speedy Wed and kilt run!

Wednesday, a few of us met up for a run and then some beers… It’s a tradition with me. It may make me sound like an alcoholic, but I just kind of put a hard run and good beer hand in hand.

Wednesday went like this–

Sarah (who is slightly slower than me, so a good running buddy) bailed; she couldn’t get out of work on time.

So, I was left with “the boys” who all run easy 8’s. I figured I’d count it as a tempo run, and try to “hold on” with them as long as I could. Seeing as I was still a little tight from Sunday’s run, I thought I’d slow them down a lot.

Well, I did a good job- 8:23 for the first mile, 8:22 for the second mile, and 8:13 for the third. Then, I kind of lost it. I hit the last steady uphill, and tried with all my energy to “charge” it (at probably a 9:30 pace). My last mile was 9:04, and the last half mile was about a 9:02 pace. Still, not too bad all-around.

We went around the corner to Trophy; had a beer, and enjoyed ourselves.

Tomorrow is a kilted 8K for St Paddys in downtown Raleigh. It will be lots of fun, and they are expecting about ~2000 kilted runners for the race (a record if that happens). Bruce and Dan agreed they’d just hang back with me and “take it slow”… which means I may PR 🙂 (Because their “slow” is my “OMFG?! I can’t breathe! And a hill? Is this course getting longer?” pace)

I’ll post pics of the race. I know a few people running, so am sure to get a couple shots of the kilted beer-loving runner and my kilted beer-loving runner friends 🙂

Some inspiration for any St Patricks Day races….

Flying Dog Citra Imperial IPA

I like beers that pack a delicious punch.

After a hard and hilly tempo (with “the boys” + Jarod, so three faster-than-me boys, and Allison, I thought a beer was well deserved. As we walked into Ridgewood Wine & Beer, and Dan & Dave say they’re just gonna probably go with something easier… As if the run was hard, therefore a hard beer is a bad idea, I thought “oh boy!” And announced “I want a good IPA, maybe even a double”… And the boys weren’t sure what to make of that. And oh, that I did. I almost switched to the Stone 16th Anniversary IPA, because I love Stone and basically they piss excellence. However, as the guy was pouring, I saw Stone’s 16th, and asked him about it. He said, “no you want the Citra”… I was like “Is the Stone 16th actually bad? I love everything Stone” and he told me they were almost done with the Citra.

Then he said the thing I love when bartenders say to me. I mean, it really makes me laugh… “That’s a lot stronger than it tastes, so go easy”… It’s like tempting my irish liver to go hard and see what happens. But, I was with new friends. And well Jarod (trained with him through Nashville 2.0; I’m pretty sure I saw him out that night. But can’t fully recall…)

So, all of the boys get the Octoberfest. I ask them which one it is- Foothills or Aviator? They have no clue. Wow, this is new for me- knowing more about beer than the guys 🙂 We hung out and drank. And apparently the boys tapped the Octoberfest keg and it was closing, so we got an extra glass. Go us. Smelly and sweaty and red-faced and all.

So my review:

HEAVEN IN A GLASS!

I love Flying Dog. One of my top 3 favorite beers is their Raging Bitch. I mean all of their names are catchy- Doggie Style, Horn Dog, In-Heat Wheat… haha they even have a Oyster Stout named Pearl Necklace… When you have names like that you really have to back it up with flavor. So, the Citra- it’s limited (for a professional review http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/68/82934). Even though it’s not labeled as a “Double IPA”, it should be. It’s 10%. It is also delicious. It was light and citrusy, You could taste the hops, but it really had a refreshing citrus aftertaste. Smooth to go down. And probably the best double I’ve had in a long time. You can tell it’s an imperial/ california style ale. Something about that style I love. Reminds me of the Green Flash Imperial IPA, but it’s somehow a lighter (citrusy-er) flavor, but packs a bigger “knock you on your ass” kind of punch… Image was stolen from Flying Dog’s site. [No, I didn’t take a picture… I was too giddy to try the damn beer!]

So, after a delicious beer. And a fun (And OMFG HILLY! WAIT- I MADE THAT COURSE?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME kind of hilly) tempo run, I am kind of on a running+beer high.

AND LOVING IT.

THE END.

Good night Raleigh.

Picking up the speed

This week was more about speed and quality runs. In [over]preparing for the Tuna 200, I opted to do two runs on Labor Day. They weren’t the best runs, and weren’t quite as far as I wanted, so I wanted to add in some quality workouts. By Tuesday night, I was itching for something speedy. So, I posted on our Tuna facebook page that I wanted to do a tempo run at a local run store (Fleet Feet Raleigh- they’re the best. Love you Kerry and Kerri!). Surprisingly, “the boys” from our van responded first This got me a little scared because their “easy” pace is my OMGthisisasfastasicango pace. (btw- I don’t really know them but yes, I am intending to spend ~30 hours trapped in a van with them. That’s normal. Strange smelly boys. Me. A van… KIDDING!).  But luckily, Allison also responded.

So Wednesday was my first true tempo run since April. We decided to do 5 miles. Allison and I are about the same pace and we usually run side by side on tempo runs- bitching the other one out in our head for going so stinkin’ fast. Actually some of our first workouts were in the dark, and I remember hearing her footsteps and breathing about 5 steps behind me. I would pick up the pace to try and lose her, and that bitch just kept keeping up. Even on freaking uphills. Even until the end. I’d be dying, but because she was behind me, she had no idea. So she was thinking I can’t lose her. Seriously? She’s going faster? Omigod! I hate her… So we push each other. When we were seriously training in the spring our tempo pace was maybe a 9:00? So the boys run about a “8:00-8:30″… Though we had yet to run with them, and I had a feeling the elder of the two was a sub-8:00 member.

We met up. Exchanged the awkward first time run “hellos”… Which honestly, is kinda like a first date. EXCEPT WE WERE ALREADY FREAKING COMMITTED! The boys are running with us in our van for the relay- 30 freaking hours! Just keep that in perspective as I post more about them. I may have to get faster so I can actually *learn* more about them. So we set out on our run…

Allison looked down at her garmin at about a half mile in. “8:24… We haven’t started tempo-ing yet.” me: “yeah, we should back off” … 1 mile in. “Yeah, 8:31.” me: “And tempo now?” Allison… “we are …. tempo… ing” (heavy breathing) So our splits were 9:03, 8:33, 9:26… And I guess the 8:30 “warm up”… And probably a 10:30 cool-down.

The boys? … The whole time, they were just around the corner from us, with Allison yelling “TURN LEFT!… Then second RIGHT!” etc. Allison dropped off at a portajohn about 3 miles in (more on that a different day… haha). And I caught up with the boys before our last big hill. Can you tell I was a younger sister? Anyway, it was a good, fast run. Kicked my ass. And my calves were actually sore- which is the first time in months, so that’s a good sign that it was a good workout.

So then a few more easy runs this week before today’s long run… So today was supposed to be 20 miles. Allison and I have decided to start underestimating and not to decide how long we will actually run until we are past halfway. We both had been proudly telling people “we’re going to do 20 miles tomorrow” and trying to act like oh, yeah, it’s casual. It’s just a thing I do.

We did 18 miles. BUT! Compared to last week’s 19.5 miles, this week’s 18 miles was about 45 seconds faster. I was somewhat disappointed that I didn’t get the 20 mile point this weekend. Oh, and I have random chafing marks all over my body. I mean, like it looks like I rolled in chafing ivy or something- behind my armpits, on my armpits, my lower back, my butt (that’s a first!)…

My favorite moments from today’s run (Allison and I stayed neck and neck most of the 3 hours, 18 minutes. Which BTW, in my runners math logic, is a 10:10 pace. Very nice! … And another friend managed to run a 10:72 one time. And Allison recently asked me at 13 miles in… wait, so a marathon is 26 miles, how long is a half marathon… hahaha! I swear we are all smart without running. In case you followed that stream, today’s pace was actually a 11:00 pace- dead on).  So favorite moments:

Me: “So… I’m waiting to get compression socks because I want them to match my outfit. hehe” (another runner giggled at my giddiness of matching my running gear for a race)

“6 Foot 7 Foot” by Lil Wayne coming on right as I was starting to get in the zone

The 50+ high school cross country kids. I swear they look like a shirtless skinny stampede of hormones coming towards you all at once on a tiny greenway. (random thought- is it a requirement for boys to wear just black shorts and for girls to wear neon sports bras and shorts?…)

The banana I snuck during our “break” to refill water. And my outfit change.

Deciding our team’s snack will be PB Gu with apples. Or PBGu&J sandwiches. And someone overhearing me and thinking I was for real… Which I may be. I will have to check with “the boys”

TOTAL MILEAGE for the week: 32.7/ 5 runs… For September to date: 52.2… YTD: 635.1

Also, I cannot start dating. It may really fuck with my running schedule/ quality of runs… which will in turn fuck with my mental health… which will ruin the relationship. … There’s always 2013.

And, I went to Triangle Wine Co., which oddly enough has the best beer selection on town. I picked up some Octoberfest brews just in time. (Oktoberfest actually begins in late September… And is celebrated with hoppy, seasoned beers. Which are DeLiSh-OUS!)