36 Days and Counting...

Chrissy sent me a picture of a poster that is hanging on the wall at her doctor's office:

The caption:
Eat up the road.
Drink in the view.
Run like hell.

I love that!

Last month I committed to running at least one mile a day for 30 days. I began on May 18th, and today I realized that my 30 days must be up. They are! So far I've run at least one mile every day for 36 days! I'm so glad that I did this challenge for a few reasons:

• You don't have the opportunity to slack when you commit to something. There were some days that I didn't really feel like going for a run, and in the past I probably would have just skipped it and told myself I'd make up for it the next day. With this plan it was easier to get myself out the door, since the miles needed to be logged every day.
• Time Management. Summer is busy and I've been having a harder time fitting in workouts, especially on week days. I leave very early for work in the morning and most nights get home after 9pm. Since starting the challenge I've been better about scheduling time for a run, even if all I can fit in is a quick mile at 5am. Workouts don't get "forgotten" when you know that you have to do them every day.
• I've replaced some bad behaviors with good ones. The other day I brought my running clothes to work, but forgot my socks, so I couldn't go. That night we celebrated my brother's birthday and I didn't get home until after 9pm and was stuffed with pizza and cake. Normally I would have plopped myself in front of the TV to "relax" for a bit before bed (and usually mindless snacking comes with my mindless TV watching). Instead I changing into running clothes and went for a nice slow run, which left me feeling much better after the heavy dinner.
• I realized that I like running at night! I always thought I was a morning person and preferred to run then, but since I've been forced to run at night many times, I've really enjoyed it. Its a nice way to run off the stress of the day and helps get out extra energy before bed. I love running outside at night and breathing in the fresh air, but for my later runs I go to the gym. My gym is open 24 hours a day, which is helpful if you need to squeeze in a mile or two at 11pm.

Overall I wouldn't really say that my weekly mileage has increased very much (since there are a handful of days that I could only fit in one or two miles) but it also hasn't decreased, which is great. I think if I hadn't been doing this challenge I would have definitely missed a lot more workouts because I've been so busy. 

I know that rest days are very important parts of training and for your body to recover. On my rest days I just run one mile, and when my training program calls for cross training I will just run one mile and add biking/swimming/elliptical to that mile. 

I took a journalism class two years ago, and one of the articles I wrote for class was about running the Boston Marathon. I interviewed a man that lived in my hometown that had run the marathon for many, many consecutive years (I've forgotten the number but I believe it was over 20 years). He was a "streak" runner, which meant that he ran at least one mile every single day. He made it to 31 years and 364 days when he finally missed a day of running. "What happened?" I'd asked him. A few days before he'd been having some chest pains, but ignored it (like most men, from my experience) until his wife finally took him to the hospital. It turns out that he'd had a heart attack, and they kept him for a couple days to monitor him. He requested to be allowed to go outside for a run, or at the very least, for them to bring a treadmill to his room, but they would not allow it. Excuse my language, but if that's not badass, I don't know what is. Once he left the hospital he resumed his daily running, and has now been on a streak of over five years.

So I've decided that I want to try a running streak. I'm 36 days in, so now is as good a time as any. For more information on running streaks, or to apply for a membership, check out their website.

Lately my favorite snack to have before a workout or a run is a cold honey crisp apple, sliced, with 0% honey Chobani yogurt (I use about 1/2 container per apple). This provides fiber, protein and calcium to fuel my run.

Has anyone else been doing the 30 day challenge? 

 What motivates you to exercise?

National Running Day

Today is National Running Day! If you haven't been able to get yourself motivated, today is the day to do it! Today is also a great day to start the 30 day challenge, if you haven't already done so. I'm on the 15th day of the challenge and still going strong. Once you decide that you will run every day, there's no going back and forth about if you should go for a run or go to the gym or just skip it - you know you're going to so you make time for it. 

Check out the website of National Running Day to learn all about it. They also have a list of 10 great ways to celebrate the day, so get out there and log some miles!

Here's one of my favorite running memories - finishing the 2010 Boston Marathon:

Sorry I've been a bit MIA again...Pat and I went away for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary. It was a wonderful, romantic, amazing weekend. One that will never be forgotten, that's for sure! I will post more about this later, but I'll give you one guess about the high point of the weekend.

Notice anything different about me?

Happy National Running Day! How are you celebrating?

Salad Fever

Guess what? The sun finally came out! After over a week of non-stop rain and temps in the 40s, its finally starting to act a little like spring. When its cold and rainy all I crave is hot meals (usually covered in some kind of cheese)...and when its hot I constantly want salads. After a hot and humid run last night the only thing I wanted was a big salad.

Organic baby spinach, orange wedges, red bell peppers, boiled beets (hot, I don't really care for them cold), goat cheese, and toasted walnuts, drizzled with some balsamic vinaigrette. Toasting walnuts is easy, just bake them for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees - it really brings out the flavor a lot more.

With my salad I had some tofu. And some popcorn. Yes, I'm random.

I woke up to another warm day today, and after running and going to the gym I wanted another salad. I had salad for breakfast a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. I guess I didn't stick with it because it takes a lot longer to prepare a salad in the morning than a quick bowl of oatmeal or a smoothie. Since I work from home on Wednesdays, I had time to make myself a big breakfast salad. 

Organic baby spinach, red bell peppers, and avocado. I squeezed some fresh lemon on top, sprinkled with cayenne pepper for a kick, and topped with some scrambled egg whites. I had a bowl of mango on the side and a glass of skim milk for extra protein.

Some of my friends have told me its weird that I like salad for breakfast. I would have said the same thing, too. Give it a try and then let me know if you still think its weird! It is very satisfying to fill up on something other than carbs (and this is coming from the carb queen) and it gives me more energy throughout the day.

Its been one week since I started my 30 day challenge (to run at least one mile per day). Here's how I've done so far:

Day 1 - 3 mile run; Bikram yoga class

Day 2 - 3 mile run; Bikram yoga class

Day 3 - 2.25 mile run

Day 4 - 3 mile run

Day 5 - 1 mile run

Day 6 - 1 mile run

Day 7 - 5 mile run; abs and legs strength training

Day 8 (today) - 2.6 mile run, back and bis strength training

As you can see, a few of those days I only ran the minimum 1 mile. Those were super busy days that I normally would not have done anything. My excuse would always be that I didn't have time, or that doing something as short as just one mile wouldn't make any difference. Since following this challenge, I've found a way to squeeze in a mile even in my busiest days, whether waking up a little early to get it done or quickly doing it when I got home late at night. Those mornings that I forced myself out of bed at 5am to fit in a quick mile were some of the best mornings - I love working out early in the day because it gives me such a boost of energy. If I didn't have to leave before 6am for work, I'd definitely do all of my work outs in the morning. 

I printed out a free calendar template I found online and have been marking down my mileage. Its a good way to keep track of what I've done and motivate myself to keep going. Even better is that I've heard from a few of my friends who are doing the challenge, too! I'm glad that other people are participating, and I think talking to each other about it helps keep us on track. If you can't run the miles, choose something else. My friend Chrissy has several injuries left over from college basketball, so running can be uncomfortable for her, but she's decided to do the challenge by biking and other forms of cross training! 

In terms of my other challenge, the 100 push ups challenge, that was a little bit later in getting off the ground. I actually just started it this morning. I did the initial test to see how many push ups I could do (to see where my training should begin) and I did 12. Not on my knees, either! I contemplated first doing this challenge with knee push ups and then doing it with standard push ups, but decided to try the real deal. I'm sure I'll be regretting this in a few days.

Anyone else want to join us in the 30 day challenge?

What are your favorite foods of summer?

Mine are salads and tons of fresh fruit. Oh and ice cream, that's pretty important, too!

Challenging Myself

“Nonrunners cannot see how they can afford the time to run every day. But runners cannot imagine getting through a single day without it.”
-Kevin Nelson, The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration

That was the Runner's World quote of the day yesterday, and you know what struck me? I'm a runner, but lately I have not made the time to run consistently. My last half marathon was on May 1st, and it seems like I've barely run since then. I love races, and one of the (many) reasons is that they give me motivation to train and try to improve. I'm a little bit ashamed to say that I need that extra push of an upcoming race to get my butt out the door. When I don't have a training plan, I get a little lazy. Its about time I changed that! The other day I came across a 30 day challenge on Victoria's blog and decided that I'm going to do it, too. The challenge is to run at least 1 mile every day for 30 days. I think this is a pretty reasonable goal, because even on my busiest days I should be able to fit in one mile. That's less than ten minutes! I'm not going to accept any excuses from myself. I started the challenge yesterday, May 18th. I ran 3 miles before lunch and then went to an afternoon Bikram class. Does anyone else want to join me in this challenge?

I figure that since I'm doing one challenge, I may as well do another. I've been meaning to start the 100 push ups challenge for quite a while now, but haven't gotten around to it. I was waiting to start it with Pat, but we haven't quite gotten our acts together, so I'll begin it myself. He'll be jealous when he sees how ripped my arms are in a couple weeks!

Do you like setting goals? I find that I'm a lot more productive when there's something tangible I'm trying to achieve.

Frozen Chia Parfait

I tried chia seeds for the first time a few weeks ago when I bought a bag down in Charlottesville. Since then I've eaten them in chia gel, oatmeal, smoothies, salads and yogurt. They are high in fiber, protein and omega-3s and provide a nice crunch (when not soaked in liquid). Yesterday I came across a chia parfait on Alex' blog and couldn't wait to try it. This morning after the gym I made my parfait and I was surprised at how delicious it was - a lot better than I'd even imagined.

Its easy to make - stir 2 tablespoons of chia seeds into 1/2 cup liquid (I used Silk Pure Coconut coconut milk) and let gel in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes (I checked on it after 15 minutes and gave it another stir to distribute the seeds again). The chia seeds and liquid will create a pudding consistency that's perfect for parfaits (did you know that "parfait" means perfect in French?). Just layer it with your fruit and you have a refreshing parfait that's full of nutrients to fuel you for the day.

In my parfait I used:

• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• sliced frozen bananas, frozen mango, frozen cherries and frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)
• garnished with unsweetened organic shredded coconut

Start off with your fruit:

Then add a layer of chia "pudding" and more fruit:

Keep layering until complete and garnish with some coconut flakes.

Chia seeds are tasteless so they take on the taste of whatever they're mixed with (similar to tofu). This really tasted like coconut pudding! The frozen fruit made the pudding start to freeze, so it took on a frozen yogurt quality. Not only did this taste great and was refreshing, but it was satisfying and kept me full a lot longer than many other breakfast foods. 

Just 4 days until the Wallis Sands Half Marathon! Workouts this week have been:

Monday

-10 minute elliptical warm up

-Misc weights (biceps, shoulders, triceps, abs)

-45 minutes on stationary bike

Tuesday

-3.5 mile run

Wednesday

-10 minute treadmill warm up

-Chest and triceps weights, with some abs thrown in

-Quick treadmill cardio (5 minutes walking briskly followed by 10 minutes of 2 minute run/walk intervals)

-1 mile run

-1 mile run

*Today I only had short windows of time to work out, so I did weights and a little bit on the treadmill before work, then ran a quick mile during my lunch break, and ran another quick mile after work. On days when I don't have a chunk of time I like doing a few short workouts because then I feel like I still accomplished something, and there's the added bonus of speeding up my metabolism several times throughout the day.

Do you eat chia seeds? Have any other fun recipes to try?

What's your favorite workout when pressed for time?

Easter

 

Easter this year was really wonderful. Instead of rushing from house to house and fitting in as many relatives as possible, I relaxed. Don't get me wrong - I love to see my family and don't think its a holiday without them, but sometimes having a low key celebration is just perfect. This year it was. On Saturday night my brother, his girlfriend and I went to my dad's house for an Easter dinner and then went to the Easter Vigil. At our church, the Easter Vigil always begins outside and we gather around a fire as the priest says prayers and we all light our candles. Does every church do this? It just occurred to me that I've never been to an Easter Vigil anywhere else. My dad has been in charge of building a fire in the large basin every year since I can remember, and this year my brother helped him, too. Its really nice that they worked on something that is such a special part of the ceremony. 

On Sunday morning I slept in, finally dragging myself out of bed when I heard my mom blow drying her hair. It was really nice to get a full eight hours of sleep - that doesn't happen often! We had some tea and toast together as we prepared brunch. I made strawberry peach scones and my mom made bacon and her famous scrambled eggs (she holds the title for best scrambled-egg maker). 

I based these scones on Jenna's recipe for whole grain strawberry pop tart scones (but added peaches and made a few other minor adjustments). For my second time making scones, these came out really well - I think they tasted great - and Pat loved them, which is a big deal coming from a former scone-hater. The batter was very wet and a little bit hard to work with (I had to bake a large circle for 15 minutes before I could cut them into pieces and then bake more) so I'm going to make another attempt at them this week and see if I can get the recipe to work a little bit better. I will certainly post about them if I'm successful!

A little while later Jim and Kristi joined us, and we all enjoyed our Easter brunch.

I was conservative with the bacon and didn't finish my eggs because after brunch I needed to go for a long run. My next half marathon is this Sunday, so I needed to get in one long run before then - the last long run I did was the C-Ville Half Marathon. 

After letting breakfast settle for a bit I headed out into the beautiful sunshine. The day before had been very cold and rainy, but Easter was gorgeous - sunny and in the mid-70s! Just being outside felt wonderful. I didn't have any GU or other running supplements with me so I brought a small bag of jelly beans to keep my sugar levels up. I think the Easter Bunny would have approved.

Its been years since I did a long run in my hometown and really explored on foot, and as the miles passed, I realized that I was having a great time. I've been bogged down by sore muscles and heavy legs in the past few weeks, so I'd almost forgotten what it was like to run and not be counting the minutes until I could stop. I can honestly say that I loved every minute of my run! 

Some highlights of my run (roughly in order of appearance):

• Spring flowers in bloom everywhere I looked (I especially love crocuses, daffodils and tulips).
• Running by my old middle school.
• Katie's old house that is so full of memories. From 5th grade through senior year of high school, I probably spent half of my time at her house.
• South Bridge Boat House - my dad loves coming here to rent canoes and boat down the river.
• Running through the center of town, past all of the familiar (and new) shops and restaurants.
• Seeing the Sunday morning bike crew gathered in the town square, refueling and chatting together.
• The Old North Bridge - which now has bathrooms and water fountains (very exciting when you don't pack water on a long run in the heat!)
• An SUV full of guys hanging out the windows yelling "HEY-O!! Happy Easter!" (I think they may have had a few mimosas at their Easter brunch).
• Hutchin's Farm - the organic farm I worked at in high school and one summer of college. The fields are even more beautiful than I remember and I immediately wished I could run through them and look at all of the baby produce being planted (but decided to restrain myself - running into your old boss after 8 miles of running isn't the best way to reacquaint yourself). I mostly worked in the farm stand, but one summer I planted and picked berries - that was a long, hot summer.
• Church-goers in their Sunday best, leaving church and enjoying the sunny day.
• Running past my old elementary school, which was recently rebuilt and is the first green building in Concord (the high school is being worked on next).
• On my cool-down walk I ran into some neighbors that live a few doors down from my mom and had a chance to catch up with them.

I'd planned a ten mile run but ended up doing eleven miles. I felt great throughout the whole run, and didn't feel tired at all when I finished, I felt refreshed! Why can't every run be like this?

I ran at a comfortable pace the entire time and only pushed myself to go faster at the end. My finishing time was 1:42:54, which is a pace of 9:19.

After my run my mom and I sat down to have a snack and chat. I started with another scone and some hard boiled Easter eggs.

Over the course of the afternoon we talked and munched on other treats - fresh fruits and veggies and Easter candy. The day was wonderful - it was so nice to sit and talk with my mom and just relax.

Now I hope we can get some more of that warm weather to carry us until summer! I'm done with cold and rainy days!

To Sweat or Not To Sweat?

Well, I'm afraid that for me, I'll always be sweating. I don't know why, but I'm a big sweater. And its not due to poor hygiene - I shower at least once a day, use my clinical strength deodorant, and wear fresh clean clothes straight out of the wash. But I still sweat. Pat enjoys calling me "sweatheart" instead of "sweetheart" - hardy har har. I'm not laughing. (Well I kind of am).

SURE/UNSURE

Anyway, I'm not talking about typical sweat...now I'm talking about Bikram. As you know, I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago. I was immediately hooked. I love the long sessions in the intense heat and always leave feeling so refreshed and energized. I would seriously go to a class every day, but two things are standing in my way:

1. Cost. The first class you attend is only $10 and you can go for free as many times as you want for the next ten days - great deal. After that, though, it gets more expensive. You can pay $15 for one class (way too much) or you can buy a ten class card for $120 (still a lot), or pay $35 for one week unlimited, or $110 for one month unlimited. If you're going every day, you do get your moneys worth with the unlimited packages, but that's still an extra $100+ per month, and I'd only be happy to pay that much if I really was going every day. Which leads my to my second issue...
2. Running. I've heard that yoga is really great for runners, but my experience so far is that Bikram classes leave me sore the following day and my legs feel like lead. Running feels like much more of an effort and I'm not running as fast as I was pre-Bikram. I really do love Bikram, but I've loved running longer, and in my mind that makes it more important (not to mention more affordable and something you can literally do anytime/anywhere/with anyone).

After the Charlottesville Half Marathon I was feeling sore (which is normal) and I did a few Bikram classes in the week that followed. On Monday I realized that I had less than two weeks until my next half marathon. For some reason I thought I had three weeks! So this week I haven't gone to Bikram at all and have been focusing on getting back to running.

Monday - 3 mile run. Slow and painful.

Tuesday - Very sore. Took a rest day and got martinis and beet flat bread pizza with Gina instead!

Wednesday - 5 mile run. Legs felt lighter and seemed like much less of an effort to run.

Thursday - Hills. Its been a while since I did a hill workout, so I took this easy.

1 mile warm-up run

4 hill repeats (0.25 mile very steep incline)

0.25 mile cool-down run

0.60 mile cool-down walk

*I actually felt pretty good and definitely could have kept going but didn't want to push myself too much. Baby steps!

I'm going to try to fit in a short (2-3) mile run today, and tomorrow I'm going to bike. Sunday (in between all of the delicious meals) I'm going to shoot for a 10 mile run to make sure I'm prepared for next weekend's race.

Any runners out there who are able to successfully incorporate yoga into their training? I want to find a good balance, but for right now I might hold off until my longer races are over and I'm just doing 5ks this summer.

Fun Easter plans?

I'm having dinner with my dad and brother tomorrow night before the Easter Vigil, and then on Sunday I'm cooking up a delicious brunch with my mom!

The Joy of Running

“Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying, and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way. Run often and run long, but never outrun your joy of running.”

-Julie Isphording, Marathon winner

I'm subscribed to Runner's World emails, which includes a daily email with different tips and articles, and another daily email with the Runner's World quote of the day. The quote of the day emails are sent around 1:30am, so when I turn on my phone in the morning I see that email as I start my day. The quotes  origin vary from elite athletes to commoners (us non-elites) but are usually very inspiring and motivating.

This morning Callie came down to Nashua to run with me. After the week of 60 degree days, this morning's 30 degree temperature with raging winds seemed cold. Despite the temperature, it was one of the best runs I've had in a long time. We ran eight miles at a comfortable pace and chatted, about running and many other things, while the wind howled around us. Sometimes all you need is to run by yourself and clear your mind, and other times all you need is a friend to run with. Callie and I hadn't run together in a few months and this morning I realized how much I missed running with her and how much fun it is. After about six weeks of disheartening runs on the treadmill, I found my joy of running again this week by running outside and running with a friend. I'd almost forgotten how amazing it is.

Now I need some chocolate milk, a shower, some lunch, and I'm off to Miss Maddison's 1st birthday party! Enjoy your Saturday!

TGIF!

Good morning and HAPPY FRIDAY! 

I'm in a particularly good mood this morning; partly because its Friday, and also because the weather has been amazing. How can you not be happy with the warm weather we've been having?

It was 61 degrees when I left work yesterday! They'd predicted that it would be in the 40s, but we got 60s! 

I went for a run before leaving work and for some reason my legs felt like lead. I've been pretty sore this week and I'm not sure why. I didn't really mind too much though, I was just so happy to be outside and enjoying the fresh air and the sunshine. I may sound like a hippy, but after the miserable winter we've had I've been dying to be outside.

After my run I drove up to Nash and hit the gym for back and bis. I think I've had good strength workouts this week because all of my muscles are tight. I like that feeling because it makes me feel like I'm getting stronger (I don't like prolonged tightness in my legs though, because that interferes with my running). I meant to spend some time with my foam roller when I got home and work on my leady leg muscles, but instead got distracted by a growling stomach. I made a piece of toast with peanut butter and a thick layer of unsweetened apple sauce on top and had a glass of skim milk on the side. Have you ever had toast with peanut butter and applesauce? It was my first time trying it and its so good! Peanut butter on apples is delicious, so peanut butter with applesauce seemed like the next logical snack.

I don't have any fun recipes to share with you about dinner last night (which just ended up being another piece of toast, some cereal, and dark chocolate - not the most balanced meal ever) - I spent the night doing laundry, cleaning my apartment, and wrapping baby gifts. This weekend is a busy one - tonight I need to get some grocery shopping done and then Pat and I are meeting up with some friends. Saturday will begin with a long run, followed by my good friend's baby's 1st birthday party, which will be followed by a friend's surprise 30th party (all in Massachusetts). Sunday begins bright and early with a 10am baby shower, followed by Pat and I having 10 people over for "linner" (lunch/dinner) at our place, followed by going out to dinner with some friends (all in New Hampshire). So busy! But its completely full with fun things, and now that I have the cleaning and most of the prep work done, I can enjoy the craziness instead of being stressed out. AND I have Monday off of work - which is perfect because that will be a day to relax and recharge before the work week begins!

Since I don't have any recipes for you today, I'll leave you with a random bit of information about me. This is a Bambi figurine I keep on my desk at work. 

It was a gift from Kathryn (one of my very best friends in the world). She has been calling me Bambi (or Bambs for short) for many, many years. I have no idea how I got the nickname, but I love that she calls me that, and having a Bambi on my desk makes me think of her (she lives down in Virginia) and makes me happy!

What are you looking forward to this weekend? Fun plans or time to relax?

Do you have any funny nicknames?

Happy Friday!

I Finally Ran Outside!

...and other exciting* things.

*Note - what I find exciting may not fit everyone's definition of exciting. I think the small things count though...

I am quite excited because I was finally able to do a long run outside this weekend. Its been over a month (maybe even 6 weeks!?) since I ran outside, partly due to the low temperatures, but mostly due to the vast amounts of snow and ice covering the roads and sidewalks. All of the treadmill running had started to take a toll, though - instead of giving me energy, relieving stress, and making me happy, I'd started to dread my runs, and as I ran I'd always be looking to the end when I could finally stop. But this weekend it was warm enough and I decided that I needed to brave the icy roads. But first let's start with dinner on Friday night.

Pat and I had plans to go out on Friday night. I was really looking forward to it because its been a while since we've had a "date night" out just the two of us. I picked a great place to have dinner and another place to go for dessert and planned to surprise him...

We went to Surf for dinner. This is a fresh seafood restaurant in Nashua that we've been wanting to try for a while. As usual, I looked at the menu earlier in the day and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to order, though I think I would have been happy with anything. The menu is very creative and full of things I wanted to try.

The pictures of dinner are pretty dark - I think Pat was very a little embarrassed that I was taking pictures of my food in such a nice restaurant, so I had to be as inconspicuous as possible.

We started with two appetizers. The first was the Fried Tomato and Crispy Bacon Salad (served over greens with creamy cracked pepper Parmesan dressing). They separated our salads onto two plates for us, so this was mine.

We also got the Pan Sauteed Sea Scallops which were served with pancetta bacon, roasted red peppers, white wine, olives, cream and butter on grilled ciabatta.

Both of these dishes were so good! The salad was amazing - the creamy cracked pepper Parmesan dressing was perfect with the bacon and fried tomatoes. I'm normally not much of a dressing person, but this was certainly worth having. The scallops were delicious and so fresh, and the topping was great. I decided to eat mine without the ciabatta, I thought it distracted from the other flavors.

For my entree I ordered the Sesame Seared Tuna, which was served over wasabi mashed potatoes with tempura carrots, maple soy drizzle and scallion oil.

Everything about this dish was perfect! The tuna was amazing, the wasabi mashed potatoes were delicious on their own, but especially when combined with the tuna, and the carrot tempura was light and irresistible. This was probably one of the best meals I've ever had, and now I'm dying to recreate it at home (well at least the tuna and potatoes, probably not the tempura).

Pat ordered the Chili-Lime Glazed Swordfish, which was served with warm noodles in peanut sauce and Korean cucumber salad. Normally Pat isn't a fan of peanut sauce, but this was a light and delicate sauce that complimented the chili and lime flavors of the swordfish perfectly.

We were both really happy with our meals, and had leftovers to bring home. The dessert menu was presented to us (and looked delicious), but we had plans to go across the street to an Italian place for cappuccinos and cannolis, so we declined. We had a great time at Surf - the food and service were wonderful, and the decor of the restaurant was beautiful and very relaxing - large paintings of waves and fish covered the walls. There was also a man playing the piano in the corner throughout dinner, which was very nice. I tried to be sneaky and took a picture of him from outside after we left, but I'm pretty sure he still saw me.

We ran across the street for dessert, only to find that the Italian restaurant closes at 9:30 on Fridays. So early!! So then we proceeded to the next logical place...McDonald's. Is that what you would have guessed? It was funny to end such a nice meal at the drive-thru, but McDonald's does have some good soft serve, which I promptly loaded with gummy bears and Reese's pieces.

I'd say I did a pretty good job of carbo-loading for my Saturday morning run!

Okay, now back to the excitement of running outside! So I'd decided that I really couldn't do another long run on the treadmill. It was a warmer day than what we've had lately (26 degrees when I left for my run) and the roads were the clearest I'd seen in a while. I piled on a pair of Under Armour spandex pants, two long-sleeved technical shirts, a Polartek vest, my new North Face running jacket, a hat and gloves and I was off. 

It felt so good to be running outside, in the fresh air, and actually moving (instead of running continuously on a belt in the gym). I started out on the sidewalks (since the roads are narrower with all of the snow) but had to move to the roads after about a mile. Most of the sidewalks looked like this, and I wasn't in the mood to fall on my face:

GU right now, and candy does a great job of delivering sugar to your body quickly).

I finished the 13.1 slowly - this is probably one of my slowest training runs, but that didn't bother me at all. I was just so happy to have run outside and feel good while doing it. 

When I got home I drank a large glass of chocolate milk and opened a package that arrived from my mom. Valentine's candy! 

Thanks, Mom!

After a few pieces of toffee, I spent some quality time with my foam roller. Foam rolling is very good for you, both before and after a hard workout (I usually only do it after, if you're doing it before - be sure to warm up first). Foam rolling helps aid in muscle recovery by breaking down lactic acid build up in muscles, and also helps prevent future injury. IT band (the muscle that runs along your outer thigh from your hip to your knee) issues are common among runners, and this has certain helped me with my issues in the past.

Then I made myself a nice big salad which included a few handfuls of baby spinach, 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange, 1/2 cucumber, and 1 large carrot.

I also had leftovers from the night before (seared tuna can be reheated by spraying a pan with cooking spray and cooking on high heat for a couple minutes on each side).

(I know my presentation isn't nearly as nice as it was at Surf, but it still tasted amazing!).

So are you all thoroughly excited by my long run outside, my dinner at Surf, my huge salad and my Valentine's candy? If not, there's one more thing that might interest some of you.

That's right, pumpkin taffy! Pat's mom bought it for me and gave it to me on Sunday. I'd never heard of such a taffy! Since I love all things pumpkin, Anne thought of me when she saw this and picked it up. It is so delicious - they really got the pumpkin pie flavor exactly right! I'll have to get details about where this is made and sold.

Oh and I almost forgot...a new oatmeal creation! I made my usual oatmeal, and added a small spoonful each of peanut butter and strawberry jelly. Stir well and enjoy! I can tell that this is going to be a new favorite - the oatmeal makes the peanut butter taste extra creamy, and it is very filling!

I hope you all had wonderful, exciting, weekends!