two year plan

In January we tend to focus on setting goals for the upcoming year.  We certainly did here in the PS household. And although setting yearly goals are wonderful, I think having some longer term goals are also good.

Nic and I have a few long term goals, although we are not quite sure on how long term they are. Some of which include: making a move back to Minnesota (could be FOREVER which we are totally okay with.  We do love Iowa), having kids (okay, we go back and forth on this one - because we really don't need kids), and finishing the basement (we've given up putting this on the we swear we are going to start this summer list).

I would have to argue that having long term goals requires an action plan in order to be successful.  We do not have any sort of real action plan for the goals I mentioned above, which is fine because we don't have a date that we hope to complete those goals by.

There is one goal that I have set with a very specific end date.

The date:: April 15, 2013
The goal:: The Boston Marathon

Sure, I could have my sights set on qualifying for the 2012 Boston Marathon, and who knows, maybe I will.  However, once I saw that the 2013 event will take place on April 15th my mind was made up and I knew I had to run it...

April 15, 2013 will mark 10 years since my dad passed away from cancer.  I can't think of a better way to honor his life than to qualify for and running the Boston Marathon (followed by drinking numerous vodka sours while eating shrimp and sauerkraut pizza, of course. Ick).



Being able to run Boston on this date will be a huge accomplishment in itself.  But my name is Kier and I have big ideas, so I would also like to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  And since it will have been 10 years since his death, doesn't raising $10,000 just make sense?

Wowza!  $10,000 is a lot of money.  So we'll sit on that idea and ponder it a bit more.  Maybe the lovely people at ACS will have some ideas on how to raise such a huge sum of money.

In the meantime, I will do my best to qualify for Boston 2013.

The action plan:: Train my little butt off and run like the wind.  My 2011 attempts at qualifying will be made at the Fargo Marathon in May and either the Twin Cities Marathon or the Marine Corps Marathon in October.

Do you guys set long term goals?

impromptu dinner date

Last night Nic and I headed up to Iowa City for an impromptu dinner date with our friends, John and Diana.  Diana suggested we meet up for drinks and share photos from our trip to Europe and their trip to Aruba, but I thought we'd take that up a notch and enjoy dinner and drinks in.  Because who really doesn't love making dinner and staying in on a Friday night??  Plus, I already had big plans in my head for dinner - buffalo chicken pizza.

So after I whipped up an experimental pizza dough and headed to the Y with Nic for a killer strength training session followed by an easy, relaxed 5 mile run home (at 8:03 pace!  Seriously, relaxed, wasn't pushing myself at all AND I am sick.  Quite proud.), we loaded up the ingredients for pizza and headed north.

I am always a little hesitant to try new experimental recipes with other people and was sure to share my disclaimer, "now, this crust is an experiment, so if it is not good - Nic totally made it!"

Luckily the crust turned out pretty darn good (recipe below) and the pizza + rest of the meal was amazing.  Better than anything we could have eaten at a restaurant.  Plus the company, beer and bottle of wine that was shared among the 4 of us made for a great night in.

The conversation flowed as freely as the drinks did and we shared photos from our trip and then oohed and aahhhed over John and Diana's photos from Aruba.  Seriously, we are going there next weekend it looks so warm and beautiful.

During dinner, I shared a few of my 2011 goals with Diana and John and we decided to make a slight change to this one:

• Once a month, cook out of my comfort zone (Kier) - ie, ethnic cuisine, multiple course meals, weird ingredients, etc. and blog about it

Instead of cooking all these (hopefully) delicious meals myself, we are turning this goal into a group goal.  Each month the four of us will decide what type of cuisine to tackle and get together to prepare the meal.  How fun, right?!  At least it will be an interesting adventure and we already have a few back-up options in place in case our meals turn out to be a complete and utter failure.

I am also really excited because Diana told me that she is going to volunteer for Girls on the Run too!  We most likely won't be paired together, but it will be fun to share our experiences and get together with all of our girls in May for the final 5K!

The school I will be helping out with is only a few miles away from their house, so on Wednesdays, Diana and I have plans to get in a quick run before I head back home.

Seriously love having such good friends live close by!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza with an All Oatmeal Pizza Crust

For the toppings you'll need:

• Shredded chicken tossed with some Frank's Red Hot Sauce (we had leftovers from dinner the other night - just cooked some chicken in the crockpot with about 1/2 cup Franks sauce)
• 8oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• Blue cheese - a few ounces will do, or more if you like the stinky cheese
• Green onions - chopped

For the dough you'll need:

• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1/3 cup wheatgerm
• 1t salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 t yeast
• 1T honey
• 2T olive oil

In a food processor add the oats, wheatgerm and salt.  Process until oats are very fine.  Meanwhile, add the yeast and honey to the warm water and let the yeast proof about 5 minutes. Stir in olive oil and then mix in the oat mixture.  Let rise 90 minutes.  Form into crust and let rise another 30 minutes.  Par bake at 425 for about 10 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown.

Top with chicken, cheeses and green onions.  Bake 425 until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown.

Result - so delicious!  I loved the bites with pieces of blue cheese (we went easy on the blue cheese since none of us are huge fans).  The crust turned out wonderfully, although the middle did not get as crispy as I would have liked.  Next time I think I would par bake it a bit longer.

 

Gotta sneak in a quick run this afternoon before we head west for Nic's company holiday party and a pint at our favorite brew house - Peace Tree Brewing Co.

a few goals for 2011

After taking a look at my 10 in 2010 and realizing I really only accomplished 50% of what I wanted to do, I thought long and hard about the goals I wanted to set for 2011.  So a few nights ago, Nic and I sat down to come up with a list of things we would like to do as individuals and as a couple.  This list might grow as we revisit it in a few days.

Races - Kier

1. Two marathons (Fargo and TCM or MCM tentatively)

2. Four half marathons
3. Relay For Life 10K

4. a variety of local 5Ks

My ultimate goal for this category is to set a PR in each distance.  Should be fairly easy to do and I am assuming setting a PR in the half will be the hardest.

Fitness - Kier & Nic

1. Strength train at least 1-2 days per week

2. Participate in Spin classes 1-2 days per week

3. Try to fit in yoga once per week (Kier)

Cooking - Kier & Nic

1. Meal plan!

2. Cook and photograph one blog worthy meal each week (Kier)

3. Once a month, cook out of my comfort zone (Kier) - ie, ethnic cuisine, multiple course meals, weird ingredients, etc. and blog about it

4. Twice a month change it up a bit and TRY to relinquish the spatula. :)  Nic and I will prepare a meal the following way:  she picks & shops, he cooks, she cleans OR he picks & shops, she cooks, he cleans. Blog it.

Trips/Vacations - Kier & Nic

1. Drastically cut down on our trips to Minnesota.  Yes, Nic and I have spent many hours discussing this and we go up to MN waaaay too much.  We are shooting for 6ish visits, however someone decided to go and get engaged, so this number might jump a bit in order to get to various wedding related activities.  The trips that we do make to Minnesota will be for very special occasions and not just because.  But seriously friends and family, we are serious about not making the trek to the Great North as often, so if you want to see us, you MIGHT have to make the trip to Iowa.

2. Mystery Weekends!  Since we have already gotten our big trip out of the way this year, each of us will plan at least one mystery weekend trip on a budget.  Example, Nic chooses a weekend and makes plans to go backpacking in NE Iowa.  He will have to do so on a budget and without letting me know what the plans are.  I have to go and I have to like it once we get there.  This is going to be FUN.

Money - Kier & Nic

1. Continue with our budget and get better at following it!

2. Pay off at least two of our student loans and continue to make larger payments on the whoppers there after.

3. Continue to pile money into ING - try to increase weekly payments and make one large contribution at the end of each month (if we are able to come in under budget).

4. Save for our big 2012 vacation to _________________________.

5. By summer, have enough money saved up and purchase a new to us car.

Volunteering - Kier

1. Volunteer as an assistant coach for Girls on the Run

2. Volunteer for at least two races

Misc. - Kier & Nic

1. Read at least 11 non-fiction books this year (Kier)

2. Read 40 books total for the year (Kier)

3. No babies

4. No more pets (you know, in order to stave off any baby fever that might occur)

Alright - so that list is a good and long one!  But I like it - and I know it will continue to grow in the next few days.  Did I miss anything??

second trimester

Got your attention, didn't I? :)

Yesterday afternoon, while mentally preparing myself to get out and run for the first time since my hugely successful Fargo half, I got to thinking about all this running I have been doing lately. Not only all the running I have been doing, but all the healthy eating habits Nic and I have adopted, all the extra trips to the gym we have been making, etc. We have made a huge lifestyle change and we are both benefiting from it in so many ways. I don't think a day goes by without one of us flexing our HUGE biceps and telling the other person to, "Look how strong I am!" :) lol, really, that does happen every day.

So with my first race behind me, I started thinking about some goals that I could set out for myself before my next race on July 4th. And then I got to thinking that my spring/summer/fall running schedule is really broken down into three spans of time - hence the title of this post.

1st running "trimester":
January-ish until Fargo Half Marathon

2nd running "trimester":
Now until Red, White & Boom TC Half Marathon

3rd running "trimester":
July 4th - Des Moines Half Marathon

Due Date:
San Antonio Rock 'n Roll Marathon (or some other marathon...)

Pretty clever, eh?! With the first trimester being so successful I really want to make sure I continue on this path so I can continue to be successful throughout the summer and fall.

Highlights from the first "trimester":
Lost somewhere between 15-25 pounds
Increased my running pace by over a minute from Summer '09
Re-introduced weights into my workout routine
Smashed my half marathon PR by about 20 minutes

Goals  for the second "trimester":
Lose 10 pounds by focusing on portion sizes and protein intake - I really do have about 10-15 more pounds to lose, but I also want to focus on building more muscle mass. So I feel that by focusing on portion sizes and protein intake, I will be able to accomplish this. Now the challenge is finding great sources of protein that are not dairy...

Sleep schedule - you've heard it here more than once, but I really need to focus maintaining a better sleep schedule. I really do feel better and am more productive when I go to bed early and wake up early. This is especially necessary now that it is getting H-O-T out. I hope to get my workout in as well as Maia's walk in before the heat of the day strikes with a vengeance.

Speed work - I truly surprised myself at the Fargo Half Marathon when I ran eight of my miles under 8 minutes. If I can do that during a half marathon, I should always be able to run at a sub 8-minute pace during my training runs. Now, I know this won't always be doable, but now that I know I can do it, I can push myself just a little bit harder, knowing that I will not keel over and die.

Swimsuit season - Yup, swimsuit season is upon us. But don't think you will catch me at the city pool catching some rays, I am not there yet. By "there" I mean, unless I am swimming some laps at the Y (which should also be a goal for this 2nd "trimester"), you couldn't pay me to put on a swimsuit and go out to some public place and feel comfortable. But with a trip to Belize possibly on the calendar for January, I need to get there. So I will be incorporating three 15-minute ab workouts every week. Tentatively Nic and I will be using Ab Ripper X from the P90X dvd set.

Stretch - yoga pilates hot yogo piyo - whatever is out there, I need to do it. My flexibility, wait - what flexibility?? I need to start stretching more.

So, here's to my second trimester!