Six Miles Accomplished… and I did some cooking & baking!

Saturday was a busy day.  We kicked off with a 6 mile run… yes I said WE… Ryan decided to run with me.  He hasn’t run 6 miles since last September… and hasn’t run more than 3 miles in several months!   He helped me out by pushing me the first two miles and then by mile 3 we dropped back to my normal pace… and then came mile 5, the most brutal mile.  Not that it was the last mile… I was fine, but the wind was coming straight at us and it was COLD wind… then semis kept going by… practically knocking you over as you were running!  I was pleased with our finish… 6 miles in 1:06:32.  This week’s mileage climbs… 3 miles tomorrow, 5 on Thursday and 7 on Saturday.  I am praying we don’t get the snow they are calling for… I run so much better without snow!

After our run, we headed home to get ready then traveled down to Neenah to spend the weekend with Tyler & Ashley.  (My mom and step-dad are in Mexico for a week & I also had to go down to pick up their 2 dogs, which I now have at my house until next Sunday :)  Good thing they are good dogs… my small house gets tight with 3 Labs!)  We spent the day shopping in Appleton, picked up some snacks & headed back to the house to relax a bit from 4-9pm.  This is the kind of shopping we did...

We ordered pizza and sides for dinner and then went bowling with my cousin Marc and his fiancée Sarah.  Ryan and I both had record scores:

Ryan: 196

Rachel: 159

On Sunday we packed up and cleaned up the house… Ryan, myself & 3 dogs hopped in the car and headed back to Green Bay.  We spent the day lounging at home, played some games & got subs for lunch.  I decided I hadn’t baked in a while… and Ryan was craving Peanut Butter Cookies… so that’s what I made.  Gotta keep my man happy ;)

I also decided I wanted Chicken Pot Pie for dinner…

Chicken Pot Pie:

Ingredients

1 package Pillsbury pie crust (or similar)

½ lb cooked chicken breast, shredded

½ bag Frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans, peas)

¼ bag frozen broccoli cuts

1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of chicken soup

Directions

Spray 8x8 pan or pie pan with cooking spray.  Line with one pie crust.  In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, frozen veggies and cream of chicken soup.  Once combined, spread into crust.  Take second crust and lay over the top (I cut the excess dough off – or it become way to bread-y).  Pinch the outside crust together around the outside of the pan.  Cut two slits in the top of the crust.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until top is golden brown.  Cut, serve and enjoy!

I had made additional chicken (I boil my chicken from frozen if I need to use it in soups or pies, etc) so I decided to help myself out by preparing chicken soup for later in the week.  I cheated when I made my soup this time because I didn’t have all the fresh veggies available, only frozen… so I modified the recipe & cooking time.  When we eat it this week, I will put it back on the stove to heat & add dumplings to it.

Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 packet McCormick Chicken Noodle Soup (seasoning packet)

5 c. water

¾ lb. shredded cooked chicken

1 bag Freshlike “Vegetables for Soup” frozen veggies

1 small onion, chopped

Cook on high for 30 minutes… and prepare dumplings.

Dumplings Recipe:

3c. flour

1/2 c. water

3 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. margarine

Directions

Mix dumpling ingredients together and drop spoonfuls into soup.  Allow soup to simmer for 20-30 minutes once dumplings are added.  Eat immediately or save in refrigerator or freezer. (I’d recommend holding on the dumplings if you’re planning to eat later in the week or freeze).

Running Stats:
Miles Ran this week: 0 (scheduled run tomorrow)
Miles Ran in February: 39.15
Miles Ran in 2012: 85.1

Long-Distance Recipe

As I prepare to start running more miles than I have ever run before… beginning next week, I have been trying to read up on long-distance running.  I get an email each week from Active.com Running – it features different articles about running topics.  One I found particularly of interest this week was “The Right Recipe for Long-Distance Running” seen here: http://www.active.com/running/Articles/The-Right-Recipe-for-Long-Distance-Running.

It talks about developing your personal marathoning style… and how you need to blend your personal interests and tailor the training schedule to fit your life.  That is definitely something that I have been trying to do.  If I can’t run on Saturday – I make sure to run on Sunday.  I try to plan out my week so, even if I can’t run on the specified days of the training calendar, I still get my 3 runs of the same distance completed.  The article gives 5 key ingredients to long-distance running:

1. Patience – This is key so you don’t get burnt out!  Make sure you allow for setbacks like illnesses, travel, family plans, minor injuries, and those days you just don’t want to run!  The nice thing about the Cellcom training plan is that it was set as a 19 week calendar.  I feel that it is a great time frame for someone completing their first half-marathon, like me!  “Practice patience and evolve into your best runner.”
2. Planning – Use a planner and schedule your life FIRST… include obligations you know you can’t get out of.  Then plan out your training runs.  Develop your training plan to fit your life.  There is an optimal training recipe for everyone; you just have to find what works for you.  When you do, you’ll recover quicker, improve faster and run stronger.   The first few weeks I felt like I HAD to run on the days the calendar said… but then I realized due to certain obligations, that it’s just not possible.  What I do now is look at each week coming up and determine, based upon weather and my “life”, which 3 days of the week is best for me to get my runs completed!  It makes me feel much less stressed and I don’t have to panic if I can’t run on specific days.
3. Accessorize – You never want your race goals to completely take over your other interests/activities in life.  Cross-trainers have fewer aches and pains… they develop balanced strength and maintain a constant level of motivation throughout their training.  This is one thing that I have definitely tried to maintain as 1 day a week of the training schedule actually calls for cross training.  My forms come from sand volleyball, the elliptical, biking, core exercises, or walking my dog.  The one thing I have thought about recently though is incorporating activities like swimming or weight training into my day of cross-training.  I haven’t’ gotten there yet, but it’s something that is always on my mind.  I feel like it will allow me to become a stronger, and possibly faster, runner.
4. Train Mindfully – There will be occasions when you have the “less than perfect runs”… you feel tired, your iPod dies, you have side pains, can’t get your breathing right… whatever it might be.  Some days you will wake up refreshed and have the perfect run….. those are the days that you love!  (Well at least I do!)  But just because something isn’t right with your run… doesn’t mean you should just give up and go home.  You have to labor through the bad days, and remember why you’re out there.  Focus on what kind of run you want to have that day… easy, moderate effort or hard.
1. Easy effort – Where you can’t hear your breathing or you can recite things out loud.
2. Moderate effort – one notch up; you can hear your breathing and you’re taking notice that it’s not quite as easy to talk.
3. Hard effort – your breathing is labored, you are outside your comfort zone and can only hold this effort for minutes instead of hours.
5. Take Note – keep track of details during your training plan.  You’ll stay motivated by seeing the progress you are making.  The one thing that I do is I have a calendar planned out with my “planned/scheduled” runs or activities and then I have a blank space for actual.  I have been recording each of my run and exercises so I can see my progress of just how many miles I am running!  It’s been great motivation to say “oh boy, I didn’t do so hot that week… or WOW!  I amaze myself sometimes!”  I also take note if I was sick or something happened where I couldn’t get one of my runs completed.  

I had a pretty good Thursday night run… I was able to complete 4 miles before it got dark out.  March 11^th can’t get here fast enough… I can’t wait until it starts staying light out until after 6:30pm!!  Time to rest tonight and prepare for my 6 mile training run bright and early tomorrow morning :)

Running Stats:
Miles Ran this week: 11.4
Miles Ran in February: 33.05
Miles Ran in 2012: 79.01

The dreaded gain...

I knew it would happen at some point... it's inevitable.  I am not the type of person who can continue to lose week after week and never have a week where I gain.  Well the dreaded gain happened this week :(  The worst part is I dropped below a 10lb loss with my gain this week.  I just have to get it in my mind that I can bounce back and this won't happen again next week!!

This week: +1.8lbs
Total Lost: -9.4lbs

When I am trying to lose weight, I kind of become obsessed with weighing myself to make sure that I don't gain from day to day.  Well - I know that's also bad.  You should really only weigh yourself once a week because your body can go through daily fluctuations.  This is INCREDIBLY hard for me not to do... and it takes a ton of self-control not to step on the scale each day.  So, I decided instead of giving up something for lent... like chocolate, soda, ice cream, etc... that I would give up obsessing day to day about my weight and only step on the scale once per week (Tuesdays).  It would be too easy for me to give up anything else, because I try to limit my consumption of all "bad things" anyways.

I have already gotten 2 runs in this week on a positive note!  Sunday & Tuesday... as well as a volleyball game on Tuesday.  Colby also has gotten walked for some extra exercise on Sunday, Monday & today.  I'm fighting back this gain with a vengeance!!

Running Stats:
Miles Ran this week: 7.4
Miles Ran in February: 29.05
Miles Ran in 2012: 75.01

Horray for being Wednesday... half way though the week!!!

Weeks just go too fast!

The weeks fly by so fast, which is good!  I've had a busy weekend again... Friday afternoon I had off for some appointments and then enjoyed a quite evening at home with Colby watching Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt. 1... yup... I'm a Twilight fan :)

Colby decided he had enough of Twilight and found a new comfy spot in the spare bedroom...

Saturday, Ryan and I made our way to Wausau for the day to spend with his family.  Ryan's Aunt Jeanne passed away last week & they held a Celebration of Life.  It was unfortunate that I was never was able to meet his Aunt Jeanne prior to her passing... but it was nice to learn more about her at the service.  It was a long day by the time we made it home to Green Bay, so we picked up Colby from my dad's house and then relaxed with Chinese take-out for dinner :)  YUMMY!!!

Sunday kicked off with a 4.2 mile GORGEOUS run!!  Ryan ran the first 2 miles with me... and pushed me to run a bit faster than normal, which was good.  However, the remaining 2.2 miles I slowed back to my normal pace.  After my run, I was off to lunch at Subway & to see "The Vow" with my best friend, Kim!  Lunch was yummy despite the sad looking high school boy who clearly hated his job at Subway.  The Vow was a great movie, I just wish that the ending would have been a bit different.  I love Channing Tatum & Rachel McAdams so I knew I'd love the movie... and I'd highly recommend others to see it :)

I made a pit stop at Kohl's after the movie to see if I could find any good deals with my 30% off.  And BOY DID I EVER!!  I got a whole new outfit, dress w/belt, leggings & boots for $32.00.  I also picked up new sunglasses, another pair of heels, a pair of black winter boots for next year and another dress.  There were a few items I bought which I think are going back... but all in all, I got amazing deals.  I love when your receipt says savings $327.48 (and you actually spent less than $100)!!  Here's the outfit (a whole new style for me)...

The other purchase I am so excited about... A Cake Pop maker!!!

After shopping, I took Colby for a nice walk...

For dinner, I tried out a bowl of the new Peanut Butter Cheerios... YUMMY!!!

Tomorrow is President's Day, which means we're closed at work!  Another day to the weekend... yes please :)  I plan to get in a 6 mile run tomorrow, take Colby for a nice long walk, get 2 cavities filled at 2pm, then make dinner for Ryan and enjoy a night of $1 Bowling with him :)  Then it's back to work on Tuesday with weigh in #8 to report!  Check out the 5 day forecast... looks like some awesome running weather this week!

Running Stats:
Miles Ran this week: 4.2
Miles Ran in February: 25.85
Miles Ran in 2012: 71.89

Milwaukee & Weigh In #7

This weekend Ryan & I took an overnight trip to Milwaukee.  I had gotten a hotel downtown as part of my anniversary present to Ryan & then I got him tickets to the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Orlando Magic game Saturday night as part of his birthday present.

I decided not to run Saturday morning, when I got up and the patio door was frozen shut.  It had also snowed quite a bit on Friday.  Well - I should have just sucked it up and went to run the 6 miles that was scheduled.  I told myself I would then run on Sunday when we got home.... and that didn't happen either (I was tired!)

We got to Milwaukee around 4, and walked around the Grand Avenue Mall (a.k.a. the Dead Zone!) and I picked up some new shoes at Boston Store for just $15.00 on clearance!!

After the mall, we got dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery.  I can't say enough good things about this restaurant.  We called ahead to get our name on the list... and then walked to the restaurant through a series of walkways (somehow we ended up in a deserted stairwell and then outside behind a building... but at last we found our way :)  The service was excellent, the food was incredible & we got a gift card from the manager for our first time being there... to entice us back!  I completely forgot to snap a picture of my amazing Mac & Chicken... but it was SOOOO good!

After dinner it was off to the Bucks game.  It was a very cold walk but we made the 4 block trek very quickly.  Our seats were high up, but we had a great view...

 

At dinner I had saw on Facebook that Whitney Houston had died... after the game, we returned to our hotel room and proceeded to watch a few hours of Whitney Houston specials/news.  Thank you MTV for going old-school and playing some classic Whitney music videos, it made my night :)

Sunday, we made a stop at Trader Joe's before heading home... Among other things, I couldn't leave without getting a container of these:

 

Needless to say... it's Tuesday, and the container is gone :)  I did share them with my family on Sunday however!  After a quick stop in Neenah to have lunch with my parents & pick up Colby, it was back home to Green Bay to relax before starting the work week.

Monday I made up for not doing my 6 mile run this week and I ran 5 miles, instead of my scheduled 3... go me!  Which brings us to today!  Tuesday = Weigh In day.  I was slightly worried to hop on the scale today, considering I didn't eat well over the weekend.

Happy to say though... the scale made me happy once again :)  Not as big of a loss as last week, but I'll take it!

This week: -0.8lbs
Total: -11.2lbs

Happy Valentine's Day as well - Ryan made Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner, we're enjoying some Biggest Loser right now... and then it's off to a late (9:10pm) volleyball game!

Runnin' Stats:
Miles Ran this week: 5.02
Miles Ran in February: 16.52
Miles Ran in 2012: 58.56

Weigh In #6

My weigh in was Tuesday, but I'm just finding time to post today :)

I was very excited, as many of you know from Facebook, that I hit just over the 10lbs lost mark!!!  I was super excited and happy with myself... and it gives me encouragement to keep truckin' along!  Only 17lbs more to go!

This week: -2.0lbs
Total: -10.4lbs

I hurried out of work today, picked up Colby @ camp then came home and headed out for my 3 mile scheduled run.  I try to run outside as much as I possibly can instead of having to go to the Y.  I headed out at 5:12, so there was very little daylight left.  I stayed on sidewalks and in my neighborhood (I ran up and down a lot of the same streets to get to 3.5 miles).  I am happy that I am continuing to finish my runs with an under 11 minute pace... gives me confidence that I will hit my goal for this half marathon!!

I enjoyed a bowl of Kix for dinner... followed by some popcorn... which Colby enjoyed too :)

My massive bowl of popcorn :)

Colby begging for my popcorn!

Colby very quickly scarfing up his popcorn!

Runnin' Stats:
Miles Ran this week: 6.5
Miles Ran in February: 11.5
Miles Ran in 2012: 53.54 

Crunchy Granola

One of my favorite recipes... makes a huge batch and stores well for several weeks!  My favorite uses for granola are to top my yogurt & as some extra crunch on my salads :)

Crunchy Granola
1c. brown sugar
1/2 c. water
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 T. molasses
8 c. old fashioned oats
1 1/2 c. salted sunflower kernels

Cook sugar & water for 3 minutes in microwave.  Add vanilla, salt and molasses.  Mix everything together until oats are coated completely.  Spread on 2 greased cookie sheets and bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour.  Stir every 15 minutes.  Makes 10 cups (I do 1/4c. per serving = 40 servings)

Ingredients

Mixing it all together...

Spread onto 2 greased cookie sheets...

Let cool before storing in air-tight container!

Too much of a good thing is bad...

Today I learned that too much fiber is a BAD BAD thing!  Normally, I am a person who probably doesn't get enough Fiber.  Well, over the weekend I decided to start taking a fiber supplement - Fiber Gummies :)  They really taste like gummy bears!

For some reason - today was my day for Fiber.  I started off with two gummies, had overnight oats for breakfast, a spinach salad for lunch, Fiber One bar for a snack and made a Protein Smoothie for dinner.  My stomach ache was the size of TEXAS... seriously so bad.  Finally, 4 hours after dinner & a 3 mile run... I am slowly starting to feel better.  Attempting to combat the stomach ache, I've been downing water like it's running out!

I have to share my NEW favorite salad with you though:

Spinach Salad:
1 1/2c. spinach leaves
1/2 c. fresh blueberries
1/2 c. sliced strawberries
2oz. diced ultra thin oven roasted turkey
1/4 c. Crunchy Granola (recipe to come!)
2 T. Wish Bone Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

AMAZING.

Miles Ran this week: 3.0
Miles Ran in February: 8.0
Miles Ran in 2012: 48.54

Twice Baked

I promised a recipe for Twice Baked Potatoes... so here it goes:

Twice Baked Potatoes for Two

Take 2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed clean and pierce them with a fork several times.  Bake on 375 degrees for 1hr 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and cut 1/4 off the potatoes, lengthwise.  Using a spoon, scoop out the "guts" of the potatoes and place them in a bowl.  Mash potatoes with mixer until creamy.  Slowly add 1/3c. milk to potatoes.  Once combined, then add 3T. I can't believe it's not butter, light and mix well.  Then add 1/4c. bacon crumbles, 1/4c. shredded cheddar cheese & 1/4c. light sour cream.  Season lightly with salt & pepper.  Mix all together & scoop back into potatoes.  Bake for an additional 20 minutes!  Enjoy :)

Beautiful Wisconsin Weather

I hope our special angel in heaven has been sending us this beautiful weather... and it is so appreciated!  This weekend I had to work at the Y Friday night 630-10p... so I was less than thrilled about the thought of getting up at 6am Saturday to make it to the 7am training run.  What helped my motivation to go was 1) nice running weather 2) running in a group and 3) my dad was going to meet me there :)  It was a great 5 mile run... and my best time yet for a training run... 54minutes 13 seconds... averaging 10:50 a mile!  Even thought it's incredibly early to get up and run on a Saturday... it's so nice to have my run completed by 8am for the weekend :)

Later in the day, Ryan & I decided to take the dogs for a walk (we had my parents two dogs - Bailey & Bella for the day).  Taking 3 80+ labs for a walk is always interesting...

Today with another really nice weather day given to us... I did the most UN-glamorous part of owning a pet... tackled the backyard "Colby surprises" a few months earlier than I normally do.  At least this way it will be much less clean-up with spring officially comes!

I'm not really interested to watch the bowl-o-super this year, but I probably will just to see the commercials & find out who wins.

We're ending the weekend with a nice meal of Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Breasts & Twice Baked Potatoes... recipe to come later :)

Miles Ran this week: 12.5
Miles Ran in February: 5
Miles Ran in 2012: 45.54

Weigh In #5

Just a short post checking in with my weigh in from yesterday... It was a small loss week.  But, a loss is a loss so I will take it!

Week 5: -0.6lbs

Total Weight Loss: -8.4lbs

Hoping I have a great week so I can see a 10lb total loss by next week! 

Have a great night readers :)