Balance & Spice

Speedwork Jitters

For the past two weeks, I’ve been slightly dreading today.

It’s our first day of…SPEEDWORK! (dun-dun-DUN!!)

We’ve been really enjoying our long, slow, runs. I knew it would have to come to an end eventually (after all, our run plan has us with a projected finish of 2:03, with a pace of 9:25, which will be rather difficult to achieve if all our runs are 11:10 pace!) But still, speed work scares me. I’ve always thought of myself more as a Clydesdale than a thoroughbred, and never had a problem with that. “Fast” running freaks me out.

We were supposed to do it yesterday, and wimped out to take a day off.

So, we’re doubling up today. We did NROLFW 1B, and I’m definitely getting stronger! I went from a 10kg deadlift to 17.5kg in three weeks! Exciting, right?

Now, for tonight…

Our speed-work workout:

.5 mile easy warm-up

1600 at 9:10

800 easy jog

1600 at 9:10

800 easy jog

.5 mile cool-down.

We’re planning on going tonight at around 4:30…along the beach! More on that later.

Breakfast is my new favorite thing – Chocolate Peanut-Butter Raspberry Overnight Oats! Which, from now on, will be labelled ONO, as I eat them EDD (every damn day.)

I take my normal ONO, and top it with carob powder, Fitnutz, and frozen berries. Delicious, nutritious, and done! overnight oats

Overnight oats with berries

This weekend, we’re pet-sitting for Anthony’s cousins. They’re getting married next year – so exciting!

Our charges are the adorable Cookie, a guinea pig, and Jet, a two year old Bull Mastiff mix.

Jet

Is he the cutest?

Jet

The rest of our weekend involves studying, vegging on the couch, and working on the porch…

Can’t wait!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: breakfast, running

Day Time Dates

10 May By Kat Reiner Leave a Comment

In a few short days, Anthony goes back to work (yay, Anthony and his new job!) and our six months of non-stop together time comes to an end. While I’m so happy for him and his new opportunities, I’ll also miss him like crazy.

To celebrate his new job and each other, we had a lovely day-time date today.

We started with a workout

of a 3 mile run at 11:10 pace. It was actually cold in Brisbane this morning, and I felt my legs struggling to warm up. We did though, and it felt great.

Breakfast

Was a gorgeous raspberry and banana smoothie with egg protein. I am starting to experiment with using Anthony’s awesome camera for food photos, but unfortunately, I haven’t quite figured out or had the time to get them on my computer. So, it looked basically like this, except purple.

Then, we headed into the city.

After running a few errands, we headed to Grill’d, an artisanal burger place.

Grill’d makes beautiful 100% grass fed beef and lamb burgers, as well as chicken burgers, veggie burgers, salads, etc. They also have a stellar drinks menu, which I’d love to indulge in on an evening date!

We started with pasture-raised lamb meatballs dipped in hummus. They were a perfect bite size portion, and were drool-worthy.

Then, I ordered the Simply Grilled without a bun, which was a grass fed beef-burger served atop salad greens. I got extra pickles, beets, and mustard.

My only complaint was the ridiculous amount of mayo-relish it came with. I thought of relish as the pure green stuff, and this was just mayo. I ended up scooping it all out, but I felt like it contaminated my lettuce. The burger, however, was great. A thin patty, perfectly charred, but because of the grass-fed nature, it tasted really gamey, just the way I like it.

Anthony got a chicken burger called the Tuscan delight and a snack sized fries. I may or may not have had a fry…two.

I like the little touches Grill’d does to make it feel really classy, like a pitcher of water with ice, lime, and a strainer.

After lunch, we headed to Strike Bowling Bar for two games of 10-pin!

Ant decided to be super romantic and rent the entire alley for just the two of us, so we could have some alone time!

Just kidding. We’re just the only people dorky enough to bowl at 12:30 on a Tuesday. However, because no one else was there, we were free to be total goof balls.

The game was filled with incredible highs…

And ridiculous lows.

All in all, our games could have used some improvement.

But we had a blast, which is all that matters.

Dinner

Was steamed veggies with avocado upstairs with Ant’s fam. So nice to relax and not cook!

Sweet dreams, all!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: dates, dinner, smoothie, workouts

Labor Day Blues or How to Adjust to A Brand New Country

6 May By Kat Reiner 1 Comment

Ever had one of those days where you wake up, feel good, stretch, do your morning thing, and then realize that you are, in fact, 10,000 miles away from home, in a brand new country filled with utterly friendly but totally different people, in a town in which you get lost on the way to the grocery store, with a car that drives on the ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT SIDE OF THE ROAD?!

No?

Well, that’s today so far for me. Adjusting isn’t easy, mates. (See, the Australian vernacular is already slipping in.) Today is Labor Day in Australia, so it’s a public Holiday. Here in Brisbane, that means most things are closed. Anthony and his dad went off to do some photography together, and I chose to stay home and ~~blog~~ study.

Reading over my past month’s posts, I feel like I haven’t been very honest. If I just showed up to the blog as a person thinking about moving around the world, I’d think it sounded pretty great.

It is pretty great. Anthony’s family, friends and loved ones have been absolutely incredible, welcoming, and warm. The weather’s beautiful. It’s relaxed and easy going. It’s just great.

It’s also the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Hands down.

I cry almost daily. Not so much so that it gets in the way of my life or what I do, but enough that it’s a strain on me and on Anthony. Some days it’s all I can do to get out of bed. Adjusting to a new environment is so very hard. Even moving from 108th street to 103rd was difficult. Multiply that by a trillion, and that’s about how my heart is feeling now.

So, what do I do to adjust?

I do yoga. Yoga keeps me where my feet are.

I try to be a little easier on myself. When I find it hard to focus on a task, instead of beating myself up, I’ve tried to give myself a little break to just be.

I let myself cry.

I skype my family. Skype is a miracle worker.

I look at pictures of cute puppies.

I’ve found something to occupy my time, since finding a teaching job is slow-going at the moment. If you haven’t heard of Academicearth.org, go there. I’m taking a programming class through Stanford that is free and one of the most fascinating experiences of my life.

I read other people’s blogs.

I run.

I ask Anthony for a snuggle.

I ask Ebony for a snuggle.

I have faith in my partner, in my family, in my Higher Power, in my friends, and in myself that we will all be ok. That even though it feels utterly impossible right now, it will get easier. That when it’s time, we’ll go back or go somewhere in between.

Like Maui. Or San Diego. Or Palo Alto. (Noticing the weather theme?)

That until then, we are here, at this moment in time, and we are so lucky to have each other and be with family.

So, if you’re thinking of moving, or have moved, hang in there. As they say in the movies, “It’ll all be all right in the end. So, if it’s not all right, it’s not the end,”

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Still Love Markets

6 May By Kat Reiner Leave a Comment

Ant and I explored a ton of markets around Europe, and had an awesome time. However, here in Brisbane, there are a number of really cool markets that are a blast to explore.

This morning, after our workout

(a 4 mile run, baby! Our first – at 11:21 pace) we met up with our friend Lachlan for breakfast. I had a lovely plate of two fried eggs, 1/2 a gluten-free pita, tomato, and mushrooms. It was delicious. Lachlan had scrambled eggs and Australian bacon, which is much more similar to American ham. I’ve never seen it before, but it sure was tasty!

Afterwards, we went to the Ascot Markets, which are held near the Ascot race course. It was such fun to meet the vendors and see the unique, local wares.

First, we met the lovely lady from Gee Spot Wines, a local winery whose specialty is to make infused wines with things like ginger and honeysuckle. They were totally yummy, and didn’t feel at all awkward to swizzle before noon.

Other finds were olives, museli, and really yummy tea.

Such a fun way to spend a Sunday morning. Now, we’re vegging on the couch, working and doing puppy research. Such fun.

Happy Sunday!

Filed Under: Balance & Spice, Food, Recipes, and More!

Secret Diaries of a Call Girl

3 May By Kat Reiner 2 Comments

Has anyone ever seen this show? It’s my guilty pleasure.

Between studying, writing, and cooking, having a bit of indulgence of the silly and adorable is quite a nice break.

Speaking of studying, I’m excited to say that I’m going back to university!

I’ve decided to study Software Development. It’s been a long and windy road, but it feels like the right choice for me. I’ve wanted to go back to University since I graduated USC, and while I was probably expecting I’d go to graduate school and not getting a second bachelors, it’s quite a change in direction and I’m really excited!

Workout

We did a 3 mile run. We did our normal route backwards, which was a huge challenge. The hills are shorter, but around 10% steeper, and boy, did we feel it! I really am learning to love running, and I’m so grateful.

Yesterday, we went to look at Griffith University, in Nathan, about an hour drive from where we currently are staying.

The campus is gorgeous – right in the middle of the Bush (rain forest-ish) and very nice.

However, after talking to a few people and attending the lecture, I realized it wasn’t for me. While everyone seemed nice, the program seems more trade oriented than academically AND trade -oriented, and what can I say? I’m a girl who loves me some academia! So, on to the next choice. We’’ll see what happens, but some very cool opportunities are in the works.

To celebrate coming to some decision, we decided to indulge in Gluten Free Pizza from Pizza Capers.

Pizza Capers is a gourmet pizza chain all over Brisbane. We ordered a gluten-free vegetarian pizza to share.

This was one of the best gluten-free pizzas I’ve ever had, possible even on par with my beloved Papadelle.

It was loaded with tomatoes, mushrooms, red onion, olives, capsicum, and pineapple. I never imagined I could like pineapple on a pizza, but it was delicious. Trying new things, right?

Anthony liked it as well.