Apple Desserts

My parents came to visit this weekend! On Sunday we went to Carter Mountain Orchard and picked a TON of apples (okay, not a literal ton, but 19 pounds worth).

I love apple desserts and I can't wait to start baking some apple goodies! I have a hard time deciding on a favorite apple dessert, so I thought it would be fun to try a variety of recipes and rate them on my blog.

Here's what I'm planning to bake:

• Apple Crisp (Result: 10/10 - Winner!)
• Apple Pie with a crumble topping (9/10)
• Traditional Apple Pie (7/10)
• Apple Dumplings (6/10)
• Apple Donuts (I nixed these when I realized they didn't actually contain any apples!)

Any other ideas? I'm not a fan of caramel apples because they're too hard to eat. I might add in a recipe for an apple cake or apple muffins, but I have to say I prefer apple desserts where the apples are hot and gooey. In a cake or muffin, the apples tend to be much more dry and not as delicious.

I'm excited to try some new apple recipes. Hopefully I'll discover some keepers!

Addition: Caramel Apple Bars - I made these the weekend I moved out of my apartment. I ran out of a bunch of ingredients and didn't feel like buying more, so I substituted like crazy! The bars turned out just okay. I want to try this one again and actually follow the recipe.

Pumpkin Milkshake

It finally feels like Fall in Richmond! I celebrated by wearing my boots for the first time this year and baking pumpkin goodies. You may remember from last year that I love all things pumpkin. Last night I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they were good, but today I made a pumpkin milkshake and it was DELICIOUS! It's definitely my favorite "Fall" treat so far this year.

I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Our Best Bites.
The following is my version of their pumpkin milkshake.

Pumpkin Milkshake
1/3 C canned pumpkin
1/4 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t (pinch) nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream (I didn't actually measure the ice cream, I just used what I had left, which was maybe 1.5 cups? You can modify the amount of ice cream based on how thick you like your milkshake).

I added the first 6 ingredients together and blended them until smooth. Then I added the ice cream a few small scoops at a time, blending it together as I went. I've found that my ancient blender can't handle several huge scoops of ice cream. It gets too thick and the blender can't process it. Adding smaller spoonfuls of ice cream keeps my blender from conking out and ensures a smoother, creamier texture. Like I said before, DELICIOUS.

Lynchburg 10 Miler

It's a week later and I'm just now writing about the race I ran in Lynchburg last weekend. This week has been a bit of a crazy ride... but last weekend was awesome. The Genworth Virginia 10 miler was a great race! I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Tristan had told me to expect hills, so I was prepared for it to be a tough race. We started out the race going downhill for about a mile and since it was an out-and-back course, I kept thinking about how we were going to have to go back up that hill at the end. There were several up and downs throughout the course, but Tristan and I actually passed a lot of people going up hills. We didn't over-exert ourselves on the hills, but tried to keep a nice easy pace. When we got to the long hill at the end, it actually wasn't that bad. It was about a mile uphill, but it was a gradual incline. I had been expecting that hill to be the worst, but some of the hills in the middle part of the course were steeper and more difficult, so by the time we got to the end, it wasn't that bad!

The weather was perfect for the race. It was overcast, breezy, and not too hot. I've learned that the weather can be a HUGE factor in any race, so I'm always thankful for clouds and cool weather on race day. I've learned that it's a good thing if I'm a little cold before the race because I warm up as soon as I start running. Tristan and I ran the whole thing together. We weren't trying to PR, we were trying to keep a good pace and use this race as part of our marathon training.

Our splits are variable because of the hills, but we averaged a 9:37 pace. Here are the splits I recorded:

Mile 1: 9:09 (downhill)
Mile 2: 9:55
Mile 3: 10:02
Mile 4: 9:58
Mile 5: 9:29
Mile 6: 9:42
Mile 7: 9:27
Mile 8: 9:26
Mile 9: 9:56
Mile 10: Missed it, but just over 9 minutes. 9:02? (calculated).
I sprinted the last 0.3 miles!

Official time: 1:36:06

I came in 39th in my age group. Also interesting to note, my five mile split was 48:33, which means I ran the final five miles in 47:33, which means I negative split for the first time ever (even if it was only by one minute)!

After the race, Tristan and I got pizza and other goodies, then we realized free massages were available for the runners. As we were waiting in line for massages, I mentioned to Tristan that we should run two more miles to get in our 12 for marathon training (haha). But Tristan actually wanted to do it- and being the crazy people we are, we went back on the course and ran an additional two miles! It was hilarious because people driving by thought we were still running the race. They were shouting out words of encouragement and cheering us on! I didn't know how to explain that we had actually finished 30 minutes ago, so we just smiled and laughed it off.

We got back to the finish area, finally got our massages, and we got to see the last competitor finish. He was an 84 year old guy who's run the Genworth Virginia 10 Miler every year since the race first started in 1974. It took him over three hours this year, but he finished amidst a crowd of support. It was really inspiring to see him chugging along to the finish, slowly but surely, and to witness all the support and encouragement from everyone. Nobody understands the determination, dedication, and perseverance required for the sport better than fellow runners.

It's always a good time

I spent the past weekend in Lynchburg running races, celebrating birthdays, and catching up with friends. This weekend I got to see De and Doug, Tristan, Joanna, and Audrey (Joanna's sister).

Tristan's birthday was on Saturday. We started off her birthday celebration with a 10 mile race together. After the race we got pizza, snacks, and a medal of course. Then we decided to run two more miles to get a full 12 miles in for marathon training. We're crazy like that.

We did some shopping, like always, then headed to Olive Garden for Tristan's birthday dinner. Olive Garden was delicious. It's definitely one of my fave restaurants. We stayed there for over two hours chatting and eating. We got free wine samples, an appetizer to share, endless pasta bowls, and tons of breadsticks. SO MUCH food. But it was totally worth it for Tristy's b-day.

No matter what we do, whenever we get together it's always a good time. And we don't even have to try. (Thank you Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City for the theme song of the weekend)!

One final dose of school stress

I don't think I've mentioned it on my blog yet, but I'm officially a THIRD YEAR student now (and have been since school started in August)! This semester is supposed to be "easy". I only have 3 classes and a case study presentation. What I'm realizing is that easy doesn't necessarily mean stress-free. This week I started to get overwhelmed by all the things I need to get done in the next two weeks.
It may not seem like a lot, but I have to complete:

• Group presentation
• Case study presentation
• Portfolio (a final project that includes quite a few papers)
• Paperwork for my upcoming clinical

The first 3 items are huge. Each one accounts for 75%-100% of my grade for the class. I feel like my head is swimming with articles and research studies. Ugh. Luckily my group presentation is tomorrow; once I get that out of the way, I'll be so relieved! I'm so ready to be done with all these projects.

Somewhere in there, I also have to take the PEAT (Practice Exam and Assessment Tool for PT) which I'm really nervous about because it's basically a practice test for the boards. I also have to make sure I get a background check, flu shot, and parking pass for my clinical.

The good news is that these next two weeks are the final weeks of classes for me forever! (Unless I decide to get a PhD. I need to remind myself NEVER to do that!) After these next two weeks, I have three clinical rotations, and then I graduate in May. I'm a little scared to get a "real" job, but I'm going to be SO GLAD when I'm FINALLY done with school. I just feel like I've been in school forever and I'm ready to move on to the next stage in life. I love learning but I'm tired of doing it within the structure of school. It'll be interesting  to see where this next year takes me. Probably once I'm out of school I'll miss all the free time I had!

My first 20-miler

So, today was the day of my first 20 mile run. I was already nervous about it, and then to make it worse, a few days ago I developed a head cold and runny nose. And then I got my period (TMI? ok, sorry). And then I checked the weather and realized it was going to get up to 85 degrees on Saturday. And then the morning of the run I forgot to check the route and had to blindly follow everyone else because I didn't really know where we were going.

And, and..... and none of that mattered! I had a great run today despite all my misgivings. In fact, during the last few miles I couldn't believe that I was almost done. I kept thinking Was that really 20 miles? I had anticipated taking longer to finish based on my previous runs in the heat (plus stopping for 2-3 minutes at every SAG).

Even with the heat and the stops, I ran 20 miles in just over 3.5 hours. I'm really excited about that because it means I have a good chance of running the marathon in 4:30! Of course my goal is just to finish, but I don't want to be out there running for an excessive amount of time either. My target time is around 4.5 hours based on my pace and my times for half marathons.

I really hope the marathon goes as well as my run did today. I can't even tell you what I was thinking about, really, or what I felt like at each mile. I guess I was zoning. I love it when the miles just keep rolling and I'm not even fully aware of it. It's not that it's any easier physically - I got a headache at one point, I remember sweat was dripping into my eyes a lot, and some of the hills were tough. However, it's definitely easier mentally when I let my mind wander and just run.

After having a not-so-good 18 mile run two weekends ago, this was nice. It was a confirmation that I can do this. My legs can handle the miles. I can maintain proper hydration and energy (I've had some trouble with this before). I am mentally tough. I am finally to the point in my training where I feel like I can handle this - all the miles, the early mornings, and the tough runs have led to this moment, where I know, deep down inside, that I will be able to run 26.2 miles. Bring on the marathon.

Pen Pals

I love getting mail. Not bills and junk mail, but handwritten letters and cards. In this day and age, it's easy to send someone a message through Facebook, texting, or e-mail, but there's something so personal about snail mail. Handwritten notes are usually so much more thoughtful. It means a lot to me when someone takes the time and effort to think of me and write a letter.

I have a couple friends who live far away, so I rarely get to see them. My friend Dan lives in Hawaii and my friend Julia lives in Pennsylvania. These two are my current pen pals. I haven't seen either of them in the past two years, but we've kept in touch through letters.

I also like to write little notes for friends sometimes. I have a box of pretty cards that are blank inside. They're perfect for writing thank you notes or a great way to make a personalized card for a bridal shower or baby shower (I've been to lots of both recently!)

I got my cards at Ross, but I'm sure you could find something similar at another discount store (Marshalls, TJ Maxx). I got a pack of 50 cards for $7 (a great deal considering one card at Hallmark is about $3). There are 10 different designs, and all the patterns are so pretty. Like I said, the inside is blank, so you can write whatever you want. I used some stickers that I had to make personalized cards for Julia and Dan. Simple but cute, and so easy and cheap to do!