Cardamom Coffee Cake

Cardamom Coffee Cake:

A Near-Perfect Post-Saturday Run Snack!

Coffee cake…it was always a treat in our household. My Mom only made it on special occasions, but when she did, it seemed like it was always gone in a flash! Over the past few months, every now and again I’d all of a sudden crave coffee cake. Fortunately, it takes time to bake, so I never actually followed through with my cravings and let it go… [Read More]

I’m Baaaaack!

And Now for Something (not so) Completely

Different…

Preparing for a (half) marathon (happy beforehand above), injuries, fundraising, holidays, work, and vacation takes a lot out of a girl. So it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that I needed a bit of a break from blogging… [Read More]

Training Update – Week 20

Week 20: Ramping it up…

Plus Realizing Why Mom Never Let us eat Cookies for Dinner…

dcmint_1

So, we are starting to get into the home stretch for this season’s training season. We are also in the thick of the Holiday Season, which means lots of obligations outside of training. Christmas parties, shopping, and work obligations seem to take over and come into conflict with our training schedule. However, it seems like we are still managing to get everything taken care of, even when everything seems to be going wrong… [Read More]

Training Update – Week 19

Week 19: Holiday Pains…and Gains

Plus a Care-Free Lentil Curry Recipe!

curry_1

This past week seemed to pass very quickly. We kept ourselves very busy with work and holiday activities, and also managed to get some running in too! One of the ways I tend to make my life easier during the week is taking the time to prepare a large batch of food on Sunday that will last me throughout the week for lunch. This week, I decided to take a break from my normal Tex-Mex style of chili and make what I like to nickname “Indian chili” or as most would call…curry! [Read More]

Training Update – Week 18

Week 18: Working Through the Pains…

and the Leftovers…

plate_1

This week was a recovery week for us…recovery in a couple of ways. Recovering from the Thanksgiving Holiday (plus all of those leftovers, my vegan platter shown above) and allowing our bodies recover from 16+ miles of running over the course of 3 days! Luckily as the week has progressed, we’ve been able to ease back into our normal routine and divorce ourselves from night after night of leftovers! [Read More]

Training Update – Week 17

Keeping Up Motivation Over the Holiday Season…

Plus a Great Gnocchi Recipe for Leftover Butternut Squash!

gnocchi_1

Once again, hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. Mark is back off to work today, and I’ll be back to work tomorrow, so…back to the grind…until Christmas! This past week actually proved to be easier to keep up our routine than we would have thought. With the multitude of “Turkey Trots” across the country, it’s hard not to find a race to keep up your fitness level over the holiday (not to mention allow you more special treats). I digress…let’s dive into our week in review! [Read More]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from ALC!

Hope all of my readers had an excellent and delicious Thanksgiving (homemade vegetarian stuffing shown above), and also took stock of what they have to be truly thankful! I’m ever so thankful for my wonderful family and friends who have supported me along the way [...]

Training Update – Week 16

Week 16: An Important Milestone Achieved

Plus a Quick and Tasty Miso Soup Recipe

soup_1

I’ll just come out and say it…WE DID IT, we ran our first half marathon! Last Sunday, November 15th, we successfully completed the San Antonio Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon (13.1 mi). It was an amazing milestone for both of us! Mark, as he didn’t believe he could run 10 miles less than 4 months ago and for me, getting out of my boot less than 2 weeks prior. We didn’t do half bad either… [Read More]

Training Update – Week 15

Another Week, Another Step Closer…

Plus a Recipe for Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels!

pretzel_1

Yet again I must apologize for the tardy post this week. We finally had our long-awaited long weekend in San Antonio and I wanted to be disconnected from the intertubes (well except for my iphone…must be able to find good food ;-) ). Well, we had a successful weekend (more on that next update) and came back nice and well-rested to face the small stretch until we reach Thanksgiving! [Read More]

Training Update: Weeks 13-14

Weeks 13-14: Healing and Easing Back into Routine…

Plus My First Success in Bread Baking!

bread2

I must apologize for not posting my update last week as I had promised. I was honestly getting into a funk from not working out. Whenever I don’t get the exercise I need, I tend to get really tired, moody and easily frustrated. However, I’m finally out of my boot and easing back into my training, which makes for a much happier Stef! So, In honor of the return to running, I’ll provide you with a recipe for Maple Seeded Bread (for “carb loading”, of course ;-) ) in addition to my normal training update. [Read More]