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Breaking the routine

I’m pretty good with routines. As you should be able to tell from reading my blog, I’m at my best physically and mentally when I have a training plan. It’s rare that I deviate from my plan, or heaven forbid, skip a training session without a really good reason. I don’t get bored of doing similar workouts over and over again.

I’m the same way with eating. I eat the same thing for breakfast (oatmeal with frozen berries and/or a banana and protein powder with a little cinnamon and a few drops of maple syrup) at least five or six days a week. I get the same salad (with the same toppings and same dressing) nearly every day at the office. I usually switch up dinner – or rather rotate between a few places (yes, “places” – that’s what we usually do in NYC). But that’s mostly because of Elizabeth; if it were entirely up to me, I would most likely stick to the same thing for dinner every night. And recently it has been entirely up to me and I have eaten the same thing every night. Elizabeth’s been working late most nights recently and is now out of town, so I’ve mostly been doing dinner on my own. I would guess that ten of the last twelve nights I’ve made myself a turkey, spinach and shredded cheese quesadilla with salsa or mustard (depending on what’s in the fridge), with a side of baked beets*. And then a little dry cereal or granola for dessert. And this makes me happy. It’s easy to prepare, easy to clean up, nutritious and tastes pretty good. All the ingredients stay in the fridge for a while, so there’s no repeated trips to the grocery store.

Anyway, back to the point. Tonight, I decided to break my dinner routine and eat something different. So I stir-fried some tofu with garlic, ginger, scallions and a little soy sauce. And put it on top on quinoa. It was delicious. But I miss my quesadilla.

*A few weeks ago while walking through the Union Square farmer’s market I saw some fresh beets at one of the stands. I love beets and decided to figure out how to cook them myself. It turns out they’re easy to prepare. Baking them is my favorite method right now. I also cook the stalks and leaves and eat those too. If anyone is interested, I’ll send you the incredibly simple recipes.

Brick – September 23
Indoor Bike
Time: 33 minutes
Average heart rate: 121
Transition: 1:57
Run
Distance: 2 miles
Time: 17 minutes
Average heart rate: 146
Course: Washington Square
Conditions: Fall! High 50’s, clear, sunny

Swim – September 24
Distance: 1,500 yards
Time: 32 minutes

Strength- September 24