2016: Measured in Miles

As the famous song from Rent goes, we measure a year in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights and cups of coffee... in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. And of course love! As I measure 2016, I'll borrow the miles measurement and combine it with the love measurement, to get a year of joyful miles - here are my 2016 highlights!

WINTER
The first month of the year brought my first race in a Team USA jersey, at the Great Edinburgh XC Challenge in Scotland. It was muddy, wet, sloppy, and challenging, but an incredibly awesome experience. 

Aside from the trip to Scotland, I spent the rest of January in my hometown of Davis, CA, enjoying warmer weather than Providence as I prepared for the Marathon Olympic Trials. I logged many miles along Davis farmfields, but also along the beautiful American River Parkway in Sacramento. My dad and younger brother Bryce accompanied me on bike on my long runs, which I was so grateful for - marathon training takes a village!

February was highlighted by the Marathon Olympic Trials in Los Angeles. It was the warmest Trials on record, and over 1/3 of the field dropped out of the race. I was proud to have finished on a warm day, even though the last 10 miles were a slow death march. I left LA disappointed, a little frustrated, and hungry for more.

SPRING
I was back home in Providence this spring, preparing for the track season. Fueled by my disappointment at the marathon in LA, I trained with a vengeance and was rewarded with a 5k PR of 15:29. In between track workouts and races, I explored some new routes in Providence and enjoyed coaching athletes as part of my online training program, Training Joyfully.

SUMMER
The summer brought the Olympic Trials Round 2 - the Track Trials in Eugene, Oregon, and the realization of a long-held dream of mine. I competed in both the 5k and the 10k, and my season was highlighted by an 11th place finish in the 10k. My brother Brendan also ran, finishing 8th in the 10k (proud sister alert!). Our family was there to cheer us on in every lap, and I was so grateful to be able to share the experience with the people I love most.

From Oregon, I jetted off to Europe for the summer track circuit. I traveled to the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Finland, and Germany on a whirlwind running tour. I went on some pretty epic runs, explored new countries on the run with my Strava Track Club travel buddies Annie & Laura, ran a 3k PR, ate a TON of gelato, and overall had a blast!

FALL
The fall was marked by some changes - at long last, I went back to grad school! I began a Masters in Public Health program at Brown University, which I am loving. I'm studying Global Health and am doing research on obesity-related health interventions. I also changed coaches, officially joining Ray Treacy's Run Providence group to train with Kim Smith, Molly Huddle, Emily Sisson, Katie Dicamillo, and Aisling Cuffe. Back home in PVD, I logged many miles locally, with my training group and with the monthly Run Club I host in conjunction with Whole Foods Market.

December Run Club at Whole Foods, with many of my Training Joyfully clients that I have the pleasure of coaching!

I'm closing out the year back in Davis, California, running on the dirt levees where my love for the sport was born. Overall, 2016 has been a banner year - thanks for sharing in the journey! Onward to 2017 - may there be many joyful miles ahead for you & yours!

Cheers,
Kaitlin

Runner Recipes: Pecan Pie Bars

I love wine, and I love dessert. I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "Will run for wine" and my post-race go-to treat is a donut - so suffice it to say, I believe that enjoying life's finer things is a-ok, even for pro runners. As long as you're indulging in moderation, I think it's just fine to have a beer and dessert to celebrate a hard effort, a birthday, or a holiday.

As such, my kitchen is full of baked goods this time of year. For Thanksgiving, I made my husband's favorite dessert and one of my mom's best recipes: Pecan Pie Bars. Why bars, and not pie? Well, I didn't register for pie tins when we got married, and I have plenty of large Pyrexs. Also, you can cut bars into smaller pieces than pie, thus making room on your Thanksgiving dessert plate for pieces of pumpkin and apple pie ;-)

My mom's famous Pecan Pie Bars, perfect for any holiday gathering

Without further ado, here's the recipe for my mom's Pecan Pie Bars. Note that I didn't make any substitutes to try to "healthify" these - when indulging in dessert, you may as well enjoy the full-fat version, none of this non-fat nonsense. Enjoy these Pecan Pie Bars at your next holiday gathering or to celebrate running a new PR!

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups light or dark corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups of pecan bits

Plenty of butter makes the crust taste like a shortbread cookie

Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 15 x 10 inch glass Pyrex pan. Mix the flour, butter, sugar, and salt at medium speed until the mixture resembles a fine crumble. Pour into greased pan and press firmly into pan to form a crust. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until golden brown.

Getting ready to press the crust

Crust pressed firmly into the Pyrex pan

Filling: While the crust is baking, beat eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the pecan bits. Once crust is done baking, pour filling immediately over hot crust; spread evenly. Bake another 25-30 minutes, or until filling is firm around the edges and no longer jiggles at the center. Let cool completely, for 1-2 hours. Then cut into bars, serve, & enjoy!

Some of the ingredients for the filling

Mixing the pecans with the eggs, corn syrup, vanilla, sugar, and butter.

Before: the pecan filling poured on top of the baked crust

After: golden brown pecan pie bars, post-baking. Just needs to cool, then serve!

The finished product: Pecan Pie Bars!