GREAT Weekend! Good Monday

It was a Jam packed fun weekend!!

Saturday started with 8 miles at 5:30am. Brenda, Andrea, Jane and I met at SSE, Andrea was running 8 with us and then driving back to Magness to run the last 5 with her dad.
I had asked Brenda for a HILLY route, I am really nervous about the hills in the San Franciso Marathon!!! Well she really delivered and for the entire 8 miles we were running up up and up with a few downhills to make it fun. Jane and I stuck with Brenda and Andrea for the first 1.5 - 2 miles but Andrea was like a race horse she really wanted to pick up the pace and I really didn't want to kill myself... neither did Jane. I guess right about 2 miles we made the decision to let them go, but we still kept up a good pace!! We were running up campground and earlier when we were all together Brenda said several times don't let me forget to turn on New Country.. so we are running along and the girls are headed up the big hill on Campground when we are approaching a cross street I don't have my contact in but I'm pretty sure it say's New Country.. or does it say Old Country. We pretty much had to be right on it before I could tell what it said. We immediately started yelling at the girls to turn around.
At first Jane and i were like ha ha now we are in the front.... but then I got a little worried about the black Chow that hangs out on this road. My first thought was darn we are the dog bait, but then I started thinking hmmm maybe we'll just stir him up and the girls will be the dog bait!LOL Turns out none of us had any problems with dogs and Jane and I didn't even see the Chow. When the girls caught up with us they gave us a hard time for letting them get half way up the hill before telling them about the turn! LOL
Jane's Sciatic/piriformis has really been giving her problems, it is kind of off and on but lately it has been on. She fell at an Oil Changing business back before the LR marathon and hasn't been right ever since.
We had to stop once so she could stretch luckily it did the trick and she didnt' have anymore problems the rest of the run. There were a couple of times that I would say ok water break when we get to the top of the hill, but then of course we didnt' want to waste the downhill so we would just keep running. We did take another water break on Mt. Carmel just before the big hill, we needed to catch our breath a little bit. The humidity was just brutal Saturday morning and definately made breathing very difficult!!!
We added on an extra little loop the same one we did with Cheryl a couple of weeks ago.. we thought it would put us a little ahead and then we could walk the sidewalk back to the school. Well it was a good thing we added that loop because we didnt' hit 8 until just before the playground.
The highlight of the run was when we got back to the school and a group of runners were gathering and preparing to start their 7:00am run. What a great feeling to know that we had finished our 8 miles!! and before 7:00am!! We might have beat the sun but I think we got the worst of the humidity!
After the run Jane, Brenda and I went to Daily Grind for coffee and breakfast... when we drove up I didnt' see any cars and the closed sign was still up... OH NO this can't be!!!!!!! Turns out they don't open untill 8: 00 we were almost on the verge of leaving when Brenda mentioned that if they open at 8:00 surely someone would be getting there soon to set up. So we waited a few minutes and sure enough up drove Donna. Luckily she is a friend and didn't mind having us beating down the door!! We gave her our order and told her to take her time, we sat outside and just enjoyed getting to spend some time together.
It seemed like it had been forever since I had spent any time with Brenda. We finished running before 7: 00am but it was after 9:30 when I got home. I think we spent more time at Daily Grind than we did on the run!

I really dont' remember much about the middle part of the day.. I know I took about a 45 minute nap and then I had to go to Kroger to but something to take to the Tail Gate party after the Big Dam Night Run 5K.

Brenda, Rock and Nikki were all riding with us to Arkadelphia and we met Bailey and Ty at Team 1... oh before I get started on that I think I might have helped another runner convert to the skirt. Brenda came a little early so she could try on a couple of my skirt sport skirts. They looked GREAT on her and she felt really comfortable in them. Last winter I bought the "snowflake" skirt in a size medium... it fit but felt snug, I just put it int he back of my running drawer and kind of forgot about it.... but it fit Brenda perfectly!!! We have to wait for the running test but I really hope she loves it!!!

So we have a fun trip to Arkadelphia chatting the whole way...Arland didn't even try to get a peep in! LOL
It was so FREAKING HOT!!! Even at 7:00 when we got there it was still 98 degrees!! We signed up visited with a few people... found Gabby and then headed to the line to be trucked/bussed up to the start. Arland, Brenda, James M.,Rock and I all lucked out and we got to ride the air condtioned school bus!!! Much better than the back of a log truck!!
We had already decided that Brenda, Arland, Bailey and myself were NOT racing.. we really came to hang out with everyone and to get in an easy run. Well as easy as a run can be in 95 degrees with 98% humidity. At the top we kept waiting and waiting for the start and they kept trucking people in. Finally about 8:35 it started. We had positioned ourselves way back in the pack and we might have gone a little too far back, it took forever to even cross the start line. We couldn't run because of all the slow people in front of us and then when we could run it was constant weaving around big groups of people. We were all sticking together and chatting, Brenda said this was the first time she had ever talked ruing a 5K race!! It definately was a new experience for her!!
It was awesome to not be worried about our time and to just have fun running with 1,000 other people!
OH but there was this one person who was making the oddest noises.. it was a very loud very sharp breathing out kind of thing which was pretty annoying but not nearly as annoying as the spitting!!! YIKES...
Brenda and I stayed together for the whole race while Bailey and Arland kind of came and went. Bailey would run with Ty and then come run with us and then Ty and then finally she stuck with us. Arland was with us most of the way until he took a walk break.
This race is a net downhill course BUT it also has about a half mile hill that starts just after the 2 mile mark... So the first part is nice and downhill and then you get a flat going across the Dam which is usually nice but Saturday night it felt like a million ovens had been turned on full blast... it was such a hot wind and people were getting sick on the side of the road. Just as you got out of the wind you had the hill so it definately wasnt' easy. I was determined though to run the whole thing and other than when we walked a few steps at the water stop I did. Finally after you crest the hill you can hear the crowd at the finish line, It was SO dark it was kind of dangerous, the road is definatley not smooth and you have to be careful of your footing... plus I found I really had to be careful of other runners at times I would be watching the road and boom someone is right in front of you!
I don't know what got into me but I guess becasue we had run so conservatively I had a lot left in me and a little over .1 to go I decided to sprint it in... I felt really good and told myself to just let loose but if anything hurt to slwo down. I passed a bunch of people in that last straight away and that felt good!! My finishing time was 31:07 definately not my fastest but not bad!
They had a band playing and a misting thing going on and yummy juicy watermelon!! After everyone was in we headed to the tailgate party... we were with the ARK running club and there was lot's of good food and we all gathered around and had fun!!
Michele didn't run, she had the kids and she let James run... but at least she was there and we all got to hang out together for a while.
Several of our girls got awards..Rock, Marianne and Joan.

Sunday morning was a planned 27 mile bike ride at 9:00am. It was SO nice to get to sleep in on a Sunday morning!!! As a matter of fact that was the reason we decided to get our 8 miles done on Saturday morning even though we already had planned on the 5K.

We met at SSE and had a couple of new guys join us... well really they weren't new to Arland and myself, Arland has known Mark since he was a kid working for him as a painter at North Point Body shop... and Perry was a Paint Rep for Sherwin Williams for years. I really don't know Mark very well but he has always been nice to me when I do see him, and I LOVE Perry!! Perry also brought along his youngest son. These guys aren't new to biking either. Mark is a big Mountain Biker but also likes to Road bike.
So It was Mark, Perry, Perry's son, Bailey, Brenda, Arland and myself.
Right from the start Aland and Bailey took the lead and before long they were just little specks in the distance. Luckily Brenda and I are very similiar when it comes to the bike... we stuck together and had a good time. It was Arland and Bailey in the lead... then Mark then the Perry boy's and then me and Brenda. The first few miles were on Mt. Carmel and it's pretty hilly and lot's of traffic so we had to mostly just stay single file so not much socializing on that stretch... but we did have some great stretches of road where we were able to ride side by side and chat. I guess it was about 1/2 way in when Bailey decided she was tired of playing with the boys and came back to join me and Brenda. We told her we are lot more fun!!!! They are so serious and hardcore!
I am getting much stronger on the bike and I actually stayed in the big ring the whole ride!!! I think I started in the middle ring but early on went into the big ring just to see how long I could stay there and kind of forgot about it. I'm used to staying in the middle ring and just going up and down on the back derailer.
At one point in the last few miles Bailey pulled up ahead of me and said come on lets go so I got on her wheel and we rode a little bit at a hard pace... it was a good interval!
When we got back to the school I checked and Brenda and I had averaged 15.3 mph... that's the highest I have ever averaged so I was pretty excited...especially since i stayed in the big ring and we never felt like we were working that hard... well except on Mt. Carmel and that one little sprint with Bailey. OH I take that back we had two sprints with Bailey... she made us sprint to catchup with the guys one time.
I am also learning how to drink on the bike... when I first started I couldn't even pull my bottle out of the holder but now I can, and although I have to slow down quite a bit I can drink while riding. I did drop my bottle and had to go back and get it, but other than that no problems. Thanks Brenda!!!

After the ride we went to the new Waffle House in Cabot... yep little ol Cabot has 2 Waffle House Restaurants!! LOL since it is brand new I thought it would be ok, and it was very clean and the food was good. Jane met us there and once again we had a good time chatting and eating!
After that I had to rush home to shower and change I had a wedding shower to attend at 1:30...or at least I thought it was 1:30.
Arland's daughter Kerri is getting married on August 16th and it was her wedding shower. I thought I was late but turns out it was starting at 2:00! so lot's of standing around and waiting and I didn't have anyone with me so that was kind of akward. Luckily a couple of ladies from Keri's work came, I've known them for years so that was nice to have someone to sit with.
She got lot's of nice presents and is going to have a very pretty red kitchen!

Monday I met Jane, Michele, Karen and Rob at 7:30pm at the community center. All day I kept thinking I wish we had run early this morning, but it actually turned out ok. It was of course hot and humid but after the first 1/2 mile I started feeling pretty good and we managed to get in 4.5 good miles.
I was very nervous about my stomach before we started running but ended up having no problems!!
Also want to note that I also didn't have any stomach issues on the 8 miler and the race on Saturday. After a poopy week last week I was very relieved!!

2 more days until we leave for San Francisco :) I'm getting very excited and nervous!!!