Fellowship of the Idiots

Yesterday I officially became an Idiot and yes I am proudly shouting it from the mountain top! If you are not a distance runner you quickly categorize plenty of the things I consider fun, dumb! This will not be an exception.

The most insane part of this event was the ridiculously early wake up call. My alarm went off earlier then it did for WC-50. "Dumb" things are always more fun with friends so a group of Urban Runners met in NoDa to drive the hour together to the small town of Albemarle. 14 of us groggily piled into a van and were on the road before 4:00AM. We all had the same idea of fun that morning... run up a mountain to chase the sunrise! This is the Fellowship of the Idiots run.

The Fellowship began in 2003 when a few friends got together for their last long training run before the Myrtle Beach Marathon. They started at the YMCA in Albemarle and ran to the top of Morrow Mountain and back (19.7 miles). Every year since then, "idiots" have gotten together for this awesome long run. This year there were 359 runners - 196 of us first time idiots and the rest returning ones.

There is no charge for this (extremely well organized) run however donations are accepted to help offset the cost of putting on the run. Those that complete their first Fellowship of the Idiot Run earn a Fellowship of the Idiot t-shirt and a suitable for framing certificate. In addition, you get your name added to the Fellowship of the Idiot wall at Vac & Dash.

The event kicked off at 5:30AM. Peter, the owner of Vac & Dash, welcomed us all with a few words and then it was a simple - Ready, Set, GO! Well the run began but one of my run buddies had ducked into the Y for one last trip to the bathroom. It is the only race I have ever shrugged "no rush". We were the final participants to start and even paused to have our picture taken before heading out into the dark.

Since it was so early there wasn’t really anyone on the streets except us. Runners wore their reflective gear, headlamps and had blinker lights on for safety. By the way, I am taking recommendations for a headlamp. I absolutely love my Amphipod Cap Clip Light! I cannot imagine there is anything out there less noticeable. It is so lightweight and clips directly onto the bill of a hat/visor which I rarely run without. However know a more powerful headlamp would be better for the trails. Back to being idiots though! It was fun meeting other folks out for this unique run, cheering them on and bantering with the awesome aid station volunteers.

As we started to make the final ascent, the sun started to wake up. Since it is a race, I'll say I did "beat" the sun to the top. The views are very pretty but this morning it was cloudy so was not the beautiful orange I hoped for. People hung at the top taking pictures (& of course posting to social media) before making the return trip. Even though it is a out-and-back course, since the first half was in the dark it was an entirely difference scene coming down in the day light. The aid stations were still just as lively and volunteers still just as happy even though they had to be chilly. As I runner the weather was pretty close to perfect though - 40s with no rain or headwind.

Run often. Run long. Just never outrun the joy of running. With that is mind here was Hannah and I's "jump for joy" attempt at the end. We still had some ups left in our legs after 19 miles but just could not coordinate. Hope it makes you giggle!

Flexibility is Key to Survival

It is around 5:25AM and I am up, dressed and ready to head out the door to tackle a speed workout with my track group when my little one groggily shuffles into the bathroom. I wouldn't trade these "I just need you" snuggles for anything, honestly, but to be just as honest a "this is not what I had planned" sigh came too. I had written the following speed workout for our group: 16 x 200 - alternating mile and 5k paces | jog 100 | walk 100 | REPEAT. The idea being that even with varying speeds we would not have the opportunity to get too spread out and therefore nobody would be standing around in 20 degree temps. {brrrrr!} Got great feedback on the workout and knew I had to still get it in.

Motherhood has certainly taught me that you have to be able to roll with the punches if you have any chance of surviving. With that I pulled out my trusty paper day planner (yup I am old school like that!) and rearranged my week by pushing some tasks around. That is not always possible and I'd be painting a false picture if I didn't acknowledge the struggle it is to find any sort of balance, but I remain convinced that making my fitness a priority is important to EVERYONE'S happiness. This is why even when I’m dragging I still make time to get my workout in.

So after dropping the early morning snuggler at preschool I headed to the Dowd YMCA. Even though the sun was up, it was still really cold but their rooftop track has a great view of the city skyline. I jogged a warmup mile then headed back inside for leg swings, a motivation check and loaded the workout plan into my Garmin. Turns out this track would not be my first recommendation for a speed workout. The turns are tight making it difficult to maintain faster paces plus 13 laps = 1 mile which makes for uneven math. Bottom line, I got it done and that is also my advice to others. Just do it! There are a million reasons you can’t get to the gym or just don't want to. Yes there are more important things in life to worry about but I think we can also agree there is nothing better than feeling strong, fit & capable.

Mini Chefs

What was on my breakfast menu for this #mmmMonday?! Almond Flour Banana Muffins curtesy of my big girl and her buddy! I gave them the following recipe this weekend and tried to stay out of it. They were instructed to divide the recipe in half so they could each be in charge of their own bowl. Selfishly this was to head off any potential arguments and this conniving mom enjoyed sneaking in a math lesson.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• 1/2 cup stevia 
• 1/3 cup milk 
• 1/3 cup oil 
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 cup oats 
• 1 cup almond flour 
• 1 Tbsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt 

Instructions:

1. Mix bananas, eggs, sweetener, milk, oil, ground flax seeds & vanilla. 
2. Combine oats, flour, baking powder & salt - stir into banana mixture. 
3. Stir in any additions.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. 
5. Bake at 400 for 18-20min 

Addie used almond flour as suggested, mixed in 1/2 cup+ walnuts into the batter while her buddy opted for white flour and 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips. They both used Ripple Unsweetened Original Pea Protein Milk because that is what we use in this house. It is the best dairy alternative milk I have had.... zero sugar & more protein plus uses less water to grow pea plants then almonds!

Too bad she cannot take the muffins to school because they are not nut-free. It would have been fun to think about Addie proudly pulling a muffin out for snack time. I got to reap the benefits this morning though and one actually satisfied my large appetite. I agree with this one - two thumbs up!