Conquered the Hill!

This morning I went for a run outside. It was a bit chilly but it still beats the treadmill. However, I think I need to turn around my attitude towards the treadmill because I think my knees and shins definitely prefer it. My run in itself was pretty uneventful. For some reason I seem to be a lot better on weekends and really struggled through a 2.5 mile run today. However, the major accomplishment for this run was that I made it up my HILL!!! If you haven't been reading my blog for now, I basically live on one giant hill. It is a real problem with working out because I cannot run or bike up it. For the past few months I've been thinking that I have to do flat running courses only because I stink at hills. When I found out my 5k had some small hills I was SO scared. Turns out, normal hills I can handle- my hill is not horrible. It's crazy. The same is true with biking. I can bike up the hill my parents live on and other normal hills, but my hill I can't do (partly because it begins at a really busy intersection so there is almost no way to get any momentum going). Today since my run wasn't going amazingly and I had to stop to walk after about 2 miles I decided my goal would be to make it up my hill running the whole time. I DID IT! Although I think I have probably strengthened my leg muscles in the past few months, I think a lot of it (like running always is) was very mental. Even though I was breathing REALLY heavy, I was determined. Luckily at the end of it I get to stop, I have no idea how people do Heartbreak Hill!
Last night for night I made a nice mix of haddock, Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Mix, carrots, zucchini, and Teriyaki sauce. It tastes delicious. It doesn't look so fancy because I just stick it in a bowl and mix it all together but this meal wasn't about presentation (most of mine are not actually haha).
Speaking of yummy food, I tried something new today for the first time. I have been into Almond Butter for the past couple of years but today I tried Trader Joe's Raw Almond Butter for the first time.
I really enjoyed it actually. It tasted pretty different from regular almond butter, but I think for some odd reason my stomach may have liked it better, which in itself is a reason to never have regular almond butter again (if it continues to be true). For those of you who have never tasted any kind of almond butter, you really should! I got into it like I got into it like almost everything else in the past few years, looking for something easier on my stomach than peanut butter (of course peanut butter is a major obsession of mine- like if I could eat nothing else for my entire life I would eat bread with peanut butter, that big of an obsession). I've found that I really love it and it's a welcome change from peanut butter sometimes. If you just want to try it, you can buy fresh almond butter in small quantities at Whole Foods. It's a bit pricey so just buy a small amount to try it. Yum.
I am trying to motivate myself to go to a yoga class at the gym tonight. I want to give yoga at the gym at least one more chance before I swear it off forever. However, American Idol is on tonight so it's definitely possible that I will end up lounging around instead. Plus I think I might be getting a cold. I think I need a break from kids so I don't have to work so hard at fighting all the germs!

"Breakfast for Lunch"

When I was in elementary school we had a day every few weeks that the cafeteria served "Breakfast for Lunch." I don't remember what they actually served (french toast? pancakes?) but I remember loving it. I still absolutely love breakfast food. Tonight in the spirit of "Breakfast for Lunch" I decided to have breakfast for dinner! One of my breakfast items was an English muffin with almond butter. I became a fan of almond butter a bit over a year ago. I discovered it like I found basically all my food choices- trying to find something my stomach actually likes. I've always been a massive peanut butter fan and almond butter is definitely a fun and yummy change. I usually buy it at Whole Foods, but I got a free sample of a different kind of almond butter called Barneys. It's yummy and it comes in nice 90 calorie packets so it's really easy to take it anywhere and watch your portions.

If you are interested in trying almond butter, you can go to the website and look up the retail locations near you, or order it online. A few weeks ago they were offering free samples, so maybe they will again soon. Yum. http://www.barneybutter.com/

Today was supposed to be my swimming day but it did not work out schedule wise. I was supposed to get up at 5 and go to the pool, but I was exhausted because I could not sleep last night. By the time I was done with work and tutoring, there was no more lap swim at the Y. So I decided to go biking instead. I took a bike ride to the center because I needed to go the bank and the library. When I came out of the library I had a backpack stuffed with kids books and it suddenly looked like it was going to start pouring at any minute. Needless to say, I biked home a LOT faster. Oddly, I don't think it ever started raining so maybe that was just God's way of telling me I am a really slow biker and I need to pick it up!