Livin' the Dream in Bean Town USA

Boston Marathon 2013

2013-04-19T21:11:00.000-04:00

Boston. What an experience.

By God's grace, I was not anywhere near the finish line when the explosions happened. I had finished the race around 1:40pm, and walked the couple blocks to the family meeting area to meet up with my Business Man and BFF Talen. After visting for awhile, we headed to the car around 2:40pm, ten minutes before the explosions happened.

We didn't even realize anything had happened, because we were in the car on the way to our hotel about 10 miles away. After receiving several texts & calls, we flipped the news on to see what everyone was so concerned about.

It was so surreal. Just one hour before, I had run by the same exact spot. Crossed the finish line with a smile on my face.

Immediately, I started contacting my running friends that were at the race. After learning they were all okay, we sat there in the hotel room for 3+ hours, just watching the news coverage.

I have such a bittersweet ball of emotions about the whole experience. I had a fantastic Boston race experience... it was everything I hoped it would be. But it's hard to be excited and happy about a race that ended so tragically. Devastating for the victims, devastating for the families of the victims, devastating for the runners who didn't get to finish.

The most overwhelming thing was just the sheer amount of people who contacted us to make sure we were okay. So many people that I would have never expected to reach out... just wanting to make sure we were safe. Never have I felt so loved and cared about in one day. A huge thank you to everyone who sent a message of concern.

**Race report to come.

I think I'll go to Boston...

2013-04-13T09:25:00.001-04:00

Well, it is here. Time to head to Boston! The original plan was to drive the 13ish hours today, but after spending some time on Priceline last night, we ended up with a great deal on flight + car rental.

16 weeks of training, and I'm ready to go! It's crazy how much the taper helps... just a few weeks ago I was so over running. Just get the darn marathon over with already. But now, after having a couple laid-back weeks and lower mileage, I am ALL ABOUT THE RUNNING! I cannot wait to toe the start line on Monday and unleash the beast.

Kicks for the race

I have been so blessed to have awesome training partners through this awful winter... despite the nasty snow, wind, freezing rain, I got in more outdoor runs than I ever have in a winter. So a big thank you to Amy and Jim for motivating my butt out of bed at 5:30am multiple times a week.

So glad we are done with this weather.

I was talking to my students about the race yesterday, and told them that I have run over 800 miles (828 to be exact) in preparation for this one race. They thought I was crazy. They will be watching the live stream of the marathon on Monday with my sub. They told me to wear something bright-colored so they could spot me on TV. (I'm not sure they quite understand that it might be kind of hard to see me in a sea of 27,000 runners. Lol.) I also had a few ask if I was going to win. I told them it was very unlikely. "But just run fast! You can do it!" Haha, they have no idea.

weekly mileage over the last 16 weeks

Anyways, enough blabbering. What are my goals? I would like to PR, so under 3:22. I would really like to run 3:15, as I was on pace to run that at last year's IL Marathon until about mile 20.

My main focus is going to be on taking it out easy. Start slow. I did a GMP run earlier this week, and tried to hit 7:20 each mile. It was hard to lock into that pace. Most of them were closer to 7:00-7:10, even after telling myself "sloooow down!" Add in the excitement of the race and the downhill first section, and I can see it being really hard to go out slow.

Once I get past the Newton hills though, all bets are off! I'm going to see what I can do. More than anything, I'm just really excited. I have had a great training cycle, and some awesome long runs. I'm feeling confident, and I'm ready to experience all that Boston has to offer.

If you'd like to track me during the race, my bib number is #10223. I am in wave 2 starting at 10:20am. See ya from Boston!

Spring Break, baby!

2013-04-10T20:49:00.000-04:00

One of the best parts about being a teacher is spring break, for sure. (And ~~Christmas~~, I mean winter break, and obviously the three months of summer vacation.)

Life has been insanely crazy busy the past few months... between teaching, filling orders for Sara's Sweets, making desserts for The Met, and training for Boston, there hasn't been much down time.

My Business Man and I booked a cruise with my parents months ago for spring break, and it was the best decision ever. Seriously, it came it exactly the right time. After such a long, nasty winter (and running through a long, nasty winter), it was so nice to spend a week in the sunshine and 80-degree temps. The cherry on top was that we had no cell phone service at all! No distractions, no emails, no voicemails to tend to. No responsibilities for an entire five days! We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves. Don't worry, we managed to fill the time. ;)

We cruised with Royal Caribbean on the Liberty of the Seas. Seriously, I had no idea a boat could be so big. The ship was fifteen stories (!) with three pools, a 300m jogging track, an ice skating rink, mini-golf, a full-size theater, a rock climbing wall, etc. There was so much to do! (Of course, my favorite thing was to lay by the pool.)

Me & Dad, rockin' the shades

We stopped in two ports while at sea - Belize and Cozumel. In Belize, we did a snorkeling excursion. Snorkeling was ok... I think I would have liked it better a different environment. (Because the Great Barrier Reef was obviously not gorgeous enough.) Just kidding; it was really pretty, but there were a TON of people. We were in a group of about 200 people, and it was pretty much a free-for-all. Everybody jumped into the water at once. So it was a bit chaotic.

In Belize, we also got to eat a local place for lunch - the Wet Lizard. My mom & I fell in love with this Green Iguana drink... pretty much like a pineapple-coconut smoothie. With a few other yummy mix-ins... ;)

If you share drinks, it's totally legit to order drink after drink, right?

We also shared an order of fish tacos... so yum!

In Cozumel, we did a big ole' Jeep tour which was awesome. We caravanned through the countryside visiting a few different places. Thankfully my dad took the wheel because I was not about to learn to drive stick...

We stopped at one of the most beautiful beaches. Seriously, so gorgeous.

The water was a wee bit chilly.

We also stopped at a tequila factory so see how the good stuff is made. It comes from the agave plant, which to me looked like a huge pineapple. Of course, we got to taste-test, too. There were all sorts of flavors - cherry, orange, blue, coffee, cream. (And yes, 'blue' was a flavor. Lol.)

When in Mexico...

The tour finished off with a Mexican lunch with some of the freshest pico de gallo I've ever had.

Nothing better than Coca Cola light from a glass bottle.

This trip was just the right mix of relaxation and play time... and we were totally spoiled on the ship. There was even a cupcake shop! (Though I will have to say, they most definitely used frosting from a tub... blech.)

And we got to come back to our room each night to a fun towel animal. There was even a class on the last day at sea if you wanted to learn how to make them. Pretty sure I slept through that one.

We had such an awesome time. It got a little crazy windy on the ship, but I'm pretty sure I can deal with a little wind.

Trying to look all pretty for formal night. Key word: trying.

Such a blast. But... now we are back to reality. At least spring has arrived! And just 5 days until the Boston Marathon. Thoughts on that coming later...

BBO 4-Mile and Boston, week #11

2013-03-12T20:52:00.000-04:00

Boston is just five weeks away. Which seems sooo long still. Why did I choose a 16-week marathon training plan? I think next time I will go with a 12-week plan. Less time to get bored. And nervous.

Anyways, last week was an okay week of training. I developed a sore throat on Tuesday and have been fighting some sort of head cold/sinus congestion crap ever since. Today I could hardly speak. It made teaching oh so enjoyable. (You try commanding the attention of 18 teenagers with the voice of a whisper. Not fun.)

We ended up with a snow day last Wednesday, so I ran my 20-miler on the treadmill. It was pretty boring. Kathie Lee & Hoda just aren't as entertaining as they used to be.

Saturday, I raced the BBO 4-mile. This was my 3rd year running this race; it's pretty fun. In 2011, I ran 27:07, and in 2012, I ran 25:01. The course is pancake-flat, but there's always a lot of wind on the country roads.

Secretly, I hoped to break 24:00 this time around. (Lofty, I know, but I've been training pretty hard!) I won't leave you hanging... that definitely didn't happen.

I'm somewhere in that mess of people. I promise.

You know those races where you just feel so smooth and great and on fire the entire time? This was NOT one of them. About 3 minutes in, I felt like I was going to die. Might have had something to do with the 20-miler 3 days before, or the head cold, or just the fact that sometimes during marathon training, I forget what it's like to run fast. I joked with my Business Man that I felt "probably like you feel EVERY time you try to run." Lol.

The first mile was straight into the wind - 5:56. It definitely felt much harder than that. When I rolled through the 2-mile in 12:12 (6:16), I pretty much knew a sub-24 wasn't happening. I'll admit, I mentally gave up a bit at that point. (Where's the fighter in me?! What's gonna happen at mile 20 in Boston when I want to give up?)

I went through the 3-mile in 18:15 (6:03) and then finished in 24:29 (6:14). A little disappointed, but still a 30+ second PR on the course. My only faster 4-miler is on an all downhill course, so it's not really comparable.

Doesn't my face at the finish say it all?

I finished up the week with 57 miles... just a couple more weeks of higher mileage before TAPER time! (I am so looking forward to taper right now, but of course once it is here I will be going crazy without running. It's just how it is.)

Weekly Rundown 3.4.2013-3.10.2013
Mon - 8.3 miles easy
Tues - 10km tempo @ 6:32 avg; 8.9 miles total
Wed - 20 miles LONG (8:03 avg)
Thurs - Off
Fri - 5.9 miles w/ strides
Sat - 4-mile race (24:29); 8 miles total
Sun - 6.3 miles easy
Total - 57.4 miles

Oh, and I got new running shoes. My beloved Mizuno Wave Creations finally came in a fun color. I love them.

I feel like a superhero wearing these shoes. Kind of.

This week is pretty exhilarating on the running front. (Not.) I've already taken Monday off due to this cold and today's speedwork was replaced with an easy run. We'll see how the rest of the week goes...

62.5% of the way to Boston [aka Boston weeks #6-10]

2013-03-05T20:08:00.001-05:00

I had originally planned on writing this post about 2 weeks ago... when I was actually 'halfway' to Boston. Now that two weeks have passed, the title of this blog post had to be changed.

So, the Boston Marathon is exactly 6 weeks from yesterday. 41 days away... and I'm feeling pretty good?! (I think...)

I have missed the last five weeks of recaps so here's the highlights:

Running. Lots of it. (duh)

The last few week's weekly mileage amounts. Last week's cut-back week of [only, haha] 45 miles was much appreciated.

Some killer long runs... including my first 20 miler of this training cycle, a 16-miler with 12 @ 7:04 pace, and a 15-miler with 4 miles at tempo pace.

New running jacket - my pacer running bud gave me this purple windbreaker and I think I've worn it on almost every run since. Such a fun color!

Lots of this stuff. I'm so over winter. It's March 5, I'm just ready for some temps in the 40s... is that too much to ask for? And we are predicted to get another 3-5 inches tonight. Snow day, please?!

Carbs, as always.

We tried sushi for the first time. Looooved it. And this was just from the grocery store. I imagine the real deal is that much better.

One of our favorite pizza combos - caramelized onions, figs, spinach, goat cheese.

Who can say no to Girl Scout cookies?

So that's my running in a nutshell. My regular life has been consumed with school and cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes! (Not a bad thing, not at all.)

This weekend will prove to be somewhat challenging. I am racing the Beer Bottle Open 4-mile on Saturday and I also need to run a 20-miler. I am debating whether to do a 15-mile 'cool-down' (ha!) after the race or attempting to run 20 miles the day after an all-out effort. Any advice out there?

That time I actually posted a recipe... [Asian BBQ Chicken Flatbreads}

2013-02-01T11:03:00.002-05:00

So with this crazy busy life, I haven't had much time to blog. I'm sure you've gathered that. This also means I haven't had much time to cook. Does that mean we haven't been eating? Oh no - it just means we've been eating a lot of frozen pizza, easy paninis, and Schwan's chicken pot pies. (Oh how I love the Schwan man.)

As it turns out, I returned from my run this morning to find out we had a 2-hour delay due to the wind chill. Best thing ever. Even better, the 2-hour delay turned into an entire day off. Which means I get an entire day to play catch up and even some extra free time to myself. Woo hoo!

It just so happens that I actually cooked dinner on Monday night, and it was so delicious that I actually took a picture. And now I even have time to blog about it!

One of my Business Man's favorite things to eat is pulled BBQ pork or chicken. I stumbled across a recipe for Asian BBQ sauce, so I thought I'd give it a try. Sweet & spicy with a bit of a zing, it was SO good. I don't know how else to describe it.

I thought it'd be weird to serve Asian flavors on a regular bun, so I picked up some flatbread. Then I decided it needed some sort of crispy, cool contrast, so I threw together some tangy Asian slaw to go on top. Perfect!

Off to enjoy some daytime television... :)
________________________________________________________________

Asian BBQ Chicken Flatbreads

Servings/Yield: 4-6 servings

For the chicken

6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
⅓ cup minced shallot
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
pinch cinnamon
pinch cloves
pinch cayenne pepper
⅓ cup sugar
3 cups cooked & shredded chicken

For the slaw

16-oz bag coleslaw lettuce
4-5 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
salt & pepper, to taste
⅓ cup golden raisins

flatbreads, pitas, or naan

Method

To prepare chicken, combine hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, shallot, garlic, ginger, and spices in a small bowl. Spread sugar into the bottom of a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until sugar caramelizes and turns golden brown. Tilt pan to side and stir in sauce mixture, stirring constantly. (Sugar will likely harden - that's ok.) Return pan to medium-low heat, and cook, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves and mixture has thickened. Fold in chicken and cook until heated through.

Meanwhile, prepare the slaw. Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, vegetable oil, brown sugar, sesame oil, and salt & pepper; mix until smooth. In medium bowl, toss together coleslaw and green onions with the dressing. (Start with just half the dressing, adding more as desired.) Fold in raisins.

To assemble sandwiches, heat pita until warm. Serve chicken on pita and top with slaw.

Boston Marathon, week #5

2013-01-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

First peak week, dominated. Okay maybe not quite dominated, but over with. And I can sigh a big breath of relief.

The goal was to get in about 60 miles total, with an 18-19 mile long run and a 4x2-mile threshold workout. The weather wasn't too cooperative... half my runs were on the treadmill. (Boo.)

Thanks to my buddy MLK Jr., I had last Monday off school, so I tackled a beast of a threshold workout on the treadmill. The wind chill was near 0*F so there was no way I was battling crazy winds and extreme cold with that long of a workout.

My torture of the day was 4x2-mile @ 6:32 with 1-2 minutes standing recovery. Basically, I set the treadmill to 9.2mph with a 0.5% incline and ~~ran~~ sprinted 2 miles... and then hopped off for a minute while the belt ran on wildly without me. I didn't want to waste time slowing down and then getting back up to speed. After a minute of standing awkwardly on the treadmill rails (trying not to fall and make a fool of myself), I would hop back on and start sprinting again. Repeat X 4. It really wasn't too bad, until the last 1/2 mile or so of each repeat. I hit my splits pretty consistently - 12:57, 12:55, 12:55, 12:55. (It's not too hard to be consistent on a treadmill, just don't give into the temptation to press the 'STOP' button.)

Due to a miscommunication with a cupcake order pick-up, I did not have time to cool down on the treadmill. Once I got home and straightened that out, I headed out for a 2-mile death march cool-down. In the 0*F weather. Might have been the longest, coldest 2 miles of my life.

Other notable workout - 18.5 mile long run. On the treadmill, yet again. It was snowing and torrential wind-blowing outside and I didn't want to deal with it by myself. For some reason, I can deal with crazy weather as long as I'm running with people, but by myself, I'm a complete pansy. Oh well, I still got it in, and my legs felt good.

Weekly Rundown 1.21.2013-1.27.2013

Mon - 4x2-mile @ 6:32 (12:57, 12:55, 12:55, 12:55); 12.2 miles total

Tues - 8.1 miles easy

Wed - 7.7 miles easy AM; 3.2 miles easy PM

Thurs - Off

Fri - 18.5 miles LONG (7:49 avg)

Sat - 4.3 miles easy

Sun - 8 miles easy

Total - 62 miles

Random exciting tidbit of the week -

I have discovered the joy of COMPRESSION SOCKS! Oh my goodness, why did it take me so long to find these? I've always shied away from the $$ price tag, but they popped up on my new favorite website - Steep and Cheap. (They post outdoorsy-type athletic gear deals throughout the day, and stuff is way marked down. It's kind of a game of chance though, but I love checking the site throughout the day to see if there's anything exciting.)

I got these socks (originally $50) for just $17. And I wish I would have bought 3 pairs. They felt so good on my legs after my long run... and I swear they helped me recover faster. (But it could all be in my head... who knows.) And the pink is so much fun. Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Happy running!

Boston Marathon, week #4

2013-01-24T20:41:00.001-05:00

Why is it so much more difficult to find motivation to run during a cut-back week? It's almost like "Oh... I only have to run 45 miles this week, no long run, let's just lolli-gag around and sleep in everyday." That was basically my life last week.

No worries, I still got everything done. ;) It was a pretty easy week - medium long run of just 12 miles and then a 6-mile tempo run.

[Sidenote: Do not attempt a tempo run the morning after giving two little tubes of blood for a life insurance exam. It will be harder than usual and you won't understand why at the moment. At least that's what I'm telling myself to explain why my tempo run was so difficult.]

Since my long run was so short (marathon training definitely screws up your definition of 'long run'), I threw in some steady hill repeats at the end. I found about a quarter mile hill and just ran up & down it several times, keeping a steady pace. The weather was beautiful - 40's and sunny. What a great run.

Weekly Rundown 1.14.2013-1.20.2013

Mon - 7.8 miles easy

Tues - 5.4 miles easy

Wed - 6-mile tempo @ 6:35 avg; 8.8 miles total

Thurs - 8 miles easy

Fri - Off

Sat - 12 miles LONG w/ 4x0.25 mi hill repeats; 7:32 avg

Sun - 4.5 miles easy

Total - 46.5 miles

Other notables of the week: not much.

We went bowling. I bowled a 114.

And I created a Twix cupcake. It was bangin'.

I'm now halfway through a 60-mile week. Tomorrow is an 18 mile run. And the high is 18*F. Yikes.

Boston Marathon, week #3

2013-01-16T20:40:00.001-05:00

Last week was a great week for training - lots of easy runs, a V02-max workout, and my first long run that actually felt 'long'. The goal was to get in 50-55 miles, and I ended up with 56ish, so right on target.

Saturday's long run was glorious! Temps in the 50's in January (!) makes me a very happy runner. I headed out for 16-17 miles and ended up with almost 18. And I remembered to bring fuel!

I tried out the blueberry-pomegranate Gu chomps, and they weren't my favorite. I ate one every 2 miles once I hit the 8-mile mark and they left a strange aftertaste. Pretty much as soon as the aftertaste went away, it would be time to eat one again. I'm thinking I will try something else next time.

This was the week of the 8's... what a monotonous bar graph. I'll try better next week to make it a little more exciting.

Weekly Rundown 1.7.2013-1.13.2013
Mon - 8.2 miles easy
Tues - 8.3 miles easy
Wed - 4x1200m @ 4:29 (4:32, 4:31, 4:31, 4:34); 8.3 miles total
Thurs - 8.4 miles easy
Fri - Off
Sat - 17.7 miles LONG
Sun - 5.7 miles easy
Total - 56.6 miles

Feeling pretty good... but definitely looking forward to this next week for a cut-back week. Only 45 miles and a 10-12 mile long run. Perfect for the colder weather, too.

Other highlights of the week...

I've definitely been carb loading like its my job. I forgot about how much I crave carbs when I am running harder and higher mileage. Wouldn't you think I would crave protein?

Case in point:

bbq chicken flatbread, PB BAGEL!, a gift from a student, and garlic cheesy bread. yum.

And I even forgot to snap a pic of the delicious Brown Butter Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies which were definitely the carb of choice over the weekend... will be making those again soon. Very soon.

Other exciting thing of the week? I made an appearance in the Bean Town News!

I got to be the 'Weekend Chef', and talk all about my love for cupcakes and my business, Sara's Sweets. So much fun! You can see the article here if you're interested. :)

Adios, and have a great week!

Boston Marathon, Week #2

2013-01-06T17:55:00.000-05:00

2 weeks down, just 14 to go! Haha... not a good way to think about marathon training.

This week was super-fab, though the temps have been quite frigid! I only succumbed to the temptation of the treadmill once, so I'm quite proud of myself for that.

Tuesday was January 1 (duh), and I participated in the annual New Year's Chili Run. It's a fun run that is hosted by a member of the run club here in the Bean Town. 10 miles with friends was the perfect way to kick off 2013. Too bad I couldn't convince my Business Man to join me. Not even the lure of warm chili could get him there!

the group

My speedwork of the week was 5x1km @ V02-max with 3:00 jog recovery. The day I ran this, it was super icy out... so I took it to the treadmill. Yup, I had that dreaded machine flying at 10.0-10.2mph; it's no wonder I didn't fly off the back of it! It went well though, and it was better than slipping & sliding and breaking something on the ice.

On Saturday, I ran my first long run/speed session, and it was actually quite fun! (As fun as frolicking about for 2 hours in 18*F weather can be.) I had a 2-mile warm-up followed by 5x1-mile at threshold pace (6:32) with 1-min standing recovery. Then, just run an hour easy. NBD.

It really wasn't too bad. I hit the pace for the repeats pretty easily (consistent at 6:28-6:29) - it was the looooong cool down that scared me. But I felt great up until the last 10-15 minutes. However I am quite sore today, but that's understandable.

Weekly Rundown 12.31.2012-1.6.2013
Mon - 7.8 miles easy
Tues - 10 miles easy
Wed - 5x1km @ 3:44 (3:45, 3:45, 3:43, 3:41, 3:41); 8 miles total
Thurs - 7.4 miles easy
Fri - Off
Sat - 2 mi + 5x1-mile @ 6:32 (6:28, 6:28, 6:29, 6:28, 6:29) + 1 hour easy; 15.6 miles total LONG
Sun - 6.3 miles easy
Total - 55.2 miles

So, I'm still feeling good. Next week, my long run bumps up to 16 or 17, so that'll be fun.

Other news of the week:

We went back to school on Thursday. It was a little rough. This week should be better... more of a chance to get in the swing of things. And we have semester exams Thursday-Friday, and those days are always really easy. Minus the grading.

My mom came to visit this weekend since my dad was out of town on business. We had a lot of fun bumming around. And shopping. And making delicious food. And of course she brought Maggie, so that's always a blast.

puppy cuddles

WE FINISHED THE PUZZLE! Haha... last Sunday we started a 1000-piece puzzle. 'For fun.' Well, we finally finished it 6 days later. And then my Business Man proceeded to crumble it up and put it back in the box today... just one day of puzzle enjoyment.

RIP puzzle

And I will leave you with this article from Runner's World about New Year's resolutions... I agree wholeheartedly - Resolved.

Boston Marathon, Week #1

2013-01-03T21:07:00.001-05:00

Is it really time to start this whole marathon training thing again? It seems like just yesterday I was crossing the finish line to the IL Marathon. Yet that was 8+ months ago. Yikes, will life ever slow down?

As we were driving home to visit our families for Christmas, I sat in the car and wrote up a training plan for Boston. I referenced my trusty training coach, good ole' Jack Daniels, and came up with a 16-week plan. There's a good mix of tempo runs, intervals, and hills, and I'm looking forward to switching it up a bit in the next couple months. It gets a little boring running easy all the time.

I have begun to really enjoy long car rides. It's 6 hours where I don't have to do anything but sit there! And think! And read! And sleep! Love it.

It's a little more aggressive than last year's marathon training plan, but I think I'm ready. About half of the long runs actually have speedwork incorporated into them, so that should be fun! (Or it might just be the worst thing ever... I'll keep ya posted. If worse comes to worse, I'll switch them all to easy-paced long runs.)

Without further adieu... I present to you Week #1!

The plan was to put in about 50 miles, including a fartlek and a 14-mile long run. I added in the shorty tempo run because I was on the treadmill that day and I got bored.

Weekly Rundown 12.24.2012-12.30.2012
Mon - Fartlek - 4x(3-on,4-off) w/ 'on' segments at 5k effort; 8.4 mi total
Tues - 7.3 miles easy
Wed - 4-mile tempo @ 6:37 avg; 8.1 mi total
Thurs - Off
Fri - 8 miles easy
Sat - 14.2 miles LONG (7:47 avg)
Sun - 6.5 miles easy
Total - 52.5 miles

Other highlights of the week - CHRISTMAS! We had a fabulous visit with our families. Lots of time was spent catching up and spending some QT with both sets of parents and my Business Man's siblings.

Obligatory Christmas pic. Sadly this is the only one we took... It would have made too much sense to actually ask someone to take one of us so it wouldn't be all pixel-y from using the reverse camera.

Lots of great food, too. I didn't take too many pics but these Cappuccino Cinnamon Rolls were great running fuel.

What I would give to have one of these right now...

And now it is already January 3... and today was our first day back to school after break. No comment except "how many days 'til spring break?!"

2012: In Running

2012-12-30T20:31:00.000-05:00

Well, 2012 has come and gone. I haven't been able to blog as much as I would have liked (hello, life!), but thought it would be fun to look back at my year 'in running'.

The Numbers

miles logged: 2561 - not including tomorrow's run... planning on 6 or 7 more to finish the year!

races run: 14

highest mileage week: 62 - training for the IL Marathon

pairs of shoes gone through: 4 or so

money spent on running shoes: don't even want to think about it

Clif bars consumed: probably 250 or so, love those things!

number of miles run with my Business Man: oh, about 2. :) I'll turn him into a runner someday... though he did run his first 5k! (with no training)

Overall, it was an awesome year for running. I was really blessed to see a PR in every distance from the 5km to the marathon.

I started the year by pretending to be in college again with an indoor 5km... luckily I was able to hold my own and broke 19 minutes for the first time! (Debating whether I should run this race again in 2013...)

18:50 PR

In March, my Business Man & I traveled to Chicago and I 'got lucky' with the Get Lucky Half the day after St. Patrick's Day on the Chicago lakefront. The 80*F+ temps weren't so lucky though.

1:30:14, paced by two awesome pacers!

The IL Marathon in April was exciting and fun... I hung out with the 3:15 pace group until about mile 21 when they were all-of-a-sudden 50 meters ahead of me. I still don't know how that happened.

That time I convinced Talen to run a marathon, too. Oh wait, I did it again this year for Boston. Ran a 3:22 PR.

I ran my favorite hilliest & hottest race in June - the Steamboat Classic. For as long as I can run, I will go back to Peoria the third weekend in June and run Steamboat.

63:55, but not the fastest 15km of the year.

The tastiest race was by far the Pumpkin Classic 10km... I surprised myself quite a bit here with my performance. Guess those pumpkin donuts served as good motivation.

38:58 PR

And I finished up the fall racing season with a trifecta of races three weekends in a row. Half-marathon, 15km, half-marathon. Though I wouldn't suggest setting up your races that way, I was a bit fatigued at the end.

Post-Columbus Half - 1:27:09 PR

I'm a little exhausted looking back at this year of running. Just gotta gear up to do it all over again! I've started training for Boston in April, I will definitely be back to give weekly updates. (If only to keep myself organized. :-P) I am very excited to see what 2013 will bring!

Day 2: Chocolate Pixies + Tuesday Tangents

2012-12-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

Tuesday Tangents:

A few weekends ago I traveled to the grand ole' state of Illinois to celebrate one of my BFF's bachelorette party. She gets married in less than 2 weeks! We had lots of fun. We'll leave it at that.

On the drive there, I stopped in our college town to run my favorite 3-mile route from back in the day. Yes I'm one of those people who packs running clothes in their car for instances such as this. Totally fun though.

While driving back to the Bean Town, I passed a truck on the highway. Carrying a treadmill. And then spent the next 20 miles wondering if it would be possible to run on the treadmill while driving down the interstate. Physics friends, help me out??

My friend Kristi came to visit us here in the Bean Town this weekend with her two wee ones. We had loads of fun... though we didn't quite bake as much as we did last year. Something about entertaining a 5 month old + 3 year old makes regular activities take three times as long. Massive kudos to Kristi, I don't know how she does it.

Girly time on the couch.

We went downtown to Modo Media and Pears Avenue and had some fun with at their Christmas photo session, haha. Cora was a bit of a grump and didn't want to wear a Charlie Brown headpiece, wonder why??!

The countdown to Christmas break has begun. Though we are now down to just 8 days... that picture is from last week.

And I am finally sharing Day 2 of the Christmas Cookie Challenge a week after I posted Day 1. I will get them all posted by Christmas, I swear! (Says the girl who barely has time to think. Though this little cold I developed ~~fortunately?~~ unfortunately has me confined to the couch today.)

Chocolate Pixies are a Christmas classic that my mom has been making ever since I can remember. They're rich and fudgy and go great with a little bowl of ice cream. They're also so perfect for Christmas because they look like they're covered in snow!

They do require a bit of planning, as the dough has to chill in the refrigerator overnight. And just a warning, your hands will get messy when you roll them into balls. There's no escaping it.

_____________________________________________________________

Chocolate Pixies

Servings/Yield: 4 dozen cookies

4-oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour
powdered sugar

Method

In large bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, melted chocolate; mix well. Add flour, salt, and baking powder; mix until thoroughly combined. Chill dough in refrigerator overnight.

Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar, and place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350*F about 10 minutes until cookies are set.

Source: family favorite

Day 1: Rocky Ledge Bars

2012-12-02T20:42:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy couple weeks. We've had LOTS of time spent with family & friends, which is always awesome. I can't believe it's already December... time to whip out the mixers and baking sheets and get cookie-baking!

I debated whether to do the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies here on the blog this year, considering it's been 85 years since I last posted a recipe. But I figured, "why not?!" It gives me a good excuse to try out 12 new recipes.

For day numero uno, we've got Rocky Ledge Bars. One of my fabulous teacher-baker friends introduced me to these bars and they're absolutely delicious. [Side note: She is also a cupcake queen and our students always tell us we should have a makeshift 'Cupcake Wars' at school... haha. As long as the students provide the $10K prize, I'm in.]

These bars are a twist on a basic blondie, with a buttery brown sugar base.. They're loaded with all sorts of goodies - semisweet chocolate, butterscotch chips, white chocolate, caramel, and marshmallows.

They're the perfect type of dessert that you just need one little sliver. And then one more little sliver. And then just a bit more. Until you've eaten an entire row. Whoops.

Happy baking, and stay tuned for days #2-12 in the days leading up to Christmas!

___________________________________________________________________________

Rocky Ledge Bars

Servings/Yield: 48 triangles

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2¼ cups flour
2¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
18 soft caramels, coarsely chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla extract; mix until smooth. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt; mix until just combined. Fold in half of each of the chips, marshmallows, and caramel pieces.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan; top with remaining chips, marshmallows, and caramel pieces.

Bake until top is golden brown and bars are set, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack; refrigerate until set.

Remove bars from pan and cut into triangles. Store in airtight container.

Source: Two Peas & Their Pod

Life lately [according to Instagram...]

2012-11-20T21:13:00.000-05:00

Life is crazy, but awesome!

I've been capturing what I can on my phone; here's a little update. :)

A few weeks ago, my parents came out to visit and we headed over to Cleveland to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Who knew there could be TWO ENTIRE FLOORS dedicated to the Grateful Dead?! My dad was in heaven. It was actually pretty neat to see the artifacts and read the background of the band, considering I pretty much grew up listening to the Dead.

We bought a second fridge. I abso-freakin-lutely LOVE it. Perfect for stocking up at Sam's Club. Or when I have 12 dozen cupcakes to store and they all have to be refrigerated.

I came up with some tasty Thanksgiving cupcake flavors. This is my favorite - Pecan Pie. Butter yellow cake filled with pecan pie filling and topped with fresh whipped cream. Definitely a knife & fork cupcake.

I had an order for 125 cake pops. If you've ever made cake pops before, you know that's a lot of cake pops. It was so much fun! Luckily we had a Friday off school for parent/teacher conferences so I set up the card table in front of the TV and cake-popped the day away!

Love this photo of red velvet cake batter. I'm getting really excited to come up with some exciting holiday cupcake flavors because...

Christmas is COMING! Also evidenced by this fantastic new coffee creamer. The first morning I tried it, I literally smiled all the way to school as I sipped my coffee. (Granted the drive is only 4 minutes, but 4 minutes of smiling is a great way to start the day!)

My gym got a new treadmill. Touch screen. And it goes downhill! Talk about making running easy. ;) Actually, I'm looking forward to some killer hill workouts on this puppy this winter to prepare for Boston.

I stole this new flavor of Clif bar from my mom's pantry - delicious! Why are there only 5 flavors available in the good ole' Bean Town?

Last weekend my Business Man and I traveled home so I could attend my high school BFF's baby shower. (She's the first one! So excited for her & her hubby!) Of course we had to stop into the place where our love first blossomed... and buy some candy. My Business Man was convinced he didn't need any, but then when I went to find the bag of candy later, it was half-gone! Wonder how that happened?? ;)

I had been hoarding magazines for weeks leading up to the drive home and back to the Bean Town. As I was reading my Rachael Ray Christmas magazine (only the best edition of the year!), I came across this Smell-O-Vision ad. Hmm... the pumpkin pie recipe actually smelled pretty good. I can't quite say the same for the squash & bacon recipe.

That's it! I'm off for Thanksgiving break and so excited for a few days of R & R. Happy Thanksgiving!

Reflections on a Training Cycle

2012-10-29T21:15:00.003-04:00

To say this fall has been busy is an understatement. Full-time teaching job + part-time bakery business + training 55-60 miles a week + random other activities that life brings... keeps me on my toes! I'm loving every second of it though. :)

To sum up this fall training cycle in a sentence - it rocked. It was the first time I really ever put a plan together myself (I usually just use SmartCoach on Runnersworld.com, but a girl can only take so many mile repeat workouts. Seriously, I think that's the only type of speed training they've ever assigned me.)

Start of the Columbus Marathon - I ran the half.

I was nervous that it would be too much/not enough/not the right kind of speedwork/too aggressive/not aggressive enough. Ya know what I mean? Turns out, it worked for me.

I topped out at about 60 miles a week, and most weeks had two speed workouts and a 12-15 mile long run. I made sure I got one solid speed workout, and if I happened to get the other one, great, if not, no big deal.

The first half of the cycle focused on SPEED. Lots of 400m & 1000m workouts at 5k race pace, alternating with 5-6 mile tempo runs about 15-20 seconds slower than 10k race pace.

The second half still had the tempo runs, but some more funky speed workouts. My favorite was probably the 4x200m, 3x1k, 4x200m. Enough excitement to keep me going! I also had a few GHMP runs, which were good confidence boosters.

About smack-dab in the middle, I raced the Pumpkin Classic 10km, and saw a huge PR.

The last three weekends were full of races - Hands 4 Haiti Half Marathon, the Cheerfund 15km, and the Columbus Half Marathon. Not sure I will ever try to race a half, then a 15km, then a half, three weekends in a row again! It was a little insane!

At H4H, I really surprised myself with a 1:27:37 half-marathon PR (6:41 avg)... totally wasn't expecting that.

A week later, I ran the Cheerfund 15km in conjunction with my Business Man's annual college Friends' weekend get together. (And he ran his first 5k! Woot woot!) I ran a 1:01:54, a 2-minute PR.

Doesn't he look like such a natural?! Seriously... if I could only convince him to run more than twice a year, haha.

I was nervous for Columbus, because I knew I was going in on tired legs. Even with the taper, and running only easy the week before, I knew my body might rebel. I decided to just go out at a 6:40-pace and see how long I could hold it.

My Business Man caught me in action! So good to see him around mile 8ish.

Well, I ended up with about a 30-second PR, and ran a 1:27:09 (6:39 avg)! So, I was very happy indeed. I averaged 6:36 for the first 10km, and definitely hit a bit of a wall around mile 10, but still was so happy to finish where I did.

Post-race high :)

And then... I RESTED! Last week was full of resting up and sleeping in. Well until 6:45am, somehow I couldn't convince my principal to give me a week off to 'recover' from my fall training cycle... hehe.

I got back into running this weekend, and had an awesome group run on Sunday morning with my run group. My legs are feeling great. I am very much looking forward to building up my base over the next couple months, and then hitting it strong for Boston at the end of December!

That time I wasn't REALLY going to race... but you know how that normally goes

2012-10-07T21:04:00.001-04:00

The end of my training cycle is coming near... just 2 weeks to go. That means RACE TIME!

I had three races scheduled for October:

Oct 6 - Hands4Haiti Half Marathon
Oct 13 - Cheerfund 15km
Oct 21 - Columbus Half Marathon

The original plan was just to run the Hands4Haiti Half as a training run. It's a really small, no-frills race here in the Bean Town, and I thought attempting a PR would be difficult. I was just going to go out and get my long run done (and maybe win. Seriously, last year the winning time was 1:35.) Then, I would taper, and race the 15km and Columbus Half all out.

Well, here's how it went down. I carb-loaded like a champ Friday night (mmmm, pizza) and woke up Saturday morning ready to roll. I warmed up and made it to the start line. After chatting with some of the other runners, the race finally started. (15 minutes late, whoops.)

Chillin' at the start. We thought it was funny that mostly women were at the front. Girl power!

Two women took it out fast, at least it felt fast. Not what I expected. I hung with them, and we went through the 1st mile in 7:47. "What?!" I said. "No way!" Fortunately, one of them had a Garmin, and that first mile marker was way off. We had actually gone through the mile closer to 6:40. At that point, I did a little mental freaking out, because OMG that is so fast! And I'm not supposed to be 'racing'!

I stuck right with the two women for the first couple miles, but eventually they pulled away. I kept checking my splits from mile to mile, because I couldn't rely on the overall time. I was consistently in the 6:35-6:40 range. "This is nuts," I kept thinking to myself. "How can I be running this fast? I am not tapered; this is 15 seconds per mile faster than my PR!"

But I kept rollin' with it. I guess I had decided to race, hehe. It was kind of a good thing that I couldn't really rely on my splits - it caused me to run by feel. And I felt good. I kept expecting to hit the wall, or majorly slow down... but I didn't.

Sprinting to the finish, thanks Business Man.

Even the last two miles didn't feel like death like they usually do in a half-marathon. Which makes me think I could have picked the pace up a bit. The next girl was far enough ahead of me that I knew I couldn't catch her, so I didn't have much motivation.

We had to finish the last 0.1 or so straight up a hill, and I felt awesome! I cruised into the finish with a time of 1:27:37, a 6:41 average! That is an almost 3-minute PR, which is hard to believe. My previous best time was 1:30:14, back at the Get Lucky Half in March.

Will I ever be able to clear this from the watch? Welp, already did. Had to get my recovery run in this morning!

I am so thankful for the two women who set the pace at the beginning. If they hadn't done that, there's no way I would have run as fast as I did. [Funny side note: Only one man finished in front of all three of us! The overall results went 1st male, 1st female, 2nd female, 3rd female, then the rest of the males. Isn't that awesome?! Girls rock!!]

Exchanging race stories at the finish... these girls are BEASTS!

I'm still kind of in a state of awe... I was not expecting to run that well at all. My goal time for Columbus was going to be to run 6:45-pace. Looks like I need to re-evaluate!

All smiles.

These next two weeks will be filled with lots of recovery miles, foam rolling, and getting lots of sleep so that I can recover well and hope for another PR attempt at Columbus in 2 weeks. I am still trying to decide whether to race the 15km this coming weekend or treat it as a training run. Suggestions?

My Business Man and I spent the afternoon after the race at a local apple orchard, picking lots and lots of apples. Such fun. :) Now what to do with the 25+ apples in the kitchen... apple cupcakes?!

Why are you so high up, apples??

That time I ran a 10km and really surprised myself

2012-09-16T20:41:00.002-04:00

This weekend, my Business Man & I traveled home to visit our families. It has become our little tradition to head home the weekend of the Pumpkin Fest - the cooler temps have usually just arrived, there's pumpkin goodies all around, and of course, I get to race the Pumpkin Classic 10km. It's the perfect way to kick off fall.

We got home late Friday night, and after a short night's sleep, we were up bright & early for the 10km. I know I haven't been blogging much about my training this fall (slacker!), but I've been putting in lots of hard work. Long runs, interval sessions, tempo runs. I was really excited to race yesterday morning, to see what kind of shape I was in. (I hadn't raced seriously since July 4.)

My momma came along to walk the 2-mile, and my Business Man came to cheer us both. (My dad had to work, or he would've been there, too.) The weather was perfect - 50s and sunny, perfect for racing.

Mom & I at the start, looking excited!

Last year I ran 40:53, so my goal for this year's race was to break 40:00. It seemed pretty daunting, like one of those "someday" goals, but I thought I'd give it a try. Little did I know.

I decided to try to run 6:25 splits, because that would give me a little wiggle room if I needed it toward the end.

Here's the splits:

Mile 1 - 6:14
Mile 2 - 6:22
Mile 3 - 6:21
Mile 4 - 6:19
Mile 5 - 6:14
Mile 6 - 6:13 plus the last 0.2 in 1:15.

For a final finish time of... 38:58! A 6:17 average. Seriously, I was flabbergasted with myself. I was 1st female and 9th overall.

Post-race excitement.

I felt so relaxed the first three miles of the race. I kept wondering to myself, "How can I possibly be running these splits?! I feel so good!" I told myself to keep it relaxed through mile 4, and then I would try to pick up the pace.

And that I did! I start to really put the pressure on once I hit mile 5... thinking "less than 8 minutes to go, give it everything you've got!" The race felt so controlled, relaxed, and steady, which is not a typical race experience for me.

You know we celebrated with pumpkin donuts. So yum.

This just makes me so darn excited for the rest of my fall races. Bring it on!

The race was just the start to an all-around fabulous day. We spent the morning gallivanting around the festival and stopped at a pumpkin farm to pick out some pumpkin cuties. Can't wait to put these on our porch!

Talk about pumpkin overload.

We spent the afternoon with my Business Man's fam, and even got to go see his little sister perform in a marching band competition. Brings back such great memories... straight back to that 15-year-old puppy love. (My Business Man & I met during marching band in high school - seriously, one time at band camp. :-P)

We spent the evening catching up my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins over the best pizza in central IL - Monical's. And they even felt pity for us and sent us home with all the leftovers. Not complaining here.

Seriously the best weekend ever. So happy to spend time with all the people I love.

Gotta celebrate a good race, right?!

And the Pumpkin Pie blizzard wasn't too shabby either, heh.

Life lately

2012-08-29T20:59:00.001-04:00

Isn't it funny how sometimes you just get a little carried away with life and your blog goes a month without an update?!

I've been super busy ever since we got back from Colorado... between baking orders for Sara's Sweets, training for the Columbus Half-marathon, and getting back into the swing of school. (We've already been back for 7 days... just 173 to go! Heh.)

Systems of equations, anyone?

School started last Tuesday, and we have had some pretty big changes. Instead of 95-minute blocks and semester classes, we now have 50-minute periods and classes that last all-year long. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but I like it so far. (Except for the whole four different preps at the same time. That's a lil' rough.) I've got several of the same students from last year, and they're a fun group.

We're also acclimating to the new Common Core standards which is loads of fun. (Or not.)

Some beautiful sugar cookies to lessen the blow of heading back to school... I mailed some to my BFF Talen and tried to surprise her, but she was unable to check her mail for a week. Cookie fairy FAIL!

Running has been going well - I've been meaning to get some sort of training recap together. I'm currently in week 6 of 13 for the Columbus Half. I'm getting in an average of 55 miles a week, with some crazy speed workouts. Just last week, I ran a 6-mile tempo with a 6:32 average, which is just insane to me. I can remember when running a 4-mile tempo at 7:00-pace was a miraculous feat. I am so, so excited for my fall races. (I'm also running a 10km + 15km this fall.)

I also ran a 5km the first weekend in August, and was the first female. I unfortunately did not get to take home that honkin' trophy, but I did take home a $25 Olive Garden gift card. Which was way better in my opinion. :)

Because I've been so busy, I've made a commitment to getting all my runs in before school. Which requires a 5:30am wake-up time. So far, I'm 7 for 7! It supposedly takes 21 days to make something a habit, so hopefully by the middle of September it will be second nature. It also probably helps that I've been going to bed at 9:45pm like a lil' old granny.

On the foodie front, I've kept busy with my Rays blogging gig. (Check out recent recipes here.) I've even done a couple in-store demos, which is super fun. I could talk to people about food all day.

Sara's Sweets has also been a lot of fun. I just love baking cupcakes for people... everyone is always so happy when you give them cupcakes!

My favorite Toffee Crunch... well one of my fav's.

And here's some exciting news on the cupcake front - I will be making cupcakes + desserts for a new restaurant opening here in the Bean Town! The Met will be a gathering place featuring wine, beer, spirits, and small plates. The owners are currently refurbishing an old building downtown, and it is so neat. I cannot wait for it to open.

Shooting this video was so much fun... when else do I get the chance to ramble on about cupcakes as much as I please? Love it.

[Random side question: Any suggestions on what else to toast with the kitchen torch? Besides creme brulee. I'm at a loss!]

What else have we been doing? Just soaking up the last few weeks of summertime weather, with lots of trips to Pete's ice cream. We also had my favorite visitors last weekend, so much fun. :)

Sweet Maggie

Mom & I at the Dierks Bentley concert! Plus random dude in the background.

I hope to be back before another month passes by!

The Wild, Wild West

2012-08-01T20:58:00.001-04:00

July was a crazy busy month. Two weddings, a 4th of July party, a vacation to Charleston, SC, and Calabash, NC, a 5k down in Columbus... and a short little trip to Vail, Colorado. (Currently sitting in the Denver airport waiting for our flight home.) What would I do if I had a job where I had to work in the summer?!

I'll start with our Colorado trip, since it's the freshest in my mind. Each year, my Business Man has the opportunity to win a vacation with his company, and this year it happened to be an escape to the beautiful mountains of Vail.

We flew out Sunday morning, and arrived in Vail just in time for some exploring. Our resort was located about 2 miles from town. There is an awesome little trail that connects all the resorts & shopping/dining areas, so we walked that a lot into town.

View from one of my runs

Monday morning, we decided to be all athletic and take a hike up the mountain. It was only 3.2 miles, and labeled as "intermediate", so we thought we would breeze through it. Hmmmph. (And, we didn't want to pay the $25 fee to ride up the gondola instead. $25! For a 10-minute gondola ride up the mountain. Insane. Pretty sure I would be disgusted with the price to go skiing in Vail.)

just the start of the ginormous mountain

The hike was fun, but a lot harder than I expected. It felt like we climbed basically straight uphill. But the views more than made up for it. Wowza, it was so peaceful up there.

ready to hike!

Before we were even done hiking up, we (or at least I) had already begun to dread the hike back down. Seriously, I was so scared that I would fall and be sent rolling down the ravine, never to bake a cupcake again. Luckily, once we reached the top, we discovered that it was FREE to ride the gondola back down! Such a sweet reward for making the hike up.

view from the gondola ride down

my Business Man's mad Instagram skillz

That night, we had a tasty pizza dinner at Blue Moose Pizza. Salad, BBQ chicken pizza, and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. What more could a girl ask for?

Tuesday, we drove over to Glenwood Springs to take a dip in the hot springs pool. It's a huge pool that is filled with water from the Yampah spring, full of 15 types of minerals that are good for you. (Or so we think.) The water comes from the spring at a temperature of 122*F, and they have to reduce the temperature down to 90*F before it goes in the pool.

I could get used to this view.

It was seriously the biggest pool I've ever seen. We spent the afternoon lounging & swimming, because the water was so warm. The sun was out in full force which made the day that much better.

We explored the cute little town of Glenwood Springs before eating dinner at The Pullman. This was easily my favorite meal of the trip. And it wasn't outrageously priced like most of the restaurants in Vail.

So many choices, and what did I go with? The burger. (I know, come on.) But it was the best burger of my life. Grass-fed beef, with caramelized onions & white cheddar, all on an over-sized homemade English muffin. Seriously, so good.

didn't even need ketchup!

My Business Man had the braised pork shoulder with smoked mozzarella grits. It was gone before I could even ask for a taste! (He has since requested that I learn how to make grits... hmmm, might need to consult my girl Paula Deen.)

We finished up the night eating a pint of ice cream from the market at the resort and watching the Olympics in bed. Perfect in my opinion.

Now we're back in good ole' Ohio and plan to stay put for the month of August. Ugggh... how can it be August already?! School starts in 20 days...

Fall Race Schedule... and that time I ran 400m's in the pouring down rain

2012-07-25T08:32:00.001-04:00

It's that time again... time to start (seriously) training. With an actual training plan, not the go-out-and-run-whatever-you-want training plan. Fall racing season is just around the corner, and I'm looking forward to some PR's.

I've got a few summer 5k's left, and then some longer races in the fall. I decided NOT to run a full marathon this fall, and focus on speed in the half-marathon. I really want to break 1:30 for the half distance, which is definitely possible. (My PR is 1:30:14.)

Here's my schedule. (So far.)

July 28 - SIDS Prevention 5km

August 4 - Square Fair 5km

September 15 - Pumpkin Fest 10km

October 6 - Hands for Haiti Half-marathon

October 7 - Octoberfest 10km

October 21 - Columbus Half Marathon (GOAL RACE - sub 1:30)

November 9-10 - RAGNAR Relay Tennessee

After consulting my BFF Jack Daniels, I designed a 13-week training plan that takes me through the Columbus Half on October 21. It's a bit more aggressive than any plan that I've done recently, and I'm excited to challenge myself and switch it up with new interval workouts. My mileage will top out at 55-60 miles a week.

Here's a quick view of what I've got on tap. I'm not fancy, so I don't know how to make nifty tables in Blogger. So you get a screen shot of my Excel document. :) If anyone would like to actually see a copy of the schedule, shoot me a comment or an email.

Since it's week #1, yesterday I had my first speed workout of the new plan. 400m's at R (repetition) pace. Which is freaking fast. I was supposed to run 10 x 400m @ 83 sec (5:32-pace!) with 400m jog recovery.

The weather was a little tricky yesterday - super humid when I woke up at 7am. I decided to wait it out a bit, and by 9am the humidity had dropped significantly. The clouds were looming, but it looked like I might just encounter a sprinkle or two. I laced up my shoes and headed out.

I intended to jog 1.5 miles to the nearest track (which is a cinder track), and run my 400m's there. However, about 10 minutes into the warm-up, the skies opened, and it started to pour. Change of plans - I decided to run back home and get my hat so I could actually see without rain pelting my eyeballs.

By then time I made it home, I'd already run 2+ miles, so I decided to run my 400m's on the road near my house where I know the 0.25 miles. (Plus, running in the pouring rain on a cinder track didn't sound too appealing anymore.)

I made it through the first few okay - 83, 83, 83, 85.

And then it went downhill. It was really pouring by now. Rep #5 was rough... the rain had got into my eyes and both my contacts went completely out of focus. I felt like I was blindly running through the streets, splashing in every puddle I came across. Seriously, I'm sure I was quite the sight.

Lovely me, soaking wet, after the run. Can't you see I'm thrilled?

I ended up completing four more intervals - 87, 84, 84, 87, finishing up with eight total intervals. Not quite the ten intervals the plan called for, but good enough for the conditions.

Yesterday was definitely more about effort & mental persistence than anything else. Would it have been easier to switch up the workout and hit the treadmill? Sure. But pushing through the pouring rain, fuzzy contacts, and water-logged shoes made me feel like a million bucks. (Not really... but the more I train in not-perfect conditions, the more I appreciate when the weather is decent.) So even though I didn't hit my splits, I still consider the workout a success. And hopefully next week, the same workout will be a breeze!

This morning, I hit up the hills with my running group, keeping it at a recovery pace. It was a beautiful morning for a run... we finally had temps in the 60s. I'm hoping to get out for a second run this afternoon to help me hit my mileage for the week. Happy Wednesday!

Strawberry Balsamic Bacon Pizza

2012-07-12T08:50:00.001-04:00

Yes, that's right. Strawberries + balsamic + bacon on pizza? Don't knock it until you try it.

I have prepared this pizza no less than 5 times this summer, with full intentions of photographing it and blogging about it. Every time, we would be about halfway through the pizza when I would remembered "Gah! I was gonna take pictures! Oh well, it's too delicious... next time!"

I don't know where the self-control came from, but this week I managed to get a few pictures before devouring our new favorite pie.

What makes this pizza so delish? All the different flavors - the tangy sauce, sweet strawberries, salty bacon, fresh cilantro. It's seriously phenomenal.

The sauce starts with some reduced balsamic vinegar. Cook it over medium heat until it is reduced by half, and becomes thick and almost syrupy.

Just poured into the pan...

Reduced & ready to go!

Then, mix it up with some strawberry jam and a bit of sriracha chili sauce. A little bit of sweet with a little bit of heat. That's what makes it so good.

Saucy-sauce

Then the sauce goes onto the crust.

Now time for the fun stuff! First we've got chicken.

Then some sliced onion.

Then the CHEESE. Just simple mozzarella. (Just make sure you shred it yourself. Or recruit your Business Man to shred it for you. It tastes so much better.)

Then the strawberries! Dice 'em up real small.

And the bacon. Make sure it's thick-cut, crisp bacon. Why is bacon so good?

After a quick trip in the oven, all you gotta do is sprinkle it with a bit of fresh cilantro, and you are ready to dig in.

This is the pizza of the summer for us. We have homemade pizza for dinner about once a week, and this has been the flavor choice at least twice a month since May. Even if you're skeptical about strawberries on a pizza, give it a try.

I've been slicing my pizzas into strips lately... not only is it more fun to eat, but you can eat more without feeling like you're eating more. Just one more little sliver. (Except when you do that 5 times, it probably counteracts itself. Get what I'm sayin'?!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Strawberry Balsamic Bacon Pizza

Servings/Yield: One 12-inch pizza

For the sauce

¼ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup strawberry jam
1 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce

For pizza

1 ball pizza dough
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
½ cup thinly sliced yellow onion
4-oz shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup diced strawberries
4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced and cooked until crisp
2-3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Method

Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Simmer 5 minutes, or until reduced in half and the vinegar is thick & syrupy. Combine reduced vinegar with strawberry jam and sriracha chili sauce.

Prepare pizza dough/crust, however your recipe indicates. (I use a pizza stone preheated in the oven for 30 minutes at 500*F.) Spread the sauce mixture onto your pizza crust. Top with chicken, onion, mozzarella cheese, strawberries, and bacon.

Bake the pizza 7-10 minutes at 500*F, until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving.

Source: From Annie's Eats

A Day in the Life... [of a teacher during summer break!]

2012-07-10T20:40:00.003-04:00

I've been seeing some "Day in the Life" posts float around the interwebs and thought it'd be fun to partake. Here's how I spent my summer Tuesday.

6am - Alarm goes off so I can run early to 'beat the heat.' But... since I'm not meeting anyone to run, I immediately roll over and go back to sleep.

7:30am - I wake up for real, and make my way downstairs. I cook a gourmet breakfast for my Business Man (a bowl of microwaved instant oatmeal, so gourmet) and make myself a mug of iced coffee. Yum. After getting my own breakfast, I plop myself on the couch to watch the Today show.

9am - After spending an hour and a half in front of the TV and 'blogging', I decide I should do something productive. So I attempt to get started on some lesson planning and how to implement the common core standards for next year. Gross.

10:15am - Enough of that school stuff. I decide I should go to the gym and get my run on with Kathie Lee & Hoda. (Even though it's not that hot out.) Today was Tempo Tuesday and I ran 6.2 miles at 6:35 avg pace. The plan was to only run a 6-mile tempo, but I realized I was close to a 10km PR... so I ran 6.2 and finished in 40:49, a 4 second PR. But can I really count that? Hmmmm...

Rockin' out my new neon pink sports bra from Target, love it

12:30pm - After corework, stretching, and showering, I come home for lunch. My Business Man comes home for lunch a lot during the summer (to see me, or at least that's what I tell myself), so I get to see him for a few minutes, which is fun. Except he usually is a speed-eater and is back out the door in 10 minutes or less.

1:30pm - I head to the pool for an afternoon of fun in the sun. It was 84*F today, perfect laying out weather. I spent some time consulting the experts to craft a training plan for the fall, and then moved onto my book. Currently reading Mercy by Jodi Picoult.

Jack Daniels... the king of ~~booze~~ distance running

4pm - I leave the pool and head to the grocery store for parchment paper. (The one thing I forgot when I went to the store Sunday. Grrr.) But I forgot the store was having a HUGE 4-hour sale from 3pm-7pm, and ended up waiting in line to check out for a long time. No big deal, I don't have anywhere to be. Plus then I get to browse through all the magazines.

4:30pm - I arrive home and prepare pizza dough so it can rise before dinner. I also spend some time doing the dishes that have been accumulating all day, and I throw a load of laundry in.

6:30pm - Not sure what happened since 4:30pm (probably sucked into the vortex of Pinterest or food blogs), but realize I better actually make the pizza so we can eat dinner. My Business Man arrives home around this time, too, so I get to ask him five bajillion questions about his day.

Recipe soon, I promise

8pm - I help my Business Man water the flowers. And by help, I mean sit outside and watch while he waters the flowers. And chat with the neighbors. Tonight, I was introduced to the little neighbor girl's pet grasshopper, Bruce. She was planning on taking him to bed with her. How sweet.

9pm - I come inside and plant myself on the couch with a bowl of ice cream. Or a cupcake. There are no cupcakes in the house tonight though, so ice cream it is. Since today's Tuesday, we watch Cupcake Wars. Funny, I start my day on the couch and end my day on the couch.

10pm - I mosey up to bed so I can attempt to make it to the hill workout in the park at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

---

Yes, I have it easy in the summer. And I absolutely love it. Granted, this was a really laid-back day. Usually I have more errands to run or a few cupcake/baked goods orders to fill. (And I like those days even better because I get to spend a portion of my day baking!)

I wouldn't trade these summer days for anything. (Except maybe my own bakery. Hmmmm...)

Wedding Mania

2012-07-10T09:08:00.001-04:00

The last 8 days have been busy.

2 out-of-town weddings + 2 rehearsals + 2 rehearsal dinners + mid-week 4th of July party = exhausted Sara. Yesterday I took a day to completely recoop and I feel much better. Nothing an afternoon by the pool can't cure!

So... rewind to our first wedding weekend. My Business Man's college roommate got married up on a beautiful lake in Michigan.

It was so much fun to reunite and spend some time with his friends from college, who have become my friends as well. Love our friends' weekends!

Love these 'ribbon dancers' we used for the send-off!

The wedding was gorgeous - the bride's attention to detail was insane! The place settings, the favors, the cake.

Beautiful tables

Loved the linens

They had homemade strawberry jam for favors. Isn't this display the cutest? (I may have snagged 4 jars...)

My Business Man & I even got to take a little boat ride during the cocktail hour. First (and last?) boat ride of the summer!

Soakin' up the sun

The cake! And groom's cake.

We danced like maniacs for hours, it seemed. I woke up so sore the next day. Who knew that flailing your arms around like an idiot for 3 hours would make your back sore?

With the newlyweds!

Mmmm... vanilla raspberry.

---

And wedding #2... my cousin's wedding! He and I grew up together, and attended rival high schools. We actually both studied math ed in college and he's a math teacher as well. It was so much fun to have the chance to be a part of his & his wife's big day! (They asked me to play piano for the ceremony.)

I don't have as many pics from this one, perhaps due to the fact that I was little busy during the wedding. :)

Despite the hot temps, they had a sweet ceremony in a quaint little church in the countryside. I hear the music was pretty fantastic, too.

The reception rocked! A photobooth, cupcakes, and an ice cream sundae bar. Unreal... how did they know that ice cream is my favorite dessert?!

Toppings galore!

Loaded up with Reese's & hot fudge. Yum!

The cake was gorgeous as well... I love the square layers.

And the groom's cake. My cousin's played football his whole life and now he coaches at the school he teaches at.

What a great weekend spent catching up with family & friends.

Now we're back in the Bean Town for a more low key week. I'm hoping to get my fall race schedule planned out, and create a training plan of some sort! I've been going kind of crazy without a plan these last few weeks.

My other goal - get to the pool every day. I know, life's rough. ;)

Freedom 5km and Celebrating the 4th!

2012-07-05T08:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the 4th of July. You were probably aware of that, due to the numerous photo uploads of fireworks on facebook, instagram, and other social media platforms. You probably were also aware that it was HOT. (At least in the Midwest.)

We had a great day. It started out with a run, some baking happened during the middle, and we finished off by celebrating with friends.

Starting with the run... it wasn't just any run - it was the Freedom 5km! This was my 'A' race of the summer, so I was hoping to PR and run sub-18:50. But... did I mention it was hot yesterday? As in, 85*F and full sun at the 9am start? Yea. Great for racing.

The start

Anyway, I set out to run my best despite the heat. My plan was to run 6:00 miles for as long as I could. I warmed up with a 2-mile jog, some plyos & striders, and then we were ready to go!

The first mile was not too bad, just got into the groove. 5:50 split. [Side note: that might be my fastest first mile, ever.]

The second mile started to hurt a bit more, but I still ran a 5:58 split. Way under goal-pace, so I was excited.

Then the third mile. Ohhhhhh, the third mile. At this point we were on the Riverwalk trail and just had to make it back to the park. Which seriously seemed forever away. (Funny how you can run that 1-mile stretch any other day of the week and it flies by, but in the middle of a race, it drags on for eternity.)

My body was rebelling against the heat at this point, and it felt like it took all my energy to just put one foot in front of the other. Combined with a few roly poly hills, this mile was miserable. I ended up running a 6:28 last mile. Yikes, talk about positive splitting! Not my ideal race strategy at all.

Struggling to the finish

I finished the race in 18:55... so close to my PR! I'll admit it, I was a bit upset that I was so close. Just 5 seconds! However, after talking to several of my running buddies after the race, I realized that it was really hot & humid. Everyone I talked to was majorly affected by the heat, most people by like 30-60 seconds. This was still only my second time to break 19:00 so I am happy about that! I need to find another 5km yet this summer (hopefully with some cooler temps) so I can attempt another PR.

I ended up 2nd female overall, and 25th out of 1100+ participants. (First place girl ran 17:50... she's a beast. She also ran for Ohio State. :-P) Funny thing is, my running buddy Amy and I went for a long cool-down and totally missed the awards ceremony. Usually, it takes forever to get the awards organized, so we figured we had plenty of time. Whoops!

After the race, I hightailed it home so we could prep for our 4th of July party. We had an open house and invited pretty much everyone we know in the Bean Town. We live just a block and a half from the park, where all the fireworks and festivities are, so it's a blast!

Of course, since I have the best job in the summer (aka no job), I spent some time on some Pinterest crafts so our house would be festive.

Pinwheel garland

Festive wreath

Sparklers!

I also made beef burgers and turkey burgers. My Business Man did a great job grilling them.

Burger-making

And then the dessert. (What's a party without dessert?) I had a few cupcake orders so I whipped a few extra for the party. I was quite excited to use my Christmas gift cupcake stand for the first time!

Soft Sugar Cookies & Buckeye Cookies. (Ohhh Buckeye Cookies, my favorite in the whole world.)

The cupcakes! Confetti, Lemon, Red Velvet, and my newest flavor - Vanilla Blueberry with Blueberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Yum!

All in all - running, cupcakes, friends... what more could a girl ask for?