Esprit de She Katy 5/10K - Fit Foodie Finishers

snapping pics at the stop light and headed to meet the ladies who signed up to brave the Esprit de She 5 & 10K races with me last night! great times.  it did NOT rain on our parade either, thank God.

no sunshine, but it wasn't unbearably humid either as this SOLD OUT crowd of  gorgeous, fit, ladies gathered in anticipation and excitement. just look at that turn out! there was plenty to do, too. Zumba, healthy snack samples, Yoga, and chair massages & manicures were provided by Lifetime Fitness Lifespa.  this event totally catered to the She.

i arrived early, headed to packet pickup, and ran smack into my friend Alexia and her hubby (he came for support, how sweet!). she is 1 week ahead of me @ 36 weeks preggo and was down to pound the pavement regardless. LOVES IT!  the shirts were a gorgeous purple color this year; it's definitely one of my fave race tanks (racerback always rules in my world) that i will be hitting the gym in for sure.  also, because i registered early (big surprise there :o ), i was able to personalize my bib. coolness.

the Esprit de She ambassadors got a group email going a few days before the race and decided to meet up for a pre-race photo under the Athleta tent.  did it happen? i couldn't tell ya lol, but i was there and looking around for the other ladies. Landi found me, and then we somehow found Jennifer.  nice meeting you gals <3

my friend Eshé (top L) has been taking my gym classes since i started teaching at 24 HF eons ago! she is now a Lifetime member and is training for another triathlon later this year.  she showed the 10k who was boss last night!!! so proud of her and she looks fantastic.   Alexia and i (top R) received SO MUCH bump love!! i was truly proud to represent for the fit preggo moms out there with her, you already know.  way to GO, Alexia.  we ran into my crazy-sock wearing fitness buddies Ros (Zumba instructor extraordinaire)and Karen on the way to the start line (bottom L pic) :) lastly, i finally got a pic with my Soror, Ayesha!  she's a fellow Coog, blogger, and Esprit de She Ambassador as well.

before and after!

as Alexia and i wrapped up our final mile, a woman who was driving by in her truck slowed down (and shouted over a/her child in the passenger seat) 'you're pregnant? and running? why??' and sped off! my response? why NOT!? :?: i should have shouted to her to follow me on Instagram. lol. if she only knew :P

i know a lot of mommies-to-be that aren't able to run at this stage of the game as the weight and pressure of the fetus is pretty high.  however, we used common sense, checked on each other constantly, and alternated between jogging (when we felt like it) and power-walking to get through the 5k.  mission accomplished!

post-race, you KNOW what i was lookin' for and where i can always be found- by the fuel!  believe it or not, the line on the right was for the free bubbly LOL!  i was so happy to just walk right up and get my southwest chicken wrap(S) and salad that were provided by the always healthy and delicious Lifetime Cafe.

i had a rockin' time and hope to return next year. with or without a baby bump ;)

HAPPY EARLY MOTHERS' DAY <3

le

knock, knock

it's me. so if i'm going to be a nationally known blogger, i might need to blog then, huh. hi. my head is spinning with a full to-do list all day every day and i can't even begin to tell you how much i miss blogging consistently!  even though i haven't blogged consistently since i started :lol: anyway, i have given my all to these ebooks for the past few months and i am sick of them!! i'm waiting on one last mandatory piece to this puzzle before i put these bad boys on out there. i do thank you sincerely for being so patient with me.  if you've been with me for a while, you know how me and the balance thing goes...  i'm still growing, learning, and getting better.  i'm not even gonna attempt to try to play catch up with yall this time smh, but hopefully you've been following me on Instagram and keeping up with me there!

and if you are, then you would've  seen my 1000th photo!!! like you haven't seen all of these photos at one time or another :roll: they're just all in one place now for this nice little transformation collage.

what's new?  the Fit Foodie Finisher silicone bands are finally IN. i am super pleased at the way they turned out!  they serve as a token of appreciation for each person that commits to run with me, and hopefully they serve as a reminder to keep up the running habit.

the Esprit De She 5k went down this past Thursday night juuuust before the rain storm moved on in. it was super humid at 6pm but that's Houston for ya.   it was a great turn out despite the weather and it being their very first year!  this brings the Fit Foodie Finisher's total to 40k for 2013 so far. AWESOMENESS.

during my last visit to Walmart, i went extract crazy on accident-  i just kept seeing different flavors i wanted to try!  i got coconut, strawberry, lemon, butter, almond, vanilla, maple, and raspberry. after i got home, someone posted an IG pic of peanut butter extract. i would have gotten that too had i seen it.  anyway i've been trying them in my recipes:

i tried the strawberry extract in yesterday's bowl of oats.  i cooked them in water, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, cinnamon, and stevia, then topped them with fresh strawberries.  Chiso ate that UP!

divine.

next, i tried some of the maple extract in those cakes up there. this recipe is featured in my ebook!  maple banana oatbran pancakes...and check their stats:

245 cals - 4g fat - 10g fiber - 12g natural sugar - 16g protein

so this pic got a lotta IG love, wow! i'm as excited about this super healthy, low-calorie, sweet potato pizza crust as you are.

i topped my pizza with low sodium pizza sauce, yellow and orange mini peppers, cilantro, zucchini, extra lean ground chicken, and jalapeno jack almond cheese.

and ate the entire thing, solo.

did i EVER picture myself  as a published author? heck no!  but when you follow your passion and do what truly makes your heart happy, that's when the magic happens.  this book is just one of the many doors health and fitness has opened for me... i'm extremely excited, nervous, yet READY for whatever the future holds!  THANK YOU for reading, supporting, and being apart of my journey.

le

green 6.2

after a restful friday night, i woke up Saturday ready to take on the Green 6.2 with a few Fit Foodie Finisher friends:

Ijeoma Ikechi

Ijeoma Okoli

  Ijeoma Ugoezi

YES, 3 Ijeomas ;)

they did their thing!!! so happy they were able to come out and run for the cause!  i enjoyed hanging out and learning more about them, and i look forward to growing our team.  i love the way fitness brings people together!!! the Houston humidity was present as always, but there was no rain and the temperature was perfect.

obviously i missed the thumbs-up memo, whoops.  there were a ton of vendors at the post-race party held in the City Centre courtyard.  we refueled with bagels, bananas, muffins, and water.

there was also a kids 1k as well- look at little Superman!

i cannot WAIT to do that with Chiso!!! it was the cutest thing EVER.  the kids were all so happy to just run!

'

after getting home a little later, i finally got to make my REAL breakfast, even if it was late afternoon!  i had fun fetti birthday cake pancakes (minus the fun fetti) and topped them with regular PB2 and fresh sliced strawberries. (recipe derived from GoSuperSisters)

light and fluffy pancakes

the stuff:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbs nonfat greek yogurt
• 2 packets stevia
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

do this:

mix the dry with the dry, and wet with the wet.  slowly add the dry into the wet until combined.  batter will be THICK! cook them up on a medium heated griddle until golden brown on both sides.

i put all entries (Facebook fan page, blog post commenters, IG (Instagram) reposts) into my random name picker app and it spit out these guys:

@raceylee109 - Tracey Spicuzza

@cboutarfa92 - Courtney Boutarfa

@gorgeouswifey - Brandy McGhee

@karoniepooh - Karone Roger

@cecelisimon - Cecelia Simon

i'll be sending out their precious Fit Popcorn bags today, whoop!  i thank each of you ladies for participating and spreading the word about this giveaway.  i am so honored to be able put smiles on their faces, especially via free, healthy, FOOD!

le