And I'm spent...!

This weekend was full of good stuff - food, friends, bikes, and running.

Yesterday Mr. Sweetie and I gave our kitchen a workout by cooking up a storm. He made homemade pizza dough and whipped up some arugula pesto for the sauce. Meanwhile I put together a few chicken pot pies, Oreo Balls (which I've now decided should be renamed Oreo Bombs), and I tried out the banana rice muffin recipe from The Feed Zone Cookbook. It is high time I stopped dropping a money bomb every week during peak Ironman training and hopefully some of these "portables" recipes will do the trick - and they were super easy to whip up. The muffins were great on my ride today, not super sweet, a hint of almond and they kept me satiated during the ride. I do, however, think it will be difficult to stuff 18 rice muffins down my sports bra during Ironman (my bento box of choice since my actual bento box is not roomy enough and - sadly? - my sports bra is). I'm going to need to work on this crucial part of my race day nutrition strategy.

I think I am going to like running in pink shoes.

New running shoes! In hot pink! Lightweight! And they are super comfortable! Over the years I've worn Nikes, Mizunos, Sauconys. And now the K-Swiss joins the list. I took them out for a spin on my long run today and they felt good, so perhaps I will be sticking with them for awhile. These are triathlon-specific shoes with fewer seams (or maybe none) on the inside of the shoe so you can wear them sockless and have less risk of blisters. I don't know if I'm brave enough to try that - maybe for a shorter tri. They also have holes on the bottom of the shoe to drain out water from when you douse yourself at aid stations during hot races. But the hot pink color is my favorite feature, for sure.

It was a little chilly

Long run with friends!  I do most of my running solo so it was a treat to run with a friend today. Kendra and I normally meet up and do swim workouts but today we got together for a run. We zipped down through Arlington and onto Roosevelt Island on the Potomac. Even though the snow made spots a little slick, it was worth it for how pretty it made everything look. And we didn't need to rely on social kick during this workout for our social catchup time - it's quite nice how much more chatting you can do when you aren't spending 90% of a workout underwater.

See - you can't miss the shoes! It's like a florescent color stolen straight from the '90s.

Biking! Outside! In snow (flurries)! I haven't biked outside since probably November, maybeeeee early December. I'm a weather wimp and if it's below 40 (heck, if it is below 50), I'd take the trainer over outdoors any day. But today Tri360 was holding their Hilly Chilly Chili ride. I made oreo balls for the occasion and the temperatures warmed up a bit by 10:30 and with my mittens and warm clothes, being outdoors on my bike was bearable - even pleasant. I caught up with a few friends during the ride - this was purely a social occasion for me since I didn't have a ride on my schedule today. Towards the end, the snow flurries picked up and even though none of it was sticking on the roads, snow in the air did make me feel like less of a weather wimp. After the ride we had chili and corn muffins and apple cider. Thanks for a fun event Tri360! I love the idea of a ride with seasonal-themed food and drink at the end (or any food and drink, for that matter!). I'll bring the strawberry muffins and mint juleps for the spring-themed ride!