To finish up what I cooked the week of 11/15-11/19...
Caramelized Pork Slices: Scott really enjoyed this! It was pretty easy too. Brown sugar and molasses makes everything delicious. We had this with a side of rice and green beans.
Pesto Chicken Pizza: Yum! I really enjoy making these pizzas. This one turned out delicious - the right amount of pesto without overpowering the pizza. I'm finally getting the hang of making the crusts myself on the pizza stone ... I just can't seem to get my pizzas to be very round, haha!
Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary: Sad but true: I made this last Thursday night so we could have it for lunch last Friday and it's still in our refrigerator. I wanted Chipotle. My willpower isn't strong.
And, as promised, a recap of my 10K!
M and I went to Hains Point in Washington DC for our very first 10K. Our longest run during the training program was 5.5 miles, so we had another 0.7 to tack on, making it the longest run either of us had ever done. Based on our training, I knew I wasn't going to be able to run the whole distance without a walking break, so we decided to set my watch to do 10 minute running / 2 minute walking intervals.
The morning was chilly, and when I got out of the car in long pants, a t-shirt, and a track jacket I was feeling under dressed. I was wishing for gloves, a hat, or earwarmers... but we had none of the above. Luckily, I have felt this way before at the start of a run and I knew that after a mile I would feel appropriately dressed.
The race was a 5k/10k and the 5k started 10 minutes before us. I realized that this meant that anyone who wasn't 'serious' about running would be running the 5k... meaning there was a very legitimate chance we would finish dead last in our 10k. I reminded myself that we weren't trying to break any records, and that the goal was to cross the finish line, not beat anyone!
Before I knew it, we were off. I was worried about starting off too fast and losing steam so we were sure to not sprint away, and soon we were towards the back of the pack, but not dead last. The first 10 minutes felt great and I probably didn't need the walk break right then, but I also wanted to pace myself. After our walk break, we were fairly close to dead last. Oh well. We started running again and managed to pass some people that had jogged past us.
The course was basically 2 laps around Hains Point and as we neared the end of our first lap, there were people on the sidelines cheering us on - "almost done!" I wanted to hurt them. Haha. They didn't know we weren't running the 5k I guess, but we were not almost done.. we were almost HALF done. At this point I realized I had not been in any pain from my foot - AWESOME! I had been worried because on my run Tuesday and the prior Saturday (we took Thursday off) I had definitely felt significant pain in my right foot.
I was feeling awesome about our progress at the halfway point and we stopped for about 20 seconds to get some water. The next mile wasn't so bad for either M or I. I guess 4 miles is officially a "good" distance for us. Around the start of the 5th mile, M was definitely hurting. "I don't know if I can run for 10 minutes anymore" she said. Usually, M is doing just fine, I'm whining, and she has to be my cheerleader. This time I was feeling pretty good and tried to be a cheerleader for her. We were doing so well! We only had like 2 miles left! We made it to walk break #5 and I was so excited we had been going for an hour. Last push of running, I told her. We had less than 10 minutes of running left before we would be at the finish line.
So we started interval #6, and I immediately wanted to die. I was just done. My muscles were not listening to me as I told them to push on. I begged her for a chance to walk and she told me no. Finally, we saw Scott and my friends K and D (D had run the race to, but finished 10 minutes before us) cheering us on a little ways before the finish line. Usually, I like to sprint to the finish line and finish as strong as possible, but I really was spent. And then the unthinkable happened. As we ran towards the finish line, we saw that THE FINISH LINE HAD BEEN DISASSEMBLED! What the hell?!? I guess park police had come and told them there was some problem with their permit, and made them TAKE DOWN THE FINISH LINE. So we ran up to where the finish line had been, approximately. Talk about anti climatic!
Other than the finish line snafu, though, I have to say I was really happy with our time and the race overall! Hains Point is a beautiful, flat course, which I think might be part of why my run was so pain-free. And, what I know you are all curious about: my time was 1:07:34, which is about a 10:50 minute mile pace! Pretty awesome considering we walked 2 out of ever 12 minutes! I'm so proud of M and I and am definitely excited to sign up and start training for the 10 miler :-)
Happy Turkey Day, everyone!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
keeping good on my promise!
Hello!!! I'm updating - after only a few days instead of weeks! Here goes it.
This weekend's 5.5 mile run was... rough. M and I were both in quite a bit of agony by the end... but we survived! Luckily the soreness was gone by Monday and I was feeling good. Tonight we ran 3 miles on the treadmill since it was dark, gross, and rainy out. My foot pain returned, which is a little worrisome for this weekend. But hopefully it will subside through lots of stretching and icing and I'll be ready for Saturday's 10K!
I've been COOKING! Woo! Lunch the past few days was Chicken and Spinach Tortellini Soup.
A fairly simple soup with... well.. chicken, spinach, and tortellini. Add in some carrots and that's really about it! Next up on the menu this week was Monday's dinner: Cheese and Pesto Strata.
Can I just say, I LOVE french bread? It's so addictive. Scott thinks so too.. he finished the loaf that wasn't in the strata in one sitting, haha. This recipe turned out alright, but I think it's more of an appetizer or something to have in small doses - not really a dinner type of food.
Then tonight I made Chicken-Noodle Casserole. This was also super simple.
I left out the mushrooms to appease Scott, and he was very grateful. This recipe doesn't have any exciting herbs or spices, which I might have enjoyed, but Scott thought it was perfect - simple clean food that 'tastes like food should taste, not like the spices would make it taste' so says Scott.
This weekend's 5.5 mile run was... rough. M and I were both in quite a bit of agony by the end... but we survived! Luckily the soreness was gone by Monday and I was feeling good. Tonight we ran 3 miles on the treadmill since it was dark, gross, and rainy out. My foot pain returned, which is a little worrisome for this weekend. But hopefully it will subside through lots of stretching and icing and I'll be ready for Saturday's 10K!
I've been COOKING! Woo! Lunch the past few days was Chicken and Spinach Tortellini Soup.
Then tonight I made Chicken-Noodle Casserole. This was also super simple.
Friday, November 12, 2010
not only am i alive, i run!
Now that you are all up to speed on what I've been cooking, here's a recap of my recent runs:
10/23: I went to visit SUSAN in NYC and on Saturday morning we went running in Central Park with a running store running group. We ran about the first mile together - woohoo for our FIRST run together! Then we split off and she went with the speedy group while I picked a more appropriate group for me :-) I find a buddy who was at my pace level and we did a combo of running and walking 3.5 miles through Central Park, at an average of 10:52 miles.
After that run, I fell off the wagon. I didn't run for a week and a half! One day M didn't feel good, another day I was stressed, etc. Finally, we got back on track a full 12 days later. Oops.
11/4: M and I ran 2.5 miles in 27 minutes, for an average pace of 10:48. Pretty good for having taken 12 days off. This run was two firsts for me: my first run in the rain (it wasn't pouring - but there was a steady drizzle!) and my first run in my new shoes!
While I was in NYC, I asked the running store folks about my shoes. I'd been having more pain after running recently so I thought it might be time for new shoes. I tried on a few pairs at the store, and it came down to Asics Kayano's or Brooks Adrenaline. Susan recently switched the kind of running shoes she wears, and just happened to have a pair of Brooks Adrenaline in my size, brand new, that she had no intentions of wearing. So, of course I opted for the free pair of shoes! Anyway, 11/4 was my first run in the shoes, and they felt great!
11/6: Longest run ever but it felt SO GOOD! We went 5.38 miles in 1:03:11, which is an 11:45 pace. We decided that for long runs, we would go 10 min running and 2 min walking. It was definitely a slow pace throughout but I felt so good and strong after! It definitely renewed my confidence that I CAN complete my upcoming 10K!
11/8: M was sick so I went onto the treadmill for 3.0 miles in 31:48, avg. pace of 10:36. I think 3 miles is about the longest I can go on the treadmill without a good television show, haha.
11/11: Back on the road with M! 2.0 miles in 23 minutes which is slow, because we decided to walk up our least favorite hill, which was a solid 5 minutes of walking. Oh well :-)
This weekend (on Sunday) we have a 5.5 mile run! We are sticking with the intervals of 10/2 for now, and I'm really looking forward to the run. It's finally cooled down here, and last weekend when we ran it was about 45. This weekend is warming up again, but not too much - a high of 71. Should be good! I'll try to blog about it sooner rather than later :-)
10/23: I went to visit SUSAN in NYC and on Saturday morning we went running in Central Park with a running store running group. We ran about the first mile together - woohoo for our FIRST run together! Then we split off and she went with the speedy group while I picked a more appropriate group for me :-) I find a buddy who was at my pace level and we did a combo of running and walking 3.5 miles through Central Park, at an average of 10:52 miles.
After that run, I fell off the wagon. I didn't run for a week and a half! One day M didn't feel good, another day I was stressed, etc. Finally, we got back on track a full 12 days later. Oops.
11/4: M and I ran 2.5 miles in 27 minutes, for an average pace of 10:48. Pretty good for having taken 12 days off. This run was two firsts for me: my first run in the rain (it wasn't pouring - but there was a steady drizzle!) and my first run in my new shoes!
While I was in NYC, I asked the running store folks about my shoes. I'd been having more pain after running recently so I thought it might be time for new shoes. I tried on a few pairs at the store, and it came down to Asics Kayano's or Brooks Adrenaline. Susan recently switched the kind of running shoes she wears, and just happened to have a pair of Brooks Adrenaline in my size, brand new, that she had no intentions of wearing. So, of course I opted for the free pair of shoes! Anyway, 11/4 was my first run in the shoes, and they felt great!
11/6: Longest run ever but it felt SO GOOD! We went 5.38 miles in 1:03:11, which is an 11:45 pace. We decided that for long runs, we would go 10 min running and 2 min walking. It was definitely a slow pace throughout but I felt so good and strong after! It definitely renewed my confidence that I CAN complete my upcoming 10K!
11/8: M was sick so I went onto the treadmill for 3.0 miles in 31:48, avg. pace of 10:36. I think 3 miles is about the longest I can go on the treadmill without a good television show, haha.
11/11: Back on the road with M! 2.0 miles in 23 minutes which is slow, because we decided to walk up our least favorite hill, which was a solid 5 minutes of walking. Oh well :-)
This weekend (on Sunday) we have a 5.5 mile run! We are sticking with the intervals of 10/2 for now, and I'm really looking forward to the run. It's finally cooled down here, and last weekend when we ran it was about 45. This weekend is warming up again, but not too much - a high of 71. Should be good! I'll try to blog about it sooner rather than later :-)
no, really, i'm alive!
All I can say is... grad school is busy! I've managed to keep cooking, but not at the pace I had hoped. Here's what I've cooked since I last posted:
141. Halibut with Potato Succotash (November 2, 2010)
142. Sausalito Chicken and Seafood Salad (November 2, 2010)
143. Orange Teriyaki Beef with Noodles (November 3, 2010)
144. Tortilla Soup (November 4, 2010)
145. Marinara Sauce with Spaghetti (November 5, 2010)
146. Ranch Tuna-Melt Pizza (November 4, 2010)
147. Tex-Mex Meatloaf (November 8, 2010)
148. Creamy Quinoa Primavera (November 9, 2010)
149. Easy Bake Ravioli (November 10, 2010)
150. Beef Tenderloin with Pear-Cranberry Chutney (November 11, 2010)
151. Chicken and Tortellini Salad (November 12, 2010)
I don't think I could possible recall and talk about all 11 dishes. Here's some highlights/lowlights:
#141: the suggested frozen potato stuff that went into the potato succotash was lacklaster. I had high hopes for frozen potatoes, but the texture and taste was... off.
#142: I loved this. I love avocado, I loved everything about this recipe.
#143: I made this with chicken instead. Definitely good.
#144: Putting tortillas in a pan to cook them and get them crispy was the best idea EVER. Yum.
#145: So good, and so worth the fact that it took 8 hours to make a sauce.
#146: I am becoming a pizza dough pro. This needed more cheese, but I ran out!
#147: This was good flavor-wise but it was heavy on the meat. Needed more bread/veggies - kind of felt like we were eating burgers!
#148: I love quinoa, and the cream cheese combo is stellar. Carrots don't really go though - I'd suggest zucchini or squash as your veggies.
#149: So easy and basic, but if what you want is cheese ravioli, this works!
#150: My first chutney! This was flipping AMAZING. I love pears. I love cranberries. I love pumpkin pie spice. Perfect fall dinner.
#151: Good, easy salad. I like the dressing quite a bit.
And now, I will give you a photo montage of the past month of food:
141. Halibut with Potato Succotash (November 2, 2010)
142. Sausalito Chicken and Seafood Salad (November 2, 2010)
143. Orange Teriyaki Beef with Noodles (November 3, 2010)
144. Tortilla Soup (November 4, 2010)
145. Marinara Sauce with Spaghetti (November 5, 2010)
146. Ranch Tuna-Melt Pizza (November 4, 2010)
147. Tex-Mex Meatloaf (November 8, 2010)
148. Creamy Quinoa Primavera (November 9, 2010)
149. Easy Bake Ravioli (November 10, 2010)
150. Beef Tenderloin with Pear-Cranberry Chutney (November 11, 2010)
151. Chicken and Tortellini Salad (November 12, 2010)
I don't think I could possible recall and talk about all 11 dishes. Here's some highlights/lowlights:
#141: the suggested frozen potato stuff that went into the potato succotash was lacklaster. I had high hopes for frozen potatoes, but the texture and taste was... off.
#142: I loved this. I love avocado, I loved everything about this recipe.
#143: I made this with chicken instead. Definitely good.
#144: Putting tortillas in a pan to cook them and get them crispy was the best idea EVER. Yum.
#145: So good, and so worth the fact that it took 8 hours to make a sauce.
#146: I am becoming a pizza dough pro. This needed more cheese, but I ran out!
#147: This was good flavor-wise but it was heavy on the meat. Needed more bread/veggies - kind of felt like we were eating burgers!
#148: I love quinoa, and the cream cheese combo is stellar. Carrots don't really go though - I'd suggest zucchini or squash as your veggies.
#149: So easy and basic, but if what you want is cheese ravioli, this works!
#150: My first chutney! This was flipping AMAZING. I love pears. I love cranberries. I love pumpkin pie spice. Perfect fall dinner.
#151: Good, easy salad. I like the dressing quite a bit.
And now, I will give you a photo montage of the past month of food:
Asian rice and lentil burgers
Baked chicken and rice with autumn vegetables
Moroccon Skillet Chicken
Moroccon Skillet Chicken
Smoked turkey and couscous
Italian Chicken Pitas
Jambalaya
Lox and Cream Cheese Scramble
Halibut with Potato Succotash
Ranch Tuna-Melt Pizza
Tortilla Soup
Tex-Mex Meatloaf
Creamy Qunioa Primavera
Easy Bake Ravioli
Beef Tenderloin with Pear-Cranberry Chutney
Chicken and Tortellini Salad
Friday, October 22, 2010
i'm still alive!
Ok, so, I'm still a bad blogger. I really really want to get back into doing this, but school has been ridiculous! Since I last blogged, I have cooked:
135. Italian Chicken Pitas
136. Baked chicken and rice with autumn vegetables
137. Smoked turkey and couscous
138. Savory Poached-Salmon Salad
139. Lox and Cream Cheese Scramble
140. Turkey-Mac Skillet
I'm getting so close to the halfway point! I won't make it by ,my goal date if I keep this slooow pace though, so something must be done! I have pictures too - just need to get them uploaded :-)
I'm not going to go into super details for each meal but I'll say (1) they were all good, at least solid B's and (2) The Smoked turkey and couscous is deeeelicious. So much that I made it twice!
Luckily, M has not let my running slack off :-)
Tuesday 10/12: 2.5 miles in 27:26, avg. pace 10:59
Friday10/15: 2.0 miles in 21:00 minutes, avg. pace 10:30
Sunday 10/17, 4.0 miles in 43:08, avg. pace 10:41
Tuesday 10/19, 3.3 miles in 35:15, avg. pace 10:49
Thursday 10/21, 2.1 miles, 21:45, avg. pace 10:34
To recap - Sunday's long run was good, but I did do most of it at 5 min running / 1 minute walking intervals. I knew (given how exhausted I was from a crazy weekend) I couldn't run continuously for 4 miles. So instead of setting an unrealistic goal, I decided I would go into the run with a plan of action of when to walk, so that I wouldn't just give up and walk a whole bunch! I was pretty happy with the turn out.
Tuesday's run was kind of funny, because the first half was super slow (since we were chatting) and the second half was much faster. It felt so good to feel FAST!
This weekend I'm heading to NYC to visit SUSAN! I'm so excited to see her place in NYC and catch up! I'm also going with her to a running group on Saturday morning. Of course, given that her marathon pace is 2 min/mile faster than my record mile, I will be running with a pace group more in my ability :-)
135. Italian Chicken Pitas
136. Baked chicken and rice with autumn vegetables
137. Smoked turkey and couscous
138. Savory Poached-Salmon Salad
139. Lox and Cream Cheese Scramble
140. Turkey-Mac Skillet
I'm getting so close to the halfway point! I won't make it by ,my goal date if I keep this slooow pace though, so something must be done! I have pictures too - just need to get them uploaded :-)
I'm not going to go into super details for each meal but I'll say (1) they were all good, at least solid B's and (2) The Smoked turkey and couscous is deeeelicious. So much that I made it twice!
Luckily, M has not let my running slack off :-)
Tuesday 10/12: 2.5 miles in 27:26, avg. pace 10:59
Friday10/15: 2.0 miles in 21:00 minutes, avg. pace 10:30
Sunday 10/17, 4.0 miles in 43:08, avg. pace 10:41
Tuesday 10/19, 3.3 miles in 35:15, avg. pace 10:49
Thursday 10/21, 2.1 miles, 21:45, avg. pace 10:34
To recap - Sunday's long run was good, but I did do most of it at 5 min running / 1 minute walking intervals. I knew (given how exhausted I was from a crazy weekend) I couldn't run continuously for 4 miles. So instead of setting an unrealistic goal, I decided I would go into the run with a plan of action of when to walk, so that I wouldn't just give up and walk a whole bunch! I was pretty happy with the turn out.
Tuesday's run was kind of funny, because the first half was super slow (since we were chatting) and the second half was much faster. It felt so good to feel FAST!
This weekend I'm heading to NYC to visit SUSAN! I'm so excited to see her place in NYC and catch up! I'm also going with her to a running group on Saturday morning. Of course, given that her marathon pace is 2 min/mile faster than my record mile, I will be running with a pace group more in my ability :-)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
catching up.
Ok, so I've been both a bad blogger AND a bad cooker. Sometimes, life just gets busy! Since my last post, I have made a few things:
130. Asian Rice and Lentil Burgers (September 30, 2010) Grade: B-
131. Jambalaya (October 1, 2010) Grade: B+
132. Italian Roasted Pork Tenderloin (October 4, 2010) Grade: B
133. Caribbean Pork Roast (October 10, 2010) Grade: B
The Asian Rice and Lentil Burgers: ...were not burgers. They fell apart completely. I couldn't get them to be a burger consistency, so it was just like a mash in my pan. On the flip side, they still tasted pretty good.
Jambalaya: YUM! I love shrimp. I love sausage. I love them together. This was so delicious and I can't wait to make it again!
Italian Roasted Pork Tenderloin: Quick, easy, delicious. And the fennel seed was actually great on this pork (coming from a girl who does not like fennel). I have to say I cooked this piece of pork perfectly. It was just-barely-done; not at all overcooked or dry or anything. Woohoo!
Caribbean Pork Roast: This was decent, but I wish it was spicier. I think spicy when I think Caribbean - is that not correct? Who knows.
The Asian Rice and Lentil Burgers: ...were not burgers. They fell apart completely. I couldn't get them to be a burger consistency, so it was just like a mash in my pan. On the flip side, they still tasted pretty good.
Jambalaya: YUM! I love shrimp. I love sausage. I love them together. This was so delicious and I can't wait to make it again!
Italian Roasted Pork Tenderloin: Quick, easy, delicious. And the fennel seed was actually great on this pork (coming from a girl who does not like fennel). I have to say I cooked this piece of pork perfectly. It was just-barely-done; not at all overcooked or dry or anything. Woohoo!
Caribbean Pork Roast: This was decent, but I wish it was spicier. I think spicy when I think Caribbean - is that not correct? Who knows.
And been for a few runs:
- Saturday 10/2/10: 3.0 miles scheduled... skipped it.
- Saturday 10/2/10: 3.0 miles scheduled... skipped it.
- Tuesday, 10/5/10: 3.0 miles in 30:58, avg. pace 10:25: ITS FINALLY COLD OUTSIDE. Well not really. It's cold ish in the mornings. And it totally makes running so much more pleasant. I am still wearing shorts and short sleeves, but I see long sleeves and pants in my future!
- Tuesday, 10/7/10: 2.0 miles, 20:26, avg. pace 9:59: Another cool weather run. This was super speedy, but both M and I were SPENT afterward. I think that's about the fastest I can run at this point, at least with the hills. We agreed that it's probably a bit too fast for us to realistically maintain, but that we wanted to keep up our 10:30-ish pace whenever possible!
And, as of last night, I'm hoping to get back on track with both cooking and running:
Step 1: GYM. I headed to the gym to run on the treadmill to make up for not doing my long run this weekend. 3.5 miles in ~36:25, avg. pace 10:20. It was definitely tough - the gym is so hot for some reason! The last mile was especially hard to get through mentally, but I pushed through and finished with a smile on my face! Woohoo!
Dinner was a Moroccan Chicken Skillet, which turned out pretty good. Lots of vegetables and very unique flavor - cumin combined with cinnamon is definitely unique.
I SWEAR I have pictures, and I'll insert them later today :)
And, as of last night, I'm hoping to get back on track with both cooking and running:
Step 1: GYM. I headed to the gym to run on the treadmill to make up for not doing my long run this weekend. 3.5 miles in ~36:25, avg. pace 10:20. It was definitely tough - the gym is so hot for some reason! The last mile was especially hard to get through mentally, but I pushed through and finished with a smile on my face! Woohoo!
Dinner was a Moroccan Chicken Skillet, which turned out pretty good. Lots of vegetables and very unique flavor - cumin combined with cinnamon is definitely unique.
I SWEAR I have pictures, and I'll insert them later today :)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
good runner, bad blogger.
Oh man, school and life have been hectic lately, leaving less time for blogging. But I have been running! This week started M and I's 10k training program. Tuesday morning started with a 2.5 mile run. I was trying my best to push us to go fast. When we got to where I thought was about 1 mile and my watch said 11:40something, I was so upset... if this was pushing myself to run fast, I was in trouble! Alas, after a quick break to stretch (I was still pretty sore from Sunday's race!) we pushed on. When we finally got to the 2.5 mile mark, my watch read 26:27 - hooray! I was actually wrong about where the 1 mile mark is on our run, and we ended up averaging 10:35 miles. I was so proud of us! It was definitely challenging, but also something I think I can keep up.
In between my running and other activities, I haven't done as much cooking as I would have liked. I had lots of leftovers to enjoy, and last night I just never got in the mood do make a real dinner... oops! But, Tuesday I made an Italian Garden Frittata. The star of the show was zucchini, and the dish was topped with mushrooms.
I generally don't like eggs - they've been making my stomach hurt over the past year-ish... so I was a little skeptical of how this would go. But, I used egg beaters instead and I think that totally helped. Still not loving the egg-y flavor, but it was decent!
This morning it was ridiculously muggy and humid outside, and also a little rainy. We've been lucky and not had to run in the rain yet, which I realize we will have to face at some point. But today it just was not in the cards. We headed to M's gym and got onto treadmills. We only had two miles to go, and it zipped by! When I'm on the treadmill, I like to warm up at a nice easy pace (like 11:30-12:00 minute miles) and then slowly increase my pace over time. I like "getting used to" a pace and then pushing myself just a liiiitle bit more. So that's exactly what I did! I finished my 2.07 miles in 22:21 for an average pace of 10:48. I probably should have made myself speed up earlier (M did most of her run at a 10 minute mile pace and then slowly sped up with me), but I felt great after this run... I flipping LOVE the treadmill! For all of my readers that are also runners, how often do you use the treadmill vs. running outside? How do you think this affects your training? Any recommendations for balancing TM use with outdoor running?
In between my running and other activities, I haven't done as much cooking as I would have liked. I had lots of leftovers to enjoy, and last night I just never got in the mood do make a real dinner... oops! But, Tuesday I made an Italian Garden Frittata. The star of the show was zucchini, and the dish was topped with mushrooms.
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