monday rewind

Okay guys, we're two days in. How's your new year going?

Mine is off to a hilly and delicious start. Although, if you ask smashrun, it's not a good start since I didn't get that that first heart healthy week...

I'll be sharing my new year's goals in a couple days, but one of them is to run every day. And after reading an article about a sixty-eight year old runner came through my news feed, I'm want to make it a point to run at least a 5K everyday.

This runner had gone out for at least three miles everyday for thirty-six years. THIRTY. SIX. YEARS. He even upped his mileage after he retired, eventually going out for six to eight miles every. damn. day. Back in October, his streak ended when he was hit by a car out on a run. He thankfully survived and is working to get back out and running.

He's going to be how I shame myself into running more than a mile on days I feel like being lazy. Maybe I'll label those runs #robertsmademedoit. 

Tomorrow will be my first day back with my team since mid-December and while I'm looking forward to seeing them again, I'm not looking forward to my alarm clock tomorrow. Ugh.

What are you looking forward to this year? Any big plans or goals? What keeps you motivated and on track? 

Until the next rewind, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

New Year Thoughts

It's almost impossible to believe that another year has flown right by. And almost more impossible to believe that these six months in Germany are quickly coming to an end. I mean, we just got here!

This year has been undeniably amazing. Ryan and I competed in our first triathlons ever. We moved into a bigger apartment two weeks before moving to freaking Germany! Then we explored seven other countries hand in hand.  We drank beer at Oktoberfest, enjoyed crepes in Paris, and watched the wind move windmills in Holland.

Then we watched as an entire city celebrated the coming new year with thousands of fireworks.

As I start this new year off in a country far away from home, I wanted to make sure I wrote down some things to keep in mind. Call them resolutions, call them aspirations, call them whatever you want. Here's what I want to guide me through this year...

Texture: Gold (recolored) Fonts: Linowrite and Sweet Pea

One of the major things I want to focus on is not being a flake. Ryan and I are both flakes and we enable each other. It's terrible. We get invite to parties or hangouts and then we just flake out. It comes down to us being too damn lazy to go or ditching those to hang out just the two of us.

The other major thing I want to focus on is being present. I pull out my phone all. the. time. I check the time. I check instagram. I look at reddit. It's probably my biggest crutch. My goal this year is to either leave it at home or leave it in my bag all night. Whether it's my family, friends, or just Ryan and I, I want to live in that moment with the people I love.

And then, of course, you can't start the new year without some health and fitness goals. One that I didn't write down is tracking what I eat. Starting today. No matter how bad the day is, I want to finish it and then start fresh the next. Here's the rest of my goals...

Texture: Gold (recolored) Fonts: Bikes, Linowrite, and Sweet Pea

What are some of your resolutions for this year? Anything out of the ordinary?

Fitness Flash

Are you guys watching Married at First Sight? I am totally hooked.

I love, love, love Jaclyn and Ryan R. They're the most adorable couple. I know that Jaclyn wasn't all into Ryan at first, but I'm so glad she's on him like white on rice. I love love! Jessica and Ryan D. make me want to bash their heads together. He tries to be funny in a way she doesn't get and she doesn't say anything. HELLO. Communication is key! They both need to get over that hurdle and start gabbing. Davina and Sean are both cry asses. I have a sneaking feeling that they're not going to make it and I feel bad for Sean. Davina doesn't know how to compromise and it's so sad. Like he's a sweet guy. Holy crap, just give a little will ya?!

If I can put up with Ryan's shenanigans, these people can put up with each other. Geesh.

This past week was a rest week in our training plan. We were especially lax, I think. But we did go for a hike around a local island on Wednesday. The weather and sun were perfect. We moseyed but it felt good.

After riding to and from work on Thursday (1 out of 50!), I rode my bike to my first softball game of the year. Which, of course, was awful. We lost something like 28-7. I'm just going to remind myself each game that pitching is not as easy as it looks and I'm much better at right field.

Now that I'm cleared for swimming we added that back in. I was so happy to be back at it. I swear the warm up is the hardest part. The main part of the swim came right back. My technique is a little off but a good base is there.

Last but not least, we had an obligatory run on Sunday. Aaaand it was after about two hours of yardwork. What a joy. Halfway through the run I was psyching myself out and had to stop and walk to catch my breath. I'm going to blame it on the heat.

Here's how the week shaped up...

This is the last month of our training plan. In 26 days, I'll be waking up at the ass crack of dawn to swim 800 meters, cycle 18 miles, and then run three. I'm currently terrified and insanely excited. We've booked the hotel, ordered our triathlon suits, and my multi-sport/activity tracker watch and heart rate monitor are set to arrive sometime next week. I feel like it's just going way too fast. Can we just slow down a bit? Please?

Pretty please?

My 2015 Resolutions

I know, I know. It's February.

People generally have their resolutions together by now. And I did! I do. I've had them for a while.

This year, I'm feeling ambitious. REALLY. Ambitious. I know I mentioned one of my resolutions before. But I have like five other ones on my radar too. And I am really looking forward to the stuff that happens along the way.

Fonts: Sweet Pea, Words of Love, KG The Fighter, Webdings, KG Two is Better Than One, KG Hard Candy Solid, Sorry... We're Closed, YummyCupcakes, and LillyBelle

Clearly they're not going to all happen right away. That's the point though, right? You've got an entire year to check 'em off. With all this snow we're getting in the Northeast, it might be a while before I get to a few of them.

It's shaping up to be a great year though. I can't wait to see what happens next.

2015 Recipe Chase | Apple Chips

This year, I made a resolution to try fifty-two new recipes.

I've gone a little crazy and tried at least a dozen new recipes. So I'm amending my resolution. To finding fifty-two new recipes worth keeping. 

I think that's the best way to expand my list of rotating recipes. Andddd I get to try all these new fancy things. Like apple chips. Who knew they were so fantastic?

They're totally healthy too. I mean apples? Fruit. Lemon juice? Zero calories. Cinnamon? Helps fight the common cold. Brown sugar? Well, that's just delicious.

Apple Chips

Makes: 1 Snack

Prep Time: 15 min          Bake Time: 120 min          Cool Time: 60 min

Ingredients

1 hearty apple (like red or golden delicious)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 220° F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, breaking up the brown sugar as much as possible to fully combine the spices. Pour the lemon juice in a separate bowl. 

3. Using a mandolin (or super awesome cutting skills), thinly slice the apple (1/8" to 3/16" thick).

4. Dip the apple slices in the lemon juice to wet both sides before coating with the brown sugar mixture. You may need to rub the coating to get it to an even appearance.

5. Place the apples on your baking sheet close together but not touching and bake for one hour.

6. Flip the apples and bake for another hour.

7. Remove from oven and let the apples cool in the pan for an hour before handling.

8. Once cooled the slices should have a fruity, leathery texture. They're perfect for snacks and you can store them in tupperware for a few days. (Mine were gone in three so I'm not sure after that!)

Calories: 200

This recipe was inspired by The Italian Dish and Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity.

This is the perfect snack to take to work and make all your coworkers jealous. Unless you share. Then you're their hero and they beg you for the recipe. True story. It happened on Monday.

Don't you want to be a hero? Make these this weekend, you totally won't regret it.