Vino and carne

Can we just take a moment here?

Two of my favorite things EVER (chocolate and vino) had a lovechild. And it is a delicious lovechild.

To be honest, it was a little on the sweet side, but it didn’t stop me from having a hefty glass with the fam. Think of it like wine Bailey’s. A very, very good thing, indeed.

My night also involved a little more chocolate:

(madre brought over gluten-free and regular brownies)

and meat. Lots and lots o’ meat.

Kyle and Uncle E took over the kitchen again, and it was ridiculously amazing, as expected.

Legend right here:

The entire time he’s cooking, he’s throwing out tips for Kyle and myself. “Hey Gina, come over here and see this” and then goes on to tell me something that makes my brain explode with a giant nugget of culinary knowledge.

Kyle and Uncle made his famous ribs (marinated overnight, roasted then grilled),

Steak, chicken, lobsta

sweet potatoes and broccoli. No words.

Once again, the entire fam came over, so the house was full, and some of us ate outside on the patio. Best ever.

Before dinner was an awesome 4-miler with the Pilot and my aunt. My aunt is a fellow fitness instructor (she also runs marathons) and the Pilot is the kinda guy who might not run for a while, and then bust out higher mileage like it’s nothing. He works a ton, so if he doesn’t get a chance to hit the gym for a while, he still maxes out his PT tests. It astounds me. Anyway, I’m very lucky to have people join me for my training runs- conversation makes it fly by.

We hit up Sabino Canyon, and it’s funny because I’m always DYING on the way up, feel great coming back, and then *almost* like I could do it all over again afterwards. The first half is what kills me. Yesterday, I had to push myself for the first half and then coming back was NBD. I definitely attribute 99% of that to the conversation -we talked the entire time- and the gorgeous weather (it had just rained and was cool and cloudy) and the last little bit to the fact that I had a great lunch about an hour and a half before we left.

Pre-workout fuel can be a tricky decision. I want it to be energizing but not too heavy, and make sure it’s type of food my body will be able to best utilize for a good workout. It also depends on whether I’m doing cardio or strength (or both), if I’m hungry, what time it is, and if we’ll be eating another meal (like dinner) sometime soon. When I first started teaching and taking classes in the evenings, I wanted to have a good snack before my workout and also enjoy dinner with the Pilot when it was over.