Memorial Day

I can't even begin to explain how much I appreciated a day off work yesterday with absolutely no plans. Todd & I spent much of the weekend hanging out with his family, working on wedding stuff, and getting our engagement pictures taken. Since Ohio decided to skip right from a month straight of rain to hot 90 degree temps, Todd & I took advantage of the new pool that just opened at our complex. We spent a couple hours lounging poolside, reading magazines that have been piling up, and relaxing.

The pool from outside the gates

The best part of our pool is the bar located pretty much poolside

Todd hanging out on a lounge chair>

After a couple hours in the hot sun, we decided to run some errands on Todd's motorcycle. Since it has rained so much this spring, he's only had a chance to ride once so he was eager to get it out. I hadn't been on since last summer so I was pretty pumped too. We decided to go on a picnic for dinner since we never got to go on one for my birthday because we were in Chicago. While at the store, we picked up ingredients to make homemade chicken salad sandwiches. We put the food together for our picnic and loaded up Todd's bike. We found a metro park nearby our place that we hadn't been to before so decided that we would the perfect site for our picnic dinner.

Todd & I ready to ride

Meet my chauffeur

Glacier Ridge Metro Park

Homemade chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad, chips, and root beer

Trying to cool off in the shade....and I love my helmet hair

The chicken salad was delicious and we got home a little before the sun began to set. It was a great day and I can't remember the last time I had a whole day with Todd where we had absolutely nothing planned. I'll post the chicken salad recipe later this week.

Weekly Recap: May 23-29

Todd & I are a couple weeks into Insanity and are starting to repeat all the workouts again. I'm hoping they'll start to get a little easier next week but the good news is I feel like I am getting stronger and I love doing it (kinda like how I love to torture myself by running 26.2 miles too). I've been slacking on yoga again so hope to make it to one class this week.

Monday: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance (40 min)
4 mi (8:05 pace)

Tuesday: taught 1 hr Spin/TRX combo class

Wednesday: 6 mi (8:12 pace)
Insanity Pure Cardio (40 min)

Thursday: taught 1 hr Spin/TRX combo class
taught 1 hr spinning

Friday: REST

Saturday: 8 mi (8:10 pace)

Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning

TOTAL: 18 mi

Insanity

I'm sure everyone has heard of P90X and Insanity or at least seen the infomercials on TV. Todd & I were lucky enough to come across copies of both workout programs (thanks Dave!) and decided once we moved in together we would start doing Insanity. It's a 60 day total-body conditioning program, led by Shaun T, that has you working out 6 days/week with 1 rest day. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for Todd!), I teach 3 days/week so we've been trying to do Insanity on the other 3 or 4 mornings when I'm not teaching.

You start with a fit test and repeat the fit test every couple weeks to see your improvements. The first month, you rotate between 4 different workouts then take a week of "recovery" and finish the second month with 4 more workouts that are even harder and longer. The workouts involve no weights and are strictly cardio exercises with body weight exercises (push ups, squats, lunges) thrown in. I consider myself to be in good shape and doing Insanity has been very challenging....and I love it! You will be dripping in sweat with your heart rate sky high within the 10 minutes of warm up at the beginning of every workout. Although Todd & I aren't following the schedule as strictly as it says, I can already seen improvements and can't wait to finish the first month to see what the second month of workouts will bring.

According to the Insanity website, here's an explanation of all the DVDs that come along with the program:

Dig Deeper & Fit Test: To start, Shaun will put your body to the test and see what you're made of. (30 minutes)

Plyometric Cardio Circuit: Burn fat with intervals of intense lower-body plyometrics and sweat-inducing cardio. (40 minutes)

Cardio Power & Resistance: Build lean muscle and upper-body definition with strength-training and power moves. (40 minutes)

Cardio Recovery & Max Recovery: Shaun goes easier on you once a week so you’ll be ready for the next round. (40 minutes each)

Pure Cardio & Abs: Nonstop, extreme cardio workout. (40 minutes)

Cardio Abs: Do explosive intervals of cardio and core moves for rock-hard abs. (20 minutes)

Core Cardio & Balance: This workout lets you take a break after month 1 and gear up for month 2. (40 minutes)

Max Interval Circuit: With MAX Interval Training, this circuit is more intense than anything you've ever done before. (60 minutes)

Max Interval Plyo: Push your legs ‘til they beg for mercy with power and plyometrics, all at your MAX. (55 minutes)

Max Cardio Conditioning & Abs: Get pushed to your limit with this extreme cardio workout. (50 minutes)

Weekly Recap: May 16-22

With Todd & I doing Insanity 3 mornings/week, I'm quickly learning how to run after work in the afternoon. I've always been a morning runner and seem to struggle with low energy & lack of motivation after being at work all day but this week I felt like I had a breakthrough.

On Wednesday, I got home from work and immediately changed into my running clothes and headed out the door so I'd have no excuse to not run. My legs were a little heavy from Insanity that morning & I was only planning on running an easy 4 miles. I was very shocked to see my my first mile at 7:49 and decided to try to push my pace a little bit. Well, I definitely did just that and felt great as the rest of my splits were 7:24, 7:10, and 7:14. Maybe this afternoon running isn't so bad after all!

Monday: 4 mi on treadmill @ hotel in Chicago (8:16 pace)

Tuesday: taught 1 hr Spin/TRX combo class

Wednesday: Insanity Cardio Recovery (35 min) plus warm up from Plyometric Cardio Circuit (10 min)
4 mi (7:24 pace)

Thursday: taught 1 hr Spin/TRX combo class
4 mi (8:08 pace)

Friday: Insanity Pure Cardio (40 min)

Saturday: 5 mi (8:05 pace)
Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit (40 min)

Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning

TOTAL: 17 mi

Cooking Class at Sur La Table

As part of Todd's Christmas present, I had told him I was going to buy us a cooking class at Sur La Table. They offer cooking classes 4-5 nights/week but it seemed like whenever there was a night we were free or the menu was something Todd wanted to learn how to cook and eat, the class would already be full. Back in March, we finally found a class that worked and registered for it. I had kind of forgotten about it until I got the reminder email earlier in the week that our class was on Friday, May 20. It's amazing how fast time flies by!

Anyways, I was probably more excited than Todd about the class because I really don't know a ton about cooking and was hoping to actually learn something. The menu was Italian Trattoria Fare and sounded delicious.

The menu:

• Arugula Salad with Fried Capers, Balsamic Vinigarette and Shaved Parmesean


• Grilled Beef "Tagliata" with Rosemary and Lemons


• Homemade Lasagna Verdi al Forno with Fresh Spinach Lasagna Noodles


• Classic Panna Cotta with Strawberry Sauce

Sur La Table is a cooking store (like William Sonoma) that also offers cooking classes

The inside of the kitchen where we'd be doing all the cooking

Todd was ready to cook

The class was from 6:30-8:30 PM and the first half hour was the chef explaining all the recipes we were going to make and any special tips or hints we needed to know. We then split up and each went to a station where we would make one part of the meal. I guess I was kind of surprised by this because I thought we'd each be making the entire meal but realistically, that probably isn't possible to do in 2 hours. Todd was in charge of the grilled beef "tagliata" with rosemary and lemons and I was in charge of making the sauce for the lasagna.

After I chopped all the vegetables, I started cooking them on the stove

Then I added the ground beef, tomatoes, and wine and brought the sauce to a simmer

Todd did an excellent job grilling the meat

Once everyone was done cooking their portion of the meal, we were able to enjoy the salad and beef while the lasagna baked in the oven for 30 minutes. After we had some lasagna, we ended the meal with panna cotta covered in the most amazing fresh strawberry sauce ever. The night was so much fun and the food was phenomenal. We're thinking of taking another cooking class again this summer and learning to make something completely different.

Todd eating the arugula salad

Enjoying the beef

That looks like ketchup & chicken parmesan but it's really panna cotta with lots of strawberry sauce and lasagna covered in cheese

Chicago Part 2: Birthday Celebration

After not getting to sleep until after 3:30 AM after the bachelorette party on Saturday night, I was a little tired when I got up on Sunday morning for a quick workout before meeting up with Todd. Now, I probably would've skipped the workout but since it was my birthday, I really wanted to start my day off right. Todd met me at the hotel around 11:00 AM and we were able to say goodbye to several of my friends before they headed home. The weather was still cold and rainy so we checked the Cubs website to see if the baseball game was going to be cancelled that day. We didn't see any info about it so we assumed the game was still on & bundled up to head to Wrigleyville. Once we got off the L, we walked around the stadium and saw this:

Today's game is postponed

What a bummer! We were really disappointed not only because we wanted to go to the game but also because we didn't have anything else planned for the day. Looking back, I'm kinda glad we didn't have to sit outside in the cold rain for a few hours so maybe it was a blessing in disguise. The game is rescheduled for Tuesday, June 28 in the afternoon so Todd & I both decided to take a couple days off of work next month and head back to Chicago for the game. Hopefully the weather will cooperate next time around!

Since we didn't have any plans for the afternoon, Todd picked up lunch at the Cheesecake Factory for us and we cuddled up in the hotel room eating & celebrating my birthday with cheesecake and presents. Todd had brought a couple birthday presents with him to Chicago and I was like a little kid on Christmas when I saw them. I had absolutely no idea what he had got me and was excited to find out.,

Todd definitely outdid himself...lululemon yoga crops, headband, and a Tiffany's necklace!

Close up off the necklace

After warming up and getting some food in our stomachs, we ventured back out to Michigan Avenue to do some more shopping. We hit up Niketown, Garmin, Express, and Crate & Barrel. Even though we could have gone to some of these stores at home, we actually had time in Chicago to just shop, spend the whole day together, and enjoy each other's company. It really was a wonderful birthday.

Our hotel, the Westin

Our hotel was right next to the John Hancock building

I was pretty excited to see a Garmin store & even got to see the new Garmin 610 (which was awesome!)

We shopped for a few hours and then went back to the hotel for dinner. Todd had found a great Italian place to go to but we also wanted deep dish pizza and didn't think we'd have time on Monday before heading back to Columbus so we ended up going to Giordano's for pizza.

Giordano's on Rush Street

Todd picked fried zucchini for our appetizer

I picked pepperoni & sausage for our deep dish pizza

Lots of toppings & a delicious thick crust

After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and crashed for the night. We were both exhausted from traveling and being up late the night before.

Monday morning we got up and went for a 4 mile run on the hotel treadmills. The weather was still miserable outside but once we checked out of the hotel, the sun started to shine. We drove around the city and past Navy Pier before hitting the highway and heading back to Columbus.

Navy Pier

Around 2:00 PM, we started to get hungry for lunch but weren't really in the mood for fast food. After some quick internet searching, we decided to stop at Broad Ripple Brewpub in Indianapolis. It's the oldest operating microbrewery in Indiana and I knew Todd would love to sample some new beers.

Todd couldn't resist getting a flight of beers

I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of vegetarian options they had the menu and Todd was happy to get a deep fried chicken sandwich. The boy loves his fried foods, what can I say?

We arrived back home early Monday evening and despite several minor setbacks, it was a fantastic weekend with my friends & fiancee. Todd & I are pretty excited to be able to head back again in a month or so for the Cubs game. I think we're going to have to try another deep dish pizza place while we're there too!

Wedding Wednesday

Last week, Todd & I, along with my parents, went to Worthington Hills Country Club for our food tasting to decide what meals we'd be serving at our reception. We were able to pick a few appetizers as well as a few beef, chicken, and vegetarian dishes along with a variety of side dishes to try to narrow down the decision.

The outside of our reception site, Worthington Hills Country Club

A view from the inside looking out....I fell in love with all the windows around the room

We were all very impressed with the food and thought it was delicious! We actually had a hard time narrowing down a couple of the options but in the end, Todd & I were happy with what we decided to go with and I hope our guests are too. I've already posted this on our wedding website so this isn't a surprise for any of our guests since they could have already gone out to our site to look. I absolutely loved the House Salad and the Stuffed Portabella Mushroom and will hopefully get a chance to have a few bites of it at our reception.

The Menu

House Salad
Field Greens Tossed With Dried Cherries, Pecans, Red Onions, Dry Bleu Cheese and Whole Grain Honey Mustard Dressing

Sliced Beef Tenderloin
Topped with a Wild Mushroom Ragout and Served with Herbed Redskin Potatoes and Julienne Vegetable Medley

Sautéed Supreme of Chicken
A Chicken Breast Stuffed with Florentine Stuffing and Served with Herbed Redskin Potatoes and Julienne Vegetable Medley

Stuffed Portabella Mushroom
Portabella Mushroom Stuffed with Artichoke and Spinach and Served with Herbed Redskin Potatoes and Julienne Vegetable Medley

Dessert: Wedding Cake
Vanilla Bean Cake with Raspberry Filling
Vanilla Bean Cake with Almond Filling
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Filling

94 days to go!!

Chicago Part 1: Bachelorette Party

A few of my friends & I left for Chicago at 7:00 AM on Saturday for Courtney & Katie's bachelorette party. We had great weather in Columbus on Friday with temps in the 80s but unfortunately a cold front came through because by the time we got to Chicago around noon on Saturday, it was only in the 50s with lots of wind and a little rain. Lynn, Megan, and I checked into our hotel, the Westin, on Michigan Avenue and immediately headed back out for some shopping. We went to a few stores, grabbed some lunch, and came back to our hotel room to relax and take a quick nap before getting ready for the evening. Since the weather was terrible, we all nixed wearing dresses and ended up just wearing jeans. Courtney and some other girls were also staying at our hotel so we went over to Gina's condo together. Gina only lived a few blocks from the Westin and was hosting the bachelorette party for the evening.

We started off with some drinks before enjoying the amazing food Gina made. There were 17 of us total and since most of us knew each other, we spent the first hour or so just catching up and mingling.

We had enough drinks to last us a long time....and this doesn't include the 5 other bottles of wine and a few cases of beer

Some of the food Gina made including a watermelon & feta salad, pulled pork sandwiches, and sweet potato salad

Cupcakes from Sprinkles

The bachelorettes, Courtney and Katie
Me, Megan, and Lynn
It was gonna be a long night so I tried my first 5 Hour Energy with Gina

After eating, we watched as the bachelorettes opened up all their gifts and played a game where Courtney & Katie had to answer questions that their fiancees were asked beforehand and see how closely their answers matched. Not surprisingly, they were both pretty much dead on with all their answers!

Courtney & Katie opening up some lovely presents

Megan, Lynn, Courtney, and I
Gina & I (yes, I need to get a tan but it needs to stop raining!)
High school friends....the Sexy 7 minus Lauren (I really wasn't drinking that much either so I'm not sure why I look extremely drunk in this picture because I definitely was not)
Lynn with the 2 brides-to-be

Some of us were feeling pretty good by the end of the night

Someone took my camera at one point and attempted to take a picture of the dance party that we started

We had intended on going out to the bars for some more drinks & dancing but with the weather being as bad as it was and all of us having fun at Gina's, we ended up staying at her place until 3:30 AM before walking back to our hotel. It was such a fun night and it was awesome to hang out with some of my best girl friends. It's crazy to think that the next bachelorette party I go to will be my own!

Weekly Recap: May 9-15

My shins & hips were a little sore and tight after the half marathon last weekend so I plan on taking it very easy running-wise the next couple weeks. Todd & I started doing Insanity together in the morning when I don't have to teach so we're hoping to do it 3-4 times/week. Instead of the normal 60 days it should take to complete the program, we'd like to finish right around the time of our wedding. I'll have to do a separate post on the workouts but it is definitely challenging!

Monday: Insanity Fit Test (25 min)

Tuesday: taught 1 hr Spin/TRX combo class
4 mi w/ Todd (8:31 pace)

Wednesday: Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit (40 min)

Thursday: 4 mi (8:09 pace)
taught 1 hr spinning

Friday: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance (40 min)

Saturday: REST

Sunday: 30 min elliptical (hotel in Chicago)

TOTAL: 8 mi

Heading to the Windy City

Tomorrow morning, I'll be heading to Chicago with some of my best girlfriends from high school for a bachelorette party for 2 of my other best girlfriends from high school. I'm not real sure of any definitive plans except our friend Gina is hosting the bachelorette party tomorrow evening. Knowing her, it will be nothing short of fabulous. In fact, here is the menu she has planned for us.

Once the bachelorette festivities are over on Sunday morning, Todd will be joining me for my birthday as I turn the big 2-8. Todd is actually going to Chicago on Saturday also but will be driving separately and hanging out with some friends he knows there. I wanted to make sure I had my girls' weekend before I spent the rest of the weekend with him. We have tickets to a Cubs game on Sunday afternoon and hopefully he has some other plans up his sleeve while we're there. My only request was some real Chicago deep dish pizza on Monday before we come back home. I'm pretty pumped to spend the weekend with some of my favorite people!

2011 Capital City Half Marathon Race Report

After running the Columbus Marathon in October, I really struggled with my running. I wasn't looking forward to running and felt like I was in a funk. I knew I needed a race to train for and after I decided not to run Boston, I settled on training for the Capital City Half Marathon in downtown Columbus. My training was alright, I definitely did most of my runs on the treadmill from January-March and only recently was able to get outside more often. A few wrenches were thrown into my training plan when I started teaching an extra 3 classes/week, Todd & I moved, and I got sick a couple weeks ago. I was hoping for a few more longer runs during training but only managed one 10 miler and one 12 miler.

Since I knew my training had been less than stellar, I didn't have high hopes for this race. My PR is 1:38, which I ran in my first half marathon back in 2006, and I knew I didn't have a chance of coming close to that. My goal was to run 1:45 or under 8:00 min pace. This race course was under new management this year and was a slightly different course than when I ran it in 2009 but I still knew it'd be pretty flat and fast. Along with the half marathon, there was also a quarter marathon (apparently this is the next big thing) and a 5K. In all, they were expecting around 12,000 runners.

The stats

Mile 1: 7:32 (This was not what I wanted to run my first mile in, I'm going to regret starting this fast in a few miles)

Mile 2: 7:41

Mile 3: 7:40

Mile 4: 7:41

Mile 5: 7:44 (Hmm, so maybe that 7:32 first mile wasn't too fast, I feel great and my splits are pretty even)

Mile 6: 7:51 (Time for some fuel....good thing I brought along some Lifesaver gummies)

Mile 7: 7:51

Mile 8: 7:45 (Yay, I finally see Todd!)

Mile 9: 7:57 (My legs are starting to get tired)

Mile 10: 7:49 (You can do this, you only have a 5K to go and you might be able to run every mile under 8:00 min)

Mile 11: 8:06 (Ok, apparently running every mile under 8:00 minutes was wishful thinking....seriously, pick up the pace! It's not like I'm running a full marathon, I can push it for another 15 minutes or so)

Mile 12: 8:10 (Here comes the steady incline up High Street & Front Street I was waiting for all race)

Mile 13: 7:17** (Ok, I seriously doubt I just ran a 7:17 mile, something isn't right with my Garmin)

Mile 0.1: 1:16**

Overall time for 13.1 miles: 1:42:22

Average Pace: 7:49
Overall: 468/5945
Female: 97/3471
Females 25-29: 16/737

**My Garmin was right on track the entire race up until the end. My mile splits would beep right as I'd get to each mile marker so I knew my Garmin should read very close to 13.1 miles at the end of the race. I slowed down a bit the last few miles and was really surprised my last mile split was 7:17 pace. I knew I picked it up but I really didn't think I was going that fast especially on tired legs. When I finished, my Garmin read that I'd run 13.22 miles in 1:42:22 for 7:45 pace. I think my Garmin got messed up at the end since it was right on the entire race up until that point and I don't think I was weaving in and out of people to add on an extra 0.12 miles. I'm not really sure what my mile 13 split was but it was probably more like 7:57 instead of 7:17.

I really thought I'd be able to break 1:42 but I guess I slowed down more than I thought in the last few miles or I did the math wrong in my head. Either way, this is probably one of the more evenly paced races I've ever run and I am still pleased I surpassed my goal by a few minutes. I would really like to pick up the intensity of my training with summer coming up and run another half marathon in a few months before (gasp!) I run the Columbus Marathon yet again in the fall. Yeah, I knew I wouldn't be able to go a year without running a full. I'm determined to break 3:30 and won't be satisfied until I do.

Packet pick up on Friday night.....I'm pretty sure people thought this was my first race since I was taking this picture

I scored a great deal on my Asics Nimbus at the expo....$30 off!

The race shirt

Em & I showing off our bib numbers before the race

Todd really knows how to take great running pictures (note the sarcasm)....not only am I taking off my long sleeve shirt that's tied around my waist to give to him but my eyes are also closed

Downhill to the finish....it's actually the same finish line used in the Columbus Marathon in the fall

Ahhh yes, my favorite thing about this race....lots of bubbly to go around!

Todd even had a glass because he had a great race spectating

Trying to get Em a little tipsy so I can convince her to come out of retirement and run another marathon with me

They had the Brooks running bus at the race after party and there was even a treadmill on the top level with someone running on it!

All in all, this race has come a long way since the last time I ran it in 2009. It is managed by a different race company and they put on quite the race from the expo to the after party. The weather was perfect and I felt really good running. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better race. We'll see where my training takes me this summer but I would love to run another half at the end of the summer followed by the Columbus Marathon in October.