Fun Fun Weekend!

The highlight of my weekend was Cher's birthday celebration, oh my gosh, how much fun that was! Saturday night we headed to a BYOB private pole dancing session of 1 1/2 hrs for us girls and it was awesome, on top of a nice  workout! We had tons of fun dropping it like is hot and boy can I feel it today. After we headed to a PTC restaurant for dinner and drinks, where I carbed up for my 10 miler today and then Tavern on 74 for some dancing!

After getting home almost at 1 a.m. obviously I wasn't thrilled about waking up early this morning to go for a run but since I was a slacker this week it had to be done! I was sore from last night's class and dancing, and of course just tired due to the lack of sleep and alcohol intake (didn't drink too much but still). I met my friend Lacy at the PTC library and we started running together until I HAD to slow down and then she kept running and looping around me to make sure I wasn't dying, lol! And yes, she is that fast so while I ran 10 miles she probably did like 12 or 13, amazing! Love this girl :D

Though I was extremely tired throughout the run it feels so good to have done it so I am happy and feel accomplished. There was a lesson to learn though, I need to step up my game on millage during the week so these "long runs" on the weekends don't feel so hard. Soon these long runs will become longer so I can get in MARATHON mindset. Marathon training doesn't start yet, but if I prepare early it won't be so hard when the weather gets warmer.

That's about it for now!
XOXO
CM

Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

This was a new recipe and loved it, got it from a cooking magazine and it's only 230 calories per serving, so here it goes!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
• 4 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (3 inch) stalk lemongrass, halved lengthwise
• 2 teaspoons of Thai chile pasta
• 3 cups Chicken stock
• 1 1/4 cups light coconut milk
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 cup green onion strips
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Add oil to a pan and swirl to coat. Add mushrooms, peppers, ginger, garlic and lemongrass and cook for about 3 minutes. Add chile pasta and cook for another minute. Now add chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar and bring to a simmer.

Reduce heat to low now and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken and cook until it's thoroughly heated, discard lemongrass and top with onions, cilantro and lemon juice.

Absolutely yummy, and I would kick the spicy up a notch but that's just me ;)

Enjoy!

CM

Healthy Pancakes

This is one of my favorite recipes because it's unbelievably healthy and incredibly yummy, my daughter loves it and it's one of those comfort breakfasts that just makes you smile and sigh. This recipe is under 400 calories and if you want you can add dark chocolate chips and its still pretty good.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1 cup egg whites (about 4 eggs)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Just throw all ingredients in the blender and mix for about 2 minutes, then cook on stove top on setting 6 for about 1 1/2 - 2 min each side max and voila! I add Grade A Maple Syrup and some berries and you have a super yummy and healthy breakfast.

Enjoy!

CM

Museum of Aviation Half Marathon

Quick post! Ran my second half marathon of 2012 and got my first medal of the year :) The race was awesome and I got to run it with my friend Jeff and his brother... Thanks to them I shaved 8 minutes from last weekend's race so I am thrilled. I gotta step up my game because Tybee Half Marathon is in 3 weeks! I definitely want my number to keep going down!

Can't wait to my next race/medal! I am so excited about this year's running plans and I can't wait to see the progress. My goal is to finish the year doing the Vegas half under 2 hour :D

And that's about it, I've been up since 4 am and I'm going to bed!
XOXO
CM

Grateful

I have to say that I am loving my new neighborhood, Sophia has been enjoying what it feels to live in a house on a cul-de-sac (even though I am still a bit paranoid of letting her just go out there), and I... well I come home from work at lunch time (5 min commute) and go for a run around my neighborhood! I have to say that I am loving it, and putting my running shoes and heading out the door with no driving involved is just priceless.

Of course my motivation only has gone up since I moved and things just seem easier when it comes to running. I am running my second Half Marathon of the year this Saturday and I couldn't be happier! I hope to do a bit better in time but that will depend on the course I guess.

This is the year of running, abs, nutrition, health and hopefully a bigger paycheck. A year of accomplishments in time, races, certifications, income and muscle tone. It's a year of controlling my destiny and the outcome of the things I want in my life, no more going with the flow.

So wish me luck because we all now that rituals and routines are not my strong suit, neither I do  anything consistently but I am very determined to change that in 2012, so we shall see!

That's it for now!

XOXO

CM

For the love of running... and healthy eating!

For the love of running is correct... Who wakes up at 5 am in the morning to run in the dark foggy weather? This girl right here!!!! Because now I have a roomie I can sneak out really early in the morning while everyone is sleeping and squeeze my run in... Today, 4 miles with a fellow runner friend, I can't be happier. 

My run felt so great and it was just easy, throughout the day I just felt great and I didn't have that constant worry of... will I be able to get my run in or not? Tomorrow we will do it again!  And Sophia loves it, by the time I get back I feed her breakfast, shower and have plenty of time to get ready.

One of the other things I've been working on has been nutrition, an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to having energy and successful runs. I cooked during the weekend certain home made foods that I could quickly have ready with all the healthy benefits. Below find a recipe that I brought back from Tennessee, I absolutely love it and will probably make it weekly!

Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi

This recipe literally has 2 ingredients and serves 4 portions, all you need is:

•  1 large sweet potato
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour

Some recipes call for baking the sweet potato, I instead boiled it! Peel and cut the sweet potato in small squares and boil until tender. Once it's tender puree the sweet potato and let it cool. I like using my hands but you could also use a kitchenaid, once the puree has cooled down start adding the flour in increments of 1/4 of a cup at a time. I ended up mixing only 1 1/2 cups and used the rest when making the little gnocchi balls.

Once the dough acquires the desired texture (doesn't stick to your hands) divide the dough in 4 equal balls and roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Then cut each rope into 1-inch pieces and roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer them to a baking sheet until you have finished with the remainder of the dough.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and start adding the gnocchi in small batches you will know they are ready once they start floating, cooking time should be about 5 minutes. You can now with a slotted spoon drain the gnocchi onto a baking sheet.

I then, because I was cooking for the week, proceeded to put the baking sheet in the freezer covering it with foil; that way you can freeze the gnocchi individually and they wont get stuck together. You can then separate portions in small freezer bags and have them ready to go, all you need to do is throw them back into boiling water for about 3 minutes and voila.

I made a spicy marinara to go with it which really pairs well with the mild sweetness of the sweet potato. Add a little bit of Parmesan and you have yourself a delicious, healthy home cooked meal!

First Bib of 2012

So the idea of this is to keep track of my running progress throughout 2012! A race per month that is and as I said in my last post, ideally a half marathon per month, except for October & November when I'm running marathons. After only 7 5 weeks of training I ran my first half of the year.

Yesterday I ran the Red Nose Half Marathon in Columbus, GA... A FREE race organized by the Columbus Running Club, FREE = No Medal, but hey, it was a certified course! I finished in 2:27 which is 6 minutes faster than my last half... but my last half was almost 2 years ago. What I ambition? I ambition to finish this year doing the Vegas Rock N' Roll half in the 1:50s. My accomplishment thus far? Running the entire distance! I am thrilled that I didn't walk other than at the water stations while drinking water :)

I hope these races keep me motivated and my training going, next weekend I run the Museum of Aviation Half and can't wait to get my medal!

Upcoming races per month:

• January - Red Nose Half Marathon / Museum of Aviation Half Marathon
• February - Tybee Island Half Marathon
• March - Publix Half Marathon - Atlanta
• April - TBD
• May - Pensacola Half Marathon
• June - TBD
• July - Napa 2 Sonoma Half Marathon
• August - Chicago Triathlon
• September - TBD
• October - Chicago Marathon
• November - Solar Eclipse Marathon - Australia
• December - Vegas Rock N' Roll Half Marathon

As you can see I have a few months that I still need to find races for but most of my year is planned out, I might throw a few 10Ks & Sprint Triathlons in there to add some excitement to the off weekends but those are the MUST DO races.

If you have any other races you would recommend feel free to comment, I would love to hear suggestions!

Until next post!

CM

Fuel your body

One of my New Year Resolutions this year is to complete at least a race per month throughout 2012. Ideally these will be 11 half marathons (2 in January) and 2 marathons, one in October and one in November. I am particulary excited about 2 specific races, the napa2sonoma in July and the Australia Solar Eclipse in November. Obviously, to accomplish this, it will require a fair amount of training but also I am determined to fuel my body with the foods that will keep me going.

In an effort to keep it healthy I am trying to plan my meals around a weekly menu, for this week besides my almost daily Ezequiel Turkey Sandwich and Sophia's beloved Lentil tacos I have a few others. I will post more recipes throughout the week but for today I will leave you with the following!

Chicken Chow Mein

INGREDIENTS

• 250 g Dried medium Chinese egg noodles
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 280 g cooked chicken breast, shreaded
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 100 g shiitake mushroom, sliced
• 100 g bean sprouts
• 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Begin cooking the noodles according to instructions in the package and let them stand while preparing other ingredients. Then pre-eat a wok over medium heat (today because I just moved and can't find my wok I used a skillet, it was messy but it tasted just fine). 

Add the sunflower oil and swirl around the wok to coat it's walls. Once the oil is hot add chicken, garlic, peppers, mushroom, scallions and bean sprouts and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.

Now you can add the noodles to the wok, toss well, and stir-fry for an additional 5 minutes. Drizzle over the soy sauce and sesame oil and toss throughly combined.

This recipe serves 4 and it's under 500 calories, it's a good healthy option if you need to carb up for a race or long run!

I hope you get to enjoy this delicios recipe, try it out and let me know what you thought!

XOXO

CM 

New favorite artist

I heard this song today for the first time and LOVED IT! Actually LOVE Laura Jansen, all the songs I've heard from her so far I love :) Thanks Pandora radio!

First run of 2012

This has definitely been a hectic start to 2012. Between spending New Year's Eve in Nashville and picking up Sophia yesterday from Tallahassee I've been driving A LOT and running NOT SO MUCH! Thankfully, yesterday I went prepared... I was on my running clothes because I was determined to squeeze a run in Tallahassee while waiting for Sophia. 

I got to Tallahassee a couple of hours early and got a 3 mile run in after driving for 4 hours, what could be better than that for circulation? I ran around a small lake they had and it was pretty pleasant. The down side? I had the brilliant idea to eat Chipotle before my run, that wasn't very brighth.

The important thing is that I ran, I got my run in! Today I'm having a hard time finding motivation to get out on this cold (25F) but I have a run scheduled with one of the MRTT girls tonight, that will get me out there... and what more motivation that my Saturday Half Marathon? I'm going to kill it!

Well that's pretty much it for now - And a New Years Resolution post is coming soon!

Until then...

XOXO

CM