11th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday my hubby and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. We started a day with nice long run. The temperature was only about 32 degrees and no sun whatsoever so the first few miles were kind of cold. But as it is with running, once you start going you warm up quickly. Stephen did about 9 miles and I wanted to complete my Strava December Half Marathon Challenge so I finished the last 4 miles by myself. I also knew we were going out to dinner so extra few miles were important :)

For our anniversary dinner we decided to go to Olive Garden...nothing too fancy but always a good choice for a person - me - who loves pasta. You can't go wrong with Alfredo sauce. Dinner was delicious (it probably tasted better because of those 13 miles I ran earlier) and crisp and refreshing Pinot Grigio complemented it very well.
I can't believe that we have been together for 11 years already. It doesn't really feel that long, and look at us, still young and beautiful! :) Cheers to many more years together!

500 Festival Mini Marathon 2014

I have lived in Indianapolis for 13 years and I have always admired over 30 thousand people running 500 Festival Mini Marathon. Last year while sitting on my couch, drinking coffee and watching the news coverage of the Mini I decided that enough is enough and that I want to do it! I wanted to experience the thrill of running through the streets of Indianapolis and feel the goose bumps while running on the Indy 500 track. That day I signed up to take part in the largest half marathon in the US, not knowing that we will have the worst winter ever and I will be going through ICore in the Spring. I was very excited even though I did not have any time to train for 13.1 miles. This year the race took place on May 3rd and I started that day very early. I had my coffee and a bagel to give me an extra carb boost. We arrived downtown around 7 am to make sure we had a place to park.  As crowds were getting bigger my excitement and nerves were increasing also. I took my spot in the Corral T and we started walking towards the start line. At around 8:45 I crossed the start line and the race started. First 3 miles were pretty slow as it was hard to go around people because of the crowding. 5k into the race I had to take a potty break :) As we were approaching Indianapolis Motor Speedway I was very surprised to see so many spectators cheering us on. The energy and excitement was very high. Running on the track was an amazing experience. I did not kiss the bricks but I did take a picture of my shoes stepping on the brick :)

Once I hit the 10 mile marker I started feeling tired but the worse part was the last mile stretch of New York Street. So close to the finish line but it felt like forever. I finished the Mini Marathon with a time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. I guess it's not too bad for being my first half marathon but I was still a little disappointed for not finishing it sooner. Overall it was an amazing experience and I will do it again next year...oh yeah as soon as I cross the start line my hubby sent me a text message saying that he signed me up for next year :) I guess now I have to do it ;) I am a one lucky girl to have a husband that supports my healthy habit.

I did it!!!!!

Blanton Woods Trail Run

Happy Sunday Everyone! Since today was the last day of my Spring Break I decided to make if fun and enjoy it as much as I could. Once I finished all the homework due this week I convinced my husband to go for a trail run with me. We both like Blanton Woods Nature Park for out trail running. Nice quiet area and great, some adventurous, trails. Despite the 36 degree weather (I really hope that Spring is coming soon), we had a lot of fun. It was nice to see the nature slowly waking up from the long and cold Winter. We actually spotted two very cool hawks, some very unique little birds and squirrels chasing each other. After about 4 miles my hubby was ready to go home. He likes to run but not very long distances so I don't try to push my luck when he goes running with me :) I was also able to snap few pictures during our run....

On the way home we stopped at the store to get few groceries for the week and since we always get pretty hungry after our runs I decided to cook something yummy for dinner. I am a bargain shopper and tilapia was on sale today... that's how this awesome idea came to my head - Parmesan Crusted Tilapia! Within 30 minutes we had potatoes and asparagus roasting and fish baking. Perfect, after run, Sunday dinner was ready and done within an hour after we got home. And it was so delicious!!!!

And this is how my dogs spent all Sunday... they are so lazy lately!

Here are links for the recipes I used for tonight's dinner. The only thing I did differently on the tilapia - I coated it in melted butter and then in bread crumbs and parmesan. I did not use any lemon on it. I think it came out very creamy and the crust was pretty crispy. 

http://www.food.com/recipe/parmesan-crusted-tilapia-169764

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-roasted-potatoes-recipe.html