It’s Monday and I’m already feeling tired! How is that possible?
This past week was extremely busy on the fitness front. May seems to be flying by already, as we’re more than halfway through the month and I’m just a few days away from my next race, the King of Prussia 10 Miler.
I thought it would be the perfect time to link up with HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin for the Weekly Wrap! You’ll find lots of great updates, workouts, and race recaps from a variety of health and fitness bloggers. I hope you check it out!
[bctt tweet=”Joining the fun for the #weeklywrap! How was your week of working out?” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
The Weekly Wrap
I used to give weekly workout recaps on Wednesdays as part of the Wild Workout Wednesday link up, but I’m liking the idea of sharing these recaps at the start of the week on a Sunday or Monday with the Weekly Wrap and a couple of other fun weekend linkups!
I think overall, I had a pretty good week. It’s been pretty busy at work but not too painful. More than anything, I’ve been exhausted from so much working out every day! I just realized that I haven’t had a rest day in over a week, and even though the SWEAT Beach Body Challenge is more of a HIIT-style workout, I need to make sure I’m keeping everything in balance.
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the King of Prussia 10 Miler this Saturday and gearing up for the 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut Half Marathon on June 4. I’m also now signed up for the Muckfest MS mud run on June 5! You can sign up for a Muckfest MS in your area with $7 off using code SPORTY7! Thankfully, it’s only a 5K distance so I shouldn’t be too worn out by that following Monday!
#JJFit Ingredient Challenge
My sister came up with a great idea for the two of us to do a weekly ingredient challenge. This past week was all about quinoa! While it seems like I eat quinoa every week, this was her first time cooking with it. It was a great opportunity to try some new recipes and do a throwback to one of my favorites. Here are the meals I was able to make featuring quinoa!
- Triple Bean Veggie Burgers from Peas and Crayons: It’s an extremely time-consuming meal to prepare but worth it every time since it’s so flavorful and healthy! I was also able to use the ingredients to make burritos for last night’s dinner – it was delicious!
- Lemon Blueberry Quinoa Breakfast Bars from Simply Quinoa: This was so fun to make and of course the lemon made everything so fragrant! They are much more filling than they look and were great to have for breakfast through the week.
- Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole with Kale from Running in a Skirt: Julie always has great recipes! I was excited to try something new. I think this meal came out great but i have to admit I needed some meat to add to this meal to be more filling!
It was so great to be back in the kitchen. When it comes to cooking, I tend to not make the effort, or I’m really consistent for a few weeks and then fall back off the wagon. It’s not that I’m bad at it; I’m just lazy! But so far, I’m really having fun with it and keeping upw ith it! This week we’re going to feature sweet potatoes! Do you have any favorite sweet potato recipes you’d recommend?
Workouts for the Week:
Saturday 5/7: We went for a long run in the Wissahickon trails, and I’m still riding the high!
Sunday 5/8: Finally doing my part of the SWEAT Beach Body Challenge: 5 rounds of 10 bench dips, 8 curls (using 3-pound weights that I have at home), 6 pushups, 4 burpees, 30-second side plank on each side. Before dinner, I went for a 7-mile run. It was actually pretty warm and sunny, and the trail was full of gnats…ugh! Still, I’m glad I got in that long run!
Monday 5/9: I had meetings so no yoga class. I did get to go to boot camp, and we had a full class of women for the first time. We did lots of upper body work with resistance bands, push ups, mountain climbers, squats, lunges, skaters, wall sits, and some torturous ab work!
Tuesday 5/10: Back to the SWEAT Beach Body Challenge: 3 rounds of 20 side crunches, 15 half burpees, 10 diagonal get ups, and 60 second wall sits. Very solid workout!
Wednesday 5/11: Weight training class. We did lots of pushups and dips, lat pull downs and work on our biceps. I was really beat when I got home and too tired to do the Beach Body workout.
Thursday 5/12: Finally, my first softball game of the season! As always, I was pretty nervous, but it was great being back with my team from last year. I struck out the first time up at bat, but the second time I had a base hit and was able to make it home. We lost by one run, but I had a blast!
Friday 5/13: I went to the gym after work and ran 3 miles on the treadmill at a 10:54 pace. HGTV helped me pass the time!
Saturday 5/14: We went for a run in Pennypack Park. I wasn’t feeling so well after our first 2 miles so we walked the rest of the distance. We actually were on a new-to-us path that was gorgeous! Philadelphia has some amazing running trails!
Sunday 5/15: I fought it hard, but we went on another run on Sunday afternoon. 5 miles, but the pace was in the 11 to 11.5 – minute range. It just took a long time to get into my sweet spot.
How was your week of working out? How do you maintain your energy?
Thanks for the shout out and for trying me recipe! I’m so glad you liked it. It makes my day when people tell me about making my recipes!!! You could totally serve it as a side dish with chicken. I just made a big bowl :-))
Have a great week. 🙂
Absolutely! I was excited to try something new, so thanks!
My family is not a fan of starches other than potatoes, but shockingly I served some Spanish-style quinoa and they devoured it! Who knew? Looks like I may be onto something.
We eat a lot of sweet potatoes here and mostly I just bake them.
That sounds delicious! So much you can do with quinoa, I’ve learned challenging myself with different recipes.
GREAT job! Killing it with the workouts, and such a great idea to challenge yourself with quinoa recipes. So often we just get stuck making the same old same old. I’m definitely guilt of that, and it is time to switch it up!
Thanks a lot, Susie! A little variety is nice once in a while 🙂
Those recipes look delicious!! I love this time of year because I can get out and ride my bike, and go hiking.
Thanks, Michelle! And I totally agree!
Sounds like you had a great week! We don’t eat a lot of quinoa, but those recipes looks great!
Thanks, Savannah!
That trail looks like fun!
Carmy, it’s really pretty and never too crowded!
wow! You have been busy (every day)! Confession….I have seen many interesting recipes,but I still have not tried quinoa. My bad. I need to get on the band wagon and give it a go LOL
Definitely, give it a try! If you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, they have reasonably priced quinoa . I know it’s so funny how popular it is these days…drives up the price 🙁
I need to get back into the kitchen too. I’m guilty of eating the same thing over and over, even though I love to cook and try new recipes. I recently made an Baked Leek & Sweet Potato Gratin that was amazing (recipe from Vegetarian Times), but I’m not sure I’d recommend it because it was so good it was hard to not eat the entire dish at once!
That recipe sounds amazing! I’ve never cooked with leeks either. Unfortunately this week was a FAIL on the healthy cooking since I had to go out of town for a conference. Can’t wait to hop back on the wagon for this coming week though.
You are a machine, girl! Also, love what you’ve done with the quinoa. One of my favorite ingredients!
Thanks, Wendy…I’m trying! I just need to make cooking part of my routine so I stick with it!
Ooh those beach workouts sound great! My kind of workout!! Keep up the good work!
Look at you in the litchen! Get it girl!!
My week was ok…not as landed so redoing it this week.
The Monday recap amd review is helpful for sure.
Wait….so you aren’t going to be at Zooma Half on June 4th 🙁
Have a great race this weekend!
Thanks a lot, Tamieka! Yeah I know, I”m like the only one NOT doing Annapolis. My sister is though!
I hope this week was better than last week!
Quinoa is one of my favorite things to cook with, I love that it’s so versatile. I am more of a savory quinoa fan though, I haven’t been a fan of any of the sweet breakfast recipes I’ve tried yet. I’ll have to stay on the lookout for a good one.
We’ve always had quinoa in a savory fashion so I was surprised to see that the breakfast bars was even an option! I hope you find one that you like – let me know!
I love that idea of a challenge week. I would feel like I’m on a cooking show plus it makes you think outside the box with meals.
Yes! My sister was inspired by Iron Chef! I wish I had an ounce of cooking talent but I’m trying!
I LOVE quinoa! Thanks for sharing this roundup of quinoa recipes – I am definitely going to check some of them out! My favorite go-to quinoa recipe is to mix it with feta cheese, dill, cucumber, and lemon juice. Super simple but addictingly good!
Oh wow, that sounds delicious, Emily! I need to give that a try it sounds really flavorful!
That’s a fun challenge for you and your sister to have! I am tired the past few weeks too.
I think all those workouts really wore me out!
I haven’t had quinoa in a while. Thanks for the reminder! That SWEAT Beach Body Challenge sounds great!
Glad you liked it, Nicole! And I like that the beach body challenge is getting me to do some workouts I haven’t done in awhile.
we LOVE quinoa in my house!! Your recipes look delish!!!!!!
Thanks, Michelle! I wish I had the creativity to come up with them on my own!
I freaking love quinoa. It’s so versatile. I think I need to make those lemon blueberry quinoa bars!
Let me know if you try them and whether you like them!
i love quinoa – it’s pretty much the only starchy food I eat outside of brown rice and maybe the occasional sweet potato. I put it in everything though! Those trails look so pretty!
Quinoa is definitely a winner – I need to keep searching for different ways to prepare it! Oh and yes, Pennypack is a great place to run, definitely recommend it!
Love all those quinoa recipes!
You were busy busy busy! I love busy weeks. Like begets like, so I think the more I workout and the busier my schedule, the more motivated I remain. I always find myself procrastinating more when my to-do list is short.
I think when I get in a sweet spot, that works out well for me too…but sometimes I tip the balance and go too far and get burned out :(. I’m always trying to go go go so that I don’t feel like I wasted any time!
I’m feeling really tired today too! Great job with your workouts, its awesome that you can run on so many nice trails!
Thanks, Lisa! FInding the trails has been such a blessing, I didn’t realize how much I would love it!
Oh, I’d love to run on that trail! I had quinoa this weekend – yum!
Come on up to Philly! 😉
I find getting enough sleep and having enough “me time” is critical to me staying energized. When I lack either one of those, I tend to get pretty cranky.
Oh that is so true! I haven’t had as much me time lately which can definitely take its toll. Wonky sleep patterns don’t help either, lol!
Oh my gosh, I love your ingredient challenge and I love quinoa! That is awesome!!!
My sis came up with a great idea, I really am having fun with it!
I love quinoa, too, Janelle! Those are some tasty recipes! I would love to run this trail! Looks beautiful!
Thanks, Ilka! Come up and join me for a run in Philly 🙂
Oooh, I love quinoa!! Those recipes look awesome! I am a huge sweet potato fan also! Great job on the workouts last week and have fun with the 10 miler! I would love to find a 10 mile race to run – will have to look into that!
Thanks a lot, Natalie! Maybe you can come over to Jersey and join in the Perfect 10 Miler! 😉 Would be great to finally meet!
Yet another beautiful scene from a gorgeous Philly trail. I loved running along the Schuylkill River during RnRPhilly last year.
Yes, running along the Schuylkill is great, but I’m really loving some of the more remote trails we have in the city!
I love the idea of a weekly ingredient/cooking challenge! What a great way to break out of a food rut!
I’m just glad that it gives me no excuses!
You definitely had a busy week of workouts. Congratulations on your base hit and scoring a run! I would sign up for the 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut just on the name alone. HA. That’s a very inventive challenge that you and your sister have going. I have never cooked with Quinoa but now I know where to find some great recipes! That’s a beautiful picture on the trail. I wish we had something like that close to me. Thanks for linking with us Janelle!
Thanks, HoHo! I think the workouts made me so exhausted by the time I got to Monday, so I need to do a better job of balancing it all. Quinoa is great to cook with and I’m learning just how versatile it is!
I just can’t get my family on board with Quinoa! I think if it was not considered healthy they would be all over it!
I think you have to sneak it in some recipes so they don’t see it coming! 😉
Great looking recipes with the quinoa! You can do so much with it. Love your picture from the trails! Looks like beautiful scenery for a run!