Three-day Weekend

Yeah for 3-day weekends!!

That third days make such a difference in how much I can get accomplished! :)

My weekend has been busy but good nonetheless.

Saturday morning Craig and I both got up bright and early to a bone-chilling -12*F! Those temperatures sting!

(I apologize for the incredibly bad/blurry pictures in this post.)


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I cooerced Craig to come with me to Great Harvest.


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It may seem odd to be going to Great Harvest at that time of the day, but we wanted a free loaf of bread!

I got an e-mail saying that Great Harvest was giving away a loaf of bread in honor of Martin Luther King Day!

All we had to do was complete a MLK quiz.

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Craig is the history buff, so he filled out most of it. ;)


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Our free loaf of Unity Bread!


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Then it was time to go for a my Saturday long run.

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Don’t worry, it had warmed up to a balmy -8*F by that time.

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Boy oh boy was it cold!! I only ran 5 miles, but even after 3 miles my legs started to hurt and go numb.

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Craig met me a few times along my route to check in on me because it was still very dark, and I was running a different parts of Anchorage. It was cute.

This is a picture looking into downtown. (Yes, it is a small downtown.)

I eventually came up that hill.

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Here I come! Surprisingly my hands actually get warm enough that I have to take my mittens off, but they can only stand a few seconds of being out in the fridgid cold temps before I have to put the mittens back on.

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My final destination: the coffee shop to meet Craig and warm up!

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Post-run recovery food: decaf coffee, water, and toast with almond butter and raspberry jam.

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The rest of Saturday was busy with running errands, cleaning, and checking things off my to-do list.

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On Sunday morning I went for a one mile run and then headed to yoga at Anchorage yoga for a warm flow class. I liked the intensity: challenging but nothing over the top.


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For breakfast, I had this packet of instant oatmeal from Bakery on Main. It was good. . . .I added banana slices and walnuts to it.


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I was impressed with the ingredients.

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I also liked the nutrition stats.

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After showering and getting ready, it was off to church, and then I met up with a friend at Kaladi Bros.


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Sunday night was nice and low-key because I didn’t have to work the next morning! :)

So what does one do when it is below zero out. . . . .?


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Why go and get frozen yogurt of course?

That’s my “why am I doing this” look.

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Even though I already had ice cream earlier in the day, I told myself that this was “yogurt” and not ice cream. ;)

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While at Yogurt Lounge, we played Bananagrams! Craig won again, but I only had two letters left; I was proud of myself.

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I don’t think I ever warmed-up, but it was still fun.

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After we got back from Yogurt Lounge, we watched the movie Friends with Benefits. It definitely had its moments of vulgarity, but we still thought it was cute.


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This morning (Monday), I got up and made my way to The Dome to do a speed workout.


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I completed the following workout:

1.5 mile warm-up

2 x 800 meters

4 x 400 meters

1.5 mile cool-down

Total: 5 miles

It was a really good workout. I felt good, but sometimes I have to tendency to push myself too hard, so I hope I don’t feel too sluggish the rest of the week.


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After my workout, came my favorite breakfast of a Banana Protein Smoothie and a bagel with peanut butter. :) Seriously, what is it about a bagel that makes is so much better than regular bread?

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Then it was off to my Rolfing appointment. I’ll be honest, Rolfing hurts, but I definitely notice a difference after she is done. My muscles/joints move better and more fluidly. I’m hoping it will help me with my running.


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After that, my day flew by and now it is time to go to bed. :( I am always sad to see the weekend go, but I am thankful I got everything done I wanted to! :)

Odds ‘N’ Ends

NOOOO!!!!

How did I not know that The Bachelorette was on last night?!?! I am so disappointed in myself!

The Bachelorette is my one guilty pleasure, and I can’t believe I missed the season premier last night. Oh well, to pay for my mistake, I made myself watch the episode on my computer this afternoon. ;)

(Source)

Before lunch today, I spent 45 minutes lifting weights at the gym. I worked my upper body, legs, and abs. I also spent some time really stretching my leg muscles that are notoriously tight!!

After the gym, I ran a couple of errands, and then came home for a late lunch.

A sandwich from Great Harvest! :)

I have been wanting to get a sandwich from Great Harvest for some time now. However, leaving school mid-day to get lunch isn’t very conducive for a teacher, but now that it is summer vacation, that’s a different story!

As expected, the sandwich was delicious!!

I also made myself a Green Monster protein smoothie.

I snacked on some of these chips alongside my sandwich.

I really like these rice-based chips. They have a really hearty thickness and crunch to them, and the sweet chili flavoring has a little heat but not too much.

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Over the weekend I took a yoga class with my friend Katie.

We went to Laughing Lotus Yoga in Anchorage.

The inside of the studio was clean, inviting, and filled with vibrant colors.

The studio itself was lit with a handful of small windows and had hardwood floors.

I was optimistic I would have a good experience, but sadly I was quite disappointed. It just wasn’t my style. I have a hard time embracing the hippiness of yoga: “creating happy atoms with my hands” and “breathing in the sunshine and exhaling the moonlight.” The class just wasn’t for me.

This was my 4th studio in Anchorage I have practiced yoga at.

The other studios I’ve gone to:

Anchorage Yoga (hands down my favorite!)

Inner Dance Yoga Studio (liked it, didn’t love it though—read about my experience here)

The Alaska Club (I did not blog about this class, but I had a good experience.)

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A new (to me) protein bar I recently tried.

I have tried three different flavors of these Zone Perfect bars and have enjoyed each one of them. I’ve tried quite a few protein/nutrition bars in my day, and I’d have to say these are definitely one of my favorites!

I appreciate they are all-natural and don’t have 300+ calories per bar. (Most have right around 200 calories.)

Attention Locals

(I am guessing these deals could also be found across the country??)

If you need to stock up on Clif or GU products, go to REI. All the products are 25% off. The Clif products are advertised in the sale ad, but the GU products are also on sale!

Also, today Gap had an additional 30% off their sale-priced items tonight. AND if you bring in your used clothing (before May 29), Gap will donate the clothes to Goodwill and you will save 30% off your entire purchase!

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Question

What is your favorite protein/nutrition bar?

New Camera

Today’s long run:

Distance: 11 miles

Time: 1:35

I felt okay—nothing great though. I just didn’t feel as though I had the energy I usually do.

I haven’t done a long run in a couple of weeks, so I’m sure my body was trying to find its groove again.

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Here’s a run-down of some of my eats for the day—and some pictures from my new camera!

Basically I have no idea what I am doing with the camera! I promise I’ll get better though!

It had been far too long since I’ve had pancakes for breakfast, so it was time to remedy that this morning after my long run!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes with strawberry jam + Cashew Almond Peanut Butter + chia seeds + unsweetened coconut + maple syrupFor comparison, here are a couple of pictures from my point-and-shoot camera (Canon PowerShot A1000 IS).

Craig and I then spent about 2.5 hours running errands. Seriously, how does it take so long?

Food was the first priority once I got back!

A delicious wrap—and look, I even rolled it up this time!

roasted red pepper hummus + spinach + turkey + sprouts + tomato + black olives + feta

It’s all about trying to put as many different things in the wrap as possible!While out and about, we picked up this hearty loaf of Dakota bread from Great Harvest! This loaf literally weighed a ton!!

Love Great Harvest!

I am still working on getting the focus thing down. I have been trying to manually focus it (instead of using the automatic feature); I feel more professional that way! ;)

But as you can see, it still isn’t focused quite right. On the Saturday nights Craig and I don’t go out for dinner, our tradition has been to make pizza at home and watch a movie.

This weekend it was pizza and a movie night. :)

Yes, that would be 5 olive slices on 1/4 of my pizza because I wanted 1/4 of it to be different. I like variety. . . or am I just indecisive??

I’ve been on the hunt for the best pizza dough recipe for quite some time, and tonight’s dough definitely gave the others a run for their money.

This time I followed Jenna’s recipe for The Best Pizza Dough.

Since the recipe called for half whole wheat flour, I thought for sure it wouldn’t be as good. But, boy was I wrong! This might become my go-to recipe from now on! If it tastes just as good as the other recipes but has the added bonus of wheat flour, then count me in!

I love homemade pizza!

Once again, for comparison, here are two shots with my point-and-shoot camera.

Stupid shadows!

Craig and I ended up watching The Switch tonight.

Both of us thought it was a cute romantic comedy—not the greatest, but still enjoyable with a few good laughs.

I would give it a 3/5.

(Source)

Time for bed!