TwentySixPointWhat?

Full disclosure - I am not Catholic. Whew! I'm glad I got that off my chest. That being said, yes, you read the post title correctly this is my Lenten update.  I was raised christian, a mixture of Baptist and Methodist but all of my cousins were raised catholic (long story involving parents who were human and committed human acts which rendered them unable to marry in the Catholic church). For Lent this year I 'gave up' going out to restaurants to eat and recommitted to a traditional training program. The first stemmed from the realization one week that I was throwing away more and more food because it was going bad before I could use it. . .this was a direct result of eating out at least three nights a week, sometimes more. The second was a realization that I was stagnant. At some point I figured out that I didn't need to put in the miles to be a successful marathon/ultra runner. In fact, I actually became a better runner the less I trained with a 'traditional'...

A few weeks ago I decided to purchase a Le Creuset Dutch Oven and have been experimenting with recipes ever since. Before I forget this awesome recipe; here is my take on Jambalaya. 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch pieces 3 links fresh andouille sausage, cut into disks 1 medium cooking onion, diced 3 stalks celery, diced 1/2 cup scallions, diced 1 can italian style diced tomatoes 4 cups chicken stock 2 cups rice (I used a rice blend of red, wild and white rice) 2 cups peppers, diced (red, yellow, orange, green) (I used leftover mini-peppers because that's what I had in the fridge) 2 tbsp creole seasoning (I used the Cravin' Creole seasoning they sell at the butcher)       [ you can make your own  -Onion, Garlic, Green and Red Peppers, Paprika, Pepper, Cayenne, Thyme, and Oregano ] 2 tbsp minced garlic 1 bay leaf dash of salt (1) In a dutch oven saute chicken with 1 tbsp creole seasoning; add sausage when chicken is almo...

Here we are 44 days into 2013 and I'm finally getting around to writing about it and wrapping up 2012. At the beginning of January I stepped back and took a good long, hard look at myself, my running and mapped out (however vague) where I want to be in 2013. Despite what my friends say I am lazy and undisciplined. How can I say that about myself when day in and day out I'm pounding pavement, lifting weights and stretching or dragging my sorry butt to the gym when it's raining or too cold out? In an article published last week in the nytimes, ' Getting Into Your Exercise Groove ' Gretchen Reynolds tells us that 'humans naturally aim to use as little energy as possible during most movement. . . when we walk or run, our bodies tend to choose a particular cadence, a combination of step length and step frequency, that allows us to move at any given speed with as little physiological effort as possible.' There you have it. Over the past 8 years it seems that my ...

On Sunday night my boyfriend convinced me to cheat and split a pizza w/ beer for dinner. My taste buds and senses were on overdrive and well, I was still hungry. I signed up to run Dallas marathon and went to bed. Monday was spent researching Paleo recipes and cooking, baking, and cleaning up the kitchen. I did not exercise on Monday. Tuesday morning I felt dense, not quite bloated but not as clean and fresh as I've felt for the past week. When I got home from work I was lethargic but convinced myself that I needed to run, even if it was for only 30 minutes. It was a great run! My feet barely touched the ground.  It was a cleansing run.

Homemade almond meal is so easy to make. In less than 5 minutes you can have fresh almond meal, at a fraction of the cost of ready-made products. Be sure to refrigerate (or wrap, label and freeze) any unused almond meal because it can become rancid after being ground and exposed to oxygen and light.    Difficulty: Easy Time Required: Under 5 minutes- Start to Finish! Here's How: Place 1/2 cup blanched or unblanched almonds in a clean electric coffee bean grinder. Put the lid on the coffee bean grinder and pulse several times until a medium-fine textured meal forms. Don't over-grind or you will make almond butter! Put ground almond meal in a clean flour sifter. Sift almond meal. Place any large particles of almonds back in coffee bean grinder and pulse again. Sift reremaining almond meal. That's it. Use any nut to make fresh, delicious nut meals using this simple technique. Tips: Do not over-grind the almonds or you will end up with almond butter!...

This past weekend was unusually warm here in Virginia. On Saturday temperatures reached the high 60s/borderline 70s and yesterday temperatures rose to 77 degrees. I love running the trails, especially when the temperature is crisp and cool and I can really push myself but I'm not going to complain about our weather over the weekend. I got out rather late on Saturday but that didn't stop me from having a great long run. I took it easy, listened to my body and took the time to capture some images on the trail.  Yesterday morning (Sunday), Tony suggested that we go for a run together. We never run together and I was a bit hesitant. 1) He runs faster than I do and 2) He really, really pushes himself. I had no plan to exercise since it was my rest day but I reluctantly agreed- I'm the one that complains that we don't exercise together so yes, I jump, although cautiously, at the chance to spend this time together. The first measurable segment was only 30 seconds faster th...

This recipe is a modification of 2 Ingredient Pancakes  Holly's Paleo Pancakes Ingredients 2 eggs 1 banana 1 tsp pean ut or almond butter 1 sp lash almond mil k Coo king Ins tructions 1. Mix all ingre dients and run through a food processor to puree 2. OPTIONAL- Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract and mix all together 3. Warm a skillet over medium or low heat with some oil of your choice 4. Spoon batter into skillet and flip when it starts to bubble Top with maple syru p or sugar free/ natural jam.