Long Run Sunday

What a beautiful weekend!  I hope everyone got to spend it outside!  I stayed at my brothers last night so we could wake up and run this morning.  On the plan was 18 miles.  We were getting ready to go and we contemplated bringing my hand-held water bottle.  We decided we didn't want to carry it for the entire time so Mike said to me, "will you bring a couple bucks so we can stop and get water."  I heard him say this but didn't actually do anything.  We grabbed our sports beans and i took the band from my water bottle (so I could put the store-bought water in it) and off we went.  The run was going quite smooth until about  2 miles in, Mike asked if I grabbed cash.  The answer was no and panic started to form.  Running 10 miles with no water, fine.  Running 18, no way.  We were in Brighton Center and I have a few friends who live in the area so we decided to ring their doorbells.  Problem was it was 8am on a Sunday morning and no one was answering.  Once we realized we had no water bottle to refill and no cash to buy water, we could have turned back to Mike's and get the cash or water but decided against it.  Instead we thought about where we could stop.  I knew Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks will give free tap water (Honey Dew charges- RIDIC) so we just decided to carry on just hoping we'd be able to carry the water once we got it.  Our first stop was 7.5 miles in at the Starbucks on Memorial Drive.  We got the water no problem, and I plugged the water into my hand-held band.  Lets just say we looked absolutely ridiculous carrying this plastic container with a straw while running but it did the trick.  We threw out the water at mile 11 and almost immediately, I wanted more.  We were running on the Charles and it was too bad all the water fountains are closed until May 1st!  We kept trudging along and even with all these setbacks, we were still maintaining a 9:15 pace.  At Mile 13, we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts in Kenmore and got more water and carried this almost until the end.  At Mile 15.5, we were passing Mike's street and Mike decided that was enough running for him.  I carried on, ONLY because I told my blog followers (whoever you are...) that I was going to run 18.  I ended up running 17.  And honestly, I'm just happy to get through it.  It was easy the last two weeks, but this time, I never felt great.  I didn't feel bad physically, it was really a mental thing especially realizing at mile 2 that there were no guarantees for water!  But the one great thing is I felt no pain! 

 17.03 Miles 2:37:54 Minutes Avg Pace: 9:16

Mile 1 : 8:57

Mile 2: 9:04

Mile 3: 9:03

Mile 4: 9:09

Mile 5: 9:10

Mile 6: 9:25

Mile 7: 9:19

Mile 8: 9:06

Mile 9: 9:14

Mile 10: 9:23

Mile 11: 9:21

Mile 12: 9:12

Mile 13: 9:02 (1:59:24 half)

Mile 14: 9:09

Mile 15: 9:20

Mile 16: 9:26

Mile: 17: 10:18 (dying)

I was pretty happy with this!  After the run Mike and I checked out some Open Houses then got some lunch where Courtney (my bff) met up with us!  We went to Athans in Washington Square.  Who knew they had lunch food as well as desserts!  Court and I hung out for awhile and then I went to Whole Foods for my weekly grocery shopping.   

Here is the Weekly Menu:

Sunday: Chicken, Roasted Butternut Squash and Feta Lasagna

Monday: Chicken, Mushroom, Pea & Stuffing Casserole

Tuesday: Root Vegetable Gratin/Quinoa Loaf or Mediterranean Fish Stew

Wednesday: Portobello and Pineapple Veggie Burgers

Thursday: Pizza Polenta Bake

And on to tonight's amazing meal! I made Chicken, Roasted Butternut Squash and Feta Lasagna.  I saw this recipe on Closet Cooking.  No idea how I found this guy, but check him out, he has AMAZing recipes!

Chicken Roasted Butternut Squash and Feta Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 cups butternut squash (peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)

1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (diced)

1 cup of button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups diced chicken thighs
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cups skim milk

1 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup Mexican blend cheese (grated)
1/2 pound lasagna noodles (cooked)
1 cup feta (crumbled)
1/2 cup mozzarella

Directions: 
Toss the butternut squash in the oil along with the salt and pepper to coat. Arrange the butternut squash in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in a preheated 400F oven until tender, about 20-30 minutes and set aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onions and mushrooms and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, chicken pieces, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, about 15-20 minutes. Heat the butter in a saucepan until it is nice and bubbling and it has turned a light golden brown. Mix in the flour and let simmer until it returns to a light golden brown. Mix in the milk and cream, nutmeg and cheese and heat until it thickens. Lightly grease the bottom of lasagna pan. Place a layer of noodles followed by 1/2 of the tomato sauce followed by 1/2 of the feta followed by 1/2 of the butternut squash followed by 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Repeat a second layer in the same fashion and top with a final layer of noodles, the remaining bechamel sauce and top with the mozzarella. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the top is golden brown and the sides are bubbling, about 30-45 minutes.

This had such amazing flavor!  And I am loving making bechemel sauces and think I'm getting pretty good at it!

On the side, I made Kale Chips.  I talked about Kale Chips with my friends last night and since most of them haven't seen Kale before, I decided to take pictures of every step.  This is what Kale looks like:  Curly Kale that is...

First, you rip the Kale off the core like this:

 Then you spread the Kale across a baking sheet in an even layer. Then you add a tablespoon or so of Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, and Red Pepper Flakes.

Then bake in a hot oven until crispy but not burnt.  I would say 350 for 10 minutes.  I love Kaleeeee Chips- now go make them for yourself!


And now my tired legs and I are going to bed.