Meal Plan July 1

So many things happening this week.

It is now exactly 1 week until the GC Half marathon. So this week there are a couple of red meat meals for protein and a pretty large carb load on Friday night.

It is also the first week of school holidays here. Both of my boys are having a sleepover at their grandmothers place one night this week. They love this as she lives on property with cows and chickens and dogs and room to run and run and run. Exciting for them and a night off for us.

But the really exciting thing is that my youngest is having a sleepover at a friend's place on Tuesday night. It's not exciting because he will be away (I will miss him dearly). It's exciting because we can have prawns for dinner. YAY. He is allergic to prawns and so it is generally off the menu at our house. I'm licking my lips at the thought of it!

Monday

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/15926/beef+and+vegetable+triangles
Beef and Vegetable triangles.
This dinner is always popular at our house.
I make a few changes to the original recipe though.
1. I use around 750g of mince and adjust the rest of the recipe to suit.
2. Instead of minestrone soup I either use condensed tomato soup or just pasta sauce (whatever I have in the cupboard is how this decision gets made)
3. I use frozen mix veg (corns, carrots, peas) in lieu of the veg that you'd get with the minestrone soup.
4. I usually add small cubes of potato which I add to the beef near the end of cooking just to soften them a bit (they finish cooking off in the oven)
5. I add curry powder to the beef mix as well just for some extra flavour
I guess you could say I slightly veer this recipe towards a beef and potato samosa.
Even if you don't do the changes that I do it's still a great recipe.

Tuesday


Garlic Prawns
https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/dinners/garlic-prawns
I like a traditional style garlic prawn recipe and this one is just that. Served with rice. Can't wait!

Wednesday

A Jamie Oliver recipe that I am going to put in the slow cooker and serve with fresh bread rolls.
You very rarely go wrong with Jamie Oliver.
I'll be making fresh crusty bread rolls to have with this one.


Thursday

Pesto-stuffed chicken breast
http://www.thepickyapple.com/blog/2008/03/18/pesto-stuffed-chicken-rolls/
It's just myself and my husband tonight. It will be very quiet.
My sister gave me a grocery bag full of basil last week so I wanted to make basil pesto and then find a recipe to use it in. This recipe seemed perfect, especially as it also requires cream cheese because I have a small bit left in my fridge form last week's dinners that I need to use. Perfect.
I can't wait tot try it. It looks yummy.

Friday

Fettucine carbonara
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/24827/pasta+carbonara
Eggy, creamy, bacony pasta drool.
This is not low fat and not a regular in our house because of it, but it is oh so yummy and a prefect carb load 2 nights before a half marathon.

Have a great week

Do you want to come for a run with me?

Dear new runners,

Here's something I wish I'd known when I started. (there's sooo many things I wish I'd know, this is just one of them)

I still consider myself to be new to running as I've really only been running for about 9 months and I have never completed a race of any distance.

When I started running I was doing distances of 3-5km (2-3.1 miles) for a couple of months, before working my way up to 10km (6.2 miles) which is where I hovered for a bit.

Around this time, people that I know would invite me to join them on their run. These were no ordinary people though; these were distance runners. People who had completed half marathons and full marathons. Way out of my league, or so I thought.

Why would they invite me to run with them?

I thought they were just being polite and didn't really mean it.
Besides that, I was always scared that I would hold them back and that they'd get annoyed with me for 'wrecking' their run. So, I always said no. Or i'd say something along the lines of "oh I'd just slow you down" and leave it at that.

Now that I am doing longer distances I find myself in the odd position of being that person who is constantly inviting (nagging) other new people to join me and I am getting the same response that I used to give people; "oh, I wouldn't be able to keep up".

But I'd like to tell you that it's not about keeping up.
Honestly.

Obviously I don't know what everyone else's running schedules are but, personally, I do one big run once a week. The rest of the week for me is what I consider to be short runs of anywhere between 5 and 10 km's (3.1 - 6.2 miles).

The day after my big run is when I am meant to be doing a recovery run. A recovery run is also called a slow run and it is literally that - a slow, easy run at an easy pace.
Now, again, I don't know about other runners, but an 'easy pace' is harder than it sounds when you spend the rest of the week trying to perfect the one, slightly faster, pace.
I do try my best to go slower but I just end up running at my regular pace.
 This is where a new runner makes the PERFECT running partner. We run, we chat, I go easy, and you, the new runner, can dictate the pace. It doesn't matter how slow you think that is. As long as we keep moving along it is perfect for me.

Once a week I try to do sprint sessions or sets of stairs and a new person is again the PERFECT partner to base against. I have been running once a week with some girlfriends who are just new and we do some killer stairs together. My aim is to do 2 sets to their 1.
Or I might get to a point where there is a short cut or a long way around. My friends take the short cut and I use the long way to do a sprint session and try to get to the meeting point at the same time.
It (hopefully) encourages them to keep going, keep getting better each week. There will come a time where they beat me up the stairs and at the sprint point. I know it and I hope they know it too. When that times comes we'll just re-draw the line. It makes me smile thinking about it.

The final positive is that, for me, it's nice to have some company as I am normally a solo runner.
If I can inspire someone at the same time then that's awesome.
And it reminds me how far I have come from a year ago when I couldn't even run 1 km without stopping.

So, the next time that someone who you consider to be a 'runner' says to you "Do come you want to come for a run with me?" please don't be afraid to take them up on it.

Even better, ask them first!

Have you set your deadline yet?

 

Run run as fast as you can
You can't catch me because in my mind I've already won...

I am now 11 sleeps away from my very first race, the Gold Coast (GC) Half Marathon.
I even paused after I typed that line because I almost have to pinch myself to believe it.

I have been running for 9 months and late last year I had plans to do the 10k at the GC. I thought that 10k would be amazing and such an achievement. But, after 4 months of running, I got to 10k, and it wasn't as hard as I thought to get there. Around the same time a few people started to get into my head about doing a half instead. These people, looking back now, could probably see that I was physically capable but mentally....well that's another story.

A half is a big step. Massive.
It's over double the 10. What if I had to walk parts of it? What if I didn't make it to the end? What if I didn't finish by the cut off time?
There's a lot of 'what if's' to consider there.

So, outwardly, I fobbed of any suggestion of the half for a couple of months. Inwardly though I wanted to test myself, physically at least. I read a few guides and took what I knew already and just slowly started to increase my long run each week. Pretty soon the idea of doing the 10k seemed like the easy route. But the problem was, the half still seemed like a dream.

Then I read this quote somewhere,



 

 

I have no idea where I originally read it or who coined the phrase (Google not much help either) but it just seemed to 'get me'.

It was then that I started to admit to myself and to others that maybe I could do the half.

 

Fast forward to May and I signed up to do my first Half.

 

Less than 2 weeks out now and the absolute BEST part, I am mentally ready.

I am even a bit excited!

I CAN do this.

My fear is gone. I don't anticipate walking any part of the race but if something happens on the day and I do have to walk then I am not going to worry about it.

 

I am going to cross that line with the biggest grin on my face. I will have done something that I never thought possible, something for me.

 

 

My dream became a goal. My deadline is July 7 2013.

 

Have you set your deadline yet?

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Meal plan June 24

Wow, it sure has been cold here this week. But that means it is great weather for baking lots of school lunch box treats.
Feel free to check out my Pinterest 'Baking' board for some ideas of your own.
http://pinterest.com/jenstrongy/food-baking/
There are 2 pins from Southern in Law. She has some amazing recipes that choose the healthier option. (I don't know this girl personally so it is not an advertising grab on her behalf but if you check out her page or like her facebook page do feel free to tell her that I sent you. She's very personable. This is her facebook link http://www.facebook.com/southerninlaw?fref=ts )

Personally, I am 2 weeks off completing my first ever (running) race - the Gold Coast half marathon. So scary, but oh so exciting. I am dealing with a bit of a shin pain issue but I feel mentally prepared to do this which is a great thing. For non-runners, the mental hurdle is really hard to get over, sometimes worse than the physical training.'

This weeks meal plan includes 3 things that I haven't made before (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday meals) so I don't really have any useful notes to add to those, just ideas on what I plan to change because I very rarely leave a recipe as is. The beef rolls (on Tuesday) are really delicious and are on both boys 'favourite dinner' list. I encourage you to give it a try, and please let me know what you think or if you enjoyed it.


Monday







http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478
This recipe has lots of comments in the review section that I have read over. A couple that I have noted are to include either alfoil or baking paper on the bottom of the cooking tray to save having to clean a sugary mess. A few suggest salting the chicken before putting the garlic mix on - I think I'll use a Moroccan seasoning or a Cajun seasoning instead of salt. A few of the reviews said that their chicken came out dry due to the high temp (500 F/260 C) which I also think is high so I will probably do 200 C and see what happens.
I plan on serving this with a zucchini/tomato/onion gratin type thing that I made up. If anyone wants the actual recipe please just let me know.

Tuesday

Recipe is on this blog. I have no idea how to link posts so have just copied and pasted the address for you here :
http://runcookrunrepeat.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/recipes-cream-cheese-beef-rolls.html
They perhaps don't look amazing (one friend likened them to something not so pleasant, let your imaginations work on that) but the taste is really very very good.
Get a 250g block of cream cheese because you use it again on Thursday

Wednesday

http://www.apronstringsblog.com/one-pot-wonder-tomato-basil-pasta-recipe/
Another new one. This recipe has been re-pinned so many times on Pinterest. I am planning on adding red capsicum and celery to the pot plus some baby spinach near the end. I also plan on lightly cooking (kinda frying) some sliced chorizo to add to the finished product for my husband and the boys. (Personally I try to have at least one vego meal for the week. My boys are growing, they need protein)


Thursday













http://www.southerninlaw.com/p/recipage.html?recipe_id=6044099
The recipe is for one serve (most of her recipes are) but obviously I will adjust to suit 4. I also plan on changing this slightly to make it a parmigiana type bake and tweaking it slightly so that the chicken is on the top of the rice mix  and adding some ham to the top of the chicken before topping with the parmesan cheese. I will try to remember to take a photo

Friday

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/18960/longevity+beef+noodles
A simple beef stir fry

The Pinterest board is here: http://pinterest.com/jenstrongy/this-weeks-dinner/

As always, you are on your own for the weekend
Jen

Recipes - Cream cheese beef rolls

Cream cheese beef rolls

 

Ingredients

750g            Beef sizzle steak (sometimes called minute steaks) *
125g            Packaged light cream cheese (can be full fat if you want but the light spreads better)
2 tbs            Mixed herbs (you can add more or less depending on your taste preference)
                     Cracked pepper (optional) for taste
                     Flour
                     Cooking spray (you can use oil if you prefer)
1 tbs            Salt reduced soy sauce
1/2 cup        Beef stock
200ml          Light evaporated milk (again this can be the regular evaporated milk if you prefer)
1 tsp             Cornflour
 2 tsp            Parsley      

* If you can't find the sizzle/minute steaks you can use rump steak. What you then need to do is trim the fat and flatten each piece with a meat mallet until about 2-3mm tick (basically flatten them to as thin as you can without destroying them or getting holes if that makes sense) 

* I will aim to have  'how to' photos to follow this week


Method

1. Combine cream cheese, mixed herbs and pepper (if using). It is best if you can get the cream cheese out of the fridge at least 15 minutes prior to using to allow it to soften which makes spreading it that much easier.
2. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the steak pieces. You can do this as a bulk thing which allows you to make the distribution as even as possible.
3. Roll us each steak and secure with toothpicks. Personally, I like to use 2 toothpicks per roll, even if it only needs one. My logic is that when I am ready to remove the toothpicks I know to look for 2 in each roll (so no worries about if you have left any in there)
4. Light coat each roll with flour.
5. Spray a frypan (I use an electric frypan on medium) with cooking spray (or heat oil if using)
6. Brown rolls. Depending on the size of your frypan you may need to do this in batches.
7. Combine soy sauce and stock. Add to the pan on a low, simmering heat.
8. Use this time (as rolls are simmering) to remove the toothpicks. In total I simmer for around 5-10 minutes
9. Use a little of the evaporated milk to mix with the cornflour then add the cornflour mix plus remaining evaporated milk and parsley to the meat. (Sometimes I use the whole 375ml can of evaporated milk, it depends on my enthusiasm to make something with the leftover during the week)
10. Bring to the boil until reduced (by about half) and thickened. If you are concerned about the meat becoming too tough at this stage you can remove to a plate to keep warm.

Great served with a combined potato & sweet potato mash. The sauce is so good on mash.


* Steps 1-4 can be done ahead of time, ie. in the morning, as you rush around hanging the washing, cutting up fruit, nagging kids to get dressed and brush their teeth so they're not late for school. You know, a normal carefree morning!!







 

Could running really be my mid life crisis?

I often joke with family and friends that running is just me having my mid life crisis.

For reasons unknown, curiosity got to me today and I Googled the definition of 'mid life crisis'

I had to laugh at some of the urban dictionary definitions.
This was number 3: A mid life crisis is when an old man buys twenty lamborghinis.
Some other funny ones are here:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mid%20life%20crisis

Google just sums it up as "An emotional crisis of identity and self-confidence that can occur in early middle age."
Faith no more did a song called Mid Life crisis too, but i'll be danged if I can work out what those lyrics mean.

But, it made me wonder if training for half marathons really is a mid life and has anyone else ever asked the question? Another quick trip to Google made me realise that while the terms 'mid life crisis' and 'half marathon' didn't get millions of hits, I certainly wasn't the only one who had thought of this.

What I did get from a few of the articles that I read is that a lot of people say that there actually isn't any scientific evidence behind having an actual mid life crisis and that the term is just bandied about to excuse behaviour that differs from what you are normally doing.

Also, BIG, MASSIVE also, it seems that mid life's generally occur in people aged from 40-60 so I don't fit the age group anyway. (Well, not for another 3 years)

And why does it have to be a 'crisis'? Why can't it be a 'mid-life awesomeness peak'?

After all this research (hic!) I have decided that I am neither at 'mid-life' or having a crisis. What I am doing is living a healthier life and, in doing so, hopefully I inspire my family and others to live healthier lives too.

That said, if I start talking about doing a bungee jump or buying a sports car you are officially given permission to heckle

Meal plan June 17

I am loving doing up this meal plan each Sunday.
The best thing about it is that it takes out the worry (ie. staring at the fridge and cupboard) all week about what to make and consequently we eat better (not that we eat bad normally). Also, it saves money as I don't find myself at the supermarket every second day.
I used to do a weekly meal plan a few years ago but just got bored of doing it. I am anticipating that I will get bored again eventually but the difference this time will be that I have a record of what I did so, essentially, I can just start again from my first meal plan.

This week we have the school athletics carnival on Wednesday so, from that day, I am making meals that I know will be eaten as I anticipate that there will be some tired kidlets


Monday










http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22910/speedy+fried+rice
An easy start to the week. Yummy

Tuesday

http://asunshinyday.com/slow-cooker-coconut-cashew-chicken/
This one looks really good. I haven't made it before but I figure you can't go wrong with cashews! I will probably add some vege's to the slow cooker at some stage - maybe baby corn, capsicum and spinach leaves. And I plan to serve it with noodles (only because we are having rice the night before)

Wednesday

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19828/individual+chunky+beef+pies
Another recipe that I haven't tried before. I am thinking that I'll do mushroom for the adults, and carrot and potato for the boys as mushrooms are not on their favourite vegetable list.
There's quite a few suggestions in the comments section that I am going to have a good read over before I start this one.

Thursday

http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Curried-Sausages-L602.html
The picture I've posted and the picture that comes up from the link do not match. It's a pinterest thing but I like the picture above better than the one on the link - simple as that.
This dinner will be yummy with mash

Friday

http://pinterest.com/pin/486036984755614949/
I think I could make this recipe with my eye's closed. Its almost foolproof.
Foolproof risotto is what it should be called.
It's originally from a Family circle cookbook - Quick short Chicken recipes.
I generally do pumpkin and spinach instead of leek. I also add pine nuts and bacon or ham if I have it.
It is super easy and super delicious.

Have a great week.
The full link (board) of what I am making is here:
http://pinterest.com/jenstrongy/this-weeks-dinner/

Recipes - Cheesy chicken rissoles

Cheesy chicken rissoles

 

Ingredients

500g            Chicken mince
1                   Zucchini, grated
1                   Carrot, grated
1                   Onion, finely chopped
2                   cloves of garlic, finely chopped
150g            Mushrooms, finely chopped
1                   Egg
3/4 cup       Breadcrumbs
1 tbs             dried herbs (parsley or mixed). Fresh would be better, I just didn't have any
2 tbs            Mayonnaise (whole egg mayo is best)
1 tsp            Maggi seasoning (optional)
6 rashers     Bacon (optional)









Method

1. Put all ingredients  (except bacon if using) in a bowl and mix until combined. Roll into 12-24 rissoles (the number/size is up to you. The size I have made, when flattened on a BBQ plate, are a great size for smaller bread rolls).
* If you are using the bacon: Wrap a bacon rasher around each rissole and secure with a toothpick. I didn't do it this time as I made smaller rissoles and the bacon would have been too much. It is best done is you are making the bigger size










2. Heat BBQ plate on high until hot. Reduce heat to medium. Flatten rissoles and cook 5 minutes each side or until cooked through.
3. Place on bread rolls and add whatever salad veg suits you (I do tomato, baby spinach leaves, cucumber and beetroot)


 

Recipes - Slow cooked beef roast

 

Slow cooked beef roast

 

Ingredients

750g-1kg              Topside beef roast

½ cup                     Red wine
2 tbs                      Mustard (I use Thomy brand but a seeded mustard would also be fine)
2-3                          Bay leaves          
2 tbs                      Gravy powder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Method

1. Spread mustard over the top of beef.

2. Place roast in slow cooker with red wine and bay leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

4. Approximately 10-15 minutes before serving, place beef in oven at 160 degrees to keep warm and to firm up the outside a bit (this makes it easier to slice too)
5. Add enough gravy mix to red wine/pan juices in the slow cooker to create consistency that you like. (I will admit that I never measure this out and only put 2tbs at the top as a guide)
6. Slice roast and serve with gravy and roast vegetables.
I love this recipe for roast potatoes and often do my pumpkin and carrots the same way: http://natashaskitchen.com/2013/05/29/oven-roasted-baby-red-potatoes/

 

Running without music, scary stuff!

Today was long run day for me. (Normally long run day is Sunday but I am a bit off schedule due to a very minor foot injury about 2 weeks ago)

I decided that today was THE day.....to run without music, and even more scary than that, I ran without my RunKeeper app lady telling me when I hit each kilometre and my time at each kilometre. Gasp!
My reason to make this bold move (ok, maybe that's a bit melodramatic) was because when I run my first ever race (the GC half) I want to be able to soak up the atmosphere of the day, without my own music.

I've really worked on my pace so the aim today was just to run steadily for 2 hours and see how I went.

I'd love to tell you it was great, but the truth is that it felt yuk pretty much from start to finish.

Why? I don't really know.

Was it because I had no music?
Was it because my shin was really hurting until around the 6 or 7 km mark?
Did I not have enough water the last few days and this morning? I thought I did
Did what I ate yesterday and this morning let me down? Or is that just trying to find an excuse?
Was it because it was a sunny 22 degree day and I was running in the middle of it instead of the crisp morning?

Did not having music make me think too much? I kept thinking I was going too slow and that it was hurting and then I think that negativity just stuck around for the whole time. At some points I felt like I was doing the Cliffy Young shuffle instead of running.
For the last 20 minutes I think I looked at my watch every minute to see if it was over yet. I have NEVER done that.

Then again there was a part of me that was really happy with it. I knew that the distance would be ok and was even worried at some points i'd have run too far. I have never run over 20km on purpose. I want my first ever 21.1km to be on the actual race day so that I am elated to have reached that distance, with no pressure about beating a PB.

And another thing, which I wasn't totally oblivious to: boy, do I breathe heavy. I can not breathe through my nose so every gasp is made through my mouth. I chuckled to myself a bit at the thought that at least I am giving any runners in front of me the warning that I am approaching.

So, how did I do?
I ran 19.47km in 1:55:34. Pace wasn't spectacular but it was steady. I averaged 5:56 mins per km (I've done a similar distance before at 5:45) so it was still under 6:00 which is all I am really aiming for on race day.
Now that its over and i've iced my shin and showered I am overall pleased with it. If this is me at my worst then race day will be fine. Adrenaline on the day should help too.

I hope your long run day was better than this

Meal Plan June 10

So this is what I am making this week

Monday
Home made pizza. there are 4 of us in the house and we all like different toppings on our pizzas. My husbands pizza is usually overflowing. I tend to do lots of veg and the 2 boys like meat, meat and more meat.
However, they must follow my one dinner rule - they must have 3 vege's each night. They get around this by eating some pizza toppings raw before as we make the pizza. I'm happy with that.
We tend to have ham, maybe salami, and some cooked chicken fillet on offer in the way of meat.
The veg we all choose from is capsicum, onion, baby spinach leaves, tomato, sun dried tomato, mushrooms and beetroot. YES, beetroot. If you haven't tried it you really should
The boys and my husband also add lightly scrambled egg.

Tuesday


Slow cooked beef roast.
http://pinterest.com/pin/486036984755600003/

Essentially I just buy a beef roast (a good quality one, not a fatty one) and throw it in the slow cooker with about half a cup of red wine or beef stock. If I am feeling like it I may also add bay leaves to the pot or spread some Dijon mustard on the roast too. I never bother to pre-brown my meat and it turns out fine. If I get the roast on in the morning I just leave it on slow all day. At some point in the afternoon (depending on when I get home) I might throw in some chopped carrot and chopped potatoes.
Around 15 minutes before serving I put the roast and veg (if veg have been slow cooked) in the oven at 160 degrees and make gravy out of the juices in the slow cooker.
I usually throw another 1 or 2 veg in the mix depending on what I have - either roast pumpkin, or frozen peas or a salad.
It couldn't be easier really and the meat is so tender that I don't get any complaints from the boys who "don't like chewy meat"

Wednesday
Chicken burgers
Wow, I am slack on photos this week.
I tried to find a recipe that I like but nothing compares to what my tried and tested recipe is for chicken burgers. So I am aiming to photo my burger and upload at a later date.

Which reminds me, I really, really want to have tabs on my blog like a recipe tab and a meal plan tab rather than all my posts just in one big line.
Can anyone help me work that out???

Thursday
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/16590/thai+fish+cakes
Make sure that you make the sauce as well for this one. I omit the chillis (Husband and I love them but they are not a hit with the boys; too spicy) and in their place I add red capsicum and red onion.


Friday
Good ole Spag Bol. Can't go wrong with that one.
No photo again but it will be on my to do list....

Have a great week.

Why I run

The very short answer to the question of why I run is easy: Because I enjoy it.

The longer version...

Before having children both my husband and I were quite active. We ran or cycled or swam. We played tennis at least once a week with some friends.

But children have a way of changing things. A bit like a snow globe. Everything is beautiful and calm and serene, then all of a sudden someone shakes it up. It is still beautiful and you know it will settle but it can be hard to see anything other than the snow for a little while.
I enjoy being a Mum. Sure, they are turning me grey and I do yell sometimes, but all up it's a fab job.
Exercising didn't seem so important.
Coupled with that is my fantastic metabolism. I am one of  'those' people - I can pretty much eat whatever I want and I don't really put on weight. For 8 years I did barely any exercise except the odd bike ride with the kids - but even that was at snails pace.

Every few years I'd say to my husband "I want to get fit again. I'm going running tomorrow" or something along those lines. Then for one or two days I'd run and then I'd give up.
I'd give up for any number of reasons (read excuses). It was too hot or too cold or it was raining or it was embarrassing. If you've been there you know what I mean.

So what changed? I really wish I could tell you that I had a lightbulb moment but I honestly didn't.
It was a few things added up. My Dad had had two heart attacks (survived both, the second finally made him change his ways), my eldest son who was 8 at the time was getting annoyed that I couldn't keep up in chasing type games, some of my size 10 stuff was getting snug (for me that was big) and I just wasn't all that happy with what I saw in the mirror.

Another Mum for the primary school where our children went told me about an outdoor class. I thought I'd give it a go. I even hooked up with another friend and promised to pick her up each week. That way I couldn't back out if I woke at 5.30am and it was raining or cold - I'd committed myself to picking her up. So I went. First week was hard. I had no idea what burpees were and could barely do 2 push ups on my knees! I was embarrassed but the group in general were all so lovely and didn't make me feel like a complete idiot.

The trainer is the absolute best and I could write a whole separate blog just praising her.

I don't think I could sit down for a couple of days after that first session. But it was kind of fun. So I went back the next week, and the week after that.
It did take me a few weeks to notice my own improvement but it was the feeling of doing something and getting better at it that was the fun part.

Due to my size I did get a few 'looks' from some who were bigger than me. I don't think bigger people realise that they make the very same assumptions and judgements on thinner people that they think people make on them for being big.
Does that make sense?
For example, I heard talk that went along with those stares about my right to be at the group because I wasn't big so why did I need to be there.

Anyway, after about 6 months of this once a week outdoor group I realised that my overall fitness and running had improved. At school I always enjoyed distance running and would get to zone or regionals for cross country.
Running was something I could fit in at a time that suited me. It is free and, best of all, I found that it allowed me to clear my head. For someone who thinks waaayyy too much it was a great thought sorter.
Running was also something I could do with my children.
I worked my way up slowly. First it was 2 or 3kms, then 4 or 5km for a couple of months. Then 8 or 9km. My children would ride beside me and tell me about their day. Win win.

After 4 months I reached 10km for the first time. I was so excited. A few people started getting into my head suggesting that I could do the Gold Coast Half in July. I wasn't so sure. I kept running, my distances kept improving and then about 6 weeks ago I finally believed in myself enough to sign up for the half.
The mental hurdle is a bitch (sorry, no other word suits it better).
Once I passed that I was even more excited and more determined.
Nerves still creep in. As I type this I have 4 weeks to go.
Thinking about it makes me have butterflies in my stomach.
I am hoping that I don't go out too hard so have been working on my pace and even doing a few runs without my RK lady in my ear.

So, in 4 weeks I am 'popping my race cherry'. I have done no other (organised) races in preparation. That does scare me a little but I think it will also make race day all that more exciting.


Wish me luck!

Meal plan

I know i'm a bit late to post this but I'm new to blogging so it will all take me a while. My aim is to post the plan at the START of the week, not the end.

When I work out my meal plan I always take a quick stock of what I have to use in the fridge before it goes off. The I go to my new BF, Pintrest, and make a board with this weeks meals.

I have been trying over the last few weeks to get rid of my mountain of cook books and jut use Pintrest. My goal is to just put my favs on there and then use my cheapo KMart tablet in the kitchen instead of a cookbook. I'm not putting a finish date on this goal and I don't want to post a photo of the spare room at the moment with all the cookbooks strewn across the floor...

So this is what I've cooked/am cooking this week:

Monday

Polenta chicken strips. Not as good as my regular schnitzel (that's my opinion anyway) but still a good alternative)

Cauliflower fritters. (I made these on the same night as the chicken strips)
From the sanitarium website. I can't post a link for some reason

Tuesday
 http://picturetherecipe.com/index.php/recipes/balsamic-glazed-steak-rolls/
These got a thumbs up from everyone - Husband and kids -So they are definitely on 'the list' to make again

Wednesday

http://www.sanitarium.com.au/recipes/pumpkin-and-chickpea-satay
Pumpkin and chickpea satay
I couldn't put just the picture for this (I'm still learning). Doesn't matter too much to me though as I won't be making this again. The sauce was nice enough but the overall flavour was a bit bland

Thursday
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19488/baked+mini+spring+rolls
I make a few changes to the original recipe - I should just take my own photos and put a new recipe up... mmm, i'll add that idea to my to do list and have to get someone to tell me how I do that.
Anyway, the short of it is that I change the ham to be chicken breast fillets which I precook and then shred, and I do zucchini instead of celery and I omit the shallots in place of garlic and ginger.
These are a fav in our house

Friday

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/blackened-barbecued-pork-fillets
I am thinking that I'll omit the fennel seeds as I'm not sure they'll go down a treat with the boys

And that's it. You're on your own for the weekends...

Oh, this is trickier than I thought

Goodness, where do I start with this blogging caper.
Am I doing this right?
I've got to say that the tutorials weren't all that helpful. (Although I do admit they may have been more helpful if I had made an effort to really read them)

So, I have been really thinking about blogging for ages now. What made me make today the day? Well, it was this little post at the start of a weekly meal plan I read each week - http://blogs.kidspot.com.au/villagevoices/meal-plan-carbonara/
It's like the author, Ella Walsh, was reading my mind. Especially when she wrote about the fear of making the wrong decision.
I really have to let that go, not totally, but a little bit. It's not a great trait (being indecisive). It wastes a lot of time. One great thing about it though is that when I do make a decision I have a real sense of accomplishment; like "wow, I did it", little pat on the back for making a decision, yay me.

So, my plans for my blog are to write about my two loves - running and cooking. My aim is to post weekly meal plans. They will be a mixture of experimental dinners plus some tried and true favourites. The posts about running will just be my thoughts, my goals and my achievements.

Let me know you thoughts at any stage

This is the link that made me jump in today (not sure the top one works)
http://blogs.kidspot.com.au/villagevoices/meal-plan-carbonara/