Random Thoughts

Let me start with running stuff....afterall, this is supposed to be a running blog! I've had 2 runs since the super duper sucky run on Friday and I am confident that it was just one of those days. On Sunday, I ran 4 miles around the 'hood. I'd love to tell you my pace and time, but my Garmin crapped out on me after only 9 minutes. In those 9 minutes, my average pace was 10:27 though. I don't know what's up with the Garmin. I tried to turn it on again once I was home and it would come on for a second and then turn itself off. The next day, I tried turning it on again and it stayed on for 3 hours. This Garmin stuff is becoming really annoying! I think that means I need a 405, hehehe! My hubby would probably disagree.

On Monday, I was doomed to run on the dreadmill. Since I haven't received this week's schedule from "the coach", I decided to follow last week's schedule again. I did the same 3 min hard/1 min easy (x10) workout as last week, but this time I increased the incline on the treadmill to 2.0. My final results - 1/2 mile warm-up, 4 miles at a 10:18 pace, followed a 1 mile cool down. Definitely slower than last weeks 10:04 pace, but maybe that was due to the extra effort required by increasing the incline. Regardless, it felt great!

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You might remember when I posted my version of the "green monster" protein shake here. Well, I quickly grew tired of that shake and found a couple of interesting recipes in the hubby's "Ab Diet" book. Since I didn't have all the ingredients for the ones that sounded good to me, I combined a couple of recipes and came up with this:

1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon chocolate syrup (you can use 1 cup of pre-made chocolate milk instead of these two ingredients)
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 1/2 cups spinach (fresh, not frozen)
1 banana
1 teaspoon chopped almonds (I use a 1/2 teaspoon of almond butter instead)
1/2 scoop of chocolate flavored protein powder
2 tablespoons of vanilla yogurt
ice (the recipes only call for 6 cubes, but I like to use a lot more!)

If you like the Starbucks Mocha Light Frappacino, you will like this! You can also use a packet of Swiss Miss diet hot chocolate instead of the chocolate syrup if you want fewer calories and sugar. I actually look forward to drinking this in the morning, it's sooo yummy!

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Aerosmith's Joe Perry announced that Steven Tyler has quit the band. So what's gonna happen now? Joe Perry and the band are looking for a replacement lead singer. Aerosmith with no Steven Tyler? After 30 years - with Steven Tyler?

I.don't.think.so.

So glad I had the chance to see them live before this happened! Didn't think a Runner Mom could be a fan, did you?

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Speaking of being a fan, I saved the best for last....I have been a HUGE Rockets fan for over 2 decades. I love basketball and it's really the only sport I can tolerate watching on TV. Naturally, a huge part of the Rockets for most of the time I've been a fan was #34 - Hakeem Olajuwon. I *heart* Hakeem and was heartbroken when he was traded to the Toronto Raptors late in his career. While the hubby is not much of a NBA fan, he was a UH fan in the days of Phi Slama Jama and is still a fan of Hakeem. I still remember watching the Rockets play the Celtics in the NBA finals in '86...and of course, there were the back-to-back championships in '94 and '95! Ahhhh, the good old days! So this weekend, while attending the wedding of a friend, you can only imagine how excited I was to see #34 himself! I was super stoked!