School First

Yesterday was one of those days where school came first.

Even though my body was craving endorphins, my mind was telling me that I needed to study. And even though I did not want to admit it, I knew it was right.

At 8am this morning I had a test in Statistics and tomorrow I have a test in my Speech Sound Disorders class therefor I have been studying like crazy the past few days. Yesterday I had planned to run 6 miles but it didn't get done. The only "free" time I had was at work and I don't really consider that to be fun or relaxing. When I got off of work I had thought about hitting the treadmill but it was nearly 10pm and I figured I wouldn't be able to fall asleep right away if I did that so guess what I did instead? Yep you guessed it - I studied even more.

On top of stressing about these tests, not being able to go on a run or workout yesterday made things more stressful than they should have been. Running makes me feel so good and if I can't run or workout for a few days then I feel like crap. I thought about replacing today's strength workout with a short run and then getting back on schedule tomorrow with an 8 mile long run but I don't know if that's a good idea or not. What do you think?

I never want to see another formula in my life.

The best thing about yesterday was definitely the Peach Chobani I picked up for dinner. Talk about delicious!

Blog Update

Starting tomorrow afternoon I will officially be on Spring Break! While I don't have any plans to go anywhere sunny, I will be hard at work doing some blog related things! You may see them on the blog page itself or it may be some behind the scenes blog work! As of today I just updated the sidebar of my blog and you can now subscribe to the blog via email. If you want to be updated when a new post is up on the blog just enter your email address in the box on the sidebar and voila! I promise you won't get tons of spam or anything like that - just an update on the posts :)

Quick Survey

Also if you have an extra two minutes can you please take this survey? It will really help me with future blog posts! Click here to take the survey

Question 

Should I run today to make up for yesterday and still do the 8 mile run tomorrow? I'm trying to stay on schedule with my training but it's definitely harder some days than others.

Spring Fever (And a Winner)

Yesterday I went on a gorgeous 6 mile run along the river. It was a perfect 45 degrees, sunny, and there was a light breeze. It was a huge tease because today is the total opposite.

It's cold, rainy, and super windy. To put me in a better mood I have been sippin' on some Sweet Raspberry Black Tea, made with the wonderful Keurig I got on Christmas!

I definitely have spring fever now!

Giveaway winner

The winner of the Goodbelly Giveaway is....

Nicole from FruitNFitness! Please email me at trufflesntreadmills [at] aol [dot] com with your shipping address so we can get you your 12 Day Supply of Goodbelly!

If you entered this giveaway and are dying to try Goodbelly for yourself head on over to their website to check out the details of their 12 Day Challenge!

Question

I need a little bit of help from all of you! I am trying to put together something blog related and would love to hear some of the reasons you like reading my blog. Please comment below and tell me what keeps you coming back for more!

Puerto Vallarta

How was everyone's weekend? On Saturday I squeezed in a 2 mile run even though it was supposed to be my long run day. As soon as I finish this blog post I am heading out the door and doing my long run today. I already have my running shoes on and everything, I'm just waiting for my iPod to charge up!

The highlight of my weekend was probably lunch on Saturday. Jancee and I were craving Mexican so we headed to a local Mexican restaurant called Puerto Vallarta. I could honestly eat Mexican food and chips and salsa every day so a craving for Mexican is not rare for me. I don't normally get the chance to satisfy my craving for Mexican while at school so I took full advantage of having an opportunity to go out and eat some.

We started off with chips and salsa. Their salsa is so good that I ate two bowls of it before we got our food!

One of the reasons that I love Puerto is because their food actually tastes authentic. Jancee and I both had a hard time choosing what to order and when it came down to it we both ordered practically the same exact thing. She got the Fajita Quesadilla with Steak and I chose the Fajita Quesadilla with Chicken.

A large quesadilla was filled with chicken, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cheese, and mushrooms and served with lettuce, sour cream, and tomato on the side. It was definitely delicious and hit the spot!

 

Sunday was spent doing next to nothing with my favorite boy and his roommates. We watched the NASCAR race that was on TV (most boring thing of my life). I would rather watch people than cars go in circles around a track!

 

If you haven't done so already, head on over and enter to win the Goodbelly giveaway! I'm choosing a winner tomorrow!


Do you have a favorite Mexican restaurant? Is there any food that you are constantly craving?

Three Great Things to Start Off Your Weekend

* This giveaway is now closed *

Are you ready for the weekend? I know I am! I've spent so much time in the library this week (I'm actually there right now) because I have a research paper that I have to write. There isn't really a due date because it's for an online class but I'm trying to get it done sooner rather than later.

Now for the fun stuff! I have three fun things for you guys in order to get your weekend started off right. An awesome website, a workout and a giveaway!

The Clymb

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this awesome website called The Clymb. They seriously have everything from running shoes to fishing gear and energy bars to cycling helmets. If you are an outdoorsy person, an athlete, or just want some awesome workout apparel then this is the site for you! They have amazing prices on some of the best brands and the deals are constantly changing so you have to get them before they're gone. Today through Saturday you can receive an extra 20% off! I think that this site is so great that I am personally inviting all of you to join it! Just click on the following link to join!  

Personal invite from Danielle to join The Clymb

Workout

I did this workout the other day and it really got my blood pumpin! Right after it I did one set of each exercise from the Superset Arm Workout and used heavier weights than I normally do for a quick and effective arm workout.

Giveaway

I have had this giveaway stashed away for awhile and was planning on doing it awhile ago but completely forgot! I can't believe I did because I'm sure some of you will love it! Goodbelly has offered to give one lucky reader a 12-day supply.

Goodbelly has a full line of probiotic drinks that are good for daily digestive health. Their drinks have special active cultures that survive the stomach's acid so they can reach the intestinal tract. Goodbelly probiotic drinks also deliver your daily dose of multivitamins and calcium.

If you don't like juice they also have some other options such as their Goodbelly StraightShot which allows you to get your daily probiotic without having to drink a huge glass of juice.

Also, all of their drinks are dairy-free, soy-free and vegan! They can be consumed by children as young as 1 to adults older than 100 making Goodbelly drinks safe for everyone!

For those of you who want to try Goodbelly out for yourself, they are having a 12 Day Challenge right now. You just have to head on over to their site by clicking here and then sign up! They send you a coupon to get you started and then on the 12th day they send you more coupons! They also check up with you during the challenge to see how you are liking it and to answer any questions.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own.

How to enter

Mandatory: Check out Goodbelly's website and then comment telling me why you would like to try it
Optional: Tweet about this giveaway "I want to win a 12 day supply of @GoodBellyDrink from @trufflesntread Check it out! http://bit.ly/Yic8Mi" and comment saying you tweeted

I will choose a winner on Tuesday!

Lower Body Chiseler

If I remember correctly yesterday I mentioned something about a fun leg workout I had threw together and then tested at the gym later in the day. Well when I woke up this morning I could tell that it was definitely a good one and worked some muscles I haven't been putting to the test lately. My inner legs and hamstrings were feeling the burn but it wasn't an overwhelming burn and I could easily complete my 6 mile run today.

You can complete the above workout without weights if you want but I wanted a little more of a challenge so I grabbed the dumbbells to use for this circuit!

Back to yesterday - I also mentioned that Carling was thinking about starting up her own blog and guess what?! She did it! You can follow her blog to catch up on her travels and see the photos she takes along the way!



What is your favorite lower body exercise?

Procrastination at it's Finest

Why is it that over the weekend I always feel like my to-do list is nonexistent and I have no plans for the following week? Does anyone else feel this way or am I the only one? Because when I got up this morning I felt like I had a lot of things to do this week that I probably could have started on over the weekend. I guess I just have to face the fact that I am a procrastinator.

After classes I hit the gym to try out a new workout that I threw together earlier today. I started off by a hard, sweat-drippin', 15 minutes on the elliptical to get my heart pumping and I then headed over to the weights to get in a lower body workout - more on that later this week!

And to top off of my procrastinating today, I spent some time skyping my cousin's girlfriend, Carling! She is such a sweetheart and we always have so much fun skyping each other. We talked about so many different things from cute Pinterest ideas to the idea of her starting her own blog! Blogging has been an amazing experience for me so far and I think that she would love it just as much as I do. If she decides to start one I'll let you guys know!

After a weekend at home enjoying chocolates and candy, this week I am getting back on track with my eating. For dinner today I had Tuscan blend veggies (my favorite!), a turkey salad topped with the works but no dressing, and a lemon Chobani. I had never tried the lemon flavor before today and it was pretty good.

I also want to mention to you all that LARABAR wrappers are now recyclable! Check out all the details and find out how you can recycle yours by clicking here.


Are you a procrastinator? Do you have any tips or tricks to beat procrastination and get things done early?

Better Than Nothing

This weekend consisted of some quality time at home with family. Alex and I headed home from school on Friday afternoon to celebrate my cousin, Rema's, birthday with some family. Rema turned 21 on Friday and wanted a relaxed celebration so we did just that.

We arrived to their house around 7pm and spent our time talking with family we hadn't seen in awhile. We also enjoyed birthday cake and a few pieces of various Middle Eastern sweets. Rema's parents went overseas for a couple of weeks for a wedding and brought back some goodies for us to enjoy. I completely forgot to snap a couple of pictures of the desserts!

One of my cousin's had a baby 3 weeks ago so I made sure to get in lots of cuddling with her!

On Saturday Alex, my step-dad, my brother, and I all went out to lunch together. We went to a restaurant called the Tilted Kilt. The waitresses there wore plaid mini skirts and their tops covered close to nothing so the boys were all googly-eyed the entire meal. The restaurant was like a pub and had some fun Irish sayings on the wall. I ordered a chicken wrap that had a spicy dressing which gave it a nice kick. I was pretty impressed with the food there but it was a little awkward having a half-naked waitress bring it to the table. Once again, I ate the food too quickly to even think about taking a picture. I'm sorry my picture-taking skills were lacking this weekend!

Because Friday we spent the day traveling and I ended up forgetting my running shoes back at school, I didn't get my long run in while I was at home. Today I hadn't drank too much water and think I had one too many pieces of candy while I was home over the weekend so I knew going into it that my run today wasn't going to be good. After a mile and a half I was feeling sick so I stopped. I didn't even try to keep going and told myself that 1.5 miles was better than doing nothing.

When you are really busy how do you fit in a long run? They take up so much time but I know they are important! Also, if you are feeling sick do you push through it or stop running?

Valentine's Day Recap

Yesterday my Instagram and Twitter feeds were overflowing with pictures of flowers, chocolates, and couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Alex and I had both decided that we weren't going to get each other anything and keep it low key and do something together over the weekend. I had to work until late last night so we couldn't really do anything by the time I was off. Even though we both said we weren't going to get each other anything, neither of us followed through.

He came over for a little bit between classes and I surprised him with a little gift I made him. I couldn't resist not getting him anything. As you know, he loves fishing with a passion so I did a little Pinteresting and then came up with this idea..

I filled up the goodie bag with a bunch of gummy worms and Swedish fish and then decorated the banner that I put on the top of it. He said he really liked it and liked the creativity!

Later that day he picked me up from work and we were on our way to Pita Pit. My roommate, Alex, and I were planning on going there to get a Pita because 1) Alex had never been there and 2) they were having a Valentine's Day special. In the car on the way there he handed me a tiny box of chocolates. I wasn't expecting anything from him and thought it was sweet he gave me them.

Then later when we went to his house I had walked into his room and set my things down. His room has a nook in it where his desk is and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I was in his room. I was in his room for a few minutes before he told me to walk over there. At first I was nervous and thought something was going to jump out at me! Then when I turned around I saw this...

I was completely shocked and loved it! He is a pretty special guy and I feel so lucky.


I also want to take a minute to say Happy 21st Birthday to my cousin Rema! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Giveaway winner

As you know today is the day that a winner is chosen for the LARABAR Giveaway. I just love doing giveaways and I have another one up my sleeve that is going to happen in the next few days :) But for now here is the winner of the LARABARs...

Congrats to Michelle! Please email me at trufflesntreadmills [at] aol [dot] com with your shipping address so we can hook you up with this awesome prize!


Did you do anything special for Valentine's Day?

A Little LÄRABAR Love

* This giveaway is closed *

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I thought that I would spread the love to all of you! And what better way to spread the love than a giveaway?

LARABAR is a pure and simple bar made of fruits, nuts, and spices. The bars are gluten, dairy and soy free, have no added sugars, are vegan, and have no preservatives. So pretty much anyone can love and enjoy these bars even if they have allergies or special eating habits.

They have 20 yummy flavors from apple pie to peanut butter chocolate chip so there is a bar to meet everyone's liking!

One lucky winner will win a variety case of 16 different LARABAR flavors. 

How to enter

Mandatory: Head on over to LARABAR's website and comment below telling me which bar you would like best!

Optional: Tweet about this giveaway "I want to win a variety case of @larabar from @trufflesntread http://bit.ly/Vg5Uf4" and comment telling me you did

Optional: Follow Truffles n' Treadmills on Pinterest, Facebook, and/or Twitter and comment telling me you did  

A winner will be chosen on Friday! Good luck and Happy Valentine's Day!

Inside My Fridge

Workout

Before I get to talking about food I want to talk about today's workout and the lack of one yesterday. Yesterday I had 4 miles plus speed work scheduled and was planning on running when I got off of work. Whenever I got off I saw a text from a friend asking if I wanted to go to his sister's with him because they were ordering cookies and of course I said yes. I mean seriously, cookies beat running every time.

So today I did both speed work and strength training. I felt like crap with the sprints today. It might have to do with the fact that I ate lunch about an hour before.

Complete all of the reps/sets of each exercise before moving on to the next. Rest 15 seconds between sets!

What's in my fridge?

Ever wondered what is inside another person's fridge or cupboard?

Well today I thought it might be fun to share with you what I have stocked up in mine! Living in the dorms doesn't allow for a huge fridge or awesome cabinet space so I have a mini fridge that has a few things in it and some storage drawers packed to the brim with different snacks.

I always have a couple of water bottles for those days that I am running out of time to fill up my Brita water bottle. Lately I have been enjoying cheese sticks, hummus, and yogurt for snacks. I usually have Chobani Greek Yogurt in there but I ate it all and bought a thing of Yoplait Key Lime Pie Whips the other day for a treat.

When it comes to breakfast, I normally don't have time to sit down and eat a bowl of cereal but when I do I normally eat Special K Red Berries or Kashi Healthy Heart.

For the days I can't eat a bowl of cereal I eat granola bars. I'm not big into snacking but when I am hungry I'll grab one of them to munch on. I have found that I can eat the Special K Chocolate Pretzel bars about a half hour before a long run and feel amazing on it. Sometimes after a hard run or workout I will eat a Clif bar (not shown) or a Clif Builder's Bar for extra protein.

Some other favorite snacks of mine are fruit snacks and beef jerky.

And for a boost of energy and a chocolate treat I will grab a handful of chocolate covered coffee beans. These are perfect when studying or just to satisfy a sweet craving.

Trail mix, dried fruit, cheese with sticks, and CHEEZ-ITs are also a snack around here. I'm always reaching for a big glass of water and CHEEZ-ITs after a long run if I don't feel good. I don't know why - maybe it's the salt in them - but I always feel 10x better after eating them.

And what college student do you know that does not have Ramen somewhere in their room?

I always have a bag or two of Pretzel Crisps, Food Should Taste Good Chips, and The Better Chip stashed away. I love eating the Original Pretzel Crisps with hummus! And let's face it, eating these versus Doritos or Lays is so much better for you and you feel better afterwards too.

I also have a bag full of nut butters. Whenever I want to jazz up a piece of fruit then I get one of these out and spread it on the fruit for some extra flavor and protein.

Out of all of these snacks, the ones that I have to have in my room are CHEEZ-ITs, yogurt, granola and protein bars, beef jerky, and something sweet to satisfy my taste buds.

Update: Since graduating college, I have created another great post - Healthy Snacks for College Students That Won't Break the Bank. It is full of healthy options and tips and I would love for you to check it out!





What is something that is always in your fridge?

What I'm Looking Forward To

I hope you all had an awesome weekend. On Saturday I had a long run of 5 miles scheduled. I did it on the treadmill and made the first 3 miles of it an interval workout. I did .5 miles at 9:00 minute pace then the next .5 miles at 8:30 pace and kept alternating back and forth until I completed 3 miles. I then ran the last 2 at random paces from anywhere from 8:00 minute pace to 10:00 minute pace to cool down. I seriously can't wait until it starts to get into the 40's so I can run outside more.

Alex and his dad are big into fishing, hunting, wildlife, etc. and his dad got me a shirt for Christmas from their friend's fishing tackle company. I wore this shirt on Saturday for my run and it is perfect to run in because it's made with moisture-wicking material and is really light. The fish on it reminds me of summer too.

Alex and I spent last summer by going fishing on several different occasions and it makes me look forward to this summer and all of the fishing trips we are going to take. Here are a few pictures from last summer.

Yep, you are seeing this right.. I caught two fish on one lure! It was pretty exciting to say the least.

Be on the look out for a LARABAR giveaway this week!


What are you looking forward to most this summer?