My Love Hate Relationship with Garmin

I started running about 2 1/2 years ago.  The first gadget I bought myself was the Garmin Forerunner 101.  Used of course.  Actually it was slightly better than used, because it was "refurbished".  Woo Hoo I got a deal!  I told myself that this impressive little bundle of technology strapped to my wrist would make me run faster, lose more weight, snag a hot boyfriend, etc. etc.

Well that all may have happened if I ever learned how you use the damn thing.  I strap in on for every run.  It is set to tell me how long I have run, how far I have run and the average pace I am running.  It has over 20 options to program what you want your watch to tell you.  I never switch the options.  A friend from my running group programed it for me and thats where it stays.  Someone will always ask me a questions I should know the answer to with the click of a button. 
"What's our pace right now Kat?"  Huh? 
"I don't know.  Do you want to take my watch and figure it out?  All I know is the average of our run is slow."
"Why are you so slow Kat?"
"Because I can't figure my Garmin out"
It was supposed to make me magically faster.

The Garmin must of had all it can take of me because it is not behaving anymore.  It was trying to get a GPS signal for the entire time of my last run.  How long was that you ask.  I don't know!  Because the damn thing couldn't tell me.  It was mocking me, saying Acquiring Signal.    I mean where are all the dang blasted satellites when you need them.   Come on, it's not 2012.  The world is not ending.  The satellites are still up there right?  Nothing blocking the air between the wrist my Garmin is stapped to and the satellites.  I don't even try to get a signal on my block.  I run out of all the trees before I turn the blasted thing on.  I was surrounded by nothing but cornfields.  Maybe there were aliens hiding in the corn. Secretly waiting there for the lonely runner to pass by.  So they could have some fun and scramble the satellite signal.  And just totally mess up said runner, because they read her mind and knew she has as addition to that funny looking technology box on her wrist.

It's true I am addicted to my Garmin.  And it's really messing me up that it's messing up.  Yeah I don't know how to work the training assistant option.  I have never even dared to figure out the navigation mode.  I did recently learn that I can switch the settings from running to biking.  That was such a frigin cool discovery.  I am trying to bike a lot more because I want to try a tri next year.  I used to track my route with my car first to figure the distance, then I would bike it. Duh, what a dork!  Needless to say I love the cycling option on the Garmin. 

If only the watch worked.  As I am sitting here typing, my Garmin is in the window Acquiring Signal.  BTW, my daughter's Garmin is working perfectly fine.  I may just have to steal (I mean borrow) it from her.

Dinner was some awesome whole wheat spaghetti and sauce, a  multi grain roll, and half an ear of fresh corn on the cob.  I love to jazz up my spaghetti sauce by adding a spoon of horsradish sauce to it.  It gives it a great kick.

Happy Trails My Friends,

Kat

A Day Devoted to Myself

Have you ever just taken a day to do nothing for anybody.  I mean just sleep in, stay in your pjs all day. Read the paper and have coffee with no interruptions.  Watch cooking shows all day long. Paint your fingernails, then say "what the heck my toes too!  I have nothing else to do today!"  Isn't it wonderful, total bliss!  Don't you just love days like this?  What's that you say? No, you didn't have a day like this today.  Yeah I hear you, neither  did I.  Why is it that the kids don't wake up until after you are finished cleaning the house.  They wake up just as you are putting the clean dishes away.  They wake up hungry.  As in where is the milk mom?  They wake up with curly hair.  As in where did my straightener go, it was sitting out here two days ago?  No I didn't take the day to do nothing, but a mother can dream right?

Anyhow, on to dinner.  Tonight is turkey burgers with goat cheese, carmelized onions and cranberry relish.  Saute sweet onion in some olive oil till brown.  Add 1/4 cup dried cranberries and cook five minutes.  Stir in 1 TBS balsamic vinegar and cook another minute or two.  For the burgers I mixed 1 LB turkey with 1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles, 2 tsp dijon mustard, a tsp worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.  Grill burgers and top with the onion/cranberry relish.

carmelized with cranberries and balsamic vinegar

And now ...the finished product.  The burger has creamy, salty pockets
of melted goat cheese in it.  The onions are sweet, the cranberries are
just a little tart, and the vinegar adds just a touch of tang.  This burger is amazing. 

23 mile training run

Well I can check the 23 miler off my list.  I completed the run in 5 hours and 7 minutes.  I felt so good.  The excitement I felt as I knew I was getting closer to the end of the run was amazing.  My arms had goose bumps.  It is so amazing to me to think about how far I have come.  When I started running I couldn't even run for 10 minutes without wanting to quit.  Then after a while I was amazed at a 5 mile run.  Now during the week when I run 5 miles after work it is like nothing.  I'm like "what? the run just started".  I am so amazed at how far humans can push their bodies.  And our bodies keep adapting and getting better and better.  I will take it easy and recover for a few days now.  Maybe just walk the dogs. 

I'm so proud of my twin sister.  On wednesday she came with me for an evening run with the group.  I thouht she might be able to go a mile or two.  Well she didn't want to stop.  We ran for 3 miles.  She was pretty proud of herself too.  Amazing bodies!  I am so glad she liked it.  I really didn't want her to get hurt because I thought she would never try it again.  Well the next day after her night shift she went running by herself.  Can you believe the motivation of that.  Work 12 hours then go straight out and run 1 1/2 miles.  I was very impressed with her. 

This week I will get back to eating clean again.  My youngest daughter talked me into McDonalds for dinner on the day of my 23 miler.  I was still good with the calorie range because I burned about 2000 during the run.  Tonight for dinner I am making turkey burgers with goat cheese, caramelized onions and cranberry relish.  I am also making tacos for the youngest because she won't even look at goat cheese!  I will bake sweet potato blondies to snack on for the week.  Then I am washing 2 pounds of grapes to snack on, and prepping one watermelon for the week.  I just love all the in season fruit.  I am looking forward to the
apple season in the next month or so.  I will ride my bike to the orchard and pick up a couple bags of fresh,crisp apples.  I love this time of year!  I can't wait for my first taste fresh apple cider!  Bring on Autumn!

Rushed Dinner

Well I'm going running with my sister tonight.  She is trying to get into running.  We will probably do a couple of miles.  I decided to eat before I go so I'm a little rushed.  Thank God for leftovers.  Sauted yellow and green squash with kale.  Half an ear of farm fresh corn on the cob.  And a baked potato with Earth Balance spread and sour cream.  Stayed within my calorie range today.  1500 calories. 

I have been trying to eat lots of fruit this summer.  I just love some fresh perfectly ripe summer fruit.  I like to eat it with cheese or nuts.  I may have to eat a pear when I get home from my run.  The nectarines this time of year are AMAZING.  My favorite.  What is your favorite fruit?  Do you freeze fresh fruit? 

Green Garlic Chicken

Dinner was a very tasty chicken dish.  I marinated chicken breasts in Annie's Naturals Green Garlic Dressing.  Pan seared chicken breasts then into oven for 20 minutes.  Broiled fingerling potatoes, sauted kale, spinach, yellow and green squash.  Mixed all veggies together then served with half a chicken breast.  So good!  Daughters are not home so I have no outside opinions on this dish.  They may show up some time in the middle of the night and raid the refrigerator.  Hope they will find this and try it.  They live with me but I haven't seen them most of the summer.  The older one is driving.  They sleep until after I go to work.  Get up by 1pm, leave house by 2pm, run around doing who knows what then come home after I go to bed.  Only a few more days of freedom for them because school starts on Wednesday.

My First Blog

In my past life I was the worst cook ever.  I am ashamed to admit that my go-to meal to make for my family
was fish sticks.  Oh I thought I was so creative because I would vary it up every now and then.  Fish sticks and mac and cheese one night.  Fish sticks and tater tots the next time.  It was a horrible existence that we were living.  I would also get creative with the sauces.  I mean you can't just eat ketchup with everything.  So sometimes if I wanted to make dinner special I would mix ketchup with ranch dressing.  Man, we were living the good life on those nights.   I'm  just glad that my children were so young that they may not remember the torture their own mother put them through.  Although, my youngest daughter does have an odd fascination for ranch dressing.  As for the husband, well he divorced me,  but I don't think fish sticks were the ONLY reason.  Oh well that was a past life.  Fast forward a decade (or more) and now I am trying to live a healthy life.  Fish sticks have been replaced with broiled talipia over lemons and the most amazing salmon patties I have ever tasted.  My teenage daughters have yet to jump onto the health train, but they are getting more of a variety of foods now than ever before.  

So here's to my journey into a healthy new lifestyle.