Race for the Cure 2012

Race for the Cure recap from back in May.

So… it was sort of a come back race for me. I had to stop running in November after some old and new injuries came together to be best friends (bursitis in the hip, tendonitis in the foot). Things aren’t 100% but are definitely getting better. It was my first race since November 6^th.

Race recap… prettydamn decent. I’ve been getting back into the mileage doing run/walk intervals. Did my first full 3.1 miles 10 days before the race but have been sticking to 4/1 run/walk intervals. During the race I fully ran the first 2 miles!! Then I walked 2 mins, ran 4 mins, walked 1 min and then ran the rest of the way to finish the race. I sort of wished I had just pushed through but I was hitting a wall and it was getting pretty warm. Taking it easy from around miles 2-2.5 helped me feel pretty good during the last part of the race so I’ll take it.

Another thing that helped…

During the last ½ mile I was running at nearly the same pace with the woman next to me. I made some generically lame comment about the heat (it was getting pretty toasty). She agreed and we spent the last ½ mile of the race going back and forth with comments about getting close to 3 miles and being nearly done. At one point I asked if she had done the race before and she joked about how she had, even though you might not be able to tell (because of the struggles). I told her I’ve been doing it for the past few years with my family because my Mom is a survivor of breast cancer. She then remarked that she had a lumpectomy 2 years ago. Now while running alongside this woman for 5 minutes, I didn’t really get a good look at her. She was in my periphery and wearing a hat but I knew in general she was pretty young. I made a comment (probably an assholish comment – I blame it on the running) about “but you aren’t that old” or something and she said she was 28. (Hi, that’s how old I am.) I know breast cancer can strike at any age but I was shocked, I have no idea what I said back but we were really close to the finish line and we both kicked it into high gear for a strong finish. She rocked it. I was trying not to puke. After we crossed the finish line she turned and gave me a huge hug and congratulated me on the race. I’m sure I did the same. And then she was gone. I lost her in the crowd in my desperate search for water.

I had time to kill until the rest of my family finished the race so I snuck off to a shady corner to catch my breath, drink some water and recover.  I’m always so overcome by thanks that I can run this race in “Celebration” of my Mom and not in “Memory” of her. And I was overcome with gratitude for having spent the most memorable 5 minutes of my running “career” with this woman. I’ll never forget it.

Mole Pork Enchiladas

This has to be my fastest kitchen-to-blog post ever, in fact, I'm still eating as I type. Though, it might be one of my longest procrastinated recipes. I'm pretty sure I bought my primary ingredient about a year ago. Enter: Mexican Spicy Dark Chocolate. It's the perfect base for this savory sauce that has a little bit of sweetness and kick. 

Mole sauce is one of those things you either love or hate (or haven't tried yet). In my opinions, yum! I've made it once before but it's been far too long.

Mole sauce:

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2 medium onion

1-2 TBS olive oil

1 small (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes with liquid

1 small (8 oz) can of plain tomato sauce

1-2 cups chicken broth

2-3 oz dark chocolate (spicy mexican or regular)

1-2 tbs chili powder

1-2 tbs cumin

1/2 tbs cinnamon

1/4 tbs nutmeg

salt/pepper to taste

In a food processor (mainly because you'll have to use it again later) - chop garlic and onion. Saute in a "soup" pan with olive oil. Once the combo is lightly browned and fragrant add it back into the food processor. Add diced tomatoes with liquid, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and nutmeg. Process until smooth and then add back to the soup pan. Add 1 cup of chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer at least 30 mins (the longer the better). If it reduces too much, add more chicken stock (I always eye ball this part). 

Mole Pork Enchiladas:

Once the mole sauce is done, the possibilities are endless. Tonight I used it to make mole pork enchiladas. Combine 2 cups shredded pork with 1/2 cup mole sauce.

Add to your favorite corn or flour taco, fajita or burrito wrap to desired fullness (about 1/2 cup for burrito sized enchiladas and roll into a bundle. 

Spray your pan with cooking spray, add 1/4 cup mole sauce to the bottom and then place your enchiladas seam side down in the dish. Top with another 1/2-3/4 cup mole sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 mins. Remove foil for the last 5 mins. Covering with a layer of your favorite cheese is optional though encouraged.

Tonight I topped my enchiladas with some mashed avocado and sour cream. In the oven, the sauce continued to cook, meld and reduce. It's so delicious with pork but would go great with any of your favorite enchilada fillings. I even enjoy it over eggs for brunch. Enjoy!

I need to..

... find my missing box of dishes (I’m pretty certain the movers lost it).

... get over the fact the movers lost a box.

... take a trip to the Adirondacks. I need that air in my lungs STAT.

... run (run/walk) 3.1 miles tonight. It just needs to happen and I need it to go well.

Scenes From a Run - Tulip Edition

Rebuilding mileage after an injury, especially an injury you haven't really recovered from, sucks. Tulips help. I forgot how much I love running through Washington Park after work. I need to bring this back.

The city announced a press release that (basically) said, if you want to see the tulips, go see the tulips, STAT. The early summer we had this spring means the tulips won't really be sticking around for Tulip Fest, bummer. A sunny and perfect April day before a rainy weekend sounded like a great time to go. 

2.5 miles later and a few tulip breaks, here ya go!

New Orleans inspiration - Pasta Rosa

Back in February I traveled to New Orleans for a few days before The Rock Boat set sail. It was such a blast and of course the food and drinks were amazing! I wrote myself a note of meals I had to recreate at home and this was my first attempt!

On our last night in NOLA we had dinner at Coop's Place.  I had already had my fill of shrimp poboys so I was looking to try something new. The "Pasta Rosa" caught my eye and it did not disappoint. It was the perfect blend of spice from the cayenne pepper, creaminess from the goat cheese as it melted, and crunch from the pine nuts. And sneaking in some vegetables never hurts when eating out all the time while on vacation.

Now... my attempt to recreate the dish was helped by the list of major ingredients on the menu. I'm not much of a follower of recipes so all measurements are approximate/eye balled and certain ingredients are to-taste (like the cayenne pepper, add a little at a time). This made 2-3 generous servings so you may need to adjust the amount of ingredients to suit your crowd. I also think this dish would be great with chicken or as a vegetarian dish. Maybe next time!

1/4-1/2 cup julienned sundried tomatoes
1-2 oz. pine nuts
penne pasta (4-6 oz dry = 2-3 cups cooked)
pancetta (I used 4-5 slices of center cut bacon)
2-3 TBS olive oil
6 - 9 oz baby spinach (1 small bag)
1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
½ lb shrimp (about ¼ lb per person)
1/4 cup goat cheese
Salt, pepper, garlic power, chili powder, cayenne pepper (to taste - or whatever sounds good to you)

1. I bought dry sun dried tomatoes (not in oil) so I started by soaking them in water (enough to cover). I added a little bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder to the bowl just to spice 'em up. They soaked around 15-20 minutes while I was preparing other things. Save the water to add to the mix later.
2. Toast pine nuts in a small dry skillet for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned (keep an eye on them).
3. Bring water to a boil and cook penne (or pasta of your choice) per the directions.
4. Chop bacon (or pancetta) into small pieces and cook in a large pan until nearly crispy.
5. Add 1 TBS olive oil, minced garlic, drained sun dried tomatoes, and 2-3 TBS of the soaking liquid (reserve the liquid).  Sautee until tomatoes are softened adding more water as needed.
6. Add spinach to the pan and cook until wilted, stirring every 2-3 minutes.
7. Add shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes per side or until pink. (I pushed the spinach mixture to the side so that the shrimp had contact with the pan - you could also remove the spinach and return once the shrimp is cooked.)
8. Toss in cooked pasta and add another 1-2 TBS of olive oil, 1-2 TBS of the tomato soaking liquid or pasta water (you want enough moisture so that everything is coated).
9. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, cayanne pepper to taste. Toss and mix well.
10. Serve and top with toasted pine nuts and goat cheese.
11. Enjoy!

My taste buds thought I did a pretty good job recreating this dish and it's definitely something I'll make again.

Fill in the Blank Friday

Courtesy of The Little Things We Do

1.   The holiday season is    a time to spend with family and friends. And to hang shiny things everywhere.

2.   Snow makes me   incredibly happy. It's so beautiful, down to every last snowflake.

3.  The best comfort food to eat when it's cold out is    soup or chili. Boring response but it's the truth. I'll probably try this recipe next: White Bean and Bacon Soup.

4. Winter is the best time for    being snowed in though that really never happens. I want to get into some winter sports this year so I hope we get some snow soon!

5.  I can hardly wait for    Christmas! I'm excited to see family and to bake and eat some Christmas cookies.

6.  When it comes to holiday gifts I prefer to    give, I like shopping for others and watching them open presents. Not saying I won't enjoy unwrapping a gift or two myself.  :)

7.  If I were to rate my excitement about the holiday season on a scale from 1-10, I would say I am at about a    7. They are fun but a little hectic and go by way too fast .

Injured Reserve: Add Me to the List

Injuries suck, especially when you are in the running groove. Most of this was written a few  weeks ago but I'm finally getting around to posting it. It helps that I'm over the worst of my 'no-running allowed' blues. For real though, I wasn't any fun to be around when I got that news.


But since I suck at blogging let's recap how my injuries (yes plural) came to be. Well there were some of these: Freihofer's Run for Women, Father's Day 5K, Warrior Dash, and a few others that didn't get blogged about.

Old vs. New. Heel strike much?

More specifically before I even began running this spring I did something to my hip on an elliptical machine. I saw my Doctor and we did X-rays (pointless since I knew I didn’t break my hip), steroids, NSAIDs, muscle relaxers and physical therapy. I took my drugs, went to physical therapy, I start running. No one can tell me exactly what the problem was; narrowed down to either bursitis or IT band issues. Months of physical therapy, naproxen and running and eventually things started to feel better. That lasted a few weeks and then it came back in a mild sort of way. For the most part I ignored it and kept running. 


I built up my mileage and my pace. Hit a PR during almost every race I ran. 5K training was in the books and decided to tackle a 10K. I trained and hit those miles faster than I thought and ran the inaugural Fall Frun 10K in November. It was epic and I felt so good. I hit a 5K PR by a minute on the second 5K. Highest of Runner’s High.

As shown, picture stolen from Greg. Sorry Greg. 

The next day I woke up to some soreness in my foot and it didn't go away. I took most of the week off from running with no improvement. I bought new shoes which also didn't help. Here we go again. Saw my Doctor, got x-rays, yadda yadda. I also decided to see a Sports Medicine Doctor for both my hip and foot pain. Basically, he agreed that my bursitis was back in the hip (greater trochanteric bursitis) and had some tenonitis in my foot (peroneal tendonitis). Joy. And he advised me to back off from running and the bootcamp class I've been taking and to go back to Physical Therapy. 


So that's where I'm at. I had some awesome races planned but now I'm mostly couch bound. I'm bummed but hopefully I'll be back pounding the pavement soon. I'll keep ya posted!