It was a Tuesday night. I had just gotten back from my speedy run and I was famished. I had two choices. Spoon a cup of hummus into my mouth straight up like yogurt or exercise some patience and make veggie burgers. Hummus…veggie burgers…hummus…veggie burgers. Hmmmm.

I was leaning towards demolishing the hummus. Patience flies out the window when I’m hangry! Food…NOW!

But I was really really craving a veggie burger, so I dug deep and told myself to wait just a few minutes. Okay okay, I wolfed down some almonds to tide me over.

Thanks in large part to my grumbling tummy, this recipe was invented in less than 60 seconds and took no time to whip together. It was one of those open the fridge/freezer, grab the first 3 things I see and go type of recipes. I didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out quite well.

*Gives self a pat on the back*

I know you’re looking at those quinoa flakes and thinking this recipe is a no-go because you don’t have them but fear NOT, you can substitute the ingredients in this recipe like crazy. It’s very flexible! I’ll guide you through it.

What you’ll need…

I got these Quinoa Flakes from Whole Foods for baking, but I wanted to incorporate them in the burger recipe for some extra protein. You could easily substitute oats, flour, bread crumbs…whatever you want.

Quinoa flakes are high in complete protein and gluten free. I like that they’re light and thin, so I can throw them in my smoothie (did that yesterday) or process them and make quinoa flour in a jiffy.

Alright here we go…60 seconds. Ready?

In a blender/food processor/magic bullet, combine chickpeas, quinoa flakes (or whatever flour), spices, egg white, defrosted chopped veggies, and tahini (optional).

Blend it all up!

Ta da!

If you prefer chunkier burgers, set aside some chickpeas and mash them in after blending.

Spoon the batter into a hot pan with oil/cooking spray and flatten with the back of your spoon. You don’t have to mold them with your hands (and get them all messy). WIN!

It’s just like making pancakes. Seriously, if you can make pancakes you can make these burgers.

After ~5 minutes, flip ‘em over!

Wait another 5 [agonizing] minutes and then you’re DONE. I mean, how easy was that? Too easy.

The texture of these burgers is similar to that of hash browns. They’re like hummus patties. If you want a nuttier burger, you can throw in some sunflower seeds (which I totally forgot! daaarn) or even cooked brown rice.

The recipe makes 2 medium burgers or 4 small burgers. If you double the recipe, go ahead and throw in the entire egg.

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Makes 2 large burgers or 4 small burgers

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chickpeas, cooked
• 1/3 cup carrots, chopped (or other veggies, see note below)
• 1/4 cup frozen spinach, defrosted
• 3 T quinoa flakes (or oats/bread crumbs/flour)
• 1 egg white
• 1 T tahini (optional)
• salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Directions

In a blender/food processor/Magic Bullet, combine all ingredients and process until mostly smooth (or at desired consistency). Spoon ~1/4 cup of the mixture into a pan coated with oil on medium heat. Flatten the batter with the back of the spoon. Repeat with the rest of the mixture. Cook burgers for 5 minutes or until brown and then flip. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve with ketchup (optional, but highly recommended).

Notes

• If you prefer a nuttier burger, reserve half of the chickpeas and mash in with a fork after processing. You can also add sunflower seeds and/or cooked brown rice.
• If you are doubling the recipe, use the whole egg.
• You can substitute other frozen veggies (i.e. peas, broccoli, peppers, etc.) for the carrots and spinach.
• You could probably bake these burgers instead of pan-frying.
• The tahini gives it a hearty dose of fat and protein. You can leave it out if you want. I made them without tahini the first time and it turned out well.

These burgers are a delicious way to get in some veggies and they’re packed with protein. If you use quinoa flakes or GF oats, they are gluten free.

What are you waiting for? Go make these. It’ll take you less time than it did to read this post!

On my way to shuttle kiddo #1 from one school to another yesterday, this happened…

I got this image from Google (source), but it looked just like this.

Um, freak out. I was on a fast quasi-highway about 25 min. from home with a kiddo waiting to be picked up! Major eeps.

I called Peter…went to voicemail. Called home…went to voicemail. Repeated both 10x. Heard voicemail lady do her thing 20x. BLEEEEEEEERG!!!

I don’t recall running over anything whatsoever and I was paying pretty close attention to the road. I did hear something like a rock hitting my car. I thought the person in the car next to me threw a rock at my car…? I thought nothing of it besides the possibility that someone may have wanted to start a fight with me like we were on the playground at recess.

Then my car started to shake like I had my convertible top down (I DO NOT drive a convertible) and a helicopter was flying right above my head. Houston, we have a problem.

I pulled over and discovered my tire was totally busted. Crap, crap, double crap.

It just so happened that there was an auto repair shop about 100 yards ahead, which I realized shortly after. Thank the heavens. After driving there super slowly, I [awkwardly] walked in and asked if there was any way they could help me out. The people working there were so friendly. The guy at the counter dropped everything he was doing to help me right away.

He examined my tire and said it was totally destroyed. He had to change it to my spare. He said the hole in my tire was so big he could stick his hand in it—the size of a potato! Whaaaat?

I asked him how much I owed him and he said “oh nothing, you’re good.”

omgyouarealifesaveriwillloveyouforeverandevermuahmuahmuah. I wanted to give him a huge kiss right then and there, but I refrained. Nicest man ever.

Though, now I need a new set of tires. Um, do you know how much a set of tires costs? Seriously, it’s just rubber!

***

Well, at least that minor anxiety attack incident made for a lovely run. Boy, was it hot outside! Like, HOT hot. Like, dripping-sweat-in-shorts-and-a-t-shirt hot. Like, breathed-a-huge-sigh-of-relief-when-the-sun-went-behind-the-clouds hot.

8 miles. Avg pace: 9:19 min/mi. I ran on a curvy trail, which slowed me down a bit (a good thing!). My legs felt heavier, despite taking the previous day off. It was still a great run that made me feel better about the whole tire fiasco. Thank you, endorphins.

Remember the lake/trail with the fake pelican? That’s where I ran. Yep, he was still standing there on one leg .

I tallied up my mileage the other day and found that I ran exactly 100 miles in January! The numbers person in me was pretty enthused about that.

***

I got a question from Casey the other day asking if I think wearing compression tights has helped me run faster.

The answer is no. Maybe a teeeeeny tiny bit, but if I had to guess, I’d say it only makes about a 2% difference.

I think 98% of my speed/energy/soreness level comes down to:

1. My previous day’s workout
2. How well I ate the day before and how well I refueled after my previous workout
3. The weather
4. What’s on my mind
5. The time of day. My speedy run on Tuesday was at around 4 PM. I usually have more energy when I workout in the late afternoon/early evening, as opposed to the morning.

*Edited to add: I might take my “no” answer back. I woke up this morning with a set of sore legs after wearing shorts instead of tights on my run yesterday.

I do think the Spiderman Tights have helped me avoid injury while running longer distances though. I usually feel a little bit of pain the day after long runs (and have to take an extra day off), but I was in ZERO pain after running my 11 miler last week and was able to run completely pain-free two days later.

I’m a believer.

***

One last thing…my 2-minute Pumpkin Pie was featured on Shape.com!

Tell me: Got any car trouble stories to share?

I don’t know what Punxsutawney Phil is gonna decide tomorrow (Groundhog Day!), but I’m pretty sure spring will be arriving early has arrived early. He won’t be able to deny it when he crawls out of his hole and starts sweating bullets!

[Um, tomorrow is Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is in February. It's February. Say what?!]

Yesterday was spent basking in the sun and enjoying the near 70* F weather with kiddo #1 and Camille. We made many many new friends (both toddlers and furry creatures) while walking around the neighborhood and later, at Reston Town Center.

I was borderline sweating in my tissue-thin short sleeve shirt!

Before Tuesday’s faceplant, I was having a pretty good day. While running some errands, I stopped by Whole Foods to finally redeem my Living Social coupon. It’s been burning a whole in my wallet coupon pouch (bahaha I’m 80 years old) since September.

Boo Boo Update

I was afraid to go to bed thinking I’d wake up feeling all the bones/joints/tendons/muscles that broke my fall (namely, my knee). Surprisingly, I wasn’t in too much pain. My knee was a bit swollen, but nothing Advil and some ice couldn’t fix.

Back to the grub…

Since I was using the coupon and since I rarely shop at Whole Foods anymore, I wanted to get some things I could only find at Whole Foods and/or obscure things I’ve wanted to get for ages.

From left to right:

Brown rice syrup. Not obscure and can be found at most grocery stores, but I need it for baking.

Quinoa flakes. FINALLY! I turned down so many recipes last week since I didn’t have it. I need a change up from oats, too. It’s high in complete protein. By the way, does this box not look like it’s from The Brady Brunch era?

*Side note: Can you imagine in 20 years, people will be referring to shows like Modern Family as OLD shows?

Chickpeas. To further fuel my hummus addiction.

Justins Chocolate Almond Butter. It should be hazelnut butter!!! So both flavors were on sale for $7.99. But the original price of the almond butter was $14.99 and the original price of the hazelnut butter was $9.99. Since I’ve been educated at the Peter’s School of Bargain Shopping, I just had to get the almond. You know, since it’s the better discount. BUT I think I actually do like hazelnut better. Rats. I’ll survive .

Follow your heart, not the father’s voice in your head!

Multi-Green Kombucha. It’s been a few months since I’ve had a bottle of the good stuff. Maybe this was the reason for my super speedy run?

Mom’s in the Raw Granola Bars. Total hippie food, I know. They were on clearance though and you know I can’t resist a nutty seedy bar. I’ve been wanting to try this for over a year, at least!

I ate one as a pre-run snack on Tuesday. I didn’t know how my stomach would handle it and whether or not it would give me cramps, but my stomach was perfectly fine.

All the various grains and seeds gave it a super crunchy texture. It took some serious chewing effort. I loved it.

More grub…

Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder. I’ve been dying to try this. I might get a tub if I like it enough. There’s a $5 coupon in the current issue of The Whole Deal.

Halvah. I fell deeply in love with halvah in Turkey! I’ve missed it so much.

Vanilla Almond Chunks of Energy (from the bulk bin). I’ve been buying the Chocolate Almond Chip ones from Wegman’s (slightly obsessed) and this was a nice change.

And then at checkout, I accidentally swiped my credit card too early before the lady could enter in the coupon code and she said I would have to come back and use it the next time.

Um, FALSE!!! I am not paying for all of this at full price thankyouverymuch. Money does not grow on trees, lady!

I don’t know when I’ll be back at a Whole Foods either. Though probably sooner than later because there are some awesome coupons in The Whole Deal this time around.

*Edited to add: I had to go to customer service to return everything and then re-check out again using the coupon. It all worked out. Phew!

Chobani Yogurt Giveaway

I’ve been dying to try these brand new flavors! I received this box of Chobani yogurt the other day from the company. Can you say weee weee weeeeee?

Passion Fruit, Blood Orange and Apple Cinnamon. Pinch me.

I wasted NO time opening the box. I was so excited that I accidentally pierced the top of one with my knife. No biggie, the foil was 2 seconds away from being ripped open anyways…

Having to choose a favorite flavor would be like having to choose a favorite child. But, if I had to, I’d choose Passion Fruit. ONLY because it’s 2% and I just can’t get over how lusciously creamy it is.

2% is just unbeatable, no matter what flavor it is.

It’s not nice to talk about Greek yogurt and not share, so here’s your chance to win the same shipment of 12 Chobani yogurts. Chobani has graciously offered to send one lucky reader a case of the new flavors.

To Enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post about anything you want! Favorite recent snack find? Favorite flavor yogurt? What you think the groundhog is gonna predict?

2. Tweet about this giveaway “I want to win a case of the new @Chobani flavors via @LiveLaughTweet http://bit.ly/yeMs16 ”

*Be sure to leave a separate comment saying you tweeted, so I can count the entry!

I will randomly choose a winner Sunday evening (2/5/2012). Good luck!

Sooooo I was playing with the kiddos today and while running down the driveway, I tripped (on absolutely nothing, ugh) and FACEPLANTED. Like completely wiped out…and then skidded some more. Ouch!

I am the ultimate klutz.

The kids saw me fall and it was totally one of those “you don’t know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have” moments.

…NOT!!!

I was sprawled on the driveway face up going owwwwwieeeeeee while rubbing my knee and asking the 4 year old in front of me to give me a hug.

So dramatic, I know.

SOMEBODY CALL THE WAHHHHHHMMMBULANCE!!!

The thoughts that ran through my head:

• Gah I just did the laundry! <–Yeah, a huge deal
• I have a hole in one of my favorite pair of jeans now! Nooooo. Nevermind the fact that they’re from 8th grade.
• Too bad I’m WAY too old for the ripped jean look to be stylish and hip.
• My poor bones! I knew I shoulda eaten my 2nd calcium chew last night.

I already have a hugh jass bruise on my knee. Oh and my wrist got scraped up too. Yeah, uhh not awkward looking at ALL…

BUT guess what? Despite my accident, I had one of my best runs ever this afternoon! EVER.

7 miles. Avg pace: 8:31 min/mi. Seriously?!

Man my legs were movin’ ‘n’ groovin’ today. I looked down at my Garmin after 5 miles and my eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets. I thought I had been running pretty slowly since I hadn’t stopped to walk at all, but I was running comfortably at 8:00 min/mi. My average pace was 8:33.

At one point I looked down and I was cruising at 7:45 min/mi (which is usually my omg-I’m-jay-running-and-this-car-is-gonna-run-me-over-if-I-don’t-book-it-across-the-intersection speed). I was breathing hard, but it felt comfortable. Up until this past fall, I’d always been a 10:00 min/mi runner. I really thought I’d never be able to run any faster. This is just craziness.

I don’t know why my legs were so speedy today. It definitely wasn’t because my muscles were fresh since I jacked up the poundage yesterday while doing squats, dead-lifts and lunges. AND I’m actually overdue for a rest day (that’ll be tomorrow).

It helped that I was dreaming up a recipe for veggie burgers though! Apparently, thinking about food makes me run like the wind.

I ended up improvising the recipe (Iron Chef style) in about 60 seconds and they turned out incredible! I’ll have to remake them and share the recipe with you.

And then I faceplanted in a pile of almonds.

And then I sacrificed 2 precious hours to watch The Batch (code for that ridiculously addictive show, The Bachelor) and ice my boo boo!

Flashback Post: FACEPLANT! <–the first time

Hello there. How was your weekend?

Any tennis fans out there watch the epic Australian Open Men’s Final this morning? I watched part of it while ellipticalling/leg-lifting/biking at the gym. It kept me entertained.

These two battled it out for 5 hours and 53 minutes. Can you even imagine?! Whew.

source

Right after blabbing about my lack of food photos lately, I come back with a boatload of food photos. Of course. All thanks to today’s early bird/senior citizen 4:45 PM dinner time. My stomach makes the rules around here. I don’t ask questions.

This has been my go-to quick fix meal lately.

Pan-roasted Brussels sprouts and homemade hummus.

About this hummus…I took the lazy route this time and used garlic powder instead of real garlic. It worked out quite well. Chopping garlic=smelly fingers for days upon days no matter how many times I scrub my hands.

Bread w/ a layer of hummus and an [super runny] over easy egg.

Wolfed down in record time! I think I spent more time photographing this than actually eating it.

Last night was sushi night. I went to Hooked, a restaurant I’ve been longing to try. I’ve driven by it at least 200 times within the last few months (not an exaggeration).

The sushi there was almost too beautiful to consume!

See the real deal in there?

I like super seasoned sushi rice and this was pretty plain jane. Other than that, it was delicious. Fresh and buttery.

I’m about to wrap up my weekend with some baking. Hopefully some of it will last ’til morning, so I can take some photographs of the finished product. No guarantees though! My stomach makes the rules, remember?

Lately, I’ve been having a little bit of trouble balancing running and food blogging (or lack thereof!).

It’s not that I don’t have time. It’s not that I have 3x the laundry to do.

It’s not that I’m too tired. Rather, it’s that my stomach is too impatient to wait for me to make food look pretty enough to photograph.

See food…must eat food…now.

Food upstairs, camera downstairs, no photo.

It’s that when I bake something at night intended for a recipe post, it never lasts ’til morning.

It’s that the caloric density of my food has skyrocketed, which means eggs, bread, handfuls of almonds and chocolate alllll dayyyy loonnggg.

It’s that I eat relatively cheap food so I can save my money for running gear.

Food like Homemade Hummus and eggs…

…pumpkin oatmeal…

…and smoothies made with frozen spinach and discount bananas.

[A note about my weird blogging schedule over here. For now, updates will be somewhat sporadic. I've done the once a day thing and I've done the twice a day thing, but right now what works for me is the 'blogging when I have something to say' thing. More fun for you and me. This will probably be about 4-5 posts/week. As soon as I hit publish, I always update Twitter and Facebook, so you can find out when new posts are up.]

***

Anyways, after my 11 mile PDR, my appetite went missing and though I tried to eat as much as I possibly could (hello, 10 PM bowl of oatmeal), I was under-fueled for my next run.

On Thursday, I ran a tough 5.1 miles in 47:08 (9:14 min/mi). My legs weren’t sore and they weren’t in any pain, but I was just lacking energy.

However, my appetite was raging last night and I threw a carb party. Like a bake-cookies-and-devour-them-all-at-11:30-PM kind of carb party. It led to an awesome [windy] 9 miles today!

My goal was to run 7 miles, but right as I got to 7, the sun came out and it felt too good to stop. It may seem like I’m running a lot but keep in mind I take 1-2 days off between runs. Meaning, my 11 miler was almost a week ago. I know for certain not running on back-to-back days has allowed me to avoid getting injured. My weekly mileage has hovered around 20-30 miles for the past couple months. Unless I start training for a full marathon, that probably won’t change.

I had a choice between running outside and running on the treadmill while watching the Duke vs. St. John basketball game and I chose to run outside!

That just shows you how much I prefer running outside over the treadmill. I made it back in time to watch the end of the game though.

Alrighty, I gotta get out of my sweatpants…I’m going out to dinner with a friend. See ya!

While running, if you stumble upon two rooster lookin-like birds (that can fly…?), expect to see roadkill in the vicinity. And expect to see them feasting on said roadkill when you pass them. Bahhhh gross me out the window!

Then, expect to jump 80 feet in the air and squeal like a 10 year old girl at a Taylor Swift concert (jealous) while flapping your arms as you try to erase the image now permanently etched in your brain.

If you’re running around a golf course, expect to have a group of elderly men give you strange looks after said squeal. Although, let’s be real, it’s probably the stench coming from your shirt that’s the reason for their looks.

If you’re gonna run the same 2.2 mile loop 5 times (!!), expect to pass said murder scene, well, 5 times.

If you’re gonna run in stinky clothes, spray some perfume in your pits before you leave the house.

However, if you’re gonna run on trash day, you can save the perfume.

Be thankful you can’t smell through the computer screen right now.

If it’s an absolutely gorgeous spring-like day (55* F and sunny!) and you’re gonna run after 2 days off and you’re gonna wear your lucky marathon shirt, expect to set a PDR!!

11 miles!! Yeah, that’s a first. Just ask my left butt cheek.

If you’re gonna run that far at 9:07 min/mi, expect to have secret dreams of running a sub 2 hour half marathon someday.

…until you realize you would have 2.1 more miles to run. The real kicker is when you remember you stopped to walk for ~6 minutes throughout the run. Aw rats. A runner can dream, right? I think I can I think I can.

If you had no idea you would run that far and didn’t bring fuel along with you (oops!), expect to hit a wall at the 10.3 mile mark right as you’re running against the wind…and then expect to feel like you’re going to keel over. Come get me, flying roosters!

If you’re smart, save Sobe Lifewater with coconut water for days when you need fuel just to sit down and stretch! Need sugar/calories/fuel STAT.

I received this box from Sobe awhile ago to review. I broke into one bottle, but decided to save the other two for a day when I’d really need calories in liquid form.

I guzzled this down immediately after walking in the door. It was delicious, better than the regular Lifewater varieties (and that’s saying something). As a huge coconut fan, I’d prefer a stronger coconut flavor. As a huge coconut water fan, I’d prefer more than 10% coconut water. I liked it, though, and would definitely buy it myself.

All I cared about at that very moment was the fact that it was easy to stomach post-run.

If you’re gonna go on a long run, make sure your ice maker is full so you can take an ice bath afterwards.

Don’t forget to wear a sweatshirt! Brrrrrr

If you’re a lightweight and plan on hydrating with brewskis at a happy hour, expect it to be a very happy happy hour.

If you’re afraid to go to bed because you think you’ll wake up too sore to move, have a little faith in your legs.

I woke up with ZERO pain in my legs. I wasn’t even slightly sore. It felt like I didn’t even run! Craziness yo. Thank you, Spider-man tights.

[That song by Gwen Stefani will forever remind me of my freshman year of college.]

Sunday night, I looked over at the fruit bowl and proceeded to panic. We were completely out of bananas. ButIhavetoeatabananaeverysinglemorning.

I had no choice but to go to the grocery store at 9 PM. Problem #2: My car is not worthy of parking in the garage, so it was sitting outside covered in ice.

I had no choice but to walk to the grocery store at 9 PM…in the snow/ice/drizzle. The things I do for bananas is well, quite frankly, bananas.

I bundled up, plugged in my charged iPod and went on my merry way. I got there in one piece and whattdya know, I was rewarded with a shelf full of discount bananas!

Weeee weee weeeeeeee!! Leave it to me to get excited about discount bananas. By the way, have you seen the new weee weee weeeee commercial? Love that pig.

I practiced some self-control and settled for 3 bags of bananas, instead of swiping ALL 7 off the shelf. After all, I had to carry them back home and all those chatarungas I did earlier in the day with Dave Farmar were haunting my arms.

I came home and immediately chopped + froze 4 bananas. Well, 3 1/2 since 1/2 ended up in my belly. It is physically impossible for me to chop bananas without popping a few slices in my mouth. That is a fact.

Just on the cusp of overripe is my preferred level of banana ripeness! What about you?

AND with all those frozen bananas, I broke out the Yonanas machine that I received from OpenSky to help me start 2012 on the right [healthy] foot.

This machine basically turns frozen bananas/fruit into soft serve. Someone had to capitalize on the banana soft serve idea, right?

It works like a juicer—stick frozen fruit inside and push down with a plunger.

I usually make banana soft serve in a blender/Magic Bullet. I have to add a splash of milk to get the blades going, which gives it less of an ice cream texture. Also, it takes awhile so by the time it’s ready for consumption, it’s partially melted. This machine, however, does not require any milk. The soft serve comes out super thick and frozen.

I can’t wait to try it with some other ingredients.

The machine came with a recipe book. My eyes immediately landed on…

I’m totally regretting NOT getting all 7 bags of discount bananas now.

What’s really bananas is unlike a juicer, you actually WANT to clean the machine…because look what’s waiting for you inside? Yum.

What’s really really bananas is I just ate soft serve and I’m about to go for a run. That would be impossible with ice cream.

What’s really really really bananas (last one, I promise) is I’m about to run in 55* F and sunny weather…in shorts? Really?

Yessiree. I’m going to pretend like it’s almost spring time.

Hello there. How was your Monday? I was quite rambly over the weekend, so I’m gonna keep it short ‘n’ sweet tonight (and give you a good laugh).

Before we get to the funny stuff…

Some of you asked if you need to know the names of yoga poses to do Dave Farmar podcasts. Yes, you do. But he translates most of them to their common names i.e. chair pose. If you’ve done a yoga class before or even a yoga video, you should be fine. You can always Google search the pose names and/or keep a pose guide by your mat. He repeats them a lot (cough chatarunga cough!!), so it’s pretty easy to follow along.

Oh hello muscles I’ve never met before and/or totally forgot about. <–Me this morning

All that yoga cursing was for a legit reason. I woke up feeling every muscle fiber in my derriere!!! So sore.

***

This morning, I watched the Sh*t Single Girls Say video. I nearly snorted out my coffee. Have you seen this?!

If I met Ryan Gosling, he’d want to build ME a house.

I need a new EFF BEE profile pic!

There are no hott guys here.

Huhhh! Froyo?!

I watched it 9 times in a row. Still laughing hysterically.

I texted Kat Lobes about it and she suggested I watch Sh*t Girls Say. Watch it and then watch parts II and III. HI-larious.

Oh and Sh*t Brides Say is the best one of ALL. I saw this one last week and just about died.

…still laughing.

***

Tell me: Your favorite hilarious Youtube video!

The three winners of the CrunchDaddy Popcorn Giveaway are…

Please email me with your mailing address and your choice of flavor! Remember you can still get 10% off your entire order (excluding shipping) when you enter the coupon code “LLE2012″ at checkout.

This upcoming Tuesday’s CMT just might be Christian Music Tuesday.

You see, the personal TVs at our community gym have every single channel imaginable…besides ESPN. Channels you’ve probably never even heard of before. Yeah, no ESPN at the GYM.

Luckily, the wall TVs get ESPN, so I could still watch the Duke vs. FSU game while running on the treadmill. There was only one problem…those TVs are muted, so I couldn’t hear the commentary.

That’s okay, I have my iPod.

And then my iPod died 2 minutes into my run. Frack.

I can barely run in silence outside, there’s no way I can do it on the ‘mill.

So I turned to the two music channels on the personal TVs for help (there are music channels, but no ESPN. What is wrong with this picture?). I plugged in my headphones and hoped for the best. The two channels I had to choose from were Contemporary Christian and R&B Classics. Frack.

The R&B Classics were too slow, soooo I listened to “You are my Shepard” and “The Blessing,” among other Christian songs. All while cheering/cursing at the TV.

The songs were surprisingly fast and very very uplifting, but I sure missed rocking out to Katy Perry, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.

Lesson of the day: If you think you need to charge your iPod, chances are you need to charge your iPod.

Nonetheless, it was an exciting game that kept me entertained on the treadmill for 6 miles at 6.2-6.7 mph/1.0 incline, followed by some leg weights.

Fueling for this run was tricky because it was a late afternoon game. I usually run in the morning or early afternoon because of my sensitive stomach.

I gave it my best shot. Cinnamon raisin toast + sunflower seed butter + banana. Plus frothy coffee. The usual.

Followed by a glass of kefir + pumpkin + cinnamon. No, you don’t need to get your eyes checked…I store canned pumpkin in an old almond butter jar.

Clementines + Cocoa Roast Almonds.

I also ate a ton of this raw/vegan/gluten free buckwheat granola I found at Home Goods. I’m the girl who buys food from Marshalls, remember?

Emmy’s Granola is truly the bomb dot com! Super crunchy and studded with dates and almonds. I’m going to try to make my own non-raw (baked?) version because I lack a dehydrator.

I like eating granola before my runs because it’s calorie dense and doesn’t make my stomach cramp as easily.

For me, running fuel always includes chocolate, no matter what time of day it is. I found these Cinnamon M&Ms on clearance at Target after the holidays.

As someone who pours cinnamon in my oatmeal and baked goods, I had to try them.

Mmmm! The cinnamon flavor is fabulous. The best part? These M&Ms are JUMBO sized. The more [chocolate], the merrier.

I had zero stomach cramps while running. Score! I don’t give my stomach enough credit—it has improved a lot over the past couple years.

Then I nerded out and wore my amazing Spider-Man tights to bed .

Though my legs really did feel fresher when I woke up, I declared today an active rest day.

I took a walk around Costco while noshing on samples. Greek yogurt, kefir, seaweed salad, and Food Should Taste Good chips w/ spinach artichoke dip. Our Costco rocks!

Then I took a real 3 mile walk around the snowy neighborhood (not quite as delicious, but very relaxing).

Then I did 40 min. of the latest Dave Farmar Power Yoga Podcast (from 10/30/11). The actual podcast is 1 hr 40 min, but my arms were done after 40.

Had you been in my basement, you would’ve heard…

Ohh sh*t

Oh my gahhhhh

Oh no…no no no. No freaking way.

How many darn Chatarungas are we gonna DO?!

It’s been a loooong while since I’ve done yoga. I missed Dave Farmar. He’s insightful and hilarious. He has this way of calming me down. I should listen to him talk while I drive.

[His podcasts are free, if you didn't know already. You don't even have to download the podcasts…just search for him in iTunes and hit play.]

I am holding off on using the unlimited monthly yoga pass I mentioned because I want to build up some yoga muscles at home first. That way I can benefit from the classes more and not just hang out in child’s pose (and curse under my breath the whole time).

Maybe in a month or so?

Despite my cursing, I was impressed with how much I was able to keep up during the podcast. Thanks to doing gymnastics for years, I have the flexibility part down pat. I’m strength training more these days and I guess it’s working…minus the chatarungas!

Yep, yoga works these secret muscles that just cannot be targeted with any machine or dumbbell.