Week 2

Well, after a lovely weekend of, once again, too many treats (are we seeing a theme here?) my official weigh in is:

196.9

So, at least it is down from last week. Seriously, I have had a hard time stopping the shovel towards my mouth. I have done better at planning meals, which is huge for me. My running, however, has not been so good. . . I have used the snowy weather as a great reason to not get out. So, I am going to do this week of the Couch to 5k program over. That is, the run 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, times 3. Definitely not ready to move on yet.

I made one of my favorite crock pot recipes this week, that helps you have Cafe Rio at home, or at least a healthier version of the same thing. This recipe is totally Core, and if you choose wisely, the entire salad can be. Hope you enjoy.

Shredded Chicken, Cafe Rio Style

4-5 chicken breasts

2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (I use mild)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne (or to taste- I use just a pinch)

dash Tabasco sauce (Cholula is our hot sauce of choice)

Place all ingredients in a crock pot; cook on low 5-8 hours, or for 4 hours on high. Before serving, shred chicken and put back in crock pot to soak up juices. Serve with tortillas, salsa, rice, beans (pinto, chili or black), lettuce, guacamole and grated cheese.

( I mix a can of beans with a scoop of fat free sour cream and some good salsa, mix it and heat it, and use that for the beans. It adds great flavor and moisture. Also, I just use baked tortilla scoops, to save on fat, etc. A squirt of ranch mixed with salsa does it on the top!)

Enjoy!

Couch to 5K

I love the idea of being a runner, and I have been in various points of becoming one for the past 10 years. I ran a half marathon in 2004, with my honey, and since I had trained up to around 9 miles, that is all I could muster. I painfully walked the remainder of the race, learning about the value of training correctly as I staggered in. Two babies later, I am determined to be a runner again. I am currently following a great 5K training plan, called "The Couch to 5K Running Plan". I have never followed it completely, trying to push ahead and go faster instead of letting my body adjust slowly. This time I am using the entire plan as a Personal Progress Project for the Knowledge value. ( I am working on Personal Progress as a Young Woman leader.) It will definitely take over 10 hours:-)

I am currently on week 4 of the training program. Today, after a 5 minute warm-up walk, I jogged 3 minutes, walked 90 seconds, jogged 5 minutes, walked 2 1/2 minutes, jogged 3 minutes, walked 90 seconds, and finished with a 5 minute jog. Each week brings more jogging, less walking, and I wasn't sure how today would go, jumping from 9 minutes of running last week, to 16 minutes this week. It went great. I felt good. I am running faster because of this training schedule. My philosophy before, on every race I have ever run, is to just slow down and go. I could probably run the entire 5K right now, with a 14 minute mile. But I am using my BOB and the bike computer my husband attached to it to monitor distance and speed, and I am pushing myself to run between a 10 and 11 minute mile. This is hard for me, but today I did it. And that is why I run. Because we can do hard things. Running is hard, and I can do it. Not always great, and not always far, but I can run.

May 15th is 5K race day. 32 minutes is the goal.