Okay so this run is slightly different than previous ones as I drove near the location, and ran an almost loop to get back to it. This still counts though okay a run is a run. I had no means of transportation back home if I had run straight here. I’m also no longer in Ireland so this is the first of some good runs planned for being back home in the Seattle area.
The Run
The run was delightful if I do say so myself. The weather was beautiful and sunny but not too hot. Since I was in downtown Redmond, I ran the Sammamish River trail, which runs along the slough connecting Lake Washington to Lake Sammamish. The trail is very popular among bikers. I have gone on about a 12-mile bike ride down it before and it is nice and flat and very enjoyable. So same goes for running. I ran about a mile and a half up the trail until I got to a bridge that crossed over and returned down the other side of the slough, and ran about 2 miles past my starting point before looping around back to the pub. The run-in total was 3.45 miles with an average pace of 9:44, which is pretty slow for my usual. I would credit that to a combination of taking it nice and easy more as a recovery run and stopping every so often to take a photo or video of the trail because it was so nice out. My heart rate stayed in the mid 150’s very steadily the entire time. I feel like I could’ve held that pace for quite a few miles. Because the trail is so flat it would be nice to do faster or tempo runs along it as well. Only 49ft of elevation gain the whole time.
The Pub
I chose this pub because I’ve been once or twice, but have always been a fan of the British pantry, which is connected to it. It’s a little shop that sells imported British goods, meat pies, and other stuff that would be rarer to find in the US. This is where I’ve always come when craving an Irn Bru. I also chose it because England was playing in the Euros against Slovakia so where better to watch them that at an English pub. The vibes are also similar to the ones I have ran to in Ireland so what better way to transition to being back in Seattle than with a similar style. The inside is decorated very neatly and its got decorations and memorabilia hanging on the walls everywhere in true pub fashion. It feels very cozy. I met my friend Ed here, who is British so I was in the right company. For the drinks, since we were watching England, we felt like we had to go for a Stella, the unofficial official beer of English soccer fans. Unfortunately, also nicknamed the wifebeater beer. I enjoyed the Stella, although my thing with them is I’m not sure if the beer is anything special, but it’s the fancy glassware that makes it. I would never order one if the lace doesn’t have the proper glasses for them. But if they do, which most places seem to, I have no problem ordering a few of them. For the second half, of course I had to try their Guinness, which was actually fairly decent. I know people will get all snobby and say its worse everywhere outside of Ireland, but I think quite a few places serve decent Guinness around Seattle. This place is one of the better ones as well. The biggest knock for this experience was that the England game was a SNOOZEFEST per usual. I never understand how they are so bad with so many good players. Sadly, this goes into account of the rating, anything goes for these ratings. The environment for the game also wasn’t the greatest despite being fairly packed and an English pub, perhaps that’s due to the people in there or the fact only one of theirs TVs were working. Could’ve also been a product of that horrific England team.
Overall, the run was one of the more enjoyable ones as it was nice and steady with great weather, and the pub was a cool spot with good company and bad soccer.
RATING 7.2