Lift Your Sole Review

Back in early October, I met Jill from Lift Your Sole at the expo for the Army 10 Miler.  I purchased a cord and three charms, but also mentioned to Jill that I'd love to have one with "MCM Mama" on it.  I gave her my business card and promised I'd be in touch.  Well, my busy October/November got the best of me and I completely forgot.  Jill did not.

Look what came in the mail for me yesterday:

I.LOVE.IT!  She even sent me a lovely silver chain to wear it on!  Thanks, Jill!!!  If you are looking for a gift for the runner in your life, I highly recommend her products.  I don't often wear jewelry, but I've been wearing the necklace I bought in October often.


Things are still not great in the running department, but they are getting better.  Four days of not running is about to send me over the edge, so hopefully today I'll be able to run or get some other intense cardio.  On the bright side, today the tenderness is gone.  There's still a bit of soreness when I run up the stairs (I'm a mom, no way I can not run up and down my stairs 5 million times a day).   I've managed to get some exercise each day and I'm eating carefully, so my T'day pounds have come right back off, but I need some endorphins and I need them soon!  I'm thankful for the HBBC as it's motivated me to find ways to move.  My goal has been to earn 5 points a day between exercise and fruits/veggies.

If I do get in a run today (and it doesn't hurt), I'm pretty sure even my California readers will hear me screaming for joy.  ;o)

Not Running

I haven't run since my Turkey Trot.  Saturday's planned 3 miler?  Didn't happen.  Sunday's 9 miles?  I didn't even try.  For the first time in 2010, I won't be hitting 100 miles for the month.  I'm not thrilled, but I'm getting close to acceptance of it.  In fact, I no longer have any mileage goals for the remainder of 2010.  I'll just be happy if I can start running again soon.

After two days of complete rest, Sunday I did some walking, some leaf raking, and a few strengthening exercises.  My achilles is still tender, but it no longer hurts to walk up and down stairs, so I'll count that as progress.  My plan at this point is to go for a long walk today and then try a short run on Tuesday.  I also plan to join the gym on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I'm trying to look at the bright side - I'm being forced to cross train.  As an older runner, it's not a bad thing to use my muscles differently.  Heck, I might even try swimming or join a class (or maybe not LOL).

Things I've noticed already with three days of not running behind me:

• my patience is GONE
• my house is cleaner (because I feel guilty if I stay still too long)
• my stress level is through the roof
• I have to actually think about how much I eat (luckily I'm also less hungry)
• I'm craving a run, like an ex-smoker craves a cigarette
• I think I'm going through withdrawal

If this keeps up, I'm going to have the cleanest, most clutter free house on the block and the best abs and shoulders around.  Oh, and a straight jacket as I'll have completely lost my mind.  ;o)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning I ran my local Turkey Trot.  It's always a fun race, but definitely not a PR kind of race.  I spent the first mile tripping over dogs, strollers, and small children.  I also spent the first mile wondering if my achilles was going to snap.  Umm, yeah, I'm headed to the injured reserve list.  I'll be taking a few days completely off and then I'll do an easy run to see how I feel.  I'm pretty sure cross training and the gym are in my future. Guess it's a good thing that race season is now over for me.  I just have to make myself let go of my mileage goals.

And, while I'm not thankful for the pain in my achilles, I am thankful for a lot of things, including all of my awesome readers.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day!

Just call me "coach"!

I passed my RRCA coaching certification test!  Woohoo!  Now I just need to finish my first aid class in early December and I'm officially a certified coach.

I'm really glad that piece of stress is off my plate.  I could have taken it last week and gotten the required 80%, but I'm a little bit OCD when it comes to school and I wanted to get all the answers right.  I finally just had to make myself take the test and just be happy with whatever score I got as long as it was over 80.  I'm thrilled I passed, but I have to admit it's driving me crazy to not know which ones I got wrong.  (Why, yes, there is a reason I'm not in school anymore.  Perfectionist, anyone?)

Next up?  Hopefully a class on working with pre and post natal clients and then I'll start working on my personal trainer certification.  Maybe at some point I'll actually do something with all that learnin'.  ;o)

Tuesday was an easy run day, but my kids tag teamed me.  Jones couldn't go to school until close to noon because of the strep.  Shoo had a Thanksgiving feast at noon and then would be coming home with me.  Since I'm not strong enough to push a 3rd grader in a running stroller, I did my 3 miles on the treadmill.  I was particularly saddened by the fact that it was in the 60s and I was stuck inside.  On the good side though, I wore a new pair of shoes and a niggling ache I've been having in my ankle did not appear today.  Hmmm...

The good, the bad, and the overwhelming

This weekend was a rollercoaster ride.  Some parts were really, really good.  Some parts were really, really bad.

The good:

I won the new Sugoi Firewall jacket in magenta at Pacers on Sunday morning.  Not only is it an awesome jacket that fits me really well (and the color is even more intense IRL), but it's the kind of thing I'd never buy myself.  I'll write a full review once it's actually cold enough to wear it.

The bad:
Shoo had a 24 hour stomach bug this weekend.  Unfortunately, it started at around 7:00pm on Saturday night.    I was up with him all night long and only managed to catch a couple of hours of sleep near morning at the foot of his bed.  He seems to have completely bounced back, but now I'm waiting to see who it hits next.

The overwhelming:
Some of this is good, some is bad.  All of it is sucking up time I can't seem to find. 

• Today we have an appointment for a strep test for Jones.  He's been complaining of a sore throat all weekend, so it's time to check it out. 
• I'm ready to take my RRCA test, but am not sure when I can carve out some uninterrupted time this week to do so.
• My running is all over the place.  I'm trying to make my running conform to the hard/easy formula suggested by RRCA, but I keep running all 4-6 mile runs at random paces.  I need to find a goal race and create a plan.
• I want to run 30 miles a week, but I'm having trouble managing that in only five runs.  I'm not consistently getting in a long run either.
• I currently have 174 miles to run yet this year to hit 1400.  I honestly don't see it happening.
• I managed to beg my way into a local Turkey Trot.  Unfortunately, my ankle is whispering that a PR is not in the making.  We'll see.
• I stayed up too late last night watching BrewMasters on Discovery.  I was at the Savor where they taped part of the show and got Sam's beer at the time they were taping, but I was apparently left on the cutting room floor.  Bummer.  ;o)
• My other blog had some great hits this past week.  The Washington Post Voices page linked to my America Recycles post and DCBlogs linked to my post about giving up showering to conserve water.  Too bad all I can think about to write today is how tired I am.  ;o)
• After Thanksgiving, I'll be an "apprentice coach" with one of my friends' companies.  I'm pretty excited, but it's weird to actually start moving forward on my goal!

Hope everyone else's weekend was a bit better than mine.  I'm still hopeful that we can get everyone healthy and have a happy Thanksgiving around here.

Top 5 ways to run your slow runs on pace

1. Give blood a few days beforehand.
2. Drink nothing but beer the night before (and a bit too much of that).
3. Drink nothing but coffee that moring.
4. Eat breakfast RIGHT before going out (thereby guaranteeing you'll alternate between feeling like there is a bowling ball in your tummy and feeling like you might need to stop at one of the portapotties at the construction sites.)
5. Dress too warmly (note to self: mid-calf capris and heavy long sleeve shirt are too much for 50 degrees and sunny.)

Ok, I actually would not recommend the above.  I managed to run my 6 miles exactly on pace for my slow pace, but they did not feel like an easy paced run.   Tomorrow morning I'll be hanging out at my favorite running store and then hopefully I'll get in another 6-8 miles in the afternoon.

Now I need to go take a nap...

The mouse that broke the camel's back

Back before we had kids when I worked full-time (for pay LOL), I would occasionally take a "mental health day".  Depending on the job and my mental state, sometimes it was planned, but every once in a while I'd have to do it spur of the moment.  Once we had Jones and I was working part-time, I'd still (about once every 6 months) take him to daycare on a day I had off.  Some of the time off would be spent on getting necessary stuff done, some would be spent on me.  I'd shop, I'd read, I'd splurge on small indulgences.  It all went a long way towards helping me stay balanced and happy.

I haven't done that since I quit work.  I figured that as soon as Shoo was in preschool, I'd have about 15 hours a week that were mine and that I could use those for my mental health.  Somehow, between my volunteer work, my paid work, my running, the boys, and the stuff that must be done on the house, I never take time to do things for myself, except for running.  I've found myself constantly on the edge of a breakdown.  Running has been keeping me on the right side of that edge, but being under constant stress meant I was only one crisis away from going over the edge.  Add in the fact that I've been shorting myself on sleep in order to keep up and you have a recipe for disaster.

Tuesday night we realized there is a mouse in the ceiling of our basement where it's going to be difficult to trap it.  And I lost my shit.  Seriously, a two year old temper tantrum would have looked mild by comparison and I know a lot more curse words than the average 2 year old.  Luckily, the boys were asleep and Beer Geek got to be the only witness.

Thankfully, Beer Geek was able to take the next afternoon off to be with the boys and I went shopping.  It was nice to wander the mall with no to do list and no time constraints.  I ended up getting some running tights, some new moisturizer, and a few other things.  I'm still tired and there's still a lot of stressful stuff to be worked through (and I think the damn mouse is still there), but I've dialed back my stress level enough that I'm not quite so close to the breaking point anymore.  And that's a good thing.

Moral of the story?  Running is awesome.  It's a great stress release.  But sometimes you need to find time to do other things in life that you enjoy.  Now if I could just find time to read a book...

Instead of running...

I gave blood today.  I'm type O negative, which is the universal donor, so I've began giving blood on a regular basis as soon as I was old enough.  I realized recently that I hadn't given since the early part of training for my last marathon.  Since I've become a stay at home mom, I no longer have easy access to a blood drive and as a runner, I have a hard time fitting it in without compromising my running.  It always takes me about 5 days before I feel normal on runs, so I have to plan my donations carefully.  Guess which race has been jettisoned because of this? ;o)

Only approximately 35% of the population is eligible to give blood and only about 10% actually do it.  If you are eligible, take that one hour out of your day and make a (mostly painless) donation that is lifesaving.

Just remember if you give blood, you should:

– Drink an extra four glasses (eight ounces each) of non-alcoholic liquids.

– Keep your bandage on and dry for the next five hours, and do not do heavy exercising or lifting.

– If the needle site starts to bleed, raise your arm straight up and press on the site until the bleeding stops.

– Because you could experience dizziness or loss of strength, use caution if you plan to do anything that could put you or others at risk of harm. For any hazardous occupation or hobby, follow applicable safety recommendations regarding your return to these activities following a blood donation.

– Eat healthy meals and consider adding iron-rich foods to your regular diet, or discuss taking an iron supplement with your health care provider, to replace the iron lost with blood donation.

How far? How fast?

No, this is not a blog post about a wonderfully fast speed workout or some kind of amazing long run.  It's about one of those runs I almost never do any more.  You know, the ones without feedback in the form of garmin.

Garmin needed charging, so I headed out on my three mile loop with no electronics.  I just ran.  I planned to go nice and easy, but it ended up being more of a fartlek.  I would occasionally get deep in thought and then realize that I was really pushing it.  I also had to do some sprinting to catch lights before they changed.  All in all, it was a pretty good run and it cleared my head which was the most important thing.

Do you ever run just to run?  Or is every run about a goal and carefully logged?  Some days I dream about going back to the days before my first race where I used to just go out to run.  I didn't run for speed, I didn't run for distance.  I ran 30-40 minutes to clear my head and stay fit.  In some ways, I liked running a lot better back then.  Back then, I wouldn't be contemplating yet another 10 mile run in pouring rain.  Yeah, back then definitely had its good points...

UPDATE:  So, I wrote this post early this morning, but didn't get a chance to post it.  Why?  Because my kids decided to throw my life for a loop.  Jones woke up with a stomach ache.  I managed to get him to go to school long enough to take his economics test.  While he was there, I ran 3.9 miles.  I literally jumped off the treadmill and went back to pick him up.  I'm hoping for a double today, but if not, whatever.  I'll get those miles in someday.  ;o)

2nd Annual Craft Beer Dinner

In spring, we donated a "Craft Beer Dinner" to the annual PTA fundraiser/auction at Jones' school.  Saturday was the first date that all three couples who won could make it.  Each couple paid a pretty penny to come to the dinner, and while I realize they did that mostly to support the school, I felt more than a little bit of (internal) pressur to provide a really good dining experience.

I decided to go with all Virginia beers.  I ROCKED this dinner.  Seriously.

First Course:  Cheese + Pale Ale

We started with a Starr Hill Pale Ale paired with an aged cheddar, brie, and trugole.   The brie was "meh", the aged cheddar was good, and the trugole was not only amazing, but a perfect pairing for the beer.  (This cheese was so good that I "dumpster dived" in my own trash to find the wrapping so I can buy it again.   Yes, it was worth it.)

Second Course: Salad + Wheat Beer

We started with the Williamsburg Wheat Ale paired with a Pear and Walnut salad with a Wheat Beer Vinaigrette.   I made the vinaigrette with Flying Dog's In Heat Wheat because I had more of that.  Again, it was a perfect match.  (If you like blue cheese, I recommend that over the feta.  Both were good, but the blue cheese was better.)  Guests also got to drink some of the Flying Dog as well because it took me a bit of time to plate everyone's dinner.

Main Course:  Pork Tenderloin + Brown Ale

We paired Legend's Brown Ale with Chipotle Raspberry Pork Tenderloin, rice pilaf, green beans, and bread.  I got the recipe (and the beer suggestion) from the cookbook "The Best of American Beer and Food".  This recipe included the brown ale as an ingredient.  This was soooo good!  The only change I'll make next time is a bit less cream in the "gravy".  I think I would have liked a stronger chipotle bite, but we are fans of hot food here.  You can bet I'll be trying other recipes from this book.

Dessert: Chocolate Raspberry cake + Strong Scotch Ale

For our grand finale, we chose Mad Fox's Wee Heavy to go with a chocolate cake/chocolate mousse/raspberry glaze dessert.  I'll be the first to admit that I LOVE this particular beer.  I've followed Bill Madden (the brewer) all over VA to get this beer.  But it never occurred to me to pair it with dessert.  We stopped by Mad Fox on Friday evening for dinner and had a sampler to try to decide on a beer for the dinner.  Bill stopped by our table and, when presented with our dilemma, immediately suggested the Wee Heavy and chocolate/raspberry pairing.  As soon as he said it, we knew that was EXACTLY what we needed!

The food was good, the beer was awesome, and we had a fun time with some neighborhood couples.  I had sworn beforehand that I would not offer the dinner again, but it ended up going so well, I might do it again.

The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back and on Sunday I ran an easy 7 miles to sweat out all that beer.  ;o)

Vibram speedwork SUCCESS!

I had a pretty stressful week this week and part of that has been not having time to run much.  So, this morning when Beer Geek suggested I run, despite having a HUGE to do list before the dinner, I took him up on it.

I'm toying with the idea of running a local 5k in my Vibrams next weekend.  They actually have a barefoot division and it sounds like a bunch of local barefoot/minimalist runners will be going.  I decided I needed to get in a 5k this morning in the Vibrams if I wanted to do the race.  I headed out with no plans for speed and in fact, did the first mile in 10:38.  At the end of the first mile, I decided I wanted to just see if I could hit my 5k pace or not.  I finished that mile in 8:04.  Hmm, that went well.  So, I recovered for a half mile and decided to do it again.  I hit that one in 7:55, which doesn't actually tell the whole story.  I did the first three quarters of that mile in 7:35!  Then I hit a huge hill and it crushed me.  Well, hello, speed, it's nice to spend some time with you!  I then did a really slow milish cooldown and ended up with 4.3 miles for the day.

Now, I'm done running, I'm in a fabulous mood, and I'm starting in on getting the house ready for the dinner tonight.  Have a great weekend!  I'll catch up with you all tomorrow night.  Turning off the computer in 3...2...1...

Breakin' the law

Ok, not really a "law", but the rules I learned at my coaching class.  Both Wednesday and Thursday I ran faster than I was supposed to.  One was a mid-week "long" run, the other was supposed to be an easy run.  Both should have been done at a 10:30ish speed.  Neither were.

Wednesday, I was just bubbling over with frustration.  Seriously I did a brain dump on poor Bill as we ran.  Thursday started with an absolutely crappy morning.  Shoo woke me around 6am and then for the day at 7:30.  I got an email that made me cranky (not bad news, just irritating news).  Jones and I went head to head about homework.  He had to finish his homework before he could have a friend over or use any screens.  After two hours of fighting (and only about 30 minutes of actually doing the work), he was finally done and I was released to run.  I was planning 3 easy miles.  I ended up doing 4.5 faster miles and would have kept running if I didn't need to get home.  Oh well, sometimes you just have to say "screw the plan" and run what your body and mind need.


And a little back talk to my readers:
Jamoosh - donate money to my kid's school and I'll be happy to invite you.  Wait, I've already had you over for beer and food...
Viper - If you're ever in the DC area, you are welcome to bring the Enthusiast and come to dinner.  Jamoosh can even vouch for my beer choices.
Indi - you are welcome any time.
Tortuga-runner - I'm happy to share my menus with you.  Email me if you want more details.

In case you haven't figured out, I love to entertain and I love beer.  If you ever come to the DC area, consider yourselves invited to dinner.  ;o)

Three Things Thursday

1. So far this week has been exhausting. Tuesday involved volunteering at Shoo's preschool for picture day (OMG, I could have died from the cute!), a playdate with one of his friends, and the end of the season soccer party. I didn't have time to run and I seriously thought my head was going to explode.
2. Usually when I run with Bill, we run at my easy pace because I'm talking the whole time. By the time we met today, my frustration level was so high that we actually ran mostly sub-10 miles despite the fact that I bitched the entire time. By mile 5.75 of our almost 6.5 mile run, I'd finally run out of anger. I'm not sure I've ever taken that many miles to calm down before.
3. This Saturday is our annual beer dinner. Last year's dinner was awesome, so I'm feeling some pressure to make this one really good. I'm thinking that the main course will be Pork Tenderloin with Raspberry Chipotle sauce (this is the closest I can find to my recipe) with Legend Brewery's Brown Ale.  This is instead of Bill's suggestion that I cook a chicken with a can of beer up it's rear.  We'll start with salad with a wheat beer, then I have three cheeses for with a pale ale, and we'll finish with a chocolate dessert of some sort with an Imperial Stout.  Yeah, I'm looking forward to Saturday.  ;o)

Did you write a Three Things Thursday post?  Link up so we can all stop by!

Rule of specificity

One aspect of the rule of specificity as we learned it in the class I took is that when you are training for a race, your speedwork for that race should be at the appropriate speed.  Meaning, if you are training for a 5k, your speedwork should be at 5k pace, if you are training for a 10k, your speedwork should be at 10k pace, etc.  Part of me wonders how you can become faster without running faster than that, but for now I'm accepting their explanations at face value and I'm going to do my best to be my own guinea pig.  After all, how can I expect someone I'm training to follow my training plans if I don't believe in them myself.  So, with three weeks to go until my 5k, I plan to run my speedwork at my 5k pace.  This is, of course, assuming my body cooperates for me.

I've also decided that this rule can be applied to life.  Beer Geek and I had some conversations this weekend about my tendency to overcommit and what that's doing to our family life.  Some of the things I'm currently committed to can't be dropped immediately, but when "renewal" time rolls around, I plan to look at things differently.  And I plan to look at new commitments the same way.

What exactly do I mean?  If an opportunity arises or someone asks me to volunteer, it's going to have to pass through a series of questions.  The first, of course, is "will I really enjoy it?"  If it's something that will bring happiness to my life without negatively impacting others, then yes, absolutely, do it.  If I feel "meh" about it or it's going to be a PITA for my family, is it a stepping stone towards one of my goals?  Or does it support a cause I'm passionate about?  Or is it something one of the boys (or Beer Geek) really wants to do?  And if the answer to one of those is yes, is the time it will take proportionate to the end goal?  And is the timing flexible?  If the answer to all the above is no, then my answer needs to be a no.  Even if there is a yes answer to the questions, I plan to evaluate how it fits into the bigger picture of our lives. 

I don't expect to be any less involved in things than I am right at this moment, but my hope is that the things I'm involved in are more enjoyable to me and more manageable for our family as a whole.

So, I'm looking for a 5k PR and a more streamlined life.  That's an awful lot to ask of a simple rule, isn't it?

(And if you have some free time on your hands, check out my featured post, Cross Training Failure,  on Bookieboo.  Yes, my decision to write there was prefaced by some serious thinking about how it fit with my life.)

Listening to my body

The title of today's post was supposed to be "The Rule of Specificity", but my run didn't go as planned, so I'll talk about that more tomorrow.

My plan Sunday was to do a bit of speedwork.  Since I'm about three weeks out from a 5K, the plan was two one mile repeats at 5k pace.  I expected this to be a hard workout, but figured I'd have no trouble hitting at least an 8:15 pace.  As you have probably figured out, I was wrong.

I warmed up with a slow mile and then started to pick up the pace.  Normally, I run too fast at the beginning of a speed workout and have to pull myself back a bit.  Yesterday I could not get below 8:33.  I felt like I was sprinting and I was pretty sure my heart was going to explode and I still could not get where I was trying to be.  What the heck?  A half mile into my first mile of speedwork I decided it just wasn't happening.  I had two options - run the mile repeats, but at a slower speed or do a slow run and try speedwork again in a couple of days.   Based on my RPE and my heart rate, I opted to run the next 2.5 miles slow.  Judging by the fact that I had trouble maintaining a 10:30 pace for the rest of the run, I made a good choice.

Something was "off" in my body yesterday.  I have some ideas what and none of them are major, but my body was definitely giving me a hint.  No, it wasn't giving me a hint, it was hitting me over the head with a brick.  I probably could have done some sort of speed work, but I likely would have hurt myself or at least needed so much recovery that I'd have messed up the rest of my week.  So, I took it easy and I'll try again later this week.

On a more amusing note, Saturday I got my run in by running home from Jones' soccer game.  I've done it before and it's about 4.25 miles from my house.  Well, this time, I made a wrong turn and ended up wandering around a neighborhood.  I knew where I was and generally how to get home, but it was right at the beginning of my run and in the hilliest part of our county.  Sigh.  I was afraid I'd end up having to call Beer Geek to pick me up after I wandered the neighborhood for 4 miles LOL.  Luckily I made the right choices when I was guessing and ended up only adding .75 to my planned run.

Hope your running adventures this past weekend were more successful than mine!

Saturday randomness

• Yesterday I thought I had lost my wedding ring.  I was surprised at how upset I was when I thought it was gone.  It has little monetary value, but I've worn it nearly constantly for 15.5 years (the only time I've taken it off was the latter part of both of my pregnancies when it stopped fitting).  Thankfully, I figured out that it had flown off my hand when Shoo yanked my keys out of my hand and I found it on the ground near my car.
• I'm in the part of my cycle where not only do I not want to run, I can't seem to care that I don't want to run.  Good thing I managed that 10 miles on Thursday or I'd have virtually no miles this week.  I think this explains my low mileage at the beginning of every month.
• I've agreed to be a contributor over at Bookieboo on running and fitness.  My posts should show up every other Tuesday starting this next Tuesday, so check me out as Metro DC Mom over there.
• I've finally printed out the test for RRCA.  I haven't started it, but printing it is a step in the right direction, right?
• It's time for our beer and food pairing dinner again.  In preparation (and because Jamoosh shamed me with the size of his collection), I bought about 3 cases of beer (at least 20 different beers) on Friday.  I still have the local beer store to check out, but I now have a lovely collection to get me through the winter.
• Put on the damned running clothes.  If you don't put them on, opportunities to run will pass you by.  Just sayin'
• Beer Geek and I talked last night and a new car is in my future.  I want a Toyota Rav4, so I'll be spending some of my "kids are at school" time shopping.  I.can't.wait!
• I'll be running home from Jones' soccer game again today.  It forces me to do four miles instead of bailing early.
• For all that I whined about October, the first week of November was actually worse in terms of overcommitment.  Next week isn't looking much better.  Right now the third week of November has two things - giving blood and a long run with Bill.  I'm going to make coffee plans with another friend.  And that's it.  I will be practicing saying NO 'cause if I don't, things won't be pretty.
• Date night tonight. Woot!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Just call me hardcore

Thursday, I did not want to run. I would not have wanted to run even if the weather had been the perfect running weather.  I would not have wanted to run even if I only had a few miles on the schedule.  Neither of these was the case.  It was rainy.  It was 50 degrees.  And I planned to do 10 miles.

I met up with my friend at 10am. Or rather, he came and knocked on my door, so I felt like I had to go run.  After all, the man had run to my house in the rain.  I at least owed him the courtesy of running a mile.

We ended up doing all 10 of the planned miles, despite rain, wind, and gigantic puddles.  I was so wet by the time I got home that my shoes squirted out water every time I took a step.  Normally, I cool off when I get home and drink a big glass of chocolate milk.  Yesterday I walked in the door, took off my shoes, and headed straight for the shower.  Despite a hot shower, a cup of coffee, and a bowl of soup, it took me three hours to warm up.  But I got it done.

Moral of the story:  Weather happens.  What you do with it is up to you.

Three Things Thursday: Winner, Whining, and beer

Winner, whining and wine would sound better, but we all know I drink beer.  ;o)

1.  I've been really lucky lately.  I won a Gas Cap from Dash a couple of weeks ago.  I haven't stored gu in it yet, but I did run in it on Tuesday and I really like it.  This week, I won an Anne Franklin Designs necklace from Shut Up and Run.  I love scrabble tiles and totally can't wait to get it.

2.  I'm supposed to run 10 miles today.  It's rainy.  And chilly.  And I've not been in a running mood this week.  And I woke up with a headache.  And...  you name it, I've got the excuse.  I've made plans to run with my friend, so I'll probably do it, but a huge part of me just wants to curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book.   Maybe I'll do that after the run...

3.  Last night one of my closest friends was in the area for a conference.  She spent the night at our house and she and I went out for dinner alone.  I haven't done a "girls' night out" in ages and this was just the two of us chatting over dinner and a beer, but I so needed it.  It's always nice to spend time with someone you can talk to about anything and everything and not have to worry about what they might think.

Did you write a "Three Things Thursday" post? Link up!

Wordless Wednesday: Rainbows and unicorns and... butterflies?

Yes, that is a butterfly on my head.  No, it was not photoshopped on - if it were, I'd have removed the bags under my eyes, the "smile lines" and the crapppy hair cut...

Sleep v. "To do list"

Normally, in a head to head battle, sleep loses every time.  I can function on less sleep than the average person (this totally saved me when Jones was a baby), so I tend to stay up late and get up early to manage to get everything done. 

Last night, I crashed.  Seriously.  I almost went to bed when Shoo went to bed at 8.  And no, I'm not sick.  I think my body just decided it was time to hit the brakes. 

I'm glad I listened to my body because I feel a lot more energetic today, but Oh.my.goodness. am I behind.  The list of things I need to do is longer than my dining room table and it doesn't even include a huge number of things swirling around in my stressed out little head.

So, I'll be kind of quiet in cyber-space today.  I'm going to focus on spending the day with Jones (no school because it's election day), finding my living room, and starting on the RRCA Certification test.  Somewhere in there, I hope to find time to run and to vote (there will likely be a combining of those activities.)

Have a great day!

Pork with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

This is the recipe I used for my beer tasting dinner this year.  I followed the recipe pretty exactly and personally felt like it was a bit too much cream.  I think I would have liked a more intense chipotle flavor.

*Recipe adapted from The Best of American Beer and Food

Ingredients:
4 pounds pork tenderloin, 2-3 pieces ( I actually made 6 pieces)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bottle brown ale
1 cup heavy cream, warmed
1/2 cup Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Preheat ovent to 375*.  Rub pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and thyme.  Heat olive oil in heavy, oven proof skilled or Dutch oven over medium high heat and sear all sides of pork.  Cover and roast until pork is done.  (Recommended temperatures for cooked meat.)  When done, remove meat to plate and tent with foil.

Pour ale into roasting pan placed over medium-high heat.  Bring beer to simmer and scrape bottom of pan with whisk or spatula to release spices and juices.  Reduce to about half volume, stirring constantly (about 5 minutes).  Reduce heat to low, add warmed cream and Raspberry Chipotle Sauce.  Stir while simmering for 2-3 minutes.

Remove sauce from heat and let rest for about five minutes.  Slice pork, place on plate and cover with sauce.  I also put sauce in a gravy boat so people could add more.

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced Vidalia onion (I just used a sweet onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 chipotles en adobo, chopped (I also included some extra sauce that they were in)
1 14 oz jar of seedless raspberry all-fruit spread
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used water and one packet of "true lemon")

In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix oil, onion and garlic.  Cook and stir about 3 minutes.  Add chipotles and raspberry spread.  Cook and stir until spread is melted.  Add the Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice, stir well.

Remove from heat and let cool.  Can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.  (This makes about 2 cups, I think I was generous in my use of this in the top recipe.  I froze the remaining sauce and will let you know if it actually works.)

Apparently I'll do anything for 100

It's funny how when your life is not set up for full-time work, having two full-time days can pretty much derail the train.  I expected the two days of class to mess up those two days.  I hadn't really thought about what they'd do to subsequent days.   Add in Halloween and a lunch out to celebrate Shoo's birthday and I feel like the house is falling down around my ears.

As a result:

• my laundry hamper is overflowing
• we have no food in the house
• the living room looks like a bomb went off
• Beer Geek's car's gas tank didn't get filled so he took my car to work
• Jones had to finish homework AFTER trick or treating

But I finished my 100 miles.  I have my priorities, people.  I fueled with Halloween candy instead of dinner (did I learn nothing in my class this weekend?)  After trick or treating and putting Shoo to bed, I hit the treadmill for a super slow 3.5 miles.  I'd like to say I went slow because that's what the training plan said, but really I couldn't have run any faster last night if the plan had told me I was supposed to.  I'm guessing that Almond Joys and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are not optimal running fuel.

And with that, October is in the books.  It was a crazy month.  I ran 3 races (getting two new states), threw two birthday parties, and attended 16+ hours of classes.   All of this was in addition to our normal crazy fall of soccer, cub scouts, and various volunteer activities.  I'm tired.  November is starting off a little insane (I have something EVERY night this week), but I have hopes that we'll have at least a few weeks of lull before the holiday craziness begins.

Up next?  A few weeks of "sharpening" before my attempt at a 5k PR before I settle into HM training again. 

245 miles to 1400 for the year.  Do you think I'll make it?