A Tuesday run

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Malin

I do love to read but I go through periods when I do not touch a book and this has been the case for the past few months but one of my swedish friends decided to start a book club and I was not far behind to join in. Anyhow the other day I went to the library to lend the “Rules of civility” by Amor Towles. I started reading and I am hooked and last night I ended up going to bed well past midnight so waking up to this crazy busy Tuesday I was very tired but with my mind already made up on running I went outside and what a morning!

One of the goals I have set for myself before I go back to Sweden is to run the distance of a half a marathon and with a slight breeze, sun and not to hot I went up to the woods and completed a 10k run. I have never even thought about trying to run a 1/2 marathon before so I’m not sure what pace I am supposed to keep but I guess it is all about trial and error. I had hoped that I would have run farther because coming back to the house I still had some juice left in the legs but at 10 am I had to rush over to Lifetime Fitness to meet Rebecca for our Pilates session and when the hour was done so was my legs ;).

Another Battle and another Victory

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Malin

So last week was not so great for me regarding my running, it was actually pretty crap! So today I was nervous about going over to Lifetime Fitness to do my workout. I pulled myself together and drove the car over, I was driving not only because the wind was god awful but also because I did not want to rush to get Mira from school.

Once I was at the gym I started to stretch out the legs and trying to come up with a plan for upcoming hour. I was thinking about dividing the cardio between the stair-master, elliptical and the treadmill but at the same time I really wanted to break that mental barrier from last week when I hardly made it past 3 miles without stopping.

So instead of making a goal for the distance I made a goal for the time, which was “How far can I get in an hour” and I started to run. The fist 3 miles were easy so I decided to increase the speed every 10 minutes by 0.1 and at the 47-minute I was running at a speed of 7.4 when my calves turned into tennis balls (i have big calves… lol). I kept on convincing myself that I only had a few minutes left but wow did it hurt! I was really trying to run to the beat of the music to push through the pain. At the 55 minute I increased the speed one more time and when the hour was up the treadmill finished on 7.2 miles and once again I am back on track!

A legal run

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Malin

So we have had a crazy busy weekend that started yesterday with a soccer game followed by hockey practice. Mira and I did not wait around because we where getting ready for her wall climbing birthday party so we ran over to Target to get some stuff for the goodie bags.

I normally rest on Saturdays but I was meeting my Swedish girlfriend at NoMi Restaurant in Chicago for drinks, I love that place and then dinner over at Tavernita but with Mira’s birthday party I was not sure if I would be able to make it today. So as soon as Knut’s hockey was done we drove over to Life Time Fitness so I could do a quick run done before getting ready. The thing was that after last week intense workouts I did not have a lot to give but I managed to do interval sprinting for 30 minutes. When I was done I had to sit down because I honestly thought I would puke if I took another step and it took me a good few minutes before I could go and fetch the kids from the child center. This was not one of my prettiest workouts but at least it was legal as I received my work permit in the mail yesterday, woohoo!

It was not only me who was going out to enjoy myself. Mira and Freddie was going for the father/daughter dance over at the school so at the same time as I was getting ready Mira was doing her hair and nails. She was so pretty and she also picked out Freddie’s shirt and tie that matched her dress (she is a real fashionista). I think this was a much needed time for them both and she really had a blast with her dad and all her friends!

Interval Sprinting

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Malin

I think this snowstorm of ours is going to be like the rest of them, a lot of warnings but not a lot of snow. Anyhow I met up with MsT over at Lifetime Fitness this morning and she joined me doing sprints on the treadmill.

I started with a 15 minutes walk on an incline on the treadmill before I stretched out my legs. I am actually not too sore where I thought I would be but feeling a little tight in this odd muscle close to my hip. After my warm-up I got to work and started sprinting at 9.5 for 1 full minute (I only started the time when I was at full speed) and then I walked it out for about 35 seconds before I started again. The last 5 intervals I did at 9.5 for thirty seconds and 10.0 for another 30 seconds till I reached my goal of three miles which took me 25 minutes.

I find that sprint training goes by fast as I focus so much on the clock that the pain is actually bearable and I know I can push for those last seconds when it feels like the legs are going to give in. Other positives are that when you give it all for that short period of time will you give your metabolism a boost. So if weight loss is your goal you will end up burning more calories. I do it because I want to improve my cardiovascular fitness so I can run faster and longer distances.

Tomorrow I will be back at warehouse lifting some good old weights!

It is a shit day!

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Malin

I guess staying up all night Saturday will take its toll even on the best, the day could not start in a more crappy way because we all overslept! I was rushing the kids out the door with their hair un-brushed and their shirts put on backwards but somehow they actually made it in time for the bus.

We only have one car and I am constantly picking someone up or dropping them off and today Freddie needed to go to a meeting close-ish by where we live and we decided that I would take him there. As it turned out this meeting of his was not so close by, it was out in nowhere and at five to ten we still had another 15 minutes to drive before we got there and then I was going back to the warehouse for my workout at 10am. I just had to be realistic about it and realize that it was not going to happen today. I called Laura to spill out my anger and I know it is really silly of me being upset because at the end of the day Freddie’s work is more important than if I make it to the gym or not (believe it or not). Now I am going to pick Mira up from school and then I am going over to Life Time Fitness to run and lift some weights and I am sure I will be in a better mood when I am done 😉

When you think you’ve seen it all

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Malin

I think that anyone that lives on the North Shore of Chicago will to some extent agree it is like living in a bubble, this is not really the real world. There is a lot of very successful people living in this area and every other person that is working out at the gym wears a complete outfit of Lululemon, using their Louis Vuitton as their gym bag and carrying their IPhone 5 in the other hand and no one is thinking twice about it, including me.

I will admit I do care about how I dress in the gym but it is not as important as the clothes don’t bother me during my workout. And ever so often I will go and get a new item but I always try to get a bargain because gym clothes are bl***y expensive.

So today at Lifetime Fitness I had my own personal battle against the cardio machines. I was not in the mood at all for spending an hour listening to the same old boring music from Spotify (so if you have any suggestions on good workout music, I’m all ears) but I surprised myself and did a great workout with high intensity intervals.

I finished at the same time as one of the studio workouts where the majority of who’s attending is women and a few of them have had a totally makeover. I don’t usually wear makeup myself just because I look like a drench cat by the time I’m done and I believe makeup will not do any favors for me.

But I do get that people have been up for hours attending meetings and just having a break from their busy schedule but today I meet a women wearing fake eyelashes reaching to her forehead looking like she was hitting the nightlife of Chicago!!!

Hey…I guess people can do what ever they want but fake eyelashes on a lousy Tuesday morning at the gym, I just don’t get it….

Ginger marinated salmon wok with prawns.

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Malin

I met Laura three years ago when Knut and her oldest went to kindergarten together and ever since we have been very good friends and so have our the kids. As we no longer belong to the same school district the kids don’t get to hang as often anymore but we try to get together so the kids to play and for us to chat over a glass of wine…or a cup of tea these days! So this evening she and the boys came over for dinner and I thought I let her try one of the low carb recipes…

500 grams/1 lbs. salmon

150 grams/5 oz. cooked and peeled prawns

2 scallions

100 grams/3.5 oz. chopped mushrooms

10 cocktail tomatoes cut in half

Chopped spinach

Marinade

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten-free)

½ lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Salt and pepper

Noodles

Chopped cabbage

Soy sauce (gluten-free)

Salt and chili pepper

How to: Start with chopping the salmon in small squares and marinate them in a plastic bag. Fry the mushrooms, scallions and tomatoes till they are soft and put them to the side.

Fry the cabbage and mix in the soy sauce and salt and chili till the cabbage is soft and put it to the side. Fry the salmon in a very hot frying pan till it has a nice browning to them, but not to long so they get dry. Wok the “noodles” and the vegetable together with the prawns and the spinach until the prawns are warm. Serve the noodles with the salmon on top and garnish with a slice of lemon.

A personal note to myself…

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Malin

This morning I texted Laura as she mentioned yesterday she was going to a step-up class over at Lifetime Fitness. The class started at 9am so after I said Goodbye to Knut and Mira I changed into my workout clothes and ran over to the gym. Ever since we got back from our trip this weekend I’ve been ready to work hard but the run over to the gym felt very long. I don’t know if it is because it is 17 C outside and very humid and I am not used to it. It has been forever since I did a step-up class, we talking 6-7 years ago. Being a former gymnast I like to do different routines, especially as you sort of forget how hard it really is as you focusing on what you are doing instead.

step

The instructor was good; she was definitely pushing the class but she did not show the routines before we were suppose to do them. This left me very confused and I probably looked like a lost monkey trying to keep up with the rest of the people who doubtlessly been doing this since the beginning of time. I’m not the type of person who gives up but after 25 minutes I threw in the towel and decided to go for a run instead. This has happened to me before when I decide to tryout a class at the end of the month. The instructor keeps on building the routine throughout the month and everyone who is there consistently knows exactly what to do, except me!

time

Well on the treadmill I decided to do intervals but after one set my legs felt heavy and I knew I would not make it for 40 minutes. I did a flat run for 30 minutes and then finally my legs started to loosen up and I finished off the last 10 with intervals, but I had to fight for it. It is very frustration when your head says GO but your body says NO! run41

Commitment and no excuses!

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Malin

I will admit, I am a time optimist and I am also late to a lot of things. So coming into this day I knew yesterday I would have a lot on my plate today so I decided I would get in to Lifetime early to have my Cardio over and done with. I also love my bed in the morning, so when the alarm went off the desire to stay in bed was beyond tempting and maybe, just maybe I could get my workout in later on today. Then the better sense of me took over and I dragged myself to the gym and I was there by 6.30.

When I get into the locker room still half a sleep and I meet this woman who is coming down from the workout floor and I tell her “Lucky! I wish I was you, already done”. She smiles at me and goes “I got woke up at 4.45 just so I could come before my I day gets busy”.

I look at those people who have the commitment no matter what. They truly inspire me because if it means they have to wake up 2 hours early to workout, they do it and there are no excuses!

Still sleepy I went upstairs I thought I would kick it off on the Stairmaster, taking it slow in the beginning. Yeah right, whom am I kidding, there is nothing easy with the Stairmaster after 20 minutes I was drenched in sweat. The last 30 minutes I spent on an Elliptical I never tried before and I don’t know if it was all the arm workout we put in this week but it was crazy hard and it really got my heart pumping. Now I have sent the kids to school and I am shooting out the door to start my busy day!

Grilled Curry Chicken with Hot and Spicy cabbage wok

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Malin

This evening I got stuck at Knut’s practice and ended up making this dish that was fast and easy and was made up from what I had in the fridge. To be honest I was not sure what my picky eater would think of this but she loved it…Absolutely a winner that I will do again!

1 Grilled whole Chicken

1 tablespoon curry

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon water

Salt and pepper

Chop the chicken into smaller pieces and mix the ingredients for the marinade and let the chicken sit till you are ready to fry it quickly in a frying pan. You don’t have to over cook it has it already is cooked but make sure its warm all the way through.

½ Cabbage

½ chopped Red Chili

1 chopped garlic clove

Salt and pepper

Thin-slice the cabbage with a knife and fry it together with the chili and the garlic till the cabbage is soft and warm. I like it if it gets a little bit of a browning to it.

I served this with spinach, cucumber and tomato. The rest of the family was also served some rice and some soured cream. Next time I will buy some Mango Chutney that I will mix with the soured cream, I think that will marry well with this dish!