Thanksgiving Weekend - Day 1 and 2

I forgot to mention that this weekend is Thanksgiving up north here. Today is actually Thanksgiving Day, so happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm currently sitting around in sweats contemplating my 3 mi run and weight lifting routine on my schedule for today. But anyhow, let's talk about what I've already done this weekend:

Friday:
I headed out to Speed Theory to pick up some more Hammer Gels. I also needed some bike shoe covers and a bike computer, so because I didn't feel like running around to a bunch of stores I picked up the one that the fellow at Speed Theory recommended - the Sigma BC 1606L.

Saturday:
The day of my 12.5 mi run. I had the alarm set to go off at 6:30 am and I just could not drag my behind out of bed. I finally rolled out somewhere around 8 or 8:30 and proceeded to putter around the house. It was sunny outside, but still cold and I was waiting for it to warm up. I also had an invite to Thanksgiving dinner at my sister-in-law's mother's and her husband's place at 4:00, and I was responsible for bringing a dish. So I sat around perusing recipe books trying to decide what I wanted to bring. I settled on a baked butternut squash recipe so I made up my grocery list and headed out to Safeway. While I was there my sister-in-law called to let me know that we weren't arriving at 4, we were eating at 4. I'd wasted so much time that with baking squash there was no way that 12.5 mi were going to happen that day. So I got my squash ready, then headed out for dinner:Yes, that might be a Kylie Minogue CD in my side pocket door there. Please don't make fun. Here's the finished dish - creamy butternut baked squash:
Dinner was fantastic - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, coleslaw, Ambrosia salad, my squash, and carrot cake. Good stuff! My brother and I had to leave around 7:00 though because I'd managed to score tickets to the Calgary Flames home opener that night. Yeah...we were sitting very high up. I think you could get altitude sickness up there. I made up for not running my 12.5 miler by walking up and down to our seats a couple of times. The Flames were playing the Vancouver Canucks - my favourite team! My brother cheers for the Flames so I figured there would be some good ribbing depending on who was winning or losing.The game was a really good time. The Canucks opened the scoring but at the end of the first period it was 3-1 Flames. The Canucks came back to tie it, only to go down by a goal again. The Canucks tied it up and we went to overtime where the Canucks pulled it out and got the game winner. Good times! It was then time to head home and I wasn't in bed until well after midnight.

Sunday:
So all of a sudden I had a 12.5 miler and a 1 to 1-1/2 hour bike ride on my schedule for the day. Good thing I didn't have anything else going on! I just could not get out of bed at 6:30 again and I wound up leaving the house for my run at 11:30 am. It was really sunny out, but still kind of cold and the wind was pretty fierce. I started off in capris, a long sleeve t, and a midweight top over it. I had to lose the top pretty early on as the sun was making me heat up. About 2 mi in to my run I noticed a loose German shepherd in on one of the side streets I was on. He didn't have a collar on and truthfully, he didn't seem all that friendly. I didn't have my cell phone on me, so I tried to talk to a few residents to see if they knew who he belonged to, but no one had ever seen him before. There wasn't too much I could do, so I just kept going. I sort of wound up running 19:1 intervals, except I would mostly only stop and walk to drink some water, and then start back up running again. Every mile was in the low 10:00s so I was running really strong, even on the uphills. After 6 miles I stopped to take a chocolate mint Gu. Oh...my...word... This is the best flavour ever! It is kind of like eating a soft After Eight mint. If I would have kept running to 13.1 miles I would have set a new PR for that distance today, so yes, my running is most definitely getting faster!

After the run it was home to make lunch and to try and set up my bike computer. The speed sensor is supposed to be on the front wheel but the wire was just long enough that I was able to get it to the back wheel. This way I'll be able to have some speed information while I'm on my trainer. Once I was set up I pumped up my tires, threw the bike in the back of the car and headed out to Cochrane for a ride. Clouds had started to roll in towards the end of my run and it wasn't looking so pretty as I drove out there. There were even a few sprinkles. I wasn't even going to aim for an 1-1/2 hour ride, I was just going to go for an hour.

I was well bundled up from the cold wind and I felt pretty comfortable out there. I couldn't even feel the sprinkles. I took it easy on the speed though because the roads were definitely slick and I didn't want to run the risk of wiping out. I gave my new shoe covers a try and they were fantastic for keeping my feet nice and toasty warm:
I got in just over 15 miles, and then it was time to head home and make something appropriate for Thanksgiving. I had a boneless, skinless turkey breast that had been marinating in a rub of black pepper, cumin, chili powder, sage, lime juice and olive oil that I grilled up. I made up some Brussels sprouts with bacon and chestnuts and some broccoli for the side. It was delicious!The wine was pretty good too...Alright, time to stop contemplating my run and weight lifting routine as I'm babysitting my niece this afternoon. For everyone celebrating Thanksgiving today, I hope you have a fantastic day!