Things that are awesome Post #1:

1) People who bring their mouse to coffee shops and such because they cannot handle the optical mouse.
2) FREE refills
3) Honeycrisp apples (I like them big)
3) The fact that I got and accepted my FIRST 'REAL JOB'!!

Yes sir, all of my pondering over 32 miles of open trails helped clear my mind and set my decision straight.  I have accepted a part time high school teaching position at a small private school about 45 minutes from where I live!  After an interview and "try-out" teaching, I was offered the position as the current teacher is moving soon.  I was hesitant at first because it is teaching THREE preps, none of which are my certifications.  (I have Biology and Phys Ed certifications)  But, I will be teaching Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics everyday, plus Physical Education twice a week.  It is alot to take on, and I was doubting that I could handle it for a time.  HOWEVER, I am always open for an adventure and a challenge, and the students and staff at the school won me over with their kindness and willingness to help!  It will be an experience, but I am all about collecting life experiences lately, and I know I will learn as much from the students as they will from me.  I'll be at the school all week this week, getting ready, then the students have a one week break and I start 'for real' on October 12th.  Let me say that now that the decision process is over, I am SO PUMPED.  Little minds, ready for me to mold! :)  A real salaried job!  I SO feel like an adult now, and it feels gooood!

No pics really.  I did eat a honeycrisp apple the size of my face today.  It was pretty awesome, as mentioned.  No other blog-worthy foods.  Only a couple more Chobani left :(  Guess I'll have to go out and buy some since they are so delicious! (except for the pineapple)  I've decided to literally eat all of the food in my apartment and start fresh, including the canned goods.  Hopefully I'll remember to take some pics of the random meals of the next few days that will be created. 

Off to plan Chemistry curriculum! Wee!

I AM AN ULTRAMARATHONER!

You heard right!  Today I completed my first Ultramarathon- a 50K race (that ended up being close to 32 miles!) on hilly trails.  Here's the 'run'down with some pics!

Yes, true story, this was my bib!  No, I did not plan that it would have my blog name on it!  The race was called "Run Woodstock" and it included a bunch of races over the course of the weekend; from a 5K-100 miler!  It was all on trails and they had tons of hippie stuff and bands playing and people camping out everywhere.  Totally "far-out" atmosphere.  I'd had my eye set on this race for awhile since it was a 1st annual and it was only about 30 minutes from my apartment.  There was the 50K, a marathon, and a half marathon set to go off this morning.  I originally planned to do the half and add on for my long run of the week, but as time progressed the 50K's allore grew and grew.  I knew with the hills and trails (both of which I'm not a fan of) I would never be able to go under 1:30 and PR in the half.  Same with the marathon.  Nope, the only way to set a PR today would be to try something new!

I ate a banana and cottage cheese in the car on the way there.  It was pitch dark when I arrived at 6:30 and the tents looked super cool all lit up!  I registered, signed my life away in a waver that all the ultra runners had to sign, then headed back to my car to get ready.

This picture is me trying to be chill, but really just looking tired and stoned.  (they gave out the beads at registration!)

This picture is me saying "Yikes, I'm running 31 miles very soon!"

I headed over to the start just before 7:30.  The 50K, marathon, and half all started at the same time.  We, (the 50K-ers) started with a 5 mile loop, then did a 13+ mile loop twice.  The others just did the 13+ mile loop.  Having no idea what to expect from the course and trying to mentally prepare myself for running for 5+ hours, I decided to keep my pace conservative.  To me, the main appeal of the 50K was being able to go slow, because lately it has been hard running 15K's and 1/2 marathons at 6:50 pace. 

After an anticlimatic "go" we were off!  It was semi-light now and we headed into the trail on the 5 mile loop as a pack.  Quickly, I passed all of the woman and most of the men, which worried me, but my legs weren't ready to go super-slow.  I settled in with two older men.  We talked a bit, but the pace felt slow.  I planned not to look at my Garmin much, but made the mistake of looking at it when I *thought* the loop should be almost over.  Bad call.  It read 2.8 miles.  I thought, "oh man, what am I doing!?!?!"  Going up a hill, I dropped the two guys and was alone.  Finally, I came out into 'base camp.'  5 miles down, 26+ to go....

"Camp" energized me as I headed out for my *1st* half marathon loop.  I spent about 2 miles literally talking to myself outloud.  Yeah, sounds crazy, right?  I was analyzing this job situation I spoke of briefly and it helped to talk it out a bit.  Plus, my pace was slow so I wasn't loosing my breath at all.  4 miles into the loop, I hit the 1st aid station.  I was about 9 miles in and downed a few glasses of dilluted gatorade.  Fun fact about me: I NEVER eat or drink during races.  When I set my marathon PR 2 years ago, I literally ingested no food or liquid.  Probably not the best, but it works for me.  Anyway, I was nervous because I knew with temps in the 60-70 range, and the fact that I would be out there for so long, I would need some energy in the form of calories.  Leaving the aid station, I felt good.  I was trying to break the race down mentally so it wouldn't seem so overwhelming.  The hills were brutal though.  Not gonna lie on that!

As I continued on the first loop, I started to pass half and full marathoners (remember they hadn't done the original 5 mile loop.)  This was actually a highlight of the race because it got really lonely out in the woods and everyone was really encouraging.  And obviously I felt pretty bad ass.  12 miles in was the 'main' aid station, halfway around the big loop.  Everything looked so delicious! PB&Js, trail mix, fig newtons, bananas.  I knew that I couldn't go to solid food though, without training and with still having 19 miles to go.  So I moved on. 

18+ miles into the race, I hit base camp again.  I felt strong and I was really proud of the fact that I had been running the whole time when SO MANY people were walking up the hills.  I knew what to expect on the second loop, which was a blessing and a curse in one.  I had 4 miles until the aid station and all I could think about was the flat coca cola they had.  mmmm.  It sounded so good for some reason and a guy I trained with in the summer told me that he swears by it!  I was hungry, having only ingested the gatorade up to this point.  When I arrived at the oasis, I chugged 2 glasses of coke and a glass of mountain dew!  Delicious!  I knew that the sugar might bother my stomach, but it seemed so much more appealing that a gel or gu (which I've never had!)  About 1/2 mile after leaving that station I felt great!  I was even chanting "Su-gar, su-gar."  Hmmm, yeah 23 miles into it might have had something to do with it.  I knew I had 3 more miles until the "big" aid station, so I continued onward....

** brief pause in this long story for my to go move my laundry from the washer to the dryer...perhaps you should get up and get a snack!

I must say, I never thought that I would not finish.  It wasn't that I was cocky or confident or anything or felt sooo great all the time, there was just no other option!  I was completely disoriented in out in the middle of trails and I had to get back some how!

I arrived at the "big" aid station.  More coke, yum.  The people there were really friendly, and I knew I had 6 miles to go.  I kept saying really corny things in my head like "I'm an ultra-runner!"  And "I'm really doing this!"  I was passing more people who were in different races and I was clicking off the miles.  My form on the hills had deteriorated pretty badly, but that is to be expected.  Finally, my watch clicked over to 30 miles!  I couldn't believe it.  The most I have ran since last May is 15 miles.  The most I've ever run is a full marathon.  This felt like totally uncharted territory and I loved it.  Then I hit 31 miles and was pissed!  Where was the finish??  This is supposed to be a 50K!!!  For some reason this angered me more than I should!  Then, I emerged from the trail, heard the music, and saw base camp!  Yay!  Crossing the finish, I didn't know what to expect.  My legs had been moving for 5 hours and 15 minutes.  Surprisingly, they didn't cramp up.  I immediatly voiced that the race was long to the two guys at the finish!  I said "this was 31.75 miles!"  They were surprised that I had run the 50K, not the marathon and informed me that I was the overall female winner, and that only 6 men had come in before me!  After collecting my random prizes, grabbing a sandwich and a cookie, and soaking my legs in the lake (ahh, good call,) I was on my way home.

Here's the loot.  My bib, and the t-shirt (once again with my blog name on it!)  My pink beads, and the peace-sign metal for winning my age group, and the 'dog-tags' for being a 50K finisher.  Most random is the trophy.  It literally said on the box "Girl Taking Her Jeans Off Trophy."  Random? Yes indeed.  But I told you, it was a random race!

Even more random is the fact that they gave me this plaque with the trophy.  But I'm unsure of where on the "Girl Taking Her Jeans Off" I am supposed to put it??  Oh why oh why couldn't there have just been a sweet cash prize?

And here's the 'official Garmin.'  31.75 miles in 5:16:10, 9:58 mpm pace.  Would I ever in a million years be proud of running that kind of pace?  Not before I saw that course.  But after that course and seeing the karnage of people walking up hills and tripping over tree roots, I am mightly proud of that pace!  I'll be interested to see the results of all the races and how paces compare.

And lastly.....

Food reward!

My sis convinced me to go for a blizzard.  She also said I had to take a pic of it upside down for the blog.  She also said my blog posts are way too long.  So ha!  I took this pic for her, but she had to make it through the worlds-longest-blog-post to get to it!

Me in all my sweaty glory!  I am an ultramarathoner!  Hear me roar!

Playing Catchup

Good day out there!

My my, where has time gone?  My life is crazy-stressful busy right now, as I am debating some life changes involving my job and such.  I'll let you all know once I figure it out!  Right now, I just feel stressed and overwhelmed about where my life is headed.

But onward....

Training-wise, the week has been decent.  Got in some speed work with track club on Tuesday night.  3x1600 and 2x200.  My last 1600 was fairly bad, but overall it was a legit workout.  This weekend I'm doing a cool trail race.  It is actually a bunch of races, and I'm debating about doing a half marathon or going for something longer...stay tuned....

Eats have been good as well.  There have been a few of these...

stress induced...

Lunch above was eaten in the car in between a couple interviews.  (ie part of my 'life changes' decisions).  PB2 (yum) on low cal rice bread.  I like this rice bread, but I think it is better toasted.  This wasn't my favorite, but it could have been because I was nervous/rushed/stressed while eating.  Random: my cell phone seems to be sitting in a paper cup on the passenger seat???  Yeah, it was a long day...

But the best part...the good meals/recipes!

First off: Chickpea Patties!

I made this recipe last night, adapted from "Real Simple" Magazine.

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas

4-5 sundried tomatoes

salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash

water/lemon juice as necessary

flour (I used rice flour)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, except flour (I used my blender!)  Process until smooth.  Form into patties, and coat in flour.  (Mine made 8 patties.)  Saute in a fry pan until crispy.  Serve over lettuce with green beans on the side!

I actually froze the rest of these raw so we will see how they are when I pull them out.  Overall, the sundried tomatoes made this recipe delicious- much recommended!

Second: Corn Salad!

This recipe was also adapted from "Real Simple."  I made it today, to let the flavors mesh for tomorrow's lunch.

Ingredients:

2 ears corn, cooked and cut off cob

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 avocado

juice of 2 limes

salt and pepper to taste

2 T blue cheese

Mix everything together!  Let it sit!

I'm actually really excited about this recipe because it is the first time a bought and used an avocado!  We shall see how it turns out/holds up, but I'm happy to have something new and fun for lunch tomorrow subbing.

Well, that's the extent of my life.  Dinner tonight = frozen yogurt because I need it after the day that I have had.  Simple pleasures; eating fro yo on the couch..err..futon...while watching great Thursday night TV.  All is well.

Keep it real,

T-mart

Normal Stuff and Spontaneous Visit to the Parents'!

Good evening!

Let me start this post by stating that I live in the hottest apartment known to man. Don't get me wrong, I love my apartment; quiet, great maintenance staff, awesome location (ie within a half mile from both a trader joes and a whole foods!) HOWEVER...it has to be the most sweat inducing 500 square feet in the world. I live in a place where it will be zero degrees outside in no time, but I don't think I have ever closed my window in the one and a half years I have lived there. The only relief comes from the in-wall air conditioner that costs me about 500$ a minute to run! (I try to only use it when I'm doing ab work in front of it as my 'reward'. ha.) I am a great sleeper, but this proposes a challenge even to me and I lay in my tiny bed sweating at night. Soooo, with that said, I jumped at the chance for a spur-of-the-moment visit home to my parents' for the night. But let's back up...


This morning began with a pretty typical breakfast of late; smoothie made with half a frozen banana, 1/2 cup skim, rice protein powder, and lots of ice and water. Along side is a Jam Franka and a big 'ol ICED coffee this morning. The white cup is from my favorite bakery back home, and I reuse it even though it is disposable! Yes, I'm that good to the environment. PS. Jam Franka = yum.

Then it was off to middle school today. Yikes, forgot how much fun those kids are! Lots of energy, that is for sure. On top of it, I was feeling 'off' all day (ie nauseous). I think my body was begging for a rest day, which I did indeed give it. Every month, whether I need it or not I guess!


I busted open my lunchbox at lunch. Tuna, nectarine, apple, and mixed veggies. I ended up only eating the tuna and nectarine because the other 'fibrous' things were not appealing. Later I ate an unpictured chobani and cereal on my way back home.

Do I even need to mention how sweet my lunchbox is? Yeah, I didn't think so! It is a Scooby Doo metal lunchbox that I totally decorated over in middle or early high school. Equally sweet is the fact that I am now a certified teacher and college graduate and still carrying it. Yeah well, I told you I'm pretty environmentally friendly!

After school, I had an errand to run that was halfway between my apartment and my parents' house. This is where the genius plan happens. I also had a couple of things to drop off and pick up at my parents' house, so my mom suggested I just come home and make the trip back to my place tomorrow morning. Genius because it means that I will have a cool, big bed to sleep in. (*insert angel chorus here*) Since I don't like to be a total freeloader, I did bring home and make a big pot of corn chowder for my parents and I. This is one of our favorite fall meals. It is a mix from Frontier Soups and it really hit the spot. This picture does not do justice to its deliciousness.
My pop and I are going to catch up on the season premier of Survivor! We have been watching Survivor together since the Season 2 when I was in middle school! Then, its early to bed for me because I have a 4:15am wakeup call to run and make the hour long drive back to work. High School tomorrow- hopefully alittle more chill than today!

Keep it real peeps!

LARABAR feature!

How could my beyond-delicious experience with the PB&J LARABAR get any better? Well, by it being featured on the LARABAR blog! I'm officially the "Fan of the Day." Check out their blog and site! And go get you some LARABARS!

More chobani, bad run, PB & J lara, and Sunday errands

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Ok, so I lied about having a lot of pictures, but I do have a few things to talk about and a couple poor-quality pictures to share!

First: Chobani!
I tried the pineapple Chobani last night as part of dinner pictured below (toast, a peach, and chobani). I was excited because this seems to be the most popular flavor, however, I must say it was disappointing. It was 2%, rather than fat free which isn't a big deal, but I could taste no textural difference. If it is going to have fat in it, I would like it to taste more creamy than its skim counterpart. Furthermore, unlike the other flavors it seemed too sweet and I didn't like the little pieces of fake-tasting pineapple. Sorry Chobani, this flavor is not my favorite!



This morning I tried the Honey Chobani for breakfast and was much more pleased. I sweeten plain greek yogurt with honey sometimes so I did know that the two flavors worked well together. I like how the honey flavor was infused throughout, making it pleasantly sweet and the ingredient list was the least complicated; just milk, cultures, and honey. This flavor brings the Chobani tally to 3 out of 4.

Second: Bad Run
This morning I set out on a 15 miler that turned into a 11 miler. Although all summer my milage has been 70-80 per week, I really have been doing more double sessions than long runs and I need to start encorporating long runs for my Philly training. This run was bad though. My legs felt yesterday's hills and were sluggish from the start. They never loosened up and my pace kept slowing. I felt nauseous throughout the run which NEVER happens to me. I got discouraged and made the decision to cut it short because it was doing more harm than good. When I though more about the last week, I realized I've really done alot. Although my milage has not been as high, it has been more 'quality' with a half marathon race, speedwork for the first time in months, a 15K race, and today's attempted long run. Not to mention that I haven't had a rest day in atleast a month. Keeping all of this in mind, I feel better about even getting in the 11 miles today!

Third: PB&J Lara Bar

The nice people at LaraBar sent me four bars to review. I grabbed this one on my way out the door to the laundrymat post-run because my stomach is too iffy still from the run for lunch, but I wanted some calories to replenish and power me through some laundry! Let me start by saying that I don't eat PB&J sandwiches. I was allergic to nuts as a kid, and am just starting to encorporate small amounts of nut butter into my life. With that said, I cannot compare this bar to the actual thing. HOWEVER, IT. IS. DELICIOUS! Seriously. You need to get you some! Nice balance of fruit and nuts. Moist, but not greasy. I don't understand when other bloggers describe LaraBars as 'greasy.' It is a bar made only of dried fruit and nuts, so does one expect it to be dry? Yum yum. It was good.

Which brings me to....
Fourth: Sunday Errands
As you can see, I'm enjoying my LaraBar from my laptop. Sunday, laundry day. I always try to clean and do stuff like that on Saturday, so I have Sunday to do my "fun" stuff- ie grocery shop for the week and do laundry. Am I a dork that I like doing laundry? Everything all clean, fresh, and organized- I love it! I don't love paying for it though. That is the good part about going home- clean FREE laundry! :)
Well, time to switch my washers. I have some good eats planned for this week that I am going to pick up the ingredients for. Stay tune for pics and recipes!

Let's all make this week great, OK?

15K and Nerdy Habit #1

Unfortunately, this is going to be a pictureless post, but I'm hoping to have a better/more photo-rific post up tomorrow!

First off, I tried the Pomagrante Chobani yesterday in my quest of eating through the Chobani flavors. I was a bit skeptical after so many bloggers seemed to dislike it. I actually really enjoyed it. The texture was perfect and it was not too sweet and I like the little 'surprise' of the pomagrante seeds! So far, I'd give Chobani a 2 for 2.

Today I ran a local 15K. I tried to 'tempo' it with the thoughts that taking the pressure off of myself would help. I think that it did because I actually felt really strong and my splits were fairly solid. Although I did not PR, this course was more hilly/challenging than the course up north that I have ran several 15K's (including my PR) on. 3rd overall female and 1st in my age group which basically just meant I got a sweet beer glass! I like races when the prize is useful- the whole trophy thing is nice, but honestly what does an adult do with a trophy? Display it in their living room?

I've also been making some progress on my scrapbook in the last few days. Yes, I am a scrapbook nerd! I've done them for lots of different things, but most notably my high school running. As I've been racing more and more in the last few years, I decided to start one for my 'adult running' career. Pictures, newspaper clippings, random airline tickets, etc. I've almost finished both of my Chicago Marathon years, mostly because I actually have lots of pictures from those (once again thanks to my sis, the 'official' photographer!) I'm pumped to start on Boston next because I have soooo many things saved from it- it needs a book of its own!

Well, I'm off to clean and be productive. Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! Catch ya' tomorrow!

Vanilla Chobani and Lara Bar Delivery

Happy Thursday readers!

Today I sampled the first of my Chobani samples. I have to admit, I was a skeptic because I've only had Chobani once and it wasn't my favorite. However, after this I admit I am a convert. The first thing I want to mention about Chobani are their prices. Most places I have seen them sold for around $1.20, about HALF the price of other greek yogurts. This is a huge deal for me, as I was fairly certain that my substitute-teacher budget could no longer support my greek yogurt habit. I decided to try the Vanilla today, for a nice neutral start. I brought it to work for lunch and it was delicious! I liked how it was vanilla-flavored without being overpoweringly sweet or fake-tasting. The texture was great as well- it had that 'greek-yogurt thickness' without being so intense that you felt like you could not swallow. Since I did bring it to lunch, it had been outside the fridge for awhile, but was still pleasantly cool and refreshing. And with 16 grams of protein? It doesn't get much better than that, does it? I'm excited to try the rest of these yogurts- you better believe it won't take me long to test them all!

Yes, I realize this picture is horrible....it was early.....

I also received a delivery from Larabar! I have four flavors to try and review, which I took a picture of, but seem to have disappeared. I am very excited as these bars are my favorite and I haven't had much exposure to all of the different types. Most exciting for me in probably the PB&J, just because I've heard such good things about it throughout the blog community. Reviews will come as they are eaten! Thanks Larabar!

Today was a normal day for me. Early run, work, then a swim. It had been much too long since my body was in the pool and it felt great. Now I'm procrastinating cleaning my horribly dirty apartment. I'm also trying to find a job for tomorrow. Ahh, subbing.....so unpredictable! Don't teachers get sick anymore??

Peace!
~ T-Mart

Weekend recap and dueling greeks!

Good evening! Thanks for being patient with my posting- computer issues and such have been plaguing me. I want to do a quick weekend recap from my time in Chicago. I don't have too many pictures to share because my sis was the 'official photographer' so perhaps I will have more later.

The weekend began with a flight to Chicago Friday night, meeting up with my sis and bro in law, and hitting up THE BIGGEST WHOLE FOODS! It was in Lincoln Park and it was amazing. There were so many food options that it was overwhelming. Unfortunately, I'm a new blogger so I totally forgot to take pics in my awe-like stupor. It is safe to say that I got some good stuff from the "trail mix bar" and made an amazing salad for dinner.

Saturday began with a nice easy shakeout run. Me and the sis then went to Navy Pier for packet pickup. This is the part where I want to give a big shout out to Stonyfield for being a sponsor of the Chicago 1/2 Marathon. After I just revealed during my last post that I would be reviewing some of their products, I found them at the expo! They were giving out FREE greek yogurt and all of their volunteers were very friendly. Lots of coupons were handed out as well. Here is a pic of my surprised face that says "how-is-it-possible-that-i-have-a-free-greek-yogurt-in-each-hand?":

After the expo escapades, we went to a cute frozen yogurt place where I got some concoction that cost me $7! Gotta love the city! Atleast it was lunch and delicious. We spent the rest of the afternoon making hommade pasta and watching U of M pull something crazy out of their butts for the win! After a walk it was time for a pre-race dinner......

You better believe that that is a 1/2 pint of fro yo with cereal on the side and a 1/2 glass of wine. Ahh, dinner of champs!

The morning and the 1/2 marathon came. I'd rather not bore you with a play-by-play race report. Moral of the story: I psyched myself out mentally before the start. I kept saying things about how I was too fat or too slow or hadn't done enough speed work to PR. Bad way to approach a race. The whole time I wanted to speed up but I was afraid I would run out of energy. The course was pretty though (along Lakeshore Drive) and it was hot, which I like. I ended up finishing in the top 1% of women with a 1:35, which is off from my 1:30 PR, but I felt like I could have kept going for a full marathon. Sigh. Oh well, time to crank up the speedwork I guess!

After sommore free Oikos, it was back on the train and out to B-fast which went unpictured as well. Then, back to the airport and home! Such a good weekend with my sis. Here is us right before I left:

I should also mention that she is a very talented photographer. You can check out her work here.

Then Monday rolled around and my life was interviews and driving back and forth between my apartment and my parents' house. I did manage to chop off about 8" of my hair. Felt. So. Good. I'm very impulsive when it comes to my hair. I decided spur of the moment and went with it. Trying a more "professional" look in hope that it will help me look more 'teacher-y' and get a job.

What? You thought I only had the amazing $5 sunglasses in orange? Ha! How's that for professional?

Yesterday I ran 5 miles easy in the AM, then did a track workout with my old team in the dark evening. 6x800 with 200 jog rest which felt very...quick...for rest! 2:55, 3:00, 3:01, 3:01, 3:01, 2:59 were the splits - decent since I haven't done speed work in about 9 months! It was fun to run on the dark track with the team.

Today I had my first sub job of the school year today. It actually went really well, and I got hooked up for a couple more jobs in the upcoming week through talking to other teachers. The only way the day was made even better was by coming home to this:

My little soldiers all lined up:

When the nice people at Chobani contacted me last week and said I would have a package on Wednesday, they weren't kidding! I was SO EXCITED to see this on my doorstep. A cannot wait to try them all. This is what my "yum-excited-t0-try-yogurt-even-though-i'm-sweaty-after-a-run" face looks like.

Which leads me to the battle of the Greeks! I will be posting reviews of Chobani as I try them and let you know the final word from peaceloveandrunning land! A HUGE thank you to Chobani for being so giving in this lovely package!

Ok, you made it through this post. I may try to post a "day in the life" post soon of my eats if I remember to take pics. We shall see! For now I'm off for some fro yo and some sleeps! Catch ya later!

Alrighty, well thanks to those who commented on my last blog- good to know that I'm not COMPLETELY just talking to myself!

Oh don't worry, its coming....

Just popping in to say that I will have a weekend recap and race report from my half marathon soooon. I need to upload pics and such, so bear with me! I also have a few product reviews in the works as well- so get pumped for that! ;)

I'm off for some 800 repeats.....

The Journey...back to reality....

It all started here.......how could you ever leave a place as beautiful as this!?!?!

Alas, summer has ended and the drive home downstate needed to be made. Here is the story of the journey.

At first it was good times. Me in my huge orange 5$ sunglasses.....

Willie the weisel my fav traveling bobble-head companion keeping me company....

My dipoloma randomly in a frame on the floor on top of 3 pairs of running shoes....

Driving 85mph in the 70mph zone on the freeway.....while taking pics of the odometer.....

"Uh-oh I hope I don't get pulled over." Obviously in this pic I am sad as well because it had gotten dark-ish and I had to take off my bad ass sunglasses.

No more iced coffee.....I must be close to home! (and a nod to my ghetto-tastic phone chillin in the next cupholder!)

And upon getting home, all I could think of was being back on this......



Ahhh summer! So nice!

In other news, I received some coupons from stonyfield to sample their greek yogurt. I am a huge greek yogurt/dairy fan so I'm pumped to try some of their products. I plan to use these coupons next week and do a review then, as I am headed out of town tomorrow to Chicago! Thanks Stonyfield!

Congrats on getting through this post. If there is anyone out there reading, please leave me a comment so I feel alittle less like I am talking to myself. Have a great day! :)

Peace, Love, and Running,

T-Mart

Long Time, No Blog!

Its been a whirlwind of a week and I am trying to settle into my new life as a....gasp....adult! (ie, not a student!) I have a post with pics of my adventure home from the north, but upon having technical difficulties, it will have to wait.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Mine was filled with running, working, skiing :) and some last minute bonding time with the parents. This weekend is my first half marathon of the "season" in Chicago, so I'm getting super pumped up for that because not only do I love racing, but I get to take a trip to my favorite big city to see my favorite big sis! (ok, my only sis but she's still my fav!)

I'm off to my part time job gig tonite. I'll fill y'all in more later! Happy Humpday!

Good run, Good times, and Good eats!

Good afternoon!

The above is one of my most favorite pictures (obviously not because I look awesome..ha...) but because I'm with my mixer! The story behind the green mixer- I have been telling my mom that I wanted one for my college graduation present since my freshman year. As an amateur baker looking to further my career, it is a must! Finally, after 5 long years I graduated and my mom pulled through for me - I am the proud owner of this beautiful Artisan Stand Mixer which I love! You cannot look at this mixer and be in a bad mood-it is such a happy color!

In other news- amazing 12 miler for T-Mart this morning. I am back up north and will be working for the next 4 days, so I decided to make this run a special treat by running in "the big city." This is the view from the beach where I parked:

It was great running along the water and through town and ended with a dip in the bay as pictured above. I am a big fan of summer and AM NOT looking forward to fall at all. I love running weather like this and it was great to savor it another day as well as run such a beautiful route.

After errands in town, I came home to a late lunch of a toasted rice bread slice, spread with raspberries and melted brie! Yum! On the side, carrots and wasabi peas complete with ketchup as always. Followed by unpictured grapes and banana chips. It was a great refueling meal!

After home in home chores, laying....errr....sleeping in the sun, I'm currently partaking in one of my favorite pleasures - in home foot soak! Yeah, it looks gross but I swear by this mixture for enlivening the worlds gross-est (ie my) feet! Warm water, oatmeal, and baking soda. Soak for 30 minutes then slather on foot lotion and big socks! Works like a charm!

Alright, I'm off to experiment with said mixer and some GF muffins. I'll let y'all know how they turn out!

Peace, Love, and RUNNING<

T-Mart