It’s Foodie Friday! (and some other stuff, too)

Hi there!

Happy Friday!

I’d love to do the Friday dance but, alas, I cannot.

I have zero energy.

Guess who woke up with a fever and a headache?

Yeah.

Of course that means I must be dying.

I just thought I was tired because I’ve been doing the burpee challenge

and the core challenge

but, I guess not.

Looks like my 17-miler isn’t likely to happen tomorrow. *sigh*

I already missed my tempo run yesterday because of the snow.

That’s okay though. It’s still early in my training and I need to feel better. I start a new job on Monday!

!!!!!!!!!

I’m a legal assistant (except the position I got hired for isn’t specifically called that) and I’ll be working at one of the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s offices (Virginia is a Commonwealth, hence the name instead of “State Attorney’s Office” or “District Attorney’s Office”). I absolutely LOVE this line of work. So gratifying! It feels really good to be a part of the process of putting the bad guys behind bars and helping to keep the communities safer for our children. 🙂

So, anyway, as much as the thought of not running pains me, I know rest is the right thing (although, I’ll still be doing the core challenge and I might work in a burpee or 100) so I’m all set and ready for Monday.

source

Okay, so now on to the REALLY big news of today –

IT’S FOODIE FRIDAY!!!

I’ve participated in the Foodie Pen Pals program once before and LOVED it!

Then, we moved and I had to take a break from it. 😦

But, now that we’re settled, I was able to do it again!

It’s really such an awesome program! No, you don’t have to be a blogger to participate so don’t let that stop you from clicking the Foodie Pen Pals logo up there. It’ll take you to Lindsay’s page and give you all the deets. It’s a lot of fun and I really think you should try it! Hey, everybody eats, after all! 🙂

Anyway, this month I was paired up with Monica at Cooking Up Veggies.

She sent me some Really. Awesome. Stuff.

Um, yeah. Those Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups?

Ate those immediately. Didn’t share. #sorrynotsorry

And the dark chocolate with espresso beans?

I even ate that for breakfast!

Hey, it had espresso in it. Clearly, it’s a breakfast food.

The beef candy – I’ll admit, the name IS a little strange. I mean “beef” and “candy” don’t seem like they go together – was WAY better than any beef jerky I’ve ever had. So flavorful, rich and delicious! And, it didn’t take an hour just to get one bite! It was soft but still had that jerky texture without being difficult or getting stuck in my teeth. Blech. Worst part about jerky. Beef candy, FTW!

The sour cream and onion zucchini chips were a total surprise to me. I’m not usually a sour cream and onion fan – I can eat a chip or two and then I’m over it – but these were not overwhelming in the least. They were light and crispy and perfectly seasoned. I must go on a hunt to find those around here!

The mini coco-roons also surprised me. I’m not the hugest fan of coconut but these were pretty tasty. I really like that they are small. Perfect little bit sized treats!

Now, let’s talk about that jar of fabulousness.

Monica canned her own orange marmalade.

For real.

And I got a jar!

I LOVE cooking with orange marmalade!

Best. Thing. Ever. 🙂

Talk to me: Do you can your own fruits/vegetables/jams/jellies? I’m totally impressed! What’s your favorite thing to can?

– jennifer

Trackless Tuesday & the kindness of a stranger

Hi there!

So, again, here I sit staring out the window waiting for the snow to fall.

Yesterday, it was almost 60 degrees.

It’s presently 22 degrees, feels 11 and about 5 inches of snow are in the forecast.

Then, we’re supposed to be back up to the 50s by Saturday.

This place has crazy weather. Crazy, I say.

Luckily, I was able to get my speedwork done this morning.

I was really anxious and apprehensive about it for some reason.

Here’s what I had on my schedule:

One problem.

I don’t have access to a track. 😦

Turns out that the local high school track isn’t open to the public.

It’s a little difficult, without defined measurements, to know how far those distances are when you’re running on the streets.

My Garmin is awesome but it doesn’t accommodate all that.

So, I knew I had to change it up but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

Plus, I knew it was going to be cold and I guess I was a little gun-shy about that given my foray into the world of hypothermia on my long run this past Saturday.

I darn near talked myself out of it before I even got out of bed!

But, like all people who are addicted to their phones and social media (don’t judge me), I tweeted about my apprehension before I got up and almost immediately got a response.

Who is this person and why was she up so early?!

And, honestly, her response helped. A LOT. As soon as I read it, I was motivated to run.

And, I don’t even know her!

All too often we tear each other down with negative words, criticisms and hatred. For what? What purpose does that serve? None. All it does is hurt people.

Love and support are what we ALL deserve. And what we should ALL give to each other.

Life is so much happier that way.

And her support – the support and confidence of a stranger – got me out the door this morning. And for that, I owe her.

Thanks, @caffeineyesplz!

So, I figured out how to change up my workout to fit my needs this morning.

(I completed each one with a 400 rest interval.)

Phew! That was a tough one! Here’s how I did:

1200 – 5:30

800 – 3:33

800 – 3:36

400 – 1:43

400 – 1:49

And then, I finished with a 1.5 mile cool down.

Although, it was pretty cold so it didn’t take much for me to “cool down.” Haha! No hypothermia or frost nip, though. Thank goodness!

Today is Day #2 of the #CoreCommit Core Power Challenge!

We had a 10 minute video to follow.

Holy. Moly.

I’m definitely going to be feeling today’s workout tomorrow!

Did you sign up yesterday? I hope so!

And, I’ve got another challenge for you, too!

The saying goes that “there’s a sucker born every minute” and I think my name is topping that list today.

FitFluential is doing a 1,000 Burpee challenge and, because my picture is next to the word “sucker” in the dictionary, I’m doing that one too!

source

Besides buffness (yes, that’s a word. just go with it.), the potential prize is a head-to-toe look from Under Armour!

Are you in? 🙂

Talk to me: I’m looking for cold weather running socks to help keep my poor little tootsies warm. Do you have a favorite brand?

– jennifer