Monday, April 7, 2014

a weekend of PRs and wine slushies

I hope everyone's week is off to a fabulous start and everyone is recovered from their exciting weekend!

We had a busy busy weekend, I feel like I was on the go since I got off work on Friday. I'm happy it's Monday and I can finally get a break!

Friday after work Hubs and I went out to run a couple errands. Our last stop was to try out a beer he had heard all about and was only on tap at one bar locally. We stopped by, grabbed a beer (he hated it), then decided to move across the street to another bar for a drink and apps before heading home. Well, as it happens most Friday nights, our intentions of just having a drink then heading home for a quiet night did not happen. Friends met us out and we didn't end up back at our house until after 10. All in all, it was a great night of friends, fun and laughter.

Backing up a little, Friday morning when I had gone to the gym I saw signs for a race that would be held that weekend. I asked my friend at the front desk if he knew about it so I could be ready if it would interfere with any of my planned classes to take Saturday or Sunday. He said the race was Saturday morning and was a 10k/5k.

My plan for Saturday at that time was to go to spin class and drag Hubs along (since he finally had a Saturday morning off) and then to go for a run afterwards. I had 6 miles on the schedule since I'm gearing back up for the Broad Street 10 Miler next month. Well, as it turns out, Hubs was really not feeling spin class in the morning, so I started thinking of maybe running the 10k race the next morning.

I wasn't sure how hungover I'd be after a couple cocktails the night before, but I got cash from the ATM for the registration fee, set out my running clothes and set an early alarm. I told myself that if my alarm went off and I felt terrible, no loss, I'd get my miles in solo later on. Turns out, I set my alarm for PM instead of AM so it never went off, but I did have a dream a buddy was texting me to see if I was going to make it to the race. When I checked my phone for the text I saw that it was late, but if I could make it out the door in 10-20 mins I would still be able to make it. I hustled out of bed and was thankful everything was laid out and ready to go.

Registering the day of was no problem, so I got my bib and waited for the race to begin! The 10k started 10 minutes before the 5k and I was glad we got a bit of a head start. I was about two miles in before the leaders of the 5k started passing me. The race was two laps of the 5k route, so I just trucked along and was feeling a little smug when I kept going at the split and all the 5kers turned to the finish line. That smugness didn't last too long when I realized I was only half way and the 2nd lap would be a lot more lonely without the 5kers out there. I trucked along at the back of the pack and just tried to stick with my run 4/walk 1 intervals as much as I could. I knew I could PR the race since my last 10k was with absolutely no training and I had to walk most of the 2nd half and ended up with just under 15min/mile pace. I was aiming to come in around 1:15 or 1:20 for this one. As I hit the 6mile mark I had just about 3 minutes to beat 1:20. I knew it would happen and was thrilled when the race clock read 1:19 as I crossed.

After the race on Saturday I lazed around the house trying to catch up on sleep and rest my weary legs. We started watching The Following and were hooked after the first episode. We've only watched two so far but it looks pretty amazing. I did have a nightmare about the lead antagonist from the show last night, but that just motivates me to power through a couple more episodes to see where his character goes. Saturday night a couple of friends came over for some beers and Final Four action.

Sunday I woke up, hit my favorite Step class of the week, ran home and showered to get ready for a fun day of wine tasting with friends. We were having another couple over for breakfast before hitting the vineyards and I was trying out the cinnamon rolls on the waffle maker that are such the rage on Pinterest. Survey say: These are AMAZING. So delicious and so quick!




From there we headed about 20 minutes down the road to our first stop for the day: Chrysalis Vineyards. Hubs and I have been to Chrysalis several times, so we skipped the tasting and just grabbed a bottle of their Patio White to share with the group. We hung outside at the picnic benches and other friends started showing up. Hubs had gotten a nice little group together and surprised me with the other couples that came out to play!

From there we headed just across the main road to Cana Vineyard where I did a tasting and then enjoyed a glass of their Rosé. After hanging out on their patio for a couple of hours we headed to the final stop, one of our top 3 vineyards in the area, Quattro Goomba. Our favorite thing about this vineyard is their laid back atmosphere. They have pizza and wine slushies, what could be better! Our group enjoyed the carafes of wine slushies and soaked up the afternoon sunshine.


Enjoying a slushie with Reneé!



After our last stop we headed home and just tried to stay awake for the premier of Game of Thrones. I watched the last two episodes of last season to take us right into the first episode at 9. This season is gonna be a doozy and they kicked it off with a fantastic first episode. Once it was over I have never been happier to pour myself into bed and pass out for the night.

Happy Monday! What did you do this weekend?

Have you ever run a spur of the moment race?