Training is Hard, but I am Tough

Saturday was honestly one of my favorite routes that we do. It's hilarious to say this because I wrote a blog post once about wanting to throw up on this exact route. For all you Piggers out there, it's Gilbert Hill up to Eden Park. This route even continued onto Madison road and was oddly like the Pig course. It was 9.5 miles in total, but we actually got the downhill of Gilbert, which you don't get blessed with in the full marathon. It's pretty awesome to look at a route and not dread it, but appreciate that I can do it, and also to be able to appreciate the view from the top. The Eden Park overlook is beautiful at all times, but it's more beautiful when you're not struggling to breathe and telling yourself you just might die. Our program has been revamped this training season and it is not easy. Tuesday was one of the hardest workouts we have ever done in my opinion, but I forced myself to keep going and didn't fall back. It's moments like Tuesday and Saturday (even though difficult) that have shown me how far I've really come. I struggle at times telling myself that I haven't made enough progress or getting disappointed about really not making the scale move, but when I can keep up and when I can feel good, I am reminded that at one time running a mile was nearly impossible. It really is every woman's goal to lose weight. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to cut another 20 pounds off, but in reality it's important to appreciate daily accomplishments that show you are stronger and can endure more than you could yesterday. We should put as much weight on these accomplishments as we do on the scale going down, if not more.

By the way, my group is awesome!

Anyways, I have made some good recipes lately that I want to share because people seemed to be excited about those.

Shrimp Creole: I posted about this a couple weeks ago, but I had never tried it before. Actually T.J. and I have never even cooked with shrimp before, but this was a good first effort. Let me tell you-it's delicious! T.J. and I both loved it. Why not make it tomorrow for Mardi Gras?!?! It would be perfect. By the way for all you weight watchers, the recipe says it's only 1 smart point (I'm not sure if this is the new system or not) without the rice.

My friend Luke had an Olympics gathering to show off his new home. T.J. and I pitched in by making Korean food. T.J. made Bulgolgi (a thin sliced marinated beef) and I made spicy chicken. This stuff will make your nose RUN, but it is delicious. People have asked me for the recipe. It's from a friend, so I'll type it out. I'd have to ask T.J. for the bulgolgi recipe he used, but there are several online and it's pretty easy. Make this and watch the Olympics for a fun night!

1.5 pounds chicken
4 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped jalepeno
sliced carrots, thin
white mushrooms
Sauce
1/3 cup Gochujang (it's a paste, you can get it near the other asian sauces at Kroger)
2 T hot pepper flakes
2 T brown sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T seasame Oil
Stir fry ingredients until chicken is cooked and veggies are soft
After sauce ingredients have been mixed, pour over stir fry and cook for one more minute
Serve over rice

We are going out of town later this week, so I'm trying to make easy recipes that do not require a lot of dishes.

Baked Potato Soup is on the menu tonight. She sneaks in cauliflower as a filler, but do not worry, it still tastes as hearty as other loaded potato soups I have tried.

It's been hard to resist sweets lately and I'm still working on that. Fat Tuesday donuts, candies from valentine's parties, and homemade sugar cookies are some things I've been failing at resisting. Sugar is most definitely an addiction, but I'm working on it.

Enjoy your week!

Products I'm Really Into Right Now

I had a lot of people tell me that they were excited about me blogging about my recipes, and wanted to see more of that....and more are on the way. I am trying a couple new recipes this week so I want to see how they turn out before I post the recipes. See! This blog is even inspiring me to try some new things, so you might as well to. Anyways, I thought for today I could post just a few products I am currently obsessing over.

I tend to get really into certain brands or products and then I want ALL of them. So here's some of my "flavors of the month."

First up, this is going to be the most "basic bitch" thing you've ever heard, but I have become obsessed with Lululemon. I know! I know! It pains me so. I always thought. You've got to be kidding me. Those things are overrated. Why would you spend that much on leggings? The actual leggings that T.J. bought me for Christmas were made for running and they are awesome. I tend to just wear them 24/7, just ask my friends, but they are super comfy and have a lot of pockets. They don't slide down or ride up. Here's the best part, they will hem your leggings for free (great for shorties like me.) Oh wait, that's actually not the best part, they have a lifetime guarantee! I was concerned about a pair I bought on the sale rack because they had a string hanging from the seam. She said "Oh, just bring them in, we'll reseam them for life." If they have a hole, they will replace them. That's pretty awesome and makes the price a little easier to swallow. Since the pair I got for Christmas, I've bought 2 additional pair. Worth it!
Shop Here!

Next, Goodr sunglasses. These babies are fun and they stay put while you are doing outdoor activities. They are polarized so you can actually see out of them. Plus, they are only $25. I only wish I could be using them more, but it's been so dreary and gets dark so early that I haven't actually run with them yet. Either way, it's very strange for my husband to get jealous of sunglasses that I have that are branded as "running sunglasses" but he wants to order a pair for himself to take to the beach. I might even buy another more neutral pair.
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I got these Aftershokz headphones in October before I ran the Long Beach Half Marathon. I had my eyes on them after doing a demo at a running store. Since I'm an REI member, they send me a  gift card towards the end of the year based on what I've spent. It's actually a good deal if you buy a lot of outdoor gear. This covered over half of them (they were $99, but I've seen them on sale for $75.) I realized I liked them as soon as I put them on. They do not go in your ears, but on the outside and use bone vibration to help you hear the music. This is great for safety as well. I knew I loved them at the Long Beach Half. They stayed in place the entire time and I didn't have to adjust them once. I just used them on my 10 miler and was able to listen to music as I talked with others in my group. The battery life on them is great. The charge even lasts if you haven't touched them in awhile. I couldn't find a photo of me in them, but the link has a great video to show you how they fit.
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Finally, someone in our group discovered this running late that's really affordable and they do a good job at not only making you visible, but help to make the pathway visible as well. I bought this because of 2 things. First, I almost hit some people with my car who were out running in the dark in the morning. They were not on the sidewalk and they were wearing no lights or reflective gear. Second, I didn't have a light for a snowy pub run we were doing one night. I got separated between 2 groups. Thankfully, someone had let me borrow their hand light, which made me feel a lot safer. I would have been extremely nervous if I hadn't of had that. Anyways, the only problem with this is that it can be a bit weird looking if you are larger chested like me, but I still use it because it's serving it's purpose to keep me safe, which is more important than a weird looking boob.
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I'm wearing the light here

As far as training goes, it's been going really well. I feel like I have a lot of energy still and my body is carrying me pretty easily right now. I hope this continues. I'm worried about becoming more fatigued and worn down mentally as the season gets more difficult, which is typically what happens to me. My group is great and it's nice to have people who support you and talk to you when you are out there for hours. I'm really looking forward to my runs with them and watching them all succeed.