Snow Day

Well, Mother Nature must have not taken kindly to my last post about the weather. I woke up Saturday morning to 6" of fresh powdery snow covering the roads and sidewalks. Our Saturday group run was canceled, and the roads weren't clear enough to get to the gym. I didn't want to turn one of my longest distance workout days into a rest day, so I decided to put some time in on the trainer. I had an 8 mile run scheduled, which I figured would take me between 1:10 and 1:20. I figured that 1:45 on the trainer would be a decent substitute.

After a small breakfast of Cheerios with a banana and coffee, I hopped on the trainer and spun away. I really thought the time would absolutely drag on, but it actually went by really quickly. I stayed in my 2nd gear on my chain ring (out of 3) and alternated between the 3rd, 4th and 5th gears in the rear cassette. So, I started out in the 5th gear (out of 7, counting the smallest gear as 1, and the biggest gear as 7) and spun easily for 10 minutes. Then I shifted down to the 4th gear for 10 minutes. Then to the 3rd for, you guessed it, 10 minutes. Then back up to 4th, then 5th, then down to 4th, then 3rd, etc. on and on throughout 1:40. I spent the last 5 minutes spinning easily to cool down and stretch. The longest I had been on the trainer up until yesterday was 45 minutes, so it was a physical and mental challenge to stay on for 1:45. I never wanted to get off due to physical or mental fatigue, but my legs did really start to feel it after 1:15.

I'll back up here to describe my dinner on Friday night, because I really think it helped to fuel the ride. Chad was out of town in Michigan for a conference on Friday, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out a new recipe. I love to cook, and there are a few things that I can cook really well, but overall I am not the best in the kitchen.

It's hit or miss when I try a new dish. Some things have turned out really well, and some things have just been absolutely inedible. A run-in with a Rachael Ray "stoup" recipe specifically comes to mind. And a chicken and dumplings attempt where I (heavily) seasoned the chicken with cumin instead of poultry seasoning. So, in order to reduce the number of potentially massacred ingredients, I decided to try a new recipe for one. We had shrimp, pasta and spinach on hand, so I Googled those three things and found this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.

It looked good to me, and we actually had all of the ingredients on hand - other than the capers. I decided to halve the recipe, but I tend to get kind of frantic while I cook, so I ended up halving some of the recipe while forgetting to halve other parts. For instance, I halved the shrimp, pasta and spinach portions, but did not reduce the red onions and lemon juice...it was quite tangy! But, it was also really good and filling, but not too heavy.

I think the next time I make it I will make some slight variations, like adding zucchini, grape tomatoes and maybe some Parmesan cheese.

I have several pictures to post of my pasta creation and of Emma playing in the snow, but we are having a time with our card reader. Once we get a new one, I'll upload the pictures!

Lastly, here are my workouts from the remainder of the week:

Thursday 1/28/10
Trainer: 45 minutes
Notes: 5 minute intervals

Friday 1/29/10
Scheduled rest day

Saturday 1/30/10
Trainer: 1:45
Notes: 10 minute intervals, ate 2 GU Chomps every 40 minutes

Sunday 1/31/10
Rest day due to snow