The Countdown!

I am super psyched about this race.   I hope I don't F#@% it up!  Everyday I am planning out how I will go about obtaining my goal and everyday it changes! 

This is what happens when I get excited!  I get this cluster of thoughts in my head and I just want to explode.  In a good way!  I am sure that come race day I won't have many thoughts in my head other than run shoooter run! 

I know that I have trained for this race and that I am well prepared for it.  I have a great group of friends that are going to run with me most of the time.  I will even have one of my friends taking pictures out there.  She is so creepy!  ha aha Thanks Alyson you're the best!  When you see me round the turn I will give you the best show ever!  Strike a pose.................

Good luck to all running the race!  I will see you out there!

Recipe of the Week; Greens & Beans with Whole Wheat Gnocchi

I have had an incredible weekend!  Saturday I had the opportunity to work a half day so that I could go to the Elton John concert!  Which by the way was one of the best concerts I have ever been to.  Since opportunities door opened I took full advantage of going for a run!  Joe and I got together and while he did a 10 mile run I cut mine short so that I wasn't late to the concert!  I ran 8.61 miles in 1:16, which works out to a comfortable run at 8:49 mins/mile. 

Today Jen, Eric and myself had the chance to run in the pouring rain.  Which was awesome!  Another comfortable and also final run before the race.  We ran 5.01 miles in 45:52 which works out to be 9:09 mins/mile.  This is the last week before the Flower City Challenge Half Marathon.  I am extremely excited and cannot wait for May 1, to come! 

This recipe is for my friend Jen who is a vegetarian and I know she really enjoyed the dinner!

Greens & Beans with Whole Wheat Gnocchi;

Start with diced onions and olive oil in a saute pan
wait until the onions have become transparent then add two cups of white wine
(I prefer to use a pinot grigio)
Let wine reduce by half
add washed and chopped escarole and season with salt and pepper to taste
once the escarole has cooked down by half add cannellini beans and let simmer
After you have boiled the gnocchi (which the recipe will be saved for another day),
strain water and add them to the saute pan
let cook until the gnocchi have taken on the flavor of the wine sauce (approximately 5 mins)
place in bowl and sprinkle pecorino romano over the top

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Good Friends = Good Times

I can't really think of anyone else I would rather run hills with then Jen, Eric and Sheila!  I moved here just over a year ago and I can honestly say that I have made some really great friends.  Thanks to Joe, Eric and Sheila I began running again, and to Jen because each time I run with her she just goes at here pace (which is really fast) and I try to keep up. 

Each time I run I feel as if I am challenging myself to run faster and harder (no pun intended).  When, in all reality it is the people around me that do.  Today we ran hills, which are never fun, and we pushed hard to accomplish the time that we did.  5.59 miles in 46:23 which works out to about an 8:17 min/mile.  Eric had issues today with his Colitis, I had issues with my reverse of Colitis and Jen, well Jen just keeps running (Robot).  She said that the older she gets the more awesome she is!  How can that be, when the older I get the more my body reminds me that I am getting older?  Is there a way to be more awesome?  What is the secret?  Eric is probably one of the strongest runners I know.  He fights through his pains in hopes of not (insert explicative) his pants!  He keeps training when most people would give up. 

I guess what I am trying to say is, the people that I run with push me to be better then I am.  They push through the tough times and they push through the good!  I have learned a lot from and about them and I hope to continue this journey with them for a long time!  Great run today! 

Recipe of the Week; Fresh Tomato Sauce!

Well even though today was cold, wet and dreary it was definitely a nice night for running!  Eric, Jen and myself left for a 7.01 mile run down by the lake and for once it wasn't windy!  We made this an easy run today.  1:01:36 which comes out to 8:47 mins/mile.  Nice run Eric and Jen!  This is about the time where my miles are going to start tapering off.  I have one and a half weeks until my half marathon and I am getting pumped.  I am ready to obtain my personal record, even more than I have ever been.  I have put in the work and I am ready for the results.

This recipe of the week was inspired by an Italian family I stayed with in a little town called Cassino, Italy.  If you don't know the town it is South of Rome and North of Naples.  The town of Cassino is home to the historical Church called "Monte Cassino"

This place was so serene!  Look it up if you don't know it.  Anyway, the family put together this sauce that had the freshest of ingredients that you would ever taste!  I mean it too, it was straight from her garden in the backyard and it took her all day to cook it!

Ingredients you will need;

Roma Tomatoes
Garlic
Sweet Onion
Fresh Basil
Chicken Stock
Salt & Pepper
Peccorino Romano
Crushed Red Pepper
Country Style Pork Ribs (preferably bone in)
Baking Soda

Start off by coring all of the tomatoes (about 15 - 20), boil a medium size pot of water and blanch them until the skin falls off (this shouldn't take longer than a minute)
Take the blanched tomatoes and place them in a separate pot with onions, garlic and olive oil, season to taste with salt & pepper (keep the heat level on low and roast the tomatoes for at least two hours)
After the first hour add a 1/2 cup of Chicken Stock and fresh basil let simmer and keep it covered

Following the Chicken Stock,
Add olive oil to another pot along with onions, garlic, salt & pepper
When the onions have become transparent add the Pork Ribs
Let cook on low until the pork is completely seared and nicely browned along all edges

Once the Tomatoes have roasted for over two hours take your immersion blender and puree
(I don't like chunky sauce)
Add sauce to the pork ribs and then add seasoning
Salt, pepper, basil and crushed red pepper
Then let simmer on low heat for another half hour then add a table spoon of baking soda
(this is to help cut the acid)
Let simmer another ten minutes and then add a 1/4 cup of peccorino romano

This recipe can be done vegetarian style if preferred or you can add meatballs to give it more flavor.

The meatball recipe will be another Monday's recipe of the week!

Buon Appetito! 

Long week is cause for short runs.

This has been one hell of a week!  Let me reiterate, I love my career choice and I don't mind the hours I work.  This week I have been up before 6:00 am four out of my six day work week.  Some of you may think that isn't bad, but I do work until 9:00 pm at the earliest. 

On Saturday, I would usually get up and run up to about 10 - 13 miles in the early AM, but this time I had to work.  At about midday my boss told me to take three hours and go take a run!  This is a great thing but I also live 30 minutes away from my job!  I had the opportunity to run 3.12 miles with my friend Eric and his wife Sheila.  We ran this in 30 minutes, which is a very relaxed run at 9:36 mins/mile.  Good times!  It felt good that I was able to get out of work for a little bit and run. 

I have been very tired all week because of the awkward schedule.  In fact I have been so tired that I went out for a few drinks with my friend Alyson on Saturday night and after two drinks I was exhausted.  I was literally falling asleep in my chair.  Not cool!

Now, I agreed to run with Eric on Sunday morning at 9:00 am, and I was very late for that run.  I slept in until about 8:45 am and did not get out of my bed until about 9:15!  By the time I made it to Eric's and started running it was about 10:00 am.  I digress, we also have plans to go white water rafting today and we need to leave by 11:00 am.  Which by the way, if you haven't gone yet I highly recommend Letchworth State Park beginner course.

Today we ran 2.7 miles in 23.19 which works out to be 8:38 mins/mile.  This was also a very relaxed run and very good but I was still tired.  I hope that tonight I am able to get some rest so that tomorrow when I run with Jen and Eric I am not useless.

Although I have been tired this week I know my body is adjusting to the soon to be very long hours.  I know that this is also a good sign for me to listen to my body and let my it rest and re-energize!

3.1 for fun!

Have you ever just ran without setting a time limit or even a distance and when you checked your gps you ended up at an even 3.1?  Today was that day for me!  It's as if nothing could go wrong, in fact nothing did go wrong.  I got everything and more accomplished at work today I ran 3.1 miles in 25 mins, that's an 8:03 mile and on top of that I feel like I continue to make great progress with my running.

Recipe of the Week!

Today was really windy!  The wind was so strong today I felt as if I was being pushed backwards!  Aside from the wind Jen and I had a great run.  We ran 6.23 miles in 50:56 this comes to 8:10 pace!  How awesome is that?  My pace is right where I want it to be and with only three weeks until the race, I feel very good!

Today's recipe of the week was inspired by my walk through Wegmans!  My roommate and I were walking through the meat department and he noticed a wonderful piece of Lamb.  From that point on we were both salivating over all of our wonderful ideas and finally decided on the following.

Grilled hearts of Romaine, Gourmet Tomato & Penne Pasta Salad
With
Grilled boneless Leg of Lamb Recommended Temperature is Medium Rare, with house seasoning (what ever your little heart desires)

Take your Hearts of Romaine, quarter them and season them with your homemade balsamic vinaigrette
place them on the grill and let sit until they have a nice char on both sides

Boil Penne Pasta until al dente

1/2 and Saute the Gourmet Tomatoes with some challots until soft

Citrus Buerre Blanc sauce;
1 Shallot, 1tblsp. butter, 1 tsp. olive oil, 1/4 bottle dry white wine let reduce to half, Squeeze Fresh Lemon
Add heavy cream (1/8 cup), 3/4 stick of butter, Salt & Pepper let reduce by 1/4


Chop Grilled hearts and toss in pasta with the tomatoes and Citrus Buerre Blanc Sauce Garnish Pasta with Feta Cheese (Israeli feta is creamier and has a better flavor)
Take Lamb and Slice half inch pieces place on plate and Enjoy the Magic in your mouth!

Let me know what you think!  This was absolutely delicious!

Flower City Challenge Half Marathon

Three weeks until my half marathon personal challenge and record.

I am pretty excited about today's run, 13.68 miles in 1:58.  This turns out to be 8:41 pace.  I ran with my friend Jen, Eric and Oliver.  Unfortunately Eric has Colitis and has been suffering over the past week.  He had a great run and is overcoming this aggravating disease.  If anyone is an inspiration it is definitely him.  Follow him at runericrun.blog.com

I had a great run too and on top of that I could have run another minute faster per mile.  If you remember my first half marathon was 8:56 pace and then my second was 9:18 pace.  I am feeling very positive about my progress and I feel that on race day I will be able to do an 8:00 pace that I need to get to 1:45 finish time. 

While I continue these personal records and challenges i hope that I can inspire anybody who wants more just as I do.  Keep on working hard at what you're doing, keep pushing and don't let your off days put you off!  

Weather forecast is cold!

Although we are very lucky that we do not have hurricanes or tornadoes, I would really appreciate some consistent weather!  I can really appreciate the change in seasons, that is why I still live in NY state, but really, if it is going to be 60 degrees one night why is it that the next day it has to be 35 degrees?  It makes it very hard for my body to adjust to the weather. 

Which brings me to my next set of questions.  Is it the weather that is affecting my running or is my body just tired from training?  Tuesday nights we usually run hills, which I have been keeping an average of 8:30 pace.  Tonight I ran 5.1 miles in 47:03 that comes to about 9:15 pace.  How is it that I am getting slower and not progressing?  Am I expecting too much out of myself?  Am I not pushing myself hard enough?  Should I take a few days off and not worry about it?  These are just a few thoughts based off of what I know my potential is. 

Now that I let the storm of thoughts clear out of my head I hope to hear the thoughts from some fellow runners! 

Monday will now be Recipe of the Week day!

60 degrees and cloudy!  Nobody can complain about this weather! It wasn't cold and it wasn't snowing.  This winter in Rochester has been dragging its feet for way too long.  It is time that the warmer weather finally comes out!

Tonight we made this an easy run, we ran 8.2 miles with some hills.  Our overall pace was 8:52.  I can honestly say after I finished running I felt like I could do another 5 miles with ease.  Maybe it is the weather and then again maybe because I have been on the Shoooter training program.  It may even have to do with the diet in which I have been following. 

Good energy food equals good energy output.  Which brings me to the recipe of the week!  This recipe is great for any person who doesn't like to cook.

Fish Ceviche

Tilapia, Haddock or Bass
Red Onion
Sweet Peppers (red, yellow & orange)
Lemon
Lime

Take the fish and cut it into cubes and place it in a large bowl
Take the red onion and sweet peppers and cut into cubes as well and place into the same bowl
Cut the lemons and limes into half and squeeze the juices over the mix then throw them into the bowl
Add Sea Salt & Fresh Ground pepper for flavor
Stir mixture until all of the fish is covered in lemon and lime juice
Cover bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight
** You can add jalapeno to this if you would like a little more spice **

I buy the food should taste good lime chips which is a great compliment to this wonderful recipe

After you try this recipe out let me know your thoughts.  You can eat it with chips or you can put it into a wheat wrap with lettuce, tomato, avocado and hot sauce for a little extra boost!

Remember, eat healthy(er) and feel a lot better!

Running along the beach!

I can't think of a better way to start a Saturday morning off then to begin with a 7.71 mile run down the trails next to the beach!  Hilly run!  The weather was definitely chilly but with the sun glaring down it felt really good!

My friend Jen and I started our run at 8:00 am.  Jen is that person who you run with that has more speed than you and yet still stays at pace with you.  She also pushes me to run faster then I would normally run.  Thanks Jen!  We started off at about a 9 min pace which would normally be fine but I didn't drink enough water before my run and my heart rate wouldn't catch up with itself.  I kept pushing myself to run faster and by the end of the run I realized that I need to make sure I get enough water in my system.

Although it seems as if I had a rough run, my overall pace was 8:19 per mile and that is great timing.  If you don't remember, my goal for the Flower City Challenge Half marathon it is 1:45 which comes to an 8 min mile.  I am one month away and I feel as if my goal will be close if not spot on!