Good morning, my friends! I hope you all had fun and active weekends. I spent mine in Richmond with my friend Ashley!
Those of you who have been reading for awhile will remember Ashley as my original running buddy – we trained for my first 10 miler, my first half marathon, and lots of shorter races together, too. She’s down in Richmond for grad school and I miss her so!
We started talking awhile ago about planning a Richmond weekend and decided it would be fun to plan the weekend around a race! Ashley recommended the XTERRA trail race series and I was fully on board. We convinced our friend Sokphal to join for the race, too, although she wasn’t able to stay for the whole weekend!
Ashley (on the right) is rocking one of my fANNEtastic t-shirts! :)
The race was on Saturday morning – it had been a rainy few days leading up to it and there was a slight drizzle going when we arrived at the race starting area. Not exactly ideal conditions, but we were up for an adventure.
It was a small race, so checking in to get our bibs and hitting the porta-potties was no problem and we were ready to go with plenty of time to spare.
The race had a 10k and half marathon option – we all went for the 10k. At 8:30, we were off!
The race had apparently been rerouted some due to the rain (the more wooded trails would have been too dangerous/muddy), but it was still a cool course and it was well organized – lots of volunteers directing us and water stops, too. Plus, lots of bridges, water, and pretty trails!
Up we go!
One of my favorite parts was this steep climb in a pretty wooded area. It was a little backed up so everyone was walking up it, but we weren’t in a hurry. :) Those steps were STEEP!
When we started the race, the skies were gray but it wasn’t raining, but about 20 minutes into the race the skies opened up and it began POURING.
Within seconds, we were all soaked and having a blast. Running in the rain is one of those things that I don’t do nearly often enough – it’s so fun! Made us feel like kids again. :)
Unfortunately I had to put my camera away so it didn’t get soaked and ruined (thankfully I had my trusty waterproof SPIbelt with me to put it in!), but we had SUCH a blast jumping in the puddles, running through the pretty trails, and just enjoying being out and about. A BIG thank you to all the volunteers who were out on the course – while running in the pouring rain is really fun, standing around in it watching other people run is probably not as fun. So thank you – we really appreciated you! :)
Near the end of the course we went over a really cool suspension bridge, so I snuck my camera back out for some pictures.
In the picture below you can see the rain pouring off the sides of the bridge!
The three of us finished together, soaked, muddy, and triumphant, in about 58 minutes. What a fun race. :)
Instead of a meal, they were giving out these dog tags! Cool.
Thanks for the fun morning, XTERRA!
After getting cleaned up and leaving our clothes and shoes hung up to dry off, the three of us headed to brunch. Thank you to those of you that gave recommendations via Twitter and Facebook! We decided on Millie’s Diner.
We knew from the reviews online that there would probably be a wait, but it wasn’t so bad – maybe 20 minutes. The restaurant was really loud and the service wasn’t great, but the food was as delicious as everyone said it would be!
After much debate, I went for the “veggie mess” – basically eggs, lots of veggies, white cheddar cheese, and some spices all scrambled together and topped with avocado. I had them add some crab to mine, too – love eggs and crab together! It came with some awesome potatoes on the side. Yum.
Other highlights of the weekend included a Friday night yoga class at Project Yoga Richmond:
A delicious dinner of chicken pho and some bubble tea at Pho So 1:
Exploring Maymont Park on Saturday afternoon (it turned into a beautiful day by the afternoon!):
Delicious sushi at Akida Japanese and a movie (we saw “The Internship” – silly but fun) on Saturday night:
And one more delicious brunch on Sunday morning before hitting the road back to DC. We hit up Kuba Kuba and loved it – great Cuban coffee, great friendly service, and really delicious food – I had a fun variation on huevos rancheros. Yum, yum!
I’d never really been to Richmond before and I have to say, it was super cute! Lots of nice neighborhoods and all sorts of great local restaurants. I’m excited to visit it again in November when I’m back for my first full marathon!
What did you guys get into this weekend? Any fun races or good food?
Have you ever run a race in the rain?
Looks like a fun race and a nice trip! I always enjoy trips to Richmond — it’s pretty easy to get to from DC and such a cute town. I was in Chicago for work and before I left Saturday, I had a great 4 mile run along the lake. It was so gorgeous and so many runners were out. I love running in different cities!
Chicago is an awesome city for running, too!
I’m from Chicago originally and I miss the city a lot! The lake front running path is clutch!
Yes, it was beautiful and full of runners! Such great scenery for a run!
What a fun race! I was focused on where I was stepping that I had to remind myself to enjoy running in the rain! My first drenched race! :) Ashley has me hooked on the Earl Grey latte now (delish) and love your photos of Maymont Park!
I fell in love with my hubby at Millie’s :-) Now our special place!!
Awww! :)
anthony and i also went to Pho So 1 when we were in Richmond for the Richmond Half Marathon last year! So yummy, so random. Looks like a fun, muddy race!
I had a great 4 mile run this weekend :) I’ve never run a race, but I’ve run in the rain.
Looks like it was a great race! And also looks like it was very steep, love all the photos though as it looked like a great race.
That sushi looks delicious :)
Looks like a really fun race! I love it when races mix it up with different terrain (stairs and bridges in this case) instead of just a straight race. Your brunch looks fantastic!
Looks like you had a great weekend. And that suspension bridge looks kinda awesome!
I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I took the nutrition class with you at NOVA all those years ago…and I’ve been following your blog and recommending it to other people ever since. = ) Some of your recipes are my standard favorites. = )
I am in a graduate nursing program at VCU in Richmond, now, and I love that you came down and enjoyed the city! AND, I’ve run the Richmond marathon and think it’s a fabulous race! You’ll love it as your first!
Aw, how fun to hear from you! Thanks for continuing to read and recommending it to others, too. :) Glad to hear you’re doing well! Excited for Richmond in November!
Looks like a great weekend!
I’ve never run in the rain, but I prefer to run when it’s cloudy outside – no need for sunglasses bouncing around/squinting in the sun. But holy moly, you had a lot of rain! It’s probably a good thing those steps were backed up so no one hurt themselves by slipping.
I love the dog tag idea! Glad you had a good time. :-)
Don’t you love Maymont? I hope you did the house tour. I used to live in Richmond – loved it there. Many good restaurants and cool places to go. Looks like a fun trip.
Love the dog tag medals! Its always cool to see the different swag that races offer, it’s one of my favorite parts about running :)
First of all, Im so jealous that you ran the X-terra 10k. Im from Virginia and have always wanted to do that race, but it never worked out.
Second, I have done a few races in the rain. The worst was a small triathlon in NC several years ago that we did in a freaking torrential downpour. It was ridiculous. Like, I had had to pour water out of my bike and run shoes before putting them on. Running races in the rain are kinda fun if its warm, but Ill pass on the bike!
Ha yeah I’d pass on the bike in the rain, too!
No races this weekend, although I’m hoping to do a fun 10k next Sunday! I have indeed run a race in the rain; an 8k in October – in Canada. It was frigid! Thankfully I had thermal running tights ;) That race was also the first (and hopefully only) time I forgot my bib at home!!
Rain + cold would not be as good, ha! Thankfully it was hot out this weekend. :)
Looks like a crazy course with all of the stairs but sounds like it was a fun one. Thank you for sharing your experience!
What a cool race! I love the dog tag idea!! Running in the rain looked a bit cold!! Maymont Park looks really peaceful!
you missed the bacon festival that was in richmond on sunday?!? keep it in mind for next year!
I know!!! We saw that but had to get back to DC. Boo!
I ran a turkey trot one year in the freezing rain. It was comical because I wore my brother’s oversized hoodie because I was so cold. Ironically, it was a PR for me at the time!
My worst run in the rain was a marathon training run (20 miles). I took a half day from work on a Friday to get the run in before going to a wedding on Saturday and the sky opened around mile 5 and didn’t let up until mile 15. I had strangers offering me rides and at one point I took shelter under an awning and a woman brought me a towel. What a mess!
Oh man – 20 miles in the rain would NOT have been so fun!
I want to do one of the Xterra races but I will need to train with more trail runs!
Running in the rain looks like so much fun!!
The race looks like so much fun! When it’s a fun mud run race like that, I bet the rain just added to the fun of it. I would’ve felt like a kid again!
Oh my stars, Kuba Kuba is Jason & my favorite place in Richmond. SO delish.
I love Maymont park. I just added that to my summer bucket list.
What a fun race! Running in the rain always makes me feel like a kid.