Uneventful Afternoon

Hi, bloggies!

So, my afternoon was actually sort of uneventful. When I got home, I worked for about an hour– catching up on emails and trying to get ahead since I will be blogging my little heart out at the Pillsbury Bake-Off in a few days. I got a lot accomplished in a short amount of time though!

While I worked, I snacked on some peanut M&M’s and a relax Solixir, which was obviously a “snack of champions.”

When Mal got home from work, we took Murphy for his long walk of the day. Unfortunately, 90 degree weather does not agree with flat-faced doggies, so we cut our walk a little short. We still managed to cover about 1.5 miles in the heat– we just made sure to take frequent breaks to make sure that Murphy rested and drank water.

(I decided to leave my camera at home this time, so I only snapped one photo before we left– the boys on their way out the door.)

Dinner

When we returned from our walk, Mal offered to make dinner while I rinsed off in the shower. (I’m not used to this heat!) He found a jar of Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa sauce (from the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program) in our pantry, so he put it to work in our meal.

Mal ended up making a wonderful pasta dish with whole wheat rigatoni, Four Cheese Rosa sauce, and sliced chicken sausage. I added my helping to a big bed of spinach for some extra nutrients and volume.

This meal was ridiculously delicious! The spicy sausage added so much flavor and the Four Cheese Rosa sauce was a lot like a creamy alfredo, but with a slight taste of tomato. It was a unique flavor, but very good.

Dessert was a few more handfuls of (Mal Only) peanut M&M’s. I can’t seem to stop myself! I’m just glad that my husband shares!

2010 Boston Marathon Runner Profiles

Here are a couple more Boston Marathon runner profiles!

Meredith

My name is Meredith, I’m 26, and I’m running my fourth Boston Marathon this year. I live in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, and this will be my seventh marathon overall. Before I ran my first marathon in Detroit, my dad, who grew up in Holyoke, Massachusetts and is a runner himself, told me if I qualified he would fly the whole family out to watch me run the Boston Marathon the following spring. Well, I qualified, and what started as a once-in-a-lifetime trip has turned into a yearly family event. My immediate family from Michigan and my Massachusetts relatives line the course to cheer me on and then we all go eat lobster at Anthony’s Pier 4.

My best time in Boston is last year’s 3:29:26, and I feel like I’ve increased my speed and trained hard enough to better that by several minutes this year. I can’t wait to toe the line in Hopkinton! It always amazes me how painful the last 6 miles of Boston are on my quads, but it is so worth it. There is no better marathon in the world. Good luck runners!

Jessica

As of April 19th, I will no longer be a 26.2 mile virgin. I’m 25 years old and a dietitian/personal trainer/food blogger and New England native. I’ve had the goal of running the Boston Marathon on my bucket list for years. This past fall, I ran the Maple Leaf Half Marathon in Manchester Center, VT and loved it. I decided that if I was injury-free, I would research what it would take to run Boston. In December, I did my research and ended up deciding to run for a charity. For Boston, you can either 1) qualify by running a qualifier in 3:40 minutes or 2) run for a charity and raise money on their behalf. I chose the latter, and signed up with the Melanoma Foundation of New England. This non-profit, based out of Concord, MA focuses on prevention and early detection. When able, the foundation supports population-based research, but focuses on educating people about prevention and early detection. Most recently they have been working with high schools to get teens to take the “Your Skin is In – No Tanning Pledge” during prom time, and Dustin Pedroia’s wife, a melanoma survivor is their spokesperson. I’ve always been an advocate of skin protection, but didn’t have a personal story or connection to the disease. Consequently, within 6 weeks of committing, two family members were diagnosed with skin cancer. Through early detection, both underwent successful surgery and now we all practice preventive measures.

I’m really looking forward to participating in this event. Anyone from Boston, Massachusetts, and even New England knows that this special event is a defining one in the history of our community. I’ve been blogging about it since the beginning of training at my blog A Fete For Food and raising money on my Firstgiving Page here. In case any readers are there for the race, my bib number is 25140 and would love for you to give me a shoutout as I schlep up Heartbreak Hill!

I’m also looking to start a women’s running club in the Worcester area for beginners and advanced runners. I’d love to see some Carrots N’ Cake readers hit the pavement with me! Email me at afeteforfood@gmail.com if you’re interested.

Tagged as: 2010 Boston Marathon Runner Profiles, Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa, Boston Marathon Runner Profiles