My Magical Journey to Running the Half Marathon TR Link! p.107

[carissanboys]

You are doing so, so well!! I'm so proud of you, and impressed with your determintation!

I just learned that my DH has picked me up a couple of aerobics videos, as well as a stayball and video! Hopefully that will add a nice variety into my weather induced exercise regimen.

Keep up the good work!!

Liesa

That's great! Having variety can be really nice. I tend to get bored easily.

W3 D1

Carissa, I am sooooo glad you told me about the oats in your smoothie. Like I told you on FB, I HATE, I LOATHE oatmeal. Growing up in my house, my Mom was a nurse and she was off to work very early, we never saw her in the morning. Dad got all 5 kiddos up every single day and all 4 of my siblings LOVED oatmeal
except Kar.

My (85yo) parents STILL to this very day make their hot oatmeal every single morning. Anyway, as I got older and started to do allot of reading about health and nutrition, every where I read said to "start your day with a dish of hot oatmeal due all its wonderful benefits".....ugh.

Now, you have given me an awesome idea to add it to my smoothie. WooHooTy!!! I am headed out later on to hit Whole Foods!!!!

I'm so glad, Karen! I can't take credit for coming up with the idea, but I hope you like the oats in your smoothies - or at least don't notice them!

 

[carissanboys]

What is everyone doing for the big game tonight? Even though my Patriots aren't in it, I'm still quite excited for the game. I'm really hoping the Saints pull off a win. It's always nice when a team wins for the first time.

The boys and I are just having a quiet little party at home. I wanted to come up with some food items that would be tasty, fun, but not too high in calories or fat. I decided on nachos and a veggie platter. I'll actually stick to a serving of tortilla chips and then top them with a taco meat (lean ground beef)/bean mixture, a small amount of cheese, and some salsa and then fill up on lots of veggies and a little bit of dip.

I made a low-cal version of Southern Banana Pudding for dessert. I haven't had anything "bad" in a few weeks so I figured I could splurge today.

Here's a picture of the finished product and the recipe:

Ingredients

1 box Fat-Free, Sugar-free instant Vanilla Pudding
2 cups skim milk (per the directions on the pudding box)
Graham crackers or graham cracker crumbs (found in the baking aisle)
Lite Cool Whip
1 Tbsp. margarine (I use Smart Balance.)
3 bananas - sliced
1/4 tsp. rum extract (optional)

Make pudding according to directions on box. Add the rum extract if you choose to use it. Let set in the fridge. Once set, add half the container of cool whip to the pudding and gently mix.

Melt the margarine and mix with about 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs. This doesn't have to be exact. You just want to be able to press the mixture together in the bottom of your dish to make a crust.

Place half of the sliced bananas on top of the crust. Pour half of the pudding/cool-whip mixture on top. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs. Place the rest of the bananas and then the remaining pudding. Sprinkle the top with a bit of graham cracker crumbs.

When you serve you can add a dollop of cool-whip to each serving.

I've tried coming up with the amount of calories for this dish. A rough estimate would be if you divided the dish into six servings, each serving would be about 300 calories - maybe a bit less.

 

[MHTeacher]

I love this recipe for banana pudding. This one is great when you don't have time to do the long, cooked pudding! Yummy!

 

[disneylovin24]

That looks yummy My family's just have pizza and dip, nothing too special since we just had a party for my uncle last night!! We're all cheering for Peyton Manning since Eli and the G-Men aren't in it

 

[OhMari]

1/4 tsp. rum extract (optional)

I love rum in drinks, but I hate desserts that have alcohol.

Me and my dh just did our taxes during the Super Bowl.
We could take or leave football.
Now if you want to talk Nascar-and
how Danica Patrick is going to do this year,
trying to be a Nascar driver-------
or just say the word Junior---

I did join a superbowl pool,
my number is 8.

Have a good evening with the boys.
That dessert looked really good,
my dh told me to get off the computer and go make it.

 

[carissanboys]

I love this recipe for banana pudding. This one is great when you don't have time to do the long, cooked pudding! Yummy!

Very quick and easy. And it was super tasty.

That looks yummy My family's just have pizza and dip, nothing too special since we just had a party for my uncle last night!! We're all cheering for Peyton Manning since Eli and the G-Men aren't in it

I knew you'd be rooting for the Colts.

I love rum in drinks, but I hate desserts that have alcohol.

Rum extract is just a concentration of the rum flavor, but doesn't really have much alcohol in it. I found it made it taste a bit like eggnog.

Me and my dh just did our taxes during the Super Bowl.
We could take or leave football.
Now if you want to talk Nascar-and
how Danica Patrick is going to do this year,
trying to be a Nascar driver-------
or just say the word Junior---

I did join a superbowl pool,
my number is 8.

Have a good evening with the boys.
That dessert looked really good,
my dh told me to get off the computer and go make it.

Not a Nascar fan here. Wasn't Danica in a near miss yesterday?

Thanks! I emailed my husband a picture of the pudding and he said one of his co-workers saw it and asked me to send some along. I said it would probably be pretty nasty by the time it arrived.


Yeeeehawwwwww!!!! So happy the Saints won!!!!!! They played their hearts out this season.

 

[All7OfUs]

That looks like a yummy dessert, but sadly I really don't care for bananas. I'll bet I could sub in some berries though, and I'd love it!

Mmmmm... with choco drizzle

 

[carissanboys]

That looks like a yummy dessert, but sadly I really don't care for bananas. I'll bet I could sub in some berries though, and I'd love it!

Mmmmm... with choco drizzle

I totally thought of you when I was putting this dessert together yesterday.

 

[All7OfUs]

I totally thought of you when I was putting this dessert together yesterday.

I had a feeling you might be after that topic was fully explored over on my thread. But I have a confession. Sadly pudding is another thing I can't stand. So that's a double whammy for me. Pudding can be salvaged by adding some texture to it (for me) like cookie crumbles or something like that. Heavy on the cookie, I'm saying. I'm so NOT a picky eater, and it's funny that the only 2 things I really don't like at all would come up within a matter of hours here!!

 

[carissanboys]

I had a feeling you might be after that topic was fully explored over on my thread. But I have a confession. Sadly pudding is another thing I can't stand. So that's a double whammy for me. Pudding can be salvaged by adding some texture to it (for me) like cookie crumbles or something like that. Heavy on the cookie, I'm saying. I'm so NOT a picky eater, and it's funny that the only 2 things I really don't like at all would come up within a matter of hours here!!

Well, this recipe does have lots of graham crackers in there. But, this recipe isn't healthy in the least. It's low-cal and low-fat, but not something I would make often. I don't like using artificial sweetners like what's in the pudding mix. But, for a once in a while treat it was okay.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Good Morning Carissa.

I was rooting for the Saints too...I'm a sucker for a good underdog story! I'm so glad they were able to pull out a win!

We stayed home as well, and like you, I tried to find snacks that I could enjoy and not overindulge. I ended up making homemade hummus and veggies and Jeff made Nachos for the boys. We also had the little hot dogs..they make those in turkey so they are about 1/2 the calories of regular. Not bad...I missed my chicken wings but not too much!

Today we are celebrating my 40th birthday and, not being a cake lover, I decided I wanted tiramisu for my birthday treat. Jeff found a low fat recipe and made it for me this morning...mmmm...can't wait to dig into that later. It may not make it until everyone is home!

Have a GREAT day!

 

[carissanboys]

Good Morning Carissa.

I was rooting for the Saints too...I'm a sucker for a good underdog story! I'm so glad they were able to pull out a win!

We stayed home as well, and like you, I tried to find snacks that I could enjoy and not overindulge. I ended up making homemade hummus and veggies and Jeff made Nachos for the boys. We also had the little hot dogs..they make those in turkey so they are about 1/2 the calories of regular. Not bad...I missed my chicken wings but not too much!

Today we are celebrating my 40th birthday and, not being a cake lover, I decided I wanted tiramisu for my birthday treat. Jeff found a low fat recipe and made it for me this morning...mmmm...can't wait to dig into that later. It may not make it until everyone is home!

Have a GREAT day!

Happy Birthday, Missy!!!!! What a special birthday to be celebrating!!!!



Enjoy your day and your tiramisu!

 

[jmskinner]

I was rooting for the Saints too. Not a big football fan, but love to watch the Superbowl and all the commercials. Always root for the underdog, but when I do they normally lose. So I never said who I was rooting for, actually the second half of the game I started playing with FB and next thing I knew TOUCHDOWN. But no cheering here, nope, didn't want to jinx it.

That pudding does look good, but I don't eat banana's either. I hate the aftertaste.

Ok, have to do a run this afternoon since we didn't go yesterday.

 

[glennbo123]

I had a feeling you might be after that topic was fully explored over on my thread. But I have a confession. Sadly pudding is another thing I can't stand. So that's a double whammy for me. Pudding can be salvaged by adding some texture to it (for me) like cookie crumbles or something like that. Heavy on the cookie, I'm saying. I'm so NOT a picky eater, and it's funny that the only 2 things I really don't like at all would come up within a matter of hours here!!

This is so funny....I didn't even know you had a thing against bananas until a day or so ago, and now they're turning up on several threads. Tonga Toast on tinkgurl's, banana pudding here.




Carissa, we had Auntie Anne's pretzels....Judy got a kit to make them at home (don't know if you have that pretzel chain where you live, but they're in malls and places like that). You can make them the usual, with salt, or dessert pretzels, with sugar and cinnamon. We went with the dessert ones. Then we had taco dip and guacamole, jerk chicken nachos, and ice cream. Now that's a well-balanced Super Bowl feast.

 

[DisMomAmy]

What a great game!! Congrats to the Saints!!

Happy Birthday to Missy!!

 

[eandesmom]

Traditionally I make Chili for the Superbowl but did not yesterday as I have my dinner club tonight and that's enough cooking and cleaning for me! So I made Pizza Soup instead. The boys did make nachos and we were very happy about the Saints!

I have no banana issues. It's funny though, I used to adore pudding as a child (could have LIVED on tapioca or Jello chocolate pudding) and now am mostly meh about it. Panna Cotta though...another story entirely!

As a result, I've never made it for my kids!

 

[carissanboys]

I was rooting for the Saints too. Not a big football fan, but love to watch the Superbowl and all the commercials. Always root for the underdog, but when I do they normally lose. So I never said who I was rooting for, actually the second half of the game I started playing with FB and next thing I knew TOUCHDOWN. But no cheering here, nope, didn't want to jinx it.

That pudding does look good, but I don't eat banana's either. I hate the aftertaste.

Ok, have to do a run this afternoon since we didn't go yesterday.

I hate the way my teeth feel after eating a banana.

Are you on week 2 or still doing week 1?

This is so funny....I didn't even know you had a thing against bananas until a day or so ago, and now they're turning up on several threads. Tonga Toast on tinkgurl's, banana pudding here.




Carissa, we had Auntie Anne's pretzels....Judy got a kit to make them at home (don't know if you have that pretzel chain where you live, but they're in malls and places like that). You can make them the usual, with salt, or dessert pretzels, with sugar and cinnamon. We went with the dessert ones. Then we had taco dip and guacamole, jerk chicken nachos, and ice cream. Now that's a well-balanced Super Bowl feast.

Yes, I know Auntie Anne's. I'm not a big pretzel lover, but I bet the sugar and cinnamon ones were good. Sounds like a delicious feast at your house!

What a great game!! Congrats to the Saints!!

Happy Birthday to Missy!!

Hey Amy! I did the Hula Hoop workout on the wii today. I think I did about 3 or 4 rounds. Wow - that's quite a workout!! I was moving pretty fast by the end trying to beat my previous scores. I did unlock the jack knife challenge today! And I realized I wasn't sitting up enough when I was doing them before. I sure felt them today! But, I won both of my challenges.

I think I've decided I don't really like the Biggest Loser workouts. I just don't find it fun. I'm going to send it back to Gamefly and stick with wii fit plus until my EA Sports Active arrives.

Traditionally I make Chili for the Superbowl but did not yesterday as I have my dinner club tonight and that's enough cooking and cleaning for me! So I made Pizza Soup instead. The boys did make nachos and we were very happy about the Saints!

I have no banana issues. It's funny though, I used to adore pudding as a child (could have LIVED on tapioca or Jello chocolate pudding) and now am mostly meh about it. Panna Cotta though...another story entirely!

As a result, I've never made it for my kids!

Pizza Soup sounds yummy and pretty healthy? Would you mind sharing the recipe?

 

[All7OfUs]

That pudding does look good, but I don't eat banana's either. I hate the aftertaste.

Woohoo! Another intiate into the no bananas allowed club.

This is so funny....I didn't even know you had a thing against bananas until a day or so ago, and now they're turning up on several threads. Tonga Toast on tinkgurl's, banana pudding here.

It is funny! Who'd have thunk, I'd have to deal with my nemesis the banana so much in the last days.

Today we are celebrating my 40th birthday and, not being a cake lover, I decided I wanted tiramisu for my birthday treat. Jeff found a low fat recipe and made it for me this morning...mmmm...can't wait to dig into that later. It may not make it until everyone is home!

Happy, happy Birthday!!! Now Tiramisu is one dessert I could eat all day long!!! Oh the rapture of eating coffee flavored, full-on fat mascarpone, laced with Marsala, heaven on a plate!! WITH NO BANANAS!!

 

[carissanboys]

Happy, happy Birthday!!! Now Tiramisu is one dessert I could eat all day long!!! Oh the rapture of eating coffee flavored, full-on fat mascarpone, laced with Marsala, heaven on a plate!! WITH NO BANANAS!!

Tiramisu is one of those desserts that sounds yummy to me, but I don't love the taste.

Where has the day gone????? I can't believe it's 6:30 already. Workout, lunch, school, library, dinner. Can't say I mind our days flying by at this point.

 

[carissanboys]

I came really close to talking myself out of my run today. I think I've mentioned that I suffer from migraines. Mine are hormonal so twice a month, like clockwork, I have one. The last few days I've been fighting one off by taking medicine. I woke up at 4 a.m. and thought I was getting one, but I was able to keep it away.

I also woke up sore. Yesterday, before I quit the Biggest Loser, I did some core exercises. One of those were squats where you twist your body after you come back up from the squat. I am sore in places today that I have never been sore in before. All along my right side, towards the back.

The funny thing is, once I get on that treadmill, I don't even notice my aches and pains.

Yesterday, I was perusing the W.I.S.H. events board and saw they were having a virtual 5K/10K Valentine's Day race. I took the plunge and comitted to doing the 5K. I figured it would be a fun way to attempt my first one and just see where I am and how far I need to go. I am a bit nervous about posting my time since I know I will be slow, but I need to not worry about that.

~ W3D2 ~

Today I had the virtual 5K in my head. I did my warm-up at a faster than normal speed and I also increased my speed for my 90 second intervals. I was able to do my first mile in under 15 minutes, but that was with a 5 minute warm-up. When I do the 5K, I'll warm-up first before I start.

Doing my 90 second runs at 4.5 feels good. I have no problems when I'm doing it, except for a bit of soreness/tired feeling in my legs. The problem arises afterwards because going faster just zaps all of my energy. I was only able to run a very small portion of my second three minute run. My legs felt like rubber. I did throw in an extra 90 second run towards the end to make up for it.

Overall, I felt it was a great workout for me. I was dripping sweat by the time I was done. But, I admit I was a bit discouraged. I'm struggling so hard just to make a 15 minute mile - and there's no way I could sustain that kind of effort for very long. I know it's silly for me to be discouraged by this. I've only been "running" for 3 weeks.

The thing is, I've always considered myself a fast walker. Even when I'm just walking around a store, I walk fast. I have found the past few weeks to be humbling for me as I realize I'm really not that fast. In fact, I'm quite slow.

Running a 5K, let alone a 10K, or heaven help me, a half-marathon, seems daunting. I know, I know - I need to focus on one step at a time. One of the reasons I wanted to start running and challenge myself this year is because I'm a quitter. When something becomes too hard, I quit. I want to prove to myself that I CAN finish something no matter how difficult it is.

"Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul."

~ Douglas MacArthur

My totals for today:

Speed: 3.5 --> 4.0 for warm up, 4.5 for 90 second jogs/4.2 for 3 minute jogs/3.5 - 3.8 for brisk walks, 3.5 --> 3.0 cool down
Duration: 30 minutes
Distance: 1.9 miles