Free wine and an award

Red Coyote is a local running store in Oklahoma City and they were hosting a customer appreciation Christmas party. 

As usual, I can be bribed to attend and free wine was offered. I'd like to mention that Red Coyote does have a special place in my heart. 

They give back to the community in so many ways, besides the free wine. They host a weekly run with beer provided by Coop Ale Works, also from Oklahoma City. 

They collect all sorts of donations for a variety of nonprofits. And they host classes on running (those aren't free but people make lifelong friendships so that's a community service in my opinion.)

The store has only been around for 5 years and it has made quite the impact. This year the store can also boast store of the year for best running store in the country. What an accomplishment! Congrats Red Coyote! I love you for pack pint runs and great gear. 

Disclaimer, I was bribed by the free flowing wine but all of this blog post is my opinion the day after the buzz has worn off. Red Coyote is a great store. 

Chili cook off at Mustang Brewery

I had a great time hanging out with friends, listening to live local music and judging chili. There were two tickets: red for the hottest and green for the best overall. After tasting 16 or so different chili, you vote with the ticket.

There were plenty of beautiful peppers to photograph. 

The Red Earth Brewers had three different chili's in the competition. 

There was a lot of chili and competition. My stomach was full just from all the different kinds that I tried. There were chicken chili's, chili with beans, chili without beans. I steered clear of the hottest of chili's because that is not good for me.

The competition was a fundraiser for Local, a non-profit looking to change the liquor laws in Oklahoma. Maybe that's pie in the sky but it is worth a shot. Grass roots efforts have changed the world before. I didn't stick around for the winner announcement but I did leave with a full belly of chili.

Oklahoma Craft Beer Festival

I had so much fun at the festival this year and I'm sure that I drank 2 weeks worth of beer in one night. Totally worth it. 

Oddly enough, the pretzel necklaces were confiscated at the door. I had mine in a bag and they weren't checking the bags or purses. 

This year the festival was inside because the weather could have been severe. Thankfully, nothing happened.

We got to enjoy our favorite brewery and found a few new favorites.

After the festival we headed to Fassler Hall, a German beer place. We enjoyed another pretzel and beer of course. 

Then we decided to walk to The Pump. It was a mile walk but good for burning off some of those calories. They have a $5 special, a shot and a light beer. I'll get that again but maybe not a shot of tequila.

The festival was a success and we all had a great time. If you're in Oklahoma City, it's an event to not miss out on.

Oklahoma Craft Beer Week

The Red Earth Brewers hosted a craft beer forum in honor of Oklahoma Craft Beer week. The finale of this week will be at TapWerks for the Oklahoma Craft Beer festival. I'm praying for good weather. 

The forum was held at DC on Film Row in downtown Oklahoma City. It was a little bit of a walk but we managed to get there and have a afternoon.

The cups were really cute. I love a good beer cup. The weather was questionable so it was risky walking there and back. In the end we had no issues. At the time we were in a tornado watch. It's a crazy time of year in Oklahoma. 

Blue is not one to smile for my photos. 

All the beers were home brewed in Oklahoma and I enjoyed what I tasted. There was so much beer that I didn't taste it all. It was a relatively small and laid back event.

Before heading home, we walked to Sauced for a little patio and pizza and another beer. At that point we had walked around 5 miles and I thought the pizza was earned and delicious. We discovered today that Sauced has a basement, which is good to know this time of year. I needed to know where a shelter is at and its 2 blocks away.

The next post will be my new training schedule. There will be a post on the craft beer festival too.

What beer means to me...

Many years ago, I went through a dark time. A time when my husband went to grad school in a different state for two miserable years. I grew a lot during that time. I learned that I am a strong person. At times, it would be difficult for me to get out and socialize.

I was living in Denver and on the weekends my only conversations were with the cats. This was because all my friends moved away around the same time as well. After I graduated my grad program, I needed to find something to occupy my social time. If I didn't, I found myself wallowing in depression. Cats are sweet but that wasn't enough.

I went to meetup.com and found Pedals and Pints. I'd go biking with them regularly. I started to go to beer dinners at a couple of the chain breweries. I went on beer brewery tours. I made friends and did my best to have fun. 

This blog was originally started during this time. The blog was a great source of therapy then too. I didn't have any followers and I didn't participate in blog hops. None of that mattered because I was able to express my feeling and emotions. 

So beer has a special place in my heart. Now I drink beer for the enjoyment and craft. I look forward to my first batch of craft beer. I am also thankful for all the seasoned Brewers in Red Earth Brewers in Oklahoma City. They've been a great support in getting me prepared.

Running exploits

This past weekend, I ran the Remember The Ten Run in Stillwater. It's about an hour north of Oklahoma City. 

Pre-race selfie with the flag. We opted for the 10k, which was the perfect taper run for the memorial half coming up this Sunday. 

Sunday's weather is looking good so far!

I look ridiculous in this photo because my arms are not long enough. I swear I don't have a double chin! We were close to my pr, with a finish time of 1:24 (pr is 1:21). I'd like to do a few more 10ks to work on speed but there's not a lot of races that offer that length. 

Post race lunch was delicious but I was wishing there was more avocado. Tonight is the veggie dinner at Picasso Cafe! Check my Instagram for photos of each course and each wine. 

Race recap and beer brewing update

The race was a large loop around Oklahoma City and I started my app early. Which is probably why, I see 13 miles here. My official time was 2:54:10, which is respectable. 

I've decided to brew my beer in other Rogue beer bottles. I'm now trying to decide which fun duck tape to cover the label with. I'm currently leaning towards leopard print. 

The Ides of March vegetarian dinner...

...at Picasso Cafe in the Paseo Arts District of Oklahoma City. No compensation was received. I enjoyed this dinner and you can too through the following photos. 

Menu

Bruschetta 

Tomato soup with eggplant frites, yum!

Lots of white wine. 

Entree had some kick to it!

This liquer kicked my butt!

Dessert was amazing! Dear Picasso Cafe, I will be back!