PPRR Winter Series #1 Escapade

On a whim we decided to try out the Pikes Peak Road Runners winter series.  While enjoying a pizza night a friend happened to mention that the first race was the following morning.  Being the spontaneous escapaders that we are, we decided to go for it.  The race was a 7 mile run in the beautiful Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

 

 

It's hard to see but our course was mapped out for us here.  The map gives no indication of the elevation gains.  Come to find out, we basically were running up the mountain and then running back down.  At one point Maria says, "If I had known it was going to be like this I wouldn't have done it."  To which Laurie replied, "Ignorance is bliss!"  The uphill was worth the fun of flying back down the mountain.  We also quickly noticed that many people had brought their yak tracks to put on their shoes to have better grip in the ice and snow.  We hadn't even considered that being an issue.  It was quite snowy and slightly icy, but nothing some good trail shoes couldn't handle.  By the time we were running back down it had mostly turned to slush and mud, which gave us a nice hardcore look.  Overall, a challenging but great race!

 Following the race we were definitely in need of a great post-race meal.  Luckily Laurie had purchased a Groupon for Opb&j, a new little sandwich shop in downtown Colorado Springs.  We decided to give it a try, and boy were we glad we did!  This is not your typical pb&j.  The O stands for organic, so everything they put on the sandwiches is organic.  There are many different flavors of peanut butter, fresh Coloradan jellies, fresh baked bread, and unique toppings. 

After sampling a variety of the flavors, Maria decided to create her own.  She opted for the wheat bread, cherry vanilla peanut butter, and apple pie jelly.  She also decided to try the Roasted Red Pepper soup.  This sandwich was by far the best pb&j sandwich ever.

And to make it a MANGO escapade, notice the mango drink to accompany the tasty meal.

 Laurie opted for one of the specialty sandwiches, which has the whole combination decided for you.  The sandwich was called "The Bomb".  And it was the bomb!  The sandwich came on 12 Grain bread with Thai Ginger peanut butter, Ginger Pear jelly, sprouts, spinach, and a 3 pepper glaze.  It was unlike any sandwich she had ever tasted.  Just hours after eating it, she was already thinking of when she could eat it again.

The picture does it no justice.  You'll just have to trust us on this one.

 Opb&j is highly recommended by the Mango Escapades.  Next time you find yourself in Colorado Springs, go try a unique pb&j for yourself!

And in case the escapade wasn't great enough already, we bought a whole box of mangoes at Costco.  We just couldn't resist!