Marathons and Pouring Rain Don't Mix

Sorry for the darkness, Tom was too grumpy to go over to the light.

We may look happy, but we just didn't quite understand what we were getting ourselves into. Mandi is to my right, she was my training partner throughout the whole process. Renee is to my left and she didn't train for the race but still rocked it.

Race Report
Finish Time 3:38:21

So the race begins at 6:45 am. The start is 26.2 miles from the finish (crazy huh?) so we have to ride a bus to the start line. We decided to ride the earliest buses in order to get entered into a drawing. And it paid off, Tom won 100 bucks! But what that really means is that we have to get on the bus at 4 am and sit at the starting line in the wet, wet rain for 2 hours. We get to the start and it is overcast but not rainy. It is actually pretty warm and I am very optimistic for perfect weather. So much for that optimism - it started to rain about an hour before the start and it didn't stop until well after the end of the race.

I wasn't prepared for wet or cold weather. I wore shorts and a tank. My friend gave me a long sleeve shirt to run in and I wore a garbage bag until about mile 6. My plan for the race was to stay with the 3:40 pace group for the first half and then run my own second half. The weather changed my plans. My goal changed to just staying in contact with the 3:40 pace guy.

Mandi and I ran the first 6 miles well ahead of pace and ahead of the pace guy. He caught us on the Veyo hill. Mandi and I continued to run right with the pace guy until about mile 11. We were still ahead of pace, but slowing. I picked up the pace a bit and tried to just keep the pace guy in my sights.

Hallelujah for Garmin GPS! I had an eye on my pace the entire 26.2 miles. I also printed a pace band specific to the St. George Marathon that weighted each mile based on difficulty. Find it here. Some miles are fast, some are slow but in the end it all averages out. I loved that band and monitored my progress with that.

the rain continued to fall the whole race. My muscles never warmed up. My mind told me to quit a few times. But I promptly told it to shut up and convinced myself I could make it.

The hardest sections were when the headwind picked up and I couldn't make contact with the pace group and the last 4 miles. I was hurting , I was cold and I wanted to be done. It helped to get into St. George where crowds started cheering me on. That energized me to the final stretch where my dad's cheers really carried me in.

Tom waited with open arms for me at the finish line. I burst into tears when I reached him. Running a marathon can be an emotional thing. Tom rocked the course in 3:07. Stay tuned for his full report.

Best things of the race:

• Qualifying for Boston!
• Doing it with Tom (not that we ran or trained together, but just were there for each other)
• Hearing my dad at the last quarter mile
• Knowing my in-laws cheered me on even if I didn't hear them (it's okay because Tom heard them and not my parents)
• Training with Mandi
• Hanging out at the starting line with friends like Renee
  

Worst things of the race:

• Pouring rain
• Cold muscles
• Being too cold to enjoy the post-race refreshments
• Pouring rain
• Quick pass massages (for getting the early bus) that were actually slower
• Pouring rain
• Being super sick to my stomach for 12 hours post-race, and I mean super sick, cramps worse than child birth.
• Getting up at 3:15 in the a.m.
  

But all in all a great experience. We are excited to go to Boston in April. Woohoo!! Click here for glamorous pictures of the race and I mean glamorous. Select St. George Marathon 2008. Last name: Dansie and Tom's number was 239 and mine 4536. And click here for full results.

I Need Music Advice

I have 8 downloads left on emusic and I need your help. Some may say I am not the most musical savvy person out there, but I do like music. I love folk, contemporary and old school. But I also kind of need some fun songs I could use for teaching spin.

I already downloaded tracks from:

• The Decemberists
• The Be Good Tanyas
• Lucinda Williams
• Erin Bode
• Norfolk and Western
• Vampire Weekend
• Ra Ra Riot
  

So, I give you all a job. Give me some other good ideas of music to download from emusic.

Thanks.

Pioneer Woman Did it Again!

The Pioneer Woman stole my heart, again. This time she did it with a peach crisp with maple cream sauce.

I saw this recipe last year sometime and tucked it away to use this year. I almost forgot. I wish I would have remembered earlier when I had tons of peaches. but oh well. I had a few local peaches in my fridge but I did have to supplement with store bought peaches.

Pioneer Woman's Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

1 c flour (next time I will use half oats)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t salt
1/2 c butter

5-6 c fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (I think you could use canned as well and I used a bit more and put it in a 9 x 13)
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
2 T maple syrup (I used fake stuff, but real would be better)

Combine first 6 ingredients of topping. Cut in butter until course crumbs. Combine peaches with syrup and juice and zest. Layer in baking dish. Top with topping. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15-20 more minutes.

Sauce

1 1/2 c heavy cream
5 T maple syrup
3 T corn syrup

Cook in small saucepan over medium heat until thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Chill and serve over crisp.

I Thought I would need more sauce because it sounded so good, so one and a halved it, but I didn't need all the extra.



I think it is the sauce that makes this so delish. The sauce could be used for many things. And I plan on using it for many things. Because to be honest, when our peaches are in peak season, it is a little hot to be eating this dessert.

So what else could this sauce be used for?

1st Birthday, 1st Steps and 1st Chocolate Cake

James turned one at the end of August. I can't believe how fast time is flying by.

He took his first steps right around 13 months. He still is crawling more than walking, but he is doing it more and more.
And to celebrate the big 1, I made the most delicious chocolate cake ever!
Not that James could tell the difference. But seriously, it was divine.

Of course the recipe came from Bon Appetit. I made a few small changes, on purpose and by accident. All I can say about this cake is "divine."

I used kosher salt instead of fleur de sel. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of bitter sweet chocolate. I omitted the coffee powder and put in some vanilla and almond extract. I forgot to salt every layer. But this cake is so good.

Here's the picture from Bon Appetit because it looks even better.