Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Hi, bloggies! I hope you are all having a lovely Saturday morning! 
This morning’s oats: Banana-Eggnog topped with trail mix.
I agree, the combo of banana-eggnog sounds a little strange, but it wasn’t at all. The banana dominated the eggnog flavor, but they both added sweetness and an extremely creamy texture to my oats.
After eating my oats, I made myself a cup of coffee with a splash of eggnog. I’m drinking it while I blog.
10 Year High School Reunion
Well, guys, my 10 Year High School Reunion was SO FUN! It was so much better than I expected it to be! I was on the fence about it all day yesterday– I was even nervous on the drive to the bar, but once I started talking to my old friends, everything was great!
The reunion was held at The Claddagh Pub in Lawrence, MA. The bar was really cool– it had lots of space to move around, a working fireplace, dance floor, and live music.
Our high school mascot was the tiger! What was your high school mascot?
And our colors were blue and gold. 10 years… where did the time go?
I needed some “liquid courage” to face my old classmates, so I started the evening with a Claddagh Pub Brew, which basically tasted like Miller Light.
For the reunion, our class reserved a private room at the pub and supplied all sorts of food for us. Mal and I hadn’t eaten dinner, so we dug right in. My plate included salad, marinated artichoke hearts and mushrooms, pasta with broccoli, and a meatball.
Beers 2 and 3 were Blue Moons; a blueberry beer followed.
1998 classmates!
More classmates! I’m pretty sure the 3 of us had every single class together in high school!
So, all in all, a wonderful 10 Year Reunion! I’m so glad that I went!
Lots of Saturday things on the agenda today! Be back later!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: restaurant
Tags: banana, eggnog
Friday, November 28, 2008 at 05:06 PM
Obviously, Thanksgiving dinner was fantastic yesterday, but how amazing are the Thanksgiving leftovers?!?! I love the classic “Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich” with all of the fixings! This is one of Mal’s favorite sandwiches (second to the Red Onion), so when he offered to make me one for lunch today, I couldn’t refuse. He takes his Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich very seriously, and, of course, I could only expect perfection from his sandwich-making skills today.
The sandwich: Turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce on whole wheat bread.
To drink, I had a glass of water with a splash of pomegranate juice. The juice was very concentrated, so just a little went a long way!
Afternoon Treats
Today’s afternoon snack was so good! It included a half slice of pumpkin cheesecake (leftover from T Day). The crumbly graham cracker crust was so yummy!
My snack also included a homemade eggnog misto, which I am still currently enjoying.
To make an eggnog misto:
- Brew a pot of coffee like you normally would
- Fill a mug halfway with coffee; fill the other half with eggnog
- Nuke the mug in the microwave for 60 seconds
- Give the misto a quick stir and enjoy!
Instead of the “real deal,” I used Silk Soymilk Nog, which tastes almost exactly the same as regular eggnog, but lighter and with fewer calories, saturated fat, and sugar. It’s really delicious! 
I’m hoping that my afternoon snack will hold me over until my 10-year high school reunion (eek!) tonight, where there will be lots of food! I’m equally looking forward to and dreading tonight, which I suppose is a natural feeling?
Workout
After breakfast, I went for a long treadmill run. (FYI: Breakfast was scrambled eggs, toast, and iced coffee, but I didn’t remember to take a photo until I was almost done eating. I’ve been blogging for 10 months now, and I have no clue how it happened. Breakfast wasn’t that exciting– you guys didn’t miss much.) The running workout that I used today was from an old issue of Shape magazine (October 2007). I keep a fitness binder of various cardio and lifting workouts, so I always have the option of changing things up.
This particular workout is a new favorite of mine! Its intervals are designed to keep your workout’s intensity high, but also manageable, so you don’t keel over! You work really hard for a short period of time then recover at a moderate pace. And switching-up the pace and incline prevents you from getting bored.
Run Stats:
- Distance: 6.11 miles
- Time: 54:28
- Pace: 8:53 min/mile
- Calories: 600
The RPE in the final column is based on Shape’s Rate of Perceived Exertion (see bottom of post for more info).
| WHAT TO DO |
TIME (MINUTES) |
RPE (1-10) |
| Warm up at an easy pace |
0:00 – 10:00 |
4 – 5 |
| Sprint |
10:00 – 10:30 |
9 |
| Go at a moderate pace |
10:30 – 11:30 |
5 – 6 |
| Repeat minutes 10:00 – 11:30 three times |
11:30 – 16:00 |
5 – 9 |
| Go at a moderate pace |
16:00 – 20:00 |
5 – 6 |
| Increase the incline |
20:00 – 21:00 |
8 |
| Recover (decrease the incline) |
21:00 – 22:00 |
5 – 6 |
| Increase the incline |
22:00 – 24:00 |
8 |
| Recover (decrease the incline) |
24:00 – 25:00 |
5 – 6 |
| Increase the incline |
25:00 – 28:00 |
8 |
| Recover (decrease the incline) |
28:00 – 29:00 |
5 – 6 |
| Increase the incline |
29:00 – 31:00 |
8 |
| Recover (decrease the incline) |
31:00 – 32:00 |
5 – 6 |
| Increase the incline |
32:00 – 33:00 |
8 |
| Recover (decrease the incline) |
33:00 – 34:00 |
5 – 6 |
| Go at a moderate pace |
34:00 – 39:00 |
6 |
| Speed Up |
39:00 – 44:00 |
7 |
| Recover (slow down to moderate pace) |
44:00 – 49:00 |
5 – 6 |
| Speed Up |
49:00 – 54:00 |
7 |
| Cool down gradually |
54:00 – 60:00 |
3 – 4 |
FYI…
My speeds:
- Easy pace: 5.5 – 6.0
- Moderate: 6.5 – 6.7
- Sprint: 7.2 – 7.5
My inclines:
- Increase: 4.0 – 6.0
- Recover: 1.0
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)
When doing your cardio, gauge your intensity using the Rate of Perceived Exertion:
|
RPE 1-2:
|
Very easy; you can converse with no effort
|
|
RPE 3:
|
Easy; you can converse with almost no effort
|
|
RPE 4:
|
Moderately easy; you can converse comfortably with little effort
|
|
RPE 5:
|
Moderate; conversation requires some effort
|
|
RPE 6:
|
Moderately hard; conversation requires quite a bit of effort
|
|
RPE 7:
|
Difficult; conversation requires a lot of effort
|
|
RPE 8:
|
Very difficult; conversation requires maximum effort
|
|
RPE 9-10:
|
Peak effort; no-talking zone
|
Time to get ready for my REUNION! Wish me luck!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, workouts
Tags: cheesecake, eggnog, stuffing, turkey, workout
