eat.run.bake.blog

If you are like me the Holidays mean cookies!! I ate right all year and trained hard and now I am letting my body rest and recover and I am enjoying many delicious baked good. So far this season I have made Snikerdoodles and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I always like trying new recipes but I have not finalized my selection yet so for now I will be posting a Gluten Free Chocolate Chip recipe. So many of us either know someone who is gluten sensitive or are gluten sensitive ourselves so we need to share recipes that work for everyone. Disclaimer this recipe will not work for everyone because it is not nut free since I am using Almond Flour to make these cookies. My friends daughter is Gluten Sensitive so I started looking up recipes for her a couple of years ago. It really opened my eyes to learning more about gluten sensitivity. Many recipes can very easily be made gluten free by replacing the flour. For this recipe I used Almond Flour but you can use any gluten free flour you choose...

As winter and the Holidays are quickly approaching I am trying to plan a bit of a break from my running. Im sure my idea of a running break is not the same as some others. I will still run 3 or 4 times a week but I will not really be running much more then 10 miles on my long run day. I think it is important to give our bodies a rest.  I'm really hoping this will give me more time for my yoga practice. My girlfriend Faith is back from Spain and is teaching local classes again. I am so grateful. Yoga is such an awesome way to cross train and the emotional benefits I get from the practice is very similar to the emotional benefits I get from a long run. I wanted to share a few picture from our kayak tour last week. My buddy Mike was kind enough to let us all get out on the river after work last Friday. We had a great time. What our your fitness goals for the cooler seasons?

I finally broke down and bought myself a bread machine. Well let me not say myself I'm telling my husband he bought it for me since he was mad that I got it on my own. I have been having a hard time making my bread each week now that the temperature is dropping. I love having fresh baked bread in the house so the purchase needed to be made. I ordered Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Bread Maker. It makes a 2 pound loaf so I will need to make atleast 2 loaves a week. This machine is so easy to use I will makes as many loaves a week as the family needs. All I had to do was add the ingredients. Our bread machine baked this loaf in 3 hours and 40 minutes. I know that seems like a lot of time but when the only step you have to take is about 5 minutes long you will quickly appreciate the 3 hours and 40 minutes of time you can spend however you please. For nearly 10 months. I made two loaves of whole wheat bread a week. I would wake up each Sunday add the ingredients to the mixing bowl ...

October is the 10th month. Its is my Birthday month. It is the month I started dating my husband. Its is the month of Halloween. It is the month of the Perfect 10 miler by CGI. Last year I ran in the Second Annual Perfect 10 Miler and I had a blast. I signed up on Opening Day this year because I knew I wanted to run it again. the Perfect 10 is a all female 10 mile race in Mercer County Park NJ. The energy last year was amazing and empowering. This year the event was a great time once again! I did not spend the night in a hotel like I did last year. So I had to wake extra early and then take the long drive. It wasn't too bad of a drive but the whole time I was just wishing the sun would come up. The temperature was in in the mid 50s and the winds were not strong. We had some light rain but nothing major. Since I was running as a part of a team we had a tent which is always nice to hang out in pre-race and then you also have a place to stash all your gear while you race. The r...

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. The weather is amazing the leaves start to change but mostly because my birthday is in the fall and I love when its my Birthday! I am still trying to let me legs rest and recovery from the race last weekend so I knew I had to keep myself busy with baking since I'm not letting myself do much running yet. I made a list of things to bake this weekend. Must Bake List Pumpkin Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake Candy Corn Cookie Bark (2) Mini Cheese Cakes Cracker Toffee Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread I have made these mini cheese cakes a few times and they were a big hit. My buddy Tommy recently had 2 years clean and was feeling left out that I didn't bake anything for him so these are for him for his Anniversary, and Birthday (which also falls in October) and JoAnn's Birthday which was Wednesday! I'm killing 3 birds with one batch of Cheese Cakes haha. Monday is our office Birthday Bake day so I will be making the Pumpkin ...

Sunday was an amazing day that I will always remember! The week leading up to race was a rainy mess. We had threats of a hurricane hitting the coast and we were preparing for the worst. My biggest fear was that weather was going to cause the race to be canceled. The show went on and we had no rain on race day. The temps were cool and the sky was overcast as we pulled up to the race. The Blues Cruise 50K Trail Run accepts 400 runners, the event had nearly reached its capacity as the runners were gathering around the Day Use Pavilion at Blue Marsh anxiously awaiting the 8:30 AM start. I felt great. I was confident in my training but still a little nervous about running my longest distance to date. My goal for the day was to finish. My desired time for the race changed a number of times from when I first signed up for the event. My unrealistic expectation were dismissed while training when I realized how slow my pace got the further I was running on the trails. I was so grateful ...

Now is the time when I really need positive thoughts sent my way! I have been training for weeks for this event and it is now only 5 days away. What do you do the week before race day? Running times are short which makes me a little mental. I have started to stalk the weather and its looking like we are going to have a muddy mess of a race day. I am no newbie to mud so I will be fine with that Im just hoping that it wont be raining the whole day while we are running. Im sure the forecast will change a few times from now until Sunday so I need to stop looking at it! I have been trying to stick to a strict diet for the two weeks leading up to race say. For me diet is big part of how well I perform when I run. I feel great physically.  Mentally I'm a little nutty haha. Work hasn't been extremely busy which leaves me with too much time to think. I know I will be fine but any words of encouragement are always welcome!

I set out Saturday to do a 14 mile run. I had the course all mapped out in my head. My pack was stocked with enough water and fruit. My kids were at home with my sister. Everything was in its place. Or so I thought. Around mile 8 I started to have major stomach issues. This set a bad tone for the rest of my run. I was able to run another few miles but by mile 11 I was just done. I could not force myself to keep running. Since I thought I was running 14 miles that day I had about 3 miles to walk home. If you know me walking is not a strong point. I get really frustrated when I have to walk places because well I'd rather be running. I was thankful that time was still on my side. I had a speaker jam to set up for that day but I did not have to be there until 11. My 60 minute run the following day was great. I did not eat anything before my run. I did not bring any water I did not bring anything at all in fact and it was lovely. Not all training runs will go as planned. I keep ...

Oh man oh man oh man. Race day is coming up quick. 24 days may seem like a lot if you are going on vacation or if you are waiting for a large sum of money but when waiting for race day 24 days seems all too soon. I have been training for weeks and weeks for the Blues Cruise 50k . This will be my first official Ultra. My #1 Goal is to finish, there is an 8 hour sweep and know I have trained hard. Some of my long training runs left me feeling doubtful about race day and others left me feeling confident. I think that is the way it goes when training for any distance event. This race is going to take hours and hours to finish I am prepared for that. My biggest concern is keeping my mind strong during the event. I know my lungs are strong. I know my legs are strong. I know my heart is strong, it is my head that always worries me! I am still running 5 times a week right now but my mileage is stepping down. This Satruday Im scheduled to run 14 miles and I'm very excited. Next weekend ...

I tried my very first class at Cross Fit Advance last Thursday. These girls at cross fit are no joke. We started out the class with a 500m dash, slice of pie. Then we did a few other warm up stretches. After that they started us with the kettle bells. I have never used a kettle bell before so the coach was very patient with me and helped make a modification for me. The workout felt great but was very challenging. We did the same routine for 6 minutes. When it came time to put the equipment back I immediately felt soreness in my legs that I have not felt before. We continued on with the class. At this time we split in to teams and had 6 different exercises to do. I got paired up with Robin. This chick is bad ass her energy kept me motivated during the routine. We were at each station for 2 minutes and then moved on to the next. Our goal was to see how many times we could do each exercise. I had a lot of fun. I know I need to start adding some additional work outs to my running r...

I h ave been absent from my page lately but I have not been absent from running. I wanted to make a post about how much fun I had running in Virgina but I couldn't find the time.  I have been keeping up with my training for the Blues Cruise 50k. I have not hit all of the miles on the long runs yet but I feel confident in my training and I'm certain I will cross that finish line.  Last week I set out to run 18 miles. I decided to run on Schuykil Bank Trail head out 9 miles then turn back. This run ended up being much harder then I thought it would be. By mile 15 my legs were just spent! Which was a big surprise to me because the week before I ran 15 miles in Freedom Park (Virgina) and felt great. The big difference was the terrain. My legs were happy with the rain soaked trails in VA and were not please when I ran them long and hard on the concrete.  The shoes I do my long runs in are the Altra Superuor 2.0. I really dig these shoes but they are a trail shoe and last weeke...

Saturday morning I wanted to bang out my long run before we left for vacation. I was scheduled to run 16 miles. I knew exactly where I had to run to get the miles done. I started out around 7am and was feeling good but not great. It was already pretty darn hot at 7am. I took a slat stick cap after running for about 30 minutes. I was keeping a good pace of about 8:30 per mile. Once I had been running for 60 minutes I ate my first clementine. I'm hooked on running with clementines now. So much so that I upset when I realized there were not any at the Food Lion here in Willimasburgh. After my first clementine I was feeling good but not for long. I was sweating a lot so I went to grab a second salt stick cap. They were gone. I knew I had packed 3 or 4 to hold me over for a 16 mile run. At this point I became obsessed with finding them on the ground. I was running a loop so I was pretty determined to find these little treasures. After running for about 3 additional miles feeling like a ...

So as many of you may know I recently made a facebook account after being off of Facebook for several years. Once I joined I started seeing a few of my friends making posts about Essential Oils. Naturally I was interested in what they were posting about because I am always looking for natural remedies and ways to keep myself and my family as healthy as possible. Last Wednesday I went to an Essential Oils 101 Class. I learned so much about so many uses for these precious little oils. I of course had to make a purchase. I wanted to get everything so instead I settled on the Family Physician Kit plus a bottle of In Tune and a bottle of Clay Calm. The Physician Kit includes 5ml bottles of Lavender, Lemon. Peppermint, Melaleuca, Oregano, Frankincense, Breath, On Guard, Digest Zen, Deep Blue plus a 15ml bottle of Slim & Sassy. I wanted to get the Home Essential Kit but I was afraid my husband would kill me if I got that plus two other bottles all at once. I have so many plans for...

Saturday I had the opportunity to log a few miles on the good ol trails of the Wissahickon. It was great to be back out there. My goal is to get out there as many time as I can before the Blues Cruise 50k in October. I was feeling great. We started out early so it was not too warm at first but it warmed up quickly so I was happy to be in the shade of the trees and hills. We ran just under 15 and I was happy with that. I am a little behind schedule according to the plan I am following but I am confident I will get there as long as I am consistent. This was my first run in awhile wearing my Nathan Zeal Hydration Pack . I really do love this vest. The front left pocket fits my clementines perfectly and the front right pocket hold my phone since I do not currently need it for the 20 ounce bottle. This was my first time wearing the vest wearing only a tank top and I was happy to report it did not cause any chaffing. I stuck a few saltstick caps int he provided pill pocket which was very c...

One of my nearest and dearest friends is having a baby! I have known for several weeks but it is now public knowledge and I'm thrilled to be sharing the news! The day after I found out I had to go visit my girlfriend and feed her of course. That day she had her first Vietnamese tofu hoagie from Pho Street and she loved it!  I have a thing about wanting to feed and bake for pregnant friends. I sure its because I know how much I loved eating tasty treats while I was expecting. Miranda came to our house for the Fourth of July and was disappointed I did not make my ever so easy cracker toffee for our guests. To make up for that let down I have made her what I am calling S'more Bark! S'more bark is exactly like cracker toffee but I use graham crackers instead of saltines and of course add mini marshmallows on top. S'more Bark Preheat oven to 350 F Line baking sheet with Tin foil Place single layer of graham crackers on top of tinfoil  In small pan melt...

This Saturday night my husband and I are signed up to run the Midnight Madness Run in Philadelphia, PA. I am excited to run this event because we will be jumping in to help light up the night a bit for the IN 24 Ultra Run that is going on that same day. I wonder how my body is going to preform at midnight. I have only really ran at night once before. I am such a creature of habit. I typically run during my lunch hour at work or early in the morning on the weekends. Last week I was not able to run during lunch so I ran after dinner and that was not my best idea. My stomach did not appreciate the change. I'm going to try and do things exactly the way I would if this was a morning run. I get up two hours before I have to leave the house. Eat my overnight oat drink lots of water and then head to the race. We have dinner plans and my sister in laws and after dinner she is going to keep our daughter so we can get some rest before the race. Its great to have support from people in you...

I purchased the Fresh Foam Zante shoe from the New Balance store in Center City last week. I ran in them for 5 miles on Friday and I was not immediately in love with them. I remember when I got my first pair of the Fresh Foam 980 when they came out. I knew right away that I was going to buy another pair. New Balance has made a bunch of changes to the Fresh Foams there are now the Fresh Foam Zante and the Fresh Foam Boracay. The salesperson told me the Zante are more of a running exclusive shoe and the Boracay are all inclusive fitness type show. When I first saw the new exterior I was happy with the detailing near the toe because it looks like I wont have an issue with my big toe nail popping out like I have on my other two Fresh Foam 980s. However that very detailing drove me nuts around mile 4 of my first time running in them. I could feel it rubbing across the top of my toe nails. I tried re-lacing the tops holes of the shoes to get some relief. When I went to try these on I...

Yesterday when I was out for my lunch run it was hot! I knew it was going to be a hot one so I wore a light colored light fabric tank top. I think this really saved me. Another thing that saved me was the water fountain. I know many people myself included do not run with water unless its going to be a long run. Along the path I typically run at work there are plenty of fountains and I am grateful for them. When it is hot you sweat more which means you need to drink more! Drink more before you run drink more during your run and drink more after your run. Do not get discouraged with having to stop for a few second at the water fountain to have a few sips you are doing your body a huge favor. Dress for the weather. Wear moisture wicking materials in all season to pull sweat away from your body. Wear light colored clothes in the summer. Yes I know black is slimming but so is exercise so put on a white or light colored tech style shirt and head out for your fun run in the sun. One...

I love to keep busy. I have said before I love training and following schedules. Right now Im not exactly sure what is next and its sort of haunting me. There is a 50K that I am thinking of signing up for but I don't know if it will conflict with the trip to Arizona that we are trying to plan. I have signed up for the Midnight Madness Event that is happening in a few weeks but considering its so close and its 8 miles long I do not really need to train much for it. What I'm doing now is just sticking with running 5 times a week as if I were in a training plan. Focusing on having my longer runs on the weekends when I have more time. I'm feeling really great physically. I am continuing to do the IT Band Exercises every other day now instead of every day. I need to get back on track with my core routine. I feel like I really need motivation for core work. I have tried to recruit my husband to work with me and that never lasts long. After work on Friday we took a nice run...

I have been sort of obsessed with granola recently. I love eating eat it with plain oatmeal and fresh berries. I'm not really a huge fan of yogurt so when I cover it with toppings its easier to tolerate. Yogurt is really great for digestion and a good source of protein which is why I try to keep it in my diet. Yesterday was my first day getting back to my clean eating routine after having off for one week. I started to feel headaches on Sunday and I'm certain it was from all of the sugar I consumed in the days before. It took me months to get used to eating the way that I have been eating but it only a few days for me to notice the side effects of coming off of my routine. I really do not think it will be a problem getting back on track. Sunday I made a loaf of my Whole Wheat Banana Bread but added a 1/2 cup of walnuts this time. I know the Banana bread will not last long in our house. Last night I made a big batch of granola to snack on or to eat with yogurt. Everyone in th...

On Fridays I usually get done work at noon. Since I did not run at all during the work week I wanted to run Friday after work and follow it up with pizza and ice cream. I have been taking full advantage of this "off" week.  My husband came down to meet us so we could run on the river trail. I'm really loving that my husband is getting more into running. I think it's awesome when couples can find new ways to relate to one another and find joy in doing so. We kept a nice pace. Right now is not the time to work on speed work. It was also suggested to me that I not run any more then 10 miles on a long run for the next few weeks to give my legs the recovery they need. I wanted to 10 on Friday but 8 was great. In a few weeks Jim and I will be running the Midnight Madness Run so it was good for him to get an 8 mile run in so he knows the distance is no issue. My husband is very funny. While running on Friday he was telling Kelly and I that he could do a half. I think he may ...

I have declared this week refeed week. I have been letting myself eat whatever I want. I have also not been out for a run since Sunday. I am feeling the effects each morning when I try to wake up and just want to stay in bed. I could also be feeling this way from the cold I am fighting, but I choose to blame it on the increased amount of refined sugar in my diet over the past week. If you are not familiar with the idea of refeeding its a term used by weight lifters and body builder that are trying to burn fat. They use refeeding as a way to spike their metabolism. I am not trying to do that. All I am doing is trying to recover from a race and allow myself to eat some foods that I would not eat when  in training. It has been a good time so far but I am really starting to miss running.  Im planning to go for a long run tomorrow after work and then follow that up with some ice cream! After the weekend I will start training for my next event/adventure. I was able to get in a...

It pains me to make this post. I planned and trained for the Ragnar Trail in West Virginia for months. I could not however plan for the weather or the fact that one of our runners was not able to make it. We signed up for the event as a 4 person ultra team. Our game plan was to run 2 legs at a time and then switch runners. If you have never done a Raganr Trail event there are typically 3 legs, Green, Yellow and Red. Green for us was 3.5 miles with minimal elevation change. Yellow was 4.6 with some nice elevation change nothing major but truly the most gorgeous screnery I have seen to date while trailing. The red trail was 6.7 miles long. The red had the most hills and lots of technical parts where running was not an option at all. We set up camp Thursday evening and were thankfully to have a break in the storm while we did so. As soon as we all came into our tents for the nights the skies opened up once again. We found out our tent was not leak proof. It was a very we...