first track practice

Today was the first track workout of the season, and with little surprise, it kicked my butt. My leg muscles have been really tight recently. So tight, in fact, that I went home and iced them after practice, and during practice I felt like my legs just wouldn't move. I'm not sure what the deal is. If you have insights, leave a comment and let me know! The workout itself was one of my favorites--6 x 400m. I ran each 400 between 1:37 and 1:50. Big range, I know. I blame the fast early intervals on peer pressure. :)

71.4 + 3 = 74.4 miles

Before practice, Meg (who, thank goodness, has some time off from work) and I went to Body & Sole so I could get some new shoes. Here's a recap: we walked in and a sales person greeted us. I held up my old shoes and said "I need a new pair of these." He got said pair of shoes from the back. As we were waiting for him, I thought I might check out some other shoes just in case there was something else great out there. So when he came back I said, pointing at Meg, "she has these shoes now, but before she had these she had Saucony's and liked them better. I thought maybe I should try on a pair and see if I like them better, too." The sales person laughed (a habitual, nervous sort of laugh) and said, "Oh, I thought you were starting a story of something she wanted to say and you were just going to speak for her and not let her talk." A few minutes later he said that one of us smelled nice. The whole interaction was vaguely awkward. However, my new shoes are in much nicer colors than my old ones. They're shiny, and that makes me happy.

All over the place

I am waaaaaay behind on updating miles. Here's the update:
Monday/Tuesday = 6.0 miles
Thursday = 2.0 miles
Saturday = 3.7
today = 2.4
Total = 14.1
57.3 + 14.1 = 71.4 miles

Otherwise, things have been up and down here. My aunt (Mom's sister) died in a car accident on May 16. I made the trip to Pennsylvania sans husband and baby. I wanted to be there for my Mom and family. My brother also made the trip from Michigan. It was really nice to see my cousins, but of course we all wished it could have been under better circumstances.

This weekend my brother, sister-in-law, and niece came to visit to celebrate Elliot's birthday and hang out. It was a weekend filled with good food and good company. We had a batch of the filled pancakes in my new pan, dinners of tri-meat kabobs, homemade pizzas with beer crust and great toppings, and chicken oro bianco. I also made cupcakes for Elliot's birthday. We went shopping, stayed up late playing games, and hung out. I bought a shirt over my sister-in-laws objections (it was fun!). Dan, for funsies, changed my homepage to the Youtube video for my least favorite song on the planet just before he left. We had a good time.

miles and the jogging stroller

51.6 + 5.7 = 57.3 miles

Two of the 5.7 new miles were spent pushing my 21 lb. son in a jogging stroller. I had imaged this would be easy. Not so much. If you ever want a great arm workout while running, give it a try! He seemed to enjoy going for a run with me, and I was glad to try it out. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the people who do races while pushing their handicapped/sick children. They always inspired me, but now to a whole new level.

100th post & Mothers Day

My running-themed blog has hit a mile marker--it's 100th post! I honestly wasn't sure blogging would be a good format for me, but it's turned out to be a nice way to record and share things, running and otherwise.

I mostly wanted to write about my first Mothers Day with a baby breathing outside air (I was enormously pregnant last Mothers Day). It was a perfect day, all around. My husband let me sleep in, which is pure luxury these days. I woke up at 8 to eat breakfast, then went back to sleep until 9 or so. I got up and went to church, then came home and started making a huge brunch to share with my boys and our friends K and N. While I was cooking, B brought me these flowers, because he's wonderful. Both he and Elliot gave me cards, too. Elliot even adorably signed his card (with help from Dad).

For brunch we had sausage, hash browns, toast, fruit, and filled pancakes made in my new pancake pan. I saw this in a catalog a while ago and really wanted it, so B bought it for me for my birthday. A picture of the first batch is below. As you can see a few are a bit darker than is probably optimal, so I need to refine my technique a bit. That aside, I loved them. We filled them with blueberries, chocolate chips, peanut butter, pb & chocolate chips, and blueberries & chocolate chips. Making them is a bit more involved that I'd envisioned, but not difficult. I don't really like pancakes and I loved these. As my husband's family says, they're a "be back." After lunch we played frisbee outside for a good long while. It was perfect weather, enjoyed pleasantly with good food and friends. What else could I ask for?

And before I forget, mileage update: 48.6 + 3 = 51.6

starting a new season

Today was officially the start of training for Chicago. It was a great morning for it--cool, no rain. As I ran the 3.7 mile course, I remembered that it made 5 runs since I updated miles on here. So, before I forget again,

33.9 + 14.7 = 48.6

Still not a lot of miles for the year, but it will go up quickly over the next few months.

It's a good thing I like to run...

I'll just say it without introduction--I love to bake. I love to watch baked goods come together in my kitchen, knowing that lesser products are bought much more expensively every day at grocery store bakeries. I love the smell of freshly baked bread. I love knowing what's in my bread. I love sweets (hence the title of this post). I love it all. I've tried a few new recipes recently and have enjoyed them so much I decided to share.

Up first is cinnamon raisin swirl bread, from Betty Crocker's Bridal Edition Cookbook. I initially made it at my husband's request. After I saw the first loaf though, I fell for it. Here's a picture of the current loaf.

One of my best friends and I both had birthdays in the last two weeks. We always celebrate together, but she was out of town visiting her family this year, so we postponed until tonight. To celebrate, we and our husbands decided to go out for dinner then have a homemade dessert from the cookbook she gave me for Christmas. We chose "Vanilla bean with white chocolate buttercream." I learned SO much about cake baking from this recipe. It calls for a vanilla bean, which I had never used. The recipe calls for three 8" layers, but no one owns 8" cake pans, so I adjusted the recipe to use 9" pans. Also, the icing follows a recipe with several elements I'd never seen before. It took three trips to the store and several hours of baking (some with assistance from my husband) to get it right. In short, it took some commitment. Like most things, it will be much easier the second time around. My husband insists that I tell you how good the cake was, to clarify that it was well worth the effort. And well...I was pleased. So, here is the 2009 birthday cake: