Category Archives: running

Wine & Dine Recap

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Last weekend was a busy one! Friday Brian and I loaded up the car and headed about an hour out for Fit Niche. I won a gift card, and we needed some safety gear for Ragnar Relay. We bought 2 butt lamps and owed $9 after the gift card.

Then we drove on past Disney to Fleet Feet Orlando. We had a $100 gift card, and enjoyed seeing their new, larger location. They were painting the track on the floor while we were there. We bought 2 headlamps and Brian got a pair of marked down Sauchony running shorts and we spent about $1.10.

From there we drove to Titusville to watch the FL Runners Cross Country Invitational. Our daughter could not run because of her injured ankle, but she was still there to support the team. We had rain here and there for a few minutes, which brought in tons of humidity. Ugh. I spent a lot of time handing out drink samples at the Drink Chia! booth – because I met them a couple weeks ago and it was more fun than being ignored by the teens at our school’s tent. (I know, I’m soooo old! Why would a teenager talk to me?)

Have you tried drinking chia yet? The biggest claims are that it hydrates, is full of omegas and antioxidants and helps with recovery naturally.

Our girls varsity took 2nd place! It was a nice end to a long day – and just the beginning of a fun night. From there we turned the minivan around and drove back to Disney. Brian and I had a room with friends at the All Star Movies resort. We showered the cross country away and had dinner at Downtown Disney. Bongos to be exact! The restaurant was packed with an hour wait for dinner, but we managed to find 4 chairs at the bar together and ate there. I started with tiny shrimp in yucca bowls and then split chicken and rice for dinner. We walked around and enjoyed the feel of a cold front moving in.

Saturday, we met some of our Digital Running team members. After communicating online for months it was nice to put faces with names. I was also able to hand out fun goodie bags with team shirts, Bondi Bands, Drink Chia, Bodyworks Bands, coupons, natural remedies and more. After breakfast, 3 of us headed over to the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Expo. The line for race packets and Tshirts wasn’t too bad, but the expo hall was quite packed.

Sandy gets her race packet

I was wearing my Bondi Band that said “RUN” in fluorescent green, and told the ladies at the Bondi Band booth I probably could have sold 20 right off my head in the past few days. A woman stopped me out running, a car attendant stopped me at the FL Runners meet, etc… the headband not only works to keep sweat out of my eyes, it also attracts a bit of attention.

I also went to get my free sample of organic yogurt. I told the woman at the booth I’m allergic to cucumbers and asked if there could be any hiding in the “natural flavors”. She said, “No, this is organic.”

I reminded her that cucumbers often are too.

We met up with Heather at the Running Skirts booth. She had run the 5k that morning and was working a 12 hour shift, and then was running the HM that night!

Purple & Lime for $10!

Sandy bought herself The Stick, which she had been wanting for some time, and got a good deal on. There was a Champion sportswear booth with really good markdowns upon markdowns, and I scored a $10 sports bra for one of the girls. I also handed out info about building our team for Ragnar Relay Key West, which we just decided to do INSTEAD of the Disney Marathon in January 2012.

We had a quick lunch and headed back to the hotel room for a nap to prepare for the 10pm-3am race and post-race private party at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

before the start

Around 6:45pm, Joe and I drove our spouses to Epcot, where they caught the bus to the race start at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. In the meantime I enjoyed showing someone around Epcot who had never been before! We started with some “donde esta Donald?” in Mexico, and then rode the troll ride in Norway. We nibbled a bit on the Food and Wine Festival offerings, but not too much because we wanted to enjoy that with our spouses after the race. We found the big screen that was supposed to broadcast the start of the race for us, but they did not have the feed working. We hung around the screen talking to other race spectators, but when someone tweeted that Corals A&B were gone and C was lining up, I told Joe we might as well ride some rides. Our spouses were in Coral A, so we missed seeing their start.

We rode Ellen’s Energy Adventure with a very drunk woman, and then hit Test Track with a 10 minute wait time! The bit of screen time with Ellen made Joe a bit queasy, so I decided Soarin’ was probably not the ride for him. We were going to check and see if Off Kilter was playing in Canada, but we decided we were probably 10 minutes from Brian’s finish and sat by the big screen instead. At this point it was working, but the feed switched between 2 points – a random curve in the road of the half marathon, and the relay team hand off point.

Chillin after 13.1

Our meeting point was the big fountain, so we headed over there to wait for sweaty loved ones. I had Brian’s chia drink and dry sneakers out and ready. The temp dropped a bit and the humidity cleared away, leaving us with gorgeous 70-something weather at 11:30pm. My phone got a text that Brian crossed the finish line. We waited, and waited. No Brian. We figured he must have been waiting at the finish line for Sandy since spectators weren’t allowed at the finish line – and she’d love having someone there to greet her at the finish. Finally Brian came walking up. I gave him a huge hug and noticed 2 things right away.

  1. He was barely tired
  2. Sandy was not with him

Turned out Brian was not waiting at the finish, but rather spent 20+ minutes in a medical tent icing his knee. Other than some knee soreness he felt great, and was already sipping a beer. He was ready to eat and drink around Epcot. But no Sandy. Our phones got texts that she had finished, but no Sandy.We did, however, see our Columnist Contest Winner Tracy and her husband – who completed the Relay. She was the 8+ miler, and finished on such a high! She was smiling and glowing and bouncing like Tigger!

When she finally did arrive, she looked like she had been crying. Poor Sandy was waiting for us sweaty and tired at a DIFFERENT FOUNTAIN! After about 10 minutes of feeling lonely and rejected, the half marathon exhaustion started to wane and she realized she had remembered seeing another fountain on the park map BEHIND the “big silver ball” (aka Spaceship Earth.) Sure enough, there we were waiting for her. She was very nauseous, and even though Brian suggested she try to eat or drink to replenish, she couldn’t keep anything down. We decided to stroll around Epcot – as suggested by Jeff Galloway – to keep their legs from cramping up.

We nibbled yummy tasters from different countries (including Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichuan Noodles in China AND Artisan Cheese Selections with Thomasville Tome Sweet Gras Dairy, Le Delice de Bourgogne Lincet and Chevre Affine Wyngaard Kaas), not knowing until we returned the next day that certain ingredients had run out and we were getting sorta-kinda what the booths were supposed to be offering. When we hit Morocco, I suggested hot tea to Sandy to help warm her and hydrate. She bought a hoodie to wear over her hoodie, and sat and sipped the hot, mint tea. Slowly she started to feel human again. She was pissed because her neck and back were sore, which is not typical for her, and because she ran a 2:16 and was hoping to break 2:15. I had some Biofreeze waiting for her neck, and her husband had some coconut water that she tried to sip on. Also in Morocco was Sarah! (@5littleindians) We knew it was her by the gorgeous Snow White tutu she had twitpic’d earlier that day.

spooky Sarah in Morocco

The cooler weather certainly gave Brian what he wanted! He trained with Sandy at her pace for the race, but never really trained on his own. So, he wasn’t sure if he’d even run his own race that night. But with the cooler air and excitement of the crowd, he let the Disney Magic take over and ran a 1:36:44 – a pace of 7:23 min/mile! You can read his race report here. Sandy’s is here.

We got our money’s worth and stayed at the party until just before 3am. Then we got a good night’s sleep and met friends at EPCOT the next day to enjoy the Food and Wine Festival from 1pm-8pm.

***Warning, if you’re hungry you may want to stop reading now!***

We started with a viewing of Captain EO, which is the same as it was in 1988. Michael Jackson at his finest! Then we started at the World Showcase Lagoon and enjoyed the food and drinks. Over the next 7 hours I shared:

  • Beef Empanadas from Argentina
  • Seared Mahi Mahi with steamed Rice, Hearts of Palm, and Coconut-Lime Sauce AND to drink a delicious LeBlon Frozen Caipirinha in Brazil
  • an unbelievable avocado margarita at the new-ish tequila bar in Mexico
  • a bite of Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup and Canada’s Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta – my favorite!
  • Cheese Fondue that tasted like white wine
  • Caramel-Ginger Ice Cream in China
  • Frozen Red Stag Lemonade by Jim Beam
  • a not so great Sparkling Pomegranate Kir in France, where all the women serving were gorgeous
  • Nürnberger Sausage in a Pretzel Roll from Germany, which I wished was closer to the cheese soup
  • Amazing Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey in Greece (the hit of the day!)
  • Tuna Poke with Seaweed Salad and Lotus Root Chip from Hawaii
  • a sip of Brian’s Seven Tiki Mai Tai and a bite of his Shrimp Cake on a sugar cane skewer with Singapore Noodle Salad in Singapore
  • Potato Pierogies with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream in Poland
  • and for “dessert”, Brian waited in a long, talkative line for ME to get a Baked Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Beef Bolognese Sauce, Parmesan Cheese, Melted Mozzarella in Italy

I missed the Vegetable Curry served in a Bread Loaf in South Africa, the chocolate lava cake in Ireland and the pumpkin mousse. I guess that means I need to go back!

We also managed to catch an Off Kilter show in Canada, rode the troll in Norway, met the inventor of the Bracelet Buddy, and met Duffy the bear. At a few points we bumped into Samantha from the Digital Running Club with her family, too – but I think we forgot to take pictures.

On the way home Monday morning, Brian and I stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Yes, we were still physically capable of eating. I ordered the yogurt and fruit parfait, hold the muffin. Here’s what I really wanted:

with fresh caramel mousse topping! I dare you not to think about food now!!

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BITTS 5k, gross food & Coupon deals

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Saturday I ran the first BITTS 5k.

B.I.T.T.S. is a local boot camp. I don’t know what it stands for, but my friend Sandy does their bootcamp a few days a week, and has Brian as her running coach the other days. Since the BITTS lady knows Sandy runs, she asked her to help organize the 5k. There wasn’t much to organize their first time around. It was just at a local park with chalk arrows on the ground showing our course.
The race benefited Operation Attack on Poverty. If you brought food or clothing donations it was free.

Sandy & me before the 5k, 6:55am

The sights were boring at first – mobile homes and parking lots – but ended with a lake, bridge and trees.

They had smoothie coupons, water bottles and pens in little drawstring backpacks as goodie bags. Then a Kodak rep came with BPA-free reusable, collapsible water pouches on carabiners. Those were cool! I got some more from her to use for Digital Running goodie bags.

There were prizes for the first 4 finishing males and females, and a few random prize drawings. They picked “16th female” out of the basket, and I won an oil change. That’s probably my first race prize! They also had a prize for the first finishing stroller-pusher. She got a Kodak all-in-one photo printer-scanner-fax machine! (But she handed the stroller off to her husband and mile 2 so some say she cheated, but she was the only one with a stroller so she won by default).

I ran in my Tees by Tina tank top, spinning shorts from Bodyrock, Brooks shoes – don’t remember the socks. I had a Bondi Band that I actually wore on my wrist to wipe away sweat.

Me, post-5k

I also made a new playlist, and some of the songs were from online suggestions of songs I never even heard before. I checked to make sure they had the right tempo, and then chose 14 random songs to keep my feet moving and surprise my brain that morning. (14, in case I fast-forwarded through some).

The funniest part of the race (for me) was running towards the 2-mile marker, which was the BITTS lady’s dad in a lawn chair pointing which way to go. Right at that moment Axl Rose was singing “Where do we go now?” from Sweet Child o’ Mine (they weren’t ALL new songs, but it was an online suggestion) and the lyrics just went perfectly with the seated dad pointing me around to the right.

I went in the race knowing I avg a 12-min-mile and came away with a 36+ min 5k, so I was right where I expected. But my friend Janet said the course was long.

What they need next year: Music & someone stretching people out at the finish. Or if they want to attract a larger crowd – a chip-timing system. But since all I was expecting was a little neighborhood 5k, it was just fine.

Songs I ran to: Warmed up to Coming Home – Diddy Dirty Money
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree – got me started off right
Moves Like Jagger – by now my heart figured out that I was running and this makes me smile
Stronger – Kanye version (since OJ had Isotoners…)
Boys & Girls – by Pixie Lott (hadn’t listened to her in many months)
Waka Waka – we used to dance to this in Zumba class so it gets me moving!
Keep Your Head – the Ting Tings (new to me)
Tightrope – Janelle Monae (new to me, I skipped the last 2 mins)
Gone Daddy Gone – Gnarls Barkely (recommended online) kept me from taking a walk break
Run Run Away – Slade (the old 80s song, ended up skipping it)
Sweet Child o Mine – GnR version
In My Head – Jason Derulo (one of those songs I am embarrassed to admit I dance my butt off to in the car.)

lunch of champions

I had a volunteer meeting for a fundraiser that afternoon where we were treated to a diner lunch and gelato – the snacks of 5k running champs I’m sure! I got 2 eggs over hard, has browns and plain whole wheat toast (which was under $4!) I was surprised that the diner was decked out with Marilyn Monroe art and memorabilia. Choosing a gelato flavor was much more difficult. I ended up with half extra-dark chocolate and half turtle cheesecake. YUM!

While we were talking on the sidewalk eating gelato we met up with a guy who started a 501c3 that sets up booths around town where people can paint wooden swings, and they hang the swings around the city. (Does that make him the lead Swinger?) I’m not really sure how they raise money or what for (I’ll read about it eventually), but I suggested he do pink swings for Oct. Breast Cancer Awareness month and help support My Hope Chest, and he really liked that idea. If any of you bloggers want to write a PINK POST for Oct. Breast Cancer Awareness month, I am friends with the Founder of My Hope Chest and can provide answers to interview questions, artwork, data, etc.

That night we had a couple fun things going on. Some of our friends are in a Rotary group. Their Rotary is raising money to create a Flugutag to race for the Tampa Bay Red Bull Flugtag. (Seriously, click that Flugtag link. Even the first 10 seconds are worth the giggle.) They had a movie night in someone’s backyard. They were projecting Anchorman on a big sheet and set up chairs and had food & beverages for sale. The great news is that the hosts live a few blocks from us and want to start hosting movie night every Fri. Basically they’ll just project a movie and let friends know which one it is, and if it’s something you like you can stop on by. Brian and I got cozy in the hammock – but we missed the end of the movie because I got a text…

**WARNING – GROSS FOOD AHEAD** Our friends wanted to take a little adventure to find Munchies 420 Cafe – a hole-in-the-wall in Sarasota that manages to put everything and anything on a sandwich. Take for example the FAT SANDY which is a footlong hoagie with 2 cheeseburgers, chicken strips, onion rings, crinkle cut fries and mozzerella sticks – and to hold it all together it is topped with Mac&Cheese! Although I am always up for an adventure in the middle of a Sat night, I am not always into foods that will cause tummy problems, heartburn and 3 weeks of running off extra calories. Thus I went along, but did not order junk food for myself. I did try their still-warm homemade potato chips and they were delicious. The verdict in the Fat Sandy? The burgers were over cooked and pulled off, one chicken tender was over fried, but the rest blended together in a hard-to-eat, wonderous munchie fantasy. The onion rings were the best part. Or so I was told. By the time we drove back across the bridge from Sarasota I was wiped out and fell asleep before I could count backwards from 99.

– To quickly backtrack to what I missed blogging about earlier last week, Fri I didn’t workout since I knew I was going the 5k on Sat. The Cross Country team came in first place for Varsity Girls. Alice ran despite her tendonitis and took a few mins off last week but is not quite back to below 23 mins yet. Their new shirts say “May the Course be with you” :) Thurs I did a 3.4 mile run to prep. Not what I would suggest if you are RACING a 5k, but fine for just getting out there and running a 5k.

Deals I took advantage of at Publix this week:

V8 Fusion (instead of the apple juice the kids drink) – Buy one at $3.99, get one free. And I had a $1 off coupon off each, so I got 2 for $1.99 – that makes them $1/ea. We don’t buy the Light because it has sucralose. (Don’t eat foods that rhyme with gross!)

Hunts tomato sauce BOGO – this is the larger can than I usually buy, but I can use half at a time and keep the other half in a jar in the fridge. So for us it’s 4 meals worth of tomato sauce for $2.

Publix frozen organic margherita pizza on sale $3.99

Polaner all fruit spread – this is part of Brian’s PBJ lunch staple – on sale 2 for $5. Coupons on their web site.

Herbal Essences (the usual deal) 2/$5 and $1 off coupon. I wish I had 2 coupons… My kids use a lot of shampoo!

“Buy theirs, get ours free” deal. I bought 2 bags of Nestle chocolate chips with a Save $1/2 coupon and got 2 bags of Publix chocolate chips free. 2 bags are going in the freezer for Thanksgiving when we bake whatever suits our fancy. One is getting hidden in the pantry for me to munch on after dinner at night the next few weeks (shh), and one is going in banana bread that I am baking later today.

And I had a “spend $50 get $10 gift card” coupon, so I’ll save $10 next week. My receipt showed a savings of $35.94.

Then we got free tampons at Target. On sale for $6.99 & I had a $2 off coupon = $5. Their special was buy a box, get a Target $5 gift card = like getting it free! I try to buy my bananas at Target too – they are always cheapest there. $.24/banana. Everyone else sells them buy the pound, but I have done the math and for us it’s cheaper, plus we eat about 12 bananas a week at our house.

Target has Kashi TLC bars Buy 5 get the 6th box free. I put that with 3 coupons – 2 said Save $1.50/2 boxes and one said Save $1.50/any box. So I save $4.50 plus got the free box and we’ll have TLC bars the next few weeks for lunchboxes and the occasional breakfast-on-the-go.

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Running Twins

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Never did my daughter think that by being on the school’s running teams, she’d become a mentor – but she has.

Her school starts at 3 years old and goes through high school. The Track and Cross Country teams start in 6th grade and go through 12th grade. Sure, there’s JV and Varsity, but they all pretty much work out together, take buses to events together, have the same spaghetti dinners, etc.

So when Alice was in 8th grade last year and befriended a 6th grader who had STAR potential, the 6th grader started really looking up to Alice. They already had a lot in common, they were both great students, great runners, older sisters, Jew-ish (get it?), at the same school, and super TYPE-A STRESS-OUT personalities. When Alice would watch this other girl stress out before a meet, she’d try to help calm her down, and in turn begin to calm herself.

Now Alice is in 9th grade, so she’s like the super cool high schooler to the now-7th grader. Yet, they still have their inside jokes and silly high-socks and share planned-out snacks at meets.

This week Alice experienced some tendonitis in her right ankle. Just above her ankle bone she started getting very sore. Brian was pretty sure it was tendonitis, and the athletic trainer at the school confirmed his suspicion, and suggested that Alice’s racing flats were too worn. She has put them on for the first time this season for a timed 5k trial, ran hard and fast enough to secure herself a varsity spot, but then hurt for days afterwards in that ankle.

They got this news on Thursday, and Saturday (today) is the first meet of the season, so they had to get her new shoes – and fast! Our neighborhood running store is Feet First. We usually have great success there and recommend it to others. Alice found both the running shoes and racing spikes she wanted there. (First spikes!) She got the Saucony Progrid Mirage (bye bye Kinvara) in a bright blue that is so vibrant she calls them her toothpaste shoes. And she got the Saucony Kilkenny XC4 spikes in black with hot pink. (Were these named after South Park? she wants to know…) They did not have the spikes in her size at either store (she actually wanted the running shoes in an 8.5 but the spikes in a 9.5????), so Brian ended up having to drive her out to Sports Authority to buy them. (I wish someone had called my cell on the way and I would have texted over a COUPON.)

So now, she has some hot new Sauconys to rock today! I do not repeatedly say Saucony because I receive compensation. It’s just the shoe her slender foot likes, and we have so many boxes from their shoes in the garage now I could build an awesome fort!

Then he took her to CVS and got some Icy-Hot spray to help her over the next few days. And I think she took 2 ibruprofen each day as well. (We’re not a big medication family…) Unfortunately, her first 5k will be in brand new shoes. Keep your fingers crossed because girls varsity is probably at the start line as I type this. (I’m not there, I have a bridal shower to go to soon. Yes, I look adorable.)

BUT back to her little running buddy… So Alice goes to school with her new shoes on Friday. She decides to wear the Mirages all day to break them in and help her ankle feel better because they are probably better for her foot than her Keds or ballet flats from Payless that she usually wears. And I think she threw her spikes in her bag to break in a bit during XC practice. And along comes her little 7th grade buddy who ALSO bought new shoes this week — and, you know this is coming, got the SAME FREAKING TWO PAIR IN THE SAME COLORS – totally coincidentally!! No way-no way!

Sadly, her little running buddy will not be at the meet today because she is on antibiotics for walking pneumonia.

They are really looking forward to running together at the annual Disney Cross Country Classic and then staying overnight at a Disney hotel and perhaps hitting a water park the next day. Disney pissed off a lot of parents, however, by putting this event on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish Calendar. I understand, though, that it is always the same week of Oct to mesh with all the other stuff on the Disney calendar and Fla running calendar. It’s really Yom Kippur that moved, since it’s a lunar holiday and thus is on a different week of the Western calendar each year.

I’m so happy Alice has this opportunity to feel like the cool teen friend. Although the 2 girls have a great friendship, deep down I know this kid looks up to Alice, and I know Alice recognizes that and tries to keep the younger girl in the loop all the time. Not to mention it’s a bit of a self esteem boost.

I have not much new to report except that I did more yoga and went to at an art opening called F*** The Big C. The artists on display were all cancer survivors from around the world. One was on hand to answer the same questions over and over (that shows patience!) and she did a bit of an interactive piece as well.

Click for source

The artist (on the right) had thyroid cancer followed within the year by breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. She is donating proceeds from the event to My Hope Chest, who I volunteer with frequently. My Hope Chest is the only National NonProfit that helps survivors without insurance obtain breast reconstruction surgery.

NO SPOILER: Last night we watched The Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. I give it a B. Not a B+. If Johnny Depp were not in that role, it would probably be a C. It’s a lot more girly and less action than the commercials made it seem.

And just because everyone seems to want to know: For breakfast I had 1/2 whole wheat Thomas’ bagel with Skippy natural crunchy PB on top and a drizzle of honey. And water. It’s thrilling, I know. But lunch will be grand! I am off to a bridal shower, because next month my friend Meredith will marry her best friend Scott. It’s a beautiful thing!!

Enjoy your weekend!!

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Fit2Run and Fudgey Cake

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Thurs night I tried something new. We had been doing the occasional Thurs night run around the baseball stadium (endearingly known as “The Trop“), but it was time for a change of scenery. At last Saturday’s Tampa blogger meetup, I received a flyer about the Fit2Run Runner’s party. You probably don’t have a Fit2Run near you, which is just too bad! It is a running store with a very large shoe selection, running gear, a smoothie bar, clothes, and treadmills with video cameras hooked up to them so you can have a gait analysis. They usually have a large presence at Disney runs in Orlando, so you can look for them there.

Anyway, one of the Managers is runner and coach Gary Robinson, and he put together a team of women training for the Women’s Half in St Pete. (Which will be about 3 miles from my house, so let me know if you come to town for it.) I think they meet 3x/wk and they pay him something or other. But you can join in on Thurs night leaving from the Fit2Run store in the nicest mall in Tampa for free. And once a month or so the Thurs night run becomes a running party – he gives a little talk afterwards and there is free food and some adult drinks. There are supposed to be shoe vendors there letting you try their shoes (like, actually run in them for the night) and free sock giveaways.

On the way to the mall it was pouring rain, and we had to cross the bridge from St Pete, which was bumper to bumper in 6pm + thunderstorm traffic. We were 5 minutes late, but the rain was down to a drizzle, and they were just thinking about actually attempting the run.

I had S with me. She usually runs with Brian & Alice because her pace is about 2 min faster than mine, but she had already done her 6 miles that morning and kind of came just to see what it was about, so she agreed to drop down to my slow pace and stick it out with me. We did about 3.8, and the first 3 miles disappeared because S talked through them the whole way. It was delightful! I told her when I am sick, or in pain, or getting blood drawn – doing something where I want me mind off it – I try to get Brian to talk to me but he can’t just babble, especially when asked. I love being distracted when I’m doing something I don’t enjoy. Oh, like during childbirth! But S on the other hand was able to chit chat with me for 3 miles about running clothes matching other running gear, and where to order them online, and whether she should blog about running fashion, and the wedding she’s going to be in soon, and and and… it was great! When we got home I said to Alice, “I love running with her because the time flies by as she talks!” And Alice agreed completely.

At the end of the run I tried their TROPICAL BLEND smoothie made from fresh Pineapple, fresh mango, fresh papaya and OJ; as well as a piece of their hummus sandwich. They also had turkey sandwiches, beer, wine, and “pink squirrel” smoothies. The shoe vendors cancelled because of the rain, though.

I came home and had a green Flatout with some melted provolone, baby spinach and spicy mustard. I think it was after 9pm, though.

Fri morning I woke up for Core Yoga. The teacher sounds cutesy and immature with her word choice and inflection, but the class she puts together is great. I wish she could see a video of herself and tailor her verbiage better. She says “go ahead” a lot, such as, “Now we’re going to go ahead and tuck our toes, and go ahead and lift your hips…” Hopefully she’ll improve with time.

I had a decent day at work. I was putting together a website for a yoga instructor, ironically. And a logo for a new product coming on the market that I am not allowed to discuss :) We also enjoyed some online buzz after we ran our interview with Meghann Anderson of the Healthy Living Summit.

Fri night we rented Limitless.(Not a spoiler) Bradley Cooper (who I enjoyed in Alias) is a writer who lives in New York City. He is failing to meet the deadline to turn in his new book. One day, Eddie comes across the brother of his ex-wife, and he offers Eddie a sample of a new drug, claiming it has the ability to help you access 100% of the brain’s power, as opposed to the normal 20%. Eddie accepts, and chaos ensues. De Niro is in it too. Some fast-paced action but not the whole way through, not too gory, not too sexy. I give it an A- and we were all able to enjoy it as a family. (Remember my girls are teenagers.)

I also promised Brian fudgey cake this weekend. I baked 2 9″ rounds and expected to frost them into one cake, but Wendy did not like the frosting, so I over-frosted one and left the other plain. I used this recipe for the cake, which then left me with not enough cocoa for the Nestle frosting. But I had Baker’s squares, so I made their frosting. The cake is delicious but stuck to the pans a lot even though I sprayed and floured. So if you make this, spray and flour a LOT. I used whole wheat flour and slightly less sugar, and you can’t tell at all!

Saturday we woke up at 5:15 to meet people at 6am to run. Brian and S did 10 miles with one of our other regulars. S brought me an awesome present, a new OM Bondi Band! So now I have one with an OM for yoga and one that says RUN for running! (I’m sure I’ll get a photo eventually…) COUPON: Use code FIVE at checkout on BondiBand.com to get 5 Bondi Bands for $25. S would encourage this so you have one to match each running shirt! I did 3 miles, and for the first time in a long time I had to do it alone. I ran along the waterfront and there was actually a cool breeze I had not felt in probably 4-5 months! I’ve now showered, made a list of stuff to get done for the weekend, and I hope to have some swimming pool and BBQ time before Labor Day is done! Enjoy your long weekend!

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30 for 30 Run

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My post-run view of the sunrise over Coffee Pot Bayou

Brian has a group from Meetup.com that runs on Sat AM. When it is this hot, they meet at 6am. I’m usually tucked in bed until 8:30am on Saturday and go to 9:30 yoga class. But last night we finished watching a movie (The Great Race, an oldie we had never seen and came recommended, but I slept through at least 30 mins. Partially because I was tired, and partially because it started very slowly) and after the movie Brian checked his email. He found that someone signed up for the run at 11:30pm and mentioned it was her first time running. Brian was planning on doing 8 miles as part of Sandy’s training for the Wine and Dine Half in Oct., so I said I would be a trooper and get up with his 5am alarm to lead a slower pack. I figured a 3 mile walk-run maybe 4 mins/90 seconds would be a good start. I’d remind her to hold in her core and relax her shoulders. I could use the stopwatch app on my phone. I was almost jazzed about it. I figured it would help me make up for the karma of my yucky run the day before.

So 5am came around, I slept until about 5:08, and then Brian checked his email and said, “That new lady isn’t coming. She backed out at 4:30am. Either her early alarm seemed like too much of a b*t(h or she stayed up all night.”

But there I was in my Lucy running shorts and Tees by Tina tank that doesn’t show sweat, and I wasn’t about to back out. Plus runtothefinish.com was having a 30th birthday virtual race – so I figured 30+ mins for her 30th bday was cool. So I did some back and shoulder warm ups on the rug, and at 5:45 we left the house with Alice.

When we arrived at our usual meeting spot, people kept coming. A couple that just moved from England, a woman training for NYC Marathon who was fighting back after a kidney stone bout, a woman who hadn’t run in a while but wanted to tail Brian, Sandy and Alice on their 8-miler, a guy who quickly said he was the oldest one there and had 14 miles to do but was happy to do the first 8 with company – and me, Brian, Alice and Sandy. (Meredith, you should have been there!)

I did about 3 miles and some yoga and checked my FB and still had time to get water and crochet a bit on a park bench while the 8 mile people finished. I had 2 women with me the first half of the way, and the NYC marathoner and the British couple much of the way back. I’m glad I got up and did it – and there were all these people out running alone that I wanted to stop and tell about our Meetup group so they would have friends, motivation, or just be safer running in the dark of early morning. But I didn’t bug any total strangers today.

We came home, showered, had scrambled eggs and a bit of bagel, and went back to bed until about 11am. That was half the fun!

I came home and prepped for my grocery shopping / couponing adventure. Publix was my friend today, as they let you combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons, had a lot of BOGOs and I had a “spend $50 take $5 off” as well as “Spend $50, get a $10 gift card for next time”. Our almost $80 became about $53, and I was able to stock up on pasta and shampoo. Then I hit Winn Dixie for the remaining items – yogurt, beer, fish and cookies for Alice to take to the party she is going to tonight. I also got some breakfast snacks that I am putting away as my Ragnar Relay treat. They had organic milk that was near expiring down to $.99 – $1.99, but we had a lot of milk at home already.

Which of course brings me to coupon finding tips! Today is BOGO day, 2 tips in one post! :)

4. Daily Deal Services: By now, nearly everyone has heard about daily deal services, the largest of which are Groupon and Living Social. Here’s how it works: You register with the site and receive daily emails and/or texts detailing major savings for various services and merchants. If you’re interested, just click on the deal, pay and download the attached coupon. Some give additional savings for signing up a friend, and some rely on a minimum number of purchases before you’ll be guaranteed a deal. Before going on vacation, you can edit your preferences on the site to sign up for deals in the cities you’ll be traveling in – and hopefully discover some fun restaurants at inexpensive prices!

5. Direct Mail Packets: Direct mail packets are envelopes stuffed with paper coupons delivered to your home. The most popular and steadily growing version comes from Valpak, delivered in light-blue envelopes roughly once per month. People call me at work about advertising in these sometimes. Like people are sitting at home thinking how badly their company needs to redo their website… usually not.

Grating taters

Tonight Alice is going to a back-to-school 9th grade swim party and Wendy is out babysitting, so Brian and I are making a yummy dinner for two: Sweet potato latkes (recipe from Eat Live Run). I’ve decided that grating potatoes should be considered an upper body workout. My biceps are happy I did not live 150 years ago!

Here is what I did not make for dinner but would love on the side: asparagus sautéed in truffle oil and wrapped in procuito. Instead I ate a nectarine. I just “grew into” those.

There is no BodyPump tomorrow because the trainers have training at the gym. I’ll probably do some yoga. Maybe I’ll do my nails!

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