Tour de Brewers 4

I needed 13 miles last Saturday but I wanted to go to a local 10k. I started my morning with 10.75 miles at a local park with a running friend then headed out to the 10k, the 4th Tour de Brewers. Make no mistake this is a fun run, not a race. Runners include everyone from runners who don't drink, to college students all in for a party. The run starts at Tin Roof and from there goes to three local breweries covering about a 10k in the process. The $20 fee covers 3 beer tastings and a tech t-shirt as well as a donation to the Dannon Project. We have run 3 of the 4 times the run has been held only missing Sept 2013 when we were at Disney. As the run starts the crowd of runners is split, half head to Avondale while the other half go to Good People in and attempt not to overwhelm any location at once. The runners do meet up at Cahaba but by then the pack is well spread out. Our friend Chris joined Mike and me and we took the dogs. It is a great run for my lab Max because he gets rest stops! Millie could run for miles and miles, Max not so much! We just ran and talked about everything from work to beer to our next races. Chris committed to registering for a 2015 Disney race! It will be so much fun to go to Disney with his family too. Tour de Brewers 5 is already on our calendar for this fall!

1st 20 mile run done!

The Knoxville Marathon is 30 days away! My husband and I did 18 miles 2 weeks ago which involved a good bit if walking after mile 15 and his knee gave him problems. Our long run route starts at Orr Park and then we run different 5-8 mile routes from there with the park being home base for water and GU rest breaks. Mike really enjoys the Parks Trail so we set out on that route first. The trail is mainly crushed gravel, but there are short stretches that are primitive trail. There is also a water fountain for a quick water break at College Lake. After a break for GU and Gatorade at the car our next loop took us into a nearby neighborhood that I run frequently. I was glad to be back on the roads, but the route has several good hills! Our final route took us down Main Street, and around our local college campus. We finished with one last mile around Orr Park. We averaged 10:30 pace for most of the run and I only walked on the primitive trail. Mike's knee was good too. The weather was fabulous around 60 and breezy. All in all we felt like the run was a success! We took a short walk and stretched before going to pick up ME who spent the afternoon at my parent's house. Mike took kid duty so I could get the horses fed and go to the grocery store (note to self, shop for groceries BEFORE 20 mile run!). We finished the night as a family watching The Little Mermaid on ABC Family. This morning we are both feeling sore, but nothing hurts! I'm sore across my shoulders which seems strange, guess I was tense yesterday. Now to get up and get this week started! Another 40 miles to fit in around everything else, but I wouldn't have it any other way!