I did a Clark Kent/Superman change in the far end of the parking lot and headed out. My left shin was still sore (still is) and my right calf was tight from over-compensating. It was a weird run. I lost an earbud (later found in my car), I had GI issues (helloooo, Porty-Potty!), and it was getting darker and darker as I ran. But I had some decent splits and I was pacing about 6:00 min/mile on my final .2. 8:04, 8:06, 7:42, 7:42, 8:05, 8:10.
Friday, I was supposed to run 6, but I felt like c-r-a-p when I woke up. I put my gear on and plodded out 3 miles on the treadmill. I wore my compression socks which I cannot decide are a good idea or not while running. It was the kind of run that never got near any sort of happy place.
Saturday morning, Adam and I began our fun weekend off together. We got donuts at my favorite donut shop, Dutch Monkey Donuts. I had a caramel apple fritter and a dutch monkey--filled with dulce de leche custard, topped with bananas and chocolate ganache.
We headed to the mountains about an hour away for a wine cave tour and tasting. It was foggy and cool, but we were comfortable trekking around the property in our coats.
Inside the cave, we tried 3 different varietals that were not yet for sale to the public. A cabernet franc, a red blend, and a sweet white dessert wine.
Then we drove 10 miles to their tasting room/shop where we sampled 7 more varieties. We ended up really like a number of them and came home with 3 reds, a white, and a wine club 'membership'. The membership really just is a promise that we will buy from them again in the fall and the spring......oh...if I have to ;)
I was feeling like the wino I am so we stopped at a shop next door that you can paint wooden toys. I decided an hour of painting sounded like a fantastic idea after all that morning drinking. I chose a gator puzzle and painted it orange and blue. Adam supervised. The lady that owned the shop (her husband made all the wooden toys) was truly a crazy cat lady. She had 16 of them and proceeded to tell us about each one.... Good thing I drank all that wine.
After my BAC was back to zero, we headed back towards our neck of the woods and stopped at our favorite BBQ restaurant for a very late lunch. I proceeded to come home and take a fantastic nap in my chair. The perfect end to a perfect day? Watching silly movies late into the night with Adam.
I decided to try the running thing again this morning--this marathon business is in 3 weeks!
Fortunately, it went better. It was shorts and t-shirts kind of running and I felt pretty good save for the nagging pain in my left shin. I had 7 on the schedule, but decided to do 8 as I was feeling better. After looking over my splits, I realize that my easy run was actually a full tempo run. Oops. 8:01, 7:56, 7:44, 7:47, 7:55, 7:49, 7:44, 7:29.
I got cleaned up and some friends came over to our house. The group of us decided to go bowling. I am usually pretty terrible at bowling (my average score is about a 50), but I did okay today. I scored a 114 and a 117. Adam kicked all of our patooties. He bought a bowling ball, a bag, and shoes today as part of a package and apparently was inspired with his new gear. I can relate....
The 3 extra pins I knocked down in the second game are attributed to the half pitcher of Bud Light that was in my system at that point. Adam didn't drink, but Jeff and I did!
The day wasn't over yet though. 2 of our 3 dogs are adopted so we don't know when their official birthdays are. Therefore, they all get treats on Luxy's birthday--the one date we actually know. She turned 11 day and enjoyed her ritualistic hamburger from McDonald's.
Lastly, I am plugging my own article on halfmarathons.net about charity racing here. You should read it if you are curious about the world of charity racing. There are a lot of ways to give back with your running and who knows, you might be inspired!
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