, posted they were doing it on Twitter.  So several of the other girls on the TIU plan said they were too.  So I figured why not?! 

Have a great Monday everyone!

XO-Heather

  

My Running Journey & Future Plans

I feel like these days 5k's & races are so popular.  I'm not sure if its because I read a lot of healthy living and fitness blogs or because I see people document so much on facebook and instagram. But I think its great!  

I always said I wanted to be a runner.  I wanted the chiseled legs of a runner.  See, I've never once considered myself or thought of myself as big.  But my thighs... I think they're big.  I've wanted to shrink them for so long!  I wanted to feel comfortable in short shorts and bathing suits.  But I never stuck to anything long enough (fitness-wise) to see results.  I have a very close friend, Heidi, who I meet up with usually at least once a week to walk/run around the college campus we went to.  I can remember telling ourselves ok, we're going to run to that stop sign and then walk.  And it would only be a few feet but it felt like forever.  We always wanted to run, but never really pushed ourselves very far.  But then her mother, who lost her sister to breast cancer last year, decided she wanted to run the Komen Race in Lafayette, LA in honor of her sister.  So she walked out the door every day and pushed herself a little bit further and started running.  She then signed Heidi up for the race too, and they completed it together in honor of Heidi's nanny!

Heidi told me how amazing the race was and how great she felt afterwards.  So then she signed me up for a race that the company she worked for was sponsoring in March of this year.  I was so freaking scared to try to run this 3 mile race.  I didn't sleep the night before. I considered not even going.  But I did.  And I want to say I ran the first like .25 of the 5k then walked/run the rest.  Its so silly but when I got to the end it was such an awesome feeling knowing I accomplished it, even if I didn't run the whole thing.  At that moment I made myself a promise that I would run a full 5k at some point.

after my first 5k

So I told some of my other friends about how awesome it felt at the end and suggested we do one together.  So we all signed up for the Run Forest Run in NOLA in April.  I worked so hard getting up at 5 am to train for this race.  I wanted to run the whole thing so bad.  But I hurt my knee right before the race and had to stop running for a couple of weeks.  So needless to say I didn't run much of that one. 

the girls & Forest

me and my husband right behind me in the grey

So then I signed up for 1 in Baton Rouge and it was miserable and hilly and hot.  I barely ran at all. 

And after each race I remember thinking.... You could've done better.  Why did you stop to walk so soon?  So I've done 3 5k races so far, and I have yet to run one all the way. 
But it was about 3 months ago that I decided I wanted to get serious about running.  So I started setting my alarm for 5 am and running before work.  It worked out so much better for me that way because it is freaking hot in Louisiana!  So even though the heat and humidity were still really bad early in the morning it was nothing compared to the 90+degrees after work.  So every other morning I would run around my neighborhood aiming for 2-3 miles depending on how much time I had.  I remember the first time I got to 2 full miles without stopping.  I had a huge smile on my face in the dark alone at 5:30 am.  It was the best feeling EVER!  So I just kept pushing myself.  And then not that long ago- maybe a month ago- I pushed myself to run the full 3.1 miles without stopping.  Then a couple of Saturdays ago I decided to go 4 miles without stopping.  And I did it!  Once again, I had this big goofy smile on my face while I was dripping in sweat.
I figured out that I loved that feeling of accomplishing something.  I've never really pushed myself physically before.  I've always been a pretty healthy eater, but I hated exercise.  I find myself wanting to run because I want to see if I can do better.  Its like a mini-competition with myself because I can always improve.  I have been focusing on adding mileage and not getting faster.  I'm pretty slow.  I run an average of 11 minutes/mile.  But I'm ok with that.  I can remember doing the C25K and panting, barely breathing, while trying to run a minute or 2... And now I can freaking run for 45 minutes!
So on Monday I signed up for the New Orleans Rock n Roll Half Marathon.  I'm scared shitless.  I wanted to die after my 4 mile run, and I will need to be able to do that times 3 plus some... But thats ok.  I'm gonna do this shit.  And I don't care if I have to walk most of it, or if I am the last freaking person.  Dammit, I will run that half marathon!

So I have roughly  19 weeks, I think.... But I'm starting my training next week.  I have a really weak knee that gives me problems a lot.  So I want to plan in case of an injury or something.  Below is the link to the training program I am going to use.  I am just going to start from the very beginning in hopes of improving my time just a little. 
Self Magazine Race Training

Any advice anyone can recommend for a first-timer would be greatly appreciated!  Oh, and I might need some words of encouragement along the way too...  There's so much info out there about training and log-runs and gels and sports beans and sodium... I don't even know where to begin.  But I've got to start somewhere, right?!

XO-Heather


 

Yesterday's Haul

Yesterday I went to Ulta and Target on my lunch break. I wanted to look for an oxblood color nail polish and berry lipstick. I've been hearing about this oxblood trend lately. And I love dark nails!! I've also been looking for some longer shirts and tanks to wear with my beloved Lululemon Wunder Unders.  I have these in several colors!  

I completely forgot to snap my own pictures of the stuff though before putting it all up last night.

I picked up this Revlon super lustrous lipstick in #485- raspberry freeze. I wore it today and I love it! I was actually hoping it would have a little less shine and look more matte. But I'm pleased with the color. I love the formula of these lipsticks. They're really creamy and not drying at all.

I also picked up the Revlon Color Stay nail polish in Vixen.  I haven't painted my nails with it yet.  But I did find some swatches.

source

 

This color just looks gorgeous!  And I love this line of polishes.  I have a few other colors, and they last pretty long.

I also just picked up another package of the Simple make-up remover wipes.  I love that brand!  I used my $5 off $10 coupon, and I think I paid $11 OOP.  

I also found a couple of tanks at Target.  I don't think they'll be quite long enough for me to feel comfortable with tights.  But oh well.  

buy here

here

The 2nd one isn't the exact one I bought.  Mine doesn't have the glitter, and its more of a berry color rather than purple.  They're really soft and very comfy!  They were $7 each.  They have a ton of colors.  I like these to wear alone in the summer and under cardis/ jackets in the fall.

buy here

Then I picked up the mint green lacy one.  I thought it would be cute to wear around the house or casually.  It was on clearance for $3. 

So its not too exciting, but I found some good deals!  

Have you been shopping lately?

XO-Heather

Friday Favorites

   

Here are a few of my favorite things this week:

 

Favorite Nail Polish:

Orly Rage Polish

 I love this shimmery rose gold color!  

 

Favorite Purchase:

source

 

 

I bought some new running shoes!  I went to a running store where they watch you walk and match different shoes to your foot type.  So I ended up with the Mizuno Wave Inspire 8.  This is my 2nd pair of Mizunos. 

Favorite Workout:

Tone It Up Love Your Booty Shorts routine

I did this Thursday morning.  I was drenched in sweat.  At one point I thought I would fall over because my legs were so tired.  It was a great workout, and I burned 226 calories in 30 minutes.  Which is good!  High intensity interval training (HIIT)  workouts are great to do in the mornings.  They burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time and really boost your metabolism for the day. 

Favorite Food:

I have been obsessed with roasting vegetables lately.  I have made roasted vegetables almost every night as a side for 2 weeks.  Its the only way I have ever been able to get the husband the eat veggies at home. 
Heat the oven to 450
I cut up a combo of  brussel sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, and red onions.  I throw them in a very large Tupperware bowl.  Then on top I put some olive oil, a heaping spoonful of minced garlic, S&P, and rosemary.  I put the lid on the bowl and shake them up.  To me this just creates less mess than stirring them and trying to get everything to distribute evenly.  Then I spray the pan with cooking spray and pour them on.  I bake them for 12 minutes.  Sometimes the sprouts have to go a little longer.  But I love eating roasted veggies! 

What's your favorite things this week?  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

XO-Heather