My First Mini Marathon

I haven't posted around here much lately (I may have said that already) because I have been busy with other things . . . like doing my first Mini-Marathon!  That's right, yesterday I completed 13.1 miles in the nation's largest mini-marathon.

I was one of the 35,000 runners/walkers.  What an awesome experience!  It was fun to be part of the energy and complete this physical feat.  I would have never imagined in years' past that I could complete such a thing.  To say I am proud of myself and my training buddy, Emily, is an understatement.





 Pre-Race with my buddy, Emily
 Post-Race sporting my awesome new statement necklace aka completion medal
 Post-Race with Emily and Brad (celebrating Cinco de Mayo with Margaritas and Burritos

Do you need a reminder?

Source: itsfitnessbaby.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Get Movin'!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I've been struggling with having time for it all - work, working out, keeping up with my meal planning, enjoying the fabulous spring weather and more.

One thing that I mentioned above is that of working out - yep, despite this post a couple of months ago I have ramped up my working out dramatically. I joined Curves a month ago, do 9-11 miles walks every Saturday with a friend, and most recently have started doing job/walk intervals equaling 2-3 miles about 5 times a week. This is the change I needed to drop more weight as I near my goal weight (I'm less than 20 lbs away now!!).

With my walks/runs I have a new favorite app - Nike + GPS. It is only $1.99 and is so awesome! It tracks your distance, time, calories burned (very accurate too - it was within 30 calories on a 3 hour walk as my friend's heart rate monitor), your fastest speed, current pace, will give you audible stats every mile and more. Plus, it can run simultaneously with other apps (like a Couch to 5K app, etc.) and music.

If you do any type of walking or running you should definitely get this app (I know it is available for iPhone and assume Droid Smart Phones too).

Here are a couple of screenshots from my Nike + (I like to use the male voice over and call him Nigel :-).




It keeps track of your records:


And a history of all of your "runs":


How it looks when you start a run:


What are some of your favorite fitness apps?

Individual Cakes

Just saw this Pinterest and had to share!

Source: thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

"You need two boxes of cake mix. One can be any flavor you prefer, but the other MUST be Angel Food cake mix. Mix them together (shake them in a big ziploc bag or stir them together in a big bowl). Then simply store the mixture in an airtight container until you get the urge for dessert. Then just put three tablespoons of the dry mixture in a big coffee mug and stir in two tablespoons of water. Microwave it for one minute and you will have a single cake" (and relatively low in points - - haven't done the calculation yet).

I don't know about you, but sometimes after dinner I have a little sweet tooth. I think this will be just perfect for that!!

Choose Wisely

Source: givinguponperfect.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Striving to be healthy - eating right and working out - is hard.  But we have to give thought to what we eat daily anyway, so why not choose wisely. We have to coordinate our schedules to fit in our chores, work, family, and more, so why not choose wisely (even if it means trading blog reading time for exercise time).

What We Are Eating This Week

(what I like to call my Command Center for Operation Grocery Store - I would be lost without my list!)

Sunday - Thai Chicken Flatbread Pizzas (we had this on the list a while back, but never did make them)

Monday - Alessi Sicilian Lentil Soup w/ Turkey Smoked Sausage (the soup makes 2 - 2 cup servings at 6 P+ and a 1/4 of the smoked sausage is 4)

Tuesday and Wednesday - Chicken Pot Pie (recipe from a Weight Watchers Cookbook that I downloaded for free, but is no longer available)

Thursday - Fish Tacos (making with fish sticks so they are nice and crunchy. The fish sticks are 1 P+ per stick and you only need 2 per 6" tortilla. Then I make a sauce similar to this Bangin' Good Shrimp sauce to coat a blend of chopped of raw cabbage and red, orange and yellow peppers)

Friday and Saturday - we will be out and about

For lunches this week I will be doing a mix of my usual spinach salads with turkey, wraps using a 6" tortilla, hummus, spinach and turkey, and maybe some chicken orzo soup that I have. On the side carrots with onion dip (made with plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream) and fruit.

What are you munching on this week?

Reminder: Plan Ahead

Just a friendly reminder about the importance of planning . . . take a few minutes and plan out what you are going to eat for breakfasts, lunches and dinner. Having a plan helps keep you on track!