Austin 10/20 Race Report + Red Fox Wireless Headphones Review

Sunday was the Austin 10/20.  That’s a 10 mile race in Austin, TX.  It’s 10 miles with 20 bands spread out in approximately half mile intervals.  The organization for this race was awesome. 

The expo was small, but didn’t leave me feeling disappointed.  When I picked up my bib, they actually required me to show my ID.  That’s a first.  I’ve had lots of emailed instructions that state I will have to show ID to pick up my bib but they never do.  This one didn’t say anything about showing ID in the emails they sent out, but when I arrived, they asked to see it.  Good thing I didn’t need to pass off my bib to someone else!  Anyway, after I got my bib I went into the expo room.  I made a beeline for the t-shirts.  I told the lady I needed a women’s large and she said she had to warn me because the shirts were “running small” and that she was wearing a large.  She was definitely smaller than me, so I asked if I could get an XL instead and she said I could.  When I went for my run Wednesday morning and I wore my 10/20 shirt for the run, let me tell you, I was very happy I traded up to the XL because it fit perfectly.  A large would have been tight and uncomfortable and annoying and I would have been very disappointed since I wouldn’t be able to wear it and it’s a great looking shirt…one of my favorites for sure…actually, probably my favorite shirt I’ve gotten so far.  Anyway, there wasn’t much at the expo that really interested me.  They had some tech shirts that were really nice, but I wasn’t interested.  I thought it was really cool that they were selling the participant shirts for the other 10/20 race that happens in California.  I thought about buying one, but I don’t want any shirts for races I haven’t ran…that’d just make me a poser in my opinion. 

What I DID buy was a Red Fox Wireless set of headphones.  Red Fox had been at the Austin Marathon expo and the Capital 10K expo.  Both times I just walked on past their booth, but drooled over them in my head.  This time I stopped and asked questions.  They’re Bluetooth, like the headphones I’ve been using.  A little background.  The headphones I’ve been using are a $30 set I found at Fry’s Electronics.  They were really easy to use.  On the right ear piece was the skip forward and backward buttons and on the left ear piece was the volume buttons.  The sound quality was pretty good.  My main problems with those headphones was that they would slip out ever so slightly as a ran, so I would have to pull my headband down to hold them in place.  That was all well and good but now it’s starting to get hot in Texas so having my ears covered up isn’t a wise idea.  When I asked the guy my questions, I made sure that there were track skip buttons (there were…there is also a pause button!!!) and volume control buttons (there were).  They had some demo pairs so I got to try them out and give them a listen.  They felt secure against my head, like they wouldn’t be prone to slipping out of my ears.  The sound quality was phenomenal and they were extremely comfortable.  So, I spent the $80 (expo pricing) plus $15 for the hardshell travel case.

Back to the race.  Sunday morning, I woke up around 5:30 because the race wasn’t until 8.  I parked in the on site garage that had no restriction on access (as it was not part of the race route so it was not closed at any time).  I hung out in my car for a while…I didn’t want to get to the start area TOO early and have to stand around making my legs all tired.  When it was time to make my way to the start, I started walking and then, as soon as I got out from the cover of the garage, I noticed the sky was kind of dark, so I went back to my car to see if there was anything to wrap around my phone to keep it dry in my gear belt in case it rained while we were running.  I found a shopping bag and tore a piece off and wrapped it around my phone, then started back toward the start area again.  I stopped at a port-a-potty on the way, of course.  I got close and did my warm up exercises (leg swings and calf raises), then made my way to the corral area.  They had the whole thing fenced in so I couldn’t just walk into my assigned corral.  I had to go all the way to the end and push through the crowd and make my way to my corral.  That took some doing.  The start line was pretty wide, so we made it through the shoot in record time.  I think there was 2 minutes between when they said the “Ready, set, go” and when I (in corral 7 out of 10) hit the start line.  Very nice. 

As we made our way along the course, there was a band of some sort pretty much exactly ever half mile.  And they were all good.  I wish I could say the same for the Rock’N’Roll half I ran last November.  The bands were not evenly spaced, leaving lots of “dead air” where all I was listening to was my breathing and footfalls and those of the people around me.  Don’t get me wrong, Rock’N’Roll was fun, but it could have been planned better.  When us “normal” people were around mile 2, the elites were already coming back at us at around the 4 mile mark.  DAAAAAAAAMN!!!  We cheered them as they ran past us.  I was doing and feeling pretty good until around mile 7.  Normally, I would have taken in a gel around this time, however I forgot to bring one with me.  The one thing I was not happy about with this run, no gels at any of the aid stations.  At every half marathon I’ve run (even the relatively low cost Biggest Loser) there have been gels round mile 7 or 8.  Now, sure this wasn’t a half marathon, but it was still a decently long run.  I took some extra walk breaks the last 2 miles due to being “out of steam.” 

I crossed the finish line per my Garmin at 1:55:06, 6 seconds above my goal time of 1:55:00.  However, when I stopped at the results tent near the finish area, it said my official time was 1:54:34, 26 seconds faster than my goal time.  And if that wasn’t enough, when I checked my official finisher’s certificate, it said 1:57:something.  Geez.  I’m going with what the computer said.  The 1:57:something had to be the “gun” time as, I said previously, it took about 2 minutes for me to cross the start line when the race started.

obligatory standing runner's pose

sporting my participant shirt on Wednesday's run!

Overall, very happy with this race.  I would say I plan to do it again next year, but really, I’d like to see about doing the MS150 bicycle ride with some friends/co-workers and that happens the same weekend…or at least it did this year.

And now I’ll go back to the Red Fox headphones.  Since there were bands (and good ones!) along the race course, I did not wear listen to music as I ran, so I didn’t get to try out the new headphones until my next run, which was Wednesday morning before work.  I wore my 10/20 shirt for the run, like I said above.  I mapped out a 4.5 mile course in MapMyRun and set out.  As I started, I noticed some bounce in the headphones.  It was annoying, but not significant.  After a few minutes, I basically got used to it and didn’t notice it at all for the remainder of the run.  Very satisfied with my purchase and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to buy Bluetooth headphones that are good to use while running.  Definitely worth the cost…a very good investment in my opinion.  Oh and they said the charge lasts 6-9 hours, so you get a good amount of time between charges.  My other ones lasted 5 hours at the max.  When I was connecting them to my phone before my run on Wednesday, it did take a little bit longer for them to connect than my other headphones did (I had already set them up on Sunday so all I had to do was select them after I turned the Bluetooth on).

My run on Wednesday went well.  I was going strong until mile 3 where I stopped and walked for a minute, then continued on my way.  That was the only walk break I took during the 4.5 miles because that’s the only one I needed.  I did take a stretch break at around mile 1.15 because my shins were a little tight.  I think that 4.5 miles was the perfect distance for a first after a 10-mile race.  Tomorrow, I’ll run again.  I’m just planning on 3.3 miles.  Sunday I’m probably going to run either 5 or 6 miles…haven’t decided yet. 

Biggest Loser Race Report & Friend Making Monday

I woke up around 4:30am the morning of March 30^th to get myself ready for my 3^rd half marathon to date.  The Biggest Loser half marathon.  The day before, I had purchased a cinnamon raisin bagel and a banana, my standard pre-race breakfast.  I took two small bottles of water with me, one to drink before the race and one to drink on the way home.  The festival area opened up at 6, so I arrived at 6 in the parking area.  I wanted to make sure I got a good spot and that I didn’t get lost.  So, I sat in my car, at my bagel and banana and drank my water for 45 minutes.  Then I headed over to the festival area. 

As it got closer to the start time, I made my way to the corral.  There were people holding pace sticks.  I found the 11:30 min/mi pace group and decided to run with them.  A couple more people joined with the pace group and we were all chatting away until the “gun” went off.  I blinked my way through the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, like usual.  I always get choked up, same thing with Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.  It just gets me, you know?  Anyway, they did a wave start and we were in the second wave.  My plan was to run with the 11:30 pace group for the first 10 miles, then pick up the pace and finish with a PR. 

It was super nice starting off with a pace group.  It really kept me from going out way too fast.  For the first like half mile, I ran with my music on in both ears.  Then, I realized everyone in the group was chatting with each other, so I pulled out the earbud that was closest to everyone else so I could still listen to my music (on a low level) AND participate in the conversation as well.  As we all shifted around and from side to side as we ran, I would switch out what earbud was in based on my relation to the group.  Eventually, probably around mile 4, our pace group leader turned the music on her phone on with the speaker, so at that point, I just turned off my music and wrapped my earbuds around the front of my tank top so they weren’t flapping all over the place.

As we ran and chatted away, the miles just flew by like crazy.  We were running a steady 11:20-11:44 per mile, most miles were below 11:30, only mile 4 was high, I believe.  I think the majority of our miles were between 11:20 and 11:24 per mile.  As we ran along, we noticed that the mile signs were popping up and then a little bit later our mile chimes were going off on our GPS items (for me and one other girl, our watches and for the leader, her phone app).  We realized that the route might be off.  At mile 8, I HAD to use the restroom and there was a port-a-potty without a line, so I hopped on in.  I used the facilities and then went about catching back up with the pace group.  I managed to do that within 2 minutes of exiting the port-a-potty.  YAY!

As we were running along, the leader needed to use both hands to do something with her phone at one point, so I got to hold the pace stick!!!!!  How cool is that?!?!?!  I should have taken a selfies with it.  Haha!  We all even made jokes about me doing that too.  But, jokes aside, it would have made a great photo for here and my scrapbook.  Oh well.

As we passed by the mile 12 marker, a big gust of wind picked up and blew it over…so we passed mile 12 with a bang!  Ba-dum-bum. 

As we rounded the final corner on the street we were discussing how off the mile markers were to what our GPS items were reading (and all of our GPS items were saying the same thing).  We crossed the finish line and I hit stop on my Garmin and it read 12.99 miles.  So, according to my watch (and everyone else’s GPS item) the course was exactly 13 miles…NOT 13.1…and therefore NOT a true half marathon.  So, even though my time was 2:28:07, I can’t count it as an actual PR because it wasn’t the same length as the other 2 half marathons I’ve ran (which were both 13.2 miles, according to my Garmin…probably because I don’t cut all the corners because I tend to run to the far right of the crowd of runners, so that adds mileage ever so slightly to my run).  But, I would have been a PR had it been the full 13.1.  I did the math and if the course had been 13.1 I would have ran it in 2:29: 16, which would have not only netted me a new PR but would have also meant I hit my goal of doing a half marathon in 2:30:00 or less.  Oh well.  I still have the Helvetia Half that I’m running while in Oregon in June to hit that goal at.  (but, really, after looking over my full Garmin stats, it said I was moving the entire time and there was no extra time for when I stopped to use the restroom…so I’m thinking I may have lost satellite signal for a minute or two while I was in the port-a-potty)

check out mile 8...that's not right

So, we finished the race and then the whole group of us (there were 5 that ran together basically the whole time) got together and had our picture taken together. 

And now it’s time for Friend Making Monday!

Favorite things.

1. Favorite color? (be specific... what shade of blue/green/red etc)

Pink and yellow

2. Favorite piece of clothing you own?

My running clothes…haha

3. Favorite smartphone app?

Instagram…it’s just so much fun to use

4. Favorite city?

Washington DC, even though it’s been almost 20 years since I was there.  There’s just so much to do…loads of museums, parks, and really close drives to other places like Busch Gardens and New York is only 5 hours away.

5. Favorite strength training exercise?

I absolutely love the TRX straps.  And I love the entire “Paige” workout (see link to the right)

6. Favorite vegetable?

Brussels sprouts

7. Favorite hair product? (shampoo, styling, conditioner etc)

Right now I use the Herbal Essence Hello Hydration shampoo & conditioner combo

8. Favorite animal?

CATS!!!!

9. Favorite superhero?

Hmmm…my favorite superhero as a child was She-Ra and as an adult, I have really liked the ladies of the Witchblade

10. Favorite recipe? (share the details with us)

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Mushroom and Sage

1 medium Acorn Squash

3/4 tsp. plus 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper

6 Tbsp. Olive Oil, plus extra for brushing

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1 large Portobello Mushroom, chopped

1 small Onion, chopped

2 tsp. Fresh Sage, finely chopped

Pinch Red Pepper Flakes, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim off each end of the squash. Stand

the squash upright and halve lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and the

seeds and discard. Brush each squash half with olive oil, and then

sprinkle with 3/4 tsp. salt and the black pepper. Arrange cut sides

down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast the squash

until the flesh is tender and the edges are golden brown,

approximately 25-35 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the squash

halves over and set aside.

While the squash roasts, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over

medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute 2 minutes, or

until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the mushrooms, sage,

1/4 tsp. salt and the red pepper flakes if using, and saute until the

mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Fill the roasted squash

halves with the mushroom mixture and bake again for another 10

minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving:

Calories: 254

Protein: 2 g

Fiber: 2.5 g

Plans, Plans, Plans

Here’s what I want next week to look like with exercise:

Sunday – Austin 10/20 (10 miles)

Monday – gym

Tuesday – rest

Wednesday – run

Thursday – sleep

Friday – run

Saturday – gym

For the gym, both times I will do a base of the “Paige” workout plus some TRX and other exercises, like upper body exercises on the balance ball and walking lunges, ab exercises, etc.  So, while the base of the workout will be the same, I will change up the rest of the workouts so that they’re different.  I think, maybe for Monday, I’ll do the walking lunges and farmer’s walk, some woodchoppers with the weight tube (no idea what to call it), leg lifts in the captain’s chair, bent over rows, deltoid Y’s with the TRX.  For Saturday, I’ll do the TRX exercises (bicep curls, tricep extensions, supermans), dumbbell chest press & dumbbell chest flyes on balance ball, Russian twists with a medicine ball, and kettlebell swings.  If I can come up with a couple more exercises to add to each day, then I will, but I don’t want to overdo it.  I’d like to make it through 4 sets of all exercises.  Or, maybe start with the non-“Paige” exercises that way I do 4 sets of those and 3 of the “Paige” exercises.  Because, let me tell you, the “Paige” exercises really kick my butt.    Also, to each day, I’d really like to add a little swimming.  Whatever I can do.  No time goals.  Just whatever I can do before I die feel exhausted.  Even if that’s only 2 laps like what I did the last time I tried swimming…and then left utterly disappointed in myself.

I’ve decided…Tuesday next week, I’m back on the Shred Diet.  Like I said before, I’ll be skipping week 3 because it consists of mostly liquids like soups and shakes and smoothies.  Not a whole lot of actual foods and, I’m sorry, I like to chew my food.  I discovered this when I went through the Shred Diet previously.  I seriously struggled with the liquid week.  I felt the urge to stuff my face for 24 hours a day every day for that entire week.  I’ll go shopping on Sunday and do food prep on Monday before meeting up with Amanda for scrapbooking!  Then, gym workout in the evening after scrapbooking.  I’ll just take my gym stuff with me to Amanda's and drive straight to the gym from her place.  I need to buy myself an oversized towel on Monday as well because I have no idea what happened to the one I was using.  It was perfect for after swimming as there was enough to dry my hair and myself with. 

But, anyway, yes, back on the Shred.  I know my eating is out of control and I *HAVE* to do something about it.  And if I want to see a change in my body before my Oregon trip in June, then I need to start NOW.  It really did work wonders for me the last time I did it, I just have to do it and focus myself and stay on point.

So, I promised you a review of the massage I had Wednesday morning!  Let me just say it was fantastic!  I told her I wanted deep tissue to which she responded “are you sure?  Most people say they want deep tissue but when I actually do it they’re all like ow ow ow!”  I said I was quite sure about it and that I’m used to a friend that I’m used to a physical therapist friend using extreme acupressure on my muscle knots to break them up and that it really hurts when he does that, but that it feels so much better afterward.  While I wish she would have gone a little deeper with the deep tissue, it was overall an excellent massage…and, if I can swing the cost (this was a gift certificate I received for Christmas, so it didn’t cost me a dime), I’d really like to go back like once a month for an hour and a half massage (special law enforcement rate of $75…NICE!  Or $55 for a one hour…still a super nice price).  But, we’ll see.  I do have an appointment for a massage with a different place on Tuesday afternoon next week.  I got a big discount because I booked it at their Biggest Loser walk/run festival booth after I completed my half marathon.  So, I’m getting a massage that they normally charge $89 for at a rate of $39!  I couldn’t pass that up.  It’ll be another deep tissue massage…YAY!

Oh, and I had a lot in common with Patricia, the massage therapist.  While she’s not in love with running like I am, she does love to do the obstacle course runs.  She did the Warrior Dash and next she’s doing the Tough Mudder!  That’s awesome!  Neither one of those is something I would ever do (so I say now) because I really don’t like the idea of being all muddy post run…I have no problem with being all muddy during the run, I just don’t want to deal with the clean-up, you know?  I mean, I know they have showers and changing areas and you can donate your muddy and basically ruined shoes, but still.  I’d much rather be able to just get in my car (with maybe a towel to sit on…but not necessary because I have vinyl seats and they’re easily cleaned) and drive home without any fuss to make sure I’m not making a mess in my car.  She also said she wants to do a triathlon.  Well, I don’t want to do one of those, because of the swimming part, but I do want to do a duathlon, which is the same thing but minus one event similar.  She just wants to do a sprint tri while I want to do an Oly du.

Finding My Determination

The pictures for the Capital 10K are already posted on the photographer’s website (and yet the photos from last Sunday’s half marathon are not posted yet…go figure).  I was looking at them and, frankly, I’m appalled.  I knew I had gained some weight but I’ve been looking at myself in the mirror with apparently very kind eyes.  I compare my finisher photo with last year’s finisher photo and I can definitely see the difference.  I’m definitely “fluffier” than I was a year ago.  And I don’t like it.  Last night I made a point to go to the gym.  I really wanted to run, but it was after dark, it had been raining and I did NOT want to run on the treadmill.  I did a combination workout.  I did the workout that the trainer, Paige, at the gym showed me last year plus a couple exercises on the TRX straps.  I burned about 400 calories in about 40 minutes.  That’s a good burn.  And I felt great when I got done.

I’m already making plans for making sure I get to the gym next week.  Next week, I have the Austin 10/20 on Sunday, then Monday I’m hanging out with Amanda and scrapbooking with her.  I will most likely go to the gym when we’re done.  Tuesday, if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll run in the morning, but if not, I’ll run Wednesday morning (most likely scenario).  I work a double shift Wednesday so no workout Thursday morning because I’ll be sleeping.  Friday I’ll run and then I’m working a double shift again.  Then, Saturday I’m off work so I will try to hit the gym again after I wake up in the afternoon.

I really need to do what I can to drop 10 pounds.  And that’s all I’m going to focus on right now.  10 pounds.  The experts all say to take your weight loss in small, achievable increments.  So that’s what I’m going to do.  Sure, I’m only going for 20 (I hope that’s it…I’ll start weighing again next Saturday), but I don’t want to think about the number 20.  That’s a big number.  I want to think about the number 10.  10 I manage.  10 I can handle.  10 I can do.

this was taken sunday afternoon...OMG look at my stomach!!!  i have to
get rid of that!!!

I ran 5.7 miles today and, well, it wasn’t easy.  It wasn’t exactly hard either, though.  It was slow and that’s okay.  I averaged 11:37 per mile.  Wow.  Putt putt putt.  But, like I said, that’s okay.  It was somewhat a recovery run, so slow is good.  I just ran the Capital 10K on Sunday and then yesterday I kicked butt at the gym and I’m very sore and stiff.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment for a massage that was gifted to me for Christmas.  Yea, I work so much overtime and I just plain kept forgetting to make the appointment.  So, later this week, I’ll let you guys know how it went.  I won’t be posting again until Friday night or Saturday at the earliest because I’m working double shifts at work the next two days.

Capital 10K race report & Friend Making Monday

On April 6^th, I ran the Austin Statesman Capital 10K.  This is my first repeat race.  Last year it was the second race I did after I started running and the first 10K I did.  Last year I was of the mind that walk breaks are for sissies, so I didn’t take them.  Last year, I ran it in 1:06:53 with an average pace of 10:33.  This year, I took walk breaks and was also still recovering (even though I felt that I felt just fine).  I ran it in 1:10:14 with an average pace of 11:09.  So, I’ve slowed down some.  But, maybe not.  Like I said, I was still recovering from the half marathon (that I PR’ed) the Sunday before.  So, I’m sure my legs weren’t fully recovered.  My left calf was really tight after the Capital 10K, which is the one that the massage therapist told me was super tight after the half marathon.  Also, I did really push it the day before the 10K with my fast-for-me 2 mile run…so maybe that played a role in my slower time.  No matter what, though, I’m happy with the run I did and I’m not disappointed in my time.

So, review of the race.  I’ll start with the expo.  It was in a MUCH smaller venue and had maybe a third of the vendors that it had last year.  Major disappointment for me. 

On my way to the race, it POURED down rain for about 5 minutes while I was in the store buying a couple items I had forgotten to grab before I left the house (anti-diarrheals, sandwich baggies for my phone).  I almost bought a poncho too, but changed my mind last second.  I figured if it was still raining bad when I went to head to the race start that I would just leave my phone in the car and run sans music.  I’ve done it many times before and it’s not that bad.

When I was walking up to the starting area, I observed a lady wearing a bib (so she was running in the race) SMOKING!  Seriously?!?!?!  When I got to the starting area, I ran into a couple co-workers.  I noticed them because they were both wearing their “Team Sheriff” tech shirts.  They asked where my TS shirt was and I said I only wear it for Sheriff’s Office sponsored events.  Anyway, we hung out until we FINALLY (11:30 minutes after the gun went off) made it to the actual start line and took off running.  We were pretty “neck and neck” for the first like half mile, then they took a walk break and I breezed by them and didn’t see them anymore.  Around mile 2.5, I stopped to lube up my under-bicep area with some Vasoline when I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I turned and there was one of the supervisors from work, Lisa!  She was running with a friend of hers that was just recovered from hip surgery!  Go her!  (I didn’t catch her name)  Lisa and I chatted for a few, then I took off while she took it easy with her friend.  I had planned to catch them at the finish line and take a finisher’s photo with Lisa.

I don’t remember the coverage of photographers from last year’s race, but there was a difference in what I can remember toward the end of the race.  Last year, toward the end, they had a photographer in a bucket above the runners taking photos from above…this year?  Nope.  I’m just hoping that the photographers that were there snapped at least one good picture of me that I can download later on to put in my scrapbook.

There was some construction going on at Auditorium Shores (where the finish line festivities took place last year), so the finish line area was all messed up.  First off, the finishing shoot was incredibly long and a total mess.  The only thing they were handing out in the shoot was water.  I later saw people that had generic Gatorade and bananas and some other items.  Where the heck did they find those?!?!?!  I have no idea and I wasn’t going to stick around at the finish line to find them either.  I didn’t stick around because as soon as I stopped running and got out of the shoot and away from the mass of bodies, it was COLD!!!  And it had started to drizzle a little bit, which didn’t help.  I was wearing a tank top, not a long sleeved running shirt, so I chilled easily and quickly.  So, I took my finisher’s photo and headed for the car, abandoning the idea of waiting for Lisa and friend to finish to take a photo with her.  As I drove home, it rained.  So, the race was at the perfect time…right between and downpour and a decent rain.

I’m hoping next year’s expo and race are better planned and executed because I do plan to run it again.

Friend Making Monday

1. Have you ever had a reoccurring dream? What was it?

Yes, I have a few that are recurring.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember any of them because it’s been a while since I’ve had one of them. 

2. What was the weirdest food you've ever eaten?

Octopus that is just boiled, not fried and still looks like little octopi

3. Can you comfortably eat in a restaurant by yourself? Go to movie?

Yes and yes.  I eat at restaurants all the time by myself.  Of course, I prefer to be with a friend, but I have no problem doing it by myself.  Same thing with the movie.

4. What would you leave in your will for the person you care about the most?

My cats (unless they’re allergic, of course) because my cats are my world and mean everything to me.  I would only leave them with someone I trust completely.

5. Would you rather...Go without television or fast food for the rest of your life?

Fast food please.  Ugh, if I could rid myself of fast food, I would be so happy.

6. What was the best thing that happened to you this past week?

I got to hang out with my bestie, Amanda, twice in one week!  And we scrapbooked together :)

7. List the food items you take at a salad bar.

Romaine lettuce, mushrooms, chickpeas or kidney beans, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, cheese.

8. If you were in the "Miss America" talent competition, what would your talent be? (Note: both guys & gals have to answer this question)

Maybe singing.  I don’t have a whole lot of talents that would be applicable to that competition.

9. What do you keep in the trunk of your car?

Boxes for my future business of selling renaissance style costume pieces.  And my reusable shopping bags.

10. How many rings before you answer the phone?

Until I hear it.