Pat's Run 2.0

Pat's Run number two is in the books! 

And we made an enjoyable weekend of it. Chris and I went down to Tempe Friday night to run a wedding errand. Then we picked up my race packet and went to dinner at Oregano's. 

It wasn't the most amazing food ever, and the environment was a little noisy, but we enjoyed our time nonetheless.

My Italian flag lasagna (Seriously, though, the garlic bread was the best part!)

Then we walked around Arizona Mills Mall. 

Look at this lego statue!

And made a quick walk through IKEA. I mean why not?

He went to his sister's house and I went to my trusty Drury Inn. Drury is expensive, but quality is consistent. I somehow got a king room with a whole office area. 

Too bad I was just there long enough to sleep and head out again!

The pre-race pinning of the bib!

Then it was race day! I got up at 5 am. Chris picked me up at 5:30 and we were off to the Metro parking. We rode the Metro and then walked to the race corrals at ASU stadium. Some of the vendors were already out of giveaways, but we still picked up a few goodies.

And took a pre-race photo.

I got into my corral about 6:45 am. I was in Corral 4 this year, which was way better than Corral 13 two years ago. There were still 1,000 people per corral, though (28,000 racers total).

This year, it felt a little cramped.

The road felt congested too.

But I heard the national anthem. Our corral was led by a University of Arkansas graduate, which was pretty cool, since I moved here from Arkansas. 

The end of the race felt a little hard this year. I drank a little water on the way, but I felt a little like I wanted to vomit by the end. Was I running too hard, or was it the heat? I don't know.

But I finished.

 And I found Chris. (He took this photo.) 

That equaled success with all the people that were there!

We waited awhile for the Metro, but that's okay. People in Corral 28 were getting off the Metro when we got to the station. Corral 18 was starting when I finished. I felt like we made good time.

Post race, we brunched at The Egg and I with Chris' sister and family. We only had to wait 25 minutes to get a table, and the food came out fast, so I felt it was a success.

My Hiker's Benedict

We went to a game store in Gilbert, came home, and I did stuff at home and then made dinner.

Cauliflower carbonara, boiled carrots with parsley, and homemade freezer garlic bread

I mean sunshine, movement, and cooking are therapy for me, so why not do them all on the same day? 

It was a good weekend. 

Thank you, Lord!

Butterfly Run 2.0

I like running. Maybe I'll do a post some other time about all the reasons why, but this post will be about one particular time I liked running: The Butterfly Run this past weekend in Tempe.

The Butterfly Run is a partnership between Nationwide Children's Hospital and Big Lots. It is designed to bring awareness to pediatric behavioral health issues and raise money for research into the causes of and treatment of the same. This was my second time running the race (a recap of my first is here) and I will run it again if I can. I like running, but I'm also passionate about the mental health of children.

The course this year was once again at Kiwanis Park. We went around the opposite way around, however. I did make all the turns and got in the full race this time, unlike last year when I had to run around a little extra to get in the 5K.

One of my friends ran with me, and my best friend from Arkansas watched, so that made the race extra fun. I've been sick and haven't been running that much or that hard lately. I've also been focusing more on physical therapy for my dystonia and gaining muscle than I have been on speed training. But somehow, I made really good time and set a personal record on this course. I also got first place in my gender/age division (only six people, but still, I'm thankful). 

The weather Saturday was beautiful and I got to go to brunch and spend time with my best friend after the race. We ate at The Uprooted Kitchen, wandered the gardens surrounding it, and then went shopping at Marshall's. 

I like running for a lot of reasons, but this weekend, I particularly liked it for the ways it allowed me to connect with causes and people I care about. My heart was filled and I came back from my "mini-vacation" a happy girl. Thank you, Lord!