Playing the Game

House update!!! We heard back from the sellers. It’s not good news or bad news; we received a counteroffer. Now we’re playing the game!

To get the ball rolling, Mal and I put in a pretty low offer, so, not surprisingly, the sellers made a counteroffer. It’s not the end of the world, but they only went down $4,000 from their asking price. Isn’t it a buyer’s market?!  We really love the house, so we increased our offer and basically met in the middle. Hopefully, the sellers like this one better. Stay tuned.

Dinner

Goooooooood dinner tonight!! It was perfect for 95 degree weather!

Don’t ya love it when you just throw some ingredients together and the meal turns out much better than expected? Tonight was definitely one of those nights!

I didn’t measure the ingredients exactly, so I did my best to estimate how much I used of each one. Feel free to do your own thing and experiment with the recipe below!

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Arugula and Feta

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces uncooked whole wheat penne
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3 ounces crumbled feta
• 1 big handful of arugula

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to directions on package.
• Combine all ingredients, except for arugula and feta, in a large mixing bowl.
• Once cooked, drain, and transfer pasta to large mixing bowl; toss well.
• Cool pasta in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.
• Add arugula and feta just before serving.

Doesn’t this dish look so fresh and delicious!?! This recipe is a keeper!

TNT Training Schedule

Ever since I started training for the Honolulu Marathon, I’ve received a number of questions about the Team In Training milage schedule. I’ve answered a bunch of questions on an individual basis, but I thought it would be helpful to share my responses with everyone.

Here’s what the various workouts are all about:

Long runs: Long runs are done once a week on Saturday mornings with our TNT team. Of course, I would love to run 26.2 miles without stopping, but I really don’t think it’s in my future. Thankfully, the marathon can be completed in a run/walk method. This method uses a technique where you run for a specified time (10 minutes, 9 minutes, etc.) and then walk for 1 minute and complete throughout the entire race. Once I get up to the longer distances, I’m going to give this method a try.

Here are a few links that further explain the run/walk method:

• Jeff Galloway’s Walk Breaks
• The Run/Walk Plan from Runner’s World
• Run-Walk-Run to Faster Times, Faster Recovery

Track workouts: Track workouts help increase your speed. Basically, running faster than normal helps your body get “used to” running faster. Your body learns to work more efficiently and makes you able to run faster over a given (race) distance. Essentially, running becomes easier for you because your body becomes conditioned by the stress of a track workout. Over time, you will be able to run faster with less effort.

Each week, the TNT training schedule has us doing one of three rotating Track Workouts:

• Track Workout 1
• Track Workout 2
• Track Workout 3 (coming soon)

Cross training: The TNT program has us crossing training 3 times per week. This is to avoid injury and overuse. On my cross training days, I will do activities like Body Pump, elliptical, spinning, and yoga.

As you know, I believe that strength training is very important to a healthy, fit body. For one, it helps keep your core strong, which is essential for running. Even still, I plan to reduce my usual twice per week Body Pump routine to once a week until the marathon. The TNT folks recommended not doing strengthen training the day before or after a long run or on the same day as running (as your body needs to rest). There’s only seven days in a week, so I really can’t fit in two Body Pump classes each week. Hopefully, doing yoga once a week will help keep me strong.

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For dessert, Mal and I are going to Starbucks for iced lattes (decaf) and then we’re chilling with Murphy on the couch. It’s too hot to do anything, so we’re watching a movie from Netflix.

Enjoy the evening, folks!

Tagged as: and Feta, arugula, marathon training, Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Team in Training