Friday, May 28, 2010

Chicken Nugs


OK I know my recipes are crap, but this is one I've been asked about several times:
3 Chicken breast, cut into cubes
2 Cups cornmeal
1/2 c flour
3 tbsp garlic powder
3 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Paper sack
Olive oil, or canola, probably about 3 tbsps-give or take
1. Add dry ingredients to paper sack
2. Put cubed chicken in paper sack
3. Shake, shake shake senora
4. Put coated nuggets in hot oil (heat oil before, and test by adding a drop of water)
5. Cook until golden brown, on all sides
6. Eat with honey mustard :)


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Girls on the Run 5k






What an awesome race! For those of you who don't know what Girls on the Run is all about, here's their goal:

To educate and prepare girls for a life time of self-respect and healthy living through running.

You can read more about them, their events and get involved HERE.


Of all the races I've been to, this one had to be in top five-and get this: I DIDN'T EVEN RUN IT! Yeah, I know right? I signed up to volunteer as a course monitor, and I had a blast. It was so weird to be on that side of the racing experience, but it was incredibly motivating. For many of the girls, it was the first 5k and for the rest? They were most likely experienced roadsters pacing with a preteen as a "running buddy."

I've seen their bright green shirts at many, many races and always wanted to get involved somehow. I even *foolishly* applied for a board job. I AM a girl on the run, am I right? When I found them, I knew I NEEDED to be involved somehow. Well, I had to start somewhere. Now, I have my bright green shirt and maybe, hopefully one day soon I'll be running side-by-side with a tweener on her first race.

In a race where everyone's Bib was #1 and no timing chips, it becomes increasingly clear that just by being there you're winning. Is that corny or what? It's cornball cheese because it's true. BUT it was a race, so of course there was a winner and guess what? A woman won. Isn't that like unheard of? Especially in a 5k, I did some research and a woman has never won any of the races I've competed. And not only did she win? She dominated. Admittedly, when she ran, nay sprinted by my post I got chills. I'd like to buy her a beer or maybe a protein shake, and just talk about her form.

There were two other participants of note: The fifth place finisher, and one of the last finishers. The kid that took one of the top ten spots was as tall as my femur, had thick glasses and was wearing basketball shorts to the ground. He reminded me of that kid in Jerry Maguire, ya know this one. He didn't even look old enough to be running alone. Not only did he run the course alone, but he finished alone. One of the last girls to finish was part of a giant school group, they all wore matching shirts, and all of them but her had finished. The course was set up so that you ran adjacent to the finish for about three hundred meters in a loop around a parking lot. When the sole remainder of their team approached the last three hundred meters they all jumped back on the course with her, and supported her to the arch marked "FINISH!"

What. An. Awesome. Race.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Taking the Long Way Around

Oh my, is it really Tuesday? Have I really gone this long without updating you? Shocker! Well, it's official, marathon training is in full swing and my schedule is three days of running and three days of cross training and one full day of rest. So how does this really translate in Julia+Goliath land? Three days of running, and three days at the dog park.



Schedule in mind, I'm still trying to fit Kyle into the mix and help him with endurance and taper myself for a half marathon next week. Juggling the aforementioned has been tricky, but since I'm "tapering" cross training is kept to a minimum. Long runs fall two days after a tempo or speedwork day, and that meant Friday was LRD. Have you ever seen me post about a long run on a Friday? Or what about a run on Friday at all? Truth be told, I don't think since I've started running I've ever put in serious mileage on a Friday. Mainly because my Weight Watcher's meetings and races are typically Saturday mornings.

Regardless, after work on Friday (yeah, in the evening too...) Goliath and prepped up for what was sure to be a grueling eight miles. Let me get the whines out first: It was HOT. It was HUMID. I was TIRED. It was MISERABLE. There, with that said it was the most gratifying run I've had in a long time. I had to stop every so often, and my sweat was coming down in torrents but I finished it. Unintentionally, I went at marat-race pace which is what I'm suppose to be doing anyway so it worked out. The heat and humidity really took a toll on my endurance and my attitude. It's not like running in ten below, where after five minutes you get acclimated. The heat doesn't go away, and it only gets worse with every mile.


The good news? We saw a DEER! It was a baby buck, and I was so delirious that at first I thought it was a great dane off it's leash. It took me a whole minute to process, oh hay that's no Marmaduke! Goliath wanted to play with the little guy so bad, and for a second I thought the buck wanted to as well. He inched toward us, as I stood completely still- isn't that what deer do? Goliath's whining to get off-leash eventually spooked him off.



Like the brilliant genius that I am, I also did not realize that the city water fountains are on! HOLY BALLS! This was a game changer. I almost went hypoxic guzzling water. Hilariously, this old gentleman sitting at a picnic table stared blankly at me as I drank like I had never seen water and when I finally had my fill, he said "I hope you left some for the rest of us." No sir, I didn't. The entire city of Overland Park will now be without water until the troops can bring in reinforcements.

Friday's Mileage: 8.01
Time: 1:12:07

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Pretend You're Alive

I have been really overwhelmed as of late. Overwhelmed with school, work, maintaining house, paying bills, and just keeping my head above water. My priorities are all out of whack, and no matter what avenue I pursue I am still not finding balance. I am twenty-two. I am a student. I am a pioneer. I am a wife. I am a furmom. I am a runner. I am a ASD specialist. I am a volunteer. I am a friend. I am a coach. I am...Iam...it goes on. I know there's that adage: I am ALL I want to be, but what if you want to be EVERYTHING? What if not only doing everything is what you want, but you want to be the best and do the best?

At the end of crammed schedule, you can only be as a good as what you put in and if you can't put in your best you can't be the best. Admittedly, I am not the best at anything I do I'm not even good. I struggle and push to break into the middle of the pack, or to be average. With all this in mind, when someone comes to me for help I can't help but be majorly flattered. Who? Me? Help you better yourself? My dear friend Megan's fiancee Kyle needed a little endurance assistance, and he facebooked me.



Tuesday is Tempo day, a five mile run with a two mile warm up incorporated. Kyle met up with us after a mile. The plan was to test out three miles, at a 9min/mile pace not wanting to push him to burn out or something. Surprisingly, Kyle's natural pace was around 7:57min/miles on the first split. I usually practice negative splits, which means my second half is faster than my first. I'm conservative with my energy, so I can confidently finish strong. Negative splits can not happen for me if I push 7:57s the first half, so we ended up averaging 8:25min/miles by the split.

Goliath was so excited to be running with someone else, and a little faster than the norm. I could tell he was showing off, he behaved really well on the lead. Does your dog do that? I've noticed when I walk or run with another person, Goliath does so much better. Maybe it's that pack mentality?


We were both so dead after Tempo Tuesday

After, Kyle's three miles Goliath and I ran the last mile home. My lactate threshold really needs to be boosted all over again, because the last four hundred agonized my body. My legs, my lungs and heart were all just throbbing. There was light at the end of the tunnel though, Tiger Woods complimented me on my fasted mile ever. Woo.


Yesterday's Mileage: 5.01
Time: 42:13

Monday, May 17, 2010

Skippin' Down the Street

HELLOOOOOOOOO!! Guess who's back? Guess who's ready for action? and take a guess who missed their Furmom?


After two weeks apart, we are reunited and it feels oh so good. I was in the world of research, and in that world there was no running, and there was no dietary conscientiousness. Sadly, I left G-Monz behind with Logan. By Saturday, my first day home, Goliath thought I was surely never returning so when I walked through the door he was just short of doing back flips.

Despite Saturday being my first day home, today was our first day running. I could tell just by observing Goliath's behavior Saturday and Sunday, he was depressed. The lack of exercise really took a major toll on his overall demeanor. His excitement for my return was made manifest fully when he saw me take out my lunarglides (YES! I got new shoes before I left!). Have you ever seen a dog smile?

I tried to make a video, because I can not adequately express what he does but...he stands really still with excitement waiting for me to acknowledge the r-u-n. When I say r-u-n, he's gone. He has zoomed from the bedroom to the back door to the bedroom to the backdoor to his leash to the backdoor and back, zero to sixty in 0.2 sorta thing.

Not sure where my fitness level would be, I made sure to properly warm up for half a mile. That half a mile was absolutely torturous for Goliath. Antsying to accelerate, he tugged the leash and jumped in the air like a dolphin. Arriving at the trail, he started to settle into the run. We were going out for the week's easy run, three miles at what was suppose to be race pace+2 minutes-but that's torture for both of us.

I always get so nervous when I run for the first time after a hiatus. I tend to fear that I won't be able to perform, like somehow in two weeks I will have forgotten how to run altogether. OR maybe I'll hurt myself? I dunno. It's a fear that sometimes, I feel like if I allowed it to it would end me running.

At the end of the day, the fear is motivating and it is always exhilarating to find out: Oh yeah...I can do this!!


Today's Mileage: 3.01
Time: 25:19

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Maple Rubbed Pork Chops



My recipes are little unorthodox, not a lot of measuring goes on at the Bosky House, but these chops are my favorite. Like I'd eat them every other day, if I could. Grilling them gives a nice mesquite smokey flavor with the rub, tossing them in a cast-iron pan with olive oil will toast the chop and give it a yum-o robust flavor. I recommend both.

The rub is equal parts:
-Maple syrup
-Red Chili Powder
Then a few teaspoons of:
-Garlic
-Cumin
-Brown sugar
Pinches of:
-salt
-black pepper

Friday, May 07, 2010

Crazy For You







I'm being a lazy blogger, what's new? So I'm bragging about my cupcakes. I can't share the recipe, it's CLASSIFIED!

Thursday, May 06, 2010

To Love 'Em and Leave 'Em


Are you looking for a new addition to your family? Have you thought about adopting a pup?

One of Goliath's newest friends is looking for a forever home. His name is Rusty, and he's about one year old. The rescue believes he's a wirehair mix. Obviously, he's a super friendly little guy.

My good friends are currently fostering him, and before they even had him I wanted him. He's like a miniature Goliath. Their mannerisms are so similar, it's hilarious.

Rusty came over to play on Saturday, and he was a little intimidated at first but soon warmed up to G-Money. I think he would be a wonderful addition to my little fam, but then we'd have to change the blog name to Keeping up with Goliath and Rusty....and then there's the little problem with the spouse not wanting another addition.

Rusty would be an excellent addition to any home, if you're interested in adopting him or any small dog please visit HERE.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Dragon Dash 5k Recap

The Corinth Dragon Dash 5k was May 1st, and we'll I'm a little behind updating the blogo so this is TBB trying catch up. Bear with us, I won't be regularly training for the next eleven days due to time constrictions and schedule. Don't fret the blog will get updated, just not with adventures!



LIKE I WAS SAYING...The Corinth Dragon Dash 5k was Saturday. I can't say I was totally planning on running this, and as weird as this sounds: 5ks aren't a distance I'm particularly really trained for. I physically can run the distance no problem, but as soon as I get psyched up the race is over.



The race is a benefit for a local grade school, so the race was full of kids. Not ideal for someone trying to set a PR, at guntime there was a deluge of kiddies forging the chip pads. They sprinted out of the shoot, and it was thick through the first mile. Within a mile, I looked ahead and saw the leaders and realized there were only a handful of women. The course was super hilly, hills that I wasn't mentally prepared for. At almost a mile and half, a yellow lab jumped out of now where and jumped on me. Think he's a follower? I bet he wants to run with Goliath. The dog wanted to run with me, it was so awesome. He kept up, until his owner came running out of a house screaming for him.

With less than a mile left, I knew I wasn't hitting my PR so I took out my headphones and started talking to my fellow racers: grade school kids from Corinth. A lot of them were just trucking along, I asked them about running and if they liked it. They seemed a little overwhelmed, and truth be told I was too. I knew I wasn't living up to my potential, and I felt like quitting.

I finished the race, and enjoyed a bagel with my little buddy Conrad. It wasn't until late Sunday night that I found out I won my division! YES! I PLACED FIRST in women 20-30! I wasn't pleased with my time at all, but when I found this out I was! WOOHOO!!




Saturday's Mileage: 3.1
Time: 27:11