Unfortunately I haven’t ran the last two days due to travelling and appointments. I did however go to the gym on Monday and ran 6.48 miles, 6.8 speed with a 1.5 incline for 60min. It felt good to pound some miles out on the treadmill and not in the snow. The added bonus was that I didn’t fall off the treadmill either!

Sorry it's blurry... I didn't want the other ladies to think I was a creep taking pictures in the bathroom haha

I woke up to this and was decided to not ’embrace’ the weather like I normally do.

As I mentioned here, this past week was a down week for training. It was nice to have a bit of a rest but at the same time I’m not sure if I loved the down week because I was an EATING MACHINE. What’s different about this from any other regular day? Well, yes I am known by GMan as “la Princesa de merienditas” (aka: The snacking Princess) because I am always eating or looking for something to eat. As in at least every hour. If we are out and about GMan easily catches the clue for “snack time” because I am not a happy camper when hungry. No sir.

yummy... the dessert and the man!

Anyways back to the EATING MACHINE… The only difference from normal was that all I wanted to snack on was JUNK FOOD (Gasp!). I blame it on lack of will power those damn mini eggs . Once I start eating chocolate again I crave it allll the time on a regular basis. Like everyday. Twice a day. When I try to STOP eating it altogether, I get headaches, feel dizzy and just neeeeeed to eat some chocolate to make me feel better. Call me crazy but it’s the truth.

A down week from training + a stressful week is not a good mix. I can shamefully and honestly say that this past week, I have eaten like crap. Way to much junk food and I feel so guilty. I was doing so great with eating healthy, drinking at least one green shake a day and then I completely fell off the bandwagon.  Last night I was feeling so guilty about all the delicious chocolate crap I consumed… but then I ate a KitKat and felt much better. Kidding… OK, only half kidding.

Just because I got OFF track for a week does that mean there is no hope to getting back ON track?! No! It’s never to late. I need to stop feeling guilty and get over it. Suck it up baby; put your shoes on and get your run on.

I felt better this morning when I heard a knock at the door and received this:

surprise!

I won a giveaway from Bonnie and the package arrived today! Thanks Bonnie :) I received a great package from The Simply Bar.

Look at all those goodies!

One of the many cool things in the package was a box of protein bars. I find that most protein bars are loaded with calories but I must say I was pretty impressed with the nutritional value in The Simply Bar protein bars. Only 160 calories, 16g of protein and only 10 grams of sugar to boot. Pretty good eh?! I received a box of the peanut butter chocolate (yesss!) and they really do taste good too.

Compared to other protein bars in regards to nutritional value there is definitely a difference — for the better.

The protein bar is all natural and has under ten ingredients per bar. I would definitely consider ordering another box, maybe even trying a different flavor too. I checked on their website and for a box of 15 it costs $32.25. I think $2.15 per bar is a little pricey (the bars are not that big) but for the healthy benefit, I think it’s worth paying that much. Like I said, I have never before found a protein bar with such few calories with a serving of 16g of protein.

What’s your favorite protein bar? What do you refuel with after a run or workout?!

I’m a lucky girl. I must say today was an uplifting day for me. Today was the first day in awhile where I didn’t have to get out of bed early for my morning run, get up and prepare lunches and give a quick kiss goodbye as my husband heads out the door. No birthday parties to go to or commitments to attend. What a nice way to end the weekend.

Today was yet another reminder of why it’s so important to make time for you and your loved ones, especially that extra special person. For me that person is my handsome man. We didn’t have anything special planned but we did have a couple of things that we had to get done. Thankfully we did accomplish that list, without rushing around or with a specific time limit. That alone made it a good day. Even though yes, there was some cleaning and grocery shopping involved… it was still enjoyable. If you’re doing it with your dream man how can it not be?!

I am so greatful for the day we had today. There have been lots of things going on with appointments and busy schedules so today was a nice change.

I know at times, I’m not the easiet wife to put up with (I’m his only so he has no choice ;)
I know I can lose my patience and forget to count to ten sometimes…. or maybe a lot.
I know I can get stressed out if I don’t have time for my morning run.
I may not pack the best lunches in the world…

But I do know that I have the best husband ever and I try to tell and show him that everyday.
I know that life is too short and that it’s important to embrace and really enjoy the small things in life. Whether it’s a day to ourselves relaxing or a day doing errands. I’m glad that I had that time and little reminder today. Gracias Baby!

How did you spend your Sunday? What are you thankful for?

I have been craving pancakes for awhile now and decided to start the day off with some homemade pancakes (yes, from scratch!) and I must say they were mighty good. I adapted this recipe from here. Thanks Mama Pea, you inspire me!

Pancakes of LOVE

~ 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
~ 1/4 cup protein powder (I used whey isolate)
~ 1 tblsp. sugar
~ 1/4 tblsp. salt
~ 1 tblsp. baking powder
~ 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
~ 1 cup milk (you may need more depending on preference)

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and then add milk.
Mix well.
Pour batter (quantity depends on personal preference) into a preheated non-stick pan.
Cook to your liking and enjoy!

don't judge a book by its cover!

caught in the act while taste testing

I topped them with bluberries and a sliced banana. GMan prefers his pancakes with jam, so I served them with a strawberry with rasperry and red plum jam. I prefer mine with a dab of margarine (don’t judge!) and some good ol’ Canadian maple syrup. YUM!

I was actually quite happy with the taste and how they turned out. By looking at the batter I was a little unsure… the first bite took that uncertainty away and replaced it with complete satisfaction! Yes, these babies were thicker than normal (or I guess my normal) but they were delicious. The consistency was perfect and they were nice and filling. Normally, I am definitely not a big breakfast type-of-gal but I’m glad I changed it up a bit. It was so worth it!

Will I be making these again?
Most definitely!!

Did I get the A-OK from GMan?
I did… and he even asked for seconds! I was a happy girl :)

Happy Saturday everyone!! Today is a beautiful day! It’s only about -4 out, hardly any wind with a light snow fall that’s really pretty.  I had an early morning run with the Runners’ Edge crew and what an awesome run it was.  Even though this week was supposed to be a down week I just didn’t want to seem to slow down out there today, so my running buddy and I embraced it and had a great run because of it.  We ran 11.61km/1:00hr.  Our average pace was 5:11 but we ended our last kilometre at a 4:43 pace.  I know I’ve said it before but I LOVE starting the day off with a good run!   The time seemed to fly by… I don’t know if it was from our heated discussions that kept us occupied or just the pure enjoyment of being out there.

Coach B and I after my run

I made a stop at the Bulk Barn on may way home. No…. it’s not what you’re thinking. I only bought a bunch of indgredients for some new recipes that I’ve been wanting to test out. I’ll tell you more about those later though.
 

Ok…. and maybe I secretly did buy a few mini eggs aswell,  for emergencies only of course… I thought I would do my husband a favor and get them ahead of time.. for his sake ;) .  I couldn’t possibly walk by the big tub and just ignore them… I tried and obviously failed.

When I was changing after my run today I looked up and found this:

Sweat is beauty. Thank goodness, because I sweat A LOT. When I saw this post-it, it instantly brought a smile to my face. I totally agree with whoever stuck it there… sweat IS beauty!  Doesn’t it feel good to get your sweat on during a good workout?

If you haven’t already checked out Operation Beautiful  go take a look now! I love the concept of it and finding a post-it note with a positive uplifting message really can brighten one’s day. Their mission is to end negative self-talk and transform the way you see yourself one post-it note at a time.  Beautiful idea, eh?!  I think so.