A New 5K PR + A Beach Trip

Happy Sunday friends! I hadn’t much felt like blogging this past week but I do have some exciting news I wanted to share. I beat my 5K PR exactly a week ago today (at almost this exact time actually)! I John and I had gone down to Kure Beach for a little getaway over the long weekend and John found a race in Wilmington, NC (about 30 min away from Kure) for us to run since his running coach really wanted him to run a race to push himself and judge his progress.

More on the race in a second – let’s talk about the beach first. 🙂 The house we stayed at was beautiful, just a few blocks from the beach. Check out the view from the rooftop deck!

It was pretty cold that weekend and super windy (this was after the big snow storm had hit NC) so we only went on the beach once for about 10 minutes. Maizey loved the sand. She hadn’t been on the beach in…geez, 4 years?? She was so cute chasing foam and digging in the sand.

Since it was chilly, we spent a lot of time inside just relaxing, taking naps, reading, and eating lots of great food. Carolina Beach (right close to Kure) has a number of great restaurants, including a great Thai place, Ida Thai. Definitely check it out if you’re in the area. I loved their green curry.

On Sunday when it warmed up a little, we took the Jeep for a ride (it was at the house). Maizey loved it. Silly dog.

The race was Sunday afternoon. It was a two-loop course with a couple of very tight turnarounds, but I was still able to set a PR. My previous PR was 21:22 and I ran a 20:54! (Average 6:43 pace.) Based on my training runs lately, I was fairly confident I’d be able to beat my PR but I was still I excited that I did! (This is a picture from the Audi Cape Fear folks, who took race photos.)

Plus, it was fun that John and I both took 2nd place for overall Male and overall Female! And, the woman who came in 3rd (just 3 seconds behind me!) was so nice; we are already planning to run together again when I visit the area. I love meeting runners that become quick friends. It was just a fun day.

John and I celebrated later that night with a load of local oysters (and clams). We put the oysters on the grill and covered them with a wet burlap sack and let them steam. They were delicious. 

And dessert was So Delicious (heh heh). I’ve always been skeptical of this No Sugar Added version, but John bought it and it was actually really tasty. 

Maizey was absolutely pooped every evening – so many things to sniff in a new place! She plopped down by the fireplace and wouldn’t move.

It was so hard to leave on Monday. We stayed late in the day just to get as much vacation time there as we could. It was such a lovely weekend. I was able to relive the weekend a little when I had oysters again last night. My friends threw a big oyster roast party (thanks Kevin and Candace!!) and had oysters and clams shipped overnight so they were super fresh. Some raw, some steamed, all delicious. It was fun watching people eat oysters for the first time! 😀 (That’s Liz’s hand, whose wedding I was in last year.)

And now I’m currently gearing up for a run with a friend. We’re planning to go 5-6 miles at an easy pace. It’s so pretty outside – 65 degrees! I ran 11 miles yesterday (average 8:15 pace) so this will be a slow, recovery run….but really just an excuse to see my friend. Otherwise I’d sit on the couch all day and watch House of Cards (which is basically what I did yesterday). 😉

Do you like oysters/clams/mussels? I think they are an acquired taste. I just started eating shellfish on a regular basis a few years ago. I didn’t grow up eating it (other than canned clams) but I’ve come to love all types of shellfish.

If you do like oysters, how do you like them? Raw or steamed? Or dressed up Rockefeller style? My favorite is to have them steamed & plain (no cracker or sauces) but I’ll eat them any way they come! I’ve only had them raw a few times but it’s growing on me.