Saturday, June 30, 2012

Foodie Penpal and a great running streak


Last month I posted about my first experience with Lindsay, The Lean Green Bean's Foodie Penpal program. And how much fun it is getting stuff from other parts of the U.S. in the mail. Well this month my penpal was Carrie with www.bakeaholicmama.com and I got some amazing things from her. She is in New Hampshire about as far away from Alabama, lol! This is what I recieved from her...
Yeah so the fact that she is a boston fan is pretty cool. I am not a big baseball fan, so the fact that the colors have red and white in them is great for my obsession with Alabama Football, lol! Hey I found great things in that, huh? My 5 yr old has already claimed his keep on that lunchbox for his kindergarten debut this year, great job, Carrie!

My obsession with dark chocolate def was met too! Black Current and Chili? oh my! Kristen, you must try the Chili flavored Lindt, OMG! (She has an obsession with chili pepeer flakes:) 

I have not tried the dressing yet I am saving it for a dinner party I am throwing. Let me tell you about the pure maple syrup by Ben's Sugar Shack, it is sooooo good. I decided to cheat a little on my protein pancakes and use the maple syrup on top of them, I was careful to only measure out 2 tbsp, because frankly I would love to soak them in this stuff it was so good. However my body would hate me for it:)

It was so good, I am excited about using it again, they made my protein pancakes taste super good!

I absolutely love this program and if you would like to be involved head on over to The Lean Green Bean and sign up. You do not have to have a blog/website to get involved.

My mom received a great package from Alexandra at www.adventureswithalexandria,blogspot.com.
My moms blog is down right now, so I am posting her package here.
She received a great Georgia peach biscuit recipe with peach marmalade and hometown honey. Sounds heavenly!

Go and check out all these wonderful blogs and then make sure you head over and see Lindsay for your chance to become a foodie!

Oh and about my STREAKING, I am on day 6 and have kept it up...I have 9 miles planned tonight. I have no kids and no husband tonite and all I have planned is a 9 mile run. Times sure have changed, LOL!

QOTD: What do you have planned for this great Saturday night?
Leave me a comment below, I love hearing from you.



Wednesday, June 27, 2012

What I ate Wednesday and a great run!



Its time for another WIAW, enjoy!
I have ate a variety of things this past week. Mainly because Marine Corp Marathon training started this week and my diet is not as much as fun now, LOL!
So I did enjoy a few of my favorite snacks including my carrot jello, so good and I have just discovered Nektar honey crystals. I received them in my MOMVOX and I love those little things.

I did endure a great amount of heat this morning in my run. I woke up late and didnt hit the road till 8:30. I live on the Gulf Coast and thanks to a little tropical woman named Debby, there is virtually NO oxygen left in the air, so it is hot as balls and hard to breathe. 4.6 miles later I went to the gym litterally soaking wet. I know they thought I was crazy.  Did some shoulder exercises and went home to have a protein shake and relax. I am goin to hit the treadmill tonight at home for a couple of fast miles. HELLO A.C.!

QOTD; Do you run in the heat or do you stay inside?
Leave me a comment below, I love hearing from you guys

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Marine Corp Marathon training and a great cause...

Training time starts this week.
I have signed up to run the Marine Corp Marathon on Oct 28th with the Inheritance of Hope. I am scared and excited all at the same time. I have spent the past year running various races including 4 half marathons and knowing that I need to conquer the Marathon distance is quite mentally challenging for me. I have been taking some time off from running longer distances, mainly because of burn out. But I am feeling strong and ready to start the crazy training that is involved in running a marathon.
Not only have a joined Run with Jess Lose a Marathon challenge and I am running my own ab/core challenge, I am now going into run training mode. I hope I make it through all this and is successful.
Going into the MCM being my first marathon, I wanted to run for something bigger than me, I have ran for myself for a couple of years now, so I had heard of the Inheritance of Hope and wanted to know more about this great charity. A little about the Inheritance of Hope, I chose them because of their mission for families of terminally ill parents. I lost my father at the age of 20, and granted I was not a child, but it was still way to young to lose a parent. So the mission of the Inheritance of Hope is to fund retreats for these families to go on all together. For some of these families it is the last "family fun time" they have with their parent. I think that it is important to always have those last "fun" memories. I remember my last "fun" memory with my father is a trip we took was to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. It was so much fun and we had a blast. I am looking forward to taking my kids there one day to make a new memory.
I know that fundraising is everywhere these days and money is tight for everyone, but I am asking you to help me reach my goal of $1000 by October 15th. I have collected $180 so far and I would love if you guys would help me raise money for such a honest cause. We all know our kids need smiles on their faces. If you would like to donate, even if is just $1 please CLICK HERE. All the money donated goes 100% to the Inheritance of Hope. If you would like to read more on the Inheritance of Hope, please CLICK HERE. My name is under Find a Runner, Larisa Dixon. I leave you with this...
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As a member of Team Inheritance of Hope, my participation in the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28, 2012, will raise funds and awareness for Inheritance of Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving families with children who have a parent with a life-threatening illness. Please help me meet (or exceed!) my goal. With your contribution, we can share together in the joy of helping to build legacies for young families who are facing tremendous challenges in their lives.
Inheritance of Hope coordinates and hosts Legacy Retreats for families with children under 18 who have a parent with a life-threatening illness. Because of generous supporters like you, these Retreats are provided at absolutely no cost to the participating families. These events offer unique and fun activities for parents and children together, forming precious, lifelong memories for the whole family. They also create a community of people who find comfort in knowing that they are not alone in their struggles. Beyond the Legacy Retreats, Inheritance of Hope offers a scholarship,inspirational literature, and speaking engagements that address the deep needs of these families.
Inheritance of Hope is a young organization with a big vision. In the United States, there are over one million family members facing the challenges of a parent’s terminal illness. These families’ entire lives become consumed by the illness, leaving them without the resources to plan or pay for meaningful family time. Inheritance of Hope’s vision is that “Every Family Deserves a Legacy.”®
Thanks for your support!!!
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Thank you guys for supporting my blog, my training, my giveaways:), and my crazy life!
Now on to my training and oh yeah another day of streaking...

Monday, June 25, 2012

Running streak, cycling and a winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Cabot Coop Fitness Pack Giveaway, I had a great response to my most favorite yogurt/cheese product in the world, lol! I have a special love for their greek yogurt products, if you haven't tried them, you should! So the winner is...
David Lintz, you have 48 hours to send me an email response, I will email you shortly! CONGRATULATIONS, let me know how you like all your cool stuff:)

Running Streak bgins today, woohoo! For the next 30 days I will be running atleast 1 mile everyday. My marathon training begins this month on the 9th, so this is going to be a great added challenge to my training. So I will need all of you motivation to keep the streak going!

My friend Mindy at Road Runner Girl is on the end of her 30 day streak and she has inspired me to start my own. Go check out her streak on her blog. 

My husband tweaked my bike for me to start riding on Saturday. I am so excited to get back on the road for some crosstraining. I am going to start doing some smaller triathalons.duathalons next year. It is 100 degrees here on the Gulf Coast, so cycling is def a sport of choice in the summer time.

QOTD; What is your favorite summer activity?
Leave me a post, I love hearing from you guys:)

Friday, June 22, 2012

30 day run streak and an easy summer recipe


I am going to take on another challenge to add to my Lose a marathon challenge and my 30 day ab challenge. Starting Monday, I am making a promise to run at least 1 mile a day for 30 consecutive days. I am hoping this will get me back into the running mindset. So wish me luck:)
 Now a fun and easy recipe:
I am always looking for something that my kids can eat in the summer time that is easy, cheap, and healthy:). I remember hearing about this recipe, if that's what you would call it, lol, a long time ago and finally made it. Let me tell you I was sceptical about the carrots sticks "tasting like candy" like I had been told. Well believe it or not they do. Its crazy! Almost like Jolly Rancher stick, lol! you should def try it.

Make sure to enter my Cabot fitness pack giveaway HERE!
Have a great weekend!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Cabot Fitness pack giveaway

The people at Cabot Creamery Coop want you to win all of this?

Enter below.
Winner will be announced on Monday morning (6/25). If you already signed up on the other blog post HERE, don't worry I am counting you in already.
Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

WIAW


I haven't been eating to "fuel" my body lately, its been more like to "fuel" my taste buds. I need to get back to combining the 2. So here it goes.


rockin refuel chocolate milk, love this stuff and it has 20g of protein in the bottle, SCORE!
van's power grains waffles.
overnight oats with chocolate/peanut butter

LUNCH
Salmon cucumber sandwich from Atlanta Bread. My fave!
whole wheat english muffins with fresh tomato slice and Cabot Hot Habenero cheese

DINNER
Grilled chicken salad
Cabot greek yogurt turkey sliders with spinach salad (RECIPE)

It wasn't so bad of a week, just not great.
If you want to join my ab challenge friend me on facebook at Larisa Archer Dixon

QOTD: What did you eat this week? I would love some new healthy recipes:)



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Cabot greek yogurt turkey sliders recipe and a Giveaway:)

If you have been following me at all, you know I am a HUGE Cabot Greek Yogurt fan! Like HUGE:) I am excited to let all you guys know that the wonderful people at Cabot Farms has allowed me to taste some of their products and share their wonderfulness with all of you YIPPEE!
Since our humble beginnings in 1919, the now 1,200 strong farm families that have 100% ownership in Cabot have had a personal, deep commitment to the highest quality in everything we produce and in everything you taste. From cow to creamery and from creamery to you, we have one goal in mind: quality. (Source)
 I am so happy to team up with them in my marathon training as one of my go to products during my marathon training. This company prides itself on giving 100% of profits made go back to their farmers. This, on top of the fact that they make a fantastic product, makes them a wonderful company.

Tonight for dinner I decided to make a favorite of mine, Greek Yogurt Turkey Burger Sliders!

Greek Yogurt Turkey Burger Sliders
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 cup shredded Cabot Hot Habenero cheese 
salt and pepper to taste

Bread
3 whole wheat english muffins, split in half
1 medium sliced tomato

Preheat oven to 420 degrees
1. Ingredients
2. Put all ingredients in bowl
3. Mix well with hands or spoon, make 9 small patties
4. Brown in pan till cooked thoroughly (I spray pan with Olive Oil)
5. Heat english muffins, topped with slice tomato and cheese in oven till melted
6. Top english muffin with turkey burgers, serve with spinach salad or your choice.
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Turkey burger: calories 117, carbs 1, fat 8, protein 13, sodium 89
Bread: calories 109, carbs 14, fat 7, protein 7, sodium 201
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These are so good and easy to make!

Now to the giveaway:
The great people at Cabot Farms are graciously giving one of my lucky readers one of their fantastic fitness gift pack...
Thats a whole lot of Cabot loot and even includes some $3 coupons for your favorite Cabot product.
That would cover pretty much any product they have on the shelf.

How do you enter to win you ask?
Heres how...

I will run the contest from Tuesday 6/19 until Sunday 6/24. Monday 6/25, I will announce the winner on Twitter, Zero to Twenty Six Point Two Facebook page, and on the Cabot Creamery Coop Facebook page, so make sure to go LIKE and FOLLOW them all, so that you can see the winner:)

Leave me a comment below telling me your favorite greek yogurt or cheese flavor


Tweet about this giveaway!  ” I entered to win an @CabotCoop fitness pack from @0to26point2 Enter to win at http://zerototwentysixpointtwo.blogspot.com/2012/06/cabot-greek-yogurt-turkey-sliders.html


Each thing above gives you up to 4 entries. Make sure to leave me seperate comments, letting me know which ones you entered:)

Now I am off to eat my Cabot strawberry greek yogurt mixed with cottage cheese and granola.
Good Luck...






Monday, June 18, 2012

Losing a marathon! And an ab challenge!


Back last year I lost about 50 lbs. I was serious about maybe stepping out on the stage again one day. Then I started running. I stopped losing weight but my body change which was a good thing. My legs got stronger, my endurance got longer. Now I am needing to lose this last 30ish lbs. So I have decided to take Run with Jess's challenge of losing a marathon, yeah that's right 26.2lbs. I think this will be just what I need to challenge myself to lose it before my big debut as a marathoner at the Marine Corp Marathon in October. I call it my debut, like everyone is anticipating it:) I think its pretty darn important.
What is the Challenge?
The Marathon Weight Loss Challenge runs 13 weeks over the course of the summer. This time frame is simply MY goal, averaging 2 pounds a week in weight loss. During this time frame, I will track participants' weight loss, offer tips, recipes, a weekly newsletter, mini challenges, success stories and prize giveaways! You may have a goal larger or smaller than 26.2 pounds... and you may not even run. That's okay - you can still join for the motivation and prizes. The whole point of this challenge is to encourage one another and hold ourselves responsible in summer workouts and food choices. (Taken from Run with Jess)

Pretty cool, huh?
The challenge officially starts today and ends on Monday Sept 17th. weighing in every Monday:)
you may be able to join today still, so get check it out HERE

I have also started my own challenge with some of my friends

The 30 day ab challenge.
Mixed with healthy eating, exercise and a killer ab workout, we are taking before and after pictures to test the workout out. I may take some pointers from Jess and give a few prizes away for the ones who finish it and see results. Here is the Facebook group link if you would like to join the ab challenge group too.
Here is the ab workout of week 1
So lets challenge each other and get healthier, after all we only have one of ourselves, lets make it the best we can!



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Road Runner Sports First Thursday Adventure Run

Since I stared running I am always looking for a way to make running as fun as possible. I know that I will never be an Olympic runner or a World Champion runner and I am OK with that. I do like the competitiveness of racing myself, but I also like the social aspect of it. I have met many new friends through running and racing, and even blogging about running. So when I did a mudrun (The Dirty Girl) with my friend Melanie, I started looking into other types of races. I came across the The Great Urban Race, I am looking forward to doing this race one day.
 However while I was on my great 10 day San Diego/Phoenix/Sedona trip, my sis-n-law told me about a FREE race that Road Runner Sports puts on in Scottsdale on the first Thursday of every month. First of all FREE, and an adventure run, I was like sign me up...So here's how it went...

The race started at 6:30 and check in was at 5:30. So we of course arrived around 5:15 to check things out. They had blocked off a section in the parking lot, and had different sponsors set up booths. Asics had a booth where you could actually check out a pair of their running shoes and do the run in them. I checked out these bright orange beauties.
I am not a full cushion shoe runner or an Asics shoe runner, but it was cool to try out a new shoe and actually get to run in them.
They also had Zensah Compression sleeves you could wear, however it was 100 degrees. Not exactly sleeve wearing weather unless you need them:)
Amphipod also had a booth there with sports bottle belts. I looked at these things and they are really cool, you can position the bottles anywhere you want on the belt, so it is easy to run with them. I def would have tried one of these out if I had not already had the Asics on. You could only test one thing out because they took your drivers license to hold during the race. 
Another sponsor there was Activate. Activate is a multivitamin sports drink. What was cool about this was that the powder was in the top of the bottle and you twisted it to release it into the water. It also tasted really good, not too sweet. You have to check them out!

Race time...
The object of this particular race is to collect as many tickets as possible. At each business depending on where it is located you get a certain number of tickets, in which at the end of the race you put into a tub and they draw for prizes.
This race was also sponsored by Deschutes Brewery, so upon checking in you get a free beer ticket for pre-registering online. Also if you buy a 1st Thursday tshirt inside the store you get a free 1st Thursday beer mug and are entered into the $550 grand prize drawing. (If you already owned a shirt, you could buy anything in the store to be entered into the drawing). The shirts cost $24.99 and if you are wearing one of the t-shirts in the race you got double the tickets at each stop, doubling your chances to win one of the prizes they were giving away. So of course we bought a shirt:)

Go Time...
I am guessing that the girl doing the M.C.ing worked for Road Runner, she was fantastic at getting the crowd pumped up. Being a people person, I was def impressed with her.

 Anyways so at 6:30 they dropped the very large sheet with the stops on it.
Basically the first row was the name of the business and how many tickets you got there, the second row was the intersection/street it was near and then a map with the stops labeled on it, so you could map out what to hit first. They did give you a Ziploc back upon checking in with a piece of paper and a pen so that you could write all of the places down. We chose the phone picture route, lol! 
You had exactly one hour to finish the race. Time started as soon as they dropped the map. The furthest stop was 2.5 miles away and was worth 5 tickets. Quite a few people ran just the longest distance esp since if you were wearing the tshirt you would get 10 tickets at this spot. So they would have to run the 5 miles in under an hour and be fine. We chose to stay close and do all the shorter distance stores.
 We managed to hit up about 6 places, including the secret Facebook spot and the cool down station where they had water hoses you could run under and get tickets.
Here is my loot of tickets. When the hour was up everyone met back up at the store and turned in all of their collected tickets. Then the party started.
 I was amazed at all of the prizes they gave away. Gift certificates for free Asics shoes, Yoga, chiropractic services, Zensah sleeves, 24pk Sports beans, coffee,  Amphipod sports belts, massages, Chick Fil A food, and a ton of other things. And I am not talking about just one of each, I think they gave away at least 6 pairs of shoes. It was crazy. They also had a dance off for a $250 Garmin watch. INSANE! Unfortunately we didn't win anything, but we had a blast.
The after party was at the Blue Agave Mexican Cantina across the street. Road Runner was also giving away a ton of stuff there too. You got a ticket if bought a Deschutes Beer and ordered food which entered you into a new drawing for more free shoes, etc. Also Blue Agave had given a few gift certificates, so a couple people had free food and drinks that night. Although we didn't win here either, it was a great after party. I did talk to to Deschutes beer rep for a while, although I wasn't a fan of the ale they had because it was a little too hoppy for me, it was good to know that they made a lighter beer that I was interested in trying. They don't sell Deschutes beer down here in Alabama, but if you are up north or on the west coast def try them out.
So over all it was a great night with great friends old and new, and a great way to check out businesses that I may not have gone into had I not done this run. I am only in Phoenix a couple times a year, but I went into a Yoga studio called Floo-id, I would love to try. And of course Blue Agave Mexican restaurant, esp since they had a huge Alabama Crimson Tide championship flag hanging in the middle of the bar, ROLL TIDE.
You can check out Road Runner Sports HERE and see when and where the closest adventure run is near you. Its FREE, so you have no excuses to not join in on the fun:)

QOTD: Have you ever done an adventure run? If so which one and what was your favorite part of it?


  

What I ate Wednesday

Vacation eats...
Go Girl energy drinks
egg white, sausage, and cheese sandwich, Safeway Deli
fish tacos from P.F.Changs
NUUN
Avocado, turkey sandwich, Subway
noosa greek yogurt
Margarita shot bloks
turkey avocado wrap
Join Peas and Crayons every Wednesday for the latest edition of WIAW!

Wordless Wednesday!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Hiking in Phoenix/Sedona (lots of pictures)

So most of you know I just go back from a 10 day trip to San Diego, Phoenix, and Sedona. And OMG, I had an amazing time. I recapped my San Diego Rock n Roll half marathon experience HERE. So I wanted to tell you about my Phoenix and Sedona hiking trip.

Melanie's husband Ali, told us about a mountain hike called Pinnacle Peak, so we set out to find it...
It was amazing. We started out on the mountain and hiked up for close to a mile and half. We only had a couple hours. It was a great hike and it was great to see all of the people utilizing this great mountain. People of all ages were going up and down, I was slightly jealous of all the locals that get to use that trail daily.
I learned something really cool about the Saguaro cactus. They don't start growing arms until they are between 60-80 years old. It is kind of surreal to see how old these plants are. It is amazing.
Here is the view at the top of Pinnacle Peak
It is breathtaking!
The next day we decided we were going to go to Sedona and see the red rock country. On the way we decided to stop at a couple places. First stop Montezuma Castle
If you are ever near Phoenix, you need to stop here. Its right off the interstate and worth seeing.
Its unbelievable that people actually built and lived in these mountain sides. Montezuma Castle dates back 800 yrs and was home to the Sinagua Indians who mysteriously disappeared in the the late 1400's.
After leaving the castle we decided to go see Montezuma Well
You can hike down in to the well
They also have a trail that leads you to the other side of the mountain where the water flows under the mountain.
After leaving the well we were told about the V-bar-V heritage site where the Petra glyphs dated back to the Between AD 1150 and 1300 are located. It was about a 1/2 mile walk to the red rock petra glyphs.
It is interesting to listen to the rangers tell you the history of the what they think the Sinauga
Indians were drawing based on the way the sun hits the wall during the different months.
We headed to the Red Rock Trails in Sedona next.
The trail was an easy hike to Bell Rock.
We were here the day before Heidi from BananaBuzzbomb was there on her A-MAZING Columbia trip. I know she had a blast.
We went into Sedona next to visit my daughters great aunt who works at this gorgeous glass shop called Kuivato, if your in Sedona go check it out.
she also suggested the Westside Deli for lunch, and OMG, it was the best sandwiches we have ever had.
On the way back to Phoenix, we decided to take a detour to the Tuzigoot National Monument
We had a great time hiking up to the top. This is the view from the top.
It was a great place to end our hiking adventure.
Then we headed back to Phoenix for dinner with the family.
Thanks to Melanie, my partner in crime for putting up with me for 10 days:)
Mandy for joining us for a couple of days in San Diego.
My sister-n-law and her husband Hannah and Tom for putting up with us taking over there house and cars for a week.
And last but not least my husband Donald who supports me in all my crazy running adventures.
I love you all and I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post.

QOTD: Have you ever visited any of these places? If not, where is your favorite places to hike?
Please comment below:) I would love to hear from you guys!