We Did It!

Team Seester finished the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon in 2:56:55 -- three minutes ahead of our 3 hour goal.  Hooray!!  The race was a perfect one for us, with about 12,000 participants; almost none of them were actually in a hurry to finish.  The toughest part of the race was the start time (5:45 AM!!) but the energy and the camaraderie amongst the runners made it all much more tolerable.  The race, as promised, took us all through the Disneyland park, on a tour of downtown Anaheim, and then finished on a path through California Adventure.  We even got a "backstage tour" -- a bit of a behind the scenes look at how some of the Disney magic works.  The Disney cast went all out for the runners, too.  Had we not been on a mission to finish in three hours, we could have stopped for a photo op with any of the princesses, the monsters from Monsters Inc, any of the Peter Pan characters, the Toy Story crew, the Beast & Belle, and even Jack Sparrow.  Plenty of folks did take a break from their run to line up for a picture, though!

Our run went almost exactly how we planned it -- a straightforward walk/run interval.  The crowds made it difficult to go very fast at the beginning, which was probably for the best, but also made it unappealing to want to stop and walk very early on (because it would have meant having to weave back around folks we'd been ahead of).  As a result, our longest jogging interval was the first one (about 15 minutes).  Once the crowds thinned out a bit (around mile 4 -- just after we finished the run through Disneyland and headed out into town) we settled into something closer to a 5 min / 2 min interval.  The miles right around the halfway point were the toughest...our pace almost certainly slowed a bit between miles 6-8.  But we were able to pick it back up again as we headed towards the double digit miles, and came very close to jogging in the entire final mile. 

We only took two photos during the entire race; one right before the start and one at the finish, but our smiles are equally big in both.  Both of us are nursing some post-race soreness -- my left knee always gives me a bit of trouble, and Seester is feeling it in one of her ankles -- but we're already looking ahead to the Disney Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon in November.  (Bonus if we do it -- we get not just a cool medal, but a "Coast to Coast Challenge" T-Shirt!)  There might be another spring race in between...we'll keep you posted! 

Orange Beef Stir-Fry - Fitness Magazine

Orange Beef Stir-Fry
Servings - 2
Calories per serving - 485

1/2 Lb top round steak
1/2 Cup fat free low sodium Beef broth
2 Tbs reduced sodium Soy sauce
1/4 Cup Orange Juice concentrate
2 Tbs Lime juice
1 Tbs Sesame oil
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs cornstarch
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tbs canola oil
3 small bell peppers (any color) - sliced thinly
1 small onion (vidalia or red)
1 Cup Broccoli florets
3 Scallions - sliced thinly

Step 1 - Place steak in freezer until firm, but not frozen - about 20 min

Step 2 - In a large bowl whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, orange juice concentrate, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Stir in cornstarch until no lump remain. Set aside

Step 3 - Coat a wok with nonstick cooking spray. Add oil and warm over medium heat. Add peppers onion and broccoli; cook, stirring, 4-5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Increase heat to high and add steak. Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes, until meat beings to brown.

Step 4 - Reduce heat to low and add broth mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes more, until sauce thickens and steak is no longer pink inside. Garnish with scallions and Serve :o)

The magazine says that the servings are so big that rice isn't a necessary side dish... but feel free if it is something that you would like and can afford the extra calories. Maybe split it into three servings and eat it with some rice?!

It also says that if you like spicier food add red pepper flakes to the marinade! It says that spicy ingredients help "rev up" your metabolism.

Recipe from joy Bauer's Food Cures by Joy Bauer