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Success!!

I finally ran outdoors today!! Oooh, it was awesome! But I’ll tell ya all about it in a second ;)

First, I was rudely awakened by my alarm at 6am on a Saturday because I had to work :( I’d been planning on an outdoor run this afternoon, but still did an exercise DVD in case I wouldn’t be able to squeeze the run in. 50 minutes of Jillian Michaels’ No More Trouble Zones. It’s mostly a strength-based DVD using hand weights and bodyweight. I like it!

And that “old favourite” I prepared last night? The breakfast cookie!!

 
Oooohhhh man. I used to eat one of these every single Sat & Sun when I was working the 5am shift every weekend at the radio station. It’s been too long! (for the breakfast cookie, not the 5am shift).

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• cinnamon
• raisins
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 3 tbsp butternut squash baby food

Mixed all up in a bowl, flattened on a plate, and left in the fridge to harden overnight.

I usually eat these with my hands, but decided I wanted to “frost” it with yogurt, thus a fork was required. It was awesome! My homemade protein bars by the way, are essentially breakfast cookies with extra protein powder. Easy peasy!

Work actually wasn’t that bad today. I was working with a film crew to capture a student event. I wasn’t stuck at a desk or anything :)

I was feeling experimental when I came home, so I decided to try my hand at Heather’s homemade coconut butter. An extra source of fat? Yesplease!

I started with a bag of cheap unsweetened shredded coconut.

 
Dumped into my food processor…

And processed!

 
…and processed…

I added a tablespoon of coconut oil, but it still wasn’t getting nice and creamy like I’d pictured. Perhaps it was my cheap, dried-out coconut? Would it be better toasted?

Whatever, coconut is coconut and I still have a jar of a tasty oat topper :)

I felt my intense food processing was adequate warm-up for my first outdoor run of the season!! A momentous occasion indeed. According to my blog archives, November 14 was the last time I ran outdoors (in similar conditions actually – 6C, or 42F).

After exactly four months of running maybe 5-10 miles a week on the treadmill, I had absolutely no expectations for today’s run. I didn’t get to take my favourite trail as parts of it are still snow covered. Instead, I took the more populated road to downtown along the river. A quick out-and-back route that took me about 29 minutes. One thing I noticed right away is that my cardiovascular abilities have improved a lot! I wasn’t huffing and puffing like I used to and my heart didn’t feel like it was going to beat out of my chest :P It’s definitely going to take my legs a little while to adjust again though. They were a little shocked today!

Solid run folks. Felt good to dust off my running hat :D

It was 4pm by the time I got back, and I technically hadn’t eaten a “real meal” since my breakfast cookie (ie just lots of snacks to hold me over). So I dug deep into my cupboards and came up with this:

Canned salmon and Health Valley lentil soup.

It was still missing something though, so I then burrowed into the freezer and pulled out this:

 
I never have any memory of buying these blocks of spinach, and yet there’s always some in my freezer?

After a little curry, maple syrup and 15 minutes to simmer on the stove, I had this fabulous bowl:

Impressed. I’ll definitely be buying this lentil soup again! I’ve heard people complain that Health Valley is bland because it has no salt, but I just see it as a blank canvas. I can add any flavouring I want!

After dinner I put an official end to No Grocery Week and spent a ludicrous amount of money on groceries, undoing all the savings from this past week. A stocked fridge just makes me happy :)

Then it was off to another play being put on at my university. Technically, more “work” but watching plays doesn’t really feel like work. Once again I was impressed by the talent my school has to offer!

Now it’s waaaay past my bedtime. Not to mention, losing an hour tonight with Daylight Savings! Hope y’all had a great Saturday!

Question of the Day: Do you exercise outdoors in the winter? I don’t. It gets cold and I just can’t handle the harsh air. Especially when it comes to running, it’s dangerous with the ice! And then there’s the summer, where I have to be out there at 5am before the insane heat sets in. Yes, I am a running princess :P