Yep, that pretty much sums up my weekend.
Let’s start with the good stuff – I got up at 7am bright n’ early on Saturday morning and ate a nice carb-heavy pre-run meal consisting of a 1/2 cup Special K with 1/2 cup skim milk and a chocolate chip granola bar. There is no better running fuel than pure white carbs.
Then, yours truly did what she has NEVER done before – run 16 miles!
The first 9 miles went well despite the Minnesota heat and humidity. I made sure to make frequent water stops (also stopping to splash water on my head to cool down) before returning back to my friend Ashley’s where I popped 3 Clif Black Cherry Shot Bloks and some Diet Cherry Pepsi (don’t judge). Then Ashley headed out with me to finish the last 7 miles, and my other friend Megan joined us for the last 3 miles. My friends are seriously the best :).
In the end? The run went AWESOME. I finished in my marathon pace of just under 10:00 minutes/mile, equaling about 2 hours and 40 minutes. I seriously think I could have gone even further. It was that kind of glorious running day.

post-run Pomegranate Paradise Jamba Juice (with soy protein)

Indian buffet of love from Whole Foods...with a Cilantro Chutney Samosa!
Seriously…if I could marry Indian food I would. Shhhhh, don’t tell McMac I am cheating on him ;).
After lunchie, it was off to IKEA – ummm, holy anxiety! Soooo many people, soooo many things to look at and tooooo little time. Luckily, I had my trusted Meggy Moo in tow. If this isn’t a friend, I don’t know what is:

on the floor checking the unmarked chair for a price...that is love right there
Then, I gussied myself up and headed off to my girl Charlotte’s wedding! Charlotte and I studied abroad together in college in London, and we’ve pretty much been soulmates ever since. LOVE that girl. I also got to see Brittany (who also studied abroad with us) for the first time in years. LOVE that girl too.

Hobag, CharChar Binks and Brittho (our nicknames)

started with a red vino...

then continued on with a berry spinach salad...

followed up by some vegetarian ravioli...

and finished off with turtle cheesecake and a brewsky!
Yeah, that’s right. My girl Char had a plethora of CHEESECAKES at her wedding instead of regular ol’ wedding cake. That is reason #4,276 that we are friends. Brittho and I may have split an additional piece of Key Lime Cheesecake. Just sayin…

a lil' bubbly to toast the bride and groom

fabulousness all around
Did I mention Charlotte also had a photo booth AND late-night pizza? Reasons #3,231 and #6,121,989 we are friends.

two slices of veggie pizza were most certainly devoured
When I got home, I crashed harder than Lindsey Lohan’s career.
After almost 10 hours of glorious sleep, I woke up to coffee and a lovely chat with Ashley. Then, right as I started contemplating eating Ash’s carpet, it was 10:30am and time for me to meet another fabulous lady you all know – Ms. Angharad!
We met at the Uptown Diner…looks like a total dive from the outside, but inside you will find such fabulous delicacies such as this…

tex-mex breakfast burrito (Angharad)

french toast kamikaze-style (aka with bananas, blueberries & pecans) para moi
After brekkie, I skedaddled back on the road (wasn’t I just driving?) back to Madison. Five LONG hours later, I arrived safely. After successful shopping trip #2 at the co-op (including a free coupon for a French Meadow bread product and a bottle of organic agave syrup – score!), I made it back to my apartment to find the Internet still not working.
WTF?!?!?!?!
I can’t handle this. ATT is apparently coming on Tuesday to fix it, but that means another two days of paying for coffee at the cute coffeeshop for free Wi-Fi. I guess there could be worse thangs…

green ap + peppahjack stick

emergency stash of almonds was consumed when i hit mayjuh traffic
Ah, home sweet home.
After getting really frustrated and angry speaking calmly with the Internet peeps, I needed a snackie. Enter in perhaps, my other new love (sorry McMac AND Indian food :()

i am a firm believer in dessert before dinner
Ingredients: organic coconut milk, organic agave syrup, organic pineapple, organic pineapple juice concentrate, organic coconut extract, organic rum extract
One word: AMAZING.

look at those pineapple chunks of love
After dessert, I had dinner…
mixed greens
cherry tomatoes
1/2 avocado
1/3 cup cumin-spiced black beans
1/3 cup mild salsa
1/4 cup sliced green pepper
crushed blue corn chips

Mexican Fiesta Salad
And a lil’ calcium for (more) dessert…

i think the barista gave me Vitamin D milk...decaf iced chai was still yummo
I just scrolled through the post and realized it’s practically a marathon long, which by the way, the Twin Cities Marathon is in T-minus 49 days. Eeeeeeek!
Bloggy thangs I still have planned (even if they are taking uber-longer than I expected):
- Marathon training post
- Holly Investigates… post (It’s been 75% done for like three weeks now!)
- Two exciting announcements
- Updates
Hang in there my children…mama WILL eventually get there!
Now, I am downing the rest of my drank and gettin’ down to read some bloggy love! Say a prayer for my Internet por favor and have a relaxing Sunday night!
Highlight of the weekend? Put it out there peeps! Mine was probably the amazing run on Saturday morning and the pictures Char, Britt and I took in the photo booth. They were epic.