NERC, GRT Training, and I2P Updates, Recipe and More!

NERC UPDATES

TRI PARK TRAIL RUN AND THE NERC WINTER BANQUET

Saturday there were a couple of NERC events that we attended. Saturday morning was the NERC Tri park trail run hosted by Guy Gadomski. This run was various distances. Before the run fellow friend and runner MAC pulled out an enormously huge camera. He works at WKYC - and wanted to film the runners for a commercial for the station. (Should be released soon, our scene did make the cut!) Our group (of about 20ish) ran back and forth in front of the camera a few times screaming "Go the extra mile!" I have to say, it was a pretty good warm up actually :) After the taping my husband, son and I ran with fellow runner Peg who is training for her first half through team JOA! Peg did great out there on the snowy trails! Later in the evening my son and I attended the NERC winter banquet (husband had to work). I used this as my cheat day, but still did well. I did not have any meat, but did have a piece of cake which I would have to guess included the typical eggs, cream, etc. My son on the other hand got a whopping plate of roast beef. And when I say whopping, I mean it! Anyway the event itself was a success - special thanks to Terese Dennison and Julie Weber for coordinating it all.

GLACIER RIDGE TRAINING UPDATES

This past week in training brought the NERC Tri Parks fun run and another trail run the following day. The trails were still quite snowy on Sunday, and for the first time this year I saw some cross country skiers out there. There were quite a few, I can imagine they were trying to get all the skiing in that they can given the way the weather's been! Overall this week went quite well and I'm pretty pleased. I just wish the snow hadn't melted!

I2P UPDATES

Check out this article in Breathe magazine on the upcoming I2P expedition, Expreso De Los Andes! http://www.breathemag.ca/news/general/expreso-de-los-andes

The Expedition website is now up and running as well, check it out here! http://impossible2possible.com/sa/home

The website is full of great stuff! There's an 8 week challenge that students can sign up for and this time they don't have to sit around and wait for their school to start the I2P program, they can do it at home for free! Finishers will get an I2P bracelet and certificate of completion. There's also a teacher's challenge, Science of the Run page, and when the expedition starts you can go to the website for the live tracker, photos and videos. It's such a great program and one I strongly believe in. Parents check the website out with your kids! You'll be amazed!

VEGGIE UPDATES

So far so good still, things are only improving! My husband was getting a little antsy and craving a bit of meat, so I bought him the fake stuff - but no way am I touching that! I add it to his meals after everything is cooked. My husband is now at his lowest weight since Junior High. Incredible! As for me the weight loss is slower, but am feeling really excellent and that's what counts the most! And I got an added bonus the other day, I walked into a store and the cashier asked if I attended college at Lake Erie. I had no makeup on, and my hair was still wet from running outside in the rain, so I'll take it! It's been almost one month now without any type of caffeine and it's still unbelievable to me that I don't need it. There's a great store by us which helps - we don't have to go all the way out to Whole Foods. It's a small shop and the people are very friendly. It seems I'm always getting free stuff when I go there, too! Last week I got an eco shopping bag, this week they gave me treats for my dogs. Really excellent place and if you live in the area you should check it out:

Heartland Health Foods

1477 Mentor Ave. Unit D
Painesville Twp., OH 44077
Painesville Commons Shopping Center

Hours:

Mon 930am-7pm
Tue 930am-7pm
Wen 930am-7pm
Thur 930am-7pm
Fri 930am-7pm
Sat 930am- 6pm
Sun Closed

RECIPE

On my quest for a healthier Pizza Crust I've decided to just use Ezekiel Tortilla Wraps. It's working out great! I love the Ezekiel bread and wraps and am purchasing them weekly. The bread can be purchased at Giant Eagle or Heartland Health, and the wraps I've purchased at Heartland Health.

Pizza

Bake tortillas in 350 degree oven until crisp.

Take tortilla out of oven and top with the following ingredients:

Eden organic pizza sauce

red pepper

yellow pepper

green pepper

banana pepper

red onion

spinach

olives

grilled eggplant

garlic

Daiya cheese (vegan) and meat substitute if desired.

Place back in oven and bake until cheese is melted (or if cheese less until vegetables are cooked according to your preference)

Enjoy!

LUNA SANDALS

I've been meaning to order some sandals from my Copper Canyon buddy Barefoot Ted since we got back from the event last March. Time slipped away and #1 I'm forgetful, and #2 I'm slow. FINALLY I placed an order for some sandals after getting advice on which ones to get from my friend Patrick Sweeney. I recently received my order and the sandals are incredibly beautiful! I can't wait to use them! If you want to check out some of the sandals (huraches) you can go to Ted's website at http://www.lunasandals.com/ . They also have shirts, extra laces, and bracelets you can order as well. Good stuff! Thanks Ted, Patrick, and Bookis!

Glacier Ridge Training, OSU vs Michigan Hockey Game, and Impossible2Possible Updates!

GLACIER RIDGE TRAINING:

The first weekend of Glacier Ridge long runs and I woke up to this big bunch of awesome:

Yes, that's my car under there!

Getting ready for the morning trail run I opened the door to discover over 2 feet of new snow that fell overnight! INCREDIBLE!

12 inch ruler didn't cut it!

Granted 10 minutes down the road we heard there wasn't even close to this much snow, the trails would've probably been ok to run on. However, the roads around our house were buried under 2 feet of snow (plows didn't come until somewhere around 4 or 5) and I could not get out of my house. I hung out on the treadmill for awhile, and got hopelessly bored. So my dog and I literally ran around in circles in my yard. 1 acre of pure snowy fun, and believe it or not our track was a lot bigger than the one at the local Y! (and a lot more fun at that) My neighbors watched as we went around in circles, I'm sure they once again were wondering what exactly was wrong with me. The day after snowpocalypse my husband and I went for a trail run at North Chagrin Reservation - nowhere near the amount of snow but the cold was biting. We started early morning when the skies were still dark - all but the beautiful big moon and sparkling stars shining down at us. It was a decent run, and we saw lots of beady eyes staring at us from the woods. It appears the deer like the snow as well!

OSU VS MICHIGAN HOCKEY GAME

My family and I were pretty excited to go to our first outdoor hockey game at Progressive Field Sunday evening. The excitement didn't last long, however. The so called "family" environment had planes flying overhead advertising "gentlemen" clubs. Hot cocoa was more expensive than beer. ($9 to be exact) My husband sat through one period until he conveniently dropped his mitten in the urinal, got cold and went to the car to wait for us. My son, sister, and I sat through another period until they decided it was time to leave. I'm not even sure who won - but one thing I am CERTAIN of is I wouldn't do it again. The whole atmosphere just plain sucked. Not too mention all the Ohio fans throwing snowballs at Michigan fans and pep band members. (Yes there were arrests made). Next year, I'm saving my money.

IMPOSSIBLE2POSSIBLE UPDATES

Awesome updates from I2P!!! In conjunction with Ray Zahab and Kevin Vallely's run across South America (1056 miles to be exact!) there will be a great FREE program for kids to follow. If your kids are interested in getting into running, use this program as a great intro ! It's an 8-week Physical Activity Challenge that they can do from home if their school is not registered for the program! (Which schools and teachers SHOULD register for because it's AWESOME!) For finishing the kids will get a certificate and I2P bracelet. Register your kids using the link below. Kids MUST have approval from a parent/guardian or teacher first!!! Encourage your kids to take the Student Challenge and follow along with their own training! Remember it's all free, I2P receives donations from individual sponsors and companies like Gatorade to keep programs at no cost to you!! Good luck kids!!!!!!

For student registration go to the link below:

http://impossible2possible.com/sa/challenge/student

There's also a teacher's challenge! Teachers click here to register, and while you're at it check out Principal George's story and goals. He'll be rockin it at the Ottawa half marathon in May!!

http://impossible2possible.com/sa/challenge

To check out the main Expreso de Los Andes website!

http://impossible2possible.com/sa/home

There's pretty amazing stuff on this website that you need to check out - these expeditions just keep getting better and better, the programs keep getting better - it's so amazing and...what's our favorite word? FREE!!!! Enjoy every minute of this incredible expedition and your own personal 8 week challenge!

Happy Running all!

Laurie

GLACIER RIDGE TRAINING, MMA, VEGGIE ATTEMPTS, NEW RECIPE, I2P UPDATES AND GEAR REVIEW!

GLACIER RIDGE 50 MILER TRAINING

Training is now underway for the Glacier Ridge 50 miler in April and I'm completely excited! This week was the first week of quality workouts in awhile and I have come to realize that #1 I LOOOOVE quality runs and #2 I'm out of shape! Time to buckle down and get to work! Looks like I might get lucky and get to run in some snow this weekend, too. All in all it will be a fun weekend of trail running and MMA (more on that later) and we'll also be going an outdoor college hockey game at Progressive Field - Ohio State vs Michigan. Busy but fun!

MMA

With the New Year brings some changes, and one of which is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)! We started going to Triple Threat MMA in Painesville. It's a pretty fun place and good people as well. The cross training seems to be doing me good as far as running is concerned. My son had his reservations when we first visited the gym, as he has never been a contact sport kind of dude. But the first time he hit me he started really REALLY liking it for some reason.......

VEGGIE ATTEMPTS

Another change we've made is we're making another attempt at going veg. I've read quite a few books on the topic now and am armed with way more knowledge than when we attempted a vegetarian lifestyle over a year ago. And, we are not alone as many of our vegan/vegetarian friends have offered their help along the way. My son wants nothing to do with it - so when he is not at home he eats as he pleases. He's enjoyed the dinners I've made so far, so at home he's not really struggling :) My husband and I said when we first started out that we would have a once a month cheat day. It's been only 2 weeks and I personally have no interest or craving for a cheat day yet, the dinners have been incredibly delish! So we'll see after a month how we feel and where we're at, then make that decision. Also we won't be demanding at special functions, parties, etc. (because we go to soooo many). *note the sarcasm there* We won't stress if we don't know if there will be something there for us to eat or not. If there's not, well hey that's our cheat. So I guess we'll be able to call ourselves vegan for 90% of the time. We're watching this carefully. My main goal this time around is not necesarily weight loss but to FEEL healthy. A woman grows old of diets, trying to look like the airbrushed models in some magazine. If I loose weight, so be it - that would be a mega bonus. But that's not our ultimate goal. It's all about feeling good from the inside out. My body is in a period where it's trying to adjust to the changes right now, and while I haven't lost any weight I'm noticing some positive changes. They may seem small, but they are exciting for me. One example: my nails are long. I mean LONG. Annoying long. And strong. Before this they cracked easy, were brittle - and it's only been 2 weeks. I'm ready to cut them off I can't do ANYTHING with nails! Maybe I'll try and paint em one time first though. :) Other examples: I stopped needing coffee, I have WAY too much energy now (not a bad thing!) and I am sleeping better at night. Great positive things happening and I'm looking forward to many more!

RECIPES THAT WORK

I haven't posted a recipe for awhile so here it goes! This is something I threw together this week not really knowing where I was going with it, but it was a big hit with my men. I don't even know what to call it!

Corn Tortilla Sandwich thing a ma jigs:

Ingredients:

Small corn tortillas, 1 large can black beans, 1 yellow pepper, 1 banana pepper, 1/2 red onion, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 can corn

Mix all ingredients except tortillas in bowl. Cook in microwave 5 minutes.

Toppings: Chop 2 tomatoes, green onion, and cilantro - mix in bowl and set aside.

Chop 1 avocado, sprinkle with sea salt, set aside.

Cook tortillas in oven until crisp. Take out of oven and top with bean mixture, then the tomato mixture and avocado, and your hot sauce of choice. Top with one more tortilla and enjoy!

IMPOSSIBLE 2 POSSIBLE UPDATES

Of course my amazing friend and coach Ray Zahab is at it again! The newest expedition: Expreso De Los Andes! Ray will attempt to run approx 2,000km across South America ocean to ocean, passing over the Andes during the run! In the upcoming expedition there will be a main focus and goal of inspiring and providing the tools for students to start their own running programs. Such a great program, the website for the expedition will be launched soon so check them out at:

http://impossible2possible.com/home

I2P Gear is now on sale again as well, get yours while you can! I have the gear and trust me it's GREAT stuff! See the catalog here.

GEAR REVIEW

Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 MP3 Player

I typically don't wear headphones when I'm running, not even in ultras. They always seem to be a pain in the ass, and when I'm on the trails I like to actually be "in" the trail if you know what I mean. The first sign I get that I'm over trained & need a break is if I have to wear headphones when I'm on the trail. When I'm running solo on the road however I'll typically wear my headphones. ANYWAY - my husband and I bought some new headphones, cord free by SONY. It's a pretty fantastic little device! I thought for sure the headphones would come off while we were running, but so far no problems. All the controls are in the earpieces. If you're into running with music and don't like the cords that come with your normal Ipods or Mp3 players this is definitely a great option. The player weighs35g, you can fold it, twist it, and another bonus for those rainy days: It's waterproof.

Have a great weekend and Happy Running all!

Reindeer 5k Report, Interclub Run Report, 2011 wrap up and Barkley

I hope everyone had a great holiday and hope no one suffered from any sugar comas :) My family and I traveled to Pittsburgh to see my family and one of my heros - my grams:

Grams is the best! Love her!

***************************************************************

REINDEER RUN WITH JEAN TOTH

Back in November the legendary Jean Toth asked my family and I if we'd like to go to the Reindeer 5k with her. "But we had to dress up!" She stated. We agreed and picked up Jean the day of the race. Our plan was to run the whole thing alongside Jean and have fun with it. We saw lots of great outfits there and plenty of smiles! Jean, my husband and son were no exception:

The race was a blast and time with Jean is always special - Jean's an inspirational runner, still running marathons and every other local race you can think of. Her next marathon is coming up in February in Arizona. WOW!!!!

***************************************************************

INTERCLUB RUN

This month my family and I also ran in the Interclub Run at West Woods Park. Dissapointment ensued as there was BARELY ANY SNOW. PSSHHT. What was this anyway? It doesn't feel like winter and I'm starting to get antsy for a significant amount of the white fluffy stuff. My husband, son, and I made up one team and went there again just to have fun, as none of us were training for anything at the moment. Luckily we weren't racing, as I had my first asthma attack of the winter out there. YAY! While there was no snow the temps were the coldest I had run in since last year. Those first cold weeks of winter are always the hardest to get used to, and I always expect bare minimum 1 asthma attack. You just have to put your head down and keep at it, because things do improve eventually! I had mine and hopefully that's the last one of the season! I kept running to finish my leg of the relay, but it was naturally a slower pace because hey, I need to breathe :) Poor NERC VP Sean ran past me smiling and talking and I pretty much ignored him. SORRY SEAN! I think I may have mustered up a half smile or grunt or wheeze of some sort.Despite that the event was a great one, and it's always great to chat with people from other clubs. NERC had a chili cook off there and I made my "Ass Burner Chili". Fellow NERC Beth and Mike Shaughnessy made a "Steelers Suck" chili to be funny har har har! (For those that don't know, I'm originally from Pittsburgh and yes I LOOOVE the Steelers! Lets just say I lost the chili cook off. Might have to do with the name. Hmpf. (I have to admit I did taste the chili though and it WAS yummy, AND I even voted for it! The name just really stunk) . Beth should be the one to choose the name from now on. After all she is the one that made it! ;-)

***************************************************************

BARKLEY

My goal race. #1 must do. (or try) So far there have been no female finishers of Barkley. Actually, they haven't had many finishers at all. 10 finishers total since the race has begun in 1986. I don't know why it is I want to do Barkley. I hate hills. I get lost easily. This race is notorious for both. If I got in it would be the ultimate challenge. I've submitted my entry and am waiting for word, I'm wondering if I should cross my fingers or not? One thing's for sure I will submit my entry every year until I make it there. I doubt I'll get in this year, but one of my running friends has also submitted his entry,and unlike me he is definitely the most qualified and I'm hoping he's lucky enough to get in.

Some Barkley stats:

Official distance: 100 miles

Unofficial distance, according to “Frozen” Ed Furtaw: 130 miles
Time limit: 60 hours

Fun Run distance: 60 miles

Fun Run time limit: 40 hours

Elevation change for the 2011 course: 118,200 feet

Average gradient for the 2011 course: 22.39 percent

Amount of runnable trail on the 2011 course: 59.6 percent

Number of finishers, out of approximately 700 entrants, since 1986: 10

Number of repeat finishers: 0

Entrants in 2011: 40

Finishers in 2011: 1

Female finishers: 0

Race record: 55 hours, 42 minutes (Brian Robinson, 2008)

Official record for futility: 2.95 miles in 31 hours, 42 minutes (Dan Baglione in 2006)

Number of runners banned from the race by Frozen Head State Park officials: 1 (Baglione)

Notable geographical features: Testicle Spectacle, Rat Jaw, Son of a Bitch Ditch, Meth Lab Hill, Big Hell, the Garden Spot, Prison Mine Road, and the Bad Thing

Typical nicknames of runners: “Raw Dog,” “Cave Dog,” “Frozen Ed,” “Old Gristle,” “Animal

***************************************************************

2011 WRAP UP

It's been quite a year, a year that I'll never forget. There were a few ups and many downs, but you just have to keep on trucking and remember the good that has happened. The Beast of Burden (both summer and winter) were events I'll never forget. Sam Pasceri and all the volunteers are excellent people and I highly recommend this race. The Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon is by far the highlight of my year. Not for the running necessarily, but getting to spend time with the amazing Tarahumara and my friends Caballo and his girlfriend Maria. The people I met during my journey will remain close to my heart for a long time to come. Barefoot Ted, Bookis, Patrick (all of the Patrick's), Ravi, Shawn, Diego, Maria, Leah, and so many more. I would love to go again but could not afford to go back this year, despite Caballo's generous offers - we'll have to wait a year or so to go back.

2011 and family running:

My son's first marathon was a special experience, he worked hard, put in the miles and ran his first marathon! It was a nasty rainy day but still a great experience for all of us. It was amazing crossing the finish line together! He says he plans to do one again, but not until his senior year - right now he's focusing now on speed for cross country.

My husband's first 50 miler and 100 miler were incredible! To quote my husband after his 50 miler "I'm never EVER coming back here again!!" Ha yeah he did BR100 soon after. What was that again?! I realized how much work crewing was during these events. I'm proud of both my guys and looking forward to a lot of family running in 2012 as well!

I hope everyone had a great year and hope you're looking forward to big things in 2012! Happy New Year, and Happy Running!

Turkey Trot 5k Report

So it's done - our family's first Turkey Trot! We all woke up early on Thanksgiving Day and headed to the Y. I haven't done a 5k since right after the Boston Marathon in 2010. It was strange running a 5k race again. I've been doing lots of work trying to get faster, and wanted a PR for this race. A PR is what I got! 21 mins and 7 seconds. (However I did NOT beat my husband. HMPF.)

I'm torn between being proud of this race and disappointed in myself. Proud because of my PR, but disappointed in myself because despite what the numbers show, despite my PR, I didn't push myself. I ran easy the whole way and feel like I could've broke 21 mins. Breathing was good, muscles felt great, I just got in a comfy spot and didn't budge. I didn't even get sweaty WTH! That's a big indicator I didn't work it, that and the fact that I crossed the finish line and didn't grab anything to drink, because well I just didn't work hard enough to need one :) So I crossed saying both "YAY!" and "DANG IT!" I got first place in my age group and 6th place female overall, and I'm pretty sure this was the largest 5k I've ever run. Over 950 people registered and 750 people showed up to run. This was great news for the Y who didn't expect nearly that many people. (Soon after we got a letter stating membership fees for the year were not increasing for the first time since we've been members - maybe it's thanks to the runners!)

The cutest part of the whole race was a little kid I was running next to for nearly the entire race. I believe final stats have him listed as 10. TEN!! I just kept on watching him, smiling - wishing I had 1/2 of the competitive drive he had. He was trying SO hard, pushing it the whole way. He constantly would look back to see where I was, how close I was to him. I think he probably would have beat me if he didn't waste so much energy turning his head and looking back!! I actually felt bad when I passed him with 1/2 mile left because he was working SO SO hard. This great kid came up to me after the race and told me "Great job!" Competitive but great Sportsmanship - I LOVE IT!

The best age group award ever:

Thankfully I won a pumpkin pie, because the night before my son and I were doing the prep work for our Thanksgiving dinner and he accidentally put black pepper in our pumpkin mousse!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and some Turkey Trot fun of their own.

Happy Running!

JOA MOVING SPIRIT TEAM, NERC TURKEY SOUP RUN, AND I2P UPDATES!

THE JOA MOVING SPIRIT TEAM

I'm proud to be a part of a newly formed team, team JOA Moving Spirit as a coach and pacer! We are currently looking for both runners and volunteer coaches/pacers to join the team - so read up!

One of my running friends, local runner Joe Vasil goes to church with a young boy (John Owen) and his family. John has a fatal disease, Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)

Joe and John:

DMD progressively wastes muscle and causes muscle weakness. It begins with microscopic changes in the muscle. As muscles degenerate over time, the boy's muscle strength diminishes. With DMD, ultimately the heart muscle will stop working.

Touched by the family Joe wanted to contribute and has done INCREDIBLE things already! His latest contribution to JOA is creating the "Moving Spirit" team. This team will help derail DMD together at the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. One goal is to have Team Moving Spirit runners in each distance - the 10k, 1/2 marathon, and full marathon. Training starts January 1 2012! There will be plenty of support through the team's expert coaches! If you need some motivation to get into running further distances, or are just unsure of where to start join team Moving Spirit! Click on the link below to register!
http://joainc.org/Runners.aspx

All the training you need to complete this amazing journey will be provided. We ask that you commit to training with the $50 entrance fee, which will cover your race day shirt and other miscellaneous expenses. We encourage you to take part in fundraising efforts where your friends and family sponsor the steps you will take to derail duchenne. Race fees will be covered with $1,000 raised in fundraising efforts. You will be given you all the tools you need to help with your fundraising efforts.

This is a perfect way to jump into a new distance. With so much support and running for a great cause, your experience will be nothing short of phenomenal - I promise you that!

Again coaches and pacers are needed as well - you can click here to sign up to be a volunteer! http://joainc.org/Coaches.aspx

The goal of John Owen's Adventure is to put $150,000 in the hands of Scientists searching for a treatment of DMD. Let's help find a cure for John and the 500,000 other boys suffering from DMD.

NERC TURKEY SOUP RUN

This year's Turkey Soup Run went great! Thanks to Guy Gadomski for all his hard work on this. Guy made loads of bread and turkey soup, while other members brought various yummy foodstuffs. It was a beautiful day (well, for most-I wanted snow!) Many runners showed up - old NERC's and new and we all had a blast. It was great to see new faces -Big thanks to everyone who came out!

IMPOSSIBLE2POSSIBLE UPDATES

The time is here! Youth ambassadors are leaving this week to begin their journey - Expedition India! Previous youth expeditions consist of travels to:

Baffin Island

Tunisia

Bolivia

The Amazon

Click here to be taken to the Expedition India homepage to follow along!
Watch as Ohio youth ambassador Jessica Kenny from Lake Erie College runs India with other youth ambassadors from the United States and Canada!http://impossible2possible.com/india/home

Good luck to all the youth ambassadors, educators, doctors, and adventurers! Safe travels!

NERC Autumn Leaves 5 miler, Forbes House Donations, and Runnin' the streets of C Town

AUTUMN LEAVES

BIG thanks to all the runners who came out to the Northeast Running Club's Autumn Leaves 5 miler last weekend. The weather was (depending on who you ask...ahem) great and people seemed to really enjoy themselves. This was the last race this year as far as volunteering goes for my family and I. Saturday we helped set up - my husband with outside/course marking duties with the manly men and me inside setting up registration, food, etc. with the womenfolk. My son went outside with the tough guys for awhile but quickly came back inside coughing and sounding horrible. He wasn't looking good at all so as soon as the inside work was done we hit the road and went back home. I gave him some medicine, some homemade soup and kept him inside the rest of the day. That seemed to do the trick as he was back to his old self on race day, well rested and recharged - ready to fulfill his duties of picking on NERC V.P. Sean! Poor Sean....poor Sean! There were a decent army of volunteers on Sunday, and my son, Carole Krus' daughter (such a cutie) and myself were in charge of a water stop. The kiddos handed out the water and I took pics of the race. There's five photo albums which you can find at the links below:

Album 5

Album 4

Album 3

Album 2

Album 1

Thanks Mark Anson for putting on another great race!













Big thanks to all the volunteers who came out as well. The NERC is a great non-profit organization and none of this can be done without your help!


FORBES HOUSE DONATIONS

Big thanks to all my friends and co workers who donated to the Forbes House! The picture shown here is only 1/3 of the donations received!

October was Domestic Violence Awareness month and the Forbes House is a shelter for battered women and children. Their mission:

"To relieve the trauma resulting from domestic violence, to assure access to safe and caring environments for its victims, and to foster an end to domestic violence through education, prevention, and advocacy".

I'm so grateful for all my friends, the donations filled my entire trunk and the entire back of my car. I've got a few more things left to take down there and that's it! Forbes House is an organization close to my family's heart, and we appreciate all your help!


RECIPES THAT WORK

Missing your hot cocoa? As the days get colder I'm finding it harder and harder to avoid the wonderful comfort of hot cocoa. So - this is what I came up with. It tastes great, much like those McDonald's (ewww) McCafe coffee drinks, but it's packed with healthy goodness. Mix it up! Try different flavors of coffee, different flavors of protein powder and see what you like best. Some tips:

#1: When you go to blend it, blend it on the lowest setting.
#2: Don't reheat (or put the mixed drink back into the coffee pot to keep warm)
#3: This does just fine sitting in a thermos for a few hours.

Protein powered hot cocoa:
Ingredients
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use Iso-sensation)
1 serving of coffee (I've been using chocolate mint ground coffee)

Instructions
Make your coffee as you normally would (leave black - no cream, no sugar), then put into blender. Place 1 scoop of protein powder into blender. Blend on low until mixed.

Enjoy!



CITY RUNNIN'

So my son had so much fun running through Pittsburgh a couple weeks back that I decided why not Cleveland as well? Today we went downtown with our friend Charlie Bolek and ran 10k through the streets of Cleveland.

We had a great time exploring the city and goofing off! We started at the Westside Market and made our way towards Tower City, through 4th Street and past the theater district. It was windy but fun - and made for a good recovery run for Charlie who ran 50k the day before!!!!!

This is definitely an activity that we will continue to do. Right now I'm willing to drive 2-3 hours away to go explore a city in this fashion, so next on our radar will either be Columbus or Detroit. We've never been to either city, so it'll be great to explore a new place in such a fun way :) Afterwards we stopped at Patterson Fruit Farm and Barnes and Noble for some new books. The rest of our day has been spent in our jammies reading. Good weekends like this make Monday mornings so much harder! I'm not so sure I want to go to sleep tonight, because when I wake up it will all be over......


Happy Running,
Laurie

FORBES HOUSE DONATIONS

For those that didn't know, October was Domestic Violence Awareness month. During the month of October I collected items to take to the Forbes House for Women and Children at work. The Forbes house is a safehouse for battered women and children. Their mission: "To relieve the trauma resulting from domestic violence, to assure access to safe and caring environments for its victims, and to foster an end to domestic violence through education, prevention, and advocacy".

I was thrilled to have received so many donations to take to Forbes! This is just a third of what received to take to Forbes:

Everyone was so incredible with their donations of food, clothes and toys! My trunk was full - as well as the entire back seat/floor of my car! Thanks so much for everything guys! Work friends donated, as well as friends outside of work. You guys are all awesome! I've taken the majority of the items to Forbes, with just a few things left to take this week. Wonderful!! This organization means a lot to my family, and we really appreciate it!