Look what I started today!
It’s my Miami 70.3 training plan!
Did you forget I was doing a 70.3? Yeah. Me too. Between prepping for my sister’s wedding, traveling across the country, co-planning the Healthy Living Summit (less than one month to go – holy cow!), dreaming up my own wedding, and the rest of my day-to-day blogging and freelancing responsibilities… I…uhh… sort of forgot about it.
Which is strange because I was SO on top of it for Augusta last year. Check out my weekly training logs – I was committed! Now? Not so much. What’s different between this year and last? Schedule? Time? Knowing I’ve already done it once and can do it again? I’m not sure, but I wish I knew.
Luckily I’m not the only one doing Miami 70.3 in October. My brother and sister are joining me, as well as our friend Amber. I also have an XP teammate, Stephanie, who is doing her first 70.3 in October at another location. My sister tweeted us all this morning with the outline of her plan, which sparked a few tweets among the group on how we all need to get all out butts in gear. I heard them all loud and clear. I opened Kelly’s plan and immediately began working on my own. It’s not close to ready yet, but I’m working on it and that’s a start! Hopefully I’ll have something more to share next week. 
Are you training for any major races this fall? Have a plan yet? Maybe we can all make a pact to have ours done by such-and-such date? 
Tonight was my last meal for #SurviveOn35. Considering the random items that remained in the fridge, I’d say this meal wasn’t half bad.
Pretty good, right?
Let’s see. Here’s what I had to work with.
- carrots
- chicken sausage
- cabbage
- corn tortillas
- eggplant (unpictured)
- pasta sauce (unpictured)
hmmm…. what does one do with all that? Make dinner – that’s what.
First I sliced the eggplant and roasted the slices in the oven at 415 for 20 minutes.
Then I chopped the cabbage, carrots, and sausage and threw it all in a pan.
The veggies and sausage became a taco filling.
And the eggplant was topped with pasta sauce and served on the side.
When you get to the bottom of the fridge, the best thing to do is just combine it all and see what happens. I made it work.
Also, cabbage, carrots, and chicken sausage is an oddly delicious combination that went well in the taco. It was fresh and very summery, I would make that combo again.
Alright. Here are the totals from tonight’s meal:
- 1/2 cabbage: $0.88
- 3 chicken sausages: $1.28
- 3 carrots: $0.27
- 5 tortillas: $0.30
- 1 eggplant: $1.48
- 1/4 jar pasta sauce: $0.50
- Total: $4.71
- My portion: $1.57
- Derek’s Portion: $3.14
And that’s it. #SurviveOn35 is over. I’ll have a full recap up tomorrow.
Good Night!
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Bravo! Yay for being creative!
I never got to race the races I had planned 2 years ago as I ended up with a stress fracture in training (and I haven’t raced, or been in racing shape, since) and I realllllly want to get into racing shape for the Fall and finally, FINALLY, complete my first 5k and Half!
Congrats on finishing the challenge! Eager to hear what you have to say about it when you recap – would love to hear Derek’s thoughts as well!
That is definitely showing creativity in the kitchen…I think some of the best meals I’ve created have come from throwing random stuff together and seeing what happens.
interesting. i’d like to know how much you have left out of the rolled oats.. and everything actually.. were there any leftovers?
There wasn’t much left of anything. Maybe a cup of oats, a couple of tortillas, and a carrot.
I’m so impressed with how you carried out the challenge. Your meals looked yummier than the ones I usually make with a bigger budget!
I just signed up for my first half, so it’s time for me to start serious training. I’m nervous about increasing my mileage but excited too. I know that I’ll be so happy if I can do it!
Just letting you know I’ve REALLY enjoyed witnessing your surviveon35 challenge day by day! It’s one of the things I’ve been looking forward to everyday
I would love to try some of the improvised dishes. Love your blog!
Thank you! That comment really means a lot
I’m really looking forward to hearing your final reflections on the challenge!*
Congrats on finishing the challenge! Can’t wait to read your final thoughts. I think your dinner looks yummy
I’m actually training for my first marathon!! I think you take training really seriously the first time because you really dont know what you’re in for, I only have this plan and the advice of friends to get me through. The second time around you have your own past experience plus the knowledge that you have done it before!
Uh, yeah I need to get on this! How are you creating yours Is it based on last years? Maybe I can recruit Felipe to help me. I’ve only followed a training plan for my first tri…
Based a little off of last year. I want to add in some more speedwork though. Are you free this weekend? We should get together and hash this out!
Good luck with the training plan! I’m excited to see how it comes out!
Those tacos look awesome…..love chicken sausage
Can you explain what’s going on with your ModelFit training plan from Peak Fitness? I recall you starting but that’s about it.
Hi Juli, I thought I answered this question with you already? The trainer’s schedule didn’t work with my schedule and I discovered online training wasn’t going to work either.
I had asked it before but couldn’t remember when/where so I didn’t want to dig through posts – I never got an email that a reply was posted. Bummer you’re not doing the program, I was interested to see how it went!
Nice job with your survive on 35 meals, you really rocked it and the food all looked pretty great!
That’s great – I’d love to hear more about your HIM training and plan! I have my first HIM coming up in September and used the same Amateur Endurance plan you used for your last one – thanks!!
I just spent the weekend cheering on some friends who did a sprint and Half IM Tri. It was such a fun atmosphere! I want to buy a bike next summer and train for a Tri, but the open swim portion scares me!
I always have such a tough time figuring out what to do with the leftover stuff in my fridge! Looks like you’ve got it down, though. If you have any tips for putting meals together with somewhat random ingredients, let us know! It might make for an interesting blog entry if you’re looking for an idea.
that’s awesome! i wish i could stick to $35 a week, but i eat way too much of everything. the end.