Category: Life in the Country

Local Treasures

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Over the past couple days, I was fortunate enough to have some time to explore Medina and see some real gems around town. Melissa suggested a while back that I share more of my everyday life, because sometimes I do more than just run and drink wine.

Between Saturday and Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to visit some new places and some old favorites in Medina. Saturday night we headed to Cipriani’s, the new restaurant in town as part of my birthday celebration. As requested, I wanted someplace Italian, and when we saw that Cipriani’s had opened up, we couldn’t wait to try it.

We made a reservation, but luckily missed the crowd and were able to be seated right away. The restaurant had a cozy feel, with a mix of tables for dining and a bar for just hanging out. We started with shrimp cocktail, bread and salad, accompanied with some pretty good wine. The server was very friendly, and never rushed us through anything. I ordered the Angel Hair with Marinara and Darren got the Chicken Alfredo. Both were delicious and we had enough to take home for a meal the next day. We finished up dinner with some amazing Tiramisu, my absolute favorite.

The meal, the atmosphere and the whole experience were a lot better than we had expected. Pricing wasn’t too expensive either, which means Cipriani’s could definitely become a regular place for us. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Tuesday I continued my birthday celebrations by taking the day off work and treating myself to a massage and manicure. I tried out Bella Sorrellas and was very impressed. I opted for the full hour massage, and at a price of $45, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it was hands down the best massage I’ve ever had. I followed it up with a shellac manicure, and at a price of $20, you really can’t complain. I’m certainly looking forward to treating myself more often with this place so close to home.

Massage room, ready to relax!

Massage room, ready to relax!

I finished up Tuesday with some of my favorite spots, Cool Beans Cafe and Buckeye Woods. Not only does Cool Beans have some pretty good coffee, but their lunch menu is getting better and better. I already know we’ll be biking down there quite a bit this summer.

Some new and some old, the smaller places in Medina have their charm. I’m excited to see what else we discover that will hopefully become our favorite places! If you want to keep up with our new discoveries, you can check out a new page that includes events and places around Medina.

 

A Weekend Celebration

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A little over four years ago, I made the decision to go to Baldwin Wallace to get my MBA. Within that first month, I met a guy who caught my attention, and four years later he still makes me smile. Over the weekend we celebrated spending 4 amazing years together in the city where our relationship grew.

We headed to Wooster Saturday evening and started with dinner at my favorite restaurant, Broken Rocks Cafe.  As always I had the Spaghetti & Meatballs and Darren had the Tomato Basil soup and Cajun Chicken. Both great meals and highly recommended. Afterward we headed to City Square Steakhouse for additional drink(s) and dessert, which is where we finished up the night before heading back to the hotel. It was so great to get away to a place we love and enjoy some of our favorite sites of Wooster.

So here’s to 4 years and many, many more!

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Medina Half Marathon Training

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The time has finally come. In just 16 short weeks I’ll be running the Medina Half Marathon and working towards my mission of sub 2:00! I’m finally out of my non running funk and couldn’t be more excited to get some major mileage back on my shoes. Last year was the trial run of the race, and it went so well that I couldn’t wait to sign up for the race again this year. I’m more than confident that I can run sub 2:00, and without any injuries I should be able to ramp up training to push me to my limits. 2013 was a rough year of running for me, so this year, I’m determined not to let anything get in my way. So with out any more delay, let’s take a look at the facts for the race and see what the next 16 weeks will bring!

Medina Half Facts:

  • The half marathon is capped at 1000 runners for the first year, and it just sold out last night. Amazing how many people will be running the streets of Medina on May 31st!
  • There is a 5k option available with no limit of runners. It’s only $20 until April 1st, and you can sign up here.
  • The medal is one of a kind and created by the same company that does Boston’s medal.
Love, love this medal.

Love, love this medal.

  • If you can’t run the race, or happen to be in the area on race day, you can sign up to volunteer here!
  • Medina Half has a race specific training plan you can follow if you’re looking for some help. There are also group runs and course runs available as well.
  • All other info can be found here or on the Facebook Page.

As you can tell, I’m excited for this race. I know the course and I know what to expect as far as hills and when I need to push it and when I can take it easy. As far as my own goals and training, I went back to Runner’s World Smart Coach to set the basics. From there I added my cross training ( Body Fusion & Yoga) and moved a few things around to where I’m comfortable. I’ve included speed work and hills again and this time I don’t completely hate them. I also included optional running days that help to keep me from running too much, but can help if a workout earlier in the week didn’t go as planned.

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As for my goals, I’ve got quite a few. I’ll need to keep all of these in mind if I want to have the best race of my life come May 31st.

  • Run Sub 2:00. The giant milestone that I am currently 5 minutes and 56 seconds away from.
  • PR. As long as I run 2:05:54 I’ll have a PR, but I’d love to have a pretty big gap between my next PR and my current one. Even better if it starts with a 1.
  • Gain weight. Yes, such a troublesome topic that most people hate to talk about. I’m not happy with my current weight and know that I need to fill out a little. Let’s say add 10lbs, because we all know that 5lbs comes and goes easily.
  • Cross train at least twice a week. Whether it be Body Fusion, Yoga or getting on the bike, I need to keep on this. I know that cross training helps to keep me injury free, so that should be motivation enough.
  • Eat healthier. This goes alone with gaining weight. If you eat poorly, you run poorly. I also need to find the perfect foods for race day eve and race day morning. Tummy troubles no more.
  • Raise $1000 for Team JDRF. As you may or may not know, Darren was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was 3 years old. Diabetes is now a part of my life as I watch him live with it every day. Team JDRF is fighting to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes so that future generations won’t have this horrible disease. Each week I’ll be posting a fact as way to educate readers on Diabetes. If you want to help find a cure, you can donate here. I truly appreciate it!

So there we have it, the facts about Medina Half, my training plan and my goals for the next 16 weeks. It’s going to take a lot of work and dedication to reach this milestone, but I’m so excited and can’t wait for May 31st!

 

January Rewind

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The first month of 2014 is over and it went by so quickly! I spent most of the month traveling and avoiding some of the crazy weather we’ve had. I can’t help but think I’m starting this year on the right foot. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Miles run: 51

Races run: 0

Miles biked: 0

Books read: 1 (Once a Runner)

Places traveled: 4 (Chicago, Vegas, Detroit, Toronto)

New recipes: 1, Ham & Bean Soup

My mileage jumped up pretty high this month. I haven’t run that many miles since the early fall. It felt great to get more miles in and I know it will only go up from here. I even focused on cross training with my Body Fusion class. Once I get back to a regular schedule I can add yoga in, and hopefully get back on the bike as well.

I finally finished Once a Runner and it was a great book. It will be perfect motivation to get my training schedule off on the right foot. I’ve got a book for work to read next, but I’m hoping to dive into more books I’ve had on my to-read list.

Like I mentioned before, I traveled a lot in January. I started off in Chicago, where we celebrated New Years. I followed that up with 4 days in Vegas and got to run the strip. The next week I traveled to Detroit, and spent the week after that in Toronto. Lots of miles and lots of days wondering which time zone and state I was in. At least it makes the winter go by quick!

I also made ham and bean soup and shared my recipe of spaghetti squash. February will bring a few trips, more miles and hopefully better weather!

What did you do in January? What are your goals for February?

 

Weekly Fitness Update

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It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done a weekly fitness update, but it’s because I wasn’t putting much time or effort into working out. With about a mile or two each week, it wasn’t worth it to post it, but that’s all changing now. With less than six months to go until my goal race, I need to start taking running more seriously. With the holidays and some work trips, I’ve got a few challenging months ahead, but I definitely think I can get back into it and have the best training cycle yet.

I may have had some extra motivation from this view as well. I pass this road every day on my way to work and it always screams “Run Me!” One day I’ll venture to it and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

So tempting

So tempting

This week went really well. I wanted to get at least three days in and I did. I even got Darren to run outside with me one night. Running with Christmas lights decorating the neighborhood was definitely a great distraction from the snow and cold.

Monday: 1.5 Mile Run & 2 Miles Cycling

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: 1 Mile Run

Thursday: Off

Friday: Off

Saturday: 3 Mile Run

Sunday: Off

Total Miles: 5.5 Miles (Running) & 2 Miles (Cycling)

My favorite run this week had to be Saturday. Even though it was snowing and windy the entire time, it was the best and longest run I’ve had in months. The sidewalks were untouched and running sans music, I was able to focus on my breathing and enjoy how peaceful everything was. Saturday’s run was a huge confidence booster in getting back in shape.

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I’m hoping for more great runs and more snowy adventures this week, and hopefully no falls on the ice.

A New Hot Spot in Town

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One of my favorite places on the West side has always been 87 West, the adorable wine bar inside Crocker Park. It was always the perfect place to catch up with friends or rewind after work. Since we moved to Medina, we’ve noticed that it was missing a wine bar, something I’m finding is hard to live without. That all changed when a new gastro pub & wine bar opened up this past week. Lager & Vine Gastropub & Wine Bar ventured out from the East side and has opened shop on the square in little ole’ Medina.

We decided to try it out last Thursday night and we were pleasantly surprised. The inside had a very cozy feel and already had a few holiday decorations up. We sat at the bar to get a good view of the football games, and were greeted by a number of people at the bar and from the kitchen. They had a pretty large drink menu and had everything from beer, cocktails and wine. The beer list was a decent size and included both beer on tap and from bottles. The bar tender mentioned they rotate beer regionally, but unfortunately didn’t have two of the most local beers on tap at the time, this meant no Great Lakes or Lagerheads. They had a better choice of wines than most restaurants, but for being a wine bar, they didn’t have as many as I had hoped.

We started off with an appetizer before our main meal, all of which had pretty quick service. We started with the lobster bisque, which came in a large bowl, definitely big enough for a lunch serving. I thought it was really good, Darren thought it was ok. I love almost all seafood chowders/bisques, so it’s pretty easy to make me happy.

Next we followed up our appetizer with dinner, which neither of us could decide on what we wanted for sure. I was in between the Chorizo Mac and Cheese and the Tomato Basil flat bread, but decided on the L&V Blanco flat bread. Darren chose the Asian Spice Ahi Tuna Tacos, but I think he was temped by the steak.

Mmmm

Mmmm

Overall the flat bread was really good, I ate almost most of it and wasn’t feeling too stuffed when I finished. Darren wasn’t the biggest fan of the tuna tacos, but that’s a hard meal to please everyone with.

Lager & Vine’s menu definitely has a great assortment of food that I know we’ll be back to try. The atmosphere is great, and I can tell this is a place where we’ll be spending a lot of time. I’m excited to see how the future of the restaurant grows and hope that Medina enjoys it as much as we did!

Have you ever tried Lager & Vine in Hudson?