Rock ‘n Roll Dallas Half Marathon Recap Part II

This is going up a few days later than I had planned, but I had an extremely bad week this week studying my ass off for a test that I ended up failing.  I don’t even want to think about it right now and I especially don’t want to think about the fact that it might tack an extra year on my post bacc if I fail the class.  Nope, not thinking about it at all…

So anyway…

Here’s my recap of race day!  If you missed part one of my recap you can see it here!

Race day!!

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I had gotten everything together the night before and it was all waiting at the door for me to drag my booty out of bed and get going.  I woke up with some GI issues (we’ll just leave it at that) and it certainly made my race pretty miserable.  Once I got to the race I took some back roads and would around the back way to fair park and didn’t hit a lick of traffic!!  This is a great race day tip by the way- find the back roads to get to the race and you won’t have to sit in race traffic!

My only complaint about the race was the shuttle situation to the starting line.  There was no information on how to catch a shuttle.  No signs.  Nothing.  So myself and a huge group of people were wandering around fair park trying to find the shuttles.  We couldn’t find anyone who actually knew where they were, they were all pointing us in different incorrect directions.  We wandered around for 30 mins trying to find these shuttles.  When we finally found someone who knew where they were they were a freaking half mile away!  Across all the parking lots (if you’ve ever been to fair park you know how gigantic it is) on the other side of the park!  WHAT?!  So we all take off running because it’s like 7:45 at this point and the race starts at 8.  As soon as we round the last corner and finally see the shuttles they tell us that they’re closing down the shuttles for the morning so we’re flat out sprinting and I am literally the last one that they let onto the shuttle.  Holy crap!  Seriously why couldn’t they start and end the race at fair park.  There’s more than enough parking and space.  I mean c’mon people the shuttle situation was ridiculous!!

We finally get to the starting line at 8:05 and the race had already started.  But I was in one of the last corrals so it was okay.  They had a countdown and a fresh start for each corral, so that was pretty cool!

So we get started.  The weather is lovely and I’m feeling pretty good despite the tummy troubles I was having.  I am making really good time for the first six miles and was loving that they had so many bands along the course.  At 10K I was on pace to do my half marathon at around 2:30.  Then around mile six all hell broke loose.  The course was straight uphill from miles six to about mile 9. 

Pure. Misery.

My stomach was hurting and my legs were hurting.  The hills were so steep that I eventually had to give up on trying to run the whole thing.  I started to do a walk/run and the course got a little easier after mile 9 but my legs were shot.  My 2:30 pace went to a 3:00 pace.  I didn’t really have much of a choice since my legs were done at that point and I made a new plan to just finish in under 3 hrs.  So I tried to just enjoy the bands along the course and the conversations of the people around me (most of them were doing the walk/run thing too).

The plan was to just finish!  And I did!!

I finished in 2:56:46 which is about 8 minutes faster than my last half marathon!

 

Exhausted face…

 

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Second half marathon.  Done!

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Rock ‘n Roll Dallas Half Marathon Recap Part I

Well, I did it!  I finished my second half marathon!  This past weekend I did the Rock ‘n Roll Dallas half and I survived!  I’m going to split my recap into two parts to make it easier to read.  And also because I have lots to say!

Part I is the Expo and Part II will be the actual race recap.

Expo Day

So I went to pick up my packet at the Dallas convention center and there also happened to be an auto show there the same day.  It was nutso!  Parking was almost impossible.  I couldn’t find any free parking so I ended up having to pay $10 for parking.  Blah. Hey Rock ‘n Roll, you should have your expo at fair park next time! (seriously)

Finally got my packet and race shirt and got to wander around the expo a bit.  It was a good expo- I got lots of free samples!

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Really Brooks?  So weird!

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I love when CLIF is at an expo- they put out SO many samples!  You can pretty much eat a meal at their booth!

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Race goodies!

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Hey look- it’s a race shirt that’s NOT WHITE! (YAY!!)

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I wandered around downtown for a few mins after the expo- I wanted to get my money’s worth since I had to pay for parking!  Even in the middle of the city we like to incorporate a little nature!

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And then off to my favorite food truck (Zombie’s Food Truck) for a little lunch!  They just happened to be about a mile away from downtown Dallas that day.  They’re usually in Fort Worth.  I eat there a LOT!  Like enough for the owner to know me by name and yell out “hey it’s Sarah Snacks!” as I walk up. Whoopsie… (Hey, you gotta support the small local businesses!  Especially veg ones!!)   Next time you’re in fort worth look them up!!

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Hey….

What’s a vegan zombie’s favorite thing to eat?

Graaaaaaaains!!!

Hahaha!

 

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I got the beer braised (vegan) brat (braised in local beer, Rahr out of Fort Worth to be exact!), topped with caramelized onions and two kinds of mustard on a whole wheat bollio roll!  Oh my goodness so good!!!

I’m going to do a whole review of the Zombie Food Truck eventually, but I want to try everything on the menu first! 

Then it was home to relax for the next day’s events!

Part II of the recap coming at you tomorrow!!

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What to do (and what NOT to do) when your blog breaks

My blog totally crapped out early this week.  First it was a virus.  Then there was something crazy going on and it wouldn’t let me post anything. So of course I completely freaked out.  I thought a lot about just shutting the whole thing down.  I mean it’s been weeks since I’ve actually posted anything.  But then I thought about all the recipes I have on here and about how long it has taken me to create them all and how much work I have put into it.  So I decided to get it fixed up instead of shutting it down. 

First I had contacted someone who had helped me with my blog previously but they were charging $260 just to take a look at it.  Sorry, can’t afford that!  The next person wanted to charge me $300 to look at it.  Wow.  (And the thing that the first two people were saying was wrong with my blog wasn’t even what was wrong with it!  Glad I didn’t pay them the money and decided to keep looking!!!!)  The next person I found did wordpress troubleshooting for $50.  And if he couldn’t fix it he wouldn’t charge me.  SOLD!  Turns out something wonky happened when I had upgraded wordpress to the latest version.  He found a lot of weird files in places that they shouldn’t have been in. (Thanks for that by the way wordpress.  Lame.)  So he cleaned it all up for me and reinstalled wordpress on the bloggy and I was back in business.

P.S.  I’ve heard people are having TONS of issues with this new wordpress upgrade!  So think about it very carefully if you decide to upgrade.  And be prepared in case there are any issues!

So here’s what you do (and what not to do) when your blog breaks!

If you have a virus on your blog:

  • Unless you know what your doing and how to look for the virus and how to fix it, just leave it alone and find someone to fix it for you!
  • First run your antivirus to make sure it’s not your computer that is causing the problems.
  • Then go to We Watch Your Website.  Get a years subscription (it’s only $39.95- you will not be able to find a site that will do it for free. Trust me.).  Not only will they get rid of the virus for you they will continue to watch your site for threats.  They check it every 4 hours and if they find something they take care of it immediately.  The subscription is for an entire year. 
  • Even if you don’t have a virus on your blog it’s a good idea to get this kind of a service for your blog.  Do it for your readers.  Do you want to unknowingly give them a virus?
  • That’s it.  They’ll do all the work for you.  Your job is done!

 

If your blog is broken:  (The virus thing was easy to get fixed.  This is where I realllllly freaked out)

  • First of all do NOT freak out!  Don’t cry.  Do not take down your site or start deleting anything.  Do NOT try to fix anything if you don’t know what you’re doing! You will likely make it worse!
  • Find someone who you can keep in your corner in the future in case anything goes wrong with your blog.  I’m not so good with all the code and all that business so I need someone to help me.  It took me a few days to find someone. but I ended up finding Blog Crafted and he’s now my go-to blog guy!  He charges $50 for wordpress troubleshooting and if he can’t fix the problem he doesn’t charge you!  He had my blog fixed within an hour.  Seriously.
  • Sit back and let them fix it and know that you won’t spend the next few days freaking out trying to figure out what’s wrong with your blog.  TOTALLY worth the money.  And your sanity!

 

Well now that I’m back in business I’ve got a few recipes and a half marathon recap that I should be able to get posted this week.  Hooray!!!

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Cowtown Marathon 10K

Hey there!  Time to update the race page!  Last weekend I did the Cowtown Marathon 10K.  I’ve previously done the 5K but this year I wanted to try the 10K.

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The day before the race I headed over to Will Rogers Memorial with Laura to pick up my race packet and peruse the expo. 

Before we headed over there we hit up the Fort Worth Food Park with her cousin Jennifer and chowed down on some Food Truck food!  I got the spicy asian flatbread from the Good Karma Kitchen Truck.  It’s my new favorite thing in the whole entire world.  I’m completely obsessed with it.  The Good Karma Truck is fantastic- I’ve tried their chili and their taco salad before and I’ve yet to have anything from them that wasn’t delish!

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And the ladies that own the truck are soooo sweet!!  They just gave us a lemon bar to try and it was FANTASTIC!!!  To die for.

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When hitting up the expo I was on a mission to test out a marathon stick.  I finally found the booth and I loved it!  I bought one and I have used it every day to work out my muscles and haven’t gotten sore once after working out even though I’ve been pushing myself really hard this week and would normally be incredibly sore.  Bottom line get one!  This little thing is life changing! (though I would recommend trying it out at an expo before you buy it because there are several different kinds)

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RACE DAY….

The weather was great- a little chilly, perfect for race day!  The 10K started at 7 am.  At first I thought that sucked but since it started so early I didn’t have to sit in one bit of traffic going into or out of the race.  I also got a primo parking spot right by the starting line.  Score!  After that I didn’t mind at all that it started early.

The course was great too.  It definitely wasn’t easy.  There were several pretty tough hills but I kept going and only walked through water stations(I cannot run and sip- I end up with water up my nose and hacking it out of my lungs any time I try).  It also helped that a chunk of the race was on the part of the Trinity Trails where I do my training!  Familiar territory= super awesome!

This was my second 10K and my time was much much improved!  My last 10K time was 1:24:52.  This race my time was 1:16:46!!! I took EIGHT MINUTES off of my previous 10K time!  WOW!!!  Eight. Minutes.

Happy camper face!

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Sweet finisher medal…

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Tired face crossing the finish line… (look at my Polar HRM on the outside of my sleeve- nerd alert!)

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Apparently I give photographers dirty looks (this is my “I do NOT plan on paying $40 for this picture so why bother” look) 

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Has anyone ever had a good picture taken of them at a race?  Just curious…

 

The only negative thing about this race was the post-race food.  It SUCKED.  This is what they gave us.

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I wish I was kidding about this. I didn’t even realize this was what was in the bag till I got out to my car.  Needless to say it went in the trash.  They were offering some kind of nasty fake yogurt too.  GROSS Cowtown- seriously?!?!?!

The last time I ran this race (I did the 5K) the post-race food was fantastic.  What in the world happened???

Anyway I had a blast running this 10K and I’ll definitely do it again next year.  Hopefully they’ll have better food!

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Donuts

I’m don’t these need an introduction.  They’re that good.  Heart shaped.  Strawberries.  Chocolate.  Enough said.

Love is in the air y’all!

 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Donuts

(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 10-12 min

Keywords: bake dessert vegan vegetarian strawberries Chocolate whole wheat pastry flour donuts

 

Ingredients (12-16 donuts depending on pan)

    For Donuts:

    • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
    • 1 cup all purpose flour
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/2 T baking powder
    • 1/2 t salt
    • pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg
    • 1 cup frozen strawberries, defrosted and mashed up (I just used a fork to lightly mash them)
    • 1 cup nondairy milk
    • 1/4 cup applesauce
    • 2 T Earth Balance (or butter), melted
    • 1 t vanilla extract

    For Chocolate Glaze:

    • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
    • 2 T cocoa powder
    • 2 T nondairy milk

    Instructions

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray.

    In a medium bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

    Add milk, applesauce, mashed strawberries, Earth Balance (or butter), and vanilla. Stir until just combined.

    Pipe batter into donut pan using a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. You can spoon it in but they look better after being baked if you pipe it in.

    Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly brown.

    While donuts are cooling prepare the chocolate glaze by combining the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and milk in a small bowl.

    Dip the top of each donut into the chocolate glaze and let them hang out on a cooling rack until the glaze firms up.

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    How cute is this heart shaped donut pan?!

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    Love at first bite!!

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    P.S. Don’t fret if you don’t have a donut pan- just make them into muffins in your muffin pan and drizzle the tops of each muffin with some of the chocolate glaze!

    Happy Valentine’s Day!

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