Bonked if there ever was a Bonk

Wonder what happened to our post yesterday? Well I'll tell you. Instead of going out for my run and getting home in time to post, I bonked.

I went for a 20 miler, and ended up only running 13 and walking 7.  7 whole miles of walking really reminded me these few things.

#1 - I hate my water belt. I always have so regardless of whether it was the water belts fault or not, I will blame it.

Do you recognize this photo.... it is the chocolate covered cheesecake Heather and I ate at the State Fair a few weeks back. I was thinking about how Real Delicious this little slice of heaven was while walking those lovely 7 miles.

#2 - On any run longer then 10 miles I say as a rule of thumb, bring my cell phone. I used to always bring my cell in my little pouch that goes around my waist but have since done away with that pouch thinking the water belt was more important.... but alas, another reason to blame the dumb water belt, no place for my cell.

#3 - When you stop at some random store and ask to borrow their phone to call your husband and he offers to come pick you up, let him...... I was like, "na, don't worry about it." I thought it would be no big deal walking 7 lonely miles back to my car. But I'll tell you by the time I got to my car I was so hungry and thirsty (I ditched the water belt shortly after I stopped running) that I thought I started seeing little birds twirling around my head.

This was a delicious Giada recipe that I had made the night prior. I think she is my favorite. Towards the end of my never ending walk I started thinking about how I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers.

So anywhoo, yesterday wasn't one to write home about it but alas you get to all hear me complain in this lovely post. But really, although I am complaining this run didn't get me down too much. I have bonked before and will bonk again.  It is part of running. Live and learn =)

If anyone out there doesn't know what bonking is, here is my definition.

Bonking - When any someone can not finish a run for any type of reason they deem fit. Whether it be some kind of ache or pain, or maybe just they you weren't feeling it that day. All runners have bonk days.

I hope all your running adventures are better then mine was yesterday!  Happy weekend =)

-Jen

Monday FunDay

I returned from Minnesota last night exhausted and very full from all the eating. Came home, unpacked and went straight to bed. Who knew walking all over the fair eating all kinds of foods would be so exhausting.

This pic to the left is a piece of cheesecake dipped in chocolate. it was so good. I don't normally love cheesecake but for whatever reason this was delish.

I am now into workout week #3 of my FIRST training plan. Here is how it's gonna go down.

Monday: Total Conditioning

Tuesday: 1 Mile warmup followed by a downhill ladder...typically I am used to going "Up" a ladder. But hey, I am not going to discriminate and starting with the longest interval first sounds kind of nice =)

         1x1200, 1x1000, 1x800, 1x600, 1x400 and 1x200

Wednesday: Swim for 1 hr. I typically ride my bike this day but I have been feeling my IT band while biking and felt it a little on my run last Saturday so I am going to give the bike a rest.... I may need some kind of strange adjustment.

Thursday: 7 miles with 1 mile warmup 5 miles at 8:05 pace and 1 mile easy

Friday: Not sure yet... either total conditioning or another swim.  

Saturday: 17 Miles around a 9:00 minute mile. My 15 miler felt so good last week I am interested to see how this one feels. I hope all my long runs feel great but as most of us runners know some just feel like crap.

I am also going to be cooking a lot this week (now that I have a menu) so hopefully I cook up some good treats! For dinner tonight, it is Roman Style Chicken. I haven't made this recipe before so I'll let you know how it is. But I typically find Giada recipes delish.

Happy Running and may you Monday be a funday.  -Jen


What is everyone else cooking for dinner?

How did Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene turn out for everyone?
-We are SO glad Sarah and Scott are A.O.K and the only damage they have are water bubbles in there wall.... which apparently have shown up during previous rain storms.... Sarah, maybe call your landlord? that doesn't sound too normal.  Check out the pic here.

Is everyone ready for Fall?
-I am, I am ready for cool crisp air and pretty leaves. I love fall

Short Fast Tempos = HELLISH

So I can't say my week has panned out like I thought.

To start, Monday morning I was supposed to go out and run 5 miles with 3.5 @ 7:30 pace.....well that didn't happen. My phone died in the middle of the night (alarm clock) and then I woke up late and said ahhh what the hell.  So I decided to switch gears and think maybe I could get a swim or go for a short bike ride later. But nope, I did absolutely nothing but hang at the pool with my little dude Peter.  It was SOO nice.

Pool, here we come.

Tuesday, I did wake my lazy self up and forced myself to get out the door with my running shoes on. It wasn't easy in the least but somehow I managed to do it.  I decided, "Ok, I missed my short fast tempo yesterday so I'll just skip running club today do that workout instead." So I started with a warmup mile which felt great and then proceeded to attempt 3.5 miles @ 7:30.  Well after 2 miles I stopped, felt like I was gonna die, lied down on the concrete sidewalk and looked up in the sky and wondered what in the world I was doing to myself =) Then I dragged my butt off the concrete (I had the outline of a sweat body on the concrete... did I mention it is HOT outside), turned up my music louder (I will be deaf later in life I'm sure) and finished 2 miles easy.

This is a picture of me in the ocean somewhere in the Caribbean shortly after I got married.  If I am gonna endure super hot weather I'd much rather be here.

Although I didn't go as far as I'd hoped I am glad I kind of figured out where I am physically.  So next week I am going to try and go 2.5 miles @ 7:30 and add 1/2 mile each week. Anyone with me?

After running I did attend barbell class like planned and I also found time to swim 1600m. So I figured, Tuesday made up for Monday.

Here is my delicious tuna sandwich I made for lunch.  I have made this recipe a few times now and I am never disappointed.  Thanks again Giada.  

Wednesday I did do what I originally had planned, and that was a mini run through of the Sprint Tri I am gonna participate in next weekend. I met up with some friends, we biked, ran and then swam. It all felt relatively good, we timed our swim so we could turn in our swim time for 100m. They want you to turn in how long it takes you to swim 100m at a normal pace so they put you in the correct lane when swimming during the race. I am coming in slightly under 2 minutes.

Today I am heading out the door shortly to run 10 miles. The bike ride I originally had planned isn't gonna happen until tomorrow morning. I don't really care because it was either go during the scorching HOT sun of the afternoon or wake up early Friday and ride then. I will go to Total Conditioning class Friday as well and possibly hop in the pool but my main activity that day will be the ride.  I want to head into boulder and kick my butt going up some hills. For some reason tackling hills on a bike is so much more fun then tackling while running....

This is a deathly steep hill in Stillwater that we ran up while I was just visiting.  So steep, they close it in the winter and they named it chili chute or something like that....?. Not fun, but a great workout. I don't think this pic does it justice but either way, steep enough that it needs to be mentioned.

It has been so crazy hot here that the motivation to go workout in the middle of it has been slim. But regardless some physical activity has been happening. It is interesting training for a Tri because now aside from running you are trying to think about the swim and the biking and it just makes for a busy workout schedule... kind of nuts.  I can only imagine how much training is involved with an Ironman.

I am missing my family all having fun up in Minnesota this week!  This is Heather and the Stillwater bridge with a picture of our hometown in the background.  Miss you guys! =)

Would you rather be in scorching hot weather in the Caribbean or your hometown?
me, Caribbean. I also wouldn't say no to Hawaii.....

Anyone out there made anything delicious lately?
That Tuna is always good, but I have also had some delicious salads.

Who's gonna eat some Fro Yo today?!?
ME, I decided today for my afternoon treat I am hitting up Red Mango for some strawberry Fro Yo topped with Mochi, M&M's, and Oreo Cookie =)


Happy Running all, and may we all make it through the scorching hot hot hot days of summer!  -Jen

Dinner was Good...not great

Tonights dinner was good. I would recommend giving it a try if you want a new way to cook Halibut, but overall I don't give it a great.  The reason being I just needed a little more of something..... like a side dish of some sort.

It was my first attempt at cooking Quinoa and lets just say it didn't work out. I dunno, it blew up in my microwave... and really I am not even sure you should cook it in the microwave. But, I was just in a jam looking for a quick way to get it done and although I did follow a recipe from the food network website it just didn't workout..... =) So that was out, but I ended up cooking the Halibut just about right and the broth was tasty.

I was planning on taking pictures while I cooked but because everything went so quickly I was too worried about overcooking my fish or not browning my shallots and artichokes evenly.  So before I knew it, everything was in the dish ready to taste.

If you wanna give this recipe a try and feel like you can do more justice with it, please click here =)

Happy Cooking -Jen

Dinner was DELISH =)

Thanks Giada. This dinner was delicious.  The only thing I did differently was omit the 1/2 cup of Starchy water from the pasta.  I wanted it more of a salad then a pasta dish so wilting the greens wasn't important.  I also used sea salt with my fresh ground pepper. I cut my steak up into slivers and added it to the salad as well.  It is a must try.  You won't be disappointed.

Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese and Steak Slivers. YUM.

Meals and Marathons

There are only days left until I run this race that I am hoping to conquer......so from here on out I am going to do my best to eat all the foods that would make some good fuel for race day.  Cooking is a hobby of mine that lately comes 2nd.....to running =) If I have time and energy I'd totally cook crazy food always. So to start this marathon loading fiesta I went through all of my favorite websites: cookinglight.com, foodnetwork.com, allrecipes.com and found some recipes that I thought I would try.  I also am going to make some recipes that I know my family loves. Sometimes if I try too many new recipes in one week I kind of get a look from my husband that means... can you please cook something I've heard of. =)  

              

So below I have listed all the recipes I plan on making for dinner. I also plan on blogging about them, so on top of our daily workout postings hopefully you will hear from me about how some of these recipes turn out. They are listed in the order of when I am going to make them starting with the first dish tonight. So join me if you are looking to try something new. We can talk about what was good and what was great! I have made my grocery list and while my son is at cowboy camp I am going to make my way to the grocer and stock up. I am gearing to turn my kitchen into a mini Food Network.  Wish me luck =)   

Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese and Grilled Steak

Halibut in Artichoke and Tomato Broth Served over Quinoa

Grilled Havarti/Roast Beef Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Oven Fries

White Chicken Chili with Tortilla chips and Fruit

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Baked Sweet Potato and Grilled Veggies

Running Club pot luck.... (should be tasty, I am not sure what I am going to contribute but when I figure it out I'll let ya know)

Pasta with Italian Sausage, Veggies and Regular Tomato Sauce. Served with whole wheat Garlic cheese bread

Steak Fajitas on Corn Tortillas with Lime Sour Cream

Garlic Oil Sauteed Pasta with Broccoli

Parmesan Chicken from Barefoot Contessa

Tuna and Artichoke Panini's (this dish is extra but it is soo tasty I really want to try and fit it in somewhere.... I am just not sure which dish to eliminate yet. But if you want a good Tuna recipe try this. you won't be disappointed.)

P.S. although I realize "carbo loading" is the most popular term to get ready for a long race, I prefer to think of it as just healthy loading.  I personally think you need it all in order to preform well.

P.S.S. The recipes I don't have links to are recipes that are my own. I will post the recipe as I make the dish so you can try it at home.  If you'd like the recipe sooner shoot me an email at alwaystrainingtrio@gmail.com and I'd be happy to share.

My workout this week is going as follows:

Monday: 8 Miles slow
Tuesday: 6x800's with a 200m pickups; Barbell class with light weights
Wednesday: Swim
Thursday: 8 Miles with last 5 at marathon pace
Friday: Total Conditioning (class at Lifetime Fitness)
Saturday: Guess your own 5k pace at Running Club. This should be fun. We are all supposed to guess what we will run a 5k in and then take off our Garmins.. and the coaches will let us know how close we actually came.  Can you feel your pace or can't ya?

What are some of your favorite healthy loading meals?

How far in advance do you really watch what you eat before a race?

Do you guys like to cook?

Happy Running -Jen

Eggs

I am always looking for new ways to eat eggs.  I love eggs and so does the rest of my clan.  I would say that every week we eat at least a dozen or so.  I was sitting at the Ortho last week with Elsa and came across an article about Giada.  I love her so I had to read it.  In it she said that when she doesn't feel like cooking she whips up some scrambled eggs and puts them on a bed of arugula and a little Parmesan Cheese on top and calls it a day.  Well once I read that I knew what I was going to make it for dinner.  It was so easy and really good.  I added a couple pieces of bacon to the side of mine as well.  Which makes it even better.  Who knew you could add Parmesan cheese to eggs???  TRY IT .. you will not be disappointed.

Penne with Spinach Sauce

I do love myself a little Giada every now and then.  And this recipe of hers is quick and easy.  You must give it a try when you need to do some carbo loading for your training. To get the step by step instructions just go HERE.

 

Taken with IPhone camera so please excuse the fuzzies!