After staying out a bit late Friday night, Eric and I were up pretty early Saturday morning and were itching to go ride our new bikes. We made a plan and headed into Fairmount Park near Belmont.

Oh new bikes? Plural? Yeah, a few days after I got my new bike Eric bought a mountain bike. Our apartment is overflowing with bikes.

Fairmount Park is such a large park and I feel like every time I run or ride there I discover something new. Our friend Bob was nice enough to take us to some trails I didn’t even know existed.

I’m not going to lie, learning to ride on the trails was hard. Between shifting gears, clipping in and clipping out, hopping over logs, avoiding brush and trees, I was pretty overwhelmed. But I managed to stay up right for the most part and I am excited to get back out there soon and learn some more.

We then headed over to the plateau to ride some grass and gravel. This might be one of my favorite spots in the city because of the view.

Later in the day Eric and I ran a few errands. I had to stop and buy some cat food at our local shop. There is a cat who lives there and it might be the ugliest cat ever. But so sweet. I reached down to pet it and the cat jumped up on my back and refused to leave. She just kept rubbing her face against mine and purring really loudly.

It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

We stayed in Saturday night and made pizza, drank beer, and watched terrible movies. Eric and I shared this Crooked Cockeyed Cooper Barley Wine. It was really good! It’s 11% but didn’t have that cough syrup taste that some higher alcohol barley wines tend it get.

We woke up pretty early Sunday morning and decided to go to breakfast and try to beat all of the Mother’s Day crowds. Even though there is a Green Eggs Cafe practically across the street from us, we wanted to check out the new center city location because our friend works there.

I ordered the vegan french toast and Eric ordered the breakfast burrito. Both were delicious and it was nice to eat before the crowds.

After stuffing ourselves we did a whole lot of nothing the rest of the day. I think the cats were ok with that though.

Isn’t she pretty?

I had such a fun time watching Eric race cyclocross last season that it was getting hard for me to just sit on the sidelines and cheer. I immediately starting saving money and searching online for a used bike. I started telling everyone that I was going to race next season.

We looked for months and months and never found anything. Then last weekend Eric was at a bike swap and came across this bike. It was waaaay out of my price range. But by the end of the day Eric negotiated the price down (although still over what I wanted to pay) and I went for it. I was sick of looking for a bike and this one was really nice (even Eric is jealous!).

So…now I actually have to get really good at riding bikes and learn all the extra stuff that comes with cross racing. Gulp. But I figured I should put it on the internet that I will race cross this season. So now there is no backing down.

I know that pace isn’t that epic to a lot of people, but it’s fast for me and I worked hard to get there. I spent 10 weeks following a running schedule and I spent one day a week on the treadmill hating my life while running repeats. And I couldn’t be happier.

Eric was his usual superstar spectator. Unfortunately we only saw each once along the course but he stuck out there the entire time and cheered on all of our friends.

Overall the run went pretty well. I started out too fast and was feeling it by the 3rd mile, but then I slowed down and turned my Garmin so I couldn’t see the pace. I went really slowly through a Gatorade station at mile 8, I wish I had picked up the pace a bit! And I didn’t think I was running as fast as I was the last 2 miles.

I could tell the higher mileage I put in really helped. I never felt like I couldn’t run the 10 miles, and didn’t experience any pain associated with the distance. And as soon as I finished and had a bottle of water I felt completely fine.

We hung around the race till almost the end, watching different friends finish. Then we finally headed to lunch at Cantina Los Caballitos. It too forever to get our food which was really annoying.

And then we finally headed home after a really long day.

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement over the past 10 weeks! This was my first time actually trying to “race” and it makes me really excited about running this year. I have a 25k and a half marathon coming up within the next 3 weeks so I hope these legs are ready for some more damage.

Week 9 – Because I was sick the week before I amended this weeks original plan to include a long run.
Monday: Bike Trainer 45 minutes
Probably watched an episode of Make It or Break It, I’m obsessed with that show.
Tuesday:5 miles, treadmill
Speedwork, I ran 1 mile x 2 at 8min/mile, with .5 mile recovery in between. Went well.
Wednesday: 10 miles along Kelly Drive
One last long run. I through in some faster than goal pace miles in the middle and felt really strong the entire run. This gave me a pretty big confidence boost.
Thursday: OFF
Friday: 5 miles, treadmill
Saturday: 25 miles on the bike
Rode with some friends along MLK Drive and Kelly Drive.
Sunday: 4 miles, treadmill
Really easy treadmill run.

Weekly total – 24 miles

Week 10 – Aww, sort of a taper week, which was good, because I have been feeling lazy all week.
Monday: 5.5 miles, around the neighborhood
Random run through the neighborhood and along the Delaware River. I didn’t really have a plan or a goal.
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: 4 miles, treadmill
Pretty steady and easy run with a few minute long speed bursts.
Thursday: Bike Trainer for 30 minutes
Watching Make It or Break It.
Friday: 3 miles…which I still need to go run.
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: BROAD STREET! Very excited!

I can’t wait to run Sunday. I’ve trained really well these past ten weeks (probably harder than for my marathons) and I am just excited about racing. I’ve been a bit worried about logistics and the crowds but I know everything will be fine.

Eric also hates to brag, so I have to for him. Not only did he complete the race, he won the race (along with another guy he was riding with). But not only did they complete the race and win the race, Eric and the other guy set a course record for fastest time.

He wrote a race report on his blog. It’s long but definitely worth a read.

Ride the Jawn: Crush The Commonwealth

And if you search this blog for crush the commonwealth you can read his reports from the past 2 years.

Usually when Eric leaves town I tend to hole up inside and spend most of my weekend like this. The cat in lap is mandatory.
But I made a big effort to get out and actually spent most of the weekend busy!

First up, Saturday afternoon I met some friends for a bike ride. I’m still making an effort to ride my bike more and so far so good.
Our friend Ed always shows up in the best outfits. I loved his bomber jacket he wore.
We rode up and down MLK drive a few times and covered about 25 miles. Thanks dudes for letting me crash your ride.

Then Sunday I met some friends at the newly opened HipCityVeg (menu here!). Fresh, tasty, vegan fast food, in center city Philadelphia. I don’t think life gets better (or easier) than that!

I got the Mediterranean Salad, side of sweet potato fries, and a green lemonade. My friends each got a burger, I didn’t get a picture but the burgers are HUGE. Eric hasn’t been yet so I bet we will be back soon.

I got home later in the day just as Eric was getting back in town. We spent the rest of the night on the couch while I listened to his war stories from the bike race.

I was already prepared that my chances were slim, but I was still a little sad when I got the not accepted email.
But! This just means I went ahead and signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon! I’m really excited to run Philly again. I won’t have to figure out race logistics, Eric can ride his bike along the course again, and I saved $150!

Back to Broad Street…it’s almost time! I am excited and looking forward to racing.

another photo not related at all to running, but definitely related to dollar store glasses and slurpees! 

Week 7 
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 7 miles
Speedwork! This consisted of 1mile x 3 at goal pace, 3 min recovery in between.
Wednesday: 6 miles
I ran an easy 6 miles on the treadmill.
Thursday: OFF
Friday: 14.25 miles
I worked from home that day so I was able to get my long run finished early on. Longest run since November. I really like long run because there is no pressure on pace or speed, I just go out and plod along. I ran from my apartment down spring garden, down the Schuylkill River Trail, back up to MLK Drive and did the loop, then back along Spring Garden home. The run went really well.
Saturday: 18 miles on the bike
Eric and I finally got out for a ride together. Rode around Fairmount Park and had a great time. Must ride my bike more.
Sunday: 6 miles
I woke up early and went to Wissahickon to run Forbidden Drive. It was really humid out but I love running that path so much.

Weekly total: 33.25 miles (wow!)

Week 8 – Ugh, this week just sort of fell apart. I got sort of sick. Not so sick that you can’t work out but still sick enough that I didn’t have a ton of energy. I just tried to break my runs up into smaller runs.
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 3 miles + weights
I went to the gym and ran an easy 3 miles and did a full body weights workout.
Wednesday: OFF
Woke up feeling sick.
Thursday: 5 miles
Went for an easy run outside just for some fresh air. I kept the pace really easy but I didn’t have a lot of energy.
Friday: 4.5 miles
Speedwork…sort of. I did my intervals but kept everything pretty short overall. It was still nice and I think beneficial to get some leg turnover in.
Saturday: 5 miles
Ran outside again but still felt crappy.
Sunday: 4 miles
Easy run at the gym.

Weekly total: 21.5 miles

I tried to spend a good majority of the weekend outdoors. There were bikes rides, runs, park hanging, and lots of good food and good beer.

Week 5 – Another really great week. My mileage increased and I felt really good, although tired, all week.
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 6 miles
I ran 6 miles on the treadmill at the gym. After warming up I kept the mileage pretty consistent with a few pickups. I was supposed to do 6 pickups but misread my training plan and only did 4, oh well.
Wednesday: Bike trainer 30 minutes
I didn’t have a lot of time to work out, but squeezed in 30 minutes on the trainer after work.
Thursday: 5.5 miles
I ran Valley Forge before work. The run went really well and helped clear my head before work.
Friday: 7 miles
I ran before work along Kelly Drive. The run went fine, but nothing to really write home about.
Saturday: Weights
I went to the gym in the afternoon and they were having some kind of party and it was really loud and crowded. I knew I had a long run the next day so I did a lot of upper body stuff and just a few (3) lower body strength moves.
Sunday: 12 miles
My longest run since the Philly marathon. I had kind of been dreading this run all week, although I have no idea why. It went really well. My first and last 2 miles are always really slow because I am running through the city, but when I was running along Kelly I picked up the pace a bit.

Weekly total: 30.5miles

Week 6 - Cut back week! I actually did more mileage than my plan called for, but still lower than previous week.
Monday:OFf
I had jury duty all day so it worked out well.
Tuesday: 4 miles + weights
I went to the gym and ran and had a bit of time afterwards so I did a few weight moves.
Wednesday: 8 miles
I had a really bad day at work and just wanted to run. I ended up doing my long run that day just because I had to sweat it all out. I think that is my longest post run ever. The weather was incredibly that day.
Thursday: OFF
I should have done some cross training but oh well.
Friday: 6 miles, 2mi x 2 with 4min recovery
Speed work on the treadmill. I really pushed the pace on this and was surprised that I easily help 8:13min/miles.
Saturday: Rode 13 miles
Eric and I rode our bikes down to the Naval Yard and back.
Sunday: 5 miles
An easy 5 miles on the treadmill.

Weekly total: 23 miles

 The cats have been crazy cute and cuddly lately. Like more than I could have imagined. Kitta Marie just got her stitches out and lounges around showing off her shaved belly. She seems to be recovering well from her surgery and the cats have been on a strict wet food only diet that sometimes they like and sometimes they hate.

Saturday morning Eric and I woke up pretty early to ride down to the Naval Yard to watch his team race. Eric has been sick and didn’t want to race but we went for moral support. His team did pretty well. The ride down was really nice because it was so early and we had the wind to our back, but the ride home was full of cars and the wind was right in our face.

I made a decent amount of food this weekend and ate a decent about of food. I made an epic pizza with potatoes, red peppers, kale, and tempeh bacon. I made no-knead bread and doubled the yeast and was able to bake it after only 2 hours of rising.
I wanted to make some easter treats and decided on cupcakes. I didn’t have any all purpose flour, so after some googling I settled on these Whole Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes. While I wasn’t necessarily going for ‘healthy’ cupcakes, these weren’t too bad and tasted delicious.
Sunday night I made Warm Chickpea and Artichoke Salad. It was really good and would make a great picnic or party salad. I added some kale and I highly recommend adding a dose of smoked paprika to the dish. (MOM, you would really like this!)

 
This past week we told our landlord we are moving out in June and she already scheduled a few showings this week (!!!). So we spent a good majority of the weekend cleaning and organizing our apartment. After being cooped up for a while Eric and I took off for a neighborhood walk and ended up at A Full Plate. It’s one of my favorite brunch places and we hadn’t been in a while. I had the vegan french toast and Eric got the Riblet Sandwich and we shared a massive plate of home fries.