We had a low-key, low-stress Mother’s Day over here (I know, I’m wayyyy late on this recap). Lo the Bro brought brunch over and we chit-chatted about life while watching golf on TV.

Lo the Bro brought over flowers (sold in a mason jar!), a homemade leek and mushroom quiche (made with manchego cheese and coconut milk), fresh fruit, GF blueberry muffins, and goat cheese w/ a marcona almond crust!

My mom also made a Moroccan chicken tagine dish. I was too busy enjoying the dish that I forgot to photograph it…next time. I triple dog guarantee you there will be a next time.

I also shared these Setton Farms Pistachio Chewy Bites that I was sent by the company to try. She especially loved the monster pistachios, one of her favorite nuts!

Dining Out

Kat Lobes finished her 2nd year of law school (1 more to go!). To celebrate, we went to Gordon Biersch for dinner. We talked about all our friends who are engaged, getting engaged or about to get engaged.

Last Sunday, Mari, my bestest friend from when I studied abroad in London was in town. We only get to see each other every couple of years. She ran the Boston Marathon in 2012, so you can imagine we had lots to catch up on!

We went to Peacock Cafe in Georgetown for brunch. I had a $15 for $50 coupon to use. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we were able to snag a table outside.

Crab meat eggs benedict // Salad with smoked salmon, walnuts and goat cheese // Fresh-squeezed strawberry, grapefruit, and ginger juice

I often say that if I ran twice as far (per week) and twice as fast as I do now, I could be a professional runner. Until then, my running salary will come in the form of the money I find on the ground.

On Thursday I came across a shiny nickel during my 5 mile run! I usually find pennies, so I saw this as a bonus. If I could average a cent per mile, I’d be on track to make about $15 in 2013. Watch out, world!

I’ve been breaking my golden rule and running on back-to-back days. I avoided running on back-to-back days throughout marathon training (minus a few times) and I really do believe it’s the main reason I’ve been able to avoid getting injured after allllllllll these miles.

So why am I running on back-to-back days now? A few reasons…

• Sometimes it just works better for my schedule and Mother Nature’s agenda (the weather)
• It’s a way for me to change things up and improve as a runner
• It forces me to keep my runs shorter
• It’ll help me get acclimated to the hot temps as we transition to summer
• I secretly hope it will encourage me to incorporate speed work into my training (so far, it hasn’t…). I keep thinking if I only set out to run 3-5 miles, maybe I’ll be more motivated to run them faster…?

As long as I’m careful and keep up with recovery efforts (icing, foam rolling, stretching, etc.), I think I can incorporate back-to-back day runs and stay healthy.

I’ve been in a quarter-life funk the past couple of months and running has been keeping me sane. It gives me a chance to sort out my thoughts and get things organized up in my noggin’. However, I can’t always just go out and run. Like, if I’m stuck in the office or just ate dinner. If that’s the case, I usually turn to 3 methods: 1) Walk it out. Sometimes I just need some fresh air, emo music, and alone time. 2) Write it out. Sometimes my thoughts get all jumbled in my head and I just need to scribble them out! Writing out why I’m stressed/confused/sad/jumbled helps me put things in perspective. 3) Talk it out. I call up a friend and pour out my thoughts and/or get advice.

What are methods you use to stay sane?

Winning the lottery would surely help me get out of this funk! Did you get a Powerball ticket?! It’s at $600 million! Ahh mer gawd!

The “what would we do if we won the jackpot” conversation has already begun in this house…

Until I win the lottery, I’ll be shoppin’ the clearance racks…

I don’t always buy things at Athleta (because it’s $$), but when I do it’s on sale, 20% off AND I get 14% cash back through eBates (<–affiliate link).

Y’all!!! This never happens. Usually eBates is 2% cash back at Athleta and rarely ever is it a higher one during a semi-annual sale. Jump on it!

I’m looking at these two pieces:

They have an awesome return policy (return anytime even after wearing it!) and free shipping on orders over $49. Anywho, I hope you’re having a great weekend! Any exciting plans to share?

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There to help you. That’s getting to a better State.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by State Farm via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of State Farm

Last week was all about recovering from my half marathon. Let me tell you, recovering from a 13.1 mile race is MUCH different from recovering from a 13.1 mile run around the ‘hood.

I’m used to bouncing back pretty quickly, but it took me until Wednesday to feel like my normal self energy-wise and for my appetite to calm down. I was a bottomless Olympic-sized swimming pool for the first few days. Usually, after long training runs, I’m more like a bottomless kiddie pool. It just goes to show how hard racing can be on your body.

Post-race/smoothie/shower, we went out to Not Your Average Joe’s with Krissy and her husband Eric, who both stayed here the night before the race.

I had one of the special entrees, Papa’s Paella w/ mussels, chorizo, shrimp, chicken and almond Jasmine rice pilaf. I have been really into sausage and chorizo lately.

I also got the house salad w/ roasted tomatoes and blue cheese. The best part about NYAJ is they offer complimentary gluten-free bread to eat with their olive oil + parmesan cheese dip.

Some recent HomeGoods granola purchases that helped my pre-race carboloading effort…

Also, some sushi for lunch the day before (along with a 2% WFs Greek yogurt and a BonkBreaker bar). It was the first time I had Whole Foods sushi in nearly a year! I also got a couple sushi samples at Harris Teeter one day. Loved the crunchy stuff.

Along with sausage, I’ve been infatuated with ribs!! These were BBQ baby back ribs from Harris Teeter (in the prepared food section by the rotisserie chicken). I went TO TOWN on those.

A self-serve frozen yogurt joint opened up 0.6 miles from our house. I’m not kidding. Be jealous.

I tried red velvet cake, snickerdoodle, cookies ‘n’ cream, strawberry, and tart. Toppings included cookie dough, cheesecake bites and chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

Last random bit, but certainly not least….I FOUND MY RUNNING SHOES AT NORDSTROM RACK!!!! This warrants shouting in all caps because:

1) These type of stores NEVER have my beloved Gel-Kayanos.

2) Gel-Kayanos are $$$. I can usually get them for $85-100 via eBates, coupons, sales, etc. but they still add up!

3) I was due for a new pair and was dreading having to buy another pair of Gel-Kayano 18s (it would’ve been my 6th pair of that model). I wanted to get the 19s, but they weren’t on sale yet.

4) These are the 19s!!

5) None of the colors for the 19s available online appeal to me, but I like this one!

ONE caveat…these are a size 7.5 and I am an 8 (they only had 7 and 7.5). As you can see, I still got them. I compared the sole and the insole to my 8s and it seems like they’re only a HAIR smaller and they fit. I haven’t tried running in them yet because the return policy requires that they be unworn.

I’m not sure if I’m going to keep them. I have 30 days to decide. What do you think? I’m a little worried they’ll be a smidge too small. Hmmmmm.

Anywho, I hope you’re having a wonderful week!

Have you started your garden yet? We have! We’ve got tomatoes, lettuce, basil and a few other plants soakin’ up all this rain this week. We’re also planning to plant a few trees in our backyard.

You can never have too many trees. Trees are necessary for clean water, healthy soil and fresh air, which is why Odwalla is teaming up with The Nature Conservancy to plant 100,000 trees across the country through 2013.

You can help the cause by creating a digital tree. For every tree created, $1 will be donated to the Plant-A-Tree Program. You will also be entered in a giveaway for a $10,000 gift card and a year’s worth of Odwalla beverages and bars.

So if you don’t have time to plant a tree yourself, go make sure a tree is planted in your honor somewhere in the country!

Between March 20, 2013 and May 31, 2013 Odwalla will contribute $1 for each tree you create to The Nature Conservancy for the planting of trees–no less than $75,000 and up to $100,000. The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the land and waters on which all life depends. More information about the Conservancy is available by mail at 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203, by phone at (800) 628-6860 or at www.nature.org.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Odwalla via Glam Media. Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Odwalla.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope you’re celebrating today with some chips ‘n’ guac.

I celebrated Cinco de Mayo a little bit early with one of my oldest, bestest blog-friend-turned-real-life-friends, Sarah. She was in town for a conference and Lo the Bro recommended we try a new place in Clarendon called Fuego.

The food was damn delicioso! I’m already dreaming of going back.

Do you ever look at a menu and want to try every single item on there?! Usually a few things pop out at me, but everything on this menu was screaming my name. Not calling, but screaming! I had to work really hard to figure out what to order.

While perusing the menu, we were served a basket of thin ‘n’ crispy tortilla chips with two different house made salsas.

Sarah ordered a classic margarita. I drove, so I had agua tapa (aka tap water ha!).

I ordered the Seafood Cocktail. They were super generous with the seafood (shrimp, octopus, tilapia) and mega chunks of avocado.

Sarah got the Mini Tuna Tartare Tacos and shared one with me. It was like Mexican-style sushi. Adorbs. I was kicking myself for not bringing my DSLR camera. The lighting was perfect and the food styling was gorgeous.

I went with an order of their tacos on housemade corn tortillas! I chose pork w/ pineapple salsa and goat. I don’t think I’d ever tried goat meat before, but it did not disappoint! It tasted like a combination of pulled pork and lamb.

I mmmmed my way through these babies.

The highlight of the meal was by far their YUCCA FRIES!!! Lo the Bro said I had to try them and I’m glad I listened. Melt-in-your-mouth-and-smooth-like-butter deep fried starchy goodness. More like yumma!

I used to get yucca fries at my college dining hall and I even made them a couple times myself, but it had been a few years since I last had yucca.

Side of pickled veggies.

Sarah and I barely made a dent in catching up on the last 2 years of our lives. I can’t believe it had been that long! She’ll be moving to Miami Beach later this summer, so hopefully I’ll see her again sooner than later.

The Miami Marathon is in February, which Sarah has already tried to convince me to run. I’m not so sure about long runs in the middle of winter though…

I hope you’ve had a fabulous weekend! Catch ya later.

Tell me…your favorite fried food!

Deep-fried sushi is pretty good. Doughnuts, too!

{Instagram: LiveLaughEat}

I raced hard.

It was painful (racing pain, not injury pain).

My legs were shot.

I started cursing like a sailor at mile 2 (usually the f-bombs don’t start ’til around mile 7 or 8).

I was 110% positive I was gonna hit the wall and crumble to pieces before the halfway point (or just slow to a crawl), but I powered through it, maintained my pace and finished strong.

Photo from the Run Nike Women FB Page

People ask me if I do speed work and my answer is always “I DON’T do speed work. I know I should, but…”

I don’t like running fast. I’m a long distance junkie. I like to run at a comfortable pace (still working, but not pushing too hard) between 8:45-9:00 min/mile. I like to zone out and let my legs go at whatever pace they want.

That’s all to say, I have NO clue how I ran this half marathon at 8:08 min/mi. I thought I ran my fastest three weeks ago at the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run with an 8:24 min/mi pace.

By the way, I saw Shalane Flanagan before the start of the race. Um, no big deal.

As for my outfit? This ridiculous capris + compression sock outfit I showed you from my run on Friday made a reappearance. This is my I-don’t-care-because-I’m-running-around-the-neighborhood outfit. I did NOT think I would ever actually be seen in public in this silly get up. But it was too cold for shorts and too warm for running tights. This was just perfect.

Ready, Set, Go!

I lined up in the middle of my corral, but by the time we scooched up to the start line, I found myself in the 5th row of runners behind the start line (in other words…WAY too far forward). At that point I was kinda stuck. Stuck with all the Speedy McSpeedersons!

Like I said, I started out WAY too fast. I didn’t even realize just how fast I was running until I looked down and saw my pace was around 7:15 min/mi. SHIZ!! I’ve never run that fast before…not even for 400 meters!

I tried to slow down, but it was difficult with everyone around me running so fast. I thought I slowed down a little until I looked at my Garmin and saw my pace was still in the 7s. Double shiz.

We went through a tunnel early on and my Garmin lost reception. My average pace calculation was all off. Triple shiz!

I did a mediocre job carboloading and I felt the effects early on. Quadruple shiz. I started knocking back Gu Chomps right away and kept a steady stream of fuel from there. My original plan was to start fueling at around mile 4 or 5. Thank goodness they were handing out fuel along the course because I needed more than what I had on me.

In total, I ate 5 Gu Chomps and 3 Clif Shot Blox. I would’ve taken in more but I was all sugared out! I felt like a kid on Halloween after overdosing on candy.

I distinctly remember at mile 3 thinking, I don’t know how the heck I’m gonna run another 10 miles like this. I eventually slowed down a little bit as I got tired, but then out of the blue I would get a boost and would pick up the pace. Thinking about how cool it would be to get under an 8:00 min/mi average pace kept me chugging along.

Seeing a guy wave this Duke flag along the course also helped…a teensy bit. Okay, it only distracted me from the pain for about 0.001 seconds.

So Close Yet SOOOO Far

I rarely ever say this, but I have never been more delighted to stop running. Even when I crossed the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon, I felt like I could continue running more…another mile or 2 if I had to. After this race, I didn’t want to take another dang step!

This race felt like an eternity. The Marine Corps Marathon and the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run both FLEW BY! At the end of both races, I was in disbelief they were over because they passed by so quickly. This race dragged on and on! Ironic, since I ran it at a much faster pace.

Photo from the Run Nike Women FB Page

Running is a Privilege

When I was about 800 meters from the finish line, I dug deep. I could see the finish line, but it felt so far away. It didn’t look like it was getting any closer. At that moment, I turned off my music and ran for all the runners who couldn’t finish the Boston Marathon two weeks ago. I ran for all of the victims who lost limbs and most likely won’t have the chance to run again. I was in pain, but I was fortunate to be able to finish safe and sound.

Running is a privilege. One I will never take for granted.

After crossing the finish line, I was awarded with the best race medal ever from a man in a tuxedo.

Prior to this race, the idea of qualifying and running the Boston Marathon seemed absolutely impossible. Shave an hour off my marathon time? No way. I always assumed a 3:35 marathon was an average pace of something in the 7:00s and my body just doesn’t move that fast! But it’s actually an 8:12 min/mi pace. I never calculated it out because I just thought I’d never be able to run that fast so it wouldn’t matter.

Now don’t get me wrong…I don’t think I can actually qualify for the Boston Marathon anytime soon, but there’s at least a super duper slimmer than slim glimmer of hope now. I mean, I just have to run as fast as I did today, but twice as far.

One day…

Tell me: Which type of run do you prefer? Short ‘n’ speedy or long ‘n’ slow[er]?

Photo from the Run Nike Women FB Page

Tomorrow morning I’ll be running THE first ever Nike Women Half Marathon in DC. It will be my very first official half marathon race.

It’s a strange thing when your first race is a marathon. I didn’t do the typical race build up while training. You know, 5k –> 10k –> 10 miler –> half marathon –> marathon.

That would be the logical thing to do, right? Instead, I’m running them backwards. Marathon –> 10 miler –> half marathon…and perhaps a 10k and/or a 5k in the future.

I’ve run 13.1 miles many times now while training, but don’t get me wrong…I’m still a nervous Nelly! I think any race will always give me some butterflies. In a good way. There are just so many factors to consider. The weather, unloading (!!), getting there/traffic, fueling, level of functioning at the butt crack of dawn, etc.

I was supposed to run a short “shake-out” taper run yesterday, but I ended up going 8 miles. Whoops-a-daisy! It was so dang beautiful outside and my body felt great. I could’ve run all 13.1 miles, but I stopped myself. I sure was tempted though!

I was overflowing with energy and I had a lot on my mind.

I’ve been in a weird funk this past week and running definitely kept me grounded. That’s what I love about it. No matter how my day/week/month is going, I can count on running to be there for me. I can lace up my sneaks and indulge in an hour with my thoughts, my breath, and my body.

Check out my ridiculous compression sleeve + capris combo. Hot stuff, yo.

Champion and Target #C9atTarget (like 99% of my workout gear!) asked why living a healthy and active lifestyle is important to me. Well, that my friends is exactly why! Exercise helps me relieve stress and clear my mind.

Disclosure: Content and/or other value provided by Target.

Random…I noticed the other day that my [mismatched] socks were Boston colors!

Anyway, for tomorrow…

I don’t know what I’m wearing.

I don’t have a playlist ready.

I don’t have a fuel plan (gels? Gu chomps? whatever they’re serving along the course?).

BUT come hell or high water, I will get my tush across that finish line. ‘Cuz there’s a Tiffany’s necklace medal at stake! Only finishers can get a necklace and I’ll crawl to the finish if I have to!

Hopefully, it won’t resort to that.

Photos from the RunNikeWomen Series Facebook Page

SEE YOU AFTER THE RACE!

Tell me: What are your weekend plans? Are you running a race? Do tell.

Today, I ran 8 miles in honor of Boston, the entire running community and all the victims of the bombings that occurred yesterday during the Boston Marathon. I ran every step for those who had the privilege of running so selfishly and abruptly ripped away from them.

8 miles for Martin Richard, the 8 year old boy who will never have the chance to run again.

A mix of sweat and tears streamed down my face as I ran with an aching heart.

I’m so proud to be a runner and to be a part of such an inviting and supportive community.

Sending love to Boston.

Y’all…I’m sunburned!

Okay, not burned per se, but definitely sunwarmed. You know that feeling when your skin gets all warm ‘n’ toasty? I can’t describe it, but I know you know what I mean.

Running in the 85*F sunshine will do it to ya. I even wore sunscreen. It was hot tamale out there and I loved it! Felt like July.

I’m not too excited for blistering hot 100*F weather runs, but I have to say if given a choice between 32*F/freezing/windy and 100*F/sunny, I’d choose the latter.

What about you?!

I could tell my body was a little shocked by the hot conditions. Okay, a lotta shocked!

When running in the cold, I typically don’t need to fuel (food or water) if it’s under 9 or so miles. On Wednesday though, I was poppin’ ginger chews and getting parched by mile 3.

Welcome back, smoothie weather (and iced coffee weather)! It’s nice to drink smoothies again without layering up and sitting by the space heater.

Empty Chobani containers make for great smoothie cups, by the way.

Also, let’s give a warm [pun intended!] welcome to crisp, cold, refreshing salads. This one was enjoyed at O’Faolains.

I forgot to mention Lo the Bro’s performance at the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run in my race recap.

HE WAS SMOKIN’ FAST!!! He finished in 1:18:30 (avg pace: 7:51 min/mi).

He doesn’t run long distances regularly (he runs speed intervals on the treadmill, but only a couple miles total at a time and mostly sticks to strength training/functional exercises), so I was super impressed and SO dang proud of him.

I knew he was running fast during the race because I spotted him on one of the loop backs AND I signed up for text updates for his split times. He’s a speed demon. Go bro go!

Totally random (when am I not?), I must profess my major girl crush on Emma Stone. Move over, Rachel McAdams! This girl is HIGH-larious. Just watch her interviews on The Ellen Show.

You know you’re funny when you make Ellen laugh!

My three favorite people.

[Follow me on Instagram: LiveLaughEat]

Yes, yes I do. And a piece of this…

I had never seen these Coconut Creme Hershey Kisses before last week. I picked some up in the after-Easter clearance section. They are gloriously sweet. The creamy coconut center is divine.

It’s been a hot minute (I’m on a roll with these puns today) since our last…

Friday Giveaway: $25 Gift Card to YogaOutlet.com

Yogaoutlet.com is a brand new site that has everything for your yoga needs…men and women’s apparel, mats, DVDs, books, etc. They carry over 50 brands and offer free shipping on orders over $49. Check it out!

Yogaoutlet.com is offering one lucky LLE reader a $25 gift card to their website.

To Enter:

• Leave a comment on this post sharing anything you want (weekend plans? hot or cold weather runner? must have yoga gear? favorite talk show host?)
• Share this giveaway post on Twitter (or retweet my post tweet). You must leave a separate comment saying you did, so I can count the entry.
• Share this giveaway post on Facebook. You must leave a separate comment saying you did, so I can count the entry.

I will choose a winner at random on Friday, 4/19/13.

**Update: The winner of the giveaway is comment #85. Congrats, Emily!

Yogaoutlet.com is providing the prize for this giveaway. Gift card expires 12/31/13. All opinions are my own.

My 2nd race was a speedy success!

Unofficial official results:

Distance: 10 miles

Time: 1:23:57

Average Pace: 8:24 min/mi

This was the fastest I’ve ever run any distance, race or no race. My fastest prior to this race was a 7 miler around my neighborhood at 8:31 min/mi.

I’ve been hovering around 9 minute miles the past few months due to the cold weather, so this pace was pretty shocking to me. I really have absolutely NO idea where my speediness came from (okay, probably the adrenaline). I’m not naturally a super competitive person and don’t do speed work, but man oh man, put me in a sea of runners and apparently my legs will GO.

Last Minute Change

We got to Lo the Bro’s apartment (OMGSOEARLY) to pick him and Matt up. The ‘rents drove us to the start line. As you can see from the finish photo, this outfit in the below photo was not what I ended up wearing for the race.

Yes, I would finalize my outfit 5 minutes before the start. For good reason!

We got to the pre-race area early and after 15 min. in the teeth-chattering cold, I called my parents to see where they were. I needed my Spiderman leggings and pullover! Luckily, they weren’t far (they were still looking for parking). They came back around and I did a FULL outfit change in the car.

Thank goodness I packed enough clothes and food for a week long trip. Being an overpacker pays off sometimes.

I was even cold in this outfit and I didn’t really start to sweat until near the end of the race.

Running vs. Racing

I’ve run plenty of 10 milers around my neighborhood, but I quickly realized running 10 miles is much different from racing 10 miles. I’m used to zoning out, running at whatever pace I want and being very in tune with my body and how I’m feeling.

When racing, I’m dodging pot holes, trying to get around people, figuring out where I’m going, looking at spectators and other racers, thinking about when to take in fuel etc. ZERO zoning out!

It’s hard to say which one I prefer because they’re different. Running alone is more therapeutic whereas racing is more of one humongous adrenaline rush.

Marathon vs. 10 Miles

I’m not used to racing. This was my 2nd race ever. The only other race I’ve run was my marathon in October.

In a marathon, you want to feel good at mile 10, like you’ve got plenty of energy left. You’ve got 16.2 miles to go! Well, I knew I wanted to give it my all and be DONE after 10 miles.

I don’t ever run 10 hard miles on my own, so I wasn’t sure how to pace myself or my energy. Usually, my long runs around the ‘hood are more relaxed.

Well, I’m happy to report that I went all out but didn’t burn out. I also felt like I gave it [almost] my all. I probably could have pushed it a teensy bit more and I probably could’ve squeezed in a few more miles with more fuel.

All in all, I paced myself well and got faster as I went!

My splits:

-5 miles 43:22 (8:40 min/mi)

-10K: 53:25 (8:36 min/mi)

The more you race, the more you learn about yourself as a runner.

TMI

One thing really pushing me to the finish line? I had to GO!! I failed at going before the race ifyaknowwhatImean.

I woke up extra early so I’d have time to go. Um, NO go. Not even after 2 cups of coffee. Crap. Literally. It’s the thing that gives me the most anxiety pre-race. Stressing out about it probably doesn’t help either.

I lasted the entire race without stopping to use the loo…barely. Everyone stopped running after crossing the finish line except for me. I kept running and people looked at me like I was crazy.

Um, I had a different finish line ha!

BYOF (Bring Your Own Fuel)

I read the information for my half marathon later this month instead of this race and was under the impression that there’d be fuel along the course. There wasn’t! Oopsies. Thank goodness I brought my own fuel.

My new favorite running fuel is Gu Chomps. I think I like them better than gels. I had some around the 5 mile mark and got a huge boost of energy. I got these as a sample from the Marine Corps Marathon Race Expo.

I Don’t Love to Race, But I Like to Race

The night before the race I wasn’t the most excited about it. Waking up early, driving all the way to DC, figuring out what to wear, yadda yadda. I could just run 10 miles around my neighborhood on my own time. But at around mile 2 of the race, I smiled to myself as I realized just how awesome the race atmosphere was.

I don’t think I’ll ever be a die-hard racer. I truly love to run and don’t need it to keep me motivated/accountable. Racing to me is more of a social thing (racing with other people). I think a few races from time to time will be good for me to push myself (like running faster than I knew I could) and keep things exciting.

This was exactly what I needed to pump me up for the Nike Womens’ Half Marathon in 3 weeks! I feel like I have a better idea of how to pace myself now too.

Alrighty, I’m hungry…again. Off to go find some grub.

Tell me: What’s your favorite race distance? Favorite running fuel? Do you prefer running on your own or racing?