Summer Donut Dash: WPA Edition

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and that the last Donut Dash is upon us!

We saved a kind of super secret donut spot for this last edition. WPA Bakery is more well known for being probably a supplier of delicious cakes and pies to Richmond's restaurant scene including Ipanema Cafe, Garnett's Cafe (one of my favorites), and The Roosevelt. They opened their Church Hill location in 2012 and have been serving their delectable pastries to eager crowds ever since.

WPA is located in one of Richmond's most-historic but I think often most over-looked areas, Church Hill. Thanks to a bustling restaurant scene and Daniel Day Lewis (who stayed in a house in Church Hill while filming Lincoln in Richmond), the area is seeing a revival of epic proportions after suffering from a bad reputation for a very long time.

WPA only makes its wonderful donuts on Sunday mornings, making them kind of a best-kept donut secret. Unlike Dixie or Sugar Shack, the donuts here are classics - I recommend going with can't-go-wrong perfection of a glazed donut. Their style is hard to describe - they are cake donuts, but not heavy at all. I think they are a perfect cross between Dixie and Sugar Shack, making this spot a fitting finale for the Summer Donut Dash.

The route for this 5k is chock-full of great Richmond history - trust me, you don't want to miss it. Katie has put together a great tour and you will definitely feel like you've earned those donuts.

When: Sunday, August 24, 2014. Group departs promptly at 8 am.

Where: WPA Bakery at 2707 East Marshall Street, Richmond, VA. Street parking is plentiful and free.

Course: We'll head straight downhill to cover Richmond's oldest neighborhoods and sights including the warehouse district in Shockoe Bottom, the canal, Shockoe Slip, the Virginia State Capitol, Main Street Station, Lumpkins Slave Jail site, the Poe Museum, and historic St. John's Church. Please note that this area is called Church Hill for a reason - yes, this will be a hilly course! We are keeping the uphills to a minimum and will walk back up the last hill after completing our official 5k at the bottom.

How: Register online here. Pre-registration and completed waiver required; payment in cash or credit can be accepted on site Please arrive early if paying on site. PLEASE NOTE that if you don't get a confirmation email, you aren't registered - make sure you follow through to the last step to ensure proper registration.

Full information about the series can be found on the Food Running Tours! Tab.

The Road to Steamtown: Week 7

We're halfway there having just finished week 12 of 24 official weeks of training.

 

 

4 runs for 29.6 miles

1 mile swim

 

Running miles logged so far: 282.5

STLY: 243.6

 

Training highlights:

• Feeling more and more like a real swimmer these days (as opposed to a amateur flailer). I've been feeling very comfortable with my pattern of alternating 200 yards of free style with 200 yards of breast stroke and decided that it was time to up the ante on the free style. So, this week I swam repeats of 300 yards of free and 100 yards of breast stroke. And guess what? Though it was a bit harder, it still felt good. Additionally, one of the "master swimmers" invited me to join their group, which does work outs on M/W/F mornings. I said I was extremely flattered because I am anything but a "master" swimmer, but I'd think about it - only if she would teach me how to do the elusive flip turn.
• A fantastic runner I would consider a Sister from Another Mother joined us for our Wednesday run and I know I've found another great running buddy and kindred spirit.
• Despite mounting concerns that my foot was going to break in half during Saturday's long run, it went rather well. The 14 whizzed by in no time at all and my cardio is presumably so in shape right now that I never breathed hard. Not once. Waking up at 4:30 am to get there in time to add 6 to the team's scheduled 8 at 7 am was not fun, but we survived. And I took a very long nap when I got home.
• On Sunday, I led the Summer Donut Dash: Dixie Donuts edition. We had nice, overcast weather and a fun group. The 5k wound through Byrd Park, where lots of tidbits of Richmond history were shared. I had been concerned that Byrd Park wouldn't be the most interesting area to run in (historically speaking) but thankfully, it turns out I was wrong. I found a plethora of fun facts that even lifelong Richmonders in the group didn't know. Guess we are doing something right!

Training lowlights:

• Like I said, this was a tough week. Our test run of the Dixie Course on Monday felt like death, even at a 9:00/mile pace. Thank you, 100% humidity.
• Swelling and continued discomfort in my foot really had me freaked out to the point that I ditched speed work on Monday, opted for an easy pace for Wednesday's 7 miler in lieu of tempo, and considered not doing the Saturday long run at all. When I arrived on Saturday morning, I was in pretty low spirits and confessed to T that I was convinced that it was going to break during the run. It bothered me on and off throughout the 14, but being the stubborn runner that I am, I just kept going. My theory is that if it is going to break, I'd rather it just do it full on rather than mess around with a maybe-stress-fracture.

Given all of the drama and anxiety surround my stubborn appendage, I have made the decision to take off from running this week. When I announced this to Husband on Saturday evening, he looked at me like I had lost my mind. He keeps asking me every night, "So... are you running tomorrow?" because he expects me to change my mind.

So far, I've held true to my word. More on that in a later entry.

 

The Road to Steamtown: Week 6

3 runs for 21.5 miles
2 swim sessions; 1 mile each

Running miles logged so far: 252.9
STLY: 219.5

Training highlights:

• ... Ummmm ...
• I managed to finally get two session of cross training in.
• Post long run Sugar Shack trip with some fellow Team Midnight-ers (?). The best part was the donut, but almost as awesome was when we all stood up from our spots on the sidewalk and saw this:

Team Midnight was here

We all found it quite hilarious. (You know you're a runner when you think a butt sweat print is funny and not totally disgusting.) It was a great bonding moment with some Team Midnight newbies and as I drove home, I thought to myself how grateful I am for the experience of MTT and our every growing running family.

Training lowlights:

• Thanks to continued irritability on the part of my foot (will it ever end??), I opted to not do tempo work on Wednesday and did "easy" trails instead. On that run, T tripped on a railroad track and busted her knee wide open (but thankfully not her face or head). She wound up with three stitches and a tetanus shot; I wound up with a serious case of guilt since I had picked the route. In true T fashion, after the fall we dusted her off, slapped on a band aid (my car was conveniently parked nearby for a planned on SAG), and she ran 5 more miles.
• Thanks to continued irritability on the part of my foot (yep, I just said that again) and a sudden case of light-headedness, I did not add any mileage to the team long run on Saturday. Steamtown Contingent was supposed to do 13 and as you can see I did just 11. I'm glad that I didn't because this was the extremely challenging and always-dreaded Riverside Drive route. It was so miserably hot and humid that pretty much of the ladies in the Edge of Midnight pace group ended up going #fullonBarch

I don't look quite as pale in black and white, right?

This foot thing... yeah. I don't even know. I talked to a teammate who own a local running store about it on Saturday during the run. I asked if maybe it was a shoe problem and he said that often when people have pain on the outside and top of the foot, it is because of tension in the calf. He advised me to use a stick on my left calf, looking for a lump or knot in the outside of muscle. Sure enough, I found the lump and rolled the heck out of it, only to be rewarded with a super sore calf and foot the next morning.

So good news is that I think it is all stemming from my left side being just stupid and tight (piriformis hurts too lately - surprise surprise). Bad news is... everyone on my left side hurts. I'm strongly considering headed back to Dr. Cutter so that I can get back to Steve and get my SI checked out, but things are just so crazy right now for me that I don't have the time to deal with it. I guess I should, before I have no choice.

Ah, the boneheaded runner.