Giving Credit Where Credit is Due!

My cousin ran 11 miles yesterday!  Apparently I'm holding the kid back! I was pretty impressed with our 7 mile run a few weeks ago but Vic set out to run for 90 minutes yesterday which apparently translates into 11 for him.

He also averaged a 8:35 minute mile.  I think I'm more jealous of his speed than his distance!  I'm 1/2 bummed we didn't run together this weekend...1/2 really relieved because I definitely could not have run 11 miles and never run an 8:35 mile, let alone the sub 8:00 mile he did!  I do feel bad that when we run together I slow him down but at the same time, I like that he pushes me to be faster and run further.

But since we're not running together today...I'm just looking to hit my training plan goal because I am not feeling it!

***

Training plan - 40 minute run

My plan - do multiple searches for a good 5 mile run, map out my own five mile run, change my mind between running inside/outside 3 times, etc; at this point I just need to start running!

Actual - 4.6 mile run in 43:31

The things I do for family...

Yep, on my tip toes

Today is my cousin's 25th birthday!  It is for that reason, and that reason only, I ran almost 6 miles outside today.  It is about 3 degrees here (ok, 30, but still) and I had already ready mentally committed to getting today's training run in on the treadmill. In fact, I had mentally committed to not running outside in temps under about 45!  But Vic wanted to run around the Mall today so run around the Mall we did.

We set out with no grand plan in mind or distance in mind. That was actually nice, I usually know how far we're going to run and then start feeling "over it" when I'm about two-thirds of the way through the run, whether it's a 3 mile run or 6 mile run.

Miles 2 & 3 miles were a real struggle for me.  The first mile was fast but then I was hating life by the second mile. Eventually I got into it and actually really enjoyed the run.

Other than the first few minutes when I turned my tracking app on before Vic was ready...my pace was actually pretty consistent (except that darn 3rd mile).

Because of the tracking app issue my overall speed is incorrect but I feel pretty confident it was below a 10 min/mile!

Training plan - 36 minute run

My plan - treadmill run, shooting for something longer than 36 minutes

Actual - 5.7 mile birthday run!

Because you can't stop at 6.93...

So as I mentioned yesterday my cousin and I decided to attempt a 10k as our Saturday workout.  I found a 6.2 mile run already mapped out on mapmyrun.com which started at my cousin's house and has us running through the District. This was the route we set out to do:

This is the route we actually ran:

In general we stuck pretty closely to the route.  It was beautiful day and in just a few miles got to see quite a bit of DC.  We ran past embassies, ambassador's houses, the Vice-President's residence, through residential, urban and historical areas. Turns out it's really difficult to follow a route on your phone while running though so there was a detour or two. It all worked out in our favor because it actually pushed us to run 7 miles.  I contemplated walking at 6.5 and doing the last 1/2 mile as a cool down but I'm really happy I pushed through that. (Dad, before you say anything, we did do a cool down/stretch but I turned the GPS tracking off for that).

We certainly didn't set any speed records but I'll take an average 10:00/mile.  Also, that last mile or so was all uphill. Oh, and these are just my times. Vic had to show me up and sprint up the last hill. We got back to Vic's house with 6.93 miles behind us, so clearly couldn't stop until we hit an even 7.

It was definitely a challenge but I was pretty happy with the pay off. (Although a little bitter Vic burned more than 300 calories more than me!)

Blackened Tilapia Tacos at Surfside!

Because I believe a little peer pressure is a good thing

So I'm resurrecting the blog.

My cousin and I recently decided to attempt a triathlon. We started "training" for it by doing things like swimming laps for the first time in ten years and running 5 miles for the first time...ever.  We also signed up for an actual training program that starts next Saturday.  The training program is set up for a goal race on June 2nd and, if things go according to plan, we hope to do a few more across the season. Right now I'm 85 percent committed to the Olympic distance race (.93m/1500m swim, 25m/40km bike, 6.2/10km run). At the very least I'll start that training program and can drop down to Sprint distance (.5m/800m swim, 12.5m/20km bike, 3.1m/5k run) if necessary.

I'm planning to use this blog to write about my training experiences, hold myself accountable and basically peer pressure myself into seeing this sucker through. So for anyone that still checks this thing, what would you like to know about triathlon training? What would you like to see? Before/after photos? Run/bike routes?

Oh and by the way, for those that don't know, I actually am still in health care.  I'm currently attending Georgetown getting my Master's in Health System Administration. So who knows, occasionally I might post something about that as well (also I'm too busy/lazy to set up a new blog or figure out how to change the name).

I've been a bad blogger...

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! I went on vacation, I went to Canada, I went to New Jersey, there were crafts, Sunday night dinners, Friday night dinners
 and I turned old (25), not to mention work.

Let's start with vacation:

My family and I went to Punta Cana last month. It was the first time my work travel has actually come in handy with for my personal life. We happened to be flying Continental and with my status on United we were able to check 8 pieces of luggage for free, board sooner and get our luggage tagged as priority.  Unfortunately I'm not nearly important enough (unlike this guy...just ask him...) to get upgrades on international flights.

My parents treated us to a nice hotel with lots of activities. Activities are important to me. I don't do idle well. I wanted to have a few days by the beach or pool but a whole week would probably make me crazy. Fortunately I was able to keep busy. My parents and I played golf twice, a couple of shots were even good. We were able to take kayaks out whenever we wanted. Most of us went snorkling. My sister and brother tried windsurfing. And I tried scuba diving for the first time, which I loved! We only went about 15 feet down, I think I would have to get certified to do much more than that...and I probably will. I definitely want to do it again.

It was a great trip. Can't thank my parents enough for the treat!

Some favorite pictures below:

Did I mention the rooms were swim up suites? Who doesn't love floating to a bar?

 Windsurfing

We travel by golf cart.

Caught a fish!

Troopers! After some pretty serious waves we were still able to get a bit of fishing in.

And the obligatory, I was home so I took pictures of my puppies, picture

Kinda Perfect...

Had a great afternoon today.

Went to check into my flight and was offered a seat on an earlier flight. Made it through security, without rushing and anxiety, and walked right onto my flight with no waiting and had a row to myself.

Got home early, finished up my work for the evening and had a nice dinner.

Went to the driving range with my cousin, weather was perfect. Hit about 75 balls, 20 of them I even hit well (which is not to say I swung 75 times, probably 3 times that many).

And now I'm having a glass of wine and ignoring my emails...

A collection of random pictures

Last weekend my parents were in town while my Dad attended a conference. I took pictures. I also don't really have anything else to blog about because I only went on 1 trip this week and it was fairly uneventful. Hence:

Friday night my Mom, Dad, Sister, Sister's friends and I went to dinner.

I ordered the "Chesapeake Cioppino". Everyone else's entrees were a reasonable size. I was served the Ocean.

Saturday we went to Eastern Market. It was my Mom's first time ever. From Eastern Market we walked to the Botanical Gardens and along the way we noticed this nifty flower.

 There were also flowers at the Botanical Gardens.

 A large majority of the flowers seemed to be Orchids.

This is not a very good picture but I particularly liked this Orchid.

 From Eastern Market we walked across the mall to the National Gallery of Art. 

We particularly liked the free audio guides! I need someone to tell me what to look at in art museums.

 From the National Gallery of Art we walked all the way to Georgetown (approximately 5 miles).

I bought this Fishy luggage tag in Miami and it makes me happy. 

What a difference a day makes!

Tuesday night on my way from DC to Des Moines I few Delta and was upgraded to first class. I've taken this flight probably 4 times now and always been upgraded, and I only have the lowest level of status on Delta.

Wednesday night I flew back from Des Moines on United through Chicago. On the Chicago to DC flight I was "eligible" for an upgrade...but so were 34 other people...and I was 29th!  So not only did I not get upgraded, but I had a middle seat.

I don't understand how some people manage to sit so still. The folks sitting on either side of me didn't seem to move at all during the flight. Just sat there nicely and did work on their computers or read. I, meanwhile, am repositioning ever five seconds. Crossing legs, uncrossing legs, stretching, one leg up on seat, 2 legs up on seat, crossing, uncrossing, repeat as necessary.

I feel bad for whichever one of my family members sits next to me on our flight to the Dominican Republic!

When I'm not working II

My cousin Bobby came up from North Carolina for the weekend and Bobby, my other cousin Victor and my sister Emily and I spent lots of fun, quality time together!

We went out to dinner Friday night.

Played pool and shuffle board later that night.

Saturday we went down to Quantico and met one of my cousin's friends, ate Greek food and saw the real headquarters of NCIS.

EDIT: apparently I got too excited about the NCIS building and jumped the gun. Not the headquarters. (Thanks for raining on my parade vic).

Saturday night we went out in Adams Morgan.

Sunday we ate Mexican food and went to go see Cedar Rapids (really funny).

Also...this happened...

After the movie we went back to my house where Emily made us a delicious Sunday night sauce dinner.

It's a Small World After All

Is that song stuck in your head now? It's in mine. Sorry!

Anyway...

I flew down to NC yesterday and drove to Emerald Isle to meet my cousin and his wife as we wait for their son (my second cousin, or first cousin once/twice removed or something like that) to arrive back on base from Afghanistan. Unfortunately his arrival kept getting pushed back, and pushed back again. He is now not supposed to arrive until 5pm today (as opposed to 8am and then 5pm Sunday). Instead I just spent the day with my cousin who I do not get to see very much as he lives in California.

My cousin is staying in the house of a friend of his from the Marines. It's a beatiful house with a very of the beach. I spent some time wandering around getting a lay of the land...only to stumble upon a picture of my very first boss! Apparently my boss and this gentleman's daughter were best friends from undergrad and she was in her wedding.

Such a small world that I could be more than 350 miles away from home, in the house of someone I don't know and stumble upon pictures of people I do know!

Perks of the Job

My cousin is coming home!! Lt Bobby Jakucs USMC has been stationed in Afghanistan for the last 9 months. In July my sisters, cousin and I road tripped down to North Carolina for the 4th of July weekend to see him off. He will be getting back into NC this Sunday. 

Just today I discovered I would be onsite with a client in NC Monday and Tuesday. Instead of flying down Monday morning and getting into the hospital late morning/early afternoon as I normally would, I'll be flying down Sunday morning and driving to Camp Lejeune to meet my cousin and his family. Monday morning I'll drive back to Raleigh to arrive at my client site as I normally would. 

It'll mean a lot of driving in a 24 hour period.

But it's totally worth it.

When I'm not working...

I thought I would use today's post to give a glimpse into my life outside of work travels. When I'm not working, which admittedly, isn't often these days, I love to cook. So this Sunday I had some friends over for a big pasta dinner. Growing up we always had pasta on Sundays and I've continued that tradition. I try to make a big pot of sauce, probably every other month, and freeze it in individual portions. More recently I started making my own pasta as well. When this weekend came up I decided to give ravioli a try for the first time.

4 cups of unbleached, all purpose flour

6 eggs, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of olive oil, whisked and poured into the well in the flour

Stir the egg mixture in the well

Gradually increasing the size of the well...

Stir in as much as possible until you give up and decide to use your hands and form a rough ball

Kneed the dough for 10 to 20 minutes

Let the dough rest (in a mixing bowl covered with saran wrap) for at least an hour

Cut the dough into 6 equal portions (and then cut each in half again because your counter space isn't long enough to hold the full length of pasta dough)

Feed the dough through the pasta maker, starting at the largest setting, pass through each setting twice, stopping at the second to smallest setting (wonder why they have a smaller setting if you're not supposed to use it).

Keep passing through pasta machine...

 Lay the pasta sheet out on the counter and place dollops of cheese mixture (ricotta, pecorino romano, egg, parsley, salt and pepper) across the sheet

Lay the other side of the pasta over the first side and smooth out air

Use crimper thing to seal and cut ravioli (and make them look pretty)

Place ravioli on dishtowel, covered with cornmeal until ready to cook.

Make pasta sauce.

Eat

Drink

and be merry.


(* Recipe adapted from Lidia's Italian Table)