So my ‘Noles are awesome. I really think that’s the best possible way to start this post. I mean, have you seen Jameis Winston???

I know it has been a while since I’ve posted on the old blog. I have been super busy with life, work and other craziness.

Here’s a brief recap:

• I joined an AWESOME workout training group for faculty and staff at Leach, the gym that started it all (I still want to but a plaque next to the first elliptical I used on the second floor that says “anything is possible.”) It’s mostly circuit training with some TRX and cardio thrown in there. I have only done it for three weeks, but I can already see muscle definition in my arms and my clothes are fitting better even though the scale is still in the same region. (More on that in a moment.)

• I’ve been training for the Tallahassee Half Marathon in February. I haven’t done as many races this fall because our Weight Watchers meeting is at the same time most races start. I was a little concerned about where I was physically and where my running was. That was until I beast’d out a 6 miler on Thursday at about a 9-10 min/mile pace. Basically the same pace I was running this time last year. I think that I could have ran more pretty easily, but it was getting dark and I had a hot date waiting for me ;). I’m planning on running the 15k (9.32 miles) Turkey Trot again this year and I’m feeling pretty good about it. I still need to get a few more long runs under my belt, but I think I’ll be in good shape thanks to the cross training I’m getting with my workout group. I also think I’m going to just keep training after the half in February and look at possibly running a full in the spring. Maybe in May, but we’ll see!

• I have been getting ready for Movember. More on that later this week.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Megan and I have already planned out our healthy Thanksgiving meal. It’s not only going be epically delicious, it’s going to be healthy and point friendly! My first Thanksgiving on Weight Watchers was well planned out and actually lost weight that week. The other Thanksgivings haven’t been like that. Time to get back to that healthy mindset. So in the spirit of the season (which at this point it might as well be Christmas according to the stores in the mall. I even Valentine’s Day stuff out at World Market. What the heck????) we made turkey twice this weekend! 

Turkey Meal No.1 Last night, after the Wolfpack beat down had been complete, we got busy smoking! We took a rub recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and modified it.The night before, we rubbed the 2.5 pound turkey breast with a salt and brown sugar mixture, wrapped it in saran wrap and put it in the fridge. The next day, we added some more brown sugar along with some Cooper’s BBQ seasoning. I light up my lump charcoal in my chimney and made two piles of charcoal in the grill. We added a aluminum foil packet of pecan chips on to one side and then put the bird on the grill skin side up. About an hour of low and slow  later, we had some epic turkey. We also put some gouda sausage from Whole Foods on the grill as well. It felt like Texas BBQ! (But I’m ready for the real thing soon…)

Turkey Meal No.2 Skinnytaste strikes again. After church, we seared a turkey breast and then put it in a crockpot along with veggies and other deliciousness. We put it on low and ran our 3k race in the All Saints district in town. It was a blast! Anyway, six hours later, we took it out of the crockpot, made a gravy and then roasted some potatoes. It turned out all kinds of amazing! Basically, Skinnytaste is awesome. End of story.

So that’s about it. I’ll be posting more soon. Things are kind of normalizing, but until then, thanks for reading! See ya later.