NYC Marathon Training Week 9

Another week over 30 miles- finally! Now I just need to stay consistent.  I ran 31.5 for the week.  A few things bothering me- my left hamstring and my right calf but nothing too serious.  Nothing I can't run through.  I ran outside 2 times this week and the treadmill twice.  Did my long run on Friday and then took Saturday and Sunday off.  I could have run Sunday but by the time I wanted to it was already 90+ degrees out.  Plus four days of running a week is enough for me!

Week of 8/23-8/29

Date: Monday August 23
Route/Workout:  Treadmill Run (It was pouring!)
Mileage: 4 miles
Total Time: 35:42

Date: Tuesday August 24
Route/Workout:  Treadmill for Speed Tuesdays!
Mileage: 6.5 miles
Total Time: 63:29 minutes

Workout: 5X1000, 400 Rest, Everything at 1.0incline

**1000s are hard to do on the treadmill but this was the workout I got from my local running club.  I liked this workout though better than the 800s last week! ****

.80 warmup, 6.0 MPH

1000- 4:55 (7.5MPH-7.6MPH)

400 Rest

1000- 4:48 (7.6MPH- 7.7MPH- 7:47 pace)

400 Rest

1000- 4:44 (7.7MPH- 7.8MPH)

400 rest

1000- 4:43 (7.8MPH)

400 rest

1000- 4:31 (7:16 pace)

400 rest

1.50 cooldown

Date: Thursday August 26
Route/Workout:  Run with Swimmy Kimmy
Mileage: 5 miles
Total Time: 46? 9:35 pace

Pics from the run- Stolen from Kimmy- go to her post for more info- I love running on the Charles!

Date: Friday August 27
Route/Workout:  Ran outside with Nancy before work at 5:45AM
Mileage: 16 miles
Total Time:  16.04 Miles- 2:34:44- Avg. Pace: 9:39

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE WEEK: 31.54 Miles

Weekend in Pictures (Mostly)

I woke up at 4:30AM Friday and went out Friday night.  I have no idea how I lasted but I did!  Friday night was spent saying goodbye to some awesome work friends...

And hanging out with my home friends...

I ended up deciding to stay in the city (after four drinks that was a smart decision). I had tons of late night food at Courtney's apartment that is totally not blog worthy but definitely needed!


Saturday I got ready and headed to my friend Laura's Baby Shower.... (yes in the same dress, don't judge!)

And then we spent some time with Caitie's baby Jake!

And then off to spend time with my amazing grandparents who are here for the week.  Since they are not from the Northeast, my mom cooked lobsters.  I love lobster dinners!

Today, I hosted a bbq for our families. First up:
Cucumber Toasts with Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon

And then Dave got to work bbqing.  I had made home-made burgers, hot dogs and mushroom cakes.

For the sides I made a CSA Salad!  Everything in here (aside from the Feta) was from my CSA.

And a Quinoa Salad using Red and White Quinoa, Sliced Portobellas, Scallions, Eggplant, Corn cut off the cob, Black Beans, Lime Juice, EVOO, Salt and Pepper.

Mushroom Cakes with Guacomole and Red Pepper Coulis

And juicy burgers- A Combo of Ground Sirloin and Ground Pork, Bread Crumbs, 2 Eggs, Italian Seasoning, Parm Cheese, Sauted Onions and Garlic and lots of salt and pepper.

Hot Dogs and Cheese Stuffed Burgers...

Bacon, Green Beans, Potato Salad

 And all the food!

And my plate!

Yep, a lot of food.
Dessert was a Devil's Food Cake with Butter-cream frosting.  (My mother-in-law wipped this up!)

What a great weekend with friends and family!  I am so lucky to have two such amazing grandparents... I wish I got to see them more often.

CSA Week 9 & 10/Eats/Friday Run!

Last Wednesday I got in my CSA Week 9.  

In the mix was:

Mcintosh Apples

Tomatoes (hidden)

Peaches

Plums

Romaine Lettuce

Brocolli

Squash

Zuchinni

Green Peppers

Eggplant 

...and

HUSKED Tomatoes!!! Have you guys heard of these?  They are sweet and tangy and unexpected! I had no idea what to think when the guy at our CSA insisted I try one.  Wow, you guys should try these! I'm not sure if there is much you can do with them, but they make perfect little snacks. 

With these treats- the highlight of my week was making Stuffed Tomatoes- two ways. (This was last week)

First a recipe inspired by Martha- Stuffed Tomatoes with Corn and Goat Cheese

Stuffed Tomatoes with Grilled Corn
EveryDay Food Martha Stewart, Tomatoes Stuffed with Grilled-Corn Salad Recipe - MarthaStewart.com
Ingredients:
3 ears corn, with husks
4 beefsteak tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grates
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 summer squash, diced
1/2 cup crumbled soft goat cheese
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

Instructions:

Grill or microwave corn.  I microwave my corn using the fresh vegetable setting with the husk on. Peel, seed, and chop pepper; place in large bowl. Cool corn, then cut kernels off cobs; add to bowl with pepper. Cut tomatoes crosswise in half. Using melon baller or small spoon, scoop center of tomatoes into small bowl, leaving shell. Sprinkle inside of tomato shells lightly with salt; place cut side down on paper towels and let drain 30 minutes. (If you have time- I never have time for steps like this so I skipped it and I think it was still pretty good : ). Add scallions, squash, goat cheese, corn and oil together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Spoon filling into hollowed tomatoes; sprinkle with remaining goat cheese and bacon.

I also made (on another day) Baked Eggs in Tomatoes, also inspired by Everyday Food. I'd give you credit in a link Martha but you pretty much make it impossible to find recipes online!

Baked Eggs in Tomatoes

Ingredients:

4 large beefsteak tomatoes or whatever large tomato you can get from your local farm

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons snipped fresh chives

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch baking dish or pie plate with oil. With a serrated knife, cut the top 1/2 inch off each tomato. Use the knife to carefully cut out the inner membrane. Use a spoon to scrape everything out, taking care not to split the wall of the tomato. (SEE THIS- OOPS- I hit the walls and one of my tomatoes eggs leaked out... it happens) Place tomatoes in the dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Divide the corn among the tomatoes. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and chives, season with salt and pepper. Divide egg mixture among the tomatoes and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until the egg mixture is set, 45 to 50 minutes. 

Of the two Stuffed Tomatoes, I liked the first WAYYYY better.  Maybe because the first had my best friend- BACON. Mmmmm

On to CSA Week 10 (this weeks CSA)

In the mix was:
Corn
Cucumber
Honeycrisp Apples
Sugar Plums!!! (My favorite word is sugar- I call people sugas all the time : )
Lots of fun Tomatoes
Peaches
Kale
Romaine Lettuce

Last night I took last weeks zucchini and some potatoes I had in the fridge and made a twist on a traditional pizza.  

I did something similar here and I love it  so much I wanted to make another zucchini/potato pizza.

Ingredients:

2 Rustic Potatoes

1 Zuchinni

2 eggs

handful or two of breadcrumbs

2 Tomatoes, Sliced Thinly

Cheese of your choice (I used Gouda and Mexican Blend Cheese)

Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

First step, use your handy food processor to grate the potatoes and zucchini.

Then mix the eggs, zuchinni mixture, salt, pepper and breadcrumbs together in a bowl.  Mix well and then put about a 1/2 cup into mini tart pans.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes-ish.  Then layer the pizzas with a slice of tomato and cheese.  I then added some corn because, well I had it. Bake until the cheese melts and the edges of the tart become crisp.

Seriously, this was such a tasty and creative dish (if I do say so myself!).  Do you watch Top Chef?  My hubby, Dave, thought this could be part of the CIA challenge for Pizza.  The pizza- slightly disguised. 

I also made this delicious salad to serve along side-

Corn, Bacon, Tomato, Red Onion, Arugula with Lime Juice, Red Wine Vinegar, Honey and Olive Oil.

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Oh AND this morning I woke up at 4:30am to run my long run with Nancy.  Original plan was to meet at 5:15am to run 18 miles but I couldn't get up in time - so we met at 5:40 and ran 16.  I'm still happy with that. When I left my house to drive to Nancy's- the sky looked like this:

But pretty quickly the sun came out : ) It was 58 degrees when we started- A-Mazing!

We ran 16 miles and I felt ookay overall.  I ran yesterday (with Kimmy- check out her blog about our run here) and I usually like to take  a day off before my long-run day but it didn't work out that way.  When Nancy emailed me yesterday to switch our long run to today I was excited because 

a) I can go out tonight and 

b) I can sleep in tomorrow.  

Yipeee!!!

 16.04 Miles- 2:34:44- Avg. Pace: 9:39
Miles 1-4
9:17, 9:30, 9:31, 9:30
Feeling consistent here, waking up while running : )
Miles 5-8
9:24, 9:37, 10:03, 9:40
Running in trails around mile 6- always run a little slower in trails
Miles 9-12
9:37, 9:20, 10:21, 9:41
Stopped to buy water at mile 9 at a gas station, stopped to stretch and eat Chewies and Jellies at Mile 11.  My legs started to get heavy around here... Nance was thinking about adding on, I couldn't wait to be done.
Miles 13-16
9:43, 9:53, 9:35, 9:43
Got a second wind on the final four miles- still not fast, but I didn't feel horrible either.
Done with a long run before 8:30AM!

Hope everyone has a great weekend : )

Confessions

Confession #1:
 I don't like fruit.  I don't hate it, but I don't reach for it as a snack.  I pack my husband 3 things of fruit a day- a banana, an apple and whatever else is in season- peach, plum, nectarines. But me? I'd rather eat cheese. Have I mentioned that before?  Anyway, when a recipe for Peach Gazpacho came up on We Are Not Martha, I jotted it down, knowing I wanted to try it. 

I loved how easy this dish was to prepare but the simple truth still remains: I don't like fruit.  This soup was sweet and interesting and I bet most of you out there would like it, but my hub and I felt it wasn't savory enough.  Maybe it was the fact I didn't measure anything or that I didn't add enough salt and pepper. But after we ate it Dave asked how many of his peaches I used.  Sadly, he will be without peaches for the rest of the week.


I served this soup with something I did absolutely love- Mango Chicken Sausage, Shrimp and Arugula Salad.  I had bought the Mango Sausage at Trader Joe's along with pre-sliced Mango (yes I still haven't figured out exactly how to slice a mango), Shrimp, and Arugula.  And pretty much thats all you need.  I added jalapeno, red pepper, red onion, lime juice and salt and pepper and it was fabulous.  This is a REAL fruit salad : ).  So I guess I do like fruit- when its not the star.

Confession #2:


I don't like oatmeal. I'm a food blogger and I HATE the texture of oatmeal.  I used to force myself to eat it but then I discovered three other (healthy) breakfasts I enjoy better.

1) Baked Banana Oatmeal
I love when my bananas turn brown.  I'm also a banana stealer.  If I'm at a friends house or my in-laws and I see bananas about to go bad, I try to take them so I can make my baked oats. 
I make this in a loaf pan on Sundays and then I cut it into bars- usually five for the week.  I bring the five bars into work on Mondays and have it for the week.  After I workout and get to work, I microwave a slice and its perfection.  Especially if you unhealthify (is that a word) a bit and add some chocolate chips.

 RECIPE:

Baked Banana Oatmeal

Combine the dry ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

(Toppings of your choice, I've used chocolate chips, coconut, heath bar chips...)

Combine the wet ingredients:
1 egg, beat
1 mashed banana
1.5 cups almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix well.
Instructions:
Spray some cooking spray in a loaf pan then add the mixture and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

2) Egg Cups
My friend Lisa originally mentioned this recipe to me when we were in the Biggest Loser competition.  She said she got it from the South Beach Diet and since I had that book, I checked it out.  So easy! (Use any sauted veggies you like!)

RECIPE
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of EVOO
1 Cup of Baby Spinach
1/2 cup of mushrooms
2 Roasted Red Peppers
Handful of sliced pepperoncini's
5 eggs and a little milk
1/2 cup of light shredded Mexican blend cheese
salt and pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Saute vegetables in pan with evoo until spinach is wilted and veggies are starting to get soft. At the same time, whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. Let the veggies cool then add the veggies to the eggs with half of the cheese. Whisk together. Spray Muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill the muffin pan 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. This worked out to 11 Veggie Cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until the eggs are set. Remove from Muffin Tin and let cool.
 
3) Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins- my latest favorite breakfast! (Inspired by The Way the Cookie Crumbles)
I made this Sunday and I've been enjoying it all week so far.  It would have been really healthy, but I added White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter (I couldn't help myself- the stuff is like crack and its amazing to cook with!) I also may have added some chocolate chips and peanut butter chips....

 RECIPE
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins 
Ingredients:
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ cup All-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons applesauce
¾ cup granulated sugar (if you have brown use it)
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (another confession- I don't love peanut butter but I do LOVE White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter and I used it here!)
1 cup skim milk
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350? F.  Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, sugar, eggs, banana, peanut butter and milk until smooth.  Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated and fully blended. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.  Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool
completely.


Confession #3:


I try to run people off the treadmill.  Meaning- I like to be the last one on the treadmill at the gym. Also, I watch music videos in the morning while running.  Remember music videos? Yep, they still play them.  But only before 8:30am. Oh and I mouth the words to songs while running and play the air guitar. I'm totally normal.


Confession #4:


I don't use Google Reader. I read my blogs like this:

Does anyone else out there go old school and just keep multiple tabs open? Or am I the only one?

NYC Marathon Training Week 8

This was a great week for me.  I ran only 4 days this week and FINALLY hit over 30 miles.  31 miles for the week.  I ran outside twice and on the treadmill twice.  I struggled once outside and once on the treadmill, but my speed session and my long run were a success!

*PS- If you are wondering, I get all my speed workouts from a local running club that I've joined but never gone to any practices. Someday I will show up but for now I do my speed on the treadmill.

Week of 8/16-8/22

Date: Monday August 16
Route/Workout:  Ran Outside from work with Meg
Mileage: 3.5 miles
Total Time: SLOW

Around the 1 mile mark, I got an INTENSE cramp and had to walk up the Beacon Hills to get rid of it.  But once I did, we were able to carry on for 3.5 miles.  It was rainy and yucky out but we got through.

Date: Tuesday August 17
Route/Workout:  Treadmill for Speed Tuesdays!
Mileage: 6.5 miles
Total Time: 62 minutes

Workout: 6X800 5K Pace, 400 Rest, Everything at 1.0incline

1 mile warmup, 6.0 MPH

800- 3:54

400 Rest

800- 3:49

400 rest

800- 3:45

400 rest

800- 3:40

400 rest

800- 3:39

400 rest

800- 3:37

1.25 mile cooldown at 6.0MPH

Date: Thursday August 19
Route/Workout:  Treadmill
Mileage: 4 miles
Total Time: 39 minutes

Pace:
Feelings: Supposed to run 7, but having some pain in my hamstring coupled with not really being in the mood to run

Date: Saturday August 21
Route/Workout:  Ran outside with Lindsay in Maine
Mileage: 17 miles
Total Time: 2:45:51 minutes

Pace: 9:45

MILES FOR THE WEEK: 31

Restuarant Reviews: Walter & The Cottage

Friday night I drove up to Portland, Maine to visit my two roommates from college and run my longest run of the season!  My old roomies and I headed to Walter's in Old Port.  I had been to the old Walter's before, but it has since changed location and redecorated quite a bit.

When we waked in, we were greeted at the front by the hostess and asked to sit by the fire while we waited.  I thought the hostess was friendly enough.  Since reading Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl, I've been very observant of these things.  Good service really does make such a difference. Once we sat down, we looked over the menus.  

There were a lot of amazing looking options and I eventually chose the:

for a starter and the

for the main course.

Our waitress came over and we ordered our food and drinks.  She didn't write anything down which always worries me.  I am a really hard-worker and pretty good at my job (if I do say so myself) but I would NEVER go into a meeting or to my bosses office without a pen and paper.  No one is perfect and I certainly don't expect a waiter to remember everything without writing it down. The four of us each ordered two dishes plus drinks. And we're girls so obviously we adapted some of the dishes.  Well, about 20 minutes after our waitress took our order, she came over to our table with bread and sure enough, asked us to repeat our orders. This sorta annoyed me.  Is this a new thing? Waiters not writing down orders even when its a big group? 

The good thing is there was plenty for us to talk about that I wasn't too bothered by the long wait.

(Lindsay and her mom and my other college roomie Angela and me!)

 After awhile, our first dishes arrived.  

The salad was okay. The strawberries were kinda hidden.  This salad didn't nearly live up to my most favorite strawberry salad ever from Danversport Yacht Club!
Angela got an appetizer that was absolutely delicious!

This dish was sooo spicy.  I love spice but WOW.  I still liked it though and I'm sure Ange really enjoyed me eating off her plate. Next up was my main dish.

My favorite part of this dish was definitely the mini-crepes filled with crab meat!  They were awesome.  And the haddock was really fresh.  Lindsay's mom Judy tells me on her way home from work she often picks up Haddock and Lobster right off the boats.  Can't get more local then that!


All in all, this dinner was probably 2.5 out of 4 stars.  The food was good but the service wasn't the best.  But my favorite part of the entire meal was spending time with my old roomies!!!
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This morning I met my BFF Courtney for breakfast.  We have been missing each other lately so we decided to catch up over breakfast. We met at The Cottage in Wellesley.  I've heard of this place before but have never been and now I cannot wait to go back!  I didn't bring my camera and totally wish I did.  But I did steal some pics off their restaurants website.

I ordered the most fabulous omelette. 

Bacon, Guac, and Cheese?  Can you beat it?  Obviously, I skipped the sour cream since I am scared of most white condiments. This came with a scone and hashbrowns perfectly cooked. 


Courtney ordered the house granola, which I kept eating off her plate. Mmmmm.

Fresh fruit, granola over yogurt... wow!  They sell this granola in-house too and I should have picked some up to bring home. I checked out the lunch and dinner menu on my way out and really can't wait to go back. 


Oh and our service?  Fabulous.  We literally stayed in the restaurant long after we paid the bill and our waiter didn't mind at all.  I loved everything about this place- from the decor to the menu (very California meets New England).  One of the owners grew up in Cali and the other is a third generation owner of a local business in Wellesley.


If you are ever near Wellesley, MA DEFINITELY check The Cottage out! : )