eggplant & mozzarella melt.

today, i made an extremely easy and delicious lunch... but first, today's workout:

it felt really good to get such a good sweat on during spin.  if you haven't tried spinning yet, jump on the bandwagon (or bike, more accurately).  it's fun and it's a fantastic workout.  note to self: spin more often.

for lunch today, i was craving an eggplant parm hero but instead of paying for takeout and then paying for the extra calories in the gym, i made a healthy and cheaper alternative.  it came out pretty fantastic if i do say so myself.  also, while it did satisfy my craving, i now find myself craving this exact same meal so i'm sure i'll be making it again sometime soon.

HEALTHY Eggplant & Mozzarella Melt

Ingredients:

• one ciabatta roll (or any sort of italian bread - i picked the ciabatta roll because it was single serving size and only 170 calories)
• small eggplant (sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)
• one egg
• salt and pepper
• breadcrumbs (i used italian seasoned breadcrumbs)
• tomato sauce
• mozzarella cheese

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. In a bowl, lightly beat egg with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp of pepper
3. In a shallow dish, pour 1 cup of breadcrumbs.
4. Dip eggplant in egg (both sides).  Then coat both sides with breadcrumb and place on tinfoil on a baking tray.
5. Bake eggplant (without turning) until brown (I left mine in for 18 minutes)

in the meantime...

1. Slice bread and place cut side up.  i removed a little of the inside of the bread so that there was a bit of a "well" to hold the tomato sauce.
2. Fill the "well" with tomato sauce.  i didn't measure this out, i just took a spoon and layered the tomato sauce on top of the two halves of bread.  i didn't want too much sauce, you can decide how much you want.
3. when eggplant is ready, place slices on top of tomato sauce (save any leftover eggplant!)
4. place mozzarella cheese on top of eggplant.  i used one slice of low fat mozzarella cheese on top of each half of bread. 
5. place on baking sheet and bake until cheese starts to turn brown (i left mine in for 6 minutes)

delicious, easy, and guilt-free craving satisfaction!

what kind of food do you typically crave? i always crave things with bread and cheese.  pizza, anyone?

how often do you give in to cravings?  do you have any healthy alternatives to keep you in check?

a little "recovery" gym time.

so after tuesday nights extreeemely intense run, i decided to take yesterday off from running and hit the gym instead.  it worked out perfectly as lululemon run club was cancelled due to the gross and rainy weather.

as many of us who train for long distance races do, i struggle with cross-training and getting in other workouts besides running.  i do my best to do spin or some other sort of cross-training each week but let's be honest here, when i'm pressed for time, cross-training is the workout that gets kicked to the curb.

and i strength train even less than i cross train.  which, if you knew me in college, is hard to believe.  i rocked the first floor of the plex (for non-BCers, the first floor was all weights and 99.9% male).

just to prove my point, this is an actual conversation i had with someone when we met for the very first time:

me: nice to meet you.
dude: yea, you too.  you look really familiar.  have we met before? did i have a class with you or something?
me: hmm no i dont think so
dude: ohhhh i know! you're the only girl who works out on the first floor of the plex.

yup, that was me. bench pressing with the best of 'em.

but that was then.  that was before my life was consumed by weekly mileage increases and speedwork and long runs blah blah blah blah blah.  i need more strength training in my routine, there's no denying that.  i need to PLAN cross-training and strength training into my schedule and make it a point to do it.  yes, there are going to be some weeks that it's difficult.  and yes, those weeks i'm going to choose running over cross-training or lifting.  why?  because if you want to get better at running, there is no secret - you need to run more.

so last night when i ventured to the gym, i did a little of both cross-training and strength training.  i started with strength because, contrary to popular belief, your cardio should follow your strength routine if you elect to do both on the same day.  why?  cardio will make you tired.  you won't be able to lift as much weight, perform as many reps, and your form may be effected by muscle fatigue from the cardio.

anywho, i did 3 sets of 10 reps of the following 5 exercises:

1. T-pushup
2. One legged back row (i do a more advanced version, standing up and balancing on one foot, 15 pound weight)
3. Oblique twist (i used a 12 pound weight)
4. Squat (12 pound weight in each hand)
5. Stationary Lunges (12 pound weight in each hand)

due to muscle fatigue, i alternated with the following pattern:

1, 2, 3 

1, 2, 3

4, 5

1, 2, 3

4, 5
4, 5

this was a great workout.  what makes it even better? it's something i can do at home if need be.  i'd be without weights above 5 lbs but i could make it work by maybe adding more sets or advancing the exercise.  every exercise can be modified or advanced.  which is why strength training really is for everyone.  

after finishing my strength training, i went upstairs to get some cross-training in on a spin bike and i spun my little heart out for a good 30 minutes.  switching up the routine? check. full body workout? you know it.

i'm taking today to rest.  why? because i'm gonna run 10 miles tomorrow after work.  that's right, all the cool kids are doing it.  

what's the most number of miles you ever do after work?

what's your favorite type of cross-training?

miles to go before i sleep.

long training run loops

so this past sunday was nyrr's second long training run.  the whole idea of the long training run is pure genious- nyrr sets up central park with mile markers 1-20, lines the course with water and misting stations, and provides a "recovery station" equipped with water, gatorade, bananas, and pretzels at miles 6, 11, 16, and 20.  there are no chips and no time clocks- it is truly a "training run."  at the first training run this year, nyc was experiencing a heatwave and i was lucky to be able to finish the day with 11 miles.  sunday, i ran 13 miles and was home, showered and back in bed all before 10am.  talk about a productive morning.  on that note, thanks meg for the running company and thank you he-who-must-not-be-named for well, everything.

while i'm thanking people, thanks JESSY for encouraging me to blog more often.  there's your shoutout.  happy?

so with 11 weeks until the marathon and 7 weeks until my taper period, my marathon training is really about to pick-up.  here's a look at my next few weekend long runs:

awesome, huh?  major ugh.  while this whole build-up period is exciting, it's also exhausting, time consuming, and let's face it, annoying and painful.  while i've been putting in marathon work for the past few months, nothing is as essential as these next few weeks of training.  here are a few things that are super important for me over the upcoming weeks:

1) proper fueling before/during/after long runs.

• Before: good carbs, lean proteins, lots of water.  there's nothing worse than tummy issues the day of a long run.  i've got to be sure that i'm eating good foods throughout the week to keep my body healthy and fueled for the long runs over the weekend.  also gotta be sure not to have too much fiber as the weekends approach- i shouldn't have to explain that one.  if you need an explanation, feel free to ask your favorite long distance runner why fiber should be avoided close to a long run. i've also got to be sure that i'm drinking lots of water throughout the week.  hydration is key and it's important that i'm hydrating all week and not just on runs.  this has been a major issue for me this summer.  bad ang, very bad ang.

• During: water, gatorade, gu chomps.  i've become very accustomed to drinking something about every mile or so and i feel that i run my best when i have this few second "power walk" after every mile while i sip in such a way as to not spill water or gatorade all over my chin and shirt.  during longer races, i typically alternate water and gatorade at each mile marker.  also, i ordered two 16-packs of GU chomps to help fuel my longer runs over the next few weeks.  most people don't know that runners actually need to eat DURING longer runs (i don't chomp it up unless i'm running a half marathon or longer).  there's all sorts of stuff out there but i've become accustomed to the GU chomps.  i also like sports beans because hey, jelly beans are awesome.  so yea, i'm all stocked up and won't be forgetting these on any long runs anymore (hello, queens half-marathon.)

looks appetizing, right?

• After: i really need to be better about eating after a long run.  typically, the thought of eating after a long run makes me nauseous.  this is bad.  i need to eat something.. pretzels, a banana, both.  just something.  it's just that i get home, shower, and then immediately want to lay down and go back to sleep that by the time i wake up, my body is in all sorts of bad shape.  angela, you must eat right away.  no excuses, play like a champion.

2) adequate sleep and rest

• Even if it means turning off my phone, i need to be sleeping at an appropriate hour so that when i wake up before the sun rises, i can actually function.  you ever try running 20 miles on 3 hours sleep?  no?  probably because it sucks.  and it's a stupid idea.  just go to damn bed, ang.

3) cross-training regimen

• i've definitely been better at this the past few weeks than i've been in years.  I've been going to the gym about once a week and biking or doing the elliptical.  some days i even spend a few minutes lifting free weights (taking it back to my good ol' college days when i ruled the weight room).  i'd like to take advantage of the fact that i have an olympic sized pool about 20 feet from where i work that is absolutely free for me to use; however, i've been a wimp.  i haven't swam laps since college and i'm so afraid of someone seeing me and judging me.  i really need to suck it up and just get myself to the pool.  

4) stretching and foam-rolling

"i love... the mets."

• yea, i don't stretch... or foam roll... even though i now keep my foam roller in the living room so that i don't have to go through the extra trouble of opening a closet door to get to it.    i don't understand how i can go out and run for hours on end but then cannot seem to take just a few minutes to get down on the floor and stretch.  that's a new kind of lazy right there.  

okay folks, next up is sunday's bronx half-marathon.  the start/finish is right by yankee stadium.  come cheer for a lovely lady?  thanks.