Last Weekend in May

Saturday


While on a walk with Oscar in the park near my house, I realized that there was a Polish Festival going on this weekend! I called my mom because I knew she was over at my grandparents which is near my house. My grandfather is Polish and I have enjoyed his homemade potato pancakes since I was little. They were up for going to the festival because it was a great day outside.


We headed over to the park and were immediately overwhelmed by all the amazing food. We started by splitting potato pancakes, but they were gone before I managed to get my camera out. I was hungry. Next up was homemade pierogis...We decided to try both the Sauerkraut/Mushroom and Potato/Cheese pierogis.
We grabbed a beer for all of us to split, found a spot in the shade......and enjoyed our pierogis and beer while listening to some Polish music.
At one point we walked around to look at all the different stands. Pretty Polish Pottery...
Polish candies and other food products...
It was a beautiful day!


Sunday


Today was the Zooma 10k and Half Marathon in Annapolis, MD! My mom and I decided to run the 10k together, which was cool since I had never run a race with her before. She has run a bunch of races, but not in a few years.


My dad was nice enough to get up at 4:30am with us to drive us to the start where we were shocked that it was rainy and cold. It was also thundering and lightening! The weather people had said nothing about this!!!


We saw a few cars head out of the parking lot and we were wondering whether the race would be postponed or canceled. After realizing that they were going to start at 7am, as planned, we got out and shivered in the cold & rain for about 10 mins before the start.


The course definitely had its share of hills, but we didn't stop walking once. Well, except to gulp down some water/gatorade at one water stop. The finish was a great, long downhill and we picked it up at the end to finish in 1 hour, 9 mins! I felt strong the entire way and am excited to keep training for my off-road duathlon coming up in July!


At the end we met up with some other friends back at Naval Stadium. It had turned into a gorgeous day and we enjoyed our box lunches, wine tastings, and mini cupcakes. YUM.

(From L to R, my mom, me, Carolyn, Alissa, and Katherine.)

OH - almost forgot to say that instead of finisher medals, we got these really cool silver necklaces at the finish line. I love mine and if you click on the picture above - you can check it out. :)


Later Sunday night, Kevin got back from a bachelor party in Tampa, FL - he was there all weekend and survived. ;) We decided to head to Jack's Bistro in Canton with the future bride and groom for the $12 entree special.


I decided on the Jerk Shrimp Quesadillas which were filled with jerk shrimp, gruyere cheese, pineapple, and hot peppers. It came with a small salad and black beans and rice on the side.
There was a ton of food on this gigantic plate. The quesadillas were filled with plump, spicy shrimp. I was a little worried I wouldn't like the pineapple mixed inside, but it added the much needed sweet/refreshing kick. The black beans in the rice were still hard and needed to be cooked longer. I loved the quesadillas!


Monday


This morning, I headed to the gym for a nice hour workout:

• 20 mins walking on the treadmill, incline 10, speed 3.0 - 3.2
• 2000 meters rowing, approximately 11 mins
• 30 mins, upper body lifting and abs

Afterwards, I mixed together a green smoothie in the lovely Vita-Mix blender.

• 1 medium banana
• 1/2 fresh mango
• handful of baby spinach
• handful of ice cubes
• heavy splash of vanilla soy milk
• drizzle of agave nectar

Voila. Sweet and tasty without a trace of spinach flavor. I promise.
Later on, I used the beans and rice from last night's dinner to make a quick lunch today. After microwaving the beans/rice until the desired tenderness, I topped them with sliced tomatoes and crumbled goat cheese. Perfect!Wow, just realized how long this post was. I need to get out of the house and take Oscar for another walk in the gorgeous weather.


See you later!