Running, veggies and ball

Good Monday!  Clearly the weekend has zapped all creativity out of me as that is the lamest title yet...I probably have no energy for creativity because this weekend has been a great weekend for running!  On Saturday I unintentionally ran 8.8 miles and on Sunday I met up with the Lake Ridge RidgeRunners and ran another 5 miles.  I have to admit, I feel pretty good!  The run on Sunday was a chill forty-degrees and so the smartwool socks came in VERY handy.  My toes were still cold when I began running but they warmed up a lot faster than with my regular running socks.



Overall, I am very thankful and pleased with my sock purchase.  For dinner last night, I made my mom's recipe for dinner in a pumpkin, which is a seasonal favorite of mine.  Julia was able to decorate the pumpkin while I prepared the "stuffing." 



Only a mother could love that face!

Here's the recipe:

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 medium pumpkin, cleaned out of pulp and seeds

1 small onion, chopped

2 lbs ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 1/2 cups cooked, brown rice

1 can of cream of chicken soup

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 can sliced waterchestnuts

1 can sliced mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the top off of the pumpkin and clean out all the seeds and pulp.  Draw a spooky face on the pumpkin and set aside.  Brown the ground beef and onions.  Drain liquid and add in the remaining ingredients.  Once everything in mixed together, spoon rice/meat mixture into the pumpkin and place lid on pumpkin.  Place pumpkin on cookie sheet and cook in the oven for approximately one hour.  Dinner is served once the pumpkin cooked and easily scrapes off when spooning out the mixture.

Mmmm...

I'm so thankful for great recipes like this one that allow me to serve veggies in new and different ways.  I get a little bored with the traditional side salad or green beans.

I am also grateful that I have found a wonderful partner who enjoys being active.  Every Sunday I go out to watch Alex play softball.  It's a lot of fun to cheer for him :)  Julia and I play catch sometimes while he plays too.  I'm even contemplating dusting off my old glove and practicing my swing...I hear there are co-ed leagues out there. Alex and I have done alright being on a bowling league together.  Would adding softball to the mix be too much?

Do you play sports with your significant other?

Things I shouldn't be thankful for...

It's a funny thing how at the moment when things are happening, you aren't necessarily happy at the situation.  Sometimes it takes distance and time to realize the benefit of it all.  For instance, when you set out for a four mile run to your ring-giver-boyfriend's house and plan to have him give you a ride home.  When you get to his house, he has decided to take a shower and is unable to open the door so you can ask him for a ride home and therefore has doubled your intended run.  I was not thankful for the 8.8 miles I ran yesterday, however today I am kind of proud of myself :) 

It's a good thing I had this!

It's also a good thing disguised as a crappy one when your phone wakes you up an hour early when it decided to adjust for daylight savings time AFTER you made your coffee and got ready to run with the Lake Ridge RidgeRunners.  I was totally irritated because I was loving my sleep after that long run yesterday!  But instead of trying to fit in a pathetic, tiny nap, I had some extra time to blog and I'm always thankful for that :)

Well, it's just about time to get ready for that run with the RidgeRunners!  Running in the cold is not my favorite and there is plenty of frost on the ground so it's a wonderful morning to try out my new Smart Wool socks.  I guess I'm thankful for that (but only if the socks do their job).

What lemons have you turned into lemonade?

Do you love or hate Daylight Savings Time?

When you lack motivation, buy new toys!

Today's thankfulness was delivered by the postman!  If you recall, I don't have the necessary winter running gear and I will definitely need some as I continue to train and run the Hot Chocolate 15k (Dec 3rd!).  I pay myself $1 for every 15 minutes that I exercise and then use that money to treat myself.  I decided to use some of the money that I earned to buy some new running toys:

Moisture-wicking lightweight gloves

Smart Wool socks -- Thanks Laurie!

Amphipod water bottle

I am pretty excited to get out there and test them out!!  I am signing up for the Lake Ridge RidgeRunners 10k on November 20th so hopefully these will come in handy.   The last 10k that I kept track of was the Ukrops Monument 10k (not sure which year) and I completed it in 1:09:46, which is about a 11:13 mile.  I am hoping to get under an 11 minute mile overall for this 10k so I am shooting for under 1:08:21.

I'm also very thankful that I got home before the sun set!




What race are you training for?

How do you reward your fitness efforts?

Baby, it's cold outside!

For some reason, I thought Summer would never end but Fall has come and gone without me knowing it!  I worked from home yesterday and went out for a run during my lunch break.  I knew it must be cold out because I actually turned the heat on in my house. 

 
I decided to wear these socks that my dad picked up for me from the Annapolis Running Expo.  I was hoping that these socks would be warmer than my other socks, but that wasn't the case.  They have additional padding on the heel and toes but that's it.  I'm hoping the toes are more durable than my other socks:

Only time will tell!  It took me two and a half miles before I felt like I was fully warmed up.  I am now aware of how much I am lacking in good winter running gear!  I need some gloves for the first bit of my runs anyway.  Do you just take the gloves off and put them in a pocket when you start getting too hot? 

Here's another question for all the runners out there: do you have trouble breathing for the first couple miles of a run because the air is so cold?  What do you do about that?  Once I was half-way through my run and warmed up, breathing was not a problem thank goodness.  It was just the initial couple miles that made me feel like I couldn't catch a deep breath :(

Despite being cold and my shallow breaths, I had a really good run!  I completed 5.25 miles in 49 minutes!  On average, I ran nine and a half minute miles.  I was super excited with my run.  This only reconfirms my need for a Garmin. 

What are you winter running essentials?

How do you feel about snow in October?