lazy Sunday

Morning!

Taking some time to have breakfast in front of the computer and get some work done. This is how a lot of my Sunday mornings look:

Oatmeal with almond butter, cinnamon and banana slices; Colombian supremo from TJs and iTunes. Wouldn’t it be great if every work day looked like this?!

I’m procrastinating getting out and going to the grocery store because I just feel so nice and cozy here inside the house – and, despite the awesome massage I got yesterday, I’m still just a teeeeny bit stiff from the half marathon. Just going to kick back and be lazy today – you should too!

Later -

Oh, P.S. About that fin du monde I had last night…wasn’t really my style. Very malty…and fizzy – almost like champagne! Weirdy. I’m not a big fan – couldn’t finish it. I’ve been trying to branch out because I’ve been drinking IPAs almost exclusively so I thought I’d give it a try, but I definitely prefer the hops to the malts. The end!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I just got back from an hour-long deep tissue massage and I think I’m going to sleep for the next three days…

Man! That girl really worked me over. I know they have to really pound you to work out all the knots and stiffness, so I didn’t complain, but a couple of times I almost screamed! It was awesome.

The race went pretty well. The weather was perfect and the course was pretty cool – I actually saw some areas of Indy that I’ve never seen before.

I had a banana and sprouted grain toast with raw almond butter for breakfast:

And after the race, we went to my favorite restaurant for more breakfast – Taste!

I had the perfect meal: a big cup of their awwwesome coffee (a very marathonesque Kenyan brew!), a veggie quiche, some fresh fruit and a passion fruit champagne cocktail. It was so good I forgot to take pictures…and people probably would have thought I was nuts anyway…

Okay, now that I’ve covered the important things (massage, food) I can mention that teeny little race I ran:

I finished in about 2:29 – not as well as I wanted – I knew getting sick was going to throw me off. But I enjoyed myself and didn’t die, so I think I won today.

We ran through a lot of neighborhoods and all the people were so cool – they came out of their houses and cheered and played music for us. I remember feeling like there were a lot of really nice people around me. Everyone was easygoing and cheerful and I didn’t come across any of those jerk runners who think they’re better than everyone else (you know the kind!)

I stayed pretty close to the 10-minute pace guy for about the first 5 miles and then I lost him!

The marathon split off from the half marathon at about mile 7. I’m always paranoid I’m going to miss the turn and accidentally die run the whole marathon.

Toward the end, I still felt good but my feet were killing me. I did have a nice burst during the last mile or so but it was definitely time to be done.

And, I know I’ll think of some funny anecdotes from the race later on, but right now I’m too tired to think about anything!

And if I can stay awake long enough, this will be the pièce de résistance – la fin du monde:

Peace! Love! Bliss! Goodnight!

I live for the carbo load

Thinking happy thoughts, thinking thoughts about my legs feeling good and my feet feeling good and my toenail not falling off tomorrow!

Listening to my theme song.

I made a faaantastic pre-race Mediterranean pasta (I added chicken) with a side of flatbread and hummus. (And a glass of Panilonco Carmenere – just a small one!)

My husband loved it too. I can tell when he really likes something I cook because he doesn’t just say, “Mhm, it’s good;” he says, “Oh my god, wow this is really f@#&%ing good!” And then he has seconds.

I don’t know how my cooking tastes to others – its hard for me to be objective. I think all the mystery is lost when you cook it yourself. I sort of like everything I cook, so he is the true judge of whether something is good or not.

The hubby and I are watching the Biggest Loser – motivational mindless crap to watch before hopping in bed early! I’m leaving the house at about 6:45 tomorrow morning.

Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything else I can do to prepare for the 13.1 that I haven’t done already – besides sleep and drink more water.

My goody bag had a protein shake in it. At first glance it looked like a delicious breakfast drink but it says you’re supposed to drink it after your work out…um, no thanks! I’ll rebuild my muscles with a mimosa and a belgian waffle!

I will try to slap out a quick update later on tomorrow -

Wish me luck!!

Peace!

Naan na na

Breakfast of champions! Naan with hummus and a banana (I’m pronouncing it ba-naw-na).

Tomorrow is race day! Yes, I am excited about the Big Run, but I am also pumped about redeeming an hour-long sports massage that the hubby bought me as a birthday gift back in August. It’s gonna ROCK to come home after the race and get pampered!

I think I’m also going out to breakfast with some friends after the race. We always go somewhere awesome after we run. Living in the ‘burbs, I don’t get to eat downtown that often, so its always a treat when I do.

Today at lunchtime, I’m headed downtown with a couple of my running friends to pick up our shirts and race packets. The Expo/Packet Pickup is always a really great place to: a) browse a bunch of vendors with overpriced running gear; b) walk through a maze designed to force you to browse said running gear; and c) size up the competition.

The weather for tomorrow looks great: partly sunny, high of 65°F, which is almost unheard of in Indy this time of year.

Okay – gotta go hydrate! Have a great day.

Multicultural night

This is what happens when I run – I’m so famished I just take everything I have and throw it all together! It is usually good.

I think I had at least three cultures covered in tonight’s dinner: a Greek salad (kalamatas, roasted red peppers, green oak lettuce, mushrooms, parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette), baked tofu (rubbed in Asian sesame oil, ginger and rice wine vinegar) and topped off with Louisiana hot sauce (yes, Louisiana is a culture).

I washed it all down with a Goose Island Harvest Ale, which I am pictured enjoying below. (Please excuse my homelessy appearance – I just ran!)

Oh! And the coolest thing happened – this morning I was thinking about pearl onions. Seriously. I was contemplating the pearl onion.

I haven’t had them in ages, and I thought how nice they taste in a stir fry, when they’re all soft and bursting with juicy onion-ness. Then when I went to Trader Joe’s they actually had fresh pearl onions! Dude even said they just came in this week.

It is, like, my pearl onion destiny.

Okay, all seriousness, I had a great run tonight, came home, iced the ankle for a bit and then did a little work stuff while the tofu was baking.

Now, I’m getting ready to hop in bed and read and finish this beer!

Peace!

Performancing enhancing horse

Oh man. Had to share this gem from the Onion: New York Marathon Winner Tests Positive For Performance-Enhancing Horse.

Side note: I enjoyed a banana and a big fat piece of tandoori naan slathered with hummus for lunch. Sooo good! (Sorry no pics!)

I just got back from a massive shopping trip to Trader J’s and I can’t wait to start cooking! Yes, my husband is a lucky, lucky man.

Tomorrow, the pre-half-marathon dinner will be pasta, naturally. I’m going to try this Mediterranean pasta recipe I found at RunnersWorld.com. I’m thinking I may need to add some chopped kalamata olives. I’ll let ya know how it turns out!

What is your marathon theme song?

This is the song I wanna have on a permanent loop for the rest of my life. It never fails to make me feel happy and funky. If I listened to this during a race, I’m convinced it would improve my time.

Some of you may know this jam as the one Darnell from Earl (Eddie Steeples) dances to in that old Office Max commercial.

What is your marathon theme song?

Taking a powder

Um, okay. This is seriously the image that came up when I googled taking a powder:

Gee thanks, Google!

But I digress…

I decided not to work out tonight – I’m just going to be mind-numbingly boring and read a book in my jammies while sipping Earl Grey, listening to a little Swedish melodic death metal and munching on pumpkin seeds…okay, it won’t win me any blogging awards, but I sure won’t be bored!

I’m almost finished with this book, the Pillars of the Earth and it is driving me NUTS! It’s just one catastrophic nightmare after another. Just when things start to seem tranquil, something horrible happens again. And I tell you what, medieval people are not.so.bright.

Anyway, I know this is supposed to be a running/food journal but I’m not hungry and I’m not running so you’re just going to have to put up with some of the minutiae of my daily life.

Meb Kef..keflez…keflezi…

NYC Marathon winner Meb, er, Keflezighi doing the Top 10 Thoughts That Go Through Your Mind When Running The New York City Marathon.

He finished in 2:09:15, running about a 4:45 mile throughout.

Dayum!

This guy could probably still whoop my ass even if he was wrapped in saran wrap and carrying a basket full of puppies. (“Where’s Marie? Oh, she hasn’t finished yet? I couldn’t look behind me because I was carrying this basket full of puppies…)

(Props to My Running Shorts for posting this first!)

On Mission St. and Quinoa Ave.

Hidillyho bloggerinos!

I cleaned up on a chilly 3 mile run in the park today, and I’m now scarfing a bowl of quinoa and veggies with a Mission St. IPA.

For you hopheads, the Mission St. is a 6.8% ABV and I couldn’t find an IBU rating. Let’s say 65. Here’s what some beer snobs said about it:

• “Underwhelming…”
• “The body is of whole milk with a dash of spritz…”
• “Pine needles and some grapefruit rind come into play…”

Whatever.

Bottom line: If you’re looking for something light and fluffy and you don’t want to get wasted after your workout, this beer is just fine. And it costs around a buck each at Trader Joe’s.

As for my quinoa concoction, I just went back for seconds. This stuff is so good!

I just sauteed some garlic, some red onion and an orange bell pepper in toasted sesame oil, then added some broccoli, a cup of quinoa, two cups of chick broth, splash of soy sauce and some ginger paste, covered and simmered it all until the liquid was absorbed (15-20 mins). Oh, and then I added some cashews.

I am going to have to remember my good friend quinoa more often.