See Judi Run

We had a very nice start to the weekend. I planned to take Hunter with me to Cullen Park and run while she rode her bike, but that would have meant leaving Joel and Nicholas home. It also would have meant trying to figure out a way to get Hunter's bike into the car (top down??), but Joel was the voice of reason and said there was no way in hell I was putting her bike in my car. :-)

Instead, we piled both kids & bike into the SUV and headed off for Mary Jo Peckham Park. My plan was to run for an hour and let Hunter ride as much of it as she could and then she could play on the kids' equipment with Nicholas. Well, what's that old saying about the best laid plans?? Something about them getting all screwed up?

To her credit, she was excited and really tried to ride with me. I don't run quickly (as is evident on the right of the screen), but two-thirds of the trail is dirt. It's great for running, but not so great for a kid's bike with training wheels. Compound walking backwards waiting for her to catch up with stopping and watching her run up a hill then back down and I finished with a 20 minute mile. Seriously. One mile. 20 minutes.

We packed the bike back into the car and just played for the rest of our time there. Then we stopped off at our favorite little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. As usual the food was better than average and the kids cleaned their plates.

So that means 1) I didn't run as far as I intended outdoors this a.m. and 2) I ate really yummy, really high fat Mexican food for brunch.

Alas, all was not lost! We made it home after picking up a new tire for Joel's bike and while Nicholas napped and Hunter played, I hopped on the treadmill for my 60 minutes. I did it! God, I was tasting brunch the whole time, but I ran barely over 5 miles in 60 minutes. Long, slow run, right? I think this qualifies as slow, and it's sure as hell longer than what I'd normally do.

Dinner was actually relatively healthy, and I haven't wanted to snack all day. In an attempt towards honesty, I should say that's because I pigged out on chips & salsa at brunch. Whatever.

I did try a new recipe for this smashed cauliflower thing at dinner. I need to add more seasonings, but overall it was decent.

Confetti Cauliflower
1 bag frozen cauliflower
1/2 bag frozen julienned peppers (red & green)
1/2 cup low-fat whipped cream cheese

Nuke the first two ingredients until warm, add the third and blend until smooth. (I had to nuke it more after blending because the cheese was cold, but it was an easy thing to do.) I topped it with some paprika, but it could have used more in the actual mix. It didn't suck, which is more than I can say for most other attempts I've made at making cauliflower edible.

I don't know if I want to run tomorrow or take a break. It's not like I need another break from running, since last week it was almost negligible. I read somewhere this week that if after a long slow run you feel the need for an all-afternoon nap, or that you can't get up your stairs, then you didn't run slowly enough. For that reason, I ran slower today. I felt noticeably better than I normally would after a weekend run, and that's what leads me to think I could run tomorrow with no negative affects.

OH!!!! I almost forgot ~ I got new running shoes !!! I didn't realize I needed them until I ran in them. Oh my gosh, I had forgotten what good cushioning felt like! The ones I got last year are here but last year's version. They were/are great, but apparently I've run more on them than I realized. I still like my Nike Free (first edition), but I've worn holes in the stretchy bit above the heels.

Clearly I'm on a roll talking to myself here... what next? I guess nothing. Happy & healthy running to all of you!