Hollis Fast 5k

Last night I ran the Hollis Fast 5k with Gina, Callie and Dan. Its called "fast" because the course drops 224 feet from start to finish - definitely more enjoyable than some of the super hilly races I've ran in the past! Yesterday's weather was all over the place. The morning started out a little cool and overcast, but by noon it was over 95 degrees outside and extremely humid. I'd heard reports of possible thunderstorms that evening/night, but didn't see any signs of them as I drove from Boston to Hollis, New Hampshire for the race. Pat called to inform me that the sky was black and it was pouring rain, and practically begged calmly advised me not to run.

Then Gina called to say that there was lightening everywhere she looked. Still nothing where I was.

A few minutes later, this started.

I looked at the thermometer in my car - it had dropped from 95 degrees to 70 in the past hour. Then the lightening started. I saw what Gina was talking about - it was the type of lightening that looks like its connected to the ground and the sky - it seemed like it was surrounding the highway. Beautiful night for a run!

By the time I got to Gina's house the rain had mostly passed, and we only saw lightening a handful of times on the drive to the race. They pushed back the start of the race by 15 minutes ("to be sure that the storm has passed") and then we were off. Though advertised as a downhill course (and there were a few noticeable declines) the race felt mostly flat. And even though it was 68 degrees at the start of the race, it was extremely muggy and felt like it was over 90 degrees.

There was a little banquet at the end with pretzels, apples, yogurt and TONS of cookies (most of which were homemade, which was cool). I loved running through Hollis - its the town next to Nashua, but feels like its way out in the country. The roads are very open, houses are spread far apart, and farms sprinkle the neighborhoods. I told Pat if we end up living in New Hampshire I'd want to live here!

I didn't have any pockets for my camera or phone, so this is the only shot I got.

I finished the 5k in 24:24, so a pace of 7:53. I'm not sure what my fastest 5k is, but its not really one of my best races. I tend to prefer distance, since I can steadily run for a longer period of time better than I can sprint. It would be helpful to warm up before shorter races, but I'm usually too lazy to do that!

On a different note, I'd like to apologize for my lack of posts recently. I'd been on a pretty good streak of posting several times throughout the week (weekends are my vacation from computers) but lately I haven't been keeping up. Spring and summer is a busy time - between the high school and college graduations (and parties), bridal and baby showers, bachelorette parties, and weddings, its hard to fit in a full-time job, let alone other activities (like sunbathing, which I am in desperate need of!). I love blogging and following other people's blogs, but its a hobby, not my job. So as much as I'd like to be blogging more, I've been cooking and baking less, and have had less time to write about cooking, baking, running and other random things I like to tell you about. So please bare with me, I'll try to be better about posting more frequently, in between the weddings, showers, and hopefully some trips to the beach!

I've deviated from my usual oatmeal breakfast recently, and the past two mornings I've made myself a"to-go omelette" which have been a delicious change of pace! 

Heat a small skillet on medium. Cover skillet with cooking spray and add 3 egg whites. Once the whites have just started to cook (under a minute) add some thinly chopped bell pepper. 

Top with a couple handfuls of baby spinach, and cover the skillet. Allow eggs to finish cooking and spinach to wilt (3-5 minutes).

Fold in half, remove from pan, and stuff inside half of a pita pocket (or put on a piece of toast). My mom bought me these pitas from a local Armenian grocer and they're super soft and fresh.

To-Go Omelette!

These are perfect to bring with me as I run out the door in the morning!

And I even brought a side dish, tucked neatly into my cup holder.

Frozen watermelon!

My sister was telling me the other day about freezing her cantaloupe, so I tried freezing cantaloupe and watermelon. I love frozen fruit in the summer, my previous favorites have been frozen mango and frozen bananas. In my opinion, the frozen watermelon was better than the cantaloupe (but both are good) - the fruit is watery, so it is very similar to an Italian ice. So refreshing!