I may have gone crazy today

I just noticed that yesterday was my 150th post on WCRG. Holy cow! It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? Granted, my 150th post wasn’t the most uplifting or running related, but it’s still a milestone!

This morning started off with a pretty basic breakfast: Cinnamon Life, an apple, and coffee.

It felt really good sipping on coffee and watching the news. That ritual helps me focus and start out my day on the right note!

After a normal day at work, my coworker Jamie and I hustled down to Lincoln Park to make a mid-evening Barre Bee Fit class taught by my coworker Amanda!

I’ve been going to BBF classes fairly regularly for a few weeks now and I really do not have enough wonderful things to say about it. I mention it here and there but I have to say that it’s become a pretty important part of my fitness lately.

I go to about 2 classes a week at BBF and I already feel like it’s been making a huge impact on me!

After barre is when the crazy kicked in. I walked home, quickly rehydrated, and then got into a quick speed work run.

It was all in the name of using my newest, most favorite gadget…

It came in yesterday and I’ve been dying to use it.

Workout: 1 mile warm up plus 5×400

It sounds wonky and it is. I originally was supposed to do eight 400’s but by the time I got out it was pretty late. So I just did 400s until the tiny sane part in my brain decided it wasn’t safe to be in my own little music blaring world.

This was also the first time I’ve done any pace work off a treadmill and I hate to say it (no I don’t): nailed it!

10:16, 2:07, 1:56, 1:55, 1:52, 1:51.

My everything was killing me by the end but I wish I could have gone on to do all eight. I’m curious if I could have kept those negative splits up!

It’s now time to dive into bed. This crazy athletic day means I get to sleep in a bit tomorrow!

Question: how do you track your runs?

Fifty and fabulous

Happy Monday evening everyone! I hope your day was less chaotic than mine was; unfortunately I had to get the news that my old lady love Heidi had to be put down this afternoon.

She was a giant neurotic lug with the biggest heart of any animal I’ve known.

I’m going to miss how excited she would get every time it snowed and how she always insisted on sitting on my feet.

But on to a more uplifting part of my weekend! It really was a fun and eventful few days and I can’t believe how much I managed to cram into 48 hours.

My uncle’s 50th birthday was last week and Saturday we had a surprise birthday dinner for him!

A bunch of friends and family met at a BBQ restaurant near my parent’s home. When my uncle came in he had NO idea what he was in for! He was completely shocked.

We had a fantastic time catching up, chatting around a gigantic table, and eating all the most amazing barbecue food!



There was brisket, ribs, and chicken, but my eyes only saw the pulled pork.

I made myself a slider with pork, coleslaw, pickles, and tons of sauce. It was beyond amazing.
I also enjoyed a tiny little corn bread muffin.

And then, because there was more food to be had, I invented the best thing you’ll put in your mouth an amazing version of mac n cheese.

PULLED PORK MACARONI AND CHEESE. HOLY CANNOLI.

After dinner we all drove back to my aunt and uncle’s home to cut cake, eat dessert, and mingle some more.


My cousins really are the coolest, even though they’re all younger than me and towering over me. It’s so much fun seeing them and I wish we saw each other more.

What a fantastic night I had! Happy birthday Bo!

Tomorrow it’s off to do some speed work with my newest purchase and then some Barre at night!

What’s your favorite BBQ foods?
Pulled pork, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese.

My new favorite post-run ritual

 

 

I guess we can count my training as officially official. I ran the longest distance I’ve ever run, ever.

Workout: 14.01 miles, 2:19:59, avg pace. 9:59. Most of my splits were between 9:52 and 10:10, which is about as consistent as I have been able to get.

The running Gods have also blessed all Saturday morning Chicago runners with a HUGE break in the heat! It was only in the 50’s when I started this morning and didn’t get past 60 before I finished around 10:30. My ideal running weather.

This guy ran with me for about 4.25 miles right in the middle.

 

It’s the furthest my dad has run in a long time! I was super proud of him for keeping up and providing me with some fun conversation! Our splits for those few miles were about 20 seconds slower, but I seemed to have a lot of reserved energy for the end because I ran my last one in 8:40! I am addicted to those negative splits.

 

After that, I stretched very thoroughly and showered, and now I’m playing the “Let’s watch Natalia slowly eat everything in sight” game that happens after each of my long runs. First off, second breakfast, which started out with a handful of almonds. 

 

They paired nicely with the greek yogurt and the random unidentified granola cereal in my parent’s pantry. (She stores all her cereal in plastic containers, so I never know what anything is. I did know it tasted delicious though)

About an hour later I got hungry again, and it was at that point that my mom casually mentioned that my grandmother Babcia made some pierogis from scratch. For real, why was this not the first thing she mentioned when I got into the house?!

 

My Babcia’s pierogis generally spark an out-of-body experience. These did not disappoint. The blueberries were also farm picked by a family friend. Holy crap is all there is to say about that.

My tired post-run legs were in for a treat today because my mom booked us some mani-pedis! 

 

It’s been forever since I’ve gotten my nails done, and even longer since I’ve had my toes done (for obvious, running related reasons: aka running ruins my feet) so it felt reallllllly good to have one again! Although I did feel bad for the technician in charge of my pedicure; he was a great sport about it though and asked me if I wanted a scratch on my other foot to match the one I had! A great sense of humor helps any situation!

Getting my nails done was an arduous experience and left me drained so I needed to grab some iced coffee on the way home. #firstworldproblems

 

DD has some darn good coffee! I’ve got some family plans for tonight that I’ll share later!

Question: how far did you run today? What are your Saturday night plans!

Kiki’s Bistro

If you have known me personally for any amount of time you’d know that I am low-key obsessed with the French.

(Image Source)
Fact: They are just so much cooler than me.

As if the fashion, language, music, culture, and history don’t make them cool enough, there’s the food.

More facts: French food is proven to be good for your soul and make you feel great about your life. (These statements are not approved by anyone credible, just based off of my own fantastic experience)

When last week I got invited to Kiki’s Bistro by my friend Meg I was more than game to join her. I also had the honor of being joined by Kiki’s wife Denise for most of the dinner.

Kiki’s is owned by Frenchman Kiki and his wife Denise. They are at the restaurant almost every night, greeting guests and mingling, and just the sweetest pair ever. Denise was so generous and kind, and we had a fantastic time talking to her and laughing about Instagram.

She also drinks her tea out of a wine glass, so you know she’s going to be the best.

Denise treated me and Meg to dinner and we got to try out some of their fantastic food!

I had been absolutely dreaming about a salade Lyonnaise for weeks so I had to start my meal out with that.

Holey crapoly that salad is one of the most delicious foods ever. But I love just about anything with a poached egg and bacon on it.

Later she brought out the pizza of the day (goat cheese, basil, and tomato) and the charcuterie plate.

I’ve had the pizza before and it is fantastic! I always want to eat the whole thing but I was very interested in trying the charcuteries so I withheld.

The items on the plate were amazing! I had never had duck pate and they had it prepared two ways on the plate; both were delicious but the duck liver pate was my favorite. And the salami.

To end the meal right (I was pretending to be French, after all) I had a glass of wine.

Denise recommended the Three Saints red blend and it was great! Not too strong but not sweet. It was a great end to my meal!

Overall, I had a most delicious experience and a great time! Denise and Kiki are so generous and warmhearted and it makes everything that much better! The food was fantastic and the musicians playing made for a tres francais experience.

What a long week

This week, and this day, seem to have gone on forever. I know I’m still behind on sleep going all the way back to Monday, which plain sucks.

What’s better is that I need to be at work ultra early tomorrow morning so I’m sucked into going to bed super early today. I know, what a terrible predicament to be in; early bedtime and and an earlier start to my weekend tomorrow are a bummer 😉

It was a breakfast-for-dinner kind of day.

I sautéed kale, broccoli, green pepper, and mushrooms and scrambled an egg with it. I’ll call it a deconstructed omelette. And, as most omelettes go, I covered it in sriracha. Oh my yumminess.

After a little blog work (lots of fun stuff coming soon!) it’s time to curl up in bed with a good book.

Or twelve.

What book have you been reading lately? I just bought The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling and am excited to see how it is!

It may be Wednesday but you were wondering about my weekend

Don’t try tricking me, I know the 4 day gap in WCRG left you wondering what kind of shenanigans I got into. Well I’ll tell you I got into some very serious funny business that I’m terrified excited to share with you.

Friday night several of my girlfriends got together for a girl’s night at Joanne’s house. We have been planning this fantastic night for weeks and we could not be more excited for it to finally happen and it did not disappoint! The night was fantastic, silly, and way more fun than we could have anticipated! I think my favorite part of the night was the bib game we played!

Katie and Amanda make fantastic bib models. Since we all work together and with children, we forced ourselves not to be able to talk about work. The bibs of shame were incentive not to talk and it turned out to be a really funny point of the evening! Everyone ended up wearing them (minus yours truly, though the rest of the girls forced it upon me eventually. They’re just hating that I love winning so much…)

This fabulous girl Sarah helped supply the bibs, so we have to thank her son for his generous donation to our great time!
Did I mention that we ordered 1,000 lbs of wings?

And that we made apple nachos? Prepare yourself for some serious food porn.


Those things were absolutely phenomenal. Just melt marshmallows, chocolate, and caramel over Granny Smith apples and put on your fat pants.

Joanne, Emily, and Jamie with Joanne’s pup Ginger. Thanks so much Joanne for donating your place to such a fantastic get-together!

I know not everyone gets to say the same but I work with some amazing and hilarious women and I’m so thankful I do!

Saturday morning was much more calm when I went home to celebrate my Babcia’s birthday with my mom and sister!

We took her to the The Cheesecake Factory and I got the spicy chicken salad off of their Skinnylicious menu.

As usual it was their gargantuan portions and I thought it was so flavorful and filling! I got two meals out of it and would definitely recommend it!


Some of the other food that was bought at our table. My mom’s salmon and sister’s veggie burger both pass my taste inspection. (Mom’s mashed potatoes were bomb.)

She’s my hero. Love her!

Fantastic weekend with fantastic friends and family! I told you it was worth the wait!

Question: When was the last time you had a girl’s/guy’s night?
Sarah has patiently been waiting for her blog mention. Let’s all say hi to her!

Cooling down and lots of tangents

The most wonderful thing happened this morning when I woke up and got to wear sweatpants! The weather has cooled down significantly and it feels like a much needed break!

Seriously, the most fantastic part of my morning.

Breakfast was a close second though. Monday’s yogurt bowl made another appearance, this time with blueberries instead of mango.

So good! The blueberries were frozen and when I thawed them in the microwave, a few of them cooked. I love the taste of warm blueberries and I think I’m going to have to bake something soon to satisfy that craving!

And with that bowl, a cup of hot coffee in a cheerful mug!

I have loads of blog things to catch up on so I’ll be running (in the perfect running temps) later tonight. Last night I finally convinced my sister to join me for a class at Barre Bee Fit. We took my friend Amanda’s class at the Lincoln Park studio and Julia absolutely loved it! I pushed myself really hard at times and will be blaming Amanda for any glute and thigh soreness that occurs. Julia and I are crazy people and are already planning on going back to more classes next week!

My mind has been all over the place lately and it’s been making me chortle. This entire week has felt like I’ve just been trying to catch up on sleep (because I babysat very late Monday) so the lack of sleep may be making my mind function on a deeper level wonky. Case in point; I have had Christmas music stuck in my head for four days and all I want currently is a tree and snow and lights and cocoa. Which is bananas because I am all about summer, all day every day. Perhaps I’ll have my own Christmas in July party. Eggnog for one, anyone?

Question: what’s your favorite holiday? Who’s going to have a hard run to celebrate the cool weather?

Time keeps on slipping

I am not flying like an eagle, by any means. It’s incredible how quick a few days go by when you’re crazy busy! I will have tons of updating to do (dinners, workouts, my grandmother’s birthday) and I promise to get that up soon! Today, I’ll let you in on a few things.

1) I missed my long run for this past weekend. I felt bad about it but there literally was no time. At first I felt a little down but I quickly got over that. It was my taper week anyway so I think I tapered enough. 😉
I did, however, have time for this view.

2) I had a new delicious breakfast today. Greek yogurt with diced up Manila mango and a white peach. I topped it with chopped almonds and chia seeds. It had all the right elements; crunchy, sweet, smooth, yum!

3) I have a serious weakness for candied pineapple. Holy yum, Batman! I’m babysitting tonight and brought some with as a snack.

Tonight is a late night (babysitting) so I may be sleeping in a bit in the morning.
Goodnight all!

Tell me something interesting about your Monday. What did you do? Run? Eat?

Heat stroke, smoothies, and a reader question

So just to give you all a bit of an idea about how all of the Midwest is melting, here is the temperature outside my apartment at 7:45 this morning.
Seven.Forty.Five.

It was pretty insane and the heat and humidity only got worse. It felt like over 100 degrees for most of the afternoon. So clearly, there was no run.

Today was the day of smoothies. There was no way a stove or oven was getting turned on in this house.

Breakfast:: strawberries, banana, chocolate protein powder, spinach, and a little greek yogurt. It was so fudgey and so delicious.

Dinner: the new smoothie that my mom’s coworker shared with me! I tweaked the recipe a bit and it turned out great! FYI, it’s also vegan and chock full of nutrients.

Here’s the eyeball recipe. I’ll get more precise measurements next time.
-About 1 cup chunked pineapple.
-1/2 cup frozen blueberries
-1 small handful of kale (last time I made this all I could taste was kale. I kept it pretty conservative this time)
-1 large handful spinach
-A couple splashes of pineapple juice (maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup)
-I added about 1 tbsp of honey too. Again, to mask the kale-ness.

It was super green but super good!

Oh, and because I love this nugget, here’s an amazing snap from my sister of her dog.

He’s a chihuahua. His name is Taco. And I love him.

I also had a question from a reader, Rick, about October’s marathon.

I can’t find much info on the winds along the course for the Chi Marathon. I’ll be running it this October and it’ll be my 3rd overall. Obviously the course is very flat, but what can the average person, running along the streets of Chicago, expect on an average day, in terms of wind?

As I’ve never run the marathon (but I have run lots in October) I could only offer my personal experience, which is that sometimes I get some sucky winds from the North but I’ve never really felt like it’s effected me too badly.

Marathon runners, does anyone have any better information than me about winds when running in Chicago?

Training Fail

This morning I did the thing that I always promise myself that I would never do. But today I totally did. I stopped a training run before I finished.

BOOOO

The plan for the morning was a 1:3:1 tempo run. I woke up with a really fuzzy brain and super tired legs (I went to another BBF burn class last night, but more on that later). It wasn’t too bad for the warm up mile other than me thinking about how much I wanted to be in my bed, but then at mile 1.16 my left knee and hip flexor really started bothering me. At that point I called it quits, marched myself upstairs, and sat down with breakfast and my ice pack.

It really stinks (and I mentally give myself a hard time about it) but I am not going to re-injure myself less than 3 months before marathon day. No way, no how.

Lesson learned: no tempo runs on tired legs. I’ll try again tomorrow morning.

Breakfast: Greek yogurt with blueberries, pineapples, and chia seeds. Sweet and satisfying!

And as always, my nearest and dearest friend.

Now it’s off to shower and work! I’ve got a potentially delicious dinner out planned for tonight!

Question: when was the last workout you skipped? How did you move past it mentally?