It didn’t seem like Thanksgiving.  Got up at 6:45 and went for a 2 mile warm up run with Shane.  The road was quiet, no cars. It was cold.  I ran 1 1/2 miles before it finally dawned on me that it was a holiday.  At 9 o’clock I would be doing a 5K run, the Run for Hunger.  Ted and Teddy were running the race with me. 

I left the house at 8 am to jog to the Parkway Ski Chalet and register for the run. Ted drove and brought our four food item donation plus a mere $5.00 each required to register.  It’s amazing how so little can help so much.

Ted and jo

We didn’t see Teddy as we killed time for 30 minutes, keeping warm in the Chalet. It was 25 degrees and we weren’t in any hurry to get outside.

As we headed to the starting line, we saw Teddy.  He was running after all.  The Kid’s run was at 8:50 and we finally heard the “ready, set, GO!” at 9:05 am.  Since Ted and Teddy run at almost the same pace, I went ahead to treat the race as a “speed work” kind of training day.   

Even though I warmed up for 4 miles, it was tough finding my rhythm.  The first half of the race went from the Parkway Rec. Center up to the eagle.  ALL UP HILL. It was tough.  The turn around at the eagle was a relief as it was smooth sailing down hill.   I finally saw the  “Finish” banner and picked up the pace.  My hamstring started to complain. I held my breath as I thought “Is it going to pop?” But no, the hamstring stayed with me and allowed me to  cross the finish at about 25.10

My splits: 

Mile 1= 9:15 

Mile 2 = 8:07

Mile 3+=7:04

Not a PR but a good pace of about 8:04 min.mile.  I’m going to try hard to whittle that down to under 8 by my next 5k which WON’T be up hill half the way!  I jogged part way home, before Ted picked me up.  I needed to let my legs relax with a cool down jog for about a mile.  When I got home that hamstring was put on ice and will get a day off.   Total miles run:  8.4

Teddy ran a great race:

Teddy finish

He is crossing the finish in blue (right side of photo) at 28:22.

And Ted! What a great run! He ran all the way, not having run over 2 miles in years and finished under 30 minutes.  He said he felt great. He even had a chit-chat with someone he knew as he ran up the hill.  Finish time = 29:55

Ted run

It was a fun and challenging 5K.  A great turnout in support of hunger.

We headed off to dinner. Plans changed.  We never went to Delta Lake Inn. We met Ted’s sister Debbie, her husband Eddie, brother Richard, and Ma Ayoub at the Radisson.  Good friends, family and food.

What to put on the table in a rush for dessert or snacks

We don’t have to spend hours making fancy desserts when entertaining.  Sometimes small presentations of elegance go along way.  Besides, who doesn’t love strawberries?

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  • 1 pint of strawberries, rinsed and dried
  • 4 oz of Goat cheese or Cream cheese
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • just a pinch of sugar
  • a drizzle of honey

Make a little slit in the end of the strawberry.

Mix the cheese with the spice, the sugar, and the honey.

Put a small amount of cheese in the slit of the strawberry.

Plate and present!

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So simple. So good.

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Sometimes after all that cooking and baking over the holidays, you need a break.  This is a great dish that is sure to please the crowd.

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Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and get a few days off for a long weekend.  ENJOY!

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