All American Hero 10K recap

All American Hero 10K

August 31, 2013

San Diego, CA

Packet pick-up was the day of. We arrived at 6:30 and found parking right away.
Bib and t-shirt pick-up took a total of 15 minutes. After using the port a potties, and meeting up with our friends who decided this race was a good idea, we bummed around the start line until the race started at 7:45.

Myself,  Jessica, Lesley and Doug: ready to sweat!

I was really nervous for this race because it was so hot, and I really didn't want to do it.

Because this was such a small race, there were no corrals to start. Everyone just started at once.
About a 1/2 mile in, both Jessica and I needed to use the bathroom (all that pre-race hydration).
I begged to just quit now. Thank goodness Jessica pushed me to keep at it.

We ran a slow race, but the views were beautiful. I noticed many people taking it slow, due to the heat I assume.

Major props to this guy running in full suit!

The out and back course was grueling, but thank goodness for the water stations at every mile. I dumped 2 cups on my head at each one.

Knowing the Nugget and hubs were at the finish line helped me complete the last couple miles.

When I saw the hubs and Nugget I was so happy! I grabbed my little darling and crossed the finish line with a vow to never race in this heat again.

All in all, the course was beautiful, the volunteers great, post race snacks were superb. The t-shirt we received is wearable and it was fun to sport the medal I clearly earned for surviving!

Afterwards we celebrated at the Broken Yolk with delicious mimosas and breakfast.

Jessica and I then followed that up with just one more celebratory drink, since the race was that draining! {always remember: re-hydration is key!}

Even though the race was tough, I am happy to have helped motivate a friend. 

Even though I didn't get to run the actual race with her (she was TOO FAST!), she was able to find some passion for running. 

Even though I won't run a race in late August heat again, I WILL run.

Even though I complained and suffered, I finished!

What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger... RiGhT?

What's the worst race (or run) you ever ran?

Quinoa and Stuffed Pepper recipe

Truth be told, I hadn't tried quinoa until a couple months ago.
I knew it was good for you and all,

(Facts about quinoa here and here )

but I didn't know how to cook it or use it.

I finally decided to bite the seed bullet and try!

Of course I had to do research first to know what to do.
It was this website that educated me.

Parts of the process followed by quinoa cakes.

I have found quinoa incredibly versatile and has become a staple in our household.

It is delicious on salads, AS a salad, in pancakes, AS a pancake... and so much more!

When I cook quinoa I'll prepare one cup at a time.

1/2 gets cooked in a broth (chicken or turkey), half water. 

(In separate pots <--- obviously)

The broth adds flavor to the quinoa to throw on salads.

The plain one is good to throw in smoothies, applesauce (for the Nugget), or for pancakes.

The other night, I made up a delicious quinoa stuffed pepper I thought you might like.

Recipe as follows

Quinoa {half} stuffed pepper

Ingredients:

1 red pepper

3/4 cup cooked quinoa

1/4 cup chopped zucchini

1/4 cup chopped kale

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese (Shaved or Grated)

Process:

Cut red pepper in half, remove seeds. 

Boil pepper in water for 10 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, mix quinoa with kale, zucchini, salt and pepper.

Remove peppers from pot and place on baking sheet.

Top peppers with quinoa mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove, top with cheese, broil for 5 minutes (or until bubbly).

Enjoy!!

This worked well for a light dinner, but would be great to fully stuff a pepper and bake.

What are some fun ways you enjoy quinoa?

Smells like and Summer is here

Believe it or not, I did NOT fall off the face of the earth.
Apparently that's hard to do, considering it's a sphere?

Yes, we are still here!!

One of my favorite things the Nugget does as of late is smell things.
It all started when she smelled some sunscreen at the beach. I asked her what it smelled like.
Her response, "ORANGE!"
This made complete sense to me since the bottle was orange!

The next day she smelled a {blue} make-up bag.
Of course, her response to what it smelled like... "BLUE!!"

I know this window of smelling things, and responding to what color the item is won't last long.
 I'm trying to savor all the perfect, innocent fun that it is!

Another fun Nugget bit is her love of those silly monkey's that jump on the bed!

You know the song. And so does Nugget!

{This is our favorite version}

She goes around the house singing, "No monkey's jumping bed!" 

Occasionally she will prompt me to join by saying, "Doctor said!"

I'm officially marking this song as her current favorite!

^^^^^-----^^^^^-----^^^^^-----^^^^^-----^^^^^-----^^^^^-----^^^^^-----^^^^^-----^^^^^

The good news is that we made it to the end of August before needing to pump the air conditioning.

The bad news is that it's so HOT and HUMID that we have to pump the air-conditioning!

This is actually very normal for southern California. It'll be super hot for the remainder of this month, through September, and most of October.

Getting up at 6am to run doesn't even cut it in this heat. 

However, I'll try my hardest not to slack off during these months. 

Maybe if I blog more, it'll keep me accountable. 

That, and I have a wonderful running buddy now too!

Sunday long run on Coronado Island

I'll leave you with one more picture of this cuteness before signing off.

Talk soon!!

XOXO

Is it hot where you live right now?

Road Runner Sports Adventure Run

So I had heard about this more than a year ago.
Somehow must have forgotten about it.
Then recently it was brought to my attention again.
So. Glad. It. Was.

I finally did the Adventure Run, put on by Road Runner Sports.

source

This is a once a month event.

The run starts and ends at RRS and is a bit like a scavenger hunt.
You run for an hour to fun checkpoints and collect raffle tickets.
The more raffle tickets collected, the better the chances to win prizes!!

After checking in {I registered online to receive a free beer ticket}
and checking out some of the promo booths,
it was time for the run!
A map was revealed listing checkpoints.
The further the checkpoint, the more raffle tickets scored!

My mama running friend, Lisa, and I were amongst the hundreds of other crazy runners!

Each checkpoint has an obstacle you can choose to complete for extra tickets.

You can run to as little or many checkpoints as you wish, as long as you are back to RRS at the end of the hour. (We barely made it!!)

Once back, rehydration {with beer} is key, while listening to raffles being called.

The raffles that didn't win a prize, oh well.

 Still smiling!

I did get a chance to run in these New Balance shoes. They were comfy and light.

The RRS Adventure Run was a ton of fun AND a great workout!! We made it to all but one checkpoint, logged 5.5 miles in an hour, while scavenging the town completing obstacles! 

Topped off with a beer and fun company, I am SO EAGER for the next Adventure RUN!

Balloons and a bike ride

Last week we went to the mall to find the Nugget new running park {sneakers} tennis shoes. However, Stride Rite wasn't having a sale, and I refuse to pay $50 for a pair of shoes that'll be outgrown in 5 days!
We did have a wonderful time at the mall though.
All thanks to this little green balloon!

I couldn't decide which pic I liked more, so you get all three!!

The above balloon now seems like chopped liver compared to all the balloons at her friend Odin's birthday party a few days later...

Apparently, yellow tutus bring fun with balloons ;)

This week must have been named, "try new running paths week". Because that's what we did!

This first run was our first "trail" run. It was hilly and hard! I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere even thought we were in the middle of the city! My quads were screaming after 2.5 miles!

The next run, Hospitality Point, is a great path near the San Diego river before it spills into the ocean. I think I would've liked it better if the wind wasn't trying to blow us away!

Some of my darling running mamas!

Today we ran along a part of Mission Bay that I hadn't touched yet. It was {of course} gorgeous as the water sparkled in the sunlight!

In other exciting news...

The Nugget experienced her very first bike ride!! 

We took her to Lake Murray for the inaugural run and she had a wonderful time! It was a beautiful evening with lots of ducks along the path. 

We are now looking forward to exploring more places, on bike, as a family!!

A runner and a climber

Last Wednesday, Nugget was out playing as I arrived back from my run.

She had to have my water bottle and headphones so she could "run"!

This made me so happy!

The above two pictures show how proud the Nugget is to be a climber! 

One day she decided to be a "daredevil"... and she hasn't looked back. Now every day she is up on a chair, standing! { <---cue one more thing for this mama to worry about}

This newfound skill has certainly helped her confidence climbing at the playground though!

Not a picture of climbing, but this rolling slide is the best! 

{As is her Rolling Stones shirt}

Now that I'm {mostly} recovered from my plague cold, 

it's wonderful to be running again. 

(I took 4 days off)  (Which seemed realllllly long!)

 I've had to take it slow though since I'm still coughing a lot, 

and I don't want to overdue it.

Anywho... going to leave you with a couple pics from my runs this week.

A gorgeous run in Balboa Park:

A foggy start to a run at Lake Murray:

What was(is) your favorite place to play at the playground?

It's been over a week, let me photo dump on you!

St. Patricks day 7K.

yes I made up my own 7K, 

and yes I ran with shamrock socks and green attire while blasting Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys! 

The nugget had a blast at the neighborhood park, cutely sporting her green!

She also finally decided to wear her sunglasses the following day, a cloudy day.

Her friend decided to match.

Ear flap hats + sunglasses = super cool babies

Too cool for school at Toddler class.

We enjoyed a bus tour with our Mom's group at the Zoo, 

followed by some Monkey and Hippo sightings!

Ever heard of Hullabaloo? It's a band for the tiny folk, and we grooved to their music on Friday.

Saturday, the Nugget woke up sick, puked all over for the first time ever and had a fever. Somehow, amazingly, it lasted only that day. This meant we were able to join our family in Dana Point for a delicious brunch (celebrating Easter early). This food was phenomenal! I ate on that Huevos Rancheros  leftovers for 2 days!

Following brunch, we went to {Auntie} Mel's for dessert and an Easter Egg hunt. That sister of my sure get's into holidays. Her darling daughter will have a hoot next year searching for eggs.

Great Auntie Debbie helping Nugget search

On Monday, we ran somewhere new {for me}. Silver Strand is a small piece of land that connects Coronado Island to "the mainland".

It's a nice flat run with great views of the Coronado bridge and Glorietta bay. However it was a very HOT run. Not sure if it's always like this, or if it was just the day.

We played at the park and walked along the beach after the run. It was a perfect morning.

Tuesday was uneventful save for a trip to the market for fresh produce. We keep a huge stock of carrots and oranges on hand because the nugget often insists on {me} making fresh juice! 

Nothing wrong with that!

Have a happy Wednesday!

What's your favorite juice to make, or drink? {or both?}