Pre-Turkey Weekend

November 18, 2018November 18, 2018 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 12 Comments

It’s THANKSGIVING WEEK! Though I’m not going back home and seeing my family this year (womp womp), I’m still excited for the holiday and spending time with B’s family. FW loves hanging out with his cousins, and well, I love stuffing 🙂

This weekend was another nice weekend at home. I got in a few runs – outside AND inside – and as always, we had some good food. Here are some of the highlights:

A run outside to kick off the weekend. It was cold and wasn’t my fastest run, but it was good to get outside early while everyone was fast asleep.

Friday we celebrated Thanksgiving a little early — at FW’s school! They had a Thanksgiving lunch celebration for the kids and their families.

It was fun to stop by in the middle of the day and grab a quick bite to eat with him.

Friday night we ordered in – Aladdin’s Lebanese food. It’s nice when we can all eat the same thing, but because FW is such a picky eater that rarely happens. He does love their pita quesadillas with fruit, though!

Saturday morning included some dancing.

Followed by cookie baking (with a toddler and baby).

And then naptime.

While LM was napping, I was able to get in a short treadmill run. I did 1.5 miles running, then stopped and got water, walked a bit and did about 1.5 miles more.

After naps, it was time to head outside for a little walk! We all bundled up.

We walked over to my friend Emily’s house to drop off some cookies and FW got to play with her son, Jack. The two of them are about 6 months apart.

That night, B made us some pizza. I LOVE his pizza and this batch was especially good.

Sunday morning we did some more baking. This time, FW and I made lentil, banana and zucchini muffins.

The day also included some indoor playing.

And a short stroller run with the family. FW fell asleep while we were out.

Th rest of the day flew by! It included not only dinner with B’s family, but also a haircut for FW!

At last, he can finally see again!

Questions for you:

Did it start to get cold near you?
How do you feel about running in the rain?
Have you run with a stroller?

I’m linking up with the weekly wraps.

If Life Gives You A Broken Oven … You Go For Some Runs (And A Walk)

November 11, 2018November 11, 2018 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

What a weekend. It was cold (we saw snow flurries on Saturday!) and semi eventful. Why? Well, Saturday our oven broke. In the middle of cooking dinner (baking pizza dough) for B’s family. So that changed up some of our Sunday plans. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s a little look at the past few days:

Thursday morning, I got in a semi-short run (3.11 miles) outdoors. It was chillier than it has been but it wasn’t too cold for me to get outside. B and I both had to be at work early, so I knew I only had 30 minutes or so to get in a workout after feeding LM.

Thursday night, B and I went out on a date night! We saw A Star is Born and then had dinner. Dinner didn’t start until 10 p.m., so needless to say, Friday I was tired! But look at this beer – it came with a toasted marshmallow!

Friday night was not as I intended. We ended up having to take LM into the dr because of a bad cough that was giving her a hard time breathing. She’s okay, but it’s so hard seeing babies sick – she hasn’t been herself and clearly is hurting 😦

Saturday was when the said oven incident occurred. BC was playing Clemson, so B invited his brother (who went to BC also) and the rest of his siblings and a few friends over to watch the game. We had planned on cooking pizza for everyone when the oven door just fell off. And when B tried to put it back together, we discovered that pieces had disintegrated!

We decided to order in instead, and still got to watch the game. FW hung out with his cousins and stayed up until half time.

The game didn’t quite end as I would’ve liked but it is always fun hosting people in our house. Our apartment was always too small to have to many people over.

Sunday, after the oven incident and some other things that were happening, I just had to get in a run. I knew it would make me feel at least a littke better. So while B and FW were at Home Depot, LM went down for a nap and I got in few easy treadmill miles.

Then, when FW was napping later I couldn’t help myself and got in a few more miles. I mean, look at the weather – it was so nice out! And running really does keep me sane.

We also were able to get on a little walk. It was chilly, but felt good to get out as a family. And it meant we had a relatively active weekend!

After that, it was time for dinner with B’s family. We celebrated B’s dad’s birthday and FW got to hang out with his cousins again.

3 runs, 1 walk and a broken oven … that about sums up the past few days!

Questions for you:

Has a major appliance you use broken down? What did you do?
What temps make you decide to run inside?
Have you seen A Star Is Born? What did you think?

I’m linking up with the weekly wraps.

December FLEW by

December 21, 2015December 20, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

Whew. I don’t know about you, but the past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Between holiday parties, cookie exchanges, dinners with friends, baking, and more – the past month has flown by. And I’ve loved every minute! We’ve had such a great December – here are some of the highlights from this past weekend, week and month:

lights in playhouse square

Running with Nicole! Me and my running bff finally got back outside and enjoyed a few runs the past few weeks. Some were incredibly warm and I wore shorts! Others were more seasonable. But it was great to get out there again after a few too many indoor treadmill runs and enjoy the morning and sunrise. And stop and take pictures of the Terminal Tower all lit up for the holidays!

running-tower city

Going to a Browns game for Monday Night Football! On one of the seasonably warm days, B and I snagged suite seats to a Browns game thanks to his work. The game wasn’t that great – we ended up losing at the last second and it ended after midnight. BUT, it was still fun to enjoy live Monday Night Football and inside the warmth of a suite.

browns suite

Going to the Cavs game. And having suite seats (yes, again). Through B’s work, we were able to enjoy a Cavs game. I prefer basketball to football (inside, faster paced, better fans, shorter games…) and had a great time. Even the food was good! Seriously – look at that grilled cheese. At a game!

cavs game

cavs game food

Celebrating the holidays with coworkers. Our office holiday party was at a fun restaurant/bar this year, Happy Dog, that features hot dogs and tater tots with tons of toppings. And arcade games. t was fun to celebrate the season (and a great year!) with my coworkers. Their hot dogs are really good – especially their vegan dog, which tastes more like an Italian sausage. I had a really good vegan dog with a garlic sauce, mozzarella, bacon, onions and mushrooms. Plus some tots!

office holiday party

happydog

Ringing in the holiday season with other BC grads. B and I are in charge of our alumni association and planned this year’s holiday party. We were excited to go to a new place – Bold Food & Drink on the East Bank of the Flats – and had a great turnout. I love meeting new BC grads living in Cleveland – they’re here, but not so easy to find!

bc holiday party

Enjoying the final Ladies Craft Beer Society of 2015. This year, we opted to do a holiday dinner to celebrate a great Ladies Craft Beer Society and wish good luck to the three ladies in our group who are pregnant. One of them – Reanna – is due any week (!!) so it was great to see her and the other girls and enjoy a night out. And do a final craft for the year 🙂

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Dining out with the Carney ladies. Each year, my sisters-in-law and I opt to celebrate the holidays with an experience as opposed to gifts – this year the holidays snuck up on us and we only had time to plan a dinner. Still, it was a great night for wine and pizza and fries (dinner of champions!) at Bar Cento and to catch up before the craziness of the holidays sits in.

girls night dinner

We did quite a few other things this month – going to see the Cleveland Orchestra, out to dinner in Uptown, grabbing drinks with friends, seeing the From Monet to Matisse exhibit at the Cleveland Art Museum and more .. it has really been a great month! I can’t believe December is nearly over and we’re already talking about 2016. Which undoubtedly will be a great year 🙂

holiday flowers

Some questions for you:

What are you most looking forward to about the rest of December?
Have you ever been to a Monday Night Football game?

Linking up today with Erin for my weekend snapshot post, Katie for MIMM and of course, the weekly wraps.

A Northeastern Fall Foliage Tour

October 14, 2014October 12, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

B and I recently were able to take some time off – a week! – and decided to go on a roadtrip to some eastern states in what we were dubbing our “fall foliage tour.” Yes, that’s how I know I’m getting older – we are planning fall foliage tours. What am I, almost 30? (rhetorical question – don’t answer that)

It was a great way to spend a week off- it was relaxing (even though we were active), we got a chance to do some of my favorite fall activities (hiking and apple picking) and even got to spend a day seeing my parents and a day seeing a friend from college. Just what I needed in some time off! Some highlights from the trip:

We started with a quick stop to see my parents and go apple picking (full blog post here).

apple picking at indian ladder

Then headed to the town of Schroon, New York to see our friend Mitch and run the beautiful, hilly Adirondack Half Marathon along Schroon Lake (full blog post here).

After the race

On our way to our next stop, we hit up Ticonderoga, New York. We visited the small downtown area and then visited Fort Ticonderoga.

walking around Ticonderoga

B and some old cannons

Great views from Fort Ticonderoga!

Then we headed to the beautiful state of Vermont! It was B’s first time there and we spent a few days in Northern Vermont, staying in Burlington, checking out their pretty waterfront, trying the local food, walking around their fun downtown area, taking quick trips to neighboring small towns and touring Ben & Jerry’s!

Hello from the town of Stowe, Vermont!

Being goofy at Ben & Jerry’s

The flavor graveyard. RIP cookie dough frozen yogurt 😦

sunset along the waterfront in Burlington

On our way to our next state, we made a pit stop in New Hampshire for a hike through the White Mountains. We spent a few hours hiking around Mt. Eisenhower. Unfortunately the weather was drizzly and foggy that day so we didn’t get in any amazing views that we’d heard about. But we did get in some activity – something I’d been craving, since it had been a few days since our half marathon.

pre-hike

Then we headed to Portland, Maine. Full blog post coming about this trip, but we had a great time walking everywhere, trying the local food and craft beer (Shipyard Pumpkin FTW!) and I even got in a few runs while I was there.

maine craft distilling

Our last quick stop was Boston. We walked around our alma mater, Boston College, stopped by the place we got engaged, and hit up the North End for dinner. A perfect end to a great vacation!

Back at BC!

Some questions for you:

Are the fall colors changing where you are? What’s your favorite way to see fall foliage? On a run? A hike through the mountains? A Sunday drive? Apple picking? Other?
Do you like pumpkin beer? What’s your favorite? I’ve heard of some beer snobs who can’t stand it! I liked trying the Shipyard, but Pumking may still be my favorite.
What’s your favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor? I loved Vanilla Heath Bar fudge (they don’t make it anymore now that they’re GMO free … RIP Heath bars!) but also love their new core flavors (any with vanilla as a base) and love anything with Caramel. Oh, and Cherry Garcia. Do I have to choose just one?

An Extended Weekend in L.A.

September 27, 2013September 24, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Seen at a club in LA

NOTE: This is the last recap in a series of my West Coast trip adventures. Miss the rest of my West Coast trip summaries? Read more about them here:

After an amazing time in the Bay Area, we were off on another drive down the coast and ready to spend a few days in Los Angeles as we wrapped up our West Coast adventure. We would be staying with B’s friend (and Best Man), Wing, who moved out West just this year thanks to an awesome job opportunity. And we would also be lucky enough to see my friend and roommate from college, Kate, who moved out to LA right after we lived in Boston together.

So, what did we think of our time in LA? Some overall impressions:

The city is SUPER spread out. I’d heard that it was but seeing it in person made us realize it even more and also put a slight damper on some of our plans as we weren’t able to accomplish as much as we wanted to in our time there because it took so long to get from one place to another. There are tons of different neighborhoods that you can walk in – but to get to and from places, you really do have to drive.
There is SO MUCH TRAFFIC. Again, I’d definitely heard that but as we drove everywhere this really made a difference and also made it hard to get as much done as we wanted to.
The city is not really walkable. I love walking everywhere. Every other city we pretty much left our door and walked everywhere to get some sightseeing in. In LA we really had to hop in the car and plan which neighborhood(s) we may be visiting, and drive there. And we didn’t really know how long it would take because of the traffic. (See #1 and #2)
The weather is awesome. They were having a “cold front” when we were there, meaning the weather was in the low 80s, upper 70s. AKA perfect weather. It was cool in the morning, meaning it wasn’t bad for our run (we had a 15k planned that I was dreading because I thought it’d be super steamy but it wasn’t too bad – it hit nearly 80 by the end but it wasn’t humid), and then got hot during the day but not sticky. Perfect vacation weather 🙂
There’s so much to do. Aside of all the touristy sightseeing stuff that we wanted to do, there’s just so much in general going on, all the time. Comedy shows. Concerts. Great food. Bars. Clubs. And of course – the BEACH! If I lived in LA I would live at the beach, or at least go there as much as possible. And then try to fit in everything else.

Okay, enough blabbering, here are some photos and highlights from our trip.

SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN LA!

Stopping for In & Out as soon as we get in – B’s first In & Out meal!

B’s first In&Out!

Running around the Hollywood Reservoir – we did our 15K without any problems. We found the reservoir, which had some good views of the downtown and the Hollywood sign and was a 3.3ish mile loop – perfect for us, as we were able to do 3ish loops as Wing walked around once, carrying water for us. Yup, he was our awesome water boy!

post 15k run around the Hollywood Reservoir

Going to the beach!

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People watching at Venice Beach

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Being touristy and taking photos of the Hollywood sign

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Taking in a Dodgers game! AND they were playing the Giants so I got in TWO Giants games on this trip. Also, we got the all you can eat seats and feasted on the famous Dodger dogs, plus nachos, popcorn and peanuts. I need a detox after this vacation.

Go Giants!

Coffee at Urth Café (always featured in the show Entourage)

it’s a bird! Urth Cafe goodness.

Brunch from Homegirl Café. I had been wanting to go to this place since seeing the awesome movie G-Dog at the Cleveland International Film Festival. You must read about them and Homeboy Industries if you don’t know their story. Here’s just a short blurb: Homeboy Industries serves high-risk, formerly gang-involved men and women with a continuum of free services and programs, and operates seven social enterprises that serve as job-training sites. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

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Catching a BC vs. UCLA game – sadly, we lost – but it was great to see them play (it wasn’t planned!) on our trip, see their huge stadium and of course meet up with Kate

HUGE stadium – former home of the Olympics in LA!

Kate and me! Former roomies!

Enjoying Dim Sum for B’s birthday brunch – Wing lives in Chinatown and brought us to an amazing place

Birthday breakfast!

And then a really good meal, and beers, at My Father’s Office – I definitely recommend if you hit LA

the boys loved their burgers – I loved my butterfish!

Seeing some amazingly fun comedians at the Laugh Factory – in just one show we saw a TON of comics! Highlights include Dom Irerra (who we’ve seen before), the super cute Chris D’Elia AND the guy who plays Montez on Workaholics!

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Hanging out with Kate and experiencing some of the Culver City nightlife

Hookah bar!

What a great trip! Now, it’s back to real life and back to the grind. Getting back to work after any trip can be stressful, but just knowing and remembering our amazing two week West Coast adventure will hopefully help with the struggle of getting back into things. Here’s to a GREAT weekend!

Some questions for you:

Which of the cities I visited have you been to? Which is YOUR favorite?
When was the last time you saw your college roommate?
Favorite LA restaurant?

Wordless Wednesday: A Few Vacation Photos

September 18, 2013September 17, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Full additional recaps are coming for the rest of my trip, but here are a few photos from our West Coast Adventure for you to enjoy in the meantime. Happy Wednesday!

Look who we found in the Redwoods!

Chocolate tasting in Seattle!

The beautiful ocean!

feeling short

Superfans at BC game in LA!

Artwork at Homegirl Cafe

Bridges up in Seattle

No big deal, just some elk crossing the road

Tomorrow – Napa!

Sometimes Weekends Just Fly By

May 20, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Can you believe it’s already Monday? Last week flew by … and it was great. Spring was here in full swing, with warm nights, warmer days and sunshine all around. I took advantage of the weather – and even started off my Monday morning with a little sunburn (just kidding Mom, it’s just a little tan).

Here are some highlights from last week:

Thursday I had my final Bridge Builders session before our presentations. It was one of my favorite sessions by far, with part of the day of reserved for civic engagement activities. I was in the Ohio City group, which meant that one of the places I visited was Ohio City Farm. I learned how to dig up day lilies and learned that the local farm is the second largest urban farm in the U.S.! And it’s open on to the public starting next month so you can even walk around and check it out for yourself when it’s open. And buy some fresh, local produce!

ohio city farm

I really like that this photo shows both the farm plus the city in the background

Friday, our office spent some time beautifying the local street. Each year we adopt a spot outside our building and do some planting. That’s right – two days in a row I gardened! And probably more gardening than I’ll be doing for another year.

working on the Adopt A Spot

our garden – almost finished

Friday night, B and I decided to spend the night out on East Fourth – we enjoyed dinner at Saigon (I am obsessed with their chicken cabbage salad and their lemongrass tofu) and then headed to Hilarities to see the comedian Dom Irrera. He was great – definitely a comedian I enjoyed seeing and pretty funny.

one night of vietnamese food. Definitely not enough.

Saturday, B and I went for a run. I did a 5k by myself and then B and I did 4 together, making for a nice 7 miler to start my day. Post-run, B hit the West Side Market for our weekly groceries, and since the weather was still looking nice, we decided to catch an Indians game. I’m glad we did – they ended up winning and it was a beautiful day!

Cheering on the Indians

Saturday evening, we visited the Cleveland Asian Festival, and then ended up getting Vietnamese food takeout to enjoy on our patio. Yes, we had Vietnamese food 2 nights in a row. I’m only slightly ashamed.

Sunday we got up early. No, you may recall that I wasn’t running the marathon or half marathon, but I still woke up around 3 a.m. – to drive to Notre Dame for B’s sister’s graduation. It was a long day, and made me think of my gradation from BC. The night before, it’s a tradition for the seniors to stay up – all night – and watch the sun rise over the Boston skyline. Sentimental? Yes. Cliche? Maybe. But I loved every minute of those last few days, spending time with my friends, cooking out on our Mod lawn, staying up all night, and barely making it through the commencement without falling asleep.

Look, I dug up old photos for you. B and me waiting for the sun to rise with other grads, on graduation day, and my photo of the sunrise from BC campus.

I don’t know if the students have a similar tradition at ND, but as spectators we enjoyed listening to the commencement speaker, sat in the sun for the outdoor ceremony, then got brunch, and finally saw his sister get her diploma in a smaller ceremony indoors on campus at the end of the day. We then headed home – meaning we got home around 8:00 so it was another night out for dinner. I decided not to have Vietnamese food for the third night in a row … but instead Lebanese! I opted for Taza, and enjoyed every second of it.

B and me at the graduation

Notre Dame Commencement. Check out all those grads!

B and me in front of Touchdown Jesus

It was a crazy, fast, nonstop weekend with little sleep and little downtime, but I loved every minute of it. What did you do?

Some thoughts to ponder:

Do you remember your college graduation? Did your school have a tradition?
What’s the earliest you have set your alarm recently? 3 a.m. on a weekend was rough. But at least I could sleep in the car!
What’s your brunch drink of choice? I love bellinis! I’m not a mimosa fan – I don’t really like OJ.
Do you have a green thumb? Not at all. A few of the actual farm workers at Ohio City farm redid the day lilies that I potted. Whoops!
It’s that time of year — did you watch any baseball games this weekend? What’s your baseball game snack of choice? We had peanuts!

Together We Run and Show Our Support

April 19, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I woke up today with an email alert from my alma mater, Boston College, telling me that campus was closed and students were urged not to leave their dorm rooms as the whole city was on lock down. Just when I thought the madness was starting to end and city was starting to heal, additional deaths were reported and the remaining suspect was still at large.

It’s been a rough week. I also learned that one of my classmates’/and one of B’s suitemates’ brothers was seriously injured, along with his wife, in the week’s attacks. We’ve donated to their medical expenses, I wore blue and gold twice this week AND I’ve vowed to run at least 26 miles this week in honor of all those affected – but still, what else can we do besides sit back, watch, hope for the best, and stay positive?

It’s hard feeling helpless … but I’ve started to realize that what we CAN do is stay together and show our support. From wherever you are. I’m so proud that even in Cleveland, we’re doing what we can. That’s why I hope you’ll join local runners tomorrow morning for Silent Saturday.

From the website:

Running together to show our support.

This Saturday , April 20th we will be running in Downtown Cleveland – to mourn those lost, those hurt, and show our support for everyone affected by the tragedy in Boston. I’m not quite sure how many will be there. This isn’t a race, this isn’t an “official” event – it’s just a way to show support, together. Please spread the word to runners and running clubs in the Cleveland area. Please join us.

Before the run, I am hoping that we can share a brief moment of silence – maybe pray, maybe reflect – just take a minute or so of silence to take everything in together before we head out.

There are two suggested routes on the website (3 and 6 miles)and I don’t yet know if I’ll be in attendance, but if not, I’ll be thinking of all those affected and staying positive as I think of all the survivors and the kindness and generosity that is being shown during these difficult times.

So, to those in Boston, please know that this New Yorker, living in Cleveland, is thinking of you.

“If you’re trying to defeat the human spirit, marathon runners are the wrong group to target.” -David & Kelvin Bright #runforboston

— Real Runners (@RunningQuotes) April 16, 2013

For Boston …

April 15, 2013April 15, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I’m speechless. I can’t stop thinking about the sadness … and madness … from today’s Boston Marathon.

As a former Boston resident, I mourn for the injured and for the dead and cannot stop thinking about the feelings sweeping the city on this normally joyous occasion. I think about all my fellow Bostonians, who were spectators and runners on what should have been a beautiful day.

As a runner, I mourn for the injured and for the dead and cannot stop thinking about those who devoted months, and years, to training and have not yet got to realize their dreams of crossing the finish line and running Boston.

As a family member of runners (not racing in Boston this year), I mourn for the injured and for the dead and cannot stop thinking about those who spent months supporting their spouse/sister/brother/mother/father train and looked forward to cheering them on today, but instead were forced to send frantic texts as they waited to hear of their loved ones’ whereabouts.

Thinking of all those affected by this tragedy and keeping everyone in my prayers. My next run will be a grateful one and I will certainly be thinking of all of you.

Half Marathon Weekend Recap – The Holy Half

March 26, 2013March 26, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

B and I ran a half marathon this weekend in South Bend, Indiana. You may recall that one of my goals for this year was to run at least 2 half marathons (to partially make up for my injury while training for a full marathon last year). I was thinking of training for Cleveland, but since we’ll be at B’s sister’s graduation from Notre Dame that weekend, we started looking for other races. So when B’s sister mentioned she’d be running the Holy Half at Notre Dame, it only seemed appropriate that we run that!

holy half marathon

How did it go? The race itself went well except B wasn’t feeling good most of the time. He was feeling a little sick the first half, and then was in much more pain the second half of the race – stomach, legs, etc. I kept with him the whole time and we finished, but definitely weren’t running for time. Maybe that’s why I felt so good after the race and could have run at least a mile or few more.

B’s Aunt Marie took this action shot!

What did we like about the race?

The running crowd – I really enjoyed the group of people that were running. It was mostly Notre Dame students so it was a lot of young people – but quite a few non-ND students were mixed in as well (including a BC grad like myself). It didn’t hurt that B, his two sisters and one of his brothers were all running the half or the 10k!
The cheering – The students were all over campus cheering the runners on. It was fun to see the students with signs and cheering everyone on – even those who clearly weren’t part of their campus.
The water/Gu stops – There seemed to be plenty of water stops to keep us hydrated and even 3-4 stops that also included Gu Chomps.
The run through campus – The running route was about two laps of a 10k course. Parts of it were through campus, which was fun to see! I’m slightly biased with my idea of what a beautiful campus looks like (Sorry, but BC was GORGEOUS!) but it was nice to see another pretty college.
The start time – Starting at 9 a.m.? LOVED not having to get up at the break of dawn to get to the race!
The post-race food – Free Jimmy John’s subs (veggie for me), Dunkin Donuts bagels, Peeps, fruit and more. The supply was endless!

What didn’t we like about the race?

The weather – I guess you can’t really blame this on the race but it was COLD! I couldn’t feel my fingers at the end, at all, which wasn’t fun. I was wearing normal winter running gear, but for some reason couldn’t get my hands warm. This could have to do with the fact that I’m incapable of drinking water during runs and spilled the ice cold water cups a few times. Whoops!
The overall course – While I did love running through campus and liked the loop, I didn’t like miles 2-4 of the loop, which were almost like a trail run. They were around a lake or pond on campus and the path was very narrow – some parts you were barely able to pass anyone, which is not good for the start of a race – and the ground was rock solid and uneven. It had clearly been muddy at some point, and then re-frozen and it hurt my knees more than the normal concrete. B also didn’t like the last few miles of the loop because it was mostly running around parking lots, etc.
No medal – We didn’t get a medal. Not that I do anything with the medals I get (do you?) but we didn’t get anything for finishing. Our race bags had t-shirts and some odd assortment of goodies (jewelry cleaner?) but there was no medal or anything at the finish line.

Post-race relaxing at Notre Dame .. and a photo-bomb by Pete!

Post-race relaxing at Legends on Notre Dame .. and a photo-bomb by Pete!

After the race, we met up with B’s aunt, uncle and cousin, who had been cheering everyone on and grabbed a few drinks on campus before heading back to take a nap. Post-nap we were starving! We enjoyed some pretty good pizza (surprisingly good for what I was expecting out of a small pizza joint in Indiana) and then headed to a local bar for some dancing, fuzzy navel shots and some seriously amazing games of beer pong (B was undefeated!). Definitely not a bad way to spend a half-marathon weekend!

Some thoughts to ponder:

Have you ever signed up for a half marathon less than two weeks before the race? How did it go?
Do you like to run with a friend/significant other when racing? Do you leave them behind or stick with them through the end?
Have you ever run a race through a college campus?
What’s your favorite post-race indulgence?
What’s your favorite college campus?