Wednesday, November 26, 2014

A Date With My Daughter

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

Kennedy is a HUGE fan of the Hunger Games…it was the first "grown-up" book series she really read and she loved it (she has a great passion for reading, thankfully!).  After finishing the books she convinced me to read them as well and I enjoyed them quite a bit too…certainly a lot more than I expected to.  We have seen the first two movies and with the latest film coming out this past Friday, a Daddy/Daughter Date Night was in order!

the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-banner

We started our night with dinner at The Works, where we had some awesome gourmet burgers.  I went for the "Barking at my Cow" burger off their Cooking With Beer menu…topped with brisket, grilled onions, bacon, jack cheese and lots of BBQ sauce #delicious.  Kennedy had wanted to eat here for a while and for her first visit she went with the "Gotta Be KD", a burger topped with Kraft Dinner and lots of cheese.

photo 3

We gobbled up our burgers and walked down to the theatre for cheap Tuesday movie night, only $5 a ticket!  A great deal considering cheap Tuesday was $4.25 when I was in high school 20 years ago (yikes!  20 years??).  We grabbed our seats in the packed theatre and settled in for the movie.  It was really good and followed the book very closely…Mockingjay was the final book in the trilogy, but they have split this last movie into two parts.  I guess it works as it didn't feel like they were leaving key moments out, and it sure leaves you wanting more at the end!  Needless to say, Kennedy and I had a great night.

Yesterday was also my strength workout run.  I have just started to incorporate these targeted workouts into my training schedule and yesterday called for 4 x 1.5 miles at marathon pace minus 10 seconds per mile (so 6:40/mile for me), with an 800m recovery in between.  I did my 1 mile warmup which conveniently took me right to the start of the path at Springbank Park, and then switched my watch over to run my intervals.  I did my workout on the treadmill last week as the weather was garbage, but it was certainly more enjoyable being outside to get this one in.  The treadmill was good for keeping my pace where it was supposed to be, because without it regulating me I went way too fast.  I should have been clocking my 1.5 miles at 10:00 even, but I was a bit quicker than that…woopsie.

1 - 9:28 (6:19/mile)
2 - 9:34 (6:23/mile)
3 - 9:23 (6:15/mile)
4 - 9:09 (6:06/mile)

It was a great workout though and I felt decent when I was done, so it wasn't like I was killing myself.  Maybe I need to think about changing my goal marathon pace…to be determined.

It was cooler again for yesterday's workout (down around freezing), but I'm happy to announce that I was able to get out for a run on November 24 in shorts and short sleeves!  We were in the mid-50's, it was an absolute monsoon, I got SOAKED, and it was great!  Hopefully not the last run in shorts for the year, but the forecast isn't friendly.  Enjoy it while we can, right?

photo 5

One last thing…I saw this in the holiday gift guide section of the current issue of Triathlete magazine, TOMS coffee!  I don't have any of their shoes but I like the look and love the concept.  Michelle bought me a pair once but they were too small.  Their coffee sales support Water For People’s efforts to make clean water more accessible via community-owned water systems.  What a great idea!

photo 1

Less than a month until Christmas, yikes!

Have you tried TOMS coffee?  What is your fav coffee to brew at home??
I drink President's Choice West Coast Dark Roast

Warm rain run or cold dry run??
The rain never bothered me anyway…sorry, bad Frozen reference

6 comments:

  1. Mmm I like the sound of Tom's coffee!! I need to stock up on coffees for the holiday season!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Whaaaa??? 10k in 39 minutes?? Dude wait for us cos we're all coming in 20 mins after you!! P.s. As a mum of an almost 13 year old little guy, i think the idea of parent kid time like this is precious. Here in Italy we're about to embark on ski season so I can feel less bad about my pace ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ˜†๐Ÿ˜Ž

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yup, always good to have special holiday coffee around...especially coffees that pair well with Bailey's or whiskey!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Haha I may be fleet of foot, but I'm hopeless on the ski slope!
    I love when I get to spend quality one-on-one time with my kids...it is so important to build these memories with them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. how DO you crush these workouts on "Barking at my Cow" burgers?!?

    seriously, you're doing amazing. if i ever get fast we'll have to connect for a run.

    and yep, i'll take the warm rain run ...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I guess I'm a runivore Patrick :)

    Thanks for the kind words, it would be great to get up to Barrie and run with you and your ninjas one day! Maybe I'll need to find a MEC race up that way...

    ReplyDelete