After a weekend full of celebrating (!!!) hearty food, lots of beer, ice cream, and pumpkin pie fudge, I felt ready to get back to my more normal way of eating today. I loaded up on many of my standard healthy eating favorites yesterday.

Oats for breakfast, Love Grown granola and Larabars for snacks, egg sandwich for lunch, and quinoa for dinner. Delicious!

I also felt really antsy to get in a workout. My legs were no longer sore, but I knew I needed to hold off on a run, so spin class it was!

I planned to take it really easy, but I should have known that my favorite instructor would pull more out of me. I actually credit her a lot with increasing my cardiovascular and my leg endurance during her tough workouts. She never fails to take me past my comfort zone. I truly think spin class helps my running. And I’m not just sucking up because she reads the blog either.  Hi, Sophie!!!

As always, it felt so great to get right back to the normal go of things. I keep way more motivation that way and I know it’s all part of maintaining my healthy habits. Which I am all about, especially during this time of the year with the numerous events and celebrations that happen.

Last week, I had the chance to sit in on a video chat with Bahar Takhtehchian, the senior associate health editor for SHAPE magazine.

Bahar shared lots of tips on remaining healthy during the holidays, including some of my favorites:

• When you know you will have a heavier dinner out, make sure to choose healthier options during the day.
• Focus on satiating foods that include fiber, protein, and healthy fats – such as some almonds and an apple – for snacks before big meals out, so the chance of overeating decreases.
• Get in whatever activity you can, because even 20 minutes can go a long way!
• Splurge on the things you can’t get throughout the year. If it’s not special, is it really worth it?
• Remember positive mantras like “Do I want a moment on the lips, or to take care of my body for a lifetime?” <—or something like that 

I really enjoyed the chat. It covered many ideas I already knew, but it never hurts to reinforce good habits and gain that extra bit of motivation before such a busy and food laden time of year.

In fact, SHAPE magazine and Fiber One (the sponsor of the chat) have teamed up to help YOU as well. One lucky winner will receive:

• a one year subscription to SHAPE magazine
• a yoga mat
• a stability ball
• a water bottle
• a pedometer
• Fiber One brownies

As usual, there are two ways to enter:

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment on this post sharing either: how you stay healthy during the holidays OR your favorite snack for on-the-go.

Optional Extra Entry: Share this giveaway via any of the share options at the bottom of the post. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.

Giveaway will end this Thursday at 10 PM EST. Winner announced on Friday (promise! and remember to check if you won the Champion giveaway). No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

Good luck!!!! Can’t wait to read all your tips! 

 

In case you’re just now getting the chance to catch up, I thought I would clue you in on the awesomeness that was this weekend:

• The Day Before – getting myself psyched up for the race
• One Fine Day – enjoying all of Savannah on Friday
• I Did It!!! – Savannah Rock N Roll Half Marathon recap

And you better believe the fun didn’t stop there. I had to celebrate such a great experience! In other words, I had to eat some good food and drink some beer.

After crossing the finish line, I went off to find Peter and then headed over to the party area to eat a banana, gulp down two water bottles, stretch out my sore legs, and grab my free beer. Totally understandable for shortly after 10 am, right?

We hung out for awhile in the sun trying to warm up a smidge and listening to Carolina Liar perform.

Don’t think I have heard of them before, but I liked their music well enough.

Eventually my hunger started kicking in, so Peter and I got up to walk around and find a place to eat. Don’t ask me how my legs managed to walk around for an hour before finally setting on The Distillery for lunch.

The Distillery was my kind of place…

Although I don’t hate on the Blue Moon.

Immediately after getting seated I asked the waitress for a recommendation on what to order for a drink. You all know I crave beer hard core after long runs and I had no shame in getting another. She asked if I liked coffee and then recommended the Founder’s Breakfast Stout for a beer.

It did in fact taste very similar to coffee! I sipped it over the course of my meal, in between huge gulps of water. I was thirsty! And hungry.

I ordered the Savannah chicken salad which included fried chicken, caramelized onions, sweet potato fries, tomatoes, cheese, and mixed greens. The interesting combination worked really well. I loved the caramelized onions on it!

Once we finished lunch I wanted nothing more than to head back to our hotel room for a nap, which is just what we did. As soon as I got back in the room, I tossed on some pajamas and crashed in bed for a couple of hours. I probably could have slept even more, but had an important date with some super awesome friends to get to.

Paula, me, Julie, Michelle, Allison, Meghann, and Katy

We met up at the Moon River Brewing Company, a haunted pub in downtown Savannah, for a celebratory dinner.

Paula and Michelle had run their first full marathons. Allison had run her second marathon and killed it. Julie had rocked out a sub 2 hour race. Katy came back strong in this race after some injuries earlier this year. And Meghann helped her brother Ben achieve an amazing PR in the full. We all had great days and deserved a fun night on the town!

Which, of course, included another beer. Call me a lush if you want, but a few beers over the course of an entire day ain’t no thing!

This time I went very “hoppy” with a Swampwater IPA. Loved every sip!

Although, not as much as I loved all the conversation!

For my dinner, I ordered the only thing that sounded perfect. A big burger!

The black and blue burger with some fries. It wasn’t the best one in the world (slightly dry), but I didn’t complain. I had reached the super-hungry stage of post-race and devoured 3/4 of my plate. Only 3/4 because I had to save room for the second part of our blogger date.

Love you Meghann for the funny pose for my picture! And the action shots from everyone else. Can you tell we like our ice cream?   

For the record, if you ever go to Savannah, you must get Leopold’s ice cream. Unbelievably creamy and delicious!

Sadly, from there, we had to all head our own ways and say goodbye. The night (heck – the entire weekend!!) flew by way too fast. It certainly was a fantastic experience. How could it not be? A weekend away with my husband. Killing my first half marathon. And fun with great friends. That’s a weekend to remember and the perfect way to celebrate.

Speaking of celebrating – I never announced the Champion Sports Bra giveaway winners. Guess I shouldn’t have said I would over the course of a traveling weekend. Please forgive me! Now, without further ado, the winners for the Champion Sports Bras (using the random number generator from random.org) are:

#154 – Liz @ Little Bitty Bakes and #98 – Heather @ Better With Veggies !!!! Congrats! Please email me so we can get you all squared away!

• What’s the last thing you celebrated? How do you like to celebrate?