Fall is Finally Here

The end of summer always comes with mixed feelings of relief (from no longer having to run in the heat and humidity) but disappointment that it's no longer t-shirt and shorts, nap-out-on-the-balcony weather. The cooler weather also means that our paddleboards haven't been out in weeks - and probably won't be back until spring. Despite these earlier signs of the season changing, though, the official beginning of Fall (according to me) was this weekend!

The mums come out: first signs of fall?

Ben, Jaz, Jose Carlos and I went to Beasley's in Danville, IN. It's an apple orchard, but they also have a you-pick pumpkin patch, a market (produce, baked goods, and other goodies), and a Fall Festival each year. The Fall Festival includes fun stuff like bouncy houses for the kids, craft fair tents, a puppet show, food stands, hay rides, and a corn maze. It's a little bit nickel-and-dime since each of these activities is a pay-to-play, but it's still a lot of fun.

It was supposed to be sunny, but was kind of cloudy and breezy all day. How very fall.

Of course, we kicked off the whole day by grabbing an "ultimate" burger at the FFA tent: a burger topped with bacon and BBQ pulled pork. 3 meats, one bun. It was delicious. (Ben may have gone back for a second...)

After finishing our breakfast burgers, we walked over to the pumpkin patch, about a half mile walk. We passed a bunch of apple trees, and I thought this was a cool shot. (Hmmm... An Instagram-ed version of this might end up on the gallery wall above our sofa.)

Ben brought his frisbee-disc thing and was throwing it around. That's the hayride in front of us... it's a $3 ride, so we decided to enjoy the nice-ish day and make the short walk to the pumpkin patch.

It was kind of really muddy. This is what my boots looked like before the pumpkins... (a year later, and I still love Vivobarefoot boots from NYC!)

Ok, so you're definitely NOT allowed to pick apples off of the trees anymore. Is this a recent realization of the liability - from people climbing and falling out of trees? My mom used to take me and my sister apple-picking in Cleveland every year when we were kids, so although picking out pre-packaged apples in the Beasley's store was fun, it didn't even compare to grabbing one off of the tree at will. I did it anyway. From ground level. I live on the edge.

We finally got to the pumpkin patch after walking past the windy windy orchards (so glad I found glittens - glove mittens - in my car). JC was pretty pumped too.

Then, the picking frenzy began!!!! The ones you see in the photos were pre-picked and dragged to the aisles because they were enormous(ly heavy). Most of them were still on vines and you had to break them off of the vines if you chose to take it home with you.

It was really muddy from the rain we had earlier in the week (where was all of this rain during the drought?!?!?!). I was so glad I wore boots. Ben rolled up his pant legs so he wouldn't get all muddy. A few years ago, we were rushing to catch the hay wagon back after we'd picked our pumpkins, and the stem of my pumpkin had been stuck or was too long. So Ben punch-kicked the stump off of the pumpkin we chose... and to this day I thought it was the most hilarious thing, ever. He did some more kick! this time too to get some stumps off again. He found a nice roundy one.

I know now that I'm not the one who kicks the pumpkins. See, I found the perfect tapered, egg-shaped pumpkin (it was unique!) and was really pumped about it. Ben told me to kick the stem off, except after 5 whiffs, I kicked the ENTIRE stem off completely! Sad face. I spent the next 20 minutes looking for another oblong pumpkin, but apparently in this field they're pretty rare.

This one was a pretty good second choice.

We got to the baby pumpkin patch and I decided to unbury a smaller pumpkin to bring home, too. This one was buried under some brush but in perfect condition.

I totally took a stealth picture of this little kid as I walked by. The scale of the pumpkins surrounding him, plus the tiny pumpkin in his hand made me laugh! He was also (I think) one of 5 kids that his mom brought to the pumpkin patch. FIVE.

I'm making us sound like bad people but we caught the hay ride back... it would've been a long chilly walk otherwise! See that tiiiiiny little thing at the base of the pumpkin that's front and center? That's a baby pumpkin. It looks like a tiny unripe grape tomato. They threw it in at no charge (ha), saying that "the deer are gonna be pissed," since apparently they like to eat baby pumpkins. Don't we all?

We took some fun photos while we waited for the hay ride wagon. Dang you, camera bag!! I'm photoshopping it out of this picture first chance I get.

And then, we paid for our pumpkins. They kind of just eyeball how big they are and a guy in a tent tells you how much you owe. We paid $12 for the two big-ish ones and one small one. I heard pumpkins cost a lot this year because of the drought, but this didn't lead me to believe that.

Then we got to the market (it's inside the wood building you see in the background). They were selling HUGE gorgeous and colorful mums for only $7. They were easily twice as big as the ones I got at Menard's the other day for $4! And way more colors.

We bought a gigantic spaghetti squash and a peck of cortland apples (my fave). 

More gourds... some all warty, and others that apparently looked like headwear!

...and at this point we partook in the apple dumplings a la mode, while Ben got another ultimate burger. It was also delicious. We stood around for a bit here, so Jaz & I took this picture in front of the pretty decorated cart.

I thought this was kind of a cool shot, too. What you don't see is the row of 10 portajohns right next to me. 

And then, corn maze time!! Rather than follow the directions and clues, we decided to wing it and took turns  leading as we randomly called turning directions for each decision point, sort of Indian-run style.

"Why are there bags on everyone's feet?" you ask. Well, it was crazy muddy in the maze. Solution: bags. Also, notice the corn isn't too high, again, a little stunted and thin due to drought. I don't think any NBA players would find this maze too exciting.

Not to downplay the genuine challenge and intricacy of the maze, here's how the rows were planted at the beginning of the growing season:

 But seriously, a fall festival isn't complete without a ridiculously large bag of fresh kettle corn. I did my best, but we didn't finish it. It did, however, eat kettle corn until my tongue went numb and I thought I was going to die of thirst. It was so worth it!!

So that was our welcoming-Fall adventure from the weekend. I'm still planning on continuing with the autumnal madness by going all-out on pumpkin. So far: pumpkin turkey chili, pumpkin spice yogurt, and pumpkin-granola parfaits. And, with the OSU-IU football game this weekend, I'm pretty sure my season will be feel complete!

How do you get your fall fix? Know of any good apple or pumpkin recipes I absolutely have to try?

Ps- check out the fall wreath I made the other day! Easiest, quickest craft ever.

Bolder Boulder 10k Race Recap

I have this race report blog and I haven't actually written my OWN race recap for it! Enjoy. :)

Ben and I spent Memorial Day weekend visiting our friends, Brice and Alyssa, in BEAUTIFUL Boulder, Colorado. We made it a big ol' couples weekend with our newly-engaged Indianapolis friends, Tony & Mary, who made the trip out as well. Boulder is so awesome, we have been coming at least twice a year for the past few years. Every time we visit, we stay longer… and longer… Go there if you have a chance!

The last race I ran at altitude (8,600 ft!) was the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon. It was super fun and scenic, but a running disaster- such a struggle that I almost got beaten out by a 72-year old man. Needless to say, I was pretty hesitant to sign up for another race over a mile above sea level.

Put this on your bucket list: The Bolder Boulder 10k is the largest 10k race (largest road race?) in the country, with as many – or more – than 55,000 runners participating. Since we only had an extended holiday weekend’s worth of fun, I had only been at altitude for a couple of days when we ran the Bolder Boulder 10k. Not a lot of time to acclimate! I was really conservative going into this race. In fact, it wasn’t a race – it was a run. A run for the fun of it.

Ben and I ran this together, and when you sign up, you have to provide a qualifying time so they can put you in the correct starting corral with people approximately your pace. We were smart enough to provide seed times from our NYC Marathon in November (another race we fun-runned together and walked/stopped for photos along the way).

Pre-Race
Packet pickup was in-sane!! The Bolder Boulder team has this race down to a science. As a race director, I appreciated every little detail and though put into the logistics of this 34-year-old race. We picked up our packets at the BB10k office in the 29th Street Mall, and the line for last-minute/in-person registration was crazy long! If you do this race, I recommend pre-registering online. We flew past probably 25 people in line and were the only/first ones in line for pre-registration packet pickup.

Me & Brice running the Mesa Trail

This is interesting – once you’re there and signing up in person, or if you haven’t submitted a seed time previously, you can qualify on the spot. They have treadmills on site, and you can hop on one and run a certain distance (no clue what it is – 2 miles maybe?) within a given time to determine or better your seed time. We qualified for the BA wave. B-A: How appropriate! ;)
We picked up race packets on Friday. Race packets were unique. In addition to the shoe chip, the info book itself is actually a 2012-2013 calendar showing images from previous BB10ks with race instructions and info in the front of a calendar. Again… GENIUS. What a great way to remember the race throughout the year!

Two days before the race, Brice, Ben, and I put in a solid 18-mile run on the Mesa Trail. Think uphill. Lots of uphill. {groan}

The day before the  race, we went on a quick 4-mile easy run on the Boulder Creek Path. On our run we saw tons of runners doing the same kind of easy shake-out. We also ran into some of the pro/elite runners from Peru who were participating in the international team competition. They were goofing off on their run. Also, they were going really slow!! We passed them doing 8:30 min/mi pace while they were running something like 10 min/mile. Win-- The only time I’ll ever “beat” an elite! We posited from this that the slower the easy run pace, the faster the runner. So maybe I should’ve run really slow…

On race day eve – Sunday – we went for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, spending hours in the van and eating lots of unfamiliar foods. (Note to self: bundle up next time we go up to 10,000+ feet. We froze!) We probably did about 4 miles worth of hiking that day.

  

The evening ended with sandwiches from Firehouse Subs (delish!) and hot sauce shenanigans involving Brice + the hottest hot sauce in the world. Brice, you’re a champ. But that’s another story for another day. :)

Race & Start
6am is early, but when you’re in Colorado and still living on Eastern time, waking up isn’t so bad! I had a few handfuls of chocolate Cheerios and a banana for breakfast. The weather was about 50 degrees and suuuuper sunny already, with no humidity whatsoever. A high of 75 degrees for the day. This is PR weather if I ever saw it!

It was completely awesome that Brice & Alyssa live .8 miles from the start line of the race. The four of us were up at 6am and beginning our warm-up run toward the start by around 6:30 for Brice’s race (A corral) at 7am sharp. There were already tons of people in the street and on the sidewalks heading toward the race, too. Four-lane 29th Street looked so different lined with portajohns and runners! Once there, we took a pre-race photo and decided where to meet after the race. Brice took off toward the front of the pack and disappeared (quickly, I should add. He finished in 10th place overall!)

There was a gun start for the beginning of every single wave. Waves were labeled by A, B, C, D, etc. etc. Within each letter wave, there were sub-corrals. So, as we waited to start, we heard the A wave gun, and then the A runners would go, followed by a gun start for the the AA runners, then the gun for the AB runners. The B runners moved up (as did we), and they took off at 7:04. At 7:04:10, right after the B wave, Ben and I started our run right on schedule. THIS is how orderly and structured the race organizers are. Wow.

Everybody took. off.! Holy cow did they take off! Even in a slower-seeded corral, Ben and I were quickly dead last of the BA wave within about 200 meters. Then, a minute later, we got swallowed up by the BB wave and those runners flew by us on both sides.

This was WONDERFUL – every k (1,000 meters) and every mile on the course was marked with an overhead banner. There was no way you could miss these landmarks. I loved that each k was marked… compared to miles, they click by so much quicker!

For a race this big (about 20,000 more people than the Indy Mini Marathon), I never felt like I was weaving in and out of people like I do in the major marathons or in big half marathons. I was passing people, but I didn’t have to run 2 extra – lateral – miles of the race to accomplish this. The corrals and waves were small enough and staggered enough that it eased the crowdedness of the course. (Also interesting – the field for the race is unlimited; they can sign up an infinite amount of people because they just keep adding more waves!)
Water stops were also extremely efficient. We skipped water altogether though. Being so dry and cool enough, I easily did without. There was both Gatorade and water. Volunteers were awesome. Alyssa said she loved the bands and entertainment on the course- there was at least one performer/performance ever mile. At one intersection, they erected a full band shell and stage! We saw belly dancers, DJs, singers, guitarists, cheerleaders… you name it.

The First 5k
On the run itself, we went out cautiously.

I had felt lightheaded in the first mile of our run on the Bobolink Trail a few days before, so I took it easy enough to avoid getting into oxygen-debt trouble early in the race. The distance kept passing by with no problem. I was getting really excited – I wore my Newton MV2 racing flats (my normal training shoes were too bulky to pack in my luggage) and my legs and feet felt fast and light.

Like I mentioned, we got swallowed up by the wave or corral behind us within a minute or two. Then, about a mile or two in, we started passing each of the ones that breezed by us. And then we started passing more people. Pretty soon, we were in the thick of a few packs. Ben reminded me to keep it at a comfortable pace – no need to burn out early and suffer for the rest of the run. I was still able to hold short conversation and point out cool or notable things while we ran.

As we approached the 5k mark, I joked, “The finish is right here… right?” and sped up the pace for a few steps as if I were sprinting to the end. Doing this, I felt completely fine! This gave me the courage to step up the pace and go a little faster for the second half. We hit the 5k (halfway) point at around 22:55. Nice.
It’s always nice not knowing where I am on a race course; I hate running races in places that I’m familiar with. For example, the Chicago Marathon (a balmy 90+ degrees) in 2010 proved this to me – when I hit Boys Town, I knew I had a loooooong way to go to the finish. Here in Boulder, I don’t know the streets and landmarks well enough. I recognize things, but I don’t necessarily know how far apart they are in relation to each other. This was good! I do remember that we passed the Hotel Boulderado, and parts of the Pearl Street Mile race course, crossed the Pearl Street Mall, and ran through a bunch of really quaint and cute neighborhoods.

Over the past week, I’ve been feeling “twinges” in my lower left leg, the beginning feelings of a chronic injury that took me completely out of running and walking for a few months in 2008.  In the years since, I’ve been struggling with hip and IT band pain. In recent weeks, I’ve been fighting anemia, which has slowed down my running pace drastically and causes me to feel winded much more quickly than I would otherwise. (I’m still not 100%, but getting better every day.) Today, I felt nothing bad. I felt only smooth and refreshed. I kept thinking: I’m back! It also helped that I was now the one flying past people in this race. ;)

The Last 5k
I’ll be honest - the second half of the race was a blur. I remember passing the 7k sign, and weirdly enough, there was a 7.5k sign (Were there 8.5k and 9.5k signs?). After deciding the run my second half faster, it took a little more concentration. I couldn’t talk as easily as I had in the first half. There was a really nice downhill stretch in mile 5. Somewhere in there, Ben remarked, “This would really suck right now if this was Indiana,” referring to the sunny day and the dense humidity that always comes with Indiana summers. The day was just so beautiful and perfect!

At exactly the 9k mark, my right shoe came untied. Fortunately, I’d zip-tied my timing chip to my shoe. Rather than bend down and tie it, I just let it go. It was only .62-something miles to the end, anyway. This part of the course was relatively straight and long. I didn’t feel like I was hurting, but I didn’t feel completely relaxed either. We pressed on.

Somehow, from the 9k mark, we continued and eventually Ben said, “The 6 mile mark should be right up here at the turn.” – but I didn’t see it. We had to go completely through the turn to see the 6-mile mark, and at this point, I was going at a pace fast enough that I wanted to be done relatively soon. Then, we had to go up a hill… that was kind of cruel, but I didn’t have the breath or energy to say it out loud. All I could think was, “I train in Bloomington – I have to be better at these than people around me!” (while the devil on my shoulder told me, “Um, Hello! You’re running with people who live in Colorado!”)

Once at the top of the hill, I could see that we were about to enter the stadium. Wait a second – the race finishes with a lap around the track. Holy crap! The race was almost over!

As we entered the stadium, the surface we ran on was weird. It was a metal grate covering the field, and while it was firm, it felt springy to run on - because of the astroturf underneath, maybe? I tried to finish fast. It wasn’t a true lap around the stadium – more like a half lap (if that), especially because it cut off a good portion of the football field and wasn’t a complete lap around.

I took me too long to realize I needed to start my finish kick approach. For some reason, the 6-mile mark didn’t register to me that .2 miles is extremely short…. but I worked with the short distance I had left. I feel like I finished at a sprint – or, at least, a pace considered a sprint for me. :) Ben said he had trouble keeping on my tail as we approached the finish (which I guess is good because that means fast, woohoo!)… my only regret is that we didn’t finish hand-in-hand like we did in NYC. Totally gross, I know.

Finish time-- 43:35
First 5k – 22:55
Second 5k – 20:40

Here are some splits (totally love that they recorded mile splits!) from the Bolder Boulder 10k results website:

Post-Race
Once finished, race organizers had us snake out of the finish chute area in the stadium to the indoor track (or something) where we picked up our finisher bags. They were reusable green lunch bags (pre-filled with goodies like PowerBar Energy Chews (yum), pistachios, Boulder Canyon potato chips, and granola)! Then, volunteers were handing us chocolate soy milk, oranges, and bagels. I love when race directors give me something I can use everyday – as controversial as this is, I can do without the medal.

Once we picked up our lunch bags, we were directed either out of the stadium if we chose, or back into the stadium to the seats. Brice spotted us and we picked him up, choosing to sit in the FF seats and meeting back there. He went on down to sneak back onto the course to see if he could find and finish with Alyssa. Alyssa eventually showed up, after kicking some major butt in her first-ever 10k (she ran a 52:30!!). Brice finished in 32:40.

The rest of the day was kind of crazy – we took some photos after we all found each other in the stands and then walked back to B&A’s place. Our friends, Tony and Mary, had to head to the airport to fly home to Indianapolis, so we put on some non-sweaty clothes and made the trip to Denver. After we dropped them off, we went back to the stadium, where tons and tons of people were still finishing – this time, people in the N and P waves. In fact, there were people who were still BEGINNING their 10k run at 9:30am as we entered the stadium the second time!

We found some good seats right above and past the finish line in the bleachers. It was turning out to be a warm and sunny day. At 11am-ish, the pros had started their race and we arrived just in time to get settled and watch them finish. Again, GENIUS - the general public (“citizens race”) is intentionally scheduled to finish so people are there to watch the elite race finish! I spotted the Peruvians we had seen on the Creek path the day prior. Yeah, they were kind of really fast. Ethiopia swept the men’s and women’s races. We saw Deena Kastor finish third, as well as Janet Cherobon (who won the Indy Mini this year? and last year).
There was a huge tribute for Memorial Day, including a F-16 fighter jet flyover from an Air Force base in California and 21-gun salute by the CU Boulder ROTC cadets. Usually, there are also several parachute jumpers who land on the field, but it was too windy for them. The national anthem was sung, we heard “Proud to Be An American,” and they honored a couple of the Navajo Code Talkers from World War II, who were present for the ceremony.

All in all, a great day and a great race. If you’re ever in Boulder, CO for Memorial Day, you MUST run the Bolder Boulder 10k!

Trip Log: Columbus, OH

Even though we live only a few hours away, I rarely go (back home) to Ohio. It's a matter of feeling like I have the time to make the short drive, but nonetheless, there is no excuse.

Source

I'm ashamed to say that my effort to visit Columbus, Ohio this week was 100% work-related. It’s sad, but I felt like an outsider in this place I claim as my own! It's familiar but strange at the same time. I feel the same way every time I visit home in Westlake.

Even though I had less than 24 hours in the great state of Ohio, I made each one count and had a blast. Why don't we do this more often?

Fellow Ohio Staters, are you ready for this? 'Cause this place has changed a lot! For all others, well, I’m going to take you on a running tour of OSU (not to be confused with "Ohio" or "OU" please!) and show you a glimpse what my college life was like.

Let’s go!

I arrived late in the day after a visit in Richmond, IN. 

Gotta love the sign on the giant blue arch that crosses I-70 (borrowed picture). I didn’t attempt a photo while driving – that would be unsafe. ;)

I went to campus immediately for a run, parking by the French Field House, OSU’s indoor track. Not where the Steph’s-campus-loop run usually starts, but I wasn’t going to attempt finding parking off-campus. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and overcast the entire day (which ended up turning into massive storms and flooding later), so the pictures are dark. I also used a Blackberry to snap these, but that’s another rant for another day.

 

Down the newish part of the Olentangy River Path and a few hundred feet from The Shoe, THIS is why Ohio State is home to over 56,000 students… Morrill and Lincoln Tower. While totally inconvenient to get to anywhere else on campus, if you’re on the East side, you get a kickin view over the stadium on football Saturdays.

View of the stadium, ball fields, and RPAC from the side of the medical campus. This was all under construction when I left!

I have no idea what else is in this building besides Mirror Lake Cafe, open LATE! It was a long walk from North Campus but worth it for the ridic tasty toasted sandwiches. Ohio State buildings are pretty on this side of campus! They’re apparently not without ghost stories, though.

Mirror Lake. On the Thursday night before the Michigan game, picture this entire area buzzing with thousands of half-naked and mostly hammered college kids jumping into the lake (in late November). It’s Titanic-cold, and a true Michigan week tradition. Oh, the things we do in the name of rivalry!

By day, I liked to take breaks between class/group meetings to eat and feed the ducks here. :)

 

The Oval is finally open again! Btown peeps, picture Dunn Meadow but about 8 times larger. When I was running through here, in a short stretch, I witnessed: tightrope walkers, a drum circle, and a countless number of people passing through. The Oval’s the central point that divides North & South Campus. During the day, there’s usually a guy standing on a wooden box preach-singing to anyone who will listen. His wife sits next to him in a lawn chair and knits.

Why is it called The Oval? Here’s the aerial view…

 

The library looks AWESOME. I don’t even recognize it!!

From the library, the Long Walk. According to tradition (?), take Long Walk from the OSU seal (below) to
the statue (above) holding hands with your loved one, and you’ll be together
forever.

It’s named the “Long Walk” for a reason :)

  

Yep, South Campus dorms are still there…

 

The Union. If you visit Ohio State (again), go inside. Mind = blown. It is so nice. This is the new meeting spot for the current OSU Run Club.

Public transit and IU Bus Service, take note! A-mazing. These signs would also be good for lost visitors and freshmen. ;)

 

Neika, this pic’s for you--- UDF! United Dairy Farmers is a gas station (usuallly) that also serves ice cream. We spent a LOT of Friday nights walking down the street to get milkshakes. It was dangerously within 2 blocks of our apartment.

Here’s something I don’t quite understand (this next pic is an oldie but goodie) – IU bars don’t have mug nights. What’s mug night? You buy a plastic mug & beer for $3, and it’s $1 to refill… and yes, you bring the mug with you the next time you come. Out-R-Inn is still there too, right behind UDF, but there’s a bar or restaurant (besides the pizza place) that opened up next door to it.

Compared to B-town, Columbus just has that more urban feel. It’s more noticeable now than before (i.e., I’m still not running after dark), mostly because Bloomington doesn’t have any streets this wide or busy. Oh yeah – and what you see below (corner of Woodruff & High) is usually the beginning of the stretch where you’d see the rapping bum, whose rhymes always ended with “Help is on the way.”
May he rest in peace.

Check out our street on Frambes, the reason I can parallel park like a champ….PLENTY of practice. Street parking spots are worth their space in gold around here. <2 feet of clearance? Not a problem.

This is me being a total creeper and taking a picture of our lovely ghet-to apartment at 88 E. Frambes. My room was on the top floor, second in from the street. I usually slept/woke to the sounds of a) glass breaking in the alley; b) arguments/fights/muggings in the alley; or c) the sound of police choppers with searchlights overhead.

Neika- The vertical blinds we installed are still hanging!

And since we’re revisiting places I lived, here’s Houck House, my engineering dorm from freshman year. Private bathrooms and air conditioning? Totally reasons to make being an engineering major worthwhile! (True story)

 

I consider this a place I lived also – Baker Systems (the Industrial Systems & Welding Engineering Building). Yep, nothing new there. Tons of construction going on from the street to the corner, so no traffic was really moving through here. For campus being under construction for 50% of the time I was at Ohio State, I can’t figure out how this place is still under major construction.

 

At this point on my run, I was looking for at least 6 miles and came out to around 4.5. I doubled back to see some of the stuff I thought I might’ve missed, so here’s a more detailed look at some more sights around campus. William Oxley – this dude now lives inside the new library! I think every school has a bust whose nose you rub for good luck. Or just ‘cause to be creepy.

Want to see the inside of the new library? I was speechless. There is a museum-like exhibit area inside the front door, all polished stone floors, glass staircases… For a second, I thought I was inside the Boston Public Library. This place is NICE. (now)

Walking outside the library and looking North, Independence Hall. (It’s a replica building of what Ohio State University used to look like back in the day).

Crossing 15th street from Wexner, High Street has totally cleaned up. New restaurants, new bars, it’s like a brand new High Street! Apparently nearly all of the go-to bars have been renamed. For example: Four Kegs is now called The O Patio. Ehh…the jury’s still out on that. Diet Coke tastes the same no matter where you get it.

 

Another view of the Union from High Street and South Campus Gateway (bars, restaurants, shops, ice cream, books) across the street:

 

Like I said, Ohio State is just an urban campus (IU? Definitely Ohio State’s suburban counterpart). Alleys like this are everywhere… just don’t walk through them at night by yourself and you’re good.

 

Best. Pizza. Ever. Adriatico’s is right on 12th and possibly one of the only on-campus restaurants that aren’t owned by OSU. You’re looking at 7-8 pounds of my freshman 15!

 

The wonderful thing about Ohio State is that it’s not a college town in the sense that it’s the only thing in town. Columbus is made up of a number of cool little neighborhoods like the Short North, German Village (go to Schmidt’s for the best sauerkraut & cream puffs in the world), and Arena District. Here’s another glimpse of a neighborhood right off of campus, Victorian Village. Some of the houses are really well kept, while others need some TLC. They’re beautiful. It’s strange to think that these lovelies are hidden just feet from the middle of the city!

 

A little tree-lined city street in Victorian Village. See? It’s not all alleys and scary-ness in Cbus.

Back to the run…

I headed South on 5th past Battelle and back onto the Olentangy Trail. Views:

Then, I took the trail back toward my car and past the towers and past the stadium by way of the RPAC.

 

Even when only half of this place was open, I believe it was officially the largest college student rec facility in the country. I heard they were putting in an indoor driving range. I took ice skating and archery in college (but ran out of time for pistol) – those buildings are nearby but not attached. The pool area in the RPAC is enormous… including a hot tub large enough to fit over 25 people.

I ran down past the stadium.

It’s so beautiful!! It brings a tear to my eye.

I suspect that repeats around this stadium would be closer to 1 full mile. IU’s stadium is exactly 800m.

 

I miss football Saturdays. Sigh.

Annnd the Lane Ave bridge and more of the Olentangy Trail. When I got back to the car, I was at exactly 7.5 miles. Perfect!

You know I can’t post without talking about food… my favorite place, a Cameron Mitchell restaurant on Olentangy River Rd- Cap City Diner. Best comfort food ever!! The chocolate cake is about 2-3 times bigger than one you’ll find at a typical restaurant. Order the blue cheese potato chips. Entrees – like the meatloaf - are amazing. You can’t choose a bad item off of this menu!

Think less greasy-spoon and more upscale diner. I have this thing about not eating at sit-down restaurants by myself…so it’s carry-out orders for me. I got the salmon.

And the MAIN reason I ate here (see? enormous):

Hotel breakfast = free! Smoothie, home-made granola, eggs & gruyere, fresh fruit, and fresh-squeezed OJ. Concierge lounge is where it’s at. The volume and variety of food in this breakfast gave me a stomach ache, but it was worth it.

 

And last but not least, I’ll leave you with some Ohio State traditions (mostly centered around football, of course)

1) The Script Ohio. It’s sacred. Performed by the OSU marching band before home games, it’s one of the biggest honors to dot the “i” in Ohio (always done by a senior sousaphone player).

2) The O-H-I-O, a gameday tradition.

 

Ahh Ohio… I’ll be back.