Back in Saddle / Beef Stir Fry

Finally got to do a long run today. The weather was perfect, so we all went out to the Lake Fayetteville. The little dude got to ride around on his tricycle and I ran 6.25 miles in 50:30. New distance record for me, and I now have a baseline to train from. Just 4 more weeks until my first 10K! I've decided to take a break from P90X3 and focus on running until the race. After that, probably start over. 

Tonight we had one of our few Beef meals, a Stir Fry with mushrooms, bell peppers and brown rice. The sauce is really good. I can't find the recipe for this one online. We got it out of a bodybuilding cookbook, so it has more calories. We've made it with chicken too. Brown Rice takes a long time, but we prefer it. And I also wanted to mention...my wonderful wife makes many of these meals. This one we both make, but they are usually all her!

The Best Bad Decision

I've been in Chicago for the last 4 days, and have not been able to eat clean. I also only got one day in at the gym...I didn't beat myself up too much on that second one...I still did a LOT of walking, so that helped calorie-wise but will need to get my heart and lungs up and running again asap. 

The food thing: I heard someone say once it's about making "good bad choices". Stuck at a party with no healthy food? Eat the thing that is the closest to healthy. Stuck at a McDonald's? Try to find the healthiest thing there. Last night near my hotel I found this little Gem: a Mushroom, Goat cheese, Arugula and Red Pepper Panini. Bad picture, Good sandwich. 

Without Soda / Runner's Withdrawal

I used to drink a lot of soda. I'm not sure what the actual daily number was, but that fact itself is perhaps a little alarming. A few years ago I switched to Diet soda (I'm a big believer in baby-steps), and after a week or so I got used to the difference in taste...but it turns out, diet sodas can be even worse for you! 

Our first step towards "kicking the habit" was to not buy soda or have it in the house--starting with what you can control. When we went to restaurants we'd have soda, but none at home. This weaned us pretty well but I really missed carbonation and caffeine. For the caffeine, we started brewing big pots of unsweetened plantation mint tea, and then cooling it. So now we usually have a glass canister full just in case. For carbonation, I have always loved Mexican mineral waters like Topo Chico. I once opened a bottle and forgot about it for 45 minutes, came back and it was still super fizzy...great stuff. 

Since the New Year, we're completely off of soda, and I don't miss it at all...that was helped along with a little visualization I think of when I'm considering a soda, but it's too gross for me to mention here...suffice it to say it involves sewer rats. 

On another note:

It has been snowy and Icy in our area for more than a week. I don't have access to a treadmill right now, so I have been jonesing for a good run. I started running in earnest around Thanksgiving and have really fallen in love with it. The only downside is that I can't keep any weight on! (I'd prefer to be about 10 healthy lbs heavier) 

I read somewhere (and believe it) that once you finish mile 1, your body will feel like the air is 20 degrees warmer. This is true, I've found myself finishing runs with my jacket, hat and gloves in my arms! I have gotten up to around 6 miles since November, and plan to run my first 10k in March. But...I haven't been able to run in a week, so I know the next one will hurt. The coldest I will run in is mid 30s. Tomorrow the weather should be around 40 at the warmest, so I plan on getting back out there. I knew I was serious about running when I bought a pair of tights. 

(I was not driving when I took this photo, fyi)

A note on schedules and Greek Chicken Pitas

It's 6:30 pm and I haven't worked out yet. This used to make me feel like the kid who didn't do his homework, but I've recently come up with a pretty great system for getting a workout in, no matter what. It's sort of a tiered system: I have 3 or 4 times set aside during the day when I could exercise (5am, 10am, 1pm, 8pm), and 2 or 3 workouts in mind. First Tier would be the perfect workout at the perfect time...but maybe something came up and I missed my workout time: no problem! I have a back-up time and if I'm too sore or just not "feeling it", a back-up workout. Worst case situation: 20 minutes of Pilates at 8pm (when my son goes to bed), but it HAS to be at 8pm, that's the last chance.  So far this has worked, and I feel better about myself having accomplished something. So, tonight: 8pm, "eccentric lower body". 

tomorrow: 5am, Yoga. 

DINNER: 

Dinner tonight was my favorite meal. It's a Greek salad with grilled chicken, all stuffed into a whole wheat Pita. This recipe came from Rachel Ray, and to be honest it has a LOT of calories, but they are mostly quality calories. I think most of the calories come from the feta, so we use about half of the cheese it calls for, and we also switched from "white" pitas to whole wheat. I eat like 4 servings of this, I love it.  Of course Feta cheese is a dairy food, but I feel like a tiny bit in this meal during a mostly dairy-free week can't hurt. 

Recipe: 

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=156

Plus

Plus

Hello, Internet.

This blog is sort of an experiment...you see, Heather and I have been enjoying exercise for a while, and have been slowly but surely cleaning up our diets for a few years. This blog is a way for us to share recipes, workouts, and all that fun stuff. Also, it takes the pressure off of the folks who I text-message obsessively after every run, reporting all of my stats!

Yesterday's Workout and Dinner:

Yesterday H and I did the 30-minute "eccentric upper" workout from P90X3. It was really difficult with a lot of slow, controlled movement to keep the muscle groups under strain for longer. I loved it, but I don't think H was a big fan. It was mostly push-ups, pull-ups and dumbbells and she's more of a cardio-gal. 

For dinner we had AMAZING grilled chicken quesadillas with veggies and mango salsa. 

LOOK AT THAT. This recipe is one of about 8 or 9 that we have tried from www.skinnytaste.com

While I discourage the use of the word "skinny" (it's pejorative), this site has TONS of delicious, filling, mostly healthy/clean recipes. This is one of my favorites and can be found here:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/02/chicken-quesadillas.html?m=1

You'll have to follow a link to the "Avocado Mango Salsa" but it's worth it. We put the guacamole on the side. 

The other thing I like about this website is that the Nutritional Info is at the bottom of every recipe for all of us calorie counters, so you'll know exactly what you're getting yourself into for fat/carbs/protein and more. 

We eat a lot of grilled chicken these days. It's a good lean protein source, so we make it in as many ways as possible to avoid getting tired of it. 

Diet-wise we are far from perfect but we *try* to eat red meat once a week or less, minimize processed foods (anything in a can or box) and focus on whole foods. I don't eat or drink dairy. Once a week we go out to a restaurant and eat whatever we want as a cheat/treat meal. We don't drink soda, though we do drink tea and coffee. Usually no white bread, no fried food. Again, a lot of these are goals, not rules. I like the term "flexetarian"...not making things restrictive or dogmatic but trying to eat lots of different kinds of healthy meals. (Though, I personally try to be restrictive of cholesterol and sodium.)

Ok, that's enough for now...I'll do my best to not write too much on these.