After spending a day in Istanbul, we hopped on a bus and drove to Troy to visit the ruins.

But first, we had to ride the ferry and cross from Europe to Asia. I didn’t know I’d be stepping foot on two continents this week!

Troy was home to the decade long Trojan War in Homer’s Iliad. We saw ruins from nine different strata that date back to 4,000 B.C.

It boggles my mind to think people touched these very walls 6,000+ years ago!

I touched something 6,000+ years old!

This is a reconstruction of the large wooden Trojan Horse (the horse used by the Greeks to deceive and defeat the Trojans). Remember this from your history classes?

It’s clearly a reconstruction because the original definitely didn’t have windows!

Here I am with the horse’s legs. I look like a linebacker in this photo because it was freeeeezing cold. You have no idea how many layers were underneath my jacket!

The wind nearly blew us all away.

I climbed up the horse and channeled my inner Kate Middleton by waving to the people of Troy. Move over Helen…it’s Allie of Troy now!

Later, we got to see the Trojan Horse used in the Hollywood movie Troy featuring Brad Pitt. This horse was actually more like the real Trojan Horse than the reconstructed one above.

Since my last post on Turkish cuisine, the food has only gotten better and better. I was too quick to judge! Today, we stopped for lunch at Saglam Restaurant en route to Kusadasi.

This restaurant is known for it’s kebaps or roasted meat (”kebap” means “roasted”). Kebaps are very popular in Turkey and can be found anywhere from the side of the street to nice sit-down restaurants.

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The restaurant also served Turkish pizza (meat/cheese or cheese/tomato) and other pre-prepared dishes.

I knew I had to try kebaps in Turkey, so I ordered the spicy chicken kebaps. <–I want to write kabobs so badly!

When in Turkey, right?

Hand delivered by this gentleman!

The kebaps were served with lettuce, tomato and Turkish cous cous.

The chicken was so juicy and tender! I’m not a big chicken eater, but I must say this was delicious. The flavor reminded me of tandoori chicken, but not quite the same.

Oh and this was a double portion of veggies because the guy beside me didn’t eat veggies. Seriously…never!!

You should’ve seen the excitement in my eyes. I did feed him the “but veggies are good for you” line. He told me lettuce was rabbit food .

Can you believe this guy was a ballet dancer back in the day? He grew up in Hungary and danced in Austria as a teenager (to escape from communism). He later moved to New York.

He got the spicy lamb and beef kebaps, minus the veggies!!

My mom, the pizza fanatic, wanted to try Turkish pizza.

Cheese and tomato. It tasted more like a quesadilla than pizza to me. My mom loved it. It helped that the cheese in Turkey is incredible.

There are a couple kabob restaurants near my house, which I want to try now! I’m curious to see how they compare. Even more good food to come. See ya later!

If you wait until the last minute to pack, it only takes a minute…right?

FALSE!!

We’re leaving very very soon and I am most definitely not packed (but of course I’ve got my snacks all ready to go)!

I was racing against the clock this afternoon while packing, doing laundry, responding to emails and taking care of a boatload of blog work.

It didn’t help that I spent the entire morning running. I had to though. It was so warm and cozy outside and I needed a good send-off run. I don’t think I’ll be running at all while I’m in Turkey!

THIS, by the way, is what I see at the beginning of every run (!!!). Simply breathtaking. It puts the biggest smile on my face every time. Sadly, the pretty leaves will probably be all gone by the time I get back from my trip.

This morning, I ran 8 miles to last me the next 12 days!

I have this irrational fear that I’ll lose my running endurance while I’m in Turkey. It happens every year. I stop running for some random reason (extreme weather, injury, trip, laziness, etc) and all of a sudden 2 miles becomes difficult…again. And I have to build back my mileage from the ground up…again.

I’m determined to not let that happen this time around. I know it’s all mental. I won’t pick up where I left off because I’ll surely get injured, but I will run after I get back even if its just 2 miles. Mark my words and hold me accountable!

***

While juggling my to-do list this afternoon, I managed to stop and make a post-lunch lunch. Yep, 8 miles will do that to ya.

I put together a mixing bowl salad. Pre-gaming a long flight with veggies is the way to go.

Romaine lettuce with chicken + mozzarella meatballs, langoustines and salsa. We got these incredible meatballs at Costco the other day, after sampling them of course.

I was hoping to get a photo of the package for you, but unfortunately today was recycling day and the package got taken away.

A juicy persimmon on the side. Some of you commented that the peel of a persimmon is edible, so I tried eating it this time. It was rather thick and hard to chew. Not sure I’ll do that again unless I’m on-the-go.

In this case, my stomach was bigger than my eyes because I wolfed this down in record time and then still had room for more.

Thank goodness I got my snacks all packed for the flight. It doesn’t seem like my roaring appetite is going anywhere.

Alrighty, I better go pack (it’s really the last minute now!) and then I’m off to the airport.

It’s Turkey time!

I froze my tush off this morning!

Considering there’s a 90% chance of SNOW/rain tomorrow, I made sure to get in my run today. After 2 days off I was itching to run. Also, if I had to go to the gym and elliptical again I would’ve exploded.

I didn’t expect to run more than 5-6 miles given my double digit run on Tuesday, so again, I failed to bring gummy bears with me. I could’ve used them because…

I ran 9.11 miles. I know, I KNOW. I KNOOOOW! What the heck is going on?

Okay, I DON’T know. My energy levels this week have been through the roof. Nothing feels labored, not even running up hills! I also felt bad about skipping over 9 miles and going right to 10.

[This just means next week I'll be lethargic and lack the motivation to do anything. I'll also probably having strong cravings for sugar and carbs. Weee hormones!]

I was tempted to run another 0.89 miles and make it a 10 miler but I reminded myself that just because I can doesn’t mean I should! There will be other opportunities.

***

Today’s run was made easier thanks to…

1. Three songs that I listened to almost exclusively!

I’m obsessed with Without You! Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRAD PAISLEY!!

2. The gob-loads of almonds and chocolate I ate last night.

3. My stupidity!! I decided it would be okay to wear shorts this morning when it was 40*F.

Who let you out of the house dressed like that?!

Should I wear spandex leggings? Nah (yes)

What about gloves? Nah (um, YES ALLIE!!)

My legs were completely numb after the first couple miles. So much so that I didn’t feel any pain/fatigue whatsoever. I guess it worked out in my favor…?

***

I really felt like I could’ve run another 4 miles (making it 13.1!). Had I known I’d be ready to run a half marathon this week I would’ve signed up for the Raleigh City of Oaks half next weekend! When I was looking at half marys to run this Fall, I considered that one, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be ready and didn’t want to push myself too quickly and get injured.

I do feel like I should run one this fall just incase I fall off the running bandwagon again, like I do every year.

I should have taken an ice bath after today’s run, but there was no way I could’ve gone through with it after freezing my ass off all morning. I also didn’t feel like driving to the store to buy a bag of ice. I know I’m going to regret it tomorrow!

My appetite completely disappeared after my run (argh!) and the only thing I could even try to choke down was a pumpkin pie smoothie.

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 scoop Alive! protein powder
• 1 TBSP TJ’s Very Green powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice
• Ice

Mmmmm! It was so good I didn’t even care it was freezing cold.

I also packed a Cool as a Cucumber Salad and threw in some seafood to take with me to work.

Don’t tell anyone but I cooked the seafood in the microwave from their frozen state. Gourmet, right? I had about 3 min. to make this meal. You do what you gotta do…

It turned out delicious!

A peach on the side.

Okay, my appetite is back in full force now! My stomach is calling. I better go eat!

Have a wonderful weekend, y’all.

I ventured to Arlington, VA today to attend the Take Back Your Health Conference.

At the conference, doctors and health experts discussed topics ranging from boosting immunity and beating cancer to the benefits of eating raw/vegan.

Overall, it was a great reminder of why I strive to take care of my body day in and day out. It wasn’t exactly an eye-opening experience for me because I took back my health a few years ago and have done plenty of research about health and nutrition ever since.

However, hearing the speakers’ stories made me incredibly grateful that I learned to live a healthy and active lifestyle at an early age.

The take home point today was that too many people wait until it’s too late to do something about their health!

The last few conferences I’ve attended were all blogging conferences. It was a nice change of pace being one of the few people snapping photos and typing on my laptop!

I mean, why take notes when you can photograph? Below are some slides I found interesting enough to document.

Good, because I eat almonds by the handful these days…

That was all presented by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

My favorite speaker of the day was Victoria Moran. I didn’t realize until I arrived that she was THE Victoria Moran who wrote one of my favorite books, Fit From Within.

She was awesome. An amazing speaker. She may have convinced me to start meditating, too. She mentioned a study that proved meditating for 10 min. a day can add 12 years to your life. Really?!

For lunch, I got a box of Garlicky Kale and Mediterranean Crunch Salad from the Whole Foods booth.

This was eaten literally 20 min. after listening to Dr. Furhman talk about the benefits of eating kale!

Quinoa cookies for dessert.

They were decent considering their healthiness. <–apparently that’s a word!

I also had a few pieces of vegan banana nut bread from the WFs booth.

I’m not sure what was in these bars but they were good. Super healthy stuff. All I cared about was canceling out my garlic breath…

Health is wealth, right?

Well, on the way home I took my newfound wealth and spent it all .

Alrighty, it’s been a long day of sitting and driving. Time to take a walk around the ‘hood. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

Toto, we’re not in Virginia anymore!

I was blown to Oz and back this morning on my 6 mile run. ‘Twas wiiiiiindy out there! I contemplated saving my run for tomorrow to avoid the wind, but I desperately needed some time alone to zone out and think…so into the wind I went!

It ended up being a great run. I was going to stop after 5 miles, but my [mom's] lucky marathon shirt pushed me to go another mile. I swear, it has magical powers.

Even with the cool temps and crazy gusts of wind, I was a sweaty mess by the end.

I try to avoid washing my hair the day after a haircut to preserve the perfect blow out, which I cannot for the life of me replicate at home! There was NO possible way I could go without washing it after a 6 mile run though.

***

I haven’t photographed my food in quite awhile, huh? I blame Pinterest, busy days and the early setting sun! I tried today…kinda sorta.

I don’t know what I’m going to do in the winter when it’ll be too cold for smoothies. I must drink one after every run. We didn’t have any fruit in the house other than bananas, so I added a Naked Mighty Mango. Mmm!

What else was in there? Spinach, protein powder, 1/2 banana, and almond milk.

For lunch part 2, I made a black bean burger and fried egg salad.

My mom got these from Costco last weekend and they’re pretty stinkin’ good as far as store-bought veggie burgers go. Although, the ingredients list is a bit long and complicated.

I was on my own for dinner, so I quickly put together a salmon salad with sweet potatoes and goat cheese.

I swung by the store to pick up some spinach because I knew we were all out of leafy greens. I opted for leaf spinach because it was cheaper than the baby variety.

I was surprised to see such HUGE leaves! I mean, I’ve had regular spinach before, but it did not look/taste like this.

Dessert time!

I received a box of Love Grown Foods granola this week. I was chosen to be a part of the Love Bloggers team. First task? Get to know the product!

No problem. As you can see, the bag of Cocoa Goodness has taken quite a hit. Something has to get me through all those miles, right? Hopefully they’ll last longer than last time!

Okay, it’s laundry time over here. Or else I’ll have to wear stinky clothes to the gym tomorrow. See ya!

After 2 days off from running, I was itching to hit the pavement this morning. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain when I woke up and I was forced to run on the treadmill. What a buzzkill!

I ran 5 miles in about 47 minutes. I noticed that on the treadmill, everything is so much sloooooower. My pace is slower, the miles go by slower, and songs seem slower.

I’ve gotten pretty good at listening to slower songs while running outside (i.e. country music), but they were dragging me down on the treadmill today. I couldn’t zone out to save my life!

So I listened to We Found Love by Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris about 800 times to push me along. It’s a fast one.

Though I eat eggs practically every single day, I haven’t had them with cinnamon raisin toast in awhile. One of my favorite combos.

I’ve been using relish as salad dressing too. I can’t believe it’s taken me 23.5 years to discover relish.

I’ve been eating roasted almonds by the handful lately, especially when nothing I eat can tame my stomach growls. That or a few spoonfuls of nut butter usually do the trick.

Peaches and Halloween candy, too. Obvs.

Not even 20 minutes after I got back from my treadmill run, the sun came out!! Bah. I mean, I always love seeing the sun, but it couldn’t have woken up an hour earlier?!

I got back home from work to find two of my favorites playing against each other.

I love Ferrer, but Roddick will forever have my heart. You already knew that, of course.

Now I’m waiting for my mom to come home because apparently we have plans to hang out…? I wonder what we’re doing.

Have a great weekend!

Tell me: What do you have planned for this weekend?

Boy oh boy, my appetite has been through the roof today! My tummy started growling the moment I woke up and I swear it hasn’t taken a break all day. I guess my last two runs finally caught up with me. I cannot imagine the amount of food people go through while training for marathons!

One of my lunches today was particularly photogenic (yes, there were a few). Shrimp and Black Bean Salad with avocado and shredded cheese.

The shrimpies were pan-fried in olive oil and salt. Quick and simple.

I know, this salad desperately needed some salsa. I had to settle for balsamic vinaigrette though (not quite the same!).

I’ve been on a major dark chocolate kick this month…beyond my usual kick, that is. I keep telling myself it’s full of antioxidants and better for me than Halloween candy. Psychologists call this rationalization.

This was my first time trying Ghirardelli Sea Salt Soiree. It was decent. It could’ve used a wee bit more sea salt. Although, it doesn’t even come close to the TJ’s dark chocolate bar with toffee, walnuts, pecans and sea salt.

Before I go, I have a few photos to show you…

Meet my T-rex egg! It has a giant foot and a tush that rivals that of Kim Kardashian. I see animals in the most random things (remember the bunny bread? And the sea turtle cloud?). It’s a talent of mine.

I took this photo of a wasp snacking on the Thai basil in our garden last week. Unfortunately, I had my stock lens on instead of my macro lens (boo).

I got up super close to the bee and for a second, I thought it was going to fly over and sting the heck out of my hand.

For the love of photography…

Alrighty, it’s time for me to tame my growling tummy…again! Please make it stop.

Have a wonderful night.

Run in the cold today or in the warmth + wind tomorrow? That was the question of the morning.

After going back ‘n’ forth in my head for a good half hour, I decided the last thing I wanted to do was go to the gym (snooze!). It was outside or nothing.

I had a serious moment on our front step while I questioned my sanity before going off on my merry way. I cursed under my breath for a solid 10 minutes straight. Brrrrr!

Before I knew it, my goosebumps turned into beads of sweat. At mile 3, my iPod died and it started raining (!!!).

It ended up being a great run in spite of it all. Surprisingly fast and relatively easy. Who woulda known?

For lunch, I made a Tuna Salad with a Twist.

A couple weeks ago, I was instructed to make tuna salad for the kiddos I watch. The mom told me they usually add mayo, relish and salt. Relish?!

I didn’t grow up with relish in our fridge. We just never bought it. Relish to me was the strange green stuff reserved for hot dogs that I never actually put on my own.

I tried it in the tuna salad that day and I was hooked after the first bite. Mark my words, I will never make tuna salad without relish…ever again.

Life changing, I’m tellin’ ya!

I went out and bought a jar of relish so I could recreate this tuna salad at home. Instead of mayo, I used 2 TBSP Homemade Basic Hummus and 2 TBSP Greek yogurt. I added 1 TBSP relish plus salt and pepper to taste.

All mixed up and served with mini peppers!

Do you make tuna salad with relish? Am I just totally out of the loop?!

I’m obsessed.

Chipped tooth update!

Last night while lying in bed, it suddenly dawned on me that I had to fix my chipped tooth myself. You see, the dentist office is far away and I have no patience when it comes to these things. I couldn’t wait another minute (my tongue is raw from licking my tooth so much!).

I had to take matters into my hands…

I filed the tooth down myself!

There’s still a teeny bit of the chip left. I didn’t want to go too far. I’ll wait and see if it smooths out on it’s own. Better safe than sorry, you know? I can always file more later. And by later, I mean tonight.

It’s an improvement from before though. See the difference? This is the before shot…

I shoulda gone to dental school.

Alright, time for me to pull on some sweats and brew some hot tea. Have a great night, y’all.

The forecast for this weekend called for rain, rain and more rain. It’s one thing to run in warm rain, but when the temperature drops 20 degrees overnight and the trees outside are getting blown over, it’s most definitely treadmill time.

I ran 5 miles in ~47 min. at a 0.5 incline. I was sure I’d die of boredom by mile 2, but it wasn’t as dreadful as I had envisioned. Dare I say it was enjoyable.

The time actually zoomed by! I lucked out that CMT (Country Music Television) was playing the top 20 music videos from this past week.

I threw in some speed intervals and by the end, it looked like I had actually gone running in the rain. I was soaked from head to toe. Note to self: bring a towel next time.

Since I was already at the gym, I finished up with a round of leg weights.

***

Sooooo guess what!

While eating lunch yesterday, I bit down on my fork and chipped my front tooth. Seriously?!

Notice how the tooth I chipped is slightly longer than the tooth to the right (how weird)? Since it’s not a huge chip, I’m hoping my dentist can just file down the chipped tooth until it’s even with the other one. This would happen to me.

On a brighter note, Halloween Z Bars are back!

It’s decent. The Spooky S’mores one is better though. I wonder why they changed it.

I keep thinking it’s December 1st today and not October 1st. It’s dark, dreary, and cold outside. Definitely a day for hot tea, split pea soup and fuzzy slippers.

If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go curl up on the couch and read my marathon running books.

I’m so not ready for winter.

Say hi to my lovely friends Alex, Trisha, Sutton and Laura! We go way waaaay back.

It had been far too long since the 5 of us had seen each other, so we organized a dinner date at Lebanese Taverna to catch up on all things life. Or should I say…to piece together information previously gathered from Facebook and fill in the holes!

Despite living just a few short miles away from this restaurant for many years, I’d never actually eaten there before.

I was in the mood for some quality hummus (okay, hommos). I ordered the spicy hommos with garlic butter shrimp, veggies and plenty of pita to soak it all up.

The hummus hommos was silky smooth and had just a little kick. As for the shrimp? Cooked to perfection. Probably some of the best I’ve ever had (and I’ve had A LOT!).

I wish I had been in the mood for chicken because Laura and Sutton’s chicken kabobs looked (and smelled!) amazing. Next time.

It was so much fun chatting with these ladies. I can’t wait for our next dinner date!

This morning I survived yet another tough run. You know it’s gonna be rough when you’re panting after running just 0.5 miles on a slight downhill slope. Um, yeah.

My breathing was labored and my legs felt so heavy. It wasn’t the heat/humidity because the air was crisp and cool this morning. I’m 110% sure hormones are to blame. Everything is taking more effort this week…resisting chocolate overdose, getting out of bed, physical activity, etc.

You know what though? I ended up setting a record pace! Even faster than Sunday’s record pace.

Time: 46:32

Distance: 5.00 miles

Pace: 9:18 min/mi <–woah!

I think it was only because I wanted to be done ASAP. I was planning on walking the last mile, but I got bored and just sprinted home instead.

***

For lunch, I made a salad with salmon, goat cheese, avocado, mini peppers and brown rice pasta!

Now that I’m running more, I’ve found that I’m craving even more sugar than normal (or maybe it’s those hormones?).

I’m trying to eat more carbs in the form of starches instead of sugar, since I already eat a good amount of that! Thus, I’ve been adding pasta to my salads lately.

I actually cooked this pasta in the microwave today.

I was too lazy/impatient/hungry to wait for water to boil, so I put the pasta in a huge mug of hot water and microwaved it in 30 sec. intervals until it was al dente.

Worked like a charm.

Savoring the last few peaches before fall really settles in.

Alrighty, it’s time for me to get ready for work! Um, can you believe it’s going to be October 1st this Saturday?! Time is flying.

Okay, gotta go! See ya later.