SBR Week 3 and Recent Eats

The polar vortex is back yet again, and I'm over it.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the winter and love nothing more than lazy days curled up by the fireplace, savoring a latte, cozy sweatshirts, and even a long run in the chilly air.  However, a temperature of 10 degrees with 25 mph winds is a whole new (and completely ridiculous) level of cold.  Despite managing the cold all week, today I through in the towel.  Plain and simple, I'm just tired of being cold.  Thus, I swapped a 6 mile tempo run for the bike trainer and 70 minutes of power intervals.  It was a worthy trade!

Bundled under a blanket and trying to stay warm -
afternoon tea and cookie while watching Downton Abbey (I'm hooked!).

Aside from that swap, I hit all of my other workouts for the week, just as prescribed.  At some point, I know the uncertainty of my schedule will wreak occasional havoc on my training plan, but until then, I love seeing each of those training peaks workouts turn green.  My runs were the most notable of this weeks training - including a 10 mile run last Sunday, followed by an 11 mile run Wednesday and 5 x 3 minutes @ sub-5k pace Friday.  I'm feeling good with the mileage so far, and I hope that trend continues.

Week 3 Totals - 11 hours, 50 minutes

Swim - 6000 yards

Bike - 4 hrs, 25 minutes

Run - 17.1 miles

Strength - 2 hours

Yoga - 1 hour

I think I'm a couple weeks behind with food pictures, so here's a look at what I've been eating recently.

Homemade Pizza: Trader Joe's whole wheat crust, marinara, roasted veggies (mushrooms, spinach, bell pepper, and red onion), and mozzarella

Leftovers from Vietnam Grille - vegetarian pho that was just as tasty and comforting the next day.

Roasting is my favorite winter cooking technique.  Even when I get home late, I can chop a mix of veggies, sweet potatoes, and a protein source, throw it all in the oven, and have a great meal in 45 minutes.  This particular  night I had tempeh in a cranberry horseradish sauce, caramelized sweet potatoes and carrots, baby radishes, and brussel sprouts with nutritional yeast.

Using the roasted leftovers, I created a bonus meal a few days later.  To put a completely different twist on the same ingredients, I sautéed the previously roasted mix, topped it with an egg, and served it all over a bed of arugula.

Of course you didn't expect me to leave out a pancake breakfast, did you?  This post-call plate of paleo sweet potato pancakes were rescued from the freezer, toasted, and topped with almond butter, banana, cinnamon, coconut, and maple syrup.

Last, but not least, tonight's dinner.  I mentioned last week my recent cravings for meat, so when I was at Fresh Market I picked up two stuffed chicken breasts that were on sale.  The organic chicken was stuffed with bell pepper, chipotle pepper, and jack cheese.  It had some major spice that I wasn't expecting!  Fortunately, I had sautéed garlic kale and roasted sweet potatoes and rutabaga to balance out the spice.