Weekend Randomness

I love writing random focused posts.  They allow me to snapshot key things that don’t necessarily merit full blog posts themselves but that I still want to write about, and they basically allow me to be “lazy” with my writing.  So here we go…

Glow in the Grove 5k – This was the 3rd year I’ve participated in the event.  Jason joined me last year, and dad decided to join us this year.  Unlike last year when heavy rains forced part of the Hanover Trolley trail to be closed, this year the course was straight out and back on the trail with only a small portion of the start and finish in town near the recreation center.  We assumed that meant it was a full 5k course again (last year’s came to around 2.83) and were even told they had GPS measured it.  Jason and dad went out hard.  I went out comfortably hard as it was my first road race since my hamstring injury because the Sasquatch 5k was a trail race.  I actually ended up pacing close to the dad one of my track kids which was nice.  There was a breeze on the way out that was chilling my fingers and I kept flexing them to keep warm.  There was one woman ahead of me at the turn around, but she must’ve really picked it up after that because when we reached a huge spotlight I couldn’t see her in front of us.  That’s one of the only downfalls to racing at night, even with a headlamp you can’t see far enough in front of you to judge your competition.  The breeze had calmed down for our return, and I really picked up my pace during the last mile.  I came into town to “Eye of the Tiger” blaring and as no one was around me I felt like everyone was cheering just for me.  I crossed the finish line to discover that unfortunately again the course was short, I had clocked 2.85 miles and Jason’s Garmin registered 2.87 so my finishing time of 23:05 was a bit misleading.  The woman ahead of me was the first woman but also first in our age group, so she got an award and I didn’t, much like what happened during my first year of running the event.  I was expecting that though, so I wasn’t too disappointed and was just happy that I ran really strong and felt good.  Dad won his age group in 20:47 and Jason won his in 20:26.  Jason was really excited to have beaten dad for the first time and his training is really paying off.  Overall it was a really good night and we’re looking forward to racing it again next year.

Joker – Jason and I went to see this movie on Saturday.  We’re big fans of the Christopher Nolan trilogy, but when we saw the trailer we knew that we had to see this movie as well.  Joaquin Phoenix really did make the character his own, and I don’t think it would be fair to compare his performance to Heath Ledger’s Joker as each movie really has its own focus.  Personally I don’t understand the controversy in the media about this movie.  I didn’t find it to be any more violent than other violent movies I’ve watched, and not to give away any spoilers but there is no depiction of a mass shooting event.  If anything I felt the movie drove home the point that mental health is severely underfunded and poorly addressed in this country.

Home Improvements – Prior to going to see Joker, Jason and I spent the morning doing some fall cleanup.  I really wish all the leaves on the two trees we have would fall at the same time so we could just rake once and be finished, but it never works out that way.  He trimmed our hedges as well, and I went to work hand sawing some pokeweed stalks out of them.  I’m determined to keep ahead of them next year as the roots are too deep for us to dig out, and I hate that they overtake part of the hedges each year.  Sunday we went to Lowes to pick up some supplies so I can paint the window trim in our living room prior to my mom painting the room for us while we’re in New Orleans.  Jason picked up some putty to fill in holes and sand the walls in advance.  I really hate how expensive supplies are for even simple house projects.  It’s probably why I tend to doing avoid them and why to date only one room of our house has been painted since moved in 4 years ago.

Long Run – Sunday morning dad, Armand and Scott came over to run with Jason and me.  We set out from the house and ran to the high school where we picked up the Wildcat 10k course then ran back home.  It was 9.5 miles (Jason added on by running the cemetery to get a full 10), and it felt really good.  That’s the longest I’ve ran since probably the beginning of the year, and it’s not an easy course.  I took it easier than usual on the hills.  Partially so that I wouldn’t get too far ahead of Armand and partially because running 9.5 was a good enough workout that I didn’t feel a need to kill myself on the hills as well.  I was really proud of Jason as it was the first time he ran that course and I thought the slightly fast pace that he, dad and Scott were running would burn him out on the hills.  Apparently not.  We rewarded ourselves with high protein chocolate smoothies from Smoothie King and an afternoon of relaxing on the couch watching football.

Apple Pie – Friday after work I made my first apple pie.  Armand works part time at a local orchard and keeps bringing apples to our Wed. group run.  I had more than I knew what to do with, so Jason found a recipe that didn’t call for any added sugar for me to try.  I cheated and used a refrigerated pie crust and ended up using a 9 inch cake pan because I don’t have a pie pan, so the aesthetic appeal of the pie could’ve been a bit better, but fortunately the taste was really good.  I sent a piece home with Armand after Sunday’s run and he called to tell me he had finished it before he even got home and that it was very good.

Have you ever ran a night race?  Do you plan to see Joker?  Do you love or loathe home projects?