Spectating - Run For Runaways 5K

At some point this week, I'd like to get to the several thousands of blog posts I have missed over the past 2 weeks, as my insane work schedule continues.

But for now, here are some pics from the Run For Runaways 5K at Duke Island Park on Saturday. DH and I ran this race last year, and that is where we met Glenn, who has since become my weekend running buddy. This time, I was there to spectate and to cheer Glenn as he shattered his PR...just one week before he is due to run a marathon. Go Glenn!

Stretching is oh-so important before a race

The course was 2 loops around the park.

The leader of the pack...

The first woman, not far behind...

Glenn and his pace bunny

I didn't have time to stick around for the awards ceremony...

...but it was mighty nice of the organizers to allow spectators to partake of the post-race hotdogs and burgers.

Glenn came in at 24:46, a PR of more than a minute, after setting a modest goal of 27 minutes. At least I'm not the only one way off base at estimating race performance!

Last week's runs:

Monday: 4 miles

Tuesday: 7 miles

Thursday: 10 miles

Friday: 4 miles

Saturday: 5 miles

Feeding the heart

I am seldom as consistent in the kitchen as I am (or try to be) with running. I do spend an hour in the kitchen every week, cooking up dishes to last for a few days, while DH and I plod through our work week. But they are the same few recipes, repeated over and over to the point of boredom. When I increase my weekly running mileage however, I tend to get hungrier, which leads me to furious recipe-hunting on interesting foodie blogs, followed by a dedicated hour of cooking. The result is usually of a far superior quality than the normal fare. Like anything else, when you put your heart into cooking, the result is delicious. I had one of these moments of perfection yesterday. I soared to the absolute heights of culinary glory, even if I say so myself (pausing to take a bow).

I borrowed this Kerala Chicken Fry recipe from So I married a Meat-a-holic. I must admit, the name was what attracted me to this blog in the first place; but I found out the recipes are just as alluring. I added a bit more gravy, pressure cooked the chicken for a couple of minutes and changed the recipe to Kerala Chicken curry. (Kerala is a state in Southern India, home to some of my favorite dishes). The recipe called for a small quantity of different ground spices and coriander leaves. As the chicken was stewing in its juices and the gravy was getting cooked, the aroma that arose from it made my kitchen smell like a classy Indian restaurant. Though the picture I hurriedly clicked before I dug my teeth into the end product is nowhere near as appealing as the original, the taste more than made up for it. In fact, I discovered that whoever said The way to a man's heart is through his stomach (the shortest road to a man's heart is down his throat?) was not kidding. DH was the most doting husband in the world last night.

Today, I followed it up with Brown rice and Garlic Asparagus with Lemon. As you can probably see from both pics, I am a big fan of the red onion. If the recipe calls for yellow onions, I use red onions. If the recipe calls for shallots, I substitute red onions for the shallots. If the recipe calls for anything resembling an onion, I throw in a red onion instead.

Directions
Melt butter (1 teaspoon) with olive oil (1 tablespoon) in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic (1 clove) and onion (1 medium), and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in asparagus spears
(1 bunch); cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Squeeze lemon (1/2) over hot asparagus, and season with salt and pepper.

The result, while not as dramatic as the chicken curry, is also excellent for the heart.

My foot was throbbing just a little last night, so instead of a 6-mile run, I worked out at the gym this morning (20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes swimming and 5 minutes at the rowing machine). I couldn't spend more time at the gym because I had to get to work. I can never figure out how 45 minutes at the gym eats up 3 hours out of my day!

Jockey Hollow "Hill" Run

Hope your weekend was enjoyable. I spent Saturday in Philadelphia, visiting a friend. Driving home late at night, I was caught in a torrential downpour and my little Hyundai Accent hydroplaned several times, while I watched helplessly. For more than an hour, the rain came down so fast, everything in front of me was a blur. I had to pull over to the side of the road and wait. Thankfully, no accidents happened.

Sunday was gorgeous after the rain cleared, and Glenn and I decided to go through with our planned 6-mile run at the historical Jockey Hollow Park. We were advised not to run the trails (more like swamps, after the night's downpour), but the roads were nice enough...we didn't come across too many people and hardly any vehicles. We ran/walked some pretty steep hills and sprinted a couple of times. This run was great...I could feel a huge improvement over last week's rusty runs. I was even game for some friendly competition, when Glenn broke into a sprint every once in a while.

Here are some pretty fall pics from the run.

Glenn ran part of the route after we were done, so I could get pics that would show the steep hills. I am a little disappointed the pics don't capture the gradient of the slopes so well...they seemed awfully steep when we ran!

I also got a few lovely pics of our neighborhood at sunset...sigh! Fall is such a beautiful time.

I turned in a decent 28 miles last week, apart from some biking and core work.

Tuesday (am): 6 miles

Wednesday (am): 5 miles

Thursday (am): 5 miles

Friday (pm): 6 miles

Sunday (am): 6 miles

I am ambivalent about races right now. Everytime I set my sights on a specific running goal, I seem to hurt myself somewhere in the process. I am just thankful I am able to run, and I am starting to enjoy hills, am loving the fall colors and am definitely hoping to stay uninjured. As for races...who knows? Maybe next year? We'll see.

You have got to check out Mel's Brooks giveaway and support Breast Cancer awareness...amazing stuff.