Dream a little dream

On Sunday I sat with Eileen and watched the NYC Marathon. It is a marathon that I have yet to conquer. NYC was supposed to be my first marathon back in 2001, right after 9/11 and the death of my father. I guess it wasn't meant to be since I got some kind of 24 hour bug the night before and I spent the whole evening throwing up. If it happened to me now I would definitely pack my bags and take off for home before the race even started, but back then I figured I needed to at least try. I tried for 4 miles, then I got on the subway and went to Brooklyn. I eventually got turned in the direction of Central park and made it there in about the same time it would've taken me to run it. Oh well!

As I sat there watching these incredible women run awesomely fast on a not so fast course, I couldn't help but think maybe one day that will be Eileen. Maybe she will be able to achieve what I couldn't. Or maybe she'll be a snow boarder, or a mountain biker. Maybe she'll be the President. Who knows! But it's both awesome and scarey to hang out with a 7 month old, or a 3 year old, and wonder what lies ahead for them. What will they turn out to be? Only time will tell!

Now that I am over my sickness (I gave in and went and got some anti-biotics on Friday) I've had a great week of training. I finished off my "down" week with a 16 mile run. Then on Tuesday I jumped in with the WVU girls for my first track workout in over a year and a half. 8x800's. Felt great!! My right achilles has been bothering me a bit, otherwise I'm sure I could've done 10. One day at a time.

Since I gave up on trying to run Philadelphia Marathon (it's next weekend) I am going to bump up my long runs again and go for 22 this Saturday. I've decided to run Rehobeth Marathon in Delaware in December. I feel much better about that decision. I have an extra three weeks of training.

Product Review
Lately I've been loving a couple of new Saucony Products, so I feel I should share the joy!!
The first is the Saucony AMP Pro2 Reco.  These are recovery slippers that I like to wear after a long run or hard workout, or just when below my knees are hurting. They come in whole sizes, so I would recommend ordering up. I am a 7.5, and I ordered a 7, I should've ordered an 8.

My other favorite right now is the ProGrid Peregrine.  I am fond of Trail shoes because I live on dirt roads and I like to run on trails, but these are extra nice because they are very light weight for a trail shoe. I have been doing most of my running in them, even my long runs, and I ran the Spruce Knob half marathon in them.

Recipe of the Week
I chose this one because I make an easy, one pot version, and I wanted to see if I could do better, which I did. Also, I had egg noodles and Mushroom soup that needed to be used!
I used Panko bread crumbs instead of the home made kind here, and also black pepper because I didn't have red pepper.

TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE 

8 oz yolk-free, whole wheat wide egg noddles
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 (10 oz can) condensed, reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
12 oz white tuna, packed in water, drained, broken into chunks
1-1/2 cups frozen baby peas
1 slice whole wheat bread
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup low-fat milk

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spray a 2-1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

Cook noodles in large saucepan as directed. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Add onion, cook 4-5 minutes. Stir in soup, sour cream, milk and red pepper until well blended. Remove from heat.

Drain noodles; return noodles to pan. Add soup mix, tuna and peas. Toss well. Transfer mix to casserole dish.

Prepare fresh breadcrumbs: Tear bread into pieces, place in bowl of food processor. Process until finely minced. Sprinkle evenly over casserole. Top with paprika. Spray top of casserole with cooking spray.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until heated through.

Pic of the Week

                                          Travis and Rocky on our dirt road!!