Fun Stuff

Just got back from visiting and running with my sister at Eastern Illinois University. So much fun!

This week I have a lot to look forward to. Here's a big list:

* Enjoy Spring Break!
* Watch the men build a fence for Bentley in our back yard.
* Run on that trail that I found last month! It's finally warm enough and dry enough!
* Run my first 5K on Saturday with my husband!
* Cook Easter dinner for my husband's family on Sunday.
* Enjoy an extra day for Spring Break on Easter Monday.

OK. So the list wasn't that big. But it's a lot for me.

Plus....I ran close to 6 miles so far this week! Ye-haw! And I'm going to run more! Yay for motivation and great weather!

Brown Monsters and Knee Pain

I'm finally on Spring Break! Did I go to the beach? On a cruise?

Nope. I went to Charleston, Illinois to visit Eastern Illinois University and my sister. Yay! I graduated from here and it's nice to go back. Notice the complete lack of anything surrounding this tiny little town in the middle of no where! Ha!

Since I arrived yesterday, we've gone running twice. Yesterday was a nice 3.6 mile walk/run. We walked to the campus trail, ran the campus trail, and then walked back to her apartment. The campus trail is about 2 miles long. So, yay! After being totally lazy, it was nice to get out and run.

This morning we went for a run around 9:30 and did about 3 miles. It felt great! I still had lung issues, but the shin pain didn't bother me at all. What did bother me during both runs was the Brown Monster. (Code Name: #2)

I haven't had this problem in quite a while. Since I've been running mostly in the afternoon, I haven't felt the urge to "free the Brown Monster" during a run. It used to happen to me all the time around the 2 mile mark. Now it rarely happens. However, the moment I got down here, I can't seem to get rid of it! I had to walk 2 times yesterday and luckily the bathrooms at the football stadium were open or we would have had a problem. This morning though, we had to walk 3 times and cut the run short. Both times the Brown Monster was released in the proper location and not in the bushes, but this is starting to worry me. It could just be a 24- hour problem, but it's still annoying. Any advice?

Also, my sister is experiencing pain in the back of her left knee. I e-mailed my PT friend and am also going to throw this one out to you guys/girls. She is currently training for the Illinois Marathon on May 1st. She was able to get up to about 13 miles on her training plan before her knee really started to bother her. The pain is in the back of her left knee down both the tendons. (The picture is up at the top because I can't get it to move down here.) This pain sometimes moves toward the lower front of her knee. If she rests and ices it, it becomes stiff. It stays stiff for the first 3 miles of a run and then loosens up around mile 4. She said it feels fine after that but hasn't run more than 10 miles since. It bothered her so much today that she stopped when the Brown Monster made me stop. I know she probably needs to see a doctor, but insurance makes that difficult right now. Any advice?

This week = Total Fail

My focus was not on myself this week. It was getting everything squared away at school instead.

It's report card time again and I of course left all my grade-entering until the last minute. It took me one whole hour to get it all entered in!

Another reason for working my butt off at school is that it's Spring Break! I wanted nothing to be hanging over my head during this break. I wanted to relax.

But in doing all of that I neglected my fitness efforts. I ate what I wanted and when I wanted it. As you can tell from my Tasty Tuesday post, I did cook some great dinners :) I didn't give myself enough time to go for a run. I didn't make myself get off the couch and get in a workout with a DVD. I didn't care about me enough.

All of that self-neglect made my weekly visit to the WW scale very depressing. I now understand how I got to this unacceptable weight in the first place. If I can put on that much weight in one week, it's a wonder that I'm not twice as big. I know that this journey will have good weeks and bad weeks....but that doesn't make the bad weeks suck any less.

Here's hoping that I can keep myself motivated during my week off....

Tasty Tuesday

OMG! A Tasty Tuesday post on a Tuesday. Wow!

Today I'm featuring another selection from my Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine. In case you don't know this already....I Love Taste of Home!!!! Haven't had a bad recipe yet.



Ok...now for the good stuff.




Makeover Rigatoni with Bacon and Asparagus

Ingredients:
2 servings of spiral pasta (or any pasta type)
1/2 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and coarsely chopped
5 strips turkey bacon (or regular bacon)
1/2 garlic clove
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/8 cup minced fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions
2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven (or large skillet) bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and boil for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water. Drain and pat dry.
3. In same pan, cook bacon over medium head until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Crumble bacon and set aside.
4. Next, saute garlic in butter and oil until tender. Stir in cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened.
5. Stir in mozzerella cheese until melted. Add drained pastsa to pan. Stir in the salt, asparagus, and bacon. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and parsley.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Review:

LOVED IT!
The original recipe made 8 servings. I cut most of the ingredients in half so we wouldn't have left overs. GF pasta doesn't keep well. I also made substitutes, like the Turkey Bacon. It ranks at kinda-easy on my difficulty scale.There was quite a bit of prep involved.....bowl of ice water for asparagus, grated cheeses, measuring cups/spoons, chopping, boiling, etc. It also required a lot of pans for me to make it....needing to cook the GF pasta separately and all. However, I was able to cook the whole meal while trying to keep a small dog from pooping in my house. That should give you a good idea of what it takes to make it. Whatever hassle you have while cooking, it is totally worth it.

Delicious!

Today's Run......

Another great running/chasing date with the husband. I'm loving this weather! Gorgeous outside! The current temp is 61!!! Too bad Saturday's forecast has a high of 34! Boo! Bring on the spring! I want to run again on Saturday, but that might not happen. Nice weather followed by crappy weather is a big motivation killer.

I also have my friend's bachelorette party on Saturday night. I'm pretty sure we'll end up in downtown Chicago. I've never been downtown at night before. It should be fun. I hope her sister has worked out all the details so that we don't end up having to have a DD....'cause you know I'll end up in that role. Damn responsible gene that won't go dormant even for one night!

I'm enjoying my sunshine and trying not to think about the crap that's piling up around me.

Oh yea! Tomorrow is Pink (Slip) Friday in Illinois. All teacher are encouraged to wear pink to school tomorrow to represent the thousands of pink slips (layoff notices) that have been handed out this week. If you know a teacher who has been affected by this horrible mistake, please show your support and wear pink. Also, contact your representatives and let them know that padding their pockets isn't going to help our future. Schools need help! The largest district in our area is currently owed $12 million by our state government. (I don't work in that one....it's a mess.)

Beautiful Day!

Today couldn't have been better! Weather wise.....I could think of a few things that would make the day itself better.....like a job for one!No. No. No. I won't go there again. It was still 63 at 5:00 pm! It's 6:49 and the sun is just disappearing behind the hill.

Today was a fantastic running date with my husband. More like a long chasing date with my husband! I barely made it a mile before I started to lose him. He even went an extra loop and still managed to catch me at the end. You wouldn't think he'd be fast, but damn! He's fast! Poor Bentley was pooped by the time we got home!

You can see my total mileage and an explanation in my Daily Mile box. Another distance PR! Wahoo!

Great day!!!

Check me out post-run rockin' my Bondi Band and my Road ID. Thanks to Katye for hooking me up with some awesome running gear!

Another Giveaway!

I had awesome luck with Katye's last giveaway and am hoping to win again!

Check out her Running Skirt giveaway here!

Happy running and look for a non-ranting post about running tomorrow!