D-E-B-T-F-R-E-E!!!

We are officially debt free.

Car paid off.

Completely necessary for health and safety and comfort and sanity purchase paid off.

Dunzo.

And it feels so good!!!

And now I am going shopping.

Jokes.

Guest Blogger and a Giveaway!

For any of you who have read the blog for a while, I need not introduce my friend  K-stan.  However, for the newbies, Kstan is a friend of mine that lives in Brooklyn.  We met on a cruise ship in 2006 and have been friends ever since.  What you really need to know about her, though (other than her love for roosters, her boyfriend's knack for making up the most absurd life mantras, or her crazy holy-water-throwing grandma), is that she is a phenomenal runner.  Kstan ran the NYC marathon in November in sub-3 hours.  She was the 27th woman to finish out of eleventybillion runners.   On top of it all, she is my free personal running coach and answers all 43 of my daily retarded questions with the most astounding patience.  She knows more about running than anyone I know, and I wanted to share some of her wisdom with the running readers.  So, without further ado, Kstan the Swift:

Running is my pastime and my passion. And I truly believe anyone can be a runner. So you can imagine my excitement when Stephanie started to run as well! As Steph and many other runners move beyond the 5K realm onto 10K’s and relays (and perhaps a marathon soon…I hope!), training runs inevitably get longer, with your longest run usually falling on the weekends. How should you tread into this new mileage territory? Are there things to eat or wear that make your running life easier? I think so. Here are a few of my favorites:

Eating and Drinking on the run- And no. I do not mean a burger and one hand and a beer in the other. Let’s start with hydration. As the warm weather fast approaches, it is more and more important to stay properly hydrated on runs. This means that if you are running for over 45 minutes in warm weather, it is time to strap on the energy belt. It is typically a strap that Velcros around your midsection and holds 2-4 water bottles, as well as a pouch for food, ID, cell phone, or other run essentials. It will not be your most fashionable accessory, and it does add a bit of weight to your run, however, having your water right on your hip during your summer run is a valuable resource! My favorite is the Road Runner Sport 2 Energy Speed Belt. It is the running equivalent of my huge satchel purse; I can pack everything I would ever need for a run and zoom away. If you prefer a smaller bottle, there are also hand held water bottles as well, like the Nathan Quick Draw. If you are a true outdoors person, you may own a Camelback pack, which works just as well!

Eating on the run is a bit trickier. Before I started long runs, I never had any clue that you had to take in calories during a run, what to eat, or even when to eat. A rule of thumb is if you are running over 45 minutes, then you should have some sort of energy intake, either right before you start running or 30 minutes into the run. My preferred method of energy intake: GU Gels.

If you have never used it before, Gu is a packet of instant energy that sort of tastes like frosting. If the thought of eating a frosting like substance is not appealing, you can get energy in the form of fruit snacks like Gu Chomps. And if you want to go for an even simpler option, gummy bears can help give you some much needed sugar in the middle of your run. Enjoy it! Where else can you get a free pass to consume gummy bears?! Gu gels are the most portable and best way to get your energy mid run. Just two warnings: 1. Try any sort of gel or chews on a training run before you ever use it in a race to make sure it works without causing any discomfort. 2. Stop running as you eat it, because attempting to do everything at once may result in a tumble. This may seem obvious, but this also may have happened to me. Moving on…

Running Socks – Running socks will change your life. I discovered this when I was away from home and about to go on a run, but had forgotten socks. A quick trip to the local running store and $10 later (yes, more on that in a second) saved me. When I returned from my sweaty stinky summer run (glamorous, right?), I took off my socks, and my feet were dry. Bone dry! Not a drop of sweat! I may have made everyone feel my feet because I was so excited. Yes, I know that is weird. Am I the only one who finds this exciting? Other than my weird excitment about dry feet, running socks have other benefits. They hug your foot, offering compression and arch support. Special running socks offer no movement during runs, which is another cause of foot irritation. They offer slightly more cushioning on your runs. The wicking material that keeps your feet dry also keeps them odor free, so you won't clear the room when you remove your running shoes! Alas, let's get to the one uncomfortable part of special running socks: the price. Yes, they are expensive. And yes you can go to Target and buy 5 of their socks for the price of one pair of Feetures socks (my favorites). This is certainly a valid concern, so I suggest just buying one pair to try at first, and save them for your longer runs on the weekends. This is how I started, and I became hooked. Hi, my name is Kristan and I am a running sock addict.

Body Glide- While we are on the topic of irritation, I have a true story for you. I ran my first marathon last fall and was rather perplexed to find tubs of Vasoline with popsicle sticks pocking out of it at the start. Any questions I had about why I would find this here were answered when the other runners started globbing it all over themselves. Communal Vasoline not your thing? Thank goodness for Body Glide.

While running in warm weather, you will find that some of your running attire may rub you the wrong way and cause irriatation. Remember the episodes of the Office where Any Bernard experiences some bleeding during the Dunder Miffilin Fun Run?



Yeah, you want to avoid that. In addition to respecting your personal space and your health, Body Glide helps you avoid any discomfort/chafing that may occur while running. It looks like a little stick of deodorant and it glides right on. Rub it on feet, legs, arm pits, anywhere. Don’t be shy about buying it. Irritation happens to the best of us.

Finally, the best way to learn more about running is to be open to experimenting with what works best for you on your runs, as well as not being afraid to ask questions to other more experienced runners. I am always learning from other runners around me and can assure you that no question is stupid, inappropriate, or too gross. For those of you who like to read, The Runner’s World Complete Book of Women’s Running is a great resource.

In addition I cannot go on enough about the benefits of running with others. If you are currently running solo, go to the Road Runner’s Club of America website and find a club near you. Joining a club and meeting new people can truly be a life changing experience.

Seriously good stuff!

And lucky for you, I am giving one super lucky reader a copy of The Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running, a stick of Body Glide, and some Gu-u-u!

4 ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment with your absolutely cannot do without exercise/fitness item

2. Twitter this giveaway-o-rama.  Leave a comment that you did so

3. Blog this giveaway and link back to this post.  Leave a comment that you did so

4. Leave a question for Kstan in a separate comment.  It could be a running question, question about her marathon, how she trained, or about her love for roosters.

Giveaway deadline is Wednesday, March 10 at 5pm central.  This is my first giveaway, so if no one decides to enter, I am keeping the stuff for myself.

Aspen Snowmass Give Me My Heart Back

 

 

Kevin was the greatest teacher ever.

The girl to my right broke her tailbone.

The girl to my left writes this blog

Chris and Abby

I sat here for much of the trip drinking coffee by the fire, reading, and watching the people come down the mountain.  Perfect vacay.

Indeed.

And so, I crossed #9 off of my list.

Me gusto enchiladas, ay yay yay yayyyy! Arriba.

Enchiladas are, like, the easiest thing to make.  Ever.  Maybe.

I don't typically toot my own horn, or any horn for that matter, but I make some freakin' good enchiladas.  Ladies, especially if you are lacking in the cooking-skills-making food for your husband/boyfriend/fiance market, make these ladas and you will be a goddess who rules the brain of your man.

As usual, I don't have a solid recipe to share (see black bean hummus).  So, try to stick with me here.

Drizzle some oil in a pan and throw in whatever spices you want your meat to taste like.  That's what sh...never mind.  I think I used chili powder and garlic something and some other things.  You can use whatever you want.
This particular time, I made ground turkey enchiladas.

DO NOT! knock it until you try it.  If you try to be health conscious as we do, make sure to get the extra lean turkey.  Sometimes people are all, "Oh I'll be all healthy and get turkey", and then they don't read the package and end up buying the turkey who spent his whole life at the bar drinking beer and eating pub food and then stumbled home and stopped at the pizzeria every night.

Throw the meat in and cook it until it is mostly not pink.  You're going to cook it again, so if it's not completely done, it's not the end of the world.  No need to throw it against the wall and cry because you are the worst cook in the history of America.  Not that I've done that.

If you want to make pulled chicken ladas, throw some chicken breasts in boiling water for about 10-30 minutes.  Look, I don't know how long I boil them for, so just sort of watch until they are done aka not pink in the middle.  Then get them out and pull them with a fork.  If you don't know how to pull chicken, email me.

Next, open the wine.

It would be pretty cool if I could say I make enchiladas with wine somehow, but, it's simply to drink while you cook.  It will make it so much more relaxing, I promise.  Some of my favorite alone time is spent cooking with some wine and DC's ipod playing in the living room.

This one was on sale at Central Market and it ended up being delicious.

And since DC wasn't home yet, Rico Paco Manuel Eduardo kept me company.  Courtesy of Jellie.

Ok so while your meat is a rockin' in the pan, you need to decide what else you want to put in these bad boys.  If you just want meat and cheese, that's fine, you can be boring and remind me of a friend in elementary school who would only eat cheese enchiladas and mac n cheese.  And chicken nuggets.  Or you can pull stuff from your fridge and make this interesting and be a more intriguing person to me.  It's up to you.

As you can see, I have chosen some mushrooms (I can't believe it either, but I am really starting to enjoy them), chopped cilantro, TONS of chopped onion because I love them and I am cooking so I do whateva I want, and green pepper which would not normally be a choice of mine, but I needed to use them before they went bad.  When your meat is done, put it in a large mixing bowl, then throw your veggies in the leftover meat-cooking-juice-goodness.  Cook them down until they are pretty soft.

While the veggies cooked, I threw in some green chilies I had leftover.  Leftover from what, I have not one clue, but I like me some spice, so they were perfect.

When everything is cooked up and lookin' good, mix it all together in a big bowl.  I added half a bag of fat free (you can find some kinds that melt...some don't) cheese

and you can add half a can, or a whole can of enchilada sauce (I used some cans of medium and some of hot) if you want.  I didn't add it to my bowl because I realized half way through that I didn't have enough of it and it's more crucial to use it for the top of them.  Just, like, add some srirachi or some tobasco or something.  Or, if you're a wimp and don't like spice, I don't know what to tell you.  Just leave it I guess.

Then just stuff them with the mixture, roll em up, and put them seam side down in a pan.  Check out those tortillas.  We get them at Central Market (non-Texans, this is like Whole Foods) freshly made.  They're usually still warm in the bag.  Delish.

After every layer, you want to pour some enchilada sauce on them.  If you leave any spots dry, it will be crunchy after they cook.

I did one layer of the jalapeno tortillas and one of some whole wheat tortillas.  Then, cover every inch with enchilada sauce and cheese.  Put a humongous piece of foil loosely on top and cook in the oven (maybe on 350?) for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

While they cook, drink some wine and chop up some tomatoes, more cilantro, get out the sour cream, and anything else you want on top

You can also whip up some guac and chips for your man who is still at work makin that change to provide for your ridiculous shopping habit slash your amazing trip to the mountains.

Love.

And then, devour.

This really makes too much food for DC and myself, so we freeze about half of it and eat it during a week when, say, we have returned from an excellent vacay and have not one grocery in the place.

Over.

We are heading back today.
I can't believe it.
DC and I would give a lot not to have to go back to muggy boring nature- lacking Houston.
It's hard to leave this.