What a weekend! Normally, my weekends are totally uneventful. Friday night was really fun--I went out with a bunch of runner friends for dinner to celebrate Jessica's and my 20-mile run that morning. (Yes, it was worth celebrating--we were THRILLED to get it done with!)
We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Dolce Vita. I ordered an "Almond Joy martini". It sounds much better than it tasted, however ;) I ordered gnocchi for dinner and ate almost all of it. I really wanted dessert, too, even though nobody else did--so I ordered a "peanut butter cheesecake". Sounds amazing, right? Well, when I got it, I took one small bite and it was gross--it tasted like pure whipped butter--not even a hint of peanut butter.
I was really disappointed, so I politely told the server that I didn't like it. I assumed she would take it off the bill, since I only had one small bite and I sent it back. But she said the manager told her that she couldn't take it off, because it was a matter of "personal preference". I was really blown away by that! I don't send food back very often in restaurants, but when I don't like something, I will send it back and the manager never has a problem taking it off the bill.
So I asked to talk to the manager, and the manager told me that other people ordered it and didn't complain; and since there was nothing wrong with it, she couldn't take it off the bill. I was so shocked I didn't even know what to say! I could completely understand that if I had eaten the whole dessert, but I literally had one bite. So I told her that I wouldn't be going back there, and it was a shame to lose a customer over a $5 dessert, especially when my friends and I all ordered drinks and dinner and spent quite a bit of money there. She finally agreed to take it off the bill. But I still won't go back there. Am I out-of-line on this? Is this typical at a restaurant? Just curious. When I worked at Lonestar steakhouse, I had customers would eat their entire steak and then complain, and we STILL took it off the bill--because "the customer is always right".
But despite that little scenario, I loved going out with everyone and I hope we do it again soon. Maybe after the actual marathon?
Yesterday, I had a date with my friend Stephanie to take some "after photos" for a project I will share soon. Stephanie is a photographer by hobby, and her photos from our Winers meetings always look great, so I asked her to take some pictures for me. I paid her with a bottle of Chardonnay ;)
We went to the Metropark where Jessica and I run, because it's gorgeous there. I needed a good head shot, and I'm really impressed with how they turned out--I actually look pretty good! Here are a few of my favorites:
A couple of running photos:
And a couple of photos with my old jeans:
I actually look like I have nice biceps in those last two pics... not sure where that came from! It's so strange to wear a tank top, let alone allow someone to take pictures of me in one. My very first time wearing a tank top was exactly two years ago, and I was SO self-conscious.
Stephanie was awesome and I didn't feel self-conscious around her at all. She actually just celebrated hitting her goal weight at Weight Watchers! She writes a blog called That Loud Redhead, so be sure to check it out if you'd like :)
I had five easy miles on the schedule today. It was raining this morning, so Jessica and I agreed to do it on our own sometime during the day. Knowing that I didn't have to meet her for a run just made me procrastinate all day long, until I finally decided at about 1:30 that procrastinating wasn't going to make it go away.
I forgot to set my Garmin up for the 9:1 intervals we've been doing, and I realized it right after I started running. Instead of stopping and setting the interval workout, I decided to just run the whole five miles straight through and see how my knee was doing. I was running at a slightly-faster-than-easy pace, and I guessed it was about a 10:00/mi pace.
After a mile, I saw that I actually ran it in 9:35, so I decided to just go with it as long as it was comfortable. My knee felt 100% normal until about mile 4, and even then I barely felt a couple of twinges. No pain though. So I finished out the run in 47:34, a 9:30/mi pace. I felt good knowing that I haven't somehow lost the ability to run straight through rather than do the 9:1 run/walk.
My splits:
I felt really good after that run. It was overcast and on the verge of raining, which is my favorite running weather. Tomorrow I have eight miles scheduled, then Wednesday I'll do four. Rest Thursday. I leave for Indy on Friday, and the half-marathon is on Saturday.
I'm really excited about the half-marathon this year. The first two years, I was really worried I wasn't going to finish in time (they have a 4-hr time limit); the third year, I wanted to finish faster than 3:30; and last year, it was my first half-marathon that I actually RAN. I always thought it would be really cool to do it without a time goal and bring my camera along, taking pics along the way to show off what a fun course it is. So that is my plan for Saturday. Run, walk, stop for pictures, chat with people, totally ENJOY the race without a care in the world what my time is. (So if you're there and you see me with my sparkle skirt--I think I'm wearing the blue one--make sure you say hi!)
After I finish, I am going to stand at the finish line and cheer until the very last person crosses--my Ragnar teammate John inspired me to do this. Then I'll have my finish line beer and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with more beer. Can't wait!
We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Dolce Vita. I ordered an "Almond Joy martini". It sounds much better than it tasted, however ;) I ordered gnocchi for dinner and ate almost all of it. I really wanted dessert, too, even though nobody else did--so I ordered a "peanut butter cheesecake". Sounds amazing, right? Well, when I got it, I took one small bite and it was gross--it tasted like pure whipped butter--not even a hint of peanut butter.
I was really disappointed, so I politely told the server that I didn't like it. I assumed she would take it off the bill, since I only had one small bite and I sent it back. But she said the manager told her that she couldn't take it off, because it was a matter of "personal preference". I was really blown away by that! I don't send food back very often in restaurants, but when I don't like something, I will send it back and the manager never has a problem taking it off the bill.
So I asked to talk to the manager, and the manager told me that other people ordered it and didn't complain; and since there was nothing wrong with it, she couldn't take it off the bill. I was so shocked I didn't even know what to say! I could completely understand that if I had eaten the whole dessert, but I literally had one bite. So I told her that I wouldn't be going back there, and it was a shame to lose a customer over a $5 dessert, especially when my friends and I all ordered drinks and dinner and spent quite a bit of money there. She finally agreed to take it off the bill. But I still won't go back there. Am I out-of-line on this? Is this typical at a restaurant? Just curious. When I worked at Lonestar steakhouse, I had customers would eat their entire steak and then complain, and we STILL took it off the bill--because "the customer is always right".
But despite that little scenario, I loved going out with everyone and I hope we do it again soon. Maybe after the actual marathon?
Yesterday, I had a date with my friend Stephanie to take some "after photos" for a project I will share soon. Stephanie is a photographer by hobby, and her photos from our Winers meetings always look great, so I asked her to take some pictures for me. I paid her with a bottle of Chardonnay ;)
We went to the Metropark where Jessica and I run, because it's gorgeous there. I needed a good head shot, and I'm really impressed with how they turned out--I actually look pretty good! Here are a few of my favorites:
A couple of running photos:
And a couple of photos with my old jeans:
I actually look like I have nice biceps in those last two pics... not sure where that came from! It's so strange to wear a tank top, let alone allow someone to take pictures of me in one. My very first time wearing a tank top was exactly two years ago, and I was SO self-conscious.
Stephanie was awesome and I didn't feel self-conscious around her at all. She actually just celebrated hitting her goal weight at Weight Watchers! She writes a blog called That Loud Redhead, so be sure to check it out if you'd like :)
I had five easy miles on the schedule today. It was raining this morning, so Jessica and I agreed to do it on our own sometime during the day. Knowing that I didn't have to meet her for a run just made me procrastinate all day long, until I finally decided at about 1:30 that procrastinating wasn't going to make it go away.
I forgot to set my Garmin up for the 9:1 intervals we've been doing, and I realized it right after I started running. Instead of stopping and setting the interval workout, I decided to just run the whole five miles straight through and see how my knee was doing. I was running at a slightly-faster-than-easy pace, and I guessed it was about a 10:00/mi pace.
After a mile, I saw that I actually ran it in 9:35, so I decided to just go with it as long as it was comfortable. My knee felt 100% normal until about mile 4, and even then I barely felt a couple of twinges. No pain though. So I finished out the run in 47:34, a 9:30/mi pace. I felt good knowing that I haven't somehow lost the ability to run straight through rather than do the 9:1 run/walk.
My splits:
I felt really good after that run. It was overcast and on the verge of raining, which is my favorite running weather. Tomorrow I have eight miles scheduled, then Wednesday I'll do four. Rest Thursday. I leave for Indy on Friday, and the half-marathon is on Saturday.
I'm really excited about the half-marathon this year. The first two years, I was really worried I wasn't going to finish in time (they have a 4-hr time limit); the third year, I wanted to finish faster than 3:30; and last year, it was my first half-marathon that I actually RAN. I always thought it would be really cool to do it without a time goal and bring my camera along, taking pics along the way to show off what a fun course it is. So that is my plan for Saturday. Run, walk, stop for pictures, chat with people, totally ENJOY the race without a care in the world what my time is. (So if you're there and you see me with my sparkle skirt--I think I'm wearing the blue one--make sure you say hi!)
After I finish, I am going to stand at the finish line and cheer until the very last person crosses--my Ragnar teammate John inspired me to do this. Then I'll have my finish line beer and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with more beer. Can't wait!