It was held on the DuPont estate which I had been to once before for a cross race. The day before the race (Friday) it poured rain all day. I was skeptical if the race would even go on, but we never received an email so we headed out early for the 8am start time.

 It was a small, low-key race and I was able to start near the front. They yelled go and Eric and I started together, him behind me, making small chit-chat that annoyed me. Because of all the rain the course was slick and muddy with some puddles of water. And the course was tough. Seriously tough. There were some steep hills, and combined with mud it made for a very difficult race.

Having never done this race I had no idea what to expect and I started off a bit fast, slowed down a ton in the middle, and then picked up the pace towards the end.

I remember feeling like hell while running the race, but once it was over I realized I actually had a really fun time. We hung around the finish line and were able to watch our friends come through the chute.

Since it was such a small race I was curious to see how I did overall. I ended up 3^rd in the female 20-29 age group. Pretty exciting for a tough race! I even got to pick out a prize, haha.

We cleaned up after the race and headed south to D.C. for the night. After checking into our hotel we jumped on the subway to do a few touristy things. The National Mall was really crowded, and after walking around for a bit we decided to try out Capital Bike Share. (*I ALWAYS wear a helmet, but did not anticipate riding while in D.C. so I didn’t even bring one).

The bike share was so rad. We picked up bikes at the Lincoln Memorial and rode around and eventually headed towards Georgetown and dropped the bikes off at the university.

Philly is supposed to get a bike share, I really hope it comes through because it was great. I can’t wait to go to other cities and check out their shares.

 We went to D.C. because the company Eric works for is the main sponsor for a pro bike race. Sunday morning they put on a ride that employees were encouraged to participate in. I skipped the ride and slept in, but headed down to catch some of the men’s pro race.

 It was pretty cool because we go to hang in the VIP tent and eat a bunch of free food and watch the race.

We didn’t stay for the entire race because we needed to get back to Philly, but I took a short intense video while we were leaving.

Originally a large group of friends were supposed to run, but because of injury and sickness it ended up only being 2 of us, my friend Olivia and me. We drove to the start together, picked up our bibs, and then hung around together.

The start is pretty informal, with someone just shouting go, and everyone running through the grass until it bottlenecks at the start of the trail. I had no plans for this race and wanted to start off slow. I fell into a nice pace and after a crazy week at work it was nice knowing I was just going to be running on trails for a few hours.

Eric came out to support and rode his bike around to various spots and cheered me on. It was nice getting to see him a few times throughout the race.

I drank water and Gatorade at the stops, but didn’t eat anything. I started to feel a bit woozy around mile 10, which sucked because my legs felt great. I was spending a lot of mental energy trying to stay focused. I ended up tripping on a root and going down pretty hard in the mud. It shook me up a bit, but I only had a few miles left.

I ended up finishing the 15.5 mile course in around 2 hours and 30 minutes.

I’m really looking forward to taking a break from running for a bit. I am planning on doing a trail race in a few weeks and then a relay in July but besides that no other races are planned!

]]> http://www.areyoukittenme.com/2013/05/30/dirty-german-25k/feed/ 0 http://www.areyoukittenme.com/2013/05/28/dirt-rag-dirt-fest/ http://www.areyoukittenme.com/2013/05/28/dirt-rag-dirt-fest/#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 16:17:21 +0000 Lauren http://www.areyoukittenme.com/?p=3713 Continue reading →]]> Not this past weekend, but the weekend before, we drove out to Raystown Lake in the middle of PA for DirtFest. It’s an annual mountain bike fest/part and we though it would be a good opportunity for me to finally give mountain biking a try. A group of us left Philly Friday morning and drove about 4 hours until we reached our campsite.

Saturday morning we woke up fairly early and got ready. I wanted to get to the demo area to get a bike and there was a ladies clinic at 10am I was interested in trying.

Eric helped me pick out a bike and then rode with me to the ladies clinic.

The clinic started off super basic. Like never ridden a bike before basic. We then moved on from there and I was able to learn a lot of the basics of mountain biking.

Towards the end of the clinic we did a few logs. Our instructor asked me if I wanted to try the multi-logs, and I hesitantly said yes. It turned out to be awesome and the bike just coasted over the logs.

At the end of the clinic a large group of us rode the trails back to the expo. This was my first time on the trails and it was amazing. I loved going up and down and all the guys we passed making comments on how awesome our large group of women was.

I had had the demo bike for about an hour too long so I turned it back in and headed back to camp to eat lunch. Post lunch we headed back to the expo to grab another demo bike.  We did a nice variety of green, blue, and black, mostly all rideable, although there were a few rocky sections I choose to walk (this was my first time after all). The trails were really flowy and smooth.

We rode the entire afternoon and took a small break at the overlook, the perfect opportunity for some awesome women team photos. Demo bikes had to be returned at 5:30, so after realizing we were cutting it close we hauled ass back to the expo area to return our bikes.

It was awesome to finally give mountain biking a try. Now I just need to save some money to get one of my own.

A few months ago I heard that Trader Joe’s started carrying accidentally vegan cinnamon rolls. I went looking for them one time and couldn’t find them. A few months later I was back in the store and stumbled upon them. They are bad news good. Not great for you at all, and a little too easy to make, but they have been a great breakfast/dessert fall back.

A new-ish restaurant opened up in the neighborhood north of us, and Eric and went up for dinner last week. THEY HAVE A VEGAN CHEESEPLATE. Seriously. It’s pretty good. The smoked mozzarella was amazing.

Last Saturday we went on a 30 mile bike ride and while heading home were discussing ice cream. Discussing ice cream led to us wanting ice cream. It was a nice day out so we decided to stop for lunch first.

We went down to The P.O.P.E. and tried their French Toast for the first time.

Post brunch we walked across the street to get vanilla soft serve from B2.

That I can think of off the top of my head, there are currently 4 places in Philly to get vegan ice cream, all with very different ice cream.

 On another non-food related note, this summer I will be running the 2013 Stroehmann Back on My Feet 20in24 Silver Relay. I will be running two 8.4 mile loops with a really awesome team (Your Pace or Mine), and our total mileage will be 84 miles.

I really hate asking people for donations, but if you are feeling generous, please consider making a donation to this wonderful organization! http://20in24.com/donation-form.html?kwoAdvocateId=8MMN3L9

]]> http://www.areyoukittenme.com/2013/05/15/remember-when-i-used-to-blog-about-food/feed/ 8 http://www.areyoukittenme.com/2013/05/05/broad-street-2013/ http://www.areyoukittenme.com/2013/05/05/broad-street-2013/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 21:38:04 +0000 Lauren http://www.areyoukittenme.com/?p=3680 Continue reading →]]> As I mentioned last week, I really didn’t know how I should run this years Broad Street 10 mile race. I have been running, but not really training (aka speedwork).

We went to a bike swap on Saturday and I was talking to my friend Blake (who is a seasoned runner and ultra marathoner) and he suggested just running as fast as possible until I blew up. After some thoughts and more talking, I thought taking this approach would be interesting, and why not?

Sunday morning, Eric drove me to the Spring Garden stop, and I caught the subway up to the start. I saw friends on the subway and then met up with my friends Olivia and Leslie at the start. We hung for a bit and then I slipped into my corral.

I wore red socks and an awesome sticker the race promoters created.

I ran across the start line and just started running by feel. I was feeling great and was just super pumped to be running. I kept looking for Eric, but never saw him (more on that later).

The miles kept ticking by and I felt great. I got so excited when we were approaching City Hall because the run was more than halfway and I was feeling great.

So I just kept running and running. Never feeling mentally or physically spent. And at around mile 7 I realized I could PR!! Which was just the boost I needed to keep going.

I ended up crossing the finish line in 1:21:xx, almost a full minute PR from last year. While I have been running, it’s been some sloooow miles on trails.

Post race a bunch of friends and I met up. I kept calling and texting Eric after the race, only to find out he ran part of the race (9.5 miles!) for fun. He’s insane and never runs.

We all headed over to FDR to hang out with Philadelphia Runner.

And then there were horses. Because horses always randomly show up in Philly.

After some beer and some food we decided to go to Blackbird for some more food.
Blake mentioned he was running there and I think the beers convinced me it was a good idea.

Blake and I ran to Blackbird and met Eric and scarfed down pizza, wings, and fries. After eating we discusse our options to get home and Blake and I decided to run back to Northern Liberties.

I ended the day at 16 ish miles.

Splits from the race and the miles home:

So this Sunday is the Broad Street 10 Mile Run! One of my favorites. My first real long distance race (4 years ago!). I am really excited but also just feel weird going into this weekend.

I feel weird because of Boston. I’m not necessarily scared that something will happen during the run, but when you read that they have set up evacuation shelters along the course it’s hard not to worry.

And then I feel weird because for the first time ever I really have no goals for this race. I’ve been running, but not really training. I have no time goals, I know I won’t PR, and I really have no idea what pace I should run. And while maybe my goal should just be to finish, I know I can run 10 miles and it probably won’t be a problem (#sweetbrag).

And all of that just feels weird.

Fun running during the Philadelphia Runner Urban Scramble

On another note, I have really enjoyed this not training cycle. I went from a back injury in January, to slowly building my mileage and just having fun while exercising I starting running more trails and have been riding my bike at least once a week.

I also have another running race at the end of the month, the Dirty German 25k! I ran this last year as my first trail race and it was SO MUCH FUN. I have a ton of friends running it this year. So between now and the end of May I will be spending a lot of time here and there, which isn’t too bad.

Oh, I also joined a new mountain bike/cyclocross team, but that’s another post for another day. But here’s a shot of new, fresh kits!

In the middle of Pennsylvania there are a few abandoned turnpike tunnels. The turnpike used to be 2 lanes, and when they were expanding it they decided to close the old tunnels and bypass around them.

We stopped at Ray’s Hill which is open to the public. Supposedly one day this will be turned in a nice bike path, but for now it’s just a path with a lot of broken asphalt. Eric has actually ridden through the tunnels when making his trek from Philly to Pittsburgh.

You are able to park at the entrance to the road, and then have to walk about a mile until you reach the actual tunnel.

We didn’t walk the entire length of the tunnel, but got about halfway. It’s pretty creepy and eerie. It doesn’t get pitch black inside, but the further you go in the darker it gets.

Post walking through the tunnel the guys decided to climb up on top of the tunnel. They ended up going through the old building that housed the turbines.

I’d definitely like to check out the other tunnels soon. And definitely remember to bring a flashlight.

After spending most of February with a nasty cough I finally got back on track with running once March started. It’s been a slow and not fun process. I’ve been putting in low mileage, but at least running semi-consistently. I’m running Broad Street in a little over a month so I really need to step up my game.

I was exchanging emails with some (running) friends and they mentioned they were heading out of the city to run the last Pickle Run. I’ve never done one of their runs but have always heard they are a blast. No timing devices are allowed and you have to guesstimate your finish time. There are also decorated pickles cucumbers along the course that you are supposed to find and you can win prizes at the end!

My friends and I all signed up for the ~4 mile trail run. It was a really small race and once we turned off the paved road everyone got really strung out. I spent most of the race alone, only seeing people here and there. Luckily they had awesome volunteers at every turn so it was almost impossible to get lost.

The race was awesome. It felt great being alone, running on the trail, while snow (!) was falling all around. Some of the inclines were steep and made me doubt my fitness levels.

Towards the end of the race I was making a turn and saw a pickle cucumber! I picked it up and it was just the boost I needed, hahah.

We hung out post race and received our bizarre prizes, aka garage sale items. I came away with a grease presser, or something like that.

Sunday morning Eric and I set out on an adventure to North Jersey so he could buy some bike wheels. Yes…we are back to the random travels for bike parts. But usually when he does something like this we try to make an adventure out of it and do some other fun things.

Randomly The Cinnamon Snail food truck sets up in Red Bank, NJ on Sundays and we had to make our wheel transaction nearby. I ate at the snail last weekend for the first time and was excited for Eric to try it.

There was a bit of a line, which gave us ample time to figure out what all we wanted. We started off with donuts that were delicious. And then I got the maple waffles and Eric got their special sandwich. It was really cold outside we we had to eat in the car. I can’t wait to go back when it’s warmer, it’s about an hour and a half from Philly.

Post stuffing ourselves we headed to the nearby beach, Sandy Hook. It was really cold and windy on the beach, but nice to walk up and down. Sandy Hook was hit by the hurricane and there was still a lot of damage along the waterfront.

You would see the Manhattan skyline from the beach though, which was really cool.

We hung out for a while on the beach then drove back to Philly.

We arrived in NYC around 10am and headed to our hotel near Times Square to check-in. And then we were off to Brooklyn to EAT.

First stop was Dun-Well Donuts. I’ve been hearing about it for almost a year and it was about as amazing as I imagined. They had a nice selection of donuts and we settled on sharing coffee cake, chocolate with sprinkles, coconut, and plain glazed. They were all good, but I have to say the glazed was the best. I didn’t even like donuts growing up, but for some reason the past few years I have become obsessed.

Post donuts we made the short walk over to Pine Box Rock Shop because they just so happened to be having a vegan pop-up shop. We arrived a bit early and hung around outside watching The Cinnamon Snail Food Truck set up. We weren’t hungry but after checking out the menu and the short line, we decided to grab sandwiches for later.

It was a no-brainer for me and I ordered the maple mustard tempeh sandwich, topped with kale and garlic aioli.

We walked around the pop-up shop before it got crowded and I was able to buy some chapstick from Meow Meow Tweet (love this company!) and found this AWESOME cashew cheese from Treeline Treenut Cheese. Apparently this is hard stuff to get your hands on and I bought the last smoked cheese…only 15 minutes after they had opened.

It was such a beautiful day that after the pop-up we walked all around Brooklyn, ending in Prospect Park and finally eating our sandwiches. Finally we went back to Manhattan and went out to dinner at Mexican Radio. It was ok, good choice if you are with veg*ns and omnis. We grabbed some beers post dinner and then went back to the hotel.

Sunday morning my friend and I got up early to run in Central Park! I was really excited about this because I have never had the chance to run in NYC. We mapped out a route that had us ending at a bagel shop.

I then gathered my things and took the bus back to Philly.

Sunday was such a nice day that once I got home Eric and I decided to take a walk around the city and see where we would end up. We decided to walk south and once we started to get a bit hungry and thirsty we veered towards Grindcore House to pick up some tea and scones.

We stopped by a friend’s to check out his new house and then walked over to the P.O.P.E where we met other friends for dinner.

Seriously awesome weekend filled with probably the best food ever.