Run Shadowfax, show us the meaning of haste!

My new bike has officially been named Shadowfax.  I was watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy (I love those movies) and as Gandolf and Merry took off for Gondor on Shadowfax (king of the horses, I know, I am a dork) I was madly pedaling away on my new bike and it got me thinking...my bike is is white just like Shadowfax and I hope it will show me the meaning of haste, just like Shadowfax, it had to be a sign (yes, I know that I am stretching here :-)).  I am still loving my bike, I am still trying to figure out the "lady bit" issue but it is getting better.

I have be successful in getting out of bed early this week, it sucks in the morning but man-o-man, it is AWESOME at noon when I don't have to go to the gym (I avoid that whenever possible) and is is ESPECIALLY awesome when I come home and I don't have to even think about working out after dinner.  I really hope I can keep this up and create a new habit, a GOOD habit!!

Tonight I made a really good new dinner, I wish I had taken a picture of it because it turned out really good and kind of pretty.  It was called Butterflies with Chickpeas-quick and sooooo easy, 20 minutes start to finish, it would have been quicker if the pasta would have cooked quicker!  Here is the recipe:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 plump garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chick peas or 1 15oz can, rinsed
8 ounces farfalle
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano
1/2 cup bread crumbs toasted in the oven

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet with the garlic, parsley, and pepper flakes.  Add the chickpeas and 1/2 cup water and simmer over medium.  Meanwhile, cook the pasta to package directions.  Drain and add it to the chickpeas.  Toss taste for salt and season as necesary.  Serve covered with a sprinking of the cheeses and/or the toasted bread crumbs. Delicious!

Tomorrow is an hour run and a 2000 yard swim, I suspect I am going to be tired tomorrow night, lucky for me the in-laws will have the kids, I might sleep in on Saturday, nah I want to get my bike ride out of the way and go to Costco!

Have a happy night!

Ironman training-week 7

And this post has little to do with training, oh well!  I spent my weekend enjoying my family, playing with the kids, working out, reading and thinking about a new bike.  My focus was mainly on how we eat and how I am working very hard to "clean" things up.  I am having pretty good success so far, we are pretty close to meat free, I am feeling great and I think JP and the kids are coming around too!  JP actually commented to me tonight that he can't believe how good everything tastes, score one for me!  I have to say this and you can believe it or not but since I have switched to organics and fresh ingredients my food bill is actually going down, processed food is expensive and when you count the cost of what it does to your body, it is really expensive!  I will get off my soap box now, I am just really happy with how I am feeling, physically and mentally-it is an excellent feeling, no pharmaceuticals anymore for me. Tonight I made some spicy tofu, and spring rolls, I didn't quite have my chili garlic sauce to soy sauce ratio correct, it was REALLY spicy, it even made me sneeeze after my first bite; luckily it was just that bite that was super spicy!  I took a picture of the dinner because I thought it was pretty, the photo didn't come out nearly as good as I would have liked!

I am owning the fact that I am going to buy a new bike, it was a conspiracy all along between my dad, brother-in-law, and husband they ganged up on me and knew that I would cave in, turds!  It is going to be nice to ride a bike that fits me and my dad is going to buy my old bike to park in Kona, the bike that he currently rides while basking in the run is REALLY old so my old bike will be a step up.

It is going to be a good week, not really anything too exciting happening, I will be swimming tomorrow and embarrassing myself with my awful flip turns but I figure I have to practice to get better like anything else, I just appreciate that the lifeguards wait to laugh until I have my face back in the water :-).