Christmas Break Days #2 & 3: Let the Fun Begin!

     Hey guys! I would have posted yesterday, but we got into Jamie's parents place later in the evening and they don't have internet. I'm currently sitting in a Starbuck in Ukiah to write this. 

DAY #2

     So, yesterday we got up pretty early and headed out. Nevada consisted mostly of barren flatland and rolling hills, but it was beautiful in its own special way, especially as the sun rose. The rest of our time spent driving through it was relatively uneventful, but there were some fun photo opportunities during my driving breaks.

     We crossed the border into California around noon.

     And it wasn't long after that we were stopped and checked to see if we had any "contaminating" or "illegal" items in our cars.

     We were fine. =)

     Our next stop was off of exit 184 for Donner Pass Road. It was a totally random choice; we just needed a place to stop and stretch our legs out. However, we ended up finding some pretty cool places to check out...

Like an epic health food store! =)

DAY #3

     The plan was to sleep in, but  ended up waking up and going for a nice run with Jamie's dog, Chief at 7:30am. When I got back I was able to enjoy some of the California fruit that Jamie's folks had bought for us. I grabbed some strawberries, bananas, dates, and coconut water, through it all in the blender, and made myself the BEST fruit smoothie I have had in a long time.

Honeydew, pineapple, persimmons, oranges, mandarines, 

clementines, strawberries, bananas, etc.

     Afterwards we played with the dogs and hung around the house a little bit before taking Jamie's horse, Arnie, out for a buggy ride! I even got to steer him for a couple of miles. =)

   
     A couple hours later we came back, had lunch, and headed out again. We stopped off at Glen Eden trail to check it out. We only trekked a half mile  up and then raced back down, but we plan on going back there later this week and hiking the whole thing.

     Then we stopped of at the Blue Lakes and a Bison ranch.

     And that sums up the day. It's about time for dinner so Jamie, Johnny, and I are going to go head out and find some food. Tomorrow we'll be heading out to Fort Bragg to spend the day on the coast. I can't wait!

The rest of my race photos and video came in yesterday. I complied them all together into one video on my youtube account, but I'm also placing the stills in this post as well. I've got two more races this spring: an 11K on April 22nd, and 3.2 mile run + obstacle courses (the Warrior Dash). I can't wait! =)

Spring is Coming, Spring is Coming!

     Today was my first day back from Spring Break, and what a beautiful day it was indeed. Classes kept me indoors for the first half of the day. However, this afternoon I was able to go for a short 4 mile trail run at Turner Lake Park. Turner Lake is probably my most favorite place to run because it's only 5 minutes away from my house, and the only other trail runs are 30+ minutes away. Today was perfect running weather: 72 degrees, a slight breeze, clear skies, and trails bursting with fresh spring flowers and greenery!

   Turner Lake's trails are a perfect place to work on increasing my running speed, strength, and endurance.  Today I chose to hilly route and aimed "power through" the hills, pushing to go as fast as I can up them, instead of slowing down (which is what my legs and lungs wanted me to do, but I told them no and kept going. LOL),

   After I got home and took a shower I had just enough time to grab a dozen dates before accompanying my mom to the grocery store. I had promised her that I was going to make her a special raw vegan dinner, and we were out of a couple ingredients that I needed. When we got back my mom was famished, so I quickly set to work on preparing some Jicama Nori Rolls.

   This delicious meal is salt free and 100% raw vegan, and best of all, my mom adored it! It's hard for me to come up with savory raw dishes that she likes, mostly because her taste and mine are so different. I was just so happy that I was able to concoct a recipe that was tasty, healthy, satisfying, and raw.

My mom is camera shy when it comes to putting her face on the internet.

 However she did allow me take a photo of her chopsticks, 

getting ready to tuck into her meal.

   This recipe will be featured in my our upcoming health & lifestyle/recipe book, as well as my LFRV recipe book. So stay tuned to find out the secret ingredients to my special Jicama pate! =)

   Now, once my mom was settled into her food, I wasted no time in whipping up a fruity green pudding smoothie.

Kiwi, Mango, and Spinach (a dinner that Popeye would love)

   The rest of my evening was filled with homework, returning emails, and working on my recipe book. It was only just a few moments ago that I realized how late it is; this time change had really thrown my internal body clock off. It's amazing what a difference just one our can make isn't it? Oh well, hopefully by the end of the week I'll be back "in tune" so to speak.

Snow Day turned Ice Week

  
     What a week it has been so far. Sunday night brought loads of beautiful snow and to my great pleasure classes were cancelled for Monday. I spent that day running and playing in the snow, enjoying all the beautiful cold white fluffy goodness! Alas, the beauty swiftly turned into a nightmare.

     Tuesday the beautiful snow turned to thick sheets of hard glass-like ice. It's now Thursday and the ice still isn't gone! Today was actually the first day I was able to drive because of the roads being so bad. It was just in time too; I was going stir crazy being stuck at the house for 3 days in a row. The ice was so menacing that I couldn't even go running outside. My one attempt to do so resulted in me almost breaking a leg. Fortunately I have only a few bruises to show for my idiocy.

     On the bright side, being cooped up gave me plenty of time to work on our (my mom and mine) book. I mean one can only watch episodes of Murder She Wrote so long before becoming desperate to do something more productive. And don't think that just because I couldn't be physically active in the ways I wanted to be deterred me from continuing my training. I decided to use this time stuck inside to work on some of the muscle areas I don't normally focus on such as my abs, glutes, thighs, and arms.

With just a mat and a pair of 5 lb. weights I worked up quite a sweat. . .

Monday

• 1 hour playing in the snow (e.g. snowball fights, walking, running, snow angel making)
• 100 crunches
• 20 push-ups

Karate Dude

Tuesday

• 100 crunches
• 20 push-ups
• 30 minutes of stretching with some random yoga moves thrown in.
• 50 squats (ouch!)
• 20 minutes weight lifting

Vibram Foot Prints

Wednesday

• 5 minutes Mountain Climbers
• 50 squats (double ouch!)
• 30 minutes weight training
• 20 minutes stretching
• 1 minute intervals running in place (5 rounds/reps)
• 100 crunches
• 20 push-ups

By late morning today the sun had been out long enough to melt sufficient amount of ice for my to go to the gym where I finally got RUN!!! :-D

Thursday

• 60 crunches with a seated abdominal machine 
• 6 reps of 10 on the abnominal twisting machine
• 45 minutes run (5 miles)
• 5 minutes stretching

     With all these high energy workouts I have been one hungry girl. Some of the food I've been enjoying these last few chilly days. . .

     I hope all of you guys are staying warm, healthy, and happy out there. Until next time! :-)