The Rest of the Weekend

After the race Saturday, I slept for a few hours, then got up to get ready for a wedding. Kristin, a girl who used to play Bible Bowl, got married at Southeast and Ben and I were invited to the wedding.

It brought back memories sitting in that chapel watching this young girl getting married. Did I seem that young up there to everyone else too? I think I was even younger than her, actually. I can't believe that was almost 5 years ago...time really flies!

Sunday night I went to dinner with Ashley to a restaurant called Lynn's Paradise Cafe. Apparently everyone in the world has been there but me, but in case you haven't been there either, allow me to elaborate. Weird, eccentric, good food. My fried chicken salad with walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, apples, and citrus honey dressing was delicious!

Ashley's walnut encrusted chicken with mashed potatoes and coleslaw looked delicious as well, even if Ashley doesn't look that excited with her canned smile in this picture. :)

Our table had a glass top with a little scene below it, of animal figurines and trees made of cotton and plastic forks...like I said, this place was weird.

There was a little shop at the front of the restaurant when you first walk in. My cousin said that Lynn's is like a liberal version of Cracker Barrel, which, strangely enough, made perfect sense. I would give my salad a 10 out of 10, so if you're up for some good food with an atmosphere that is a little different, give Lynn's a try!

Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon

I can't believe it, but I completed the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon on Saturday- 13.1 miles! I ran it with my sister, Jenn, just like all the other races. We were cutting it close on time getting to the start line (we decided to park near the start line instead of at the finish line and taking the shuttle since that would have required getting up a lot earlier) and we actually jogged to the start! I was worried about the weather going into it, but it turned out to be a great day. It started with a very light rain, basically just a drizzle, during the second or third mile, but didn't last long and was overcast for most of the race which was great as it kept it cooler. I'm not sure what the temperature was, but I believe somewhere in the 70s. The sun came out right at the end, so I'd say the weather was just right.

I wish I could say the same about myself. I started off feeling good the first mile. Iroquois Park was around miles 2-4. Through the park, we walked some at the top of the hills since we didn't want to waste all of our energy that early on. Then we ran out of the park, down Southern Parkway. I was not feeling very energetic though. Honestly, I was feeling about like my energy was completely spent and I didn't feel very enthusiastic about the rest of the race. We ate some "sport beans" (basically jelly beans) at mile 6. We ran through the infield of Churchill Downs for mile 7, which was actually pretty neat because there were some horses out, and they had the recordings of the announcers playing from past Derby races, so that was fun to listen to.

From mile 8 onward, I was basically shot. I had to walk most of it, with spurts of running as my poor sister kept prodding me along. She was ready to keep running, but I just had to keep stopping. My legs were burning so badly every time we'd run. I was feeling really discouraged knowing we still had 5 more miles, but I pushed through with the walking and running off and on. The last 2 miles felt like an eternity, and around this point I told Jenn, "Don't you DARE let me sign up for this again. EVER. I'm serious. If I ever even hint at it, just remind me how I had no time to train and how completely miserable I was the whole race. SERIOUSLY."

Somewhere during the last mile, Jenn wanted to run on ahead, so I told her to go on and I'd see her at the finish. She ended up 3 minutes better in her time. I didn't run again until I could see the finish line, and then I ran until I had crossed.

I met back up with Jenn and my cousin Jason, who had finished a whole hour before us (he met his goal of doing it in 2 hours, almost exactly!) and was just waiting around for us wearing one of those foil blankets to keep your body heat in after the race. My parents came to see us which was so sweet! They picked us up and drove us back to our car since we had parked near the start line. I'm so glad they came! I think my dad really enjoyed it because he made the comment that he might like to try to do it next year!

Needless to say, I went straight home and showered, Ben got me some food to-go from Waffle House (which I scarfed down), and then I crashed in bed and slept for a few hours. Today, the next day, I am extremely sore...and dreading how sore I'll be tomorrow!! But, I called my sister up today and told her that I want to run it again, maybe not next year since I'll still be busy with school, but the year after. I want to train well and run the whole thing next time. She told me what I asked her to, of course ("don't do it!")...but, I guess I was just speaking in the heat of the moment then because now I'm anxious to try again!!

My Official Results:

Time: 2:58:10

Overall Rank: 10,748 total ran, but it didn't give an overall rank this time.

Gender Rank: 4,437 out of 6,086

Division Rank (Females 20-24): 527 out of 626

Drought

Yes, I have gone almost 3 weeks without a blog post. This may be a new record. All I can say is life is busy! It's pretty routine, but just packed full. Not sure if I can survive another 2 years like this (school being the main busy-factor here).

The mini-marathon is this Saturday. If I survive to tell the tale, I'll be sure to blog about it this weekend. Wish me luck!

Also upcoming, some yard pictures since my wonderful husband has been doing his first attempt at our landscaping--and it's looking great!

Stay tuned!

Papa John's 10 Miler

I've been wanting to blog about this for a few days now, but my laptop is being repaired (long story) and Ben is usually on his computer, so I have resorted to blogging at work during my lunch break. Anyway...the Papa John's 10 miler was Saturday, and Jenn and I survived! I took our traditional "before" picture:

The weather was decent at first, cool but not cold...but as soon as we started the race we realized the weather was turning fast. We were running into the wind the first 3 miles and then the next 2 miles it rained (but we were in Iroquios Park, so the trees helped block a lot of that). The hills in the park were brutal...like scaling a mountain in the middle of the race, at least to me! We had to walk a little bit to recover after the hills, but ran as much as possible. We also had to stop for a bathroom break, which added almost 5 minutes to our time, according to my watch. The last 4 miles were tough for me after that...lost that momentum you get after a few miles, so it felt like starting all over, except exhausted. The last mile was also like an eternity, but Jenn still managed to have a burst of energy at the end and sprint ahead and beat me by 41 seconds. Maybe I should have left her at the bathrooms...just kidding! :)

Mere minutes after finishing and going into the stadium where it ended to get some free Papa John's pizza, there came a torrential downpour and terrible winds, and it felt like the temperature dropped...so we were so thankful that we were finished!! There were a lot of people still out there...they got soaked! We had to wait until the wind and rain stopped before going back to the car, which was at least half a mile away, and we were freezing by the time we got there.

And of course, our traditional "after" pictures (we even look cold!):

Jason did awesome- finished in 1:31:22!

Here are my official results:

Time: 2:11:55
Overall Rank: 5,585 out of 6,927
Gender Rank: 2,662 out of 3,713
Division Rank (Females 20-24): 250 out of 287

Wow...I only beat out 37 females 20-24...oh well, to be expected. I am definitely motivated to train harder for the mini-marathon in 3 weeks because I did not feel like I could have gone 3.2 more miles at the end of this race!

Grilled Zucchini Sandwich

Last week, Ben and I bought some basil and parsley plants. Then we found these adorable little pots from Lowe's to plant them in...I love them!

For dinner that night, I made a recipe that my sister gave me for grilled zucchini sandwiches. You grill the zucchini, grill one side of the bread, make a sandwich with the zucchini, some gruyere cheese, and some homemade pesto made from my own basil plant! Then grill the sandwich, and the result it delicious!

Ben was very skeptical at first to eat a sandwich without any meat on it, but he ended up loving it and gave it a 9 out of 10. Give it a try!

Baby Shower Success!

Last weekend, my aunt Becky, my mom and I threw Amanda the baby shower that I sent the invites out for (see my last post!). Becky hosted it at her beautiful new house, and everything turned out great! The cake was really cute with a picture of Elijah on it...isn't he a doll??

We had cupcakes as well...

...the food turned out great, with sandwiches, cheese cubes, chips and salsa, fruit, and veggies...

...and Amanda got a ton of great gifts!

Now for the wait for little Elijah to be picked up from Korea! Keep them in your prayers!!