A Total Body Weight Workout and a Healthy Muffin Recipe.

This week has already started out on a better note than last week!

Monday I usually take a full rest day, but I decided to add more resistance training to my weekly workouts, so I hit the weights. I really worked up a good sweat, so I thought I'd share:-) 

10 minute warm-up on the elliptical.

Back Extensions 
Ball Crunches 
(3 sets)

Dumbbell Chest Press - 20 lbs 
Supported Row - 20 lbs
(5 sets)

Leg Press - 110 lbs
Standing Shoulder Flexion - 10
(5 sets)

I did 12 reps each time, with no rest in between moves. What a great total body workout! Short, sweet, and to the point. I actually put this together for one of my clients. I hope she likes it as much as I did! 

Can you tell that I love supersets? Why take longer to do something if you don't have to?? 

Tuesday I did an easy 5 miles around beautiful (and crowded) DC @ 8:30 pace. 
**TMI - During my run, I went to blow a snot rocket (don't judge me, it's the best thing about running outside) and totally blew snot ALL over my iPhone arm band. SO crappy. The same thing usually happens if I try to spit.......I need to learn how to get some distance with these sort of things**

Today I knocked out my tempo run. I started at 6.5 mph on the treadmill, moving up every 2-3 minutes until I got to 7.3. I went up from 7.3-8.0 mph every 30 seconds, then came back down in the same pattern. 

I feel like that didn't make sense at all......the idea is to start slowly and gradually move up until you hit 10k pace (7:30 for me) and come back down gradually. I felt like I did pretty good. 

To fuel these awesome runs, I've been snacking on a batch of muffins I baked up this weekend. 

The base recipe is here.

I made a few modifications:

-using 1 whole egg vs. 2 egg whites

-adding about 1/2 a cup raisins and 3 TBSP chia seeds

-adding a splash of vanilla

Not to bad for a healthy muffin! Even the boy and my daughter ate some....willingly. 

Do you make "healthy" baked goods?

If so, please share your favorite recipe

Do you spit or blow snot when you run outside? 

I swear I'm a lady......

Do you have a great weights workout this week? any speed workouts?

Am I a Control Freak??

I have great news! I've been doing awesome with my mini-goals. Even though it's only been a couple days! haha. Here is what my week as looked like:

Wednesday: Zumba + 20 minute arm workout + 40 minutes of yoga
Thursday: 20 minute leg workout + 5 mile run
Friday: 15 minute ab workout + 5 mile run

And I've even been taking my vitamin. I do need to step up the veggies, just a bit.

In an effort to do this, not just for me but for my daughter too, I snuck a bunch of baby spinach into our post-workout smoothie yesterday. She didn't even notice:-)

 

I like to top mine with a bit of cereal. This Bear Naked cereal is amazing. Clusters rock.

 

I took a picture of the contraption I was confused about in my last post. I think it's a back extension.

 

 

 

Man oh man do I feel the burn in my lower back.

Something that I have been randomly thinking about this morning....I think most runners have to have a Type A personality. Don't you?

This thought was brought about because I had to push my run back today. It's not that this pisses me off, because it doesn't. As most of you know I run during my workday. I'm fortunate enough to have
supportive coworkers and bosses who allow be this luxury. But it is that, a luxury.

But it still drives me a little crazy. I plan out my day perfectly. I wake up at 4:30, eat breakfast around 5:00, get my last cup of coffee and a snack at 9:00, which makes it ideal for me to run between 10:30-11:00. It's late enough where my snack has digested but early enough to where I'm not starving.

When this gets disrupted I don't know what the hell to do? It's noon and I'm starving but I don't want to eat my lunch because it'll be too much in my stomach to run. I don't want to snack because then I'll
ruin my lunch (Plus, I'm part Jewish and I hate paying for snacks when I brought a perfectly good lunch to eat).

Serious problems. I know. I sound like a bitchy brat.

Just think about it though. Most runners plan each and every thingthey eat around their daily run, they look up the weather day after day to plan where and when to run, they track miles, the meticulously
fill planners with races and training schedules they follow plans to the T .....and they tend to get crazy when they don't workout.

I don't think I was ever like this before there was running. Perhaps running has actually turned me into a control freak.

On a random note. My new air freshener is the best thing ever!! Who doesn't want to smell cupcakes every time they get in their car?

 

Yankee Candle Vanilla Icing.

Cameron Diaz: My Fitness Idol

Three day weekends are seriously hard to come back from. I slept my normal nine hours last night and still fought to get out of bed this morning. Why am I always sooooo tired? I slept a lot this weekend. I ran a whooping 6.5 miles over the past four days. I didn't have any adult beverages last night. My daughter didn't pull her frequent move of sneaking into my bed and kicking the crap out of me.....

I tell myself it's because people 25 and under need more sleep on average. I can only use this excuse for 6 more months.....ugh.

As I said, the Monday after my run I only ran 3.2 miles. I was a tad bit sore from Sunday's race and the temperature had dropped (read 40 degrees. Brrrr......I am the biggest cold weather wuss there is). I ran a steady, comfortable 8:39 pace. I'm thinking if I warm up and stretch inside I'll have faster runs. Warming up generally makes me run faster, I'm just too lazy to really do it. Just like I was too lazy to do my weights routine later in the day.......

Instead I watched "What To Expect When You're Expecting". WOW. What a seriously shitty movie! As anybody seen it?? An all-star cast that really disappointed. It only solidified the fact that I never want more children and Cameron Diaz was in fact put on this earth to make all of us women look overweight and flabby work harder to get those sort of results.

 

Picture source: moviefanatic.com

I turned to the Internet to see her workout regime, just for shits. Apparently, the girl works her ass off (and it shows obviously). Along with cardio and weights this chick "tosses tires", big monster-truck tires to get those biceps. That's legit.

To head to the opposite side of the spectrum, I am currently obsessed with this snack, plain rice cakes with almond butter, fig jam and cinnamon. Seriously, I need to stop buying almond butter. Almonds alone are ok but made into a delicious butter, they're irresistible.

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Fall is Officially Here (and the BEST Season)

It's been a busy last few weeks. I have sucked as a blogger. I've still kept up on all my workouts. I've been doing them at least 6x a week. I've continued to mix it up by doing different things. A few of this past weeks highlights:

1. Interval/Circuit Workouts. I have taken these from one of my favorite blogs, Peanut Butter Fingers. This girls knows how to put together a GREAT workout! The 10-to-6 Workout especially kicked my ass! If you are in a rut, or just looking for a challenging workout, please try it. The only thing I changed was that I went to 5.

2. 7 mile run. This past Saturday I asked the boy "how much am I running today?". He said "7" without hesitation. I delivered. I didn't time it because it is my longest run since coming back from my broken foot but it was awesome!

3. Trail Running! Last Monday I went to Leesylvania State Park to find a trail to run. I got JUST what I asked for. I found a 2 mile trail that was tough! More hills than I have ever experienced during a trail run. I did it twice (coming out for water before returning for the second one. What a hot, humid day!) and then finished the last two miles on a dirt/gravel path that went along the shore line of the Potomac River. I think I've found a new favorite place to run:-)

On a non-workout related note, Labor Day weekend has passed and (in my mind at least) Fall is officially here. My all-time favorite season!! The weather, the food, the activities, the clothes, the colors. It's just perfect. Here are a few of my favorite things:

PUMPKIN.

I am a pumpkin freak. Everything that has pumpkin in it and is put in front of me, I will try. I was SUPER excited to find this number at the grocery store.

I am a fan of Blue Moons. They are just a fabulous, refreshing beer. When I spotted this, I had high expectations. Blue Moon delivered. Try it now.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes. Made my moi. Delicious goodness. Spread a little bit of almond butter, or go for plain old butter and syrup. You won't be disappointed.

TAILGATING

Now I should say "Football" but I can't fake it. I'm not a huge fan of watching a football game on TV. If the boy happens to have one on, then I'll watch it and I won't complain. It's just not something I'd put on if I was home alone. Going to the games though. Totally different story.

The first preseason game was especially fun because this little girl asked if she could come with me. I obliged and boy was I glad that I did. We had a blast!

Warming up while my dad cooked the food. Representing of course.

Hmmm.....junk food:-)

I made my pesto for the first time. Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto. It was awesome. Thrown on some brown rice noodles with fresh peppers. So good. It was eaten with homemade turkey burgers and a fresh cucumber and tomato salad.

Once we were done stuffing our faces,, we headed to our seats.

Thanks to my Dad for the awesome tickets! (He was with us too!)

The day after Labor Day also brought an exciting change for our little family. Somebody started first grade. Holy crap. Where has the time gone??

She looked so beautiful and grown up and she is going to do great!

I absolutely LOVE this age. Seeing her grow and learn and form her own personality, opinions, etc. It's so awesome to watch and be a part of.

I'm sure the busy times will continue but I'm going to try to make sure I post more.

Spending the Weekend in the Woods.

What a packed weekend, per the usual. I wouldn't have it any other way!

After doing a whole bunch of nothing on Friday night except becoming addicted to Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition, Kaitlyn and I had a lot of things to do Saturday.  I can't think of a better way to start the day than with something pumpkin.

Whole Wheat French Toast topped with Pumpkin Puree, Blueberries and Homemade Granola.

After breakfast we got dressed in our best and headed to church for my niece and nephews baptism.

This is one of her nephews. I cannot believe how much alike they look. So beautiful.

 Afterwards, my dad took Kaitlyn so Becca and I could head out for a run. We went to Burke Lake Park. It is a perfect 4.7 mile loop in the woods, around Burke Lake.. We did 6 awesome exhilarating miles. I think I could have gone forever. Runner's High, achieved.

To refuel I made us the trendy "Green Smoothie".

I felt totally accomplished until Becca told me I had "green monster" on my snaggle tooth while at a birthday party. My boyfriend is ooooone lucky guy.

I swear I'm happy. I have this thing against smiling in pictures.

We spent the rest of the day at the party and rounded the night off with some more Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. So awesome to see people gain control of their lives. Even Kaitlyn is hooked.

Sunday morning I got up early and we headed out to Great Falls Park for some hiking.

Some seriously great views.

Gotta love quality mother-daughter time:-)

Not sure what's up with her facial expression.

There were actually a TON of different trails. They were rocky and hilly enough to get a decent workout in, but still easy enough for Kaitlyn. She is a trooper though and shows many adults up when it comes to hiking.

To bad it ended like this. We got POURED on. We held out for another hour or so but we were so cold (why is it only 68 degrees in August?!) that we finally decided to turn back.

We'll be back to finish up the rest of them though. Only 45 minutes away and a beautiful day trip.

Quality Junk Food. No Fancy Stores Needed.

I woke up about 5x last night. Not sure if my back was the cause but it felt more and more sore every time my eyes opened. I think it may have been the million push-ups I did this week. I'm no doctor, but I feel like it's a fair guess.
For this reason, and because of motherly obligations (Kaitlyn had a doctor's appointment) today was a rest day. Seeing as though I feel like I haven't had one in two weeks and I have an active weekend planned, I'm going to say it was a good idea.

**On a side note, I have problems taking rest days. Like doing nothing at all. No yoga. No swimming. Nothing.  It drives me crazy! At least I got a bit of walking in during/after work. I digress.**

Another thing about today was different. I was starving!! I am usually a pretty hungry girl, but a snack every few hours keeps me going. Today, when I finished eating, I was still hungry. every.single.time.

Since I have no workout to talk about I'll show you what I had:-)

Yummy egg sandwich. Wondering what's on it??.....

Apple Jalapeno Jelly! I scored this awesome jelly in New Jersey last week. It's a tad sweet with a little bite to it. If you know me at all, you know I love anything spicy!!

Since I have this meal around 4:45, I am ready to eat again around 8:30. I have the same thing everyday at this time. Chobani plain yogurt. I top it with different things. This weeks obsession. Pureed pumpkin with a ton of cinnamon and a sprinkle of cereal or granola. Unfortunately, no phones at work so no pictures of the goodness that is such a delicious combination.

Lunch was just leftover dinner. Nothing exciting.

Kaitlyn and I had to go to Target this afternoon. Nothing good happens there. I felt like we were there FOREVER and spent a ton of money. This is expected when I step into that red palace though.

I scored a couple good things though and it composed my random, effortless dinner.

Archer Farms Organic Blue Corn Chips with Flax and Hot Caribbean Salsa with Mango, Peach and Passion Fruit.

Along with a can of Albacore Tuna (topped with Spicy Brown Mustard) and Utz Organic Whole Grain Pretzels with a side of Supremely Spicy Hummus.

I'm actually quite impressed with some of the finds at Target. They have some pretty sweet options. I always look at the ingredients when I buy something and these two items had WAY less and they seemed to be pretty preservative, weird ingredient/chemicals free.

If you're going to eat junk food, make it quality junk food:-)

Plus, when you can buy it at Target, not a Trader Joes or Whole Foods or anything expensive or fancy, why not??

Back, Biceps, and Shameful Actions

Going into the gym this week, I felt like I new person. My boot is off. Yes, I can't run, but it's still opened up way more options than I had! Feeling particularly feisty I decided to try something COMPLETELY new....dun dun dun.....

The row machine! This one is a Concept 2, the same one I used. I did it for 20 minutes...and it was not easy. I was definitely breathing heavily (I should wear my HR monitor next time) and working up that coveted sweat.  My upper back and biceps are SO tight! I've been trying to get some results in those areas with free weights, so I am particularly excited about this and will be on it again towards the end of the week. My only complaint is that I thought my legs may get more of a workout.

For this reason,today I hopped on my reliable buddy when recovering from injury. The elliptical. I cranked up the resistance and went to town. I always follow some pattern on the elliptical. Today I started on resistance level 6 and moved up a level every 60 seconds until I got to level 16. Every 3 minutes I go backwards for 2 minutes...after I finished this I did 4 sets of 30 speed squats, and 3 sets of 15 shoulder presses and triceps (free weights). Let's let the soreness set in!:-)

Recently, I believe that my eating habits have strayed. Being the former fatty that I am, I LOVE sweets. Seriously. I am all indulging but this weekend I went hard. It's also been brought to my attention that I may need more "good fats", omega-3's specifically, in my diet. For this reason, I downloaded the myfitnesspal app. Let me first start by saying that I am NOT an avid calorie counter. It is tedious, hard to do when you don't buy many packaged items and I have an obsessive personality and tend to get carried away. Also, I do not advocate calorie counting for those who do not have a healthy lifestyle. (I seriously used to have one of those convenient store bags of Lays Cheddar and Sour Cream Chips for breakfast at about 10 AM each morning. I knew nothing about nutrition and thought 400 calories was 400 calories....). I do not think this form of eating is healthy and not all calories are created equal. This being said, I use it to every once and a while to gain a perspective on my eating habits.

What I've been munching on recently.....

This salad was pretty awesome. I wanted to make my own dressing, so I used 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, 2 TBSP red wine vinegar, 1 TBSP spicy brown mustard, 1 TBSP yellow mustard and some pepper. I chopped up a pear and a plum and tossed to coat.(I had enough fruit and dressing to split between two large salads) Threw them on top of my spinach, cucumbers and tomato. Pretty damn good! Will be used again.

Keeping up the tradition of trying new things, this weekend I bought eggplant for the first time!! I cut it up, along with a yellow squash, tossed them in canola oil (more omega-3s) seasoned to taste (hello Ms. Dash Garlic and Herb) and roasted. (They were SO amazing. Had enough for me and Kaitlyn and for a salad topper for my lunch today). Then pan cooked some 2 cloves of fresh, minced garlic, green pepper, red pepper and onion and allowed those black beans to simmer...delicious. After the Cholula was added of course. (PS - That is actually a dollop of my Greek nonfat plain yogurt. Taste JUST like sour cream. I also do that for my meat-and-potatoes boyfriend and he can't tell the difference!)

Blueberries and walnuts in my yogurt. Yum. I think I'm going to try toasting them though.

To end this ridiculously long blog post. Something happened yesterday. Inexplicable. I harassed a runner. It's shameful, I know. I blame it on Runner's World. Now I had no business reading this magazine while enduring runner's withdrawals, but I love to torture myself. They had an article named "Call of the Incline" that got me particularly hyped. (It spoke about the Manitou Incline in CO. SERIOUS BUSINESS! and now on my fitness bucket list). So when I was driving last night and passed a young man charging up a hill with such ferocity, I couldn't control myself! I started fist pumping and yelling "Get that fucking hill" before I knew it......tsk tsk. Let's hope he had headphones on.

Biking, Batting, Golfing, Swimming....

This weekend Kaitlyn and I did not make our usual trip to SoMD. The boy was working, so we decided to hang out in good old VA.  But what to do with ourselves...???
Friday night, I decided that I was too lazy to go on the bike ride I had been thinking about, so I some yoga instead. I started out with this DVD set I have of "Yoga for beginners". Although it is very relaxing, it's not what I was looking for. I switched to the P90X Yoga for a challenge. I was excited to conquer the intense, 90 minute DVD. Unfortunately, I am as cheap as they come and all of my P90X DVDs are burnt....30 minutes into the workout my DVD refused to play any longer....*sigh*. I turned to YouTube and found the video "Power Yoga with Bryan Jones". It was quite vigorous for somebody like me who is not spectacular with yoga. He moved very quickly! I tried my best to keep up! I think I may have to try that one again soon.
At the end of the night my foot was aching due to all the runner's poses (is that grammatically correct?) and balancing on one foot. I propped it up and turned on House. (Hugh Laurie is just fabulous!) However, Kaitlyn has just joined the summer reading program at the library and wanted to read to me. Put me right to bed:-)

Saturday morning we decided to try out a new Farmer's Market. None of them compare to the one in SoMD, but we got the basics....I think I need a bigger fruit bowl.....

Then we did a little of this.....

Followed by a little of this....

We went to my moms in the afternoon so I could get a bike ride in. I went for 11 miles. (My hamstrings are more sore than I have been in a LONG time.) My mom made me a delicious salad to have post-ride. Followed by this peach coffee cake with a scoop of fro-yo.

Kaitlyn and I ended the night with a visit to the red box. "This Means War" kind of sucks...

Sunday, I thought we'd get out a do something new. It was really hot (yet again) so we went relatively early. We went to a batting cage. First time for both of us!

and we went golfing. Guess who got a hole-in-one?

All of this made us hungry. Good thing we packed a snack.

Then baby girl wanted some soft serve....Seeing as though we were drenched in sweat at this point, I agreed. Heath bar is my absolute FAVORITE topping.

Speaking of food. These are my two favorite finds of the week. The dried mangoes were amazing, and how can you go wrong with sweet potato chips.

I think we'll take a break from the extreme heat and just stay inside tonight.

Doctor's Appointment = No running for 90 more days

I cannot stress enough how much I LOVE salsa and hot sauce. Every thing spicy is the way to go. I literally have been known to just use salsa and/or hot sauce for my salad dressing. So I was thrilled when my boyfriend's sister made me up a batch of her salsa. It was chunky and spicy and fresh....everything I wanted it to be! I even gave up my beloved oatmeal for breakfast the couple days I had it.......Below is a quarter of a green pepper, red pepper and onion scrambled with a couple of egg whites, smothered in above mentioned salsa and Cholula. A-freaking-mazing.....

Tuesday was supposed to be the day. I had my follow-up with the orthopedic specialist scheduled for 2:00 PM and I was anxious the entire day. I had good and bad thoughts running through my head. Would he tell me it was still broken? That the displacement was too much for the natural healing process to correct and they'd have to go in and re-set it? Or had I been well behaved and was running in my near future?

None of that happened. I showed up to the doctor's office. Ready for results and got turned away!! The doctor had decided to go on vacation for the 4th of July. Now don't get me wrong. This is TOTALLY understandable....but your office couldn't let me know?? (I have to say....a little bit of the DC mannerisms I've picked up along the way started to show.... As I started taking my hoops out and mean mugging the nurse.........juuuuust kidding!) I rescheduled for Thursday.

The appointment was very quick. I was in and out within 20 minutes with both good and bad news. The good news is that the x-ray showed my bone is healing properly, the bad news being that it is not completely healed....still a pretty big crack in that stupid metatarsal. So he said I could bike, and swim, but that was it. NO RUNNING FOR 90 MORE DAYS! *Dagger in my heart*
So I didn't run. It was over 100 degrees and my daughter beggggggs me to go to the pool, so swim we did.

I'm not sure why she is pushing her belly out so far......lol. We swam for 90 minutes and it was pretty fabulous. I've noticed a BIG difference in endurance and strength just the few times I've gone this summer. I cannot lie, she totally helped me out with different positions/moves:-)

Then she went off to see her cousins and swim some more and I borrowed something of my mother's again.....

I rode for 12.7 miles. I realllllly got into it this time. It was 100 degrees though, and my foot is on the mend so I did try to take it slow (only did a few all out, ass in the air sprints). I stopped took a quick break twice to refill my water bottle , too.

After the swimming and biking, I was in need of some serious energy. So I raided my mother's refrigerator while returning her bike. I needed a salad something fierce but I didn't have enough ingredients to make something awesome. Between her and I a masterpiece was created. Baby spinach topped with adzuki beans, black beans, chick peas, red onion, banana peppers, zucchini, squash, cauliflower and a bit of coleslaw (Yay! for Mayo free!). All topped with Chipotle Cholula.

Even though that was a big bowl full of awesome my body was still craving a little something more. So I grabbed a low fat banana vanilla yogurt and topped it with some fresh raspberries. Boy, that did the trick. It was seriously good!

All in all today was a pretty damn good day. I worked up a crazy sweat and feel like I am going to crash annnnnny second now because I am so exhausted. Plus, an extra bonus as if getting to workout wasn't enough, over three hours of physical activity in the sun has left me with an awesome looking tan:-) .........which you can see from the picture of me on the bike these pasty hams need.

Bottom of the Barrel

As much as I love my free weights and ankle weights, I grew bored with my workout routine this week. I needed a change......I dreamt of jumping on the rowing machine, maybe the bike? but I talked myself out of it. If I do not rest this foot properly I will only be in this boot longer. As I sat there pissed off and grumpy at work for lacking motivation, my friend suggested that I do some weight machines. I don't tend to use them too much but I jumped on the chance to spice it up.

I looked ridiculous....

Probably even more so since I was in the gym taking pictures...Luckily I was using my iPhone for my music so nobody could tell.

Be jealous.....

It is quite disheartening being in this cast and continuing to go to the gym sometimes. I get lots of people who tell me "I just need to rest", "I'm crazy", "I'm addicted", etc. However, the past few times I have gone to the gym I have gotten at least one person telling me how motivational I am. How strong and dedicated I must be and how I make them think "if this girl can get in here, in a cast, everyday, I have no excuses". I have to tell you. That makes it worth it. They totally understand me:-)

I dug into this lunch after my workout:

 You might be able to tell that I am very much in need of a trip to the grocery store....this happens toward the end of the week. This is the bottom of the barrel. Carrot sticks and orange, red and yellow peppers with hummus, another gigantic apple and a pickle. After this picture was taken everything but the apple was showered in my beloved Cholula (I go through at least a bottle a week.....)

Yesterday when I got in my car after work it read 106 degrees!! Wow. So of course, I headed to the pool. My work friend let me borrow a "water running vest". It was interesting.....I did it for about 20 minutes...but I couldn't get into it. I need sweat, heavy breathing and intensity. So I swam without it and guess what? I can kick pain-free! It was on:-) A few laps by myself, then it was time to race my younger brother. He brought it. Best cardio workout I've gotten since the break.

While I was kicking it at the pool, my mother was at my house because she had looked after my daughter that day. I mentioned that I had this great recipe I'd been dyyyying to try for Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers.....and the fact that I had nothing else in the house. No fresh fruit and very little veggies. No meat thawed out....nothing quick. So she slaved away in the kitchen while I swam....holy crap. They were everything I wanted!



 Recipe at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-black-bean-burgers/

I tossed some stewed tomatoes on mine. (I told you, I reallllllly need to go shopping) and a ton of Chipotle Cholula, half a baked sweet potato (with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and seasoning salt) and a pickle.

This morning I had no fresh fruit to put in my yogurt. As much as I love my plain Chobani I need a tad bit of flavor. I hit up the store at my work. Discouraged that they have fruit that looks like it's been there a week and most products have wheat or soy, I was excited to find this little number......

It wasn't my norm but it wasn't bad at all....

I'm breaking my normal sweats on the couch with a movie routine this Friday night and going to take my friend out to dinner at my favorite restaurant. Then I'm scooping my beautiful girl up and headed up to MD to hang out with the boy:-)

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