Running Chick

I was initially sort of blah about the past year.  But then I decided that there must be 10 interesting things that I did or that happened to me in 2009, so I sat down and contemplated.  And contemplated.  And he’s what I came up with.

In 2009 I….

- paid off my truck and my trailer.  Payment-free, baby!  Man, did that feel good. 

- saw my mile splits start dipping into the 9’s (inconceivable!)

- ran 10 miles in 1:39 (9:55 ppm PR!)

- PR’d Journey’s HM with 2:19:12

- PR’d 5-miles with 49:04

- got custom orthotics to take care of the medial tibial stress syndrome I developed due to my high arches. Then spent most of the summer sidelined with posterior tibial tendonitis, which developed because I waited too long to take care of ignored my MTSS.  The running gods giveth, [then I break the cardinal rule of running by not listening to my body] and they taketh away.

- had a great 50-mile ride around Lake Gogebic.  I’m already looking forward to next year’s ride, although I’m contemplating heading to Louisville, KY that weekend to cheer on my friend Tina as she competes in Ironman Louisville in August.

- ran the Kimberly-Clark HM in September on a wing and a prayer and was only 30 seconds slower then the previous year.  That still cracks me up.  I suck so bad. 

- completed the 100 Pushup Challenge

I only have one goal for 2010, and that is to stay injury-free. Fingers crossed!

Yummy and fairly low-cal, the key to this dish is to use the right lettuce. After several failed attempts using cabbage (learned that you have to steam it first), bib (too floppy), and iceberg (couldn’t get a decent leaf from the head), I finally found success with butter lettuce.  The leaves turned out to be the perfect little cups.  I also made some brown rice to serve under (or over) the meat.

Ingredients

• Butter lettuce leaves (rinsed & dried)
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 T oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 T vinegar
• Asian chili pepper sauce (optional, to taste)
• 1 bunch green onions (chopped)
• 2 T sesame oil

Directions

1.  Brown ground turkey over medium-high heat with 1T oil.  When fully cooked, drain & remove from pan.

2. Using the same pan, add onions & stir fry for 1-2 minutes.  Add garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar & chili pepper sauce.  Stir to mix.  Add green onions & sesame oil.  Add sauce mixture to ground turkey, mix well.

3. Add a spoonful of the meat mixture into the center of each leaf, wrap like a burrito and enjoy!

Hello!  It’s been a couple o’ weeks since I last blagged.  How was your Christmas?  Mine was good.  I got the camera I’ve been lusting after for a while now, the Canon Rebel XS. Very cool!

I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to learn all the photography terminology (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) and taking tons of pictures.  Some are pretty good, some not so much. Here are a few of the okay shots.

Keweenaw Brewing Company

Anvil Ale, Keweenaw Brewing Company

Bring me more beer!

Work!  Supermodel!

I am happy to announce that come January, Running Chick will refocus to running!  Yep, training will start up again after a three month hiatus.  So, be prepared for major bitching about how out of shape I’ve become, slow mile splits and various aches and pains.  Honestly, though, I can’t wait to get back to a fitness routine.  My shoes are lonely and in the fall I bought a swanky Brooks running jacket that is just begging for me to take it out for a spin.  That baby’s supposed to be hurricane/tsunami/avalanche-proof and I’m anxious to test it out.  I can report that it stands up to beer spills just fine. 

Happy twenty-ten all!