A Full Week of Sweat, Food, Stress and Fun

My numbers for last week:

• 18 miles of running
• 6 hours of biking = (trainer plus outdoor)
• 8000 meters of swimming
• 1 hour TRX
• 1 hour plyo/strength
• 1 hour field hockey game = indoor hockey = lots of sprinting.
• 5 loads of laundry (this is work!!)
• 40+ hrs of work

The great part is all this awesome weather we have been having, this may be the first winter where I was actually spending 50% of my biking outside!!!  

Like my Betty Design Jersey!!

Trying to fit everything in is tough.  I had to say no to a couple things but on the weekends this is tough, you want to be somewhat social even though you are exhausted as hell.  I just started TRX and love it.  I think that and the one other plyo/strength training session I have been fitting in has actually helped me go longer with less injury (so far...I always skeptical something is going to happen.  I also think the field hockey game once a week is really helping with my training from the sprinting and with the bilateral movements.

As I get older (ahem 36) I have noticed that I need to be smarter about my training.  So I went from 4 swims a week to 3 swims so that I could fit in the plyo/strength and from 4 bikes a week to 3 to fit in the TRX.  Strength training is so important to be injury-free and even though I know that, I keep "forgetting" about it.  So I had to make room instead of creating more hours that I couldn't fit in.  There is only so many hours in a week and when you work and like to also be somewhat social you need to prioritize.

I have a pretty good disposition on life and rarely get "actually" stressed.  I complain about it a lot but when I think about it and plan my day, everything works out.  The key is prioritizing and being well-rounded.

My weekend was pretty insane.  It started Saturday morning with some straightening up of the house and then on to my run during the ridiculous 30+mph winds on Sat.  There was a point that the wind was actually stopping me from moving during an open-field area in the park.  For context, there was actually waves in the lake that is usually stagnant.  I left after mile 7 and went to the gym to get in the other 3 miles and then conveniently went into the pool to knock out 2500 meters.  I needed to also food shop for my jambalaya cook-off that Mike entered me in during NYE when he told my friend's boyfriend that I make the best jambalaya (it comes from a box of Zatarin's with some added chicken and turkey kielbasa)....sooooo I did some research, called my brother, Anthony, (check out his blog - Mr Onions Neighborhood) who lives in NOLA and made-up a recipe that I would use- praying it would come out.  So I had an hour to knock out the shopping and then had to get to Mike's gig to see Beyond Dishonor and our friends band (drummer is my competition) in Trenton.

This is actually a billboard of them in Los Angeles!  How cool is that - hubby on the right!

 I then had to get to bed to drive an hour+ to my hockey game and team breakfast.  Team did awesome winning against our other team 10-6 with no subs (meaning play entire game).  I had to promptly get back another hour drive to cut my veggies/meats and put in containers and then hop on the trainer for another 3 hour ride to nowhere.  Luckily my sister kept me company and brought me water and Lara bars while I sat like a princess on my trainer watching Clueless and episodes of Smash....

Trainer was giving me problems yet again and stopped working at 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Then it was shower and get my ass moving to partake in a jambalaya cook-off against this guy.....

Ahhh, he is like a giant teddy bear that was a professional jambalaya cooker with a giant knife.....So I used my gift that my family gave me (intuitive cooking skills) and I whipped out a just short of bad-ass jambalaya - it could have been spicier and a bit different but it was all good.  We ended up with a tie 5-5!!

Jambalaya Recipe
(Print Recipe)
Ingredients
2 green peppers diced
2 onions diced
15 cloves garlic (okay you may think this is overboard, but you can barely taste it)
6 stalks celery diced
1/4 cup butter/margarine
2 tbsp paprika
1 tspn thyme (fresh if you have it)
1 lb of chicken breast cut in cubes (add cayenne pepper and mix with chicken and let sit for at least 10 min)
2 lb shrimp
1 lb of andouille sausage sliced/cut in half
1lb ham cut in cubes
4 cans of stewed tomatoes (approximately 56 oz)
3 cups chicken broth
3 bay leaves
salt/pepper
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 bunch of green onions chopped
4 cups rice

Directions
Heat butter in an uncovered heavy-bottomed pot. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic and sauté, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft.  In a separate saucepan (I didn't have enough room in my pot to do this with first four ingredients) heat olive oil or butter and saute chicken and shrimp until chicken is white and shrimp is pink.  Add to pot with veggies along with paprika, bay leaves, thyme.  Add tomatoes, stock, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.  Add sausage and ham. Cook over moderate heat until liquid returns to a boil. Add green onions, salt to taste and rice. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Mine is on the right, Andy's also had chiorzo and crawfish yum!

In the meantime, other festivities were the King Cake competition where Laura and Janine also ended up in a tie...

 In other news, Mike and I finished our first fermentation.  We just put the Maker's Mark soaked oak chips and some cherry puree  in the carboy and racked our beer for the second fermentation.  Cherry Bourbon Stout...hoping for awesomeness...

Willpower

By definition willpower means self-control.  So during Lent, I usually give up something, versus doing something.  I feel that I should be "doing something" all the time...like being nice, not gossiping, giving to the poor.  No worries, I am not turning this into some kind of religious post.

One year it was meat, which ended up being too easy....so I contemplated what indulgences/loves I have...

Triathlons - can't this actually helps my well-being and physical health
Wine/Beer - ah, I can do a detox at any point in time for a couple weeks to a month

 SHOPPING - I did this two years ago and it was the hardest 6 weeks.

The feeling I get when I go shopping is something very similar to an exert of Sophia Kinsella's Confession of a Shopaholic. I probably could write my own book.

“That moment. That instant when your fingers curl round the handles of a shiny, uncreased bag—and all the gorgeous new things inside it become yours. What’s it like? It’s like going hungry for days, then cramming your mouth full of warm buttered toast. It’s like waking up and realizing it’s the weekend. It’s like the better moments of sex. Everything else is blocked out of your mind. It’s pure, selfish pleasure.”-  Sophie Kinsella, Confessions of a Shopaholic


So I decided this would be very appropriate again, especially as I was reviewing the latest Nordstroms book that came in the mail, putting sticky notes in my latest Lucky magazine and closed two windows on my computer with full carts at Shopbop and TeamEstrogen.  This was all by 7:30am.

In light of all this, I decided I should post some of my recent tri-purchases (things I ABSOLUTELY needed)....I'm actually serious on that note.

Biking:
Betty Designs Pink Cycling Jersey and Bib Shorts.  My purple one was destroyed in the bike accident.  I wasn't sure about the bib shorts, I never had a pair but I love the color too much to discriminate!

Running:
Brooks Pure Cadence - needed another pair, treads were low...check out the review on these shoes here

Swimming:
This suit is great, I bought this Betty Design suit a month ago and have been loving it, not only the style which is totally me, but the comfort of this suit is spot on.  Ran true to size.

So until April 10th....


And finally, I promised to post my fantastic recipe I whipped up last night!

Miso Tofu and Edamame Black Bean Quinoa

Print recipe here

Tofu and Marinade
2 tbspn mellow white miso
2 tbspn tamari (or soy)
2 tbspn brown rice vinegar
2 tbspn maple syrup or rice syrup
2 tspn garlic hummus
1 block of tofu chopped into small squares

Mix marinade together in small bowl and put tofu in bowl, let sit for 20 min.

Bake tofu on baking sheet for total 30 min at 400 degrees.  At 15 minutes, turn tofu over add more marinade, and put back in oven.

Edamame Black Bean Quinoa
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1/2 red onion diced
3 spring onions diced
1 handful of cilantro chopped
1 avocado chopped
1/2 cup edamame
1/2 cup black beans (rinsed)

Rinse quinoa, add to water, and bring to a boil.  Simmer until done (about 20 min).  Add the next 7 ingredients to cooked quinoa. 

I use Trader Joe's Sesame Ginger Vinagrette (it has no fat) or I use tamari, rice vinegar, little olive oil, and sesame seeds.  I also like using Sirachi on top.

Eat together!

Mexican Comfort Foods

Training is going great, except the little set back of an ear infection and then getting sick over the weekend.  Although, I knew that meant my body was telling me to take a break!  My life lately has been go, go, go....you know the thing when you think you are Superwoman and can do everything?  When you say yes to EVERYONE!  It made me re-think some things when I was at dinner and didn't feel well and kind of almost passed out at the restaurant that I had to slow down and maybe NOT say yes to every one of my friends and family when they ask me to go somewhere or do something.  I needed to prioritize and cleanse.  So this weekend, Mike and I cleaned the house and I have to say this made me feel soooo much better :)

Anyway, I tweeted and facebooked all these great foods I was having over the last couple weeks so I thought I would share a couple of them.  They both just happen to be Mexican-like dishes.  I am obsessed with anything Mexican.  Both of these dishes were great and can be used for multiple meals so it's perfect to prep on a Sunday and gives you less time to make your lunch or think about what to have for dinner when you are strapped for time!

Mexican Quinoa
Print Recipe Here

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa (I used a red/white mix)
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1 bell pepper (any color)
1/2 cucumber
1 jalepeno
1/2 red onion
2 limes
1 tbspn olive oil
salt/pepper

Directions

small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Simmer and cover until quinoa is done.

Make a salad with spinach, chopped veggies (cucumber, pepper, jalepeno, red onion), and juice of 2 limes and olive oil and toss.Add in quinoa and salt and pepper. I also add chopped avocado and roasted chicken.  Enjoy!




Blood Orange Pork Tacos
Print Recipe Here

Ingredients

2 blood oranges (quartered)
1 jar of salsa (I like roasted tomato salsa)
1 cup chicken broth
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 bell peppers (chopped)
1 pork tenderloin
tortillas
Toppings (jalepeno, cilantro, fresh salsa)

Directions

Add the first 7 ingredients to a crock pot and cook for 6 hours on low. 
 
You should be able to fork the tenderloin into pieces.  Serve as tacos including toppings and with black beans and cornbread (I use TJ cornbread mix with 1/4 jar of their corn salsa in addition to eggs and milk).
 
Have a Happy and Healthy Week!!