After the month of September, where I did a lot of running but no races, October was the month of races but not as many miles. Having a couple of taper weeks really gave me a chance to do something besides running for a change! Here are some of the highlights of October:
Running: Like I said, although I had two races, my monthly total was not my highest. The first weekend was taper week, then it was the big race, then it was taper and then it was another race. Total miles for October = 140. Over half of them (76) were race miles.
Books: Hurray! This month I actually read 8 books. This is mostly due to the fact that I have not been on the internet, but it also due to one weekend of flying, in which I read almost two books. I finished the Percy Jackson series. The others were State of Wonder, Bossypants, The Art of Fielding & Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Of all of them, my favorite was probably State of Wonder. The Percy Jackson series was fun, but was probably about 3 out of 5 stars across the board.
Travel: I went to Philadelphia and DC for the Marine Corps Marathon, but that will be another post in itself. I also went up to Sonoma county with some friends for a nice day of eating and wine tasting. We had brunch at Parish Cafe in Healdsburg and then went to the Williams Seylem winery for some wine and treats. They were having an event and there were tasty treats like local cornbread with bacon, olive oil and chocolates. To be honest, we never made it to a second winery! But we had a very good time.
Friends: I spent one weekend with my brother and his lady. It was fun, as it was the one year anniversary of Broski's first race. In the last year, he has gone from running a few miles a week to wanting to try his first marathon soon! His longest run to date has been about 21 miles! I am so proud of how far he's come and it was really fun to do this race again together. This time, since it was the day after my 50 mile race, I walked the 5k with the lady and her sister while Broski ran the 10k with Dad. I also had some friends from the Midwest visit on Halloween, and we had a great time wandering around the city, eating burritos in the Mission and enjoying all the great costumes.
Food: It's that time of year again! I made an old favorite, Pumpkin Spice Muffins and of course lots of curries, stews and bean dishes. However, due to tapering and too many office parties, traveling and friends being in town, I did not really make very good food choices in October. I ate way too much! I need to get a handle on that before the "real" holidays are here! I sure do love me some desserts, fancy dips, carb heavy brunches, wines, cheeses, and meals out with many courses though! And let's not forget nuts. I ate a whole (16 oz) jar of peanuts at my desk the other day.
Music: I really love our local music venue, The Fox Theater, which is small enough that no matter where you are, you can see the band clearly. This was the month of concerts! I got to see Passion Pit, Joy Formidable, and Two Door Cinema Club. I also had a great time at a Bryan Adams concert in Santa Rosa. Have I mentioned that my first concert ever was Bryan Adams? I have to say; he still rocks it.
Other Highlights: Finding a great new brunch place with fabulous corned beef hash (they also have duck confit, which I love!), hosting my Aunt and her boyfriend in San Francisco for the day, only falling off my bike once in the middle of traffic, the regrowth of my new toenail, the BART strike, a really great team pot luck at work, the Government Shutdown and a gorgeous sunset over Lake Merritt.
How was your October? What is your favorite Autumn recipe? What is your favorite brunch item?
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| Lake Merritt |
Running: Like I said, although I had two races, my monthly total was not my highest. The first weekend was taper week, then it was the big race, then it was taper and then it was another race. Total miles for October = 140. Over half of them (76) were race miles.
Books: Hurray! This month I actually read 8 books. This is mostly due to the fact that I have not been on the internet, but it also due to one weekend of flying, in which I read almost two books. I finished the Percy Jackson series. The others were State of Wonder, Bossypants, The Art of Fielding & Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Of all of them, my favorite was probably State of Wonder. The Percy Jackson series was fun, but was probably about 3 out of 5 stars across the board.
Travel: I went to Philadelphia and DC for the Marine Corps Marathon, but that will be another post in itself. I also went up to Sonoma county with some friends for a nice day of eating and wine tasting. We had brunch at Parish Cafe in Healdsburg and then went to the Williams Seylem winery for some wine and treats. They were having an event and there were tasty treats like local cornbread with bacon, olive oil and chocolates. To be honest, we never made it to a second winery! But we had a very good time.
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| San Francisco mini tour |
Friends: I spent one weekend with my brother and his lady. It was fun, as it was the one year anniversary of Broski's first race. In the last year, he has gone from running a few miles a week to wanting to try his first marathon soon! His longest run to date has been about 21 miles! I am so proud of how far he's come and it was really fun to do this race again together. This time, since it was the day after my 50 mile race, I walked the 5k with the lady and her sister while Broski ran the 10k with Dad. I also had some friends from the Midwest visit on Halloween, and we had a great time wandering around the city, eating burritos in the Mission and enjoying all the great costumes.
Food: It's that time of year again! I made an old favorite, Pumpkin Spice Muffins and of course lots of curries, stews and bean dishes. However, due to tapering and too many office parties, traveling and friends being in town, I did not really make very good food choices in October. I ate way too much! I need to get a handle on that before the "real" holidays are here! I sure do love me some desserts, fancy dips, carb heavy brunches, wines, cheeses, and meals out with many courses though! And let's not forget nuts. I ate a whole (16 oz) jar of peanuts at my desk the other day.
Music: I really love our local music venue, The Fox Theater, which is small enough that no matter where you are, you can see the band clearly. This was the month of concerts! I got to see Passion Pit, Joy Formidable, and Two Door Cinema Club. I also had a great time at a Bryan Adams concert in Santa Rosa. Have I mentioned that my first concert ever was Bryan Adams? I have to say; he still rocks it.
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| Angst over the Government Shutdown |
Other Highlights: Finding a great new brunch place with fabulous corned beef hash (they also have duck confit, which I love!), hosting my Aunt and her boyfriend in San Francisco for the day, only falling off my bike once in the middle of traffic, the regrowth of my new toenail, the BART strike, a really great team pot luck at work, the Government Shutdown and a gorgeous sunset over Lake Merritt.
How was your October? What is your favorite Autumn recipe? What is your favorite brunch item?
It sounds like you had a fabulous October! I'm looking forward to your Marine Corps Marathon/DC post, as I might be going to DC for a few days in January. Pumpkin spice muffins sound really good. I was thinking I might make some pumpkin walnut bread yesterday then I remembered how many papers I still needed to grade…. My favorite brunch food is definitely eggs. More specifically I love a crab cake benedict these days.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an awesome October to me! Love MCM and DC in general. Need to go back. I fired up the first pot of chili of the season in October.
ReplyDeleteMy eternal debate in life is sweet or savoury when it comes to brunch! I almost always go the savoury route (eggs benedict anyone?) but I am tempted by the waffles and french toast every single time.
ReplyDeleteYou had a big month of running in October with those two big races back to back! Your legs definitely deserve a break now!
I took a picture of The Parish cafe in Healdsburg because I thought it was funny to name a restaurant after, you know, Chalmette. LOL. The owner's probably straight out of St Bernard!
ReplyDeleteHI!!! I can't believe it's been so long since I've visited. I need to catch up. But, I had to say that I loved State of Wonder, one of my favorite books. Gorgeous pic!
ReplyDeleteI love Fall food...probably why I had to run so much this month!! I would say my favorite would be either apple crisp or pumpkin bars. Love them!
ReplyDeleteWow, 8 books! Impressive!! I'm loving fall food too- especially craving soup and chili these days.
ReplyDeleteNice work on reading 8 books! You fit a lot in this month between races, traveling, reading and such! October was a blur for me as I traveled about half of the month but it was a good month all in all. My favorite autumn recipe is probably vegetarian chili. I have been making that about once a month and it's so good! My favorite brunch item probably an omelet with lots and lots of veggies and salsa on top. Yum!
ReplyDeleteI get so jealous when I read your posts, I wish I could travel as much as you do. But I decided that this year I'll take the trip to Disney W with the kids. A big step for me and my family. I even booked the hotels here , just need to find a good flight and we're off.
ReplyDelete