September 14, 2015

Weekending: Spartan Super & Spruce Meadows Fun

Another busy weekend for the books! Friday was a quiet day though and we didn't get up to much. And our evening followed suit as I had a big day to get ready for on Saturday. I even managed to get to bed at a reasonable time on Friday, although I did stay up late reading.

My plan Saturday morning was to be on the road by 7 a.m so that I could make it to Red Deer before 9 for the Spartan Super race. I don't know what happened, but I ended up waking up at 7 a.m., to no alarm going off, although my phone's screen clearly showed it had gone off. I had even set two alarms so this was so frustrating! I shot out of bed, quickly showered, ate breakfast, grabbed my bags and set out. Luckily, I had given myself extra time when planning my drive down there, so I still made it to Red Deer just after 9 a.m.. I picked up Becky and we headed down to the race area and met up with Lindsey and her husband Chad who were also running the Spartan.

I will recap the race in its entirety later this week, but I will say this: this race (which was 14km and 27 obstacles), was the toughest thing I have ever challenged my body to do! It tested every limit of my physical and mental being.

Spartan Super Red Deer

After the race, we cleaned up at Becky's place and then headed out to lunch at Brown's Socialhouse. It was part celebratory lunch, and part birthday lunch, as Saturday also happened to be Lindsey's birthday!

Lunch at Browns Socialhouse Crispy Chicken Burger @ Browns Socialhouse

After inhaling a chicken burger faster than I ever thought possible, I dropped Becky back at her place and then made the drive back to Calgary. It was a tough drive home - my legs were so sore from the race so sitting in one position for close to two hours sure didn't help the aches and pains! Once Sully was in bed I had a much needed epsom salts bath which I swear made all the difference in not being unbearably sore on Sunday.

Sunday we woke up to rain and grey skies. We didn't have any plans to leave the house, but then at the last minute we decided to head over to Spruce Meadows to check out the last day of their International 'Masters' tournament since we had free tickets from Jim's work. It was pretty chilly out, but I'm glad we went. Sully had a blast and there was so much to see and do - from the Prairie Dogs show, to bouncy castles, the horses, train rides, pony rides, face painting and exploring military tanks - I only wish we had gotten there sooner so we had more time to do everything.

Spruce Meadows Spruce Meadows The Little General & Puffer Belly Express Train Spruce Meadows Train Ride Spruce Meadows Train Ride British Tank @ Spruce Meadows Spruce Meadows 

The best part about going on the last day though was getting to take home some of the beautiful flowers from their flower arrangements they have out on their grounds for this 'Masters' weekend! Apparently, it's tradition for people to do this. What a great idea! Also, If you haven't been, and live in Calgary, Spruce Meadows is also a really beautiful place to visit and walk around. Their grounds are amazing and they even have playgrounds for kids that you can pop in and use for free during the day.

Flowers from Spruce Meadows

Sunday evening my mom arrived for a visit from Edmonton and Sully got crazy silly with excitement and wouldn't eat dinner. My mom hadn't seen our new house here in Calgary so it was nice to finally have her down and it will be great to have her here for a few days this week.


Hope you had a great weekend! 
Tell me something delicious you ate!



11 comments:

  1. Spruce Meadows looks like it was so fun! I need to check it out someday. I've only been there once for a Christmas party and well, I don't remember much from the venue haha.

    It was so awesome having you at the Spartan. I can't wait to tackle it with you next year!

    Enjoy your visit with your mom!

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    1. It was a really fun afternoon there - I'm glad we got our butts out of the house for it haha. I think all the walking around there really helped loosen up my legs too because they aren't that sore today! Maybe one day we'll have a chance to take the boys there to run around :)

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  2. we had tacos this weekend for dinner with some of the softest, freshest corn tortillas i've ever had. yummmm

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  3. That burger looks delicious! I'm sure it tasted even better after your race! I'm bummed I wasn't able to join you guys Saturday but hopefully a Spartan is in my cards next year!!

    Those flowers are gorgeous. I love flowers-- even if they only last a couple weeks. They make my house feel more than a home :)

    The last delicious thing I ate was chicken at Jarod's house last night. He had marinated it in Italian dressing beforehand and it was great!

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    1. Omg, it was so good! And I don't just think I'm saying that because I was famished and really anything would have tasted good at that point haha!

      I hope a Spartan is in your cards next year too! I'm already itching to do another one. But it was smart for you to not do one while marathon training - how horrible if you hurt yourself during it, hey? Not worth it!

      I really need to splurge on fresh flowers more often - I agree, they really make your home a HOME. :)

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  4. You guys rock, it sounded like a hard race, Can't wait to hear more. I need to get to SM with the fam, looks like! I have a heard so many good things about it being family friendly. Plus pretty flowers!!

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    1. Oh man, so tough! But worth it. Yes, you guys definitely need to check out Spruce Meadows. Even if you have to pay to get in during an event, there's usually so much to see and do. But during the days you can usually just go to the grounds for free.

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  5. It was!! But in a good way :) I thought after I did it I would feel "complete", but I'm already itching to do it again, lol. I think I did a very similar 5K mud run like you speak of…it was last summer and the first time this particular one was put on and it was pretty silly in comparison!
    I love fresh flowers too, but I almost never splurge to buy them.

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  6. Omg I am SO proud of you for completing that race!! Congrats chicky!!! Can't wait to do another one with you one day in the near future. Hope you have a wonderful couple of days with mama, wish I was there too!! xoxoxo

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  7. Buy, but fun weekend you had! Can't wait to hear more about the Spartan race. Spruce Meadows looks like fun...I've never been there. Love your dining room chairs! Hope you have a great visit with your mom :)

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