Last week was fair week in our neck of the woods. Barry and I had wanted to go for a full day during the week last week, but were unable to due to work schedules. Instead, we had to settle with catching it on the final day, which was last Saturday. Barry had to work during the day, so I caught up with Kim for a run. At 8:30 AM it was already nearing 80 degrees on top of the humidity. Woof.

Barry got home from work in the evening and although it hadn’t cooled off much, it was time to head to the fair! The first order of business was dinner and at the fair that means corn dogs! The picture is a little blurry…. I was hard pressed to get a picture before we started eating them. 😉

After that we headed into the arena for the main event that evening: the rodeo.

They keep it simple at this rodeo and just have the bull riding and some barrel racing. After the National Anthem and a prayer, things got started. They ended up only having two full rides (staying on for 8 seconds), but it was still pretty good entertainment.

After the rodeo ended, we walked around for a bit and looked at everything else at the fair. They had a bunch of rides, but we didn’t go on any. We wandered over to the livestock area and ran into some friends who are our old neighbors. The livestock awards were going on and their daughter had shown a few sheep and a heifer earlier in the day. We hadn’t seen them for awhile and it was great to catch up! From there we wandered around some more and looked at all of the displays before indulging in some funnel cake right before we headed home.

Sunday I spent most of the day recovering from staying up too late at the fair. I did my usual weekend stuff around the house and got in a short run. I also made some braided bread. It had been too long since I made some! I originally got the recipe from HRG.

You know it’s a good weekend when you’re exhausted come Monday morning, which I was. Although I should mention I think I was pretty worn out all weekend from my 15 hour workday last Friday (4:45 AM to 8:15 PM, UGH!). Luckily I shouldn’t have one of those again until the end of August.

Do you have a local or state fair you go to? Our state fair isn’t until the end of September, but we usually don’t go (it’s about 4 hours away)
What is your favorite fair/festival food?

I’m linking up again this week with Debbie for her Wednesday Word link up! This week, we’re talking about friendship.

I’ve always said the best way to get to know a person is to go for a run with him or her. For some reason, running breaks down most social barriers and you can talk freely about almost anything. I think it’s a combination of the exhaustive nature of running and the fact that you can say what’s on your mind without having to look someone in the eye. I’ve gotten to know someone better in a 60 minute run than some people that I’ve known for years. You can quickly bond with someone when you both share a love of running, and as a result a strong friendship can form.

I have a friend named Kim who I have been running with for the past four years. I often refer to her as my “running buddy” but like most running buddies, she’s more than that.

Kim and I usually meet up on the weekend, which means our runs are more often than not long runs. Sometimes we run silently side by side. However, it is more common for our long run to turn into a social hour… or two. We have talked about everything from silly life anecdotes and jokes we recently heard to the more serious things in life. I don’t think there’s a topic under the sun we haven’t talked about while on a run.

We’re there for each other to work through the thick and thin tribulations of life, and the thick and thin tribulations of a long run. We have pushed each other and helped keep each other going when one or the other was having a bad day. I have had many long runs where I just focused on whatever Kim was talking about instead of the run itself, just to keep going. We’ve both done that for each other, and it really helps to be able to focus on the conversation instead of how tired you are.

In addition to helping you keep going, a running buddy also keeps you accountable. It’s not easy to get up before the sun on your day off, just to head out for a run. Especially when the weather isn’t favorable. Kim and I have run together in all types of weather. We have run in freezing rain, wind so strong it knocks you off your feet, and several inches of snow. We have also run in weather so humid you could cut the air with a knife. There have been many times I would have been tempted to bag a run, had it not been for the fact that Kim was waiting for me.

Lately we run together casually, as Kim is 8 months pregnant with her second baby. Our runs are more laid back, but I don’t mind because meeting up with Kim is about much more than a long run. There’s so much more to a run when you run with a friend.

The bond forged through running is a strong one, and I’d venture to say it’s a bond like no other. You see each other at your rawest, and your truest. Running has brought so many people into my life. Although I love running solo, it’s also fun to run with a buddy or a group. The best running is definitely running with friends.

If you’re a runner, do you prefer running solo, with a buddy, or with a group?
What activities in your life have led to strong friendships?

I was recently nominated by Richard from The Running Schlub for the Versatile Blogger Award. This was an award that I hadn’t heard of before… but it reminds me a bit of the Liebster Award. Remember that thing?

About the Versatile Blogger Award:

It is for those blogs that bring something special to your life.  In picking your nominees, you are to consider the quality of the writing, the uniqueness of the subjects covered, the level of love displayed in the words on the virtual page.  Or, of course, the quality of the photographs and the level of love displayed in the taking of them. (I’m guessing I’m on the content side… and not the quality photograph side!)

The Rules:

Answer the questions you have been given, nominate 10(ish) other bloggers and give them their own set of questions to answer.

Questions from Richard:

I recently announced that my little sister decided to train for her first half marathon. Even better, she chose the Hokie Half Marathon! Naturally, we are planning on running the race together. She looked at a bunch of training plans and had decided on a Hal Higdon one, but also asked if I could write her one. I used a format and mileage build up similar to the one I used for my first half marathon, and I think she’s going to use the one I wrote.

This entire spring I’ve been running whatever I wanted to run and whenever I wanted to run, sans training plan. Although I enjoyed following the Hanson’s Marathon Method last fall (it made me feel hardcore), I think it really burnt me out on training plans by the end. Eighteen weeks is a long time to follow a regimented 6-day-per-week plan, and at times it made running feel more like a chore than something I got to do.

I was planning on not following a training plan (I planned not to plan… Is that still type A?). But after making the training plan for my little sister, I found myself tailoring it to fit my work schedule…

No training plan is complete without a race-related picture pasted into the Excel document. It feels nice to have a training plan to follow, though. Looking back it seems like I have followed a training plan during the summer for a fall race every year since 2011. I guess I just can’t get away.

Training plans: yay or nay?
Do you like following a structured workout schedule, or do you prefer to go with the flow?

It’s Wednesday! What does that mean? Time for a Wednesday Word link up with Debbie from Deb Runs.

This week’s word is: Inspirational.

I thought about sharing one of the many amazing running stories about tenacious individuals that many of us have heard before. That’s inspirational, right? Then I thought about sharing a personal story of overcoming adversity. Also inspirational, yes? And then I thought about how it makes me feel when I go out and watch an athletic event, or even watch one on TV. Especially a marathon.

People run marathons for all sorts of reasons. They run to qualify for Boston, they run to raise money for charity, they run to challenge themselves. Many are completing a feat they once thought impossible. Despite often running amidst thousands of other runners at a road race, each individual is facing a quiet, solitary triumph over the idea that they couldn’t conquer the distance.

If you stand on the sidelines and watch a marathon, you’ll see them. The runners clearly fighting an internal battle. But with every step they’re proving to themselves how much they can take. More than anyone, especially themselves, ever thought possible. You can stand at the finish line and join in the fellowship, as we all marvel at the accomplishment taking place. The marathon is the ‘holy grail’ of racing and it takes a certain amount of grit and determination to overcome. It’s also a celebration of the human spirit, and it makes us all feel a bit stronger.

What do you find inspirational?