Hello readers!
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! I know I did! :) I know I'm a bad blogger for not posting about Saturday ON Saturday, but I am out of town and it's been tough having internet access.
Yesterday, I woke up bright and early (but not exactly bright-eyed and bushytailed) so that I could get to my 6am running group. When I attended the first training run of the season two Saturdays ago, to my dismay I realized that there were NO bathrooms by our meeting point. This is a problem because as all athletes know, hydration is crucial, especially when you are running long distances and especially when you are in hot and humid Chi-town!!! I also NEED my morning coffee on those 5am days - for the mental boost it gives me, and also, some recent studies have shown that it can actually help with physical performance, as well.
So, how do you down a cup of coffee and an adequate amount of water and not have to use the bathroom, you ask? After pondering this and some of life's other profound questions, I decided to: heat up a couple tablespoons of water, stir in my instant coffee, and chill in the fridge overnight. Then, in the morning, add a splash of soy milk, and there you have it: instant, chilled espresso shot! Ok that was an insanely long paragraph about an espresso shot haha, and for that I apologize. But it really was a great idea, you have to admit ;)
ANYHOO, it ended up being another good run - thank goodness since my last short run was so discouraging due to the heat. I ended up switching into a slighter faster pace group, and I felt a lot more comfortable at that speed so I was happy about that. All of the runners I've met so far have been very cool people, as runners tend to be! :)
After I got back to the condo, I made some waffles for Mike (drizzled with leftover melted walnut brittle - which is essentially walnuts in a caramel sauce mmmmm) - but I just stuck with a Green Monster.
We headed for Indiana, and for lunch at my parent's house I had an awesome caprese sandwich. I LOVE the combo of tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozz together with a bit of EVOO, balsamic, S & P - you really can't beat it! I also had some raspberries on the side. Sheesh, I feel so lame talking about food without showing pictures of it haha, but Saturday was quite a busy day as far as eating goes, so I'll keep talking....
Went to the wedding ceremony which was gorgeous - I've never heard of the color combo of lime green and deep purple, but together it looked very cool and Katie looked gorgeous! It was a full Catholic mass, and afterward we went back home to kill time before the reception.
...and began the process of stretching our stomachs for what was to come.... meaning I had a sip of a bloody Mary but decided it was entirely too boozey and too spicy for me, and then to get rid of the spicy flavor I had FOUR chocolate covered cherries. At least they were small :) And some blue cheese which was delightful as always.
The wedding was also completely studding. Props to the fam of the bride to putting together such an extravagant event!!! I will post some pix once I can. I had a couple apps, some salad (skipped the bread because I knew I would go crazy during the dessert course.... and I sure came through in this department ;) !!) The vegetarian entree was skewered grilled veggies, with a side of more veggies and some potatoes. I then had FOUR pieces of cake (yes, four seemed to be the magic number of the evening ladies and gentlemen) over the course of the evening. I also had a few drinks, mostly just some white wine and some Bailey's on ice!
After we got back, Mike and I were somehow still hungry, as astonishing as that may seem. Soooo I made him his favorite, "nacho surprise", which of course I helped him eat like any good wife would. I also finished off the night right with some of my Grandma's homemade cookies.... I knew they might not be there by the next morning... so I wanted to grab them while they lasted ;)
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SUNDAY:
I woke up naturally feeling the wrath of the night before - not so much the drinking, but the overindulgence of food!! So I went for an hour walk and did some crunches. I would have loved to gotten in a long, sweaty workout at the gym, but I am not a member at the gym in my parent's town so a walk was the only option (I couldn't run since I ran Saturday, and try not to run back-to-back days).
For breakfast, I made a GM, and then made a HUGE batch of guacamole for my lunch today, and also so that I would have enough for tomorrow. I snacked on some of the guac and some red pepper spears while driving with my mom to my grandparent's house, who live about an hour away. We visited my grandmother in the nursing home for a bit - my grandma is having a hard time dealing with having to be away from her house, husband, and cat, but overall she seems to be much healthier thankfully! Here are some pix I found on my grandparent's computer: these were on Thanksgiving of 07 when Mike and I first told my grandparents that we were engaged!!
My grandpa and I left the nursing home to go to my FAVORITE restaurant of all time, The Olive Garden. Ok, ok, I know there is better food out there in the world, but I have loved the OG since I was little and I am always a happy girl to go there! :-) My grandpa and I split an app of stuffed mushrooms (his choosing). They were good, but doused in butter so I just had two tiny ones. We both got the unlimited soup-salad-breadsticks deal, which I took FULL advantage of. I gave my grandpa my soup, only had one breadstick, but had 4-5 bowls of salad!! That stuff is truly like crack. I think the teenage waiter was a bit scared of my voracious appetite for their salad!
Gpa and I headed back to the nursing home for a bit, and now we are back at his house for the night. I am going to be staying with him for a couple days, and I don't have the ability to connect my camera to his comp and don't have wireless for my laptop, which is why I won't be putting any pix up today or tomorrow.
I truly apologize for this because I know you guys like to see pix! However, please bear with me and keep checking back :) I promise to get back to my normal schedule on Tuesday or Wednesday!
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Also, tomorrow don't forget to come back tomorrow for my first posting of the Marathon Monday series!!! :)
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P.S. I REALLY, really want an iPhone!!! I'm desperate to have the wireless internet function wherever I go.
I'm also not happy with the clarity of my camera photos, and I'm hoping the iPhone pix will turn out better. The main features that I want are the camera, wireless internet capability, and a GPS function, which I assume it has.
I haven't done much research yet about this but I think there are a few different types of iPhones out there now - do any of you have one? Which one? Would you recommend it? I'd love to hear some feedback from you guys! Thanks! :)
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