A few major developments to share with the blog world! The first is above and beyond awesome. You night remember my Speedo friends from Lake Placid: they cheer throughout the race in JUST speedos. Sometimes with Pom Poms:

Above is Paul and Jim talking with their fans/posing for pictures. In between autographs, he would make sure to tell people to visit ThatRunnerChick.com for more info

Well, Paul is racing Lake Placid this year. And these are the pictures he tweeted the other day:

YEP! That’s right, he has a cupcakes+running=thatrunnerchick.com speedo! I am psyched about this! If you see him around Mirror Lake race week make sure to say hello! I owe him many loaves of PowerBar replacement Banana Bread for this!!!! And perhaps some Ubu Ales post race!

Second, PW and I finally bought the bullet and bought this:

I don’t know how we lasted so long. We have been through 2 blenders in 3 years. I killed the last one while making my special veggie pizza sauce–the engine actually started smoking. PDubs was in Galveston and he said “buy a GOOD replacement blender–even if it’s expensive!”. I don’t think he was expecting this expensive but it ends up as being the same at the rate we were going replacing! I made a smoothie the other day and it took less than two minutes! Efficient and easy to clean-I’m already sold.

Last, while we were in Texas a package was delivered to our house here. I wasn’t expecting anything but check out what it was:

A pre-release copy of Scott Jureks Eat&Run! They sent it to me to read and review (and interview Scott if I want!) before its release on June 5th. I started it this week and will do a proper review when I finish it. As he didn’t come from an athletic family or background I am interested to see how his love for ultra running developed. Running 50 mile races has always interested me so maybe this will be EXTRA inspiring! He is also doing a book signing/Q&A at the Harvard bookstore if anyone is interested

It is a long weekend so lots of working out and hanging out to be had. Oh, and grad school work! Did a short jog today and am heading up to hang out with Meg and Justin now. Hoping to head out for a ride tomorrow!

We had QUITE a travel day yesterday–16 hours to travel 1500 miles from Texas to Massachusetts. I knew things were going to be heading south (figuratively, we were flying north of course ) when there was only one gate agent and 17 people in line with questions before our first flight. We ended up leaving 30 minutes late from Texas–with a 40 minutes layover we would be cutting it close!

Landed in Atlanta and had 15 minutes to get off the plane and get to another terminal (side note: the pilot told us Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world–is that true?). We ran–and post Ironman it was hilarious to see! Missed the flight by a minute.

Next flight: 6 hours away. We settled in and got comfortable in the Delta SkyClub.

Boarded our next flight and again, left late. My saint of a mother was going to be picking us up in Providence at 11:15pm and I felt bad we were going to be 30 minutes late–little did I know what was in store!

We got close to Providence, begin landing, only to suddenly be pushed back in our seats as the pilot heading straight back up. Apparently, he couldn’t see the runway. Another try of that and he let us know it wasn’t happening and we were being diverted. Panic ensued! It’s almost midnight, there’s 200 people on the plane, and my mother is waiting in PVD!

Got into Hartford at 1am, hobbled off the plane and booked it to the car rental place because I was not hanging around any longer than I had to! PWs luggage was, of course to keep in line with the night, not at the airport. We rented a car ($180 dollars for 12 hours!!!) and drive the 80 minutes home.

Check what time time we finally arrived:

And yes, also check out we had XM radio. How did I live without the 90′s station before this?

Since this took so long I figured the least they owe me is Biscoffs!

Spent the day driving-the rental car back, picking up the dogs, going to the grocery store etc. The dogs are missing the in-laws house though, it’s like Club Med over there!!

It is nice to be home–maybe this hilarious day is my punishment for wanting to move to Texas? Ha!

Yesterday was our typical day after smorgasbord. PW got up at some ridiculous hour (4? After going to bed at 1am???) and I lounged around trying to sleep off my sunburn (didn’t work). Then we went to our ritual post race breakfast with the Snows. Buffet style, the Hyatt doesn’t mess around. That led us directly to awards!

Because PW is awesome and fast, he won his age group (not to brag, but I’m about to brag)–by 15 minutes! He had a 9 minute PR and went 9:10. He averaged almost 23mph on the bike (a 4:55)! Got this nice hunk of wood as an award:

Went back to the hotel post awards so PW could break down all the bikes for people leaving that afternoon/night. Headed out for some barbecue at a gas station after. I think it’s the Boston in me but I was a little wary of the whole smoked meat/gas station connection but it ended up being AWESOME!

They even separate their sauces so you don’t overachieve with them!

Headed to the Airport this morning at 8:45 but our flight left late. Significantly late, and with a 40 minute layover in Atlanta it wasn’t looking promising. We landed at 2:40 and our connection left at 2:50. PW did the best we could do–we ran 1.5 miles across the airport from terminal to terminal but didn’t make it. And we were hauling! Unfortunately we are currently stuck in the airport–which is closed due to the weather (seriouslyyyy!), and I don’t know when we will get home! Making the best of it in the Delta SkyClub, filling up on free Biscoffs and Chex Mix.

Luckily I have a new book to read (has anyone read any Jen Lancaster?) and a husband who can eat anything he wants for the next seven days. Making the best of these 6 hours! Hoping to find some frozen yogurt to ease the pain of the delay….

Race day is over! It was a great day all around. Exhausting (as usual!)’ but it was worth it–everyone had a great day out there! So great in fact that 11 of the 13 people racing we’re top 10 in their age group! PW ended up winning his age group with a 9:10 (notto ruin the surprise of his blog entry but it was a 9 minute PR!–and he rode a 4:55 which is unreal! I tried to take to take pictures of him along e course but ended up with a lot f these because I was cheering so much:

To ease the blow of the lack of PW pictures I DID get a picture of each of the three sports–Cait on the bike and the swim (www.caitsnow.com) and Jen on the run! Look at how perfect our run real estate was–AND we went out on the bike course which you can’t beat!

Post race we went to dinner where I got to witness this sign:

And had the WORST service ever! Made up for it with this delicious self-serve frozen yogurt though. We don’t have enough of these in Massachusetts!

Now comes the best part of ironman–the feast the next day! As I type, the Snows are on their way to pick us up for breakfast at The Cheesecake Factory!

Update later with the crazy things we saw out on the course (this is Texas after all!) and why I want to move here!! Have to go nurse this sunburn before we go to breakfast!

Well folks, another Ironman is upon us. It feels like its been longer than 7 months! PW has been in Texas for the last 12 days, acclimating to the heat. yesterday, I flew to Texas by means of Providence through the lovely Detroit airport (no sarcasm–the airport was really nice!)

This morning we woke up early for the usual QT2 breakfast. The difference today is that it was not an IHOP or Denny’s–it was at the Cheesecake Factory! It was awesome. Don’t worry, we will hit up IHOP tomorrow night after the race. The food was so good, there were a lot of these on the able:

Here are the twenty something team peeps who showed up–it was great! Thanks Chrissie for the picture!

After breakfast we went straight for the bike drop-off. The sooner everyone’s feet were up the better! It is HOT down here, so we made it a quick walk. Here are a couple of really fit people (Cait and PW)

AnD the bike drop off:

(ps how cool is this collage iPad app?!?)

Check in to my twitter tomorrow for race updates (@thatrunnerchick)

that I gave up blogging for Lent, okay? It is more reasonable than the truth which is that I have been out straight for a month! I figured what better way to come back with other than a “Things I am Obsessed With Right Now” post–a true glimpse into the ThatRunnerChick life!!!

1. Pinterest. Of course. It is my go to for everything from hairstyles to dessert recipes!

2. The Hey Girl Blog. This is so, so fun to send back and forth with teacher friends!!!!

3. Juicing. I borrowed a juicer and now I cannot get enough of it! I feel so energized after it weirds me out–it has the effect of coffee!

4. Lifting weights! Meg and I have been going to the gym religiously for almost 2 months lifting weights (at 5am!!!!)–I just feel buffer!

5. Scramble With Friends. It is such a good timefiller when I am waiting in line or early to an appointment!

I have been running/riding. I was using Daily Mile for awhile, but recently opened a Strava account. It seems to be pretty time consuming so Im not sure how long itll last. It would be fun to use when I start riding outside more, though!

Now the countdown to April vacation begins–I need to seriously recoup some sleep and get some good workouts in! Looking forward to riding and running the middle of the day–heck, maybe Ill even do some swimming!!!

Yesterday was a pretty awesome day. I teach on Saturday mornings, and it is fun because 1) there are donuts and games 2) i teach next to one of my favorite people. Followed up the teaching with some Panera where I got to catch up with said good friend for almost two hours (!!). And eat Baked Potato Soup–always a plus. Then it was time for this:

Now, this would not usually be my seen because I am not into crowds, and I am not into crowds drinking (I sound really old right now dont I?), but our favorite band, The Joshua was playing, and we had not seen them in a long time. In fact, since they played at our wedding party in 2009!!! We drove in BFF Brian and before TJT went on, we got to see a very, very high energy Irish band. The woman in blue was Irish Step Dancing (or at least trying) while playing the violin:

There were a LOT of kilts here! St. Patricks Day Festival indeed.

We took some pictures while waiting too…here are PW and Brian. And the fingers of one of the guys from previously mentioned Irish band (The Gobshites)

And here are me an PW. No, I dont know whats going on with my hair!

Joshua Tree took the stage and we proceeded to rock out. They had a short set (they played yesterday too!), so it was only 5 or songs, and then an encore (they are a fan favorite band for sure–they have a cult following)

Joe (in the blue) is actually a crazy, crazy cyclist. He used to be a bike mechanic too!

While trying to watch their set, this guy came over to us and kept asking us if we wanted to see him balance a ladder on his chin. He claimed he was in the Guinness Book of World Records. When he found out he couldnt use a ladder, he asked to borrow a cup and showed us with that:

We ended up having a lot of fun–and were in bed by 10:30! It was nice to see the fella’s in the band again, and hang out with PW and Brian. AND be home so early (a 7:30 set–sounds good!).

Now, I have a short run this morning. And some pancakes to make!!!

I was not expecting a snow day today! Unfortunately, the call woke me up at 5:45 and I was up for good. I played Scramble with Friends (my new addiction–way better than Words With Friends!), before I rolled downstairs for a cup of Starbucks Blonde Roast. Thursdays are normally a pretty hectic day for me–work from 6:45-2, after school help from 2-3, then class from 4-9. Not having anything to do today was a welcome break!!

This is the first snow day of the school year so I thought Id recommit to last years snow day tradition—crock pot meals! PDubs shoveled us out and we headed to the gym about noon. I ran/wogged for 35 minutes. Man was it slow! Then we hit the grocery store and I came home and made the best beef stew Ive ever had (notice a pattern here?). I followed the same recipe as usual (2 cans beef broth, 2 cans water, potatoes, carrots, stew meat, peas, onion, seasonings)…the only difference is that I deglazed the pan after browning the meat with red wine and beef broth. Made all the difference!

One more run this week (easy! 30 minutes!), then next week back at it again. I am thinking about doing the Boston 13.1 in September. When I crossed the finish line at Hyannis I never wanted to run 13.1 miles again. Now…I want to. And do it lighter, with more miles, faster!!! Still rolling a few races around though (BayState too!).

I love Chipotle. Like, I really love Chipotle. I could eat there every day and be happy. My wallet would not, however. I have been on a mission to recreate their burrito bowl at home. Ive tried it quite a few times but think I finally got it with the most recent try.
This is what I ALWAYS order:
Chicken
Brown Cilantro-Lime Rice
Black Beans
Mild AND medium salsa
Sour Cream

I am going to break down each piece here!

Chicken

The marinade is comprised of the following:

1 Chipotle Chile (from a can–super hot), chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
1 teaspon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder

I put it all in the food processor and then spread it over the chicken. Left to marinate in the fridge for 1-24 hours. If less than 4 hours I suggest poking your chicken with a fork first to get maximum flavor!

I then threw it on the George Foreman grill and chopped:

Salsa

While the chicken was “happening”, I made another batch of my Sister In Laws Salsa…the only edit is that I added a Chipotle Chili Pepper to enhance the spiciness!

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 lime
teaspoon clantro, chopped (to taste)
1 cup brown rice
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt butter in saucepan. Once melted, add dry rice and the juice of 1/2 lime. Mix, then add water and salt. Bring to boil then turn down heat and cover. Let cook for about 25 minutes (or 10 if you used quick rice like me ) and turn off heat. Let sit to “steam” for 30 minutes. Then, fluff with fork and add cilantro.

Black Beans

I was pretty nervous about the black beans. The only time I cook beans is when I dump the drained can into chili!!!! This was painless though.

-1 can black beans
-1 clove garlic
-1/4 onion chopped
-salt

Saute onion and garlic (minced) for a few minute in a teaspoon or so of olive oil til transluscent. Add contents of can of beans–DONT DRAIN!! Let come to a boil on the stove and add salt to taste. THATS IT!

Pico De Gallo

I whipped a quick Pico too–just a mix of diced onion, tomato, jalapeno, and a splash of salt and some cilantro!

For PW…I also sauteed some fajita vegetables (thats his Chipotle thing)

Put it all together with a dollop of sour cream!

This was the PERFECT dinner! It was enough for about 3 bowls…if you want more leftovers, more than 1 cup of rice and 1 can of beans is necessary. If you try this–let me know!!

First—considering Ive been MIA for a full MONTH, I sincerely appreciate if youre still reading this ol’ blog!!!! I have missed blogging but was overwhelmed with lifestuff, and unfortunately ThatRunnerChick was what had to give. However!!! The race I was training for–the Hyannis Half Marathon–has come and gone as of yesterday, so my running schedule isnt as pressing! Expect more regular updates from my corner of MA.

Now on to the good stuff!

So, the race I have been training for, for months. I had never raced a half-marathon, but figured it was a more manageable time commitment than a full. Plus–all my friends were doing it! (Seriously–over 20 QT2Systems people, plus at least 50 other people I know!). I trained hard, tapered harder, and came into race weekend ready to hurry up and get it over with.

Did a typical day before race fueling of pancake breakfast and carbo load. Race morning was the SureFire QT2 breakfast which has yet to let me down (I have no expectations it will EVER do so–its all part of the science!), and a quick drive to the Sheraton in Hyannis, MA.

Got there and immediately got in the bathroom line. The amount of people racing was DOUBLED this year (over 4200 participants), and since the bathroom situation was harsh last year I knew it would leave much to be desired this year. Got my race packet and proceeded to greet a bunch of friends (the best part of racing) and sit on the floor for 1.5 hours. Only getting up every 30 minutes to systematically stand in the 15 minute long bathroom line.

I wasnt NERVOUS for the race, more like anxious–I wanted to hurry up and get it over with already! I took my pre-race gel and then went outside with PW for a quick warm up jaunt. Props to Jim and Tapply for joining our parade! Back to the start line and right up front. Last year for the 10k I lined up in the right corral pace-wise, only to be trapped by people walking the half. Learned my lesson and stood my ground 3 rows back this year! I had a pace to go out at–7:20, and that was the plan come hell or high water (both apparently happened!).

Began the race and the usual 400 meter dash occurred. I hung back and kept to my pace. The first 4 miles went by pretty uneventful–hit between 7:18 and 7:21 for all of them. A minor hill came next, but wasnt a big deal. What WAS a big deal was the wind. PW said it is the worst wind he has ever seen at this race–and hes done it the last 9 years!! When we ran along the beach at mile 8 it felt like I was standing still! I started to slow down and lost my focus. This was my slowest mile at 7:50. It is also such a downer to be at mile 8 and know you still have over 5 miles left! I trucked along in the 7:30 range until about mile 10. I got a second wind and started to pick up the pace–having only a 5k left will do that to you! By mile 11.5 I was running right around 7:20-7:25′s. I was also singing “Stronger” by Kanye, but thats a race report for a different day! I hit mile 13 and started picking it up to 6:45′s…only to be let down when I hit 13.1 miles and the finish was not in sight. I held on, somewhere in between passing out and throwing up (I had serious issues at this point!), seeing Cait and PW cooling down. I ended up finishing the 13.26 miles (that extra .15 miles felt like 15 miles) in 1:39, with a 7:30 pace.

I was shooting for a 7:20 pace, but am pretty darn happy with 7:30′s. The course was long AND it was windy–no need to get stuck on the time! Effort is all that matters.

Everyone else did awesome too! QT2 took the top 2 womens spots (Cait and Amanda), PW rocked it at the end of a 31 hour training week (hes a masochist), my SIL Dawn had a 12 minute PR (rockstar I know), as did Meg. And PW’s BFF/coachee (and my fave twitter friend) Chuckwagon PRed by 10 minutes. All around great day!

I am now limping around and basking in my free time with cooking!

The best part??? I ran the half-marathon yesterday at the EXACT SAME PACE I ran the 10k last year there. And I felt way worse during the 10k. PW is the best coach around! Something to be said for QT2
Systems and consistency!

Here are PW, Rick, and I post-race:

Looking for more Hyannis race reports?

PW’s, husband and coach extraordinaire, can be found here
Meg’s (should be up soon!) can be found here
Cait’s (should also be up soon) can be found here

Be back tomorrow with a a knock-off Chipotle meal. Down to the chicken marinade and the cilantro-lime rice!!! Not one to miss, I promise!