5 Miles Equals a Great Date Night

One thing I really love about having my blog is that it holds me accountable.

I asked you yesterday to make sure that I ran my second weekday run outdoors.  No treadmill for this lady.

Well today, I  moved around my work outs while the weather and my schedule was open and squeezed that outdoor run in.  I didn’t want to disappoint you guys, or myself.  So let’s all have a big collective high five here!

Workout of the Day:  5, hilly, outdoor miles.

A tough, but beautiful run.

I left directly from my office, and ran up to Crown Hill Park.

When I say up, I mean up.  Literally, all uphill for about 1.5 miles until I hit the park.

The park has a trail that loops around a lake with absolutely BEAUTIFUL mountain views. It was a little under a mile and a half of breath taking views that made the run up hill totally worth it.

Knowing that this park is less than 2 miles from my office makes me thing this loop could be a regular occurrence.

5 incredibly hilly miles done at under a 930 pace.  I am OK with that considering the speed work I had yesterday.

I may have been so speedy because I had inspiration at the end of the line.

That’s right.  Zach was waiting for me to finish at our favorite local spot:  Denver Brew Co.  I enjoyed a seasonal peach ale that hit the spot after a warm 5 miles.

Who am I kidding?  Zach was willing to be seen in public with me after a baby wipe bath.  That is true love.

We finished our pre dinner brews then headed to a great local Paris On The Platte, just a few blocks down from Brew Co.

I started out with a Malbec, to continue the date night fun and celebration of completing my afternoon run.

Zach and I have been to Paris multiple times and always love it.  Tonight was our first time sitting in the back bar — and we really enjoyed it.  It had a very speak-easy vibe to it that we appreciate.

We started out meal with a greek salad that we shared

And for my entree I went with the club and a side of fruit, with mustard in stead of mayo.

The sandwich was huge (and yes, I’ve had sandwiches for dinner 3 days in a row now.  Not the healthiest options, but it’s all about balance), but I got dinner and now Zach gets a lunch out of the deal.  Win – win.

Overall it was a perfect afternoon, and perfect date night.  And I didn’t even have to shower (I know, that’s gross).

Question of the Night:  Have you ever gone out post work out with out showering?

Umm…too many times.

WIAW

Time for Another WIAW from the amazing Peas and Crayons!

Last week, I did my WIAW following my eats on a long run day.   Today — I thought it might be fun to follow the day AFTER a long run, when my appetite has returned and I’m back to eating and snacking my way through a Sunday 🙂

Is anyone else a snack MONSTER on Sundays, or is it just me?

Anyways . . . on to the stuff you came here for.  The EATS 🙂

My breakfast bagel, with egg whites prepared with veggies, turkey, pepper jack cheese, raspberry jam and frozen cherries.  With a side of coffee, of course.  The perfect post run brunch.

My first snack of the afternoon — some chocolate trail mix.  Full of goodies like almonds, peanuts, dried cherries, raisins, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, chocolate covered raisins, the list goes on 😉

A baby watermelon that looked too good at the grocery store for Zach to pass up.

The snacking continues. . . super fresh grape tomatoes from the farmers market.

Dinner was our Sunday go-to.  Homemade pizza.  This one had a gold beat, two kinds of peppers, sliced deli meat, and lots of cheese.  Delish.

And I capped off the night with homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I may have snacked the afternoon away — but it was a day of eats that I wouldn’t mind repeating any day of the week ;).

Question of the Afternoon:  Is there any day or time that you become a snack monster?

Weekends for me…definitely.  When I’m just relaxing or enjoying downtime.

Find Your Why

The sun is shining here in Denver this morning

Unfortunately this may be the only sun we get for a little while, so I’m taking advantage of it 🙂

Last Night

I had just gotten back from my Blogging Class when I left you all last night. . .

I got home right around 8 pm last night, hungry and ready to relax.

My lovely husband knew I was wanting something simple and quick.  So he had everything prepped and ready for me to put into a delicious bagel and egg sandwich similar to the one I had Sunday morning.

That along with some sparkling water did the trick.  My sammie last night included:

• an everything bagel
• cheddar cheese
• cranberry herb turkey
• egg whites and veggies
• raspberry spread

I may have created a demon with this sandwich, because it is awesome and comforting after a long day.

Another highlight of my relaxing evening:

Meet Zach and I’s new best friend.  Hello recovery roller — my back and legs thank you already.

Blogging 101 

A couple people have reached out to me for some feedback on the class I took last night.  I’m going to prepare an entire post, but if I had to put my thoughts into one quick statement, it would be:

Find your “why.”  

Why do you want to blog?  Why should people read your blog, and continue to read your blog?  Why are YOU blogging.

This seems so simple — but I left the class full of ideas around this concept.  I hope to use it to really bring my blog to more of a focus and find my own voice.

This Morning

Wednesdays are a day where, more often then not, I have the option to sleep in and work out in the afternoon.  This morning I took full advantage of this and am feeling AWESOME after a great night’s rest.

I don’t know if it’s the foam roller, sleep, or what — but I feel GREAT this morning.

Because of that, and because of the weather creeping back into Denver, I may be pushing my second weekend run up to tonight.  It’s supposed to be sunny and in the 70’s — which isn’t bad.  And Zach and I threw out the idea of having date night, so I may even be able to end my run at Denver Brew Co.

Talk about incentive right? 😉

I’ll keep you all posted!  In the mean time — have a great Wednesday everyone!

(edited to add)

Question of the Morning:  What is your WHY with blogging?