April 01, 2014

A run for beer

What would normally be a boring Tuesday (with speed work!) ended up being unexpectedly fun today! My sister, Jeanie, is in town from Illinois, and this week is the peak week of her marathon training (meaning this is her highest mileage week). Yesterday, she had a five-mile run on the schedule, so I joined her for that.

Today, she had 10 miles scheduled. We all know how much I LOVE speed work (yes, that's totally sarcastic), so rather than do 3 miles of intervals, I thought 10 miles of easy running sounded much better. We made plans to head out after the kids left for school.

There isn't a good spot for two people to run around here, so we drove about 20 minutes to the path that I did a lot of marathon training on and parked at the community center. We decided to do an out-and-back route that went to the Metropark where my dad works. The drinking fountains weren't turned on for the spring yet, so my dad brought water with him to leave in his car for us.

It was 48 degrees outside! It felt colder than that, because it was pretty windy, but still--48 degrees! We started running at a very comfortable pace, but I wasn't feeling very good almost immediately. I think it's because I had a cup of regular coffee this morning (I never drink caffeinated coffee anymore, and I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea). A couple of miles in, I almost told Jeanie to go ahead without me, because I was having a really hard time, even at a slow pace.

Once we got into the Metropark just after mile two, I almost instantly felt better. The pace didn't feel so hard, and whatever was making me feel sick went away. We ran to the building where my dad works, which was about mile 4.3. We drank a little water, and chatted with my dad for a minute, and then we turned around to head back.

The wind was really picking up toward the end, but the run felt good. We had to run about a mile and a half past the car, so we ended up running around the neighborhood where we grew up. We even ran past the house that I lived in from the time I was born until I was 15! It was fun to see how much everything has changed. We got back to the car and felt really good!


Jerry asked me to pick up a tire while I was out, so we drove to the tire place. The guy said it was going to be about a hour until it was ready, so Jeanie suggested we get a Summer Shandy at Buffalo Wild Wings (we knew that BWW had it on draft). Since we ate there yesterday, I really didn't want to eat fried junk again. We decided to ask if Applebee's had Summer Shandy on draft. It was pretty funny, actually--11:15 on a Tuesday morning, and my sister ran into Applebee's to see if they had it on draft. They did, so she waved me in ;)

Beer always tastes SO good after a long run! I've never been a big Summer Shandy fan, but it had been a long time since I tried it. I really liked it!


While we were waiting for our food to come, my Aunt Mickey and her daughter, also named Jeanie, came in. We ended up moving over to sit with them. It was so odd to run into them, especially considering we weren't even at the Applebee's near my house, but it was fun to see them!

The wind on the drive home was crazy. Looking at the weather on my phone, the wind was 20 mph at that point. I could feel the car blowing to the left, and I was actually worried it was going to flip over from the strong gusts. I'm glad we got our run done before the wind picked up so much--when I got home, I saw that the power had gone out for a little while because of the wind! And later, when I picked the kids up from school, the power was out at the school.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Weight Watchers in the morning, and then I'll be spending all day getting ready for my trip. My flight is at 8:30 on Thursday morning... I'm getting really nervous now. The last time I flew somewhere was when I flew to Chicago to surprise my sister in May. The more time that passes between flights, the more nervous I get. I hate flying! But I just keep thinking about how much fun I'm going to have once I get there :)

7 comments:

  1. I would always run for a beer :) Have a safe trip!!

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  2. I'm kinda jealous that you get to go to San Diego. I'm from there and miss it dearly. You should check out Karl Strauss I love their beer and they have some amazing food! Enjoy!

    Www.3from1tolosemyself/blogspot.com

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  3. I just found your blog a couple days ago and am really enjoying it. I live in Oceanside, CA, and am also doing the Ragnar on Friday! One of the exchanges goes right by my street! I can't believe you are flying all the way out here! (Well, I can. . . after all, we have the best weather ever!)
    You are inspiring. This Ragnar is my first race besides a 5K, and I hope to keep at it as you have.

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  4. Never had a Shandy, but I love beer. Maybe I should try it. looks tasty! Good luck this weekend. I recently found you and love your blog. I was actually inspired so much, that I have started my own walk/run journey. I have a TON a weight to lose, but you have to start somewhere! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  5. Sounds like a fun time--a good run and then a beer and lunch with your sweet sister. My son is gung-ho right now on losing weight, so he gets me motivated to walk with him. It sure helps me to have somebody else to get me going! Plus he's eating right, and that's my biggest problem. I like a lot of Applebee's 550 and under menu, but they frustrate me, just when I find something I like, it's discontinued.

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  6. See you Thursday morning with your Old Dirty Bastard! ;)

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  7. You are so lucky to have a sister that likes to run! I have a wonderful sister but she has always hated running. I do have a 16 year old daughter and she is into running ...it's just hard to keep up with her!
    I hope your trip and your run goes great! Remember, no matter how fast or slow you go - you inspire a lot of us! Have fun!

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