My Goal for 2010

I've started a new blog for my 2010 goal---it's a joint blog with Mark...check it out!

We're calling it Run It, Tri It---can you guess what our goals are? :)

Check it out and follow our New Years' Resolutions for the year!

Sunday

We were supposed to run the Jingle Bell 10K this morning. But when the alarm went off at 6 am and we peered out the window we weren't feeling so motivated. The sleet on the awning coupled with the cold temperature just didn't beckon us to the start line. Instead, we turned around and buried ourselves back in our bed.

We felt a little guilty that we didn't do the run, but after the extra sleep, we didn't dwell on it too much. We got dressed and headed to my school for a work morning in my classroom. Mark dropped Snoodles and I off at my school and got us a great breakfast from Firehook Bakery--fresh coffee (from Starbucks), potatoes, and an egg and cheese sandwich on a fresh croissant....decadent!


We graded for a while and left when they were locking up the building. Mark went to the gym to work on his triathlon physique and I finished more grading. Then, when he got back, I decided to go for my 10K run. I was feeling guilty that I didn't run this morning, so I decided to run the race course. I went down toward the FDR Memorial on West Potomac Drive and ran along the water and onto Haines Point. It was perfect running weather--40 degrees, cloudy, the pavement was still wet. I was definitely all alone out on the Point. There were no other runners, two bikers, and some cars parked. It was very tranquil. I was 45 minutes into my run and just about to leave Haines Point when a huge red fox ran across my path. It was a total Chickasaw moment. I'm glad I slept in this morning and waited to go running this afternoon.

This evening we baked these awesome chocolate chip Reese's peanut butter cup cookies that we learned about from my brother's friend Melissa.

They sounded so easy to make that I had to try them myself. We used mini muffin pans and Tollhouse cookie dough. Mark unwrapped the mini Reese's cup.


I scooped enough cookie dough into each tin to fill the tin.


We cooked them at 375 degrees fro 7 minutes.


As soon as the timer went off, we pulled the trays from the oven and put a Reese's cup in the middle of the soft baked dough.



Waiting for them to cool was agony! (Notice the gooey chocolate running in the bottom cookies!)


But when we could finally scoop one out of the tin....



well...



the results were....



DELICIOUS!



What a great start to the week!

Super Saturday!

Mark and I went to bed with dreams of snow...thanks to Bob Ryan, NBC's weatherman. Well, I fell asleep last night before the weather report but Mark assured me on the way to bed last night that snow was coming.


We got up at 8 am and debated going for a run. It was raining and it looked uninviting. But we hadn't run the night before and I was afraid that if it turned to snow we wouldn't be interested in running later. So, we compromised. We agreed to go running right away, but rather than do a 10K, we'd do a 3.5 mile run and save the 10K for Sunday. We donned our tights and our long sleeve shirts (and Mark added shorts, a hat, and I think would have added more if I had given him the time), and headed out. The run was cold. I usually love rain but this rain was just above freezing....it was wicked cold. We parked on the Mall, ran to the Washington Monument and back to the car and then up Capitol Hill, around the Capitol and back down....it was nice in that there were a ton of other runners out, surprisingly enough.

We celebrated our run with coffee from Starbucks and the headed home for hot showers and a little housekeeping. On our way home it started to snow!!!!

When we got home we found one of our squirrel friends camped out on the windowsill outside of our spare bedroom.

Our bedroom had become a living nightmare. We decided to seize the day and do a bit of that cleaning that is required but detested. We weeded through our closets, did laundry, hung up the pile of clothes that builds during the week (or in my class, the last month), and built piles of clothes to donate. We also discovered that we had literally dozens of unused, unneeded hangers, many of them from the dry cleaners. We gathered them to throw out. We felt very productive in our purge.


In the meantime, our squirrel friend made his way around to the front of our house and positioned himself on our front windowsill.


Amidst all of our bedroom dissection Soba slept on our couch, curled up in his pile of blankets.

We took a bit of a break. My friend Sonja was in town from Alabama and we had brunch at Busboys in Poets and then visited our old stomping grounds: the National Portrait Gallery.

Mark meanwhile took care of a few errands and came home to let the dog out. Soba is not so fond of the snow. He always looks so betrayed when we send him out in precipitation.

Mark and I met back up and did a bunch of Christmas shopping. Can't speak too much to that right now...stay tuned.

We also did some much needed grocery shopping and bought ingredients for mom's White Chili (see recipe below), a Michigan favorite. [Sidenote: You can also read my brother's rendition of this tasty recipe on his blog.] While it baked Mark fixed us some crackers and cheese. Isn't he adorable with his new haircut?

The evening was spent wrapping gifts and doing laundry. Mark and I are now in bed watching Night in the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian---I love these movies!!!


Wooohoo December!!!!

(PS I should mention that our camera has been replaced. In September I dropped it in a puddle---we thought that if given enough time to dry out it might work again. But, after almost three months of no camera we broke down and bought another one....so glad we did! More photos to come!!!)

WHITE CHILI

1 tablespoon salad oil

1 medium-sized onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 whole large chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 15- to 19-ounce can white kidney beans (cannellini), drained

1 15 ½- to 19-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained

1 12-ounce can white corn, drained

2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilis

2 chicken bouillon cubes or envelopes

Hot pepper sauce

Parsley for garnish

¼ pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. In small saucepan over medium heat, in hot salad oil, cook onion, garlic, and cumin until onion is tender.

2. In 2 1/2 –quart casserole, combine onion mixture with chicken, white kidney beans, garbanzo beans, corn, green chilis, bouillon, and 1 ½ cups water. Cover casserole and bake 50 to 60 minutes until chicken is tender.

3. To serve, stir hot pepper sauce into chili to taste. Garnish with parsley. Serve with shredded cheese.

Makes 8 main-dish servings.

64.8

64.8

That's the number of racing miles I logged in one month--from October 25 to November 26. It was quite an exciting running month and I'm so happy to have run through it healthy.

The [official] training started back at the beginning of June before school year 2008-2009 had finished. I decided that since I had entered the New York City Marathon lottery I should start getting in shape in case the unheard of happened, aka my number came up in the lottery. I wasn't feeling so hopeful about it since it was my third year entering the NYC lottery. So, figuring that I was biding my time until the NYRRC had to let me in on my 4th year (their policy), I would pick a marathon to run this fall. My brother who was on a true health and fitness campaign seemed like an ideal candidate to persuade into running a fall marathon with. (You can read about his exploits and his awesome cooking on his blog!) He hasn't always been an avid runner (read: didn't really like running growing up), but I pitched the idea to him. And he didn't say no. Which to me, is all systems go. :)

So, we looked at the race calendar and thought that the Philadelphia Marathon would be a great marathon to train for. And then, while in Oklahoma, I sealed the deal when in a moment of spontaneity (probably before Jon had fully committed to this idea) I signed us up.... Race day was set: Sunday, November 22, 2009.

Somewhere in between all systems go and registering for the Philly Marathon I found out that miracle of miracles, my number came up in the NYC marathon lottery! I was in!!! Race day was set: Sunday, November 1, 2009.

So, to put the calendar together thus far:

Sunday, November 1, 2009: NYC Marathon (26.2 miles)

Sunday, November 22, 2009: Philly Marathon (26.2 miles)

That meant that a lot of training had to happen in between. Training happened in earnest for me a lot this summer in the Oklahoma heat. It was a beautiful setting for running: Chickasaw National Recreation Area and it helped me lay the foundation for my running this fall. I loved it. I will not rehash my running exploits, but you can read about them on my Ranger Amy blog--a healthy mix of my time as a National Park Ranger and as a runner. :)

The training continued this fall and proved to be a great outlet to a lot of the upheaval that was happening with the new school year. The miles helped me to process all that was going on. The first official "race" of the year for me was at the end of the September with the DCRRC National Capital 20 Miler in Alexandria, VA. I really was running it as a training run, just happy to have someone to run the 20 miles with, especially in the still sticky Virginia/DC heat--even if they were complete strangers. The race went well and ended on a high note when I ran into a friend at mile 18 who was just starting out on her own 22 mile run.

The following weekend we went to visit my parents (who live outside of Annapolis) and I had what became a 15 mile run (down from it's original 18 mile goal) on the B&A Trail. The following week Jon and I ran 12 miles through Boston together. I loved our run together because it gave us an opportunity to run together (obviously), talk, and to see Boston together.....and boy was he on fire!!!! Jon was smokin' on our run!

Before I knew it, it was Sunday, October 25 and my first fall race was before me. It was the Marine Corps 10K. I had hoped to be at Lauren and Chris' wedding in Austin, TX, but just couldn't swing all the time off with my November schedule. So, the 10K seemed like a good idea. I liked the idea of a practice run before my marathon the following weekend. The race was beautiful and fast. I felt good when I crossed the finish line and ready for my next race: NYC!

The week leading up to the marathon was one of full fledge worry....I ate Vitamin C like I was self-treating scurvy. I used hand sanitizer constantly. I avoided people with any water eyes, nasal drippage, or if they were even holding a kleenex. By Saturday morning, when we boarded the train, I was a wreck from excitement, nervousness, and germaphobia.

I was so gung ho about getting to the expo that I barely ate lunch. Table? No, we were getting our lunch to go. Mark and I gobbled our sandwiches on a street corner while hailing a cab in Little Italy. Soooooooooo excited!!!! The expo was oustanding...the shirt cool...everything about it was just what I wanted it to be!

And then, we got to meet my brother at the Bolt Bus corner! Wooohooo! We were complete! I was so honored that he took the bus down from Boston to see me run! Yahoooo!!!!

We headed to Little Italy for of course, a pasta dinner!!! Yum! Yum! And thanks Jon to treating us!!! :)

That night was of course, spent tossing about, checking the alarm clock, and getting up to go to the bathroom (a side effect of the great hydration I had done!). And before I knew it was time! Let my journey to the start line commence!

I first took a taxi from our hotel to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. Waited for my departure time.
Took a "cruise" on the State Island Ferry.


Took the a bus from the ferry terminal on Staten Island to Fort Wadsworth, the holding grounds for the runners.

Then, around 10 am we finally were herded into our respective corrals and made our way to the start line! Before I knew it, the gun went off and I was running! It was cool to run right past the turnpike toll gates and right onto the Verranzano Bridge. It was awesome! People and skyline for as far as the eye could see!!!

I really enjoyed the race. I could not imagine it being my first marathon and almost feel sorry for those people whose first marathon it was! I don't know how you could top it! Water stations at every mile. People cheering every step along the way!!! It was such a rush! How cool to always want to see what was next--who was around the next corner ready to cheer. Just awesome.

I didn't find my brother and Mark until Mile 15--we had missed each other at Mile 8 (go figure with all the people!). I was so excited when I finally spotted them!!!


I hit a wall at mile 18 and then again at mile 22. But going into Central Park was a shot of revitalization---that and a playlist change to my Chicksaw Running Mix. I couldn't have timed it better---as I began mile 26 on came the Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta A Feelin'" my fall 2009 theme song. I felt like I was cranking it out, when in actuality it put me back on my 1o minute mile pace. I crossed the finish line exhausted but so happy.

I'm not sure I will run NYC again but boy was it cool to do once. What a great, great race! The Big Apple certainly didn't disappoint. Thanks to everyone for their support!


Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn about the other half of my running exploits this past month!