food, furniture, and fun: high point race report

May 3, 2009

mini-trip recap
i am really into short little weekend trips these days! i enjoyed fitting in some adventure this weekend, but love that i still have today to chilllllll and clean the house and all that jazz. plus, taking these trips mean that josh and i get to spend quality time together away from our routine, and i love that. it’s easier to put feelings about work and stress aside when we are exploring new places, even if we don’t do much more than run a race (or spectate!) and sample the local cuisine.

we were talking yesterday about all the places we’ve traveled to in our home state of NC. in addition to exploration of various parts of the triangle (raleigh, chapel hill, durham, carrboro, cary, hillsborough) our jaunts have included:

☆ asheville
☆ wilmington
☆ charlotte
☆ maggie valley/blue ridge mountains
☆ asheboro
☆ nags head/outer banks area

i also went to emerald isle around the time of college graduation. this was a memorable road trip with several fabulous girlfriends, and was tons of fun despite my having shingles.

anyway, so this trip was to high point for the nc half marathon. we headed out on friday evening (josh actually got out of work at a reasonable hour, and i left clinic at an amazing 5 pm!). the drive was short — less than an hour, or at least it would have been if we hadn’t gotten mildly lost around greensboro (my fault).

welcome to high point: furniture capitol of the WORLD (according to josh)

this is not a chest of drawers — it’s a building! and yes, those are socks hanging out of the 2nd level.

after dropping our bags off at the non-glamorous but spectacularly convenient hotel high point, we headed to dinner at nobles high point, which i just picked based on a couple of online reviews and its proximity to the hotel (ie, next door).

nobles was huge! however, by the time we got there at 8:30 pm, it was nearly empty. i don’t know if there had been a large crowd earlier that just emptied out, but i’m guessing that high point might be feeling the economic crunch a bit because it just looked a little deserted. our waitress seemed thrilled to have customers, and this all sounds kind of sad, but actually we had a great experience. the atmosphere was very homey, we got lots of attention, and the food was delicious.

i started with a salad — more specifically, an NC apple & arugula salad with port cherries, candied walnuts, gorgonzola, and balsamic vinaigrette. i always love this combination of flavors and my choice did not disappoint. then, i deviated from the traditional entrees and got a pizza (margherita pizza basil, local tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, marinara) from the appetizer menu for my main course. rich in carbs, this the spot for a late pre-race dinner. with the ‘za, i enjoyed a glass of california zinfandel — red wine is my pre-race tradition. obviously, i take hydration very seriously. josh had scallops and salmon, both of which were very good.

i am happy to say that, as mentioned in the previous post, i ate mindfully, which means that i did not go home worried about GI tract rupture. we crashed in our hotel (a 30-second walk away!) and set the alarm for 6 am. when it went off, i showered (i don’t know why, i just wanted to be clean for the race!) and was surprised to see crowds milling about outside the window as i put on my race garb. we were that close to the starting line! it was a great experience being able to just basically roll out of bed and arrive at the race — i’ve never gotten to do that before.

i managed to scarf down an oatmeal bar for pre-race fuel. unfortunately, there was only one misstep in my calculations — no time for coffee. fortunately, i survived to tell the tale, but i really did feel rather sluggish and was rewarded with a caffeine-withdrawal headache immediately post-race.

so yeah, the race! it was fun, but was hilly and i never got the ‘whee! this is awesome!’ feeling that i had at charlottesville. my race time was nearly identical (1:52:02 — an 8:33/mi pace), but getting it hurt more. my analysis attributes this to a multifactorial combination of unexpected hills, a headwind, humidity, warmer temperatures, race fatigue, and caffeine withdrawal.

running on by

furniture-shaped medal: YES, it’s a running chair.

post-race footage
click to find out what josh did while i ran 13.1 miles, and to see me provide some commentary with burning, stinging, eyes:

and now it’s sunday
so far, the day’s accomplishments have included:

1) eating breakfast
2) catching up on everyone else’s blogs
3) writing this post

the april me might feel bad about this because i have a lot of little things to do, but mindful-me is smiling and contented. i now feel rested and ready to tackle some of the things on my list, and really there is no shame in enjoying a slow weekend morning. happy sunday!

————————————————————————-

5.2.09

workout: 13.1 mi @ 8:33/mi pace average — as in, the half marathon!

confession: i totally forgot to floss last night.

6 Comments

  • Reply Run Sarah March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    Awesome race and amazing time! I love the drawers building, how awesome.

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    A running couch, definitely original! Nice job out there. It was a warmer weekend. Enjoy the rest of today.

  • Reply Susan March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    I love that medal! Definitely one of a kind!

  • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    inmytummy: i answered on your site. asheville is great!

    jennyN: no hip pain at all! i hope this means i’m through with it, but since it’s happened twice now i am guessing that it may be something i always have to watch out for.

    as for josh running the race — maybe someday he’ll get into running again! we like to dream about doing the maui marathon together someday.

  • Reply Jess March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    Work internet is too slow to view the video. Sad!

    Great job this weekend! That dresser/building is super cool. I don’t know how you run after coffee.

  • Reply Cindy March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    fantastic race time, doctor! and the medal is so so cute. i can’t get over the building that looks like a chest of drawers. that’s hilarious!

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