Category Archives: Running

Thanksgiving in STL

Daily Life!, Running, , , , ,

Happy Monday! And Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I didn’t catch a second to check-in over the long holiday weekend, but I’m finally back in action!

My Thanksgiving in St. Louis was so much fun and jam-packed. I was ready to come home just so I could get a whole night’s rest! I also ate way too much and kinda feel like a stuffed turkey this morning. Is anyone else out there feeling extra fluffy today? I’m sure it’s a common theme around the nation. Luckily, I got to start my morning with a Jazzercise class followed by a light breakfast once I got to work.

Tis the season!
Tis the season!

My Luna bar was extra healthy and festive for my breakfast. Win! I paired this with Greek yogurt and an apple + all my little vitamins. I’m determined to get back on track this week!

Gobble Gobble 5K

Nick and I arrived in St. Louis late on Wednesday evening. We had a quick dinner with his parents before I headed to bed. We had an early morning turkey trot to rest up for!

photo(53)We were so sleepy! The Gobble Gobble 5K took place in Arnold City Park, and it was a packed event. They said around 1,200 people were registered for the run, and Nick and I spent most of the race dodging around other runners.

Nick’s mom came along to cheer us on and take some pre-race photos.

image(19) image(18)Do you like my turkey hat?! It’s awkward fantastic, I know. 🙂  I tied the legs underneath my chin, and that sucker stayed on the whole time!

We finished in around 29 minutes, which wasn’t terrible due to the overwhelming crowd. Plus, we weren’t trying to break any records here. Just something to do for fun before we start gorging ourselves at Thanksgiving dinner!

We were frozen popsicles by the time the race was over (it was around 20 degrees on a shady course), so Nick’s parents took us to get a hot breakfast at Denney’s.

photo(52)Nick wasn’t too excited about running in the cold, but we still finished strong. And I was thankful for warm food and coffee in my belly!

The rest of our Thanksgiving day was spent cooking and traveling to Nick’s aunt and uncle’s house in downtown St. Louis. His whole family gathered there for a mid-afternoon meal. I helped out in the kitchen most of the day, so everything went unpictured. My bad. But it was the typical turkey dinner with all the fixings. I ate way too much and loved every bite!

A few hours after dinner, we headed back to Arnold to get our game plan on for Black Friday shopping. Most of the stores we wanted to go to started their deals at 6 pm on Thanksgiving night. Nick’s mother is a hardcore Black Friday shopper, and I always go along for the ride.

But more on this later. 🙂  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Ready for Thanksgiving, Round 2

Recipes, Running, , , , ,

Good morning, folks! Sorry I never checked in yesterday. It was a hectic day to say the least, and I taught my normal double-header last night. By the time I made it home at 8 pm, I had enough time to shower and clean up my kitchen (because who wants to leave for vacation with a sink full of dirty dishes?!) before I had to hit the sack. My body basically collapsed into a slight coma as soon as I laid down. But I slept hard, and woke up early to get in my normal Wednesday morning run.

Morning Run

I’ve said this before, and I’m hoping I won’t say it many more times, but this morning’s run was my coldest yet!

photo(2)My other weather app (KY3 weather app) told me it was also 16 degrees, but that the ‘Feels Like’ temp was 6 degrees. Umm BRRRRRR!! I bundled myself up in two bottom layers, a long sleeve cold-weather compression top, my running puffer vest, and my usual ear warmer and gloves. I’m pretty sure I looked about like the Michelin Man this morning running around my neighborhood.

michelin_manYup, that was me. When I stepped out of my front door, it definitely felt like 6 degrees, and it didn’t matter what I was wearing. I was going to be frozen no matter what! Or so I thought. About 3 miles down the road, I started getting too warm and had to take off my gloves. Yup, that is how warm I get when I run. It’s still crazy to me!

I tried to make it to 7 miles in an hour, but I just couldn’t make it today. My legs were too cold, and I made it to 6.93 at the hour mark. Oh well, I almost made it! And more than anything, I was thankful to get this run out of the way before we head off to St. Louis this evening.

And speaking of heading off to STL, my turkey hat is in my suitcase and ready to trot tomorrow morning!

image(10)That’s your sneak peek. 🙂  I’ll have Nick take some wonderful pics of me tomorrow before the race. I’m hoping I can get it to stay on my head!

We’re heading out after work this evening and should be at Nick’s parents house around 8 tonight. Then I’m hoping to get a good night’s rest before our 5K. Sometimes Mac has some issues with getting a full 8 hours of sleep when we travel, but mommy is hoping he will cooperate and sleep in past 5:30!

Cauliflower Salad

And now for a quick and easy salad recipe! As requested by Dede, here is my mom’s cauliflower salad. Just be warned that for a salad, it is nowhere near healthy, and all the measurements aren’t exact. She doesn’t measure one thing when she makes this, so I’m mostly guessing!

photo(33)This is the salad she made for our Thanksgiving dinner last weekend. It’s always a hit around our dinner table, and it’s super convenient to take to parties/gatherings.

You’ll need:

  • 2 bags of romaine lettuce (or enough to almost fill a large serving bowl!)
  • 1 head of cauliflower,  cleaned & chopped into bitesize pieces
  • 1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing (use Light if you prefer)
  • 1.5 cups of crispy cooked bacon, crumbled
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

This salad is put together in the bowl you will serve it in. It’s also assembled in layers, and all you have to do is toss it right before serving!

Begin with the lettuce as your base, and layer the cauliflower evenly across the top of it. Next will be your Miracle Whip. Using a flat spatula, spoon the salad dressing over the top of the cauliflower and spread it out evenly to form a flat layer over the cauliflower. You may need more dressing to get a nice thick layer over the top depending on the size of the bowl you’re using. If you feel like you’re using too much, don’t worry. This salad can turn out too dry if you don’t use enough Miracle Whip!

Next, sprinkle on the bacon evenly, followed by the sugar, and lastly, the paremesan cheese. Since all the ingredient servings are approximate, feel free to use more or less to make it work for you! You can toss the salad immediately to serve, or you can cover it tightly and keep it in the fridge. My mom has kept this salad premade in the fridge for up to 2 days and it was fine. Beyond that, I’m not sure how it will hold up. 🙂

Easy peasy! Enjoy your cooking/traveling/eating these next couple of days. I’ll be right there with you dealing with crazy traffic, stuffed bellies, and too much family time. But remember the real reason for the holiday and everything we have to be thankful for. And maybe, just maybe, these positive thoughts will help us deal with the stress of too many family members in one house. 🙂

Have a great Thanksgiving! I’ll check in as soon as I can – see you then!

Running in the Rain

Food for Thought, Running, , ,

Happy Wednesday! We’ve made it through half the week. Woo! I also saw on Facebook (via Dede!) that it is National Peanut Butter Fudge Day!  Is anyone celebrating? I would love to participate in this random holiday!

Rainy Morning Run

I hope your morning started off a little better than mine did. I didn’t sleep very well, and when my alarm went off at 5 AM, I drug my tired body out of bed to get my running gear on.

When I had checked the forecast last night, there was no rain in site for my morning run. Fantastic! or so I thought…. I even mentioned at Jazzercise last night (2x!) that I was so excited to run in the morning without a chance of rain finally. Well I should’ve kept my mouth shut! When I pulled up my weather app  this morning, there were green blobs all over Springfield. Boo. So I stuck my head out the front door to make a decision. It was still dry as a bone, so I got dressed and headed out anyways.

Less than 5 minutes down the road, and it started raining on me…yuck! It was 40 degrees and windy. This made the light rain pretty unpleasant. I wanted to turn around and go home so bad, but I knew I’d be frustrated if I didn’t try to just stick it out. So I just stayed on my route, and luckily the rain completely stopped by the time I got home. I’m so glad I didn’t turn around! I made it to 7 miles in just under an hour, making the rain seem not so bad. 🙂

photo(32)And with this run out of the way, I’ll be free tonight to get some things done! Laundry first off, a dark walk with Mac, and then lots of other odds and ends as the next few weekends will be spent away from my house.

I may also try to experiment with the massive Sam’s Club-sized bag of fresh cranberries that I bought this weekend. I have about 4 pounds of fresh cranberries ready to be used…somehow.

cranberry-sauce-001This isn’t my picture, but imagine all these small bags being combined into one huge one. And that’s what I have to use up. But luckily they say they freeze well!

I found a recipe for a yummy-sounding Crustless Cranberry pie on allrecipes.com.

photo(33)It looks amazing and is really simple, so I’ll be making this for Thanksgiving at my parent’s house this weekend. But tonight I would love to maybe just experiment with some cookies or bread. There are tons of awesome holiday recipes out there on Pinterest right now, so hopefully one will strike my fancy this evening! Plus after my run this morning, I think a warm cranberry cookie is well deserved.

Have a great evening everyone! See you all tomorrow!