BBQ Pulled Pork

It has been a cold few days here in Utah.  It is a winter wonderland outside.  All I want to do is curl up in a blanket by the fire with some hot cocoa; but instead, I decided to make some homemade pulled pork.  Snowy days call for cooking days.  I adapted the recipe from stuckonsweet, and of course made it gluten free. 

 BBQ Pulled Pork with Honey Mustard Slaw
 Ingredients

• 3 lb pork roast (bone or boneless.  Mine had the bone still in it)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Barbeque Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's original, it's gluten free)

Place pork in crockpot and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Coat with barbeque sauce (I used a pastry brush to brush on).  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Once done, remove pork and shred to desired chunks.  Add 1 cup barbeque sauce and mix well until combined. 

Honey Mustard Slaw

• 1.5-2 bags slaw mix
• 4 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp. honey
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tbsp. milk

Whisk mayonnaise, dijon mustard, honey, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium sized bowl.  Add the slaw to the dressing and mix.  (Mine seemed really saucy with just one bag of slaw.  I added about half of a bag more.)

Serves 8-10.  Perfect for Tacos, salads, or over a sweet potato (my favorite).  Add desired toppings.  I added tomatoes, cilantro, and red onion.  The leftovers are perfect for lunch the rest of the week!

Good and Bad News

I could barely sleep last night, I was so excited to go to my post-op appointment this morning.  I couldn't wait to get all of the bandaging off my knee and the grannie socks (T.E.D hose) off my legs.  Sadly, I have to wear the one on my right leg for another week.  I was dying to get back to exercising and hopeful for good news this morning.
When I got to my appointment I just wanted to jump right in with the real question.  When can I start exercising?!  Well mostly, when can I start running??   The P.A. gave me the ok to start cycling and doing elliptical lightly. 

I wanted to go to the gym right away and get my legs moving.

Bandaging off, still have some swelling.

I have to wait one more week to get back in the water, but that still didn't answer my real question.  I need to know when I can run!  The P.A. told me to give it at least 2 weeks, then I can ease back into running; which was expected.  He went out to sign a few papers then came back informing me the Dr. wants me to not run for another 4 weeks, from today.  I was trying to hold myself together, that was not the news I was wanting.  This changes things for my training and racing, but I decided I will do what I can with what I am able to do and go from there.  That kind of news called for a little President's Day shopping.  

Running clothes, my kind of shopping! 

On a side note, I am excited to be helping with an Eat Better to Train Better nutrition class coming up next month. Coach Lora Erickson aka "Blonde Runner" has a giveaway going on right now to win a free spot to one of her three classes coming up. Check it out here.

First Blog Post!

Here's to my first awkward blog post.  You know, the one where you should introduce yourself and tell your whole life story.  Well, that's a long story, so I'm just going to jump right into things and hopefully we can learn more about each other along the way. 
I will introduce myself some; I love everything running and triathlon.  It is pretty much my life.  I have been having IT band issues for a few years now.  If any of you have had it before, you know how painful it can be.  I have tried Physical Therapy, cortisone injections, tape, etc. 

Cortisone Injections

(Don't mind the outfit, I think I dressed myself in the dark)

IT band taped up for the Chicago Marathon in 2015

Nothing seemed to help it.  I recently started having really bad pain in my knee as well.  I went to the Dr. about 2 weeks ago and we decided the best thing to do at this point is surgery.  I wanted to jump on in right away and get it taken care of before it gets too late into the season, so we scheduled the surgery for the following week.  It has been 5 days since surgery.  Everything went really well. 

All ready to go

I was freezing after surgery, I couldn't stop shaking. 

It seemed like I was wrapped in a big bubble wrap, but it was nice and warm.

They fixed my IT band and found Plica in my knee that was the source of the pain.  I've had to be off of my leg all week.  It has been a long, never ending week.  I had to be on crutches for a few days and finally was able to ditch those.  I am definitely a person that likes to be on the go, so its been hard laying on the couch all week.  I feel for those that have to lay there for weeks or months, I would go insane.  I'm glad mine was only a few days, it sure seemed like weeks.  I have a busy mind and its been hard to keep it positive when there's not much else to distract me. I was able to get out some and enjoy some sunshine. 

I was a completely different person after (sorry to those that had to deal with me).  I have my follow-up appointment tomorrow and hopefully they tell me good news.  I am ready to hit it hard and get back to my training!  Of course, I won't actually be able to hit it hard right away, but I can't wait to get my legs moving again.  Times like these definitely make me not take my legs/health for granted.  I am so grateful that I have legs that allow me to do what I love most.  Let's pray for good news tomorrow!