Gourmet Runner

Hey, did you guys know it was hot?  Seriously, breaking news. I'm so glad 6,431 of my friends posted it on Facebook JUST IN CASE I didn't realize it was over 100 degrees across most of the United States. I would have just gone on with my day not knowing that it was OMG SO HOT ! Phew. On Thursday I decided that I was stupid enough to brave the heat (102 degrees at 7pm) for a quick 2 mile social run that ended at a frozen yogurt place. Well, leave it to me to wait for a train to cross and be 10 minutes late. For all of you mathematicians out there, showing up even a few minutes late for a 2 mile run means you don't get in much of a workout. I ran 1.25 on the surface of the sun (ok, maybe it just FELT like the sun) and then cooled off with a richly deserved sweet treat with friends. On my way home I saw a ton of people running and my legs just wanted it...so I did another 2 once I got home. Friday I decided that maybe running over 100 degrees is stupid (for the record, it ...

When I was in Florida over the weekend, I had every intention of doing a long run. In fact, I loudly proclaimed at dinner on Friday night that I was going to run 18 miles the next morning. I was awake, dressed and out of the house by 7, and at that point the sun was barely up.  Unfortunately, the heat and the humidity were awake. We're talking 80+ degrees and 99% humidity at 6:30 in the morning. Tim and I started running and immediately were SOAKED. One of the worst runs ever. I physically completed 7 miles, but so much walking happened that I'm loath to even call it running. To make up for it, I figured some extra miles this week would cut it. Monday I ran 5 miles outside at 8 pm, and even at 90 degrees it felt amazing compared to Florida's humidity. Tuesday I ran 12 miles at an easy pace, and followed it up with 10 miles on Wednesday. Was that stupid? Maybe. But I figure that running on really tired legs is good ultra training and good Hood to Coast training, so there...

This weekend Tim and I took an impromptu trip down to Florida to visit my Dad and my brother. In case you start imagining me laying on a sandy beach in Miami, try again. We headed to an area in Northern Florida where my dad grew up, which is beautiful but basically reclaimed swamp land. As in, back to the roots, in touch with "nature". Really. The first thing that happened when we go there was a search for an alligator who managed to "escape" from the freshwater pool in the yard. Yes, my family keeps alligators (as long as they're "small" by some arbitrary standard) in the pool on occasion. No, I do not think that's normal. But we found him, took a pic and moved on. (And for the record, he's back in the swamp with his gator friends again, don't worry.) Obviously I forgot to wear my alligator dress for the occasion.... The whole trip included plenty of seafood at hole in the wall places (which were fantastic, I'm not knocking th...

For a good 18 months, I've had a pretty solid affair with my foam roller. Pre-run, post-run, while I watch television...my big blue foam roller wasn't far from my side. But then I started to get lazy. Using a foam roller is kind of exhausting, and spending 20 minutes a day on the floor means I get covered in cat scratches and fur. A couple of weeks ago I decided to invest in the Stick ...and the foam roller can suck it. Seriously, I traded up BIG TIME. Foam roller was the reliable middle aged man who was greying, and the Stick is the new hot stud with a six pack. He can do everything the middle aged guy can do, but better. Plus he fits into a suitcase. What more could you want out of a man muscle massager? I got the cheapest one I could find online, and I'm pretty sure it's the travel version...but it's perfect to me. I don't know if I would want a bigger one, actually. (It's not the size that matters you guys!) Anyway...love. I want to carve my i...

The very sweet and well-traveled Kyria over at the Travel Spot recently nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award. I'm flattered, but I don't think I can muster up another round of interesting facts about my less than interesting life. So instead of playing by the rules, I'm going to share seven interesting blog posts I have read lately. If you haven't seen any of them, check them out! You got me. This is a pointless picture but I refuse to have a picture-less post! 1. The Help Post : This is written by Sierra at Posh Meets Pavement, and is a really interesting look about having "help" in the home. Sierra lives in South Africa and manages to gives readers a glimpse about what life is like for her there. 2.   Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race Recap: This post is written by a local runner in my area. While he is crazy fast and would be out of sight in mere seconds, I have run with his dad a few times! Cody just completed a local 60 mile race that take...

Feel free to hum that LMFAO song to yourself now. I am. Ready for that obligatory recap? Awesome! Has anyone else noticed that I only post weekly workout recaps when I am proud of the workouts I've done? I just realized that, and it's not all productive except as a way to brag. So I guess I'm fine with it after all. Monday : 5 miles of running, 12 miles of spinning Tuesday : 3.5 miles of running, 45 minutes of weights Wednesday : 8 miles of running Thursday : 16.5 miles of spin Friday : 15 miles of running Saturday : REST DAY :) Sunday : 4 miles of running, 45 minutes of weights Totals: 35.3 miles of running, 28.5 miles of cycling, 90 minutes of weights Verdict: Imagine me doing a little happy dance right now. Toss in an hour of yoga in there somewhere and this would qualify as my perfect week. If you still have that LMFAO song stuck in your head, I really apologize. I started writing this post on Sunday and it's still stuck in my head 24 hours later,...

Since I had a busy (and fun) weekend planned, I figured I should try to knock out my long run on Friday morning. I did 15 miles on the treadmill, watched a gazillion cooking shows and finished the run with an intense craving for a bacon donut. Have I ever even had a bacon donut before? No. But those dang Food Network people make them sound good. I thought I was a genius for just doing a long run on Friday before working, but then I remembered something. I had to work. Let's just say my body is more in the habit of eating and napping after long runs, so this was a slight adjustment. At night Tim and I had plans to meet friends at Olive Garden in Chattanooga. For the record, they have gluten-free pasta! Also the record, I refuse to spend $20 for pasta with marinara sauce. I had some mussels and salad and was underwhelmed. And bitter. Why does anyone go to Olive Garden if not for the breadsticks? The night was redeemed with good wine, great conversation and even some bowling...

I've been to Mexico once or twice, but that doesn't mean I know a thing about Mexican cuisine. As a child and teenager staying in completely touristy Mexican resorts, I thought being adventurous meant switching between hard and soft tacos or stealing sips of someone's Corona. That whole story is an excuse for the "Mexican" dinner I made for some neighbors this evening. It's not Mexican. It has salsa and cheese and tortillas, but it's not Mexican. It was, however, pretty tasty. I started with a spicy tomato, cheese and spinach dip: The dip was served with some garlic cilantro salsa and some fresh, homemade store-bought tortilla chips. I'm not kidding, that dip was incredible. I had to write the recipe down for someone and Tim requested I make it again soon. Like, tomorrow. The recipe I started with is HERE , but I made a lot of substitutions/changes to it so it looked more like this. Ingredients 1 Jar of Salsa (16 ounces) 10 ounces of ...

Last week I was called out for my unattractive toes in the scale picture. I admit, they are not my best feature. I definitely thought about getting a pedicure this week, but then I didn't. No surprise there. The last time I got a pedicure or painted my nails was before my wedding - almost two years ago. Tim should just be happy I still brush my teeth. So my weight went down a little, but I was eating the same calories and working out a little less. So....yeah. My only guess is that since I just found out about my wheat/soy allergies, I am dealing with less inflammation and water retention. I can get on board with that. (Want to know why I'm posting random pictures of my weight? Read here .) Before I forget, the winners of the 13.1 Race in Atlanta are: Julie F. and Kristin W. Congrats, ladies! You can thank Random.org for that. Send me an email and I'll send you your codes for free race entries. Everyone else who wants to run the race, use this code at checkout to ...

This morning I was reading the lovely Rose's blog and saw a workout she completed last week. She called it the "I'm Bored Workout," but I would prefer to call it the "I'm More Hardcore Than You Workout." At first I assumed she was crazy, but 20 seconds later I wanted to try it myself. And then I remembered I was but a mere mortal. Her workout ( here ) is way more badass than mine, but I adjusted it slightly (read: made it easier and shorter) and it was still pretty intense. My revised version was as follows: 1 mile run (10:00 pace) 3 miles biking 2 mile run (8:57 pace) 6 miles biking 2 mile run (8:30 pace) 3 miles biking Holy crap. That's a lot - especially for a Monday. We have some free trial to HBO for a couple of days so I watched most of a terrible movie during the workout and that made the time go by much faster. Total: 5 miles of running in 44:50 and 12 miles of biking in 46 minutes. Tim came home halfway through my workout t...

I have a cool race picture and want to brag, so here we go. Yes, that is the entire reason for this post. I could have hidden my reasons in some post about race mantras or recaps, but come on. I just wanted to brag a little about my strong finish. That's what blogging is for. Narcissists who need an ego boost. Reason #367 that I loved my trail race yesterday : when I logged onto Facebook today, they had an album up of 400 race pictures from yesterday. Thank you very much! They had a picture of every single finisher, and then a bunch at the start and the awards. Also, I have reason to believe whoever was taking pictures thought Tim was a stud. There are SO MANY pictures of him running, frame by frame. Jealous, what? No way. Shut up. Before the race Tim and I were chatting to some people from the local running group and someone snapped a pic. I love the photo bomb here - made better by the fact that the accidental walk-into-the-frame was done by none other than the guy ...

Having a blog means it is nearly impossible to run a race "secretly". Usually I'm far too excited about an upcoming race not to share it on here, and -hello- gearing up for a race is fantastic blog fodder, is it not? For this one, though, I kept mum. I wasn't registered for the Grizzly Trail Run, but I had my eye set on it. I've run the Raisin Woods Trails (where the race takes place) a few times, so I knew what to expect as far as the course was concerned. Plus, I've been feeling stronger and stronger and really wanted to put it to the test. But, um....I was scared. I have had to say SO MANY times on this blog that I missed my goals, that I came in way over my anticipated times or that I felt like a failure. I just didn't want to go through it again, especially not for a 5k. So I kept it between me and Tim, and we were ready to race this morning at 8! Scared and Sleepy The course started with a 1/4 mile on slightly downhill gra...

This post is a double whammy. First up: I'm going to show a picture of my scale every Wednesday. Why? Because I feel like it. Also, because people email me from time to time asking how I lost weight and then maintained it. And here's the thing - I haven't exactly maintained it. A year ago I was 117 pounds, today I'm, um...see the picture below. I don't mind the number now - it's in the healthy range for my height (5'4") and Tim doesn't grimace when he looks at me. So I'm happy. The problem? I don't want anyone who reads my blog to read my little "weight loss journey" story and think I have been the same weight every day since then. It changes. It fluctuates. Life happens. So this is to track those changes and hopefully to help me maintain my weight. 6 pounds in over a year? No biggie. 6 pounds every year for the rest of my life? Not so awesome. Because a post about JUST my weight would be incredibly dull even for me to read...

Last March I ran in the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon and loved every minute of it. Fine, I'm lying. The temperatures were hot that day, the course is challenging and full of hills and I may have wished once or twice that it was over. But guess what? That's what it feels like to push yourself. It is a rare day when someone says, "Wow! A PR - and I was barely working and just out for a stroll!" To earn those achievements, you have to push yourself. Ready to push yourself? Win this giveaway and you can do it for. (Yes, I know you can just walk outside and run for free, but then you wouldn't get a cool medal or thousands of cheering fans, would you?) The same group who organized and publicized the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon in March are leading the Allstate Life Insurance ℠ Atlanta 13.1 Marathon® 13.1 race . It will be in Atlanta, so prepare yourself for some hills. But also prepare yourself for a beautiful course, friendly volunteers and yummy snacks (an...

If you happen to be British, know someone who is British or happened to watch BBC America at all in the past two weeks, you probably know that today is the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. It is a huge celebration of her 60 years of reign in Great Britain. Tim is English, I'm half English, and for the last jubilee (10 years ago) I was in England and remember fondly all the celebrations that took place across the country. So, obviously today I went running. For the Queen. After yesterday's speedy-for-me 10k (in 57:58) I decided that I could hang with the faster runners at the Sunday morning group run. For the record, I can't. But Tim and I kept them in sight the whole time and in the process, I set a new (and completely unofficial) 5k PR. Just over 4 miles, and the splits were: 8:20, 8:33, 8:58, 8:59. Um, yeah. I haven't hit those times in roughly a gazillion years.   All day I have been elated. I thought yesterday might be a fluke, but it's official - I...