Empanadas kind of night

So I was so tired and burnt out yesterday I decided to move my day off of the gym from Friday to Tues.  I figured I don't have to work friday so I can workout first thing in the morning :-)  But I'm back to it today weight lifting and a quick warm up mile and cool down mile. 

Last night I cooked and cleaned.  What did I cook you ask? 

Where did I get this wonderful recipe?

Super excited about this cookbook it reminds me of the stuff my family in Colombia cooks but Vegan! :-) 

This was an easy recipe to follow.  I might save this for a weekend meal just because it's a little time consuming or it might be good to make the dough ahead of time.
The filling was corn, green onions, garlic, soy creamer, smartbalance, cornstarch and seasoning salt, pepper, cayenne. 

Tasted way better than I make it look in this pic

The dough was really easy to make.  There was a lot of filling left over so it would either make more dough or less filling next time.

and voila final product:

And yes, the non-vegetarian in the family loved them he took like 5 of them to work today for lunch.

I was a little tired but this is the only one who got a nap:

Happy Trails!

Count down begins...

My last week as a single lady but somehow it doesn't feel like much will change :-)   We are currently debating deciding whether I am going to change my last name or not.  My two main arguments are 1) it's too much work and 2) my current last name flows so much better  I'm not getting much support with either argument so I guess I will be changing it. 

Had some ups and downs this weekend but ended on a good note so I'm holding on to that!  On Friday I had to skip my workout because I had to take the doggy in for some shots because my better half who had scheduled the appointment said he wasn't going to be able to make it.  So that's that...  no comment ;-)

Sat. went for a run now this was supposed to be a 13 mile run in training for my half marathon.  I woke up still feeling the after effects of recovering from being sick I was really tired but decided to suck it up.  I wanted it to at least be a flat 13 so I drove down to the river trails which is the only place in town you will find relatively flat 13 miles.  The gates were locked!!  I found a random parking lot and decided to start running and would just have to guess how many miles I ran based on time.  Well, I ended up by the ditch running in really lose sand!  I started to get a little lost so I decided to go find my car, I decided it was a sign that I wasn't meant to run the full 13.  In the end I ran 1 hour and was tired but felt good.  I then went to do a 1 hour yoga class which ended up being exactly what I needed!!  After I was done there the stress and tiredness had melted and the knot in my neck was gone.  I drank LOTS of water after. 

I swear the yoga cured me the next day I felt way better!  I woke up and did an awesome spin class for 18.7 miles.  Does cleaning count as exercise because wow I was really tired after cleaning house.  Somehow it is a little more nerve racking when it's his parents that you are cleaning house for instead of your own.  All though my mom is pretty hard critic, she once wrote my name in some dust she found on a piece of furniture!  :-)  In jest I know but I still have to give her a hard time just like she does to me!!

I'm looking forward to 2 short work weeks, 12 family members, TONS of good food, a marraige, a 13 mile run along with lots of other quality workouts to work off all that good food, a Wine Festival, a bike ride so my dad can show off his brand new bike (I have to admit I'm a little jealous, I'll post pics)   I'm sure I will be busy so my posts for the next two weeks may turn out to be mainly pictures! 

What are you looking forward to this week?

Catching up...

Wow I made it back from the dark side but it felt like forever.  I got sick then got sick again just when I thought I was getting better.  I went 8-9 days (lost track of time) without a single workout!!!!  The most I could do was walk the dog for a mile and a half.  One day I tried pulling weeds and I passed out on the couch for 3 hours when I was done.  First I had a sore throat and was really tired then I got some kind of stomach virus and couldn’t eat for a few days then I got a full on head cold.  Of course work has been crazy and I have been working longer hours to try and make up for the 1 sick day I took.

So I started with a light weight lifting workout on Tues, yesterday I ran 1.7 miles with the dog on the running leash.  Today we’ll see I want to do a short run then a weight lifting workout.  This of course means I missed my 12 mile run that was scheduled for last Sat.  I’m going to attempt to do that this weekend and hopefully I’ll be back on track for my ½ marathon training!

So apparently my dad has successfully signed us up to volunteer as photographers for the 2011 IM AZ and had them put us on the preferential registration list for 2012 IM AZ.  I’m all about volunteering and think it will be fun but to be honest I really had no desire at this time to do another IM.  But if he REALLY wants to do this and he wants me there with him then there is no way I can let him down.  But he still has to make sure he is up for the training.  I keep asking him if he’s tried running a mile yet.  I know he is doing well getting back on the bike trainer but so far there have only been hikes no running.  So we’ll see how that goes I will keep you guys posted on if we actually sign up or not!  I’m a little nervous about all that.  Especially because of the timing of when I would be ramping up my training at a time that would be very difficult (I’ll explain in a minute….)

Lastly on the home front there has been all kinds of craziness there too!!!  We just found out that the fiancee is getting deployed, the thing is he hasn’t received his official orders so we have been going back and forth on what to do.  Well, we’ve decided to get married over Labor Day weekend! 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!   

I know it will just be a courthouse thing and it will just be our two families but it will be a full house and I just barely got use to the idea of being engaged.  We were going to do it anyway and it all makes sense as far as for his deployment but it’s still a little scary.  This also explains the above comment about IM training he would be returning right around the time I will start disappearing for full day workouts on the weekends!

How about you guys?  I have a lot of catching up to do on your blogs!  What has thrown you off your training plan in the past and how did you get back on track?  What has helped you make difficult decisions when it comes to deciding whether to enter a race or not?

Happy Friday!

A classic, still makes me laugh every time!



So now that I've pretty much ended my tri season (I might sneak in a few at the end of the season but just for fun).  I've transitioned over to my half marathon training and along with that I've re-incorporated 2 days a week of weight training and am loving getting back in the gym it feels good to build the muscles I don't normally use during the summer season, but some of the things I didn't miss about the gym:

1.  The "macho" singer - this guy is hillarious he's really big and tough and tries to accompany that by listening to tough music on is ipod but what he doesn't realize is that by singing outloud to this he doesn't sound as macho as he probably does in his own head...

2. The foot slapper - I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation for this but I still don't understand what happens when there is REALLY loud foot slapping on the treadmill, it seems like it would be painful for them and it throws my rythm off...

3.  The I'm too old to have any modesty left dresser - You know this person the one that doesn't care if they are naked and will walk around the locker room putting themselves in positions you don't want to see a naked person do, reminds me of the Seinfeld episode.  I've heard horror stories about the guys locker room and on more than one occasion where they've seen someone actually put a leg up and dry their "privates" with the blow dryer!!!! No Way!!!

What are some of your favorite gym rats?

P.S. On a side note my mom called me the other day and told me that after they went to see me do my triathlon last weekend it sparked something in my dad and ever since he's been swimming, cycling, hiking and looks like he is full force on this recovery/get back into shape thing.  I'm so happy and proud of him!  He's been looking at a new toy bike because apparently after his crash the carbon fiber on his old bike isn't safe to ride on any more...

GBBPX Guest Post, say hello to Marisa

Hi, I’m Marisa and I blog over at The Pace of my Life.  I am a wife and mom of two wonderful kids, as well as, a full-time teacher to 32 six-year olds, and I love to run (among other things)!  I am currently training for The Giant Race, a half marathon in San Francisco and will be running my first marathon in December, Rock n Roll Las Vegas.

Why I Run...

Over the last eighteen months, running has become an important part of my life and it has change my life in many very positive ways.  

There are many reasons I run, here are a few:

1. To be fit...running has helped me shed over 25 pounds.
2. To be healthy...running has kept me healthier than I’ve been in year.
3. To lower my stress levels...when I feel stressed, I run.  I feel better almost instantly!
4. To be a better wife...a happier, healthier, more fit me makes for a better wife.
5. To be a better mom...if my patience are low, I run.  My patience return.  Running also gives me some “me time!”

Running makes me a better me!  

Do I think everyone should run?  No!  Of course, not.  

I do think there is value in finding that “thing” that produced the same results for you!

A big thank you to Natasha for letting me invade her space for a day!

Thanks for reading and come on over and visit The Pace of my Life when you have a chance!!

Happy Running!