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Unplanned Rest Day and Butternut Squash Chili

Mid-Week Rest Day
Today we had lots of rain and storms in the forecast. I was supposed to do a 6-mile speed workout. But you know what? I didn't want to. I didn't want to run; I didn't want to spin; I didn't want to lift. Period. Several restless nights, two days of spin plus run has just left me worn out. My legs feel heavy and I had no energy to attempt speed work.

So I declared today an unplanned rest day. Of course this wasn't done without lots of thinking, planning, strategizing on when and how to reschedule planned runs. Today was supposed to be my speed work, tomorrow an easy 3-miles then 12 on Saturday.

We'll be out of town Saturday and while I found a 12-mile route, I am absolutely not familiar with the area. Don't have a clue if there are water fountains or anything along the way. I had hoped to do legs tomorrow along with my 3-mile run. So much to think about and rearrange.

So, here's the new plan:

Thurs: 12-miles
Fri: Gym (doing weights I would do on Sunday - shoulder, back, biceps, abs)
Sat: 6-mile run on the route I have found where we will be
Sun: 3-mile run with hill repeats (try for 4x1:00 min) and pickups (try for 6 x 20 sec) to sub for the missed speed work

This gives me the mileage from the training plan for the week (24+) plus the speed work, even if it is a different workout. Sounds doable...now I'm just hoping it really is and that I can follow through.

This is tough for me because I can be fairly inflexible. I don't like to get thrown off routine, but I also know that sometimes you have to go with the flow. So this is me trying to go with the flow ;-)

I know I've asked before, because I've talked about it before...But, how are you with going with the flow, with changing up plans last minute? 

Errands & Chili
The one upside of the rest day is being off work at my normal time with nothing else to do. I guess that's where the guilt comes from on rest days. I feel like I should always be doing something. If not, I feel like I'm just wasting time.

If I could reach the places in our bathroom that Jason has patched, I would have sanded those and started priming the walls. However, it's over the tub and I can't safely climb on anything to reach. Also, dusting the house is futile with all the sanding being done both upstairs and downstairs.

I'm not a TV girl, so no desire to go home and just sit and stare at the tube. I need to stay away from clothing and shoe stores, so no trip to the mall. But, we did need some groceries from Whole Foods, so that's what I did after work. At least it's out of the way and I won't have to worry about finding time over the weekend when we're not even going to be in town.

However, despite it only being 4 pm, the traffic was still hellacious. They are doing major construction on one of the main thoroughfares and of course that's how I need to go to get to Whole Foods. Right now, I don't think there is ever a good time to head in that general direction. Oh well, got it done ;-)

I thought I might make a curry dish tonight with my butternut squash, however, Jason planted the seed for chili. He wanted a white chili, but I didn't really have the ingredients. BUT, I did have the ingredients for a Butternut Squash Chili. I started with my original recipe: Butternut Squash & Black Bean Chili. I did make just a few changes, like adding in the tempeh (which is totally optional of course).

Butternut Squash & Black Bean Chili
Ingredients:
1 tsp (or less) Olive oil
1 package tempeh, crumbled
1 small or 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced (out of green)
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 cups water
1 Not-Beef Bouillon Cube (low sodium if you can find)
1 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt), undrained
2-3 Chipotle peppers in adobe, diced (more or less depending on heat preference)
3 oz tomato paste
To taste: chili powder, salt, pepper, cumin, ground red pepper

Directions:
In large soup pot, brown the tempeh then add in the onion, bell peppers, garlic, and butternut squash. Allow to cook until the onions begin to soften.

Add in remaining ingredients and simmer for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour or until butternut squash is soft and flavors have melded.

When I first started making this, I thought even I was nuts. It was 91 degrees out. Not ideal chili weather - especially for the first batch of the season. However, we had the last part of the front pushing through and the wind kicked up and temperatures started dropping. So, in the end, not a bad decision.
 

During the fall and winter, chili is one of my favorite dishes. We have it as regularly as we have pizza. So, be prepared to start seeing lots of chili nights on Where's the Beach.

Daily To-Enjoy List:
  • Run - nixed for rest day
  • Time for errands (inserted after I decided on rest day)
  • First chili of the season

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