Cat's Angels

Fun weekend so far, and it is only noon on Saturday.

Last night I had a great time hanging out with my neighbor-girls and their moms. We planned this mother-daughter event a while back and while my mom had to go home earlier this month, the other moms adopted me for the night. It was such a blast. Everyone's moms are so great. We just hung out and had drinks/apps at Erin's place, and then they all headed out to dinner in Clarendon. I came home since I am an early bird with training at the crack of dawn every day of my life (or so it seems).

After a good night's sleep I was off to meet my teammates for a run. Much of the team is actually out in Luray today, swimming in the lake, running the hills, and camping out for the weekend. I decided to stay local this time. Those of us that stuck around met up for a run at TR island. (Note to readers: don't try to park there on summer weekend mornings. What a mess! I wound up driving back to Rosslyn, parking on the street, and walking down to TR.)

For whatever reason, my workout schedule only calls for 6 miles this weekend. Fine with me. Oddly, it seemed like everyone there was running longer - which is odd since at this point I would think the IMFL crew would be going longest. As it turns out, either they are on the advanced track for Florida or they are training for a fall marathon.

I wound up running with Kat and Sarah (yes, there's another Kat/Cat on the team - fellow z-ers can ask Tracey to tell the funny story about when Kat and I first met). It was actually a nice run. I finally got my new 310xt up and running, so I was able to track speed, distance, time and HR all on one handy-dandy screen.

On our way back we noticed a cyclist who was stopped and seemed to be having trouble with his bike. He was a bit off the trail, and Kat called out to him to see if he was okay. He was too engrossed in his repair to hear us. I noticed that he was messing with his chain, and suggested we go over to help. We noticed that not only had he dropped his chain, but he had somehow managed to drop it to the outside instead of the inside - (dropping on the inside is far more common and much easier to fix).

We told him we were triathletes and he moved away from the bike, since clearly we knew exactly what we were doing (not!). In any case, Kat held up the rear wheel, I fiddled with the chain a little, played with the gears, then moved the pedals while pulling the chain around, and ta-da, we fixed it. I was quite impressed with our quick work if I do say so myself. The guy was pretty much speechless. He fist bumped us, said thanks, and we ran off on our merry way (me with very greasy fingers).

That felt good! Cat's/Kat's Angels making the trail a better place. :) Good deed done for the weekend.

We finished off the run and as I ran back to my car I noticed that the bunch of cars that were all parked illegally along the sidewalk were all ticketed. Boo! Sorry teammates. I wish there was something I could have done. I headed back to my car back in Rossyln where thankfully, there was no ticket for me. I had parked at a one-hour meter and crossed my fingers.

What to do next? Well, it was still plenty early to hit the Courthouse farmers market. I have been seriously obsessed (yes, seriously) with summer produce for the past few weeks. I didn't think I liked blackberries until I tried delicious freshly-picked berries recently. Now I cannot get enough. My fingers are perpetually purple.

Blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, corn, peaches, plums, nectarines, melon, squash, chard, broccoli, lettuce. I. Can. Not. Get. Enough. I am going to go broke if I keep this up. But it is all so good, and so healthy, that I am not trying to stop.

The six pints of berries I picked up from the Westmoreland folks this morning.

Those blackberries are as big as my fist.

Okay, not really, But some of them are as big as my thumb.

I think it also has something to do with knowing that my enjoyment of these delicacies is limited. I am trying to focus on the positive and look forward to apple and pumpkin season....but really, I would likethe summer season to last just a little longer. Oh well. I pledge to make the most of it while I can.

Right now I am off to the salon for some hair care. The coif is looking pretty sorry these days. Between the chlorine, the helmet, the pony-tail holders, and perhaps the large quantities of sweat, my hair is looking the unhealthiest is ever has. My hairdresser is going to freak out, I am sure. Hopefully she'll have some suggestions.

Tomorrow morning is the 80-miler and I cant wait. I made up a recipe which Lindsay gave me. She calls it her bike breakfast. She said it is what the Garmin Chipotle team eats. It sounds great and I am looking forward to testing it tomorrow...yes, while I'm riding.

Here's the recipe:

Cook 3 cups of sushi rice in a rice cooker.

Scramble 6 eggs (I only use 3-4), add in a handful of chopped ham (or bacon, proscuitto, etc). Toss the eggs/meat into the rice, and our a small amount of soy and balsamic vinegar on top. Add salt to taste. Mix the stuff up, and then with a silicon spatula, mash it into bars (takes up about half of an 8x8 pan if you want them about an inch thick).

Cut into squares, put them in the fridge, and then wrap in aluminum foil when you take them on a ride. They keep in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You can also add parmesan cheese.

I used bacon...it is what I had in the house, and added scallions (from the farmers market, of course) to the eggs. The bacon was salty so I didn't use any soy sauce. I'll let you know how it is.

Think good, cooling thoughts for me tomorrow. It is going to be in the mid-90's and humid. Why did we have to waste the 70-degree day on Thursday being in the office all day??? I need flex-time.