Pecan Pie

My kids stayed the night at my parents' house last night, and Jerry left for work early this morning, so I had the perfect opportunity to sleep in again. But of course, when opportunity presents itself, it just doesn't work out. I was up by 7:00.

I started to get dressed, and then had the sudden urge to go for a run. My last run was the Heartbreak Hill Half last Sunday, and I had planned to take a full week off of running in order to get my head back in the game. I think it worked, because I definitely felt like running today! So I started back to it a day early.

It wasn't humid this morning (thank goodness!) and the fish flies seemed to be hiding out. It's kind of strange--they hatched and were ALL over the place a couple of days ago, but now, they aren't too bad. I decided to run a four mile out-and-back route, away from the lake, so that the fish flies wouldn't be so much of a problem.

I was a little nervous about how my legs were going to feel after six days off of running. For the first half-mile or so, I felt a little stiff and clumsy, but I could feel myself loosening up as I went. I was sure my pace would be 11:00+ minutes/mile, but my pace was under 10:00, so I felt good with that. I think the week off was good for me.

I saw my dad's truck as I was turning a corner, and he was heading home. Since it was only 7:30 in the morning, I immediately thought, "Ohhh, I bet he just got doughnuts from Monica's!" and I was so tempted to just run straight to his house, but I kept going ;)  (I later found out that he did, in fact, get doughnuts from Monica's.)

After the first few miles, I saw that I was finishing each mile progressively faster, so I decided to try to aim for negative splits all around. I ran a sub-9:00 fourth mile, and felt really good!

I sat on the porch for a little while, just enjoying being outside without the humidity.

My calves were bothering me a little after my run. I had noticed that they were hurting a little while I ran the Heartbreak Hill races, and I think it may have something to do with the hills--I'm just not used to them here. At the expo, the blogger group I was with was given a coupon to get "The Stick" (or another product from that booth). I'd heard of it before, and I know a lot of people swear by it, so I chose the "Stiff Stick"--sounds so naughty, doesn't it?! The first one I picked didn't fit in my suitcase, so I had to exchange it for a smaller version.

Anyway, I decided to give it a try on my calves today.

It definitely hurt while I was rolling it over my calves, so I think that means I was doing it correctly. It reminds me a lot of foam rolling, only it's a lot easier to do. I don't know how well it works, but some of the other bloggers I was with said they love their sticks ;) It may have been my imagination, but my calves did feel better after "sticking" them.

After the kids came home, I decided to make a pecan pie for my dad. I never know what to buy him for Father's Day (or his birthday, for that matter), but he loves pecan pie, and I actually make a pretty good one. Normally, I can't bake to save my soul, but I can make a damn good pecan pie. It came out picture-perfect!

The kids and I went to get a Father's Day present for Jerry, and then we brought the pie and a card over to my parents' house. I made sure to leave before my dad cut into it, because it would be too hard to resist--and it's something like 500+ calories per slice! I usually only have it once or twice a year--Thanksgiving and my dad's birthday.

Well, we are off to take Jerry out for dinner! It feels like a Friday night, for some reason, and I keep forgetting the kids have school tomorrow. It needs to be summer already!