Friday, September 26, 2008

Shhh...I'm at work ;)














So- I have NOT updated my many adoring fans in quite some time. I don't know how all of you have been able to function without my daily tidbits of my foodie and running anecdotes about Baltimore! So a lot has taken place in the last couple weeks; I ran my half-marathon in Philly last weekend, it is now officially autumn, track pre-season has started for Towson... All are very exciting things. Let me begin by reporting on my fantabulous stay in Philadelphia last weekend for the Philly Distance Run.

The brigade started our journey in Delaware where the XC team had a morning meet. Some very impressive performances across the board; a couple top course times by our girls, so a great start to a great weekend. We headed off to Philly from there; a mere hour long trek from Newark, DE. Once we got in, we vegged for a bit before deciding on what to do for dinner. I of course had to pick up my packet down at the convention center. Once that was out of the way, we proceeded to Tavern 17 on 17th street near Rittenhouse square. We dined outside as the interior seating was not dog-friendly but that’s okay because sidewalk seating is much more entertaining. We happened upon this particular contemporary bistro because of their special doggie treat menu! For all you dog lovers, this place is more than accommodating; Cecilia ordered a big bowl of ground turkey. Every morsel of ground turkey was devoured in seconds- I could say the same thing about my dinner too.

I decided on a scrumptious sushi-esque seared tuna sandwich with a light wasabi dressing and mixed greens on toasted sesame bread. Although the taste was spectacular, the actual durability of the sandwich was a little problematic. It was the kind of sandwich where with each bite you lose a chunk of something out the other side so you are perpetually reassembling each half as you eat. And not to mention the bread was a bit tough, eventually leading to a raw roof of mouth; we all know how uncomfortable that can be. Don’t you fret, it was soothed by melt in your mouth yet still crispy French fries. Overall a splendid experience!

With the help of the iPhone, we searched for nearby gelaterias and happened upon CAPOGIRO GELATO on 13th and Sansom? All I can say is damn- that gelato is phenomenal. Certainly rivals that of Pitango here in Baltimore which to me has been the best gelato I have had since my trip to Italy. The flavors were so obtrusive but in a good way at Capogiro. Everything I tried was dripping with flavor and unique tastes in the form of gelato. So you may think this is weird, but I decided on the macadamia nut and basil gelato. It was decadent; the nutty flavor of the macadamia in cohorts with the soothing basil was a perfect blend. The boyfriend went a much simpler but still spectacular route with one flavor: straight chocolate banana. So freakin good. By now, the basset was ready to get back to the hotel as was I since I had a race to prepare for…whatever ;)

Race day was great; headed up to the start, happened upon the other Baltimorean running mates from Falls Road and did a quick jaunt with them prior to the start. I started out with Jen but by the 5K or 4th mile, I decided to pick it up a bit. The weather was nice and I felt good; I was hoping to run at least 7:30 pace and finish around 1:40-ish. I ended up well under that time averaging a 6:50 or so finishing in 1:30.07. Here are my splits:

7:14
6:54
7:10 (21:19 3mile)
7:10
7:03
7:04 (34:34 5mile)
6:50
6:49
6:44
6:40 (1hr:09 for 10mile)
6:47
6:36
7:05 (1.1 miles)






So much fun. I certainly hope to run another half someday; perhaps the Philly distance run again. Very well organized race.

Post race, dog, boyfriend and I enjoyed cheesesteaks from both Geno’s and Pat’s…they sucked, enough said. Honestly, the cheesesteaks from Never on Sunday are better.

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