Life's Tasty Adventures

Yesterday was SUCH a great day! Not only did the humidity totally die down, I went out with my best friend for a day of girlie fun.

Breakfast was on the go. Almost quite literally actually. I grabbed a bagel with peanut butter and a large iced coffee to bring to the train station (aptly named the “Go” train).

Anyone else who’s switched to all natural nut butters now find Kraft peanut butter gross? It’s like icing or something? Ever have it in oatmeal?! EWWWW!!!!!!!

“Girlie fun” has now included an approx. 12k+ trail run through the Niagara Escarpment…but what we didn’t know was that the 5 Peaks Trail Run series was happening that morning.

We came through a major entrance and there were absolutely no signs (the above picture was taken half way through our run) about it at all so we started and then saw all the little markers on the trail floor (those little yellow and orange flags you see on the ground in the pictures). Then we came upon an aid station! That’s when we found out that the race started at 10am! So we decided to keep going because it didn’t seem to be a closed course. One of the things I remember about this particular trail was this killer hill that happened about a quarter of the way through it. Looking at the following pictures now, you can even see the hill but it’s a killer!

Seriously, this is the uphill and it doesn’t really do it justice. It feels like it goes directly up to the sky and goes on for quite some time. So we took a few deep breaths at the base of the hill and then tackled it! I somehow made it to the top on my very slow jog (more like a speed walk) and we got to the top and if my legs and lungs would’ve let me, I would’ve jumped for joy and screamed: “I’M THE QUEEN OF RUNNING!!!!!”

This is the view from the top of the hill but still doesn’t do it justice, that little curve on the right just drops right downhill for what seems like ever and ever and ever! Trust me, when we were on our way back we stood close to this hill and cheered on the racers like crazy and they all seemed really thankful!

This is SUCH a beautiful area. I went with Shannon once a couple of years ago to WALK the trail so it was pretty cool to think we were back running it! I hope to try this again, I can definitely see me getting into trail running more, much prettier than the concrete jungles of Toronto!

This is our post-run, salt-lick selves!

Afterwards we headed back to Shannon’s beautiful new house in Burlington to shower off and then head downtown for some lunch! We ended up at Adobo on John St.

We were expecting a bit more grease but it turned out to be really quite healthy!!! In fact, the website states that offering healthy traditional Mexican food is part of their mission statement! Rock ON!

We started off chips and guac!

The chips weren’t greasy at all and the guac wasn’t too strong, it was nice and creamy with a touch of citrus. And the salsa was great! Not your typical tomato salsa, this one was jalapano salsa that wasn’t crazy hot, just hot enough!

Of course, when you’ve just come from a hot trail run you need to get your electrolytes in and I discovered the perfect post-run drink:

Lime margaritas!!! Think about it, lime and ice for your dehydration, salt for electrolyte replacement and tequila as a muscle relaxant! Perfection!

We decided to share corn tacos for lunch. We received three small tacos with the perfect serving of rice, tomatoes, cactus(!), romaine lettuce, cheese, sour cream and guac. We were really impressed with the smaller portions.

Then it was time for the star of the show! The pedicure! Yup, we decided that a trail run followed by a pedicure was the perfect thing for a couple of best friends to do! Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures but I’ll still rave about it!

Shannon called up the Posh Contessa and made us two appointments for the “Posh Pedicure”. This is what the website says about what we got:

Our spa’s signature pedicure, the most luxurious and the must have service for all overworked feet. Featuring an Aroma Salt Soak with Rose Petals in our massage jet spa pedicure throne. Zents’ Shea Butter Salt Scrub. A relaxing massage with Zents hot oil. 23 karat gold oil from Linden Leaves of New Zealand will soften your skin further and a treatment with Zents Concreta Deep Conditioning Balm to seal off the treatment. You deserve to be pampered!

Oh yes, we got our feet massaged with 23 karat gold oil! I can’t tell you enough to go here if you’re in the Burlington area! They gave us the best leg and foot massage and the lotions, scrubs and oils were fantastic! Not to mention the polish itself was done with such precision and care that I can’t stop staring at my toes (that’s going to make for a very difficult day, I’m sure)! We walked out of there feeling like a million bucks and our feet sliding in our sandals as they felt soft as baby feet!

Dinner was back at Shannon’s casa with her boyfriend (they just bought their absolutely beautiful home at the end of May). We started off with some yummy, fresh, black olive loaf with an artichoke and asiago dip and a spicy hummus!

Ian (Shannon’s boyfriend) was a total doll and made us dinner of grilled veggies and faux veggie chicken on the BBQ. It was divine!

I had such a fabulous day visiting Shannon (and Ian)! I have known Shannon since we were both single digits and have been through a LOT together. Some good, some bad, a few years of distance, but we’ve come back into each other’s lives better and more mature individuals. It’s a comforting thought knowing you have a friend for life! Shannon’s one of those awesome people that proves that if you want something, you can get it, you just may have to work hard but keep your eye on the prize and get at it! She inspires me on a daily basis!

Time to boast! Tell me about YOUR best friend! What makes them the bestest?!

Sunday, July 11th, 2010, 8:45 AM   |   All Posts, Breakfast, Dinner, Life, Lunch, Running  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback