Friday's Quick Intervals

Friday, February 21, 2014 · Mike Davis

Good morning running nation! This week was a short work week for me, but I am still grateful that it is Friday! Looking forward to a nice weekend. One thing on our calendar for this weekend is the Farmers Market at Wentworth Green House in Dover. We have been wanting to catch this event but because it runs only once a month, we have missed it for various reasons. Kathy and I have turned to organic alternatives as best we can and hopefully this farmers market will give us even more opportunity. Apparently the parking is so crazy that most people park at Stone Wall Kitchen and take a shuttle in. I am really excited about going! Speaking of going organic, recently we traded our Keurig coffee maker in for the Breville 2 in 1 coffee maker. This baby grinds the coffee and then makes it. Believe it or not while coffee is one of the best antioxidants, non organic coffee contains the highest amounts of pesticides. With this fairly expensive machine ($250), we are able to buy organic coffee beans and now we benefit from healthy coffee with get all the powerful antioxidants. We have had it about a month now and my first thought is that we get kind of spoiled by the convenience of the Keurig coffee maker as it doesn't get much easier than popping in a K-cup and pressing and getting a cup of coffee on demand. While that convenience is nice, it definitely is not ecologically friendly because of the of waist it creates can't be good. The Breville requires the daily cleaning out of the grinds, coffee pot, setting up the filter and loading the water, so that's certainly a little more work. The Breville has strength settings and even the weakest setting is pretty strong, but you can always add some water to your cup to weaken it. Overall I think we are both happy and enjoy our coffee more than ever. The wonderful aroma is also nice to wake up to! I highly recommend this coffee maker! This Sunday brings the Half at the Hamptons, half marathon down on Hampton Beach. Kathy and I ran this race the first few years but this year we will be working the Coastal Athletic Association water stop. So when you hit that first water stop be sure in give us a shout out! The weather looks somewhat promising so it should be a great day to run. Cold weather does not mean you shouldn't hydrate! Thanks to all the birthday well wishers, I truly appreciate the wonderful gestures. Up coming races: St Paddies 5 Miler on March 16th - Great race to kick off your spring running and raises money for "New Heights, Adventures for teens". This has definitely become a popular race in a very short time thanks to some dedicated runners that seem to know what it takes to bring out their friends! Reds Shoe Barn Race for a Better Community on April 13th - This race is one of the great traditions in Dover and while it is a hilly course, it is definitely a great course. I have run this a few times and really enjoy it and will participate again this year. Dover is starting to rival Portsmouth as far as popularity in running so my guess is that "Reds" will fill up quickly! Time for this old boy to go workout so enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend! Oh one more quick interval. Soon you will have an option to comment on my blog or submit a question. That should be a lot of fun and hopefully creates some interaction amongst the readers. Hopefully soon. Be well! Mike