DC Workouts

Date: June 26, 2014

Author: astottler

So…I know I have a bit to catch up on but if I can write this post quick enough I can catch another Scandal before bed. SO GOOD and totally relevant to this city!

Yesterday I woke up at 5am (that’s 2am CA time for those keeping track) to run over to the Lincoln Memorial for November Project.

I was shocked by how light-and hot and humid-it was at 5:30am. Since where I’m from it’s always freezing at night, I couldn’t quite believe it!

We all gathered on the steps. Today was “PR day,” which meant running the stairs for time.

Well, for some reason I thought we were doing that once, so I sprinted up the stairs. And then no one was stopping. Turns out we had to do it 17 (or 13) times…I scaled and did 13, partly because I had to leave a bit early. Guys. The Lincoln Memorial has SO MANY STAIRS. Like, you have no idea. THE BURN! Somehow magically I’m not insanely sore today-maybe because I spent the rest of the morning hydrating like a mad woman, but it was definitely a good one, and so peaceful to be running the city so early!

I went to Crossfit that evening because apparently I’m crazy, and everyone seems to think it’s PR week. Well, I did get a PR! I PRed my deadlifts by 10lbs for a total of 245! And my form was way better than my previous PR so that’s good!

And since we’re on the topic of workouts, I went to a run club today that’s through my gym (which I get a membership to as part of Crossfit). I should also mention that it was 90 and humid today. And that I never have to run in heat because I’m from San Francisco and such a thing does not exist…

There were only 3 of us plus an instructor, and the other women looked pretty fast. On the schedule was about a 35 minute tempo run-10 easy, 10 min tempo, 5 min easy, rest of the run tempo. In theory tempo was a faster pace, or 10k pace. In reality, it was me trying not to die. I was doing ok keeping up with the easy pace-it didn’t feel too bad but it was about a 9:00 which is on the fast side for a longish run for me (My latest 10k pace was 8:45). But I was doing fine. I fell behind pretty quickly when the tempo part started but I did what I could. Coming back though, my legs were absolute bricks. During the “tempo” part, I was just trying to keep them moving. So fast runs in hot and humid weather build character, right? I’ll probably go back even though I probably slowed the others down, because it’s good for me and I’m sort of learning the area through a guided run. That was a little extra incentive-better keep up if I don’t want to get hopelessly lost! And hey-official half training starts next week! Although I’m going to keep up my weekend 6 milers until I get to that point.

Foodwise?

I wasn’t sure if I’d have time for breakfast post-November project, but it was a non-issue and I had woken up HUNGRY. So this protein was much needed after 10245412342 stairs.

And I finally worked out my coffee situation. After waking up at 5am, this was a lifesaver.

As a side note, this is a 12oz coffee, which is the smallest size they serve. I had one again this morning and it was WAY too much caffeine, even though I was drowsy all morning. WHEW. Guess who usually drinks baby espresso drinks? THIS GIRL.

Lunch today was kind of awful. I made some cauliflower in the microwave and topped it with hummus leftover from the previous night’s dinner (picture will follow) and it was just a mushy mess. Ick. I also had scrambled eggs with manchego and spinach, which were ok but it was kind of a mess.

Here’s the aforementioned dinner. The craziest thing happened. I heated soup up on the stove. Not the microwave, the STOVE. Am I officially a real person? I took tomato soup and mixed in some fresh spinach, then topped it with cheddar. On the side was some hummus and pretzels, plus my new favorite thing-FROZEN GRAPES! I had some on the softer side which I hate, so I just stuck them in the freezer. SO good!

The tomato soup was Trader Joe’s, and I was really disappointed. I forgot to check added sugar, and this had a fair amount-it tasted sweet. Ugh.

Speaking of which, on my way out of work today, I was hungry and wanted some quickly digesting carbs to fuel my run, so I picked this guy up from the restaurant.

It was pretty tasty, but SO sweet and oily. But my run went well (as well as it could have) so who am I to complain. I just don’t want to make it a habit!

After the afternoon’s run, I stopped at Whole Foods to be lazy as well as to make use of my gift card. I picked up some fruit, carrots, super dark chocolate, and sun butter, plus dinner and lunch for tomorrow. Not having to pack lunch tonight is sort of fantastic.

My dinner was Mexican tilapia over beans, roasted potatoes, and garlicy cabbage and green beans. Plus lots of grapes with sun butter when I got back, and a bit of dark chocolate.

And now I’m at that point where I could go to bed nice and early, or watch another Scandal…decisions….

Snacks I’ve Been Loving Lately

Date: April 10, 2014

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Happy Friday! Disclaimer: I’m in the middle of a paper which has to be orally presented on Monday+ like 20 hours of rush stuff before then+getting my passport+obsessing over Latin American culture, things have been busy in these parts and I won’t really get to posting until after this weekend! Here’s a post I wrote last summer (please ignore the summer references-but know that right now we ARE getting 80 degree weather so it kind of works). Here are some go to snacks. One thing I will add though is my latest obsession: roasted carrots+mango. The best thing in the world.

1. Fruit. This is such an easy one, and I especially love it during the hot summer because it just seems so refreshing!

2. Veggies and guac. I snacked on this quite a bit during the school year. If you buy a pouch of the guacamole spices, it’s as easy as mashing up half an avocado and dipping.

3. Part of a bar. During the school year, before a workout I’d grab half of a Thinkthin bar. Right now, I’m sampling my wide selection of quest bars. I’m finding I enjoy them in small pieces because for me they start tasting funny by the end of the bar, and they’re pretty dense which can be hard on my stomach. Eating a bite or two of a bar here and there may be obnoxious if you live with people who would actually like to eat a WHOLE said bar, but the Quest bars are mine so no shame.

4. Laughing Cow with carrots. This is the perfect mix of protein and produce. It’s just what I need to make it through the afternoon!

5. Yogurt. Specifically, stand-alone yogurt. For a snack, I prefer something that is satisfying as is. For example, vanilla yogurt wouldn’t be a good snack for me because I’d need granola and sunflower seed butter. Coconut yogurt is perfect for this.

6. Coffee with milk. Sometimes you do need a little pick me up, especially in the morning. If you’re like me and like the milk to coffee ration more on the milk side, this is perfect. The milk has protein and some carbohydrates. And yes, I’ve used this as a post-workout recovery drink. No shame.

7. Leftovers. Many times, snacks are seriously lacking in nutritional value. Leftovers are the perfect mini-meal, and they often include easy to grab veggies. The other day I grabbed some leftover sweet potato wedges for a snack-more delicious and nutritious than chips!

8. This smoothie. I do best when my snacks are on the light side, especially if it’s right before a workout. This smoothie really hits the spot because it’s super refreshing, tasty, and sneaks in some veggies.

1 cup dark chocolate almond milk

handful of spinach

half of a frozen banana

large handful of ice

pinch of xantham gum

Blend and enjoy!

9. Dark chocolate. Sometimes all you want is something sweet. This will fulfill that while offering antioxidants and a small caffeine boost.

What are some of your favorite snacks?

WIAW-Finally Taking a Breath!

Date: March 4, 2014

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Happy Wednesday! How is everyone’s week going? After today’s Ochem midterm, I finally have a chance to catch my breath before finals! But seriously, I am more than ready for spring break! But first, a huge thank you to Jenn for getting us all together in the food world for What I Ate Wednesday!

My morning started out with a 4 mile tempo run-easy pace with a mile at 5k pace. My legs were definitely dragging. I think it’s from all the heavy squats from the night before! My pace was definitely slower during the non-tempo portion of the run, and my legs were done at the end! Soreness finally started coming in after the run! Before my run, I had a Thinkthin bar. After, I headed to the dining hall for breakfast.

I had plain Greek yogurt with melon on top (not my favorite yogurt topping, but it was what they had!), and some puffed wheat cereal that I brought in a little baggie. I like the cereal because it has no sugar and gives the yogurt bowl some nice crunch! Plus some coffee with milk on the side. Sadly, this isn’t the most colorful picture, but I don’t have a lot of fruit (color!) choices in the dining hall!

By the time lunch rolled around, I was starving, likely thanks to a Ochem test! I was very excited for my lunch. This is college dining at it’s finest. A cheap and lazy version of my California Chop Salad. I used the same dressing recipe. The chicken leftover from what I thawed for Monday’s lunch, I had a jar of olives in the fridge, and I had shredded swiss/gruyere. The salad originally calls for gouda, but I had no clue how to shred cheese without a shredder, and the swiss/gruyere blend was pre-shredded. The dressing is the same though! I grabbed a giant bag of lettuce and tomato from the dining hall the night before.

A nearly tupperware free meal! It’s so hard to eat giant salads out of tupperware because none of them are big enough! I shook up everything in the bag, and then poured it into the bowl.

My overflowing bowl! I had to eat the top off before I could even see all the good stuff!

My afternoon snack consisted of a pumpkin spice granola bar and lots of dark chocolate. I’m glad 85% chocolate is back in my life. It’s pretty low sugar and it definitely gets rid of any chocolate cravings!

After Crossfit, it was dinnertime! Nothing looked that exciting, so I went for a prepared Asian salad (the prepared salads taste like nothing…), kabocha, and some type of tomato/eggplant mix with cheese. I’ve never had kabocha squash not from the dining hall, but when I’ve had it here I haven’t really liked it. Is it supposed to be so dry?? Also not sure why I got eggplant since I don’t normally like it, but I lucked out and enjoyed this!

I was still a bit hungry, so I got a small bowl of plain Greek yogurt with granola.

And finished my night off with a bit more dark chocolate. Not a bad day!

Also-don’t forget to enter my Quest bar giveaway! I’ll be picking a winner on Sunday night!

WIAW and Graduation!

Date: July 2, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hello everyone! Happy Wednesday- the one time in the week where we all come together and enjoy delicious food! And of course, thank you Jenn!

Guess what? I’m actually ahead on post ideas. As in, I have 2 posts that I’m planning on writing up. What?? Who am I? So be on the lookout for those. I also had some excellent suggestions from you guys for how to make my pictures pretty- pic monkey! So naturally I had quite the fun time today playing around with that! And…naturally this was my subject-so let us commence What I WISH I Ate Wednesday!

Heh heh. Editing is fun. Although this didn’t actually need anything to look mouthwateringly delicious. Did you guys know there’s even a spray tan and a nip and tuck feature? Although I assure you, this froyo does NOT need to appear smaller!

As you can see, I definitely have a type 😉

So let’s move on to what I ACTUALLY ate:

A salad inspired by Beth and my laziness. A salad with spicy avocado hummus and beautiful Farmer’s Market heirloom tomatoes, topped with a runny egg.

Normally I would have my hummus salad with a hardboiled egg since the yolk is delicious combined with the hummus. However, I was not about to hard boil eggs (that takes TIMEEE), so I decided to try this! My opinion? Two thumbs up!

As you may know, I’m trying to change my snacking habit. (It takes 21 days to change a habit, so that’s how long I’m skipping snacks for!) And just a clarification, I’m not necessarily trying to restrict food intake, just break the habit of mindless snacking. One thing that was interesting that without snacking, I didn’t want as much food at dinner. Interesting! So that’s one day down!

ANYWAYS. Dinner was delicious!

The breakdown: a couple of recipes courtesy of Cooking Light: Asian Lettuce Cups and Steamed Sugar Snap Peas. The lettuce cups are delicious- they have ground turkey, water chestnuts, and mushrooms. They’re fun to eat, and would also make a great finger food at a party (but granted they’re a bit messy). Also on my plate was a Garlic Brown Rice and Quinoa mixture.

I love this stuff-it’s more interesting and has more flavor than plain rice, and it’s still super versatile. I’ve seen it at both Whole Foods and Costco. For dessert, I had some papaya and dark chocolate.

I love Hawaiian papaya, I just wish it wasn’t so darn expensive! Blah.

I love super dark chocolate. The lower square is 91%.

So let’s get to today’s workouts! This morning I went to a yoga class, but I complete my 4 mile training run beforehand on the treadmill. I did some intervals and some steady. It’s amazing how much intervals can kill your legs! Yoga was really good as well. I haven’t gone in 2 weeks- not since I tried Bikram. I’m sooo tight. I guess that’s what running will do to you! I need to make it a priority to go more often. Also, my arms are pretty weak. I can’t remember ever before my arms having this little muscle. For years, I was playing softball regularly, which included pitching, which kept my arms strong and muscular. And then of course, rowing kept that up (I actually bulked up a ton in my shoulders during winter quarter…). Even after lying in bed for weeks with Mono, I still had a little of my rowing muscle left over. However, now with no sport, and running pushing weight lifting out of my routine, I’ve lost that. Yoga plus Crossfit tonight left my arms quite jello-y. At Crossfit, I worked on handstands-I was against the wall, and got about a foot away from a decent handstand. Not bad for my first time!

I also worked on deadlifts. It was a super light weight for me, but I was technically still in an Intro class. I was able to Rx the WOD though in terms of weight! Here’s what it was:

4 Minute Tabatas (20″ on 10″ off 8x) of each:

Deadlift (95)

Kettlebell Swing (35)

Hand Release Push Up

I finished with a total of 171. I did the hand release push ups on my knees though since I wanted to maintain good form, and there were a lot of them. This WOD was HARD. My arms were jello. Yoga plus hand stands+ push ups=jello arms.

But you want to know the best part? The coaches determined that I don’t have to do the “on-ramp” which is the 1 month program beginners of Crossfit have to go through to learn the lifts, since I already have a really strong lifting background and basically know all the lifts. Yay! (Hence-graduation. I’m no longer an ‘Intro’!) What does this mean for me? I get to do the regular WODs, come in for any of the workouts, and save $75! Woo hoo! I can’t wait to go in again-not sure when that’s going to be though! See you all tomorrow!

What is your favorite way to eat froyo? Are you going to the Healthy Living Summit? Crossfit-love it or hate it?