So this is my first blog. Not sure I know what I am doing here but here it goes....
I started 2009 deciding I was going to do something for me. That automatically brought me back to running. I've been running since I was 13 yrs old. I can't really imagine not running. Even though I've taken months or maybe even years off over the past 26 yrs, I've always gone back to it. It comes naturally because it's been a constant in my life, like an old friend or something I guess.
So on New Year's Day, with a sore injured calf from running in probably too old running shoes for the few months before as well as running at a less than idea weight, I sat down at my computer and decided to plan out my year of running. I planned races I'd run and the training I'd do to get there. All in an excel spreadsheet of course, I love excel in case you hadn't heard!
One of those early races I found and decided to do was the Biltmore 15K. I had been to Biltmore once since moving to NC. It's about a 4 hr drive from Cary. We went when we first moved here about 4 years ago. We took Owen with us and I was pregnant with Grace. We stayed in a nice hotel in the heart of downtown Asheville, a few miles from the Biltmore Estate. It was lots of fun, particularly hanging out in Asheville and also visiting Chimney Rock Park on the way back where we first hiked with Owen in a rented baby backpack. However the Biltmore visit wasn't the best. It was hard lugging Owen and his "stuff" (babies come with so much stuff!) around the estate and I am not a huge history buff so I can't say I enjoyed the tour that much (we didn't rent the headsets since we wouldn't have been able to focus on the info anyway with Owen there).
So this trip we decided we'd visit downtown Asheville and also tour Biltmore if time allowed and the weather was ok. The race was on Sunday AM, 7:20 to be exact. We stayed at a Residence Inn which was fine, good home made waffles included so can't complain about that. And it wasn't race headquarters but just as close so in retrospect it was probably a better location since it was definitely quieter than a sold out hotel with a bunch of crazy runners who probably get up pretty early.
We arrived Friday night. Had dinner at Rezaz, a Mediterranean inspired restaurant recommended by John from RTR (Raleigh Trail Runners). It was awesome. Great food, service and atmosphere. Then we went to a movie, one without cartoons in it! We saw X-men Origins: Wolverine. Pretty good but then again I am definitely an X-men fan and Hugh Jackman isn't hard to watch!
On Saturday I decided to go for a short run. I hadn't been running for a few days and was feeling a bit sore (calf/ankle issues) and was feeling my confidence slipping. So I got up at 8am which is truly sleeping in for me and drove with my map and Garmin 305 to downtown Asheville to run around a bit. It was a good call. I felt good and got in a 3 mi run. The only downside is that mainly it's the homeless of Asheville who are out that early. Sad to see. But I did get to know the downtown a bit, much more than if I was driving.
After a quick breakfast we headed into downtown Asheville to walk around, shop and have lunch. We stopped at the Laughing Seed, a vegetarian place. The menu looked interesting with Indian inspired dishes. It was one of the best lunches I've had. Food was amazing (veggie pakoras, veggie "sushi" and a crisp sauvignon blanc).
We decided to duck out of the town to see another movie while we still could (the kids were at home with Keith's parents...did I mention that!). I wanted to see Angels and Demons but Keith had his heart set on Star Trek and I did want to see that too so we decided on that. It was a great movie. Great casting, definitely great tie-ins to the old series. I never did get into the later series, I always enjoyed the original, right after the Honeymooners on my little black and white 13 inch TV! Regarding the new movie, I won't say more because I don't want to spoil it.
We returned to downtown Asheville to have dinner at The Market Place. We are nothing if consistent. From a list of restaurants we picked this one based on the menu and then realized it was the same place we ate at when we were in Asheville years before. It was pretty good but we were tired from walking around all day. After grabbing a few truffles at the Chocolate Fetish shop, we headed back to the hotel. I layed out all my race stuff and turned in early. (Continued in PART II).
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