April was fairly low key. There were no major mishaps other than Swiffer the Dog coming down with a major skin allergy relapse.

We tried a new recipe out that we liked a lot: Zucchini, Tomato, and Swiss Cheese Pie. It came from the Quick Vegetarian Pleasures cookbook. (I find this cookbook a little mixed – things taste very good, but I don’t find them to be particularly “quick” recipes as promised.) I recommend prepping the veggies the day before, then assembling and baking the pie the next day.

Before & After

I logged fewer miles than usual (17.8 miles) but I hit the gym at least 2 times per week. I did Run for Home 5K (PR!), Trots for Tots “1/4 Marathon”, and the OCES Big Chief 5K (so. hot.). I really enjoyed the first two races – the Run for Home started at the Classic Center and wound its way through downtown and along the Greenway. The Trots for Tots was exclusively on the Greenway. It was a really pretty afternoon race and I enjoyed it, but there was a lot of pollen that made things rough. The OCES was an afternoon race over at Veterans Park which is lovely, but has a notable absence of trees anywhere except the perimeter of the park. It was an exceptionally hot afternoon, and I was just glad for that race to be over.

We also hit up the Twilight Criterium downtown and had a lot of fun with our friends Amy & Andy. Here are some short video clips to show how crazy fast the pack is:

March Madness! Well, it wasn’t so much madness, but it was a lot of fun. As promised, I hit the stores and scored big time with discounts at Ann Taylor Loft. (Did you know they offer additional discounts on the first Tuesday of the month? I really lucked out by shopping on that very day, plus they were having a crazy spring sale, plus I got the discount for signing up for the store card, etc. You get the picture.) I didn’t manage to take pictures of my haul, but I’ll get around to it.

At the beginning of the month, I did the Moving for Montessori 10K for the local Montessori school. My buddy Jack ran the 5K, and since he’s made signs and cheered me on at several races (his signs currently decorate my office), I decided to return the favor:

He did an awesome job! We ate pancakes afterward.

The next big event was the Sarasota Half Marathon Relay which I wrote about over on Girls vs. Boy. We also started up a Flickr Group for Girls vs. Boy pictures that has a bunch of our Sarasota pictures in it. Here are some of the highlights:

I was nervous, but excited! / J’s compression sleeves are hardcore

PR FINISH! (The dolphin medals may have been the best part!) / We got to see the Red Sox vs. Orioles during Spring Training

The beach was amazeballs

Ok, I need to stop dreaming about the beach…

On St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I ran the Dawg Trot 5K and then headed up to South Caroline to visit with my aunt, uncle & cousin. We had a great time visiting, the weather was perfect, and I even managed to sneak in a visit to the barn to see the horses and barn kitties:

At the end of the month, I loped through the Race for Chase 5K followed by the Ready Set Speak 5K. I won my first award in my age group at Ready, Set, Speak. I received the 3rd place ribbon, but there was a mistake and I actually won 2nd… but who’s counting?! The exciting part of this win isn’t what place I got, but that it was my first award EVER in a running event. EVER. What’s more exciting than winning an award? I ran this course a few weeks earlier for the Dawg Trot 5K (my time was not great), and I shaved my time by nearly a minute and a half. I killed those hills.

All in all, March was awesome. I logged 27.5 miles running 5 races (Moving for Montessori 10K, Sarasota Half Marathon Relay, Dawg Trot 5K, Race for Chase 5K, and Ready, Set, Speak 5K), I had two great mini vacations to Florida & South Carolina, and had a great time visiting with friends and family.

April’s already a-buzz and big plans are in the works for Cinco de Mayo!

So, I know way back at the end of January I was all, “I’m making February all about FUN!” Well, future self just told past self to shove it. February was a bust.  Seriously.  I just submitted my monthly leave totals for work – 44 hours of sick leave.  (That’s 5 full work days and a 1/2 day for the math challenged.)  I haven’t taken that much sick leave… maybe ever.

To be honest, I’m glad February is FINISHED.

On the plus side, we did have a Mardi Gras party with friends (check #6 off our resolutions).  Chip made an awesome jambalaya from scratch (even though I got eager to eat it serve it to our friends and forgot to add the shrimp at the end — oops!).  He also made biscuit beignets for dessert, which I was totally skeptical of, but they turned out to be a big hit.

I did manage to get to the gym a few times during the month, and although I had to drop out of one race due to illness, I did complete the Leggin’ it for Lincoln 5K, the Taste 10K, and the Barrow Boogie 5K.  I also moved up from #21 to #11 in the Black Bag Race Series!  *w00t*

The Grit made me really happy after I finished my last race of the month:

Next up:  March Madness!  Spring/summer clothing shopping is happening!  (Write. It. Down.) J & I have a big relay race (checking #5 off our resolutions) in Sarasota, and I’ve got a few 5Ks in mind.