Novak-Oliver St. Patrick's Day Fun!
Front and center, sporting my Checkers AC jacket at The Irishman.
Left to right: Emily, Dad, Nicole, Nate, Mom
So, I had a long weekend. Not as in the neverending weekend, but I took two hours off from work to see my neurologist Thursday afternoon. It was time for a round of Botox injections in my neck and back, a routine I've become acclimated to over the past several years. Then I took 8 hours of leave on Friday to do some "spring cleaning." That ended up being a "holy-crap-get-the -house-clean." day. We impulsively decided to have a friend in town from Long Island over Friday evening, and to top it off, Nate had to work an 11 hour day. Friday was beautiful, warm and sunny, so it was tough to keep focused on cleaning. In the end, we had a lovely evening filled with conversation over a fish fry dinner.
Saturday, the obvious was going to occur. Nate and I were invited over to my parent's house for a corned beef and cabbage dinner. Yum! We also scrambled to get a one month late belated birthday gift for my little sister who was home from college. It had to be thoughtful and meaningful. Then it hit me while we were at the mall. I'd made her a charm bracelet. It turned out really cool and I must say as a last minute gift I was VERY proud of myself. Nate got her a case of Guinness. So, we arrived for the Irish dinner bearing gifts to celebrate a life of 21 years and 30 days! She appreciated it all. I was so nervous about the bracelet, and didn't know if she'd even like Guinness, but clinging to the box of Guinness, Emily sternly told my dad that she wasn't sharing her birthday gift. Clueless, my dad assumed she was talking about the bracelet... was all had a laugh over that...
One thing I wasn't going to do was arrive for dinner on St. Patrick's day without getting a run in first! Can you believe it was in the 70s and sunny? I was disappointed in my pace for my 8.5 mile run. I did the route that goes through the neighborhoods I'd lived in. Around mile 6, my legs not holding up so well, I ran down the street where I'd heard the girls I coached yelling out to me last week. One of them was out passing a football around with some boys. She waved to me, and at a slower pace I recognized her this time - one of the girls who is not returning this spring. I didn't stop, but made a point of waving back and saying hi to her by name. The girl could run like the wind. She wasn't the first to finish the 5k this past fall for Mill, but I remember telling her in confidence that she reminded me of my co-captain of my high school cross country team, and that if she worked a bit on her pacing she was going to be a great distance runner. I remember her response, "but I like sprinting." In GOTR, all of that is cool as long as you're moving forward. So, what can you do but respond, "well... sprinting... that's great."
So, my St. Patrick's Day run is here:
Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 8.50 miles in 1h:14m:22s using EndomondoAfter the dinner and belated birthday gifts, the family headed up to The Irishman where I downed my second Guinness of the evening. A Sabres game was being broadcast in the bar during the partying, so it was a bit chaotic as some of us were trying to look in as the game ended in a shoot-out. Buffalo losing to the Florida Panthers. Not really being a party-people, Nate and I headed out as soon as this little girl finished her second beer of the night. Being the lightweight that I am, two is more than enough for me.
Today I learned the importance of running with a cell phone. I'm not sure if it was because of the evening at the Irishman, or just overdoing it, or what, but I burned out a little over 6 miles into my run. My legs just wouldn't move. I was near my parent's house but was kind of embarrassed. Knowing Nate would worry if it got to be much over an hour, I pulled out my cell phone from a tiny pouch I bought from a running shop. I called and asked him, "Natey, I burned out... I have nothing left... can you pick me up?" He asked where I was and picked me up not far from my old house. I had not had anything like that happen to me in years. I didn't even make it 7 miles and my legs just would not move. "C'mon, let's stop and get you some Gatorade." I turned my Garmin off and he drove me to 7-11... chugging that Gatorade never felt so good! My parents used to get on my case about not running with a cell phone when I was in my early 20s... now I know how handy it can be. A thoughtful husband isn't a bad deal either! :-)
Well, back to work tomorrow. The roads defeated me today but I gave it my all... and it was the best I could do... and that's okay. :-)
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