Losing My Sanity Saturday

I really think I am going insane. I mean, only a crazy person would run 20 mi on the treadmill, right? Yes, I can't believe I just did it. I ran 20 mi on the treadmill. I woke up this morning after 10 hours of wonderful sleep last night feeling a little bit better. I had also been taking sudafed like it was my job since I started to feel the congestion coming on. There's no way I want to be sick right now. Unfortunately, we got about 2-3 inches of snow during the night which normally wouldn't be a big deal but the roads were also icy and most counties in central Ohio were under a level 2 snow emergency. And I knew Todd wouldn't be able to bike with me. I sucked it up and headed to my apartment gym hoping to get in at least 16 mi (my treadmill PR) and if I was feeling pretty good, go for the full 20 mi. I somehow got lost in my running and felt good so I pushed it to 20 mi and I'm ecstatic. I really wanted to get my first 20 mi in this week because otherwise I would have to do back to back 20s the next 2 weeks and I like to have a cut back in my long run in between 20s.

Around mile 15 soaked in sweat

Todd was great and came over to my gym about an hour into my run to get his own workout in. It's nice knowing he's there even though we aren't really talking. He ended up running 5 mi, which is awesome for him, and lifting. His goal at the beginning of 2010 was to be able to run 10 mi by the end of the year. I tried to convince him to do a half marathon but he wasn't having any of that. Anyways, I know he'll easily be able to run 10 mi so I think we're gonna do a 10 mi race at the end of the summer.

I ran my 20 mi in 2:43:37 for an average pace of 8:10. I know this might seem a bit fast for a long run but I feel like it's a lot easier on the treadmill since there's no wind resistance or hills. It's a great start to the weekend!

Baked Orzo With Tomatoes, Roasted Peppers and Zucchini

Todd & I have been trying to eat in more instead of going out to eat. We probably used to go out to eat 5-6 times/week, which doesn't help your waistline or wallet. When we first started dating, Todd was working late most nights so it was easiest for us to just go out to dinner instead of taking extra time to make food. Unfortunately, we both gained a few pounds and now that I'm on a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, it's easier to cook ourselves. Now, we still do go out to eat a few times a week, but it seems like for the most part, we're going with friends.

My goal with cooking more is to make a new recipe at least once per week. I have TONS of recipes I've found over the years that I really want to try so I shouldn't run out of meals to cook. With it being a meatless Friday because of Lent and I have a long run tomorrow morning, I decided to make this pasta dish for Todd & I.

Baked Orzo with Tomatoes, Roasted Peppers and Zucchini

Baked Orzo With Tomatoes, Roasted Peppers and Zucchini

Ingredients:

1/2 pound orzo (about 1 1/8 cups)
Salt to taste
1 large red pepper, roasted and diced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced; or 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 or 2 plump garlic cloves (to taste), minced
2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan or 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese (1/2 cup, tightly packed)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, and add the orzo. Cook eight minutes, or until it is cooked through but still firm to the bite. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the diced roasted pepper and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish. Heat another tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, wide skillet. Add the zucchini and cook — stirring and turning over the slices, or tossing them in the pan — until just cooked through and lightly colored, about five minutes. Scrape into the bowl with the orzo.

3. Return the pan to the heat, add the final tablespoon of oil and the garlic. Cook just until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds, and add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and smell fragrant. Taste and adjust seasoning. Scrape into the bowl with the orzo, add the Parmesan or goat cheese, and mix everything together. Add freshly ground pepper to taste, and adjust salt. Transfer to the baking dish.

4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is just beginning to color. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: Serves six

Advance preparation: You can assemble this several hours, even a day, before baking.


We had our meal with Italian bread from Whole Foods & olive oil with seasoning for dipping and thought everything was delicious. The only thing I might change the next time is to add some mozzarella cheese to the baked orzo.

I have my first 20 mi tomorrow morning for Boston training. Unfortunately, I'm coming down with a cold (probably from lack of sleep this week) and it's been snowing so I'm not 100% sure this run will happen. If it does happen, hopefully Todd is going to ride his bike alongside me and keep me company. I'm not sure how feasible this will be though if we get a few inches of snow tonight. If I wuss out and run on the treadmill (or don't run at all if I'm not feeling well...I'm not going to force myself to run if I'm sick), I still have a few more 20s and a 22 mi to run so don't worry, Todd will get his chance to ride while I run.

The last time Todd rode his bike was when he was watching me run the Columbus Marathon in October of 2008. He busted his tire at some point and luckily had one of our friend's brothers pick him up and take him to the finish. Well, he went to fix his tire last night & apparently a bunch of the ball bearings from his pedal fell out so his bike is still out of commission. Todd was going to call a few people to see if he could borrow someone's bike but then I realized my Dad has a bike that he obviously isn't using now so before dinner, Todd & I stopped by my parent's real quick to pick up the bike.

I'm really hoping this will be our last weekend of snow. We're an inch away from setting the record for amount of snow in February and I'm sure after tonight, we'll reach it.

New Protein Products from Cliff Bar

I absolutely love Cliff Bar products, not only are they delicious but they use organic ingredients and are free of trans fat, hydrogenated oil, and high fructose corn syrup. There are so many Cliff products perfect for any occasion--an easy breakfast, energy chews during a long run, a quick midday snack, or a recovery smoothie after a tough workout.

A few of my favorite products include:

Mojo Bar in Mountain Mix

Cliff Bar in White Chocolate Macadamia Nut (I also love Cool Mint Chocolate)

Cliff Kid Zbar in Chocolate Chip

Luna Bar in Chocolate Peppermint Stick

Luna Sport Watermelon Moon Energy Chews (similar to shot bloks but smaller)

Shot Bloks in Strawberry

Luna Sport Dark Chocolate Recovery Smoothie

I needed to replenish my supply of Cliff products so when I was at Whole Foods the other day, I stocked up on bars & bloks and was pleasantly surprised when I saw a new Cliff product that I had to try. The new Luna Protein bars are less than 200 calories and have 12 g of protein & 3 g of fiber. They come in 3 flavors: chocolate peanut butter, chocolate chip cookie dough, and chocolate cherry almond. I bought the chocolate peanut butter & the chocolate chip cookie dough bars and tried the chocolate peanut butter the other day. It was chocolaty, nougaty goodness! It didn't have a "proteiny" taste and despite it's small size, it was pretty filling.


I was curious if Cliff had any other new products so I went to their website and found these:


According to their website, Shot Roks promote recovery post-activity and have 20 g of protein. Wow! They have a crunchy shell with chewy center and come in 3 flavors: peanut butter, chocolate, and chocolate chip cookie dough. Hopefully this show up in stores sometime soon otherwise I might have to break down & order some online.

I got my 12 mi progression run in this morning on the treadmill as it had snowed overnight. I felt amazing during my run even though I was a bit sore from lifting yesterday & tired from getting up early. I started at 8:19 pace to warm up and gradually increased the speed, ending with the last quarter mile at 6:58 pace. I ran the 12 mi in 1:34:18 for an average pace of 7:51. My goal was to run under 8:00 pace (goal marathon pace) so I'm very happy with this run. I did this similar run 3 weeks ago and I ran 3 minuntes faster today!

3:00 AM Wake Up Call

I had to be at work at 3:45am this morning....ugh.

Pros: there's very little traffic at 3:30am so I can get to work in record time and I get to leave work by 12:15pm

Cons: having to get up at 3am, getting ready for work when most people are still in a deep sleep, and being thrown off any sort of normal sleeping schedule the rest of the week

One week a month we offer early morning testing to accommodate for 3rd shift police officers to come in and do their yearly fitness test because they're allowed to do it on duty. We also offer one week a month of evening testing from 7-9pm for 2nd shift police officers, which means for me, working a normal 8 hour day and then coming back to work again at night. Nice perk for them, not so nice for me. Luckily, our schedule for these weird hours is pretty light for the first half of the year because police officers like to procrastinate and wait until the last few months of the year to do their fitness test. Come November & December, I'll be working all kinds of crazy hours. To tell you the truth, since I'm a morning person anyways, I don't really mind working at 3:45am every once in awhile because then I get a lot errands & housework done in the afternoon since I get off early. I also have the pleasure of working at this early hour on Thursday morning. I guess the week will go by fast!

I wanted to share some pics from the weekend. Sunday afternoon, Todd & I decided to make some bread in his bread maker. We used to make bread pretty frequently and then use the bread to make paninis...my favorite! Since we were just hanging out and lounging around before heading to a friend's indoor soccer game, we figured we'd make a loaf of Two Cheese Bread. It was so good!

Todd adding all the ingredients to the bread maker

About 3 hours later, we'd have a warm loaf of bread

The finished product
Hot, fresh cheese bread...you can even see the steam coming from it

On a running note, I ran hills & a few miles at tempo pace yesterday morning. I did 8 mi total with 2 x 0.25 mi @ 5% grade and 2 x 0.50 mi @ 3% grade all at goal marathon pace. I threw in a few miles at the end in 7:40 pace. I ended my workout with an easy 20 min on the elliptical. Today I did 30 min on the elliptical and did a total body circuit for strength training with 1 x 8 min of jump rope thrown in there. Tomorrow I have 12 mi on tap which will be a progression run of some sort and am hoping to average under goal marathon pace. I'm feeling really good about my running this week & am excited to get to my first 20 mi of this training cycle on Saturday.

Week 9 Recap: February 15-21

I wasn't really pleased with my training the past week. Yes, I hit most of my goal paces, but I felt tired and mentally wasn't in my training. I shortened a couple runs and slept in a few mornings which meant having to work out or run after work which I'm not a fan of. I think part of it has to do with all this snow we've been getting, it really does start to get to you after awhile!

Monday: 6 mi @ goal marathon pace + 10 sec; lifted total body

Tuesday: 45 min elliptical; stairs & core workout

Wednesday: 6 mi (1 mi warm up, 4 mi tempo @ 7:31 pace, 1 mi cool down)

Thursday: 30 min bike; lifted total body

Friday: 6 mi @ goal marathon pace (8:00); core

Saturday: 14 mi @ 8:23 pace

Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning

TOTAL: 32 mi

I'm hoping this week will be better for me especially since it'll be my first 40 mi week & first 20 miler since my last marathon training cycle. Unfortunately, I have to be at work at 3:45am on Tuesday & Thursday but should be able to still get in some cross training & lifting both days. Sometimes you have an "off" week and I'm hoping that means this week will be a great one!

Long Run & the Weekend

Since I did 18 mi last weekend & I have my first 20 mi of this training cycle next weekend, I opted for a lower mileage long run with 14 mi. I haven't been feeling very motivated this week in terms of my running so I wasn't really sure what to expect for this run although I was hoping to run between 8:15-8:30 pace. I ended up running it in 1:57:24 for an average pace of 8:23! I was very happy with this because I felt like I was going a lot slower and was pleasantly surprised. The weather was great this morning too despite the snow still covering all the sidewalks so I spent a lot of time making sure I wouldn't get hit by a car.

Last night, Todd & I went to a going away dinner for Lars & Julie at J Liu's. Lars is one of Todd's friends from work and just got a job in LA so he's moving at the beginning of March. Julie will be moving out there after their wedding in April...which Todd & I are going to miss because we'll already be in Boston. It was a great turnout at dinner though, I think about 30 people came and the food was really good (although a bit pricey...but that might have been Todd's $10 beers).

Today, Todd & I are meeting Alyssa & Joe, one of my friends from grad school who I also worked with for over a year and her husband, for lunch in German Village at the Olde Mohawk. They're known for their turtle soup so I'm kinda hoping someone gets it just so I can have a taste. I have no idea what turtle would taste like...probably chicken. Other than that and teaching core & spinning tomorrow morning, we have no real plans. I'm sure some of the weekend will involve watching a movie and the Olympics.

I also had great week at work. A few weeks ago our boss told us he got another position within our hospital system so he'll no longer be our boss as of March 15. We were all super bummed at work and are worried about who will be replacing him. So needless to say, the past couple weeks have been kinda weird but this week was a lot better. We met with our boss's boss earlier in the week and discussed some responsibilities we would be taking over while they are hopefully hiring someone new (our hospital system is notorious for not approving positions to get filled so let's hope it does otherwise we'll be understaffed) and most of us feel comfortable now with the fact our boss is leaving. We also are very close to signing a contract with another smaller fire department in the Columbus area for medical & fitness testing which is great news for us! We already test 6 departments and are eager to take on another challenge. I also gave a presentation yesterday to a small company about incorporating exercise into a healthy lifestyle. I love giving presentations because I enjoy public speaking and it gets me out of the office for a few hours. It went very well & they had a lot of good questions to ask so all in all, it was a great week at work.

Enjoy your weekend!

Black Bean Chili & Cornbread

Since we couldn't eat meat the other night on Ash Wednesday, I decided to make black bean chili & cornbread for Todd and I. Because I added corn to the chili to give it more substance, it's more like a veggie chili. I should also let you know that it's broth based so it's not as thick as what you would normally think of chili but I still think it's delicious & super easy to make. You can also add meat to it if you want.

Black Bean Chili & Cornbread

Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 can (14-19 oz) black beans, drained
3/4 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
3/4 can (14 oz) vegetable broth
1 can (4 oz) green chile peppers, chopped
2 tsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano

*Various ingredients can be added and changed (corn, kidney beans, ground turkey, etc.)

*I only used 8 oz. of the vegetable broth & added the entire can of each ingredient as well as corn, and topped the chili with some shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat oil in large pan. Add onion and pepper and cook, stirring, for 3 min. Add beans, tomatoes (with juice), broth, chili peppers, chili powder, garlic, cumin, and oregano and simmer for 20 min.


We ate the chili with Trader Joe's cornbread which is amazing! I love cornbread & have tried many different brands and I think I just found my favorite! I highly recommend it.

By the way, 2 months till Boston!!

Book Review

The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker & Dick Lochte is the latest book I've read. Here's a quick overview of the book. Billy Blessing, a New York City celebrity chef who owns a restaurant and does a variety of segments on a morning show, becomes a suspect in a murder case after Rudy Gallagher, Blessing's executive producer on the show with whom he has clashed, dies after eating some poisoned food from Blessing's restaurant. Throw in an international secret that Gallagher was keeping along with a well-known assassin who just came into town, and before you know it, another murder strikes the morning show and Billy knows that someone is out to frame him.

The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker & Dick Lochte

If I had to rate this book, I would give it 3 stars out of 5. It was just so-so. I typically like a good mystery book because it keeps you hooked in with all the twists & turns and you're trying to figure out who did it. While this book definitely kept you guessing until the end, I had a hard time following some of the plot and characters. Most of the clues are there for you to figure out who did it, but they are not very obvious so after I read the book, I actually went back and re-read the parts based on how Billy figured it out. There was a bit of political aspect to the book as well with the international secret. I laughed at a few parts and enjoyed most of the characters, but all in all, I thought it was pretty slow-paced until the last third & didn't think it was more than an average mystery book.

One Year Ago...

I broke my hand running.....and the embarassing part is that it wasn't even icy outside. One second I was running, the next second I was laying on the sidewalk. Luckily, there wasn't much traffic out since it was early in the morning so I don't think anyone saw me. I was only about a mile into my 10 mile run when I fell and at first, I didn't think anything was wrong so I kept running another few miles when I noticed my hand was throbbing and swelling and was getting worse. I ran back to Todd's house and immediately said we needed to go to the ER. And this is what I ended up with....

The huge splint for my broken hand

Needless to say, training for Boston last year was a little bit more difficult. I had this big splint, which, let me tell you, was not light. It was heavy and I hated every second of having it on. I could only run 3 or 4 mi with it on because it would get so hot & sweaty and was so dang heavy. I even had to skip my long run that week because of it. The good news was that I went to the doctor after a week and was given a much smaller splint.

My hand one week after I fell.......and Todd was probably yelling at me during this picture for taking my splint off


My much smaller splint

I had to wear the smaller splint for another 3 weeks. So in total, I had a splint on my arm/hand for a month. Of course, it just happened to be right in the thick of my Boston training so I had to do 2 of my 20 mi runs with this stupid splint. I was ecstatic though that I wasn't going to have to run Boston with it. On a side note, my training partners found it hilarious when I couldn't wear a glove on my hand so I had a sock on it to keep my fingers warm.

So now when I'm complaining about how cold it is outside to run, I can just think about how it isn't as bad as having to run with a broken hand.

I did get in a run this morning on the treadmill but I'm a little disappointed in myself. I had planned on doing 10 mi which meant I had to get up at 4:30am. Well, my alarm went off and I was still pretty tired....6.5 hours of sleep doesn't quite cut it after a few days. I ended up getting up at 5:00am instead so my plans of doing 10 mi went out the window since I wouldn't have enough time before going to work. Mentally, I don't think I could've done 10 mi anyways & my stomach wasn't feeling the greatest too. So all excuses aside, I ended up doing 6 mi w/ 1 mi warm up, 4 mi tempo @ 7:31 pace, and 1 mi cool down. I was happy with my tempo pace because it was 4 mi with no rest or easy jogging but disappointed I didn't do 10 mi. I know it isn't that big of a deal but I hate wussing out & now my weekly mileage will be down a bit.

Fat Tuesday

Since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, that means today is Fat Tuesday. Or in other words, the last time I can eat dessert until April 4, which is Easter. As a Catholic, you're suppose to give something up or fast from something that you enjoy or something that has meaning to you for the 40 days during Lent. Some people may even add something good to their life or others' lives.

For at least the past 10 years, I've always given up dessert because, to put it lightly, I have a major sweet tooth. Now, giving up dessert doesn't just mean I can't eat sweets after dinner, no, I give up desserts & sweets for the whole day. So for the next 40 days, you won't see me eating candy, cookies, brownies, chocolate, ice cream, cake, bowls of melted chocolate chips(don't ask), etc. Basically, if it sounds delicious, I probably won't be eating it. I've also decided this year to cut back on how much pop I drink. I've found that in the past year, I've been drinking 4-5 diet cokes/week, when I should be drinking water in it's place. So besides giving up dessert, I also plan on only drinking 2 pops/week; one during the work week and one during the weekends.

In celebration of Fat Tuesday, I stopped at Cheryl & Co on the way home from work to get something sweet. I ended up with a Peanut Butter Frosted Fudge Brownie and will also have a few chocolate dipped strawberries. I cannot wait to enjoy my last taste of dessert for 40 days while watching the Olympics!

On a side note, I'm sooo sick of all this snow! Hoping to get outside to run sometime in the next week but I might be stuck on the treadmill for awhile. We got another 8-9 inches of snow yesterday on top of over a foot of snow we already had. It only took me 2.5 hours to drive home from work yesterday....awesome. Schools have been off since last week. Is it spring yet?

Week 10 Recap: February 8-14

Another week of Boston training in the books...it's hard to believe I'm down to single digit weeks until race day. It's been flying by! I ran 4x this week instead of 3 because I wanted to bump up my mileage a bit before I maintain it for the next few weeks until another cut back week.

Monday: 6 mi (hillwork; 4x400 @ 5% grade @ goal marathon pace)
1 hour cardio & strength combo class @ the gym after work

Tuesday: 45 min elliptical, 10 min stepmill

Wednesday: 8 mi (tempo; 2x2mi @ 7:32, 7:24 & 7:27, 7:18 with 2 mi warm up & 1 mi cooldown; 7:43 average pace)
Taught 20 min core after work

Thursday: 4 mi (easy); lifted total body
1.5 hr indoor rock climbing w/ Todd

Friday: REST

Saturday: 18 mi @ 8:38 pace

Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning

TOTAL: 36 mi

Valentine's Day Post: How Todd & I Met

In honor of Valentine's Day (one of my favorite holidays but only because everything is pink....my favorite color!), I thought I'd share the story of how Todd & I met.

In short, we met at a mutual friend's wedding. But I prefer the long story....


At the end of 2007, Sara started working at the same place I did (and ironically I was also her TA at OSU when I was in grad school). She was also a marathon runner and we got along really well. She was engaged to Jay, who lived with 2 roommates. Sara knew I was single and had told me how Jay's roommates were single too and she thought that I'd really hit it off with one of them. Her reasoning was that we have the same sense of humor & we were both Catholic. A few weeks later in January, she invited me to go to dinner with her, Jay, another girl, and Jay's roommates. Unfortunately, only one roommate showed up to dinner because the other one was sick. I had a good time at dinner and never really thought again about Jay's roommates (mainly because I wasn't interested in the one I met and forgot about the one who didn't show because he was sick). Fast forward a few months to June and Jay invited me to Sara's surprise birthday party at his house. I was planning on going but I also had a wedding earlier that day in Dayton and didn't make it back in time for Sara's party. Again, another missed opportunity when I was suppose to meet Jay's roommate.

I was invited to Sara & Jay's wedding on July 12, 2008. As I was sitting there at their wedding ceremony, I noticed one of the groomsmen looked really cute. He also gave the Best Man speech at the reception. At some point during the reception, I asked Sara who he was and she said that was Todd, Jay's other roommate that she was trying to set me up with! Well, apparently Todd is a little shy around girls, which is crazy to think about because he is really outgoing normally, so Sara & Jay had to tell him about me and that I was the girl Sara had been trying to set him up with. We ended up dancing & hanging out the rest of the night. Three days later we went on our 1st date and 1 year & 7 months later, we couldn't be happier. It's funny to think that there were two times before Sara & Jay's wedding that we were suppose to be "set up" and meet but never did and then I saw him at the wedding and without knowing who he was, I was interested in meeting him.

I should also note that because of Sara, I not only met Todd, but also the girls I ran the Boston Marathon with. Sara worked part-time at a running store and there were several girls from the running store that would train together. She asked me if I wanted to join them one weekend for a long run so I did and that's how I started running with her, Emily & Tracy. I guess I have a lot to thank Sara for!

Our first picture together: Jazz & Rib Fest on July 25, 2008

Todd & I with Sara & Jay at an OSU tailgate during the fall of 2008

18 Miler & Valentine's Day Celebration

I started off my weekend this morning with my longest long run so far for this training cycle, 18 mi. I was a little nervous because it was pretty cold out (temps in the teens) and it was lightly snowing which meant the dusting of snow on the ground would cause the roads to be slick. Luckily, it wasn't too bad after I warmed up the first few miles even though I had to run in the streets the whole time because the sidewalks were not clean. Typically for long runs 16 mi or greater, I have my fuel belt with me so I can carry water & sport beans, even though I hate wearing it, and today after about 10 mi, I passed my apartment and set it by my car because I knew I wasn't going to need it and it was driving me crazy. The only complaint I can note is that my glutes started to feel really tight about halfway through the run and it almost felt like they were cramping. This could be due to the fact I cannot eat anything before I run (so no breakfast otherwise my stomach gets upset, in fact, I never eat before I work out/run) and I only had a quick sip of water before I dropped off my fuel belt. My run was exactly 18 mi (thanks to my garmin 405, I love that thing!) and I did it in 2:35:29 which is 8:38 pace. I was very pleased with this since my goal was 8:30-8:45 pace. I didn't really check my splits that much while I was running because I just wanted to go by feel since I hadn't done a long run outside in 3 weeks but was happy looking back at my splits and seeing that I was consistently running between 8:36-8:42 pace.

After I showered and took a quick 30 minute nap, Todd & I started our Valentine's Day celebration. Well, I guess it started last night because he brought me some flowers and even though we weren't giving presents, I couldn't help but buy him a Dayton Flyers shirt since he doesn't have one. We also gave cards to each other which is really all I ever want. Fyi, I love Hallmark.

Todd and his Flyers t-shirt & gotchie
My beautiful flowers
I love that they weren't traditional red roses & they definitely brighten up my apartment too

We had a quick lunch at Winking Lizard before going to see Valentine's Day at the movies and eating lots of popcorn. I really liked this movie especially because all the story lines were intertwined, similar to Love Actually, one of my fave movies. A few of the story lines were predictable but there was one part at the end I wasn't expecting that had me tearing up.

After the movies, we went to Whole Foods to pick up some ingredients for our fondue. We had some prepping to do, such as grating all the cheese for the cheese fondue as well as making the soft pretzel balls for dipping before actually making it. We started with Four Cheese & Artichoke Fondue with soft pretzel balls & french bread slices for dipping. The four cheeses included goat, asiago, gruyere, and parmigiano reggiano. It was delicious!

Four Cheese & Artichoke Fondue

Fondue with homemade pretzel balls, french bread, and wine from our trip to Geneva in the fall

We planned on then having our main course (no fondue required) which we bought at Whole Foods. Todd had a Thai Coconut Panko Breaded Chicken Cutlet and I had a Sun-Dried Tomato Panko Breaded Chicken Cutlet, but we decided we weren't hungry enough to eat them though so we'll just save them for tomorrow night.

We ended the night watching the Olympics with Chocolate Fondue with strawberries, bananas, marshmellows, and mini brownie bites for dipping. Yum!!

Chocolate Fondue
Fondue with strawberries, marshmellows, bananas, and mini brownie bites

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Running & Weekend Plans

Knock on wood, my running has been going really well recently! I have my longest run of my training so far tomorrow with 18 mi. My goal pace is 8:30-8:45 but we'll see since I haven't done a long run outside in a few weeks plus it depends on how icy and/or slushy the roads are. It's crazy to think that just 2 months ago, I had just started running again after my injury and now I'm already up to 18 miles. Don't worry though, I've been coming back slow and really watching my mileage. Let's hope it all pays off on April 19 when I'm injury-free and breaking 3:30.

I had a great speed/tempo workout on Wednesday morning. I ran 2 mi warm up, then 2x2 mi (1st set was 7:32, 7:24, 2nd set was 7:27, 7:18) with 1 mi easy in between and 1 mi cool down. I think I ended up running the "easy" mile in between sets and my cool down mile a little fast because my average pace for the total 8 mi was 7:43. I also ran an easy 4 mi yesterday morning before getting in a good total body lifting session (with jump rope added in). Todd & I also climbed last night after work. I can tell I'm improving there too!

I'm pretty excited for the weekend because it's Valentine's Day! Yes, I know it's every guys least favorite holiday but I like it because it means I get to spend some good quality time with Todd. Tonight, Todd & I are making basil pesto pasta so I can carb load for my run in the AM and then watch the Olympics. Tomorrow, we're going to "celebrate" Valentine's Day by going to the movies to see Valentine's Day (and eating lots of popcorn), hanging out at my apartment, and then making fondue later that night. I can't wait! Emily & Mark will also be in town this weekend so we're planning on hanging out with them for a little bit on Sunday. It'll be a nice & relaxing weekend after our 3 party weekend last week.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

One of my favorite flavors of pizza is BBQ Chicken so Todd & I decided to make it for dinner last night. It is super easy, especially if you cheat and don't make your own crust like we did, and is very yummy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Small red onion, sliced

1 chicken breast, grilled & cubed

1/2 cup 4 Cheese Mexican shredded cheese

1 pizza crust, store bought or homemade

Directions:

While grilling chicken, top the pizza crust with bbq sauce & cheese and slice the onion. Cube the grilled chicken and add to the pizza along with the red onion. You can also add more cheese on top if you like. Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 8-10 minute. Enjoy!

We thought the pizza was very good but a few things we would do different the next time: steam/cook the red onions before putting them on the pizza because 8-10 minutes in the oven was not enough time to soften them, make our own crust, and add a little bit more bbq sauce.

Beer Making

Todd & I finally bottled the Holiday Ale we started making early January so I thought I'd share the beer making process from start to finish.

The ingredients: Malt extract, crushed grains, bittering hops, flavoring hops, spice pack, priming sugar, yeast, and of course, Todd's beer journal
First step is boiling 2.5 gallons of distilled water & putting the crushed grains in the grain bag & putting it in the water
After we're done with the grain bag, we add the cans of malt extract & the hops

This is what the wort (it's not beer yet) looks like after adding the extract & bittering hops
This is what the wort looks like after adding the flavoring hops & spice pack (cinnamon, orange peel, and ginger)
The wort has been at a boil this whole time so now it must cool back down to room temperature; after we add the remaining 2.5 gallons of distilled water and yeast, the wort is siphoned from the brew pot to the fermenter

The wort remains in the fermenter for 4-6 days while we wait for the specific gravity to reach a certain range
After the wort reaches its specific gravity, it is transferred to the carboy for 2 weeks (this is a 2 stage fermentation process)

After the 2 weeks, we filter out the sediment & add the priming sugar for carbonation; we also steam the bottles & boil the beer caps and then it's time to bottle it
I like to bottle the beer so Todd caps the bottles

Our Holiday Ale!

Boston Marathon Hills

For those of you that are running Boston (or know someone who is & want to pass this on), check out this awesome spreadsheet about the Boston Marathon hills. I found this through one of the forums on RW & it helped me last year with some hill training. It used to be posted on this site but I couldn't find it when I went back to it the other day, but luckily I had it saved on my computer.

Hill Workout

I did a quick hill workout yesterday morning on the treadmill so I'd be able to control the speed & grade. I ended up with a total of 6 mi with 4 x 0.25 mi @ 5% grade @ goal marathon pace. I was pleased with this but next time I do a hill workout, I really want to bump up the length of my hills so instead of 0.25 mi maybe try to do 0.50 mi (or split it with 2 x 0.25 mi and 2 x 0.50 mi). The hills don't really seem too big at Boston, but what kills you is the fact that they come so late in the race (there are 4 right in row that start around mile 16 and end around mile 21) and you've just come off a huge downhill that literally destroys your quads. I didn't even run fast last year as I was trying to enjoy the race with my 3 friends but my legs were dead by the time Heartbreak Hill came around (not to mention a few days following the marathon!)

Yesterday's workout also included an evening group exercise class at the gym. I'd been wanting to take this class for some time now but I really struggle with working out after work (especially after I run/work out in the morning) but I somehow found the willpower to go. It was called Cardio & Strength Combo, which I thought would be a great class because it would keep my heart rate up with bursts of cardio but help with my strength training at the same time. Overall, it wasn't too bad but I don't know if I'd go back again. First of all, I am not coordinated in the least bit...hence, the reason I run and teach spinning. So I basically felt like a fool during the warm-up because I could not keep up with the instructor and her intricate steps. Second of all, I was really hoping for more bursts of cardio during the class but there were really only 2 or 3 that lasted a few minutes. The strength training part was good but I'll probably stick to doing that on my own. I was happy I finally forced myself to go though to check it out!

This morning I did some cross-training which included 45 min on the elliptical & 10 min on the stepmill. I had to cut my workout a little short because of a snow storm that is heading right towards Columbus as I type this. I know rush hour traffic will be terrible so I will have to leave a little earlier. Hope the weather stays nice your way!

Week 11 Recap: February 1-7

Like I had mentioned before, this was a cutback week for me by 15% so I only ran 28 mi but I felt really good and strong on all 3 runs. Next week I will crank the mileage back up & end the week with an 18 mi long run. Let's hope the weather gets a little better between now & then!

Monday: 7 mi in 55:05; 7:52 pace (speedwork; 1 mi warm up, 3 x 1 mi @ 7:18, 7:15, 7:11 with 1 mi easy in between

Tuesday: 45 min elliptical; lifted total body


Wednesday: 14 mi @ 7:59 pace (long run on treadmill)
taught 20 min core class after work

Thursday: REST (much needed!)

Friday: 7 mi @ 8:25 pace (easy)

Saturday: 30 min elliptical; lifted total body

Sunday: taught 20 min core class & taught 50 min spinning



TOTAL: 28 mi

Mustache Party

The mustache party was last night at Todd's house and it was everything I hoped for and more. Despite the snow storm that started earlier that day and continued throughout the night, there was a great turnout for the party. Mustaches were everywhere, awards were given out, drinks were had, Rock Band was played, and the bosco sticks (more on those another time) were a hit....all in all, I'd say it was a success! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Todd & I

There was even a celebrity in attendance so I had to get my picture taken with Alex Trebek

Megs & Lynn came with their mustaches too

Erich & I....one of Todd's Honda friends and the other host of the party

Another one of Todd & I later in the evening

Needless to say after finally going to bed passing out at 3am, I was so glad that I had done my long run earlier in the week. I was especially glad when I looked out the window in the morning and saw about a foot of snow too. I was planning on getting in a good cross-training & lifting session at the gym but by the time I finally dragged myself to the gym late in the afternoon, all I could muster up was a measly 30 min on the elliptical and a quick 30 min total body lift. We have a busy rest of the weekend too with 2 more parties. We're going to dinner & a surprise 30th birthday party for Jay tonight and a birthday/Super Bowl party tomorrow for Lars.

Great Week So Far!

It's been a great week so far & it's not even the weekend yet! Here are a few highlights:

• Got tickets to see Michael Buble with my Mom in June
• Had dinner at my parent's house
• UK is now 21-1 (!?!)
• The fire dept where I train just moved into a new fire station--the workout room is awesome and I got to slide down the fire pole
• Made a new spinning mix for my class on Sunday--I have over 20 that I rotate through but always love when I make a new one
• Had 3 solid runs this week and 6 weeks into training, I'm feeling great
• Todd & I have 3 parties this weekend & I can't wait to see some friends I haven't hung out with in awhile
• Hung out with Todd on Wednesday night....awww
• Started planning our trip to Portland, Oregon when I run Hood to Coast & I'm sooo excited; highlights of the trip will include a mini beer festival, shopping on NW 23rd, taking a day trip to drive along the Columbia River Gorge, seeing Multnomah Falls (the 2nd largest waterfall in the U.S.) & going to Mt. Hood (and possibly take a scenic ride on the Mt. Hood Railroad), stopping at a few wineries, and ending our trip on the coast of Oregon hanging out on the beach, seeing lighthouses, visiting the Tillamook Cheese Factory (for Todd, of course), and staying at a B&B near the ocean in Newport

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Book Review

Wow, I really loved this book! The Overnight Socialite by Bridie Clark is a modern day take on My Fair Lady and Pygmalion. Lucy Jo Ellis is a midwestern girl who moves to Manhattan to live out her dream of becoming a fashion designer. Instead, she is stuck working in the sweatshops of the Fashion District. After a terrible night, Lucy runs into Wyatt Hayes IV, who has a bet going with his friend that he can turn any average girl into one of New York's most famous socialites. They have 3 months to make her over, get heads turning, and have her invited to the biggest & best parties. The ending is slightly predictable but good nonetheless.



It was one of those books where I didn't want to put it down! It's a fun, light read that you can breeze right through. The only thing I didn't really like was the ending because you can tell it was set up for a sequel. I can definitely see this book becoming a movie too. I also recommend reading Because She Can by Bridie Clark especially if you enjoyed Devil Wears Prada.

Another Long Run & Boot Camp

I got my long run of 14 mi in this morning before work. I had to do it on the treadmill (again) and I swear, next week I'll be doing my 18 mi long run outside. I know I've said it before but it's just so hard to go out when it's pitch black outside and cold and run for a couple hours by myself. My run was great this morning--total time was 1:51:50 @ 7:59 pace. I definitely wasn't intending on running at goal marathon pace but I felt really good so I thought I'd push it, especially since I won't be doing my next long until next weekend (10 days). I also had to teach a 20 minute core class after work.

Speaking teaching classes, I teach a core class & spinning class on Sunday mornings at Lifestyle Family Fitness but also sub classes occasionally during the week, such as today's class. I absolutely love teaching these classes. Not only do I get a free gym membership, but I basically get paid to work out and help others work out & push themselves. I started teaching spinning at the YMCA about 4 years ago and then I started teaching at LFF shortly after. At one point, I was teaching 4-5x/week which was a lot so I quit the Y and now strictly teach at LFF.

I also started teaching a boot camp class through Five Star Fitness Boot Camps last summer. I only teach this in the spring & summer though because it's an outdoor boot camp at a local park. It can make for some long days since I teach 3 nights/week (MWTh from 6:30-7:30pm at Schiller Park in German Village) on top of my own running/workout in the morning & working 40 hours/week but it's definitely worth it. There are 3 boot camps in Columbus and there are 4 camps in Chicago all held in different locations around the city. Classes are held 3x/week for 6 weeks, either offered in the morning before work or in the evening after work, and last for 1 hour. All the equipment is provided (medicine balls, dumbbells, stability balls, resistance bands, jump ropes, mats, etc.) and every workout will be different & can be adjusted for your fitness level. Please check out the website in the link above if you're interested or pass it on to others who might be interested. Remember, boot camps are only offered in Columbus or Chicago.

Sneak Preview of the Mustache Party

I got in a great speed workout yesterday morning. I did 7 mi total with 1 mi warm up, 3 x 1 mi @ 7:18, 7:15, and 7:11 with 1 mi easy in between. I ended my workout with some stretching. I've been feeling really good lately with my running & hope that with this cutback week, I'll continue to feel great! I have to switch my long run again this week because of the big mustache party on Friday night. Since it's at Todd's house, we'll be up late and I know I won't want to get up on Saturday to do a long run so I'm doing my 14 mi tomorrow morning.

Now, onto the preview of the mustache party! This will be the 3rd year that Todd and a bunch of his coworkers at Honda have their mustache competition/party, but it will be my first year attending since last year we were at a wedding. Todd and his coworkers (all guys) have been growing out their beards & mustaches since about Christmas, although some have been rocking them for a bit longer in hopes of winning this year. They will all come to work on Friday only sporting their 'stache, no beards or goatees allowed. That night, everyone will come to Todd's house to vote on the best mustache & creepiest mustache (but let's be honest, aren't most creepy anyways) and have a good time. From what I've heard in years past, people get really into it, even showing up in full costume. Significant others are always welcome but they too must show up with a mustache whether it's drawn on or a fake one glued on. There is even a category for best female mustache.

My outfit for the party: a fake mustache & t-shirt w/ my Dad & his mustache from the '80s
Todd with his mustache at the rehearsal dinner for the wedding we had to go to last yearYikes!

I'm so excited for the party and can't wait to see what everyone looks like....or how creepy they look! I will definitely be posting pictures next weekend after the party so stay tuned...