Fall Fitness Fiesta at Eagle Creek

Hey Gang,

Here is a brief "field report" from today's Eagle Creek Adventure. As always, I like to let the pictures do most of the talking.

To everyone who made the effort to get outta bed, face the cold gray morning and your egos rebellion --WAY TO GO!! Talk about "No Excuses" (Project: Bridging the Wellness Gap motto). You should feel great that you heeded the call of your spirit to join your fellow fitness buddies in 3 hours of hiking/running, Pilates, yoga, and fellowship. In my book, it doesn't get any better...

So, if you wanted to join us today and didn't, why not? Sometimes there are legit "reasons", important things come up in ones life. Other times, it's just "excuses". If excuses are holding your back from joining one of our adventures, let's talk! For that matter, if excuses are holding you back in any aspect of your life, lets talk!

I want to offer a special, huge, "THANK YOU!" to Pam "The Blam" Liston. Pam joined me yesterday to help mark the route, provided hot coffee (for after the adventure) and water. She also lead the hike and really was an all-around big help to me. When Pam is "on the job" I can rest at ease that she is taking care of things and this allows me to focus on other things as well as focusing on the running group that I lead.

Also, thanks to everyone for bringing the wonderful, healthful snacks! Great stuff. Special thanks to Christine for bringing the chicken "chili". It totally rocked. Christine forwarded me the recipe, which I have attached to the end of this post. Great stuff. Healthful, and Project approved!

The Adventurers: Back Row, right to left - Dave and Carrie Russel, Jeanie Gensheimer, Jana LaBrecque, Christine Wolfe, Joe Wagle. Middle Row: Shawna Schaub, Diana Cunningham, Alex Cain, Ginger Schonberg. Front Row: Pam "The Blam" Liston.

Joe and Ginger hitting the first set of stairs. All smiles, or maybe the smiles are just frozen on their faces.

It was only 30'some degrees this morning...

Carrie and Dave leading the way...

Jeanie at the head of the hiking group...

For me, there is nothing better than a trail run, especially with others who enjoy it as much as you...

This picture was taken by Shawna Schaub with her phone camera. This is one of my favorite areas of the trail, the marsh along the reservoir.

A very rare sighting, Shawna in front of the camera! This was also taken in the above mentioned marsh area.
Diana makes it to the top of the final set of stairs for the day. Photo by Shawna, again with her phone camera. I'm so envious that she takes better pics with her phone than I do with an actual camera.

Here is a nice buck that I "shot" along the trail. We saw several deer along the trails today.

Christine and Jana cruising along the mash...

I actually got in front of the camera for a change as well...

Carrie takes charge. I think she was saying something about, "you will do exactly what I tell you, no questions ask. Got it?"

Just kidding. Carrie did an outstanding job leading us through a 30 minute Pilates session.

Finishing things up with some yoga...

Additional Info.:

Shawna is a professional photographer. You can check out her work here: http://www.schaubphotography.com/. Be sure to visit her professional blog here: http://schaubphotography.blogspot.com/

Carrie teaches Pilates each week at Pilates Indy Inc. Check out there website and her schedule: http://www.pilatesindyinc.com/

Christine's Chicken Chili:
1-2 pounds of raw chicken (I use the tenders so they cook quicker, you can use skinless boneless chicken too or you can use cooked chicken to speed the process further)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon Chili powder
48 oz jar of northern beans (use the liquid too)
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 or 2 jalapenos, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can chopped chili's
2-4 tomatoes whizzed in blender or jar of salsa

Much like yoga there are variations to this recipe depending on how much time you have to get it cooked and what you prefer in the level of spice and hotness. We whizzed our garden tomatoes in the blender and froze them in small containers so you can pop one of those into stew, chili, etc instead of resorting to can stuff. You can get fresh tomatoes in the store and blend or chop if you prefer chunky chili, use a can of chopped tomatoes (watch the sodium) or use a jar or salsa.

I just layered it all in the crock pot and let it cook for 6 hours or so. I stirred it two or three times during the cooking. Feel free to add different beans, go without the chicken or add a cup of Bulgar wheat (I am adding that next time!). Feel free to top with fresh cilantro, low fat cheese, fat free sour cream or eat as is. Enjoy!