Exercise first thing:   Wednesday I crashed.  After running 14 miles, which I have done before, I completely crashed in the afternoon.  First of all, I should have listened to my body in the morning when running was extremely more difficult, mentally and physically, than usual. 

I ignored all feelings of tiredness, lack of concentration, nausea, right up until 2:15 pm.  At that point in the afternoon, I gave up and left work to go home.  All I could think about was going to bed.   From the moment I got home until 4:30 pm I slept.  After waking up, it took some time but the energy came back and I started to feel better. 

The weird dream I had should have been the signal that my body wasn’t feeling good.  I seem to always have very vivid and weird dreams if I am getting sick or just generally not well.  That doesn’t happen very often, thank goodness.

Thursday was back to normal but my workout wasn’t as intense.  30 minutes of Elliptical + 40 minutes of back, shoulders, abs with weights + 3.25 mile run at 9.06 pace.  Slower than I wanted but I felt good.  

The cycle ride:  The wind was gusting at points of 20 miles per hour.  I told Ted I was really unsure about riding.  We decided to go for it and got the the meet up just in time.  The group left at about 5:40 pm. 

The wind was pushing me back.  The hills plus the wind were more difficult than the ending miles of any long run I’ve ever done.  My right hip began to hurt and my left hamstring was throbbing. I told Ted I couldn’t do it.  He tried to block the wind by riding in front since I wasn’t keeping up with the group.  Finally Ted pulled up… in sand of all places and then told the trailer rider that he just kind of lost it but he actually pulled up for me.  He just didn’t mean to pull up in deep sand. 

We stopped the group.  Everyone was saying just a little more and then we turn and the wind will be behind us. Someone questioned my gear settings then EVERYONE chimed in that I was in high gear in the front. “YOU shouldn’t be riding in that gear – YOU SHOULD BE IN MIDDLE GEAR!” Ok…this was my 4th time out…what the heck do I know?!  I was told to get off my bike so two of the guys could change the front gear.  “LEAVE IT THERE!”  I was told to simply adjust the rear gears for now.  That was LESSON ONE.

LESSON TWO.   The young kid, a front rider who was told to help me out at that point,was EXCELLENT.  Apparently he races and does 2 century rides per week (2 x 100 !!!!! ).  He further told Ted and I that the reason we use the clip in shoes to pedal are so we can PULL up the hill –hence use quads. instead of hamstrings. That was another HUGE help.  After we stopped, he told me not to listen to anyone who tells me not to change gears.  Practice.

So the ride after the extended stop on my account turned out a little easier than the initial 8-9 miles.  We did a total of over 21 miles – not sure of the exact number.  Bodily damage was just the left hamstring.  I may need to wrap it on Saturday for the race but the hip pain went away – thank goodness. 

What a week this has been.  Good by April… Hello May! 

LETS EAT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE…

Delicious!

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On page 241 of the book “Chocolate Epiphany” by Francois Payard, you will find the best chocolate mousse recipe ever tasted.

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In the group, Chocolate with Francois, the recipe for April was chosen by Moogie of Moogie and Pap.  Terrific pick Moogie! 

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This was so chocolaty, but not overly sweet.  It melted onto your tongue for the most luxurious experience, kind of like snuggling down under the richest of silky sheets. Ooohhh so good.

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Don’t hesitate to visit Moogie’s site for the recipe because it has all of 6 ingredients and one of them is water.

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I never knew making mousse could be so easy.  It didn’t require gelatin (which would have made it non-vegetarian) but it does require egg.  Specifically 1 whole egg and 1 yolk.  The rest is simply cream, sugar and chocolate.

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Just fold it all together, chill and you have the perfect dessert. 

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This recipe will be sure to hit the Apple Crumbles table in the future for a quick and easy presentation of sweet luxury to serve to our friends.

Joanne

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