Now, you, too, can have a Greek Thanksgiving.

I’ve had multiple non-Greek friends exclaim that phyllo is impossible to deal with.  But here’s the secret to wonderful phyllo creations (passed down to me from my dad who learned it from my Yia-yia): move fast and there is no such thing as too much butter.

I’m not sure when it became a tradition in my family to have spanikopita at our Thanksgiving table.  But, I like to trace it back to the year of 1998 when I first became a vegetarian.  My parents appeased 15-year-old-me with a Tofurkey (complete with tofu-giblet-gravey).  It was not a hit.

Since then, the vegetarian main dish has been spanikopta (or, “spani” as i lovingly refer to it).  For those unknowing, spani is a spinach phyllo pie with feta and other delishness mixed in.  It is a Greek staple.  Anyway, being the token veggie in the immediate fam, it’s my duty to make the spani.  Fortunately, it can easily be prepared the night before and refridgerated to cook the next day.

So, the evening before thanksgiving I got to preparing.  I used my Yia-yia’s recipe, though,it’s mostly just done to taste.

Started off by warming two onions in olive oil.  The onions don’t get cooked too much…just enough to make them soft and evaporate some of their water.

Next, you take about 2-lbs of cooked chopped spinach (I was using frozen for convenience’s sake…) and squeeze out as much water as possible.  **This step is poly spoudaios (very important)….otherwise the pie will be soggy.**  Also, do not blame me for the blurry picture.  I was NOT the photographer.

At this point, please take note of my parents’ turquoise counters and range and oven.  Best kitchen dating from the 60s ever.

Ok, moving on. You then take the squeezed spinach and add it to the onions in the skillet, cooking until most of the excess water has evaporated.  Then transfer the spinach and onion mixture into a large bowl.  Add cottage cheese and feta cheese to taste.

Um, look at the large and delish wedge of fresh feta!

Then, separate 5 eggs, mixing the yolks into the spinach mixture:

Whip the egg whites, until they hold peaks.  Or, if you are lazy and hate beating egg whites, ask your Daddy to do it.

Fold the egg whites into the spinach mixture. Also, make sure to drop some feta on the floor for your other helper.

Then move on to the phyllo prep.

Fortunately, I was working with good phyllo, so prep is much easier.  If you are working with less good phyllo, you’ll need to cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and then a damp towel in order to keep it from drying out between the buttering of each sheet.

But, first, melt 3 sticks of butter.  Yes.  3 sticks.  Like I said, there is no such thing as too much butter.

Then with a pastry brush, layer each sheet of phyllo in the pan, buttering each sheet.  This is where you need to work fast.  Phyllo is delicate and can dry out and crack easily.  So, all the buttering between sheets needs to be done carefully yet quickly (or as Earl Warren would say, with all deliberate speed).

When you have layered half of your phyllo on the bottom, pour the spinach mixture on top and then smooth out.  Use the rest of the phyllo on top.  If you run out of butter…melt some more.  Again, there is no such thing as too much butter. Make sure the top layer of phyllo is extra buttery.

Then, I stuck the pan in the fridge until after my Turkey Trot the next morning.  You want to cut through the top layers of phyllo before baking.  Then, just stick in the oven and watch it brown up deliciously.   Unfortch, I was running around like crazy on T-giving and didn’t get a pic of the tray coming out of the oven, but you can see the gorge flaky brown phyllo creation on my plate:

nom. nom. nom.

Now, enough lunch time blogging…

whirlwind week in review

So, my plan for my vacay was to work on the blog…and, well, you can see that didn’t happen.  That was because I was too busy doing other wonderful things (like watching 6-7 hours of tv a day)…So, since I’ve barely updated in the past week, I will give a quick photo tour of my vacation:

Puppy, kitty and I set out on our trip to Baltimore…in GA all the trees still had their leaves.

Somewhere in SC, I got pulled over for the first time and got my first speeding ticket ever.  This was how I felt about that: (also note, that I left GA wearing a tank top)

As we drove north, we began seeing the signs for South of the Border. They are all along 95; starting at least 40+ miles away.  When we used to drive to Savannah every summer, my sister and i always wanted to go.  But, no, we were never allowed.  I considered stopping.  But, instead, as we approached the large sombrero water tower, we kept driving.

When we finally made it to Maryland 9 hours later, we hit awful traffic.  Oh DC, I <3 you.  But thats ok, with the slower speeds, we rolled down the windows and stuck our heads out.

We finally made it home.  And headed to Philly the next day, where I ran another half-marathon.

Then, I spent three days on the couch watching entire seasons of tv shows on demand.  Heck, except for tv-ing, I’m not sure I did anything.  I took a week off of work.  And where did that go?  Geez, I squandered my vacay.  And really…there aren’t any pictures of the rest of it.  Except the stuff already published.  And a series of spanikopita pictures that need to be uploaded and described.  But, Greek food gets it’s own post.

We ate thanksgiving dinner.  It was delish.  But, again, no pics.  Friday, my mom and I did what we do and went Black Friday shopping.  And bought lots of wonderful stuff.  Including a crock pot.  And lots of new cookbooks (some just stolen from my parents)

The best thing is that I’m getting a new camera from Santa Claus.  After much reading of reviews…debate of DSLR v. High performance point and shoot…consultation with sissie…and finally, just going with my gut reaction, I decided on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35.  The panasonic has a leica lens and 18X optical zoom.  As someone who is photographically inept, I figured a DSLR may be a little too much for me right now.

Aaaaaanyway, I’m excited to get the camera and start learning things so that I can do justice to my food.  And to my puppy.  Because, seriously, Brennan should be a puppy model.  He’s so wonderful.

 

 

Trotting for Turkeys through Towson (09TT5K RR)

5K race reports are pretty amazing.  Soooo much quicker than all these marathon and tri RRs I’ve been doing.

This 5K is at the local YMCA and it’s a race I’ve run every Thanksgiving that I’m home since I was 13ish.  So, since I was finally home for T-giving for the first time since college, I knew I had to run the race even though this is technically my two-week “off-season.”  It’s a fun race because I always see peeps I know including many of my former high school cross country and track teammates.  Plus, it’s always fun to go out and see all the cute little current runners on the THS cross country team in their uniforms.

Anyway, so I was, as written last night, hoping for a PR, in the 22s.  But, sadly, that wasn’t to happen today.

Turkey Trot 5K Stats:

• Time: 23:07
• Distance: 5K
• Avg Pace: 7:26
• Overall: 122/1234
• Gender: 16/600
• Division(F19-29): 8/250
• Splits: 6:53/7:49/7:44/6:20
• Avg HR: 192
• Max HR: 203 (?!?!?!)

Ok, in my defense, those splits are not as wildly erratic as they may seem at first glance.  While I did go out too fast, the first mile is mostly downhill and the second mile is all uphill…and the third mile is rolling hills.  But, really, this is a mad hilly course.  I’m ok with this race (not really disappointed but not really happy either); which is actually an odd reaction given that it is, for all intents and purposes, an “adult” PR (i.e. fastest 5K since I have been post-pubescent).  I’m mostly not ecstatic because I feel that I could have run a faster race if I had been a little smarter.  But, c’est la vie, and for my first 5K in a long time…and without very much speedwork over this past year, it’s not a bad race.

But, here is how the race went: Mile 1: Stuck behind a whole lot of slow walkers, so I had to dodge in and out of the crowd for the first quarter mile.  It took me that long to build up any kind of speed.  By the time I broke free from the crowd, the course was headed downhill and I strided out, allowing gravity to do the work and got my speed up to under 7min/mile. Mile 2: Starts uphill…and long ugly uphills.  And, it starts hurting.  I wonder why all of my hilly running in Augusta hasn’t helped me run these hills better.  I sloooow down.  And at one point, I get a little discouraged and walk (wtf?  in a 5K?  I didn’t walk one step when I ran the Augusta Half when I was running nearly as fast for 13.1mi).  Mile 3:  Ah, yes!  We are almost done!  I come up on a mother and son running together.  The son can’t be more than 8 years old and he’s wearing this Boston Marathon finisher jacket that is way too big for him and is clearly his mothers.  It was such a cute sight that I actually got distracted from the pain some.  So, I just try to keep the pace below 8min/miles, knowing that I probably won’t break 23min and just want to finish at this point and get on with my “off-season.”  I had enough to pick up the pace to under 7min/mile for that last .1 of a mile.

But, had I known I was sooooo close to breaking 23min, I may have pushed harder in mile 3.  I think, like Philly, my mind gets in the way.  I feel the pain of the race and think, oh you can’t keep at this, slow down…stop… And, really I’m not sure if that’s true at all.  I think I could have pushed harder.  And I would have been ok.  The pain is temporary.

And now, a justification for declaring this time a PR:

The last time I ran under 23:00, I was 16 and 115ish lbs.  I am now 26 and…well…a whole heck of a lot more than 116lbs (as I should be).  But here’s the thing, my 5K PRs when I was that light and young were under 22mins.  And those PRs are nearly a decade old (and will be in Mar).  So, that begs the question, at what time do you determine a PR to be so old that it’s not even really applicable as a reference point?  And, I think, nearly a decade is a pretty large time period over which to be comparing race times.  So, I’m making an executive, declaring this race a new PR.  That way, I have a better comparison point for improvement than a PR set when I was a twig.

Finally, please take a note about my HRs.  Those ridic high rates are WILDLY out of character for me.  I think it is a sign that I need some time off.  There is a big connection between physical burnout and rises in resting and exertion heart rates.  And, I’m going to read my 200+ HR to be a sign that I need a break.

On another note, I really hope that when I’m a grownup with my own family, that well all go and do these races together.  I loved seeing that mom and little boy run together.  Anytime I see a little kid running these fun runs with a parent, it makes me want to be that parent.  I also love seeing an entire family come out and race together.  My old neighbors always come out and run, which is fun because one of the daughters and I ran on a relay team together that was one of the top in the state my senior year.  She always beats me now….I credit that to her being a long distance runner and me being a middle distance runner…:)  I was always a miler or less.  But, Mom, Dad, and the four kids are always out there running.  Even now that all the kids are out of college, they all get up and run it in Thanksgiving morning.

My daddy usually will come with me, but really it’s always just me running…and sadly today, I was one my own totally, as Daddy prepared the Turkey at home.  And it’s not bad, I mean I knew other people there.  But, I do wish sometimes that I could recruit more people out…even if its just to walk the 5K (or the 5miler TT that I do when we are in NC for the holiday).  Perhaps, I’m just aching for someone to go to all these races with, especially since it’s such a big part of my life.  That said, I  am thankful that I am able to run.  period.  even if I’m running by myself.

cooking up a storm.

So, my vacay is in full sway.  It is great that my vacation and my two weeks of off-season align.  I’ve barely been off the couch since the half-marathon (aside from the turkey trot I’m running tomorrow, I’m taking until December 7 off from major exercise…the first real break since…um…God, I have no idea…).

What I have been doing on vacation is catching up on tv (I’ve watched the entire first seasons of Nurse Jackie and U.S. of Tara…and am now fully caught up with Dexter).  It’s amazing.  I get up, walk downstairs, pour some coffee, and resume my ceat on the couch for the rest of the day.  I seriously am not exagerrating.  But, I’m now so addicted to all these Showtime shows, I may have to get my cable…and dvr…and some premium channels back at my house in GA.

I’ve also been cooking for my parents to prove to them that I’m an adult…and so that I can eat non-takeout food while I’m here (becasue my parents mostly only eat out anymore).  This week, I’ve experimented with a bunch of new things. I have the step by step photography, but too much for now…so, let’s see.

We had some grilled asparagus with a balsamic vinaigrette reduction:

Then there were grilled pears and sweet potatoes with cayenne pepper

A warm quinoa salad with spinach, roasted shitake mushrooms, and goat cheese:

Some Kale chips (which I spinkled with Old Bay…yumm.  Tastes like Baltimore)

Winter Squash Soup with roasted apples, toasted pine nuts and goat cheese:

Roasted Brussel Sprouts:

Ugh, I wish I had the ability to get good pictures of my food.  Because, I swear in person my food looks nice and not blurry and all orangey yellow.  Anyway, I’m getting a new camera for christmas and I cannot wait to be able to take awesome pictures…and by take awesome pictures, I mean probably take crappy puctures but only be able to blame operator error because i’ll have a rockin’ camera.

In other news, I’m running a turkey trot tomorrow.  It’s jsut a little 5K, but it’s been ages (seriously, like a few years) since I’ve run a 5K. So, I have no idea what to expect time wise, though I’m feeling pretty good about my fitness and speed right now.  I input some of my recent race times into the MacMillan Running Calculator and a Runners World Calculator to get an estimate of what kind of 5K I could expect.  They both predicted a time around 22minutes…which could be a PR as of adulthood (and a non-track 5K PR)…which would be nice.

I’d like to get down to under 21minutes.  But, the race course tomorrow is pretty hilly and the major uphills come in the backend…so tomorrow, I’ll go out at a 7-30ish minute pace and see what happens.  I’d like to have a kick.

And now…time to prepare the Spanikopita for tomorrow.  Because, what would a thanksgiving dinner be without classic Greek food?

Maryland, My Maryland.

Somewhere in the last 5 years, my blood went from thick and hearty to thin and wussy.  So, I’m back home.  Where it gets cold.  Not as cold as it was when I lived in the Lou.  But, waaaaaay colder than my November flip-flop weather in Georgia.

So, I’ve been freezing all day.  Which has meant I’ve walked around looking like an idiot.  Lulu tights + thigh-high leg warmers + fleece socks + knit hat + thermal running shirt = still cold.

That is not cool.  I do NOT like becoming a southerner by blood. (hee hee. yes, pun so intended).

But, I’m SOOOOO happy to be home in Baltimore.  I’ve been homesick for B’more like crazy since I moved to Augusta.  I’ve never had this problem before.  I was never this sick for home when I lived in St Louis, or when I was in Durham, or during my brief 8 mos. in Atlanta.  But, now I’m desparate to get back to the Mid Atlantic.  I would love a move to DC or Philly or Bmizzle.

You know, I love my parents, so don’t take this comment to mean anything otherwise.  But, it’s not even being close to family that I miss.  Because, I was further away from them when I lived in the midwest.  It’s just that I miss the lifestule and culture of the Mid-Atlantic.  The whole not quite southern; not quite northern.  Progressive.  The FOUR seasons (not the hotel or the doo wop group, but the kind you learned about in elementary school).

Anyway, while I’m home, I’m taking advantage of my favorite places.  The MOST favorite place is Prima Foods.

It is a wholesale Greek food store nestle under a highway overpass.   But, it has the most amazing selection of foods.  For example, in the picture below, we are getting feta for the thanksgiving spanikopta.  The choice was between salty-feta and really salty-feta:

My major Greek food love are Dolmades.  And, it’s hard to find grape leaves in Augusta to make them myself, so I stocked up on grape leaves…but, I also stocked up on pre-made dolmades:

Ok, those last cans of dolmades are AHnormous. Seriously.  The size of my head.

A large can of dolmades.  I’m so excited.  SOOOOO excited.  I’m just going to make a lot of tzatziki and eat it all with dolmades.  Yummy yum yum.

The next stop was The Book Thing, which is a nonprofit org that takes in book donations and organizes them and then you just come in and take books you want.  It’s all free.  It is a book lover’s paradise.

So, I went with four giant boxes of books from my parents, and wandered around.

I ended up taking three books home with me:

A copy of The Brethren (love me some Supreme Court Justice gossip)…and then two really old books:  A HUD propaganda pamphlet about creating neighborhoods that are easier to police and thus should reduce crime published in 1975 and a 1960 Juvenile Delinquency book filled with amusingly outdated science.

I love me some books and my trips to the bookstore are always dangerous to the wallet…so free books?  Oh, so the right price.

Ok, beddy bye time and tomorrow, there will be a nice long post about the delish meals I’ve been cooking.

Motownphilly’s back again…

So, 48 hours out after my final race of the season; it’s time to reflect on the mess that was yesterday and the relative success that was my season as a whole.

Racing Stats:

• Peachtree International Triathlon: 2:56:54
• Irongirl Triathlon: 1:45:28
• Peachtree Road Race 10K: 50:22
• Acworth Women’s Triathlon:
• Augusta 70.3: 5:41:04
• Chicago Marathon: 3:36:57
• Augusta Half Marathon: 1:42:04
• Philly Half Marathon: 1:46:47

Highlights:

• Completing my first marathon.  and getting a BQ.
• Completing my first half iron distance.
• Getting more confident on the bike.
• Meeting tri friends in ATL and Augusta

Lowlights:

• Being stuck in a boot from 11/08-4/09 with a never healing sesamoid stress fracture
• Bike crash at mile 18 of the Augusta
• Slicing my ankle open at T-2 of Irongirl and requiring stitches
• Getting laid off and having to leave ATC in Atlanta. (that’s the real lowlight)

SOOOOO. What are my goals for next season?

• Sub 3:30 marathon (hopefully sub 3:20)
• Sub 21min (pref <20min) 5K
• Lose 15 lbs (and/or reduce to 15% bf) to help accomplish the above goals
• Increase bike speed to avg 20mph over 70.3 bike course
• Complete first Ironman

I’m thinking that I want and need a coach for next year.  The only issue is I’m not one to hand over control.  I am very much a control freak and the thought that I would trust someone enough to just follow their plan and believe that I would be ready to reach my full potential…it just, well…it just wouldn’t happen.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t want that to happen.  It’s just hard.  But, the IM training really needs to not be done by myself.  That said, suggestions for tri & track coaches are so welcome.

And finally, a pictorial summary of the season…and the final summarizing statement: a good season, all in all.

It’s long overdue; but now Philly is slammin’ (Philly (half) Mary RR)

Lets start out with this: I was registered for the full marathon in Philly.  Originally, it was my “goal marathon” of the season.  I was going to run Chicago to see what a marathon is like, and then I’d run Philly to qualify for Boston if I didn’t in Chicago.  But, I BQed in Chicago and was left with the big question: what now?  In all honesty, I didn’t expect to qualify in Chicago, so I always figured I would run Philly to BQ.  I was left feeling exhilarated by a great race and scared that I would never be able to race like that again.  Because of that fear, I put a lot of pressure on myself to train hard and race harder.  After another good race at the Augusta Half Marathon,   I burned out a little.  I considered running the half at Philly; I considered not running anything at Philly.

After three weeks of running twice a week, and no run longer than 7 miles, I thought, heck, I can run the full marathon.

And, that was the intention I had when I left Baltimore.

But, that’s not so much what happened.

I got to the start line, and as I discussed in part 1, I forewent (foregoed?) starting with the 3:30 pg.  We walked up to the start line and took off:

One of those blurry orange blobs is me, I think.

Full Stats:

• Miles: 13.1
• Time: 1:46:44
• Pace: 8:08.4
• Overall: 937/7187
• Gender: 336/4654
• Division: 92/1049

First 10K: 49:19//7:51/7:47/7:50/8:05/7:57/7:52

I was hunggggggry at the start line.  The delish bagel from panera was not enough.  Crap.  That’s why I usually do PB with the carbies.  The fat and protein hold you over.  So, I start off, with a hungry belly.  I try to be mellow into the beginning of any race because hitting a wall is awful.  But, as I start out, I think to myself, I think I started out in the 7min/mile range in Chicago and that was totally fine.  And this is a faaaaassssst course, I will totally be fine.

So, I refuse to allow myself to run 8min/miles+.

I’m trotting along, and this is not hurting tooooo bad.  I’m so going to beat 3:30.  yessss.

But then…there start being hills.  Wtf?  I thought this course was flat and fast.  I even looked at the elevation chart before the race and it appeared to be a pretty flat course sans hills.  But, these hills appeared.  And there didn’t seem to be any hills at all.  And the course should be downhill and flat.

The hills hit me hard.  Not physically so much as mentally.  I got mad.  I seriously got mad.  At everyone.  And everything.  And the hills.  And so much at the freaking geography and geology that created said hills.

I got mad and I said “F this.”  Why am I doing this? I’m uber mature.  Seriously.  I think this is the point where I mentally gave up.  I gave up because I was mad that there were f-ing hills.

Second Half: 8:02/8:20/8:02/9:03 (!!!!!!!)/8:20/8:20/7:59/7:23

Ok, so you can see where it starts going downhill?

I saw my dad at the 10K mark and was already wondering if I was going to want to run the full.  But, I was still determined to see if I could keep up the pace.  If I could keep on about an 8:00, I would beat 3:30!  But.  Mile 8.  Mile 8 happened.  And I couldn’t keep it up anymore.

I got my first side stitch in a race.  Heck, it was the first side stitch I’ve had since I was about 8.  I told myself to just relax and breath deeply, and the stitch would resolve itself.  But it didn’t.  And I had trouble breathing deeply because it hurt so badly.

And then, as we approached the Philly Zoo, we hit a real hill.  And I walked.  Oh, the horror! (do you see the 9:00 mile?!?!).  But, fortunately, this helped the side stitch.  And I was able to run side stitch free for the rest of the run.  But, I had decided at this point, I’m done.  And I’m only doing the half marathon.

I was mad at the hill.  I was mad at myself for going out so hard.  I was mad at myself for being mentally weak.

And, I just couldn’t do it for another 16 more miles.  It wasn’t even the physical part that was so bad (though, it was pretty bad.  I had hit a rough rough wall).  The mental was awful.  The constant hating the race.  And hating myself for hating the race.  And hating myself for hating the race and giving up because of that.

I ran out the last 3 miles trying to keep up the pace, but my legs were so heavy.

And, so what have we learned?

I finished.  And it wasn’t a PR.  And it wasn’t the most brilliant race performance.  And it wasn’t even a fun race.  But, I learned that I need to work on my mental game.  And I should never start out a race thinking that I don’t have to run the full if I don’t want to.  Because honestly, are you ever going to want to?  I’m newly energized to change up my game and train hard next year.

Stay tuned for the season recap…and the newly solidified 2010 race and training plan.

Highlights of the Race:  Someone dressed up as Ben Franklin; The back of a runner’s shirt that said “Relax, neither of us if going to win,” stopping running

Live and direct from Philly town. (Pre-Philly Marathon)

My Daddy and I left Baltimore to drive up to Philly Saturday afternoon, made it into town at four-ish.  We went to the expo, picked up my packet and all that and then headed to a little market to grab dinner before going home. I had a greek veggie wrap (I’ll eat anything made as a vehicle for tzatziki sauce…again, I’m Greek.) and a Birch Beer.

I was exhausted, so I laid out my things, before going to bed at 8pm.

I had gotten my marathon nutrition out (I rarely bring GUs with me for a full marathon)…3 gels: Espresso Love GU, Chocolate Power Gel, Vanilla Gingerbread GU (thanks Noah!)

I woke up at 4:45am, and ate 2/3 of a cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera.  Brought PB but didn’t use it.  This would later come back to bite me in the arse.  Got dressed:

Don’t judge.  I know I look ridic and like heck.  But, please, make a mental note of the color of sweatpants that I’m about to pull up over my skirt.

But then, we left to go to the course at 5:15.  At this point, I really wished I had booked a hotel within walking distance from the start like I had in Chicago.  But, anyway,  we packed up the car.  The leftover cups from our dinner drinks were still in the cupholders of the car; unfortch, my dad and I had picked up brown flavored water as a coffee-a-like in the hotel lobby.  As an environmentalist, I was not just going to dump the cups out on the side of the car so that I could stick the to-go coffee cups in the cupholders.  So, I nestled my little cup of disgustingness and caffeine in between my legs and stuck my father’s on the middle console, thinking “surely, he won’t knock this over when he get’s in the car.”

If I should have learned any lesson over my lifetime, it really should be that anytime I think “surely…blah blah blah” I will be wrong.

And I was.

My dad got in the car and swung his arm back onto the console without looking.  And I flipped out to save his cup (because my father is ridonk anal retentive about car cleanliness, am I not right, sister?).  And I saved his cup from spilling.  But in that effort, I knocked my cup, which was so happily nestled safely between my legs, into my lap.  And holy heck.  It was HOT.  I think I gave myself first degree burns on my inner thighs.  And my throw away sweatpants were soaked in coffee.

Here’s the real ironic part.  Those sweatpants were purchased at the college where I took the LSAT after I spilled juice in my lap 20 minutes before exam time.  I refused to take the LSAT with wet pants.  So I went and bought those sweatpants at the last minute.  Apparently, I just need to learn how to stop spilling stuff in my lap.

Fortunately, I brought two pairs of throwaway sweatpants, and changed into those sweatpants while my running skirt dried (it did eventually…)

So, then it was time for a pre-race photo shoot with daddy:

(See the black sweatpants?  Different color from before…) Ok, any musical lovers get this reference???  My mother requested this sign.)

And in the tradition of marathon weekend photoshoots (see e.g. Chicago), I had to get one of me pointing at something.

Then, we parted ways, I made it to my corral (I was seeded with the 3:30-3:40 marathoners) and looked around for the 3:30 pg.  The group was on the other side of the road from where my Dad would be standing at the start, so I figured I would meet up with them later.  This turned out to be a fatal mistake…

i’m here…but gone again.

Ok, I made it safely to Baltimore (however, that was not before I got a speeding ticket.  my first ever.  I’m not happy.)  Believe me, there will be a long post coming up about my 11 loooooooooooooong hours in the car with my aminals.  But, for now, I’m headed up to Philly for the marathon (or half…still haven’t decided) and am not taking the comp with me.

But, after the marathon I will be all sloth-like and will have pleeeeenty of time to catch up and work on the blog (in fact, thats my big goal of the week).

Until then, a picture of what I will be like next week:

(That’s a sloth…)

Early Bird Gets the Run

So, Holy Heck.  I woke up this morning in time to run.  That NEVER happens.  My alarm is always set for 5:30am.  But, I always hit the snooze button until about 7 (or later).  But today, I just popped up out of bed.  Which is funny, since last night I was thinking that the only thing I want for Christmas is the ability to be a morning runner again.

Maybe Santa was listening…

While I was ecstatic about waking up, someone else was not so happy about it.

Bdog is all “Mooooooooooom. 5 more minutes.  5 more minutes, mommmmmmm.“

Anyway, went for a quick 3-miler sans watch or garmin.  I guess if I’m really going to run the full on Sunday, I need to taper (not that the last 3 weeks of barely doing anything haven’t been taper enough).

But seriously, morning runs before work/school are ah.ma.zing.  I wish it were cooler here (I mean, it was 61 this morning…), but I’m looking forward to “real” fall weather TOMORROW in BALTIMORE.