May Kelly's Irish Cottage and the first breakfast at Red Elephant

Hello Friends!

We arrived at the Red Elephant Inn yesterday afternoon.  We went inside to check in and met the Owner, Rob, his daughter, and their two adorable dogs.  One was a big old Golden retriever named Jack and the other was a teeny tiny Chihuahua named Cookie.  The owner was very welcoming and showed us the snack bar, which is stocked with a bottle of wine every evening and always has tea, popcorn, and apples.   Next he showed us the dining room, where we would have breakfast, and the common room which was a cozy little library.  

After seeing our room, we brought up our stuff and got settled.  Then we spent some time picking out where to go for dinner.  We decided on May Kelley’s Irish Cottage.  We went kind of early so it wasn’t busy at all.  We were seated right away and soon ordered our drinks.  I got a Blue Moon, and CJ got a Smithwicks.  

For our appetizer we ordered the Bruschetta.   I’m not usually a big fan of appetizers because they fill me up, but I couldn’t pass up the bruschetta.  Before we got the appetizer they brought us out some brown bread, which was warm and delicious.  The crust was a little bit burnt/crispy, but it was perfect that way.  When our bruschetta arrived, I was surprised to see that it was covered in melted cheese.  Usually I just see it with chucks of tomatoes on top, but this one was like a little pizza.  It was really good and I was happy we ordered it.

This place was a pretty authentic Irish place, they even had black pudding on the menu!  CJ ordered the Shepard’s pie which is made with Lamb, and I got the sirloin steak salad, with cranberries, grilled Portobello, and gorgonzola cheese.  It was really good, and we both enjoyed our meals a lot.

This morning we woke up and headed downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.  They offered us Coffee or tea to start. I chose coffee, and CJ chose the Irish breakfast tea.  Our first course (out of three) was the Zeppole with a raspberry jam served in a martini glass.  It was so yummy!  I had never heard of them/had them before, but I loved it.

The second course was a fruit dish.  It was sliced banana covered in a sauce made with peanut butter and yogurt and covered in brown sugar.  This was so good!  It want to try to make it at home.

We had a choice for our third course.  We could choose egg’s Benedict or a waffle.  We both chose the egg’s Benedict.  It was so tasty.  It came with a side of potatoes roasted with thyme.   I could barely finish my plate because I’m not used to having three course breakfasts!   I seriously can’t wait to see what’s for breakfast tomorrow. 

Longest Week Ever?

Happy Thursday!

Has this week been dragging for anyone else?  It has been going by slow!  It could be due to the fact that on Tuesday I booked an impromptu weekend getaway for me and the bf, and each day has been dragging since then! 

 I had to tweak my smart coach training plan a little bit because I know I’m not going to feel like/have time for working out this weekend.  Depending on the weather, I might try to sneak a 3 mile run in on Saturday, but if not, I’m planning to spend some time on the treadmill when I get home on Sunday.  Will either of those things actually happen?

remember these things??

 I’m starting to get really excited for the race in March.  Since my training has been going so great, I’m feeling  pretty confident that I’ll be able to finish the race within my goal time of 1 Hour and 45 minutes.

Here’s my training plan for this week:

Monday:  3 mile run(check)

Tuesday: 3 mile run(check)

Wednesday:  3 mile run(check)

Thursday: 2 mile run

Friday: Off

Saturday: Possible 3 mile run

Sunday:  Possible 3 mile run

Why is this week all 3 miles when I was running 4 and 7 miles last week, you ask?  I have no idea!  But since my plan is from “Smart” coach. I’m going to trust that they know what they’re doing.

Anyways, back to my weekend getaway…. We’re going to North Conway, NH.  We went two years ago and stayed in the most adorable B&B called the Peace Withinn.  How perfect does that sound?  It was really cute and our room had a gigantic bath with jets, and it’s own fire place.  We ended up staying for 4 nights during the week and we had the entire Inn to ourselves.  We shopped, ate alotm and even snow-shoed.  It was a really great time, and I know this year will be even better. :)

Our room: The Fire side room

Snow shoeing adventures

my main squeeze(squeege)

This year we’re staying at the Red Elephant Inn.  All of the reviews I have read for this place have been amazing, so I have really high expectations.  Most have said that the Inn Keepers are great and really personable.  Is it NOT anyone’s ideal job to be an Inn Keeper for a B&B? I know it’s mine!

I’m working a short day tomorrow and heading up right after.  Can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Seven Mile Saturday

Hey Everyone (all 3 of you that read this)!  I just ran 7 miles! I’m so proud of myself!

This morning I had a six mile run on the agenda from my training plan.  I figured I would do the six miles and keep going it I felt up to it.  When I reached six miles I thought I’d do a little more so I could do a 10k which is 6.21 miles.  Once I reached that I figured I would just go to 7 miles since I was feeling so great.  And I did it!  I ran 7 miles! The furthest I have ever run!  On a Treadmill!

That brings this week’s total miles up to 15. 

This week’s training recap:

Tuesday: 4 miles- 10:02 Pace

Thursday: 4 miles- 9:38 pace

Saturday: 7 miles- 10:01 pace

After this run, I’m feeling pretty good about the 10 miler.  I can’t wait for it!

Unfortunately most of my runs have been on the treadmill lately.  The treadmill and I are becoming the best of frenemies.  I wish I could run more outside, but since I do most of my workouts after work, it’s really dark and cold by then.  This morning I was hoping to run outside, but I woke up to another winter wonderland.  I did see one person out running today and I thought “yeah, he just looks insane.”

I started reading a new blog called Skinny Runner.  At first I thought the title was a little obnoxious, but I actually enjoy reading it, she’s pretty funny (especially her celebricizing page).  She runs about one marathon a month.  Who does that??? She even ran two marathons in a single weekend before.  At first I thought that was just ridiculous, but whatever floats your boat, right?  Where some people might think that’s a little excessive, I say more power to you, if your body can handle it and you’re doing it safely.  I doubt I'll ever get to that point , but I think I’ll use her as inspiration. :) 

Friday Night recap: Devlin's and Rosebud

Friday night was really fun.  My boyfriend’s band was playing a show in Davis sq.  The show wasn’t until 11 so  I went with my Co-worker Tracy to dinner first in Brighton.  We went to this lovely little restaurant called Devlin's.  It was really cute inside.  The bar had pictures of Audrey Hepburn on it and the feel of the restaurant was just classic.  

I ordered a Golden Apple for my cocktail.  It even had a cinnamon stick in it.  It was delicious!

For my entrée I ordered the butternut Squash Ravioli with a brown butter sage sauce.  It was so Yum!

I had looked at the menu earlier at work and had decided on the Cajun tortellini’s but I just can’t pass up a butternut squash ravioli.  And  I wasn’t disappointed!  Lucky for me, Tracy ordered the Cajun Tortellini’s so I got to try them/ finish the rest of entrée.  When the waitress came over to check on us I had both her plate and mine in front of me.  How embarrassing.  What can I say, I have a very healthy appetite.  

After dinner we caught a bus to Davis Square.  The show was at a Diner/bar called Rosebud.  It was Yankee Power’s first show in months so I got to see lots of friends I hadn’t seen in while.   While at the diner, I had a few Stella Artois, and Tracy had a Cosmo.  

I didn’t get home til 2am and I slept until about noon the next day.  I had to run five miles according to my training plan so I dragged my hungover butt onto the treadmill and completed the whole workout.  It was tough, but I found out that the treadmill can cure a headache!  

This week I ran a total of 15.45 Miles and that feels like a huge accomplishment for me.  I stuck to my workout plan for once! Go me!

It's Official!

Here it is, the exciting news I’ve been dying to tell you:

I officially registered for the 10 Mile Run! Wicked nervous though…

(I also registered for the St. Patty’s day 5k in Somerville- Looks like somebody’s on the fast track to reaching her 2012 goals!)

I’m extremely nervous for the 10 mile race because I’ve never run that far in my life.  Since I need some help with the training, I went over to runner’s world to print out a custom training plan.  My plan includes 3 or 4 runs a week that gradually works up to 9 miles.  I’m planning to finish the race with a time of 1 hour and 45 minutes. If I can do it under that I'll be very happy!

My training has been going well.  I've been unofficially training since Dec 21st. The longest run I've done so far was a five mile run last Saturday.  I felt pretty good after that because 5 miles is halfway to 10 (Duh).  The main thing I have to work on now is my endurance and focus.  It's so easy for me to want to give up, so I really need to push myself to get through this training program.

This week’s training schedule:

Monday: 4 mile run(Check!) 

Tuesday: 2 mile speed run(Check!)  Pace- 7:26

Wednesday: 4 mile run

Thursday:  Off

Friday: Off

Saturday: Long Run- 5 miles

Sunday:  I’ll see how I feel…. 

In other news, I attempted to cook myself a steak tonight, and I had no idea what I was doing.  Since, I don’t like it to be pink in the middle so I ended up cutting it into smaller pieces to make sure it was cooked thoroughly.  I won't even show you a picture, it was that pitiful.  The end result was something that resembled steak tips, just without the tenderness and juiciness.  Oh well, protein is protein, people!

I think I might need to ask my friend Matt for some meat cooking advice....