A Fresh Start + A Recipe

Oh Happy Monday...

I can't complain too much about it being Monday since I had a 3 day weekend.   It was the perfect way to end my "recovery" (i.e. do sweet f-a) week.   I got back on the workout wagon yesterday morning with my swim group and then spent the afternoon setting myself up for a week of good eating.  I tackled another recipe from the Runner's World Magazine cookbook, I made a batch of my smoky chicken chili, a fritatta and my no-cheese-cheese sauce for some post workout mac and cheese that will likely be dinner on Tuesday night.

I hit the pool again this morning (thank goodness it's an easy week so I won't have to worry about drowning) and will do my first run since Scotia tomorrow night with my run group.  I'm also heading back to the gym.  Hopefully my legs will be recovered from the beat down my massage therapist put on them on Saturday.

As I said on instagram when I posted a pic of the chili, I am a bit of a freestyler when it comes to making chili.  Actually when it comes to making almost anything really.  I'll follow a recipe the first time around and then gradually start to tweak it every time I make it.  What can I say, I'm a tinkerer, so it's rare that I actually write things down when I make the changes.   I'm pretty sure this chili recipe is an amalgamation of a few different recipes with some things added and some things omitted.  The great thing about chili is that it's easy to adjust it to suit your tastes.  Don't like black beans?  Add kidney beans?  Or no beans.  It's your call.

Smoky Chicken Chili

2 tsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 of a large sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 yellow pepper, roughly chopped
1 orange pepper, roughly chopped
1 lb of extra lean ground chicken
1/2 of a 15 oz can of black beans with liquid
1 19 oz. can of whole tomatoes (you can also used diced)
2 TBSP of chili powder
1.5 TBSP of smoked paprika
2 tsp of ground cumin
1/8 tsp of finely chopped chipotle pepper with adobo (more if you like it spicy - I am a wuss)
salt & pepper to taste

Garnishes:
chopped cilantro
chopped avocado 

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil over low-medium heat.  Add ground chicken and cook until almost done.  Add spices (chili power, paprika, cumin) and stir to coat the meat.  Add the chopped peppers and stir to coat again.  Add black beans and tomatoes and mix well to break up tomatoes (if using whole ones).   Add chipotle pepper and mix in.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to low, cover and let simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Garnish with cilantro and avocado.

This freezes really well so I usually try to make a big batch and portion it out into containers and freeze them.  That way I don't have an excuse to eat crap when I come home late from work and haven't planned dinner.

How was your weekend?  

What's your favourite chili recipe?

Slowing Down and Catching Up

After last weeks insanity, I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.  With no impeding jobs looming on the horizon, I knew I'd finally be able to catch up on all my goings on outside of work.  I can't even begin to tell you what a relief that is.  I was actually able to take last Friday off.  G was going up north for a boys golf weekend so I had the house to myself.  FUN!

Friday morning was spent at Gears testing out saddles (am trying out the Adamo) and getting my fit re-tweaked.   Friday afternoon was spent poking around the new Target where much to my surprise I found my leave in conditioner that I usually get from my hairdresser!  It was $3.50 cheaper too AND, it's much closer to my house than my hairdresser is.  SCORE.  I did a bit of wandering around Winners in Cloverdale and then went off to meet my friend Jon for an early dinner at my fave burger joint - Woody's - for a pint and a burger.  It was so nice to catch up with him!  And I finally got to try my friend Andy's beer.  He is part of the Oast House Brewers and I've been dying to try their beer.  It's not available at the Beer Store or LCBO just yet, you either have to go to the Brewery in Niagara on the Lake or you can get it a various pubs across the city.  Woody's just started to carry it so of course I had a pint with my turkey burger. 

#Beerstagram

I was home by 7:00 pm so I actually sprawled out on the couch and rented a movie....again!  I know!  That's two weekends in a row!!!  I rented Star Trek Into Darkness and I loved it.  I was a Trekkie nerd growing up so I thought it was a pretty good modern representation of the characters.  It was so nice to just chill out and be entertained. 

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to meet with my friend Caitlin.  She is going to be my guinea pig for the practical component of my coaching certification.  We headed off to the track so I could take her through a whole barrage of tests.  We were there for a couple of hours.  It was good fun.  It helps that she is an eager participant.  She's excited to get started and I know she's 150% committed to putting in the work. 

My version of White Lines - putting in time at the track.

I still had grocery shopping and a 23km run to do.  It was still kinda chilly out so I opted to hit the grocery store first.  I think I set a P.B for the fastest grocery shop ever.  I really wanted to get out and run.  I got home, unpacked everything as quickly as possible and changed into my running clothes.  I was out the door by 1:00 pm, which is way later than I'd normally do a long run, but, it was way earlier than I thought I'd be.  It was still kinda chilly out but the sun was warm so I opted for a tank top and shorts.  It was downright nipply those first 3-4km before I warmed up.  Brrr.  I started off feeling a little rough.  I think Thursday's mile repeats were still hanging around in my legs as was the ride from the day before.  Somewhere around the 4km mark, all the aches started to go away.  My hamstrings felt a little tight but it was manageable.  I glanced down at my Garmin amazed to see my heart rate hovering in the low 140's and my pace at 4:30's - 4:35's.  It felt easy.  It felt like that for my entire run.  I kept thinking I'd hit a wall at some point.  Nope.  In fact, my heart rate dropped a bit as I went on, which is weird, I've never had that happen to me before.  My legs actually gave out before my lungs did, which is usually what happens to me, ha ha.   I ran 23km in 1:49:43 for an average pace of 4:46 km's.  My average heart rate for the run was 139 which is insanely low given that my normal long run target is between 150-152.  I was so pumped when I got home.  I couldn't believe it.  Of course I Instagrammed it right away, ha ha.  I was definitely inspired by RunEmz and all her awesomeness.  She managed to run 108.88 miles in 22 hours.  For us Canucks that works out to roughly 175km.  Yes, you read that correctly.  175km.  On a freaking treadmill.  What an inspiration. 

Sunday swimming has started again so Sunday morning I hit the pool.  I actually ended up getting up really early on Sunday to get on the computrainer to put some time in on the saddle before I went to the pool.  I lasted half an hour.  My legs were so tired from my run and my crotch / sit bones were still tender from the new saddle.  Ugh.   The swim was just what I needed to get the remaining soreness out of my legs though.  It wasn't too hard either, lots of drills and technique work which can be mind numbing but it's so important.  I was SO freaking hungry when I got out.  Thankfully I had the foresight to make these babies on Saturday evening.

Pumpkin spice protein pancakes with stewed figs and maple syrup.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  Seriously my most favourite post workout meal ever.  I LOVE pancakes.  After I inhaled those I spent some time figuring out the remainder of my training for Scotia.  Yes, I know it's only 5 weeks away.  You can get a lot done in 5 weeks, especially in the speed work department.  After that, the cooking bug hit me again and I went on a bit of a bender in the kitchen.  All this took me about 3 hours but I'm now pretty much set for the week.

A whole lotta goodness!

  

Hmmm....guess I didn't really slow down much this past weekend, other than Friday night, ha ha.  But, I am all caught up with all the little things that have been on my to-do list for the last little while so perhaps that will allow me to slow down in the near future.  Let's hope so.

How was your weekend?   Action packed or chilled out?

The Sunday Ritual, A Mile & Another Busy Week

Another weekend is almost over and I hardly feel like I've had time to breathe, let alone relax.  Last week was a crazy week at work and I spent all day Friday on location at a farm.  I didn't get home until almost 7:30 pm, then we went right back out to a friends place for dinner.  I finally collapsed into bed around midnight.  I didn't want to sleep in too late on Saturday because I had a 32km run scheduled.  I dragged my butt out of bed around 7:30 am and I finally got out the door around 9:30 am.  The run started off really well but then I started to fall apart around the 26km point.  I don't think I hydrated well enough.  I toughed it out and finished with a slight negative split.  Not bad for a hilly run.  Then it was off to a neighborhood art show (bought another small painting) then it was off to the Running Room to spend my winnings from last weeks half marathon.   I've stocked up on GU and Roctane so I should be good for the next little while.  After that, it was time for the highlight of the weekend: The West Toronto Pacers First Annual Beer Mile.
We had a great turnout.  About 20 people, including some non-members.  What a blast.  Apparently the beer I chose wasn't "legal".  It was 5% but the bottle size was only 341ml instead of 355ml.  So I had to dig through the coolers to find some "legal" cans.   I found 2 cans of Steam Whistle and opted to drink those in conjunction with the ones I had brought.  Almost everyone else was drinking 330ml cans.  I had some technical issues opening my first can which put me back a lot.  I was one of the last people to actually start running.  That first lap wasn't too bad.  Lots of burping.  The worst part was my legs.  After 32km I didn't have much spring in my step.  The second lap wasn't too bad either and I was actually able to pick up speed.  The third lap was when it started to go downhill.  And the 4th lap was just plain ugly.  I didn't even make it through my 4th beer.  I think I drank 2/3 of it.  So gross.
By the time I crossed the finish line I was pretty drunk.  I actually had to lie down.   My final time was just over 12 minutes.  My friend Kiki took a hilarious shot of me curled up with my head on someones knapsack and an open can of beer in my hand.  But I made it through without puking and I was able to walk.  I probably could have walked to the pub but since Gary drove, I got a ride.  Everyone enjoyed themselves and it will now become an annual event.  So I've now got one more thing to train for next year.

Pre Beer Mile:  Busting out the Festive Head Gear.

Me and my Non Compliant Beer. 

Finally Done.  I totally felt like dying.

Getting hugs from the Women's Winner.

Drunk faces.

I was exhausted after yesterday's activities.  We got back from the pub and I was in bed asleep by 8:30 pm.  I felt like I was coming down with a cold so I figured I good solid nights sleep would help.  I slept till 6:30 am.  I debated skipping my Sunday swim but since I have to be at work for 6:30 am tomorrow, that means I'm missing my Monday swim.  So, I dragged my butt out of bed and made it to the pool.  Nothing like a tough pool workout to totally tire you out.  I swam 3300m this morning in about 1:15:00.  Now I'm completely exhausted.  

This coming week is going to be much like last week.  Super busy.  It's also a short week for me.  We're closing on Friday for the Thanksgiving long weekend.   I still have a few burgers left in the freezer + some leek and mushroom soup that I made last week.  I need to replenish our veggies though, they are running low.  Next weekend I'll actually take the time to get some good solid food prep done.  This week, I'm going back to my breakfast fritatta except this time around I'm going to make little individual ones in my muffin tin.  We'll see how that works out.  I'm also going to cut up some veggies to bring with me to location tomorrow so I make sure that I've got some healthier options for snacking.  I did ok on Friday although I did end up indulging in chips later on in the day.  So other than my snacks, it's going to be a week of winging it.  I'm more than likely going to be very late tomorrow night, Tuesday night I'm running, Wednesday night I've got a massage scheduled after work and Thursday night we're out for dinner for a friends birthday so Friday night will probably be the first night all week that I actually make dinner.  That's what I'd call a busy week!

Sorry I'm not posting any recipes today.  I've decided to save that for tomorrow.  Given that tomorrow is October first, I figured I'd start off the Month of the Pumpkin with a recipe featuring that glorious orange gourd.  In fact, every Monday throughout the month of October, I will be featuring one of my many favourite pumpkin recipes so be sure to come back for those!

What sort of craziness do you guys get up to this weekend?  

Beer Mile pics courtesy of Carmen Schwalm and Kiki Cloutier.

The Sunday Ritual, A Different Path & A Reboot

Yes, it's Sunday again.  Normally I'd be writing this sprawled on the couch recovering from my long run but, I decided to dice things up this weekend and do my long run yesterday so I could swim and ride today.  Not only did I run yesterday, but, instead of following my usual westbound route along the lake, I opted to run east and then north up the Humber River Trail.  I hadn't run up that trail since late last year so I figured it was high time.  I also figured a hilly-ish long run would do me some good because NYC is not flat.  At least that's what I've been told.  So I went Eastbound yesterday and I'm so glad I did.  Even though my legs didn't feel great, I felt energized to be running somewhere different.  I also discovered a new path that is partially completed.  Right now they are working on extending it east to Marina Del Rey / Humber Bay Park.  I'm hoping that they will also extend it in the other direction because it would be so nice to run right along the water instead of running along the sidewalk on Lakeshore.  It was a nice little diversion off of Lakeshore even if it was only about 5 minutes.  The view of the city and the Etobicoke yacht club wasn't too shabby either.

Interesting name, especially since it was anything but linear!

Etobicoke Yacht Club

I had hoped to be out on the road by 8:00 am but that didn't happen.  I was tired and really dragging my butt so it was closer to 9:00 by the time I actually left the house.  It was a gorgeous day out so it was a busy morning on the paths.  Lots of runners, cyclists, walkers, you name it, they were out.  And why wouldn't you want to be outside on a day like yesterday?  Days like this are going to be few and far between in a couple of months so we might as well get out and enjoy it now!

Eastbound at Humber Bay Park.

 

 

The temperature was perfect.  I almost wished I had a tank top on when I was in the sun but most of this run was in the shade and there was a cool-ish breeze so I was actually quite comfortable.  Once I hit Humber Bay Park East, I turned north and followed the Humber Trail.  There are a few rollers on the way out but for the most part is a gradual climb.  You are working just hard enough on the way out.  It's mostly bike path but it's peppered with a bit of dirt and gravel trail which I quite like as well.  I wasn't sure how far up I'd get.  I guessed that I'd make it to at least Dundas maybe further.  I was way off, I made it way past Dundas and almost up to Eglington before I turned around.  I was hoping I'd be able to maintain a sub 5:00 min/km pace but my legs had other plans, especially for the first half hour of the run.  But, I managed to pick up on the way back, especially since it was downhill.  I think this past week of not enough sleep, less than optimal eating and a deep tissue massage that I hadn't quite recovered from all played a part in my slower than normal pace.  But, whatever, we're all going to have days like that so I didn't worry too much about it.  Especially when you've got scenery like this to distract you.

Fly fishing in the Humber River

Into the Light

The important thing is, I got it done.  I actually quite liked doing my long run on Saturday.  It's nice to have a quasi lazy Sunday.  Sure I still got up early to do my swim but I was back home by 9:45 even with a stop at the grocery store.  Love it.

After last week's horrible eating, it's time for me to get back on the wagon.  By the end of last week, I felt gross and bloated.  I hate feeling like that so it's time to re-stock the freezer.  I've been a busy little lady this afternoon.  I cleaned out and re-organized the fridge.  I finally used one of the 2 heads of cauliflower I bought last week.  I cut it up and roasted half of it with garlic, olive oil and lemon.  Easily reheated or eaten cold.

The other half I cooked in 1/4 cup of water + 1/2 a can of coconut milk until it was really soft.  I tossed in a few cashews that I had kicking around as well.  Once the coconut milk had cooked down, I turned the heat off and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.  I mashed it up with a fork and then took my immersion blender to it and whipped it to a nice smooth consistency.   I think that will be part of my dinner tonight.

Mashed cauliflower goodness.

I've been wanting a change of pace for breakfast so instead of making my usual frittata / quiche, I decided to make a couple of mini ones and then cook up some quinoa to have on the days I'm not eating these.  I could have made them crustless but I kinda like the crust.  I didn't think a chick pea crust would go well with the ingredients I had on hand so I opted to make one out of ground flax and hemp seeds.   The filling consisted of sauteed spinach, smoked salmon and goat cheese.  Had I actually had dill, I would have put that in as well.   I think they look pretty good.  We'll see how they taste.  The good news?  I actually had the foresight to write down the recipe! 

Smoked Salmon Mini Quiche

Smoked Salmon Mini Quiche

Crust:
1/4 cup of flax meal
1 TBSP of hemp seeds
2 TBSP of egg whites
dash of salt

Mix ingredients together in a bowl.  Divide in half and press into an oiled ramekin.  

You could probably skip this next step if you want but I like a crunchy crust so I opted to bake the crust for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Let crust cool and pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Filling:

1 generous handful of spinach, roughly chopped. 
1/2 tbsp of olive oil + a splash of water to sautee spinach in.
1 large piece of smoked salmon cut into pieces
1 TBSP of goat cheese
1 egg
2/3 cup of egg whites
1/2 tsp of dill (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee spinach in oil and water until wilted.  Add to ramekin.  Add cut up salmon.  Beat egg and egg whites, season with salt and pepper, add dill if using and mix in.  Divide evenly between ramekins.  Break up goat cheese and drop into egg mixture. 
Place on top rack of oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until mostly set.  I tried not to cook them until completely done as I will be re-heating them for breakfast and didn't want them to be over cooked.

That will be my breakfast tomorrow.  Can't wait!  I just finished cooking chicken burgers from a Martha Stewart recipe that I tweaked a bit.  Will have to post that one later on this week.  I am hoping to be able to make this recipe later on this evening, I'll just have to figure out what flour to substitute as I'm running very low on almond meal.  I do love me some pound cake and this one looks pretty darn good.  I'll have to remember to portion and freeze it asap so I don't eat half of it one go!

Despite my busy week, I still managed a decent week of training.  I worked really late on Thursday so I was planning on taking Friday as my day off.  It's just as well, I was totally zonked by then.  This is how it all went down this week.

Monday:  1600m swim

Tuesday:  a.m. 2.96km on the treadmill at the gym + 40 minute weight workout.   P.M. 9.82 km tempo with hills.

Wednesday:  2200m swim.  Desperately needed massage in P.M.  

Thursday:  Easy-ish 8km in High Park - no weights.

Friday:  Off

Saturday:  Long run 27.66 km

Sunday:  2600m swim +1 hour on the trainer. 

Totals for the week:
Swim:  6400m
Bike:  1 hour
Run:  48.52km

+ 40 minutes of strength training.  Just over 8 hours of workouts this week.  Not bad. I suspect that total will start to climb along with my mileage over the next few weeks.  Crunch time is coming!

What did you get up to this weekend? 

The Sunday Ritual: Back in the Groove

I can't believe it's the last long weekend of summer.  I mean it just seems like school got out yesterday.  Now it's back to the grind for everyone.   Normally around this time I start to get inklings of the urge to start hibernating, to start getting ready for the cooler, shorter days.  To use the famous words of House Stark (yes, I'm a nerd):  "Winter is Coming".  Realistically I know it is but with the weather we've been having, well, you could have fooled me.  So, I'm not quite ready to get into hibernation mode just yet.  There is plenty of wonderful weather to still be enjoyed!

With all this wonderful weather, my garden has gone absolutely mental.  It's complete chaos back there.  I can't tell where one plant begins and the other one ends.  I'm amazed at the things that keep growing.  I've gotten a second batch of beans, the swiss chard has grown back again even bigger this time and don't even get me started on the cherry tomatoes and the tomatillos.  Holy moly.  I haven't been short on veggies at all these last few week and I've been eating cherry tomatoes like they're candy.  Which is infinitely better for me than actually eating candy so it's a win/win situation.

This weeks theme?  Use up the bounty from the garden.   First off, I had to re-fuel after my long run.  I bought some figs that were almost over-ripe so I chopped them up, added a bit of water, a splash of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon, put it all in a pot and boiled it down.  Made my favourite pancake recipe and voila, the best post run breakfast ever.  To top it all off, hubby brought me a cappuccino from the Italian Bakery.  Yup, he's a keeper.

Post run deliciousness!

After I inhaled those, I went outside to harvest some more goodies from the garden.  My basil plant had gotten completely out of control so I decided it was time to make some pesto.  I had harvested a whole bunch of tomatillos the other day so salsa verde was also on the menu.   My food processor got an excellent workout today.   I also picked a bunch of chard which I figured I'd use in my breakfast pie instead of spinach.   The pesto and the salsa verde could be used on grilled chicken or grilled fish, which makes it easier for meals this week.  All we'll need to do is toss something on the BBQ and top it with either one of these.  Dinner, done in less than 20 minutes.  Gotta love that.

Freshly picked chard and basil.

Chard getting cooked down.  Love the colours!

Salsa Verde all done!

I still have a few odds and ends in the freezer and I made some pulled pork today so I've got leftovers galore.  I've also got a couple of shoots happening this week so there is always the chance that I won't need to bring lunch in if I choose not to.   I'm also back into full on training mode so I'll have a couple of late dinners due to running with my group.


Yup, I'm officially back at it.  Back into the groove.  I can't even being to tell you how happy I am.  This was a pretty jam packed week of training too.  Here's a little re-cap.

Monday:  I had planned on swimming but was still pretty wiped out from Sunday's race so I slept in and took that as my rest day.

Tuesday:   In the morning:  Easy 1.2km on the treadmill as my warm up + 40 minute full body workout at the gym.  In the evening:  7.16km run in 33:07. 

Wednesday:  2350m swim in 50 minutes.

Thursday:  In the morning:  2km warm up on the treadmill, 40 minute full body workout, 2km cool down on the treadmill.  In the evening:  3x1 mile repeats, 6:31, 6:39. 6:37 + warm up and cool down for a total of 8.01km.

Friday:  1500m swim in 40 minutes.  Lots of stroke work and I felt like garbage so I left early.

Saturday:  50km ride in 1:54:13.  Amazing day for a ride in the country. 

Sunday:  21.25km run in 1:46:52.  I felt pretty good considering I had ridden 50km the day before.  Pace is getting closer to my FIRST pace that I am supposed to be running.  I figure I'll be back in that range in a couple of weeks. 

Totals for the week:
Swim:  3850m
Bike:  50km
Run:  41.53 km
+ 1:20 in gym time.

That's a lot more like it.  Man it feels so good to be back!!

What did you get up to this weekend?

The Sunday Ritual, A Recipe and A Race!

Yet another weekend has come to an end far too soon!  That means once again, I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat this week.  I've decided to wing it again because quite frankly, I'm exhausted.  I don't have the energy or desire to spend 2 hours cooking today.  Why?  Because I raced this morning.  YEAH BABY, I'M BACK! 

After 2.5 weeks off and another week of slowly getting back into running,  I was starting to feel like things were coming together.   A massage on Wednesday seemed to get the rest of the kinks out and after my long run on Friday night, I felt that I was good to go for today.  Given that I hadn't done much riding or fast running, I didn't have high hopes for getting on the podium.  I'm not going to lie,  with all the success I had last year, it's always something in the back of my mind when I go into a race.  Even today's race.  I always manage to pull a horseshoe out of my ass somehow and waayyy deep down inside I had some hope that might be the case today.  Reality told me different, but like I've said before, I'm stubborn.  Gary's words of advice were to just go out, work hard and enjoy myself.  So rather than focus on perhaps getting on the podium, I thought that 1) I should just be grateful I'm actually able to race today and 2) I should just go out and have fun.  Let the chips fall where they may.   I'll post a full race report tomorrow but for now I'll give you the Coles Notes edition.
I took Gary's advice and went out and had fun.  Doesn't mean I didn't push myself.  If there's one thing I love to do it's toe the line of implosion.  I am a red-liner.  They don't call it a sprint race for nothing!  I did have a goal and that was to finish under 1:55.  The course was totally flat so I figured that shouldn't be a problem.  Of course I was concerned about the swim.  Lake Ontario is a very big body of water and it can get rough, which it was today.  I had a bit of panic on the way out as I kept getting slapped in the face with water but once I sorted out my breathing and made it around the first buoy, I was good to go.  As was evidenced by my swim time of 14:38.  Which for me is a BIG deal.  I had a bit of a calf cramp on the way back in but I managed to kick it out.
With the swim over I was good to go!  I rode like a maniac on the bike.  I managed to pass 2 women in my AG.  The hunt was on.  I was really hoping no one would pass me.  No one did.  On to the run, my favourite thing!  It was a combo of grass, pavement and sand.  Loved the grass, pavement was ok and the sand, well it was crappy but luckily we weren't on it for that long.  It was stinking hot out as well so I kept pouring water over my head to cool down.  I picked off 2 more women in my AG.  I had no idea how many women were in front of me.  I saw one that I figured was in my AG because her race number was close to mine.  She was a fair ways in front of me so I didn't think I could catch her.  I didn't really care I was just happy to be racing.  I busted my butt on that run and as I came towards the finish line, I glanced at my watch.  It just ticked over 1:48.  I smiled to myself.  Not only was I faster than I thought I'd be but I raced completely pain free.  No calf issues, nothing.  I REALLY needed a day like today.   Final time 1:48:17.   Final place?  Fourth! Normally I wouldn't be too thrilled with that but today I'll take it.  I know I hoped for better but I also knew that I was grasping at straws.  What I was super pumped about was that I had the 2nd fastest run in my AG.  Woohoo! 

Top 5 Finishers in the 40-44 AG.

I know the folks that read my Sunday posts always like to see what I'm making so, I'll leave you with a recipe that I plan on putting together for dinner.  I can't take credit for it, though.  Credit goes to my friends Julie & Raff.  I'm going to add a few things to it though just to bump up the flavour a bit.

Black Bean & Tuna Salad.

1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of flaked tuna in water, drained
1 corn on the cob, cooked and cut off the cob
1 avocado, chopped
1 mango, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 very small red chile, minced (or use red chile flakes or go without)
1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped (or more if you love it like I do)
1 tbsp of olive oil - 1/2 avocado oil 1/2 olive oil
the juice of one lime
salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix and enjoy!

I'm going to leave you with a pic of all my goodies set up in transition.  I seem to have a thing for pink.

What did you get up to this weekend?

The Sunday Ritual, Stupidity and Another DNS

My first few steps were tentative but I quickly found my rhythm.  Of course every little twinge I felt ate away at that black hole of doubt.  I eventually realized that my head was getting the better of me.  I soldiered on.  The goal was 19km.  It was a beautiful sunny day and I was running along a lovely undulating road in cottage country.  It doesn't get any better than that.  I had been feeling so good leading up to this day.   Perhaps that's why I thought 19km was doable.  About 8km in I thought maybe I should turn around and call it a day.  16km was still respectable especially after taking 2.5 weeks off.  My stubborn side chimed in and talked me in to that extra 1.5km out.  "You need to get your mileage in"  it urged.  "You're way behind."  Panic took over and I pushed on.  At the turnaround, I stopped to check out the state of my feet.  I could feel the burning on my right foot.  I took my shoe off to see a bulge on the ball of my foot.  Ugh.  I shoved my foot back in and laced my shoe up tighter.  I crossed the 2 lane highway and started to make my way back, cursing myself for being an idiot.  I had to stop a couple of times to stretch.  I couldn't plant my right foot properly due to the gigantic blister that had formed.  My stride was altered.  I started to walk, silently cursing my stupidity.  Somewhere around 14km I started to feel a bit better.  I knew I had to face the dreaded Emes Hill on the way back.  It doesn't look like much but it's a grinder.  I figured if I had to walk, I had to walk.  Peter's words echoed through my head "Try to take it easy on the hills.  If you can avoid them, avoid them for now."   So much for that. 

Emes Hill.  Jammy Bugger.

I started up the hill and actually felt alright.  It kicks up towards the top so I slowed down as I got closer to the top.  I was huffing and puffing.  But I made it to the top.   I was only about 3km away from the landing.  My legs were just starting to feel tired which was a surprise.  I figured I'd feel tired way earlier.  I had one more small hill to climb before I reached the landing.  Mentally I was done.  My feet were burning and I was not looking forward to taking my shoes off.  As the landing came in to view I realized that I hadn't quite done 19km.  I *should* have stopped but no, I had to run out past the landing until my Garmin clicked over to 19km.  Really?? What good did that do me?? None I'm sure except to silence the paranoid beast in the back of my head.
On a positive note, my legs felt totally fine after that escapade.  I was walking normally, no pain, no issues.  I figured the next day would be a different story.  My feet, on the other hand were a mess.  I had two huge blood blisters on my right foot and another blister forming on the big toe of my left foot.  It took me two attempts to drain the blisters.  I had to drain them again the next morning.  Disgusting.  I couldn't even face putting my running shoes on again so I spent the next day in flip flops.  My legs felt stiff and my calf felt tight, but there was no pain.  I was hopeful that I could race on Sunday.  I used the Stick on my calf, iced it and took a Robaxacet on Friday night in the hopes that would help loosen things up.
I awoke on Saturday to incredibly sore legs and a very tight calf.  Oh no, no no no.  All I could hope was that my legs loosened up over the course of the day.  They didn't.  So at 5:00 pm last night I pulled the pin on racing today.  Another DNS (did not start).  It was probably just as well.  I woke up this morning with very sore quads, a tender achilles and a sore hamstring.  I was tempted to sit on my butt this morning and mope but I thought it would be better if I went out and got moving.  So I laced up the new shoes, put on my new Oiselle Roga shorts (which I love btw) and went for a shuffle.  It was awful.  I tried not to cry in frustration as I ran.  My legs felt like tree trunks.  I kept moving at a very easy pace.  I turned around just past the 3km mark.  I stopped at almost 4.5km and started to walk home.  I was feeling too many "weird" things in my legs.  And they were just plain tired.  About 1km from home, I started to run again.  Everything was tight.  I started to get down on myself.  I fought back more tears as I shuffled along.  I started to worry that I'd done more harm than good and that I'd set myself back even further.  I got back home and spent a good 20 minutes stretching.  I lightly foam rolled my legs and thought about my next steps.   Realistically, the fact that I got out and managed to run almost 5.5km in 30 minutes with no calf pain per se, is a positive.  The pain I felt was because I overdid it on Thursday.  It was everywhere else BUT my calf.  Which is a good thing.  So I think a good massage will help flush out the rest of the soreness in my legs and hopefully get the circulation going again.  To aid in getting the blood flowing to my aching legs I'm wearing my Compressport For Quads and my calf sleeve on my bum calf.  The single calf sleeve is very gangsta looking but I don't care.  It feels great.  Fingers crossed I wake to fresher legs tomorrow.  Just in time to return to work.

I didn't have anything planned for today cooking wise because I figured we'd be racing and wouldn't be back home until mid afternoon.  I took a look through the freezer and the pantry and I think I've got more than enough odds and ends that I can successfully put together some decent lunches.  I'll have to pick up a few things but I don't think I'll have to do a full on grocery shop.  I'm taking some inspiration from the lovely Katie over a Wish and Whimsy and making these yummy looking Tuna Cabbage Boats.  I like the fact that I can put whatever strikes my fancy in these.  They are high in protein and I can fill them up with as much veggies as I please.  Perfect clean eating food.  I made some delicious salsa verde last week that I put on some grilled chicken.  Flavourful and oh so simple.  I still have some left over so I'll be using that on the grilled chicken I'm going to cook up tonight.  As for dinner this week, we'll that remains to be seen.  We still have a ton of peppers, zucchini and mushrooms as well as some green beans and a small harvest of yellow beans from the garden.  Some grilled salmon or flank steak would be perfect pairings for these veggies.  This will probably mean a stop at the butchers after work but that's easy enough.  I want to keep this weeks menu simple.   I got up early this morning and tackled my breakfast for the week.  I've gone back to my usual breakfast fritatta.  I added a chick pea crust to this to make it a bit more substantial.  This one has mushrooms, onions, yellow pepper, zucchini and goat cheese.  Had I been thinking I would have added some thyme to it.  Delicious.

Fritatta Love

The grand plan for the week:  KISS = Keep it simple, stupid.  Eat clean, train smart, listen to my body and hopefully I'll be back on track.  I've got one more opportunity to race next weekend so if I'm smart this week, I should be able to toe the line at the Toronto Island Triathlon next weekend.   Fingers crossed.

The Sunday Ritual on Vacation & The End of an Affair

It's Sunday again.  Normally I'd be lacing up my shoes right now and heading out for my long run but, I haven't been given a go ahead by my PT to do that just yet.  Even though I feel totally fine, I want to make sure that any residual issues are worked out before I actually start pounding the pavement again.  That being said, I will probably go for a very short very easy jaunt in my new kicks.  Yes folks, the Newton love affair is over.  I have found another lover and his name is Mizuno.  He may not be as flashy as Newton but I think he'll be better for me in the long run; more stability and less stress on my calves and achilles.  After 2 + years in the Newton's and this weird little calf issue I've been having, I felt it was time for a change.   The guy that sold these to me said he wasn't surprised to hear about the calf issues.  That seems to be a big problem with a lot of these minimalist shoes.  More load on your forefoot is going to stress your calf and achilles more than they're used to and for a lot of people that results in an injury.  Even in the Newton's I was still a heel striker and yet I was still able to run fast.  As my sports doctor so aptly put it, your body is going to do whatever it's going to do, changing your foot strike doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get faster.  I used to think it was the shoes that made me faster and I'm sure that they probably helped a bit, but I think I can safely say it was a combination of the 15 pound weight loss, the speed work and weight lifting that has gotten me to where I am today. 

Much more tame than I'm used to!

I had big training plans for this week, especially since we're off on vacation.  I'm mentally raring to go and despite being off for two weeks, I'm feeling really good physically as well.  Nothing like some forced rest to make you feel like a million bucks.  I'm totally chomping at the bit to get back to it so hopefully my PT gives me the green light tomorrow.  We're heading up to our friends cottage on Wednesday for three days so I'll be bringing my wetsuit and my bike for sure.  I'm actually really looking forward to getting in to the water.   I know right???  Me the big 'fraidy cat!  I can't believe I just wrote that.  But it's true.   I think I'm starting to turn the corner.  I guess we'll see what happens when I toe the line at the sprint triathlon next weekend.

Since we're on vacation this week, I haven't done any menu planning.  I am going to finally make those energy bars from the No Meat Athlete that I talked about a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't end up making them because that was the weekend I injured my calf so I spent that afternoon sprawled on the couch with my leg elevated.  But, if I'm going to be riding my bike this week, I'm going to need something so I'll make those and bring them with me to the cottage.   I've also got a bunch of tomatillos that need to be used so I'm going to make some salsa verde.  I'm thinking that might be mighty tasty on some grilled chicken.  Other than that, we're just going to wing it for the next couple of days.   That's what being on vacation is all about.

Have you got a vacation coming up?  If so what have you got planned?

The Sunday Ritual: Taking It Easy

Happy Sunday!  I say happy because it's the Sunday of a long weekend which means that I've got another day off.  WOOHOO!  I don't have any big plans for this Sunday as I'm trying to stay off my legs and spending 2 hours cooking in the kitchen isn't conducive to "taking it easy".  That being said, I've still got a few things up my sleeve.  I may actually split my cooking up over the next couple of days so I'm not actually on my feet for too long.

I usually make a breakfast frittata that lasts me the entire week but I'm a little bored with that.  I know I need something quick and easy so I'm going to turn to a Gourmet Nutrition favourite that I haven't made in ages:  the peaches and cream omelet.  Ontario peaches are in season right now so this is an amazing way to use them.  I know it sounds kinda strange but this dish is delicious.  The "omelet" part is almost like a crepe and the filling is cottage cheese, chopped fresh peaches and pecans.  I usually drizzle it with a bit of greek yogurt thinned out with some agave nectar.  A-ma-zing.  I can make the omelet portion ahead of time, split it (it's huge) wrap it up and put it in the fridge.  It will cover two breakfasts for me.  After that I may resort to making scrambled eggs and veggies.

I don't have much left in the way of burgers so I'm going to make another round of these burgers shortly.   My big plan tomorrow is to make use of the two pork tenderloins I bought a couple of weeks ago.  I bought some hickory wood chips so I can make some pulled pork.  Usually this is made with pork shoulder or pork butt but I like to try and keep it lean so I'm using tenderloin.  You lose a little flavour because of the lack of fat but I find that the smoke, the seasoning of the meat and the sauce I put on it after wards are good enough for me.

Since I'm not running at all again this week, I'll be home for dinner every night.  I'm trying to dice it up a bit this week.  In the summer I usually rely on the BBQ for most of our meals, which is not a bad thing, but that usually means we're eating meat, or a sturdier fish like salmon.  This week we're going to go meatless for several meals and I'm taking the cooking inside (gasp!).

I'm a big fan of smoked paprika and I am always looking for things to put it on or in.  It's fantastic in chili and on grilled chicken.  Last weekend I was going to pan sear some tilapia in coconut oil and I thought why not put the paprika on the tilapia?  Salt, pepper and a bit of smoked paprika smeared across the fish....oh yeah.  So, I'll be making that again this week.  That's meatless meal number one.
Number two will be lentil sloppy joes from Fuel Up.  I know right?  Sloppy joes made from beans?!?  Trust me, these are amazing.  Once again another opportunity for me to slip in a bit of smoked paprika into a recipe.  Even though the recipe doesn't call for it, I put it in anyway. This is a quick and easy meal which I absolutely love.  I think it's half an hour from start to finish.  Can't beat that!
Number three will be this salmon and kale salad from Cara's Cravings.  I will be making it without the soba noodles as I find it's filling enough as is.  It was one of my favourite meals but it's been a while since I've made it so I'm bringing it back this week. 
 Friday night we're out for dinner with friends so I've got us covered for the week.  It's also a short work week this week so this round of burgers will last me for the next couple of weeks.

Righty-o, time to get cooking!

I hope all my Canadian readers have had a fantastic long weekend!