McDonald’s cheeseburgers
Peeps cereal
Girl Scouts cookies (Samoas, specifically, aka: “Caramel Delites”… what-ever, Iowa)
Hurt’s Strawberry PopTarts donuts
Brown Sugar Cinnamon PopTarts
PopTarts cereal, if one exists (it should)
Beer*
*Parents not invited.
I’m on a quest to try all the coffee shops in the Des Moines area. Read my introduction post.
I’m very fond of the extra moments that I have in the “in-between.” There’s a certain peace and slowness that goes with having an hour or hour-and-a-half to kill – and the total lack of desire (or sensibility) to drive all the way home to just drive all the way back again. That is how I found myself at Freedom Coffee in Des Moines a few weeks ago.
Freedom Blend was originally on my list because I heard that they had gluten-free doughnuts for sale. They sell, like, THREE OR FOUR KINDS of gluten-free doughnuts (sourced by another company – I’m pretty sure they’re from Sweet Treats Without the Wheat based on all their doughnuts I’ve had at the Farmer’s Market). More importantly, they have a seasonal coffee menu. And more importantly than that, their overall mission of their business rounds out all the reasons why I will continue to have this coffee place on my regular tour.
From Freedom Blend’s webpage:
Several years ago, a study on the number of jobs available to teens in the inner city of Des Moines showed approximately 42 job types (newspaper carriers, fast food, etc.) An additional study revealed that adults held more than half of these jobs, proving that job development was crucial if we wanted to help young people break the generational poverty cycle. This was the driving force behind the founding of Freedom Blend Coffee in 2011 by Freedom for Youth.
When going to Freedom Blend for the first time, I actually passed it… because it didn’t outwardly look like your typical coffee place (the building is HUGE!). It was cool to learn a little bit of the history of the building (it was a former car wash!) and the history of how it got its start (roasting and selling beans). The coffee shop opened in 2017.
I’m pretty low-maintenance when it comes to getting coffee, but because of my food restrictions, I have to double-check ingredients and such. The barista went above-and-beyond to confirm my selections – and did so with probably as much joy as I had in learning that I was able to have what I wanted. My experience at Freedom Blend was so positive and more than just the coffee left me feeling warm and cozy. Their location is out of the way for any of my regular commutes, but I plan to drive out of my way more often.
Freedom Blend Coffee
2329 Hickman Road, Des Moines 50310
Hours: Mon-Thurs 6am-6pm | Fri-Sat 6am-9pm
IG: @FreedomBlendCoffee | FB: Freedom Blend Coffee
the week:
Woo! Final grades are in, and I passed my courses from Fall quarter (all A’s!). I’m super excited to be on break right now, but looking forward to my next set of classes for winter quarter. My program will continue to get more challenging and take me out of my comfort zone, and I’m so thankful that I’ll be able to focus on my studies full time.
weekend:
CHRISTMAS WEEKEND! My in-laws are visiting, and I am so excited to host Christmas in our Iowa home this year.
seven things, seven days:
1. Any good, new Christmas movies I should be watching? I have some free time to fill.
2. Not only did I get Christmas cards out this year but all of my presents are wrapped, too.
3. And because all our presents were wrapped and placed around the tree, we misjudged that our cats would mess with anything… which ended up in a $200+ vet bill for x-rays for my middle “child” who decided to snack on a wired ribbon. (Thankfully, the x-ray didn’t show anything remaining in her stomach.)
4. I took advantage of the holiday special at Title Boxing Club, which includes 2-week unlimited classes (and a set of gloves and wraps), AND I AM HOOKED. I am already paid up for Farrell’s for the 10-week Challenge starting in January, but I feel like I’ll be spending a lot of time at Title in the future.
5. I went out to Center Trails for a little night hiking this week, which was super fun – and exciting to see how many other runners and bikers enjoy the trails at night.
6. Had my introductory meeting with Girls on the Run, as I signed up to coach this spring. Really looking forward to getting more involved in this organization.
7. My husband made 5 different kinds of gluten-free Christmas cookies, and OMG he is the best. 😍😍😍
Christmas is coming, tra-la-la-la!
Driving (the LONG way) out to run the inaugural Rockin’ Chocolate Half Marathon race was my first time in Wisconsin. I’ve crossed so many new states off my list since moving to Iowa! This was first of a double-header half weekend over Labor Day with my friend Chelsea (Pittsburgh City Girl) – who is on a 50-states quest. My intent was to have fun and spend time catching up and running with her.
For this recap, I’m going to start with the experience. Overall, we were a little disappointed as there was neither a whole lot of chocolate or a whole lot of rocking (I did enjoy greatly the guitar solo national anthem, however). Like, I get what the race was trying to accomplish – the idea of commingling the popular rock n’ roll and hot chocolate events – but I do not believe it was successfully executed. Our expectations were that there would be music and chocolate along the course (there was not) and a sinful amount of chocolate at the finish (there was not). I did respond to the post-race survey, so hopefully they take some of that feedback into account for future races (the 2018 date has already been announced). That said, they also messed up sending the surveys, so those of us who received survey links in email got error messages that we had already taken it. They did not resend the email, yet posted a corrected link on Facebook, which… not the same thing.
Cost and Registration: A Cyber Monday deal last year prompted us to register for this race – it was only $25! An excellent deal for a half marathon. HOWEVER, registration for the 2018 race right now is already $60, and goes up to $65 after January 1st. The race did sell out this year, so something to consider in planning your sign-up.
Expo and Packet Pick-up: The only reason why I took a half day’s PTO to drive to Madison on Friday was because of the promise of chocolate-filled goodie bags with early bib pick-up. Well, it was a package of toffee, which is quite possibly the WORST (and far as I’m concerned, NOT chocolate). And well, that set the tone for the race. The expo was super tiny, held in a community room at the Monona city building, and took all of 5 minutes to grab everything I needed.
Parking: Our hotel was about 20 minutes from the start. Despite getting to the race early, parking was already a little challenging, as we were not sure which streets were OK to park on – or on which side – and we were a couple miles out and seeing a lot of people walking in. People looked to be parking in bike lines, of which I am NOT AT ALL a proponent. There was parking information and maps provided by the race organizers via email, but street signs were confusing and/or conflicting and side street parking filled up quickly. Despite that, we parked on a main road about 3/4 mi. (or so) from the start line.
Start Line: I found another Pittsburgh friend wearing the SAME Pittsburgh Marathon shirt (who no longer lives in Pittsburgh either lol)! We were fast friends, of course, and reminisced on the city we missed.
I brought my own coffee.
A solo guitarist started us off with the national anthem, which was an awesome way to begin the race. Rock on! Also a bonus: the race started on time (you never know what to expect with a new or small race).
Weather: Race day was the first cool morning of a season of never-ending humidity. OMG, the weather was beautiful! I eventually had to shed my long-sleeve shirt when we left the shaded neighborhoods, but it still was a really lovely, sunny day.
Course: The course had a beautiful backdrop in downtown Madison and Lake Monona. We left the start area on the paved trails and ran throughout the surrounding Lake Monona neighborhoods near the shore, looped around the lake into downtown and back into Monona. The neighborhoods were GORGEOUS – and all the buildings and houses (even the park bathrooms!) felt Frank Lloyd Wright inspired. Outside of the Niagara Falls Marathon, this might have been my favorite course scenery.
I mean, even the Little Library drops were adorable!
I should also note that despite the music-forward implication, there was only one solo musician set up on the course. This was disappointing, particularly as there was zero crowd support on the course. Know that this will be a lonely race if you are doing it alone. The course elevation is not that challenging; there were a few climbs early in the race, but mostly just a bunch of rolling little bumps.
Finish Line: The finish line welcomed us with chocolate milk (yay!) and some kind of chocolate-covered strawberry local beer (I couldn’t have it, obvs) – which you needed your ticket to redeem (not attached to the bib as it is in other races). A tent was set up where the beer was served, with a live band playing, and there were a couple food trucks set up near the park. I believe there were also massage therapists on-site.
There were also a bunch of vendors SELLING sweets and goodies (yes, some were providing samples). Again, not much in the way of chocolate; which was not only irritating for its lack of playing to the theme of the race, but also for its money-grab on the participants. I’m more than happy to support local establishments (and I did); however, if you are going to call yourself a chocolate race THEN YOU BETTER HAVE CHOCOLATE.
The only chocolate on the course was chocolate milk (and chocolate animal crackers) at the finish line.
Swag and Medals: I love the race-branded t-shirt that came with registration (super soft!), even though it was unisex sizing; and the medal – while “rockin” in theme – was a little small and cheap compared to what the race appeared to be advertising through its social channels. This is the 3rd guitar-shaped medal in my collection, which is cool. I don’t really run for the medals anymore (though I do love to display them), so it’s not the biggest deal for me – but it might be for others.
After Party: Since this was a double-header weekend, we needed to get back to the hotel and check out – and also find somewhere to find some cheese (like you do in Wisconsin, right?). Which is randomly how we found the gluten-free awesomeness of Alt Brew. Not only did they have AMAZING beers (holy moly, the Kolsch was incredible!!! Yes, I brought some home with me), they had an awesome local cheese board. It was the first in a LONG time that I was able to have a flight of beers somewhere.
YAY, Madison! The great (gluten-free) beer redeemer!
OVERALL
The Great: I loved the course – total visual overload looking at all the mid-century modern homes and views of the lake. *swoon*
The Good: The race photographer took a BUNCH of great shots on the course, and I was excited to get a Black Friday discount code to download all my pictures.
The Bad: A race capitalizing on the popularity of two other races… and not executing it well at all.
The Ugly: Gross, toffee. Not worth 4 hours of PTO. Also, misspelling “marthon” in its emails. LORDY.
I feel like I might be going into Chicago Marathon undertrained, and it is stressing me out. I can’t turn back time and fix the weather or erase my excuses, and yet I haven’t done a single 20-miler this cycle (I did three 20+ runs when training for Vermont City). There are some schools of thought that believe an 18-miler is enough; and, well, I have just about the same amount of mileage leading up to the marathon as my last. While I mentioned before that Chicago is only a training run, jumping from 18 miles to 26 miles… well, my body is probably not going to like it. That 50k later this month? My body might dislike that even more. Basically, I feel like I’m kind of failing at being a runner right now. I can only hope that the back-to-back runs I’ve been doing on weekends will be enough.
I’d be remiss in not mentioning that my right knee is acting up again this week. It hasn’t bothered me at all while running, but I feel discomfort in doing functional movements and squatting (even readjusting while sitting on the couch). Foam rolling my quad helped a bit, but I can’t find the connection other than when I use my right leg for weight bearing or to push off — like, walking up or down the stairs. Seems to be more troublesome going up, and getting out of a squat has more discomfort than going into one. When you have three cats, it’s impossible not to be constantly squatting! It has put me on notice.
WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – 4 miles, treadmill
Wednesday – 10 miles, Trail Rest Day – Wednesday looks to be a big homework night for me every week; I’ll probably make it my strength workout going forward.
Thursday – 8 miles 10 miles – This was Wednesday’s workout, treadmill
Friday – Rest Day
Saturday – 20-22 miles Ran out of time; finished 13.75 miles on trails. I also went to a bouncy house place for a 3-year-old’s birthday party and played around on the obstacle course stuff for an hour. That counts for exercise, right?!
Sunday – 10 miles 16 miles
DO OVER:
With grad school started, I realize that running 5 times a week will not work at this point; so, I’m committing to 4 runs per week (and realistically know that some weeks I’ll only get in 3). I REALLY need to get back into my weekly 2x strength workouts (echo, echo, echo…). After Chicago will be another cutback week to “taper” for the 50k. I need to reassess my training plan and goals at that point to make sure that I’ll be prepared for Route 66 Marathon in November and the 50-miler in December. While the 50M is still two months away, I’ll only really have a solid month more of training. I also need to start training with hiking poles. OMG WHAT AM I DOING?!
*deep breath*
WHAT’S ON TAP:
Wilson’s Orchard has a Spiced Up hard cider that is perfect for fall. Any other fall-flavored ciders on the market (that I can get in Iowa)? I’d really like to try a pumpkin cider.
WHAT’S FUN?
BOUNCY HOUSE!
SOMETHING, SOMETHING:
Still looking for a fall race? Route 66 registration is still open! Use my discount code 2017R66BR to save $10.
SEPTEMBER MILEAGE TOTAL: 137.2 miles – biggest mileage month ever!
WEEKLY MILEAGE: 43.7 miles
MILEAGE FOR THE YEAR: 793.81 miles
LAST RACE: Capital Pursuit (10-miler)
UP NEXT: Chicago Marathon next weekend!
I love that Chicago Marathon gifted something special to celebrate the 40th birthdays together. This was amazing of the race to do this!
This week of training brought my first 20-mile run (I think I have seven 20+-mile runs on this plan). I swapped my long run to Sunday, so that I could run with my usual group — which meant waking up for a 6:30 am (!!!) trail run on Saturday at Jester Park. Once I was out, I didn’t mind one bit (added bonus of seeing the sun rise over Saylorville Lake).
When my 20-mile long run came on Sunday, I could barely eek out 17. It was a rough morning — and more than just a mental block. I was breathing WAY too heavy for an 11:30 pace and my legs felt like lead. Meh. Bad runs happen, right? I enjoyed the course my friend mapped out though; it took us on a loop around downtown’s paved trails. I did need an extra rest day this week after doing my back-to-back half marathons the previous weekend, so I took that on Tuesday (with a side of full body massage). Though even with four days of running, I completed 40 miles.
WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – 4 miles Extra Rest Day / Massage
Wednesday – 6 miles (Trail)
Thursday – 8 miles (Treadmill)
Friday – Rest Day
Saturday – 10 miles (Trail)
Sunday – Long run, 20 miles 16.85 miles
Week 8 is my cutback week, and I’ll be focused on getting my strength training/cross-training back on track. I’m also signed up for an intro to kickboxing workout that is sponsored by our local lululemon. OMG am I going to start having nightmares about Billy Blanks again?!
WHAT’S ON TAP?
My road trip to Madison last weekend resulted in finding a gluten-free dedicated brewery called Alt Brew. It was so amazing to have a flight of beers! I brought home a sixer of their kolsch, which is so delicious that I wish I bought more. I wish one of the midwest gluten-free beer producers would distribute to Iowa! So if anyone is in Wisconsin and would like to send me some more of their delicious gluten-free beers, please message me! Also accepting any and all beers from Burning Brothers in St. Paul (particularly their IPA).
WHAT’S FUN?
The mid-week Trail Run Series with Fleet Feet and Des Moines Park & Rec has been SO FUN. It’s brought so many people out to the dirt and woods to play, and I just love seeing that enthusiasm from our local running communities. This Wednesday, we’ll be running out at Grandview. I also get to assist with marking the course, so you can officially blame me if you get lost! ?
SOMETHING, SOMETHING:
Well, my grad school application is submitted. Now I sit around and wait to see if I’m accepted for Fall semester (which starts on September 25 *gulp*).
AUGUST MILEAGE TOTAL: 116.2 total miles
SEPTEMBER MILEAGE: 67.1 miles
WEEKLY MILEAGE: 40.9 miles
MILEAGE FOR THE YEAR: 723.71 miles
LAST RACE: Haven’t had time to review my two Labor Day weekend races, but coming soon!
UP NEXT: Capital Pursuit 10-mile race this weekend.
the week:
This week I celebrated NINE YEARS since I quit smoking. Pretty proud of that milestone!
Ready to quit? Check out the Quitter’s Circle for resources on quitting AND staying smoke-free — and find the community support you need to quit for good.
weekend:
Off to Riverside, Iowa to see one of my favorite bands, Better Than Ezra, at the Casino. They’re touring with The Wallflowers, who I haven’t seen live since, like, 1997.
Also, it’s THE IOWA STATE FAIR time! Tater tot-nachos, I’ coming for ya.
seven things, seven days:
1. My tomato plants are finally producing some fruit – and I got to pick my first tomato!
2. Have you heard about The BibRave 100? Check it out, and nominate your favorite races.
3. Can anyone run an ultramarathon? Short answer: YES! Even Dr. Stanley Beecham agrees. {via Paste}
4. I participated in a wonderful webinar about energy management, which included some exercises for core values clarification and identifying energy resources. These topics are so interesting to me — as they were in my undergrad — and fueled my desire once again to look into applied psychology graduate programs.
5. SEE?! Why you should manage your energy and not your time {via BBC}
6. This was also long-sitting in my inbox: Define Your Core to Design Your Life {via Day Designer}
7. Running with a therapist: I LOVE IT! {via LA Times}
I took a road trip to Rochester, Minnesota a few weeks ago — my first time to the state of Minnesota — to run the TOTALLY NUTS! challenge series of the Minnesota Nut House Challenge. The drive was just over 3 hours from the Des Moines area.
I love multi-event challenge races, so I was ready to get some miles on my legs in my build-up to ultra-marathon training. The half marathon would be my 12th — AND I got to color in another state on my map.
This was the 3rd year for the Nut House series; it’s a small local race put on by Triton Events and sponsored by Active PT & Sports. There are several races that made up the weekend of events: a 5k, 10k, and half marathon; there was a children’s/fun mile run before each of those races, too. While I knew what kind of mileage I was getting myself into by running all three (22.4), I’m SO GLAD that they were not in the order of 5k/10k/half.
The 10k was up first on Saturday morning, followed by the 5k Saturday evening, and the half marathon on Sunday morning. Participants had the option of running a single race or completing one of two challenges: Half Cracked (I couldn’t find on the race website which two events were included for this race but I assume the 5k and half marathon) or Totally Nuts (all three). Before each race, the event also hosted a 1 Mile / Kids Challenge. Kinda wonder if I should have signed up to run a mile, too.
I was working HARD in my 10k in hopes of getting that elusive sub-hour PR (my PR from 2014 is 1:00:39). It was not to be. And then I had to walk during my 5k and was all kinds of miserable (I found a place with gluten-free carrot cake, so I’LL BE FINE). Sunday’s half marathon was no better. But I just needed to finish before it was time to check out of my hotel.
Registration + Cost: I registered in December, and with online fees, all three races cost me $107.75.
Expo + Packet Pick-up: Pick-up was at local running store TerraLoco on Friday (I drove in that afternoon). There was also bib pick-up on race day. No expo for this race, but I enjoyed browsing the shop. For runners doing the challenge races, the same bib was used (thank you!!!). Naturally, I forgot to pick up course maps when I grabbed my bib; thankfully, I remembered to get the safety pins.
Weather: IT WAS HOT. Like, sincerely the hottest weather I think that I’ve ever raced in (if I’ve said that before, I was lying). The “real feel” temp at start time of the 5k on Saturday evening was 92. I set my limit after completing that evening’s race that I wouldn’t run the half on Sunday if it was over 80 degrees. It was close.
Saturday morning wasn’t overly-warm, but the humidity made my palms sweat within the first mile. It was the kind of thickness in the air that sucked all your energy away.
Start Line + Parking: My hotel was about .3 miles away from the start (and finish) line at Soldiers Field Memorial Park. It wasn’t crowded at all, which is always nice. I explored the memorial and then found a shade of tree to hang out and watch the kid’s mile challenge around the track before race start.
Course + Elevation: This race series was all on paved trails. The 10K went one direction and several points was in the woods, so it was peaceful (there was also a portion of the trail that ran along a major road, which was not). The 5K started from the same place, but turned towards the city on the trails. The half marathon was kind of a combination of them both (a little more extended into the parks/woods areas portion of the 10K route).
Aid Stations: Considering this was a small race, I was impressed at how the RD and organizers STEPPED UP to make sure runners were properly hydrated. There was Gatorade available at almost every water stop (if not all of them), AND during the half marathon, there were 11 total stations AND had GU available. Even when there weren’t enough volunteers to support an extra manned water station during the 5K, they left a giant water cooler and disposable cups so runners could self-support.
Finish Line + After Party: Guys. There was a POOL at the finish line. There also was a bunch of kids lined up with super-soakers as you approached the finish chute — THANK YOU!!! There was complimentary bottles of water and Gatorade, and free beer from Grand Rounds (a local brewery; nothing gluten-free in the alcoholic department). Also, also: there were Pearson’s Salted NUT ROLLS candy bars (somehow I went my whole life having never had one!). AND there was hot nuts from a local company (wish I caught their name!).
The races were all timed by MTEC Results — and I got the results emailed to me within an hour of finishing, which included a BUNCH of fun stats! There was a restaurant called Twigs that had a gluten-free menu — I’m talking 4 PAGES FULL of gluten-free options PLUS DESSERTS. I was in fried green beans heaven. I was able to even order a Minnesota-made gluten-free IPA. On my second visit, I had a local cider made with Honeycrisp apples.
Fans + Experience + Charity: With small races, you don’t get much crowd support, but I did meet some wonderful runners on my trip — including a beautiful woman from the Carolinas (doing a cross-country trip with her kids) who told me all about the race’s charity partner, Inheritance of Hope. She adamantly expressed her desire to never run another half marathon ever (she was doing the entire challenge as well). Sadly, she lost her husband to MLS a few years ago and truthfully, I haven’t stopped thinking about her and her family since the race. I didn’t know anything about this charity before meeting her, and I’m so appreciative of her sharing her story. I could tell that she was emotionally connected to the purpose, and she really made me think about “why I run” — prompting me to plan to do another fundraise run for charity next year.
Triton Events gives a portion of each registration to Inheritance of Hope — a non-profit organization that inspires hope in young families facing the loss of a parent to a terminal illness. Through these partnerships with endurance events, athletes can raise funds to support Inheritance of Hope and send these families to Legacy Retreats.
Swag + Medals: There was an individual medal received for each race, and they’re pretty sweet. Though I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t an additional medal for completing the entirety of the challenge (I’m so spoiled), the uniqueness of these medals more than made up for it.
Also, while the t-shirt is a really nice design and SUPER comfy (also, it fits!), I was really hoping for something with the crazy squirrel logo that’s used all over the other race branding because, well… because it’s crazy and I love crazy.
OVERALL
The Great: LOVED the near-instant results email with access to a bunch of race stats.
The Good: Overall, a really fun event – with that “small race vibe.”
The Bad: If I really had to complain about something, it’s that there’s not a lot of the necessary race info on the website — and while this out-of-towner figured things out (and asked questions on their FB page), it could have been better. Also, I almost deleted the race day email because the subject line was about online registration closing.
The Ugly: Another race, another event complaining about the weather. Though this race really stepped up to support the heat!
OFFICIAL RESULTS:
10K: 1:01:12
5K: 31:19
Half Marathon: 2:23:57
Totally Nuts Challenge Cumulative: 3:56:28 — 58th Overall; 5th in my AG
the week:
I’ve had a pretty awful go of the PMS this week. I’m dealing with an awful ingrown hair (which I used PTO to visit my doctor about, and basically got instructions for warm compresses and a script for an antibiotic). My dentist finally sent me to an endodontist to check out a tooth that has been super sensitive and causing deferred pain in other teeth for over two years; so, I got a root canal this week (I guess the molar has experienced “trauma” and is inflamed, which is why it’s been bothering me, but no infection).
Did I mention how a small animal somehow got into my car overnight and left his smeared prints and scratches on the INSIDE of my windshield? (See also: WTF?!) And then a WASP hit my side mirror and bounced into my car. I didn’t know it was a wasp at first, until I turned around and found it sitting on my back WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I frantically flicked it off me, and pulled over to a gas station a mile down the road to shoo it out. I couldn’t find it. I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND IT. I’m terrified that it’s lying dormant underneath my gas pedal and is going to crawl up my pant leg one day.
You ever have one of those weeks?
weekend:
Going to the “Glow with the Flow” yoga event tonight at Brenton Skating Plaza (so excited for this!), and I have another massage on Sunday (praise, Jesus). Waiting to see if any of this rain hits us overnight Saturday; if not, our trail group may travel up to Ledges to get some elevation fun on the legs.
Long run Saturday with the Striders, as is tradition!
seven things, seven days:
1. Hey there, 50% off sale stuff, J.Crew!
2. Why is a nude sports bra so hard to find?
3. Do Not Be Afraid of Your Dinner: Louie’s Wine Dive is doing a gluten-free meal event! (YAY!)
4. My golf clinics are done for the summer, and I miss the weekly lessons. If they don’t do another session in Fall, I’m likely going to sign up for private lessons again. Dare I say that I actually enjoy it!?
5. Am I the only one irritated by a LARGE local race that is promoting a certain on-the-course product that isn’t even available to purchase locally ANYWHERE?!
6. Eh, that medal doesn’t excite me either. #subtweet
7. Oh, man, is this an excellent article about The Barkley Marathons {via Esquire}
ULTRA UPDATES:
One week away from my official kickoff for Ultra training!
WHAT’S FUN:
I’m really excited about my weekend road trip to Chicago this weekend — it’s been a couple years since we’ve been, and the city holds a special place for us. That’s where I officially gave my now-husband my number on St. Patrick’s Day 8 years ago after rejecting him for 10 months. Our trip this time will be brief, but I’m pumped to “tailgate” with my fellow Buckeye fans (and BibRave Pros!) at the B1G 10K. I can be cordial to my fellow Iowa fans… but I will be poo-pooing my husband and his M*chigan cronies for most of the day’s events.
I’m also VERY excited to go to Wheat’s End Café for brunch. And I already ordered a half-dozen gluten-free donuts for post-race pick-up from Do-Rite. ?
SOMETHING, SOMETHING:
Running and Social Media — are you working the ‘net or caught in the web? {via Run Ultra}
JULY MILEAGE UPDATE: 50.6 miles
MILEAGE FOR THE WEEK: 25.0 miles
MILEAGE FOR THE YEAR: 506.7 miles
LAST RACE: Minnesota Nut House Challenge — Totally Nuts! (5k, 10k, Half Marathon)
UP NEXT: B1G 10K this weekend in Chicago! Online registration is still open.