July 4th Weekend!

Hello everyone! Saturday was a PERFECT Boston Day! We went out on my best friend Courtney's boat and went everywhere on the water. We started in Quincy and ended up in the Charles. Court's family just got this boat and it is AWESOME! We had so much fun. Before we went on the boat, I met up with some of the runners from the running group for a track workout at my high school track. We did 2 miles for a warmup then 6X200s, striding the curves and sprinting at about 85-95% the straights. Felt GREAT!

On the boat, we hung out and ate tons of food plus lots of delicious drinks- Sangria, Beer, Strawberry Daiquiris and Pina Coladas. Around 5ish, we headed over to the Charles to get a good spot for the Fireworks. Here we are on the boat!

Beautiful Boston as the sun is going down...

Me and BFF Courtney:


And the beautiful fireworks!

Sunday was a very relaxing day. We slept late, cleaned, shopped and then ate a delicious dinner. I made Skirt Steak with Zucchini Pancakes, and Israeli Couscous with Leeks.

For the marinade on the Skirt Steak, I combined Soy Sauce, Cider Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Brown Sugar, Worcestershire Sauce and Chicken Broth. It also made a very tasty dressing over spinach. I seasoned the steak with lots of Salt and Pepper, Steak Seasoning and then just grilled the steak on our indoor grill for 5 minutes each side. The Couscous had leeks and green onion, made with chicken broth, garlic salt and onion powder. In addition, I made the Zucchini Pancakes again. Man, these things are so tasty! All you do is grate the Zucchini with a cheese grater, and then squeeze out the excess water. Then combine that in a bowl with green onions, feta cheese, a little egg, breadcrumbs and form cakes and saute in a pan with EVOO for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

I also made this Italian Cheese Tart from Cooking Light. I modified a bit, using frozen white rice (couldn't find brown), and spinach instead of basil and no prosciotto. Its perfect for a little something for lunches or later in the week.

Date	7 /6/2009
Route	Treadmill
Distance	8.00 mi
Time	1:08:35
Pace	0:08:34/mile

I started off today, Monday morning with an 8 mile run on the treadmill. I struggled a bit on this one, but got through it. I ran the last mile increasing my speed every minute going all the way to 9.0MPH.

Have a great week everyone, and welcome to July! There is good weather, FINALLY!