Long Run & a New Restaurant

I hope everyone had a great weekend! My Saturday morning started with my usual pre-run breakfast. 1/2 banana and 1/2 almond butter/honey wheat toast. I was all out of my sport beans, so I dug through the "very bare" pantry to pull out everything I could find. I had to settle with a Clif Shot during the run since there was no time to pick up more beans. I have never been a fan of these because I think the texture is similar to slime, but it wasn't too bad this time around.


We ran 12 hilly miles of the Bagel 2 Beer Marathon with a small group of people. My father had put out water ahead of time at a few different points. It was very humid, so we were happy to have cold water every few miles.


I have to say that I felt pretty strong on this run. We slowed it up a bit due to the humidity, but I did try to stay around 10 minute miles. I normally don't wear a watch because I become obsessive with checking the time every 2 seconds, but today I decided to wear one.


I eventually forgot about it and we ended the run at 2 hrs 20 mins. My watch doesn't stop during the water stops/short breaks, so I feel like this was a good, solid training run.


After a long afternoon nap, Kevin and I headed out to dinner to meet up with my friend Ashley and some others at Saschas 527 in the Mt. Vernon area of Baltimore. (Hi Kevin and Ashley! Ashley is training for her first marathon this year - Philadelphia!)

I had never been to Sascha's and was excited to try it out. The menu looked great online. I always study the menu online before heading out to a restaurant. Our waitress informed us that they were still honoring the Baltimore Restaurant Week Deal (3 courses for $30), so we decided to go for it!


I started with the Fried Green Tomato – w. Mixed Greens and Topped with Lump Crab, then drizzled w. a Balsamic Reduction.
This was just OK. Mainly because the crab disappointed me. It seemed watery and not like it came straight out of the crab. More like straight out of the can. The tomatoes and salad underneath were both great and I had no problem finishing all of it.


My main dish was OUTSTANDING. Pan seared scallops served with grilled pineapple and carrots over coconut jasmine rice.I adore pan-seared scallops and grilled pineapple. These were both done beautifully. The baby carrots were delicious. So much so that Kevin made sure to grab the leftover carrots off my plate.

I chose the Blueberry Tart with cinnamon crumb topping for dessert.
I love crumb topping on anything and with the blueberries - this was wonderful. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it justice since I was stuffed.


Would I recommend Saschas? Absolutely. Great atmosphere and cool menu. I love that the manager stopped over to see how everything was after our meal. That is always a nice touch.


I was a little concerned about how empty the restaurant was for a Saturday night. I guess the ecomomy is taking its toll on local restaurants. Hopefully this place sticks around for awhile because I look forward to going back.


Question


Do you stop your watch during walk breaks or water stops? Or do you not walk at all during training runs? just curious...


Good Night everyone!