Life...After Tri

With Ironman Kona World Championships being held Saturday, triathlon season is officially over. And while I've been on a workout hiatus (mostly to let my plantar fasciitis heal in my feet), I've been enjoying the other things life has to offer!

So, on Saturday, I went to "Renn Fest" overwise known as the Maryland Rennaisance Festival. It's been a very long time since I've been to one, but it seems they haven't changed at all. I had a blast eating every kind of meat on a stick you can think of: steak on a stake, pork on a stick, chicken kabobs, turkey legs...you name it!


We also had grilled corn on the cob that had been "stripped and dipped" in sinful amounts of butter, apple dumplings, soup in bread bowls, and fried macaroni and cheese on a stick!!!! Okay, I confess, I couldn't eat the mac n' cheese or the deep fried twinkie on a stick. No wonder the people in the Tudor period were so fat!










The boys tried to drench a wench, we all tried our hands at shooting arrows (some were much worse than others...) and we took a turn at throwing the Battle Axes. I was the only person, male or female, who was able to get my axe to stick in the tree


We ate and drank all day, and I nearly had to be rolled out to the parking lot by the end of the day. Next time, I'm dressing up like all the other folks though....



On Sunday, Michelle, Liz and I decided we needed to walk off all that meat on a stick, and we drove out to the Shenandoah Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains to climb Old Rag Mountain. We couldn't have asked for a better day; crystal clear blue skies, and temps expected to top at 70.

We stopped in Sperryvillefor some deli sandwiches, and then headed up the mountain.

The first mile was fireroad, then a good mile or so uphill trail hike traversing the mountain, and then you finally come out of the forest and can see the bald, boulder summit. There's a pretty good, just-technical-enough-to-be-fun, 1 mile boulder scramble to the top of Old Rag. The total vertical is 2500ft climb, and the elevation of the summit is 3,291 feet.

We stopped at the top for lunch, and enjoyed the view. Unfortunately, due to the severe drought in Virginia, there was no fall foliage or "leaf peeping" to be had--most of the trees are still green, and those that are turning are simply going brown and dying.




But that definitely didn't take away from the beautiful views at the top.

I'm very glad I did the hike, although by the time we finished the 7.2 mile loop, I was done with the hiking boots! Definitely need new ones....

RennFest/Old Rag photos