I Tri'd

Almost.  It was more of a 1/3 of a Tri.  I completed my 3.2 miles and I did better than expected.  I ran the entire thing, no walking from this lady.  But to be honest, had I needed to run another 2 feet my two legs would have fallen off, they were on fire.  I ran it in 36 min.  When my brother rode his bike back into the transition area I knew it was time, I had butterflies in my stomach because I was nervous...I wanted to do well.  I put the timing chip on my ankle and away I went.  I had so much adrenaline at the start I ran the first mile in 10 min and 20 seconds.  The next two miles were a little slower clocking in at around 12 minutes or so.  I did not pass anyone, but I sure did get passed by lots of people.  Oh well, you know what?  I did it and that was my goal.  I was tired yesterday, but I think that had more to do with getting up at 3:45 and less to do with the fact that I ran.  I am not even sore today.

Our group before all the fun started.

(Terra, Kristi, Michale, my dad, me, and my brother)

There I go, just getting started

And here I come, looking...sweaty.

And the crowd erupts in cheers...sorta, lol.

\

Another sweaty shot of myself and my brother.

Will I do it again?  I will tri.  :)

All I can say is...

All I can say is...I am pooped.

I got up at 3:45 am so we could be at the triathlon to be registered and in the start position.  As soon as we got home, I napped for 30 min, showered and hit the road again for my Aunt's 50th birthday party.  I am pooped.  I will blog about the race tomorrow.  Night.

Sunfish Tri

Tomorrow is race day!  That is a loaded exclamation point because not only am I excited I am also kinda of scared.  I am competing (and I use that term loosely) as a part of a relay team.  I am only doing the 5 K at the end of a sprint triathlon.  It's only 3.2 miles you say.  Yes, yes I know it is ONLY 3.2 miles.  But do you know how far that is to a semi couch potato as myself?  Far!

I have been running over the last two weeks.  So I am in a little bit better position today than I was a month ago. But running with your brother or your dad is a lot different than running with oh a hundred or so people.  Am I going to make a fool of myself?  I sure hope not.  I would love to be able to run the 3.2 miles straight without having to walk, but I haven't been able to run that far consecutively at one time.  I also hope that I don't trip, that my thighs rubbing together don't start a fire, and that I don't choke went I try to hydrate while running. So many things to think about.

To top it all of, I am worried about what to wear.  Kind of trivial to be worried about how you look when you are running...running equals sweat and bad hair.  I have to make up for the sweat and bad hair.  I gotten several running shirts that are thin and dry fit, so my shirts aren't a problem.  What I am torn about is my shorts.  I have a pair of tight compression shorts that help my thigh rubbing problem, and I think I would be most comfortable wearing them only.  When I wear shorts over them it is just an extra layer that makes me HOT.  Tune in tomorrow to see if I sucked it up and wore the tights.

If you are awake tomorrow around 8 o'clock central keep your fingers crossed for me that I manage to run my measly little 3.2 miles and cross the finish line not on a stretcher.

GO TEAM Langford/McWilliams/McWilliams!!!!

Yummy in my Tummy

I took charge of supper tonight.  I love to cook, but since I am not in my own kitchen right now, I don't do it as much as I normally would.  I found a fun looking recipe in a magazine and since it is always fun to try something new, I decided to cook it.  Bonus:  It is healthy and it is freezable.  While I never actually freeze freezable recipes I do like to know that should the mood strike me, that I can make extra and store it away for a rainy day. I actually want to try cooking more "new" things in an effort to expand my go-to recipe selection..

Enchilada Lasagna

Prep: 25 min     Bake:  20-25 min     Yield:  8 servings

1 lb of lean ground turkey

1 large onion chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 small sweet red pepper, chopped

1 pkg (8oz) fat-free cream cheese

1 tsp. chili powder

1 can (10oz) enchilada sauce

6 whole wheat flour tortillas (8in)

1 cup shredded reduced fat cheese

1. In a large skillet, cook the turkey, onion, and peppers over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in cream cheese and chili powder.

(I added some frozen corn because it gave it more color, and added to the dish)

2.  Pour enchilada sauce in a shallow dish.  Dip tortillas in sauce to coat.  Place two tortillas in a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray; spread with half of turkey mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of cheese.  Repeat layers and top with remaining tortillas and cheese.

(I cut my tortillas in 1/2 to make them fit in the pan better)

3.  Cover and freeze for up to 3 months or bake, uncovered at 400' for 20-25 min or until heated through and cheese is melted.  Let stand for 10 min before serving.  Serve with salsa and sour cream.

(yummy)

A few notes from the cook:

-To use from frozen, thaw in fridge overnight.  Remove from fridge 30 min prior to baking, and the bake!

-I think that adding chopped zucchini would be absolutely delish, but unfortunately the grocery store didn't have any today.

-As a 2 person household (when Matt is home) I always struggled with finding recipes small enough not to leave a ton of leftovers, but big enough to satisfy us.  This is perfect!  I would use these recipe in the amounts it calls for, but I would make/bake only 4 servings and freeze the other 4 servings for another night.  Just use a smaller pan.

Enjoy Mi Amigos!

Nutrition Info:  1 serving equals 282 calories, 11g fat, 27g carbohydrates, 22g protein (without sour cream/salsa)

I am back....

I am back from a fabu Fourth of July weekend.  


My parents, along with another couple, have a camp on the Jordan River in Bay St. Louis, MS.  It is such a fun place to be.  The "camp" and I used the term camp loosely, because it is more so a house, is located on a canal that ties into the river.  You can stand on the balcony and see all of the other camps, look down at the canal, or hop in the boat tied to the dock and be on the river in 4 min.  We don't get to spend much time down there because we all have such busy lives you know.  So this weekend was a rare occasion that my parents, brother, and I were able to go together*.  


We didn't do much other than lounge around, eat eat eat, play cards, take the boat out for a ride, and...spend Friday night in the ER.  My dad had a bike wreck.  My dad and bro where riding their racing bikes down the beach front highway, but a pothole had other plans for them, and my dad was the one to pay the price.  Six stitches and a battle wound later, he lives to tell the story.   

(In the ER)

(The next day + stitches)

So once we got over the trauma of that incident we proceeded to enjoy the weekend.  I said we took the boat out for rides.  Normally we probably would have fished, but I am sure you have heard of a little disaster called "The Oil Spill".  When all of the coastal shorelines are shut down, that pretty much puts a damper on any deep sea fishing you plan on doing.  Nevertheless, the river was still open, so we enjoyed it along with all of the other Fourth of July boaters, tubers, and jet-skiers.  My dog Duece even got to go on his first boat ride.   Did he like it you ask?  Well if you consider digging your claws into the wooden dock to keep from being forced on the boat, then yes...he loved it!

(Duece channeling Leo Dicaprio ala Titanic)

So, its back to blogging and back to reality for me.  

* I just wanted to mention that while we were together, we were still missing part of the crew.  My hubby Matt was definitely missed this weekend.  Love you baby.

Celebrate America

Happy Fourth of July everyone!
I will be spending the weekend with my family at our camp on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  (minus my true love)
I will not be updating the blog this weekend, but hopefully when I get back on Monday I will have lots of fun stories to tell!

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

What is chasing me?

I started running, something I never really had the desire to do.  Sure, in my mind I always kind of thought it would be nice to say I could run a mile, but I didn't have the gumption to make myself do it.  With Matt being in the Army and having to adhere to certain physical standards, one of which requires them to run two miles for a PT test, I have watched him run.  On rare occasions he talked me into lacing up my tennis shoes and going running with him...I never made it that fare, and running "with" him turned into more running "behind" him.  Let's face it, it is easier to run with a partner, at least it is for me, and by the time Matt would take off and leave me in the dust I just had one thing on my mind... "What is the fastest way back to my couch."

With Matt being gone for the past 8  months, I have made some changes in my lifestyle.  I started going to work-out on a regular basis, making healthier food choices (most of the time), and most recently I started running.  I have no grand illusions of being a  long distance runner, it really does not appeal to me at all.  But I do like being able to say, "Hey I ran 2 miles today".  I feel accomplished.  Am I fast?  No, actually quite the opposite.  But speed doesn't matter to me right now, just doing it.

Staying motivated was/is my #1 issue.  I have only been running consistently for two weeks and in that short 14 day span there have been days that I really DO NOT want to run.  My dad suggested registering myself in some sort of race, pay for it, and commit to it...that way I either have to train/run or look stupid in front of a bunch of people on race day.  So I did it.  I signed up to be part of a sprint triathlon relay team.  My dad is doing the swim, my brother is doing the bike, and I am going to tackle the 5K.  That is next weekend, so it has served its purpose in keeping me motivated.

I also like to know that when Matt comes home and he suggests we go run, that I can actually go and run with him.  Before if someone had asked me how far I could run, my answer would have been, "Whats is chasing me?".  Now I can say, "Eh...around 2 miles."