Epicurious Runner

Running, Eating, & A Giveaway!

I’ve had a great weekend!

First up, I ran 6 miles late Saturday morning and it was fantastic! I was only planning on running 3 or 4, but decided to keep going since I was feeling wonderful. I finished 6 miles in 56 minutes.

Derek and I had a fun little date on Saturday where we ventured all the way over to Astor Bake Shop to try their incredible veggie burger. It was our first time there and it totally lived up to our expectations. The veggie burger was nothing short of incredible and the place was very cute and quiet, I definitely recommend checking it out if you are in the area.

Derek got the veggie burger and I got the soft boiled egg and salmon sandwich and this Sea Salt Lemonade.

And of course, we finished off with some delicious apple pie that was made with shredded apple slices. AMAZING.

From there, we headed over to the old beer garden in Astoria, drank a few beers and headed back to our apartment before setting off to hang out with our friend who was in from England. I didn’t get to bed until 1:30am and slept in until 10:30, which felt amazing. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately, so it was nice to have a solid 9 hours of sleep.

I then ventured out for a run with Kristin that was supposed to be 8 miles and ended up turning into a 9.25 mile run! Yep, it was another great run where I felt super strong and I definitely could’ve kept running. My pre-marathon training is starting to be where it’s supposed to be and I am happy to have run 19 miles this week. It seems low and it is, but for only running 3 times this week, it’s pretty good.

I received a box of Shower Pill wipes probably a month or two ago and I have been going through them quickly! They are pretty awesome and I admit, I definitely don’t shower after working out as much as I should. I know, I know, but I kind of hate taking 2 showers in one day, especially if I’m not going out anywhere after.

Anyway, these wipes area life saver and they are very convenient when you workout after work and don’t feel like (or can’t) shower before going out somewhere else. They are nice and thick and big enough to cover your whole body. They don’t leave you sticky and I WOULD NOT compare them to baby wipes because of this fact.

I know it’s not much time, but until June 22nd, you can receive 10% off on a box from Amazon by entering the code “RAGNARCH” at the checkout.

If you don’t feel like buying a box, you’re in luck because they are offering up a free box to giveaway to one of you lucky readers!

If you would like to win a box of Shower Pill wipes, all you have to do is follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook and let me know in the comments what you did.

Good luck, I hope you win so you don’t smell bad!

My Dad’s Food – The Best Part of Vacation

I always feel lucky to have grown up with parents who could cook and bake really well! My dad loves to feed people and if you come over to my parents house, I guarantee you won’t be leaving there hungry.

My dad is not only a grill master, but he is THE grill master. My god, he seriously makes the BEST cheeseburgers and ribs ever!!!!

Sorry to keep you waiting, but here is what I ate while relaxing at Squam Lake.

Time Is (Quickly) Ticking Away

So, I’m getting married in like 3 months…holy crap! Time sure is ticking away and I can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by everything that still has to be done. I know there are lots of family and friends to help me out, but still, 3 months? That’s like tomorrow!

Even closer than the wedding is the DRESS FITTING! Ahhh, I have 3 1/2 weeks till I get fitted for my wedding dress. I declared myself 4 full weeks from this past Monday to get into the best shape I can. I’m already off to a good start!

Monday: 5.75 mile run (Which was awful, BTW)

Tuesday: 2.25 mile run

Wednesday: 1st day of 30DayShred, 3 mile run

I hope to do a weekly recap on Sunday to highlight everything I did for the week. The pressures on!

Before Derek and I became poor for a couple weeks, we were making turkey burgers pretty often. This is my new favorite way to season ground turkey!

I received this bottle of Buffalo Marinade through the Foodbuzz tastemaker program and I couldn’t wait to try it out. I credit Derek with this idea.

We marinated a pound of ground turkey in the buffalo sauce and let it sit overnight (a couple hours would work too). We then formed patties and cooked them through until we had delicious turkey burgers.

The flavor was subtle, but extremely tasty! Turkey has a tendency to be blah and flavorless, but adding this buffalo sauce gave it an awesome kick. We topped them with cheese and a bit of blue cheese dressing and they were gooooood!

I Have Returned From The Dead

Oh my god, I have my life back! I haven’t been home on a Wednesday night since December. Green Eyes is over and it was a smashing success! We were all ready for it to be done by the last week, but the demand for the show was certainly exceeding the supply of tickets. I wouldn’t be surprised if the show was back, VERY soon.

Seriously, that play pretty much took over my life for the month of January. I didn’t even get to write about my amazing birthday. Since it seems like it was so long ago, here are the things I remember.

• I got sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to, 3 times! Once at work, once at home with Derek and my friends and once with everyone from ‘Green Eyes’.
• A ton of my friends came out to celebrate at Rattle ‘N’ Hum and we all drank delicious craft beer.
• I ate a HUGE cupcake cake from Crumbs.
• My parents wished me a Happy Birthday from Punta Cana.
• My dad is fixing my car for me as a birthday gift, best present ever!
• Derek gave me the new Kirby Epic Yarn game for the Wii and I love it!
• I ate the best burger ever at Shake Shack!
• I signed up for this Women’s Half Marathon.

I am trying very, very had to get back on the wagon when it comes to running. I need to get my butt back in shape, the Half Marathon is only 8 weeks away. Today I had an unexpected burst of motivation and I feel strongly that I will be doing better with exercise and running in these next few months. I’m also trying to get into shape for the wedding, it’s coming up so fast.

I ran 3 miles outside last week and died. I was out of breath, my lungs hurt and my body was not cooperating. It’s much easier to run inside on the treadmill, but that generally means I have to wake up super early to go to the gym.

Anyway, I’m done boring you. Happy Groundhog Day! Phil did not see his shadow, so let’s hope his prediction of an early spring is correct!

Happy 7 Years!

So, I wrote this post a while ago, but apparently never posted it. I figure I might as well put it up there, so you can at least drool over some more Shake Shack pictures.

It was Derek and I’s 7 year anniversary on Thursday (Sept. 23rd)! It’s crazy how time flies, 7 years, seriously?

Since we don’t have the money to do what we usually do on anniversary’s, we decided to keep it cheap, but honest! And of course, that means Shake Shack! Both of us cannot get enough Shake Shack, it seemed very appropriate to start off our evening here!

We had a few tentative plans for the rest of the night, but then we realized one of the greatest places ever is right next to Shake Shack!

Eataly! Eataly is a huge marketplace that opened up on August 31st and consists of everything Italian and more! It’ s a place you wish you could afford to do your weekly grocery shopping at, a place to buy fresh meat, fish, cheese, produce, pasta and gelato! It also has several restaurants, coffee shops and a plethora of wine and beer.

Check out my post from Eataly HERE.

We left Eataly with some delicious coffees and walked to Rattle N Hum, which is an awesome bar with tons of craft beer on tap. It was the start of NYC Craft Beer week and it couldn’t have been a better time to visit. We drank some delicious beer and then decided to call it a night.

I love you Derek and I can’t believe we are getting married next year!!!

We are getting married the day after our dating anniversary. Next September 23rd will be 8 years, the day after that we will be getting married on the 24th!

1,000 Words: Food Porn

SHAKE SHACK BABY!

Oh my god! That is all I can say. This burger has lived up to it’s expectations times 100! It was so fricken good I can not even express it’s greatness. Derek had this burger a few months ago and he wouldn’t stop talking about it for like 2 weeks. After picking up my race number we headed over the massive line to consume the best burger EVER. There are three Shake Shacks in Manhattan, but we ended up at the one in Madison Square Park. The line was humungous and it took us an hour and 15 minutes to get to the front, but let me tell you it was seriously well worth the wait! It was a beautiful day in the city and I couldn’t have asked for a better day before my race!

Okay, enough talking, I will let the pictures speak for themselves. I ordered the Double Shack Burger with a side of Cheese Fries, a Diet Coke, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Frozen Custard! Mmmmmmmmmm What? I have to load up on carbs before my race. Right?

So, if I haven’t said it enough, this was the best burger I have ever had and I don’t think there is anything that will ever live up to that first bite that I had.

I’ve never had frozen custard before and I was super excited to try it! It was soooo delicious and the texture was amazing. It tasted like pudding almost, it had a nice creamy and thick consistency and it was just amazing. I want to start a ritual where Derek and I go to Shake Shack the day before every race I run. I should start signing up for more races

I just love food, man!

Half Marathon T -12 Hours!

I Hope I Get the Job!

I had such a good day yesterday! I wanted to write about it in a separate post. I was hoping to write about my day last night, but I was unfortunately exhausted and was done with writing for the day.

I woke up at 5:45 took a shower and was out the door at 7am. I was lucky enough to get on the ‘R’ train right when I got in the subway station. I got to my interview like 20 minutes early so I wandered the streets a little before going inside.

I was the first one there : )  I walked in the store and it was AMAZING! I haven’t been in a lululemon before and it was like heaven. There were so many awesome colorful clothes and it made me happy. The interview itself went really well in my opinion. It was a group interview and there were 6 other people there. They also mentioned that most of the other stores in Manhattan are hiring so I suppose if I do get hired that I won’t necessarily be working at that specific one. They are a great store and have really good beliefs and there is a sense of community there. I love what they stand for and I REALLY hope I get the job! I now just have to wait for a phone call to go in for a second interview.

After my interview, I hung out at Starbucks, while I waited for Derek to meet up with me. We went from there to the Landmark Sunshine theater to see ‘The Road’. I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it and it was amazing. It was so emotional and I was fighting back tears the whole time. I pretty much just cried through my nose. I fought back my tears for so long and hard that they had no where else to go but out my nose and the back of my throat. I will be writing a review of it later at Mapcidy.com, so be sure to check it out.

We got home around 2:30 and I instantly got all my gear on and headed out into the warm 33° weather and tackled my 6 mile tempo run. Got back just in time to sit down and write for 4 hours. I had scheduled 4-8 as time to write up a few entries for Healthkicker.com.

When I was done with writing we went to the amazing BAREBURGER! Yes, it was just as amazing as it usually is. This is by far my favorite restaurant / burger place in Queens. It is so good. They finally got their liquor license too, so we were able to enjoy some delicious beer on tap! They had about 7 0r 8 beers on tap, quite impressive for such a small place.

And now, some food porn.

I got the original bareburger with Piedmontese Beef and it was perfect. I also got an Acai wheat beer, but unfortunately the picture I took is really blurry so I don’t want to post it.

It was one busy day that I was happy to end with a delicious burger!