Hi 5:15am. Nice to meet you.

Those who know me well know I love sleep. I love sleep so much I could marry it. I love to flip my pillow to the cool side, sigh contentedly as I drift back to sleep after the alarm goes off and I've hit snooze for the 3rd time.

However, when it comes to my morning runs this often leads to me being pressed for time, rushing out the door and not properly warming up or stretching. On Sundays I wake up at least 1 hour before I want to begin my run. I eat some toast and jam, drink a cup of coffee and really wake up before I head out for my run. I decided to apply this to a week day run, that meant waking up at...

5:15am

Wow. The only time I get up before 6am is if travel is involved. This morning I only hit snooze once at 5am and then got out of bed at 5:15. My coffee was brewing, I made some toast and I sat down and watched the news. I caught up on some blog reading, played around on facebook. Then, after I finished my toast, I cleaned up the house a little, I was full of energy and it was 6:15, time to run. It was raining, so I headed to the gym and...



pounded out an AWESOME run! I felt better, ran harder, had enough time to warm up...it was as good as my Sunday runs. I can't wait to see what happens to me this afternoon and this evening...will I crash? I guess I'll have to wait and see, but if it means running well and feeling good, I think 5:15am and I might just become friends.

I don't know if you noticed a new edition to the side of my blog right over there --> but I've jumped on the FormSpring wagon. Feel free to ask me anything either by using the box provided or clicking here. I'm not at all interesting though...you've been warned. :)

Last night's dinner of crockpot BBQ chicken was tasty, but not really worth the calories, so I'm not sharing it. I'm looking forward to modifying tonight's dinner. It's a recipe I found for Lentil & Sausage Soup. I tend to like my lentil soup more stew like than soup like but I love the idea of putting pasta in it. I'm also going to use Smoked Turkey Sausage as well. Yummy! We'll see what it becomes. I still haven't had to break down and go to the grocery store. I haven't been in almost 2 weeks! Yay for pantry items! I really miss fresh fruit and produce though, I'm officially (aside from some carrots) out.

Ok, I need a new run mix so I want to know...What is your "Get Pumped" song?

Right now, what's been working for me is Korn - Freak on a Leash

Everyone has one...a song that comes on and you can't help but feel amped up and ready to go. No matter how silly...I want to know! Please share! :)

Way Back Wednesday

To start, I would like to take a moment today for Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie. I love the show The Deadliest Catch, my husband and I watch it all the time. He died yesterday from complications of a stroke. He was 53 years old. So sad, he was young.


I'm writing this entry to "If you leave, don't leave now...I won't waste one single day..." you know the 80's song? When I was growing up a radio station would do "Way Back Wednesdays" on the radio and play only 80s music. I loved it! I don't know what I was reminded of that right now, but for some reason I was and I thought I'd share it with you!

Last night for dinner I had Crispy Italian Chicken with tomatoes and I tried something new.



At 1 point per serving, I was really excited to try this. It was...ok. Great in a pinch for a last minute side dish, but not something to write home about. I find the flavor sort of bland, the vegetables a little too soft and not very appealing to look at. I brought the leftovers for lunch today, so it wasn't inedible. Just not as great as I'd hoped.

My chicken turned out alright, you basically coat the chicken in a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, cook it in a skillet for 3 minutes per side and then throw it in the oven at 450 degrees to finish off. Then, in the hot skillet you just let 1 cup of cherry tomatoes cook until they begin to pop. It was a pretty good dish, but again, nothing spectacular.



Meal planning is going really well for me though. I plan all my meals for the next week on Friday night (I know, I live a CRAZY life!) and make my grocery list. I reduce all recipes to 2 servings (since I cook only for myself) and then I have dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. I'm not getting tired of anything and I'm saving a lot of money at the grocery store. I'm also succeeding in Battle Operation Freezer. I think this is a habit I will stick with. Tonight I'm making (for a 2nd time) Roni's Dried Herb and Yogurt Marinated Pork. I made it before and loved it!

What's your favorite 80s tune? If not the 80s, what's your favorite "Way Back" song?

Hey, I know that girl!

Did you guys see OperationBeautiful.com today? If so, you can say "I know that girl!" That's me, well, my back, and my Operation Beautiful note I wore on my first 5k. If you aren't familiar with Operation Beautiful, go spend some time there. You won't regret it.

I had 2 great runs since we last talked. I have been at training this week and with the holidays I just feel like I'm going, going, going non-stop and when I do stop, I drop on the couch. Thank goodness for my training runs, they get me in the gym as it's been really cold (well, cold for here) I have started mixing in some weight training again. I forgot how much I enjoy that.

I wanted to share my latest gym mix, this gets me through a 2.5 mile treadmill run and about 40 minutes of weights.


(I don't know why this is so tiny, but if you click on it, it gets a little bigger...sorry I don't have time to fix it today! :p)

It works great and kept me dancing in between the weight machines...luckily I had the gym to myself because no one needs to see that. :) The new Adam Lambert CD "For Your Entertainment" is AMAZING gym music!

Well, I'm stealing time from work to write this blog and with the conference I just attended I haven't been in here for 3 days and I'm writing this from under a pile of paperwork, kinda like this guy:



Happy Friday!

My Kick Bootay Mix

So, I put together a playlist this week that has been amazing! This thing has kept me going even when I totally didn't feel like it. I pushed myself harder and at some points I was even semi-dancing on the treadmill, I couldn't help myself. I thought I'd share it, so, here it is.

1. Mutemath - You Are Mine For stretching before hand
2. The Bravery - Time Won't Let Me Go
3. Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up
4. Mutemath - Typical yeah, I know, Mutemath twice...but I like them
5. Rise Against - Re-Education (Through Labor)
6. Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow (Club Version)
7. Britany Spears - Circus
8. Metro Station - Shake It
9. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Pen & Paper
10. Incubus - Dig
11. Pink - Long Way to Happy
12. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
13. David Cook - Come Back to Me

It's amazing, when I'm not working out, I couldn't imagine listening to Britany Spears. I'm just not that big of a fan...but it's great for working out! :)

So, there it is. I give you my "Kick Bootay Mix"!