Running Mama Cooks

Day 4 of the sugar cleanse and still going strong!! The 2nd day was the hardest, but I feel like I am in a good groove now. The most difficult part has been finding quick and easy things on the go that are okay. And I am shocked at how many things have sugar in them!! I have been snacking on cheese, almonds and plain greek yogurt, plus strawberries and raspberries. I caved today and had a coconut water. That counts as natural sugar right? Whole grain toast and almond butter has been a go-to lunch as well as turkey and cheese roll ups.

Dinner has been tricky but I've had shredded chicken from the crockpot with roasted veggies mixed in as well as a chicken and veg stir fry. I think we are going to grill tonight. Hopefully I will have more food related posts for you soon, I am really slacking in the kitchen lately!

I was happy that I was able to stick to the cleanse yesterday during a beach day, but it was hard to resist gelato!! This weekend will be tough, but I will keep reminding myself that it is only 10 days. I usually feel like treating yourself here and there is the best way to stick with good eating in the long run and will continue to subscribe to that philosophy! Thankfully I have yoga teacher training all weekend so it will be much easier to be good.

And here are some beach pics!

Cecily and Livy posing for the camera
My beach babies Me and my guy :)

This morning I ran the Hillsborough Hop 5k which is held at the Hillsborough YMCA. I was really excited for this race because I am both a member and employee of the Y. It was great being able to run with my fellow instructors, trainers and the members that I know and love. Such an awesome and inspiring group!!!

The weather this morning was perfect, a little chilly and overcast, just how I like it. I was feeling good and felt I had a good chance at running a pretty "fast" race. My last couple of training runs were very quick for me, so I felt confident. I tried to keep in mind that it is never a good idea to go out too fast and hoped I could pace myself well.

My pace was very consistent the whole way, but I knew towards the end that sub 30 wasn't in the cards for today. That being said, I was sure I would have a "post Finn PR" so I ran comfortably hard and finished strong. I crossed the finish line at 31:05. I shaved 2 minutes off my last 5k time (not counting the last race where the course was short) and 7 minutes off my first "post Finn" 5k. Not bad!!!

I feel like sub 30 is definitely do-able for me this summer and I will continue to work hard to get there. I am finding that running less and cross training more is helping me improve my pace quicker than running alone, so I will continue to spin and swim for cardio in addition to my runs. I am sure tons of hot yoga and boot camp isn't hurting either!

I am also starting to get the itch to try a triathlon. Anyone want to buy me (or lend me) a bike? :)

Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:47
Mile 2 - 9:57
Mile 3 - 10:01
.1 - 8:47

Boot campers!

I told you I would be posting about this rice soon!!! OMG, So good!!! If you like pineapple, make this now!

I adapted it slightly (realized at the last minute that I didn't have any onions!!) and served it with grilled chicken marinated in soy sauce, white wine, olive oil, garlic powder and parsley. My Aunt makes it that way and its so yummy.


Thai Pineapple Rice
Adapted from Taste of Home Cooking

1 cup basmati rice, uncooked
1 tbs olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
20 oz can crushed pineapple
Soy sauce and cilantro to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and the jalapeno or red pepper flakes and cook until softened. Add the uncooked rice and coat with oil and shallots. Add broth and pineapple. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover. Allow to simmer for approx 20 minutes until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed. Add a few splashes of soy sauce and a handful of chopped cilantro, stir and then taste. Add more soy or cilantro until it tastes good to you. The rice can be served hot, but it's also great at room temperature.

ZACH'S RATING - ****

I love chorizo and when I saw it at Wegman's this weekend when picking up a few odds and ends, I had to grab it. I haven't done my big shopping for the week and didn't have a lot of food on hand, but I threw this together this morning and hoped for the best. The sauce was a bit thinner than I would have liked (didn't have tomato paste) but the flavor was awesome!

I made this in the morning and put it in the crockpot so that all I had to do was make the pasta when I got home, but it could just as easily simmer on the stovetop.

Chorizo Spaghetti

Ingredients:

4 Chorizo sausage links, sliced
olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup red wine
Dried basil
Italian blend cheese

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add in the garlic and chorizo, cook until chorizo crisps up a bit. Place in the crockpot. Add in all the other ingredients, except the cheese. Cook on low for approx 6 hours.

Serve over pasta with a bit of Italian blend cheese.

ZACH'S RATING - ****

This morning, Zach and I ran the Quest for the Cure 5k at Echo Lake Park in Cranford. It was perfect weather for a race, a little overcast and not too warm, just like I like it. Cecily was seeing a play with my in laws, so we only had the Finny boy in tow. Zach took one for the team and ran with the stroller so I could see if I could beat my time from the 5k I ran 2 weeks ago.

I was feeling over confident and took off a bit too fast, especially since there were a few decent hills right off the bat. After about a half mile I started feeling a little crappy so I decided to back off a bit and just get throught it. I wasn't expecting a good time at all and stopped paying close attention to my garmin.

When I got to the 3 mile marker, I was surprised that my garmin didn't match up. I didn't push too hard at the end because I thought I had much further to go, but the finish was right ahead! My garmin read 2.88 and my time was 30:38. Not really sure what went wrong, but I can only assume that the course was short. So I am not going to claim that as an official time!

But regardless of the outcome, I am happy that I am still getting closer to breaking 30 minutes. I had a really nice morning racing and helping raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I ran the New Jersey Marathon 2 years ago with Team in Training, and this charity has a special place in my heart.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:49
Mile 2 -10:27
.88 - 10:55

Ready to race

Warm weather = perfect timing for a grilling recipe swap!! I was psyched to get this recipe for a delicious chicken marinade from Sarah and loved that it was skewers. Zach and I love preparing chicken this way on the grill and I haven't done it in a long time.

It was a really good, healthy meal. Keep an eye out for Sarah's thai rice recipe in a week or two because I am dying to try it. I opted not to make it at the last minute this week because we were eating pretty late because of my classes and I didn't want to overload on yummy carbs at that time. But we are HUGE pineapple fans so I will be trying it soon!

Like Sarah, I marinated the chicken in pineapple juice, soy sauce, oil and pepper for about 2 hours and then placed them on the skewers. I also skewered some zucchini, onions (we LOVE grilled onions) and summer squash. They were seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil.

I am looking forward to having this meal become a summer staple!