Whoopsie!

I've neglected you little blog... and my followers!  I didn't realize I hadn't posted in 9 days!!  OOPS!  Guess that goes to show just how much my new job is keeping me busy... along with a week of being sick, running higher miles and now that it's slightly nicer outside... yard work to be done and a dog who loves to be outside, but has a huge phobia of bugs!

Last Saturday was my longest run EVER... 10 miles.  I was still sick with a cold, so I took it easy, finishing in 1hr 52 minutes.  I stopped at the water stations & the restroom - and I had to blow my nose a few times.  By mile 9 my legs started to feel like lead weights... but I pushed through and made from mile 9 to 10 one of my faster miles.  Unfortunately, with running 10 miles... I was a hurting unit that day (especially after we took Colby to the dog park & celebrated Easter with my family), so I spent my evening like this...

For my family Easter celebration I had to make dessert... thankfully I have pintrest to guide my way with new desserts... I found these bad boys and whipped up a batch!

My only modification to the recipes was A) I doubled it to fit into a 9x13 pan and B) I made the cheesecake part with 4 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs... because I have a cousin allergic to yolks!  They were a HIT at Easter :)

I've gotten two decent runs in this week... 4 miles on Tuesday and 6 miles today (Colby got to run 2 of the miles with me!)  Saturday is another 8 mile run... funny enough, that distance no longer seems intimidating to me!!  SURREAL!!

Last night I was also craving chocolate... so I decided to make Betty Crocker's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies... YUM!  I made two pans and then froze the rest of the dough into individual balls so I can pull them out quickly in the future.  Again... thank you Pintrest for the idea! :)  For my cookies, I skipped the nuts, used Old Fashioned Oats & mini chocolate chips :)

Horray for tomorrow being Friday!!  It's been a busy week at work but I'm absolutely loving my job... I am so so happy I found such a great place to work!  Colby says goodnight too ;)  What a nut!

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

I have been trying many pintrest recipes for dinner... Monday night we had this.  I modified it by only using 16oz. of Light Alfredo sauce & only about 1c. of Mozzarella cheese on top.  We really enjoyed it :)  Sorry - we dug in before I could snap some pictures! :)

Tonight I made a WINNER!!!  Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas... adapted from this recipe.

Ryan and I both loved them and the hardest part was the preparation of cutting the chicken & veggies!

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas
1lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into strips
2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
2-3 Tbsp. Fajita Seasoning (I used seasoning from Wildtree)
1 (15oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies - DRAINED
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 large green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 large red pepper, cut into strips
Flour Tortillas
Toppings that you like: cheese, sour cream, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place chicken into a greased 9x13 glass baking dish.  In a small bowl, combine the oil with 2T. fajita seasoning, mix well.  Drizzle the seasoning mixture over the chicken.  Next, add the tomatoes, onion and peppers to the dish and sprinkle with additional 1T. fajita seasoning - if desired.  Stir everything together until all pieces are coated.  Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.  Serve on tortillas (or you can serve it with rice)!

Enjoy :)

Dick Lytie 15k (9.3 miles)

Here's my race recap of my first 15k!  Warning - might a little too much TMI for some... but runners will relate to me!

This was a tough course... lots of hills up and down.  They had an excellent amount of water/gatorade stations - but I wished for a porta potty stop.  Physically (legs/breathing) I felt great... on the major bummer side (as most runners know), sometimes you experience some major bathroom issues when running.

Well today was not my day :(  I kicked off my morning with breakfast - 1 Eggo Waffle w/Peanut Butter, a small banana & some water.  I also took my normal fiber supplement... I visited the bathroom twice before I left the house.  I arrived to pick up my bib & t-shirt, got ready for the race and was in line for the porta potty, where I went a 3rd time.  I went back into my car to stay warm (it was 39 degrees at this point - 9:30a).  All of a sudden I really felt sick... like I had to head back to the bathroom, only I looked and the porta potty line was about 25 people deep - with 15 minutes to race time.  I decided that I would just have to suck it up and pray the icky feeling goes away.

Well the horn went off and the feeling just kept getting worse and worse as each mile passed.  By mile 2 I just wanted to turn around and head back to the car.  I pushed myself to keep going... contemplating with each step... do I run into the woods, do I knock on someone's front door... what do I do!?!?  This course was hilly... so I ran/walked up the hills which helped my icky feelings subside... downhill was another story... I thought my insides were going to jump out of me.  By mile 6 I was desperate... so I had to start alternating walking & running for a bit.  I made it to around mile 7.5 when there was a gas station - and bolted for it.  Knowing this would delay my race time a good 5 minutes... it was go or give up.  Back on the course a few minutes later, I felt AMAZINGLY better... and pushed myself the last 1.8 miles. 

When I crossed the finish it was 1:47:10, which is exactly what I need to finish the half in 2 hours 30 minutes.  However, my ipod (because I paused it at the bathroom) said 1:42... which reflects a more accurate time.  I know I would have had an even better time b/c I never walk as much as I had to today.

It sucks when you're not tired, you're not in pain but you've got to walk to save your bootay... if you know what I mean.

Here's two pictures that Ryan snapped of me at the end... so sweet of him to meet me at the finish :)

On a positive note because it was my first 15k this morning... I technically had a personal record!  It can only get better from here :)  No more bananas before racing!

A Redeeming Run

Just stopping in to say hi and show you the results of this morning's 7 mile training run :)  I am really proud of myself on this run!!  The morning started out just fine, got up at 6 ate a piece of bread with peanut butter, my typical - pre-run fuel.  I left on-time & then a block from the high school where it starts, I got stuck by a train that never ended.  There were a ton of other people who got stuck by it also.  However, I knew that I wouldn't be able to run if I didn't visit the bathroom first... well, they didn't have school open, so they had 2 porta-potties out behind the school.  So I ran back to them immediately and encountered 14 people in line ahead of me... oh boy.  Well the run started and I was still in line... I hauled booty in the porta and sprinted to get my route cue sheet.  I was a good 1/3 - 1/2 mile behind my "pace" group... So I gave it my all and pushed myself to catch up.  Over the course of the first two miles I would say I caught up nicely to where I should have been.

It was a pretty flat route today... we had to run back and forth over the De Pere bridge, but other than that we were on the Fox River Trail - which is awesome to run on.  No wind until about mile 3(ish) - and then once we got back on the trail, it felt like the wind disappeared.  I made it my focus today to push my pace in 1/2 mile increments and periodically I would pick someone ahead of me and tell myself I had to push past them.  It worked!  I was back to the school, got some Gatorade and back in my car - seeing people still running that I had passed on my drive out of De Pere, that was a good feeling :)  Overall a great run!!

I never had a mile over 11 minutes and I finished with my fastest average pace to date!!  Next Saturday is my first race of 2012... the Dick Lytie 15k (9.3 miles) - Even though I've never run more than 8 miles, I am ready... because I could have kept running today :)  Happy weekend all!!  I'm very excited to see one of my best friends tonight for dinner... I haven't seen her in FOREVER!! :)

Just a miserable run...

Ever have a workout or run that was just miserable the whole time?!?!  That was me today.  Earlier today (and by earlier, I mean by 9am) I was already feeling ZERO motivation to run today.  My whole body is just sore... and I am not entirely sure why.  Maybe it's adjusting to a new job, schedule, and taking the stairs to go everywhere... I am on the 3rd floor and have yet to use the elevator in 4 days! :)  I will continue to use the stairs because it's a little extra exercise per day!

Anyway... I also haven't been sleeping well the last few nights.  I am hoping with the cooler temperatures, that I will sleep better tonight.

My run was supposed to be 5 miles.  At almost 4 miles... I decided that was enough.  I just couldn't go one more mile.  I headed back home and was satisfied I completed 4 miles... when I wanted to give up after just .6!

It was Colby's birthday today... he turned the big 3 and went to camp to celebrate with his friends!! :)  I can't believe just 3 short years ago he was so itty bitty..

And now he's so big :)