Impromptu Night Out

We ended up getting hit pretty hard yesterday and the snow kept coming even into the early evening. However, Evan and I saw the snow storm as an opportunity to get really cheap theater tickets! Let me explain: for Christmas my mom bought my dad tickets to Jersey Boys and the performance they chose was for last night (Wednesday). Since we got hit hard with the snow storm my mom wasn't sure if the performance was still going on. She received a phone call mid afternoon saying the show was still going on as planned, but if she decided not to attend they would refund her. Hmmm, this got me thinking: What are they going to do with all those extra tickets? Maybe they will sell them at half price? So, Evan (after work) trudged through the snow and went to the box office. They were not selling half price tickets but, they had "obstructed view" seats for only $28 (my mom paid $75 for hers). The guy at the box office told Evan to buy them and just move seats when we get there because a lot of people would not show up with the weather. So, what to do?

And my parents ended up coming in too!!! Before the show, we met up with them at an old German Pub (oldest bar in Boston) for a quick bite and beer.

Evan and I walked through a winter wonderland on the way to the restaurant.

Immediately upon entrance into the restaurant I ordered a Goose Island Matilde to warm up!

Mmmmmm...I love Belgium Beers!!

Then munched on some amazing corn bread!

For my entree, I ordered the spinach salad with walnuts, a soft cheese (not sure what kind), grilled pears, and chicken.

It was very good, nice and light. Thus, I could eat more corn bread and drink more heavy beer!!!

The show was VERY fun!! It had a great story and great music. I know the Four Season's music, but I didn't know the story behind the group. I danced the night away and Evan and I ended up getting great seats! It was a wonderful impromptu night out!!!

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I did not end up running with DreamFar today because I was afraid I would get injured with all the snow still unplowed on the sidewalks. So, I ran 5.5 miles on the treadmill in 49 minutes. It was a a good run and it was nice to have a controlled temperature and environment, especially when I looked outside and it was SO snowy and cold! I decided I really like running on the treadmill with runs shorter than 6 miles, but prefer outside for longer runs. 

Do you prefer treadmill or outside? What about in the winter?

Almost Friday!!! 

Burgers and Beer!

Just got back from a great run with the DreamFar team! Man, was it fast and cold!! There is a storm coming in tomorrow, so today definitely felt like the calm before the storm. Before our run today we got photographed by a photographer for a local on-line newspaper. She took a photo of the team plus a few "action" photos. I will link to the article when I find out when it comes out. Ok, so back to the run: we ended up running a little under 6 miles (I am not sure because we ran around a half a mile till I started my Garmin). Here are the splits once my Garmin started working:

Distance: 5:35
Duration: 45:39
Mile 1: 8:44
Mile 2: 8:45
Mile 3: 7:41
Mile 4: 7:58
Mile 5: 9:24 (running with an injured team mate)
Mile .35: 3:05

Mile 3 and 4 were FAST. This one kid really really pushed me hard. I was trying SO hard to keep up with him, but never did. Oh well, he really gave me a run for my money. I felt like I got a good training run in today. The Brookline High track team was running around the pond that we were running at, but they were doing some kind of work out. Man, they are fast!! They blasted right past me when I was going 7:41 minutes/mile.

We were only supposed to run 4 miles today, but our head coach likes to push us a little so we ended up doing close to 6. While I am glad I am getting in the miles, some of our kids are getting seriously injured. Over half of our runners are injured and some seriously injured.  


I know that you can get injured if you run too many miles, but we are only running three times a week, so I am not really sure if the students are getting injured from running just a few miles over the suggested amount.

How close do you follow a training plan? Do you think you can get injured from over training, even if you only run 3 days a week?

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Since there is a HUGE storm coming in tonight at midnight, the surrounding school systems (including the school I intern at) have already closed for tomorrow. So, what to do with a night off? 

DRINK BEER!!!

Eating Burgers (with sauted spinach)

And watching movies about beer: Beer Wars! Evan and I are currently drinking another beer and watching a documentary on Netflix instant about the war between large beer companies (Coors, Budweiser, Miller) and microbreweries. It is pretty interesting so far! I will let you know more about it when it is over!

Do you drink beer? If so would you rather a beer from a large beer company or a micro brew? What is your favorite kind of beer?

Shopping and Eating

For Christmas Evan bought me two books: Great Runs in Boston and Great Runs in Brookline (both by Mark Lowenstein). Both books are comprehensive guides that feature lots of different theme runs in both Boston and Brookline. Evan gave me the Brookline one for when I run with the Dream Far team and also if I get bored of Boston runs Brookline is the next town over. The books are set up by first giving you the essential stats like the starting point, distance, terrain, lighting, bathrooms, water, public transportation, parking and highlights. Then gives you an overview of the run, directions and then the running route mapped out.

I did not get up on Saturday to go running with my Dream Far team because I babysat late Friday night and then met some college friends who live out of town for drinks. However, I did attempt to run the ten miles on my own. Since I was running on my own I decided to try out my new book (Great Runs in Boston). I decided to combine two routes to make a long run. And the runs incorporated two of my favorite things: Shopping and Food! They were called: "Back Bay Shopping Trip" and "Gourmet Gallop." The runs included some of the nicest streets in Boston and really gave a great tour of different neighborhoods. I even ran up Beacon Hill past the State House at one point. This run definitely had some nice sights and I did not get bored once during the hour and 20 minutes I was out. However, I did get a little hungry running through an area (South End) with incredible restaurants! The run totaled 9.5 miles and I figured that was close enough to 10, so I called it a day!

Here are my stats:

Distance: 9.5
Duration: 1:21:18
Mile 1: 8:08
Mile 2.07 (I was a little late hitting the split button): 8:37
Mile 3 (this was a little less than a mile: .93): 8:18
Mile 4: 8:37
Mile 5: 8:36
Mile 6: 8:32
Mile 7: 8:47
Mile 8: 8:29
Mile 9: 8:28
Mile .5: 4:06

This run was really interesting for two reasons: I was running in the middle of a small snow storm and the course was relatively flat minus running up Beacon Hill (about .25 mile steep hill). I am not sure how these two factors affected the run. One (the snow storm) made me run slower because the roads were slippery and I was cautious that I didn't get hit by cars, but the second factor (flat terrain) allowed me to go faster because I did not have the challenge of steep hills. Needless to say this was a unique run. However, I did feel good and my knee did not bother me! I also really enjoyed the route, especially because I got some good people watching in while they shopped and dined!

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After the run, Evan and I had a nice afternoon and evening looking at ring settings, going to the movies (we saw The Fighter) and having a lovely meal out! We both really, really enjoyed The Fighter and highly recommend seeing it, especially if you are familiar with Boston and surrounding areas! Christian Bale was AMAZING!!!! 

As for dinner, we dined at Masa (a South End favorite!). When we arrived there was a large party being held there, so they explained they would not have a table ready until 8:30/9. No worries, the restaurant has a wonderful bar and a tapas sampler plate for only $10!!!! So, Evan and I sat at the bar ordered drinks (I had a Rioja and Evan ordered a Margarita) and split the sampler platter.

I can't even begin to remember what each Tapas was, but I can tell you they were amazing and a perfect appetizer to hold us over till our table was ready. Once we sat, a delicious bread basket and "dips" were brought to us.

Sourdough and Corn bread

Chipotle cream cheese, Honey butter and Red pepper hummus

My favorite combo was the corn bread and honey butter: it tasted like a gingerbread cookie!!! For my entree, I ordered another glass of wine and Blackened rare Ahi tuna steak with yellow Mole sauce, potatoes and wild mushrooms

The tuna steak was amazing, I cannot even do it justice on the blog. It was HUGE, fresh and cooked perfectly. In addition, the yellow mole sauce was a nice complement to the tuna. The only thing I did not like was that the mushrooms were basically nonexistent; I could have used a LOT more mushrooms. Oh well, the meal on the whole was wonderful!

For dessert, I was really full, but still wanted something sweet so I ordered a 20-year aged port:

A perfect ending to a wonderful meal! I highly recommend dining at Masa, it was a great experience!!

My legs are a little sore today, so I think I am going to try a "Yoga for Runners" class on yogadownload.com.

Has anyone ever used a yoga download? Was it equivalent to a yoga class?


Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for the week!!!

Back to Reality

So, it has been a little tough getting back into the swing of things this week. However, I have been able to get in two great runs (one with Dream Far and one on the treadmill). I ran 4.9 miles with Dream Far on Tuesday, here are the splits:

Distance: 4.89
Duration: 42:53
Mile 1: 10:12
Mile 2: 8:01
Mile 3: 7:57
Mile 4: 8:49
Mile .89: 7:51

It was a good run and mile 2 and 3 were really, really fast! This one boy challenged me to go faster and it was great! Today I ran 6 miles on the treadmill in a little under 53 minutes. Again it was a good run and more importantly my knee felt great! There is a 10 mile run planned this Saturday, but I am not sure if I am going to do it on my own or with the team. I really, really want to run with the team, but it is just SO hard to get up early on a Saturday morning!!! I am going to try very, very hard and will start with heading to bed early tomorrow night.

As for my dinners this week, they have been a lot less indulgent than last week, but still delicious. The star of the week was a slow cooker recipe: Bistro Beef Stew with potatoes (we followed the recipe to a T except added some potatoes).

From "Art of the Slow Cooker" by Andrew Schloss


Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon koshser salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds trimmed beef chuck
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 strips bacon
2 medium onions
1 large carrot
1 celery rib
5 garlic cloves
2 cups dry red wine
1 small bunch fresh thyme tied with kitchen string
1 tablespoon finely grated Orange zest
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
5 medium potatoes

1) Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Add the beef cubes and toss to coat evenly with flour; pat off the excess flour and reserve the seasoned flour mixture.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in 2 to 3 batches, about 3 minutes per side, adding more oil with each batch, as needed. Transfer each batch of meat to a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker after it is browned.

3) Reduce the heat to medium, add the bacon, and cook until crisp. Add the onions, carrot, and celery and saute until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Add the reserved seasoned flour and stir until browned, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and heat to boiling. pour the mixture over the beef in the slow cooker. Add potatoes to slower cooker as well. Bury the bunch of thyme in the center of the cooker. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 6 to 8 hours on low, until the beef and vegetables are fork-tender.

4) Remove the thyme. Stir in the orange zest and parsley and cook for 5 minutes on high. Serve with lots of crusty bread, if desired, for mopping up the gravy.

Great dinner!! I highly suggest this recipe and the potatoes were a perfect addition!! Almost the weekend........

New Years Weekend: Part II

So where did I leave off..........Oh yea, I woke up on January 1st nice and late! I laid around the house, while my friend Kira baked this beauty:

French Toast Casserole from Food and Wine magazine. Evan and I shared a slice, and let me tell you...Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!! On the side I had a bowl of cereal with blueberries and a banana.

And a cup of coffee. The house we stayed in only had a percolator and Evan nor I nor anyone in the house had any idea how to use it. We tried our best, but the coffee came out very weak and watery. I am not sure if we were doing it wrong or it was the coffee, but I did NOT like this coffee!!

After we digested, my girlfriends and I took an hour and a half walk around the surrounding neighborhoods. We had some great chats about life, books and movies. However, once we returned we were all pooped, so we relaxed and ate leftovers all afternoon. We managed to watch two old VHS movies (yes, they were videos!!): Austin Powers 2 and What About Bob? Two classics!!!

Once we were all rejuvenated, it was off to party and eat for the second night in a row starting with cocktail hour:

While we all snacked, Evan made us a traditional southern style New Years Day good luck dinner: BBQ chicken, black eyed peas and rice with bacon, and sauted spinach (instead of collard greens)!

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!

 After dinner we broke into teams and played Partini, which was the "party" version of cranium. It was so fun!

Girls against the boys: My team!

Partini was a LOT of fun!!!

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On Sunday we woke up, ate breakfast and cleaned the house! We spent 2 hours doing laundry, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen. 

When the house was spic and span, we set off on our journey back to Boston. It ended up taking us over 4 hours to get home (it took less than 2 hours to get there). There was SO much traffic!!! When we finally got home I was SO restless I just had to move around for a little, so I went to the gym and did a 45 minute cycle class. The class was OK. I don't know if I was overtired or too full from an indulgent weekend, but it was not the best workout. Oh well, at least I got moving for a little bit!

When I got back home, Evan was warming up some split pea soup brought over by my mother.

Served with crusty bread!

Perfect end to a perfect weekend!!

New Years Weekend: Part 1

Hello, hello!!! I hope you all had a GREAT New Years weekend! I sure did! It all started Thursday evening when Evan and I made dinner for my parents, brother and brother's friend.

Started with a few apps.....

and wine

We got all fancy and sat in the dining room

While we enjoyed Pasta Primavera!!!

With some bread (of course!)

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I woke up Friday morning and went for a very tired 4 mile run around my parents' neighborhood. I finished in 35 minutes and then quickly got ready to meet my friends to head up to New Hampshire. We arrived at my friend's beautiful "lake house" around 1pm and went grocery shopping right away. I was very impressed by the house, it was just gorgeous!!!!!!!

We started the night off with some apps, homemade lasagna, salad and cards.

And then we got the festivities started!

Yes, I changed outfits twice throughout the night (I needed my "New Year's" top on at midnight!) 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

To be continued....................