Today is a good day! First because of this:

Do you SEE THAT?! It’s PAVEMENT!!!! No snow, slush or ice to truck through. Pure shoe to pavement that sounds like music to a runners ear.

Today I had an AWESOME run!!! It was -11 when I left the house this morning so it was chilly but the sunshine made up for it. The weather Gods were out today! It was a nice change to run on some clear roads rather than snowy country roads like these. To be honest, I was a little nervous after Coach B told us the route we were running. Remember when I had that really bad run? Well we ran that route. The difference between then and now is that I loved it and I felt great today.

I ran about 12.5km in 1:06. My running buddy and I were just cruising along through great conversation. I love when that happens… don’t you? I was on a high after my run and felt so positive and motivated.

I feel so thankful to have my health and be able to run like I do (I mean it would be cool to be a bit faster, but hey.. just say’n :) ). I feel positive with how my training is going and have faith that I will complete Around the Bay with a smile on my face (and probably a few.. ok, a lot of tears). I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing running group and to have such a dedicated and awesome coach. Thanks Coach B for everything! Running with such a supportive group of people does wonders and makes you feel good at the same time.

For those of you who are scared to join a group, whether it be a gym, a running group, or a choir, I encourage you to take the step and just do it. I think everyone may feel a little nervous or maybe even scared to try something new and step outside of their ‘box’ but you know what? It is totally worth it! I remember how nervous I was to join Runners’ Edge running group and when I think about it now it’s just crazy. I had nothing to be scared of!!

Do you prefer to run/workout alone or with a group?

I tried a new recipe last night that I got from Mama Pea. If you want to learn lots about healthy eating and have a good read, go and check out her blog now! She is so funny… go and see for yourself! I would love to spend a day in the kitchen with this woman and learn all of her secrets.

I made her Quinoa stuffed peppers and they were DELISH! (you can read more about quinoa here.  Honestly, they were so easy to make, super tasty AND healthy! These babies will be at the top of my recipe book.. or should I say added to my pile of loose papers, since I don’t have an actual recipe book. GMan loved them too so I was happy about that. Rather than using big bell peppers I had a bag of mini peppers from Costco to use up, so that’s what I did.

OK, have any of you heard of cactus pears? Well they look like this:

I just want to warn you that it is called cactus pear for a reason. They have SPINES. Sharp spines.. so BE CAREFUL. This fruit is probably near the top of my favorites list. The only way I can describe it to you is that the texture is a mix between a watermelon and a cantaloupe. It has little seeds that are edible. It’s GOOD! I promise.

The first time we bought them (well it was a first for me, not for GMan) I went to grab one and GMan frantically told me to leave it. Obviously, I didn’t listen and grabbed it anyway and that’s when I found out that cactus pears do in fact have spines (their sneaky because you can’t actually see them they’re so fine). I found out for a second time last night. I was being inpatient and tried to cut one myself and BAM, I got a spine in my hand. They hurt. a lot. I think the grocery stores should have a warning: Pricks found here. Don’t you?

The moral of the story is, try a cactus pear, they are REALLY good but be careful!!  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So today is Valentines Day… but to me it just feels like any other day. I’ve never been big on celebrating February 14th. I don’t see the point of spending $80.00 on a dozen roses that will die in a few days. No thanks. Call me a Scrooge but that’s how I feel. When I slipped to the Bulk Barn this morning after the gym I picked up some salted peanuts for my man. Now that’s romantic, eh!

As you all know it was GMan’s birthday last Tuesday  but I waited until Saturday night to take him out for his birthday dinner. I figured he would enjoy someone else’s cooking much more than my own. We went to Napoli Ristorante Pizzeria in Niagara Falls.

For those of you who are locals, if you’ve never been, drop what you are doing and go now! For those non locals, if you decide to elope and get married in the romantic city (isn’t that what people do there?) make sure you go eat there!

It was our first time at Napoli’s and we loved it. I think we had the best seat in the house which was an added bonus.

The ambiance was awesome; so relaxing and romantic. We started off with the Bruschetta Classico – “Toasted focaccia, whole roasted garlic and extra virgin olive oil“. Oh my heaven, I love roasted garlic. GMan made me sleep on the couch Saturday night but I still say it was worth it :)  We didn’t have any vino with dinner because GMan’s not a drinker and I don’t drink when I train. Hardcore, I know. Actually I just don’t think it’s worth the headache the next day.

The service was great and it was clear they wanted their guests to feel welcomed and content. Well we were definitely happy, especially when our meals arrived.

I ordered the Fettuccine Carbonara. YUM! I stepped outside of the box because that’s not something I would normally order. It was really good though. GMan ordered the Veal Parmigiano – “Veal cutlet with tomato sauce and parmigiano, with spaghetti pomodoro“.

I asked him if he was sure that he wanted to eat baby cow for dinner but he didn’t seem to mind. The veal was cooked to perfection and the tomato sauce was delish. (I guess I should tell you that I even tried it because it looked so good.)

Obviously I couldn’t pass on dessert. Are you kidding me? Not this girl.

I ordered the special (again), chocolate lava cake with a scoop of chocoalate gelato. How could I not? I did tell you that I love gelato, didn’t I? 

GMan ordered Tiramisù. Completely random fact, but did you know that “Tiramisù” in Italian actually means a pick me up? I think anyone could feel better after eating a piece of it!

We obviously shared desserts over a cappuccino and they were to die for. Treating myself to that dessert was an affirmation that it would be next to impossible to cut chocolate completely out of my diet. I think GMan was even happier that I got my daily fix — for his sake.

Grazie Napoli’s for the awesome service, food and cappuccinos!

I so enjoyed my night out with my man and we really enjoyed each others company. It’s nice when everything else around you stops and the only thing that really matters is your loved ones. It’s an added bonus that I didn’t have to get up after dinner and wash dishes or clean the kitchen.

What are your plans for Valentines Day?
– Making dinner and relaxing together while watching The Bachelor – obviously! (right, Baby?)

Do you normally order dessert when you go out for dinner?
– Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Depends how full I am, or if I’ve left room for dessert, and what my workout was for the day. Doesn’t take much to twist my arm and order it tho!

As I sit here and type this I can feel my legs starting to tense up a bit. Although every minute was so. worth. it!!

My early morning run was amazing today!! Ok, I don’t know if I would go as far as saying amazing but it was realllly good!

I started out a little different today. I was a bit nervous but went with it and am so glad I did. Coach B gave us a sample of Chi 3 Energy drink, so I drank that before my run. Thanks Coach B! Normally I’m not one to change things up on long runs. I guess I should tell you that I have never had an energy drink in my life, no Red Bull or anything. Some days I can barely have a cup of coffee without getting the shakes from the caffeine (which is why I’m not a regular coffee drinker). Sad, I know.

I was pleasantly suprised with this Chi 3. The difference between this and other energy drinks is that it’s not full of sugar, the ingredients are natural and it has no artificial color or flavors. You can read more about it here if you like but here is a quick comparison between the Chi 3 and other popular energy drinks:

source

I would definitely try this again to change things up a bit. I didn’t feel shakey at all and did feel like it gave me a good boost.

So I ran 22km in two hours and feel great!! Thankfully it wasn’t as cold out as the last few days. The footing however, wasn’t the greatest and the wind was just a blow’n. The first 11km was a little bit tough and I could really feel the effects from my hill workout on Thursday. It didn’t help that we were running against the wind the entire time.

When we turned around at 11km things started to look brighter. Literally! The sun came out and it was so beautiful. I even had to take my jacket off because I was too warm. We had a tail wind and I felt a bit refreshed from knowing I only had 11km more to go. Both of my knees were bothering me a bit but I’m hoping that its just from the cold. Fingers crossed that’s all it is.

I also wore my waterbelt (not the Nathan Speed 2 I was talking about the other day) that I’ve had since I first started running. I’m SO glad I had it although at times it was a little annoying.

Biff is part of the Runners' Edge crew.. always out to support!

The bottle went flying out of the holder twice and I had to run back a get it. Once I tightened the belt as tight as it could go it was so much better. It really did make a difference having water throughout my entire run. I tried to remind myself to take a sip about every ten minutes. It helped to wash down the four clif shot bloks I had throughout my run. Due to the conditions today we weren’t really concerned about pace or time which was really nice! My pace was about thirty seconds more than what it normally is which was fine with me. Coach B said to focus on form, footing and hydration and I’m so glad I listened to him. I found on the hills today that it really does help if I look up and focus on one spot until I reach the top rather than thinking “oh man this is killer”. Imagine that!

graceful pose for the camera

pumping up the last hill. i promise those aren't rolls.. i put my gloves in my pocket

made it! time for another picture.. ha!

After todays run I was thinking that if it was race day, I would have only had 8km more to go. I’m feeling that my goal is more achievable and that makes me so excited! The mind can do some crazy things in those last 8km though can’t it…..