I’m Back, at least I hope!

After a great vacation, we came home to several bumps in the road.  I typically don’t go so many days in a row without posting, but incident after incident on the home front have taken quite a bit of time out of my day.  I am not one to complain, so please don’t worry.  I guess you could say when it rains, it pours at our house.  With every little setback, we always regroup. We went to Roanoke for the long Memorial Day weekend.  I was born and raised in Roanoke, VA.  It wasn’t until after I graduated from college and moved away from the mountains that I was able to truly appreciate the beauty of my hometown.  After gaining a few pounds over our vacation, we also knew we could get some great workouts in utilizing the greenway and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Saturday morning we woke up and ran the mountain.  The mountain that I am referring to is the one with the Star at the top (if you have ever been to Roanoke, you know what I’m talking about).  From Downtown Roanoke, up the mountain and back is exactly seven miles from the Farmers Market.  For me it is all about finishing.   For my husband, it is all about encouraging.  The inclines are ridiculous.  However, the view is amazing as the sun rises (see above).

After a tough run, we got ready for a family reunion at the farm that my Grandmother grew up on.  The drive tends to make me a little nauseous, but the beauty that both the drive and the farm offer is incredible.  This is real.   Self sustaining.  Green.  Untouched.  Truly beautiful.  It was great to introduce my daughter to so many of my relatives who cannot make the drive to Charlotte to see her.

Let’s talk about food at the family reunion.  This is definitely a cheat day.  Remember that seven mile run up the mountain?  We planned it perfect on a day that we knew we would be consuming ALOT of good food.

Although the entrees and sides are always a hit, the best part about the reunion is the dessert room.  That’s right.  An entire room full of dessert.  A must is the banana pudding.  Something about the way that my older relatives makes this stuff is different than any recipe that I have ever tried.  Or I just can’t quite do it like they do.

I contributed to the reunion by bringing an eclair cake.  Y’all this is EASY and delicious (and can be healthy!).   See picture below.  Prep time is less than 10 minutes.

Ingredients –

• 1 package 3.4 oz vanilla pudding (instant) – use sugar free or regular
•  1 1/4 cup Skim milk
• Graham crackers (you can use low fat here)
• 1 8 oz container of Cool Whip (can be fat free)
• 1 container of chocolate icing (any brand, can be sugar free)

1 –  Line graham crackers around an 8 inch, square pan.

2 –  Mix milk and pudding mix.  Stir cool whip into pudding.  You will need to whisk.  Spread half of mixture over the first layer of graham crackers.

3 – Line another layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.  Spread the remaining pudding mixture over the second layer of graham crackers.

4 – Line a third layer of graham crackers over the second pudding mixture layer.  Take lid and aluminum seal off of the icing tub.  Microwave the icing until it will has melted and can be poured (about 1 minute).  Pour the icing on the top of the last layer of graham crackers.  Spread evenly with spatula.

5 – Place the mixture in the refrigerator over night.

Whew!  We spent the next day walking around downtown checking out Festival in the Park.  After a hard run uphill the day before, my legs needed a day of walking.  As I have said several times in the blog.  RECOVERY is necessary!  Walking is a great way to check out a city.

We did do a quick workout utilizing equipment on the greenway before we rolled out of town Monday.  However, I will save that for a future post.  Since I have been back, the majority of my workouts have been spent at Flywheel.  Over the past two weekends, I have needed several subs, so I am returning the favor this week.  In tomorrow’s post, I will highlight the benefit of indoor cycling in our training (specifically when you are short on time).  I also worked out with the ladies of Lululemon in their first FiA workout.  Can’t wait to share!