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9.3 Miles!

October 31, 2010 by 7 Comments

On Saturday, I had a crazy fun day. It was crazy because I ran a new personal distance record (15K/9.3 miles), and fun because the weather was great and we ate lunch outside and shopped around outside.

Let’s start at the beginning…

9.3 Miles:

I had a goal of about 9 miles for the day, and I went to a new route for me to keep things fresh. I started with breakfast of two pieces Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin toast with peanut butter, blueberries, coffee and water. A never fail win. For the run, I realized that having different routes for long runs is really helpful to not get bored. I drove to Rice University and did a little under one loop around the campus (under 3 miles), and then went into the West University neighborhoods for about 3.5 miles, and then ended up back at the Rice loop and did another 3 mile loop. It ended up around 9 miles and I kept going to make it 9.3. It was also smart to run around restaurants and not only residential so I could refill my water bottle around mile 5.

Here are my stats:

Mile 1--11:26
Mile 2--11:36
Mile 3--11:46
Mile 4--12:24 (traffic crossing streets)
Mile 5--12:01
Mile 6--12:24 (water stop, more traffic)
Mile 7--11:56
Mile 8--11:47
Mile 9--11:45
Mile 9-.3--03:32
 Summary,01:50:42, 978 calories burned, average heart rate: 84

Where did my heart go?

Now here is the strange part–my average heart rate was 84, and it dipped as low as 55. I thought my heart was slowly stopping while running my distance record! When I ran 8.6 miles, it was 153 beats per minute (bpm), and when I ran 8 miles, it was 157 bpm. I noticed the heart rate around Mile 2.5, and started to worry about why my heart rate was dropping and if the monitor was picking up an accurate reading. It never rose about 110 the whole time. I’ll have to see what happens next time, but it was the lowest I have ever seen it during any workout, even my boring spinning class.

Other than that, it was a great run with an average pace of 11:53/mile. It is definitely slower than I have hoped I would be, but I really just want to increase the distance steadily, not hurt my legs, and have a good steady pace the whole time. I took 3 shot bloks with me and had one at miles 5.5, 7, 8.5 and drank about 40 ounces of water and then more when I finished.

Ready for the big times:

After 3 long runs into distances I haven’t attempted before, I definitely feel prepared for increasing distance, proper ways for me to fuel while running, I know better about how much water I need, and I definitely feel more ready for December 5. I am planning one more longer run at 10.5 miles, and then two weeks shorter at 9 and 7 maybe, and then the race.

(after the run, but Jeffrey for the life of him cannot take a steady picture with iPhone. 4 tries)

-

Lunch at Tiny Boxwoods:

When I got home, I was really shocked that I ran 9.3 miles. I really can’t believe that I am increasing my distances week after week with little hip pains but no really painful shin pains. I have never been able to do this before! It really amazes me and I’m still crossing my fingers that nothing comes up.

Anyway, after plugging in my Garmin to see how I did and letting my puppy lick sweat off of my face, it was time for lunch! Post run lunch is the best part of a long run. We went to Tiny Boxwoods for a great outdoor lunch of people watching and delicious food. It’s a favorite of ours.

Tiny Boxwoods is the cafe that is part of a gardening store called Thompson Hanson. It is a small space with great outdoor space on a beautifully manicured lawn. I had the Beet It Burger with fruit and we shared a Banana Nutella Scone. It was amaazzing.

Just look at the pictures:

The patio at Tiny Boxwoods

View of the gardening shop

Most amazing Banana Nutella Scone. Crispy outside, chewy and soft inside. Bits of banana like Banana bread. So delicious.

The Beet It Burger with beets, black beans, oats, and I don’t know what else! Served with jalapenos (yuck), pickles and lettuce. Wanted more lettuce or added tomatoes, thought the burger was perfect, bun was good, sauce was spicy. Jalapenos not necessary! And berries are seasonal. In the summer they serve watermelon.

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Happy Halloween:

Then it was time to watch The Rangers (a win!), and The Longhorns (stinkers this year!), and go to a Halloween party.

We went as Night and Day. It was a handmade Halloween this year. See Jeffrey’s sleepshade and pillow? I liked that part.

And on that note, the day ended and it was exhausting!

Filed Under: Exercise, Half Marathon, Houston, Lunch, Restaurants, Running, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , , , ,

Recap of the Week

October 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

It’s Halloween weekend and the end of October. I hope you have a fun Halloween, and I’ll see you back here on Monday with pictures of our handmade costumes. I will not be trick or treating OR handing out candy this year unfortunately, but I’ve definitely been in the Fall spirit in the kitchen. More recipes with pumpkins, cranberries, and comforting foods to come in November!

Here’s what happened in the last week:

Monday: 8.6 mile training run in the books. A recap of a miles split in two parts.

Tuesday: Pumpkin Granola and Triple Pumpkin Oatmeal. Delish.

Wednesday: A winning chicken dinner! Jeffrey approves of every part of this meal.

Thursday: Three Things Thursday featured a bottom of the jar breakfast, homemade crackers, and a lunch sampler plate.

Friday: A colorful, vegetarian plate that looks like Thanksgiving, starring Butternut Squash.

Filed Under: Uncategorized ·

Baking with Squash Again

October 29, 2010 by 2 Comments

I made a great mid-week dinner of lots of roasted vegetables and quick tofu. I bought another butternut squash to try cooking it in a different way, but it required lots of chopping. I also had leftover raw carrots and parsnips, so I roasted them too. And for something green, I added broccoli. It was a lot of chopping with a very sharp chef’s knife. Be careful! That thing scares me.

Roasted Fall Vegetables with Easy Sauteed Tofu

Ingredients (serves 2):

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bit sized pieces
  • handful plain feta
  • handful dried cranberries/craisins
  • 1 pack broccoli
  • 3 each carrots and parsnips
  • 1 pack Nasoya Firm Tofu (or any brand)

Instructions:

First, don’t be scared of these vegetables or tofu. They are seasonal, flavorful, and hard to mess up. I really enjoy roasting vegetables for their flavor and ease of preparation. As long as you don’t mind chopping, this meal spends most of its prep time in the oven.

The trick with roasting all this is the timing. The squash takes the longest, so prep and cook that first, then the root vegetables, then the broccoli. And at the same time, you press the tofu and then put it on the stove.

For the squash:

  • Peel the squash, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut the halves into strips and bites. Remove the seeds and strings.
  • Preheat oven to 400*. Lay squash on baking sheet coated in Pam, then cover in EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  • Roast for about 50 minutes, tossing about halfway through.
  • With about 5 minutes to go, add craisins and feta.

For the parsnips and carrots:

  • Peel and cut into strips like french fries.
  • Lay on baking sheet coated in Pam, and drizzle with EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  • Put in same oven and roast for about 35-40 minutes. Toss with tongs halfway through.

For the broccoli:

  • Chop into florets and add to root vegetable baking sheet to roast at same temperature for 30 minutes. Add EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic powder if the pan doesn’t have enough for the broccoli.

For the tofu:

At the same time as the vegetables are cooking, get your tofu ready. Cut a block into six rectangles, or strips like below, and press with something heavy for 15 minutes on a towel. Season with salt and pepper and lay on hot pan with EVOO or Pam. Let cook about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned and a little crispy. I had mine with BBQ sauce on the side.

To assemble, it looks like this. I had about 1.5 servings of what’s pictured. The squash was my favorite part. I can’t get enough of the flavor, and adding cranberries made it even sweeter. Sometimes people add brown sugar or butter or maple syrup to the squash, but I thought those flavors were too strong and sweet for today, so I got the sweetness from the cranberries.

This screams Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With:

Three Things Thursday

October 28, 2010 by 3 Comments

1. The return of Bottom of the Jar Oats

The temperatures have creeped back up in the 90s, and that is just too hot for hot oatmeal. I also happen to have some peanut butter jars nearing their end, so that means it’s time for Bottom of the Jar recipes.

There are a few versions of Bottom of the Jar recipes on the Recipes page, but they are hard to photograph and still look pretty.

Here’s what I did today. It’s really delicious, but doesn’t look it.

With about 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter left, your jar is ready for a BOTJ (bottom of the jar) recipe. You see, not that pretty.

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 T peanut butter (I was running low on Peanut Butter & Co.’s Bee’s Knees)
  • 1/4 C old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/3 C Plain Greek Yogurt (I use Oikos)
  • 1/4 C Almond milk (or any milk)
  • small spoonful (1/2 T?) any choice Jam (I used apricot today)
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 banana, thin sliced
  • 2 tablespoons crunch cereal for topping (I used Kashi Go Lean Crunch)

Instructions:

  • Add everything to peanut butter jar and stir well with long spoon, working to get the PB off the bottom and sides.
  • You can refrigerate this overnight, or just for a few minutes. If you leave it overnight, it will get thicker. Either way is good! I made mine in the morning and ate immediately.

Best part–easy cleanup! Toss the jar, or rinse it out if you save them for storing things.

This breakfast is so good, creamy, sweet, crunchy, and very filling. Peanut butter always keeps me full longer than any other food. And eating out of a peanut butter jar is fun.

2. A Lunch Sampler Plate


Lately, I have been changing up my lunch and really like the “sampler plate” idea. I rarely have deli meat at lunch anymore, so it’s been interesting to try different stars on the plate. On this sampler, I started with a bed of lettuce, then had sides of tomato, avocado, carrots, orange bell pepper, and pickles. In the center I had store-bought taboulleh and hummus.

And a side of homemade crackers, recipe below.

I do realize that “sampler plate” is another name for “salad.”

3. I made Crackers!

I don’t think that I ever thought about making crackers from scratch, but I was tempted by an easy recipe I saw on How Sweet It Is. This is the same blog that yesterday’s Crispy Chicken Tenders came from, and she is a great baker.

Here are the instructions, and then read below for what I would do next time:

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour (there’s a difference in pastry and just whole wheat flour!)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 C olive oil
  • 1/2 C warm water plus 2 T for rolling
  • 1/4 C parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling on top

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 400*.
  • Mix dry ingredients together, then add parmesan cheese. Then add olive oil and water.
  • Mix until dough ball forms. Add additional water if needed.
  • Spray baking sheet with Pam and lightly flour. Roll dough until very thin to fill the baking sheet.
  • Using a pizza cutter, draw lines to cut squares in the dough.
  • Sprinkle with more cheese and press down lightly.
  • Bake for 12 minutes.

(before cutting and baking)

(just out of the oven, the parmesan turned yellow like cheddar)

For the next time, I would use either more cheese or more flavors, like extra salt and pepper or maybe chopped rosemary. I liked the parmesan, but thought it needed more flavor. It was a little wheat-y. I also think that these weren’t crispy enough, so I would bake longer or roll out thinner.

After I made this recipe, I remembered this recipe for crackers with different baking ratios. I think I would try this way next time, which seems like a more scientific way of baking breads.

Have you ever made crackers? It’s nice to bake savory things as a break from the sweet!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Lunch, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , ,

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

October 27, 2010 by 4 Comments

Sometimes chicken makes for a blah dinner, and sometimes great tasting chicken has a lot of breading, is fried, or takes hours to roast.

I saw a recipe on Jessica’s blog at How Sweet It Is for Crunchy Chicken Fingers. With a short ingredient list and no butter, eggs, or oil, I decided to try it. It’s also baked. She writes that she and her husband don’t try too many “strange” foods as Jeffrey calls it, so I know we are similar eaters. It doesn’t hurt that her photos are unbelievable and her baked goods are drool-worthy. You need to go check it out. But remember I warned you if you run to look for a cookie.

Crunchy Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

  • 1 pack boneless, skinless chicken tenders
  • 2 C low-fat buttermilk
  • 1/2 C whole wheat flour
  • 3 C panko bread crumbs
  • 1 C corn flake crumbs (I subbed Special K, didn’t want to buy a whole box of cereal)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

Instructions:

  • For 2-24 hours, soak chicken in buttermilk in a Pyrex dish in refrigerator.
  • Preheat oven to 450*
  • Lay a wire rack on a baking sheet and spray with Pam. In a sepaate bowl, mix flour, panko, cereal flakes, salt, and pepper. Dip the chicken in the panko mix and coat on both sides, then lay on the baking sheet. Repeat with other pieces.
  • Spray each chicken piece lightly with Pam to help crisp in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes on each side. Let cool.

So delicious! Jeffrey even liked them a whole lot and gave them his approval. The chicken was crispy, golden brown, and had great flavor. The cooking time was perfect in not drying them out or leaving them undercooked. He even ate them the next night as leftovers! This is a rare thing.

Carrot and Parsnip Fries


I kid you not in saying that Jeffrey actually liked parsnip fries a lot. I did not think he would be into eating a parsnip. I had not cooked with parsnips before, but the pictures I had seen made them look just like french fries. So I had to try.

For the first time making them, I kept the flavors simple. We both loved them.

Ingredients (serves 2 people):

  • 5 carrots
  • 5 parsnips
  • salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, garlic powder

Instructions:

  • Peel carrots and parsnips and chop off the ends.
  • Cut in half horizontally and then slice in half vertically. Cut vertical again to get pieces that look like fries.
  • Lay them all on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (makes for easier clean up) and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss around with hands.
  • Preheat oven to 400*. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until crispy and browned.

We noticed that the vegetables shrunk in the oven quite a bit. I thought there would be more leftover than there was, or we just really loved our root vegetables.

I also have only one oven, so I started the vegetables first, then added the chicken after about 20 minutes and heated the oven to 450* and let them all cook together. Our vegetables cooked for about 40 minutes including the increase in temperature. Plan accordingly if you try this. Just watch until they get crispy.

These fries were delicious! The carrots tasted like sweet potatoes, and the parsnips looked like homemade potato fries but were a little more dense and chewy on the inside but crispy on the outside. I thought they were great. And Jeffrey liked them too! He called it one of our best dinners!

To go with the chicken and root vegetables, I sauteed some sugar snap peas with one half red onion and added some salt, pepper, and teriyaki sauce to the pan. The onions got sweet and caramelized and it all went great together.

Filed Under: Dinner · Tagged With: ,

So. Much. Pumpkin

October 26, 2010 by 9 Comments

I can’t get enough of the pumpkin flavor. When the temperatures are going back up, I need to grab on to something that says it’s Fall. So canned pumpkin it is. And I have gone to town. When I open a can of pumpkin, I try to make a few things so it doesn’t go to waste. One can goes a long way! Here are two recipes.

Pumpkin Granola

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 C old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 C slivered almonds
  • 2.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 1/4 C flax seeds (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  • 1/2 C canned pumpkin
  • 2 T applesauce
  • 1/2 C mixed dried fruit (I did apricots, raisins, cherries)

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350*.
  • Coat a baking sheet with Pam.
  • Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Leave dried fruit out for now.
  • Add wet to dry and stir well.
  • Add dried fruit and mix.
  • Spread over baking sheet evenly and break up clumps.
  • Cook for 30 minutes, flipping the granola every 12-15 minutes.
  • Let cool completely…unless you sneak a bite.

This granola is so addictive! I have been eating it by itself, over yogurt or cottage cheese, or over oatmeal (next recipe below). I like that it doesn’t have oil or added sugars, instead getting its sweetness from applesauce, brown sugar, and maple syrup.

Granola with yogurt, Fiber One, and berries:

Triple Pumpkin Hot Oatmeal

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 C Scottish oats (you can use any type of oat)
  • 1 C water
  • 1/4 C almond milk
  • 1/2 smashed banana
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 T canned pumpkin
  • pinch salt
  • 2 T raisins
  • topped with Pumpkin Granola and drizzle maple syrup

Instructions:

These instructions work for every stovetop oatmeal recipe I make now.

  • Bring water to a boil.
  • Add oats and whisk well.
  • Add milk, spices, smashed banana, raisins. Let cook for five minutes.
  • Add pumpkin puree and let cook for five more minutes.
  • Pour into bowl and top with granola and syrup.

The “triple” is canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and Pumpkin Granola. This was a very hearty and savory breakfast and not too sweet. I actually don’t think pumpkin is sweet on its own. And I love raisins in oatmeal because they plump up so nicely.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , , , ,

5K + 5.5 = 8.6 miles!

October 24, 2010 by 6 Comments

(pictures courtesy of Lydia Baehr PR)

On Saturday morning, Jeffrey and I participated in Houston’s Health Museum Run for Your Life 5K race. I wrote about the race for CultureMap, link here with more pictures. This race is the only race I’m signed up for before the Dallas Run the Rock Half Marathon on December 5, so I used the morning as a dress rehearsal.

I started the usual way with laying out my clothes the night before and eating one piece of toast with peanut butter and raspberries in the morning, along with coffee and water.

The race had 450 people, and as most 5Ks are, it was very relaxed. But still, I wanted to push it and make it a good race. It’s also my first 5K since I’ve been blogging and tracking my times, so I had to do good to report back to the whole Internet!

Here are my splits for the 5K and then I’ll tell you what happened next…

(Marci’s note later–this splits are incorrect, I didn’t realize my Garmin was not calibrated. I completed the 5K in 33:37.)

Mile 1: 08:14
Mile 2: 09:28
Mile 3: 10:08
Mile .6: 00:05:46
Total: 33:37 for 3.59 miles 9:20 avg pace, avg heart rate 172, calories 382

I also wondered why my Garmin was ahead of the mile markers during the race, and it ended up that I showed the course as 3.59 miles instead of 3.1. I don’t think I took that many extra steps out of the way, and I don’t know how courses are measured, but .5 miles over is a lot for a 5K! Either way, I went much faster than I have ever gone, I kept a good pace the whole time, didn’t stop to walk at all, and really tried to be quick. Official time was 33:37 for 3.1, but I say 33:37 for 3.6.

So then I waited for Jeffrey to finish, and we were home before 9 a.m. I was feeling good and decided to go back outside and see if I could do more. I refilled my water bottle, grabbed 3 Shot Bloks for the road, and left. It was like my long run had a 30 minute pit stop in the middle.

I started running again and my shins were so sore. Then I knew I had gone too fast for the first 3.5 miles and actually thought I’d just walk around the block. It was very hot in the 80s too. I walked a little under one mile and decided to start running again, and my legs were fine. So I kept running and did all kinds of math in my head to calculate how far I needed to go to make this a true long run, when I could turn around, and exactly how far I had gone, since I restarted the Garmin at 0.

I ended up going 8.6 miles on Saturday, my new longest run! I felt great. Took Shot Bloks around miles 6, 7, 8 and finished my water. So I consumed about 45 ounces of water over the 8.6 miles. The break in the middle was a great time to refill.

Here are the next splits:

    
	
  • Mile 1: 13:10 (walking mostly)
    • 
	
  • Mile 2:11:07
    • 
	
  • Mile 3: 11:32
    • 
	
  • Mile 4:12:26
    • 
	
  • Mile 5:11:37
    • 
	
  • .04 00:27
    • 



Total: 1 hr for 5.04 miles, avg pace 11:57 (including mile 1 walking), avg heart rate 153, calories burned 517

For the whole morning, I went 8.63 miles in 1:33 time and burned 899 calories. That is pretty great! I really liked how I dropped to a more comfortable pace for the last 5 miles but still went faster than last week when I ran 8 miles.

There’s me in the front, blue shorts at the start.

 

Bring on 13.1!! Well, almost ready.

Filed Under: Exercise, Half Marathon, Houston, Running · Tagged With: , ,

Week in Review

October 23, 2010 by 3 Comments

Did you miss something this week? Here’s a recap. I made some really colorful foods this week, more than in the baked good category. I also had an article published on CultureMap separate from my periodic column.

Have a good weekend! I’m doing my first 5K of the season today. Recap next week!

Monday: Easy Homemade Foods, like Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip “Ice Cream” and homemade Larabars.

Tuesday: Pasta Party for Two, and my best Scottish Oatmeal recipe.

Wednesday: I Met Bobby Flay! when he came to visit for a book signing. And a Fall Inspired Salad with Fresh Express Lettuce.

Thursday: A Spinning Story and Acorn Squash Recipe

Friday: Review of Houston’s Snap Kitchen

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Snap Kitchen Review

October 22, 2010 by 4 Comments

A new pre-made food place opened in Houston, and I checked it out. Snap Kitchen has two locations in Austin, and this is their first store in Houston. Their tag line is “fresh, healthy take-away” and “eat right. live clean. buy local.” The storefront is really colorful and clean, there are tables to sit at inside and eat, and they have a full salad bar that is as close to awesome as I’ve seen in Houston. I still love and miss Snappy Salads from Dallas.

Snap Kitchen is great for people with special eating styles like vegetarian, Paleo (if cavemen didn’t eat it, they don’t either–think meats and nuts and no sugar), gluten-free, dairy free, etc. They also do full meal plans where you can buy your meals and snacks from there, and they have a dietitian on site.

The food I tried at Snap Kitchen:

I picked up three meals–a lunch, dinner, and dessert.

For lunch I had the Provencal chicken wrap. It was $7.25, and had chicken, olive tapenade, sun-dried tomato pesto, and spinach in a whole wheat tortilla.

This was the most flavorful of the three dishes I tried, but it seemed pretty high in calories at 420, with 44 g carbs and 15 g fat. It only came in one size (lunch), whereas some entrees for dinner come in small, medium, etc.

I paired it with green beans and berries, to add more fruit and vegetables.

For dinner, I tried the Scottish Dill Salmon.

I really wanted to like it, but I didn’t. The vegetables were a little slimy from the fat of the salmon I think, and I thought the salmon was a little undercooked. I didn’t like the flavor. It had 210 calories, 7 g fat. It was $8.50 for size small, and was also Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and low sodium.

And for dessert, I tried the Blueberry Crumble with agave nectar, almonds, oats, vanilla bean, and a lemony marshmallow topping. It had 180 calories and 7 g fat, and 30 g carbs. It was also a one-size dessert and on the lower calorie scale. There were cheesecake options in the same sized container of up to 400 calories. I just did not like this. The marshmallow texture was just not right.

Things I liked about Snap Kitchen:

  • They have more than just square meals–they have Larabars, Pop chips, flavored waters, and store-made snack packs.
  • Their employees were very friendly, and the inside of the store was pretty.
  • The salad bar looked fresh and it had a big variety.
  • The food choices looked like a big variety, especially if you don’t have time to cook and don’t want to eat frozen meals.

Things I didn’t like:

  • I think $21 for three meals is a lot, but I think it compares with similar concepts in town. It would be very expensive if you’re buying for two or even a family.
  • I picked up a cookie and it was 130 calories per serving, but the cookie was 3 servings. Yikes!
  • I didn’t think that the lunch wrap I had for over 400 calories was filling enough for lunch.

Overall, I think it’s a great concept for people who don’t have time to cook, don’t like to cook, or like knowing the calorie count of their meals. But to me, the process of grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking is fun and enjoyable, and eating every meal from a container takes the fun out of food.

But give it a try and let me know your thoughts!

Filed Under: Houston, Product Reviews · Tagged With: ,

A Spinning Story

October 21, 2010 by 10 Comments

First, I want to show you a really pretty dinner. I cooked this acorn squash (instructions here from yesterday’s post) and it’s so cute with its little heart shape when cut open.

At the same time that the squash was in the oven, I put broccoli, mushrooms and red peppers in a baking dish with olive oil, salt, and pepper to roast for 30 or so minutes. Those vegetables were left over from our make your own pasta dish a few nights ago. And on the stovetop went a can of kidney beans to heat up. I thought it needed something for protein besides vegetables.

It was super tasty, and this squash is delicious without too many additions (just a smidge of margarine and brown sugar).

A Spinning Story

Spinning is a gym activity that I used to enjoy, but now I find it boring and useless. Here is my story about indoor cycling.

(Miss my Yoga Story? It’s a similar on-and-off relationship.)

When I lived in Dallas, I quit jogging because my shins hurt and I was on my way to a stress fracture from shin splints. I took up indoor cycling, bought clip-in shoes, and took a class from a great and knowledgeable instructor 1-2 times per week.

It was a good 45 minute class, and the instructor never cycled with us, which I liked, and instead walked around fixing posture and making you pedal harder. That’s what I like instructors to do.

When I moved to Houston, I started attending the very packed, must show up 30 minutes early weekend spin classes at my gym. I kept going back weekly and tried different instructors, but I never really loved it or left a class thinking what a great workout I just had. The instructors ride along too, some have good music, but the room was usually cold, and I just didn’t get a great workout.

I am sure it is partly my fault for not pushing hard enough or figuring out how to make it a good workout since other people are sweating buckets when I am not. But I know the techniques, I once enjoyed it, and I think I know what I’m doing. Regardless, I got bored and stopped for a while when I took up jogging again.

I occasionally go back to a class for a decent cross training workout when I want something gentle on my legs to get my heart rate up. Well now that I have a new heart rate monitor, I went back to see exactly how hard I’m working. Numbers don’t lie! Except the scale…that lies.

I plugged in my Garmin after class and found that my average heart rate was 105 beats per minute. To compare, my jogging rate is around 150-160, the Stairmaster and Crossfit go higher, and even the elliptical was around 120-130. When I would spin really hard to try to get my heart rate up, it went to 130. It just isn’t a great heart racer for me and I’m not really sure what I’m doing wrong.

The Garmin also said that I burned 268 calories in the 50ish minute class. That is not a lot compared to the other activities I have tracked over the last week.

What I like about spinning is that it’s a nice and flowy leg movement for days that I’m feeling sore or want something easy. But I don’t think that I should pick an activity because it’s easy!

So that’s how I went from enjoying spinning to not really liking it, and the heart rate seems to prove that it’s not really working for me.

Do you like spinning? Do you think your heart rate goes up and you burn a lot of calories? Is that what makes a good workout great?

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