How to actually attend your buddy's fundraiser this time!

You may recall a post last month entitled "How NOT to attend your buddy's fundraiser" about my teammate Renee. She was having an event close to my house, and it sounded fun, so I thought I should go. Things went wildly, horribly wrong and I ended up nursing a beer and watching Pirates of the Caribbean instead.

However, last night offered a chance for redemption. She and her lovely husband Brad were having another fundraiser and I was bound and determined to make it to this one! As a companion piece to the earlier post, I give you "How to actually manage to attend your buddy's fundraiser in 5 easy steps."

1. Put the right time on the calendar. It's amazing what this one simple thing can do for you!


2. Don't get your car stuck on the hill next to the driveway. This is much easier to avoid when there is NO SNOW on the ground!

3. Notice that your wallet is rather anemic and stop by an ATM to get some funds. After all, if you have no money to spend, Renee and Brad can't get their percentage!

4. Hmm, you're also a little low on gas. Even though it's not a lengthy drive, better safe than sorry. Fill up the tank.

5a. Note with delight that there is more than ONE LANE to get in and out of the event site! No backing up hundreds of feet and getting a giant crick in your neck! No white-knuckled frying of eggs with your tongue!

5b. Also, there is plenty of parking! Parking galore! Parking as far as the eye can see!

Ta-da! Look, I made it! I actually got to see Renee and Brad in person! They're a little backlit, but still an adorable couple nonetheless!

This is much better than drinking a beer in front of the TV. And you can never have too many wings!

Renee also got in on the fun with this St. Paddy's Punch. I didn't try any, but I hear it tasted wonderful.

Brad fuels up for his next walk with a Dubliner--an awe-inducing pile of bread, roast beef, mushrooms, gravy, cheese, and mashed potatoes. Carbo-loading has never been so delicious!

Renee's mom was also there, but was camera-shy, and her son also came and ate dinner but left before I got there. The fundraiser was that Brad and Renee got 20% of the receipts from 5-8 PM, which is why I ordered the largest possible platter of wings. My husband and I ate some more of them tonight, and there will be some for lunch tomorrow, and... Renee and Brad were very close to their fundraising goal and hoping last night would put them over the top. Good luck, guys, and I hope you made it!

In running news, today I ran 4 miles at the outdoor track, a place I have not been to in three months! There was a track team practice while I was there, but one of the coaches said I could run my laps anyway. It probably helped that I was wearing my Team in Training tech shirt.

I wanted to go to the track so I wouldn't have to run any hills. I'm still kind of sore from the weekend and would really like to feel normal again. The outdoor track is a regulation-size track, so I "only" had to run 16 laps in total. I ran my first mile in 10:22, way too fast, especially for the first mile, and then proceeded to run the exact same pace for mile 2--another 10:22! Then I made myself walk a lap before running 7 more laps to get up to 4 miles. I felt pretty wrung out by the time I was done, but it was "hot" (56 degrees! I wore shorts and short sleeves outdoors for the first time this year!) and I hadn't brought any water because I didn't want to get stuck carrying it around if I wasn't allowed on the track. My watch said 43:10 when I was done, which comes out to a 10:48 pace per mile, even including the quarter mile I walked.

I was pretty sore after I was done and made sure to stretch thoroughly when I got home. I didn't do my stretching yesterday since it was my rest day. Big mistake. I won't do that again.