A Burger Worth $21

I don't go out to eat as much as I used to, life has gotten really busy but some things remain important to me - such as finding the time to dine out with friends.  When something new lands in Boston (it's not all the time) we need to get out there and try it out - Enter, "the $21 burger".

I realize what that sounds like, it's just a freaking burger!  Well, no it's not, it's probably one of the most delicious burgers that I've ever had (only the burger at The Highland Kitchen rivals the flavor).  The burger itself is made out of prime steak vs. ground beef.  It's topped with caramelized onions and sharp cheddar cheese.  When they brought this tray over, the burger was the size of my head... just the sight alone made my mouth water inappropriately. 

I've had a lot of burgers in my life (including a $25 burger in South Beach that was less than stellar) and I truly don't believe that you Need to spend a lot of money for a good burger but sometimes it's worth it (and I'd be way too curious not to try it).  I've had a lot of really great burgers made at home and thrown on the grill in the summer.  Our friend seasons them really nicely and the quality of the meat is nothing more than average, but then again I can't just call him when I want dinner.  I'm also a big fan of In-and-Out and also Five Guys and still  I have to say that this burger at The Back Bay Social Club is worth every penny and every bite. 

This place serves way more than just burgers, they have a pretty extensive menu of Modern American food.  My appetizer was the Meat Candy, which was pieces of kilbasa marinated in brown sugar and pineapple:

This was also delicious, it reminded me of how my mother used to serve these at her parties growing up.  It was sweet and juicy at the same time, really just a tiny little bowl bursting with flavors.  I probably could have eaten a whole gallon of this and been perfectly happy.  Just seeing this appetizer on the menu made me really happy, it's something that I've never seen in a restaurant before. 

Three of us approved this place (Hi Natasha, Hi Abe) and we would recommend it to anyone.  The food was great, the place has been slightly updated, and it was an overall good time.  There is a bar that was pretty busy on a Thursday night as well. 

Lottery Fail

I didn't get through the ING New York Marathon lottery, which is both good and bad.  It's good because I really wasn't sure I was up for another marathon just yet, but it's bad because it's the only other race that I was really super interested in doing.  I still do want to run this race someday, but apparently just not in 2011... I am thinking that I may find a half marathon for the fall in the place of this race so I have something to aim for but not something that will overly consume my life the way training for the Chicago Marathon did.  I have a few potential races in mind...

The San Jose Rock and Roll Half - Oct 2
Peak Performance Portland ME Half - Oct 2
BAA Half - Oct 9
Amica Newport Half Marathon - Oct 15

Does anyone have any positive or negative feedback on these choices?  I have a pretty wide variety of races there.  I've always wondered about the Rock and Roll race series, and I really love races with major running support as far as water stops and such and I know they would have that.  I chose the Peak Performance race solely because it's in Portland, which would make a decent inexpensive weekend trip with a really awesome reward of delicious dinner.  The BAA Half is local, but if this race is as over crowded as the 5K was a couple weeks ago then I don't want to do it...and I have a feeling this would be the case.  Lastly, I chose the Amica race because Newport is just a really fun place to be so I know we'd have a nice weekend there along with a medium sized racing field.

Before I even finished writing this post I registered for one of the races - the winner was the Amica Newport Half because I have the ability to upgrade to the full marathon if I choose just days before the event (you know if somehow my training is going amazing all summer) and I like that kind of flexibility.  I also like the idea of Newport in the fall and it doesn't break the bank unlike if we flew to San Jose and had to pay for hotel on top of all that.  I really hope this was a good decision, but then again, this is really just my Plan B since the NY Marathon just didn't work out this time around!

Bear Hugs and Rants

How cute is this card that I got for my nephew?  The nose boggles around and the inside says something about "birthday bear hugs".  Anyways, I only post this because I'm in a horrible mood today and looking at this adorable card makes me feel slightly better.

I'm exhausted, my allergies are bothering me, and I am feeling really stressed and anxious.  This is a potentially lethal combination, and I also suspect that I'm going through post-Easter sugar withdrawals (seriously).  I skipped yesterday and today's run in order to let my leg heal the right way and not push myself before the spring running season even starts.  It's probably better to heal now than to pay later or like whatever.  Usually, I'm one of those people who has a really hard time stepping away and resting because I've spent my entire life devoted completely to one sport or another.  I always feel like: well it's just a few miles right?  Sometimes it is, sometimes it leads you to the ER.  It just so happened that yesterday's pain was so bad that I had to rest, and today it was just timing that kept me on the couch... not so much the fact that I really should have chosen to rest.

All day -
People were driving me crazy
I was second guessing myself
I thought a lot about our house hunting efforts very negatively
I kept walking into people - or people kept walking into me. Wtf?
Anxiety was constant
I fell down the stairs - just once
Some guy told me that my feet were tan - just once but on a very disturbing level (I don't like that he was even Looking at my feet)

Tomorrow is not going to be any better as I'll need to drive to Portland, Maine to a meeting and then back again in a car full of coworkers.  Does this sound like a good time to you?  Do you like to be tortured?  Do you like to put inside furniture, outside?  If you do something that stupid, you are probably that one really embarrassing rental unit in my neighborhood and I wish you would stop.  Also, please stop parking your pick up truck in your yard - a yard is not a driveway.  If you could, it would be great if you didn't bring a "boom box" outside either because your music is For Shame and we don't want to hear it.  Suck it.

Another Stupid Injury

Yesterday was a rainy and cold day so I decided to do a little spring cleaning around the house.  It started as simply putting piles of stuff away and somehow evolved into me washing all the floors.  How does a normal person wash floors?  I'm guessing the probably use a mop or something.  In my house, I use a bucket and a sponge and I cruise around the floor on my hands and knees.  I know how this sounds: 1. Insane and 2. there's definitely some kind of joke in there.  The problem with mopping is that it just pushes the stuff around on the floor instead of really picking it up, and you can't reach under the furniture and then it just collects there.  I'm not the cleanest of people, but I try to do this a few times a year to really get under everything and this place was really due for it: kitchen, hallway, dining room, bedroom, bathroom, spare room, hallway, entrance way, family room.  All that scrubbing on my knees and reaching under things like dressers, beds, heaters, tables, desks, etc. really started to hurt and sort of strained something a little.  I'm not really sure what it is, but it's in the land under my ass and sort of in my inner and upper leg - probably right around where a quad meets the hamstring... sort of the groin area along with my my butt.

Anyways, it hurts a lot.  It hurts to step up - like stairs for example, getting up off the couch, etc.  I really have no idea how to stretch it or help make it better.  I've been feeling little muscle spasms in that area, which probably is not a good thing either.  I figured that I should test it out during a short run - I combined a short run with an errand to the pharmacy because I had to go there anyway.

Pace was fast, and it hurt but it wasn't unmanageable.  The good part is that I can run Ok so I can re-join my Monday night running group tomorrow as planned - my first time back since October, and the bad part is that it's annoying.  I'm going to try a heating pad on it tonight and see how that goes.  I doubt I'll make it any worse by running on it casually, and maybe tomorrow I'll be able to pick up a foam roller to torture it into getting better.

Injuring oneself while running or doing something active is one thing, and injuring oneself while crawling all over the floor through dust bunnies is another thing entirely: lamest of the lame.

Weight and Running Form

An update on my weight loss progress:

Feb 4th weigh in: -0.5
Feb 11th weigh in: -0.5
Feb 18th weigh in: -1.5
Feb 25th weigh in: -1.2
March 4th weigh in: -1.8
March 11th weigh in: -0.2
March 18th weigh in: -0.4
March 25th weigh in: 0.0
April 1st weigh in: -0.6
April 8th weigh in: -0.3
April 15th weigh in: on vacation
April 22nd weigh in: -1.5
Total: -8.5 goal -10

Nothing is more shocking than coming home from vacation and somehow losing weight without really trying very hard.  I think that I'm just used to eating low carb now so it feels normal and without much effort.  At this point I definitely feel a lot more comfortable, and it makes a difference when all your pants fit nicely as opposed to sucking the life out of you.  When I hit my goal, it will be time to go out and buy a couple new pairs of jeans.  The only food that I miss is pizza, and after eating half of one last weekend on my own and then running a solidly Mehh race in the morning:

I will not be doing that again anytime soon - I'm sure you can see why.  It made me sluggish, tired, and apparently ugly-faced.  After seeing this photo, I watched Youtube videos on proper running form - mine is all wrong or my arm swinging across the front is all wrong in the very least.  I realize that videos on running form and actually practicing it are two very different things or running and having someone help me correct certain things - that's probably what a coach is for...

If you really want to see some good running form, check this out:



Go Go Go!!

Sugar and Sociopaths

Tomorrow, some lucky duck gets this all to herself to indulge in all work-day long.  It's our first annual Easter Basket Exchange for the over worked, under appreciated girls-who-love-candy.  In the basket I've prepared ever so carefully: Reeses Pieces shaped as a carrot, Reeses Pieces in Easter colors, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Pastel Classic M&Ms, Peanut M&Ms, Robin's Eggs, Starburst Jellybeans, Sweet Tarts shaped as chickens, Kit Kats, Cadbury Eggs, Caramel Cadbury Eggs, and Snickers.  I may have sampled many of the items in this generous basket of goodness, and I was not expecting the Peanut M&Ms to speak to me the way they did... so rudely/seductively, they were my favorite.  I'm hoping that tomorrow finds me an equally as drool-worthy basket of treats to get me through the week.  Sure, I'm still on my low-carb diet, but I'm also at a very good place with my weight and I wouldn't ever skip a holiday - I'll post an update after Friday's weigh in.

We've been spending a lot of time in front of the TV lately watching seasons of Dexter.  When it comes to things like movie channels, for some reason it's almost the Only place in our lives that we truly skimp to save a penny.  There's just a part of me that says: cable is so effing expensive already, why add even more cost to it so that I can sit on the couch for even longer?  The longer I sit, the bigger my ass expands.  At one point we had 3 free months of the movie channels and I was totally and completely obsessed and I never had time to do anything!  Luckily for technology, we have finally gotten around to watching seasons of shows in complete and total marathon fashion.

Our favorite serial killer is invading even our simple everyday conversations.

Abe: I cleaned out the car.
Me: What about all the stuff in the trunk?
Abe: Threw it out.
Me: Good, I can fit a body in there now.
--------------------
Abe: I found Dexter's kill shirt online...
Me: I found a Dexter bobble head on Amazon in the kids 5-7yr old toys for some reason while looking for Grant's birthday gift...

This new obsession can only take us so far since there are only so many seasons before we're totally caught up and then stuck in a sad and lonely waiting period.  While being thoroughly amused by Deb's foul mouth and Dexter's complete social awkwardness, we've learned to live by Harry's code... I kid, we haven't killed anyone yet... because we don't have a boat... I kid...

B.A.A. 5K mini race recap

Today didn't work out all that well for me.  I woke up early for the the BAA 5K with a nasty stomach ache because sometimes lessons need to be learned the hard way.  I ate half a large Papa Ginos Pizza (the works obviously) followed by buffalo wings for dinner last night... this was the first pizza I've had in two months so of course I went totally over board.  Not only was my stomach unhappy but it was raining and I was running late.  I bolted out the door and had to drive to the race instead of taking the T as planned so this stressed me out even more.  Once I got there, I warmed up and then headed straight for a port a potty to pee... I waited 10 minutes then ran out of time and had to hold it for the race.  There's nothing worse than having a totally full bladder while you're standing there listening to national anthem knowing that you're not going to be able to pee for a while and this is about to be very uncomfortable.

The rain wasn't that bad, high 40s and just sprinkling.  Everyone was over dressed, including myself.  The course was very hilly, as they went through Boston Common and Beacon Hill, luckily I sort of enjoy uphills - not so much the downhills.  I'm never very good at running down hill, this is usually when people fly right by me.  The BAA frowns upon iPods, so I didn't use mine and it's kind of odd hearing all sorts of things that I wouldn't normally hear during a race: people chatting, dads coaching their kids, people yelling funny things on the sidelines, and all sorts of bitching and moaning... the worst part was the utter silence though, sometimes it was just Really quiet.  Just listening to each runner's shoes hitting the pavement is not something I usually pay much attention to.

I really thought that I lined up right where I belonged, but apparently the rest of the 4,000+ runners didn't.  My Garmin didn't work so I don't know my exact splits, but I can tell you they weren't impressive.  My first mile was basically a forced jog, and there were just so many runners there that I couldn't ever really freaking run.  I was constantly dodging walkers and getting boxed into chatty joggers or just stuck behind a troop of 11min milers.  The entire race was unusually frustrating, my net time was 25:24 which is about 15 seconds slower than my last 5K but 2 minutes faster than this course last year (I don't remember the massive crowds last year!).  I can't really complain too much because although it was frustrating it wasn't physically that gut wrenching so I have some faster times to come - in smaller races... I wish I had one next weekend!

Face Size Comparison

I would like to take a moment and do a face size comparison.

January 30, 2011: Orlando, Florida
Cheeks are Filled Out, almost like I'm storing some acorns or something.  Bam.

April 2, 2011
Miami, Florida
Thank God the cheeks are smaller, sure I'm making sort of a weird face but whatever.  This is me after 2 months of a low carb diet.

Would you rather have a puffy face or a puffy ass when you're holding on to a few extra pounds?  Not to say that my ass also wasn't puffy, It was, but say you had the choice...  I'd rather have a big butt.

This is really all I had to say.

Running: Asthma and Minimal Shoes

Yeah, I wear this shirt in public all the time - and I love it!  I think it really suits me... I'm pretty sure that Hello Kitty is shy in her own way too... I feel extra shy these days.  If you know an 8 year old that needs a cute t-shirt or if you need a stereotypical gift, you can find it Here.

Today after work, I set out for an easy run.  I planned on adding in some long gradual hills on my way to a university track but beyond that didn't plan on working too hard.  I ran and ran and huffed and puffed up the first long gradual hill but only 8 minutes in, I was having a lot of difficulty.  Unfortunately for me, my allergy induced asthma decided to show it's ugly ass face today for the first time this season.  It likes to bother me during April, May, September and October - seems totally random but it's basically beginning of spring and beginning of fall.  Every year is the same, I set out on a run and find it impossible to get enough air even while breathing very deeply sometimes accompanied with the typical wheezing and coughing.  I think this is probably what happened on Sunday when I ran as well but I was in denial.  It's cool though, now that I'm aware of it, I can treat it and my running shouldn't suffer too much.  I have a 5K on Sunday, so hopefully I still do all my scheduled runs this week.  Whatever though, a 5K never killed anyone especially during Boston Marathon frenzy. 

Enough complaining from me - it seems like everyone is battling something these days!  I've been reading a lot about blogger running injuries, everyone and their mother is either injured or having a hard time locating motivation.  I have no tips in this department.  I've only suffered a couple really weird injuries, I know nothing about water jogging or tapering, and my motivation is in a constant state of uncertainty.  I do know that if you qualified for Boston this Monday, and you actually make it here to run - you're in a much better place than most of the world.  That probably is no consolation at all... but hey, maybe next winter won't suck so hard and training will be way less miserable!

And now for opinions.  Since I've been concentrating on trying to run faster for shorter distances, should I be wearing a lighter shoe?  I'm not very interested in Vibrams, but maybe I should be wearing a slightly more minimal shoe than my Asics 2160s?  I really like them and all their padded glory, but back when I was fitted for this brand, I was training for a half marathon, and then later a marathon, so I'm not sure this is still the best option for me.  Does anyone have some good input on this, or is it more a trial and error sort of thing?  Thanks!

[Sigh]

This is exactly how I felt all day long today: hot, annoyed, and maybe even a little psycho killer.

Because Nobody wants to leave This to come back to 500 emails, multiple issues, a tight hamstring, and a city full of jerks... including myself.  This first day back was the worst post-vacation day ever - I mean like eating food from my fridge?  Why would I want to do that?  Where's the damn buffet?  My usual salad for lunch seemed much like rabbit food and my fish for dinner seemed much like a kitchen experiment gone wrong.  Life without turn down service?  Ok, Ok, yeah I know.  Turn down service is excessive and I could probably get by without it but it's a nice freaking touch.

And the best photo ever - by accident...

This is either a man or a woman shoving food right into their face in front of the water slides.  I truly didn't mean to take this hideous shot - I just got lucky.

Here's to a better tomorrow!

Vacations Should Never End

[This is me after waking up at 4am for our flight to Miami, dealing with temporarily lost luggage, and not yet with a cocktail]

We are back from our cruise!  I should probably start out with saying that this is our third cruise and the first 2 were not very good, but this one was pretty much the most awesome cruise a person could go on!  Sure, we knew someone working on it as a part of The Second City so we had a lot of people to hang out with who were entertaining to no end... they also knew where to go at each port stop for the best beaches and local food, but back to the ship.  There's a lot of things you can't control on a cruise - what kind of people show up (old people vs. spring breakers vs. school vacation kiddie vs. red necks hicks) but there's also a lot of things you can control - the type of ship you choose and the kind of vacation you want to have (lots of activities vs. just laying low). 

We like options, we don't like being forced to dine with strangers, and we like good food and strong sun.  The Norwegian Epic allows for "freestyle cruising" which basically means you can eat anywhere you want instead of having to sit at formal dinners each night with strangers (God, I hated that on Celebrity!!) and you could choose any restaurant on board to eat at (there were like 10 options).  There was lots of stuff to do at night, so you weren't bored and you weren't stuck doing the same thing the whole time.  We saw: The Second City improv show twice (very funny), Cirque du Soliel, Blue Man Group, and saw lots of really great live music.  I didn't once have to dress up, and being a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, this was perfect.  We were much more active than we usually are on vacations this time around.  Normally, I'm a real lazy vacationer - I just like to hang out and read and relax... I only had time to read 1 book! 

Our port stops were Costa Maya, Mexico; Island of Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel, Mexico (we didn't get off the boat here).  Our friend Mike took us to his favorite beaches at the first two ports, and during the third port stop we decided to stay on the boat and have the whole pool to ourselves (genius).  My favorite stop was Costa Maya because of the beautiful beaches, it's far from anything fancy, but at a very basic level it's gorgeous. 

We ate a lot, we drank a lot, and we got a shitload of sun.  I'm glad that we went, but we really are already thinking of our next trip... reality is too hard to handle sometimes... some people drink, we like to vacation, whatever.

I did hit the big huge gym 3 times while on the ship and it went just so/so.  The first time, I was really tired from a long day in the sun but made it through 3.1 miles on the treadmill.  The second time went much better and got through 4.4 sweaty miles, and the third workout was 3.3 blah miles.  None of the workouts felt very effective, but I was just trying to make sure my legs got some activity.  My first workout back after the trip was H-A-R-D.  It just felt awful, and my splits don't seem that far off, but man it hurt:

 
Running without the reward of a cocktail after just isn't quite the same...

Flying Out - First Class

My final pre-vacation weigh in:

Feb 4th weigh in: -0.5
Feb 11th weigh in: -0.5
Feb 18th weigh in: -1.5
Feb 25th weigh in: -1.2
March 4th weigh in: -1.8
March 11th weigh in: -0.2
March 18th weigh in: -0.4
March 25th weigh in: 0.0
April 1st weigh in: -0.6
Total: -6.7 goal -10

I'm getting really close to my goal and perfect timing since we leave early tomorrow morning for a week of sunshine and ocean.  I plan on mostly unplugging (besides Words With Friends...omg, I'm totally addicted!!  Does anyone want to play with me?) and doing a lot of reading by the pool, maybe even getting a little drunk...

[This is the face of someone who desperately needs a vacation...I'm also guessing that lovely Asian couple to the right is probably texting each other.]


Have a nice week everyone!