My Favorite Fall Recipe (For right now)

Mmmmm. Even my 3-year-old loves it.

   So fall is FINALLY here. I know, it is almost November. But, it has been unseasonably warm here in Northern Utah and the leaves are just now turning in my neighborhood. Usually, they are gone by now.
 

Every time a leaf falls from a tree, I yell "traitor" at it and shake my fist at it. My fist is getting tired. 

 Because of the now cooling weather, I decided it was a comfort food type of day. I had seen a few pins recently on Pinterest for crock pot Chicken and Dumplings and knew they would be a hit with the 3-year-old, but almost all of them called for cans of Cream of Chicken soup. In my quest to be healthier, I have been trying to avoid the canned stuff. If it looks like that coming out of the can, then that is what you are going to look like after eating it. BUT I have finally perfected a Cream of Chicken soup recipe and decided to try my hand at making my own Chicken and Dumplings recipe. OH MAN! It is yummy! And best of all, I know it is preservative free! Win win.

 Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

2 T. butter

2 cups low sodium chicken stock/broth

1 batch cream of chicken soup (recipe below)

1 ½ T. Mrs. Dash onion and herb seasoning or dried onion (can also use ½ of an onion, small diced)

1 T. dried parsley

1 batch dumplings (recipe below)

Place chicken in crock pot and top with butter. Top with cream of chicken soup, broth, and seasonings. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low 8-9 hours or until chicken is cooked and shred-able, but NOT dry.  Shred chicken and add it back to crock pot. Gently stir in dumplings (very very gently), replace lid, and cook on high for 1 hour. Stir gently when soup is finished cooking. Enjoy it while it’s warm!

Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe:

6 T. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

2 T. butter

1 C. low sodium chicken stock or broth

1 1/2 C. skim milk

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. When butter is melted, add in the flour mixture and allow the flour to cook some, stirring constantly. Slowly add in chicken stock, whisking constantly. When chicken stock is mixed in, add milk slowly, whisking constantly. When everything is mixed, remove from heat and add to crock pot over chicken and butter.

Dumplings Recipe:

1 cup flour

½ tsp. sugar

½ T. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

4 T. butter, cold and cut into small chunks

¼ cup milk

Combine dry ingredients in stand mixer (or can be done by hand). Add in butter and mix until butter is pea sized and covered with flour. Add milk and mix lightly until just combined, then knead with hands until dough comes together. Pat out or roll dough into ½ inch round. Cut dough vertically into ½ inch strips, then cut horizontally into ½ inch squares. Add into crock pot the last hour of cooking and stir gently. Finish cooking soup on high for 1 hour.

Remembering some things lost, celebrating some things gained.

     The National Day of Pregnancy and Infant Loss (October 15) came again last Wednesday. We tried celebrating as a family (Mark is still in New York), so we Facetimed and participated in the Wave of Light (everyone is asked to light a candle at 7PM, in their time zone, and keep it lit for 1 hour. If everyone in every time zone did this, there would be a wave of light across the globe). So we each had a candle for Isabel and one for Poppy, Addison's twin that we lost at 8 weeks. Addison and I listened to Isabel's songs while we got our candles ready and talked about both babies. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was enough for us.

   Addison was also out of school all last week, so I had the extra challenge of trying to get all my workouts in with her home (I have grown used to working out while she is in school). Addison started her vacation off with a bout of the stomach flu, so we had 4 days of awesome to start out our vacation. Luckily, I didn't get sick. All of this working out and supplements I am taking must be paying off!

   Once I was able to have all the laundry off my workout room floor, I was able to get back in and do my BeFit in 30 Extreme challenge. I decided on Wednesday to make up the one workout I missed while Addison was sick and to do that day's workout too. Holy crap! They are only 20 minute workouts, but they are so intense I was actually shaking when I finished the second one. I am hoping that saying, "What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger" is true and I will be one muscled woman!

   Besides those workouts, I was also able to get in some running. Addison was finally feeling good enough, and no longer contagious, so we headed to the park Thursday and I pushed her in the stroller and tried to do a fast 5k. My PR set at the Salt Lake City Marathon 5k in 2013 is 34:55, so I was hoping to just get close to that. And it was a tall order. I have been struggling to run since my marathon and am averaging 15 minute miles. It is exasperating how difficult running any faster has become. I knew pushing the stroller was going to add an extra challenge, and my legs were still sore from the day before, so I decided to just push hard and see where that would get me. I was surprised that my first mile came in at 13 minutes. It was still slower than my pre-marathon mile pace, but so much faster than I have been. I ended up doing a 39 minute 5k. Which, by the way, is almost 10 minutes faster than my previous attempts over the last 4 weeks.

   That night Joshua reminded me that Emigration Canyon was going to be closed for a race Saturday, causing me to scramble about what to do about my long run that week. I had been planning to head to Salt Lake to do an 8 mile up and back in the canyon. I could head to a different canyon, but I know Emigration so well and it is the best canyon to push a stroller through. Joshua was going to be sweeping the course Saturday, which meant not a lot of running for him, so I convinced him to go running with me in the Canyon Friday night.

   We had decided to do 5 miles. Joshua would still have legs for his race the next day, and I would have a decent hill run. The run was challenging going up. Pushing the stroller feels like trying to push a wall up the canyon. I was only able to run short distances and we ended up walking a good portion. Still, any time going up is training and getting to do some miles with Joshua was amazing. I love running with Joshua. 

   It wasn't a fast run, but it was a good run. And it kind of summed up my week. The training was hard, but it was good. I am excited to see if all the extra cross-training and the change up in my running routes/speed/hill work help get me to my sub-30 5k goal. My first opportunity to test my training will be the Turkey Trot at CSI on Thanksgiving. I have 5 weeks left!    

When Running Can't Come First

 

Taking a snack break after an awesome solo run at a local park. Gotta get in these runs while the weather is still warm.

   When Mark and I tell people that we run races, the first question we always get is, "How do you have time for that?" And to us the answer is simple, we make time for it. We all only have 24 hours a day and with a child, a house, and Mark's over 40 hour a week job, it can be a lot to fit in. In order to run, we do sacrifice other things. For instance, this summer when we were marathon training, we basically sacrificed Saturday to running long runs and recovering. Mid week runs are up even more time. We missed out on a lot of the typical summer things we like to do like going to the drive-in movies, swimming at the local aquatic center, drives in the mountains, picnics, and even some travel. Sure, we tried to do those things here and there, but for the most part our summer was spent running for hours and then napping and being sore. But, for one summer, we were willing to make that trade. We needed one summer of missed week nights and Saturdays to forever say and know we were marathoners.
   We miss other things to be runners too. We can't just eat whatever we want. I mean, we could, but then we were suffer in our running. We sacrifice eating out for spending more to eat at home so we know we are eating well. We also spend more to get organic whenever possible. It is a sacrifice we are willing to make so that we know we are getting the best food we can get. We have to get sleep and usually a late night for us is staying all the way until 10 PM! We miss television events, Saturday morning sleep-ins, just sitting on the sofa binge watching Netflix, and other normal things people do. We purposely chose to sacrifice those things.
    And while running is free, the things we chose to need for our running isn't. Races, for example can cost anywhere from $10 for our No Snow 5K we run every January to our over $100 marathon. If we both run 5 races a year, that adds up. Our shoes are around $100 a pair and I am on my 3rd and 4th pair (I mix up what shoes I wear to lessen the risk of injury) this year (each pair is only good for around 350-400 miles for me). Then we have running clothes which we buy usually on clearance, but that still adds up. Then there are mid-run nutrition needs, electrolyte water so I am less prone to migraines, vitamins and supplements (can't live without fish oil and joint supplements), Powerade, water bottles we can carry while running, our jogging stroller and stuff to keep Addison happy while we log hours of running, GPS apps and running music, and the list never seems to end. We pass on doing other things like eating out often, shopping for "normal" stuff, going to the movies, and "living like a normal person" to run. We are often teased about claiming we are poor, but we budget our lives so we can run. And we do it happily.
   The whole goal of all of this for us is just to be healthy. For a long time in both our lives, we put our health last and paid the price by being overweight and pushing ourselves into lives of heart disease, high blood pressure, and who knows what else. One day we decided that wasn't going to be our fate if we had anything to do with it. So we started running. Our goals were little at first, then they grew and grew. We went from struggling to run a mile straight to running half marathons and eventually a full marathon.
   And while we were growing as runners, I was noticing that I wasn't gaining like a lot of people around me seems to be able to do. Sure, I was running the same training runs and races, but I was usually one of the last people. If you wanted to train with me, be prepared to run slow and walk sometimes. I am doing the best I could do, but I feel like I am not improving. What was I doing wrong? Is it because I am still fat for a runner? Is it because I am not training hard enough and pushing myself to death every run? Am I not running enough, period? Should I do more cross-training? Why am I still running 12:00 miles? Why was I second to last at my marathon? I am beating myself up over all of this.
   Then two things happened. I read an article about how much I really needed to be running in order to be in "good half shape" (30-40 miles a week. I currently only do about 20). And then, Joshua asked me to prioritize my life. I realized running came after my marriage, my kids, and was only part of my health plan, not the center. Sure, I could drop everything and run more and become more intense about running X miles a week with this workout on this day, blah blah blah. But, I don't want to do that. First of all, I will not and can not pawn off my responsibilities as a parent to do these things. It wasn't until Addison started school a couple of weeks ago that I wasn't with her 24/7. And I love that I am able to be with her. So many parents can't be home. But, that also meant that I had to work around her schedule and mood to workout and if we want to run, either my husband or I are pushing her in the stroller. Which is fine, but it is also something to plan around. With her going to school for a couple of hours a day a few days a week, I now can plan a run or a workout during that time. But, that isn't always the case. I look forward to the day Addison is old enough to watch herself, or better yet, can run with us once in a while. Then I can really focus on being the runner I really think I can be. But until then, I am not willing to sacrifice my time with my family too much to not be there.
   I am also kind of burned out from running. I did some amazing things this year. I set a new PR, breaking a 2:45 half marathon after chasing it for 2 years. I ran a marathon. But I am also tired. I didn't do as well as I would have hoped. I don't feel I improved enough this year. I feel the need to do more in my training then just running for distance sake. I have started doing several things in the weeks following my marathon. I started the BeFit in 90 Extreme challenge. I work out doing those videos 4 days a week. I am also doing more hill and tempo training. I hate difficult running because I have not done much to train for it. It has taken me 2 years and 7 months of training to realize that the difficult training runs is what will make me the stronger and faster runner I long to be. I am also focusing on the smaller races this winter. I would like to break the 30 minute 5K and the hour 10K. And while most people around me would tell me I need to do longer training runs, I am getting in what I can, even if it is only 3 miles a weekday run, 2-3 times a week, and 8-10 on the weekends. I may not be averaging the 30-40 I should be to be killing the half marathon distance, but I am doing what fits my current schedule. And at the end of the day, that is the best I can do.
   For me, with a small child and a husband and a house and other obligations, running can't come first. It may be years until I can devote myself to running to really get faster and stronger. But. for now, I do what I can and I know for me, it has to be enough. There is still plenty of time in my life to do those other things. Right now I hope to just be a good wife and mother. I hope to have a semi-decently clean home. I try to serve my family healthy food and promote a healthy lifestyle. I can't do everything. Maybe dreams of a 2 hour half or a 4 hour marathon are worth putting off as I build this foundation of a good life now.

My training partner. She can be a bit of a pace killer, but she is too cute to get mad at about it.

What is next on the training docket?

   So while marathon training I promised myself I would never do something so intense and stupid again. I swore I would focus on shorter distances with the goal of getting to be a faster runner overall. I am going to work on a sub-30 5K and sub-hour 10K. That was the plan. That and lots of circuit training to beef up my muscles.
   Then, not too long before the marathon someone from one of my running Facebook groups started a race that sounded intriguing for November 1. Well, intriguing, hard, and completely intense. Within minutes of reading the description, I wrote Joshua about it and we decided to run it. And while it may not be a marathon, it will be just as insane, but for a shorter distance. Joshua and I signed up to run a 6.5 mile race UP one of the Salt Lake area canyons, and we won't know which one for sure until 48 hours before the race! They are calling this type of running "earning your downhill," but the actual race is only counting the uphill run! Joshua and I are going to finish the race then run back down the canyon to get a full half in to count toward his lifetime race goals. If you don't believe me about how crazy this idea is, here is the website: http://extramileracing.com/burn/ Judge for yourself.
   So, to prepare, I have been ramping up my speed and strength training. I am always looking for new workouts and I found a whole bunch of them from the BeFit people on You Tube. I am currently doing some BeFit Extreme workouts that are basically circuit training and cardio on steroids. I do that 4-5 times a week and run 3 times a week doing courses with hills twice a week. I have been purposely avoiding running uphill too long and it is killing me on race day. I think between the two things, I should be ready in a month to kick that hill in the trash can.

The hill by my house. It maybe short, but it is steep. That combined with my inclined run up to it in my neighborhood makes for a .10 mile climb equal to what I should be expecting in elevation gain at the race. It's killer. 

   I also FINALLY got my Altra Intuition 2.0 shoes. I have been running in 1.5's and have worn through 2 pairs and working on a third this year before my new shoes came. I love my 1.5's. I thought they were the best shoes that could ever be made. Then Altra made the 2.0. And honestly folks, they are amazing. So comfy. And cushioned. And everything a gal like me could ask for in a shoe. I wore them for my 5 miles around my neighborhood and up my hill today and I love them. Having them makes me want to run more (which is terrible because I make bad decisions in running). Hopefully the shoes don't talk me into something even more insane than running up a mountain or a marathon.

My new shoes. I love them more than anything.

Um, Jill, The Blog Is Green.

  It's October, already. I dread this month every year. I have never really liked October. I am not a fall person. While I think the fall leaves are pretty, I hate them for falling off the trees. I have been known to yell traitor to all the falling leaves while doing a fall walk with my husband before. Yeah. And for me, October is the month to blame for all the incoming months of dead and snow. That is just how it is for me.
  October does have special meaning to me now, though. October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, so I get to remember my sweet babies this month. The 15th is actually the Remembrance Day for the month and there is something really cool you can do to remember all the babies that have been lost. At 7PM, your time zone, light a candle and keep it lit for an hour. Then, as you blow your candles out, the next time zone is lighting theirs and this will create a wave of light across the globe. I urge everyone who reads this to do this simple act. Let's remember every baby.
  I light the candles in my home not only for Isabel, but to also remember Addison's twin I lost at 8 weeks. This is really the only anniversary we have to remember our loss. I am thankful for the opportunity to have a date to remember that loss by.
  To remember Isabel, specifically, I have turned my blog green. Green is the color of Anencephaly awareness. If you are new to my blog and know little to nothing about Anencephaly, then you can click here, here, and here to learn more. I know for me, when I was carrying Isabel, the last two were particularly helpful because I was able to read stories and meet other people who have been through the same thing. Such a blessing in such a bleak time.
  So that is how my October is shaping up. I hope you all are having a wonderful fall, and if you hate October like I do, then we can yell at the leaves together.