You all probably thought I disappeared on you.  And, I guess I sort of did.  With back to school and coaching high school cross country, these 60-65 hour weeks are leaving me with little time to blog or do much else.  Add to it that my iPhone 4s is officially full on the memory front and will no longer take photos…as in ANY, and you don’ t have a good recipe for blogging.  I’ve still been catching up on the blogs I read (drastically behind, but getting there) and today’s day off from school is giving me some time to finally update this here blog.

While I don’t plan to do a Friday Fab 5 every week as I’m just too busy, I do plan to pop in here or there with updates and of course will be posting race reports or anything I feel I want to write about.

So what have I been up to lately…

{#1-Cross Country}

At the end of August I was contacted by an organizer for David Kuhn to see if I or someone I knew would be able to help David out in reaching his goal or running 11,000 miles around the United States to raise awareness about Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic condition his granddaughter has.  Why would David need people’s help?  David is a blind.  David was in an accident caused by a drunk driver that left him without his vision.  David runs on city trails and tracks and relies on people in the communities he visits to guide him.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for our cross country team to learn some valuable lessons about perseverance, determination and overcoming challenges.  The team also learned about Cystic Fibrosis.

One morning before practice I picked David up at his hotel, took him to get breakfast and brought him to join our cross country team. Members of the team took turns guiding David on our 5.5. mile run.  We all ran one mile on the track and then 4.5 miles around our city trail.  The kids had to hold a rope that David held and let him know when dips, bumps or curbs were coming and when upcoming stops were near.  It was a great day for our entire team with many lessons being taken from the experience.  You can learn more about David and his journey on his blog or in this Runner’s World article.

{#2-Kacey Musgraves and Katy Perry Concert}

Lets just say they were amazing.  I’ve always liked them both, but after hearing them live I’m a much bigger fan!

{#3-Color Run Fun}

A full post is coming about the second Color Run I did a few weeks ago.

{#4-Shalane Flanagan and Sauvie Island}

I saw this advertisement in the August edition of Runner’s World and it instantly brought back memories of running the Foot Traffic Flat Marathon in Oregon this summer as one of my race all 50 states. I can’t believe Shalane (notice we are on a first name basis 😉 ) often trains on the same route as the marathon. So cool to think I ran in her training grounds. Little things like this remind me of how awesome running a marathon in all 50 states is. The places it takes me and the adventures I get to have!

{#5-Healthier Chip Free Nachos}

I made these for dinner for the husband and I a few nights ago. Football food made healthier. As I try to keep eating clean as much as possible, I’m on the lookout for new recipes all the time and ways to make foods I love healthier. This dish was perfect for that. My photos do not look near as good as the original recipe creator’s, but I made mine in a glass dish with the intention of eating mine with a fork so it was less messy. The bottom photo shows the bottom of the pan (zucchini alternating with red and yellow peppers.) Some recipe modification I made: I added green onions, onions and jalapenos, made a pound of turkey instead of 3/4 and used an entire zucchini instead of half. This was awesome and would be the perfect healthy take on tailgating food this football season.

Happy Friday!

Sarah