In May of last year I ran my first 5k. When it was over, I thought I was going to pass out. It happened to be a 5k/10k race and I remember sitting on the curb at the end thinking, “How can people run double what I just did?!”

In December, after committing to be a Zooma ambassador and run the Zooma Texas half-marathon, I ran my first 10k as part of my training for the half. Again, I felt like death at the end of the race and couldn’t imagine running over double the mileage in a few months. I couldn’t believe I had signed up for a half!

On Saturday, I ran my first half-marathon through the Texas hill country. And thirty minutes faster than I had hoped for! I crossed the finish line at 2:28:43. I was fairly confident I could finish the race, but coming in under two and half hours when I hadn’t trained on ANY hills was beyond my wildest dreams!

So how did it go?

The race is known for it’s hills. While I knew that going into it, I live in Houston where there are absolutely no hills, so I trained on completely flat terrain. The first three miles were really hilly and I remember beginning to question if I could really finish the race. The second three miles were even more hilly. Driving into the resort, my car had trouble getting up some of those hills! I took the hills one at a time, ran when I could and walked when I needed to. After the first six miles or so, the course went onto a long flat road with just a couple hills and I was in heaven (well, not really, because I had run 6 miles and was already exhausted!). It then ended with a couple miles through a winding and subtly hilly golf course.

I honestly felt pretty good throughout the entire race. I never had any major pains in my calves, and I only had to stray from my 4:1 run to walk ratio a couple times when the hill was just too steep to run. I realized about halfway through the race that I really had a chance of coming in under two and half hours if I kept up my current pace. When I was still set to make it with two miles left, I knew I had to give those last two miles everything I had – and I did! However, one of the most remarkable things was not feeling like I needed to lay down when I crossed the finish line. On all of my long training runs, I could hardly make it through the last half mile. On race day, I sprinted through the finish line and began intently searching on where to pick up my medal!

It really seemed like luck was on my side on Saturday. The weather was supposed to be surprisingly hot with a high of 90, and instead the entire race was a perfect 60 degrees. The humidity was bad, but I’m used to that from training in Houston!

Zooma put on a great half-marathon. The Hyatt resort was beautiful (though I don’t think I’d ever pay that much to stay there again!) and it was SO nice being able to wake up and walk right down to the start line. The pre-race festivities on Friday night were fun and everything was well organized. My only real complaint was the traffic on the road at the beginning of the race, but I’m not sure anything could have been done about that. I loved receiving both a finisher’s necklace and a medal for achieving a personal record (my first half), and I also loved being able to look up your time on the computers in a tent after the race. They also had a notification system that would text updates to family and friends when you crossed 6 miles and finished the race, which I thought was pretty cool! The race swag was awesome too – a tech shirt (that actually fits!), a cute water bottle, and a yoga mat. Not counting all the cool stuff I received for being an ambassador!

I’ll be writing another post explaining my training and tips that I picked up in these last few months. I will say this – training for a half-marathon is not easy! It takes a lot of dedication and pushing yourself. There was a time around Christmas when I truly almost backed out of the race. I am SO glad I didn’t!

After finishing the race, more than anything I’m truly grateful to have been healthy enough to run a half-marathon. I also strongly believe that if I can run a half-marathon, anyone can run a half-marathon with enough training and personal commitment.

Will I run another half? If you asked me a week ago, I would have said no. I wanted to finish this race, be able to have said that I ran a half-marathon once in my life, and be done with long runs. Today, I admit I may have officially been bitten by the race bug. Although I really did hate some of my training runs, the accomplishment on race day makes it all worth it. I love the phrase, “Run because you can”. If I’m healthy enough in a few months, I think I’ll be signing up for another half!

A special thanks to Zooma for giving me this opportunity, and to the other ambassadors and Muscle Milk Light Challenge Participants for continually inspiring me to keep going!

Besides a few wordpress issues that prevented me from posting, a lot has happened in the past few weeks…

First, I ran my first 10k!

Then I aced my finals for my first semester of grad school and hopped on a plane to New Hampshire.

After packing up all of Luke’s things to move him down to Texas, we drove up to Kennebunkport, Maine for a couple days. And then this happened…

We’re engaged! It was my dream proposal watching the most beautiful sunset we’ve seen in Maine. Talk about the best (early) Christmas present ever!

The day after the proposal we unfortunately had to leave Kennebunkport so that we could begin a week long road trip from New Hampshire to Houston, with stops in NYC, Virginia and Nashville. However, on our way back to New Hampshire, Luke insisted we stop at a new restaurant in Newmarket, NH – the Pao Cafe. Their speciality is sandwiches made with Brazilian cheese bread. If you’ve never heard of Brazilian cheese bread, it’s sort of like a popover but way better. I’ve had it many times at Brazilian steak houses and have always loved it.

What I didn’t know was how easy it is to make and the fact that it’s gluten-free. The secret ingredient is tapioca flour. Luke and picked some up and got baking!

Success on our first try!

This is seriously my favorite bread ever. Five ingredients and salt. Five minutes (or less) prep and 20 minutes in the oven. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to discover this in my kitchen! You won’t regret it.

First, preheat the oven to 400 and put all of your ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is well combined.

Then pour them into a muffin pan (about 2/3 full) and pop them into the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and puffy.

Let them cool for about 5 minutes.

And enjoy!

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup 2% milk
• 1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
• 2/3 cup grated cheese (any kind, fontina and cheddar work great)
• 1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Put all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until combined.
3. Pour the mixture into a greased muffin pan and fill each cup about 2/3 full.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.
5. Let cool for five minutes or so and enjoy!

Though I’m not sharing a Christmas recipe today per say, it is green and would make a great side dish to bring to your holiday party…

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions & Bacon – yum!

It’s no secret that I love brussels sprouts, but this has definitely become my new favorite way to make them. I often make brussels sprouts shredded and sautéed (as opposed to simply roasted). While it is time consuming, I almost always prefer shredded sprouts to whole or halved sprouts. This recipe came about while I was experimenting in the kitchen. I decided to add a little brown sugar to the brussels sprouts to see if they would end up with a sweet and salty caramelized flavor.

It worked! The caramelized onions and bacon add just the perfect additional amounts of sweetness and saltiness. If you think you don’t like brussels sprouts, this is one of those recipes that might change your mind! Feel free to add nuts or dried cranberries – I think they would add some good flavors to the dish as well.

I’m not going to lie, this isn’t the quickest recipe. Shredding brussels sprouts takes time and patience, but I find it worth it. I’ve also been told you can throw them in a food processor instead of shredding them by hand. I haven’t tried it yet, but if I do I’ll let you know if it works.

Again, if you don’t think you like brussels sprouts, try these! And if you do, well, you don’t need any convincing do you?

First, cook your bacon. Tear it into small pieces and set it aside. Then, dice an onion.

Use a little of the leftover bacon grease (or olive oil) to caramelize your onions. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar and cook them over medium low heat for about 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your brussels sprouts! First, wash them, trim the ends off, and peel off the outer leaves.

Then, shred them! I cut mine in half first, and then slice as finely as I can.

Increase the heat on the onions to medium heat and add the shredded brussels sprouts and a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir everything around. Then add two tablespoons of brown sugar, a teaspoon of salt and the garlic powder. Continue stirring the sprouts around for about 5 minutes.

Then add the bacon bits and stir for another minute.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• About 15 large brussels sprouts
• 1 onion, diced and caramelized
• 5 slices of bacon (turkey bacon works great too)
• 2 tbsp and 1 tsp of brown sugar, divided
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. First, cook your bacon. Tear it into small pieces and set it aside.
2. Dice an onion.
3. Use a little of the leftover bacon grease (or olive oil) to caramelize your onions. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar and cook them over medium low heat for about 20-25 minutes.
4. In the meantime, prepare your brussels sprouts! First, wash them, trim the ends off, and peel off the outer leaves.
5. Then, shred them! I cut mine in half first, and then slice as finely as I can.
6. Increase the heat on the onions to medium heat and add the shredded brussels sprouts and a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir everything around. Then add the remaining two tablespoons of brown sugar, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of garlic powder. Continue stirring the sprouts around for about 5 minutes.
7. Then add the bacon bits and stir for another minute.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Oat Pancakes! (I had a bit of a photo failure here… Poured way too much maple syrup and the cinnamon came out super fast. I couldn’t wait to share the recipe though, so these photos will suffice for now!)

These gems are made from old fashioned oats, greek yogurt and pumpkin. As I said, healthy and delicious! In addition, they’re gluten-free. I made them on a whim last weekend and will definitely be making them again. There are many ways to add pumpkin to your breakfast, but this may just be my new favorite!

If you’ve never made oat pancakes, they’re a bit denser than regular pancakes – not as light and fluffy.

But equally tasty and as easy as 1, 2, 3!

First, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Then form the batter into desired shapes and cook over medium heat for a few minutes, flipping every minute or two.

Top with maple syrup and cinnamon and enjoy!

Healthy Pumpkin Oat Pancakes

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Spoon the batter into desired shape and size onto a skillet over medium heat.
3. Flip a few times until cooked through.
4. Top with maple syrup and cinnamon and enjoy!

Congrats again to Avigail and Charlie!

One big sister’s wedding down, and one to go – my sister’s wedding is in less than two weeks!

In between these weddings I’ve been writing papers like crazy. And running!

Speaking of running, it’s about time for an update on my Zooma half-marathon training.  After lots of googling and reading, I decided to follow one of Jeff Galloway’s training plans, specifically the Disney Princess plan (even though that’s not what I’m running). It seemed like the plan I could both best manage as a beginner and fit into my schedule. My major concern with the plan is that it only has you do a long run every other week and the distance jumps are a little high from week to week. I may modify the plan by doing a long run every week (for example, adding in a 4.5 miler in between the 4 miler week and 5 miler week).

My cross-training will be mostly yoga and barre classes this fall. I bought an amazon local deal for barre classes and I’m loving them! I’m always sore the next day. They also remind me of ballet and being a kid, making the classes more fun!

I skipped the first two weeks of the training program because I had been running consistent with those weeks already.  I began in week 3 which called for two 30 minute runs and one 4 mile run.

I would like to increase my speed a bit during the 30 minute runs, but my focus on the long runs is just to finish them. 4 miles was the longest I’ve run outdoors yet and I was very happy finishing in just under an 11 minute pace! Cooler weather definitely makes my runs easier. We got a cool front this weekend, so I ran my 4 miler with temperatures in the low 50s. I even busted out my long sleeves! I’m hoping the fall weather finally sticks around in Houston as it’s almost November.

10k Race

I signed up for a 10k (my first) in December to give me a “stepping stone” goal to work on before the half. On December 1st, I’ll be running the Trafigura Home Run. My goal will be to finish – and to finish in under a 12 minute pace would be great (but we’ll see!).

That’s about it for my training right now. I’ll try to update sporadically!

Handana Giveaway Winner

Lastly, the winner of the Handana giveaway is Jill! Jill, email me at afterdinnerdance@gmail.com with your mailing address and I will get your Handana out to you!

Before we get to the rest of my eats, here’s the star of the show:

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese!

So delicious. And so easy to make. No need to get it from Dunkin Donuts or Trader Joe’s! What’s the secret? Pumpkin butter! It’s basically a two to one ratio of cream cheese to pumpkin butter and a bit of pumpkin spice. Here’s the recipe!

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

Makes enough for 2 bagels.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp of cream cheese
• 2 tbsp pumpkin butter (recipe here)
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Breakfast

Breakfast was a delicious sesame bagel from New York Bagels topped with pumpkin spice cream cheese. It was amazing after my 3.5 mile run! (By the way, if you missed Monday’s running post, check it out and enter the giveaway!)

Lunch

Lunch was a chopped spinach salad with apple, cheddar cheese, chicken, and walnuts. The first salad that I ever liked was from this place called Chop’t in DC. Basically, they chop up all of the ingredients really small so that you get a piece of everything in each bite. My recreation wasn’t quite the same, but it was decent.

Snacks

I had two afternoon snacks. The first was really good grapes from Central Market.

Later I had an apple topped with some pumpkin butter.

Dinner

Dinner was a soup made by my Mom with zucchini, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, sausage and quinoa. I don’t remember the name of it, but it was good!

Finally, I ended the night with a glass of sauvignon blanc and the presidential debate. And that’s what I ate Wednesday Tuesday! I’m off to Las Vegas tomorrow for a fun filled wedding weekend and, knowing the bride, lots of delicious food!

In addition, I’m serving as an ambassador to the race! I first heard about Zooma races through Peanut Butter Fingers. When she tweeted that they were looking for ambassadors and I saw that there was an Austin race, I decided to apply. I thought it would be a great push for me to actually run a half-marathon if I got accepted. I honestly didn’t think I would be accepted since I am a beginner, but I was! So now I’m committing myself to training to and giving it my all. My goal is to finish. I’ll be running and going as fast as I can, but I’ll definitely be taking walk breaks (I may even try the Jeff Galloway method). Hopefully I will finish the race, love it and make a better goal for my next race.

Where is my running at right now? Well, I haven’t talked too much about running on my blog lately simply because there hasn’t been much to tell. I haven’t stopped running, but it’s been too hot in Houston and, until recently, I’ve only been running about 2-2.5 miles 2-3 times a week. Now the temperatures are finally beginning to drop and I’ve been increasing my distance a bit and making sure to run three times a week. It’s safe to say that building up to 13.1 miles is going to be very hard, but I hope I can do it!

If you’re in the area or want to take a trip to the great state of Texas and run the race with me, registration is officially open! The half-marathon and 5k are on March 23, 2012. The course will take you through the beautiful Texas hill country and there will be a post-race party catered towards women with mini spa treatments, wine tastings, live music and more. It looks like fun to me!

Handana Giveaway!

What better way to celebrate my goal of running 13.1 miles than a running giveaway?! I recently got in touch with Katie at Handana after seeing a handana reviewed on another blog. What’s a Handana? Good question!

It’s basically a sweat band that wraps around your hand and wrist. Unlike a normal sweat band, it’s not bulky or uncomfortable and you can hardly notice you’re wearing it. When I run outside, I often struggle to keep the sweat off my face, especially in the Texas heat. Obviously you can’t run outside with a towel, so this is a great alternative.

I tested it out on all of my runs last week. Verdict? I loved it! It’s comfortable and highly functional. I also wore it to my yoga class. I don’t do hot yoga, but my class is at a hot yoga studio and the flow classes are generally about 85 degrees, so I get very sweaty. My Handana was a lifesaver in yoga – especially because it can be hard to grab a towel when you’re in yoga poses!

All in all, I highly recommend a Handana for anyone who likes (but doesn’t like) to get sweaty. That’s why I’m giving one away to a lucky reader! How can you enter? Just leave a comment about how you like to get your sweat on. I’ll use a random generator to choose the winner and announce the lucky person next week.

If you don’t win, you can purchase your own Handana at myhandana.com. If you like them on Facebook, you’ll be able to keep up with all of their great deals and promotions. Good luck!

To make my Friday even better, I went on a 3 mile run and came home to a delicious breakfast of pumpkin yogurt and, you guessed it, pumpkin granola!

Pumpkin butter (recipe here) is truly the most essential ingredient for all fall recipes. Pumpkin granola might just be my favorite use for pumpkin butter, but there are so many that it’s hard to say! As long as you have pumpkin butter on hand, this granola is super easy to make and you’ll have a healthy and delicious fall inspired snack in a flash. I added pepitas (pumpkin seeds) to this batch, but you can make it plain or add anything you that looks good – almonds, raisins, etc. – be creative!

First, preheat your oven to 325 and mix together the oats, pepitas (if using), cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl.

Next, stir in the pumpkin butter, honey, and canola oil.

Spread it out evenly on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes, flipping a couple times.

Let cool for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Pumpkin Granola

Makes about one medium mason jar.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup pepitas (optional, almonds would be great too!)
• 6 tbsp pumpkin butter (recipe here)
• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and pepitas (if using).
3. Stir in the pumpkin butter, honey, and canola oil.
4. Spread the mixture out on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes, flipping a couple times.
5. Let cool for at least 30 minutes and enjoy!

*Note – the granola will harden as it cools. You may think it isn’t done after 30 minutes, but it will be once it cools!

We’ll get to the recipe for this green pumpkin smoothie in a minute!

I’ll be making plenty of healthy pumpkin snacks and treats this month, that’s for sure! I won’t, however, be giving out anything but candy on Halloween. I know most candy is full of sugar and crazy processed, but I just don’t think you can take candy out of Halloween. I don’t want to be the house kids skip because they’re giving out apples instead of snickers. But until October 31st, I’ll keep my healthy focus!

Thanks again to Jenn for hosting WIAW. For those of you who don’t know, Jen over at Peas and Crayons hosts WIAW every week – check out her blog for more information on it and to find some new blogs to read.

Breakfast

Breakfast was nothing other than overnight oats – pumpkin of course! I’m still perfecting the recipe, but adding real pumpkin (in addition to pumpkin butter) is definitely the way to go!

Lunch

Lunch was a green pumpkin smoothie before I headed off to class. Now, I know that may sound incredibly weird. Not to mention, the green color isn’t too appetizing (but you could say it’s spooky!). The taste, however, is like liquid pumpkin pie! Word of advice: it’s really filling! It’s definitely more of a meal than a snack.

Green Pumpkin Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 tbsp pumpkin butter
• 3/4 cup pumpkin
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender or immersion blender and blend until smooth.
2. Enjoy!

Back to WIAW…

Between classes I had another Trader Joe’s brownie and oat bar. I’ll be buying these often!

Dinner

Dinner was crockpot Mexican chicken, rice, and a spinach salad followed by a glass of sauvignon blanc. We’re finally starting to get cool fronts in Houston and when they come, we take advantage of the weather and eat out by the pool. I can’t wait for the weather to stay like this!

And that’s What I ate Wednesday Tuesday! Hopefully I’ll have a new recipe up soon while I’m avoiding studying for midterms!

Breakfast

After my short morning run (due to the gross heat and humidity today) I had some delicious pumpkin overnight oats with banana. I’ll be posting a recipe for them soon! I’m probably going to tweak my recipe and give them more pumpkin flavor by adding actual pumpkin to the mix. We’ll see!

Lunch

Lunch was amazing. This combination may sound strange, but I promise it is delicious! I made a quesadilla filled with pumpkin butter, cream cheese, and sliced banana. Seriously good.

In between classes I had a Trader Joe’s Brownie and Oat Bar. It was one of the very few things I picked up at the TJ grand opening in Houston last Friday (because it was a mob scene!). It was a good find and really tasty! When I got home, I snacked on an apple with, you guessed it, more pumpkin butter!

Dinner

Dinner was marinated chicken along with spicy roasted cauliflower (recipe here), sweet and sour butternut squash (recipe here) and brown rice. I’m so happy butternut squash is coming back in season!

Post dinner I had a bowl of ice cream topped with, yes, more pumpkin butter! The perfect pumpkiny end to a fall day!

If you’re a pumpkin lover, stay tuned for more pumpkin inspired recipes coming your way!