Good morning and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! Are you wearing green today? 
I thought about coloring my oats with green food dye this morning in honor of St. Patty’s Day, but I wasn’t sure how canned pumpkin and green food dye would mesh together– I didn’t want an icky green-brown mess of oats! Instead, I used a green bowl.
In the mix:
- 1/3 cup dry oats
- 1/4 cup wheat berries
- 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
- 1/3 cup vanilla hemp milk
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/2 of a Quaker Simple Harvest All Natural Trail Mix bar (I ate the other half before my run)
- 2 spoonfuls of Teddie peanut butter
I love SPRING flowers! 
Lunch Preview
For lunch today, I have leftover pasta with marinara and a turkey meatball, Stonyfield yogurt + PB Puffins, and an apple. It’s not a very pretty lunch, but I’m sure it will taste delicious and fill me up.
Workout X 2
This morning’s workout was a 4 mile run (38:59/9:44 pace) + 20 minutes of Power Yoga #2 from YogaDownload.com for Day 17 of the Yoga Challenge.
My run was exhausting this morning! My legs felt like a million pounds, but I made it all 4 miles… just barely! I didn’t have a treadmill workout like I usually do, which may have made the run feel extra tiring. Usually, a treadmill workout with ever-changing speeds and inclines keeps me interested and motivated. I guess I was lacking this “mental focus” during my running this morning. 
My Power Yoga session was a challenging intermediate/advanced class. I liked the intensity of this class. It was more active than my usual Hatha/flow-type classes that I have been doing lately. It made me feel strong while doing some of the poses– almost like I was building muscle at that very moment.
Last night, Basic Training was a hundred times better than the previous week! I’m not sure if the instructor was nervous or what last class, but he got it together this week. He had much more of a “game plan” and worked us hard! It’s still not a non-stop, bootcamp-style class, but it’s slowly moving in that direction. I hope he’s just easing us into it.
The best part of last night’s Basic Training class was finishing with 100 sit-ups with an 8 lb medicine ball and 100 pushups. I have never, ever done 100 push-ups (in one day) in my life! Of course, 90 of them were on my knees and my form was “snake-ish” near the end, but I did it! I was seriously ready to quit around 40, but with a little encouragement from my wonderful partner (Mr. Mal), I did all 100! I’m actually pretty proud of this accomplishment!
Quaker All Natural Goodies
After the gym last night, I arrived home to a lovely box of goodies from Quaker. As a thank you for hosting the Quaker All Natural Giveaway on the blog, Quaker sent me my very own goodie box! Inside was an awesome organic cotton robe, slippers, and a few boxes of their newest Simple Harvest All Natural Trail Mix bars! Thank you, Quaker! I haven’t had a robe since I was a kid, so I am excited to use this one on cold mornings.
The Simple Harvest bars are pretty awesome, too! The bar is made with wholesome grains (oats, wheat, and barley) as well as dried cranberries, chocolate chunks, almonds, and peanuts. For 150 calories, the bar was a tad on the small side, but it was like eating dessert!
 |
 |
Yoga Challenge: Back on Track
I apologize for slacking with the Yoga Challenge. My weekend was super busy, but I should have been able to squeeze in at least 20 minutes of yoga, right? Oh well, it’s all in the past, and I now am ready to move forward.
For the second half of the Yoga Challenge, my goals are to increase the duration of my yoga practice (most days of the week) and try some in-person classes, including Bikram yoga (aka “hot yoga”). (I might as well finish the Yoga Challenge with a bang! 
) Now that I have been practicing alone for two weeks, I feel much more confident in my physical and mental yoga abilities. Not that I really care about making a fool of myself at a yoga class, but I want to make sure I got as much as I could out of an actual class, especially since I will be paying extra for it! (None of the yoga classes at the Y work with my schedule!)
What is your goal(s) for the second half of the Yoga Challenge?
Question of the Day
What’s your favorite hometown food?
{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }
Next Comments →
I think you made the right decision about coloring your oatmeal green
The daffodil photograph is lovely – can’t wait until they start springing up around the city!
Perogies are huge in Pittsburgh, and I love the plain potato and potato and sauerkraut.
my goal is to finish the workout more often instead of stopping around the 30 minute mark.
happy st. patrick’s day!
I’m wearing the same green bracelet that I wore in my recent video post – that’s as green as I’ll get, haha
PB PUFFINS!!!
**goal for yoga = master temple pose, since right now the pose REALLY irritates my tailbone
My city is the donut shop capital of the world… nice and healthy. But since I worked at a coffee shop for years, I am off of donuts for life!
I don’t have any office appropriate green clothes I don’t think. Oh well. maybe some green eyeshadow?
Living in Tampa, Cuban food is really popular. My grandmother in-law makes some killer Arroz Con Polo.
Gorgeous flowers! I was going to wear my green sweater today but couldn’t find it – guess it was at the dry cleaner’s
Glad the class was a bit better. Have you considered talking to the instructor about intensifying it a bit? I’ve done it before. I feel a little shy usually doing stuff like that, but I figure a little uncomfort for 30 seconds may make all future classes way better
I want a rope + slippers + trail mix bars too!
Favorite hometown food (my original hometown – not Boston): crepes with sweetened condensed milk + cherry preserve. Mmm, yum!
i loooove that robe and slippers! they’re so comfy! that quaker fairy is amazing
i hope you like bikram as much as i do!
have a wonderful st pattys day <3
haha! Even though I am in Florida I happened to perfectly (and by chance) an emerald green bikini! woo-hoo!
Every year when the MN State Fair rolls around I miss cheese curds although I can only eat a couple before I’m done…
I slacked on yoga this weekend as well but I was in a hotel room…I haven’t done any official yoga sessions the past few days but have incorporated yoga poses into my post-run stretches.
CONGRATS!!! 100 push ups is amazing!!
My fav hometown food (Detroit): NOT coney dogs that’s for sure but we have a big Middle Eastern population so hummus OR we also have a big Polish population so pierogi!
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza!!
My goal for the second half of the challenge is just to recommit myself, since I also slacked this weekend.
Yummy looking breakfast! I think making it green might have just been a lil’ unappetizing, so good choice on the green bowl instead! haha…:)
Favorite hometown food: apple cider donuts, hot from the deep fryer, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Good thing it comes around but once a year during apple picking season!
Happy St. Patty’s Day – and congrats on those push ups!!!
Hometown food? Eh….we don’t really have a food we’re known for here. Lots of fried stuff, I guess?
Goal for yoga: Do even more during the day when I need to just stretch and relax and not just “save it” for yoga time.
good call on the green bowl!! way to go with the great workouts
I haven’t been commenting on the Yoga Challenge because by the time the comment post goes up I’m still at work and I usually haven’t gotten my yoga workout in!
But I’ve been playing along!
I’ve loaded up on Yoga DVDs, mostly Rodney Yee. This week I’m committing to A.M. Yoga everyday!
Being from jersey bagel sandwiches are pretty important around here, good bagels are just a necessity.
Love your oats, and I’m jealous of your super balanced lunch.
Yesterday was the first time i didn’t feel “into” my yoga. I did 20 minutes of detox because i had been eating and drinking poor the day before. However, it didn’t seem to help. I was tipping over and just felt blah.
I am still having trouble with my balance and hope to really work on that during the second half of the month.
The oats look great, wish I’d thought to put my b-fast in a green bowl for today! Glad the bootcamp class is shaping up, do they actually yell at you or is it more relaxed than that?
Hometown food: I’m from a small town in Colorado w/a killer BBQ place that makes the best grilled ham & cheese ever
@Graze With Me: That’s the thing– the class is a little too laid-back and low-key for my liking. I want a butt-kicking, especially if I am paying for it!
I forgot to wear green! Sad.
Hometown food: BBQ springs to mind first, though I wouldn’t say it’s my fave. Definitely some sort of Mexican food… fajitas!
I had the same thought with my oats this morning but decided against it as well!
For a hometown meal – I would have to say Lobster… or a potato pie lined with bacon
100 PUSHUPS?!! Wow! I can barely do the 27 in the Shred!
I totally forgot today was 3.17!! I am definitely not wearing green – but I have time to change
Great gift package from Quaker!
Good job on your workout – even if your legs felt heavy. It’s great that you got up and did it!
yum your breakfast looks fabulous!
Pasties… (and no, I’m not referring to what women wear under a skimpy dress, it’s a food and pronounced Pa-Steez) These are not healthy in any way, but so delicious!
Hi Tina,
Back Bay Yoga offers “community classes” on the weekends, which you can attend for $5… a great deal! Good luck with the rest of the challenge!
Wow, nice job on the 100 push ups!
I think my goal for the 2nd half of the yoga challenge will be longer sessions. I’m going to Dl some Gentle Hatha sessions, and try a more “power” type yoga too
I live in Seattle, so obviously COFFEE! Plus, the seafood out here is great and all fresh!
I wore green by accident today! haha…
100 push ups…wow. You know they say push-ups are a true test of how fit you are. Dunno if “they” are right, but that’s what I’ve heard.
I live 45 minutes from the Mexican border, so OBVI Mexican food is our hometown specialty. Fish tacos especially…but that comes from Mexico too (Baja California), so it’s all related.
bagels! i’m from long island
Happy St. Patricks Day!
I’m a new reader but I thought I’d answer the “question of the day”: My hometown is in Connecticut so I’d have to say that the one thing that I absolutely have to eat when I come up to visit is an eggplant grinder. Just can’t find one like it anywhere else!
I don’t get why anyone does Bikram. Yoga is already sweaty… why would you Want to make it even more uncomfortable and on top of that, surrounded by even more sweaty, smelly people??? EW.
@Jennifer: It sounds like an amazing experience to me! I’ve never tried it– have you?
happy st. patty’s day! my goal for the second half of the yoga challenge is to not miss any more days and take a couple classes too! i just got a wii fit, and i’m really enjoying practicing poses with it so i’ll add that on to my daily yoga as well.
Happy St. Patty’s Day and congrats on the awesome workouts!
Whenever I go home to Arkansas (about an hour from Memphis, TN), I have to eat pulled pork barbecue from The Dixie Pig, The Kream Kastle, Benny Bob’s and Couch’s. I always have a little barbecue tour. I’ve even frozen some solid and brought it back to Virginia with me to share with my friends. I take my barbecue quite seriously!
I once stepped into a room where Bikram yoga was about to take begin. I was hit by the wave of heat and thought, this is GROSS, and very quickly left.
I had pumpkin oats this morning too! with Trader Joe’s pumpkin granola sprinkled on top. As far as hometown foods, I think Las Vegas doesn’t have a specific favorite, but is more of a mish-mash of anything you could imagine. I would have to say my two favorite restaurants are Greek Bistro and Pasta Shop, greek and italian are my favs!
-kristen
It never ceases to amaze me how much you accomplish in a day. Your use of time is incredible. How do you it all! Truly an inspiration! Would you mind telling us what time you wake up, how long you work out for and what time you get to work? I am so curious b/c I need to try and fit a run in within the morning time (ealry) before work and you manage to run and do yoga! I am sure you are very regimented! Thank you so much for sharing your life with us, your blog is by far my favorite!
Fresh sourdough french bread from San Francisco!!
My goal is to fit in 5 classes a week and 2 yoga session with my husband and/or kids on the weekend!!
@Cathy: I wake up at 5:01, exercise for an hour, shower and get ready for work, eat breakfast, blog, and I am out the door by 7:30 or so.
Yum, PB puffins and pasta in the same lunch! And my favorite hometown food is a casserole that my mom makes for Christmas, I can never get enough of it!
Day 17: Challenging 70min of Sadie Nardini’s Fire Detox
this Yoga challenge is wonderful! Although I’ve been doing yoga/pilates everyday even before this challenge, I have never kept track of it. Now that I do, I feel more productive as I look back on the record! ;]
I had a feeling you would say you got up a 5am ish. Amazing! I don’t know if I can do that- I am a “sleeping in” junky! Haha- but I am going to try! Thanks Tina!
Tina- when you run on the treadmill, not doing a ‘treadmill routine’, what incline do you keep it on? Thanks!
i would try baptiste power yoga before bikram. i have been practing for 5 years, i started at baptiste in cambridge, and took a bikram class for the 1st time recently and it was the single worse yoga experience i have ever had. the teacher bordered on abusive! baptiste is also heated but it more of at your own pace than bikram and the poses are more familiar. just a thought!
black-and-white cookies and rugelach from NY- yummy
I live right next to Atlantic City, and we have the best subs (not hoagies, haha)! The ones from White House Subs are especially amazing!
My goal – continue to do yoga at times other than in the morning!
I’m giving away greek yogurt coupons if you’re interested!
Next Comments →
{ 1 trackback }