Food Glorious Food!!

I have no idea how I managed it but yesterday I had a really good day in the kitchen and by really good day I mean the food was awesome and the smoke detector didn't go off - yay!

The most awesome food blog I have found in a while (and believe me, I have a ton of food blogs bookmarked!) came to my rescue and provided me with the best spinach-garlic pesto recipe ever! You guys have to try it. It was so simple to throw together and if I can manage it, believe me, anyone can! I actually squealed, "I did it! It's actually good!" after that first apprehensive taste. Kelly over at Cooking With Caitlin is the rockstar that passed along this recipe and since then, I've been drooling over the food on the site. The best part about it is that they have videos....videos!! I am a visual learner, especially when it comes to the kitchen, so having the videos to watch really helps. It's almost as if they are here holding my hand and walking me through it....yes, I'm that bad (my poor husband). Anyway, here is the link to the spinach-garlic pesto. And here is a photo of it straight out 'da mixer:

Hello green fantasticness!

I slathered it on top of a boneless, skinless chicken breast and popped that sucker in the oven. And can I just tell you.....I was a happy, happy girl! Oh, and it goes well with wine. You know, that one glass a day is good for you and all!




I also made muffins yesterday. I saw Sunny Anderson make these on The Food Network and knew I had to try them. They are so good! They've got banana, strawberries, blueberries and walnuts, yum, yum and yum! The only thing I would change is to chop the walnuts a bit finer..smaller...choppier? I warmed one up in the microwave this morning and it was still just as good as it was fresh out of the oven. I'm going to have to freeze some though because no one else in my family seems interested...picky, picky boys!

Now that I've stuffed myself silly, it's time to think of today's workout. The rain is coming down in buckets (which I'm actually thrilled about because the pollen was getting out of control) so my plan for a long outdoor run has been canceled. I'll probably hop on the treadmill after I get little man off to school and do a shorter run and follow it with some core work instead. Yesterday I only managed to get 4 miles in before my strength training class. Speaking of ST, my arms are killing me today! She was a maniac with the bicep curls and skull crushers yesterday!

Foot Contraption Just Might Save the Day.

I may have found a solution to one of my feet issues! Have you seen the Bunion Aid?? Wow. This thing looks like it could do either some serious damage or quite possibly be the answer to my pain! Look at it! It looks like something you'd see on an infomercial in the middle of the night. Not that I have anything against infomercials, I actually happen to really enjoy them and have a bit of an infomercial-addiction. I can't believe I'm admitting this but there have been many a treadmill run that I've spent watching infomercials. I love any of the fitness related ones...I've seen the P90X one no less than 10 times and can practically recite all the testimonials given by heart. And The Wave by The Firm! That one is so entertaining! Anyway, this one says it's "Flexible!" and "Versatile!" and "Innovative!" All excellent infomercial words which means I'm totally buying into it.

According to their scientific information, the Bunion Aids "soft splint design can help reduce your bunions by 17.2 degrees while most traditional splints only help about 10.4 degrees, says lead study author Klaus A. Milachowski, M. D., of Ludwig Maximilian's University in Munich". Wow! Hear that?? 17.2 degrees!!! I have no idea what the hell that means for me but with a name like Klaus, I'm willing to believe him! All they need is the Billy Mays stamp of approval and I'm sold.

All this talk about firing my podiatrist might just not be talk after all. I could get this contraption for my left foot, take OldSchoolRunner's advice about shoes for my left IT Band issues along with a lot of other advice I've gotten about a foam roller and I'd be well on my way to self-curing! All I've got left to fix is that nagging, undiagnosed problem in the top of my right foot/up the front of my ankle that foot man can't fix. Perhaps more Advil is the answer! (Kidding....sort of.)

Today the pollen count is "very high" as opposed to yesterday's "high" and I'm sneezing up a storm. I need to run though so I'm going to get a quick 4-miler in at the gym before my strength training class. Time doesn't allow for more than 4 or 4.5 unfortunately but I'll run further tomorrow.

Yesterday's spinning class was pretty brutal. I haven't been in a week and I have found that if I take a week off of that class, it's like starting all over again. Which sucks. Big time. But I got through it and was glad I went, yada yada yada.

Today I'm going to make yet another healthy muffin recipe. This one has blueberries, strawberries, banana and walnuts in it so I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. The Applesauce-Apple muffins from the Joy Bauer cookbook I made were so good and I've managed to finish them off almost single handily so I'll be making those again for sure. Speaking of muffins and this is probably a really stupid question but I'm not exactly a fab cook...any tips on freezing muffins? I'm worried that they'll get freezer burn and not be as tasty when I thaw them. And do you thaw them or just toss in the microwave straight from the freezer? Oh! And while I'm searching for cooking advice, anyone have a good recipe for Spinach-Pesto? I'm guessing it's as simple as spinach, olive oil, walnuts (or pine nuts) and cheese but I'm really bad about experimenting. I feel like I have to follow a specific recipe.

Happy Pollen Filled Monday!

It seems that Spring skipped the Washington D.C. area this year. My heat was cranking on Wednesday and by Saturday, the air was on. What the hell? Unfortunately, the pollen didn't skip us. Everything is covered in a lovely shade of green-yellow and my entire family is a sneezing, snot-nosed, wheezing mess.

My big kid turned 9 yesterday. I cannot believe that I have a 9-year-old kid. He wanted to have his party at Chuck E. Cheese so we did that yesterday afternoon. And apparently, every kid in the county was celebrating a birthday on the very same day and at the very same time because the place was about as crowded as it could have been without the fire department coming out and shutting the place down. My ears are still ringing.

I feel like I'm fully back into the running schedule. Last week I logged 26 miles which is the most I've run since before the marathon. My feet are holding up. I took the orthotics out for my last two runs - a 7-miler on Friday and an 8-miler yesterday - and that seemed to help. I'm over my podiatrist. My IT band is still irksome so I'm going to get one of those foam rollers and give that a try. For some reason, I've been running crazy fast though (last week, I ran one of my 7-milers in 57 minutes which is totally unheard of for me and a little insane) . I think it's just because I've been so excited to get back outside. I'm going to have to slow way down though if I think I'm going to get through the half marathon in a couple weeks.

I've been meaning to post about ExerciseTV for a while now. I love that site because you can do quick little 10-minute workouts or a longer one depending on how crunched for time you are. It's not perfect, but on days when you can't get to the gym or out for a run, it really helps. Recently, I went so far as to purchase three 10-minute videos and downloaded them to DVD. On Thursday, I didn't get to the gym so I popped in the DVD and have to say I was quite happy with the workout I got in such a short period of time. I went with Cindy Whitmarsh and purchased her 'Six-pack Ab Calorie Burn', 'Strong and Sexy Upper Body Burn', and 'Booty Burn'. I'm not into the names but the workout was pretty dang good! She is a little crazy but I like that in a trainer.

Today is going to be another hot one and I'm sure by the time I get little man on the afternoon kindergarten bus it will be well into the upper 80s so I think I'll go to the gym and take a spinning class instead of running. I fully expect her to torture me and to hate ever second of it while I'm there but then be all jacked up when I walk out. That's always the way it is with spinning it seems!

Run Eat Do

RUN:

One month after Shamrock (is it wrong that I'm still on a marathon-finisher-high??), I finally got outside for a run yesterday. I can't believe it was my first outdoor run in a month but then, I did take a lot of time off. It was so great to get out again. I forgot just how invigorating running outside is vs. the treadmill! I actually missed hills! And turns!! And the occasional breeze! I was super pumped when I got out there so I ended up running the 7 miles much faster than I normally would so my legs are a bit sore today. It's one of those good kind of sores though. It was a lot of fun to just turn it up.

EAT:

Have you tried Kashi's new microwavable rice? I'm a huge fan of all things spicy, in fact, my husband is constantly laughing at me because for me, a normal place setting includes a plate, fork, knife, napkin and red pepper flakes so I was super excited to see Kashi's Firery Fiesta rice. When I first found it, I bought two packages sure I would love it. Unfortunately, I didn't. It was pretty dry (I'm more of a mushy rice kinda gal) and I didn't think it was spicy. However! I'm super happy to report that I gave it a second chance (only because my husband was out of town, I didn't feel like cooking and it was the only quick-cooking thing I had around). This time, I followed the "recommended" method of cooking. Instead of just tearing the top of the bag and microwaving, I dumped it in a bowl, added 2 tablespoons of water, covered it and let it go for 90 seconds. Much better!! No more dry rice! I didn't find it spicy but then, my taste buds are a bit hard to please in that area, but after several dashes of red pepper flakes, it was perfect! Kashi does it again!

WHAT THE HELL MOMENT:

Wednesday I took my boys to the dentist. After the cleanings, the (hot) dentist comes in and starts chatting to the boys, talking to me about teeth, etc. I was still in my gym clothes (I know, gross, but a girl's gotta fit it in when she can!) and so he suddenly says to me, "Are you a runner?" so I (beaming) say, "Yes." and then he says, "I can tell by your physique." Uh, hellloooo Dr. Dreamy Dentist! (Note: normally I would find this a bit odd and possible offensive but in the case of hot-dentist, I was kinda giddy about it. I know, I'm totally shallow.) Unfortunately, my, "take that all you boys in high school!" feeling didn't last because he followed that comment up with, "So, do you notice that your face is sagging at all? It seems to happen to runners, why do you think that is?" What. The. Hell. Seriously. WTF??? I had no idea what to say. I stammered and then I said, "Do you mean that a lot of runners have thin faces? I think that's probably because running burns so many calories." And he says, "Well, sometimes they look a bit drawn." Yeah, yeah dental boy. Just finish up so I can get the hell out of here. I get in my car and immediately flip down the mirror and give my face a good, hard look. I don't see it. Was he talking about me or runners in general, I asked myself. And then, just like that, I was in high school again and just wanted to go to my room and turn up my Bryan Adams record and write in my notebook, "Dental boy sucks!"

DO:

I think I need to get one of those foam roller things for my left IT Band. It was pretty painful during the marathon and it's still acting up on me. Anyone have experience/advice in this area? Do the rollers really help (the woman in the photo sure looks happy)? I'm really bad at stretching....meaning, I don't do it. I know. That is the worst thing I could do.

One Half Out...Another One In!

I decided against running the Zooma Half Marathon in Annapolis. I just can't justify another overnight race right now. I was a little bummed out about it because it really looks like it would be a fun race so imagine my surprise/excitement when I heard about the inaugural Pacers Running Festival taking place practically in my backyard! They have a half marathon among other races so I quickly contacted a couple of friends and we decided to sign up. The race is in Arlington, Virginia and the starting line is right smack dab at a metro stop....sweet! What's the catch, you may ask? Well, it's on Mother's Day - May 10th. Um, yeah. That soon. Not sure why I'm blogging when I seriously should be running! We are doing this one just for fun - putting all time concerns on the back burner. The three of us all run at completely different paces so we are just going to pick the slowest time and hang there and enjoy it! Great way to spend Mother's Day!

Kara is My Hero

How exciting was the Boston Marathon today?! Even though I bitched about it not being on T.V. and then whined about having to watch it on the computer, I still loved every second of it! I was screaming, "Go Kara!!!" at my monitor and probably looked like a complete fool but dang that shit was exciting!
After the race, my heart just broke for her as she hugged her husband and cried. What an incredible showing though. At the press conference, she said, "I'm proud of how I ran. I'm proud of how I did and I raced the best that I could, but I wanted to be the one who won for everybody." She is amazing. Seriously amazing. And such an inspiration. I got my butt on the treadmill immediately following the race even though I really, really didn't feel like it. Thanks Kara!

And! I learned that I have something in common with the great Kara Goucher!! Check this out from Runners World:

Goucher also ran into trouble with her water bottles in New York and today donned gloves studded with rubber tread on the palms for extra traction. Even so, she laughed, "I missed a bottle again. Apparently I have no athletic skill at grabbing a water bottle."

Holy shit! Me too girl!!! I am so with you there! That water grabbing/drinking on the run thing is hard! Those gloves I wore during the entire freaking Shamrock Marathon? It wasn't because I was cold, it was so that I could clean my face after spilling every cup of water all over myself! Those gloves were the next best thing to a bib!
The gloves are on around mile 21-ish despite the blazing sun..

Yup, that's me, the headless finisher, with the gloves still on just in case someone throws some water my way.

And apparently I couldn't even take them off for the official finish photo. I think I was thinking ahead to those 4 free beers.

I'm so happy to hear that she has issues too! It's like those US Weekly articles, "Stars: They're Just Like Us!"

Boston

Please tell me why none of the 47,000 sport channels my cable line up includes are showing the Boston Marathon? Last I checked, Boston was to runners what the Kentucky Derby is to horse fans so in my opinion, it's crazy that it's not being broadcast. Especially since it's not competing with anything 'major' like a baseball game.