Epic Fail, Date Night, Cinco de Mayo, Another Fail, And The Dawn Of A New Week

Wow, the weekend completely got away from me. I'm so sorry! Friday's WOD totally sucked, and I sucked even worse! My old muscles are not liking me very much for going back to crossfit after such a long hiatus. We had a 3RFT WOD, and my quad cramped up on me half way through the 2nd round. Let me tell you, I have never in my life quit a WOD. I've stopped, rested and got back at it. Even after effectively shaving 2-3 layers of skin off of my shin and was in so much pain I wanted to vomit, I still went back and finished. Not this time...and I felt like such a loser for having to quit. I sat on the side line trying desperately to rub the knot out of my thigh with a ball while I watched everyone struggling and finishing. I felt like shit...especially since I'm the new girl. Having said that, I took a pic of the WOD on the board, and will revisit this WOD at the end of the month on a make up day. The evening however, was great...even if I was hobbling along, and having serious issues climbing up into Dave's truck! The hubby and I began our date night with a wonderful dinner at the Matador in downtown Tacoma. To prove that one can eat well while out, I took a couple snapshots of my food....yeah, I'm that lady.

Grilled, Garlic Shrimp with a spicy, olive oil marinade

Grilled, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeños, stuffed with goat cheese

Carne Asada, grilled broccolini, and romaine salad with olive oil and sherry vinegar dressing

Dinner was awesome, and the weather was so gorgeous. We were able to eat outside, and it was just perfect.  Dave and I enjoyed each other's company so much that we decided to make it a night and stay. Totally worth it...even if I did drink too much.

Onward and upward. This weekend was also Cinco de Mayo, and I have to totally laugh as I think back to my earlier post about how much I love grilled meat. Truly when I said grilled meat, I was referencing grilled beef. I could eat grilled steak every day. This is evidenced by the fact that I made my own Carne Asada yesterday for Cinco de Mayo! I'm such a nerd. 

As always I began by gathering the ingredients required to create awesome culinary magic!

I used minced garlic, and jalapeño, roasted cumin, freshly squeezed lime juice, and lemon juice, fresh chopped parsley (I hate cilantro, but you can use it), sea salt, and extra virgin olive oil

Place skirt steak into gallon size zip-loc bag and squish around to coat thoroughly, and then let marinate for at least 4 hours...it's much better if you do overnight, but didn't I tell you before that I'm a procrastinator extraordinaire???

Now, a little side trip to talk about failure...as if my opener wasn't bad enough. While my meat was marinating, I decided to try my hand at making some Paleo tortillas to go with my Carne Asada. I should have known better, but I went into Pinterest, and grabbed a pin that I pinned a few weeks ago just for this day! Yeah...um...they didn't turn out so well. They tasted like cheesy eggs...even though there was no cheese (odd), and they completely fell apart.  

No bueno

So, I wont be making them again. Back to the Carne Asada. Once the meat marinated, we grilled it. It came out like this

YUM!

I paired my meat creation with homemade guac, and a chopped salad that made D's mouth burn because it had sliced, fresh jalapeños. 

 

Dave and I ended up eating our dinner outside again, by the light of tea lights placed under cut wine bottles, and the fire pit. It was nice.

Sorry it's so dark. I was trying to capture the ambiance ;)

Super Simple Carne Asada

1 1/2 pounds of skirt steak

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 jalapeños, seeded and minced

2 tsp of roasted cumin

the juice of 2 limes

the juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp of sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1. Whisk together all ingredients except for the meat in a bowl.

2. Place skirt steak into zip-loc bag, and pour marinade over.  Close bag, and smoosh around to completely coat meat.

3. Marinate for 4-24 hours.

4. Grill

Now, onto the new week! I completely rested my muscles this weekend. By Sunday, I was able to walk up and down my stairs and sit on the toilet without pain. This morning I carb loaded prior to my WOD by drinking "green lemonade," (Thanks Sarah!!) which is fresh juice made from 1/2 cucumber, 2 large handfuls of baby spinach/kale mix, 5 stalks of celery, 2 small apples, and 1/2 a lemon. I drank this about an hour before my workout, and I felt so strong and full of energy! I did much better today. I finished the WOD, and while it was for reps and not time, I don't think I did too shabby. Post workout I had a protein shake, (which I know isn't really Paleo), but it was quick, and great for muscle recovery. I'm not sore yet, although I'm sure it will come by morning. But, it was great to move past Friday's failure!