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I couldn’t help but have a few pace numbers memorized going into it.

12:08 – pace from the Shamrock half in March
11:27 – pace for a 2:30 overall time
11:18 – what McMillan’s running calculator estimated for today based on my 15K time. (Most of the course is the same and similar weather conditions.) While it was in theory, feasible, I still laughed at it.

Not in a million years did I expect this pace number to shake out in the end: 10:53 per mile, for 13.1 miles. 2:22:38

The whole story is over here.

Still awake. At the rate things are going, I can get 2 hours of sleep on top of the 4 I’ve gotten since 1 PM. Not really concerned about the race, but I will be a wreck for the rest of the day to be sure.

I swear, if I could just get up and go NOW, it would be fine.

Idiot that I am, I automatically deleted the voicemail – I always do, it’s hardly unusual, but it would be nice to hear his voice.

Well, if nothing else, I will race, get breakfast, come home and crash out hard for a while.

OK, going to go attempt that sleep thing yet again.

After a summer of long, disciplined, slow, measured training runs this summer, tomorrow is the Quantico half marathon. Technically, the mileage is part of the overall training plan for MCM, but there is just no way I can treat this as another slow training run. I want to get out there and see what I can do and see if all these LSD’s* have really done anything or not. I’ve done my traditional “day before the race” breakfast out, had my pasta for dinner, clothes & gear are laid out and ready to go, and the “pre-race” playlist is going on iTunes.

I’m pretty darn stoked for it, but there is a little part of me that wonders if I’ve forgotten how to just go kick it. Seriously – all my runs this summer, I have been SO good and done them “right”** – I hope I don’t just automatically fall back into it, LOL.

They say the course runs fast, but I know it’s not as flat as Va Beach was last spring. However, I have run 9.3 miles of tomorrow’s course with the 15K in June, so I know what to expect for the bulk of the run.

It will be very interesting to see if I can beat my time from Virginia Beach (2:39:01). I did the 15K (9.3 mi) with a pace of 11:05. If I am under 2:45, I will be quite happy (12:46 pace), but if I can somehow pull out a sub 2:30 (11:27 pace), I will be on top of the freakin’ world. Thing is, I realized today that it might not be completely out of the realm of possibility. Tomorrow’s weather conditions will meet or beat what we had in June, I know the bulk of the course already, I know where the water stations are going to be, so no having to guess on that. I will be following my same “race plan” I had for the 15K which is walk the water stations, run the rest – with the temps, there is no need for preventative run/walk to avoid heat issues. There is a double hill somewhere on the course, I think it will be around mile 8/9 – that one I ran the hill, walked the flat and then ran the second hill – I think I’ll do that again, since the walk in the middle allowed me to be able to run and get off that second hill a little faster.

Regardless, it’s gonna be a gorgeous day to get out there and have a good time and be a sexist pig and enjoy all the eye candy.

* LSD = Long, Slow, Distance
** Keeping HR strictly in the “aerobic” zone. Not as easy as it sounds, but I did my first half with only a couple weeks of HR based training under my belt, and I felt it really improved my run, so we’ll see what continued application of it gives me.

Watching the HP pretexting hearings.

Ton of folks involved. Everyone says someone else authorized it. The someone else’s don’t remember authorizing it, or didn’t know what they were authorizing. The CEO is getting raked across the coals on this, and looking (at least to me) like a real weasel.

So, you authorize pretexting and tracers, but you supposedly don’t know what they are, and even better, it never occurred to you that this could possibly be unethical and/or illegal?

What a bunch of schmucks.

Edit: OMG, apparently their ethics officer is part of the marketing department. Yeah, that’s brilliant.

On so, so many levels.

I have the time and energy for real cooking. It’s hard to really describe how much that means to me. I’ve been on an Asian kick this week (chili shrimp, satay, tonkatsu and great sticky rice), who knows what next week will bring. Though tonight was Hot Italian Grinders (pretty simple, but it was something Mom always made and I never really *watched* her making them, so I was winging it completely from memory – the way back machine served me well.)

Dave* has gotten some good intel on what appears to be be a kickass German restaurant down in Triangle. We’re definitely going at some point – he’s in charge of ordering. I saw the menu, and it all looks fantastic – couldn’t even imagine picking one thing. Funny thing, just last week we were both bemoaning the lack of good German restaurants in the area.

I have good wine. Called the wine shop yesterday to see if they were getting the wine in I was looking for – after I told him the name, the owner exclaimed, “Aaahh, signora!! I remember! You liked it!” They just got a customer for life there. Went over there this evening, the truck didn’t show today – he felt horrible, but has my number and will call me when it gets in, and I have yet another wine to try out in the meantime. When I left, he went for the handshake. Screw that, he’s Italian (or from Jersey and puts on one hell of an act) – he got the hug and kiss.

As an aside, why the hell don’t we do that here more often?! Granted, I’ll fully admit I am a hug & smooches kinda gal to start with – but really, why does it seem that we’re so averse to a hug and a peck on the cheek here in the states? It’s so much warmer than just a handshake.

I also found a nice Grenache, another good Monferrato (Monferratos are the closest thing to a Bardolino I’ve found, and Bards apparently just don’t get imported much) and “Chilean devil wine” at Wegman’s. (Well, the Chilean wine is called Casillero del Diablo – if you want to check it out, it’s up at the main kitchen area at the moment. A good spicy winter red – Carmenere – perfect for coming in from a snowstorm.)

I have a lot of good people in my life, a kickass little brother, and one especially spiffy guy. Who really likes it when I stop by where he works for a coffee break. :) Who also appreciates the fact that I cook and make sure he gets fed. (Full time job with screwy hours + some stress = crap eating. Been there, done that – I will do whatever I can to prevent it in others when I can.) His quote, “You are a badass cook.” Can’t even begin to tell you how much that means from someone who gets paid to cook good things for folks. And unquestioningly helped me on my quest for a decent Bardolino, and understands the sentimental attachments to a particular type of wine**.

In other completely unrelated news, the fall fashion buzzword is apparently “butt ugly”. Been looking around this week for some long sleeved shirts & medium weight sweaters. Found some nice classically designed twinsets at Old Navy – snagged two tanks and a good universal black cardigan, and a nice V-neck sweater & some camis at American Eagle. Hit Ann Taylor Loft – usually pretty good – oh dear lord, I can’t even begin to describe the crap they’re trying to sell right now. Managed to find couple more sweater tanks & 2 long sleeved jerseys (one of which I had to make them take off the display cause it was the last one in my size), but passed on the matching cardigans cause they were freakin’ hideous. (Note to designers: Belted cardigans are NOT COOL OR FLATTERING.) Dave nudged me in the direction of REI, and I’m glad he made me think of it. Now have 2 nice mid-weight sweaters of a very simple design that will be perfect over my multiple black tanks & t-shirts, and a black zip front fleece, which will be “universal cardigan #2.” REI is very dangerous for me – but I was good and hauled ass before I decided I needed a snowboard or something along those lines.

Yes, life is good. I am so thankful I have all these things and the ability to appreciate them. I am so insanely lucky in so many ways.

*Dave = spiffy
**First place I had a Bardolino was London, in a great hole in the wall Italian restaurant, where I was able to get across to the waiter, in my very fractured Italian, that we wanted a good table wine, but I was not made of money…and we got a wonderful wine.

“Hey, can you hear the firetrucks in the background?!”

Let me say at the outset, if you’re not a wine drinker, I will likely sound like a total wine snob. If you’re an experienced wine drinker, then I am a rank amateur – so take everything with a grain of salt either way.

Tonight’s “dammit, the wine is too earthy for the shrimp” incident got me thinking about things and some rules/guidelines/ideas/whathaveyou.

1. If you have a wine you like, there is nothing wrong with sticking with it.
2. If you have a wine you like, but would like to try other things, a good sommelier is your best friend. You can tell them, “I like this. A lot. Because of these factors.” Based on that, they should be able to recommend other wines that you might like. A smaller wine shop is a great place to find someone like this. Total Wine is great if you know what you’re looking for, but if you’re looking to branch out, I still think a small, local shop is the way to go.
3. Hit the local vineyards and do the wine tastings! They’re not expensive and 9 times out of 10, you get a free wine glass out of the deal. No one gets hurt feelings if you hit a wine you don’t like in the process.
4. When you do wine tastings – take notes. Normally they’ll give you a list of what you’re being served and something to write with. When you’re done, you’ll have a MUCH better idea of what you do or don’t want to buy and why. You don’t have to “know” wines to take good notes – lord knows I don’t and I take a ton of notes. Earthy/peaty/mossy/oaky/deck-wine/crisp/smooth/fruity/sharp/cardboard/spicy/warm/makes-my-teeth-hurt-sweet/chocolatey/quiet, whatever. Things that will mean something to YOU.
5. When you take said notes, KEEP THEM. And then copy them to a freakin’ sticky note and put it on the bottles you buy so later you remember the characteristics of the wine. (This is a new rule for me, instituted tonight, as I now know that I picked the wrong white to go with the shrimp. Had I remembered how earthy this one was, I would have plucked another bottle out.)
6. These notes will serve you well later – many wines have a description on the back, and you will recognize properties from other wines you’ve tasted before. So, if you can’t find a friendly sommelier, you can start picking things out on your own.
7. Toss the rules of “white wine with X and red wine with Y” out the window. You will instinctively know what will go with what based on what YOU like. Tonight’s shrimp definitely needed a white wine. (Or a Zombie had I actually been in a Chinese restaurant, but sadly I don’t have the ingredients for it.) But if it had been shrimp fra diavolo, then I think red would have worked better.
8. If you wouldn’t drink a particular brand of wine, for the love of the gods, don’t cook with it. Crappy wine is still crappy wine, regardless of if it is has been cooked as part of your dinner or not. (Example: Cooking sherry. Ick. ICK. Get real sherry and cook with that. Trust me.)
9> ETA: Don’t be an impatient idiot like me and let the wine freaking BREATHE.

Lift your head, lift your head, Party on.

I love Wegman’s. It’s a total kickass market, and I wish it was closer to my place, but always worth the trip. The only problem is that it takes me 3x as long to shop there because I find myself wandering around aimlessly going, “Oooh, Ahhhh”. How many markets have the “Asian” section actually divided up by country?! The produce section is to die for, and I seriously have to restrain myself in the butcher shop, but I definitely know where I can get some good veal cutlets for some Veal Marsala sometime. There’s also the perk of being able to pull one of the chefs out of the kitchen for a coffee break. ;)

This will pretty much only have meaning to , but I am *this* close to recreating Chili Shrimp!!!!!!!!!!! It was a dish we used to get at the Ryu-En Chinese restaurant in Japan, and found something quite close here, but that restaurant closed. I already know what variations I need to make on the next attempt, but what I’ve got tonight is definitely edible and pretty close, especially for a first attempt at it. I picked up 3 different chili sauces to work with – one would be good added in small amounts to add some heat to things, the second could be used in chemical warfare (a VERY small amount is in the satay marinade), and the third was a Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and that was the one. Next time I need 2 bottles of it.

Oh – and the “easy peel” raw shrimp they have are awesome. I snagged 3/4 of a pound of 31/40’s and they really DO peel insanely easily – they slice them down the back, not so much as to be truly butterflied, but the shells just come right off with no problems.

And the sticky rice came out wonderfully – well, on the second attempt. :-D First time around I did the whole rice vinegar thing which is supposed to give it very sticky properties – yeah, that was so NOT the sticky rice I was looking for – the smell near did me in. I tossed it, and put the garbage bag out immediately. Second go round I just went with the straight rice/water and it was perfect. I have no doubt that it was the fact that I was using Sushi Rice and that stuff is just made to be good and sticky. Somehow I don’t think I am going to have a problem using up the bag.

Only downside is that the white wine I picked out from the beach inventory to go with it is too earthy. Good, but not the right match. I’ll survive, though.

The “just in case the shrimp is a complete disaster” satay that is marinating in the fridge will get to wait until tomorrow.

There is also a wine shop in Fairfax Corner that kicks ass. Il Vino. We went in a week or so ago on a hunt for a decent Bardolino. (Basically a red table wine.) Had a lovely conversation with the owner and discovered it’s just not really imported much in the first place, but he knew exactly what I was talking about, which was awesome, cause I think Dave thought I’d imagined this wine. (Seems to not be terribly well known.) However, he was able to recommend two other very similar wines. One was quite good, the other was PERFECT. Went in today to get a couple more bottles and they were out. :( However, the gentleman working today gave me a recommendation on another red wine and I’ll be trying that out, and told me to call the owner tomorrow and make sure they have more of what I was looking for on order. I want to make sure the next time I go in is when the owner is working because I want to thank him in person for the help finding the wines. I’m betting he can help me pick out a white that will go with the shrimp.

Good food, good wine, good people, good music. Not a whole lot more you can ask for in life.

Beer + Sangria + Wine = lots of fun, but a bit of a headache in the morning.

Though my weight hasn’t changed in the past year with all the tri stuff, my body composition has changed a fair amount, and as a result, my trusty 501’s don’t fit for shit anymore. Today I decided that I would go and try to hunt down a couple new pairs of jeans – low rise flares, no less. Time to get slightly up to date with fashion.

3 stores. 12 pairs tried on. The good news is – I *did* find some that I liked and fit and snagged two pairs.

I don’t know why I even bother going into Abercrombie & Fitch. Hell, I remember when they sold grown up clothes and weren’t using half naked male models for their ad campaigns. Tried on 2 sizes, come out and tell the gal, “The size 1 is too small and the 3 is too big, so I’m pretty much SOL.” “Oh, did you want to try the next size up?” WTF? Did you not hear what I just said? I am between sizes. Going larger is not going to help when I’ve already tried a pair that is too big.

Ended up finding what I wanted at the Gap (remember when all they sold were jeans? Now they’re just stuffed in the back of the store…) – what shocked the hell out of me was that I had to go a size smaller than I’ve ever worn there.

All in all, I like the low rise – my biggest problem with regular jeans has been if they fit the waist, they’re too big in the hips, or if they fit my hips, I can’t button the damn things. These take the whole “non tiny waist” problem completely out of the equation.

I am sure my mother is laughing her ass off that I’m sitting here in what is essentially hip hugger bell bottom jeans. She always did say that fashion runs in repeating cycles.