Finally Spring!

I really wish that I had the time to update more often.  Life is just pretty hectic right now.  Time is really going by fast and there’s not much down time.  Once summer comes, I will have a lot more free time!  Speaking of summer, I can’t believe that it is already (finally!) spring!!!  The weather was awesome for a few days and I was loving it.  I love spending time outside in the warm weather.  However, today it is a downpour.  I think it’s supposed to rain again tomorrow, but then hopefully it will get nice again.

This past weekend, my cousin, Billy got married!  It was really a fun time…here are some pics to recap the day/night…

Megan & Billy at the alter.

Todd & I on the dance floor

My sisters, Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop!

Tina, Me, & Mom!

Danielle & I

It was a very fun time!

This weekend I also got sick with head congestion and a bad cold.   So I slept for the majority of the day after the wedding.  I hardly got to enjoy the nice weather we had on Sunday.  I did manage to get outside for a bit with Todd to clean our cars, which was fun!

Running Update

Since I am sick, I decided to take Sunday off.  Tonight I will try to get a short/easy run in.  However, since it is raining I’ll have to do it on the treadmill.  I got a lot of rest yesterday so I’m hoping I can beat this cold, fast.  Last Friday was also my first 20-mile run of this training cycle.  The weather was beautiful, which always helps!  I’m glad I did my run in the morning because I think it may have gotten a little too warm.  The run was amazing though.  That was the best 20 mile training run I have ever done.  I felt so good the entire time.  I kept telling myself to slow down since I wanted my pace to be around 8:40, but I just couldn’t slow down!  I was having too good of a time out there. haha.  My overall pace for the run was 8:11, which I was very happy with.  I wasn’t pushing it either.  I was relaxed and felt great.  I have one more 20 miler for this training cycle and I think that I should try to run it a bit slower.  I don’t want to tire my body out before the day that matters the most (BOSTON).  Plus, I need to work on pacing.

Recipe

Last week I received an email from LIVESTRONG that linked to an article about the benefits of Cherries for athletes.  Not only are cherries an excellent source of carbohydrates, “researchers say the early findings indicate cherries may work like common medications used by runners to alleviate post-exercise inflammation“.   I love cherries so I decided to try a recipe out.    I was on the Choose Cherries website and came across a recipe for Cherry Butternut Squash.

Cherry Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cubed (1 inch chunks) peeled butternut squash (1 small squash about 1-1/4 lb.)
• 3/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 375oF. Spread squash in a single layer on a greased or sprayed 15×10-inch jelly roll pan or shallow roasting pan. Bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cherries and boiling water; set aside to plump. 

Add onion wedges to pan with squash. Drizzle butter over vegetables; toss well. Bake 10 minutes. Drain cherries; add to pan. Drizzle syrup over vegetables; toss well. Continue baking 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and glazed. Sprinkle with salt. Makes 8 (1/2 cup) servings.

Tip: to cut preparation time, look for 18 ounce packages of peeled, diced butternut squash at Trader Joe grocery stores and some supermarkets

Nutrition Info: Nutrition Information per serving: 116 calories, 3 g total fat, 2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat, 22 g carbohydrate, 8 mg cholesterol, 1 g protein, 2 g fiber, 77 mg sodium. Daily Values: 160% vitamin A, 25% vitamin C, 4% calcium, 4% iron

I just love cherries.  Do you have any recipes that use cherries?