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Runfessions from the winter that wasn’t

February 28, 2020 by MCM Mama 2 Comments

Runfessions from the winter that wasn’t

Here we are at the end of February and I'm whining about being cold, but it's currently 33* and the high is supposed to be in the high 40s. While that's right around the "average" high and low for February in this area, it feels like we've had a lot more of the average and a lot less of the cold days than usual. And we've had zero snow. ZERO! It really feels like winter never arrived this year. So, my first runfession as I enter the runfessional  at Marcia's Healthy Slice is that I'd really like at least one snow before the warm weather hits us! I must also runfess that there's been precious little running around here. The worst part is I can't find my "give a damn." I know I have some half marathons coming up (eh, they aren't until … [Read more...]

Filed Under: running Tagged With: blogging, food, runfessions, Zooma

Will run for food!

October 22, 2018 by MCM Mama 11 Comments

Will run for food!

Does the food available after a race come into play when you are choosing a race or are you happy with a boring snack like a granola bar or pretzels after a race? For me, it depends on exactly how far I've run. For shorter races, I don't need anything at all, but sometimes something salty is good on a hot day. Even for a half marathon, I often don't feel any urge to eat at the finish line. But sometimes the offerings are so good, I eat even if I don't "want to". Wondering what races have make me want to run them again just for the food? Here are my favorites. Mainly Marathon races - the "aid station" is a smorgasbord of all the good things: pretzels, m&ms, gummy bears, hard boiled eggs, pb&j, pickles... And then there's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: food, Tuesdays on the Run

Fueling my way through the Marine Corps Marathon

August 17, 2017 by MCM Mama 8 Comments

Fueling my way through the Marine Corps Marathon

For today's Friday Five, the topic is running/fitness fuel. I tend to train up to about 10 miles without fuel. In fact, often, I haven't eaten since about 7pm the night before a pre-noon run. But once I start going longer than 10 miles, my strategy changes. Since I'm about to run my first longer than 10 mile run (15 miles, eek!), this topic has been on my mind anyways. I have to confess that I don't have any idea what I'll take with me on the 15 miles, but I do know my marathon plan. How I Fuel a Marathon Pre-Race Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich - This is my go to for any long race. It's cheap, extremely portable, and tastes good. Even better, I find that it's easy to digest, sits well in my stomach, and keeps me fueled for lots of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: running Tagged With: food, fuel, marathon, Marine Corps Marathon

Making a Healthy Choice on Busy Days

March 17, 2016 by MCM Mama 8 Comments

Making a Healthy Choice on Busy Days

How is it only Thursday? It feels like this week has been a month long. Of course, I've managed to cram a crazy amount of things into the last few days. Seriously, since last week, I've gone on an all day field trip, taken Shoo to soccer practice, attended the RNR DC expo, gone on a tour of the Capitol building, run a half marathon, taken Shoo to two days of a soccer tournament, and attended an event at the White House. Add in normal things like my job, laundry, chores, etc. and I've been feeling a little pressed for time. Just a little. Unfortunately, when life gets crazy, two things fall by the wayside for me: sleep and healthy eating. I tend to go to bed around midnight normally with a 6:00am wakeup. This is just *barely* enough … [Read more...]

Filed Under: food Tagged With: food, healthy choices, healthy eating

Favorite running fuel for long runs

March 10, 2016 by MCM Mama 24 Comments

Favorite running fuel for long runs

Running fuel is one of the most discussed topics in the various running groups I belong to on Facebook. Everyone has their favorite manufactured running fuel and many have their favorite "normal food" choices. I've used various gels and waffles and sports beans, but my stomach tends to disagree with the amount of sugar in those. So, I've had to experiment with some other choices. Thankfully, I've run a lot of Mainly Marathons races, so I've had the opportunity to eat everything from pickles to pancakes to cups of soup. Confession: if I could figure out how to carry salty vegetables and noodles on my long runs, I totally would. Since that's a little unlikely, here are my favorite normal food running fuel choices: Pretzels and raisins … [Read more...]

Filed Under: running Tagged With: food, Friday Five, fuel, long run

DuClaw Quick Start My Heart Balsamic Vinaigrette

February 25, 2016 by MCM Mama 3 Comments

DuClaw Quick Start My Heart Balsamic Vinaigrette

Welcome to the February edition of "Cooking with Beer"! Once again, I am featuring a beer that DuClaw Brewing sent me. Since February is National Heart Month, it's appropriate that the beer I'm featuring is called Quick Start My Heart. DuClaw Quick Start My Heart is a strawberry milk stout with 6.8% ABV and a medium body. It has flavors and aromas of chocolate and strawberry with a hint of coffee. You all know I love my dark beers and this is a tasty beer that answers the question of "beer or dessert" with a resounding yes!  As you might imagine, this is another beer that could easily work well with in the recipe I created for beer cupcakes. I think it would be great combined with a strawberry glaze on top. I had a lot of fun with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cooking with Beer Tagged With: beer, cooking with beer, DuClaw Brewing, food, recipes

The District Club: local goods delivered monthly

February 24, 2016 by MCM Mama 25 Comments

The District Club: local goods delivered monthly

I am a huge fan of buying local. I shop at the farmer's market when I can get there, we used to buy a share of a steer from a (as local as you can get to Washington, DC) farm, and I'd much rather eat at a local restaurant or brewpub than a chain. So, when The District Club reached out to me about reviewing their service, I was totally on board. What's The District Club? The District Club is a subscription-based service that will allow members in D.C., Maryland and Virginia to sample a variety of treats from local, small businesses. I love this idea in theory. I never know what new things have come out locally, unless it's beer related. (What? My husband isn't called Beer Geek for nothing.) And I'm often looking for ideas for gifts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: review Tagged With: food, review, vegan, Washington DC

Five Wisconsin brands I always buy

February 12, 2016 by MCM Mama 16 Comments

Five Wisconsin brands I always buy

Confession: I haven't lived in Wisconsin since I was 2 years old. But I still consider myself a Wisconsin girl. Why? Because growing up as a military brat, it was the place that always felt like home. The family farms were there. All of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc were all there - many in the same small town. Somehow, I've always stayed a Wisconsin girl at heart.  I mean, I can even say "Go Pack" with the right accent. LOL And part of someplace being home is the food that you associate with it. While there are plenty of things I would never look for around here (herring comes to mind LOL), there are certain brands that are made in Wisconsin that I still love. Johnsonville brats - These are still some of the best … [Read more...]

Filed Under: food Tagged With: beer, coffee, food, Wisconsin

DuClaw Naked Fish Sweet Potato “Mole”

February 3, 2016 by MCM Mama 15 Comments

DuClaw Naked Fish Sweet Potato “Mole”

Welcome to another installment in my "Cooking with Beer" series.  I've really been enjoying this and have another awesome recipe for you. This time DuClaw Brewing sent me their Naked Fish to cook with. Naked Fish is a Chocolate Raspberry Stout that clocks in at a nice low 4.6% ABV. The chocolate raspberry flavor is accomplished by the addition of a chocolate raspberry coffee. When I first heard of it, I immediately thought it would work well in my Sweet Baby Jesus cupcake recipe with a raspberry topping instead of frosting, but I wanted to try something new. (But if you want to try it in the other recipe and report back, I'd love to hear!) When I think savory chocolate, the first thing that popped to mind was Mexican mole, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cooking with Beer Tagged With: beer, DuClaw Brewing, food

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

February 1, 2016 by MCM Mama 8 Comments

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

It's Monday and my kids are home with me for the 12th day in a row. Granted, this was a planned teacher work day and we haven't used up all of our snow days, so they did not reschedule it. But, wow, I'm ready for a normal life. Thankfully, the weather here has been super warm, so we should be snow free by the middle of this week. This weekend Jones had Honors Orchestra.  They lost two of their practice days so they ended up practicing for 9 hours over two days. It was a lovely concert and they played really well, but that pretty much took everything out of my introverted musician.  Shoo also had a futsal game and a birthday party, so I feel like I spent most of my weekend driving people places. Thankfully my dad and I got in a 10K run. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: food, recipes, slow cooker, vegetarian

Cleaning up my diet + a Kohls Giveaway

January 28, 2016 by MCM Mama 134 Comments

Cleaning up my diet + a Kohls Giveaway

  We all know that I love to run. And lately (well, until Snowzilla arrived), I've gotten back into my old gym habit of elliptical and weights. But judging by the way my jeans are fitting and the number on the scale, the saying "you can't out exercise a bad diet" is definitely a fitting one around here. It's not necessarily that I'm eating unhealthy foods, it's more that I'm eating too much in general and far from a balanced diet. Marathon training definitely played a role, but what has really brought the issue to a head is being busier in the evenings. Two to three nights a week I am out at dinner time for practices, rehearsals and social activities. I'm eating at odd times and I'm grabbing whatever is convenient, which usually … [Read more...]

Filed Under: health Tagged With: food, giveaway, healthy choices, healthy eating, tips

The Impact of Food on Running: Feedback from Running Bloggers

October 21, 2015 by MCM Mama 7 Comments

The Impact of Food on Running: Feedback from Running Bloggers

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "if you want to be an athlete, eat like an athlete". Professional athletes eat foods that are going to help them perform. They eat foods to fuel the body. This is not to say they don't ever eat less healthy foods - just this weekend Deena Kastor mentioned more than once her love for a glass of wine and pizza. She also mentioned the importance of eating high quality foods and fueling in a  way to support your running. With Marine Corps Marathon coming up in a few days, I'd planned to eat super healthy this week. Unfortunately, I'm having one of those weeks where I'm meeting myself coming and going. Know what happens when I'm feeling stressed like that? Cheese popcorn for dinner. Not exactly the best … [Read more...]

Filed Under: running Tagged With: diet, food, marathon, training

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Who is MCM Mama?
A slightly obnoxious mom and wife who loves good beer and running, who struggles a bit with depression especially in the winter and when running isn’t allowed, who’d rather go on a fun vacation than upgrade the kitchen or add a master bath, and has a minor addiction to the Marine Corps Marathon.

Recent Posts

  • Half Marathon #85: Appalachian Series – South Carolina
  • Half Marathon #84: Appalachian Series – Georgia
  • Coffee with a side of rain
  • Half Marathon #83:Appalachian Series – Alabama
  • Hotel Coffee is better than no coffee…
  • Training for Back to Back to Back Half Marathons
  • Runfessions of a Really Cold Runner
  • Kicking off the year with coffee!

Archives

A slightly obnoxious mom and wife who loves good beer and running, who struggles a bit with depression especially in the winter and when running isn’t allowed, who’d rather go on a fun vacation than upgrade the kitchen or add a master bath. Read More…

Half Marathon #85: Appalachian Series – South Carolina

Half Marathon #85: Appalachian Series – South Carolina

Mainly Marathons Appalachian Series – South CarolinaMarch 27, 20222:47:45 What I wore: hat, tank top, long sleeve quarter zip, capris, and Altra Rivera Location: Seneca, SC (State #41!) Let’s just start out with the truth – this race was the hardest of the races and pretty much sucked. I chose to do the early start […]

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