The First Snovember

 

Waking up to snow on a mid November morning is super weird. I was lame and missed out on Monday's good weather, and now we have nothing but cold in our future. Bummer.

I've never liked the cold. So it makes running outside even more difficult. I don't have a membership to a gym and I hate the treadmill, but when you're in training for a race you gotta make sacrifices. And I'll be honest, I haven't done much running this week.

After my weekend away and 11 mile long run, I didn't realize the cold was coming in so quickly. So I lollygagged around on Monday instead of logging some valuable miles.

Annie didn't seem to mind our Monday full of couch snuggling and Netflix watching. But then again she is a dog so she's pretty low maintenance. And she never complains about me re-watching my favorite shows on Netflix. Ahem....How I Met Your Mother, Scandal, Gilmore Girls, House, Criminal Minds, Vampire Diaries....Don't judge me.

Since it was bitter cold yesterday, we started setting up our Christmas window display at work. Very merry for mid-November. I'm waiting for someone to say "It's not even Thanksgiving yet," so I can give them the eye and say we are trying to win a contest for Christmas Window bragging rights.

When I got home to take Annie out, she had to sniff every single fallen leaf in her path. In the 30 degree weather. For 30 minutes. Brrrrrrr. Silly puppy.

So I made some Nutella Hot Chocolate.

 It was pretty chocolaty. In the future, I think I will cut back on the cocoa powder just use Nutella. Because let's face it, Nutella rules.

I have 12 miles on the books for Sunday, and I should get close to 3 miles in on tomorrow's run with my NoBo group. I'm using both as dress rehearsals for race day. Little secret about me: I have to teach myself how to dress for the cold weather every winter. Not kidding. The first few runs I always overdress and freeze. And then I under-dress and start running with the fear of freezing, but it usually works out for the better. You'd think I'd know better after all these years.

My Love of the Brownie Pan

Why do they call them Brownie pans anyway? That makes them so one-sided. Like hey, I'm a Brownie Pan. I only hold gooey, delicious brownies. Full of chocolate and slightly undone centers. Warm squares of chocolatey goodness.

I've had this so called Brownie pan for a while now, and I've pretty much only made brownies in it since I got it.

But recently I had this brilliant idea to bake some BBQ chicken in it. And that turned out delicious.

And you know what else?

It was the most perfect portion size for just little ole me.

So I did something crazy. I made lasagna in my "brownie pan."

Oh, the horror it must have felt when it was full of cheesy, saucy noodley goodness instead of danity chocolate squares.

And again. Perfect portion sizes. I didn't have to eat lasagna for 65 days.

This is huge, people. And please don't tell me one of you, who is smarter than me, figured this out long ago. Shame on you for not sharing with your fellow single people or two person homes.

Total casserole game changer.

So long to my "brownie pan." And hello to my new I'm-gonna-use-this-for-everything pan. I think my next creation will be poppy seed chicken.

One Month til Race Day

Well I guess it's actually a little less than one month until race day. Training has been going ok. Just a few nagging injuries that try to keep me down. But all in all, I feel strong.

I am definitely faster than the last time I finished a half marathon, and I'm excited to see how I do on race day.

This past weekend I went to Tennessee to spend some time outside on my grandparents' farm. My mom and I ran 11 miles around the town. And we ran out of the city limits. Seeing a city limit sign and not being at your turn-around point is humbling and mentally challenging.

Here are some scenes from my mini-vacation.

Annie loves spending time outside, and apparently she is "real" dog because she likes to carry and chew on sticks. My mission as a dog mom is complete. My dog loves sticks.

This weekend I will run my last long run before I start my taper. 12 miles. It's going to be a good dress rehearsal. Gotta figure out what clothes to wear since this Arctic Blast is starting to kick it up.