Visit from Brother Bear

My brother, Aaron, flew out on Friday for a weekend visit.  I picked him up at the airport and we met Cliff and Jordan at Joe T's.  We hadn't taken Aaron there before and the best part... there was no line!  After filling up on margaritas and enchiladas (well, I ordered the chicken fajita salad and pretended like I was eating healthy while scarfing the whole thing down and then following it up with a cheese tostada and a few spoonfuls of refried beans), Aaron and I headed to the White Elephant Saloon for a little bit of the Stockyards experience.  Then we finished up at the Eagle's Nest near our house and listened to some tunes from Professor D (who coincidentally played at the housing association conference I attended last week... although I didn't stick around for the fun activities). 

A sibling pic at the White Elephant

Cliff set his alarm clock on Saturday morning so that he and Jordan could go fishing, so I made myself go to swim practice.  I wasn't super motivated, but I was glad I did it and I felt a lot better afterwards.  I made a quick Trader Joe's run on the way home and then took a long nap.  The four of us had some lunch at Boo Ray's and then spent a little time in the pool with GusGus.  That evening my brother and I headed to Dallas.  We met up with a college friend of mine for some drinks and then we hit up the dance club where we had our first encounter ever with "furries":

So needless to say, I had to scratch some ears and rub some bellies!

The next day was full of fat girl remorse.  We had a snack in the late afternoon and didn't eat dinner and then we didn't eat until about 1:00 the next day.  So that meant stuffing my pie hole with Sunday homestyle (fried) chicken, dumplings, and hashbrown casserole at Cracker Barrel and washing it down with blackberry pie a la mode.  After some drinks and snacks in the afternoon, we ate a late dinner at El Paseo.  I exercised a little bit of common sense and ordered the fajita chicken salad, but my stomach is still pretty upset with me over yesterday's events.  Plus I took a long nap yesterday and my sleep schedule was totally off, so I couldn't get to sleep last night until close to 1 am.  Fortunately I took the day off work since my brother doesn't leave until this evening.  So I'm about to hit the pavement for a run and burn off some of yesterday's grease.  And a visit wouldn't be complete without some love from the pups...

Beware of Humidity

When Stacy texted me yesterday and asked if I wanted to run 9 miles at 9:50 am before masters swim practice, I looked at the weather forecast (temps in the upper-70's) and thought, "I can sleep in a bit and enjoy the nicer temperatures... we just ran 8.5 miles last Saturday, and it wasn't bad at all!"  Well what I didn't anticipate was the humidity... it was BANANAS!  We settled in at a comfortable 10-minute pace, but then we were hurting towards the end.  Splits were 10:11, 10:05, 9:57, 9:48, 9:56, 10:12, 10:22, 10:27, and 10:13 (1:31:14).  You know it's going to be a very tough run both mentally and physically when you're hurting before the turn-around!  But on a positive note, I was very proud of myself for sticking it out.  It's those tough runs that make you better.  After the run, we went to masters swim practice.  The total workout was 2750 meters, and the main set was 4 x 50's drill/swim, 3 x 250s free @ 4:00, 4 x 50's drill/swim, 4 x 125s free @ 2:00.  Really it was 200s and 100s but we logged some extra credit meters.  I was thinking it would be nuts in the water with all of the Trident triathlon folks there, but fortunately 50 meters allows everyone to space out a bit.

I logged two runs in California while staying with my parents.  I ran 7.55 miles (1:13:42) on Monday morning before my training class started, and I ran 5 miles (48:53) on Saturday morning before heading to the airport.

At the hotel I gave my achy right side a break from running (besides, I hate the dreadmill).
Tuesday - 50 minutes on the elliptical, 11:14 of weights/abs, and 15 minutes on the bike
Wednesday - 30 minutes on the elliptical, 30 minutes on the bike, 11:34 of weights/abs
Thursday - morning off
Friday - 45 minutes on the elliptical, 16:03 of weights/abs, and 20 minutes on the bike

Total Workout Time for the Week: 8:29:15
Total Running Miles this Week: 21.55 miles

Eating and drinking my way through Los Angeles

In honor of my brother, I will make this post all about eating and drinking and all exclude my boring workouts. 

Sunday dinner with the parents: Cameron's Seafood (cup of clam chowder, grilled swordfish, coleslaw, and au gratin potatoes)

Pre-dinner photos with the parents:

Monday dinner with co-workers: Fuga (blueberry vodka lemonade, jalapeno margarita, spicy California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and Japanese pulled pork tacos)

The blueberry vodka lemonade:

Tuesday lunch with co-workers: Cole's (large prime rib dip sandwich with blue cheese and a side of spicy fries)

Tuesday dinner with my Dad: Engine Co. No. 28 (cobb salad and apple pie a la mode)

Wednesday lunch with co-workers: Daily Grill (crabcake BLT)

Wednesday happy hour with co-workers: Pete's Cafe and Bar (Budweiser tasting, Old Fashioned, Moscow Mule, and mooched on some chipotle fries andsome bacon/cheddar fries)

Wednesday post-happy hour snack with co-workers: Big Man Bakes (mini carrot cake cupcake)

Carbs.  Nom.  Nom.

Wednesday dinner with my friend, Sharon: Bottega Louie (bourbon/Tuaca cocktail and clam linguini)

The most awesome ice cube ever:



Wednesday drinks with Sharon: Seven Grand (whiskey cocktail)

Thursday lunch with co-workers: Daily Grill (fish tacos)

Thursday happy hour with co-workers: Artisan House (stuffed jalapenos, house red wine)

Thursday dinner with co-workers: Fuga (blueberry bodka lemonade, spicy California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and mooched on some fried cheesecake)

Friday lunch with Mom: Canoe House (seared ahi tuna sandwich with sweet potato fries)

Friday dinner with the family: Gale's (rotini four cheese pasta)

Fun wine glasses:



Pre-dinner photos with the family:



A little recovery (and maybe some beverages)

I tried to turn it down a notch this week since I've had some aches and pains - sore right hip, sore right ankle, and sore right shoulder (it sucks having a crooked spine... obviously my right side takes a thrashing).  I had a little bit of fun on school nights.  Cliff's sister and her kids came over on Monday night and Cliff grilled some tasty treats.  On Wednesday night I went out with my friends to Button's for drinks and then The Mule for more drinks.  I didn't plan on getting home at 12:15, but it was one of those impromptu nights that turned out to be a lot of fun.

My friend Betsy (who is training for her first Ironman, Tempe in November, recapped our Wednesday night out here.  I'll just plead the 5th.  But here's a photo to sum up the night:

Weekly workout recap:
Monday: Run (3 miles), swim (3,200 meters)
Tuesday: Elliptical (20 min), weights/abs (10:13)
Wednesday: Run (3.6 miles), weights/abs (10:20)
Thursday: Off
Friday: Run (3.6 miles), elliptical (20 min), weights/abs (10:24)
Saturday: Run (8.5 miles), swim (3,200 meters)
Sunday: Run (3.77 miles)
Total Workout Time: 7:01:15
Total Running Miles: 22.47

Saturday was the big workout day.  Stacy and I met at 5:30 to run (which meant a 4:35 alarm).  We were planning on 8 miles, but I talked her into a bonus half-mile in an effort to avert lane line duty at swim practice.  It was an enjoyable run, with a "cold front" that brought us temps in the low 70s.  We were secretly (or maybe overtly) hoping for an easy swim practice.  The main set was 4 x 400's @ 7:00 descend 1-4.  Stacy and I pushed each other and went 6:11, 6:01, 5:52, and 5:40.  After #3, Stacy mentioned trying for 5:40 on the last one and I thought that was too fast.  We ended up splitting 1:22 on the last 100 (Papa Chuck got our splits) and hitting 5:40... high fives for BFFs and a very good workout.  After that we treated ourselves to some yummy Yogi's breakfast and then hit up Trader Joe's.  I'll be in California next week for a training class for work, so I scored some wifey points bought some pre-prepared food for Cliff to eat for dinner.

Activities

I had another solid week of working out.  Quick recap:
Monday - Swam 3,200 meters
Tuesday - Ran 6.5 miles
Wednesday - Ran 6.6 miles
Thursday - Swam 3,500 meters
Friday - Ran 6.18 miles
Saturday - Ran 6.03 miles, swam 3,000 meters
Sunday - Ran 4.75 miles, swam 3,000 meters
Total Workout Time - 9:18:13

I also managed three evenings in a row of social functions, which is a rarity for me these days.  On Thursday I met my friend Jamie for drinks at Taverna, my favorite happy hour spot downtown.  The wine is $3 during happy hour, and the appetizers are half off (and the Taverna Focaccia rocks my socks).  On Friday I met two friends, Amy and Stephanie, for drinks at Bar Louie on 7th Street.  I ordered the "Bloody Louie" and it came with a meat and cheese treat!

On Saturday evening Cliff and I went to a Team Ridlea Masters Swim Team "Olympic Watching Party" at Papa Chuck's house.  It was great to see everyone, and I'm really happy to be back on the team after quite a long hiatus.  Plus the catered Mexican food and the homemade desserts at the party were fantastic (I definitely swim to eat).