Weekend Running Views...and Some Great FOOD to Cancel Out the Miles!

This past Friday - Sunday resulted in 3 entirely different running experiences!  One - at a local forest preserve.  Two, run number 43 with my twins (and my hubby joined in!) in our neighborhood.  Three:  The country roads in Fayette County, IL.  All told - 11 miles covered. 


1.  Izaak Walton Forest Preserve is located in Homewood, IL and supplies great trail running and fabulous scenes...just a little over 1.4 miles from my house.  The current 3.6  mile loop is under construction due to a new waterway at MM 1.7ish that causes a slight detour to the unmarked path.  But all in all, a wonderful way to start your day...whether you are running, biking, or walking your dog. 

2.  Saturday morning all of us ran the Apollo 5k in Homewood.  This race is part of the 3-race circuit in the H-F running community.  We are never able to complete the full circuit since race #2 is always over The Fourth of July - so we always try and do this one for sure, along with the Flossmoor 5k mid September.  We ran it in approximately 29 minutes and felt great.  The twins were great spectators in their stroller - and only told us twice to 'pick up the pace'!.  Anyway, this was race #43 that I have pushed them in!

3.  Sunday morning I stepped outside to not only a warm day - but a WINDY one at that.  It was one of those runs where you don't realize how windy it really is, until you turn around at the half way point and head home.  My time for the first 2 miles was very fast and I felt pretty proud.  But guess what - I quickly realized that HELLO - that's the result of a great tail wind :)  So, the way back to the farm took me quite a bit longer than the way out, but considering those sustained gusts, I was just glad to finally make it back and not have to call the house for a ride back.  I was also pretty bummed that there was no random farm dogs to run with today.  Yep, usually you run past a farm house and the greatest old farm dog joins along and really - it is great company (except for the random stops and cutoffs right in front of you)... But heck, it keeps you on your toes!

'Why' might you ask did I decide to run 3 days in a row - particularly in such windy conditions.  Well, the night before my father-in-law hosted a 'Blooming Luau Party'....yep, lots of good food, beer, and wine.  And guess what, my mother-in-law made homemade fried banana fritters!  I was able to steer clear of them for about a half hour - until someone twisted my arm for a quick try.  Well, 30 minutes later I had consumed five of them....and felt like my stomach was becoming a lunar mass.  So, Sunday morning running really seemed like a requirement after this 'incident'.

Homemade banana fritters:  Think Banana Bread and Funnel Cake all in one!

After a good long weekend of some great mileage, I'm really excited about some nice warm weather running this summer.  Only more good times ahead!