Richmond weekend and James River Scramble

Friday after work Josh and I drove to Richmond. We had dinner at the "neighborhood bar" with Grandpa and Aunt Judy, which was an excellent meal and fun conversation on an outdoor patio.

Saturday I slept in and then drove Aunt Judy to the airport. Then Uncle Richard came to town in time for lunch. We picked up Grandma and went out for Mexican Saturday. After lunch I took a nap, and then it was time to head downtown for a run!

Josh and I ran the James River Scramble 10k Trail Run, which was part of the Dominion Riverrock festival. The course takes you on roads (we started on cobble stone and I thought I'd break my ankle right away, but luckily that didn't last long), over bridges, along the canal path, up stairs, on the flood wall, and on single-track trails with roots and rocks and mud. And the whole things is accompanied by amazing scenery. We weren't trying to "compete," just to keep running at a steady pace and have a good time on a fun route. And we succeeded at that. I came in at 57:58, with Josh just ahead at 57:42. (He stuck with me for the most part during the race, rather than running on ahead, so his time was a lot slower than it could have been.)

On our way to the start.

Waiting at the starting line. There were waves (which weren't really organized) to keep the trails from getting clogged up.

Fun public art.

Crossing the Mayo Bridge.

I took this photo. Josh took the rest...

Climbing the "Mayan Ruins"

I'm not choking myself. I think I was wiping sweat off my face.

Runnin' the trails.

On the bridge back to Brown's Island.

Done!

Sunni and her friend came with us and met us at the finish. Here she's experiencing a sweaty sandwich.

Overall it was a fun event. I haven't done much trail running, and this was my first trail race, but I want to do more. It takes more concentration and work to not trip and fall, but it's a fun challenge.

After we cooled down we enjoyed our free beers (they came with the race registration) and walked around to see the other events. We saw dogs jumping into a pool of water, slackline jumping, men and women bouldering, and freestyle biking. There was also live music and lots of booths. Oh, and I saw my first firefly of the season while stretching on the grass.

egg dyeing

The weekend before Easter Josh and I visited his grandparents for dinner. His grandma was hoping we'd dye some eggs after the meal, but Josh was tired and poo-pooed the idea. We decided we'd dye them with her later though. Because who says dyeing eggs is only for Easter?

So the next time we visited she was prepared. After dinner we got busy on two dozen hard-boiled eggs (one of which cracked). And not only did we dye them, but we created adorable little monsters!

Dyeing and decorating underway.

We all agreed Josh made the best monster. (Of course he spent so much time on it that he didn't want to help much with the other 22 eggs...) (Also, he has had a haircut and shave since this photo, don't worry.)

See how cute they are!

I especially like the blue guy with the mustache (made by me). And the unicorn next to him (made by Gene).

Fun times.

first weekend of the "summer"

Whoah, a second post in one day! That's because I'm finally done with my semester and have time again.

Now let me tell you about my weekend (the more recent one). Saturday I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for most of the day, helping to build two front porches. After that I took a shower and a long nap.

Then I got up, ate some dinner, and headed to a local high school for a two mile race around the track. A co-worker ran it with me. It was a fund raiser run/walk, but there were mostly walkers. I ran it because I'm thinking about joining a half-marathon training program and you have to run a two-mile time trial. Usually you do it at 5:30am on a work day, which doesn't really jive with me, so I picked this 8pm on a Saturday race instead. I don't know my exact time yet, but it was under 16 minutes. That's not very fast in the wider world of running, but it's fast for me and it got me third woman overall! (Plus first in my age group. Like I said, there weren't a lot of runners.)

After the race I went straight downtown (sweaty clothes and all) and went to the Infamous Stringdusters concert. I had wanted to see this blue grass group on New Year's Eve but the show sold out. It was fun.

Sunday after church I drove to Richmond for Mother's Day. My aunt made a great meal and everyone was there, including Grandma. She had a good time, and stayed to take a nap with Grandpa, which was very cute. After she left, I drove back to Charlottesville. Josh had been gone all weekend so I finally got to see him Sunday evening and we enjoyed some homework-free (and guilt for not doing homework-free) hangout time.

An excellent first weekend of the summer!

Montalto Challenge 2012

Last Saturday (the 5th) for the third year in a row, Josh and I ran the Montalto Challenge. That's the all-uphill 5k that is super hard and not fun until it's over.

Since I had that injury and running hiatus, I wasn't back up to speed and knew I wouldn't make a PR (personal record). Sure enough, I finished in 33:49, which wasn't too bad. Josh beat his record by a single second, so that's a PR for him! His roommate Will ran it, too, and he did really well and didn't even have to take walking breaks. That's impressive.

Now for some pics.

 Waiting to start. Notice Will is chillin' with a cup of coffee.

 Josh's over-the-shoulder running shot. (Per usual, he took all the photos.)

At the top and feelin' juuuuust fine.

 Me? Not so much. But I recovered.

See? Energy to spare after a little break and some beautiful views!

back at it

Today is the marathon that I'm not running. But luckily, after about 6 weeks of no running (I think), I'm slowly getting back into it. The Montalto Challenge is coming up again in two weeks, so I'm working towards that. Josh and his roommate are already registered, but I'm waiting to make sure I think I can do it. I'm afraid even if I run it I won't be able to get a better time than the last two years, and that sort of makes me not want to bother with it. Because it's really hard and not fun at all until it's finally over and you're at the top. But I also know if I go just to watch the boys I'll be kicking myself for not running it.

I also still want to run a marathon, and will take my training slower and smarter next time. Part of me wants to go ahead and work towards a fall marathon, but another part of me was really excited at the prospect of running a really hard mountainous one (the one I'm not running today) for my first try, so I might just wait until next year. We'll see.

family weekends

I'm going to take this opportunity to backtrack and tell you briefly about four recent weekends spent with either my family in Richmond or Josh's grandparents in Fishersville.

On St. Patrick's Day we went to Josh's grandparents' for lunch. I didn't know people enjoy and celebrate that day so much in real life (not including parties and events that center around alcohol). Josh made sure to take them a card (which included a green mustache that you can hold up to your face!), and I noticed they had already received several other St. Paddy's Day cards in the mail. There were fancy leprechaun figurines on the table during the meal, and of course there were green cookies. After lunch we all ended up taking a nap, and when I finally rose from mine they had some Irish music playing throughout the house and all three of them were singing a song about a unicorn. Then we pulled out an Irish drum and some spoons and made music of our own. It was a fun time.

A couple weeks later I had some work to do in Richmond, so I spent the whole weekend with my Grandpa. Friday after work we sat out on the front porch with a glass of wine and chatted with the passing neighbors. Then we went to Ruth's Chris to eat in the bar and I had some delicious meat. The next day we took Grandma out to lunch, and that evening we watched a movie together. Then Sunday he took us grandkids (and their significant others) out to lunch. Later that afternoon we went to visit Grandma, and it was fun watching the others who live there giggle over her and Grandpa kissing and being cute. Most of the rest of the time during that weekend I spent reading for school, but it was nice to get to hang out with Grandpa so much.

This past Saturday Josh and I headed back over to his grandparents for dinner. We ate some delicious salmon, and then his grandma gave us Easter baskets. They included giant glowing army men with parachutes (like the familiar old toys, only bigger). We went out to throw them up, and Josh's worked quite nicely. I, on the other hand, somehow managed to throw mine straight up onto the roof (and I was standing under it on the front steps!). So we had some adventurous times trying to get it down with a flashlight and crooked walking stick and grabber-thingy. After that Josh's step-granddad challenged Josh on his height, so we had to measure them both with pencil marks on the door frame of the living room. His grandparents are fun people.

Finally, on Easter Sunday I went to Richmond for lunch with the whole family, including Grandma and Uncle Richard. There was good food, fun watching Bobby search for eggs, and it was an all-around beautiful day to spend celebrating Easter with family.

much better than it looks

I recently learned about adding spinach to fruit smoothies. Since you can't really taste the spinach, it's a convenient way to fit more vegetables into your day. I, for one, am not a big fan of eating salads at home, because mine are always boring and disappointing. But now with spinach in my smoothie, I can skip the salad guilt-free!

Here I've thrown together a banana, a nectarine, strawberries, blackberries, plain yogurt, and spinach. (I added some orange juice after I took the picture.)


And here we have the result. Indeed, it is brown. But it tastes good, and is good for you. It also made enough for two, which means tomorrow's breakfast is already taken care of!

Las Vegas 2012

Last weekend was Nascar weekend in Las Vegas, so once again my family gathered for a fun little vacation. My parents were there, along with Ryan, his girlfriend (and her mom) for some of it, my uncle, and Josh and me. Here's how it went down:

Friday afternoon we flew out of Richmond. My mom was with us, because she'd been in Richmond all week. While we flew, Dad and my uncle drove from New Mexico, picking up Ryan and his girlfriend in Flagstaff. We were all in Vegas in time for dinner! Dinner coincided with a UNM basketball game (they won), so that was exciting for the Gray men. After dinner Ryan, Josh, and myself walked a good ways down the strip just for fun.

Saturday my parents went to the race and Ryan took off with his girlfriend and her mom (they went to the Price is Right, and Ryan told everyone he won a trampoline, but he didn't). So Josh and I walked from the Monte Carlo (our hotel) to some other casinos, including New York New York (where we played games in the arcade), Mandalay Bay, and Excalibur (where we played more games in their arcade). Then it was time for a nap.

Here we are in front of Mandalay Bay.
And here is Josh at New York New York.

After the nap Josh headed to the gym, but not me. I was hungry since we never ate lunch, so I went downstairs and treated myself to a sushi roll and glass of wine. After my parents and uncle got back from the race, we all met up and went to dinner at the MGM. After dinner we were gonna hang out with Ryan and his girlfriend, but Josh and I were pretty exhausted (I don't remember jet lag affecting me so badly ever before), so we just went to bed.

Sunday Ryan went to the race with Dad and my uncle, so Josh and I hung out with my mom. I had to drink two lattes that morning because I woke up and was still exhausted. My feet were also still sore from walking around the day before. (Much as I love them, my pink converse are not very good walking shoes.) We went to the Luxor, where Josh saw the Bodies exhibit while Mom and I played the penny slot machines. Then we went to Planet Hollywood in hopes of eating sushi for lunch, but we got there after the big sushi buffet closed so we had Mexican instead. That included delicious margaritas. After lunch Mom headed back to the hotel for a nap, and Josh and I spent the afternoon looking around the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood.

Mom and me at the Luxor.
Again.
Josh and his margarita.
Sunday night after the guys got back from the race we drove to Sam's Town, which is where we've stayed the last two times we've all been out there. We had a steak dinner and enjoyed their cheesy mountain scenery with the light show. After dinner I had to bail on any more fun evening plans because I was still tired.

Monday we went to the Red Rock Canyon, which was the one major "to-do" on my list for this Vegas trip. After checking out the visitor center we headed around the driving loop, and stopped a few times along the way. First we explored the red rocks, then the old stone quarry, and then the Ice Box Canyon.

I was disappointed in the lack of wildlife I saw. I was hoping to see wild burros, but all I saw was a lizard and some birds. So I made my own wildlife...

Hiking into the Ice Box Canyon was my favorite part. Ryan and Mom stayed in the car, so it was just Dad, Josh, and me. We walked across "open desert," then just a little into the canyon (where the temperature drops about ten degrees, hence the canyon's name).

Taking a break.
Making rock art.
A pistachio sighting in the canyon! (Josh spotted another one in the median on the Vegas strip, but we didn't stop to take a picture.)
After the canyon we drove back into town, stopping at the outlet mall for lunch and a little shopping. Then we freshened up at the hotel and headed back out, this time to the downtown area and Fremont Street. We were hoping to enjoy some shrimp cocktail, but the place we've always gone wasn't serving food anymore. Huge bummer. We got some pizza for dinner instead, and walked around.
Tuesday we all met for breakfast (which turned out to be lunch because it was after 11), then went to see the conservatory at the Bellagio. Then my parents went in their own directions while Ryan, Josh, and I headed to the pool at our hotel. They swam briefly in the the wave pool, I went around the lazy river with Josh a few times, and then we just lay in the sun for a little while. It was nice.

After the pool we headed back to Planet Hollywood for a little more wandering around and the sushi buffet for dinner. Then we went back to the hotel, where Ryan took a nap and Josh and I went out to see the Cirque du Soleil show KA at MGM. This was the first Cirque show either of us had ever seen, and it was pretty neat. After the show we hung out in the Monte Carlo casino for a while before bed.

Wednesday all we had time for was a breakfast buffet, then it was time to head to the airport. The whole family saw Josh and me off, then they headed back to Arizona and New Mexico.

It was a fun trip.

Alas.

In case you were wondering, I'm still not running. I tried again on a Thursday (the 23rd) but that was a bad idea. So I finally decided I would really wait and let it heal before trying again. In the meantime, I've been riding the bike at the gym a lot, and doing some other weight training. I think I will be okay to start back slowly after next weekend.

I also finally came to terms with the fact that I won't be able to run the mountainous marathon in April that I was so excited about. I still want to run a marathon, but when I start training for one again I now know to take it slower. I haven't been to a doctor or anything, but I probably got a stress fracture or something from doing too much too soon. Lesson learned.

busy good Saturday

Saturday I got up early (for a Saturday) and read a little, then drove to Richmond. I hung out with Sunni, then we went with the grandparents and one aunt to visit my other aunt in the hospital (recovering from surgery). From there we went to lunch, but it took a while because the internet lied to me about the location of the Turkish restaurant and there was lots of yelling about where Chester is and how we weren't in Chester and in the end we just stopped at an all-American joint. Which turned out to be just fine, because Grandma really liked her meal and that's what counts. After lunch we went back to the house and I did some more reading.

Then I left and drove back to Charlottesville, but only to pick up Josh. Then we drove to Harrisonburg. That's where a co-worker had us over for dinner, and it was lots of fun. We ate chorizo cooked on the Portuguese pig, delicious goulash, and homemade "choux" pastries. We also had coffee, brewed in a "coffee balloon." It was like a science experiment, and the perfect way to end the meal. Plus the coffee was necessary to help get us back to Charlottesville.