Wordless Wednesday!

So much training today that I need TWO lunch bags to carry all my food! Less than 3 weeks to go til Boston!!!!

Kill 5 birds With One Stone With This Breakfast Idea!!

Not to toot my own horn here, but I just baked this totally kick a$$ breakfast thing. It's high in protein, is loaded with veggies, has lots of Omega 3 and calcium and iron. I baked it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees in an 8x8" pan. After it cooled, I cut it into 4 squares. I'm going to toast some whole wheat bread and make it into a breakfast sandwich. I never follow recipes and I rarely measure things so not exactly sure how much of everything I added, but the ingredients are:
-8 organic, omega 3 eggs (**4 whole eggs and 4 egg whites)
-About half a red pepper (raw)
-About half an orange pepper (raw)
-Some chopped red onion (raw)
-Maybe 2 cups of raw organic spinach, chopped
-Milk (maybe like 3 seconds worth?)
- All-natural, uncured Applegate Farm ham (2 slices)
-All-natural, low-fat Cabot brand mozzarella
-Sprinkles of pepper

It's about 3/4" thick. After cutting them I placed them in a square container and popped em in the fridge. All set for breakfast tomorrow and Tuesday!!

Enjoy!

I Finally Found a Protein Bar I like!!!

Hi all, happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Things are going well here, my Boston Marathon training is going really well so far and my foot is getting better each day.

A couple of weeks ago Ryan and I got some free protein bars in the mail from PureFit. PureFit bars are all-natural, gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, vegan, kosher and high in protein. I have been looking for an all-natural protein bar for years now and haven't found too many that I like or that I believe to be TRULY all-natural. To be honest, I had low expectations about PureFit bars solely because I had never heard of them before. And then when I found out they were wheat-free, dairy-free etc., I wasn't expecting much.
The first bar I tried was called "Almond Crunch" and it was delicious! I actually felt sad as I was eating the last bite. The next day I tried "Berry Almond Crunch" and the day after that I tried "Peanut Butter Crunch." All 3 flavors were great!! Here's what I like about the bars aside from the taste:

-18 grams of protein

-SIGNIFICANTLY less saturated fat than the protein bars I ate before. These have as low as .5 grams (the other bars I was eating had 5 grams).

-Decent size bar!

-Bar is slightly moist, much easier to eat than the chalky bars I was eating before. Also, sometimes those thick/heavier bars are hard to swallow after a hard run.

-Less sugar than other bars (and the kind I was eating before)

-No after-taste

-These bars won't melt and they won't freeze (unlike the bar I was eating before, it either melted or froze in the car, making it impossible to eat mess-free after a race!)

Unfortunately there are not many stores in my area that carry PureFit bars but I can (and already did) order more online (directly from PureFit or through Amazon). Each bar is $2 or less, depending on where you order them from.

I don't know if PureFit bars will ever be at a marathon expo any time soon but if you get the chance to try these bars I highly recommend them!!! I know protein bars aren't for everyone body but if you are looking for a good option this is definitely one to try!!

Have you tried PureFit bars before? What kind (if any) do you typically eat?

Why Does This ALWAYS Happen??

Soooo hot and itchy!!!!! No matter how much I cover up I Always get an itchy stomach after winter runs!!! Ahh. You too??

How Do You Display Your Medals ???

In the past, we've just hung our medals on doorknobs, or random nails that happened to be in our apartment walls. However, for this Christmas, Miss Bethany decided that she wanted to get a medal hanger for the wall, but she didn't really see anything that she liked enough to buy. On Christmas morning, Bethany's dad surprised us with homemade medal hangers that he had made from scratch. It was one of Bethany's favorite Christmas presents. Bethany's plan is to display only the current year's medals on the hanger (as seen in the picture below). My plan is to just put my favorite medals on the hanger, regardless of year. 

The hooks turn up on the ends, allowing for multiple medals to be hung on each hook. Each rack has 12 hooks on. Both racks read "13.1 NAME 26.2," it's hard to see Bethany's because it's in pink, the exact color pink as her bike. We love our medal hangers and maybe someday we'll get a few more to hang around the house.

We've made a running wall, with our medal hangers, and around the hangers are photos from races. 

So how do YOU display your medals?!

Also, GO PATRIOTS!

Us with the AFC Championship trophy! 

Disney Marathon Weekend Recap

Well I guess it's better late than never. Here's our 2012 Disney Marathon Weekend Race Report. This year we did the 5k, Half-Marathon, and Full-Marathon. It was Bethany's 7th Goofy Challenge, Ryan's 2nd Goofy Challenge, and Bethany's parents' 1st 5k ever!!

The 5k was fun, we walked (with some jogging interspersed) with Bethany's parents. We all stayed together and we all had a great time!! Bethany will be running the 5k with her mom during Disney's Princess Half Marathon weekend in February.

The half-marathon was easy and laid-back. Bethany and I ran together, and just kind of enjoyed each other's company. We ended up running something like 2:12, and finished feeling good and strong, ready for the full marathon the following day.

Unfortunately, somehow, Ryan got really sick the night before the marathon. He was up and in the bathroom all night. At 2:30am I ran to the store at the hotel and bought a bottle of Pepto-Bismol and some Pepto tablets. Ryan was feeling like crap and was pretty weak but decided to head to the start of the marathon regardless. Even though he was sick all night, he did NOT appear to be dehydrated so I was comfortable with letting him start the marathon. Ryan did not eat anything for breakfast and during the race all he ate was some Sport Beans and a tiny piece of chocolate. He was drinking water and was staying hydrated. Obviously he had no energy and wasn't feeling too well so we knew it was going to be a slow day. Our pace pretty much just got slower and slower (until mile 24.5 when he turned it on and I was having trouble keeping up with him!!!) We ended up finishing in 5:30:49. It wasn't pretty at all but we got it done!!! I know what it feels like to run a marathon on COMPLETE EMPTY and it sucks! Not easy at all and anything but fun. Overall, Ryan did a great job and is one tough cookie!! Thank you, Pepto-Bismol!!!!!

All four of us before the 5k. 

Family Fiesta 5k Start Line. Three Caballeros. ¡Ole!

Ryan during the 5k, with Epcot in the background.

Miss Bethany's first day of facepaint on this vacation. She is a big kid, and her inner child comes out at Disney World.

Ryan after the full-marathon. He had MAJOR stomach issues all night before the race, was up sick in the bathroom, and it took 5 doses of Pepto to get him through to the finish line. Grueling, but we made it. 

Feeling a little better after a post-race nap.

Day 2 of Miss Bethany's facepaint, this time at Disney's Hollywood Studios. 

Ryan with Kermit-style Mickey ears. Ryan LOVES Kermit and the Muppets.

Miss Bethany going ballistic in the arcade. Our favorite silly game was "Go Ballistic." So silly, but we won over 3,000 tickets. :-p

So sad to leave Disney, but Miss Bethany will be back next month for the Princess Half Marathon!

Perfectly Goofy Streak Continues!

Ryan and I finished another Goofy's Challenge today. It was #2 for Ry and #7 for me.
Poor Ryan almost didn't make it to the start of the marathon! He was up sick all night last night and he wasn't even sure if he could physically run but we stuck together and he did it. It wasn't pretty but he made it. Will post a race report soon!
Congrats to all finishers!!