Just another Friday...

I have another post that is coming with some catching up to do, but I thought this would be a fun one to quickly put up.

Today was just another typical Friday:

- catch up on emails

- see clients

- run in the INCREDIBLE weather

- visit with my neighborhood friend (major time suck, but oh such meaningful moments to give)

- deliver cakeballs and vegan bars (one of my new favorite pasttimes, as this delivery always brings a smile to everyone's face)

- take Flyer to the vet

- leave in the middle of the appointment

- head to the movie set

- photo op with my client

- nice visit with my client

- great dinner with husband

- prep for run for tomorrow

Oh, yeah, here is the pic

mer

Loving Thanks

Thanksgiving Day had an early start - Davenport Death Run 16 miles: Mel and Mike, Paul and I, Luisa, Tom, and William. It was an incredible route, and I look forward to challenging myself with it again. Then it was off to finish prep!

There is no better way to show your thanks than to create a lovely meal. And, that is just what I did!

On the Menu:

- Herb Roasted Turkey Breast (made two bone-in breasts vs. whole turkeys to avoid being stuck with dark meat)

- Sweet Potatoes with unsweetened dried cranberries and infused with orange juice

- Roasted Beets in reduced balsamic vinegar

- steamed string beans

- Rosemary Sage Stuffing

- Cranberry Relish with mandarin oranges

- Spinach salad with pears and fall vegetables

- And for my non-turkey eaters Grilled Salmon seasoned with herbs de Provence and grilled lemons

For Dessert:

- Cakeballs

- Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream and sprinkled with cinnamon

- Pumpkin Pie

- 1 single Vegan Brownie for my father's birthday :)

Sharing this special meal with family and friends made me truly thankful for all the gifts in my life. This year has been filled with just so much, and this was an incredible moment to take to show my true appreciation for all the gifts I am given.

And if the above wasn't enough, there is no better way to complete the evening than to take the bones and from the turkey breast and create a turkey and vegetable soup. So not only are we left with incredibly healthy leftovers, but the treat of warm soup for weeks to come! As with all the meals and foods I create, there is nothing more special than sharing the goodness...so if you want a container of soup, just let me know! (I have it in the freezer! Next week looks like it is going to be a PERFECT soup week in Texas).

Ahhh, to melt into the couch with Paul and the UT game (hook'em) after such a wonderful day and hard work. All was sooo worth it!

Have a blessed holiday weekend!

mer

Running and Baking

What a day! If you would have asked me at 4:30 this morning how the day I was looking, I would have had a very different response than what I have at 10pm.

At 4:30 this morning, I was crawling out of my slumber after a brief 4 hours of sleep. One of the things of truly appreciating running and training is the gift of getting to release any negativity that might be brewing inside. For me that is what is a run is for. It is not an escape from reality, but a true moment of appreciation and blessing...and who the heck wouldn't feel positive after taking advantage of those feelings. Of course, it does help that I run with some of the most fun people! I am so very fortunate to be surrounded by such a phenomenal community of healthy people who think a 5:30 run is the best place to be.

I showed up for the run with the cold front blowing in. Right as we get started, Amy comes running up from behind totally giddy. She tells me that Dorie posted on her blog. Two pieces have to be mentioned here: Amy's blog is INCREDIBLE (see the first blog favorite of mine). She touches my foodie passion with each of her posts and creations. Second, she recognized that only another foodie would be almost skipping to the thought that Dorie Greenspan commented on her bundt cake entry. If you don't know who she is, look her up and BAKE! Amy just brightened my morning. I promised her that I would have pics of my creations today (they are coming in a moment). I love having that connection with someone...the passion of wonderful food.

The run was really great, everything about it: the route; the company; even the cold front coming in...it was just the magical miles that my body needed to be renewed for the day to come! Although, I will admit that I am looking forward to partaking in the full glory of Testosterone (Estrogen if you ask Asia) Tuesday next week!!

After the run, it was time to get in a full workday as well as a full prep day. As I went through the day in a perfect symmetry of time balance I came to realize what a joy it all is. There is truly nothing more wonderful than creating food for others. I enjoy nothing more than sharing my creations of healthy foods and treats with those who I care about. In good food: the preparation, the serving, the delivering...it's the entire act that gets to come from pure raw ingredients to effort of your hands and skill to final product...well, that end result is just like a great run. The gift of food to another person creates that same moment of joy and renewal. I came to realize in my food prep today, I LOVE sharing that. I love bringing a smile to someone's face with the food I prepare. It is such a great gift!

With that level of joy, I created some very requested cakeballs (red velvet...my signature...and Boston Cream Pie, my sweet husband's request), prepped vegetables, and roasted sweet potatoes (they just need the addition of fresh cranberries and orange juice) in the midst of my workday. As promised this morning, Amy - here are the pics! If you go back on my blog you will note that I have stepped up the artistry on them. It's about time that these little wonders look as beautiful as they taste...but no tastes for me. Seriously!!

What a wonderfully full day! So many gifts and "little blessings" to be thankful for and prep to share with those I love!

I am so very fortunate!

mer

It's time to get back!

John P said first thing this morning when I showed up to Rogue for my first run with the crew in quite sometime, "What happened to Sunshine Makes me Happy? I miss the blog posts." Well, John, I must say that you made my morning :) It is with your nudge that I come out of the thought process and back!

Then I opened my blog page and saw a note from Kelly. Kelly - miss you too, and it is time for me to get back on it. I hope to see you so soon and am thrilled to know that you are healthy and back running.

Journeys, life, trails...all have many options and many final destinations. Sometimes we take the right path, sometimes we take what we think is the right path, and sometimes we downright take the wrong one. The gift that God has blessed me with is that no matter what path I head down: the love, compassion, and non-judged support I have from everyone in my world can return me to my core.

I am so very grateful for all the gifts in my life. I am speechless by the love and support that holds me up, and reminds me of the person I truly am. I am in awe of my husband who can sit at a table and listen to me with levels of compassion that are greater than that of a Saint. I will never be able to truly verbalize how fortunate I am to be married to such a good good man. (But, let's be honest in that EVERYONE who has ever met him already knows that about him) When there is so much love at the core of two people for eachother, I now truly believe, you can conquer ANYTHING that comes your way.

As with each race I run, these past few months of life have also taught me lessons that I will not soon forget...Fortunately, my "team" remains stronger than ever and intact, and we can move forward together, forever changed...

Thanks to each of you for your patience for my return! I'll be sure to make each post worth the wait :)

mer

Training Races and Appreciating Friends

I could go on and on about what a wonderful day I had at Headlands, but instead I am going to focus on what this gift is all about...appreciating my friends.

Over the past few months, I have been given the gift of the best training partners, friends, advisors, and support team. These are not new people in my life, but the gift of each of them is so incredible that it is what carries me as I run, and especially as I ran on Saturday.

My goal for Saturday was made very clear: this was a TRAINING RUN! This was not a race for me. What this meant in my head was that I was supposed to finish with legs as fresh as I started, right?

Even so I was heading out to run...not hike around the Marin Headlands. And, run, I did. I went a little too fast on the first loop. Not fast by effort, but fast by time. I knew if I tried to push that pace for the 2nd loop I would not finish with fresh legs. So I turned it off, and really took it easy on the 2nd loop. I chatted with folks, I cheered for others going the other direction, and I just had a great time appreciating my gifts and the day.

It was on the second loop that I realized as I was running just how much I was smiling. I wondered for a bit what people going the other way must think, and then it struck me...my smile, my utter happiness on the trail was contagious. Who the heck smiles after 30 miles of running? What I came to realize is that someone who is at complete peace and happiness in their life can smile with every step they take. And in that moment, when people can feel your inner and outer smile...it makes them smile too.

I have the great fortune of being in a place that brings me to constant happiness: work, life, family, friends...each and every piece lifts me and it comes out in each step I take and the smile on my face.

OK, now for my moments of gratitude because I ran this race filled with so much, as always.

I would name each and every one of you, but you all know who you are!! I was called a "secret weapon" on Saturday, which made me laugh. But, honestly, each of you that are such a huge part of my life...you are my secret weapon. You fuel me with moments; you lift me up; you bring me strength; you support me; you love me; each of you is exactly what I need to be filled with such inner happiness...it is just incredible what a gift you are.

The best way to honor this gratitude is with pictures of all of those who bring me this inner and outer smile :) Thank you for the gifts! Headlands was for you, and we had a great time!

mer

(as a side note to this, missing from the photos are Mike, Erin, and Bruce) Mike and Erin - I couldn't find the pics from my b-day...totally MIA. Bruce - after tomorrow AM I will have a pic of you (yes I am taking a pic after our run!!)

Other pics missing, but the people are not - my fantastic friends from all over who advise, support, and are just as important as everyone who has a photo up...need to get better at taking pics of out of town friends, too :)

My Inner Roadrunner

Today I was a true road runner! Dropped my car off at Barton Springs, and hooked a ride with the guys to the Arboretum. From there our fearless leader, Steve, gave the instruction: 8 miles EZ, 10 mile MGP, rest cooldown (we were going 24 total).

Let me back up. I do actually run roads quite frequently: hills, tempo, easy...it is just easier to find company and speed that way. But, the last time I endeavored on my long run on the road (over 10-15 miles) was Austin Marathon last Feb. where I paced. But it worked in my schedule, the other guys were in Bandera, and I wanted to be done early to go enjoy Swedish Waffles!

I will be the first to admit I have no idea what my current road pace is. I have been known recently, and apparently am getting quite the reputation, for taking an easy run to a 7:05 pace...thanks for all the grief! But I figured if I hung with the crowd for warm-up, stayed with Bruce (7:15 or a little faster) for MGP, and then home free I would be fine. This would give me a solid run without any fatigue going into Headlands.

Well, what a treat this run was! I spent most of the early part, and until she had to get to work, with Asia (sp?) one of the UT Cross-Country girls. We had a great time visiting! I spent some time just listening to the guys and their banter. And, I spent some time letting Bruce and Jason (yes, Mike, Jason was not pulling the crowd!!) keep me in check pre-MGP. The miles (even the bonus wrong turn +1mile) flew by. Then it was time to pick it up. It's so weird, and I was telling Nedra later, that I was a little nervous picking it up. I run too fast all the time, but I didn't know if I could hold the pace for 10 miles and on the hills.

Well, actually Bruce and I did pretty darn well, and Charles TOTALLY rallied after an early show stopper! Here's what Bruce had to say about our pace splits: "Actually I think those are pretty good considering the terrain, especially the last four miles. I know mile four was 7:14 so if I factor that in our overall pace was 7:12 on a course designed to slap us around a bit. It was expected that many people wouldn't be able to keep pace for ten miles."

I can't believe I am typing this, but I think some of my inner roadrunner is back :) Probably most of it is because I don't do long runs on the road very often, and the company is fantastic, but I think I might do that again...and maybe soon!! Thanks for letting me play with the black short boys!!

Next stop, Trattoria Lisina and a wonderful anniversary evening! 5years!

Oh, and by the way, Swedish Waffles (crunchy) are the best!
m

Pacifica

I'll be the first to admit that I have a heavy racing schedule for the end of summer/early fall. I love to race, whether for a training run or for an A effort. There is so something to be said for pinning a race number on, going to incredible places, and testing your training.

I can't remember when I decided that Pacifica 50K was a good place to start, but I did and then convinced Beth that it was a great idea for her to join. Afterall, she needed a pick-me-up race after Boston and trying to motivate for the next goal...and what better place than the trails of California!

I have been training hard and strong lately, and so I was interested to see how it would play out. I had looked at times from past years and saw that I could do fairly well, if I ran a smart race. I had taken a peak at the course record, but more for reference of where I thought I might finish...5:15-5:30 was my goal. Beth and I hit on one VERY early challenge, I needed to run fast enough for us to make our 5pm Sunday flight. When we booked everything neither one of us had checked out the race start time: 8:30. It was going to be close if we wanted to be clean on the plane.

We headed to California on Saturday with the plan to check out the town of Half Moon Bay before settling into the hotel. We had a great time, and it was completely worth the trip to the old beach town to drive there. The drive was spectacular. One funny piece of this part of the trip to note was us passing the local vineyard, and Beth and I remembering our trip to Napa. I had never been wine tasting before in Napa, and it didn't take much for me to be drunk. We considered stopping in, but I drew the line.

By late afternoon, we were both fairly spent and went to the room to relax, eat, and get ready for the race. I kept telling Beth that I was a little nervous about the course. The 50K course read like this: Orange/Pink/Pink/Orange/Yellow/Pink. WTF. How was I supposed to remember this is the midst of a race. The was only one person who could help...Mike. I sent him an email asking for help, and he was a GENIUS! He said, quite simply: "Who's down with OPP, yeah you know me." And then he said something about OYP. Beth and I were laughing and laughing. We would, now, not easily forget the route!! And, I would have yet another Mike song stuck in my head.

Both Beth and I were up VERY early the next morning, still being on Central Time. It was kind of nice because we could be totally leisurely in our getting ready for the race. At first we might have felt bad for making too much noise getting ready, waking up our neighbors, but shortly before we departed we could clearly hear that our neighbors took advantage of the wake-up call. I will spare everyone any more details than that, unless you are on a long run with me and need some laughs.

We headed down 1 to Pacifica. WOW the views of the ocean as we drove in. And this is why I run in California! We got to the park, and were surrounded by incredible foliage and cool temps. Arm warmers...ready to go. The race consisted of a 9K, 21K, 30K, and 50K. Everyone but the 9K started together. We all lined up, and Wendell sent us on our way. I took off toward the front, chatting briefly with my friend, Lee, from Granite Bay. He told me that Saturday he had gone for a 5K swim in the American River for his birthday and needed to slow down on this first climb. I know he is historically faster than me, but I was really going conservative and pulled away pretty quickly. I had the plan to take the first round of Orange/Pink conservative to get a check of the course, and then pick it up on the back 1/2. I continued up the climb with Elizabeth. She was doing the 50K, and seemed to be a strong climber. After the first two miles, I had to let her go. I knew I would be at the edge if I stayed with her to the top. So here I was 2nd woman...long way to go. We climbed to the top of the peak about 3.5 miles up, turned around and went down. I LOVE downhill. My legs were starting to warm up and I was feeling spry. I hooked in with 2 30K guys and 2 or 3 21K guys. I got in front for the single track down. One of the guys, at one point, made some wise crack about me taking this first downhill too fast for planning to run the 50K. I was comfortable, so I ignored him. (downhill miles: 7:21, 7:14, 7:12) We came into the start/finish, I refilled my bottle, and headed out.

Pink loop had a smaller climb, a short stretch on a dirt road, a two mile climb, and then decent back to start/finish. This first loop of Pink seemed to take forever. I used the time to just collect myself and remember sections for repeating later. I got to the top of the second climb and then happily took it down (7:23, 7:16). My legs seemed to be warming up on this second decent and I was finally seeming to find some rhythm.

I refilled, again, and headed back on the Pink loop. I definitely felt better this loop. ..downhill and dirt road mile (7:42) It was here I caught back up to one of my initial 30K guys. I caught him right before the twoish miles down, and tried to drag him with me. He had some words that I was going to drop him and he was only running the 30K, sorry. Down I went (7:12, 7:08)

Back to Orange. I knew it was coming and this was going to be my test. My nutrition, my head, my legs...up I go. I actually felt great. I was almost 3/4 up before I even saw the 1st place male. I was getting a little giddy...where was Elizabeth? I kept saying to myself, if I can be 1-2 minutes behind her I can catch her on the downhill. Sure enough as I get to the top of the peak, she is 1 minute up...race on! I turn around and RUN. I thought for sure I would catch her on the downhill. I was flying for me (7:10, 7:04, 6:42...NO JOKE!!) I have so much momentum on the downhill that I am having to grab poles on the switchbacks to keep my balance. It was awesome. My legs were giving me all the gifts of all of my hard work, and I was grateful for every moment.

I came running hard into the start/finish for my final water refill only to find Elizabeth there. I was ready to push. My legs felt fantastic, and I knew I could run the whole last up and push the down. She takes off right infront of me, and I catch her. I tell her that she must have been flying down that last downhill because I couldn't believe I didn't catch her. She says she loves the downhills but she is tired. That was all I needed to hear. I pulled ahead, but knew she was back there...it was a good place to be. I like to run a little scared. I started up the final climb and about 1 mile up I get stung by a hornet...OUCH. It freaking hurt. I walk for just a second, but then reason to myself that if I have a bad reaction to the sting the best I could do was get to the finish quickly. So I start running. I get to the top of the final climb and know I have about 2 miles down to the finish. It is now for the first time that I look at the clock for real time. I knew the women's course record was 5:02 (Mike told me today that the men's was 4:58), and see that I have about 24 minutes to get down (I was looking at real time...not chrono, my GPS was being grumpy with me). So I take off at full speed down, once again. Somewhere in my head the math is telling me that I am going to be really, really close. This time I descend with everything I have. (7:04, 6:32) I am going down so fast at one point that I catch the switchback wrong and catch the side of the ledge of dirt and it gives way under my foot. I go sliding down. Before I can lose time, I am UP and moving again. My legs are loving every moment of this. I can't believe it. I hit the opening, and then the finish. 4:53:21. Elizabeth finishes 3 minutes after me, with a hornet sting in the exact same spot as mine...picture worthy :)

I finish muddy, joyful, and grateful. I am so grateful for all of the support I have going into the race. I feel lifted. I actually have moments of handing sections over to each of you and have you run with me. I am never alone on the trail because each of you is with me. It is an incredible feeling. I am so thankful to Paul for supporting me in my endeavors of running. It is not easy, but he let's me go. What I do is so different from a triathlon in that it is often more than one race a year, and I am so blessed that he understands what this means to me. There are very few words to describe what it is to have people in my life to lift me, to push me, to stand beside me. It is when it is time to go to the depth of what I have and what I am made of that I can feel you beside me...ALL of you :) God bless you all so richly for all of your love and support.