Here’s a new recipe I tried last week. I’ll give it a 3 out of 5 stars. I’m, not rushing to make it again, but it was fairly tasty.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 2 ½ TBS honey
- 2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 2 TBS coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 TBS chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Season Chicken Breasts with salt and pepper, bake for 30 minutes or until they’re done.
2) While the chicken is baking, combine the chicken broth, lemon juice and mustard in a sauce pan. Whisk them together and bring them to a boil over high heat. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by about half.
3) Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with walnuts and parsley and enjoy!
Now, on to today’s workout. I was glad that it was a cycling day today after yesterday’s depressing workout. I can usually count on a good ride on the bike to bring me back into focus. My left shin really started to hurt last night, so I iced it, wrapped it in an Ace bandage and reclined in bed for a few hours watching the extended coverage of the Tour de France. This also served to alleviate the overuse injury I have in my right wrist from using that little “nubbin” mouse thingy on my laptop.
I wasn’t feeling particularly good this morning and when I did my 10 minute warmup on the bike, I wondered if it was a mistake doing 35 minutes on the bike today. Even during the first 10 minutes of the ride, my legs started to feel tired. That’s when the Black Eyed Peas saved me. There’s something about “Let’s Get it Started” that goes oh so well with cycling. Listen to it and picture yourself on a bike, you’ll get it. There’s something about the rhythm that goes from ears to brain to legs. I fell into a “relatively” fast cadence between 120 and 125 RPMs. The bike threw some virtual hills at me and I powered up them. Could I do 13 miles in 35 minutes? Ultra-competitive Brian kicked in.
Hunched over the bike with a blank stare right through the butt of the lady on the eliptical machine in front of me, I cruised through the next 25 minutes, sweat dripping down, creating puddles on the floor below me. At 34 minutes, I was at 12.5 miles. I knew I needed to kick it up a notch. I rode the last minute between 135 and 150 RPMS, giving it all I had. I crossed 13 miles 2 seconds into my warmup. So close.
Planned workout
10 minute warmup
35 minute ride at level 7
5 minute cool down
Actual workout
10 minute warmup
35 minute ride at level 7
5 minute cool down
Location: Stationary bike
Total Distance: 16 miles
After the ride, I did some planks and a little exercise to strengthen my shins before stretching. I’m still a little sore in the shins, but I’ll ice it again tonight and see how the tempo run goes tomorrow.