BB to 79th

10 October 2012

Fall weather & Fall food

The long Columbus Day weekend paired with the cool and rainy fall weather inspired me to cook up some fall food.

First I was inspired to make some butternut squash soup. I think this is the first soup I've made from scratch (unless you count chili as soup?). Due to terrible planning I had to stick the soup in the fridge after cooking, before blending and eating, and return to it the next day. I followed a recipe from the Whole Foods Recipe's App. It turned out fine, but not as thick or creamy as I've had before. I ended up adding pumpkin pie spice to living it up. I'm thinking restaurant versions use thick cream or something; this version was celery, onion, carrots, squash, and low sodium chicken broth.

I had a zucchini in my refrigerator that needed used so I decided to make some bread. After first going to the internet I remembered the old time source for recipes... cook books! I figured my family reunion cook book would have a recipe and it did. I followed it pretty closely, but my bread came out really crumbly and not as moist as most versions I've had. Any thoughts on what I did wrong? It is still tasty and will be consumed.

08 October 2012

Run for the Parks 10K

For part two of my two race weekend I headed back to West Potomac Park for the Run for the Parks 10K. I signed up for the Run for the Parks 10K for three main reasons: 1) I had never raced a 10K 2) sweet race swag and 3) proximity to my apartment. And then the additional benefit of helping the parks. With my ankle swelled and sore from the prior day's misstep and this being my first 10K I wasn't sure how the race was going to go.

race swag

I got up at 6 and had oatmeal, coffee, and water while analyzing the weather forecast. Sunday was the first day this fall that didn't make it out of the 50's. Add some rain to the forecast and I wasn't sure what to wear. I ended up deciding on a long sleeve shirt with shorts, which was the right choice during the race. At 7 I added pants and a rain jacket and biked down to the starting line. The only pre race packet pick up was in Tyson's, so the line was pretty long. My friend Jayna was already in line so I joined her and about 15 minutes later we had our numbers and jackets and we moved over to the extremely long bag check line. By the time we finished both lines it was almost race time. A very talented 15 yr old girl from Virginia sang the National Anthem while playing the guitar. And then a minute or two after 8 am we were off!

The course was similar to the 8K I ran a few weeks ago, but with a mile extra. The course is fairly flat and at or below sea level at some places.

As soon as we started running I realized my feet were cold. Luckily we were running and they soon warmed up. I put a brace on my ankle so it was a little extra stiff and I could feel a little uncomfortableness for the first mile. My ankle didn't hold me back and my first mile ended up being my fastest (no surprise here) at 7:56. After the ankle loosened up I started noticing my legs felt a little tired, but kept up the pace for the second mile at 7:57. Around mile 2.5 the lead runners were heading back. I made it to mile 3 maintaining the steady 7:57 pace and after the turnaround entertained myself watching the runners going in for the turn and looking for my friend. I saw her and shouted and waved. Out and backs are fun, because you get to see other runners, but they are also not fun because you know how far you have to go back.

I don't remember anything significant about mile 4, but I slightly slowed down to 8:02. Around the 5th mile I started having a few people pass me and I made a note to focus more on negative splits. Mile 5- 8:05 and an even slower mile 6- 8:09. I was able to kick it for the final .2 miles for a total official time of 49:54. I was very happy with my time for my first 10K, bum ankle and all. Other stats- 78/643 female runners and 22/180 female runners 25-29.

at the finish

Jayna, Washington Monument, and me

After the race I got my water, banana, and granola bar before heading over to get a free consultation on my ankle. Fast Track Physical Therapy was there giving free massages and injury consultations. I figured since there was no way I was going to go to a doctor and since my I sprained my ankle twice in three months that I might as well take advantage of a free consultation. She asked me some questions, felt my ankle asking where it hurt, had me stand and squat on one foot, and had me press against her hand in different ways. Basically once you sprain your ankle once you are screwed because the ligaments once stretched, never go back. I sprained my ankle several times playing high school basketball, including one severe time, so I've been doomed for awhile. However you can build up the muscles to support the ankle, but to learn these secret exercises I have to make an appointment. I liked her though and she didn't yell at me for running the race so I might go visit her.

Dead Man's 5K Run

the awesome shirt

Saturday started out fine. I did some grocery shopping and made butternut squash soup. I failed in not watching the clock very closely and ended up having to stick the soup in the fridge after cooking and before blending so I could dart out the door for touch football practice.

My Mizzou team isn't doing very well, mostly because no one has been able to consistently make it to the games. Practice started out horribly as I was the only one there, but by 2:40 we had 8 and were able to run routes and scrimmage. At the end of practice we were running a few more routes and the quarterback under threw me. I took a few more steps and sprained my ankle... AGAIN. Horrible timing as I had signed up for a 5K race that night and 10K the next day. It was pretty painful at first and I hobbled home with the help of my friend.

Having sprained my ankle a lot in my life I don't have much patience for it. I iced and elevated it for about a half hour, then dug out my ankle brace.

I signed up for the Dead Man's race because it was in a cemetery at dusk in the month of October. Sounded like a fun race. Also I had suggested it to a friend and when he said he registered there was no turning back.

On the way over to the race I still felt like I would probably just walk the race, but once I got there and pinned on my bib, I knew I wanted to try and jog.

ready to run... or walk

getting artsy

It was a smaller race and some people were dressed up in costume. They also had people dressed up as ghosts and goblins around the course and spooky music at the start and finish.

We ended up running together and started out slow. The first quarter of a mile was through the cemetery, but soon we were out on the Anacostia Riverwalk trail that runs along the Anacostia River. We ran south for a bit then back north towards the old RFK stadium for mile 2. We then backtracked towards the graveyard and ran the last quarter mile in the cemetery and finished back by the chapel. We picked up the pace in the last two miles and ended with a 10:28 average pace for a total time of 32:56.

finish line

At the finish line we got bananas, granola, and water and got to mingle with the goblins. It was my slowest 5K in awhile, but a lot of fun (For a good cause! Up keeping the historic cemetery).

03 October 2012

September Recap

I'm pretty sure I skipped an August recap, but I thought I'd check in now that it is October.

Refrain from using the snooze button- Since I finished the Tough Mudder my motivation to work out everyday/twice a day has waned, which has taken my popping out of bed each morning with it. So I must admit I have snoozed a few times in the past few weeks. I also blame the sun for not raising early enough.

Run at least 6 races- I went crazy with races in September

Chilhowee 5K

Tough Mudder

Run! Geek! Run! 8K

Smoothie 5K

My races in September bring my year total to 10, goal met!

Travel somewhere new- I was in Frederick, Maryland for the Tough Mudder and saw some new areas of NE DC with touch football.

New GOAL- My new goal is to be able to do three pull ups in a row. I've been working on this all summer, with little progress. When ever I talked to a boy about pull ups they told me to get an at home pull up bar, so I finally did. Tonight I hung from the bar for awhile and tried hanging in the up position for as long as possible.

gettin' real

02 October 2012

Beerfest and Shopping

Saturday I met up with some ladies to celebrate a friend's birthday at Beerfest at Half Street. The even was hosted by Livingsocial, so there was a little worry it would attract a certain crowd, but turned out to be a lot of fun. There were tons of different types of beers (I focused on pumpkin and fall flavors), food trucks, some games, and a band.

tiny tasting mug

some of the tents before it got crowded

On Sunday I met up with two of my coworkers to check out the Leesburg Outlets. I had to weed through some fake deals, but I think I got some great items. Brown riding boots, green pencil skirt, pearls, and some workout gear.

27 September 2012

National Book Festival

There was a lot going on in DC this last weekend. Fall in DC is almost as enjoyable as Spring in DC, but without all the flowers. I tried to fit in as many festivals as possible, on Saturday I went to the Barracks Row Festival, DC State Fair, and 17th Street Festival. Sunday I decided to check out the National Book Festival, even though all the authors I wanted to see were there on Saturday.

I listened to two authors, Susan Richards Shreve and Justin Torres, in the Fiction tent and will definitely check their books out.