5 Things I am lovin' - 1/24/2012

Here is another installment of 5 Things I am lovin'. 

1.  Jillian Michaels

source

I got the option to try Jillian Michaels website for free for 4 weeks.  I have always loved her on The Biggest Loser, but I have never been a big weights person.  Also, with the holidays finally coming to an end, I noticed my eating habits were less than stellar.  So I signed up and it's been pretty good.  I am not following it exactly, because most of her meals are not vegetarian or vegan, but it gives me an idea of how I should do my meals.  I think I need more protein in them really.  I am following for a balanced oxidier, according to her quiz.  Like I said, I am not going crazy trying to make what she is recommending, but using it as a guide to how much I should be eating.  And I have been adding protein to most of my meals and snacks.  It helps for a while, but I am just not a big protein person so after a week, I just want some cereal.  :)  I am also doing some of the circuit training she recommends.  I know I can't do 4 days of circuit training (being that I am running 3-4 days a week training for the half), so I am trying to do as many days as I can.  I usually can't finish it but I do as much as I can.  It helps me get in 3 days of abs though, so that is good. 

2.  Detox Salad

source

I found this recipe over at Oh She Glows a while back and have made it several times now.  It was a great way to start the New Year off right.  It is a delicious, nutritious salad that is nice and light.  It's a great way to start off a meal.  I make a big batch and it lasts for a week.  No one else in my family really cares to even try it (I might be able to get the little lady to try it if she sees me drizzle maple syrup over it).  I used my new food processor to shred almost all of the ingredients, so it didn't take nearly as much time as before.  I made it a couple of weeks ago already and can't wait to do it again.  Yum!  Thanks Angela for finding this one. 

3.  Multigrain tortillas

I am in love with these right now.  They are low in calories, multrigran, but soft!  I always find the whole wheat tortillas are hard and don't bend as easily.  Not these, they are great.  I can't say enough good things about them.  Oh, did I mention, they aren't expensive either.  I find them at Kroger in the international foods isle.  Stock up people, they are delicious!

4.  My new shoes

I love it when fashion intersects with mom friendly.  I scored these boots as a Christmas present for myself via Christmas money.  I love the no heel so I can wear them out and still run after children, carry them, etc. without having to worry about anything.  I went with brown because I already have a lot of black boots and I scored a sweet deal on them as well. 

I decided to get 2 new pairs of running shoes, my tried and true Mizuno Wave Creations, but also a pair of Mizuno Wave Riders.  The wave riders are over an ounce lighter but are still somewhat supportive.  Both were on sale (got the older version of both), but the wave riders were only $60 which is what pushed me to try them.  I have been running in them for almost a month and really love them.  Of course no long runs in them, but I will probably save my long runs for the creations.  Now those puppies have some cushion.  I have not had any feet problems since using my Mizunos.

5.  NBC's The Firm

As I was looking for a great picture of this, I found out that it is likely to be cancelled.  :(  The hubs and I did not start watching it when it first came on, but we watched a couple of episodes over the weekend OnDemand.  I personally fell in love with it.  I wasn't expecting to like it so much, but I am hooked.  I am so sad that more people aren't watching it.  If you haven't seen it, give it a chance and watch one episode. 

What are you lovin' right now?

Christmas/Birthday all in one

So I mentioned that Adam got me the Bob Duallie Revolution Double jogging stroller for Christmas.  I was so excited because I have been using my single jogging stroller weekly with Hope since she was 3 months old and absolutely love it.  We have not gotten any other double stroller, so this will likely be our only double stroller at least until we feel like we need another one.  We have seen people with this exact stroller in the mall as well as on the road so we felt like it was a good purchase for us.  We also got it on sale and online so we didn't have to pay for tax, shipping, and got the nice discount because they were coming out with a new line of Bob's, so they were trying to get rid of the older models.  Saved us over $125. 

I have not started running again but I have taken the kids on a couple of walks to get out of the house.  My first walk with both kids, and they both fell asleep. 

I was trying to get my walks in everyday, but I started having some additional pain and realized I was probably doing too much at home too, so I took a few days off and am now back to walking again.  My thought is to start doing some strength training/yoga around 2 weeks post partum (did it with Hope at 3.5 weeks pp) and see how I feel.  I will keep you abreast of my getting back into shape blogging. 

Happy birthday to me

Well with Aidan just a few days old and us just out of the hospital, it was a pretty low key birthday, but it was a wonderful one all the same.  When Hope woke up, Adam took her and Aidan downstairs and told me to sleep in as long as I wanted.  I was able to actually fall back asleep, but just for an hour.  But man that hour felt soooo good.  I got up and fed Aidan and then had some coffee with Adam.  Then Adam took Hope and they ran errands to buy my presents.  Now, I know some of you ladies can't believe Adam wanted that long to get my birthday presents, but he had planned to go out last weekend, but we were in the hospital, so all was forgiven.  Actually the fact that Adam took Hope to run the errands was so nice.  The house was so quiet.  Aidan is still in the newborn phase, so he sleeps a lot.  I was able to relax a lot, take a shower, eat lunch quietly and not have to worry about anyone else other than Aidan.  It was a really nice day for me. 

We had planned to have family over for dinner, but since Aidan came early, we cancelled and just did dinner on our own.  Adam made me breakfast for dinner, homemade waffles with NY maple syrup and mini breakfast burritos.  I was actually feeling kind of sick from everything, but managed to eat every last bit because Adam went to such trouble to make me feel special, I wasn't going to have him think that I didn't appreciate it.  

Most of my family did stop by during the day to drop off gifts, so I was happy to get a couple of the accessories (car seat adaptor and console) for the Bob Duallie I got for Christmas.  Yeah!!!  And then Adam got me some new pans because I was wearing out my old ones.  We went with stainless steel to see how it compares to the nonstick we have been using.  And then he got me some fun shoes that I had been eyeing.

I am not a huge cake person (but don't mistake that for not a sweet person because I totally am), so when I went to get Adam's birthday cake last month at our favorite bakery, I saw the gentleman in front of me order a half chocolate pecan tart that looked amazing.  I told Adam about it and not only did he remember, but he got it for me.  It is so good.

Yum, people, yum!  If you are in Atlanta, or specifically Decatur, I highly recommend this place.

And of course little Aidan wished his mommy a happy birthday.  :)

Happy 32nd to me!

To foam roll or not to foam roll

That is the question. 

I was thinking about asking for one of these for my birthday (which is next month), but I wasn't sure I would use it or what qualities to look for in a foam roller.  I was thinking it might help me out since my runs will be a bit crazy with 2 small children (yikes, did I just write that), and I thought it might help me with recovery.  So my questions are:

1.  Do you use a foam roller?  Why or why not?

2.  Which one do you have and why?

3.  If I get one, what do I need to look for in one?

Please let me know your thoughts!

New shoes and new pain

But they are not related.  My shoes were on sale back in early November so I had the hubs order them for me for Christmas.  They are the Wave Creation 11's but I got such a good deal, and I am not one who wants the newest shoe anyway.  Well I broke them out yesterday for me 1st road run of 2011, a hilly 5k in the neighborhood. 

The shoes felt great.  I love them!!!  See how white they are!

Unfortunately, have developed some groin pain during and after runs in the past week and a half.  I am not sure exactly what is causing it (other than a growing baby), but I have a doctor's appointment this week, so I plan to ask.  Please pray she doesn't tell me to stop running!

I have inquired on the internet and have found it to be 2 possible things:

1.  More round ligament pain
2.  Pubic Symphysis Diastasis (PSD)

If it's the later, I am not sure I can run anymore.  If it's the former, I might be able to continue to run at least some.  We will see what the doctor says. 

I have been running with a "maternity belt" since I was about 4 months pregnant, but my kind of "belt" (aka cut off panty hose) isn't doing much for my groin area I guess. 

Have you experienced this?  If so, any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Road ID

I forgot to mention a while back that I was looking into asking for a Road ID and a shoe pocket for holding my keys for Christmas.  Both I thought would be useful.  Well, I was reading my regular blogs, when I stumbled upon this post from Carolyn.  I thought I had better try for the giveway and I won!

I went online and saw that I didn't just have to get the wrist ID, I could get the shoe ID which had both my pocket for keys and had the personal information I was looking to add on there.  So I got the Shoe ID!  And I love it!  It's exactly what I was looking for. 

Here is a picture of my shoe with my first run with my shoe ID. 



And here is a picture of my running partner ready to tackle the pavement with her Goldfish in hand.  Such a cutie!!!

Road ID has several promotions so check them out.  You can usually get 10% of your Road ID if you play your cards right and it's not an expensive "toy" anyway, so go ahead.  It could save your life someday.  I just got an email and you can receive 10% off your entire purchase with this coupon code:  pcLASTCHANCE2.

Where to buy running shoes?

I have recently taken a look at my current running shoes and they are on their last leg. I have run almost 400 miles on them and they are wearing out. Where do you shop for your running shoes? I have gotten a few pairs at local running stores and Adam got me a pair online for Christmas one year. I was looking online, but haven't found any websites that had really good deals. I was fitted about 3 years ago by my brother-in-law (former NCAA runner, so he knows what he is talking about). My shoe of choice is the Mizuno Wave Creation. I love them! So I am not looking to change up my shoe, but I would like to get a deal on them, since they retail for over $135. If you know of any good websites or local Atlanta running stores that have good deals on my Mizuno's, let me a comment.

In other news, it looks like by the end of the week, we will be in our new house. The floor guy has finished the floors and the painter is coming tomorrow (Tuesday) to finish the bathroom. I am so excited to move into our new house. The only negative thing so far is that the gas range I want doesn't go on sale until June 13th, so we might have 2 full weeks in the house without an oven or stove. That might be some tricky cooking, but we will have our grill, so maybe we can make it work.