Jersey Shore Half Marathon Update

So, I completed my first Half Marathon last week! I am so happy I didn't stop to walk even though my legs/feet were killing me and I had to pee finished the race. My time was 1 hour 56 minutes and 20 seconds. Also happy that I finished at a time that was way faster that what I expected and was pacing for originally (2hrs 20 minutes, or about 10 minutes per mile). I actually kept it around 9 minutes per mile. I know that's not like an all-star pace, but I thought it was pretty awesome considering that I've never been on my feet for that many consecutive miles in my life.

This was Ralph's 2nd Half Marathon. He finished 6 minutes faster than his last time. Good job honey! He also broke a 2 hour Half Marathon.

I remember reading about other people's Half Marathon experiences, and all I can say is that, while the descriptions were SOOOOO helpful as far as preparing me mentally, nothing could compare to going out there and experiencing this race for myself (oh, except for this awesome post by Angela of Oh She Glows. Now I relate a bit better, too.) I really want to do more long distance races like this in the future. Currently, I don't have any plans for another Half, but I do have my eye on a Halloween themed race in 3 weeks, hosted in Manayunk and, aptly named, Hallowyunk. How cute :).

Better get off my butt and start running again (now that my knees no longer feel like someone took a hammer to them).

Oh another thing: Ralph and I are volunteering at the Philadelphia Marathon this year. Obviously, running in that race would have been really cool (and hopefully we can do it this year) but by the time we wanted to sign up, the price was quite expensive (I gather they all are, at least if you don't jump on it as soon as they open registration). Though I'd love to be in the race, I look forward to being part of the volunteer crew- you get to share the energy of the crowd with the runners, cheer them on, just have a good time hanging out around this beautiful and historic town. I can't wait!

-Emma

Summer Breeze

Yesterday was my 24th birthday. Ralph and I celebrated by eating German Oat (bundt) Cake. Naturally it was bigger than my head. Ralph, after kicking me out of the kitchen, spent most of Tuesday night baking (the best cake ever) my birthday cake. 

I should note, he topped it with homemade butter cream instead of the usual caramel/coconut topping. What a guy!

Yes, that is a set of weights on the table, perfectly positioned next to the tomatoes. 

Today I ran 2 miles, not because I was trying to run off the delicious cake and Indian food from last night, but more-so for my general sanity. I admit, it helped. And I was very happy to be running/jogging, since the weather has been a lot cooler here the past two days. 

Hmm... I think I just might run in the nearby park after getting out of work tomorrow....

Have a happy Labor day weekend!

Jersey Shore Half Marathon

Just signed up for this on Sunday: 

http://jerseyshorehalfmarathon.com/half.htm

In preparation, Ralph and I ran 5 miles on Saturday, 6 miles on Sunday. I will probably run low mileage during the weekdays.

This is my first Half Marathon ever. To be honest, I'm looking to establish a base and see how I feel about running more halfs in the future. In the past, I would have preferred to be running more consistently (about 5x a week), for at least 8 weeks ahead. This time, it will probably be about 4 times per week. 

Tuesday Farm Day

Happy Thursday everybody! 

Here's my recap of my adventures on Tuesday.

I didn't get out and go running on Tuesday, but I did pick up my vegetables at the farm. I literally had to pick up the paste tomatoes:

These paste tomatoes are great for making tomato sauces due to their lower water content/'higher solid content' than other tomatoes. Basically, you can use any kind of tomato you'd like to make sauce, but these tomatoes produce a less watery sauce.

Also picked up some ground cherries. The ones that have fallen off the plant are ripe for 'picking':

They are the little yellow things above and left of my fingers. The ground cherries are encased in a husk, much like a tomatillo.

See?

Remove the husk to find a cute little yellow or green little fruit. They are similar to cherry tomatoes, but just a little bit sweeter. Here's a recipe showing how to use it in a pie, which I will test out if I can save enough to make two little pies.

So, when I came home from the farm with my loot, I immediately began cutting up my tomatoes and threw them into the slow cooker.

Yep, that guy is filled to the brim.

A few hours in on high:

After cooking overnight:

I threw in some fresh basil, too. 

I also made some salsa verde on Tuesday, with 1/4c tomatillos from the previous week's share:

Yum!

The end product after blending in the food processor. I have to say I was a little hesitant about making this because I thought it would be labor intensive; I was mistaken. All I had to do was chop up the veggies and throw them in the pan with a bit of water!

And it was so worth it. The salsa verde was AWESOME on tonight's burrito!

Needless to say, I did a bit of cooking on Tuesday night. 

Wednesday events:

Yesterday, Ralph and I ran 2.85 miles in 25 minutes. This was the perfect distance for us on a weeknight.

Our next run is scheduled for this Saturday (hopefully in the morning before it gets too hot and humid!)

On another note/while the Olympics are still in session:

I heard about this tumblr on Gawker, Mckayla Is Not Impressed. 1. McKayla Maroney's expression is priceless. 2. I like that she is so okay with being the inspiration for an Olympics meme. I'm sure so many other people would take this wayyyy too seriously and get upset. She's rolling with it and displaying so much class. 

That's all for today. Yay, it's almost Friday!!!

Summer Run

Yesterday, I went for a short run, about 35 minutes, and covered about 3-3.5 miles in the Wissahickon Valley Park (part of the reason I'm having trouble getting the exact distance is because much of my run was on the trails. 

Needless to say it was pretty hot and sticky out yesterday, somewhere around 90 degrees, but I was very motivated and happy because I was wearing these Blur 33 asics :

Yep, I'm pretty sure I was the brightest thing in the park. 

Today, I did not got for a run, but instead took a day off to visit my CSA and pick up veggies, visit the grocery with Ralph (to pick of the rest of our staples for the week) and cooked with the veggies I picked up at Henry Got Crops. I'm so excited to share what I'm making/made, so stay tuned.

Before I go, let me leave you a pic of the farm

Very far away, but I assure you, it was a great day for picking vegetables.

Weekend Activities

On Saturday, Ralph and I rode our bikes down to Reading Terminal Market for lunch. We ate gyros there and then biked around town for a little while. We then rode back home in the late afternoon. All in all, we rode about 2 hours (from home, to the city and back). Guess how far we rode? Nearly 20 miles! (Before mapping that, I figured, oh maybe 14 miles, but 20 in 90ish degree weather?) No wonder I was so tired!

Sunday morning, I wanted to go for a short run up into the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia for breakfast (Don't you love how I am so motivated by food?). We ran about 1.5 miles, but I think that was pretty successful considering that it was so humid out yesterday morning. 

Sorry for the lack of pictures today. Luckily, I took pictures of my newest project- a t-shirt memory quilt.

You know all those t-shirts you collect over the years from races, team sports, volunteer events, shirts you grew out of/too old for etc. Yeah, I am one of those girls who couldn't bear to part with them... any of them. So, I decided I'll use them to make a quilt. Here we go!

Ralph measured out a  13"x13" piece of cardboard:

I wrapped the t-shirts around the cardboard square and outlined the edges/corners.

Ralph helped cut out the squares of fabric:

But after a weekend of biking, running, and cutting between 20 and 30 squares of fabric, Ralph was pretty tuckered out.

  I think that's a pile of t-shirt scraps he's sleeping on..... or is he?

And then to end the weekend on an even better note, we went for a walk/hike in the park. 

Up ahead:

• More updates on the great Memory T-Shirt Quilt of 2012.
• More on my effort to get back into consistent running since I'm looking to run my first half marathon this fall. Details to follow. 

Happy Monday!

-Emma