So when I started this blog I didn't ever want to write two posts within the same day because I didn't want the readers to get used to reading something new every day or so then quit reading when I would skip a few days...but I had quite the fun filled weekend that I wanted to share.
It all started on Saturday morning at 5:30 am. Lauren decided 24 hours earlier that she wanted to run the Indianapolis Womens half-marathon as a training race for the Marine Corps Marathon she has in October. Well 4 months prior she ran about a 1:55 half marry and is in much better shape so she was aiming for about 1:45. If she could do that then she would be in the top-10 in her AG and top-50 OA. Well she was feeling great that morning and really had high hopes for the race. The race started and since I really don't spectate these days, I didn't really know what to do. So I walked around, drove the car to a better parking spot and walked to the race finish.
The winner passed by and finished in about 1:16, a very respectable time. 1:30 rolled around so I started to keep my eyes peeled for her. I have much more respect for the friends and family who come watch me race, its quite boring I must say. At 1:38 I spotted her, 6 minutes above goal pace! She passed by and finished in 1:39! To go from a finishing time of 1:55 to 1:39 in a matter of months is remarkable. I was blown away, but at the same time, I wasn't too surprised. She is incredibly dedicated to her running and has slowly been getting faster every week. I must say, its quite sexy when girls are dedicated to fitness and running, it shows a lot about their character.
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| Lauren looking strong with 100m to go |
So my training plan also called for a 13 mile run on Sunday morning. After a shitty night of sleep due to whatever reasons, I slept in until about 9:30 and then saw that the forecast called for rain all day, 70% chance until noonish then 95% chance after that. As much as I wanted to run on Monday when the conditions are better, I kept reminding myself that if I waited for the conditions to be better for everything else in my life, I wouldn't get anything done (write that down).
So I filled up some water bottles, loaded up the bike for Lauren to once again play sherpa and off I went for the run. Throughout the entire run, as much as I wanted to push a little harder to beat Laurens time, I knew I just had to go at an easy 8 minute/mile pace. I also never got into my running "groove". I usually start to feel really good at about mile 3 but that never kicked in. My legs felt heavy and I was just all-around struggling. Around mile 10 is when Hurricane Issac let loose on my run. It was pouring but I had no choice but to keep running. Well I was on the home stretch, mile 12, and I was running right in front of a McDonalds in Broad Ripple (for all my Indy readers). I saw a car was pulling out and kept my guard up but they stopped so I figured they saw me. Well I was about 5 feet away from the car and I was going at about a 7:15 pace. But the damn car started to pull out! I knew that with the wet roads and my tired legs that I couldn't stop on a dime so I did what I've always wanted to do. I leapt up, and slid across the hood of the car on my ass, just like Bo Duke woulda done. I miraculously landed on my feet and kept running... like a boss. I probably scared the crap out of the driver as they probably thought they drilled me. I've always wanted to do that, and finally made it happen.
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| I was wearing much less clothing and probably less graceful though. |
September 3rd was my 27th birthday and it just happened to fall on Labor day this year so Lauren had the idea to travel up to Warren Dunes Michigan for the day. We left early on Monday morning and made the 2.5 hour trek north. We didn't have much on the agenda except for laying by the beach and climbing some sand dunes. After stopping at an awesome "mom and pop" type of store for some lunch, we continued on and made it to the dunes. The moment you turn the corner you realize how massive it is. When you're standing on the bottom, you realize how daunting it is. The first thing I wanted to do was to climb to the top.
After the 1/4 mile trek to the top, we took some great pictures, I climbed a tree like an idiot and we had a long-jump competition where we both looked like idiots. Neither of us cared because we were having so much fun. We then sprinted down the mini-mountain and then spent the next several hours simply laying on the beach and swimming a bit. If you didn't know better, you could swear you were in South Carolina or Florida somewhere. It was simply a beautiful area.
After exploring a bit more, climbing the hardest "hill" I've ever been up (probably a 30% grade for 1/4 mile in the sand) and me stubbing my toe while texting and walking we decided to call it a day. While on the way home, we were watching/listening to YouTube videos of people making absolute fools of themselves (although not on purpose). While we know its mean and we really shouldn't laugh at other peoples expense, we couldn't help but die laughing. Amongst the laughter, I somehow lost track of where we were and ended up about 30 minutes out of the way, despite letting know that us Feldman's have a keen sense of direction. "That John Denver's full of shit man"-Dumb & Dumber. After smoke blew out of my ears out of frustration I finally calmed down. Although it sucked having to drive an extra 30 minutes, we did pass an Amish family walking down the side of the road at 10:00 at night, so it turned out to be worth it. To top off an already frustrating/long trip back, we tried to stop by 2 different McDonalds to grab a soft-serve ice cream cone but of course both of the ice cream machines were broken. Just our luck. Finally after searching for a McDonalds for almost 2 hours, we finally got out ice cream and it was the most glorious ice cream you could ever imagine.
This past birthday weekend was truly possibly the best I've ever had, and I have Lauren to thank for all of it. Oh... and she got me 2 amazing water bottles as my gift. They are insulated and don't leak at all. I've wanted them forever, yeah...I'm a dork like that.
Sorry this is a little random and choppy, I wanted to get everything in without making it obnoxiously long. There were many smaller parts that I wanted to include but that woulda just been boring for anybody that wasn't there. Signing off now, I gotta run 8 miles at 5:15 tomorrow morning with my friend who's going to the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas this upcoming weekend. I'll toe the line with her someday... but until then, I'm just a simple spectator.
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