Monday, November 30, 2009

easy stir fried rice



My mom gave me this recipe and its really quick and easy to make. It lasts me a few days and provides some ample energy and a ton of flavor.

This is how I prepare it:

1 cup basmati rice
1 tbsp butter
2 cups water
4 sprigs of raw asparagus, minced
5 baby carrots, minced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 sprigs of green onion/scallion, minced
olive oil
sesame oil
soy sauce

- boil the 2 cups of water with the butter and once boiling, add 1 cup basmati rice. cook till done.
- in a sautee pan, heat enough olive oil to sautee the minced asparagus and carrots. cook for about 5 mins
- then add the minced garlic and green onion/scallions, cook for 1 - 2 mins
- add a swirl of sesame oil to lubricate the pan so that the rice does not stick
- add the rice and mix with all ingredients in pan. add a bit more sesame oil if it sticks too much. a little sticking is OK.
- finally add a few splashes of soy sauce. add enough for desired taste

if you are quick, you can make this in 20 mins. you could even fry up an egg, chop it and mix it in @ the end. You could also add some fresh minced ginger in with the garlic and green onion/scallion.

I eat the rice with gingered chicken and the rest of the asparagus, baked. I'd say its fairly healthy? Regardless, it sure is TASTY!
__________________________________________________

And on the UNHEALTHY, but yet tasty front, I brewed up another 5 gallons of beer. Its a belgian blonde:

It will be ready to drink in 6 weeks!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

7 miles to round out November

I finished up a personal record running month this morning by knocking off 7 miles; I'll end up with 73.78.....which for a seasoned marathoner is probably a week's worth of volume, but for me, is a milestone. I'm really trying to nail some confidence when running a half marathon. I want to race it for once instead of running to finish. I have 8 weeks till the NYRR Manhattan Half, and I am in a good place right now. Im for the first time consistently running 4 times/week and my body is able to take the abuse. I was feeling it a bit in my knees a bit in the final mile this morning.

Today's run: http://connect.garmin.com/player/19798160

Friday, November 27, 2009

fueled by turkey

I went "easy" last night on the turkey day dinner. Easy meaning only 3 slices of pie. haha!

So I had ZERO hunger issues this morning for my 4 mile run. I like running on holiday weekends because there is ZERO traffic in the mornings. Its this erie feeling like running through a ghost town, especially when you live in suburbia. I sometimes think of the beginning to "28 Days Later."

And when it comes to zombies, I always refer to Rule # 1 of "Zombieland,": CARDIO.

check!

I haven't been on the bike in almost a week and my legs are not feeling 100% right now. I think I had a peak week last week because I never once felt fatigued, wheras this week I have only ran and my legs feel like crap every run. Maybe tomorrow I'll head out for a short ride.

I hopped into the pool on Wednesday and did 2300 yards. I felt wasted by the end, but at least I didn't feel as wasted. Monday is gonna be a big day in the pool.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

6 miler

Started the morning off with a tough 6 miler. I did 4 yesterday, so this made 10 in 2 days. The first 2 miles felt great, but by mile 5 the legs were hurting. The final mile felt better since I knew this pain was coming to an end. Its only going to get harder from here in the next few weeks! This was a good character building day.

Around the mile 5 marker is a 3/4 mile portion of trail running, which is spectacular. Saw a big beethoven type dog that from a distance looked like a black bear. Then soon after that was an absolutely GORGEOUS pure white Boxer. He was not on a leash and ran along side me for a bit to say hello. That lifted my spirits a bit.

I am finally reading Dean Karnazes' "Ultramarathon Man." Its been a quick read so far; Im only half way through it, but man, he is a BAMF! I think im about to start reading the part about the Death Valley ultra. Melted shoes anyone?

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Running for smoothies!

I was cleaning out my freezer the other day and I found a bag of frozen strawberries. They were taking up too much space, so I thought it was time to eat em. Well, I had some bananas and orange juice and I haven't used my blender in awhile. Smoothies!

And I am so glad that I floss. Those strawberry seeds are such a pain!

Ran another nice and easy 4 this morning. I figured out where that little psycho pomeranian dog lives. He was barking just as hard.

Monday, November 23, 2009

never stop swimming, OR ELSE!

...you have two really rough swims in a row! haha!

Went @ lunch today and swam (more like struggled) 1550 yards. Did 10 x 150 on 3:00. I had to take an extra minute between the 5th and 6th 150. I was coming in around the 2:40 - 2:42 mark.

Man oh man this is the punishment I am receiving for slacking off in the pool. Utter punishment!

Still, my form and speed are way better than this time last year, so that is a relief. Can't wait to get my swim form back and laugh about these first swims back.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

good week in review, 6 miler to start new week

I had a good week. Biked 104 miles and ran 17.4. Swam only 2200, but we will keep that a secret ;)

Looking back at my logs over this past year, this past week (minus the swimming) would have been my most voluminous week all year. Uuuuhhhhhhh, wha?

How is this possible?!?!?!? I am in the freaking off season right now just taking it easy and my legs feel perfectly fine right now as I am typing this.

Well, the answer is: I biked 4 times and I ran 4 times. Thats it. No mystery. No magic involved. I just biked and ran 1 more time each than normal.

Here are my run/bike workouts:



BIKE BIKE TIME BIKE AVG RUN RUN TIME RUN AVG
Sunday 11/15/09 29.04 01:34:28 18.4446 5 00:46:24 00:09:17
Monday 11/16/09 18.04 01:07:35 16.0158


Tuesday 11/17/09


3 00:28:25 00:09:28
Wednesday 11/18/09 18.1 01:06:31 16.3267


Thursday 11/19/09


5 00:48:01 00:09:36
Friday 11/20/09


4.39 00:39:06 00:08:54
Saturday 11/21/09 39.07 02:07:30 18.3859


TOTALS
104.25 05:56:04 17.29 17.39 02:41:56 00:09:19


So right here explains what happens when you add a 4th day of running and biking. For me, I actually felt better and I put in more training load. I also noticed that I was taking it super easy on the runs. This week was a good accidental test that is really going to shape next year.

--------------------------------------
And this morning I went out for a 6 miler to start week #3 of my half marathon training. Talk about perfect weather!!! 53 degrees, lots of sun, and no wind. Ran an 8:55 pace and just felt great......after the 3 mile mark. You can check it out here:

http://connect.garmin.com/player/19429385