TIaRT: Boston and Marathon Madness

It's Thursday, which means it is time for Take It and Run Thursday! This week's theme is Boston and Marathon Madness:

Boston feels like the unofficial kickoff to this year's marathon season. In celebration of the start, we thought it would be helpful to collect training plans that you have used for marathon training and create a clearinghouse for training plans. Take a minute to jot down your plans or talk about your plans and then link them to the article so others can use and review them as they create their own.

I've trained for and completed two marathons: Marine Corps 2006 and Chicago 2007. For both marathons, I used Hal Higdon's Novice I training plan. I essentially ran four days per week, with a long run building up to one 20 mile run to top of a 40 mile week. He always had cross training for one day, but I admittedly never really cross trained. For Marine Corps, I was in marching band season, so I usually counted that as cross training. For Chicago, I was serving four to five days per week, so I counted that as cross training. Was it really cross training? Probably not, but when you're on your feet so much, it was nice to have an extra day off.

Hal recommends this program for people who are doing their first marathon and are looking to finish injury-free. For my first marathon, I didn't really know any better, so it sounded good to me. The plan came through and I finished without any pains, although the last five miles were pretty tough. When I was getting ready for my second marathon, I thought about upgrading to Hal's intermediate plan, but I hadn't been running as much prior to when training was supposed to start. (I graduated from college and then went on a three week tour of Europe...not exactly when I wanted to be focusing on marathon training!) Since my base was next to nothing, I stuck with the novice program one more time. Due to the toasty circumstances that were Chicago 2007, I'm not sure it really mattered which plan you followed!

In getting ready to do my third marathon (next weekend!), I decided that I wanted to do a plan with more mileage and definitely more than one twenty mile run. I've been usually Hal Higdon's Intermediate II training plan, which builds up to three 20 mile runs in 50 mile weeks. Since I switched my marathon last minute, I've only done two 20 milers, but I really think that Hal's weekend mileage will serve me well at my next marathon. Running ten miles the day before a twenty mile run definitely teaches your legs what it is like to run tired, and it also gives me the confidence to know that I can successfully run the distance come race day. I guess we'll know better how it works out in nine days!

For my next marathon (always planning ahead!), I think I'm going to try Pete Pfitzinger's programs. Many runners use Pfitz with a lot of success, and I think that adding speed work (tempo runs, intervals) into my marathon training will definitely give me a boost. Hal has advanced programs that include speedwork, but they include six days of running per week, and that is a bit too much for me!

I think that the best training plan is the one that works for YOU. You can run any number of miles per week, with or without speed work, run doubles, or cross train three days a week, but if it doesn't fit into your life, you aren't going to be happy and successful with your plan. Could we all run faster if we ran 100 mile weeks? Maybe, but I don't think I'm ever going to find out!

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Four miles today! We're nine days out from marathon day, so taper taper taper it is!

Thursday, April 23
4.12 miles in 32:07, avg pace of 7:48

It was a fantastic 65 degrees today, which would be a little too warm for me come race day. Weather.com is currently predicting rain for race day, but I'm hoping that will change before we get there!
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Grill Season!!

Amazinggggg day in Chicagoland! Naturally, it was a rest day, which is really making me think that I need to stop running because all my rest days lead to gorgeous spring weather. Since I didn't have running (or work!) to occupy my time, I decided to take advantage of the fact that today was PERFECT for grilling. I say that like I grill all the time, which, let me tell you, is far from the truth. I had to ask my mom to start the grill because I have no clue how. Oops? When I was little, I would get really excited when my dad would let me flip burgers on the grill. He wouldn't let me add the cheese because I was still too young (and too short) to get that close to the grill, but with the long-armed-flipper-thing, I could flip the burgers all I wanted.

I was an easy-to-entertain child.

After flipping through some cooking magazines, I found this Grilled Chicken with Mango-Pineapple Salsa in Cooking Light. Chicken? Pineapple? Anything that resembles salsa? I'm in.

Paired with brown rice and grilled zucchini (brushed with olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper, yum!), we were all set for a fantastic meal. And since pictures are worth a thousand words:

Grilling action shot! I'm wearing short sleeves, and the sun is out! Woohoo!

Classic Susan pose while grilling! If only the trees had some leaves...

Zucchini and chicken on the grill! My food photography skills are lacking.

Zucchini with some grill lines. I wasn't sure whether I liked the round slices or long slices better, so I made both!

Dinner was fantastic! I highly recommend this recipe. It has a little bit of a bite to it (compliments of a jalapeno and some crushed red pepper), but I really liked it. Great for spring!

GIVEAWAYS!

Check out Carrots 'N' Cake for another Stonyfield Giveaway! You know you want to win this pack...I'm trying to enter as many Stonyfield giveaways as I can find!

Aron over at Runner's Rambles is having an Exercise Anywhere giveaway! I could definitely use some exercise cards in my life!

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Eight Things

Can I just say how much I LOVE runners?? It's been so exciting reading everyone's posts about Boston, whether you ran it, knew someone who ran it, wanted Kara and Ryan to win it, hope to run it next year (!!), or just love to watching people run! People at work have no clue how long a marathon is, let alone that the Boston Marathon was yesterday. I'm not an emotional person by any means, but I was getting teary-eyed when the lead women reached Wellesley, as I listened to the girls screaming...and I was only watching it on TV! It's so awesome how everyone can come together around an event such as the Boston Marathon.

Loooong day at work today. I opened at 5:30 (the WORST part about my job...I am NOT a morning person!), and we were slow in the morning which makes the day seem really long. Luckily it picked up at lunch, but I was tired when I got home! I only had a four mile run today, which I thought about putting off until tomorrow. However, running today meant total rest tomorrow, which would be nice, so I just got it out of the way today. Of course, our weather has been terrrible lately, so it was 40, windy, and drizzling when I ran. It actually wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be (did I just say that??), minus almost getting hit by eight million cars. That's what I get for running around the local community college with a bunch of nineteen year old drivers, I suppose.

Tuesday, April 21
4.13 miles in 32:25, avg pace of 7:51

I took the first two miles easy, running about eight minute miles before naturally speeding up to about 7:45. Still under control, which is a good sign since I can easily speed up to a much faster pace without noticing. Continuing to take it easy with eleven days until the marathon! Crazy.

Time to watch the Biggest Loser, but not until after this little survey, compliments of Mica!

8 Things to which I am looking forward

1. The Wisconsin Marathon on May 2
2. Starting my career as a nurse...hopefully soon!
3. SUMMER!
4. Dinner. (Always.)
5. Having the day off tomorrow!
6. Watching the Biggest Loser
7. Seeing the Rocket Scientist on May 1 (such a supportive boyfriend!)
8. Baseball season! Go Cubbies!
   

8 Things I did yesterday

1. Watched the Boston Marathon on TV!
   
2. Registered for the marathon on May 2...haha
   
3. Freaked out about the possibility of being a real nurse and moving
   
4. Applied to six more jobs (total: 108 jobs applied for...please don't tell me about the nursing shortage!)
   
5. Ate wayyyy too many M&M's
6. Chased down a customer who ordered food to go, but I forgot to give them their fruit cup
   
7. Ran six miles!
   
8. Put away my laundry. (So exciting)
   

8 Things I wish I could do/I want to do

1. Speak Spanish. (Note: I took seven years of German. Look where that got me?)
   
2. Run Boston!
   
3. GET A JOB. PLEASE.
   
4. Be more outgoing. I'm super shy, in general.
   
5. Figure out what I want to do in life.
   
6. Travel the world!!
   
7. Like oatmeal. I don't think it's going to happen.
   
8. Go back to college. Like back in time.
   

8 Shows I watch

1. ER (RIP)
   
2. Gilmore Girls (RIP)
   
3. The Biggest Loser
   
4. The Bachelor/Bachelorette
   
5. Greek
6. The Real World (depending on the season)
   
7. Jon and Katie Plus Eight/18 Kids and Counting/Big People Little World/any reality show on TLC
   
8. America's Next Top Model (which makes me wish I had long legs...)

That's all for now! Time to watch people sweat on The Biggest Loser! Read More......

Marathon Monday!

You know you're a running nerd when you get excited about watching a marathon on TV. I woke up this morning in time to watch Boston on the video feed, but it wasn't working...seemed to be a common theme for many people. We have one of those super random TV packages, so I searched the channels, hoping to find some marathon coverage. I found it on a channel I'd never heard of before, and I got to watch all the live coverage! The sad part was that I had to leave for work when the lead women were around mile 21, so I didn't get to see the exciting finish! I watched a video on youtube (what a glorious invention) when I got home, but I really wanted to know what happened! It boggles my mind that a 26.2 mile race can be won by a second. My heart sank when Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall didn't win, but it's so awesome that two Americans were in the top three! I thoroughly enjoyed how the commentators kept saying how slow the women's race was. I wish 6:10 was a slow marathon pace for me! Watching the Boston Marathon got me REALLY excited for the possibility of running it next year.

Knock on wood.

In the spirit of Marathon Monday, I actually registered for the Wisconsin Marathon today. Twelve days until race day! I can't quite comprehend that since I never really came to terms with the fact that I was switching my marathon from Delaware to Wisconsin. I guess that's good for taper madness, as I didn't really think about it at all last week. Don't worry, once we hit the ten day mark, I will become weather obsessed and check the weather report every hour, on the hour. We've been hitting at least three of the four seasons per day here for the past few days, so hopefully it will pick one before marathon day, or at least stick to two of the four. Six miles today in the sun/clouds/wind/rain...Mother Nature needs to stop being so finicky!

Monday, April 20
6.06 miles in 45:59, avg pace of 7:35

I ran past the high school girls track team, which I think was a bit confusing for them because I was wearing one of my high school track shirts from back in the day. I'm going to put this in writing so I can follow through on it...This was my LAST speedy run before the marathon. I always tend to pick it up in my runs when I'm feeling good (which is quite often), but I need to rest before the marathon. No more sub-7 miles!

Twelve days til marathon day....yikessssss.
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Rocket Scientist Weekend

Fun weekend with the boyfriend! I'm thinking I'm going to call him The Rocket Scientist instead of "the boyfriend" because:

1) He is a rocket scientist (degree in aerospace engineering!)
2) He's working on becoming Dr. Rocket Scientist (in PhD form).
3) It's fun to call him a rocket scientist.

Done and done.

Anyway, The Rocket Scientist landed on Friday night, and the exciting part was that I got to call 911 on the way to the airport! There was a car on fire on the side of the highway...we're talking smoke and GIANT flames and all that jazz. I'm sure eight million people had already called, but you never know so I called them anyway. 911 said that people were already on the way, but I felt like I did my duty in reporting it anyway. For the rest of the evening, we pretty much just hung out and talked and stuff because we're such exciting people. Our conversations tend to be about running (where I talk about whatever I've been reading about lately, and he tells me I spend too much time reading about random running stuff), whatever he is doing in lab (combustion stuff that I don't understand, no matter how often he explains it to me), or what I should do with my life (this has yet to be solved). I'm not really a fan of talking on the phone/online (although I should be with the whole long distance relationship thing, but whatever), so basically we just babble for hours. It works. We went out for ice cream (Oberweis, yum!) and babbled some more until we were old and tired and went to bed at 11. Excellent.

Saturday was an AMAZING day in Chicagoland. It was partly sunny with a high in the 70's! So good, except for running, yikes! We had twelve miles on the docket:

Saturday, April 18
12.11 miles in 1:36:05, avg pace of 7:56

Do not be fooled by the pace on this run...it was killer!! We started off in shorts and tank tops, then we ditched our tops after two miles because it was sooo toasty outside! The sun came out and it was hot! Since it was only twelve miles, we figured we didn't need to put out water, and I had high hopes that the water fountains would be turned on. We hit the first water fountain around mile six, and we were parched! However, the water fountains aren't on yet. My hopes and dreams were shattered, and I almost cried, but of course I had no water in my body to shed a tear. (End drama.) The first six miles of the run weren't too bad, but the last six were not fun. The Rocket Scientist's (so fun to say!) back was hurting him, and so we had multiple stops where he stretched a little while I rubbed his back. We eventually finished, but it was not a good confidence booster as my last double digit run before the marathon!

After rehydrating and enjoying a fantastic lunch, we watched the Cubs beat the Cardinals in extra innings (from my couch, although I thought about getting last minute tickets...). The evening was spent watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall and drinking beer with some friends. Funny movie, if you've never seen it!

This morning was a complete turnaround from yesterday! Rainy and in the 40's. That's what I get for complaining about a hot run, I suppose, but my body is definitely not used to running in anything above 40 degrees! I had a short four miles today, but The Rocket Scientist had six, so I let him wander my neighborhood for a little bit after we did the first four together.

Sunday, April 19
4.01 miles in 31:50, avg pace of 7:56

Same pace as yesterday, but felt MUCH better. Here's to hoping the marathon isn't super warm. We headed over to my place of work for breakfast, which is always fun because everyone wants to say hi to the boy that they always hear about (...they refer to him as the guy who is kidnapping me to New Jersey. Details.), and the food is good! I had some blackberry-banana pancakes, sausage links, and potatoes, while he had a red pepper, green pepper, onion, and Cajun sausage frittata. So good!

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading the newspaper (I LOVE the Sunday paper) and watching cop chases on TV. The weekend went SO fast, and he's back off to New Jersey. We semi-officially decided that I'm going to do the Wisconsin Marathon on May 2, and being the awesome boyfriend that he is, he wants to come watch, so I should see him in a short two weeks! Now I just need to register...and get a hotel...

SO EXCITED for the Boston Marathon tomorrow! I'm going to be watching online until I have to head to work, which should be perfectly timed for me to miss the elites finish. Go Kara! Go Ryan!

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend...which it already sounds like from the blogs I've caught up on!
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Fly by posting!

Super excited for today!! It is SEVENTY degrees outside, which I haven't seen in at least six or seven months. We don't do transitions too well here in Chicago...it's either 30 degrees or 70, but no 50's or anything in the middle. I was going to run before work today (didn't have to go in until 11), but it was only 45 degrees when I woke up, and I wanted to take advantage of the heat wave this afternoon. I ran in shorts and a sports top (tank top type thing?) and I was SWEATING when I was done. After only four miles! I know I sweat all winter while running, but there's something different about actually being sweaty and seeing it on your skin! I've missed it.

Friday, April 17
4.04 miles in 28:41, avg pace of 7:06

Sooooo I was flying because I wanted to squeeze in my run between getting home from work and having to pick my mom up from work (one of our cars died a couple weeks ago...fun!). The phone was ringing as I walked in the door, so that was perfect timing. I've been hustling around, showering, and doing some final cleaning before I leave to pick up my boyfriend up at the airport! He lands in about twenty minutes, so I wanted to say hi before I jet (anyone noting all my flying references?? hahah I at least make myself laugh, if no one else!) off to the airport to pick him up. He's only here until Sunday evening, but tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous, so we'll be able to get a nice long run in together. Yay!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, whatever your plans may be, and since I might not get a chance, GOOD LUCK to those running Boston on Monday, especially The Running Laminator and Frayed Laces! You guys are going to rock Boston!!
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TIaRT: Running Blogs

My first Take It and Run Thursday from Runners Lounge! This week's theme is Running Blogs: How and Why?

I'm fairly new to the running blog world, as I started about four months ago, and some people have been around for years! I'm not a blogging newbie, as I had a livejournal in college, where I loved being a part of various communities (running, medical, nursing, food, cupcakes, etc). It was fun to read about other people's running questions, race reports, and daily adventures in running, and I liked to share what I did in life with other people as well. Most of my readers were just friends who happened to know that I had the LJ (I didn't even call it a blog!), but it was still fun because, um, who doesn't like to talk about themselves?? I was introduced to the blogging community outside of livejournal when I stumbled across the Runner's World forums and people had links to their blogs in their signatures. What do runners like to do when they're not running? Talk about running! So of course I thought it was awesome that people posted about their daily runs, what food they eat, what races they ran, etc.

After reading blogs for a couple years (and spotting some bloggers at the Chicago Marathon...I felt like I "knew" them!), I decided to start my own. I wasn't quite sure people would be all that interested in my running, but I like to read about other people's adventures, so I figured people would like to read about mine! That, and I was really excited to join the running blog community. After reading some blogs for awhile, I realized how supportive (and awesome!) it must be to "know" runners around the country (and world!). I wanted to get to know these people who I've been reading about! Although I've only been in the running blog world for a short time, it's been amazing! I've learned about recovery socks and new foods (Greek yogurt...green smoothies...more bars than you would ever imagine), wallowed about the weather/been envious of people in other parts of the country, and started to connect with other runners, getting excited to see how their training pays off in races. Marathons/races are started to come up, and it will be so fun to read races reports from people who I've been following. Also, it's exciting to have people comment and realize that other people are listening to you and care about your running.

I'm sooo glad to be a part of the running blog community, and I hope I can contribute my part to this great group of runners!

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Rest day for me! The weather is always AWESOME on my rest days, it makes me think I should take them more often so the weather will be gorgeous all the time! But I guess I'll keep on running...

The boyfriend arrives for a weekend visit tomorrow! No plans yet, other than heading to my place of work to get some pancakes! Yummy. :)

GIVEAWAY!

Another Stonyfield Farm giveaway over at Hangry Pants! Check it out!
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Overheard While Running

This post will be the continuation of my "Overheard While Running" theme, where I share, um, things overheard while running. (I'm so creative, right?) Anyway, the first installment can be found here, and the second is as follows:

I was running one of my usual routes today, and I ran by two elementary school age girls playing outside in their front yard. (Note: It's almost 60 here...people are leaving their homes for reasons other than work, school, or the grocery store.) As I ran by, one of the girls yelled, "Soup for two dollars!! Want some soup?? Two dollars!" This seemed a bit odd, as I've never been offered soup while running. Lemonade, yes. Beer, yes. (That's what I get for running by frat houses.) Soup, no. Lo and behold, the girl was holding a can of soup in her hand. Why anyone, especially someone who is clearly without cash, would want to buy soup from a random house is beyond me. But I've learned throughout the years to not question the logic of eight year olds.

You would think the story would end here, but oh no no no. On my return trip (out-and-backs are my favorite runs), I ran past the same girls. The one girl yelled to the other girl, "Don't bother, she's the one who didn't buy the soup." It sounds as though they had many people take them up on their offer, although I don't quite think that was the case. At any rate, it sounds like the soup stand is now the new lemonade stand.

Run for the day:

Wednesday, April 15 (Happy Tax Day to the accountants of the world!)
5.07 miles in 37:36, avg pace of 7:25

It is GLORIOUS outside, which I know I say whenever I can wear shorts, but it really is. Sunny and in the high 50's...life is good. Still deciding about the marathons, but luckily the random step back week and taper week number one are quite similar, so I'm buying myself some more time. A decision should be made this weekend...especially since I'm hoping to know more about the job situation this week too.

I can't deal with all these decisions, or the implications of decisions actually being made. Marathon? Two marathons? Moving? Actually being a nurse??? I'm predicting an impending freak out.

Let's distract ourselves with some giveaways:

Julie GoLean is hosting a Kernel Seasons giveaway! Yummmm popcorn!

The Fitnessista is hosting a Stonyfield giveaway! This looks amazing!
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Decisions and Testudo Pumpkin!

I woke up a little earlier today than usual (around 7:15) because I wanted to get my run in before work, and I’ve found that I like eating before running, so I needed to digest a little first!  It’s a good thing I woke up when I did because our neighbors are having their driveway replaced, and the workers showed up at 7:30 to start chiseling away the driveway!  Since I can’t sleep through anything (really…breathe too loud and you will wake me up), I’m glad I didn’t have plans to sleep in today.  It reminded me of college when the garbage men would empty the dumpsters outside my dorm at 6:30 in the morning, or when they were doing construction outside my window at the same time.  6:30 in the morning on a college campus??  Are you crazy??  People are sleeping!  Anyway, I survived.

Eight miles on the docket for today.  It was supposed to rain all day, but it held off…must be my good luck holding over from yesterday!  It’s still cloudy, grey, windy-ish, and in the high 30’s, so it’s kind of a blah day.  The sun is supposed to show up tomorrow, so hip hip hooray for that!  I totally wasn’t feeling the run because it was gross outside, but things turned around once I got going.

Tuesday, April 14
8.03 miles in 59:51, avg pace of 7:27

Nothing too exciting, but it was nice to have some pep in my step during the second half of the run.  I’m just waiting for the day to come when I can retire my tights for the summer…

You may remember my little dilemma over which marathon to run, and I still haven’t come to a conclusion yet!  Boyfriend’s shins are feeling better, but he got sick at the end of last week, so he missed the planned 20 miler.  Boo!  I’m still nervous about doing the Delaware Marathon because I don’t know about the job situation (yet!  ugh), and it might be warm on that day.  The Wisconsin Marathon would be in its first year, and it’s SO SOON, but I’d start tapering this week and it would be fine.  I tried to discuss the situation with the boy, and he’s realllllly set on running a marathon together.  I guess he doesn’t care what kind of time we run, since he ran his first in 3:23, and I don’t really plan on running faster than that.  He just wants to do one side-by-side.  (Which is fine, but the Delaware Marathon??  If I knew he wanted to do one just “for fun,” we could have picked a much more exciting marathon.  But I digress.)

My maybe-possibly-I-could-be-crazy plan is as follows:  Do the Wisconsin Marathon on May 2, and run for my BQ (fingers crossed!  knock on wood!).  Then, on May 17, run the Delaware Marathon with the boy and therefore earn my spot as a Marathon Maniac.  I have zero experience with running two marathons in the same year, let alone the same month, but if we’re just going to do a marathon for fun, then why not?  My legs have felt pretty good after my 20 milers, and while I know there’s a huge difference between 20 miles and 26.2 miles, I would like to think that my recovery wouldn’t be miserable between the two.

Thoughts??

Last, but certainly not least, here’s my work of art circa Halloween 2007.  Testudo Pumpkin!!
 
I did them both on the same pumpkin, just a little offset from each other.  The top one is the old school mascot, and the second one is the more recent mascot.  I love my Terps!!

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Rain, rain, go away!

It's raining here again in Chicago, and it's looking like that's going to be the theme of the week! Rain tomorrow, sunny for a few days, then rain this weekend. FUN. Good thing my dad just found three umbrellas in the back of one of our cars.

I definitely had a good weekend! Saturday was spent wedding dress shopping with one of my friends from high school. We have different tastes in what we think is pretty, so I tried to judge what she liked and based my comments on that. I didn't want to insult her FAVORITE dress, but if I thought it didn't look great, I found a nice way to say it. Her mom and another one of our friends from high school came long too, so she could get a bunch of different opinions. I think this is her favorite so far:

That's the model from David's Bridal, not my friend! I'm not sure how I feel about the red on a wedding dress...it's not something I would do, but more power to you if that's what you want. The dress also comes in white-on-white, but of course they don't have a sample or pictures of it, so you'd have to order it to see if you liked it. That seems a bit troublesome for your wedding dress! There's another dress in the running, but I can't find a picture of it, and she's going to look at other stores as well. They haven't set a wedding date yet, so no pressure yet. After dress shopping, we headed back to her house and played Guitar Hero/Rock Band (which I am MISERABLE at) and then watched The Ten Commandments. Such. A. Long. Movie. Oh my goodness.

Sunday was Easter! We thought we would be crazy busy at work, but that wasn't the case! Lots of big parties, but with eight servers working, it really wasn't that busy. And people didn't tip well! It's Easter people, be nice! Oh well. We colored Easter eggs later that evening when my sister and her roommates came over. Since I like to relate everything to my love for Maryland (note my graduation cap in the header of the site), I had to make a Maryland egg! Here's how it turned out:

Not exactly a masterpiece, but it's hard to recreate a flag on an egg, especially when working with crayons. The cross-type thing should really be red and white, but let's not get too picky. Maybe tomorrow I'll post my Testudo pumpkin, which really was something special!

We followed egg decorating with Easter dinner, complete with ham, CHEESEY POTATOES!!, green beans, orange jello, and rolls. Oh, and of course pie! French Silk, naturally. Guess what I'm having for dessert the rest of the week??

So, fun weekend overall! I started this week off with an easy five mile run, luckily before the rain hit! It was a bit chilly and I knew the rain was coming, so I kept bargaining/pleading in my head. "Okay, PLEASE don't rain until the last two miles." "No no, last mile." "Okay, I could handle the last few minutes." Something must have worked because it only misted for about a minute, but started raining on my way to work! Good timing. The run was nothing too exciting, just a quick five.

Monday, April 13
5.08 miles in 40:43, avg pace of 8:01

Cubbies win!!! Home opener today, but I'm glad I wasn't there because baseball games in cold and rain are the epitome of misery. Not that I would know from experience or anything...

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