Happy Spring/The Mojo Has Returned

Well, first day of spring here, people--Look how quick that was!  I know my friends and family in the Northeast just got some more snow dumped on them yesterday--but here in Austin it's been spring for a while.  I am channeling warm weather vibes your way, guys---receive it with open arms!

Glad to see people responding to the Chobani giveaway so well.  I thought this would be the case, so that's why I'm welcoming entries until next weekend.  Remember, you can put an entry in EVERYDAY of the contest.

I'm such a giveaway whore.  I love to review and give stuff away that I can put my support behind.  All these companies have been so awesome to the blog--and I've got even more coming up!

Okay, so I'd just like to report that my workout mojo is back!  Though it's been quite warm and I've taken to running inside on the treadmill--I mentioned last time that I was incorporating more yoga for strength and flexibility and I think that's really been good for my head.  Mentally when it came to workouts (well, my workouts were just runs, really.) I was feeling beat, and even though I know what it's done for me--I had no motivation.

Weirdly enough, I was on facebook (PS: Goforkyourselves has a Facebook page now--but I'm not crazy about Facebook, honestly.)  and saw a TeamSparkle ad that reinvigorated me.

Right on, sparkle sisters.

I read that, and I was like--"Well, fuck, Krissy--what are we doing? I can sit and feel like shit for a half an hour--or I can run a 5k upstairs."

Needless to say...

Anyways, I felt the need to let ya'll know..Between the yoga and running, I'm feeling good.  I have no idea what the scale says--but everything fits just as well, so I'm good :)

Started doing my long runs again last week with 7+, and I'll do 8ish this week at some point.  Gearing up for the 10 miler in 3 weeks--woot!  I also signed up for a 5k in May--just because I miss those little local races--and this one is called "The Ants in Your Pants 5k"...so I mean, obviously...

I tend to smoke local races--so I'm stoked.  Lots of speed work at home--cranking up the tready to 7+mph on the shorter runs.  That's pretty fucking fast for me, guys.  I think my Brooks had some smoke coming out of the soles after running at 7.5, haha.


Anyways, hope everyone is doing well--Follow me on Twitter with the button to the left--I love to hear from each of you--Comments/Concerns/Bitching--all of it!

Time to hit the road.

Peace, Love, and Go Fork Yourselves,

Krissy :)

Running on the low burner/CHOBANI GIVEAWAY

YO!  What's up everyone?  While I'm waiting for the noon sun to subside for a run, I thought 'Yes, writing time.'

So, I'm about 10 days into scaling back running days--and I think, so far so good.  Yes, technically I AM training for the 10 miler in April--but I'm trying this whole "less is more" mentality.  The past few weeks I haven't run long, BUT have been focusing on speed and endurance of said speed.  It's gone pretty well--I'm able to get on the treadmill and roll above 6 mph for my 5k runs on there.  Also, lots of interval work, too.  5ks on the treadmill worth of 2 minutes and 5.5-6 mph, and 1 minute of 7.0+ mph.  I've been running about 4-5 days a week now--BUT have added strength.  I need to work on my upper body.  It's not terrible, however, girlfriend needs some work. 



He's serious about his yoga skills.

I've heard that whole "skinny fat" thing that can happen to runners, and I think that's the sitch in this case.  My body fat percentage has gone down, but there hasn't been much movement on the muscle percentage.  And, trust me, I know I've completely neglected strength training since I started training last fall. 

I started at first by doing the basics, crushes, squats, planks, lunges, and push-ups.  I get bored quickly, though.  I might have exercise ADD.  Somebody coin that.  Then I started back into some yoga, but I needed some good videos.  At the suggestion of my friend Mel, I googled myself some Rodney Yee Power Yoga videos.   We have a big ol' iMac in our game/exercise room so it was easy for me to stream these in front of my mat.  Loved 'em!  I totally didn't feel like a dufus doing it, his voice is super relaxing and on point.  None of these "GOOD JOB, LADIES" nonsense.  I don't need that.  That's the last thing I need to hear when my ankle is at a 90 degree angle above my ass and my entire body is shaking.\

So that's been the other 3 days.  Sometimes I do it right after a run--feels delicious. 

We've been eating pretty well over here in the Go Fork Yourselves home--lots of clean eating.  My husband makes this stir-fry that is ridiculous. And easy.  We made a boatload together last weekend--portioned it out and froze them for various dinners.  That stuff, on top of some brown rice-Muah. 

Speaking of eating (I couldn't have planned a better segue)--My buddies at Chobani hooked me up with a case of the stuff a couple weeks back.

 



I had no idea what it was---a big refrigerated box!  Opened it and was instantly happy.  I got almost every single flavor to try out and write about.  Let's take a smooth little journey here...

Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach, Raspberry and Mango-Fruit on the bottom--but real fruit, and easy to love!

Blood Orange--So, it sounds odd, but I am so not an orange person.  Something about the fruit and it's little encasing--maybe it's texture, but I don't eat oranges by themselves.  I was pretty blown away when I tried the Blood Orange flavor.  Fruit on the bottom, but such a refreshing taste!  Easily on of the new favorites.

Strawberry-Banana-One of ALL yogurts staple flavors, and they do it even better in Chobani.

Pineapple--I usually love pineapple, but this one fell just a little flat for me.  It's still tasty, but it's missing the tart from the pineapple that I adore so, so much.

Pomegranate--I like this flavor, I really do--but the seeds are a little much for me. Sometimes they got stuck in my teeth, and because they're bigger it's like--Ow.  Not a bad flavor, though, I'm just not a fan of the hard seeds.

Lemon-  Ooooo, this is a little dream.  No fruit on the bottom here, but like a thick meringue of sorts.  A great, refreshing blend of sweet and just a hint of tart.  Om nom nom.

Vanilla- Really? The perfect vanilla yogurt.  I know--vanilla is so...well, vanilla.  But dude, I fucking love me some vanilla.

Honey- My first thought was "Honey in yogurt, eh?"  Here's the deal, though-it's great.  It's got the plain greek yogurt flavor with hint of honey that make this oh so smooth.  On of my favorites to eat with my plain shredded wheat!

And, the best for last here: Apple-Cinnamon.  I love apple/apple-cinnamon/apple-pie ANYTHING, but I wasn't sure how it would fare in yogurt.  Guys, it fare well.  So well, that THIS is easily my #1 flavor.  It's got the fruit and cinnamon on the bottom---and I dare not add anything to this EVER.  Apple-Cinnamon for life. I heart it so hard.  I wish I had more right now.


Have ya'll tried Chobani?  If so, where do you stand?  I hear they are working on a pear flavor--I really hope that sucker comes out soon.  Next to apples, a crisp pear is right up there for me.

Check this though--Chobani and I teamed up, and that's good news for your readers---I have ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!

Enter below, and Chobani could be sending you a case of awesome yogurt!  Giveaway will be open until March 30th at midnight, and you can enter everyday!

That all said guys, it's just about time to lace up and hit the streets.

With love and admiration,
Go fork yourselves,

Krissy


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Way too busy lately.../what do you do at the end of race season??

Hey ya'll!

My posts get further and further apart the busier I get--and I am sorry--Work is crazy, training is/was crazy, we've been doing crazy house improvements, and then traveling for the Disney Princess Half, it's just been a bunch of Chiquitas. You know, I was going to write a recap of this whole race, but my friend I ran beside the entire time--Melody already has. Damn, girl is quick. Her recap is EXACTLY what mine would be--check it out HERE .

And that is my SECOND half-marathon.  Just like that! Two in two months.  I honestly think 13.1 is my new favorite distance.  It's like...just long enough to half your life, directly followed by complete euphoria when you cross the finish.  I would love to do another SOON.  But, the wallet is quite strapped--so maybe I'll set up some challenges on DailyMile in the next month.

I'm also thinking of setting up a virtual race--I'm wondering how many people would be interested in doing that?  An online half-mari?  Let me know--I think it would be fun to have people sign up for like..$10-15 bucks, just enough so I could get some finisher medals and contribute the other part of the funds to charity.  Thoughts? Concerns? Yay/Nay?

Since the half, this past week I only got up to about 12 running miles and about 3 walking miles.  Which I guess, is fine for recovery.  On top of PMS--amiright?  Last time I was worse off.  I couldn't run for almost 4 days after the half!  This time, I only took one day off.  I'm going to lighten the load a little bit more this week, I think, too.  It just helps me reset.  Drop the water retention pounds (4 pounds already, holy smokes), and give myself time to decompress.  All I have been doing since last summer is running like crazy, and then even more so after I signed up for the first half.  Training schedules--that's all I know.  Now, granted, I do have a 10 miler coming up in April, but that seems like cake since these last two bigger races, so Im not too worried.  I can train for that in like 2-3 weeks.

I just don't know what people do as far as running when down time hits.   What kind of mileage should one keep up?  How much should I decrease carbs?  I guess I'm the kind of person that always needs to be working towards something, and am sort of baffled when there isn't anything on the horizon/not having money for any more races.  Racing is just fun, no matter how slow I am.

For now, I guess I will keep up my 3-6 mile runs.  After the 10 miler, I will have to turn to running even more indoors, because summer starts pretty early in Texas (which, I love, by the way).  I think I'll get some hand weights--10-15 pounds though, because--let's be honest here, 5 pound hand weights won't tone mashed potatoes.  Running 4 days a week, and yoga/weights 3 days a week--this seems like a good summer plan for me.  Plus, I'm thinking by May our pool will get to be warm enough to swim in!  I will definitely have to go back to tracking my food intake if the mileage drops a bit--I haven't had to worry about that in a while!

Anyways, that's some serious rambling for right now.  Today is a long 12-hour day at work--phew.  I just chugged an entire thermos of coffee, and before that an awesome juice I made this morning for me an the hubs:

Easy Morning (recipe for 2):
2-peeled oranges
2-apples (any kind really)
6-organic carrots (I don't even peel 'em if they are organic)
2-organic celery stalks
1-3/4-1" piece of ginger

Throw it all in juicer--whisk together, pour over ice in two glasses--Delish.

I had this with an egg-white breakfast taco with chicken and portabello mushrooms.


That's all for today, kiddos.   Keep an eye out--the Chobani review and giveaway is COMING SOON--like real soon :)


Go Fork Yourselves,

Krissy