Tag Archives: challenge

Use The Run As Social Time

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I’ve reference this idea before, but I think it is important to repeat over and over.  (Especially because it is my favorite part of running and I do it over and over again.)

“Use the run as social time: See runs as an opportunity to catch up with friends.  It doesn’t have to be dinner, drinks, or coffee.  Get used to the social opportunities running provides. If you enjoy talking, start running and talking.  Avoid trying to run faster or listening to your ipod.  Just enjoy meeting your friends over a run.  Have fun talking about your families, friends, TV, Philosophy, anything.

Run to social engagements: If you’re meeting friends in town run, run there.  If you’re meeting your family on Sunday afternoon in the park, get your husband to drive while you run [or get him to run too!…just saying -cd] Just make sure you’re comfortable in your running gear or that your can get changed easily.  The network doesn’t have to be people you run with; it can be the reward for the run.” -Kara Goucher

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Or you can combine the two as I like to do.  This past Friday, Carl Swedberg, Steve Waterbury, and I become the first 3 people ever to complete the Hollywood Challenge.  The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to run the 4.25 miles from Willows Road PROclub to the Hollywood tavern.  Consume 8 beers (Steve decided being the first run we should do 9, therefore we did.) Run back.  Piece of cake.

What was hard were the games that the local patrons of the Hollywood Tavern play.  We played hit the nail in the log with the tack hammer.  Trust me, that was the hard part of the evening.
run as social time

We had some of America’s finest beer on tap; Coors Light, Bud Light, and Pabst.
run as social time

We also had some amazing canned beers from Olympia (also known as Oly)
run as social time

to Rainier
run as social time

We did make it back. Running the whole way.

The challenge nows lies to you should you choose to accept it….

beer run

Beer Run!

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This weekend the running group met up on a brutally rainy Saturday.  Our mission (and yes only 5 choose to accept it, I don’t know if it was the mission or the rain) was to run 4.5 miles to the hollywood tavern, have around 4.5 beers and run back.  Some things to note:

1. The hollywood tavern only serves PBR, Bud Light, Coors light, and Rainier.  They have the top selection of light beers in the area.

2.  Ragner Relays have taught me light beer has the perfect CHO: Alcohol ratio to run faster in the next leg.

What we failed to realize, however, is the hollywood tavern doesn’t open at 10:45 which is

waiting to get into redhook. luckily they had a fire because I am drenched…you can even see the dew on my pants!

 

when we arrived.  Luckily Redhook opens at 11.  We arrived at 10:53 and only had to dance around in the rain and cold to stay warm (as Strohm so thoughtfully captured —> ) for 7 minutes until they opened.  The 5 of us manned up and finished 3 pitchers.  Not quite the 4.5 we would have at hollywood, but the CHO: Alcohol ratio is slightly skewed with darker beer.

We forgot to stop our GPS while we were waiting to get into Redhook, but we did average faster paces on the way back.  (Around 8:15’s there, sub 8’s on the way home)  I’m not sure if I can credit that to the beer or rain.  We may need to do another trial to get conclusive results 🙂

Moral of the story:  Not all long runs need to be boring.  Make your Saturday long run an adventure.  It is fun to do things on foot! 🙂