Ran another early morning run with the Rockhoppers. For a change of pace, we were running on a paved trail, rather than a more forgiving dirt trial. We started by the Pearl Brewery. We ran south past the Blue Star arts complex and followed the river about 4 miles and then turned around and finished back at Blue Star. It was really great to see all the improvements the city was making along our route. I tried to capture some of the scenery on my iPhone, but had little success.

Total mileage: I think was about 11 miles. I stopped my watch at some point and forgot to restart it. This bummed me out because I threw in a nice sustained sprint, but won’t get to see the stats on it.

The restaurant wasn’t open yet, but they were more than happy to serve drinks. Blue Star brews their own beer, so everyone was pretty stoked to take in a well-earned pint. I had a coffee while everyone else had some wonderful sounding beers. Probably the most wonderful beer was Tom’s: the beer he was served had several lipstick prints on the glass! Gross!

I ordered the pork belly and eggs and potatoes. My stomach was grumbling, and when I finally got my food, I was slightly disappointed. The food was okay, but not great. The potatoes had a bit too much thyme for my taste. Worst of all, the portions were too small. I was still quite hungry after I cleared my plate. I should have ordered the burger and fries.

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This was the last long run before Nueces, where I will be running my very first 50 miler! I am looking forward to this taper because I feel plenty worn down. I’m definitely taking the next two days off, possibly three. And then just some easy runs on Thursday and Friday. My goal for the week is to get my nutrition squared away, which basically means eating a ton of carbohydrates all week. I thought I would try and keep a food diary for the week, but I’m feeling wishy-washy on making the effort. Maybe I’ll Instagram all my food! That would be way easier, and way hipper. Hmmm…