Wine and Dine Half Training: Week 8

I'm a bit amazed that I'm not just a little over a month away from heading to DISNEY!!! This week has been another week of strong running and little to no cross training.  This seems to happen at about this point in all my training cycles.  I keep up with the running, but everything else goes to pot.  I keep saying, "this time it will be different" but it's time to call bullshit on myself.  It's never been different. I don't know why, but I can't keep up with the cross training and stuff. I should be able to, but for whatever reason I completely fail in this regard.  Ugh.  

Monday 10/1/12 - No workouts, but saw my massage therapist for my usual Monday treatment.

Tuesday 10/2/12 - B double E double R U N BEERRUN! Tonight was the final GR Marathon Beer Run for the year (except for the post-marathon one they usually do in November) so I moved Monday's tempo to today.  Since I needed to get 5 miles in, I left for the run about 20 minutes before the organized group run started. 1 mile warmup and then one of my fastest 3 mile runs ever (29:48, a 9:56 pace!), followed by a 1 mile cooldown.  This was very tough but the beer afterwards was worth it.

Wednesday 10/3/12 - Bupkiss. This is becoming a very sad trend.

Thursday 10/4/12 - Run - 5x800 Yassos.  This time on the treadmill because the weather was pretty crappy.  Averaged a 9:02 pace for the 1/2 mile sprints, which was great, but I hated doing them back inside after the great outside runs I've been having.

Friday 10/5/12 - Rest day. 

Saturday 10/6/12 -  Run: 12 miles beyotches!!! This was an untimed run, which for me is almost unheard of.  I have no idea exactly how long it took (I have a rough idea but I'm not reporting it). It was very refreshing to just go out with my music and try to find that joy in running again.  

Sunday 10/7/12 - Nothing. I focused on stretching and rolling. Also went up and down my stairs doing the laundry and did all the grocery shopping. That should count as cross training. (This is exactly what I wrote last Sunday, only the stairs were more painful this time.)

This coming week I have a few shake-ups in the schedule and I'm hoping the weather holds for what is in store on Saturday.  More to come!

Menu Monday: Easy White Chili

It's definitely becoming fall up here in West Michigan & one of my favorite fall foods is chili. The possibilities are endless. This is probably the easiest chili recipe EVER and can be made on the stovetop or in a crockpot. The bonus? Only 5 ingredients!

• 2 large or 4 small chicken breasts, diced up & cooked.
• 1 large jar of great northern beans, liquid included.
• 16 oz jar of your favorite salsa (this jar is too big but I didn't use it all). The hotter the salsa, the more heat your chili will have.
• 1-2 tsp cumin
• 8 oz shredded monterey jack cheese

Dump everything into a big sauce pan and heat it on low, stirring occasionally, until the cheese is all melted and the chili is hot.
You need to watch it so it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.  Trust me. I've learned this one the hard way and nothing sucks more than burnt cheese.  If you cook this in a crock pot, you could probably start with the chicken raw but I've never done this.  You might need more liquid, too.  When I crockpot it, I still cook the chicken first and then just heat it on low for a few hours.

Serve with some tortilla chips and maybe a salad if you're feeling the need for some greens.  You can add more cheese on top, sour cream, whatever floats your boat.

Enjoy!  Do you have a favorite 1 pot, minimal ingredient recipe you want to share?

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Fitness Friday: The Real Deal

This morning as I was drinking my coffee, I opened up the November 2012 issue of Runner's World magazine that came yesterday.  I started flipping pages because I didn't really have time to sit and read page-by-page like I normally would and I came across an article about Luc Carl. The article's title "Bottle Rocket" and tagline "Luc Carl used to be a lot of things: Boozer, Smoker, Lady Gaga's boyfriend. Then he discovered running" intrigued me.  I had no idea who Luc Carl was so maybe it was the Gaga connection that drew me in, but in any case, I started reading.

Luc Carl came into running like a lot of us do. Overweight, getting older, and realizing that "this is enough".  I give him a ton of credit.  He started running in February 2008, has now lost 55 pounds, written a book (that I might want to read since it's full of my favorite expletives), and is getting ready to run his 6th marathon - the 2012 ING New York City Marathon.  That's hugely commendable.  Props to Mr. Carl.

What struck me in the article and has been marinating in my brain all morning were a few sentences the article's author, Mark Remy, used to describe Luc Carl and his book.

"Carl...devotes just one chapter to running, and his advice boils down to, "Just put your {expletive} shoes on and go" - but make no mistake. Luc Carl is the real deal. He broke four hours in his first marathon...His goal is 3:19..."

The Real Deal

Does this mean that those of us who run a 33 minute 5k, a 3 hour half marathon, or a 5:27 full marathon are NOT "the real deal"?  Maybe I'm taking this personally or overreacting, but for a magazine that typically does a great job at promoting and supporting runners of all abilities, this phrase hurt.  I'm as much "the real deal" as anyone else who gets out there and puts one foot in front of another. It's taken me a long time to be able to say that. Implying you must run a sub-4 hour marathon or better to be "the real deal" is insensitive.  I'm sure Mr. Remy didn't intend to hurt anyone's feelings and it's probably my own insecurities coming into play here, but the words stung.  Do a search for the defnition of a "runner". There is NOTHING that indicates a particular pace or finishing time defines a runner. You are simply a "person who runs". 

source

So remember - if you are getting out there, trying your best, and putting one foot in front of the other (no matter how fast or slow you go), you are a runner. And I'm proud of you.

Three Things / Thankful Thursday

Three randoms I'm thankful for today:



The weather calling for rain this afternoon & my sore knee are making me thankful to do my speedwork on the treadmill after school. I've loved running my 800s outside but I think my knee needs a break from the pounding. The predicted rain is giving me an excuse.



I'm loving the color of my new shirt (and the fact I ordered it online & it fit - the one I ordered with it was so small my daughter couldn't even wear it). How can 2 size mediums be so different?



This posted to Facebook this morning literally made me laugh out loud & almost spew my coffee. As a child of the 80s, I find this hilarious.

What are you thankful for today?

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Wordless Wednesday: BEERRUN

Tonight was the last of the 2012 Grand Rapids Marathon beer runs. We ran 5 miles on the White Pine Trail in Rockford and celebrated with awesome New Holland brews at The Corner Bar. My Ichabod pumpkin ales were AWESOME.








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Wine and Dine Half Training: Week 7

Over half-way there for Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon!  I'm getting excited and at the point where I know (baring any bad injuries) I can definitely FINISH the distance - how quickly I finish still remains to be seen.

This week the long run and speedwork miles ramped up quite a bit again but I'm feeling better than I was last week at this time.  I'll consider that a win.  I was awful, however, on cross training this week. That part is a fail.

Monday 9/24/12 - Run: 3 treadmill miles (1.5 mile tempo) at 6am. Kept my tempo pace at just under a 10m/m but I was tired and this run felt harder than it should have considering it was a step-down from last week. Finished the day with my massage therapist after school. I like that she helps flush out all the lactic acid from the weekend's long run.

Tuesday 9/25/12 - XT scheduled but I did nothing. I have no excuse.

Wednesday 9/26/12 - Run: Yasso 800s around my neighboorhood. 1 mile warm up/cool down in 12:00, then 2.5 miles of 1/2 mile repeats (5x800) with a 4:30 rest in between sets. Averaged an 8:56 pace for these (provided I did the math right) and I felt incredible when I was finished.  They still kicked my ass and I was dying about 1/4 mile into each one, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of them. I'm so proud of myself for hitting my paces pretty consistently throughout too (4:25, 4:33, 4:23, 4:34, 4:27).

Thursday 9/27/12 - XT - biked 7.8 miles in 36:49 (ave 12.7 mph).  I was hoping this ride would help flush my legs out after the speed work but they just felt heavy and fried. My average speed was awful compared to what I should be able to do and I ended up cutting the ride short because I really wasn't feeling it.  It was still probably better than nothing, though.

Friday 9/28/12 - Rest day. 

Saturday 9/29/12 -  Run: 10 miles in 1:52:58 (11:17 pace). I ran a supported (sorta) 10 mile training run that was put on by one of the local running stores.  I paid and registered and had a race number but the run wasn't times and there is some question that the distance wasn't totally accurate so I'm not calling it a race. The weather was beautiful and I ran the first 4 miles with one of my runner girlfriends.  The conversation was great and it helped the miles go by faster.  I had forgotten how hilly this section of the Grand Rapids Marathon course was, though, and the hills kicked my ass. Literally. As in my ass was still sore on Monday.  But I need to suck it up since this will also be my section of the GR Marathon Relay in a few weeks. My splits weren't too shabby considering all the hills: 11:24, 11:29, 11:22, 11:19, 11:22, 11:36, 11:22, 11:47, 10:56, 10:23.  With that push in the last 2 miles, I definitely had some gas left at the end, but still don't think I can maintain that pace (10:23) for 13.1 miles.  Time will tell. I felt pretty good by Monday, but Saturday night and Sunday I was pretty sore and my ankle was PO'd from the slant on the street.  Again, just telling myself to suck it up.

Sunday 9/30/12 - Nothing. I focused on stretching and rolling. Also went up and down my stairs doing the laundry and did all the grocery shopping. That should count as cross training.

Last week at this time, I was fighting a cold and a little worried as to how it would affect my training. Luckily, it seems I've mostly nipped it in the bud.  This coming weekend I might shoot for 12 miles.  I need to flip-flop a couple weeks because I agreed to do a 25 mile bike ride/fundraiser thing on the 13th and have ZERO desire to also attempt a 10 or 12 mile training run that day (I can switch to the 10 mile ride if I need to, but even that after a 10 or 12 mile run would be nuts). I think this weekend's 5 would be much more reasonable that day. 

This training cycle I'm hoping to hit at least a couple 12 milers before the half.  I've never trained past race distance before (obviously I've run farther than 13.1 in the past since I've done a 25k and marathon).  Do you ever train past race distance, or stick to just below?  I remember topping out at 20 in marathon training and thinking there was no way I'd be able to add a 10k to that, but I did. This week I knew after running 10 that I could add another 3.1.  Running is so mental, don't you think?

Menu Monday: Sloppy Joes

So, yesterday I was stuck in the car and bored so I sent a tweet out asking what I should blog about, because let's face it, what good is a freaking smart phone if you don't use it to entertain yourself in the car? Right?

Anyhoo....I got a reply back from Brooke and I posted a recipe.  Only I screwed up the recipe (Sorry, Brooke!) because I was typing really fast on my phone to be able to publish it since we were in the middle of nowhere and I didn't know when I'd lose a signal.  So here's the corrected recipe.

Easy Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef, fried up (we keep containers of it in the freezer - just pop out and nuke as needed).
1/2 to 1 can tomato soup (use a good one, like Campbells, if you want it to taste good) this was the ingredient I forgot, oops!
Ketchup - however much you want
Mustard
Minced onions (or cut up a real onion if you so desire)
Chili powder
Brown Sugar

Basically, just add all the ingredients to the cooked up hamburger. If you aren't using frozen, you can cook up some minced onion and the spices with burger, but it doesn't really matter.  You could even throw in some red pepper flakes to spice it up, cumin, minced green pepper, whatever your little heart desires.  Everything you add based on how sloppy you want it (we call it "Not-so-sloppy, sloppy joes" because I don't use as much of the soup and Ketchup) and what kind of "stuff" you like in your sloppy joes.  Add the brown sugar at the end (usually just a teaspoon or so) to sweeten it up if you want.  It's super easy and I think tastes better than the sloppy joe mix from the jar.  Serve it on buns with some tater tots on the side (and a nice salad) and your kids will think you're a rockstar.  It's even better reheated the next day, so double the recipe. As is, this will make 4-6 sloppy joes.

Enjoy!

Do you have any easy, in-a-pinch recipes that you like to throw together when you're short on time?