We’ve all had that weekend. You know the one – kids have activities + errands need running + the husband needs to get his long bike ride in + you need to get in a mid-length run. Notice I said mid-length – that means at least an hour of running for me. Hmm, where would I fit in an hour of running? Ah ha! During the hour and a half soccer practice, I could run errands and then run on the track. And by run errands, I do mean run.
Here’s how I got in a 6.5 miles running + a half mile walk:
Walk the kids from the parking lot to the school: .25 miles
Run to the beer store (what? I needed to check something): 1 mile
Run back to soccer with a stop to pick up something: 1 mile
Run to the library to pick up a book for Jones: 1 mile
Run back to the field: 1 mile
Realize you have 25 minutes left in practice, so book it around the track as many times as you can: 2.5 miles
Walk the kids back to the car: .25 miles
That, my friends, is how you get your errands done and get a nice run in. I need to remember this when the spring season begins in a few weeks and we’ll have 2-3 soccer practices + orchestra rehearsals each week. Might as well get some exercise in…
Now that my knee is healed, I actually have a run plan for the week (I finally printed out the Hal Higdon plan that I’m using as a template for my marathon training.) It includes 14, 10, 5, and a couple of easy 3s. The weather is supposed to be really nice for the middle of the week, so looks like I’ll be running long on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’ll be passing the half marathon barrier for the first time since my accidental ultra half marathon
And here’s our meal plan for the week (I’ve never been good about this, but it was really nice last week to actually know what I was making more than 45 minutes before we planned to eat it.)
Monday: Leftover Canton Pork Soup
Tuesday: Chimichangas
Wednesday: Veggie burgers
Thursday: Stuffed chicken breast
Friday: out
Saturday: Chipotle Pork and Sweet Potato Posole
Sunday: Southwestern Beef Soup (recipe next week)
And finally the recipe I promised you last week…
- 1 lb lean pork, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 T oil
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 24 oz chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/4 C dry sherry (optional)
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 T soy sauce
- 1 1/2 T cornstarch
- Cooked rice (optional)
- Sprinkle pork with ginger, cinnamon and ground red pepper; toss well.
- Heat Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add oil.
- Add pork to pan an brown on all sides.
- Add onion and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add broth and sherry (if using).
- Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Cover and simmer 30-40 minutes.
- Stir in carrots and green pepper.
- Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes until carrots are cooked.
- Blend soy sauce into cornstarch until smooth. Stir into stew.
- Cook and stir 1 minute or until soup boils and thickens.
- Ladle into soup bowls to serve.
How was your weekend? Did you have to get creative to get your runs in?
[Tweet “Know what you are having for dinner this week? Here’s my meal plan! #fitfluential”]
I’m linking up with Tara from Running ‘n’ Reading for her weekend update link up and Laura at Mommy Run Fast for her meal planning link up. Lots of yummy recipes are linked up there!
ahhh I need to keep at the meal planning too.
it feels so MEH WHATEVER!! with just two of us but but but too many nights of cereal and oatmeal 🙂
I’m awful when my husband is out of town. I usually end up just snacking my way through the evening.
Haha LOVE it! I get runs in when my daughter is in her occupational therapy and just whenever I can sometimes!
Good for you! I’m all about fitting things in whenever we can.
haha! I’ve gotten creative with runs but your version is truly inspired!
We do the best you can and you choose to be active even though most people would have said no way.
Awesome! Good luck this week with the Higgins plan.
Thanks. I’m supposed to do 14 today – as slow as I’m running lately, it’s such a huge time commitment…
If only I lived near all the places I do my errands at. That’s definitely a great way to pass the time.
I can get to just about anything except a big box store in about a mile to a mile and a half. Target is about 3 miles, so I’ve never run there specifically, but I have run to close to there.
Glad your knee is feeling better! Hope you have a great week of running! Your soup has meat LOL so maybe for my family
I know, but I like meat LOL. My knee only hurts if I stretch suddenly during the night, so it’s not affecting my running anymore. Would be nice if it would heal completely though.
Love your running while erranding plan! Multitasking to the max!
Thanks. It was nice to get my run done and the errands run.
I’ve been doing most of my runs on the treadmill lately. I love the idea to run to your errands! Meal planning is so helpful to me. I don’t always stick to it exactly but it saves me a ton of money and time during the week.
If my treadmill wasn’t dying, I probably have just run on that at the end of the day LOL.
This soup looks great, Erika! Also, kudos to getting your run in during all of those errands, kid things and other stuff going on over the weekend; good grief. I’m tired just thinking about all of this; I don’t know how you moms do this week in and week out. I am in awe of your dedication and survival skills. 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up with the blog again this week; hope your Monday goes well.
You just do what you have to do – I think just about every mom cuts her sleep short and juggles everything if they want to get a workout in.
Nice going on fitting in the mileage. Very creative! and that soup looks nice. I think I have some pork….
Thanks and it is a tasty soup!
Accidental ultra half! I love that! Kudos to you for fitting in running AND errands. That truly is NO EXCUSES running!
Ha, I was totally like why is there a water stop at 12.9? Another 1.5 miles? WHAT????
I would love to live someplace where I could run to get errands done and it wouldn’t equate to a long run. 🙂
Urban living has to have some benefits LOL.
Nicely done fitting your run and errands around your kids’ commitments. It’s a lot of a juggling act being a mother and an athlete. You’re doing an amazing job at both.
Thank you! It is quite the juggling act at this age – so busy but not old enough to take themselves places.
I try to be good about meal planning, and do the majority of my grocery shopping on the weekends. But then there’s always something that comes up or that one day when I come home completely exhausted from work, and then all those plans go to the wayside.
That totally happens here too and I don’t even work full time.
what a way to get that run and errands in- you are thinking smart! I love to remind my mom friends that say they can’t exercise because they have to take their kids to ball practice- you just proved once again that is the perfect time to get some miles in! Have a great week!
I’ve circled a soccer field many many times in my life LOL.
Great example of how you CAN make it work no matter what. The desire has to be there…and you have it, no doubt.
Some days are just like that. Luckily not too often, but when necessary, I make it work.
That soup looks great! I wonder if it would work with chicken?
I would think so, but I’ve never tried it. Hmmm…
That’s called working out smart!!! I love it.
Thanks and it didn’t even feel like a long run ’cause I stopped a few times.
All of the stop and start broke up the run into doable, easy chunks. I like that idea. I am gonna try and do more of that.
I love that you actually ran your errands. So cool! I don’t live close enough to do that. It would be a marathon each way 🙂
One of the benefits of living in an urban area – so many things within a mile of my house.
That is literally running like a mother! Love it.
Thanks and yes LOL.
Oh yum! Your soup looks delicious! And yes… you are totally running like a mother! Ha! 🙂
I do have to get creative a lot with my running. Sadly, the extent of my creativity is running on the treadmill at 10pm on a Saturday night. Rockin’.
Yummmm! That sounds amazing
Meal plans save me during the week! I like to get started prepping on Sunday to make my week easier! The weeks when I don’t do it, it’s so much harder. Your soup looks great…thanks for sharing it with us at #FoodieFriDIY!