posted by Lee@Tri*Inspired*Life on Fun, Ironman

Saturday was a full day with a swim and run on the training plan, as well as, a stop at Trader Joe’s and other errands/chores to get done.   The day flew by and before I realized, it was time for dinner out with friends!  For about a year, we have discussed trying this ”new to us” restaurant in Durham.  The restaurant is called Dame’s Chicken & Waffles and I have read lots of good things about it.  From the name of the restaurant, you can already tell that it was definitely a splurge dinner!

Growing up in the South, there are lots of dishes that I love, but I have to enjoy on rare occasions/in moderation.  One of my favorites has always been my mom’s fried chicken, which I actually have not had in a very long time!  I had never tried chicken and waffles, but I knew it would be a delicious pairing! 

We rode to Durham with our friends and even though there was a long wait for a table, we were fortunate enough to grab seats immediately at the bar, where they also served dinner.  Nicole and I had a delicious version of a strawberry mimosa while we all chatted. 

The order was chicken and waffles all around, just different versions/flavors for each of us.  I had the classic waffle with chicken cutlets and a strawberry “shmear “ on the side (whipped butter combined with strawberries).  My meal was quite tasty and you can see from the portion size that it was generous…even so, I still ate every bite (I guess the swim and run from earlier in the day really worked up my appetite)! 

The group thoroughly enjoyed dinner and we all left with full bellies.  We headed back to our friends’ house and hung out there a while until Tony and I called it a night.  We had a bike ride on the plan for the following morning while our friends were hitting a long trail run. 

For Sunday, Tony and I decided to attend a group ride that Inside Out Triathlon Club was hosting.  The ride started in downtown Raleigh and covered part of the Raleigh 70.3 course.  Since we are very familiar with the course and know that it has its fair share of challenges, we thought it would be a good ride.   The ride was a 40-mile ride, which was a bit shorter than the scheduled time on my training plan.  However, we figured it would be a solid pace ride and that would result in a good day of training.

After we headed out of downtown to start the ride, Tony and I worked our way up to try to hang with the front of the pack.  It is hard to stick with the group when the course has stoplights and lots of people that have to get through.  We hung with the front of the pack for the first hour and then we fell into a smaller group of 5-7 that really ended up being a good move.  The ride with the front of the pack had a lot of “rubber-banding”…quick starts/stops which make it harder to fall into a steady pace.  After we formed our smaller group, we were able to maintain a good, steady pace that seemed to work for the small group.  The ride totaled just over 40 miles and our average pace was 18.1.  I was pleased with that for this early season ride. 

All in all it was a good ride and we were glad we decided to join the group for the day.   The morning started a bit cool, but it was sunny and so it really was a pretty day!  I plan to watch out for more group rides that may pair up with some of my training.  It is a good way to meet new people and check out different scenery.  However, I still love being able to walk out of my house and jump on my bike! 

 

Tags: Fun, Ironman, Training