Glorious 9 Miles!!

Last night (and tonight), we had left over chili. So good. It's so easy to make, too. I got the recipe from Sandra Lee (Food Network). Here's what I did:
Browned 1 lb. of ground turkey, added 5 different kinds of beans (I used kidney, black, garbanzo, white and pinto), added 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 2 pkgs of chili seasoning mixture. Stir together and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes. I topped it with some shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. YUM!!


Doesn't this look like a great night?


At the gym, I had 9 miles on the schedule. If you read last night's post, you know that I was nervous. I brought RW to work (to read at lunch) and had my plan all set. It really calms my nerves when I read RW. I see that other people run so much further, so I know that I can run a short distance (long to me) like 9 miles.

My plan was to take a GU at 4 1/2 miles into it. I did. The first half went by so quickly. Also, at 4 1/2 miles, I re-started to tm because it stops at 100 minutes. I also filled my water bottle. I bring 2 water bottles with me. One bottle is a running bottle and the other is an ordinary bottle (just huge). I fill both before getting on the tm and just use the running bottle, because it's so much easier to run and drink water at the same time without spilling all over myself (yes, I know from experience).

On the second half, the first 2 miles went by, just a little slower. I felt like I needed another GU (the first flavor was orange vanilla). I was having the most difficult time trying to open the package. My hands were so sweating, I couldn't do it (I even tried with my teeth). I passed. The very last mile was very slow. It felt like my legs were made of steel and were bolted to the ground. Since I was on the tm, my paced hadn't slowed, I had upped the pace. Stupid me, I forgot to look at the time, for either half. I'm guessing I finished the 9 glorious miles about 100-103 minutes. I'm glad I'm stopped the tm half way through!

I'm sitting here with my compression socks on and about to grab some warm chili while I ice my knees. Until tomorrow...

I love the Wind in My Hair

This morning was the same thing. I was pretty busy at work and it was a co-workers birthday. We always celebrate birthdays at work. So, I had to join in on the festivities (aka food) just to make him happy. The boss made salsa and brought chips. And, they also picked up some KFC chicken wings. Hey, chicken it good for you, right? I was good and only had 1 piece. Instead of a cake, he got a candle in one of the wings.





I was so full from the good food all day, I didn't have lunch. Before heading out of work, I ate the other 1/2 of my energy bar. I didn't think it helped yesterday, but I think it really helped today. My goal was to run 5 miles. I didn't care the speed (because of my feet), I just wanted to finish. When 5 miles came around, I wanted to do more. Next step 5 1/4 miles, still feeling good and moved on top 5 1/2 miles (59:49, my longest run to date). I wanted to do more, but I had some errands to do after the gym. It felt so good to run. My feet did hurt a little, but nothing like last week.



When I was driving to the grocery store, I had all my windows down. I love it after a good, long run and the wind is cooling off all the sweat. It felt so good. I think that may be one of the things I love after a good, hard workout. It shows me all my hard work. Did I already say that the wind felt good running through my sweaty hair??



After the grocery store, I needed to pick some things up at the pet store. By the time I finally got home, I was starving and I still needed to put the food away. I wasn't in the mood to make the brown rice from yesterday (at least 30 minutes). So, I had my Greek Gods strawberry yogurt and Rudi's toast with PB on it. I washed everything down with about 4 oz. of non fat milk (small amount because I'm not a fan of milk by itself). That hit the spot.

I'm currently sitting here typing while relaxing my legs in my compression socks. My legs are feeling better as I type! I'm still pretty smelly. I haven't had a chance to take a shower yet. I need to wash all this salt off. I can feel it as I rub my face. I think if I were to lay in a bath, I would make salt water (un-drinkable kind). Yuck!

To answer come questions: I didn't have to mash the apples in the crock pot. I just stirred them when ever I went into the kitchen. I have also made this while I was away (no stirring). Either way works.

Racing Dawn: can you please email that pot pie recipe? It sounds good!