Pushing 20

Well, if I’m not mistaken I owe you all a little bit of literature.

This was a very solid weekend, for really no reason at all. Perhaps due to excessive productivity? I found myself in a rare crafty state yesterday, and made this:

Two months after moving into our Baltimore house, I’m finally putting some finishing touches on my room. My jewelry (and race medals) have literally been sitting in a tangled mess all summer, and so yesterday I decided to do something about it. It’s amazing what $12 at Michael's will do for you.

I’m also happy to announce that I came out of this weekend with both legs intact. I wasn’t sure how my body would respond to an (almost) 20 mile weekend. Saturday morning was a beautiful cool morning in Baltimore, and I did 8 out and back along the harbor, followed by 5.1 around a nearby park…

Can you tell that the park was hilly? Time to start hitting those hill workouts a little harder.

On Sunday I was worried I would be too tight to do 6 miles at race pace, but I felt good by mid-afternoon, and flew through them (a little too fast) at a 7:33 pace.

Successful running weekend, not only because my body parts held it together, but I was also feeling good energy-wise. My race pace run last week was the definition of horrific; I had almost no energy, was over-heated, etc. I felt 500 times better the second week of the sugar cleanse, and I’m going to take a gander and say this is largely due to me finally finding my stride on the cooking front. 

Eats the past week have included:

Buffalo Chicken Egg Muffins

Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole

(I didn't include bacon, and it was still SO good)

Paleo Apple Banana Bites

I have continued to see positive body changes, and in general feel really good. I hate sounding like an advertisement on here, but my energy levels are up, my mood has improved and in general this style of eating (very Paleo-like) seems to agree with my body.

This is the final week of the 21 Day Sugar Detox, and my plan is to allow even less dairy, and no cheats. (The first two weeks I allowed one ‘cheat’ per week, for my own psychological well-being.)

I don't feel bad about that.

Does anyone know if the period goes inside or outside of the parenthesis? This is driving me insane, I can’t figure it out.

Last but certainly not least, congrats to my friend and coworker, Amy, who completed her first Irongirl Triathlon this past weekend. I had the chance to swing by and see her finish – it was an awesome event to spectate, and I’m super proud of her!

Cheers to a marvelous Monday!