Not-So-Fall Run + Opening Night

Good morning!! It’s a nice and chilly one in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Judging from the leaves on the ground vs. on trees ratio, I’m afraid it looks like the beginning of the end… of fall that is.

Super pouty sad face to that.

How was your weekend? Did you all have a fabulous Halloween? Any fun trick-or-treat outings with little ones or staying in to see all of the costumes?

We were in Florida for Halloween last year, so we weren’t sure if we would be getting visitors at our house or not. I made sure to pick up plenty of candy, just in case.

Good thing I picked a bag (or two) of our favorites, because we got a whopping zero doorbell rings. Bummer.

The community we live in doesn’t house a lot of young families, so I guess that isn’t too surprising. That, and it was freezing, rainy, and windy out. Poor kids!

Scott and I had a very low-key, quiet night in. No costumes, no parties, just all the scary movies. I made sure to share a photo, just for my other #halloweencouchpotato friends out there. Turn up, ya’ll.

Not-So-Fall Run

So about this not-so-fall weather rolling in. Let’s talk about that.

I’m just… not ready.

Last weekend was the definition of beautiful fall weather and this past weekend… well… it’s just wasn’t. It felt like the beginning of winter.

I noticed it the most on my 11 mile training run Saturday.

To be honest, I wasn’t one bit thrilled about this one. It was still really windy outside, but at least it had warmed up to the 40s. So, I put on my big girl running pants, layered up, and set out hoping to make a decent time.

I made my standard 5.5 mile loop around the house, then stopped back in quickly to re-fuel with water and a Gu energy gel.

By the way, the Peanut Butter flavor is on point if you’ve never tried it. Probably the most tolerable I’ve tried yet!

Without too much stop time, I headed right back out the door and decided to take a somewhat new route for the rest of my mileage. I stayed on main roads, and heard the weirdest thing about two miles out.

It was a very loud, drawn out siren.

I thought it was my music at first, and then possibly a fire truck. When my music paused and it was still going on a couple of minutes later, I started racking my brain trying to think what it could possibly be.

Of course, the dramatic side of me came out and thought “whoa… serial killer on the loose alert?” I was just waiting for a helicopter to fly overhead. When that didn’t happen, the next thing I thought of was a tornado sighting. Was it a warning? It was pretty windy out.

When it didn’t stop, I got worried. I started walking and called Scott to ask what he thought it was. He was born and raised in the Midwest, so he knows all about those types of things.

He said they were probably testing for severe winter weather alerts. There weren’t any tornados.

Welp, I guess that confirmed it. Winter is near, my friends.

The good news, however, is this little siren freak out nudged me to turn around and head back home. In doing so, I stumbled upon a new trail and got to take in some fantastic views!

You just never know where roads might take you when you’re running for miles upon miles.

Since it was only getting windier, I was anxious to get home and warm up as soon as I could.

I pushed through my 11 miles and actually made better time than I thought I would. I stopped my fitness watch when I went inside at the halfway mark, but kept it running through all of my picture taking and traffic stops. I clocked in at 1:36:51, not too shabby!

I only had a little bit of recovery time to grab something warm for lunch, so I quickly heated up leftover noodles and topped it with a jar of Amy’s vegetable chili and shredded cheese.

(And finished my morning cup of coffee… yum.)

I just love me a good, hearty and healthy version of chili five ways!

It certainly hit the spot.

Detroit Pistons Opening Night

As soon as I finished eating, stretching, and foam rolling, I hopped in the shower and got ready as fast as I could. I left the house by 4:30 p.m. to pick Scott’s mom up from the airport in Flint.

The Detroit airport is actually the same distance as the Flint airport, and I couldn’t believe how much easier it was to get in, park, and get out. Sometimes small airports are the way to go!

This is Scott’s mom’s first time visiting us in Michigan, so we are very excited to have her! I took Becky straight to the arena to see Scott, and we were so glad she was able to make such a special game.

I enjoyed showing her around my old stomping grounds and introduced her to many familiar faces we saw along the way.

(Hi Nichole!!)

We made it to our seats in plenty of time and were excited for the intros. Every NBA team puts on a show for the season opener!

Intros were fun, and I spent the first quarter telling her all about our team and what to expect.

(That huge jumbotron screen still blows my mind!)

We didn’t want to miss the half time show, so we made a dinner run halfway through the second quarter. I introduced her to the mac and cheese stand and she was definitely a fan.

(I sprinkled mine with red pepper flakes. Whew… was that spicy!)

Of course, both of our phones maxed out in photo space when halftime came around. I was disappointed, but glad to find this article to show just how cool it was, including a video.

It’s only a snippet of the show, but starts with HOOPER (remember that crazy horse mascot?) coming in from the ceiling and ends with a spontaneous appearance by Kid Rock himself. (Check it out!!)

The entire show was themed “Detroit Pride” and featured hit music from Detroit music legends. The appearance by Kid Rock wasn’t planned, and he agreed to go out on the court at the last minute and say hello after the tribute to him. Pretty cool!

My favorite part of the night was our appearance on the Dance Cam.

Longtime readers might remember me posting about The Dancing Usher last year, and we just so happened to have tickets right next to his famous stairwell. (You can see me snapping a photo of myself and Becky on the  big screen!)

He gets featured almost every home game and it seriously never gets old. Makes me laugh every time! This time, Becky had some fun and started dancing in her seat as well. It was great!

We also got a special visitor in the last quarter, and I was just quick enough to hand my phone off to capture the madness.

Oh, HOOPER.

Although we didn’t come out with a win, the game was great. The entertainment teams and elements were fun to see and all of the memories of performing during Opening Night last year came right back.

After the game, we joined Scott and a group of my former co-workers at a nearby sports bar. Some things never change!

As I finish up this post, I am signing off for the day and spending some quality time with Scott and Becky. It’s her last full day in Michigan and also Scott’s 41st Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!! <3

(I’ll see you back later this afternoon if he ends up going to work for a bit.)

(Which he most likely will…)

Happy (marvelous) Monday!