Ten on Tuesday - posted on Wednesday

Last night I had to watch the UCONN women's basketball game & then off to bed because I am still getting up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 to go to the gym. So the post half mary wrap up - my time was actually 2:50:02 - the last time I remembered looking up at the finish line clock it said 2:49:something. Whatever - I was happy to finish. The race itself was OK - about 4,500 people for the full, half & 10k races. We checked in on Saturday & got a glimpse of Frank Shorter & Bill Rodgers as they are big (well actually short & skinny) New England running gods. We did not want to wait in line for autographs (what would we do with them?) so went back to the hotel. We met our friend Dolan for dinner - thanks for coming to meet with us! It was a great place with nummy Mediterranean food & we enjoyed the company. The race started at 10:00 on Sunday - they did not have enough port o lets so we waited & waited & waited in line & only go to the starting line with about 3 minutes to spare. The route itself was through some neighbors hoods of Hyannis, down around a couple of beaches and back to the convention center where it started. It was windy, about 35 degrees & started to rain about 2 hours into the race. The worst part about the route was they did not close traffic - and since I was slow and did not have a police escort like the front runners, it was a little nerve racking worrying about cars coming behind you. The last mile was up hill - which seemed a little unfair but whatever. i kicked it in pretty good at the end - at least it felt like it to me but I am sure I looked slow as can be but again - whatever. The on-after was lame - I did eat chowder - I felt like I had to being on the Cape and all. let me tell you - it did not site well in my belly and I would not recommend that. But then we switched to beer which worked out just great. We showered and headed downtown to another on-after party at Tommy Doyles and DEVOURED a large order of steak fries with cheese & bacon & two hamburgers, with of course a couple pints of Guinness. By 5:00 we were tired, full & ready to change into the flannel jammies. Yep - that is the party animal side of long distance running. We headed back to the hotel, changed & opened a bottle of champagne & called it a night. A very good part of the weekend is there was a Trader Joe's conveniently located about 2 blocks form our hotel so we went & stocked up before we headed for home. All in all a good girl's weekend - thanks Training Buddy!

Now my Ten Favorite Ethnic Foods - how easy is that?? In no particular order..

1. Cuban food - I didn't have any until I moved to Florida and once I had it I couldn't believe I went my whole life prior without it.

2. Falafel - this stuff is so dang good - I can't go to NYC without getting some.

3. Mediterranean food - hummus, olives, good salads. I really love a good meze - we have fond memories of several we had when traveling in Cyprus.

5. Vietnamese food - the only vacation I went on where I gained weight form eating was Vietnam. I heart pho - I think it as good a chicken noodle soup for comfort food.

6. A good, authentic Mexican mole - the flavors are so nuanced - I really love the combination of over 20 spices.

7. Crepes - fell in love with these when we went to Montreal.

8.Foi Gras - I know it's cruel but I love it. It is true luxury & since I can't afford it much - most of the world's geese are safe from me.

9. Latino cooking - Puerto Rico, South America, you name it.

10. Thai - I like good thai food, not the fast food stuff.