Woo Hoo!

I am now the proud owner of a new PR.......3:31:52!!

I'll write up a full race report this week, but the short story is I had a risky and aggressive race plan that ended up paying off for me. I ran with the 3:30 pace group through about mile 15-16....I knew 3:30 was a little beyond my means, but I was able to hold on and finish for a 7+ minute PR!! Plus, I realized this morning that my time should get me into wave 1 in Boston!!!

PRs were also had by Bryan and my Mom and Dad in the half......a great race for the whole family!!!

More details to follow soon :)

Its the most wonderful time of the year!

No, its not Christmas time......its CARBO loading time!!! Time to give up all the whole grains and fiber rich foods I usually eat and indulge in refined flour goodness....pass the bagels and Cheese-its please!! Man....I love taper time!!!

Gotta get back to eating :)

Channeling my inner Kara

I have a huge girl-crush on Kara Goucher....not only is she an amazing runner, but she also seems like a very down to earth and sincere person. Plus she's publicly stated that her and her husband are hoping to start a family now so I'm excited to see how she handles being a runner and becoming a mom (don't get excited.....I'm not there yet!!)

So who better to channel before running Philly?!?! I have already decided that my race outfit will be a pink top and black shorts.....its one of my favorite running outfits and it just so happens that Kara wore this same color combo in Boston this year (I swear that's not the reason I picked it and no, mine won't be as short!). So last night I sat down to paint my nails (hands and feet)...I was deciding what color to go with when I saw my really dark/almost black color (Linken Park After Dark for you OPI fans). I remembered her saying that she went "really bad ass" for NYC and painted her nails black......hey, if it works for her, it might work for me!

So let's see.....pink and black color combo, check! Phiten black cord necklace, check! Dark nail polish, check! (Kara....if you ever read this, I swear I am not stalking you!!)

Now if only I could channel her abs I'd be all set :)

Those yogis do it again!

I'm not sure how they do it, but here's another perfectly timed quote of wisdom from my Yogi Tea:

Patience gives the power to practice;
practice gives the power that leads to perfection.

I've done the practice......I'm working on the patience.......not sure I'll ever be perfection, but I'm sure going to keep trying!

4 more days 'til Philly!

New Recipe of the Week: Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squashes

In keeping with my fall themed recipes, I am very excited about this week's Recipe of the Week! I love squash.....roasted, sauteed, mashed, in soups.....you name it, I like it! What I like the most is how easy they are to prepare and how sweet they taste without having to add much seasoning. On of the other things I love are complete meals......protein, carbs, and veggies all in one dish. It doesn't get any easier than that! This recipe is just that......its like individual little pots of goodness all in one :)

In a previous ROTW (Recipe of the Week), I introduced some of you to quinoa. Today I am introducing you to Bulgur Wheat. Bulgur is a type of whole grain that is more nutritious than rice or couscous because it contains more fiber, vitamins and minerals. It cooks up just like rice and has a slightly sticky quality to it.

Leave it to the one and only Martha to come up with this easy and tasty recipe. I have made it twice (as has my mother-in-law) and we both like it. One comment we both had was to add extra cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, and pine nuts.....I didn't measure, I just threw stuff in the pot! The smell of the baking squash and all the spices and garlic melding together will have your mouth watering......I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!!

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

(my comments are in parentheses)

• 2 medium acorn squashes (about 2 pounds), halved and seeded (Cut a little off the bottom of the squash so they'll sit flat once filled)
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 pound ground chuck (95 percent lean) (My MIL used ground turkey and said they were good, but not as flavorful....I stick with the beef!)
• Ground cinnamon (I put in a couple good sized shakes, maybe 2 tsp total)
• Ground nutmeg (same as the cinnamon)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
• 2 cups water (or you can use low sodium chicken stock for added flavor)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins (I used about double the quantity)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (I didn't toast mine but I used about double the quantity)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squashes, cut sides down, in a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 4-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, a pinch each cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer beef to a bowl or plate using a slotted spoon, keeping as much cooking liquid in the pot as possible.
3. Add onion, and cook until slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining teaspoon salt and the bulgur, and stir to combine. Add water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, and add reserved beef, the raisins, parsley, and pine nuts.
4. Scrape out baked squashes, forming -inch-thick bowls, and fold flesh into bulgur mixture. Divide among squash halves, and return to oven. Bake until warmed through and tops are browned, 12 to 14 minutes. (If there are only two of you, fill all 4 squash bowls but only bake two. Refrigerate the other 2 for a quick dinner another night.....just bake!)

Lovin' the 2 week taper!

With less than a week until race day, usually I am a mess.....an anxious, nervous, freaked out mess! But not this time (well, not yet at least)... so what's different? Enter the 2 week taper!

In the past I have done a 3 week taper.....last 20 miler 3 weeks before race day and then 3 weeks of decreased mileage. What that's gotten me is a lot of time to think about what I coulda/woulda/shouda done during training. While this leaves you rested, I always felt a little too rested.

This training, I decided to try a 2 week taper. That meant my last long run (22 miles) was only 2 weeks before race day and now I have 2 weeks of decreased mileage. I won't know until race day if this was a smart racing decision, but I do know that mentally I like it! Its much easier to trust my training (common running advice) not having so much time to doubt it.

6 more days and then I get to test out my new taper plan.....

The track gods hate me!

Today makes two weeks in a row that my interval workout has been foiled by the track gods! There is a great public track sort of on my way home from work that I found last spring. There are no soccer/football/lacrosse teams practicing on the infield to worry about, it's never crowded, and it actually has lights. Last Wednesday I drove up to find the lights off and a sign saying the track was closed for 2 weeks for construction.....doh!

Tonight I drove to a different track (one that is more out of my way) that I swore had lights.......I guess I was wrong as it was pitch black when I got there! Double doh!

I think someone is trying to tell me not to do my intervals! Do not fear....I ignored that someone and last week did my intervals (4 x 1200m) on Thursday after I finished coaching (a perk of being a coach is I get to used the track and keep the lights on for myself!).

Tonight I am enjoying not doing my mile repeats and instead celebrated by eating pretty much an entire bag of mint M&Ms (and I don't mean the single size bag either.....triple doh!) Guess I'll be looking for another track tomorrow!

New Recipe of the Week: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I've decided to devote this month's Recipes of the Week to all things autumn!! The leaves are falling, the mornings are crisp, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I don't know about you, but this season has me craving hearty, warm, and comforting foods!

Until now, I've only posted recipes for dinner foods so this week recipe is a breakfast one.....although it's so yummy it could be a dessert! This recipe for Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal delivers a hearty breakfast as well as lots of good-for-you foods. We all know that oatmeal is a great source of whole grain that promotes heart health.

What you might not have known is that pumpkin also contains many health benefits. Besides carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which are all antioxidants, pumpkins have a lot of common nutrients, like iron, zinc, and fiber. Iron, of course, is needed by red blood cells which is really important for runners. Some runners can have low iron levels due to foot strike hemolysis where the pounding of running actually causes red blood cells to break.

You can use either traditional oats or steel cut oats in this recipe.....just don't use the flavored instant stuff!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Cooked oatmeal

Canned pumpkin

Brown sugar

Pumpkin pie spice (or a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc if you don't have pumpkin pie spice)

Nuts (I like almonds or pecans)

Cook one serving of plain oats according to your liking either on the stove top or in the microwave (the pumpkin will add some moisture so I like to cook mine a little thicker to accommodate). Mix in ~1/2 cup of canned pumpkin and briefly put in the microwave to heat the mixture (not necessary if your pumpkin is at room temp). Mix in a sprinkle of brown sugar, some pumpkin pie spice, and a handful of nuts.

Feel free to add more or less of anything to make it your own! Enjoy :)

So much for 9 to 5

Yesterday's Schedule:

5:30am - Alarm goes off
6:30am - Out the door
7:00am -3:00pm- Work (I am very lucky that my boss is cool with me shifting my hours one day a week to get to practice in time)
3:30 - 5:00pm - Track practice (first time there were tears at practice...poor girl had a bad day but a run always makes things better....at least that's what I told her!)
5:00-6:00pm - My own interval workout (4 x 1200m repeats in the cold and a light rain.....yuck!)
6:30-7:30pm - A couple more miles on the treadmill at the gym (double yuck!) to cool down and some core work
7:45 - 9:00pm - Vinyasa yoga class
9:30pm - Finally home and eating a big burrito bowl from Chipolte!

Busy day but I fit it all in......three more days until taper!!

Just call me coach

As you may remember, this summer I became a USATF Level 1 Track and Field Coach. I know you probably all thought "well that's great, but what is she ever going to do with that?" Yes, I thought the same thing, but then the wheels in my head started turning....how can I gain experience as a coach, not quit my day job, and find a way to give back to the running community that has given me so much?

I am excited to say that you are now reading the blog of the new Assistant Track and Field Coach at Regis College! (or for you Office fans, I'm the Assistant to the Head T&F coach...hehe) Its a small private college located in Weston, MA. I contacted the head coach and she was very excited about having me join the team one, because its a growing team and two because I was offering to do it as a volunteer so she doesn't have to pay me :) I'll be working with the 3 distance runners that are currently on the team (remember distance on a track is 800m - 2 miles....not quite my version of distance!).

I've been working with 2 of them for the past 2 weeks and I'm already seeing improvements in them. Its both of their first years with the team (one is a freshman and one is a junior but its her first year of Track). They need a lot of guidance and encouragement....not because they can't do what we are asking of them, but because they don't yet believe they can do it.

The schedule is working out that I am with them for 3 practices a week......their speed workout on Mondays, tempo run on Thursdays, and long run on Saturdays (which will turn into meets once December comes). Some days I run with them to push them and provide encouragement. Other days I stand on the side of the track with a stop watch and time their splits.

The head coach and I seem to get along really well and have similar philosophies on distance running. Plus she is willing to teach me things about the other events that I know little about. She backs me up with the girls which is helping me gain credibility with them and they seem to be trusting me. In just 2 short weeks, we've gone from "I can't do one more repeat" to "I don't want to do one more repeat but I know I can!"

Yes, its a pretty big time commitment with my real work and my own running, but I'm hoping its also fun and rewarding for both me and the team. Plus I just couldn't pass up the experience I would be getting!

Oh yeah....the cutest thing about it all.....as we finished up practice the other night they both turned and said to me "See ya Thursday Coach!" They called me coach :)