Vino Van Gogh Again

A Kelly Janowski original

More photos from our artsy date! It's funny how Alissa and I went to the same Vino Van Gogh class, painted the same landscape from the same example and ended up with slightly different interpretations of the skyline. They're both Chicago, but mine looks more like a kid did it. A 27-year-old kid, of course.

I'm looking off into the distance for some reason ...

Thanks, Alissa, for the photos. Check out my other post about our painting date.

Practice Tri with a New 5K PR

My official triathlon training plan doesn't kick off until next month, but practice makes perfect. It was beautiful outside with temps reaching into the 40s, so I set out to enjoy the day.

I started with the last leg of the triathlon, the run. Because it was so beautiful, I was amped up on coffee and the tunes were great, I ran my fastest 5K ever. I finished just short of 3.1 miles in 25:04. My first race ever in October of 2010 was a 5K and it took me 33 minutes, during which I thought I would die. This also marks my fastest mile ever, 7:43.

After that, I took a little puppy outside, refueled with an orange and drove to the gym to swim. This is why I don't consider this a real brick workout. I took my time through my 45-minute transition to the gym, then swam the 450 meters I'll have to swim on race day. It was hard. Really hard. Of all the things that I'll have to do during the triathlon, the swim might be the hardest.

After I was done with my official distance, I did some drills with a kick board and pull buoy. I had the lanes almost to myself, which I thought was strange for noon on a Sunday, but I'm not complaining. Post gym and shower, I made the mistake of not refueling immediately. By the time I got home, I had skipped the "hungry" stage and proceeded directly to the nauseous stage. Lesson learned.

I tore through some roasted cauliflower, tuna, pumpkin Greek yogurt and turkey jerky (not in the same dish, of course). Napoleon enjoyed licking the can the tuna came in, which might have been the fastest he moved all day. If reincarnation exists, I hope to come back as my dog.

Several hours later, I loaded up the bikes (Tim bought a Trek on Craigslist this week) and headed to Busse Woods for a ride. However, when I got there, I realized the trails were still obstructed with snow. I'm a little gun shy after my accident, so I completed barely four miles before backing it in for the day. I'm starting to call my car the triathlon wagon, because it holds both bikes and has a few tie-down hooks that are perfect for hanging up my swim cap and suit to dry. And much like a triathlon, music is not allowed in my car, because my stereo is broken.

Overall, I felt good during each leg, but I have a long way to go. I am, however, celebrating my progress in the 5K arena and working on a better nutrition strategy.

Cooking with Kelly: New Favorite Foods

As I get older and healthier, my taste buds change. McDonald's doesn't really appeal to me, and chips don't sound all that good. Chocolate chips and coconut sounds heavenly, but I recently had a salad that, to my amazement, tasted amazing. Here are a few of my new favorite foods.

Crunchy Open-Face Banana Wrap
1/2 FlatOut Whole Wheat tortilla
2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
1 small banana

Toast the tortilla under the broiler for three minutes, flipping once. Top with peanut butter and banana.

Again, it looks burned. It isn't. That is the color of delicious.

Roasted Cauliflower Bites
1 head cauliflower
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin, it will smoke!)
Salt & pepper, to taste

Chop the head of cauliflower into smallish pieces. The smaller the pieces, the more delicious the browning. Toss the cauliflower in the oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour out the mixture onto a baking sheet. I used a stone baking sheet, which I recommend if you have one.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. I set a timer for 18 minutes and turned the pieces each time it went off until the cauliflower was equally browned on all sides. These are DELICIOUS with ketchup, but I might have a problem with ketchup.

Also, my phone has decided to give me back some of the photos it ate yesterday. Doesn't Napoleon look cute with his new haircut? He's not sure about it and is plotting murderous actions against me for this injustice.

What Went Wrong

Today

• My camera inexplicably did not save any of the photos I took today. Napoleon got groomed and I took some great photos on a run this morning. This is the blog you get, instead of the adorable photo of a squirrel on my run and Napoleon in his car seat looking pathetic.

Yesterday

• I overslept, waking at about the time that I think my gym buddy was mounting the bike, thinking "Where is that bitch?" Sorry, McKenna, my phone froze overnight.
• My Garmin was dead.
• The vending machine gave me Diet Coke instead of Diet Pepsi. Not OK.
• I dropped a jar of salsa at the grocery store while in line to pay, leading to a series of awkward moments. The guy watched me drop it, then begrudgingly mumbled it wasn't a problem.

Here's to a better Sunday!

Outfit of the Day, Feb. 24

Erin told me not to be afraid of coloring blocking, because it's a super hot trend right now. So today is a navy tank top, cyan green T-shirt from Target, super old navy cardigan from who knows where, khakis from the Gap (via Goodwill) and flats. I'm also rocking some Lia Sophia earrings my mom gave me and a necklace that was a gift from her for my 21st birthday. My, that seems like a long time ago ...

See other outfits.

Three Things Thursday

1. Are you a fan of quidditch? You know, from Harry Potter? Or perhaps you were intrigued by my Midwest Quidditch Cup post? If so, you'll want to head over and "Like" this Facebook page to Bring the Quidditch World Cup to Chicago. My sister, Katie, is big into the management of Purdue's internationally ranked quidditch team and would really like to see the World Cup at a closer location. And Purdue quidditch won the world cup last year, so that should count for something.

Katie and I at the Midwest Quidditch Cup near Indy

2. I've been so busy at work, I feel complete oblivious to the outside world. For example, my coworker, Becca (the blonde one with the "E"), announced her pregnancy this week. Everyone said they had their suspicions... I didn't. I'm clueless. I'm so excited for Becca, especially since she has the cutest pregnancy blog I've ever seen. Go check it out!

Becca's blog is "A Pea in a Pod" themed. Think she'll let us dress her baby?
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3. I'm still going strong at the gym. While swimming still makes me feel slow and clunky, I'm enjoying spinning and lifting weights. One of these days, I'll give Michael Phelps a run for his money, but until then, I'll settle for learning how to complete a proper flip turn.

That's what a flip turn is supposed to look like? Weird.
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Chicago Running Bloggers

I'm conducting a teleconference tonight for work, so excuse my drive-by blogging. Are you a runner/jogger/walker in the Chicagoland area? Do you have a blog? Then come and join us on Chicago Running Bloggers.

Created by the multi-talented Maggie Wolff, the writer behind Mag Mile Runner, the Chicago Running Bloggers site brings together athletes of all abilities throughout the Chicagoland area to help support one another and keep up on what's happening on the running scene. Support the site by joining or adding the code to your Web site. Who knows, maybe we'll have a meet up some day, in which case, there had better be cookies or beer. Or both. Definitely both.