UGH! Running, Chicken Basil Meatloaf and My NEW Favorite Cookbook

Happy Thursday!

I’ve been kinda quiet about my half-marathon training other than sharing running updates on my Facebook page so I wanted to take a minute to update you on how it’s been going. Well … it kinda sucks. Just being honest but it’s taking a lot longer to get the ‘hang’ of running. I’ve told you how I really feel about running and my desire to be a gazelle but this is much harder than I thought it would be.

My Running Schedule

I’ve been running x3/week and I’ve been doing two 3-mile runs and one longer run on Saturdays (I’m up to 6 miles!!). I feel really proud of myself for getting to the point where I can run 3 miles without stopping and then up to 6 miles with occasional stops. Overall I’m running 95% of the time and that makes me proud.

The Truth

It’s just that running sucks. Right now, running really sucks. What I mean by that is that it’s really hard. It’s such a mental battle to keep going without stopping. I’ve been told that I should be OK for the half because I can do 6 miles. However, I’m trying to work my way up to 9 miles before the race. I’ve started running with no real background to speak of so I’m not sure if the whole, “This sucks!!” thing is normal. I’ve been running 2-3 a week for over a month and the past couple weeks I’ve been running x3/week.

Um …

SO not trying to be a downer here just wanted to be honest. The really cool part of this process is that running is mostly mental. I mean, it’s hard work but for me it’s mostly just telling yourself you are going to keep going even when your mind wants to stop. I’m still being told by seasoned runners that you eventually like this craziness but that remains to be seen. Until then, I’m going to keep running in prep for rocking my first half marathon.

Chicken Basil Loaf

Now let’s talk food for a minute. I just got a new cookbook and I LOVE it. It’s PaleOMG’s first cookbook, “OMG. That’s Paleo?” and it’s awesome. I didn’t doubt that it would be awesome because all of her recipes are but I really like the layout of the cookbook itself. She provides space for variations and notes on each page and she rambles in her typical endearing fashion throughout the cookbook. I love it! Here’s a recipe from the cookbook that I tried yesterday and it was totally YUM.

Chicken Basil Meatloaf

Just click this link to get her recipe.

Note: Mine finished product looks a bit different because I incorporated pesto instead of just basil. It was really good and SUPER easy. Let me know if you try it.

~ Kate