Friday 5: A Happy Week

Happy Friday!  Today's the Friday Five link up with Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia!  I've been crazy busy lately, but life is good.  My parents came to visit from Alabama last weekend and we had a great time.  Here are five things I loved about their visit:

1. Watching the Pirates.  Yeah, they didn't win (ugh), but it was fun hanging out with my parents and cheering them on.

2. Touring ball parks.  On Sunday my parents and I toured the Nationals' field.  I really enjoyed learning about the park and the best part?  The Pirates had some of their gear in the dugout so we got to get all excited about seeing our favorite players helmets.  It's the little things.

Go Cutch!

3.  Walking around DC.  The monuments never fail to amaze me.  I loved getting to show my parents around my town.

4. Visiting breweries.  Over the summer I went to a couple of beer festivals and discovered Jailbreak Brewing.  It's a new brewery so if you're ever in town make sure to give them some love!  I really enjoyed their jalapeno beers as well as some bourbon aged stouts, which surprised me because I usually shy away from those styles. The tour was informative and you got a sampler and a pint glass with your ticket.  A win in my book!

5.  Playing with my new foster!  Last Thursday I got sweet foster puppy Jessie.  We think she's a basset/beagle mix and she just radiates joy.  She and my dad bonded very quickly and I think it was hard on both of them to say goodbye!  If you are looking for a playful, snuggly, happy pup make sure to visit Lucky Dog's website to learn more about Jessie.  Even though I'm going to miss her like crazy, I can't wait for her to find her perfect home!  She is going to bring constant smiles to a lucky family every day.

What's been putting a smile on your face lately?  Do you have any "must sees" when your family comes to visit?

Changing it Up

Right now I'm in this weird running place.  I don't have any official races to train for, and while I know I should be keeping somewhat in shape so that when I do start a plan I won't die, but I've been enjoying switching up my workouts a little.  I think right now I've been focusing on running because I want to and because I actually like it, not because I feel tied to a plan.

On Sunday I did a walk/run workout on the treadmill from Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers.  I was surprisingly sore after the thirty minute workout so settled on the elliptical for Monday.  I'm not sure if I just wasn't used to it, or if had something to do with the fact that the machine was older and not as smooth of a ride as I would have preferred, but my hips kind of hurt the next day.  I probably should stretch more.

Monday night I was a happy girl because my dad came to visit!  I invited him to visit while the Pirates were in town to play the Nationals and I had a great time with him.  I always laugh a lot when I'm with my dad and it was nice to have him join Maddux and me on some adventures in the park.  We went to two local parks while he was here and walked the pup for a little over an hour both times.  Maddux loved getting to explore the trails and I was a big fan of the slightly cooler temperatures we had.  We were both happy to see the Pirates win Tuesday night!  (Sorry, Nats!  I promise to cheer you on when you're not playing the Bucs.)

Not from this visit.  Not even the same place or with all the same people.  We do love the Pirates though.

Today I'm keeping on with the cross training and heading back to Body Pump!  Happy Thursday!

End of the Summer Running Streak

The past week or so I've unplugged a little and escaped to sunny San Diego.  My nice friend and I had planned a get away and I had been looking forward to it for weeks.  My parents are the best ever and I was able to convince them to watch Maddux for the week and take us to the airport.  Our timing was perfect and we ended up being at my parents' house at the same as my sister, aunt, and grandpa.  It was so nice getting to hang out with the family and it was the perfect way to start the summer.

After a very early start to our day, my nice friend and I arrived in San Diego early Tuesday afternoon.  I had such a fun time over the week going to a baseball game, a couple of breweries, the famous zoo, Sea World, beaches, and a fun event at the House of Blues where we got to drink local beer (San Diego is the craft beer capital of the US) and listen to local bands.  Some highlights of the trip:

I was a little nervous about getting my runs in since I knew we were going to be so busy.  Once we got there and I saw where I got to run I realized it wasn't going to be so bad after all.  The weather was amazing and the scenery was gorgeous.  Think high 60s and by the water.

They call this "June Gloom."  I will still take it. 

One of the days my nice friend suggested we switch it up and go to Mission Bay Park.  I had a great run and loved the trail.  The week went by way too fast!  I was definitely spoiled by the perfect running conditions and had a great running partner for most of the days.  I ended up running my fastest miles of the summer.  I'm going to look for a fall 5k so that I can hopefully keep up the momentum!

Now that the Runner's World Summer Running Streak is over I'm going to try to mix up my workouts a little.  I was definitely proud of myself for finishing the streak even when I was traveling, but I gotta say it was nice giving the legs a little break today.  I have some spin classes coming up and I couldn't be more excited to give it another go!  

Happy weekend!

Post Race Life

Now that there's no race to train for, I'm kind of at a loss of what to do.  Part of me is excited because I've had a couple of workouts I've wanted to try out, but kept pushing off to the side.  My thing is that if I want to get better at running, I need to be running.  Cross training is awesome, but running is where it's at for this girl ;-)

This week has been pretty laid back as far as workouts go.  Maddux and I have had some nice walks (he is LOVING this cooler weather) and on Wednesday I did a brief leg circuit, which was basically 1 minute leg lifts on each side, 1 minute bridges with this purple ball that made it SO much harder, and 1 minute of squats.  I repeated each exercise three times and my thighs definitely felt it!  

Today somebody has been very cranky.  I'll give you a hint:

Poor zebra.  He's in line for surgery the next time we visit my mom.

I don't know what's going on with this boy.  Maybe he just wanted to get a little crazy for the weekend.  My wild Friday night has consisted of quality treadmill time.  I ran ~3.35 miles in 30 minutes.  Not too shabby for the first run post race.  Although I'm not officially training for anything, I do have a 5k coming up in November and I'm hoping to snag a respectable time.  It's a few days before my birthday and I invited a few girlfriends to run with me!  Hopefully a few of them will be able to come out :-)  Overall, I just want to enjoy running until I have to start busting my butt for the Rock n' Roll in March, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than running a great local race with some good friends.  

I'm planning on running some tomorrow.  I have a number in my head, but going with the whole enjoying your run thing, I'm going to attempt to not focus too much on it.  I got the link to my race pictures today and it reminded me of why I run.  You know how I said I was smiling like a fool in my Crawlin' Crab Half Recap?  Those pictures are proof that I wasn't lying!  I don't think I've ever looked so happy in a race picture.  I remember my first half marathon photos kind of scared me because I looked like I was in such intense pain.  Yay running!

On a completely random note, but I mean I couldn't really leave it out, GO NATS!  

I WISH this was taken at a play off game.  

I'm hoping we can pull off another win tonight!  If the Pirates can't be on the road to the World Series, I'll definitely take the Nationals!  

Happy weekend!

Return to the Blog

I think Maddux is feeling a little sad today.

We've had an incredibly busy past couple weeks filled with amazing family and friends and now that summer is officially winding down and we're back to our quiet life, I think he's a little lonely.

If I explained EVERYTHING that has been happening lately, we would be here forever, but basically, this has been a summer of reunions.

I kicked it off with a quick visit to my old college town on my way to a good friend's wedding.  I got to go to my favorite Mexican restaurant and was lucky enough to get to meet up with my best friend and my roomie through all four years of college and her boyfriend, who is a really great guy.

The chip is the real star of this photo.

Although this visit was much quicker than I would have liked, it was great to see them.  It's nice to know that lots of time can go in between visits, but it feels like nothing has changed when we are together.  I was surprised to see how much my school has changed in the few years since I have been gone!  The building I spent the majority of my time in was completely gone!  I might have to make a longer trip soon so I can really explore. 

I finished off the trip by celebrating Jack and Lindsay's wedding with a lot of good friends.  The happy couple's wedding was gorgeous, and I think everybody had a great time dancing the night away.  I was actually a little sore the next day!  My dancing shoes definitely need to make it out more often ;-)

A reception is not complete without a steering wheel.

When I got back from the wedding, Maddux and I rushed off to Pittsburgh to celebrate my dad's birthday.  What better way to celebrate than with a Pirate's win and a Church beer?  I managed to get a couple of workouts in while at my parents' house.  On Tuesday, we went to a park with our pups for a picnic and my dad and I played frisbee with my sister's dog, Barley.  We also decided to practice our Olympic gymnast skills by using a tree as a vault and balance beam.  I'm sure fellow park goers were very impressed with our skills.  

See ya in Rio, Olympics!

After our intense frisbee game, I did my elliptical interval workout, except I only lasted for 30 minutes.  The intensity of my parents' elliptical is crazy tough!  I think I grossed my family out with how incredibly sweaty I was after that short of a workout.  Wednesday night, I ran 3 miles on the hills in the neighborhood.  I was surprised at how good I felt.  The hills didn't seem as bad as they sometimes can.

On Thursday my sister and I said goodbye to my parents and she came back with me to help me out a little before I have to get back to work.  We were lucky enough to get to see our brother's wonderful girlfriend and her sister, a good friend from high school and his son, and my cousin and her new husband!  In between all the eating and festivities I managed to squeeze a run in (I did 30 minutes with some intervals thrown in), but I really just focused on enjoying time with my company and soaking up the last few days of summer.  I figured spending time with people I don't get to see too often was more important than sticking exactly to my training plan.  I made up my intervals today and after a .25 mile warm up did 8 half mile repeats with three minutes of walking in between each.  At first, they felt really tough, but after about 5 of them I finally managed to get into a groove and was able to push myself.  Funny how I can feel a lot stronger at the end that I can at the beginning.  I covered 4.25 miles in 35:58.  Not too shabby :-)

I'm off the rest of the day to finish my book so I can start a new one! I just bought the book Gone Girl (No joke, I was #672 on my library's waiting list for it!!) and can't wait to lie by the pool the next couple days with it!

Probably TMI

First off, Maddux is a survivor!  

Maddux was ok with resting.  We love naps :-)

I got in a run at the trail after I dropped him off to keep my mind off what was going on at the vet.  I don't know if I just had too much on my mind or if it was the fact that it was already over 80 degrees a little after 8am, but it was not the awesome run I was anticipating.  It just felt hard.  Normally if I am close to making 5 miles during my 45 minute runs I just keep going until I've hit it.  Not this time.  As soon as my watch hit 45 minutes I was done.  A few hours later the vet called and told me I could pick up my little boy.  I think the vet office workers may have made fun of me a little.  The tech said "Wow, I can tell you really missed him," when I went to pick him up.  Is it that obvious?  Maddux is recovering really well and except for the spot where he actually got the shot, you can't even tell anything is wrong with him.  Woo!

My run schedule got a little off again this week.  My little brother came to visit!  Wednesday it was 104 degrees out, so I managed to convince him to go to the outlets with me for a little shopping.  

There was also beer.  That probably made shopping a little better for him.

Thursday it was still a little warm, but we decided to go and see the sights of DC.  Since we were getting some quality walking time in I decided to put off my run until Friday.  Ben finally got to see the highlights.  We started at the Lincoln Memorial and made our way around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial.

Hey DC, meet my little bro!

It was nice to have someone to explore with.  I feel like so often I miss out on doing cool things because I'm over the traffic in this area.  When you deal with it the entire work week you aren't too excited to go back in it later, but I'm pretty sure seeing the sights will never get old.  Days like this remind me of why I love living where I do and how lucky I am.  I like when people come visit me so I can pretend that I am an awesome tour guide.  

I'm pretty sure Maddux is going to be this big after he's done with steroids.

Friday I got my butt out the door for another run.  I ran on the treadmill (surprise) and I was pleasantly surprised that it went much better than I expected.  I had a little bit of a cold the past couple of days, and when I finished up my 5 miles in 46:19 I was pretty excited.  I felt a little tired going in, but after I eased into the run it was actually really good.  Ben is a huge Braves fans, and lucky for him, his visit coincided with the Braves/Nationals game.  

Ben tried to cut out my Nats shirt.  Also, we are happy because it wasn't raining yet.  The Nats also hadn't blown their lead yet.  Gotta say, it was not their best night.

The game ended up going into extra innings after the Nats decided it would be fun to blow a 9 run lead.    I think I hit a record for staying up late.  I'm an old lady when it comes to staying up, but made it until 2AM(?!?!).  Needless to say, I did not get up early to run on Saturday.  I had 10 miles on the calendar, but decided to push it until today because my friend and I were going to Gonzo Fest at Flying Dog.  I mean, "Good people drink good beer."  It was definitely worth postponing the run for good beer and fun.

I kept putting off the run today.  I got to another late start (lazy weekend, anyone?) and was in serious need of groceries.  My fridge looked so sad.  I reasoned that after running 10 miles I would need to refuel so of course I had to go shopping first.  I didn't end up getting to the gym until almost 5pm.  I decided to take it nice and slow.  I wasn't feeling confident at all about this run.  Physically I felt fine.  I was a little worried about my IT band because I could definitely feel a little strain on my run on Friday, but other than that I had no reason to think it would be a bad run or that I couldn't finish.  I foam rolled like a champion a few times today to help alleviate that worry.  I'm really happy to report that I didn't have an ounce of IT band pain this time around!  I kept the incline on .5 until mile 5 and then I wimped out and dropped it back down to 0.  My pace ranged from 6.0-6.2 (10:00-9:40ish) and overall there really wasn't anything remarkable about this run.  There were a few times when I struggled mentally.  I counted to 100 and back to 0 a few times and that helped pass some of the time.  I stopped for water every couple miles and then had a strong finish for my last mile.  I finished my 10 miles in just under 97 minutes.

Proof!

  

Ready for the TMI?

After my run I took Maddux out to the dog park.  I knew I should eat something really quick before, but my aunt called right when I was walking in the door and between trying to talk to her and get Mad Dog out to pee, I just didn't think about it.  As I went to pick up after my pup, it hit me.  My stomach cramped and I knew that I had to make a mad dash back to my apartment.  Later, I tried to eat a turkey sandwich and it took me a long time to choke it all down after my stomach finally settled down.  This has happened now several times after my longer runs.  I don't remember having these issues in college, and I will tell you they are very memorable ailments.  I'm not really sure what changed.  I think I'm going to talk to a doctor about it, but I'm thinking that I am losing too much salt during my longer runs.  I am a disgusting sweater (work hard, sweat hard, right?) and even though I try to drink gatorade, I think I need to do a little more to avoid this nonsense.  It's not fun and to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing, especially after races.  I practically had to knock someone out of my way in my haste to get to the bathroom at the Hot Chocolate 15k.  I know, nothing anybody wanted to know, but part of having a running blog is sharing the good, the bad, and oh yes, the ugly, too.

On that note, I will end this oh so lovely post.  Hopefully I will have some answers soon so that there will be more good (and even bad) and not so much ugly up here.  Have a happy running week!