What's on my mind today...

I picked up a pair of new shoes and I can’t wait to give them a try. Another new pair of Saucony’s some version of the same shoe I’ve been wearing. But I have to say these shoes seem to work for me all the time so I’m hoping these will be no different. Now I’m trying to decide if I should try without the inserts, the ones I have been through 2 pair of shoes, or get new ones. And if I’m going to get some new ones should I try some of the ones I’ve seen posted on different blogs to help with the Morton’s Neroma I have self diagnosed myself with or stick with what's been working. Is there always something to worry about?

So now that I’ve got the shoes, a new saddle is for sure next. I don’t know why all the sudden mine has started to really give me problems. I don’t know if it was the loss of weight or has something to do with the height. It was already bothering me before the bike fit so I know that’s not it. Speaking of bike fit, I’m noticing a real difference in how my knees feel since the fit. I can’t wait to actually get out on the road and see how it goes. So any suggestions on saddles or what to do with this one that might help? It does seem worse with some shorts as opposed to others, especially the pair I have that is a little big, maybe it’s just a case of needing some Body Glide?

I really need to try on my wetsuit from last year, it was a little large last year and I'm thinking with the loss of 30 pounds it might be really large this year.....more money... :) I guess I better get on that.

I need to pic a training plan for the 1/2 Ironman. I've been using a winter maintenance from Beginner Triathlete and really like it. I think I will probably go with one of their 20 week plans just need to decide which. Do any of you have a plan that they would really recommend?

Don't ever buy any more Sea Salt pita chips...you have no control.

Long run by the numbers...

1 Cliff Shot Turbo Double Expresso ...my new favorite...oh my this sucker is good...really good...
2 bottles of water from my fuel belt drank(drunk? drinked?)
3 Cliff Shot blocks...love these too.
4 Pieces of pizza I ate the night before to work off.
5(9) degrees when I finished. A beautiful day for a run although it was a bit windy with some strong gusts once in a while.
6 More weeks until my 1/2 marathon.
7th mile mostly downhill and where left foot and toes were a little bit angry at me and reminding me that I really do need to get new shoes.
8th mile Feeling really good and thrilled when I looked at my splits to find mile 8 and 9 were my fastest and both just under 12mm
9 Miles done 1:54 minutes 12:42 average pace 597' of climbing according to Beginner Triathlete

A freakin great run today!

Feeling much better about my training for the week so far. I've managed to get at least some kind of workout in everyday so far and two today. I just have to say that I am so, so, so excited about my run this evening. My 1/2 marathon training called for a 7 mile tempo run (5 @ 11:16) this week. I knew that I couldn't get all 7 in but decided that anything was better then nothing so I hurried home from work to get out before it got to dark and did 5 miles.

1 12m 08s WU
2 10m 51s
3 10m 54s
4 11m 02s
5 12m 10s Cool Down

Average pace 11:30
Yes I am more then thrilled with that! For me that is a pretty fast run. I hope it is a sign that I'm getting faster and stronger.

Doing the happy dance.....

Have a great Friday!

What's For Dinner? LoMein

I actually made this awhile ago and just never quite got it posted because I had other good recipes to post. This one was really good and easy too. Both the boys liked it, and the leftovers were pretty good too. I'm unsure where it came from as it is just a page torn from a magazine and it's been around for some time waiting to be tried. The recipe was for pork but I used chicken, intend to try pork very soon.

Lo Mein
1 pound chicken/pork cut into strips
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 pound linguine (I used whole wheat)
2 T oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large bunch broccoli (1 1/2 lbs) tops only cut into bite-size florets
1 sweet red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into strips
1 T minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 c chicken broth
2 T hoisin sauce
2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water
1/2 cu unsalted cashes or peanuts chopped , optional

1. Place pork/chicken and soy sauce in a bowl: set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguine until tender, then drain and rinse. Toss with 1 T of oil. Set aside.

2. Heat remaining oil in a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook stirring until occasionally, about 5 minuted, until it begins to brown. Add broccoli and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally , 6 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Add garlic and ginger; cook 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Remove vegetables and set aside.

3. Turn heat to high; drain pork/chicken from soy sauce(reserving although I actually just used new as I felt it was safer) add meat to pan. Cook stirring for 1 minute add soy sauce, broth and hoisin sauce. Stir well. Add drained noodles, vegetable sand cornstarch mixture; cook until slightly thickened about 3 minutes, tossing well. Top with nuts if desired and serve warm.

If your me you also need to add a little heat by putting some Sriracha. Good stuff!

Listen to the bowl....

So this past week seemed to have its ups and downs. For some reason I decided it should be a rest week. Can you call it that when you just kind of decide to skip a good portion of your workouts? Well that’s what I’m calling it. I’m still working on what to call the part of the week that had me eating everything in the house. It was no surprise when the scale was up 2lbs on weight in day. I wanted to feel like this but I couldn't since I deserved every bit of it and probably more. However I am already planning to feel like this next week. It started with my new attitude run on Saturday and continued on when I found this bowl while out shopping the same day.

It spoke to me. Believe Julie, believe in yourself. Believe that things will work out. Believe that you can get to your goal weight. Believe that you can ride 100 miles. Believe that you can finish a 70.3. And what the heck as long as your believing why don’t you go ahead and believe that the crack in the transmission on the used car you just bought for son will be fine for a couple of years.( Maybe these are a few of the reasons I seem to be having a bit of an anxiety problem recently.) I believe that having my morning oatmeal in this bowl will remind almost daily of what I need to do to achieve my goals.

Could it really be as simple as that?

Every day is a new beginning....

Everyday
as the moon goes down

and the sun begins to come up
I have a chance
a chance to make different decisions, a chance to make changes
be different today.

Post number 200. Pictures taken this morning on my "new attitude" run.

What's for Dinner? Lemon Garlic Chicken (with Potatoes)

Beth at SUAR, you do read Beth's blog don't you? Posted that she was going to try making this for dinner and it sounded so good I had to give it a try too. It was super easy and all in all pretty good as well as something for all of us. Pretty healthy for me, meat for the meat lover (oldest son) and potatoes for the carb lover (youngest son). When all was said and done the reviews were just so-so. I enjoyed it but while the potatoes had really great flavor the chicken didn't seem to absorb it quite as much. Still all in all it was tasty.

Kotopoulo Skorthato: Lemon Garlic Chicken (with Potatoes)

Cook Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Ingredients:
•3 1/4 - 3 3/4 pound chicken, cut into quarters ( I used leg/thigh pieces)
•3 1/2 pounds of potatoes
•juice from 2-3 medium lemons
•2 teaspoons of salt
•1 heaping tablespoon of oregano
•1/2 teaspoon of pepper
•8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
•1/2 cup of olive oil (didn't measure how much I used but probably 1/4 cup)
•1 1/2 cups of water (I only added 1/2 cup and I used chicken bullion)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C).

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters, lengthwise. Salt and pepper the chicken and potatoes. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan, and add potatoes, on and around the chicken. Add oregano, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice, distributing evenly across the pan. Add water and roast uncovered at 355°F (180°C) for a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes. Half way through (50 minutes), turn the chicken.

Yield: serves 4

Big girls don't cry...

Even if they get in their car and drive to the path to run because of all the snow on the roads and then realize they forgot their Garmin and heart rate strap and have to turn around and go back and get it.

Even if they just posted that they we were feeling stronger on the run and this run was oh so hard.

Even if because of the the late start it's now 10:30 and they are hungry before they start running.

Even if they keep thinking they really would rather be riding their bike.

Even if two young boys (6 and 8ish) running with their dad showed her up.

Even if her back is bothering in the last few miles.

Big girls don't cry...

Because the snow on the mountains looks so beautiful as they run towards them and it's February and almost 60 degrees.

Because she saw a lady walking a lama in the first mile.

Because they have Kenny Chesney taking them to the beach when the sun goes down and Kid Rock taking them to Sweet Home Alabama.

Because she watched a brave soul ride his road bike down a snow packed icy hill and make it!

Because she got showed up by two young boys having a ball out there running.

Because even though the run felt really hard and the heart rate was much higher then it should have been she still had a decent average pace.

Because even if he was probably a creeper I'm pretty sure in my last mile when I was feeling anything but, some guys said "good morning beautiful"

Because she made herself run the last half mile with out walking.

Because at the end was a Starbucks Grande skinny Cinnamon Dolce latte with an extra shot.

And mostly because hey... this big girl just ran 8 miles so what's to cry about!

What didn't you cry about this week and why?

Who knew?

So I went in this evening for my first ever bike fit. I really should have done this long ago. He made some pretty dramatic changes to my position and gave me a lot of advice. I have to say that I've had nothing but really good luck at Bicycle Village Westminster. Every time I've gone in they seem to go out of their way to make me feel comfortable. They never make you feel like your questions are dumb or that they don't have time for you. He encouraged me to join in on the Saturday rides, and was just a nice guy. Not only that but he didn't even make me pay for the fitting because you get one free when you purchase your bike and since I've never had one even though I bought the bike almost a year ago he gave it to me free. Can't beat that! I can't wait to try it out.

I actually made it to the pool this morning! Yea me! Now it was only a 30 minute swim, that's all I can get in before work but 30 minutes is better then nothing!

Had what I felt was a great run on the treadmill last night. The plan called for 3 x 1600 at 10:27 with 800 jogs for a total of 7 miles. Cut it a little short and only did 5.75 but I managed to hit the miles at 10:28 10:33 and 10:29 which for me is fast! So I was really happy with it. I'm starting to feel much stronger with my running.



So with that said I'm thinking of signing up for the Snowman Stampede on the 19th. Probably the 10 miles. If the weather forecast is to be believed it is suppose to be a nice week and the weekend should be good....not that I expect them to be right 10 days out but you can hope. Any one want to join me?

What's for Dinner? And Snack and Dessert?

Pumpkin!!!! In the last year I've come to really love pumpkin. I often add it to my oatmeal and my yogurt and have recently tried some verrrryyyy good recipes and just have to share all of them. Hope you will give one of them a try!

First up for snack
Spicy Pumpkin Hummus

I made a few changes to this recipe. I plan to make it again really soon providing I can find pumpkin which seems to be a problem at this time of year! This was good as a dip for veggies but so far my favorite way to eat it, besides by the spoonful, is on a bagel thin...heaven! And for fun sprinkle a few pepitas on it too.

12 Servings

1 14 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/4 cup tahini ( I did not use this but plan to try it the next time)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil (thinking of leaving this out next time)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup plain yogurt

Place the garbanzo beans in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the beans are very finely chopped. With the motor running, add the garlic through the tube and process until very fine. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Taste for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper; you may also want to add more lemon juice.

FABULOUS!

The dinner...

The Whole Enchilada Chicken Soup
Hungry Girl

I of course made a small change to this one too..can you tell I rarely leave a recipe alone. Sometimes because of what I have on hand sometimes because of personal preferences. This soup was so easy anyone could make it even if you don't like to cook and the flavor was pretty very different and quite good.

Ingredients:
3 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 1/4 cups finely chopped celery
1/2 cup diced sweet yellow onion
3 cups green enchilada sauce
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
10 oz. cooked boneless skinless lean chicken breast, chopped or shredded
1 cup frozen white (or yellow) corn ( because I didn't have any corn I used some white hominey that I had)

Directions:
In a large pot, bring broth to a low boil on the stove. Add celery and onion, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until slightly tender.

Stir in enchilada sauce and pumpkin. Once soup returns to a low boil, add chicken and corn, and mix well. Cook for an additional 3 - 5 minutes, until soup is heated throughout.

Optional: dash hot sauce, or more to taste
Optional toppings: shredded fat-free cheddar cheese, crushed baked tortilla chips, corn tortillas, green onions.

And finally something a little sweet. It's funny although I love pumpkin I'm not really a fan of pumpkin pie, but these cookies....oh yea....


Pumped up Pumpkin Cookies
Carrots 'n' Cake
You guessed it...changes made... these were very good and I think they would be fantastic to take on long ride. These were very soft and yummy...really good stuff.

Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 canned pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (next time I'm going to cut this in 1/2 they were plenty sweet with the dried cranberries)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup walnuts (may leave out next time)
1/4 cup raisins (used sweetened dried cranberries)
1/4 cup vanilla hemp milk (used vanilla lite soy milk)
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl or food processor
Coat baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray
Use tablespoon to portion cookies onto baking sheet
Bake for 15-18 minutes



There you go....Enjoy!

W is for.....take 2

I couldn't resist adding a couple more W's that I came up with today..

Wow....when it snows I like to cook...and I've been doing a bit of it today already

Chocolate Cranberry Scones
recipe found here at Tasty Kitchen some changes were made.

Pizza with Spinach/Arugula, Butternut squash, mushrooms, onions, cheese and fresh basil
Idea and crust recipe at the Athlete's Plate

Workin it off.... Warm up 30 minutes of shoveling 4" of snow from a 3 car driveway and sidewalk followed by a 3 mile 45 minute run/walk fun with picture taking...this was my very first ever run in the snow and it was a ton of fun. It was about 25 degrees the sun was shining or trying to the whole time and there was no wind. The dog had a blast. It was not fast but it was a good workout trudging through the snow in spots.

Wonderland...

And last but not least

Way cool.... most of you know that Aimee At I Tri To Be Me was giving away window clings...well mine came yesterday but I just checked the mail today! Now I just need to figure out where I want to put it......Thanks Aimee!

W is for....

Source

Well... it's time for another alphabet post! I've done a few of them so far and the are kind of fun. You can find J here and T here.


WooHoo!!... Lady, my bike,who I just named after having her for almost a year, came home from the bike shop today! Some of you may remember that my last bike was Sissy it just came to me during my ride that this one was more of a lady and thus she was named. I was missing Lady like crazy this last week. So to celebrate I brought her inside and we did a DVD that Kathleen loaned me. Rides DVD: Volume 1 The Rockies It was fantastic to be seeing some of the Boulder country side as this course follows the Boulder Peak course.


Week...this last one was not heavy on the training. But all that is gonna change this week.


Winter...we are not done with it yet...the biggest flakes I have seen this year..

Want it???? I have two books, Slow Fat Triathlete and Shape up with the Slow Fat Triathlete. I would be happy to pass these on to someone if you or anyone you know might read them. If your interested send me an email and I will send
them to the first person who expresses interest. They would be really great for a beginner or someone you would like to get interested in tri's.

Wait for it.... I have got some really good recipes coming up this week...do you like Pumpkin? I love it and you are gonna get in several different forms.

What's for dinner? Turkey Meatloaf

Lest you think that all my new recipes are fantastic I bring you this meatloaf...

What were you thinking?!?!??!

The meat loving son exclaimed when I cut in to this turkey meatloaf. He had been starving and waiting for this for the best part of an hour. The fact that it was made with ground turkey was not a problem, we've had many good turkey meatloaves, the fact it contained lentils....now that was a problem. I keep trying to like lentils and I just don't. I don't know why. Maybe I just don't know how to cook them. While I was not as repulsed by this as my boys I didn't really like it either, in fact in a rare occurrence around this two teen boy home with a cheap mom, the leftovers ended up in the trash. If you like lentils and would like to give this a try let me know and I will gladly give you the recipe or if you have a lentils recipe guaranteed to make me like them bring it on!

Wow meatloaf really doesn't photograph well.

I did really enjoy the glaze that was on this and might try that on another recipe. Oh well they can't all be good right?

I admit it....

I AM A WIMP!!!!!!!

I can't even make myself stop at the gym in this weather. I am not hard core like some people that I've seen. Call me whatever you want I'm going to wait for it to warm up some.

Have a good day...