October 2015 – Its Just Lisa

15 Races for 2015: Buckeye 1/2 Marathon and Relay 2015 – Race #6

Sun, Oct 25

So I never thought I would do a relay. I was very salty at the relay-ers back in 2011 running my first (and only) full marathon. They would jump right into the race with fresh legs to do their 5 or 6 mile leg and just had way to much energy for me trucking along at probably mile 16 or 17 or whatever. But when Alise (JCU alum) asked me to run the Buckeye 1/2 as a relay with her a few weeks ago, I was really interested! I’m so glad she did! What a great experience this morning. It was really nice because for that distance (just a smidge longer that a 10K), there is really not a lot of long run training to do beyond what I normally do. Plus, the price was very reasonable and you could not beat the SWAG!!

It was a beautiful morning for a run. The spitty rain petered out early and gave way to temps in the low 50’s. I almost hit a deer on my way to the race, but thankfully that was the only drama involved today! Oh, well we did have drama with the registration of our team name a little bit, but thankfully the race organizers fixed it and the JCU BlueStreaks were ready to take on the race! Alise was to run first, so after seeing her off at the starting line I made my way back to the car, via the bathroom, of course. The course was a double loop so the starting line for me was the same spot where Alise started. This was good since directions are never my strength area! I hung out in the car for just a few minutes, and before I knew it, it was time to go out and meet my partner to “pass the baton”!

I started out with my garbage bag on me, but that lasted for about 30 seconds! I wore capris and a long-sleeved shirt and that turned out to be a perfect choice. It was the most perfect weather for running!! This is probably why I love fall races! It was a smaller race with about 800 runners, sponsored by SARC (Summit Athletic Running Club). I felt really good and strong right from the beginning. I had been running some faster runs lately so I was hoping to turn it on and do the same today! I felt good because I kept passing people! This I never usually do! People usually pass me! I wonder if there were any 1/2 haters watching me jump in all perky??!!! I came upon the 2:20 pacer group and ran with them for a bit, but then passed them! The course was great with a few hills, but nothing too bad. I booked up them with no walking! It was weird to get used to the fact that cars were on most of the course while we were running, but I think that is usual for smaller races. I felt strong and good about my pace the entire time. Coming into the finish I pushed it and for the first time ever in a race, I felt like I wanted to throw up. Luckily I didn’t!

Coming into the finish…

I met up with Alise and her boyfriend, Chris (who got a PR for the 1/2!), and we enjoyed the post-race goodies and awards ceremony.

We were really happy with our time! We beat my 1/2 marathon PR time by like a minute with a 2:18! Too cool!

Even though the only time that is registered is our team time in terms of my individual time here is what my watch said my stats were:
6.4 miles, Time: 1:08:13; Pace per mile: 10:35

A medal for like a 10K? Yes, please!

Sweet jacket!

Great morning with great friends!

Fresh Fork – Week 21

Friday, Oct 23

Well, I just picked up my last bag for our first summer share yesterday! We have one more week to go, but Mike will pick it up since I’ll be out of town. I’m sad that is has come to an end because every Friday it was like Christmas! Even though I knew what was going to be in the bag (mostly), it was still a bit of a surprise – many times because I was getting an item that I had never eaten or cooked with before. Also, with the summer share coming to an end it also means that we are into fall and you know what comes next!!! I have to admit, however, that it has gotten increasingly difficult to make plans to use all the items with a busy fall schedule so there is a part of me that is relieved. It is definitely easier to do this during the summer months when my work schedule is a little more relaxed. I think we will definitely participate again next. Fresh Fork offers a Winter Share, but we are not going to participate in that one this year. It is cool that they offer it, but not quite sure it would be worth it for us.

Here is our bag for this week:

And the detailed list:
Broccoli – 1 head
Acorn Squash – 1
Apple Cider – 1 half gall.
Collard Greens – 1 bunch
Celeriac – 1 bulb with tops
Apples – quarter peck
Green Onion Brats – 1 pack

I’m not sure what celeriac is, but I’m thinking something like celery (brilliant deduction, I know). Not too big of a bag this time. We will eat the brats tonight for dinner with leftover green beans and perhaps the acorn squash. The huge green mass in the center is a beautiful head of broccoli that still had the leaves on it.

Here is the bonus order I got yesterday with the credits I had from a week of “vacation” we took a couple weeks ago.

Here is what was in the special order:
1 bag of rolled oats
2 bags of corn chips
2 pack of wheat pizza dough
1 bag of whole bean coffee
1 loaf of wheat bread

I’m already thinking about what to cook/blog about after Fresh Fork summer share is done. One of my ideas is to make a different soup every weekend and blog about that. How does that sound?! I think it sounds realistic in terms of time, yummy, and a good way to try new recipes and make sure to have leftovers! Look for the start of that in a couple weeks. Happy Eating!

Fresh Fork – Week 20

Friday, Oct 16

Week 20 is here! Only 2 weeks left for the summer share! It has gone fast, but then again it feels like it has been longer than 20 weeks so far. I added another vacation week last week since I was going to be out of town for the whole weekend and things would likely go bad AND I would not have time to plan and shop until Tuesday. Whew, this pace is pretty demanding this fall!

Anyways, below is our bag for this week, save for the apple cider. I added that since it sounded good.

Here is the detailed list:
Carrots – 1 bunch
Cauliflower – 1 head
Potatoes – 2#
Green Peppers – 2
Concord Grapes – 1 qt
Cherry Tomatoes – 1 pint
Green Beans – 1 lb
Romaine Lettuce – 1 head
Tuscan Kale – 1 bunch

Since we didn’t get a bag last week I’ve pretty much cleaned out the pantry and fridge and was ready for fresh stuff this week. Most of these items I will prep for salads. I might use the cauliflower as a potato substitute, but just depends on time. Perhaps I’ll roast the kale. Mike will probably use the potatoes to make his awesome garlic mashed taters. I have work/school stuff M, T, W and TH this week so my cooking will be limited to whatever I can get done this weekend. Yikes! I’ll make a plan for easy things for the boys to make. We’ll see how that goes! Happy Eating!

Fresh Fork – Week 18

Friday, Oct 2

October already – wow! That is very hard to believe!! Here is the haul that we had for this week:

And here is the detailed list:

Acorn Squash – x 1
Kale – 1 bunch
Green Beans – 1#
Eggplant – 1 to 2 depending on size
Pinto Beans – 1#
Apples – 1 quarter peck
Lettuce – 1 head, romaine or green leaf
Breakfast Patties

This week I plan to make a soup with the kale, and use most other items as sides (acorn squash, green beans). I pulled a recipe for apple cobbler and we will have breakfast for dinner one night this week also with the sausage patties.

I was kind of a slacker with the bag from last week. There were some items that just did not get used (ugh). I find that it is getting increasingly hard to get cooking done once school started again. If I have a busy weekend, then I just can’t get it all done. The planning gets done, but the cooking…not so much.

This coming Friday I took as a “vacation” from Fresh Fork which means that we won’t have a pick-up. I’m out of town for the entire weekend so it just does not make sense to get a bag then. The co-op only goes through the end of this month so I need to make the most of the rest of the weeks! The next question will be, should I sign up for the winter co-op??!! Happy Eating!