Lovin' Long Weekend

I love sitting here on a Monday evening reveling in all the things I did today that don’t include the awful 4-letter word: WORK! 3-day weekends are the best (I can see why Gazelle’s has been so upset losing them).

Saturday, Valentine’s Day. Mr. Pi and I started a tradition back when we were dating that we would cook for one another instead of going out to uber-crowded, over-priced restaurants on Valentine’s Day. Every other year one person is ridiculously spoiled with dinner, dessert and dishes done (how’s that for alliteration?). This year was my turn to spoil the Mr! I’m kicking myself that I didn’t pull a Mica and take pictures of my meal—I gotta say, it was purrrrty. Here was the 2009 menu:

Orange-glazed Cornish game hens stuffed with an orange and almond rice stuffing
Basil and Spinach roasted red potatoes
Served with Almond Sparkling Wine (which is the champagne we served at our wedding)
For dessert...Cappuccino Mousse Trifle

Part of our tradition is to make trifle every year for dessert. Since trifle is really just “layered dessert” there are a TON of variations. So far we’ve had…raspberry, lemon, English, pumpkin, strawberry/banana/blueberry & Cappuccino Mousse.

Valentine’s Day, was wonderful BUT I view V-day as just another day for me to spend with my wonderful husband.

Sunday, Long Run Day! I woke up to miserable weather, rain, wind, cold! Blah! Our Sunday running group decided to cancel, well I’m the one that canceled. (Sorry chicas! You know how I am about the weather.) I was hoping for the weather to get better, I really didn’t want to run 9 miles on the treadmill. Luckily, after a few hours it DID! I spent the morning sitting on my arse drinking wayyyyyyy too much coffee, eating fresh baked cinnamon raisin bread (Have I told you that Mr. Pi has started baking fresh bread at least once a week? Yeah, I am lucky and NO, you cannot have him, he’s taken!) and reading the Twilight series. (On book 4 now, sad that there isn’t a book 5 already and I’m not even halfway through book 4.)

Around 1:45 with just a few non-rain clouds hanging about, I decided I better get a move on. The temp read low-40’s so I bundled up (this was a mistake). My plan had me running 9 miles at PMP (planned marathon pace) + 45seconds. Since I’m not totally positive on what my PMP is yet, I have a range, I decided to start easy and aim for 11:30 min/mile average. Since my poor dog hadn’t been out of the house I started off with the intention of running a short 2-3 mile loop with her and drop her back at the house and continue on. I got out the door and got a call from Mr. Pi. Apparently, he had the same idea, except at the end of his run. We met up and ran the first mile as a family, Mr. Pi, the Zoemeister and me. After a mile I said good-bye and continued on. I am so glad that I waited to run—it was gorgeous! There were birds singing in the air, the sun was shining, there were a TON of runners out and I swear, I saw a few flowers trying to sprout. The only problem was—I was HOT! Yes, me, the girl that gets cold when the temps are below 70 was HOT. I ended up shedding my long sleeve top and running in pants and a tank (I probably looked silly) for a couple of miles. I was also very thirsty, probably from all that coffee! My run went well, though I did miss my running buddies. I take more walk breaks without them holding me accountable. Because of those breaks, I ended up 1 min over my goal of an 11:30 average. Eh, I tried.

Mile 1- 10:15 (um, a little fast)/ Mile 2- 10:30/ Mile 3- 11:06/ Mile 4- 11:48/ Mile 5 – 12:03/ Mile 6- 11:36/ Mile 7- 11:34/ Mile 8- 11:03/ Mile 9-10:50
Total time: 1 hour 44 minutes and change

My legs are really comfortable around 10:45 but my lungs are having a hard time keeping up. I think I need to work on building back some endurance. My running break from the last marathon coupled with my bronchitis probably hindered my lung capacity a little bit. Regardless, I’m feeling stronger!

Monday-HOLIDAY! Today was a glorious day off! I did a lot of housekeeping stuff. Finally took clothes to Goodwill, took Zoey to the dog park, gave Zoey a bath, did eleventy loads of laundry and did some general tidying of the house.

I have a feeling this week is going to be stressful but lately, what week isn’t??!! All I know is, I WILL get in my workouts! Also, some time this week, I’m going to do a post dedicated to music. I love reading song lists you guys have put together and listening to Sarah’s Music Monday’s. So, stay tuned for The Ambitious One’s Songs that Rock. (pun intended!)