Yep, I have decided to train for another half marathon this year!  For those of you who don’t know, I finished my 1st half-marathon this past February.  Some of the ladies and I finished the Disney Princess Half-Marathon (so much fun by the way!!).  We didn’t go for time, as we just wanted to finish! Here is a pic of all of us afterwards.  

After I crossed this off my bucket list, I realized that I was hooked…  So when my friend, Ana, mentioned running the Atlanta Half, I immediately said, “yes, please!”  I have always wanted to run the Thanksgiving Day half-marathon, so I can really earn my Thanksgiving feast!  Yes, I said feast!  Dietitians have to splurge sometimes, too… 😉 And here we are a little over 9 weeks out from the race!  So, here is my training schedule:

I tried to come up with a realistic schedule that was specific, yet flexible.  We did the Kaiser Permanente Corporate run/walk last week as sort-of a kick-off to training. We did the 5k in 33 minutes. That wasn’t too bad, but I want to improve my time for this half. Tomorrow is cycling/3-4 mile run day!  I put cycling on there as my cross-train day because I feel as if cycling really helped my endurance when running at Disney.  

Writing this blog post will help keep me accountable for my training.  I am typically pretty good at keeping a regular workout schedule, but sometimes there are just “other” things to do 🙂  

Let the countdown begin…

This was a new adventure for me tonight!  I had never cooked trumpet mushrooms before, but they were quite easy.  I saw them at the Cobb Farmers Market and had to buy them.  I found the recipe at http://simplerecipes.me/sautee-king-trumpet-mushroom/. It was delicious!!!!

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The bag of mushrooms 🙂

Slice up the mushrooms.

Saute the mushrooms with:
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon butter (I used 1 tsp olive oil instead)
½ tablespoon soy sauce

Finished product!

I went to Bella’s Pizza in Smyrna last night for an open mic night and had their personal sized Ultimate Veggie Pizza with no cheese.  First of all, it was huge!  But more importantly, it was delicious!!  Since I am lactose intolerant, I tend to stay away from dairy products.  I don’t know if you have ever had a cheeseless veggie pizza before, but they are quite tasty.  The pizza had marinara, tomatoes, crushed garlic, spinach, olives, onions, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and red and green bell peppers on top.  Granted it did not have a whole wheat crust, but as long as half of our grains are whole throughout the day, we are meeting the USDA Dietary Guidelines recommendations…

This pizza really was a nutrient powerhouse:

Marinara and tomatoes – heart healthy lycopene and vitamin C

Olives – Healthy fats

Crust – Energy giving carbohydrates

Garlic – Allicin, manganese, vitamin B6, fiber

Spinach – Vitamin K, C, A, iron, folate, calcium 

Onions – Phytonutrients, vitamin C, fiber

Artichoke Hearts – Fiber, vitamin C, folate, magnesium

Mushrooms – Selenium, only veggie source of vitamin D, B vitamins

Red and Green Bell Peppers – vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, folate, fiber

If you have not tried a cheese less, veggie pizza before, I would highly suggest it!  Not only for the taste, but for the nutritional benefits as well.  Enjoy!

Photo from http://www.chelleszone.blogspot.com