Preparing my belly...

OMG y'all...I. AM.SO. stoked for Thanksgiving!

It is the best holiday of the entire year, hands down.

And not because all you do is watch football and stuff your face, which is an utterly amazing quality for a holiday, let me tell you...

But because it marks the beginning of the entire holiday season of eating glorious, amazing FOOD.

Today I made pumpkin bread. I wish I could say that it looked like this.....but just pretend it did.

So carb-a-licious-ly GOOD...

It used to kind of weird me out to eat a dessert made with vegetables, but I've gotten over that since then. I was forced to. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin muffins are all too amazing.

Other fave Thanksgiving eats:

- Green bean casserole....the most unhealthy "healthy" dish ever.

- Maple Moose... its like maple ice-cream, some New England traditional dish my G-ma makes..

-Homemade cranberry sauce...NOT that weird shit from the can.

NOT my favorite Thanksgiving eats:

-My non-New England family is rather hick-ish, and likes to indulge in both turkey and deer meat that was shot the day before. Very gamey tasting.

In other news, I ran yesterday and smelled a wood stove burning. Aaaah, I'm such a nerd, but it is seriously favorite holiday smelll of all :)

Also, an attractive pic of me runnning during my marathon. I have perfect technique, as you can tell, haha.

Yes, you can have my autograph...

I'm sorry....but the week after marathon is almost as boring running-wise as the the week before...

However, I have definitely been soaking in all my glory for what its worth. My name made it into my school newpaper in the sports section...and LET me tell you how popular that made me among my friends, haha.

"Wow, you're actually legit." Well, duhh.

Other signs of my new popularity include, but are not limited to:

1. Many of my friends are asking me to run with them. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like running with other people, but you have to at least run a half-marathon or SOMETHING to earn that right. People who have barely ran a full mile in their life do not. Sorry, not to be a snob, but its true.

2. My complete and utter laziness is completely excused for. Marathons take up all my excess energy...what can I say?

Basically, in a nutshell, life's been great. I've sat on my ass all week.

I've run a little this week though, just because I've felt pretty good physically. My race was on Saturday, and by Tuesday I did an easy 3-miler. The rest of the week, I've increased my mileage slowly, and have taken it slowly overall. Its been boring, to say the least.

Now, I'M HOME FOR TURKEY DAYY!!!! because my college is amazing, and gives us a week off for Thnxgiving instead of 2 measly days. So essentially, I actually now have time to get into the holiday spirit.

I'm lovin this whole Xmas shopping thing, but somehow shopping for myself is easiest :)

These Frye boots are at the top of my list right now.... They're cr8zy $$$$$$, but I feel like they're worth it.... At least I hope so, since they're sexy as hell... I mean, if you're into that sort of thing..

If anyone already owns a pair, please let me know what you think!

Have a great weekend! :) :) :)

Richmond Marathon: Race Report

"Ouch, stairs!"

I'm not gonna lie, I'm still pretty sore...

Marathons are HARD! Though, granted, last Saturday, my body was NOT in running mode, but we'll get to that....

Friday aka The Day of my Stupidity: I came home from school the day before, but Friday was my BIG carb-load day. Unfortunately, my mother's new job has her working 12 hours a day, so the cabinets were very sparse. I ate all the pretzels and bread and other carb-y stuff that I could. However, for some reason, I totally noshed at this bag of baby carrots that was sitting out on the counter. WHYYYYYY???? Carrots= fiber. Lots of it.

For dinner (after the expo), I totally had Jason's Deli aka BEST RESTAURANT EVER, and got the salad/pasta bar. Oh, and a huge ice-cream cone after. Yep, eating like I have a tapeworm is pretttttty amazing :)

That night, I totally did not sleep. Marathon nerves......

Saturday: Yeah, after no sleep, I woke up at 4am. Whoaaaa, early, right? Yeahh, I know.

7am: Arrive at race site after spending an hour trying to find a parking place. I am surrounded by 15,000 runners all in terrific shape.

However, I am not intimated by their chicken legs, and spend most of the rest of the hour until my race waiting in line for the porty potty. But then, in front AND behind me are men with Ironman tattoos. Shit.

8am: I had put myself down for the 9:00 mile corral. Its pretty far back, so basically when the race starts, I have to run an extra .30 of a mile to actually get to the start....

I am nervous. I am very nervous. Just start already!

Miles 1-5: I started out at a reasonable 8:30 pace, running alongside this chick from Tennessee. It was her first marathon too, so we mostly talked about all the food we'd get to eat after...IF we finished.... However, I left her at mile 2.5 when I realized I had tied my shoes too tight and therefore my feet were already numb. Fuck. I spent about 3 minutes re-tying them PERFECTLY....

Miles 6-10: I still kept my 8:30 pace, even though I definitely wasn't feeling up to par. Even though I had Ciara's "G is For Girl" on full blast, I still couldn't block out how shitty my legs were feeling. I just felt kind of weak..

Miles 11-15: Yeah, all I remember about these miles is that there were a lot of hills... I don't mind hills, but they take a lot out of your legs. I ate some of my Clif bar, and took a gel, but still felt pretty weak. OH, and there was totally some guy running dressed up like a piece of snot.....ha. He was holding a sign that said, "RUN LIKE SNOT!" What the hell is that supposed to mean?

We crossed some bridge at mile 15, and I saw my Mom. It was basically a "Oh, hey," interaction, before I had to run off.

Miles 16-20: This part was SO flat. I hate flats! I love hills because they're all I run on at school. Flats just seem so monotonous to me.... But I chugged along...

By this time, I was convinced that my Clif bar and Hammer gels were not gonna cut it, so I snagged a Cliff gel from the mile 18 marker. I know that runners should always take the fuel that they practice with, but what difference is there between gels? They all taste kind of funny...

Anyhow, I just told myself to JUST KEEPING RUNNING until mile 20. Then I could take a walking break. Oh, yeah, and forgot to mention that my pace slowed definitely around these miles. To around 9:30 or so.

Miles 20-23: I definitely took advantage of my promise to myself. I walked about 3 times. I also cried about 5 times. Haha, I must've been a sight, sobbing while running. Some guy was like, "Are you SURE you're okay..?" I just sobbed, "Its just so hard....." Ha. How pathetic..

But anyways, at mile 23, I totally used the bathroom too... DAMN CARROTS!

Miles 23-26.2: So somewhere around this point, my Mom's new boyfriend (a runner dude), meets me to run the last part of the race with me. I was DYING at this point. He kept me at 9:15 pace, which did not feel good at all to my legs, but I wanted to get this marathon over with as quickly as I could.

Then- around mile 24, he's like, "You have 2 miles left. RUN!" He tells me to start chasing the people in front of me, pass them, and then focus on another person to chase. Holy hell. Why am I running this fast after running 24 miles already? Even though I tell him that I have to throw up, I started picking up my pace anyway.

Before I know it, its mile 25. The best part about this particular marathon is that its ALL downhill from here, literally. I started sprinting FULL OUT. I swear people on the sidelines are laughing at my face, its so intense.

Then I finish. I finish my marathon. And I cannot even begin to tell you how unbelievably good that felt. I want to stuff a slice of pizza in my mouth, pound down some Powerade, but I'm not even sure I can make it to the food tent....

4:09:28. And I get a lovely burnt oranged medal for it, haha :)

Though I did end up winning 2nd place for my age group actually, at this point, I am semi-satisfied with my time.....I am super psyched that I actually finished, however I know that if I had not used the bathroom, re-tied my shoes, walked, etc, that I could've broken 4 hours.

But, yeah...it was my first race, so I definitely should NOT stress out. And I'm not gonna..

Because,today, I signed up for the National Marathon in Washington D.C. on March 20, 2010.

I am crazy. But I know I can be more than ready for this race....

By the way, in case you haven't raced a marathon yet, here are some race tips:

- NO FIBER the day before the race. At least no carrots..

-Taper. Just do it. I failed sort of at this....

-Don't wear a fuel belt. I did, and I still took the Powerade and gels they gave out. Plus mine gave me bruises on my back. Ouch.

-Run with someone you know. I was kind of lonely during my race :(

-Try to park as close to the finish as possible. I could not walk to my car. It was a problem...

-Have a supercool mantra you can tell yourself at mile 24. My mom's boyfriend yelled at me "PAIN IS ONLY TEMPORARY" a million times until I kind of believed it, and thus sprinted the last 2 miles.

-SMILE for the cameras. Because marathons are super fun, right!!!???? :)

Finished!

OUCH stairs...ughhh I'm so SORE!!!!

This isn't a full race report, as I don't have the time or energy to complete a full one yet. Just wanted to say YEAH, I finished!!!! What now trick??!

Also wanted to comment that marathons are freaking HARD.
I cried about 3 times, walked about 5 times, and almost crapped my pants at mile 23. I guess since my 20-milers at school seemed so fine and dandy, I had the mindset of ohhhh psshhh marathon.... HAHAHAHAHA..
I ran this race alone, which seemed to make it harder. All I had was my future husband, T.I., blaring in my ears.

However, I want to do another one, so it couldn't have been that bad.,

Here are my results, in a short and snappy version. PROMISE to do a full race report SOON. And with pics :)

Out of 66 finishers in my age group (19 and under), I got 2nd!
My chip time was 4:09:28, however my Garmin time was 4:06. (I like 4:06 better, haha)
My overall pace was 9:12 per mile.
Out of 3785 finishers, my overall finish place was 1722.

So, in conclusion to this short post, if I don't walk so much, cry so much, and manage hold my crap in.....I'm pretty sure I can beast it in my next marathon.
However, right now, I'm just psyched that I finished my first one!

Ha, now let me just try walking NOT like a cripple...Holy shit, I'm SO sore...

Carbs and my Butt.

As a runner, eating a lot of carbs is pretty normal for an everyday diet. However, since this vital taper week has come upon me, I've discovered that I eat WAY more carbs than the average person. Well, then, at least more then my friends...

I haven't even need to "carb-load" since all I eat is carbs.
Here is a typical snapshot of what I've eaten this week:

Breakfast: oatmeal + peanut butter + banana + chocalote covered pretzels (great addition btw!)

Lunch: pasta + red sauce....huge salad + hummus.....chocalote ice-cream cone

Snack: cereal + apple

Dinner: hummus + turkey wrap....bag of chips....sometimes chicken noodle soup...

And then, after dinner, sometimes beer is present, sometimes not.

Anyways, the point of this is that I think my insides are already coated with bread, so this week before my marathon has been relatively easy to follow.

My butt is getting better. I've mooned more people this week than I'd ever thought I would in a whole lifetime. However, most people's reactions are of complete shock, which I think is HILARIOUS.

Other than that, I've just been sitting around, actually getting homework done. Hardly any running at all. Tuesday and Wednesday, I ran 5-6 miles, but that was it.

Tomorrow, tomorrow.....I run 26.2 Oh, yeah...that should be cake....

I'm excited/anxious/terrified. But mostly, I think, what the FUCK am I doing? But hey, carpe diem.

Any races for you guys this weekend? Ha..just taking the pressure off of me :)

Bruised and Abused.

So, typical college behavior cost me a lot this weekend...

Before you read this, I have to say that this is probably the most embarrassing post ever to write, but I'll risk it, haha.

Friday: Went out to dinner of course....However, I was wearing 4-inch heels at the time. Typically I can function in heels just fine. I mean, I AM 5'2, so I kind of need them a lot. But get a little alcohol in me...and that results in me falling off of my school's infamous "drunk bus" (goes from one apmt. complex to another on Friday and Saturday nights from 10pm-2:30am).

No, but it gets better, I fall off the bus...on my face.

Consequently, my legs are ALL scarred up. Yes, I am "that girl."

Saturday: I wore my sweet flat boots out on Saturday. And had a BLAST dancing the night away :) It was beautiful outside, so I didn't even need a jacket.

However, yeah....I had tooo much fun I guess, and almost missed the last bus of the night to get back on campus. I was bascially SPRINTING to catch it, and completely wiped out and fell...again.

Now, to be completely literal....I have a black ass...
I could barely walk yesterday, because my butt was so swollen and bruised.
Today, I managed to get out of bed and pop a ton of pain killers.

Moral of the Story: I have a freaking MARATHON this weekend. And now I'm actually forced to taper. This sucks.

"We don't serve utensils at this restaurant..."

Hi guys!!

First of all.....ONE WEEK until my marathon!!!!! My goodness, it is literally RIGHT upon me.

My feelings right now are a mix between excited and terrified, but I guess thats normal.

Mostly its just hard to fathom the fact that this time last year, the most I'd ever ran was around 3 miles total. This time next week, I would've (hopefully) ran 26.2 Crazy statistics, no?

Anyways, since I'm basically trying my hardest to taper my heart out, running isn't that overly exciting right now. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not a fan of tapering, especially when this whole past week has been PERFECT November weather...just so sunny and crisp.

I shall instead tell you guys about my experience last night....

Well, if you didn't know already, I'm ALL about ethnic foods. They're just so freaking fun to try, to experience a new culmination of spices and flavors. Its just plain awesome.

So last night, when a bunch of us decided to go out to eat for the hell of it, I immediately put in my vote for The Blue Nile, a local Ethiopian restaurant.

Everyone's first thought was..What the hell? Isn't Ethiopia supposed to be the most starving country in the world?

Well, apparently not, because we got there and they had the huge table all set up for us. HOLLA I love reservations :) However, the first thing the waitress said to us was, "Um...like, we don't serve utensils at this restaurant..."

Nice! Kindergarten again!

So we ordered what we thought was semi-normal food, and waited around for it to come.

Acting cool....with water goblets....

So yada yada yada, we got our food, and let me tell you......African food is BALLINN! You don't always have to use your hands- you can use this spongy bread to pick up the pieces of chicken and whatnot of your entree, if you would like.

They were kind enough to give me a spoon for my peanut butter soup. YUM.

Hummus and different types of bread.

A platter of chicken and beef that you had to eat with your hands and/or the sponge bread....

I apologize for the poor photo quality, by the way.

Overall, The Blue Nile was definitely a wild experience, dining wise. I kind of wished we'd had eaten on the floor or something to make it even cooler.

Also, fun fact, baklava, something I thought was totally Greek, was on the dessert menu. Who knew?

Have an amazing weekend :)