Monday, September 15, 2014

A Full, Fun Weekend

Oh, Monday.  Why must you always come so quickly?  This weekend went especially fast as it was packed full of plans!  Here's what kept me busy this weekend.

On Friday night Phil and I went out to dinner and then went to his friend's birthday get-together.  I had slept really poorly on Thursday night so I battled a bad case of the yawns all night and was happy when we called it a night around 10.  Friday nights are hard!

On Saturday morning I woke up to cold temperatures.  Burr, it was tough to get out of bed.  Cooler temps are easier to run in but this cold spell just came on so fast that I was not loving it.  Luckily it's going to warm up this week.  Phew, I am not ready for cooler weather yet.


Since it was cooler, I kind of over-dressed but I knew I'd shed the hat and my outer layer when I warmed up. 


I ran 13 miles and ended up having a great run.  My pace was slower than last week (9:30) as I stuck with the pace others were running but at the end of the run I knew I could have run further and faster which is always a good feeling.

After the run, I cleaned up and fit in a quick trip to the grocery store before my friend Courtney picked me up so we could get our packets for the bike tour we were doing the following day.  We grabbed lunch together at a food-truck-turned-restaurant that I've been wanting to check out. After she dropped me off, I headed over to visit my friend who is in the midst of getting chemo treatments.  She's fairly home bound as she is trying to avoid germy, public areas so I am trying to visit her once a month as I know she likes having visitors.

After catching up with her and her husband, I headed to my nephew's football game.  My brother is the coach so I've been looking forward to catching a game so I can support both of them.  They played so well and won 26-0!  My nephew is 9 but is so tall, it won't be long and he'll be taller than me!


After being out and about from 7 am until 5:30 pm, it was finally time to head home!  I whipped together lentil enchiladas for Phil and I, which is one of our favorite dishes and this easy Mexican rice.  I can't wait to have leftovers this week!


It was an early night as I started to fall asleep on the couch at about 8:30...  I was exhausted from my full day.

I was up bright and early on Sunday morning for the Minneapolis Bike Tour which is an annual event put on by the Parks & Rec Board that showcases the many parkways Minneapolis has to offer. I had been wanting to buy a bike for awhile so registering for this event motivated me to finally bite the bullet and buy one!  I ended up going with a hybrid which I think I am going to love!
  

3,000 people registered for the bike tour so there were lots of other bikers out there!


It was such a fun event and is something I will definitely do again.  We were all feeling good so we ended up doing the longest option (32 miles).  

My friend Courtney, her mom and I at the final water stop
All smiles after 32 miles

The 2.5 hours flew by but I was definitely ready to give my legs (and bum) a break when we finished. I can already tell that I am going to love biking, though.  Courtney and I already have plans to go for a long ride next Sunday which I am excited about.  I think running will always be my first love, but biking will be a great cross-training activity to do for fun and a great way to see more areas of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

I spent the rest of the weekend doing chores around the house, reading and relaxing.  I needed a quiet end to the weekend after my busy Saturday!

How was your weekend? 

16 comments:

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

You really did have a full weekend! I am the same way on Friday nights, just completely dead. Though I am not going to lie, I was in bed by 9 on Saturday too haha.
Your bike looks awesome! Very impressed that you did 32 miles! I am definitely more of a short ride person... well actually I'm currently not biking at all but in the past :)

Charis Faith said...

Sounds like a very fun full weekend!!! So glad y'all enjoyed the bike tour!

Emilie said...

What a fun weekend! I agree Friday nights are really tough. I love being able to stay home on a Friday night and relax. Way to go on your run! Lately I have not had any juice left at the end of my long runs. It's a great feeling when you know you can keep going. Your bike tour sounds awesome! I am a nervous biker especially when there are a lot of other people biking near me but it's something I really would like to improve at because it really is so much fun! Your enchilada recipe sounds really good. Pete is struggling with eating GF all the time -- now that we live together it's really tough because he doesn't have any "off nights" where he is cooking for just himself. I think the key will be finding good recipes but lately we've been so busy that cooking dinner is almost an afterthought. Hopefully when we are settled in the house we can come up with a good rotation of dinners we both enjoy!

My weekend was busy as well. I had a 10:00 wedding on Saturday morning that ended around 6-ish, but it felt a lot later. I was in bed early that night for my half marathon/20 mile run on Sunday morning, and I spent the afternoon at my grandmother's doing more cleaning and prepping for the estate sale we are holding in two weeks. I was exhausted by the end of the day! Luckily my parents had us over for dinner so we didn't have to think about cooking. I got nothing done around my apartment so tonight is going to be filled with grocery shopping and vacuuming!

katielookingforward said...

I'm hoping to do the bike tour next year! This year and last year I had schedule conflicts, but I would love to join all those people!

Jeanie said...

Talk about a packed schedule! No wonder you were a sleepy girl! Who wouldn't be. Glad you had good weather for the bike tour (though that 39 was colder than we are!)

Rick was on his solo bike-hike in Canada this weekend, though he came back a day early (weather). So I've been sorting old yarn, books, crafty things I don't need anymore for a sale in a couple of weeks. I should head straight to Goodwill from there! Worse thing is -- no one can tell!

Abby said...

Sounds like the perfect weekend full of fun and action! That bike tour sound so fun. Tucson has a bike race in November called the Tour de Tucson - I'd like to do it some day. It's a 60, 80, or 112 mile bike race. Lance has done it several times, in fact!!

That Mexican rice dish looks wonderful!

That's so great you got to go to Andrew's football game! One of the many perks of you being back "home"!

Nora said...

What a weekend! Phew. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Friday night we saw Zac Brown Band in concert; it was worth it (Despite the cold temps and the chilly drizzle/wind that we had going on). Amazing show.

Saturday: helped friends move some furniture & hung out with them for a bit. Met my dad for lunch, discovered our washer decided to die on us so we went shopping for a new one (ick), lots of running around to get ready for my work trip (that I'm coupling with vacation) this week and then Sunday got on a plane bright and early to head to sunny Florida!

Amber said...

You had such a busy day on Saturday! I also had a very busy weekend, and especially day on Saturday, my feet were actually sore on Sunday morning from being on them on our tile floor for so long while I cooked and cleaned in the kitchen! Overall a great fall weekend though, I love getting things done around the house this time of year and just really cleaning and organizing. LOVE the bike you picked out and glad you finally got one. You definitely deserve it. I do like biking but I prefer doing it with people and also when visiting new places. Like I loved biking around minneapolis and Chicago with you and I'm really looking forward to our bike tour in SF! I don't do very much recreational biking in my own city but I do enjoy biking to work.

Leigh said...

Sounds like a fun weekend! I agree with you on Fridays...they are so hard! All I want to do is curl up and watch tv.

Carolina John said...

How cool! 32 miles on a nice new Specialized Hybrid sounds like a ton of fun. Be warned, you'll want to switch to a roadie and start looking at century rides soon enough. (then about 4 years later you'll get sick of the long stuff). ha! Congrats on such a fun ride!

Anonymous said...

That is a packed weekend, but it looks like a great one other then the temps. You're so lucky to live in such a pretty city.

Well this weekend was certainly an interesting one for me. On Friday, as you know, I had one of the scariest experiences of my life and on Sunday we took a really nice hike. How's like for a diverse weekend?

Caroline said...

Fun weekend!! So impressed that you biked 32 miles, my butt starts hurting after like 5 and I am done haha.

Stephany said...

What a weekend! I am tired reading about it. I'm glad you were able to relax on Sunday nights - so good for us to recharge our batteries. :)

Your bike tour sounds SO fun. I wish I lived in a more biker-friendly city because I'd love to buy a road bike and just ride for hours. My kinda exercise!

Marlys said...

Yup, Friday nights are just for snuggling in and doing nothing! I usually mow the lake lawn when we get down there and then crash for the rest of the night.
Your new bike looks great and sounds like the bike tour sounded wonderful.
Visiting a friend who is in treatments is not easy but so worthwhile in the long run! I am sure she appreciated your visit! My heart aches for anyone who is taking chemo!
Our weekend was busy as we drove to and from Chicago, but had a great time celebrating Anna's 3rd birthday!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

What a great weekend!

Those olives on that rice - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! I want!

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

Your photos make me feel the warmth of the fall sun -- there's a certain light it gives off that's kinder than the summer sun. Love it!