Plan March 31-April 6

Monday
Total body cardio
Run
Tofu scramble on pita
Smoothie with fruit
Sunshine bowl
Fruit
Kung Pao Tofu FFV

Tuesday
Upper body cardio
Bike
Swim
Breakfast sandwich
Smoothie with fruit
Kung Pao Tofu 

Fruit

HH cajun Chickpea patty

Wednesday

Run

Tofu scramble on pita
Smoothie 
Chickpea patty
Fruit
HH crabcake

Thursday
Pilates
Bike
Swim
Breakfast sandwich
Smoothie with fruit
Crabcake salad
Fruit
Gardein Chickn Wrap

Friday
Cardio
Long run
Tofu scramble on pita
Smoothie with fruit
Gardein chickn wrap
Fruit
General Tsos Tofu TK

Saturday
Dirty 30 cardio
Watershed cleanup
Breakfast sandwich
Smoothie with fruit
Big green sandwich
Fruit
General Tsos Tofu

Sunday
Yoga
Protein muffins VD
Smoothie with fruit
Leftovers
Fruit
BBQ sweet potato burgers LBB

HH- Happy Herbivore
VD- Vegan Dad
LBB- Lunch Box Bunch
TK- Tasty Katie http://tastykaitis.blogspot.com/2011/08/general-tsos-chickn.html
FFV-http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2011/10/27/kung-pao-vegetables/

I am back to high intensity for my exercise program.  I am hoping that this week, the weather will clear up enough for me to get out there and run as much as I want to. Twice, this past week, I went to go for a run, and the weather was not cooperative.  I guess this winter has been too long, I am just not tolerant of anything that is NOT SPRING.

I realized I have not been talking this year very much about what I've been reading, so I've re-activated my long neglected goodreads account.  I'm currently reading The Scorch Trials, the second book in the Maze Runner series.

Mia and I this last weekend took a trip up to Frostburg, MD. On our way, we had lunch at The Loving Hut, an all vegan cafe in Falls Church, Va

Our Frostburg visit was great, and I was pleasantly surprised about how many veg and vegan options the cafeteria had. When I was in college, our dorm cafeteria options for vegetarians were salad bar, cheese pizza, and pasta everyday.  Here, there was a veg corner, and the vegan options were clearly marked. I got a salad, some hummus, and they had a soup station with broth and things you could add in. I had the lemon thyme soup with rice, tofu, and peas.

A not-quite spring Spring Break

Here's a review of my Spring Break in Pictures:

On Tuesday, Rob and I toasted Manhattans in memory of my Uncle George.  I was sad I couldn't make it to NE for the funeral.

My St. Baldrick's T-shirt arrived- On April 27 I will be shaving my head with my friend Cari in support of Children's Cancer Research. If you're interested in donating to St. Baldrick's, you can find my page on their site: stbaldricks.org

For my birthday, Rob was a good sport and went for an early morning run with me.

Lily and I did about 3 and a half miles. The weather was beautiful.

We had lunch at Everlasting Life Cafe- mmmmm- Vegan Soul Food!

Then we went to paint pottery.  We're running short on the smaller plates in our cabinets, so we each painted those.  

My plates are part of my vegan dish series.

Mia's

Rob's

I wanted to see the Muppets, so Rob bought us tickets to the matinee.  Unfortunately, he accidentally bought tickets for the movie Divergent, instead.  So we watched that one in the morning, and came back that evening for the Muppets.  Both were great movies, and we had a really good day.

Tuesday's dinner this last week- vegan Rubens with asparagus

My lunch on Wednesday, an arugula salad and an iced coffee.

Emily (vegan-veins on tumblr) sent me a great vegan shirt, with a lovely note and acrostic poem included in the package.  What a sweetie!

Also this last week, it snowed (again).  We all went to see the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Ford's Theater, and Mom and I saw the Gay Men's Chorus performance of Von Trapped at the Lisner.

All in all, this week has flown by.  I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow!!

Plan 3/24-30

Monday
Total Body Cardio Fix
Run 3
Mini Tofu fritattas (http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/mini-tofu-frittatas/)
Protein shake with fruit
Big Green Sandwich (THRIVE)
Apples & carrots
Falafels & Pita

Tuesday
Upper Body Fix
Bike 15
Swim 1
Breakfast Sandwich
Protein shake with fruit
Falafels & Pita
Peanut/tempeh salad
Avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich

Wednesday
Lower Body Fix
Run 3
Mini Tofu fritattas
Protein shake with fruit
Avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich
Apples and carrots
Sweet potato veggie BBQ burgers (http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2013/03/spin-on-sweet-potato-veggie-burgers-bbq.html)

Thursday
Pilates
Bike 15
Swim 1
Breakfast Sandwich
Protein shake with fruit
Sweet potato veggie BBQ burgers
Peanut butter, vanilla, coffee protein shake
Banana

Friday
Cardio Fix
Run 6
Mini Tofu fritattas
Protein shake with fruit
Road trip

Saturday
Yoga-on-the-fly
Walk
Breakfast wrap (peanut butter, banana & tortilia)
Protein shake
Road trip

Sunday
Yoga
Maple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal (OSG)
Protein shake with fruit
Salad
Rice and Beans bowl

OSG- Oh She Glows cookbook by Angela Liddon
THRIVE- Thrive cookbook by Brendan Brazier
Yoga on the fly:

Rest week is over, I'm back to my hard-core training.  Next up, a 10 mile race in April, and another half-marathon in May.

Spring has finally sprung in the SOMD region (and if you're going to tell me that rumor about more snow this weekend, step back, I might just punch you in the nose!) and I couldn't be happier!

Aunts and Uncles

Let's take a moment today to appreciate our Aunts and Uncles.
Aunts, who always tell you that you're looking skinny, who take you out for cinnamon rolls, and to whom you can talk to.
Uncles, who tried really hard to convince you that chocolate milk came from brown cows, and was certain that there was a fire on your back on chilly days.
I have been very lucky to have fantastic Aunts and Uncles, all around, but Aunt Penny and Uncle George were always the closest to me.  They're my godparents, and played an integral part in my life growing up.
Tonight, though I raise my Manhattan to Uncle George, I also think about my fantastic Aunt Penny, as well as other Aunts and Uncles- mine and others', whom I have been fortunate enough to know.

Pre-Race Jitters

If you went back in time, two years, and told me that not only was I about to take up running, but also that I would one day be running in the National Half Marathon, I would have laughed at you and told you that you were nuts.

But today, I visited the Expo at the Armory, and picked up my race bib and swag to do just that.

I am super excited, but also super terrified!

Anyway, the Expo was fun.

I picked up my race bib- which comes with a ticket for a free post-race beer!

I was happy to get a VIP sticker so that I can POTTY LIKE A ROCK STAR.  They apparently have some special port-a-potties with minimal lines for people with these stickers.

I even splurged and bought myself a fancy new watch- which will track all sorts of data for me- including intervals, distance, steps, elevation, etc.  

I will be posting my progress through competitorwireless' runner tracking.  Those posts will be on my Facebook page.  If you want to receive texts, just let me know, and I can add you to the list.  Remember, I'm slow.  My projected finish time is 3:20.

Half marathon recap, and Plan March 17-23

Happy St. Patrick's day, Happy Spring break, Happy my birthday week!

I will be taking today and Monday totally off, since I ran the half marathon on Saturday! I think I deserve it, do you?

Speaking of the half marathon, I want to tell you how great it was! The race was really well organized, and a ton of fun. I loved the course, except for the hill in mile 6, it was beautiful. They had tons of race support, and music along the way. I got a nasty calf cramp around mile 11, and walked most of 11&12, but still finished in less than my projected time. I actually was able to finish the course in about the same time as I can do it by myself on my flat trail, so I am really pleased with that.

It was dark and chilly Saturday morning, but people started amassing on the mall around 6 am.

With so many people, I'd heard the portapotties were danger, but luckily, I got a VIP POTTY sticker. Were you ever curious what a VIP portapotty looked like?

The toilet paper even had the sponsors name on it.

Mom took my Before picture while we hid from the wind.

Finally, it was time to line up. With 25000 runners, they did a wave start, so I didn't actually start running until after 8 ( the race started at 7:30). It was well handled, and allowed everyone to find their own pace.

I finished in just over 3 hours, while my projected finish time was 3:20, so I was pretty proud of myself.

I gave up alcohol during my last 3-1/2 weeks of training, so that beer at the finish line tasted great!

Anyway, on to my plan. This is my spring break, so I have the week off. I am hoping to get caught up on all my grading, get a pile of letters of recommendation written, read a lot, maybe clean my house. Many of the recipes I'm using this week are from Angela Liddon's new cookbook, Oh She Glows. I'm  taking a couple of days off, but will ease back into training mid week. I have another half coming up in May, and a ten- miler in April to prep for! What do runners do when they're not training? I have no clue...

Monday

St. Patrick's day

Green monster smoothie OSG

Cereal

Leftover tempeh beet salad

Fruit

Irish seitan porter stew with dumplings and brown bread VM

Tuesday

Upper body Fix

Hike with dogs

Massage (a birthday gift from my friend, Cari!)

Fruit smoothie

Leftover stew

Veggies and hummus

Tempeh Reuben

Wednesday

Run

protein shake

Tofu breakfast sandwich

Tempeh peanut salad

Winesday- life affirming nacho dip OSG

Thursday

Pilates

Bike ride? (if the weather improves)

Pb and strawberry smoothie

Breakfast scramble

Tempeh peanut salad

Quick and easy Chana Masala OSG

Friday

Happy birthday to me!

Run (3.9 miles sounds like a good goal!)

Smoothie

Bagel and coffee

Muppet movie

Everlasting Life Cafe

Pottery Painting

Saturday

Total body Cardio

Smoothie

Sandwiches and fruit

Shamrockfest (I'm hoping I will find some vegan goodies on a food truck)

Sunday

Yoga

Vegan French toast TVS

Kitchen sink salad (using up leftovers)

TexMex casserole OSG

Did I tell you guys I won my triathlon challenge? It was awesome, I finished out way ahead. It was really fun, too, so you may notice that I am continuing the training. I will do the Gunpowder State Park Triathlon in the fall.

Here are some pictures of food from this past week:

Korean BBQ Tofu bowl with cabbage and asparagus

Veggie wraps, with more asparagus

From Sammy T's in Fredericksburg, VA, a Tempeh Beet salad

Carb- loading the night before the race at District of PI with a vegan cheese, beyond meat, artichoke hearts, and olives. Then we went to Ford's Theatre to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

After the race, lunch at Stcky Fingers DC.

Cupcakes to share from Sticky Fingers DC.

Dark picture of Roasted Portabello and Quiona with mom and old friends after seeing the Gay Mend Chorus perform Von Trapped (an all-male Sound of Music) at District Chophouse.

My coveted hand pie from Sticky Fingers, in bed with a cup of coffee the day after the race.

OSG Oh She Glows-Angela Liddon's

VM http://veganmiss.blogspot.com/2011/03/irish-festivities-stew-brown-bread.html

TVS http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com/2011/03/vegan-stoners-orange-french-toast.html

Snow days

Teachers and students alike agree that the occasional snow day is a lovely gift. Even a couple of days, once a year, is neat to have. Sometimes it is nice to be trapped inside, catch up on reading, sleep in, watch movies, bake cookies.

This year, though, it has gotten out of hand.

Yes, Winter, you're very pretty. Now shut up and go away! How am I supposed to run two half marathons and a ten mile race this spring if I can't leave my house?