The day I reached my peak

Something really quite remarkable happened to me last weekend... I placed in a race

I came second. Me. I can hardly believe it. 

The race is a annual local fun run challenge. There are 2 distances - a 5km or 10km.

The 10km is simply the 5km course done twice. And its not a fast track as there are a couple of steep hills.

(The number of hills depends on who you talk to. I was told 3 hills; 2 on the way out and 1 on the way back. But, for the record, it sure felt like there was more than 3)

I decided to enter the 5km race as mentally I simply couldn't handle getting to the finish line and then heading for the hills again. I also only officially committed last Wednesday, 4 days before the race. I didn't prepare for it, as such.

So, race day.

I arrived with my boys (who were signed up to do the 1km kids dash) just as the 10km started, which was great as I got to cheer on some people that I knew.

The 10km finished, I chatted with some friends, then watched the boys and all of the other kids run.

About 10 minutes before the start of my race we ambled down to the start line. 

I had the butterflies that you get from any such scenario but I wasn't nervous about doing a great time or placing or anything like that. I'd had a quick look at the past results and saw that they were in the 24 minute area. As my PB for 5km is around that and due to this being a hilly race I didn't even look too closely at the times and just thought I'd aim for sub 30 minutes - ie give myself about a 5 minute leeway to allow for the hills slowing me down.

When the race started I don't even recall if it was a gun or hooter or just someone saying go... because I was chatting to my friend, her daughter and her daughters friend.
This friend of mine, Alisha, is fast. She's really quite amazing and I admire how quickly she's built up her speed too. I thought that if I could just stay with her then i'd have a good race.
The first hill came and, well, I don't mind hills and I just had a bit more speed in my legs than Alisha did on the day. I debated hanging back so that we could run together but I knew Alisha wouldn't want that, just as I wouldn't expect her to do for me.

It was an out and back race so as we got to the second big hill I knew there was only about 500 metres up and I'd start to see the people who were on their way back.
All males, more males, then one female who had a different ribbon on (indicating under 12 age group - yes under 12 - a gun in her own right) and then one female in the open category and then that was it.

OMG, was I in second??

I couldn't believe it.

From then I just aimed to keep this girl in my sights. I still wasn't certain that I'd counted correctly and thought that there was a very good chance that I'd missed someone but as I got to the last km and started to pass officials a couple of them gave me a little clap and said "keep going, you're coming second"

OMG, I WAS in second!

I heard my boys yell out to me and my friends gave a little shout too and then I crossed the line and those officials were right.

I DID get second place.

As I caught my breath the girl who came first thanked me because I made her keep going as she though I might catch her. This was all too unbelievable.

I was beaming. I wanted to shout it out to everyone there. I wanted to talk about how amazing it was to anyone with ears. But I tried to restrain myself. I'm not sure how successful I was at that. All weekend I was grinning like the Chesire cat. Even, now, as I type this, 2 days later, I am still so super excited.

When they presented the certificates I found out my time was 24:02. I am so pleased with that as I was honestly aiming for sub 30 minutes.

Super excited to come second

And what else is great (maybe even greater than the placing) is the fact that any time a self doubt tries to creep in it is squashed almost immediately by the joy that I still feel.
Yes, it was just a local fun run with maybe 100 people in my race. Yes, it was only 5km. Yes, there are many people in the running community that I know who could beat my time.
But I am honestly not thinking like that.
I am claiming it.

Any race, at any distance, is open to whoever turns up on the day. And this was just my day.

This may very well be the peak of my running life. Even that makes me smile.

I simply had to get this down on paper so that when this feeling subsides I can relive it again by reading my own recount

And, because it made the day just that much sweeter -  my boys did great in the kids dash, my friend Alisha came 4th in the 5km, her daughter came 1st in the under 17's 5km (and she'd only 13). Plus my local long run running friend came 2nd in the 10km and another friend came 4th in the 10km. (They're all in the picture)

Speed or Distance?

Speed or Distance?

I honestly ponder this question continuously at the moment. I can't stop.

I really want to keep up my longs runs. Well, actually, what I should say is that I'd like to get back into my long runs on a regular basis. Anything over, mmm, lets say 12 or 13km.
On the other hand I find even the thought of long runs soooo boring. What a waste of 1.5 to 2 hours.

I kid myself by saying that as long as I'm running 5-8km a few times a week then I should be right to pull a half marathon out of the bag in a couple of months. Deep down I realise that's probably not a smart thing.

I am loving little speed goals instead. I've cracked under 5 minute/km pace for 5km and have managed to maintain it for 6km. What I'd love is a sub 50 minute 10km.

So, thoughts to paper, I think I should keep doing shorter, faster runs and get a long run every 3 weeks or so just to feel like I'm not losing that distance ability. If I run the half marathons that I have in my sights (one in March and another in July) then I can just take them as they come. No pressure, just fun run.

Easy? Yes, in theory. I just need to work out how to run without pressure on myself (from myself).

Thoughts would be appreciated..

Meal Plan _ Nov 18

Another week organised. It sounds a bit over the top but having the meals planned really makes me feel happy, like i have already accomplished one thing.


Monday
Cream cheese Beef rolls

 This is a dish that just needs to be tried to see how yummy it is.

Tuesday

Speedy Fried Rice


Fried rice is a great, filling mid week meal. The rice can be cooked in the morning in between harassing the kids to get ready for school and then its just a matter of throwing the rest together when you get home. For us Tuesday involves a dentist visit for one of the boys followed by footy practice so a speedy meal is ideal.


Wednesday

One-pan chicken with honeyed root vegetables and stuffing
I found this recipe on a free e-book. I can't pin it and i hope the link works as it wasn't very co-operative. One pan meals are also great mid week options


Thursday


Sweet caramelised pork and coleslaw
This is a new one. I'm going to cheat with regards to the coleslaw and just buy "dry slaw" (rather than grate all the vege's myself). I am thinking the addition of brown sugar to the pork rub and sauce will be a winner with the family.

Friday

Spinach and Feta turnovers


These are a firm favourite with son number 1. (Jury is still out as far as son number 2 is concerned). I always add some extra tasty cheese, paprika and nutmeg to the mix just for extra flavour. No set amounts of each, just whatever i feel is right.

Meal Plan - Nov 4

Organised for food for the week. YES!


Monday

 



(Herb crumbed) baked salmon
I cheat and use pre-packaged bread crumbs and I normally add more/different herbs than just basil - parsley and chives work well. A few comments suggest adding lemon rind which I have done when I have a lemon in the fridge and it makes a nice flavour addition. One of the comments said that they add pinenuts to the crust mix which sounds delicious so I will try that this week.
I'm going to pair it with cheesy zucchini rice which is a new one for me but sounds delicious.


Tuesday


Homemade baked beans with Eggs and Chorizo
I've made a recipe similar to this one in the past without the chorizo but I like to try variations of recipes and this one sounded good. The vegetarian version is pinned onto my board this week (find it here)

Wednesday

Phad Thai (Chicken)
As with Tuesdays meal, I've mad Phad Thai quite a few times and each time i try a new recipe - Mainly because I don't think ive ever truly nailed it so I keep searching for that fail safe recipe. (I don't think there is one for Phad thai though - I think it has more to do with a very hot wok and getting the noodles just right)

Thursday

Maple pork and Maple apples
Mmm, maple sweetness. Should hook the boys in, especially the youngest one. Teamed with roast veg I am hoping this one is a winner


Friday

Chicken, Pumpkin and Leek parcels


These have been on my 'to try' list for a while and this is their week. The boys play touch footy on Friday nights so my plan is to have these all ready and just have to cook them when I get home while the boys shower. I do have one non-pumpkin lover in the house so I might consider other veg in a couple of them

Meal Plan - Oct 7

Yesterday I got my longest run (16.97km) done since completing the Brisbane half 2 months ago. It was hot but it felt good. Not my fastest time but I am truly just happy to be out there and hopefully inspiring a couple of other friends to keep going. I do have to be mindful of the wildlife though - at one stage a quite large brown snake was inhabiting the same path as I was running along. I chose to let him have the path and ran along the road instead.

On a food note, another week of meal planning is done after a couple of slack weeks. It really helps to not only save money and time but also means that we eat healthier as I don't end up buying impulse items at the supermarket every afternoon.


Monday

 Tandoori Chicken
For some unknown reason I've been craving this one lately but never got around to making it until now. Simple to prep and quick to cook. It's great done on the BBQ too.

Tuesday

Steak and roast potatoes
It's great BBQ weather here at the moment. Warm but not too hot and no mozzies, yet. My boys ask for these potatoes nearly every week when I ask for their input on the week's meal plan. What i love about the site where I got the recipe (Natasha's Kitchen link here) is that she posts the how to photos for each recipe. Personally, it makes it so much easier to decide if I'm going to like a recipe.


Wednesday

Slow cooker Chicken and Chorizo pilaf
Quick and easy. Perfect for mid week.

Thursday

 Teriyaki Pork meatballs
I 'd feel weird if I didn't have a recipe from Budget Bytes (link here) in my meal plan. Beths site is one that i regularly check for new recipes. The last time that I made this one both of my boys had given it a 10/10 before I even had a chance to sit down and start eating myself.


Friday

(Herb crumbed) baked salmon
I cheat and use pre-packaged bread crumbs and I normally add more/different herbs than just basil - parsley and chives work well. A few comments suggest adding lemon rind which I have done when I have a lemon in the fridge and it makes a nice flavour addition. One of the comments said that they add pinenuts to the crust mix which sounds delicious so I will try that this week.
I'm going to make home made baked chips to go with this one rather than a salad

Recipe - Healthy muesli bars

Healthy muesli bars

Ingredients

2 bananas

2 cups quick oats (also called minute oats) Regular oats will also do i just like the fineness of quick ones

1 tbs LSA mix

1/4 cup cashews and almonds  - chopped. You can chop them as finely or coarsely as you like. You could even leave them whole but as I was making this for kids I needed them to be chopped. You can also use any nuts you like - I simply had almonds and cashews in my cupboard today

1/4  cup choc chips - Optional. If you'd prefer to leave out the chocolate simply add more nuts to make up to half a cup in total

1 tsp vanilla ess - Optional
Honey

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (approx 355 F) and line a rectangular pan with baking paper.
2. Mash the banana

3. Add the oats, LSA, nuts, choc chips (if using) and vanilla (if using)

4. Mix until combined

5. This is where the honey comes in. If you feel that the mix is a bit dry simply add some honey. I sometimes only add 1 tbs just to help with the binding. The mix can be dry if you've used regular oats or if the bananas were on the smaller side. If you don't feel that you need it simply leave it out.

5. Press the mix into the prepared pan.
6. Bake for approx 20-25 minutes. Cool and then chop into muesli bar slices.

Great for school lunches and I find mine will keep for a few days wrapped in baking paper and in a tupperware type container

 

Recipes - Choc Orange Brownies

Choc Orange Brownies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/3    cup   cocoa

1        tsp    Bi-Carb/baking soda

1/2    tsp salt

1/2    cup sugar (Can be brown sugar or caster sugar. Either is fine. Brown sugar will give you a more caramelly flavour in my opinion)

1 tsp  Vanilla ess

1/4  cup vegetable oi;

Juice and zest of 1 orange (You can actually increase this to 2 if you really want/like the orange flavour)

1 cup Milk or Buttermilk. (You can even substitute for warm water if you want this to be dairy free)

Optional: Choc chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C degrees (355 F)

2. Grease or line a baking pan. (If you want thicker brownies go for a smaller pan, thin brownies go for a bigger pan. I tend to just get out whichever I find first)

3. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl

4. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to the sifted dry ingredients.

5. Mix until all combined. Add choc chips if using

6. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-40 minutes (depending on thickness). Cool (or not!) and eat. Yummy

 

 

While I have no idea of the actual nutritional stats these are what I consider to be on the healthier side of baking as there is no butter, no eggs and only 1/2 cup sugar.

A great way to use the mountains of oranges growing on my tree.