Bloody Mary – Slacker Runner

Saturday started a little rougher planned.

I had set an early alarm because I was heading down to SLO to take part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. I dragged myself out of my nice, comfy bed before heading out to work town to pick up T before continuing to SLO. It was that drive that turned rough. I saw something that I know happens but have never seen happen and never want to again. Let’s just say it involved a deer and a car. I learned that I must have a soft heart because I literally cried for the next 10 miles.

Yeah, I had to put an epic filter on it- it deserved it

Once picking up T, I had to laugh. She hadn’t wanted to get up anymore than I had and was wearing a nice comfy maxi skirt and flip-flops. And she rocked them both for the whole 5K. Thanks for the smiles T! We met up with R and L and headed over to the park. There was a good size group of people walking at the event. Some in regular clothes, others in exercise gear. Checking in and getting our shirts was a breeze. Then we headed to a table to pick up a promise flower. The flowers were different colors representing different things. I was torn between yellow- you know someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s- and orange- you support the cause to end Alzheimer’s. Both applied, but in the end I went for orange. We could write names on the flowers to honor those we knew. As we crossed the starting line, we handed them to volunteer. They were going to make a promise garden for when we returned.

I ran a race in this park years ago so I should have knownn better. 2/3 of it was trail. I was thankful I had worn running gear. However I think they should have put this on the website, people might have dressed a little differently. One older gentleman fell. It was also freakishly warm with little shade. However they did have the Grizzly Academy handing out water bottles along the course. There was also a 3K option if you didn’t want to do the 5K. Along the course, they had signs of people with Alzheimer’s as a way to honor them. It was great to see so many families out there. I also know that a good amount of money was raised as well. After completing the walk, we could view the promise garden. There was also a breakfast booth and various vendors and live music. Over all it was well put together event. Just next year, they should warn about the lack of paved course.Following the walk, we headed to the Madonna Inn. The original intention was for Bloody Mary’s but it turned into breakfast. A little truth- I drink so rarely you could say I don’t drink. All I wanted was a Diet Coke. They ordered the Bloody’s and food and I ordered the french toast. I did try T’s drink, apparently my face was hilarious. I should have asked what was in it first. 🙂 But the Diet Coke was awesome. The food was good too.

From there I headed home for the usual errands. Later in the afternoon I decided that it had been too long since I had taken the puppy for a walk. So once I wrangled her into her harness, we headed out for an easy 3 miles. She kept a good pace and never once laid down.