Friday Five: Piper in May

Posted in Piper by Annie T

Apparently posting fun quinquennial lists on Friday is a blogging “thing” so I’m making up my own version of the Friday Five today. (And yes, I totally googled quinquennial; I learned a new word today!)

Top Five Photos of Piper in May

#1. Working hard to eat that stick! Our front yard was completely in bloom in early May… you can see the white crabapple in the background. (5/2/15)

#2. Water Dog! We took Piper to the Darlington Trail and Matt walked into Chester Creek with her while I snapped some photos. She thoroughly enjoyed herself! (5/9/15)

#3. Waiting on a train. After playing in the creek we continued on the Darlington Trail to the abandoned SEPTA line that used to run from Media to West Chester. I love train tracks! (5/9/15)

#4. Backyard wilderness. Piper was standing about 30 feet from the house in this shot, but I like how it looks like she’s in the middle of the woods. Also, that yellow squeaky ball at her feet is REALLY loud! (5/28/15)

#5. My goofy puppy. It was really hot yesterday afternoon so we retreated into the house for some indoor playtime. I love her expression in this shot. (5/28/15)

Which photo is your favorite? Mine is #2.

Like what you see? Follow me on Instagram: @The_Little_GSP

27May2015

Grilled Paella with Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

What’s better than serving a one-pot meal to dinner guests? Serving a grilled one-pot meal that’s made entirely outside while your guests relax and drink craft beer on the patio! That’s pretty much how Matt and I spent the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend when we hosted my mom’s birthday dinner. We made grilled Paella with chicken, shrimp and sausage and it was definitely a hit. My mom actually asked for seconds (or maybe that was thirds?) during dinner… that NEVER happens!! 🙂

This paella looks really fancy, but in reality it’s not too complicated. The entire dish is assembled in a shallow paella pan (like these on Amazon) which is placed directly on a grill, giving you the combination of direct and indirect heat that you would otherwise need both a stovetop and oven to achieve. You do need a few special ingredients like saffron, smoked paprika and Spanish (dry) chorizo, but once you have those on hand the other elements of the dish are very easy to find and prep.

Here are a few pictures from the first time we made Paella a few weeks ago. For Sunday’s family dinner, we increased the recipe by half and it easily served 6 hungry guests.

Sear the chicken thighs and chorizo, then cook the tomato and aromatics over direct heat.

Stir the rice into the tomato mixture to toast it before adding saffron and broth.

Add back in the browned chorizo sausage…

…and “nestle” the chicken thighs into the rice, being careful not to stir the rice mixture.

To finish the dish, top with shrimp, peas, and peppers and cook until the shrimp are just opaque.

Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage Paella (serves 4; from Williams Sonoma Grill Master)

You will need…
1/4 teaspoon Saffron Threads
4 Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Thighs
Salt and Pepper
4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
7-10 oz. Spanish Chorizo Sausage, sliced (we used Goya Chorizo)
3 Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Yellow Onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1 cup uncooked short-grain Paella Rice, such as Calasparra
4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
7 oz. jarred Roasted Red Peppers, drained and cut into strips
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1 lb. 21-25 ct Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Fresh Parsley, chopped, for garnish
4-6 Lemon Wedges, for garnish

Directions:
Place the saffron threads in a small bowl with 2 ounces of hot water and set aside. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the chicken thighs. Preheat a 15-inch Paella pan on the grill over high heat, then add the oil and place the chicken thighs in the pan skin-side down. Sear the thighs, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and add the sliced chorizo to the pan. Saute the chorizo until it starts to brown, about 2-3 minutes, then transfer the chorizo to the platter with the chicken.

Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and paprika to the pan and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add in the rice and stir for 2-3 minutes until slightly toasted. Add the saffron thread mixture and 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, close the grill, and cook for 10 minutes.

Open the grill and add the reserved chicken thighs and chorizo back in into the rice mixture. Important: do not stir the rice! Use tongs to nestle the chicken thighs into the rice. Add an additional 1 cup of chicken broth, then close the grill again and cook for another 20 minutes.

Open the grill and again, resist the urge to stir! Distribute the shrimp, peas and red peppers over the top of the rice mixture and pour in approximately 1/2 to 1 cup more chicken broth (go with more if the rice looks dry). Close the grill and cook for another 5-7 minutes or just until the shrimp are cooked through.

Remove the paella pan from the grill and garnish with parsley. Arrange the lemon wedges over the dish and serve directly from the pan. Enjoy!!

9May2015

At last… My Broad Street Run Recap!

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

You can read about the days before the race here: Broad Street Run Part 1: The Pre-Race Build Up

BROAD STREET PART TWO: The Race!!

Going into Sunday’s 10 mile Broad Street Run I had three goals:

Stay calm, slow and relaxed during the first mile. My Broad Street mantra: You can’t win a 10 mile race in the first mile, but you sure can lose it by going out WAY too fast!! (Going out too fast is my specialty) 😄
Run faster than my wild-guess seed time of 1:25:00 (I had never actually run 10 miles without stopping before so I didn’t really know what I could do.)
HAVE FUN!!!!

When the first runners began the race at 8AM I couldn’t even see the starting line. I was wedged between thousands of people in the green corral on Somerville Avenue. The corral had rapidly filled up in the 40 minutes before the race, with my personal space shrinking from having room to sit and stretch on the pavement to having barely enough space to take off my long-sleeved throwaway shirt. (I literally could not extend my arms out when I tried to take my shirt off due to the crowds… and then I had no where to throw it away so I just dropped it at my feet!) This wasn’t a problem though because everyone around me was just as excited and happy to run the race and we were all eager to get to the start line!

Organizing a race for 40,000 people is no easy task. I was in the green corral. Photo Credit: The Broad Street Run

Finally at 8:17 I shuffled through the start with my corral-mates. At that point I had been standing on pavement for over an hour and my lower legs and feet felt super tight. Almost immediately we passed a church congregation cheering us on with a life-sized cardboard cutout of the Pope (I did a double-take!) and I settled in at a leisurely pace, being careful not to weave, dodge, or otherwise use up energy trying to move around people. I just went with the flow. The first mile beeped by… 8:51. WAY too slow!! Whoops. Well, at least I met Goal #1!! 🙂

With my first mile behind me my legs had started to loosen up and I picked up the pace a little. City Hall came into view (and was SO pretty in the morning sunlight!!) and miles 2-5 ticked by easily and surprisingly evenly in 8:09, 8:14, 8:15, 8:08. Before I knew it I was passing Girard Avenue and the crowds along the street were increasing with every step.

The crowds are such a special part of this race. Thousands of spectators lined Broad Street, with the bulk of them (as far as I remember, at least) packed into the 2 miles between Fairmount and Washington Avenues. The energy was amazing!!! People had funny signs, little kids were holding out their hands for high-fives, bands were playing on the sidewalks and City Hall kept looming closer and closer.

Miles 6 and 7 flew by. I zoomed around city hall (the only turns on the course) and got caught up in the excitement. My splits were something like 8:31, 8:19 (the tall buildings messed with my garmin a bit) but these miles were just a blur. There were so many people cheering and I was having a blast!!!

After City Hall I happened to look up at a street sign and realized that I was already at Catherine Street. Matt was planning to stand a block south at Christian so I started scanning the crowds for his green t-shirt. It’s a good thing I was looking for him because he had no idea what I was wearing (despite helping me with my flat selfie the day before 😀) and he didn’t see me. I spotted him without a problem and yelled a quick hello to Matt, his sister, her husband and their new baby boy before continuing south on Broad.

After hitting the 7 mile point I began to feel tired. The tall buildings and giant crowds of center city faded away and the course was straight, flat and in the direct sun. I had been grabbing sips of water at most water stops and dumping the rest of the cup over my head (definitely was a surprise when I did that with a gatorade by mistake! 😁) so I felt hydrated, but my left hip was getting tired. Still, I “only” had 3 miles left… I race that all the time! I pushed onward, focusing more on my music and less on the dwindling crowds. Miles 8-9 ticked by in 8:28 and 8:34.

The final quarter mile!! Photo credit: The Broad Street Run

In the last mile I finally passed by the stadiums and the Navy Yard sign swam into sight. Before the race everyone warned me that I’d still have 0.25 miles to go once I crossed through the Navy Yard gate so I knew that in theory, but MAN was that the longest quarter mile EVER!!! I just kept moving forward and finally, blissfully, passed under the giant Broad Street Run finish arch. Woohoo!!!

I completed the race in 1:23:54, a full minute faster than my seed time. My first mile (8:51) was by far my slowest and I finished strong with a final mile split of 8:25. Overall, I averaged a pace of 8:23 over 10 miles… a feat that I never thought I would be able to pull off. I was tired, hot, and very, very happy at the end of the race. 😄

6863rd place never felt so good…!

All in all this was a very rewarding, exciting experience and I would definitely consider running Broad Street again. I loved getting dropped off at the start (thanks Matt!!!) and I think that I fed off the energy of the crowds rather than being overwhelmed by them. Sure, it would have been nice to be able to warm up, stretch, or go to the bathroom in the hour before the race started, but having the chance to run 10 miles down Broad Street with 40K runners and huge crowd support made it all worth it in the end!

Miles since last post: 63.1
Days since last post: 13
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.85
2015 MILES: 618.2

Past Races:

• April ’15: Tyler Trail 10K (4/11), Empower the Children 5K (4/18), Haverford Twilight 5K (4/26)
• March ’15: Athlete’s Closet March 5K (3/7), St. Pat’s 5K (3/14), Granogue Trail 10K (3/21), Pickle Run #3 (3/28)
• February ’15: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/7), Pickle Trail Run #2 (2/21)
• January ’15: SRA New Year’s Day 5K (1/1), Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/3), Pickle Run #1 (1/17)
• December ’14: Jingle Elf 2 Mile (12/5), Brian’s Run 5 Miler (12/7), Athlete’s Closet Holiday 5K (12/14)
• November ’14: Trinity Berwyn 5K (11/1) [PR], Metal Run 5K (11/8), Seven Summits Turkey Trot (11/27)
• October ’14: Martin’s Run 5K (10/5), Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/18), Bark in the Park 5K (10/25)
• September ’14: Talk 5K Trail Run (9/13), Run A Muck Trail Race (9/20), Haverford Township 5K (9/27)
• August ’14: Riddlewood 5K (8/3), Radnor Red Steeplechase (8/17), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/28) [PR]
• July ’14: Cam’s ‘Moonlight’ 5K (7/10), Swarthmore Independence Eve 8K (7/18)
• June ’14: Radnor Conservancy 5K Trail Run (6/1), Media 5 Miler (6/20)
• May ’14: Elwyn 5K (5/3), Run for Victory 5K (5/18) [PR], Rocky Run 5K Trail Run (5/30)
• April ’14: Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/, Rick’s Run 5K (4/19), St. Tim’s 5K (4/26)
• March ’14: Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1), Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30)
• February ’14: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1)
• January ’14: Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4)
• December ’13: Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14), New Year’s Eve YMCA 5K (12/31) [PR]
• November ’13: Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2), Turkey Trot 5K (11/28)
• October ’13: Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19), Oy Vey 5K (10/27) [PR]
• September ’13: Run-a-Muck 5K (9/21)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

9May2015

Broad Street Run Recap Part 1: The Build Up!

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Last Sunday I ran my biggest, longest, straightest, and most exciting race to date… Philadelphia’s Broad Street Run!! I wanted to write a recap immediately following the 10 mile race but life (aka crazy-busy days at work!!) got in the way of my blogging time and I’m just now getting a chance to share my Broad Street story. Without further ado, here it is! (Well, half of it, at least!)

BROAD STREET PART ONE: The Pre-Race Build Up!

With over 40,000 runners, the Broad Street Run is the nation’s largest 10 miler and its straight, net downhill route is one of the fastest courses in the county. The point-to-point race starts in the Olney neighborhood of north Philadelphia and follows Broad Street south through the city, wrapping counter-clockwise around City Hall at around the 5.7 mile mark and eventually ending in south Philadelphia’s Navy Yard.

I have many friends and family members who have raced Broad Street (most notably my Uncle Rory who is one of six runners to complete it 36 years in a row!) and they all have their own Broad Street stories and opinions. Sure, it’s insanely crowded, the port-a-potty lines are 45 minutes long, the logistics of parking your car 10 miles from the starting line can be challenging… but everyone agrees, if you’re a runner in the Philadelphia area you HAVE to run Broad Street at least once. It’s a running spectacle, an opportunity to see the city from a unique perspective, a chance to run with 39,999 people for 10 miles down a single road… it’s a Philadelphia tradition!

I completely fell for the sentimental aspect of the race and decided in January that I definitely wanted to try to run Broad Street. I signed up for the lottery (that’s right, they capped the race at 40,000 runners!) and found out that I got into the race in February. I spent March and April increasing mileage, racing 5Ks and trail 10Ks and doing weekly speedwork on the track. By the time the first weekend in May rolled around I felt relaxed, prepared and really, REALLY excited to run Broad Street!

Matt and I went to the Broad Street Expo at the Philly Convention Center on Friday night to pick up my race bib. We wandered around a bit, I bought a tech shirt from my favorite running store, and then we enjoyed a nice Italian dinner at restaurant close to our house before calling it a night.

My local running store at the Broad Street Expo! (Photo Credit: The Running Place)

I kept Saturday similarly laid back, just doing a short shake out run on the treadmill and taking a flat selfie (a la Salt!) that Piper photobombed. Then I took a nice lavender and epsom salt bath while reading bloggers’ recaps of prior Broad Street runs online. I was excited and ready to go!

My alarm went off at 3:50AM Sunday morning and, for once, I got to wake Piper up! I enjoyed a nice breakfast of cereal, peanut butter toast and coffee and then read a book while stretching and foam rolling on the bedroom floor. I woke Matt up at 5:40 and we were on the road at 6AM sharp.

Because Broad Street is a point-to-point course, runners typically park their cars in South Philly at the stadiums and then take a very crowded subway ride 10 miles north to the start. This is, according to “everyone,” part of the Broad Street experience, but it’s one that I skipped on Sunday. Matt generously agreed to drop me off at the starting line and it couldn’t have been easier. We took local roads in from the western suburbs and, even with a stop for Matt to grab some coffee, we made it there in about 40 minutes. I hopped out of the car and immediately found a huge bank of port-a-potties with only 10 or so people waiting – perfect!

By 7:20AM I was in my corral and ready to go. After months of training and build up I was just 40 minutes away from my first 10 mile race!!!

Read on… BROAD STREET PART TWO: THE RACE!!

1May2015

Triple Dog Weekend

Posted in Adventures at Home, Piper by Annie T

What’s better than enjoying a gorgeous Spring weekend outside in the yard? Sharing that yard with your two best friends, of course! I’m pretty sure that was Piper’s attitude a few weeks ago when Hershey the Chocolate Lab and Bella the GSP spent a long weekend with us.

Piper and Bella

Hershey and Piper

Piper is 8 months old and full of impish puppy energy. Having two friends over at the same time meant that Piper could keep playing at her usual warp speed while the older dogs took turns resting. Piper would eagerly goad Hershey into a game of tug, then zoom around the yard a couple dozen times with Bella, return to instigate a wrestling match with Hershey, and finish off the rotation with a game of frisbee keep-away with her GSP twin.

It’s all fun and games…

…until Hershey accidentally CRUSHES you!

During the rare moments when Piper needed a break all three dogs lounged around, blissfully chewing on sticks. SO many sticks! I never knew how many sticks were in our yard until we had three dogs scouring every inch of the lawn in an effort to find the biggest and best specimen. At one point Piper showed up with a small log (where did THAT come from??) and Bella gave her tips on how to position it just right to get the best chewing leverage. (Click on the photos to zoom in and see Piper’s funny expressions – priceless!)

Bella showing Piper how it’s done

Piper’s turn!

I’m pretty sure that our triple dog weekend was the absolute highlight of Piper’s life thus far. Not only did she spend it with two friends in PERFECT mid-70s weather, she was also finally able to run loose in the yard without a leash or long line attached to her collar! We were in the final stages of training her to our underground “invisible fence” and, since the older dogs both know the boundaries of the yard, this was the perfect opportunity to see what Piper would do on her own with less direct supervision. Piper thoroughly enjoyed her freedom and never once showed any interest in leaving the yard. Success!

In Sync Shorthairs

Crazy Piper Ears!

Mmm, log…

Piper playing tug with Hershey

Can you tell how much fun the dogs were having? 😀 Except in that one photo up top where Piper got totally crushed by Hershey… I didn’t realize how hard Hershey fell on her until I saw the photo afterwards!! Luckily none of the dogs sustained any permanent damage over the weekend and everyone went home tired and happy.