Monday, August 27, 2012

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

Another recipe I tore out of Cooking Light several months ago and put in my "to-try" notebook. Then a friend mentioned she had made it and loved it so I decided to grab the ingredients and give it a try!

I decided it needed a boost of veggies, so I added some zucchini to the filling. I loved the addition, but Michael is not a squash fan so next time I would leave it out for him.

Ingredients
3/4 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup lower-sodium canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, minced
2 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 ounce preshredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 1/4 cup)
Cooking spray
1/2 cup pico de gallo (I swapped this for some spicier salsa)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (we left this out, not huge sour cream fans in this house)

Preparation
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; toss well.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add chicken mixture; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally. Add beans and garlic (this is when I also added the chopped zucchini); cook 2 minutes or until heated, stirring frequently. Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas. Top each burrito with 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up each burrito jelly-roll fashion.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat both sides of burritos evenly with cooking spray. Place burritos in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. (I don't know what my malfunction was, but I could not get the burritos to brown without tearing the tortilla! My friend did not have a problem, so I really think it was just me. Anyway, they were still really good not browned.) Cut burritos in half. Top with pico de gallo and sour cream.

Dallas Marathon Training: Week 6 Complete

Last week's workouts:
Sun 8/19: Yoga for Runners, 25 min
Mon 8/20: 30 min recovery run (3.11 mi, 33:22)+ Gaia Flow Yoga (Ocean Practice, 90 min)
Tues 8/21: DRC training group, 1 hr base/easy (5.83 mi, 1:01:35)
Wed 8/22: Rest or strength training
Thurs 8/23: 50 min base/easy (3 mi, 35:00)
Fri 8/24: 30 min recovery run
Sat 8/25: DRC Training Group, 12 mi (12.65 mi, 2:17:26)

First things first, our friend Brandon is improving every day! He was taken off the respirator on Friday, had his neck brace taken off Saturday and was moved out of ICU on Sunday. Yay!

On Wednesday, my calf felt a little sore. We had done a little off-roading (not trail running exactly but definitely off the beaten path) and I was also wearing new shoes. Wednesday was a planned rest day from running and Thursday I woke up ready to get my run on. Unfortunately, I felt pain immediately and knew something was not right. I cut my run short and went home to ice and foam roll. I took Friday as a rest day and did more icing and foam rolling. By Saturday morning, it felt much better, but was hurting again not long after we started our 12 mile run. I stretched really well on our 8 mile water stop and the rest of the run felt a little easier. However, by Saturday afternoon, I was really hobbling around and going up and down stairs felt horrible.

Sunday I did yoga, foam rolled and iced some more. I called my doctor's office first thing Monday morning and they managed to fit me in that morning. Luckily, the doctor thought it was just a minor muscle strain and recommended rest and some prescription strength anti-inflammatory meds. I'm already feeling good this evening, but I'm definitely going to continue to rest most of the week to make sure everything is healed up.

So no plan for this week, I'll do yoga as many days as I can.

Have a happy and healthy week!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Dallas Marathon Training: Week 5 Complete

Last week's workouts:
Sun 8/12: Gaia Flow Yoga (Gentle Flow class, 60 min)
Mon 8/13: 30 min recovery run 2.95 mi, 31:14
Tues 8/14: DRC Training Group, 50 min base/easy 4.88 mi, 52:00
Wed 8/15: Rest or strength training
Thurs 8/16: 50 min base/easy 4.64 mi, 49:52
Fri 8/17: 30 min recovery 2.26 mi, 25:08
Sat 8/18: DRC Training Group, 10 mi 10.5 mi, 1:52

On Monday night, my good friend and marathon training teammate had a horrible accident. He, my husband and our other friend Scott were flying a remote control helicopter at Scott's house when the helicopter got caught in a tree. Brandon used a ladder to get into the tree along with an aluminum pole to knock out the helicopter. He tripped and fell into a power line, was shocked and then fell head-first almost 15 feet. He was not breathing when he hit the ground but luckily Michael and Scott knew CPR and were able to start him breathing again by the time paramedics arrived on the scene.

Brandon is still in ICU at Parkland Hospital. He is expected to recover but has a long road ahead of him. You can follow his progress at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brandoncumby. You can also donate blood in his name at any Carter BloodCare location (http://www.carterbloodcare.org/Locations), just give them the number 051727. He has already had to receive 22 pints of blood and any blood donated will be credited to him.

Our training group runs are not the same without Brandon, he is definitely missed. I know how much he was looking forward to running his first marathon in December, but there will be plenty of opportunities for him to race in the future. Brandon is a fighter and is in the best shape of his life, so I know he will recover.

This week's plans:
Sun 8/19: Yoga for Runners, 25 min
Mon 8/20: 30 min recovery run + Gaia Flow Yoga
Tues 8/21: DRC training group, 1 hr base/easy
Wed 8/22: Rest or strength training
Thurs 8/23: 50 min base/easy
Fri 8/24: 30 min recovery run
Sat 8/25: DRC Training Group, 12 mi

Minestrone with Spring Vegetables

I love to make soup on Sundays, it's great to take for lunches all week! I gave this one a try this week, it was delicious! I would definitely make it again but might cut it in half. Michael is not a big soup eater (other than his favorite Black Bean and Lentil Soup), so I ended up with way more leftovers than I could eat!

I found this recipe in Runner's World a couple of months ago and decided to give it a try even though we're well into summer. :) Like most of the soup recipes I like, it is a great base recipe, very easy to play around the ingredients.

2 quarts good-quality vegetable broth
1 14.5-ounce can petite-diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into small dice
1 celery stalk, cut into small dice (I skipped this, don't like celery)
1 peeled carrot, cut into small dice
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) small white beans, not drained (I used one can of cannellini beans, one of chickpeas)
8 ounces frozen green peas
8 ounces coarsely chopped escarole (I used spinach because that is what I had)
1 cup ditalini (or any bite-size pasta) (I used orzo)
Sprinkle of salt and ground black pepper

Microwave broth and tomatoes together on high until steaming (5 minutes). (I actually skipped this step and just heated them both in the bot when the recipe called to add them, I didn't see the point in dirtying up another bowl.)

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add onions, celery, and carrots; saute till tender (5 minutes). Add Italian seasonings and red pepper; saute until fragrant (one minute).

Add broth mixture and remaining ingredients; cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low; continue to simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and pasta is tender (15 minutes). (I actually waited until the pasta was almost done to add the peas and spinach, I didn't want them to get overcooked.) Serves eight.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Dallas Marathon Training: Week 4 Complete!

Last week's workouts:
Sun 8/5: Rest
Mon 8/6: Recovery run- 2.74 mi, 30 min
Tues 8/7: DRC Training Group base/easy- 4.63 mi, 50:55
Wed 8/8: Yoga for Runners, 20 min + strength training
Thurs 8/9: Base/easy, 50 min- 4.25 mi, I'm not sure on the time because my phone died during the run. I was going super slow, though!
Friday 8/10: Recovery run, 30 min- 2.75 in 29:44 + Gaia flow yoga (My legs were feeling sore and I decided that sweating for 90 min was not a good idea the night before a long run)
Sat 8/11: DRC Training Group, 9 mi- We ended up at 9.4 mi, in 1:42.

Saturday's run was awesome! I didn't have my usual buddies with me (Lauren and Brandon couldn't make it), so I was a little nervous as I usually am in big groups where I don't know people well. I had also woken up with a sinus headache that progressively got worse throughout our run. :( I think running into the rising sun was especially unhelpful, so I ended up taking some good meds when I got home. (I didn't want to take anything before the run, I have learned the hard way that that is no bueno for my stomach.)

Other than the headache, it was a great run! We went off of the lake path and into the neighborhood next to it. We did sooooo many hills! It was an awesome workout and the weather was beautiful! It had cooled off overnight, it had only gotten up to 84 by the time we finished. So refreshing! (And a little sad that I consider the low-80's "cooled off!")

This week's plans:
Sun 8/12: Gaia Flow Yoga (Gentle Flow class, 60 min)
Mon 8/13: 30 min recovery run
Tues 8/14: DRC Training Group, 50 min base/easy
Wed 8/15: Rest or strength training
Thurs 8/16: 50 min base/easy
Fri 8/17: 30 min recovery
Sat 8/18: DRC Training Group, 10 mi

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Dallas Marathon Training: Week 3 complete!


Last week's workouts:
Sun 7/29: Rest
Mon 7/30: 30 min recovery run (3 mi)- 3.35 mi, 37:00
Tues 7/31: DRC training group, 50 min base/easy- 4.71 mi, 50:41
Wed 8/1: 30 min cross training (yoga)- Gaia Flow Yoga, Mountain Practice (90 min)
Thurs: 8/2: 50 min base/easy run (5 mi) Rest
Fri 8/3: 30 min recovery run (3 mi)- 4.4 mi, 48:71
Sat 8/4: DRC training group, 8 mi long- 6.5 mi to and from race start (1:10:30), 2 mi leg of relay race (17:44)

Wednesday, I left work early enough to (barely) make it to Gaia Flow Yoga, where I had a Groupon I needed to redeem before it expired. I knew they had classes every weeknight at 6:00 but I didn't bother to check what class was on Wednesday nights. Turns out it was an advanced class, gulp! After 30 min of abs, we proceeded into an extremely challenging series with lots of headstands, standing splits and handstands with splits. I was sore before I even left: abs, glutes and biceps especially. Thursday was a much needed rest day!

Saturday I met up with my 4:10 pace group to run to the DRC Cross Country Relay Race. The race didn't start until 8:00am so we met up at 7:00am. That means I got to sleep in a little bit! Sad. Here is a picture of the Three's Company Relay Team, we got lots of comments on our shirts!



We ran 3.25 miles from the DRC Clubhouse to Norbuck Park for the race. The relay race was not exactly what I was expecting, it was almost a trail race and there were even hay bales we had to jump over (or run around). I was nervous about falling so I kept my pace slower than I probably needed to, but I made it across the finish line in one piece!

#118 Overall - #17 in our age group - 0:51:03
17:44 (Me = slowpoke)
17:25 (Lauren)
15:54 (Brandon= long legs)

After the race, I went home, showered and we hit the road for the Hyatt Lost Pines for a much needed getaway! Michael and I had a blast hanging by the pool and just relaxing.

This week's plans/actual so far:
Sun 8/5: Rest
Mon 8/6: Recovery run- 2.74 mi, 30 min
Tues 8/7: DRC Training Group base/easy- 4.63 mi, 50:55
Wed 8/8: Yoga for Runners, 20 min + strength training
Thurs 8/9: Base/easy, 50 min
Friday 8/10: Recovery run, 30 min + Gaia flow yoga (gentle flow class this time!)
Sat 8/11: DRC Training Group, 9 mi

Rumor has it that we have a hilly route planned on Saturday. Eek!