I realize I passed up a great event, The Newport Beer & Chili run. Ted had a blast and ran the 5K in 28 minutes. He enjoyed two bowls of chili and a beer by himself. Yes, I baled on him. You see, when Shane and I went for our 2 mile warm up run, my hamstring was nagging just a bit the entire warm up. I thought “that hill, the faster race pace, it’s not going to do that leg any good. I’m already signed up for the Lake Effect Half Marathon on the 25th and I want to be 100%.” And with those thoughts, I ditched the run and let Ted go by his lonesome. No, I didn’t even go watch because I knew if I got there, I would give in to the great atmosphere of the event and run.
I wasn’t a total slacker though. While on that warm up with Shane and experiencing the nagging hammy, I decided to see if it would loosen up over a longer distance at an easy pace. We ran 7 miles but it didn’t get any better and it didn’t get any worse. It seems all distance runners have that one nagging problem: feet, knees, hips, legs…mine is that darned old hamstring. Ice and a little rest…well….ice anyway. 
Overnighter
A couple of weekends ago, Ted asked “What do you have going on this weekend?” I said, “nothing important, why?” That’s when we decided to pack an over night bag, Shane included, hop in the big rig and high tail it off to find snow where Ted could hit the slopes.
We drove to Greek Peak but it was getting late, 4:15 pm on a Saturday afternoon and the temperature was about 45 degrees. The snow looked a bit slushy so we decided to make our way back 20 miles down the road to a ski facility called Labrador Mountain.
Labrador had night skiing but Ted wasn’t into it. We would get something to eat, find a “dog friendly” hotel/motel and hit the slopes, or in my case pavement, in the morning.
We made a bad choice of gluttonizing ourselves in this mountainous dish of nachos at “Last Run” restaurant-bar at Labrador.
The biggest plate of nachos I’ve seen in ages. They were half bean (meatless) and half beef (meat lovers option). They also had WAY too many onions which left my stomach upset for the rest of the night. I swear I could STILL smell onions on my breath while Shane and I were walking in the morning!
We stayed at a Best Western in Tully, NY. Nothing fancy but they welcomed Shane and for that the place was a perfect fit.
We never sleep too well when not in our own bed. The phone call on Ted’s cell at 3:35 am didn’t help either. Someone was looking for “Johnny”. Johnny was most likely in bed where he should be. That would be a great place to start looking NOT in our room.
Sunday, Ted hit the slopes while Shane and I took a walk down the road. It was a beautiful day. We went along a side road called Robbins Road. There was a nice groomed hay field to the side where we could stop and play ball after exploring wooded pathways. We passed a spooky looking, run down trailer home. All I could think of was some one with a shot gun and a big angry dog that didn’t like people walking past. Trying to calm my wild imagination, we started up a side path near the trailer home and went up, up, up…
Made it to the top where we hit a gate that warned “KEEP OUT!” We listened, turned around and went down, down, down…practically running past the spooky home (with the imaginary shot gun and big angry dog).
After an hour or so, we meandered back to the slope just in time to watch Ted come down the hill.
That Scallywag! Love his snow board!
What a great day!
With Shane waiting in the car, we went inside, got coffee, some eats and were ready to head home. BUT WAIT!
Ted said “I’m NOT riding home with you if HE’S driving!”
That Shane! He jumped into the drivers seat and was ready to take us home.
What a weekend. What a perfect spur of the moment getaway.
Do you/Have you ever jumped in the car for a last minute overnighter? Doesn’t it seem that sometimes the unplanned trips turn out to be some of the most satisfying?
Whoaa that is definitely my kind of race! The nacho’s look delish.
Cute read…& terrific pictures! My husband & I don’t sleep well away from home either 🙂