13.1 Miles: Training Week 5

Week 5 is D.O.N.E. and I can't believe we are already half-way through training for our half-marathon!

*What I've learned most from this experience so far:
  Running long distances really is mind over matter.  

If you would have told me a few months ago I could run 10 miles in one day, I would have looked at you like you had 3 heads.  Every week I surprise myself tackling 6, then 8, now 10 mile runs.  Next week is 12, which means we're almost in the home stretch.

I showed some progress in Training Week 4, but let's talk about how Week 5 went.

Day 17

Monday: January 23, 2012

Miles: 3

Time: 25:34

Speed: 7.0mi/h

Pace: 8:32min/mi

Post-Run Meal:

A big 'ol cup of coffee (mentioned first for importance), sided with a bowl of hot Grape Nuts topped with fresh strawberries, bananas and chia seeds.  Have you ever tried hot cereal? It leaves cold cereal in the dust for me.  Simply add 1/3 cup of milk (preferably skim) to 2 cups of Grape Nuts and heat in the microwave for 5 minutes.  Heaven.

Day 18

Wednesday: January 25, 2012

I was feeling Wednesday's run before it even started!

I tried Dance Trance for the first time Tuesday night (post coming soon), then went to Pilates Wednesday morning.  I guess you could say this was one of those runs I was not excited for since my legs felt like a mix between jello and rocks.  I don't know what that is...but that's what they felt like: weak and heavy.

For 5 miles, I wanted a 2.5 mile pick-me-up, so I took a Mango-Tangerine Drink Chia! with me.

Miles: 5

Time: 45:29

Speed: 6.6mi/h

Pace: 9:08min/mi

Post-Run Meal:

Since I ran later on in the day, it was time for dinner.  Scott made a loaded baked potato, and I was on my own to find something quick and healthy.  This included a sweet potato sprinkled with cinnamon, a Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger and a side of peas & carrots. 

Day 19

Thursday: January 26, 2012

I spent most of Thursday morning at the barre, and no my legs were not happy with me at this point.  I gave them a few hours to rest and waited to run in the sunset.

*TIP (and note to self): Cut back on work-out classes during training days.

I'll allow myself a barre class on Thursday mornings, but that's it from here on out while I'm training. 

Miles: 3

Time: 26:57

Speed: 6.6mi/h

Pace: 9:02min/mi

Post-Run Meal:

Call me crazy, but all I really wanted for dinner was a bagel.  I toasted a whole wheat one, spread all-natural peanut butter on it and drizzled it with a fresh, organic Mango flavored honey straight from the Orlando Farmer's Market.  Paired with a perfectly ripe banana, it sure hit the spot. 

Day 20

Saturday: January 28, 2012

Holy toledo, I ran 10 consecutive miles.  It was certainly a challenge, but it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be.  Scott ran right in front of me the whole time, took me on a new route around the neighborhood and the new scenery seemed to make the run go by quickly.

I mentioned last week that I wanted to try some GU products for my long distance runs.  Since then, I picked up a few packets of GU Gels from Vitamin Shoppe and took a Strawberry Banana pack at the 5 mile mark.  That little packet gave me the burst of energy I needed, and I won't be doing anything over 6 miles without some kind of mid-run energy source.

By the way, did you notice my "water bottle"?  My Drink Chia! proves to be the perfect bottle size to fill with water and carry through my runs.  

Miles: 10

Time: 1:29:42

Speed: 6.7mi/h

Pace: 8:58min/mi

Post-Run Meal:

Since I had been standing on my feet for 7 hours - in heels - working a booth at the PGA Merchandise Show, my feet were already barking before the 10 mile run.  After a hot bath, cozy pajamas and a plop down on the couch there was no hope of me moving to make dinner, or do anything for that matter.

Scott got +50 brownie points for running to Chick-fil-A to bring home two Chicken Tortilla soups for us.  It's times like these where I ignore all of the ridiculously embarrassing things he does and just adore him.  By the way...the soup, even without the tortilla strips - phenomenal.

What I've learned this week:

• GU Gels or some type of mid-run pick me up is a huge help for my long run days.
• Running with Scott forces me to pick up my pace by at least :30.  Apparently he's Forrest Gump.

• Week 5 of training for a half-marathon may not be the best time to try out a series of new workout classes.  I'll be looking forward to going back and trying more once the race is over.

Goals for next week:

By some GU Chomps for next weekend's run.

Get through 12 miles at 1:45:00.  My goal for the entire half is to finish in 2 hours.  My 10 mile run hit right around 1:30:00 (thanks to Scott pushing me).  If I get this goal of 12 in 1:45 I should be right on track to finish the race under 2 hours.

Training Week 5 Playlist coming soon... :)

Award-Winning Spicy Brisket Chili

You may have heard that Scott and I participated in a Chili Cook-off last weekend.  It was a great way to enjoy a pot luck theme of chili and have a friendly cooking competition - not to mention: we WON with our go-to Spicy Brisket Chili! 

The reason this all started was because of an Award-Winning Chili recipe Scott found from the Food Network.  Anything with "award-winning" in the title of it must be great, right?

The first time Scott made this chili was for a family dinner we hosted.  At first I was going to make a salad to accompany the chili, but what you see below seems to do better on its own. The brisket makes it filling and you'll enjoy every single bite.  

*Beware: this recipe can get pretty spicy!  The first time we made this my family was literally sweating...so use your chili powder sparingly. *TIP: Although it's not for all, spicy food is known to speed up your metabolism.  All in favor of spices for shedding pounds - say I!

Award-Winning Spicy Brisket Chili

5 pounds beef brisket, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, crushed
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 green peppers, seeded and diced
1 bay leaf
6 cups tomatoes, chopped with their liquid
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup strong coffee
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves

prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 3 hours and 15 minutes
servings: 6-8

To make chili: start by cutting your brisket into cubes.  You can do this by slicing it into strips first.

 

Then into the cubes:

Pat the brisket cubes dry with paper towels and set aside in a separate bowl.

Next, get all of your veggies ready by dicing the green peppers,

chopping the tomatoes (notice the fancy chopping method!),

chopping the yellow onions (we used our handy dandy onion chopper):

and mincing the garlic (once again we're being handy: check out the garlic mincer tool).

*SIDENOTE: Scott already owned these things before I met him.  He is a sucker for "as seen on TV stuff," mostly in the Kitchen department.  You can find something similar to our veggie chopper here or here.  As for the garlic mincer, you can find that at any major kitchen supply store.

Hey, things that make prepping food easier? Works for me! :)

Once all of your veggies are chopped and diced, heat the oil in a very large pot.

Brown the meat, and make sure it's done on all sides.

Transfer the brisket to a separate bowl and set aside.

Sautee the onion and garlic in the same oil over medium heat until soft, but not brown (about 8-10 minutes).

Add the chili powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and cumin.

Sautee for 1 minute, then add green peppers, bay leaf, tomatoes (with their juices), the brisket, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, cover the pot with a tight fitting lid, and simmer for 2 and a half hours. *Stir occasionally.

Taste and season with salt, to taste.  Add the coffee:
*TOP SECRET INGREDIENT!*

Simmer for 1 more hour.  Add the kidney  beans and basil.

Warm through.  Transfer the chili to a large serving bowl, or crock pot to simmer until ready to serve.

*Serve with sour cream, grated Cheddar, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, guacamole, or any of your favorite chili toppings & Enjoy!

YUM! The recipe says it will serve 6-8, but it seems to feed more, as the brisket can be quite filling.  You can make the recipe more or less spicy by adding or taking away the amount of chili powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper & cumin.

I gave you the *TOP SECRET INGREDIENT* of coffee, but there are still a few little things Scott adds to make it "his" infamous Spicy Chili.  I can't spill all of the chili beans, can I?

Good Luck!

Questions:

• Have you ever heard of using coffee in a chili recipe before?
• Do you like your chili spicy or more on the sweeter side?

Chili Cook-off

Scott has been meeting with a group of guys every week or two from his church drama group for years.  They have "guys night" and it's usually spent eating dinners centered around meat: steaks, ribs, wings, burgers...you name it.  Eventually, they coined the term Men's Meat Night and still meat meet to this day.

This year, spouses have gotten an invite to Meat Night every now and then.  The first one I got asked to vote for a restaurant I suggested Italian and almost got blacklisted...oops.  We settled on Giordano's, split a variety of loaded meat and veggie (for me) pizzas and at the next gathering decided to have a Chili Cook-off!

Back in August, Scott tried a new chili recipe that made my entire family sweat - literally - this stuff was scorching!  He wanted to try something different so he looked for award winning recipes, tweaked it a little and created the best homemade chili recipe I've ever tasted!

Friday night was the night of the big Chili Cook-off at the Pumpkin House.  You may have seen their name on the Pumpkin Spice Coffee Giveaway, as Mallori "Pumpkin" won the decaf coffee.  Here we are enjoying the infamous Pumpkin Spice coffee...thanks for sharing MP! :)

Each Meat Night member brought their favorite chili recipe and we had a big (and full bellied) task of tasting all of them.
There were 6 different chilis: all great, unique recipes.

1. Pumpkin and Buffalo Chili:

paired with some yummy sweet and jalapeno corn bread muffins:

2. Scott's Spicy Brisket Chili:

served with fresh cilantro, jalapenos, and lettuce
(to cleanse the palate):

 
3. Beer Chili:

 accompanied by some really good beer bread:

4. Venison and Bacon Chili - a clear MEAT night inspiration:

5. Chicken and White Bean Chili:

and last but not least,
6. Traditional Chili

served atop macaroni noodles, just like the chili I grew up on:

Does anyone else do this? Besides the couple that brought them everyone else thought we were crazy.

After a tasting each chili, everyone had the impossible task of picking their favorite.  I genuinely liked ALL of them because each one was very different from the others.  But, a decision needed to be made and I'll give you one guess on which one I chose:

Yup, you're probably right...

The PUMPKIN and Buffalo Chili, obviously.  If you know me at all you know I'm a sucker for pumpkin anything!
Great job "Pumpkins":

Voting took place by writing your favorite down and placing it into the Goblet of Fire:

Scott and I were nervous about what everyone thought of his our chili because it was built up to be amazing.  The votes were in and it was time to announce the winner...

Drumroll please....
The winner of the $25 Chili's <--- how appropriate gift card:

is...
Scott and his Spicy Brisket Chili!

SUCCESS! First runner up was #4. Chicken and White Bean Chili.  Thanks for voting for us!

After a lot of convincing, Scott has agreed for me to share his award winning Chili Cook-off recipe with you all, so keep an eye out for it coming very soon.

Questions:

• Which chili do you think would be your favorite?
• Have you ever eaten chili on top of noodles, or is there just a select few of us out there?

Fresh Tomato Soup with Whole-Grain Croutons

I had a request to share a low-cal, low-carb tomato soup, so I was on a mission to find one. Before anywhere else, I looked in my favorite new cook book Cooking to Conceive, and found this great recipe right here at home.  I remember seeing it when I bought the cookbook, because it was one of the recipes I was anxious to try.  Mission complete! This soup turned out GREAT and I paired it with a cool cucumber salad as a great lunch or dinner combo.

Since the soup was my focus, you'll see the salad recipe second.

Fresh Tomato Soup with Whole-Grain Croutons

 

This simple low-cal soup is a great way to enjoy an alternative to the traditional cream-based tomato soup.  The whole-grain croutons dissolve into the chunky, rich soup, giving it texture.

3 1/2 pounds of slicing tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves
salt
ground pepper
3 slices crusty whole-grain bread, toasted and torn into chunks
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese for garnishing

*Serves 4
cook time: 35-40 minutes

To cook soup: Core tomatoes and cut in half crosswise.

Gently squeeze over a large bowl to catch juices.

Coarsely chop tomatoes and add to bowl.

Chop the garlic, and measure out basil leaves. 

The recipe doesn't call for cutting the basil leaves, but I opted to slice them up so there would be smaller pieces in the soup.  Either way, you will still have the basil taste in the soup.

Measure out the rest of the ingredients and heat the oil only in a large pot over medium heat.

 
Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 45 seconds.  Add the tomatoes and the broth.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook 10 to 15 minutes to blend flavors.

While the soup is simmering, toast your whole-grain bread.
*TIP: to quickly toast, put the slices of bread in the oven and set it on the BROIL setting on HI.  It will toast before you know it, and leave you plenty of time to finish the croutons before the soup is done simmering.

Tear toast up into thick, crouton like chunks and put aside.

After 10-15 minutes of the soup simmering, stir in basil and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon into bowls and top each with croutons and about 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese.  *NOTE: I did not add Parmesan into my recipe, but it would be a great addition for any of you trying this recipe.

Scott and I are huge fans of soup & salad combos and frequent Panera Bread for their "you pick two" for lunch, or even dinner at times.  The soup looked great, but I felt like I needed to pair it with something to complete the meal.  I found a simple cucumber salad recipe to serve with the soup and the "two" I picked turned out to be a great combo.

I found this salad recipe on my SparkRecipes app and tweaked it a little to make the perfect pairing.

Cool Cucumber Salad

The original recipe I found didn't include lettuce, but I enjoyed the extra greens. I wanted to keep the salad simple, since you're getting enough tomatoes in the soup. 

1/3 head lettuce
1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp (or 1 packet) of sugar or artificial sweetener
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
pepper, to taste

*Serves 2 - use a little over half a head of lettuce and add an extra tbsp of oil & vinegar to serve 4.
 cook time: 15 minutes

To make salad: Peel and cut the cucumber and onion.

In a large bowl, combine cucumber slices and onion slices; set aside.  If serving right away, add the lettuce now.  If not, save the lettuce to add in right before serving.

In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients.  Instead of regular sugar, I added my favorite calorie-free sweetener, truvia.

Add oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to cucumber and onion; toss well.  If you want to prepare the salad before you make the soup, cover it without the lettuce and refrigerate up to 2 hours.

 
When ready, simply add the lettuce into the bowl and toss it with all of the refrigerated ingredients. 

Dish salad onto a combo plate and serve with your Fresh Tomato Soup with Whole Grain Croutons!

If you enjoy a great soup & salad combo, let me know how you like this one.  Feel free to share your own favorite combos and let me know how this one worked out for you!