Like Father Like Daughter

Hey all… can you believe it is Monday again already? Where did the weekend go? What all did you do?

I’ll give you a recap of my weekend.  Nick decided to go down and visit his family so I was left to my own devices  for the weekend.  I haven’t seen my parents in a while so I decided to go and hang out over at their house for the weekend.

Besides all the awesome quality time one of the things I love about visiting my parents is running with my Dad.

As many of you already know, I am a pretty amateur runner while my Dad has been running my whole life.  I’ve been trying to increase my mileage and eventually would love to do a half marathon with my Dad.  I have one specifically in mind but I’ll save that for later 😉

Saturday morning we were up nice and early for a great run.  Like I have said before  my Dad pushes me which is exactly what I need sometimes.  Saturday was no different. We completed 3.62 miles! Now this might not seem that far, but for me this is the farthest I have ever run without stopping! I was so excited and so extremely proud of myself.

Since I have taken up running a little more seriously I decided I needed some new gear. My old shoes were over 3 years old!  I have been holding out on buying anything new in case this whole running thing turned out to be a fad I decided to do for 5 minutes and then change my mind.  Not that that has happened once before or anything.

So my Dad took me to his favorite running store called Runner’s High N’ Tri.  If you are from the Chicago area, I highly suggest visiting this store in Arlington Heights. They are rated one of the top 50 running stores in America and the staff is super friendly and extremely helpful.  They watch you run, walk and look at your old shoes to make sure you are fitted for the proper shoe.

I walked away with a new pair of Brooks running shoes.

The fact that they are pink doesn’t hurt either 😉

My dad was also so excited that I have taken up running (like father like daughter) he surprised me with a Garmin watch.  I have had my eye on one for about 2 months and he bought one for me.  I have the best Dad.  It is so nice when you are running outside to check your pace and distance.

Nick and I went on a nice leisurely walk last night so that I could try out all my new swag.

I said it was leisurely! 3.59 miles in a little over an hour.

I brought my camera with me and a nice couple asked if we wanted our picture taken.  Like I was going to say no?

The rest of Saturday was spent at dinner with my best friend and her parents and my parents.  We are all really close from living together for 3 years in college but haven’t all gotten together in I think a year.  Dinner was spent laughing, talking, and eating for over 3 hours! It was just what I needed on a Saturday night.  Shout out to her and her family.  Love you 🙂 (of course in bad blogger fashion I didn’t take any pictures).

So tell me about your weekend.  What was the highlight? 

Pick up any good new running or exercise gear? 

Any new restaurants? 

No Rest for the Weary Workout

So before I get into my major sweat session this morning, I have some really exciting news! Head on over to The Real Post Grad to check out my guest post! My FIRST one ever!  I’d definitely mark that off as an accomplishment for my blog!

But anywho on to the workout. No rest for the weary over here! Although I loved just sitting on my bum and relaxing all night last night it was time to get my sweat on. I always just feel so good after a workout.  Once the endorphin’s kick in it just gives me so much energy, clears my head, helps me sleep better… the list goes on and on.

Not only did I get my sweat on but I got my early morning sweat on.  I was feeling inspired by Tone It Up’s HIIT interval workouts lately so I decided to create one of my own.

30 minutes of pure intervals on the treadmill and I was a sweatin’.

Workout

Interval workouts are new-to-me and I love them.  I feel as though they really get my heart rate up while not being boring.  Plus if a particular pace is hard for me I know that I only have to run that fast for a minute or two. AND they are great calorie burners.  Double Bonus!

I will definitely incorporate these more into my workout routine.  How are you all doing with the Tone It Up Challenge? I’ve been hitting my HIIT workouts without a problem.  I plan to tackle some of their new toning workouts later this week in the gym.  Check them out here. 

Did you workout today? Do you like intervals or HIIT?

My Worst Frenemy

Before I get into the main post, today is a very special day.

Somebody has a birthday…..

I want to wish my amazing boyfriend Nick a very happy, special and wonderful birthday.  I love you 😀

So now on to my worst frenemy (don’t worry it’s not Nick)

Running.  It is probably the one cardio activity that is a huge struggle for me.  I’m used to a lot of activities in my life coming pretty easy to me but running is not one of them.  Go spin for an hour? Sure no problem.  Elliptical? Strength Training? Zumba? Check check check.  Go run for more than 5 minutes? Have you lost your mind?!

After joining the healthy living blog community (at least I would consider myself joined) I decided that I would give this running thing another shot.  Pretty much everyone on every blog was talking about running workouts, races they have run and half marathons they were training for.

To add to that my Dad is a runner.  He has been a runner for my entire life and has run several races including 2 marathons.  Yeah he’s pretty much the bomb.com.  I’ve always admired his running ability and thought it would be really cool to share in his hobby with him.

And so began my running journey.  Mind you I have only been running for a month or so.  The one thing that I have learned is that it is hard.  It takes a lot of mental and physical stamina, willpower, and determination.

I thought I’d share a few things that I have learned about myself and about running along the way.

Don’t focus on time: I will admit I don’t have a clue about running.  I’m not sure how to train, what gear to wear or any of the science behind running.  So when I started it was extremely intimidating.  I kept reading about people who had 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 minute miles.  I barely could even run a mile none the less in 8:00 minutes.  My miles are anywhere in between 10:30 and 11:30. I would suggest to new runners to not focus on time so much.  Just get the basics down before worrying about improving your speed.

Make it a Priority: When I first started running, I incorporated it into my regular workout routine.  Although I haven’t talked about it much on the blog until now, I have been running 2 to 4 times a week.  It builds up your strength and let’s your body adjust to the new workout.  But I promise if you keep up with it you will love the way it will make your body look and feel.

Walk: One of the best ways to build up to running is to walk!  Don’t be afraid to start out walking or to take a walking break during a run.  I was so intent on running 2 miles non stop that I would drive myself crazy.  You need to listen to your body and listen to when it needs a break.

Set a Goal: Although I haven’t quite registered for a 5k just yet it has always been my first goal as a runner.  It has given me the motivation to get out of bed at 5 am to go on a run.  I’m hoping to run my first 5k either in April or at the beginning of May.

Grab a Buddy:  I do a lot of runs on my own but I try to grab a buddy whenever I can.  I have forced I mean I have asked really nicely for Nick and my Dad to go running with me. (ok let’s be real my Dad was almost jumping up and down when I told him I wanted to run) It makes my runs so much more enjoyable and usually improves my speed and distance as well.

Well I hope that my advice can help other new runners.  For all you experienced runners out there pass along the tips! I need all the help I can get from training, gear, and upcoming races!

Happy Thursday 🙂

Finger Lickin’ Barbecue Chicken

Nick and I had some southern comfort food last night in the form of Bar -be-cue.  But before we get started on dinner I have some exciting news.

I had my first morning workout yesterday! Woohoo! I ran 3 miles all before 6 am. I’ve been contemplating switching to morning workouts for some time and yesterday I finally started.

I LOVED it! The extra endorphins gave me energy to power me through my morning.  Plus it was so nice to get it out-of-the-way.  It gave me so much more time to do things after work that I wouldn’t normally have time for like hanging out with Nick.

Here are a few tips that helped me finally make the switch:

1. Plans after work – My work schedule changes and when I have to work until 5 or 6 o’clock it gets really difficult to work out after work and then come home, make dinner, and lunch for the next day whew.

2. Setting my alarm – I am a really light sleeper so if I set my alarm for 5:00 am I’m bound to get up.  Usually I cannot fall back asleep once I’m up so I tell myself what feels better laying in bed or getting a work out in? Work out won this morning.

3. Relaxing more at night – Laying in bed in the morning dreading getting up I can’t help but think of all the extra time I will have later in the day if I just wake up and get my sweat on.

Any other morning work out-ers? What are some of your tips for working out in the morning?

So now on to the BBQ:

Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks

Yum yum nothing tastes more like warm weather than some good barbecue. Here is my recipe for these delicious chicken drumsticks.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of chicken drumsticks
• Barbecue Sauce (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray’s)
• 2 teaspoons Black Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon White Pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Pinch of garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut  the excess skin off of the drumsticks.  You might have to do a little maneuvering and cutting but it will come off I promise.
3. Combine the black pepper, white pepper, paprika, garlic salt, and sugar.
4. Rub this mixture over the drumsticks.  Please note that this rub will give the drumsticks a little kick.
5. Generously apply barbecue sauce to all areas of the drumsticks
6. Place on greased baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes.
7. After 20 minutes, flip the drumsticks and bake for another 20 minutes.

This is the tool that I use to apply the BBQ sauce. It works very well in coating evenly.

I served it alongside some sweet potato wedges and corn.

I followed Tina’s recipe for the sweet potato wedges.  However, I cut them a little thinner.  It tended to make them crispier which is how I like it.

And for all of your savy shoppers out there all of these drumsticks are organic and were purchased at Trader Joe’s for ONLY $2.57.  Now that’s a great deal!

What’s your favorite BBQ recipe?

When do you workout?

Happy Hump Day 🙂

P.S. Katherine is safe from elimination in Dancing with the Stars woohoo.