A 5K & Track Workout - Who Am I?

This has been an awesome running week. On Saturday, I ran the Strawberry Festival 5K. It’s a hilly course, but you can have strawberry shortcake as soon as you finish…totally worth the 3.1 miles of hills!

I didn’t get to run this race last year so I was super excited to warm up, stretch, and race with my favorite people. The race starts at St. John’s and runs through Starlight, Indiana. I haven’t raced a 5K in a while so I didn’t have many expectations. I knew that I would go out way too fast and most likely struggle with the hills. I didn’t have a goal time, but knew that I wanted to be under 27 minutes.

Race Splits:

Mile 1: 8:04

Mile 2: 8:16

Mile 3: 8:28

Last .1: 0:48

Race time: 25:36

I was pumped. I guess all of that hill running in Pittsburgh is starting to pay off! Also - strawberry Shortcake - perfect for refueling!

The Clarksville Summer Running Series started on Wednesday. When I was living here, you could find me at the Track every Wednesday during the summer. I didn’t get to run any of these events last year either so I was glad the first week of the series fell while I was in town. The workout is a relay/partner event. This week it was a 2 Person 5K. We decided to do 400s. I realized while we were warming up that I hadn’t done a track workout since 2012…yikes! I consulted with the expert, Coach Chuck, who told me I should be around 1:45s. I have no idea how I managed it, but here were my splits:

1:35     1:35     1:38     1:41     1:40     1:42

Whew! My legs were KILLING me on Thursday morning…and now I am craving more speed work. I’m going to have to figure out how to fit it into my routine in the ‘burgh this summer.

What is your favorite summer time dessert?

Church festivals: Love them or hate them?

What’s your favorite track workout?

100 Happy Days {Part 3}

I'm a day behind in getting my 100 Happy Days update posted. My excuse is that I've just been too busy being happy to get this update written (not that I was too tired after work and class...).

Here are some things that made me happy this week:

Day 23: I started packing for my week long trip to Louisville. I also started watching Scandal and was completely hooked after 20 minutes.

Day 24: Weather kept me inside on the treadmill for my run. I was totally cool with it though because I got to watch another episode of Scandal.

Day 25: The 6.5 hour drive is never fun, but getting home and hanging out with my parent's and Justin always makes me happy.

Day 26: Strawberry Festival 5K in Starlight, IN. I beat my goal time, took 1st place in my age group, and ate a gigantic strawberry shortcake.

Day 27: I hate living so far away from this girl. I was so glad we got to spend time together and go shopping!

Day 28: Justin and I went down to Bernheim Forest to scope out spots for our engagement photos. He practiced a few poses.

Day 29: I cannot wait to have a house. After dinner, I sat on the back porch of my parent's house and enjoyed the amazing evening (while watching Scandal!).

Day 30: Track workouts! I didn't get to run in any of the summer running series events last summer. It was perfect timing that I was home for the first week of the series.

(All photos courtesy of instagram @kimberlymhuber)

What made you happy this week?
Does anyone else watch Scandal?

Strawberry Summer Salad {Recipe}

Happy Memorial Day! I’m in Louisville for the weekend and the weather here is PERFECT! In case you’re still looking for something quick to throw together for a cookout this weekend, here’s a quick & easy recipe for a crowd pleasing summer salad.

Here’s What You Need:

Baby Spinach

Strawberries

Feta Cheese

Pecans

Balsamic Vinaigrette*

*Or your favorite dressing

Here’s What You Do:

Throw it all in a bowl

Mix it up

Enjoy!

I told you it was easy!

Work Best Friend

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to take a workplace engagement surveys….

We have to take one every year. I really do appreciate the company attempting to make sure that we are happy campers. My department head takes the survey pretty seriously. He goes through the results every year and has our HR representative come in to go over the results with us based on the responses from our department. I have to say, our marketing department is a pretty content group. Other than everybody voting to implement nap time (which hasn’t happened yet), there aren’t many negatives in our survey results. 

I suppose that there are serious issues in other department/companies (otherwise…why would we have these?...), so I really should take the survey seriously. I took our survey recently and although I answered the questions appropriately…I had some pretty hysterical conversations with friends while we filled it out :)

I'm pretty sure these examples make it clear that I do have a work best friend or 2 (other than the coffee pot)! My job is pretty great and I work with some pretty great people. Keep your fingers crossed....maybe this will be the year they take my siesta request seriously. 

Do you have a work best friend?

Do any other cube-dwellers read Dilbert? 

- The comics literally make me laugh out loud!

100 Happy Days {Part 2}

Hello Friends! If you're following along with my 100 Happy Days challenge, here are some of the things that made me smile last week:

Day 16: The boy & I have a really unique song that we consider "our song." I rarely ever hear it on the radio so when I did, I took a snapshot video of me singing at the top of my lungs and sent it to him. 

Day 17: Every time I pack to head back to Clarksville is a happy day! 

Day 18: The 6-7 hour drive is never fun (especially after a full day of work). The sky was crazy awesome though because it was storming like crazy behind me. I felt like I was outrunning the storms all night.

Day 19: Justin's friend's uncle opened a new restaurant in Knoxville. Justin, my dad, and I got to go to the training night and test out a bunch of the menu items - for free!!

Day 20: Justin completed his first half ironman in 6:06:53. I was so proud of him!

Day 21: Summer classes started...not necessarily a happy day haha. I am super excited that all of my classes are online this semester though. It's going to be so nice to work at my own pace and not sit in a classroom for 9 hours a week. 

Day 22: The Bachelorette & Red Velvet ice cream. There is nothing I would rather do on a Tuesday night :)

(all pictures courtesy @kimberlymhuber Instagram account)

Is anyone else watching The Bachelorette this season? 

Tell me something that makes you happy.

Beer + Running = World Record

I feel like I've neglected talking about running on this blog and we need to change that. I spend time every morning checking e-mail & returning voicemails reading articles on Runner’s World (in case my boss is reading, I promise I do the other things too). Here are a couple of interesting articles that I came across recently:

• On April 27^th, James Nielsen broke the beer mile world record. He did it with a 4:57 mile! That time alone is impressive, but considering he slammed a beer every 400 meters…that’s really really impressive. Apparently it’s all about the science. There are 2.6 liters of carbon dioxide in one can of beer – multiply that by 4 and imagine the discomfort! Nielson said the key it to warm up the can of beer to get the gas on top of the liquid. When you open the can, it will release more of the CO2. A Beer Mile has officially been added to the bucket list…although it might take me longer than 4:57.

• May 6^th was the 60^th anniversary of Roger Bannister’s sub-4 minute mile. Back in the 30’s & 40’s, the four minute mile was considered “the impossible barrier.” Many runners got within a second or two, but no one could achieve the goal to get under 4 minutes. Bannister’s mile became a symbol of human achievement. You can watch a video of his mile HERE. In 1975, the mile record went under 3:50 and in 1999, the fastest mile to date was run in 3:43.13. Less than a month after Bannister ran a sub-4, Diane Leather broke the women’s mile record with a sub-5 minute mile. The current record for the women stands at 4:12.56 (achieved in 1996). My fastest mile time is a 6:08 which I ran my junior year of high school. My most recent mile PR is a 6:18. My goal is to get back to the 6:08…I can’t imagine running a sub-4!

 Have you ever attempted a beer mile?

What is your fastest mile time (beer or non-beer)?

Do you think we’ll ever see a sub-4 in the women’s mile?

PS - If you need a gift idea for a runner, get them a subscription to Runner’s World. My brother & sister-in-law renewed my subscription for Christmas last year. Behind my iPad, it was my second favorite gift last year :)

Late To The Party

As usual, I am way behind the times in keeping up with Social Media trends. A few of my friends have been posting pictures on Instagram with the #100HappyDays hashtag. As I started seeing more and more images with this hashtag, I did a little research and decided to participate.

The 100 Happy Days challenge actually started on December 30^th last year (best day of the year in my opinion). A 27 year old guy from Sweden inspired the challenge when he decided to record things that made him happy. The challenge isn’t a contest, it’s just a reminder to slow down and enjoy the small stuff. I can totally relate to being “super-busy,” but I am definitely not too busy/stressed out to take a moment each day and think about all of the great things in my life.

Here are the things that have made me happy lately:

Day 1: Finishing my 4^th semester of grad school

Day 2: Justin coming to visit

Day 3: Skyping with my nephew

Day 4: Chocolate coconut peanut butter

Day 5: Derby Pie cupcakes

Day 6: Watching the Pittsburgh Marathon

Day 7: Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo

Day 8: Running downtown followed by $1 burgers on Bar Louie's outdoor patio

Day 9: Frozen Yogurt (and all of the toppings!)

Day 10: Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Lattes & Boston Cream Donuts

Day 11: The Boy making fajitas

Day 12: 3 new pairs of shoes for less than $60

 

Day 13: Finally putting together a wedding binder!

Day 14: Nobody wanted fruit in our morning meeting so I commandeered the entire bowl

Day 15: Running outside & warm weather

(all pictures courtesy @kimberlymhuber Instagram account)

What makes you happy?

If you want to officially join the challenge, click HERE 

Derby Pie Cupcakes

Louisville, Kentucky is THE place to be on the first Saturday in May. There is nothing like Derby Day in Kentucky. I’ve only ever actually been to the Derby once – every other year has been spent with family and friends at Derby parties. This year, we went to a party hosted by our friends (who also moved to Pittsburgh from Louisville) to watch the big race. I had planned to take a Derby Pie, but when I found a recipe for Derby Pie cupcakes on Pinterest, I had to make them.  If you’re not familiar with Derby pie, you can read about it HERE. I did use pecans instead of walnuts…personal preference. They turned out AMAZING. I found the original recipe HERE.

Here’s What You Need:

 1 box butter cake mix

1 cup of water

1/3 cup melted butter

3 eggs

1 cup of mini chocolate chips

2/3 cup of pecans, finely chopped

2 cans of buttercream frosting

Here’s What You Do: 

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Line 24 muffin cups with paper muffin liners.

Beat cake mix, water, melted butter, and eggs until smooth.

Stir in chopped mini chocolate chips and pecans.

Spoon batter into muffin cups, using an ice cream scoop. 

Bake 18 – 20 minutes. 

Allow your cupcakes to cool completely before frosting (I let mine sit overnight)

Pipe buttercream icing onto the cupcakes

Garnish with mini chocolate chips and pecan pieces

 

As the official cupcake tasters, we encourage you to stop whatever you are doing and go make these cupcake RIGHT NOW!

Is your city/state known for any big events?

What’s your go-to dessert to take to a party?

4 Down, 2 To Go

April was as busy, stressful month for us…especially the last two weeks.

For the girl à It was the end of the hardest semester of the MBA program yet. This semester was rough. I think part of it was that I really didn’t enjoy any of my classes. So far, I’ve had interesting classes with excellent professors. I think I picked the three worst classes and took them all in the same semester. Two of the classes were required and one was an elective. The fact that I wasn’t interested in the material left me with zero motivation when it came to studying on the weekends. I had one final project and two final exams and I was a happy girl when I walked out of that last exam last Tuesday.

Instagram @kimberlymhuber

Speaking of the boy à Justin defended his dissertation proposal on the 23^rd. This is a crazy important step in his dissertation process. I’m not going to pretend to completely understand it, but basically he had two hours to get in front of his dissertation committee and explain what he is studying. He had to explain all three of his papers, why his research questions are significant, and how he plans to answer those questions. He spent a lot of late nights in the office working on it and even had to pull a few all-nighters. He presented for two hours…and he passed! He is now officially, officially ABD :)

With everything going on, we stayed in our separate worlds for the entire month of April (except for Easter Weekend). Justin made the trek to Pittsburgh after my last final and we celebrated with a run, pizza, and beer…three of my favorite things! We did a 5 mile loop of downtown right after work and then headed straight to Gennaros for a deep dish pizza.

The summer semester doesn’t start for me until May 12^th. I have enjoyed every free minute and am not not ready to start back on Monday!

Who else is taking classes over the summer?

What’s your quick fix for when you’re feeling stressed out?

Easter Sunday & Boston Monday

Has it really already been two weeks since Easter? I promise that by the end of the week I will be all caught up with my blog posts. You’ll finally get some “real time” information! For now though, here’s a recap of our Easter weekend:

After my half marathon (and 3 hour nap), we drove down to Bardstown to celebrate Easter with Justin’s family. We had a delicious Easter dinner and then dyed Easter eggs. I have not dyed eggs in FOREVER. We had a blast. We also went on a 2 mile walk at a local park. It was by far the most painful walk I've ever been on…but was totally worth it to work out my sore running muscles.

First thing on Sunday morning, we found a Starbucks. Justin gave up coffee for Lent and was in desperate need of some caffeine. 

We went to church with Justin’s parents before heading north to celebrate with my family. It was almost 80 degrees out – the perfect weather for Easter dresses! 

After the most epic photobomb ever, my dad put together an Easter egg hunt for us in the backyard. No, there was no one there under the age of 23. Yes, it was awesome. I am not very the most competitive person ever. I totally had the most eggs at the end :)

We went to my grandma’s for lunch with the Huber family and played our annual game of Easter Whiffle Ball. It’s a good thing Justin & Shane got new bats from the Easter Bunny.

I was super excited for my stuffed bulldog :)

We closed out the day by enjoying dessert and playing cornhole with my mom’s parents on Sunday night. I gave up sweets for Lent so you can only imagine the sugar high I was on after eating an entire bag of Sweet tart jellybeans and about 100 Reese’s eggs! The sugar crash hit me hard and I could barely stay awake to pack up my suitcase that night.

I put in a full day’s work watched every minute of the Boston Marathon on Monday. I had 2 friends running and I was super excited to stalk them for 26.2 miles.

I know I’m a little late, but how awesome is it that Meb won?! I’ll add my congrats to the women’s field as well. A new course record and a bunch of PRs this year! Watching Boston makes me want to quit my job and become a professional runner. Is a contact running high a thing? My vote is yes.  

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

KDF Mini Marathon Recap

I haven’t talked a lot about it, but I trained for and ran the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon two weeks ago. I knew training would be tough with work, class, and the winter weather but I decided to go for it. It was so difficult to set goals for this race. At first I was disappointed because I knew I would be nowhere close to the times I was running two years ago. It took a few pep talks before I realized that it didn’t matter what my time was as long as I did the best I could given my current situation and time constraints.

As always – it was great to be back in Louisville with the old running crew and be a part of all the usual race traditions.  We kicked off the weekend with some carbo loading at Rockey’s followed by a trip to the Expo. I usually try to avoid most of the vendor booths, but they made you walk all the way through. Your timing chip could only be activated by walking through the “exit” expo doors. Bummer. I did sign the “I Run Because” banner. It was pretty cool to read all of the reasons people were running before adding my own.

On race morning, I tried to eat before I left the house, but my stomach was not having it. I did manage to scarf down a banana while were driving to the course. I was MUCH more relaxed and excited once we got our warm up out of the way.

As usual I took the first mile out way to fast (8:57) but I settled into a grove after that. I was planning for a 10:15 pace but I was feeling really good so I decided to pick it up a bit. Just as I was starting to feel tired, I reached my favorite part of the course. My #1 fans(s) were waiting for me just before the 8 mile mark. My mom, dad, and Justin gave me the boost of energy I needed before heading into Churchill Downs (which is one of my favorite parts of this course!).

I held a 9:30 pace all the way through mile 9.5 and then I hit a wall….maybe not a wall…but definitely a very tall fence. The next 2.5 miles were rough! Of course I was looking my worst for the cameraman at mile 11…why couldn’t he have been at mile 5 when I was still feeling/looking great?! Right after the 12 mile mark (as I was giving myself a DO NOT QUIT pep talk), I passed my #1 Fan(s) again. I guess that was all it took because I got a burst of energy (which I NEVER have at the finish) and finished the race at a 9:30 pace.

My goal in life is to get a great finish photo. I was actually pretty happy with these J I’m not gonna lie – that smile lasted about 10 seconds. It was a rough couple hours after the race. I got back to my parents’ house and slept on the floor of their sunroom for almost 3 hours before feeling human again. I was super pumped with my finish time: 2:08:02. 

I actually had some pretty decent finish photos...which never happens! I might actually order one of these. My finish time was way faster than expected and gave me the motivation to sign up for a fall half. Now I just have to decide which one!

Here are my splits if you’re interested:

Mile 1: 8:57     Mile 4: 9:37     Mile 7: 9:29     Mile 10: 9:49      Mile 13: 9:38

Mile 2: 9:33     Mile 5: 9:39     Mile 8: 9:31     Mile 11: 10:07    Last 0.3: 3.22

Mile 3: 9:30     Mile 6: 9:34     Mile 9: 8:44     Mile 12: 10:31

My Garmin clocked mile 9 short and the last bit of the race as 0.3 instead of 0.1. I'm running with it (pun intended :)

Have you ever run the KDF half? Or full?

What is your favorite fall half marathon?