I want to start this
week’s update by giving a BIG shout out to my favorite Californian, Cassidy,
for her generous donation! It provided me the motivation to get out there
this past week and train my butt off… well starting on Wednesday.
Remember last week when I mentioned that I injured myself on
Saturday in an activity completely unrelated to running? Well I pulled a total
Janelle moment and fell up the stairs (yes you read correctly, up) and then
proceeded to tumble down them.
Let me give you a little back story:
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| The culprit (aka. The Stair Monster) |
I had a killer run on Saturday (in
the pouring rain) and then went shopping with my mom and grandma for about 4 hours,
so my legs were pretty much useless by the time I was able to finally relax
that afternoon. But we have a new issue in our house, how to share the laundry
room facilities. Mom has (unfortunately) refused to do my laundry since I moved
back home and also informed my brother of the same thing upon his return (well
back to The Palace bro). Therefore we have to figure out who gets to use the
laundry room and when. My day to do laundry was Saturday. To make a long story
short as I was taking a load upstairs and The Stair Monster reached out grabbed
me causing me to end up at the bottom of the stairs in a crumpled heap
surrounded by my dirty clothes.
Naturally, the curse words stopped flowing (sorry mom,
trying to break that habit), my right ankle was throbbing and I could barely flex
my foot. I finally pulled myself together from a partial cry-laugh and managed
to crawl up the stairs find some ice and pain killers. A nice, sympathetic
mother would have offered to help me finish my laundry… fat chance in my house!
Instead she took pleasure in my struggles of hopping on one leg and scooting on
my buttocks up and down the stairs to finish it.
Needless to say I was thankful Sunday had already been
designated as a Rest Day. I was able to relax and start walking on my foot
little by little. Putting shoes on helped a lot. Monday I was supposed to go
out for an easy 30 minute run but I decided to give my foot another day to
rest. Tuesday I was determined to do a 45 minute run in the morning but once my
alarm went off I decided that my foot could use one more day (god given talent
to make excuses remember?). But Wednesday and Thursday I was bound and
determined to hit the pavement. AND I DID! I’m chalking my determination up to 3
things :
- Cassidy’s donation (thanks again girl!)
- A few packages that I received in the mail:
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| The Goods |
Package 2: My (pink) RoadID. I highly recommend one of these to anybody who is an avid runner, biker, hiker, etc.
Package 3: Lululemon Tracker II Shorts… soooooooo comfortable! I highly recommend them if you are willing to splurge a little.
Bonus Find: My Garmin running watch (yes mother I finally found it)!
- TNT Flex Welcome/Information Call
During this call I was introduced
to my teammates, Flex coach, Mentors, Captains, educated as to what TNT really
stands for, but the best part was learning about our Honored Teammate, Ian, and
his mother, who I am proud to say is my mentor! Their story is amazing and
touched my heart. I may have even become a little teary eyed as Rebecca, his
mother and my mentor, was explaining how on Ian’s last day of treatment in the
Spring 2009 she completed her first half marathon with Team in Training! What
an emotional day for her!
So, both Wednesday and Thursday I hit my goals: 30 minutes
on Wednesday and 45 minutes on Thursday. My ankle is still a little sore but I
think I can handle the pain. Saturday’s GTS was 55 minutes this week… and the weather finally cooperated for us! Sunny and a perfect 50 degrees. Minus all the bugs I would say it was a successful training run.
I am hoping all is well on Monday as it is one of my
favorite days: Bolder Boulder 2012… BRING IT ON!
This week’s cupcake: S’mores! (A request from my BFF/gf
taste-tester Alex).
Cupcake:
1 cup milk
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
1 package Pamela's white cake mix
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350
Bring 1 cup milk and 1 cup butter to a simmer in a heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream. Add the milk-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly on low speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until it's completely combined.
Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, filling them one third of the way and placing a mini marshmallow (if making mini cupcakes, if baking regular sized cupcakes use a larger marshmallow or multiple mini marshmallows) in the middle and then fill another third. Bake the cupcakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 8-9 minutes (18-19 if baking regular sized cupcakes). Cool the cupcakes on a rack completely.
2 (large) egg whites
1 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a large heatproof bowl (the metal bowl of your electric mixer), combine
the egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt.
Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and
heat mixture, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the
mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160 F), about 3 minutes.
Becareful not to scramble the eggs.
Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Using an electric mixer, beat on
medium-high speed, about 2 minutes.
In a small bowl, microwave 1 cup mini marshmallows 30 seconds to 1
minute, until puffed, and starting to melt.
Add marshmallows to mixture in electric mixer, reduce speed to low and
add vanilla. Continue beating (on low) until the marshmallows are
melted and frosting is completely smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Use
frosting right away.
Garnish with shaved chocolate and graham cracker crumbs. ENJOY!!!
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