MIMM #12 9/29/2013

So today is a new week, as I take a deep breathe. I've posted recently about how I've been in a funk. Well, I can't seem to shake it, but I'm ready to work hard this week and get things done/moving/happening in my life. As long as I can fight off this sinus thing?/allergies?/cold? that I feel coming on.  I'm downing some tea with ACV and taking echinacea like it's my job so hopefully that helps. Here are some of the mostly marvelous  things that happened this past weekend!

Marvelous is checking out the Baltimore Book Festival this weekend. I love used books and street festivals-the weather was fantastic this year! 

Marvelous is getting some miles on my new sneakers which are now sitting in the box until the marathon (in 11 days!!!).

Marvelous is getting some fancy drinks out on a Saturday night. 

Marvelous is finally trying out the Afghan restaurant The Helmand in my neighborhood and having an amazing meal. I got a chicken dish with lots of veggies in a spicy tomato sauce and split their famous afghan ice cream for dessert. It was a cardamom ice cream with fig, date and mango pieces. It was amazing, and I'll definitely be back!

Not so marvelous is slacking on some much-needed studying for my medical terminology test which I need to take this week. 

Marvelous is Breaking Bad series finale last night. I thought the commercial breaks after every scene really took me out of it, but they definitely tied up the series nicely. 

Marvelous is spending Sunday afternoon with a pumpkin beer, burger, and football (even though both the Eagles and Ravens played horribly, ugh). 

The most marvelous of all is going to my first expo-Natural Products Expo East, which was right downtown, and pretending I'm a real big-time blogger who networks and passes out business cards to companies that I'd like to work with. Let's be honest, the most marvelous thing about it was the three big bags of swag I picked up. My thoughts and reviews on the expo and the awesome products I tried will get it's own post :)

Only half of the swag I picked up!

How was your weekend?

Marathon Training Week 14 and Five Friday Songs

Still been trying to catch up on LIFE this week and will hopefully have a very productive weekend. I've got a recap of marathon training last week. Oh and by the way, the big race is 15 days away. Commence freaking out but trying to stay calm and healthy and keep pretending that I'm ready. I think I totally miscounted my training week numbering on these posts, sorry!

The Road to 26.2 -Marathon Training Week 14

Runs:

Short runs: My training group did the hardest hill workout on the schedule with 5x each of the 4 hills. my quads and hamstrings were feeling SUPER sore from crossfit the day before so I didn't try to run too fast, just got the hill repeats done.  

Long Run- Saturday was the last longer run and another first-22 miles. OMG. One of the other local running stores was holding a Baltimore marathon course run which loosely covers part of the second half of the marathon course so my training group decided to join that run.  I ran to meet up with my group and run over to the start of the run. We had numbers and there were port-a-potties and water/gatorade stops on the course which was nice. It was a good practice run to start off running with a large crowd instead of my little training group posse. The run had some tougher hills and my group was running close to my MRP, so I just took it easy and stayed around 45 sec-1 min behind my MRP because there is NO reason to push myself and get hurt with so little time left in training.  The weather was really nice for running, and I felt good, besides getting tight and sore at the end.  I made sure to actually stop at water stops and drink some water or fill up my water bottles to stay hydrated.  I hit exactly 22.0 miles on my Garmin right when I stepped foot in front of my door. I have been recovering with Cellucor BCAAs and a tsp of l-glutamine powder which seems to be my magic potion because for the first time in a month, my legs weren't feeling awful and tight the rest of the day/next day :)

What was awesome last week:   I am focused on staying healthy and worked on stretching and recovering. Last week some weighted lunges on Monday had my legs SO sore all week. I took rest days on Thursday and Friday to ensure I'd feel good on Saturday's long run, and it worked!

What I need to work on this week: I need to work on drinking more water throughout the day and staying hydrated all week, not just the day before a big run!

I usually am always talking about my favorite foods and snacks, which will probably happen next week after I check out some of the Natural Products Expo East trade show in Baltimore this weekend.  I finally decided to start updating my iPod for the marathon since I've been running without music (!) for all of training. Here are 5 songs I'm LOVING that I've added!

My Five Friday Faves (music edition!) this week are:

1. Unbelievers- Vampire Weekend

I saw them play this live at Freefest last weekend, and it sounded awesome. 

2. Applause- Lady Gaga

This song is catchy and awesome to run to. I <3 Gaga. 

3. Reflektor- Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire's new albums is probably going to be epic. I love the 80s, synthy vibe in this song. 

4. Hold On We're Going Home- Drake

This song is a slower R&B jam but I love singing along to it. 

5. Give It 2 U - Robin Thicke feat. Kendrick Lamar

Do you have any new favorite workout songs? Any big plans this weekend? 

Work, but don't forget to live

Things have still been moving at a whirlwind pace, and I've been taking a step back to remember to do what I gotta do, but just live.

My cup of Yogi tea gave me some serendipitous wisdom last night, as it always seems to.

Besides some personal life drama, I feel like fall is here and I need to be doing more. I've discussed before how I get caught up in life and neglect myself sometimes. Especially lately, I've been meditating on that notion more. I'm also trying to stay healthy and strong for that marathon I'm running in 17 days and all (WHAT?!).

Here's some things I've been doing instead of blogging, studying, stressing out, and working (too hard):

1. Going out for ice cream with my siblings and getting a two scoop sundae with vanilla vegan (due to my tummy troubles) ice cream, gooey caramel sauce, Reeses Pieces, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. I ate all but a few spoonfuls because then my stomach hurt. Probably due to the massive amount of sugar I devoured in 5 minutes. It was worth it though because I haven't had a legit ice cream sundae in so long, and it was DELISH. No photo because I ate it too fast, haha.

2. Waffles. Yes, if I happen to have some extra time in the morning, I'll treat myself to some waffles for breakfast, since they take a bit longer to make than pancakes and all. Even on a weekday. I'm worth it, and waffles are delicious, especially when you pan cook some banana slices in coconut oil to top your waffles with. 

3. You deserve the best. Thank you, Chobani, I need to think that more often. I already received my coupons for free yogurtto replace a few bad cups I had purchased when they were having issues with fizzing,moldy yogurts. I still love you, Chobani, especially with your great customer service.

4. Going to Virgin Mobile FreeFest Music Festival even though it poured rain all afternoon and evening to see Vampire Weekend, Robin Thicke, City and Colour,The Avett Brothers, Kaskade, and Pretty Lights. Yeah the rain made it pretty miserable, especially since I had woken up at 5:30 AM and ran lots and lots  of miles (22!), but I love music and couldn't pass up a free concert. I had never seen Vampire Weekend live and LOVED it.  

Oh hey, Robin Thicke!

5. Sleeping in. I haven't been really working out in the mornings because I've been choosing sleep over exhasution later in the day. I need to buckle down with the marathon race day quickly approaching but figure being well-rested is better for my body! Stay healthy people, I hear lots of coughing and sniffling on the bus and at work with the changing of the seasons. 

Have you been taking care of yourself this week? What do you do to de-stress?

Just keep breathing {marathon training update week 13}

This week has been trying for me. Before I get to that, here's my Week 13 (AH!) marathon training update. 

The Road to 26.2 -Marathon Training Week 13

Runs:

Short runs: My training group was another short hillwork run. The weather was supposed to be unusually hot and humid again so we only did 3 of each of the 4 hills. It was a shorter workout and ended up not being as hot as the forecast predicted, but it's better to be safe than sorry! 

Long Run- There was 18 miles scheduled for Saturday. I was feeling okay and the run had us starting out with a flat stretch along the harbor and then climbing some hills over near Patterson Park. I hadn't gotten up as early as I should have so for the first time in my training runs I had to deal with bathroom issues in the middle of a long run. Of course they started in the park area where there are no bathrooms or businesses in sight. I suppose it was good practice to learn how to run when you're feeling uncomfortable and just push through it. Eventually about 4 miles later I pulled off from the group and stopped to use a Starbucks bathroom. This was a good reminder to get up early, get things moving, and go to the bathroom before a long run.  Otherwise, the weather was lovely, and my fueling was on-point.  I was conscious of my nutrition intake but not over or under using the GU and Honey Stinger chews I had brought along. 

What was awesome last week:   I've been good at listening to my body. Fueling it, resting it, and stretching it out are so important, especially towards the end of training. I will take a rest day or skip a run if I need to. 

What I need to work on this week: I need to de-stress and try to keep calm. Stress only wreaks havoc on my body and mind. I've noticed I've been remembering bits of dreams, all involving less than pleasant situations which I think is a manifest of some of my stress. I certainly don't need to get myself sick or run down.

Remember, tomorrow (Friday 9/20/13) is the last day to enter the Delta Labs fall recipe contest! Entries should be original recipes with photos if possible and can be submitted via email to contests@deltalabsusa.com.The winner will receive a $50 VISA gift card and gets to have their recipe featured on the Delta Labs website and made into a Delta Dishes video! 

This week has been quite the doozy in my personal life so I've been kind of absent from blogging, social media, and life in general. I'm trying to get my priorities straight and just remember to breathe. Deep, yoga breathing. 

Everything happens for a reason and it's nice to have those moments where you know somebody, somewhere was looking out for your family.  Remember to tell people that are important to you that you love them. 

here are some reminders I pinned on Pinterest!

If you're training for a race, how is it going? What do you focus on when times get tough?

MIMM #11 9/16/2013

Happy Monday! Congrats to Monica who won my Protein Bakery giveaway! I hope you enjoy all the protein-packed goodies you'll be receiving soon!

I've been in a funk lately of having lots of things to do but end up not getting any of it done. This weekend was no different. I caught up with sleep, baked pumpkin donuts and bread, and ate a lot of food and did not drink enough water. I had a really nice run on Saturday morning minus a bathroom break that made the middle of my run uncomfortable .

Otherwise, I didn't really do much, which is nice, especially with the weekends starting to get booked as we move further into autumn. I still have loads to do so here is my game plan for getting back on track this week. 

1. Plan dinner each day. I've been kind of trying to wing it which leads to me feeling too lazy to actually cook something (i.e. frozen pizza for dinner last night) or just eating a tons of snacks which would be okay, but mine have lately involved lots of popcorn, peanut butter, and dark chocolate.

2. Create a manageable to-do list. I LOVE lists. I've been slacking on writing a weekly to-do list to actually stick to. I need to create goals of things to complete by the end of each day to break it up and make it easier to tackle.

3. Go to bed earlier and get up earlier. Starting the day well-rested and not rushing around to get to work makes everything better. 

4. Get less than fun errands taken care of quickly instead of putting them off. Checking something off the list that needs to get done once and for all, such as getting my routine bloodwork done for my GI doctor, will be very satisfying. Procrastinating makes me far more anxious in the long run. 

Since I pretty much bummed around and took it easy this weekend, I wasn't really on social media or even taking pics with my phone. Nonetheless, here is a recap of my marvelous  not-too-exciting weekend! 

Marvelous is pumpkin bread and how it fills your kitchen with a delicious pumpkin aroma that lingers for hours. I made this pumpkin bread and added mini chocolate chips. It is so moist and delicious that I predict it will not make it through the week!

Not so marvelous is not working on any homework therefore forcing myself to finish it all tonight. Boo, that's not going to be fun. 

Marvelous is lining the rim of a pint glass with cinnamon sugar (as you would salt for a margarita) and drinking pumpkin beer out of it. Try it, you won't be disappointed. 

Marvelous is getting fresh fruit smoothies at the farmer's market every Sunday. The past two weeks I've gone for the fruit smoothie as my snack, and it is really refreshing. This week I got a mango pineapple smoothie which was really tangy and not too sweet. I think I need to start making more fruit smoothies as snacks instead of my usual chocolate or vanilla post-workout ones. 

Marvelous is homemade beef burgers. I usually buy ground turkey as red meat replacement in recipes and eat beef when I'm out if I'm in the mood for it. I picked up some grassfed beef on sale a few weeks ago and finally pulled it out when I had a hankering for burgers this weekend. Grassfed beef tastes SO much better. I could have eaten literally three of those burgers. I was having tummy issues so I didn't eat it with a bun and instead had it with some carrot and sweet potato fries. I even made a copycat In-and-out burger special sauce I found  that was boyfriend approved. 

Marvelous is pumpkin spice M&Ms that I picked up at Target yesterday. They aren't super pumpkin-y flavored but are still so freaking yummy. No pic because the bag is ripped open and halfway gone. Oops. 

Not so marvelous/marvelous is Breaking Bad's new episode last night-sadness, anger, wtf?! Episode was bananas. I can't wait to see what is in store for the last two episodes. 

How was your weekend? Was it super busy or not that eventful?

Marathon Training Week 12 and Five Friday Faves 9/13/13

The Road to 26.2 -Marathon Training Week 12

Runs:

Short runs: My training group was still hillwork again-gotta be prepared for those Baltimore hills! We did 4-5x each of the 4 hills. The last two hills are the steepest so I was definitely feeling it in my legs by the 4th or 5th repeat of those guys. 

Long Run- Saturday was a scaled back week, mileage-wise. We did 14 miles, which is still no small run.  I was in a rush in the morning which led me to only pack one gel and just fill my fuel belt with water and powerade. I was regretting not having another gel but ended up feeling okay. The first 7 miles were uphill and then we turned around and ran the last 7 mostly downhill so I wasn't hurting too bad.  The weather was a bit cooler and the route pretty shaded so it was a nice run overall.  My hamstrings still feel really tight so I need to take extra care of them and stretch out really good.

What was awesome last week:   I've been really great at fueling properly and paying attention to eating more protein and carbohydrates. I've got my pre-workout meal down pretty well (nut butter, banana and bread or bagel) and am starting to choose better recovery meals/snacks.  I think I'm going to try to make more smoothies because they seem to be very satisfying. Eat to grow! With a month left until the marathon as of today (AHHHHHHH!) I need to forget about worrying about my weight and just fuel my body with good food to prepare for the miles ahead!

What I need to work on this week: I still on tinkering with my sleep schedule. If I can get to sleep and workout in the morning, then I have lots of time to take care of errands, cook dinner, and relax after work, which will allow me to get to bed earlier instead of sitting down at 9:30 PM after returning form the gym and just trying to all that.

I'm changing things up a little bit on you guys. There are tons of regular Friday posts bloggers have so I'm merging  my Friday Favorites post and Five for Friday. I like the added alliteration of (nerd alert), and it's easy to stick to a number of things to ramble on about!

My FIVE Friday Faves this week are:

1. Favorite Contest: Delta Labs is having a FALL INTO HEALTHY EATING Recipe Contest (I made up the name!). Entries should be original recipes with photos if possible and can be submitted via email to contests@deltalabsusa.com until next Friday 9/20/13. It can be any kind of healthy recipe that would be great for fall.  The top 5 recipes will be announced on Monday 9/23, and the winner will receive a $50 VISA gift card and gets to have their recipe featured on the Delta Labs website and made into a Delta Dishes video! 

2. Favorite Snack: Think Thin Creamy Peanut Butter Bar 
This bar is crazy delicious! I picked one up to have as an afternoon snack at work and wished I hadn't eaten it so fast! I bought it because it was gluten-free and had 20g of protein. It tasted like a peanut butter cup with it's soft peanut butter center coated in chocolate. It also didn't have that weird aftertaste some protein bars have. 



3. Favorite Afternoon Pick-Me-Up: Coco Cafe

Yesterday after work I was just feeling beat. All I wanted to do was veg out in front of the TV, but I needed to rally and do some homework and cook dinner. I was at the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and threw this into the basket with the hopes it would give me a little caffeine buzz.  I was surprised at how delicious it was! It tasted like one of those Starbucks frappuccinos  in the glass bottles but with less calories and sugar. These have a shot of organic fair trade espresso, a bit of reduced fat milk, and natural coconut water, all for 140 calories. The 120 mg of caffeine definitely helped me power through the afternoon. 


4. Favorite Beauty Product: Suki Face® Concentrated Nourishing Toner

I've reviewed products from Vitacost before because they have such an amazing blogger review program. My most recent shipment of goodies was some Suki beauty products! I used to have really bad acne and still have oily, acne-prone skin so I'm pretty cautious about what I use  on my face.All of the Suki products are non- comedogenic, cruelty-free, sensitivity-tested, and synthetic free so I gave them a shot.
 

I used to use a Lancome toner that I swiped from my mom back in high school but have simplified my face routine and haven't tried one in a while until I fell in love with the Suki toner!  Apparently it contains some shittake and olive leaf extracts to provide lots of antioxidants to the skin. I've been just misting it onto a cotton ball at night before I apply my night moisturizer. I forgot how refreshing and cooling toner feels. I haven't noticed a huge difference, appearance wise, but I do think my skin has been looking pretty clear and nice lately. Check out the Suki products on Vitacost!


Remember to click here to shop Vitacost and save $10 on your order of $30 or more! 

Disclosure: Vitacost provided me with an assortment of their products at no cost. I received no monetary or other compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

5. Favorite TV Show: Orange is the New Black

I FINALLY finished the whole season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix. The end is kind of emotional and cliff-hanger, but I can't wait for the next season! I plan on reading the actual book less which I'm sure will be filled with less sex and dramatized violence. I thought the show was really unique, well-acted, and funny. Check it out if you aren't already loving it!

How were your workouts this week? Any new favorite snacks or TV shows?

Pin it Party 3

I have a quick post today because I am linking up with The Lean Green Bean's Pin it Party  to recap a few things I'd love to have shared on Pinterest!

It's a great way for bloggers to share other bloggers' posts through Pinterest. 

The rules are: 

• Round up 5  blog posts you’ve written that you would like to see on Pinterest.
• Make sure there is a nice, pinable image or photo included in each post.
• Write a short post featuring the posts you chose- ie, put 5 nice images & links to the posts all in one place, along with a short description of each post.
• On Thursday, publish your post, then visit The Bean and add your post to the linkup! (If you’re just reading this today and still want to participate, just publish in the next few days…I’ll leave the linkup open for about a week!)

Then go visit 3 other posts and pin their images!

Don't forget to enter my Protein Bakery giveaway here to win a gift set of assorted protein-packed cookies, brownies, and blondies which ends tomorrows at midnight!

Here's 5 recent recipes that I'd love to spread around on Pinterest!

Homemade Pumpkin Coffee

Hydration Helpers for Long Runs

Mango Salsa Recipe

Zola Review and Coconutty Popsicles

Chocolate Avocado Pudding Recipe

Please check out the Pin it Party if you are Pinterest-obsessed like me! 

Protein Bakery Review- Sweets that Pack a Punch!

Disclosure: Protein Bakery provided me with an assortment pack of their products. I received no monetary or other compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Today is one of those days to celebrate the good in people and thank first responders while also remember the tragedy of 9/11 and all those who were lost 12 years ago. I'm sure like me, you will never forget where you were when you heard the news. It's hard not to get upset, especially when I live fairly close to NYC, PA, and DC but try to reflect and be grateful for all that you have. 

On a lighter note, be sure to check me out on This Crazy Life of Mine because I'm highlighted today as part of Nanci's "Runners Who Rock" feature! Woohoo!

I'm sure you all know that I have a massive sweet tooth. I always save room for dessert and always have some sort of sweet treat at night whether it be some dark chocolate, frozen yogurt,healthy cookies or a mug cake! I was beyond excited to be able to review some products from the Protein Bakery. I was even more excited when I opened the box and saw that they had sent me an entire assortment box to try! 

These products are awesome because they are baked treats that are made from natural ingredients, wheat free and low in gluten (yay!), have added whey protein isolate, and taste great. Seriously, I wouldn't be promoting a brand of sweet treats that tastes like cardboard. I don't mess around with my desserts, people. The brand also makes all their products in small batches from scratch and was started by a group fitness instructor!

A peek inside the box I received-wrapped in cute polka dot tissue paper!

Their ingredient lists for all their products are here if you want to take a look, but they are fairly simple which is what I always look for.   They are still definitely treats to be enjoyed in moderation, which has been hard with this big box of them staring at me, but my favorite the chocolate chip brownie only has 8g of sugar and 11g of protein! It is great to know that your dessert can satisfy your sweet tooth and pack a protein punch as well!

Some of the products I've already tried are the mini black and white blondie, mini chocolate chip blondie, the chocolate chip brownie, peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, and peanut butter white chocolate chip cookie. All were pretty delicious, though I really like how much more moist the brownie was compared to the blondies and cookies.  Also I just really love chocolate, duh.

The Protein Bakery is currently running a "Show us your muscle!" promotion right now where anyone who orders some products (website is here!) can submit a photo to info@proteinbakery.com holding their Protein Bakery goodies for a chance to win a free baker's pick gift set and t-shirt along with getting their photo on Protein Bakery's website!

Show us your muscle!

If you still aren't convinced to try some Protein Bakery goodies, I'm giving you a chance to win a taste of Protein Bakery assortment of their brownies, blondies, and cookies worth $45.00! 
All you have to do to win is fill out the Rafflecopter by Friday, 9/13/13 at midnight! 

Then you can enter the "Show us your muscle!" promotion for free :) Sorry but the company can only ship within the mainland of the US and not to PO Boxes or APO addresses.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All this can be yours!

Ravens Back to Football 5K Race Recap

Today I'm recapping the NFL’s Back to Football 5K that I ran last week at Ravens Stadium!  My boyfriend was running too (even though he didn't end up training or running at all in preparation, tsk tsk!) so since I was with him, we were running kind of late. 

 It's the first time I've done a race in the evening (it started at 7 PM) , which felt strange to get ready to race at night but was much appreciated when I felt how nice and cool it was as the sun was starting to set.  

I broke out my purple and black tutu that had been collecting dust since last year's Baltimore half marathon and wanted to be festive and rep my second favorite football team (Nice win last night, Eagles!). We lined up with runners in front of M&T Bank Stadium and since it was a smaller crowd, managed to squeeze to the front of the pack. They had a DJ, former Ravens players, the Ravens cheerleaders,and Poe the mascot. Former Raven kicker Matt Stover even started the race with a punt!

Scott and I already discussed that it was okay for me to race ahead because he would probably have to walk a bunch of it.  Everyone, including myself, started off the 5K really fast, oops. The race route was nice, with some hills thrown in. I had done some sprints at Crossfit in the morning and had tried to eat dinner before race so I wasn't feeling too hot during the middle of the race, especially since I was running such a fast pace. Eventually I was running with only a few people around me and was enjoying the run and all the shout-outs to me about my tutu.  

The end of the race looped back around the stadium, then led you inside the stadium and finished at the 50-yard line, which was the most fun part of the race. In the race photos you can see me with a huge smile on my face! It was awesome to run onto the field, see yourself on the jumbo-tron  and look into the stands at the people watching! I was the first girl in a tutu to finish :) Post-race there was water, Propel,snacks, beer(if you're of age of course), and a medal.  I waited for Scott, who managed to finish  even with some asthma problems and walk breaks. I was really proud of him for trying and finishing instead of backing out. 

My watch ended up saying it was around 3.05 but maybe that was because I was hugging close to the turns and such. My chip time ended up being 20:52 which is a PR because I've never broken 21 minutes before! Go me! I was 6th female overall and 38/2367 out of everyone! Afterwards I snapped some photos and headed home. Overall, the Back to Football 5K was a great event and nice way to bring people out to celebrate the Ravens and being fit! I loved finishing on the field and would definitely run it again!

FYI, The actual Raven's Super Bowl trophy from last season is in a glass case, but this display one is still from Tiffany's!

Have you ever raced in the evening or at night? 

MIMM #10 9/9/13

My Monday has been off to a great start with a morning workout (what?! on a Monday?!) and a huge bowl of overnight oats with fresh mango and blueberries and crunchy berry flax cereal on top!  My weekend included plenty of time relaxing which is a nice change of pace. Here are some of the marvelous (or less than marvelous) highlights!

Marvelous is marathon training group brunches with no running involved but lots of talk about running and pitchers of mimosas. Sunday funday at it's finest. 

Marvelous is post run naps. Sunday I passed out after brunch on the couch for a couple hours with compression socks on.  

Marvelous is getting to the final episodes of Breaking Bad. GAH, it's almost over!!!

Marvelous is winning Meg's Tiesta Tea giveaway and receiving two yummy loose leaf teas and a nice big mug. The flapjack oolong flavor smells just like maple syrup.  I'll be drinking these all week! 

Marvelous is fresh green juices. My vitamix fund is on hold at the moment due to being financially distressed right now (a.k.a poor and overloaded with bills) so I've been treating myself to fresh juices, like this one from a local farmer's market that I get almost every week. It has lots of pineapple and kale in it, which gives it a super tangy, refreshing taste!

playing with a fancy filter on my phone!

Not so marvelous is realizing I need to buy new running shoes for the marathon like right now. Whoops. I forgot that even though my shoes still look pretty, they have a lot of miles on them and will need to be recycled! I'm going to get a fresh pair of the same shoes next week and get a couple runs in them and then put them on reserve for the big race. 

Marvelous is squeezing in a little meal prep for this week and discovering how awesome plantains are! I bought a couple due to the numerous recipes with plantains that the Purely Twins  post on their blog and made their two-ingredient plantain bread (recipe here)! It was really yummy and eaten before I took a photo, whoops. 

Marvelous is getting some cool things off of my new Poshmark addiction (thanks to Kate) including a funny "what could go wrong during 26.2" shirt from this lady (check out her closet!) who included a little good luck note and GU with my purchase, from one marathoner to another (almost!). 

Did you have a relaxing or a busy weekend?