Get a Grip!

That title made sense today in more ways than one! I know it’s been a couple of days since I last posted — so you’ll see more photos and random thoughts than normal!

Starting with a collection of yummy food from the last week …

Steak, Steamed Cauliflower, Sauteed Garlic and Onion Brussels Sprouts:

Red Cabbage, Steamed Zucchini, Sauteed Plantains and Baked Tempeh:

Bruschetta-Inspired Pizza (Flatout Wrap, Cheese, Diced Tomato, Herbs, Balsamic Vinegar):

Plus, some of the most amazing fruit-stuffed pork loin you’ll ever try. Here’s the problem. After documenting all of the steps, I had a total blond moment and FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT! So (aww, shucks) I will have to make it again. But here were the steps — all based off of a Joy of Cooking recipe, but healthified.

From here, you have to imagine the skillet full of diced figs, bread crumbs and sauteed onions stuffed into the pork and then roasted to perfection. Amazing.

Okay, that catches us up on pre-Sunday foods. I’ve also been pretty much on track with my workouts. I actually work a second, part-time job. I really enjoy it, it helps others, and it gives me a little put-away money (to fund my increasingly expensive triathlon habit). On Saturday mornings, it means an early wakeup call, so I have had to change my training schedule. I get out of work around 12:15pm, so this weekend, I decided to drive to a nearby park and get my run on.

As always, when I plan a 5+ mile run, the first mile is pretty brutal. I brainstorm all sorts of reasons to turn back — too cold, too hot, uneven sidewalk, wrong podcast — but most of the time, I push on. And I’m always glad, because after the first mile, I get warmed up and really enjoy the run.

Jillian Michaels got me through about 6.2 miles, and finally, I got to go home and rest.

I’ve been missing my bike (seen here among the other beauties at the Women’s Triathlon)

so this morning, I worked out a plan with Lucas. Normally, I run to the gym, we meet there and workout, and he runs home. He drives there, I drive back. But since I’m now running on Saturdays, I decided to make Sunday a cycling day. I did a nice 25 mile ride (Michelle, I rode through your ‘hood, but couldn’t remember which building was yours, so I waved at them all!) and then hit the gym for some weights.

Side note — Lucas is thinking about home brewing, so we went to the bookstore on Friday night to buy a book on it. The one he wanted was out of stock, so it’s now on order, but I got a great gift, thanks to Santa/Mom:

I’m waiting to start the full 30-day plan, but the workout guidelines were fun to try out today. And Lucas found something to hold him over:

Okay, back to the bike, AND the title of this post — get a grip. It’s been pretty chilly in Central Florida, so running/biking has been pretty uncomfortable. I decided it was time to get some gloves, and found some great ones with grippies, to make it easier to ride! Here’s kind of what they look like:

Except mine are baby blue and much cuter. Anyway, they made a huge difference today, because it was only about 40 degrees when I headed out! Don’t worry, it has warmed up to a much nicer 70 degrees since then.

So what’s happening today? I like to call Sundays high-efficiency days, because if I work hard, I can get the week off to a great start. For me, that means cleaning, cleaning, cleaning … and prepping, prepping, prepping. No cleaning pictures, but here’s an example of my prep.

I clean/chop/dice all of the fruits and veggies that I’ll need for lunches and dinners through the week:

And I make-ahead any foods that need to marinate/set. Today, that meant prepping some polenta and putting it in the fridge to harden for tonight or tomorrow.

One of the dogs was a big help through all of this:

How cute is it that he sits on my feet? The other dog … was a little more selfish:

Did I say selfish? I meant spoiled.

And that gets you caught up on today! Oh, food eats today included an organic Clif bar, an apple (not pictured), butternut squash fries (skin on!), a vitatop and pumpkin smash (canned pumpkin, non-fat yogurt, cinnamon, splenda and vanilla):

Phew, that’s incentive to keep my posts current because this might be information overload! Hope everyone has a great week.