July 25, 2012

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Today was another double-workout day. My scheduled run was 15 minutes easy; then two repeats of 10 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy; and finishing off with 10 minutes easy--a total of 51 minutes. I put The Biggest Loser on Netflix, and hopped on the treadmill.

Almost immediately, I felt fatigued. I think my legs were really tired from yesterday's unintentional one-mile sprint. I did the 15 minutes at 6.0, which is what I usually do; then I started the first tempo interval at 7.0 (again, what I usually do). After about 4 minutes at 7.0, my legs were feeling really tired, and I decided to drop the speed down to 6.6. I finished it out at 6.6, and then did the 3 minute recovery interval at 6.0.

At that moment, the teams on The Biggest Loser started doing a challenge on the show. I decided to do 7.0 for the second tempo interval--I told myself that I would do it as long as the contestants were doing the challenge. It was actually really motivating! Every time I wanted to reduce the speed, I kept reminding myself that the contestants on the show (who were MUCH heavier than I am) were doing something MUCH harder than I was. I pushed through the fatigue and kept going.

The challenge ended when I was eight minutes into the interval with two minutes left--so I decided I could stick it out for two minutes longer. I was relieved to finish that interval, and then I did the remaining 13 minutes on 6.0 speed.
Looking at the splits, going 6.6 for most of that first interval really didn't have much effect on my distance. 1.14 miles instead of 1.19.

As soon as I was done running, I started my Wii Active workout (#6 of the 30-Day Challenge). I was so happy that I didn't have to do any forward/backward lunges today! I discovered that the resistance bands I bought are the same length as the one I was hoping to replace (too short)--so I will have to return them to Wal-Mart. I'm hoping Dunham's will have one in a longer length. So today, I had to suffer through with the shorter band--my muscles should be HUGE after using it, haha.



I made some cookies a few days ago, and I've actually been able to keep them in the house without inhaling every last one. That never happens!

I was craving peanut butter cookies really badly, but I knew it would result in a binge; so I ended up making some pumpkin spice cookies. These have so much flavor that I don't feel like I have to eat the whole batch. And they only have 64 calories each!

(I just posted the "recipe" for the cookies on my Recipes blog--I put "recipe" in quotes, because it's SO simple that it barely counts as a recipe!)



The kids and I somehow got the idea to try and do headstands today. I'm sure I was definitely a funny sight while I tried ;)  We even watched YouTube videos on how to do it. Noah actually did it, and held it for about 10 seconds!

I am able to get into a tripod position (no idea what it's called, but where you're balancing on your head and hands, with your knees resting on your elbows. From that spot, you're *supposed* to just be able to raise and straighten your legs, so that you are doing a headstand. But I cannot, for the life of me, find the strength to get my legs up. They're heavy!

I think it would be really cool to actually be able to do a headstand, so I'm going to work on it every day and see if I can make it happen.  ;)



This afternoon, I asked Jerry to clean out the litter box. When he was done scooping, he took the bag and went outside to throw it in our outdoor trash cans. He lifted the lid, tossed it in, then dropped the lid shut. Then he heard a bunch of movement inside the trash can. So he lifted the lid to look inside...

There was a raccoon in there! It was trapped, because the trash can is really deep and there was only one small bag of trash in there. I was wondering what we should do--I said maybe we should call animal control (I can't help but associate raccoons with rabies), and Jerry said we should just leave it in there. But I felt really bad for it, because it's been so hot here and it was trapped inside, so I said we should let it go.

Jerry got the broom and used the broom to lift the lid, and then he tipped the can over. The raccoon ran out of there and took off for the woods so fast that I couldn't even get a picture of him. It was really small, and looked like a baby. Poor little guy! Hopefully he learned his lesson and we won't find him back in our trash.

15 comments:

  1. Try using the corner of a room where two walls meet to get up in headstand. You'll get the feel of it without the tippy feeling that comes when you're unsupported. I wanted to share that I used your wisdom of pretracking my treat for tonight and being sure to keep the other stuff within range so I can really enjoy it. Thanks for bringing such a balanced perspective to this process.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 25, 2012

    You can also try against a pole or beam so you can wrap your feet around it. This will allow you to hold yourself up while building strength. We are doing this in Crossfit and if I can do it at 205 you surely can. Ive never tried to get on my elbows first I just put my arms out like going to do a cartwheel and flip onto the pole and wrap feet around.

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  3. Aww, I'm glad you freed the little guy. He was probably pooing himself. I've been wanting pumpkin everything the past few weeks! I want contemplating making a batch of pumpkin cookies this weekend! (Even the stores had a big display of pumpkin choc chip cookies and pumpkin pie!)

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  4. We have done headstands in yoga class. They basically have your arms in a triangle shape around your head (on your elbows) while you have a wall behind you (when on the ground). Then you would essentially kick one leg up toward the wall and either get the other leg up after (or with the assistance of a spotter). Sounds complicated when I type it but it isn't!

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  5. YEARS ago, like 2003, I did yoga a ton and was able to do a head stand for a few seconds. I don't think I'd have the same luck now! And poor raccoon! Wonder how he got trapped in there. And mmm, cookies sound good right now... I'm trying to do a tough boot camp month of diet and exercise, because my half marathon is in 36 days!

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  6. I love the challenge motivation trick. Another one my training partner uses all the time is saying, "If not now, when?" I think that constantly.

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  7. I think it can take a very long time to be able to do a headstand on your own with no assistance. My gf has a studio and was very impressed with another friend that had mastered it. I think it takes a lot of core strength to keep yourself balanced while lifting your legs up. I love watching people do handstand push-ups along a wall, especially Ryan Gossling in 'Crazy, Stupid Love!'

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  8. Doing a headstand is a great fun goal! :)
    I also just realized that I've always pronounced them as "handstands" lol.

    I love using pumpkin while baking.. makes me excited for fall!

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  9. Hey! I work at a Dunham's in Michigan. Fancy that.

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  10. We do head stands in yoga with blocks. If you don't have blocks it may still work. Kneel facing the wall and cup your hands at the back of your head and place it on the floor against the wall with your elbows on the floor out in a triangle. You then kick up to the wall. It still needs the core strength but you don't have to worry about going over the other side. The blocks are used for added stability under your shoulders.

    With blocks = http://www.5min.com/Video/Headstand-Like-Magic-31462020

    Without blocks = http://www.doyogawithme.com/content/headstand-pose-against-wall

    Good luck but be careful of your neck!!

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  11. That cookie "recipe" is my kind of recipe, I am definitely trying it!

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  12. When I was a little girl, I took dancing lessons and we did headstands exactly as you described. Now you have me curious how hard it would be to do it today. I'm gonna have to try it, now!

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  13. I'm putting these cookies on my list of stuff to make this fall when I have an event to go to and can give them away! Thanks for sharing.

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  14. It had been a long time since I tried to do a handstand - used to do them all of the time when I was kid. I was pleased that I could get into the handstand without the help of the wall and hold it for a period of time. You need good core strength to be able to do to them.

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  15. Hi!

    Just found the blog - love it!

    Kelly

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