weekend stew

No, I didn't make stew this weekend. (Although the weather was good stew weather...overcast, even a little cool, rainy...)
But the events of the weekend were a little like tossing a bunch of ingredients that you like in a big old soup pot, letting it simmer, and eventually coming out with a fabulous result.
Friday night brought an art show (my students are amazingly talented!) and a great catch-up session with Laurie (who sadly...for me...moved to Boston last fall).
Saturday brought uncertain weather and a 90 mile bike ride. And, well, those two things don't really get along in my world. So...a bunch of us headed to the PTC to do a 4.5 hour trainer ride. That was definitely a record for me. Never been on the trainer for that long in one sitting. THANK GOODNESS for Chrissie who coached us through the whole thing. Seriously, even with good music, interesting IM videos, and friends all around, 4.5 hours on the trainer is tedious. Not to mention tiring. So having Chrissie coach us made the time pass much more quickly. And it made me push myself, which I did. I really did. And that was cool.
Quick brick with Jess after...quicker than I would normally go but I didn't want to fall too far behind Jess. When we got back to the PTC she said, "Good job. I nearly ran you into the ground, huh?" I panted, "Yes. What was up with that?" And like a good teammate she said, "I know you could do it." I told her it was a good thing she got that speediness out of her system because our 20+ mile run would not be done at a sub-9 pace!
Saturday afternoon was full of more friends...hooray! Coffee with Rebecca...long overdue and wonderful as always. Phone call with Blythe...also long overdue and wonderful as always. And then a game time decision not to go to the Old Settler's Music Festival. I really needed to rest rather than go the music festival BUT I really wanted to see Patty Griffin and Jimmy LaFave so I was ready to go. And then the skies got dark. And then the skies opened up with thunder and rain. And Amy and I were glad that we'd decided to stay home! Early to bed...and 9 hours of sleep (!!!!!) so that I could get up for a 20+ miler with Jess. (Running that is.)
We did a route that took us from Barton Springs, up Exposition, across 35th to Jackson and then on to Bull Creek and Hancock and eventually Burnet, up Burnet to Anderson Road, turn back around and head south until Justin Lane, Justin over to Lamar, and "down" Lamar all the way to the trail...quick trip up the north side of the trail to I-35 and then over to the south side of the trail back to BSP. Right around 23 miles. Nice. With a steady, conversational pace. And I actually felt pretty darn good the whole time. EXCITING. Don't get me wrong, the parking lot at BSP was a welcomed sight and I was moving very slowly after but I never hit the proverbial "wall" that I've hit on other runs. Maybe this is improvement?
A soak in the springs...breakfast tacos + coffee at Whole Foods...and then power washing at Amy's!!! Woo-hoo!!! I love that sort of thing so I was excited when Amy suggested I could come over and help. Her house now looks sparkly and clean...it's VERY cool. And since we worked so hard, we had to treat ourselves to some food...YUM. I was super hungry. Good thing that I ate before I went to the grocery store or else I would have bought everything in sight. I forget how hungry a 23 mile run makes me...for the rest of the day.
A quiet evening of work, laundry, cleaning, catching up with family - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!, and cooking/baking...and then a VERY pleasant small world story that I just have to share with you.
So on Friday when I was talking to Laurie (friend mentioned at beginning of blog who is now in Boston) we were talking about the Boston marathon and how crazy the city of Boston goes over it. I inquired if she was planning to cheer and she said, "Yeah, I think so." I told her she HAD to...partly because I had a couple of friends running it and I couldn't be there to cheer them on and because all runners LOVE the folks who are cheering for them at races. Fast forward to Sunday...I get an instant message from Dionn (T3 training buddy...fellow walker along the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene last summer during IMCDA...been training like a MANIAC for Boston...goooooo, Dionn!). She says, "Elizabeth! Guess who I ran into today here in Boston? Your friend Laurie!" I literally let out a yell in my living room. I'm sure my neighbors were slightly worried. Anyway, they were both on the "T" on Sunday evening and Laurie spotted someone in a UT jacket with a few people with Rogue Running jackets. In true Laurie style (which I love!), she approached them and said, "Are y'all from Austin?" And from there, the conversation began...yes...they train with Rogue...Laurie was just talking to me the other night about some friends who were running Boston...was I there? No...do I train with Rogue? No. But I train with T3...Dionn chimes in, "Who's your friend?" Laurie replies, "Elizabeth Guice". And, well, insert the Disney "It's a Small World" tune here because I'm sure that "T" car in Boston was filled with all sorts of shrieks and laughter. Anyway, for some reason, it just did my heart good for this sort of lovely randomness to happen in this world.
Perfect way to end my "weekend stew"...a mixed pot of all sorts of things that I love, simmering to the point of being just right.