Boys Town Memorial Day 5 Mile Race

As I mentioned yesterday, Saturday was a pretty busy day! I was worn out, went to bed late, and got drunk-dialed at 2:30AM by a fiance that I'll leave unnamed. I don't even remember my alarm going off for my 7:00AM group run, so I guess I needed the sleep. Stella and I slept in and then moped around the house for the rest of the morning. I don't know what my deal was, but I just felt kinda sad. I made toast with cream cheese for breakfast and had it alongside apple slices with almond butter.

I finally got myself out of the house when I went to packet pickup for the Boys Town Memorial Day Run.

Then I hit up Whole Foods for lunch. Although the weather here has been quite warm, the frigid air conditioning has been making me so cold! This was apparent at lunch because I opted for all warm items and had to switch seats because the AC was blowing right on me. For lunch I got a little 'Indian sampler' and a little 'pasta sampler'.

I had an iced tea to drink, and browsed the ads and coupons while I ate.

Whole Foods coupons are the best! They are significant savings (most are $1.00 off) so it's a great way to try something new. It's hard to shell out $ when you're not sure if you'll like the product! I've also found that Whole Foods will put some of the same items on sale while the coupons are running, so you get double the savings! That's how I got a 16oz container of Oikos Greek yogurt for $3.00!

After lunch I went to Target, with the hopes that a little shopping might cheer me up. No such luck. I got a few things but then headed home, after stopping to rent a movie. I had been wanting to see Everybody's Fine ever since it was in theaters, but my parents and my sister warned me that it is secretly a tear-jerker. Since I was already in a weepy mood, I decided it'd be a good day to watch it, curled up on the couch with Stella.

And not surprisingly, weepy moods lead to comfort foods! I had mac 'n cheese for dinner (my ultimate comfort food) and then made some sugar cookies. I rarely bake, so this is a true sign that I wasn't feeling like myself.

Luckily Monday was much better! I woke up and hopped right out of bed, ready for the race. For breakfast I made an almond butter and Crofter's Superfruit Spread sandwich (the North America flavor is blueberry, cranberry, & cherry). I had to get to the race site super early to park, so I brought a banana, coffee and water to have while I was waiting for my race to start.

It was a gorgeous morning!! It was sunny and crisp - almost no humidity. I was really excited to get out there and run!

I walked around the Boys Town campus and took some pictures. I remember having track meets at the Field House when I was in Jr. High. It still looks the same! In fact, Katie and I ran track together in 7th & 8th grade. I remember she would get horrible shin splints and would bring bags of frozen peas to ice down her legs after a meet. Funny how things turn out!

While scoping out some old trophies and photos in the Field House, I ran into Kelli and Bryson (yep, the engaged couple I celebrated with on Saturday night!) They were the ones that told me about this race, but since I wasn't carrying my phone I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find them. It all worked out, though!

Finally 9:00 rolled around (I'm not used to races that start that late!) and it was time to begin. We lined up at the start line and took off on the very hilly course. Kelli had warned me that it would be hilly, but I wasn't really sure what to expect. Every time we approached a hill, I just buckled down and charged up it. I felt great and just took each hill as they came! The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and the crowds were great. I wanted to keep running all day!

Alas, 5 miles was the end of the race, and I crossed the finish line supremely happy. Here are my splits:

• Mile 1 - 8:43
• Mile 2 - 8:41
• Mile 3 - 8:35
• Mile 4 - 8:38
• Mile 5 - 8:31

My chip time was 43:17 (a few seconds longer than my Garmin time), and I placed 12th in my division out of 149 - woohoo!! I was really excited to have such a wonderful race so soon after my disappointing half marathon a couple of weeks ago.

After the race, I picked up a pumpernickel bagel with veggie cream cheese and some salt & vinegar chips for lunch.

Then I showered and headed to my parents' house for some Memorial Day fun! I had planned on taking my nephew to the pool, but the public pools don't open in Omaha until next week! I swear they always opened on Memorial Day when I was growing up. Ah, the good ol' days. Instead, we picked up an inflatable pool and set it up in the backyard.

I had a margarita to celebrate!

Then, when I should have been helping prepare the BBQ dinner, I accidentally took a nap on the couch. Oops! Luckily I have amazing parents that love to spoil their kids with delicious food! The main event was pulled pork sandwiches. My Dad smoked the pork the day before and my Mom made her homemade BBQ sauce. She bought a package of MorningStar Farms crumbles and mixed it with some of her BBQ sauce for me! It was great! I had it on a bun (like a sloppy Joe) with coleslaw on top (yum!) We also had baked beans (again, my Mom rocked a veggie version for me!), potato salad, pasta salad, and potato chips. My stomach is growling just thinking of it all! Can't wait for 4th of July!

I had a Boulevard Zon to drink. I really like this white ale - fruity and spicy!

And after all of that, I was still able to squeeze in a little pretzel salad for dessert. Have you had this before?!?! It's a base of crushed pretzels cooked in butter topped with a combination of cream cheese, sugar, & whipped topping and then strawberries and strawberry jello...all topped with more whipped topping! My friend Laura introduced this to my family and we can't have a cookout without it now. That sweet and salty combo is the best! (the picture doesn't do it justice)

It was such a great day! I hope everyone else celebrating Memorial Day had a lovely holiday weekend. Thank you to all of the men and women in the military who have served or are currently serving our country!