My friend Sokphal and I are running the Jingle All the Way 15k (that’s 9.3 miles) together this coming weekend – eeek!
I’m nervous because I haven’t run more than 7 miles since… April 2017, I think, when I did the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler while early in pregnancy. I figure I can take it nice and slow and walk a little if I need to… we’ll see! I was planning to get in a 7 or 8 mile training run before the race, but for some reason I was thinking the race was NEXT weekend and it just crept up on me! Oh well.
Sokphal and I met up for some early morning miles yesterday to shake things out.
Funny story: we realized even though we had our backs to the camera (my phone, propped on a stair) we were both smiling!
Sokphal just got back from a big trip to Australia and New Zealand and I was sooo jealous hearing about all her adventures – I studied abroad in Brisbane and spent some time in NZ while there, too, and would LOVE to go back someday!
We had a really gorgeous morning for our run.
3.5 miles felt just right.
When I got home I had hummus toast topped with fried egg – not my best food photography, but I love this breakfast. Quick and easy and filling – it’s a nice way to mix it up from avocado toast!
Plus Riese likes fried eggs, so I always make an extra for her. :)
As for dinners, we had some tofu stir fry one night… Riese loved helping me pound the water out of the tofu (aka hitting the tofu while it was covered with a paper towel).
If you want some recipe ideas, check out my easy stir fry recipes post!
This one was quite yummy. I cut the tofu into cubes, coated it in a little flour, and then pan seared it until crispy. We hadn’t had tofu in ages and this was a nice way to mix it up.
On the non-tofu front, Matt, Riese, and I had a fun dinner out on Tuesday – we met Matt straight after work at Green Pig in Clarendon.
Butternut squash soup + kale caesar (with anchovies! Riese tried one and then immediately spit it out, ha) to share to start, plus a beer for me and red wine for Matt:
And then for my entree I had the braised pork and it was phenomenal – the perfect cold night dinner. With super silky smooth mashed sweet potatoes, fennel, and kale. Riese and I enjoyed the leftovers for dinner the next night when Matt was out at a work event!
I also stole some of Matt’s fries, and so did Riese. Girl has her mama’s love for salt!
As for last night, we decided pasta was in order… this one had ground turkey, onion, a little carrot, and kale in a marinara sauce.
For more pasta recipe ideas, check out my mix + match pasta recipes blog post!
Yum, yum! All about the cozy, warm meals this week with how dark it is in the evenings now!
Anyway – thanks for all the helpful comments on Riese’s 2 year toddler update blog post!
One thing I forgot to mention in the post is that I highly recommend the book No Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame by Janet Lansbury – it’s been super helpful with us and I think has helped with calming down the tantrum situation. Matt and I both read it (he listened to the audio version driving to and from work) so we’re on the same page now in terms of how we respond to things, too, which has also been good.
Another really great parenting book I found this summer is It’s Okay NOT to Share and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids. I really like the author’s different approach to the whole perfunctory “say you’re sorry” thing in particular.
Have a great weekend and I’ll see you guys back here on Monday with a race recap!
Link love from around the web:
- This vegan eggnog recipe (made with cashews and turmeric) sounds really good and unique!
- Love the idea of a slow cooker variation of mulled wine so you don’t need to keep a burner on during a party!
- This holiday gift guide featuring anti-diet merchandise is awesome.
Please note there are affiliate links in this post.
Is Sokpal still writing a blog? If so could you link to it please? I miss following all of her adventures cause I can’t remember the name of her blog
No, but you can see her adventures on Instagram! :) https://www.instagram.com/sokphal/
You have the best run views!
Have a great weekend :)
I know I’m so lucky – especially with sunrises like this! Thanks Jen!
Love your blog; thanks for the inspiration!
Aw thank you Katie!
Good luck for the race! I suspect you will surprise yourself.
Good luck on your race this weekend! You’re going to rock it.
Thanks!
I am more than happy to click through to your blog from Feedly, but the ads and pop-ups are so distracting…just wanted to give some feedback. Otherwise, love the blog
I’m redesigning my blog, so will take this into account as I get ready to launch the updated site! Thanks for clicking through! I had to truncate my feed because I was having issues with scrapers sites stealing my content using my full RSS feed.
Oh wow! You studied in Brisbane? That’s where I live! How cool! Good luck for your run! I am so jealous of your cool weather – it is currently 37degrees (celcius) here :(
Aw, I’m so jealous you live in Brisbane! Although whoa that’s hot! I was at Griffith University and loved it!
I enjoy reading your blog but I’m curious why you post your run times and pace. I often find myself comparing myself to others-which I know I shouldn’t.
I’m definitely not posting it to elicit comparison, and I’m sorry to hear it’s had that affect for you! It’s partly for me so I can look back at old training runs and see what I was doing at a certain time… it has been helpful when I’m training more seriously in particular. I also just find it useful on other blogs – I like seeing what other people are doing!
i spent a semester in brisbane, too! did you go to UQ? when were you there?
No, I was at Griffith University! January – June 2003.