Almost time!

Woohooo!  We are within two weeks of leaving for our fabulous Europe trip. This trip has been in the planning for over a year now.  I am so ready to go.   We'll spend 9 days total in Paris, several nights in Venice and a 12 night Mediterranean cruise. 

We originally planned this trip with a few people we've met on previous cruises and then a few others have decided to come with us.  It's going to be such a fun group of people.  I can't wait to meet the new additions to the group and I am so excited to see all my great friends! 

Dan and I are starting out in Paris for a few days before we fly to Venice.  We found it was easier to take the nonstop to Paris and then figure out our way to Venice.  It's not been the cheapest decision but we DO love our Paris.  We'll spend 7 nights here after the cruise.  After a couple nights in Paris we'll fly to Venice and meet up with all our buddies.  I spent some time talking with a manager of a hotel in Venice and was able to secure our entire group rooms on the Grand Canal for a discounted rate.  Our hotel is going to be sooooo awesome! 

I am going to TRY to get some running in while I'm gone, but I don't know how successful I'll be.  The time spent on the cruise won't give me much time at all to run.  We only have 2 sea days and I just don't see too much exercising taking place. My only hope will be some time in Paris, but with being there with friends...  training may have to resume when I get home. 

My favorite city in the whole world - Paris!

Celebrity Silhouette's Itinerary

The lovely canals of Venice

Our gorgeous hotel on the Grand Canal in Venice

Our beautiful ship - Celebrity Silhouette

Our suite!!! Woohoo!

Surf City Half Marathon - Check!

Well, I did it! And I survived! Wooohooo! That is pretty much what I set out to do so I'm officially a winner :)

This event was such a BLAST!!! Ok, miles 8 through the 13 weren't that much fun, but .1 was a super blast... and up to 8 I felt like I was actually accomplishing something very cool. The 8 to 13 mile stretch was definitely an endurance contest with myself. Those miles were brutal... blaring sun (which I'm not really complaining about) a pretty constant climb (not steep but just enough uphill and boring to get on your nerves) AND they ran out of cups at the water station at mile 8 and whatever the next one was. NOT cool and not acceptable in my opinion. AND I was no where near the back of the pack. I'm so glad I had my Fuel Belt because those are certainly the water stations where you really need the water! Other than this, the event was a huge success and very well organized. I was impressed.

I learned a few things during my first half that I will definitely apply to the next events. First... when doing a destination race, put the play time after the race and not before.

We arrived Newport Beach on Friday morning, and the race was Sunday. Which meant that I had to be GOOD! I couldn't do my usual 20+ mile bike rides and have an endless supply of cocktails as we worked our way down the beachy bike path. Boo! Not good planning. It also meant I was carb loading for the duration of my time before the run. This sounded like such a great thing in the beginning... but turned out to be so dull! I can't tell you how sick of pasta I was by Saturday night. I think one of the hardest parts of the race was gagging down a half bagel with peanut butter, and a banana. I was just SO sick of eating boring food! I was in Southern Cal! I wanted Mexican food... or Seafood! But, I was afraid that neither of those things would pull me through a 2.5 hour run. So, pasta it was... and then some more pasta... and then just a bit more pasta. SO, next race... arrive just one day prior... in time for the Expo (race packet pickup) and then build some fun into the time after the race.

Other than this tiny thing, I think that I did what training is supposed to do... take you through a bunch of trials and errors before race day. I really didn't have anything along the course that I hadn't already dealt with during training. I will say that I HATE headphones. I think I am going to have to find some that sit on my head... over the ear type. Cordless... lightweight. Anyone have any recommendations on that type? I am SICK SICK SICK of earphones that go in my ears and everything about the cord makes me want to strangle someone! My right earphone drove me crazy the entire race. Things like this are buzz killers for sure. I bet I had to adjust my earbud thingy about every 30 seconds... SO not lying. But if I only wore one earbud, that drove me crazy. It was just a mood killer. One thing with distance running is finding out the things that REALLY bug the crap out of you ahead of time. This is no fun on race day. SO... must get new headphones before the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. (have I not mentioned that I have already signed up for another? or two? I'll get to that :)

SO... back to the beginning... We arrived Friday and headed straight out to lunch. We were waiting on my cousin to arrive so we could head out to the Expo. As soon as Rian arrived we headed out to the race Expo. This was SO much fun. Much better than I anticipated and in hindsight, we should have stayed a bit longer. This was very organized. Our packet pickup was quick and easy.

Saturday morning all the rest of the local family arrived. We headed on down PCH and had breakfast at the Beachcomber. This was an awesome place right ON the sand. Super cool place and can't wait to return. It was great to see everyone! The rest of the day was all about chill'n and taking it easy for our run the next morning. That evening, our other friends flew in from Utah and everyone met for dinner. It was a fun night with everyone.

I got back to the hotel and got all my race gear ready... got my timing chip attached to my shoe and laid out all my stuff. It was going to be an early morning, wake up call.

We stayed in Newport and the race was in Huntington Beach... so we took a taxi over to the start line area bright and early. It ended up being pretty easy. Dan and my cousin April were our supporters and pit crew. Rian, Jordan and I were in our corral early... ready to go! Our start was delayed by about 30 minutes. We were having so much fun just watching everything that it really wasn't that bad. I think we were both OK with delaying the event. lol

The race was SO fun! Much more so than I anticipated. I didn't think the course was all that visually appealing, like I thought it would be. There are only a few areas where you can actually see the ocean... and a lot of it was downright ugly and boring... but the event itself was truly an incredible experience for me. I think I'd rather have a bit more to look at than a long, out-and-back course. But I did run the ENTIRE race... I did walk through the water stations (for safety reasons) but other than that, I ran the whole race. YAY me!

You hear talk of the medals... but it doesn't prepare you for the moment they slip that gorgeous thing on your neck! I adore my medal! It's so cute... and it fits me just right. I wanted to wear it all day and night :D And maybe the next day too... "Oh yea... this is my medal... isn't it all shiny and awesome?"

The finish line was an awesome experience. There are so many people cheering you across the finish line. My biggest supporter was there yelling and taking photos. Dan is incredible. I could not have done this without him. He makes the best pit crew. I'm not usually one to give myself big pats on the back... BUT, I was SOOOO proud of my accomplishment. I trained hard and I ran as well as I could. I had two goals... one was to finish the race in under 3 hours... and the supercalifragilistic goal was to do it in 2 1/2 hours. I crossed the finish line at 2.34. I was SOOOO close! I truly think I could have done it in my 2 1/2 hours had I not been climbing over so many people in the first 3 miles. BUT... then again, that was my fault for signing up for the last wave of starters. But... chalk that one up to another learning experience of my first race. Next time I'll know a bit more about where I need to be. And that brings us to...

Yep, I've gone and done it... I've signed up for TWO more half marathons. And really... the only reason I haven't signed up for more is that no one has posted their winter racing schedule yet :) lol I have officially signed up for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon on April 21st... and the Chicago Half Marathon on September 9th. The summer will be spent traveling. SERIOUS traveling is happening this summer, so I will keep running, but only at a fitness level... I will not train for anything until I return from Europe. (blog update on travel stuff coming soon!)

Well, that's about it! It was such a great experience for me! It was a HUGE accomplishment in my life story. I started training with not being able to run around the block and I ran pretty much the entire 13.1 miles of my first half marathon. GO ME!!!

My racing gear

View from the back of the start line... people as far as you can see. We are in the back of the pack.

My cousin, Rian and I... ready to go!

Me and all my awesomeness crossing the finish line!

Rian and I... totally spent! This is truly a grimace on my face. One does not cross the finish line without being in PAIN!

Week 11 and 12... the final push!

Well... here we are... the last week of my very first half marathon training schedule. One thing that is super cool.... my last long training run is behind me. YAY!

Ok... here is a crazy number!!! I ran 29 MILES this week! That is crazy!

Saturday it was time for some LSD! Yep... Long, Slow Distance. The long runs are supposed to be about SLOWING it down. They are supposed to be considerably slower than your average pace. Something I need to work on so I don't get so exhausted. But, I venture a guess that 11 miles is always going to exhaust me, eh? Me thinks. Here are some of the reasons to SLOW it down: "The purpose of LSD runs are to increase your aerobic capacity. By doing so, you increase mitochondria count and capillarisation in muscle cells, teach your body how to burn fat as fuel (since the human body has massive fat reserves as compared to carb reserves), and numerous other benefits that provide the base for being able to do actual speedwork later on." I find this stuff fascinating by the way :)

Yesterday I did my final long training run of 11 miles. I was WAY wigged out about doing it too. It turned out ok, but it's a LONG dang way. Mapping something like this out really puts it into perspective. In the end, I decided to go out to a bike path out west, and it ended up being a great decision. It was fairly flat and the pathway was cleared. My incredible husband rode his bike along side of me so I didn't have to do it all alone. We headed out around noon and it took me 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was very happy with my pace and time. I feel a bit more confident heading into next weekend after this long run. I added 2 miles this week... and next week I'll add 2 more but at sea level! YAY!

I have my plan of attack for fueling... I'm going to fuel every other mile... take water at every aid station (every 2 to 3 miles), and just plan a smart run. I'm really not trying to break any records... I just want to make it through and I'd like to run most of it. I'm setting a goal at 3 hours. That is a LONG dang time to run. I wish I were faster just so I could shorten this time... but it is what it is this run. If I hold the pace I did with this 11 miles, I should certainly do this in 2:45... but under 3:00 will make me happy. A girl's gotta start somewhere :)

One thing super cool that happened this week is my fabulous husband gave me an early birthday gift... my very own Garmin watch!!! And a fuel belt. I really wanted this certain Garmin and he took me out and bought it. He said he wanted to get me something special to help me succeed. He's such a great man! And I ended up loving my new fuel belt. I took both presents out on my last long run and the belt didn't bug me at all. The Garmin worked perfectly although it took me until the end of the run to change the setting to the current pace instead of average. Oh well.. the watch has a learning curve for sure, but it's the bomb! And my fuel belt is big enough for 20 oz of water... chewies... and my cell phone. Woohoo!!

So... the week coming up has 3 short runs... Tuesday I have 4 miles, Wednesday 2 and Thursday 2. How awesome is that!? And the best part.. eating carbs ALL week. Yippeee! Those are my favorite things in the whole world!

A few updates... by the time the weekend rolls around, I'll have been training for 3 and a half months. The miracle won't come in me completing this half marathon or even trying to complete it. The miracle has already happened! I have run THREE HUNDRED miles in 3.5 months! And I feel good in knowing this. I feel good in knowing that I have logged this many miles in this amount of time. There are many people (running people) afraid of running a marathon or even a half marathon like me. They think it's so far, too hard.. you name it. But the challenge isn't the 13.1 or 26.2 miles that you'll need to do on race day. The challenge is hauling your butt outside and logging the hundreds of miles you'll need to do it. I've done 95% of these miles outside in the freezing cold. I've wiped snot on my $100 running jacket. Much of this first training program hasn't been pretty for me :) But... in the 3.5 months I've lost 10 pounds. It doesn't sound like much for the amount of work I've put in but here's the good news... I've eaten SOOOO much! I've eaten everything I've wanted to and more! This training has made me crave burgers and fries and I've eaten a ton of both! Training like I've done makes you HUNGRY! lol... seriously hungry... not "oh, I could eat" but "drop that burger and hand it over before someone gets hurt!" I will say, for the most part, I'm trying to make wise decisions on food. Mostly to help my energy for running... and making sure I won't have to poo somewhere out in the middle of nowhere (yea, that's a fear of mine.) It's not because I am turning all "granola-y" on you all, I am just trying to be smart about this. My overall appearance is better I think, even though the scale should register a MUCH lower number in my opinion :D

Well... that's about all I have for this week. It's been a pretty decent week. Nothing hurt... everything is going well, and I got that long run nailed. YAY! I hope to post a very successful post next Sunday!

My Nathan Fuel Belt - It rocks!

Heading out for 11 easy miles! hehe

Traveling and Training... Not as much fun as it sounds.

I'm back! And mostly alive :) I missed a week of updating due to a lovely cruise with my besties.

I knew when I registered for the Surf City Half Marathon that I would be doing some REALLY fun training on my Caribbean vacation. I weighed it and decided that it probably wouldn't kill me. It did, however, seriously alter my normal vacation behavior :)

I had 2 long runs that I was going to have to complete in the time I was away, so I tweaked my days so that I could do both of them in Fort Lauderdale and neither of them onboard the ship. This was a good decision.

We arrived Fort lauderdale and met up with our friends in the hotel lobby. We normally cruise this time of year. Mostly to get out of the crappy weather and it's a great way to meet up with our besties that live out of state. We met up with some other cruisers we knew that lived in Florida but were not going on the cruise with us. It was a really nice evening. I knew I needed to carb up and go to bed early for my long run in the morning. Since I didn't want to run alone in a strange place, I had Dan ride along side of me on a bike. I made sure we arrived the bike rental place in time to secure a rental for my morning run. I knew I needed to finish up my run before 9am so that I had time to shower and get ready to go over to the ship for boarding... this meant a 6:30 wake up call. FUN! I had pre planned my route on Google maps so I kind of had an idea of how far I had to go. Sooo, before sunrise I headed out for a nice 8 mile run! Woohoo! Dan was SUCH a good sport to ride along side of me. He gave me my water... fed me my little chewies (by the way... Power Bar chewies are the best I have tried so far! YUM) and tried to make witty conversation with me :) I could not have done these 2 long runs without him. I think he actually enjoyed himself as well.

SO... here is the lowdown on running at sea level... IT SO ROCKS!!! I really didn't think there was going to be much to this tidbit I kept hearing about. I wasn't counting on... let's just say that. BUT... it really really was MUCH better than running where I am used to. That's for sure! I ran the 8 miles and yes, it was still tough! BUT, I wasn't running out of breath and I ended up running 99% of my 8 miles. YAY! The scenery was amazing!

So... finished up my 8 and it was time to get ready to go cruising. Oh, I had sooo many plans for my week on the ship. Oh, did soooo many of them not get done. Boo! Training onboard a ship is ALMOST impossible. Getting a workout in, yes... training for a half marathon at the end of the training program... no! First there is the onboard track. It's 8 laps to the mile (someone told me this... hard to really know for sure) and then there are indoor treadmills in the gym. Both of these proved to be almost impossible to assist me in my training. SO... in order to run the track (which is what I set out to do) you have to get out before all the idiots that get up and save deck chairs for pool space. That hour is around 6am. Ok ok... I can do that... whatever. SO, first morning I am raring to go... I am up at 6am and dressed in my cruise workout wear.... only to find that the wind up on deck is hurricane force and the boat is rocking back and forth. Oh, and the track is wet. I went around once and decided it was not going to happen. Off I went to the gym... with the boat rocking like it was, I could not stay on the treadmill. It's now 6:15 a.m. and I'm totally awake and I'm the only one awake... NICE! NOT! I decided my only attempts at training were going to have to take place on port days. Not a great way to spend port time, but it was my only chance. The first port day came and I got up early and went to the track... it was soaking wet again. I think they spray everything down in the morning and I'd love to chat with someone about this. How dumb! Anyway... I was too afraid of slipping and falling with the wet track so I went into the gym. I was able to eeek out 5 miles and only because I couldn't lift the treadmill to throw it overboard. The treadmills turn off every 20 minutes! Not only that, but they start a cool down session at 15 minutes. This proved to be a very frustrating training day. It turned out to be my last! SO... in one week I got in 5 miles. And I think they were the most difficult 5 miles I've done. From now on, I'll definitely think about upcoming vacations when I plan races. This was not an ideal vacation. I lived through it... but the entire vacation suffered for it. It's one thing to be active and exercise. I do that most of the time. But to feel guilty that training isn't happening isn't my idea of a great vacation. Especially when I've worked so hard. I was really afraid of losing ground. I knew I had a 9 mile run as soon as the cruise was over and we returned to Fort Lauderdale.

We got off the ship and headed to the W. I was so excited to stay at the W. It's a super cool place on the beach and we've always wandered by and thought it was cool. This year we decided to splurge and stay the one night. It was a blast! Dan and I both rented bikes this time and off we went... I think we were in the hotel all of 20 minutes :) I had a route all planned out that I wanted to ride and off we went. We ended our day with just over 23 miles! Probably not the best idea with the run I had to do in the morning. Oh well... I'm not really known for my conservative activities on vacation. After biking 23 miles we decided to walk to dinner. This ended up being an even 7 miles round trip. Woof! I was getting up at sunrise again to run NINE miles so why not put in 30 miles the day before??? Without a car...

Once again Dan followed me on his bike. This 9 miles seemed about 5 miles further than my 8 the previous week. I think a week of cruise food... not much training... and my 30 mile day before didn't help me much. BUT, I did it! Woohooo!

That's about it for the last two weeks. I have one long run left before my half. Uggg! And I really need to do 11 miles at the very least this weekend... and from what I have read it would be better if I did 12. I'm totally excited that I have been working my ass off at 5,000 feet... and my half is going to be at sea level! I totally deserve a break after all this work! I'm still looking for that runner's high though. I still haven't found it.

Here's hoping I have a great running week and a long run that I survive! 12 days to the half! YIKES!

~Almost sunrise in Fort Lauderdale~

What an ugly place to run eh? This is me after I finished... my face still looks like it may explode.

See that city wayyyyy off in the distance? That is where I ran to... and back! 9 miles is so much further than you think it should be. CRAP!

Week 8 down - 4 to go!

Well, it's the end of another training week and all I can say is good riddance! It was a very rough week for me. For anyone who knows me, knows I've been sick and boy has it been a brutal cold. I haven't had a cold like this in years. I'm usually not one to be drug down by colds and such. This one put me down more days than I liked. I felt SO frustrated. Not even with being sick... which is funny... but just sidelining my running. I have worked too hard to let a cold take me back. On Wednesday I tried to meet up with my running buddy Nikki. I couldn't even run a block. I had no air and it was just miserable. We ended up walking almost the entire 6 miles. VERY frustrating attempt and I felt bad for Nikki that is training for a half two weeks before mine. She stuck with me the whole time though. As soon as the run was over I went to the doctor. It turned out I just had a cold. That'll be $70.00 thank you very much! The doctor did give me an inhaler to try and some cough medicine for night time. I decided on taking a few more rest days as well... even though this was very irritating. I had a long run planned for Sunday and it was coming up quick! I was a bit nervous considering my performance on Wednesday. By Saturday I felt like maybe I should try to get in an easy run. I went to the complex and ran on the indoor track. I did an easy 4 miles (funny for me to say that!) and I had great time. I felt good and ready for my long run. That's about the last of the feel good moments!

Sunday morning came and it was clear and sunny. A sure sign to get outside and run 10 miles in the crispy, winter weather! Yeah, right. It was 29 degrees when I left the house. I'm SO stoked for warmer weather when I don't feel like my runs take up my entire day. Right now they do... I wait around for the warmest part of the day... planning when and what I eat around when I am going to run. Then I get ready and head out. By the time I am done with my long runs, the day is over and it's time to shower, start dinner, and basically go to bed. A bedtime that has gotten increasingly earlier and earlier with training. Tonight I may need to go to bed at 8:00pm. SOOO, I headed out today (Sunday) at noon to meet up with Nikki. Our run down to Liberty park was awesome. I felt good... it seemed I dressed well... and was shaping up to be a very nice 10 miles. That was until we started around the park. Then all the fun drained out of this run for me. We met up with Elizabeth and off we went. It was a VERY tough run for me. All I can say is I did it. It was cold and miserable. The only reason I got through this is that Nikki is pretty damn entertaining! My only hope is that I get a LOT better at it in the 4 weeks to come. I could not have done 3 more miles today. NO WAY! But... I keep reading "Trust in the plan. The plan will get you through." I've also read that giving yourself 16 weeks to train for a half marathon is not enough time when you've never been a runner. SO? This should be interesting :D

On the bright side, I was shaving last night... something I do on a very rare occasion in the winter, and I have CALVES! Who knew they were in there hidding?

Here's hoping for a much better training week this week! I get to do this next week's long run in, what I hope to be, sunny Fort Lauderdale! I am leaving next Saturday on a cruise! I cannot wait. It certainly will be a different experience than I am used to while cruising. No partying all day and night... no binge eating... but mostly... I have to RUN! What the hell was I thinking?!!! So I probably won't have a blog update until I get back. I'm hoping to take some nice photos on my runs. I am already wondering how many damn laps on the ship equal a mile?? Probably some insane amount. I guess I better take my clicker :D

Here is a photo from today as I headed out to meet Nikki. DO NOT let the pretty, blue sky fool you. It's COLD! Bitter cold! 29 degrees cold! And dodging ice is no fun. I'm not that coordinated yet :D

Have a great week to anyone who reads my story :)

A Great End To The Year!

Wow! What a week it's been. I hit a 200 mile milestone, I survived my first 10K race and I completed most of this week sick. It's been a brutal week. I finished up this week with an even 20 miles. I didn't get any cross-training in this week. It was hard enough just to get my miles. I did finish out my first year of running with 215 miles. YAY!

I talked my running buddies into signing up for the New Year's Revolution Run. I read about it awhile back and thought it sounded like a great thing to do to finish up the year. It was held inside our Olympic Oval. This is the venue where they held all the skating events for the Olympics and still carries the record for the fastest ice track in the world.

I came down with a nasty cold on Wednesday. Luckily I got my Tuesday run and my Wednesday run in before the worst of it hit. Since I had this 10K looming on the horizon for the weekend, I decided to take a couple of rest days and see if I could kick the cold. Unfortunately that didn't happen. But I was determined to go anyway and see how I felt once I started running. It ended up being such a great run. It certainly wasn't my best time, but for how I felt starting this race, I can't believe I ended this run with an overall pace of 12:18. The race and my pace left me feeling really good about myself. YAY me! I also have the coolest of running buddies. Who knew that we would connect in this way of such an easy, new friendship. I'm grateful to them both. I told them both when we got to the race that they should leave me and just let me run my pace because I was hacking up both my lungs and just felt like poo... both of them said "no way... we run together." We had such a great time and I settled into a pretty decent pace and was feeling pretty dang good overall. I LOVE the facility where this race was held. I wish it was closer to my house so I could run there all the time. The surface was awesome, and it was interesting watching the speed skaters practice inside on the ice track... and there are bathrooms and a snack bar. It's a win win :)

I think I am officially addicted to race bibs. It's probably one of the reasons that I followed through on the race yesterday. You can't keep a bib if you don't race with it. I think that rule is written somewhere. I hope I have a new year of many many race bibs :D It sure would be nice to finally get a medal! Jeeze!

As for New Year's Resolutions go... I am not usually one for making them. They just seem like a lot of unnecessary pressure we put on ourselves. BUT... I thought of one that is probably healthy for me and should be something I am doing anyway. I will try to take my vitamins every day this year. I am SO bad at this. I have good intentions, but it doesn't happen very much. And by not much means I maybe took them 5 times last year. I know... I suck! But... this year, I am going to try to take them much more than 5 times :) Also... unless there is an unforeseen accident or injury, I would like to run 1,000 miles this year. This is a totally doable goal for me if I stick to the running schedule that I am running now. I don't have to get all crazy to do it, but I do have to stay motivated and consistent. It's only 83 ish miles a month, SO... that's what I am going to try to do this year. Also for the New Year (and this is ONLY if I do not die during the Surf City Half) I have my sights set on a few races. I haven't looked into 5Ks and 10Ks but they will be scattered throughout, but medal races I plan to do are:

Surf City Half - Feb 5, 2012

Salt Lake City Half - April 21, 2012

Chicago Half - Sept 9, 2012

Fort Lauderdale Half - Nov 11th, 2012

Progress - well... it's not noticeable to the naked eye this week. That's for sure. But... I will say that my shins finally feel like they are connected to my legs again. They don't scream like they used to and I don't think I had to sit with my peas at all this week. YAY! I have a pretty hard running schedule coming up this week so I am hoping this cold leaves me feeling more human after tomorrow. Uggg!

35 days until the Surf City Half Marathon! Woohoooo!

Elizabeth, me and Nikki - New Year's Revolution 10K

Lucky # 211 - That's me :)

My best photo from this week's training runs.

This is a super cool thing I bought this week that keeps track of laps... either running or swimming. It will show your fasted lap, slowest and average. It's a pretty cool thing if you have to run on a track.

SO, my friend Nikki read in Runner's World that bison is supposed to be a really good energy snack for the runner... well, I just had to buy some for us to try. Truly wasn't bad. It didn't make either of us run like that guy on the cover though... dammit!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 ears of corn on the cob – cut off the cob but cobs reserved

5 cloves of garlic – minced (I put mine through a press)

1 yellow or white onion – diced

2 jalapenos – diced small

2 or 3 chicken breast – I usually make 3

4 yellow corn tortillas – diced into 1” squares

1 pasilla pepper – left whole but remove stem

3 tomatoes on the vine – diced small

2 TBS Oil

2 TBS tomato paste

2 tsp ground cumin

2 quarts chicken stock

kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper

In a sauté pan, sear the chicken breasts on both sides with a little kosher salt, pepper and a bit of cayenne pepper in a bit of oil on med/high heat. Add to a large soup pot.

In the same sauté pan add a touch more oil and the 1” tortilla squares. Stir until they are slightly crispy and then add to the soup pot.

Same sauté pan… cool the pan and over low heat sauté the onions and garlic. Add to the soup pot. Throw the sauté pan in the sink and bring your soup pot over to start adding in all the goodies. Put in the tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, chicken broth, corn, tomato paste and cumin. Let the cobs and pasilla pepper just float around in the soup. We’ll throw those out when we are almost done.

I always reserve a few of the tomatoes, corn, and onions and jalapenos to add back to the soup after it’s blended. I want to add a can of drained black beans some day to see how it is but… those of you with kids may understand this… but my daughter doesn’t want me to change ANY of this recipe of mine.

Simmer and reduce by a 1/3… about 30 to 45 minutes. Make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Remove chicken and set aside. Throw away the cobs and pasilla pepper. Transfer soup to a heatproof bowl and let cool a bit before blending or it could end badly at this point. In batches, blend everything until it’s nice and smooth… then add back to pot. After all the blending is done, put back in the reserved veggies and dice the chicken . Add the chicken to the pot and bring back up to a simmer.

Dice some of your left over corn torillas into SKINNY little strips. They will crisp up better in the oven this way and taste ALMOST fried. Let’s face it…they are better fried. BUT, if you are like me and don’t want the mess, do them in the oven. This has nothing to do with health concerns. This much work… eat it how you like it! 350 degrees for about 20/25 mintutes. I like them really crispy.

I almost always double this recipe. It’s double the work almost… but we love it so much and I like to have leftovers when going to this much trouble. This soup is SOOO worth the effort. I have searched endlessly for a good Tortilla Soup. I am not a lover of brothy types. This one rocks! This is a really fulfilling soup that is thickened only with a bunch of veggies and a few tortillas. They say that is why it’s called Tortilla Soup. How cool is that!?

Enjoy!