Mediterranean Quinoa

I made this delicious recipe last night and loved it. It would make a great dish winter or summer. It's very easy to make only takes about 20 minutes to prep and 25 to cook.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth or stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
• Italian seasoning or Summer Savory with Basil to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and red, green and yellow peppers; cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for about 2 more minutes. Stir in the quinoa, vegetable stock, and tomato puree.
2. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until quinoa grains are soft. Stir in the diced tomatoes and season with Italian seasoning. Cook until heated through, then serve.

The Best Christmas Gift

This year Christmas came about a week early for my family. Last Friday, Greg and Dusty blessed me with my first nephew. I can't wait to go see him again later today!!

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100 Miles????

Yeah so I'm not sure if this will be the greatest idea in the world, but I'm actually thinking about attempting my first 100 mile race next summer. You read that right 100 MILE RACE! Derek from State to State and Stone Steps signed up for the Burning River 100 the other day. First I asked him if he would need a pacer sometime in the second half. After reading more info on the race I started getting excited, and began to wonder if I could do the entire race.

I've decided to start a 100 mile training schedule next week. The next registration bump up is at the end of May. Pending on how things are going come then I might register. I will have 32 weeks till race day. It should be possible. Here is a link to the training plan I will be using. It's a very basic lowest suggested mileage plan. I may alter it a little as I go.

My First Ultra Marathon

This past Sunday I ran my first 50k, (31 miles) and I LOVED it!! It was Stone Steps 50k located in Mt. Airy Forest, down in Cincinnati. I had no clue what to expect not only was it my first ultra but it was also my first trail race. The weather was nice partly cloudy and upper 60's low 70's most of the way.

During the State to State Half Marathon 3 weeks earlier I met another runner named Derek who was also going be running Stone Steps. We managed to hook up at the starting line and stuck together for about 26 miles keeping each other company along the way. Made it nice to have somebody to pace with and share stories.

I really liked how the pressure was off to keep running full blast and to finish with a good time, like you do at a traditional road race. The coarse made a figure 8 shape. We had to cross the center 7 times along the route, which is where the aid station was located. When you came into the aid station most of us would stop for a minute, chat, grab a drink, something to eat, change shoes or socks if needed, etc.... It was a very laid back environment.

I ended up coming in, in 6 hours 28 minutes. Little longer than I had expected but this course was very hilly. We had to climb the "stone steps" 4 times. I couldn't believe how long and steep they were. They had to have been over 100 yards long and more than a 45 degree angle.

To sum up though, I think I'm now hooked on Ultra Trail Racing. My body felt better after this, than any of my previous road marathons. I also recovered much quicker. I did hit the wall around mile 21, but a pb&j and Coke solved that problem and I finished strong.

State to State = New PR

State to State 2010 has officially come and gone, and it couldn't have turned out any better. After having one of the hottest summers on record in the Miami Valley Region and record breaking temps last week, a cold front moved in 24 hours in advance of the race dropping the temps by over 20 degrees. Sunday morning started off around 50 degrees and sunny. 7:58am everybody is in the starting corral about 15 feet behind the starting line. 7:59am, Spencer, Jessica, and I are about 3 feet from the starting line. (A lot closer to the front of the pack than where we usually line up) 8am gun goes off and we all lunge forward, nice thing about being that close to the front is you don't hit the wall of people stumbling over each other. 8:52am at the half way point, turning around and feeling great. 9:45am crossing the finish line. A new PR 1 hour 45 minutes. I beat my previous course record by 18 minutes.

As always State to State was fun. It's nice having a larger/small race in our town. It looked as though the sponsorship was down this year. The starting/finishing chute wasn't done up as much as years past. There also weren't any gels this year. For some reason there was only one band this year along the course, 2 years ago we had a band about every mile. Even without all the bells and whistles, we still had our awesome mobile cheering squad, at 4 different locations along the course pushing us on.

Next year 1:30...............maybe?

worry less. smile more. accept criticism. take responsibility. listen & love. don't hate. embrace change. & feel good anyway

Glenn

Getting it in Gear

What the heck. I only have 2 weeks till the State to State Half Marathon and 6 weeks till my first Ultra Stone Steps 50k. Where has the time gone? First mistake. I didn't plan out my shorter weekly runs. That means outside of my long runs on the weekends I have only ran a handful of times over the past 2-3 months. Mistake number 2 lack of sleep which means I've been cutting my long runs short. I only have 6 weeks left and have only topped out at 18 miles. I should have hit 26 at least once by now.

Calm down Chris......Look on the bright side. You still have 6 weeks. The weather is getting better. I can get out there and log my short runs without the fear that I might spontaneously combust in the heat. Gonna log 20+ miles tomorrow morning with Spencer pacing me towards the end. I have plenty of time.

Ok so maybe my finishing time won't be as good as I had hoped it would be, but I know I'll at least finish which is all I'm really worried about. I just want to get out there and meet some new people, get myself introduced into the world of ultra trail racing, and most of all just have a great time.

Vegetable Lasagna

I made this recipe a couple weeks ago and it was almost a good as the veg lasagna I had in Lake Placid, NY last month.

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini (about a 1lb 1/2) cut length wise down the center and then into 1/4 slices.

1Tbs olive oil, plus more for roasting zucchini

Salt and black pepper

12oz of lasagna noodles

2lbs firm tofu, drained and mashed

1 8oz package of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 8oz package of shredded Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2tsp dried oregano

2 cups chopped white mushrooms

1 (10 oz) bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

4 cups marinara sauce **see note at bottom of post**

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 425F. Lightly oil a baking sheet and arrange the zucchini slices on it in a single layer. Drizzle the zucchini with a little oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast the zucchini until tender about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F

2) Place the noodles in a 9x13 inch baking dish and pour on enough boiling salted water to cover. Set aside

3) In a large bowl, combine the tofu, mozzarella and 3/4 of the Parmesan cheese. Mash well to combine. Add the basil, oregano, 1tsp of salt, and 1/2tsp pepper. Mix well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding a pinch more salt if necessary.

4) In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid, 3 - 4 minutes. Add the spinach and season with salt to taste. Cook until liquid is absorbed set aside

5) Drain and blot noodles. Spread a layer of the marinara sauce in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Place 4 noodles on top of sauce, slightly overlapping. Spread 1 1/4 cup tofu mixture over noodles in thin layer. Spread a layer of the zucchini slices on top of the noodles and top with half the spinach mushroom mixture.

6) Repeat layering with the sauce, noodles, tofu mixture, zucchini slices, and spinach mixture, ending with sauce topped with remaining Parmesan cheese.

7) Cover with foil and bake 45 min.

**Marinara Sauce**
You can use the premade store bought sauce be here is a great way to make your own

2Tbs olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs dried marjoram

1tsp dried basil

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes

1tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/4tsp black pepper

1) In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in marjoram and basil and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and sugar and bring to a boil.

2) Reduce the heat to low, season with salt and pepper, and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Makes about 7 cups. Store additional sauce in fridge for a few days or freezer for 3 - 4 weeks

Feel the Burn?

Well it's been over a month since I posted last. Been feeling a little burned out on the running, not to mention the blazing temps we've been dealing with this summer. I've also been trying to get use to my new work schedule that I really don't like. I have been getting out and doing my long runs on the weekends, though I've had to cut a few short due to heat/humidity or schedule conflict. Unfortunately I haven't been getting my shorter runs in like I should. I might do one tempo run a week if I'm lucky. Starting next week I'm planning on volunteering with the Fitton Y's running club, which should help get me back on pace some.

I've also been struggling with the whole eating "healthy" thing lately. I'll be doing really well for about a week then I loose focus for about 3-4 days eating meat, junk food, and other garbage I don't need. I'm wanting to take the next step up from vegetarian to vegan but have to get refocused on the basics before I proceed or I'll end up back where I started.

My question for you today is what do you do to prevent burn out or how do you get rid of that feeling?