I Survived (01.08.2009)

I am proud to say that I didn't stop breathing in my soccer game last night. But, it was EXTREMELY tough. My touch on the ball wasn't too bad, but after the first few sprints, I literally couldn't catch my breath.

One would think that I was in shape with the running and spinning that I have been doing, but it is such a different workout and I was not ready. I had that feeling in my throat after you push yourself really hard and you feel like you are about to throw up.

Water doesn't help. Taking a break doesn't help. It took me a good 5-10 mins to recover and it was horrible. I compare it to soccer pre-season in college when we did sprint workouts on the track. It just plain hurt.

I did end up going back in since it was only the first quarter and was ok for the rest of the game. My throat hurt pretty bad afterwards - maybe it was the air in the arena? Even though it started out rough, I had fun and it felt great to be playing again.

Needless to say, I plan to incorporate some sprint workouts into my training because that was just embarrassing. There is this loop in the park near me that is about a half mile and the next dry day - I will be out there.

I have been taking pictures of my food, but slacking on writing about them, so here are a small sampling of my eats over the past few days.

The Trader Joes Chicken and Vegetable gyoza are my absolute favorite of all time. I think I could eat them every day. I am obsessed. This was dinner a night or two ago - chili spiced tilapia with a spinach stuffed portabella topped with light mozzarella.
I finally had oatmeal again this morning - it has been over a week. I can hear your gasps. I threw on some semi-sweet chocolate chips and it tasted more like an oatmeal cookie. Didn't bother me at all!
Wait until you see this - my almond butter jar. Your gasps are deafening now! Grocery shopping is definitely on the agenda tonight.
Right after I head to the gym...see you later!

Oh, I had a question I thought might be interesting:

What is on the background of the desktop of your computer? A favorite picture? A particular design or color? Or nothing at all?

Mine is a picture of Oscar (my dog) swimming at this dog beach - Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. I love it because he has a look of pure joy on his face and it makes me happy every time I look at it. :)

**Edited to add the picture - oopsie. I couldn't find where it was saved, so I just did a quick screen print.

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Sushi and New Larabar Flavors! (new to me anyways...)

This morning started out with a great walk in the park with my boy, Oscar. Came back and made some oatmeal with skim milk, raisins, almonds, half a large banana, drizzle of sugar-free maple syrup, and a spoonful of reduced-fat peanut butter. Thursdays are one of my busiest days at work, but I was able to fit in this dipped peanut butter and jelly mojo bar around 10am when my stomach growling was louder than my fingers typing on the keyboard. Lunch was spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and 3 turkey meatballs from TJs. I should buy stock in Trader Joes - seriously, I love that place. This was such a satisfying lunch. The spaghetti squash definitely isnt like pasta, but doesnt it look like it? And it tastes great - I love this stuff. Need to stock up on this because it really is so easy to prepare! I used the directions from KathEats!Early afternoon snack was a quick apple. (sorry - no picture)

I was in a long meeting during the afternoon and didnt get around to my yogurt again! I was starving when I left work, so I snacked on my yogurt toppings. GoLean Kashi crunch and some dried cranberries while driving home.Came home and had a handful of peanut butter filled pretzels before heading out on about a 3 mile run with Kevin and Oscar. It was so cool outside, with a nice breeze. My favorite weather - I love fall.

We decided to head out for sushi for dinner - havent had it in awhile and had a craving! We headed to Chiu's Sushi which is where we went on our second date! Their sushi is good - maybe not the best I have had, but really fresh and they have specials which are different combinations that are always cool to try!

We started with some salty edamame and shrimp gyoza (these were SOO good).Second, we tried the spring rolls filled with lettuce, other veggies, and crab, wrapped in rice paper. These werent fried, but they came with a creamy sauce that I wasnt that crazy about. I had 1 and a half of these.Next up, we tried a special veggie mango roll that had a TON of avocado on top. It was good, but a little too rich for me. It was filled with Mango and cream cheese and had this cherry sauce with it. I could only stomach 1 of these pieces with the avocado and then another I took off the avocado.Next we had a mixture of three rolls and I have no idea what they were called. Well, actually, one was a maryland roll with crab and cucumber which was refreshing and light. One of the other special ones had shrimp tempura in there that was (of course) good. I could only eat about 5 of a mixture of these rolls. I felt really STUFFED. Didnt even have room for a mochi ice cream which means I was REALLY stuffed because I love those little things.The best part about Chiu's is that it is right next to Whole Foods! I made a point to stop in, one, to get parking validated (first 2 hours free!); and two, to check out their variety of larabar flavors. I was happy to see a whole bunch of new ones for me to try! Flavors included: (new to me in green)

• Banana Cookie (i have had this one and love it - tastes like banana bread)
• Pecan Pie (had this one also - but i remember liking it, so I figured, what the heck)
• *Cinnamon Roll*
  
• *Coconut Cream Pie*
• *Chocolate Coconut Chew*
• *Cocoa Mole*

I also picked up two new flavors of the Clif Mojo bars: Mixed Nuts and Honey Roasted Peanut.
Yesssss - cant wait for these!Good night everyone - I am off to bed - want/need to get lots of rest before the 20 mile training run on saturday!

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