Fat Tuesday

This one is all food and fun friends. The fitness? Well, it’s in the previous post. The fun? I happen to think cooking with loved ones and baking for them is pretty dang fun.

I’ll admit that as I have been running more miles each week, my adherence and/or insistence on eating healthy 80% of the time has gone a few percentage points. For example, this weekend. The 3 recipes I am going to post are what I call “eat in moderation” meals and treats. I do believe that you can eat anything as long as you don’t eat too much of it. So with that in mind, game on!

The insightful idea to make Shrimp Risotto on Friday was my husbands. Once I got a little more familiar with the kitchen, I knew I had to tackle risotto because it was one of his favorite meals on our honeymoon. I know without a doubt this doesn’t come close to that dish, but it still tasted pretty good. I used this recipe minus the truffle oil, parsley for the chives, and added shrimp.

Chive Risotto with Truffle Oil from Mary Ellen’s Cooking Creations

I saw a tweet from Eat Live Run on Friday for homemade Pizza Rolls. Don’t pretend you don’t didn’t like those tasty little Totino’s snacks. These turned out a bit larger then the bite sized frozen delights, but I promise these were worth the work and the savings in sodium. As usual, I used my favorite pizza dough recipe from Mark Bittman.

Pizza Rolls from Eat Live Run

Look at the steam. Action shot! Thank you, DST for the return of natural light into my kitchen at dinner time.

Don’t forget dessert! For his birthday bck in August, I made Mr. BKL a set of birthday coupons for meals and baked goods of his choice. He turned one in on Sunday and requested Monster Cookies. The man had a coupon, I had to honor it.

I used this recipe at All Recipes. You can guess how these turned out.

I wouldn’t recommend eating all of this in one day. But, the problem with delicious recipes is leftovers. Maybe it’s a good problem to have. We actually freeze a lot of baked goods after a day or two. It’s true what they say…out of sight, out of mind. Then it’s really awesome when you remember you have cookies in the freezer.

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of March 21st – 27th:

Monday, 21^st

6 miles

Tuesday 22^nd

9 x 400’s, 5 total

Wednesday 23^rd

Snow day – shoveling and weights
deadlifts
3 x 6 x 135
dumbbell shoulder press
3 x 8 x 20’s
chin ups
2, 2, 1, 2 negatives
glute bridges
3 x 12
prone jackknife
3 x 12

Thursday 24^th

6 miles

Friday 25^th

3 miles

Saturday 26^th

11 miles (1:34)

Sunday, 27^th

4 miles

Total weekly running miles: 35

Thursday randoms

Hoping today’s commute is a little better….

Gross. I had to shovel last night instead of going running. I still managed on okay workout between that and doing some lifting at home. Shoveling = cross training?

And some professional photos from Saturday. Pictures from Marathonfoto. This was at the end and I was tired, but holy arm carrying. Might want to lower those babies next time.

If you’re wondering, (and even if you're not) that hat is over 10 years old. It’s a Mission Roller Hockey Hat. Mission isn’t even in business anymore. I just can’t shake it. I like that hat.

I made an awesome recipe last night from Cara in honor of her Blogiversary. I tried taking some pictures, but to be honest it wouldn’t do this recipe justice. And her pictures are pretty awesome. Tastespotting famous even. Go to her site and check it out. I love her recipes (and she is not paying me to say that!) and they are among our favorites. She is having a big giveaway right now, too.

Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken
From Cara’s Cravings

I made a few adaptations, largely not using a slow cooker. I cooked this on the stove top in my cast iron dutch oven. I also made more then the recipe calls for so I could have leftovers. We had these as tacos last night but this recipe is so versatile I can envision nachos, a pizza topping, or even just on a bun as a sandwich.

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of March 14th - 20th:

Monday, 14
5 mile run outdoors

Tuesday, 15
4 mile run outdoors

Wednesday, 16
40 minute tempo run, 5 miles total

Upper body strength:
push ups
3 x 6
one arm DB rows
3 x 10 x 25
DB shoulder press
3 x 10 x 20's
prone jackknife
3 x 10

Thursday, 17
3 mile run, 3 mile walk

Friday, 18
none

Saturday, 19
7k race, 33:40

Sunday, 20
none

Total weekly miles run: 20.5 (lower then I want!)

Miles on shoes: 53.25

Get Lucky 7k Race Recap

Two days after the fact, I am feeling pretty good about the Get Lucky 7k on Saturday. During the race…not so much. Here’s how it went down.

I woke up before my alarm with a stomach ache and feeling generally nauseous. Not a great way to start the morning. Eventually I was able to drink a cup of coffee and I forced myself to eat a bagel with almond butter. It seemed to help, but I still wasn’t 100%. We were out the door at 9 am and found a parking spot in a nearby ramp. I went ahead of Mr. BKL to do some warming up. I jogged about .5 mile in the area around the start of the race. Hello cold wind! I was all excited about how warm it was supposed to be but even after the race it was still only 26 degrees. The sun helped, but I would have enjoyed about 5-10 degrees more of warmth.

Before the start.

I lined up at the start near the 8:00 minute per mile banner. I didn’t want to be too far ahead of my abilities but also didn’t want to be dodging people for the whole first mile. When the horn sounded I tried not to start out too fast. Ha ha.  Good one. I looked down at my watch and saw a 6:40 pace at one point. I thought there is no way that is right, must be interference with the taller buildings around. Not so much. I started out wayyyy to fast. After dodging people for about the first 1k, I finally got to a point where most people were going about the same pace and I wasn’t having to weave around people who started way to fast, too, and had crashed already.

The lead pack taking off at the start.

 
I recognize some of these people as being around me at the start but I have no idea where I am!

 

At about 1.5 miles, I started to struggle. I got this weird pain in my low back that made it painful to get a deep breath. I have no idea what that was about. Eventually it went away, but I have never had anything like that before. Side stitches, sure. This was different. I was able to keep my pace around 7:40ish even though it was a challenge. I didn’t let anyone pass me and tried to keep up with a woman with a US Track and Field 10 Mile Championship jacket on and a girl decked out in Lululemon. There was one dude, whom I nicknamed Heavy Foot who was doing the whole sprint then die, then walk, then sprint, then die, then walk routine next to me for an annoyingly long time. I made it my goal to beat him because he had terrible form (hence the nickname heavy foot – loudest foot fall ever) and clearly hadn’t learn how to pace himself. He just annoyed me.

There were really only two inclines on the course. One was a small bridge, the other was a larger bridge over the Mississippi. I knew the larger bridge was going to be a challenge because of where it was in the race and most bridges have painfully steady inclines. I really felt myself slow down at the top. I focused on running the downhill efficiently. Shortly after, the 6k marker appeared and it was a godsend. I started to pick up my pace, but with 1000 meters left, I didn’t want to all out sprint just yet. I should have looked at the course map a little closer because I had no idea how fast the finish would show up. It came out of no where and you couldn't see it until you rounded a corner with about 200 meters left. I wanted very badly to catch another girl who I guessed was in my age group but I just didn’t have enough real estate.  I crossed the finish line and my timer said 33:43. Official chip time was 33:40. I was a little surprised by my final time considering my I struggled during mile 3. Must have been that way too fast first mile that made up for it.

Good thing you can see that guy’s foot in front of me, otherwise I could have been running anywhere.
I won’t even comment on my terribly hunched over form captured in this.

Overall I was really happy with how I did, but I just wish it would have felt better. I was talking with a friend who did the ½ marathon course of this race and he said that 5 and 10k’s are his nemesis because they are too short to run at a steady pace but are too long to all out sprint. Touché.

That last mile was pretty brutal! Not exactly negative splits, eh?

Lesson reiterated: don’t start out too fast. I am going to really try hard not to let the adrenaline get to me for the two ½ marathons coming up. I have a much easier time making up for slow first miles then I do trying not to fall over after starting out too fast.

The deets:

265/5107 Overall
70/3668 Females
8/833 Females 25-29 age group
Official Avg. Pace 7:45

And here is a link to the race photos from Team Ortho. Some of them are pretty fun. A sea of green!

Next up: Earth Day 1/2 April 16th!

Running nerd

Pretty sure at some point a few years ago I said:

"I don't need any fancy running stuff! All my cotton t-shirts from 1997 and soccer shorts work just fine! Who needs all that fancy tech stuff? And what's with those water bottles people have around their waists? They look like holy water bottles."

Or something to the effect. Famous last words. As I now own a Garmin Forerunner, have eaten GU's, want to pay good money to enter races, and wear Mizuno running shoes and didn't care one bit about how they looked.

Lookie what arrived at my doorstep last night! A Spibelt and new running shorts:

Yeah I know. The Spibelt looks like a mini fanny pack. (BTW, don't say fanny when you are in the UK. Or so I've been told.) Hey, I never said I looked cool when I run.

And the shorts...they are Nike Tempo Two-in-Ones. I saw them online over the weekend and thought I would try them out. I loathe the traditional Nike Tempos because, Gurrrrrl! I have thighs. And the Nike Tempos get swallowed up by said thighs when I run. Otherwise I like how light and comfy they are and wear them in non-running situations all the time. When I was in high school our track and CC uniform bottoms were identical to the Tempos, but back then I didn't have these thighs - at least not at the same circumference.

Anyway, I tried these on and did some mock running in my house and the seem to do the same job as when I wear my actual pair of Tempos (that I bought because everyone said how they were God's gift to running) over my running tights. Hope to give them a test run (literally!) on Sunday or Monday if the weather stays in the glorious 50's.

Tomorrow is the Get Lucky 7k! I have some lofty goals. I ran a 40  minute tempo run on Wednesday and I covered 5 miles. I was stoked. It was tough but I did it. I even got a little pukey at the end. Knowing I can do it for 5 on a training run builds my confidence for 4.375 in a race situation.

I am going after work to pick up my packet and sweet hoodie that is part of the race swag. Another sweet piece of swag? A free beer at one of a few local Irish bars afterward. Party on!

Photos and race re-cap will be posted.

Work It Out

I would have posted this earlier, but my night sort of derailed. Fortunately nothing terrible happened, and it could have been much worse. I was out on a glorious 4 mile run in the spring like weather with capris and NO hat mind you, and Mr. BKL calls and in a very calm voice says “I have a flat tire.” Interesting.  “Where are you?” I say. He tells me and begins to describe what I can only imagine as the edge of a steep mountain in the Andes, on a road that is only was wide as his car. Turns out this wasn’t that far from the truth, having it be an exit lane with no shoulder and guardrails on either side. Long story short, he lost a hub cap from hitting the Pothole of Death and the loud noise he heard and hissing of air when he pulled over was the car in front of him, who has also just drive through the Pothole of Death. He ended up being able to drive home fortunately.

After his call, I immediately turned around and headed home but I was exactly 2 miles from home, and I wasn’t sure what I could really do, but ran as fast as I could within reason anyway. Once I got home, we went back for the hub cap after traffic died down. I wanted to go with because I didn't want him scavenging on the side of a highway in Eden Prairie where he could be hit by another passing car or picked up by a roving gang of highway murderers. I hear they are rampant in EP. He found his hub cap. Number 8 of 8 laying all in a row in the same spot. I wish I would have snapped a picture of him as he ran back to the car, rim in hand, with the proudest smile on his face. Good job! You found the $20 factory hub cap and now have soaked feet and muddy pants! I know you were expecting me to say this rim was a 22” chrome spinner, because surely that is the only reason you would go back for it. I am guessing those kind of rims don’t fall off when you hit a big pothole.

Because of all this, and a trip to Target, he strong armed me into eating a DiGiorno frozen pizza instead of our planned chicken stir fry meal with Trader Joe’s Thai Curry Simmer Sauce. I also missed out on some lifting I was going to do. Tomorrow is another day. At least I got 4 miles in. Count your blessings :)

My weekly workout report for the week of March 7th – 13th:

Monday, 7^th

4 miles race pace, 4.5 total

Tuesday, 8^th

8 x 400’s, 5 total

Wednesday, 9^th

OH squats 1 x 6 x 45, 2 x 6 x 55

Goblet squats 3 x 12 x 40

Smith machine T-push ups 3 x 10  x BW

Cable face pulls 3 x 10 x 70

Pallof press 3  x 10 x 60

3 miles run, treadmill

Thursday, 10th

5.25 miles outdoors

Saturday, 12th

4 miles treadmill

Sunday 13

10 miles outdoors (1:25)

Total weekly miles: 31.75

Cookie time

Hey, if you are reading this in Google reader or a feed, click over and check out my new blog header. I get bored often and like to change things up. Also, if you are on Twitter and we aren’t already, we should be tweeps or twriends or something. I am @Breebeesknees.

I ate a cookie for breakfast this morning. It was delicious. It probably wasn’t the smartest way to start off my week. Especially since I justified eating two cookies yesterday because of my 10 mile run. But, I declare that if you run 10 miles you can have two cookies. Or seven.

Weekend Fitness: So the 10 mile run I had planned on Saturday happened on Sunday instead. I was really happy with how it went. I just started running and felt comfortable, and it was felt easy at an 8:45 mpm pace the first two miles. I told myself that I could slow down if I started to get tired. Luckily, I hovered around that for the next 4, and finished with negative mile splits after. I think my last mile was around 7:45 ish. I think what helped me keep up the pace was that instead of doing an out and back route or ending in an area I run over and over again, I started out from home and just ran using my Garmin to guide me (and roughly knowing the mileage to where I wanted to end up) and running in fairly new territory put a little kick in my step.  Once I had a good idea of where I would finish I called Mr.BKL to come pick me up. (It was really nice! I am hoping he will be willing to do this for long runs in the future.)  I felt confident and am getting excited for the potential of reaching my very lofty goal for the ½ marathon next month. Not to mention the Get Lucky 7k on Saturday! I am looking forward to actually racing a somewhat shorter distance.

My hazy view of downtown.

  Penguin got a little frosty on this run.

Since I was mourning the loss of my grand plan on Saturday, I pouted all the way to the gym to run on the treadmill. I did 4 miles but I am not sure how. It was an exercise in mental toughness as when I got there, I sought out the best choice on the TV’s, which is like choosing the best head of iceberg lettuce. There is no winner. For some reason, the gym I go to decided to choose what might be the worst channels on their TV’s. You can choose between E! or Bravo, MSNBC, HLN or EPSN or ESPN News. I almost always choose ESPN because whenever I am there E! is running reruns of some incarnation of the Kardashians.  Unfortunately on Saturday the TV’s that usually have on ESPN had a local channel, 45, on for the state boys hockey tournament from the night before. At the time I was there, some cartoon movie about bears was on. Next to that TV was an infomercial for Insanity, and next to that the TV was just off. SWEET. Yet another reason I need to get my own treadmill. Sigh. (I really wish I had Shelby’s mad Paint skills because I can envision some kind of sweet illustration here…with Khloe and Kim, Chris Matthews, and Chris Berman all at once.)

If you made it through all that rambling, you are thus rewarded with photos of cookies!

Weekend Food: I have had this recipe for years and for some reason it dawned on me to make it on Saturday. I think what spurred this was that I had a sad, stale, almost gone bag of pretzel sticks from some homemade Chex mix weeks ago.  This recipe is a great use for those stale pretzels! Because really, how exciting are pretzel sticks alone?

I should also note here that I mixed up my sugars, and did 1 cup or white and only ½ cup of brown. Maybe it was a meant to be mistake because these turned out awesome. I am guessing my mistake would be noticeable if the correct cookie was available for a side by side comparison, but maybe not.  If you like salty/sweet combinations and delicious things, you should try this one.

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
via Beantown Baker

Click here for the recipe.

Weekend Fun: We finished the 6th season of Weeds on Netflix. It was an interesting season. The show was getting a little ridiculous in that Nancy gets away with a lot and/or is very lucky. Anyway, no spoilers from me, but I am looking forward to see where they will take the next season with how it’s set up.

Takin’ it too the streets

Whenever I think of any song by Michael McDonald I instantly think about The 40 Year Old Virgin and how they were playing that concert DVD on their TV’s at the electronics store over and over again on a loop.

I took my new shoes to the streets on Thursday for a 5 miler and it went really well. I altered my route for the second half because I kept having to stop and walk in snow banks to get around puddles and ice on the trail and it was getting annoying. My last mile was around 8:20 I think, so I felt good with my negative splits. The new shoes were extra zippy.

Right now I am sitting here pouting because I think my planned 10 miler has to be moved to tomorrow. It’s 17 degrees with 30 mph winds gusting to 45, so the wind chill is below zero. AND there is a nice layer of ice covered with snow that fell, and I would probably have to wear my ice spikes, which, I really don’t want to do for 10 miles. Sounds like an injury waiting to happen. I am pouting because I had my mind set on it today and when I get something in my head I almost always get it. It will have to be done tomorrow.

Let’s talk about food! Yum. As you may have heard, it’s Lent. Mr. BKL and I are both Catholic and we observe. So you might see some more vegetarian recipes here from now until Easter. At least I hope so. Mr. BKL is perfectly fine with eating copious amounts of fish sticks. Me? Not so much.

I often start trying to put a recipe together when I know I have some ingredients on hand. I am pretty sure this recipe is closest to Thai cuisine, but I may have crossed into some other territories. Honestly, I don’t care and don’t like labels except that this was pretty good. This made about 4 servings.

Thai Style Chickpeas and Veggies

Ingredients

- 1 14 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups chopped potatoes, steamed (I used fingerling, but sweet potatoes would be awesome here)
- 1 -2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bit sized piecs
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 – 2 cloves garlic, depending on your preference
- 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
-about 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 2 – 3 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1/2 Tbsp. ginger powder or fresh chopped if you have it
- 1/2 Tbsp. or more curry powder
- 1/2 Tbsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. coriander
- 1 Tbsp. chili paste like sambal oelek
- black pepper to taste, if wanted

(adjust the seasonings to your heat preference. I like hot food, so I added more of the chili powder and chili paste)

Directions

Heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic. Cook for a minute or so then add onions. Cook until they begin to soften, then add tomatoes, chili powder, ginger, curry, cumin, coriander, and chili paste. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add chickpeas, potatoes, broccoli and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and cook for about another 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings if needed.

This would be good over rice, but I just ate it plain.

I know you love my jazzy circles. ;) 

Weekend = success (winning?)

I had two big things on my to-do list this past weekend. Nine mile run and getting new running shoes.

For some reason 9 miles seems like so much more then 8. I am not sure why. Maybe because it’s really pushing the hour mark and getting close to the 1.5 hour mark (for me anyway) versus the hour which is so easy and breezy…right?

Anyway, I made up my mind this go round of training to use the long runs for their intended purpose – to build endurance. I set out on Saturday morning to accomplish 9 miles nice and steady hanging around the 9 minute per mile mark. It was actually a fairly enjoyable run. I could have used about 5 more degrees of warmth and did without the wind I headed into for the last 2 miles, but despite the weather it wasn’t bad. I finished right about 1:20 so I held the pace where I wanted. I picked it up for the last mile because I was tired of the wind and just wanted to get home. I didn’t have any water (for shame!) or gu’s/gels/candy/noms (meh) for this run. I could have used a drink of water around mile 6 but didn’t really feel thirsty until I was home. I hate carrying more than I have to, and being winter and all there aren’t any public water fountains available for use. Maybe I will plan better for my remaining long runs.

Moving on…Friday night before aforementioned run, I got to spend time with my immediate family. It’s been a while since we have all been together for more then 20 minutes. We went out to dinner and had a great time. I am a nerd, as I alluded to in my last post, but I really love being with my fam. On Saturday night, Mr.BKL and I used a Crowd Cut certificate I had bought eons ago for Chatterbox pub. We both had sammiches and microbrews and all was right with the world. Food and beer tasted good after the long run. We managed to watch two movies this weekend…Toy Story 3 and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Quite a contrast between those two movies; ranging from kid friendly to almost not adult friendly.

And guess what else I accomplished…getting fitted for running shoes! Since I have only worn Nike’s my entire life, save for a few stints into New Balance, this is a whole new world for me. I am nervous. Don’t let me down Mizuno Wave Rider 14's! I’m counting on you.

 src

I went to Marathon Sports in Edina…err Minneapolis? I never know which one I am in around that area. It’s south of Lake Harriet next to Broder’s Cucina Italian. NOM. Oh yeah, shoes. The sales gal was really helpful. As I sort of already knew, she said I have a very neutral stride and high arch but it isn’t too high to be a problem. I tried on 4 different pairs – including the new model of my current shoe, the Nike Moto. I hated it. Good thing I didn’t just order them online thinking they would be the same.  I am going to try them out on the dreadmill tonight. What was cool about Marathon Sports was that if you join their email list you get 20% off. That’s a pretty decent savings. Spam away!

I also whipped up a batch (literally) of the best frosting ev-ar. This frosting should only be made in small batches because having any leftover may cause one to eat it by the spoonful right out of the fridge. Not that I would know anything about that.  I had this box of pumpkin bread/muffin mix from Trader Joe’s that looked like it needed to be made and I thought frosting would be an acceptable way to take something sort of healthy and make it not.

So I ask you…is a muffin with frosting still a muffin or is it a cupcake? What makes a muffin a muffin, and a cupcake a cupcake? Whatever these are, they are probably better enjoyed as a dessert rather than a breakfast food.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from All Recipes (This is half of the original and when using these amounts it was enough for frosting 12 muffins, 8 mini muffins, and there was still about ½ cup leftover. You have been warned.)

Ingredients:
-4 oz. cream cheese softened
-1/8 cup butter, softened
-2 cups powdered sugar
-1/4 t. pure vanilla extract
-1 t. maple extract

Directions:

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add flavorings. Mix in powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Frost cookies/cupakes/muffins right away for easier spreading. Or for a stiffer frosting, refrigerate for an hour or so first. Keep refrigerated after that.

And to balance that, I had to share a little random dip I whipped up tonight. Healthy fats and protein = goodness.

I decided to take a picture, but it is probably the least interesting photo ever.

So I added some bling. And a copyright because I know someone will want to steal my artwork. Don’t  pretend you didn’t just right click and save.

Guacomole Dip!
-1 ripe avocado
-1/2 cup or so 0% Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
-couple shakes of sea salt, cumin, garlic salt and chili powder to taste

Mash avocado and stir in yogurt and seasonings until well combined. Dip!

And that concludes this random post.

 Update: I took my new shoes for a 4.5 mile spin tonight. Success! At first they felt a little funny but I knew I just had to break them in a little. I even feel a little less heel strike, but won’t know for sure until I get them outside. The treadmill is not a good indicator of stride if you ask me. 

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of February 28th – March 7th:

Monday, 28th
Back squats
3 x 6 x 115
barbell lunges
3 x 6 x 75
push ups
3 x 6
cable face pulls
3 x 10 x 70
cable woodchop
3 x 10 x 50

-3 mile run

Tuesday, 1st
5 mile run outdoors (this one sucked. It was all I could do to not turn around after 1 mile)

Wednesday, 2nd
4 mile tempo, 4.5 miles total

Thursday, 3rd
4 miles outdoors w/hillz,  33:28

Bulgarian Split squat
3 x 12 x BW
DB shoulder press
3 x 10 x 20’s
chin up/negative chin up combos
3 sets
planks
3 x 40 seconds (wowzas…need to start doing these again!)

Friday, 4th
none

Saturday, 5th
9 mile run

Sunday, 6th
4 miles outdoors ez

Total weekly miles: 29.5

If you want to run faster, run faster

That’s what I kept telling myself on my run last night. I opted to not go to the gym, as I have been more and more lately. (Pretty sure I want to quit the gym and get a treadmill. I have plenty o’weights at home and did New Rules of Lifting for Women at home the first go round. Let me know if you live in the area and want to sell me a gently used quality treadmill. I know, I won’t hold my breath. More to come on my many reasons why I want to quit the gym.)

So the above is my mantra these days. I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone on most of my runs. Chugging a long at a 9 minute per mile pace is comfortable, but I want to continue to get faster. And my upcoming 7k is on my mind more. I think the course is closer to 4.5 miles verses 4.375 which is about a 7k. Regardless, it will be good to test my legs at a distance like that. Here are the deets:

So the reason I am proud of this is that the route I took had a lot of hills. And at the end I my old friend pukey feeling came along for the last hill. I did see my pace go into the 6’s at the end, so that was good too.

Moving on to something completely different…

I got an award! I love being recognized by other bloggers.

Em at A Life to Bragg About bestowed the Stylish Blogger award to me. I was named best dressed my senior year after all. If that doesn’t make you LOL, I don’t know what will. She is a pretty cool chick who likes to run and lift weights, too. We hang out together on a message board and it’s been fun “getting to know her” as much as one can on the intertubez. Thanks Em!

 

Rulez:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these Bloggers and tell them about the award!

My Seven Things:

1. I won the state championship in Indoor Archery in 5th grade. My bow was hot pink and my arrows were black with hot pink fledging. It was the 90’s after all.

2. I have terrible hand writing. I also hold my pen differently then most people. Hard to explain, but I don’t hold it resting on my middle finger like most. All of my fingers touch the pen when I write. I have only met one other person who writes like this. We met in college and now we are co-workers. That could probably be Seven Thing 2a.

3. I’ve never mowed a lawn. Now that it’s been as long as it has, I am going to try and hold out as long as I can. As lazy as this makes me sound, I am really not that lazy when it comes to household chores. 

4. I love my family so much. I look forward to spending time with my Mom, Dad, brother, and sister. I love when we can all be together. I am fortunate that we all live relatively close and I hope that it never changes. And I am constantly in awe of how proud my siblings make me. They are both younger than me and I love watching them thrive. I know how motherly that sounds, but it’s true.

5. I am so happy that one of our friends is expecting. It has really hit me now that we are reaching the baby stage of our lives. A lot of us all got married the same year or two, and I have a strong feeling pregnancy announcements are going to be rampant in the next year or two. It’s exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. 

6. I love playing golf but I am not very good at it. The competitor in me hates that I am not good, but I love being outside on a beautiful day on the course, walking, talking, spending time with people I like and having fun. I am totally going to be that old lady with the push along cart, white visor, knee socks, golf skirt, and polo shirt someday. And it’s going to be awesome.

7. I hate iceberg lettuce.

Now, I am supposed to name 15 bloggers, but I am not going to follow the rules. Here are a few bloggers I want to recognize.  If you are listed below and reading this, don’t feel like you have to do Seven Things. If you do, sweet. Otherwise, I highly recommend these blogs to your reader.  They are pretty dope.

JerBear Shares 

I Swear My Legs are on Auto Pilot

Dukes House

Cow Spots and Tales

Life and Running In Iowa

 

I know you are jealous that I am blogging at 10pm on a Friday night. That’s how we do. Off to bed soon. If the weather cooperates I am planning on 9 miles tomorrow morning. And I am going to take it nice and slow. Easy like Sunday Saturday morning.