Friday the 13th

Anyone else get a little superstitious on days like today? I mean, let's talk about that moon. The last full moon of this decade. DECADE. It's crazy that we're about to turn the clock to not just another year but another 10. 

12/11/2019, not my house^

Well, first and foremost, we've moved locations! WordPress was great to me but my hosting fees got way too high and, quite frankly, this is a hobby, and hobbies shouldn't cost a ton (running not included). I set out to do this for fun and not for a monetary value. The only other blogging site I knew of was Blogger so that's where we will call home for C&C for now! I'm still trying to tweak some things so it's going to look a little weird. I was able to import all of my old posts so if there is something, in particular, you remember reading about in the past, you can still try and search for it using the box on the left sidebar. 

Speaking of hobbies, I've taken up a new one! I've tried to really get into knitting these past few years but it just takes me forever. A friend suggested crocheting and boy, is it SO much better. And yes, it's a cheap hobby. I learned how to crochet watching YouTube. Yep, I'm not even kidding. You can learn anything on that dang website. I've finished two projects so far in a little less than a month's time and plan on finishing #3 by next week. Hooray for homemade Christmas gifts that don't break the bank!

My bag of tricks

So, how's running going? The miles are piling on. I texted my fellow Volée bird, who is coming into Phoenix to run the race with me, that she might have to piggyback me to the finish line. In all seriousness, workouts have been fine. I've accepted that I'll never be where I was at and, to be honest, I like going slow and steady. Time on my feet is more important than anything right now. I've managed to make it up to roughly 30-35 mile weeks so far. My longest jaunt has been 10 miles and it felt refreshing. I know I've written about it before but I'm so glad I've jumped off the "fighting for PRs" bridge and now float on the lazy river of actually enjoying what I'm doing. If you like getting those fast times, that's great! I found that it was really eating up my soul and I lost touch with why I'm a runner. I finally said to myself, "Hey, I have this crazy idea! Let's run a race and have fun for once!" 57 days to go. I have some big plans for post-marathon. I'll give you a hint: it involves more dirt and less pavement.

Post-10 mile run 😀

There is still time to register if you feel like flying to the Southwest to escape the winter blues. You can use the code BRITTERS10 and receive $10 off the half marathon or full marathon! Let me know if you're running! 

Let's backtrack to Thanksgiving week since, well, I haven't written in a while so why not a big 'ol recap. The family came to down for a few days. We managed to break a new Jenga record. We also visited Sedona, which is home to my favorite Starbucks. I know, that sounds super cheesy, right? But just check out this view:

Yeah, I could sit on that patio all day. I even managed to cook an entirely Vegan dinner.

Vegan spinach dip in bread bowls. Could carbs get any more glorious looking?

So, the second picture includes mashed red skins, homemade Vegan biscuits, Tofurky, Vegan stuffing, and Vegan green bean casserole. It was all seriously so good, even the family enjoyed it. Even the gravy was plant-based! I'll probably do a repeat for Christmas but swap out the "turkey" for Tofurky's ham roast. If it's as good as their Tofurky, it'll be another great treat. 

While we're on the subject of Veganism, if you remember, I took a pledge to become Vegan for 30 days in November. 

App: Quit Meat

I downloaded this fun little app called Quit Meat to track my progress. Now, this screenshot was on 12/2/2019. I managed to be Vegan for 28 of the 30 days. I had a few slips on foods I didn't even think twice on. It happens! I'm still very proud of myself for taking on this journey. I'm a data geek and it's cool to see all of this. I've decided to keep it going as long as I can. If I do manage to have something non-vegan but is vegetarian, you can add it in. For example, if you consume any type of dairy or eggs, you can input it into the app. I've been vegetarian for quite some time and barely consumed any dairy as is so the transition wasn't too difficult. I even managed to make dishes at restaurants Vegan. As I've mentioned on my Instagram, don't be afraid to ask your waitress if they have a vegetarian menu or if you can customize dishes. You'd be surprised how many places will go above and beyond to cater to different lifestyles. See, I said lifestyle and not diet. Because that's what it is. This isn't a temporary endeavor. It's great to see how the plant-based community is so much stronger than it ever has been. For the record, though, if you are a meat-eater, please know I don't think any less of you. You do you and if that means you like eating meat, great. Get on down with your bad self. I want my friends to know that I still respect them even if it means our eating choices are different. I would hope you'd think the same about me. This is a judgment-free zone! Just be open to what I eat. I bet I could blow your tastebuds away with the things I enjoy. I've voiced my opinion on this before and that wasn't really right of me to do so. Come on now, let's hug it out.

I don't have a recipe share this time around as I've been busy trying to move things about and whatnot. I haven't cooked anything epic in over a week! I do have recipes for my Thanksgiving dishes so let me know if you want any of those. For now, I leave you with Whole Food's Vegan margarita pizza. I ate 5 pieces. Carbs are good for you, don't know you this?!

We'll see you next time. Hopefully sooner than later. 

The Mitten and Back

Honestly, I have no clever title for this entry. It also won't be filled with much running but I can ensure you, however, that it will have fun visuals as we make up for lost time.

Hello, hey, buenos días (if it's morning where you are)! It's been a minute. If you remember from the last post, I mentioned I was going to be traveling and thought I'd have time to pop on here but alas, life gets in the way. We traveled to Michigan (our home state) for about a week for family reasons. We've been gone for about four months now so you'd think not much has changed. I can't even count how many times I told my husband, "I'm so glad we moved". Everything is so dead and cold. Everyone drives like an asshole. The roads are (still) terrible. The entire place just sucks. And maybe you're reading this thinking I'm being a little harsh but honestly, seasonal depression is a thing and you will get it living there. My whole body felt like it shut down for the majority of the time we were there and it's crazy how it was brought back to life with the first touch of sunshine when we made it back home. Side note: I do miss my friends and family so don't think it's all negative! Saying goodbye never gets easier. If I could pick all of them up and move them here then Arizona would get that much better. Oh, and my cats. I spent some much needed time with both of them. I mean, come on, look at cute they are:

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  Broccoli

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  (Ronnie James) Dio

Anywho, shall we talk running? I ran three times. One of them was the morning before leaving for the airport to fly to Detroit. Pretty lackluster, eh? It felt good to take some days off but I also hate not being physically active. Let's take a look at the numbers:

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  3/20

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  3/26

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  3/27

One advantage I found about being in Michigan besides the obvious family visit? Running was so easy. With no consistent elevation change and being more than 1,000ft down from where we are now, it was a breeze. I haven't hit a 9:12/mi pace since moving here. I set out for an easy run early on the 20th. The moon was so full and bright and the clouds created what looked like a painting in the sky.

My other two runs were at the park where I basically started my journey of becoming a runner. Spencer Lake in Rochester Hills is a one-mile loop. I remember the days when Nike+ had just been released and we had to wear sensor pods in our shoes. I could barely make it less than halfway around without having to stop and walk all while having my heart rate through the roof. That lake was my go-to for cardio when I mostly ran just to lose weight and keep up my fitness on days I wasn't lifting. It's crazy to see how far I've come through the years. Back then I would have never thought I'd run a marathon one day or even a half marathon let alone run for fun and not just for health.

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The day we flew back was rather long as we had a layover at LAX. Let me tell you, out of all of the airports I've been to, this one is the worst. I thought I hated Atlanta but dear Lord, LAX has taken the cake for being terrible. It's like a cave in there mixed with the most disorganized gates I've ever seen. We made light of it and I was able to get my Starbucks mug to add to the rest. I collect the "been there" mugs they produce. We also discovered that Shake Shack has a portobello mushroom burger (no meat!) and it's damn delicious. I like to think it's even better than their meat burgers and even those were good. If you are meatless like me, it's worth a try. Now if only In 'n Out would follow suit. A word of caution, though. Don't bite into it right away or you will burn your face off with the cheese.

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After adjusting back to the normal at home, it was time to celebrate my birthday. Honestly, it didn't feel like it was already here because of the weather. Every year in Michigan, it was either snowing or raining and grey as can be. It was 85° and the sun was out in full force. The Friday before, we went to dinner with our friends to Obon, a Ramen and Sushi restaurant in Scottsdale. I had watched a documentary on the plane called 'Ramen Heads' and naturally, I wanted to eat some right away. We both got the veggie red miso bowls and tried jackfruit for the first time. Hello, tastebuds! That stuff is amazing. They had a delicious black tea old fashioned and we even saw a waitress catch her hair on fire from a candle on a table she was cleaning up. Hats off to her for not even dropping a full tray and batting it out with her hand. Bravo! On my actual birthday, we headed to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park that morning with a friend of ours. I think it's the first state park I've ever been to. While we couldn't make it down to the bridge due to trail closures and high water, it was still a really beautiful place. The greenery and waterfalls provided the smell of nature and you could feel the mist from the water as we walked down a lookout point.

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Okay, you've finally reached the end of my recap of random stuff. You know what that means? Time for a new recipe share! What's one staple comfort food that everyone absolutely loves? Mac and cheese. I used to eat boxes of Kraft while in high school. Let's be honest, that stuff is full of really bad ingredients. That's why it tastes so good! My weekly Forks Over Knives email came into my inbox and this glorious recipe graced my screen.

The picture doesn't do any justice because I'm not a professional food blogger or photographer. The lighting in my kitchen was not on my side. I promise you, it's good. Simple ingredients, easy prep, and enough portions for the whole family or for a few days if it's only two of you like in our house. I'm all for meals that make multiple portions. I would throw in some extra rosemary than what the recipe calls for but I'm thinking this is going to taste even better left over as everything has been able to set together for 24 hours. I paired it with a Beyond Meat burger, of course. A good burger and some mac is always a solid meal. I'll throw the recipe here.

Now that we're back on scheduled runs and workouts, next week we'll cover more about how the pavement and trails treated me. Thanks for stopping by!