Half-Marathon Training, and Zucchini Squares

Because the two go hand-in-hand.

Trust me on this one.

I’m running my first half marathon in a little over 3 months. My friend Eleanor, who’s doing the Hamptons Half Marathon with me in September, ran track in high school and already has a half marathon under her belt. She found this 24-week beginner training schedule for me on the Toronto Women’s Half Marathon website. It took me several minutes of starting at this schedule to make sense of it the first time; it’s in both miles and kilometers since it’s a Canadian training schedule – miles are on the top of each line, which is what I’ve been following. I really like it because it breaks the 24 weeks up into endurance building, strength building, and speed building.

I’ve been loosely following it since the middle of April, but not as strictly as I could be. Since I was already running more mileage per week than it said to start with, I decided to just do my own thing and make sure I was at least doing as much as it said I should be…

Week 1:

What the schedule says to do: 9 miles

What I did: 13 miles

Week 2:

What the schedule says to do: 11 miles

What I did: 14.5 miles

Week 3:

What the schedule says to do: 13 miles

What I did: 19.6 miles

Week 4:

What the schedule says to do: 11 miles

What I did: 15.7 miles

Week 5:

What the schedule says to do: 12 miles

What I did: 15 miles

At the beginning, I was feeling all Super Woman-like, thinking hey, maybe I should switch to the more advanced 17-week training schedule at the beginning of June! But now, at the start of Week 6, I’m feeling a lot more achy and I’m starting to get the message that I shouldn’t do too much, too soon. So this week I’m going to make it my goal to not run too much more than the schedule tells me to do: 15 miles, exactly what I ran last week.

I’ve also been doing yoga and pilates, not as much for the cross-training benefits as for the flexibility and injury-prevention. Maybe I’m a little paranoid, but I’ve never attempted something as athletic as a half marathon before, and I really don’t want to push my body past its limits. Before I headed out for a 4-mile run yesterday afternoon, I did a 20-minute pre-run yoga video on youtube. I’ve never done yoga right before a run and I liked it a lot. I felt looser and more limber than I usually do before a run.

And this is where the zucchini squares come in. When I go for evening runs, I come back ravenously hungry and too tired to take the time to cook. But I don’t want to grab a snack, because it’s dinner time. Yesterday afternoon I baked a tray of zucchini squares to have ready for when I got back from my evening run. I froze half of the squares, and kept the other half in the refrigerator for meals this week. The recipe makes 12 squares, good for an appetizer or side dish. If you’re eating it as a main course, 2 squares is a full portion. If you’re serving to a group, cut each of the squares diagonally into triangles to make 24 bite-sized appetizers. They’re also delicious on a salad for lunch!

Zucchini Squares

Makes 12 squares

Adapted from about.com

3 cups thinly sliced zucchini, unpeeled
1 cup Bisquick Original pancake mix
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well. Pour mixture into baking dish and bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cut into 12 squares and serve.