Spinach Feta Walnut Craisin Salad

I always seem to get in a fitness slump for a week or so after I complete a 5K race. I haven’t been to the gym since The Graffiti Run last week. Normally, I would get all panicky about not working out for that long, but I’m just studying my patterns and taking notes.  I’m also trying to eat better and got tired of the same old salad. Today for dinner, I made a spinach salad creation.

Ingredients:

Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves (you can pick off the stems if you want)

Craisins (aka dried cranberries)

Turkey Bacon

Feta Cheese (Huh what’s Feta?, it’s the white crumbles in the picture, read about it here.)

Hard Boiled Egg

Walnuts

Salad Dressing – I wanted Poppy Seed dressing, but all I had was ranch….

Directions:

Add as much or as little of each ingredient as you like! Just weigh/measure to track your calories. Enjoy!  It’s very filling. 

Let me know if you try it.

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The Graffiti Run Saint Louis 2013

Yesterday my Gym Cousin, my Little Sister and I went to pick up our Graffiti Run race day packets. We thought it was a little strange that the “St. Louis” Graffiti Run was actually over in Sauget, Illinois. I mistakenly thought it was pronounced Saw-Gut, Illinois, but a coworker told me, that it’s pronounced “Saw-Jay.” It sounds a lot fancier than it really is. We saw the St. Louis Arch behind us in the distance after we parked the car and waited in the packet pick up line in the blazing sun for at least an hour. I’ve never had to wait that long to pick up a race day tshirt, but I had my sister and my crazy cousin to keep me company.

On the ride back home to St. Louis, all of us were a little leery about this potentially back woods race in Mysteryville, Illinois. Illinois people and Missouri people are sometimes funny like that, we don’t really like to cross that bridge to the other side unless necessary. We are cityfolk and this was definitely more rural. We didn’t know if they would have us running through cornfields or what.
Despite our initial hesitations my Little Sister spent the night at my house. I laid out all of my race day gear in advance as usual to provide for a stress-free morning. We knew the Graffiti Run would be a fun themed race, so we had our mom make us tutus. I asked my Gym Cousin if he wanted a tutu as well, but he declined LOL!

We picked him up this morning and took the half hour trip to Saw-Jay. We had to park in a grassy field and walk about a mile to get to the starting line. I turned on my heart rate monitor because I wanted to count every calorie that I was about to burn. After a quick trip to the porter potty, we got in line behind the sea of white. I was told there were about 8,000 participants.

Unlike other 5K races that I attended, we were released in groups called “waves.” If you’re wondering, the color they throw on you is not paint, it’s dyed corn starch, it reminds me of colored baby powder, but it smelled kinda funny. After a countdown, our wave group threw our color packets in the air creating a colorful cloud and we were off.

My back was a little sore from this week’s intense, nearly daily Insanity workouts. It hurt to run and was a little worried that I might not be able to finish walking the entire route. I’ve been meaning to write up a couple blog posts about more of my “Insanity” adventures, but Insanity wears me out. When I come home after an Insanity workout, some nights it’s lights out before 10 PM.
My Gym Cousin tried to walk at our leisure pace but he couldn’t take it, so he took off running without us.
We were excited to see the first color stop come up, I think it was pink, even the creek along the side of the race path had pink water because of all the colorful powder flying through the air. We were doused with pink powder! It was wild crazy fun! But the runners were a little irritated because there wasn’t really room to run along the narrow straight path with walkers stopped for a splash of color. I wish I could tell you guys that this was my best 5K, but really my back hurt. I kind of wanted to cheat and crossover and turn back around but I knew that I would never forgive myself for that. When we were about halfway through we saw my Gym Cousin covered in blue running the opposite direction towards the finish line. We all cheered for each other. I pushed through the pink, the green, the blue, and orange. Some people rolled around in it to get totally covered from head to toe.

Finally the end was near… or was it? The pavement ended and we were back on the grass field not far from the main stage. Was that it? Did we cross the finish line? Was there a finish line? It all seemed a little anti-climatic. There was no time clock or announcer to say your number as you crossed the finish line. I know I probably sound like a 5K snob right about now, but to me, the finish line is the most important part. We took a few fun pics and made our way over to the stage. The vibe shifted to a party excited energetic atmosphere. There was a hype man onstage, loud music and hundreds of colorful people dancing. We danced around in our tutus until they started the New Year’s Eve-esque countdown to throw the color in the air. I ripped open my yellow color packet that I had previously tucked between my sports bra and my real bra…. 5-4-3-2-1!!! Everyone threw their color packets in the air. There was a vibrant rainbow of color that rained down on all of us. We danced and cheered as our faces and bodies were drenched with even more color. The fun color party at the end made up for all of the little idiosyncrasies. At the end of the party we felt like we definitely had enough color. There were a couple of guys with leaf blowers to blow off the loose powder before getting in our cars.

That mile long hike back to my car with the high-noon sun beaming down was hard for all of us. My cousin was so tired, he sat on my car hood as he waited for me and my sister to get there. They were smart enough to bring a change of clothes. Silly me, I forgot to bring a change of clothes, so I stood out there in the grassy field turned parking lot and switched my shirt inside out so as not to stain my cloth car seats. After taking the wrong highway and getting lost near a rock quarry or something like that, I took my cousin home, dropped my Little Sister off at home.  I was confused when a lady in the neighborhood stared at me quizzically, I forgot my face and hair were sprinkled with color.  Soon after we all met up again at my Gym Cousins mother’s house. All of the family was there for Sunday dinner for my grandmother’s birthday. I got to hug on my niece who was spending the weekend with my mom.

We showed off our wacky fun cell phone pictures from race and we all agreed that we took what felt like the best shower of our lives! I was glad that I had burned over 800 calories, because we ate delicious soul food, deep-fried turkey, BBQ, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, green beans with potatoes, potato salad and caramel cake. I did the best I could and only ate one helping and one slice of cake. But, playtime is over. I joined a weight loss competition with some associates of mine, the winners pot is nearly $400. The first weigh in is in three weeks; high-protein low-carb here I come!

P.S. My “Special Friend” (who ironically is a lot less “special” these days, we haven’t talked in a month or more) text me, he saw me and my sister on the race course, but wasn’t sure if it was me since we were covered in color. We exchanged pleasantries, discussed our confusion about the lack of a clearly defined finish line, and wrapped up the conversation before it turned into our usual heated debate about nothing.

P.P.S. Things are going good with My New List Guy. We have another date planned soon! I’m excited.

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More Late Night Insanity: Recovery

Hey Guys! My second date with The List Guy went well.  Is that weird to call him “The List Guy?” I don’t know?  I hope not, you guys know I give everyone on my blog a fun name; Myself as Carli Fierce, my Gym Cousin, My Shopping Cousin, My Big Little Sister etc.  Anyway, for now he’s The List Guy.   He’s very affectionate; as we walked through the restaurant, he wrapped his arm around my waist.  And then he held my hand as we walked to the parking lot after dinner.   Awwww, he’s so sweet.  I feel totally comfortable around him.   I definitely see a 3^rd date in our near future.  I’m so excited about dating a good guy!

Needless to say we sat there talking long after dinner was over and I didn’t get to work out that day.  However, the next night my Gym Cousin was not having it.  Although, he had already been to the gym and I had a professional happy hour that left me sleepy after a glass of wine, he did not care.  He harassed the pee outta me, texting and calling!  I had no choice but to go over his house for our Insanity DVD workout.  Y’all know that I don’t usually go to sleep before midnight, and I had been out 3 nights in a row in the middle of the work week.  My body was like, “Hey Carli, girl you are not college age, sit your self down somewhere.” I was exhausted and comfortable sitting on the couch, I would have rather done just about anything other than workout with Shaun T.  Thank GOD, it was a recovery day.  Luckily, we didn’t have to do any jumping or running.  We had to do a lot of yoga moves and stretching.  But don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy breezy, it was still very hard.  And, there was still an insane amount of sweat.  As soon as either one of us would do an exercise and say “oh that wasn’t too bad,” Shaun T would then say ok great, lets do 16 more of those, but a little faster this time.  Every time he asked “How are you guys doing?”  I had a less than enthusiastic reply…”not good…tired…sweating too much…ready to go home.”  I was definitely tired Ms. Crabby Pants.  “Sorry you don’t get the best version of me tonight,” I told my cousin.  He replied “I don’t care what version I get, as long as you’re here working out.”  Finally, the DVD was over.  According to my heart rate monitor, I burned nearly 300 calories.  That made it all seem worth it.  Even though I was annoyed that my cousin dragged my tired self out of the house in the rain at 9 o’clock at night, I had to thank him for keeping me on track.

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Late Night INSANITY

Ladies and Gentleman, I had a date last night! A real date with a List guy. I’m talking about my “What I’d Like to Have in a Man list.” Preferably, a career, not living with his Mama, has a car, Christian, smart, drug-free, respects my entrepreneurial spirit, no kids etc. I was still cautiously optimistic though, I realize that having all the stuff on the list doesn’t make you a perfect fit. My last date with a List guy was so dull. He had his life together, but we just didn’t click. After spending all day together and giving him a grand tour of St. Louis, I asked him “So what did you think?!” and he replied “Not bad…” Not bad? I thought, Really? That’s all you have to say about our 6 hour date? Not bad? I was offended, I had put a lot of work into planning a nice day. And then I realized, I felt the same way. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really good either. *shrug* Needless to say that was our last date. Anyway, back to the present. Once my date was confirmed late in the afternoon I canceled my Insanity workout with my Gym Cousin. He was like “Grrrr, I’m trying to get skinny!” I reminded him that I’m trying to get a man. LOL! I’m almost 32 years old, play time is over!

Me and the new List guy met up at a local bar and grill for a casual meet and greet over drinks. We met a few days ago online. He’s an Aerospace Engineer, very laid back and chill. We clicked and the conversation was easy. He’s originally from Jamaica. Of course the usual big question at the end of a first date is always whether there will be a second date. I didn’t have to wonder, because he asked when I was free again and said he wanted to us go out again tomorrow. All I could think was wow, that’s fast but, I guess, okay. He text and made sure I made it home safely and said he would see me tomorrow. They say when a guy likes you, you’ll know… I think it’s safe to say he likes me.

When I got home, I text my Sisters and my Best Friend to let them know I was alive and that he wasn’t a creepy internet weirdo. Then I called my Gym Cousin to tell him about my date. I must have been caught up on my date high because I suggested that I still come over and do the Insanity workout. I felt bad for skipping out on him and I knew I’d be skipping out again the next evening for date #2. He had just come home from the gym and it was late. Would you BELIEVE this dude said yes?! Silly me for asking a workout-aholic if he wanted to work out. I let Nyah out, got undressed and then redressed in my fitness clothes and drove over to his house around the corner. The routine seemed so familiar to both of us, but we kept at it. Even with two fans, the sweat still rolled down my face and my shoulders. The intensity of this workout catches me off guard every time. How is it possible to be drenched in sweat in under 5 minutes?? We both encouraged each other to push through to the end. “If you can’t touch the floor, at least move faster,” my cousin said. And later I told him, “Oh no you won’t leave me down here doing push ups by myself! Come on, get down here with me.” I felt like I redeemed myself by showing up and giving 100%, so that I wouldn’t get my Gym Buddy/Cousin card revoked. We’re both such night owls, we sat up recuperating, rehydrating and chatting about nothing until midnight before I finally pried my sore body of the couch and went home. I went to check off the routine on the Insanity workout calendar posted on my fridge and realized that we had done the same DVD routine twice! No wonder it looked familiar. Hopefully next time we’ll pay enough attention and move on to the next disc….Date night with an awesome guy? Check! No excuses workout? Check!

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INSANITY: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

This afternoon my Gym Cousin text me, of course he was talking about working out. I told him I had the perfect thing for us, the INSANITY workout DVD. His living room was more spacious, so we planned to meet up at his house. I showed up with a gym bag and all of my goodies. I had my yoga mat, INSANITY DVD, bottled water and my new heart rate monitor. He said you look like one of those ladies that come to your house and work you out.  Umm…a personal trainer? I asked laughing. Well that’s exactly what I’m about to do!

I told him that he had to do the Fit Test and Day One to catch up with me. We moved the rug and I did the Fit Test warm-up routine with him. Then I sat down and counted his numbers for the fit test. The stuff Shaun T has you do is so outrageous that you don’t really want anyone other than a close friend or family member watching you attempt to do it. This is not for beginners, I repeat this is not for beginners! My cousin goes to the gym seven days a week and was sweating profusely before he collapsed onto the floor just as I had warned him that I did.

I let him recuperate for a little while and then I put on my heart rate monitor so that we could do day one together. Day One is the The Plyometric Cardio Circuit, whatever that means.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect after the Fit Test kicked my butt.  After about five minutes I was already sweating as if I had run a mile on the treadmill. We both wondered how in the world we would get through 45 minutes of this insanity. (Pun intended.)

I mean there was crazy stuff that neither of us have even seen before like crisscross jumping Jacks. Today I watched the heart rate monitor a little closer because the DVD had verbal reminders to check every so often. When I got to the point that I felt a little woozy, I checked the heart rate monitor and I was at my max. When you’re dealing with this type of strenuous work out you really have to listen to your body, and if you’re not accustomed to monitoring your  Rate of Perceived Exertion, it should be mandatory that you have a heart rate monitor so that you don’t over exert yourself.  I think the participants in the DVD are actually machines dressed up in human costumes.  I don’t know if real people can actually move that fast.  Additionally they should put out a disclaimer for people who have bad knees or a bad back. There is lots of jumping and lots of squatting and lunges. Luckily, I’ve taken enough group aerobics classes to know how to do the low impact versions of these exercises. Instead of jumping into a squat, I can take a big stride to the right and then sit into a squat.

That would be my main complaint with this program, there was no low impact version for someone who is more of a beginner, or has knee pain. I know it’s designed to be a difficult routine, but they know that beginners are going to watch the late night infomercial want to try it.   Adding a low impact option would help limit the horror stories I’ve heard about Insanity injuries. I adjusted nearly every exercise to lower impact version so as not to injure myself. And I showed my cousin how to do low impact versions of the exercises that gave him difficulty.

Around the 25 minute mark we were both exhausted and sweat was literally dripping to the floor. My cousin said “I wouldn’t even want anyone at the gym to see me sweating this much.”  I had to agree, it was that gross soaked through the shirt, I-know-I-better-be-skinny-after-this type of sweat. I jokingly told him we would need to mop the floor when we finished. Yuck! …I kept tinkering with the new heart rate monitor and somehow accidentally stopped it during the routine. We continued and encouraged each other through the last minutes of squats, jumping jacks, Heisman runs and push-ups. Finally it was over! I was glad I wasn’t at home doing it alone because I probably definitely would’ve quit after about 25 minutes when the sweat started rolling down my forehead and into my nose. We have plans to go at it again soon. The monitor said I burned about 400 calories.  I feel like it should have been more.   Now that I know how to work the heart rate monitor properly, hopefully next time I will have a more accurate reading!

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