runningmyliferace

Elvis is Alive

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:50:18 +0000

…and he’s in my kitchen! Hopefully the title caught your attention and you will try out this recipe for Elvis cupcakes! I am pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out. Today was one of the few days that I did not feel much like baking. Mainly because I don’t like getting my kitchen dirty and having to wash dishes on my day off. But I had some bananas that were old and needed to be baked or thrown away, so I decided to find a new recipe to try. I also wanted to try something gluten-free to bring to our small group because one of the girls who attends cannot have gluten. I generally avoid gluten and grains – but lately I’ve been a little lax and have a few bites here and there. (and maybe a whole muffin too…oops!). I never expect anyone to cook or bake specifically to my dietary needs, but I like to bake “alternative” sweets so that everyone can enjoy them!

Now, about those awesome cupcakes I made. I went off of this website and used the first recipe listed with a little modification and tripled the batch. The original recipe says it will make 7 cupcakes, and I would say that is about right on. I was able to get 18 medium (regular sized) and 12 mini cupcakes out of a triple batch. Now, the tricky part was the icing because although I wanted to make some amazing bacon-y type frosting, I didn’t have bacon. I thought about making a banana glaze, but ended up making a chocolate icing. I can’t totally tell you the measurements because I didn’t measure but I’ll put what I think I used and you can tweak the recipe to get the consistency you would like. This is very similar to how you would make sugar cookie or cinnamon roll icing.

Gluten-Free Elvis Cupcakes (Triple Batch)

3 cup JIFF Peanut Butter (original recipe calls for natural but I didn’t have any)
6 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed (I used one extra than called for)
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (you can use regular ACV as well)
~~1/8th tsp plus 2 more servings of Kal Pure Stevia (to taste)~~ I did not add any extra sweetener to my mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and blend well with whisk. Taste for sweetness. Using large scoop (1/4 cup), divide batter into 7 cupcake liners (using scant full large scoop). Bake for 15-17 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE!

Chocolate Icing

1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-2 TBSP honey
1/2 boiling water
~2 cups powdered sugar

Place chocolate chips and honey into a heat proof bowl. Pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over chips and stir until melted. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and whisk, stir or beat with mixer until creamy and slowly drips off of a spatula. If the mixture is too thick, add a small amount of water and stir again. If the icing is too thin, keep adding powdered sugar until it thickens up. If the icing gets too stiff or dried out while you are icing your cupcakes, just add a little water and stir it up.

There you have it – the gluten-free Elvis Cupcake. The King lives on…until I eat them all.

Workouts 4/30 – 5/6

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Sun, 05 May 2013 13:26:41 +0000

Tuesday, April 30th -
1 mile walk with Pearl

Wednesday, May 1st -
1 mile walk with Pearl

Thursday, May 2nd -
Crossfit – Fight Gone Bad
Warm-up 400 m row
Workout: 1 minute of each exercise, rest 1 minute, repeat 3 times
Russian kettle bells swings (35lbs)
Ninja sit-ups (14lb med ball)
Pull-ups
Walking lunges with plate overhead (25lbs)
Hand release push-ups
Total reps each round: 76, 81, 82

Great workout, I didn’t think I had pushed hard enough when I was done but I was sore for 3 days afterwards! I did 5 real pull ups in a row the first round and most of the push-ups on my toes for the first round which is why my first number was so much lower. I can’t decide if doing full motions slower and less reps is better, or modified to get the anaerobic benefit of the workout. I’ll have to ask my trainer and let you know.

Friday, May 3rd -
3 mile run with Pearl

Saturday, May 4th –
1 mile run with Pearl

Sunday, May 5th -
1 mile walk with Pearl

5 mile bike ride

Monday, May 6th -
4 mile run
40 minutes yoga
1 mile walk with Pearl

Total Miles: 7

Workouts 4/23-4/29

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Sun, 05 May 2013 13:26:14 +0000

Last week, I ran and walked a total of 21 miles. My feet were quite tired on Tuesday to say the least. I also had taken the previous week off from crossfit and lifting, so I started the week out with a butt kicker of a crossfit workout. It was so tough I didn’t make it back for another one all week!

Tuesday, April 23rd -
Crossfit
Warm-Up: 1 mile walk
Skill: deep squat, strict shoulder press, cluster(deadlift, squat to clean and overhead press)
WOD: 12 mintues AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:
5 Cluster (see above) 45lbs
12 Bar Burpee (jump over bar, turn to face bar, finish burpee, jump to other side and repeat 12 times)
I got 5 rounds and 13 reps (5 clusters and 8 bar burpees in the last round)
Cash Out – 800 m run 200 uphill, 200 downhill, repeat
3:13 on my 800m run – I think that means I could run a 6:30 mile???
3 Wall climbs – There is a climbing wall at our gym, so I climbed to the top 3 times and then walked home.

Wednesday, April 24th -
1 mile walk with Pearl

Thursday, April 25th -
1 mile walk with Pearl
100 air squats throughout the day
3 x 20 reps: bicep curls, shoulder presses, bent rows, tri-cep extensions, front rows
2 x 20 reps standing lunges
2 x 20 reps lower-half squats (squat, come halfway up, squat, repeat)

Friday, April 26th -
3.13 mile run with Pearl

Saturday, April 27th -
3.13 mile run with Pearl to register for the Fiesta Fandango 2.6 run
Walk to the run start line
2.6 mile Race
3.1 mile walk home
8.83 miles total!

Sunday, April 28th -Rest

Monday, April 29th -
1 mile walk with Pearl

Total miles: 9.5

Fiesta Fandango 2.6 Race

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 04:28:49 +0000

Pearl and I ran to the park to register for the Fiesta Fandango 2.6 night run which is run along the Fiesta Flambeau night parade route. We got lightly rained on there and back but still had a nice run. Pearl is not the best at helping me register for races, but everyone still thought she was cute.

I was so excited when I got my race shirt and numbers because they gave us a normal number AND a Boston 4-15-13 race bib!!! I have been wanting one to support the Boston runners but didn’t know when it would actually happen.

My friends came and parked at my house and then we walked down to the start of the race, which was also the start of the Fiesta Flambeau Parade. We got to see some of the floats before the parade started.

Before the race!

Everyone getting lined up amid the parade chaos.

There were lots of fun, fiesta themed costumes, but the Cascarones were by far the best! If you don’t know what a Cascarone is, please come back next year during Fiesta and find out!

About half way through the race I was able to catch up to one guy carrying an American flag and it was really fun to hear the crowd cheer and chant “U-S-A, U-S-A!” as we ran past.

More costume pictures – a real-life pinata:

Taco Runners! They said I could be part of the group next year…pretty sure I’m going to do it.

Post-race picture:

After our race, we hiked back to the start of the race to watch the parade. I got to see the UT marching band along with several others.

Jazz Float.

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Float – I might have to see if I can get on that next year.

It is a terrible picture, but I had to get a shot of how all the marching band members wear lights on their uniforms which adds a great effect since most of the parade is after dark.

I headed home a little before the parade was finishing up because I didn’t want to pay to use a porta-potty, especially since my house was only 6 blocks away! I grabbed a quick shot of the line of street sweepers ready to clean up after the parade.

The race was quite fun because all the people were sitting along the parade route and cheering for you the whole time. The end of race party had water, gatorade and free beer, Tecate to keep in line with the fiesta theme.

I am very glad I made the last-minute decision to run the race and watch the parade with my friends. All together, I ran about 6 miles and walk another 2.8 today and it all ended with a bang – literally, because I made it home just before the thunder, lightening and rain let loose on the city.

What are you doing this weekend?

Workouts 4/16 – 4/22

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:25:09 +0000

Wow, this week was just crazy. On Monday, the Boston Marathon Bombing happened, and hundreds of people were injured and 3 died at the finish of the marathon route. I was so shocked and hurt by this act and felt my only response would be to run. Someone posted on twitter that people should run or walk 26.2 minutes on Tuesday in honor of the marathon. I meant to just go for a walk with Pearl that day (I didn’t even have my running clothes on) but something stirred in me and I started running and didn’t stop until 4 miles later. At that point, I decided I would try to run 26.2 miles this week in honor of those who were hurt, perished or didn’t get to finish their marathon.

Tuesday, April 16th -
4 mile run for Boston

Wednesday, April 17th -
1 mile walk

Thursday, April 18th -
4 mile run for Boston

Friday, April 19th -
1 mile walk with Pearl

Saturday, April 20th – OFF

Sunday, April 21st -
6.14 miles in 54:35!!! 7 miles total in 1:04 for Boston
Foam roll & stretch

Monday, April 22nd -
3 mile walk, 1 mile run

Total miles including walks this week: 21

Wear Your Wedding Dress….Again!

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:27:30 +0000

Sometimes, you get an idea in your head and it just won’t go away. This was one of them because I really loved my wedding dress and really wanted to wear it more than just on my wedding day. I read about people dying and shortening their dresses to make them like formal gowns, but when do I ever wear a formal gown?? So, my next idea was throwing a “wear your wedding dress” party. I wanted to do it last year, in the fall and earlier this spring, but things got hectic (5 trips to MN!!) and I also wanted to wait until a few of my friends got married – so they could come to.

Yesterday, it finally happened. I had grand plans to decorate, have candles, flowers and all the typical wedding shower/wedding look, but that didn’t really happen. My friend offered to host the party after my first idea of a riverwalk hotel suite and dinner with our husbands was nixed by Fiesta. Some of my friends were also embarrassed to have any one see them in their dresses (wierd…yes!). But either way, it worked out great. We were able to have a relaxing day getting made up and dressed up and then taking fun pictures.

My friend has an awesome party house with an open floor plan, great breakfast nook for the food table and lots of big windows with natural lighting.

We had a chocolate fountain with fruit and pretzels to dip, some veggies, bread and cheese spread, some champagne punch, and of course wedding cake! I pre-iced the cake at work and then finished decorating it while chatting with my friends. I wasn’t super happy with it, but had fun using royal icing and trying out different icing techniques.

Everyone got their dress out and ready for the hanging dress picture.

It was funny to see that the tallest person in our group had the shortest train on her dress!

Most of us had our garters, so we all took a picture wearing them again.

When a bride has to take pictures of her fellow brides, it get’s a little complicated but makes for funny pictures!

Here is what she was taking pictures of:

My friend has these awesome stairs, so naturally we all took pictures there.

The Final Product: 5 beautiful brides!!

This was a very fun day and I can’t wait to do it again! When was the last time you wore your wedding dress??

Workout 4/9 – 4/15

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:19:10 +0000

Crossfit on Tuesday totally kicked my butt! I was completely wiped out until Friday, although I did want to workout earlier, I was just too tired. Sometimes you just need rest, and that is pretty much what this week was for me.

Tuesday, April 9th -
Crossfit -
Warm-up: run to guy, stretching, slow squats

WOD: Malcolm’s Madness!
3 rounds of:
21 kettle bell swings (35lbs)
15 Two arm kettle bell squat (hold kettle bell in an extremely odd position on your arm)
400m one arm farmer walk (still holding kettle bell on arm, can switch but it’s really painful either way!)

If you set your kettlebell down during this workout – you must do three burpees – setting it on your shoe is actually putting it down, so I ended up doing burpess. This was an insanely hard workout! I finished in 13:13, and promptly walked out of the gym and went home (grumbling “thank you” to my trainer). No way was I doing the cash-out!

Wednesday, April 10th – REST

Thursday, April 11th – REST

Friday, April 12th –

Saturday, April 13th -
3 mile run, 400 m uphill walking lunges

Sunday, April 14th -
2 mile walk

Monday, April 15th- REST

Total Miles: 3

Workouts 4/2 – 4/8

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:55:46 +0000

Katie was my workout buddy this week and we had lots of fun! We took Pearl for a long walk, went to Katie’s first crossfit class, ran a 5K (new PR for me!!) and went on a trail ride. It was a great work-out week and definitely reminded my why having workout buddies is so great!

Tuesday, April 2nd – Rest??

Wednesday, April 3rd -
3 Mile walk with Pearl

Thursday, April 4th -
Crossfit

Warm- Up: 300m Row

WOD: Fight Gone Bad – 3 rounds, 1 minute each exercise, rest 1 minute, repeat 3 times
Hand Stand Let Downs
Thrusters (10lbs)
Toes to Ring
Long Jump Burpees
Dead Lift (65lbs)
63, 65, 69 total reps per round

Cash-out: 1 minute plank

Friday, April 5th -
3 mile walk

Saturday, April 6th –

Sunday, April 7th -
“Bring It On” 5K to benefit Eddie Moreno – Local Student who was shot in a road rage accident

Monday, April 8th -
1 hour trail ride – Thank you Groupon!

Everyday Miracles

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:12:32 +0000

In my bible study we have been studying the book of Mark and several times the issue of miracles had come up. It seems that we don’t see miraculous healing today as during Jesus’ time. But I will say, God does still perform miracles. I have seen him work many miracles in my life, but I will only share the most recent one. My car has been on a half tank of gas for a week even though I have kept driving it non-stop. On my way to work I looked down and noticed that there were 315 miles on my tank. Oh my goodness, that’s the 2nd highest milage I’ve ever gotten! I guess my gauge is broken. God was awesome and let me get to the gas station and fill up with no problem. Thank you Lord for still working miracles in my life!

Can you guess??

Emily @ runningmyliferace — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:17:44 +0000

This package arrived in the mail yesterday and I had no idea what it was. I hadn’t ordered anything but it was addressed to me.

Slowly, I opened the box….

Do you know what it is yet??

Woo-hoo! I got new hand lotion from Bath & Body and some body scrub too. My poor hands are a mess from washing them so much at work. Thanks Mom for sending me this “Happy, Happy!”