Update - knee drama

Long story short, I am going to the sports doctor on Tuesday to find out about my knee. I ran a hilly route in Michigan while there during our spring break at our summer house. I hurt around mile 2. I walked home very upset. I am hoping the sport dr will give me some insight on what is causing the pain and perhaps give me a shot to help. I am still determined to run Toledo come April 28.

I will post later some Easter stuff I am making this afternoon. Since I've been on spring break (taking the kiddos for 4 nights in Louisville then 3 nights at our summer house) I have not cooked one meal! It's been lovely but I do miss home cooking and eating at home.

3 and 3.5

I gave myself a good week of rest. I do not like not running. I feel stressed and fat. We took the girls for a long weekend to Louisville, KY for spring break. I used the gym (treadmills over looking the river, nice).

Saturday - 3.5 miles
Felt really good. Sluggish at first then really warmed up. Got up to a 8:00 mm and it felt really good. I used the gym's foam roller and then iced my knee. Felt good.

Sunday - 3 miles
Knee started to tighten so at 3 miles I stopped, foam rolled and stretched. Tried to run again but it started to hurt so I hopped off. Foam rolled and iced again.

Monday - rest and Tuesday - we drove home today so I decided not to run. But I plan to run

Wednesday - 4-5 miles
Thursday - LR!!! I'm going for it. If it hurts then I will have to go to plan b and re-evaluate marathon plans. I am so bummed! My sis in law has a stress fracture so she is out. I NEED to run to represent us!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

We make this a lot in the summer. It's been sunny the past two days and feels like spring...until you step outside and feel the near single digit chill. Anyhow, we are having this tonight in hopes of warmer days.

Blue Cheese Dressing:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk (or milk)
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (or feta cheese, as my girls prefer)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
  

In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk and yogurt into the mayonnaise until smooth. Add the vinegar and sugar and continue to whisk until all the ingredients are well combined. Stir in the blue cheese and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Chicken Buffalo Salad:

1-2 lbs chicken tenders

Franks Red Hot sauce

Olive oil

s & p

chopped up celery and carrots, bite size

bunch of romaine, cleaned and ripped into bite size

1. Preheat oven to BROIL. Toss the chicken tenders in a bowl with as much franks red hot as you like it spicy, some olive oil and s & p. Broil for about 4-6 minutes until chicken is just done.

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing and chop the veggies. You can serve this on a big platter, layer lettuce, veggies then chicken and toss with salad dressing. Or, serve veggies, salad and chicken seperatly and let everyone make up their own plate with dressing on the side.

I give my kids the chicken and veggies and serve their dressing on the side as a dip.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger-/buffalo-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Bangers and Mash with Cabbage

For St. Patrick's Day I was going to do Corned Beef but it's so salty and I'm not a huge fan so I opted for a less traditional St. Patty's day Irish Dish. The girls LOVED it and ate a ton. Next year I'll be sure to make!

Irish Bangers:
1 lb. Trader Joe's Irish Bangers
1 sliced onion

In a deep saute pan, I  first poached the bangers in water for about 7 minutes. I then drained the water and browned them over medium heat. After about 10 minutes I added a pat of butter and the onions and cooked until the onions were browned and a little sauce formed. I transferred the bangers to a bowl and covered to keep warm.

Cabbage:
In the same saute pan, I added a little olive oil and sauteed the sliced cabbage seasoning a bit with salt and pepper. Cooked over medium heat until they were cooked a slightly brown.

Mash: Peeled and diced baby dutch yellow potatoes. Boil in cold water, added salt when boiled, for 20  minutes. Added in milk, butter and a little pepper and salt, chicken stock until a good texture.

Serve bangers over the mash and top with Cabbage.

Irish soda bread

Served warm with butter...yum! This is trader joes recipe and its simple yet very yummy!

3 1/2 c pancake mix
1/2 c sugar + 3 tbsp sugar
1 pt sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup raisins

1. Mix pancake mix and 1/2 c sugar in small bowl. In large bowl mix eggs and sour cream
2. Fold in egg mix into pancake mix until just blended. Add in raisins.
3. Pour into loaf pan or 9x9 pan, lined with foil and spray. Bake 350 45 min to 1 hour.

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Weekly run report

3/13 Wednesday : 5 miler on the treadmill. Felt really good
10 min w/u @ 9:22
30 min tempo 8:20-8:00
2:24 c/d 8:34

42:24 8:29 pace
Left knee a little right. Did arms and abs afterwards.

3/14 Thursday : 8 miler on the mill - I felt strong, I love runs like this where I feel like I can just keep going, breathing good, pace comfortable, ran with arms DOWN, so hard for me to do this on the treadmill, I finally realized to run a little towards the back, I always run too close to the front, it only took me how many years to figure this out!
Pace run, started at 9:22 then rest of run 8:57
1:13:00 9:08 pace

weighed in at 108 - don't want to drop too much so drinking some chocolate milk to replenish!


3/16 Saturday Long Run - UGH!: I planned on running 18 miles today. C was at home with the girls, he was all set to take care of them and feed them lunch and do dogs walks and such. I planned to do a three loop run. Mentally and cardiowise, I was doing great. After my first loop (6 miles) I was feeling just fine but afraid of that knee issue. Well sure enough just into mile 9 I could feel it coming on and sure enough I was stopping, stretching, running then stopping and stretching and then finally walking home after 10 miles...frustrated, upset but mad mostly. Mad because I've come so far into this training and mentally I feel ready, every part of me feels ready and this dumb knee suddenly is making it not easy. And I ran slow!  When I run faster during the week I'm fine!
I plan to run tomorrow at least 8 miles, hopefully 10. We will see....

3/17 Sunday - Was probably not a good idea to run, but I needed this to prove to myself that I do need to rest my knee. I ran 1.3 miles then the knee tighten and then hurt. So I walked home and tried not to get sad. I will take a week off from running but will do cycling and elipictical at the gym this week. Then try another run in a week...so sad! I haven't stopped running in over two years except when I tripped at the summer house and took a week off and had to miss the 10K. I refuse to miss the marathon, I have been training too long for that!
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Long run 13.18

I had no real plans for a long run this weekend. My schedule calls for 18 but since we had that race yesterday I just sorta went out and planned to run at least 2 hours. And I did. I felt great the entire run, I kept it slow, focused on my form and didn't feel any pain...until right around mile 13! This time it was the other knee. I had to stop and stretch, I ran 1/2 mile more then just walked home, luckily I wasn't too far. I will try to wear the IT band next week, or at least bring it with since both knees have done this. I must pronate to one side then the hips compensate then the other works to hard. Anyway, it was so nice out, around 47 degrees. I enjoy this weather much better!

13.18  2:00:08 9:10 pace

mi	Pace (min/mi)	Elevation (ft)
1	9:16	15
2	9:20	4
3	9:13	-3
4	8:54	-8
5	9:10	-15
6	8:55	-33
7	9:05	2
8	9:06	14
9	8:59	10
10	9:00	13
11	8:57	11
12	8:58	7
13	9:56	-23
14	11:30	-1

Duathlon report!

C and I participated in our first Duathlon today. It was so fun! My running friend who has been running for YEARS suggested we do it and I'm glad we did.
It was at the sportscomplex in Orland Park. There were several heats and we were placed in the first heat which started at 7:15am. We got there early so stopped at Starbucks first to wake us up! Then we arrived and got our stationary bikes and set them up to our correct height. We were each assigned a high school honor student that cheered us on and recorded our times. We were first to run 1.5 miles on the track, bike 10 miles, then run another 1.5 miles on the track.
My times were
 1.5 miles - 11:26 minutes - 7:37 pace
10 miles bike - 15:02 - 40 mph
1.5 miles - 11:36 minutes - 7:44
Total time :  38:02
When I left I was 2nd place in my age group! I feel like I did good. I didn't push myself to the point of feeling sick. But it was a workout. C did great too. We will do this again next year. It was a fun experience and different than your regular race. The competition was good. I liked that there were about 10 people in our heat so enough of competition to push you on. But small enough not to get intimidated.

weekday run report

3/5 Tuesday : This was a rough night. I was tired, mostly from shoveling throughout the day and just not into it. The plan was 800 repeats but I didn't do it. Instead I did some cross training, as my left hip is still feeling weird.

2 miles - 9:05 pace (ugh I feel like I am getting slower and slower)
20 minutes cycle - 5.32 miles

3/6 Wednesday: I think last night I was truly tired from shoveling. Tonight I felt a bit better. I kept an easy 9:22 pace for 5.5 miles. Then I kicked it up to 8:00 then 8:27 for 1 mile. I was so bored! I had to hop off and do some weights. I almost just finished with the 6.5 but decided to just finish it off. So I hopped back on and did 1.5 miles at 8:34 pace

Total run 8 miles, 1:12:24, 9:05 pace - Did a 3/1 run, not bad, felt ok, left inner hip still feeling weird. But on a good note, right knee was fine.

3/8 Friday: I did it! I got out of bed early to do a sunrise run. C had to leave by 6:30 today otherwise I would have ran longer. But I am glad I got the miles in that I did and I felt good. Cold out, 19 degrees. Warmed up soon but had on thin gloves which wasn't smart. Saw lots of runners this morning. Running outside is always so much better!!!!
3.55 miles 30:29 8:35 pace

mi	Pace (min/mi)	Elevation (ft)
1	8:57	8
2	8:45	-2
3	8:20	-7
4	8:05	0

Taco Tuesday

One of my favorite singers, Tristan Prettyman, coined Tuesdays, Taco Tuesdays. Ironically we are indeed having Taco Tuesday in our house.

Slow Cooker Tacos

1 jar favorite salsa
2-3 fresh squeezed limes
fresh bunch of chopped cilantro
1 lb organic chicken thighs
can black beans, rinsed
1 orange pepper, sliced and diced

1. Mix the salsa, limes and pepper. Place chicken in the mix and top with cilantro. You can add in the beans, optional and also a little dash of chicken stock if salsa is too spicy. Cook on low all day
2. When done, shred the chicken. Sprinkle more cilantro and lime juice. Serve in your favorite tortillas. I warm mine on the stove, using corn.

Cowboy Caviar on the side!

recovery run - 3

With the sun shining, I really wanted to run outside today. Plus, after yesterday's knee episode I wanted to see how it felt to run. The first .5 mile felt great, then the dull pains in my left hip, left knee started to make themselves known. I took it slow and it actually felt great to stretch out my legs. Tonight I will do some yoga at home to get some good stretches on my joints.

3 miles 27:37 and some change, 9:11 - took it slow - I do like recovery runs.

Tomorrow's plan is to crosstrain - cycling
T, W and Th run - Saturday duathlon and Sunday longish run

Record week in mileage - 37 miles! Most miles I've ever run!!! 

disappointing 16.7

This is a run report I was hoping never to have to write. I was all set to run a 17 miler this morning. Yes, it was chilly 27 with 18 degree wind chills...yes, of course it was snowing my entire run....yes of course the roads were slick and the sidewalks were not all shoveled and yes I was alone. But all of that was OK and I could tolerate it. I am getting tired of layers and layers of running clothes and running in the chilly snow...but that's not all that bad. What was the bad part of my run today? The sharp, knee pain that I started to experience at mile 14. Out of no where! It's funny during the start of my run my left knee felt a little tight, then my inner hip felt weird but after awhile it went away and I was feeling great. It's hard with the snow and slick roads to find a good stride. But then I started to feel a dull pain  in the right knee. It proceeded to get worse and I actually stopped (I NEVER STOP WHEN I RUN!!) to stretch it out. From mile 14 on, I kept stopping to stretch it then kept running/hobbling until it started to get bad again. I even passed my house and could have just stopped but I was determined to finish up my 17 (or close to it) miles. I was mad - mad at my knee and this pain. I wanted to enjoy the run and just finish, feeling tired but satisfied that I finished! I almost did just quit but I couldn't do it. So I trudged forward and literally hobbled the rest of the miles. I caught a glimce of myself in the reflection in downtown Flossmoor and didn't like what I saw. I looked slow and off gait, a different runner from just an hour before.

So I finished up and in that last mile I actually walked just for a few seconds in between the pains I was feeling. I will post my splits just to see how great I was doing then all of a sudden - blah!
16.68  9:28 pace (UGH) 2:37:54 - very disappointed. I am hoping this knee was just a fluke thing and I will be feeling better by Monday's run. I may do a recovery 3 mile run tomorrow just to test the knee out...or else RICE it!

1	9:08	8
2	9:29	-17
3	9:06	-24
4	9:11	10
5	9:10	-6
6	8:56	12
7	8:53	21
8	8:35	4
9	8:52	0
10	8:40	-36
11	8:46	-12
12	8:56	26
13	9:03	-8
14	10:21	17
15	10:39	21
16	10:59	-11
17	13:25	-9

Thai Chicken

I may have posted this recipe before but I will do it again as we really enjoy it.

Thai Chicken - slow cooker

1 lb chicken thighs (organic)
1/4. c. peanut butter
2 tbsp low sodium Soy Sauce
2 tbsp freshly grated Ginger
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes (or your favorite salsa, as mild or spicy at you want)
1/3 c. chicken stock (optional if you need to difuse the spice of salsa)
1-2 freshly squeezed limes
1 can coconut milk (haven't tried this yet but I think it will make it creamier)
Chopped peanuts
freshly chopped cilantro

1. Lay the chicken in the slow cooker. In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, tomatoes, limes and, if using, chicken stock. Pour over the chicken.

2. Set on low for about 6 hours or on high for about 4. Serve over brown rice and veggies on the side.
Top with freshly chopped peanuts and cilantro for garnish.



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marathon goals

It's that time to start to think about what my goals for the Toledo Marathon are. Like the Half Marathons, I like to set A,B and C goals; a (a huge stretch but could be possible) goal b (mostly likely to accomplish this) goal c (I better accomplish this AT LEAST).

This race will be interesting because:
1. It's my first MARATHON - a half marathon is one thing, but doubling that is another
2. My sis in law (who is way faster than me) and my friend (who is a little slower than me, I don't want to say slower as he has accomplished ultra marathons but he isn't a speedster) will be running this marathon - who do I run with?!
3. The weather should hopefully be in our favor, not too hot, not too cold - hopefully a light breeze but no gusts!

Do I start out with friend (might be too slow) or sis in law (might be too fast)?
Do I go alone? Do I just go?
My worry is the last part of the race, which I can't predict if I will be with either of my sis or friend. So hopefully C will jump in around mile 20 and push me to the finish line!

Ok so my goals.....here we go!

Goal A - 3:50 - I think if I pace myself right I can do this, if I don't go out too fast and I don't experience any hip pain, side stitches, etc. etc.
Goal B - 4:00 - I have to do at least this - who wants to be running more than 4 hours!!!
Goal C - To just finish - it's my first so I don't know what to except. Will I blow up? Will I hit the wall? My last half marathon right around mile 9 I had a runners panic attack where I just wanted to stop. I was running a PR for me and it was very uncomfortable. Hopefully some of these uncomfortable training runs will prepare for the discomfort the marathon will prove to be!

can't win....

I think I mentioned this but I choose to do a spring marathon versus the fall marathon so that I wouldn't have to train during hot summer months. So here I am stuck in a hot gym, on a treadmill!!! You just can't win....and of course this winter we are actually getting snow, unlike last winter. I am not complaining, I know we need this snow and plus it's fun for the kids...I wish we were actually getting more! But as far as outdoor runs go, it's not a good thing.

I am sorta sad that I am not running the Chicago Marathon. The high price and large crowd sorta detered me from registering for it. Plus I mentally want to get this first marathon done and finished and wanted to do it sooner (spring) rather than later (fall). I would register for the Chicago Marathon but don't want to have to put my family through another round of marathon training, especially during the summer. So I will stick with my original plan of my annual birthday Chicago Half Marathon run and PR!!!