CNY Tri Club Practice and CEimB Raisin Toast with Honey Walnut Spread

Before getting into the Ellie Krieger recipe of the week, I’ll tell you about the workouts this week that have been different from my usual routine.  It’s good to get out of a comfort zone, right? No matter how difficult or intimidating it is.

Monday: This was routine.  Cross Train with the elliptical for 30 minutes. Weight train chest & arms for 25 minutes. Easy run with Shane for just under 4 1/2 miles.  Typical.

Tuesday:  This was a bit different.  I ran on the treadmill for speed work, 6 miles.  Worked my legs and stomach in the weight room.  Ran with Shane for 4.3 miles outside.  During my morning excursions, I picked up some bagels from Panera’s.  Three were multi grain (good girl!), one was a French Toast bagel (bad girl!). Ted had a nibble of the GINORMOUS F/T bagel and I took the rest to work.  It was my means of motivation.  You see, I CRAVE bread. Love it!  Naturally bagels are my favorite form of bread.  I wondered whether a huge bagel in the afternoon would help me with my energy level for afternoon running?  I ate the rest of the bagel and 1 1/2 hours later went for a 5 mile run.  Slow start but legs didn’t feel as heavy.  Average pace was 9.3 for 5 miles.  Total for the day 15 miles. It seems a carbohydrate increase in my diet is going to be necessary for PM running.

It was a piece-meal way to get my long run in for the week but based on the plans for the rest of the week, it seemed the only way to do it.

Wednesday:  Another day of different.  Walked with Shane in the morning.  Ted asked me to go to Jamesville with him for the practice swim, bike, run.  Since I haven’t swam more than 4 laps of the pool without stopping, I was nervous about the swim to say the least.  I decided to take on the challenge since ONE, the park had an open swim area, and TWO, there was a 200 meter swim distance offered. The cycling didn’t bother me, only wondering if I could keep up with Ted since the farthest I’ve peddled this year has been 11 miles.  The run I was looking forward to doing.  It would be interesting to see how my legs felt after doing a BRICK.

This is how it went …

The beach was closed except for the CNYTri club practice.  I just didn’t have enough confidence to muster up the courage to swim. Skipped it. But Ted had an AWESOME 400 meter swim!

We both rode the bikes for just over 10 miles (by Ted’s gage) and averaged approx. 18 mph(32 min.).  That’s pretty good for me since it was only my 2nd ride of the year.  I had to keep up with Ted, knowing he wouldn’t leave me behind, if I rode slow, it would mess up his training.  My back hurt, my hamstrings ached, general discomfort overtook me and we had just started riding. BUT… we finished the ride. Then the run.  Ted had foot pain and could only go about a mile.  I finished the 5K and thought “How does he DO THIS?! This is WAY worse than a marathon and I didn’t even swim!”.

End result:  We did it.  I did a bike and run and Ted did a swim, bike, run.   The CNY Tri Club did a SUPER job of organizing this practice.  Safe and no pressure. It’s not a race it’s a PRACTICE.  They do it every week at Jamesville Beach.  It doesn’t matter what triathlon distance: Sprint, Olympic, Half, and can’t even imagine a FULL Ironman, but this is a good way to practice.  All you TRIATHLETES are AWESOME!  As for me, I’ll just keep running.

Now for Ellie…

This week’s Ellie Krieger recipe was chosen by Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table.

Breakfast doesn’t get any easier.  It was, once again, a super delicious pick from the many Ellie recipes we chose from each week.

All you need is…

A loaf of raisin bread (cinnamon raisin bread if you follow the original recipe)

Walnut pieces

Plain Greek yogurt (non fat)

honey and some fruit

Measurements for 4 servings, each about 250 calories *depending on the bread you use.

1/2 cup walnut pieces (toast them if you like – I didn’t)

1/2 cup of the yogurt

2 tsp honey

8 slices of raisin bread (2 per person)

1 peach, apple, pear, or berries – sliced thin

Mix the walnuts, honey and yogurt together and chill.  This will keep up to 3 days in the fridge.

Toast the bread and spread about 1 TBS of the honey walnut spread on each slice.  Top with the cut fruit.

… and thoroughly enjoy the results of your labors.

DELISH!  Great pick, Kayte.