Hello, hello! Even though the weather randomly feels a bit more like summer than fall this week, we’re still enjoying some soup. Anyone else?
Matt made a variation of my Veggie-tastic Minestrone Soup (<—recipe) for us last week – so good. It was even more delicious because we used homemade broth! Matt made the broth from the bones of a rotisserie chicken we had leftover and added a bunch of veggies (carrots, onions, celery) to the mix too. It was so rich and flavorful!
In other news, I was back at the track on Tuesday morning! I got back from Boston on Monday around dinnertime and I was so exhausted from the conference weekend that I was in bed by 8:30 and, after a little reading, asleep by 9. Despite the fact that I got 9 hours of sleep, I was still feeling really worn out on Tuesday morning. Not my best track workout but I was glad I made it out anyway.
Our coach had us do a ladder workout of sorts:
- Warm up jog
- One mile at a mid threshold pace (aka half marathon pace)
- Rest 1 to 2 minutes
- One mile at mid threshold
- Rest 1 to 2 minutes
- 800m (2 laps) at higher threshold pace
- Rest 1 to 2 minutes
- 800m at higher threshold
- Rest 1 to 2 minutes
- A series of 400’s (one lap) closer to 5k pace – everyone did different amounts depending on their upcoming races. Coach had me do 2, with a couple minutes rest in between.
- Cool down jog
Like I said, it wasn’t my fastest day out there – I was noticeably slower and felt pretty sluggish. Being on my feet all weekend long and not getting much sleep clearly caught up with me! Oh well. It was also weird being back to shorts and a tank after a week or so of colder running temps! I rocked a pair of my favorite Brooks Chaser 5” Running shorts (affiliate link) in a new fall reflective gray color – they gifted them to me a couple weeks ago. I own these shorts in black and navy blue already and love them – wore them all summer for marathon training. The new reflective gray is perfect for warmer but dark fall mornings like these!
As for this morning, I went to a yoga class with my friend Chelsea via ClassPass (affiliate link for $30 off)! Since I’ve been traveling so much lately and also marathon training, I haven’t been doing as many classes, so I switched my ClassPass membership from 10 classes a month to 5 classes a month back in September. Perfect! I’ll probably switch back to 10 when the marathon is over and I’m back in town more consistently. :)
Chelsea and I hit up Gold’s Gym in Ballston for a 6:15 a.m. yoga class. I used to belong to this gym back in my early 20’s so it’s always a weird blast from the past to be back in there – and the yoga instructor today, Mark, was actually a guy I used to take sports conditioning classes from back in 2004/5/6! We both enjoyed the class – no frills and more sport-ish. It would be a good class for people that want to try yoga but are weirded out by the zen stuff, since there wasn’t any of that. Gym yoga classes like these are what first got me into yoga back in the day, because I used to be totally against the whole zen thing (now I love it, though! see also: Why I Love Yoga). I actually first started going to yoga when I was living in Prague because the yoga class at my big gym was the only one taught in English! :)
Going to a class at Gold’s worked out well this morning because I have an AnneTheRD client meeting at a coffee shop right near Gold’s at 8:30, so I just brought all my clothes to change and head straight to the coffee shop (where I am now writing this post) after the yoga class. I was planning to just have a snack bar and a latte and make a real breakfast back at home mid-morning, but I was really hungry when I arrived so I rolled with it and got an egg sandwich plus an enormous latte. When your latte is the same size as your breakfast sandwich you know it’s going to be a good day. ;)
I will leave you with this very sad photo evidence of what has become of one of our pumpkins! Ahhhh! We have a ton of rabbits that live in our neighborhood – clearly they thought our pumpkin was their personal buffet. Weirdly they only snack on this one, not the others around it, so I’m hoping we can salvage the rest. Any tips for keeping bunnies away from pumpkins?! #fail
That’s crazy I never thought of bunnies eating pumpkins! We used to have a ton of jack rabbits in our old neighborhood and every time I would see one I’d think how crazy it was I had a pet rabbit for 4 years!
Traveling is always so hard it takes me a while to bounce back usually as long as I was gone!
That picture made me laugh out loud! I thought the heat had made it rot but no, it was attacked by a rabbit – HA!
Haha yep!!
You now have a very ghoulish looking pumpkin for Halloween, thanks to some bunnies!
Haha yes, we’ll pretend it’s on purpose ;)
That looks like a great workout! – Diana
Ours were destroyed by squirrels! I tried to put some sour apple spray that keeps the dog from chewing on the furniture, but to no avail – shrug!
Darn! Maybe ours is squirrels too? Usually the rabbits are the culprits with our flowers, so I just assumed it was them!
We spray our pumpkins with a clear lacquer to protect them from squirrels and it seems to work pretty well. Look for a matte finish for a more natural look, or if you like shiny pumpkins the gloss finish is kind of fun :)
That’s a great idea! Where did you buy it? Home Depot or something?
Any hardware store should have it. Check the spray paint section!
i never knew rabbits would eat pumpkins! thats crazy because they have such a tough skin D:
about the weather- it’s so weird! i walked out tuesday in fall clothes and was sweating in like 5 minutes, because it’s like 80*! But soup is allllways good :D
Hey Anne – Have you been to the Java Shack in Courthouse? Its my all time favorite coffee in North Arlington. Some Saturdays, we get coffee then walk to the courthouse farmers market for Mac’s mini apple cider donuts. Its a fun time!
The pumpkins in our neighborhood were also eaten by squirrels. My neighbors said hot sauce on the outside of the pumpkin will deter them.
Yes, I LOVE Java Shack! Their lattes are amazing – I agree they are the best in the area. Love that courthouse farmers market too – I didn’t realize they had apple cider donuts, though!! Will have to stop by – those are my faves! That’s a great tip about the hot sauce, especially since we have so much hot sauce in our pantry thanks to Matt. :)
that is a truly scary pumpkin
Hi Anne!
Thanks so much for bringing “us” along on your marathon journey. I’m from the DC area and have yet to check the MCM off of my list, but seeing you run the neighborhoods gets me excited about it! I have a question regarding Whole milk vs. 2% vs Soy, etc. I read the data that states that whole/full fat dairy is “better” for you than skim/low fat…as an athlete, have you noticed a difference in satiety? I’m a full fat yogurt/cheese girl, but haven’t made the switch to latte’s yet, as I feel like i wouldn’t be able to stomach it. I admire your opinions and your approach to real life, approachable nutritional knowledge, so thanks in advance!!
Thanks for reading Molly! I’m definitely on the full fat dairy train. I do notice a difference with satiety (and it’s so much creamier/yummier). Whole milk lattes are the best – really delicious. Give it a shot! :)
What a crazy thing with the pumpkin! Good to know, good to know! :)
love the latte!
Oh no – is that going to happen to my pumpkins too?! I just put them out yesterday :(
Yikes it might!!
I’ve heard that sprinkling some cinnamon keeps rabbits and squirrels away.
Ooo we’ll try that!
I think that it’s very ‘dietitian-y’ to leave out healthy snacks for the rabbits too :)
And obviously they’re only snacking on that one because they are practicing mindful eating and going for the one they really want ;)
I hope you have some time to rest up for the remainder of the week. It always takes me a little time to get back on track when I’ve been away from home :)
Hahah love it – mindful eating rabbits (or squirrels?!) – too funny! Well done to them!
Nice back-and-forth on pumpkin protection and mindful eating for rabbits!
I put some vinegar in a spray bottle and spray my pumpkins. Keeps the squirrels and chipmunks away. Your soup looks so delicious!
Ooo good idea thanks!
Oh your pumpkin! Lol! We have squirrels here, but they seemed to have left them alone last year until we were ready to “donate” them for squirrel snacks. Maybe it was because they were on our porch?? We threw them into the edge of the woods when the season was over and had fun watching the frenzy of squirrels that were out there everyday eating them. Haha!