100 Never Looked So Good

While I've struggled a lot this year, I guess I can finally say I made it to 100 miles since I picked up running again back in April. However, my struggles still continued into 100 miles. I really haven't ran more than three or four times since I injured my knee at the end of June. The last few attempts have been feeble at best. I like to call it more of an interval walk-jog effort. And it's going to stay that way until I find a job and can afford physical therapy to properly rehab my knee back to jogging comfortably.

Lucky for me, my most recent "run" that put me over the 100-mark was pretty leisurely. Last Sunday (10-10-10), a couple of my friends from Arizona State talked me into participating in the Tour de Fat's 'Stache Dash. I was feeling up for some costume action, free food, the alleged two bottles of free beer at the end to all who participate and of course, the donation to fund cancer research.

J.D. and I jog-walked the entire 3.1 mile course around Tempe Town "Lake" -- read here to get more information on why I've quoted that. The rest of our group sported a soundtrack of 70s and 80s rock hits that blared out loud along the entire course. It was glorious. The only thing about the day that really sucked (besides my old lady knee) was the lack of beer at the finish line. Apparently the website said nothing about Tempe's inability to secure a permit for alcohol on the race day. Too bad... A vanilla milkshake at lunch lifted my spirits pretty high in the absence of beer.

I think we finished around the 38-minute mark. Keep in mind the last time I entered a 5K race, I set a PR of just over 22 minutes. Quite the difference haha. The race was ugly, and I'm not talking about our time!! There were mullets, mustache ride signs, jean shorts (jorts) on men, nasty stains in inappropriate places and skin tight Reno 911 cop costumes. My eyes are still burning.

My outfit was pretty tame. Originally I was going to do the 'stache on the finger trick, but I was promised a fake 'stache when I arrived. However, it was a 2 p.m. run in nearly 100 degree heat -- a terrible idea if I you ask me! My faux facial hair didn't last very long. It got too sweaty and itchy and I'm pretty sure I inhaled some polyester fibers along the way.

Before

After, not a good look for me.

Ready at the starting line to get our 'stache dash on.

The race was actually the second time J.D. and I had explored Tempe Beach Park . The week prior, we made an appearance at Tempe Oktoberfest! It was kind of cheezy, but fun and we had some interesting food. And tasted some amazing beer, as would be expected.

Again we didn't stay too long due to the raging heat, but we were still able to enjoy the day's festivities. There was a cover band, midway with rides and games, German passport booth for the kiddies, large beer steins to be purchased and food and drinks galore.

A Belgian wheat, brat with sauerkraut and a really authentic.... ballpark pretzel.

J.D. enjoying his dog sans kraut. He also purchased a Sam Adam's Oktoberfest beer which we've been intent on finding in the grocery store to stock the fridge this month!

Eventually we couldn't take the heat, despite a cold beverage each. So we joined J.D.'s parents inside the air conditioned bar across the street, watched a little football and split a real authentic Bavarian seasonal beer for the low price of $2. If you ever find this at BevMo, purchase IMMEDIATELY:

We'd like to keep the German/beer theme going this month. Apparently in Glendale there is a restaurant very much like the Hofbräuhaus in Munich and Vegas -- both of which I have been to! It was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and is having a seasonal festival this weekend and next weekend as well. I HAVE to check this place out!

Prost!!

leisurely

I can't believe we're going home!

Again, I failed to reach my goal of waking up early and running today. Last night I went to bed around 1:30 a.m. (our last game finished around 12 a.m.) and set my alarm for 7:45 a.m. I planned on working out for around 45 minutes to an hour in order to grab some free hotel breakfast before it closed down at 9 a.m. Instead, I continued to hit snooze until it was my turn to shower at 10:30 a.m. No storms to report today, so that's good news.

Sleep was wonderful. I'm still feeling slightly sick, but on the upswing.

This morning we headed out for some touristy time in Omaha's Downtown Market area. We decided to keep lunch light with Subway. I opted to try their new orchard chicken salad sandwich on wheat. The only other items I put on my sandwich were spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers and olives. No cheese, no sauce. It was decent. My usual order is a 6" turkey on wheat with Swiss cheese, but I'd switch it up again for this sandwich.

On the side I tried the new Baked Lay's, Parmesan Tuscan Herb. Again, pretty good, but I couldn't finish. To drink I had about a half a cup of Fuze green tea with a touch of honey.

We walked around the Omaha Market for a bit, getting lost in all the fervor and excitement this city has for college baseball. One of the stores even had a chalk bracket being updated on the window near its front entrance. People here love themselves some college baseball. Nearly everyone we walked by was sporting some kind of team-affiliated gear.

Then before heading back to the stadium for Game 7 (ASU vs. South Carolina) at 3:30 p.m., we grabbed a quick cup of ice cream at Maggie Moo's. J.D. had the nastiest combination I've ever tasted in my life (which he loved, btw): mango sorbet with peanut butter sauce drizzled on top. I opted for a mix of cocoa amaretto and lowfat vanilla ice cream with bits of Heath bar. It was heavenly. I could only eat 3/4 of it.

Not very pretty, but tasty!

Upon our arrival at the stadium, we finally got a chance to play tourists before the stands began filling up. We also had a few minutes to catch Arizona State's batting practice, which apparently didn't work out so well since they gave up 10 runs in the first four innings, ouch.

It is elimination day again and after yesterday's loss Florida went home, so I decided to wander the Fan Fest area in hopes of scoring some reduced priced gear. I snagged some good buys though -- for my family, awww.

Today is our last day here at the College World Series and we have two total games to work. After this current one, dinner is slated to be chili dogs. No worries, I won't be taking pictures of that mess. I'm glad this is the last day eating here, it's been so good, yet so bad for me. We fly out tomorrow at 7 p.m., so we'll have one more half day of sightseeing here in the Midwest. If you're curious about seeing all the pictures I've snapped and haven't included in this blog, check out my Facebook album from this week.

When I return home, there are two consecutive 5Ks I'm thinking about running. One in Lodi this weekend -- maybe not a great idea since I'm still sick, but I could use it as training instead of actual competition -- and one near my parents' house on the 4th of July.

What do you think, should I run in both??? Because guess what, half marathon training begins next MONDAY!!!!! I still haven't yet picked one because I'm waiting to see if we will be moving in the next month or not. As soon as I know, I'm signing up for one! :) Oh and the next time I blog here, I'll be back in California! ♥

Last day in California!

You knew I couldn't go a day without posting, didn't you??

I'm not sure what tomorrow has in store because we'll be leaving for the San Francisco airport around 5 a.m. tomorrow morning. We'll land in Omaha around 5 p.m. and then hop in a rental car to Kansas City, Mo., where I'm hoping we'll be in the hotel by 8 p.m. So really, it should only be 6 p.m. in California, right??

Anyways, some bar in the Power & Lights District is holding a World Cup Wine Tasting event that includes six different South African wines paired with six appetizers for about $35/person. I don't care HOW TIRED we are, we're making it to this event.

Since I've been cleaning out my fridge I don't have any exciting food photos to share today. But I do have some running news to share.

I certainly plan on registering for the 2010 MLB All-Star 5K race held in Anaheim on July 11. A few people from the Big West Conference office will also be partaking in the race I believe. Hopefully my sister, Aimée, will sign up with me! We were talking about driving down for a few days and taking in all the All-Star Game festivities without actually shelling out the $250+ it costs to get into Angel Stadium for that game. Oh well.

I'm just dreading the six-hour drive before and after the race. Hopefully there will be a lot of beach-going to be had to make up for the drive!

If you live in Southern California, come do this race with us!!!!

Runners: Do you have any fun races coming up???