Trying for a Tri

I’m back!! Got to Saint John at 8 o’clock last night and left at 1:30 this afternoon. It’s only a little over an hour away, and an easy drive in a car that was built during the second Bush administration and not the first

Fun fact about the city in which my boyfriend works: it’s a port city and thus always foggy. As soon as I got within 10 minutes of the city, I could see the fog hanging over the horizon. Eventually I was driving in pea soup. Chris and I were planning on going for a run this afternoon, but while it was 20C and sunny in Fredericton where I live, it was 14C and misty in Saint John.

Umm…no thanks. Part of the reason why Chris comes home on his days off!!

Last night, Chris and I went to a place called Boilerworks with some of his coworkers. Since I had eaten dinner, I wasn’t that hungry. I treated myself to a Clancy’s Amber Ale, which is brewed by Moosehead, a Saint John company. I love beer, but I really wish more places had the option of smaller draft sizes. I’d say most draft glasses around here are 18 oz, which is a lot of beer. I’d be happier with half that. Some places will do half pours for you, others just look at you like you’re an alien.

With the giant beer, I had a Caribbean inspired salad. I asked for no meat to keep it light. It was really good, fresh greens, melon and mandarin orange with sliced almonds and a melon vinaigrette. It was the perfect amount of food.

I woke up at 8am, exactly three hours before Chris. In all fairness, he has a crazy work schedule, so he needs to catch up on sleep when he can. His apartment is also basically a place to sleep between 12-hour shifts, so he doesn’t have much food. Enter gas station breakfast:

Lovely photo, no? This orange and dipped double chocolate PowerBar did an impressive job at keeping me satisfied till lunch time. Well done you two!!

For lunch, I requested we go to Mother Nature’s Family Restaurant.

Besides being a restaurant, they also make their own pita bread. The same kind that graces my blog on a daily basis!!! I love their pita bread, so I had to taste what they do with it.

It had a fast-food set-up.

Sorry random Saint Johner’s for putting you on my blog. It’s a public place – fair game!!

I ordered the tahini chicken pita.

This was by no means as healthy as the pitas I make at home. Lotsa tahini sauce (which was basically like hummus) and greasy chicken. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t crazy delish!! I also like how they doubled up the pita pockets… interesting technique…

I also picked up some pita chips to bring home.

Very tasty! Just a hint of spice and oil. I’ve already tried one with tzatzki too

I left after this so I could take advantage of the sunny weather at home and go for a bike ride. The pita was really filling, so I only needed a small snack to get ready for my ride.

Red delicious apple (another gas station buy, in dire need of groceries here!!) and 2 tbsp Pbu. Did the math and one tablespoon of my batch is only 48 calories!! Suh-weet!! Perfect texture for dipping too.

I opted for a short and speedy bike ride today. I did 20k (12.75 mi), the length of the bike leg of my triathlon. I did it in 45 minutes! That was my goal! Yay! I averaged 27.8 km/h (17.3 mph). Now if I could just pull that off on race day… (unlikely, it’s a harder course)

I managed to put together a decent dinner considering I have no fresh food.

Tuna salad on an arnold’s sandwich thin and carrots.

Which basically brings us up to speed! I had thought of an awesome question earlier and now I can’t remember it. Which now means you have to ask the questions!! Yup! Fire away. It can be random, serious, something you’ve been burning to ask (“how have you not turned orange yet Susan?”) I’ll answer them tomorrow. Have a great start to your weekend!!