Fall Recipes

Great fall day, which started out with a trail run at Highbanks Park.   Fun group and beautiful run!  

While I was out running and then driving home, it gave me a chance to figure out what I wanted to do with the day.   It has been awhile since I have spent the day at home and done much cooking.   So I did just that.   I opened the windows to let the fall breeze and smells in, cleaned the whole place, and baked/cooked some new and wonderful recipes! 

The first thing I made was a repeat recipe.   I actually tried it last week and loved it!   I had some leftover pumpkin that needed to be used, so decided to repeat the recipe again. . .

(From:  PPK Blog)

Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 4 dozen cookies

Equipment:

2 baking sheets

2 mixing bowls

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

optional ingredients: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds and/or 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped or 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Have ready 2 greased baking sheets.

Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices.

In a seperate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla (and flax seeds if using) until very well combined. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. (If using, fold in walnuts and raisins or chocolate chips).

Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They don’t spread very much so they can be placed only an inch apart. Flatten the tops of the cookies with a fork or with your fingers, to press into cookie shape. Bake for 16 minutes at 350. If you are using two sheets of cookies on 2 levels of your oven, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking. You’ll have enough batter for 4 trays.

Remove from oven and get cookies onto a wire rack to cool. These taste best when they’ve had some time to cool and set. They taste even better the next day!

**I omitted the flax, walnuts, and raisins and made 1/2 the batch with chocolate chips added and 1/2 just "plain."  Both versions taste amazing!

After making the cookies I decided to try the following two recipes for my evening meal.   I am happy to report that they were both wonderful!

1) Butternut Squash Pizza with Blue Cheese and Fried Sage

2) Collard Greens with Bacon from Simply Recipes

Collard Greens with Bacon

*Chef's tip: don't overcook the bacon. It should be barely brown around the edges and still somewhat raw-looking in the middle.

Ingredients:

4 strips thick-sliced bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small yellow onion, chopped 

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Several dashes hot sauce

1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar

2 pounds collard greens, stems removed, sliced into 3-inch-wide strips (can substitute kale or chard)

1 cup chicken broth (or water)*

Method:

1) Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Cook the bacon in the skillet until it just begins to brown around the edges, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and cook until they have softened and are just starting to brown.

2) Add the garlic, salt, pepper, sugar and hot sauce. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about a minute. Add the vinegar, bring to a simmer, and cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by half, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

3)  Add the collard greens and the chicken broth (or water) and bring to a simmer. Reduce the temp to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the collard greens have wilted and have lost their brightness. Season to taste with additional vinegar and hot sauce. Serve with some of the pan juices from the pan.

Serves 6 to 8.

**I didn't have a few ingredients and substitued instead:

1) Shallots for the yellow onion

2) Red Pepper Flakes instead of hot sauce

3) Garlic infused vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar

Deer Creek Fall Challenge 70.3

Long overdue race report, not sure why, just haven't really had the time or attention to get the report out.   But it ended up being a good day and I want to make sure it is in my records, so here it is. . .

I am not a morning person, so knowing this, I didn't want to drive down the morning of the race.   So, I convinced my mom to go down the day before with me and stay overnight at the Deer Creek Lodge so I could get my race packet, check out the course, and sleep in a little on race morning.    We left in the afternoon and had a quick drive down.   Decided to hit the race area first and pick up the packets.   No worries, there was maybe a dozen people there so it took all of about 10  minutes to get my packet, walk down and look at the swim course, and walk back to the car.  There were some hardcore athletes checking out the water and my mom asked if I wanted to as well.   I am not hardcore, it was windy and a little chilly, so the answer was "naw, I'll be fine tomorrow."     But, we did have some extra time before check in so we decided to drive the course.   I don't do this often mostly because I think it actually makes me more nervous about the race.   However, it is nice to know what to expect, so in this case we did.    Most of the first 1/2 of the course is flat and wide open.    I also noticed alot of chip seal roads, which I hate!    The back 1/2 of the course is a bit hillier, one in particular looked a little more challenging, mostly because it is situated right at the beginning of a left had turn.    Overall, though not too bad of a course but still enough to make me nervous because I have to do 3 loops of it!  

Once we were done with the drive we decided to head over to the lodge and check in.    Once there I told them I had a reservation and they were unable to locate it.  WTH??   I had made that reservation well over 2 months ago.   Unfortunately I had forgotten to write down the confirmation code.   I knew I had saved the email, so they were kind enough to let me use a computer so I could search for it.    Took awhile but I finally found it and I was correct, I did have a reservation . . . .for August  28th, 2010.   Oops, not only had I made it for one month earlier, but apparently I was now a no show, which meant I probably had been billed for it as well.  D'oh!!   Unfortuantely they were already booked for the night at the lodge *sigh*  however, they did have a 2 bedroom cabin available so my mom and I decieded to try that instead!   Whew!    The staff was brilliant and they were able to transfer the money I had already paid for my lodge room to cover the cost of the cabin and then I just had to pay the difference.   No problem!!   

Once we checked in, went back to the lodge for a quick supper and then over to the camp grounds to visit my friends Teri and Janice and their significant others.   They had decided to camp there for the weekend and Janice was also going to do the sprint tri in the morning.    Very nice visit and then mom and I were back to the cabin and I hit the hay early. 

The cabin was very quiet and dark so I had a surprisingly good night's sleep.   I normally don't sleep well the night before a race, but this was quite possibly the exception!    Woke up pretty easily in the morning, ate a quick breakfast and then had mom drop me off at the race.    My mom was to go back to the cabin, check out, and then she was going to golf with some friends before coming back to the race!  

Once again I got to the race way too early and had nothing to do.    Fortunately I found my friends - Jeanne, Rick, Terri, Aaron, and Tani prior to the race and hung out with them for a bit!

Rick, Jeanne, Jennifer and I before the race.

The swim started in waves, sprint distance first divided up into age group and sex, then olympic distance, then the 1/2 distance.   Of course it got started late and it was cold outside.   I actually ended up wading into the water about knee deep because it was warmer, then had to go back to the land because it was a beach start.   The whole time I am waiting, I am getting more nervous.   The bike cut-off is at 1:30pm, it is almost 9:15am before they start the 1/2 group and I am in the last wave for this.   I am not the strongest cyclist so at this point, ever minute counts! 

Finally in the water, waves are choppy going out (we are against the wind) so a little difficult, but once I make the first turn, I find a good path and go with it.  I pass a dude wearing a snorkle at some point - thought this was illegal, but oh well, I pass by him pretty quickly.   Swim seems easy and I am happy with it, get to the other end, make my turns and start heading back.   Hit the wind again and feel like I am barely moving, plus I have to lift my head up pretty far to keep from gulping down water every time I try to take a breath.   The water is shallow enough her that lots of people are not even trying to swim and are getting up and jogging along this section.   This makes me mad and more determined to swim harder and faster.   Finally finish with lap one and head onto lap two.   More of the same and eventually I get the swim done.    I am jogging out of the water and check my watch - 33 minutes (last year at Steelhead was 38 minutes and that was with the current)!   Sweet, much faster than last year.   Right at that point nausea sets in and I have to stop and start dry heaving.   WTF??   This feeling passes and I stand up and try jogging to get up to transition.   Nausea and gagging start again, I step to the side, dry heave some more and the feeling finally passes.    I eventually make it to the transition area - 3 minutes have passed so my "swim time"  ends up at 36 minutes as I head into transition. 

The weather is much cooler and more overcast than I was hoping for, once I strip off the wetsuit I am freezing.   Decide to go for the armwarmers on the bike to help keep me a little warm.   Darn things are very hard to put on though when you are soaking wet.   So, not the quickest transition but fortunately it gave me time to get the nausea settled down so I can also get in some fluids and nutrition prior to heading out on the bike!   After 5 minutes I am ready for the bike!

Guy next to me has an awesome looking bike, but I am happy because I know I beat him out of the water and he had at least a 3 minute start on me if not more!

The bike was fairly uneventful.   3 loops and it was really windy.   Of course the wind changed from a west wind to north by the time I got off the bike, so it seemed like I had a headwind the whole way.    I didn't keep track of my bike splits, but I am pretty sure I slowed down on my last lap, fighting the wind all morning, makes for tired legs.   3:14:14 was my total time on the bike - last year I had 3:30, and I thought it was an easier course.   As I come into transition, my good friend Kathy's boys (Evan and Scott) are waiting for me.   The boys take turns telling me that they came down with their mom to volunteer and they are helping to pass out medals.   Scott then informs me that I almost didn't make the bike cut-off.   Thanks Scott . . .

Coming into transition I noticed how empty the parking lot was and how many bikes were gone out of transition already.   Fortunately for me, all my friends had stuck around to cheer me on and Jeanne even decided to help pace me for the first 1/2 of the 1/2 marathon!!!     Qucik shoe change and bathroom stop and in 2:27 I am on my way. 

Jeanne was a blessing on this first lap.   After being on the bike for >3 hours alone and seeing hardly anyone, I am ready for some company.   The run course is a two loop out and back.   Very flat, which is fortunate for me.   We keep a pretty good pace for the first loop and I drop Jeanne off at the turn around - I would love to have her for more, but she has already run the day before and put in an awesome sprint tri ealier in the day!   I am so glad she was still able to do 6.55 mi with me!    The second loop gets a little warmer - the sun has finally decided to come out.    I am still doing pretty well until about mile 9 and then my breathing gets off track.   I have my inhaler, but I had just used it at transition, so still to early to use it out there.     Instead I start a 5:1 run/walk.    My left hip is also starting to cramp up, so this run/walk pattern helps that too.    After what seems like a very long 4 miles, I finally get to the finish!     2:21:12 for the run . . .

6:19:02 total time!   My time from Steelhead 70.3 was around 6:38.   So, I am very happy coming into the finish because I know this is a PR in this distance and I took almost 20 minutes off my time from last year!  Whoo Hoo!    I was also smiling because I have some of the greatest friends ever.   All of them stuck around to cheer me on at the finish and they found my mom and took her under their wing.    They were great too, everytime they saw me, I heard them and their darn cow bells before I even saw them!    So, a HUGE thanks goes out to Terri, Tani, Aaron, Jennifer, Jeanne, Phillip, and Rick for sticking around after your races.   Also, was pretty cool to see Kathy at the very end and have her put the medal around me neck!

High fives for us, Kathy is in the hat and those are her two boys; Evan and Scott!   Thank goodness for great volunteers!  

The happy finishers;   Rick (first 1/2 duathlon completed), Jennifer (first in AG - oly du), me (3rd AG), Tani (best spectator ever), and Jeanne (first AG sprint tri).

My stats since last update:

9/24: rest

9/25: hour ride (easy)

9/26: Deer Creek 70.3(1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run):  6:19:02

9/27: rest

9/28: 2200 swim

9/29: 30 min run

9/30: 35 minute strength

10/1:  45 minute run

10/2: rest

10/3:  10 mi run

10/4: rest

10/5: swim 2200, strength 35 min

10/6: 64 min run

10/7: 30 min run

10/8: rest

10/9: 12 mi run

10/10:  31 mile ride

10/11:  rest

10/12:  swim 2200, strength 35 min

10/13: 50 min run, 15 core strength

10/14: 30 min run

Local Matters

October 2-8, 2010 was the Eat Local Challenge for Central Ohio.   There was a list of things that you were supposed to pick 3 things from and try out in the week.   I decided to 1) Go to a local farmer's market and purchase locally grown food.  2) Prepare and share a recipe using local ingredients. 3) Eat out at a restraunt that uses local ingredients.    I am happy to share that I was able to accomplish all 3 of these things and am trying to continue on with these things this week as well!

Last weekend I shopped at the North Market and found some locally grown apples (that looked awesome), onions and greens (spinach and arugula).   That evening I already had dinner plans at Due Amici with friends.   I was pleased to find out that they do use locally produced food and I had a wonderful meal of Pork with Sweet Potatoe Risotto and Asparagus, which was on special for the night!     Sweet - 2 of my 3 goals had been met in one day!  

The next day, I was to have supper with my family.   I have an aunt and uncle (Jim and Elaine) who were in from out of town visiting for a long weekend.   Elaine has some food sensitivities and has to eat a fairly restricted diet that includes no wheat based products and dairy, to name a few.   I figured that this would be the perfect time to try a new recipe with some of the local ingredients I had purchased the day before.  

Using the apples and onion I had found worked perfectly in this Apple and Parsnip Soup.  What was even better was that my aunt enjoyed the soup enough that she copied the recipe for herself!    Yay!  Goal #3 met. 

I had also found another recipe which was really good and could be used as an appetizer or maindish.   I used it as a maindish and served a salad on the side later in the week for one my own meals.    The Brie, Apple, and Arugula Quesadillas were really good and easy to make! 

So, I enjoyed this fun little challange and would suggest that anyone try it around there town.   It is nice to support the local farmers and I think it is a great way to try new things and recipes if you like to cook or eat out! 

MMM, Butternut Squash

With Autumn comes lots of wonderful fall veggies.   One of my favorites is butternut squash, so when I found a really good one last week I was very excited.    I contemplated all week long what I wanted to make with it, there are so many good things: butternut squash ravioli, butternut squash soup, roasted butternut squash, butternut squash bread pudding . . .you get the picture.    I finally decided that I wanted to try a butternut squash risotto, I had eaten a sweet potatoe one a few weeks ago and loved it - so the thought of trying one with butternut squash sounded even better!  

After searching through all my cookbooks and on-line I found this recipe for butternutt squash risotto that I decided to follow.    I have never made a risotto before, mostly because it is supposed to be hard to make.   But after reading through the directions, I realized it really isn't all that challenging to make, you just have to have patience because there are multiple steps and it just takes along time to make good risotto!

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage
serves 4 (or one with multiple containers for leftover meals)


1 small butternut squash (you will probably use just one half)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion, diced (I used shallots instead)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup white wine
4-6 cups chicken stock, warmed on the stove in a pot
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

First you have to roast the butternut squash.   There are other recipes which call for cubing the butternut squash and cooking it with the onions and garlic, but there is something about roasting that is so much better.   I think it is the carmelization of the squash that doesn't occur with other methods of cooking it.    So to roast it, I have found the best way is to cut into cubes and then lightly coat with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.   I have also found that if you line a pan with aluminum foil first, it is much easier to clean up afterwards.   Depending on the size of the cubes you can roast at 350 to 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until desired doneness.

After about 20 minutes of roasting I decided to start the rest of the cooking process.   Once the butternut squash got done, I just turned off the oven and let the pan sit until I was ready to use the squash. 

With risotto you start with the onion first to soften.

Next step is to add the garlic for a minute or so, then the rice for just a few minutes until it starts to get golden.

The next step is to start to add the first of the liquids and any spice you are using.  In this recipe it is a white wine, but you can use veggie or chicken broth for all of it.

From this point on, this is where it is a waiting a being patient game.   You add a little heated stock (I used chicken) at a time, stir and let simmer until the liquid boils down.   Repeat until all the stock is gone and the rice has taken on a creamy texture.

The author of this recipe suggests that you do other things in the kitchen during this process, such as clean, cut up and prepare other foods for the meal, or drink wine.   I think I could get on board with this!

Drinking wine while cooking?  Priceless!   I also opted to clean my apartment at the same time.   Worked well and looked something like this:  take sip of wine, vacuum living room, stir risotto and add stock, gulp of wine, vacuum bedroom, sip of wine, stir risotto . . .you get the picture.    All in all it was a very productive afternoon/eveing!  

Last step is to add in the squash and cheese for the finished product!   I ate mine as a maindish and added a spinach salad (and more wine) to round out this great meal! 

My stats for the past few weeks:

9/6/10:  32 mile bike

9/7/10: 40 minute recovery run, 30 min strength train

9/8/10: rest (book club)

9/9/10:  hour bike (17 miles), 30 min run

9/10/10:  2800 swim (200 warm up, 5x500, 100 cool down)

9/11/10:  10 mile run

9/12/10:  Rev3 1/2 IM Relay - bike 56 miles (3:08)

9/13/10: 2000 swim

9/14/10:  55 minute run (5.5 miles?), 30 min strength

9/15/10:  17 mile bike

9/16/10:  40 minute run (4.25mile, middle 2 mile tempo run)

9/17/10:  rest

9/18/10:  6 mile run, 20 minute open water swim at Alum

9/19/10:  44 mile ride

9/20/10:  40 minute run

9/21/10:  2200 swim, 30 min strength

Rev3 Racing Weekend

Team MIT Tri Chicks

Last weekend I had the opportunity to do a 1/2 IM as a relay team.   This is something I have never done before, so when Kathy emailed Kristen and I a few months ago about doing this, I was very intrigued.   So, after a little discussion and figuring out who would do what leg, we decided to sign up and give it a try!  

This was the inagural race for the Rev3 Tri at Cedar Point.   We had to go up the day before to register and get the bike into the transition area before 5pm.   Most of the bigger sized races require that you do this prior to race day and there isn't race day registration.    Not sure the reason, but it does make it easier race day because you don't have to haul as much gear or worry about how long the registration lines are going to be on that given day.    So, by 4:30pm we were checked in and ready to go with nothing else to do the rest of the evening. 

The OSU vs. Miami was the same day, so someone suggested BW3, sounded good - so a few of us went there to kill some time and watch the game.    We then ventured over to a local Italian Place and did our carbo loading for the night!

Race morning always comes early.   This was no exception.   It was suggested that we try to be there by 6:15am to get our body marking done.   Normally this flows pretty well, you get your marking done, then go to the transition area and check all of your stuff, then get the wet suit on if appropriate, and before you know it - the race is starting!   It was a little longer process for this race.   The full IM race started first at 7am, then they let the 1/2 IM group go at 8:30am but in waves.   The Relay Teams got to start in the last wave, which meant our start time wasn't until 8:50am!   So, we got to sit around for several hours before the race even started for us.    It was fun though, because we did get to see everyone else get ready and had some nice bonding time as fellow racers . . .

Kathy and I getting body marked, very early in the morning.

Found a fellow racer, who also got there way early . . .(Kathy, Me, Rocco, Kristin)

We set up our own area outside of the transition so that the spectators and racers would have a common place to meet and get ready while they waited.   Kristen had the longest wait of everyone since she did the running leg of the relay.   This would mean waiting until 12:15 to 12:30pm to start depending on how quickly Kathy and I could do our legs!   Kristen had the right idea by bringing the recliner chair so she could rest her legs! 

Getting on the wetsuit truely is an artform and there is much discussion on what is the best way to do this . . .Some spray Pam or Cooking Spray on their bodies to make it go on easier and many use body glide.  You can see that this group used a variety of methods including, but not limited to, wetsuit calithenics and other friends to help zip and get into the suit!

Swim start finally arrived and most everyone headed down to the beach to get ready. 

When there are "wave starts" to a race, they typically break up the groups and start them at different times, rather than everyone starting together.   Each wave is typically indicated by age group, sex, and/or weight.   Different color swim caps normally designate who is which wave.

As I mentioned before, the Relay Teams started in the last wave - they grouped us with the 45+women and the clydsdale athletes.   Apparently someone thought those would be the slowest swimmers.   Not so, Kathy actually caught up with and passed some swimmers in the 2 waves that started prior to hers! 

We didn't catch Kathy coming out of the water, but we did spot our friend John, he was actually only a minute or so ahead of Kathy . . .

Kathy made it back into transtion after a 40 minute swim (1.2 miles), we exchanged the race chip and then I was off to start the leg loop of the tri (56 miles).   The course itself wasn't really that challenging - a few steep but short hills and one segment that had about 10 miles of rolling hills.   Would actually have been a pretty easy bike for me except that there were 15-17 mph winds that day.   Wind is not my friend on the bike and I would rather deal with anything else.   And wouldn't you know it, but the last 15 miles or so on the bike provided us with a nasty little headwind!  No worries, I gutted it out and although it wasn't the time I was hoping for, I was able to finish the bike in 3:08.  

Meanwhile, Kristen is still waiting in transition.  Not sure what all she did for 3 hours while I was out there, but someone snagged a shot of her stretching and getting ready for her run.

Whatever she did, it worked!   I came into to transition, Kristen took the timing chip from my ankle, and in 36 seconds our transition was complete and she was off on the run (13.1 miles)!

Once I caught my breath, got the bike put away and my legs stopped shaking, I stretched, changed clothes then met up with Kathy and Kristen's husband, Ben.   We put a few things in the car and then headed to the finish line, which was inside of Cedar Point Amusement Park.    That was one of my favorite parts at being part of the relay - I actually got done early enough to see most of my friends be able to finish.   It was especially cool because I was able to cheer on two of my friends, Rocco and Stephanie, as they finished their first 1/2 IM distance!

Rocco, looking strong with a 5:35 finish!

Stephanie is on the left, apparently she ran 10 miles with this girl and they exchanged recipes and other things while passing time on the run!

The other really cool thing is that they let all the team members run down the final stretch so that everyone can finish together!   Kathy and I went back and forth on this because we knew Kristen was on her way to a PR time for the half marathon distance.   We were both in flip flops and weren't sure we could run her pace, on the otherhand we wanted to finish as a team!    We opted to jump in and run as fast as we could!

In our exuberance we almost left Kristen behind!   But we slowed and all got to finish together with a final time of 5:36 (Kristen's 13.1 mile run was a 1:46 PR)!!

PR, baby!

Finally, after a 6 years, I was able to set a new PR for myself for the Half Marathon Distance!  My very first half marathon I had set my PR 2:06:04, and had yet to beat it!

I originally signed up for this race because it was so close to my home and I know the race course fairly well.   The start of the race was only 1 mile from my house - perfect!   It isn't often that one can actually be close enough to walk to the race start!     It was also being sponsered by my workplace and I have friends that helped to run the event.    So, once I read about it, I was in and I am so glad that I did it!


Race morning started with near perfect temps - 50 degrees when I woke up!   I ate a quick breakfast, got ready, and did a light jog over to the race start.   Fortunately Fleet Feet had a tent, so I was able to drop off a bag with extra clothes, meet up with my friends, and have time to stand in line for the bathroom.     There were just shy of 1,500 participants so the race was a good size but not too big as we got off right on time.  


This race was a half marathon distance and a "quarter marathon distance" and they had pacers for every minute pace.   However, since more people had signed up for "half of the half" they only had them for that part of the race and not the full half marathon.   I decided to line up with the 10's today to see how I would do, despite having run 10:30's with all my long runs and not doing much regulated speed work this summer.  



I was pleasantly surprised that for the first 3 miles not only kept up with the 10 minute pacers (thank you Michele and Joe!)  but that it felt pretty easy!    At this point the pacers and all of the quarter marathoners turned to go back towards the race start and the rest of us kept going.   It was now down to Dawn and I trying to keep a 10-10:15 pace.   Right around the 4 mile mark, the one big hill on the course started.   I kept a steady pace and before I knew it, I had left Dawn behind.   I slowed at the next water stop and she caught up with me.   Decided at that point I wanted to see what I could do.   Dawn was using this as a training run so didn't want to push it, she wished me luck and I took off.   I put down the next two miles at a 9:15 pace!



The next few miles I slowed just a bit because I knew I still had a little over the half the race and the course went slightly uphill again just prior to the turnaround.   By mile 8, I started to realize that if I was able to maintain a 9:30 pace the remaining of the race, that I would be pretty close to a new PR.   I don't wear a garmin, so I was relying solely on my watch time and what I could figure out in my head.     At mile 10 my legs started to cramp a little but overall felt pretty good, breathing was on track.   Got to mile 11 and my breathing was starting to give me some issues, but I hoped I was still maintaining.    This is the point that it can get hard because once you start to get tired, you can feel like you are going fast, but that isn't always the case!   I hoped I was still as fast as I felt . . .Last 1/2 mile I tried to just go as fast as I could, minutes ticked by and I thought, where the heck is the finish??   Finally I rounded a curve and could see the flags and hear the cheering.   I put my head down, gutted it out, and looked at my watch as I crossed the finish . . .2:05:55!!!   

Afterwards, we all went over to Matt the Miller's for some free drinks and a really nice brunch. It was a nice way to finish out a great race!  

Thanks Jeff and David (the race organizers) for a great race experience!