Better Pace for the Weekend List

My sister and I are still working on our crazy goal of 100 miles of races in 2017 which means four half marathons, a full marathon, and smaller races between. Yesterday we took on the Race for Justice Valentine Run which was just a 4-mile race, but a festive Valentine’s event with a fun mix of elite runners and groups of friends making it a costumed social event. As usual, the small cluster of outhouses were not enough and the line was crazy minutes before the race start. Good thing we got there early enough!

It was also a dog friendly race and I just loved all the dogs there and even some in costumes too. Since it was only 4 miles, I pushed my pace which was challenging without a warm up and the middle of the course was more hilly than expected going through a ritzy neighborhood with gated mansions. Still, my official finish time was 33:57 which put me at a better ranking for my age group and happy that I came in just under 34 minutes. I told myself 35 minutes would be good, 34 would be awesome, and I did even better which is a nice little confidence boost.

For this race and last Sunday’s 10k, Whole Foods provided the post race breakfast with vegan friendly bars, pretzels, and fruit – so that was great too. I’m trying to use these shorter races to set specific goals and hopefully meet them. The weather was perfect, first sunny day we’ve had after over a week of rain. You can see the line of storm exiting the area and the sun finally out after raining overnight, so that was awesome. And I got to see one of my favorite runners again in this race, he was also in last weekend’s 10k and I’ve seen him in other races over the years. I call him The Grunter because he grunts loudly when running and you can’t miss him, but he’s 85-years-old and can still run under 10 minute miles. How awesome is that? So inspirational that we can be that active and energetic well into the 80s and I hope to see him at more races.

This week I went to Pho Vegan Asian Cuisine twice! Once for lunch with my mom and sister where this veggie noodle soup hit the spot on a cold rainy day.

And Friday night with hubby to load up for Saturday’s race where this curried tofu dish was divine.

I also met my other sister and mom for lunch at Ikea for a little girl shopping where I got this lovely plate if veggies balls, lentils, and more veggies.

I didn’t buy anything else, just food on this trip while looking for ideas on possible updates in the office and home gym.

Other eats included steamed spaghetti squash and salad for lunch one day.

This fabulous potato leek soup hubby made for dinner.

This fun tomato basil saute I threw together in a work with tofu, zucchini, and peppers.

And this kale salad with kale from our garden – it’s growing like a weed after all the rain, and a dressing made from ripe avocados I needed to use up quick.

It’s been a good week of eats and running, but also busy at work and being on call for work. I decided to make next weekend a 4 day weekend taking an extra day off and I am looking forward to that! No big plans, just working on stuff at home, catching up, and relaxing while not being on call for work!

Okay, the list!

Come on, only a week to try vegan?

A vegan diet does not mean we’re free from calorie counting.

Veganism healed her relationship with food and body.

Weird Al is another awesome vegan adding to my list of places to try in LA.

Remember Octoman? The kids are 8 now and vegan!

How to deal with a snotty nose on runs.

You’re never too old to start running.

Running got this man away from his sedentary lifestyle.

Running in cold weather can improve performance.

Slowing down is the secret to a faster marathon?