Clouds and showers didn't deter Brad and me this morning. We woke early, geared up and drove downtown for the Race for the Cure!
That was my 28th running race, my 10th race this year and my 6th Race for the Cure!!!I think the weather did keep some people home because the HUGE crowd seemed a little less huge this year. Too bad because the rain actually held off the whole time for us.We did the 8:10 a.m. co-ed untimed 5K.
As always, the sheer number of people made for a very slow start. Including a woman who decided about 20 feet into the race that she needed to tie her shoe... so she just stopped and bent down right in the middle of the street! Be aware of things around you, people... like the tens of thousands of other runners :)But after a couple blocks, the road cleared a bit and we picked up speed.
I felt surprisingly great, even as I pushed my speed. I guess 3 miles is a lot easier than 13! Imagine that.I finished in 28:19, a 9:35-minute mile. But that doesn't accurately reflect my speed, because we were doing near a 15-minute mile when we started. We dropped a huge amount of time. Toward the end, my average was sub-8s! 
Now, we run this race because it's super fun and a wonderful fund-raiser and show of support for a very important cause. But to be honest, we also love the swag. I've never seen another race that has so much free stuff.And we weren't even piggy about it. Vendors were telling us to take a box of pears... all the yogurt flavors, etc. We scored!
As soon as those pears ripen, I'm making a batch of pear butter! And Brad has bananas, yogurt and granola bars for lunch for a couple weeks :)Our plan was to head home and then do another few miles. But we were already downtown and looking at the Eastside Esplanade. How about we drop our loot in the car and run a few more miles? Perfect plan.We'd parked on the east side of the Hawthorne Bridge, so we unloaded our stuff and ran north to the Steel Bridge and back. I did 2.5 miles at a good 9:33 pace for a total of 5.45 miles for the day (the 5K course was a bit short). I feel great about my run(s). I've had my share of crappy outings, so it was very refreshing to have one to feel good about!
If you feel led, I'm still collecting donation for my Race for the Cure fund raising. Click HERE if you want to give. Any amount helps. And THANKS to those who already gave :)
It had been awhile since we've had a girls' weekend or outing, so it was time! Six of us met up at Thai Basil in Lake Oswego for some yummy food and fun chatting.
Check out these yummies:
Laura, due in just a couple weeks, had a major case of pregnant brain and forgot to come to dinner. Oops!!But my childhood friend, Jen, who JUST moved back to Portland from Utah, and my cousin, Amy, who just moved back from Colorado, were able to join us. That was SUPER cool!
Amy, Eryn, Luann, Jen, Liz and Sundance
What a fun evening with my friends :)
It's time for the happy game... everyone play along with me!What's making you smile today? Here are a few of mine:* Abbie Budd. She's hilarious. I love her honesty and plain speak.* "I will lift my eyes up" has been running through my mind.* It's Friday and I have a whole list of fun things going on this weekend.* Clouds and cool weather are back!* I just made a lost-and-found box for the library.How about you?????:)
Now that my big race is out of the way, I'm not sure what to do.With the last month or so focused just on running, I got a little burned out. As soon as we returned from Disneyland, I immediately started all kinds of other exercises... stadiums, elliptical, P90X DVDs, lifting. It feels great!But I don't want to stop running. I've worked since February to get my mileage up, and I don't want to lose all that hard work!
So I'm looking ahead...We're doing the Race for the Cure Sunday (and I still need donations!!!). And now we're planning to sign up for the Give N' Gobble, a Thanksgiving morning run in Sherwood. Last year was a blast (of freezing-cold air!)
I saw this advertised yesterday in my in-box:
It's only two days after the gobble, but I think I want to do the Winter Wonderland of Lights Run/Walk!Running on the PIR track through the Christmas light display sounds awesome. To be honest, I wanted to sign up as soon as I saw the graphic. I am a nerd.
Other than those, we're contemplating the Holiday Half...
the Heart Breaker...
and the new Portland Rock 'n' Roll Half.
We'll see :)
Not only is No-TV Tuesday back, so is MUFFIN WEDNESDAY!!!A couple years ago, mom-in-law Donna gave me this book for Christmas. I thought it was a challenge, so I've been trying new muffin recipes on my students ever since.
Today's experiment was Honey Bran Muffins.1 1/4 c flour3/4 t baking soda1/2 t baking powder1/2 t salt (I thought they were too salty - maybe just add 1/4 t)1 1/2 c bran flakes, crushed1 1/4 c buttermilk1/4 c oil1/4 c honey1 egg1/2 c raisins (I left these out 'cuz I don't like raisins in my baked goods)Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin.1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and bran flakes.2. In a smaller bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, honey and egg. Whisk well. 3. Pour wet into dry and stir just until moist and blended.4. Spoon batter into muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These were good but not amazing. The CE2 testers were split - some liked them and some didn't. But no one thought they were horrible - just not super good. A little bland. Maybe the raisins would have helped.Still, no one turned down the free food ;)Karleen and I thought they were way too salty. I would probably cut the salt in half. Also, the batter was very runny. I double checked everything and I didn't screw anything up (this time), so I'm not sure what that's all about.I'd probably skip this one for the future.:)
It's BACK! With school back in session, it's time to reinstate No-TV Tuesdays... woohoo!!In an effort to watch less TV and expand my horizons, I'm vowing again to not turn on the boob tube after work on Tuesdays.This week's excitement:* Much-needed haircut* Prescription refills* Grocery shopping* 3 loads of laundry - washed, folded and put away!* Made dinner and cleaned kitchen* Cleaned my office and straightened laundry room* Emptied recycling* Read my book* In bed with lights off at 9 p.m.Nice :)
What a fun weekend!It kicked off Friday night with the first THS home football game of the year... and the first marching band performance of the season. We won and the band did great!Saturday was Sundance's putt-putt birthday party. I hadn't played in forever and actually did well. It was really fun! (and REALLY hot!)
Happy birthday, friend!
Then we hurried back to Tigard to celebrate Grandma's 90th birthday!!
Most of the fam gathered at Village Inn for an early dinner.
Brothers:
After dinner, Dad came over to watch a movie on our big screen. Source Code was a good mystery, but I can't ever get into the time-travel/other-dimensions plots.Sunday, the 10th anniversary of 9/11, was an interesting day of reflection. I felt a variety of emotions throughout the day. At church, we heard a good message dealing with the love of America vs. nationalism. After early service, we made a quick stop at Target, where this made me smile:
Then this made me smile even more:
We met Lindsey for a late breakfast at Davidson's. Summer busyness kept us apart, and it was wonderful to catch up and spend some time together!Finally, I ended the weekend with a good workout. Brad and I threw in the P90X yoga DVD and tried our best. Then we went out for a run.
It was still SO hot, and I had to walk a couple times during my 3 miles. Lame.
But it still felt awesome to stretch my legs and sweat... a lot!:)
That was my 28th running race, my 10th race this year and my 6th Race for the Cure!!!
As always, the sheer number of people made for a very slow start. Including a woman who decided about 20 feet into the race that she needed to tie her shoe... so she just stopped and bent down right in the middle of the street! Be aware of things around you, people... like the tens of thousands of other runners :)
I felt surprisingly great, even as I pushed my speed. I guess 3 miles is a lot easier than 13! Imagine that.
Now, we run this race because it's super fun and a wonderful fund-raiser and show of support for a very important cause. But to be honest, we also love the swag. I've never seen another race that has so much free stuff.
As soon as those pears ripen, I'm making a batch of pear butter! And Brad has bananas, yogurt and granola bars for lunch for a couple weeks :)
