Road Trip recap, crazy Salina runs and GU.

A handy dandy list will make this modge podge of ramblings bearable for us all since quite a bit of this post will be for the sake of posterity. In no particular order of course.

• We went to Salina Kansas for a spring break road trip. Salina is in the middle of the state where I70 and I35 meet.   It was awesome to see all the windmills along the way. I am a big fan of wind power!  We went to Kansas to see family and check on our house there. The now beardless lumberjack husband had to cut wood again since some beepin beep stole 3/4 of his wood pile.   He is hot though so it was nice for me anyways to see him work! Most of the photos are on the laptop in Salina with the hot man so only a few to post here today. His dad came over to help and hang out as well. 

• The fam is not used to my large and boisterous entourage. They are well behaved but are boys and fight as much and as hard as they play. It makes for interesting times at my sister in laws house while I check my email and such on the nephews computer.

• There was lots of green grass and Kansas wind.  The wind is usually not my friend but it was a warm wind and it was a welcome change.  Notice my sweet shades!

• I am now in a special class of runners, one that Beth over at Shut Up and Run would be proud of. Oh that mishap was not fun. Lots of cussing involved and then humble acceptance that human beings are disgusting. I was too proud to call for a ride home and who would I call anyways so I just ran home. I feel sorry for the dog owner who receives a funky G-string with guitars on it from his canine friend that went rummaging in the bushes. Hopefully by then it will have rained a few times.  Ahhh to be a runner. C'est la vie. When I got home I found that it wasn't as bad as I thought although I was really trying to stay positive hahahaha! Still picking stickers out of my feet from trying to find a secluded spot since I ran that time barefoot. .
• I ran one 9.5 miler (cut short by "the mishap") and a 11.5 miler that was mostly off road with several fun trails. I ran offroad on the dikes around town so I would not have to pop a squat in the middle of town. No repeats of the first run.  It was wonderful to run and not know my mileage until after I was back home and could google earth my route.  Its like opening a present to see the miles grow and grow as I mapped them out.  

• I tried GU 3 times over the trip. I love love the flavor of the Blueberry Pomegranate Chomps and like the flavor and caffine in the Cranberry Apple Chomps as well. I like that I can chew them and swallow easily while running and they don't stick to my teeth for very long. I ate a Vanilla Orange gel while driving home in the snow hoping it would keep me up and boy did it ever!  Fantastic energy but not uncomfortable!  I will do a formal review at some point however with the chomps and gels its hard to wait! 

• It was delightfully uneventful in Kansas for the first few days relaxing in the sun. We traveled to my father's house in Manhattan friday.  Its always strange to see him. I guess I don't feel secure enough in myself to feel comfortable around him.  I  don't really know him nor does he know me so its awkward now that we are both adults since its a different dynamic. Its interesting to think through my pattens that were established as a child and then be around my parent as an adult.  I should start calling him Skip instead of Papa. I wonder how that would change things. It was nice all the same and would like to go back again soon. He has a wonderful dear one and 4 gorgeous standard poodles that were the best behaved dogs I think I have ever been around.

•  That evening it snowed.  The day before it was 60 some odd degrees.  We couldn't make it up the hill to leave so some neighbors pulled our cars up with their big truck. It took us about 3 hours to get home.  It normally takes about an hour and 15  minutes. The neighbors wife Barb is a runner too and I wish I would have met her earlier and not right as we were leaving.
• We had a small Hotz family get together and had a nice time seeing everyone. We met at the Keva in Thomas park. Its a round shaped stone building with a fireplace. Its in the "creepy" park and we had fun supposing what exactly the cruisers were looking for.  We were safe and toasty inside and had fun roasting hotdogs and marshmallows.

•  I ate hotdogs!  I am not a fan of hotdogs for the most part however my dad gave us some fantastic gluten free bread that I used as a bun.  Its been a long time since I have had bread that tastes like real bread. Gluten free bread and baking in general is tricky to say the least and when you have a yummy bread it can induce tears of joy. I even had a salami sandwich!  That bread made me happy. Now maybe I can try and find it again here.  I don't remember the name although it started with a U and purchased at Hy-Vee. Sunbutter and Jelly sandwiches on a long run would be awesome!
• I baked overpriced gluten free cupcakes.  The younger kids and I liked them but they didn't live up to the price nor the hype. They were cute and the frosting was yummy.
• HAPPY VERNAL EQUINOX!!!
• The trip home went quickly and we stopped to see my brother and his family in Kansas City.  His daughter Madie is so adorable and looks much like my son Milo.  Here they are together holding hands.They should be on a postcard!

  The dear one is still in Salina to finish up odds and ends things around the house and  do his boring old taxes which he would get distracted from doing if he were here with us. I sit here writing this blog while the boys run in and out of the house. 

I miss him already and am going to have to be clever and diligent about getting some running and workouts in while he is gone.

I am so thankful its spring!  Time for a run with the little one in the jogging stroller.



 Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!  The prize is 2 lbs. of Chia Seeds from ChiaSeedsDirect.com.
If you are not familiar with chia seeds, here is a little snippet about them.

  Chia seeds go back centuries to Incan, Mayan, and Aztec cultures, for whom chia was a staple.
"Chia" is the Mayan word for strength. According to chia seed lore, Apache warriors would tie a bag of chia seeds to their belts to sustain them on the warpath. Aztec warriors, it is said, were sustained by chia seeds during their conquests.

Chia seeds were so important to the Aztecs that they were accepted as legal tender. And they were a staple for Indians of the southwest, who depended on them, particularly on long treks to the west coast to trade with California tribes.

Chia seeds are high in:

• easily digestible protein
• essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3
• vitamins
• soluble fiber
• antioxidants
• minerals

Chia seeds have much in common with flax seeds, which have a deserved reputation as a superfood.
The clear advantage I see for chia seeds is that their natural antioxidants make them stable, whereas flax quickly becomes rancid. There is no need to grind chia seeds before eating them.

Like flax, chia seeds are highly hydrophilic, with the ability to hold about twelve times as much water as their own weight.