RUN ON!

The Beast and the Babe

2012-03-08T10:01:00.001-07:00

I think I have talked about it on the blog before, but, we moved Winston outside last spring. He got an extreme case of cabin-fever while he was inside with us 24/7. He ate 5 pairs of my shoes. Tore up books, and was just a pain in my ass.

Despite all of that, I always miss his furry face so about every night I let him come in, be rotten, and get a few snuggles. I usually wait until Little C is tucked away in bed, because things get crazy when they are together.

But a couple of nights ago we had a really bad wind storm, and I wanted to make sure Winston would be safe so I brought him in before C went down to bed.

They can’t leave each other alone!

She thinks he is the bomb, and runs around following him laughing hysterically. When she is tired of him, he gets interested in her, runs laps around her, knocks her in the face with his tail, and turns her hair into a slobbery mess. It’s a vicious cycle.

Such things were happening. So I tried to separate them. I moved our arm chair in front of the door way, put Winston in the living room, and had Caydence in the kitchen with me so I could finish cooking dinner. This started happening:

It’s kind of like that story I used to hear back in Sunday School when I was younger. The one about the camel, the sandstorm, and a man in a tent. If you don’t know it, it’s basically some effed up story about a talking camel that convinces a man to let him take shelter in the tent a little at a time until the camel has pushed out the man entirely. I’d have to say that if I came across a goddamn talking camel in the middle of a sandstorm, I would be intrigued too.

Anyway, Winston is the camel in this story. Except, he doesn’t talk. Or have humps. He eventually pushed the chair out of his way, and started reeking havoc in the kitchen with C.

Why can’t they just chill? Like this:

Do you have children and pets? Do they coexist normally?

-Stef-

Stomach Fears

2012-03-06T09:01:00.001-07:00

I have to admit, that I am scared to eat in the morning before a workout.

I have had enough experience that I know what works for me, and what doesn’t. But sometimes, my stomach just wants to revolt.

Eating the wrapper probably doesn’t help the whole ‘stomach issues’ part.

During the week, I have shorter workouts. Most are less than 60 minutes long. I have read in Runners World, that you don’t really need to fuel before a workout if you aren’t planning to be active for more than 60 minutes, so I don’t.

It works for me. Mostly.

I must have a slow moving digestive system (TMI?), because when I do have ‘issues’ it’s usually something that I have eaten the night before. Yes, my body is a little bitch like that. I am a late night snacker, so I think that is where my problem stems from in that regard.

What is your pre-workout fueling routine?

-Stef-

I Wanna' Be Strong

2012-03-05T20:33:00.001-07:00

Welp. I have been a major slug-fest as of late. My eating has been one giant unquenchable black hole. A lot of it has to do with half marathon training. A lot of it also has to do with work related stress. I tend to want to eat away my stress with Cadbury Mini Eggs and Red Bull. Healthy. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I have been straight up lazy.

Two weeks ago, I did nothing but my 7 miler long run.

Last week, I got in all three of my running workouts, and one biking workout. Better.

This week, I am starting over with Jillian Michael's Making The Cut along with my regular half marathon training schedule. You can catch up on what that business is all about right on over here. If you want to to it too, you can pick up a copy on Amazon.

Today's Workout: Strength: Day 1 of Jillian Michael's Making The Cut

Shut the front door! Kind of a big change, I know.

I need to get back on track with my eating, and I'd like to work on strength training again. I feel like I have lost a lot of my strength fitness since I started half marathon training, and as much as I like running, I kind of like being able to get my abs and push ups on too. I don't really want to focus so much on losing weight, but rather eating better in general. I've been eating a lot of junk, and as a result, *BREAKING NEWS* I feel like shit. Go figure.

I want to eat well, and feel good. The end. Again, I am not going to be following Jillian's diet plan to a T. I think she has some good guidelines, but there is a little too much salad and fish going on for my liking. I need carbs. Especially for that whole half marathon training thing.

It's time to be motivated. Swim suit season is around the corner. I WANT to look good in that bathing suit. As much as I wear my stretch marks like a badge of honor ; I don't want to look like the Mom that just had a baby...I want to be strong! I want to look strong. More importantly, I want to feel strong.

Bring the pain Jillian, bring the pain.

I love her. Really, I do.

-Stef-

Woof, Woof, Wednesday

2012-02-29T10:02:00.001-07:00

Oh, this hasn’t happened in a while.

My Winston adventures have been on the decline lately. Winter is good for that. It makes it difficult to run with my beast, hence, not so many adventures.

Lately, he thinks he needs to be loved on 24/7. So as I am chilling at the computer, folding laundry, etc., he is up in my business. He is a master at nudging with his nose, which is super gross because then I’ll have snot all over my arms.

I can’t even look at Winston without him thinking it means affection is on it’s way.

Well, I guess it’s cute.

Ok, it is.

-Stef-

Un-Lazy-ify

2012-02-28T09:47:00.001-07:00

New word guys. Isn’t it awkward?

So last week, the only exercise I got in was my 7 miler with Kimi and hours of sight-seeing/walking. If you read my post last week, you’ll already know that I have been lacking some serious motivation.

(source)

I haz regret right now.

There is crazy phenomenon associated with exercise and eating healthy. It makes you feel good. WHOA.

Last night was the cherry on the cake. I felt terrible, and I went to bed with a stomach ache. I didn’t eat badly yesterday, I just felt like I was hung over from all of the bad food choices throughout this past week. I felt heavy. And icky.

So. I forced myself out of bed this morning and hit up the gym for a four miler. As I started running, I realized that I haven’t been pushing myself during my workouts. I’ve just been getting by. After two miles of running at a 10:00 m/m pace, I decided I could kick it up a notch.

(source)

I ran the last two miles in 90 second intervals at a 8:00-7:56 pace, and then a 30 second rest interval at 9:40-9:30 pace.

I never felt like it was easy.

It was actually really, really hard for me.

It wasn’t very fun. My heart was pounding. I was sweating a waterfall down my face. My legs ached.

But, I finished it and I feel really, really good about that.

I heard or read somewhere that the times that you REALLY don’t want to work out, are probably the times that you need it the most. I woke up this morning thinking about staying in my cozy bed. But I the more I thought about it, the more those words stuck in my mind.

What do you know, I really did need that work out to kick my ass in gear.

I’ve got a new challenge on the horizon. To be continued……

(source)

What do you do to push yourself during a workout?

-Stef-

Ohio meets Utah

2012-02-27T12:06:00.001-07:00

Helllllllllllllo.

Sorry for my absence, but I have been living it up with my now real life friend, Kimi. It was pretty important. And awesome.

Kimi’s flight landed in Utah Friday afternoon, and I just dropped her off at the airport just a few hours ago.

It all went sooooooo fast!

Here is a little peek into our weekend together. I picked Kimi up at Salt Lake International last Friday. First thing was first. PIZZA and shopping!

We headed over to Trolley Square to check out the new Lululemon store, and then promptly decided we needed sustenance in the form of cheesy-carby goodness at The Pie.

Afterwards we headed back to Alpine so Kimi could meet the fam and get settled. After she was properly slobbered on by Winston, and farted on by Caydence, we headed for a little Yogurtland. I was too into my yogurt, and didn’t get a picture of it. It was delicious though, I assure you.

Caydence was too busy eating half of my yogurt to be concerned about looking fabulous for the picture.

Saturday morning was spent running the 7 windiest miles of my life. Kimi seriously rocked it out in a 5000 ft. elevation change and major wind. The wind was more of a slight breeze when we first began, and then started to feel more like a hurricane towards the end. It literally felt like we were running in place for the last mile.

After we recovered and cleaned up I had to take Kimi to get up close and personal in the mountains at Bridal Veil falls. It was still basically half frozen over, but we are hardcore and hiked through the icy snow.

Only your best friends makes you run seven miles in a hurricane, hike up to a waterfall in 40* weather with wind chill, and then walk for a couple more hours at IKEA.

Best. Friends.

That’s all ok though, because I forced Kimi to eat homemade guacamole, taco soup, lasagna, garlic bread, and cinnamon rolls. And french toast. And lots of coffee. We may have found her favorite beer too. Straight up torture. Oh, then then there was that whole Brazilian lunch buffet thing….

But before that, we had to walk off our french toast breakfast with the baby and the beast.

And then I made her walk some more downtown Salt Lake. Enter, Clark Planetarium…

We visited the Moon and Mars while we were there.

And then, we woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m., and I had to take my Ohioan friend back to the airport.

This whole trip visit has been completely surreal. If I didn’t have all of these pictures, I wouldn’t believe that it actually happened!

Kimi, thank you SO much for coming out to see me and putting up with hours of driving/walking/eating and even a little bit of running! Oh, and I should probably apologize for all of the baby farts…annnnd the slobber.

See you in MAY!

-Stef-

Ready…..BREAK

2012-02-21T09:21:00.001-07:00

I have been lacking some serious motivation to run, or do anything really.

I had four miles scheduled today. Woke up at 5:30 a.m. when my alarm went off, and the very thought of running sounded horrendous. For the first time, I felt like it wasn’t worth fighting those awful feelings. So I cuddled back up in my covers for a little extra snooze time. I let my lack of motivation win.

To be honest, I’ve been waking up this way for the past couple of weeks: absolutely loathing my upcoming workouts. This isn’t normal for me. Since I started half marathon training, I’ve been able to stay focused and have enjoyed most of my workouts. Sure there are days that are harder than others, but it seems that the further along I get, the more I don’t want to do it. My body feels tired more often than not, and it’s not fun working out when it feels like you are lugging a dead appendage around.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not thinking about quitting. That’s not me. I’m going to finish my training, and run the Rite Aid Cleveland Half Marathon in May. I think I just need to revamp and refresh my routine. My half marathon training plan has given me a lot of time to accumulate a good cardio base, so I don’t think that skipping out on a mid-week run is going to hurt me.

I am working out the possibility of a few changes starting next week, and maybe even a new ‘challenge’. I just need to have some smaller goals set to keep myself motivated. I also think I just needed a couple of goods days of rest to think about my plans and goals, and I’m already starting to feel better about starting fresh tomorrow.

I’m not even going to attempt revamping this week, because Kimi is coming on Friday. I have a feeling our weekend is going to result in a food induced coma. Ok, it is.

Word.

What do you do when you are lacking motivation?

-Stef-

A Date. A Fro-Yo Date.

2012-02-20T14:10:00.001-07:00

If you have been reading for the past few weeks, you probably already know that my dear friend Kimi is coming for a visit this weekend.

Because, you know, Kimi is the shit, and I have to show her off a little bit.

So, I have arranged a fro-yo date at Yogurtland in Orem at 5:30 p.m. on Friday for all of you Utahns to come and mingle, meet Kimi, and just talk about how effing awesome running is.

If you don’t live in Utah, and want to make a special trip to come, feel free. All are welcome!

Plus, we’ve got to show Kimi that Yogurtland is waaaaaaaay better than Menchies.

Come one! Come all! Spread the word!

Again, Yogurtland of Orem, Friday, February 24th @ 5:30 p.m.

You won’t want to miss it!

Let me know if you are coming!

-Stef-

How to Make Friends on the Internetz

2012-02-16T09:21:00.001-07:00

1. Find someone you like. Bloggers are obviously the best choice, because you can find relatable tidbits about their lives in a matter of minutes. Mandatory: You have to REALLY like them.

(source)

2. Stalk them. Read every post. Comment on every post. You know the drill.

(source)

3. Exchange information. Whatever information you are comfortable with. Email. Phone. Social Networking sites. Because this is when things start getting all warm and fuzzy. And personal.

(source)

4. Instant message your good buddy every day. Send each other picture messages of random shit. But be careful…not too much. You don’t want to come off as desperate.

(source)

5. Realize, that you are now more than a crazy stalker. You…might…be…FRIENDS….

(source)

6. Start deliberating a time to meet. IN REAL LIFE.

(source)

7. Really, the only natural thing to do at this point would be to book a plane ticket to see your new friend.

(source)

8. This step is very important. Your family members are going to start questioning this new relationship. They’re going to start asking you questions like, “How did you meet this person?” and “How do you know they’re not a psycho murderer trying to lure you into their dungeon and kill you?” Your response? I JUST KNOW. Do not doubt your friendship. Unless…you know…there really are signs that your new friend really is a serial killer. Then you should definitely question it…

(source)

9. Next step: meeting your friend in real life. I will be completing this step of the process next Friday when I go pick up Kimi at the airport. OMGEEEEEEEEEEEE.

(source)

10. Final Step: Do awesome shit with your friend.

(source)

Well, that’s not awkward.

There you have it. 10 easy steps to make friends on the Internetz.

I CAN’T WAIT TO SEEEEEEEEE YOU KIMI!!!

-Stef-

Lovely Love Letters & A Question for you Mothers.

2012-02-15T09:40:00.001-07:00

Little C’s favorite words and phrases:

1. “Wassat?” (What is that?)

2. “I see?”

3. “Ook!” (Look)

4. “Ooooh Yeeeeeah!” –In response to everything she likes.

5. “Yesssh.”

6. “NO.”

7. “Cuh Cuh”.

She also knows where her nose is. But hasn’t quite figured out the “S” sound on it. So she just points to her nose and says, “no?”. Her facial expressions are soooooo funny lately. I wish I could record everything she does 24/7. She is quite the character.

Oh, and along with all of the happiness and cute, there is also those nasty little things called tantrums starting to pop up more frequently. Oh, it’s a show. When I close the drawers in the kitchen and tell her, “No, no.”, she sits herself down dramatically, yells “NO. NO!”, and then throws her arms down and screams/cries.

Awesome. This is really happening.

Also, is it too early to start time outs? I mean, she understands “No.”, but she is starting to ignore me when I say it and go right ahead and do whatever it is she is doing. Rotten. So, if she understands “No.”, will she understand time outs too? She’s just soooooooo darn persistent. I mean, I can take her out of the room, try to distract her with something else, and then she is right back to doing whatever naughty things she shouldn’t be doing.

Just curious what all of you Momma’s do or have done.

-Stef-

A New Challenge

2012-02-15T08:39:00.001-07:00

Since I have finished Making the Cut and started half marathon training my diet has gotten a little bit out of control. I feel hungry. Alllllllllllllll the time. Some nights, I feel like I can’t stop eating. Night time, for whatever reason seems to be the worst. I track my calories every day, so I know it’s not a matter of not eating enough. I KNOW, it’s not. I think its is more of an issue with eating the right foods.

I am feeling like I need to reign things in a bit because I haven’t been feeling the best. I feel tired and sluggish throughout the day, which I believe is a result of my not-so-fabulous eating habits. So here are my goals for the rest of the week:

1. Cut out refined sugar.

2. Decrease salt intake.

3. Increase water consumption.

I know it may seem a little bit extreme, but I need to take myself down a notch. I feel a lot better when I am eating whole natural foods rather than processed sugary/salty foods. I have no intention of continuing this diet indefinitely, but I need to get myself back on track and remind my body that I don’t really ‘need’ a little sweet treat after lunch and dinner. Or salty treats more often than not.

For now, I am going to shoot for one week and see how I feel. My ultimate goal is to tame all of my sugar and salt cravings.

Wish me luck!

What do you do to keep yourself in check?

-Stef-

Mischief Managed

2012-02-13T08:35:00.001-07:00

We had a good weekend here in soggy ol’ Utah. Seriously, it rained/slushed most of Sunday, and everything is so disgusting and soppy. Half of our backyard is a swamp right now. It’s gross.

Caydence has learned that she can open cupboards and drawers allllll by herself. She also thinks she needs to pull everything out of them when she does. Measuring cups and lids are so much cooler than toys.

I spent the entire weekend cleaning up the contents of the kitchen drawers, and ushering her out of the kitchen. Speaking of mischief. I attempted Kale chips.

They turned out pretty decent, although they shriveled quite a bit during the baking process so I didn’t get a very big batch of them. I wasn’t expecting that. They weren’t too bad tasting and also pretty crisp, like chips. That all changed once Caydence took her mini hands, reached up and grabbed my bowl on the table, and sent the kale chips to their death.

Welp. No more kale chips. I tried to feed some to C, and she wasn’t having any of it. {Not the ones that fell on the floor. Come on.} Maybe that’s why she felt the urge to throw them all on the ground? So were the kale chips REALLY that good? Yeah, I wouldn’t mind having them as a snack here and there. Will I give up potato chips for them? No. A thousand times no.

Robby and I decided to have our Valentines dinner a little early this year and went out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse. Celebrating mid-week non-banking holidays when your husband works nights, is difficult and rarely happens. So we usually save our celebrations for the weekends. I ate my weight in steak and rolls.

The loaded sweet potatoes are a beautiful, beautiful thing.

How was your weekend?

What are your plans for Valentines day?

-Stef-

6 Miles

2012-02-11T18:20:00.003-07:00

Good weather.

Check.

Beast.

Check.

6 miles in the book in honor of Sherry Arnold.

Check.

I saw A LOT of runners out today. LIKE A LOT. Each time I passed someone, I couldn't help but think that we were all doing the same thing. Running for Sherry. I also couldn't help but feel a little emotional. My 6 miles meant something today.

Rest in Peace Sherry.

Did you run for Sherry Arnold today?

-Stef-

Gym Annoyances

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

1. The heat. It should not be higher than 50* in the building, and the fans should be blasting. There is a separate section of the gym that includes a sauna. Please feel free to crank the heat in there.

(source)

2. The ‘competitor’. This is the person that jumps on the treadmill next to you, and ALWAYS has to be working just a little harder than you are. You increase the incline. They increase it .5 higher than you. You speed up. They speed up. You crazy, crazy, bitches. Stop. I am not coming to the gym to RACE you.

(source)

3. The music. There is never anything suitable playing on the overhead speakers at the gym. The gym I am frequenting lately is a constant mix between the 90’s pop and 90’s soft rock, which are both equally terrible.

(source)

4. The guru. This person will tell you that you are doing something wrong in the middle of your work out. They will then give you step-by-step instructions on how to properly do whatever it is you are doing. Thanks for throwing me off my game, you dick.

(source)

5. The treadmill that is ALWAYS broken. There is a particular treadmill at the Golds Gym in American Fork. For whatever reason, it is off balance. Last week I ran on a treadmill directly behind it, and watched about 10 people try to start running on that beast. All to stop, and sigh in frustration because it was like trying to run drunkenly through a mine field.

(source)

6. The crazies. There is always one. Doing strange things. Saying weird shit in passing. Acting like primal screaming in a gym setting is totally normal. Like today, I was in the locker room getting ready. A woman came in and started laughing. Like full on hysterical laughter. Abruptly stopped laughing. And gave me a sideways smirk, like we were in on this joke together. Cray-Zeeeeeeeee.

(source)

7. The friends. These two people cannot go to the gym without one another. They do the same exact thing. Every. Single. Day. They talk about the same things. They walk on the same treadmills, in the same spot day after day. These two women think that their routine is more important than yours. So when you go into the locker room, trying to get your shit. They will stand in your way, blocking your locker until you apologetically ask them to move. At which time, you get bitch face because you disrupted their important routine. This may or may not happen to me several times a week. GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY, is what I feel like saying.

(source)

What are your gym annoyances?

-Stef-

Love Letters: Week 3

2012-02-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Love you C Baby.

-Mum

P.S. You’ll always be my ‘baby’.

Embarrassing Things…

2012-02-09T08:20:00.001-07:00

Welp. I should probably talk about this sooner rather than later.

I am an idiot.

Well, I guess I’m not a total idiot, but I did have a HUGE moment of idiocy on Monday.

I hit a car. With my car. At a stop light.

It wasn’t one of those moments where I didn’t slow down fast enough and hit the car in front of me.

We were stopped.

The light turned green.

In my mind, this meant “GO GO GO”, and I pushed on the gas.

….Regardless of the fact that there were ten cars in front of me who had barely moved.

The White Honda Accord in front of me got my license plate imprinted on their bumper.

Whoops.

My car, has a bent license plate. Virtually no damage.

I win?

Like I said. Idiot.

-Stef-

The Pro's and Con's of Outdoor Running

2012-02-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

I am tired of the treadmill. Almost all of my training runs so far have been on the treadmill.

Let me reiterate. I am tired of the treadmill.

In a way, I almost feel like the treadmill is making me cheat myself. I don't have to worry about learning to control my pace, because the treadmill does it for me. I can 'hold on for dear life' when I feel tired. I can stop if I'm not 'feeling it'. I can 'stop' for a drink, but let the treadmill continue on without me.

The treadmill is turning me into a softee.

I felt like being hardcore today. So I ran outside, in 20* weather with my beast. It was cold. It was dark. Like 5:30 a.m. dark. My beast started out a little faster than I wanted. There were hills.

Even with all of that, that run was about 543234528 times better than being tucked away inside a hot sweaty gym on the treadmill.

The more I run, the more I have realized that I am not a treadmill runner. I need the distraction of being outside. On top of that, it keeps me from being lazy. If I run out 2 miles, and want I'm not 'feeling it', I have to run back those 2 miles before I can quit. I can either walk those two miles, or I can run. Running is more efficient, obviously.

So here is my list of Pro's and Con's of outdoor running. Nothing scientific about it, it's just how I feel.

PROS:

1. I can learn to pace myself more naturally, rather than forcing myself to run a predetermined treadmill pace.

2. I can take my beast. I love that monster. He's such a good partner, and never complains.

I know it's hard to believe. But, he is kind of awesome.

3. Even though I frequently take the same routines, being outside is a great distraction.

4. Running outside is a much bigger motivator than running in the same spot for an hour.

5. There is always something interesting happening outside. Like birds. And zombie brides in the cemetery. And probably the fact that I sometimes like to run...in the cemetery. Totally normal.

CONS:

1. Um. It's winter. So it's effing cold. My legs are almost always numb when I get home.

2. Even though my beast is pretty awesome, he sometimes has to take pee breaks at inconvenient places. Like a stranger's flower bed.

3. HILLS and other obstacles, like dogs. I can't be as sporadic as I would like to be about my route because there are hills just about everywhere. And, you never know if someone forgot to put their dog away.

4. Running outside is a lot harder on my joints, and I also have to make sure that I am running my out and backs on the same side of the road so that I don't lengthen one side of my body from running on the same slope constantly....which has happened. See my 4283903948 posts about hip issues on this blog.

I could think of several other reasons for both causes. But, the pro's almost always outweigh the con's for me.

There you go.

Do you prefer running on the treadmill or outside?

P.S. I hit a car yesterday. With my car. We'll talk more about that....later. Or never. It's embarrassing. I can't be sure if it will actually be discussed.

-Stef-

CHOBANI WINNER!

2012-02-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

The winner was randomly selected by Random.org and IS:

Who said:

Please email me at runonriot (at) gmail (dot) com !

Thank you to everyone who participated!

-Stef-

I wore my PJ’s ALL weekend long.

2012-02-06T10:41:00.001-07:00

My weekend wasn’t completely lazy. I did get my long run in on Saturday. Here is a recap of my last two weeks of training:

Training is going good so far. It has been hard to get my biking sessions in lately. This week my goal is to complete both biking sessions. Overall, I have felt pretty good. My hip has been a little bit irritated this last week. So I’ve been upping my stretching and foam rolling time. It seems to have helped so far. I think I am also ready to stop being a baby, and take my runs outside again. The treadmill feels like death on so many levels. I need to get outside with my beast.

I am proud to say that I spent almost the entire weekend in my PJ’s. It was soooo nice. It’s a rare thing when I don’t have a weekend full of running errands. I’m not sure if we got stir crazy from playing inside all weekend, but things got a little crazy at a few points….

Obviously, putting a bag over your eyes is only cute on babies. Hello, World’s Most Unflattering Photos.

Caydence is also on her way to becoming learning how to ride a bucking bronco. She’s got the form down.

We also had a little Super Bowl over the weekend. I honestly don’t care that much about the Super Bowl, it’s just a good excuse to have people over and party it up.

Good Lord. A whole weekend worth of bad photos of my face. Lovely. My baby is cute though.

How was your weekend?

-Stef-

Be Advised

2012-02-03T09:07:00.001-07:00

This may all be common sense…but I didn’t know, so I’m sharing with you all.

There is an app called Foursquare. You can use it to ‘check in’ at different locations, and earn points and badges as you go. It’s a fun way to stalk your BFF’s.

By default, Foursquare’s Privacy Settings are a little skimpy. When you sign up, you are required to provide basic information such as your name, phone number, and email address. You can also sign up by linking to your Facebook or Twitter accounts. I signed up by linking to my Twitter account, and didn’t think anything of it.

Recently I got a few friend request for some local Utahns, and accepted their requests. Two days ago, I got a text message on my phone from a fellow named Gil saying:

“Hi Stephanie this is Gil from foursquare. Just wanted to say hi and thank you for accepting my friend request. “

Gil is not my real life friend. Gil should not have my phone number. Gil should NOT be sending me text messages.

Needless to say, it freaked the shit out of me.

I immediately checked my privacy settings on Foursquare and my phone number was right there on my profile for everyone to see. I couldn’t remember Foursquare asking me if I had wanted that information to be viewed so I checked out their privacy page, which stated that by default information such as your phone number and social networking accounts were visible to others after sign up. In order to protect your privacy you would have to take the initiative and go to their settings page.

It gets better. I decided to investigate Mr. Gil to see how he found me, and why he thought it would be a good idea to start stalking me. As it turns out, you can see who else is checking in at a particular location if you allow your privacy settings to dictate such. Gil, had seen me check in at Gold’s Gym.

After my resolving my privacy issues yesterday, removing Gil as a friend, and blocking him from my Twitter account, I went on with my regular schedule. I got up yesterday morning, and went to the gym. As soon as I got there, I received a Foursquare notification for a new friend request from Gil.

Lord Almighty. He was there. At my gym. Right at that moment. Effing stalker! I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in MY LIFE. At the end of my workout, he ended up working out on an elliptical about 15 feet away from me.

Awkward. Sooooooo awkward.

Moving forward, I’m going to be A LOT more careful about who I add to my social networks, and always check for privacy settings. I think I will continue to use Foursquare, however, I’m not sure I’ll be checking in at the gym any time soon. I’m a little bit nervous about that situation.

So it’s been real, Foursquare. It’s been fun. But, it’s also been an effing nightmare.

Learn from my stupid, stupid mistake!

Have you ever had privacy issues with social networking?

-Stef-

Wordless Wednesday: Love Letters, Week 3

2012-02-01T12:20:00.001-07:00

-Love Mum.

Chobani Review & Giveaway!

2012-01-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

You GUYS. CHOBANI!

I was recently contacted by these lovely people to try some of their awesome yogurt.

They sent me their sample pack so that I could try several different flavors. Among these flavors were pineapple, blackberry, lemon, raspberry, and peach, to name a few.

Hands down. Without a doubt. I loved them all.

Yes, I said it.

I LOVED THEM ALL.

Chobani isn't just any kind of yogurt. They provide Greek yogurt. What makes Greek yogurt different than regular yogurt? It is strained longer, making it thicker in texture. Now, this is coming from a girl that used to gag every time she ate yogurt. I couldn't even eat it because I couldn't handle the texture. Since then, I discovered Greek yogurt. I can eat it without any problem, and I actually enjoy it too!

So now, Chobani has agreed to give one of YOU lucky readers your very own sample pack! Here is what you need to do:

1. MANDATORY: Be a follower of this blog. (+1)

2. Like Chobani on Facebook. (+1)

3. Follow Chobani on Twitter. (+1)

4. Like RUN ON on Facebook. (+1)

5. Follow RUN ON on Twitter. (+1)

6. Tweet: "I want to win some @Chobani from @RUNONRIOT! http://run-on-riot.blogspot.com/2012/01/chobani-review-giveaway.html" (+1)

7. Blog of Facebook this giveaway. (+1)

This giveaway will end on February 5th at Midnight. The winner will be announced the following day.

All products were given to me free of charge, but the opinions are my own.

-Stef-

Vega Sport Winner!

2012-01-30T09:22:00.001-07:00

The winner for this giveaway was selected through Random.org, and the winner is:

....who said,

Congrats to the winner! Please email me at runonriot (at) gmail (dot) com!

Thank you to everyone that participated!

-Stef-

11 Random Things

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Okayyyy, Okayyyy. I’m doing it. I’ve been tagged by both Xaarlin, and then Kimi. So I guess this means that I have to give it a whirl.

The Rules:

Post these rules
You must post 11 random things about yourself
Answer the questions set for you in their post
Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 Random Facts About Me:

-I took piano lessons from the time I was 12 until I graduated high school. My Dad gave me our old piano, but we didn’t have room for it when we last moved. So I sold it. I didn’t think I would miss it that much. Errr. Wrong.

-As a result of the above, I drum my fingers on EVERYTHING. It’s compulsive.

-I am that annoying person in line behind you that will sigh loudly if I don’t think you are moving fast enough. How bitchy of me, right?

-I cracked my head open when I was a baby, and again when I was 3. My husband says this explains a lot about me.

-I got married 5 months after I graduated from high school. Still married to that same person. I’d call that an accomplishment.

-I have somewhat of a photographic memory. Not super-power like by any means, but it’s there. I retain information best by looking at it.

-Since I have been married, we have owned at least 14 (it’s hard to keep track) different vehicle including, three Jeeps, two Honda Civics, a Mini Cooper, and a Scion TC. My favorite was the Mini Cooper. I currently drive a Mazda 3.

-I do NOT like orange flavored things. I like real oranges. But I do not like artificially flavored orange anything.

-I used to collect bears when I was younger. I have a box full of Care Bears, and ceramic bear figurines. I am too embarrassed about them now, so locked away they stay.

-I often think I am really funny….and a lot of people either don’t understand me, or don’t get my jokes. Lame.

-Sometimes when I need a little boost during the day, I look at pictures of Caydence. She always cheers me up.

11 Questions from Kimi:

How old were you when you got your first kiss? Twelve. Geez…I will die if Caydence starts kissing boys at 12.

Coke or Pepsi? Neither. Dr. Pepper!

Your favorite pair of shoes? Boots. Fuzzy boots to be exact.

How old were you when you first realized you were awesome? Ummmm. Probably my first year of summer softball in 8th grade. My team won the City League Championship that year. Hollar.

Favorite TV show of ALL TIME? You can only choose 1! Oh gawd. Mmmmmmmmmm. Revenge. I just love it so much!

What do you call a winter hat? It’s a BEANIE Kimi…Beanie.

Do you use a calculator or do it in your head? I do basic things in my head. Everything else goes to the calculator.

If you had to pick a blogger from the internet to be your neighbor who would it be and why? Do you really need to ask? KIMI! We’ve already started planning where I will live in Ohio. Ha.

Favorite toothpaste? No preference. As long as it’s not spearmint, and is really foamy.

How do you take your coffee? Cream and two Splenda.

Crushed, cubed or no ice? Cubed all the way. Crushed can be difficult, and usually ends in my swallowing small sharp pieces of ice.

Questions for the next Bloggers:

Football or Baseball?

Would you rather run 50 miles or do 5000 push ups?

Where were you born?

What do you think is your strangest habit?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

If you had to run outside, and could only take ONE item (This includes clothing. You would be naked, essentially) what would it be?

If you could have any kind of furbaby, what would you get?

Favorite dessert? (greek yogurt, or anything remotely healthy, does not count as dessert)

If you won the lottery today, what would you with your winnings?

If you had to choose one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Sushi, like it or hate it?

Now, I tag:

-Stef-

Is this obsession?

2012-01-26T10:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, someone on Twitter made mention of Jillian Michael’s Yoga Meltdown. Compulsivity drove me to Walmart to seek it out and purchase it.

Obsession drove me to rip it open and try it out once I got home. What can I say? The woman knows what she is doing, and I trust her. I actually liked the workout quite a bit. It was Yoga on a little bit more challenging level, but I never felt like I couldn’t handle it. I think I may be ready to try level two here pretty soon.

I tried a new recipe last night. Per usual, I found it on Skinny Taste. I love recipes that are easy to put together, and then all you have to do is let the oven do the rest of the work. My favorite part about Skinny Taste, is that the majority of the recipes are simple. A few incredients, a few steps, and you have yourself a meal. I can’t be bothered with food that takes hours to cook, unless it’s in the form of a crock pot.

Behold, Low Fat Ziti and Spinach pasta…that I let cook a little too long and the cheese got crunchy. Oh well. I like crunchy cheese.

Oh, and I added mushrooms. It just seemed too naked with only spinach, pasta, and cheese.

What are some of your obsessions?

-Stef-

Awkward & Awesome Wednesday

2012-01-25T08:40:00.001-07:00

We’ll start with the awkward things in my life lately.

Awwwwkard:

1.Getting to the gym this morning and thinking, “My bag seems less full today…I think I forgot something…” And then realizing that thing I forgot, was my towel. Panic mode. I ended up drying myself with my t-shirt.

2. A certain someone that I work with, that may or may not be my boss, plays ‘airplane’ with their hand while they are waiting for you to get off the phone.

3. People who fart at the gym. I know your body just naturally wants to do it because you are ‘getting things moving’ with all of that running. BUT FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY. Stop. Because when I’m pumping things up at the end of my run, and you rip ass, I am inhaling it on a exponential level. It makes we want to DIE.

4. Forgetting half of your breakfast. I have to have my two breakfasts to make it through the day. I eat something small before I work out, and then I have real food afterward. I FORGOT my oatmeal!!!! This resulted in hanger attacks all day.

5. The term foodgasm. Food should never be a “climax of sexual excitement, characterized by pleasure centered in the genitals and (in men) accompanied by ejaculation.” You are making people uncomfortable. We understand food is awesome. Stop it.

Awesome:

1. This:

Holy. Shit. My Internetz BFF is about to become my REAL LIFE BFF.

2. Forgetting your coffee mug on the way out, but then realizing it’s not so bad because you can go and do this instead:

3. Caydence now says, “Yeshhhhhhhh.”, “No.”, and “Uhhhh OH.” Heart melters.

4. Multitasking during a workout. I can’t read and run, so biking and reading is heaven.

5. Purple potatoes. I had no idea they even existed. They’re good, and also have a different flavor and texture. Definitely more ‘earthy’.

What is awkward and awesome in your life?

-Stef-

Love Letter: Week #2

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Looooooove you Little C.

-Love, “Mum”

Tears on the Treadmill…

2012-01-24T08:50:00.001-07:00

Good LORD.

I have determined that pregnancy, (You know, that thing that happened to me over 14 months ago?) has ruined me emotionally.

There is this thing that happens to me whenever I watch something in a movie or on T.V.. If it’s real life and relatable, SAD, or inspiring; I get extremely emotional and sometimes tear up. Ok, I get emotional 99% of the time and tear up 80%.

This morning, Soul Surfer was playing in the Cardio Cinema. I haven’t seen it, so I thought, “Oh, it’s about a girl that gets her arm eaten off! AWESOME. This should keep be entertained for 4 miles.”

Little did I know that I came in towards the end of the movie. Anyway, there is all of this really inspiring shit that goes on at the end, and I cried.

(source)

On the treadmill.

I CRIED!

My breathing started to get a little out of control. So I had to stop and take a breather so I didn’t hyperventilate.

Eff me.

The man next to me kept on giving me awkward side glances. I wanted to punch him and say, “IT’S INSPIRING, DAMMIT! You should be crying too!” Buttttttt, I didn’t. I pretended I wasn’t shamefully crying in a public area. At least it was dark.

RUINED.

I am ruined.

OH! And you know how I asked if any of you had fallen off the treadmill yesterday? Yeah. I almost fell off today. Major, MAJOR stumble. Like I almost crashed into the same man that was giving me awkward glances for crying. He probably thought I was drunk.

Well, on to better things that don’t involve me doing stupid things in public places. I got a pair of these beauties:

Saucony Triumph 9’s. Ohhhh they are beautiful. I tried them out today. It’s like walking around in soft cuddly kittens on your feet. Heaven. I’m excited to see how they feel for my long run this weekend.

Are you an emotional person?

I know that after reading the story from above, you are probably thinking I’m one of those psycho women that cries at the drop of a pin. I AM NOT A CRIER, which is why it’s all so ridiculous.

What is your favorite kind of running shoes?

-Stef-

We are in trouble…

2012-01-23T16:42:00.001-07:00

Caydence has learned how to say “No.”

Even better, she knows when to use it.

Like when we are done with bath time. She says, “NO!”.

This is only the beginning…

I don’t think she moves around much at night, do you?

Last weeks training went well for the most part. I had some acidic stomach issues, and a lazy morning. But other than that I completed all of my workouts.

I mixed up my days, as you can see. Yeah, I struggle. This week I have much of the same planned. My long run on Saturday was pretty much miserable. I think the gym must have cranked up the heat, because I was DYING. Longest 5 miles of my life. Despite by best efforts, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the screen of my treadmill.

How was your weekend?

Have you ever fell off the treadmill? Even better, have you ever fallen off the treadmill at the gym?

Thank the Lord, no. I’ve tripped a lot, which may be equally embarrassing.

-Stef-

Vega Sport Review & Giveaway!

2012-01-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I was contacted my Cristina at Vega Sport to sample and review their new product line!

Before I get into my review, let me tell you a little about Vega Sport.

Vega Sport is a performance system that is 100% plant-based, dairy free, gluten-free, soy-free, no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners. The system comes with three different levels: Prepare, Sustain, and Recover. Each level is formulated to give you the appropriate amount of nutrition for whichever stage of training you are in.

What I thought:

Normally when I do a review, I am only testing one product. Since Vega Sport sent me several different types of products, I am going to separate my review based on each individual product.

Prepare Pre-Workout Energizer: I really liked both the Lemon-Lime and Acai Berry Flavors that I received. I took them each about 20 minutes before a running session. I felt like the energizer definitely gave me the boost that I needed to head out and finish my work outs. It almost felt as if it cleared my mind so I was able to concentrate on what I was doing. Overall, a great product!

Sustain Electrolyte Hydrator: Here is where things got a little icky for me. The electrolyte hydrators comes in a lemon lime and pom-berry flavor. I tried the lemon lime flavor first, and ended up not being able to finish it. Vega Sports products are all plant based, and I could definitely taste a strong plant-like taste in the lemon lime flavor. I didn’t like it at all. I tried the pom-berry flavor next. Although the plant taste wasn’t as noticeable in this flavor, I didn’t really enjoy it either. I am picky on taste when it comes to these things, and the electrolyte hydrators were definitely not something I would be dying to drink every day.

Sustain Endurance Bar: I was given the Acai Berry and Mocha endurance bars. In general, I typically won’t eat a nutritional bar that tastes like a giant stick of protein powder. I thought that the Mocha bar had great flavor, and wasn’t chalky tasting like a lot of traditional protein bars. I thought the Acai Berry flavor was just so-so. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either.

Sustain Endurance Gel: Taste-wise, I didn’t mind the orange zest and raspberry flavors. I am not an orange flavor fan, which is all just personal preference, so I don’t know that I could give an accurate review of its actual taste. The raspberry flavor was actually pretty tasty! Both went down easily when I took them, and didn’t upset my stomach. They also gave me that extra boost of energy that I need during a workout.

Recover Performance Protein: I thought the taste of the performance protein was reasonable. They sent me vanilla, chocolate, and berry flavors to try. I thought the vanilla and chocolate flavors were great! The berry flavor was probably my least favorite out of the three. I used this supplement after my workouts to help speed recovery. I didn’t notice a huge difference in my recovery time, but I did feel more energized the following day.

Recover Protein Bar: I actually really, really, liked the recovery bars. The chocolate SaviSeed was definitely my favorite. It was almost like eating a brownie. They were very soft, easy to chew, and didn’t have a strong protein taste. Overall, a great product!

Recovery Accelerator: Again, I had a bit of a problem with the flavoring in the recover accelerator. The Tropical flavor was just not edible for me. I couldn’t get it down. The plant taste was very strong! The apple berry flavor wasn’t too bad, and I was able to drink it. Like the performance protein, I didn’t notice a huge boost in recover time, but more energy the following day.

Overall, Vega Sport has a great product on their hands. I really liked that everything was all natural, and also a plus if you are a vegan! Some of the flavors seemed a little off to me, but other than that I really enjoyed their product!

Vega Sport has offered to giveaway a tub of their Vega Sport Energizer to one lucky reader!

Here is what you need to do to enter:

1. Mandatory: You must be a follower of this blog. (+1)

2. Like Vega Sport on Facebook. (+1)

3. Follow Vega Sport on Twitter. (+1)

4. Like Run On on Facebook. (+1)

5. Follow Run On on Twitter. (+1)

6. Tweet, “I want to win some Energizer from @VegaTeam and @RUNONRIOT! http://run-on-riot.blogspot.com/2012/01/vega-sport-review-giveaway.html” (+1)

7. Blog or Facebook this giveaway. (+1)

Now there are MORE ways to WIN! Vega Sport would like me to tell you about their Sweepstakes! Here are the details:

Vega Sport Sweepstakes

Enter to win the Vega Sport Sweepstakes with over $30,000 in prizes!

Sweepstakes Entry Period: January 3^rd - March 31, 2012

Enter @ www.vegasport.com/sweepstakes

One Grand Prize

Vega Sport Adventure Trip for 2:

Cycle, raft and explore your way through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama for 15 days

$5,000 in Vega Sport product

($15,000 value)

Ten Runner Up Prizes

$1000 in Vega Sport products

Twenty Finalist Prizes

$200 in Vega Sport products

Five Weekly Prizes (per week for 11 weeks)

1 Vega Sport product

Weekly prize winners will be announced weekly via social media!

Find us on Twitter & Facebook to find out if you are the lucky winner of our Weekly Prizes.

Go and check them out and enter to win!

This giveaway will end Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at Midnight.

All of these products were given to me free of charge, however, the opinions are my own.

-Stef-

LARABAR Winner!

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

The winner of the LARABAR giveaway was chosen by random.org and is:

who said…

If you are the winner, send me an email at runonriot (at) gmail (dot) com and I will let LARABAR know so they can send you your package!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

-Stef-

P.S. Be excited for more giveaways coming next week!

Making The Cut: The Final Review

2012-01-19T09:57:00.001-07:00

Many of you probably already know that back in December, I committed to doing 30 days of Jillian Michael’s Making the Cut Program. It is a 30 day exercise and diet regimen that is designed to get rid of those last few stubborn pounds.

The exercise: It took me longer than 30 days to complete this because I started half marathon training right at the end of it. So my MTC workouts got pushed off a little bit. In general, Jillian’s workouts are tough. Even after completing 30 Day Shred, I still struggled with a lot of the moves in her book. She recommends having a ‘moderate’ level of fitness before you begin the program. I would definitely say I have a moderate level of fitness, and these workouts still killed me. However, would you expect anything less from Jillian? No.

The diet: Jillian’s book lays out 30 days of diet planning. Including meals and recipes. I knew from the beginning that I wouldn’t be able to follow Jillian’s plan exactly. My primary reason being taste in food. Sure, there were some good recipes, but there were also a lot that I didn’t think would be reasonable for me. So I just took the general idea of her diet, more proteins, less carbs, no sweets, and did the best I could. Some days I did great, other days I didn’t.

The measurements:

I gained some in my bust! Wooooo! I’m not sure that really has anything to do with Making The Cut…but whatever. On to the pitchas!

Can’t forget the “Rawr-face”.

The biggest change for me has been muscle definition. I like I am much stronger and also have a lot more endurance. Considering all of the diet restrictions, I thought that I would see a bigger change in my weight than anything else. I was absolutely wrong. I only lost one pound throughout the entire process, which has been the same pound that I have lost and gained on countless times. But, I’m ok with that. Although I haven’t lost much weight wise, I have gained more muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat…so WIN. Overall, the program proclaims to help you shed those last few pounds. I think if you followed Jillian’s plan to a T, that would be possible. However, the program felt more like a strength building regimen than weight loss to me.

So what’s next?

I really don’t have any huge goals strength-wise on the list because I am in half marathon training right now. However, I’d still like to get in a few strength sessions each week. I bought Jillian’s Ripped in 30 DVD, so I think I will start incorporating that into my work outs here on out as well as her Six Week Six Pack DVD (Which I think may be MORE difficult than MTC). I’m kind of burnt out on MTC work outs, so I’ll probably wait a little while to implement them again.

Are you sold on Making The Cut? Would you try it for 30 days?

-Stef-

Wordless Wednesday: So this is sleep deprivation

2012-01-18T16:28:00.001-07:00

Make this day end, please.

-Stef-

Two Winners. Two Chicken Dinners.

2012-01-18T10:10:00.001-07:00

Well, Zipfizz. Not chicken. I chose the TWO winners of the Zipfizz giveaway by using random.org. And they are:

and…

who said:

and…

The winners just need to shoot me an email with their contact information, and I will forward your info on to Zipfizz to get those out to you!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

-Stef-

Love Letters

2012-01-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve decided that I want to start writing love letters to my Little C. My friend Ruth is doing 365 days of love letters to her little boy, and it is soooooo adorable. I love it, which is also why I am doing it. I don’t think I will get in one every single day, but I am going to try for a few every week.

Until next time, Little C.

-Stef-

I left my under-things at the gym…

2012-01-17T08:52:00.001-07:00

Hanging.

In the shower stall.

For everyone to see.

Like this:

Last night, I was going through my gym bag getting all of my dirty clothes out so I could wash them and I thought, “Where is my sports bra??”. I figured it had just fallen out of my bag in the car. Oh no. I was wrong. Soooo wrong. I went to shower at the gym this morning, and guess whose underwear was still hanging on the door from the day before? That’s right, MINE. Well, at least all of the other gym goers were nice enough to leave them for me. I think it’s safe to say there are no underwear stealers at my gym. Hallelujah.

Last night I tried a new recipe from Eat Yourself Skinny. It is the Cranberry Oat and Honey Bread. I thought I was being smart by substituting the vegetable oil for applesauce. But, I think it made my bread cook differently. Thus making it look all brown and ugly instead of pretty and light like Kelly’s. Oh, and I apparently didn’t grease my pan well enough, because half of the bottom of my bread was ripped off when I took it out of the pan.

It may be ugly. But it still tastes good. So at least there is that.

Have you ever left a personal item at the gym?

-Stef-

That time I conned my Husband into doing a workout DVD with me…

2012-01-16T12:50:00.001-07:00

Don’t forget that I have TWO giveaways going on! Zipfizz and LARABAR! Go check it out.

So, my husband, (Named: Robby <---I don’t think I say his name enough on here. Clearing up the confusion now. Robby = Husband. Husband = Robby) always gives me slack about my workout DVD’s. Sure, I’ll admit, I often look like an idiot. BUT, I almost always get a good workout, especially when Jillian’s involved. I think that means, I win. Last night, I had abs on the schedule so I decided to bust out Jillian’s Six Week Six Pack. I ever so sneakily asked Husband if he wanted to do some abs with me. One of his goals this year is to hit the gym more often, so lately he’s been up for some of my crazy antics lately.

HE SAID YES.

We did 6W6pack. Together. In my living room. I laughed. And he laughed at me too. BUT IT WAS AWESOME! 30 minutes of torturous abs went by soooooooo much faster by doing it together. What’s even better, is Jillian took Robby down to my level. He has always been a lot stronger than I am….you know, because he has muscles, and he’s a man and all. So it was even more epic to see him suffering just as much as me! Muah ha haaaa. Operation Make Husband Work Out With Me is a success! Now we just need to work on that whole running thing….

Aren’t they so cute?

I did something fitness-y every day last week. And it was awesome. My past week of workouts looked a little like this:

31.1 miles biked

11 miles ran

Half marathon training is going good! So far, I have been able to stay motivated and get all of my workouts in. Oh, and CLE Half Marathon is officially official now because I got the approval on my vacation request. Just gotta’ book my flight, and I’ll be golden!

Wanna’ see the cutest sleeping baby ever?

That little Caydence of mine. She just melts my heart.

I made Skinny Taste’s Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones over the weekend.

I was hoping they would be more cakey, but they turned out more scone-like. Go figure, right? Anyway, they weren’t too bad. I just wish they would have turned out a little more soft and chewy. My sister saw this picture on Facebook and thought that I just didn’t want to roll out my cookie dough into little balls, and that I had made one giant cookie. Nope. They are scones, people. SCONES.

What is your go-to dessert?

If I have time, cinnamon rolls. If not, any kind of cookie will do. Usually the kind where I just have to throw them in the oven. Life is better that way.

-Stef-

LÄRABAR Review & GIVEAWAY!!

2012-01-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I was contacted by LÄRABAR to do a review. I am so on board anything that deals with food.

They sent me four different flavors to try which were: Ginger snap, PB & Chocolate Chip, Coconut Cream Pie, and Chocolate Chip Brownie. Towards the end of this last month, they also sent be FOUR of their new flavor Cappucino!

Here is what LÄRABAR has to say about their product:

GLUTEN FREE/CELIACS LÄRABAR and JŎCALAT are Gluten Free. They have no gluten-containing ingredients, and we have manufacturing controls in place to ensure that there are no cross-contact concerns. We also periodically verify our practices using Gliadin gluten testing.

MORE INFORMATION ON GLUTEN FREE

FEINGOLD PROGRAM LÄRABAR products are free of colorings, additives, and preservatives. For more information, please visit Feingold.

KOSHER All LÄRABAR products are certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union (symbolized by the "U" within a circle). Because our chocolate chip flavors are produced in a facility that also produces chocolate containing dairy, they are classified as Kosher Dairy (symbolized by the "U" within a circle, followed by a "D").

CARBOHYDRATE DIETS LÄRABAR products contain approximately 23-32 grams of carbohydrates per bar.

PEANUT ALLERGIES We make the following products that contain peanuts: LÄRABAR Peanut Butter Cookie, Peanut Butter & Jelly, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. All LÄRABAR products containing peanuts are made on a dedicated manufacturing line. This means that the products containing peanuts do not come into direct contact with our other LÄRABAR products.

RAW DIET LÄRABAR products are made by a simple process in which fruit, nuts, and spices are ground and mixed together. They are not baked or cooked. We use simple ingredients, as close to their natural state as possible. Practitioners of the Raw Diet should be aware that:

Roasted peanuts are used in LÄRABAR's Peanut Butter & Jelly, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavor varieties;
Steamed cashews are used in our Cinnamon Roll, Cashew Cookies, Tropical Fruit Tart, Lemon Bar, Key Lime Pie ad Coconut Cream Pie varieties; and
Roasted cocoa powder is used in Chocolate Chip Brownie and Chocolate Coconut Chew flavor varieties, and in all of our JŎCALAT flavors.
VEGAN/VEGETARIAN LÄRABAR and JŎCALAT are made entirely from plant-based foods. Though the vast majority of chocolate chips in the world are made with dairy, soy or both, we specifically asked our supplier to provide us with chocolate chips which are Vegan—containing no dairy. While no dairy products are used to make our chocolate chips, they are made on a line which also produces chocolate chips made with dairy products. Due to the potential for cross-contact between the types of chocolate chips made at the facility, the chips we use may contain trace amounts of dairy from those other chips; thus we cannot claim that our chocolate chip flavor varieties are Vegan.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

What I liked:

In general, I really liked the texture and consistency of these bars. They are just the right texture which makes them easy to consume. There isn’t too much going on with them and contain ALL NATURAL ingredients, which I love. I could read the label and knew what each ingredient was. They also left me feeling full and satisfied. I LOVED the Cappucino bar that they sent me. It had tiny bits of espresso in it, which have it just the right amount of kick. Soooo good!

What I didn’t like:

I did not enjoy my Ginger Snap bar. It tasted less like a Ginger Snap and more like just plain ginger. The flavoring was a little too strong for me, and left my mouth feeling a little big bitter. However, LÄRABAR as 24 different flavors to choose from so I’m sure that I won’t have a problem finding another delicious flavor.

Overall, LÄRABAR has a GREAT product and as of right now, they are my go-to nutritonal bar! I love them!

Now. The moment you have all been waiting for. LÄRABAR has offered to give away one lucky reader a caddy of 16 mixed LÄRABAR’s!

Here is what you need to do to enter:

1. Mandatory: Be a follower of this blog. (+1)
2. Like LÄRABAR on Facebook. (+1)
3. Follow LÄRABAR on Twitter. (+1)
4. Like RUN ON on Facebook. (+1)
5. Follow RUN ON on Twitter. (+1)
6. Tweet, "I want to win 16 @larabar ‘s from @RUNONRIOT !(+1)
7. Blog or Facebook this giveaway. (+1)

The winner will be chosen my Random.org, and this giveaway will end 1/19/2012 at Midnight.

The products in this review were given to me free of charge, but the opinions are my own.

-Stef-

Murder. Is about to Happen.

2012-01-12T09:39:00.001-07:00

…because of this.

And this.

My reaction.

I think that sums up my morning so far. I feel like I’m walking around backwards and using my left hand due to the amount of klutziness that has taken over me.

I am particularly angry about my wonderful beverage getting half spilled. I treated myself to a skinny cinnamon dolce latte this morning…and now it’s half gone. And I didn’t drink any. All of that precious liquid. Gone.

Well, at least my running is done for the day. I had another 3 miles on the schedule. Finished. I’ve decided that I am actually liking my morning workouts. Shut the front door, I know. I loathe morning. May even hate it, in fact. But for whatever reason, it’s been easier to get out of bed than normal.

Let me preface this by saying that for me, morning feels like someone is trying to wake me from my grave. I am a heavy sleeper. So trying to make myself alive and functioning in the wee hours of the morning is a straight up miracle.

MIRACLE.

Most embarrassing klutz moment. Go.

Winston was laying just in front of my feet while I was sitting on the couch once. I forgot he was there and got up really fast. My foot caught on him. BOOM. Fell flat on my face. I just laid there. Robby laughed at me for days. He said it was like I was falling in slow motion going, “Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo”.

-Stef-

Zipfizz Review and GIVEAWAY!

2012-01-11T14:24:00.002-07:00

I recently received a package in the mail from Zipfizz! I was soooooo excited to try it out because I have heard a lot about them in the blogging world lately!

Zipfizz sent me the above bottle, and six different flavors: Berry, Citrus, Grape, Pink Lemonade, Orange Soda, and Orange Creamsicle!

Here is what Zipfizz has to say about their product:

Zipfizz is an all-natural, great tasting energy drink-mix powder that delivers a powerful charge of micronutrients to the body's fuel system. It contains no ephedra or other artificial stimulants. Most people experience an immediate, revitalizing burst of energy after taking Zipfizz.

Zipfizz is healthy energy in a tube! Give your body a rush of vitamins, minerals and key amino acids to protect the immune

system. Zipfizz has created an advanced formula that provides a significant amount of vitamins, fewer calories, lower carbohydrates, superior taste, variety and unique packaging! Simply put, it's different because it's good for you!

What I liked:

For me, the biggest part of taking a supplement is definitely the taste. If it doesn’t taste good, then chances are I’m not going to be very enthusiastic about munching it down every day. However, I am happy to report that Zipfizz actually tastes pretty good! Grape is definitely my favorite. The pink lemonade flavor is good also, but it is a little tart. I like tart, so it wasn’t a problem for me! But, if your want to try it, that may be something you want to consider.

As far as energy goes, it definitely gave me the extra boost of energy that I needed and helped keep me alert throughout the day.

What I didn’t like:

My dislike is kind of a funny story, actually. Zipfizz acts like Alca-Seltzer when you put it in water. It fizzes and foams. So when you put it in a bottle and close the lid the pressure builds up. I did such a thing, left my bottle sitting on the counter for a moment, and turned my back to finish up some things in my kitchen. The pressure kept on building in the bottle until the lid came off with a huge POP! Scared. Me. To. Death. So, um, use common sense? Other than that, I loved Zipfizz’s product.

You can order Zipfizz here if you are interested in purchasing some! I have also seen their products in stores like Costco and Target.

OR, if you'd like to take a risk, Zipfizz has offered to giveaway two lucky readers a prize pack! The prize package includes, a sampler pack of Zipfizz (five flavors), and a BPA-free water bottle! The first picture I have in this post, is exactly what you will be getting. You heard me, TWO winners.

Here is what you need to do to enter:

1. Mandatory: Be a follower of this blog. (+1)

2. Like Zipfizz on Facebook. (+1)

3. Follow Zipfizz on Twitter. (+1)

4. Like RUN ON on Facebook. (+1)

5. Follow RUN ON on Twitter. (+1)

6. Tweet, "I want a Zipfizz sample pack from @zipfizzcorp and @RUNONRIOT ! http://run-on-riot.blogspot.com/2012/01/zipfizz-review-and-giveaway.html" (+1)

7. Blog or Facebook this giveaway. (+1)

I think you know the drill!

The products mentioned in this giveaway were given to me free of charge, but the opinions are my own.

This giveaway will end 1/17/2012 at Midnight.

-Stef-

What I Ate Wednesday…It is Wednesday, Right?

2012-01-11T09:34:00.001-07:00

Today’s Workout: First ever 90 minute biking sesh. 17.5 miles. Good and sweaty.

Don’t worry. I am a pro at spilling things on myself every morning. My BUM hurts. I think 90 minutes on a hard seat will do that to you.

I have been trying a bunch of new recipes, most of which are from Skinny Taste. You NEED to check out that website. Not only are the recipes low in fat and calories, but they’re simple. The ingredients are almost all whole foods, and low sodium. I am in love. The best part of it is the meals are filling.

1. Jillian’s Flank Steak Tacos-Sorry no link, because it’s in her Making The Cut book.

2. Pear Crumble - 1 pear, 1 tsp agave, steel cut oats, microwave for 2 minutes. Top with whipped cream. NOM.

3. Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Roasted Pepper on Whole Wheat Bread.

4. Wild Alaskan Salmon Patty {Hail Costco!} w/ Roasted Parmesan Green Beans.

5….Pumpkin cookies…w/ Cream cheese frosting..

6. Tuscan White Beans w/ Spinach, Shrimp and Feta.

I was so skeptical about the red pepper sandwich, but MAN. The roasted peppers and the fresh mozzarella together are a match made in heaven. I lovvvvvvvvvvved it. I could eat one of those sandwiches every day!

In the realm of things that have nothing to do with fitness or running. I just finished reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

(source)

It is SUCH a fun book. It has lots of pitchas, and is full of adventure. It was really unlike any book I have ever read before. The pictures honestly make the whole story. It is such a fabulous read. I definitely recommend it! I am now reading this:

(source)

I have had it sitting in my bookshelf for months now. It is one of those books that I kind of want to read, but it’s kind of long so I put off reading it. Anyway, this is the second Young Adult Novel I have read lately that is from a male’s perspective, which is kind of unusual. My husband actually noticed this a few months ago and asked me, “Why are all of these books based on FEMALES??”. I made me think, and yes, about 90% of the YA books I read are from a female perspective. Interesting. Anyway. I’ll let you know if it’s worth reading.

Have you read either of these books? What are some of your favorite novels?

Do you use recipes or do you make things up as you go? What is your favorite site to get recipes from?

Mels Kitchen Café, and now Skinny Taste. I am a recipe kind of girl. I tend to make variations, but I usually stick to them because I am afraid it is going to start on fire if I don’t follow the directions exactly.

-Stef-

The World’s Nicest Locker Room Shower

2012-01-10T14:59:00.001-07:00

I headed to the gym this morning bright and early to get the 3 miles finished that were on my training schedule. I decided to try a new gym (new to me, and NEW) that is really close to where I work. I wish I could have gotten a picture, because seriously, I have never seen nicer bathroom facilities in a gym. Ever. They might as well have been plated in gold, because I felt spesh.

(source)

I woke up at 3ish this morning with a pounding headache. I hope to sleep it off before I got up for the day, but I have no such luck. I have allergies from hell. I think my sinuses were plugged up, which was causing me a headache. A few hours later I felt fine. Luckily.

I tried Jillian’s 6 Pack Abs for the first time last night. I’m pretty sure it’s more difficult that Making The Cut. She takes you through the entire sequence, and then says, “OKAYYY, WE’RE DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN!”. Oh, I should probably mention the first half of the workout takes 17 minutes. 17 minutes of hardcore abs is hard on its own. I was ready to quit at the point, throw the DVD on the ground, and yell “Eff this.” But. I did it. Somehow. I did it.

(source)

For some reason, I keep waking up with this feeling as if I’ve been run over by a truck. Correlation? Nahh. Tonight, I am determined to catch up on this show:

(source)

Those women seriously know how to go balls out during a dinner party. Guilty pleasures at their finest.

Do you watch the RHOBH? Who is your favorite?

I like Kyle the best. She is the ballsiest, which also probably why I like her.

What is your favorite reality show?

Any of the Real Housewives will do.

-Stef-

I Made 4 Miles my Bitch

2012-01-09T10:01:00.001-07:00

Summary of the weekend is as follows:

I completed my first long run of half marathon training. It was EPIC. I watched A Night at the Museum in the Cardio Cinema, and it made the miles fly. My leg is slowly on the mend. It’s starting to feel like more of a dull ache than anything else. It’s amazing what a little stretching and icing can do. In all honesty, my feet are more sore than anything after this long run.

(source)

The Husband helped me do some pull ups Saturday night. I managed three before I was ready to die. THREE. I woke up the next morning feeling like I got hit by a train. Muscles I have never used made themselves known in the form of extreme tenderness and pain. All because of three measly pull ups. Three.

(source)

As a result of said aching body, Sunday’s 60 minute planned biking sesh was turned into a Yoga sesh. Today I have strength training on the schedule, and I’m not looking forward to it because by body is still pretty achy in general. Better than yesterday, but still not 100%. That’s what half marathon training will do to you though.

My training looks like this for the week:

However, I think I am going to switch up my Abs and 60 min bike days because A) All gyms within a reasonable distance to me are closed on Sunday’s, and B) I don’t have a bike or trainer.

In other news. We have a cat.

This seems to happen to us frequently when we visit my in laws. They have a farm. So, cats are in abundance. This one, has been living on the farm able to roam free and happy for the past nine months. I’m sure you can imagine how she reacted when we put her in a cage, drove her for an hour, and then set her free in our yard. She bolted underneath the shed.

Where she now remains, and seems to have no intention of coming out. We don’t have good luck with cats, which is generally why we don’t have them. Oh, and then there is Winston. Every time he’s been out, he hovers around the shed sniffing ferociously. I can only imagine he’s thinking:

The last cat we had lovvvvvvvved him. So much that it would hang around him, and tease him. One night during the summer, we left him out in his kennel for the night because we were going to be gone for a while. I got home, and I could hear a strange crying noise. I kept on hearing it over, and over. So I went outside, and Winston had gotten ahold of the cat. He had pulled her through the bars of his kennel and had been mauling her for hours. Her fur was matted with dirt and slobber. Even after that, she still loved him. He loved her too, he just never understood how to be ‘gentle’. However, she must have found something more appealing because she ran away about a month later.

Anyway. I do not have high hopes for New Cat, which we have named Ginger, but will actually be calling Gingy. I have a feeling she may run away.

So my baby is a walker.

I think this officially makes her, not a ‘baby’ anymore. She has been taking steps for a while now, but has still been crawling a lot. Over the past couple of days she has officially starting walking more than crawling. We’ve got a Big Girl.

Do you have a cat and dog that live together harmoniously?

How was your weekend?

-Stef-

I haz run & an announcement

2012-01-06T10:34:00.001-07:00

This weeks workout summary thus far:

Monday: NADA

Tuesday: 35 minutes of Making The Cut

Wednesday: 50 minutes of Taebo Explosion, 35 minutes of Making The Cut

Thursday: 2 miles running. Beast, not included.

Friday: 1 mile running. Planning on another MTC work out tonight.

Well, I ran. Even though my right leg/hip/but area is bothering me. As I mentioned yesterday, I have been taking it easy this past week with little to no change in my leg. So I gave running a shot. It was actually kind of epic. Coming back to running from a short break feels sooooooo good. I actually didn’t have any extreme pain in my leg other than what felt like muscle fatigue and soreness. I stretched immediately after, and iced for the rest of the night. This morning I headed out for a short 1 miler just to see if my non-pain running was a fluke. Overall I’m feeling a little stiff so I think I will continue to ice and take come Ibruprophen for the rest of the day to be safe. I will probably continue to ice over the weekend as well.

As for my announcement. I am going to Ohio, and I am going to run the Cleveland Half Marathon with my dearest friend Kimi.

Dream. Come. True.

So, I am officially starting my half-marathon training. I basically copying Kimi’s training plan. I like it because it gives PLENTY of time to build up mileage, and there is a lot of biking. I want to be more versatile with my work outs this year, and give biking a shot in an effort to be injury free. Plus, I’d eventually like to try a dualathon. I fail at swimming, so dualathon all the way. Here is a peak at the schedule:

So. Excited. It’s all I can think about.

Have you started training for anything yet? What type of training schedule do you use?

-Stef-

The New Year Started Without Me

2012-01-05T14:19:00.001-07:00

Um, hey. Sorry for the absence. The end of another year means major crunch time at work to get financial statements out. The joys of accounting. I’ve had just enough to get to and from work, make dinner, play with C and get her ready for bed, work out, clean up, do homework, and then get ready for the next day.

My life is awesome lately. I’ve even developed an eye twitch today. No really. My eye is twitching. Right now. As I type this. Anyway, there may be a little bit of intermittent blogging on my part over the next month until things settle down.

My work out life is somewhat of a cluster right now. I have no idea what is going on with my leg. I haven’t been running since last Tuesday, so over a week now, and it’s not feeling much better. It also feels worse when I have been sitting for a long period of time. (i.e. my job 8 hours a day) It actually started hurting more once I started incorporating different workouts like Zumba and Taebo. My best guess is that these workouts involve a lot of hip movement and it could have irritated my outer leg/hip. I think I will try running a little later, and see how it feels in comparison. Icing and foam rolling in the mean time.

I SWEAR, if I have the same issues I did last year, I may blow a fuse. I really, really, don’t want to do that all over again.

I’m still logging all of my workouts over on DailyMile. I am also on My Fitness Pal, if you’d like to stalk me there too.

What is wrong with my leg?

-Stef-

See you next year!

2011-12-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

Recap time.

January:

I took Winston for a run for the first time with the ever miraculous Gentle Leader.

Got attacked by a Beagle.

Ran my first post-baby 5K.

February:

Registered for my first 9K in sunny St. George, which ended up being miserably cold and rainy.

Decided I should never dress in the dark.

Learned to never leave Winston unattended for more than 10 minutes in the house.

March:

Got my first taste of many trips to the Chiropractor.

Had the mighty SR on the blog. This also around the same time my blog became legitimate. Connected? Maybe.

Just started to realize just how crazy the old man across the street is.

April:

Met other bloggers in real life for the first time.

Talked about my boob woes and how my husband would make me walk my poopy ass home.

Attempted a sugar fast. A.K.A. Hell on Earth

Found a cute bunny living in my house.

May:

My inner farm girl came out, and I talked about chickens.

Had the worlds longest needle stuck in my hip.

Winston ran away.

June:

Finished my first Half Marathon, followed by the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay.

Got the worlds most prolonged and unexplained rash.

Oh look, there is the rash!

Got my first black toenail.

Almost cut off my finger.

June was kind of a shitty month for my body health-wise.

July:

Received official new that I would be sidelined for running for a while.

Started hanging out in cemeteries with Winston.

Talked about post-baby tummy.

Had a women almost jump in the car with me.

August:

Attempted headband curls. I get more hits for this post than any other on my blog.

Wrote a letter to Gold’s Gym.

September:

Got stalked by birds.

Cut off my hair.

Decided I liked Yoga for a month.

October:

Had some embarrassing family photos show up in the internetz.

Ate shit. Figuratively.

November:

Shredded for 30 days.

Got a diet boost from being sick.

Had a shit-ton of giveaways.

December:

Froze my boogers off.

Dominated the photo booth at my work Christmas party.

Happy New Year everyone!

-Stef-

The Dreaded IT Band

2011-12-30T08:32:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I have been really bad about talking about my workouts here on the blog. I’m not sure how or when this happened. I do post all of my workouts over on Daily Mile, if you’d like to stalk me over there also.

Thursday’s Workout:

35 minutes of Making The Cut

50 minutes of Taebo Cardio Explosion

Today’s Workout:

35 minutes of Making The Cut

45 minutes of Zumba

I had no idea Billy Blanks had new Taebo DVD’s out. I have always loathed his previous ones, because they were super lame. So I’m not sure what possessed me to by another one, but I actually liked this one. I got super sweaty, and almost fell on my ass several times. Overall, I think it will be a good cardio workout when I’m not in the mood for running.

So there is this really awkward moment in the DVD when Billy is challenging one of his little helpers, while almost knocking her over. I can’t tell if she’s pissed or embarrassed.

(source)

Speaking of running. I am not doing much of that this week. I tried running my usual couple of miles with Winston on Tuesday, only to have some serious pain shooting down my right outer leg a half mile in. I decided to cut back home. To be honest, I have had some outer leg pain for a while now, but none actually while I’ve been running. Probably because I have been doing ZERO stretching. Smart, I know. Until now, that is. I am pretty sure it’s IT Band pain. So I’ve been stretching after workouts, taking running off for the rest of the week, and icing.

(source)

The first time I rolled out that IT band with the ol’ foam roller, I thought it was going to snap in two. TIGHT. However, just after a day, it’s already starting to improve. Yaaay.

Since ITB pain is a problem among runners, I thought I would post this diagram that I found when I was looking for ITB stretches.

(source)

Your. Welcome.

What is your favorite stretch?

-Stef-

Well, I hope the world doesn’t end.

2011-12-29T16:51:00.001-07:00

…Because I have some goals I would like to accomplish in 2012.

I have never been much of a New Years Resolution-er. But, this year I would like to set some legitimate goals, and track my progress throughout the year. I feel like I have been ‘stuck’ in a way. I’ve been doing the same things for a very long time, and never really achieving anything. I want to take initiative in my life, and make it even more worth living. Plus, if the world is going to end in the next year, then I better get something accomplished, right?

(source)

Plus, my partner in crime sets the shit out of her goals, and has inspired me.

Since this is somewhat of a fitness blog, let’s start with that.

Fitness Goals:

1. Finish 2 half marathons. I have NOTHING on my schedule for races in 2012 yet. I’ve got a few things on my mind. (i.e. Revenge on the Utah Valley Half Marathon or Cleveland Half. Yes, Cleveland as in Ohio. You can probably guess why I want to do this.) I’ve decided on 2 because my body tends give me ailments like hip alignment issues, bursitis, and S.I. Joint Dysfunction when I increase my mileage. This will be a good test to see if I can handle half marathon training for a prolonged amount of time.

2. Be injury free. This means taking the time to stretch, and be smarter about my body’s limits. I tend to be a little bull headed at times, and will push through the pain just to get the mileage in or a work out done. Bout’ to get REAL friendly with my foam roller this coming year.

3. Be strong & hit my goal weight. I want to continue having smaller fitness challenges throughout the year. I’m sure Jillian Michaels will be involved, because right now she is my love and hate. I only have 4 more pounds to meet my goal weight. 4 POUNDS. However, they have got to be the most stubborn pounds I have left. This will require a lot more discipline on my part. I’ll have to try and resist those pink animal cookies.

4. Coax my Husband into running more. Shhhhhhhhhh. The plan is already in motion.

Family Goals:

1. I want to do as much as possible with my Little C. Zoo, aquarium, museums, more walks, more reading. EVERYTHING. I feel like we spent most of the last year cooped up because she was ‘too small’ to do much. Well, she’s 14 months, and only getting bigger. It’s time.

2. Get in more dates with the Husband. Speaking of being cooped up, Robby and I have only had a total of 3 nights out alone over the past year. I want to try and have a ‘date night’ at least once a month so that we can have some alone time.

3. FOLD THE DAMN LAUNDRY. I have a giant pile of clean laundry waiting for me at my house. Right now. I am all over putting the clothes in the washer, and drying them. It’s the folding part that I struggle with. Seriously. It just accumulates and accumulates until we have no more clean underwear left in our dresser.

School:

1. Graduate in May or earlier if possible. I am currently attending WGU, which is all online and self-paced. So it is ALL up to me when I want to finish. After that. Graduate school. Oh, heaven help me.

Well, that takes care of all of my major goals! What are your goals for 2012?

-Stef-

So my sister said, “Wanna run a marathon?”

2011-12-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Me: “A marathon?”

Me: “Like 26.2 miles?”

Whitney: “Oh no. A 5K.”

Me: “Whewwwwww. You had me scared.”

Sorry, this is not a marathon announcement. I don’t even see one looming in the midst of 2012 either. It’s funny how people automatically translate running to full blown MARATHON. Sometimes I don’t think the twenty six point two miles registers. However, I think if my sister ever did utter the words, “I want to run a marathon”, that might be my selling point. But, my sister did tell me about a fun 5K coming up on January 28th. It is called the Chili Open 5K Fun Run/Walk, and will be held at Wheeler Farms in Murray.

“ For the last twenty years, the Rotary Club of Sugar House has presented the Utah Chili Open and Golf Classic, raising money for local charities. From $36,000 raised in 1992, to $317,000 raised in 2007, the amount raised by this event totals nearly $3,500,000. Please join Honorary Chairman Frank Layden for one of Utah's premier charity events!”

There will be lots of FOOD at the end of the race, namely chili. I think it would be a great event to kick off the 2012 running season. Plus, I may be able to con my sister into running with me. Muah ha ha haaaa. You can register, here.

What are your race plans this year?

-Stef-

Ho. Ho. Ho.

2011-12-28T09:19:00.001-07:00

Well, our Christmas day started off with a bang. Enter grumpy, teething, Little C. I wanted her to sit by the tree for a picture. She wasn’t on board. Obviously. We decided to kick it at home this year, which was awesome. I hate traveling during Christmas.

Caydence warmed up once the presents came out. Robby’s parents actually came over on Christmas Eve, so C got to practice her present opening skills. This is technically her ‘first’ year opening presents since she was only a couple of months old last year.

Robby and I didn’t get too crazy with the presents. We usually just get each other a couple of things. Even more so this year, because I went balls out for the baby. But, the man knows me too well because he got me kitchen appliances. Food is the key to my heart. I can’t wait to chop and blend shit up with my Ninja! Ohh, and I have the art of weird face making DOWN.

ALERT! THE HUSBAND NOW HAS RUNNING SHOES. I repeat. THE HUSBAND NOW HAS RUNNING SHOES. He even wanted them. Made a formal request. History in the making, right there. My Mom came over later in the evening on Christmas, and spoiled the crap out of Caydence.

I haven’t gotten a picture of it, but my Mom got C her very own ‘princess tent’. It is about the same size as our Christmas tree. It’s definitely a tent worthy of a princess.

Well, that about sums up our day. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

-Stef-

My Work Christmas Party…

2011-12-22T10:17:00.001-07:00

Can be summed up in two pictures:

We know how to party.

Sadly, the husband had to work so my sister Whitney volunteered to be my date. Too much food. Too much laughing. It was a good night.

What is the strangest thing that has happened at your company Christmas party?

-Stef-

Oh How Jillian-Esque

2011-12-21T09:28:00.001-07:00

Computers fixed! Well, my laptop is definitely back to normal. But my desktop has still got a few quirks. I am going to run the anti-virus on it one more time, and if that doesn’t clear things up I may just have to do a factory reset. Right now, I’m just happy they didn’t blow up.

Why on God’s green earth would you need that??

Because of Copyright laws, I haven’t really talked about my Making The Cut workouts much. So I thought I would share a workout that I found in Fitness Magazine that is VERY Jillian in nature. You can find the full workout here. Here are a few moves from the workout:

The Crab-Walk Combo.

The Spidey-Crawl.

Single-Leg Balance.

I’m pretty sure that all of these moves would make Jillian proud and that my fellow MTC’ers would agree. Speaking of Fitness Magazine. I got mine yesterday, and it looked like this:

I guess that’s what happens when you get a free copy of a magazine. They have to keep you wanting more somehow. Ummm. So I’m running the Home for the Holiday’s Virtual 10K. Have I trained for it? Nope. I am running 6 miles for the first time post-Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay and hip injury which was, ohhhhhhhhhh, June. No biggie.

Anyone else participating in the Home for the Holiday’s Virtual 10K?

Sign up! We can run together in spirit. Or, you can come and visit me and we’ll run together. Or not, because it’s Christmas weekend.

-Stef-

Broke

2011-12-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

BOTH of my computers at home are on the fritz. I believe they have a virus. How does this happen? Welp, Kimi's husband Mike told me that one of them could have infected the other through the network. AWESOME.

I am hoping to have them fixed and virus free later tonight. That is considering all goes well, and I can actually get rid of the viruses and return my computers to their fully functioning capacity. Mike gave me a few tips to try and I am hoping they work! It's nice having friends with nerdy husbands. And when I say nerdy, I really mean awesome.

If that doesn't work, next best scenario: Calling the computer guy to see if there is any hope in saving them.

Worst case scenario: New computer.

Anyway, so what I am saying is, if I disappear don't be worried. I am having technology issues.

PRAY THAT I DO NOT DISAPPEAR.

-Stef-

P.S. Lesson of the day. BACK UP YOUR FILES.

P.S.S. I am really not blogging at work right now. Really. I'm not.

A Weekend: The Naughty Baby and Food Edition

2011-12-19T09:47:00.001-07:00

Yet again, the weekend is gone and it’s back to work. BUT, it’s almost time for Christmas break. Hallelujah. I’ve been having a lot of love/hate for my weekends lately. I love them because I have been getting SO much organized, deep cleaned, and exponential cooking time. This week: organized and cleaned out the kitchen cabinets. BOOM. Little C gladly helped me pull everything out. I also prepped all of my lunches for the week. I hate the weekends because the reason for being able to get a shit-ton done is that the Husband is working 6 days a week. Damn that FedEx.

Anyway. Let’s get down to business. I cooked a lot. This is what I ate:

Recipes for 1 & 2 are found here:

1. Chipotle Lime Shrimp

2. Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Turkey - It sounds weird, but SO good.

3. Old Fashioned Oats with Bananas, Peanut Butter, and Agave

4. Ben & Jerry’s…obviously I didn’t make this. But I did eat some.

I also made Skinny Whole Wheat Snicker doodles, but Husband ate them too fast before I could get a picture as well as Sunny’s Cheesesteak sandwiches with Chipotle Cheese Sauce.

I have such a naughty baby. She was a whirlwind of destruction all weekend long. See Exhibit A.

That would be the contents of her diaper bag all over the floor, as well as half a container of wipes. She also likes to chill underneath the Christmas tree. She hasn’t been too naughty with it yet, but I watch her like a hawk under that thing. I’m waiting for her moment.

Theeeee end.

How was your weekend?

-Stef-

Floating around in ma’ brains

2011-12-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

I am thinking about getting a tattoo. I have actually lived my life this long, and never gotten one. GASP. I've always admired permanent body art, and have just been too much of a chicken to get one. These are the ideas I have floating around in my head. Sources are listed at the end.

I am thinking I’d like to get a wrist tattoo. I really like the idea of an infinity sign. It’s nerdy, and symbolic to me at the same time.

I am leaning more towards the ‘love’ sign, but obviously it needs to be symmetrical.

I am also uber obsessed with owls. I fell in love with this sketch on Pinterest when I saw it. How cute is that owl?

I found this one the other day, and loved it as well. A running fox. I also like the placement, although that mother would HURT.

Ok, maybe I am just obsessed with birds in general, because I also love the idea of a traditional sparrow. Probably not on my forearm though. I think my work would have a problem with that. Ok, pretty sure they would.

If I could con my sister into it, I also love this:

Pinky promise? Get it?? We used to do that when we were younger. Last but, not least, ‘we’re all mad here’. LOVE Alice in Wonderland, and all things related to it. And, I’m mad. MAD, I tell you. So, it’s fitting. Not sure about actually having it ON my collar bone. Ouch.

Anyway. That’s what I am thinking. I am leaning more towards a wrist tattoo, because it will be easier to mask for work purposes. I live in the realm of all things conservative, so sporting a full tattoo sleeve is not an option.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7

What do you think? Yay? Nay?

Do you have any tattoos?

-Stef-

Almost 14 Months

2011-12-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

My C baby is getting SO big. She is starting to take more steps on her own. I can actually get her to walk a couple of feet to me now. Proud mommy moment.

That little brown eyed baby just melts my heart. Here are my favorite photos from the past year:

A few things this is doing at almost 14 months:

-Taking steps, and getting into everything. That part isn’t really new.

-She says: Momma, Dadda, Hi, Hey, Bye, Ohhh, (we are working on uh oh, she has the OH part down.)

-She wants to eat everything that I am eating. No matter what it is. She likes pickles.

-She likes me to read her books. She usually only lasts for one short book. Busy body is an understatement.

Tah, Tah. I’m gonna go cuddle my babe…if she’ll let me.

-Stef-

Fish-capades

2011-12-16T08:52:00.001-07:00

I had every intention of posting yesterday, but I could never finish this post because I couldn’t get my pictures to upload. Lame.

I have to admit that I have never been able to successfully cook fish. I always end up cooking it too long, or it breaks up in the pan and looks freaking ugly. Well, that has ended my friends, because I finally figured out the easiest way to cook a fish filet.

Two nights ago I made Tilapia and sautéed carrots, and I baked that fish. BAKED IT. I just set it in the oven at 425 for 12 minutes, and voila! Done and done.

I just used some fresh herbs and parmesan on top. Recipe is as follows:

-1 scallion

-4 cloves of garlic

-2 tsp. dill

-4 basil leaves

-1/2 tsp. of olive oil

-salt and pepper to taste.

-parmesan cheese

Chop everything up, and add the olive oil to make everything stick together. Salt and pepper fish, add topping, and drizzle with olive oil. Top with parmesan. Bake at 425 for 12 minutes. If you aren’t a fan of onions, but still like the flavor, I would suggest using scallions. The onion flavor is really mild, and they cook really quickly.

I was going to make a recipe that involved shrimp yesterday, but I was too hungry to wait for it to all get done. Quick and easy? Eggs.

Don’t mind my broke-ass bowl. 2 eggs, 2 egg whites, mushrooms, tomatoes, scallion, garlic, and avocado. Yummy and filling. Little C likes it too. Eggs for the win. She doesn’t like avocado…yet. It’s all fine with me, because I can eat it all. Muah ha ha haaa.

My Making The Cut diet is NOT going as well as I would have liked this week. I AM SO HUNGRY. Like two nights ago, I ate a fish filet and 2 cups of carrots, and an hour later I was hungry again. Had some Wasa crackers with Laughing Cow cheese. Still Hungry. Drank some water to see if I was actually thirsty and not hungry. STILL EFFING HUNGRY.

(source)

I don’t know what is different this week. I am working out the same amount, and my calorie intake is also the same. I am making sure to log all of my calories and exercise so that I know how much I need to eat. Nonetheless, I have been hangry most of the week so far, which has lead to a few splurges here and there. Mostly in the bread category. Bread sings to my soul.

I’ve got a thing for Natalie Dee, if you can’t tell.

What is your favorite vegetable?

It’s a toss up between cauliflower, and avocado.

In the non-healthy realm of Christmas goodies, what is your favorite?

Growing up we had some neighbors that brought us homemade Chex mix every year. Mmmmmm. I miss those days.

-Stef-

In Honor of Home Alone.

2011-12-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

‘Keep the change, ya’ filthy animal!”-Gangsta Johnny

There is a fine line…

2011-12-14T08:33:00.001-07:00

Between ‘borrowing’ someone’s words or ideas and giving proper credit, and taking them as your own.

If you saw my tweet yesterday, you may already have an idea as to what this post is about.

I realized yesterday that I was being copied by another blog. I have no problem with people taking my ideas and using them. It’s when they take them, and use them as if it was their own idea. It pisses me off. I take a lot of time making sure I use a ‘source’ for all of the pictures I use on my blog that aren’t my own. If I hear about something that I like and want to talk about from another blog, I link back to them. Not only is it the nice thing to do, it’s the ethical thing to do.

The problem is, this isn’t the first time I have noticed this. At this point, I have no idea if my ideas are being taken blatantly or if it’s simply due to a lack of knowledge for proper etiquette. I’m not going to oust anyone. But, if this person happens to be popping by my blog again, I wanted to let them know it’s not ok.

I know what you are doing, and you should think twice next time because I may not be quite as nice.

If you see something floating around the blogging world that you find magnificent, whether it’s from a blog that you LOVE or hate. Give them credit for it. Because it hurts when something is stolen from you. Whether it’s something physical like money, cars, or clothes, or something non-physical like your words and ideas. Either way, it straight up sucks.

-Stef-

Adventures in Healthy Eating

2011-12-13T09:49:00.001-07:00

If you saw my post from yesterday, I told you that I would share the new recipes I am trying out this week in honor of Making The Cut. My first recipe of the week is was Butternut Squash and Quinoa Soup. This is one of those recipes that after I got done making it I thought…"This doesn’t look anything like the picture…I hope it tastes good.” See pictures for verification:

Close, right?? No. Not close. Differences are as follows:

A) I omitted the kalamatta olives-I thought that was a weird addition for a soup.

B) I followed the directions for cooking the squash, but I think it was too long, and it turned mushy.

C) I let mine sit for a while and cool and I think the quinoa soaked up most of the stock.

All in all, it tasted good, plus my Little C totally loved it. I think that makes it a win, even though it looks like a very sad version of the original. You can find the recipe right on over here.

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Winston has love issues. He doesn’t understand how it is supposed to work. This has been true for most of his short puppy life. The only time I can properly ‘love’ him, is if he is half asleep. Last night, I tried to invite him on the couch with me to snuggle while I did some homework. This was his reaction:

Lovely. My reaction:

He eventually decided to get on the couch with me. So I gave him a few pats and praise, and this is what happened:

I kind of hate slobber. Any time I touch him, he freaks out. Define ‘freaks out’: running in circles, if petting stops mass mauling ensues, vicious nose nudges under my arms in an attempt to encourage more petting, pawing of the face, etc.

He goes into a frenzy whenever I pet him. A frenzy in which I should never stop petting him or he’ll go crazy because he wants an infinite amount of affection, but I can’t really pet him because he won’t sit still. IT IS ANNOYING. I just want to love you Winston. BE STILL!

Do your recipes ever turn out like the picture?

-Occasionally, but not normally. I have a habit of making variations.

Do you have a pet with love issues?

-Stef-

Having A Dog, is Like Having a Second Child

2011-12-12T09:13:00.001-07:00

Hey all.

Weekend recap: The Husband spent most of the weekend working, so I spent most of the weekend cleaning and organizing. I got a lot accomplished. I reorganized Little C’s toys, went through her clothes and boxed up those that are too small, organized her closet, and the laundry room. I still haven’t managed to put my Christmas decorations up. I know, I am LAME.

Oh, and I washed Winston. I put off washing him because it is a damn chore. The actual washing part; easy. It’s the drying part that is difficult. He gets really excited when we’re done, and can’t seem to hold still while I try to towel him off. It’s like trying to tame a bucking bronco. He is squeaky clean now. Look at him sparkle:

Well, he was clean. For a moment or two. I took him outside to play Frisbee while C was napping yesterday. Usually when we play Frisbee, Winston gets rough when he catches it and it makes his gums bleed a little bit. I think he must have bit his tongue really badly or maybe he lost a tooth, because the next thing I knew there was blood pouring out of his mouth. It was all over chis chest, paws, face, and splatters across his back. I was a little freaked out.

He acted like it was nothing. He looked liked a botched candy cane. I gave him some really cold water to drink to rinse off his mouth, and then gave him a couple ice cubes to chew on to help the bleeding slow down. It worked. I’m still not sure what he did. It looks like all of his teeth are intact, and I didn’t notice any cuts on his tongue. Super dog. Oh, and cleaning blood off of a white dog is FUN. When I say fun, I really mean impossible.

I don’t think I need any more children. It’s hard enough trying to take care of Winston and Little C at the same time. Dog’s are basically just furry children that can’t speak real words, and I have a child so I can say that.

Alright. I am a planner. I like to plan things and make lists. It helps keep me sane. So these are my workout plans for the week:

Monday: 2 mile puppy run. Jillian’s MTC.

Tuesday: 2 mile puppy run. Jillian’s MTC.

Wednesday: 3 mile puppy run. Rest MTC.

Thursday: 2 mile puppy run. Jillian’s MTC.

Friday: 2 mile puppy run. Jillian’s MTC.

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 3 mile puppy run. Rest MTC.

So far I have really enjoyed the Making The Cut workouts. They are hard, but manageable. The diet portion has been going really well also. Here is a peak at what my meal plan is like:

I haven’t been following Jillian’s diet plan exactly, but rather taking tips from it. My meals are similar to those that are in the book, just different types of proteins and veggies. I also eat more fruit than what is recommended in the book. I don’t know why, but there is very little fruit in Jillian’s diet plan and I need a little more fruit in my life.

I know it seems OCD to have every single thing that I’m going to eat during the day laid out. But, I’ve honestly found it really helpful. I know what I can eat and keep within my caloric goals. Gotta’ be careful with those nuts though. Jillian recommends pistachios. I purposely didn’t buy any because I knew there was no way I could only eat a small handful at one time.

I am trying a lot of new healthy recipes this week. I will take pictures and share them with you as the week goes on. Deal? Deal.

How was your weekend?

-Stef-

To Shave or Not To Shave, That Is The Question

2011-12-08T10:48:00.001-07:00

I’m talking about my legs. Don’t let your minds wander. Geez, you creeps.

I’ve been wondering why I even bother shaving my legs this time of year. Especially since I’ve been doing a lot of puppy runs in the balmy 12 degree mornings we’ve been having this week. It takes a matter of seconds in the cold for all of my hard work to be undone. Why bother? It’s cold, and the chances of me bearing my legs is slim to none.

So, here are three reasons why it would be better to let your inner cave woman shine.

1. Warmth. Extra hair, means more insulation in a sense, right? If you decide to grow out your leg hair, you could be assured that your legs will stay nice and toasty on those cold winter nights.

2. Save money. No shaving = no razor or shaving cream purchases. This means your money can be spent on important things like Cheez Its, and running shoes.

Or…perms. Do people still do that?

3. Donate. By the time spring rolls around, you should have enough hair to donate to Locks of Love.

(source)

However, if you have a spouse or boyfriend they probably won’t touch you with a ten foot pole. So be ready for several months of loneliness. Unless they are into hairy women…Win-Win-Win. Husband is not into the al’ naturale. AT ALL. If my legs get prickly he is sure to tell me that he’s scared I may be turning into a cave woman on him.

In other news, I have a blood blister on my foot.

I don’t know how it came to be. The only time I’ve ever had a blood blister is from getting pinched by something. I drained it, because it hurt like a beast, and I’d rather do it myself than have it explode and have a bloody mess in my shoe. Your welcome for that image.

Is there anyone out there that purposefully does not shave their legs? I’m really, really curious what your reasons are. COME ON.

-Stef-

Technorati Tags: Random,Blisters

Frozen Boogers

2011-12-06T09:29:00.001-07:00

It’s been cold enough the past couple of mornings to actually freeze my snot. Have you ever experienced that before? No? Well, come to Utah, I’ll show you what it’s like. If it’s going to only be a high of 20 every day, we might as well get some snow up in here to at least makes things festive looking. Plus, it’s usually warmer when it snows. What am I saying?? Oh, right, this is what I like to call Winter Crazies. When you start thinking that 30 degrees is actually WARM. I am there. I’m pretty sure that’s what really happened on The Shining.

(source)

I decided to take it easy this past week considering I was starting Making The Cut on Monday (yesterday). Winston and I headed out for a much needed puppy run yesterday and this morning. After a week of putting Neosporin on his nose morning and night, it’s finally healed up. I am happy to report that there was no nose scratching during our runs, so hopefully he learned his lesson. Or it could be that it’s just too damn cold for him to care one way or the other.

Today marks day 2 of 30 for Making The Cut. I am going to be using my final measurements and pictures from The 30 Day Shred, as my starting measurements/pictures for Making The Cut. I am pretty sure I haven’t changed much, or at all, in a week. As far as the workouts go, it hasn’t even been 24 hours since I did my first workout and I’m already sore. Efff. But, honestly, I can’t expect much less from ol’ Jillian. If you are interested in joining in on the Making The Cut challenge, send me an email and I can give you the details.

Wanna’ see the most epic baby Mohawk of all time?

I put a little pony tail on top of her head, and she pulled it out after her nap. So she got to rock a Mohawk for the rest of the day. In other news, I think I have a monster living under my bed. Quite literally. I catch a glimpse of it every now and again.

If you are looking for a new blog to stalk, head on over and check out my friend Brittany’s blog. She is a new triathlete as well as a vegetarian. She already has some awesome recipe ideas up on her blog! I hope Brittany doesn’t mind me telling stories about her. I went to school with Brittany. Elementary school and up. Now that I work in South Jordan, I can see the Kennecott Copper Mine in the distance every day during my commute.

(source)

Side Note: Kennecott is one of the largest mines in the world and can be seen via satellite. Major nerd moment.

For some reason this memory has stuck with me, the one I’m about to tell you, that is. We went on a 5th grade field trip to Kennecott. Brittany was my bus buddy. On the way back from our field trip, we were told that we could pull out our lunches and eat. My mom packed me a Lunchable. You know, the little meat, cheese, and cracker lunches. So I pulled it out and eagerly tried to share with Brittany. She declined and told me she was a vegetarian. I didn’t get it. I kept on asking her questions like, “So, you’ve NEVER tried meat?”, “Not even hotdogs?”, “Don’t you want to try just a little bit?” Geez, talk about peer pressure. She probably thought I was retarded.

Anyway. Go and check her out!

Are you vegetarian, vegan, or have a different kind of diet restriction?

What type of winter gear do you wear when you run?

-I need to find my running tights ASAP. I’ve just been wearing my sweats lately, and it’s just not cutting it. By the time I get back my legs are numb. I also need to get a couple pair of gloves. Whyyyyyy do I live in Utah?? Take me to the Bahamas.

-Stef-

One Year Ago

2011-12-02T14:13:00.001-07:00

About a year ago, I was a brand new mother. Little C would have been just over a month old a year ago today. Winston would have been a ‘baby’ himself. Just a small-fry in comparison. Looking back on it now, I would definitely have to self-diagnose myself with some Post Partum Depression. At the time, I thought it was all just part of the experience. After all, everyone told me it was going to be hard, I was going to have some ‘baby blues’, and I would most definitely be overwhelmed.

I have talked about what it was like for me leading up to deciding to have a baby on my other blog. I was self absorbed. I was selfish. I took pride in the fact that I had a full time job, and was a full time student. I was busy, and I liked that. It made me feel accomplished, like I was in control of my life, like I was a contributing member of society.

Once Little C was born, I felt very out of control. I felt like I couldn’t dive right into motherhood at first because it didn’t feel natural to me, and I was disappointed in myself because I wasn’t like ‘other mothers'. I felt like I had lost a part of myself. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that little baby of mine to pieces and was so happy to have her in my life.

I went from being a totally independent working member of society, to a stay at home mom essentially. (I am not knocking on SAHM’s in any way) I can’t even tell you how many times I broke down in tears for unexplained reasons. I am NOT a crier. It got to the point that I couldn’t feel happy. However, I kept telling myself these feelings were normal and it would just ‘go away’. Because that is what happens when you have the baby blues, right? Well, it didn’t really go away. It was an endless cycle filled with worry, inexplicable tears, and self loathing. I felt bad about my body. Hated it, in fact. Sure, I had done something magical by bringing a baby into this world, but the aftermath of what it did to my body was not something I enjoyed. My clothes didn’t fit right, and I just felt awkward.

I watched a lot of movies during this time. I felt like it took my mind off of what was really going on. I remember sitting on the couch watching the new Star Trek movie, and busting into tears during the beginning scene. {Baby-birth-father-dying-scene} Then I realized it wasn’t just that movie, it was every single movie/show that mentioned a baby, at all. I cried, every single time. I finally realized THIS IS NOT NORMAL! This is not who I am. I finally said to my husband, “I need to get out of this house. I HAVE to get out. I need to be alone.”

I started bit by bit, taking Winston for a walk every day about a half mile at a time. Just a few slow blocks at first, and walking the entire way. I will never forget how hard it was. Even those first few walks. But, I was determined to keep going, because I knew what I was capable of. I slowly worked up to jogging every other block. It was around this time last year that I ran my first mile post-partum. I remember feeling SO happy and proud of myself for the first time in months. I felt like I was finally accomplishing something again.

Running, is what got my out of my funk. Running is what helped me to become happy again, as cliché as it may seem. It may have just been the fact that I could get out of the house for a few minutes and have some ‘me’ time. But running is what got me there. Running was my saving grace during that time. I ran my first post-partum 5K that January.

This past year I have ran:

1-Half Marathon

3-5Ks

3-10Ks

1-9K

1-Ragnar Relay

In comparison to a lot of runners, I know that it’s not a lot. But for me, it’s not about the races. I have ran more in this past year than I have in my entire life! For me, it’s about being able to run and feel good about my fitness. Sure, I could run further. I could definitely be faster. I could probably do more tempo runs or hills sprints. But really, I could care less if I compete in a race every other weekend. I’m not in it for the metals, the glory, or the sheer competitiveness. I’m in it for my health and sanity. I’m doing it, because it makes me a better, happier, joyful person.

Anyway, this post is more of just a reflection. Every time I go out into the biting cold with my Winston, it reminds me of where I started, and how far I’ve come.

When did your running journey begin?

-Stef-

Running Divas WinnerS!

2011-12-02T11:24:00.001-07:00

Ok, there were two items up for grabs for the Running Divas giveaway, so there are TWO winners!

The winner of the Runalicious tank top, chosen by Random.org is:

#19 which is Jen from Running With The Girls who said:

The winner of the High Mileage hoody, chosen by Random.org is:

Tara, from not logged in or doesn’t have a blog who said:

Both of the winners have 24 hours to contact me at runonriot (at) gmail (dot) come to claim their prize. If I do not hear from you, I will choose another winner!

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who participated!

-Stef-

I Haz Bebe

2011-12-01T14:23:00.001-07:00

Little C hasn’t made a very big appearance on this blog lately, so this post is all for her. If you don’t like cute babies, then go elsewhere for your running/blogging fix. Here are a few pitchas to summarize what has been going on in this little gals life.

My Little Caydence has gotten REALLY grabby lately. She grabs my hair (nicely sometimes), my face, my clothes, my laptop, anything I am trying to eat, Winston’s bum hair {side note: I have to say that his bum hair, as creepy and gross as this may seem, is the softest hair on his body. And when I say bum, I really mean upper legs.}, and basically anything in her reach that she thinks should be ‘hers’. She almost ripped off my face yesterday. That felt awesome.

My sister bought Little C a poncho for her birthday. The first time I put it on her she screamed because she couldn’t figure out what to do with her arms. We tried again, and she loved it. I knew she would warm up to it. After all, we all know that poncho’s are really just an acceptable way to wear a blanket in public.

She likes to put things on her head, only to rip them off seconds later. She gives me a sideways look once it’s on her head to make sure I am observing her prettiness, and then pulls it off. You may have noticed that she never has cute things in her hair like bows and headbands. Well, this is why. Until now that is, I found a way to keep a headband on her head for longer than 1 minute. The only problem? She looks like something resurrected from the 80’s ready to put on a pair of leg warmers and get her Jane Fonda on. Second problem? She got it off.

-Stef-

GU Winner! & Three Things Thursday

2011-12-01T09:38:00.001-07:00

Whelp. Let’s get this out of the way first so that there may be a small chance you’ll read the rest of this post. The winner of the GU Giveaway was picked by random.org, and is:

Which is Julie from Almost 40 Runner, who said:

Congratulations! You have 24 hours to contact me Julie. Please email me at runonriot (at) gmail (dot) com. If I do not hear from you, I will draw another winner.

Just a reminder, today is the last day to enter my Running Divas giveaway!

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1. I was recently chosen to be a FitFluential Ambassador! I am so excited to be a part of their team, and am looking forward to this opportunity! A big thanks to Blonde Ponytail for referring me.

2. There is another Jillian Michael’s challenge on the horizon. There are already a few bloggers/readers who have jumped on board. Namely, my partner in crime Kimi, along with Heather, and Danielle. A couple of my old High School buddies, Brittany & Darci, are joining in as well. The challenge is based off of Jillian’s book, "Making The Cut”. You can find it on Amazon right now for $10.00. We are tentatively planning to start December 5th, and the challenge will run for 30 days. We have started a Facebook group called Making The Cut Together, where we can all interact about our progress during the challenge. I am not sure if our group is private or not, but I think you do need to be added by a member. Sooo, if you are interested in joining in find me on Facebook and I will add you! We will hopefully have a ‘set in stone’ plan by the end of the week. Hopefully. If you are already doing HBBC, this is something you could definitely incorporate with that!

3. I think I have decided to get rid of my other blog. I used it mostly for posting more goodies about my family. But, the bigger this blog gets, the more my other blog gets neglected. So I will be combining them in a sense, which means there will be more random stuff about my family and my dog on this blog. If you are here strictly for work out posts, then you can skip them. No hard feelings.

Are you going to jump on ‘Making The Cut’?

-Stef-

The 30 Day Shred: Results are IN

2011-11-29T11:41:00.001-07:00

Don’t for get to enter my GIVEAWAYS! Go here and here.

I am happy to say that the 30 Day Shred challenge is finally over. You can track my progress here, here, and here.

Alright, so here it is, my final spreadsheet of total inches lost over the last 30 days of shredding it up with Jillian.

I DID NOT think that I was going to lose anything this past week. I ate like a maniac. Seriously. I could not control myself. Little C and I ate almost an entire box of Cheez Its. But, I guess all of that shredding must have done something for me. Jillian is a miracle worker, guys.

Here are my before and after pictures. Be advised. I am 5’ 7”. So 6.25'” of total inches lost on my body isn’t going to look very epic because of my height. You win some, you lose some.

I can still make a scary face 30 days later.

Final thoughts: As much as I have complained, (and complained, and complained, AND COMPLAINED) about this experience I have come away with some noticeable differences that I am happy with. Although the changes in my physical appearance aren’t huge by any means, I think the biggest difference I have noticed is that I feel stronger. I can actually do a ‘man’ push up. I can hold a plank for over a minute and not feel like I am going to collapse in a giant pile of shame. I also have more endurance. I can run a little harder and longer, and my body doesn’t feel like I threw it under a bus afterward.

Am I going to continue doing 30 Day Shred? Probably not for a few weeks. I will likely incorporate some of Jillian’s strength moves into my workouts but, I am tired of that woman! I need a break from popping in the same monotonous DVD 4 times a week.

How did the Shred go for you?

Have I scared you away from trying any of Jillian’s work outs over the past 4 weeks?

-Stef-

Turkey Day & A Puppy Run Gone Bad

2011-11-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

If you missed it, check out my TWO awesome giveaways HERE and HERE.

I hope you all ate your weight in mashed potatoes and pie yesterday. Forget the turkey, get those carbs!

I will start with the beginning of our Turkey Day, which was my run with Winston. I second guessed myself all morning whether or not I wanted to take him out. My legs were beat, but he has endless energy so I didn’t need to worry about his legs being ‘beat’ from 5 days in a row of running, which is what led me to take him for a run. Sympathy.

We started off and right from the get-go Winston kept on freaking out over his head leash. He puts his head down and scratches at it with his paws as fast as he can to try and get it off. He usually does this once or twice a run, but he kept on doing it over and OVER. So there was that. About half way in, we ran into three unleashed dogs one right after another. They were friendly. But, the problem with unleashed dogs is…they can follow you. Running with Winston when there is a dog around is a lot like running with a 100lb dead body attached to a rope.

It sucks. Bad. The entire time as I was trying to get away from said unleashed dogs, he was resisting me. He just wanted to play with the dogs. Forget running. I was tired of him, so we headed home but not with more scratching of his head leash. Once we got home and I was taking off his leash, I realized he had scratched at his leash so much that he rubbed off the skin on the top of his nose. Awesome. So FREAKING awesome, Winston.

I tried to get him back in his kennel, and he thought it would be fun to play ‘hard-to-get’. Eff that dog. It took me ten minutes to get him back in his kennel. Don’t forget that I looked like a fool trying to chase him down in the yard.

Our Thanksgivings tend to be a little different than most. Husband works for FedEx. Between the months of October and December is their ‘Peak Season’. Meaning, it’s the time of year that everyone and their dog is trying to ship. In the 3 years that he has worked there, he hasn’t had a Thanksgiving off. It’s freaking lame. The past two Thanksgivings, we have just done our own thing and I have cooked us a Thanksgiving meal. This year I was hoping we could go to one of our families homes for Thanksgiving this year. Yeah, that didn’t work out because of timing issues. Most days, Husband doesn’t know what time he goes in for the next day until the day of. Same story.

Anyway, my Thanksgiving was spent driving up and down I-15, with my sister Whitney, trying to visit my Dad and my Mom. Whitney brought her dog Smee. He made himself comfortable.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures, mostly because there were a lot of unexpected guests at my Dad’s Thanksgiving dinner. We were thinking that it would just be us, my Dad, Step-mom, and maybe by Step-Siblings. Oh no, my Step-Mom’s entire family was there. Awkwarrrrrrd. Anyway, I didn’t think it would be worth taking pictures of everyone and everything because A) I barely know them, and B) I doubt they would like to be showcased on my blog. I did get a few pictures, however.

Little C and my Dad.

On our 3 hour road trip, we spend a lot of time belting out the alternative jams of our youth. It must have been pretty awful, because it put Little C right to sleep.

Later, we headed back up to Salt Lake County to visit my Mom for Thanksgiving #2. Ohhh, what a day. Good times. Good food. Good Lord, it’s time to work out.

How was your Thanksgiving? What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

-Mine is definitely mashed potatoes. Mmmm.

-Stef-

Because I am in such a GIVING mood. Running Divas Review & Giveaway!

2011-11-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I have recently been contacted by Running Divas to review some of their products! I swear they have been stalking me or something, because they sent me this shirt:

‘half marathon: I like it because it’s shorter and I’m lazy like that’

Like I said, stalking me.

Here is what Running Divas has to say about their products:

“Running Divas is a clothing line that inspires women to live fun, active, outdoor lifestyles. A hip line of casual wear for mile-minded women that’s cute and playful, with slogans and styles that celebrate running — a labor of love.”

What I liked: The SLOGANS. I seriously love the shirt they gave me and I try and wear it as much as possible so I can be like, “Oh heyyy, I’m a runner.” I loved the texture of the T-shirt. It is very soft and comfortable. I also ran a few times in this shirt, and I have to say that it passed the test. I tend to be really picky with my clothing when it comes to running. I don’t like anything rubbing on me, but this shirt worked perfectly. I had no problems!

What I didn’t like: I have no complaints! Running Divas has a good, quality, fun product.

Now I am giving away one Running Divas product to a lucky reader!

One LARGE size black hoody with the ‘high mileage’ slogan.

Here is what you need to do to enter:

MANDATORY: Be a follower of this blog (+1)

1. Go to the Running Divas website and tell me what you would pick!

2. Like Running Divas on Facebook. (+1)

3. Follow Running Divas on Twitter (+1)

4. Like RUNON on Facebook. (+1)

5. Follow me on Twitter. (+1)

6. Tweet, “I want to win a @TheRunningDiva hoody from @RUNONRIOT!”

7. Blog or Facebook this giveaway. (+1 for each)

This giveaway will end Wednesday November 30th at Midnight, and the winner will be announced the following day.

All products were given to me free of charge, but the opinions are my own.

-Stef-

Today I am Thankful For…

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

I just want to make it official and wish you all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope are enjoying friends and family, eating some good food, and kicking up your heels on this fine day. I am.

When I was younger, it was a tradition in our family to go around the table and say what we were thankful for. I thought I would keep the tradition alive, even though I can’t be with all of my family today.

So today, I am thankful for:

My Little C Babe.

That silly Husband of mine.

My giant furry companion.

The hilarious girl in Ohio that sends me daily snarky texts/emails, and lets me be her friend.

To be injury free, and running.

BOOKS, and being able to take a break from ‘real’ life every now and again.

My cray-zay sister.

Happy Thanksgiving!
What are you thankful for?
-Stef-

GU Review & Giveaway!

2011-11-23T11:20:00.001-07:00

I was recently contacted by GU to review some of their latest products! Included in my package were GU Roctane, GU Chomps, GU Gels, a GU Brew water bottle and electrolyte tabs.

I think my favorite product out of the group had to have been the GU brew and water bottle.

GU sent me a sample of each flavor, orange, lemon lime, and peach tea. Here is what GU has to says about GU Brew:

“PROPER HYDRATION includes supplementing water with electrolytes DURING activity, but it is not limited ONLY to periods of actual training and racing.

OPTIMAL HYDRATION takes place in the days and weeks before an event or after a hard workout. Use GU Brew Electrolyte Tablets whenever, wherever, and you'll see a boost in preparation, sustenance, as well as recovery.

SIMPLY, electrolytes improve the efficacy of the hydration process. They are invariably better than water alone and bring your system into balance more quickly by helping you retain more of the liquid you ingest. GU BREW ELECTROLYTE TABLETS are simple, light tasting and natural. Compare to the alternatives.”

What I liked: The peach tea sample was my favorite. I thought the flavor was very mild but had great flavor. What I really liked is the GU Brew tabs act sort of like Alca-seltzer, it makes your water slightly carbonated. I liked this. It made it seem like I wasn’t just drinking water. I also like how versatile GU Brew is. You can drink it any time, (before, after, or during a work out) and it is very low calorie unlike a lot of electrolyte based beverages. The water bottle was GREAT. Lately it has been my go-to water bottle for work outs

What I didn’t like: I didn’t care for the orange GU Brew. This is all personal preference for me though. I don’t like orange flavored things in general.

Next up, GU Gels/GU Roctane. If you have been racing for long, or for even a short period of time, you have probably come across GU Gels. GU sent me several different flavors of both original GU and GU Roctane. The biggest difference between the two products is GU Roctane is an amped up version of the original. If you’d like more information about it, go here.

What I liked: I have used GU gels in the past, and now they a HUGE variety of different flavors to choose from. I can always find something that I really like that doesn’t make me feel like I’m gagging it down. They do what they say they are going to do. I felt that boost of energy, and was able to recover faster. The GU Roctane is definitely for high endurance activities, and is also great for maximized energy and recovery.

What I didn’t like: I had a hard time with the texture of GU. It’s a little thicker than I would like it to be, and doesn’t always go down the way I would like it to. Like most gels that I have tried, GU gels also gives me a little bit of stomach upset.

Finally, GU Chomps. You can probably guess, but I LOVE GU Chomps.

What I liked: GU also sent me several different flavors, Cranberry Apple being my favorite. My mouth just waters thinking about it. I love the texture and consistency of the Chomps. They are a lot like fruit snacks, which is bad for me…because I want to eat them, just to eat them. I think I have a problem…

What I didn’t like: There isn’t anything that I didn’t like about the Chomps. They are a great product!

And now, DUN DUN DUNNNN. The moment you have all been waiting for. One lucky winner will win a variety of 10 GU Gels!

Here is what you need to do to enter:

MANDATORY: Be a follower of this blog (+1)

1. Like GU on Facebook. (+1)

2. Follow GU on Twitter. (+1)

3. Like RUNON on Facebook. (+1)

4. Follow me on Twitter. (+1)

5. Tweet this giveaway and say, “I want to win the @GUEnergyLabs from @RUNONRIOT! http://run-on-riot.blogspot.com/2011/11/gu-review-giveaway.html”

6. Blog or Facebook this giveaway. (+1) for each.

This giveaway will end on November 29th at Midnight, and the winner will be announced the following day.

All products were given to me free of charge, but the opinions are my own.