Mastering the 'mill.

I'm back to running all of my mid-week runs on the treadmill. And last week I even had to run one of my weekend runs on the 'mill. Better than nothing.

Fortunately, after a few weeks of not feeling my groove at all, I've found it. In fact, last week I felt like I was the Master of the 'Mill. 

My runs have been varied -- fast 5 milers, easy 4 milers, tempo runs of 7+ miles. And, of course, intervals and pick-ups because they are my favorite ways to pass the miles on the 'mill.

If you need any treadmill inspiration, I'll remind you of my favorite workout:

I love this one!

Enjoy. It really is a good workout!

Do you have a favorite treadmill workout?

Thanks for stopping by -- have a good week!

~ Felice

Wordless Wednesday

Chili

July 2001 -- December 2012

You were a good cat . . . we'll miss you!

~ Felice

Getting oaty with Nairn's!

I love a good snack. And healthy snacks that taste good? Well, what's not to love there?

Which would explain why I really enjoy Nairn's oat cookies. Healthy, tasty, snacky. I'm in.

I didn't even know about these tasty little things before I was invited to try them out. I was sent a box of the stem ginger cookies and one of the mixed berries and I like them both. My son, the younger one, favors the mixed berry cookies. I, on the other hand, am all about the stem ginger.

And let me tell you: If you like ginger, get yourself a box of the Nairn's stem ginger cookies. Enjoy them in all of their not-too-sweet but full-of-ginger glory. Then, if you want to kick it up a notch, treat yourself to one of these concoctions:

Yes, my friends, that is Nutella spread on the stem ginger cookies. And it is heavenly.

Spicy ginger. Crispy cookie. Chocolate-y goodness. Heavenly.

Try it out.

Each stem ginger cookie has 43 calories, .7 grams of protein, .5 grams of fiber and 6.7 grams of carbohydrates.

Now, the question: Would I buy these with my own money? Yup. Sure would. Not all the time, because I do prefer homemade cookies to packaged ones. But, I can tell you I'm not baking up stem ginger cookies anytime soon so, yeah, if I needed a ginger fix I'd buy these for sure!

Have you ever tried Nairn's cookies? 

They have a whole line of gluten-free foods as well -- have you tried any of those? I'm interested in checking them out!

If you'd like more information on Nairn's products, visit the Nairn's web site.

~ Felice

Review disclosure: I was sent two boxes of the cookies to review but was not otherwise compensated and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

November recap.

November was a month of re-focusing for me. August, September and October were so up-and-down for me. Although I ran half marathons in September and October, I didn't run much in the weeks after each of them. So, my mileage was down.

I just needed to be consistent again. And that is what happened in November: I was much more consistent, with every week a 20+ mile week.

Sure, I need breaks now and then but I've learned a few things about myself and one of those things is that I run my best and feel my best when I am running consistently. One other thing I've learned is that trying to do a plank every day is waaaaaaaay too much pressure for me. The pressure of having to do planks has completely turned me off and I think I did a grand total of 3 all month. I believe in them, however, so from  now on I plan to do them when I feel like it -- shooting for at least twice a week. We'll see how that goes!

Anyway, here's a look at my month of November:

Running (miles): 87.8
Races: 1 -- the Valatie Veteran's Day 5K, where I set a new PR! (22:18)
Cross training (sessions): 4
Planks: 3

Love that new PR!

Now: Welcome, December! I kicked the month off with 5+ miles on Saturday and 3.5 on Sunday. In between, I enjoyed a fun night out with two great friends (and our husbands):

And capped-off the weekend with a birthday dinner for my dad last night.

Great way to start the month!

How was your November? Do you have big plans for December?

Have a great week, everyone!

~ Felice