Hope everyone had a good weekend!
For a little Monday inspiration, look no further than these two videos from the weekend’s track events:
It should also be noted Galen Rupp did a 5 mile tempo run at 4:40 pace immediately following his 3:50:92 mile. Ridiculous. I am so jealous of such speedy people (including Coach John, who was going to run an “easy 15 at 6:50 pace” after work yesterday).
But it’s all relative, right? My own running is coming along and I ran four successful times this week for a total of 27 miles with minimal Achilles pain. It’s a little frustrating thinking about where I should be in training at this point had the injury not happened, but according to Coach John I still have a good base from the summer/fall and should be fine as long as the Achilles continues to progress. Even though I’m not “allowed” to do any workouts yet, I’ve been feeling semi-speedy as I get back into regular running.
Wednesday’s run
I don’t know if it was the 9 degrees with -2 windchill or the rare glass of wine I had the night before, but I felt pretty quick and this turned into somewhat of a progression run ending kind of almost near goal marathon pace. Remember when I did that for 10 miles in the middle of a 20 miler? Yikes, I have a lot of work ahead of me…
stews
It’s starting to thaw out a little in NYC (and by that I mean it was 29 degrees on my run this morning as opposed to 9), but it still feels pretty freaking freezing to me. All I want when it’s cold is a warm bowl of soup or stew, and I’ve been rotating a few favorite recipes that are super easy and delicious.
Turkey and Sweet Potato Stew with Sage (a.k.a. “Thanksgiving in a Bowl”)
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp olive or canola oil
- ~1 lb ground turkey
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped into small wedges (skin on, always!)
- 1 cup diced onions
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup broccoli
- 1 oz. [insert cheese of your choice]
- Dash pepper
Directions
Heat oil in large soup pot and add in raw ground turkey. Break up with wooden spoon and cook until browned. Add cumin and make sure ground turkey is coated, add sweet potatoes to pot and stir well with turkey, let cook for a few minutes. Add in sage, garlic, onions and celery. Cook until onions and celery are tender, about 5 minutes. Add in bell peppers and mushrooms, cook another few minutes. Add canned tomatoes and mix all together. Cover and let simmer for ~ 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.
I love me some greens, but I don’t add in the spinach or broccoli when the stew is cooking because it’ll get gross with leftovers. Since I’m only one person and I usually have a lot of leftovers, I add in the spinach and broccoli when I’m reheating the stew or when I’m portioning out some to eat from a new pot – it’s more fresh and delicious that way. Top with cheese (I like monterey jack, Jarlesburg or gorgonzola), let it get all melty and enjoy!
White Bean Vegetable Stew with Rosemary
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced onions
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 regular potato, cubed (with skin!)
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 3/4 cup sliced zucchini
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 cans white beans
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup broccoli
- 1 oz. [insert cheese of your choice]
- Dash pepper
Directions
Heat oil in large soup pot and add in onions, carrots, potatoes and celery. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes, and add garlic. Add in rosemary, mushrooms, bell pepper and zucchini, cook a few more minutes. Add canned tomatoes and beans and mix all together. Cover and let simmer for ~ 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Same deal with the greens and cheese as the recipe above.
I like these recipes because you can substitute the ingredients however you want – any kind of ground meat or bean will work with whatever vegetables and herbs you like.
Question: Favorite soup/stew ingredient? Mine is sweet potatoes. Did you race this weekend?? It seems like almost everyone did!
