Birthday Celebrations

Here is a late, but long recap of everything I did on my birthday! I have all of the recipes included at the bottom.

I turned 28 on March 5th, and basically had an entire week of birthday celebrations! It started with the Saturday before - we went out to 9 1/2 lounge with some friends. I had never been there before, and it was a lot of fun. It's modeled as a "speakeasy" and you have to give a password just to get in! Of course the password is written right on the door, but somehow that manages to prevent the people who drink too much at the restaurant below from stumbling upstairs and getting in. The drinks were really yummy (my favorite was Cary Nation).

On Wednesday, my actual birthday, Joey and I cooked a birthday feast :) The menu was gruyere popovers, creamy mushroom pasta, garlic shrimp, and a skillet cookie. Everything was just fantastic. The popovers were still a little undercooked inside, but had great flavor. They probably didn't work perfectly with the rest of the meal, but whatever, I wanted them, and they tasted great! The pasta was just so so good. It wasn't too heavy, which is surprising with a creamy pasta dish. I've made the garlic shrimp before, and it's a nice variation on the typical roasted shrimp I make. It really doesn't take any longer than roasted, it just requires paying a bit more attention, since it's a lot easier to overcook them. Finally, the skillet cookie was just ridiculous. The recipe was from Jess (How Sweet It Is), so obviously it was over the top. As you can see in the picture below, it was bigger than my head! We had the cookie every night for more than a week. Once it was gone, Joey asked for more cookies, so obviously we didn't get sick of it in that time.

Joey gave me most of my presents on or before my birthday (a cast iron skillet cookbook, a hanging planter for flowers, a set of stacking silicone bowls for cooking, new jeans, and kettlebell!). The day after my birthday, he surprised me with a homemade planter! It's vertical, so we can fit a lot more plants in one space. I'm so excited to fill it with herbs and veggies. Once the weather is reliably warm, we're going to fill it up.

That night (Thursday), we went out with another group of friends to the C&O to get birthday drinks, part 2. I really like the atmosphere there - it's in the basement below the (super pricy) restaurant, and it feels really cozy. Plus they make homemade ginger beer for their dark and stormy :)

The weekend after my birthday, Joey took me to Richmond for some shopping! He made me a pre-shopping breakfast, after I finished run #1 of the weekend. And then was a serious trooper as we spent several hours shopping. I got some new bras (so pretty), and some shirts at Express and Limited that would work well for dressier occasions, or for presentations/interviews.

Sunday, we made a true birthday breakfast after I did run #2 of the weekend. We made a vanilla bean dutch baby with caramelized vanilla pears. While that was cooking, Joey made me an egg on toast to hold me over (I was starving after running 11 miles!) The dutch baby was so so yummy, and I loved the pears. I was nervous about them, since had only bought the pears the day before, and of course it's impossible to find ripe pears when you need them. They worked out perfectly - cooking them softened them and brought out their flavor.

Gruyere Popovers:
Yield: 7 popovers
From: Completely Delicious
Notes: I halved the recipe, since I didn't need a ton of popovers. The original recipe called for 12, and I have that listed below

Ingredients:
5 oz cheese (I used gruyere and it was amazing)
4 tsp kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
4 large eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place muffin tin in the oven while oven is preheating.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Heat the milk until steaming, but not boiling. This can be done on the stove or in the microwave. Slowly add the milk to the eggs, mixing constantly. Gently stir in the flour mixture, being careful not to overmix.
When oven is preheated, moving quickly, pull out muffin tin and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup all the way. Sprinkle with a handful of cheese.
Bake until puffed and golden, about 45-50 minutes. Try not to peek on them while baking - air can prevent the popovers from rising.
Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Serve immediately.

Nutrition:
124 calories
5 g fat
13 g carbs
0.7 g fiber
6.7 g protein

Baked Mushroom Linguine:
From Baked Ezra
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
4 oz dried mushrooms (such as porcini)
4 cups boiling water
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 2 tsp finely chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 onion, diced
1 lb button mushrooms, chopped
1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 lb linguine
1/2 cup grated or shaved pecorino romano cheese

Directions:
Place dried mushrooms in a bowl, and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit for 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, lift out the mushrooms and place them in another bowl. Press mushrooms to release any extra liquid, and pour liquid back into bowl. Set mushrooms aside. Strain mushroom liquid through a fine-mesh sieve.

Wrap the rosemary and thyme sprigs in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine. Set aside.

Place a large saucepan over medium heat, and melt butter. When the butter starts bubbling, add the flour. Cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Still stirring, slowly pour in the mushroom stock. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles and thickens.

Stir in the milk, goat cheese, and bouquet garni. Reduce the sauce to a gentle simmer, and cook 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add button and cremini mushrooms and cook until they begin to release their juices. Add the rehydrated mushrooms and chopped thyme, and cook until all are tender.

Add cream sauce to mushroom mixture, stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper, set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 F and butter a 9x13 inch pan.

Boil water and cook pasta according to manufacturer's instructions, but reduce cooking time by 2-3 minutes. Transfer noodles to a colander, and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

Stir the noodles into the sauce mixture, and transfer to prepared baking pan. Top with cheese, and bake until bubbling and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition:
366 calories
11.4 g fat
103.3 g carbs
11.8 g fiber
22.2 g protein

Simplest and Best Shrimp Dish:
Yield: 4 servings
From: Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
10-12 large cloves garlic, slivered or minced finely
1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled, rinsed and dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Spread the olive oil over the bottom of the pan, make sure it covers the bottom. Add garlic and cook just until it turns light golden, be really careful because it can burn in an instant.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the shrimp and spices. Stir to blend and continue to cook, shaking the pan once or twice and turning the shrimp once or twice, until they are pink all over and the mixture is bubbly, about 5-7 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutrition:
315 calories
16.6 g fat
4.8 g carbs
0.4 g fiber
35.2 g protein

Dark Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie:
Yield: 1 GIANT cookie (I seriously don't know how many servings, I would guess at least 16)
From: Tasty Kitchen a la How Sweet It Is
Note: The following ingredients are for a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, and made a very tall cookie

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups dark chocolate chunks (either cut up some chocolate bars, or buy it pre-chunked)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and remove from heat. Let rest until warm but no longer very hot, about 5-10 minutes.

Whisk in the vanilla and eggs, working quickly so the eggs won't cook before mixed in. Stir in the dry ingredients. It will take a few minutes for it to come together (I promise it will mix in!)

Fold in the chocolate, again working quickly, so it doesn't melt too much.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the top is light golden, the edges are a darker golden and beginning to pull away, and the center still jiggles slightly. Serve warm (with ice cream).

Nutrition (if split into 16 servings):
392 calories
18 g fat
62.5 g carbs
2.3 g fiber
4.7 g protein

bigger than my head!

Planter:

Pre-shopping breakfast:

Birthday Breakfast:
Pre-breakfast: Fried egg on toast with gouda

Vanilla Bean and Caramelized Pear Dutch Baby:
Yield: 4
From: Turntable Kitchen

Ingredients:
3 eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup milk, at room temperature
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar or splenda
1 vanilla bean
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1 large pear, cored and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Place a 12-inch castiron skillet in the oven while preheating.

Combine the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a blender. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean and add to the blender, saving the empty pod. Blend until smooth.

Remove the skillet from the oven, and add the 2 tbsp of butter, swirling to melt and mix. Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for 18-25 minutes, until puffed and golden.

While the pancake is baking, melt the 1 tbsp butter and vanilla bean in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pear slices and cook for a few minutes, without moving. Flip the slices over, to let them caramelize on the other side. If necessary, do the pears in batches, adding butter with each batch. You want the pears to be soft, but not mushy, and golden brown on each side.

Serve the pancake warm, with the pear slices, and syrup if desired.

Nutrition:
284 calories
12.8 g fat
36.1 g carbs
2.3 g fiber
7.4 g protein

Joey's plate with steak and eggs:

My breakfast, part 2:

10 Miler Training: Week 10

It's kind of hard to believe that I've already completed 10 of my 16 weeks of training for the 10 Miler. Even harder to believe is the conversation I had with Joey this morning - I actually voiced the thought I had been having, of potentially doing a half marathon a month after the 10 Miler race. Obviously that will 100% depend on how the rest of the training plan treats me, and how I fare in the race. I may end up needing a serious break from running after all of this training. Another thing we talked about this morning, was that I decided I want to try out calf sleeves for recovery post-running. He has some that he wears a lot after running or after ultimate frisbee, and he says it helps a lot with recovery. My left calf in particular has been hurting a bunch, and I think that calf sleeves could help. Does anyone have a brand that they recommend? I don't plan on wearing them while running, just after, for recovery.

So, here is the running I did this week:

Wednesday, February 12th:
I was supposed to do my interval run on Tuesday the 11th, but that was the day of my big bad scary committee meeting that I've been working my ass off for the last few weeks. I came home around 3, ate a really late lunch, collapsed on the couch, and basically decided there was no way I would be doing a run that day. Thankfully, I was feeling better the next day, and worked it in then.

This run was HARD. The last interval run I did was a lot of fun - 12x400 at 3k pace, with 2 minute breaks in between. Switching out the 2 minute walk breaks with 1/8 mile jogging made it so much harder - not only did I have to continue moving during my recovery, but it was also a much shorter time between intervals. This time, the intervals were at 10k pace, so not nearly as fast. Regardless, it was still really hard! I did the 400m running intervals at 6.6mph, and had my recovery jogs around 5.2-5.5mph (I'm pretty sure they got slower and slower throughout). I turned one of them into a walk, and took a bathroom break for the other, so I ended up doing 5.75 miles instead of 6.00.

Friday, February 14th:
Switching my Tuesday run to Wednesday threw off the rest of the week. Plus, we got a ton of snow Wednesday night/Thursday morning, and I ended up being a total bum on the couch for the second half of Thursday, after coming back from my trek into work. The run I was supposed to do on Thursday was just an easy 5 mile run, so I figured it would make more sense to just skip it, and still do Friday's run.

I was nervous that this run would be even more difficult than Wednesday's, but it actually wasn't nearly as bad. Having a full half mile recovery between intervals really gave me the time to, well, recover.

Sunday, February 16th:
This ended up being another 8 mile run that I was forced to do indoors. We still have a ton of snow, and very few of the sidewalks have been cleared. Any space that isn't covered in snow is very likely to be covered in ice, especially first thing in the morning. We had a lot of snow melt yesterday during the day, and all of that water froze last night. Because of this, I did my run inside. Surprisingly, it ended up being a lot better than the last 8 mile run I did indoors.

This time, I started out with 3 miles on the indoor track. I started off with a slow pace, and got slightly faster with each mile. I took a few minutes to use a bathroom and fill up my water bottle, then went off in search of a good treadmill. I don't know why every gym has "good" treadmills and "bad" treadmills, instead of just having a ton of the same "good" kind. There is one particular area with two kinds of treadmills, and they're all the ones I prefer. They are also usually always in use. I walked by that area three times over the course of ~5 minutes, once I came out from the track, and one of them had a girl on it, who was just standing there, talking to some guy who was right next to the treadmill. The first time I walked by, I thought that it looked like she was either just getting on, or had just finished and was about to get off. I stood there for a minute before deciding she wasn't getting off. The next time I walked by, she was still there. By the time I walked by for a third time, and saw that she still was making no signs of either leaving the treadmill, or actually starting to use it, I was mad. I walked over to it, and said to her "you know, there are people waiting for treadmills while you're not using that one." Immediately, the guy answered for her saying "oh, she is using it." I looked at him for a second, trying to give him a look that told him that I thought that sounded like bullshit, raised my eyebrow, and just said "...o-kay..." and walked away. If her definition of using a treadmill is to just stand on it while talking to someone, she doesn't belong in the gym. I got a lot of satisfaction out of noticing that as soon as I walked away, he walked away too and she started doing something on it. Maybe it was a bit bitchy for me to say anything, but she was on one of the few decent treadmills!

The funny thing is that in the end, the treadmill I got on actually isn't a "bad" treadmill. There are a few that just look kind of strange, and are very rarely being used. I just assumed that meant it was a bad one, but I thought it felt pretty nice. Because of that, I did all of the 5 remaining miles on that treadmill, instead of switching after a few, or going back on the track. To keep from getting too bored, I switched the pace slightly every quarter mile. Not enough to noticeably speed up or slow down, but enough so I wasn't really thinking about the total mileage, but only how much I had left until the next pace change.

Week Total:
Wednesday: 5.75 miles (treadmill)
Friday: 5.5 miles (treadmill)
Sunday: 8 miles (indoor track and treadmill)
Weekly Total: 19.25 miles

Besides all of the running I did this week, I also did a lot of eating! I posted my recipes for Joey's birthday dinner/dessert, plus we went out to a few places. Saturday night, we went to Three Notch'd Brewery, which is our new favorite place for beer in Charlottesville. They opened in August, and already have a pretty big following. Their tasting room/bar is a 5 minute walk from our place, which makes it so convenient to get to. Plus their beer is just really good. My favorites so far are the Sweet Winter Ale (seasonal) and the Hydraulion Red (year-round). Joey really likes their IPAs (so not my thing) and their beers that are flavored with some coffee - the No Veto English Brown Ale and Jack's Java Espresso Stout - both offered year-round. The really cool thing about their bar, is that at least as of now, they don't offer food - but... they let you bring your own! You can either bring food, or have it delivered there, and they have a bunch of takeout menus for places close by. I didn't realize that until last night, when we saw it happen, and I really wish I had baked a cake or something to bring for Joey's birthday celebration. Either way, we all had a great time, and I was surprised by how many people came out, despite the bad weather.

This morning, post run (and Joey did a bunch of stuff at the gym as well), we went to Bluegrass Grill & Bakery, a breakfast spot that's pretty famous in Charlottesville for fantastic food and really long waits. They are just off the Downtown Mall, and because they have such a small space, they're always packed. This was just our second time going, and everything we've had so far has just been incredible (and decadent). Last time we went, I'm pretty sure it was also after an 8 mile run, it was during the fall, and they had a pumpkin pancake special that was so delicious I don't even know how to describe it. It was like a plate full of the best pumpkin bread you're ever going to eat, topped with cream cheese frosting. But still tasted like pancakes. I wasn't sure if anything was going to taste as good after that experience, but this time I got their bananas foster pancakes and WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. I ended up eating them way faster than planned, since I was starving by the time our long wait was up. All of the sugar made me feel a little sick toward the end, and I definitely didn't finish. Although I ate all of the home fries I got on the side.

Speaking of eating, what should I bake/cook for my birthday? Joey started asking me about that, and I have no idea what I want. Last year we made a ton of stuff - birthday breakfast was baked eggs in ramekins with herbs and goat cheese plus baked pancakes with berries, and birthday dinner was baked stuffed artichokes (disappointed with how they turned out), lightened up shrimp scampi, and french onion soup. I actually don't remember what we made for dessert, which just seems crazy. I've thought about making the Big Girls, Small Kitchen giant layered cookie cake, but part of me is really afraid that the cookies won't turn out well. I'm a huge cookie snob, and hate when they're anything other than chewy. I also am very intrigued by "cinnamon pie," mostly because I just love cinnamon, and partly because it was featured in an episode of Psych. I've looked a bit online, to try to find a recipe, and nothing I've seen matches what I have in my mind. I'll just have to keep thinking about what I want. What would be your ideal birthday meal? 

8k training: 8 mile run in Charlottesville

I had a pretty great day today! It started out with an extra hour of sleep - thank you Daylight Saving Time! I woke up earlier than planned and just stayed in bed, enjoying the fact that it was too early to need to get up. Once I decided I had been in bed long enough, I put on some running clothes. I got to try out some of the new things I bought last weekend. I got two new pairs of running tights/pants, as well as some seam-free underwear to hopefully get rid of some chafing issues. I tried out the new capris - they were Fila Sport from Kohl's, and really liked them.  I've had problems with their pants in the past, since the waist bands tend to be too big, but I just went a size smaller and they were fine. The underwear also worked perfectly - C9 boyshorts from Target. My only problem was some chafing underneath my arm. Now that it isn't super hot out, I don't sweat as much, which means I've lost some lubrication. The shirt I was wearing (the tech tee I got from the women's 4 miler) has short cap sleeves, and the underneath of my arm was rubbing against the fabric on my side.

The run itself was pretty great. I'm starting to realize that I have a serious kick at the end of all of my runs. I know I've mentioned this before, and that a lot of it is probably because I'm holding back in the beginning. With these long runs, I'm never fully convinced that I can keep running the whole time, so I try to go at just a nice easy pace for a while, then once I get to the point where I think hmm, I can definitely finish this run, I kick it up. I don't know how this will translate to an actual race pace. I'll probably need to start pushing the pace a bit sooner, so I don't need to sprint my last mile (even though I'm apparently capable of that). Well, "sprint." Anything under 9:00 is fast for me.

0.50 5:06 (10:12)

1.00 10:15 (10:15, 10:18) last mile 10:15

1.51 15:31 (10:17, 10:20)

2.01 20:33 (10:13, 10:04) last mile 10:12

2.50 26:00 (10:24, 11:07)

3.00 31:14 (10:25, 10:28) last mile 10:47

3.50 36:32 (10:26, 10:36)

4.00 41:42 (10:26, 10:20) last mile 10:28

4.50 46:44 (10:23, 10:04)

5.00 51:44 (10:21, 10:00) last mile 10:02

5.50 56:44 (10:19, 10:00)

5.99 1:01:33 (10:17, 9:50) last mile 9:55

6.50 1:06:36 (10:15, 9:54)

7.00 1:11:30 (10:13, 9:48) last mile 9:51

7.50 1:15:54 (10:07, 8:48)

8.00 1:20:14 (10:02, 8:40) last mile 8:44

8.01 1:20:20 average pace 10:02/mile

After I got back from the run, I had to eat a quick snack and hop in the shower. We were going out to brunch/lunch with a friend for her birthday. I am so glad I went on a run, since I had an EXTREMELY decadent meal! We went to Bluegrass Grill & Bakery, since I had been meaning to try it out for ages. It's a pretty small place and there is always a long wait. We figured that worst case if we had to wait a while, we would just grab a coffee somewhere else while waiting. We got pretty lucky and only had a few people waiting ahead of us, so it only took 15 minutes until we got a table. Let me tell you - any wait that you have is so worth it! The service was great, the portions were big, and the food was fantastic. I got the Pumpkin King, which was two giant pumpkin pancakes (that tasted like really good pumpkin bread) that sandwiched a thick layer of ginger cream cheese, and were topped with ginger caramel sauce and whipped cream. Oh my god, seriously so good. Since that clearly wasn't going to be enough food, I got a side of home fries. I would seriously recommend working out and getting yourself in a major calorie deficit before eating that, since I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I didn't feel overstuffed and sick after eating (most of) all of that food.

The rest of my day wasn't quite as exciting. I went into lab for a few hours to get some work done - yay, my little experiment worked. I then proceeded to spent the rest of the afternoon/night on the couch, watching lots of tv. Hey, I ran 8 miles this morning! :)

8k training: 3 mile run (plus a great Saturday)

I had a really nice Saturday! While Joey went on a 10 mile run, I did a quick 3 mile run. I haven't done my Saturday short runs in a while, I've mostly just focused on the long runs. I was still pretty sore from the KB workout last Wednesday, and thought this would help loosen me up. I did the same route as usual, but planned it out perfectly (without even meaning to) so I could do 3 miles and then do a few speed sets after that. I didn't go fast at all, not even with the speed sets, but felt a little better about myself for doing it.

  

I made a delicious breakfast after I got up - sauteed a bunch of onions, peppers and mushrooms, put them on top of two pieces of bread (seriously the best bread ever, recipe coming soon), topped with cheese, and then a fried egg. Joey had a double yolk in one of his eggs!

I had my sandwich open faced. Joey made it into a real sandwich, and loaded it up with extra veggies and sliced tomatoes. He cooked the eggs so they weren't super runny, but still had nice soft spreadable yolks

After we chowed down and had a bunch of coffee, we went to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples. Joey's favorite apples are Fuji, and I'm torn between Fuji and Pink Ladies. Pink Ladies are the last to become available, and I always cross my fingers that the Fujis will still be there by then. This time we were in luck, those were two of the three apples that were available to be picked! We picked a staggering 20 lbs of apples! Now I need to come up with lots of ideas for ways to use them. After we picked the apples and paid for them, we spent a few minutes just admiring how beautiful the views were. Charlottesville is just gorgeous this time of year.

After fun at the orchard, we ran some errands (Cville Market, Sam's Club, and DSW for a new pair of shoes for me). That night, we tried out a new brewery. A lot of my runs have included going down Grady to Preston, and I keep noticing that there's a new brewery (Three Notch'd Brewery) only 1/4 mile away from where I live. I said to Joey that we should check it out, and then one of our friends asked if we would want to meet for drinks that night. We suggested we go there, and I'm so glad we did! They had, I believe, 6 beers on tap, and all of them tasted great. I really liked their red ale. What I liked the most, is that they had $5 pints, but they also had $3 half pints. Sometimes I don't want to drink my beer too quickly, and am happier with a smaller pour. I can also try out a couple different beers that way without getting crazy full. We will definitely come back here. 

Fantastic Weekend - The Best of Charlottesville

I just had the best weekend ever. My best friend visited from New York, and we basically did everything that you can do in Charlottesville. I spent a lot of time planning her visit, and then we were really busy during our fun packed weekend, so I have a major backlog of posts to put up!

Here's what we did:
Stef got in Thursday afternoon, then we went to Trader Joe's to stock up on some goodies. She introduced me to their cold brew coffee, which was surprisingly good. We tried out one of their new products, edamame tofu nuggets, and they were delicious! After we got back, we went to the corner to meet my friend Emily for coffee. Next, we went back out for more grocery shopping, this time to Cville Market. We bought everything we needed for dinner that night and picnic lunch the next day. Once we got back, we made two pizzas, and drank some nice white wine.

Friday, we got up bright and early to go on a run at Riverview Park. I had planned on doing 4 miles, but the weather was just too humid - I felt like I couldn't breathe. I managed 3 miles, and then we headed back to shower and get ready before going out to meet Sarah for coffee. We went to Para Coffee, and I really liked it. I hadn't been there in a really long time. After coffee, we went back to pack up our picnic lunch, and headed out for a day at the wineries. The weather was really crappy - the humidity from the morning turned into rain the entire rest of the day. We went to Barboursville Vineyards first, where we tried ~19 different wines. Next we went to Keswick Vineyards - this is where we had our picnic lunch. I had planned on eating outside, but instead we camped out on their covered porch. We had multi-grain baguette, baba ghanoush, different kinds of cheese, quinoa salad, fruit, etc. Finally, we went to Castle Hill Cider. I think that Barboursville was my favorite of the three places we went to. You got to try a ton of different wines, and their wines were the best (in my opinion).

On the way back home, we stopped at Kroger for the rest of our shopping. We made pretzel rolls, homemade veggie burgers, summer fruit cobbler and homemade ice cream. We must have been all wined out, since we didn't have any, and I didn't even think about offering it!

Saturday we walked to the farmers market and met up with my friend Emily and her two kids. We wandered around for a while, then bought a few things - a candle, some purple potatoes, bell peppers. Stef got kombucha and I got a popsicle. On the walk back, we stopped at Bodo's to get a bagel sandwich for Joey. He had frisbee practice from 10-2, and would need some instant sustenance when he got back. As soon as he got back and showered, we drove to Humpback Rocks for a hike. We sped up the steep 1 mile hill to the top - the sign says it could take 40 minutes, it took us just 17.5! Stef and Joey were in much better shape for that. We hung out at the top for a bit, took some goofy pictures. Then we continued hiking to the next overlook, before heading back down. I would have to check with Joey, but I would guess we did ~5 miles in just over 2 hours.

We headed back in to Charlottesville, showered and dressed up for dinner, and went out to Tara Thai. Whenever I have guests in town, I have the hardest time coming up with a good place to go out to eat. I always feel like I have to pick something fancy. Joey suggested Thai, and this seemed like the best option. I'm so glad we went there - it was faster and tastier than some of the other more expensive options. We came back and prepped cinnamon rolls for Sunday's breakfast.

Sunday we actually slept in a little, then Stef and I went out on a run. I had planned on doing either a 3 mile or 3.8 mile run, and once I got to the turning point I decided to make it the 3 mile version. But then I didn't even end up doing all of that - once we got to the corner, it was just so crowded, and I was so hot, I walked for a bit. I started running again once we passed the crowds, and ended up running for a total of 2.8 miles. While we were out, Joey started the cinnamon rolls, and made some delicious scrambled eggs with part egg whites. Poor guy had to smell all of the good food cooking while we were out running, and waited for us to come back and shower before eating anything! Stef and I went to the pool for a bit after that, while Joey did the grocery shopping for the week. He made a batch of granola for Stef, since she really seemed to like it. And that basically ended Stef's epic weekend in Charlottesville! I was so happy she came, and we had such a great time.

All of the recipes mentioned here will be posted soon.

Here is more information about the runs and the hike.

3 mile run at Riverview Park on 8/23/13

Splits:
0.25 in 2:29, 9:56 average pace
0.50 in 4:42, 9:24 average pace (8:52 last 1/4 mile)
0.75 in 7:07, 9:29 average pace (9:40)
1.00 in 9:24 (9:08)
1.25 in 11:34, 9:15 average pace (8:40)
1.50 in 13:43, 9:09 average pace (8:36)
1.75 in 15:56, 9:06 average pace (8:52)
2.00 in 18:07, 9:04 average pace (8:44)
2.25 in 20:39, 9:11 average pace (10:08)
2.50 in 22:55, 9:10 average pace (9:04)
2.75 in 25:11, 9:09 average pace (9:04)
3.03 in 27:35, 9:06 average pace (8:34)

Heart Rate Monitor:
Duration: 0:32:21
Calories Burned: 412
Average Heart Rate: 177 (91.7% of max)
Max Heart Rate: 191 (99% of max)
Time In Zone (65-85%): 0:05:16

~5 Mile Hike at Humpback Rocks on 8/24/13
Heart Rate Monitor:
Duration: 02:17:48
Calories Burned: 883
Average Heart Rate: 122 (63.2% of max)
Max Heart Rate: 174 (90% of max)
Time In Zone (65-85%): 0:38:50

2.8 mile run in town on 8/25/13

Splits:
0.25 in 2:21, 9:24 average pace
0.50 in 4:44, 9:28 average pace (9:32 in last 1/4 mile)
0.75 in 7:04, 9:25 average pace (9:20)
1.00 in 9:18 (8:56)
1.25 in 11:36, 9:17 average pace (9:12)
1.50 in 13:56, 9:17 average pace (9:20)
1.75 in 16:21, 9:21 average pace (9:40)
2.00 in 18:49, 9:25 average pace (9:52)
Walked for 3 minutes
2.25 in 21:04, 9:22 average pace (9:00)
2.50 in 23:21, 9:20 average pace (9:08)
2.75 in 25:42, 9:21 average pace (9:24)
Total: 2.81 miles in 26:17, 9:21 average pace

Heart Rate Monitor:
Duration: 0:35:33
Calories Burned: 418
Average Heart Rate: 170 (88.1% max)
Max Heart Rate: 187 (96.9% max)
Time in Zone (65-85%): 0:10:02

KB Monday + Brazilian BBQ

Last night I worked out hard, and then possibly ate even harder haha.

We went out to Joey's favorite restaurant for brazilian barbecue - Texas de Brazil, and I planned a hard workout before it. They have an option to just get stuff from the salad bar, which is what I do every time I go there. It's the best salad bar I've ever been to - they have all kinds of cooked veggies, delicious cheese, salads, seafood, soup, etc. At the table, they give you little rolls stuffed with cheese, mashed potatoes, and cinnamon sugar fried bananas (I think that they want you to think they're plantains). Of course for the meat lovers, they have people walking around constantly offering you pieces of flank steak, top sirloin, bacon wrapped everything, etc.

I filled up on just one big plate from the salad bar. And then of course went back for more. We kept asking for more of the bananas - they were so delicious. We treated them as our dessert.

I was so glad I had done a hard workout before, so I felt like I earned it a bit more. I'm really feeling the workout today - my arms and back are super sore, and my abs and glutes are pretty sore as well.

This is what I did yesterday!

Assisted Pullups:
60lbs assistance: 2 (I could have done a 3rd if I just got a tiny bit of help)
70lbs assistance: 3, 4
Immediately following the 4 with 70lbs assistance I changed to 90lbs assistance and did 6 more

Assisted Dips:
90lbs assistance: 7, 7, 7

Then I did the KB workout below.

I used a 20lb KB for everything except the windmills and get ups - I used a 10lb KB for those. I warmed up with 3 laps around the track (a little more than 1/4 mile). I started with "Jump Start," doing that level 2 card once through. I did one more lap around the track, then did KB 300. I had a really hard time with it actually. I started off really well, maybe even too fast. By the time I finished the half burpees I was really struggling, and kept taking breaks. My total time was 17:40. Not an awful time, and it beat my first time doing this, but I wanted to beat the time I got two weeks ago. I also made it more difficult on myself, since I had already done a lot of Swings, Clean & Presses, and Burpees in the warmup card.

After catching my breath, I went into the "150 Degree Fryer." The actual card is 300 degree fryer, because you end up with 300 reps, but only if you go through the card twice. I went through once, hence 150 degrees.

I was going to do a separate abs set, but I was exhausted by the time I finished this, plus I ran out of time. Maybe I'll do some today! I haven't decided if I'm running or not....I guess my post tonight or tomorrow will answer that.

If you live near a Texas de Brazil, they're having a special this month on their regular dinners - print out the images below and bring it with you!

Please print and present offer to hostess. Offer valid for discounted $34.99 regular dinner during dinner hours of operation only. Valid Monday-Thursday, for up to 8 guests per table/reservation until 7/31/13. Valid at the following locations only: Dallas, Addison, Fort Worth, Memphis, Baton Rouge, Denver, Richmond, Fairfax, Tampa, Detroit, Salt Lake City & San Antonio. Not valid with any other offer or on restaurant holidays. Does not include salad area only dinner, discounted children's dinner, beverages, alcoholic beverages, desserts, tax or gratuity. Texas de Brazil reserves the right to change promotion at any time.