Gourmet Runner

Among most bloggers and runners in general, I'm the exception. I don't wake up and stumble to the gym in time for it to open, or head outside in the snow before the sun is up. I'm lazy. I run on the treadmill after I finish work at the completely acceptable time of 5:30 pm. And that's all about to change. Wow, that sounded really dramatic, but basically I'm just going to start working out earlier. I really have to cut out the whole drama queen act. My new plan is to get my butt out of bed and workout first thing in the morning. Don't pity me, because by "get up" I mean move from my bedroom to the office/gym room at the other end of the house, and by "first thing in the morning" I mean like 7:30. But still...big changes for me. Although I don't believe that January 1st has any magical powers that will help me to stick to this plan, I have a 4 mile race on NYE which happens to be at 5:30 pm. It's like they did it just for me. A

I was lucky enough to be sent a big selection from Vega's sports nutrition line about a month ago, and initially I was pretty excited. They offer a lot of nutritional supplements like protein powders and energy gels, but everything is plant based. I'm not vegan by a long shot, but plant-based sounds good to me.  Everything is divided up into three main groups: prepare, sustain and recover. So that you can, you know...prepare for a workout, sustain your workout, and recover after the workout. Got it? You guys are geniuses. I have already read a few reviews for Vega's products online, and most reviewers seem to be in love with the stuff. Me? I have my moments, but for the most part it wasn't a hit. Here's my take on some of their products: Prepare The only item in the "prepare" section is called the Pre-workout energizer. You mix it with water to drink 20 minutes before your workout for energy. It's full of all the buzz words: ginger, green te

Waking up on December 26th is always a little weird to me. On Christmas Eve and then on Christmas, I wake up like, "Yay! So exciting!" and then I wake up on the 26th and kind of go...oh, right. Nothing special today. So we decided to make the most of the day and head out for a hike at a nearby trail. I honestly felt like an idiot for not having found the trail sooner. It's PERFECT for running, gorgeous scenery and is maybe a 25 minute drive from my house. I'm definitely dragging hubby back there for a run soon.   The hike took us about 80 minutes for 3.75 miles, nice and slow with plenty of breaks for checking out the scenery, admiring mushrooms on trees and spotting turtle shells on the trail. That weirded me out big time. The shell was white. So now I'm wondering if: a) The shell was old and had been bleached by the sun, b) There are little albino turtles out there that I don't know about, or c) That wasn't a turtle shell, I'm an idiot and

I can't lie to you guys...one of the things I was most excited about this Christmas was trying out a new recipe. I like to pretend I'm a world renowned chef, but lets be honest I'm more like a Waffle House sous chef (no offense to any actual Waffle House sous chefs). But man I like to think I'm badass in the kitchen. So I watched a cooking show with Gordon Ramsey and decided that I am totally reality show worthy (HA! HA! HA!) and could make Beef Wellington. Ever had it before? I've only had it once, and never made it so it was definitely new. It's basically a high quality beef fillet, covered in a paste made with onions and mushrooms, then wrapped in prosciutto, and THEN wrapped in puff pastry. YES. Just yes. If you want to make it, this recipe was really helpful. I also set some kind of record for including butter in every single dish. I'm pretty proud of that. On the menu next to the Beef Wellington: cooked carrots (in butter and brown sugar) green

I've had a fantastic Christmas day! A busy morning trying out some new recipes, a wonderful lunch and then an afternoon at the movies. Perfect! I hope everyone had a fabulous Sunday. Merry Christmas from me.... From Tim... And of course from the cats... I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family. Merry Christmas!

Ok, so the real reason to celebrate today is Christmas Eve. BUT - have you noticed just how many virtual races are going on this weekend? Start it off with a Virtual 5k on Christmas Eve over at Run my Guts Out. ... Have a little more endurance? Run the 10k Home for the Holidays virtual race at Run For Fun ... Or head to Daily Vitamin F for a 5k on Christmas day! Today was my "long run" for the week, so I decided to incorporate the Home for the Holidays Virtual 10k for the first 6.2 miles. I really wanted to don some festive Christmas attire, but I have nothing that could be considered both running appropriate and festive. What's a gal to do? Run on the treadmill wearing a fake wreath, of course! Or, you know...run the whole distance, toss on the wreath and call hubby in frantically to take a picture of me looking like an idiot. There is no need to point out that I don't match. I decided to get in the festive spirit by wearing every color I could find. K

Some of you might have noticed I failed to put up my daily post yesterday. No? You weren't waiting around with bated breath? Rude. Anyway, it was in part because I just have so much crazy stuff going on. Parties, holiday planning, extravagant dinners....the usual. Also, trips to Target to pick up super secret presents that can't be featured on the blog. Ok, fine. These stocking stuffers can go on the blog because I'm 99.99% sure my cats can't read this. I bought these tiny little stockings a while back because I thought they would be adorable for the cats. Plus, they were 87 cents and I'm a sucker for anything that costs less than a dollar. But - NOTHING fits into them. They're that small. $1.74, wasted. Dang the holidays are expensive! So...crazy exciting life at Christmas. Buying cat treats at Target. Hubby and I got there last night at 4:45, and went our separate ways to pick up a few top secret items. I was checked out and back in the car 12 minu

So...first things first. I know like 99.9% of you are only reading this to see if you win. Thanks mom, for reading just because you love me. There were 290 entries for a pair of Aspaeris Pivot Shorts, and thanks to Random.org the winner was... #187 - Rachelle Wardle - Congrats! If you don't read the blog Running for Trevor , get over there now. She is more than just an incredibly speedy runner, she also has a heart of gold. Go say hi! Can we head back in time to yesterday's post for a minute? I mentioned Christmas crackers in it, and I don't think I've ever received so many comments/emails in my life. Also, I can't believe so many of you are deprived of this awesomely mediocre tradition. Here's my explanation of crackers: Nope, not these crackers... Here we go...these crackers: Around the Christmas table, two people each pull one end of the cracker, and it pops open. Inside, there are terrible prizes like a mini magnifying glass, a paper crown

This year the whole holiday season has been a little off for me. Since Tim and I are on our own, we don't have a big family to celebrate with. Plus, I don't have a traditional work schedule where time off signifies that it's holiday time. We also skipped the tree this year - more for reasons relating to our hyperactive cats than anything else. BUT - this is not a boo-hoo kind of post!  Nope, I was just letting you know why it hasn't felt like Christmas... until today! What finally got me in the mood? A combination of things, including: - Twinkly Christmas lights hanging up in the house: - Christmas themed Jeopardy clues on tonight's show (yep- hubby and I watch it every night at 7:30!) - Frosty mornings . It may not be snow, but it's close enough to get me excited. Courtesy of Hubby - Christmas crafts and decorations that make me smile: Glittery Pinecones - Christmas crackers . Because it's not Christmas unless you get an ugly pape

Thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was sent some coupons for my choice of products from Simply Potatoes. I have never, ever bought potatoes in any form but you know, the actual potato. So these products weren't initially all that exciting to me. I picked one up to try anyway, and maybe incorporate into a recipe somehow.  Once I thought of gnocchi, there was no turning back. If you've never had gnocchi before, it's an Italian pasta made of potato, flour and egg. It's one of my standard weeknight dishes, because it can be made in less than 10 minutes. Believe it or not, you can actually make the entire pasta from scratch, cook it and serve it in less than 25 minutes. AND take a ton of photos of the process. Actually, skip that and you can probably get it done in 20 minutes flat.  Ingredients: Brace yourselves for this massive list. Ready?  1 1/2 cups of  mashed potatoes (I used Simply Potatoes so it was pre-made)  3/4 cup of flour  1 eggs Yep, it's tha

Yesterday I did the unthinkable. I left the house, did mildly interesting things and did not take a single picture. Frozen yogurt went undocumented, new shoes can not be displayed, you will never see what my sushi looks like and hey, who even knows what movie I saw? Don't worry. I remember everything in vivid detail, so you guys can check out my sweet drawings of the day. Brace yourselves for unprecedented artistic talent. Um, ok...let's skip the first part of Saturday. I worked. At my computer. Like every other day. Moving swiftly along.... Aha! Biking. Hopped on the spin bike (which, as Kara pointed out, I have definitely gotten my money's worth out of -$25) and pedaled away for 1 hour and 40 minutes, or 26 miles. Only afterwards did hubby point out that was a marathon. HOW COULD I NOT REALIZE THAT? Shocking. If you think this is bad...there are so many more coming. Sorry.  Then I got what can be considered an early Christmas present - brand new running shoes. I