Weekly Recap- Coming in Hot

Monday
Kettlebell class followed by normal Fleet Feet run. My legs were still sore from Bourbon Chase (still working on a recap) that I took the 4 miles easy. Turns out, running slow is more painful than running normal or fast pace- lesson learned.  Since I was still more sore than normal, I decided to take a rest from running the rest week so my calves and quads could be fresh for Friday.

Tuesday

Despite not running, I was still planning on doing the body combat class after work. Plans got diverted when I was given impromptu free tickets to our company box to see Nine Inch Nails in concert for that evening. I wasn't sure what to expect since the stereotypical NIN fan isn't the crowd I run with, but I was thoroughly impressed with all the lights and stage presence. 

Still can't believe they didn't play 'closer', as I thought that was a given. He did end the show with an amazing rendition of 'hurt', so at least I left happy. 

Wednesday

Another work out fell. Had plans to do kettle bells again, however meetings ran long and it was 5:30 before I was free (class starts at 5). Instead I met up with some colleagues after work for some carb loading at Mellow Mushroom, then came home to pack for Ragnar TN

Thursday

Left work in a large white van with 5 other awesome individuals and made our way to Chattanooga so we could get a good night's rest before our 10:30 am start time. I haven't laughed so hard in that 2 hour drive that I knew we'd be off to a good start. 

Friday:

Start of my 3rd time running Ragnar TN- team Leaping Fartleks... i'll admit, not a fan of the name

Weather on Friday was pristine- 40s and 50s. My first leg I OWNED the downhill and all but 1 mile were in the 6s. Naturally the speed and pressure of the downhill DID catch up to me and my 2nd and 3rd run proved to be difficult. Roughly after 19 miles in the books, I had issues walking afterward and even have some lingering calf tightness today. 

Saturday: 

Finished Ragnar in the fastest time for any relay I've ever ran- although official results aren't posted, I believe around 26 hrs and 45 min- not bad considering I didn't know our team would be semi fast. 

After the finish line celebration, teammate Sarah and I headed to the first Annual Volksfest (oktoberfest) to down some beers. No sleep + trying to get your money's worth of beer = hard to do

We spent our time sitting and people watching. Finally people watching paid off- as I was scanning the crowd I happen to look over at a group of folks and see a girl who looks re markedly like my grand-little, Sarah, from my sorority. I haven't seen her since 2006, AND she lives in Chicago, so to double check, I look at her facebook to see if there is any mention of a trip to Nashville. Sure enough she had checked in at Volksfest, so I went over for hugs and catch ups. I was so flattered that despite not talking in YEARS, she has been following all my race adventures on Facebook and knew exactly what I had left. She even has been updating her husband about me so he was asking questions as well. 

Obviously I posted this photo on facebook and the next day I get a text from my 'man friend' who saw this photo and proceeds to tell me that Sarah's husband happens to be his little... SMALL FREAKIN WORLD!

 I get home at 4pm, crash till 7, watch a movie till 10 or so then pass out for the night. 

Sunday:

Matthew (my roomate's bf) turned the big 3-2 so to celebrate we had entered in a big wheel competition put on by one of the local breweries, Yazoo. 

$20 for a team of 4 and it came with a free shirt to decorate AND a free beer + all the hilariousness that ensures in big wheel racing... count me in.  I can't tell you how many times on Friday and Saturday I heard people yell "coming in hot" at the exchange that it became a big joke. For those that aren't aware, it's basically saying the person is running really fast. I decided it would be fitting for my shirt. 

Leah and I after a beverage or two- lack of sleep and dehydrated body = cheap dates 

Testing out the big wheels before the bracket begins 

This is what determinatoin looks like folks

Not as much control as I anticipated while riding the big wheel- shortly after the start line you turn, go downhill around a keg then peddle back uphill. So many people took the hill and the turn too fast and wiped out- I did neither of those things. When I handed off to Michael the pedal came off, so naturally due to some technical difficulties, we got last in our heat. The announcer was nice enough to realize the error and let us proceed to the next round.... we didn't make it to the 3rd. 

All in all another busy but fun week. I'm still sore from Ragnar so I may take another day or so off, but since I'm RACE FREE this weekend, I won't need to rest up for anything. 

Have you ever ran significantly faster outside your normal pace and as a result were incredibly sore?

Anyone else ever ride a modified big wheel for adults??