Where's the Beach?

Recently, Angela at  Happy Fit Mama   passed along the Very Inspiring Blogger Award to me. And I thought it'd be perfect for Fun Facts Friday . Thank you so much Angela. I think you're incredibly inspiring! The Rules: Display the award logo somewhere on your blog.  Link back to the blog who nominated you.  State 7 things about yourself.  Nominate 15 (or less) other bloggers for the award and provide links to their blogs. Notify those bloggers that they have been nominated and of the award’s requirements.  7 Random Things About Me 1.  While I love the beach, the ocean, the waves, I don't actually enjoy getting into the water. I prefer to sit back with my toes in the sand and just listen and watch. I'll wade out no farther than my knees. When I was a kid, I did actually get in and play, swim, ride the waves on rafts. But now I know there are "things" in the water. 2.  I've mentioned before that I'...

Nightmare Run Well, today one of my bigger running fears happened. I didn't just hit a wall (or 2), but I did it with my new running buddy. It's honestly one of the reasons I've shied away from running with others. It's one thing for me to have a running temper tantrum with Jason or alone, but with someone else... The deck was really stacked against me, and I knew it too. My legs and feet had already traveled 13.5 miles over a 2-day period. Thursday is typically a rest day so that I can be fresh (mentally and physically) for my long run on Fridays.  However, Hurricane Isaac is about to cause us some headaches with regards to the weather. So, unless I wanted to swim my long run on Friday, I needed to try to go for it today. So, tired legs (and feet), 26 mph gusting winds (coming from the swirling remnants of the hurricane), and 77 degrees with high humidity all add up to potential disaster. And it didn't help that my first 5 miles were entirely too fast....

Speed Work I sure wish I could brag about some awesome speed work this morning. I guess I can brag that I actually did 5 x 800's and didn't die. That's brag-worthy right ;-) The temperatures were probably 10+ degrees warmer than last Wednesday and the air was just strange. It was humid, but not extreme. But still dampish or restricting feeling. Not sure how to even describe it. There was a fairly heavy, or maybe I should say steady, wind as well. And it was odd, because I'm a major sweater (and so is "A"), but neither of us was sweating like it seemed we should. Maybe that wind dried us off faster than we realized. Anyway, things just felt off. "A" even said she wasn't exactly feeling it. I was definitely a lot slower than last week. It felt so much harder - kind of like yesterday did. But my splits were at least very consistent even up to the 5th one. I managed to maintain somewhere between a 3:48-3:50 pace for each 1/2 mile interval (r...

Anniversary Dinner I just wanted to start by thanking everyone for your kind words, comments, and anniversary wishes for our 12-year wedding anniversary yesterday. We hadn't planned on doing anything super special. It's hard to plan that way on a Monday. We had talked about lunch, but then ended up deciding on a last-minute nice dinner at a restaurant downtown called Lulav . We've gone there many times over the years for anniversary dinners. They have changed up their menu quite a bit, however, and there are some options that I miss, particularly one specific salad. They do have a fantastic house salad with a lemoncello vinaigrette. Jason ordered their wild mushroom appetizer. He ended up getting a paella for dinner and I went with their only vegetarian option, rotini with squash and wild mushrooms. I did request a red sauce over the creamy butter wine sauce that it was supposed to have come with. No dessert. We were stuffed. I suppose the wine we had counts as a tr...

12 years ago, I married probably the only man on earth who can possibly put up with me. And while we've had our ups and downs, all relationships do, the good far outweighs any of the bad. Source: determineduncensored.com via Jess on Pinterest I am blessed every day and am sorry I don't say it enough. I love you Jason. 

11 Miles Strong Yep, it was long-run Friday again for me. And it was a solo-long run too. Oh, and super dark out. It's not starting to get light until closer to 6:20 these days. But, running under the stars can be incredibly peaceful I must say. I headed out with a random route in my head. I knew I wanted to get back near the house around mile 6 so I could refill my water bottle and take my GU. Sometimes not having a set, defined route can be good. I was just running. Just running and enjoying the "me" time. Mile 6 did in fact take me right at my house. Perfect timing. I took my GU got more water and was off again. I was feeling really great. My legs were just trucking right along. My breathing felt so much better today as well. Everything clicking. I was a little worried about my pace though. I had been going by feel and that was keeping me right at a 9 min/mile. I always think that's too fast for what's supposed to be a slow, long run. But I really felt g...

Speed Work Apparently Wednesdays are now becoming speed work days for me. This is only because my new running pal "A" somehow talked me into it. Of course, I do need to add in speed work and it's easier to do when you have a partner in crime to hold you accountable. So, this morning I did a one-mile warmup run over to "A's" house where she has a set route for 800's (1/2 mile intervals). The plan was to do 4 intervals with roughly a 1/4 mile jog/recovery. The first interval kind of sucked. It was still completely dark so that made it a little treacherous. Plus, that first interval is a major shock to the system. Oh, and this time the first interval included the uphill rather than downhill direction. I have no idea what my split was on the first one. Once again I goofed up trying to set the half mile splits. But I finally got it right for the other splits. And I'm pretty sure I will remember for the next speed workout (fingers crossed). My 2nd...

If you follow Lindsay at Cotter Crunch , then you've likely heard her mention being a sherpa for her triathlete husband. After reading her initial post on being a sherpa, it changed my idea of what a sherpa was or could be. Technically a sherpa is: Source Both meanings imply assistance right? And assistance can come in so many forms and fashions - from literally carrying "thing" for someone or just being there for support. And when you're running or training for a race, you need all the support you can get. And this of course extends into friendships and relationships - surrounding ourselves with positive people. Source: Uploaded by user via Laurie on Pinterest My friend Jessica at EatDrinkBreatheSweat and her hubby are training for their first full marathon. And over the course of the training, I've mentioned that I'd be running with her virtually. Her sister has also been doing some training miles for support. And Lindsay has be...

Rainy Run & Cross-Training  We didn't really have much going on this weekend. No complaints about that really. I woke up Saturday morning ready to run. The weather, however, was not in my favor. It was storming. I kept watching the radar like an obsessed fool trying to figure out when it'd pass. Finally, around 9:45 the storms were gone and the rain had mostly turned into light sprinkles. I asked Jason if he wanted to go with me. He balked at the idea. Whined that it was raining. But in the end, he headed out with me. The sprinkles turned into a light rain, but it felt amazing. Very refreshing I must say. My plan was 6 miles and I told him we could loop near the house so he could drop off sooner. He didn't of course. I think the rain added some pep in my step. We had some really great splits (mile 3 was 8:38, mile for was 8:38). Mile 5 was a little slower (I think it was 8:50) and that was a part of the run where we had to run in some grass and hop over some miss...

Long Run Yesterday was one of those days when you just need it to go away. I ditched my planned workout. I was simply exhausted both mentally and physically. I needed to rest plain and simple. I didn't blog because I didn't figure anyone really needed to hear me whine about being stressed, worn out, too tired to workout, or that it has felt like the longest week ever. So, no blogging. In fact, I turned off the computer at 7 pm. I had only been on it a few times after work anyway and was just done with it. It was really nice to turn that baby off too. I went to bed around 7:45 and read until 9, then it was lights out. I woke up, startled by the alarm, just before 5 am. I definitely felt better having rested. Smart decision before a planned 10 mile run honestly. Jason is doing a triathlon on Sunday, so the plan was for him to only run half the run with me. We planned out (roughly) a route that would put us back near the house around 5 miles in for me so that he could stop,...

Speedwork This morning I psyched myself up for some long overdue and much needed speedwork. My new running partner has a fairly flat route that she has mapped out near her house to do 800's. So the plan was to do a little over a mile over to her house then 4 x 800 with 1/4 mile recovery jogs in between then I had a mile back to my house. While speedwork can be really intimidating (much like HIIT or Tabata in my mind), it goes by pretty fast. So you just need to focus and sustain for that one interval, recover and start again. Once you get going, you don't really have time to dwell on your lungs exploding or legs crumbling beneath you. You just do it. It was definitely warmer and more humid today. Thankfully "A" sweats like I do so I wasn't embarrassed to be slinging sweat as I ran ;-) Of course we didn't run side-by-side during the speed intervals, but that's ok. It's about working at your own pace of course. My goal was to try to keep my 800...

Run Dates This morning Jason and I rolled out of bed and got ourselves ready for a run. The plan was to do 2 miles with Jason, then I was meeting a new running partner for another 5 miles for a total of 7 miles. I won't lie, I was pretty nervous about running with someone new. And "A" is definitely a fast runner, and a seasoned marathoner. But that can be good for me right? It's sort of a long story, but she used to teach some weight circuit classes at my gym that closed. So we'd seen each other here and there at the gym in passing. Another instructor had mentioned that "A" lived downtown. And I already knew that she ran (overheard a conversation), and I'd see her occasionally running, but we never really talked. Anyway, Saturday I ended making a stop by her house so we could visit, and we planned the run date for today. She usually just runs the neighborhood solo, so she was excited to have someone to run with, and I think Jason likes the ide...

Running, Relaxing, Relishing This weekend as another fairly low-key one for us. Saturday I got up for my 6 mile run. The temps were just under 70 degrees. The humidity was still in play, but man at least it wasn't 80+ degrees. Made such a difference. It ended up being a really good run. I tried to just run by feel rather than paying attention to my pace. I only checked the speed at each lap/mile. Overall average ended up being 9:04. After scrubbing the master bath, I spent some time on the patio reading before we went to a late lunch. We were actually able to sit outside on the patio and enjoy outdoor dining for the first time in months! The temperatures were hovering around 90, but there was a nice breeze. And face it, 90 feels like 70 when it's been 110. We had just finished our lunch when I got a message from our friends. They wanted to meet us exactly where we already were. I told her we were there and done with lunch but would gladly stick around and wait on them. S...

This morning the alarm went off way too early for my liking. I had a very restless night, something I've noticed happening the night before my long runs. So when the alarm went off, I was already awake, but just didn't want to get up. But I did. I rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom to get ready. It does help that I set out all of my running gear the night before so there's not thinking involved. I went downstairs and had half of a banana and a serving (12) EnergyBits . Source I was fortunate enough to receive a sample of EnergyBits to try and review. They are made from algae ( spirulina  and chlorella ) and are full of minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. According to their website, "Spirulina is nature's equivalent to an energy drink."  Some benefits of spirulina are: Helps stop fatigue Helps improve athletic performance Provides physical energy Provides mental wake up And you know what, I believe it. Especially the men...

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday because of a crazy wild storm that ended up knocking out our power. It wasn't an exciting day exactly, well, maybe the storm part. Here's how it went down: I decided it would be safer to stay home again (and I'm sure my co-workers would agree). So more work from home. Which is mostly fine. I would love to work from home to be honest. However, I am just not properly set up to access everything I would normally need. I did get up for a morning run. It was about 74 degrees and the humidity seemed to be a little lower. Or maybe I'm just beyond noticing any longer. It was still dark when I set out for my run with the exception of the stars and lightening off in the distance. No rain of course. I wanted to just do an easy 4 miles. Not really pushing it. I did get negative splits, but kept the run fairly slow and taking a slightly easier route, meaning fewer hills. That's my version of being lazy ;-) It was a really pleasan...

Itching and Running So today was kind of interesting. I guess I should back up Saturday morning. I woke up and had 2 itchy bumps on my neck. I told Jason we needed to change the sheets immediately. I thought maybe it was a spider bite. Later on, a couple of other bumps and then Sunday, a few more. So Monday I spent some time looking up bumps and pictures. Trust me, don't do that. You'll a) gross yourself out and b) scare the crap out of yourself assuming you have some flesh eating disease. I ended up going to the doctor. I really don't care much for my doctor. He always seems so incredibly blase, unconcerned. He looked at my neck (where the bumps are located) and said, "It looks like chicken pox." He asked if I'd had them as a kid, and yes I did. He repeated that he thought they looked like chicken pox and asked if I'd been feeling ok. No fever that I knew (though I was having headaches Thursday and Friday). He then said, "Well, if it was me, I...