I was struggling with my running, so I turned to my ex trainer for advice. He is one of the most patient beings I have ever encountered and he was the first person to take the time to help me learn to run again. So I knew I could ask him for advice. After a long chat over coffee, we came to two conclusions (of which I already knew of):
1) I'm an all or nothing person.
So even though I knew that I needed to step back on my exercise because my IBS was making me really weak, I went extreme and said no running and nothing fitness related. The most exercise I was getting was rolling over on my bed and complaining about the effort.
2) I don't do well with comparing myself to others.
Some people thrive on it and use that to fuel their own fires. I use it as an excuse to stop, because if I'm not the best, it doesn't matter. I need to stop making running a competitive sport and get back to the point where it was something for me to challenge myself with.
The solution he came up with to both of those problems was to stay away from blogs. (hushed gasps are heard across blogger and wordpress) Most of the blogs belong to healthy individuals and many (I'm looking at you SR) can go run 20 miles on a whim. I struggle with at least doing three miles at a time. Also, my average pace is slow even for a snail. I'm pretty sure walkers are going faster than me (no, really, I've actually encountered that). So I'm sitting here, not running because I have no strength and then I'm sitting more, because, why bother at this point, and I'm reading these blogs of people doing 10 miles at a 7 min/mile pace and it's frustrating. So again, why bother?
I had to get back in touch with Alisa. And how Alisa runs. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
I'm finally back in my groove, I'm not running as much as I should (that's all IBS related now), but I'm not so down and out. And also, as hard as it is, I'm trying to just be thankful that I can run. When I was 16, I was told my arthritis in my knee was so bad that I would probably never run. I hadn't run since I was probably 14 years old. That's over 10 years. This is HUGE for me. Some days I wake up and still can't believe that I am able to run. I'm tearing up just thinking about how amazing that is.
But to the more important part, I got the text today from my wonderful PT. He said, he thinks I've made enough mental and emotional gains in the past two weeks to start blogging again (let's not tell him how I cheated occasionally, shhhh). But in that time off I've really thought about how to shape this lovely blog of mine. So instead of a random blog of food and running, I had to decide: a running blog that cooks or a cooking blog that runs? Based on what you just read, I hope you realize I picked that latter. And so I'm bringing back some yummy recipes!
Today was Bastille Day! For those that slept through world history class (don't try to pretend you didn't), it is the day in which the French people stormed the Bastille, which was the big prison in Paris, to gain ammunition. It was the highpoint of the French Revolution. Think of it as the same as our 4th of July. Of course, I had to create a French feast to go along with this wonderful day. And I brought along my friends wine and bread.
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| This is the mushroom and shallot quiche. Along with the beans and fennel. |
(I don't have a set recipe for quiche, since my mom has made it since I was born, but this is a good estimate)
2 frozen pie shells (yes I used frozen and yes I am proud of it)
6 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
salt and white pepper to taste
16 oz shredded Swiss cheese
1. Beat eggs and half and half until well blended. Stir in nutmeg, white pepper, and salt.
2. Split Swiss cheese equally between two shells.
3. Pour egg mixture into pie shells.
4. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and then turn down temperature to 325 and bake for about 30 minutes.
5. Quiche is done when lightly browned on top, but will still have some "jiggle" in the middle (think, pudding).
So that's the basic recipe. Today I switched things up a bit and did TWO different flavored quiches, just by adding in a few ingredients. In both versions, add into quiche in step 2, on top of the cheese.
In one quiche, I sauteed two thinly sliced shallots with one pound finely diced portabello mushrooms. Once all the liquid was cooked off and everything was softened, I stirred in one large clove of garlic, finely diced, and cooked for about thirty seconds. Let cool for a bit before adding to the quiche.
In the other quiche, I tossed 8oz of pancetta, about 6 thin asparagus spears, finely chopped and a good handful of sun-dried tomatoes diced.
Roasted Lemony Green Beans
1 pound green beans, trimmed
2 lemons, sliced into wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1. Toss ingredients together on baking sheet. (Go easy on the salt, because lemon and salt tend to activate the same part of your tongue, so it could be a bit much)
2. Roast at 400 for about 15 minutes, stir half way through.
3. Just before serving, use tongs to give the lemons a bit of a squeeze, then mix well with green beans.
Roasted Fennel (so it's a take off of my new favorite winter recipe, fennel is French, leave me alone!)
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1-inch-wide wedges
1 large onion, root end left intact, then cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
OH, can I eat with you!! Of course you have mad skillz in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you and your trainer have figured out a way to attack your running--just don't disappear okay?
I like your suggestion on the mini-muffins!