So it's been a while...

Turns out when you get super busy, blogging takes a back seat.  We should be getting back into it soon!

Since we last posted, lots has happened....

One of us moved back to Colorado (even if only for the summer)

One of us got married

We ran a few races

We lost a very loved furry friend

And I'm sure lots of other things I can't think of now that we'll have to fill you in on.

We'll see you back here soon!

Rachelle & Ashley

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just a quick post today to say Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!  I hope you all enjoy some chocolate or good food to celebrate!

So whether you are curling up on the couch with a movie or going to a fancy dinner, have a great night.  I'm secretly hoping I will come home to these gorgeous orchids I saw at the store the other day, but since we decided we wouldn't do gifts (we spent money on a fancy weekend outing last weekend) I might just have to go buy them for myself.

Psst - Qdoba is having a buy one get one free deal on queso entrees today if you kiss someone in line with you (preferably someone you know, but hey it could be a fun way to get to know someone new).  I know where we'll be having a fancy valentine's dinner tonight!

I'll be back soon with some new recipes to post.

TGIF

Hello there!  I know it's been about a week since I have blogged and I apologize (especially to Rachelle).  It's been my birthday week/ professors decided to give us a million exams and projects hell week over here.  BUT it's finally over and Hallelujah it is Friday!  I hope everyone has something fun in store for this weekend.  I think I have too many fun things/not enough studying planned, but who cares...the Broncos are only in the Super Bowl every 10 years right?

Anyways, here is a recap of my past week....minus the whole studying thing because that will clearly bore you to tears...I'm crying just thinking about it.

A week ago, a couple of friends and I headed WAYYYYY out to the country (and I mean country- Wal Mart is their idea of a mall) to my grandparent's house for a birthday dinner celebration.  I don't mean to make you drool here, but here is a picture of the deliciousness we experienced.

Aren't my grandparents so sweet?

In case you were wondering, thats filet mignon, mushroom ragout, horseradish dinner muffins, and creamed spinach.  I won't even go into dessert....OKAY I will- we had tiramisu and butter pecan ice cream.  let's just say all ideas of eating healthy were completely thrown out the window.  You only turn 24 once right?  Or every day for an entire week because all I've been doing is enjoying cupcakes, cookies, and muffins.  Oops!  I also got some really cool gifts this week including a bottle of gin (obvi I was excited- even though my friends call me an old man), a Runner's World Cookbook, and some local honey, granola, and oatmeal from a company in Nashville!  (Thanks Ali for coming up with such cool gift ideas).

In other news, my friend Katie and I decided to run the St. Louis Go half marathon the first weekend of April.  Looks like we better get training this weekend!!  We are already two weeks behind on the Hal Higdon training but we will catch up I'm sure (you know with all that free time us PT students have).

I hope everyone is having a great last day of January!  I have decided for February I am completely cutting sweets/desserts out of my diet.  Yikes!  This will be month 2 of my year of monthly resolutions- we will see how long that lasts!

Oh and PS..... GO BRONCOS!

2014 Race Plans

Ashley and I are signed up to run the Colfax half marathon on May 18th in Denver this year, so we will be starting our training in a few weeks (probably mid-February), and we will be using the 12-week Hal Higdon plan (either the Novice 2 or the Intermediate).  We've both been working out a lot and are in pretty good shape (Ashley more than me), so I feel like we can handle the Intermediate.  But maybe we'll decide once we actually start the training.

This will be my second race since my surgery and I'm really excited to see if I can beat some of my past times.  My half marathon last year was 6 months after surgery and while it was definitely an accomplishment, I was not in great shape and it was pretty painful (I earned every bit of that 1:59:46 time though).

I am excited because this will be the first race Ashley and I have run together in a while (since the 2012 Horsetooth Half, which kicked both of our butts...hello hills!).  Colfax is FLAT FLAT FLAT (thank goodness!) and we get to run through the zoo!  It will be pretty early so I hope some of the animals are awake!

We'll probably be documenting our training updates here on the blog, and would love to hear if anyone else is running Colfax or a half around the same time - nothing like sharing the joys of training with others!

We are hoping to run a full marathon in the fall of this year, just still trying to figure out which one we'd like to do.  The 2011 Nike Women's marathon seems like forever ago - it's time we added another 26.2 to our records!

Anyone have races coming up in 2014?
Let us know if you are running Colfax or will be training for something during May!

New Strength/Spin workout

Hello!  Just though I would do a quick post on the workout my roommate Meagan and I did today.  I recently read another blog that was giving workout ideas and suggested using a deck of cards to help make the workout a bit more fun.  Meagan and I have done this twice now, and it actually does make the workout a little more interesting.  So all you need for the strength part is a deck of cards and you're good to go.

This workout was from last week- the one we did today was a bit different and I liked it a lot better.  So every time you pull a card from the deck, the number (including face cards- jack=11, queen=12 and king=13...you'll start to hate those face cards pretty quick) is the number of reps you do.

Clubs= jumping lunges
Spades= planks (multiply the number seen on the card by 4)- this is how many seconds your plank should last
Hearts= wall sit- same timing as the plank (multiply by 4)
diamonds= burpee pushups

I broke the cards into 4 parts and then did spin for 10 minutes in between each strength set.  IT WAS HARD!  I decided not to post another sweaty selfie because it's just too gross.  Anyways, let me know if anyone tries this workout!

Running Outside in January!

I am so happy today!  The high was in the 60s and I was finally able to run outside.  It's been over a month since I've been for a good run outside....the treadmill is starting to get pretty boring.

 AND I got to run in shorts! WHAT??  However, my pasty white ghost legs haven't seen the sun since November.  I think I saw a driver or two putting on sunglasses as they drove past to shield their eyes from these bad boys.  Really makes me miss the days I lived in LA and got to be (relatively) tan all year round.  Sigh.

 I also got to finally use this again!  I've only used it once since Christmas, but I really love it.  It's kinda big, which is the only downside, but I love knowing my pace as I'm running.  I can't believe I've been running seriously for about 6 years now and have never owned a GPS watch- if you don't have one and like running outside, you should definitely invest.

And now to the recipe I'm currently obsessed with.  This definitely doesn't make the prettiest meal when plated, but it is so good and so good for you.  My friend Krista introduced me to it on Friday and I've made it every day since.  All you do is mash up a banana and add an egg white, a whole egg, and some cinnamon or vanilla (or both) and then cook it like a pancake.  It will make 2 decent sized "pancakes".  I added honey, PB2 and some strawberries and absolutely love it.  Try it...I promise you won't be disappointed.

Now I'm off to go make pasta carbonara and watch Blacklist.  At least one of my meals was healthy today right?? 

Go Broncos!!!

I'm back...finally.  Sorry it has taken me so long to post again.  I never got my snow day last week (sad day) and then things have gotten crazy busy with classes starting again.  Anyone in PT school knows what I'm talking about.

Anyways, today has been an absolutely wonderful day!  I found out my dad is taking me to Key West for Spring Break- woot woot- and the Broncos won the AFC playoff and will be winning the Super Bowl in 2 weeks...(I hope).  Don't blame me if I just jinxed it.  Here's a little sneak peek of what I will get to be doing in less than 2 months.

Let' just say, this girl is NOT complaining.  And I am thrilled to have something to look forward to in the next 2 months!  This is my thrilled face:

Now on to why I look so sweaty and disgusting in this photo.  As promised, I have a new workout for you.  Although this blog is called therunningsisters, from my posts you would never even know I run.  I promise I do, I just haven't uploaded any running workouts yet.  I'll post a speed workout for the treadmill later this week, but for today, here's a 40 minute spin workout that will hopefully make you as sweaty as me---or else I'll feel even grosser than I already do.
THE WORKOUT:
-5 min hard warmup*
-5 min hill- increase a quarter turn every 30 seconds, sprint the last minute on a hard hill *
-5 min sprints-easy 30 sec, sprint 30 s for 5 minutes *
-8 min rolling hill SEATED (I hate these normally) with the peak of the hill at 4-5 minutes then decrease your resistance over the next 3 minutes*
-7 minutes: 1 min easy,
           1 min up in position 3 for 4 counts, down in the saddle for 4 counts, 1 min standing sprint and                1 min easy and then repeat*
-5 min standing steady climb*
5 min sprints- sprint 30 sec, easy 30 sec*
***Every time you see one of these babies* get off the bike and do a 1 minute plank.  By the end, you'll have done 7 minutes of planks, and then possibly be sore and hate me tomorrow :)
Enjoy.  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  And once again, Go Broncos!!