Muffins as Big as Your Head - Miles for Meridian 5k 2020

Today was my 3rd race in as many weeks, a small 5k benefiting Meridian Behavioral HealthCare, Inc, our county's local Substance Abuse and Mental Health support. I work with them a lot because of my job, so this was a no-brainer.

This morning got off to a very chilly start, at only 37º at 8am. I was smart enough this time to wear tights under my skirt, as well as my typical quarter-zip, gloves, and base layer. Also, yay, I found my earmuffs!

I. Don't. Like. Cold!

I've not been to the Tioga Town Center in years, so I wasn't really sure where I was supposed to park, and when I got there, it was busy! I drove around a little bit and found a little nook of parking spaces, dedicated to some of the businesses (which weren't open because it was the weekend), and scored a spot there. And it turned out to be a great spot, I was just a little bit away from the packet pickup area, as you can see on the map.

I parked at the Red arrow; the race was near the Green diamond

The lines for packet pickup were long, but went quickly. (Funny note: The guy in the white shirt in the photo below is actually the County Fire Rescue Chief, and I bumped into him a few weeks later at Gasparilla!)

Long, but quick lines

I ran back to the car to dump my stuff then came back just in time to see some Zumba action, but wasn't feelin' it, so I headed up towards the start line to find some sunshine.

Stretch it out, dude

That dude is ready for love

The race itself, like I said, was very small, so not a lot to take photos of. The residential area of Tioga is very lovely with some first phase development blending into some of the newer phases of development and lots of condos near the center's town square. It was originally billed to be it's own community which would have everything it needed and be a walkable community. So many years later (15? 20?), the actual Town Center is full of pretentious overpriced restaurants and hair salons, grocery shopping is not walking distance at all, and the massive amount of people who live here contribute to the bloat and blight of the nearby highways. Good job!

Unintentionally artsy... Nice

Here I come

My official time was 54:03 (pace 17:26), coming in 410th out of 477 total runners. Coincidentally, I was 40th out of 44 runners in my age group (F4044!). 

I am still so cold!

I got my medal, which was amazing! It weighs almost half a pound!

Photo Credit: the Race's Facebook Page

Then I walked around the few booths that were out afterwards, picking up random swag.

Reusable Bag, Plastic cups, Gu, candy and snacks, random Nutella and Cream Cheese

The bag squishes down into itself for easy storage! Neat!

But unfortunately, it was just too cold for me. I headed back to the car and made a beeline for a local bakery (The Mill Bakery) I never get a chance to hit up (due to it's location) for a muffin.

Despite how quiet it looked from outside, the inside was packed! I felt like I was shoving my tushie in someones face, their table was so close to the bakery case. I didn't know they did a sit-down business as well, so I'll definitely have to come back for that.

But what I was here for? Oh, I'm in trouble... Originally, I was here for a Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin.

But then I saw the case... (this photo is one of two cases, jampacked with delicious baked goods).

Photo Credit: The Mill Bakery on Yelp

And then I saw the menu board, which really did me in... If you bought 5 muffins, you got one free. Since I'd already planned on buying two muffins (just for myself), I decided why the hell not? and went for a half-dozen. I got a Butter Rum, a Cinnamon Streusel, a Chocolate Peanut Butter, a Blueberry, and two Chocolate Chocolate Chip muffins. For only $10! That made each muffin only $1.75 or so... What a freakin' steal! (Oh, and they were So. Freaking. GOOD.)

***********************************************************************************

Hi, folks! Lazy here... 

Coming back and editing some of my posts from this year...

 
On February 3rd, the WHO chief stated "widespread travel bans were not needed to beat China virus" (only a few days after Trump was accused of racism). On February 5th, after three years of bullshit, months of hearings and inquiries, and almost a month of an official trial, President Trump was impeached by the US Senate, and acquitted by the US House. Why is this important? Well, if Congress had spent as much time worrying about Chinese coronavirus as they did on things that Trump didn't do, the country might be better off right now... 

This tweet (and accompanying story) is still up as of 6/4/2020

On February 6th, the first Coronavirus death was recorded in California (though it wasn't identified or reported as such until after an autopsy months later in April). The next day on February 7th, Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who tried to raise the alarm on Covid-19 back in December, suspiciously died in China (many say he was murdered by the Chinese government for whistleblowing). Before his death, he'd said "I realized... I would probably be punished."

And on February 9th, two prominent New York officials took to Twitter to encourage people to come out of their homes, to join in Lunar New Year festivities, and stick it to the President. 

This tweet is still up as of 6/4/2020

This tweet is still up as of 6/4/2020