Gourmet Runner

My weekly workout recaps are starting to follow a pattern. Each week seems to include a couple days of yoga, a couple strength training sessions, and 3 runs (easy, speedwork, and long). I'm settling into a groove that I'm pretty happy with, so I'll see if that continues! Monday: Rest Day! Tuesday: Ran 4.62 miles (speedwork) and walked 3 miles Wednesday: 45 Minutes of Yoga, 30 minutes of upper body and core strength Thursday: P90X Plyometrics (1 hour) Friday: Scary 1.57 mile snake run , 25 minutes of yoga Saturday: At home circuit workout (40 minutes) Sunday: 10 Mile Run, 2 Mile Walk, 30 minutes of swimming I'll take it! I wish my mileage was higher (about 16 miles of running) but with everything else added in I'm happy. Since I postponed by long run from Saturday to Sunday, I had some time on my hands Saturday morning. I put together a simple circuit workout that worked my whole body, needed NO equipment (such a bonus for me) and can be adjusted for a

Yesterday when I woke up I was NOT in the mood for a long run. After my snake incident   on Friday night, I was genuinely too freaked out to run on the trails around the lake. So, I stayed inside, doing a circuit workout instead. Hubs, our houseguest, and I set off around noon to visit Five Guys. Now, I've been there before, and love the burgers. But I wasn't feeling meat, so I settled on the veggie burger. Heads up--there's no actual "burger" in the veggie burger. Just veggies on a bun. It was actually really tasty! I loaded mine up with grilled onions, grilled peppers, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, and mustard. Yum. It is weird that I honestly thought it tasted like a hamburger? I guess I like the toppings more than the actual meat itself. Anyway, paired with some peanuts it made a great lunch: I had some coupons for for free fro-yo that obviously needed to be used immediately, but the boys wanted to see some silly comic book movie. Thankfully, Captain

Yesterday I kept pushing off my run due to the heat, and finally headed out around 8:30pm. It was just starting to get darker, and in the shaded areas around the lake I was running, I couldn't see much of the ground. So imagine my surprise when I stood on a SNAKE, and it sprung up at me. Holy cow people. I was freaking out, and I'd only run about a mile at this point. I booked it so fast the half mile or so to where hubs and his friend were fishing. I would say it was about this big: And it probably looked like this: Source And no, of course I'm not exaggerating. Come on, would I do that? I've been warned to "watch for snakes" since I've been in Georgia, but I have been quite happy to see very few until last week, when this guy was parked right outside our front door: He might not look big in the picture, but when it's right outside your door every snake looks scary! Anyway, after the snake rudely cut my run short (I was too freaked out t

If I'm completely honest , I'm a snacker. A muncher. A grazer. As much as I like sitting down to a delicious meal around the dining table, that just doesn't happen too often for me. Quick, simple meals are my speciality, and I happen to have a love for foods made for children. I love eating with my hands. I've decided to embrace that lately, by making meals that are essentially hearty snack combinations. Plates like this one , with popcorn, hummus, cucumber slices, and some sliced ham, are perfect for me. And if you haven't tried dipping popcorn into hummus, you are missing out big time. DELISH. Or yesterday's combination of roasted sweet potatoes, kale chips, and toasted corn tortillas:  On a side note , I love my kale chips extra crispy. Which means that twice this week, I've set off the fire alarm when pulling them out of the oven. Seriously? That alarm must be crazy sensitive because we're not even talking smoke here. Reminds me of when my grand

If you missed the first half of my questions and answers, you missed out! I talked all about Mr. Gourmet Runner, how me met, and where I've lived in the past. Today: the rest of the questions. What I do, all about my workouts, and tons of fun questions! Me: What do I do for work now? I'm pretty lucky to be able to work from home as a content writer. Yes, that means I get all the perks like no commuting and setting my own hours, but on the downside it can be really tough to focus and really get down to business with all the distractions (*ahem* your blogs) What did I do in Hong Kong? Hmm...I guess I've never had an official "profession". In the past four years, I was an English teacher, part-time bookkeeper, intern at the Clinton Global Initiative, and fitting model for La Senza and Victoria's Secret. Obviously they hired me for my ample bosom. Oh, no, wait. Maybe not. Food and Workouts: What's your ultimate guilty pleasure food? I really lo

Hello there lovelies! The super fit, super cute, and super pregnant (34 weeks!) Liz over at Pojo Fitness  asked me to do a guest post for her while she is away this week. Of course I was happy to do it, so head over there so she doesn't regret having me on the blog! I talked about pre-race nutrition. Here's the quick version: Good: Source Bad (Get Ready for a Pukie Award ): Source And there you have it. Pretty basic, right? If you want more, check out my guest post ! What's your go-to breakfast before a workout? Oatmeal! (Surprise, surprise, I know...)

I'll get to the prisoner part in a bit, I promise. First: my timed mile as part of Running Ricig's "Proof You Didn't Peak In High School" Virtual mile. Yes, I'm excited. Mostly because this was by far the fastest mile I've ever run! A few months ago, I ran a treadmill mile in 7:45. Today? 7:01!!! Woo-hoo, that's a 44 second PR, baby--and it was on solid ground, not a treadmill! Now, my confession--I may have been spurred on by a few outside events. Halfway through the mile, I heard some whooping and cheering, and then a lot of harsh shouting. The cause? Some Georgia Prison inmates in a truck with the small back windows open, getting pretty excited to see me running by--and then getting scolded by the sheriff! They were on their way to pick up litter along a different road, but it still scared me. I guess it was good though, since it got me to run faster to pass them while they were stuck at the light! After a warm-up mile, and then a timed mile,

I got so many  great questions from you all , I thought I would address them all in general. To start: The Hubs: He dabbled as a rock star. Swoon. How old is he?  31 Background?  Born in England, moved to Hong Kong at age 2, went to University in London, and was teaching English at the University of Hong Kong for the past few years. Did he know to to build/design a house?  Um...no. I think he qualifies as a "city boy" who has completely embraced rural Georgian life. He is crazy artsy and creative though , and designed the entire house. Plus, he researched each aspect of building a house and followed through. Superman.  Us: How did we meet?  Rather ordinarily, actually! We were introduced by a mutual friend at a local concert. Did you give him a ring?  This one made me laugh! No engagement ring I'm afraid, but we do have matching wedding bands that we picked out together. Ho

I think we should start circulating "Bad Blogger Awards," because I would definitely get one for my lack of documentation yesterday. Here's what I missed by not bringing along a camera: -amazing scenery kayaking along the Hiwassee River in Tennessee with friends -Dinner at a great local restaurant: veggie burger with sweet potato fries baked in brown sugar -a black bear cub in the woods Yeah, I think that's my most exciting day in a long time and I have no proof it even happened. Bummer. Instead, I'll give you a random old picture of me being posing with a green water gun, bright blue beret, and skeleton shirt. Because goodness knows I'll never be able to segue into using it any other time. You're welcome. Here's the round-up of the week's workouts: Monday : 45 minutes of Yoga Tuesday : 4.75 mile Run (tempo run) Wednesday : 30 minutes Elliptical Thursday : 5.5 Mile Run Friday : Rest Day Saturday : 9.25 Mile Run, 2 Mile Walk Su

I know, I know. You all guessed our winning smiles and close relationships with Hugh Grant. (Did I say relationship? I meant I saw Notting Hill 12 times.) Anyway, our common link is this: Julia Roberts used this phone booth in a movie called Something To Talk About, which was filmed in Savannah. Yeah, sorry. Pretty anti-climatic, huh? Now that I have your attention, I'll tell you all about my amazing sushi experience on vacation. If you're new, you'll need to know I LOVE sushi and have a hard time finding any here in rural Georgia. I got this amazing plate in Savannah last weekend: Come to mamma. Shrimp and eggplant tempura, tuna sashimi, tuna rolls, and "seafood salad," whatever that is. After that, and some appetizer called fried bread which I'm pretty sure is way more Southern than Japanese, I was stuffed. But there was a fro-yo place right across the street. Decisions, decisions.  Obviously I went, even though I was the only one who felt the need

Thanks to all the people who left questions on my last post,  The One Where I Reveal All the Crap You're Dying To Read . I'm working on the answers to your questions, but keep them coming if there is anything more you want to know about me! First, my "solemate": Yep, those are hubby's feet. And for the record, he came up with that. Also for the record, it's lame stuff  along those lines that makes me love him. Moving right along..... This morning I was determined to get a long run in, despite the heat. Genius that I am, I only started at 8:30. It took about 3.5 minutes before I was drenched, head to toe. I thought I had a pretty good plan though--hubby dropped me off on a 2-mile running loop, and would come back to pick me up 2 hours later. I had no choice but to keep going! I ran 9.25 miles at a 9:14 pace, and then 2 miles of walking. Pretty happy to have that done, even with temps in the 80s and 95% humidity! I stopped halfway through to get a

I love reading all the random bits of information people share on their blogs, thanks to things like blog awards, Q & A posts, and regulars like Three Things Thursday. Except...I've never shared my own random list of information. Sometimes (I'll be honest) because it sounds like too much work, and other times because I swear there aren't many interesting things you guys don't already know. So here it goes, my attempt to share more of myself with you! 1. I was born in South Africa , and lived there until I was 5. I also lived in Hawaii for nearly 10 years, Germany for one year, Pennsylvania for 2, New Jersey for 1, England for 3 months (does that even count?) Hong Kong for almost 4 years, and now Georgia for the last 6 months. (If you're doing tons of crazy math to figure out how old I am, I'll save you the trouble--I'm 23) 2. I have paddled on an outrigger canoe team , ridden a horse in a barrel racing competition, competed in rugby tournaments in

I should have realized when I checked into the hotel and got a warm cookie, that the trip was going to be sweet. Thank you Doubletree, for causing a three day addiction to sugar.  The cookie part was great, but they must pipe that smell through the hotel. All I could smell was warm gooey deliciousness every time I stepped foot in the lobby.  I heard rumors of a great candy store in Savannah, so surprise, surprise , that was our first destination. What? It was so close to the hotel! Little did I know the place was like Willy Wonka's factory.  Taffy conveyer belts along the roof Taffy machine. Oh the swirls! Those barrels? Heaven. Just leave me in any one of those and pick me up when the candy runs out in a day or two. Now, even though I'm not a candy apple fan, they were like works of art. Seriously! Just amazing creations. I was tempted to buy one in particular: Obviously, a caramel and chocolate covered apple decorated like a pig would make an AMAZING souven

Hello Gourmet Runner readers! I’m Rachael and I blog over at Happy Healthy Runner about my adventures in running, marriage and life. I was thrilled when Vanessa reached out for guest posting and I recently received an email from an old friend asking how I stay motivated to run, which I thought would make a good post. I’m also navigating my way through training for my first two marathons, so staying motivated through the grueling weeks of marathon training is definitely important. Because let’s be real, some days you just don’t want to run.  The Lovely Rachel at a recent race! 1. Write it down.  I am a notorious list maker. I make lists for daily tasks. I make lists for weekly tasks. I even make lists for lists sometimes. I am pretty much lost without my planner. But as tied I as I am to my planner (and yes, I still use the old-school, “write it down” way, there is no list on my phone because I would just never open it), having it written down holds me accountable. I almost feel gui