Uncategorized

A Day of First: Kitten Nursery and Crossfit

Hey everybody! I just got a Twitter and Instagram so follow me at @fitnessissweet and fitnessissweet!

Yesterday morning was another early wake up call-I had the morning shift at the kitten nursery at the animal shelter. Before running out the door, I had a quick breakfast of yogurt with banana and sunflower seed butter. Image

As soon as I got there, we went right to work. We had to clean out the kittens cages, weigh them, feed them, play with them, and then set up their cages again. ImageImageWhen we took them out of the cages, we kept them in cardboard boxes, and then carried the boxes to a table and took them out there to play and eat. They were pretty mischievous- the boxes were so hard to close because little paws and heads kept popping out!ImageTo put it in perspective, most of them weighed about .5 lbs. ImageImageImageImageThe next pictures are the group of kittens we took care of last. Since we were basically done after them, we had them out for longer to play and socialize with them. ImageImageThis group was fast asleep when we took them from their cage. Anyone who has had kittens knows this is a recipe for disaster! Kittens have this instant on switch that brings them instantly from 0 to 60! These guys were rambunctious! So much so that the little stripy kittens wouldn’t even eat at first, they were so busy playing! On top of that, they kept trying to wander around. When there are 4 kittens on the table and one of me, there are going to be problems! They kept trying to climb onto the windowsill. The white and striped one was quite the adventurer- somehow he made it off the table without me even seeing him get near the edge! By the time we were all done though, all the kittens were snoozing. We then went back to the other kitten nursery where the even younger kittens are. These kittens can’t really eat on their own, so we learned to feed them with a syringe. It was pretty difficult-the kittens were pretty fussy! I ended up finally being able to get some food in by wrapping the little guy up in a kitten burrito. I managed to feed him enough-he even went for the food bowl a little himself! Soon though, he stopped opening his mouth, and a minute later, he was fast asleep! Having a tiny kitten fall asleep in your arms is the best thing ever. I can’t wait to go back!

When I got home, I wanted a snack, which turned into a snacky early lunch. Image

EdamameImageImageLeftover sweet potato fried from dinner the previous night. ImageTurkey roll ups-big leaf lettuce with deli turkey, onions, avocado, and ketchup.ImageI also wanted to try and recreate the delicious iced tea from the previous day. I brewed Earl Grey tea with mint leaves, and then added ice, almond milk, and a touch of honey. I loved how refreshing the mint made it, so I concentrated on that aspect. Overall, it was good but nothing really like what I had had the previous day. I think it would have been better with coconut milk, or something slightly thicker than almond milk. And the Earl Grey tea flavor kind of overwhelmed the mint. But it was quite thirst quenching all the same!ImageI then spent some time on the old blog, attempting to figure out Twitter. ImageI sent this to my friend asking her what it meant my username was. #clueless

If you follow me on Instagram, you can see tons of cute cat pictures such as this one 🙂ImageBefore I knew it, it was Crossfit time! It was in a warehouse right next to an indoor batting cage where my high school softball team would occasionally practice. 

First, let me just say- I loved it! Everything about it-I love throwing heavy things around. I really liked the warehouse atmosphere as well-it seemed very hard core (in a good way). If you are thinking about trying Crossfit, do not be intimidated! Everyone is super nice and of different fitness levels! We began with a warm up run and stretching with the regular class, and then another new person and I broke off with a trainer to be assessed and to go through a mini WOD. The WOD we did was actually one I had done on my own before,but a shorter version. I had had to modify it when I did it at the gym at school, and it was much harder yesterday. 

10 AMRAP

100 m run

5 pull-ups (banded for me)

10 push ups (chest all the way to the ground)

15 air squats

I made it through 5+ rounds in the 10 minutes. I really, really loved the atmosphere. The workouts are very similar to what I did with my trainer at the gym in the past, and the atmosphere is more what I liked about softball conditioning with other people, except everyone actually cares about working hard! 

The only thing for me is since I know all the Olympic lifts (there are very few Crossfit moves I don’t know), I would really like to try and skip some of the Intro classes and dive right into the normal WODs. I really don’t want to have to sit through classes learning the lifts I’ve been working on for the past 3 years. Plus, watching everyone throw heavy weights around kind of had me drooling-knowing I can do the lifts at the same weight that they are make same want to join right in! I totally could have done the normal WOD! I need to try and see if I can somehow be fast tracked at least a bit. 

But I really, really loved it. I would say I’ve been bit by the Crossfit bug, but I know I’ve been obsessed for much longer! I’m going back again Saturday, and I seriously cannot wait!

Dinner was black bean soup from this Whole Foods recipe. We didn’t want to have to wait for the beans to sit, so we got canned, and probably didn’t add enough beans, because it was pretty liquidy (normally it’s pretty thick). Still delicious though! I highly recommend this recipe. HOWEVER. One major modification I made was using vegetable broth instead of water in the soup. It’s super plain without, but has a ton of flavor with!

My bowl was really weird/pathetic looking so I took a picture of my sister’s instead!ImageImageImagePlus a side salad.ImageAfter dinner, my wimpy mouth was burning! What better solution than frozen yogurt (with chocolate sauce)?ImageWhat a fabulous way to end the day!

Have you ever done Crossfit? WHat did you think?

Throwback (Run) Thursday

Hey guys! Check out my guest post on Mangoes and Miles! I wrote about a topic near and near to me-avocados.

Yesterday was my first day of summer, and I must say, it was a really awesome day! I slept in until…5:10…but hey-it was well worth it to attend my favorite spin class! Plus, my kitty came into my room about 10 minutes before my alarm demanding to be petted. And waking up to a purring cat is way better than waking up to an alarm!

After spin, I had a 4 mile run to do. I decided to do a throwback run-last summer I clearly remember one of my first training runs. I went to early spin and then drove to a neighborhood fairly close by, which is flatter and prettier than where I live. I completely forgot to bring my Garmin, so I decided to run for time instead. I planned on 40 minutes, but I lengthened it to 45 because I kept stopping for pictures, plus a had a minor goose incident. More on that in a minute. I made a playlist on my phone of all the songs I listened to last summer to really throw it back. Confession: for some reason whenever people do throwback Thursday on facebook with their pictures, it drives me crazy. I have no idea why…ImageImageImageImage

I enjoyed the wildlife of suburbia- geese!ImageImage

Ignore the slant-this was my first attempt at a picture while running (without stopping). What’s funny is this lagoon is actually where we rowed some of the time. It’s also a 2k racecourse, so I would have raced here quite a bit if I had continued with crew. That’s so weird to me because I never knew people rowed here. I mean, I basically grew up in this area; half of my friends live here, and I went to violin lessons right around here, and then, I later rowed here. Image

There are geese everywhere around the lagoon. If you were to see the geese as they were in this photo, you wouldn’t think anything of it, right? You’d just run through and expect them to move. So I started to run towards them. But…they didn’t move! SO I decided to just run through them and run around them. As I got closer, they started hissing at me! They were hissing and screaming and running closer to me!

Image

So naturally I stopped to take a picture. What you can’t see is that there was a goose right next to me on my left hissing. At that point, I was kind of stuck. I was in the middle of the pack, and I didn’t know which direction to go in!

Luckily, I did get out in one piece, unscathed. But it was terrifying. I guess the bird around this lagoon are kind of aggressive. One of my teammates had a scary experience with an aggressive swan chasing her!Image

Being done with spin and a run by 7:45 am is such an awesome feeling. Breakfast was cottage cheese mixed with chia seeds and thawed blueberries.

An even more awesome feeling than that? Taking a midmorning nap with your cat. He’s such a sweetie! Sadly, I have no pictures, as I was unconscious.

Lunch was a leftover turkey burger and freeze dried sesame edamame. Image

I also had one of these guys-it was good, but similar to the coconut creations I’ve made in the microwave, so in the future I’d probably just do that.

Image

A little later in the afternoon, I met up with Kaitlin for coffee. She’s about to graduate, so I was lucky to catch her before she leaves! We went to Philz Coffee, which was a cute little place where they hand make everything. Image

We were both a little overwhelmed by all the different types of coffee! Since I know very little about coffee, and I didn’t want to have much caffeine that late in the day, I went with iced chai tea.Image

I got mine with milk and honey. They add mint leaves to it as well. I really, really enjoyed this. It was super refreshing on a hot day, and while the chai flavor was subtle, I really liked the flavor the mint added.

I also enjoyed an oat bar, which had various types of dried fruit. Image

I had a really great time talking with Kaitlin– I’ve never met up with a blogger before! She’s totally awesome and you all should check her blog out.

ImageThanks Kaitlin!

We met up more near school than home for me, but that worked out really well because I kind of forgot to turn my room key in, and school was on the way back. I had to say goodbye to people again! I also had to help my sister move out which was…a process. For the record, I was out in an our (besides the packing). I was there for 3 hours, my parents were there for longer, and she’s not even completely moving out! She’s living there (kind of-it’s complicated) this summer! But I did score a homemade cupcake from her fancy cupcake holder which she made for a class project. ImageImage

In addition, she and her boyfriend made cinnamon rolls from scratch that were ready right before we were done!ImageImage

They were sooo good, but I could only have a few bites before my heart started racing!

And FINALLY we were home for dinner. My family was having pesto pasta, but I felt like I could use protein more, so I microwaved egg whites and spinach and topped that with pesto instead.Image

And dessert:

Image

I had been out of sunflower seed butter in my dorm for quite a while, so this was AMAZING.

Have a great day everyone! Kitten nursery post to come, as well as my recount of Crossfit (my first class is tonight!).

Where is your favorite place to run? Have you ever met up with a blogger?

WIAW-SUMMER

Hey guys! Happy WIAW! Thanks a lot to Jenn for posting, as always!

Image

First, what’s up with this being a running blog now? Haha, I feel like that is all I have been posting about lately! More on that in a minute. Some of you may remember way back in the day when this was more of a rowing blog! I started this blog during rowing training camp, so for the whole 10 days, the posts are pretty much:”We ate. We rowed for 2 hours. We ate again. We rowed again. We ate. We ran 6 miles.” etc…So in that spirit, more on running in a bit! First some delicious food. 

After frying my brain in a 3 hour chem final, an amazing salad and frozen yogurt were necessary fuel to motivate me to study for my next exam.ImageImageI LOVE FROZEN YOGURT.

My last breakfast at the dining hall of the school year!ImageI’m cool and I eat french toast from a bowl. But that way the syrup stays separate and doesn’t drench it.Image

And then, FINALLY SUMMER! Yay!

After my final, it was packing time. It took me about an hour to move out, after I was pretty much already packed. Seeing an empty room was so weird!ImageYeah, I have a lot of stuff…ImageAnd last dining hall meal of the year! Plus, since I had to thaw out the freezer, helping my roommate eat her frozen baked good was kind of a necessity. 

And then….HOME! Home is where the heart is? Pshh. I disagree. Home is where the cats are. Image

And the first thing I do when I get home? I raid the pantry. This is what I found for a snack:ImageThese things are so good! I’ve gotten single serving packs from whole foods before in different flavors, but these are from Costco, so there’s no messing around with a wimpy single serving!

And then it was time to run. Last night I pumped myself up for a really good run today-on the treadmill. First, I want to thank all you guys so much for your advice and encouragement on running! I decided I would go at a good pace on the treadmill and just push through- after all, no matter how bad it was, it could not possibly be as bad as a 6k test (this is a test for rowers-it is 6k as fast as possible and it is basically torture. Like the worst thing ever. Seriously). 

So I went out there today and had a really, really great run. I seriously could not have done it without you guys! I was thinking about you all during the entire run (as well as counting down every .01, and calculating how much I had left-1/50 down, 1/25 down). I busted out 3 miles in 24:27. This went way beyond my hopes- I am sooo happy with this! I can’t remember the last time I ran 3 miles this fast! I guess that’s what a day off, plus ton of foam rolling will do for you! So thank you all SOSOSOSO much, your comments seriously motivated me!

Image

Post run happiness.

And after my run, it was straight to yoga! This was much needed. It’s been far too long since I’ve gone to yoga. I think it should help my tight legs as well. Image

And now for my first home cooked meal! Turkey burgers in a lettuce wrap, with homemade ketchup from this recipe, sweet potato fries, and brussels sprouts. 
IMG_2759

After dinner, we had some frozen cookie dough we were planning on getting rid of because no one was a huge fan, but I wanted to see if you could microwave frozen cookie dough and get a decent result. The answer? YES.Image

If I have learned anything from this past year of college, it is that you can make anything in the microwave. That and the many varieties of mold found on old food (oops). 

And to celebrate summer, I had a small slice of my frozen birthday cake!Image

Sooo sleeping in on my first morning of summer? I’m still trying to decide how insane I am, and whether or not I want to go to a 5:45 am spin class. 

In other news, my first Crossfit class is on Thursday! SO excited!ImageWhat is your favorite thing about summer?

Mental Block and Solving the Mystery

Hey guys! I am currently in between finals, and since I feel moderately prepared, I figured I’d give my brain a break and blog. (Hmm the fact blogging is a brain break probably doesn’t speak well of my writing…) Also, can you believe tonight is my last night sleeping in this dorm?? I miss my bed at home! It is wayyy more comfortable!

 

ImageImage

(Recycled photos- sorry!)

Yesterday was my 5 mile training run. So naturally I chose the biggest hill imaginable for this run! It was…very unpleasant. To be fair it was super windy. Yeah, great idea Aurora, on the windiest day of the year, find the highest, most open space. It was also kind of a wake-up call. I had the whole run to think about running. One thing: I really need to train smarter. As in, stick to the training plan. Running 3 days in a row just does not work for me right now, especially when my 5 mile run was less than 24 hours after my previous run. My legs were shot on the first mile, before we even reached the giant hill. Also, I am kind of terrible with recovery. I nee to roll out more and get back to yoga. My legs are soo tight today, but I sent my roller home, and today is a rest day, so I’m not sure I want to go all the way to the gym just to use the foam roller…

Anyway, the other day, Beth raised a really good point- if I don’t focus on my running, my runs will not be very good, and I can’t put all my effort into them. That got me thinking-why aren’t my runs my priority? I haven’t fallen in love with running yet. Why? Because it is HARD. I think one of the biggest reasons I’ve avoided running is because it forces me to stare in the face of the fact that I have definitely lost fitness in the past few months. Running is where that loss is most apparent. By avoiding running, I am somehow avoiding this fact. Running right now is harder for me than it has been in a LONG time, and the fact that it isn’t as easy as I remember takes away from the pleasantness. So that revelation, mixed with the fact that my sister and her boyfriend smoked me on the run yesterday has made me really decide to dedicate myself to this. The problem is, it won’t get easier unless I do it more. So for running to be more enjoyable, I need to push through. The plan is to put more effort into my runs. I’m going to do some speedwork and hills on my shorter runs- the goal of my longer runs is just to get the mileage in my legs. Tomorrow I’m going to face the dreaded treadmill to get a faster paced 3 mile run in. What type of intervals do you guys do to work on speed? I may also add in some sprints- In the past, I was used to doing sprint-centered conditioning 2x a week for softball, which I am sure helped my running. 

Ok, now that that all is out of the way, on to the fun stuff! The advantage of running with someone with a car, is afterwards, you can go out to frozen yogurt. We went to Wildberry, which is BY FAR my favorite fro-yo place. I haven’t gone since I had mono, and I’ve been dreaming about it all quarter! Salted caramel pretzel=the best thing ever. That alone won me over. Image

I didn’t have my phone with me, but I really wanted to share this all with you guys, so I borrowed my sister’s. Right side is salted caramel pretzel, left is plain tart. OMG SOOO GOOD. 

My evening was spent in the library learning studying for Chem. Unfortunately, my brain was finished studying before I was. I tried to revive myself with some tea, but alas, I was done for the night. Image

I am kind of in love with this mug…

The tea was Strawberry Lemonade. The ingredients were all fruit and flower petals. Is it weird that I was wondering whether the leftover tea leaves would be good in oatmeal?

This morning I had a “final.” We played jeopardy…for 3 hours. The brought us breakfast from an awesome cafe, but I must say, jeopardy with dog toy squeakers as the buzzers is not the most conducive environment for studying for a Chem final! Talk about stressful…

Once it was over, I realized I only had 4 hours to completely master Organic Chemistry. Hah. So it was off to the library again, where I saw this guy:ImageImageThen it was on to lunch.ImageI ended up eating the insides out of the sandwich since I was having the other bread, and didn’t want a carb crash during my test. And as the title of this post says, I am slowing solving the mystery to this Mystery bread. I cam across something online the other day talking about how sunflower seeds undergo a reaction with baking soda (or was it powder?), causing them to turn green. So that explains that. I really took some time to think about the other ingredients today.

ImageHere’s what I’ve determined that this contains: raisins, sunflower seeds, carrots, coconut. And I have no problem solving this mystery one delicious piece of bread at a time. 🙂

Also, I’ve been trying to figure out what to fuel with for before my runs. In the past, I ate pb and banana on toast. However, nuts cause my skin to break out. And I’m not a big fan of working out on nuts- the fat in them kind of messes with my stomach. And I’m a little hesitant to have grains given my sometimes weird reactions to them (which I plan on getting tested about this summer). Any other suggestions? Also, my sister wants to eat sour gummy worms to fuel during the race. Would there be any problems with that?

I would love some long distance running advice!

I Did a Guest Post

Hey guys! I forgot to mention this earlier, but I did a guest post for Brittany! Find it here on summer workout ideas. Sadly, the pictures did not work out, so here they are! Use your imagination, and pretend they are in the post!

ImageImageRun on the BeachImageBikeImageHike

Image

Run

ImageYoga in a Fountain