Gourmet Runner

I haven't had a guest poster on the blog in a while but I had an opportunity to have Beth, of yes, folks. i run like a girl talk about her pretty amazing experience running a race on New Year's Eve in Barcelona. If you have even wanted to run through a Spanish city with 10,000 friends on the last day of the year wearing fake noses ....read on. During our weekly phone calls my dad often starts the conversation with: "So, where are you today?" (Am I really in an airplane that often?) Last month I was lucky enough to swap one phone call for a postcard, which read: “In Barcelona. Loving it! Will call as soon as the plane lands in ATL. Love, B.” One of my travel “tricks” is to find a local running club and join them for a run or three. Aside from the obvious the benefit of getting a nifty tour of an unfamiliar city, running with locals usually offers insight into the area that goes far beyond what I can read in a guidebook. In Barcelona, I found the Barcelona Casu...

Another week in the books. I said last week that I had the goal of upping my mileage up to 40 miles per week, and I'm almost there - 39 for the week. I'll take it gladly! Here's the week in recap: Monday : Rest Day! Tuesday : Ran 7 Miles Wednesday : Ran 8 Miles Thursday : Ran 5 Miles, 15 minutes of upper body and core work Friday : 45 minutes of spin, 1.5 mile walk Saturday : Rest Day Sunday : 19 Mile Run I've been having 2 rest days a week lately - this isn't really intentional but it has been nice. Obviously I read several blogs on a regular basis, but the reasons are varied. Some are inspirational, some are fast runners, some have adorable kids and others I just feel very connected to after lots of emails and comments over time. Some, though, I read entirely because they make me laugh. Some are witty writers, others take hilarious pictures and some rely on shock humor. If you are in the mood for a laugh, you have to check out these blogs. They hav...

So...I ran 19 miles today. No biggie. Oh, no wait - it's a huge freaking deal. Anytime I run for over 3 hours, it becomes a monumental event. Done in 3 hours and 9 minutes, so basically JUST sneaking in under a 10 minute mile average. I can't actually hear your applause through the computer, but I feel it. Thanks. I think the reason I feel so excited about the run is because it was the first long run in a while that didn't feel like a monumental struggle. I would like to take full credit and attribute it to general awesomeness and my fine physical form, but I think the large amounts of white rice consumed yesterday might have also played a part. Any guesses what we made last night for dinner based on the ingredients?   We ate some amazing restaurant sushi last weekend, but it came at a steep price. The next best thing? Making it at home. We went all out and actually splurged on the whole kit and caboodle so we could make it at home - we realistically could have done ...

Have you guys seen the 11 Random Things floating around blogland? Oh, you have? 600 times? Whoops. I got tagged by several kind people but I'm going to be honest - the whole thing looked intimidating and like a lot of work. For me the blog is entirely for fun, and anything that too closely resembles work is a no-go. So I'm cheating. Like, completely changing the whole thing because I'm just that lazy. Typical. First I want to thank the lovely ladies who tagged me for the post: Heather @ Will Run for Coffee Sammy @ Happy Family, Healthy Family Jenn @ Jenn's Adventures Amanda @ Run to the Finish Amy @ Juice Boxes and Crayolas Jen @ Runner...Maybe? Meg @ Junk Food Runner If I don't participate at all then I'm just a grinchy spoil sport, so my compromise is...10 random things. Enjoy.  1. I have a weird relationship with milk. I don't like it plain, ever - not even in cereal. I sniff it every single morning before putting a splash in my tea because...

Almost every week either hubby or I head to the grocery store to do a big shop. This week, however, I wanted to try to prolong the shop and eat up a bunch of the stuff we had lying around the house. Normally operation eat everything in the house consists of boxes of Easy Mac and canned soup. You gotta do what you gotta do to save money, right? The last couple of days I tried to mix it up by using leftovers and random pantry items to make some new recipes. One favorite was curried tuna cakes. Bear with me - if that sounds crazy, just think spicy crab cakes. Really tasty - I promise! Plus, it's the ultimate quick meal using cheap ingredients. Here's the recipe for you: I ngredients: -1 can of tuna in water (5 ounces) -1 egg white -3 tablespoons of bread crumbs -1 stalk of diced celery -1 teaspoon of curry powder Mix it all up and form it into patties by hand - I made four from this recipe. Rather than frying them, I baked for 15 minutes in an oven heated to 350. Fl...

I feel like a good way to start this post is by saying that we don't have curtains. You might be able to guess where this is going, and you're right. It's not good. On the schedule today was an 8 mile run, which I hopped on the treadmill for this morning. It faces outside and I got to watch the bobcat (machine, not animal) loading up gravel to put around the back of the house. When I started I was wearing a sports bra and shorts, my normal indoor at home running gear. The driver was way off in the distance so I felt fine. Attire = standard. Pose = unusual. After a while the driver starts getting closer and closer, until finally he's RIGHT in front of the window. Like, 2 feet in front of me. As I run and he dumps gravel. At first I was a little uncomfortable but then a rap song came on and I started thinking "make it rain" as he poured the gravel down and I forgot I was baring my white stomach to the world (AKA one man).  Crisis averted.   Fast for...

Don't quote me on that title. I'm sure in reality, faster running = chia seeds and great genetics. Whatever. Apparently if you take a rest day AND eat a family sized bag of conversation hearts in the same day (15 servings my ass) you'll have lots of energy to tackle a run the next day. It's basic science. An extra thousand calorie in pure sugar is bound to have an impact on your run. Exhibit A: One bag of candy, eaten in 24 hours- Turns into 7 miles which are pretty speedy (for me) - Was I happy after the run? In a word: I also got an awesome package and now the mailman thinks I'm a super runner. A while back I missed out on running the Rock N' Roll Miami Half, but Amanda managed to find someone to run with my bib. And by someone, I mean some speed demon who managed to get 3rd place in the 18-24 age group.   My favorite part is that it has the award title right on the front of the box, so everyone at the post office now thinks I'm really f...