Love Notes From A Runner

sNOw Day

2011-01-11T10:01:00.002-05:00

I remember when I was younger, I used to LOVE snow days. Really, what kid didn't love any excuse not to go to school? I remember making snow men, sledding, and enjoying a big cup of snow cream. Running around in the cold snow without a care in the world. Those were the days!

Now that I'm a (semi) responsible adult the snow just gets on my nerves. Yeah, sure it is pretty to look at, for about 5 minutes and then I'm concerned about how I won't be able to get my car out of the driveway without running into the side of the house. What I didn't realize as a child is that snow isn't some magical powder that shuts the world down. Nope, the world keeps on turning and the snow just makes it more difficult for me to participate in what's going on.

I live in the southern part of the U.S. and down here people are incapable of operating during snow. An inch of snow will literally shut the city DOWN. So I guess you can tell that I'm currently snowed in :-/ I'm "working from home" so I have lots of stuff to do but when I'm at home it is just hard to concentrate. Not to mention I still have the urge to run outside and roll around in the snow. But since I'm not going to do that I guess I'll just make myself a big cup of hot chocolate and bundle up on the couch :-)

Enjoy the snow day if you're having one!

2011 - New Year, New Goals, More Blogging

2011-01-09T14:24:00.002-05:00

2011 sure seemed to arrive quickly! We always say how fast time goes by but I'm starting to think that's just the pace of time. It's quicker than we desire because there are always things we plan to do but never actually do them and the lack of time is an easy excuse.

I guess I should have started the blog by saying HELLO and I'M BACK! I stopped blogging last year because I just wasn't into it. I had a lot going on at work, wasn't really doing the things I needed to be doing fitness/nutrition wise, and who wants to talk about what they aren't doing right?

I'm in a better place now and I've started 2011 with a renewed sense of purpose and new goals. Just like last year I've come up with a theme for the year. That theme is "No Clutter". Over the next few blog posts I'll discuss this in more detail but the goal is to reduce clutter in all facets of my life. Clutter is just mess that gets in the way of the important things. It trips you up and distracts you from your goals. By ridding myself of clutter I will be able to be more effective in achieving my goals.

I'm going to attempt to make the blog a bit more focused but we'll see how that part goes. It will probably still end up being a mixture of my thoughts about life.

I'm excited about the new year and all the things that will happen this year. Are you excited? What things do you have planned for the year?

Water, Water and more Water

2010-03-16T13:39:00.003-04:00

Okay I was supposed to give you an update on how the water only challenge is going. I've done very well. I've only slipped up twice. Once was when the husband made some cookies (which I didn't need to eat in the first place); I always have milk with my cookies so I poured a small glass and as I was taking the last gulp I realized..."Oh shoot, I just drank something that wasn't water." The other time was a little more deliberate. It was one of my friend's birthday so I had an alcoholic drink with her. It was a vodka and tonic which is practically the same thing as water. Not really but at least it wasn't something super fancy. I haven't really missed drinking things other than water. The only time I get a craving is when I get cold at work and wish that I could have some hot tea to warm me up. I considered drinking some hot water but that just seemed like it would be nasty.

Speaking of hot. I went for another round of hot yoga yesterday. Today I'm a little more sore than expected, mainly in my hamstrings. I guess I don't strech them as often as I should. We'll see how the next sessions feel.

Hot Yoga and H2O

2010-03-14T21:41:00.002-04:00

I've been doing yoga on and off since college and I've always enjoyed it. I'm not well versed on the different types of yoga but I know I prefer the more "power" type yoga verses the meditative type. Recently a friend of mine told me about Hot Yoga. I was a little skeptical at first seeing as I hate being hot. Well this morning I decided to go for it. And you know what?? I loved it!! It was invigorating, relaxing, and an intense workout.

The workout was 90 minutes long, we did 26 different poses in a room where the temperature was about 100 degrees. The poses were a combination of sitting and standing poses. Unlike the majority of the yoga I've done this was mainly focused on flexibility and balance. I was able to do the majority of the poses even if I couldn't move into the advanced form of the pose. The actual workout itself wasn't too hard but the heat made it super intense. I'm pretty sure I was sweating from every pore in my body, I must have lost 5 lbs in sweat. I'm strongly considering added this to my workout routine. The yoga place recommended that you go 3-4 times a week to get the maximum benefit but that's a little to costly for my budget. I'm thinking once a week is the most I'll be able to swing.

Bottom-line: I really enjoyed this new workout..it is always nice to find a new way to exercise.

March Challenge: Water Only

2010-03-02T08:50:00.002-05:00

One of my friends and long distance fitness buddies issued a challenge to me and some of our friends. The challenge is to only drink water for the month of March. After some bullying from her side I agreed to accept this challenge. On the surface it seems easy because I generally do only drink water. The thing I didn't take into account was that by doing this I will also be giving up caffeine. Now I'm not some caffeine junkie but I do often have a cup of coffee or green tea in the morning to ~~jolt myself awake~~ help me make it through the day. This just means that I may need to seriously work on getting more sleep so that I won't need the caffeine anyway.

I don't know how much of a difference drinking only water will make but I'm certain that it will at least cut out a couple hundred calories a week that I get from various drinks. I also won't be ingesting any unnecessary chemicals from those diet sodas I like. The one exception I'm making is that I will not include my breakfast smoothies in this "water only" challenge. I don't believe that counts as a drink since it is being used as a meal replacement.

Will I make it? I think so. I've decided that everything comes down to willpower. While that is a simplification I believe it to be true. I'm making the decision to have the willpower I need to accomplish this and other challenges. Wish me luck!

Ski Trip 2010

2010-02-22T21:53:00.002-05:00

The last time I went skiing I was 13 years old. When I think back on that ski trip all I remember was how much fun I had. I didn't remember it being particularly difficult or that I fell too many times. Well that was about 15 years ago.....

This past weekend I went on a weekend ski trip to Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. It was the perfect weekend for skiing. It had snowed a few days earlier and the sun was shining so the snow was nice and powdery and it wasn't terribly cold. Since it had been so long since the last time I'd been skiing I decided to take a 2 hour lesson before hitting the slopes. I'm glad I did! While I picked it back up fairly quickly it was very helpful to learn some new tips. I was mainly familiar with doing to "the wedge" in order to stop but during my lessons I learned how to do the "hockey stop" which is more effective and it just looks cooler. The ski instructor made fun of me because at first I definitely wasn't getting it and he said I was doing the hockey FLOP and not the hockey stop.

I was smart enough to stay on the green (easy) slopes because I wasn't trying to come home with any broken bones. As it was, I fell about 10 times and I'm definitely suffering from that today. My body is SORE. I didn't realize how much of a workout skiing is. Your legs get a heck of a workout trying to control yourself going down the hill. When you're trying to stop yourself from going too fast you get even more of a workout. The crazy part was how sore my arms were. I didn't even think about my arms being involved but when you get to the flat parts and you need to keep moving that is allll arms.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself and I definitely would like to make this at least a yearly thing. Skiing isn't exactly cheap so unless I get a raise I don't think I'll be doing it much more often than that.

Have you ever skied? If so, what's your favorite ski resort?

S.A.D.

2010-02-04T10:04:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to think that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) which is also known as "the winter blues". I just don't really feel like doing anything other than sit on the couch and watch TV and honestly I barely feel like doing that. I wish I was a bear and I could just hibernate for the winter. I also wouldn't mind eating a whole bunch of food to prepare for hibernation. Sadly, I'm not a bear so I have to deal with the cold and dreary weather.

I need to come up with a happiness kit, full of items and activities that make me happy so that I can survive this winter. Hmm...maybe I can find a way to bottle up some warmth and sunshine.

Okay, I really just wanted y'all to know that I haven't frozen to death in a block of ice. I'm still here just haven't been in the greatest mood and I didn't want to bring anyone else's mood down with a bunch of depressing posts. So that I don't end this post on a "sad" note, I'll share with you a few things that make me happy and keep me warm.

A mug of hot chocolate with melted marshmallows on top
My snuggie
A large pot of homemade soup
Fuzzy slippers
Super soft pajamas
Hot bath with red velvet scented bubble bath
The best chili ever
Cuddling with my hubby

What things help you make it through the winter blues?

Pasta Free Spaghetti

2010-01-15T20:38:00.003-05:00

I've been saying that I was going to write this post since Tuesday when I made some spaghetti squash for dinner. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to it but here we go.

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? If not, you should definitely try it because it is delicious. One of my friends was over and he is a pretty picky eater. So I told a little "white lie" and failed to mention the SQUASH part of the spaghetti. The funny thing about it is that he didn't even notice and after he finished eating it he didn't even believe that it wasn't pasta. Which just supports my developing theory of who needs grains?

If you're interested here is the method I used to cook the spaghetti squash. There are a several other methods.....if you google it then lots of different recipes will pop up.

Spaghetti Squash:

Ingredients

-1 big spaghetti squash

-pasta sauce (whatever kind you like best)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Wash the spaghetti squash.

3. Poke holes all around the squash with a sharp knife or skewer. (very important step if you don't want the squash to explode)

4. Place the squash in a baking pan and bake for an hour or until the squash is soft. *test the squash by squeezing with an oven mitt. It should give easily.

5. Let the squash cool for about 10 minutes. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy portion (this part was hard because it stringy part and seeds got caught in the "meat" of the squash).

6. Scrape the meat of the squash, it should look like noodles. Serve with pasta sauce.

Tip: I recommend using a meat sauce. The next time I make it I will serve it with a tomato sauce that has ground turkey in it.

I will definitely be making spaghetti squash a part of my regular meal plan. The good thing is that my mom said she plans on growing spaghetti squash in her garden this year.

Primal Living Update

2010-01-10T20:30:00.003-05:00

It has been a week since I decided to change my lifestyle and predominately eliminate grains from my diet. I've done pretty well. I ate some sushi one night which of course contained rice. I'm not sure if I count that 100% since I got sick after eating it and most of it didn't stay in my stomach. A word of advice...don't mix sushi with bananas and ice cream. It is NOT a good combination. I decided not to eliminate potatoes but I do plan on eating them in moderation. Potatoes and beans aren't officially a part of the Primal lifestyle and maybe if I get more into it I will eliminate them as well but for right now I'm not going that extreme.

So how do I feel? I feel great! Other than a slight stomach issue I've had for the past few days, which I don't believe is due to the diet I've felt much less bloated than normal. I've also lost a few pounds which is great. Hopefully this weight loss trend will continue so I can reach my goal of losing 15 pounds by June. I haven't really started exercising regularly so once I get on track with that, I expect to see more results.

Do I miss grains? Not really. There have been a few times this past week when I wanted to eat some cake or a doughnut but it hasn't been that intense. When I think about it, the things that I have eliminated are the things that I shouldn't have been eating regularly in the first place. It isn't like I was eating some super healthy grains, I was eating the unhealthy types of grains and it is best that I eliminated them anyway.

Tonight I made tacos but instead of a taco shell I used Boston Lettuce leafs. They were delicious. I didn't miss the taco shells at all. This is just one example of easy substitutions I'll be making.

The Island of Temptation

2010-01-07T21:39:00.002-05:00

I've blogged before about how my office is full of unhealthy temptations. At first I was thinking maybe I was exaggerating and it really isn't that bad, until this week. Yesterday at a breakfast meeting we had Chick-fil-A chicken minis, doughnuts, and fruit with caramel sauce. What in the world! If that wasn't bad enough today we had a going away event complete with a giant cake that they tried to force down everyone's throat. I mean, some people actually tried to make me feel guilty about not eating any of the cake.

It is a good thing that I am resolute in my decision to keep my diet at around 80% primal. I was able to pass on all of the things that didn't meet this description and just stick with the fruit in both cases. The funny thing is that I was only slightly tempted to partake in the food orgy that was going on around me. There are some key visuals that helped curb my enthusiasm for the unhealthy food but I'll let you just imagine what they were since my blog is open for anyone to read.

I'm sure that this situation is not unique to my office. These scenarios are what cause large amounts of office workers to become unhealthy and overweight all the time. Between the stress of the job, the long hours and the endless "celebrations" it is no wonder people have such a hard maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The Biggest Loser....Motivating??

2010-01-05T21:44:00.003-05:00

I usually don't watch The Biggest Loser but since none of the shows I normally watch are on tonight I decided to watch. I know that some people find this show motivating but I just find it extremely sad and depressing. The fact that there is no shortage of potential contestants for this show and the fact that each season these contestants get bigger and bigger each season is very sad. It just illustrates the problem with obesity that is plaguing our society. If we, as a society, don't make some major changes when it comes to health and diet then they can run 100 versions of The Biggest Loser and still not capture all of the people that need the help.

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with this show. Yes, these are people that are morbidly obese. If they don't lose weight they will most likely die from an obesity related disease. So I'm happy that they are getting professional help and that they are losing the weight. The problem I have is that most of these results are not feasible for a normal person. If you are at home and you have a job and other responsibilities then you are not going to be able to work for the amount of time that these contestants are working out. You won't have the incentive of winning a quarter of a million dollars to help motivate you to lose the weight. And we all know how powerful of a motivator money is for a person. I also question how healthy it is to lose 50% of your entire body weight in less than a year. I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor but it just doesn't seem right.

I just hope that the show does provide motivation for some people and helps push them to meet their goals. To me it is just a reminder of the ills of our society...

Starting off the Year Caveman Style

2010-01-03T19:58:00.003-05:00

You may recall one of my posts last year where I talked about the book The Primal Blueprint and how I said I planned to incorporate those principles into my lifestyle. The main change is in my dietary habits. The elimination of grains and most processed foods. Sounds easy when you put it like that but when you think of how many delicious things are actually made from grains then it becomes a little more difficult.

Well today I've made the switch. Today I didn't eat any grains and my world didn't come crashing down. Of course that's just one day...we'll see how I feel after an entire week. I've made my meal plan for the week and I'm confident that I can stick to it. I will have to make sure I get up a little bit earlier since I'll be making breakfast in the morning. Nothing complex but I can't do like I just usually do and run out of the door and eat oatmeal when I get to work.

I'm not going to type out my entire meal plan for the week but I'll give you an idea of what I'll be having.

Breakfast: Protein Shake or Omelet with veggies

Lunch: Big Salad with chicken and homemade dressing

Dinner: Variety of meats combined with veggies

Snacks: Dried fruit, nuts, fresh fruit

Tonight I made some homemade ginger dressing. It was pretty tasty but not GREAT, I'm going to try to tweak the mixture a little bit before I post the recipe.

I think that I'll be satisfied with this plan. I'm not going to be so super strict that I don't enjoy myself if I go out to eat or if someone invites me over for dinner but I will try to stick to this at least 80% of the time.

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes and if I feel a difference. And of course I'll let you know WHEN I start to lose some weight ;-)

Theme for 2010: Completion

2010-01-01T21:54:00.002-05:00

In keeping with my switch from just a list of resolutions I'm instead choosing a theme for the year which will help guide me. I've decided that my theme for 2010 is "Completion". It took me a while to decide on one word to sum up my ideas for the next year but I think that does a pretty good job. I have been working on a number of areas in my life and this year I will be completing some of those items. As you may have figured out by reading my blog, I'm good at planning but not so good at follow-through. Having a theme of completion also signifies that I'm going to follow-through. Plan and COMPLETE those plans.

There are a few specific goals that I am going to list out. I may also post detailed plans for each goal in some future posts.

1. Ran a half-marathon: I don't want to take the time to train for a full marathon but I need a race to help me stay motivated with my running schedule.

2. Pay off 2 of my debts: I'm working on a specific plan to accomplish this.

3. Lose 15 pounds by June: That's less than 3 pounds a month which I think is very doable.

Those are the only goals I'm going to post for now. There are numerous other small things that I want to accomplish over the next year but I'm only posting my top 3.

What do you want to accomplish in 2010?

2009 Mission Accomplished???

2009-12-30T23:21:00.002-05:00

The end of the year is here...like every year, I've been going over the past year and determining if I met my goals for the year. So how did I do?

These were my goals for the last year:

*Complete a triathlon
*Complete 2nd marathon (still deciding which one this will be but I'm leaning towards Chicago)
*Improve eating habits (I do have a specific plan for this particular goal which I will share soon)
*Create a 3 year personal/career development plan and begin implementation of the plan
*IMPLEMENT!!!

Well I didn't complete all of these goals but I'm still satisfied with the past year.

I completed a triathlon and had a lot of fun doing so. I decided not to run another marathon because I was feeling burnt out and my heart just wasn't in it. My eating habits were just so-so, I definitely could have done better in that respect. I created my personal/career development plan and I have begun implementation of that plan. I received a promotion a few months ago and that was the first step in my plan, I feel I'm well on my way career-wise.

I'm still trying to finalize what my theme for next year will be. Last year I stopped doing resolutions and decided to instead have a theme for the year and to list a few specific goals associated with that theme. I'll figure it out by tomorrow and post my decision either tomorrow or on the 1st.

Easy Living

2009-12-15T21:02:00.002-05:00

I've often wondered how people can let themselves get morbidly obese. I still DO wonder how it happens but today I did have an epiphany about how it starts. I'm not about to disclose some mind-blowing revelation, so don't get excited. I just simply realized it happens because it is EASY. It is so much easier to just do nothing. It takes virtually no effort to sit around and not be active. To just eat whatever you want and not even think twice about the amount of calories or the impact of what you're eating on your health. But here is the thing, the longer you take the "easy" route and go down the path of destruction the HARDER it is to get back on track. The harder you have to work to lose the weight and fight the urge to live unhealthy.

I've been taking it easy lately which means it is going to be harder for me to get back on track. It's okay though, I'm ready for the challenge....

P90X vs. My Husband

2009-12-09T09:07:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all! I haven't fallen off the side of the earth, I just haven't been very inspired to write anything but a nudge from Dena and a hilarious workout last night just might get me back on track.

I mentioned in a previous post about the Primal Blueprint and how I was going to try to adhere to that way of life. Well we (my husband and I) decided that it we would take it slow and just make a few changes right now and then really get started after the holidays. There is just too much bread, sweets and stuffing floating around during the holidays to make a significant lifestyle change.

As a part of our improved lifestyle we are going to start working out together. I know my runner friends won't like the part of the Primal Blueprint that makes a case against chronic cardio workouts (i.e. marathon training). I can respect some of the scientific information the author presents BUT I'm not going to stop running! Concerning the working out together part, we are going to start taking walks (my husband doesn't like to run) and we are going to do some of the P90X workouts together.

Which leads me to the title of my post. Monday night the husband said he wanted to get started with our work out plan and that we needed to do a P90X video on Tuesday. Since we aren't doing the official plan and we're just going to do some of the videos a few times a week I decided to pick one of my favorite videos (Core Synergistics). He was talking junk about how he was going to do better than me with the workout, blah blah blah. I just smiled and replied "of course you are". Well 35 minutes into the video he's laid out on the floor crying about how he feels like he's going to throw up. HAHA! I'm sure that eventually he'll build up to the point where he can actually finish the workout but at least he learned a valuable lesson about challenging me when it comes to fitness.....

Good Luck Amy!

2009-11-06T17:03:00.003-05:00

My running buddy Amy (who I've been neglecting) is running her 1st marathon on Sunday. Although I won't be there to cheer her on I will be cheering in spirit. I met up with her yesterday for a short run and it was great. I don't know what I was thinking staying away so long but I made her promise to let me know when she was going to start back running after her marathon so I could join her. The plan is to always stay trained well enough to be able to do a half marathon. That sounds like a pretty reasonable plan to me.

I'm looking forward to hearing all about her run and even though she claims it is going to take her 12 hours to finish, I'm predicted that she'll run it in well under 5.

GOOD LUCK AMY! I know you can do it.

Never Underestimate Your Spouse

2009-11-03T07:52:00.003-05:00

I've been reading this book, "The Primal Blueprint" and it really has me considering a major lifestyle change. When I say major, I mean MAJOR. I won't say that this is a Diet because it isn't something you do for a period of time, it is a way of life but the changes are mostly focused around your eating habits.. I'm not going to go into great detail in this post because I haven't actually finished the book and I want to have the full picture before I discuss it here.

The biggest change is that this way of life calls for the elimination of grains from your diet. That's right, no bread, pasta, rice, corn or any other grains. The book goes into depth about the science behind the recommendation to eliminate grains and how it will lead to a healthier life. I usually give the side eye (o_O) to these books that propose what seems to be radical changes in the way I live my life. This book, unlike many others, provides a large amount of references and I've found other, unrelated, articles that agree with the beliefs presented in this book.

Why am I even considering this? Because I want to feel better. I'm in relatively great shape (although I could still stand to lose a little body fat) and there isn't nothing medically wrong with me. But I don't feel GOOD. My stomach is almost always upset and it was clear from my non-dairy exercise that it isn't just lactose that is a problem. I more than likely have a gluten sensitivity and eliminating grains from my diet is one way to ease that pain. Eliminating grains is something I was considering before I even heard about this book but since reading the book I'm even more motivated to actually do it.

Last night at dinner I brought this up to my husband. I just knew he was not going to be happy about my decision and was definitely not going to participate. Surprise, surprise he just said, "so does this mean I can still eat meat?". Apparently his breaking point is taking away his steaks, he doesn't care so much about bread and pasta. I'm not going to go "cold turkey" because that would more than likely just result in a binge and because I'm not going to waste the food I already have in my pantry (that is open). The items that are unopened that won't be a part of my new lifestyle, I'll just add to my donation to the local food bank. This will be a gradual thing but my plan is to be at least 80% primal by the beginning of the year. I'll keep you posted....

The Only Thing to Fear

2009-10-21T11:12:00.002-04:00

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself" - Franklin D. Roosevelt

It's not that I don't understand the quote, of course it is the fear of (fill in the blank) that is the problem and not the actual thing we are fearing. Perhaps this is true but even if fear is the only thing we HAVE to fear, it most certainly isn't the only thing we DO fear. There are a lot of things that we fear and everyone has their own private fears. When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, the fear of change plays a big part.

Change scares a lot of people, probably because "the unknown" scares a lot of people and that is essentially what change is. You are doing something new, something you don't have experience with and that can be scary. It is much easier to go on living life the way you always have than to potentially experience discomfort by changing your ways.

The reason I bring this up is because I think this fear is what has prevented me from making the changes to my lifestyle that I know I need to. Well that and my lack of willpower/possibly addiction to unhealthy foods. If I make the decision to eat healthy, I'm afraid I'll miss eating all of the crap I shouldn't be eating anyway. If I stop watching TV (as much) , I'm afraid I'll miss something exciting and interesting. But you know what? I'm pretty sure that in the long run I'll be much happier if I am healthier and have the potential to live a better and longer life.

If I focus on the things that will truly make me happy then I'll be able to overcome the fear of change because I know the change is for the better.

Recipe of the Week: Mini Meatloaf aka Meal for My Future Kids

2009-10-20T08:18:00.002-04:00

When I think about the future and the potential of kids I often wonder how our dinners will be. Will we all sit at the table and talk about our day or will we eat on our table trays while being distracted by the TV. We always had at least one meal a week at the table with no TV when I was growing up. I think that it is important, it is a time to catch-up and check in on each other.

I don't really remember that many meals from my childhood, which is surprising because it wasn't THAT long ago. I do remember the few times my mom made meatloaf and I remember that I hated it. Who wants to eat a hunk of meat that looked dry and had some red sauce on top? Not me that's for sure. The funny thing is, my mom is a great cook so her meatloaf was probably good, I just didn't like the idea. Because of this I have never attempted to make meat loaf (until now). I found an extremely easy recipe and decided to just go for it.

It was a hit! My husband loved it and he told me he despised meatloaf (yeah, I made it anyway). Now I have the perfect meal to force my future kids to eat. I can't wait to say the famous line "you can eat this or you can go to bed hungry" LOL. I'm joking....maybe....

Mini Meat Loaves
*Adapted from the Feb 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup purchased pasta sauce (I used tomato sauce and added some Italian seasoning to it)
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 lb lean ground beef (I'm sure you could use turkey if you prefer)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
Italian seasoning or any other seasoning you like

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450F. In large bowl combine egg, 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce, bread crumbs and seasonings (I don't know how much seasoning, just sprinkle some in).

2. Add beef and 1/2 cup of cheese; mix well. Divide beef mixture in four equal portions. Shape each portion in a 5 1/2 x 2-inch oval. Place on a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. (The pan I used was slightly smaller 13x9 and it worked just fine)

3. Spoon on remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160F (I used my handy oven probe and it took 20 minutes for it to each 160)

4. Serve with green beans or whatever you favorite veggie is.

5. Enjoy!

Giving Up Jarred Pasta Sauce

2009-10-15T20:41:00.003-04:00

This all began the other night when I was making dinner. I didn't really have a specific meal in mind and since I hadn't gone grocery shopping I was going to have to make due with what was already in my pantry/freezer. I had some shrimp and some pasta so I thought, all I need is some spaghetti sauce and I can make shrimp spaghetti. Sadly, I didn't have any of my usual Chunky Ragu sauce in the pantry. What I did have however was the perfect ingredients to make my own spaghetti sauce. I whipped my "homemade" sauce up in no time and after the first spoonful I decided that I was officially giving up store bought spaghetti sauce.

Tonight I made my own sauce again, this time using lean ground beef instead of shrimp and once again it was delicious! It was sooo easy, I really don't know why I wasn't doing this before. I know you are all extremely interested in knowing my recipe, so I will try to appease you. If you know me, you know I'm not the best at explaining how I make something unless I'm following an exact recipe.

Warning: this is not exact but just a rough guide to go by.

Ingredients:

Large Can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes (I like the ones already seasoned with garlic, oregano, and basil)

~4 oz Tomato Paste

Italian Seasoning

Crushed Red Pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix the diced tomatoes with the tomato paste. Stir the tomato paste until it dissolves into the juice from the diced tomatoes. *I'd suggest that you add the tomato paste in slowly, you may need more or less.

2. Add seasoning to taste. I never measure my seasoning so I wouldn't even know where to begin as far as amounts are concerned.

3. Enjoy! Yep, it's that simple.

Notes:

-If you like your sauce more "juicy" then you may want to consider adding a little bit of tomato juice or using some crushed tomatoes.

-I'm thinking of trying out adding additional vegetables to the sauce. Maybe one of those bags of italian vegetables.

On another topic....my GoWear Fit came today (yeah I bought it) so be on the lookout for a post about that really soon.

Recipe of the Week: Espresso-Rubbed Steak with Green Chile Pesto

2009-10-12T23:05:00.002-04:00

I've made this recipe twice, once with the pesto and once without. I liked it more with the pesto which is actually very easy to make. I was a little intimidated by the thought of making pesto sauce but as long as you have a food processor you won't have any problems.

Ingredients (Steak)

1 1/2 beef flank steak

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp kosher salt or salt

1 tsp instant espresso coffee powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Ingredients (Pesto Sauce)

2 medium fresh Anaheim or Poblano chile peppers (I used 1 of each)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (cilantro tastes like soap to me so I used fresh basil)

1/4 crumbled Cotija cheese (I couldn't find this cheese ANYWHERE so I used Parmesan)

2 tbsp pine nuts

2 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions (Steak)

1. Score both sides of steak by making diagonal cuts in a diamond pattern. In small bowl, combine chili powder, salt, espresso powder, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper. Sprinkle over steak; rub in,.

2. Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot; add steak. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 12 to 14 minutes for medium rare or 14 to 16 for medium, turning once halfway through. Transfer to cutting board. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm while preparing pesto sauce.

3. To serve, thinly slice steak against grain.

Makes 8 servings

Instructions (Pesto)

1. Halve peppers lengthwise; remove stems, seeds and veins. Coarsely chop peppers. In food processor combing peppers, cilantro (or basil), cheese, pine nuts, garlic, red pepper, salt/pepper to taste.

2. Process to finely chop mixture. With processor running, add 1/2 cup olive oil in steady stream through feed tube to combine into a coarse paste.

Makes about 1 1/2 cup pesto.

This is a delicious steak and sauce. I will definitely add this to my recipe box (okay I don't really have a recipe box but if I did I'd add this to it).

For all of my non-meat-eating friends, the pesto would also taste good over some pasta or maybe you could pour it over tofu?

ENJOY!!!

Planning Makes Perfect

2009-10-09T07:30:00.003-04:00

I'm the planner queen. I make life plans, meal plans, exercise plans, shopping plans, all types of plans. I have calendars, electronic planners, notebook planners, hand-held planners. I make to-do lists, to-go lists, to-buy lists, to-see lists. I set time limits, price limits, all types of limits.

Where does that get me? Sometimes it gets me far and I follow my plan and achieve my goal. More often it just leaves me with a well-written PLAN. Excessive planning makes you a perfect planner but it doesn't make you a perfect executor. A great plan is just a nice set of words if you don't actually put that plan into action. The action portion is where I sometimes get hung up. I have some excellent plans in my folder of plans that I've never actually started. I haven't figured out what makes me see certain plans through while others stay trapped on a sheet of paper.

I saw this funny episode on South Park where they were making fun of how girls are always making lists. I found this hilarious because I've always made lists, I probably make at least one list a day. I never thought of list-making as being a female thing but maybe it is.

My point is this, I will never stop creating my "perfect" plans but I am going to spend more time implementing the plans I've created. Hmm...perhaps I should go create a plan on how I'm going to implement my plans....LOL, just kidding!

Kiss My Rut Goodbye

2009-09-29T10:36:00.002-04:00

I've been in a rut lately. I don't really know why because I should be super happy. My life is great, I just got a promotion at work and I have a wonderful family. But for some reason I've just been feeling BLAH, especially when it comes to working out. I guess you've already figured out by the lack of P90X posts that I did not complete my 90 days as desired. Part of me feels like a failure for not sticking with it but another part of me understands that it is okay. It isn't the end of the world and I still own the videos so I can just start again.

Yesterday I kissed my exercise rut goodbye. Perhaps I underestimated the affect that running has on me and how I may need it to stabilize my moods. My new plan is to alternate running with the P90X workouts. The main benefit of the P90X workouts is that if you follow the plan your muscles stay "confused" and therefore get more out of the workouts. Adding in runs and spacing out the workouts won't affect this aspect of the program and it will help me maintain a better attitude.

I also realized that I eat horribly. I know I'm not the worst but my eating habits are pretty terrible. If I ever want to achieve that fat loss that I claim to want then I am really going to have to do a better job of sticking with a healthy eating lifestyle. Not a diet, I need to change my mentality and just improve the way I eat overall. Damn those delicious, unhealthy foods that always tempt me.

I went for a run yesterday and while it wasn't as long or as fast as I would have liked it felt great. I shortened it because about a mile and a half into it a crazy downpour started and I was soaked to the bone so I decided to turn back before I got struck by lightening or a tree branch fell on my head. Even though the rain cut my run short, I felt like it was cleansing for my soul. My desire to do and be better is renewed and now I'll work even harder to achieve my goals.

BodyBugg

2009-09-16T22:10:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking about getting a BodyBugg or at least trying one out. I think the gym I go to has something where you can rent one for a month so I'm going to look into how much that costs. If you've never heard of the BodyBugg, it measures your caloric output to help you accurately estimate what your caloric intake should be in order for you to lose weight.

I know, I know....do I really need to spend money on another gadget? Probably not, but I have come to the realization that I have a small addiction to gadgets. I love them, when I find out about a new gadget I want it. If I had the money or less restraint, I'd probably have all of the items that they sell in those infomercials. I think this particular gadget could be useful in helping me break my current plateau, at least I hope that it will.

I'll let you all know if/when I get it and what it tells me. What I really need is something that I can just attach to my body that will beep when I've eaten too much. Maybe I could even set it to give me a mild shock when I even think about eating unhealthy food.....too extreme?

P90X and More

2009-09-14T22:40:00.002-04:00

My friend and writer extraordinaire Dena asked a question on my last blog post about the feasibility of doing P90X and still running several times a week. There are two main things that factor into whether or not this would be possible for a person.

The biggest issue is time: Each of the P90X workouts lasts approximately a hour and a half. For me that is about all the time I have for working out during the week. I get up around six in the morning and I don't get home from work until around six at night. At that point I don't really have the time to do more than a hour and a half of exercise, especially if I'm going to cook and/or do any type of cleaning. If I was the type that enjoyed getting up in morning and working out then it would be a lot easier to fit in multiple workouts during the day. Or if I won the lottery and therefore didn't have to work I could workout about three times a day. (A girl can dream....)

The second issue is soreness: Soreness isn't exactly the word I'm looking for but the point is that the workouts are fairly intense and you would need to plan on which days you're going to run so that you aren't in too much pain. The plyometrics and leg/back workouts are brutal on your legs so you probably won't want to run the next day. Now if you did a relatively short run in the morning of those workouts then that would probably be okay.

If you have the time then it should not be a problem to fit in running (or another exercise) in with P90X. If you are already pressed for time and barely fitting in your exercise then you probably won't have the time to do additional workouts with P90X. I really believe that the people that they show on the P90X infomercials are doing additional workouts (or maybe they just aren't eating chili-cheese fries).

In my ideal life I wouldn't be at work for 9-10 hours a day (not including the time it takes to get there) and therefore I would be able to get up in the morning and workout and then workout again in the evening without quickly becoming run down.

If anyone else has any thoughts on this situation then please feel free to comment.

P90X Update and Longest Bike Ride

2009-09-06T14:42:00.002-04:00

Today I went on what turned out to be a 57 mile bike ride. My longest ever. The weather was PERFECT and the scenery was beautiful. I enjoyed the route because it was different from our normal route and it wasn't very hilly.

This ride demonstrated just how stronger my legs have gotten with P90X. We rode at a pretty decent pace, about 15 mph, and I was comfortable the entire time. I only got a little tired around mile 48 but then I got my second wind. My legs felt powerful and strong throughout the ride and I know that it is due to all of the squats and lunges I have been doing in P90X. I wonder what affect this will have on my running...I may sign up for a race before the end of the year.

I have 4 weeks left in the program and I am satisfied with my results thus far. While it is true that my fat gill hasn't completely diminished, a friend of mine reminded me today that I had that fat gill even when I was about 30 pounds lighter so maybe it is just a deformity of mine. Maybe after I have children and I have more money I'll just have it sucked out....

This past Friday and Saturday I did my workouts with my mom. It is pretty embarrassing when your 63 year-old mom can do more pull-ups than you. Sheesh....I have to get my strength up. I also determined that I really need to get a pull-up bar because using the bands isn't giving me the workout that I really need. I bought one of those pull-up bars that goes over the door but my attempt at using that resulted in me almost breaking my neck. So I'm going to buy one of the ones that you screw into the door frame and hope that works better.

I have lost some weight and an inch off my waist as well as about 2% body fat. If I really buckle down and start eating healthier then I know I will continue to see even better results. I'm going to look into the books my friend Dena recommended, hopefully there will be some things in there that I can convince my husband to eat. He's kinda picky.

P90X - 1 Month Left

2009-08-31T12:20:00.003-04:00

I am close to the end. I have four weeks left in my P90X journey and I am fairly satisfied with my results. I am definitely stronger than I was when I started the workout and I have lost some fat. I have to be honest and admit that I slacked off a little bit this past month and therefore I haven't seen the results I probably could have seen had I tried a little harder.

I still enjoy the workouts because even though I've been doing them for 2 months they are still challenging and I feel like I've worked out. I have some thoughts about what I'm going to do after I finish this last month but I will wait to share those with you once I get closer to the end.

Hands down my biggest pit fall is FOOD. I am starting to think I have a problem. It is a problem that I share with many other people but it is still a problem. I generally can do alright during the week (unless someone tempts me into going out for lunch). I cook healthy dinners and I keep healthy snacks on hand. Where I fall apart is the weekend. There is something about the weekends that just messes me up completely. How do you blow a week's worth of healthy eating in two days? With cheeseburgers and fries that's how! Even if it isn't fast food, I still end up eating too much on the weekends. If I really want to see the results I desire then I need to fix this problem of mine. That will be a goal of mine over the next few months....stop having disastrous weekend eating habits.

Does anyone else have this weekend eating problem? What do you do to avoid overeating on the weekends (or in general)?

Recipe of the Week: Oven-Fried Spicy Chicken

2009-08-17T21:11:00.003-04:00

I know it has been a while since I posted a recipe but I honestly hadn't made anything using any new recipes. I decided to get it together this week and try out some of 100s of recipes I have around here.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn flake crumbs (I just crushed up some Special K)

2 tsp chipotle chili powder (or regular chili powder)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp season salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

4 bone-in chicken thighs (I removed the skin)

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375. Line backing sheet with aluminum foil. (I recommend spraying the foil with cooking spray because mine got stuck to the foil.)

2. In a bowl mix together buttermilk, 1 tsp cayenne pepper and seasoning salt. Place chicken in bowl to soak.

3. Meanwhile, mix corn flakes, chili powder, cumin, salt and rest of cayenne pepper in a large ziploc bag.

4. Remove chicken from bowl and place in bag. Shake until coated with cornflake mixture.

5. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes or until golden and crispy and internal temperature registers 160. (I just want to say that having a probe hookup in your oven is wonderful.)

Nutritional Information per thigh: 285 calories, 18g fat, 21g protein, 9g carbohydrates

P90X - Week 6 or 7

2009-08-13T23:34:00.002-04:00

I was nicely reminded by my good friend Dena that I've been slacking on my updates ;-). I won't even promise to do get back to daily updates but I can make weekly ones for sure.

My first week 5 didn't go so well because Mother Nature and I had a disagreement and I really didn't feel well enough for a week full of workouts. I made the decision to do week 5 over since I missed several of the workouts. That makes this week my new week 6. Only 6 more weeks to go.

Workouts:

This set of workouts incorporates two slightly different arm workouts. I like both of these workouts but I still have problems with the push-ups due to my wrists. Luckily doing them on my knees still provides a workout for my chest and arms. It does however cause rug burns on my knees which is definitely not a good look during the summer...

Body Changes:

My back fat has not decreased as much as I would like but I'm still keeping hope alive. My arms and legs are stronger and more toned. I'm excited because I'm only half way finished so if I keep it up then I'll have some really noticeable results.

Nutrition:

As I said before, I hadn't been doing as well as I should have concerning my eating habits. This week I have been very diligent and have recorded all of my food and exercise into my calorieking account. I have met my calorie goal every day so far and my carbs/protein/fat ratios haven't been too far off. Now if I can just stick with this for the next six weeks.....

Additionally, I went for a four mile run today and it was great. I had been feeling kind of frustrated the past few days and the run definitely made me feel better. I have to make sure to keep running as a part of my routine.

P90X Update - 1 Month Down!

2009-07-29T10:14:00.002-04:00

I have not done a good job of keeping up with blogging about my P90X journey. After working in front of the computer all day, doing my workout and cooking dinner; I haven't felt much like blogging about anything.

Things are going great with the program. I am definitely getting a lot stronger and my muscles are becoming more defined. This gill of fat on my back isn't disappearing as fast as I'd like it to but that probably is because I haven't exactly stuck to the suggested meal plan. I have a lack of willpower when it comes to food. I should be able to pass up a burger and fries but for some reason I can't. If I didn't like to workout I'd probably weigh 300lbs.

This first month has gone by pretty fast. The workouts were challenging and haven't really gotten easier because I just work harder at them. The only part of the workouts I don't like are the push-ups. I have to do modified versions because I have problems with my right wrist. I can't bend it in the correct positions needed to do a regular push-up. I'm going to check with the doctor to see if there is a way to fix this. Since I can't work as hard on the push-up part I just put more effort into the other arm exercises .

So....1 month down and 2 to go. I'm definitely going to make it and hopefully will have some beautiful results to post for all to see. If this back fat isn't all the way gone then you'll only get a front shot, LOL.

P90X - 2 Weeks Down, 10 More To Go

2009-07-13T16:47:00.003-04:00

Today I am starting on week 3 of this 12 week journey. I feel pretty good. My shoulders and glutes are a bit sore but overall I'm in less pain than I was at the end of week 1. I think the main reason I'm feeling sore is because on Saturday I added in an extra workout of bike riding and running. I hadn't been riding or running in a while and I felt surprisingly great. We did a brick workout of 10 mile ride + 1 mile run x 3. Oh and we got faster on the bike part each time (I can't say the same for the run portion, lol). I will definitely make a point to continue riding and/or running on the weekends while I'm doing P90X.

As far as workouts are concerned the 1st three weeks are exactly the same so there isn't anything exciting to discuss about that. I do feel stronger overall and the workouts are becoming slightly easier, a big emphasis on slightly. I have still yet to complete the entire abs ripper video. That thing is 15 minutes of pure torture!

My weight and body fat % has been fluctuating up and down for the past week so I'm not really sure what is going on with that. I will be honest and admit that I haven't been doing the best at following the diet plan like I should be. I'm going out of town at the end of this week so I know that I will probably make some poor food choices but I'm going to try my best not to get completely out of control. I'm going to take my laptop with me so that I can do the workouts in my hotel room.

I'm still motivated and going strong. I definitely feel I'm going to have some great results by the end of this thing.

P90X - Day 8 & 9 : Find the Burn

2009-07-07T22:27:00.002-04:00

The guy that does the video is always telling you to "find the burn" well I found it all right. My muscles were burning just turning pages in my notebook today. I wonder how long it is going to take for the soreness to go away. Maybe it is going to be this way for the entire 90 days since the workouts switch so often.

This week is just like last week so yesterday was chest & back and today was plyometrics. I still can barely make it through the plyometrics workout and I really thought I was fit. I've run a marathon and complete a triathlon, geez! Apparently this workout doesn't care because it is kicking my butt anyway.

The good news is that I have lost 2 pounds and reduced my body fat slightly (only 1% but hey it is an improvement). Also I feel great which is extremely motivating. I hope everyone else is doing wonderful as well.

P90X - Day 6 & 7: Don't Wear Heels

2009-07-05T22:29:00.002-04:00

I'd like to start off this blog post with a word of warning. It is not a good idea to do the Legs & Back workout and then go dancing at the club in 3-inch heels. That is unless you are attempting to start a new dance craze called "The Charlie Horse". Seriously, trying to ~~strut~~ walk through the club + your calf muscle seizing up on you = massive fail. I certainly learned my lesson.

Day Six was scheduled to be the Kenpo and Day Seven was the rest or Stretch X day. Due to the holiday and the fact that I could barely walk on Saturday I chose to switch the order around and do the Kenpo today.

Kenpo was great! It is a type of martial arts so it was basically a bunch of kicking and punching. I feel like I could beat someone up pretty bad right now, LOL. Just like all of the other workouts you get out of it what you put in. If you are punching lightly then you don't get the same workout you would if you are punching with force. I went all out. I pretended I was punching all of the ~~people~~ things that annoy me. I think this will be one of my favorite workouts of the bunch. There are still about 5 more that I have yet to do so I don't want to speak too soon.

After the workout was over and I was eating dinner my arm was trembling just picking up my fork....so yeah, this was a serious workout.

P90X Day 3, 4 & 5

2009-07-03T17:29:00.002-04:00

Clearly my plan to give an update everyday is not on track. Oh well, I'll make an effort to do better but the way these workouts are kicking my butt I don't feel like blogging afterwards. So here's a recap on the past few days.

Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms:
I'm excited about this workout. I really want some of those sexy, muscular arms and I feel like this will help me get there. This was probably the easiest workout thus far but still not easy by any means. Currently I'm using bands in place of the pull-up bar because I can only do half of a pull-up. Not to mention the fact that I almost had a nervous breakdown trying to get my pull-up bar put together (it's still not together by the way). Tank tops here we come!

Day 4 - Yoga:
When I saw that day for was yoga I thought, score, finally a break. Umm NOT! The yoga was ridiculous. First of all it is an hour and a half which is 30 minutes longer than the other workouts. The first 30 minutes where a version of power yoga where we were moving the entire time. I was fine up until about the last 8 minutes, at that point I had to skip out on some of the upward dogs because my arms just couldn't take it anymore. The next 30 minutes was balance poses which wasn't too tiring but it definitely was challenging. The last portion was yoga abs which I'm hoping will help sculpt my abs of steel.

Day 5 - Back and Legs:
I'll just say that my calf seized up and I almost started crying during this workout. I thought I had pretty strong legs but I don't have P90X legs (yet).

General Thoughts:
This has been great so far. Hard but great. I like doing the workouts along with the video because it keeps me going. There is no way I'd complete one of these workouts on my own. I've been doing pretty good on my diet but I still need to lower my carb intake slightly.

P90X - Day Two: Polymetrics

2009-06-30T23:11:00.002-04:00

Polymetrics is ridiculous! I don't think I've done polymetrics since I was in high-school and for good reason. It was a bunch of squats, lunges and jumping around. I almost had a heart attack. I definitely had to pause the tape and take a few extra breaks during the workout. If I thought I wouldn't be able to raise my arms after yesterday's workout then I might not be able to walk after tonight's.

On the nutrition front, I need to figure out something better. I followed what I thought was correct but according to the guidelines I am supposed to only have 20% carbs and I was more around 50%. I already have my meals planned out for this week so I'm not going to make any major changes. Next week I will put the proposed meals into calorie king and play around with the choices until I come up with the right mix.

Now I just need to find a protein bar that doesn't make me want to barf.

P90X - Day One

2009-06-29T22:27:00.002-04:00

You can tell by the title of this post that I decided to go ahead with the plan of doing the P90X workout series. I thought about it for a few weeks and decided that based on my personal goals this is something that I want to do. I just having been seeing the results body wise that I wanted and I'm hoping that this will give me that extra push I need.

I planned on writing a pre-P90X post but I was too busy ~~being pissed off by~~ watching the BET Awards last night to write the post. I plan on following the nutrition plan too so yesterday I went to the grocery store and bought all of the things that I need for the week. Nutrition is always my biggest hurdle so I am going to try really hard to keep on track.

Today's workout was Chest and Back. This involved a lot of push-ups, pull-ups and other arm work. So umm yeah, my arms are pretty weak. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to lift my arms in the morning but it was a great workout. After the Chest and Back series I did the Ab Ripper video. I didn't not EVEN complete that entire thing. It was extremely difficult. I'll be able to finish it soon though!

I plan on posting everyday, we'll see how that goes......

What Inspires You to Run?

2009-06-22T21:55:00.003-04:00

I received a comment(from Sian) on my last post asking "Do you really just get into it." I'm assuming the question is around the desire to just get out and run. Does one just really get into it to the point where they just love and can't wait for their next run.

There is no concrete answer to this. As I've previously posted, I've been running since I was young so it has always been a part of my life. I go through periods where I absolutely LOVE running. I just have the desire to bust out of my office space and run down the street. When I feel this way I can't get enough, running clears my mind and energizes my life.

I would be lying if I said that I always felt this way about running. Sometimes (like for the past couple of weeks) I just don't feel like running. I don't know why but I go through these periods where I just don't have the desire to run.

I think it all comes down to why you are running. I have lots of friends that run and they have a variety of reasons as to why they run (companionship, health reasons, sanity, etc.) I think that if you stick with it for a while you will start to love it. And if you don't love it then don't do it. I am a big advocate of running and I think everyone that can should do at least some running but life is too precious to waste time on doing something you REALLY don't enjoy.

There is always cycling....

So fellow runners; do you have any advice for Sian? When you started running did you automatically love it or did it have to grow on you? If so, how long did it take?

Where's Elvis?

2009-06-12T00:28:00.003-04:00

I apologize for leaving so abruptly and not letting you all know. I've been in Memphis since Sunday for work and have been super busy. I promise to get back on top of my blogging when I get back in town this weekend. I shouldn't even be up right now because I have my last session in the morning and without some sleep those things aren't the easiest to stay awake through.

I hope everyone is doing well and is on track with whatever your individual fitness goals are. Free food and no time to exercise means I'm going to have a lot of work to do when I get back. I might need to go ahead and call Paul about that 100 mile bike ride he wants to do.

P90X Question

2009-06-05T16:02:00.002-04:00

Has anyone tried the P90X series? From what I can tell it has been out for a while so it isn't something new that people are doing. I've read a few reviews and like reviews for anything of this nature people either like it or love it. It is clearly not for beginners but I took the "fitness test" that they recommend before purchase and I passed (with flying colors).

I am enjoying cycling and running, the swimming not so much but it is getting better. I still want to do triathlons but I feel like I'm not seeing the changes body-wise that I am looking for. A few people that I've talked to that actually did the program said that it was "life changing" for them and that they finally saw the results they had been trying to get for a long time.

What do you all think about the program?? I do have my 10 year high-school reunion coming up soon....

Operation No Dairy Results

2009-06-02T21:22:00.003-04:00

I somewhat made it through the entire two weeks without eating any dairy. I had a slip-up the day of my trip up the mountain but how could I turn down pizza after that? All-in-all I definitely learned some things during the two weeks. I'm not sure if two weeks is truly long enough to really make a fair analysis but that's the time I set and here is what I learned.

1. I need to stop eating dairy. Just taking two weeks off from dairy improved the way I felt. I was less bloated and less gassy. I don't know if there could have been something else that added to this but I didn't change anything else so I will attribute my improvement to not eating dairy.

2. There is no way I can stop eating dairy, LOL. There are too many things I love that have dairy in them for me to just cut it out completely. I am going to try to limit my dairy to only occasionally instead of eating it every day.

3. I eat dairy everyday! Before doing this if you asked me how many servings of dairy I ate in a day I would have said maybe 1 and sometimes none. WRONG! By really paying attention to what I eat I realized that there are a lot of things that I was eating that contained dairy and I wasn't even aware of.

4. My favorite coffee drink at work has dairy in it, hot chocolate has dairy in it, my new favorite salad dressing has dairy in it, my favorite chips have dairy in them. I mean WTF! Does everything have dairy in it???

5. Tofutti sour cream does NOT taste better than real sour cream. It looks like it might but trust me, it doesn't. I love sour cream and I was REALLY hoping this would be an acceptable substitute, it isn't.

Bottom Line: I am going to save my dairy servings for special occasions but I'm not going to cut it out of my diet completely just yet. There is a popular saying that goes "Change will come when the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of change." so I guess until it gets worse I won't be changing completely.

Mountain Climber

2009-05-26T13:03:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago my coworker Paul asked me if I wanted to go with him, his wife and our coworker Bryan for a ride in the nearby mountains. He made it sound like it would be a leisurely ride through beautiful scenery. It was only a 22 mile ride. I had gone 50 so I figured this wouldn't be too bad.

WRONG!

This 22 mile ride up TWO mountains was anything but easy. Yes the scenery was extremely beautiful (when I was able to see it through the pain I was feeling). This definitely ranks at the top of the list of most difficult things I've done physically.

We started off at the top of Hanging Rock (I think that is a picture of it above, lol) then went down and towards Sauratown Mountain. It took us about 8 miles to get to the actual climb up the mountain. When we get there Paul says "okay now this is where it starts getting steep." STARTS!!?? It has already BEEN steep to me and I was already feeling the burn in my thighs. I just kept in mind that it was just a 3 mile climb so I could do that with no problems. Well I wouldn't say that I did it with NO problems but I made it up although I wasn't so sure I was going to make it at one point. I was zig zagging all the way across the road trying to get up that hill. Luckily on that part of the ride there wasn't any traffic so I didn't have to worry about watching for cars. I finally made it to the top and got to take a short break before we started back to the car.

The ride down was fun. It is kind of annoying that it took about 45 minutes to get up the hill and then only 10 to come back down. My forearms hurt from pumping my brakes so much going down the hill. I was afraid to go TOO fast although I did get up to 36 mph. I also didn't want my brakes to melt so I was careful not to ride them too much.

The last climb...since we parked at the top of Hanging Rock we had to ride back up to get to the car (whose idea was it to park at the top??). This was the worst part of the ride for me. The hill was shorter, about 2 miles, but it felt so much more difficult. I guess because there was more traffic and because I was pretty tired at this point. When I had a little over half a mile left I really wanted to give up. I almost started crying and if I would have been able to get my foot unclipped (I didn't even have enough energy to do that) then I would have stopped for sure. I'm kinda glad that I wasn't able to get my foot loose because it made me keep going and at this point Paul had come back to ~~make sure I wasn't dead~~ ride the rest of the way with me so that definitely helped a lot.

All in all I'm glad that I did it and that I now know I CAN do it. I'm glad that I had some great people to ride with because that definitely helped me make it through the ride. This will make the hills on our regular route seem like nothing. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I want to do the 3 mountain madness (this adds on another mountain and about 40 more miles) but maybe.....

Finding My Still Point

2009-05-21T21:55:00.002-04:00

I went to a wonderful yoga class yesterday. It may have been the best yoga class I have ever participated in. The instructor was wonderful and the class was challenging but not terribly difficult. The best part of the class was when he told us to find our "still point". This is the slight pause in between your breaths. Right after you breathe in and right before you breathe out. He asked us to focus on this point. It was nice to just relax and focus on my breath (or non-breath).

I have a lot going on right now, all good but still a lot. How great I felt in the class made me realize that I should take more time to just relax and focus on my still point. One way I'm going to do this is to make Yoga with this guy a regular part of my schedule. I enjoyed it more than I did the Pilates course.

Operation No Dairy Update

2009-05-20T11:13:00.002-04:00

I'm on day 3 of my quest to eliminate dairy from my diet for the next two weeks. So far it hasn't been that hard other than Monday when we went to the Mexican restaurant for lunch.

I think what makes it easier is that I cook dinner and bring leftovers to work for lunch. I just make sure I don't make anything with dairy in it. This really isn't that big of a deal because other than mac & cheese and lasagna I don't really make things with dairy in them that often. Hmm this would mean no sour cream on taco night though....

I haven't felt any different yet, I'm still feeling the same discomfort I have been having but it is only the beginning of day 3 so I need to give it some time. Although what is my goal? If I DO feel better in two weeks am I going to cut dairy out of my diet for the rest of my life? Probably not. Why oh why can't someone just come up with a medicine (that works) that would help with lactose intolerance???

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #13

2009-05-18T21:49:00.002-04:00

Wrap-Up:

I don't even really remember what I did last week but it wasn't that much. Luckily last week was a recovery week so I used it as such. I wasn't feeling too hot so I just took it easy and did a few runs and swims. I was planning on going on a bike ride on Sunday but the weather didn't cooperate and I had a lot of things I needed to do around the house.

Goal Setting:

I haven't even looked at what the workouts are supposed to be this week (bad I know) so I'm not sure what my goals are going to be other than to try my best to complete as many workouts as I can. I have been lacking energy lately but I hope I can turn that around.

The biggest goal of mine for the next two weeks is to not eat ANY dairy at all. I hope that I can stick with it but I already know that it is going to be hard. I had my first test today when I went to a Mexican restaurant and of course everything that I wanted had cheese in it but I stayed strong and avoided the dairy. We'll see how this goes...

Body Fat Percentage Bullcrap

2009-05-12T22:25:00.003-04:00

So I told y'all yesterday about how I bought the body composition scale and how upset I was by the percentage it gave me. I was convince it was a liar so I decided to have my husband (who rarely works out and eats cheesecake like 3 times a week) get on there to see what his is. Umm yeah so now I'm even MORE upset. His body fat percentage is less than half of mine. I mean COME ON! In what universe is this even fair? He went out and ran/walked a mile and a half today and he'll probably lose 2 pounds. Me on the other hand, if I go more than 3 days without working out I gain 2 pounds.

My mom asked me the other day "why aren't you skinny?". Yes, why am I not skinny? I'm really starting to think that I have some sort of condition that isn't allowing me to lose weight. I think I'm going to go get this checked out because something isn't right.

On another note: I'm going to try to go for 2 weeks without eating any dairy product. I think that dairy is really causing me intestinal distress so I want to see how I feel if I just eliminate it from my diet. This is going to be extremely hard for me because I LOVE pretty much everything diary. I haven't met a cheese I didn't like, ice cream has always been a great friend to me, cream sauce *sigh*. Oh well, if it gets rid of my stomach pains then I guess it will be worth it....maybe...

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #12

2009-05-11T22:33:00.002-04:00

I wasn't even going to do an update today because I feel like crap. I probably should be asleep right now but I'm not for a variety of reasons, one being my addiction to TV. Since I'm up I might as well do my weekly post.

Wrap-Up:
All in all last week was pretty great. I felt good until this weekend when the Demon came into town. I completed all of the scheduled workouts for Monday-Friday. I feel off on the weekend, skipping out on Sat and Sun workouts. I made up for the workout on Sunday by helping my mom build a fence around her garden.

Sidenote: She planted EIGHTY tomato plants so if anyone likes tomatoes I'll have plenty to share.

Goals:
Umm well that depends on how I feel this week. It is hard for me to judge right now because all I want to do is lay on the couch and eat cookies. I'm going to try to get in at least one of every exercise this week and hopefully more. Friday evening is the Relay for Life event (I'm still taking donations if you're interested in giving) so I'll do a lot of walking/running that day/night. Hopefully I can get a long bike ride in this weekend.

On another issue....I think I mentioned I was going to purchase a body composition device. Well it came today and that is probably what has added to my foul mood. I'm really hoping that thing is incorrect otherwise I have some serious work to do. I mean what in the world, I don't even want to type the number that thing gave me for my body fat percentage. I knew I hadn't lost any weight but I thought it was because I had gained muscle but now I don't know what to think. This is very frustrating because even though I know I don't have the BEST eating habits I know that they aren't terrible and I work out consistently so I really don't understand. It's not like I'm going to stop working out but I would like to see more results. *sigh* I have some changes I'm thinking of making that might help; I'll keep you posted.

Hills...How I've Missed You

2009-05-05T21:21:00.002-04:00

In keeping with my schedule for the week I went to the park to do some hill repeats. I went out even though it was kind of cool and misty. Luckily there was a lull in the storm so it wasn't raining during my workout. I did six hill repeats and I felt pretty good although when I was doing my cool down my calves were burning and felt like they had rocks in them. The workout itself wasn't too exciting but I did see some strange things while I was at the park.

This lady was jogging around the park and she had on a raincoat and she had an umbrella in her hand. I don't really understand this. You're exercising, you have a jacket with a hood, why would you waste the energy to carry along an umbrella? If it starts raining are you going to stop, put up the umbrella and walk the rest of the way? Seemed a little ridiculous to me.

The other thing was that when I first pulled into the park there was a couple sitting in a parked truck. They were arguing when I left for my run. When I got back from my run the truck was steamed up and they were getting it on hot and heavy. REALLY? It is not nighttime and this is not lover's lane.

Our yoga class was cancelled due to the rain so instead of skipping out on that workout I found a 30 minute yoga workout on Exercise on Demand (this channel is starting to be pretty useful) and did that. These videos can be hit or miss but this one was pretty good. I think I will incorporate it into my weekly schedule at least until I can complete the entire workout at the moderate level.

So far I'm on track for the week but I usually fall off on Wednesday so we'll see what happens.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #11

2009-05-04T18:48:00.002-04:00

I'm really trying to get back on top of posting consistently so we'll see how that goes.

Wrap Up:
Last week was so-so. I felt good but I skipped out on a few workouts. Hmmm...that seems like a pattern. I don't know what it is that prevents me from actually completing all of my workouts.
I did complete both bike rides with one of them being my longest yet at 51 miles. I also did get a few swims in. I guess the biggest part I missed was the running. I planned on doing the High Point Half-Marathon but that so didn't happen. I knew after I attempted to run six miles and felt like I was going to fall out after 4 miles that I wouldn't be able to successfully complete a half-marathon.

Goal Setting:
My plan this week is to actually follow the plan that Marisa gives us. I have done well so far since today I was supposed to do a swim and strength training. I did my swim at lunch and then came home and did a full body strength workout that I found on Exercise on Demand (that thing was crucial!).
Tuesday: Hill run and Yoga - I will have to do the hill workout right before yoga but that shouldn't be a problem since the yoga will be focusing on flexibility and not strength training.

Wednesday: Swim and Bike - This is supposed to be a long swim so maybe if I come in a little early it won't matter if I take a long lunch to get my swim in. I'll do the bike at the park after work. Although the schedule says to do a flat course but I have no idea where to find a flat place to ride around here.

Thursday: Bike and Run - Since I have a lunch meeting I'm going to try to do my run in the morning (if I can drag myself out of bed) and then do the bike after work.

Friday: Off (Thank Goodness!)

Saturday: Brick Workout - Perhaps if I get up early enough I can do this from my house before there is alot of traffic, I don't really like riding alone but it is just for an hour so I'll be fine.

Sunday: Swim - This one is going to be hard since it is Mother's Day and I'll be at my parents I don't think I'll be able to make it to the pool. I will probably replace this with a short run unless my dad takes me to his gym.

OK so I'm going to try to really focus on nutrition (I know I say this every week). Maybe I need to just figure out the perfect mix and try to stick with that at least for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Dinner will vary of course but if I can keep all the other meals pretty much the same then maybe that will help?

A Very Wet Day

2009-05-03T21:07:00.002-04:00

I had a very busy day today exercise-wise. This morning I got up early and went for a long bike ride with Paul and then I met my tri-group for a wonderful swim clinic. I've decided to share the details of my day today, LOL.

The Ride:
This was my longest ride to date - 51 miles! I felt great too. I am really starting to get the hang of this whole gear switching thing. The course we rode wasn't super hard but there were a few relatively steep hills and a bunch of gentle slopes. The hills were still somewhat tough but not extremely hard. All this cycling is going to make my thighs even bigger :-/ now I'll have to work on getting some of the fat off of them so that at least if they are big they will be big and toned. The forecast called for rain so I was crossing my fingers that we didn't get rained out. We lucked up and only had about 10 minutes of light rain. It was actually kind of refreshing because it came when I was starting to get hot. Of course, the ride wouldn't be complete without being chased by dogs. We were chased by one killer dog and a few less vicious dogs. I'm really going to have to get that pepper spray....

After the ride I stopped and got a bagel and some chocolate milk so I didn't fall out before the swim clinic.

The Swim Clinic:
It was great! It was useful to understand what an ideal stroke looks like and what I needed to work on in order to achieve that. Marisa gave us several drills to help improve our stroke and also let us know what we each needed to work on. I felt like the slow kid in the class because after each length she had something to say to me about what I was doing wrong. That's okay though it just gives me more to work towards. I read this article that said that when you are first working on your stroke that you should do significantly more drills as opposed. So I plan on focusing on my drills and improving my stroke.

Sidenote: I'm still trying to figure out how I'm doing all this stuff and I'm not losing any weight. It's a mystery....

Sleep Diary #5

2009-04-28T18:57:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since I've made an entry in my sleep diary. Things had been going pretty well other than the fact that I wasn't actually going to sleep when I should have been. My plan of going to bed around 10:30 just wasn't happening. I've been lucky to get in the bed before midnight. Considering that I was sleeping alright once I got into bed.

Last night was terrible though. I had a pain in my side that kept me up all night. Every time I would get to sleep I would wake up after about an hour. That is not a good night's sleep. This kind of made me think...how much does it matter if your sleep is interrupted during the night? Based on my experience I think that it matters a lot. I'm going to do my best to get to bed at a more reasonable time so that I can be a little more alert during the day.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #10

2009-04-27T15:19:00.002-04:00

I accidentally skipped last week's Wrap-Up and Goal Setting. Really the main wrap-up was captured in my review of the Belews Lake Triathlon. My goals for last week were just to recover and attempt to focus on nutrition.

Wrap-Up:
Last week was a pretty good week. I got in a nice swim workout, a couple of runs and a great bike ride. One of the runs was a little difficult because apparently we have skipped right over Spring and headed straight into Summer. I was completely unprepared for how the heat would affect me when I went for a run on Thursday. It is back to carrying water with me while I run. Sunday I went on a bike ride with my friend Susan, we did about 20 miles and then did a 3 mile run afterwards. It was really helpful riding with her because she discussed gear shifting and gave me some pointers on when to shift from my big ring to my small ring.

Goal Setting:
I have not really been doing a good job at accomplishing my goals but at least I'm getting out there and doing something.... I am having the hardest time following the plan that Marisa gives us for the week but I at least try to do the stuff even if I have to switch around the days.

I am supposed to be doing the High Point half marathon this weekend but I'm not feeling too confident about that since I haven't been running as much as I'd like to leading up to the race.
Swimming: I usually do this at lunch time so that's why it is sometimes difficult to fit in. I'm going to try to go twice this week (Tuesday and Friday)
Running: 3 Times(Tuesday and Thursday and Sat)
Biking: Twice (Monday and Sunday)
Weight Training: Once (Wednesday)

Next week I'm going to see if I can actually follow the plan that Marisa give us even if that means getting up and going to swim before work.

Recipe of the Week: Plum Chicken

2009-04-22T20:38:00.002-04:00

This is a recipe that I've made several times and realized I never posted it on my blog so here you go.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder (I don't like this so I use cayenne pepper and seasoning salt)
3 green onions
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. plum jam (I've also used black cherry jam which was pretty good)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions:
1. In bowl, toss thighs with five-spice powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. From dark-green end of onions, finely chop enough to equal 2 tablespoons, reserve for garnish. Cut remainder of onions into 1-inch pieces; set aside.
2. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add thighs and cook 10 minutes or until they're browned and lose their pink color throughout, turning once. Transfer thighs to plate; cover to keep warm.
3. In drippings in skillet, on medium, cook 1-inch onion pieces 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in broth, jam and vinegar, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until sauce is syrupy. Return thighs to skillet and turn to coat with sauce.

Suggested sides: green beans and brown rice

Tamara's Take: 9 - This is a quick and easy recipe. I think that I will even branch out and try some different flavors of jam. It is very tasty and great over rice.

Belews Lake Triathlon Race Report

2009-04-20T16:14:00.003-04:00

I am now an official triathlete!! WHOO! HOOO! I really enjoyed the race and I am already trying to plan out what my next one will be. I didn't win any awards but I had a wonderful time and felt great which is really all that matters. Here's the run down of the event:

Pre-race: I was a nervous wreck. I woke up around 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. I packed everything the night before so I didn't have to worry about that. I couldn't even eat all of my breakfast because my stomach was doing back-flips. On the ride down there I was practically shaking and my heart was beating really fast. I'm not sure why I was so nervous, it isn't like I was trying to win a championship or anything.

Swim(750 meters): 20:19 - This was surprisingly my favorite part of the race. I find it funny that the part I was the most worried about turned out to be the part I felt the best in. Yes, the water was COLD but it didn't have that big of a negative affect. I will admit that when I arrived and saw where the buoys were that I was thinking there was no way I was going to be able to swim that far. I actually passed some people in the water which was a shock to me. I felt strong throughout the entire swim and tried to pick it up towards the end although I'm not sure how much that actually happened. I did an okay job at spotting but towards the end I veered to the left a little farther than I would have liked.

Bike (14.5 miles): 59:44 - The bike was the hardest part of the race for me. There weren't any super steep hills but there were some significant hills on the course that really slowed me down. I feel like I have the power in my legs I just need to learn how to optimize the use of the gears. Throughout the entire race I felt like I was never in the correct gear. The positive thing is that I actually went faster than I felt like I was going. Not to mention, for some reason I was sure that the bike portion was only 12 miles so figuring out that it was 14.5 miles after I finished made me feel better about the ride. I didn't pass anyone on the bike ride but I sure did get passed by a lot of other people, most of them were nice and had some encouraging words which made me feel a little better. The funny thing that happened while I was riding is that I was looking at the legs of the people that were passing me and seeing a number on the right calf. My first thought was, oh I must not be doing that bad if #64 is passing me, wow I don't remember passing him in the swim, I must have done better than I thought in the swim. It didn't take me long to remember that the number on the right calf is the age of the person and that I was getting passed by a bunch of "old" people, LOL.

Run(3.1 miles): 32:16 - I would have loved to be able to do the run in under 30 minutes but I told myself before the race that if I could do it in under 35 that I would be satisfied. The start of the run was brutal because it started up a pretty long hill. My calves were burning and I felt like I had a ton of bricks in my shoes. Once I made it up the hill I felt a lot better and definitely picked up the pace for mile 2 and 3. I did walk briskly at the water station because I was feeling kind of dehydrated. I did not drink nearly enough water during the transition periods or while on the bike. I think it was because I was still kind of nervous and my stomach was bothering me so I didn't want to push that. Next time I will make sure that I take in enough fluids. The race coordinators were kind enough to have the finish on a downhill so I made myself really push it and even got into a sprint race at the end with some guy, I guess he didn't want to get beat by a girl LOL!

Transitions: I was concerned about not knowing what to do on the transitions but when it came down to it I was very comfortable and things went well. I think this is mainly due to the transition clinic that Marisa held for us the week before and from all the great advice I got from my fellow competitors. I wasn't super fast at either of the transitions but they went smoothly and gave me a chance to gather myself before the next event.

Thoughts: I loved it! It was very difficult and I can't even imagine doing a longer one right now even though I do plan on it for the future. I know it will just take a lot of hard work and dedication. I'm thankful for all of my wonderful friends and family that were there to support me and to provide lots of advice and to calm me down. Three of my friends won awards: Marisa (2nd female overall), Paul (3rd Clydesdale), Susan (2nd Athena). I'm very proud of them.

My coworker Bryan and I started the race 15 seconds apart. It was nice having someone that I knew nearby. He put on this show the day before the race about how nervous he was going to be but he seemed pretty calm to me. We didn't exactly stay together during the race but I did see him during each part so that was nice. It is great to have a familiar face out there on the course. There were some other people from the running group and tri training group out there as well. I don't know what their individual goals were but they all looked strong to me when I saw them on the course so I hope that they were pleased with their results.

Bottom-line: I'm now hooked and will be looking for my next fix real soon, LOL.

Triathlon Trepidation...3 Days Away

2009-04-15T22:34:00.002-04:00

My first triathlon is coming up in a few days and I'm starting to get nervous. I don't know why I'm nervous...I've done a lot of preparation and training. Not to mention, it's not like I'm trying to win an award, I'm just trying to enjoy myself and get in some good exercise at the same time.

Doing races and events gives me motivation to stay on track with my exercising because I know that I have something that I'm preparing for.

Umm...so I don't even really know what I planned to write but clearly it has escaped me.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #9

2009-04-13T22:34:00.002-04:00

Wrap Up:
I actually did okay this past week. Haven't lost any weight and I swear my thighs seem to be getting bigger...I'm going to assume it is muscle which is a little better but still frustrating when I try to fit into my pants.
Strength training: had me sore for the next few days! I really need to work on my upper body strength.
Biking: I made it twice, once was a spin class and the other was a 21 mile ride outside. I pushed myself in both cases so I'm feeling pretty good about my 12 mile bike ride for the race.
Swimming: I don't think I actually swam this past week except for my swim in the ice cold lake which was probably ended up being a couple hundred meters.
Running: Once, I skipped out on Saturday because my stomach was killing me.
Hmm...maybe I didn't do a well as I thought, LOL. But at least I felt better than last week.

Goal Setting:
My first triathlon is this Saturday! Whoo hoo. So this week I'm going to take it pretty easy and just do a few short workouts. I'm excited, nervous, and a little scared. Today we had transition training which made me feel even more comfortable although I don't think I'll be racing through my transition site, I'm just going to take it easy and focus on the different segments of the race.

What do you have planned for the week?

Not Quite Ready

2009-04-12T22:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday when we were getting ready to leave the swim clinic Marisa mentioned that her and some other people were going for a bike ride today. I asked if I could come along and she said "sure!". She said they were going to do around 3 hours. I was thinking...3 hours, that's doable.

When I showed up this morning she said we were going to do around 40 to 50 miles. I'm thinking in my head, oh so we must be planning on being out for longer than 3 hours. Uhhh, NO. Clearly based on the way we sped off they were not planning on being out for longer than 3 hours. I knew after the first hill that this probably wasn't going to work for me. I'm used to coasting along and picking up the pace every now and again. Riding with them my pace was picked up the entire time.

This is what happens when you've been cycling for six months and you try to ride with people that have competed multiple ironman competitions and one who has been riding for over 15 years. I tried to turn back after we had gone about 8 miles because I knew there was no way in hell I was going to make it 30 - 40 more miles at this pace. Marisa talked me into continuing but about 6 miles later when I'm sure she saw I was struggling to keep up. Well actually I wasn't struggling to keep up, I just plain wasn't keeping up. She was nice enough to direct me to a short cut back. I know she was worried about me riding alone but riding alone for less than 10 miles was a lot better than having me fall out on the side of the road which is what would have happened if I tried to keep going at the pace I was trying to maintain.

The ride back wasn't that bad. It gave me some time to reflect and to focus on my shifting and pedaling. I'm still getting the hang of actually pulling up on the pedals instead of only pushing down. The only bad part of the ride back was when I was coming up a hill and these two large, vicious dogs came running out at me. I thought I was going to have a heart attack because I could feel the dogs breath on my ankle. I couldn't get my foot unclipped to kick at it, which is probably a good thing because I'm pretty sure that would have resulted in me falling. I just screamed at the dogs until they left me alone. I am SO getting some pepper spray and the next dog that messes with me is going to get a face full!

Even though I couldn't keep up with Marisa and her friends I feel really good about today's ride because I pushed myself. At least I know I can go faster that I have been going. Maybe not for 40 or 60 miles (which is what they actually ended up doing today) but at least probably for 12 which is the distance next weekend so that's great!

ICE COLD

2009-04-11T22:12:00.002-04:00

Today I went to an open water swim clinic to help prepare for my first triathlon that I will be competing in next Saturday. I can't remember the last time I have swam in a lake or even if I have ever actually swam in a lake. Since deciding to sign up for this triathlon the swim is the part that has been making me the most nervous. I'm not the best swimmer to begin with and the fact that this swim is in a lake doesn't really help.

So today I put on my wetsuit (UGH, I look like a stuffed sausage in this thing) and get ready to hop in the lake for swim. Oh, did I mention that the temperature of the water in the lake was 62 degrees.? Yeah, 62 degrees....painfully cold. I guess it could have been worse, although if it was any worse then I don't think I'd have been getting in the water. My toes and fingers were practically frozen and it hurt to put my face in the water. I must like torturing myself.

Enough complaining....I am very happy that I went to the clinic today. I feel so much more comfortable about the swim. The lake wasn't nearly as dirty as I thought it would be and I think having a bunch of other people in the water must have scared all of the fish away because I didn't see any. It was a little different swimming in a wetsuit but I think it won't be that big of a deal. I'm glad that the swim is a timed start instead of having everyone start at the same time. I don't think I'm ready for all of that chaos yet.

Nutritional Needs

2009-04-10T21:45:00.003-04:00

The other day I asked my tri trainer if we were going to have a discussion about nutrition during our training program. The reality is that I probably already know everything I need to know about proper nutrition. I have read numerous nutrition books and articles. I have taken nutrition courses when I was in college. I know about portion control and what the proper balance should be for carbs/fat/protein. I have meal plans, healthy menus and a wide array of healthy recipes. I know how many calories I should have a day. I know that I should take into account my exercise and that it is just as important to eat enough food as it is to not eat too much food.

What is my point?

The point is.....lack of information isn't my problem. A lack of willpower is. I know all of this stuff but it doesn't mean a damn thing if I don't use this knowledge to create and stick with a healthy eating plan. I exercise regularly so I know that I could see the results I say I want if I could just get a handle on my eating. I just have an addiction to unhealthy food. I can't pass it up, I can't stop eating it. It would be one thing if I did it occasionally but I do it far to often. It's not like I don't enjoy healthy food, I just REALLY enjoy things like chili cheese fries and cookies. I don't know what I need to do to spark a real change but I'm going to work on figuring it out. The biggest thing is being more diligent in my meal planning and making sure that I have healthy options instead of unhealthy ones on hand for when I need a snack. Hopefully something will spark soon!

Biking Does Not Equal Spinning

2009-04-07T21:54:00.002-04:00

I learned today that biking is not that similar to spinning. Spinning is a lot harder! I decided to take a spinning class today since I knew that I wouldn't ride outside by myself. It probably didn't help that my thighs were still sore from my workout yesterday. I had no idea it would be as difficult as it was but at least I made it through. Here is why it was so different to me.

The size of the bike wasn't optimal. Clearly they don't make these bikes for people 5 feet and under which is a bunch of bullsh*t. I mean really, I know numerous athletic women that are short so why won't exercise machine companies make some bikes that will suit us??? I lowered the seat ALLLLL the way down and it still wasn't perfect. It need to be about an inch lower to be comfortable.

You don't get to coast! You have to continue spinning the entire time. Sometimes you get to spin at a slower pace but you still have to keep spinning. Geez, I am used to coasting a large part of my rides, LOL, so this was pretty difficult.

Not to mention the instructor kept looking at me when she told us not to bounce. One, I don't even know what she meant by this. Two, LADY, have you seen these hips? They bounce on their own, I have no control over what they do. I just really don't foresee myself taking another spin class because while it was a great workout, it was pretty uncomfortable. Maybe one day they will make spinning bikes for short people.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #8

2009-04-06T21:33:00.002-04:00

You would think that taking some time off would make me less tired but I swear I'm just as tired as I was before my break.

Wrap Up:
Yea.....so last week was pretty much a bust. I was feeling very worn out and so I decided to listen to my body and get some rest instead of pushing it and making myself feel worse.

Goal Setting:
This week I'm really trying to get back on track. Today we did a strength/cross-training workout that has my thighs on fire! I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to fit everything in this week because I have a lot going on but I'm going to try my best.
Strength Training: Once plus at least a 1 minute plank each night
Biking: 2 or 3 times
Swimming: 2 or 3 times
Running: 2 or 3 times

We'll see how it goes....

Happy Anniversary to Us

2009-04-02T11:00:00.003-04:00

Today is our 1 year anniversary! Whew...we made it, LOL. The traditional present for the 1st anniversary is paper. Since we are in the digital age I count the internet as "new" paper. So in celebration of our anniversary I thought I would list 10 reasons why I love my husband.

1. He puts up with my messiness and even picks up the shoes and coats I leave thrown around on the floor.
2. He lets me have control over the remote.
3. He has semi-agreed to us getting a cat despite his cat "allergy".
4. He tells me that every meal I make is delicious (even though I don't really believe him).
5. He supports me fully in my work and training.
6. He rubs my sore muscles after a long hard workout.
7. He laughs at my jokes and some of them are pretty bad.
8. He puts up with my constant mood swings, I am truly a Gemini.
9. He entertains the fact that I say that I am going to become a more organized person at least once a week but it has yet to happen.
10. HE GETS ME!

There are a bazillion more reasons why I love my husband...these are just a few. Now I'm off to start preparing a wonderful dinner of stuffed mushrooms, crab cakes, filet migon, cole slaw and double-baked potatoes. YUM!

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Nuggets (Baked)

2009-04-01T21:39:00.003-04:00

I don't have kids but I imagine that these would make for a nice, kid-friendly meal. I served them with oven baked french fries and salad.

Prep Time: 10 minutes plus 15 minutes marinating time Cook Time: 20 minutes

Marinade Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp sweet paprika

Chicken Nugget Ingredients:
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp of water
1 cup panko (or regular) breadcrumbs (I used panko)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Dipping sauces, such as BBQ and honey mustard

Instructions:
1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken and stir to coat well. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. ( I only did it for 15 min and it was fine)
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Pour flour onto a dinner plate and season with salt and pepper. Have beaten egg ready in small bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese on a shallow plate. Working with one piece of a time, remove chicken from marinade (shaking off excess) and dredge in flour to coat. Dip into egg mixture then coat completely with breadcrumb mixture and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue until all pieces are coated and placed on a sheet. (OK so this was a little too much work from me..call me lazy..so I just put the flour and the breadcrumb mixture into 2 separate bags and put all the chicken pieces in the bags and shook them up instead of doing 1 piece at a time and it worked well and was less messy.)
3. Bake until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes (turn nuggets halfway through to crisp both sides). Serve with dipping sauces.

Tamara's Take: I'd give this around an 8. I don't even know why I rate these things with numbers because it really doesn't mean much to anyone else since they don't know my scale. Anyway, this was easy and delicious. The nuggets were light and crunchy with a nice taste even without the sauce. Next time I think I will add some hot pepper to the mix to add an extra kick to it. If I ever babysit someone's kids and I need to fix a meal I will definitely consider making these for them.

If you try it, I hope you enjoy!

Laughing Fit

2009-03-31T22:55:00.002-04:00

Today I went for a run with Amy R. She wanted to do a relatively long run which I was up for since it meant I could eat more today. The run was filled with lots of laughs starting with the fact that we both decided that we had to run at least 7 miles to account for the food that we had already eaten earlier that day, LOL. Is it sad that I schedule my workouts around what I want to eat or is it just a good plan? I'm going to go with it being a good plan.

We did a little over 7 miles at an average pace of 10:33. The great part was that we pushed it the last mile and did it in under 10 minutes. We did do one mile over 11 minutes but I blame that on the huge hill we had to run up and the fact that we broke out into a laughing fit moments before the hill. It was one of those laughing fits that is sparked by a small, funny comment and just turns into uncontrollable and unstoppable laughter.

I'm starting to feel even stronger in the running department and I'm strongly considering doing the High Point half-marathon in May. It just depends on my schedule because I might be out of town that weekend.

Have I ever told y'all how much I love running?

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #7

2009-03-30T21:51:00.004-04:00

Dang I've been slacking on the posting....I'll do better this week I promise!

Wrap Up:
I feel like I start off the week on track and then I just start to fall off towards the end of the week. This is especially true when it there is bad weather on the weekend. I find it soo much harder to work out when it was raining because I'd much rather be curled up on the couch. So here is how last week went:
Weight-loss/nutrition: Not so great...gained back the 2 lbs I lost last week. Oh well.
Swimming: Once - 650 meters
Running: 4 times (21 miles)
Biking: none :(
I need to figure out who to maintain my motivation throughout the entire week. Oh and I didn't do any strength training either.

Goal Setting:
I still need to figure out exactly what I'm going to do this week because I already know that I'm going to be going out of town this weekend. That means I'm pretty much going to blow my diet this weekend so I'm not going to even worry about it, LOL.
Swimming: 2 times
Running: 4 times
Biking: I'm going to try to do some biking at least once but I'm not making any promises.
Strength Training: once (for real, I'm going to do it this week!)

If I didn't have to go to work it would be a lot easier to fit in all of these workouts but I'm glad I have my job so I'll figure out a way to make it work.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #6

2009-03-24T22:01:00.002-04:00

OOPPS! I forgot to do my weekly wrap-up and goal setting yesterday. I was tired and it completely slipped my mine. Anyway, better late than never.

Wrap Up:
I didn't accomplish ALL of the goals I set out for the week but I still did pretty good. I lost 2 more pounds which is great. I didn't even feel hungry the entire week like I was afraid I might. The good thing about this week was that it was sunny and not too cold. So here's what I did.
Swimming: Once (750 meters)
Biking: 16 miles - I decided not to run on Wednesday because I just didn't feel like it.
Running: 21 miles - my 6 mile run by myself was an excellent run.

Goal Setting:
This week I started my official triathlon training with Marisa. I am really going to try hard to stick to the plan that she gives us. Here's what I'm doing this week.
Swimming: 3 times
Running: 4 times
Biking: 2 times (these may have to be on the stationary or in spin class...UGH)
Strength Training: 1 time

This is a definite step up in my working out but you know what that means? It means I can eat more!!! Whoo hoo. I definitely run (and other stuff) to eat.

What are you doing this week?

Solo Bike Ride

2009-03-22T20:53:00.002-04:00

I was too wimpy to get up and go for a early morning bike ride in the cold so I had to settle for riding alone. This was my first bike ride alone and while I am comfortable on the bike I am not THAT comfortable. I decided to do the 10 mile loop I mapped out around my house. It was okay but there were a bit too many cars for me. I am a "worst-case scenario" type of person so all I could think about was, what if I get hit, what if I pop a tire, what if my chain falls off, etc, etc. I wanted to do more than 10 miles but I didn't want to do that same loop again so I decided to turn into my neighborhood and ride around on the smaller streets for a while.

It was great. There were almost no cars on those back roads and the area was beautiful. I rode past a small lake, some animals including an adorable pony. I thought I might get lost but I didn't which made me proud of my memory and directional skills. I'll just be happy when I learn a little more about bikes and riding so that I will be more comfortable riding alone.

Recipe of the Week: Fluffy Pancakes

2009-03-21T21:41:00.003-04:00

We did a 10 mile run today and it was a pretty good run. The urban loop is a wonderful route to run especially in the morning when there isn't a lot of traffic. This morning was colder than I expected but after getting warmed up it was nice. After burning off over 1000 calories I figured I deserved some pancakes so I decided to try a pancake recipe I found on-line.

-makes 50 to 60 silver dollar pancakes

Ingredients
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup flour
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoon sugar

Instructions
1. Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended.
2. Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream and sugar, and mix well.
3. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with grease, and drop spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle--just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2 inch round. When a few bubbles form on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly, no longer than 45 seconds.
4. Serve with warm butter and warm syrup. Enjoy!!

*I halved the recipe and it turned out just fine. The pancakes are VERY light and fluffy which made them somewhat difficult to flip but don't worry, they will turn out great.

The Smell of Rain

2009-03-19T21:59:00.003-04:00

I love the smell of rain when it first starts to fall. It smells all earthy and clean. It is one of my favorite smells in the world.

I had the most AWESOME run today! When I was putting my running clothes on I wasn't that excited about the run. I was feeling tired from an all day workshop and somewhat weary about the dark rain cloud I saw forming in the distance. I hoped that I could out run the rain so I hopped in the car and headed to the shop to start my run. Of course it started to drizzle before I could even get out of the car. At this point I had already decided that I would run regardless of the rain.

I have finally figured out how to have my Garmin give me 1 mile lap times so imagine my surprise when the first mile time was 9:26. I was thinking....hey I must just be starting out fast because of the rain. Then the second mile was 9:26 - okay so maybe I'm feeling great today. Then the third mile was 9:09 - WHAT! I was booking it and I didn't even feel that stressed. I will admit that the majority of the 3rd mile was downhill. I made up for it on mile 4 which was mostly uphill and at a 10:08 pace. I was still happy with that because it is way faster than I have been running lately. The last two miles were 9:49 and 9:29.

My overall pace was around 9:33. For SIX miles. I am so hype, LOL. This just made my day.

To make the day even better, I went to the triathlon training information session that Marisa held. I will give you more details about this tomorrow but if you're in the area and you are interested in doing some triathlon training then hit me up in the comment section.

Recipe of the Week: Curry Grilled Mahimahi

2009-03-17T22:03:00.002-04:00

I went for a short run today, ~4 miles. Nothing spectacular to discuss concerning that; it was a nice slow run and I enjoyed being out in the sun with my friends.

Here is a recipe I made last night that I thought I would share. I don't know exactly how long it took to make but it was no longer than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 lb mahimahi, skin removed
salt and pepper to taste (for the fish)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp dried oregano (I didn't actually measure these out when I made mine so I prob used more)
1 c. white rice (I used instant brown rice because that's what I had in the pantry)
2 chipotle chili peppers packed in adobo with sauce, finely chopped (if you are spicy adverse you may want to skip these or use a milder pepper)
1/2 c cilantro leaves, finely chopped (I actually didn't use this because cilantro tastes like soap to me)

Instructions:
1. Season mahimahi lightly with salt and pepper, then rub with oil.
2. In small bowl mix curry powder and oregano. Rub mixture over fish to coat evenly. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 6 hours in refrigerator. (I only let mine marinate for 15 minutes because I failed to really read the recipe before starting)
3. Cook rice per package directions. Mix with chipotles and cilantro.
4. Heat skillet over high heat. Cook mahimahi until crispy and medium-rare or medium, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve over rice.

If you want vegetables I suggest green beans; I like to use the Steamfresh kind since it is so quick and easy.

Hope you like it!

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #5

2009-03-16T20:52:00.002-04:00

Last week was a pretty good week, I didn't meet all of my goals for the week but I still had a good week.

Wrap Up:
I think I was a bit too ambitious with my workout planning. That schedule I made last week is my ideal workout schedule but clearly not my realistic one. I felt great during the beginning of the week but towards the end I started feeling bad. One of the reasons is that my monthly ~~demon~~ friend came for a visit and this was a particularly bad visit. Anywhoo...I'm feeling better now so here is how I did last week.
Swimming: Once (1000 meters)
Biking: none - it was raining this past weekend and I'm not up for riding in the rain
Running - 9 miles, I was going to run Sat but it was cold and rainy
Dang...when I type it out, it seems worse that I thought. I didn't do much at all this past week :(
On a good note, I lost 2 lbs! Things are going well for me using this calorieking thing. I have been extra hungry though so I'm still not so sure about this.

Goal Setting:
While I would like to say that I will do what I planned for last week I will be more realistic with myself. I think I am pretty much ready for the triathlon and Marisa's triathlon training starts soon so that will help me out too.
Swimming: 2 times (Monday and Friday)
Biking: 2 times (Wednesday and Sunday)
Running: 3 times (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday)
Doing one event a day is a lot more realistic than saying that I'm going to do two workouts a day.

What do you have planned for the week??

Hopeful

2009-03-15T21:56:00.003-04:00

I'm hoping that this week will be a good week. The weather is supposed to be better this week so I'll be able to get my workouts in. I'm feeling better too so that is good.

Marisa is holding the information session for her triathlon training; I'm looking forward to that. I think I am doing pretty well on my own with the training but it would be nice to have a little bit more guidance.

I am trying some new recipes this week so be on the look out for those too. I'll try to think of some interesting things to blog about this week....I've had bloggers block lately.

Bad Weather

2009-03-13T22:21:00.003-04:00

The weather has been so crazy lately. How is it going to go from snowing to 80 degrees back to below freezing in the course of 2 weeks?? I just need the weather to make up its mind and pick a season, all this change is really throwing me off.

I was supposed to do a 5-mile run tomorrow but I just really don't feel good. It is going to be cold and rainy tomorrow so I'm going to sit it out. It isn't that I have a problem running in the cold and rain but since I already don't feel good there is no point in me doing the run.

I've been doing pretty good on the nutrition front. I do need to be more diligent in my vitamin taking, I think that is why I've been so tired lately. I have some new recipes I want to try so I'm hoping those will turn out alright.

Now I'm going to hang out on the couch wrapped up in my wonderful Snuggie!

Recipe of the Week: Chipotle Steak & Corn Salsa

2009-03-11T22:14:00.003-04:00

I have been slacking on my recipe posting....Here is a recipe I got from Good Housekeeping (Sept 2008 issue). Somebody bought a whole buttload of beef so I'll be posting several recipes that have beef in them.

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 corn tortillas
Olive oil nonstick cooking spray (I use the Pam version)
2 green onions
2 c. fresh corn kernels (I actually used frozen and it worked just fine)
1 c. salsa
1/2 to 1 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper (If you can't find this in the store just use chili pepper)
1 tsp ground cumin
4 beef eye round steaks, 3/4in. thick (5 oz each)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. On cookie sheet, spray tortillas with nonstick spray to lightly coat both sides. Toast tortillas on cookie sheet in oven 9 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
2. While tortillas bake, prepare salsa: Thinly slice dark-green and light parts of green onions crosswise, reserving green tops for garnish. Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Add light parts of green onions and corn, and cook on medium 5 minutes (longer if you use frozen corn) stirring occasionally. Stir in salsa; cook 3 to 5 minutes to heat through.
3. Meanwhile, heat ridged grill pan on medium (if you don't have a grill pan you can use a skillet, you just may need to cook it a few more minutes) In cup, combine chipotle, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; use to season steaks. Place steaks in grill pan; cook 9 minutes for medium-rare or until desired doneness, turning once.
4. To serve, break tortillas into large pieces and place on 4 dinner plates with steaks and corn salsa; sprinkle with reserved green onions.

*I also made a sauce for the steak by adding some balsamic vinegar and some of the left over onions to the steak droppings left in the skillet. I don't have exact measurements because I kinda just threw that part together but it was good if you like sauce.

Nutritional Information:
About 385 calories, 39 g protein, 38 g carbohydrates, 9 g total fat, 6 g fiber, 62 mg cholesterol, 820 mg sodium

Tamara's Take: 8
It was pretty good, I just don't really like the trouble of preparing steak during the week. It isn't that time consuming but for some reason it feels like a hassle. I also don't really like corn salsa even though this was one of the better ones I've had. I will make this again but probably not on a regular basis.

Ramblings of a Runner

2009-03-10T23:21:00.002-04:00

I really don't have anything specific to talk about today so I thought I'd just say a few things that I thought about today. I ran a little over 5 miles today....it was kinda difficult but satisfying.

1. I am struggling with the balance of eating enough versus too much. Maybe I need to see a nutritionist. I don't like being hungry all the time.

2. I'm tired...I think I need to work on my sleep. This is nothing new, same as always, I just don't sleep through the night and it sucks.

3. Why do they insist on serving unhealthy food for meetings at work? We've had two meals at work this week. One was breakfast where they served the chicken mini's from Chick-fil-a. Each of these tiny things is over 100 calories of carbs and fat. The second was lunch were we had pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad and cole slaw...pretty much nothing healthy about meal at all. It doesn't help that food is a weakness of mine so it isn't like I could just not eat it, LOL. I'm more concerned with the people that eat a bunch of this stuff but don't go run 5 miles after work.

4. Am I the only one that finds it annoying when people say, "You work out so you can eat whatever you want."? First of all, you clearly have no concept of all that I wish to eat or else you wouldn't have said that. Secondly, no I can't....I work out so that I can eat more of the things I want but I definitely can't eat WHATEVER I want.

Ummm, that's enough for one night. I did not intend for this to be a negative post but rereading it, it seems that it is slightly negative. Maybe a good night sleep will improve my mood. *crosses fingers and says goodnight*

Rockin the Red Pump!

2009-03-10T08:24:00.000-04:00

In honor of today a group of female bloggers are "Rockin the Red Pump"

Here are some interesting statistics:

HIV/AIDS & Women in the United States
------------------------------------------------
*There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. & almost 280,000 are women

*Among those who are HIV positive, 35% of women were tested for HIV late in their illness (diagnosed with AIDS within one year of testing positive)

*HIV is the 5th leading cause of death in women in the United States, ages 25-44

*High-risk heterosexual contact is the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections in women

HIV/AIDS & Minority Women
-----------------------------------
HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects minority women in the United States. According to the 2005 census, Black and Latina women represent 24% of all US women combined, but account for 82% of the estimated total of AIDS diagnoses for women in 2005.

HIV is:

*the leading cause of death for black women (including African American women) aged 25–34 years.

*The rate of AIDS diagnosis for black women was approximately 23 times the rate for white women and 4 times the rate for Latina women

*In 2006, teen girls represented 39% of AIDS cases reported among 13–19 year-olds. Black teens represented 69% of cases reported among 13–19 year-olds; Latino teens represented 19%

These statistics were pulled from The Center for Disease Control's website and the Kaiser Family Foundation's Fact Sheets (which cited the CDC). Get more information about the effect of the epidemic from these sites.

For more information on National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Day, and to find out events going on in your area, go to http://www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/events/.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #4

2009-03-09T20:13:00.002-04:00

Last week was CRAZY! It snowed on Sunday and by the end of the week it was warm enough to wear shorts.

Wrap-Up:
The beginning of the week was too cold for me to exercise outside, not to mention I was feeling a bit lazy. I did better towards the end of the week. I ran 5 miles on Thursday although it wasn't a great run, I made it! The weekend was wonderful. On Saturday I biked/ran and on Sunday I biked. Here are my totals for the week:
Swimming - 0
Running - 8.5 miles
Biking - 64 miles

Goal Setting:
This week I'm getting serious! I started off today with a 1000 meter swim. I was very happy with the swim because I was able to do it in 25 minutes. I'm feeling comfortable in the water but I am still nervous about the lake.
The plan from now until the triathlon is to do three of each event a week.
Swimming: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
Biking: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (I'm hoping this rain will hold off otherwise I will probably skip the biking or see if I can get in a spin class at the gym)
Running: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

Nutrition-wise I'm working on things. I have started using calorieking which is helping me be more aware of what I eat. I did very good today. This weekend I burned so many calories with all of the biking I did, I had a hard time eating enough calories to make up for all that I burned. I am trying to strike that balance between eating enough to provide my body with enough energy to do my workouts and not eating too much which will lead me to gain weight. This is hard.....

"3 Hour" Ride

2009-03-08T21:26:00.002-04:00

The plan was to go for a 3 hour bike ride; it turned out to be a 3 and a half hour bike ride. And you know what? I didn't mind one bit. The day was so beautiful that I feel like I could have rode forever. The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous. I'm really falling in love with biking. I have gotten more comfortable on the bike and with riding on the road. There are still some things I need to work on (like turning my head to see if cars are coming behind me) but I think that I am progressing well.

The great thing about today was that it didn't feel nearly as difficult as the last time we did a long ride. I guess my legs are getting stronger!

I plan on being very productive exercise-wise this week. I will post my plan for the week tomorrow.

My First Brick

2009-03-07T22:08:00.002-05:00

The weather was PERFECT today!!! I wish it could just stay like this year round. It made for a wonderful workout.

Before signing up for this whole triathlon thing I had never heard of a brick workout. Apparently it is a pretty common workout for triathlon training. Basically you do some biking and then you switch to running. This will help you get used to the transition from biking to running which can take some time getting used to.

We did a 14 mile bike and then a 1.5 mile run. Then we did a 10.5 mile bike and a 2 mile run. I was a little nervous before we started because it seemed like a pretty intense workout. I turned out to not be too bad. I felt good during and after the workout.

I mapped out our ride on Google maps before we left. I think I did a pretty good job since I had never ridden around the area before. I did a pretty good job. There was only one road that was really a gravel road and only one road that didn't exactly go through like the map said it would. That's why the first bike ride was a little bit longer than the second one.

Tomorrow we are going for a 3 hour bike ride. I hope Paul can make it, he might have overdone it today, LOL.

Heart Stopper

2009-03-05T23:27:00.002-05:00

I went for a 5 mile run today with my lovely running friends. I hadn't done anything significant since Saturday so I was feeling pretty stiff. My calf got really tight about half-way through the run but luckily that passed pretty quickly. I was mad that my heart rate monitor decided that it didn't want to work tonight. The battery should still be good so I'm really not sure why it wasn't working. I'll have to play around with it a little to figure it out.

I'm really trying to wear my heart rate monitor more frequently. I have experienced very high heart rates and I want to see if this is still happening. I can actually FEEL when it is happening but I want to know exactly how high it is getting and at what point in my run. It usually only happens when I get too hot but it has also happened at other times too.

Alrighty, well I spent entirely too much time ~~torturing myself~~ watching American Idol so it is way past my bedtime....Goodnight!

What's Your Motivation??

2009-03-04T20:29:00.002-05:00

I went ahead and signed back up for calorieking....no more ~~blissful ignorance~~ denial about the calories in my meals. Take today for instance, I went to Burger King and had a Whopper Jr. with cheese. Completely inappropriate! I felt even worse when I had to put that into my calorieking database and saw exactly how many calories that contained. :( The point of this is not to make myself feel worse but to hold myself accountable. If I don't write it down, if I don't know for certain how many calories are in what I'm eating then it is a lot harder to actually stick to a plan and truly lose weight/improve my health & body. This isn't really the point of the post, just a little update on what I'm doing as far as diet/nutrition is going. I will keep you posted.

As a part of the calorieking program you have to list your motivators and barriers. That made me start thinking about my motivation. Why do I do this? Why do I worry about what I eat and how much I exercise? Why don't I just sit around and eat whatever I want until I get big and fat and can't walk so I have to use one of those scooters when I go to the grocery store to get more unhealthy food so I can get even fatter? Ohhh that's right....I want to give myself the best chance as possible to live a long and healthy life free of the complications caused by obesity and obesity related diseases (diabetes, high-blood pressure, etc.)

That is my number one motivation - a healthy body and mind. I have other things that motivate me as well. I thought that listing them out would help me and hopefully help spark your mind to think about what motivates you.

*I want to look great naked. (This is a completely vain motivator but so what, it motivates ME)
*The sense of accomplishment I feel when I finish a race or a particularly hard training session
*"Runner's High"
*My friends and family - knowing that they fully support me is one of the best things in the world
*The fun of it

Those are the main things that make me want to eat healthy and make me want to exercise.

What motivates you?

Dinner Let Down

2009-03-03T21:09:00.002-05:00

I like to consider myself a fairly good cook. I have a few dishes that I make really well. I can generally follow a recipe and I haven't had too many cooking mishaps. Well there was this time I tried to make lamb chops but that's a different story for a different post.

Tonight my plan was to make "Quick Chicken Cacciatore" with broccolini and creamy polenta.

First problem - I went to the store in an attempt to purchase some instant polenta only to find that they don't sell that at Harris Teeter (WTF!). So instead I decide that I will make some cornbread. Not even close to the same thing but it provides the carbs.

Second problem - I don't think I like broccolini. I thought I would, it is supposedly just baby broccoli and broccoli is my favorite vegetable. Why don't I like it then??? Maybe I cooked it the wrong way. UGH! This did not taste how I planned and I can't stand when something doesn't taste like I expected it to.

Third problem - The chicken cacciatore didn't look at all like the picture. Now I know the food pictures are usually staged and the "perfect" form but I like the meals I make from a recipe to at least look close to the picture. The sauce was too runny even though I attempted to let it boil down over twice as long as the recipe indicated. And it didn't taste like I thought it would! Did I mention how I hate when that happens??

All in all the meal was EDIBLE but definitely not enjoyable. Better luck next time.

SNOW DAY!!! - Weekly Wrap-Up & Goal Setting #3

2009-03-02T19:01:00.002-05:00

We had a SNOW DAY today!!! Whoooo Hooooo!!!! I woke up at 7:15am and called the hotline at work, I was expecting to hear that we had a 1 or 2 hour delay but instead the message said that the office was closed. I didn't remember how much I enjoyed Snow Days until today, it was great!

Wrap-Up:
I did pretty well last week. I ran 3 times and I went to my Pilates class. The two short runs felt great, the long run turned into more of a walk/run but since my goal was to run twice I count that as a bonus anyway. Pilates was great as usual, I might need to find a way to fit in another session per week.

Nutrition-wise I did okay. I honestly can't really say since I don't really keep track of what I eat. I know that I wasn't completely out of line in my eating habits so that's a good thing. I'm thinking about signing back up for calorieking since that was the only thing that really kept me in check with keeping track of my calories. I also thought about posting what I eat on here as well but I don't know if I want to be held THAT accountable for my eating habits...

Goal Setting:
This snow has thrown a wrench in my plans for the week so I really don't know what type of exercising I will get done. It is supposed to warm up later this week so I plan to run on Thursday and Saturday. If the weather holds up then maybe I can go on a bike ride on Sunday - that would be great. I spoke with Marisa and she recommended that I do three of each sport a week (running, swimming, biking) I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to fit those all in, I will definitely have to do some twoadays. I'm hoping this is the last week of bad weather because I really want to get into my training!

On a housekeeping note - I did spend a few hours cleaning out my closet. I didn't get it finished like I would have liked to but at least I made some progress and I filled a whole box with clothes to give away. I'm really trying to refine my wardrobe and "graduate' to a more professional style. I really wish I had some extra money (but when is money ever extra?) then I would buy one of these.

What are your goals for the week?

Recipe of the Week: Southwest Chicken Wraps

2009-03-01T16:15:00.004-05:00

I've been slacking on recipe posting...I will try to do better. This recipe comes from Good Housekeeping and is a very good, light recipe. I made some adjustments to the recipe because I just have the hardest time sticking exactly to a recipe.

Time Required:
Active Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes

Ingredients:
*2 tbs. olive oil
*1 lb ground chicken or turkey breast
*1 med. red pepper, chopped
*1 tsp. chili powder
*1 tsp. ground cumin
*1/8 tsp salt (I used seasoning salt)
*1 cup salsa (I used hot but use whatever you like most)
*1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained (the recipe actually called for pinto beans but I think those are gross)
*12 Boston lettuce leaves
*1/2 cup of lowfat sour cream (or plain nonfat Greek yogurt)
*1 tablespoon chipotle peppers, in sauce (optional)

Instructions:
1. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat olive oil on medium 1 minute. Add chicken, red pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, salt and chipotle peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken loses its pink color throughout, about 8 minutes. Stir in salsa and beans; cook 5 minutes to blend flavor and heat through.
2. Arrange 3 lettuce leaves on each dinner plate. Divide chicken mixture evenly among lettuce-leaf cups. Top each lettuce cup with a dollop of sour cream (or yogurt). Fold leaves over mixture and eat wraps out of hand. *this is pretty messy so keep lots of napkins on hand!

Nutritional Info (approximate):
265 calories, 35 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 4 g total fat (1 g saturated), 8 g fiber

Tamara's Take: Delicious! A healthy alternate to taco night. Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Badge Of......

2009-02-28T20:48:00.003-05:00

I felt a lot better this morning so I decided to go ahead and go out for the run. It was cold and rainy :( That did not make for a pleasant run. I wasn't feeling that great once we got started, my legs were tired and I didn't have that much energy. We ended up doing 9 miles but it was more of a walk/run then an all out run. That is just fine with me, the point is, I (WE) got out there!

While we were running we started talking about how we should get a badge for this. It was funny because we started listing all different badges we have earned during our training. We didn't actually make up NAMES for the badges but for the purpose of this blog I'm going to make up my own names for the badges we mentioned as well as some I just thought of.

Snow Patrol Badge - for completing a run in the snow
Rainmaker Badge - for completing a run in the rain (we definitely earned this one today)
Beat the Heat Badge - for completing a run in 90+ degree weather
Trail Master Badge - for completing a trail run

Ummm, I can't remember the other ones we talked about. What about you? What badges have you earned during your running adventurers?

Uh Oh

2009-02-27T19:14:00.002-05:00

My throat hurts.....it started hurting when I woke up.....it hurt during work.....it is still hurting.

I drank a lot of tea today in hopes that it would soothe my throat...it hasn't. I'm currently drinking some orange juice, hopefully that will help.

I really hope that this gets better and not worse. I'm nervous because half of the office has been sick and coughing all over the place so who knows what kind of germs I have been exposed to all week long.

I have running to do! Not to mention I really REALLY planned on cleaning out my closet this weekend and I know that isn't going to happen if I wake up in the morning feeling even worse.

2nd Wind

2009-02-26T21:42:00.003-05:00

*note* I'm going to start posting the details of my runs. I got this idea from another blog I follow "Vegas Runner".

5 mile run: 55:25 minutes (average pace of 11:05). Avg heart rate: 168bpm. Fastest pace: 8:41 Max heart rate: 196bpm. I felt really good during the run and picked up the pace the 2nd half of the run. The weather was perfect and it was nice to have a run in good conditions.

Today we met at the shop (after numerous emails back and forth about where we were going to meet) for an evening run. We decided to forgo running through the park/greenway and instead decided to just run straight down Lawndale. That way was a straight shot and pretty well lit due to the street lights and car headlights. Running in the dark is still a bit scary to me and sometimes makes me dizzy.

After we got to the turn around point I started feeling really good. I decided to kick it up a notch and run the second half of the run faster than the first part. I had a really nice woman running with me so that was nice. This was my first time meeting her, she's not a regular member of the running group but was at the shop and asked if she could tag along with us. I was happy that she wanted to pick up the pace too.

I was surprised I was able to do that seeing as I had been feeling tired all day long and really didn't even want to go on the run. I really think I'm getting stronger and faster which makes me happy!

My Perfect Week

2009-02-25T21:40:00.003-05:00

I was thinking today while I was in Pilates class (which by the way was both challenging and great - I shouldn't take off a week again), what would a perfect week of exercise entail? I thought of various scenarios and decided that if I was going to detail the PERFECT week then I might as well do on that assumes that I don't actually have other stuff to do in my life like work. It might be feasible for me to do a slight variation of this workout except for the fact that I'm really NOT a morning person so getting in the morning to workout before going to work isn't a viable option. I'm not putting in actual distances because that would vary and plus I didn't think about it THAT much, I mean I was supposed to be concentrating on my breathing.

Anyway...I digress...here is the point of my post, my perfect workout week.

Monday: morning swim (drills), afternoon bike(short), evening Pilates
Tuesday: morning swim(short), afternoon run(speed or hills)
Wednesday: morning bike(med), evening Pilates
Thursday: morning swim(med-long), afternoon run (short-med)
Friday: afternoon Pilates(easy)
Saturday: morning run (long)
Sunday:afternoon bike(long)

Hmmm......just typing that out made me tired. Yeah, that would pretty much only be feasible if I didn't have to work at all because I would need to sleep in between the workouts, LOL.

What would your perfect [workout] week look like?

Like I Never Left

2009-02-24T21:50:00.003-05:00

I thought that my run tonight would be extremely difficult since I hadn't done anything for over a week. To my delight it went wonderfully. We did 4 miles at a steady pace and I didn't fall out! I had a moment where I thought I might not make it but that faded fast.

I love running with friends, especially after a long day at work. All the deadlines, obligations, and frustrations just fade away while I am out there running and having great conversation. I always feel better after a run, no matter the distance. I feel good that I have made the effort to do something for my body and for my health.

Running is like an old friend; although you may not speak for a while, when you get together it is like you never left.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #2

2009-02-23T19:34:00.002-05:00

Wrap-Up
Last week was about as bad as it gets when it comes to nutrition and exercise. I was on a business trip to Switzerland which isn't a valid excuse for my behavior but it is my excuse nevertheless. I ate too much chocolate, too much rich cheese, too much food in general. I did absolutely no exercising unless you count dragging my suitcase down a flight of stairs during which I broke off one of the wheels which led to me having to drag the suitcase along the ground for the rest of the trip because I don't know how to pack light so it was much too heavy for me to pickup! I didn't drink nearly enough water and entirely too many Espressos. And let me tell you...the ones they drink over there are MUCH stronger than what we drink here!

OH and I gained 3 pounds last week. WTF!!! How is that even possible??? I would have to starve myself to LOSE 3 pounds in a week. This is some bullish.

Goals for the Week
I feel like I am trying to get sick so I'm not going to do TOO much this week. I may wait until next week to start back swimming depending on how I feel.

-Run at least twice. I MIGHT be out of town this weekend so I'm not sure if I will make my Saturday run.
-Attend Pilates class
-For REAL develop an eating plan. I don't know what my problem is and why I'm procrastinating with this.

That's it, I'd rather under promise and over deliver than the other way around, LOL.

What are YOUR goals for the week? How did you do last week? Better than me I hope.....

Healthy Travelling

2009-02-22T18:03:00.002-05:00

My recent (1st) business trip has made me realize how difficult it is to stick with a healthy eating/exercise regimen. It also made me start to think about various ways to make it easier to stay on track while away on business. I Googled "how to stay healthy while travelling" and came up with numerous articles providing advice on how to stay healthy while travelling. I decided to summarize some of the things I read as well as add in my own opinion/tips. *These tips are mostly related to business travel but could also apply to leisure travel as well.

The Difficulties
-Full days followed by busy nights which doesn't leave much time for exercising.
-Dinners with clients and/or colleagues that are paid for by the company making in more tempting to splurge.
-Rushed meals which often lead to grabbing some unhealthy fast food.

Tips
-Pack your own healthy snacks for the car or plane ride. This will be much more healthy than what you would get on the plane or pick up at the gas station.
-When you do eat out, make wise choices and pick something healthy on the menu. Limit alcoholic drinks, choose wine over beer or mixed drinks.
-Bring your workout clothes with you on your trip. At least if you have them you can't use that as an excuse not to do your workout.
-Hotel Room Workout I would suggest adding some bicycle crunches to get in a quick ab workout.
-Make sure to get some sleep. While I know it is important to catch up on your emails and other work it will do you no good to be tired for the next day. Try to get enough sleep each night so you will be refreshed in the morning.

Bottom Line
-You know what you should be doing....the same things that apply every day still apply when you are travelling.
-Eat healthy, exercise and get the proper amount of sleep.
-These things are more difficult when away from home and when you are trying to keep up with a busy schedule, just like everything else, it comes down to willpower and personal responsibility.

Quick Updated from Switzerland

2009-02-17T16:39:00.003-05:00

I don't know why I thought I could come over here and actually be "good".....

So I haven't worked out AT ALL! Ugh, I need to but I am out all day long and then when I get back to the hotel I need to catch up on what's going on at work in the US. Not to mention I'm extremely tired so I don't feel like doing any kind of working out. I really understand why it is so hard for people that travel to stay on track.

I haven't been eating TERRIBLE but I surely haven't been eating great either. When I get back I am going to have to start back counting calories and planning out all of my meals (not just dinner) and factor in the amount of exercise I am going to do that day. This is the only way I am going to get any trimmer (read: less fat) and to make sure I am actually getting enough nutrients once I factor in my exercise.

I AM in Switzerland.....how could I pass up all of the wonderful cheese and chocolate that is all around me????

Possible Posting Interruption

2009-02-15T00:14:00.002-05:00

I will be travelling to Switzerland tomorrow and I will be there until the 20th sooo I don't know how much posting I will be able to do. I'm going for work so I already know I won't have access to the internet during the day. Oh my, I am shaking just thinking about going that long without checking my gmail, facebook, myspace, google reader, etc. Not to mention not having access to my DVR/American TV! I'm starting to break out in a cold sweat.

This will be somewhat of a detoxing period for me. Even though (hopefully) I will be able to get on the internet at night from my hotel room, I will still be cutting back on the internet and TV drastically which might be a good thing. It will give me some time to focus on more important things and to just clear my head from all this technological clutter.

Had I really planned ahead I would have written a bunch of posts and set them to post to the blog at different times during the week. Well I did think about doing it, it just never happened because I procrastinated and then I had too many other things to take care of (like packing which I still haven't finished and it is midnight).

So, if I can get on the internet I will post something. It probably won't be related to exercise because I don't foresee much of that happening this week but I am taking my running shoes and some running clothes just in case!

Need for Speed(work)

2009-02-12T23:18:00.002-05:00

I had this great idea to attempt to run approximately 3.1 miles as fast as I could. Now I'm not sure what I was thinking seeing as I haven't really run faster than a 10 min mile since before the marathon. Early October was probably the last time I did any speedwork. I set out and I should have known immediately that this was a bad idea. I hadn't gone 2 minutes when my lungs started burning. I could make a bunch of excuses as to why my run didn't go as planned....I was tired, my lungs hurt, I think I'm getting a cold, my shorts kept riding up, blah blah blah. When it comes down to it, I haven't been training to run fast.

I have been running nice, pretty leisurely runs of around 10:30 to 11:00 min/miles for both my long and short runs. While this is great and will definitely aid in increasing my endurance, it isn't helping me get faster. My main goal for this year is to successfully complete a triathlon. The run in the tri is 3.1 miles and I want to be able to complete that portion of the race as fast as I can. Right now, that isn't very fast.

What is my plan? I am going to start (when I get back from my trip) to add at least one day of speedwork a week. Once Marisa starts her tri training I think that will help too. I decided at the beginning of the year I wanted to get faster but so far I haven't actually done anything to help me do so. It is time for me to pick up the pace, literally......

Wet Pilates

2009-02-11T21:19:00.003-05:00

Well I didn't ACTUALLY do Pilates wet but I did go swimming right before my Pilates class which probably wasn't the best idea. We had a new instructor and she worked us! I had a long day at work and then a long workout after work so I am beat.

I was very pleased with my swim though. I did 3 x 250 meters and each of the 250 meters took me 5:20 (almost exactly) so that means I'm pretty sure I could do 750 in under 20 minutes. I'm still working on what my goal time should be.

I need to get in a good workout this week though since I'm going to be in Switzerland all next week. I am going to look up the hotel I am staying in to see if it has a gym, not that I'll have that much time to actually do a workout.

I didn't really think this post out and my eyes are getting heavy so that's it folks!

Poor Planning :(

2009-02-10T22:11:00.002-05:00

Short post....I'm too weak from hunger. This is what happens when you don't take the time to plan out the meals for the week like you should and you also don't take the time to go to the grocery store so you don't have anything to eat in the house. You end up starving half to death at 10pm while you are waiting for you husband to bring you the dinner he said he would bring 3 hours ago!

Oh and to make this evening even worse, I think I've somehow gotten a virus on my computer....my work laptop :-/ Guess I will have to stop by IT in the morning before I connect to the system and infect the entire network!

I think I will just go to bed hungry......

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting

2009-02-09T19:50:00.002-05:00

I have decided to start doing a "weekly wrap-up". I debated on which day to do it and finally decided on Mondays because I generally don't do that much exercise-wise on Mondays.

I would LOVE it if you would share your weekly exercise/eating accomplishments and what your goals are for the coming week.

Here are my accomplishments from last week:
- Ran little over 9 miles (6 one day and 3.5 another)
- Biked 42 miles! (my longest ride ever....yeah!)
- Prepared 2 new recipes that were both great.
- Swam once (although it was such a short distance it doesn't even really count)

Goals for this week:
- Run 3 times
- Swim at least twice
- Go to Pilates class
- Actually eat breakfast, I was really bad about that last week
- Keep a check on my eating in general (this is always a struggle!)

Now it is YOUR turn!

Longest Bike Ride Thus Far!

2009-02-08T20:03:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week Paul asked me did I want to go biking on Sunday (today). Of course! The weather was supposed to be beautiful and after the freezing cold bike ride last time I was looking forward to going for a ride in nice weather. The day after I agreed to the bike ride I read on Paul's blog that we would be doing 30-40 miles. WHAT! The furthest I had done at this point was 21 miles. I was a little nervous about attempting this distance but I figured that I'm in shape so I can do it. And guess what??? I DID!!!

We ended up doing 42 miles and at least 20 of those were uphill. Some were up very long and steep hills. I think I need to do a little more hill work on the bike before I go for a ride in the mountains. The hills today were kicking my butt. Towards the end of the ride I was strongly considering stopping and calling Paul on his cell phone to let him know to keep going and just come back with the car to get me. However, my pride wouldn't let me do that so I just dug in and kept going. If I have real aspirations of doing an Ironman then I'm going to have to learn to keep going when I want to stop.

Overall the ride wasn't that difficult but I did realize that Paul and Susan have it a little bit easier because they coast a lot faster and further than I do. After every downhill I had to push it to catch back up with them. They were nice enough to slow down and/or stop so that I wouldn't fall too far behind. I promise I'll get faster!!

The only negative part about the ride was all the dang dogs that tried to eat us. I understand that dogs like to chase things but I would really like for them not to chase me! I'm not scared of dogs (well, most of them anyway) but I am scared of a dog causing me to fall and then mauling me to death or deformity. There were several instances where dogs came out and ran along with us, some seemed friendly while some seemed like they were craving some people meat. Susan and I found that the best way to handle this was to put Paul between us and the dogs. He's pretty good at scaring them off by yelling at them and kicking his foot at them. If I tried to kick while riding I'd probably fall over and then get mauled. I might have to invest in some pepper spray, that will teach them!

I can't wait for my next ride!!!!!!

Recipe of the Week: Flank Steak with Red Wine & Oven Fries

2009-02-07T18:17:00.002-05:00

Went on a wonderful 6 mile run to day with Amy R. and one of her good friends, the weather was perfect! I just wanted to make that statement for the record.

The other night I made a dinner and it was delicious.

Ingredients:
-3 med russet (baking) potatoes (8 0z each)
-3 tsp olive oil
-1 1/4 lbs. beef flank steak, trimmed of fat
-1/2 tsp dried tarragon
-1 med. shallot, minced
-3/4 c. dry red wine
-1 bag microwave-in-the-bag baby spinach

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450F. Cut each unpeeled potato crosswise in half, then cut each half lengthwise into 8 wedges.
2. Spray 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 jelly-roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place potatoes in pan and toss with 2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. Roast potatoes in oven 25 minutes or until fork-tender and beginning to brown, stirring once halfway through roasting.
3. Meanwhile, rub steak with tarragon and 1/4 teaspoon salt to season both sides. Heat 12-inch cast-iron or other heavy skillet on medium-high. Add 1 teaspoon oil and steak; cook 12 minutes for medium, turning over once. Transfer steak to cutting board. To same skillet, add shallot and cook 1 minutes, stirring. Add wine and heat to boiling, boil 2 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup.
4. Cook spinach in microwave as label directs. Thinly slice steak and serve with wine sauce, potatoes, and spinach.

Nutritional Info: About 415 calories, 35 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 14 g total fat

Tamara's Tips
- I followed the directions as written and it turned out great. The meat was a little more medium-rare than medium so if you may want to cook it a few more minutes if you don't like it that rare.

Final Verdict: 8.5 - It was delicious, I have been on a roll lately!

It Was a Clear and Cold Night

2009-02-05T22:41:00.003-05:00

I went for a run today! I really needed today's run. It has been a hectic and somewhat stressful week and due to weather and laziness I hadn't run all week. I am glad that I decided to run today because it was worth it. It was just Amy R. and I out there running in the dark and cold night. I was concerned it would be too cold but it wasn't, it ended up being a fairly pleasant run. I am happy that it will be warmer this weekend, I have a run and a long bike ride scheduled.

After the run I came home and I made a delicious dinner. I will make sure to post the recipe tomorrow, right now I am tired and need to get some rest.