UK Adventures Part 5: Last But Not Least…London!

London - South Hampton Court

And now the final installment of this series.  After this, it’s back to food adventures!

Thoughts on London (I took a lot more pictures and had a tough time picking which ones to include here, so the rest can be found HERE):

–  Thanks to this little youtube video my brother sent me prior to the trip, I learned all about the difference between London and the City of London.

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London - Entering the City of London

–  Borough Market is one of the highlights of our trip.  It’s London’s largest food market, and for all of you Bridget Jones fans, yup, that’s where she went to get her stuff for her birthday dinner.  The retail portion of the market (there’s a wholesale portion too) was only open three days a week.  We were lucky to have wandered over as it was opening on a Friday afternoon.

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UK Adventures Part 4: Day Trip to Paris…Whose Idea Was This?

Paris - Sacre Coeur - Map of the Skyline

With Scotland behind us, we arrived in London to once again drag our increasingly heavy luggage through public transport.

Except this time it wasn’t a matter of just hopping on the Tube to a particular stop.  The Bed and Breakfast we were booked at was located on the outskirts of London in a town called Lee.  A town served by trains that are part of the Tube, but not really since we had to get out and pay again to use and then once again filter through the mass amounts of electronic boards trying to figure out which train to take and what platform it would be leaving on.

After some confusion, we finally made it and was able to settle into our last room for the rest of the trip.  At this point we opted to stay in town instead of catching the next train to London for some late afternoon sight seeing.  We grabbed dinner at the local pub, The Crown.  I indulged and got a Steak & Ale pie washed down with a pint of Oxforshire Ales Marshmellow (which was apparently back by popular demand).  Mellow indeed.

We retired early to get ready for a 4:30AM wake up call (just like a normal weekday at home for me!).  We had a train to catch…to Paris!

It is impossible to enjoy Paris for what it is in a day.  But we gave it our best shot. The full album is HERE!

Paris - To the Chunnel!

We took an early morning train out of London to Paris.  An Americano with the most expensive yogurt and fruit cup I have ever bought was acquired at the one coffee shop in the waiting area.  Needless to say, the line was long and the counter frantic.

The last time I had to use French was back in high school, 12 years ago.  It’s just like riding a bike right?

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UK Adventures Part 3: A Short Breather in Glasgow

To Glasgow - Train view

We said hello and goodbye to Edinburgh.

We said hello and goodbye to Inverness and the Scottish Highlands.

A 4 hour train ride later, we say hello to Glasgow.  Our last stop in Scotland.

Full Album can be found HERE.

Glasgow - Along style mile

When we arrived in Glasgow, it was raining.  At this point it’s expected.

Before we had left for our trip, we had downloaded this awesome app called CityMaps2Go.  Best $0.99 spent ever.  You basically download the city maps onto your idevice, so you can reference them on the go, even if you don’t have any wifi connection.  It also has a very nifty function of being able to tell you what’s available around a certain point.  It saved us as we were leaving the train station and got super turned around looking for our hotel.

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UK Adventures Part 2: Inverness and the Loch Ness Marathon

Inverness - Castle

Our journey continues!!  With our stopover in Edinburgh done, it was time to board the train again!  Off to Inverness!

The full album of pictures can be found here!  Did I find Nessie?  Check out the album!

Inverness was a 4 hour train ride from Edinburgh and is located in the famed Scottish Highlands.  Inverness is located at the mouth of the River Ness which is the only river to flow out of the Loch Ness.

The main reason for venturing up this far in the UK was for the Loch Ness Marathon.  Once we arrived and settled into our room, the magnitude of what I was about to do the next day finally hit me.  I was a bit anxious.

Marathon - Yay!

Taken by Jenny Lee

The next morning I woke up nice and early and drank my liquid breakfast.  I headed out and walked silently along with some other runners along Ness Walk to the buses.  It was a crisp morning and as I approached the park where all the buses were lined the full moon from the night before was still visible in the muted blue sky.

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UK Adventures Part 1: Edinburgh

Edinburgh - Mums

It’s been awhile!  I know you all missed me, or not…maybe just a little?

I went on a whirlwind tour of the UK (plus a day in Paris).  A trip basically built around the Loch Ness Marathon which I signed up for 6 months ago thinking it was a good idea.  I was starved for adventure, and I was about to ring in 30 years, so I freaked out, cut my hair short and signed up for an overseas marathon in the middle of nowhere Scotland.  To each their own right?

Well, the hair is still short, and now 6 months later I completed my third marathon (which is pretty awesome to say), tried haggis and liked it, tried Marmite and did not like it, found good food in Scotland and London, practiced some French and filled my quota for long distance train travel for the next three years.  It was an awesomely fun trip but at the same time absolutely exhausting.

So, while I feast of salads for the next few weeks to clear out all the artery clogging, pound inducing diet of meat, potatoes, beer and chocolate, I will feed you guys pictures from the trip.

I split the pictures up into cities visited so it’s more manageable.  I also posted them all on my Flickr site if you wish to peruse all of my selected pictures.  They can be found here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/44587218@N03/collections/72157631741594503/

The first city up…Edinburgh!

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My Comfort Zone: Banana Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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Sometimes when life starts to rev up a little too fast my natural instinct is to retreat to my safe place.  It has always worked well, but it inhibits continuous forward motion.  So, over the years, I’ve learned to deal with it without retreating.  I bake.  And I bake something I love.  Like these cookies.

They are actually a variation of my cookie.  I say my cookie because it was these cookies that started this whole baking craze hobby of mine.  However, I had an especially ripe banana laying pathetically on my counter top, so I figured I make a variation of my cookie and add a banana into it.

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The Importance of Small Victories

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My view from the train on my way to the Yonkers Half Marathon

While I was in business school, one lesson I took to heart was the importance of celebrating small victories.  When you have a group of hard workers trudging their way to achieve some goal, you have to make sure they are enjoying the journey too.  So, if a milestone is met, or a breakthrough is made, celebrate it.  It makes the journey less arduous.

Something so important for morale, but so easy to forget.  I forgot, and my own morale had been pretty down lately.  It took a little push, some cake and a friend to remind me that I am stronger than this person I seemed to have become, for me to finally realize this isn’t me and to start taking steps to getting back to me.  So, this weekend I celebrated.

A few small victories celebrated this past week (I celebrate with food…it’s my thing, and why I run so much…but feel free to celebrate anyway you want to!  Food or no food!):

I got the job!  Well, a new position really, in the same company, but just different department.  I start when I get back from vacation.  This is more of a bigger victory, but something worth celebrating nonetheless.  Brunch was enjoyed at Encore in Larchmont and Dessert at Bradley’s Dessert on an absolutely gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

My third year work anniversary was Friday.  I celebrated with a monster slice of Lemon Vanilla Bundt Cake from Buttercup Bake Shop. It was a monster slice, so I went around making friends with cake…I made 6 friends with that slice. I also went out to Bar Taco for dinner that night. Sitting outside enjoying some tacos on a cool late summer night…best way to celebrate three years down, twenty seven more to go.

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A very rare lazy Saturday presented itself. Celebrated with a lazy lunch and coffee at the Peekskill Coffee House. A new find for me. I highly recommend their sandwiches and the Soy Au Lait.

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On top of this I also ran my last tune up race before the marathon in a couple of weeks. I did the Yonkers Half Marathon, and even though I had a slow start (my back was not in good shape due to deadlifts on Thursday..i was stupid with the weights), the competitor in me decided to test out the legs and pick it up a few notches for the last half of the race. I surprised myself immensely. All those long runs helped my endurance, and I will give credit to crossfit for the strength required to rock the hills. Now, all I have to do is relax and just look forward to the big 26.2 in two weeks!

How I will celebrate that?  I don’t know, but I am so sure a beer (or scotch…when in Rome right?) will be involved.

So, go out and find something to celebrate!

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Decide Now, Figure It Out Later: Stuffed Bell Peppers

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Ever make a pro/con list?  I can’t say I ever have, or if I ever did, I don’t ever recall it helping me make a decision.  It was suggested as a means for me to make a recent work related decision.  However, if my only pro was “because I’m comfortable”, then really, it doesn’t count.  Besides, my mind has been made up, I was just a little scared.

For an engineer I make a lot of fly by the seat of my pants decisions.  At least when it comes to my personal life anyway.

Many of the biggest accomplishments of my life were born from rash decisions.  Make the decision now and figure everything else out later seems to be my MO.  Failure occurs when the figuring it out later part either becomes way too big for me to handle or never happens.  At least then I know right?

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Leaping before looking, I got an MBA. I figured out the how (time, money and wits wise), but I am still figuring out the now what.

That’s the engineer in me.  Not one to do the detailed analysis prior to declaring the answer, but the one with the knack for problem solving after the fact.

Now, when it comes to the men I don’t have in my life (but wish I did), I am the complete opposite.  I will agonize for days, months or years (yes…years…) and will never ever act and take that leap of faith…I’m weird like that.

So, putting my problem solving skills to work, I decided to randomly buy four green bell peppers at the farmers market.  Now I had to figure something out.

Stuffed Bell Peppers anyone?

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I’ve Reached the Peak…and Now I get an Egg Sandwich

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I am training for a marathon.  My third to be more specific.  Some of you may remember how I swore up, down left and right that I would never ever do another marathon…ever, as I hobbled back to the hotel after the Philadelphia Marathon back in 2009.  Well, I guess I lied.

Today I did my last 20 mile run before the marathon in four weeks.  For me, the last 20 mile run is a very important one.  Once it’s done, then I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.  The next three weeks will continue with the training schedule, but the Sunday long run distances are cut back.  No more runs over 13 miles for the next three weeks…sweet!  A little sample of my items required for a long run:

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The Long Run Bag: Gels, Electrolytes (in two forms) and Recoverite

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The dreaded Fuel Belt and my overused watch. Yes, that is a rubberband that holds the strap in place.

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One sweet, one plain

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Compression Socks. Still on the fence about these. But I feel like I look hard core in them!

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Car seat towel and T-shirt to change into. Very necessary.

There is something different about this last round of training that I’ve noticed compared to the other two times.  This time it seemed more fun, less daunting and much less stressful.  It could be that I am older and wiser with two previous marathons under my belt.  It could be the attitude I’ve adopted that this was going to be a fun race where time didn’t matter and I was in it for the journey.  Who knows, but this time I have learned much more.

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If Only Change was as Delicious as Peach Cobbler Muffins and Cake…

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Change is scary.  Change is scary, but so necessary in order to evolve and be better.

As much as I fear change, it has always been a big part of my life.  In the past four years I’ve graduated grad school, changed jobs, started the Westchester Breakfast Club, (which you should all check out!), started this blog, and bought a condo.

Four years ago I made a new friend and running buddy.

Four years later, I am losing my running buddy as she moves away to start her new adventures far away.  Losing a running buddy is tough.  She is the second one I’m losing (the first moved away too), and it just doesn’t get easier.  There is a certain level of trust reached between you and the person you are spending countless pre-dawn hours running with on the road talking about everything and anything in between.  It is the kind of trust I don’t just give to anyone.

But, she has her own exciting adventures to pursue, so I figured I’d send her off the only way I know how (besides enjoying one last run around Rockies on a beautiful Sunday morning)…with a tiny dinner gathering.

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I made breakfast for dinner since dinner was on a Monday night, post work, so it had to be something easy.  I made French toast from this super awesome cinnamon swirl raisin bread from The Kneaded Bread in Port Chester, eggs, fruit salad (grapes, star fruit, mango, peach, nectarine and blueberries), Peach Cobbler muffins and a cake (white cake with chocolate buttercream frosting…both the muffins and cake were made the day before…since I do have a day job to support this habit).

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