Celtic Solstice 5 Miler

I signed us up for the Celtic Solstice race a few months ago after talking to my buddy Pete at the Falls Road Running store. Seeing as the event was in Druid Hill Park and we live next door I figured we had to run this race based on convenience.

I went to pick up our bibs on Thursday after our second snow storm. It took nearly an hour to get there in the traffic on the JFX.

Photo credit Falls Road Running Store

The race began Saturday in front of the Stieff Silver building. The energy of the crowd was awesome. The bagpipers, kilts and 3,000 runners were a sight to behold. What a huge motivator. That dude is seriously brandishing swords! I'm mean if that doesn't get you pumped up for battle what does? I registered to get the cool shirt and didn't want to wear it without finishing. So we were pumped up.

It was a great race. I was so proud of myself for running as long as I did. I only stopped a few times to catch my breath. It was wonderful running into our friend Heather. Such a motivator to see a familiar face at the finish line to give me a HUG. Thanks sweet Heather!  I know our buddy John G. was there too but we didn't see him in the sea of people. We were pretty chilled afterwards so just jogged home to warm up. It was perfect!!!

2203 227/237  Nelle Somerville                              63:21 66:50 

E. finished in 54 minutes.

I had been marinating Chicken Marbella which meant we only had to put it in the oven for dinner that night. It's such a great low maintenance meal which was exactly what we both needed.

If you haven't ever made this recipe you MUST. It is from the Silver Pallet Cookbook and is our staple winter meal. We usually serve it for Christmas or New Years Eve. Here is the recipe. We used drumsticks and thighs but you can use two cut up chickens. You can even use all breasts if you like. The oregano is key and you must marinate it. I usually do so for two nights. E. would put two cups of brown sugar in the sauce if it were up to him.

You need a very large dish for all the pieces. You should baste it a few times during the hour it takes to cook. It is a show stopper for dinner parties. I think it is our generations Boeuf Bourguignon.

Serve it over rice or cous cous. We love this dish so much that we nearly served it for our wedding. It was a real treat to enjoy after our successful race day.

Thanks to Jim and Pete at the Falls Road running store for offering to comp our registration because we lived so close. I wanted the shirts and registered for the full price which was worth every penny. It was so organized and the music was inspiring to this Scotch-Irish girl. Charlie, thanks so much for running with me. I didn't mean to mislead you into thinking it was a 5K. You have had one of the busiest weeks of the year and really appreciate you motivating to run with me. I look forward to many more. Heather! It was so fun getting a huge hug from you at the finish line. Thanks again for the fun Facebook fist pumps and cheers along the way.