Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Sock Winner
In a random drawing of all eligible entrants... Congrats to Jayne. You are the new owner of Drymax Socks!!! Your socks will be sent to you shortly.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
We Are Finally Running
We have finally been able to run more than 2 days straight. We have been using the weather as an excuse, but now that it is nice out, we don’t have any excuses.
Yesterday was our third straight day running. The first day we ran the 5K distance on the trail. It’s a little slow going this year, but it felt good to get out there. Our biggest problem is that we struggle motivating ourselves. Last year we had some races to look forward to. We had never run in any races. This year, we have the Road Apple 5K to look forward to as our first race of the year, but because we have already accomplished this race last year, it isn’t as big of a goal to work towards. So it has been a struggle to keep motivated this year.
Even though there isn’t as much motivation this year as there was last, as we keep running, it’s going to get easier for us to turn it into a habit. Last year, we knew if it was nice out after work, we were going to run. It was a given. So far we have been stuck in first gear and we think with this recent weather, we can now shift it into a higher gear. Plus we have some other races we are looking to add to our schedule. We believe that anyone that is a novice runner, like ourselves, having that race as a goal to work towards is key. This year our goal is to do more races and try to improve on our times as we go along. Our ultimate goal this year is to be able to run a full ½ marathon in October in Columbus.
Chad- I’m surprising myself when I go out and run. I basically took off from running after our ½ marathon (relay) in October in Disney until there were hints of spring in the air a month or so ago. It’s not like I planned it that way, but I just hate running when it is cold out and refuse to run on the treadmill. I was sure that I had lost all of that hard work I did last year in my training, but this year it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I won’t say that I am in the same shape I was back in September, but I could run a 5K today (slowly) and not have to stop. Last year at this time, I would have had a hard time running a complete 5K. Obviously, it would have been easier if I would have kept up the training, but call me a weenie… I just don’t want to run in the cold and I HATE running on treadmills. My main motivation this year is to improve on my times and trim my winter weight off. It’s easy for me to lose weight when I am running, so I hope to get back into the swing of things and get back in shape. If we don’t ever run another race, it is nice just to get outside and the feeling after working out/running is something that is so easy to forget when you would rather sit on the couch and watch TV, but it is such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. I want to try to keep that feeling in mind when I feel unmotivated to run.
Julie- I have a hard time getting the motivation to get out and run. But even in the past three days of running, each day has gotten easier. I was actually looking FORWARD to our run yesterday and was kind of sad when I thought the rain might ruin our plans. Was I in better shape last October? Sure. But am I in significantly better shape than I was last April/May? Most definitely. Excuses need to stop and we need to get out and run. If it's raining - we need to use the treadmill or view it as an opportunity to do some weight training. And on a very lazy day, there's always the little doggie that would love nothing more than to go for a nice long walk. Motivation can be found anywhere if you're looking for it!
Yesterday was our third straight day running. The first day we ran the 5K distance on the trail. It’s a little slow going this year, but it felt good to get out there. Our biggest problem is that we struggle motivating ourselves. Last year we had some races to look forward to. We had never run in any races. This year, we have the Road Apple 5K to look forward to as our first race of the year, but because we have already accomplished this race last year, it isn’t as big of a goal to work towards. So it has been a struggle to keep motivated this year.
Even though there isn’t as much motivation this year as there was last, as we keep running, it’s going to get easier for us to turn it into a habit. Last year, we knew if it was nice out after work, we were going to run. It was a given. So far we have been stuck in first gear and we think with this recent weather, we can now shift it into a higher gear. Plus we have some other races we are looking to add to our schedule. We believe that anyone that is a novice runner, like ourselves, having that race as a goal to work towards is key. This year our goal is to do more races and try to improve on our times as we go along. Our ultimate goal this year is to be able to run a full ½ marathon in October in Columbus.
Chad- I’m surprising myself when I go out and run. I basically took off from running after our ½ marathon (relay) in October in Disney until there were hints of spring in the air a month or so ago. It’s not like I planned it that way, but I just hate running when it is cold out and refuse to run on the treadmill. I was sure that I had lost all of that hard work I did last year in my training, but this year it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I won’t say that I am in the same shape I was back in September, but I could run a 5K today (slowly) and not have to stop. Last year at this time, I would have had a hard time running a complete 5K. Obviously, it would have been easier if I would have kept up the training, but call me a weenie… I just don’t want to run in the cold and I HATE running on treadmills. My main motivation this year is to improve on my times and trim my winter weight off. It’s easy for me to lose weight when I am running, so I hope to get back into the swing of things and get back in shape. If we don’t ever run another race, it is nice just to get outside and the feeling after working out/running is something that is so easy to forget when you would rather sit on the couch and watch TV, but it is such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. I want to try to keep that feeling in mind when I feel unmotivated to run.
Julie- I have a hard time getting the motivation to get out and run. But even in the past three days of running, each day has gotten easier. I was actually looking FORWARD to our run yesterday and was kind of sad when I thought the rain might ruin our plans. Was I in better shape last October? Sure. But am I in significantly better shape than I was last April/May? Most definitely. Excuses need to stop and we need to get out and run. If it's raining - we need to use the treadmill or view it as an opportunity to do some weight training. And on a very lazy day, there's always the little doggie that would love nothing more than to go for a nice long walk. Motivation can be found anywhere if you're looking for it!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Baked Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (We used plain)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme (We omit this)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 cup butter, melted
*We add some chopped garlic to the butter
*We also add some cayenne pepper to the bread crumb mix
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter in a bowl or dish for dipping.
Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
This is another one of my go-to meals. It's easy and we generally have all of the ingredients laying around. They're good dipped in whatever your favorite dipping sauce is (ranch, ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.) After having these, I can't go back to the frozen option - they just taste so processed compared to this recipe.
Try them out and let us know what you think!
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (We used plain)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme (We omit this)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 cup butter, melted
*We add some chopped garlic to the butter
*We also add some cayenne pepper to the bread crumb mix
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter in a bowl or dish for dipping.
Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
This is another one of my go-to meals. It's easy and we generally have all of the ingredients laying around. They're good dipped in whatever your favorite dipping sauce is (ranch, ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.) After having these, I can't go back to the frozen option - they just taste so processed compared to this recipe.
Try them out and let us know what you think!
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