It’s that time again! pavement runner‘s Playlist Thursday!  The theme for this Thursday is Vacation Jams!  I love feel good songs that make it feel like summer so obviously I had to join the fun again!  Check out my playlist from last week – I Heart House.
If you want to find some other fun playlists, go check out pavement runner’s Playlist Thursday Catalogue!  Thanks for the inspiration, PR!

So here are the guidelines: (taken from pavement runner‘s page)

Something Old: These will be songs that are at least 5 years old. I know that isn’t too long to be considered old, but music turnover happens quickly.
Something Current: These will be songs that have been released within the past year. I know, but you have to give me some leeway here.
Something to Consider: These will be songs that are not typically heard on the radio and may be by artists you’ve never heard of or considered running to. This is the wild card category, can be old or current.

Something Old

Artist: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Title: Summertime
Side Note: Every time I hear this song, I know summer is coming.  I love the beat & the memories it brings back.  Plus, Will Smith raps about Philly so what’s not to love
Quotable: ”Just put your car on cruise and lay back cause it’s summertime…”

Something Current

Artist: Ellie Goulding
Title: Lights
Side Note:  I love, love, love this song.  BLC and I listened to it over and over again while we were on vacation in Aruba so it will definitely always remind me of vacation.  Plus, it is pretty great to run to.  (& celebrity gossip sidenote: she is dating Skrillex.  Isn’t that just a match made in house music heaven?)
Quotable: ”So I tell myself that I’ll me strong.”

Something to Consider

Artist: Foster the People
Title: Call it what you want
Side Note:  Now most of you know about Foster the People’s song “Pumped up Kicks” which is great but this song is my favorite on their CD.  & their CD is EXCELLENT!  If you haven’t already heard it, please give it a listen.  The whole CD just makes me want to drive by the beach with the top down (I may or may not have done this all the time when I lived in San Diego…)
Quotable: ”Call it what you want.”

Ahhh…summertime

I saw this on Tina’s blog in the beginning of the month & I thought it was a great idea!

I say it all the time but it truly is the little things in life that can make it fantastic!

With that being said, here is a list of things that make me smile:

A – Apples. Preferably Pink Lady apples. They are by far my favorite!

B – BLC. My favorite person in the world. He deals with my craziness & loves me just the same I’m super lucky to have him in my life (BLC, you are stuck with me for-ev-er!)

C – Coffee. Flavored coffees, iced coffees, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, bodega coffee. I just love coffee

.65 cent coffee – amazing!

D – Dancing. Now, when I say dancing I mainly mean watching other people dance. I love shows like So You Think You Can Dance & America’s Best Dance Crew. I love going to a concert or club & watching people dance. & occasionally you will catch me swaying to the music but I’d rather leave it to the people who can DANCE

E – Eagles. I am a giant football fan (can’t wait for the season to start! It’s like Christmas!!) & since I am from Philadelphia originally, obviously my NFL team is the Eagles! Go birds!

F – Freckles. Could you have guessed what I was gonna write for F? If not, you don’t even know me But in all seriousness, Freckles can make me smile just by laying there. She is the sweetest little animal of life. I love her.

G – Gerber Daisies. When I worked at a flower shop, I fell in love with gerbs (slang for people in the know. I’m super cool). They are just so bright & cheery!

My absolute fav are the white ones with the pink center. So pretty!

H – HOUSE! I was never a big fan of house music until recently but it definitely pumps me up! I love the strong beats & build ups. Plus, house concerts are by far the best! Check out some of my favorite house songs to run to.

I – Ikea. Pretty sure our entire apartment is from Ikea. Plus, I could walk around that place for hours!!

J – Jeans. I love jeans. You can dress them up, dress them down. I pretty much live in jeans. & my middle name is Jean so there’s that…

K – Kettle Corn. Yum! Salty & subtly sweet. Great combo.

L – Lox. This is where the Jew in me comes out. I just love Lox & cream cheese on a bagel. Delish!

M – Magazines. I probably subscribe to about 9 magazines & have a pile of magazines to read at all times. To be honest, it is probably a little excessive but I love them!

N – NYC. As of you couldn’t tell, I’m in love with NYC. The energy, the people, all of the amazing things to do at any given time – I love it all. I’m so happy to have the opportunity to live here.

O – Oyster Shooters. I don’t know what it is about oyster shooters but I get so excited when we go to a place that has them! (For those that don’t know, oyster shooters are an oyster, horseradish, cocktail sauce & pepper vodka in a shot glass – & they are delicious IMHO)

P – Pickles. Pickled veggies, pickled tomatoes, regular pickles…every kind except the Bread and Butter pickles – those are gross.

Q – Quinoa. Such a great food! Filling, versatile & good for you. Can’t ask for much more.

R – Running! Running is my stress relief. It can always change my mood for the better. & I feel super accomplished after a good race – that is a great feeling!

S – Sushi & Sake. Sushi is definitely one of my favorite foods & Nigori (unfiltered sake) is the perfect compliment. Sake bombs are pretty awesome, too.

T – Trader Joe’s. Duh.

U – US Weekly. One of my many magazine subscriptions but this one gets pushed to the top of the pile every week. Definitely one of my guilty pleasures.

V- Vegetable Soup. I could eat Veggie soup every day.

W – Whiskey. I am definitely a whiskey girl. I prefer scotch but a good whiskey is fine by me! In fact, one of my favorite places in NYC is a whiskey bar called The Post Office. & they have a pickle plate <3

X – Xerox Machines. Now this was a hard one. But xerox machines are pretty great. Who would want to copy documents by hand? Great invention…& the only legit word I could think of that starts with an X.

Y – Yelp. I use Yelp.com for everything! Choosing restaurants, bars, doctors, hotels…I figure if enough people like/dislike a place, you will know what to expect. I haven’t been let down yet. Love Yelp!

Z – Zzzzz’s. Sleep is my favorite. I always feel much better when I get more sleep & I love sleeping in.

What are some simple things in your life that make you smile??

YTD: 239/600 miles for 2012

Yesterday I went to the gym to get a longer run in since it was so dang hot out. I knew that there was no way I could run for 6 miles on the treadmill at a steady pace without being super bored, so I decided to write up an interval treadmill workout before I left. It ended up being a pretty good one! I had to push a little but I could still make it through the whole thing. Pretty perfect.

In case you were wondering…

Incline: .05
00:00-5:00 : 5.5 mph
5:00-6:00 : 6.5 mph
6:00-9:00 : 5.5 mph
9:00-10:00 : 7.0 mph
10:00-13:00 : 5.5 mph
13:00-14:00 : 6.5 mph
14:00-17:00 : 5.5 mph
17:00-18:00 : 7.0 mph
18:00-21:00 : 5.5 mph
21:00-22:00 : 6.5 mph
22:00-25:00 : 5.5 mph
25:00-26:00 : 7.0 mph
26:00-29:00 : 5.5 mph
29:00-30:00 : 6.5 mph
30:00-33:00 : 5.5 mph
33:00-34:00 : 7.0 mph
34:00-37:00 : 5.5 mph
37:00-38:00 : 6.5 mph
38:00-41:00 : 5.5 mph
41:00-42:00 : 7.0 mph
42:00-45:00 : 5.5 mph
45:00-46:00 : 6.5 mph
46:00-49:00 : 5.5 mph
49:00-50:00 : 7.0 mph
50:00-53:00 : 5.5 mph
53:00-54:00 : 6.5 mph
54:00-60:00 : 6.8 mph

It made the time go super quickly! Plus, intervals are always great because you can change the pace so easily to match your fitness level.

& you know what else made it a wonderful run?

My pink laces #sweatpink

On a side note, it did not take me 4 minutes to run 5.75 miles. My biggest pet peeve is when the treadmill is programmed to switch to cool down right when you hit 60 minutes! I’m typically so into my run at that point that I’m not paying attention & get so frustrated when the treadmill slows down on its own! But whatever – enough of my short rant.

I stopped at CVS on my way home to purchase a planner. Looooong overdue! I miss having a planner. I’m a total to-do list maker/scheduler. (BTW, I am a sweater & always feel so bad when I run errands right after a run because my money tends to be a little…sweaty. Is that a jerk move?)

When I got home I replenished the salt I sweat out with some tasty olives.

Mmm. Great snack!

After I stretched & showered, I went with my friend Britt to a local bar where we know all of the bartenders, never have to pay for a drink & always end up staying out too late.

Oh yea. She earns her keep behind the bar by cleaning glasses. What a nut. But I love her.

But due to my late night, this was totally necessary this morning.

Dunkin Donuts Mocha Almond Iced coffee – oh em gee! So good!

I spent the rest of my day working/planning a GLORIOUS itinerary for my MIL’s visit to NYC this week! It is pretty awesome if I do say so myself…& very detailed. I’m super excited about the visit (if you couldn’t tell already)!

YTD: 233/600 miles for 2012

So since coming back from Aruba, the heat in NYC has really taken my running motivation far, far away.

I have run a whole 8 miles in the last 10 days. Not very impressive considering the 2 weeks prior I was running 20 miles per week (high mileage for me!). What’s even worse is that it is always so much harder for me to get back into a routine the longer I put it off… right now I am struggling!

So I gotta ask…

How do you motivate yourself to get back out there after a short hiatus?

On a more positive note, I have been really good with the 30 Day AB Challenge! The challenge is hosted by Run to the Finish & the daily videos are awesome! I have even watched some other Strong Like Susan workout videos & love them as well.

I have done every video so far (Day 21 today!). Not gonna lie, I have missed a day or two & had to do 2 videos in one day a few times. I have also added daily planks, side planks, standard crunches, squats and calf raises.

So while I have not been great with my running, I am adding important things to my routine that are strengthening my core & legs. That’s gotta count for something, right?

On another positive note, I got my #sweatpink package!! Yay for being a Sweat Pink Ambassador Not only are all of the ladies involved super inspirational – they are all so motivating & sweet. Plus, I got some awesome swag!

Love the quote

I obviously had to put my shirt on immediately. AND I even ran 3/8 miles this week in my Sweat Pink tank. Because I sweat pink, of course.

Love the laces. On a side note, is it just me or does re-lacing sneakers really stink?

Okay, so one more positive note…I made BLC banana soft serve after our run the other day & he loved it. Please make this. It is too amazing not to.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Soft Serve

3 frozen bananas
Splash of almond milk (add until you get the consistency you like)
2 TBs Peanut Butter
2 TBs Chocolate protein powder
1 tsp chocolate syrup

Blend! (BTW, you can add whatever you want. It is also delicious with just the frozen bananas & almond milk!)

And finally, because I have proclaimed this day Silly Saturday, please watch this video! I have watched it about 10 times already. It is super cute!

Ultimate teased dog!

So I have been wanting to get involved with pavement runner‘s Playlist Thursday for a couple of weeks now but this week totally inspired me.  The theme for this Thursday is Danceability (totally a word, pavement runner!).  I am definitely one of those wierdos dancing when a good song comes on while I am running.  & my running music of choice is totally 100% House music.  So I have also been known to fist pump during races.  Music pumps me up when I run & while I don’t always run with music, during races it can really push me.

 
If you want to find some other fun playlists, go check out pavement runner’s Playlist Thursday Catalogue!  Thanks for the inspiration, PR!

So here are the guidelines: (taken from pavement runner‘s page)

Something Old: These will be songs that are at least 5 years old. I know that isn’t too long to be considered old, but music turnover happens quickly.
Something Current: These will be songs that have been released within the past year. I know, but you have to give me some leeway here.
Something to Consider: These will be songs that are not typically heard on the radio and may be by artists you’ve never heard of or considered running to. This is the wild card category, can be old or current.

Something Old

Artist: Crystal Waters
Title: 100% Pure Love
Side Note: Now this takes me back.  Listen to this and try not to dance a little. Pure Love.
Quotable: ”From the back to the middle and around again, I’m gonna be there till the end…”

Something Current

Artist: David Guetta
Title: I’m a Machine
Side Note:  I love a lot of David Guetta songs but this one takes the cake for running mainly because the lyrics are so perfect.  And the beat is nice and fast.
Quotable: ”I’m a machine, baby.  & I’m unstoppable.”

Something to Consider

Artist: Ingrosso & Alesso ft Ryan Tedder
Title: Calling (Lose my Mind)
Side Note:  My absolute favorite song to run to!  It starts out slow and keeps building up for about a minute & that’s when the run-dancing starts.  This song single-handedly got me through the Brooklyn Half.
Quotable: ”I will find you, I will reach you or I, I, I will lose my mind!”

Now, that was fun   Makes me want to go run-dance!

Yesterday I really didn’t want to spend too much time making dinner (AKA laziness) so I decided to make something that took minimal effort & it turned out phenomenal!

The two stars of the recipe were

Mr. Avocado &

Ahi Tuna Steaks.

So without further ado, the easiest recipe ever…

Seared Ahi Tuna on Avocado Mash (makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:
2 Ahi Tuna Steaks
1 Avocado
2 TB salsa (I used Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde)
Sea Salt
Olive oil spray
Sesame Ginger Dressing (optional for drizzle on top)

1. Spray a nonstick pan with olive oil spray and heat over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes.
2. Spray each tuna steak with olive oil spray & sprinkle with sea salt.
3. Place both tuna steak on the preheated pan and sear each side for 1 minute.
4. While tuna steaks are searing, mix avocado & salsa, leaving chunks of avocado in the mixture.
5. Spread the mixture on two plates.
6. Slice the seared tuna steaks in strips & place on top of avocado mash.
7. Drizzle with Sesame Ginger dressing (optional)

Voila!

Just to be clear in the beginning, I do not recommend racing a sprint triathlon with 5 days notice and no swim/bike training.  Just to be clear

On that note, here is the recap about the time BLC and I raced a sprint triathlon in Aruba with 5 days notice and no swim/bike training!

The Week Before:

BLC called me on the Tuesday before we were leaving for Aruba and said, “Guess what we are doing on July 1?”

Knowing that we were going to be in Aruba, I was thinking snorkeling, laying by the pool, walking on the beach…

I was wrong.

We were signed up for the Aruba International Sprint Triathlon.

BLC had been emailing the director back and forth (who were super nice and helpful, BTW) trying to figure out how were were going to get bikes and how much registration would be.  It was $35 and they agreed to rent the bikes for us and have them at the sign-in table the morning of the race.  Couldn’t really argue with that

At first I was very excited because I’m weird like that.  Then I started getting super nervous.  Did I mention that neither BLC nor I have rode a bike in about 3 years and haven’t swam laps in over 7 years?  & we signed up to swim a 750m open water swim, 20K bike ride and 5k run on our vacation.  I never claimed we were very smart.

I started scouring Triathlon websites, tips for beginners, how many people have drowned during the swimming leg of a triathlon (14 last year, BTW), etc.

Nervous did not even begin to describe how I felt.

The Day Before:

On the Saturday before the tri, BLC and I woke up at 3:45AM to get to the airport for our 6:00AM flight.  Probably got about 3-4 hours of sleep…(two nights before a race is supposed to be the most important night for sleep…eeeek).

I did have a very healthy breakfast at the airport, though.  Gotta give myself credit somewhere…

We travelled for about 10 hours and got to our resort around 5PM.  We checked in, put our stuff in our room, went down to the bar & found out it was Happy Hour.  We proceeded to drink 3-4 fruity cocktails each to calm our nerves about the next day.  Also, not our best idea ever.

At that point, we wanted to see how long it would take us to get to the transition area/registration table the next morning so we knew when we should leave.  So we walked on the beach up to Eagle Beach, where the start would be located.

We couldn’t find it and managed to thoroughly tire out out legs in the process.  Go us.

We went back to our room and tried to fall asleep around 9PM for our quickly approaching 4:30AM wake up call.

The Day Of The Sprint Triathlon:

We woke up, nervously got dressed and headed up the beach hoping to find the transition area.  I am not gonna lie…I was half hoping that they forgot about us and we didn’t actually have to race.

No such luck.

We got to the transition area around 5:15AM, signed our registration forms & got our rented bikes.  We also had to borrow helmets. We got all numbered up, adjusted the seat on our bikes (mine was still a little too high for me but more on that later…) and got all numbered up.

I was 178 & BLC was 177.  Sorry for the scary look.

After we set up our transition station, we put on our swimming caps & headed over to the start.

The red caps were the Olympic distance. We had white caps.

BLC and I were all the way in the back.  Nervous as hell.  & then it began.  No more time for nerves…

I decided to just stick to breast stroke because it takes a little less energy and I wanted to be sure to conserve as much as possible considering 750 meters is a long way in the ocean.  I ended up doing that until the first buoy then did a mixture of side stroke (<—my savior stroke!), laying on my back & breast stroke.  By the time BLC and I passed the second buoy, the first few Olympic distance racers started to pass us (they had two laps, we had to do one).  It was a little bit embarrassing but guess what?  BLC & I weren’t the absolute last two to finish the swim!! Booyah!

We finished the swim in 20:33 (me) & 20:34 (BLC)

Both BLC and I were dead tired after the swim but I think we were really excited to be done with that part.  I mean, how bad could a 20K bike ride and 5K run be, right?

When we got to the transition area, our feet were covered in sand, we had no water & BLC didn’t even have a change of clothes.  Again, totally prepared.  We tried to wipe our feet off and both ate a banana, put our helmets on & got ready for our 20K.

Transition time: 8:07 (me) & 8:06 (BLC) <– I am aware that this is absolutely terrible because the next closest transition time was 4:00 – we clearly had no idea what we were doing.

& then it was time for the bike leg.

We had 4 loops of 5K each ahead of us.  It was almost entirely flat which was definitely amazing.  What wasn’t so amazing was that we didn’t figure out how to shift gears until we were about 1 lap in.  Another super smart move

But then!  Another amazing thing happened!  Half way through our second lap…I got a flat tire.  Yep.  I told BLC to continue on without me.  I ended up talking to one of the volunteers and she told me to head back to the transition area to see if anyone could repair my tire.  I had to walk my bike about 1 mile back to the transition area.  I was pretty bummed out at that point.

The lovely photographers capturing my search for a new tire…

As the volunteers were trying to find me a new tire, the winner of the Sprint distance came in.

Guess who gave me their tire?  Yep, the winner of the Sprint distance (also – 13 years old if you were interested).  You would think with the tire of the winner, it would have been smooth sailing but you would be wrong.

I got back on my bike and was going pretty good for my third lap.  The first turn was pretty wide so I had no real problem but the next turn I took a little too slowly & clipped the curb causing me to fall off my bike and get a pretty gross bruise on my leg, above my knee.  I brushed myself off, got back on my bike and soldiered on.  I was pretty stoked when I passed the transition area for my final lap.

I was a little nervous about the last turn due to my fall and I think I psyched myself out.  So instead of just clipping the curb, I crashed right into it.  I flew forward and hit my pelvis area pretty hard on the handle bars.  I was really hurting but I was so close to being done that I got back on my bike and kept riding.  Probably not the smartest thing but I was so close to being done with the bike and to the run leg which should have been my easy leg.

I finished my last lap and headed to the transition area in quite a bit of pain.

My time from here on out was pretty messed up but BLC finished the bike leg in 57:09.

I hung up my bike, ate a little apple sauce packet I had because I still hadn’t had any water & it was HOT out.  But I set out for my run thinking it would be no problem.

The run was a shortened portion of the bike lap and for the 5k we had to run 2 laps.  I thought it was only one lap.  Should have double-checked on that sucker.

At the first water station I was soooooo excited to get a water.  I was super thirsty and most likely dehydrated.  Like I said in the begin, do as I say…not as I do.

I was actually pretty excited about how they handed out water.

It was a little water packet.  At first I was kinda confused at how to drink it but I just bite off the corner…and that was that.

I thought they were so cool, I even grabbed an extra so I could take pictures of it.  It’s the little things in life, right?

So during my first lap, my pelvis was hurting a little but it continued to hurt more and more as I ran.  I was really frustrated that the run was so difficult.

Some how I managed to get my best race picture ever while I was in immense pain after swimming in the ocean and riding my death on wheels bike for 20K.  Go figure.

I got to the turn off for the finish and really thought I was finished.  I ran through and got to the finish.

I got my medal and t-shirt but when I didn’t see BLC, I started to question whether it was 1 or 2 laps at the end.  Since I didn’t have my Garmin, I literally had no clue.  Unfortunately at that point my pelvis was throbbing so it was probably better that I didn’t keep running on it.  Had I known before I turned off, I definitely would have kept going.

So needless to say…I finished my very first Sprint Triathlon in Aruba in 1:49:37 (minus about 1.5 miles).  I was really upset considering how close I had gotten but I wanted to be there for when BLC finished.  I stood at the finish line and waited for BLC to become a triathlete!

I was soo excited when I saw him coming around the corner to the finish (he was a little bit behind the winners of the Olympic distance racers.)  I’m not gonna lie – even though I was bummed about my race…I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw him finishing.  I was so proud of him!

BLC finished in 2:01:55!

When he got to the finish line, I gave him a giant hug and told him what happened with me.  I could tell he felt bad and asked if I wanted to go walk the last 1.5m together but it was really hurting even to walk so we decided it wasn’t the best idea.

We stuck around for a little while, chatted with a few of the other racers, had some food and drank some Gatorade before we headed back to the resort to shower and relax for the rest of the day.

So that was that.  Our first sprint triathlon.  I apologize if this post seemed a little bit whiney (I’m just a whiney kind of person lol) but I truly am very happy we decided to do it!  Regardless of the outcome it was definitely an accomplishment and has opened us up to a whole different world of races!  We will definitely be registering for another sprint tri in the future…but I will also train on the bike and do a little swimming before that

Post Race Photo Shoot:

Happy that we signed up…

Sad that I didn’t finish the last 1.5m.  FYI – I think it was just a bruised muscle/pulled muscle.  It took about 3-4 days to fully heal.  But I am all good now

Cool water thingie I saved!  Any one else ever seen one of these at a race in the states?

Me and my TRIATHLETE!!  Wooo hoooo!  Go BLC!

Can you believe that BLC raced a triathlon in board shorts?  Can take the dude out of SoCal but can’t take the SoCal out of the dude.

Our cool t-shirt. <3

Hope you liked the recap!  I truly had the experience of a lifetime!

YTD: 225/600 miles for 2012

Last week BLC & I went to Aruba for vacation! It was beautiful, relaxing & overall, amazing! I figured I would post a quick vaca recap for those that are interested!

At the airport, I tried to keep my splurging to a minimum…I mean, I had to be in a bathing suit all week but this breakfast was fantastic! It was the new Banana Blueberry Oatmeal from McDonald’s & I totally recommend it! Yum!

I also brought a bunch of healthy snacks (banana chips, pistachios, kettle corn, trail mix, etc). It kept us from buying crappy airport food!

It is obviously important to stay healthy at the airport – but it was especially important for us because we had to fuel for the next day’s event…

OUR FIRST SPRINT TRIATHLON !! (this will have it’s own post, don’t you worry!) But real quick…

My love & me. Who else’s husband would suggest a triathlon on vacation?! Love him.

Anywho…we laid low for the rest of the week (mainly because I was sore & bruised but what better recovery than laying on the beach in Aruba?).

Our week included:

Visiting lighthouses…

Laying on the beach…

Watching sunsets…

Catching sunsets….

Taking in the beautiful views…

Trying to catch reptiles….& failing miserably

Eating…

& of course, spending quality time with BLC!

I also got a run in!!

Prepping for my run on the beach.

Hydrating from the little water baggie that they were giving out during the tri. It was HOT out there!! & running on the beach is HARD!!

#proof

Sandy sneakers!!

I was a sweaty MESS! Tough run but so totally worth it!! #sweatpink

Now it is back to reality…which means running over the Williamsburg Bridge rather than the beach. Easier but not as pretty

Hope you enjoyed our vaca pics! Triathlon recap coming!

Also, check out the awesome Sweat Pink Blog Hop over at Get Fit Naturally!

Oh, I haven’t told you yet – I’m a new Sweat Pink Ambassador!! I’m super excited to be part of such a great program. A fun giveaway will be happening soon!! Get ready!

‘ello from Aruba, where the wind is strong and the Internet is spotty!

It is time for my Foodie Penpals post!!

I got super lucky this month to have Karen from Let There Be Food send me my package!

She totally hit the nail on the head with this one!!

Karen sent me so much good stuff!! My package included:

Kettle corn (BLC totally finished the bag off while I was in Philly! & he doesn’t even really like kettle corn!!)
Coconut water
Seasoning (used it on tilapia & cauliflower the day I got it! Super delicious!!)
Green sauce
Coffee
Homemade croutons
Natural fruit roll up
Energy bites
Banana chips (BLC & I actually snacked on these on the plane to Aruba! We love banana chips!!)
Wasabi peas (another snack we brought to Aruba – love these little suckers! They clear out my sinuses (sp?) but I just keep eating them!!)

Other items of note:

Karen’s homemade croutons – um…so tasty!! I literally had to stop myself from eating these so I could let BLC taste them!! I don’t even like croutons (I’ll pick them out of my salad) but these were salty & crunchy…& I totally need the recipe! Love, love, love!!

& what made them even better was my new favorite condiment…

This sauce is sooooo good! It is very spicy but I love spicy! I have dipped the amazing croutons in it, put it on eggs, dipped chips in it, showered in…basically any use I could find. I do hope there is a place I can find this sauce after I finish it off!

Coconut water…I really wanna like this stuff. I swear I do. The only kind I have found that I like is the Chocolate flavored Zico brand (tastes like chocolate milk, amazing stuff).

Anyway, I had this after an especially hot run & I just couldn’t get past the little chunks floating around. I drank most of it but had to toss it at the end because all of the chunks had fallen to the bottom. Pretty sure I was super hydrated, though

Mmmm…these energy bites are long gone! I ate them one day at work for a little boost midday & before two workouts. They were just what I needed & very tasty. I miss them already!

So that’s that! Thank you so much, Karen! (& I’m so sorry for the delay!!)

& if you are so inclined, head over to Rebecca’s blog to see what I sent her this month! I’m pretty sure her email after she received my package started with “oh.my.god…” so I think she liked it!

And now it’s time for some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:
-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.
If you’re interested in participating for July, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

So sorry to my amazing Foodie Penpal this month – who I will write all about tomorrow! (please check her blog out – Karen, at Let There Be Food)

I really thought I would have time to post my Foodie Penpal blog today but we have been traveling/locating gear/locating our race start tomorrow/getting ready for our first sprint triathlon EVER!!

Just got Internet right now(about 8:30p); have been up since 3:45a; have traveled all day to Aruba (!!); & have to wake up at 4:45a. I know…hard life I have.

I am super nervous/excited/hope I don’t drown…

I may or may not have drank 4 cocktails out of pure terror (yep, I’m a smart one. Way to prepare, Al)

Please think of me & BLC tomorrow <3

& Karen – your package was super amazing! Loved everything I got & I promise – post will come tomorrow!!