Addicted to Half Marathons? Me?!? (and race re-cap)

I can generally run any race 10K and under without too much training effort.  Because of this, I tend to be a total slacker when it comes to training, which sort of defeats my goal of kicking ass.

Half Marathons on the other hand, really require me to get my act into gear.  13.1 miles is LONG compared to the 3-6 mile racing I normally do.  I can't just wake-up and say "Hey!! I think I'm going to run 13 miles at race pace today!" and expect to be living the next day.  I need to training consistently for MONTHS in order for me to run that distance without stopping (or painfully dying on the side of the road).

The up-side to training for a half marathon is that I end up getting really fit and feel great about myself!  So....that's what I'm going to do.  At this point and time I don't have a race in mind.  I'll be following the intermediate half training program from Cool Running and will be pre-training before starting the program.  My goal is to be able to consistently do the pre-training mileage without stopping and then start the actual program.  Once I get going I'll start looking for a race to coincide with the end of my program.

My Schedule:

From Cool Running Website

So... speaking of races, I ran the Evan's Run 10K for Autism in Norwell, MA yeasterday.  It was about 80 degrees and sunny, which meant that I was sweating well before the race began.  My best friend ran with me the whole way which was great and bad all at the same time.  It was bad because I didn't get to stop as many times as I would have liked...but it was great because I couldn't stop as much as I wanted to and ended up finishing sooner than if I were on my own.  I do have to admit that it was kind of cool to have a cheerleader shouting encouragement and telling me how much more we had to go for 6.2 miles when all I wanted to do was lay down and die.  Of course I felt all of these HAPPY thoughts of gratitude towards my spritely friend as soon as I no longer had to run.  During the race....not so much.  :)

My finishing time was 1:01:26 for 6.2 miles, which translated into a pace of 9:57.  My pace last year was less (9:42), but it was also 20 degrees cooler and partially cloudy.

I was a little disappointed in myself because I hadn't made the time to get some miles in before the race.  My quads felt weak, especially during the hills, and (what I can only guess is) my IT band started to tweak out around mile 4.  But, I kept going.  I finished.  And then we proceeded to McGreal's Pub to sit out on their deck and enjoy the copious amounts of free after-race beers and burgers that awaited us.

At least dinner the night before was awesome.  I wanted a pasta dish but without a heavy sauce.  Our go-to blog, Skinny Taste, gave us this:

Pasta with Italian sausage, peppers, and escarole - Recipe from Skinny Taste

We added fire roasted diced tomatoes and used hot Italian chicken sausage from whole foods.  It was really tasty.  While we were at Whole Foods, I thought it might be an excellent idea to get some cookies.  We got a macadamia toffee cookie and some crazy lots of nuts and dried fruit cookie.  They were , of course, delicious.

Tasty Cookies from the Whole Foods Bakery

Playing Catch-Up

I often feel like I have zero time during the work week.  I wake up, drive an hour (and some) to work…work…drive an hour (and some) home.  I’m gone from 6:30 am to 5 pm.  With an average bedtime of 9 -10 pm that leaves me just four or five hours to eat dinner, (maybe) get some exercise in, and spend time with my husband.

I've been pretty busy on the weekends, but haven’t really put in the effort to jot it all down.

Mexatini  and Chips and Salsa at Rudy's Cafe in Somerville

Cinco de Mayo-  We got a quote from a roofer and decided to look at the houses he’s done.  As luck would have it, one of them was in Somerville.  I decided I needed to have pulled pork quesadillas for dinner, but didn't want to spend 12 hours smoking pork butt.  We decided to grab a drink at Rudy’s Café and then get take-out pulled pork (and a few beers) at Redbones.  

The ingredients for a GREAT night!  Happy Cinco de Mayo!

It was an EXCELLENT idea!  The quesadilla’s were amazing and the margaritas we made were amazing.  The hangover the next day… not so much.

Mother’s Day Weekend- I actually had to work Saturday morning… not fun.  Mark and I went to The Tap in Haverhill for dinner (Oh!! That reminds me…I still have the Chicken thigh and leg leftovers in my fridge, yum!).  I have a new favorite dish there that I forgot to take a picture of... Smoked Half Chicken.  You may be saying "you had me at 'smoked'"...It's smoked half chicken with a spicy porcini mushroom BBQ sauce and is served with coleslaw and polenta fries that have grated cheese in them.  You really can't get much better than that.  All my favorite things and a delicious cold beer to wash it down with.  I've been really into their Whittier White, which is a Belgian Style white ale (think Sam Summer or Blue Moon...that sort of style). 

Found on www.pintley.com

I went to my parents house after work on Saturday and cooked them my favorite healthy version of General Tso’s Chicken from Skinny Taste.  I omitted the sriracha and offered it later as an add-your-own-hot-stuff condiment.  We had it with steamed broccoli and they loved it.

The lime coconut cheesecake I made!

I needed to make a dessert to bring to my aunt's house the next day and had decided on trying my hand at a lime coconut cheesecake.  

It took a LOT longer to make than I was expecting, but it was so worth it to hear all the "Mmmmm"s and "oh my god, this is delicious".  Not to toot my own horn... it was pretty freaking awesome.

I got the recipe from Our Best Bites...a site I probably shouldn't make a habit of visiting too often.  Their recipes all look WAY too good!

All this food talk and not too much about the running I should be doing.  The week I started the blog I was nursing a sore knee from a race the previous weekend.  Ugh!  I feel like I'm so full of excuses, lately:

1. My knee hurt from the previous race.

2. My shoulder was tweaked from drunken Cinco de Mayo and I didn't want to exasperate it.

3. Couldn't make it to the gym because I had to stay late at work.

4. Forgot my contacts and couldn't make it to the gym.

5. Too freaking tired.

6. Had to get (random) stuff done before the next day.

At the time, they seem like legitimate excuses... but really they're just super lame.

I have a 10K race this weekend in Norwell, Ma.  It's a race to benefit Autism, Evan's Run.  I'm really looking forward to it, but I need to get a little distance on my legs so I can do better than last year.

Tomorrow.... I will do 3 miles.

Hell Night (Not).

I'm currently nursing a Cinco de Mayo hangover.  Whoever decided it would be a good idea to have 'one more margarita' is an idiot.

I've been to East Coast Grill and Raw Bar's Hell Night twice in my lifetime.  Our first time there, I was just getting into spicy food.  You may be scratching your head and saying 'what the crap is this 'Hell Night' and why on earth would you want to go'??  East Coast Grill (ECG) is full of flavorful dishes utilizing an array of fruits and veggies, bold Caribbean spices, and exceptional grilling and BBQ skills.  Every so often, their chefs whip out the face masks, order the hottest peppers they can get, and crank out the most flavorful, hottest dishes imaginable.  Enter Hell Night- 3 Days of capsaicin laced air, spicy drinks,  inner beauty sauce, wings of mass destruction, pasta from hell (you get the picture right?).

(From East Coast Grill's website: http://eastcoastgrill.net/special-events )

We tried to get a reservation by having a friend walk over.  Last year using 3 phones, we called repeatedly for 45 minutes and still didn't get through.  That's okay, though.  We can cook spicy stuff at home and hope that some year we'll get in.  :)

And So It Begins...

I've been wanting to write about my life and adventures outside of my Monday through Friday 7-3 job for a LONG time.  The hardest part has been coming up with a name that accurately represents what I hope this blog will be.

I am an organics prep-chemist at a water quality lab in Massachusetts.  Outside of my job, I love to cook, eat, drink, explore, run, meet people at bars, and as my dad often tells me "live life like no other person I've met."  My husband, Mark, shares in my fascination with life and is often an active participant in my adventures.

My fingers are crossed that I'll be able to stay on top of sharing my experiences with you, dear reader!  Stay tuned!