10K + 6.5 Years + 5 Months = Oh My!

Written by on in Blogger Book Club, Book Reviews, Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Sunday Brunch, Tidbits and Treats, Workouts

Thanks again for the birthday wishes, everyone!

This weekend was quite the trip – and I didn’t even go anywhere 😉

**cue groans and thrown tomatoes**

It was a lot of disconnecting from all things electronic and more reconnecting with good friends and a fiance who is starting to wonder whether my computer has been surgically attached to my lap.

The fun started on Friday evening, when Bobby and I stayed in to make homemade pizza.

Below I give you the before and after of our very veggie creation: tomato sauce, red pepper, spinach and mushrooms with a very small blot of sprinkled cheese on top.

We caught up on all of our favorite TV shows – Flash Forward is getting gooooood! – and then settled down to watch the movie Up! I had seen it when it was in theaters and loved it – seeing it a second time just reaffirmed how truly wonderful it is. Favorite quote: “I hid under your porch because I love you.”

The pizza was tasty, too. Homemade pizza always sits so much better – I was perfectly full.

On Saturday, I had the great fortune of meeting up with my good friend Karla. It was the weekend that fell right in between our two birthdays – hers is coming up May 22! – and, coincidentally, the very same weekend we met for the first time last year.

We started out with brunch at a city favorite, Tempo Cafe. I got the mushroom + swiss omelette, which came with whole wheat toast on the side.

Then we wandered over to the main event of the day: SELF Magazine’s Workout in the Park! Last year, Karla and I walked past this event and told ourselves that this year we would attend together. We came full circle and decided to join in on the fun.

The highlights of the event included:

  • Stealing a glance at Maria Menounos in the VIP booth – I love her!
  • Participating in a Cardio Tai Box class
  • Watching women of all ages be unapologetically themselves
  • Participating in a beach body workout that rocked out to great music
  • Walking around the event sponsor booths and having my gait checked by ASICS

But most of all, my weekend was made by catching up with this girl:

After our workout session, we walked around a bit more before heading over to Yogen Früz to pick up a sweet, cool treat. I got the fro yo blended with strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. Topped with fresh coconut, it was awesome.

Speaking of awesome, so is Karla 🙂 A woman of many talents who I know will go very far in her career because she is, well, “pursuing her passion” for fitness in everything she does.

She is also a very talented cookie maker. I was fortunate enough to score some Snickerdoodles from her, as well as a few other goodies for my birthday.

Thanks again, Karla! You’re truly a gem.

Just when you thought this post was ending – there was Jenn & Bobby’s 10K Race for Awesomeness!

Do remember when I started training for a 10K? Unfortunately, when I went to register for the race last weekend, all of the spots had been filled! It was poor planning on my part, but Bobby and I decided to slap on imaginary bibs and create our own 10K route Sunday morning.

The race was also a kick start of our 6.5 year anniversary – which is another way of saying that there are just FIVE MONTHS remaining until our wedding! How did it get so close?!

It was a beautiful 8:00 am run along Lake Michigan:

The run started off very well and I felt like I was in stride for most of it. Toward the end, the wind picked up against us and the sun was beaming down on me. I don’t know if it was lack of drinking water – foolish – or overheating, but I ended up hyperventilating with .2 miles to go 🙁 Not good.

Fortunately, Bobby is ever the gentleman and insisted we slow down for the rest of the race. To which I stubbornly said, “no, I’m fine!” and began running again as soon as my breathing had steadied. Call me crazy, but I ran as much as those last .2 miles as I could and we finished in 55:18.

It was a bit disappointing on a personal level given my previous 10K time and my goal to get under 52:00 this time around, but it was definitely a lesson learned and I will know to hydrate better next time.

Any veteran runners have advice? Was I completely crazy out there?

The silver lining was that I had a fantastic morning of exercise with Bobby and afterward, I met up with Michelle for a catch-up brunch at The West Egg!

It had been way too long and we spent over an hour gabbing about all the craziness and changes going on in our lives. I ordered the feta frittata, which was essentially a Greek omelette served with home fries and an English muffin. The hungry runner ate it all 🙂

The rest of my day was spent lounging. I finished a FANTASTIC book by Jodi Picoult called House Rules, about a young boy with Asperger’s. I’m always a bit skeptical of how authors, movies or the media attempt to portray kids on the autism spectrum given my personal experience with my brother. Jodi truly brings some of the main qualities and issues that I feel are lacking in other literature to life in this book – through a very bone-chilling plot line! I highly recommend it – Food Blogger Book Club, anyone??

This leads me to my question:

Would you like to see the book club revived? If so, how would you prefer it to work?

I’m looking for any and all ideas because if we bring it back, I want to make sure it stays up and running this time around 🙂

I’ve taken you on many tangents, so I bid you adieu for now. Have a great Monday!

Abrazos,

29 Comments

  1. What a fun weekend! I think Josh wonders if my laptop is connected to me as well 😉 Glad you guys took some time out to enjoy each other! The fitness in the park looks like so much fun- what a cool event. And the froyo after- I’ve never seen a froyo place blend in the toppings- so cool! Sometimes I have good running days, sometimes I have bad running days- so I totally feel for you. Maybe your body was tired from the fitness in the park the day before?? <3 ya girl!

  3. Silly Eating Bender, I told you last time I saw you to sign up for that race before it filled up! 😉 Haha but that’s great you ended up just running your own, anyway. I was out of town for a shower otherwise I was going to go to SELF workout in the park which sounded fun…

    Have a wonderful day!

  4. No matter what, that is an excellent 10K time! You rock! (And the adrenaline from being in an actual race always helps you run faster for longer, so next time you sign up for one, you’ll probably shave quite a few minutes off!)

  5. Argh! I’m reading The House Rules right now too and I have exactly 100 pages to go before it’s due tomorrow at the library. I’m speed reading to the end. I wanted to skip work so I could continue, how sad is that? I think I know how it’s going to end though. Theo, right?

  7. I LOVE those paths along Lake Michigan! I wish I lived there so I could use them all the time 🙂

  9. I don’t think I’ve commented before, but I have been reading for quite a while. Congrats on running 10k. 🙂 I like the sound of a book club – love books!

  10. Yum, I love homemade veggie pizza like that. I actually made some over the weekend myself and it was so good! That Self event looks really fun, I wish there was something like that near me. I would be down for a blogger’s book club for sure! 🙂

  11. I want the book club. I promise to join, because I need incentive to read things. And having amazing people to talk to about the book is wonderful incentive for me! I would love to help you with the details, too, if you need the help!
    Awesome running time by the way. That is nothing to be disappointed about.

  12. You are the BEST Jenn! Your comments are too kind my dear. Know that I admire your drive, innovation and spirit! You certainly deserve all of the wonderful things coming your way. I had a great time hanging with you this weekend! I’m so glad you like the cookies and hope you enjoy the cookbook and DVD as well!!

    That pizza looks delish, and dining on that while watching Up sounds like a perfect evening.

    You are most definitely not crazy about your run, and I’m so glad that Bobby slowed you down a bit. It’s always so scary when you can’t get enough O2 in! I say don’t worry about the time…like we discussed this weekend, numbers aren’t always important 😉

    And you know I’m game for the Book Club! I’m no pro on how to run it, but whatever you decide will be great.

    (Novel-writing complete!)

  14. I’m a little behind, but …

    Thanks for the wonderful letter in your last post…I was all emotional too! There is never any “repayment” necessary, but you do it every single moment of every single day just by being yourself! (Remember you can’t be more than according to your brother) I’ve loved you more than words alone can express from the first moment I laid eyes on you. It’s just gotten better with time. Haleakala!

    Good luck Bobby in removing that laptop – I’ve been trying for years! 🙂 Glad to see both of you created your own 10K and you did great! Being a veteran runner (not) I do believe that’s why they have all those water stations during the races so make sure you carry plenty with you the next time.

    Note to self – need to try West Egg next time in Chicago – you’ve been holding out on me again 🙂

    NO they can’t be canceling Flash Forward – where do we sign up to get it back on…..?
    Love Mom

  16. omg i totally want ot get my hand on her new book! i’m hoping i can wait until i comes out on paperback…i’m so cheap! and i don’t have a library membership at my new home!

    love the outings this weekend!

  17. Nice post Jenn. Makes me think it’s time to start exercising again, especially with school being out Friday! I got that same book for Auntie Laura, she says she is enjoying it. ( In fact I think she may be caught reading when she has other things to do). I got it for her because I thought she could totally identify with the aspberger’s part, being a principal and seeing kids living with it.
    Maybe you two can have a little e-bookchat!

    I do think I might read twilight with Theresa this summer. Do you think 6th grade is too young for twilight?

    • Thanks, Janet! I will definitely have to chat with Laura about it. As for Twilight, I would say 6th grade might be just a bit young. Only because the last book in the series is pretty adult-targeted. But I’d be happy to talk more about it with you if you’d like!

  19. I love the idea of a book club. I read voraciously (as an insomniac, I have an additional 8 or so hours a night to kill) and frequently find myself in book ruts – all non-fiction, all books about the Russian Revolution (I’m that cool) all cookbooks, so on, so forth. New perspectives and opinions, especially on fiction,memoirs, etc. would be amazing!

  20. I’m not a veteran runner but I don’t think you’re crazy. I never worry about hydration for runs under 8 miles and usually don’t have a problem. Although maybe I’d do better had I hydrated? 🙂 Still a great time and more importantly a great day with your beau!

  26. […] making homemade pizza with Bobby (in fact, I was shocked to find that the last time we made it was May 16, 2010). It’s like a blank canvas. And since I happen to have snagged someone who is willing to chop […]

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