StrideBox GIVEAWAY & Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a weekend full of friends and miles PLUS I have a StrideBox Giveaway!

Saturday:

All of my long runs start with coffee.

My Fleet Feet CMM group ran their second 20 miler for this training season and they finished strong!  Obviously I love running with this group!

I refueled with a giant bowl of steel cut oats topped with peaches that my Gran canned last summer.  🙂

We had a wine tasting that night, so I put together a hostess gift.  I LOVE giving presents and these single serving bottles of prosecco are so much fun!

I am really digging these Stella and Dot bracelets.

Our friends Roy and Dar hosted a wine tasting at their home.  Everyone that attended was assigned a small dish to bring that would pair with one of the wines.  They even managed to include our Ultra Dirtbag logo throughout the night.

We were assigned to bring a cheese plate.  I could eat this whole thing and call it dinner, but I shared. 🙂

The table settings were perfect!

And of course, it doesn’t get better than the company of good friends.

My favorite quote from the night…

Sunday:

First in the gym!

Really proud of my run…a) because I ran 20 miles the day before.  b) I drank my fair share of wine at the tasting!

I had the most wonderful brunch at Margot Cafe!  Strawberry crepes with peanut butter banana sauce.

And the part you’ve been waiting for…a 1 month free StrideBox Giveaway!

StrideBox is a monthly delivery of running products and accessories. Each month, as a member, you will receive a curated box of apparel, accessories, and nutrition products to fuel your training sessions, workouts, and races.  This is the picture I took from my March box!

To enter:

1.  Follow JenChoosesJoy and Stridebox on Instagram.

2.  Tag 3 friends on my giveaway post.

That’s it!

One entry per person.  Winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, March 29th at 11:59pm.

Do you subscribe to any box delievery services?  I get a local box called Batch.  I’m also in the Picky Club.

What’s your favorite type of wine?  I love Champange and Pinot Noir…oh and Rose in the summer!

How was your weekend running?  Race or long run?

Peak?  Wine tasting with friends.

Pit? Feeling so tired when I woke up early Sunday morning to run (after a little too much wine)!

#choosejoy

Sunday Funday and MantraBand GIVEAWAY

Saturday:

I headed out to pace my Fleet Feet CMM training group for 18 miles.  Everyone had a strong run and it was even warm enough to wear shorts!!!

For breakfast after our run, I had a big bowl of steel cut oats, nuts, seeds, and strawberries.

It was a rainy day and I wanted to walk a bit, so Jason and I went to the mall.  I don’t usually shop at Bath and Body Works, but they had an entire beach scented display that was calling my name.

They are marketing geniuses!  I wanted 2 lotions, but left with 5 lotions and 2 candles!  The cold dreary weather obviously has me craving a beach vacation.

Sunday:

Early morning gym and run with Jason…in shorts and a tank!!!!

The weather was so lovely that we just had to have dinner on a patio!

Sunday Funday for the win!

Just because this makes me happy:)

GIVEAWAY time!!!  I am a big fan of MantraBands and I’m so excited to give away a CHOOSE JOY bracelet in your choice of silver, gold, or rose gold!

To enter: Follow me on Instagram (@jenchoosesjoy) and tag 3 of your friends that bring you JOY.  It’s that easy!

Winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, March 22nd.

Tell me about your weekend running/racing!!

Peak? The warmer weather and Sunday sunshine!

Pit? I’ve been a little warn out and running motivation has been tougher.

Do you shop at Bath and Body Works?  Do you end up buying more than intended?! 

#choosejoy

February Miles and My Weekend Wrap-Up

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Here’s my Weekend Wrap-Up:

Saturday’s Mood:

I was so excited to meet up with my Country Music Marathon Group for their first 20 miler of this training season!

Great minds think alike, because Jenn and I showed up in matching outfits!

Is this the longest route sheet you’ve ever seen?  Too funny!

This group makes 20 miles so fun!

My Rock n Roll Tour Pass showed up in the mail!!  My 2015 race calendar is starting to feel real…eek!

Don’t forget to use code: JENCHOOSESJOY (all caps) to save $15 off ALL Rock n Roll Marathons and Half Marathons!!

As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I’m working with Ah Ha Creative to update my little blog.  Amy (the owner) sent me the perfect surprise in the mail.  She gets me. 🙂

Sunday:

I hopped on the treadmill for 7 early morning shakeout miles.  First at the gym!

Fave treadmill song of the moment….Uptown Funk!

I met up with J for breakfast.

Apparently Jimmy Fallon and I had the same weekend plans.  No spoilers.  I’m still watching, but Season 3 of House of Cards is really good!!

Oh, and my girlfriend Shyla sent me this gem!!!  How do we make this happen?  Runners unite.  Let’s form a Chipotle team!

And lastly, another month is in the books.  It feels so good to be back to my regular run schedule!!!

February Miles: 330

YTD: 547

Did you race or long run?  Share!!

House of Cards?  Did you binge watch it?

Were most of your February Miles outside or on the treadmill?

#choosejoy

What was in my Sephora boxes?

Wednesday:

I started the day with a crepe date at the Perch.

And met my friends at Percy Warner Park to run.  Unfortunately the park was still too icy, but we still managed run an 8 miler.

I stopped by Fleet Feet after our run to pickup my new Adidias Ultra Boosts!  I was itching to try out my new shoes, so instead of driving home I stopped for a 3 mile run.

For dinner, I made Glazed Cauliflower Wings…yum!

Thursday:

Fleet Feet and Adidas were kind enough to host an Adidas Boost Ultra Boost Demo Run (say that 10 times fast!) for the Brentwood Breakfast Club.

Runch Bonus Miles!

For dinner, we had Saladworks.  Stay tuned for a gift card GIVEAWAY!!!

FriYAY!

The new season of House of Cards dropped on Netflix…bring on the binge watching!!!

It’s also National Chili Day!  Click the link for my favorite Vegetarian Quinoa Chili recipe.

Long run prep… (I swear there’s pasta in there somewhere!)

Caramel Macchiato Gu, Hot Hands, Brooks Safety Vest, Nathan Ranger Convertible Mitts, Picky Bar, Garmin 620, Nespresso Vertuoline.

And, I posted earlier this week about the stack of boxes left on my front porch by UPS after the ice storm.  A bunch of folks asked what I had ordered from Sephora.  I’ve been wearing my hair naturally curly lately and need some products to tame the mane!

Here’s the skinny (from L to R): Bb Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Conditioner, Bb Hairdresser’s Invisidble Oil, Sultra Bombshell 1-inch Curling Rod, Anastasia Brow Pen, Redken Quick Tease, Clinique All About Eyes, Boscia Luminizing Black Mask, and Living proof Flex Shaping Hairspray (smells so good!).

That’s it for now.  I hope you have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

What is your weekend running plan?  How many miles?  Racing?

Are you watching House of Cards?

Have you tried the new Adidas Ultra Boosts yet?

#choosejoy

I Regret Nothing

This weekend involved a lot of baking and even more eating!!

 

 

Saturday:

I love the Saturday long run.  Run all the miles.  Eat all the food.

I met up with my Fleet Feet Country Music Marathon Training Group to pace.  This is such a fun group!

My sweet friend Becca was celebrating her 30th birthday!!!!

She requested my Molasses-Spice Cookies so I made a batch for her birthday party.

 

Sunday:

I kicked off the day with this yummy oatmeal breakfast.

I got my first pair of the new Saucony Zealots!!  I’m so excited to test them out this week.  I’ve read a lot of great reviews.

I have started getting in the Valentine’s Day spirit with these Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 

His and Hers dinner at Burger Up.  I’m in love with their Marathon Quinoa Burger and his onion ring tower is legit.

 

And I just put a batch of these Red Velvet and Cheesecake Brownies in the oven.  I’ll have the recipe for these ASAP!

 

Peak and pit?  Peak: celebrating Becca’s 30th!  Pit: My achilles (although pain free) is still feeling creaky.
Did you watch the Grammys?  I have it on right now!
Do you change up your shoes or stick to one type and model?  I am very loyal to the Saucony Kinvara, but love trying new shoes.  Aren’t we always in search of the “magic shoe?”

#choosejoy

Coffee on a Camel

I drink my Monday coffee on a camel.  Don’t you?

With coffee in ‘toe’, let’s catch up!  Sorry…couldn’t resist a camel toe joke.  What’s wrong with me?!

Thursday

After a week off, I was so excited to run with the Brentwood Breakfast Club!  I’ve been using the heating pad before runs to loosen up my achilles.

6 miles without any pain.  We had lots of talk about ‘Sassy Pants’ on our run!

and breakfast afterwards with these awesome friends!

I also had another PT session with Leah at ProMotion for some more ASTYM treatment.  It’s really helping me!  As I ease back into running, Leah has me on an every other day schedule.

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I’m addicted to Organic Girl Lettuce.  I now buy it by the case.

For dinner, I made homemade tomato soup with cauliflower crust cheese sticks…so good!  I’ll post the recipe soon.

Friday

RUNEMZ had this Virginia Woolf quote on her IG page…love it!  She won 1st female in the Coldwater Rumble 100-miler this weekend.  What an inspiration!!

I hit up the gym to spin and lift.  It took me a while to notice that the bike mileage got stuck, so I’m not 100% sure how far I ran.

Came home to another encouraging post-it:)

Jason and I set down for dinner to look over plans for my blog…SO EXCITING!!

Friday night coffee prep means that I finally get to go for a Saturday morning long run!!!

Saturday

I paced the Fleet Feet Country Music Marathon 4 hour training group for their long run.  My heart was SO happy and I didn’t have any Achilles pain…woo hoo!!

Also it snowed!!

And there was a little (ok, maybe a lot) of ice, but no one fell!  They did however rap!

Fleet Feet passed out our new training shirts…so cute!

Saturday afternoon, our friends were celebrating their daughter’s 2nd birthday!  How cute is this?!!  I was excited to buy Frozen presents.  And, that cupcake was delicious and lasted 30 seconds.

Sunday

I woke up with a sore throat:(

I tried to push through it with the breakfast of champions…

and a gym workout: 21 miles on the bike and weights.

I still felt crappy, so I actually took a nap (crazy!  I actually wrote a post about ‘How to Nap’) and had some soup for lunch.

I’m about to knock myself out with this Mucinex Night Time…hopefully that will do the trick and I’ll feel like a million bucks in the morning:)

Did you race or long run this weekend?  Share!

When was the last time you were sick?  How long did it last?

Did you get any snow this weekend?

#choosejoy

Guess who did a chin up?!!

Thursday:

Breakfast Club!!!  We started the day in the dark…

I was given one of the sweetest, most thoughtful gifts from my friend, CB!!!

 

Side note: I am so grateful for all of the incredible women in my life.  You ladies ROCK!

I went back to PT and agreed that I would take a break from running for the next week:(  Hopefully a little break now will help my achilles heal.

Friday:

23 spin bike miles and I came home to this post-it!  I obviously married my husband for his artistic abilities.

I’ve been a little bummed about my time off from running and he surprised me with these beautiful flowers!!!

I saw the 2015 Boston Marathon jacket.  Appearently, the purple is causing quite a stir!  It could be neon paisley and I would proudly wear it!

I joined the new 2015 Fleet Feet Racing Team for a little mixer.  There’s a whole lot of fast in this picture!!

Charlotte really wants to be on the race team, too:)

Saturday:

25 miles on the bike

And I met some friends at The Frothy Monkey…

after their long run.

For dinner I had this beautiful big bowl of vegetarian Pho!

Sunday:

20 bike miles and oatmeal breakfast with the hubs:)

Sunday dinner of champions…Wine, Veggie Burger Salad, and slice of Chocolate Cake!

I finally got around to creating a facebook page for our Brentwood Breakfast Club!! #BBC  We’ve grown so quickly.  If you’re in the Nashville area, come run with us:)

And the piece de resistance…I did my first full chin up!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do you think about the 2015 Purple Boston Marathon jacket?

Did you enter the New York Marathon lottery or are you speedy enough to get an automatic entry?

Share the Pit and Peak of your weekend!  My Pit: Not running. My Peak: Ummm, hello…doing my first chin up!!

#choosejoy

Non-Fitness Facts

I’ve been tagged a few times on Instagram to post 5 Non-Fitness Facts about me.  Sorry it’s taken me a minute to do it:)

1.  I play the violin and started studying when I was 4.

2.  I can’t stand mint desserts.  It tastes like chocolate with toothpaste on top.  Gross.

3.  I am a Sci-fi nerd and waited in line for all of the midnight premiers for The Lord of the Rings.

4.  I eat the same lunch every day when I’m home: mache rosettes with strawberries.  I’ve been eating this for 4 years (since I left my job) and I’m still not tired of it.

5.  I love all things elephants! Also, I sponsor an elephant named Naipoki through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Typing that list just makes me feel like a weirdo!

Alright, moving on…

Wednesday:

Thanks to gbena on IG for sharing this one with me!  One of the best parts about my blog is people sending me quotes about JOY!  It’s even better when they combine JOY and COFFEE!

Crepe with peanut butter, banana, honey, and granola at The Perch!

Gym time…20 miles on the bike with lots of hills.  I read that 20 bike miles is equivalent to running 5 miles.  Is that true?  20 miles on the bike kicks my butt.

Working on my pull-ups by laying on the floor and lifting my body weight.

Decline sit-ups with a 12lb medicine ball.

And, I made this Asian Quinoa for dinner.  Isn’t it pretty?!  I’ll post the recipe shortly:)

And for dessert, I’m still making Chocolate Shakeology.  It really helps my sweet tooth and it tastes great!

Do you have a “healthy” dessert when you’re craving sweets?

Bike to running conversion?  Any idea?  I just want to make sure I’m keeping up my running fitness while I’m healing my Achilles.

Share a non-fitness fact about yourself!

#choosejoy

Five Words Per Picture

Let’s catch up, shall we?!

Monday:
Last beach breakfast French Toast!

MiFi blogging in the car

Soup/Salad post-vacation dinner

Tuesday:
Back on track: Figuratively/ Literally

Juice Bar: best green smoothie!

Icing my cranky Achilles tendon:(

Baked Chobani Blueberry Coffee Cake

Wednesday: 
Crepe date at The Perch

NYE Perfection…Pizza and Champagne!

Thursday:
Empty gym New Year’s morning?!

First sweat of the year!

New Year’s Resolution Run/Breakfast

Showing our Drew Jones love

Generous friends and charity donations

Finally saw Wild…loved it!

Special dinner…Celebrated 3,821 miles!

Friday:  
New Whole Foods discovery: Chuice

Beyonce mug cafe au lait:)

Craving guacamole…this should do!

Gotta love some guacamole humor

Saturday:

Resolution run with Fleet Feet

Rainy weather natural curly hair

Hers…salad.  His…onion rings!

Sunday:
Morning spin session with Jason

Less running equals more weights!!

Country Music Marathon Training Expo

Proof that I love Brooks

Teppanyaki.  Onion volcano.  Fried rice.

Now, I feel like this…

And lastly some wise words…

Is your hair naturally straight or curly?  Do you wear it that way?  Mine’s curly, but I usually straighten it.

What’s the last movie you saw?

Did you go out or stay in for New Year’s Eve?  I loved staying home with pizza and champagne!

#choosejoy

CHOBANI Blueberry Coffee Cake

This coffee cake would be the perfect New Year’s breakfast! It’s made with blueberries, Chobani Greek Yogurt, and has two layers of streusel. The middle streusel melts inside the cake making a gooey cinnamon layer…yum! The top adds the perfect sweet crunch.

Let’s bake!

Start by whisking together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest.

With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar mixture.

Mix in the eggs; one at a time.

Add the plain greek yogurt and vanilla extract.  Mix until combined.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and beat until combined.

Sprinkle your blueberries with 1 Tablespoon on flour and toss to coat.  This keeps the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of your cake.  Then, gently fold them into your cake batter.

Streusel: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Work the butter into the mixture with your fingers or a fork.

Now, you’re ready to assemble your cake.

Add half of your cake batter to the greased 8-inch banking pan.  Sprinkle with half of the streusel filling.

Spoon the remaining batter over the filling.

Top with the remaining streusel and bake for 40-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  I just love the crunchy cinnamon topping!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I used Chobani)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour to coat the blueberries

Streusel Filling and Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 stick unsalted butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set dry ingredients aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar mixture until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beat until smooth. Beat in the Greek yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

4. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.  In a small bowl, sprinkle your blueberries with 1 Tablespoon of flour and toss to coat.  Gently fold in the fresh blueberries.

5. To make the streusel topping and filling, place the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon. Work the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until evenly distributed.

6. Pour half of the coffee cake batter into the prepared cake pan and sprinkle with half of the streusel topping/filling. Spoon the remaining batter over the filling, spreading gently. Sprinkle with the remaining streusel.

7. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Cool to room temperature and serve.

#choosejoy

CHOBANI reached out to me and asked if I’d come up with a recipe for their #MadeWithChobani project.