Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

You Might Be a Blogger If…

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You might be a food blogger if…

…You make party-goers wait while your mom holds a burning tray of so you can take a pic of your triple chocolate red velvet birthday cake cupcakes.

 

…You get unnaturally excited that you got an action shot photo of the Souper Jenny employee adding bacon whipped cream to the tomato tarts.  Yes, it was as fantastic as it sounds.

…Your new favorite band is a the hodge podge of chefs that jammed out after all of the food was eaten at the Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival.  Chef Ford Fry can rock a festival and a guitar, yo.

…The only thing that is more exciting than tomatoes prepared 50 different ways on a Sunday is getting to hold your best friend’s beautiful new 6 lb 11oz and 19.25 inch baby.  Welcome to the world, Jackson Gregory.

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Last week was crazy at work and this weekend with all the festivities!  I’m looking forward to getting back on track this week  – both in the kitchen, in terms in my routine, and catching up blogging/blog reading!

 

The weekly recap tradition lives on!  Check back later in the week for a new leg workout – it’ a good one!

 

Workout Recap (7/10-7/17)

  • Monday – Legs, stationary bike 30 mins, 84 push-ups
  • Tuesday – 6 mile run
  • Wednesday – Biceps/Back, 2 mile intervals, abs, 84 push-ups
  • Thursday – 4 mile run, 84 push-ups
  • Friday – 84 push-ups
  • Saturday – 50 mins kickboxing
  • Sunday – 4 mile run/walk, 4.27 mile run, 84 push-ups

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 Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes!  The birthday weekend was incredible – I wish you all could have been there too!

Do many of your friends have children?  

Do you like to take them on outings and spoil them?  I can’t wait! 🙂

 

Overpronation, Procrastination, and WIAW

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Active.com is a great resource for runners.

 

I enjoy their weekly emails with tips on issues such as: how to fuel your body, preventing various injuries, and working out in sweltering heat.

 

Today’s email included an interesting article on overpronation.

Overpronation is when one’s ankles roll inward too much.

 

 

It is widely believed that this can lead to over-use type pain or injury (shin splints, joint pain).  Many people (myself included) get specially fitted for running shoes and/on inserts in hopes to correcting the “problem.”

 

Today’s article from Active asserts that corrections for over pronation should not always be made.  They say:

“…doing so can and often does result in one symptom going away and another, usually a more complicated one, developing elsewhere.”

 

Here’s what really resonated with me:

Often over pronation is the symptom of another problem.  Most common is a lack of normal ankle range of motion.  If the foot/ankle isn’t bending properly, the knee is restricted and can’t “travel forward enough for the body to move its center of mass over the foot.”

The result?  Overpronation.  That pronation causes the knee to drift to the midline, which means the hip turns excessively inward.  Snowball.

Correction through shoes and inserts either a) doesn’t work or b) makes the underlying cause worse because the overpronation “is a needed compensation for a lack of mobility elsewhere in the body. Taking this compensatory element away without first addressing and correcting the true underlying cause will inevitably force compensation (frequently accompanied by pain) in another part of the body.”

Source: http://bestrunningshoereport.com/

Source: http://bestrunningshoereport.com/

So what should you do?

See if you over pronate with a squat test.  Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and attempt a squat.  Are your knees bent 90 degrees or less?  Are your heels still on the ground?  Are your feet still forward (not turning outward)?

No?  If you can’t do the squat correctly, the article says your foot pronation is likely “due to inflexibility of your ankles and that is what should be corrected.”

Bottom line: Before you go out and buy special shoes or inserts, see a professional to have a complete evaluation (pelvis, hip, knee, ankle and foot) done by a professional.

On to my actual Wednesday eats in honor of WIAW.

1 day later than usual due to procrastination/over-sleepiness rather than the pursuit of true Wednesday eats.

Breakfast

Banana Green Smoothie

  • Vanilla protein powder
  • Maca
  • Banana
  • All-Bran (lots of it!)
  • Peanut butter
  • Spinach
  • Coconut milk
  • Cinnamon
  • Vanilla
  • Water + ice, to taste

Lunch

Lightlife Buffalo “Chicken” wings, celery, and cucumber

Salt + Pepper Pop Chips – how did I wait so long to try these?!

Snacks

Kombucha, plum… and a BlackBerry

Similar to breakfast, but with a chocolate casein protein powder

Dinner

I made spaghetti squash and topped with tomatoes AND…

Angela @ Oh She Glows’ Creamy Avocado Sauce.

If you haven’t made this before, you are missing out on some serious creamy deliciousness.  Sooooo good.

My modifications:

  • Added red pepper flakes, nutritional yeast, and red onion
  • Subbed 1 T of coconut milk for the EVOO
  • Used just 1 clove of garlic
***

Don’t forget to enter my Exceed earbud giveaway!  These are pretty awesome – I’ve never even felt like they were going to fall out.

 

It’s my birthday eve!!!  The bad part about being an adult is that I still have to work all day.

What do you think about pronation?

Do you over or under pronate?  Have you even been evaluated?

Hear This: My First Giveaway

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Thanks everyone for all you comments about my earbuds yesterday.

 

 

Auria has offered to giveaway a pair of their awesome earbuds to one of YOU!

They are donating a pair of EXCEED ear buds (the fancier version of my PROVOKES).

 

Like I said yesterday, I love running with these because they fit my (small) ears.   They don’t go IN your ear canal; rather, they sit at the opening of your ear canals.  This contributes to safety, as external sounds can still be clearly heard without compromising sound quality.

 

This set of earphones also features: 

  • Finger-touch volume control
  • Integrated microphone to make calls (works with iPhone 4/3GS/3G, Blackberry and Androids)
  • Function button to control audio/video and answer/end calls
  • High-quality audio
  • Black mesh carrying case sized to hold most smart phones. 

 

To enter the giveaway, do each of the following and leave a separate comment letting me know:

  • Leave a comment telling me what song pumps you up to go one more mile or what color ear buds you would like (black, white, black with hot pink)
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet about the giveaway (you could say something like: “#GIVEAWAY @Sprint2theTable is giving away a set of Aria EXCEED earbuds http://wp.me/p16jDn-B3“)

The giveaway will end ON MY BIRTHDAY: Friday, July 15, 2011 at 11:59 EST.

One winner will be announced via my blog on July 16th, 2011.  You must provide me with your contact information to win.


This Bud’s For You

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Apparently I have tiny ear canals.

 

Finding ear buds that stay in my ears while running has been next to impossible.

I’ve purchased pricey ear buds that come with various sized rings to place around the buds to no avail.  They still bounce right out of my ears while I’m running.  Or the sweat builds up and they slide out.  That’s hot.

 

At the expo for the Peachtree Road Race this year I came across a booth selling the alleged fix to my problem.

Auria uses an XFit technology that claims to keep earphones in place, resist sweat, provide quality audio, and still allow for surrounding sounds to be heard (safety first, y’all).

 

The buds “rest on the cushy parts of ears called the tragus and the anti-tragus… ECO rings work to optimize the fit of our earphones to individual ear shapes.”

True story – my abnormally small ear canals are proof.

 

They don’t actually go IN your ear; the speakers reside at the opening of you ear canals.  This allows external sounds to be heard (important if you run in a busy, traffic-filled city like I do!).  Surprisingly, this doesn’t compromise one’s ability to hear the music – presumably since the speakers are still right at your ear canals.

I did run with these in the Peachtree.  They worked like a charm – MUCH better than the others I was using.  Lesson learned.  Other lesson learned: chewing gum while I run makes me look challenged.

 

They also offer fancy models that have volume controls, microphones, and iPhone controls.  I opted for the basic Provoke model, as I am ghetto and just run with my iPod Shuffle.  I’m also cheap – these were only $23.99.

 

***Disclaimer: They didn’t give me anything to write this.  Not even a damn discount.  I just think it’s a great product.  However, if they do want to send me free stuff, I’ll gladly accept. 🙂 ***

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Today I didn’t really cook anything – I blended protein shakes, washed veggies for salads, and paid restaurants (first slice of cake on birthday week – woo hoo!).

Other than this beautiful, delicious salad:

Spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, chickpeas, mustard + red wine vingar

 

I don’t have anything earth-shattering to share food-wise.

Instead I’m sticking with the running theme and sharing the least embarrassing parts of my current workout playlist with you.

Yes, I have been known to listen to music with explicit lyrics.  Followed by Sarah Bareilles.

Lately I get most inspired to crank out another mile by Sugarland.  I love Wide Open, the song they wrote for the last Olympics.

“Every life has a moment where sweat meets fate / On your mark, get ready, get ready now…”

***

Speaking of, I’m off for a morning run.  Olympic sprinter-style in my head.

What gets you pumped to go another mile?

Have you found any running accessories you couldn’t live without?

Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

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How in the world was I exhausted at 10 pm last night?

I’m a night person!  Then I remembered I left the house at 730am to play in a softball tournament and only came home long enough to shower and shovel one of these in my mouth.

My team didn’t win the tournament, but the game we lost was one of the most memorable I’ve had.  We went into overtime and lost… but the adrenaline and the plays made by my team were over the top.

We were down by 5 with 2 outs.  One girl got hit in the nose with the ball, bled a lot, and then came back into the game to bat so we didn’t have to take an out for her spot in the lineup… and she got a great hit!  Sadly, we still lost by 1. 🙁

In keeping with my new weekly recap tradition, here’s was last week looked like:

Workout Recap (7/4-7/9)

  • Monday – Peachtree Road Race – 10K – 51:08 mins
  • Tuesday – Yoga for Runners, stationary bike 30 mins, 84 push-ups
  • Wednesday – Biceps/Back, 5K run, 84 push-ups
  • Thursday – Intervals (2 mile treadmill, 1 mile elliptical), 84 push-ups
  • Friday – Tris/Chest, P90X Ab Ripper X, 84 push-ups
  • Saturday – 5 mile run (in 40 mins!!!)
  • Sunday – Softball tournament, 84 push-ups

NuNaturals was nice enough to send me some goodies to test out.

The package came with recipes, but I’ve had my eye on these Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies from Gracie @ Girl Meets Life.

It’s not often something so good for you tastes so decadent.

These are gluten-free and vegan.  The added bonus is that they are low-sugar.  If you omitted the chocolate chips, they would be sugar-free – you could do that and thrown in come walnuts for banana bread cookies.

NuNaturals Pure Liquid Vanilla Stevia drops worked like a charm.  My cookies were appropriately sweet and I didn’t notice an aftertaste.

Coconut flour has been a recent addition to my pantry.  I’m loving it.  You have to be careful as it has a different feel than “regular” flour, but it adds a smooth, almost silky texture to baked goods.

Some benefits of coconut flour:

  • Good source of fiber – At 58% insoluble fiber, it has the highest percentage found in any flour
  • Guilt-free baking (nearly… the other ingredients are your business 😉 ) – Insoluble fiber means your body doesn’t digest it (translation: your body can’t derive calories from it); these fibers basically magic eraser their way through you intestines doing what fiber should do to keep your digestive system healthy
  • Gluten-free and hypoallergenic – Many people without a serious gluten allergy and moving towards a low-gluten diet.  Subbing coconut for some of your regular flour is another way to cut down on gluten intake.  For those that do have an allergy, you can use this with rice flour to improve textures.

Be warned that coconut flour is very dry and doesn’t bond well.  Remedy this by adding binders like bananas or eggs to your batter.  This can also be accounted for by using subbing in place of just 1/4 to 1/2 with a “regular flour.”
Keeping that in mind… welcome to cookies so silky and light you won’t be able to stop eating them.  Which is fine, as they are pure doughy deliciousness at only 86 calories a pop.

 

Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 3/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium banana, well-mashed
  • 14 drops NuNaturals Pure Liquid vanilla stevia
  • 1/2 T coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp butter extract
  • 1 C unsweetened coconut milk (So Delicious-style)
  • 1/3 C dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Set aside.  
 
In a medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.  Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry, stirring as you go.  Fold in chocolate chips.
 
Scoop out 2 T of dough on lined baking sheet, pressing down lightly.
 
Bake for 25 mins, until cookies begin to brown.  Allow them to cool completely (they are crumbly!).
 
Makes 11 cookies.

Approximate nutritional info: 86 calories, 4.2g fat, 11.1g carbohydrates, 3.8g fiber, 4.9g sugar, 2.1g protein.

***

Important Announcement: it’s my BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!!  Woot!

What is new to your kitchen as of late?

Peach Cucumber Gazpacho

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Working out can actually help alleviate soreness.

DOMS soreness

That’s what “they” say anyway.  So I got up and ran a looooong 5K distance yesterday in hopes of working out some of that delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) from Monday’s Peachtree Road Race.

Stats:

  • Distance – 3.14
  • Time – 25:31 mins
  • Pace – 8:06 mins

DOMS is the pain/stiffness you feel 1-2 days after a tough workout.  It refers to the little tears in the muscle rebuilding after you’ve broken them down – and it is an important part of the muscle-building process.  Light exercise, easy stretching, and massages are all good ways to alleviate DOMS.

Note: DOMS is not to be confused with injury or pain from doing too much too fast.  If you’re experiencing that soreness, you need to REST.

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The food you eat post-workout is also important.  Lots of nutrients are a must – I like to load up on protein, fruits, and veggies.

Peaches are all over my Peach State right now.  The season is ON and sweet, juicy peaches are everywhere.

Fun fact: after the July 4th Peachtree Road Race they hand out peaches in addition to the usual bananas and bagels.

For lunch I decided to use some of the peaches my grandfather gave me from his trees in a soup.  With a side of (not pictured) chicken.

This chilled gazpacho is a great light, summery started or side dish.  The serrano adds an unexpected bit of heat on the end of each crisp, sweet bite.

I didn’t add sugar/honey/agave, but you certainly could if you like a sweeter soup or your peaches aren’t as flavorful.  If you aren’t a fan of heat, reduce the amount of or leave out the serrano pepper.

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Peach Cucumber Gazpacho

  • 1 large peach
  • 1/3 C cucumber, peeled and diced
  • 1/4 C yellow pepper, diced
  • 1/2 oz goat cheese
  • 1 T apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, sliced in half
  • 1/2 serrano pepper
  • 1/8 C cilantro
  • 1/4 C coconut milk (not canned – the So Delicious variety)
  • S+P, to taste

Combine sliced peaches, cucumber, yellow pepper in a medium bowl.  Add the goat cheese, vinegar, olive oil, a couple shakes of salt, and garlic clove.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove the garlic from the mix and throw away.  Pour the remaining contents of the bowl into a blender and add serrano pepper, cilantro, and milk.  

Puree until smooth and creamy.  Season with salt and pepper;  you may also add agave or honey for a sweeter soup.  

Refrigerate until well-chilled, allowing flavors to combined (at least 2 hours).

Pour into 1-2 bowls and enjoy!

Makes ~1 cup.

***

A HUGE thank you to everyone for the comments you made in response to yesterday’s post.  You guys made my day so much better. 🙂

What do you do to recover after a hard workout?

Mexican Sweet Potato Salad + WIAW

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Have you guys been watching all of the Casey Anthony news?

I’m no lawyer, but I am shocked she was found not guilty.

 

How is it that people who are so terrible and that don’t contribute good to the world walk around alive and free?  Why are people who were amazing human beings, who gave back, who cared for others are taken too soon?

Mr. Billy Joel, why is it that only the good die young?!

I should probably have warned you that today marks 3 years since my dad was taken by cancer.  3 very fast years.  It’s hard to believe…

 

Not.  Fair.

Maybe I write about it too much, but my dad had continues to have such a huge impact on my life.  Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him.   On the 4th I ran the Peachtree Road Race wearing a ribbon (orange for leukemia) in his honor.

A big FU to the people out there who are just taking up space or – even worse – are harming others.  You’re lucky to have the opportunity to live.  Don’t waste it taking from others. 

***Stepping off soap box***

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Lucky for anyone reading this today is WIAW! I have something less depressing to post about!

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Breakfast

These Apple-Carrot Muffins I made a few months back are awesome.  Super filling, especially with the massive glob of PB I iced it with.

 

Lunch

Garden Lites Zucchini Souffle.  These are surprisingly good for frozen food!  Thanks to the egg, they are pretty filling as well.

Even though I microwaved it, the edges were a crispy (read: not rubbery) texture.  The egg helped make the inside of my souffle fluffy rather then mushy like any frozen meals.

Snacks

Pretty standard – I was super busy at work.

Side note: my dad used to love Think Thin bars.  He liked Chocolate Fudge, but I think Chocolate Toffee is the only way to go.

 

Dinner

I was underwhelmed by my dinner out, so instead I’m going to share a particularly delicious salad I ate this weekend.

It is no secret that I do NOT like white potatoes.  I do not like thick french fries, potato salad, mashed potatoes, twice baked potatoes.  I just don’t, Uncle Sam I Am.

 

The 4th of July is a potato salad-centric holiday… so I made a version that I like!

 

Obviously, it had to be Mexican-inspired.  Nothing says 4th of July like México.

Spinach also must be incorporated.  It is my salad.  Bwhahaha!  Of course there was cheese – I used Daiya
pepper jack but honestly it didn’t nearly spicy enough.  Use regular pepper jack if you eat dairy!

This was a winner.  The spices made the salad taste “special” and I was able to join the potato-salad eating.  Mine was better than that white potato stuff.

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Mexican Sweet Potato Salad

  • 1 sweet potato, baked and cubed
  • 1/2 C black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 small tomato, diced
  • 1 C spinach
  • 1/4 C red onion, diced
  • 1/4 C pepper jack cheese (I used Daiya) 
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp coriander
  • Juice from 1/4 lime
  • Drizzle of EVOO
  • S+P, to taste

 

Prepare first 6 ingredients and mix in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Whisk remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.  Adjust spices to taste.

Pour vinegarette over salad and toss to combine.  Enjoy!

Makes 1 entree ensalada or 2 sides.

***

Tonight I’m looking forward to a meal by a chef you may have seen in Food & Wine. 🙂

Does it make you made when justice isn’t served?  

Do you think karma will take care of it in the long run?

 

There Ought to Be a Law

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There ought to be a law against going to work the day after the 4th any holiday.

 

At least  I have yesterday’s appearance on the Food Buzz Top 9 to boost me this morning!

That hummus really was good.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who buzzed me and WELCOME to new visitors!

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Yesterday’s Peachtree Road Race was really good.

I ran the world’s largest 10K in 51:08.  A new PR!

A time under 50 mins would have been awesome, but I can’t complain about anything sub-55.  And I finished in plenty of time to cheer on a lot of the finishers. 🙂

 

Post-race I met up with some good friends and enjoyed brunch their company.  Brunch was terrible – they ran out of EGGS, which meant I didn’t get to eat much of anything until 4 hours after finishing the race.

Fine if you run out of food, but at least tell me so I can order something different.  Like the spine my stomach was eating.

 

We made up for it in beverages fun at the next location.

The sign didn’t lie – it was the bar we were looking for.

Diesel (870 North Highland Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, 404-815-1820) provided a knowledgable bartender and possibly the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had.

The D’Yer Mak’Er consisted of mozzarella, roasted tomato goat cheese, swiss, cheddar & bacon on rye.  The rye made the sandwich… YUM.

 

How about some icing on the grilled cheese cake?  Watermelon beer.

Our awesome bartender recommended this Hell or High Watermelon Beer by 21st Amendment after I requested something with flavor, but light.  Not too much alcohol content (who really needs an 11% alc beer?).  Not too sweet.

It hit the spot.  I thought the watermelon would make it too sweet for me, but it was much lighter than many of the “berry” flavored beers out there.

The watermelon flavoring was more “real” than candied/artificial.  It is a wheat beer, but remains light and crisp Nice amount of bubble.  Nothing overly complex, but a refreshing beer after a long day.

***

It rained last night so no fire works for me… the 9.5 hours of sleep I got instead was incredible.

How was your weekend?  Did you get to enjoy a race and/or fireworks?

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