'Stache Dash Scavenger Hunt 5K race in Cincinnati, OH in review...

Tuesday was hot and humid here in Cincinnati.  I mean HOT, the heat index was 100F.  The weather didn't stop a few of the girls I work with and I from participating in one of the most anticipated events of this month (besides the olympics), the 'stache dash scavenger hunt!  This event was sponsored by the hyde park body boutique and Lululemon in Hyde Park.

Here's what made this such a fun event:
1. each team had to wear mustaches (Our team name was the "well equipped upper lips")

Our Team! Well equipped upper lips

2. We had a sheet with clues to different stores/parks/areas of Hyde Park and once there we had to perform some kind of task and take a picture.  (We had to leap frog in madison park)
3. It was a small race filled with very enthusiastic participants and a very organized director!

This was a great boost to my running motivation and a great way to change things up during the week.

p.s. our team theme was cops and bandits.

Trees are on fire

It's November and some of the trees in cincinnati are still putting in a colorful show. We traveled further northwest this weekend and most of the trees had shed their foliage. Enjoy some of the pics I snapped this week of the "fire" trees. Don't you just love the way the sun shines through the colorful leaves?

Friday fave....places to run hills

This week marks week #2 of marathon training for the disney world marathon in January.  Luckily, I have a decent running base and the first three weeks aren't much different than my current running regime.

To train for my third marathon, I'm following a new intermediate training program from marathon training academy.  This week I was supposed to run hills.  My first impulse was "blah hills!", but as I thought about it more I realized that nearly every route that I take involves hills.  

Although Cincy is in the midwest, we're located close enough to the Appalachian mountains to have hills, and I mean serious hills in some parts of town.  I generally run through hyde park and mt. lookout which have their distinct hills, but by far the best hills I've encountered for running are in the cincinnati parks.  If you have hill training to do I would head to Eden Park or Ault Park.  

This week I didn't make it to the park to run hills, but instead took on the hills around mt. lookout which were still pretty killer.  During the week I like to keep score of me vs. the big hill of the running route.  Some weeks end up with a tie  (I win if I don't walk and the hill wins if I have to walk a bit), and other times I'm victorious.  This week was a success and so far I have a 2-0 record that I plan to keep a hold of while doing my long run tomorrow.  

I haven't attempted hill repeats, but I'm going to keep hill training in my running plan (I can't really avoid it).  A little fine tuning of hill training may be just what I need to add a little speed and take a little time off during the flat disney marathon.  

Brat, Beer, and Fish? All part of a great weekend adventure...

This weekend we went to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati.  The first thing we did upon arrival was to grab a beer and a brat. 

Then we headed over to the event tent to watch the defending champion, Joey Chestnut, attempt to eat as many brats as possible in 10 minutes.  Last year he was able to take down 42 brats (without buns).  

George Wendt who played Norm on Cheers joined the eating festivities.  

Check out the video of the 1st and second place finishers in this year's brat eating competition!

Of course Joey successfully took the title again this year with 35 brats.  

Oktoberfest is always a fun weekend here in Cincy, and we were able to meet up with friends and enjoy lots and lots of food (roasted almonds, pretzels, more brats, and beer).

How do you follow-up Oktoberfest Zinzinnati?  Well, spending the day at the Newport Aquarium and at the levee definitely nearly as fun.  

We were able to experience penguin palooza.....lots of new penguins and a cute show.  Highlights of the aquarium: Otters!!!  They were out playing, a tortoise that was trying to climb over rocks and fell and wash stuck on it's back...I know a bit sad, but still pretty funny.  All these adventures and I was still able to teach middle school students a bit about embryology and do a little experimenting in the lab.

Friday Favorite...the bonbonerie

 This Friday as the weather turns more towards the chilly side, (Today the high in Cincy is 63F, very fall and I love every minute of it) I'm thinking of snuggling in with a warm cup of coffee or tea and a yummy baked treat.  Although I'm usually fairly health conscious there are a few instances when you throw all will power and caloric concern out the window.  One of those circumstances is when you get pastries or baked goods from the bonbonerie!

The bonbonerie is a small local bakery in O'Bryonville of Cincinnati, OH.  It's a very small shop and it feels very homey.  They also have a tea room for afternoon tea and the china is elegant, but mismatched creating a quirky feel.  Recently, the bonbonerie cafe opened for a quick coffee and danish and it's just as cute as the tea room.

For our wedding earlier this year we got both our cake (dark chocolate with raspberry filling and white chocolate icing) and cupcakes (basic chocolate and vanilla) from the bonbonerie, pictured to the left.  Delish!  I'm looking forward to eating the top tier of our cake on our first anniversary, there's no way that being in a freezer can take away from the awesome taste!

On another note, Oktoberfest is in Cincinnati (Zinzinnati, in german) and we are going to partake in the festivities.  Hope you have something planned to enjoy the weekend!

Friday Favorite...

I have a little over a year left here in Cincinnati, and while living here I've discovered some great places.  Given, there are many places I still have not visited in my 4 years of residency.  Every Friday I'll share some of my favorite places to visit in and around the city....

This week's favorite is the Cincinnati Public Library, specifically, the Hyde Park Branch which I frequent.   It's the perfect distance for a walk with Mr. Philip then we usually head through Hyde Park Square before turning for home.  I'm a pretty heavy consumer of literature.  I've gotten so many books, audiobooks, CDs, downloadable music, and e-books from the library.  It's truly a pleasure every time I go.  

I like to use the entrance by the parking lot around back since you enter into the children's area of the library.  Inevitably, there is a child working at reading a book or having a story read to them. Adorable in every sense of the word.  

Goetta and other weekend adventures...

Goetta....what is it?  That's what Jonah asked when I told him I was making it for breakfast this weekend.  (I had the same reaction when I heard about it.) Then I simply explained it's a german food made of steel cut oats and sausage, which didn't help my case.  So I fried up a few patties and we both enjoyed this Cincinnati cuisine for breakfast on Sunday.  (It's much better than it sounds.)

Little Phil got a bath and then pouted for some time in his chair.  You can see how miserable he looks.  This was of course after he ran around our apartment like a crazy dog trying to air dry himself.  I wanted him to be clean for the bachelorette viewing party tonight.  He also has a special handkerchief to wear.



Jonah helped me assemble a photo frame so i can finally hang the Audrey Hepburn poster he got me for christmas.  He had a little fun with the wire for the back of the frame.  On the right is my new desk area with the photo hung and a new cloth over my desk for a little pizazz.

View from the river...

On Saturday as part of the conference I attended here in Cincinnati, we took a riverboat tour.  Here are some of the images I took while on the riverboat tour of the city at night.  Maybe it makes me sound like a country mouse, but I still love the lights of Cincy at night.

The riverboat ride was extremely welcomed since the conference was jammed packed with great science and by the third and final day my head was so full I thought it might explode.

Tornado Tuesday in Cincinnati...

Today at Cincinnati Children's we had a Code Grey! Code Grey is a tornado warning, and all employees and staff have to go into the basement.  So, I spent a good 15 minutes in the basement of the research building board and without my cell phone.  Since when did I become so addicted to my iPhone.  It was grueling because I wanted to know what was being posted about the weather, I've become a glutton for instant information.

Tornado adverted and all are safe.  I just hope little Philip is alright at home (he gets a bit of anxiety with thunder).

Oktoberfest recap!

Last weekend Jonah and I attended the largest Oktoberfest in the US!  (That's right....it's here in Cincinnati, OH!)  Early on Saturday afternoon we headed downtown for lunch (brats) and a sampling of german beer. Of course, you can't forget the best part of the whole festival.....cream puffs with bavarian cream.  After eating lunch we wondered around the whole festival and enjoyed a smattering of polka music.  This year Cincinnati Oktoberfest unveiled a new event.....a brat eating contest.  Around 3pm most of us attending ventured to the tent where the contest was to be held to watch about 9 people take on this task.  The brats were sans buns.  There were several famous eaters there that I recognized from watching the Nathan's hot dog eating contest on July 4 including the famous champ Joey Chestnut!

This is the field of eaters for the brat eating contest

Joey and the 2nd place eater  

Mr. Chestnut claimed the crown as 

 the best brat eater in 10 minutes....

           He shattered the record by eating 42 brats!

                                                      

Jonah's toe was demolished by a large man stepping on him :( 

Unfortunately, we had a small situation while
waiting in line for some famous german beer...

Overall, Oktoberfest was fun and exciting.....it got super crowded in the evening so I'm very glad we went early!  Maybe next year we'll enter philip in the wiener dog race on Friday before the festival.

One tasty burger...

Last night to celebrate a friend being alive for a quarter century we went to dinner at an infamous place in Cincinnati....Terry's Turf Club.  This diner has been featured on TV shows and in magazines as having the best hamburger in Ohio.  When we arrived I was delighted to see TONS of neon lights.  It's like someone tooks all the neon lights/signs from a whole strip of restaurants and put them into one!  The only downside was that we had quite a long wait (about 45 min to an hour), but we had fans and some nice cold beer to keep us company while we waited making the time pass quickly.

The menu had options for all kinds of fun sauces for burgers.  One had truffles, portabello mushrooms, and brandywine.  I got my burger with a goat cheese and roasted red pepper sauce, and it was amazing.  Jonah told the waitress to surprise him and ended up with a huge burger filled to the brim with topping including a peanut sauce.  I enjoy a burger now and them, but this burger was AMAZING!  no joke.

It was a great fun night with friends, amazing food, and lots of fun/random conversation.