Marathons, Half Marathons, and 1/26 Marathons

Last weekend Chris ran the Queens half marathon...yep...Queens. Believe it or not, aside from the tar plant that he had to run by in the July heat, he said the course was rather beautiful. Ever since running the Brooklyn half marathon in May with his brother Zac, Chris has been considering a full marathon. Tomorrow he's going to sign up for the Kiawah marathon in December...which is pretty crazy! I'm very proud of him and how well he's done!

Inspired by Chris's success, I've been attempting to run myself. I hate to say it, but I couldn't even run a full mile when I first started. The loop around Prospect Park is just over a 5k and it's marked by every 1/4 mile. I started out running a 1/4 mile and walking a 1/4 mile around the loop. On Wednesday I was able to run the 1st mile, which was very exciting! I hope to be able to run the entire loop someday.

Here are a few pictures of Chris and Zac before and after the Brooklyn half. I should note that Zac ran that thing in 1:23:12...absolutely insane!

Menu - Week of July 25th

Once again, we are attempting to menu plan for the week. Chris did a great job last week and we even tried out a new recipe that I found in Real Simple. Evidence can be found on Chris's blog. So it's my turn this week and in keeping with the spirit of trying new things, there are three new recipes on this week's menu. So here it goes:

Sunday: Salad (New recipe inspired by a salad that Chris had at a restaurant last week, this salad has feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, capers, roasted red peppers, red onions, and chick peas.)

Monday: Rigatoni Peperonata (New recipe found in Real Simple that uses many of the ingredients used in Sunday's salad. It should also pair well with white wine...it is The Bachelorette night after all.)

Tuesday: Chicken Paprikash (New recipe given to me by our friend Emily that uses the crockpot! And smoked paprika!! Also, it's reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally..."waiter there is too much pepper on my paprikash.")

Wednesday: Bean Burritos (The Jaynes household staple.)

Thursday: Hamburgers and Baked French Fries (It's been a while since we've braved using the oven in this heat, but I'm craving fries, so be it.)

Friday: Dinner out at Le P'tit Paris Bistro (This cute bistro opened up at the end of our block last fall and we have yet to check it out. So we will on Friday.)

Saturday: Veggie Bowls (Sautéed veggies from our farmer's market mixed with chickpeas and topped with goat cheese.)

Yay I did it!