I have returned to shivering in my car with my blanket and hoodie before our runs start.
“I’m not going to race my workout. I’m not going to race my workout.”
-Me on the drive to the workout.
I have a big month next month with running, and I don’t want to go into it exhausted, so I reminded myself that I had a workout to do yesterday, not a race. There is no reason to go all out in the workouts, just a solid hard effort with gas in the tank to do another interval at the end if I needed (aka I didn’t want to have to lay down on the grass because I see stars from pushing myself too hard;).
I was thrilled to see a segment PR without realizing I would get a PR because I felt much more controlled.
3 mile w/u, 4 x 2 mile workout and c/d to finish with 14 miles @ 7:13 average pace.
5:59 (very downhill first mile, uphill second mile), 6:30 (uphill both miles), 6:00 (very downhill first mile, uphill second mile), and 5:53 (downhill both miles) averages for the 2-mile intervals.
I have been considering whether to run Budapest next month and skip St. George or do both (St. George is the weekend before Budapest)… I’ve decided I am going to race St. George and then run Budapest for fun because:
*I’ve been training for a fast downhill marathon, not a fast flat marathon. So, I’ll see what I can pull out at St. George:)
*I don’t want to go to Budapest stressed about lack of sleep or worried about walking around too much as I see everything before the race. I also want to try new foods the entire time we are there, and that doesn’t usually go well for me when racing a marathon. I don’t want to be in the pain cave for this experience; I want to soak in every step and the culture.
*I’ve always wanted to run a marathon with Andrew, and this seems like the chance of a lifetime for us! They are giving him a bib, too.
One of my friends on my run yesterday JUST returned from Hungary. He was there as a physical therapist at the World Championships. Hearing about it all from him was so fun, and I got home and immediately Googled Chimney Cakes. I will be eating one of these with each meal while we are there:
We had a popsicle date after school.
And one of my favorite soups for dinner… Creamy Tortellini Soup!
Today is a huge day for Andrew and my children. We are officially decorating for Halloween today. They’ve been waiting for this day since 11/1/2022.
Did anyone else see this? It shocked me… 11k! Did they cheat or did some people cheat and the rest took a wrong turn by accident or something?
Send me your goto soup recipe, I will be making as much soup as possible for the rest of the year.
Has anyone had a Chimney Cake? If so, tell me every detail of the experience.
When is decorating for Halloween appropriate in your opinion?
-July 5th for Andrew and September 15th for me… we are meeting in the middle on this one;)
25 comments
Erica
I have no soup recipes because the only ones I make are yours. Remember your top 10 soup post. I reference it every fall/winter.
Decorating for halloween: October 1.
Avery
This is amazing! I cannot wait to follow along on your journey in Budapest. I have found it’s most fun running an international marathon for fun so you can enjoy vacay!
Wendy
11,000 disqualified? I think that some of those runners were following and made a wrong turn. I find it hard to believe that that many people cheated!
I’m so excited for you and Andrew! What an amazing trip and opportunity.
I love how the kids have loved decorating for Halloween as much as Andrew. So fun. I put out fall decorations in September (I will do this next week), then add in Halloween in October, then after Halloween, I bring out Thanksgiving stuff. I love fall so much that I like to give the house that warm fall feeling before Halloween, ha ha. We do have several neighbors that start putting up Halloween right after Labor Day.
Now I’m going to have to look up chimney cakes…
Have a great day Janae.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Right?! I can’t imagine that many people cheating? But they disqualified them all so they must know something we don’t know? I LOVE Thanksgiving decorations too! Thanks Wendy, you too:)
Mollie
We decorated last weekend. 😆 My boyfriend thinks I’m insane but my kids were sooo happy when they came back to me haha. NEVER TOO EARLY FOR HALLOWEEN! It’s fine that it was 108 here yesterday 🤣
The Hungry Runner Girl
Bahaha I love that you guys already decorated. Andrew supports you. Temperatures can’t hold Halloween back;) Have a beautiful day, Mollie!
Kathy McElhaney
I think it’s great that you’re not going to race the Budapest marathon – enjoy the experience with Andrew!
One of my favorite soups is Pizza soup. http://mcmomentsandmemories.blogspot.com/2009/07/friday-foodie.html
I need a chimney cake now! I’ve never heard of them, but bread + sugar + other amazing toppings = can’t miss!
I decorate for Fall, not Halloween and I did that last Saturday while it was raining.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I need to make that soup and the pesto shrimp recipe too… yum! I bet your house looks so great with all of the fall decorations, enjoy. I bet you can make an amazing chimney cake. Have a beautiful day, Kathy!
Madeline
Congrats on Budapest – that sounds like so much fun!! I just found out I got into next year’s London Marathon with a charity team, and I def plan to take the same “run for fun” approach so I have plenty of energy to be a tourist and enjoy the whole experience :)
Oh, and I have a great soup recipe for you! Every year, my friend hosts a hotly competitive Soup Fest where people bring a different soup and we vote on the best. Super proud to say that this Caramelized Pear + Gorgonzola one I made last year won first place – it’s delicious and also really easy to make! https://www.closetcooking.com/caramelized-pear-and-blue-cheese-soup/
The Hungry Runner Girl
LONDON! Oh Madeline, I am so beyond happy for you. That is on my bucket list. London is so incredible.
I just bookmarked that soup recipe. It includes a few of my absolute favorite ingredients. I need to be at this Soup Fest. I might have to copy the idea. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a great day.
Molly S
GREAT marathon plan. Your reasons are why I have never pulled the trigger on running an international marathon. Travel, jet lag, food, being too sore to explore afterwards.
And GREAT workout. I did mine today, 12×200. That made the miles go by quickly.
My fall decorating is limited to one Craft and Foster fall scented candle.
Michelle
Mollie – curious if you’re following the Vuelta? I cry happy tears for Sepp Kuss every morning. He’s such a hard worker, I love him getting the spotlight!
Molly S
Um yaaaaaaaaas!! I’m on Sepp Kuss watch every day!!
After each stage that he holds on to red a text my husband the 👅 🔴emojis.
I’m so happy at least one other American is aware of his momentous performance!
Oh and I laugh at how he is still bandaged from TDF!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Yes… I just figure I want to soak it all in and I’ll get my time to race and be stressed the day before, I’ll call it my victory lap;). Ummm 12 x 200s are so hard. The time does fly with those! Off to find that candle. Have a great day, Molly!
Michelle
I LOVE your plan, I totally agree that running Budapest for fun (and with Andrew!!!) is the best. You’ll want to soak up the experience and not have it over too quick ;) One thought for the plane ride – maybe wear compression socks since your legs will already be a little spicy from St George.
Here’s my favorite soup to make at the end of summer and into Fall when tomatoes are so good (you can use either fresh chopped tomatoes or canned).
https://www.marthastewart.com/315123/tomato-soup
The Hungry Runner Girl
I have tomatoes that I have needed to use and so I’ll make this soup tonight! Thanks Michelle:). Oh and good call on the compression socks, I needed that. ‘Spicy’ is a great way to explain that feeling ha. Hope you are having a great day so far!
Stephani
I’ve been wanting to try chimney cakes since watching a Hallmark Christmas movie a few years ago with Kristen Chenoweth. They got them from a Christmas market in NYC.
I think your plan sounds great. Enjoy the sightseeing miles!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you, Stephani! Oh I hope you get some chimney cakes in your life soon. PS how exciting that we are getting closer to Hallmark Christmas movie season:)
Tess
JANAE! I just got into St. George half and I’m so nervous and excited!! (I was on the waitlist) I’ll be a bit undercooked, but I’m so so so excited. I hope I can see you at some point!
The Hungry Runner Girl
This just made my day!!! Ahhhhhhhh yes! I’m so happy for you. My best races are when I’m undercooked, you’ve got this!
mary
My go to soup is Half Baked Harvest’s “Lighter Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup” https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/lighter-creamy-broccoli-cheddar-soup/ . I can’t for it to not be a thousand degrees here anymore to start making again. She’s my favourite and i’ve never had meal disaster with any of her recipes!
We have a chimney cake ice cream shop here. It’s fortunately not super close to me because i’d be there daily. Not sure if this is the “official” way to do it but they put a marshmallow on the bottom before putting in the ice cream and other goodness to stop the bottom from getting soaked. If it isn’t proper it needs to be. It’s epic!
So excited for your opportunity to do the race in Hungary. Racecations are my favourite!!!
Marissa
I am so excited to hear all about Budapest! Our vet is Hungarian and he told me that it is extremely underrated :) My bestie spent a month in Europe this summer and Budapest was one of her favorites.
Chicken tortilla soup is my go-to.
Haha, I just put up some pumpkin towels and that’ll do it for Halloween decorating. Oh wait, my husband has a giant pumpkin/football head that he’ll probably put out this weekend.
Steph F.
Have an an amazing time in Hungary – what a fantastic opportunity!!
My go-to soup recipe is this slow-cooker chicken gnocchi soup (maybe you posted it?! I don’t know where I got it from originally!). I’ve been making it for years and it is delicious with a good baguette or focaccia bread! https://pinchofyum.com/crockpot-chicken-gnocchi-soup
Tereza
Haha, the chimney cake tastes like poorest version of cinnamon rolls, trust me!
The best thing you can eat in Hungary is: langos (something like fried pizza crust with cheese, sauce on top), goulash, hungarian sausages, apple strudel with vanilla sauce and the best sweet for me is Esterhazy cake! They have also good white wine called “tokaj” (it´s sweet) and other wines are great too. But the food here is so cheap.
We visited Hungary for their thermal spas-aproved!
On the other side people in Hungary can ´t speak english well.
Enjoy Europe!
Kathy
Oh I love Chimney Cakes! There’s a little shop in Winter Park that sells them. I always get the cinnamon sugar stuffed with Nutella and in the summer time you can also add Ice Cream! SO Good!! My husband likes them savory, so he gets the ham and cheese and also said it was so good! So can’t lose either way!
Favorite soups are either crockpot chicken and dumplings (super easy recipe! just put chicken breasts in with a can of cream of chicken soup with some broth, dried minced onions, a slab of butter, and S&P, put on low for 6 hours, then shred and add frozen veggies, and I use a can of biscuits and cut flatten them and cut into little squares and cook for another hour) Also love the gnocchi version of zuppa toscana (https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/easy-zuppa-toscana-recipe/) and lastly, especially while finishing up summer, a corn and squash chowder (https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/summer-corn-and-zucchini-chowder-5/).