Fit Foodie Run Recap

Fit Foodie Run Recap (and a New PR!)

June 23, 2014Chronicles5k, chefs, Daikaya, DC, Fit Foodie Run, personal record, PR,race, Rogue 24, runningJackie

I’m just gonna come right out and say it: I have a new personal record for running a 5k race!

But to start from the beginning…

Saturday, my mom and I entered the Fit Foodie 5k race in Fairfax, Virginia. Since it was sponsored by Cooking Light and Health magazines, the ongoing theme throughout the weekend was healthy food and fitness.

Here’s the back of the shirts; how awesome is that race tagline?

Pretty much the story of my life.

I was a bit nervous about the race the night before because there was a 50% chance of rain. Unfortunately, the rain did come, but only a light drizzle at first so the race went on as planned.

The race was hilly! I felt like we constantly were going uphill or downhill, which made the race mentally challenging for me. The course itself was also a bit confusing at times, because there were places where the people further along the race would cross/pass through other people running the race. But in the end, I pushed myself, and I am proud of the outcome!

I haven’t really kept track of all of the 5ks that I’ve ever run, but I know for a fact that I have never broken a 9 minute mile before! How did I do it, you may ask? Well, I didn’t train (besides my usual gym routine) and I drank a few beers and I went to bed at 1am the night before, so I have no idea! I think my biggest motivation was the rain. It didn’t rain while I was running but it threatened to before and after. So maybe I was subconsciously running faster to avoid it? No idea. Regardless, I was excited to have a new PR. Woohoo!

Then I realized, this is why people run, isn’t it? Most people are not trying to actually win the races that they enter, but they do hope to keep improving on their PRs. I can see how that gets addicting…

Btw, if you ever think “I could never do a 5k,” this guy did it pushing THREE kids.

If he can do it, you can do it stroller-free! He also started behind me and finished before me, but we don’t have to focus on that point…

After the race, it was time to eat! There were tents set up at the finish line with samples of dishes from local restaurants. Interestingly, there were lots of gazpachos and cold soups. One of my favorites was this one from Bastille, made with zucchini and Greek yogurt. I’m not usually a fan of cold soup, but I really liked the creaminess.

We then proceeded to the Finisher’s Village, where they had more food samples from Cooking Light and other vendors, as well as a cooking demo stage and fitness area.

They lead a few segments of yoga and band exercises:

But I was more excited to see a cooking demo by RJ Cooper, a James Beard award winning chef and owner of Rogue 24, and his friend Katsuya Fukushima, well known as the chef forDaikaya. Both restaurants have received such amazing reviews that I have wanted to try them forEVER.

The guys made gazpacho (seriously, it was the thing to do on Saturday apparently) for their cooking demo. Did you know that authentic gazpacho was originally white because it was made with bread and almonds? According to Fukushima, who trained under renowned chef Jose Andres, tomatoes were not added to the dish until Columbus brought them to Spain. Who knew?

Overall, I had a great time at the Fit Foodie 5k event, despite all the hills and rain. Maybe I should put another race on the agenda. Any suggestions?

Cali Recap #2: Cruisin’ Up the Coast to San Fran

February 27, 2014

It has been snowy the past few days in DC- I am clearly not in California anymore! Speaking of, where did we leave off?

In the last post, I described our California adventure in San Diego and Los Angeles, before ending in Santa Barbara.

Here was the view from outside our Santa Barbara hotel.

On Thursday, we left Santa Barbara at 8:30am en route to Monterey. We chose to take Route 1, aka the Pacific Coast Highway aka the PCH. Aaron and I were probably most excited about this part of the trip- the views were said to be phenomenal, and they didn’t disappoint!

The first couple of hours were scenic though lacked ocean views, as we drove through desert and mountains, rather than drive right on the coast. Side note, I saw a sign on the side of the road advertising 7 avocados for $1. If I had a kitchen at the end of the road trip, I totally would have bought like $5 worth! But anyways, we eventually started seeing a lot of really cool sites, including:

Pismo Beach

Monarch Butterflies in Pismo Beach- They migrate to this one area next to Pismo Beach…can you see the orange in the trees? There must have been thousands. And I don’t think we were even there for peak numbers of butterflies!

Hearst Castle- This was an outlandish example of what to buy when you have more money than you know what to do with!

We also saw a zebra (one of the few remaining zoo animals) on the Hearst Castle property, so I was excited! He was grazing, pretending like he was just another cow!

Elephant seals- Aaron’s favorite site of the day, though I thought their mating call sounded like belching!

Lots of beautiful coastal views

And gorgeous sunsets

This was taken off of a randomly chosen spot on the side of the road that I probably could never find again.  We walked down a path, over a small stream, and onto a secluded beach, just in time to see the sunset.

If you have the time, I highly recommend taking the PCH over the 101 (queue the OC theme song), even if it takes a bit longer.

After taking in the views all day, we arrived at Monterey in time for dinner. We foundHula’s, a divey-looking restaurant, where each Yelp review told us to ignore the decor cause the food was worth it (it was). We split the Island Style Poke (raw ahi, soy sauce, sesame oil, avocado, onion, sesame seeds), and then I devoured more tuna with theBlackened Ahi Steak Sandwich (Cajun spiced ahi tuna steak, slaw mix, sundried tomato pesto aioli). Delicious.

The next morning, we walked along Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row. Had it not been mid morning, there were tons of seafood restaurants on the wharf that I would have loved to try!

Then it was on to Santa Cruz!

Santa Cruz was a fun beach town to visit for an afternoon. We found a local deli and bought sandwiches for an impromptu picnic at Santa Cruz’s Natural Bridges State Park.

Once we had taken in the sun and sand, we were off to San Francisco! Man, was I unprepared for the hills! I knew San Fran was hilly, but not like this!

That evening, we met up with a friend from DC who now lives in SF. Over dinner, he gave us a detailed list of recommended places to see while we were in the Bay area.

So over the next two days (Saturday and Sunday), we strolled around Crissy Field and took in views of the Golden Gate Bridge,

…ate lunch in Hayes Valley,

…explored Dolores Park,

…saw the Painted Ladies, aka the houses from “Full House”,

…walked through Union Square,

…tasted lots of food at the Ferry Building,

…enjoyed the sunshine near Fisherman’s Wharf,

…ate world-famous sourdough bread from Boudin,

…wished we had saved room for seafood from the Wharf,

…visited Ghiradelli Square for samples of dark chocolate (and also visited an awesome oil and vinegar store),

…walked up and down the crazy-crooked Lombardi Street,

…rode the cable cars,

…and hiked Muir Woods to see the enormous redwood trees.

Phew. No wonder I was tired while in San Fran. It was a jam-packed two days!

Monday was our last full day in California, so naturally, we spent it relaxing in Napa andSonoma!

We visited 4 wineries: Robert Mondavi, Alpha Omega, Beringer (just toured this one), and Westwood. The wine did not disappoint, and all wine since returning to the east coast has yet to live up the Napa standard!

Tuesday, we flew back to DC, and as I mentioned in my last post, it took me nearly a week to fully recover from all the traveling!

So there you go folks, the coast of California wrapped up neatly in two posts. I had planned to throw some nutrition tips into this post, but I think it’s long enough as is! It was a wonderful, exciting, nonstop, exhausting but worthwhile 11 days and 10 nights in California. We enjoyed seeing east coast friends, west coast scenery and sunsets, and especially delicious food.

Anyone have a big vacation planned for later this year?

California Recap #1: Sunny SoCal!

February 24, 2014

When it comes to adjusting to different time zones, they say it is easier to fly west than fly east. Man are they right! We flew back last Tuesday and I don’t think I felt back on schedule until yesterday. It’s been rough.

But now I’m ready to give you part one of two to recap our California trip. Get ready for lots of pictures 

We started off our vacation by visiting Aaron’s best friend and his wife, who live about halfway between San Diego and LA. Literally 10 minutes after arriving at their apartment from the airport, we were out the door and off walking to the beach. It was such a great way to start the vacation.

We had a great time catching up, including an awesome trip to a dog beach,

a visit to Petco Park,

a walk around the San Diego harbor,

and sunset in La Jolla while watching the seals!

After spending the first two days of vacation with friends, we were on our own on Monday. Funny how quickly you forget that other people have work when you’re on vacation! We visited Balboa Park and Old Town before enjoying dinner on Coronado. Sadly, I do not have pics of Old Town or Coronado, apparently I was slacking, so the next few are all Balboa Park.

Near one of the fountains in beautiful Balboa Park:

One of the most colorful place I’ve seen, aka a spot in the Spanish Village Art Center:

Cacti in the desert garden:

Tuesday, we woke up and drove to LA. We stopped off at Manhattan beach, where I enjoyed  Fresh Masa Cakes topped with Pork Belly and Guacamole at Simmzy’s.

I’m a sucker for guacamole.

We also stopped off at Venice Beach and watched the skateboarders.

We then headed into the center of LA where we drove through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. I loved this place in the picture below, which I assume is joking by claiming their cupcakes have no sugar, carbs, or fat?

In the evening, we accidentally stumbled upon this overlook of the Hollywood sign and the city of LA just as the sun was setting.

The sunsets were so beautiful out west.

We ended the day by walking through Hollywood with the celebrity stars beneath our feet.

We ate a delicious dinner at Aventine. There we shared the Casa salad (baby greens, grilled pears, roasted pine nuts, focaccia croutons, shaved parmesan) and the Pancetta pizza (roasted Brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, toasted hazelnuts, mozzarella).

I had never had Brussels sprouts on a pizza before but it was surprisingly tasty! I may have to recreate this one at home.

The next day, we spent the morning in Echo Park. Not only was it gorgeous (sunny and 78ºF), but I think this was the day that the East coast was hit with snow. Dodged that bullet!

Echo Park was so pretty!

We then headed over to Santa Monica, where we took in more views of the Pacific and explored the farmer’s market.

Around lunch, we headed up to Malibu, where we enjoyed probably my favorite meal of the trip: clams on the half shell to start followed by a lobster roll with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts (I clearly love Brussels sprouts).

The restaurant was right on the water with beautiful views. After lunch, we took a small hike on the cliffs near the restaurant. It was gorgeous, just like every other view in Cali so far.

That evening, we headed up to Santa Barbara, where we explored the small town and of course took in the sunset.

Sick of sunset pics yet? I hope not!

The next morning we started our trip up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), en route to San Francisco. But you will have to wait a few more days to hear about that when I recap in the next post! Stay tuned cause we’re just halfway there!