The first 2 miles were great and then it got hard. Real hard. I was crampy, tired and my legs felt SO heavy. BUT it was BEAUTIFUL out. I’m so glad I got out there to enjoy it.

Chart taken from the Nike+

After the run the little guy and I BLASTED the radio and danced around while cleaning up. We made a new dance around the house mix. When I have a bit more time I’ll post it. It’s super fun.

After the house was sufficiently straightened up (because let’s be honest, it’s never really clean) I put the little guy to work on FitBloggin‘.

Call me a slave driver.. go ahead. It’s better then plopping him in front of cartoon network, no? Plus in our house everything’s a learning opportunity. He counted bags and asked lots of questions, it was great Mother/Son time. :)

We actually got a lot accomplished. Each one of these bags represents a person coming to FitBloggin’10.

How cool is that! Notice the 4 year old in the middle. ;)

We worked up a big appetite from our productive morning so it was time for lunch. I whipped up something new for me, Quick Bulgur Chili and sandwiches for the boys.

Afterwards we decided to take advantage the beautiful day and hit the Driving Range.

Look at how stinkin’ cute a 4 year old is with a set of golf clubs is.

And look at those pants on him! We just bought them, he’s growing like a weed! A really “cool” weed but a weed all the same…

Here’s the hubz and I. I usually go makeup-less on Sunday’s so no wise cracks.

After the driving range we hit the grocery store and I’m happy to say that the husband WAS affected by Food, Inc.. He was ACTUALLY reading nutritional labels and he limited his processed snack purchases. I was shocked! Seriously.

Once we got home the groceries went away and we enjoyed the crock-pot meal I put on earlier knowing I would have desire to cook after our busy day. I made top sirloin similar to this paired with my creamy mashed potatoes and a salad with lite dressing.

Post dinner we played a bit in the basement, watched a Scooby movie and put the little guy to bed. Lunches are made, the kitchen is cleaned and the last thing I need to do is pack my gym bag for tomorrow morning. I have to sleep in my workout clothes or I’ll never get my butt out the door.

So I’m off. I’ll probably fall asleep on the couch with the husband watching the Oscars. That’s my favorite way to end a Sensational Sunday. The falling asleep on the husband part, not the Oscars part. ;)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Oh! and here’s my food journal

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Saturday morning started off with the boot camp class at the gym. It’s really the only hard core workout I do regularly and I really do love it. Every week is different. We do cardio, strength training, circuits, everything and anything is game. I get bored easily so a class like this is perfect for me.

After class I hung out with the family, made soup and sandwiches and got ready for the little guys first ever soccer game. We signed him up for an indoor under 6 league. Here he is during the pre-game practice.

I can’t believe how nervous I was watching him play. He was one of the younger kids, some of his team members were zipping around the court but the coaches were great. I was impressed and awed by their patience.

Amazingly the little guy scored a goal. A GOAL! In his first game ever and his expression was priceless. I was never a big organized sports person (always so self conscious and still am) but with his Dad’s love of sports and my new passion for fitness, I hope to build his confidence early.

After the game we came home, cooked dinner and played. I got creative in the kitchen making, Pork and Bran Flake Schnitzel while the husband and little guy raced the hot wheels. :)

After dinner we played Wii. I have to admit we’ve been a bit obsessed with it since Christmas. Wii Sports Resort has given us a whole host of new games to compete with and the husband and I are a little more then competitive with each other. Our favorites right now are Archery (I DOMINATE him) and basketball (He KILLS me). We also have a blast canoeing which, by far is the best workout. We were huffing, puffing and cracking each other up last night. lol

This morning I hit the Wii again playing Wii Fit with the little guy. We worked up an appetite and made waffles with Dark Chocolate Banana Dipping Sauce.

After breakfast we kind of just hung out and I decided to take a mid day bath. I think I might make this a Sunday tradition. It’s amazing what a warm bath and a good book can do for your soul. :)

After lunch we watched the Ravens game, hit the bowling alley, went out to dinner at Outback (I ate WAY too much- STILL full) and then stocked up on groceries for the week.

Right now I’m sitting enjoying Iron Chef. The little guy’s in the bed. The kitchen is clean. The husband is finishing up the laundry. Lunches are made and I’m ready to face the week. Which starts tomorrow at the body shop. My poor car got a boo boo this week. Don’t ask. I don’t want to get into it. It’s not a big deal, just another thing on the long to do list to take care of. *sigh*

Speaking of my to do list, keep an eye on FitBloggin in the coming weeks. There are only 67 days left until the event and I’m only *slightly* freaking out. We are positioned to sell out. I’m working with more and more sponsors and the speaker list is growing. WHAT did I get myself into?!? *nail biting*

Ok, Breath.

Anway, I’ll close with my food journal entries for Saturday and Sunday. I normally shy away from the food journaling on the weekends as I’m all over the place. However, I’m making an effort to get back into a routine as my diet (as in what I eat) has been all over the place since the holidays. As you can see I wasn’t "perfect" but I was honest with myself. That is a huge first big step.

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator. Track my food journal live @RonisFood

My morning started off with a bit of a scare when this scooby pajama wearing werewolf jumped out of nowhere!

We played a bit and then I headed to the gym. Sunday is my only gym day and it was a total sweat fest. I felt amazing afterwards.

The family decided on a big diner breakfast before starting our busy day. Here’s my egg white western omelet with hash browns and whole wheat toast.

After breakfast we hit Costcos to help prepare for Thanksgiving this week. The turkey, potatoes, and veggies are bought. I have a few more things to pick up but a chunk of the shopping list is crossed off.

It was a beautiful Sunday so when we got back the child and the husband were off to the park. I put the perishables away and soon joined them playing a bit of tennis. Heading home I snapped this shot. How cute are they?!?

While I unpacked the rest of the grocers the child took it upon himself to write out a Christmas list. It all started with a "Mommy? How do you spell Star Wars?"

The next 20 minutes I spelled things for him while filling the pantry. Things he didn’t feel comfortable printing he drew. Here he is showing the list off to the Dadda.

Here’s the list. How AWESOME is that?! So proud of him.

Note: items include Star Wars, Power Rangers, paints, candy, a blue sweatshirt, a green sweatshirt, and pencils. :)

Before we knew it dinner snuck up on us. We decided on pizza so I made a quick batch of Thin Crust Whole Wheat Pizza Dough I could have ordered… could have.. SO wanted to but how much more fun, healthier, lighter, cheaper is making your own?! THIS is my strategy to overcome those munchies I’ve been having the last few days.

After dinner we played war, finished straightening up and watched scooby, of course. It was then time for bed. We read Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Just like we did almost a year ago…

I can NOT believe that was a year ago. Seriously? Where does the time go?

Anyway, once little guy was in bed, the husband and I did the house finances and then finally called it a day. Me blogging and him watching soccer.

What a day! What a weekend! I’m looking forward to a short holiday week, you?

Also unexpectedly the child allowed me to sleep in an extra hour. It was wonderful! I snuck out of the house to hit the gym before he even woke up.

My return to the gym was amazing. I haven’t been since before the move, like 4 months ago. Life was just too crazy and I had that little race looming over my head. You know this one. :)

I decided to workout with "the trainer" again. It’s a little pricey but totally worth it. We are going to meet just once a week (all I really can afford and have time for) to do a boot camp style full body workout. This is going to sound strange but my reasons for signing up isn’t really for the exercise, I can do that myself or take a class. No, it’s more then that. It’s an hour escape where someone else is taking care of me. Pushing me. Motivating me. I love showing up not knowing what we are going to do and then getting the most awesome workout ever. He always delivers. Today we used the kettle bell, the rope (like the thick mariner rope), the bands, and had an hour of non-stop movement. I love it. Strange, I know. :)

When I got home I made a batch of egg muffins and ate breakfast with the husband and child. We decided it was too nice a day to stay in so we got dressed and headed out to run some errands. One of those errands was to get me a new shiny camera! I decided on the Canon EOS Rebel T1i. It’s been my one big purchase for my business this year.

It was time for me to upgrade. I’ve been taking all my photos for the sites on an old 4 MP point and click that I’ve outgrown. Right now the Canon is too much camera for me but I hope to be up to speed with it in a few weeks. Here’s a bit of a photo journal of our afternoon.

Of course my first subject was the child. Here he is eating lunch and watching… wait… let’s play a game… maybe you can figure it out. It’s is favorite cartoon at the moment and I’m more then ecstatic as it’s one of my childhood favorites as well.

Figured it out yet?

While the toddler was eating I made myself a tomato pizza on light flat out bread.

It was a cross between Quick Tortilla Pizza and English Muffin Tomato Pizza with some leftover chicken. DELICIOUS!

Next we were off to the park!

The husband was having too much fun. :)

…and so was I. Especially with my new "toy." (Note: That’s how I normally look on a weekend… no makeup and messy hair. oh who am I kidding… It’s how I look most of the time. :)

After the park we took a stroll, come home and made dinner.

Seriously.. how fabulous a day was that?

Is my inbox bursting from the seams? You bet!

Do I have about a million things on my to do? ohhh yeah.

Is the house completely spotless? HA! not even close.

BUT…

I had a great day with family. I prepared for the week by cutting up fresh veggies, making lunches tomorrow and pulling out stuff for dinner tomorrow (gonna experiment with the crock pot.)

That, my friends, is what I call a Sensational Sunday!

I’ll leave you with this shot…

The child inherited my old camera and he couldn’t me happier! He’s pretty good with it too…

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Here’s the food journal.

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Oh! and the winner of the soup was Regina! Congrats! Can’t wait to hear what you think!

This morning I loaded the marathon mix on the ipod and started my day with a run. It was my first since the actual marathon and the death of my Nike+. :( I ran about 5K (just over 3 miles) as calculated by MapMyRun.

After the run, Ryan and I got dressed and headed to Lancaster to visit a friend who’s getting married this spring. We joined her on a trip to a wedding expo and had fun walking around tasting cakes and leafing through generic wedding albums. I’m not being sarcastic we really did have fun! It was a blast! (what can I say, we aren’t too hard to please)

On our way home we stopped at a farm stand stocking up on winter squash and falling in love purple cauliflower which we roasted for dinner and served with some moroccan inspired chicken. It was delish and fun to make.

After dinner we cleaned up, made lunch and dove into the candy bowl. It was a great day and an amazing weekend. I really disconnected from all work and responsibilities. I needed that. I REALLY needed that.

I’m gonna go and enjoy the rest of my weekend but not before sharing my food journal. I decided to count points today. I’ve been feeling like I need a bit more structure.

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Chart Taken from the Nike+

After the run I showered up for a Sunday brunch. It was my late birthday present from my Mom. What a great meal! Nothing beats a big breakfast that someone else makes for you. :)

Then we were off to a local farm for some blueberry picking. Which was fun, hysterical and frustrating all at the same time. Let’s just say if I ever hear the phrases "Don’t pick the green ones. Only the blue!" or "Ryan, just pick them!" I’m going to kill myself. I’m just kidding, both kids (we were with my niece too) were a trip. It was fun and we left with pounds of fresh blueberries! You can’t beat that.

One we got back to Mom’s our one Sensational Sunday Snag happened as my car wouldn’t start. Thankfully "Grandpa" is like the most amazing Mr. FixIt on the planet so after about an hour he had it all taken care of. So we hit the road a little later then expected but if my car is going to break I’d rather it break there then anywhere else in the world.

So finally the boy and I were on the road. We traveled alone this weekend. I have always loved road tripping it and I find it even more fun when it’s just the two of us. There’s something about traveling with your child. We get a chance to just talk. Anyway we made it back in pretty good time and came home to discover the husband… ya ready…

dun dun dun

Cleaned the whole apartment and did the laundry!

For those that know the husband this may come as quite a shock. He’s normally not this… ummm… how do you say… domestic?

I’m just poking fun. In all honesty, since I’ve gone back to work there was a bit of an adjustment for us but we have finally found a groove where we both contribute in our own ways to the household duties. It’s been nice. :)

The clean house motivated me to hit the ground running. I immediately unpacked from the weekend and made a shopping list for planned dinners this week. You heard me PLANNED dinners. I’m normally not a week long planner. I thrive off pantry cooking. You know, just keeping a variety things in stock and then seeing what I can pull together. That’s how I make 90% of the meals on GreenLiteBites but considering I have no room for storage and I feel a bit out of my element I decided to structure myself a bit more. Here’s what I decided…

• Monday: Taco Night!
• Tuesday: Pork loin with creamy mashed potatoes and broccoli
• Wednesday: Fend for yourself day as I’m planning to get back to my yoga class <–Husband gets his fast food fix.
• Thursday: A new chicken crock pot idea I have
• Friday: winging it… we’ll probably go out in all honestly but if I feel up to it I have some stuff in the freezer I can pull together.

In addition to the dinners I have plans to use leftovers for lunch. For example, I’ll make extra meat for the tacos that I can use on a salad the next day and I’ll definitely have leftover pork and potatoes on for Wednesday’s lunch.

Now? Well…. lunches are made, toddlers in bed and I’m ending my day watching the finale of the next Food Network Star.

Now THAT is what a Sensational Sunday is all about!

Making plans and putting things in place to have a great week!

So how about you? How was your Sunday?

Oh! and I even kept an accurate food journal today. Told ya… A Super Sensational Sunday to the MAX! ;~P

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Let’s start with the soggy. I woke up. Strapped on the shoes and went out for my scheduled 9 mile run without giving it a second thought even though it was gloomy and rainy out. Nine miles in just under 90 minutes with a stop and a few red lights. It was a GREAT run and it gave me some much needed motivation as my first half marathon approaches in just 2 week! TWO WEEKS!

It really was a great run. I was in the zone. I’m noticing long distances are getting harder to start yet easier to finish. The first 2-3 miles took FOREVER and then the last 6 were a blur. A nice blur but a blur all the same. This run was especially nice as I started on a local trail that is beautiful. It’s in the woods, bridges over creeks, lots of wildlife, twists and turns, even a tunnel! That goes on for just over 3 miles. Then I leave the trail to run down a quaint main street for another mile and half. This is my perfect type of run, lots of things to look at and a one-way then turn around. It’s really the only way I can enjoy anything over 3 miles.

When I got back home I was greeted by a happy toddler who ran into the garage and immediately asked if I ran "a race or on the sidewalk." It was so cute and he was so interested to hear about it. That made my day. We made a smoothie and chilled out while we painted. It was such a nice morning.

After a shower I decided to do a quick video for GreenLiteBites. I won’t describe it as a train wreck but there were quite a few Mom moments. Mixed in I do make up a healthy tasty lunch and try give you some ideas.You’ll have to watch it. Click here to check out Quick Lunch Idea Using Couscous.

Once lunch was over, we watched an episode of Scooby before heading to the mall for a play date. On the way I had my scariest moment as a Mom to date. We are innocently on the elevator with two other parents and their baby. The toddler was talking to the baby, I to the Mom. The doors began to open and I went to step out only to be interrupted my the toddler crying in pain. His hand got stuck in the elevator door as it was sliding open. At first I calmly attempted to dislodge it but after a few attempts and seconds I started to freak out. I mean really I FREAKED! I don’t know what happened to me. I started to get visions on my sons crushed hands as the door forced itself open. The other mother was frantically hitting buttons, I was trying to pull the doors closed and then I just started screaming. Thankfully a gentleman who was passing pulled on the doors and it loosened them just enough for him to pull his hand out.

The toddler is fine. His poor little fingers were quite swollen but nothing was broken. After a few minutes he got over it. It was Mom who still needed a bit more time to calm down. Gosh, even writing it all out make me tense again. I’m just glad he’s alright. We ended up having a great time on our play date. Afterward we hit Trader Joe’s and stocked up on a few things before heading home.

Dinner was some laid back pita pizzas and the toddler and I enjoyed ourselves playing with legos, watching TV and playing online.

Right now I’m watching Food Network in my pajamas. I’m going to post this and relax with the husband. It truly was a Sensational Sunday and I’m looking forward to (and wishing you) a funk-less week. ;~)

The day started with a short run that was suppose to be a long run but I just didn’t have it in me. It took all of my energy to even go out in the rain and once I got there I had ZERO motivation to run. So I did what I could vowing the my 7 miles will be ran tomorrow morning.

Chart taken from the Nike+

After the run I ran to get a haircut. Nothing too drastic just cut a few inches off. It was getting a little ratty.

After the cut I recorded a podcast (should be able to get it up in the next few days) and then it was off to the kitchen for some yummy experiments with almond milk.

That’s about it from me today. I feel a bit blah, I think it’s a combination of gloomy weather and hormones. Nice, right?
I didn’t keep a food journal but I should have. I’m committing to it for this week. I’ve been slacking again. Tomorrow will be better. :)

I came, I saw, I ate and now, at 10:30 PM I’m SO happy to be home. The candy was abundant and, I’m not going to lie, MOST of it is in my overstuffed, nauseous belly as I type. I swear I ate more chocolate then humanly possible. Then again I’m human and I’m still here so I guess it really WAS possible. I feel like a beached whale, an over stuffed pig, oh wait… I forgot about this. I TOTALLY feel EXACTLY like this right now.

My weekend off was exactly that.. a weekend off. This is the first time I’ve been on the computer since Friday night. I didn’t count a point, I didn’t worry about calories, fat, carbs or sugar. I just hung out with the family and ate and ate and ate. I’m not sorry and I have no regrets. Well… that’s not totally true, I do feel pretty yucky right now so I know I went overboard but sometimes I think I need to feel this way to remember that I’m SO over this. How did I go so many years feeling this way all the time. No, no, no this is SO not fun. I look forward to my clean, chocolate free food choices tomorrow. I swear, I don’t think I’ll ever eat another chocolate covered peanut butter egg again. At least not until next Easter!!

I’m off to bed now. Attempting to start a new schedule tomorrow. I’ll fill you in later. I haven’t had time to update my training schedule yet. Just wanted to pop in, give an update and a wish you a Happy Sensational Sunday. My Sunday was Sensational for different reasons this weekend and even though I feel gross and overstuffed I’m STILL ready to the start the week on plan. You?

"Inconceivable" -Vizzini (The Princess Bride)

This is pretty much the only word I can use to describe my thoughts on running 10 miles. I can hear Vizzini’s voice in my head saying it over and over again. Funny how certain things stick with you.

ANYWAY…

My alarm went off at 4:30AM this morning. This was especially tough for me as I haven’t had to set as alarm since the toddler was born. Call it mom instinct or the mom curse either way I’m up just before and right after his feet hit the ground. I think it started with the every 2 hour nightly breast feeding sessions. Regardless the alarm went off and I hoped out of bed.

I had everything laid out from the night before but it wasn’t me I was worried about. It was the husband and the toddler. For starters, the husband is the WORST sleeper in the world. Those that know him know of what I speak of. Those who don’t just imagine your stereotypical 17 year old high school student who sleeps from 2AM till 2PM. Yup… that’s the husband. The toddler? I wasn’t worried about getting him up it was his utter S_L_O_W_N_E_S_S that had me nervous.

To my surprise we all piled in the car at 5:30 and hit the road. It was just under an hour to the DC metro. When we got there at 6:20 I already noticed a handful of other runners heading into the city. Every stop closer brought more and more runners until the train was PACKED. When we finally arrived it took 15 minutes to get out of the station!

At this point I was getting REAL nervous. The race was starting in 25 minutes. I had to pee something fierce AND I had to catch up with Carrie. She not only got me into the race she was nice enough to pick up my race pack so I didn’t have to make two trips down to DC. (Thanks Carrie!)

Once we approached the Washington Monument I was in awe. There were SO many people there! 12,000 runners! Which made a trip to the bathroom completely impossible. The line for the porta-potties were at least 50 people deep. I had no time and decided to head towards the start line with a full (I mean REALLY full) bladder.

They released the runners in groups based on bib numbers. Check out what color mine was. I didn’t plan it I swear!

I started the Nike+ a few minutes before the whistle. I didn’t want to fuss with it afterward and I didn’t care about getting an exact time as I was wearing a chip that would measure me anyway.

The first few minutes of the race were slow, of course. There were SO many people! But I didn’t care I was so preoccupied with my pee problem. How was I going run 10 miles like this?!?!

Then I saw it. .3 miles in, a small row of porta-potties. Just off the track. Best part… there were only 5 people waiting!! So I paused the iPod and got in line. I was psyched!

With an empty bladder I re-entered the race. Roaring to go! :)

The first mile was a breeze. I spent most of my time just avoiding people and trying to find my groove. The next mile was was over the Memorial Bridge and back. There were so many runners that the people in front werer already heading back as I was crossing and then when I was heading back the people behind were just crossing. It was cool!

The third mile was when I caught another Dad with his daughters cheering on "Mom" just like I did in the Baltimore Marathon Relay. There is just something about that scene that beings a tear to my eye. It doesn’t matter that I’m not their mom. I just think it’s super sweet and it TOTALLY motivates me. :)

Somewhere in the middle of the 4th mile my knees started aching again and it just made me angry. It’s funny, when I first started running, breathing was my biggest issue. I had to learn how to control my pace and my breath. Once I nailed that, cramps became my biggest problem. Now it’s my knees. I have a feeling it will always be something. I ran through it and after awhile I didn’t notice them any longer.

Then I started to get lost in my music. I really couldn’t focus on the scenery as there were just too many darn runners! I worried I’d run into someone as I navigated the crowd trying to keep my own pace. Thankfully, I wrote out the playlist last night and I was really familiar with the song order. That helped immensely. By mile 5 I knew I was around half way through my songs and I was just on time if not a little ahead of my goal. I started anticipating what would come next and it was totally distracting me.

Miles 6 and 7 the field thinned out just a little bit and it was by far the prettiest part of the run. It was when I really focused on the cherry blossoms. When I hit the 8th mile marker I was getting excited. I knew there was no way I wasn’t going to finish at this point even though my knees were KILLING me. Especially my right one which is weird as my left one is normally the one giving me trouble. I ran through it again, pissed that I waited so long to start running and cursing that my 30+ year old body is going to have a hard time keeping up with ME! lol

The excitement from the runners as we passed mile 9 was contagious. The crowds were picking up, cheering us on. I was reading awesome signs as I kept my pace up. "Run Chix Run" was by far my favorite. Not sure if the holder had a friend named "Chix" or he was referring to all female racers. Either way I thought it was cute.

Before I knew it I read a sign that said 800 meters remaining. I started scanning the crowds for the husband and toddler. Both sides of the road, back and forth. I wanted SO badly to wave to the toddler. To my surprise I scanned and scanned and before I knew it the finish line was right in front of me! I kicked it up a little bit, crossed the finish, and fought to shut off the ipod (my hands were sweaty.) Of course that’s when I hear the husband calling me. They JUST missed me. It was sort of my fault as I ran faster then I anticipated! :~P

How fast you ask?

Look at that! By far my "smoothest" run yet. Can I just say…. I LOVE a flat course! I can’t believe I kept such a steady pace. Besides my knees, it was actually an easy run. (INCONCEIVABLE!!) According to the official results I ran the 10 miles in 1:35:34 at a 9:34 pace, that’s only slightly off what my (uncalibrated) Nike+ recorded.

A few minutes after the run I met up with Carrie. Here we are with her husband Jimmy (who also ran) and the toddler.

Here are a few more shots. One of me twittering post race, of course. :)

When we got home the toddler was so exhausted, he was willing to cuddle and watch a movie. By far, THAT was my favorite part of this Sensational Sunday!