Beer Chugging Contest & a 5k Trail Race

I think all blogs should include in the title; beer chugging and racing. Always.

As usual, when you have a thousand and one things planned, the weekend goes by far too fast and the next thing you know, you’re sitting at your desk come Monday morning wondering who pressed the fast forward button and why are they being so cruel?

Paulette and Kevin came out to visit me this past weekend and because we like to do stuff, our schedule was jammed packed with activities. To make skimming this post a bit easier, I will list those activities now -

Ran the loop around Lake Natoma where I might have gotten lost and where I might have added on a mile and a half more. So we did  twelve  plus miles. Who’s counting really? It was fun!

Unbreakable movie viewing party. 635 times watched for me. 1st time for P & K. I might have been banished from the room from all my commentary. Regardless how many times seen, it is a really good documentary portraying the heart and soul of the Western States 100 mile endurance race.

Oktoberfest in Placerville! I had a cute outfit planned, but the rain ruined all apparel hopes and dreams. Out of nowhere, the air was crisp and cold that included a downpour. We didn’t let the weather stop us from guzzling beer on Main St. My friend Megan also joined us and together we braved the rain where we watched Weiner dog contests, ate yummy vegan food at the Cosmic Cafe, and perhaps got a bit tipsy. Tipsy to the point where I voluntarily signed up for a beer chugging contest. Of all the things I have done, I still seem to surprise myself. I was nervous. I peed three, no four times before the contest began, because you know, I wanted to make sure I was an empty tank. I competed against 8 other girls and right from the start, I didn’t stand a chance. Apparently, I shared the stage with two time champion. She guzzled her beer before you could even say “Drink.” Looking at all the mugs set down on the table from the other losing contestants, I’d like to think that I took 2nd place! Of course, this observation was made after chugging a liter full of beer, so who really knows the truth? It was fun. And, I would do it again! I would also dance more polka with Paulette. She is quite good and a great dance teacher. Randomly, I had a line in a school performance once, in like 3rd grade or something; “To dance ze Polka is what I like best, especially at ze Oktoberfest.” So I guess that line from way back when came true! Oh, the things we remember.

 

 

Ze Girls

 

Dancing Ze Polka

 

That's me in the hat chugging away.

Kissing balloon Weiner...Dog.

Beerfest movie viewing. 1,000 times watched by me. 1st time again for the P & K. It was a day of 1sts!

And now, what we have all been waiting for - The almost ending of this post -5k trail race the morning after Oktoberfest. Sometimes we do silly things, but most of the time we never really regret signing up for races even if we were a tad hung over. So, we headed down to El Dorado Hills and participated in a community race that benefited the school district - Making the Grade, Run for Education. The course was a combination of trail and pavement (mostly trail) and held some good climbs. The first hill climbed seemed to go on forever with a fun little spiral. It was at this point that I walked, saw kevin in the distance pretty much making that climb his bitch, and wishing I had my phone so that I could document his manly dash. After the spiral hill, there was a pavement part that went down, down, down into the city streets. I loved this part as I ran past, past, past everyone. Well not everyone, but a lot of people okay! Back on the trail, I was loving the fact that I was running fast and on trails which at this point was fairly flat. There were a couple of guys I was running with and by guys I mean one who was around my age, the other maybe 10. I passed the 10 year old and kept the green shirt guy in my view.  In true Alisyn fashion, I turned myself on auto pilot and just focused on following green shirt guy. I followed green shirt guy (who does have a name that I found out later was Justin) up a steep, steep hill. He turned around with a few others back down that steep hill and I realized I (we) had missed the turn. As I looked in the distance I saw three or four, maybe five women all going the correct course, all now ahead of me. Sigh. That’s the way the cookie crumbles at times. I also saw Paulette right before the turn giving me a puzzled look. No time for small chat now. I rounded the corner and tried with all my might to catch up with those ladies who knew how to follow directions. My legs had nothing more in them. I crossed the finish line in 30:35. Not bad for trails, hills, and adding on extra distance I must say. I placed 31st overall, 10th Female, and 2nd in my Ag. The best part was - We all Placed! Paulette came in 3rd right behind me, and Kevin placed 1st! It was a very fun well organized community event. I would have had a better finishing time if I actually paid attention to my surrounding, but whatever. No regrets. And I am so happy I was able to participate with my fabulous friends.

 

Pre Race Brrrr

AG winners - 1st, 2nd, & 3rd! New Friend Christina in the middle!

Green Shirt guy Justin & Kevin

So there you have it, my weekend that included every juicy detail from beer chugging delights to morning after trail 5k’s!