Monthly Archives: August 2011

Random Thoughts about Running in a Sauna through Sprinklers and Santana

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3

Lately, the thermometer has been sticking around the high 80s to low 90s and the humidity is sticking around with the heat and choking my running friends and me.  It’s brutal, like running in a marathon in a sauna.  No room to breathe.

I would like to thank my neighbors that illegally watering their grass at 5:30 morning.  You don’t think anyone notices, but I do.  I make a mental note of the days and times you run your sprinklers and I always run past your house on those days.

However, I’m not thankful for your push green grass or how you are selfishly depleting the aquifers to keep that plush green grass.  But don’t worry.  I’m not calling the water department to file a complaint.  Nope, I’m too busy running slowly on your plush green grass and selfishly soaking up the water sprayed illegal by your sprinklers and I don’t feel a bit guilty about it because it feels so damn good during my hot humid runs, like this morning’s 3 mile run.  So thank you.

3.1 miles

Time 35:03

Ave Pace 11:03

Max 8:13

After discussing with several running friends the number of weeks to prepare for the Space Coast Marathon, the consensus seems to be that it is totally doable. I have a few half marathons under my belt from early in the year and another one coming up next month, so I should be ready for the marathon if I keep at it.  So, there you have it.  I’m going for it.

Last Saturday, I ran 10 miles to get back in the training groove.

Time 2:11::01

Ave Pace 13:06

Max 8:04

The run felt good and I didn’t mind the miles, but once again, that damn humidity was a real bitch.  My friend, Faith, joined me for a couple of miles which it helped take my mind off the humidity and I was really grateful for her company.  Besides the humidity, the hours spent running alone can be a real bear too.

But, I came up with a plan to beat the long boring miles by myself.  I asked a few of my shorter distance running friends like Faith and Chrissy to meet at different times to help me get through the miles.  Even by running a couple of miles with me, it will keep me motivated and moving.

Speaking of miles and motivation, I registered for two races in October: the Race for the Cure and the Frakenfooter half marathon.  I love Race for a Cure (the course and the cause), but I’m really excited about the Frankenfooter.  I have wanted to do this race for some time, because it’s a Halloween race with costumes!  I even picked my costume before I registered…Santana from Glee!

How fun is that?!

I told my running girlfriends to dress in the same costume so we could be a whole group of Cheerios!  Of course, I’ve got a totally different costume for our adult costume party, but that’s under wraps until we get closer to Halloween. Muhahahahaha!

*Proudly submitted to Stacy Uncorked, because when I blog about my training, it’s usually pretty random.*

Stacy

This Sets Us on Fire

Posted on by Run DMT
14

The meteorologist lied.  She said that Hurricane Irene would pull of the moisture out of our atmosphere in our area as the hurricane traveled along the eastern coast.  We had 2 days with little to no humidity, but on  Saturday morning the air was so saturated it felt like I was running in a sauna.

The heat is so unbearable right now, I’m afraid I may spontaneously combust during my long runs.

Every time this Kings of Leon song plays on the radio, my husband loves to share an interesting lesser know fact about it.  Well, since I’ve heard his trivia countless times, it’s not so lesser know to me.

The lyrics to Kings on Leon’s Sex on Fire is really this “set is on fire”.  As the story goes, a producer walked into the studio and heard the song as the band played.  The producer commented about the lyrics he heard, “sex on fire”.  The band thought his twist to the lyrics were funny and it stuck.

Speaking of twists and other dance moves, this week I’ve been selected as a spotlight dancer for Monday’s Music Moves Me by Xmas Dolly and the gang.  Yay!

Xmas Dolly

And while I’m sharing randomness (And it’s not even Tuesday!), next Monday is Run DMT’s Music Monday one year anniversary.  I would LOVE for you all to celebrate the occasion with me by linking up and sharing your favorite party song.  After all, we have to keep the party going strong for another year because Music Monday sets me on fire is like sex on fire.

Thanks for all you love and support!

Visit Amanda, Xmas Dolly and Hairbows & Guitar Picks for more Music Monday fun.

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Connecting with Tampa Bay Bloggers Offline

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Saturday evening, thirteen Bay area bloggers met at The Pub to share, connect and meet the bloggers behind the blogs.  Some had met before and some were anxious to meet for the first time.

As a guest, I was looking forward to seeing Raffi of Running Betty, Brian of Digital Running, Maria of Mommy Melee and Angel of Cheeky Sweetie again.

My sisters-in-law Karen of If I Could Escape and Kirsten of Gone Bananas attended the event as well as our friend Susie of Hide ‘N Go Scrap.

But I was really excited meet Caroline of Morningside Mom, Erika of Southern Fried Lives and Clarisa of TBO for the first time.

As host and organizer of the event, I wanted the evening to be worthwhile as well as fun.  We started the evening with an ice breaker to judge how well we recognized faces from blogs.

Then, our guest, speaker, Chris Angulo of Vology Data Systems, shared some quick tips on how to optimize our blogs with branding and key terms.  He also briefly mentioned Google+ and how it will change the social media platform and connectivity.  (Now, if only I could get an invite to be part of the 25,000,000 exclusive club beta users to learn more about it!)

To combat the noise level in the restaurant, I had people moving and mingling to share what they learned.

All that was well and good, but I think it was the swag that stole the night.  Seriously, the swag was awesome!

Prior to the event, I posted a request on Facebook and my friends HOOKED ME UP with some rocking chackas for the swag bags, like lip balm and pens from Suncoast Running, haircuts from blo Hair Studio & Color Cafe, stainless steel, travel mugs from Florida Title Services.  Not to mention free food coupons from evos, Chick-fil-a  and California Pizza Kitchen and a bottle of mango mix1 to wash it all down.  A big THANK YOU to all the business that contributed items for the bags!

Suncoast Running
blo Hair Studio & Color Cafe
Pain Relief Centers
Kelly Noel Photography
Florida Title Services, Inc
mix1
evos
Crystal Mango
California Pizza Kitchen
 Mia’s Therapeutic Massage
Fit2Run
Chick-fil-a
RDesign

Although the swag bags were sweet, the real treasure was meeting everyone.  I can’t wait to do it all again in March.  Hopefully, I can get some sweet swag bags together again pull it all off again.

*The bloggers that attended Tampa BlogHer are linking up and sharing their recaps.  If you have a post to share, click on the linky below to add your blog to the list. Remember to share the love by visiting another Bay Area Blogger’s post.*

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Perfect Shrimp Po’ Boys

Posted on by Run DMT
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For whatever reason, Allan and I have been craving shrimp Po’ Boys.  Honestly, I have been craving a trip back to New Orleans, but that’s a whole other post.  But for now, let’s just say we’ve been craving its cuisine.

With our taste buds dictating our menu, I decided to try my hand at some Po’ Boys.  I bought a loaf of crusty French bread at our local Publix, a head of beautiful leafy romaine lettuce and a red ripe tomato and put Iron Chef Allan to work as a sous chef slicing the veggies and bread…

…while I prepared the shrimp.

 

When everything was ready, we piled it all high and topped it off with some remoulade sauce, although I cheated a little with the remoulade sauce because I bought a bottle of Boars Head since I was too lazy to make it.  As much as I hated using it because it contained corn syrup, it still work well for our Po’ Boy craving.  Besides a little corn syrup won’t kill me, but the fried shrimp may.

The results were perfect, like something straight out of the Big Easy. Seriously.

Great.  Now, I’m craving a shrimp Po’ Boy all over again.

Shrimp Po’ Boys

Ingredients

1 loaf of crusty French bread cut into fours or 4 French baguettes

1 lb uncooked medium shrimp

¼ canola oil

2 eggs

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp smoked paprika

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 ripe tomato, sliced

1 jar Boars Head Savory Remoulade

Tabasco sauce (optional)

Directions

In one bowl, combine the flour, Cajun seasoning, salt, pepper and paprika and mix well.  In another bowl, prepare an egg wash.  Pour the panko bread crumbs in a third bowl.  Drench each shrimp in the flour mixture and the egg wash.  Then coat the shrimp in the panko bread crumbs.  As you prepare the shrimp, heat about ¼ cup canola oil in skillet on a medium to high heat.

Toss the shrimp into the heated oil and cook until about golden brown or 3 minutes on each side.  Remove from skillet and let shrimp sit on a dish covered with a paper towel.

Hollow out the center of one side of the baguette and pile on the shrimp.  Top with shredded lettuce and some sliced tomato.  Drizzle on remoulade sauce and Tabasco sauce and then serve.

 

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are serving for this week’s Friday Food Fight.


*Also submitted at*

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Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge: Sweet Summer Finale

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By the third day of school Allana was tired of matching her sister.  “Why does Emmalynn have to match me?  I don’t want anyone to match me.”

“Well,” I began to explain, “in a school of 500 students all wearing uniforms, you’re bound to match someone.”

Thankfully, with a little help from Lands End, my girls selected different school bags, which I think show off each girl’s unique style and taste beautifully.

At least, that’s one way Allana won’t match anyone.

Because my Allana likes to be unique.

Live and Love Out Loud

PhotoStory Friday

Photos of the First Day of School

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My girls were excited to be going back to school.

For the first time in 6 years, I didn’t have a lump in my throat on the verge of tears.

I was happy because they were happy.

But really I think I was giddy ready to be rid of them to be at home alone again with Little Lion Man and back to a regular routine.

When I picked the girls up from school on the first day, I asked about their first day.  They both exclaimed, “It was AWESOME!”  I was happy all over again for them.

I believe it’s going to be another great school year.

Random Thoughts about a Dead Heat and Swamp Monsters

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Thanks to a nasty cold, I hadn’t run in over a week, but with the girls back at school this week, I was ready to get back into a regular routine again.  However, the heat is seriously killing me.  I’m usually one of those people not bothered by the heat, but I’m feeling it now and it ain’t got nothing to do with hot flashes, honey.

Anyhow, yesterday I woke up plenty early to fit in three miles before the back to school chaos.  I braved the heat and finished a sad, slow sweaty three miles.

3.1 miles

Time 33:18

Ave Pace 10:44

Max Pace 7:44

Even in the early morning hours, the humidity clings to me.  There’s no breeze only steam rising from the lakes and the storm drains, which is unbearable.  It’s like a swap monster or storm drain clown is breathing down my neck.

Besides the swamp monsters and storm drain clowns, I’m worried about my running because I haven’t been getting my miles in to be prepared for the Space Coast marathon which is only 13 weeks away.  The farthest I’ve gone is 10 miles and that was weeks ago.

My Garmin must have sensed my anxiety and couldn’t handle the stress and decided to check out.  Like a Monty Python sketch, my Garmin “is NO MORE.  It has ceased to be!  My Garmin is an ex-Garmin!”  But then, as I typed this post, I bumped its charging dock and it seems to be all right now.  I guess the heat is getting to my Garmin too.

A running friend, Larissa, is training for the Savannah Marathon and she mentioned to me the other day that she has been using the Galloway method to survive training in the heat.  She suggested I try it.  Following this method, I would run 3 minutes and walk one minute for recovery.

So, this morning I tested the Galloway method for 4 miles. Well, it was more like “run a mile walk a couple minutes.”  Plus, because I was Garmin-less, I guesstimated the total distance to be about 4 miles, but when I mapped it out on Map My Run, it was more like 4.47 miles.  Whatever.  The bottom line: The Galloway method certainly helped.

4.47 miles

Time 47:00

Ave Pace 10:30

A couple of weeks ago, I was supposed to participate in the All Out Running 5K.  A few days before the event, the race coordinators sent out an email about the trail and included these photos.

Needless to say, I freaked out!  I expected a trail run, not a mud run. And look at the height over those runners!  I guarantee those gentlemen are much taller than little ol’ petite barely 5′ me!   And I’m sure there’s a swamp monsters hiding in those waters!  Not to mention, I hadn’t trained for any swimming and it’s possible I would drown, if a swamp monster didn’t grab me first.

But thankfully, the race gods heard my cries and postponed the race, however, I’m not sure when the new date will be.  At least I have some extra time to work on my breaststroke while preventing a heatstroke.

*Proudly submitted to Stacy Uncorked, because when I blog about my training, it’s usually pretty random.*

Stacy

All Star

Posted on by Run DMT
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A few days ago, my girls and I were talking about school starting up again.  We got to talking about their teachers which led to me sharing stories about teaching days.

I told my girls how I would sing to my students my own version of Smash Mouth’s All Star when they made their reading goals associated with our computer-based Accelerated Reading program.  I explained that the words to my revised version of the song hung on a wall in my classroom and every Friday, we celebrated the students who made their weekly reading goal by singing the song and had a small party.  And then, I busted out the tune to my girls:

Hey now!

You’re an A.R. star

Get a book and go read.

Hey now!

You’re an A.R. star.

Get the points that you need.

All that reading is bold.

Strengthens your mind.

Make that goal.

 

“You sang that to your students?” Allana asked with a sneer.  “What grade did you teach?”

“I taught third graders,” I replied.

“Oh my God.  They must’ve have thought you were such a dork.”

“My students LOVED me! And you would have thought I was cool too if I was your teacher instead of your mom. So there!”

Boy, kids are tough these days.  Glad I’m not going back into the classroom again this year!

So with my girls returning to school today and ready to worship their cool doughnut-giving teachers while continuing to poke fun at their dorky, very uncool only-feeds-us-healthy-stuff former teacher mom, I thought this song only seemed fitting.

Visit Amanda, Xmas Dolly and Hairbows & Guitar Picks for more Music Monday fun.



Sweet and Savory Chicken Salad

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11

For me, the best part of a roasted chicken is the leftover breast meat…

…because I make chicken salad with it.  And I love me some chicken salad!

Now, I make my chicken salad with canola oil based mayonnaise, which makes it somewhat less fattening.  Then, I plop it on some toasted whole grain bread and top it leafy lettuce.  YUM!

As for my recipe, honestly I eyeball it so I’m not really sure about the quantities listed below, but you get the idea.  Plus, it also depends on what ingredients I have on hand.  Sometimes I’ll add dried cranberries and chopped apples.  Anything goes! It’s all good.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

½ cup chopped chicken breast

4 Tbsp mayonnaise

2 Tbsp minced celery (about 2 stalks)

2 Tbsp minced red onion

¼ cup sliced raw almonds

¼ cup of red seedless grapes cut into halves

Directions

Add all the ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix until well combined.  Add salt and pepper, if needed.

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are serving for this week’s Friday Food Fight.



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For Folk’s Sake

Posted on by Run DMT
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No man may be island, but Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café definitely sets itself apart in a sea of usual Tampa dining standards. Situated in heart of Seminole Heights, the red brick-colored building stands out as blatantly as the Seminole Heights Baptist Church.

Upon walking along Ella’s bowling ball edged path and stepping foot into the restaurant, its eclectic sensibility is evident by the art in the yard and its collections hanging on the walls.

Even the bar is a work of art.

In true Southern style, we were welcomed by everyone from the hostess, the bartender, the chef, the owner and lastly our server.  With his recommendation, we started our meal with hummus pesto spread drizzled with a balsamic reduction and served with warm soft pita.

Rumor has it that Ella’s organic Angus beef burgers are bar none.  My oldest daughter tried The Boring minus the toppings as she didn’t want them getting in the way of the meat.  I stole her beer-battered zucchini fritters so she wouldn’t have to subject herself to another veggie in the way of her burger.

Hubby ordered The Stuffed, a half-pound organic raised Angus beef patty stuffed with caramelized onion, gorgonzola and bacon served on a bed of arugula.  A name very fitting for this burger since Allan could only finish half of it.  So, I helped myself to his sweet potato waffle fries.

Even with food made fresh daily and all natural, organic ingredients, I steered away from the Angus beef burgers and ordered The Good, which may seem silly with menu full of interesting twists on soul food favorites.  But I couldn’t resist a homemade veggie burger and my decision didn’t disappoint me.  With a chickpea flour base, Ella’s veggie patty was chockfull of whole beans, such as black bean and garbanzo.   I made The Good even better and healthier by ordering a side salad to accompany my burger.  Besides, I needed to balance out the fried foods I pinched off my family’s plates.

Plus, my guilt-free meal allowed me to indulge in a true Southern summertime classic, Peach Cobbler.  Bourbon soaked peaches served warm with homemade vanilla ice cream was a sweet ending to a fantastic meal.

We’re planning another visit to Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café very soon, especially for Soul Food Sunday or a Friday night for the live music.  But we’ll certainly visit again in cooler weather to enjoy our meal on Ella’s darling outside dining deck which spotlights another work of art, a huge old oak tree.

*Proudly submitted to*

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PhotoStory Friday