We kicked off Thanksgiving 2011 with a race! We ran Sherwood's Give n' Gobble last year with the fam and loved it, so we signed up again.
Free shirt with canned food donation:
Ready to go burn some Thanksgiving calories:
I ran the 5K last year but wanted to tackle the very hilly 10K this time. Despite the tough course, I barely missed PRing. My pace was off by just 5 seconds per mile. Shoot.
6.23 miles in 1:00:36 - a 9:44-minute mile. I feel great about that!Brad ran the 10K but was under dressed and cold the whole time. His frozen lead legs slowed him down, and he's not happy with his performance. When he woke Friday with a killer head cold, he realized that was holding him back, too. 
Eryn has been training hard and also ran the 10K. She did awesome, especially considering the hills.Mom, Dad, Steve and Donna all walked the 5K and had fun. And we all finished before the rains returned!
The run was fun, and it was great to raise food and funds to feed hungry people in our community. \
But there were some major issues... It's really grown too big for the organization and infrastructure.
Because the weather is poor and the parking is spread out (we overflowed way into the neighborhood), they really need to add a bag check. And where were the goodies this year?? They had food out before the race, but it was mostly gone afterward. You can't eat donuts and then go run - move the food to after, like in every other race.They also need to change the course. It ends on a nice paved, wooded path. But its very narrow and windy. There isn't room for the walkers (some with dogs and strollers!) and the runners. I spent WAY too much energy repeatedly yelling "on your left" while trying to push to the end. I believe that I would have PR'd if I hadn't had to deal with those walkers. Very disappointing.The beginning of the course is far too crowded. They need to have wave starts and clear the roads. The first road is narrow and had cars parked on both sides - not enough room for the people.The other big problem I saw was traffic control. Eryn said she almost got hit by a car! They need volunteers who aren't just cheering but keeping runners safe.We learned after we'd already registered that there was a brand-new Turkey Thon right near our house. We really want to continue the Thanksgiving race tradition and will probably sign up for the Turkey Thon next year instead :)
We have a new addition this year to the THS alternative education department: Craig Ruecker. Not only is he working with at-risk freshmen and sophomores, he's also the head football coach.Coach quickly caught on to the Muffin Wednesday tradition, recently asking me to expand it to Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well. Ha!Despite having no school this Wednesday, Coach wanted muffins. If he won his playoff football game last week, the season would continue and he'd have practice this week. So when the Tigers creamed the Southridge Hawks, I promised pumpkin muffins:
I whipped up the same recipe as last month:1 can pumpkin (14 oz)2 eggs1 1/2 c sugar1 1/2 c oil3 c flour3 t cinnamon (I went a little lighter on this)2 t baking soda2 t baking powder1 t saltPreheat oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin tin.1. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin and eggs. Add the sugar and oil and mix well.2. In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the pumpkin mixture, stirring just until blended.3. Spoon the thick batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes.~~~~~~~~I doubled the recipe and made enough for the whole coaching team - and more. I hope the guys enjoyed the treat :)Go Tigers!
This week's No-TV Tuesday had me running errands, including grocery shopping at a very congested WinCo.Then I lit the fireplace and curled up in the dark with a blanket and my book. By my headlamp's red light, I finished "H" is for Homicide.
This one moved fast, and I loved the surprise ending :)It wasn't yet bedtime, so then I started "I"...:)
We had so much fun on last weekend's date night that we decided to do it again this weekend!We didn't have a solid plan, just a desire to get out and do something. First stop... Bi-Mart to pick up a couple household items. Then to Davidson's for dinner:
Brad likes Davidson's:
I went with the cream of broccoli and fish sandwich:
YUM!Brad got the chicken burrito with chips, salsa and bean dip:
Excellent, as always... and FREE!!!!
While our tummies settled, we went to Home Depot for a couple more items. While Brad was working hard, digging through the pile for the four perfect fence boards...
I was taking pictures of myself...
Next up was froyo. Last weekend we used a 2-for-1 coupon at the brand-new Yogurtland at Bridgeport Village. We didn't like it at all.We had another 2-for-1 for a new place on Bangy Road, so we thought we'd give it a try:
Yo Town Cafe was really fun! It's big and open with tons of flavors and nearly 100 toppings!
It's locally owned (not a franchise), and the owners were there to greet us, show us around and offer samples and recommendations.I chose cake batter, red velvet, tart orange and pumpkin. Brad had mint, cake batter, coconut and raspberry something sorbet:
I liked all of my flavors - especially the orange and the cake batter. Brad's mint was VERY minty, and the raspberry was a bit medicine-y, but he really liked the cake batter and coconut!We tried lots of yummy toppings, sticking with the candies because the fruits didn't look super fresh.While we ate our froyo, the owner asked if we'd ever tried bubble tea. We hadn't, so she whipped up one for us to sample! She was the nicest woman, and we thoroughly enjoyed our sweet treat!
I love that the place is locally owned. They really treated us well, and the treats were yummy! I'd gladly visit again... and I hope that if you're in the area and you want some froyo or bubble tea, you'll go too!:)
Free shirt with canned food donation:
Ready to go burn some Thanksgiving calories:
I ran the 5K last year but wanted to tackle the very hilly 10K this time. Despite the tough course, I barely missed PRing. My pace was off by just 5 seconds per mile. Shoot.
6.23 miles in 1:00:36 - a 9:44-minute mile. I feel great about that!
Eryn has been training hard and also ran the 10K. She did awesome, especially considering the hills.
The run was fun, and it was great to raise food and funds to feed hungry people in our community. \
