Get into the Training Groove

Posted on February 9, 2010 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone! Hope you all had a decent Monday. Mine wasn’t too bad as Mondays go. My breakfast yesterday was a delicious bowl of oats with banana, almond butter and agave. Delish!

I was ravenous again by early morning, but I decided to have a small snack  of 3 prunes. They look gross, but they are actually pretty tasty.

For lunch I finished up some rice and beans from Saturday night, as well as a few sticks of celery with Garlic and Herb flavored Laughing Cow Light Cheese.

My afternoon snacks were Strawberry and Banana Chobani yogurt (this one was not zero-fat – it has 2%)  and an apple pie Larabar. I liked the Larabar flavor just okay.

After work I headed to the gym for an easy run. My legs were still a little sore from my run on Sunday, so I was definitely happy to have an easy night. And I did not even try to up the speed or increase the distance at all. I ran 3 miles in 28:00 minutes. Then I did some ab work and a few arm exercises with 5-pound weights. I so did not feel like running or exercising at all, but was very proud that I actually went. Hopefully I’ll be able to stick to my marathon training plan a little better if I can just get into a groove with it.

I headed home after the gym and just re-heated Sunday’s dinner of Venison and Barley Soup (sorry no picture!). It was actually even more flavorful on day two, which was what some of the reviewers of the recipe had said. I finished that up, but then had a strange craving for some…

Pickles!! I had a little pickle plate with dill and bread and butter pickles! I just love em!

And finally, a little while later I wanted some dessert, but I also felt not entirely full. I had big plans to run on Tuesday morning, so I thought a little snack might actually be a good idea so I wouldn’t be completely low on fuel on Tuesday morning. I made a Tina 3-Minute Breakfast Cookie, but used: oats, egg whites, 1 packet of Truvia, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin purée, cinnamon and walnuts. 

It was actually pretty darn good – maybe a little bit bigger than it should have been.

Then Hubby and I watched The Bachelor and shared some moments of utter disgust. Hubby turned to me at one point and told me he felt like punching Jake. HA! I agreed. Jake says the SAME things about every girl and then stares at them trying to seem deep, but to me it comes off as a vacant stare. He was really annoying me last night. And then Allie pushed me over the edge with her fake crying (yes, she had real tears at other moments) and her overly-dramatic exit at the end. Hubby and I agreed they will be bringing her back later to spice things up or maybe will give her a spin-off Bachelorette. Overall – GRRR to that episode.  

Health in the news

Learning What Food Looks Like Before It Goes Into the Package – I would have loved to take this class in high school. I’m so happy that schools are starting to offer courses like this one.

The Healing Power of Herbal Tea – I don’t think I really realized there was a difference between “tea” and “herbal tea.” Interesting.

Study links sugary soft drinks to pancreas cancer 

Three Home Habits Help Youngsters Stay Slim

P.S. – Who’s excited for the Olympics to start?!! MEE!! I love watching them. Hopefully they aren’t on too late at night.

And who’s not excited for the snow we’re supposed to get tonight/tomorrow? Me again.

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Posted in Dessert, Running, Uncategorized

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A “Super” Run and Soup

Posted on February 8, 2010 | 11 comments

Good morning. I hope you had a nice weekend! I took a little blogging hiatus on Sunday.

After my last post on Saturday, I visited my neighbor/old boss who is having a baby very very soon, ran some errands, and then Hubby and I went to see Avatar late in the evening. I really enjoyed Avatar. We went to the IMax theater on the West side and I was shocked by how huge it was and that this movie is still selling out. The 3D glasses were a little goofy, but all in all it was a great experience. And it didn’t feel like a 2 1/2 hour movie. It flew by. I think parts of the movie had a bit of the cheese-factor going on, but the action sequences totally drew me in and I forgot about any corny parts.  But the movie started at 10 p.m., so we didn’t get home until 1:30 a.m.! 

Have you seen Avatar? Did you like it?

As I mentioned, unfortunately I did not get a long run in on Saturday. I theoretically could have run in the afternoon, but once my mind was set on not running the night before (thanks to the darn weathermen), I was not motivated to go. Plus, I was not hydrated at all.

I decided that I would do my long run on Sunday morning. I woke up a little late – around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday and had my pre-run breakfast of a honey-wheat double fiber English muffin with peanut butter and a banana on top, along with some water.

But then I glanced at the temperature gauge and saw that it read 21 degrees outside. BRR! I putzed around and wasted time until finally I had to either go running outside or go to the gym. I left our apartment around 12:45 p.m. for my 11 mile run in 30 degree weather. I was sufficiently bundled, but my nose would not stop running (no pun intended). I headed to Central Park and did two 5-mile loops, plus a mile warm-up there and cool-down back — so a total of 12 miles. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 10:23
Mile 2 – 8:13
Mile 3 – 8:31
Mile 4 – 8:17
Mile 5 – 8:38
Mile 6 – 8:34
Mile 7 – 8:29
Mile 8 – 8:57
Mile 9 – 8:43
Mile 10 – 8:45
Mile 11 – 8:49
Mile 12 – 9:36
Total Mileage 12.40 miles in 1:49:10.

I was somewhat consistent and ran faster than I expected. I had so many layers on, along with gloves, that I didn’t check my Garmin once while I was running. I just went at whatever pace felt right and good.

After my run I wanted a snack, so I made a breakfast cookie with  oatmeal, egg whites, protein powder, raisins, Truvia, baking powder and cinnamon. It was a great after-run snack.

The afternoon flew by after I finally finished stretching, showering, ate and warmed back up and before I knew it, it was 5:00 p.m. and I wanted a light snack before dinner. I had an apple with cheddar cheese.

Before my snack, I set to work on cooking up some Beef and Barley Soup (made with venison) from a recipe on cookinglight.com to have while we watched the Super Bowl. This recipe took 2 hours to make!

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 pound of cubed venison meat
  • 1 1/2  cups  thinly sliced carrot
  • 1 1/2  cups  thinly sliced celery
  • 2/3  cup  chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup of fresh cremini mushrooms
  • 4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
  • 1  bay leaf
  • 2/3  cup  uncooked pearl barley
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper

Preparation

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove beef from pan. Add carrot, celery, onion, and mushrooms to pan; cook 6 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add beef; fat-free, less-sodium beef broth; and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in pearl barley; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until pearl barley is tender. Stir in salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

It was yummy, but next time I would start making it much sooner. Hubby and I watched the Superbowl and I was very happy The Saints won. 

After it was over, I read for a bit and headed to bed – my long cold run made me exhausted. I definitely think running and marathon training in the winter/spring is harder than in the summer.  I feel like I’m exerting more effort during my long runs this time around.

What about you – have you trained in the winter/spring, and if so, do you think it’s harder than the summer/fall?

I really hope that this training pays off in the end. I’ve been trying to stick to my training plan, but this time around feels a lot tougher (I think because of the weather). How do you motivate yourself to get out there and run?! I could use any advice anyone has to offer at this point.

Have a good Monday everyone!

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Weathermen Stink

Posted on February 6, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning – happy weekend! Did you get some snow in your area? We haven’t YET and I’m so frustrated. If I had known that the snow wouldn’t actually start until late morning today then I would have gone out for my training run. I was shocked when I woke up this morning and looked outside to see NO SNOW! Grrr – weathermen never get it right!

I apologize – yesterday I forgot my camera, so I don’t have many pics. I do have a photo of my breakfast, which was my first attempt at overnight oats. I followed Iowa Girl Eat’s recipe for this yummy breakfast.

It doesn’t look very good, but it was yummy! The coldness of this breakfast was a refreshing change.

  • 1/3 cup old fashioned oats (uncooked)
  • 1 fat-free Vanilla Chobani Yogurt
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • cinnamon
  • 1 sliced banana

Then simply mix it up, refrigerate,  and eat it the next morning. This made a ton of food and I could actually only eat half of what I made. I saved the rest for Saturday morning.

My day at work on Friday was filled with much less than food than the previous day. I didn’t have a morning snack and then my lunch was chopped carrots, tomato and cheddar cheese with balsamic vinegar. Then I snacked on 1/2 bag of kettle corn light popcorn and an apple.

After work my co-workers and I headed to Stone Street for some cocktails. We went to a new placed called Vintry Wine and Whiskey Bar. I don’t drink whiskey, so I went with some Italian red wine. It was very yummy. While we were there we also snacked on an array of appetizers. We had a cheese plate with parmesan cheese, goat cheese and brie. We also had knishes, something called “the egg” and some almonds and fruit. Here is the spread.

Everything was really yummy. After a few glasses of wine and the delicious food I headed home around 9:00 and spent the rest of the evening reading and cleaning a bit. I’m pretty sure I was asleep around 10:30 p.m.

For the rest of the day I’ll be doing laundry, cleaning and then heading to Avatar this evening. I’ll finally find out what the hype is all about!

What about you – did the snow, or lack of snow affect your weekend plans?

Have a nice weekend!

5 Comments

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Avoid Noshing till Nausea

Posted on February 5, 2010 | 5 comments

Happy Friday everyone!! Who else is soo happy?! And who else is dreading the thought of snow this weekend? I have an 11 mile run planned for tomorrow morning and I’m not sure what’s going to happen with that. It may have to be postponed until Sunday morning depending on the weather.

How was everyone’s Thursday? Mine was pretty good – it started out with a nice breakfast of a honey wheat double fiber English muffin with peanut butter and banana and a side of light cranberry juice with orange juice.

Then yesterday afternoon was very snack-filled. I don’t know why I was so hungry, but it started off with me snacking on my granola bar at 10:30, following by an early lunch at 12:30 of a salad with romaine lettuce, carrots, cheddar cheese, chickpeas, peas and artichoke hearts. I apologize – I left my camera at home today, so I can’t upload my pictures from yesterday.

After lunch from about 1:00 – 4:30 I proceeded to eat: a big bag of blueberries, two Lindt Lindor Dark Chocolate Truffles, a small bag of walnuts and raisins and a Larabar.

I know – that is a lot of afternoon snacking. I just could  not stop. Do you ever have days when you seem to be constantly hungry? Yesterday was out of control and then when I headed to the gym after work I felt super full.

The gym was dead, so I managed to work in my required 6-mile run in 52:34. I was happy with that, considering I had quite a full belly.

Before my afternoon of noshing, I had texted Hubby to ask him to take out two frozen burger patties for dinner. I decided to give him the meat he so dearly loves and claims he needs. But as I approached home, I felt less thrilled by the idea of a big burger sitting in my tummy.

When I walked into the apartment, I finally realized just how excited Hubby was for his meat — he had stopped and picked up a tomato (to slice and put on his burger), a large bun (since I don’t eat my burger with a bun we don’t keep buns in the apt. regularly) and a new jar of small pickles for sandwiches or burgers. Clearly, he was preparing for full enjoyment of this meal. I had to laugh. 🙂

And so we cooked up some burgers and had a nice side salad to go along with it. As you can see, mine is sans bun – it ends up being just too much food for my tummy with a bun. And lord knows my tummy was at its limit already.

Please note how delicious these pickles look! Good job on the pickles Hubby. He got “bread and butter” which I like, but never think to buy.

Mmmm those pickles hit the spot. I seriously think that I love or could love any kind of pickle. They are just soo good. What about you – do you like bread and butter or are you more of a dill person? I will eat whatever kind of pickle you send my way!

And for dessert I had a handful of these:

I know – a lot of food for one day. So today is going to be a bit leaner. Well… breakfast didn’t really start out that way, but that’s tomorrow’s post.

So what are your plans for the weekend? As I mentioned, I need to run a nice 11-miler, per my training plan. I seem to have a slight problem with my training plan… I can’t seem to run 5 days a week. So far, all I’ve been managing is 4 days. I had lofty dreams of getting up this morning to run a quick 3 miles outside –  in the dark. But then the alarm went off and it was pitch black and I snoozed instead. By then it was too late to even attempt the gym. And I’ve got a work happy hour to attend tonight, so I can’t sneak it in later. Argh!

For my first marathon, I only ran 4 days a week and that worked. But with my new goal of trying to BQ, I feel I need to be running more.

And advice? If you’ve followed a training plan – how do you ensure you meet your weekly mileage, run the full amount of days, etc.? Or do you not let it bother you if you don’t stick to the plan?

Other than trying to work in an 11-mile run somewhere around the forecasted snow this weekend, I plan to read these:

Oh yeah – I’ve got some magazines to catch up on! Apparently, people know me pretty darn well. I received Runner’s World as a gift from my cousin and cousin-in-law this Christmas (thanks Linda and Chris). Linda loves running marathons and tried to get me to run one for years by talking about what a great experience it was and sending me a gift subscription to Runner’s World every year. Well – I’m not sure if it was the magazine, her recaps or my own desire that finally got me to run one…maybe all of it combined.

And my Aunt and Uncle got me a gift subscription to Fitness this Christmas too (thanks Aunt Pat and Uncle Pete)!  Apparently, I make my interests pretty well-known to everyone. 🙂

Lastly, I signed up for Cooking Light one day in the fall when I found a one-year subscription deal for only $5 (a steal)!

Oh my – I’ve got some serious reading to do! Not to mention that I’m about 100 pages away from finishing The Historian and I literally can not put it down . You guys are going to want to put this one on your list for sure…and move it right to the top. I also think I heard that it’s being made into a movie, so you’ve got to read it before it comes out!

Other than that, I plan to clean, hang with Hubby and hopefully finally go see Avatar. I kn0w – yes, we are the last people in the country to see it.

What are your weekend plans! Whatever you’ve got planned – enjoy it and travel safely through the snow, if it’s headed your way.

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Greek Goodness and the Ballet

Posted on February 4, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning – how is everyone this fine Thursday morning? Is this week going by fast for you all? It is for me. I am definitely happy it’s Thursday though. Wednesday was busy and was over before I knew it!

Breakfast yesterday was Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with blueberries on top. I bought a huge container of blueberries last week and they’ve really lasted well.

Lunch was a salad from across the street – romaine lettuce with cheddar cheese, carrots, dried cranberries, walnuts and chickpeas. Topped with balsamic vinaigrette.

Snacks for the afternoon were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal and a bag of grapes. The grapes were on sale last week so I bought them, but they did not last very long.

After work I headed uptown to a restaurant called Molyvos Restaurant to meet up with my friend Katie, her brother and her brother’s girlfriend. I’ve had Greek food before, but never really out at a nice Greek restaurant. This place was very nice and food was delicious. The menu on their website isn’t correct, but the one on menupages is right.

 We started with some wine and two appetizers: hummus and Tzatziki, which is sheeps milk yogurt with cucumber, garlic, mint and dill. I loved both, but favored the Tzatziki a bit.

 For my entrée, I had the Yemista, which is a  stuffed local red bell pepper, with arborio rice, eggplant, tomato and manouri cheese.

Sorry – I had to use flash on this one. It was scrumptous!! Soo delicious. I tried a bite of everyone else’s meal as well. Here they all are:

Aglaias Moussaka: casserole layers on eggplant, potato, tomato, spiced ground lamb and beef, yogurt bechamel.

Kritharaki Me Halaassina orzo risotto style with calamari, scallops kozani saffron and feta

Makaronia rolled pasta stuffed with agiorgitiko slow cooked short ribs, three cheese cream sauce

ALL were amazing!! What’s your favorite Greek dish? I have to say that mine was good, but I think the Makaronia was the best – hello it had a 3-cheese sauce!

We finished up our food and drink and then hopped in a cab to Lincoln Center. We made it just in time! We saw The Sleeping Beauty, performed by the NYC Ballet. It was a really great show. The only other ballet I’ve seen is The Nutcracker, which I dragged the Hubby to last year. Both were amazing, but this one was kind of nice because I knew the story better (thanks Walt Disney) and followed along easily. I had kind of forgotten The Nutcracker story when we saw that ballet, so I spent some time trying to remember the story while the ballet was going on.

I will say the first half of the show seemed a bit too long – intermission was a solid hour and a half into the show. We left Lincoln Center a little after 10:00 p.m. and I hopped in a cab. I was tired and ready to go to bed and was riding along smoothly until we were almost through Central Park and then the cab got a flat tire! Seriously. I had to get out and try to find another one to finish my trip home. Never had that happen before – very weird.

I made it home via the second cab and pretty much fell into bed. I was so happy that Katie asked me to go to the ballet — her dad and step-mom bid on the tickets at a charity auction and won, but then neither they, nor the other couple they bid with could attend, so the tickets would have gone to waste. The ballet is generally something that I wouldn’t think to go to on my own. It’s just a reminder that there are still soo many things I have yet to take advantage of in NYC and I’ve been living here for almost 4 years!

How about you – do you take advantage of all the activities and cultural events that your city/town has to offer?

NYC is soo diverse – I could probably do something different every night of the week if I wanted to (and had the money)! I should add that goal to my 2010 Resolution List – take advantage of more of the things NYC has to offer. 

Hope you all have a good Thursday. Talk to you on Friday.

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Veggie and Cookie Cravings

Posted on February 3, 2010 | 6 comments

Good morning – Happy Hump Day! Hope everyone had a good Tuesday. My day was pretty good – I started off with a nice breakfast of oatmeal with banana and peanut butter, along with a side of light cranberry juice. A very filling breakfast.

It was such a filling breakfast that I didn’t even have a mid-morning snack – so unlike me. But lunch was filling enough as well, I had leftover chicken and spinach bulgur from the night before. This meal was very hearty.

Afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal (aren’t you so sick of this snack – maybe I will switch it up on Thursday) and an apple.

After work, I headed to the gym to try to squeeze in as much of a run as possible. I ran a decent 4 miles in 33:26 and then was going to stop, but saw that there were one or two treadmills opens, so I ran another mile for a total of 5 miles in 42:30. Then I noticed people waiting so I hopped off and did some ab work. I slacked on doing free-weight arm exercises, but oh well.

So far, this week I am doing okay with my marathon training. Here is a link to access my training plan through Google Docs. I like using this program because I can update it from anywhere. Here’s a brief snapshot of my progress so far:

I can’t wait until it starts getting warmer and light outside later so I can do my longer week workouts outside — running 8 miles on the treadmill would not be fun.

After the gym, I was craving veggies in a really weird way, so I came home and made a giant salad for dinner with Mediterranean lettuce, carrots, goat cheese, raisins, and walnuts. I drizzled Newman’s Light Balsamic Vinaigrette over top.

It was delicious and hit the spot, but then I was craving some dessert (very much like me). I decided to try to make Tina’s 3-Minute Oatmeal Raisin Cookie into a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. I followed her original recipe, but added peanut butter, swapped out raisins for chocolate chips, used protein powder in place of flour, left out the cinnamon, used Truvia instead of brown sugar and voila!

The addition of the peanut butter made it a little gooey in places, but I was okay with that. I also doubled the original recipe, which produced a GIANT cookie  – totally unnecessary. Somehow, I managed to eat it all, but wouldn’t double it again in the future. Here was my final recipe:

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/4 cup liquid egg whites
  • 1 packet of Truvia 
  • 2 tsp protein powder (thanks Hubby)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp peanut butter

    • Thanks again to Tina for this great recipe and congrats to her on her two-year blog birthday!

    Lastly, here are a few health headlines that caught my eye:

    Slimmer Doesn’t Always Mean Fitter – I am still trying to determine what my “best” weight is for running. Hopefully I can figure it out by May – just in time for the marathon! How about you – have you PRed or run better when you were either heavier or lighter – how did you find your ideal running weight?

    Rules Worth Following, for Everyone’s Sake – I am buying Michael Pollan’s new book  Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, published in December 2009. I really want to read his other books:  In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but I think Food Rules has moved to the top of my list. This NY Times article gives a great overview of the book’s main ideas, as well as some general info/facts about healthy eating.  Have you read any of  Pollan’s books? Will you be checking this one out?

    Have a great Wednesday everyone. I’ve got some exciting plans tonight: I’m going to the ballet with Katie and trying some authentic Greek food beforehand!  I’m super excited! See you tomorrow.

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    Posted in Books, Dessert, Running, Uncategorized

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    Beautiful Bulgur and a Worthy Cause

    Posted on February 2, 2010 | 9 comments

    Good morning – happy Tuesday. How is everyone doing this week? My week is much less hectic and I am very thankful. I was supposed to get up for a morning run at the gym today, but it didn’t happen. So hopefully the place will be desolate tonight and I can squeeze in a longer-ish run. Yeah right.

    Before I get to Monday’s eats, I wanted to spread the word about a unique cause. My friend Rachael at Outdoorphins is an outdoor activity enthusiast and she sent me some information about her friend who is seeking support for her new non-profit organization dedicated to outdoor activities linked to raising money for charitable organizations. Here is her friend’s request:

    ——————————–

    “Hey Everyone,
     
    I need your help! As many of you know in April of 2009 I started a non-profit called Outdoors For A Cause (OFAC). Outdoors For A Cause is a non-profit organization which brings together outdoor activities and raising money for charitable organizations and causes. We believe that if people are given an easy way to raise money while doing the outdoor activities they enjoy, together, we can make a difference while maintaining healthier, happier lifestyles.  
     
    I submitted OFAC to the Pepsi Refresh Project which gives grant money to new ideas that will have a positive impact! I am in the running for a $50,000 grant. Pepsi likes my idea but now it’s up to your votes to see who wins! If I win this grant money OFAC would be up and running in 4 months!  This organization will truly make a difference in the lives of those in need and all it will take is YOUR VOTE!
     
    You are allowed to vote once a day, so vote as much as you can through the month of February!
     
    YOU CAN START VOTING FOR OUTDOORS FOR A CAUSE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW!
     
    http://refresheverything.com/outdoorsforacause
     
    As one becomes many and $1 raised becomes millions, Outdoors For A Cause and all of you that voted will be proud to say that we were part of a movement that promoted happier, healthier lifestyles while supporting those in need, saving lives, and making the world a better place for future generations to come.
     
    If you like my idea, vote for it! If you REALLY like it, then help spread the word to everyone you know via email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc! 🙂 Pepsi has even created links to easily promote this idea, after you vote simply click on the social networking site you prefer and spread the word!!
     
    Thank you very much!

    Karen Lewis
    Outdoors For A Cause

     

    —————————————–

    I think her organization sounds like a great idea and a unique way to stay healthy and fit while giving back to charities and groups that need the help. I always feel better about signing up for a road race and doling out sometimes upwards of $75, if I know the money is going to a charitable or needy organization. I’m very happy that the Poconos Marathon in May benefits The Red Cross, especially after all they’ve done in Haiti.

    So I encourage everyone to check out the site and at least vote – voting is super easy and you will be helping someone to move one step closer to achieving their dream/goal.  And  I know so many of us out there have some amazing and important goals and can relate.

    Now onto Monday’s eats:

    Breakfast was Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with skim milk (no almond milk in the house) topped with blueberries, and with a side of light cranberry juice.

    My mid-morning snack was a Larabar and I was ravenous for it by 11:00 a.m.

    Not the biggest fan of the cherry pie flavor, but it probably would have been good combined with something else – for instance in my yogurt maybe?

    Lunch was reduced Fat Triscuit crackers with Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Light Cheese. YUM! And a side of carrots.

    Afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal and a bag of green grapes.

    After work I hit the gym for a quick run of 3 miles – I finished in 26:20. I definitely took it slow and steady. I’ve had quite a bit of congestion in my ears and nose lately and yesterday was particularly bad. I was glad for the easy run.

    For dinner, I took some inspiration from Meg and made a meal with Bulgur. It’s been sitting in my kitchen cupboard for a while, but I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted to make. Meg made hers with shrimp, but I decided to use chicken and I switched a few other things up. Here was my final recipe – thanks for the inspiration Meg!

    Bulgur with Chicken and Spinach

     Ingredients
    1 shallot – chopped
    1 cup of bulgur
    1 tsp. olive oil
    2 cups of chicken broth
    1/8 cup of cheddar cheese
    1/2 cup of frozen spinach

    Directions

    Add chicken to skillet and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until nearly cooked. Add shallot and bulgur to pan – sauté with olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmered for 15 minutes.

    While that is cooking, heat up frozen spinach in the microwave and add it to the skillet for the last 2 minutes. Add cheese for the last minute of cooking – allowing it to melt and stir.

    Final result:

    Up close

    I added a little bit of ground Cumin at the end as well and it got a “pretty good” from the Hubby. So that passes in my book.

    Have you ever cooked with bulgur? If yes, what is your favorite recipe?

    After dinner, Hubby and I watched The Bachelor – I guess you could say we are now officially “regular watchers” no matter how much we want to claim we aren’t. I’m leaning towards thinking Tenley is going to win it. But I definitely thought he was going to axe either Gia or Vienna last night – I was way off.

    And as I mentioned, this morning I was supposed to run, but instead I made a quick visit to my doctor just to be sure there was nothing weird going on in my ears. They have been clogged for almost two-weeks and it can be really frustrating. I feel like I am constantly yelling because I can’t hear what’s being discussed. I figured it would go away eventually, but wanted to practice the “better to be safe than sorry” idea.

    Doc said it’s viral and that it should go away if I continue to flush out my nose to drain the mucus (this will in turn help my ears I guess). I’ve been taking Sudafed off and on, but he said I need to be strict with my regimen: Sudafed, Mucinex D, Nasonex and I need to try something called Salt-Aire, which is kind of like a netty pot, but with a saline solution. I’m sure none of you wanted all that info – but just in case you face a similar congestion issue – here’s the cure! He made a point to note that if I don’t do all this, it could turn into a sinus infection – eek!

    So besides a longish run at the gym tonight – I’ll be doing all that – fun, fun!  Don’t you just love winter? Blah. Have a good Tuesday.

    9 Comments

    Posted in Bloggers, Running, Uncategorized

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    Weekend Run and Wedding Fun!

    Posted on February 1, 2010 | 4 comments

    Sorry I was MIA all weekend! I was busy, busy from Friday evening on, so no blogging occurred. Everyone needs a little break once in a while right?

    I’m just going to give a quick recap of the weekend and tomorrow will be back to the norm.

    On Friday after work the Hubby and I drove up to Albany to my parent’s house. We left late, got there late and pretty much just went to bed. But not before my mom told me that I was absolutely not allowed to run outside the next day. It was supposed to be frigid and she told me she was “pulling the mom card” and telling me no.

    So on Saturday I got up and we to my mom’s gym for a nice long treadmill run. Fun times. I generally dislike running anything more than 4 miles on the treadmill, but I didn’t really have many other options. Important note: it was 2 degrees outside!! I got to the gym and was shocked by how many people were there at 9:30 a.m. All the treadmills were taken, so I milled around for a bit until someone hopped off.

    I hopped on and told myself that I was running at least 6 miles without feeling guilty. It was the weekend and people could wait. That being decided, I started my run and watched some t.v. After about 30 minutes I decided to do some incline work and raised it to incline 3.5 for about 5 minutes and increased my speed. I did this twice and it really helped move the workout along. I ended up running 7 miles in 61:30.  This week, my training plan called for a total of 22 miles, but after missing a few early-week runs, I only managed to get in 18 miles. I’m not beating myself up about it.

    After my workout, I headed back to my parent’s house to do some stretching and relax a bit before getting ready for the wedding.

    Kelly and Jerry’s wedding ceremony started at 4:00 p.m. in Schenectady. It was really beautiful and unique. I had never been to a Greek wedding before and I loved all the different rituals and ceremonies. It was a small and cozy church. After the ceremony we headed over to The Glen Sanders Mansion for the reception.

    Hubby and I had a great time! I didn’t take any food pictures during the cocktail hour because I was focused solely on eating. 🙂 But I did take a picture with the bride!

    Lauren, Kelly, me and Becky

    We headed into the main ballroom following cocktail hour and then began the real eating! Hubby and I took our requisite “at the table” photo.

    And then we ate! I had a salad for an appetizer (everyone else who got prime rib or chicken for their entrée had pasta as an appetizer). The salad was good, but went unphotographed. Then my main course was Rigatoni Pasta with a Butternut Squash Sauce. It was yummy and very rich.

    It looks so bright! I had to use the flash – sorry. It was very good.

    Then it was time for some dancing! And boy did we dance. The bride and the groom danced a lot as well! I love when the bride and groom are out on the dance floor enjoying themselves.

    Then it was time for a little cake! The cake was great, but I was so full that I could barely eat any of it.

    I had such a great time. Here is one last photo of me and Becky – we were table mates and crazy dance partners!

    It was a great time, but also a late night and Hubby and I were pretty tired on Sunday. We didn’t end up heading back to NYC until early evening, which means we didn’t get home until basically my bedtime. I tried to stay up and watch The Grammys, but I was exhausted, so I headed to bed.

    Tonight’s workout calls for an easy 3-mile run and for that I am very relieved. I wish I had one extra day of rest after weekends like this.

    How about you – how was your weekend? Any fun activities – did you brave the cold?

    Have a great Monday everyone!

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    Posted in Bloggers, Running, Travel, Uncategorized

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    Wave to the Camera!

    Posted on January 29, 2010 | 11 comments

    Good morning and happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a seriously stressful week and am ready for a nice weekend. And the best part is that my friend Kelly is getting married tomorrow, so the weekend is sure to be a blast! Congrats Kelly and Jerry – I can’t wait to celebrate with you tomorrow!!

    Yesterday was definitely a less stressful day and I was very grateful. I started the day off with a great breakfast of oatmeal with almond butter and tons of blueberries. I love blueberries!

    Around 10:30 a.m. I ate a banana – I was ravenous for some reason. Then we had a work meeting and it just so happened to be my co-workers birthday and my boss had purchased giant cupcakes for everyone. Now, those who know me well know that I simply can not pass up a cupcake. And I didn’t. Not only that, I chose the worst one: carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting (sooo good!). These cupcakes were from Zeytuna and they were enormous. Seriously out of control…and I ate the whole thing. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. It was awful.

    Needless to say, I was pretty full and felt gross for the rest of the day. And I also got a terrible headache (probably from such a huge rush of sugar) and then felt sleepy. Awful! Where was my self-control on that one?

    Can you say no to sweets – especially when it’s your very favorite? It’s obviously something I need to work on.

    The rest of my afternoon involved little food – some Triscuits with laughing cow cheese and a Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal.

    In the afternoon  I received an email from the NYRR photographer site notifying me that the pictures from last weekend’s half marathon were ready. I always check them out just to see how terrible I looked. There were a ton of pics of Lauren and me. Some were pretty awful, but then I came to this one, which made me laugh out loud:

    I actually remember doing this. It was at the very beginning of the race, maybe at the first mile marker, and I saw the photographer right in front of me. But there were so many people taking pictures that day, that I didn’t think the guy was definitely one of the event photographers – umm yeah he was. Ha!

    Anyway, I digress. I made it through the work day in a slight sugar coma (actually is was really bad). And then I trudged to the gym after work. This week has been terrible as far as my marathon training goes. I am supposed to finish up at 22 miles for the week and I’m at 11 right now. And I will not be running 11 miles tomorrow – maybe 6-7.

    Anyway – I hopped on the last available treadmill and pretty much told myself I’d have to stop at 4 miles because people would be waiting. Miraculously, after 2 miles, the treadmills cleared out and I was able to run 5 miles (43:03) without feeling guilty.

    Then I did some ab work and some arm free-weight exercises with a 5-pound weight.

    I left the gym feeling much better (sugar coma gone) and started walking home and holy coldness!! The temperature had dropped tremendously! I got home, did the dishes, vacuumed and tidied up and then made some dinner. I already had some cooked pasta ready, so I just added a ton of veggies and stuff to it: cucumber, carrots, grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese and apple. I then drizzled it with Newmans’ Light Balsamic vinaigrette.

    Perfection! Dessert was the second half of my grapefruit with a packet of Truvia on top.

    I also had a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips as well.

    I was considering getting up early today and hitting the gym for a 4-mile run to make my weekly mileage total, but my legs were feeling tired and so was I last night. I figured why push it? If my body was telling me to rest a bit, then I would. That way, I’ll be extra rested for my cold run upstate on Saturday morning. I don’t even want to check what the temperature will be – it will certainly scare me. I am simply preparing to layer-up like crazy.

    And then after that it will be party time!! Do you have any fun plans this weekend or will you just be trying to stay warm? 🙂 Have a good one everyone!

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    Posted in Dessert, NYRR, Running, Uncategorized

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    Ethiopian Eats

    Posted on January 28, 2010 | 9 comments

    Good morning – happy Thursday! It’s almost the weekend. How was your Wednesday? Mine was infinitely better than my Monday and Tuesday. For starters, I actually got up and went to the gym before work! YAY. I wasn’t taking another chance that I might not make it after work.

    And it turns out my decision to skip the gym on Tuesday night following my stressful day was probably a good one. After reading this article: 4 Tips to Run the Stress Off from active.com, I’m positive that forcing myself to squeeze in that run could have resulted in an injury, or at the very least exhaustion.

    What about you – do you back off running when you’re stressed or do you push through and try to work it off during the run?

    So I was at the gym and running by 5:45 a.m. on Wednesday and since there weren’t many people clamouring for a treadmill at that time, I was able to run 6 miles guilt-free. I ran it in 52:20. I did a few ab exercises, but I wanted to be sure I got to work on time, so it was pretty quick.

    While I was at the gym, I realized that I had completely forgotten my food bag for the day. It was sitting on the kitchen counter all alone. So I stopped at the Food Emporium on the way to the subway and picked up a few things to tide me over throughout the day. No clue where my head was yesterday morning – probably still in bed asleep.

    I got to work a little early and proceeded to have my make-shift breakfast of a gnu bar with coffee and a clementine.

    I loved this bar and the banana walnut flavor! Yum – I will be buying this one again.

    My mid-morning snack was an apple and I was ravenous by the time I ate it at 11:00 a.m.

    For lunch, since I forgot my food bag, I had to run out in the cold to get a salad. Yesterday’s salad had romaine lettuce, carrots, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, chickpeas and peas.

    Later afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal and a small bag of walnuts and raisins (undocumented).

    All day I was thinking about what I needed to do after work – stop at the store, do the dishes, tidy up the apartment and make dinner. And then around 3:00 p.m. my friend Katie texted me and asked if I was free to go to dinner. Normally I’m not free – I’d be going to the gym. But since I’d already done that, I told her yes, I was very much free!

    Katie and I like to try a variety of cultural and ethnic foods. Last night, we decided to try Ethiopian food at the appropriately titled: The Ethiopian Restaurant in my neck of the woods.

    We started with the Sambussa appetizer, which was very small and was two, cooked ground-beef and classically-spiced patties.

    We then split two entrees: 1) the ethiopian combo which was a combination of yebeg alecha, tibs wot, tikel gomen, misr wot and yabesh gomen; and 2) a chicken dish with the house sauce and spices.

    I loved almost everything on the plate. The bean/lentil dish was a little too spicy for my taste, but I still ate a bit of it. And the cabbage and carrot portion was amazing!

    My friend warned me that I may or may not like the bread because it has a unique texture and some people love it or hate it. I loved it!! It’s called injera.

    Footfit.com’s page on Ethiopian food is really interesting – check it out! Here’s a small snippet.

    “The cooking of the oldest independent country in Africa stars an array of spices that give its stews, sautéed meats, and vegetable dishes a deep, rich, aromatic, oft-times fiery taste….At the heart of Ethiopian cooking is injera, a flat bread that looks like a large pancake but has a spongy texture and a tangy taste reminiscent of sour dough. Injera is made from a tiny, highly nutritious grain called teff that is rich in fiber, iron, protein and calcium.”

    Not only is inerja yummy and nutritious, it’s also your utensil throughout the whole meal. You pick up the various meats, veggies, etc. using this bread. And it works really well.

    All in all, it was a great meal. The owner kept coming over to check on us, which was very nice and even offered to take our picture.

    Don’t mind my slicked-back hair. That’s what happens when you shower at the gym in the morning and then put a hat right on. A nice little flat-head.

    So what do you think – would you ever give Ethiopian food a try? What interesting or new food/cuisine have you tried lately?

    I for one highly recommend you give it a shot! I was nervous going in because I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but it was great!

    Have a great day everyone!

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    Posted in Restaurants, Running, Uncategorized

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