Sick Days

On Wednesday, I came home from work not feeling so well.  I had some stomach issues develop during the day, so I planned on eating a plain dinner and sleeping it off.

Well, my body had another idea.  I woke up on Thursday feeling worse, so I called in sick and rested all day.  I thought I'd heal throughout the day, but things really didn't improve.  I was getting anxious because we were supposed to go to Virginia this weekend.  I was hoping I'd heal by Friday morning.

I woke up feeling worse than the last two days, so I went to the doctor.  They basically couldn't tell me anything other than my intestines were irritated and it was probably a virus.  I made the tough decision to cancel our trip to Virginia because I just couldn't make it.  I also didn't want to get anyone else sick, including my grandparents.  My mom was also not feeling well, so my decision to stay home helped her stay home and heal, as well.

I started feeling a little better on Saturday, and today I finally feel more like myself!  While I am so, so sad that Joe and I missed seeing my family, friends, and the Virginia Tech football game, I think I really needed to stay home and rest.

Now, I'm really looking forward to eating things other than bread, rice, noodles, and saltine crackers!  I'm going to gradually get back in to a regular diet, though, so I don't mess my intestines up again.  I'm also going to do some low-intensity exercises this week to get myself back in the groove.  I've been itching to run all weekend, but again, I don't want to push my body too far when I'm still recovering.

Question for you: How do you recover from a few sick days?

I'm hoping for a more regular blogging schedule this week, too!  Sorry to abandon y'all once again, but I really don't sit up for a few days!

WIAW #17

Good morning!  It's Wednesday, so we all know what that means....

Today, I'm going to share with you my meals from Tuesday!  Thank you to Jenn for hosting the link-up every week!  Head on over to Jenn's blog to check out what the rest of the blogging world is eating.  This month's theme is Halloween or fall-inspired foods, but sadly I don't have any this week.  I'll be sure to focus on that next week!

Breakfast

Look familiar?  My usual bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, with some cranberry-berry mix juice on the side.  This juice is REALLY yummy and helps keep me full throughout the morning!

Lunch

My usual school lunch hasn't changed even with my new job.  I've got some farm-fresh produce this time in the peaches and tomatoes, as well as some oatmeal raisin cookies Joe's grandmother sent back with us.

Snack

I had my usual Nature Valley Protein Bar in Peanut, Almond, and Dark Chocolate flavor.  This one was new to me, and it's very good!

Dinner

We had some baked chicken, spinach, and a frozen macaroni and cheese with broccoli in it.  This baked chicken is so tender and tasty!  I'll need to share the recipe with y'all some time.  Also, I seasoned the spinach with some chopped onion, which was a really good addition.  I've become a big fan of my chopped onion seasoning when making veggies from a can.  So good!

And that's it!  I feel like I didn't eat much yesterday, but my body wasn't telling me I was hungry any other time.  Well, it's time to get ready for the day!  Have a great one, y'all!

Question for you: What's your go-to seasoning when cooking canned veggies?

Lately, I've been using chopped onion, but I also like to use garlic salt.

Time to Train

Happy October, y'all!  I can't believe that September is over already!  It doesn't feel like fall in Florida, but I am so looking forward to experiencing some of the season's beauty this weekend.  We're heading to Virginia this weekend to see my family and my beloved Virginia Tech Hokies play football.  I'm really looking forward to seeing some changing leaves and feeling some autumn air.  It's going to be great!






I realized today that I need to get on with my training for Half Marathon #3: the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon!

Image Source

I'm really looking forward to this run since I already know the course.  I'm NOT looking forward to the last mile, though, as it crosses a very steep bridge!

Image Source

There's a little over three weeks until the race, so I'm relying on my training for the Rock 'n Roll Half about a month ago.  The goal is to do at least 2 3-milers during the week (one focusing on speedwork) and one long run in the morning on the weekends.  I'm going to shoot for 6, 8, and 10 milers.  We'll see how this brief training plan goes!

My goal for the race is to stay strong through the end.  I noticed in the last race that I did great in the first half of the race but went much slower during the second half.  I want my first and second half splits to be close, so I'm looking to do that in my training runs, as well.

I started today with a 2-mile run before dinner.  I had a tough time after not fueling well before my run. I wore my VB Rock 'n Roll Half shirt to motivate me at the start of my training.

It's a Brooks shirt and is very comfortable!  The plan is to run 2 miles before my strength training tomorrow, then run 3 miles on the treadmill on Thursday evening.  Hold me to it, y'all!

Question for you: What is the shortest amount of training time you've given yourself for a race?  Or, what's the shortest amount of time between races you've ever done?

I'm hoping my laziness as of late isn't going to get in my way of being successful in this half marathon!

Fresh Produce

Ever stopped at one of those fresh produce stands on the side of the road?

Joe and I stopped by a stand at the gas station where we filled up.  This was really one of the first times I've ever picked up produce one the side of a road!  We wound up buying a basket of Georgia peaches, a basket of tomatoes, and a bag of honey-roasted pecans.

It's really encouraged me to eat more fruit because I don't want it all to go to waste.  I took two peaches to school for a snack and for lunch today...

...and we made tacos tonight with some fresh tomatoes on top!

We've both been snacking on the pecans throughout the day.  Everything is so fresh and tasty!

Question for you: How often do you buy fresh produce from a stand or farmer's market?
As much as I'm enjoying this fresh produce (and I feel it's encouraging me to eat more fruit and vegetables), I think I need to make regular trips to the farmer's market!