Apple Pie

As a last minute decision angela decided to use some of the apples i won from the race (see previous post to see how huge the basket is) to make some apple pie to give to the sawyers (our small group leaders who are moving back to south carolina).

Ready to begin:

However, we ran into a few "issues" when she went to make it. first, her crust recipe called for milk. i don't drink milk therefore i don't own milk. so, we decided to do her pie filling with my crust. sure, no problem i thought. however, i forgot that i made dave (allison's husband) an apple cake on thursday as a thank you for letting allison come to new hampshire with me and i had used almost all of my white flour. so, i ended up making the bottom crust with white flour and the top crust was a mixture of whole wheat flour and white flour and the filling has whole wheat flour. we were worried about how it would taste (i'm not a huge fan of baking with whole wheat flour because i think it tends to make things too heavy) and were hesitant about claiming it as our pie and giving it as a gift. but then, since we got a late start making it and used a whole lot of apples it didn't finish baking before we had to leave so we left it baking in the oven and i'll take it to work tomorrow. those people with eat anything, even apple pie made with whole wheat flour.

it isn't burnt, that is cinnamon on the top

Update: people at work gave the pie rave reviews. i give all the credit to angela being fabulous

Birthday

When I got back from New Hampshire on Saturday my friend, Angela, had left me a rose, a balloon, and some chocolate. So sweet! p.s. this is why we give friends keys to our apartments :)

rachel and randall (a.k.a. "the fernandez family") gave me a watermelon (i love how well they know me) as well as the most perfect card ever (the front says "after a certain age, women face an increased risk while jogging" and the inside says "specifically, getting slapped in the face by their own boobs"). bahahahaha

and, then, trupti gave me a super wonderful birthday surprise on Sunday

she invited my friends from church over. tim, randall, brad
lalo and ben
juliann, rachel, angela
and then she made me all my favorite foods.

mini bananas and candy from the chinese store

cheese and bread with homemade butter

"guacamole" but it is a mix of avocado and bleu cheese
lettuce wraps and thai chicken
not pictured, "experimental" lemon grass chicken and stir fried rice.

we had root beer floats for dessert because last friday we went to red robin for brad's birthday and lalo and randall each had three root beer floats but due to race training i did not get to drink one. hahahaha.

AppleFest Half Marathon

For my birthday on Saturday my running buddy, Allison and I ran the AppleFest Half Marathon on Hollis, New Hampshire.

I was really excited about it until Thursday. Why until Thursday? Because on Thursday I looked up the course route. And then on Friday I drove the course route. Since you won't be able to fully understand without a visual aid, below you will find the map (courtesy of my really awesome garmin watch) of the elevation of the course. If you'll look, there is a hill right before mile two that is a quarter mile long. not so bad. then there is a stretch of flat followed by a steep descent. honestly going down hill is just as tiring as going up because most people don't run on their toes like they should. then there's a few miles of "rolling" hills. now, look from about mile nine and a half until mile eleven. that is ONE HUGE HILL! then there was flat, then just after mile twelve was the same quarter mile hill that was just before mile two but seemed a whole lot steeper ten miles later.

Needless to say, i was seriously freaking out going into Saturday. This was my first half marathon to run "on my own" since Allison and I ran side by side at our last one and I train in relatively flat framingham.

But, my sister sent me a new neon shirt as inspiration. side story: she actually sent me a long jog bra but i was afraid of it being chilly in new england at the end of september so i traded for long sleeve. however, it turned out to be 85 degrees yesterday. And, my mom sent me some new race socks. so, even if i fell on my face at least i had new gear.

allison and i pre-race.

ready to run!

race story: just after mile eight the man who handed me some water told me i was the 13th woman. i saw a pack of three women in front of me and another girl up ahead and thought "if i can pass them i can be top ten". so, the hunt began (except i had to remember not to be too aggressive too soon because i still had one monster of a hill to go). the first girl i passed at the water stop when she actually stopped to drink her water. two more i took down on the super long mile and a half hill. that left the one girl up ahead. i decided my best chance to pass her would be on the flat before the final hill. so, i took the risk and went for it and was a little worried she would be able to draft off me going up the hill or i would burn out. but, at the last water station at mile twelve the kind kids doused me with water which was just the cool down i needed. going up the last hill there was a woman on the side of the road puking which relaxed me some because it meant even if the girl behind me passed me i would still be in the top ten. but, i survived and actually increased my lead. then, on the home stretched i found my legs again and passed a girl who had started off super fast and had no fuel left. sooo....

race results: out of 1200 people

Overall: 37th

Women's Division: 7th

Age Group: 1st

Time: 1:38:36

Average Pace: 7:27/ mile

the prize for first place was a basket full of apples (yes, the base is full too).

2nd and 3rd got pies. fatty amanda would've preferred pie :)


post race.

Allison ran 2:12 got 432nd

her mantra was: i didn't win and i didn't tie, but i didn't walk and i didn't die. hahahaha

I love my running buddy

check it out

i encourage you to check out Desiring God. it is particularly good today:

The Gracious Rescue of Surprise by Paul Tripp

God's little reminders

I woke up this morning and my first thought was “you forgot to wear your road id yesterday when you ran to the Y, don’t forget it again today”. When I went to my closet to get my watch, heart rate monitor, and road id (usually things I lay out the night before but forgot last night) my road id wasn’t there. I know Megan makes fun of me for keeping it in the container but that is how I keep track of it and don’t lose it. I checked the shelf in its entirety, the floor, the catch all basket by my front door, basically anywhere I could think of where I might have placed it or it could’ve gotten hid. Couldn’t find it. Thinking back to the last time I remember seeing it, I realized that I last had it on Monday when I rode my bike. But, I was also wearing my watch and heart rate monitor so they should’ve all been put away together. Just in case, I checked my bike helmet and Nike bag. Not there. My next thought was that maybe it fell out in my car. But then I remembered that I lost my bananas on Monday and if my road id was in the car I should’ve found it when I was searching for the bananas. I was frustrated with myself for not paying more attention and losing my road id. But then I stopped and prayed that God would help me find it. He knew where it was and what happened to it even if I didn’t. And I went back to my closet to check my bike helmet one more time. When I did I saw my cycle shoes sitting on the shelf. I picked the left one up, turned it over, and out fell my road id.

Point of the story: God answers prayers. And, He cares about us and the little things that bother us. Nothing is too small for Him to handle.

Thank you, God, for your little reminders.

Speaking of reminders...

Biblical Truths

1. God is a Sovereign God.

Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

2. His ways are perfect

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

3. His timing is perfect

Ecclesiastes 3:1: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

4. He knows me better than I know myself

Psalm 139: 13: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Who do I think I am/ what gives me the right to question/doubt His perfect will or His perfect timing or His perfect love when ultimately He has it all under control?

Psalm 46:10: Be still and know I am God

workout of the day

****warning: I’m an explainer. If you don’t care about my justification simply read the middle section (the part in bold) and ignore the rest.

Today was supposed to be a speed day, but I slept in. The workout below I made up on the train on the way home while trying to figure out how to motivate myself to run fast while at the same time trying to justify not actually having to push myself too hard or run too fast (did I mention I’m scared of running fast?). And I ended up liking it – as with all first time workouts I’ll make modifications the next time I use it but this is a pretty good base workout.

Notes before I start:

1. I enjoy doing things I’m good at and don’t often find it too hard to motivate myself to them. This includes long(ish) runs and cross training. Not hard. Not painful. Simple and straightforward and usually comes with a sense of accomplishment.

2. I don’t enjoy things I’m not good at and often find myself trying to justify how to not do them. This includes speed work and lifting weights.

a. I don’t really enjoy speed work mostly because I find it difficult to know how hard I should push myself because I’m afraid I’ll burn out at the end. So on the flip side I won’t push myself hard enough and will end up with a feeling of self loathing. Also, if I have to run 4x800 what is the motivation to go fast? The distance is the same no matter how fast I go.

b. I don’t enjoy lifting weights because, honestly, I find it boring and it hurts. Neither of which appeal to me. End of story.

c. Needless to say, I sleep in a lot on these days

d. Yes, I know if I spent more time doing them I would get better at them and possibly enjoy them more. But, once again, I have no desire to get good at them and therefore no motivation.

3. However, as much as I don’t like things I know that to be a well rounded athlete I must force myself to do them. So, I try to package them in ways in that appeal more to me, such as alternating sets of weights with jumping rope.

4. Since I’m training for a half marathon I find it relatively easy to justify turning speed work into more of an interval training since I need to have a faster speed over longer distances not just short sprints. Case in point my speed pyramid (I actually usually acknowledge that this is interval work and do it on a middle distance day and only use it as speed work if I’m truly unmotivated to run fast).

5. I like patterns and workouts that follow patterns because if it isn’t simple I’ll get half way through and forget what I was supposed to be doing

6. I base my “gym time” workouts on an hour in the gym because on days I go that is usually what I’m limited to

Without further ado, my speed work/ interval training of the day:

5 minutes warm up

5 x 10 minute intervals

To do an interval: run a mile at a speed faster than your normal pace but not a full out sprint (unless you want to do actual speed work and then run at an all out sprint). Use the extra time left in your ten minutes to walk/recover before repeating. For example, if you run at a pace of 10 mph, that is a six minute mile, and then you have four minutes to walk.

5 minute cool down

Follow up Notes:

1. Combining distance with time provides motivation to run fast. The faster you run the faster you’re done the more time you have to recover. This appeals to me.

2. For extra motivation, make it a goal to run the last two or three miles at paces faster than the first two or three. For example, run the first three miles at a pace of 6:30 which gives you 3:30 to recover then run the fourth at 6:15 giving you 3:45 to recover before running the last at 6:00.

3. Feel free to modify.

a. If you run to/from the gym or have more time to warm up and cool down add more intervals or if you actually sprint only do three intervals

b. If you need more than ten minutes per interval pick a time that works for you. Run an eight minute mile and then walk or jog for four minutes for a twelve minute interval. The premise is still the same.

my resume

if anybody would like to find me a job that i'm qualified to do which incorporates all the things i'm good at with all the things i enjoy doing, i've posted my resume below...

Things I enjoy:

Making Stuff (manual labor, cooking)

Thinking (problem solving, learning)

Reading

Being outside (running, cycling, hiking)

Challenges (I’m not competitive, I just don’t like to lose)

Kids

Intangible Skills I have:

Talking

Organizing

Teaching

Discipline

Smart

Real Life/Job Applicable Skills I have:

Diploma

i think i found the problem... apparently you need real life skills to pay the bills

McDonalds

Since Brooke posted about McDonalds representing all things evil with fast food, I felt the need to post my feelings on the subject.

I should probably preface this post with this statement: i have never been a mcdonalds fan. it has just never been one of the places i would choose to go. the big mac just invokes visions of fat clogging my arteries and leading to an instant heart attack. then there was the whole controversy regarding the type of oil they use on their fries... whatever. not the point.

However, in McDonald's defense, while we were in Oregon Megan introduced me to the non-fat sugar-free vanilla latte . While it is a little too sweet for my normal coffee preference, it is not only cheaper than starbucks it also has fewer calories and fewer grams of sugar and fat. And, since the McDonalds in chinatown won't invest in the new machine i have to walk to downtown crossing or south station to get one. bonus points for making me work for my drink.
also, they have a newman's own organic new england blend which is pretty good for fast food black coffee.
just beware, do not order the new carmel frappe. while the advertisements are deceptively simple -- a blend of ice and coffee, it is LOADED with sugar and fat. granted, it is delicious.

also, they have a southwest chicken salad that i hear is pretty good and not overly expensive. as long as you are careful with the dressing it isn't too bad for you either. better than most fast food salads.

so, in summary, while i can't recommend everything (or even most things) on the mcdonald's menu, they aren't completely evil...

side note: the one good thing (or bad depending on your perspective) about living up here is that there are not a whole lot of fast food places to choose from. the only fast food place between the train and my house is a wendy's. we have no whataburger, no jack in the box, the kfc closed down, the taco bell closed down, one sonic an hour away, one chick-fil-a an hour away... so, if you're trying to eat healthy it is a little easier because you don't have all of the choices and temptations.