A little bit ago I received this text message. Is this not the best text message ever to receive?
That was from my brother in law who I've logged two runs with this season so far. We tentatively have another run scheduled for sometime this weekend. Basically, if he wants to run, I'll find a way to make it happen. Know why? Because he's one of those running partners who pushes me. During our last run, he suggested that when we had 1.5 miles left, that we ramp it up for a mile for a little speed work and take the last half mile a little easy. I learned something valuable...the way to run faster:
Take bigger steps! I really do love the data and charts that I get to see from my MilestonePod. I found it very interesting after our run when looking at the app that when we decided to ramp up our speed, my cadence - steps per minute - remained fairly unchanged but my pace picked up. Looking at my pace vs. stride length chart showed a clear correlation between those two...when I took bigger steps I sped up. Sounds fairly logical though according to the makers of the app, a shorter stride generally results in a faster pace. Leave it to me to be different!!
So far I am enjoying my training for the Buffalo Half Marathon. Up until two days ago the weather has been very agreeable. Looking out my window I think I might hit the treadmill today instead of pounding the pavement.
Side note...mad props to my friends who ran the Syracuse Half Marathon yesterday. That weather was brutal - though I guess you don't need ME to tell you that - you lived it! I'll be honest, I would have stayed home.
Luckily before the winter weather moved in this weekend I logged a long run on Friday (hooray for every other Friday off!). I don't know what happened. I had 9 miles planned. At maybe a 9:30 pace. Then something magical happened. Everything was going right (minus the Garmin running out of juice around mile 5). My breathing was easy. My legs felt good. My typically nagging piriformis was quiet and my achilles just seemed along for the ride. So I decided that instead of a strict out and back, I decided to go around my block, which would have been 9.3 miles. But as I was running that, things kept feeling good, so I added the next block over too. Total run ended up being 10.2 miles!
Perhaps the secret is listening to a blog I enjoy. Recently discovered Death, Sex and Money. On this run I listened to about 3 episodes. All so very interesting. Also, the 4.5 mile portion of my planned "out" was all into the wind. At times, it sucked (though not nearly as sucky as yesterday's conditions for my SYR half friends!). But it also meant that the "back" part I'd have that same wind to my back. Knowing this I allowed myself to increase pace a bit. I successfully ran negative splits for the Better part of my run!
After Friday's run I feel that 9 minute pace half marathon is within my grasp. I just can't lose what I have right now and I have to keep pushing myself. Hopefully some long runs with running buddies like my brother in law will help.
Keeping my body properly fueled is one of my priorities when it comes to training. My favorite pre-run breakfast is two slices of toast with peanut butter and a banana. I find this combination provides the energy I need and is easy on my stomach. On mornings I don't run I eat eggs or oatmeal. Here is my oatmeal tip...make a batch of steel cut oats at the beginning of the week and enjoy it for a few days. When I pressure cook my oats (1 cup oats, 3 cups water, high pressure for 12 minutes with natural release) I end up with three cups of finished oats. That's good for at least three breakfasts. My long time favorite way to eat oats was to add lots of fresh ground black pepper, pecorino cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. (Seriously, try it, it's delicous...like mac and cheese for breakfast.) Lately though I've been enjoying dicing up an apple, throwing in some raisins, generous cinnamon (all those wonderful antioxidants!) and a tablespoon or so of maple syrup. Top with hot oatmeal, stir and enjoy. I have no idea how I ever ate packet after packet of Quaker instant apple cinnamon oatmeal. This is so much better!
So I'm curious...what's your favorite way to eat oatmeal?
So I'm all about my pressure cooker. And cooking. Healthy cooking. Making cooking things easier. You get the picture. One of my weaknesses when I worked close to a Wegmans was going there for lunch and treating myself to a bowl of their Spicy Red Lentil Chili. When I took a job that no longer put me near a Wegmans I decided to check out their recipes to see if I could make it for myself. And I did a few times. But it was a little labor intensive for me. First you have to cook the lentil separately. Take half of them out and puree them. Add them back in. Cook up the rest of the stuff (peppers, onions, seasoning, etc.) and mix everything together. Ok. Maybe not LABOR intensive but it sure did use more dishes than I liked for what I felt should be something simple.
Enter the pressure cooker.
Since receiving my first pressure cooker as a gift Feb 2011 (easy to remember as it was an engagement gift from my mom!) I've learned so much about pressure cooking and how to convert recipes. Mostly from Laura over at Hip Pressure Cooking. I learned split red lentils require only ONE MINUTE at high pressure with a natural pressure release to cook. Not that on the stove top they take an incredibly long period of time, but I figured I could turn this into a one pot meal using my pressure cooker.
Also, I like flavor. A lot of flavor. And veggies. More than the original recipe called for. I think that sometimes in a pressure cooker you might have to use a little more dried/ground spices than you would a longer cooking stove top or slow cooker recipe so I increased those quantities from the original recipe. I'm cooking the lentils with everything else instead of separately. And because I'm using less liquid I don't feel the need to add cornstarch or puree any of the dish. Lastly, I use canned tomatoes instead of fresh as this is a recipe I like making year round and in the winter, fresh tomatoes just aren't worth it.
So here is my pressure cooker version of the Wegmans recipe.
Ingredients:
1 T cooking oil, I generally use a mild olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 T minced garlic
1/4 t turmeric
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t chili powder
A pinch up to 1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 14.5oz can of no salt added diced tomatoes
1 green pepper diced
2 c stock (vegetable or chicken both work nicely)
1 c water
1 c split red lentils sorted (to make sure no little rocks or other debris got into the bag) and rinsed
Instructions:
Over medium heat (stove top) or set to saute (electric), heat oil. Add onions and cook for a few minutes until they begin to turn translucent. Add celery and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the turmeric, cumin, chili powder and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until mixed well and fragrant. Note: red pepper flake heat multiplies in a pressure cooker. Do not underestimate red pepper flakes! If this is your first time using them in a pressure cooker I recommend starting at the low end knowing you can always add a little hot sauce to the finished product to spice it up. Add can of tomatoes, diced green pepper, stock, water and red lentils.
Cover, lock lid, and using high heat bring to high pressure (or set your electric pressure cooker to high for one minute). Once the cooker achieves high pressure, reduce heat and cook for one minute (if you're using an electric just let it do it's thing). After one minute, for a stove top, turn off the heat and allow pressure to come down naturally. If using an electric, be sure to unplug or turn off "keep warm" and allow pressure to come down naturally for 10-15 minutes (because of the insulation an electric PC can take much longer to come down from pressure but I find 10-15 minutes to be sufficient).
Once the pressure has been released or after 10-15 minutes, carefully remove the lid tilting it away from you to allow the steam to escape. Season with salt and pepper to taste (salt will generally be between 1/2 teaspoon to a full teaspoon). Blow on it before trying it because it will be HOT.
You can serve this a green salad if you want to be healthy like that. Personally, I find this dish to be so nutrition packed that I can justify serving it with warm from the oven homemade cornbread. And if you're looking for a delicious cornbread recommendation, this one by Pat and Gina Neely is my go-to recipe. I cut the amount of sugar in half though, and generally use about 3T of butter instead of 4T because I add about 1T of bacon fat to a HOT cast iron skillet before pouring my batter in for a golden brown delicious crust.
I threw this recipe into MyFitnessPal, omitting the turmeric, cumin, chili powder and red pepper flakes as they are tough to estimate and likely contribute very few calories/fat to the finished dish. Here is what it calculated for nutritional information:
Hope you enjoy this version as much as we do!
