Post Thanksgiving wrap up

Are you out of the food coma yet?

My Birthday Flowers!

Thanksgiving was my birthday this year. Normally we head to the Manchester Road Race in CT, but I hate the effort to get to such a big race, and always feel so rushed leading into thanksgiving. Instead I was aiming for a 5K in my hometown, except.... no one would run with me!

Instead I got up and got my Jillian workout in before hitting the kitchen. I made some delicious clean eating recipes for sweet potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce. We had a delicious dinner at my mom's house with Kevin & I's families. We even had candles in the pumpkin pie.

That night, we went shopping crazy. Our adventure started at 9pm on thanksgiving with a cooler filled with drinks and food, and finished after 3pm on friday. We had one 3 hour nap between outlet shopping and the mall. Did I get a lot of presents for others? no. But I did manage to score some excellent deals on clothes and a new purse for me!

After an exhausting shopping day, I definitely didn't get my Jillian in. Saturday was a washout too, I had a bridal shower, then cleaned the house a little before getting ready for my birthday party!!

My BFF Roomie & Kevin threw me a party!

Kevin and I at after dinner drinks

Sunday I spent the day cleaning to get ready to decorate for christmas!

The holidays are coming up so fast, it's really getting me thinking about the past year, and the year to come. I think 30 could be a pretty good year!

Happy 30th Birthday to me!

Have you entered my birthday giveaway yet?

Enter HERE by 12/5 midnight.

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Happy Birthday to Me!! (and a few giveaways for you!)

The day is here....

Today I turn 30!!

I'll spend the day celebrating with Kevin & I's families. I made delicious clean eating sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce.

I want to celebrate my birthday by giving YOU some gifts of my favorite things!

Here are the awesome prizes up for grabs...

1 Allied Steel Medal display hangar of your choice

1 Hydrapak Avila & a selection of Gu

A Road ID e-card and selection of Gu

4 winners (2 smalls & 2 mediums): Injinji socks and selection of Gu

Box of 16 mixed LARABARS

A big thanks to everyone for sponsoring my birthday celebration!

How to Win

please leave a separate comment for each entry!

Follow me on blogger, blog loving, or email

Follow Running to Health on facebook HERE & leave me some birthday love!

Visit Allied Steel HERE and tell me which hangar you would want

Visit Hydrapak HERE and tell me how a hydration pack could help your run

Go to Road ID HERE, and tell me which ID you love

Visit Injini HERE and tell me something you learned about toe socks!

Visit LARABAR HERE and tell me your favorite.

Spread the word! (twitter, facebook, blog) 1 for each!

Contest ends 12/5, midnight EST

good luck!

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Getting back to it...

Thanks a million for all your uplifting words from sunday & monday! I am pleased to report that I am working myself out of the funk!

Monday, I was planning for my 16 miler. I split it up into 2, 8 mile loops from my house so I could stop to refill water, stretch, etc.  I felt great & kept pace the first 8 miles, my knee & back started tightening up towards the end. I went inside, stretched, ate a honey stinger waffle (I was STARVING at this point), and refilled water bottles. I started dreading the 2nd loop. Bad thoughts were creeping into my head. 

What if my knee started hurting too bad?

What if I hurt myself more when I'm finally starting to feel better?

I have a million things I want to do today.

I am hungry & I don't want to do this.

I set out for that 2nd loop, but part way down my street, my heart and head just weren't in it. I turned around back to the house. Major fail? I don't think so. Instead of totally skipping the long run, I got 8 miles in. 8 miles with some good hills, and keeping good with pace. The rest of the day proved successful, as I hit the mall for holiday outfits, organizational buckets for my basement, and new bedding on sale for the guest room. monday = WIN.

Tuesday was another WIN, because it was my birthday!

I hit the gym for my tuesday speed work, and killed it. The last 2 intervals were tough, and I wanted to quit, but I stuck with it to finish. Awesome way to start my birthday. I got flowers delivered to work by the man with an amazing card. Nothing I love more than Flowers at work. I went for a massage, and my birthday gift from the massage place is an upgrade from 55 min to 80 min, sweet! I got home and Kevin had dinner ready with candles, wine, and john mayer playing. It was seriously the most romantic thing he's ever done and it was amazing.

Plus, in all my misery I forgot to mention my new ride!!

I bought a brand new Honda CRV last week and I'm in love. I just couldn't go another winter sliding all over the roads in my little Civic, and it was time for an upgrade.

This morning is TRX, then after work I'm going to get a head start on my dishes for thanksgiving. I'll share the plan later. Have a happy wednesday!

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Birthday Love

Today I turn 28, and it seems like no big deal. I haven't really felt anything eventful since 25 when I could rent a car, so I'm not thinking I'll feel any type of different until I hit 30 or so.

I Love all of my family, friends, bloggers, and facebookers that have wished me a happy birthday and care enough to send me a thoughtful message.

I Love that I am running longer & more often than ever. I have been consistent with my long runs for the first time ever & it feels amazing.

I Love knowing that I will kick ass & kill my time from last years Manchester Road Race on thanksgiving

I Love coming home to a nice glass of red wine

I Love that my mom is making dinner tonight

I Love that the stuff from Sephora I ordered, came in today

I Love my new Garmin. Thanks a million to Mike @ 26.2 is my cooldown. I used it on my long run yesterday & absolutely LOVED seeing all the results uploaded on my computer. I'll talk more about it later.

showing off my new favorite toy!

I'm busy making cupcakes (weird I'm making birthday cupcakes on my birthday, right?), for one of my patient's at work. His birthday is tomorrow, so I'm baking cupcakes for him and his roomates to throw a little party. Then I'm off to mom's house for dinner (I specifically requested no cake), and presents. Have a good night!

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Laying low...

It's been a busy couple of days, so I'm glad to be home relaxing tonight, and preparing for my long run tomorrow. 11 miles on the schedule, which will be my longest post surgery run so far. S is meeting me at 8am, with starbucks to follow the run. I have been charging my Garmin, and hoping that I can figure out how to make it work in time for tomorrow's run.

Last night, Kevin took me out for my birthday. Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, followed by a hot tub & massage, which was sooooo relaxing. So well needed, I almost fell asleep during the session! I worked this morning, then hit the gym because today is the first day of.....

I logged 6 points for the contest today. 6 mile ride (at the gym) = 2, 30 min elliptical = 2, 20 min strength = 1, and 7 servings fruits/veggies = 1.

I also signed up for.....

A Journey to Thin is hosting a sort of online Turkey Trot! I'm doing the Manchester, CT road race, which I think is about 4.5 miles on thanksgiving morning, so I will count that. That is the last scheduled race I have until New Orleans in february, and I'm a little disappointed. Maybe I need to start searching for more?

My mom asked me for a christmas list. So far I know I want giftcards to Road Runner Sports, either a bike attachment for my Garmin or a bike computer (any input on that?), a triathlon bag (in pink of course! looking for recommendations), a new running skirt from RunningSkirts.com, maybe a USAT membership, running clothes, some floating shelves for my living room (or other decorations), not sure what else. She likes a big list to have plenty to choose from. Any other suggestions?

I also just sent a couple emails to learn more about a couple of master's swim groups in my area. I really want to work on improving my swimming over the winter, but I know the snow and cold weather will keep me avoiding the pool. I figure if I have somewhere I'm expected, I'll me more likely to go, not to mention, I'd really like someone to give me some feedback past my swim lessons over 23 years ago.

Back to the DVR lineup & Garmin play!

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Success!

I am excited about a few things right now........

First of all, guess what arrived in the mail yesterday

I'm anxiously awaiting the moment that I have time to tear it open properly & spend some time figuring out how it works!

Second, today is my weigh in day, and I jumped on the scale to a happy 178! Down 3 from last week and into the 170s. I am jump up & down kind of happy, but now I just need to keep things in check over this weekend.

My birthday is Monday, which means it's time to celebrate with everyone. Tonight I'm going out to dinner with work friends, friday night with Kevin, and luckily I was able to push back a trip to the casino to next weekend with my girlfriends, instead of this one.

My knee is feeling better, I haven'y done any sort of work out since my long run sunday. I've been icing and friction massaging. Tomorrow I think I will try a little cross training and see how it holds up.

Wish me luck!

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Healthy Eating and Peer Pressure

If you are on a diet or simply enjoying a healthy lifestyle, than you probably know that peer pressure to eat foods that are not good for you is a major part of your life. If you are worried about the food that goes into your mouth, don’t worry—there are ways to overcome peer pressure. It simply takes a little know-how to get people off your back!

Parties are a major source of peer pressure, especially with alcohol. However, remember that alcohol contains hundreds of empties calories in just one drink. When you go to a part, people might be pressuring you to have a drink and relax, and it can be difficult to say no when they are constantly trying to convince you. Instead, offer to drive to a bar instead. This way, you re the designated driver, so people won’t want you to drink and, in fact, they will probably be purchasing you waters and maybe even helping to pay for your gas. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Another time when you may feel pressured to eat is at work when the boss orders lunch for everyone at a meeting or when you have to visit a client. Instead of giving in to temptation, simply politely decline the food by letting your boss know in advance or order a meal that is healthy and split the portion in half so you have a meal for tomorrow’s lunch as well.

Baby showers, weddings, birthday parties, and other special events can also wreak havoc on your diet, even if you are good at resisting temptation on your own. When someone hands you a piece of cake and won’t take no for an answer, it can be difficult to know what to say! Here, little white lies might be appropriate. For instance, saying that your stomach was upset earlier in the day will convince a person that you don’t want to eat at the moment or pretending to have a chocolate allergy will get people to allow you to enjoy the party without a hassle surrounding food.

Remember, however, that while refusing bad foods is fine, you should be eating good foods. If you do not, dangerous eating habits and disorders can develop, which will give you, your friends, and your doctor a real reason to worry. It’s ok to say no to peer pressure, but don’t say no to food in general!

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