Race Report: Tinkerbell Half Marathon

It was almost exactly a year ago when I ran my last half marathon.   It was awful.  I was all of 2 minutes pregnant.  So recently pregnant, that we didn't even know it yet, but I had a sinking suspicion due to just how badly I ran that race. Well, that, and the fact that my breasts were having a hard time being contained by my bra.

I had planned to run the Safari Park Half Marathon during my first trimester.  I trained for it and everything.  But I held off on signing up, because I wasn't sure how I was going to feel.  I kept waiting for the morning sickness and fatigue that are the hallmarks of pregnancy.  Hallmarks that never showed up.  But by the time I realized that I was going to be able to run, it was sold out. 

Shortly after I heard that Disneyland was introducing a new half marathon - the Tinkerbell Half Marathon.  I'm sure it was spurred on by the popularity of the Princess Half Marathon in Disney World.  A women-centric half.  I thought it would be the perfect way to make up for the horrible half and missing the Safari Park Half.  The only issue was that it was in January, 3 months after I was due to deliver.  Before I signed up, I talked to my Nurse Practitioner about whether I'd realistically be able to run.  She gave me the green light - assuming an uncomplicated delivery, she promised I'd be up and running within a couple weeks after giving birth.

So I signed up.  And made sure to keep up my running all through the pregnancy.  Even though it meant I got slower and had to decrease my milage to 2 miles a day because I couldn't fit in 3 miles before work in the morning.  I even ran the morning before I went to the hospital to bring Thatbaby into the world.  When it became clear I was going to be induced I told the nurse I'd like to avoid a C-section because it would pretty much mean no half marathon for me.

3 weeks after I gave birth I started training.  Running felt so good without the extra 20lbs and the additional lung capacity!  Even though most of my training had to be done on the treadmill after Thatboy got home from work.  But last week I realized that the training 3 weeks after giving birth wasn't what was going to make this half marathon tough.

You see, Thatbaby isn't especially developmentally advanced.  He's plodding along right where he should be, with the exception that he has decided to enter the 4 month wakeful period about 2 weeks early.  Up until last week he slept every night until around 6:30, waking up once to eat around 4am.  Last week he decided that schedule wasn't to his liking.  He added a feeding between midnight and 1:30am and moved that 4am feeding to 5:30.  Which took away my lovely 6 hour stretch of sleep. 

So on Sunday morning, I was awoken at 1:40am, 4 short hours after bedding down for the night.  I fed Thatbaby and managed to snag about 45 extra minutes of sleep before my alarm went off at 3am.  I got dressed and ready before waking Thatbaby to feed him again before we headed out.  

I am a walking endorsement of Nike.  Gotta love connections - thanks UDubb!

I found my way to my corral, which was packed with women of all ages and sizes.  Over 11,000 women were running and the excitement was palpable.  Lights, music, guest stars, even fireworks filled the air with energy.

And if you want to get a lot of attention at a half marathon, bring your husband and not quite 4month old.  I made a lot of friends early on when people wanted to figure out what psycho would run a half marathon with a baby that tiny.

Real men wear their children.

It wasn't long before it was time to get going.

Minnie and Daisy started us off on the right foot (Get it?)

The race began and we were off.  I had turned my music on to Pandora's Disney station to keep up with the mood of the event.  Which was nice because songs like "Hakuna Matata" and "Spoonful of Sugar" were  definitely fun and inspiring.

Right away I noticed this was a different atmosphere than many of the races I'd done.  And I'm not just talking about the fairy wings and glitter.  Most of the time when I race I surge ahead - going out far too fast, far too soon because that's what everyone else does.  But this race everyone around me seemed to keep a really comfortable pace, and so I just stuck with it.

When the race starts at 5:45 in January, it's still dark.  Which meant Main Street was all lit up.

And so was Sleeping Beauty's castle.

The characters were out to play, the way they usually are during the Disney Races  - which makes for fun photo opportunities. 

The sun started coming out as we left the park.

 

And then we were on the streets of Anaheim.  Which was kind of boring.  I knew it would be.  The rest of the race went really really well.  The miles kind of flew by.  The first 4 were quick, like always.  I felt like I had just passed mile 7 when mile 8 popped up.  Usually around Mile 11 I start questioning my sanity.  I call it the 11 mile wall.  But around mile 11 I thought - wow, only 2 miles left? 

And then the finish line was directly in front of me. And then it was behind me!  I missed a PR by less than 2 minutes, which I attribute to three factors:

1) Stopping for photo ops in Disneyland.  I decided not to stop in California Adventure because I wanted to keep my good momentum going.

2) Starting off nice and comfortable instead of pushing too fast too early.

3) Staying nice and comfortable throughout the race.  

On the other hand -

1) I was 2 minutes faster than my last half last year.

2) I had negative splits!!!!!  I never have negative splits.  Probably because of that whole starting out too fast thing. 

3) I stayed nice and comfortable throughout the entire race.  Which felt good.  I never felt out of breath, never had rocks for legs, never was tired.  I never hit a wall.  In fact, my only complaint during the entire race was that I really needed to feed Thatbaby.  (Which I did as soon as the race was over - I had warned Thatboy before we even started that Thatbaby was going to need to eat when I finished whether he liked it or not.)

After the race we headed over to breakfast where I loaded up on cottage cheese pancakes!

Because every race should end with pancakes and powdered sugar.

A Race Report? Really?

I know, it's shocking really. I mean the last race I ran was in January, and while I was pregnant at the time, I certainly wasn't sharing the fact! I had planned to run two more races, a half and a four miler, but both sold out before I was able to sign up.

So I had pretty much resigned myself to no races until next January and just kept up with my daily runs. And then on Wednesday I was looking over my Twitter feed and saw mention of a 5k taking place Thursday night. I thought the idea of a night race sounded kind of fun - because goodness knows my weekends right now are filled with boxes.

A quick poll of my friends made it seem like I wasn't totally out of my mind for considering the idea, and so Thursday after work found me making my way to the race.

Since pregnancy, my running speed has substantially slowed down. Which is frustrating. I knew that I wouldn't be breaking any records with this 5k, and I was okay with that. My "heart" goal was 45 minutes, about a 15 minute mile. Which is pretty close to my current speed. My "head" goal had me closer to 55 minutes, because really, it's been 7 months since my last race.

When I arrived to pick up my bib I was informed that my entrance fee paid not only for the race, but also a burger after the race and beer from Firestone Brewery. "But when it's gone, it's gone" said the guy behind me in line. "So make sure you run fast." I turned to him and placed my hand on my stomach, telling him that I wasn't too concerned about making sure I got beer. He got very excited. "I can drink yours for you!" It was a kind offer, but Thatboy was more than happy to take advantage of my all-you-can-drink ticket.

I stayed toward the back of the field as the race started, so I wouldn't hold anyone back. Everyone took off and there were about 6-7 people behind me. As we rounded the first corner, most of those people passed me, leaving me second to last. After about half a mile, the last person passed me, leaving me as the caboose, bringing up the rear.

Races are such head games. The walls we put up, the games we play with ourselves and other runners, etc. etc. etc.. Like the two women in front of me who would walk until I passed them, and then start running. I knew they were playing the "don't let the pregnant girl be faster than us" game. Being the very last person in a race does not feel good. And I started getting down on myself. I decided this would be the very last race I ran pregnant. I felt so slow, I was last, and it was just too discouraging.

And then I started passing people. First I passed those walk/runners and they didn't start running again. Then I passed a group of three. I wasn't last anymore! I came close to passing another 2 walk/runners, but then they cheated. Instead of turning at one point, they cut across, lobbing about a quarter mile off the 5k. I didn't care enough about passing to cheat like them.

Thatboy was waiting for me at the finish, and when I looked at the timeclock I looked over at him and called out "That can't be the right time, can it?" He looked at me and nodded. It read 38:00. I ended up crossing the finish at 38:41, a far cry from the 45-55 minutes I was shooting for.

We hung out after the race, eating burgers and drinking - beer for Thatboy, water for me. But in honor of my run with a little something inside, I present to you a meal with a little something inside. Veal stuffed with celery and breadcrumbs. I'm fairly certain the growing, kicking, pushing, digging thing inside me isn't celery and breadcrumbs, but I won't be able to tell you for a couple more weeks. I can tell you that stuffing and rolling veal and baking it will make your insides happy too.

Stuffed Veal
1 lb veal cutlets
2 Tbsp butter
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 tsp chopped onion
1 sprig parsley, minced
2/3 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup chicken broth + 2 Tbsp
1/2 Tbsp canola oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet. Stir in the celery and onion and cook over low heat until translucent.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley, crumbs, 2 Tbsp chicken broth, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pound the veal until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the celery mixture down the center and roll. Tie with poultry twine.
4. Melt the remaining butter and oil in a sauce pan and brown the rolled veal.
5. Transfer the veal to a casserole dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the remaining chicken broth over, cover, and bake for 45 minutes.
   
6. Stir in the cream and cook uncovered for 25 minutes.
   

Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ Review

There was always one problem I had with the “where do babies come from” speech I received. It seemed like it would be AWFULLY painful to push something the size of a watermelon out of a much smaller opening. And Hollywood certainly didn’t make it seem like a piece of cake as sweet and kind women turned into horrible beast monsters during labor in every media portrayal. My parents didn’t help much either.

“When your mother was in labor with you,” my dad would relate, “she cursed me, told me I did this to her, she hated me, and decided half way through they should push you back up, she didn’t want to do this anymore.”

“I understand doing it once,” I told my parents. “When you don’t know any better, but why would you have a second child, knowing how much pain is involved?”

My father, the expert on women, confided, “the thing about women is, once the labor is over, and they have that little baby on their chest, they completely forget about ALL the pain. I think it only took 30 minutes of holding you before your mother told me she wanted another.”

I was skeptical. I remember pain. I can show you the exact location of every currently invisible bee sting and oil burn I have ever had. And then I started running these half marathons. On mile 11 of the AFC half I had pretty much determined I was never running this long again. That was the point at which I was walking up the world’s second tallest mountain. About an hour after we got home from the race, I was already looking up when my next half would be. It’s true. Women have selective memories and oftentimes the accomplishment far outweighs the memory of the pain.

For my next half marathon I had chosen the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona for several reasons. 1) The course was almost completely flat. No extreme craziness at mile 11. 2) Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathons are supposed to be fun, with music all along the course. 3) Toxicesq and China live in Arizona and I thought it would be great to do a half marathon where I could also get a visit in with them. So I signed up, and started training just as soon as I got the all clear from my physical therapist. Friday after work Thatboy and I headed to the airport.

Saturday we headed to the Expo a block from our hotel to pick up my bib and swag.

This was a giant expo, and I wish we would have had more time to explore. Thatboy thought it was the most fun expo ever because there were carnival games to play. I usually discourage him from playing carnival games because no one ever wins and he would easily spend a downpayment on a house attempting to prove me wrong. But here they were free and I let him have at it. The expo was also extremely well organized. One of the best I’ve attended. I thought it was going to be madness with the sheer number of people present, but I was able to pick up my bib, shirt, and bag faster than almost anywhere else.

Saturday night, I laid out everything. It’s difficult to travel for a race because there’s always that fear you’ll forget something you need. I did okay on this one, the only thing I wish I’d packed was some throw-away gloves and sunscreen. My little fingers were cold Sunday morning, and I definitely got a little bit of color. Not as bad as I was expecting, but I’ve got a nice rosy glow to my face. I probably wouldn’t have minded a hat either, and my next expo-purchase will certainly be a pair of sunglasses.

Sunday morning I got up, and because my race didn’t start till 8:30 and I was 20 minutes from the start, I actually got to sleep later than I usually do on raceday. All the way till 6:00! It didn’t hurt that I didn’t have to walk the dog. Because the race start was 1.5 miles from the hotel, I opted to take the shuttle from the hotel while Thatboy and Thatmom walked. When I arrived, it was dark and crowded. But the crowd was buzzing with energy. Perhaps they drew it from the band.

These guys definitely had a sweet gig. As we were all hanging about, waiting for portapotties, warming up, drinking water, we listened. They got much more constant attention than then bands scattered throughout the course.

Before too long, it was line up time. I found Thatboy and Thatmom and hung out with them until it was just about race time. Then I headed over to find the pace group I was going to run with.

(This is me demonstrating how everyone was leaving the portapotties before the race. I hate portapotties. This will play a big p

Ready...

Set...

Go!!!!!

I was still shooting for the 2:10 I hadn’t been able to make on my first half, but thought I stood a chance here since it was flatter terrain. I decided to run with the 2:15 pace group, figuring I could always push it the last couple miles if I started out slower. The pacer for the group had a little card on her sign which broke down our expected pace for the miles. Mile 1 – 10:18, Mile 2: 20:36, Mile 3: 30:54, etc. etc. etc. It was PERFECT because it was pretty much the exact pace I run! When we started running I felt like we were going a little fast, but thought nothing of it until we hit the first mile at, ready? 9:08. 9:08?!!! That’s over a full minute faster than we were supposed to be and definitely the fastest mile I’ve ever ran. No wonder I was getting tired. “It’s okay,” I thought. They’ll probably slow down a bit now. Nope. Pacer went for a bathroom break, passing the pace sign to someone else to carry on with. That person TOOK OFF. MAD SPRINT. By the time I hit the 2 mile mark at 18:20 that girl was no where to be seen. Does anyone else think this is odd? At mile 2 I was over 2 minutes under our expected time and the pacer was nowhere to be seen.

At that point I was now tired and cranky and decided that this pace group thing was not what it was cracked up to be. I figured I could probably keep a 2:15 mile pace on my own, and so that’s what I strove to do. During the next 4 miles I slowed down my pace to be a little more comfortable to me, but I have to tell you the truth, I was definitely burned out and tired. I was hitting all the right times, but just felt bleh about it. It didn’t help that this was probably the LEAST scenic course I had ever run on. Flat? Yeppers. But only because you were running down the middle of a street with nothing to see. Music? Eehhhhhhhh. I was glad I brought my i-pod because the bands were really spread out and you only heard them for a tiny blip as your ran by.

And then came mile 5-point-something-or-other. When it became quite clear that I had to use the restroom. RIGHT NOW. Now, I drink a lot of water to stay hydrated, but I have never had to use the restroom during the race, mostly because I’m using it while I run. I resigned myself to the fact I was going to have to stop and use the next porta-potty I saw and that 2:10 was never going to happen. I crossed the 10k mark and veered over to the line at the 2 porta potties stationed there. Later, Thatboy, who was getting texts about my times at different landmarks, mentioned to me that he was really impressed with my times up till 6.2 miles, and then it seemed like I really slowed down. I didn’t really slow down – it was that porta potty stop which took 7 minutes! I think this was mostly due to the fact that the porta potties were out of toilet paper, so people were in there an extra second or two “drying off.” (I know I was.)

I honestly didn’t enjoy the rest of the course as much as I enjoyed the AFC half. And I again reached the point where I wondered why I was doing this. My usually docile stomach had been acting up during the whole race and I was gulping down water at every water stop. And then I crossed the finish line.

And within minutes, I felt completely fine. Not tired, not sore, and while I wasn’t ready to do another 13.1 at that moment, I was certainly ready to tackle it again in a couple weeks. That selective memory thing is a pretty good trick!

The Headliner for the Finish Line Festival was Vertical Horizon, and I’ve already told y’all about my love for Vertical Horizon. As usual, they put on a great live show. But because this wasn’t the typical venue, I was able to get right up close and personal. LOVE that. And maybe that’s one of the reasons I was so quick to forget about the unfunness that was the course.

The beer didn't hurt either.

Of course, I remember it enough to know that this probably won’t be a permanent addition onto my race schedule.

And on a completely unrelated note, if you, like me, had some extra patty shells left over from your creamed lobster, you can easily fill them with loads of other treats. Like Shrimp Newburg! Doesn't crustacean just BEG to be served in patty shells?

Shrimp Newburg (from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp flour
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
• 1/2 Tbsp sherry
• 1/2 Tbsp brandy

1. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet. Add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes over low heat. Stir in the lemon juice and set the pan aside.

2. Melt the remaining Tbsp of butter, add the flour, and cook 1 minute, stirring.

3. Slowly add the cream and cook, stirring until the sauce is slightly thickened.

4. Beat a spoonful of the sauce into the egg yolk. Return the egg-sauce mixture to the sauce and add sherry and brandy.

5. Add the shrimp and cook over low heat until shrimp are warmed through.

The Infamous Half - What, Like It's Hard?

April 24, 2010 - I sign up for the America's Finest City Half Marathon.

April 25, 2010 - 2 runners in the La Jolla Half Marathon collapse of heart attacks. Thatboy informs me he doesn't think my half marathon idea is such a good one.

May 24, 2010 - August 14, 2010 - Training! I had some really awful runs, including an 8 miler I thought would never end. I took so long that Thatboy started worrying and called me to check and see if I was alright - "I'm only a quarter mile away" I told him, "but can you come out and meet me? I could really use a little pick me up." After that I changed up my pre-fueling routine as well as my fueling during my runs. I had done the 15k without needing any supplements, but for some reason, maybe running in the summer instead of winter, I could not make it through 9 miles without a little fuel while I was running. After I got that under control, it was all smooth sailing. I upped my weekday runs to 5 miles, and while at first I dreaded tacking on the extra miles, after the first few weeks 5 miles just flew by. And my weekend runs were amazingly glorious. I did most of them running along the coast, enjoying the view and working on a killer farmer's tan my capris give me. And then there was my last run in Mendocino, which was supposed to be 10 miles - my longest to date. Running through the forest at the crack of dawn was both scary and exhilarating. I sang out loud as I ran to make sure the "Warning: Mountain Lions" knew there was a person coming so they could skedaddle. I didn't quite make it all 10 miles because I got a later start than expected and I had to make it back for breakfast, but I did over 9 and felt like I could keep going easy after that. And it completely endeared me to one of the innkeepers who called me his "little runner girl" for our entire stay there. (More Mendocino good times later).

A couple weeks before the race Faye was in town visiting and we went for a long walk where I confessed all my fears about the half. Faye had already run this particular half before, and even though I knew my fears were ridiculous, I really wanted to hear someone else say that! I had 2 big worries about the race:

1) Time. The course had a 3 hour time limit. This is about a 14 minute mile. Now, recently my typical race speed has been hovering a bit below a 9:30 min/mile, but even before that my race speed was around a 10 min/mile. My "hey, I think I'll go for a lazy run" speed is about an 11 min/mile, and my "I better slow down and catch my breath" speed is about a 12 min/mile. So 14 minutes was easily within my grasp. But a little bug inside my head kept thinking "what if it isn't?" Faye kind of rolled her eyes at me with this concern and told me she was sure I'd finish in the allotted time.

2) THE HILL. Requiring all kinds of capital letters. This is a serious hill. (Although UDubb and I looked at the half she ran in Vancouver and it had a hill that made this one look practically flat.) Check out the rise in elevation between mile 11.5(ish) and 12.5(ish):

Folks - that's about 200 FEET in 1 MILE!!! Now my typical weekday run has a hill that goes up about 100 feet in a mile, so I'm no stranger to hills, but that hill kills me and it's half the elevation! AND it's in the middle of my run, so I know when I get to the top I get to turn around and head home. Who puts a hill like this in the last 2 miles of the course? Thatboy kept assuring me that the hills I ran in Mendocino were way steeper than this hill, but I wasn't buying it. "I walked that hill" Faye told me.

"Yeah, but Faye, you're a much faster runner than I am, there's no way I'm going to be able to walk that hill AND come in within 3 hours."


August 15, 2010 - The day of the race. I was up before dawn. Normally Thatboy drives me to the race and hangs out while I warm up and we wait for the race to start, but this race started at Cabrillo National Monument, a place where we had to be bused to. Which meant I wouldn't have my cheering section there at the start, and I'd have to bus it up there alone. Thatboy dropped me off at the bus stop and I stood in line alone and in the dark and waited to board.

When I got on the bus, my nerves got the better of me. I fought back tears as I texted Thatboy - "I feel like I got on the wrong bus, I don't belong here, I feel like a fraud." I got a quick text back with some words of encouragement. It felt like the longest bus ride of my life and I second guessed myself the entire time.

Luckily once off the bus, a few laps around the parking lot that was serving as the holding area helped me calm down a bit and regain my composure. And it wasn't too long before the sun was up and we began all walking down to the start line. Or so I thought! There were so many people running this race, that by the time I could see the start line I saw that people weren't stopping - just running through! The race had started!

The first three miles seemed to go by so quickly. I don't remember a 5k ever feeling so easy. And I was keeping a pretty consistent 10 minute pace. My goal for the half was just to finish (3 hours), but my little head wanted me to come in around 2:30, and my little heart wanted me closer to 2:10.

Pretty soon I was at mile 6. "Huh," I thought - "I've already run a 10k!" And due to my new fueling technique, I felt a lot stronger than I had during my last 10k.

At mile 7 I realized I was over half way through! "You have less to run now than you've already ran!"

At mile 8 they were handing out champagne, and I remember thinking "I have 5 miles more to go and there is no way I'll be able to finish if I get drunk. And there's no way I can drink champagne right now without getting drunk."

Mile 9 was the hardest for me. To tell you the truth, I remember very little about that mile. I couldn't tell you ANY of the sites I saw or where mile 9 was in relation to the city. I just remember thinking "You're almost a mile 10 - then you just have a 5k left!"

At mile 10 they were handing out hamburgers. Really? Hamburgers? The thought of burgers in the morning while I was running made my stomach turn a little. And this is also where they had a "car wash" set up where you could run through sprinklers. "That'd ruin my ipod" I thought as I avoided the spray. "Only a 5k left to run!"

I was dreading mile 11 - remember that hill? But my time was much better than I thought it would be. I had kept a pretty consistent 10 min/mile for the first half of the race, and around mile 8 slowed down a bit to 11 min/mile. I figured out I could definitely walk the hill and still make it within 3 hours (heck, I could still make it in 2:30). And so when the ground rose up in front of me, I joined almost everyone else in walk/running between mile 11.5 and 12.5. It was cute to see us all passing and getting passed by the same people as we would run a bit, walk a bit, run a bit, walk a bit. It was like the whole race was playing a game of yo-yo.

Between mile 12.5 and the finish I really had to push myself. That's why I typically don't walk during a race, I have a really hard time picking my momentum back up. But I knew I was going to finish, it was right around the corner. Although when one of the "helpful" cheerers yelled that we just had to "push it a little harder" I nearly stopped running so I could kick him. "Push it a little harder?" You're standing there cheering. You run 13 miles and tell me how much harder you're able to push it.

And then I saw the finish and I just sprinted for it. Why not right? If you're going to crumple after crossing, you might as well put on a good show.

But I ended up not crumpling. At all. Like the opposite of crumpling. Thatboy said I didn't look like I had just run a half marathon. He said the nonchalant way I crossed made it seem like I had just finished a 5k. Thatmom also commented that I looked less exhausted than she would have thought. And honestly? I felt fine. Good even. I don't think I could have run much longer, but I definitely wasn't dropping and dying. And, I made myself proud coming in UNDER 2:30. It wasn't 2:10, but it might have been if I hadn't walked a portion of the race, so it's something that I feel is within my reach.

And another fun playlist! I actually didn't get through all of my playlist, so here's what I did listen to!

Half Marathon Playlist

• Dumpweed - Blink 182
  
• Wake Up Call - Maroon 5 (Welcome to the Maroon 5 portion of the playlist)
  
• Little of Your Time - Maroon 5
  
• Hey Ya - Outkast
  
• All these things that I have done - The Killers
  
• Stronger - Britney Spears (Ooooh it's the fun girl portion of the playlist!)
  
• Barbie Girl - Aqua
  
• Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
  
• Hips Don’t Lie - Shakira
  
• Smooth - Rob Thomas and Santana
  
• Candyman - Christina Aguilara
  
• Living on a prayer - Bon Jovi ("ooohhh we're half way there" -I was hoping this would come on when I reached mile 6.5, but it was a little early)
  
• This is how we do it - Montell Jordan
  
• Sorrow- Bad Religion
  
• Paralyzer - Finger Eleven
  
• It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me - Billy Joel
  
• Laid - James
  
• La Vie Boheme - Soundtrack from Rent
  
• Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
  
• Here Comes the Sun - Beatles
  
• House of the Rising Sun - Animals
  
• What’s your fantasy - Ludacris
  
• Bennie and the Jets - Elton John
  
• Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
  
• Bye Bye Bye - N'Sync
  
• I run for life - Melissa Etheridge
  
• Crocodile Rock - Elton John
  
• Shawty Get Loose - PBT
  
• Dance Epidemic - Electric Six
  
• How You Like Me Now - The Heavy
  
• Brown Derby Jump - Cherry Poppin' Daddies
  
• Lost Again - Dance Hall Crashers
  
• 1-76 - G Love and Special Sauce ( I had a pen pal in elementary school who introduced me to them and a high school friend who LOVED them, so a little tribute to my past with the inclusion of some fun songs)
  
• Recipe - G Love and Special Sauce
  
• Fat Bottom Girls - Queen
  
• Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
  
• Gone Country - Alan Jackson (This would have introduced the country portion of my playlist, but I ran too fast so I only got 2 songs)
  
• Chasin that Neon Rainbow - Alan Jackson
  

Summer Makes Me Crabby Week: Soft Shelled Crabs

But first - I'm getting faster y'all!

Saturday I had another race, a 10k. I don't do 10ks very often for a number of reasons, first because they just don't occur as often. While we have a 5k almost every weekend here in Southern California, 10ks are a little less frequent. The second reason is that sometimes when I go to sign up for a 10k, Thatmom decides she wants to race with me, and since she's not up to a 10k yet, we drop down to 5ks so we can run together.

However, this weekend, I signed up for a 10k which was part of the Coronado Sports Fiesta. I was very excited about it because I imagined this beautiful course run on Coronado (my favorite beach in San Diego). I was so wrong.

The race was really small. Thatboy thinks it was the smallest race I've run, but I disagree. In any rate, because branny LOVES my goofball faces I make when Thatboy tries to take my picture before the race I thought I'd include this.

It also gives you a better idea of the size of the field.

As I stated earlier, the course was not what I was expecting. Instead of running along the beach, we were facing the wrong direction! A quick glance of the course map showed that we were actually running on the naval base. Which could be cool, right? But there was really nothing there to distract - just flat barren land which is I guess used for artillery or bombs or something? I dunno, all I know is that there was a sign saying "no stopping, standing, or taking pictures" which is motivation of a different kind I guess.

The route itself was a repeater, which isn't my favorite. We ran out for 2 miles, then back along the same 2 miles, then back for 1.1 miles, and back again for another 1.1. miles. So I actually ran parts of the course 4 times.

As far as a breakdown, I'm SUCH a backwards runner. The way it works is, with longer distances, you usually run a slower per/mile rate. Because you have to keep something in the tank, right? NOT ME! I don't know what's wrong with me, but I run faster during longer distances. I had a new PR for the first5k of the race. And frankly, at that time I was really wishing this was just a 5k. And I started questioning whether I was going to be able to handle my upcoming half. And then mile 4 came in and all of a sudden everything just kind of fell into place.

The last quarter mile I could swear I smelled popsicles. Thatboy thinks I'm crazy, but I know what I know. To emphasize what a small race this was, check out the finish line!

I was actually a little disappointed in my time, because the OCD in me really wanted to finish in 1 hour, but when I got home I started reviewing my past 10k scores. The last 10k I ran was in March and I came in 3 minutes slower. 3 minutes in 4 months? I'll take it. And I keep going back to the fact that the 5k portion of the run was 2 minutes faster than the 5k I ran last month. So it didn't take long for that disappointment to turn into a little "yay me!"

Okay, back to crab week! Tonight we feature soft shelled crab. Softshelled crabs are truly a summer delicacy. There's no specific soft shelled crab breed, but during the late spring and summer crabs of all breeds outgrow their hard shells and shed them. Before their new soft shells have a chance to harden, you can enjoy these delicacies. Soft shelled crabs are easier to eat because you don't have to crack them, you can just eat them shells and all. Which Thatboy thinks makes them a little weird to eat. I've opened up whole worlds to Thatboy.

I love them sauteed in some butter and served in a sandwich, po-boy style, but even if you're not a southerner, you'll probably still love the buttery sweet taste of sauteed soft shells. I allow 2 crabs per person, but if you really love them I could see 3 being very easy to put away.

Soft-shelled crabs (from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

• 1/4 cup flour
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 4 soft shelled crabs
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dust the crabs with it and shake off excess.
2. In a large skillet, heat the butter and oil. Toss the crabs and cook over medium high 3 minutes per side.
3. Remove the crabs to a warm platter and squeeze the lemon juice into the pan, scraping up the brown bits.
4. Pour the pan juices over the crabs and serve.

I served my soft shelled crabs with some more barley - told you about that barley kick.

Barley Casserole

• 1/5 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup barley
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 finely chopped green pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cashews
• 1/2 cups boiling chicken broth
• salt
  
• pepper

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the barley and onion and cook until the onion is soft and the barley is coated in butter.
2. Add green pepper and cook and additional 2 minutes.
3. Add the cashews, chicken broth, salt, and pepper.
4. Cover and simmer 25 minutes, or until all broth is evaporated.
   

My first "marathon" and 3 new medals!

Well, we have officially entered racing season! Starting last week, I have a race almost every weekend till the middle of August.

Last weekend's race was "special" because it was my first "marathon." I'm using quotes generously because honestly, a marathon is an amazing accomplishment and I don't want to take away from people who have actually run them. What I did was a "marathon" - a progressive marathon to be exact. You see, I actually ran a 5k.

When I went to sign up for the Villa Park 5k I noticed there was a progressive marathon option - before the day of the race each entrant was required to run 23.1 miles, so the last 5k would put them at 26.2 miles, the length of a marathon.

I figured I was going to be running the same 3.1 miles whether I was doing the 5k or the progressive marathon, and how often would I get the chance to run a progressive marathon? Plus, I can knock out 23.1 miles in 2 weeks, so that wasn't a problem. Progressive marathon it was!

The day of the race I showed up bright and early. The race started at a local high school track, so there were bleachers set up for Thatmom and Thatboy to hang out at. While we were sitting, a woman came up and mentioned that she had stashed her stuff in the row behind us, so we shouldn't be alarmed by the unattended stuff.

As we lined up to start, I found myself standing beside the same woman. We got to talking and found out we ran a couple of the same races (and would be running the same race this upcoming weekend). She mentioned that she had run to the race that morning instead of driving. All 4 miles.



And then the airhorn went off and we started running. And I quickly got left in the dust of my new bestie. Holy Hannah is she fast. And speaking of fast, when I hit the first mile mark, I checked my time and it was a new world record. Okay, not a new world record, but definitely my fastest mile to date - by 30 seconds!

But my finish time wasn't any kind of personal record, which was a little disappointing. But I trotted off to the progressive marathon station where they were handing out medals to those of us how had officially completed 26.2 miles.

And then my new bestie caught up with me to talk about the race. One of the coordinators of the race saw us talking, and saw my medal and came over to talk to us about how we thought it went. "You can tell a runner organized the race" my new bestie said, "because you're giving medals 5 deep in each age group." Usually races just give medals 3 deep, and my new bestie had a habit of coming in 4th. She was thrilled to be getting a medal this time around.

As for me, I've never been fast enough even come in 4th, so Thatboy and I headed to the car where Thatmom was already waiting for us, since she got too cold to hang out outside.


That evening, to celebrate my first "marathon" we went to Thatmom's new favorite restaurant. She apparently goes there once a week. The Side Door - so called, because you actually enter through a side door from the main restaurant, 5 Crowns.

Thatmom loves this place because it's small plates and we all know how much she loves small plates. The seating is eclectic. We ended up on a couch, 2 arm chairs, and eating off of a coffee table.



Thatboy and I quickly found our favorite local beer, which made us very very happy.

See those guys in the little glass window? Of course you do. There's a big red arrow by their heads. Well those are the guys the make up the cheese plates, mash the avocados, and toss the salads. I bet they get several marriage proposals a night.

We started out with the avocado mash, one of Thatmom's favorites. And it was delicious. Nothing fancy, mashed avocados, some salt, chives - but remember, sometimes simple is exactly perfect the way it is.

"Ohhhhh I love panzanella" I exclaimed.
"What's panzanella?" asked Thatmom.
"A salad, where the main component is bread."
And that's all it took to get this salad on our table. Toasted bread, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and an herb marinated goat cheese. After we finished, Thatmom had another proclamation: "Ohhhhh I love panzanella."

We also ordered a cheese plate, and this time I stole a menu so I could tell you about these deliciously fabulous cheeses. From left to right:
Renata - a cow's milk cheese from Washington. It was supposed to be a little pungent, but we didn't think it was at all. Just creamy.

Tete de Moine - another cow's milk cheese. This 0ne was from Switzerland and was the table winner. A little nutty, with the perfect consistency and a great mouth feel because of the way it's cut to create the cool wavy pattern.

Brebicet - a French sheep's milk triple cream cheese. It was a little cool, not room temperature warm enough and was okay for a soft cheese, but not as sweet as we would have liked.

Haricots Verts with creamy ricotta and lemon basil. I was just remarking to Thatmom that there is a world of difference between fresh ricotta and store bought. I adore the fresh stuff as used in this dish. And the beans were perfectly done so they still had some crunch to them.

Thatboy's pick was the Shelton Farms Chicken Pot Pie. Thatmom and I weren't so impressed, but Thatboy really liked it. Maybe because it was his choice? We don't let him make a lot of choices himself.

My choice - The Chicken Brochetta with mole, rice, and lime. Maybe there's something about picking the dish, because this one I loved and no one else was impressed. And I'm addicted to pickled onions lately. I just can't get enough of them.

Roast Beef Cuban on Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Bread. I suggested this, thinking it would be something Thatboy and I would like, but expected it to get vetoed by Thatmom. But she was game to try it. We were all very happy we did. The roast beef at the main restaurant is known for being fabulous, and it was clear this translated into excellent roast beef sandwiches. I've never had a cuban sandwich with roast beef, but it worked SO well.

And that was the end of my race weekend, or so I thought. On Monday I got an email from the race director with a link to our official times, and I went to check it out to see the difference between my finish time and my chip time. Then I went to see how my new bestie did (other than being 6 minutes faster than me). And I noticed something funny. My name. Listed as the 5th place finisher for my age group. (Remember how I said they were giving medals 5 deep?) Later this week I got a fun envelope in the mail containing not one, but 2 shiny new medals to add to my Progressive Marathon Medal! One for being a top finisher in the 5k, and the other my 5th place medal!

I don't think there'll be another race where I'll earn 3 medals, so I'm taking full advantage of being able to gloat on this one.