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Melissa’s unsolicited advice column 1: Where to eat in Arkansas

July 4, 2014 / melissa / 2 Comments

So this week, Hillcrest Artisan Meats (or as known to the locals as “HAM”) won its Ham Independence for the second year in a row. Thousands of fans of Hillcrest Artisan meats clicked on a ballot showing their HAM love and as a result HAM gets a fancy acorn fed piece of pork. This year, Arkansans received spirited competition from the fans of The Cheese Shop of Des Moines with Jennifer Miller, the Food writer at the Des Moines Register, as their head cheerleader and smacktalker. After everything was said and done, several people invited Ms. Miller to come to Arkansas.

Well.. Jennifer, oh foodie writer, here’s where I would suggest you go. This is not an extensive list and others will disagree. As a member of the Little Rock Burger Caucus, I must give you a plethora of burger options. This is my list.

Driving from Iowa, I would suggest you take a stop in Bentonville and tour Crystal Bridges and the Walmart Museum. Foodwise. It’s
Crepes Paulette. Yes it’s a food truck. Yes it’s worth it. There are sweet and savory crepes and crepes that are both sweet and savory at the same time.

I don’t have much experience with Bentonville dining but I have heard great things about Tusk and Trotter, The Hive, and Table Mesa but I haven’t eaten at any of those myself.

Keep on driving THEN

Feltner’s Whattaburger in Russellville Arkansas. This place has been making burgers for over 40 years. The menu is simple but good: burgers, fries, shakes, onion rings, chicken stripes. As you walk through you can see the staff assemble your burger. I recommend a burger and a small order of fries. The large is enough to eat for a week.

When you get to Little Rock:

Of course, you have to stop by Hillcrest Artisan Meats. This artisan butcher serves a wide variety of yummy sandwiches during lunch. My favorite is the Georgie which is ham and butter on bread. You can add truffles for $2.00 more. It doesn’t need anything else. If you want to celebrate the beauty of Iowa, you can order the Brick-Pressed Prosciutto (La Quercia’s Prosciutto Americano, provolone, red onion, tomato, arugula, aioli). You can get it with chips or lentil salad. (lentil salad)

For Barbeque, I say Sims. I am a fan of the ribs myself. Just go with it.

Capital Bar and Grill is the hotspot for political movers and shakers. It has beautiful wood interior and a wide variety of cocktails. They serve fried black eyed peas as a free appetizer. I have yet to have a bad meal here. My recommendations: The country fried steak. The burger is a contender for one of the best in Little Rock. The pimento and cheese is slap your Mama good. Also, get the spiced pecans.

Find the Southern Gourmasian (it’s a food truck and it doesn’t have a set location) and get the chicken and dumplings. It is the best cheap dish in Arkansas. Yes BEST DISH IN ARKANSAS.. It comes from a truck. I told you. TRUST!

Mylo Coffee for breakfast is the way to go. They serve a whole host of pastries but foodies have been getting in fights over the Kouign Amann since Mylo first started peddling his wares at farmer’s markets. Okay that link was satire but I do recommend you try a treat with a drink of pour over coffee. You won’t be disappointed.

Benton 2 Miler

June 22, 2014 / melissa / 0 Comments

Last Saturday was the Arkansas Runner 2 Mile. It is the 11th Grand Prix race and my fifth race of the year. Oooh I got my minimum to qualify for an award. WOO HOO! No America I am not expecting an award but my goal at the beginning of this year was to complete the minimum Grand Prix races so SCORE FOR COMPLETING A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION!

Ahem…

For this race, I wore my trusty non slipping racing skirt. I, unfortunately, left my water bottle at home. I usually run with a water bottle in my hand. This got in my head.

This was a smaller race that had maybe 300 people registered. This race was a two mile loop that started and finished near the Saline County Courthouse in Benton. There were some rolling hills which weren’t necessarily steep but were plentiful enough to affect the time of someone who hadn’t completed hill training. The route went through parts of downtown and then meandered through a residential neighborhood until it looped back to the courthouse. There were no water stops during this race and the helper people/guides were spaced pretty far apart. I was expecting a water stop around mile 1. Many helpers weren’t needed because the race route was pretty self explanatory for the most part. Guides were at the proper places to help runners.

This race was okay for me. In light of last week, I didn’t use runkeeper and decided to run until I was tired and walk until I was bored. I did find myself slowing down when I realized there was no water stop since I didn’t have water with me. I didn’t want to pass out in the heat and the helpers were spaced far enough apart that the thought of falling down on the road and busting my head did enter my mind. They were just too far for me to feel 100 percent safe mentally to just “go for it.” When I turned the final curve, I realized that I could potentially finish in less than 32 minutes (or a 16 minute mile pace) and so I did go for it then. There was a crowd of people.

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

16:02 pace 32:03.30 total

I didn’t make it. oops. But I did have the energy to actually run in.

My friend Katie was also helping with this race. She said I looked like I came back from a spa instead of running a race. That was probably true. While I got a workout, I can’t say that I “pushed” myself pace wise. With only two miles, the distance wasn’t enough to wear me out either.

It was a nice race and the fault of not bringing water was my own. Even though a water stop wasn’t required, I think they should have had one. Running in June in Arkansas is a dangerous thing.

I look forward to more races and seeing how I progress.

Go! Mile round up.

June 22, 2014 / melissa / 1 Comment

In my quest to run more, I have signed up for the 3 bridges marathon that will take place on December 27, 2014. Coincidentally, I found a 30 week training program while I was pondering whether or not to enter. I took this as a “SIGN”.

On my journey to complete Arkansas RRCA Grand Prix requirements for the Hot Legs running club, I “competed” (har har harrrr) in the GO MILE sponspored by Go! Running. Go! Running is an awesome running store filled with a staff of runners. They are knowledgeable about shoes and will make sure you buy the right type for your arch and pronation. The store also has other running gear such as moisture wicking shorts and shirts, sports bras, race nutrition (Gus, Honeystinger waffles, et. al), and Body Glide. The race itself is exactly what its title says. It’s a one mile loop. One mile as fast as you can. The race was divided into heats with a first timer race for people who had never run a race. The rest of the heats were Under 40 men, Under 40 women, 40 and over men, 40 and over women, Elite runners, and kids.

This was my race number.

YEAH!

So after spending the night thinking of all the Faustian jokes about trading souls for fast times, I trudged my way over to Burns Park. . I got there around 7:30 and I watched the first runners make their way to the finish line. I watched my friend Mindy come in with about an 8 minute mile and then she served as a guide for a blind person in the next heat.

I discovered during this race that my pants would fall down if I ran faster than a certain pace. This certainly put a damper on my “fast mile” I had thoughts of running out of my pants and just letting all the folks see my wondrous granny panties and then thought better of it. You’re welcome Arkansas. The other thing I learned is that I have a mental block about my speed. I use Runkeeper and it tells me my pace every five minutes. When it popped in with my page at minute 5, I distinctly remember thinking, “I don’t run that fast” and slowed down. I wasn’t feeling sick or anything. It was simply my own mental head game. Now the pants falling wasn’t in my head but I do wonder what my time would have been if I hadn’t gotten in my own way.

I was fortunate that my friend Katie was a “helper” person for this race and she ran with me the last little bit. We catched up a little bit before I made the last little “sprint” to the finish line. It was crazy hot and I am glad I bought my water with me.

14:07.42 14:07/M

Not a bad time. I look forward to cutting this down over the year during several “magic miles” over the course of the year.

After my race, I watched the elite runners. These people were running 5 minute miles. It was amazing to watch.

This was a well run, well staffed course with a flat course made for people who feel the need for speed. You can see the finish line from the beginning. I advise you join me next year.

River Run 8K

June 17, 2014 / melissa / 0 Comments

In my effort to get back into running, I have assumed my duties as the Hot Legs back of the pack girl who pads the team total for Grand Prix by running the River Run 8k. This is a race that takes place up and down the Little Rock side of the River Trial near the Big Dam Bridge. It raises funds for Easter Seals.

The race itself took place on May 24, 2014 and it could be considered the first “hot” race of the summer. It was sunny and warm, just like any other Arkansas summer. I hadn’t really trained for this but I knew that i could complete it due to my multiple marathons. 5 miles isn’t fatal. At worst, I would just be really sore. I also tend to be conservative when it comes to pushing myself.

The race course itself was fairly flat since you didn’t actually go over the bridge. I was hot. I realized I didn’t drink enough water pre race and my mouth felt like sand paper. I ended up going a lot slower than I originally planned and ended up walking the last three miles. I wasn’t dead last. WIN!

Melissa 1:33:16.40 18:46/M

The race itself posted photos on their facebook page.

After the storm

May 2, 2014 / melissa / 0 Comments

Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything, creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle and then you choose. You can live in the wreckage and pretend it’s still the mansion you remember, or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild… Because after disaster strikes, the important thing is that you move on. But if you’re like me, you just keep chasing the storm.
Veronica Mars

I have lived in Arkansas for most of my life and as a result, have dealt with tornados for most of my life. I remember having tornado drills in elementary skill. We would leave our classrooms and go into the hall. We would line up against the walls and get on our knees, put our heads on the floor with our hands on the back of our heads. It wasn’t the most comfortable position even for a seven year old and they seemed to last forever.

My first tornado was when I was 10. It was around one in the morning and I was asleep. I remember the loud rumbling that sounds like a train running over your head. I remember the sound of broken glass as the tornado’s change in air pressure formed a vacuum and sucked out one of the windows. (Pro tip: leave a crack in one of the windows of your home to prevent this from happening to you) I remember freaking out and running to my parents’ bedroom only to find my brother had beat me by two seconds. To be fair, it was his bedroom window that was sacrificed to the tornado gods.

This week, a major tornado ripped through my state. It went about twenty miles north of my house and a mile from the home where I used to live. It ravaged the towns of Mayflower and Vilonia. As of today, the number dead is fourteen. I sat on my futon watching Netflix with the television on one of the local television stations. I heard tornado sirens in the background. I had an emergency kit in my first floor bathroom, ready to go if I was in a position where I needed to “take cover.” Fortunately for me, that never happened.

Photo by Forbidden Hillcrest Facebook page.

My friend Cotton is a storm chaser and managed to get into the thick of it. The tornado picked up his truck and moved it 120 feet. He is okay. ‘

The thing that people who don’t live with tornadoes fail to understand is how sudden they are. Sure, we get the “tornado warning” and the sky gets a certain tell tale shade but the actual tornado is sudden and quick. It sounds like a freight training running you over and the timing and devastation is probably about the same. One second you are driving along. The next you hear a loud noise and then boom. Suddenly it’s all over and everything is ruined.

Things like tornados remind us how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. They remind us of the the power of nature and the randomness of it all. They remind us of how lucky we are to be alive each and every day of our lives.

Valentine’s Day 5K (rescheduled March 16th) recap

March 30, 2014 / melissa / 0 Comments

The Valentine’s Day 5K, which was originally scheduled on February 8, 2014 and postponed due to ice, was held on March 16, 2014 on the Bona Dea Trails near Russellville, Arkansas. This was two weeks after the EPIC Little Rock Marathon that was rerouted due to the cold and rain. Even though the weather was decidedly springlike in the the weeks prior to the race, we managed to run in the barely above freezing rain yet again. There were bits of sleet mixed in with the rain.

I carpooled up with some of the my running club buddies and the mantra was “anyone can do anything for 3 miles” We all packed an extra change of clothes. This was the first race in my new running shoes. This was the first time I had used this brand. I am usually a Brooks Ariel girl. I wore my usual jogging pants and put a trash bag on top of my shirt.

This race was much harder than the 10k two weeks earlier. My legs felt “heavy.” I am not sure why. Also, the shoe laces kept coming untied. The trail itself was beautiful and winding. This gave the feeling that I was running farther than I was. I also got distracted by the beauty of the trail during some of the walk breaks. Also, the first turn at a “V” in the road wasn’t apparent and I spent a couple of minutes questioning whether or not I made the right turn. I finally finished. That’s how I felt. I finally finished.

Then we changed into dry clothes, drank gas station hot chocolate, and went home.

My time: 50:45.8 16:22/M

Little Rock Marathon…er… 10K… 2014 Recap

March 4, 2014 / melissa / 2 Comments

My first “big race” was the Little Rock Half marathon in 2009. Out of a sense of tradition, I have run this race every year since. One year, I ran the 10k because the half was sold out by the time I signed up. This year, I signed up for the 10k due to the fact that I hadn’t run more than 3 miles since June of 2013. My performance at the One Hour Track Run indicated this would be a good idea. Theoretically, I could have finished the half. In fact, I finished the 2010 half with little training and a back spasm during the race. I was dead fucking last and I was incredibly sore for over a week. I didn’t want to put myself through that again. I signed up for Grand Prix this year. I have five more races to run.

The Little Rock Marathon is known for having a great route with some challenging hills, great support, and the biggest medal in racing. This year the theme was EPIC!

About a week before the race, the weather gurus on the television started murmuring about a “winter storm” and “sleet” that may come through on race day. This sounded almost magical since the temperature was sunny and in the sixties but this is Arkansas and I know better. All the runners sat glued to the TV and social media wondering “should I go?” “What should I wear?” “Is it going to sleet during the race? NO?”

@melissa_sawyer @LRMarathon A sleet mix is possible toward the end. Not until at least after Noon.

— Jeff Baskin (@JeffBaskinFOX16) March 1, 2014

This seemed to be the prevailing wisdom. Based on my calculations, I was running the 10k. The 10k starts at 8 a.m. I should be done before anything bad. It will be cold. It was cold last year. I can do this. I have gloves, ear warmers, and a trash bag. I am going.

It started raining as I was walking to my car from my apartment. It was cold. It continued to rain as I walked from my parking space to the starting spot. It may have stopped for a little while. I went to the “perks pavillon” and warmed up by one of the heaters. I saw a running friend who was doing the marathon. I saw many of my friends as I walked to my corral. Then it started raining again.

In an effort to control the crowd the race itself started in waves. I didn’t officially start until some 8:40. Standing outside for 45 minutes in that weather was one of the more miserable experiences in my life. I was questioning my sanity. Then I quit questioning my sanity and came to the realization that “yes Melissa, you are indeed crazy.” Then it was time to actually run.

My medal and my time. BOOM!

As far as the race itself, I felt good. I had low expectations for my pace and “ran” it via the Galloway method with 1:05 splits. I didn’t feel tired and didn’t seem to be overexerting myself. I warmed up enough after I ran that I almost took off the trash bag. Then the wind started to blow and I was glad I kept it on. Due to the weather, there weren’t nearly as many volunteers and spectators cheering us on but we the runners were cheering each other on. My quads did cry uncle when I attempted to run up the Broadway bridge on the return trip to Little Rock (around mile 5) and so I walked it. Then when it came time to go back down, I started the running again. I slowed down to pick up my lip gloss and I finished. I felt good. I smiled a lot near the end. I was glad to finish and it felt surprisingly uneventful.

I got a printout of my “tentative finish time” and went to get my massage. I always get the “perks” and one of those perks is a massage. The other perk is that I have access to these outdoor heaters. Seriously, if you sign up for the Little Rock Marathon, pay for the perks. The perks are better finisher food, heaters, portapotties, and massages. You want this folks.

It wasn’t until I got home and had time to think that I realized that my pace for this race was a good 2 minutes per mile faster than the One hour track run and 30 seconds faster than anything I had “run” in months. Considering that I hadn’t run more than 3 miles in a long ass time, I think this is one of my better races.

But seriously, that is the limit of the bad weather I am willing to take to win a medal. That was horrible: wet AND cold.

In fact, the weather was so bad that about an hour after I finished, the race directors rerouted the race and cut it short. People were picked up on busses and taken to the finish line. A storm was coming complete with lightning. We ended up having sleet and schools were closed the next day. It was indeed an EPIC experience. Thanks Little Rock marathon for an experience I will never forget.

Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2014 / melissa / 0 Comments

I was fortunate (or not) to have some ridiculously bad Lifetime movie of the week relationships early in my youth. So while I endured an high level of pain and heartbreak, I also learned early on that a bad relationship is far much worse than no relationship at all.

So I bought myself my own Valentine’s Day gift.

That’s right folks. It’s a purse shaped like a chicken. I love the mess out of this thing. It is a constant source of laughter. I love it to pieces.

I got it at the Esse Purse Museum gift shop.

Valentine’s Day 5K

February 9, 2014 / melissa / 0 Comments

This was supposed to be in Russellville on Saturday February 8, 2014.

Arkansas is never ready for this “jelly”

Valentine’s Day 5k is postponed till March 16. First heat at 2:00 pm.

Please help spread the word.

Race review: One Hour Track Run

January 27, 2014 / melissa / 1 Comment

Yes it is that time of year. The Arkansas Chapter of the Road Runners Clubs of America has launched its Arkansas Grand Prix Race Series with the One Hour Track Run at Danville High School in Danville, Arkansas. The Grand Prix Race Series is a good-natured competition and motivational program that gives runners a year’s worth of races to run and a point system to encourage performance and good sportsmanship. Participants must be a member of a Road Runners Clubs of America Running Club and sign up for Grand Prix as a member of said club. Participants are separated into age groups and gender and points are rewarded for various achievements including finishing the race, winning the race, fastest times per age group, etc. If you live in Arkansas and want more information, check the link right here. It can get rather confusing and the website explains it better than I can.

The one hour track run is a unique race in that it is literally what its name suggests: participants run for an hour around a track and the distance is measured as opposed to time. In order to control crowds, there are two separate races with participants running faster than an 8:30 mile running at a different time than the slower folks.

I did this race last year with a sore calf and managed to squeak out 3. I managed to “fall off the wagon” on my running the second half of last year. My runs were sporadic and none of them were more than two miles. I use the runkeeper app that tracks my runs on my cell phone. I have documentation, folks. As a result, my only goal at the start of the race was to finish faster than I did the previous year. I figured that sore-free legs would ensure a faster time.

I had car trouble and the President of Hot Legs, the running club that has the MOST FUN! in Arkansas and running club of yours truly, picked me up to take me to the “meeting place” where six of us got into a big ole SUV to ride to Danville. It was a complete gabfest on the way.

This year was significantly warmer than last year. Also, this warm weather was an extreme change of pace from the polar vortex chill that we had earlier in the month. In fact, the temperature was significantly warmer than what we were experiencing earlier in the week. Each season has its own challenges when it comes to running and there is always an adjustment period when the seasons change. These wonky temperature changes really mess with me.

The race itself was fine but challenging. I set up my app for one minute intervals alternating running with walking. I managed to complete the entire race with this system. I started out fast and felling great. I ended up running the first mile a good minute and thirty seconds faster than my usual pace. Of course, this caught up with me for the rest of the race with my mouth feeling very dry and my head had a slight dizzy feeling which is consistent with slight dehydration. (oops) I took a walking break for two laps and then got back to the “slow and low that is the tempo” business. The last twenty minutes, I was tired. I finished. According to my app, I completed 3.4 miles.

My official Results
98 Melissa Sawyer 12 973 3.1669 18:56.8

After the race, the Hot Legs had cookies and cupcakes because BIRTHDAY! We posed for pictures. I forgot to actually take any. (oops) Then we piled into the SUV and stopped by Feltner’s Whattaburger for burgers. No, this is not part of the chain. This is a local legend that has been around forEVER! According to urban legend (or what I’ve heard but am too lazy to actually look up), the Whataburger chain attempted to sue the Russellville Arkansas burger joint but realized that the local place was there first. The result was both parties agreed to leave things be. AH America. The last time I ate at Whattaburger was when I was in college on a road trip to the Buffalo River so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the burgers and fries were just a good as I remember them.

Overall, I had a blast. The race itself was a wake up call in terms of my fitness level but it is nothing that I can’t fix. I look forward to the rest of the year.

Melissa Runs