A Marathon of a Weekend

I knew it would be a busy weekend for me (when is it not?) With my high school reunion, wedding planning galore and marathon #6 on tap I knew my visit home to Cleveland would be action packed. Of course the weekend plans did not disappoint!

Cleveland!

I got to spend time with my Dad eating at healthy middle-Eastern restaurant Aladdin's Eatery followed by dessert treats at Cleveland fave Malley's.

Who can resist the Pink Elephant sundae - peppermint ice cream with hot fudge & penauts

Friday brought wedding errands galore - looking at invitations, going to the florist, the venue, meeting with the caterer - whew! Luckily their was a stop for lunch at Willoughby Brewing Company and then a fun dinner out with my high school girls Erin and Kate with their significant others at Latin fusion restaurant Paladar.

With my girls Erin & Kate

Saturday brought a 15 year high school reunion (shockingly it's been that long!), lunch with my parents and Grandma at Mitchell's Fish Market and dress shopping #1. Luckily there was a few hours of rest time before a relaxing dinner of carbs at Italian-American favorite Mama Roberto's.

Italian-American pastas - the portions are big enough to share AND have leftovers!

Sunday was Marathon day in Cleveland! My parents neighbors Scott and Deidra are also runners and were nice enough to drive me down for the 7 am race start. The Cleveland marathon starts just behind the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame at the Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Pre-race in front of the Rock Hall

It was not my fastest marathon (Cleveland was actually my slowest of the 6 I've now run) and I'm blaming that in part to the 80+ degree temperatures, but it was wonderful to run all around my fair home city!

Start of the race

My Mom made for a fabulous cheering squad at mile 24, and my Aunt, cousin Heather and her fiance were also a stellar cheer team. My cousin Stephen ran his first marathon, and I keep telling him he's going to want to do more after this. After an afternoon resting we all enjoyed dinner with my grandmother for hibachi style Japanese.

It really was a marathon of a weekend and I'm happy to say I wouldn't have changed anything.