We were spoiled with amazingly beautiful weather over the past four days in Greenville, SC. With family in town (and my mom living a mile away), we combined our love of physical activity + nature + food with the Thanksgiving holiday. Oh, and Campy was part of almost all of it!
For a change of scenery and terrain, we decided to do our Thanksgiving day workout at Lake Summit. Because this 9-mile run loop is about 30 minutes away, we rarely make the drive to Tuxedo, NC to run on the gravel road that wraps around the lake (with a short section on the paved road). But with the Thanksgiving holiday, we ventured out to get closer to nature.
It was a fairly aerobic run with a few hard efforts to get up the hills. It was also a bit windy but overall the temperature was perfect in the low 50's. Karel is much faster than me when he runs so we each did our own thing (while listening to triathlon-related podcasts on our wireless earphones) and Karel would loop back for me here and there.
While we ran, Karel's mom took Campy for an out and back walk. She really enjoys walking Campy and Campy loves to be outside. After his 75-minute walk, Campy was pooped and napped the entire drive home.
After we got home, I finished up the brussels sprouts and pomegranate salad that I made for Thanksgiving (I'll share the recipe tomorrow) and a few hours later (around 2:30pm), it was time for us to head over to my mom's house for the Thanksgiving dinner.
I celebrated my 27th Thanksgiving as a vegetarian and like each year in the past, my plate was loaded with color, yumminess and plant-based foods. From left to right, mashed sweet potatoes, my brussels sprouts salad, roasted veggies, cranberry sauce, tempeh in the middle, stuffing (not cooked inside the bird and made with vegetarian gravy) and a slice of bread with brie. Not pictured was a slice of Challah bread that Karel's mom made. And for dessert, I had a small bite of pumpkin pie and ice cream (I prefer bread-type desserts over pies and cookies but the pumpkin pie was homemade and you can't beat homemade desserts that are prepared with love).
As per tradition, Campy joined us for his 11th Thanksgiving dinner. He always finds himself a place at a the table before the humans sit down to eat. Lucky Campy even got offered wine from my uncle. Campy declined - he's only 12 yrs old :-)
After we finished our dinner, Campy got his plate (tradition) of turkey, veggies and potatoes. It was consumed in less than 30 seconds. We all finished the day with very happy bellies.
On Friday, my family planned a short hike at Triple Falls at DuPont State Forest. My mom is in a hiking club (with Olli at Furman) so every Thursday (and sometimes twice a week) she goes to different places with her hiking group. I was excited to see somewhere new as we haven't explored a lot of hiking routes in our beautiful area of Greenville, SC (we typically just see sights via bike).
Since the location where we were hiking was on one of our biking routes, Karel and I decided to bike to Dupont to meet my family around 11am. We left at 8:30am and managed to arrive before they did. It was a 34 mile road trip but we rode a few more miles around the area while waiting for my family to arrive by car. It was a perfect morning for a ride as it was cool and cloudy but not too cold. Our route took us over Caesar's Head - a 6.5 mile climb/~2100 feet elevation gained. It was a hilly ride to Dupont (a little over 4000 feet elevation gain in 2.5 hours) but it was a great way to spend the morning. After a quick change (we had bags/food in the car), we ventured out on the trails. The trail was a bit busy but it was great to see so many people outside on Black Friday.
Karel was only able to hike for about an hour as he had to get back home for a scheduled bike fit with an athlete later in the afternoon. He took his mom back so Campy and I stayed with the rest of my family. The hike was around 4.22 miles total and we saw two beautiful waterfalls. The weather was incredible - it actually got really warm!
Campy was (mostly) on his best behavior as there was a lot of stimulation with all the people and so so so many dogs.
After the hike, we drove to Pretty Place. We have lived in Greenville, SC since 2014 and this was my first time seeing the magnificent view! Karel still hasn't seen it. I'm sure we will bike up there together one of these days. Since Karel took the bikes back in our car (which was driven to the hike by my uncle), I rode with my mom, aunt, uncle and two others. It was a tight squeeze but we made it work. We had a picnic lunch at Pretty Place and soaked in the view.
After the ride, I had an icelandic yogurt and a few figs (and a poppyseed pastry made by Karel's mom). Then for lunch, I had a banana and PB&J sandwich (made on homemade bread, by Karel's mom). It was all delicious!
Then we made one last stop to the overlook at Caesar's head. I can't get enough of this view. It never gets old.
We had leftovers for dinner on Friday evening and then it was early to bed for me. I was toast. I managed to sleep 10 hours on Friday evening and I needed every minute of it!
On Saturday morning, Karel and I went to Furman for a swim workout at 9:30am. After the 3900 yard swim, we did a good 30-minute strength session at the gym. We then had lunch (Karel's mom is spoiling us - we will be sad to see her go in a week!) and went to downtown Greenville with my family. It was great to see so many people in our lovely downtown for Small Business Saturday. Our award winning downtown has over 100 shops and boutiques and restaurants spread over several blocks of walkable tree-lined streets.
On Saturday morning, Karel and I went to Furman for a swim workout at 9:30am. After the 3900 yard swim, we did a good 30-minute strength session at the gym. We then had lunch (Karel's mom is spoiling us - we will be sad to see her go in a week!) and went to downtown Greenville with my family. It was great to see so many people in our lovely downtown for Small Business Saturday. Our award winning downtown has over 100 shops and boutiques and restaurants spread over several blocks of walkable tree-lined streets.
Although we didn't make it to our favorite run store - Run In - we were there earlier in the week to pick up new shoes and a few other small items. I was happy to see that my two books are making their way off the shelves! Thanks for the support Run In!!
While walking in downtown, Campy helped me look for the Mice on Main.
Our downtown is very dog-friendly. You can bring your dog into almost every store and even a few food-serving stores. There are dog bowls everywhere and an all-around feel for a love of dogs.
Karel managed to find himself some croissants which he quickly enjoyed with his mom. We picked up Happy and Hale for dinner and then ate at our place with my family. After my family left around 6:30pm, Karel and I had to get some work done until we went to bed around 9pm. Another busy, productive and active day.
As for Sunday, we kept this day a bit more chill. Well, our bike/run workout was incredibly challenging and exhausting but the rest of the day didn't include any family activities - just time at home to get some work done and watch the Ironman World Championship NBC Coverage. Campy finally got a well-needed recovery day from all of his outings and adventures.
Thanks for reading. We hope you had a great weekend!
As for Sunday, we kept this day a bit more chill. Well, our bike/run workout was incredibly challenging and exhausting but the rest of the day didn't include any family activities - just time at home to get some work done and watch the Ironman World Championship NBC Coverage. Campy finally got a well-needed recovery day from all of his outings and adventures.
Thanks for reading. We hope you had a great weekend!