I am not going to lie. Right now, I am eating frozen cookie dough courtesy of my amazing chef roommate, and I am only writing this right now, because I am too buzzed to go to sleep.

Often, I think a lot of people think that running cramps their patio style. But alas, I have devised the best solve!

I call it, Running by the sun, to the Pub.

It all started with books. Tonight I had the option to do any kind of exercise I wanted, but the constraint was, 7:30pm book club… Without a doubt I LOVE my monthly book group, but tonight I knew I needed to work out, or I would end up being that mean girl at the book club. And no one wants that. Thankfully, my role as the leader of the club allowed me a  good strategy to postpone the meeting until after my next marathon, which meant– active freedom tonight!

And what would I do in a dream world? I would combine the best of my loves, by running along the ocean, to meet my bestest friends at a patio by the ocean. And drink grapefruit beer. And eat veggie burgers. Throwing pub-goers off with my running dress. Allowing the hop, barley, yeast and grapefruit to settle, then picking up to run back home, with a wide-tooth grin because the beer is just setting in. And I run buzzed and no one knows it. I am throwing runners, and even myself off with my outer focus. And my beer mile training is benefiting. In fact, I think this is the best training I have ever done, because it’s replicating the mental fatigue I will face at 50k next weekend.

And look at that, I sandwiched 12k between friends and beer and patios… not bad eh?

editor’s note: Alicia is not at all opposed to running beer sponsors.