I really packed every minute of this weekend full of amazing and awesome stuff. I started the weekend off right with an acupuncture/facial rejuvenation session with my friend Peri (http://periozkeracupuncture.com/) It was amazing. She is a miracle worker. My skin has never felt so smooth and she worked on a few areas on my feet/ankles where I had a little swelling and pain. On my way home, I tried to contact my friend Lisa to see if Pepperell Skydive was doing night jumps during the full moon. Turns out I had the wrong number for her, but I was able to reach our mutual friend Antonio and meet them for drinks in Downtown Lowell instead. We viewed the moon from the middle of the street and enjoyed dinner and drinks at Fuse Bistro.
Saturday morning I got up early and put on my reflective gear and blinking lights for a little run. I did my 6 mile out and back along 133 up the big hill in Tewksbury. Lucky for my, the road runs east-west so I was able to run towards the sunrise and then see the moon setting on my way back. Nothing crazy pace wise, just nice and easy, although I DID find a dime on the ground. I need to turn in all my loose change at the bank, I think I have probably saved up at least $20 from the coins I find running.
After the run, I showered and headed out the door to drive to Princeton, MA and go horseback riding with my friend Kristen (aka- pocketsize). It was a perfect fall day, sunny and crisp. The leaves were at peak and all the colors of fall - red, orange, yellow, and some browns. I have never riden a horse, but I have always wanted to. I can remember almost getting the chance when I was a little girl. One of the Portland Police mounted officers asked me if I wanted to ride his horse and I was too scared and intimidated by the enormous animal that I chickened out. Not this time, I had a groupon in hand for a 2 hour trail ride and I wasn't going to back out. Can't be any harder than jumping out of a plane right?
This is me on my horse, Hercules. He was the perfect match for me- big, strong, work horse and described as a chow hound. Kristen got the other 'chow hound' on the ranch, Dusty. We were warned to make sure they didn't try to wander to the sides of the trails because they would start snacking. The guide, Sue, was really funny and knowledgable. She did a great job of leading the horses along the trail from her horse, Goldie. The ride went by really fast. Afterwards Kristen and I went out for lunch to chat and catch up since we probably haven't hung out in months, maybe even as long as a year. I had soaps for her that I bought at Downtown Disney in January. Oh and I brought her a bottle of sparkling wine because she just got engaged!!!! Congrats Kristen and Evan!
From lunch I drove straight to Boston to watch some of the Head of the Charles and meet Denise and her boyfriend Ian for drinks. They were going to an Alumni event for Northeastern Rowers, I crashed the party and went as their 'guest'. I expected to just get a few drinks, maybe some food, then head home. Instead we hung out for a while, then after much discussion eventually decided on a dinner place nearby. There was 12 of us all together with all Ian's former crewmates. I'm not exactly short, but in this crowd I felt tiny. It was so much fun. I was seated towards the end of the table a few seats down from Denise so we didn't really get to chat much, but Ian's friends kept me pretty well entertained. I didn't get home until about 11:30pm! That's a super late night for me AND I had a race the next morning.
Sunday was one of my favorite races all year long - The Boston Fire Fighters Local 718 10K. It is a great event that raises money for various charities and supplies unlimited free beer, live music, and raffles after the beautiful course along the south shore of Boston. Plus, did I mention there are fire fighters? I was sort of slow on my 6 mile run the day before so I had low expectations for my pace going into the race plus I got home really late Saturday and didn't sleep much, but I felt pretty good in the first mile. I maintained a solid ~9:30 pace for the whole race and finished in 58:34. After the race, I enjoyed some free beer and made sure I stood right up front for the raffles and it paid off, I won a $100 gift card to the Back Bay Social Club, which I promptly tried to donate back to the Boston Fire Dept, but they wouldn't let me. We took some fun photos with the antique fire engine and called it a day.
I'd say it was a very good weekend. Just wish I had one more day to recover from it. I didn't get grocery shopping, dishes, or laundry done yesterday so I will have to take advantage of my 'rest day' today to be productive and catch up on chores that didn't get done over the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment