Is anyone else really ready for Friday?!? Mal and I close on our new house tomorrow, so I am antsy for the end of the week to arrive. But, I worked my butt off today, so I can start our celebration as soon as we close at 3:00 pm tomorrow! 
IĀ still can’t believe we’re going to be homeowners in less than 24 hours. I’m super excited, but it still hasn’t hit me yet! šÆ
Workout
After breakfast, I worked up a serious sweat doing Track Workout 2:
2 lap warm up, 3 X’s 800M, 2 lap warm down, 1 lap rest
Pace based off of 5k race time
Instead of driving to the track or running on the treadmill, I took advantage of today’s summer-like weather and did the track workout on my favorite 3-mile route around my neighborhood and used my Garmin to keep track of my pace on the 800’s.
My goal for the 800’s was to run a 8:00 – 8:30-minute pace with my recovery lap pace between 9:30 – 10:00. A couple of the 800’s ended up being on hills, but I really tried to push myself to keep up my speed.
Even though I despise hills (remember the Run from Hill?!), two things help me conquer them. The first is pumping my arms. I look like a dork, but moving my arms get my legs moving too! š The other thing that I do is repeat this mantra over and over again: What goes up must come down. For every incline, there is a decline. I keep reminding myself that the down part of the hill will be totally worth it.
I was a sweaty, exhausted mess by the end of my run, but I finished Track Workout 2 (3 miles) in 26:24.
When I returned home, Murphy went nuts licking my legs. It was hot outside, so I was dripping with salty sweat. I must have tasted delicious to the pug! š
Lunch
Today’s lunch was very orange. I had sweet potato fries tossed in olive oil and ground flaxseed meal and baked in the oven on 400*F for about 20 minutes.
And homemade pumpkin soup.
The pumpkin soup was soooo easy to make. I just combined 1/2 cup vegetable broth with 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, seasoned with salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and heated it in a sauce pan for a few minutes. Then, I stirred in a big spoonful of Greek yogurt. Mmm! Loved it!
I also finished off the last of the French Toast Baked Tofu.
A little while later, I ate a piece of Apple Cake from Tastefully Simple.
After lunch, I ran around like a crazy person trying to get everything done. I stopped by the bank, grocery store, Best Buy, and then the dentist, which was not fun at all. š
At home, I continued to run around like mad woman. I tackled my To Do list, caught up with emails, and went through all of my clothes, which was my big task for the day.
I donated a TON of clothing. It felt awesome.
Mal and I are making pizza for dinner tonight. It smells so delicious right now!
P.S. If you’re thinking about ordering something from Avon for our TNT fundraiser, here’s a free shipping code from my sister: REPFLYER. Don’t forget to enter TNT2011 at checkout! š
53 Comments
That pic of Murphy is priceless!!!
Enjoy pizza night š
Hills are sooo tough. The place I usually run is totally flat, so whenever I hit hillier terrain, it’s tough!! Love the orange lunch- sweet tater fries are the best!
I am REALLY ready for Friday !!!
PIIIIIZZA!! Can’t wait to see pictures. I think I am ready… I am going to try and make my own dough ! š Will report back with results. Dinner for me tonight is tofu n’ greens quinoa bowl. YUM, but not pizza ;P
Have a good night.
I wish I was making homemade pizza! THat should have been dinner tonight.
Ahhh speed workouts, hurt so good haha! That pic of Murphy is too funny!
LOVE donating clothes…my closet is cleaner and i help someone out. it’s a win win š
I love Murphy!
SO ready for Friday! I totally feel that Puggy picture because I JUST got back from my first root canal. Ugh. It wasn’t too bad, but not my idea of a rockin’ good time, either.
š
I laughed when I read about the hills, because on a particularly hard trail run I was doing with my sister where I was griping about the huge hills she quipped “well, it’ll be downhill soon. It’s the law of geography!” So now, whenever I run hills, I just think “the law of geography. the law of geography,” which makes me laugh (through the groans).
love your orange lunch!
My friend’s beagles used to lick my legs too. I’d go running with her and then immediately get a dog bath. š
Great workout! We run the same pace – LOL! š
So exciting for you to be closing on your home!! Definitely calls for a celebration:)
I can’t stand hills either….they are just the worst! Why is it I can feel like I can go 10 miles on the flat but barely make it up a 1/4 of mile hill?!
Cheers to you and your new home!
I love your orange meal — pumpkin and sweet potato in one meal is always a good thing.
Enjoy your night!
Pizza is on my to-do list for tonight too!
That’s a great looking lunch! Many of my meals have been very orange in nature as well lately – carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, butternut squash….. I don’t think either of us have a beta carotene deficiency today!
I cleaned out my closet this weekend, and instead of taking it to a thrift store, I put up an ad on craigslist for free clothes – was able to give a bag of clothes to several women in the area who were in a desperate need – it felt great!
I know nothing about Avon, but buying makeup for a good cause sounds just plain awesome. š Would your sister be willing to share some of her favorites on your blog as ideas?
I love donating clothes and clearing out my closet. It makes me feel so accomplished.
Man, oh man, I’m ready for the WEEKEND. It’s been a stressful day!
Congratulations on your new home!! That is so exciting. Your sweet potato fries look amazing!
Yay for being a homeowner!! That’s SO exciting!
We close on our house tomorrow at 3pm too!!!!!! OMG I’ll be thinking about you guys. When they say “sign here” just think, we’ll be doing it at the same time. š
I’m with you…Friday can’t come soon enough! Have fun during the house-closing tomorrow. How exciting!
I love going through my closet and donating clothes; it’s a regular activity for me š
I’ve never seen a simpler pumpkin soup recipe before – awesome!
i’ve a friend who despises orange food, which i don’t get b/c i adore it!!!
Orange is really the best color food! I had sweet potato fries the other day and questioned why I don’t make them more often? Have a great night Tina!
hehe just have to say this….its already Friday in New Zealand woohoo!
Your hill mantra cracks me up cause when I’m biking up a steep hill I always sing the song “Spinning Wheel” (“What goes up, must come down. Spinning wheel got to go round…”) And since I’m usually the last of the pack to make it up a hill, I sing it OUT LOUD. š
Murphy is adorable š Your orange lunch looks delicious too!
That pumpkin soup looks delicious and super simple. It’s on my to do list now. And I’m definitely ready for friday. Only 3.5 more hours š
baked sweet potato sounds yum..
Yay for signing tomorrow. I know all that stuff can be pretty stressful.
Wow, that pumpkin soup looks amazing, and so easy! I would love that whole meal. š
Teehee, I love that you use groudn flaxmeal on vegetables… and I’ve almost finished a 200g bag this week by stirring it into ICE CREAM. š
Wow, that IS quite the orange meal!
Congrats on the run! I can’t stand hills either but it makes running on flat ground that much easier.
Hey Tina!!
So I’m a long time reader of the blog and remembered a post from a loooong time ago where you shared a link that was basically a pug licking the computer screen. Do you know which on I’m talking about? I can’t seem to find it anywhere and would love to show it to one of my friends tomorrow!
Thanks š
I don’t like going to the dentist either–my teeth are so sensitive!
So exciting becomeing a homeowner! Good luck tomorrow! : )
Thanks for reminding me that I need to make sweet potato fries stat!
Yay for the new house. So exciting!!!!
That is totally my hill mantra- “what goes up must come down.” I ran a 10k a few months back, and we had to run up a hill for almost 2 miles! I wasn’t sure if my mantra was gonna get me through that one, but I survived, and I was sooo happy when we started descending down that hill! Keep up the good work on your training!
Good luck on the closing!!
I’m ready! It’s my last day of work and I’ve been looking forward to it for a while! š
my Dog practically attacks me after I run- she can’t stop licking my legs while I stretch- kinda icky/kinda cute.
When I’m doing hills I envision my Gluteus Maximus tightening and lifting! It really helps š
My kitten goes for my legs too and his tongue so rough that it tickles like crazy hahaha. Silly animals!! I can’t wait to get a dog to take on runs with me <3
Thank you for linking to your french toast tofu; I missed reading about it and that kind of meal is RIGHT up my alley. I wonder if you can make it with tempeh?
Good luck signing!! You must be so proud. I know your readers are ;D
Good luck with the closing today š Have a great weekend!!!
Jen
Hills are so brutal. I try to avoid them because they make me burn out way too fast. š Way to go on pushing through the hills!
Totally ready for Friday! I hope your closing goes well! I have bad luck with closings – ours took 6 stinking hours. It was horrible. I’m crossing my fingers for you!
Good luck with the closing!
Love that picture of Murphy licking your leg. My cats do that too!
Well done on the hilly run! I have to say, I hate running around my neighbourhood! I always go tomato-red when I run, and I constantly run into neighbours looking like a sweaty mess! Awkward…!
Haha my dog does that too when I come back all sweaty! š
And those sweet potato fries look SO yummy! May have to do some of those for lunch…
Good luck with the closing! š
Hi! Congrats on Closing today!
I would like to make an Avon purchase to support you and Mal! Can I use both coupon codes? the free shipping and the TNT code, or can you only use one? Thanks!