Weekend Recap

For Joel's birthday he wanted to run a 50k (32 mile) race - his third so far - and so for the last few months, he been training more than than usual.

During race weeks, Joel tries to up his protein and carbs, and not take in much sugar and alcohol, so for a birthday week - it was a little lackluster.

Friday night, "Race Eve", I made pasta, garlic bread, and pasta, and we watched a movie and went to bed super early since Joel had to leave the house at 4:30 in order to start the race at 6:30.

My girlfriend Kristin and I went out to his course to help cheer him on, so after a quick stop at Starbucks, we were at his race, by 8am and were able to see him at his 4th aid station (mile 15).

Joel's first half of the race went great, and he looked like he had barely run when we saw him! He had a few potato chips, some Tums, and some gatorade, and made his way with his friend Jack for the second half of the run. By this point he was about 1 hour ahead of his PR for a 50k.

 

His first loop took just a little over 2 hours, so he was hoping he would do that pace again for the second half, and finish the entire race under 5 hours. Joel started to cramp around mile 22, and with the heat of the sun getting worse by the minute, his second looped slowed down a little bit.

Either way, he ended up top 30 in the race, finished 32 miles in 5 hours and 31 minutes, and shaved more than thirty minutes off of his best 50k time. It was a huge victory for him and I was beyond proud!

 

 It was really hot by the time he finished (about 12:15pm), so I was really thankful he was done before the day got super, super hot. The three of us hung out for a little bit, Joel drank a lot of coconut water, and then when he was ready to get into the car, we drove to the first brewery we could find ;)

We had a great lunch and a few beers and celebrated Joel's huge win. After lunch, the three of us went back to our house, watched a few movies, hung out, ordered Chinese food, and then went to bed very, very early.

 Sunday morning was one of the laziest mornings I've had in a while, and it was lovely. 

  

Everyone slept in, and even after we were awake, I had my coffee and breakfast in bed and didn't get moving until almost 11.

For most of the day we hung around the house, took a long walk and a visit to the park, and just enjoyed an easy Sunday.

For dinner, we went to A.O.C Wine Bar in West Hollywood and it was fantastic. Easily in my top 5 favorite LA restaurants. 

We went early to take advantage of their happy hour, so we sat at the bar, had small plates and a few glasses of wine and really just enjoyed outselves. 

 It had felt like a while since we went out to a nice dinner just the two of us, and this was just what the doctor ordered. One of my favorite things to do with Joel is just sit at a restaurant, and try and take as long as we can. We like to savor the experience, order slowly, and enjoy the whole "dining experience" as much as possible.

As we were about to leave, Carson Daley walked in, so we tried to hurry to catch a good glimpse of him. We are both big Today Show fans, so we wanted to wish him congratulations on his new baby, but he was out of sight before we had a chance.

We had a great weekend - but I'm glad it's over because that means we are one day closer to getting back home!!