My March race is done.....

I ran the 5 mile St Patrick's Day Parade race in 52:10 today.  I had to walk some of it, but still did much better than I thought I would.  I was aiming to do under an hour and I easily made it.  Most surprising was that I did it at my usual 5K pace.  I had to walk some of it, but I felt great the whole time, so I am very happy.  Before and after pictures show how happy we were.  Perfect weather for a race.

This looks like something I should try.....

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/79058355292/fish-en-papillote-in-parchment-with-citrus-ginger

Recipe for grilled chicken

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
½ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ cup dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ tsp celtic sea salt
½ tsp pepper

1. Combine lime juice, cilantro, mustard, olive oil, chili, salt and pepper in a food processor
2. Pulse until ingredients are well combined
3. Rinse chicken breasts, pat dry and place in an 7 x 11 inch baking dish
4. Pour marinade over chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 6 hours
5. Heat grill and cook chicken for 5-7 minutes per side until browned and cooked in the center

Trying a new kind of challenge

After having done the Whole30 challenge three times and the Whole Life challenge twice, I've confirmed my suspicions.  I figured out that I will commit whole-heartedly to a challenge the first time, but after that I know I can do it.  Any subsequent time, I don't feel the need to do it 100% because I know I can do it-I've done it before.  Every time I do a challenge, I think "I'll do it right this time".  Every time, I don't.  So, now I have to come up with new challenges for myself.
I'm at the end of WLC #2.  I really have done horribly this time.  I tried to convince myself that I was trying to re-educate myself to eat fairly well indefinitely.  Unfortunately, the end result has been that I now weigh more than I did at the beginning of the challenge and that my exercise routine has been sketchy at best.
I'm going back to my roots and doing something in Lent.  Starts today.  I'm going for a lofty goal, combining Whole30 and WLC.  Every day, I'm going to try to achieve the following:
Eat right (this is my Whole30 part)
Take a supplement (I take fish oil, but I think I'm going to add Ginkgo since I am doing research with it)
Exercise for 10 minutes every day (this will be walking on many days)
Mobility for 10 minutes (I do this while I am heating water for my tea-3 minutes 3/4 times a day)
Drink 60 oz water each day (I do this mostly with tea, easier to do at work than at home)
Sleep 7 hours at night (this will be the hardest)
Optional from WLC-read, meditate, do something I love, act of kindness....
If my suspicions are correct, I should be able to do this.....
Starting weight is 123.8 lbs

Another plantain pancake recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 large green plantains (about 2 cups pureed)
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/8 tsp salt (a generous pinch)
• ½ tsp baking soda
• Extra coconut oil for frying

1. Peel plantains (I find it easier to quarter them before I peel them) and place pieces in your blender or food processor.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender or food processor and process until it forms a smooth batter (about 1-2 minutes).
3. Heat 1 Tbsp of coconut oil in a frying pan or on a griddle over medium-high heat.  Pour batter into the frying pan until your pancake is the desired size.
4. Let cook 4-5 minutes on the first side, until the top looks fairly dry with little bubbles in it (just like regular pancakes!).
5. Flip!  And cook on the second side for 1½-2minutes.
6. Repeat with remaining batter, adding a little more coconut oil to your pan as needed.

No oatmeal cookies-from WLC site

Ingredients
1 C raw cashews
1/2 C fresh medjool dates, pitted
3/4 C palm shortening, lard, or butter
2 large eggs
1 T pure vanilla extract
2 T coconut flour
2 C blanched almond flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C sliced almonds
1/2 C pecans, finely diced
1/2 C dates, finely diced

Instructions

1. Puree the cashews and dates together in a food processor for about 2 minutes, until very finely diced and thoroughly blended.
2. Add wet ingredients to the processor (shortening, eggs, vanilla), puree until smooth and blended.
3. Add dry ingredients to the processor (coconut and almond flours, baking soda and salt), pulse until just combined.
4. Empty out mixture into mixing bowl and fold in remaining ingredients (raisins, sliced almonds, pecans and diced dates)
5. Roll into tablespoon size balls and put on a lined or greased cookie sheet. Flatten with the palms of your hands and bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Cookies are done when slightly brown - they will still be soft in the center. Let sit on the baking tray for about 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack, they will firm up during this time.

Notes
Makes 36 cookies, store at room temperature for up to 3 days then chill or freeze.

Stan Musial Bridge 6K run

We came so close to not doing this run. It had snowed YET again on Friday night and it was really cold. However, I have not given up on a run yet and I am so glad that we did this. It would have been different if we were running the usual course downtown, but this opportunity was never going to come again.  We got there right as the run started and the weather wasn't as bad as some of the other runs we have done this year, so it was very successful.

We look just as happy at the end as we did at the beginning!!!!

I felt great doing this run, completely different to the Commitment Run on Jan 1 this year.  My time needs to be faster, but not bad for a cold day and slushy underfoot.  Funny, I was faster on the way back than the way out.  Sam said it was because it was downhill, but usually I am much more tired by the time I'm almost done!!!