All my bags are packed

Welp, it's here.  Training is over and this Sunday at 4:30am I'll be joining a bajillion other runners at the inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland.

This week has been prep-week.  I did my last long run on Sunday, cruising up to the beach and running along the coast.

10 miles doesn't seem so bad when this is beside you

Of course, when I had about 3 miles left I felt that old familiar twitch in my IT band.  Except it's switching things up a bit and it hit my right knee this time instead of my left.  Lots of foam rollering and wearing my vibrams for my taper runs this week and I've managed to successfully overcome any tightness or soreness.

I think the theory is to take the tapers slow and steady, but I hate running slowly on a treadmill.  I don't like running on a treadmill at all and this is the first half I've ever trained on a treadmill.  Which means my tapers this week have been closer to 5k speeds than half-marathon speeds.  It gets them over quickly and they're short anyway.

Since the race is at Disneyland, we're heading up to Thatmom's house as my base.  Which means I've also got everything packed up for the race since I won't be able to throw it together the night before. 

• Hydration belt - to be filled with gatorade and water...which reminds me, I need to pack my gatorade.
• Sport beans - for inside the hydration belt obvs.
• body glide - to apply copiously before the race.
• chapstick - for inside the hydration belt
• therma-shirt with finger holes since I threw away my throwaway gloves and forgot to pick up new ones this winter
• sports bra
• tinkerbell-green running skirt
• running tights - because I'm not sure the sun will be up by the time the race finishes
• sweaty band - since this short hard doesn't pull up
• leg warmers/arm warmers - for 4:30 corral lineup
• socks
• sneakers

And I've also been using the week as an excuse to carb load.  Thatmom is babysitting while Thatboy and I can have a night out to go to the new Italian restaurant in the area I've been looking forward to visiting.  And at home, I've been making sure to include pasta dishes on the menu.  But carb loading doesn't just mean piling on the pasta.  In order for carbohydrates to burn effectively, you need to give them plenty of protein.  So this dish, with pasta, sausage, and beans perfectly fits the bill.

Shells with Sausage, Beans, and Mascarpone (From Stirring the Pot)

1/2 lb pasta shells
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 links of chicken sausage, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup sherry
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 sprig oregano

1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
2. Heat olive oil over medium high heat and add the sausage and onions.  Cook until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
3. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, just until they become fragrant.
4. Add the sherry, scraping up the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the beans, oregano, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the reserved pasta water and mascarpone stirring until the cheese is dissolved.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss with the hot pasta.