New Dreams on top of new dreams

              Yes! Hooray for new dreams. I have signed up for the Baltimore Marathon (marathon #12) and I am gathering friends who'd like to come on an epic adventure with me in 2020 at the Three Days at the Fair races in NJ. I want to do the 24 or the 48 hour challenge. So far about 4 awesome running friends have said they're interested. Also exciting is that in a little over a year I will qualify for 50 States Marathon Club (to run 10 marathon distances in 10 different states) and I will also have a second go at the illusive 100K distance. 
              In the meantime, I am chewing on MUCH smaller goals. But don't get my wrong, these smaller goals are JUST as important as the mother load...in fact, the main goal would never come to fruition if it weren't for the everyday grunt chore-type goals getting obliterated daily..... in the everyday struggles with these minor goals is where these races are made.... 

Smaller goals for the week:
* Preplan a healthy lunch and breakfast to take into work all week!
* Take a water bottle and refill as needed throughout the day
* Zero sugar- just say no damn thank you!
* No bread -use alternates- zero tolerance girl!!
* Find one more race for summer 2020 (State #10)
* Zero wine before bed for this week- HHs only
* 2-3 miles running daily with extended stretch after- try to get it done in the mornings....

Struggles of a working mom marathoner

I was due for a 14 miler this Sunday.... then, last minute, my hubby decided we needed to go to the beach one last time before we settled into fall. I got up super early the day we were to drive to the beach, went to the gym and did arms and abs.....



       Because we decided last minute ad I could not get a dog sitter we had to take our dog with us. I found a dog-friendly hotel and we were all set. Look at his yummy little face. 

                           Knowing we would probably be eating crap the whole vacation I gathered some veggies to make juice.   


                 I absolutely adore Rehoboth Beach. First, it's the location to my favorite marathon, the Rehoboth Beach Marathon in the early winter every year. In fact, I already have a room reserved at my favorite hotel for this year's marathon.... My hubby has not yet decided if he's running his first half at Rehoboth this year....if not, I will run the full. When you have kids only one parent can run a race at a time.... the other watches the kids. 


Shoot!! this picture is just gorgeous....and it also makes me so sad....my kids are growing so fast!!


My sweet guy.... nowhere exists a man more gentle and sweet. 

         Rehoboth at night on a Holiday is super fun. This is around 9pm Sunday. I knew fairly early on that I would not be getting my long run in during this vacation. 


The hotel offers free breakfast. Here is my son making himself one of those amazing waffles....The picture after is of him AFTER the waffle.....hi.la.ri.ous. 

My daughter trying to convince me to buy her another sweatshirt she does not need..... nope, we did not buy this one. 

The Local bookstore had this book.....for all you Walking Dead fans...

Came back home to find my watermelon plant had grown quite fast. Now it's the size of a lemon....


So when is this run going to happen? Ready? It's going to take me 4 hours at the gym..... I will go before work tomorrow and need to be done by 6am to get my kids' and my lunch ready for the day. If I get all this done tonight, including my coffee brewing BEFORE going to bed I may be able to get in another half an hour of sleep. So I will be running from 2:20am-6:20am! Don't worry, when we got home from the beach today I took an obligatory 2-hour nap and been resting in bed all afternoon, as well as hydrating with only water. Running at the gym is as boring as runs go....therefore, I have also been charging my iPad so that I can watch a few movies while I get this run in. Wish me luck!!

14 baby!!!

Completed 14 today....I have two 14s planned in a row so hoping next week's 14 is much nicer. I am planning to go to the beach so I will have to figure out a plan that most likely includes running them all in a gym, for safety, seeing as I do not know the place. 



I come home and little momma is cooking up a storm. I decided to make some juice. Ginger, cabbage, beet, carrots, peppers and dandelion; keeping me 7 years sick free so far. 





and here is my juice....I love these containers....they do not leak and you can carry your juice in your purse!



Dinner was shrimp tacos.....with rice and grilled veggies.....

new flower in the garden


Oh and I scheduled a tattoo.... it's going to be a lot like this one....but of dahlias. 


Took a hike with little momma the next day and it was right after it had rained...the entire forrest was lush, smelled amazing, and we happen to be the only ones there. 







Burke Lake trail has a ton of these physical challenges stations....

....and of course, our dog Brad came along. 



My daughter wanted a second set of earrings and both my hubby and I agreed. We went to a place in Arlington called Craig Pokes You. We had Blake pierce her and he was absolutely great! 


More flowers in the garden 









Me leaving the gym at midnight.... working moms have to do what working moms have to do. 

Highlights to my day-

          There is NOTHING more exciting to my morning than having my own home-made tea. This one has mint leaves, blueberry leaves from my garden and slices of ginger. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then drink the entire thing, which is about 2 cups worth.  

My first crop! 3 tomatoes, not ready yet though....can't wait to have them. I also have chives, beans, kale, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, mint, cilantro, peppers and mint growing in my garden. 

Someone in my neighborhood got rid of some crib sides and guess who got them? I created a triangle with them over my strawberries, which keep being eaten by wildlife. I need to cover them now with some thin material so that bugs and birds don't get to them. I also used some recycled some wood Nora had me buy last year for a woodworking project she was going to work on but never did to hold up my many bean plants. I am not crazy about beans but with the shady gardens I have been dealt I am willing to grow what wants to grow, and it seems like beans want to grow here. 

Vegan Brunch!!

I had a very filling brunch today. My kids often want me to make some home fries for them. I had some extra potatoes left over so I decided to cut up and sauté some tomatoes and onions and add in the potatoes. I am trying to stay off bread, so to replace the need for bread, instead,  I thinly sliced some yams and cooked those in the pan with a little bit of oil and low heat. I was so delicious and filling. 

My bread alternative.....

I also realized I had all the ingredients, (not fennel) to make chai...so I made a double recipe, 6 cups all together. 

Instead of milk I added almond milk and it's almost ready to strain and serve....I can't wait. 

There are hundreds of recipes online but this is the one I used. The recipe comes from: http://www.herbco.com/s-1778-chai-something-nice-chai-a-basic-recipe.aspx

I have a 3 mile run scheduled today for my marathon training.....I think I will convince my daughter to bike alongside me or go to the track. Either way I need to wait for my brunch to digest before I head out for a run. Going to the library to take out some books on essential oils. 

Yummy Vegan Lunch

Oh my! I have a new favorite ingredient!! Sesame oil!! It's a bit more pricey than other oils, but luckily you only need a little for each meal. I had some rice left over from last night and made a sautéed veggie mess to go along with it for lunch...I sautéed all these ingredients (n this order) after chopping.  1/2 yellow onion, 1/2 head of garlic, 4 kale leaves, 2 bok choy bunches, 1 tomato, salt to taste, 1.5 tbsp. sesame oil. 

Oatmeal and Ginger Mint Tea

Today I had hot oatmeal for breakfast.  My husband has tons of oatmeal on-hand at all times. This was a very nice vegan breakfast. The photo came out a bit yellow. Oatmeal, almond-milk, strawberries, bananas, and peanuts. 

I also hit the Korean market for a teapot and found this beauty for $6 NEW!!! I bought fresh mint leaves and ginger to make mint/ginger tea....delicious! I don't think I hydrate enough, this is my attempt at hydrating more, aside from carrying my water bottle everywhere I go. 

Speed miles hoorah!!

      I have been super worried about the 14minute/mile restriction on the Marine Corps Marathon; I do not want to be pulled off the course and be unable to finish the race. The last ling run I did my average was pretty slow. I asked the runners on the Women's Running Network on Facebook and got several good suggestions, most of them had to do with doing either speed drills or hill work. Yesterday, when my lungs were all stuffed up, I sped walked uphill on the treadmill for 4 miles. Today, I ran 6 and the last two were finished in 18 minutes! Not sure how accurate the miles on a treadmill are, but I was smokin'.....it was one of those runs that felt absolutely effortless. 

I treated myself to a few figs after my run....only a few. They are way sweet....you can't really have too many. 

I have been experimenting with putting more greens in my juices.....this one has peppers, bok choi, celery....and for sweetness carrots and one beet. It was a bit too bitter so I blended the whole thing with one banana. 

      Not sure when I will have time to read now that school is starting up again....but I cannot wait to dig into it tonight. I wish I was one of those people who could read while running on the treadmill....since I cannot possibly pull that off without losing my balance, falling and breaking my neck, I choose to listen to comedians. Today I enjoyed Jim Norton.....anyone who can make me laugh through the drudgery of the first few miles is worth listening to....of course, for me to like him he's got to be super crude and boarding inappropriate.