May Foodie Pen Pals

I absolutely love the Foodie Pen Pals program. Lindsay @ Lean Green Bean does a terrific job of having everything so organized.  If you haven't checked out the program and are curious check it out!  

This month my Foodie Pen Pal was Laura from New York. Check out what she sent me, it was great!

Shot Blocks

Lara Bars

Thai Chile Peanuts

Maple Crunch Granola

White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter

The granola was absolutely to die for! It didn’t last the week because it was so good. It is from an Albany based company (where Laura is from) called Our Daily Eats. If you live close to one you are lucky and I am so jealous! It was the best granola I have ever had!

YUMMY!!!!

The peanuts were also from Our Daily Eats. I loved the flavor combination. They weren't too spicy at all. 

However, I really like spicy foods so you might think that they are spicy. :-)

Then...oh. my. goodness!!! Laura sent me the most amazing peanut butter I have ever had in my life! I happened to mention that I like peanut butter AND have love affair for white chocolate. Have you ever heard of a company called the Peanut Butter & Co???? Well I hadn't and apparently they are the genius mind behind this lovely concoction:

To say that it rocked my world is an understatement. This little jar is my new addiction. 

What I love about Foodie Pen Pals is being able to connect with different people from across the US and I get to try awesome new food at the same time. Since I received my package from Laura, I checked online to see if Our Daily Eats had a website to purchase product from and they did. You can bet I will be buying some stuff from their website in the VERY near future. Items on my shopping list include more of the Maple Crunch Granola and I also want to try their Lemon Coconut Granola, and the Crunchy BBQ Peanuts. YUM!

This also gives me something to look forward to each month in both shopping for my foodie pen pal and receiving a package. Who doesn't like to get fun stuff in the mail? I know that some of you signed up to join Foodie Pen Pals last month. If you haven’t checked it out, please do so. Feel free to ask me any questions. J

I am already looking forward to June!

--Tasha

#NUUNKOTB

Two excited things were made official last week. The first official item that has been decided is our Nuun Ragnar Relay team name.

Nuun Kids on the Block

The super creative/talented Holly came up with this!

Yep, it is going to be GREAT. There were several great name ideas so a doodle poll was set up so we could select our top 3 name choices. Now that we are officially Nuun KOTB some great costume and decorating ideas have been floating around. I can't wait- who doesn't love the 1980s/1990s?! I am currently on the hunt for the perfect running clothes. It's great that neon is back in style right now!

The second exciting item is that we also received our relay legs. I will be in van #1, running leg #3. I honestly didn't care which leg I got so I selected 3, 6, & 12 in the poll. I picked leg #12 because I believe it had the most miles and I was willing to take one for the team, even though I secretly was hoping I didn't get it. :-)

The Ragnar Northwest Passage map

Leg #3: 8.2 miles HARD. Honestly, it doesn't look to awful to me, knock in wood!

Leg #15: 3.5 miles easy

Leg #27: 4.0 miles easy

I don't have as many miles as I had to have last year for HTC when I literally "took one for the team" and volunteered to run the most miles. These legs will probably be good for me since I don't know when I will get the clearance to start really running again. Hopefully soon! 

Since Nuun is so awesome they gave me a 15% off code to give to you, my wonderful readers. Simply use this code bloggerslovenuun on their website. Thanks Nuun!

PS- I have a new favorite Nuun flavor too! You have to try Citrus Fruit!!! It is awesome!

Questions for you:

How do you pick your relay legs?

Any good costume ideas for our team?

Have you run Ragnar Northwest Passage? What did you think?

--Tasha

What is wrong with me?!

I went off the grid this last weekend, because I really wanted to enjoy a couple of days to myself. Mr. Healthy Diva was going to be out of town so I figured that it was a good opportunity for me to take a deep breath and slooooow down. I will write more about my weekend later, but just wanted to let you know that I might have an accurate diagnosis of what my ailment has been for the last 6 months. My new physician (THIRD ONE!) seems to think I have what is called "compartment syndrome". This physician has a fellowship in sports medicine so I am trusting that he knows his stuff. :-)


So, what is compartment syndrome? 
It is a serious condition that involves increased pressure in a muscle compartment. It can lead to muscle and nerve damage and problems with blood flow.

Thick layers of tissue separate groups of muscles in the arms and legs from each other. Inside each layer is a space called a compartment. The compartment includes the muscle tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. 

Any swelling in a compartment will lead to increased pressure in that area, which will press on the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. If this pressure is high enough, blood flow to the compartment will be blocked. This can lead to permanent injury to the muscle and nerves. 

Long-term chronic compartment syndrome can be caused by repetitive activities, such as running. The pressure in a compartment only increases during that activity.

The compartment I am having problems with is my shin/calf (lower leg) which is the most common area. If the problem isn't treated it can lead to the muscles dying and having to have your limb amputated. EEEEEK.

I will need to schedule to have a test done within the next week that will determine if this is an accurate diagnosis. My physician will insert needles into the affected area (OUCH!) and read the pressure in the compartment. Then I will run on the treadmill until I start experiencing my symptoms (foot drop, numb foot, pain in my lower leg). At that point he will re-insert the needles and read the pressure again. 

If the diagnosis is confirmed to be compartment syndrome there are several treatment options. Mostly this will involve rest and extensive physical therapy. If it is diagnosed to be a more severe case then I will have to have surgery to relieve the pressure in my leg. 

My physician seems to think I will recover from this quickly once we know what we are dealing with. At first he told me ZERO running, spin or elliptical until I have the test. I was freaking out about that. Then once he saw that my x- rays were good he said I could run every other day for a couple of easy miles and I could spin and use the elliptical to my little heart's content. Unfortunately I haven't been able to schedule the test because he has to order the needles. LOVELY.

I am feeling pretty confident that I am finally (after 6 long months) on the road to healing and getting back on track. I am pretty upset with myself for letting this pain go on for so long. Seriously, you would think a numb foot would make me stop running, but apparently I am too dumb to realize that. My physician told me that I had dug myself into a really deep hole and that if I didn't listen to him now a fall marathon and even Boston would be completely out of the question. I think he got my attention with that comment!

So the last couple of days I have been cross training like a crazy lady. I tried to run 2-3 easy miles on Friday and  it didn't go so well. I ended up in tears and cried for more then half of the 2 miles I was able to complete. It was a struggle to maintain 9:00 min miles and I felt defeated when I got back to my house. Today I was able to run 3 miles in an 8:21 pace. It wasn't pretty and it hurt, but I finished. 

My goal is to train for the St. George Marathon in October, but if that doesn't happen it doesn't. I will be fin with a decision to not run if it comes to that because really Boston is the "big picture" for me. My coach has been wonderful and tremendously supportive. Luckily, my new physician and my coach know each other so I feel like it will be a good team effort between the 3 of us to get me back to where I was 6 months ago. 

Questions for you:

Have you ever had compartment syndrome? What did your treatment plan involve?

--Tasha

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Over the last week I have been experimenting with my diet to see if I can get to the bottom of my recurring tummy issues. I seriously don’t think that it is normal to pop Tums like they are skittles.  I have experienced some positive results by removing some gluten from diet. Things that I have not been eating over the last week include: bread, pretzels, clif bars, crackers, etc. So far by not eating any of those, I have felt better and have experienced no stomach pains or bloating. I obviously don’t have celiac (tested negative for that back in 2010) and I don’t have a gluten sensitivity. I am no medical professional by any means, but I think that it is safe to assume that I just have a mild form of a gluten allergy. Dealing with this will be manageable for me and I think by the process of elimination and some experimentation I can eventually be free of the tummy pains.

I love to bake and I love banana bread. I decided to attempt to make some GF banana bread the other night to see if it would be any good. It far exceeded my expectations and I wanted to share the recipe with you since several people asked for it on Twitter. On a random side note...Mr. Healthy Diva loved this recipe  & he is picky with a capital "P". 

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4-5 medium bananas)

1 cup sugar (I used stevia)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Mix ingredients. I mixed all of the ingredients together in the same bowl with my kitchen aide mixer. It will appear “runny” but don’t worry, it will be okay.

Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray (I used pam) and transfer the batter into the pans.

Instead of using two loaf pans I used one muffin pan to make muffins and then put the rest of the batter into a loaf pan.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Might take less time if you just make muffins, will take more time to bake (40-45 minutes) if you just use two loaf pans.

Nutritional Facts (1 slice or 1 muffin) (I am not sure how much this changes with using stevia vs. sugar)

140 calories, 6 g fat

21 g carbohydrate

 2 g fiber

3 g protein

YUM. DELISH. AMAZING.

Questions for you:

Do you love to bake?

What are some of your favorite GF recipes (if you have any)?

Anyone else experience symptoms of a gluten allergy? If so, what did you take out of your diet?

I hope that everyone has a fun & safe MDW!!!!

--Tasha

#RnRPDX: Race Recap

I woke up bright and early at 5 am ready to rock it at the Inaugural Portland Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon.  I think that my choice in race outfit was perfect for the occasion:

I made the skirt, got tons of compliments AND it didn't fall apart! #Winning

#SweatPink

Cass and I decided to ride the Max downtown PDX to avoid a cluster of trying to find parking. We got to the station and were the only ones waiting- kind of odd? We thought so. We took the opportunity to stretch and take some funny pictures:

We got off super close to the race start and had a full hour to relax, use the honey bucket, stretch/warm up, take pictures, and drop off our gear bags. I was really excited to see Amanda from Runninghood for the second weekend in a row. She actually noticed me first. It must have been the skirt? :-)

After I caught up with Amanda, Cass and I headed over to corral #5 so I could meet up with Holly from Leaps of Faith who is running on the Nuun Ragnar team with me in July. Time for more photo ops of course. After I met up with them I took off to warm up. As I was warming up, I was texting Kim from (Just) Trying is for Little Girls. I really wanted to see her at the race. We met at the Girlfriend's 1/2 marathon last October and I have been following her blog ever since. I don't know how Kim and I found each other, but we did! Our photo is the bottom center one. Kim is currently in the process of running a 1/2 marathon in every state. She recently did a double 1/2 marathon weekend. How cool is that?! 

With less than 10 minutes to race start I got into corral 1. I shimmied my way over to where there was room. I started to talk to the gal standing next to me who was super sweet. Her name was Angie (she blogs at Angie Blogs) and she had just run Boston and is going to be running the Vancouver Marathon in a couple of weeks. Next thing I know I also spot Amanda standing a couple feet in front of me. She came over and the three us chatted which took my mind off of the 13.1 miles I was about to embark on. I was planning on racing it, but knew in my heart if my leg/butt was bothering me I would have to back off. I was really hoping it wouldn't bother me, but it was still sore so I wasn't sure what to expect. 

Once the race started I took off and was running about a 7:15 pace. I was feeling pretty good for the most part. Then the first hill hit, OYE. It seemed to take forever to reach the top. I was expecting it, but it seriously killed me, knocked the wind outta my sails. I don't know if I was running "funny" or what, but as soon as I hit the downside of the first hill, my leg started to bother me. Not good. I slowed down, a lot. Was running about a 7:30-7:40 pace. I actually had to stop and stretch it out multiple times when my foot started to feel numb. Then there were more hills, and more, and more. Seriously. Insane. I was actually beginning to wonder if I was in Seattle and not PDX!!!! About mile 7 I started to lose track of the miles because I really didn't care. I changed my game plan to finish the race at my easy pace of 8:00-8:30 miles. I felt that was realistic at that point in the race. I think it was around mile 10 that Amanda went by me. She asked if  I was okay and if my leg was bothering me. She is so sweet, seriously love her. I hit the last bridge with about a mile left to go and my entire left foot was completely numb, but I REFUSED to stop with less than a mile to go. It definitely makes for an odd stride with 1 numb foot! I finished in 1:44:38 a 7:59 pace. Slow for me, but given the circumstances of my injury and still trying to recover from the Eugene Marathon I will take it and be proud. I have zero complaints about how I ran. Now I just need to focus on getting HEALTHY. 

The picture in the top right corner (me looking down) is the annoying "heavy breather" guy who thought I was his pacer!!! I stopped 3 times at water stations just with the intent of losing him, but he still stopped right behind me. So ANNOYING!!!! I even ran to the other side of the road and he followed me. Finally when I stopped to stretch my leg he went by me and I didn't have to listen to him breathing down my back!

I forgot to mention that it rained for more than half of the race. No biggie really until I got to the end and was FREEZING cold. I had checked weather bug multiple times and it forecasted rain, but not until that afternoon. Go figure. I was not prepared for the rain. I had ONE long sleeve shirt and that was it. No pants, rain coat, or even sweatshirt. They had tons of snacks and treats for us once we got into the finish area which was great. However, since I am experimenting with eliminating gluten from diet to see if it helps my tummy issues there wasn't a lot I could eat. I was hungry and cold. They gave us a space blanket which was also great, but hard to juggle with all of the treats in my hand. The gear pick up area was the big EPIC FAIL for this race. It was a LONG ways (I heard EVERYONE complaining about this also) away from the actual finish area. No joke, I want to say it was over 1/2 mile walk from the finish to where our gear was. I actually thought I had missed it! As I was wondering aimlessly trying to find my gear I ran back into Amanda who had finished a couple of minutes in front of me. We were bleeping a few curse words because we were so irritated about where our gear was. Once we finally got our gear we went and sat under a tree where the ground was dry so she could ice her leg. I was thrilled for her that she ran a smart and awesome race. She is so talented and has so many great things going for her. I am so lucky and thankful to be able to call her a good friend. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her!

I hung with Amanda for a bit and then I went over to the beer garden to meet up with Jeremy aka "Hurl". He used to work with Cassie and is a VERY talented runner. He had just ran a 50K the weekend before and still ran a 1:30:xx at PDX. Totally incredible. Hurl and I hung out in the beer garden area and waited for Cass to finish. I felt bad for Cass her knee was really bothering her. I was so proud of her for sticking it out and finishing. 

1/2 marathon #14 is in the books!

When Cass finished we had a mad dash to get back on the max so we could get ready for her bridal shower. I was a little bummed to miss the blogger meet up at Voodoo, but there just wasn't time and I was so cold. Cass and I were both freezing and craving SBUX....BAD. We went to SBUX and got some treats to take back to her house. We made Mr. Hoffert take pictures of us before we got ready for her shower. Poor guy...not really. I think that he secretly loves it. :-)

SBUX & our sweet finisher's shirts #HappyChicas

Goofing off in our Brooks t-shirts we won at the expo

Overall I give the inaugural PDX rock n roll 1/2 marathon 4 stars out of 5. I thought that expo was great, the course was great, the finisher's shirt & medal (the medal has to weigh over 1 lb!!!!) were awesome, the crowds & volunteers were fantastic, there was tons of photographers, & lots of snacks at the end. I got to meet up with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time, saw Amanda for the 2nd weekend in a row, got to meet Holly and even Angie. I had a blast!

What I thought was the HUGE EPIC FAIL was the gear check. That needs to be addressed for next year.  The rain? Can't complain about that, it is Oregon after all. 

Questions for you:

What is the big epic fail in a race you have ran? Did you address those issues with the race committee?

Have you ran a rock n roll 1/2 or marathon? What did you think? 

--Tasha

Rock n Roll Expo (in pictures)

I am behind...again. That is what a weekend away does to someone. I drove to Portland on Friday after work and had 1/2 marathon, a wedding, and a bridal shower to attend. Talk about taking care of business. Got back to Spokane close to midnight on Sunday (after getting up at 5 am!) and then had to be at work at 6:30 am yesterday. Yep, I was tired and a little cranky. Instead of catching up on blogs last night I slept. I will do some catch up tonight, I promise!

We went to Rock n Roll expo on Saturday and it was a lot of fun! I loved the race tee shirt and I even scored a cool Brooks inaugural Portland Rock n Roll shirt that I loved. It must have been the best one since Saturday morning it was almost sold out.

Don't EVER play ski ball with Cassie- she is a SHARK!

Elvis, in the house

This would be a personal worst for me :-)

Ha! Do I look like a runner? :-)

We each won a cute Brooks shirt

Front of race tee

Back

My "cool" tee that I bought

Back of my cool tee

Now I am off to another crazy day of work. Full race recap in the works (with more pictures) and I promise to catch up on everyone's blogs tonight. Have a great day!

--Tasha

Picky Bars Review: It’s freaking science dude

source: Picky Bars website

I was so excited to have the opportunity to sample Picky Bars recently. If you haven’t tried Picky Bars, you are missing out. They are delicious & nutritious!

What are Picky Bars????

Picky Bars were created by Lauren Fleshman for her husband Jesse Thomas who is a professional triathlete who happens to have a dairy and gluten intolerance.  She wanted to make a healthy and athletically balanced yummy tasting bar for Jesse that could help fuel his training. At the time Lauren was battling an injury so she devoted her energy to perfecting the Picky Bar with her good friend Stephanie Rothstein. Together the three of them have created a healthy & delicious treat that is pure genius. 

Not only are Picky Bars incredibly tasty they are GOOD FOR YOU! This list was hijacked directly from the Picky Bar’s “nutritional principles” tab on their website.

• Considered to be an "ideal size:" 200 calories or less.  Great size for <30min post-workout recovery, one hour before exercise (or cut in half for 20-30 min before), or the perfect snack size between meals.)
• Have a 4:1 carbohydrate/protein ratio that is ideal for recovery and maximizes absorption of nutrients.
• Be gluten and dairy free
• Have balanced macro-nutrients (25% fat, 60% carbohydrate, 15% protein) for hunger control and happy digestion.
• Select carbohydrate sources that promote level blood sugar, sustained energy, and nutrient absorption.
• Use whole foods that are geographically nearby whenever we can.
• Minimize soy content (less than 1%) since most people get too much of it daily without realizing it.
• Provide a mixture of nuts and seeds for nutrient diversity (e.g. cashews are good for vitamin K while almonds are high in vitamin E).

source: Picky Bars website

I had the opportunity to sample all 4 flavors of Picky Bars. It is a tough decision to say which was my favorite, because honestly they all taste awesome. However, since I love coffee I will say that the “Smooth Caffeinator” was my favorite. The coffee flavor in it is so good!

FLAVORS (description verbiage from Picky Bar's website):

Lauren's Mega Nuts: The original Picky Bar flavor!!!! It is made with Peanut butter, mixed nuts, semi sweet chocolate chips and all the other goodness we've listed. It tastes like crispy peanut butter and jelly but with a little zing.

All-In-Almond: This bar is peanut free, vegan, almond butter based and sweetened with agave nectar.

Nutless Wonder:  This bar is made free of peanuts and tree nuts and made using sunflower seed butter.

Smooth Caffeinator: This bar is pure hazelnut mocha madness and my favorite Picky Bar.  It is made with rich hazelnut butter mixed and a sprinkling of roasted coffee. Coffee + Picky Bar= amazing treat!

source: Picky Bars website

When I was in Eugene for the Marathon a couple of weeks ago, I even had the opportunity to meet Lauren. I was a little star struck when I first saw her. She is so incredibly gifted and an all around great person. 

Lauren is FUN with a capital "F"

What did I love the most about Picky Bars?

I loved how filling and nutritious these bars were and absolutely loved the chunks of chocolate! I also liked how they didn’t feel as dense as a Clif Bar and they seemed to agree with my stomach which has been a bit finicky on my lately. A Picky Bar has become my new “go to” snack. 


When I was doing research on Picky Bars I realized that there was no where in Spokane where I could buy them. I was a little bummed about this, but you can order them online on their website. They also have a club you can join called the Picky Club. I joined on Wednesday and I am looking forward to receiving my first Picky Bars in the mail. Joining is easy! I simply emailed Stephanie and told her I wanted to join the Picky Club. I received an email back from her within the hour detailing what I had to do to sign up. There was a link to register for Pay Pal which only took about 5 minutes to complete. Each month $37 will be charged to my credit card and I will receive 18 Picky Bars in the mail. Next I emailed Stephanie back letting her know that I had completed the Pay Pal process. I let her know my t-shirt size (yes, you get a shirt--I am excited) and how many of each bar I would like to get every month. Very simple and easy!


Being a picky eater is pretty cool!


Questions for you:


Have you had a Picky Bar before? What did you think?
What is your favorite energy bar?


--Tasha

St. George Marathon

I GOT IN!!!!!!

I registered for the St. George Marathon lottery on a complete whim last week. I really didn't think I would get in because I don't consider myself to be a lucky person at all. I never win anything, seriously. The actual lottery took place on Friday with email notifications going out on Monday. Since my day was so hectic playing catch up from being gone all weekend I sort of forgot about it. Just when I was getting to ready to head out the door for a run I noticed I had an email. The only thing I saw was "Lottery Results-CONGRATULATIONS". Needless to say I was ecstatic since I never thought in a million years I would get in. SGM is also a marathon on my bucket list so hopefully on 10.6.12 I will be able to cross it off!

Questions for you:


Did you get into the SGM this year?
Have you ever gotten into a race lottery on your first try?
Have you ever tried multiple times to get in a race through a lottery and been unsuccessful?

--Tasha

Hippie Chick 1/2 Marathon

If you are looking for a super fun, flat course, all women’s ½ marathon then Hippie Chick is the perfect race for you. I had heard before how much fun HC was, but never have had the opportunity to run it because it is sold out every year. To guarantee a spot you have to register within a couple of days once the registration opens. Signing up is so worth it. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun at a race. I got to meet Stephanie from Soggy Runner Girl who I had really been looking forward to meeting. Stephanie is SUPER FAST! Even though she didn’t race either, she still ran an awesome ½ marathon. I am so in awe of her talent. She is someone to watch because I think that big things are in store for her!

Green sparkle skirt: Jen, Purple sparkle skirt: Cassie, Black sparkle skirt: me

Pink tank: me, Red Boston sweatshirt: Amanda, White jacket: Stephanie

When I signed up for HC back in November I didn’t know I would be running the Eugene Marathon at the end of April. Obviously it isn’t ideal to race a ½ marathon 13 days post marathon. Even I know that isn’t smart. Luckily I had the opportunity to run the whole race with Amanda from Runninghood. We had so much fun! It was a treat to get to run 13.1 miles with such a talented runner. We chatted the whole time and the miles flew by. We both needed to be smart about not racing so it was great to have each other to keep ourselves in check. It was fun to get to know Amanda better. She is one of nicest and most sincere people I have ever met. I feel so lucky to have her as a friend! Thank you for keeping me company and running with me Amanda! We crossed the finish line together in 1:53:30. 

Top left: Me, Jen, Cassie

Top right: Amanda, Me

Bottom left: Cassie, Me

We didn't get finisher's medals, but instead got a necklace. It is actually pretty cute, but I need to shorten the chain a little bit. The finisher's shirts were a Brooks technical shirt, that is a little on the bright side, but still cute. We also each got a drawstring back pack. Orange is my least favorite color, but the logo is cute so I will probably use it as a gym bag (like I need another gym bag....)

Today I looked at the results and realized IF I would have raced I more than likely would have won my AG by a couple of minutes. Realistically I might not have PR’d, but I still think running a 1:34-1:35 ½  was within reach had I been healthy and ready to race. This year the debuted a new a course- it was gorgeous and super flat. Definitely a course you could PR on!

If you click on this picture it gets bigger so you can actually read it :-)

After the race we went to go get our pancakes that were part of our entry fee. This was a HUGE let down. They only let each runner get 2 pancakes and they were TINY! WTH?! Needless to say we were still hungry so went to the closest McMenamins where I indulged in cajun tater tots and a turkey sandwich. 

Jamba juice, wimpy pancakes, McMenamins beer

Questions for you:

Have you ever signed up for a race and then ran it just for fun?

Would you rather have a medal or a necklace as a finisher's award?

--Tasha

Girls Weekend

I just got home from an amazing girls weekend in Portland with my BFF Cassie. On Saturday we ran the Hippie Chick 1/2 marathon (HC) and then enjoyed the awesome weather outside. I definitely got a little sunburn! I also got to meet my new "niece" Olive the chiweenie. She is pretty cute and a sassy little pup. I need to get her a shirt that says "Diva" on it. :-)

Miss Olive

I am going to write a full race recap on HC tomorrow. I have a lot of pictures and a lot to say. It was a really fun race, probably my favorite race to date. It was also my 13th 1/2!!!! My bib # also happened to be 13. How cool is that?!

After HC we went to Dairy Queen because I have been dying to try the confetti cake blizzard. If you haven't tried one of these delish treats- go get one now!!!!! It was absolutely amazing!!!!! It tasted exactly like a piece of confetti cake, but in ice cream. Seriously, it doesn't get any better than that.

Oh my goodness! Amazing!

Kind of wished that I hadn't ordered the small :-(

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed Mother's Day. 

Questions for you:

Have you tried the confetti cake blizzard? Did you like it?

Have you ever had a bib # that was some kind of significance for you?

--Tasha

Random rambles

TGIFF peeps. I hope that everyone had a great week! My week flew by! It is a good thing I didn’t have any running scheduled, because I don’t know how I would have it all in.

Yesterday  Bloomsday pictures came out.  I hate race pictures. I ALWAYS look AWFUL! I usually look cute before the race, usually not during or after. I think that this is typical of most people. 

Almost to the finish line thinking "gosh this stinking hurts!!!!"

Smiling because I am done and can go find some food!

My name in the paper (the 7 indicates 7 Bloomsdays ran- my father in law has ran 23- INSANE!)

I went out to Cheney to work out at the university recreation center a couple of times during the week. It is hands down the nicest gym in the area and super cheap! For a day pass it is $6, for a month unlimited pass it is only $30. Even the 16 mile drive out to Cheney makes it worth the price. On Monday I did 5 miles on the elliptical and then did some abs. It was a really good workout!  Last night I did more elliptical and then I lifted (I am sore today!). When we left the rec center my little pea shooters were shaking!

My May foodie pen pal (Lindsey) has gotten me all excited and pumped up to start lifting some more. We shall see how long this excitement lasts. It seems like I could lift 3-4 times a week and still gain no muscle mass. What is up with that? Is everyone on ‘droids, but me?!

Tonight I am going to Portland for a much anticipated girls weekend with my BFF. We signed up for the Hippie Chick ½marathon back in November and I have been really excited about running it. HC is sold out every year and seems to be the “it” race for women in the Portland area.  However, I did register for HC BEFORE I had decided to run Eugene. Obviously it’s not ideal to run a marathon, a 12k and a ½ marathon within 13 days.  I have no goals & no race plan. I just plan on having fun and looking cute. J

My race outfit (Kim @ (Just) Trying is for Little Girls would be so proud!)

The HC course starts and ends at the Hillsboro Stadium (same location as Helvetia). However, the course is supposed to flat compared to the crazy hills in Helvetia. It should be a fun race.

Course map and elevation

We get finisher's necklaces like at Girlfriend's

Last random ramble. Anyone tried Think Thin bars before? I love them and usually get the chocolate fudge or creamy peanut butter. Last night I came across this yummy flavor- it was AH-MAZING!

Questions for you:

Anyone have some fun weekend plans?

How far in advance do you sign up for races?

Do you have a sparkle skirt?

--Tasha