BeePie Runs

And finally, a recap

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:53:00 +0000

I think now that it's been two weeks since Boston, I can safely do a recap without crying. Despite the events of the day and being sick, it was still a good weekend and we had a lot of fun. Fair warning: this is a long post!

I thought I was starting to feel better in the few days before we left, but unfortunately I took a turn for the worse on Thursday. Thankfully, my parents came into town to keep Lil D while we were gone (best decision of my adult life!) and I was able to let them entertain her while I finished last minute preparations. Friday morning I (finally) decided to go to the doctor because I was just feeling so miserable. He prescribed antibiotics which I dutifully downed immediately - on an empty stomach (this may have been the worst decision of my adult life).

before losing my cookies

After picking up the big girls from school, we headed to the airport and were on our way!

If anyone remembers, there were a lot of storms on the east coast on the Friday before the marathon. And apparently, that makes for a lot of turbulence. And we were in a tiny little puddle-jumper of a plane... Yeah, now I know what those little white bags in your seat pocket are for. Lesson learned - do not take antibiotics on an empty stomach. Or fly on tiny planes.

little planes don't handle turbulence very well...

yes, she did have 7 stuffed animals
in her backpack

After a couple of delays, we finally made it to Boston and then drove on to our friends' house in Carlisle (about 28 miles NW of the city) and gratefully fell into bed.

The next day I really wasn't feeling any better, but I needed to go pick up my packet and we had four little kids who were hyper and not interested in laying around the house... so we drove into the city and spent the entire day walking around (and trying not to throw up; well that may have just been me).

I HAD to buy a jacket!

my favorite picture of the weekend despite
my glassy sick eyes

On Sunday Hubby put his foot down and told me I had to take a nap. He then proceeded to lie down next to me, promptly fell asleep and snored so loudly that I couldn't sleep... thanks, honey. After Hubby's nap, we checked out a local ice creamery - delicious! - and toured the town of Carlisle.

I was able to choke down a few bites ;)

the ONLY store in town

Sunday night I laid out all of my gear and necessities for the next morning and told Hubby, I just don't want to do this one. I literally felt so bad that if it had been any marathon besides the Boston marathon, the "pinnacle of my marathon career", I wouldn't have done it. I've run a marathon sick before, I knew what I was getting into, and I was not looking forward to it.

Fortunately, I did sleep pretty well and Monday morning I woke up, got ready and we were on our way. Hubby drove me into the city and dropped me off at the bus pick-up. The lines were starting to get long but I was able to hop on one pretty quick and was headed to Hopkinton before I knew it.

In the Athlete's Village I found some people from my running group - good thing, too because they were waaaayyy more prepared than me and let me sit on their blanket.

These two had great races!!

Check out those throw-away clothes!

By the time my wave was called to line up, I had been able to choke down a few bites of a bagel and keep them down. I kept my hobo-gear on until the last minute and squeezed into my corral at the last minute. And then we were off!

smile through the pain!

that smile is more of a grimace

It was amazing to me how many people had come out to cheer and watch the marathon. In all my previous marathons, there has always been a point where I was by myself, no runners no spectators. But not in Boston! There was literally not a single time when there were not masses of people around. At times it was unnerving (why are they all watching me??) but for the most part, it was very encouraging - and I could use all the encouragement I could get!!

I knew going in that I would not be breaking any PRs, I just wanted to finish in a decent enough time that my family wouldn't be waiting and wondering where I was and I was able to convince myself that I wasn't going to throw up at any moment and to keep running. That worked through the first half. By mile 14 or so, I knew that if I didn't find a portapotty, I would be in trouble. Luckily, they had portapotties around every mile marker, so I didn't have any embarrassing problems. Interestingly enough, just after I started running again I noticed a woman who decided NOT to stop at a portapotty. Obviously, she was waaaayyyy more dedicated than me. But I can't help but think that must have been a pretty miserable and demoralizing run for her - as soon as she would pass by people would gasp and make rude/crude/inappropriate comments. I wish I had seen her number to find out how she ended up.

Eventually (I'd like to blame it on my ever-present nausea and the smell coming from the poor lady), I had to stop again. And again, and again. I started walking through the water stops. And then I started just stopping at the water stops. And dry-heaving. Ugh. I do have a bit of pride in the fact that I didn't walk up a single hill - although I may have walked down a couple of them... Finally, after passing Heartbreak Hill I knew that the misery would be over soon.

Top of Heartbreak Hill!

happy to be on the other side of
Heartbreak Hill

By mile 24, the crowd was deafening and the cheering was all that was getting me through. I saw my family right before the finish and then I was over the line and done. 4:08. Honestly, I wasn't happy with that time, but considering how I felt, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. And the events that transpired just minutes after I crossed the line gave me a whole new perspective: I finished, I'm safe, my family was safe, there's always next year.

Speaking of next year - my qualifying time is good for next year too, so we're already planning our trip!

A good morning!

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:53:00 +0000

I'm enjoying my new mug even more this morning!

Still Processing

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:46:00 +0000

There have been a lot of tears in this house lately. Namely, tears of gratitude. We were right there when the bombs went off. I had literally crossed the finish line moments before and was still getting my food and looking for my bag. I heard the first explosion and thought it was a cannon but then realized pretty quickly that they don't shoot cannons at the Boston Marathon. I turned and saw the smoke and then saw the second explosion and then it was just chaos - people running and screaming. Because I was still in the finishing corrals where only runners could be, there weren't as many people and I was able to make my way safely out of the area.

My husband and two older girls had seen me cross the finish and were also right there. I didn't know this until later, but after they saw me cross, they decided to go get hot chocolate. I thank the Lord for Middlest's sweet tooth because that desire for hot chocolate meant that they went into a little convenience store just around the corner from where they had been standing at the finish line. They were still in the store when the bomb went off and came out to see people running and screaming. Very scary for a 7 and 9 year old. Who am I kidding? It was scary for me! Hubby said it was extremely hard to move through the crowds and that people were running and panicking. Thankfully, our friend had come with him and was able to help him with the girls and they were also able to move fairly quickly to a safe area.

Helicopters in the sky

I already had my phone out to text Hubby that I was ready to go (remember I was sick before the race? Yeah, that never went away and I felt pretty miserable most of the time we were in Boston and while running). So I was able to get a quick text off to find out if they were ok and thankfully, he texted back that they were. After that our texts wouldn't go through but because I knew they were ok I wouldn't let myself panic. We had originally planned to go to the Family Meeting area after the race so that is the plan I stuck with. Later we were talking and realized that it wasn't very smart of us to go back into the area not knowing what was going on, but my overriding concern was seeing my girls.

It took about 20 minutes of walking to find them. Every time I turned down a street there would be someone saying turn around, go back. I almost got run over by a fire truck. People were pressing in all around. I could hear sirens, helicopters, people crying. I finally made it to the family meeting area and there they were. The girls ran straight at me and we stood their hugging and crying and thanking God for safety. Hubby gave me his coat because I didn't have any clothes with me and was freezing and we started walking out. They had parked in Cambridge and taken the subway in but I was not about to get on the subway, so we had to walk another 30 minutes to the car.

Happy to be almost to the car!

I spent a lot of that time trying to send texts out to friends and family to let them know we were okay. Many people were tracking me and knew that my time was 4:08 and the reported time that the bombs went off was 4:09 so my phone was going crazy with texts! I'm not sure how the timing clock worked, but I was definitely over the finish more than one minute before... We finally made it to our car and drove home. The girls had tons of questions, we had few answers.

We didn't find out until later that three people had died, one a little boy. I have been hugging my girls and squeezing them until they push me away. I have been crying daily thinking of the what-ifs and thanking God for safety. It's a weird mix of emotions. I have been happy at finishing the marathon, but sad that so many didn't get to finish. I have been thankful for our safety but grieving for the people and families effected so tragically. I have even felt guilt that I was not hurt when so many were. Anger that my children had to experience this tragedy. Relief, sadness, confusion.

The girls are also having trouble processing. There have been lots of talks, lots of bad dreams, lots of fear and tears. Walking home from the bus on Wednesday, a dump truck one street over dropped a load and made a loud clanging sound. The girls started screaming and running. Yesterday a neighbor was burning a brush pile and they freaked out when they saw the smoke.

It's going to take a while but we are choosing not to live in fear. We are choosing to look forward to keep running, to see the good in people.

Bittersweet in Boston

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:30:00 +0000

So many emotions over the past 24 hours. We were right there, less than a block away. My children were right there. BUT, we are okay. I'm still processing. Lots of tears, explaining over and over to the girls something that isn't really explainable, thankfulness that we're ok, grief for those not so lucky, happiness to be together and safe and HOME. I'll write more later.

Blessings to all.

snot and tears

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:07:00 +0000

I thought this week would be one of tying up loose ends and getting ready for new things (Boston, anyone??) but instead it has been one of snot and tears. I had been struggling with a cold off and on for a couple of weeks - you know, feel a sore throat coming on and take a massive load of vitamin c, feel fine for a day or two, sore throat again... Anyway, this weekend I finally succumbed to the cold and have been down and out. For the count. Seriously, I wasn't even able to get off the couch on Monday. And yes, Lil D did wreak havoc in the house.

Today I'm finally starting to feel normal (if you call clogged up ears and nose feeling normal...) And have a list a mile long of things I need to do to get ready for our Boston trip. And I have to admit, I've been feeling pretty sorry for myself. All along I've been saying I just want to run Boston for the experience and to enjoy it. Well, you know, I had a little secret goal, I mean, who wouldn't?!? My secret goal was to re-qualify and maybe even PR. I've been training hard these past few months and a new PR was definitely in my wheel-house. I don't know if doing it at Boston was realistic, but a girl can dream, right? This cold has kicked that dream right out of my wheel-house. I don't see how it is physically possible to pull a new PR out when I can't even walk to the bathroom without getting winded. So there have been some tears. Time to let go of that dream. And if I'm honest and truthful and all that, it does take some of the (self-imposed) pressure off, so that I really can just run it to enjoy it. Because if I was feeling great and ran the marathon to enjoy it but then didn't PR or requalify I think I would be disappointed.

And looking on the bright side, sleeping all day and then going to bed at 8:30 pm each night means that I'm well rested. I think. This little gal is well rested, too. She fell asleep at Academy yesterday (I had to stock up on Gu and maybe buy a new outfit for Boston...If you don't feel good, at least you can look good!).

Overdue

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:23:00 +0000

I know I need to write a post, but there's too much to catch up on - new recipes, runs that I have (and haven't) taken, new shoes, silly Lil D stories, egg hunts, fro-yo, softball practice, homework, fun DIY projects, etc... so for now I'm just gonna leave you with a smattering of pics. Enjoy!

Home Again

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:52:00 +0000

Well, we had a wonderful week visiting my parents but I am so so so SO glad to be home again, sleeping in my own bed, sprawling on my own couch and seeing Hubby, of course (missed him just a smidge).

Here's a quick recap of some of the things we did:

We went to Amelie's - a super cute French Bakery and Cafe

Practicing our duck faces

Sweet

We went to a nice little museum with a great children's section with an exhibit about Vernon Grant.

The puppet master

Reading about Vernon Grant

A little too realistic

How patriotic

And lots of stuffed animals (taxidermy heaven!). Interesting if a bit gruesome.

We made cake - more than once!!

We played beauty parlor - more than once!!

She reminds me of an old-school Librarian

We walked around in our skivvies and ate snacks... okay, that was just Lil D, but it was pretty much the only thing she wanted to do!

Lil D's food of choice

We hid and found and hid and found and (you get it) Easter Eggs.

And had an overall great time!

I only ran once while we were there (6 miles) because my shin has continued to hurt a bit, but I'm planning on running tomorrow to test it out again. It's been a while since I've taken this many days off, but I want to make sure that I can actually run in Boston rather than just wishing I hadn't run at home!

Road Trippin'

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:29:00 +0000

You can't see the dog, but she's back there too!

After several hundred miles and six hours in the car, we made it to North Carolina! Overall it was a pretty good drive with only minimal screaming from Lil D. I did have to give in about halfway thru and stop for snacks - slushies and cheez-its, so healthy...

One of the reasons my girls like road trippin' is because they get to choose a snack at a gas station; something we never do at home. And I love stopping at Starbucks - something I do at home as often as possible!!

After unloading the car we had a delicious hot dinner prepared by Mimi, Bapa played with the kiddos and I got to sit and look at a magazine (did I mention I love going to my parents' house?!?!?!)

Today I had a 10 mile run tentatively scheduled. Because of my shin pain, I wasn't a hundred percent sure I wanted to risk it and then when I woke up to rain, the decision was made for me. No run. Obviously, I could run through the pain and in the rain, but with Boston just a few weeks away I'm not willing to push through what could be an injury. So, I'm resting today - if you call going for mani/pedi's resting (did I mention I loooovvvveee going to my parents' house?!?!?!) and most likely tomorrow and we'll see how I feel on Monday. 20 miles. Eek.

How's your weekend looking? Any long runs on the docket?

Ice, ice, baby

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:36:00 +0000

Is it the shoes??

Weeeelllll.... I'm not really one to ice after runs. Or at all. In fact I don't even like ice in my drinks. But the past two days ice has been my best friend. I'm not sure if it's my new shoes or all the speedwork I've been doing but I've got a sore spot on my right ankle-slash-shin. Think really bad shin splints.

Like an idiot, I ran today even though my leg was hurting. I thought that I just needed to get warmed up but after 10 miles it was still hurting. Blast. So the rest of the day I've been wearing compression socks and tonight I've been sitting on the couch with an ice pack. And I'm loving the ice.

These socks are a lifesaver!

Tomorrow starts spring break for my big girls. We are going to my parents' house for the week (poor Hubby has to work so he'll be holding down the fort). I'm looking forward to seeing my siblings and hanging out with some of my friends I haven't seen in a while. And okay, I'm really looking forward to the free babysitting! Not really looking forward to the 20 miler I'm going to have to do on my own. Although, if my leg/shin/ankle still hurts I may be scrapping the run.

So, what kind of plans do you have for the weekend? Do you get any time off for spring break or Easter?

Recipe Resolution Update

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:19:00 +0000

This says it all!

So, now that I am on my 12th week of making a new recipe each week, I thought I'd do a little update.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this little experiment. As hoped, it's forced me to think outside the (recipe) box. But unexpectedly, it has also helped me enjoy cooking and meal-prep more. And even more surprisingly, I am actually cooking more than the required one new recipe!

I have always liked to cook, but in recent years it's become more of a chore than something I look forward to or even want to do. Something about having to feed kids on a regular basis - who don't appreciate the time or effort put into the meal - has sapped the joy right out of cooking. Go figure.

But, like I said, I've found that this recipe resolution has helped me, helped all of us actually. I have had fun perusing Pinterest and cookbooks to find new recipes and Hubby and the girls look forward to what the new recipe might be. Also, because I am ~~slaving~~ in the kitchen a bit more, I've noticed that I don't dread meal-prep as much and have randomly cooked in instances when I would have previousl volunteered to have my toenails ripped off... anyway...

As an example, Hubby was out of town last night and instead of serving cold cereal and toast, I made a new recipe! And it was easy! And we liked it! (Recipe to follow). And you may have noticed that I have been making more than one new recipe each week... and if you can believe it I've actually forgotten to post several of the new recipes I've made! Wow, that's a lot of exclamation points. What can I say, I'm impressed with how well this experiment is going!

I did, however, have to lay a few ground rules early on which has definitely made the whole process more pleasant for everyone involved:

I have to follow the recipe, that way if no one likes it I can blame the recipe instead of feeling bad about myself. Following a recipe exactly isn't really my strong suit, but luckily I have a pretty healthy ego and have no trouble blaming a "bad recipe".
Everyone MUST try the new recipe and ~~compliment me profusely~~ say what they like before they say what they don't like. That's the key - make them them think positively first and it's easier to continue to think positively... actually this works in other areas of life too. Any other glass-half-full types out there??
No complaining. They can give an honest opinion about the meal, but they are not allowed to complain about it.
No alternative meals or choices will be made. That being said, if the new recipe is slightly out of the comfort zone for my pickier eaters, I try to make something to go along with it that I know they will like.

So here is last night's awesome new recipe that was quick and easy and good! And yes, I did get it from Pinterest.

If you eat after the kids are in bed, treat yourself to a
glass of wine, too!

Man-Pleasing Chicken*

3 Chicken breasts (the original recipe called for thighs, but I didn't have any)

1/2 C Dijon mustard

1/4 C maple syrup (real maple syrup, not the artificial stuff!)

2 tsp rice vinegar

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450º. Mix the mustard, maple syrup and rice vinegar together. Place your chicken in a baking dish (I like to slice my chicken in halves to get two thinner pieces, so I had six pieces) and cover with the mustard mixture. Move it around to make sure it's all good and covered. Sprinkle with salt and pepper - I did a good pinch of salt and a couple grinds of pepper.

Bake for about 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and you have some good browning on top. Serve and enjoy!

I also roasted some veggies (brussel sprouts, carrots and cauliflower) to go along with it and we had the leftover pasta from a few days ago, too. We loooooooovvvvveeeed this chicken! It was very slightly sweet from the maple, and the dijon and vinegar helped keep it moist and tangy. Middlest thought we should call it Honey Mustard chicken, which wouldn't be too far off the mark. Lil D, who has been subsisting on animal crackers and cheese sticks actually ate seconds and then thirds of this meal. I'd say it was a hit.

If you make it, let me know what you think!!

*I don't know if this was man-pleasing chicken as Hubby was not here to eat it, but everyone else sure did love it. I move to rename it Family-pleasing chicken!

You like me, you really like me...

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:29:00 +0000

If you don't get that reference, don't tell me. It will just make me feel old.

Anyway, Emily from Maple Miles nominated me for the Liebster Award. I had not heard of it before, but basically is a way for new(ish) bloggers to get to know each other a bit. I don't know if I'm new at this or just bad at it, but I'll play. Here's the rules:

1. This award is given to new or up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
2. The award is then passed along to other bloggers in the same category to help spread the word and support one another.

3. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

4. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

5. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

6. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

7. No tag backs (aka, don’t nominate the person who nominated you).

So without further ado, here are my 11 random facts:

1) I am not a morning person, despite the fact that I am usually up well before dawn. Just don't talk to me until I've had a cup of coffee. Or two.

2) I love jellybeans. But, they have to be JellyBelly Jellybeans

3) I love reality TV. I've been able to wean myself (slightly) from my obsession, but I do love my (fake) real shows.

4) I don't like dogs. Yes, we have a dog and yes, I take care of her. Reluctantly.

5) I'm starting to love speedwork - don't tell anyone.

6) My favorite thing to eat is roasted veggies - any kind.

7) I'm the oldest of four siblings.

8) I used to be a die-hard Adidas gal but recently made the switch to Mizuno. So far I'm loving my Wave Riders.

9) I love Disney movies. One thing I love about having kids is that I have a good excuse to go to kids' movies.

10) I have a love/hate relationship with my hair. I'm always threatening to cut it all off... maybe one day I will.

11) Along with reality TV, I have a slight lip-balm obsession. Any flavor, any brand just don't let my lips get dry!

Ok. Done. Now, your turn:

1) What's your favorite candy?

2) Do you prefer phone, email or text to stay in touch?

3) How many pairs of running shoes do you own?

4) What's your favorite blog to read?

5) What's your favorite season?

6) What time do you get up in the morning?

7) How long have you been running?

8) What's your ideal breakfast?

9) Do you have siblings and if so, how many?

10) Cat or Dog person?

11) How often do you go to a "hair salon"?

I tag:

The Accidental Runner

Just.Run.Faster

Running Around My Kitchen

Finding Happiness in Health

I Run Because... I Can

Kat Runs Like a Girl

Atlanta Running Mom

Middle-Aged Runner

Movin' It with Michelle

Prairie Runner

Getting it done on the run

Monday Funday

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:02:00 +0000

What, you don't like Mondays? Honestly, they aren't really my fave either but since I don't have any say in the matter, I'm just gonna make the best of it.

Up at 5 this morning (slept in, woohoo!) for speedwork - 6x1200s at 7:10 pace, the last two were a smidge faster. Total of 8 miles in 64:22. Side note, I think 1200s are my new favorite speed distance - long enough that I get the excuse to run a tiny bit slower and short enough that I don't die.

Friday I ran 10 miles with a friend at 5 am (nice and easy - 8:47 average pace) and then Saturday we did another 10.6 as a tempo run - first mile warm up then 9 miles at an average of 7:30 pace with about a mile cool down. Overall pace was 7:55, not too shabby.

Ok enough running talk. How was your weekend? Mine was pretty great, I have to say. I made two new recipes on Friday, a baked pasta with lemon and kale and Shamrock cupcakes. Fun stuff. We also had some new friends over (to help eat all the cupcakes!) and pretended to be Irish. I could have sworn I took a picture, but now can't find it anywhere, so you'll just have to imagine the coolest cupcakes you've ever seen.

Here are the recipes if you're interested.

Baked Pasta with Kale and Lemon

10 ounces short pasta (I used small penne)
1 (5-ounce) package fresh Kale - roughly chopped, hard stems removed
1 tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 med onion, chopped
1/4 c all-purpose flour
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 c milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
3/4 cup breadcrumbs, divided
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 minutes or until almost al dente, omitting salt and fat. Remove from heat; stir in kale. Let stand for 2 minutes or until kale wilts. Drain pasta mixture well.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add coconut or olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; cook about 5 minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk and wine; cook 8 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Stir in 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and rind. Remove from heat; stir in pepper. Add pasta mixture to onion mixture, and toss gently to coat.
4. Spoon the pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle half of breadcrumbs over pasta, and top evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Sprinkle the remaining half of breadcrumbs over cheese. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
I made this the day ahead and refrigerated it before baking and it turned out great.
We liked this pasta. It had a very slight lemon flavor and the cheese sauce made it extra creamy. Kinda like old fashioned mac n' cheese but a bit fancier. The kale was not a deterrent in the least, in fact Lil D ate hers right up - score!

Shamrock Cupcakes makes 24
3 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter at room temp
2 c sugar
4 eggs at room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c milk at room temp (I used whole milk)

1. Preheat the oven to 350º

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside

3. Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed sugar and butter, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla

5. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, alternating with the milk.

6. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners until about 2/3 full and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool before frosting.

Frosting

3/4 c butter at room temp

1 tsp vanilla

3 c powder sugar

1 to 2 tsp milk, if needed

Cream the butter and vanilla with a mixer until combined. Add the sugar to the creamed mixture in two or three batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. If needed, add the milk to make the frosting creamier.

Frost your cupcakes and top with a candy Shamrock. Make candy Shamrocks by melting green candy melts and piping out into shamrock shapes on to parchment or wax paper (I used a ziploc bag that I cut off the tiniest little bit of one corner). They will harden quickly and you can peel them right off the paper. So easy but look so good.

I'm bummed I can't find the picture I took of the cupcakes because they really were cute. The flavor of these cupcakes was great, but honestly they were a bit dense. I think I prefer a lighter cupcake. But let's be honest, cupcakes are just a vehicle to get frosting to my mouth. And the frosting was to die for! Definitely don't forget the vanilla!

REST!

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:36:00 +0000

Today is a rest day. So glad. So so so glad! I have been dragging around these past few days - Daylight Savings is not my friend! I mean, seriously, who wants to wake up at 3:45 anyway?

Well, yesterday I did (although, technically the clock said it was 4:45... not sure my body believed it!) and ran 10 hilly miles. Just barely sub 9 pace. I think my speedwork and body pump class from the two days prior also did a number on my legs - I could barely get up those hills.

After rushing home, Lil D and I had to go to the auto repair shop for some regularly scheduled maintenance, essentially we spent 2 1/2 hours there. I took a huge bag of toys and books and snacks and they (bless them!) had a little table with coloring books and crayons/markers. Lil D actually was such a sweetheart the entire time. Maybe because she had my undivided attention for 2 1/2 hours?

Not sure what she's doing here, but she was quiet and
happy, so I'll take it!!

Well, I definitely paid for that good behavior later. That afternoon, Lil D and I laid down on my bed to ~~rest my eyes~~ read some books and the next thing I knew I was smelling nail polish. Yes, I had fallen asleep (ahem). Yes, she had squirmed off the bed. Yes, she found and opened three (3!!) different nail polish bottles. Yes, she did, in fact, paint her toes, her legs and her face with 3 (THREE!!) different colors of nail polish. Yellow, purple and blue. What can I say, we like fun nail polish colors :) I'm not sure how long I was asleep but apparently it was long enough. Lesson learned, I hope.

So, all that to say, today's rest day is very welcome. I plan on going to Bible study, hitting up Target, ~~taking a nap~~ clean my house and prepare for tomorrow's early alarm - 3:45... okay, okay it's really 4:45, but come on, that's early!!

What time do you get up? When do you take a rest day??

Costco Run

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:14:00 +0000

Yesterday's workout was speedwork - 12x400s. I did one mile warm up, and then the speed: *6:37, 6:31, 6:28, 6:23 stop for a breather and a sip of water, 6:37, 6:31, 6:28, 6:23 stop for another breather and some more water, 6:37, 6:37, 6:31, 6:28. I just couldn't bump the pace up anymore for those last three splits. I also did 400 recoveries between each fast split which was probably more recovery than I should have done... oh well. Finished with a mile cool down and 8 miles total in 61:13.

*pace per mile for each 400 split

Today I did 3 easy miles before my body pump class. Increased weight again. Sweat dripping down my elbows. Body pump can definitely be a cardio workout if you put enough weight on your bar!

After changing out of my sweat soaked clothes, Lil D and I headed to Costco so I could give them some more money. As I was leaving, I couldn't figure out how I had been in there for two hours, then I looked at the pictures.... oh, yeah, Lil D has become Lil Miss Independent.

After snacking our way through the store, we finally made it to the checkout where I was pleasantly surprised that my bill was less than $100 - thanks to my rewards coupon. So what if it means I spent massive amounts there all through the year? At least on one trip I can pretend to be money-smart!

What's your grocery bill like? Do you go to Costco?

Where has the time gone?

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:55:00 +0000

A whole week has gone by without a post. I'm sure you would like to know every detail of every day that I didn't post (in case you can't tell, that's written in sarcasm font) but instead, I'll just give you the highlights:

Workouts -
Monday - 7 miles of speedwork (you can read more about that here)
Tuesday - 3 mile run then Body Pump class
Wednesday - 10 miles on the treadmill (ugh)
Thursday - rest
Friday - 10 miles of hills (at 5 am - ugh)
Saturday - 20 miles... for a grand total of 50 miles this week.

Recipes -
I made three new recipes this past week (I think I just figured out what I've been doing instead of posting!). Two out of the three were big hits and will be added to the ole recipe box. Here are the links to those new recipes:

Baked Corned Beef
Sautéd Cabbage
Easy French Bread

Okay, so here's the rundown on those recipes. The corned beef and the cabbage were fantastic! We all loved it and I had to stab Hubby's hand with my fork to keep him from eating it all. I didn't change very much about either of those recipes (except that I used dijon mustard mixed with honey rather than hot sweet mustard which I didn't have and I only used half a cabbage but the same amount of onion and garlic. Although if I had known how much we would love it, I would have used the whole cabbage! Oh, also, I baked the corned beef in a dutch oven for 3 hours at 300º).

The French bread, on the other hand, wasn't as big of a hit. I take full responsibility as the recipe actually said that it is a basic soft white bread dough and that's exactly what it was - NOT French bread. Note to self, just because you shape a loaf into a long, skinny baguette doesn't make it taste like French bread. That being said, it wasn't a bad recipe, it just wasn't what I was expecting. If I were to make it again, I would bake it in a loaf pan like a loaf of white bread - because that's what it was. Have I belabored that point enough?? On the plus side, I was able to make some pretty awesome french toast with it the next day, so there's that.

So other than running, cooking and baking, I also had a couple of stellar naps over the weekend (30 miles in two days can make you tired!) paid some bills, cleaned my stovetop, watched The Americans (awesome show, btw) and painted my fingernails. See what you miss when I don't post??

Oh, wait, a few other exciting things happened:

These came in the mail!

We were on TV!

How was last week for you? Got anything exciting planned for this week??

Just a normal day

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 02:06:00 +0000

Oh my has it been a busy day. I was awake at 4:15 (lately, I've been waking up early without an alarm - I can't decide if that's a good thing or not...) and finally got out of bed at 4:30, made some coffee and visited blog-land for awhile before making it to the gym for speedwork. I did 1 mile warm-up then 4X1600s at 7:10 pace with 800 recoveries for a total of 7.5 miles in 59 minutes. Overall I felt pretty good but my legs were a bit tired from my weekend of running (10 miles on Friday and 17.3 on Saturday).

After the Y, I rushed home to make breakfasts and lunches and stretch (I skipped the foam rolling - I can't decide if that's a good thing or not...) shower and then prepare a craft for my "art class". Every other Monday I go to Eldest's class for an art lesson. This week we made yarn-wrapped letters which meant that I had to trace and cut-out 22 cardboard letters with an x-acto knife. That took, literally, 3 hours. Of course, I was on the phone for at least half of that time, so that may have contributed to my lack of speedy x-acto-ness.

You may wonder what Lil D was doing during this time.

Well, she had a couple of snacks...

She snuggled with her puppy....

And she created a masterpiece... all over her body...

The rest of the day was even more of a whirlwind - greet the babysitter, dash to art class, take a meal to a family with a new baby - oh such a cutie he was! - rush back home, pack snacks, wake up Lil D (why does she always sleep late on the days I need her to be up??) go to the bus stop and wait and wait and wait - apparently the bus broke down - take the babysitter home, drive through traffic to Middlest's therapy appointment, wait wait wait, head home through even more traffic, finish up homework, make dinner, read to Lil D, clean up, put laundry away, jammies, brush teeth, did you go potty? go to bed, close your eyes, go to sleep! Finally some peace.

How was your day??

Housebound - Day Four

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:28:00 +0000

Well, I've been housebound now for four loooooonnnnnng days. Eldest is starting to feel better, in fact she woke up fever free this morning, but she's still not 100% yet. And technically I'm not "allowed" to send her back to school until she's been fever free for 24 hours which will be in exactly 13.27 hours.... not that I'm counting or anything. And honestly, the last thing I need is to send her back to school only to pick up more germs with her lowered immune system.

You would think that I would take advantage of this opportunity of enforced time at home to do all the little projects I've been putting off for months. But did that happen? No. And you would think that I would do some sort of home workout (because I have about 378 of them pinned). But did that happen? No. Instead I have accomplished approximately... nothing. Well, I did do a bit of laundry (which has sat in baskets waiting to be folded for oh, four days now). And I did change the baby's diaper once or twice and took 'a' shower. So, yeah, just call me productive.

I think the issue here is that ~~I'm lazy~~ I've had no schedule. I admit, I like a schedule, and when that schedule gets messed with, I flounder. I haven't been expected to go, do, or be anything at anytime and that has me at a loss. I know this about myself and usually account for it ahead of time - for example, during summer break I make arbitrary schedules like go to the pool at 10 am and take a nap at 2 pm. But this unexpected break in schedule caught me by surprise. And if you remember from Valentine's Day, I don't like surprises.

So in an effort to feel better about my lack of schedule this week, I'm going to list all the things I did accomplish:

I made a photobook using Picaboo - I had a Living Social deal that expired today so in true procrastinator fashion, I started on it yesterday.
I let Lil D pull off every single sheet on a new stack of post-its. Hey, I was trying to make a photobook!
As mentioned above, I washed some laundry.
I made my bed, three out of four days
I checked the mail
I took the dog out (more times than I would have liked to, dumb dog).
I helped Eldest finish up her science project
I kept everyone fed
I made sure the recycling got out in time (why do they pick it up at 8:15???)
I got Middlest to school early every day this week - actually, I'm pretty proud of this!
I unloaded the dishwasher, twice.

Okay, that's it. Pretty impressive list, huh? Luckily, it looks like we'll be back on schedule tomorrow and I can get some real stuff done. Like fold that laundry.

Why yes, there is another load in the dryer, why do you ask??

Flu-sday

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:58:00 +0000

So my oldest gal has the flu... Poor thing. She started feeling bad Sunday morning and by the evening had a pretty raging fever and sore throat. I took her to the doctor on Monday with fingers crossed that it was strep throat, but no such luck. Flu positive, Type B. Earlier in the year, Middlest had Type A and it was pretty short lived and she was back on her feet before we knew it. But apparently, Type B is a bit longer lasting. And because there are no truly effective medicines for the flu, we're just pushing fluids and resting (i.e. drinking lots of juice and watching lots of Spongebob).

That's the bad news. The good news is I was able to squeeze in some quick speework at the Y yesterday morning. 1 mile warm-up then 8x800s at 6:57 pace with 400 recoveries at 8 minute pace. I was able to do 7 miles in 53:51. Felt pretty good, too. Of course, I was also trying to get it done quick-like so that I could get home in time for Hubby to head to the airport. And on Sunday I did 10 miles with some friends. They were slow miles, but that's okay in my book.

I also made this week's new recipe last night. The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti. I did change a couple of things, so here is my version:

1 whole chicken cut up (buy it already cut up!)
1 box angel hair pasta (or any thin spaghetti)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or one large, family size)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 large green pepper, diced small
1 large onion, diced small
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jar of pimentos, drained (I can't remember the size but it was the bigger jar available - 4 oz maybe?)
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped up
coconut oil (or olive oil)
salt and pepper

Remove the chicken from the packaging and rinse. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and roast in a shallow pan at 350º for about 1 hour. Alternatively, you can boil the chicken but I do not particularly like boiled chicken.

Cook pasta until just tender - not too soft!! Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat about 1 Tb coconut oil (or olive oil) and sauté the green pepper and onion until soft, make sure to season with salt and pepper. Add in the minced garlic and cook for another minute or so and then add in the spinach and cook just until wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.

After your chicken has cooked and cooled sufficiently, take all the meat off the bones and combine in a large bowl with the pasta, cooked veggies and any liquid in the roasting pan. Add the cream of mushroom soup and stir well. Transfer it all to a casserole dish (I used two - an 8x12 to give away and a small 7x5 to feed me and the girls while Hubby was away). Top with the shredded cheese.

Bake @350º for about 45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Or, cover well and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

This was a pretty easy dish to make and it worked great for taking to another family. The girls and I also ate it and it was about what I expected. I'm not particularly fond of anything with "Cream of" soups in it, but every once in a while it's okay. And on the bonus side, because everything was mixed together, Lil D ate some veggies! Have I told you how picky that child is? Oh my.

Running and Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:43:00 +0000

This week's workouts:
Monday - speedwork - 9x400s @6:40 pace with a few extra miles thrown in for 7 miles total
Tuesday - body pump - increased weight on all muscle groups. Hello glutes, arms, chest, back... everything!
Wednesday - 10 miles on the treadmill @8:20 pace (at 5 am!) I had a new book to read, so it went by pretty painlessly.
Thursday - rest day
Friday - 12 miles outside, mildly hilly terrain 8:34 pace
Saturday - TBD - I slept in til 9:00 (!) and have been working on taxes ever since. Not sure if I'm going to find the motivation to run today.

This week's new recipe:
Rosemary Chicken Lasagna. I would highly recommend that you follow the link and check out this lady's blog - amazing pictures and recipes! I did follow the recipe exactly - I know, I know, that's unheard of. The family liked it okay but because there are mushrooms in the lasagna there was a lot of griping from ~~the peanut gallery~~ Hubby, which led to some not so happy kiddos. I ~~made them~~ politely requested they eat the mushrooms anyway and dinner resumed somewhat peacefully.

This recipe required a bit more effort than I typically like to put into a week night meal, but I was hoping it was worth it. I probably would have enjoyed it more had there not been mushroom-induced complaining. And don't get me wrong, it tasted delicious, but I did not appreciate the lack of appreciation from my family. I would make it again, but only for company or to take to a family needing a meal. You know, someone appreciative.

I'm not going to outline the ingredients and directions as I really want you to check out this blog. Besides, I didn't change anything so it's not really fair to post it as mine anyway.

And because I feel like every post needs a picture... Enjoy!

Being silly on a date night - without mushrooms!

Treadmills, Taxes and Triceps

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:40:00 +0000

Who needs school when you've got sisters?

Yesterday the big girls didn't have school (thanks Presidents' Day) so I had to bribe them to go to the Y by bringing some of their friends with us.

So with two extra kids in tow, I headed to the Y to do some speedwork. On the agenda? 12x400s. Did that happen? Not exactly. I ran one mile warm up and then did 9X400s at 6:40 pace with 200s for recovery. After the ninth 400 my stomach just couldn't handle that pace anymore (thanks Chinese food!) and since I was at 5 miles, I decided to just run two more miles at 8:30 pace. Felt easy but not too slow and I ended up with a total of 7 miles in 59 minutes. I have been noticing that when I do speedwork by myself, I'm always really good at rationalizing a different (less intense) workout. I think having someone to run with (or chase after) on the track is really motivating and helps me get 'er done. All the more reason to have running friends!

After dropping the extras back at their house, we headed home for "rest time" and chores. My chores included working on taxes. It's that time of year, after all. I have always done our own taxes every year using Turbo Tax. I find it to be fairly straightforward and user-friendly. On the other hand, our taxes have never been super complicated to begin with. We don't have rental homes, we're not self-employed, we've never won any lotteries (or played any for that matter). We're pretty boring people, which come tax time makes things nice and easy!

Today I went to my regular Tuesday morning Body Pump class. I added weight on every single muscle group. I'm already feeling like that may not have been a wise choice. But as my instructor likes to say "that's change your body is feeling". Yeah, my triceps are feeling that change. So is my butt and my chest and my legs and my hamstrings and... you get it.

Staving off a tantrum by letting
her dig in my purse.

Speaking of change, poor Lil D has been having a rough go of it lately. She's been whiney and cranky and doesn't want to eat. Meal times have been miserable as she just screams and throws food. I finally figured out today that she is getting four (yes, 4!) new teeth - all molars. Now that I know she's not just being a brat, I can handle the screaming a bit more. Hopefully this will pass soon (with the aid of tylenol!)

How did you spend Presidents' Day? Do you work harder on speedwork by yourself or with others? How do you handle tax season?

A successful weekend

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 03:45:00 +0000

This weekend, according to various nefarious (not really nefarious, I just think it's a fun word) marathon training schedules, I was supposed to do an 18 mile long run. HOWEVER, on Friday the girls had a 1/2 day of school and Valentine's parties that I had to make appearances at, therefore severely limiting my run time. And later that afternoon we had guests coming into town, which meant being away for 3+ hours Saturday morning wasn't a very "host-like" thing to do. So, I decided to try breaking it up into two runs. 10 miles on Friday and another 10 on Saturday.

Friday night, I served our guests one of my new recipes Chicken Dijon which was a big hit and gave me an opportunity to carb load for Saturday morning. I also made some fresh bread with blue cheese butter - to die for!

As you already know, I had a successful 10 mile run on Friday and I'm pleased to say I was also able to run on Saturday and actually threw in an extra mile with a progressive run ( 2 mile warm-up and cool down and the middle miles were faster each mile) with 7 miles at or below my race pace. It felt pretty awesome to actually be able to run race pace again. If anyone remembers, I took a couple of months off from running and have really been struggling getting back up to speed. Yesterday's run finally felt like I was back to normal.

Being silly at The Blue Plate

After I got back home and cleaned up, we all headed downtown for some sightseeing and awesome food at The Blue Plate Diner. Fried pickles and hand-cut chips with blue cheese? Yes please!! I also had a BLT with the smokiest, tastiest bacon I have ever had (and I subbed spinach for the lettuce - so I guess it was a BST). Seriously, if you are ever in Chattanooga, you need to stop here! We also toured the city a bit but at 39º and 25 mph winds, it was a bit chilly for Lil D so we cut it short and did the rest of our sightseeing from the car.

Luckily, I had the foresight to hire a babysitter for the night so we were able to go out again last night and hit up some of our favorite spots sans kiddos. The Terminal has my absolute favorite salad ever. I dream about this salad - field greens, steak, french fries, candied pecans with chunks of blue cheese and blue cheese dressing (is anyone seeing a theme???) And then on to The Honest Pint for drinks and people-watching. It was a great night with great food and great friends.

Sunday was spent at church, home for another new recipe (this recipe resolution is really paying off!) naps and take-out Chinese food. Can life get any better?

Monday is President's Day, the girls are home from school and I've got speedwork on the agenda... Wonder how this is going to play out?!?! Stay tuned!

Something New

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Happy Late Valentine's Day! My hubby surprised me with a dinner out. He organized a babysitter, got dinner ready for the girls (okay, he ordered pizza, but still!) and whisked me out the door.... after I frantically ran around trying to get ready. When he came home to take me out, I was knee-deep in cleaning products, trying to whip the house into shape for our out-of-town guests that arrive this afternoon. Luckily, I had showered earlier in the day (not always a given!) and only had to change out of my "cleaning clothes" so we were able to get out the door relatively quickly.

Once in the car, Hubby turns to me and says "so where do you want to go?" I just gaped at him - you mean you didn't get reservations anywhere on VALENTINES DAY???? After a brief argument and a few tears we decided to give it a go anyway and found out the wait at our first choice restaurant was only a mere 2 hours long. By that point I would have chewed off my left arm, so we decided to try again. We ended up at Mellow Mushroom where the wait for a table was 45 minutes. BUT, there were some spots open at the bar, so we made our way over there quick-like. Also, on Thursday nights, wine is $1 (score!) and they also have a variety of appetizers for $1. We ended up having so much fun and joked that we would never forget this Valentines Day. Although I did tell him that next time he "surprises" me that he should give me a couple of hours notice - that way I'll be ready AND we'll have reservations!!

My favorite Valentine and I, 3 years ago on our 10th anniversary

Now on to running news... I ran 10 miles on Wednesday - the same hilly route we always run on Wednesdays and was able to get my average down to 9:06. Getting a little faster! This weekend, as mentioned, we have guests in town and even though I'm supposed to do 18 miles, I don't think that it's very host-like for me to be gone for over 3 hours tomorrow morning. So I decided to try something new and break up my run and do 10 miles this morning and 10 miles tomorrow morning. That way I'll only be gone 1 1/2 hours and hopefully be home before everyone wakes up.

It worked great this morning. I got up at 4:15 and was running by 5 (it's a 20 minute drive to meet my running group, kinda stinks, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right??). We averaged 8:44 and it felt pretty good. Tomorrow I'm going to try and do some of the run at race pace but we'll see how I feel.

How about you? Did you have a good Valentines Day? Do you ever split up your long runs? Do you think it helps or hurts?

This Week's New Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:27:00 +0000

I made the new recipe of the week early this week! I had Bunco last night and knew I needed to leave some form of dinner for the tribe. I don't particularly like casseroles and Hubby has been begging for me to make more of them so I figured it was the perfect night for a new casserole recipe.

I found this recipe on Pinterest (really, are you surprised?!?!) and altered it a bit (of course!). Most of the time I change a recipe because I don't have all the ingredients called for and I'm too lazy to go to the store and get them. Also, I did go to culinary school, so I have a fairly good idea of what I can substitute and still get good results.

One thing to note about this recipe - I used whole milk and full fat cheese. I do not subscribe to the theory that reduced fat anything is better for you. I think reduced fat tastes gross and isn't worth the money. However, if you want to try reduced fat, go right ahead. It should still turn out fine. Also, you do have to make the cream sauce rather than use a can of cream of something soup. Please make the cream sauce. It is so much tastier and better for you than anything out of a can ever will be *steps off soap box...

My family enjoyed the casserole and said they would like it to make a regular appearance in the menu rotation. I had some for lunch today and liked it, too. Although, considering I would have eaten my left arm because I was so hungry after my body pump class, I probably would have liked anything. Give it a try.

Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole

12 oz your favorite pasta
1 Tb Coconut Oil (or olive oil)
4 cloves of garlic; minced
1 small onion; diced
3 C of broccoli; washed, trimmed and cut to bite size
3 C cooked chicken; cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tb butter
3 Tb all purpose flour
1 3/4 C chicken broth
1 C milk (I prefer whole milk for this recipe)
1/2 C shredded cheese (I used 1/2 cheddar and 1/2 Monterrey Jack)
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
1/4 C bread crumbs

Heat your oven to 375º.

Prepare a 9x13 casserole pan by buttering the bottom and sides.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Strain and set aside.

Heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until tender. Add the broccoli and cook until just tender.

Stir in the chicken to heat through. Remove from heat and set aside.

Using a heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter and add in the 3 Tb flour to form a paste. Gradually add in the chicken stock, whisking constantly. At this time you will add in the milk as well, slowly and stirring constantly. Allow to cook until thickened to your desired consistency. Add in the shredded cheese, stir until melted. Pour the cream sauce over the chicken and broccoli mixture. Stir in your pasta. Transfer the entire mixture to your prepared pan and top with the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Bake until the top is browned and bubbly.

Hormones, Baby.

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:18:00 +0000

So remember my weird headache that I couldn't figure out? Turns out it was hormone related. I forget sometimes that I'm a woman, susceptible to raging hormones. My husband probably would say he never forgets that, but he's not here so you'll just have to listen to me.

I have found that staying active helps keep my hormones in check. Especially through my last pregnancy, if I couldn't exercise for one reason or another I was a grouchy ~~lady~~ female. But, if I was able to at least do something everyday, everyone had a better chance of making it through the day.

So keeping that in mind I headed to the Y to attempt a run. My group does speedwork on Mondays, so I knew that 3x1600s was on the schedule. I ran a warm up mile and then cranked the treadmill up to 8.0 (7:30 pace) for one mile. Back down to a 9:30 pace for a 400 recovery. Up again to 8.1 (7:24 pace) for another mile and then another 9:30 400 meter recovery. For that last mile repeat I started up at 8.2 (7:19 pace) and was able to hang on to that for 1/4 mile. That's when I decided to let myself break up the last 1600 into 400s. I made myself run them a bit faster (8.3, 8.4 and 8.5) but when you're only doing 1/4 mile at a time, it's a bit easier to make yourself run fast(er). Oh the deals we make. I'm constantly bargaining with myself while running on the treadmill. And rationalizing things too - it was hot in the Y, I was running at an incline (0.5%) I'm getting over an awful headache, blah, blah, blah.

All things said and done, I feel like it was a good speedwork session. I probably should have pushed myself to do that last 1600 rather than breaking it up, but I was pretty well spent at the end of it. I don't know if I could have run another 400 by the time I was done. And my clothes were dripping sweat anyway, literally, there were puddles of sweat beneath me. Eeeewww. And now that I've showered and had some lunch, I do feel better. My headache is almost completely gone, woohoo!

And just for fun, here's a picture of my three gals enjoying some sister time. Lil D sure missed her "sissys" while they were gone this weekend. It's so good to have everyone back home!

The weirdest thing happened to me

noreply@blogger.com (BeePie Runs) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +0000

This weekend, Hubby and my two big girls were out of town visiting some friends so it was just me and Lil D. I did my long run on Friday, mid-morning with a running buddy, since I knew I wouldn't be able to go Saturday morning. It was a miserable run. It was just cold enough and drizzly enough that I never really warmed up and was wet the whole time. Not to mention that my running pal is a bit faster than me and I felt like I was being dragged around town for 10 miles. Ooof.

But by Saturday the weather was so gorgeous - sunny and a high of 58 - that Lil D and I went for another run at the greenway near our house. I took the dog with us too. Apparently every other person in Chatt-town decided to spend their afternoon on the greenway as well, because we had to weave our way in and out and up and down through the thronging masses. It made for a slower run but I didn't mind. Lil D was so cute, smiling and waving to everyone and saying "Wow" when she saw kids on bikes.

I finished up the loop and was back at the car with 5.5 miles under my belt but she said "No" when I pulled up to the car. I asked her if she wanted to keep running and she said "uh-huh". So, like any good mama, I kept right on running and ended up with a total of 6.25 miles.

So here's where my story gets weird. Saturday night (after lots of water, a nutritious dinner and a semi-healthy snack of popcorn) I went to bed and slept soundly. Sometime in the night I had a dream that I was driving with Hubby to a job interview for a teaching position (neither of us are teachers) and I was nervous and started to get a visual aura that is usually a prelude to a migraine headache.

Now, for those of you lucky enough to never have had a migraine, a visual aura can be different for everyone; but for me it starts as a small flashing light in my right-side field of vision and it continues to grow until I can't see (kind of like a blurry spot from looking at something too bright for too long). It then will keep growing until it's completely out of my field of vision and that is when the migraine hits.

Usually, if I can catch it in time, I will take some meds and drink a lot of water as soon as I see the aura and the migraine isn't so bad. But this time, it was in my dream, so I didn't do any of that. In fact, some part of me knew I was dreaming and figured that the aura wasn't real either. Except it was. I woke up and in that still half-sleeping state realized that I could still see the aura. Unfortunately, I was disoriented enough from my weird dream (I'll spare you those details) that I didn't do anything about the impending migraine. I continued to lay in bed for a few minutes but then Lil D was up which meant I needed to be too.

To make a long story a smidge shorter, it finally dawned on me to take some medicine but I had missed the window. I ended up laying on the couch for three hours, trying to sleep, while Lil D alternatively sat and jumped on me while watching Nick Jr and eating Cheerios. The meds finally began to kick in just in time for Hubby and the big girls to get home in a swirl of noise and chaos. I had a pretty nasty headache the rest of the day and even though I explained what happened, Hubby kept asking me "why are you so cranky today?". Hmmm, maybe because you dragged me to a job interview that gave me a migraine headache. Who cares that it was all a dream? This headache isn't a dream! And your children won't stop screaming!!

The reason this is so weird for me, okay, besides the obvious, is that I've never had a migraine start in the middle of the night before. And usually I can pinpoint the trigger - dehydration, eating lots of junk food, over-exerting myself, lack of sleep, etc.) But this time I hadn't done any of those things, in fact I'd slept well, ate well, drunk plenty of water and even though I ran two days in a row, I often do that and the second run was anything but strenuous. So, it's just one of those weird things, I guess.

How was your weekend??