Busy Weekend Wrap Up

This week/weekend has been crazy in good ways and bad. I'll try to fill you in on the good without making it a massive post.

It snowed like crazy here on Tuesday. I had been complaining about the snow so far this year, but I think it was because we had crappy wet snow/ice in the past. Not like the beautiful snowfalls I remember from growing up in Ohio. But this week we got REAL snow, at least 5 inches in one night. The next morning as I walked to work, I was in awe. I forgot how breathtaking a beautiful snowfall could be.

Thursday I came home from work to find a package on my door. Woo-Hoo! It was my prize from Bobbi over at N her shoes! A whole box of Snacktrition treats for me to enjoy!



This was the first time I ever won anything in The Land of Blog, so I was totally excited. Plus, it's food. I mean, let's keep it real. Free food gets me happy people. It don't take much.

Here is a bit about Snacktrition from their website.

Snacktrition is enhanced with key nutrients such as calcium and fiber, which makes good-for-you foods like almonds and cashews better than ever. Made from real fruit and nuts, every bite is bursting with mouthwatering flavor and a crunchy texture that every snacker craves.

Health Baked
What is health-baked you ask? It is simple; we sprinkle our almonds and cashews with the nutrients your body needs like fiber and calcium, oven-roast them and add kosher sea salt to taste. That’s it and the results speak for themselves.

In the box were 5 bag of nuts - Smoked Almonds, Sea Salt Almonds, Sea Salt Cashews, Salt and Pepper Cashews and Fruit and Nut Mix.



Since I had just gotten home from work, I was starving and busted open the smoked almonds right away.



They had a pretty good flavor to them. And I love almonds, so I was a happy camper. Then, being a pepper-kind-of-gal, I was way-excited to try the Salt and Pepper Cashews. YUM! I tore into those, ate a few and was kind of on the fence. You really have to love pepper to like these, which I do, but even for me it was a bit much. Of course, that didn't stop me from eating them. Nope, I'm a trooper that way.

This morning I woke up to find the Fruit and Nut mix bag almost empty (I never opened it) so I suppose Jeremy liked it. I tried a few bites and have to say it was pretty delicious. It had yogurt chips in it, which were damn good.

I have yet to try the last two flavors, but I have put them in my bag to take to my office (hide from J). It will be the prefect snack during my work day to keep me going. Thanks again Bobbi!!! :)

So, I FINALLY got some consistent running in this week. FOUR whole days (instead of my usual lazy-ass two). I still only managed 34 miles for the week, but that's way more than I had been. And I felt pretty decent on all the runs. Not great, but decent. I'll take it.

I sucked it up and went for an evening run in the snow on Wednesday. While there were definitely some icy/snowy parts on the sidewalks that were hard to navigate and slow to get through, it was pretty well lit, so I didn't have any surprises (fall on my ass). I just took my time and let myself enjoy the evening winter wonderland. It was great.

I don't work on Fridays, but I usually don't run Fridays because I don't like running the day before a long run. But since we were cutting back our Saturday long run to 14 this weekend, I decided to grab my camera, leave my watch at home and head out for a slow 7 miler to enjoy the beauty of the snow before it melted. I headed up the bike path towards Valley Forge and was not disappointed with my run. I felt great and got some beautiful pictures. I'll post them in a day or two since this is already becoming a novel of a post.

The 14 on Saturday was pretty good. Cold, but not as frigid as the past few weeks. We kept up about a 9:10 pace. I was tired, but not dead. Just tired enough to be glad we were only doing 14 :)

Afterwards we rode the train to Center City, ate lunch at the Reading Terminal Market and just spent the rest of the day wandering the city. It's a great, free thing to do and we had a really nice time. Oh, then we drank a few cheap beers at McGillin's (oldest pub in Philly).

Ben Franklin


The Comcast Building


The projection screen in the lobby.




They filmed Trading Places on this street.


And a scene here, in Rittenhouse Square.




McGillins! My new favorite bar in Philly.




J's hair is getting out of control.


Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to N.D!!!! She finally had her little baby boy a couple of days ago and I am so very, very happy for her and her hubby. Looks like we have a new future running blogger on our hands. I've been following her blog since she was about 7 weeks along and I don't know what I am going to do with myself now that she is not knocked up anymore. Guess I'll have to get interested in her running :)

Monday, 2/2 - 6.5/57:36 - 8:51 pace
Tuesday, 2/3 - off
Wednesday, 2/4 - 6.5/1:02:42 - 9:38 pace
Thursday, 2/5 - off
Friday, 2/6 - 7 - no watch
Saturday, 2/7 - 13.75/2:06 - 9:10 pace
Sunday, 2/8 - off

Total Weekly Mileage (8 days): 33.75 (RUN)