Running for a Sailor Sandwich

I was supposed to run the Richmond downtown trails system Saturday with the Richmond Road Runners Club. It rained like hell Friday and the forecast called for it to keep coming down through Saturday morning, but the guy who organizes these monthly trail runs said it was going off rain or shine. Feeling macho, I told him I would be there.

I only ran those trails once -- the James River Scramble a few years ago, and there were so many others running that I didn’t have to know where I was going. People say the trails can get confusing, so it’s best to have someone show you around if you want to make a habit of it. I wanted to learn my way around, yet the more I thought about running on wet rocks and mud the less appealing it seemed. That damaged ankle is still only about 85% and I can’t afford another two week layoff.

I chickened out at about 3AM. They have one of these trail runs every month, and maybe April will be dryer. Certainly the ankle will be stronger. I felt like a wuss for bailing on the trail run, so I decided a nice sixteen mile road run would be sufficiently grueling but less likely to screw up the ankle again.

Last week I ran fifteen miles west to Goochland Courthouse and got some killer Pizza at Rocco’s. I decided to go east this time -- down into Richmond. Kim offered to drive out after an hour with some refreshments and fluids. I said, “After you pick me up at the end, we can go find lunch.”

She said, “We can go to the Village Café and get some onion rings.”

I’m sensing a theme here.

The route isn’t difficult to follow. Walk out the front door, cross the field, run south on Manakin Road. At the end of Manakin Road, turn left onto Route 6. Run twelve more miles and stop. I laid it out on MapMyRun.com and the overall elevation trend is flat and downhill for the first nine miles to Lauderdale Rd and then a steady uphill for three solid miles to Parham Road. After that it’s basically flat to the end.

If you’ve actually driven it or run it, you know it ain’t that easy. I don’t care what MapMyRun says the “trend” is, that road has lots of rolling hills all along the way. They’re right about the three solid miles of uphill from Lauderdale to Parham, though.

What a difference a week makes. The hills on that route did not seem as tough as the ones heading west. I took a four minute break when Kim came by with water and a banana. I even walked a couple of times on those long excruciating hills, but I felt pretty darn good at the end. Last week I could hardly stand at the end, this time I stretched a little and walked up and down the sidewalk waiting for my bride.

Village Café is a five minute drive from where the run finished. It’s on Grace Street a block off Broad in the VCU neighborhood. I changed in the truck while Kim drove. The streets are narrow and there’s always a lot of activity on that corner, but we found a parking spot on the street right in front of the place.

I’ve said before that barbecue is an art form here in the south. Well, they really know how to fry stuff, too. Village Café is superior at deep frying stuff. If you have a cholesterol issue, you don’t want to go within ten feet of the place, it’ll probably clog up your arteries just walking past the door. Every now and then, though, you’ve got to go for the grease.

That's the booth, don't know the girl

The woodwork on the booths in this joint is all authentic arts and craft style hand carved and inlaid designs. The place has a really funky vibe. On the weekend it’s mostly students. Weekdays you can add a good ration of business types and there’s always a sprinkling of street people. The tables were all filled when we got there, so we found two spots at the bar.

They have about a dozen tap beers and plenty of bottles. I’m an IPA fan and Kim had a Bock. I didn’t even need to look at the menu. Hell, I just ran sixteen miles, I’m having a sailor sandwich and onion rings. Kim got a sausage sandwich and some of my onion rings.

The onion rings have beer in the batter. They’re almost the size of a saucer and one person can’t eat a whole order. Except maybe as a main course. Guy Fieri from Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives was there a few years ago and filmed them making the onion rings. But he said the best thing on the menu was the Stromboli. He’s a dope; it’s the Sailor Sandwich. 

Sailor Sandwich  (Not usually open-faced)

You know what a Sailor Sandwich is? A Richmond original invented during WWII, it’s corned beef, knockwurst cut lengthwise and melted Swiss on greasy grilled rye bread. I can’t believe I ate that whole thing. Kim only ate half her sausage sandwich. I had three beers and Kim drove home.

It’s two weeks ‘til the Irish Sprint 10K at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virgina and I’d like to go there as one of the top fundraisers so far this year. Won’t you take a minute and make a small donation to the Semper Fi Fund for Injured Marines? It’s secure and easy do – just click on this link. $10, $20 – whatever you can spare for this important organization. Thanks.  
  
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