Very Briefly...

I am anxiously awaiting to hear how Katy and Mom's half marathon in Atlanta went yesterday - I was thinking of them and hoping they had a great time together!

I made up my Sunday long run this afternoon - 7.8 km in 54 min. I always seem to run much slower when I go after lunch. Wonder why?

Come to the Dark Side

My youngest son loves the campaign for tomorrow's Earth Hour (can you guess why?):
The whole idea behind it is to turn off all your lights for one hour to save energy. This is supposed to happen tomorrow evening (Saturday March 28) from 8:30 to 9:30 pm. Feel free to join us on the dark side and help save the planet too!

Today I felt like I was on the dark side at the gym - my tempo run felt so HARD! Maybe because I haven't done one in a while??? Um, yeah... But I hung in there and got it done - ended doing 4.5 km in 30 min, and then after that some weight machines, ugh.

My Sunday run will take place on Monday, since Linda and I have our workshop on Sunday and I will have lots to do. Have a great weekend and don't forget to turn your lights off on Saturday!

The Princess and the Pea

What is it about the French that they are able to make the simplest things seem elegant? I was shopping last week in a supermarket that stocks a lot of products from France and came across the loveliest line of dried legumes in boxes that you have ever seen! Each box featured a bright color, a yummy looking dish (with recipe on the back), an energetic and fit looking French girl and the words "Vivez bien!" (live well). I restrained myself from not buying all five or six boxes of different beans, but chose the split peas, because the recipe looked yummy, comforting and simple:

Purée de Pois Cassés (Split Pea Puree)

225 g. dried split peas, well rinsed

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 small potato, peeled and chopped

1/2 stock cube

water to cover

salt and pepper

Put the vegetables in a medium saucepan with the stock cube and water to cover. Bring to a boil and then gently simmer until the peas are tender, about an hour. Add additional water as needed. When the peas are tender, season with salt and pepper, and puree with a plunger mixer or in a blender. Serve hot with fresh herbs.

It was very good - like a very thick version of split pea soup. Jenny and I were thinking you could probably start with some sauteed onion in your pan before you add the peas and veggies to cook, or perhaps some thyme...I actually threw a bay leaf in the pot while it was cooking to add a bit of flavor. It certainly is a healthy and low fat dish, but still elegant enough for a princess!

This princess is now back to a program for the Ladies Run on June 1. Yesterday I had a 40 minute run on my schedule, but had to do it on the treadmill at the gym due to rain/hail/sleet that I just could not bring myself to run in. Actually it had been a while since I had done a run on the treadmill and it was fun - I did the first 15 minutes at a pretty easy pace and then bumped it up for the last 25, ending up doing 6 km altogether. Tomorrow I have a tempo workout, which will also be at the gym, and weights afterwards.

Cowgirl

I am notoriously bad at the hand-eye coordination it takes to play most video/computer games. But I finally found something I can do - it's a game on the Wii that involves riding a cow, while jumping hurdles and hitting as many scarecrows as you can. My kids refuse to play it with me, because I keep winning. I guess I am just a cowgirl natural...

Now if only they had a "Cowgirl Half Marathon"! Oh well...ten weeks from today til the Ladies Run in Kortrijk - yee ha!

Not my first Princess Race

Apparently, the Disney Princess Half Marathon was NOT my first time to race with real princesses...Today I was signing up for the Ladies Run to be held in Kortrijk on June 1st. This will be the fourth time I run this race, I was there the very first year doing the 5 K and the last two years I did the 11K, which I will do again this year. It's a great course, all women, lots of Belgian celebrities, a great atmosphere...

So after I got myself all signed up, I decided to have a look at some of the pictures from last year's race...and as I was scrolling through, I noticed, to my great surprise, that Princess Astrid of Belgium (daughter of our King Albert - see pic), also ran this race last year!!! They had several pictures of her crossing the finish line and her results were listed right there with the rest of us (she did the 5K in 35 min, not bad!) How cool is that? I'll have to keep my eye open for her this year - it would help, of course, if she wore her tiara like we did at Disney!

Disney Princess Half Marathon

What a wonderful race, what a wonderful day, what a wonderful two princesses to run with!

As always at Disney, everything was tremendously well organized - we got to the race expo on Saturday afternoon and picked up our race packets, admired our gorgeous race shirts (pink with the tiara logo on them) and picked up some samples, then headed to the hotel to relax.

It was hard to sleep knowing we had to get up so early and the fact that we had to change the clocks for Daylight Savings time made me extra nervous about messing up, so I felt like I hadn't slept a wink (although Mom assured me I had been snoring). But we all got up and were out with our three supporters and loyal princes Noah, Andy and Mark, who was a wonderful chauffer the entire weekend.

It was much better being driven to the race start by car than having to get a Disney bus like we did last year, because you could leave much later and we didn't have to stand around for so long at the staging area - we even sat in the car, keeping warm and saving our feet for a while, until it was time to make that long walk to our start corral.

There were about 8000 runners set to race, mostly women, many dressed in festive princess atire, elaborate hairdos, etc. We got all dolled up too, with cute skirts Mom had made and our own team tees Jenny ordered for us (see pic!). After waiting nervously for about 15 minutes, we finally could start running - rather, shuffling at first, then jogging a bit and weaving around other runners, and finally settling into a nice pace as we went up the highway overpass towards the first mile marker. Jenny, our team leader, had given me the job of running slightly ahead and keeping a nice steady pace; Mom was to be next with Jenny bringing up the rear, and eventually becoming Mom's personal coach and bootcamp director as the race got tougher towards the end. Boy, I was glad I got the pacer job - Jenny was getting a lot of dirty looks from runners passing us by as she was telling Mom to "QUIT WALKING! RUN! COME ON MOM! YOU WANTED TO DO THIS!" I just kept jogging along at my nice steady pace and looking back.

But really, everything went very well - we started out running the first two miles before we made a quick porta potty stop. Our goal was to get just under or right at three hours, and we seemed well on pace to make that. Then we were on our way towards the Contemporary hotel and we knew Mark and the boys would be waiting at mile 4 to cheer us on (and take our fancy princess skirts for us, which were starting to get hot). Then it was under the bridge, past the hotel, and on into the Magic Kingdom - probably the funnest part of the race - nice clean bathrooms - and it was a lot less crowded than last year's half marathon.

Once out of the Magic Kingdom, things get tougher. You have a long straight stretch of highway and Mom was starting to feel the effects of the long stretches of running - as we passed 7 miles and I was doing the pace math in my head I started to think we would be coming in at around 3:10, if we were lucky. We were watching for Mark and the boys again, and when we finally found them, Mark told us we were still on pace for a 2:58 finish time which really cheered me up. So we kept plugging along, me just ahead, Jenny encouraging Mom (You can do this! You wanted this! Just run 5 minutes without walking!), and Mom trying to dodge behind slower people so she could sneak a walk break while Jenny wasn't looking. If you know my sister Jenny, you'll know this tactic doesn't work!

Every time we passed those beeping mats that register your time at 5 K, 10 K, and 15 K, we would get excited thinking of everyone who was tracking us from far away and knowing they would be just as thrilled to know we were doing so well.

We got a another boost at about mile 9 where they were handing out eight different flavors of Cliff Shots - Jenny and I grabbed a few and we tried to get Mom to fuel up a bit more. That seemed to help and she did great going up the first of three big overpass hills that come just before you get into Epcot and the finishing stretch. I kept my eye on my watch and was in suspense the whole time wondering if we were actually going to make our goal of coming in right at about 3 hours.

The last two miles were tough for Mom but she hung in there. I ran ahead and asked spectators to cheer for my mom Cindy who was just behind me to try and keep her feet moving. It's a lot harder to give up and just walk when people are cheering you on and the great thing about Disney races is they put your first name on your race bib so volunteers and spectators can encourage you by name. Everyone kept shouting, "Come on, Cindy, you're almost there!" and Mom was muttering under her breath, "We're NOT almost there, I'll run when I see the finish line." But we kept harrassing her, finally got into the final stretch where the finish line was actually visible, and Mickey, all handsome in his tux, and Minnie, in her own beautiful princess dress, were there to give us the royal welcome as we crossed the finish line right at 3 hours, 1 minute - an incredible PR for Mom which made Jenny and I both extremely proud and happy. We crossed over and were awarded our medals - a beautiful tiara studded with "jewels" - then we quickly found our princes and were wisked back to our castle in our royal carriage.

The rest of day was spent basking in the sun at the pool (did I mention the perfect running weather? 71 degrees when we finished and not humid at all - it was great), catching up with my old friend John who came to hang out with us, celebratory champagne, and finally, in what is becoming our tradition, an elegant dinner at the California Grill at the top of the Contemporary Hotel - our opportunity to get all cleaned up and parade around with our medals, get admiring comments from Disney staff, and have a wonderful meal with a big glass of wine - we earned it. Jenny had timed our reservation perfectly so we were there to enjoy the amazing fireworks display over the Magic Kingdom. It is simply amazing to be up on the observation deck, looking down and seeing part of the course you just ran...it looks so long!

The next day, we headed for the MGM studios park, all wearing the shirts we received for running the race, which were really cute (see pic at right) and still feeling like a team all day long!

Thanks to Mom - for being the instigator and the wonderful inspiration and comic relief that she is...

Thanks to Jenny - for being the most gracious hostess, our motivator and coach, and the reason we all keep running...

Thanks to Mark - for all the support, professional running advice and my partner in crime on the food front...

Thanks to Andy and Noah - great troupers, cheering section and my Tower of Terror buddies...

And finally, thanks to Stefaan for all the loops around the lake during these past cold winter Sundays, and for making it all possible for me to be here this week. And to my three boys for taking their mom's absence and running all in stride and helping their dad while I'm gone...

I love you all!

Princess Amy

PS: We later found out that Mom came in 8th in her age group (out of 21 total) which made her very happy and she forgave us for being hard on her!

Safe and sound on the ground

Arrived safely yesterday evening here in balmy Tampa...mmm! Uneventful, dare I say even comfortable, flights made for a relatively relaxing travel day. (I really do lead a charmed life! - touch wood!)

Jenny and Mom arrived at the airport in full princess regalia - skirts, tiaras and all!

This morning took a short loosening-up run around the neighborhood and then yes, had to go to Target! It was such a pleasure to run sleeveless, in the warm sun - it was actually pretty hot - to me, anyway!

Music on Monday

Hectic day, lots to do, what better than to listen Aimee Mann to get into a chilled mood? This is one of my all time favorite songs...enjoy.

Finally!

Finally! Sunshine...balmy spring weather...I wouldn't go so far as to say it is warm...but just let it suffice to tell you that I wore capri running pants today and - this is big - only two layers on top, one short sleeve shirt and one long sleeve shirt! What a pleasure not to be bogged down by layers and layers of running clothes. We had a great run, there were tons of other runners out, and the kids came with us and played basketball while we ran around and around the lake.

These were the last loops around the lake for me before the half next Sunday, which means I was thinking about the race a lot while running today. I just checked the ten day weather forecast for Florida and it looks like it will be hot (highs around 80°F/27°C) while I am there (yay!) - but I just hope it won't be too much of a change from what I am used to right now.

By the way, we had a great day in Gent on Thursday - we stopped by and visited Tobias at EVA, it was fun to see their beautiful big office and he sent us home with a ton of brochures for my workshop with Linda at the end of the month. Then we stopped at the vegetarian burger joint Tasty, which the kids really enjoyed (most especially the fact that they could have Ben & Jerry's for dessert there), and finally visited the amazing exhibition of Flemish tapestries at the Sint Pieter's Abdij - it continues until the end of the month, definitely worth the trip to Gent to see it.

On Friday, I got my run done in the morning and then Christine and Jonas stopped by for lunch - it was so nice to have some adult conversation during the day (my three computer hogs usually try to eat as quickly as possible in order to get back to their games). I made some home made hummus and it actually turned out pretty good (usually I am lazy and buy the excellent hummus at the grocery store). What made it really good was that I added some Za'atar to it: this is an herb mix from the middle east that has wild thyme and sesame seed in it. Yum!

The kids go back to school tomorrow and I have just two days to get myself ready to leave. Since Stefaan is being so good as to take a week off to stay home while I am gone, I like to be caught up on things and have everything clean and organized for him before I go. Plus I have two translation jobs that just came in a the last minute! So if I don't get another chance to post before I leave, you'll know why - I am up to my ears in cleaning, shopping, washing, ironing, packing, translating, hugging my kids, and doing all those little things that need to be done before a trip...