Tim's new shoes

Yesterday we went back to Fleet Feet shoes to get Tim fitted for some running shoes.  We had help from Julie, who did a great job.  I also got to talk with her about running the 20K, since she had run the race as well.  (And she agreed that there should have been more water stations.)  I tried not to hover and just let Julie and Tim do what they needed to do.  I think Tim tried on four pairs of shoes, ran a few laps on the sidewalk outside the store and finally decided on a pair that he thought would work for him.

After we finished at the running store, I was famished.  We went to Maharaja, an Indian restaurant in Madison.

I thought the food was fantastic!  And I could have eaten the Garlic Naan forever! 

I love spicy food!  It was a great choice for our anniversary dinner.

We decided to skip the movie because we didn't want to feel rushed at the shoe fitting or at dinner.  So when we finished eating, we went to the mall to pick up some cards for upcoming birthdays and to look around and window shop.  Then, time for ice cream.  There is always room for ice cream.  This time it was Cold Stone ice cream and it was great!

This morning, Tim decided to try out his new shoes at the gym in the hotel.

He looks good, right?  I think it is hilarious that we both ended up with the same style of Brooks running shoes.  (But why were his cheaper than mine?   hmmm.....)

Date night

I love date nights!  Especially when they are cheap.  We had dinner at Noodles and Company, thanks in part to my free birthday coupon  I got the Japanese noodles with carrots, broccoli, asparagus, snow peas, sprouts and tofu.  It was AMAZING!!  So many wonderful flavors and Japanese noodles are really yummy.  I may have to try to make them at home.

After dinner, we went for a walk at Marathon Park.  We just did a leisurely stroll around the park.  My legs were definitely feeling my 6 mile race this morning, but it felt great to stretch them a little bit and to enjoy the beautiful weather with my husband.

After our walk we had to hit up Cold Stone for some ice cream.  Again, gotta love the free birthday coupons!  I had half banana ice cream and half sweet cream ice cream with white chocolate chips and peanut butter cup.  It was okay, but something was definitely missing.

Tim had the new Oreo cream flavor with whatever special creation that they are featuring.  It was pretty fantastic!  He was in ice cream heaven.

On the drive home, Tim was playing with the camera.  Here is some of what he came up with.

I hope your Saturday was as good as mine.  See you tomorrow.

Race recap-Spring Fever 6 mile

I had a great race this morning.  I ran the Spring Fever 6 Mile in Altoona.  The weather was a little chilly, but I was quite warm within the first mile and realized that I had over dressed.  Oh, well.  The course was mostly flat, except for a crazy-steep hill at the turnaround.

I have decided that I really like small town races.














 

There is no presumption, no egos.  Everyone is friendly and just there to have a good time.  Of course, there are no timing chips either, but I have my trusty Garmin!

I saw a familiar face in the crowd.

I see this guy at a lot of local races.  He is pretty speedy, too.  And he always has the bandana and the sunglasses on.  I couldn't believe that he was running shirtless today.  I may have warmed up, but it wasn't that warm!

I hung out at Jason's GNC table for a while before the race.  He even sent me home with some samples.  He's pretty awesome!


I was pretty happy with my time (57:08) and my splits:
Mile 1:  9:10
Mile 2:  9:32
Mile 3:  9:28
Mile 4:  10:10  (uphill)
Mile 5:  9:38
Mile 6:  9:14 (woot!)

You can see that my time kinda took a nose dive when I hit that hill just after the turn around.

I tried to be pretty methodical with this race.  I kept an eye on my Garmin consistently, so that I would know my pace.  And I kept an eye on the people in front of me.  I am so used to getting passed in races; especially towards the end because I just don't have any juice left.  Today, I wanted to maintain a steady pace and to try to pick off a few runners ahead of me.  I managed to succeed at those goals.

I stuck with her for most of the beginning of the race.  I was finally able to pull ahead just before the turn around.  This picture is taken just after mile 2.  That is the leader on his way back already.  He finished in just over 33 minutes!  Insane.

Next target.

Getting closer....

I encouraged her as I passed her.
On to the next goal....

Yay!!

I tried to run the last .5 mile in under a 9:00 minute pace, since I didn't have anyone else in my sights to catch up to.  I do love having the Garmin to keep me on track.

For breakfast, I had some yummy oatmeal with a banana, some frozen berries, flax and cinnamon.  It was fantastic.  After the race, I had a banana and a half and a peanut butter cup, and then went to Kwik Trip to get a cappuccino.

Since coming home I have snacked on some dried fruit and I will probably have some lunch soon.  I see a bowl of Kashi toasted Berry Crunch in my future.

Tim and I are going to Wausau tonight to celebrate my birthday.  We are going to get some dinner at Noodles and Company (with my free birthday bowl coupon) and follow it up with dessert at Cold Stone (with my free birthday bowl coupon).  What can I say?  I'm a cheap date!  I'm hoping the weather stays nice so that we can take a walk through the park.