How New England Girls Do It

It’s Friday! And it's National Bike to Work Day! And I think the sun is supposed to (finally) come out this afternoon!

Inspired by Julie’s recent incline treadmill workout, I managed to get up early and complete an encouraging 6-mile run on the treadmill. I’m trying to get in a good amount of hill and speed workouts, in preparation for the King of Prussia 10-Miler in 2 weeks. (I’ve heard it’s quite hilly – unlike Broadstreet.) Pace varied between 8’s to 7’s, and incline varied between  1.0 to 7.0. Done and done.

I’m heading up to NH this weekend for my nephew’s baptism and sister’s 30^th birthday! (assuming the rapture doesn’t occur tomorrow…) So, In celebration of my trip home to New England, I’d like to conclude this week’s blog postings with the following photo montage, entitled “This is How New England Girls Do It.”

(Warning: The following documentary will likely leave you with feelings of jealousy, envy, and extreme hunger.)

I'm sorry I'm not sorry.

(How we do.)

Some simple ingredients.

nighty-night.

Meanwhile...

and

Time's Up!

After!

ouchies.

Voila!

And - look what I found! GREEK WINE!

Cheers! Have a fantastic weekend!

Viva Italia!

(Warning: This post is less about running, and more about the reward of running.)

It was an excellent weekend. I "slept in" on Saturday (which, to me, is until 7:00 AM) and headed out for my long run of the week. I felt great, and planned 7.5 miles along the Schuylkill River trail - which was almost perfect until I realized the Dad Vail regatta was being held that day. I attempted to weave in and out of of the spandex-clad coeds, but realized this was affecting my pace way to much and hopped onto the street, which was conveniently blocked off to traffic anyways. Ended the last 2 miles with some speed intervals, and finished the run in 56 min 30 sec. Not bad.

So I obviously deserved a reward, yes?

Joe ran 10 miles (to obviously trump my run), and felt he also deserved a reward. Lucky for us, Philly's Italian Market Festival was being held this weekend! And so, the following debauchery ensued:

We headed down to South 9th Street, and wove our way through the massive crowd of Italian enthusiasts...

And Italian paraphernalia...

Until we found...

Bingo was his name-o.

What? He ran 10, remember?

(That cheesesteak may or have not been organic. I told him to ask if the meat was grass-fed. Joke.)

Moving on, I discovered these delightful Italian women serving wine! outside! on the street!

Two  one for me.

They were also serving Peroni! outside! on the street!

Confession: I'm completely ashamed to say this, but feel required to absolve myself of my sins. I did not have an italian sausage. Nor did I have a bowl of vodka penne. Nor did I partake in the roasted whole pig.

(I got a whole wheat bagel with hummus, red onions, roasted red peppers, and marinated tomatoes.)

I'm sorry. I apologize, okay? My stomach can't handle much processed meat these days! Besides, I was intentionally saving my indulgences for later, trust me.

But it was a damn good hummus bagelwich and I don't care if you judge me.

Can we move on now? mmmkay, so we continued to walk through rows and rows of veggie and fruit stands.

And finally stumbled upon...

The Holy Grail.

perfected with those teenie Italian flags.

look away, people. look away.

We shared a cannoli and a cupcake and called it a day. (Until we ordered takeout from Marathon and made homemade mudslides.)

So, How do you reward yourself after a hard run / race??