Dancin' with GaGa

Tonight is the ABDC episode where they dance to Lady GaGa songs - so great! I wish I could dance.

So, backing up to last night...Katie and I drove to Lincoln (45 min away) to see the UNL women's basketball team play their last home game of the season. They have an undefeated season so far! (28-0)

Before we left, I ate a quick cheese and spinach sandwich that Kate made for me. Then during the game, we shared some nachos.

Near the end of the game, I started craving something sweet. It's probably because I saw they were selling gigantic frosted cookies at the concessions. Instead of going completely overboard, I just ate a piece of fruity gum. I used to be a hater of any non-minty gum, but then I realized it may be good for quelling a sweet tooth - and last night it did just that. But I still don't think it's right to refer to gum as a "five calorie snack". (Yes, I watch 'The Biggest Loser'.)

Since we got home pretty late, I didn't have time to pack a lunch for today. I grabbed a yogurt and the last apple-carrot-bran muffin for breakfast, and then purchased a salad from the salad bar at my work cafeteria for lunch. This salad had spinach, shredded cabbage, egg, white beans, green beans, cheese cubes, tomatoes, cucumber and broccoli, with a little red wine vinaigrette sprinkled on top. I also added a little pasta salad in the corner. I didn't end up eating the banana, so I saved it as a snack for tomorrow.

I stayed a bit late at work again, but I really wanted to take advantage of the nice weather (it was in the 40s today!) When I got home, I wolfed down a Kashi dark chocolate cherry granola bar, then headed to a nearby bike trail for a lovely 3 mile run. I stopped for a picture with Stella on my way out the door. (She went on a run with Katie earlier, so she was way too pooped to pretend she wanted to go with me.)

I was a little cold at first, but I just kept moving and warmed right up. I didn't want to push my mileage today since it was getting dark, so I tried a little speed work instead. I realized that I almost always run at a 'comfortable' pace. I think this carried over from marathon training. Since it was my first marathon, all of my training was about getting in my miles. I never pushed my pace - those long runs were killer enough as they were! Today I focused on speeding up and noticed that it forced me to stand up straighter while I was running. It's interesting to try to run faster without lengthening your stride. I've been trying to keep my stride shorter because it is better for my knees/IT band. By the end of my run I was breathing hard and really pushing myself to not slow down. It sounds weird to say, but I don't usually breathe hard when I run! Anyway, I would really like to do some speed work before my next race. It think it's time to invest in a Garmin! Hey, it just so happens that my birthday is in a few days...maybe I'll get myself a 'little' present.

For dinner I tried my spin on the savory pancakes I've seen on several blogs lately. I made corn cakes with a warm black bean/red bell pepper/tomato/corn/salsa mixture on top. For the corn cakes I used a basic corn bread recipe then thinned it down with extra almond milk until it was about pancake batter consistency. I poured it into hot skillet that I'd sprayed with oil, waited for bubbles, then flipped! I tried it out first with a baby cake. The second batch were a little bigger - can you find the one shaped like Shrek? When I got to the last of the batter, I just poured it all in the pan and made one big corn cake. This will probably be lunch tomorrow.

Yay, tomorrow is Friday! And it's supposed to be beautiful weather the next few days. We've got some fun plans for this weekend, which reminds me I've got to think of an Oscar-themed side dish!