{TRI}ed and true

October 27, 2011 / FreshlyMinted / 3 Comments

I am SO PROUD.

The Husband, who loves sports and games and golf, but is not terribly fond of pointless running (umm… remind me why we have to get sweaty if no one is even keeping score?!), successfully completed his first mini-Tri last weekend!

After an already great weekend, the two of us, along with our friends Destrey and Sheri (remember them from this adventure?), competed in a fun, low-key tri hosted at a local University. It consisted of a 250 yd. swim, followed by corn-hole, a 4 mi. bike ride, an egg race and a two mi. run. It was a blast, and the perfect way to ~~attempt to~~ get the Husband hooked on racing ; )

It was a small group, but we did well (Destrey got second place!). The Husband tore it up in the pool, and I only barely got an edge on him during the run. We’ve been swimming two days a week for about a month, and it’s been amazing to see his progress. He was brave just to jump in and try with such short notice (we only decided to do the race a few days before) and I think I might even be able to convince him to do another in the spring. It would be easier to persuade him if the required attire didn’t include obnoxious amounts of spandex…but I’m not complainin’ :)

Haha…awkward.

Anyway… to reward ourselves for a superior performance, even in nippy October weather, we enjoyed a post-race lunch at Wilson’s Sandwich Shop. It is a depression-era landmark, famous for its “Mity Nice Hamburgs” and “frosted malts”. Founded in 1936 by Stub Wilson, the meat for the burgers is ground fresh daily, and it beats any other fast-food hands down for quality and price.

You can’t go wrong with a hamburg, fries and a malt, but they also have awesome homemade pie, hot dogs, chicken, chili and spicy black bean veggie burgers (my choice for lunch – yum!). At Wilson’s, however, you CAN go wrong with how you order. It is an art form, and if you do it wrong you’ll get a glare and maybe even a tongue-lashing. Reminiscent of the “soup nazi“, these unwritten rules are part of this restaurant’s charm. It also makes it easy to spot newbies (like us!) who can’t seem to get it quite right…

Watch this video to learn more about Wilson’s! (And if you visit me, I might take you there… or try to get you addicted to racing. Maybe both).

Perfect end to a great weekend.

More adventures await!

{Horizontal} Hundred

September 12, 2011September 12, 2011 / FreshlyMinted / 5 Comments

Mission accomplished.

I rode 100.1 miles with Valerie & Destrey (it was their seventh Anniversary…that’s true love right there!), Sheri and Kevin. We made a great team, and had a wonderful ride.

And, I found a neon yellow jersey at the expo…and that just made everything better.

We especially made a great team when Destrey picked up a huge dead raccoon when we volunteered to sweep the course, and when I left my gloves at our first stop, and the guys rode all the way back to retrieve them (Thanks, guys: )

My contribution was boosting morale with witty comments and entertaining the group by attempting to ride without using my hands at mile 89.

They really appreciated the diversion : )

We spent exactly 6 hours, 43 minutes and 55 seconds in the saddle, and the most interesting things we saw were:

23 3/4 flat frogs
10,000 acres of corn
Other flat animals
A guy with a beer on a lawnmower
Soy beans
People peeing in the woods
Beautiful, crumbling brick houses
Scary dogs
A kid on a porch with binoculars

This list gives you a glimpse of our level of excitement throughout the day. The cookies at mile 75 were a high point… but we loved each and every minute of it (almost…I could have done without 57-65 and 90-97. Wind and aching legs are not my friend. And drafting scares me).

The Husband met us for lunch, and cheered for us when we crossed the finish line. He even greeted me with this AMAZING sign:

“Hancock Horizontal Hundred Hottie” or “HHHH”….he’s so clever!

Overall, it was a great experience, and a wonderful way to celebrate my 25th. Thanks to all of the Hancock Horizontal Hundred volunteers and organizers!

“The Team” – We’re done!

After showers and lots of ice, we hobbled over to our favorite local Mexican restaurant for dinner…. eating tortilla chips with abandon is a beautiful thing.

Nothing like a little ice and Kombucha to recover. And Murder She Wrote re-runs.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, the “no hands” attempt was a success.

Now on to the next adventure! (It’s this weekend…’hang tight’ for another fun post!).

Quarter Century….

August 23, 2011August 29, 2011 / FreshlyMinted / 3 Comments

I’m turning 25 next month and it scares me a little…

I keep thinking, “What did I want to accomplish by the time I was 30?”. I can check marriage and a house and a real job off the list (some undeserved good fortune there for sure), but what about kids, world travel, uncover hidden athletic abilities, develop a keen sense of style, local fame (hey, this is reasonable, right?) and my first ~~million~~ several hundreds of thousands in the bank?

There are so many inspiring young people around me, I feel like I need to truly jump in and make some things happen. Some things I think just weren’t meant to be, but a few of those I’m making a concerted effort to achieve. The “athletic abilities” category seemed to be the most easily attainable at the moment, so my latest goal is: A 100 mile bike race.

After my first Tri this summer

I’m new at the bike thing – I’m a runner that is branching out. But, when this opportunity came along and happened to be right after my birthday, it just seemed too appropriate to pass up: Quarter of a century, riding a “century”. My butt may never be the same…. but hey – I gotta check those “Before 30 bucket list” items off when I get the opportunity :)