Let the training begin

 

Across North America today, large hibernating rodents that we know as the groundhogs will come out from their burrows and tell us how much winter is left.  If the furry critter sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter…sigh…. If the groundhog does not see its shadow, there will be an early spring..yippee .

Apparently we will see an early spring….but I think our fellow East coasters may disagree with this.  So sorry you guys are getting hit with another winter wallop.  Here is what our North American Groundhogs are telling us:

In Canada:

• Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam and Ontario's Wiarton Willie both predicted an early spring.

• Manitoba Merv, the province's groundhog puppet, did see his shadow at Oak Hammock Marsh, suggesting six more weeks of winter is on the way.

• Wiarton Willie, Ontario’s groundhog, failed to see his shadow today, declaring Canada would see an early spring.

In the USA:

• Punxsutawney Phil, America's favorite groundhog, predicted an early spring when he failed to see his shadow Wednesday morning at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa

• Staten Island Chuck predicted an early spring this morning during Groundhog Day festivities at the Staten Island Zoo.

4 OUT OF 5 ISN’T BAD, RIGHT?

I am an optimist and I believe in our furry critters.  I have faith in them

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So today I began my training for an event I’m signed up for May 1st.  Myself and 8 other women are going to be competing in the 29th Annual Royal LePage Comox Valley Snow to Surf Adventure Relay Race.  This is quite the event and I’m really excited to take part this year, but I”m definitely nervous about it too.  I’ve never been in a race before.

We complete in teams of 9.  Our team name:  The Cheeky Monkeys.

1. Alpine Skiing – skiers run a set distance up the hill with ski boots on and then put on skis, and ski down the mountain.
2. Nordic Skiing – skiers ski about 8km
3. Running – about 7.5km down the paved road leading up the mountain.
4. Running – about 8.5km off road running on rough logging roads This is my part…eeek
5. Mountain biking – this leg is about 12km – slightly downhill pavement and active logging roads and single track forest trails
6. Kayaking – about 5km single kayaker on a lake
7. Road biking – about 30km road cycling on paved roads and highways
8. Canoe – last 2 teammates paddle about 5km and cross finish line.

Last year the teams finished the race between 3hours 35 minutes and 6hours 19 minutes.  We don’t expect to come in first, but definitely don’t want to come in last.  Wish us luck… Race Day is May 1st. 

Here is a video of the Snow to Surf.  Looks like a blast actually.

The race I’m going to be competing in May 1st, 2011

So Training began today for this girl.  I had planned on beginning my training program about 3 weeks ago, but then got sick with tonsillitis and a cold.

So when I got home from work today, I was really tired, but found the energy to get onto my treadmill.  I had a snack before running since my belly was beginning to growl at me.  I also had a chance to try out my new running shoes today for the first time since buying them.  Remember these? 

I bought them a little while ago because I found out my old shoes were worn down and they were causing shin splints again.  But then I got sick and couldn’t really begin training. 

But it all worked out today.  No shin splints and my legs loosened up as I ran.  My goal was to run 3km (1.86miles) within 20minutes and I did it in 19minutes 33sec.  That’s still pretty slow and I hope to improve my speed by the time the race comes.  My problem is that I often get side stitches when I run

So all you runners out there, what should I be working towards in terms of time and distance?  I need to run 8.5km.    How do you avoid side stitches?

And yes, I did stretch afterwards

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Have an awesome night everyone.

Much love

Bea

xoxo

Another Asian inspired meal

Well I wasn’t up to anything too interesting this weekend. I was actually feeling a bit under the weather. It was a rainy weekend to boot and so I decided to lay low and hang around town.  Had another hockey game Saturday night (and yes, I scored another goal ) and Sunday was a quiet day of cleaning up and shopping for groceries. And it was my friend’s Birthday Sunday.  Too bad she lives too far away to celebrate with her.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA! 

A couple of highlights of my weekend were:

#1) I did finally get around to purchasing a new pair of running shoes at our local running store.  After trying on 3 pairs of shoes and walking around the store numerous times, I went with these:

Brooks Cascadia Trail runner. 

They are a trail runner, perfect for my May 1st event.  I think they will be well broken-in and this also means that tomorrow I can finally run shin splits free (I hope). 

#2)  I bought a new Wok.  Been meaning to get one for a while now and after my very successful attempt at making Pad Thai last week, it was time to buy one.  It came in handy Sunday night too

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ASIAN INSPIRED CHICKEN AND SHRIMP STIR-FRY WITH COCONUT SAUCE

Another successful attempt at making a flavourful stir-fry.  And guess what?  It’s Dairy Free and Gluten-Free…the best of both worlds.

Ingredients:

To make the sauce

• 2 Tbsp  olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp  ginger puré
• 2 tsp  curry paste
• 1 tsp  Tabasco Sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 can Coconut milk
• 4 Tbsp  peanut butter
• 2 tsp lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

To make Stir-fry

• 2 Tbsp  olive oil
• 8 oz  boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in small pieces
• 8 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 800 gr assorted veggies
• 1 Tbsp sesame seed oil
• salt and pepper to taste.
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Garnish – chopped peanuts, cilantro, green onions (your choice)

How to make

Make the sauce first.  Heat oil on medium heat.  Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook until onions translucent.  Then add your curry paste and hot sauce and cook for a few minutes.

Add tomatoes, coconut milk, peanut butter and lime juice.  Reduce your heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. 

Now transfer the mixture to your blender (I used my Vitamix) and blend until you get a smooth sauce.  Return to saucepan and keep warm until you are ready to use it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now time to make the Stir-fry.  On medium heat, heat your oil in your Wok.  Add your shrimp and chicken and do a quick sauté.  Careful not to cook too long as you don`t want to make your shrimp tough.

Add your veggies and sesame oil.  I used carrots, broccoli, pepper and bok choy.  Continue to sauté until your veggies are mostly cooked. 

Laddle a desired amount of the reserved sauce into Wok and continue cooking until your chicken is tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Add your cilantro right before serving.

Serve over rice.  Garnish with more cilantro and chopped peanuts. 

   I also had one of these to go with my meal.  It was left in my fridge after having a few friends over. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stay tuned for a gluten-free applesauce cake coming soon to Beaglebea. 

Did you do anything interesting this weekend? Make anything new and exciting?

See you soon.

xoxo

Bea

All good things must come to an end

Another beautiful (cold) day on the Island to cap off my last day of winter holidays. There is even a snowfall warning in effect…..hmm…..

Tomorrow I go back to my classroom of 21 bouncing 8 and 9 year olds.  And believe me you, I made the most of my last day of vacation.  I debated last night before going to bed whether or not to set my alarm so that I could get a bunch of things done today, but instead opted to wake up “au natural”.  It was 10:25am when my eyes peeked at the clock…and it felt soooo good   So, what did I get up to today? 

After a hearty bowl of oatmeal, it was time to make acquaintances with my newest addition. 

It’s a Horizon CT5.2 and I snatched it up at a wicked deal December 31st.  (retail value of $2000…my cost $599). I’ve been toying with the idea of buying one for many many months now, but never found one that was affordable.  I was stoked when I found this one and couldn’t wait to use it.  And now I don’t have to run in the rain anymore.  (will blog my treadmill workout schedules another time).  I ran for about 40 minutes today at interval speeds.  Maybe I’ll do the Great Walk again in June.   

After my run, it was pretty much lunch time.  For lunch I ate leftovers of my Chilli Stew à la Moose.  Leftovers are always awesome, quick and easy meals. 

I then spent the rest of the afternoon planning out my next social studies unit on Geography and European Explorers.  I made myself a big pot of tea because I couldn’t seem to warm up today.  This tea is awesome…leftover from the Christmas season, but definitely drinkable all year round.  It has a slight orangey taste. 

My workstation

I debated going to the beach with the dog this afternoon, but by the time I finished with my prep, it was time to make dinner.

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BUTTER CHICKEN

I had such a craving for butter chicken in the past few days that I decided to cook up a batch tonight.  I recently discovered this spice paste and fell madly in love with it.  Walmart seems to be the only store to carry it.  I’ll be so sad if they ever discontinue carrying it. 

I try to read most food labels and was quite impressed when I read this one.  From what I can read….no preservatives.  Unfortunately it is not Dairy-free or Gluten-free, but oh well.  Not everything is perfect, right?  

My ingredients… I like to add vegetables whenever possible.  (spinach, onion, garlic and frozen veggies not listed in Cooking Instructions on back of box). 

Cooking Instructions (as per my modifications)

Cut up chicken thighs into smaller pieces and sauté in 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Cook until brown and transfer to another plate so that you can reuse the same pan for vegetables. 

Add a splash of olive oil to hot pan and sauté onions and garlic until translucent.  Add spice paste and 300mL of water.  Scrape bottom of pan to get all the flavor from the browned chicken. 

Return the chicken to the pot.  Chop a handful of spinach and add to pot.  Also add about 2 cups of the mixed frozen vegetables.  Mix well.  Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit.    It’s also a little bit on the spicy side… I found the longer I cook it, the spicier it gets. 

I also had a tall glass of Carrot Juice with my meal. 

Serve over a bed of rice.  I used my favourite rice by Nuworld called Wholesome Wild Rice Blend.  (Medium Grain Brown Rice, Black Sweet Rice, Red Rice and Wild Rice).  You can find it at Save-on-Foods. 

I ended my meal with this.

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After being able to sleep in for the last 2 weeks, tomorrow morning will not be pretty.  It’s a 6am wakeup call from now on.  Aack… oh well….c’est la vie!

What do you guys do to readjust to your schedules after holidays?

 

Enjoy your day.

Bea

xoxo