A Runner on the Road

This morning, I'm making my way to Seattle. I'm really excited because it's a city I've never been to that I hear has both awesome food and plenty of opportunities to be active outdoors. A combination for greatness, in my opinion.

To make sure I stay active on this trip and also ensure that I don't have to eat crappy buffet breakfasts or packaged doughnuts, I've planned ahead. Besides the standard work clothes and supplies for my event, here's what's in my bag:

• Two complete running outfits


• My armband for my phone


• My Fort2Base Race training plan (which has been lovingly chewed on by Napoleon)


• Workout DVDs, including Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and two Insanity DVDs


• My morning breakfast bites

These healthy oatmeal breakfast bites started as a recipe for oatmeal cookies. When it was abundantly clear to me that they were nothing like cookies, I rebranded these as a breakfast food and decided they totally rock. Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Whisk the remaining wet ingredients together until incorporated, then combine with the wet ingredients. Chill for at least a half an hour.

Using a large metal scoop, portion onto a cookie sheet or into a muffin tin. Using my scoop, this recipe makes 11 portions.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 18 minutes or until the tops are golden. With this recipe, the bites don't really spread out when baking, so you'll end up with a three-bite breakfast that's perfect with a piece of fruit or a yogurt, which I plan to purchase when I get to the Emerald City.

As for my carry on, I've stashed enough reading material for two round trips to Seattle. I've packed away several issues of Bon Appetite, Fitness, Competitor and Shape. I also have a water bottle so I don't end up forking over $4 for a drink at the airport. They get you good there for everything, so hopefully I can avoid all the fees until I get to Seattle. Blog you soon!